"Tonight on Naboo's News Hour, our special report on FBI Operation Genosian and how the mob in Naboo were shut down after the church shootout in the backstate town of Corellia just one year ago. I will be welcoming a special guest, Rey Jackson, but before that let us show you a summary of the events that led up to the desecration of the Corellia Church of Saint Padme and the arrests that resulted from it."
Presenter Mon Mothma sat in front of a lurid screen showing the bloodstained floor in the church, complete with bent candlestick and dropped guns. An outline showed where one body had lain at the very front of the pews, and yellow tape was strung everywhere.
"Some of the report we are showing includes accusations of crimes committed by a number of the Palpatine Family organisation who were killed in the subsequent conflicts. We would like to remind viewers that while each of these accusations were made by more than one person, some of those so accused are not able to defend themselves and thus no charges were laid, and no assumptions of guilt should be made about the dead."
Then an organisation chart showing the structure of Palpatine's family. As each member was named, their picture came to the fore.
"A contract was put out on Don Palpatine's granddaughter, Rey Jackson, by his Sottocapo Snoke, hoping to destabilise the Family enough for a takeover. The alleged killer, Gideon Hask, came to the house where Miss Jackson lived while she was out at school. He allegedly murdered Unkar Plutt with an icepick he obtained from one of the Don's many meatworks, but was surprised by Miss Gwen Phasma, Miss Jackson's housekeeper."
A picture of Gwen came up, and stayed on the screen.
"Miss Phasma notified Don Palpatine, who organised for his granddaughter to be taken to a safe location by his Capo Kylo Ren. Miss Phasma then relocated to Don Palpatine's house, where she and Armitage Hux, the Don's Consigliere, cared for the Don during his last weeks."
The picture of Gwen zoomed out, showing that she was pushing Hux in a wheelchair. Hux, skinny and pale, was wearing oxygen cannulae and had a blanket around him.
"Hux caught Coronavirus from Don Palpatine, and spent three months in hospital, including weeks on a ventilator. He later became a major informant on the operations of the Family, with which he was intimately familiar thanks to running their legal matters for the last eight years. His testimony has confirmed many of the facts in the papers turned over to the FBI by their secret informant, whose identity has not yet been revealed."
On the organisation chart, a silhouette of a man's portrait with a large question mark over it showed up on the right, separate from the known members.
Then a fuzzy picture of a man with dark hair came up.
In a room in Pasaana, where the afternoon sun was still streaming in the windows, Han nudged his couchmate and grinned.
"I didn't believe it was possible, but that's a worse picture of you than the one I took on your fifth birthday."
"Ow. They put another picture in. That's actually some Hollywood actor, but they munged the face to make it unrecognisable. Now leave off."
"Sorry. I should use the other side. Still tender?"
"Very. Shut up. I want to watch the rest of this."
Mon waved her hand, and a map of the state came up with Corellia on the far left. "Kylo Ren bought a cabin in the country from the Organa-Solo family eight years before. This is where he took Miss Jackson, keeping her safe at the cabin apart from infrequent journeys to town to replenish supplies and for her to access her courses at the local library."
"So Amilyn got the papers switched all right to change the name to Kylo?"
"She's wasted in that library, Dad. But it did make it easy to access the town records. Did Mom have any trouble getting the papers up there?"
"Are you kidding? She took them up herself so she and Amilyn could spend the weekend catching up. Which reminds me – I have some books for you."
"Shhh."
The shot was a street view of Corellia, and Mon's voiceover continued. "Ren made numerous calls from the location, and Snoke was able to use the phone records to locate the town. By this time the Don was in hospital, dying from the Coronavirus. Snoke and his three lieutenants – Hask, Mitaka and Wroughton – travelled to the town where they determined that Ren and Miss Jackson were in the cabin."
Now the picture was of the cabin. An arrow pointed to the woodheap up the hill behind it.
"On Friday while Ren and Miss Jackson were in town, Gideon Hask drove out to the cabin. According to testimony from Mitaka, Hask's job was to kill the occupants and torch the cabin to make it look like a lovers' quarrel gone bad."
The picture of Hask was obviously a mug shot, and Han shook his head.
"That's one ugly looking customer."
"Well, they can't show what he looked like up the hill. It was … bad. I've seen some nasty bodies in my time, but that was not good."
"According to the testimony of Miss Jackson and the remains found at the location indicated, it would seem that while scouting the area to ensure there was no-one else there, he ran afoul of the local wildlife. His car was well hidden just inside the property, and found by the FBI when they went to investigate afterwards. When he had not returned by Saturday morning, Snoke tried to send Wroughton and Mitaka out to see what had happened, but bad weather blocked the roads and they were unable to go until Saturday night."
The footage now was of the inside of the cabin, and the books swinging in the doorway of the main bedroom.
"Ren and Miss Jackson, realising they might expect further company, readied themselves for a Sunday morning getaway if the weather allowed. Miss Jackson used the skills she had learned in her studies and, fearful of a visit by the heavies, set up a trap. When Wroughton and Mitaka arrived at the cabin during the night, Miss Jackson was able to activate the trap and disable Wroughton. She recognised him as someone who was sent to find her in Britain fifteen years earlier. It has since been confirmed that he was also a person of interest in the murder of her parents two years before that. Now that he has been sentenced in the US for his part in the murder of Kylo Ren and the attempted murder of Miss Jackson, he will finish his jail term, then will be extradited to the UK to face those charges."
The mugshot of Wroughton was particularly striking for the massive bruising around his face. It had been taken shortly after his arrest, while he was still showing the effects of the pendulum consisting of Mechanical Engineering textbooks.
"I can't believe you thought she was studying beauty courses!" Han passed another beer across to Ben.
"Do not get her started on the six steps to perfect skin. But you're right. She was good. She should be an actress." Ben sipped the cold draught carefully. He'd only been allowed to drink since he finished the last course of medication, and his liver's tolerance was low.
Mon Mothma now showed shaky footage of the church, with ambulances and police cars gathered around, and yellow tape everywhere. The bottom was marked This footage copyright Kaydel Ko Connix.
"Miss Jackson also temporarily disabled the car that Wroughton and Mitaka drove out to the cabin, and she and Kylo Ren escaped to town. There, in a call to Naboo, she discovered that her grandfather was dead and that the contract had been extended to both of them. Ren left her with the priests, with instructions to contact the librarian, Miss Amilyn Holdo, whom she had befriended whilst studying at the town library. Kylo Ren apparently made some telephone calls away from Miss Jackson at this point, then returned to the church to find Snoke holding Miss Jackson and Father Poe Dameron hostage in the office. The other priest, Father Nix Jerd, managed to raise the alarm."
The shot of the interior of the church was back, with the bloodstains on the floor at the front of the pews. Mothma's voice could not have been colder if she tried.
"In complete disregard for the sanctity of the church, and in defiance of Father Dameron's entreaties for a peaceful settlement, Snoke shot Miss Jackson. As she lay bleeding on the floor, Kylo Ren shot Snoke directly in the heart in her defence, killing Snoke immediately. It was then that Mitaka came into the church, having finally made his way from the cabin a half hour behind Kylo and Miss Jackson. He shot Kylo Ren in the side, mortally wounding the Capo. Father Jerd then managed to incapacitate Mitaka, rendering him unconscious until the authorities arrived. Fathers Jerd and Dameron gave first aid to Miss Jackson and Ren, keeping both alive until the ambulances arrived. Unfortunately, while Miss Jackson survived her injury, Kylo Ren ultimately succumbed to loss of blood and internal injuries on the long drive to the nearest hospital in Eisley."
The footage showed Fathers Poe and Nix being embraced by the Archbishop in Naboo, then presented with the Medals of Bravery by Leia Organa.
The screens finished off with the Naboo's News Hour logo, and the cameras zoomed in to Mon Monthma in her chair.
"This part of the investigation concluded last week with the testimony of Armitage Hux, and the sentencing of Wroughton and Mitaka. Hux, who had a change of heart during his weeks in hospital, was granted a pardon by Governor Ackbar on the basis of his testimony. He has since been given a new identity and placed in Witness Protection with his fiancée, Miss Gwen Phasma. Mitaka was found guilty of the murder of Kylo Ren, and several earlier murders committed at the behest of Don Palpatine and Snoke. In particular, he was responsible for the death of Moden Canady who had also turned informant, and for burying Canady's body in the emergency medical supply dumps located north of Naboo. Canady's body was found during the recent cleanup of the site, with sufficient evidence to prove Mitaka's involvement."
"So he's not going to jail for not killing you?"
"He did enough other killings. Mine was just the most public."
"Except that you're not dead."
"Yet."
The camera pulled back to show Rey sitting in a chair beside Mon, wearing a sleeveless top with a light cardigan over it.
She looked worn and tired, and Ben cursed as he saw her clearly for the first time in a year.
"She'll be fine." Han patted his son's arm. "They pushed the colour down to make her look worse. Remember, she's supposed to be the innocent victim here."
"She is."
"Yeah, but …"
"Shhh. She's speaking."
"… and thank you for coming in." Mon was smiling gently at the young woman. "How are you, by the way. Has the wound healed?"
"Not completely." Rey slipped the cardigan off, showing fierce red lines radiating from the central bullet wound. "There was considerable damage to the bones and muscles. I still do physiotherapy regularly, but the strength in that arm is only about half what it should be."
"I'll kill him."
"You already did."
"I don't care. I'll do it again."
Rey shrugged the cardigan back on as Mon was speaking, although she had trouble using her left arm to do it.
"I'd like to first cover your own backstory. We heard in the summary that Wroughton was responsible for the death of your parents. When did you find that out?" The pictures up behind Mon were those that Ben had seen on the reports - Raymond and Apailana Jackson.
"Not until well after this was all over. It was part of the mystery satchel of papers that was handed to the FBI. I recognised Wroughton as the man who had come to my foster mother's home when I was seven."
"You've been in touch with Mrs. Maz since all this happened, I hear?"
"Yes. It was so lovely to hear from her. She was sorry she sent me off to live with a Mafia Don, but of course we didn't know that then."
"You also sent her a sum of money."
"To be the best foster parent ever. Because she was."
"And those papers are also the ones that blew the investigation wide open?"
"Yes. I believe they were handed in shortly after the shooting, although of course I was in no state to find out about them for some time."
"So Poe had them hidden in that back cupboard in the church all along?" Han shook his head.
"Of course. You remember how smart he is, Dad. Once he realised what was in them, when they were taking me off in the ambulance, he stashed them until he could take them down to Naboo and hand them over to Lando."
"Aren't there rules about not using the Church for things like that?"
"I left, remember. I'm not the one you should be asking."
"Oh yeah."
"So tell us about what happened after you were shot." Mon's voice was compassionate, not at all like the hard-nosed reporter she usually presented as.
"I don't remember a lot for a while. My shoulder hurt too much, and Father Jerd had to hold a cloth on it to slow the bleeding. That was incredibly painful. I'm told it took about half an hour before the ambulances showed up. By then there was a huge crowd outside the church – they were supposed to start the service at seven and of course that was the last thing on the priests' minds. Poor Father Jerd." Rey laughed, a pained laugh with little actual humour in it. "He didn't deal well with having to put his hands on a woman, but if it hadn't been for him, I would have died. He really was my saviour. I think I fainted in the ambulance. Those roads are terrible and the weather had been horrid."
"And then Miss Amilyn Holdo came to take care of you."
"She was lovely." Rey was now looking to the side, her eyes filled with tears. "I didn't have anyone left, and she was so nice. She went back to the cabin for my clothes, and stayed with me in the hospital. Then she got in touch with Senator Organa so I could be taken to Naboo and get the care I needed. She was so good to me. Leia has been sweet to me too, letting me stay with her. So many people have been kind." The tears started falling, but Rey didn't wipe them off. "My grandfather – I didn't really know who he was or what he was doing, but he did many terrible things, and yet people still looked after me."
Mon's face fell. "And now, I need to ask you the questions everyone wants answered."
Rey finally dug in her pockets and found a handkerchief. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose. "You want to know about Kylo."
"First of all, he seems to be a man of mystery. No-one's been able to find out his background, his family, where he came from. The earliest record is from eight years ago when he purchased the cabin you stayed in. After that, practically nothing until he joined your grandfather's Family and worked his way up the ranks. Do you know who he was? Did he tell you anything about his background, his family?"
"Nothing." Rey's face was confused. "No, wait. He liked Agatha Christie books, said he grew up reading them from an early age. And ohhh – he … I told him about being in the foster system, and he really understood that. Perhaps he went through it too? That was about it."
"What was he to you? Did you love him?"
The smile was wan, the pale smile that Ben remembered so well. Once more, all he wanted to do was to rush to her and hold her. It took all his self-control to stay on the couch, watching as Rey composed herself and turned to Mon.
"He was kind and gentle. He looked after me. I've never had a family, but he was the older brother I've always wanted. He showed me how to cut down a tree, and he played board games with me, and heated up a stone when I had bad cramps, and ..." She stopped, turned away and smiled awkwardly.
"Did something happen?"
"We did something wrong."
Ben braced himself. Yet there was something in her eyes, something he recognised. Then the smile changed. It was the one when she was playing board games, when she worked out the cabin was his, when she knew she was stirring her grandfather.
"Something at the cabin?" Mon was quiet, gentle, and as tenacious as a cat stalking its prey.
"Yes."
"With you?"
"Yes." Rey looked back, wide eyed and frightened. "He was teaching me about guns. We fired his gun into a tree in the National Park. Oh I know it was wrong! So wrong! I'm going to get in trouble about that, aren't I?"
Mon laughed. "I'm sure, considering the circumstances, that the National Park will consider leniency in this case. But you miss him?"
"I do." Rey's sad smile was back, and this time it was genuine. "He couldn't cook for shit, and he never could guess the villain in the books, but he was someone I cared about." The tears started again, pouring down her face. "Over the years, everyone I ever cared about left me. But because of Kylo, I know what really happened to my parents. And it happened with him. I know now that sometimes, if you really really love someone, you have to leave them. My parents loved me and they died but they left me so I could live. And Kylo died so that I could live. So I need to take the life they gave me – all of them – and do the best with it that I can."
Mon's eyes were damp as well, and her voice cracked as she started the wrap-up. "What will you do, Rey? You're the heir to a massive, albeit crumbling, crime empire. You've had a years' break from your studies which were, I understand, going very well. What are your plans from here?"
"I've turned over everything I can to the investigation." Rey finally wiped her eyes. "They have the records my grandfather kept. I've sold most of the houses he owned, including the one I lived in for so many years. It just felt … creepy. But I didn't sell his house. It's a large mansion on the outskirts of Naboo, and it's going to be a refuge for LGBTQI youth. Fathers Poe Dameron and Finn Smith are going to run it. I've endowed it with enough money to keep it going for a long time, because it's bad enough not having a family. If your family rejects you … well, I thought it would be a good idea."
"A lovely idea. So many of those young people went through so much during the virus, not being able to leave places where they were in danger. The vaccine seems to be working, so while things are opening up, this is a good time to have a safe place ready."
"Yes, a safe place."
"But why did you call it Porg House?"
Rey grinned.
"You didn't tell her about porgs, did you?"
"And Wookies, Dad. Had to."
"Those are family jokes!"
"And she's part of my family now. Or she will be."
"It's an imaginary outcast creature. So it's a house for outcasts."
"And your studies, Rey?"
"I'm transferring to Bar'leth. There's too much history in Naboo. Bad history. It's January now so I'm going to take a break and a holiday, then go and find somewhere to live, set myself up ready to start again in September. I'm going to be one of the oldest students there, but I don't care."
"And then?"
"Leia's husband Han is an inventor. He makes things that are useful in remote areas, that don't need access to power lines, like refrigerators for vaccines and septic processing systems that run with little maintenance. I'd like to be doing stuff like that." Rey's voice was now hopeful. "Maybe I'll start a foundation for it. Leia and I are going to talk about it later in the year."
"A holiday sounds nice. Where are you going?"
"I don't want the entire country to be there, so I'm not telling." This came with a laugh. "But while the end of my stay in the Endor National Park was scary, the part beforehand was lovely. Cabin in the snow, trees and mountains and fresh air. I'm going somewhere I can breathe."
Mon laughed too. "Well, we wish you all the best in this, and in your studies. Thank you for talking with Naboo's News Hour." She turned back to the camera. "Next week, with the irregularities in last year's elections, we look into the scandal-ridden administration of ex-President Tarkin and how the new First Order team are working to clean that up."
In Pasaana, Ben pushed himself off the couch gingerly, wincing as he stretched himself. The scar tissue was fragile and had been prone to splitting for a long time, and some of the damage underneath would never heal. While livers grow back after catastrophic injury, half of his lung and a kidney had shredded and were gone forever. That and the rest of the destruction of Mitaka's bullet meant his days in the FBI were over. But then he wouldn't have returned to active duty anyway. The time recuperating had given him as much chance to think as Hux, and the second thing he had written when he was finally allowed to was his resignation letter.
The first thing he had written was a letter to Rey.
She had been questioned extensively during the investigation and subsequent trials, and was kept under scrutiny by people on both sides. Palpatine's lawyers had tried to present her as a scheming bitch who had deliberately sabotaged her grandfather's organisation in collaboration with Kylo Ren to take it over for themselves, but as the papers had been delivered to the FBI while she was in witness protection and Kylo Ren was supposedly dead, that line proved fruitless.
But he couldn't see her until it was all over.
Besides, he had recuperation to worry about. As soon as he could be safely moved, he was flown from Naboo to Pasaana, where an entire industry had grown up in post-COVID rehabilitation in the hot, dry air of the desert. Kylo Ren might have died, but Ben Solo had returned from Europe after a serious bout of the virus, and had been sent to the facility to give him the best possible chance of a full recovery. His father had accompanied him, his mother being busy with the care and protection of her new friend Rey.
It was very convenient that the treatment for bullet-damage to the lung was similar to the treatment for Corona's effects. Ben spent the months regaining his health and reconsidering his options.
Now, though, he had plans. Plans that involved an early night and a long drive.
The next morning, a car pulled into the small Antilles airport and parked. Han got out from the driver's side, went to the trunk and pulled out a large suitcase, leaving another and a bag of books in there. Ben came around to him and held out his hand, and Han dropped the keys in it. They were both wearing masks with a camouflage print, identical to the one Ben had been wearing when he was shot.
"Tell Mom to take it easy for a while. It's been tough for her too." They walked together across to the tiny terminal, Han slowing his steps to make sure he didn't pull ahead of Ben. Ben waited in a seat while Han answered the usual questions about health and temperature, and his bags were checked in, then then older man came to sit beside him and they watched out the window for the arrival of the propeller plane that flew daily to the airport. Looking around, Ben took note of a couple of people reading the local tabloid whose front page showed Rey crying during the interview.
"They're going to cause a fuss. Better if I wait in the car. Have a good trip, Dad."
"You too, Ben. Try to get some rest." Han's eyebrows waggled, and Ben laughed, unable to keep a straight face.
"Love you, Dad."
"I know."
Ben pushed himself up with his stick, hugged his father, and hobbled out of the terminal. Overhead, the small plane's engine noises slowed down as it landed on the single runway.
When he reached the car, Ben finally looked back as he rested before finding his keys. He could see figures inside the terminal, including a small thin one coming through the arrival door and running straight to Han. There were hugs, then Han pointed out to the carpark. Ben got into the car. He wanted to see her, wanted to hold her, but they still needed to be circumspect.
And his side hurt.
He spent the next few minutes breathing slowly, willing the pain down by finding the stillpoint within him, until he heard two taps on the trunk. Pulling the lever to release the lid, he felt the car bounce as a case was thrown in and it was closed again, then the heat as the passenger door beside him opened.
She took off her mask.
"No textbooks this time?"
"Weight limits. Where are we going?"
"Somewhere that's safe, where we have plenty of time, and no-one to interrupt us."
"So, a week, you said. We'll be there a week?"
"It might be a while longer."
"A fortnight?" He did not reply, and her eyebrows shot up. "Not a whole month?"
"You deserve it." He grinned, and she leapt across the center to hold him.
"I love you …" She barely got a moment to speak as their mouths met. The kiss was long, hard and passionate, and she drew back with her eyes still shut.
Then he kissed her nose.
"I know."
Wroughton is from the middle name of the British actor who portrayed Stormtrooper FN-1824 in The Force Awakens.
So not quite the amount of lava pits that I was expecting, but it made sense to end it here. My thanks to my Italian translators, Miss Boss Woman Sir and the amazing Pink Pamela.
Thanks also to the Discord ad-hoc writing group for their many ... helpful ... suggestions, especially when it came to Ewoks. To Maz the Tag Wrangler and Checker of Smut Levels, for BB for always being there to bounce ideas off even if I was too embarrassed for him to Beta the work this time (so all mistakes are mine), to Jeeno2 for enticing me to the fandom in the first place, to GalacticIdiots for an amazing prompt, and to the lovely commenters who have been so encouraging through the process. I can't believe I've written what is in effect a short novel.
And now I want to write more.