Chapter 6 Ground Zero
The Falcon had reached Dantooine. It was planet of green fields and swamps. There are indigenous beings here. Towns were days apart in some locations. This planet was on the side of the galaxy from Naboo and nearly in the middle of nowhere, just the way the Rebels liked it. The actual base was carved into a mountainside. This base was old, it was the first base used by the Rebel Alliance decades ago. This place served as the start, where those wishing to fight learned how to fly, how read tech and gain skills. It wasn't until later did Yavin become the official base.
As the Falcon flew only Leia would be able to point out where the base was. As she stood in the cockpit looking it was going to be difficult. The place would probably match the mountain. There wasn't going to be anything that said "Rebel Base Here." Like Crait it was a fortress design to be battle ready. Once found getting inside was going to present another problem. Leia gave Ben a general idea where to go and that was it. Now she had to rely on complete memory. She came to this base only once and she never even saw Crait only knew of it. Bail Organa has little fortresses set up everywhere in the galaxy. She knows most of them but not all. All the where abouts of the each location were gone with Alderran years ago.
As Leia looked hoping something will stick out Ben continued to fly around. Just then she saw a white tree and she smiled.
"It's there." She pointed. She remembers that tree so well at it looked so different from the rest of the planet itself. The tree still stood after all this time. "Land there for now, once we get in we'll take the Falcon inside." Ben nodded looking at the small clearing just big enough for the Falcon. The ship landed but it didn't mean they were safe. The fighters began to take up blasters as they would need set up a safe perimeter before even trying to get inside.
The ramp to the Falcon lowered and leading everyone was Poe and Ben. Leia remained within the center of the Resistance with Rey. The day was a warm one as everyone began to look around. They came to the side of the mountain and saw the huge door leading in.
"It's a giant rock." Finn commented looking around as Leia walked towards it smiling. She can remember being a little girl walking through these doors with Bail.
'The ten year old child looked around seeing people in uniforms walking around as she held her father's hand. Her long brown hair hanging around her grey dress as she walked with her father and then he stopped. He began to talk to an officer as Leia looked up. The man then crouched down to be at eye level with Leia.
"Our future General someday." The man smiled at her as Leia looked to him.'
Leia reached out and placed her hand on the door wanting to get inside but how? This place has been abandoned for decades. Then both R2 and BB-8 came up talking.
"There may be enough power if we were jumpstart it." 3PO translated while Chewie barked.
"The Falcon can do that." Ben added and Rey nodded.
"I know how to route it." Rey added with smile. Leia shrugged meaning they should get started. Rey headed back to the Falcon as Finn followed her. Rey went up the ramp and then opened up a floor panel where there were cables. Finn looked in but when he looked up he jumped back a little as Ben was standing there.
"Please, announce when you walk in." Finn stated but Ben ignored him as he squatted down seeing Rey already going to work. She then pulled apart a cable and looked up to the boys. She threw it to Ben and he caught it. It wasn't going to be long enough from here and the Falcon wasn't able to get any closer.
"Finn, you need to grab a seven A type cable." Rey instructed and Finn nodded but looked confused. Ben sighed and hand him the cable Rey gave him as he went to get it. Ben opened up a door as all types of cables hung. He quickly searched and found the black shiny cable and took it. He walked back to other two, took the cable from Finn and showing him how they connected. Finn looked annoyed at the gestured.
"Take this to the door." Ben then gave it back to Finn with just a slight extra push. Finn walked away as Ben looked down to Rey.
"You two need to place nice." Rey insisted but Ben once more squatted and held out his hand to her. She took it and he hoisted her up and out. Just then Chewie came onto the Falcon knowing he would have to power up the ship.
"Chewie go back out there and help Finn, he…doesn't know mechanics well." Ben asked and Chewie nodded. "Chewie," Ben then pulled a communicator and tossed it to Chewie while taking another other. Chewie left as Rey and Ben headed to the cockpit and sat down. "Have you ever done this?" Ben asked and Rey looked to him meaning no.
"It's all about level of power, too little and nothing will happen, too much we'll blow the whole system and…kill ourselves in the process." Rey explained. Ben didn't look confident as he sat there. Ben grabbed the communicator and looked out the window as the rest of the Resistance was there. Finn got to them holding the wire looking at the door.
"There should be a side panel." Ben spoke in the communicator as Finn stood there looking. Rey could feel that Ben was getting frustrated but he needed Rey here to power the doors. "Over, over," Ben kept telling Finn. Finn then saw it and pressed it as a little panel opened and there were nobs, switches and other little outlets. These were old and Finn was already confused. "Ok, you see a green,"
"Red," Rey corrected him and Ben looked to her.
"Red switch." Ben corrected himself trying to remember basic panel switches.
"Found it." Finn confirmed over the communicator. "Ok, so attach it?"
"No, there should be a copper outlet," Ben added and now Rey was getting frustrated. She knew tech stuff and then reached for the communicator and took it from Ben.
"Finn, under the red switch and to the left you'll see a copper outlet, it'll be sticking out." Rey went on and outside Finn found it.
"Ok," Finn indicated he had it.
"At the end of the A cable you see copper wires, twist those wires to the outlet. Do it tightly too." Rey instructed and Finn began to start.
"Ok, ready." Finn indicated and both Rey and Ben started to get the ship ready. Rey was trying to figure out just how much power to use. They only needed the doors to open enough to get in. They'll put up a main power source later. Ben looked to Rey as she sat there as she looked to the switchboard doing the calculations in her head. She then looked to Ben letting him know she was ready. Ben had to trust her and he did. She was the only one he trusted right now. Ben started the process of powering up the Falcon while everyone waited.
The side panel then started to beep with the lights flashing between red and green. Just then the green light was the only light on and everyone heard a low rumble. Leia looked to the huge stone doors as the power awoken the old base. Just then the rock doors started to slowly open. They opened slowly as Rey watched. She would have Ben power down the Falcon once the door was open enough to get in and out of. The ground shook as the mountains were waking up after years of slumber. Rey looked to Ben and he powered down the Falcon and the two left together.
Now it was time to go into the dark. Ben passed through everyone as he joined up with his mother and turned to him. She started first as their leader but Ben was right behind her and took his lightsaber out. As they went inside Ben ignited the red saber and Rey ignited her blue one and they provided some light. Some of the fighters had smaller lights and both BB-8 and R2 used their own light as everyone looked around.
"It's a hanger." Poe pointed out looking around. Then he saw BB-8's light point to an old X-Wing and smiled seeing it. He then saw shadows of more X-Wings. The fighters continued to move around in the cold dark looking at what was truly the start of the Rebellion. Leia then stopped and looked up into the dark.
"Alright, we need to find out how to get the power started." Leia informed them.
"This is the hanger?" Rey asked and Leia nodded. "Well, based on that from the Imperial days the main power hub would be in or near the hanger bay." She informed everyone. "We just need to find it." Ben nodded agreeing with her.
"I'll help you." Ben volunteered.
"Me too." Finn spoke up and it's a good thing it was dark because Ben nearly rolled his eyes. He gets it, Finn was going to protect Rey but Rey was the last person Ben wanted to hurt. But Finn will never believe it. The three started to look around for anything that looked like a way to the power source. As Rey held her lightsaber looking she decided to get closer to the wall. The air would fill different if there was a door or an opening. She was a scavenger so she knew how to look in the dark. Ben and Finn walked behind her also looking. This hanger must go far back as they continue to walk.
Just then Rey stopped and smiled and looked to the boys indicated she found something. The door wasn't going to open. Ben then decided to show Rey that a lightsaber wasn't just for battle. He slight reached to her shoulder pulling her closer to him indicating to get behind him. Ben then held up the red saber and then drove it through the stone and started to drive it up slowly creating a door. Once finished Ben pulled the saber out of the stone, deactivating it, placed it back on his belt and then began to push the stone with his hands. He honestly could move it with the Force but something in him just wanted to use brut strength. He had this anger in him and by using his own body it felt like that anger was under control. The stone moved and Rey went in as Finn followed.
She found the panel and looked around smiling. There was a chair and she sat in it looking at all the switches and buttons. There was a screen as she reached for dusting it off.
"You know what to do?" Finn asked and Rey nodded as she reached for a little box and flipped it up. Under it was a button and she pushed it.
"Ben, Finn," She looked to them and they were both ready to take orders. "There's a pump and another switch." She started and pointed. "The pump needs to be primed before the switch is flipped." Ben walked to the pump and grabbed and lifted it up and down a few times.
"Primed." Ben added then looked to Finn. Finn then walked to the switched and flipped it up and the little screen turned on. Ben managed to give a small smile. Rey really knew her tech. Rey went to the screen as it was warming up. The only problem she may have is reading the code. Ben walked up behind her leaning in over the chair. Rey didn't seem to really noticed or mind but Finn; that was a little different. Then on the screen green symbols came up.
"Access code." Ben read and then sighed meaning only his mom may know the access code and that was a long shot.
"It's not that difficult." Rey decided to ease the frustration before it started. "It's not just Star Destroyers I picked apart on Jakku." Rey was explaining she might know a code. "Some old Rebel ships too. Jakku was a dumping ground for all space garbage. One piece of equipment I picked up was from the Rebels and it looked like this. I took it, stripped and found the microprocessor in it. My little home I kept a computer until…I got hungry but I did run the processor and one thing I remember was a word."
"What did it say?" Finn asked but that was the hard part. She didn't know what it said but she does recall the symbols. She then looked to Ben knowing she was going to need his help.
"I don't know but I can remember the symbols." Rey added and Ben nodded. "This," Rey held up two fingers but slightly angled them and Ben knew what that meant and typed it in. She then held up one finger and laid another finger over it in an angle. The next few she traced out. Ben input the keystrokes in. "What does it mean?" Rey asked.
"Light." Ben answered and the screen flashed and then line after line of code popped up. "But it worked." Rey smiled as she saw the screen light up. She knew how to the use keystrokes because she memorized the patterns but didn't know what it meant. Ben watched as she typed away and then out of nowhere the darkness was replaced with light. Out in the hanger there was cheering. Ben stepped out into the hanger as did Rey and Finn seeing just how colossal this place was.
The fighters took a look around as Ben and Chewie brought the Falcon in. The reason why the Rebels built into the mountain was to hide. If an Imperial fleet did pass through the mountain was so thick with organic matter that they would not be detected. This might help them if the Order decides to float by. After the Falcon parked Ben went to look for Rey.
Leia and Rey walked side by side as they approached Poe. Ben saw them and headed over. Poe jumped from a X-Wing as he was inspected them. There were a few but they were in need of serious attention. This place was going to need an overhaul and not just knew tech but new ships. These would be good to train on once they start to recruit again. Ben then joined up with Rey as Poe walked to them. Ben only wanted to be with Rey and felt comfortable with her.
"How are they?" Leia asked and by Poe's face it said it all.
"This one works," He pointed to one. "That one needs repairs." He pointed to the next one. "That one may be gone completely." He finished. All in all they have their work cut out for them.
Rey and Ben explored more of the base together. They found the living quarters, the main communications room and found their way to the other side were they stood out at another smaller hanger. That hanger overlooked the cliff of the mountain, but it was the view that was breath taking. Ben looked up seeing that night was going to settle in soon.
Leia sat in the communications room looking at the old computers and tech. It all worked but it wasn't going to be enough. They needed to rebuild the fleet and get their numbers back up. It was like the beginning, she would need to find those wanting to fight. It was easier said than done. People want to fight but some are afraid some believe it doesn't even concern them. But for now she needed have those left rebuild their own fight.
"He doesn't want to come back." Leia looked up seeing Rey before her. The young girl walked in and sat down next to the General. "He feels responsible, he feels he created Kylo Ren and the First Order." Leia nodded understanding. Luke was ashamed for what had happened. And he didn't want to train Rey feeling he could make that mistake again.
"Luke has put himself in his own prison. Something will touch him to come back." Leia was sure her brother will come back to fight, Han did. She wanted her brother back, she missed him and she never blamed him for happened to Ben. She knew who corrupted her son. "Ben already…he was the perfect victim for Snoke. He was alone and easy to manipulate. Han and I were never really with him. I was trying to rebuild the Republic and Han…he wasn't ready to give up flying. Han and I never got away from our…jobs. Ben fell in between the cracks. And when it was made public that I was the daughter of Darth Vader I think it put even more on him. He was bullied and shamed."
Rey listen and she could see a young Ben being weak and alone. He was an easy target and easy to sway. "Luke trained him hoping to give him purpose. But Snoke offered something better." Leia sounded tired. Her own fight was on the edge too. She nearly lost the Resistance, she lost Han and she is unsure if her son was saved. "We're all to blame." Leia finished. Rey reached out and took Leia's hand holding it.
"We can fix it." Rey sounded so sure. Leia smiled and Rey reminded her of someone, herself. Leia was like that once; full of hope and assurance that people could be good. She needed to find that again.
Ben was back at the end of the base looking out to the mountainside. The sun was long gone for the day. He then felt his mother walking to him and she joined him.
"Did you give him full honors?" Ben asked looking to Leia and smiled but shook her head no. She could see the frustration forming in his eyes.
"Ben, you know your father would not want that spectacle of a funeral." Leia pointed out and he turned away.
"He was a war hero, regardless what side." Ben or Kylo Ren understood honor and to honor the dead with the right ceremony. His father was a General and he deserved to be honored in that way. "He deserved a full honor's service." That meant a casket, music, the ships firing into space and he being buried into the ground. There wouldn't have been a body but it would have been a symbol. People could go there and show their respects. Han Solo deserved it and both sides could agree to that.
"But you know deep down that's not what he wanted." Leia added and Ben knew that. His father would have wanted to be blasted into space to be forever among the stars, his favorite place. That's what they did; they had a casket and sent it out into space in his honor. Leia could see how torn Ben was over killing his father. He did it thinking it would give him clarity and he would know his path. It did just the opposite; it gave him nothing but pain. Maybe it means he could be saved. Leia looked out into the dark and then started back inside. "He did love you." She added but Ben couldn't look at her. Mostly because if he did she would see the tears and that can't happen.
Rey looked to her little room she was going to call home for a while. It had a little table, bed and a bathroom. She kind of smiled; she wasn't going to sleep in the heat anymore. She wouldn't have to hope she was able to pull enough parts for a plate of food for the day. Rey walked over to the bed and looked at the little thing. She had a new set of sheets with her from Naboo, which they were softer than anything she felt before. She made her bed and sat down and sighed. She decided to wash up and walked to the fresher and turned on the water. On Jakku she would be able to splash some water on her body every few days. Sometimes it was bathe and feel like a person or not die of thirst. She held out her hand under the running water and it was warm. It came from a local river so it was fresh and clean. Rey stripped down and got in and closed her eyes feeling the water hit her. She could stand here forever.
Rey finished pulling her hair back as it was still damped. She was in a soft and comfortable pants and a tunic. The tunic was rather large so it fell to one shoulder. She sat on her bed feeling tired but yet refreshed. It was going to be a much needed sleep but there was a knock at her door. Rey got up and opened the door and Ben was in front of her.
"They're smaller than I thought." Ben looked into her room. They were all the same. Rey then went to fix her tunic pulling it from behind so it didn't expose her shoulders because it hung really low.
"It'll do." Rey looked behind her and then back to Ben.
"Tomorrow, at dawn we start your training." Ben announced and Rey nodded. He gazed at her one more time and then left. She saw his quarter was only across and down two more doors. Rey went back into her room and stretched out on the bed looking up to the ceiling made of metal and rock. She pulled the sheets over her and laid there. She then looked to the light switch across the way and was about to get up but then realized she didn't have to. She held up her hand and it clicked off by itself.
Ben sat in his tiny room on the bed. He sat in stillness, he had nothing in his mind, he didn't want to think. He should think of a training course idea for Rey but he thought of nothing. He sat there looking at the wall in front of him and that was all he could see and all he wanted to see.
Leia sat in her room and brushed away a tear. Finally she could cry again. She lost Han, Luke was not going to return, Ben nearly died but she didn't know if she had her son back and the Resistance still stood on the edge of disappearing. She was losing everything and she just wanted to sit and cry for a moment. She took in a deep breath and calmed herself. She had to be strong for them because she was their leader. She was the General and they needed her and she if she failed then it all does. They have a chance to rebuild and that's what she was going to do.
So, hoped you liked that chapter. What happens next now that Ben has agreed to train Rey? I think that they're going to learn about one another and themselves. What else would like to see as this continues? Where do you guys hope it goes? Let me know in the comments. Thank you to all who are reading this, commenting and keeping up. You readers are always super awesome.