AN: Thanks for reading and reviewing!
"Dyad's Blessing, Dyad's Curse"
Chapter 57
The next morning, Chewie came to visit Ben, but just as the guards were telling the Wookiee that he needed to stay away from the forcefield, he roared something rather unexpected at them which made Ben's stomach flip.
"What's he saying?" one of the guards asked the others, only to be met with blank looks.
"He's saying you need to let him in the cell," Ben said quietly.
"What?" the guard exclaimed, perhaps thinking that Ben was lying, but then Chewie started nodding in an eager manner.
"Sir," said another guard, "we're not going to allow this, are we?"
One threatening growl from Chewie later, the Wookiee was allowed in the cell, though the guards reactivated the forcefield, shutting the two of them in together and keeping their blasters at the ready on the other side.
"What's going on?" Ben asked as Chewie sat next to him on the bunk, filling his nostrils with that thick, comforting Wookiee smell he remembered so well from his childhood.
[You're getting a chance to speak at today's meeting,] said Chewie, pulling a comm out of his satchel.
"I'm . . . what?"
[It was Rey's idea,] the Wookiee continued in an excited voice. [She thinks the Resistance is more likely to let you go on the mission if they hear you speak up for yourself.]
"The mission," Ben murmured, part of him wanting to ask why everyone assumed that he wanted to go on the mission, but the question went unasked, perhaps because of that child from the hypnotherapy session who had clung to him, desperate for protection. Was that child even real? Maybe the only way to find out was to go on the mission.
[Rey will contact us during the meeting,] Chewie said in a slower voice, cocking his head as if he sensed Ben's uneasiness. [Is that all right with you?]
"I know what I have to do, but I don't know if I have the strength to do it . . ."
Leia would get on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek and tell him that he could do it. Han would squeeze him in a Dad hug and ruffle his hair. Suddenly he felt cold, his body longing for their loving gestures. He closed his eyes, imagining their relaxed smiles, remembering their warm embraces. Mom, Dad, you'll be with me, right?
With a long exhale, he opened his eyes, gazing up at Uncle Chewie, who was giving him that understanding look he remembered from his childhood.
"All right," Ben finally said. "I'll do it."
. . .
Rey wished she were the one with Ben in his cell instead of Chewie, but Poe and Finn had insisted that her presence was needed if she wanted to convince anyone that this was a good idea. When she brought up the proposal, she tried to ignore the gasps and glares and accusations of betrayal – she even tried to ignore the fleeting thoughts that came jumping from people's minds, many of them consisting of two words.
Rey Palpatine . . .
"Listen," she said after a deep breath, praying that her voice wouldn't waver, "neither Ben nor I are asking any of you to forgive him, but we don't want to repeat the mistakes made after the last war. If we don't want our children to have to fight another Imperial remnant, we need to act now. Enlisting Ben's help is the best chance we have of eliminating them for good." Again she did her best to ignore the mutters as she placed her comm on the table. "Please, at least give him a chance to speak."
Without giving anyone a chance to protest, she entered Chewie's comm frequency and out came Ben's hologram, his face looking vulnerable as he gazed at her.
"Rey," he said.
"Ben," she replied, wishing she could hug him, "are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be."
Giving him a slight smile, she rotated the comm so that he could face the others at the table. "Honorable members of the Resistance," he began, his voice wavering slightly, "I can't undo the damage I've done to you or your loved ones, but I can offer my help." He swallowed. "I wish . . . I wish I knew what to say. Maybe there's nothing I can say except that I know the First Order and I'm willing to help you take the rest of it down. I will submit to any precautions you want to take."
"Would that include a tracker?" Poe asked.
"A tracker?"
"Yes," said Poe, his mouth rumpled. "Would you consent to have a tracker injected into you so that we would know your location at all times? It would be removed after the mission."
Though Ben's eyes bulged for a moment, he quickly regained his composure. "Yes."
"Ben, dear," said Pooja, her voice calm and steady despite the uncertainty flowing from her, "I want to believe in you, I really do, but you have to understand that this is a difficult request."
Ben's eyes lowered as his hologram flickered. "I do understand. Rey and I wouldn't be asking you to do this if we didn't think it was the best way to bring down what's left of the First Order with minimal casualties." A sniffle escaped. "I've taken so many lives and I did nothing to stop Hux from kidnapping children. I know nothing I do can change that, but I want to help save some of those children that the First Order took."
"Chancellor?" Finn suddenly asked.
"Yes, General?"
Finn cleared his throat. "Rey and Ben have this . . . Force bond thing. I'm not gonna pretend I understand it, but they can feel each other's feelings and see each other's memories." He glanced over at Rey. "And I trust Rey with my life. If she says Ben has genuinely changed, then I for one believe her."
The ghost of a smile brushed Ben's face as he looked at Finn. "Thank you, General."
"That doesn't mean I trust you," Finn said in a harder voice, "or that I like you, or that I'll want anything to do with you after the mission. It just means I'm willing to give you a chance."
"I understand," said Ben.
Aftab Ackbar glared at the hologram. "A supernatural bond with Rey isn't enough to convince most of us to trust you. Neither is saving her life. One life saved doesn't undo thousands of lives taken!"
Ben's eyes lowered. "I know." He took a deep breath, looking Aftab in the eye. "Your father was a good man. So was mine. I've killed a lot of fathers and mothers and daughters and sons." He blinked as if trying to hold back tears. "But there are other mothers and fathers who are still grieving their lost children." He glanced in Lando and Jannah's direction. "Even with the new program, most of the families haven't been as lucky as Lando and Ava."
Jannah audibly sucked in air through her nose at the mention of her birth name. "My father showed me old holos of you – of us – when we were children. Maybe you think I'd forgive you after seeing you as this innocent little boy, but I just can't yet. You had the power to stop the stormtrooper program, but you let Hux and his soldiers continue kidnapping babies."
Ben swallowed. "I don't expect you to forgive me."
"However," said Jannah, glaring hard at him, "I'm willing to set that aside for the sake of the kids who are still being held. Not your sake, just theirs."
Ben nodded, letting out a sigh. "For what it's worth, I am glad that you and Lando have found each other."
Poe loudly cleared his throat. "You understand that even if this mission is successful, you would be returned to prison immediately afterwards and still brought to trial?"
"I understand."
"And," said Poe, "you understand that if the tracker records any suspicious actions – including any attempt to remove or deactivate it – all Resistance members will be given immediate authority to kill you on sight?"
"I understand."
Poe inhaled as if about to dive underwater. "All right. All in favor of allowing Ben to come on the mission, raise your hands."