Last On: Ben and Rey have an argument that causes a disturbance for the Resistance. Leia was forced to intervene. Ben and Rey attempted to help Force Ghost Luke and Anakin talk through their issues. Ben was finally able to admit, to himself and her, that he cares about Rey, and Rey is able to acknowledge that he cares too.
Chapter 22
"Almost," sighed Leia to herself as Ben walked away.
She heard a Wookie growl from down the hall.
"Oooh, I'm doing fine, Chewie," said Leia, though the tears in her eyes betrayed her true emotions.
Chewie came up to her and growled again, a kinder more sympathetic growl.
"All I want is for him to sit down and talk to me. At first I was understanding. It must be difficult for him being here, and he didn't exactly want to come home. But, lately, he seems to have an excuse each time." Leia cried as she confided in her old friend. "Am I being too impatient?"
Chewie took a moment to stroke Leia's back. Then he growled again, a determined sort of growl.
"What do you mean, 'It's probably genetic.'" Leia gave him a mock offended stare.
"Oh yes, Solo men." Leia rolled her eyes. "Han never wanted to talk about anything emotional. But forcing him into a conversation never went well either."
Chewie growled again. As he spoke Leia's eyes opened up big, then closed into a suspicious glare, as she shook her head.
"Chewie, just what is your idea?" Leia listened to the Wookie speak as they walked into her office and shut the door.
"Rose, do you have another…" Rey stopped suddenly when she saw who else was in the maintenance bay.
"General, What can we do for you today?" asked Rose.
"Leia, please." she corrected. "I'm not here on business. Rey, will you come talk with me?" Leia smiled when Rey put away her wrench and walked over to her. "Down this way a bit," said Leia as she led Rey to a quiet corner. "I was wondering if you have plans for the Holiday?"
"Hol-i-day," Rey said, as if the word were foreign to her.
"Next week, Rey I was planning to go to Naboo. A lot of others here are taking time off, and I was hoping you would come with me to visit one of my late mother's family estates."
"Yes, I would be glad to accompany you." answered Rey.
Leia's smile got even bigger. "That's great. We'll have so much fun." Leia reached out and squeezed Rey's hands before she turned to leave.
"What was that about?" Rose asked, after Leia had gone.
"She needs me for another mission. I hope Ben doesn't react to this one like he did the last one. I'm only going to be accompanying her on her travels next week. There can't be too many dangers accompanying the General," answered Rey.
"Next week. Holiday Week." Rose had a shocked expression.
"Yes, the general mentioned that word. What is a Hol-i-day?" Asked Rey.
Rose shook her head. "Come, we better head for lunch now. I have a feeling this is going to take a while, and I may need backup."
Rey and Rose brought their trays to a table where Finn, Poe, and Ben were already seated.
"Guys, help me out. I was just explaining the concept of a Holiday to Rey," Rose interjected.
"So a holiday is a day where you either do something unique, or do nothing at all." Rey's brow crinkled as she summarized what Rose had told her. "Why, and what makes it special?"
"Well, Holidays make us feel better," said Finn, but Rey still looked confused.
"The exact reason why depends on the holiday," Rose went on. "Holiday Week is a week where a lot of peoples tend to have a holiday, so we call it Holiday Week and take off so everyone can celebrate with those they love."
"What holidays do you celebrate on Jakku?" Poe asked.
Rey turned to look at Poe. Her face concentrated, and after a while she shrugged. "As a scavenger, you pretty much do the same thing day after day. And if you do nothing at all, you're going to be hungry. I wouldn't call it special."
"You really didn't have any holidays on Jakku?" Poe's eyes were wide.
"Even stormtroopers have holidays," Finn added. Then after Rey's blank stare, he added, "Rose and I saved some credits to go on a cruise across the Bormea sector next week. I can call our agent and buy another ticket, if you want to come."
"No, that won't be necessary," Rey quickly refuted.
"But you need somewhere to spend Holiday Week," Finn countered.
"No she doesn't," Rose put in with a sly smile.
"The General asked me to accompany her next week," Rey explained. The eyes of everyone around the table, including Ben went wide.
"The General… You're going to spend Holiday Week with the General." Poe sounded flabbergasted.
"Yes," said Rey very slowly.
"You realize I've worked for the General for YEARS, and I've never been invited on her Holiday Week. I'm jealous. Where you going?" Poe asked.
Rey tried to think of how to describe her plans. She didn't want to make her friends jealous, but she couldn't remember where Leia had said they'd be going.
"Naboo," Ben answered for her. "We're going to a lavish estate that belongs to the Naberrie family." Ben did not feel bad about making Poe jealous. In fact, he relished it.
"Are you coming too?" Rey asked.
"I am now." Ben answered.
Leia stood in the shuttle she chose to bring on her Holiday. It wasn't the Falcon, Chewie would be taking it on his own trip. She was going over a list and making sure everything she packed was safely stored onboard. When she looked over and saw a black mop of hair coming up the ramp, she smiled. Then she quickly hid her smile before it was apparent to it's cause. "You've changed your mind. Are you coming along after all?"
Ben just sighed as he carried his packed bag on-board.
"Nice having you. Put that in the back."
Ben went to do as directed, but turned last minute. "Just so you know. I'm not ignorant of your plot. I know why you invited Rey, and I'm only coming along so I can make sure you don't ruin her first ever Holiday Week."
"Mm-hmm." Leia failed a little bit at hiding her smirk.
"Did you know that when you invited her? Rose had to explain the whole idea to her after."
"No, Rey doesn't talk a lot about her past. One of the reasons why I invited her to come was so I could learn more about her."
"Where we're going on Naboo is cold this time of year. Rey doesn't have clothes for that type of weather."
Leia winked and motioned with her list. "I already thought of that. This isn't my first Holiday Week."
Just then Rey walked up the ramp. She carried a small bag, and had a big smile on her face.
"You can give that to him." Leia said, motioning to Rey's bag. "I've got a few more details to handle. You two can work out who is piloting."
Leia walked to the command where she saw Kaydel and Poe standing around a screen. As soon as she walked up, Poe discretely pushed a button changing the screen to a different image.
"General, I thought you'd be off by now," Kaydel said.
Leia put on a serious face. "You don't fool me. I know there's a reason you both volunteered for active duty this week. Remember my orders, Dameron. No attacking the First Order."
Poe started to protest. "But General, why not attack them when they least expect it."
Leia interrupted him by raising a finger. "I will not be debating this with you again. The First Order are men and women who deserve to have a holiday as well as anyone, and I will not break tradition." Leia turned to Kaydel. "Whatever you two get up to this week, make sure I don't hear about it." Leia left the room, despite Poe's pout.
Leia returned to the ship, to see Rey in the pilot seat, and Ben in copilot. "Good, everything is ready. We can take off now."
As Rey started the ship, Leia noticed Ben's eyes were enthralled with watching her motions. Their ship rose and left the atmosphere without any trouble. Then Rey turned around and asked, "Where are we headed, again."
"Naboo. The coordinates are already set in the nav-computer," Leia answered. Rey entered Hyperspace and turned on autopilot. "Luke and I, we learned about our biological father before the fall of the empire, but our birth mother was harder to learn about. Surprisingly, two babies born in secret and whisked away into hiding by the Jedi didn't leave a record. Luke was able to eventually get more facts from Anakin's Force Ghost. My mother was Padmé Naberrie Amidala. I have a first cousin who is letting us stay at the family estate for a week. It's one of the homes where my mother used to live, and I hope to learn more about her there."
Rey sighed as she thought about what it must be like to have a trace of her parents. She understood now why this trip was so important to Leia to make it a Holiday.
Ben thought about how hypocritical it was for a woman who hid her lineage from everyone, even her own family, to be so concerned now about tracking down this information. He got the story from Luke when it was first revealed, not by his parents, but by his fellow padawan's gossip. He practically had to force his uncle to confirm the story. It sounded devastating, but turned to hope when he was feeling crushed under the weight of Snoke's training. His grandfather, was Darth Vader! Though no part of that rumor included his grandmother, and Ben hadn't been curious enough to ask, so most of this story was new to him, too. But Ben heard Rey sigh, and he saw her sad eyes. He remembered that she spent her life longing for parents who abandoned her. He didn't want to upset her any further, so he pushed his grumbles under the rug and stayed quiet.
Leia continued, "Oh, but we'll have a lot of fun too. We'll eat the traditional Roast Ponturkin and Chestpie. And we'll watch Holiday themed holo-movies. If we're lucky it'll snow. And at the end of the week they'll have a parade with lots of lights. It'll be another two hours till we get there. Lets play a travel game. Ben used to love these..."
Ben groaned and rolled his eyes.
Hello Everyone. This chapter is rather short, but I'm proud of it. I did some research on Star Wars Holidays, and I couldn't find exactly what I wanted, so I came up with the idea of a Holiday Week. I figure, with so many cultures in the universe, it would be hard to find a day where most are taking off and celebrating something, so I came up with the Holiday Week. I've also wanted to give Ben an embarrassed "Oh Mom" moment for a while now. There may be a few more before this vacation is over, poor boy.
I want to thank everyone who is leaving reviews, I love to read those, and everyone who is adding this to your favorites list. I hope you enjoy!
