Chapter Five - Rey
Before she even opened her eyes, Rey sensed she was back on Jakku. The dry air stealing any moisture from her breath and the sound of sand particles hitting the wall of her shelter as they danced in the hot wind gave it away. She'd suspected that she'd most likely end up here, but she'd hoped a better fate would have arisen for her. Perhaps even one involving a certain person. No matter, she had a plan.
She stretched out on her makeshift bed, feeling her bones and muscles fully align. She opened her eyes and smiled. It was perhaps the best sleep she'd ever had. There was no memory of the awful pain of time travel or the lingering dizziness that had accompanied it like last time.
Thank you, Luke.
Reaching down, she felt along her side, searching for her lightsaber. She rolled over, but still couldn't find it. Grumbling under her breath, she realized she likely never had one in this reality. She'd have to make it all over again.
Climbing to her feet, she woofed down one of the ration bars in her secret stash and shoved the rest in her satchel. She added the couple other pieces of clothes she owned and her water bottle. Crawling over to a wall panel, she used the force to pull it out of the wall. She smiled in satisfaction since she used to break a few fingernails anytime she'd pried it open before. She pulled out two credits, all the money she possessed, and placed them in the satchel too. With the satchel flung over her shoulder and her staff in hand, she set out for the nearby Niima Outpost. Judging by the sun's position, it was fairly early morning.
Once there, Rey ducked past Plutt's place. While it was unlikely he'd be awake this early, she didn't want to run into him. She had no intention of scavenging, and she didn't feel like submitting to his threats. Despite the immense pleasure it would bring her to knock him down a notch, she needed to play the role of her old, submissive self a little longer.
She weaved around the tents of the market, people setting up their wares for sale. Then slipped around to the area most people called the ship graveyard, and...
Nothing.
Rey's shoulders slumped. No Millennium Falcon. Either Han had already found it, or more likely, it had never been on Jakku to begin with. She surveyed the other ships and none of them was even remotely space-worthy for her to steal. Now how was she going to get off this sandpit of a planet?
The tip of her tongue stuck out the side of her mouth as she pondered her predicament. She'd have to sacrifice one of her credits and take the shuttle to Remiton, the largest city on this side of the planet. Possibly the only city on the planet as far as she knew. It had a small port for ships. Maybe she could get hired on as an engineer in exchange for a lift to Luke's temple, if it still stood. She certainly didn't have enough credits to book passage as a traveler.
She trudged across the market to the shuttle landing. The rusty, old bucket of bolts ran every three days and, luckily, today was one of them. It mainly catered to merchants bringing goods from the port back to the Niima Outpost, but anyone could ride it to Remiton as long as they paid the fee. Rey had once stowed away underneath it, small enough to fit inside the engine casing at eleven years old. She'd been convinced her parents must have gone to Remiton. Alas, she never found them and Plutt's thugs had eventually hauled her back.
The line waiting at the shuttle made her stop short. Usually only two or three people made the three-hour trip, but today she counted fourteen people. An astronomical number! What had changed?
She got in line just as the pilot began collecting fare and ushering passengers on board. Rey hoped they'd all fit, especially since she stood at the back of the line.
The pilot held out his hand. "Two credits."
"Two!" she exclaimed.
"Special circumstances."
"What special circumstances? Why are there so many people on this shuttle?"
He shrugged, obviously not knowing nor caring about the answer.
A thought occurred to her. "Does this have anything to do with the First Order?"
The pilot frowned. "Never heard of the First Order and the Republic doesn't have any say in what I charge." He held out his hand more insistently.
Rey couldn't help but grin. No First Order! The Republic still stood! She'd at least accomplished that much with her traveling. She handed all the credits she had over to him. The lack of money frustrated her a bit, but it didn't compare to her elation at this new revelation.
She climbed into the shuttle and squeezed into the last seat in the last aisle. The shuttle began moving, slow at first but then with more speed. With so many people breathing in the small space, the air went stale relatively quickly. Not only that, she could tell the braking system was rusted out by the intermittent squealing that rang through the cabin. It was going to be a long three hours. She closed her eyes, attempting to meditate. Unfortunately, her mind kept wandering to Ben. She wondered if he became a real Jedi. Or maybe he decided to become a fighter pilot. He did carry that X-wing around almost everywhere he went when he was a child. She hoped he wouldn't be too hard to find. While she doubted he would remember her from twenty years ago, she hoped their bond would make it easier for him to let her into his life.
A conversation between the two women in front of her penetrated into her thoughts. She couldn't help listening in.
"I've always gotten feelings about things before they happen. Like that last big sandstorm. I had my family inside before the winds even picked up. I bet they'll figure out that I'm Force-sensitive."
Rey sat up, looking at the back of the woman's head. A fraying cloth held back her dark hair. Rey didn't recognize her, but the talk about possibly being Force-sensitivity had her full attention.
The blond woman next to her spoke up. "I don't know anything about that, but I heard the Jedi they sent to look for those Force people is also a prince. A Jedi Prince! Surely, he's rich and handsome too."
It took a beat for her to process the words. Then Rey burst out laughing. She couldn't help it! Could it really be that easy? Could Ben be on Jakku searching for Force-sensitive individuals? Coincidence or Luke's doing?
The two women snapped their attention to Rey, peering over the backs of their seats with annoyed looks on their faces.
"What are you laughing at, Rey?" the blond woman demanded.
Rey recognized her. Adalinah. Rey narrowed her eyes. Adalinah had been a thorn in her side since she'd ended up on Jakku. Even though Adalinah's mother had been kind enough to include Rey in her lessons of reading and writing with the other children at the outpost, Adalinah had treated Rey with distain behind her mother's back. As the daughter of one of the merchants, Adalinah hadn't felt an orphaned slave girl like Rey deserved to be included. The spoiled brat had taunted Rey cruelly, right up until Rey punched her in the face. She hadn't given Adalinah a single thought since BB8 ended up on Jakku.
"If there is such a thing as a Jedi Prince, he's much more interested in finding Force-sensitive people than dating. You know Jedi take a vow of celibacy." Rey continued giggling at the picture in her head of the annoyed look on Ben's face at Adalinah attempts to come on to him. She remembered when she'd been the object of those annoyed looks.
Adalinah snorted. "You're just jealous because a Jedi Prince would never look at a scavenger slave girl like you."
"We'll see," Rey threw back.
They rode the rest of the way in silence. Once they arrived, the shuttle dropped them off at the edge of town. When Rey had traveled to Remiton at eleven years old, the place had seemed so big and grand with so many businesses. Now that she'd had the opportunity to travel the galaxy, it just seemed sad. The buildings looked shabby and unkempt, the roads just packed sandy dirt. A few people broke off from the group but most of them headed toward the shipping port on the other side of town. Rey followed along.
A crowd gathered in front of a large ship docked at the port. They laughed and cheered at some kind of show before them. She stood on her tippy toes trying to see over all the heads but to no avail.
"What's going on?" Adalinah asked a man nearby.
"Two Jedis are doing a lightsaber demonstration before they start checking people for Force sensitivity."
Rey gasped. Ben might be up there! She ducked down and wiggled her way through the press of bodies. Some grumbled at her, but she just kept saying sorry and pushing forward. One guy pinched her ass. She force-stomped his foot without turning back. He blamed the guy next to him. Finally, about halfway to the front, she stood up to survey the view.
There he was! Ben!
He looked so good, a Jedi in his prime sparring with his partner. He wore traditional Jedi clothes, a tan tunic over a white shirt and brown pants. She noticed his dark brown robe thrown over the handrail leading into the ship. His long, dark hair flowed around his face, a face unmarred by the scar she'd given him before. Yet, what made her heart soar was the wide smile on his face. She'd only ever seen that smile a moment after their kiss and a moment before his death. The cost of that smile had been so high. This smile he gave freely.
Ben's lightsaber shown purple as he swung hard against his partner's blue blade, it's whirling sound music to her ears. Purple! So, he'd tasted the dark side and come back to the light. Snoke, and by extension the Emperor, had tried to take him. He'd been tempted, but ultimately, he'd turned away from them this time.
Rey bit her lip as realization almost overwhelmed her. She'd done it! All the years of searching, of loneliness, of pain, they'd been worth it. She'd been able to fix all the mistakes and given Ben the life he deserved.
He parried a thrust from the blue blade then leapt back, laughing. He was having such fun! He twirled, whipping his blade over the head of his partner in a fantastic display of choreography. They clashed blades again then pushed back against each other. The other Jedi blocked her view of Ben for a moment.
Was that…Alkos? Yes! The bright blue hair that matched his blue lightsaber gave it away. He stood shorter than Ben now, and stockier, but definitely the same person who'd found her in the woods after her harrowing journey. Had that really only been five days ago? Seeing them both like this now hit home the enormity of just how far she had traveled.
Suddenly, Ben's body tensed. The smile dropped off his face, a serious expression Rey recognized replacing it. He looked at the gathered crowd, scanning faces until they landed on her.
Her breath whooshed from her body as their eyes locked. The same spell that had enchanted her when she first saw him at nine years old gripped her again. Like a flood of water breaking through a brick wall, a mix of emotions washed over her.
Excitement, confusion, joy, fear and desire.
Rey realized they weren't her emotions. They were Ben's. It only lasted a moment as he had to look away to stop Alkos from impaling him with his lightsaber. The pretense of fun fell as Ben engaged Alkos seriously. There was the sharp fighting style she knew from him. She'd fought him that way several times. The blue-haired Jedi seemed disorientated for a second. Ben worked quickly and had the lightsaber flying out of Alkos' hands in just a few moves.
Ben sheathed his blade and clipped it to his belt. He quickly bowed to Alkos, who bowed back. Then he turned to the crowd and marched through it like nothing could stand in his way. The mass of people fell back, opening a passage for him. He strode forward with confidence and Rey's eyes widened as he headed right for her.
He stopped in front of her, his eyes boring into her. "Come with me."
Rey wasn't sure if it was a demand or a request, but it didn't matter. She'd follow him into the fires on Mustafar if he asked.
He closed his hand around hers. As their skin touched, tendrils of fire coursed up her arm and through her body. She saw his pupils dilate and she knew he'd felt it too.
Pulling her towards the ship, she could hear people murmuring as they moved through the crowd. Most of them speculated about whether she's Force-sensitive or not. However, she did hear one feminine voice in the back curse, "That kriffing witch!" Rey inwardly smiled at Adalinah's outrage.
Once inside the ship, Ben guided her into a large training room. He let go of her hand and whirled around to stare at her. "How have you not aged?" He studied her again, the intensity of him so familiar. "Not aged at all in twenty years," he pondered.
Rey was taken aback. She hadn't anticipated that he'd recognize her. She'd only known him four days when he was a child, so she didn't expect him to remember exactly what she looked like. She didn't know what the right answer was, not wanting to shock him with the whole truth yet. Instead, she stayed quiet.
Ben frowned, noting her clothing. He shook his head. "No, it can't be you. And yet…" He paused, a single finger gently touching her hand. That same fire burned again. His brows drew together. "Your mother maybe? Perhaps she is who I met all those years ago?"
Rey wouldn't lie to him. He'd probably know it if she did. She told him the truth instead. "My mother abandoned me here when I was five years old. I have no knowledge of her whereabouts twenty years ago."
His eyes widened. "I'm sorry. It's just you look like someone who I used to know. Someone who was very important to me. Her name was Rey."
She closed her eyes for a moment before looking back up at home. Apparently, she'd made a much bigger impact than she realized on that nine-year-old boy. "That's my name," she whispered.
He swallowed. "I don't why you have the same name and look like the woman I used to know, but I'm sorry if I scared you. My name is Ben Solo."