Chapter 1
The twin suns burned on the horizon casting a red-orange glow over the dunes. Rey Skywalker basked in their warmth and felt at ease. For the first time in her life there was a sense of peace in the galaxy.
She had debated clearing the sand from the ruins of the Skywalker moisture farm and staying a while longer, but knew that Poe Dameron would kill her if she kept his precious droid away from home for too long. No, she had decided, this was not to be her home. There was still work to be done all over the galaxy, and she felt sure that she couldn't stay tethered to one place for too long again.
Rey took a long breath of the warm, dry air and let herself sink into the sand, legs crossed beneath her, BB-8 at her side. She let her mind wander back to the sands of Jakku where she had spent so much of her life waiting. It seemed like a lifetime ago that she had dug through scrap leftover from battles fought long before she was born, hoping to find pieces that could be traded for rations.
The suns were nearly hidden behind the dunes now and BB-8 rattled off an inquisitive beep to his companion. She smiled.
"No, BB-8, we're not staying here. I know you're not fond of deserts. You can go wait in the ship - I'll be along soon. Promise," she told the little astromech.
Exasperated, BB-8 trilled and headed off to the Falcon to wait. Rey had seen many worlds since leaving Jakku with Finn, but something about the desert still spoke to her and soothed her. It reminded her of a simpler time. She laid back into the sand, her head resting on her pack and gazed up at the stars as they appeared in the evening sky. So many systems lay before her and she had no idea where to start. She knew that she would need to regroup with her friends, but beyond that, they were free to travel the galaxy, spreading the news of the Resistance victory at Exegol and rebuilding the Republic. It was a job for someone with more knowledge of such things than her, she thought.
Her eyes clenched as a tear fell, surprising her. She hadn't realized how emotional she had become. She sat up quickly and realized that the tears were welling up in her eyes and gravity pulled them down as soon as it took hold of them. Rey had not spoken of what had happened on Exegol to Poe and Finn yet, nor did she ever plan to tell them. It was a pain that she would bear, knowing that it would be difficult, likely impossible, for them to ever understand.
"Ben," she whispered into the wind.
Rey sat up and folded her legs beneath her again and cleared her mind. She could feel the Force flow through her body as she connected with it. She was lighter than air as she joined with this mysterious presence, allowing it to lift her from the ground. A wisp of sand blew up into the wind and circled around her, followed by several more.
"Be with me," she chanted.
When she lay nearly defeated, Rey had been able to reach out and connect with the Jedi of the past. A connection had opened between them that let their power join hers and gave her the strength that she had needed to defeat Darth Sidious once and for all. She hoped that if all Jedi joined this chorus upon their deaths that there might be one that she would be able to find in the Force.
"Be with me," tumbled from her lips with a small sob as she realized that she might not be able to find him. "Be with me, Ben. Be with me. Please."
Rey crashed down to the sand, landing on her hands and knees. Searching the Force for any kind of answers, what was she thinking? Of course that wouldn't work. He was no Jedi, after all. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she gathered fistfuls of sand. Rey stood and steadied herself when a cool breeze blew across her tear-stained cheek, causing her heart to skip a beat. It's just the wind, she told herself, trudging back to the Falcon's lowered ramp. BB-8 was waiting near the door. He clearly hadn't wanted to stray too far from Rey. She smiled and nudged his dome.
"Chewie, fire up the engines," Rey called as she entered the cockpit. "Time to go grab a drink."
The Wookie roared his approval and engaged the engines. The ship took off under Rey's control and pivoted, headed off in the direction of Mos Eisley. Poe had warned Rey about Mos Eisley, telling her something about scum and villainy and to watch her back, but she couldn't care less. She could think of nowhere else to honor the late Han Solo than in the cantina where he'd met Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi all those years ago.
Rey instructed BB-8 to stay on the ship, concerned that the cantina's no droids permitted policy was still in effect. Chewie and his bowcaster led the way as Rey followed, her lightsaber concealed under a loose poncho. Desert planets may be hot during the day, but once the suns had disappeared, the chill had set in quickly.
.
.
.
The bar was packed to the brim that evening and there was hardly room for a Wookie to make it through the crowd. He took Rey by the hand and pushed a few people as needed - no one really felt like pushing back against Chewbacca. They arrived at a table in the corner of the room that was occupied with a group of Duros. Chewie growled something at them in Shriiwook and they quickly dispersed, taking their unfinished beverages with them.
"Well that was rude," Rey chided him as she took a seat.
He grunted back.
"No, it was very rude. We could have found other seats or stood at the bar,' she responded.
Chewie looked hurt when he grumbled lowly at her.
She smiled. "This is your booth?"
The Wookie laughed and pointed to the edge of the table where Rey looked and saw a name carved into the wooden surface. She smiled as she read the name: Han Solo.
A waitress no older than Rey approached the table. "Can I get you something to drink? We're out of Toniray wine, I'm afraid but I recommend the Jet Juice."
"We'll have two Corellian Whiskeys, please," Rey told her, and Chewie cut in. "A whole bottle? Chewie, we do not need an entire bottle of whiskey. Please ignore my friend."
The waitress grinned. "Last server to ignore a request from a Wookie had their arm ripped off. I'll grab a bottle and some glasses for you, love."
Chewie chuckled beside her and Rey smiled. They didn't exactly have to be anywhere at a certain time, so she supposed it would be all right if they slept in the docking bay for the night.
"So this is really where you met them?" Rey asked, incredulously. Her eyes were wandering over every detail of the cantina. "I heard that Obi Wan had sliced off a patron's arm when he threatened Master Skywalker. Is that true?"
He nodded and pointed to the spot at the bar where he had been standing with Kenobi when the lightsaber had activated. Chewie told her that it was some time since anyone in the bar had seen a lightsaber and it had caused quite a raucous.
She smiled. "I'd imagine so!"
The waitress returned then with their bottle and three glasses, pouring the first one for each of them and helping herself to the third cup.
"Who are we drinking to tonight, my friends?" She asked.
Chewbacca howled as he lifted his drink.
"He was a good smuggler and an even better man," Rey added.
Smiling, the waitress clinked glasses with her patrons. "To Han Solo, then. Cheers!"
They each drained their drink in one gulp, although Rey sputtered on the liquid as it burned its way down her esophagus. Chewie slapped her several times on the back, causing her to hold up a hand in protest. She coughed a few more times as she insisted that she was fine.
"Really, I'm ok. I've got another toast to make, pass me your glass." Rey told him. Their waitress had wandered off by now and Rey poured a second drink for each of them, raising hers. "To Ben Solo. May he finally know peace in the Force."
Chewbacca stared at her for a long moment.
"Are we going to drink or not?" Rey demanded.
He growled in question and Rey breathed out a sigh. She drained her glass and told him the story of the man who had been Kylo Ren.
"I wanted to talk to you sooner, but I knew that it would be difficult," Rey told him. "For both of us. From the first moment I met him something in me told me that there was still good in him and I was right. Leia was right. So was Han."
Tears were streaming down her cheeks now and the bottle was nearly half gone. Chewie patted her shoulder with a furry paw and tried to sound reassuring.
"I was alone for so long but when I was with him I just wasn't. I had spent so long waiting for my parents not knowing that they weren't what my soul was missing. We had this connection that I can't even begin to describe. It was like when he was there I felt whole and I think that he felt it, too." Rey hung her head between her shoulders, a lock of her hair falling in her face. "He had been so very lonely."
And then she was wrapped in a pair of massive Wookie arms as Chewie thanked her for sharing with him what his little sidekick had gone through after their parting. Her tears soaked into his fur as he patted her head and held her close. There truly was nothing quite as comforting as a hug from a Wookie.
Rey choked back her tears for a moment and poured another glass. Chewie tried to argue with her that she had had enough, but she would not hear it.
"To my parents, who died to protect me," she said and drank, refilling as soon as the glass was empty.
She raised it again. "To Leia Organa; Princess, general, friend, mentor, and hero of the Rebellion and the Resistance."
The whiskey burned, but it did not deter the next pour. "To Luke Skywalker; Jedi Master, Rebel Hero, and galaxy's worst uncle."
Rey choked now as she swallowed. "One for you, Chewie, my friend. For being with me every step of the way. For letting me jump in an escape pod and go try to save Ben from himself, for making sure that Poe didn't blow up the Falcon, and for bringing half the galaxy to battle the Final Order. We'd have been lost without you."
The bottle was nearly gone and she emptied the last of the amber liquid into her cup. "And Ben, oh my stars. Thank the maker for you, Ben Solo. You saved my life and showed me that there is still good in even the darkest of places. Goodbye, my love."
Rey drained the last of the drink and the cup fell back to the table, shattering. She saw a streak of red and then felt weightless and then everything went dark.
Disclaimers:
I think it goes w/o saying that I don't own the Star Wars universe or its characters.
Authors Note:
-So, this is my first fic in over 10 years. Wow.
-I'm a mom, wife, writer, (almost) librarian, and grad student. As such, updates will probably be every 1-2 weeks for now.
- I truly love every single Star Wars movie, yes, even Episode I. Empire will always be my favorite. 3
- I know you're not gatekeeping, but I've been a SW fan since 1990 and I've watched and re-watched the movies many, many times since then.
- I'm a bandwagon Reylo.
- I really did love TROS.
Anyway, I think that's it. Thanks for reading!
