Paralyzed

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A/N-thank you to everyone who kindly reviewed the last chapter.

Chapter Forty-Five-Kuruk's Confession

Eight weeks had passed since they had taken sanctuary on the Night Buzzard. The interior of the vessel was totally unrecognisable from the tip it had been when they had first boarded the ship. Rey, beyond livid with the Knights slovenly ways and constant bickering, had taken them to task. Much to Ben's amusement she had introduced a rigorous daily training regime for the Knights, thinking that they could take out their aggression in more pro-active ways then tearing verbal and physical chunks out of each other just because they were bored. The men had protested hotly at first, they may have pledged themselves to serve her, but that didn't mean they were willing to be treated like wayward children by a woman. But Rey, suddenly full of renewed energy now that she was finally past the difficult first trimester, just rode roughshod over them, herding them like cattle as she forced them to take her lead.

Now Rey was eating and sleeping better, she was in a much fitter state of mind and chaffing at the bit to get back into training herself. She enforced a daily meditation ritual to begin the day before introducing the revised exercise regime. She enjoyed sparring sessions with Ben, which invigorated both of them. He had been reluctant at first, worried because of the pregnancy, it took a lot of persuasion on her part to get him to agree. He was unwilling to raise a weapon against her again, but she insisted she needed to carry on with her training and he was the best person to teach her. She was feeling stronger now, she had regained some of the weight she lost and was eager to learn, to improve her skill and techniques. After their first sparring session passed without incident, Ben began to relax and found he enjoyed teaching and passing his knowledge onto her. Rey loved listening to him break down individual moves, was captivated by the analytical way he approached things and made them easier to understand. She could see he was in his element and often wondered, if his life had taken a different path, whether he would have taken on a more academic role, such as a teacher or scholar. He had a soothing voice, was endlessly patient when she found a particular move especially difficult.

Rose sometimes joined them during their morning meditation and wherever she was, Hux wasn't far behind. Ben wasn't too pleased about Hux invading their personal space, but eventually learned to tolerate his former rival to keep the peace. When Rose and Hux weren't joining in the morning meditation, the two of them would spend the day tinkering with things on the ship, much to the Knights dissatisfaction. At first, they put up a heated protest when they found Rose disabling one of the rear canons, only to backtrack hours later when she put it all back together and pointed out the extent of the modifications she had made. Rose suddenly found herself with an unexpected fan club much to her surprise and Hux's intense displeasure. The more technical minded of the Knight's, Cardo-who had an obsession with weapon modification-began to follow her around, completely enamoured by her engineering skills.

With life falling into a steady routine for Ben and Rey, Poe had been busy negotiating with the other Resistance members for their return. The Resistance had moved from their temporary base on Hoth and relocated to a small moon orbiting Lonania Prime. It was a location that had been scanned as a possible site for the old Rebel Alliance in the past by General Jan Dodonna prior to his death. The moon was similar to Ahch-to, in that it was mostly covered in water, with numerous rocky islands blanketed with green trees. The island they had settled on had large natural underground caverns which served as an excellent base for the Resistance.

On one of his daily briefings with Ben and Rey, Poe finally told them he had managed to calm the situation down enough that it was safe to return.

"You mean they've been missing the extra protection only we can provide." Ben said sarcastically.

Poe's holographic figure flickered in front of them as he let out a heavy sigh. "Life has been tougher without you both here. But a lot of them are genuinely sorry about the way they treated Rey. They let their fears get the better of them."

"And what about the instigators?" Ben demanded.

"C'ai and Rylan have been put in their place don't worry. They won't cause anymore trouble." Poe promised. He let out another weary sigh. He sounded completely exhausted. Shouldering the burden of leading the Resistance alone was taking a heavy toll on him. "Look, guys, I need you back." He admitted. "I can't do this on my own. With you and Finn gone…."

Rey looked at Poe sympathetically. She could only imagine the strain he had been under. "We'll make preparations to leave right away." She assured him.

"Thank you." Poe's relief was obvious. "It'll be good to have you back."

"We'll be in touch soon, Dameron." Ben said sternly as he cut off the communication abruptly.

"Ben!" Rey cried in exasperation. "I wasn't finished talking."

"And I don't want to go back!" He retorted bitterly.

His admission didn't really come as any surprise to Rey because deep down she felt exactly the same. Living aboard the Night Buzzard with a bunch of dark side Force users, along with Rose and Hux, wasn't ideal, but putting all that to one side, it had been a peaceful interlude from the all the trials that had plagued them since leaving the Resistance. Going back meant putting themselves right back in the eye of the storm again.

"I'm not ready." Ben admitted honestly when he saw the understanding flash in Rey's eyes.

"I'm not, either. But we don't have a choice." Rey closed her eyes and breathed a lungful of air as Ben pulled her onto his lap. She rested her ear against his broad chest and let the soothing sound of his heart beat fill her ears. Just thinking about returning to the Resistance made her more anxious, more fearful. Just like Ben. In her quiet contemplation she knew they had to go back, but that didn't mean that she wasn't allowed to be upset about leaving the sanctuary that had provided them with a modicum of peace these last few weeks. Ben was like her human shield as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close.

Ben left it to Rey to tell Rose and Hux about the impending return to the Resistance while he went to find Kuruk. Kuruk was the most solitary of the Knights. In addition to his role as the group's rifleman, he served as the pilot of the Night Buzzard. Noted for his precision marksmanship, he could be found perched on a high vantage point, covering an assault conducted by his fellow Knights. Kuruk had been the only one who had flatly refused to join in the vigorous training regime that Rey had imposed on his fellow knights. Knowing how much of a loner he was, Ben had persuaded Rey to let Kuruk go his own way, and after her entreaties fell on deaf ears she had finally agreed.

Ben found Kuruk in the cockpit, piloting alone. Cardo was supposed to have taken over from him hours ago, but had shirked his duty as usual. Kuruk gave Ben his usual death glare as he settled down in the co-pilots seat.

"You don't need to take over, Kylo." He complained, annoyed at his personal space being invaded. "I'm perfectly fine."

"I didn't come here to take over." Ben explained as he began to punch in a new set of co-ordinates.

"Doesn't look like it." Kuruk growled suspiciously. He was the oldest of all the knights. He wore his numerous battle scars with pride, but being such a loner, he was hard person to get to know. "What is this?"

"The new location for the Resistance base." Ben settled back in the co-pilots seat.

"So, you're going back then?" Kuruk said uneasily.

"That was always the plan." Ben regarded Kuruk thoughtfully, something about the way the guy was acting troubled him. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Why should I have a problem?" Kuruk avoided Ben's stern gaze as he concentrated his attention on the ship's controls.

"You tell me. I can sense something is bothering you." Ben demanded as he sat forward in his seat. He reached out with the Force, subtly trying to probe Kuruk's mind in an attempt to understand his uneasiness.

"Get out of my head, Kylo." Kuruk said darkly as he reached for his blaster only to watch it whip past his head and into Ben's open hand. He scowled in frustration as Ben grabbed his tunic and pointed the blaster to the side of his head.

"Don't play games with me, Kuruk. You'll lose." Ben's dark eyes blazed with anger as he flipped the safety catch off the blaster and pressed it harder into the dark Knight's temple. "What are you hiding?"

Kuruk's grizzled features twisted into a merciless smile as the darkness surrounded them both like a death wave. "I've lived in the shadow for most of my life. Some people say I'm evil, but I'm just wired differently. I've never pretended to be anything other than what I am. I sold my morals down the river a lifetime ago, but something happened recently that made me realise that maybe I still have a conscience after all."

Ben felt dread settle on his shoulders as he lowered the blaster and stared at Kuruk in silent contemplation. "Where is this going?"

"I followed Vicrul when he went to meet his contact, the one who gave us the exact coordinates for the Resistance base on Hoth. I'd been suspicious of Vicrul for a long time, believing he was serving another master." Kuruk revealed slowly. "I wanted to know who it was so I could tell the others that Vicrul was working against us."

Ben's eyes opened wide as he remembered the strange statement that Vicrul had made to him about serving another master. In all the chaos since, he had forgotten that the dead knight had ever made that remark. "He was serving Palpatine…"

Kuruk swallowed thickly and shook his head. "Not directly. I've seen evil come in many forms over the years, Kylo, but none wearing such a pretty face." He continued huskily. "It was obvious by the odd way Vicrul was acting that he was enamoured by her. She had him under some kind of thrall. I didn't get a good look at her at first, she was hidden in shadows, a deep black cowl pulled over her head."

"Who was she?" Ben felt bile rise in his throat.

Kuruk's gaze turned inward as became lost in memory. "She told Vicrul that she would reward him with untold riches if he brought her daughter back to her, safe and unharmed. Then she stepped into the light and pulled back her hood, revealing the most startling hazel eyes I've ever seen. When she smiled the colours in her eyes ignited with a glow that easily dazzled Vicrul with the warmth of the deep brown and the seductive green dancing around the edges." He paused, coming back to himself as he finally looked upon Ben's face. "It seems her daughter has those same eyes and the same ability to charm don't you think? I mean she's certainly managed to charm the other knights into doing her bidding. That is unheard of. Maybe it's a family trait."

Ben sank into the co-pilots chair as he realised if what Kuruk said was true, Palpatine had lied to him about Rey's parents. Her father might be dead but her mother was very much alive.

A/N-thanks for reading. Please review.