Last On: Luke convinced Leia to help with the plan. Leia tricked Ben into a shuttle that was rigged.
Chapter 5
Rey waited in Kylo Ren's bedroom for only a minute before deciding to disregard Luke's advice. Well, she did take one piece into consideration. She decided to change clothes first.
At the wardrobe she selected an outfit similar to the style she'd seen him wear before, including the belt with lightsaber attached. Putting it on was tricky and awkward, but if she was tough enough that one time to drag a naked scavenger who'd succumbed to the desert heat onto her scooter and back to Nima Outpost, she could handle this. She looked around the room for a mask, but the only one she could find was a half burnt up old mask that seemed to be on display. 'I'd be tempted to throw the mask out an airlock, anyways,' she thought to herself.
When Rey was finished she went to the door. It was locked, and seemed to require a voice password. Fortunately, the lock wasn't the first one like it she'd seen, and she knew how to hack it. When she was through, she stopped to think. 'I should do something, in case someone notices the door's been hacked.' So she pulled out Ben's red Lightsaber and swiped the door lock from the outside. Then she ran down the hallway, and ducked into another hallway before four Stormtroopers noticed her.
She went down a few hallways till she noticed she was not on a planet at all, but a large ship, orbiting a First Order world. 'That's good, it means there should be a hanger around here.' Fortunately for Rey, she knew enough about these types of ships to know which direction to go.
Getting there involved using a couple of Lifts and going past even more stormtroopers. Whenever she passed them, she tried not to give them eye-contact, but each time she saw them she thought of her friend Finn, and how he used to be a part of this world. It made her feel sad. 'Kylo Ren doesn't feel sad. You need to act like Kylo Ren.' So she hardened her face to an expression of anger instead.
The Stormtroopers jumped in response, and a few gave a "Hail, Supreme Leader," response.
'Oh, Ben! What have you been up to?' Rey thought.
Then a uniformed First Order personnel approached her, "Sir, we have word that there's been damage to the door to your personal quarters. Do we have a security level 5 situation?"
"No, just a test of the security, congratulations you've passed," said Rey in as firm a voice as she could muster. "See that it is repaired immediately."
She was almost there. Ahead of her were a set of large doors, and she knew behind them should be the Hanger, but before she opened them, she heard a voice from behind her.
"I see you've decided to ignore my advice, yet again." It was Luke.
Rey turned around to see the force ghost. Her eyes squinted in frustration.
"If you want to get onto a ship, that's the wrong way to go," he said.
"How do you know? The hanger should be behind this door," said Rey
In response, the Force Ghost of Luke walked through the wall into the next room, then back out. "If you want to meet the infamous General Hux, and explain why the Supreme Leader needs to leave duty and responsibility. All to go for a little ride, be my guest. If you want to avoid him, and any tracking he orders for your shuttle, come this way."
Rey sighed, then she followed Luke. He led her down another hallway, then around to near the location she was at before, but this was to a different door. When she opened the door Luke didn't follow her through. She looked around. She was in a large hanger, filled with ships. At one end was an angry looking man with red hair. He was giving orders to a squadron of stormtroopers. She quickly selected a shuttle, capable of taking her out of the current system, and prepared it for takeoff. There was a small tracking device in the ship, which was easy to take care of. It seemed the stormtroopers were also preparing for takeoff, so when the hanger bay doors opened, she took off and flew out with them.
Then she heard the voice of Luke again, though she didn't see his face this time. "Go to Calabria."
"Why would I want to go there?" asked Rey.
The voice that answered her was gruff and frustrated. "Oh, In my day, when I was given instructions from my elders, I followed the instructions without constantly asking them for their reasons.
Just then there was an odd giggle followed by a different voice. "Remember differently do I."
Then the voice of Luke again, "Oh, you be quiet, Yoda. Fine, Go to Calabria because that's where you'll find your other half."
Rey paused a moment, then responded, "Calabria it is then. Where is Calabria?"
As if in response to her question the ship's screen opened up a window with information on Calabria. It included heading information. Rey pressed the button to automatically set autopilot to the planet. Then she read the information in the database about the Planet. The world was small, but habitable. Few people lived there now, because the First Order came to the planet and relocated the residents as a work force to build Starkiller base. Then there was an article describing how the residents used to live like primitives due to religious beliefs. It also said that in the days of the old Republic, visitors were welcomed to vacation on the planet. It had a very healthy tourism industry, partly because of the healthy forests, and chance to explore a more natural lifestyle.
After reading this, Rey laughed to herself, 'You want to live without indoor plumbing, come to Jakku. Natural Lifestyle, we've got that in spades. No, it's got that. I don't belong to Jakku anymore.' Strangely, the thought about not belonging in Jakku made her feel both glad and sad. She was glad to be rid of it, but it also reminded her she didn't quite feel like she belonged anywhere. 'Where do I belong then. The resistance is welcoming, but it still feels more like a transitory home. A place between. Finn has Rose, and they talk all the time about the home they'll make when this conflict is done. I don't know what I'll do when this is over.'
As Ben traveled to Calabria he reflected on what happened. 'She knew, how could she possibly have known. Her powers with the force must be stronger than I ever knew. It figures, she's sending me away again. Some love there, Mother.'
'But wait, why is she sending me away. Strategically it'd make more sense to imprison me. At least try to interrogate me for information.' As his mind touched the idea that his mother's love may in fact be real, he flinched, and quickly tried to clear the thoughts from his mind.
He picked up the bag he brought with him from Rey's room. In it was the broken Lightsaber, and the new parts. He spent the next ten minutes reassembling it. If he didn't have the force to help him, it would have been impossible without tools, but most of the necessary components were in place already. The new piece slipped in easily. Then he used the leather grip Rose gifted to bind the pieces together. Soon he had a working weapon, but the ship was too small a space to test it in.
Without the work to keep him busy, he couldn't keep his mind away from that emotional gutter. 'Did she know all that time, or just at the end. To set up a ship to do this, she had to have known earlier, before I even got to the meeting today. Then what was she talking about, this mission. Calabria, that's where she said I was headed. I should have known. Why would the Resistance send anyone, let alone a Jedi, to Calabria?'
'To meet a girl, she said. Someone mother knew, maybe a political contact. Skin and bones, she said. It couldn't be a political contact then. Wait, she knew it was me, she wouldn't send me to any important contacts.' Then he remembered Rey. How she felt so light in his arms when he carried her from Takodana. 'She knew I'd seek her out. Calabria must just be a random planet then. Just to get me away from the Resistance without learning anything. I'll probably regain control of the ship after that.'
Another Chapter out. Next to find out what's in store for these two in Calabria. Again, Calabria is not an existing Star Wars planet, I invented it. I don't really know where I want this to end. Maybe I will give them a happily ever after, after all. I do enjoy attempting to write humor, atleast in the subtle tones here and there. It, plus the Romantic tones, will be good practice for me. Neither are my natural style. Please leave reviews to let me know what you think, it will be most helpful.
