Author's Update: Just a quick update for my readers. Hope you guys are still enjoying the story so far.
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars. Never have, never will. I simply play in their world.
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"He took all she had to offer...saw the beauty amongst
the chaos...stared every flaw, every doubt and every fear
in the face. He saw her spirit and ran free with it...he
showed her the fire that ran wild within his own soul
and together...despite the storms of life...together
they set each other ablaze and danced in the flames."
-Mary Huber
Kylo Ren
"Master Ren we've entered the ship. No sign of our quarry yet."
Ap'lek's distorted words coming over my comm.
"Keep a close watch, I know they're there. Is that ship capable of flight?"
Ghosts. Calrissian mentioned Rey was hunting ghosts. How long has that ship been sitting atop those cliffs?
"Yes but not for long. This craft has been abandoned for years."
"Proceed as planned and gather as much information as you can. The scavenger and her allies are our mission but I want to know more about this Ochi of Bestoon."
"As you command. Kuruk has taken his place and will alert us when our quarry has been spotted."
"I'm on my way. Keep me informed."
"Yes Lord Ren."
Ap'lek's voice cuts out as I continue to race across the sands and back to Lurch Canyon.
She has to be close.
Elation thrumming through my blood and my impatience to get to her makes me reckless as I push the speed of the TIE, taking the turns of the canyon so that the wings just miss the sides of the walls by millimeters.
I would soon have Rey back at my side.
I would have my Empress and Palpatine would meet his end at both of our hands.
It was only fitting as he sought to destroy both of our lives.
"Lord Ren. Quarry spotted. They have emerged from an underground cavern. The pilot Dameron has engaged Ushar, Vicrul is taking on the renegade."
"What of the scavenger and the Wookie?"
"No sign of the scavenger. Trudgen is battling the Wookie who is protecting a gold droid."
Where was Rey? It wasn't in her nature to simply sit back and let her friends take on a fight they couldn't win.
"Engage the Resistance fighters but do not kill them. I want them alive for questioning."
"Understood."
I pushed the TIE faster. Ap'lek was the only one I could trust to keep a clear head during battle. Ushar and Trudgen preferred to play cruel games with their prey before ending their suffering. Vicrul fed off of his enemies fear to make himself stronger and the psychological torture he inflicts is more damaging than that of physical torture.
"Master, the scavenger has appeared and Kuruk has her pinned at the entrance of the cavern. She attempts to break away as we speak."
"Hold her there. Do not let her regroup with her allies and do not engage her."
She is too powerful for them. Her connection with the Force eclipses theirs and her bloodlines are as strong as my own.
Blood will call to blood and the power I felt inside of her during our last connection makes me believe that she has yet to find her true strength.
I crest the Canyon and spy the Night Buzzard.
My ship lands hard next to it, scattering the sand as I descend from the cockpit, the sound of battle raging in the air.
I hit the ground running.
There is a building pressure in my bones, an ache in my skull.
Something is happening to Rey and the storm of power building in her is causing my Force-sense to drive shards of black ice through my veins.
A warning of imminent danger.
"LEAE THEM ALONE!"
Rey screaming, a primal sound that cuts through the air sharper than saber and I leap off of the cliff in time to see blue lightning split in half and throw my Knights away from their opponents.
Vicrul hits the canyon wall, his armor taking the impact but stunned nonetheless.
Lightning crawls over Ushar, his body convulsing as his war club acts as a conductor for the energy.
The ground rushes up to meet me as I slam feet first into it, a cloud of dust and debris in my wake as I land.
Rey is on her knee's and I can hear the echo of thunder in my head, feel the power surging between us.
The lightning is a siren's call and I feel my own blood rising to answer it.
She is screaming for her friends but I cannot make out the words as I run across the desert. My Knights are down but they will recover and her strike against them will only fuel their bloodlust.
"NO!"
Anguish and horror wash over me and I am close enough to see her new found power racing towards her friends.
They will die if it touches them.
I cannot get answers from dead bodies.
I reach out to Rey, wrapping her in my power and diverting her attention. My gamble pays off and her head snaps in my direction.
Eyes of hammered gold stare back at me.
The lightning reacts just as swiftly, adjusting its trajectory away from her friends and straight for me.
"NO!"
Her hand is convulsing, trying to pull back her power but the unleashed energy is beyond her control at this point.
Untapped potential and raw fury manifested before me.
There is a primal beauty to it , a lethal grace in this Force-lighting. Much like my Rey and I cannot help but be utterly captivated by it.
But there is no control, only unbridled rage and that will not do.
Planting my feet, I gather the Force around me and direct the lightning to where I want it go.
That brilliance hits the palm of my hand and I feel the rush of electricity try to crawl through my bones.
But I am no mere Padawan to be overcome by raw power. I have lived and endured long enough to know that pain is nothing more than nerve-ending's screaming and such things can be ignored.
I ignore it now as I bend her lightning to my will.
I take all of her fury and her fear and siphon it away.
The process requires absolute focus and all of my power.
The lightning fluctuates around me, trying to throw off my control but my will is stronger than its rage and slowly, inch by inch, it dissipates.
Rey is on her knee's, I can see the blood dripping into the sand, her hand clenched into a tight fist.
Between the two of us, the lightning has been tamed.
She looks up at me, exhaustion etching heavy lines around her mouth, hammered gold extinguished by fractured amber once more.
She's back on her feet and only I can feel what it cost her to stand upright.
The fire in her soul burns so brightly I cannot help but feel admiration for this woman who even now attempts to gain the upper hand.
"You've grown stronger."
I wasn't aware that she had learned Force-lighting. Neither Luke nor my m-General Organa used such tactics.
Force-lighting is distinctly a dark-sided weapon.
Her saber still glows at her side but she does not bare it at me and I move closer to her.
Tendrils of dark hair have escaped the knots, dirt and sweat mar the white uniform she wears and the cut along her cheek leaves a crimson smear across flushed skin.
She is still the most beautiful woman I have ever laid eyes on.
"So have you."
Soft, lilting words spoken through parted lips. I sense her wariness, hear her grudging admiration.
It feels as though it is just the two of us again.
Lust grips me by the throat and it take every last ounce of my control to not simply reach out and pull her into my arms.
To hold her and never let her out of my sight again.
My distraction of her nearness has allowed my Knights the advantage to move closer, using a well-known tactic to close ranks around their prey.
Trudgen moves closer and I watch as Rey pivots into a defensive stance, her saber nothing more than a blur of blue light across her body.
"Come any closer and I will drop you where you stand."
Harsh words hissed through clenched teeth as my Knight laughs.
He takes trophies of those he deems worthy adversaries and has his sights on Rey.
It is time to remind all of them who leads.
"Trudgen. She's mine."
He backs away from her but not before I catch the snarl of rage of being denied his prey.
It seems I must reinforce my edict that she is not theirs to keep.
We're finally close enough to each other.
"You're a difficult woman to find Rey."
She comes out of her crouch, eyes flashing amber flame as she lifts her chin to me in defiance.
"What did you expect? I don't give in easily."
No she does not but my trap is already laid and she is caught in it now.
"No you don't," I acknowledge, "but there is nowhere for you to run. I have the Falcon and your friend can't save you."
I make a point to look around and note with faint contempt that they have abandoned her to save their own skins.
In the end they turned on her, just as I knew they would.
Only I will stay by her side.
Forever.
Always.
There is strange light in her gaze, a gleam of a secret that only she knows as she moves closer, dropping her saber from its defensive position.
My Knights react, thinking she means to attack me.
But that is not the case and I snap out a silent command for them to back off and leave her to me.
They obey and I keep my focus on Rey.
She lifts a sardonic eyebrow and the curve of her lips is almost...taunting.
"Who said anything about my friends saving me?"
The roar of engine breaks the silence of the desert as her cryptic words take on new meaning.
We turn, mirrors of each other, as the decrepit ship of Ochi rises from the cliff.
So, she was meant as a diversion after all.
Dameron hasn't abandoned Rey, he simply made use of her to get the others to higher ground.
A clever if futile effort.
I can easily pull ships from the sky as I can deflect blaster bolts and lift my hand to do just that.
Delicate fingers that dig into my leather gloves and despite my mask, I breath in her scent.
Dappled sunlight and night-blooming flowers invading my blood, making my head swim.
My concentration splinters as she yanks my hand down, our fingers firmly entwined now.
The ship turns on sputtering engines, climbing higher into the atmosphere.
The heat of her body is a living flame and I find I am unable to tear myself away.
"If you want them," soft, murmured words that only I can hear, "you'll have to kill me. It's the only way I'm letting go of you."
I would sooner fall on my own saber than harm her.
I don't desire her death, I want her alive and at my side and I clench my hand around hers. I'm never letting her go.
A soft, almost inaudible sigh from her lips and I feel her trembling next to me.
"Ben," no more than a whisper but I hear the ache that bleeds my soul anew, "choose. What do you want more? Me or the Resistance?"
I made my choice a long time ago. That night when I saw her standing in the swirling snow, the glow of the lightsaber in her hands.
Frightened and trembling she still continued to lift defiant eyes against me.
It was then that I knew I had found my destiny.
"I have what I came for." Ap'lek behind her and before I can give into the impulse to pull her into my waiting arms and reveal just how much I desire her, I shove her away from me and into his waiting grip.
I cannot show any hesitation.
Not here. Not while their eyes watch me, waiting for me to show a weakness that they can exploit.
I lead only because I am stronger than they are, that I can hold my own against any one of them.
My Knights are like ravenous wolves and they will turn on me the moment I let my guard down.
"Your Resistance allies will not get far in a derelict ship." I hear her gasp, see the confusion swirling in her eyes that I choose to ignore, "Ap'lek take her back to the Night Buzzard and rendezvous with the Steadfast."
She hasn't tried to escape, not once. Despite the fatigue from the healing and the excess of power from the lightning she manifested she still has the ability to throw off my Knights.
There is more going on with her than what I can see.
I am not so foolish as to believe she has had a sudden change of heart and now realizes that her place is at my side.
Rey is loyal to the point where she will abandon all caution if it meant saving those she loves from danger.
She would not simply cast them aside. She wants something from me.
Well I want something from her too. I will play this game and see how far it takes us.
But I intend to win.
She is still looking at me with those defiant eyes and the sparks breath life into my soul and I feel my blood answering in response.
"You're mine Rey and this time you will not escape me."
