Force Dyad
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to their respective owners.
A/N-thank you very for kindly reading and reviewing the last chapter.
Chapter Four-The Grimtaaash
"What do you think, kid?" Han laughed as he presented the battered starship to his son. "I won her in a game of sabacc."
Ben gave his father a rare grin as he ran up the short ramp and climbed into the cockpit. Han hadn't been lying when he said that the old ship needed fixing up. The main shuttle was in a sorry state of disrepair. He tapped some of the dials on the console and they went haywire, emitting a load of useless data. There was no visible means of propulsion and no weaponry. But Ben didn't care. He could incorporate all that later. He climbed back out of the cockpit to find his father waiting for him outside with his hands on his hips.
"Its kriffing perfect." Ben crowed enthusiastically. "Thanks, Dad."
"Don't thank me yet, kid. She needs a lot of work." Han replied as he patted the gunmetal grey hull of the starship with his right hand. "You're gonna need to think of a name. Any ideas?"
"Not yet." Ben said thoughtfully. "But I'm sure I'll think of something."
"Let me know when you do." Han patted the side of the hull again in satisfaction before getting ready to leave.
"You're not going already?" Ben asked in confusion.
"I'm afraid so, kid. This was just a quick detour so I could drop the ship off to you. I've got some important cargo to deliver."
The eager light in Ben's eyes died. In his head he had imagined him and Han restoring the old starship together. Rearranging his face into something he hoped was nonchalant and casual looking, Ben did his best to hide his disappointment behind an air of indifference. "Don't let me hold you up."
Han wasn't fooled. He could tell his son was upset because his visit was being cut short. A twinge of guilt drove him to make another one of his rash promises. "You can come home for a visit in a few weeks. We can spend time together as a family. What do you say? You can show your mother the work you've done on the ship and maybe you might have come up with a name by then."
"Maybe." Ben answered, shrugging his shoulders. He knew the likelihood of that happening was non-existent. Still, he went along with the charade for Han's sake. It wasn't worth dragging out the goodbyes. "I'll see you later."
Han cleared his throat as he put his hand on Ben's shoulder in an awkward gesture of farewell. "See you soon, kid. Take care of yourself and try and mind your Uncle Luke."
Ben's eyes tightened as he nodded his head in acknowledgement. The pain in his chest was inexplicable. Seeing Han walk away from him so easily hurt a lot. Even though he wanted to plead with his father to stay for a longer time, he knew it was a pointless exercise. It felt like his parents were drifting farther and farther away from him and there was nothing he could do to stop it.
Skywalker and his three apprentices had been gone for almost a month on their exploration of an old Jedi outpost on Elphrona. They were due back any day now. It had been a success-the last communique from Skywalker, stated that they had been able to recover some ancient Jedi artifacts. They had run into some trouble though-a group of darkside users, calling themselves The Knights of Ren, had tried to steal the artifacts for themselves, but had easily been defeated by Skywalker.
Ben wasn't looking forward to his uncle and the other apprentices return. Even though he had been upset at first about being excluded from the trip, afterward he found he was glad that he had stayed behind and his uncle had taken the others instead. He had spent a peaceful interlude working on his ship, salvaging the necessary parts by any means necessary in order to get the starship into some kind of working order. On the nights Rey appeared, he would often take her with him so he could continue working. The starship was his passport to freedom and he was determined to finish it so he could make the first test flight as soon as possible.
Rey continued to be fascinated by everything around her. She watched him while he worked, her eyes following his every move. She soon learned the names of all the tools he used and became adept at passing him the right one when he asked for it. Ben had no qualms about letting her touch the tools and even taught her how to do simple rewiring when he occasionally paused to take a rest.
One evening, as they strolled back toward his hut, a bird took flight in front of them. Rey watched as young children do, with that look of love and awe. Her eyes stayed with the bird, the beating wings capturing her mind in the most calming of ways, the same way soft waves on the beach do. It was if she was in love with nature, with life itself, and Ben prayed she never lost that sense of childish wonder at experiencing new things. Sometimes he wished he could see life through her eyes, he wanted to learn from her how to be happy again.
Ben hunkered down beside her. "One day the starship will take flight just like that bird." He told her.
Rey's head tipped back while her face became a picture of concentration as she stared up at the darkening skies. "Way up there?" She chirped.
Ben gazed up at the stars building in the sky and their pattern that seemed so fixed and yet ever-changing, distant lights that called to his heart, that inspired his dreams of other worlds. "That's right, Rey. Way up there. One day I'll take you and we'll fly among those stars and travel to all the different worlds. I promise."
One more day of peace. One more day before Skywalker and the others were due to return. Ben woke up in a low mood. The time had gone too fast. He idled away his last few hours of freedom working on the ship-a ship that still had no name. He worked late into the evening, barely pausing to eat and drink, so desperate was he to put the finishing touches to the starship before his Uncle arrived. It was only when the darkness robbed him of the ability to see what he was doing that Ben reluctantly packed up his tools. He was already imagining Skywalker's lectures in his head, admonishing him for neglecting his training and meditation to constantly work on the starship. As usual he took the circular route back to his hut, eager to avoid the other students and caretaker droids.
Ben felt a raindrop fall against his skin, followed by several others, but he didn't have the heart to go inside his hut when he reached it. Feeling restless, he climbed up and sat on the edge of the roof, crossing one leg over the other, leaning back on his elbows to observe the remaining constellations uncovered from the clouds. The moon hung full and hazy beneath an eclipse of blazing stars, allowing him to see the rooftops of the identically built huts surrounding his own. In the distance he saw the shadowy outline of the Jedi temple, its twinkling lights mocking him. Ben closed his eyes, a rattled sigh passing through his parted lips as he did so, causing his breath to fog up in front of him. As he opened his eyes again, the first thing he spotted marring the night sky was the sight of Skywalker's ship descending from the heavens. His peaceful interlude was over.
Ben stared indifferently in front of him as he endured another one of Skywalker's lectures. He knew what had angered him. He had expected it. Ben tuned his uncle out like he always did. It was nothing he hadn't heard before. Skywalker's annoyance was love in disguise; his father often used to say back in the days when Ben bothered to tell his parents anything. 'Mind your Uncle,' was the last thing that Han had said to him. Ben felt the usual bitterness consume him as he thought about his father. Despite Han's promise that he could go home for visit, no date had materialised.
"I just worry about you, Ben." Skywalker said with a gusty sigh when Ben tuned back in. "The starship was supposed to be a project you worked on during your spare time. Instead you've let it interfere with your studies and your training. I'm really disappointed in you."
Ben's face flushed a dull red. His uncle was a hypocrite. It was fine for him taking off on a whim to explore some ancient Jedi outpost and neglect his duties, but not for him to spend a few hours restoring the starship his father had gifted him. Ben bit back a retort as he left Skywalker's office and stormed back to his hut. Of course, he had to cross paths with Voe on the way back. A huge smirk took over her smug face when she saw his furious expression. She knew that Skywalker had reprimanded him again. "You deserve everything you get, Ben Solo." She mouthed at him.
It took a lot of effort on Ben's part to ignore her obvious taunting. Instead he shot her a fierce glare and continued on his way. Oh, how he wished he could take off right now in his starship! It was almost fully repaired, but still hadn't undergone a test flight. "Soon, Solo. Soon you'll be free." He said in his head.
Rey's cheeks dimpled when she smiled at Ben. It made his eyes moisten that she was always so happy to see him. With everyone else in his life it was always the opposite. Today she had a healthy glow on her cheeks as if she had just come in from a brisk walk outside in the cold. Indeed, she was wearing a thick padded coat, a bobbled hat pulled low over her ears as if to ward off the chill. She nearly tripped over her booted feet as she ran over to him.
"Hey." He greeted her as he always did. "What have you been doing?"
"Collecting stones." Rey chirped as she dug her hands in the pockets of her padded jacket and showed him a variety of small pebbles in varying shades of brown and grey.
"Nice!" Ben praised her. He asked her a few generalised questions, trying to gently coax her into giving away more information about where she was. But she immediately clammed up, mumbling 'secret.' Ben always found this immensely frustrating. He could see she was getting anxious. It worried him that she was so secretive, it was something her parents had clearly instilled in her. He was beginning to think they moved around a lot. Some of the things she innocently let slip indicated that they never stayed in one location for long. And there had to be a reason for that. Either it was because her parents had to travel to find work, or they were on the run from something. Ben hoped it wasn't the latter.
"Story?" Rey asked hopefully as she yanked the bobbled hat off her head.
Ben relaxed and lifted her up onto the bed beside him. Recently he had taken to reading her some of the mythological Alderaanian tales that his mother used to share with him about her home planet when he was Rey's exact age. He began to tell her about the Grimtaash, a figure from Alderaanian myth. "According to legend, Grimtaash protected the royal family of Alderaan from traitors, blinding them in frightening flashes of light…."
Rey was completely transfixed by the story. So much so that an idea began to form in Ben's mind. He had been searching for a perfect name for his starship, he believed he had just found one-Grimtaash.
As Ben glanced down at Rey, he found that her eyes were drooping. Her fingers were curled into the fabric of his jacket, not tightly, but just enough to reassure her he was there. As she began to doze, unseen hands suddenly whisked her away and she disappeared into the ether. Even though this happened often, Ben still hadn't gotten used to it. He flopped back on his bed and closed his eyes with a defeated sigh.
A/N-thanks for reading. Please review.
