Rey had waited on Ahch-To for a few days waiting on the information from Finn. She had hoped he would have some luck trying to get Ronu II's coordinates, but discreetly trying to ask around about an old Sith world was probably harder than she had anticipated.
She wasn't idle either, pouring over the old Jedi texts for any clues. It was difficult to interpret the old language, and there was a lot of guessing involved. The books evidently had many authors with different scripts and languages. Just as soon as she thought she could make something out she'd get caught on some word or phase she couldn't make sense of.
Sighing, she closed the texts and sent them aside to meditate. It had been a quiet few days since her encounter in the cave. Rey could hardly make sense of what had happened once she returned to her reality. Doubt wove itself through her own memories. How certain was she that it was really the Force that appeared to her? What did it even mean? Nothing she had ever read or heard of had ever made any mention of anything similar to it before.
She reached out in the Force again and felt the familiar hum. It was all that was left for her. She had grown used to the quiet in her mind since Ben died, though it was still painful to acknowledge. The small sense of belonging she had felt with Luke and Leia had faded with time as well. Rey tried her best to push her feelings of loneliness and abandonment away. This was what the Force had wanted. "Let the past die" the memory of Ben's voice echoed in her ear.
He had been right in a way. Much of the past had died. It had to, to stop tipping the scales in either direction. That much made sense, but it didn't take away from the fact that Rey was now seemingly alone with the weight of the galaxy still resting on her shoulder. She felt a bitter tear escape down her cheek. There was no one to turn to, no one to share, no one to teach her. Rey clasped her hands together when she noticed them shaking. She knew how to survive alone, but this loss was different. It wasn't just about survival anymore.
Her mind wove through the Force around her like she was swimming. Touching on thoughts here and there. Gradually she worked the center her mind, accepting her emotions, letting them flow around her before a sharp feeling hit her like a wave. Something was wrong. Moments later she heard the beeps from an incoming transmission. Her eyes shot open and she made her way to the comm controls. Static from the long range comms crackle to life. "Rey?!" Finn's voice called over the comm. He sounded troubled, she sensed his fear before he spoke again.
"I'm here." she called. "What's happened. I felt a disturbance" She adjusted the headset and mentally braced herself. "We have a problem." Finn started, and she noticed his breathlessness for the first time. "Someone knows about you and where you're trying to go. I've been working on getting those coordinates, but it hasn't been easy to do without telling people why I'm looking for an old Sith world. I've been talking with Maz since she has more connections but someone's been tracking me. I've felt uneasy for a while but thought I was just being paranoid, but someone planted a bug in the system and was monitoring everything I was doing."
Rey felt her heartbeat quicken with the news. This was bad. She had arrogantly assumed the last of the Sith and their servants were defeated on Exegol. She swallowed the growing lump in her throat and tried to focus, Finn was still talking, she needed to pay attention. "Maz is the one who found the bug in the first place. She thinks she may have found it, but there's no way she trusts any of our systems to send it over. I'd offer to go myself but.." he trailed off.
Rey bit her lip in frustration. There was no easy answer here, she was going to have to speak to Maz if she had any hope for getting those coordinates. Whoever and whatever was after her would probably surface soon enough anyway. "Do you have a contact link with her now?" she asked.
"Yeah. She knew you were going to want to talk with her so she sent an encrypted address. I won't have some damn scoundrel in my business" he mocked for a moment before looking back to Rey with concern. " Aren't you worried?" he questioned. Rey shook her head to herself. "There isn't any other way, Finn. If someones after me they're going to show up sooner or later anyway, and I've got to get those coordinates." she started and heard him sigh in defeat. I'll send you the comm link. Will I ever have to stop asking you to be careful?" he said flippantly, almost to himself. Rey felt a small smile creeping up her face. "Probably not." she goaded. "Thanks Finn, truly." she softened. "You're the only one left to care about me."
He scoffed at her. "Not even close, Rey. You have more friends than you know." she smiled at his words. "May the Force be with you." she said and cut the call. He was sweet to say that, but Rey knew better. Finn was the closest thing to a friend left, no one else understood her. She knew Poe and the Resistance viewed her more as a weapon than anything else. There was only one person who she felt truly saw her for who she was, and who she could be.
The controls in front of her flashed as Finn sent over the comm information. She quickly punched it in and waited for a moment before the holo screen engaged and a small, blue tinged Maz stood in front of her. "Ah!" she called in a sing-song voice. "Just who I was waiting to hear from." she said and adjusted the goggles over her eyes.
Rey smiled at the alien woman. "Hello Maz. We seem to have a bit of a problem." the woman cackled in laughter. "Problems, kill one pyjack and you get three more!" she laughed and shook her head. "Ah yes, unfortunately I don't have the answers you seek, but I may know someone who does." she said waving a finger at Rey.
Her chest sank. "Finn told me you had the coordinates?" she said shaking her head in disbelief. Maz only made a small tsk as she fiddled with the instrument in her hand. "He never listens, does he? I don't have it personally.. But I may know someone who does. I've set up a meeting for you in two days. Those coordinates will be sent to you after this call. But Rey," she stopped and pulled her goggles off her face so she could eye the girl properly. "Finn did not tell me exactly what is going on, and that boy is not good at hiding secrets."
Rey swallowed and shifted nervously. "And I trust there is a good reason behind this, but this contact is not exactly someone I'd trust with my life, I'm simply calling in a favor." She said nonchalantly and Rey finally met her hard gaze. "I cannot emphasize enough to be careful. This will only become more dangerous the closer you come to your goal." she said in a low voice before jumping back up and flipping her goggles back. "That's all dear. Best of luck!" she finished with a dismissing tone..
Rey sent her thanks and shut the comm down before breathing a sigh of relief. She waited before she heard the familiar beep from the nav and quickly went to work decrypting the information and plugging it into the system. The coordinates honed in, Nersou, Outer Rim. The second coordinates set showed her to the largest settlements… bar. Of course we meet in a bar. Rey resisted the urge to roll her eyes and got up to prepare to leave.