Chapter 17
A Ghost of a Plan
"It's like time has rewound itself," Rey smiled over her shoulder to Ben, who stood in the doorway of the cockpit with his arms crossed and a worried expression on his face. "It's just as I left it."
The guards grew silent as Rey spoke, knowing that her words signaled their arrival to Raspitar. The same deep green forests blanketed most of the planet, just as it had those weeks ago. As she edged the freighter closer to the atmosphere, wisps of rain-gorged clouds streaked by their windows. On the dark side of the planet small yellow lights blinked up at them like stars.
Though her journey to the surface hit all the same beats, her circumstances couldn't have been more different. Instead of the Falcon they flew a bargained freighter, and instead of Chewie the vessel held the former Supreme Leader of the First Order and his royal guards. The bitter loneliness of the past had evaporated to make way for a new hope, a new love. She glanced back at Ben again, who pursed his lips in acknowledgement.
Now the castle of King Canaan made itself visible through the leafy canopy of the thick jungle. The sun was just beginning to rise, casting pale yellow rays through the dewdrops that settled on each tree leaf. No rain in sight. Rey's heart sank a little bit at the thought.
She brought them down onto the landing bay along with the other Resistance ships that decided to join them. Soon the wooden decks were crowded with vessels, heat rippling the humid air.
Loads of Resistance soldiers piled out of their ships like spilled pebbles. Among the throng she spotted Finn and Rose, clutching one another and heads bent close together in secretive conversation. Her eyes drifted over to the squadron of parked X-wings, where Poe had jumped out of his craft and ran towards his friends with his hands outstretched.
"We should head out," she called to the guards over her shoulder, gathering up her lightsaber staff and the rest of her courage. Joran nodded as his comrades collected what little stuff they could carry. As the guards tromped down the ramp and into the morning sunlight, Rey softly placed her hand on Ben's arm, holding him back. He lurched forward, eyes bugging with fear but stopped at her touch.
"It's going to be okay. Leia told them not to touch you," she assured him, but the tightening in his jaw told her that her message hadn't quite gotten to him.
"They hate me," he said simply.
Rey snorted. "Well, of course they do!"
He gave her a look of utter confusion, color draining from his face.
"But we can change that. Show them you've grown like you've shown me. Please." She placed a hand on his chest, feeling his heartbeat against her fingers. "Trust me."
He sighed through his nose but nodded after a few moments. She smiled shakily and led him outside.
They both squinted in the hot daylight, the humid air alighting on their tongues like a wet cloth. Their boots had just hit the wooden planks when the massive crowd around them turned collectively towards them, generating a huge rustling noise like wind moving through heavy leaves. Angry stares shot at them with the intensity of any blaster bolt that had been fired at them during their lengthy journey. At the same time a few whoops and cheers rose up, the soldiers finding their last Jedi safe and sound.
"Rey!" Footsteps thundered towards them and a certain orange-clad pilot with tussled dark hair ran to Rey and wrapped her in a desperate hug. Finn and Rose were in tow behind him, their eyes locked onto the former Supreme Leader standing defensively behind her. Rey couldn't see Poe's face as he embraced her warmly, but she could sense the hostility in the gaze he sent Ben over her shoulder.
The guards had frozen in their tracks at this, but Rey nodded to them to continue on. Eloisa gave her a concerned look but spun back around to meet up with her partners.
"So, what's the story here?" He gestured dismissively to Ben, a testy smile grafted to his face. "Leia hasn't told me jack. It's really great to see you, as well," he shot over at Ben and pointed his index finger at his temple. "Still get headaches because of you."
Finn pulled Rose closer to him while they watched.
"I'm… sorry," Ben said stiffly. His teeth were gritted under his lips and his fists were clenched. "I'm past that."
"We'll have to see about that," Poe responded nastily, turning back to his friends and motioning for the three of them to start walking back towards the main group.
"You coming, Rey? We're going to meet up with the rest of the troops inside and talk things over. I guess you can bring him, too."
Rey looked up at Ben. His expression was stony, but he shrugged in agreement. A fight hadn't broken out like she had half-expected, but her friends' coldness still hurt her. Of course, they had no idea about how far Ben had come, but he was with her. Didn't they trust her judgement?
She knit her fingers through his and tugged him forward towards the arching castle walls. From the speed that Poe, Finn, and Rose walked at, it was as if they were trying to leave them in the dust.
…
"How do we know he's not here to just kill us?!"
"I know he's with the last Jedi, but come on!"
"And what was he even doing with her in that cottage in the first place?"
Shouts like this and many more reverberated throughout the crowded stone room. The holographic table scrolled through images of various First Order star destroyers almost for the sake of filling up space in the darkened room. Leia and King Canaan stood with their hands planted on the table, Leia's eyes closed against the onslaught of noise.
Ben's towering figure entered with Rey through the narrow doorway and immediately drew the attention of every prying glance. Their voices died down almost in unison like on the landing platform. Only their stares penetrated the room now.
"Good to see you two," Leia chirped up brightly, making her way around the large stone table and wrapping Rey in a tight hug.
"Can we please have an explanation of what's going on here?" Poe's voice rose over the rest of the crowd. Finn and Rose stood by his side, eyeing Rey fearfully. Ben was a rigid as a statue next to her, drawn up to his full height.
Leia held her hand up and her troopers immediately faltered. She peered around the dark room.
"It appears that we have a new ally." she announced to the room. Ben shifted nervously next to Rey and she squeezed his hand softly.
When her words were met with silence, she bowed her head and continued.
"This is it people. This guy right here is our final shot at the First Order. If everything works out the way my generals and I had predicted, the galaxy will finally be free from their clutches once and for all.
"What have you worked out?" Ames' voice rose up over the growing chatter. The Resistance fighters exchanged inquiring glances and nervous snatches of disbelief that reverberated off the cool stone walls.
"We need a way to diverge the bulk of the First Order's forces from the destroyers," one of Leia's generals explained. "We need to bring them down to Raspitar's surface for combat. Canaan, could this be feasible?"
The alien king raised his hand and gave a curt nod of approval.
"Meanwhile, our friend here will turn himself in to Hux and the rest of his commanding officers. With all the trouble he's caused him there's no way he'll ensure a quick death, so he'll keep him around awhile."
"Our friend." Not Ben, not Kylo Ren. A little bit more impersonal, but she probably intended it to sound that way in front of her troops.
"While the bulk of the Stormtroopers carry out their attack here, Rey will join him on the Finalizer and take down the First Order's main authority figures from the inside."
A squawk of dismay leapt up from the Resistance troops, include Rose and Poe washed over Rey like an ocean wave. Never before had her people, her cause, seemed so far away, drifting away from her faster and faster by the second.
Soon she couldn't take anymore. Much to Ben's surprise she stormed through the jostling crowd with her fists clenched at her sides. She emerged by Leia's left shoulder and stood up straight, staring into the throng. Then, without really thinking about it, she raised her lightsaber over her head and ignited the blade.
A hush fell over the crowd at the loud hum of the blue lightsaber. Rey gulped and turned the thing off again, satisfied with the effect that it had had. All eyes turned to her now, and she rotted around in her mind for the right words. Over the heads of her friends she could pick out Ben, and seeing his small smile sparked a little courage. Go on. You have the floor.
"I know you're scared, and I know this plan may rely on a man we've all grown to hate. And for good reason."
She looked back towards Ben, who gave her a slight scowl but nodded, egging her on. She pursed her lips and continued.
"But this is our best shot, our only shot to finish this. Please, don't you all want to be free of this? Free of the fear and the pain Hux and his minions push onto the galaxy every waking moment?"
A few mutters of agreements fluttered up.
"Leia trusts Kylo Ren. I trust Kylo Ren. If we didn't, he'd be long gone before stepping foot onto this planet. We need him right now, and if you all are willing, we can win this."
A nervous breath escaped her lips as she gazed desperately into the crowd. Though more and more heads were nodding along, the silence still blanketed the room.
"As you were," Leia said after a long pause.
One by one the troops filed through the heavy doors. Rey couldn't be absolutely sure, but an air of quiet determination flowed from every mind and body passing through the exit. A bubble of hope floated up to her heart. This was going to work. It had to.
Once the crowd dispersed, Leia and the rest of her leadership team turned back to the table and began to relate more details of their daring plan. Much to Rey's apprehension, Finn, Poe, and Rose all joined the general in the talks. Once she and Ben approached the circular stone table, her friends swiveled their heads in their direction.
Before they could say anything belittling to Ben, he stepped up to his mother and spoke up. The leadership team gave him withering looks as he opened his mouth.
"I have a request, General." The tiniest quaver rocked his voice, but he kept his gaze steady and confident.
"You may ask," Leia told him, bowing her head respectfully.
"I want to give the stormtroopers a chance. Don't kill them right away, just take them prisoner and allow them to choose a side."
He looked over at Rey, and memories of Urear streamed in front of her eyes. Of the bloody knife and the crumpled bodies. Of Jayne's snarl and the pistol aimed at her heart. There'd be no more of that, if they could help it.
"Really?" Finn asked. Gone was his defensive stance or his demeaning stare. He stepped forward and raised his eyebrows at Rey, who nodded sincerely.
"What gives you that thought, Solo?" he asked Ben, biting the inside of his cheek in thought.
"I saw you that night, in the village. I want to know if there are more of you."
Rose and Poe waited with bated breath as Finn mulled over Ben's request. Eventually Finn nodded and put his hand to his forehead.
"All right, we'll do what we can." Leia turned to her comrades for any objections but thankfully no one said a word against Ben.
"We start the diversion tomorrow morning. Ren here will surrender himself to the troops on the Finalizer and bring Rey along with him when the time is right. We'll discuss the details later, everyone."
Leia waved everyone around the table away.
Poe, Finn and Rose all left in a hurry with their boots echoing across the stone floor, not even bothering to wait up for their friend. As Ben and Rey stood behind by the circular table, Finn managed to shoot a backwards glance towards the both of them before his group turned the corner.
…
A drop of rain dripped down on the cockpit glass and tricked down along the rivets of the metal frame. Rey's eyes followed the drop's progress lazily as she sat in their new freighter's pilot seat, knees tucked up to her chin and arms wrapped around her shins. Her lightsaber and yellow mask lay discarded on the dashboard next to Ben's white one.
As more raindrops followed the first, the poisonous weight in Rey's chest deepened, tears threatening to spill over. Poe, Rose, and even Finn had left her behind in that room, had sided with the crowd of onlookers on the landing platform, and were now keeping to themselves in the palace. Every particle of her being ached for their kind words and hugs and validation, but at the same time she held herself back. She'd be receiving none of those things if she actually tried to face them, to explain herself. Red and white lights danced along the control panel, one blink chasing after another.
She sensed he was there before he'd taken a step into the cockpit. That puzzle-piece feeling she'd grown accustomed to.
"I don't it's fair how they're treating you," Ben said behind her. She peered over her shoulder and smiled sadly. His eyes were kind, but a kind of fire burned behind them.
Rey nodded at him. His lips quivered, as if he were reconsidering bringing up his next point but he opened his mouth to continue. More rain fell outside.
"They're supposed to trust you, right? You've known Finn since this all started, and you seem close with Poe and Rose, too. They know how reliable you are."
Rey sighed and stood up, brushing some dirt from her arm wrappings.
"Well, if your missing friend just appeared out of the blue holding hands with a war criminal, you'd be suspicious, too."
Ben stepped forward and placed his hands gently on her shoulders. Rey couldn't help but shudder at the touch. He locked eyes with her, cocking his head slightly.
"That shouldn't matter. You should talk to them, tell them about what's going on between us but how it doesn't jeopardize anything else."
Rey placed her hands on top of his and stroked the knuckles there with her thumbs.
"I know, but—"
"But what?" he murmured, his breath warm on her skin.
She bit her lip. "What if it can never go back to how it was with them? With you?"
He nodded in understanding but leaned forward. His forehead met hers and they stood still, the lights of the control panel blinking lazily behind them and the pattering of the rain on the glass filling the silence. She breathed in shakily.
"I can't guarantee that they'll understand, but I will. I'll always be around for you," he whispered to her.
She sighed and moved her hands to his jawbone, his stubble prickly under her fingertips.
"But that doesn't mean it's no use trying. Please, see them in person." He withdrew from their forehead touch and smiled at her slightly.
That was more than enough for Rey. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she leaned in and planted her lips on his. As he ran his large hands up and down her waist and kissed her back eagerly, all of the fear and guilt that had been piling up in her chest flowed out of her. She sighed into his mouth in relief, hoping he could sense how thankful she was for his words of encouragement.
"I'll go to them. I'll see you soon." Rey broke their kiss and shuffled out of the cockpit, leaving Ben with one last smile before jumping out of the freighter and sprinting through the rain towards the king's palace. If it hadn't been for the lamps lighting the way to the front gates, the landing platform would have been plunged into a stormy darkness. The jungle humidity clung to her skin.
The guards let her pass without a hitch. She continued her journey inside the stone halls of the castles, the wind whipping around her causing candles on their shelves to flicker.
Suddenly she caught sight of Poe's familiar brown jacket through the cracked door of a lounge.
"Guys!" She charged through the door, hair whipping around her face.
There they were, sipping on drinks and playing chess. Finn's hand hovered above his little metal game piece while Rose whipped her head around to see who it was. Poe had his arm slung over his chair and he jumped up as Rey appeared behind him.
"Rey, what is going on?" Finn was the first to move, getting up out of his seat to meet her. He held out his hands and Rey took them desperately. "First I think you're dead, now I see you getting cozy with the Supreme Leader of the First Order? And what was all that about the stormtroopers?"
Before she could answer, Rose ran up to them, putting her fists onto hips. "Rey who were those guys you had with you on that ship? Where's the Falcon?"
"And why are we throwing all of our lives into the hands of that psychopath?" Poe drawled from his chair.
Anxiety pulled at Rey like heavy metal chains, yanking her to the floor. She put one hand on Rose's shoulder, her other on Finn's.
"I'm so sorry I've left you guys in the dark. I couldn't talk to you and a lot has happened."
"That's for sure," Poe said as he got up and walked over to her. A dark look clouded his usually bright features.
"I want you to trust me on this one, Poe. Ben's different now, I've seen him grow with my own eyes. You know I would've killed him on the spot if I didn't trust him completely."
Her friends became silent. Now she finally had their undivided attention.
"How many times to I have to say the same thing? I want this war to end as much as anyone else, and I know you want nothing to do with B- Kylo Ren. But I want you guys back. I want to finish this with you!"
Rey could feel the thrumming of her pulse along her neck. She looked to each of their faces, desperate for a smile, an apology, anything. Without warning Finn shot forward and buried Rey in a massive hug. For a moment Rey didn't move a muscle, surprise freezing her in place. Then she got a hold of herself and hugged back as fiercely as she could.
Now she could feel Rose's arms encircling her waist. She managed to pat the girl's hand affectionately.
Now Poe was trying to hug all of them at once, grunting when his arms didn't reach all the way around all his friends.
"We missed you, Rey. We're so sorry, we just got nervous you were never coming back the same way," Rose cried.
"It's all alright," Finn chided her as Rey slipped out of the hug and wiped at her eyes. "As long as Ren keeps in line we shouldn't have a problem. Welcome back, Jedi Master."
"Well, I for one want to know what the absolute hell is going on." Poe gestured to the lounge table offering a seat to Rey. "Here, I'll make you a drink while you start on what you've been up to with the Supreme Leader."
Rey let out a breathy laugh and plopped down by the chess board. Poe busied himself at the counter in the corner while Finn and Rose sat on either side of her, chins propped up on their fists. It was a story they wanted and a story they'd get.
Rey spread out her fingers in front of her and took a deep breath. "Well, it all started when the Falcon went down..."
Author's Note: Peeps, I am SO sorry this took three months, but I haven't had the free time or the brain cells to really get chapters out this summer. Good news is I'm back at school and i hope I can post more! Thank you all so much for your faves and follows, it really means a lot!