Note: I am sorry I had so much First Order business in the last chapters, but it can't be Reylo kissing and cuddling all the time. Good news everyone, starting with this chapter we'll have plenty of Reyl! And someone from Phasma's past is returning…
CHAPTER 9 – PEACE
The representatives of the various star systems were unable to come to a decision in the short time that Kylo Ren had given them. They asked for an extension of the deadline. After one month they asked for another extension. As usual, politics took time.
Ben and Rey had assumed that to happen. They had hoped that it would happen.
In this time of relative stability and peace, the First Order took decisive actions to punish slave trading organizations and criminals. Its popularity increased in such an alarming degree in the ranks of the poor and of the middle classes, fueled by a skilled publicity campaign, that its ranks increased by 25% in just three months after the start of the peace treaty negotiations. In some systems, especially in the Outer Rim and the Unexplored Regions, Storm Troopers were now regarded as guardians.
The Storm Troopers themselves began to feel proud of their mission. Kylo Rens popularity among his soldiers had reached unexpected levels. He had achieved it by daily inspections and trainings with his troops, by joining them in various missions, fighting alongside them, eating with them, being one of them. He had become a true leader of men.
Thus, although the true purpose of the stalling tactics had been to weaken the First Order, the politicians soon realized (some in horror, some with surprise) that they were losing ground with every day that passed. That the people back on their home planets, whom they were representing, were starting to sympathize with the proposition of the Supreme Leader. That the First Order was gaining ardent supporters.
The Resistance had been also taken aback by all the sudden changes. Internal dissensions started to gnaw at the core of the already weakened organization. With Leia gone, Poe and Finn had assumed the role of generals. They soon found themselves on opposite sides: Finn approved the new mission of the Storm Troopers, while Poe regarded it with great distrust. Finn had been a Strom Trooper himself and he had loathed his job of bringing violence, pain and hate wherever he had gone. He could only salute the changes in the First Order, which he somehow felt that were connected to Rey's periods of absence and to some kind of change in Kylo Ren. But how to convince Poe based only on his gut feeling? He longed for a life in peace with Rose, whom he had slowly admitted in his heart, first to console himself over Rey, then genuinely falling for her. Poe had tried all to prove that the First Order was actually involved in some other dark manipulations behind the shining façade, but had yielded yet no shred of evidence, no whisper of anything out of the usual. Favored by inactivity, the Resistance slowly drifted apart.
Ben had fallen as usually asleep next to Rey, one arm around her waist, the other still entwined in a lock of her hair. He loved it when she let her hair down, it was so soft and shiny, and he loved to caress it. Rey looked at him, tracing gently the shadows underneath his eyes.
"My poor Ben! Always on missions with his Storm Troopers, no wonder he looks so tired."
She loved to have him sleeping by her side. It had become a ritual for them both, one that they could not live without anymore. He was sometimes so tired that he fell asleep with his head in her lap before they could even discuss the events of the day. She did not mind though, she loved to have him all for herself, so powerless and vulnerable, like she had dreamt to see him so often when they had still been enemies. Then she could discover every line of his face, run her fingers through his black hair and kiss him in his sleep. She could not resist to feel the lines of his chest once or twice, but she became so embarrassed every time and the Force Bond has pulsed so powerful between them that she did not attempt more, even though she secretly would have loved to. She was also embarrassed that he often moaned her name in his sleep. But she would have NEVER told him about it, not even to tease him. Some things were better left unsaid.
Tonight, she really hoped he would wake up before dawn, because she needed to discuss with him about Archex. This was vital information. They had been waiting for an opportunity like this since the beginning.
Ben turned on his back, a deep moan escaping his lips in his sleep.
"Rey".
She just froze, embarrassed what to do. Ben moaned again "Oh, Rey.." and there was so much longing in his voice that her heart ached. She bent over him, kissing his parched lips. One of his arms was suddenly around her, his other hand clutching her hair, and he was answering her kiss full of passion. She felt his tongue exploring her mouth, and a sweet wave of shock, like an electric current passing through her body. She used her tongue as well, holding on with one hand to the back of his head, sensing all his muscles strain and his body tighten under her. His eyes were closed, and he was kissing her like there was no tomorrow and she did not want there to be a tomorrow, lost in that present moment. His hands were now exploring her body, first cradling her face, then her neck, her shoulders, going down to caress the shape of her small breasts.
Oh Stars..Ben..she gasped in his mouth, coming up for air, but then he caught her lips again.
His hands travelled further, but Rey had decided that for anything more she needed a rested, conscious Ben. She gently took both his hands in hers, kissed them, then put them at his sides and kissed his forehead, while she moved to his side. He felt unconsciously Rey putting space between them and slowly opened his eyes.
"Rey?"
"I'm here Ben. Go to sleep, my love. You're tired."
"I was dreaming something..."
"Tell me about it."
"Ahm...well… I can't really remember the details" he stuttered, blushing.
She had to bite her lips not to laugh.
"Was it perhaps about me kissing you? More passionately than usual? Plus a bit of fumbling?"
"Rey…what? "he looked at her incredulously.
How does she know? She hasn't seen my dream, has she?
Then it dawned on him and he groaned, going scarlet red. He just wanted to brake off the Bond and disappear.
"Oh Ben, please don't go! Don't be ashamed." She took his face gently in her hands and made him look at her. "I dream about you too. "
His eyes grew soft, taking in how beautiful she was.
"I love you Rey. So much."
And they shared a sweet kiss.
"Can we talk now? It's really important." Rey had a serious, preoccupied tone all of a sudden.
"Of course, my love. What is it?"
"I have met someone really special in the Resistance. His name is Archex…or as the First Order called him…Cardinal."
Ben shot up from the bed "Cardinal? But..he's dead. He died in a training accident."
"I am sorry, but you're wrong. He almost died but was rescued by one of our people. I met him the last time I visited the Resistance."
"What? Are you sure? Captain Cardinal, a member of the Resistance? He was the most devoted member of the First Order I knew. A fantastic storm trooper and a great trainer, even better than Phasma in some regards. This can't be, Rey, it's probably an impostor."
"I don't think so. Finn recognized him, as well as other former Storm Troopers. It's him. But he is…changed, he…well, he drinks a lot. From what he told me, he's disgusted by the corruption at the core of the First Order, by the depravity of its leaders. It's really destroyed him Ben, finding out the truth about the First Order. To him, it was the means to bring peace and prosperity to the galaxy. He really believed in it. It was his life, his credo."
"Told you? You talked to him?"
"Yes, I told you I met him on my last visit. Did you know that he comes from Jakku? He grew up as an orphan there, just like me."
"Rey, he could have infiltrated the Resistance on purpose, as a spy. I don't like this. Why did everyone in the First Order, including me, believe him dead?"
"Did you see his body, Ben?"
"No, Phasma just said he died in a training accident."
"Phasma? She tried to kill him, and he barely escaped. "
"Why would she try to kill him?"
"Because he had found out a lot of dirt about her. And Hux. Things that the First Order wouldn't like a bit."
"Like what?"
" Well, ahm…" Rey did not know how to continue. Pretending a casual movement, she covered his right hand with hers, as he had propped himself up on the bed by her side. He would need a gentle touch after hearing this…The things Phasma had done could remind Ben of Kylo's crimes, and she did not want to hurt him. She inhaled and said:
"She killed General Brandon Hux."
"Hux's father? He was bitten by a poisonous beetle. But he was her mentor. How could she kill her own me…" he stopped abruptly. Rey felt his pain as if it was her own, and gently stroked his hand. He understood her gesture. Still he did not look at her, keeping his eyes down.
With a quiet, calm voice he said:
"What else?"
Rey didn't speak.
"Rey, tell me." he said with a low voice. She could not lie to him. She could not spare him the pain, as much as she wished it. He knew it as well. He did not want to be spared. He had never hidden from the truth, whether as Kylo Ren or Ben Solo.
"What else did she do?" he repeated.
"She killed her family. All except her brother."
Ben did not move. His searing pain hit her with such power that a moan escaped her lips.
"Oh Ben, it was not you who did all those crimes. You were lost in the darkness, manipulated by Snoke to believe that you were alone, unloved, without family or friends. He poisoned your mind since you were a mere defenseless child. That's what the Dark Side does. Phasma knew very well what she was doing. She took her own decisions, no one influenced or coerced her. It's not the same."
He run his fingers along her arm, up to her shoulder, grabbing it and pulling himself closer to her. He bent his head to the crook of her neck and they embraced so tight than they did not know anymore where one ended and the other one began. He closed his eyes, breathing her in, letting her warm presence permeate every fiber of his being through the bond, washing out his pain and his awful regret.
"Thank you" he simply said to Rey.
She gently kissed his lips.
"I want to meet Cardinal. In private. I need to talk to him face to face."
"Yes, I think you should. He could be our way out."