Two days later Rey arrived in the small outpost of Temir on the rocky planet of Nersou. The port was bustling with alien traffic that were almost all unfamiliar to her eyes. Rey had been careful to conceal her saber in her robes, as well as cover all but her eyes to try and blend in as much as possible. She exuded confidence around herself to keep prying eyes to themselves as she made her way to the bar.
She could hear the music before she even saw anything, making her way to the center bar and grabbing one of the few open seats. "Water" she gestured to the bartender, who gave her a hard look before muttering in his native tongue and clicking.
Rey eyed the room around her cautiously, reaching out with the Force to feel for anything off. She had no clue who she was supposed to be meeting, or how she was supposed to recognize her, but she was pretty certain Maz had already thought of that before sending her here, so she'd just have to wait.
The bartender smashed the water down before Rey before making his way back over to the paying patrons. Rey sipped slowly and suppressed the urge to spit the liquid back once she realized it certainly was not water. She heard a low chuckle next to her. "Pretty nasty stuff, aint it." a voice said suddenly. She'd made a note of the masked alien when she'd sat down, but Rey hadn't felt any suspicious energy when she read the room.
Rey turned to eye the owner of the voice, recognizing the hunter mask. Suddenly as if a veil had suddenly dropped she felt the presence of the hunter probe hers inquisitively. "It's all imported." the hunter continued. "Tastes like bantha piss." they paused and seemed to study Rey for a moment. "You wanna get out of here." the hunter motioned to the doorway. Rey stiffened and looked back at her drink. "I'm waiting for someone actually. Sorry."
The hunter only leaned in closer. "Are you sure?" They whispered and Rey felt the Force ripple around her. "We can't really discuss anything here. Everyone's listening" they said and leaned back. Realization hit and Rey's eyes widened for a moment before she eyed the room around her. Most of them weren't giving her the time of day, busy with their own conversations. A few, she noted, lingered on her for longer than she would have liked. This must be the contact Maz talked about.
"Lead the way." Rey said, standing. The hunter stood as well and walked, leading her from the bar and through the port's crowded streets. They weaved around dark corners before the hunter found a small doorway at the end of the alley and gave a pounding knock. The door slid open and Rey followed the figure inside to a dimly lit room. Two others were sitting around, repairing droids by the looks of it.
The hunter motioned for Rey to sit and began to undo the layers of robes and hidden armor. Rey eyed the two men opposite her. They both wore hard looks and refused to meet her eye, Rey sensed the irritation and fear they attempted to mask. A small click and hiss drew Rey's attention back to the hunter who now noticeably had a womanly figure that had been expertly concealed.
Thick red braids were arranged in an intricate updo pinned to her head. The hunter's shimmering green eyes met Rey's. "Your turn." the woman motioned to Rey who had suddenly realized she had yet to remove her own scarf. She reached up carefully and unwound the one concealing her face and shed the outer layer. Panic swept through the room in a moment and Rey looked at the three wide eyes in front of her. "Shit, shit, shit" one moaned and grabbed his head. The other sat frozen in shock. Suddenly Rey realized her error, the silver hilt of her saber was in full view. "Aw for fucks sake, Maz." the redhead drew in a deep breath. "You're not, her. Are you?"
Rey stood dumbfounded, but on edge. She squinted for a moment. "Um, I'm not sure who you're talking about. I'm a friend of Maz, that's all you should need to know." She attempted to project her confidence, willing the others to believe her. They all only groaned. She felt a pull just before the dark haired man to her left grabbed his gun and aimed at her. "Theo!" the redhead barked at him and flung the gun out of his hand with a flick of her wrist.
Rey had been ready, weapon drawn and ignited, the blue glow casting shadows around the dark room. "So," the woman began with a huff. "It would appear you are her." She began pacing around the room slowly before pausing with a finger resting on her lips. "Intriguing to say the least. Why would you need this information? Haven't you possibly done enough by now?" her eyes narrowed to slits.
Every muscle in Rey's body begged to escape whatever confrontation was about to happen, but she knew this was quite possibly her only lead to getting Ben back. She took a breath to steady herself. "It appears you have the advantage. Mind sharing your name before we share secrets?" Rey said, attempting to mirror the woman's sultry voice. She was met with laughter.
"Oh, forgive me. You see we had no idea we would be meeting with the illustrious murderer of not only one, but two Supreme Leaders." she said with a smile, folding her arms in front of herself with pride. Oh kriff. Rey thought to herself. Why the hell would Maz send her to First Order refugees? Wait, they think she killed Ben?
The room was cold. Rey debated back and forth in her mind. Technically she didn't kill either one of them. Not that they would believe her anyway. How was she going to get any information from them now though? The woman seemed to sense her thoughts and cocked her head to the side. Oh kriff.
"What should we do with her?" the blonde man to her right muttered. The woman only stared Rey down from under her dark brows. "Nothing right now, Doj. Besides." she gestured to the saber. "If she killed two of the most powerful people we know we probably should show a little respect." she turned and sat down in front of Rey again. "Please, let's continue this conversion.. civilly."
Rey hesitated for a moment, reaching out into the Force around her in an attempt to read the emotions of the room. The two men barely concealed their annoyance at their leader's request, and the woman, Rey noted for the first time, had appeared to shield her mind. She was more than just a force user. She was trained. Which could only mean one thing. Oh fucking kriff.
"May I enquire as to which knight you are?" Rey asked and was immediately met with an icy stare. The woman shifted in her seat and took a breath. "It may please you to know that I have never formally been a Knight of Ren. Which appears to have been wise seeing as they were all slain." she shot back.
Rey sat and waited for the answer, meeting the woman's eye evenly. "Jarda." she huffed out in a moment. "Well Jarda, I'm sorry to tell you I was not responsible for either death." Rey responded lightly, but her voice betrayed her, catching at the end. "At least, not intentionally" she added. She may not have directly killed Ben but, he had sacrificed his life force to bring her back. Rey felt the creeping guilt begin to surface before she pushed the memory from her mind.
Jarda's hard eyes softened for a moment in wonder and Rey realized she had gotten too used to being the only Force user around, forgetting to fully mask her mind. "You really think we're stupid enough to believe that?" Theo shook his head in disgust. "The whole damn galaxy knows you're responsible for the fall of the Order." Doj added with a sneer.
The muttering stopped as soon as Jarda's hand went up in warning. She gave Rey an inquisitive look and softened a bit. "Look. It's obvious that we don't know the whole story. As bitter as these two are-" she paused and gave them both disapproving looks. "Our lives got a lot easier with the Order out of the way. They're just pissed they weren't there to help. I'm more concerned with why you need coordinates for a Sith planet."
Rey's confusion at the situation only grew worse. Were these friends or enemies? "Do you have the information for me then?" she asked and saw a small smile tug at the edge of Jarda's lips. "To the point." She cocked her head to the side again. "Let's make a deal. You tell me why you need it. I'll give you the coordinates." Her smile grew subtly.
Irritation flickered over Rey's face. She had no idea who these people were, what their intentions were, let alone who's allegiance they had. She couldn't risk anyone else finding out about this mission. "I'm looking for old Sith texts." She lied smoothly. "I'm trying to understand both sides of the Force. I've had enough of the Jedi. I've heard rumors of this ancient Sith world and decided to find it for myself." She sat back and eyed the three. It was as close to the truth as she could get.
"Convincing.. Well, almost." Jarda smirked and narrowed her eyes. "You guard yourself well." She leaned in. "But not well enough. I can sense some truth in your statement but you're hiding something." Rey attempted to strengthen her walls but Jarda only shook her head with a smile. "That proved it more than anything. Curious, though, for someone so strong. Who taught you?" She questioned.
Rey bristled for a moment and let her eyes meet the floor. "No one." said in a low voice. "And you don't truly expect me to tell you anything more without some information in return, do you?" She gave a questioning glance back to the woman in front of her. "No. I suppose that is fair. Well as you heard. Jarda, Theo, and Doj." She motioned to each of them. "Formerly First Order fugitives charged for desertion, though that in itself is quite the story and not as obvious as it sounds. We've been in the Outer Rim for the past three years doing a little of this and that. Occasionally working with our apparent mutual friend Maz."
"Were you all intending to be Knights of Ren?" Rey questioned The men, shifted nervously and remained silent. "No." Jarda responded quickly. "Just me. These two were just loyal. That's all you need to know." Her eyes meet the ground for a moment. Lost in thought. "Anyway. If you're trying to get to Ronu II, I can give you the coordinates. But you're going to want to take us along with you."
The room erupted as Theo and Doj began to argue while Rey shared her own sentiments. "Listen!" Jarda's voice echoed around the small room. She turned to Rey. "First of all. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into. This is no ordinary Sith world. It's secret and guarded for a reason. You're going to need all the help you can get. Secondly," she turned to the two men behind her. "We need to get off this shitstorm of a rock. We've done nothing but hide for the past three years and this is the best opportunity for a new start." Her voice lowered and Rey noticed she shot them a cryptic look.
The men nodded in agreement and Jarda turned back to Rey. " I'm guessing you're going to need to get into the Sith temple there. It's guarded by dark Sith magic. Lucky for you, I'm familiar with a lot of it. I'm not asking for you to tell me anything else. I'm just asking you to let us go with you and we can part ways when we both get what we want."
Rey contemplated for a moment. There was no way she was going to bring these three along with her. They'd just as likely go along until they got what they wanted and then get rid of her. Plus there was no telling how powerful Jarda was and she was obviously more dangerous than she was letting on. She opened her mouth to counter when she felt a presence in the Force. Her mind reached out, but stopped short once she heard the small whisper. "Trust the Force. Balance." It was genderless, nameless, lapping at the edge of her consciousness.
Rey looked back at Jarda, momentarily seeing her as though through another's eyes. This time the mask she had put up was gone, and Rey could sense the inner turmoil that lay deeply hidden. Desperation flared up for a moment and was quickly quieted with a bitter anger. The whispers subsided and the guard was back up. Jarda sat with an eyebrow raised impatiently.
"How soon can we leave?" Rey asked and watched Jarda take a deep breath. "Give me two hours. Tell me where to find your ship and we'll meet you there." The women locked gazes for a moment, feeling each other out before Rey gave a curt nod. "Corellian Freighter on the east end of the port." Jarda nodded in confirmation and Rey stood to return back to the ship. She needed to make sure anything of value was hidden away in the many secret compartments. Then she was going to get Ben.