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"Dyad's Blessing, Dyad's Curse"

By EsmeAmelia

Chapter 63

"Little Master Ben."

Ben froze in his tracks at the sight of the protocol droid, nearly causing Rey and General Dameron to collide with him. "3PO?"

"Oh yes, sir," said 3PO, as if it hadn't been years since the two had seen each other. "It is good to see you."

"H-he's my friend," said D-O.

"Is R2 here too?" Ben asked.

"Oh no, sir. He is with our backup troops."

"All right," said Dameron, "we can have reunions later - right now we've got a job to do."

Of course, the protocol droid still followed the group into the cockpit, where General Finn was in the pilot's seat and Chewie was in the copilot's seat. Beyond the viewport, the tan planet of Geonosis could be seen in the distance, but Ben hardly registered it with how hard his heart was thumping. Behind every blink he saw himself sitting in his father's lap as the Falcon jumped to hyperspace, both of them screaming in exhilaration. He might have collapsed again were it not for Rey squeezing his hand.

The general was right - they had a job to do.

He sank into the seat behind Chewie while Rey sat in the remaining seat. "Just letting you know," he said, "I don't know what we'll see or if we'll see anything."

"Just do it," said Dameron.

After a swallow, trying to ignore the hostility and uncertainty flowing from the generals, Ben closed his eyes, releasing himself into the Force. One breath. Two breaths. Three breaths.

Then a sudden burst of familiarity, rushing into his head so fast that it almost jolted his eyes open and he had to fight to keep them closed. Thousands of people beneath the planet's surface - Force-signatures he knew of officers, stormtroopers . . .

"The children!" Rey exclaimed. "They're here!"

Ben sucked in a gasp, his fingers twitching in his lap as his eyes slowly opened. "I know where we should land."

. . .

The Falcon flew into a cave that was a good distance away from where Rey and Ben had sensed the children in hopes that whatever security the facility had wouldn't pick them up. According to maps of the planet's underground, tunnels connected to the cave would lead to the spot where Rey and Ben said the facility was, but it would take several hours of walking to get there. After packing up the supplies they needed and putting Ben's wrists and ankles in binders, the humans, Wookiee, and droids set out into the dark, chilly tunnels.

Rey and General Dameron led the way, scanning the area with their handlights, followed by General Finn and Chewie on either side of Ben with the droids bringing up the rear. They only spoke when the generals asked Rey to sense which way they should go and only stopped when someone had to relieve themselves.

Soon Ben's feet were sore, his wrists and ankles were numbing, and his back was crawling with itches he couldn't scratch, but he didn't dare complain, not even when every step felt like it was tearing into his feet. He had to be a good prisoner or else they might not be able to rescue the children. In an attempt to distract himself, he reached out into the Force, feeling them getting closer and closer to his former subordinates, and wondered how they would react when their Supreme Leader walked in.

Just when Ben thought he was about to collapse, General Dameron suddenly announced, "All right, we can make camp here."

Camp? Had they been walking all day without lunch? As if it had suddenly become aware of the fact, Ben's stomach growled loudly, causing him to grimace as Chewie removed the binders from his wrists.

[Don't worry, we'll be eating soon,] said the Wookiee, running his paw through Ben's hair. [Why don't you sit down?]

Ben didn't need to be told to sit down - as soon as Chewie released him, he sank to the hard ground, rubbing one wrist after the other in an attempt to bring circulation back to his hands and trying to ignore how his feet still felt like blades were slicing into them.

"Ben, are you all right?"

He looked up and there was Rey, hovering over him while General Finn set up a lantern and General Dameron unpacked the sleeping bags. "I'm fine."

Rey cocked her head as General Finn turned on the lantern, bathing the cave in eerie orange light. "You're not fine," she said matter-of-factly. "I can feel it." Without waiting for an answer, she crouched down in front of him and removed the ankle binders.

"You'll get in trouble for that," Ben groaned.

"Not when you're hurt," said Rey, pulling off his boots and then his socks, revealing two broken blisters on his right foot and one broken blister on his left foot that was oozing pus.

"Ben!" she exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell anyone about this?"

Ben shrugged. "I'm a prisoner, remember?"

"That doesn't mean you're not entitled to medical care when you're hurt," said Rey, reaching into her bag and pulling out a vial of bacta cream.

"The generals won't like it if you waste that stuff on my feet."

"Oh, stop it," said Rey, "and hold still." She squirted the strong-smelling cream onto her fingers and started rubbing it onto his feet. Despite the unpleasant odor, the cool, smooth cream felt good on his blisters.

"What's going on?" General Finn asked, suddenly towering over them with an uncertain look on his face, his hand hovering over his blaster as if pondering whether or not to use it.

"We should have stopped earlier," said Rey. "The walk tore into Ben's feet."

"What?" Finn exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Look, I'm fine!" hissed Ben. "You don't need me slowing you down just because of a few blisters."

"Yeah, well our pretend Supreme Leader still needs to walk, doesn't he?" Finn asked as he crouched down next to Rey. "Now look, I know that in the First Order you were expected to not show any weakness, but we do things differently in the Resistance. In the Resistance, if you're hurt, you tell someone so they can help you. You got that?"

"Yes, General."

. . .

Supper consisted of nutrient bars and water, but after hours of walking it felt like a luxurious feast. Ben savored each bite of his nutrient bar even though it didn't have much of a taste and observed the others who were engaged in lively conversation about how they should have added flavoring to the nutrient bars and how it was always a relief during the war when supply runs brought real food instead of those damn bars, though of course Rey would chime in saying the bars were delicious compared to the dehydrated bread she'd eaten back on Jakku.

"Ben?" Rey suddenly asked.

"Hmm?" Ben responded, noting how cute his girlfriend - girlfriend, it still made his heart thump to think of that word, but that was what she was, right? - looked with her face bathed in the lantern's orange light.

"Do your feet feel better?"

Ben glanced at his still-bare feet and wiggled his toes lightly. "A bit."

General Dameron swallowed as he looked in Ben's direction, as if he didn't like being reminded of the former Supreme Leader's presence. "Well, that's good. Remember to tell someone if that happens again." He cleared his throat. "All right everyone, get some sleep. I'll take first watch and Finn, Rey, and Chewie will each take two-hour shifts after me. We leave at first light - or approximately when first light would be since we're in a cave and all - tomorrow."