"Hello, Uncle Luke."
"You'd better come with me." The old man led Kylo to the side door, and out into an office. There, the young priest from before was looking nervous.
"Is there anything else I can do for you, Your Grace?"
"Thank you, no. I need to talk to this inveterate sinner and persuade him to mend his ways." Luke stood aside to let the priest go past, then he stopped the younger man with a light touch on the arm. "Yes, there is one thing. If anyone comes in asking for us, it would be a blessing if you weren't to mention seeing us. Not today, not another time. We are not the ones they are looking for."
"Certainly, Your Grace." The priest bowed slightly, then left. Luke shut the door, and ushered Kylo to a chair.
"How did you know I was here?"
"We got a request to send Father Poe Dameron up to a particular remote rural church that I know well, to help with an FBI operation. Who do you think had to authorise it? Who do you think gave approval for Fathers Poe and Finn to be the contacts for a certain member of Palpatine's entourage, passing notes from him back to the FBI in Naboo? Your mother just said you weren't in Chandrilla, but the choice of priests made it obvious."
"They are rather inseparable." Kylo leaned back in the worn chair, and nodded when Luke held up a mug . "But this is very accommodating of the Archdiocese. Does the Pope let you get caught up in police operations now?"
Luke looked down at his plain robes, indicating just a basic priest. "We have a long way to claw back the respect of our people after that Searchlight case. I don't think any more archbishops of Naboo will be allowed to become Cardinals – too much pain attached to the past. It might be nearly twenty years, but there are still hundreds of people who will never trust a priest again. So I approved the work, then sent the information off to the Holy See. It's always easier to ask forgiveness than to request permission." Luke put the coffee in front of Kylo, and sat down with his own mug. "So tell me – do you think you might come back to finish your studies at the seminary after all this is over?"
"I doubt it." Kylo drank his coffee, surprised at the quality. But then he shouldn't be. When the Archbishop comes to visit, the special supplies come out. "I don't feel called to serve that way. This'll probably be my last big operation – my cover will be completely blown when all this comes out – but I can still make a difference. And that's what I want to do."
"Priests make a difference."
"A different difference."
Luke just sipped his own coffee. "I'm going to lose a lot of priests anyway. Even with masks and handwashing and social isolation, I have fifteen hundred clergy, and already over a hundred of them have caught this virus. Four are dead. Yet they will not stop – they want to do their jobs, minister to the congregations, visit the ill, Last Rites, performing funerals. And when someone is weeping and inconsolable because their aged mother died in a hospital surrounded by strangers, it is my priests who are holding their hands, wiping their tears and giving comfort. Many of them are old – do you remember how small your class was? It's been fewer every year. Now I am concerned the priests may be spreading the virus, but we test, and we wash, and we pray. Yet I think this will do more to destroy the church than anything has in the past."
"You could let women become priests. Or let them marry."
"Not until the sun rises in the west, the cock crows at midnight and the frog jumps up a tree." They both smiled at the phrase Luke had picked up in his travels. "But enough of that. I'm here for you, Ben."
"You can't call me that here. I'm Kylo Ren."
"Kylo Ren, space cadet, mafia hitman, Capo to Don Palpatine, in charge of his own gambling dens and dodgy pawn shops, to whom the old man himself is beholden. You've done well to get where you are. So what do you need?"
"The clear communication channel. When does Poe arrive?"
"Tomorrow. And no, he's not bringing Finn with him. We might close our eyes to certain mature adult consensual relationships in the big city, but not out here. Poor Father Jerd's faith would be tested beyond what even he could stand." Luke shook his head. "I've had the word out to all the regional bases for the last three months, to let me know if you ever showed up and needed help. When you handed him your letter last Saturday and gave the code words, it took him four hours on his knees to get the nerve up to get in touch with my office. I think he'll be glad of the help from Poe. And it'll do that rapscallion a world of good to have a few quiet months up in the mountains. Now, are you all right for money?"
"I have plenty."
"What if I need to get in touch with you in a hurry? I suppose the cabin still has the worst reception between the East Coast and the Midlands?"
"Pretty much. And I leave my phone off when I'm not using it. But I come into town every few days. And definitely on Tuesdays."
"Or I could send someone out to the cabin if it's really important." Luke finished his coffee, and took Kylo's mug as well. "I want to show you something."
He led Kylo out to the church, then around the side of the sanctuary to the sacristy. The racks of vestments were a bright colour on the dim day, although many of them looked worn and dilapidated. Luke went to a large wickerwork hamper marked "Choir", and pulled it away from the wall. Reaching down, he pressed hard on the wooden slats that made up the dividing wall between the sacristy and the sanctuary. A section of the slats, a low doorway, popped open. It was about four foot high, four wide, and ten long – the length of the sanctuary – dark and musty. A thin layer of old gym mats lay on the floor, and there were slivers of light throughout.
"Why do I need to know this? Is it where you hide your church silver?"
"I'm showing you in case you do need to know. There's a latch on the inside, which will stop anyone outside trying to get in. If you need to go there, let the priest know and he'll move the hamper back."
"Right." Kylo checked the doors – one to the outside, and the one back to the church proper – and the single, barred window. "Thank you. I hope I never do."
He helped Luke shut the trapdoor, then replace the hamper. Luke dusted his hands off, and ran them over the albs and chasubles, sighing at their sad state of repair.
"So, how's your young charge?"
"I … she's odd. I can't make her out at all."
"I spoke with one of her teachers. She's intelligent – I mean scary intelligent. They say there isn't a math problem could make her pause. She could have gone to any University in the country, so it's no wonder she stayed in Naboo."
"And yet she's wasting her time and energy on a Beauty course." Kylo shook his head. "Spends hours on her books to get a piece of paper that will let her style people's hair better. Like I said, I can't understand her."
Luke gave him an odd look as they headed through the nave of the church. "Speaking of which, what time are you picking her up?"
"Midday."
"You've still got plenty of time. Now I know you don't have much faith these days, but I should probably still give you my blessing."
"Yes, Father Luke." Kylo gathered up his bag and smirked. He knew the title annoyed his uncle when it came from his one and only nephew. In the entrance, Luke stopped him, and reached into the stoup, then paused at the dry receptacle. He shrugged.
"Ben?"
"Yes?"
" Don't make me have to tell your mother any bad news. She'd kill me. Do you want the regular, or your special blessing?"
It had been too long, and his belief in the Church was gone, but there had been this joke between them. The one from the films he liked. "The special one, please."
"May the Force be with you."
"And with you, Uncle Luke." Kylo wanted to hug the old man, but it wouldn't do for Father Jerd to see that. And the virus was still around. Hoping Luke hadn't given him more than the blessing, he shouldered his satchel, slipped on his mask and headed back towards the bar.
Glancing in at the library, he saw Rey hunched over her notebooks and writing madly, although he couldn't make out what was happening on the screen. The place looked warm and dry, and he shook the dampness from his hair and wished there was somewhere else in town to get their lunch. Although the diner part of the bar had had signs up for a maple whoopie pie the other day. That was enough to make his mouth water – he hadn't had one of those for years. Poutine might reheat, but would become mushy. Not that that mattered too much. Buffalo wings? They should be all right. There was a boiled dinner, but he could make that himself.
Kylo made a selection of hot foods and a large whoopee pie which he carried back towards the library. Rey was chatting with Miss Holdo, saw him and came out, her mask in place. He would have handed her one of the bags to carry, but she had her own heavy satchel and another he didn't recognise.
"Need anything else? I don't intend to be back in town before Saturday."
"Give me five minutes."
"I need to get gas – I'll pick you up."
She nestled the spare bag and her study supplies in the back of the car, then ran back to the store. Kylo carefully put in his own bags, inhaling the spicy aroma from the food and hoping he wouldn't drool on his mask. Driving to the town's only gas station and trying not to wince at the prices, he was back to the main street less than ten minutes later. There was a space in front of the store again, and he grabbed it just in time to see the old man at the store hand a bag and what looked like a card over to Rey. She came out looking flushed, and stashed the bag in the back. Once more it clinked in a very agreeable manner.
The rain had cleared a lot of the snow off the road, but had Kylo worried. If the temperature dropped much more, icy rain would freeze on the branches, loading them until they broke off under the weight. It would freeze over the roof of the cabin if he wasn't there to make sure the internal temperature was high enough to stop it. And it would accumulate on the one power line into the property, bringing down the pylons and completely cutting the power to the cabin. While they didn't rely on electricity to keep warm, cooking on the hearth was tricky and the house would be dark. There were plenty of candles and torches, but the last time, 22 years before, the power had been off for three months as there was no priority for restoring the electricity to an unoccupied holiday home. He hoped it wouldn't happen again.
"How was the lecture?"
"Terrible." Rey stashed her mask in its tin once more. "Some of those concepts are very difficult to understand over the video, and without being able to run the experiments, it's harder than ever. I mean, obviously, no-one else can either, but I hate feeling as if I can't get my head around something that seems so basic. I have a ton of practical exercises I need to do – I've bought what I need. It'll be lonely doing them by myself. But the after-lecture discussion was good. It was so lovely to see … them …" She stopped, and stared out the window at the drizzle and the rising fog. The last few words had sounded strangled, and her whole body was hunched forward. Even the rain turning to new, fat snowflakes did not catch her attention.
"I'll need you to run an experiment when we get back."
She took a moment to answer. "What sort?"
"Heat transfer without the loss of integrity." When she said nothing, he continued. "The food needs reheating, but some of it won't be the same as when I bought it."
She shook herself and turned to him. The smile, though wan in comparison to normal, was back. "That sounds lovely. And I have a surprise for dinner."
Lunch turned out to be very edible, and the whoopee pie was so large that they agreed to have the remainder for dessert that night.
"Where do you keep your toolbox?" Rey was scribbling on a piece of paper. To his unpractised eyes, it looked more like something out of a Road Runner cartoon than something a beauty student should be working on, but perhaps she was looking for a diversion.
"Bottom of the linen cupboard, and some locked under the cabin. Is there something particular you're looking for?"
"I'll let you know." Rey settled back in her chair and sipped on her coffee. " I need some exercise - I'm going to go for a walk this afternoon. Wanna come?"
The sun was now out and gleaming off the freshly-fallen snow. A decent stretch of the whole body would do him good. "I'd better. Keep an eye on you."
"You think I'd get lost?"
"Or fall down a hole, or sprain your ankle and faint and get eaten by porgs."
"Porgs."
"Vicious little critters."
"That I've never heard of."
"City slicker." He was teasing her, but it had the correct effect. She started grinning.
"Are they related to Wookies?"
"Well, they're not huge great hairy things."
"But they're both imaginary." He kept his silence, and she burst out laughing at last. He liked her laugh. "Right. I'll dress properly then." She finished her coffee and piled the plates in the sink. "Meet you by the front door in ten?"
"Yeah." Kylo winced – his boots had become rather damp, but for some reason the idea of seeing her bounce through the snow put a smile on his face.
Not that all of her would be bouncing. He hadn't spotted much before the washcloth went up, but the breasts he'd glimpsed were small and pert. They'd barely be a handful for someone with normal-sized hands, and his were, frankly, enormous. There was a reason he didn't carry around small, easily-hidden handguns – to be large enough for him to use meant they couldn't really be hidden. His own revolver, safe in its holster around his waist, was large enough that it could be used as a club as well as a firearm, an option he preferred as it gave a great deal more control.
But yes. Those breasts.
Palpatine would have him skinned alive and rolled in salt before throwing him in the lava pits, for certain.
His thoughts were interrupted by Rey springing in front of him like a gazelle released from captivity. She bounded through the thin icy crust that lay under the new snow layers, sending sprays of fine snowflakes up in the air to settle down around her.
"Oh I needed this!" Throwing her arms wide open, Rey looked up to the sky and laughed. Her warm jacket and ski trousers kept the snow from sticking and melting, and her brightly-covered gloves showed magnificently against the white hummocks around. The trees looked like something from a Christmas card with their burdens of snow on every branch, and the sky was a glorious mid-blue that promised warmth without delivering it.
Despite her energy, the snow was still deep enough to make walking a chore. They made it a half-mile from the house before she stopped, brushing the now-falling snow off a boulder before she sat down.
"I don't know why you don't live here all the time. It's beautiful!"
She scooted over to give him space to sit, and despite not being tired, Kylo took the seat and rubbed his nose. His own scarf was too thin, made for dashing between buildings in Naboo on a damp winter's evening, not from a morning in a mountain town then walking through Endor National Park.
"I sometimes wish I could." He propped his feet on a lump under the snow that revealed itself as a burnt-out tree trunk. "It's peaceful, and secluded. I'd have to fix up the cabin properly, get something that could handle heavy snow, a bit more food storage area. Probably cut back the forest around the cabin – there was a forest fire here years ago, and we were lucky the cabin didn't burn. Huge swathes of the forest were lost. This log is probably from then. But it would be lovely to get away from everything."
"What's everything, Kylo?" She reached over and took his hand. "You never relax, you're always looking around and keeping watch. Do you really think someone's going to come all the way up here to try and kill me? And if they are, aren't you worried about yourself?"
"I can look after both of us. It's my job." It was comforting, holding her hand. It was as if she was reminding him that she was a human being and not just a cause for employment.
"With your gun?"
"And my wits and my reflexes." He squeezed her hand and put it down. He had to be careful. She was becoming friendly, close – and that was dangerous.
"And your brilliant soup-warming skills. We'll never go hungry while you're around."
"Considering it's your surprise for dinner tonight, I think we could call this a team effort. Now it's heading towards sundown – we should be getting back." He pushed himself up off the rock, then turned to help her. She put her hands out for him to pull her up, but the burnt log rolled under her foot as she did, and suddenly she was propelled into his arms."
"Rey! Are you all right?"
She was now dangling from his arms, and scrabbling to find a foothold on the icy surface just below her boots. He hauled her right up until her feet were off the ground, and she gasped.
And put her arms around his neck and kissed him.