Chapter Seven

Everyone that had survived the battle at Crait gathered together in Chewie's family home. There was heavy debate regarding what to do next.

"They left us for dead."," shouted Finn.

Rose put a firm but gentle hand on Finn's forearm and it seemed to take a little of the anger out of him. At her touch, Finn gazed down at her face. Their connection was obvious to the entire room. Rey was glad that the young woman had recovered so quickly. She didn't think Finn's heart could take any delay. Her friend had stood sentry by Rose's side during her entire recovery. He had fussed and made such a nuisance of himself, that at one point the doctors had to kick him out of the room.

"I am angry too," responded Poe. "But the fact of the matter is that we are out of munitions, supplies and we don't have the numbers to bring down the First Order."

Twenty-three, Rey thought. That was all that was left of a once thriving Rebellion. It was incredulous to think that they had gone from the height of victory when they had destroyed Starkiller Base and now the rebellion was all but snuffed out.

The Rebellion had suffered devastating losses but so had the First Order. Snoke was dead and it would take time for Kylo to solidify his position. Rey raised her voice above the crowd. Demanding to be heard.

"I agree with Leia. We should use this time to go to the rebel leaders in the outer rim and convince them to support us in person. The First Order will need time to reform around Kylo Ren. Besides, if we all stay together we make a much easier target. It would be safer if we split up into smaller groups."

"I agree," said Poe. "There are seven possible cells for us to cover, if we break up into groups of 3, we will have just enough pilots for each group."

"Our host have agreed to provide us with ships and a safe haven whenever we need it," spoke Leia. "However, Kylo Ren is aware of our connection to this place and I do not wish to endanger them by staying here any longer than absolutely necessary. This morning, Poe and I debated at length about where our new base of operations should be. After lengthy debate, the best possible option would be to return to Crait."

"What?" Shouted Finn, rising to his feet again. "You want to go back to that death trap?"

"By the time we finish meeting with the other rebel leaders, the First Order will have completed their salvage efforts of Snoke's ship and left the system. The enemy will complete a thorough search the base and recognize how depleted it's resources are. They will not believe that we would be so foolish to go back," Leia explained.

"Because it is a crazy idea," countered Finn.

"It may be crazy, but crazy might be our only option right now," stated Poe.

The rest of the afternoon was spent hammering out the final details of the plan. After the discussion had died down, Rey excused herself from the group. She needed time to study from the Jedi books and practice her powers. After her last interaction with Kylo Ren, she was sure that she would need the training.

….

Rey had found a quiet spot outdoors to train. She had started with physical exercises to work out the tension and anxiety that rolled through her body. Without the lightsaber, she returned to her staff. To be honest, it felt more comfortable in her hand. After years of using a staff to defend herself on Jakku, the staff felt like a part of her body. She considered her weapon and the two broken pieces of kyper crystals that remained from Luke's old lightsaber. Her staff would not last a second in a fight against a lightsaber. There had to be something in the old texts about constructing a saber. Perhaps she could modify the design to be more of a saber staff.

After she had exhausted herself physically, she sat down in a shaded grove and started to read from the texts. She ate a few pieces of fruit and drank from her water canteen as she read. She didn't know what she was expecting but it wasn't this.

The books were certainly not "how to" manuals. They were steeped in the philosophy surrounding the force. Rey felt her eyes begin to droop when a familiar voice called out to her.

"Rey," Finn called. He strode to her at a quick pace. His long legs eating up the distance between them. Reaching her, Finn sat down across from her and crossed his legs. From the serious expression on his face, it was clear he had something on his mind.

"Rey, I think that you should leave the rebellion."

At her shocked expression, Finn raised his arms in defense before continuing.

"Listen to me. We all have targets on our backs right now, but I know more about Kylo Ren than you do. Given what you told me about your connection and what happened with Snoke, I think it would be safest for you to distance yourself from all of this. At least for the time being."

Rey opened her mouth to protest but Finn cut her off before she could say anything.

"Ren wasn't a part of the regular hierarchy of the First Order. He was Snoke's right hand. The guy that Snoke would send out whenever he needed something really bad done. Kylo Ren was feared even by the First Order leadership. He wasn't right, wasn't stable and if he is fixated on you, the best thing would be to keep clear of him. If you stay in the rebellion that won't happen."

Whatever anger, Rey had been feeling at Finn's first assertion drained away. It was clear that her friend's words were motivated by a deep concern for her. It meant the world to her that he cared so much.

"Believe me, I don't want to run into Kylo Ren anytime soon, but I can't just leave. Everyone that I care about is a part of this rebellion."

Finn's mouth thinned in displeasure. Rey knew that he would continue to argue if she didn't change the subject soon.

"So, you and Rose?"

Finn's countenance changed in an instant. His ducked his chin and blushed. When he looked up at Rey again he saw that she was smiling.

"Rose and I got close on our mission," he explained. "I told you how she saved me on Crait, but what I didn't tell you was that she kissed me."

Finn sounded like he was almost apologizing to her. Like he had somehow betrayed her by kissing Rose. Rey wanted to dispel that notion instantly.

"She kissed you," Rey smirked. "Did you kiss her back?"

At her teasing tone, Finn blushed even harder.

"I was just so shocked that it happened, and then she blacked out…."

"Finn, it is okay to want some happiness for yourself. If you like her, you should pursue it. Stars know, knows you deserve to be loved."

Finn looked like he didn't know what to say to that. The conversation had clearly left him flustered.

"Right," he said, abruptly changing the conversation. "I don't know about you, but I am starving. Care to join me and the others for lunch?"

He rose and held out his hand to her. She grasped it and allowed him to help pull her up.

"I'll join you shortly. I just want to return these books to my chambers and take a quick shower before eating."

"Yeah," Finn said. He playfully leaned over and gave her a sniff. "That is probably a good idea. If you came in smelling like that, you might cause everyone to lose their lunch."

Rey laughed in response. Happy that her easy and carefree relationship with Finn had been restored.