Force Dyad

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A/N-thank you very much to everyone who kindly read and reviewed the last chapter.

Chapter Forty-Five-Broken Trust

Ben, sitting in the cockpit with Rey, smiled to himself when he heard his father's irritated voice echoing from the bowels of the Falcon as he gave Tai and Hennix a tour of his beloved ship.

"You've never heard of the Millennium Falcon?" Han demanded in annoyance.

"Should I have?" Hennix responded cautiously.

"It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs. I've outrun Imperial starships. Not the local bulk cruisers, mind you, I'm talking about the big Corellian ships now."

Rey laughed as Han continued to boast about the Falcon's prowess to his clueless audience, bristling at once if they expressed even a minor criticism. "Didn't you warn Tai and Hennix to just agree with everything Han says?" She asked Ben.

"Where would the fun be in that?" Ben smirked as he made some minor adjustments to the co-ordinates, ensuring that they were staying on course.

"What's on D'Qar?" Rey wondered as she tapped into the Falcon's navigational system and studied the star charts leading to the Outer Rim planet.

D'Qar was a verdant planet located in the Ileenium system on the edge of the galaxy's Mid Rim and Outer Rim Territories, relatively close to Naboo and Crait. An obscure world far from the main space lanes, the remote D'Qar was surrounded by a wide planetary ring that cast a shadow on its forested surface. The lush, jungle-covered terrain did not host any intelligent life, though creatures such as birds and insects called the huge trees and fast-growing roots of the jungle home, as did the carnivorous plant known as the creepervine. Aside from the foliage, D'Qar's surface featured plains and mountains. The world had a comfortable, temperate climate despite its challenging ecosystem and dangerous predators.

After learning more about the planet where they were headed, Rey still couldn't understand why Ben's mother was so insistent on going there. Naboo seemed like a much better option if their intent was to hide out for a while. What did D'Qar have to offer? There was no civilised or intelligent life there. In fact, some of the creatures that did inhabit the jungle like terrain sounded absolutely terrifying. Rey didn't fancy becoming some carnivorous plant's next meal.

"There's just nothing there, Ben. I don't get it." Rey said aloud this time.

"I asked that question myself but she wasn't exactly forthcoming." Ben felt a sinking feeling in his gut. He knew his mother was being secretive for a reason, and he guessed she was being purposefully cryptic because she guessed he wouldn't like it if he knew the truth. He hadn't exactly had any choice but to come along for the ride now that Grimtaash had been destroyed. He had a lingering suspicion that he was about to be pressured into joining in one of his mother's latest causes. Leia Organa Solo never did anything without a reason.


Rey was entranced just as much by the rich brown earthen hues of the forest ground to the sweetness of the blue-white sky, the forest was a three-dimensional wonderland for the eyes. She had been prejudiced in her initial assessment of D'Qar. It was beautiful. Rey tilted her head upward, feeling her hair tumble further down her back; gazing up at the tall trees surrounding her in awe. Birdsong came in lulls and bursts, the silence and the singing working together as well as any improvised melody. A serene smile painted itself upon her face, highlighting the smattering of freckles across her nose, her rose-pink lips semi-illuminated by the dappled light. She caught Ben glancing at her often, an indecipherable look on his face.

"This way." Leia said, taking the lead and steering them toward a large clearing housing a strange dome-like structure. It appeared to be an abandoned storage outhouse. Rusty barrels of noxious chemicals were littered around the entrance, each labelled with a warning sign. Tall weeds grew between the stones, creeping up the entrance, hardly high security. It looked like it had been purposefully left this way.

"What's this?" Rey asked curiously. "It doesn't look important."

"It isn't." Leia responded as she stepped forward and keyed in a long and complicated code into the key pad located by the double metal doors leading into the domed structure. "Its what's underneath that's important." She continued, walking inside as the doors glided open.

Underground was definitely a different story. Leia led the small group through a maze of rooms, each either buzzing with computers or loaded with the latest in weaponry. The deeper they went underground the larger and wider the rooms became, until eventually they emerged into a wide cavernous area, teeming with groups of people.

"Welcome to the Resistance's main base of operations." Leia announced proudly.


The Resistance base was located mostly underneath the surface of D'Qar, with only the facility's landing areas and antenna arrays exposed. Inside the base was a command centre, as well as multiple hangars, both above and underground, used to store T-70 X-wing starfighters. Underneath the hangars was an area known as the maintenance level, where damaged vehicles could go to be repaired. Surrounding the base was thick jungle foliage, which helped hide the facility from air and ground sensors and conceal potential power leaks. Most of the equipment used at the base was portable, a feature insisted by Leia Organa due to her experience of the Rebel Alliance's near-extinction on Hoth.

Ben raised an eyebrow, his disbelief was off the charts, but honestly his pessimism had come to the point of questioning his mother's sincerity. He felt like she had deliberately used the tragic loss of Grimtaash to lure him into a trap. "You are unbelievable!" He snapped at her resentfully. "You knew that if you had told me about what was really here that I would have refused to come."

"Don't speak to your mother like that, son." Han intervened gruffly as he came to stand by his wife.

"I'm not surprised you'd take her side." Ben retorted bitterly. His fists clenched at his sides and his jaw rooted. "Why couldn't you just have been honest with me…for once! I am sick and tired of being lied to."

Tai and Hennix exchanged uneasy glances. They had landed in the midst of a family row that they felt was none of their business. In silent agreement they moved further away to give Ben and his parents some semblance of privacy. Rey, like always, remained firmly rooted by Ben's side.

Leia drew herself up to her full height, shushing Han when he attempted to reason with their son. She didn't need him defending her. "You make it sound like I planned all this. I can assure you, I did not. I brought you here because it was the safest place to come. Whether you like it or not, Ben, you are part of this fight. War is coming and we need to be prepared to defend ourselves."

"I am not part of this fight, you and Skywalker together dragged me in to it. I never wanted this…any of it!" Ben countered angrily. He raised his forefinger in his mother's direction, looking the image of his father, as he glared at her. "Whatever I do, however hard I try, I can't escape my damn legacy, can I? You all want a piece of me. Once again my choices have been taken away from me."

Rey looked between Ben and his parents anxiously. "Ben…" She said haltingly. "I don't think your mother means to…"

"Again, don't answer for me." Leia cut in abruptly, her brown eyes softening slightly when she saw the worry radiating in Rey's eyes. "Its okay, child, I deserve every bit of his anger. He's not wrong." She turned her gaze back on to her infuriated son. "You can try and deny it all you want, Ben, but your legacy will always define who you are. Just like mine defines me. I would rather be a monster that believes in something, that would sacrifice everything to make the galaxy better, than be someone who sits on the side lines and watches as if it has no consequences to them."

"At last, you're being sincere, mother." Ben's tone was scathing. "At least now I know where I stand. I'm not a coward like Skywalker, I'll stay and I'll fight. But just remember I am not you; you may be willing to sacrifice everything to get the end result you want, but I'm not." His gaze drifted to Rey as he spoke-he would rather let the galaxy burn then let anything happen to her.

Leia followed the direction of his gaze, feeling the full meaning of his last statement. She was already regretting her poor choice of words, she had ended up alienating him all over again, when her real intent had been to persuade him to willingly join her cause. Leia knew that Han was angry with her, one glance at his dour expression confirmed that. Her little speech about sacrificing everything for the galaxy had pissed him off, too. Leia could already imagine the slanging match they would be having later. She wanted to apologise, to try and kick start the conversation all over again, but it was too late. As she watched Ben walk away with Rey by his side, she knew that even though he was going to stay and fight, the fragile trust that they had built up between them was gone forever.

A/N-thanks for reading! Please review.