Author's Note: So I know my chapters are little bit shorter. That's because I'm doing batch updates. As in writing multiple chapters at a time to keep the story flowing and not have such long gaps.

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. I only play in their world.

Reviews: Too many updates?

"and like the moon,

she had a side of her

so dark, that even the stars

couldn't shine on it;

she had a side of her

so cold, that even the sun

couldn't burn on it."

-Abigail J

Rey

"Ugh-"

My throat is dry where I can't even spit. The taste of antiseptic in the back of my mouth is worse.

I shudder and try to sit up, wondering what the hell is going on.

The last thing I remember is Finn yelling at me to hurry up when I was thinking about...

I jackknife into a sitting position and gasp when I feel a pinch in my side.

"Whoa Rey!"

Hands on my shoulder and finally my eyes adjust to the dim lighting and it's Poe standing over me.

"P-," clearing my throat is like swallowing shards of glass, "Poe? What happened?"

"You collapsed half-way down the hill. Damn near gave me a heart attack! Why didn't you tell anyone you were injured!"

He's yelling at me again. I suppose I'm used to it but his rant isn't making sense.

"Injury? I'm fine."

Poe makes a strangled noise and just stands there staring at me, his mouth slightly open.

I think this might be the first time I've left him speechless.

It doesn't last long.

"Unbelievable. You are...unbelievable. Don't tell me you traveled all this way without realizing..."

I still have no idea what he's going on about. Yeah I'm a little banged up but what else is new?

"Rey! You are...I swear I'm going...look!"

He stabs a finger at my lower side. My tunic is gone, just the band of cloth around my chest and what looks like a bacta patch just above my hip.

It's taken me this long to realize I'm practically naked.

"Poe!"

Scarlet heat across my skin and I scramble to pull the blanket up around me. There's no way in hell I want to be naked with Poe standing over me.

This is wrong. So wrong.

Poe blinks at me and his anger morphs into dark humor in a matter of seconds.

"What? You think I haven't seen half naked women before? Rey, no offense, but your skinny ass is not the least bit appealing."

He gives a slight shudder and puts a hand over his eyes.

"Man it's like looking at my little sister. This is wrong. So wrong."

Well at least we agree on that much.

My humiliation fades when I touch the bacta patch.

"Where did this come from?"

"Me."

I look up to see Janna enter the make-shift tent I'm in.

"You were bleeding pretty badly. That cut over your hip is a good two inches deep. I can't believe you jumped from that TIE in your condition. Are all Jedi insane or is it just you?"

I think back when Leia told me about Master Skywalker standing in front of all those AT-AT to buy them time to escape Crait.

It was suicide and yet he didn't hesitate. Of course no one knew he was only projecting himself and in no physical danger.

But that wasn't the point.

I think of Ren when he was shot by Chewie and still managed to come after me when I was running from Starkiller Base with Finn.

"I think it's a requirement actually."

She sighs and points to the flap of the tent.

"Out. She needs to get dressed and tell Finn to stay away until she's decent."

"Going. Gladly. I swear Rey you are nothing but trouble."

Still mad at me.

"Men!" Jannah muttering as she tosses something in my direction, "Here put that on. We cleaned most of the blood out so it'll have to do."

It's my tunic but no longer pristine white. It's almost gray now but I shrug into it. I really don't care about the color so long as I'm covered.

Gingerly I pull it down over my wound and wonder why I didn't notice it. You would think a two-inch cut in my side would have grabbed my attention.

Then I remember.

The searing pain when I ripped my clothing away from the crumpled door.

The burning sensation. The stitch in my side when I was trying to run.

My body had been trying to tell me but I refused to listen.

"Thanks. Where did you get the bacta patch from?"

"Scavenged from the different wrecks we've located. It might be a bit out of date but I promise it'll do the job so long as you give yourself time to heal. That was really reckless. Good thing your friends look out for you."

"Yeah," I wince as I swing my legs out of the cot and put my boots back on, "I suppose so."

"You suppose so? Damn girl that's a callous attitude right there."

She's right and I should care more about how I'm treating them. But all I feel is numb. What's one more injury when faced with the battle ahead of us.

I'll be lucky if I make it out alive at this point.

My fingers tremble at the edge of my boot.

Where had that come from? Of course I was going to live. We only had to defeat the First Order and the mad emperor hiding on Exegol and then...

The war would be over.

Right?

I shake off this strange unease gripping my mind. Everything was going to be fine once I find the wayfinder.

Nothing else matters but the wayfinder.

"How long was I out?"

"Thirty-minutes more or less."

I give a small, silent thanks for that bit of mercy.

"Great. Show me the skiff."

"Are you insane? You passed out from blood-loss and barely patched together."

"Doesn't matter." I grind my teeth as I get back on my feet. A slight pull on my left side but the bacta is doing its job and the pain is fading. "I came here to finish what I started. I don't have time to rest."

"Alright then. This way. Skiff's moored not too far from here."

I blink, startled when she gives in. I was expecting a fight and I think she must have seen that because she gives me a rueful smile.

"Look Rey, I'm not your keeper. I'm not here to tell you what you can or can't do. You want to see our skiff? Fine by me."

Thank the Force. I'm so tired of having to fight or explain why I need to do something just to get it done.

If this was Finn or Poe I know damn well I would have wasted at least fifteen minutes trying to beat it into their heads that I didn't need to be coddled or given time to rest while they take on the work.

If this was Ben...

I swallow hard and follow Jannah out of the tent and squint at the murky light seeping through the clouds.

Ben would have gritted his teeth, probably mutter something about how stubbornly stupid I'm being and patched me up. Then he would have taken my hand and joined me.

Stop it. Enough already! You left him. You burned that bridge so quit torturing yourself over him!

Yes I left him but only because he gave me no choice. He lied to me. How am I suppose to trust someone who lies?

Yes that's right. He lied to you so you lied to him. What choice did you have but to leave before he left you?

That's not true! I...he...

"Rey? You okay over there?"

Jannah cutting through my inner turmoil and I switch gears.

"Fine," I look up at the sky, "just wondering if a storm is brewing."

"Sky always looks like that but weather here is unpredictable. Come one, we're nearly there."

I follow behind and try to get my mind back to where it needs to be.

Here on Kef Bir.

Not in the stars and with him.

I wonder if he's made it to Exegol yet? The Steadfast had been close to making their approach when I-

"Rey! What are you doing out here?"

Finn running for me and Jannah grabs him by the arm before he can tackle me.

"Stop Finn. She's not some kid who needs looking after. She has as much right to be here as you. Now let's go."

I give a slight nod in Jannah's direction, grateful for the intervention.

A fleeting smile before she gets back to business but it's enough.

The skiff is moored inside a natural cove so that it can easily be pushed out when the tides are right.

The spray coming off the sea is bitterly cold and my skin pebbles immediately. Now I know why I see everyone in waterproof gear.

"I...wow. When you said skiff this isn't what I pictured."

"Yeah, they're pretty impressive considering we built them from scratch. Takes three people to control her properly."

I climb up noting the design structure. The flat wings on each side with the mesh lining look like something I would have used on Jakku to catch debris buried in the sand.

Jannah is pointing out the controls and I listen closely.

"This is the pilot seat. Over there and there are for the riggers. The other two use the anglers to collect our sea bounty."

I could see why it would take three people to pilot her. It required extreme coordination and balance to crest even the smallest wave which easily tops twenty feet.

I've piloted something similar on Jakku. Smaller wind-sail skiffs that allowed me to cross the sands to wrecks that no sand-speeder could ever hope to reach.

"This uses ion propulsion to maintain the speed in order to get across the sea?"

I've surprised this taciturn woman.

"Yeah that's right. How did you figure it out?"

I shrug and run my hands over the controls.

"I have a good eye for anything mechanical. Built a lot of my own stuff when I lived on Jakku."

"Is that right?"

Jannah said that it takes three people to pilot this skiff and for the most part she's right. But the way the riggers are situated...

Three people, yes. Or one person with the heightened reflexes of a Jedi.

"So when do we leave?"

Jannah is speaking to Finn and they both go deathly silent at my interruption.

She turns and looks at me with wide-eyed disbelief.

"Excuse me?"

"I said when do we leave? We don't have any time to waste."

Even now I could feel the hours ticking down inside my head. Just how long would it take for Ren to get back to Exegol and return with his new fleet?

"Girl I take back what I said. You are insane. Do you see those waves out there?"

I look out into the distance where she points. The violent sea crashes against the bones of the Death Star. Some of those waves were almost to the height of the crumbling structure.

"Those are thirty foot waves and they're just baby waves compared to what awaits us at the wreck. Fifty foot waves, maybe higher."

"But this skiff-"

"No." She cuts me off without letting me finish, "Between you and your friends you've caused enough disturbances in the atmosphere that crossing now is suicide. We'll have to wait until morning when the water settles."

I can't believe what I'm hearing.

"Morning?" I stare at her, anger burning me alive, " we don't have time to wait for morning! We have to go now. I don't care what the danger is I-"

Jannah in my face and I see fury in her dark, cinnamon eyes.

"You don't give me orders. I take orders from no one anymore. Those are my people you want to kill with your little suicide mission."

I open my mouth but she's not done with me.

"No. I don't care what your excuses are, you're not taking our skiff until I deem it safe to cross. I'm telling you now that won't be until morning. I'm not changing my mind and as I've pointed out, it takes three people to control her."

She steps back and takes in a deep breath before letting it out slowly. She sounds calmer when she speaks again.

"We're willing to help you. But you have to give us time. That's all I'm asking."

"Sure Jannah, we understand. Poe and Chewie are doing their best to get the Falcon ready but there's a lot of work to be done."

Finn glares at me and I know that rigid stance all too well.

Finn isn't going to help me change her mind.

Neither can I count on Poe, not with his priority on the Falcon.

No one seems to understand that getting the wayfinder is the only thing that matters.

Even now I hear it calling out to me. Whispering in my head, a blanket noise that drowns out everything.

Fine. I was going to have to do this myself.

"You're right," I wonder when it became easier to deceive everyone with my lies, "I'm sorry for pushing you like that. You've been a big help to my friends. I'm just worried."

"Hey we all are."

Finn crossing to my side, his hand on my shoulder. The warm weight feels like a shackle.

"We'll head back to the Falcon and give Poe a hand with the remaining repairs."

He looks to Jannah.

"Pick your crew and we'll go with you at first light."

"Better get back to your ship," Jannah has her head tilted back and looking at thunderous sky, "weather's about to shift and when she does nobody will be going anywhere for the next few hours. I'll continue working on repairing the second skiff. She's not as badly damaged. Shouldn't take more than a few hours at most."

There it is. That brief window of opportunity I need to get the job done.

They might be too scared to cross those seas but I'm not.

"Rey? Come on we should go."

"Right behind you Finn."

I climb down the skiff and pretend to wait in the distance while Finn speaks to Jannah about some last minutes plans.

But I'm actually looking at the path to the Death Star. Those waves are nothing like the sweeping dunes of Jakku but I know I can do this.

I have no choice but to do this.

The waves rush in and roll back and I glimpse, briefly, a narrow stretch of sea that leads to where I need to go.

That's my path.

"You ready?"

"Yep. I'm ready."

I turn away and walk back with Finn to the Falcon.

I just have to wait a little longer and then...

The wayfinder is mine.