I know this ship is so niche and definitely not the first thing ANYONE looks for in a Star Wars fic (unless you're me), but honestly I'm still so passionate for these two, and it's really so interesting to see their dynamic in this setting, given it's so different than what I usually write for them. I swear this will be the last boring chapter of setup before we get to the good stuff!
To Do the Next Right Thing
Chapter 5
"My mother isn't alive," Armitage scoffed. But Rey was able to read through the façade right away, could tell there was something hiding. This semblance of hope, that somewhere out there in this galaxy, out of the trillions of beings that inhabited it, one of them could be her. "Maratelle had told me she'd been dead for years."
"Come on, Armitage, you don't actually believe that, do you?" Rey rolled her eyes. Boy, the name was a mouthful every time she said it. Then again, everyone she'd known well had such simple names: Rey, Finn, Poe, Rose, Han. Chewie, even. "I saw it myself: that woman was a monster who would do anything to crush your spirit. Do you trust her more, or the Force?"
Armitage made a face, his brow furrowed, features pinched up. "Neither," he admitted. "You're going off of a feeling instead of cold, hard facts."
Poe shrugged. "You have to admit, he has a point."
But Rey had a Sabacc up her sleeve. She leaned forward on her elbows, smirking like the Lothcat that ate the Snee; Armitage would surely agree with her after this. "Alright. I mean, I was willing to help you look for her, but if you'd rather stay here on Ajan Kloss and stand to face trial among the rest of the Resistance, by all means."
Finn's eyes widened. "You want to what?" he asked. "You want to look for this woman just based off a drawing and a feeling? Not that I don't doubt your powers, but..."
"But what?" Rey asked.
Finn huffed, "Can I speak to you privately for a moment?"
Silently, Rey got up and followed Finn just a few paces outside her dwelling. Finn gestured for Poe to join, knowing that if Armitage tried anything, Chewie could just rip his arms off. But he wasn't going anywhere.
"What is this about?" Finn asked once they were out of earshot. "Really."
Rey flushed. Yes, just a few moments ago, when she saw him, she chased him with every intention of striking him down. But now she'd seen into his mind. Heard his story. Felt his pain. It was a pain and hurt far more intense and tragic than anything she'd ever felt with Kylo Ren.
Poe crossed his arms. "Yeah, I'm missing the part where you two really looked into his mind—that bad?"
Rey nodded. "I didn't want to be in there for a moment, and yet he's been living it for so long," she said.
"Like I said: that still doesn't excuse all his behavior," Poe pointed out.
Sighing, she tried to gather together an explanation. One where she didn't tell her best friends that she kissed Kylo Ren in the heat of the moment. They wouldn't understand it (and hell, she really didn't, either, or necessarily even liked it), and it would just... alienate them. She thought to his mother, and if she was alive, she probably spent every waking moment tearing herself up about what happened to her son without her.
How she imagined her parents felt, leaving her behind on Jakku.
Because of what happened with Kylo Ren, she didn't have a leg to stand on. Not when it came to potentially helping Armitage.
But there was something else nagging her at the back of her mind, on top of this moral quandary with which she found herself. Now that the war was over, now that her Jedi powers had heightened completely and she learned all she needed to know... what now? She had her own lightsaber. She had everything she needed.
Sure, she could train the next generation of Jedi, but she wasn't a teacher just yet. That next step just didn't feel right—not yet, anyway.
And what about the state of the Resistance? The state of the crumbling First Order? She had no use in politics; that was far more suited for Finn and Poe to take on together, much as they wanted to keep themselves a trio. Sure, she appreciated that, but all of Rey's knowledge had been about survival. Not... whatever this was.
And who knew, maybe seeing some of the galaxy in this post-war state might give her some perspective.
"Do you know," she started slowly, "how much I wanted to see my parents again? And if there's even a chance his mother is still alive, which I very much believe she could be—"
"Look, just because Jannah and Lando went on a similar sort of adventure, doesn't mean you also have to traverse across the galaxy trying to find your peace," Finn interrupted, holding up a hand. "You told us when you returned from Exegol that you obtained that."
Rey swallowed thickly; she had said something along those lines. She looked between her friends, those concerned, dark eyes so worried about her.
"Maybe, I... haven't found my peace," she confessed lowly. "Maybe in the moment, I thought I did, but this is showing me I haven't. I'm just... not ready to lead or even teach the next generation of Jedi, or whatever I'm supposed to do with my future. And I certainly have no idea how to start up another political system for the rest of the galaxy. I haven't seen enough of the galaxy to do any of that, and this could be that... stepping stone to get from where I am now to where I need to be."
They both considered her words, brows furrowed, deep in thought. Sometimes they acted so similarly; Rey always found that a cute dynamic between them. Finn had been there when she finally left Jakku, knew just how much she'd been missing out on. Poe had grown up his whole life practically ingrained in this society; he knew what he was doing here with this cause far more than she ever would.
Finn reached over and squeezed her shoulder, his face softening. "What do you need?" he asked.
Poe blinked, but he knew when the two of them started to think on the same page, there wasn't much he could do about it. "Besides your lightsaber?" he chimed in.
"The Falcon, a few credits, extra changes of clothes, binders in case things get rough... and BB-8." Rey bit her lip, hopeful for agreement on that last one.
"Nuh-uh, no way," said Poe, shutting it down immediately. "You already took him to Tatooine; why not Artoo? Or hell, get Threepio off my hands—he's been more of a pain in my ass now that we've won the war, completely neurotic about what's next."
"BB-8 is smaller and faster than Artoo and Threepio," Rey tried to reason. "He could use the extra information we find in his database. It's not like D-0 is going to go, either. And you don't think Threepio won't get neurotic about me escorting a former First Order general across the galaxy?"
"Point taken," Poe replied tersely. He stared at her, contemplating it for a few more moments. Rey hoped her expression conveyed as much sympathy as she could muster.
"Alright, fine, fine," he finally conceded, sighing. "First Zorii brings him here, and now you wanna take my droid off on another adventure—if I see one scratch on him, though—"
"I know, I know—ownership of the Falcon." Rey waved a dismissive hand.
"Oh no, not the Falcon. Anything happens to BB-8, and I get Red 5."
Luke's ship? It still needed so much work done—but while it surprised Rey, she held out her hand. "Fine. Deal," she said, and they shook on it. Much as she would have liked to be the one to fix it up to his its former glory, leaving it in Poe's hands wouldn't be the worst thing.
"And then?" Finn asked. "What if this doesn't give you what you're looking for?"
Rey shrugged. "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. At least we'll know where Armitage will be and how to keep tabs on him. It'll be one less thing for us to worry about back here. But with the end of the First Order, who knows—maybe hard files will be deleted. We might not have much time to even find her."
"I can't believe you're just going off a feeling in the Force." Finn shook his head, then sighed. "But I've seen you hold out hope for more over less evidence."
Rey reached over to squeeze Finn's hand. "I'll keep in touch on the daily so you know we're safe," she promised.
Why was her heart pounding out of so much excitement? This idea of traversing the galaxy was doing more for her than going to Tatooine, and she couldn't put her finger on it. Maybe because it was more personal, perhaps more cathartic, even? Maybe because she felt that whatever purpose was out there for her, she'd find it during this adventure in particular? Whatever it was, she pulled her friends in for an assuring hug. "I love you both," she said.
"We love you, too," Poe sighed as he pulled away. "But you're the biggest pain in the ass this side of the galaxy."
"Shut up," Rey chuckled, giving him a playful nudge. "I'll wear that badge with pride, I'll have you know."
All right. She had a bit of a plan. She had a ship. She had the droid. And with the credits Armitage had earned after the Battle of Exegol, plus whatever she could scrounge up, she had the currency.
All she needed was a starting point, after refueling here.
Chewie growled something when she returned to him and Armitage. "Really?" she asked, raising a brow.
"What?" Armitage furrowed his, confused. "The Wookie has been watching me rather... intently."
"Chewie said you smiled when you saw me hugging Finn and Poe."
"I did not!" he scoffed. But the flush on his neck betrayed him.
Rey could pretend he was telling the truth, but her smirk was all-knowing. "Look, like I mentioned before, I want to help you with this," she said. "And I doubt most others would, given they haven't seen what I have. I'm willing to trust you on this adventure, and I know you're smart enough not to try anything stupid."
"Paying me a backhanded compliment," he pointed out. "Good strategy."
"Hey," Finn snapped. "You don't exactly have any reason to act this cocky."
Poe waved a dismissive hand. "It's a defense mechanism," he said. "He's got nothing left to play, and I think he's scared of what you two might find."
Armitage held his hands up. "Fine, fine, you're right," he admitted, then sighed. "I'll go. But this might not be the life-changing, post-war cleansing experience you might want it to be. I'm already setting this up for failure."
"I'm aware of that," said Rey, her face straight. Finn had just pointed that out, damn it. Was she really that transparent to him? "But you don't need to be so pessimistic—I need a starting point from you, after all."
"You didn't see it while you were in here?" Armitage pointed at his temple.
Rey shook her head. "It was all so fuzzy, once I got back there. Everything was... sterile. Internal. Grey and white walls, red lights. But I saw Jakku, far back in your mind."
Finn groaned. "Oh, please don't tell me you're going back there."
"No, I wasn't born on Jakku," Armitage corrected. "Though I was there for a time. Those sterile walls, the lights—that's Arkanis."
"The rainy Outer Rim planet?" said Poe. "Before the New Republic siege?"
Armitage nodded. "That's probably the best place to start—though I must admit, I don't remember much, given I was very young when I left. But I certainly remember the rain."
Rey shrugged. "I like the rain—what's so bad about that?"
"You won't like the rain after visiting, I assure you," Armitage warned.
"Rey, I swear, if you get BB-8's circuits soaked—" Poe started.
"I won't," she assured. "It will help me prepare properly. That's where we'll start, then. Arkanis." The name sounded odd, menacing even. She probably read briefly about it somewhere on some data pad, and no doubt whatever records they were trying to find might be on some obscure, dilapidated part of the planet. But it sounded promising.
"When do you want to leave?" Finn asked, crossing her arms tersely over his chest.
"Well, I'll have to chart a course from the Falcon, refuel and replenish supplies in case there's no sign of food or water, pack, fix up problems on the ship, then research the planet we're going to a bit so I know where to land and where to start searching..." The sun was already dipping behind the trees. "Tomorrow morning should be just fine." Best to take advantage of all the resources she had here with the Resistance—especially given it'd be just her and Armitage for... well, who knew how long. She had to prepare for at least a few weeks.
And at least, if worse came to worst, she had somewhere to return.
"Tomorrow," Armitage repeated, as if he almost couldn't believe it until he said it aloud. There was that hint of fear present behind that green stare, his thick lips slightly parted in awe of how soon they were leaving, how quickly his life in this post-war galaxy seemed to be moving.
"We'll find your mother, Armitage—or, at the very least, what happened to her," Rey promised, already scouring about her dwelling on the hunt for things to pack, starting with her drawing.
After a moment, she added, "And your name is such a mouthful. I have to come up with a shortened version of it, or it's going to drive me mad every time I say it."
Also TROS deprived me of more dynamics between Finn, Poe, and Rey. We definitely needed more of it!
Stick with me, please? I promise I know where this is going!
As always, comments and kudos are highly appreciated.
