Star Wars: A dyad in the Force Chapter 19: Distinguishing a friend from a foe, a star wars fanfic

Warning: Major Spoilers of TRoS.

Note: This is a Reylo FanFiction (slow-burn)

Be Aware: Concepts contained in this chapter include a semi- bleeding scene and some violence.

「Act 19: Distinguishing a friend from a foe」

And you feel yourself suffocating?

Does the pain weigh out the pride?

And you look for a place to hide?

Did someone break your heart inside?

You're in ruins...

Jakku, 36 ABY

Mountains of metal, cliffs of plastic derivatives, oceans of splayed ceramics were jumbled together in a phantasmagoric industrial badlands that none dared enter, for fear of being poisoned, cut, or lost forever. None except a very few, for whom daring was as much a sense as a sight or hearing. Those who were brave and durable to survive the badlands. And those who were forgotten and forsaken to spend the rest of their lives here.

One such individual clung insectlike to a dark metal wall pimpled with protruding sensors, manipulators, and other decaying mechanisms. Clad in light protective cloak governing his face and body, gloves, and black desert clothing, the busy figure was burdened with a substantial backpack. Wielding an assortment of tools, the scavenger was excising an assortment of small devices from one metal wall.

Outside the metal caverns and at last clear of danger, the scavenger squinted at the blasted surroundings. He was thirty-one now with dark hair, darker eyes, and a hint of something deeper within. There was a burden about him that the surrounding harsh landscape had failed to eliminate. Anyone glancing at him would have thought him weak: a serious error of judgment.

It had been a respectable day's work, enough to ensure he would eat tonight. He wiped the sweat from his face and shook the remaining contents of the container into his upturned mouth. The last few drops sometimes clung stubbornly to the insulated interior. He overworked the day after, making sure to have enough spare parts to give to the Line Breakers gang and a few more for him to sell for food. Hard thing to accomplish in three days, but he always managed to reach the deadline.

Ben Solo had become one of the best scavengers that the Line Breakers had. He had won Noida's -the leader's- trust, and that offered him some comfort whenever he appeared with his gang to claim the mechanical parts. Solo was the best in his job, which soon made a few of Noida's men jealous and angry. Leaving Ben to receive their fury each time they showed up without their leader.

Solo had played their games and went to any torture or rough beating the Line Breakers had stored for him. For one year now, he never complained about his misfortunes, the rough treatment, the hunger and pain he was going through. He would always remind himself that he was worthy of it, after all his wrongdoings... what he had put through the entire galaxy. This was nothing in comparing his deeds.

After fastening his acquisitions to the transport, he climbed into the driver's seat. For an anxious moment, it seemed as if neither engine would ignite. Then one, and finally, the other roared to life. That was his life now; Ben reflected: a succession of anxious moments interrupted only by the novelty of occasional panic. All part and parcel of trying to survive on a backwater world as harsh and unforgiving as Jakku.

However, he was alive in this world for a year now. He had been close to death too many times. But it seemed dying was not an option. 'Fair enough!' was his reply. 'After all the pain and trouble I had caused. This suits me well.' Solo lived now as a scavenger, ripped and beaten by outlaws now and then. With his biggest issue to keep away from the dyad.

Rey consciously or unconsciously had tried multiple times to reach him. The dyad was calling him every day, ... every night, and managing to remain apathetic to such awareness drained him daily. Though the worse part was that ignoring Rey caused his heart to break every time. Honestly, he wished to speak to her to reveal that he was alive, to ensure her that he was well. But he knew, and he knew it well, Rey would run to his rescue. And Ben didn't want to be rescued. He was still coping with finding a way to atone for what he had done.

How can someone like him ever redeem himself? Dying would be only an easy escape. And Ben didn't want to avoid and ignore his wrongdoings. He was ready to face any brutality and fierceness along with his life if one day, it would allow him to live one second of freedom. And he was doing exactly that. Accepting that the Force brought him to Jakku and guided him to live through that cruelness, he remained isolated from everyone and everything.

Racing along the flat desert ground, he allowed the speeder's preceptors to guide him between endless rows and piles of ruined starcraft, obsolete or fatally damaged military equipment, civilian mechanicals that had outlived their prescribed lifetime, and even long-downed Imperial vessels. No one visited here. No one came to take inventory or write history. In these times, there was no nostalgia for death: especially not for that of machines.

Lifting, the speeder rose over the crumpled metal before it, soaring to a necessary height. Niima outpost was plainly visible just ahead. Niima: center of the galaxy, repository of manifold cultures, offering its myriad inhabitants a never-ending succession of entertainment, education, and enjoyable distractions. His smile twisted. Niima was a functioning armpit of a town and nothing more, a place where no one asked questions, and everyone went quietly about their own business.

It was just large and developed enough that if you dropped dead in the street, there was a fifty percent chance someone might go to the trouble of raking up your body and passing it along to a local protein recycler. Otherwise, the deserts of Jakku would take care of the remains in their own good time and without rendering any opinions on the virtues of the deceased.

He parked his speeder, then unloaded his salvage, and hauled it toward the community structure that had been built for that purpose and was open to all. Ben paused and sought his surroundings noting bounty hunters scanning the area. In Niima lately, the number of bounty hunters increased. And Ben already knew something was off. But it was not his place to interfere.

Once inside the tented, shaded structure, he unpacked the results of the day's work, leaned his staff against a worktable, and began cleaning. When it came to salvaging, appearance did matter. Compared to the strenuous work he had put into its recovery, a bit of polishing and buffing added little to the overall effort. Around him, other scavengers were doing the same. Humans and nonhumans communicated freely, commenting on one another's findings and exchanging gossip.

Finishing sooner than he expected, he made his way across the tent to the exchange booth. Unkar Plutt took his time examining pieces, letting his gaze rove slowly over everything he put before him, making him wait. Only when the bounds of common courtesy had been markedly surpassed did he deign to acknowledge his presence. Plutt offered him half of a portion, and Ben did not give him the pleasure of seeing his disappointment; he just took the pair of packets that appeared in the transfer drawer in front of him. One transparent package contained beige powder; the other, a more solid slab of something green.

Not replying, he turned and left, moving as quickly as he could without alerting him. He made his way towards his speeder, which actually was not his, its previous owner abandoned it, and Ben was the one who found it the first day in this forsaken place. Though with it came a unique home – an AT-AT walker toppled near the outskirts of the Graveyard of Ships. The walker was once Hellhound Two, from the Imperial Star Destroyer Interrogator; someone made a home for themselves in its former troop compartment.

Ben had figured out that the previous owner was no other than Rey, and living inside the former troop compartment became a necessity to young Solo. He would over-cross the lines Rey had drawn every day on the metallic wall. He kept the place as neat as he could. And he had managed to repair some of its utilities with the most important one that secured clean water. It was enough to drink and wash his face.

Suddenly, Ben watched a silhouette running toward him, making no sound at all; he seemed familiar to him. He indulged in a rare grin: when did the student become the master? His smile faded faster as he realized there was a gang of bounty hunters behind him. He was up on his toes, ready to aid him, as he caught one of the bounty hunter's blasters ready to fire.

Ben leaped towards him, placing his body in front of his and shielded him. The blow hit him on the right shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain. The man noted Ben now and spun around, his pose a carbon copy of Ben's own. Both gazing at each other and agreeing it was time for them to flee. Ben jumped on the speeder and pulled the other male with him. He almost felt his shoulder dislocating by the act. He ignored it. Then he turned on the engine and drove off as fast as he could.

Few of the bounty hunters fired aimlessly against them, and the rest chased them. However, Ben's driving skills were the best. It took Solo a few short moments, and they had escaped in the open desert. Out on the salt flats of Jakku, the only place to shelter from the sun was inside something one had built oneself. The speeder was an insignificant speck against the fiery, setting mass as he slowed on his residence approach. Climbing down, he left it parked where it had stopped and offered his hand to the man he had just saved. There was no reason to secure the speeder. Few came this way. Those who did, including the pirates and bandits who haunted the desert wastelands, wouldn't waste time trying to steal a vehicle as dated and banged-up as his transport.

Ben pointed at the AT-AT walker toppled near the outskirts of the Graveyard of Ships, "You can find shelter here for now." Ben ensured him and walked over the corner, searching for a clean cloth to clean his injury. He slowly pulled off his cloak and placed it over the bed. "How did you end up in Jakku?" he quizzed.

The man followed Ben inside the AT-AT walker toppled, staring at the surroundings and then turned to gaze at Ben, who was now trying to take off his shirt to clean the wound. "I'd never made it through the night." he acknowledged. "Well, because of you, now I have a chance! They fired at my X-wing, damaging the left shield. I only need a spare isolator... I'll fix the damage." He took a few steps closer to Ben, giving him an honest smile. "I Poe. Poe Dameron, I'm with the Resistance. And your help today will secure our next plan." Poe offered easily. "What's your name!"

Solo paused as he was ready to clean his injury that was caused by saving Poe early. He turned his back, and Poe didn't manage to see the horrifying scars against his skin. He remembered that the acting general had never seen Kylo Ren's face. Poe didn't recognize who he was. With a guilty look on his face, Ben announced: "We have met before." characterized by his previous actions; Solo added, "I'm Ben Solo. But I believe you knew me as Kylo Ren."

Ben could just imagine the sparks in his brain, desperately trying to connect the dots and instead just causing a short circuit. Poe's brain stuttered for a moment, and his eyes take in more light than he expected; every part of him went on pause while his thoughts caught up. Kylo Ren! The enemy! His voice screamed inside his head, and Poe pulled his blaster and aimed at Ben. "You? Here?" Poe hollered, "You are dead. You died on Exegol!" His gun kept aiming at Ben as Poe was trying to grasp how it was possible.

Solo seemed unbothered by Poe aiming a gun at him. Death was now the least of his worries. Ben was facing one of the people he had mistreated before. Someone that was respected by his mother and was carrying on her legacy. Beyond that, he no longer cared much about what would happen to him. "I died." came Ben's monotonic voice. "I did die on Exegol. And was brought back to life once more... left on Jakku." Ben felt Poe's uneasiness through the force.

It was as if an impact had knocked every wisp of air from his lungs, and he lay there struggling to inhale, to exhale, to do anything. That's how he felt now, trying to remember how to breathe, unable to speak, totally stunned as the name bounces around inside his skull. "Kylo Ren," Poe yelled at him as he recalled Rey correcting him 'Ben', "You are bold enough showing up yourself. After what you have done to the Galaxy, to the Resistance, ... to your own parents."

Ben tried his best to hold his tears. Though a few droplets remained, forgetting their way as the path was swept from beneath them, consequently blurring his vision with waves of sadness. The salty release calmly flowed into his mouth so that he could taste his own sorrow. Poe's words hurt like knives cutting into his gut. But Poe was speaking the truth. Ben was about to respond as he heard a well-known sound coming from the Line Breakers' ship. He almost forgot they would show up today to collect.

Ben grabbed his shirt and wore it, almost ignoring Poe, who was still aiming his blaster at him. He walked next to Poe and rested his hand against his shoulder. "Please hide here. This will go more quickly and less awkwardly. We can talk about this later, and you decide what should be done." Ben ensured him and walked outside to face the Line Breakers. Limp extremities creaked and cracked under the pressure of his body, as Ben noted that Noida wasn't with them. He already knew their encounter would not be an easy one.

The silence caressed Ben's skin like a cool spring breeze, smoothing his soul, taking away his jagged edges. It had been one hell of a rough day. And it would not get any better. Solo had to talk with Poe as soon as possible. It was the hardest task he ever overtook. He shivered only at the idea, to tell the acting General the truth. The difficult part was not to admit his wrongdoings. Actually, that was the easy part. Ben knew where his heart lay. He was not scared to confess his deepest thoughts. What was troubling him was, would happen if Poe revealed to Rey that he was alive.

Ben stepped closer, meeting face to face with Iku. The alien male hated Ben. He was sure if he were not afraid of their leader, he would have already killed him. Ben pointed at the metallic box of spare mechanical parts. He had managed to find a few of the best spare parts that would be sold at a high price. "Take it and leave." Ben almost ordered as he was anxious that the gang would discover Poe.

Iku laughed and gestured to one of his men, "Check the load!" Then he cycled around Ben a few times, glaring at him. Ben stood steal as he always would. Iku suddenly punched him in the gut and watched as Ben fell to his knees. "I'll be the one to decide when to leave. You keep forgetting your place. We should remind you!" Iku smirked evilly. "All right! I will see the punishment done. Rúm, bring the whip! Eleven are the lashes asked to be given to him today!"

"We do not really have any whips! After the last one was broken, we didn't get another." Rúm replied as seriously as he could.

Yet, the member of the Line Breakers grabbed Ben and turned him around. He faced the metallic pillar that was in front of him. He found the punishment ridiculous. Each time Iku would end up lashing his as a punishment game. Ben always played along, thinking it part of the punishment for his wrongdoings. He felt Iku pulling up his shirt and exposing his muscular back. He leaned his body against the pillar, and his arms wrapped around it.

Poe leaned closer to the entrance and watched what was happening outside. If he saw Kylo Ren in trouble, he didn't know if he'd help. He imagined him dangling from a high-rise tower, and the only thing between him and certain death was his outstretched hand. He was not sure if he would offer his hand to save Kylo. Rey's voice again reminded him 'Ben.' Yet Poe seemed troubled as he listened to what the creatures had stored for Ben. And what disturbed him more was Ben's scars all through his back. Older scars and fresh, revealing that he had whipped and beaten young Solo again and again.

Kylo Ren was the enemy. He surely deserved to be mistreated for all his wrongdoings. But at the end of the day, who was Poe to judge him. He as well had done his own failures. Surely not as Kylo Ren had. And Poe was not ready to forgive or forget his deeds. But let a group of outlaws beating the hell out of him wasn't acceptable as well. Poe's stomach turned from the unfairness, and he stepped out, revealing himself. "You possibly cannot! Actually, I ain't gonna let you!" he yelled loudly.

Iku turned and faced Poe as he had caught his attention. He laughed and looked at Ben and then at Poe. "You found a friend?" Iku mocked him, "And I thought you would remain in isolation forever. But I was wrong. Maybe he would want to play with us."

The Line Breakers knew Ben for one year, and never had he struggled or defended himself. Ben had always accepted anything they would throw into his way. However, as he saw Poe stepping out and even trying to help him changed the tide. Ben placed himself in front of Poe and Iku. He already knew what the gang was capable of doing. "That is something else! He has nothing to do with our deal!" Ben uttered loudly, "He isn't a friend... don't drag him in this."

"All right! I will see the punishment done by you then." Iku said and stepped back, pulling Ben towards the pillar, gazing at Ben and then Poe. "Since he is not your friend, he wouldn't mind ..." Iku paused and grabbed along a rusted cable that one of his men had found and handed it to Poe. "Here you wanted to be the Hero here and help him. If you whip him, the lushes will remain eleven; if I do it, they will be doubled. Choose wisely!" Iku offered and gestured his men to raise their blasters.

Poe grabbed the whip. Honestly, so many years in battles, it was the first time he was using such a thing. He walked closer to Ben, who just stood there waiting. An act that made him angrier. Especially as he noticed Ben could act still cold as Kylo Ren, like, at that point, he was not weary or scared. It somehow troubled Poe, who was gazing at the rusted cable he was holding and then at Ben.

He gazed over his shoulder at Poe, seeing him being worried. He gazed at Poe and gave him a light nod almost to assure him that everything would be alright. Because if they both wanted to get out of this situation alive, they had to play along with Iku's game. A game Ben had played too many times, and he hated that now Poe had to be dragged into it.

His pain came like a sudden squall out at sea. A sudden lash cut through his already scarred skin. Then a second later came pounding down with absolute brutality. He bit his lips, not allowing any sound to escape his lips. A third one followed, and he let out a strangled scream and feel blood over his lips he had just bitten through in a vain attempt to keep quiet. He almost cursed under his breath, as Poe was not going easy on him. On more lash dragged across his already bloody and marked back.

"Ten, One more left!" commented Iku and awoke Poe back to reality. Only then had he noted that he let his anger get the best of him and didn't hold back at lashing young Solo. He paused for a brief of a second. He noticed; he overdid it. Poe gazed at Ben's scares in dispair. He acknowledged now that Ben's life was savagely inhuman, and he had all those scars to prove them. The sadness drained through him; it traveled through every cell to reach the ground. He whipped him one last time and threw the lash away.

Ben was trying his best not to lose his balance. He gazed once again over his shoulder at Poe. He observed him in confusion. He was about to call out to Poe, to finish with it -he was only putting in more agony with his delay. The last lash was given, and Ben's body shivered. Ben took a deep breath, pushing himself to stand straight. Suddenly, he felt two hands wrapped around his arm and supporting him.

Poe glared back at Iku, supporting Ben against the pillar. "You have done enough!" he hissed, letting his self-centered character show, he was done obeying. "Stop it now!" he shouted at him. "Or go on and whip me too. I am not going to stand down and allow this madness!"

Iku stepped closer, glaring at Poe. "We are done here! This game isn't fun any longer. We'll see you again in three days!" he said and gathered his men and left.

Poe's mind spun in the horror he had just unleashed. He watched as the gang departed, and he slowly gazed over Ben, who was standing dominated by a profound pain, fatigue engraved on his worn face. Poe slowly aided him to go inside, grabbed the clean cloth from before, and started cleaning Ben's wounds. The acting General was still in shock; his sadness was a hollowness as he couldn't tell what's worse than Kylo Ren was alive or seeing him living like that.

Ben's wounds were soon cleaned and bandaged. Honestly, Ben didn't know how to process Poe's offer of aid and support. It was troubling him. Why would the acting General care about him and stand between him and the Line Breakers? No one ever had placed themselves in danger to save him? Except for his family and Rey. Ben sat up and tilted his head, gazing at Poe. Ben acknowledged that he didn't know anything about Poe or the Resistance. However, he knew it well that Poe was his mothers, favorite pilot, and a Resistance member.

Ben stood up, stumbling to the east part of the craft, and returned with a tray filled with the proportion that Plutt earlier offered him and a can of water. He placed it next to where Poe was sitting. Next, he pulled out of his pocket an isolator similar to the one that Poe was looking for. "Eat this. In the morning, it will be saved to fix your starfighter and escape this forsaken place." he turned around, weariness shown all over. "After you eat, you can decide if you will have to blast this piece of trash out of the way!" Ben added, referring to himself.

"Please, keep it as a secret from Rey, that I am alive," he almost begged. Next, he stepped away from Poe and stepped outside.

Poe accepted the trey and started eating as he was confused and lost. He loathed Kylo Ren for what he had done to him, his friends, and the Resistance. And Poe was the man who would offer his life to save his friends and the cause he was fighting for. And they were fighting against Kylo Ren a year ago. But now, he seemed confused. Suddenly he could understand Rey's point of view. Kylo Ren had turned. He hated to admit it, but he was Ben Solo. A Ben Solo ready to accept any punishment for his wrongdoings. That troubled him.

Poe ate and rested. The next morning found him rested and ready to leave. He stepped outside, finding Ben's large form collapsed at the hot sand. Waves of heat coursed through his blood; a cold sweat glistened in his gaunt features. His eyes sunken, and his skin sallow, everything ached, everything sagged. Poe aided him one last time as he brought him inside and put him to bed. Poe didn't know what he would do with the new information he held: that Ben Solo was alive. Though he would fulfill one wish to Ben Solo, keeping his secret of being alive.

「 Upcoming Chapter: Act Twenty」

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