AN: Thanks as always for reading and reviewing!

"Dyad's Blessing, Dyad's Curse"

By EsmeAmelia

Chapter 59

Ben didn't know whether or not he got back to sleep after Rey vanished, but he was awake when the prison lights came on all too soon. All too soon the guards arrived with breakfast and clean clothes and all too soon after that the Resistance generals arrived with their entourage of soldiers. Ben's hands were put in binders and he was led out of the prison and into the back of an enclosed police speeder similar to the one he'd first ridden to prison, the generals riding with him once again in the windowless box, the hum of the vehicle vibrating under them.

Last time they had ridden together in silence and it looked like the generals didn't want to break that tradition this time. It occurred to Ben that he could use this time to sleep, but despite the heaviness in his eyes, falling asleep with the generals staring at him wasn't an appealing prospect.

"So who talks first?" Ben finally asked in a wry voice, partly to keep himself awake and partly to break the silence. "You talk first? I talk first?"

"Not funny," General Dameron muttered.

"Well, if I'm going to be part of this mission, don't you think I should know what the plans are?"

"That is need-to-know," said General Finn. "You'll do your part and we'll do our part."

Ben supposed that made sense. "I know it doesn't matter much, but I am sorry about what I did to both of you."

General Dameron actually flinched. "In a perfect world, I could forgive you, but this isn't a perfect world."

How could Ben respond to that? After all, he had said a similar thing to Luke's spirit and he still wasn't totally ready to forgive his uncle. "I'm not expecting either of you to forgive me. If you want to yell at me, go right ahead."

The generals glanced at each other as if they were each silently asking the other if they should start yelling, but no actual yelling came.

"Where's Rey?" Ben asked.

"Falcon," said General Dameron.

That single word was like an icy shard cutting into his chest. Suddenly he was a child again, sitting in his father's lap, playing with the golden dice, studying how Han used the controls, always asking if he was old enough to fly the ship yet.

"You killed me . . ."

His body slumped over, his breath shortening to the point where he got dizzy. For a fraction of a second he was coherent enough to realize that he was heading for the floor, but he couldn't stop himself from falling; all he could do was grind his teeth in a futile attempt to brace himself for the painful impact . . .

But the impact didn't come. Instead he felt two pairs of arms grabbing him on either side and easing him back into his seat - it took a moment to process that the generals had actually caught him.

"Are you all right?" General Dameron's voice, suddenly full of . . . concern?

It still took a few seconds for Ben to find his breath. "Why . . . why do you ask?"

Dameron's mouth crumpled as he and General Finn sat back down. "Look, just cause I don't like you doesn't mean I'm gonna let your skull smash open, okay? Now I'm gonna ask again: are you all right?"

"Physically, yes."

"But not mentally," General Finn said in a knowing voice, his brown eyes bulging.

Ben let out a sigh, feeling sweat build up on his forehead but unable to wipe it off due to the binders. "I didn't know we would be going on my father's ship, that's all."

General Dameron bit his lip, discomfort flowing from him as he shifted his eyes. "She's the fastest ship we got," was all he said, though Ben sensed that he wanted to say more. The general was compassionate - Ben remembered sensing that all the way back on Jakku and plotting to use that compassion against him.

Could that compassion extend even to his former enemy?

. . .

They reached a hangar filled with various Resistance ships and the generals led Ben to - oh shit, there it was - the Falcon itself, causing Ben's heart to race. Chewie stood by the lowered ramp, along with an older human woman with short dark hair and a strong face, holding a syringe in one hand and a sterilizing pad in the other.

"Doctor Kalonia," General Finn said, "is it ready?"

The woman nodded while Ben stared at her, hardly noticing that General Dameron was removing his binders. "Doctor Kalonia? My mom's old doctor?"

"Yes," said Doctor Kalonia in a less-than-friendly tone. "Now do you have a preference as to which arm receives the tracker?"

Ben shrugged, trying not to think of the story his parents often told about how Kalonia had suggested that Leia eat jogan fruits while pregnant and Han had ordered an entire shipment of them. "I guess not. Whichever one works best for you."

"Fine, let's do the left arm. Roll up your sleeve to the shoulder."

Ben did so, trying not to look as she sterilized his arm. "I guess it's pointless to say I'm sorry?"

She didn't answer, instead sticking the needle in his arm, sending a sharp, burning pain and making him flinch. In another second, she had bandaged the small wound in the swift motion of someone who had administered a thousand injections. "There," she said. "Remember, if you attempt to remove or deactivate it, the generals will know and everyone will have licence to kill you on sight."

"I understand," said Ben as the generals put his hands back in the binders.

"Thank you, Doctor," said General Dameron.

The doctor nodded at the generals again. "Now go save those kids."

. . .

Ben found that he had to look at his feet as the generals led him into the Falcon for fear that he'd have another episode, but just the smell was triggering memories of helping Han fix the ship, Han teaching him to pilot, playing hide-and-seek in the smuggling compartments, the whole family using the ship to go on family vacations, meals around the game table - that dirty, musty, lived-in smell clouded his mind, threatening to choke him . . .

Suddenly they were in front of one of the cabins, though Ben couldn't quite remember how they got there.

"You'll be confined to quarters for the duration of the flight," General Dameron said. "Rey will be guarding you."

Ben nodded, after which, the generals removed his binders, shoved him into the room, and closed the door behind him, trapping him in this room for the three days it would take to get to Geonosis.

"Ben!"

Before he could process what was happening, Rey threw her arms around him, squeezing him in a tight embrace and aggravating the still-hurting spot where the tracker had been injected. "Ow!" he exclaimed. "Ow, careful, arm's sore."

"Sorry, sorry," said Rey, pulling out of the embrace. "How does it feel?"

"Like I got a shot," said Ben. "Otherwise I can't feel it inside me."

"Good," said Rey, leaning over and kissing his arm before clearing her throat. "Anyway, look, we've got your outfit for when we reach Geonosis all ready."

She gestured over to the bed, where his old black shirt and pants were spread out - apparently the prison hadn't thrown them away after all.

And next to them sat a helmet that looked strangely like his old mask.