Ch 42

Ben

"Are you going to stick by it or not?" she asked, her tone conveying that this would make or break our relationship.

I sighed and thought. I knew I couldn't lose her. I was way too selfish to let her go, I would die before I let her leave my side again. A world without Rey was like a world without the Sun, without meaning or purpose.

"I will… stick by it. I just need you to please… please be patient with me. I'm trying my best and I'm sorry I hurt you…" I hung my head low and finished the landing sequence and final coordinates for the ship to land. We made our way towards the atmosphere and I felt her mind caress mine. I knew she was trying to tell me something, so I let her in.

Don't shut me out please… I love you.

I know… I'm not trying to I just… don't know what to say…thank you… and I love you too Princess…

She reached over and grabbed my hand and I looked up to meet her eyes. I leaned forward and kissed the top of her head and our hands stayed intertwined, until we landed. I was lucky enough to one, have General Leia be my mother, and two, be Supreme Leader. I had knowledge of hundreds of places like this across the galaxy that were no longer inhabited.

The base was concealed in the jungle, there was a small clearing right by it where we landed the ship, and river not too far.

The city was also close enough that we could take a speeder and be there in less than 30 minutes. I knew this base had been used to store supplies for the rebellion once, it was under the radar since the planet was so small and the weather less than practical.

As soon as we stepped outside, the humidity in the air hit us, I instantly started sweating and my clothes stuck to me like a second skin.

"You know I usually don't mind the heat but this… this is kind of suffocating" she said as she shielded her eyes from the blazing sun.

"Yea humid weather is… not the best, but it'll have to do for now. Until things blow over."

"How long do you think we'll stay here?" I could tell she was worried about hiding, she wasn't a fan of running away.

"I'm hoping only 1-2 weeks, we can go into town after we tour the facility and see what's left and get some supplies. We might need clothes too, these may not be the best for this weather…" she nodded, and we descended down the ramp.

The base was carefully hidden beneath the trees, from the opposing side it looked like a mound of dirt, rocks and other debris, concealing the entrance.

The entrance was sealed, which wouldn't be a problem. I didn't know the entry code, but Rey had her saber. She had managed to keep in with her at all times somehow… even under all those layers of fabric.

"Can I use it? We need to cut a hole through the door." She looked at me and answered. "I don't mind, but you don't have to do that, here" she said as she walked up to the control panel and opened it. I saw her pull some wires out and tinker with them.

Whatever she did, she was able to get the door to open. A few small rodent-like creatures ran out as soon as the door opened, it was dark and stuffy inside.

Rey was able to instantly find the light switches by the door. I was happy to know she was the more tech savvy one of us, otherwise we'd be screwed.

We walked around the facility, it was literally a giant storage bin. There were a few speeders against one wall. Some radio equipment on the opposite side and 4 doors in the back. We walked towards the doors and decided to each check two rooms out. One of mine was a cleaning closet, full of cleaning supplies and medical kits. It wasn't a very big room, but those medical supplies may come in handy… hoping they weren't expired.

The room next to it was some sort of kitchen, it had a stove and some essential cooking supplies and a cooling unit. I walked over and found it was empty.

"Well my rooms were fairly small… what did you find?" I said coming out of the kitchen and walking towards the room Rey was in. It was a bedroom, but it held 5 small cots. There was a closet that she was rummaging through and had pulled thin blankets and other linens.

There was also some sort of net among them, probably to keep large mosquitoes and such away from people at night.

"We might be able to put the cots together somehow and make one big bed on the ground or something. Gods know you're far too tall to fit in just the one." She said laughing.

I laughed with her and proceeded to try and do so. The mattresses were pretty thick, I grabbed two of the bed sheets and laid them down to make one giant one.

Under different circumstances, this would be a very romantic situation for Rey and me to…

"Oh! here's the 'fresher!" she yelled, thankfully interrupting my train of thought.

Mind. Body. Soul.

I looked over and she had disappeared behind the door. I found a few hangers and was able to hang the net aver or makeshift bed. Who knew what kind of bugs flew out here.

She came out of the 'fresher smoothing her tunic out. Her hair was rebraided and tied this time.

"The room next door is just full or armor, ammo and some blasters. We should probably put some on the ship just in case."

"You're right come on let's go see if those old speeders work. There's no food or water, 5thankfully" At this point it would have been rotten beyond recognition "and maybe some clothes…these are too thick for this place." She nodded and walked over to me. I took her hand in mine and we walked towards the main room once again.