Once the adrenaline from the escape wore off, fatigue began to settle in. Rey excused herself for a short rest in the sleeping quarters, asking the others to let her know if the stormtrooper awakened before she returned. While sleep came almost instantaneously, something awoke her a short time after. Feeling as though she were being watched, Rey kept her eyes closed while she reached out with the Force. Yes, someone was there…but at the same time, she was still the only one occupying the room. It was as if the life shimmered, fading in and out with every breath she took, or as if she was catching glimpses of something running through a wooded forest, there in fragments one moment and gone the next.
Could it be one of the porgs? No, Rey thought, even the presence of an animal would be consistent. Rey mulled the options over, still not wanting whoever was there to know she was awake. Then, when realization hit her, Rey sat upright and opened her eyes.
"Ben?"
Sure enough, Ben Solo stood on the opposite end of the room. The blue glow from his figure lit the cramped quarters, giving an illusion that suggested he was a glowing planet in the middle of a starless galaxy.
Rey pushed herself off the bunk and strode to close the distance between them. She reached out to touch his face, but her hand crossed the invisible threshold, touching only air instead.
"I'm sorry," Ben apologized, the pain apparent in his voice and eyes. "I didn't want you to see me like this,"
Rey nodded in understanding, trying to force down a lump that had suddenly emerged in her throat. "But you're all right?"
"Dying on Exegol didn't hurt, if that's what you're asking,"
"I'm sorry," Rey said, "If I had known you'd given your life for mine-"
Ben shook his head. "I don't regret my decision. I would do it again if I had to,"
"You didn't deserve to die,"
"I deserved worse after everything I'd done as Kylo Ren," Ben said. "But if there are any wrongs I can right to atone for my actions even after my death, I will do them. Which is why I must speak with you,"
Rey felt a twang of hurt. So this was merely some business call from beyond the grave? "Why here, and why now?" she asked. "I saw Luke and Leia back when I was on Tatooine; why didn't I see you?"
"I wanted to speak with you sooner," Ben confessed, "Believe me, I did. But like I said, I didn't want you to see me in this…form. Because I knew if you looked at me again the way you're looking at me now, I would walk to kiss you, to give you anything and everything…" Ben waved his hand through a nearby crate, only to show it come through on the other side. "…but I can't,"
Ben's words mirrored how Rey felt. It pained her to see him but not be able to hold or comfort him. They had shared one kiss, and one kiss only. "He may be with me," Rey thought, "But we will never be together in that way again,"
A determined look crossed Ben's face, as if he suddenly remembered something. "Still, this doesn't mean I can't warn you of the danger that lies ahead,"
The emptiness Rey felt was replaced with a chill that went down her spine. "What kind of danger?"
Ben nodded in the direction of the storage closets. "Given the rank, I doubt the stormtrooper Lando brought aboard will be able to provide much in the way of details. But the soldier will know this much: Vader has returned, and he is coming for the Resistance,"