Force Dyad
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A/N-thank you to everyone who kindly reviewed read and reviewed the last chapter.
Chapter Nine-Tai
"How long ago was this?" Ben asked Magda. He could already feel his carefully ordered world beginning to crumble around him.
Magda peered at his face, which was suddenly leached of all colour. "Ben, are you in some kind of trouble?" She said in a low voice so as not to alarm Rey.
Magda glanced to the side at the young girl, only to find that Rey already seemed to have picked up that there was something amiss. Her complexion had turned as white as Ben's. She marvelled at how both of them seemed so attuned with one another.
"Could you watch Rey for me?" Ben said suddenly as he scraped his chair back and rose to his feet. "It won't be for long."
"Ben?" Rey whimpered. "I'm scared."
Ben's eyes skimmed her face as he hunkered down in front of her. He gently tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear and smiled. "You don't need to be scared. I just have some business I need to take care of. Stay with Mags, she'll look after you."
Rey wasn't convinced at all. She gazed at him with hazel eyes filled with liquid tears. "But you're scared. I feel it." She sucked in her lower lip as she tried not to cry.
Ben wanted to hug her and tell her it wasn't hopeless, but she wouldn't believe him. Not when she could sense his own loss of hope, sense the pain that he was trying to hide inside. It was becoming visible on his face and he had to avert his gaze. "I'll be back." He mumbled, pushing himself back onto his feet.
"Promise?" Rey's lower lip began to wobble as her old fears of abandonment resurfaced.
Ben managed to relax his mouth into a reassuring smile. "I promise, Rey."
Rey nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand as she shuffled closer to Magda. The female Mon Calamari put her arm around Rey's small shoulders comfortingly. "I'll look after her, Ben. You don't need to worry about that."
"Thanks." Ben locked eyes with Magda for a minute. He could tell by her tone that she was promising him more than just looking after Rey for a few hours. She was promising him she would take care of Rey if he never came back.
When Ben left the inn, he stepped into a rainstorm. It wasn't just rain; it was a downpour as heavy as Ben had ever seen. Walking through a waterfall couldn't get any wetter. He scowled into the dark of almost noon, his mood a perfect mirror of the sky above. His breath seemed to stutter in his lungs before he let it go, feeling the tension drain from his body enough so he could concentrate, and for the first time in a long time, Ben opened himself up to the Force.
The steady breathing that Ben had in motion gave way to deeper puffs when he felt the mysterious energy field around him. The Force flowed through him, buoyed him, connected him to everything. The black-market port was teeming with life. Ben could feel every being, every reptile and insect, every living thing that binds the galaxy together. His breathing returned to normal and he felt as if he could face the problem. Harnessing the power of the Force he reached out and immediately detected the familiar Force signatures of not one but three Jedi. Alarmed, he recognised them as belonging to Tai, Hennix and Voe.
Ben immediately realised his mistake in opening himself up to the Force again. As soon as he detected their Force signatures, they in turn detected his. Ben's despair was a heady blackness; the way forward vanished to black, not blocked, but like everything was being ripped away from him. The notion of hope had become meaningless, that the three apprentices were here in this remote place felt like a cruel trick of fate, as cruel as any desert mirage.
Ben knew it was pointless trying to run. Grimtaash remained grounded, the repairs still not fully complete. There was no escape. He stood immobile as the thick, icy sheets of rain obscured his vision. Ben didn't need his eyes to sense that the trio were making their way toward him. He stood with the water running freely down his face and into his already soaked clothes. As the three Jedi apprentices appeared out of the gloom, Ben managed to arrange his face into an unconcerned mask.
"What are you all doing here?" He demanded.
Voe opened her mouth to issue a sharp retort, but closed it again when Tai motioned for her to be quiet. Ben assumed that Skywalker must have placed Tai in charge over the hot-headed Voe. It seemed in the time he had been gone she remained as fiery and impulsive as ever. She still hadn't mastered her anger or jealousy toward him, which were not the traits of a true Jedi. And this made her dangerous in Ben's eyes.
"We've been looking for you." Tai revealed as he took a step forward.
"Why?" Ben's voice was like a steel trap.
Voe snorted derisively as she impulsively pushed past Tai and squared up to Ben. "Because before you left you were acting weird and you kidnapped an innocent child. Master Skywalker tasked us with tracking you down…"
"You're not a Jedi, Voe, and you never will be. Not with that uncontrollable temper and jealousy of yours." Ben sneered.
Voe's dark brown eyes flashed with fury as she reached for her lightsaber, only to find it missing from her belt. She looked up sharply, her face registering shock when she found Ben holding it in the palm of his hand.
"Looking for this?" Ben said in disgust as he launched it high into the air above Voe's head. It disappeared into the gloom, forcing Voe to run after her weapon in order to retrieve it.
Tai let out a weary sigh, almost as if he had been expecting the confrontation between Ben and Voe. "Go after her, Hennix. I'll talk to Ben."
Hennix shrugged nonchalantly. "If that's what you want." He replied, not bothering to argue. He turned and followed after Voe.
Ben's eyes skimmed Tai's face restlessly as he tried to work out his intentions. They used to be friend's once…sort of. Tai had been the only one of Skywalker's students who had ever shown him any empathy. Had that changed since he'd left and the others had a chance to drip their poison in his ear. "I don't want any trouble." He said eventually.
"We're not here to cause trouble, Ben." Tai answered carefully.
"Then why are you here? Is it true what Voe said?"
Unlike Voe and Hennix, Tai had always sought to help Ben deal with his insecurities. He trusted Ben and believed there had to be a reasonable explanation why his friend had decided to abandon his Jedi training and taken the child with him. "Master Skywalker asked us to help find you. He's worried about you. So is your mother. So am I. He feels that perhaps he put too much pressure on you which caused you to act the way you did. I can understand you running away, Ben, especially after what we've talked about before…but why take the child with you."
"As if Skywalker cares about how I feel!" Ben said bitterly. "You don't understand anything."
Tai frowned slightly. "Then help me to understand. Where's the child, Ben? Can I see her?"
"Why?" Ben demanded. "Do you think I've hurt her?"
"You know I don't think that." Tai replied impatiently. "I want to help. You can trust me, Ben."
"Can I?" Ben asked bleakly.
"Yes." Tai stated firmly. "Let me see her, Ben, and then we can talk."
Ben felt a silence in his soul as he mulled over Tai's offer. Moments of emptiness still came like an ambush, yet in the company of a true friend a real warmth could return. He had always felt able to trust Tai in the past… "Okay." He agreed, drawing in a deep breath. "I'll take you to see Rey. But just you. I want Voe and Hennix kept out of it."
Tai's frown melted into a smile. "Done."
"Ben." Magda's relieved expression at the sight of Ben soon turned to one of ambivalence when she caught sight of Tai behind him. "I see you found your…" Her voice tailed off as she regarded Tai with suspicion.
"This is Tai." Ben gestured to the young man she had conversed with earlier.
"Humpf." Magda muttered.
Ben could see that the female Mon Calamari still wasn't convinced by Tai. "Its okay, Mags. I've got this. Can you go and get Rey?"
"You want me to bring her here?" Magda said in surprise. She caught hold of Ben's arm and pulled him to one side. "Are you sure about this?" She whispered so Tai wouldn't overhear.
"Yes." Ben didn't know whether he was trying to convince her or himself. Either way, he had little choice now. He hoped that once Tai saw that Rey was being well looked after, he could convince Tai to delay his report to Skywalker long enough to give him time to patch up Grimtaash so that he and Rey could leave.
Magda wasn't happy, but she did as Ben requested and left to fetch Rey. It didn't take her long to return with Rey anchored to her side. As soon as Rey spotted Ben, her face lit up in relief. She immediately left Magda and ran over to him, but skidded to a halt when she finally noticed the young man dressed in the brown robes of a Jedi standing next to Ben. Turning swiftly, she darted behind Ben and hid behind him, using him as a shield between her and the stranger.
"Its okay, Rey." Ben said to her gently. "Tai's a friend."
Tai took the initiative and knelt down in front of Rey so he was more on her level. She looked back at him; a gentle flush of pink had arisen in her cheeks that made her look vulnerable. "Hello, Rey." He greeted her warmly.
Rey glanced up at Ben for reassurance. He gave her an encouraging smile and she slowly worked up the nerve to respond. "Hello. I'm Rey and I'm six." She said in a rush.
"Nice to meet you, Rey." Tai hid his amused smile. She was such a small little thing. Not at all what he had expected. Skywalker hadn't said much about her, only that Ben had taken her with him for reasons he wasn't at liberty to divulge. Tai could sense that Rey was strong with the Force, probably why his master was so keen for her safe return. He wondered again why Ben had taken her. He was clearly attached to the little girl, and she seemed healthy and well cared for. He would be able to reassure Master Skywalker about that at least. "Maybe we should have that talk now." He said to Ben as he rose to his feet.
A/N-thanks for reading. Please review.