CHAPTER SIX:
.
.
A.N. Apologies for the longer wait! As way of apology, another chapter will be up tomorrow. You can count on that ;)
.
.
Back on Ajan Kloss, Rey weaves through a crowd of resistance fighters. She nods and exchanges fleeting greetings with them as she passes. Over the year, she's become friends with these people, learned to trust them as they have her. Their faces are familiar, comforting, but there's one in particular she's seeking out today.
"Rey! Hey!" Of course, Rose Tico spots her first.
Rey darts over as Rose beckons her over. She'll never say it aloud—to spare Finn and Poe—but of all the friends she's made, it's Rose she feels closest to. Rose whose great capacity for empathy and compassion bestowed her with a kind heart that's been open to Rey all this year. It's that empathy, that compassion, that kind heart, that Rey turns to now.
"You look like you're in good spirits," Rey says in ways of greeting.
There's a certain glow about Rose that's more than just the lights shining from the circle of device screens around her.
Rose nods eagerly. "I just got word from Poe. He and Finn are on the way. They're expecting to be home by nightfall."
A lightness of spirt expands through Rey too. She just knew seeking out Rose was the right thing today. "That's great news."
Beaming—not as brightly as Rose—she sinks into a free chair. Her eyes scan the screens, looking for a sign of something. She's not sure what she's looking for. On a subconscious level, she does. She doesn't want to admit it to herself.
Rose taps a screen on the far left. "A few more people have responded to our call for help."
"That's good," Rey says, absentmindedly. "And the First Order? Any news on them?"
Rose shakes her head, frowning slightly. She looks suddenly very worn, the glow fading around her. "They're up to something, though. The quiet is just a breath before the storm."
"Is there anything I can help with?" Rey could use some direction. Ever since her last meeting with Kylo, she's been fighting a rise of agitation, and the sense of being untethered. She's felt helpless and useless, in desperate need of a purpose.
"You're already doing so much."
"Am I?" Rey can't see how that's true. She's been present here, helping when she can, where she can, but she should be more than just an extra pair of hands.
Rose, ever the soul of sympathy, rests a supportive hand on Rey's shoulder. "If not for you, we'd all be dead on Crait."
"That was a year ago. I haven't done much since."
"No," Rose muses sarcastically. "Only helped us find a new base, helped us rebuild, kept fighting the good fight." She counts off each as she goes. "Why are you so hard on yourself?"
Rey shrugs. "It's not that... I just..." It's almost on her tongue, the fear that's in her heart.
It's like Rose can see it. "I'm happy to hear it."
Rey looks into eyes shining with friendship. They pull the words free from her. The fear that has filled her with this wayward feeling, that planted in her an itch to go. "It's Kylo Ren. I'm afraid he'll find out we're here because of me."
"I think you're stronger than that. I know a bit about the connection." Everything Rose knows is what Rey herself has told her. "I believe that you could stop it if you wanted to. But," Rose's eyes are suddenly sharp with thoughtfulness, "maybe you don't want to."
Rey balks at that. "Of course, I want to stop it. I hate having him in my head." The anger in her voice has nothing to do with Rose. The frustration is all fo her and the situation she's in. Rose doesn't deserve it. "Sorry."
"It's okay," Rose assures her. "I didn't mean that you like having him in your head. But I think, deep down, you want to reach him, to change him. Leia wants it too. And she—and I agree—believes you're the only one who can. There's something good in that, Rey. And if you can change him, this whole war might end differently. Quicker."
Rey hears the wisdom in Rose's words. She feels in them a truth that she's buried deep in her own heart. Maybe it's because of the legends she knows, of Luke and his father, of the Anakin Skywalker beneath the Vader mask. Maybe she shouldn't be running. Maybe she shouldn't be fighting.
It didn't work the last time she tried to reach to him. He'd tried to destroy her, destroy her friends. But she can try again. One last time.
"Thanks, Rose."
Rose grins. "Anytime."
"I'll let you be."
"Why don't you stay," Rose insists as Rey makes to leave. "It would be nice to have some company."
So, Rey stays, a different sort of weight resting over her now. Not one of fear. But one of desperate hope.
AN: Hope you enjoyed this newest instalment. Leave a review if the Force so moves you ;)