Field of Vision
Chapter Twenty
The rotting reanimated corpse that was the Emperor supplied a mirthless, twisted grin full of dark-stained teeth that would make any being's skin crawl. But Leia only seemed to stand taller in the face of her adversary.
She did not bow to his threats, but chose to stand her ground instead. She had no grand speech prepared to deliver, no edict of justice to recite—for what could Leia say to him when he's heard it all before—it would only be a waste of breath and time. She would not give him the satisfaction of hearing her beg again. In her youthful naïveté, she had once begged the Emperor to spare her home world of Alderaan in exchange for information, but it was useless—she had been manipulated and learned her lesson the hard way. There was no bargaining with the Emperor; only action. Both of her parents had learned this and then, many years later, her brother. Now it was Leia's turn to bring back balance to the galaxy, and she's had plenty of time to prepare herself for it.
The very air was charged with a sense of conflict; neither side would bend or back down. Leia raised her lightsaber and refused to budge when the Emperor raised his mangled, bony hands and used the only defenses he had left to him; Force lighting. A burst of narrow veins of bright indigo-white lightning emerged from his remaining fingertips towards Leia, but she easily deflected the test round. The duel had begun.
"You are strong in the Force, Princess, as was your father before—but it will not save you," threatened the Emperor with a hollow growl.
Leia's face remained impassive. Her poised and steely exterior gave no indication the Emperor's taunts had any affect on her. She had an ace up her sleeve but could not reveal it yet.
xx
Several yards in the distance from where Leia and the Emperor began to square off in a powerful duel, young Ben and Rey watched in awe. Ben quietly used his Force-healing powers to heal the damage on Rey's thigh. He felt his own strength weakening just a fraction as he willingly gave away his Life-force, but in this dire moment, Ben didn't care about himself in the least.
A troubling sense of imbalance within the Force surged in the crumbing arena, leaving them rather on edge when a sudden, solitary crack of bone and a clatter of plastoid armor could be heard nearby. Rey turned her head so fast her ponytail flung out, twisting and stirring the surrounding fog that immersed them.
There was something else stirring nearby.
But, they knew eyes could easily be deceived in this place. Ben tightened his grip on her newly-healed leg as he sought out the source of the sound. There were no Force-signatures nearby, only eerie emptiness.
A flash of red caught their attention in between the layers of dense gray fog, but neither Ben nor Rey could believe what they found. A Praetorian guard stood meters away, apparently undefeated and ready to continue serving the Emperor. There were short, blackened scorch marks across the plastoid plates on its arm and chest from where a lightsaber had previously come in contact.
"What the hell is going on," Ben did well to conceal the panic rising in his voice, but Rey felt his fearful tremors through their bond as much as she felt her own.
"They're not dead yet," she whispered in reply.
Another flash of red appeared to their right, but half of this guard's remaining arm was twisted at an unnatural angle as it held its staff upright. Then, a third red figure emerged from the fog close beside that one.
Once Ben and Rey recognized the predicament they suddenly found themselves in, the Emperor uttered a devious cackle that reverberated out into the entire arena.
"The power of the Sith will never die!" He cackled, shooting more Force-lightning towards Leia just as the reanimated Praetorian guards lunged after the dyad. The strength of his lightning attack had violently thrust Leia out of the arena and out of sight from Ben and Rey.
Their foes lunged forward all at once, and the dyad were locked in a tangle with two undead Praetorian guards. As soon as they defeated one guard, another popped back up again in its place and attacked with renewed fervor. Suddenly, Rey didn't feel so bad about cutting the guards down; they were already dead and quite possibly had been all along—a revelation that explained why they never sensed any life forms after they defeated the Knights of Ren.
In a fit of frustration, Rey sliced through the tumbling guard in front of her several times; enough to sever every limb from its body and finally, she took the head and tossed it far into the fog, hopefully ensuring the guard could not piece itself back together and continue to attack. Then, Ben caught on to Rey's idea and repeated her actions, mincing down each remaining guard until there was little left to recover.
But if that wasn't enough, the Emperor's personal attendants realized the Praetorian guard could no longer protect them and began to fling themselves onto the dyad. Blaster fire came at them from every corner of the hazy arena. Ben and Rey stood back to back together, deflecting every attack that pervaded through the fog. Eventually, Ben's shoulder was clipped by blaster fire, causing him to stumble and Rey was growing wearier by the minute, but they could not stop now.
The Emperor called a halt to his loyalists' attack and the blaster fire ceased. Ben and Rey had little time to recover though, before they were Force-pulled back into the center of the arena and were suspended mid-air before the Sith throne.
"Your line ends here, heir of Skywalker," the Emperor threatened Ben as he raised his mangled hands again, "You were foolish not to take what I had given you!"
Violet-bright Force lightning burst forth from his remaining fingertips and into their bodies, electrocuting and torturing Ben and Rey for the briefest of moments before their secret connection was discovered. The Emperor halted mid-attack, utterly surprised at what he'd just discovered.
With twisted wonder, he watched his own gangrenous fingertips morph into fully formed hands again. A wicked smile spread across his face—as though a bright, new idea had settled in there and would not be shaken. He began to laugh triumphantly— a dark and sinister chuckle that only spelled trouble for the dyad.
"Just look at you two—such a pair—and your power is beyond that which even you know," he condescended. "A dyad in the Force—unseen for generations, and now—mine!"
The Emperor gripped them in another life-draining tailspin. Ben and Rey struggled against the Emperor's powerful hold on them, desperately trying to prevent their very Life-force from being drained of all remaining energy. Ben was stronger in the Dark Side and resisted the Emperor's control as much as he was able before finally being forced to submit. Rey wanted to reach out to Ben, but feared that the Emperor would take advantage and exploit their deep connection. Instead, when the pain grew too much, she howled in agony at what was being taken from her.
"STOP!" A familiar voice bellowed fiercely out of the fog.
Neither Ben nor Rey could see her as the steady but determined punctuated clack of boot heels echoed in the arena. The dyad heard their rescuer approach with purpose.
"Don't you touch them," Leia threatened the Emperor as she emerged from the dense fog only meters away. She had recovered enough from the violent attack to return to the fight—to protect that which she loved the most, and she was not alone. The presence of many other bright lights—ghosts within the Force, yet just as powerful as they once were in life—surrounded Leia and empowered her.
The Emperor laughed cruelly, raising his hands to steal another dose of the dyad's life-energy. But Leia was an unstoppable force and intervened swiftly, delivering her own powerful wave of Force-energy to stop him. Then, as the Jedi ghosts from the past descended on the Emperor, she Force-pulled the weakened bodies of Ben and Rey from his clutches and sent them out of the temple and far away from his reach before he could find the chance to recover. Leia, the Jedi ghosts, and the Emperor battled furiously with Force energy before Leia finally drew her lightsaber and added its power to her defense.
A crack in the ubiquitous darkness fractured open, and the Emperor's evil power began to wane against the tremendous force hammering down on him. There was hope yet for a galaxy free of the Emperor's reign.
xx
Eventually, Ben regained consciousness, trying to shake off the thick stupor of disorientation. The dyad had landed in a tangled heap of limbs far outside of the bounds of the temple. The Emperor had taken a significant amount of their Life-energy from them; apparently their unique bond was not only an advantage they shared, but a weapon to be used against them. They were more vulnerable that he'd realized and Ben cursed himself for not realizing this weakness to be exploited sooner.
He could see the effects of the ongoing battle raging between his mother and the Emperor beyond the cavernous area from which they'd been expelled. His body gave a sudden, involuntary shiver. It was cold on Exegol, colder than what even he'd become used to in the far reaches of space. Surely, Ben thought if he was cold, Rey must be freezing. He gathered her in his arms to try keep her warm with everything he had left, pressing his dirty cheek against hers and thinking desperate, warm thoughts to try to revive her.
Finally, Rey stirred, her body immediately tensing up until she realized she was safe in Ben's arms and not in the clutches of something sinister. Ben released a shuddering breath of relief and had never felt more thankful to the universe than he was now to have her alive in his arms.
Amid his short-lived excitement at Rey's restoration, Leia's voice rang like a bell in his mind as she spoke to Ben through the Force.
I'm sorry son, but I have to send you away again.
While Ben was used to hearing Rey's gentle tone through the Force, he was jarred by the ability to experience his mother's commanding voice like this. While his mother fought the Emperor, she was still guiding and leading him despite everything.
Instinctively, he did not want to obey—Ben wanted to grab his new saber and join her in the fight. This was his chance to fully redeem himself and to have the rare opportunity to fight alongside his powerful mother instead of against her. But above all, he wanted to protect her after so many years of failure.
Not this time, son. Take Rey away from here; what she's carrying is important.
Ben didn't understand. Laying crumpled in his arms, Rey certainly wasn't holding anything. He gazed out into the open arena towards the temple's center where they battled. A loud noise had stolen Ben's attention away from his mother's orders; it cracked loudly again in the distance, like stone crashing into stone which inspired a rising sensation of impending danger. He was torn between obeying his mother and doing what all brave boys want to do.
I am not alone; we can take the Emperor down together. Take Rey far from here and live. Keep her safe, Ben. Always remember how much I love you.
Through the thin veil of a goodbye, Leia was begging her son to follow through like never before. The urgency of her feelings rushed through the Force; the heaviest burden he'd ever known in his young life and finally submitted, despite fully understanding. As much as it wrecked him to have to leave his mother like this, he obeyed, gathering Rey in his arms and began to hobble them out of the cavernous Sith temple. Through crippling pain, which would've broken any other man unused to such suffering, Ben still clung to the hope that Leia might make it out alive.
As soon as Ben and Rey cleared the inner circle of the temple, they sensed a sudden and overwhelming surge of energy; a powerful force of Light that dominated their senses as many individual energies—some familiar, while others were not—seemed to focus in the area around them. Leia was right; she was not alone. Together, the dyad felt the presence of Luke radiating through the Force as they heard his message.
"I'll see ya around, kids. I'm proud of you both," he said.
Then another, less familiar presence appeared near them; a bright blue corporeal figure emanating from the dense, gray fog like a neon sign in the dirty Coruscanti underground. It was the same man Ben had met on the cliffs in the Jedi training course on Ajan Kloss. The tall, broad-shouldered man with a vertical scar down his right eye stood like a beacon in the midst of the chaos as he spoke softly to his grandson.
"Ben, you have your whole life ahead of you. Don't worry, we'll take care of her."
The image of Anakin Skywalker faded and disappeared into fog as Ben understood at last what exactly was happening here.
A shattering crack of white lightning emerged from the temple behind them, blinding and deafening the pair as the shock reverberated around them. The force of the blast knocked them down and hurled them forward, tumbling over themselves until they smacked into something large and solid. The smell of sulfur and smoke emitted from all around them, burning their senses. The foul presence of the Emperor faded as the power of the Light surged. It all happened so fast, they almost missed the one thing that was absent in all of the chaos.
Leia was gone.
Despite having known this outcome for some time now, Rey wasn't ready for it to happen yet. Rey kicked and screamed and fought against Ben's firm hold on her to try to run back towards the destroyed temple. Deep down, she knew this moment would eventually come, but nothing could ever prepare you for that final sacrifice—that final goodbye you'll never get to share.
Rey wailed and fought as hard as her smaller, weakened body could against the anchored, stronger man holding her back. They were safer where they were—the lightning's aftershocks created a clattering avalanche of rock and billowing smoke from the inner temple, surging towards them.
Keeping her body pressed firmly against his, Ben patiently waited out Rey's raw fury and grief, and moved them away from the surging wave of black smoke and debris that was sure to engulf them. Afraid of the incoming wave, Ben pressed her against the stone pillar and shielded her body with his own from the blast of debris. They shut their eyes against the blowing debris, holding on to each other tight as the rushing wave of smoke and sulfur dissipated.
When the smoke cleared, there was nothing in their field of vision but vast emptiness.
No Emperor, no throne, no Leia.
The astounding weight of her absence filled their senses as they began to realize she wasn't going to come walking out of the dense fog. She'd sacrificed her life for theirs. But not just for them; for every being in the galaxy. The dark scourge of evil had been defeated once again and the dyad pair could feel balance return to the Force, like scales being realigned and waiting for the next measurement.
None of these things made them feel better though, knowing that Leia was gone.
Neither spoke as they collapsed into each other, crumbling to their knees in slow-motion as they were too weak to stand anymore through the grief and the pain. Rey cried into Ben's chest, grabbing the shirt around his shoulders with her fists. Ben understood the necessity of his mother's sacrifice, but couldn't help but wish it had been him instead. She meant too much to the Resistance—and in their eyes, he was still nothing more than a dangerous and volatile turncoat.
In the midst of his guilt and grief, Ben felt like all of this was his fault.
The dust settled around them as the battle between the First Order and the Resistance ships raged on high above in the stratosphere. The dyad looked up to watch just as the First Order flagship was hit with a devastating blow. Ben stood on unsteady legs, still clinging to the slight chance that he might find his mother laying there in the center of the destruction. But there was nothing. She'd already passed on, returning her energy to the Force.
Aching regret began to suffocate him as he glanced around the ruined temple. The loss of his mother meant the loss of his guidance. The longer he looked at the dark heap of rubble and ash, knowing his mother was no longer a part of this galaxy, the stronger his grief became. He had to face the truth that both his birth parents were gone and he'd be an orphan if it weren't for Chewie. Tear tracks carved lines through the grime on his face as he began to break down, inviting the familiar darkness and despair to continue enveloping him.
But, when Rey reached out and took his hand, he felt it. His own personal sun was trying to break through the thick, cloudy darkness once more. She squeezed his hand gently, to remind him why she was there.
Their ears were still ringing from the blast that destroyed the temple and their injuries were enough to make their journey difficult, but nothing could hamper their relief of knowing—at long last—the Sith reign of terror was finally over.
Rey activated the signal beacon on her wrist, hailing the Falcon to come get them.
xx
One by one, victorious Rebel ships returned to base. But, many ships that had departed from the isolated jungle terrain only hours ago would not be returning home. As the Rebels watched each battered ship return, grim realizations settled in that their numbers were far fewer now than they were when they first set out.
Mechanics scrambled to free pilots from their cockpits, stealing quick hugs and sharing in the raucous joy spreading across the buzzing ship yard; their revels rose above the sound of engines descending for landing. The younger generations who've only just lived through one war were not aware of their elders' immense relief upon the conclusion of yet another conflict in the galaxy. Even fewer beings were old enough to have survived the Clone Wars, knowing better than others the true cost of war.
Maz waited patiently under a massive palm branch and watched all the smaller ships returning to base. With a heavy heart, she had already felt so many losses through the Force, and longed to see familiar faces again. During her many long years of life, she had learned not to trust her feelings of relief and satisfaction upon the conclusion of any conflict. There was always something darker and worse to take the place of the last one.
xx
As soon as the Falcon landed on Ajan Kloss, Rey felt a nauseating wave hit her like a ton of bricks. The hatch lowered and Rey pushed the others out of her way as she hurried to the side of the gangplank and grabbed the edge as she fell to her knees to spit up. Others immediately rushed to her side as she heaved.
"You alright?" Ben asked as he knelt behind her, placing an awkward hand on her shoulder.
Some of the pilots ran to fetch a medic. Rey nodded in the affirmative, stiff as a board, and leaning over the edge in case she needed to spit up again. She couldn't look at Ben; she was too embarrassed.
Maz and a handful of others approached the Falcon to meet the descending party, but some became wary of getting too close once they discovered Rey being sick. The small, elderly leader hobbled up the gangplank before the medics arrived, holding a damp rag in her small orange hand. She kindly offered the cloth to Rey, resting her other hand on the girl's trembling shoulder. After a few moments and applying to cool, wet rag to her forehead, she felt better. The wave of sickness left just as quickly as it had arrived, but she was shaken by it.
"You're alright," said Maz. It could've been a question, but Rey felt like it was a reassuring statement.
Finally, a couple medics arrived at the Falcon with bright orange kit bags slung over their shoulders. Slowly Ben backed away, unsure how to help anymore, but Maz wasn't ever going to let Ben off the hook.
"You've got big shoes to fill," said Maz firmly. She eyed Ben with an inappropriate amount of glee, sizing him up.
Ben glared at her, tired of how she always spoke to him in near-riddles and with no context whatsoever. Did she even know what they had just endured? Did anyone here know of the horrors they had experienced on Exegol? What he had lost?
Maz sensed their collective heartache; clearly, neither of them knew what she did.
"Your mother was one of the rarest gems this galaxy has ever known and a leader that can never be replaced. I will miss my friend dearly."
Ben was shocked. So, she did know.
"Thank you," he replied, his countenance softening again. He was grateful for her condolences.
While the medics helped Rey to her quarters and making sure their heroine was fine, Maz gently ushered the compliant young Solo to the debriefing meeting alone.
"Come, I think this will be good for you," she said knowingly.
xx
The entire compound was buzzing with revels of victory, but the situation room was a quiet, solemn contrast to the outbursts of joy happening just outside its walls. Ben entered the dimly-lit amphitheater with Maz by his side, ushering him to the center where the remaining leaders of the Council gathered around the bright blue holotable. Drawn to the beacon of light in the center of the room and fondly remembering how his mother once stood here like she owned it, Ben took his place between the leaders and waited.
Lando was the first to speak, congratulating everyone for a hard-earned victory and leading the debrief before it was clearly Ben's turn to speak. Everyone knew why they were gathered there, and not all of them convinced it was the best timing. Lando waited a beat before quietly and formally asking Ben to recount to the best of his abilities what exactly had happened in the Sith temple on Exegol.
Although they didn't understand yet, the Council was asking Ben to return to one of the worst moments in his young life and explain everything in detail until they were satisfied. His stomach churned at the unwanted attention.
But, Ben agreed, bravely reopening still-fresh wounds which hadn't yet had the chance to heal. It took him several moments to gather and prepare himself; he didn't realize anyone would need to know about his most recent traumas and therefore hadn't formulated any coherent statements to share. Ben stared solemnly at the console imbedded in the holotable and remembered the first time he entered this room; afraid and quickly losing control.
It was surreal to think that first instance was only a few short weeks ago, but Rey had helped him keep it together then, with her beautiful and natural ability to wield the Force. He just needed to maintain control long enough to tell the Council what they wanted to hear and prove himself worthy during this final test.
"I know it's hard to package everything that happened into a neat little answer, son, but please try," Lando encouraged him, placing a comforting hand on Ben's shoulder.
The kind gesture felt foreign to Ben, despite having known nothing but kindness and mercy since he'd left his old life behind. He pushed himself to answer, safely knowing he would not be punished or abused if he took his time. He just wanted to get this over with and hide away with Rey until all of this blew over.
Ben took a deep breath and began to retell the events on Exegol to the Council members. He explained the mission start to finish, and then, when things started going sideways.
"It's difficult to explain the ways of the Force to those… who do not wield it," Ben said carefully, not trying to piss anyone off, "But it's even harder to explain what happened on Exegol, because I don't know if something like this has ever happened before."
The Council members shifted attentively around the holotable, already aware this was going to be difficult to hear. Out of the corner of his eye, Ben watched Lando's face settle into a frown, steeling himself for the worst just as Ben was.
"My mother had known…apparently for a while… that a conclusion like this was bound to happen. That this war, and all major intergalactic conflicts going as far back as the Battle of Naboo, were orchestrated by the Sith Lord, Darth Sidious. You knew him as Emperor Palpatine. And this was her chance to finally put an end to it. To him."
Judging by the reactions of some of the Council members, this was news to them.
"My mother brought Rey and myself to Exegol with intentions to destroy the Emperor, and that's exactly what happened."
Ben exhaled, feeling the burden of the truth weigh heavier on his shoulders as he came closer to revealing the part of the story he was dreading. He gripped the edge of the holotable harder, his knuckles going white.
"How was he destroyed, son? We need proof."
Ben exchanged pained glances with Lando, the only person in the room that knew him before his life descended further into darkness. He shook his head tersely, pressing his lips together in a hard line. An aged Mon Calamari tried to encourage him further, when Ben realized that the Council needed to hear how it happened in order to heal as much as Ben needed to be relieved of this painful burden. Together, with the victorious truth out for all to know, they could finally begin to heal all wounds.
"The Emperor discovered and exploited a weakness between Rey and myself… we are… kriffing hell, this is going to be hard to explain—Rey and I share a bond in the Force. It's how she was able to… to turn me away from the life I had before,"
Several Council members nodded and hummed appreciatively, completely incorrect in their assumptions that it was entirely romantic.
"No, no, it's more than that," Ben continued, as a rouge blush spread up his neck and ears, "We are bonded in the Force and our powers are… shared, I guess. A dyad. It's difficult to explain, okay?"
Lando chuckled amusedly, Ben's bashful frustration at the Council's misinterpretation was adorable and very reminiscent of Han. It brought back memories of himself with Luke, Leia, Chewie, and Han in the Falcon, and became humbled by such strong memories.
"Our dyad abilities were exploited by the Emperor and he was able to overtake us, damn near killed us…. But that's when she arrived."
The Council members were utterly silent and unmoving as Ben finally breached the heart of the matter.
"She followed Rey and I into the temple, watching after us the entire time. The Emperor knew her, but underestimated her power… I'm… I'm still in awe of it.
"I don't recall much of what happened after Rey and I were… incapacitated, but she was not alone. There were others present… Jedi that I'd believed to be long dead. But their Force spirits or ghosts, or whatever you want to call them, were there with us. There were so many, I didn't know all of them."
Proudly, Maz watched the wonder cross Ben's features as he described the Force ghosts who came to their aide. She'd felt some of them too, but choose to let the young Solo tell his story. The Council members were enraptured with his story, utterly on edge to hear more details.
"It took all of them to defeat the Emperor. I felt so useless then, but my mother had finally set out to finish what so many others before had tried to accomplish."
"What happened to General Organa?" The aged Mon Calamari asked.
Ben grimaced. He honestly didn't know.
"She sacrificed herself to the Force, allowing it to use her energy to return balance. There was no other way," Maz added quietly, unsure if Ben knew the answer.
Maz touched Ben's leg reassuringly, adding just for him, "It was her intention all along to protect the two of you, no matter the cost."
He glanced down to where she stood pressing her small and comforting palm against his thigh, and nodded in unmasked appreciation.
The Council seemed to collectively breathe again, shifting back at ease. Hearing the story first-hand was what they needed to make their final decision regarding young Ben's fate.
"Come, child. You have done very well," Maz praised Ben as she led them away for the Council to deliberate. "They will have decided before the day's done, then you can go where you want and be with whom it pleases you…"
xx
As Maz escorted Ben out of the compound, he felt a strong connection to her, more than he'd ever felt or known before.
"I'm sorry I've been difficult with you," he began slowly and awkwardly. "I want you to know I appreciate everything you've done for me. You've done it all without gain."
Maz chuckled lowly, immensely grateful to hear these words from his lips at long last.
She stopped and turned to face him, gesturing for him to come closer. Ben knelt and hunched his huge shoulders to come down to her level, obeying his elder without question. They were finally comfortable with each other's quirks and she placed a small, gentle hand on his shoulder leaning in close to see his face without her enormous spectacles on.
"No," she smiled kindly, her voice impossibly warm, "I have gained much, young Ben."
She tapped his shoulder and turned to leave him. Ben smiled shyly in her wake, grateful.
As Ben stood and turned to leave the compound for quiet solitude at last, an unexpected blockade of two sweaty, blaster soot-covered men appeared in front of them. Snap and Beaumont stood side-by-side in front of Ben, effectively blocking his path, but this time they were not here to cause trouble. Ben glanced impatiently between the two men, expecting the worst.
Snap looked uncomfortable as he struggled to find the right words to convey everything he was feeling and trying to reconcile. He knew he'd behaved like a complete ass to Ben ever since the start and had always struggled to accept Leia's son for who and what he was, but simply knowing Ben was of the flesh and blood of his beloved General, his respect for her won out in the end.
"Listen, we just wanted to…" Snap's words faltered as he thought of Leia again. His voice cracked a bit from previously choking on sooty, sulfurous air combined with the unexpected welt of emotions bubbling up in his system.
"He means to say we were assholes to you—and we're sorry, man," admitted Beaumont quickly, like if his words didn't come out in a rush, they wouldn't come out at all.
Then, Snap extended his hand to shake Ben's, finally able to stare him in the eye without malice.
"I wanted to apologize. General Organa was a fine leader and mentor. My condolences to you."
Without hesitation, Ben reached out and clasped his arm with Snap's, accepting the man's apology. Ben's dark expression morphed into a humble smile as he stared Snap directly in the eye.
"Thank you, Wexley. I'm glad you made it back."
Ben let his arm slide out of the amicable shake and continued on his mission to find Rey.
xx
Finally reaching his destination, Ben was barred from entering the room while they examined and tended to Rey. Still feeling humbled by the council debrief and his conversation with Maz, Ben relented and decided to wait. One of the medics offered to patch Ben up as he handed him a metal canteen, full of water. He eyed Ben up and down, taking note of the blaster wound on his shoulder and the multitude of cuts, scrapes and bruises and torn bits of dusty clothing and suggested he take a rest while they patched him up. But Ben's veins were still full of fire after everything that had happened and was adamant he'd remain on his feet until everyone else had been cared for first. He'd submit to exhaustion later, in his own time. He was a free man now.
Reluctantly, Ben took the proffered canteen full of clean, cool water and drained about half of it, not realizing how much he had neglected his own bodily needs. He drank as he waited, his mind playing back the reel of memories from the past several hours of action. He felt hollow thinking of his mother, recalling everything she said to him before there was the deafening silence of her loss.
As he paced away from their shared quarters while Rey was being tended to, a startling revelation thoroughly invaded Ben's consciousness. His limbs went numb as a fresh understanding settled in his bones, jarring and sudden as lightning striking through a tree. He couldn't believe he'd been so blind.
Leia and Maz's cryptic statements…
Rey's sudden and inexplicable illness…
He was no expert and certainly never claimed to be the most intelligent of beings in the galaxy, but he did know Rey. He knew her inside and out and had picked up on the little changes… the things she hid from him when she thought he wasn't paying attention. He hadn't given them much merit because she never gave him any cause for worry—until she got sick. And for weeks now, he had assumed the dual Force signatures that emanated from Rey were from their synchronization as a dyad, and not for anything else.
The canteen slipped out of Ben's trembling hand; he was unaware that it rattled noisily on the concrete floor and the remaining water spilled everywhere.
What she's carrying is important, Leia had told him moments before she defeated the Emperor.
And his mother had known, all along.
If either of them fought the Emperor as Leia had, there would've been a greater loss at stake. Ben began to weep through his shock, fat tears carving tracks down his grimy face as he finally understood. His mother had sacrificed herself for all of them. Had the Emperor taken any more life-force from them… from Rey…from what was already so small… who knows if they would have survived. He squeezed his wet eyes shut and delved deeper into their bond, trying to sense the small signature again through the Force—a tiny blip amid all the surrounding chatter.
Immediately, Ben turned around and rushed back into their quarters, practically exploding through the doorway.
"OUT!" Ben shouted maniacally to the startled and confused medics. Only minutes ago he seemed so docile, but they didn't need to be told twice as the large and terrifying man invaded the small quarters with wild determination. The medics packed up their kits and hauled ass out of the room in record speed.
The look on Rey's face was a mix of mild concern and amusement—amusement she was trying and failing to hide—but, she knew he'd finally figured it out. Their connection with each other was still wide open, ever since their melding meditation on the Falcon.
"Ben," said Rey cautiously, gauging him. He looked absolutely wild.
His chest heaved with each heavy breath.
"C'mere before you hyperventilate," said Rey calmly, patting the space on the cot next to her. But he didn't budge.
"H—how long have you known," he said, his voice suddenly small and reconcilable.
Rey's eyes fluttered downwards, staring at the blanket draped over her legs for a moment before smiling back up at him.
xx
The Rebels' prison cell was probably the only prison he'd occupied as a detainee in his entire life, and comparing what he knew of the Empire's and First Order's standard prison cells, this was by far the most hospitable. Neglecting the moderately clean cot provided for his apparent comfort, Hux instead sat on the hard ground with his head in his hands as the sounds of multiple footsteps approached, echoing ominously down the concrete hallway.
He hadn't heard any activity for nearly a full rotation and was beginning to think they'd abandoned him here to rot. His anxiety reached peak levels a few hours ago when he woke, realizing he'd fallen asleep and without knowing for how long. None of his benevolent captors had yet to return and check on him, or be so considerate to leave a chronometer. He didn't like the isolation aspect of being behind bars. In a sense, Hux had been imprisoned his entire life by the Empire, forced to survive in its cruelty or die like a coward, and had become used to living in such a state—but, he absolutely hated the feeling of being alone. He could deal with the prison cell and he could even tolerate the physical abuse—after all, it wasn't anything new to him—but being left abandoned to his own devices was his personal hell.
The footsteps grew louder and two men rounded the corner to where Hux could finally view his visitors' approach. Relief surged through Hux, unaware of the exact moment that he'd become comfortable with these two Rebels and knowing they symbolized safety.
Poe and Finn approached Hux's cell, their stride in sync with each other as they closed the distance. Finn held a steady, reserved expression on his face as the men came face to face, but Poe seemed inexplicably more friendly.
"On your feet. Time to meet the Council, General Hux," he said, and his tone was absurdly civilized for the situation.
Hux smoothed his ruffled hair back into a somewhat presentable coiffure, but he didn't stand right away. He continued to stare between Poe and Finn, attempting analyze the current situation.
"I assume you've defeated the First Order?" Hux asked evenly.
Both Poe and Finn's mouths turned upwards into mirrored triumphant smirks.
"Yeah, don't know how we swung it—but we did. C'mon, we gotta go. The Council will fill you in on all the details."
Hux narrowed his eyes. They weren't telling him anything and he knew it.
Finn mirrored Hux's suspicious glare—he knew what his former commander was thinking; he was trying to analyze the situation to his advantage.
"The Council is going to hold your trial and sentencing now," Finn answered evenly.
Hux automatically got to his feet, spurred forward by a terrifying mix of fear and hope that these people weren't going to outright slaughter him—even though he knew damn well he deserved it a hundred times over.
"Where's General Organa? She promised to see my trial through personally," Hux asked, his voice trembling slightly.
Poe exchanged a private, pained glance with Finn, and Hux immediately assumed the worst.
Hux sucked in a gasp as he realized there was no hope now. He found himself staring down the worst case scenario—his one guarantor had perished in the battle—no more protection from the full force of his punishment. Any remaining color faded from his already pale face as he realized he was facing the worst possible outlook now. He felt sick to his stomach and now everyone knew the ugly truth—he was a coward.
"Then, might as well blast me where I stand and get it over with already," Hux said bitterly. "I'd hate to waste any more of your precious time and resources."
The Rebels exchanged another look with each other, though this one far less concealed. Finn's brow furrowed into confusion and he took a step forward towards the cell's key console, punching in the code to open the doorway. Hux's stomach turned, knowing his end was here and he really was going to die like a coward. They were opening the door to blast him and this was it—he shuddered to think this was the end to his pathetic life—and in a comfortable makeshift Rebel prison cell, no less.
His blessed father was surely turning over in his grave now, perpetually disappointed in the son he never wanted.
As Poe and Finn took a step into the small cell, Hux crumbled to his knees suddenly unable to stand like a man as he faced his end.
"Hux. Get up," Poe said irritably, "We're not gonna kill you, ya silly bantha."
Quickly, Poe turned to Finn asking, "Has he always been this dramatic?"
Finn stood wide with his hands on his hips and shook his head, staring impatiently at his former commander, "Yep. It's a requirement to be in the First Order, apparently."
"I see why they kicked you out, then," Poe teased Finn and was immediately on the receiving end of a quick jab to the arm.
"What?" Hux exclaimed, watching the ridiculous banter unfold between these two—Hux went from anticipating certain execution to watching his captors crack jokes at his expense like he wasn't just about to be sent to his trial and sentencing.
"C'mon, General," Poe repeated, leaning down to heave the former enemy up from his frozen position on the ground and getting the thin man to stand on his own two feet. Finn reached down to help as Hux staggered under his own weight.
"Don't bitch up now," Poe murmured under his breath. "We got a party to join."
xx
Maz knocked on the door to their quarters and opened the hatch without waiting for an answer to find Ben kneeling on the floor next to Rey, clutching her with his face buried against her abdomen.
Surprised, the dyad looked up in unison at their elder's unexpected entrance and separated from their entwined and intimate position.
It was now apparent to most people who knew Ben that he struggled to completely conceal his emotions like he was once able to as Kylo Ren. His emotions, however much they tended to betray him, humanized him again.
R2-D2 beeped behind Maz.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but we come with a message for you both… Artoo," she moved aside so the astro droid could zip into the center of the room.
Ben and Rey exchanged worried looks, their emotions in tune with each other as they tried to level out again. Maz came to Rey's bedside and stepped between the dyad, taking young Rey's bandage-wrapped hand in her own. After having lived through countless wars, Maz still knew how to be gentle. She glanced slowly between the pair, looking to Ben first as she spoke.
"I know there's never a good time for messages such as these, but I hope the joy you will soon share will outweigh the sting of her loss."
Maz gently placed Rey's hand down and turned to leave, not wishing to invade their privacy any further.
Once again, Ben felt dismantled by Maz—he was stunned at this being's ability to be so wildly and accurately intuitive. She wasn't anything like Snoke, but her natural ability to perceive such intimate matters—things Snoke would only know by invasively prying into his mind and forcing the answers out—continued to astound him. This was a side of the Force he was vastly unfamiliar with, but desperately wanted to know better.
R2-D2 swiveled forward and activated the holoviewer and the image of General Organa was illuminated before them. Rey felt her stomach sink as she stared back at the blue, holo visage of the closest thing she had to a mother and listened intently. Likewise, Ben felt his insides twist upon first glance, but then relaxed as his mother's image began to speak.
"I wish more than anything in the universe that I could be with you now,"
Quickly, Rey pressed her hand to her mouth as she stifled the sudden cries she couldn't stop from coming at the sound of Leia's voice.
"To experience the bittersweet joys of victory and feel like you're on top of the world. I am sorry this is how things had to go. Thank you son, for doing the hard thing and listening to me. I had no doubt you would choose the right path. That being said, you've still got a long ways to go,"
Ben tensed up again beside Rey. His oft suppressed guilt from years of being Kylo Ren resurfaced with a bitter vengeance and Rey felt every wave that surged from him.
His mother shifted gears and spoke gently as she directed her message to the girl she'd mentored.
"Rey, there's nothing in this wide galaxy more satisfying than getting away with keeping a secret, but if you haven't told him yet, I think you should soon," Leia started to chuckle, a knowing and proud smile gracing her aged features through the holoviewer.
The dyad turned to stare into each other's eyes, their cheeks flushed pink from the happiness they now shared; his sudden discovery that drew forth a side of Ben he'd never felt before—a deep-seated desire to protect and to hope wildly for the future.
"Ben, as much as I've said over the years that you look just like Han, you are not your father—you are your own man—and you make your own choices. Don't let the long shadow of your past mistakes define your future. We may be gone now, your father and I, but never forget we will be with you always. Stay with Rey and take good care of each other. I love you both so much and may the Force be with you."
Ben was shaking before R2-D2 even powered off the holoviewer.
"There's gotta be more—Artoo, where's the rest of it?" Ben said desperately, shaking his hands as he leaned forward aggressively.
"Ben… that's all there is," Rey tried to reassure him, placing her healing hands on his shoulders to guide him back down next to her on the bed.
"No, that can't be it, it just can't—she has to come back," his voice cracked and he buried his face in his hands, unable to cope with everything he was feeling right now.
Grief.
Happiness.
Closure.
Pain.
Joy.
It was a blend he was not capable of taking easily, not that many could, but he'd been trained harshly for years to be a stoic, durasteel wall that never let anything through his defenses.
But not since he'd been with Rey.
She'd found a way through his defenses, tearing it apart piece by piece and replaced it with something he'd long forgotten—his humanity. Some days he enjoyed it, the camaraderie a rare treat to enjoy. But some days he'd rather return to what he knew before—it was what he could survive with—no matter how shallow it left him feeling. It was just easier not to feel.
"You knew, didn't you?" He asked, his voice frail with too much grief. "That's why you kept me out—you knew."
Rey gasped. She thought he was going to be mad with her if she admitted the truth.
"No," he sighed, reading her. "You were right to keep it from me. I wouldn't have understood," he said, resigned to the truth of the situation.
Rey reached for him, to firmly draw him into her embrace and allowed him use her to release every conflicted feeling he would rather not experience right now, but need to in order to heal. Ben reciprocated, his embrace swallowing her body as he shifted them to lay down together, entwined on the cot. His legs anchored them together while his arms created a protective shell for her body. He tucked his head into the nook of her slender neck, breathing deep. They still smelled of the acrid fire and brimstone from Exegol, black dust, stale sweat and fear coating their skin. But being with her right now felt like he was spiraling into that sweet spot of finding sleep, just before your consciousness blacked out and you knew you were safe. She offered him peace and acceptance while he provided protection and belonging, a symbiotic relationship in which they thrived. They could deal with the fallout later, but right now they needed to take rest and safety in the other.
xx