So yeah, there might be a lot of quoting from the movie in this chapter, but I'm fairly positive there won't be much more of that in later chapters. A certain unconscious someone makes that rather impossible...
Enjoy!
Still reeling from the shock of Ben's Force bond with Snoke snapping so harshly, Rey can't get her muscles to cooperate when Finn's knees buckle out from underneath him. She just barely manages to somewhat shield his head so it doesn't smack against the metal grating of the floor too hard, already knowing he's going to have a killer headache once he wakes up regardless. And thus, she's left alone with the hum of the ship and her two most important people unconscious.
Well, also BB-8, but this BB-8 doesn't know her yet and is circling everyone warily.
[Coat-stealer is off-line] BB-8 comments, deliberately poking at Finn. [Does Droid-saver require assistance with Coat-stealer and other humanoid?]
Rey can't help the snort of laughter that escapes her despite the circumstances. She'd forgotten about their first designations. Eventually they'd become Friend-Finn and Friend-Rey to go along with Friend-Poe, but not before BB-8 had all the droids in the Resistance calling them Coat-stealer and Droid-saver.
"No, I'll manage, but thank you for—"
The small explosion of noise off to the side reminds Rey that she hasn't had years to work on the Falcon yet. That it hasn't flown in years. And then she remembers what happened the last time. An energy flux in the hyperdrive motivator. If she doesn't patch it up quickly the propulsion tank will overflow and flood the ship with poisonous gas. There's no way she's losing her family now to gas of all things.
"Finn, wake up!" She doesn't like using the Force like that, but there's no way she can try waking Ben up. His mind is too raw and hurting, and the more rest he gets the better he'll be when he does wake. Finn jerks upright, pupils blown wide as he briefly stares at nothing. Then he blinks, shakes himself, and starts cursing up a storm in a never ending stream of languages while rubbing at where his head hit the floor.
[Coat-stealer rebooted!] BB-8 exclaims.
"The hell…?" Finn mutters as Rey uses the Force to all but fling the metal grating over the maintenance access off and out of the way. While she'd rather not leave Ben in a sprawling heap on the ground, there's no time for anything else, not if they want to live. She drops down into the machinery, double checks what she'll need, and then pops back up.
"Finn, grab me a Harris wrench."
He squints at her as if trying to bring her into focus. "Rey? What's going—"
Something shrieks. "Harris wrench, now, unless you'd like to die from gas poisoning!" That spurs Finn into action. He scrambles over to the pile of accumulated trash/junk and digs out the tool she needs. "Get a pilex driver and bonding tape while you're at it," she adds before ducking back down and getting to work. She doesn't bother glancing up when Finn tosses her both things, simply putting the Harris wrench between her teeth and going at the problem with the pilex driver before finishing it all off with the bonding tape. She gives it a moment before sighing in relief at a crisis averted. "Thank the Force," she breathes out, letting the built up tension slide off her shoulders as she hauls herself back up. Finn stares at her wide eyed as she floats the grate back into place.
"Are you alright?" she finally inquires, not quite as worried about Ben anymore. Well, she's still worried, but she can't think of much he can muck up while out cold. Then again, he's a Solo and a Skywalker. He probably could if he puts his mind to it.
"This isn't a dream," her friend, her brother states flatly, voice trembling just a bit. Instead, his agitation is made known to her by the twisting of the Force around him. And Rey realizes that Finn remembers too. She'd been too caught up during the escape to notice the little tells, but now they're plain as day to her. Her heart soars at the thought that she doesn't have to lose him again. That now she can make up for leaving so abruptly.
"No, it isn't," she whispers softly in agreement. "I was on Ahch-To. I set up the beacon, hoping that you would be able to get to me in time." She swallows around the lump rising in her throat. "You didn't. I closed my eyes and the next thing I knew I was on Jakku again with BB-8."
"We got the beacon's signal. We were planning on heading out first thing in the morning." Finn reaches out a trembling hand, fingers skimming her cheek. "Rey, did you go to Ahch-To to die?"
She huffs out a shaky breath. Of course he'd realize what she'd done, what she'd meant to do. "I did," she admits. "I was tired, Finn. I was tired and honestly felt there was nowhere else for me to go."
"No, Rey, you could've come home," Finn protests, gathering her up in his arms and holding her close. "You could've come home to me, to Poe. We would've done anything—"
A hand to his chest sees distance appearing between the two of them. "No Finn." She shakes her head, scooting back so she's by Ben's side again. The steady rise and fall of his chest is something she thinks she could spend hours watching. When she looks back to Finn, there are tears in both of their eyes. "There wasn't anything you could've done to change my mind."
"Why?" he practically pleads.
Rey reaches out to run her fingers through Ben's unruly hair. Her lips quirk up into a soft smile when he sighs and seems to lean into her touch. "We're a dyad, Ben and I. Connected mentally and physically through the Force." Tears spill down her cheeks as she remembers that horrid day on Exogol, where she gained and lost everything. "It's what made him able to save me."
"Rey, Kylo Ren wanted to turn you or kill you."
She whips her head around to glare at Finn. "Kylo Ren died on the Death Star. I did it myself." Her breath hitches momentarily. She doesn't think she'll ever forget the feeling or sound of his lightsaber piercing his chest. It's haunted her just as much as Ben fading away just after being able to kiss him for the first and only time. "Ben Solo died on Exogol, saving me. He gave me everything, Finn. All that he was, all that he could have been. He gave me his life so that I could live."
Finn looks absolutely horrified, and Rey's prepared to further defend Ben, but what he says next isn't what she expected at all. "You actually died on Exogol." Rey thinks that if they weren't already sitting on the floor, Finn's legs would've collapsed on him again. "You actually—" A harsh sob tears its way out of his throat.
They'd never really talked about that day. Everyone had been riding the high of winning, of finally defeating the Sith and the Final Order, and Rey had been swept up in the excitement of it all. She'd relished that small escape. Anything to distract her. And she had been happy that they'd won. It just wasn't until she'd managed to get some time alone that the enormity of what she'd lost crashed over her. She'd curled up on the floor of the Falcon and cried. Cried and screamed out all the pain and anger and betrayal weighing down her heart.
And then she'd ran.
Ran away from the people full of joy and happiness who she felt couldn't and wouldn't understand the turmoil she was going through. All they knew was Kylo Ren and she didn't have it in her at the time to even begin talking about Ben Solo. The wound of his loss was still too achingly raw. She'd told her friends that she was leaving, because she knew Finn would chase her down otherwise, but didn't say much of why. Chewie gave her the Falcon and Poe gave her BB-8. To stay in touch, he'd said. She'd managed to sporadically over the years, but she'd never met in person with any of them after that. It's the one thing she regrets most of her years of wandering. It's why she set the beacon, a wish and a hope to see them one last time.
Apparently, they should've talked. At least, about some of it.
"You felt that?"
Rey intimately knows the pain of a bond broken suddenly by death. While any other sort of bond she'll have will never be as deep as her dyad with Ben, she never imagined that she and Finn could have one. She'd never even considered it. Maybe that's what he wanted to tell her when they were sinking in the sands on Pasaana. And while she'd spent the years away mourning for Ben and what they could've had, Finn had apparently been left alone with the echoes of her own death haunting him.
"When you flew off Exogol with us, I convinced myself that I'd just imagined it." He bows his head, shoulders shaking. "But you actually did die, didn't you?"
Now Rey scoots back to Finn's side and wraps him up in her arms. She doesn't say anything as he collapses into her, shoulders still shaking but not making a sound save for his harsh breathing. Yes, they really should've talked about that day.
Of course, this is the moment all power goes off.
Kriffing hell, she'd forgotten how quickly Han and Chewie had found them.
Her eyes snap back to Ben, who is obviously in no condition to meet his father right now, and Rey's not really willing or ready to deal with Han seeing his son for the first time in years. She's not even prepared to see him herself, but she doesn't have a choice in that particular matter. Instead, she can at least make sure Ben is awake for that eventual meeting.
For the first time since he died, Rey uses the Force to bolster her strength, as there is no way she can lift Ben by herself and she's not about to make Finn help her. Not with this, anyways. Stupid idiot is a head taller than her and has a good 30 kilos on her. Still, she manages to stumble her way to the crew quarters that are on the opposite side of the Falcon from where Han and Chewie will enter. She's just gotten him situated on the bunk when the lights come flickering back on.
"Rey, are we going to hide again?" Finn asks, apparently having followed her.
She sighs. "No, don't really see the point." She marches back to the main hold, plopping down into one of the seats. "I can stop any blaster shots if necessary."
[Does Droid-saver know who has caught us?] BB-8 inquires, and Rey's a bit ashamed to admit she'd forgotten about her other friend.
"Yeah, I know them," she assures him. "Don't worry, we're going to get you back to the Resistance one way or another."
Finn immediately settles in beside her. "So what, we're just going to sit here and wait for them to come on board?"
She gives him a flat look. "I'm not even going to bother attempting to try and flood the ship with gas again. I'm not risking Ben like that."
"We are going to be talking about that later, understand?" Finn hisses, looking perturbed but thankfully willing to wait instead of pressing further. It's one of the many things she loves about him. Very rarely does he press her on things she's unwilling to talk about. There are things, however, that she'll have to talk about now, regardless of whether or not she actually wants to. He deserves that much from her, what with the mess they've all landed in.
"I never doubted that for a second," she returns dryly.
"Good," he mutters as they hear the airlock open.
There's a brief moment of only boots scuffling the floor before, "Chewie, we're home."
And Rey closes her eyes, suddenly swamped by emotions she'd expected but not expected to threaten to drown her in. It'd been etched into her mind that the last time she heard Han Solo speak, it was trying to call his son home. A desperate plea from a father to his wayward son. She'd forgotten about this carefree manner of the smuggler. Of the simple joy of him having his ship back.
She opens her eyes as Han and Chewbacca round the corner.
They all stare at each other for the span of two heartbeats before Han demands, "Where're the others? Where's the pilot?"
"I'm the pilot," Rey says as firmly as she can. It's taking all her self-control to keep from either bursting into tears or trying to hug either of them. She's well aware that neither of them would appreciate or welcome such a gesture at the time.
/Any other crew?/ Chewbacca adds, his crossbow lowering ever so slightly.
"We're the only crew." And that's even true to a certain degree. Rey's done the piloting, Finn's manned the gun, and all Ben's managed to do is get on board and promptly fall unconscious.
"Huh." Now Han lowers his own weapon. His eyes dart between the two of them with an incredulous look. "And you just decided to, what, wait for us here?"
Rey shrugs a shoulder. "I had a feeling we'd be fine."
Han's expression immediately goes flat. "A feeling?"
She gives him a smile that's sad and pinched despite her best efforts. "A feeling," she repeats. Not like she can just come out and say she knew who'd locked onto them because it's already happened to her and Finn. While Han might believe in the Force, she doesn't think he'll buy a time-travel story. She's still attempting to wrap her head around it, and it's happening to her. Also, it's been all of a measly hour since her world upended.
Han stares blanking at her for a moment before just shrugging it off. "Where'd you get the ship from, anyway?"
"Niima Outpost," Rey promptly replies.
"Jakku? That junkyard?"
"Thank you, junkyard," Finn mumbles under his breath, only to yelp. "Ow!"
Rey calmly withdraws the fingers she'd used to pinch him with. She knows and acknowledges that Jakku is in fact a junkyard. That doesn't mean she'll let Finn poke her about it without retaliating.
Han turns to Chewie. "Told you we should've double-checked the Western Reaches. Who had it? Ducain?"
"We stole it from Unkar Plutt. He stole it from the Irving Boys, who stole it from Ducain." Rey's a little impressed with herself that she actually remembered all that. Then again, this was a memorable moment for her the first time around.
"Who stole it from me!" Han finishes off the list before starting for the cockpit. "Well, you tell him that Han Solo just stole back the Millennium Falcon for good."
"And you called it 'garbage'," Finn teases her good-naturedly.
She huffs out a grudging laugh. "Well, I didn't know this was the ship that made the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs at the time. Just goes to show what I knew."
/It has seen better days,/ Chewie agrees. /She was white and clean once upon a time./
Rey smiles fondly at the Wookie. "She just needs some love and attention, is all. Besides, I think it adds to her charm."
Chewie gives her a knowing look. /You know your way around a ship, then?/
"Scavenger," she explains in a self-deprecating tone of voice. "Gotta know what the good bits are if I want to eat." It is a bit alarming to her, however, just how quickly she slid back into that mentality when Chewie asked the question. She lets out a slow exhale of air, releasing her tension into the Force as much as she can.
"Rey." Finn lays a hand on her arm with a concerned look.
She wraps her fingers around it, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm alright," she assures him.
"Hey!" There's stomping of boots on metal as Han comes back to the main hold. "Some moof-milker put a compressor on the ignition line."
"Unkar Plutt did it," Rey chimes in. "I thought it was a mistake too. Puts too much—"
"—stress on the hyperdive," Han finishes with her. His lips twitch as if he's impressed with her knowledge (which she knows he is, he offers her a job later), but then he turns away with a wave of his arm to the Wookie. "Chewie, throw 'em in a pod. We'll drop them at the nearest inhabited planet."
/Han…/ Chewie growls.
Behind Rey, BB-8 beeps forlornly. She springs to her feet and races after the smuggler. "No, wait. We need your help." And she'd really rather not have to use the Force to achieve it this go round.
Han pauses in his marching, allowing her to catch up. "My help?"
"Yes, our droid has to get to the Resistance base as soon as possible." Han scoffs and starts walking again, but Rey persistently follows after him. "He's carrying a map to Luke Skywalker." And boy is she going to give her former Master an earful. She might've made peace with Luke already, but the one in the here and now is still hiding away like a scared little boy, and she intends to let him know just what she thinks of that. This mentioning of his old friend does finally bring Han to a full stop. Rey watches as he works his jaw before turning back around to face her. To face them, as she feels Finn at her shoulder. "You knew him," she presses on, even though she can feel his conflicting emotions concerning his friend in the Force.
Han's lips twist into a wry smile. "Yeah, I knew him. I knew Luke."
THUD.
Han's expression goes panicky at the sound. "Don't tell me a Rathar's gotten loose." He immediately starts running off the Falcon, leaving both her and Finn staring after him.
"Damn it, I'd forgotten about the Rathars," Finn grumbles, scrubbing a hand over his face. "Why's it gotta be Rathars? I hate Rathars."
"Come on, standing here won't do us a bit of good," Rey says, tugging at his arms before running after Han. "BB-8, you come too." They hurry out of the Falcon and over to where Han and Chewie are standing at a series of control panels.
"Why in the hells are you hauling Rathars on this freighter?" Finn demands as they catch up. Rey notices that he legitimately looks shaken, like he might even be ill. Last time she'd never seen a Rathar before, so hadn't understood his panic until after. Now she wonders if the First Order used them in trooper training and that's what's got Finn so worked up. It makes her blood boil just considering it.
"None of your business," Han retorts as he punches some buttons on the camera control panel. "Oh great, it's the Guavian Death Gang. Must have tracked us from Nantoon." He turns on his heel and starts marching deeper into the freighter.
"If you let the Rathars loose again, I am going to be so pissed at you," Finn hisses.
"I'm not planning to," she throws back.
"Oh, so you have a better plan this time?"
She fixes him with a flat look. "I do, actually. Now come on. We have to be with Han for my plan to work." They race after Han and Chewie yet again. The Wookie kind of side-eyes them, but doesn't comment on their brief moment of lingering behind.
"I've got three of them going to King Prana," Han informs them.
"Three Rathars," Finn repeats dully. "Going after one's suicidal, but three?"
Han shrugs. "Used to have a bigger crew." He stops in the middle of the walkway and opens up a manhole to the lower corridor under the metal grating. "Get below and stay there until I say so and don't even think about taking the Falcon," he instructs while pointing a finger in warning to Rey.
"What about BB-8?" Rey asks.
[Stay with Droid-saver?] the droid requests. Rey might've teared up just a smidge. BB-8's only known her for less than a day and already trusts her so much. She and Poe had a rather in depth conversation at one point about BB-8's programming and she knows just how slow the droid is to trust.
Han, unfortunately, nixes the request. "He stays with me until I get rid of the gang, then you can have him back and be on your way."
BB-8 beeps forlornly.
"You'll be okay," Rey tries to assure him. "Han will keep you safe."
The sudden thud from behind and Finn's high-pitched squeal reminds her that a Rathar is literally right there. She allows herself one shudder before looking back at Han while Finn drops down below. He's watching her with a puzzled expression. "What are you going to do?" she asks before following her friend, even already knowing the answer.
"Same thing I always do. Talk my way out of it."
/Sure you do,/ Chewie scoffs.
Han turns his accusatory finger to the Wookie. "Yes, I do. Every time."
Rey's snort of amusement (because she'd sat with General Leia enough times to hear some of her stories about her late husband to know Chewie has the right of it) is covered up by the sound of the airlock doors opening and the steady tempo of marching boots approaching.
"Do we need to move?" Finn asks softly.
"No, here will be fine," she replies, settling herself into a lotus position with her hands resting palm down on her knees. She lets her eyes slide closed for all that she still pays attention, because for her trick to work, she needs to wait until both gangs are on board.
"Han Solo! You're a dead man." The leader of the Guavian Death Gang, she notes.
"Bala-Tik. What's the problem?" Han calls back.
"The problem is we loaned you 50,000 for this job. I heard you also borrowed 50,000 from Kanjiklub."
"You know you can't trust those little freaks. How long have we known each other?"
Bala-Tik scoffs. "Not long. We want our money back now."
"You think hunting Rathars is cheap? I spent that money." Though whether or not it was actually spent on Rathar hunting, Rey muses, is another matter entirely.
"Kanjiklub wants their investment back, too."
"I never made a deal with Kanjiklub!" Han protests.
"Tell that to Kanjiklub."
The other airlock opens, and Rey drops her awareness into the Force. She finds all six members of the Guavian Death Gang on board, notes their positions from where Han and Chewie are standing, then moves onto the six from Kanjiklub. She focuses on her breathing.
Inhale
I am one with the Force.
Exhale
The Force is one with me.
Inhale
I am one with the Force.
Exhale
The Force is one with me.
"That BB unit." Bala-Tik's voice cuts through her trance, as it's the warning she's been waiting for. "The First Order is looking for one just like it. And two fugitives. Something about how they also—"
Rey's eyes fly back open, and after making sure she's wrapped all twelve beings with her presence in the Force, commands them to, "Sleep." The sound of heavily armored bodies unceremoniously hitting metal echoes from both ends of the corridors.
"Okay, that's still really creepy," Finn comments, even as he stands up to open the manhole and clammer out.
"It worked, didn't it?" Rey throws back while hauling herself out as well. When she looks down the corridor to where Han and Chewie are still standing, she finds both staring at her like she's grown another head.
"Kid…" Han shakes his head. "Kid, was that you?"
She allows herself a wry smile. "There's a reason I want to find Luke Skywalker, General Solo."
"How long will this last?" Finn asks in the silence that follows.
"Not too long, I didn't want to hurt them."
"Then let's get going."
She lets Finn take her hand and drag her back towards the Falcon, trusting that Han and Chewie will follow after them. It's much more enjoyable than running away from Rathars. And Chewie didn't get hurt this time. Onboard the Falcon, Rey heads straight for the cockpit. She immediately starts flipping switches to get the engines online.
The sound of Han's boots approaching are quickly becoming a welcome noise. "Hey, what do you think—"
Rey doesn't bother turning around while she explains herself. "Unkar Plutt installed a fuel pump too. If we don't prime that, we're not going anywhere."
"I hate that guy," Han articulates as he joins her in preflight preparations.
While she's a bit surprised that Chewie doesn't try and oust her from the co-pilot seat, she doesn't make any indication that she's willing to leave. "Watch the thrust," she instructs instead of Han this time. "We're going out of here at lightspeed in case they have people still on their ships."
"Lightspeed?" Han repeats even while sounding impressed. "Out of the hanger?"
She flashes him a teasing smile before using his own line on him. "I never ask myself if it's impossible until after I've already done it."
It gets her a bit of a smile in return before he's back to scowling at the controls. "This is not how I thought this day was gonna go."
You and me both, Rey thinks to herself.
"Angle the shield," he instructs. Then he turns to holler back into the ship, "Hang on back there!" Rey all but basks in the sound of the engines roaring fully into life as they lift off from the hanger floor and point towards the big door. "Come on, baby, don't let me down," Han pleads while pushing the lever for lightspeed. When nothing happens, he pulls back a bit with a perturbed expression, going, "What?"
Rey points to the necessary switch. "Compressor."
Han huffs out a breath, but flips it and throws them into lightspeed, taking them off the Eravana and away from the gangs.
When Bala-Tik comes to, it's to find his men sprawled out around him and Kanjiklub in a similar position at the other end of the corridor. A quick scan of the freighter informs him that the Falcon is gone, along with any other personnel with only the Rathars left behind. He takes out his communicator and radios back to his ship.
"Inform the First Order that Han Solo has the droid and that it's aboard the Millennium Falcon. No sign of the two fugitives or Kylo Ren."
