Chapter 5: Checkmate
Rey tried to cover any exposed skin not clothed by the golden bikini she was wearing. The task was proven difficult in the strong grip of Unkar Plutt, who was dragging her to the sex tents to pleasure her first client.
"The Supreme Leader himself is expecting you to show him a good time, girl," Unkar leered. "He's passing through and looking for someone to warm his bed, so I expect him to pay you handsomely in credits." And with that, he shoved Rey inside the tent.
Rey trembled in fear as the man clad all in black rose from the bed. She had heard many horrible things about Kylo Ren. What she hadn't expected was how... handsome he looked without his mask.
Glancing him up and down, Rey tried not to stare at the long and silky black locks of hair tumbling down to his shoulder. The chiseled face. His piercing hazel eyes.
Kylo drifted over to Rey, his expression amazingly soft and earnest. "May I touch you?"
Rey felt her throat go dry. "Yes," she whispered. "You may."
With that, Kylo took Rey in his arms. His large and strong hands encircled her waist, and then dipped lower to caress her bum. Rey's breath hitched and she unconsciously hoisted her thigh up to his torso, hooking it around his hips at her knee. Kylo held her gently as his lips dived into the curve of her neck, making Rey sag in his embrace. She let out a swooning groan.
"K...Kylo..."
"Ben, please," he murmured.
"Ben..." Rey whispered his true name. "Ben, I... Oooh, yes, right there..."
Spinning them both around, Rey felt the mattress catch her as she tumbled back onto the bed, the Supreme Leader above her. Gulping, her brown eyes locking onto his of green, she slowly opened her legs. His kisses melted her so much, she didn't even register that he had disrobed until he was unclipping the bit of loincloth concealing the petals of her sex...
And then he was inside her, thrusting low and deep, and she arched into him with a plaintive moan.
"Hmmm... Mmmmm... Huhhh... Uhhhh... Ohhhh... Ben..."
She finally came with a squeal, and so hard she saw stars...
Rey was pulled out of the deep sleep of her dream by several pairs of arms grabbing her.
Before she could yell for help, a hand clapped over her mouth, and her room was suddenly floated with light.
"Oh. Ummm..." One of the Resistance guards holding her noted how she stood before them naked. "Put something on. Quickly." The partner at his side cocked a blaster at the Jedi.
Eyes darting about frantically, Rey noticed how the one side of her bed was empty. Ben must have teleported back to his ship sometime during the night. Quivering, she hurriedly covered her immodesty with a bathrobe and the Resistance soldiers quickly seized her again.
"Come with us."
The pair of guards hauled Rey out into an open field, in which Rey now saw Poe, Finn, Rose and a captain named Snap Wexley all huddled together. Rose appeared to be pleading with Poe, tears streaming down her face, but the pilot was unmoved. Turning back to Rey as she was brought before him, he spotted the creamy curve of her thigh peeking out from the bathrobe and raised an eyebrow. Trying not to blush, Rey glowered at him.
"We, uh, we found her like that, sir. It was all she could put on."
Poe's eyes dangerously narrowed. "Interesting." He strode forward so that he was face-to-face with Rey.
"So, he's been here, has he? In your bed?"
"None of your damn business!" Rey hissed.
"I'd wager the safety of galactic secrets is completely my business, you little spy!" Poe snarled. "Now, I'm going to ask this of you one time, traitor: what information have you supplied to Kylo Ren?"
"None," Rey stated simply.
"Don't lie to me!" Poe barked. CRACK! Rey felt the sting on her cheek as he smacked her across the face. Somewhere off to her left, she heard Rose gasp, followed by a hiss that sure sounded like Finn. "He fed you intel about those Stormtroopers, so who's to say you haven't returned the favor while going down on him in bed? You think jeapordizing galactic security makes for good pillow talk, huh, Jedi?"
"Keep running your mouth, Dameron, and I'll jeapordize your security!" Rey leveled.
"Is that a threat?" Poe growled.
"Well, it sure isn't a pass at you," Rey quipped.
Poe's teeth set, before whipping out his blaster and taking deadly aim. "Talk to him. Get him to come here. Call him! I know you can, somehow! Snap here says he saw you sneaking him into the base through some Force trickery. Now how did you do it, Rey?!"
Rey was stonily silent, refusing to answer. "You've already threatened me once, Poe. And you didn't follow through. Why should I think you will now?"
In answer, Poe stuck the muzzle of his blaster right against Rey's breast, directly over her heart. He smirked. "Following through enough for you?"
Rey tried not to let him see her gulp. From the glint in his eyes, it was clear Poe was not messing around. He might be playing a dangerous game, but it was one that he was going to do anything to win. Letting out a shuddering breath, Rey finally called out into the night.
"Ben? Come to me! I... I need you."
For a long parsec, there was silence. Rey could feel the muzzle of Poe's blaster bunch up the skin along her boob. Finally, there was the squelching of space and time. The pull behind her navel. The Bond was opening; he wasn't teleporting here, and she felt a strange sense of relief. Behind the Bond, Poe couldn't possibly hurt her Ben...
"Rey, honey? What's wrong? Did you have a nightmare..." Ben's voice trailed off as he took in the sight around him. One by one, he locked eyes with every person present in the posse ring. "FN-2187." Finn dipped his head in acknolwedgement. Beside him was that short little girl that Rey had mentioned on occassion - the technician, Rose. "Captain Wexley." Snap sneered at the Supreme Leader. Ben finally met gazes with Poe. "Commander Dameron..." He threw out his arms, a confused and peeved expression on his face. "What is this?"
Poe's eyes gleamed, even if he too looked just as perplexed by the phenonema before him. "How are you even doing that?"
Hazel eyes darting to the blaster still mangling his wife's breast, Ben cocked a ruffled eyebrow. Behind the facade, however, dipping into his thoughts the way she might sink into a warm bath, Rey could feel her husband's panic, as he examined every inch of this trap and tried to find a way out. What happened? Did he hurt you?
No.
"We share a Force Bond, if you must know, Commander. Rey and I can appear to each other, see, hear and speak to each other, even when separated by lightyears across the galaxy."
A moment of silence. "At will?" Poe rounded on Rey.
Rey's brown eyes, huge as saucers, darted to her husband's. Ben just nodded almost imperceptibly. "Tell him the truth, sweetheart."
"More recently... yes. We can come to each other when we call," Rey got out haltingly. "The Bond has grown stronger these last several weeks."
Poe took this in with interest. "I see. But before that, when you couldn't control it, you had to resort to passing information to each other in letters, is that it?" With that, he pulled out an envelope. Rey's jaw dropped, and even Ben seemed to freeze for a moment: it was a letter Rey had passed on to Leia for her hologram comlink the day before the Stormtrooper attack. "Where did you get that?"
"Leia had it with her during a meeting, but she was called away for an emergency summit in the Situation Room, and she asked me to send it through her comlink to a certain frequency. When I went to do it, I recognized the frequency as having First Order transponder codes in its digital fingerprint, and it got me thinking: why would the General be communicating with the First Order? Unless of course... this wasn't from the General."
Ben was now looking at Poe with flabbergasted disdain. "So you just decided to open somebody else's mail? That's a galactic federal offense, you know! Really, Commander, are you actually as stupid as you look?"
"Don't you dare! -" Behind Rey, pinning her arms behind her back, Snap tried to make a furious move around her for the Supreme Leader, but Poe waved him down. Opening the envelope, he began to read its contents in a high, litling, sarcastic voice, no doubt trying to imitate Rey:
"I anxiously await every little moment alone we have together! The times in which you visit me have dispelled my loneliness and made me feel complete again! Oh, darling Ben, I would do anything for you!" Rey's blood chilled at his words, her heart stopping as Poe whirled back to her, the parchment clenched in his fists. Fire swam in his eyes. "Anything? Like, say, funneling secrets to the enemy?"
Behind them, Ben looked astonishingly bored by Poe's dead-to-rights speech. "Well, Commander, while I am flattered by your declarations of undying love, I must apologize sincerely, as my heart is already taken -"
"Is this some big fucking joke to you?!" Snap bellowed, digging his nails into Rey's wrist and causing her to wince with pain.
That got Ben's attention and he took a dangerous step forward. "Let her go, Captain!"
Poe got between them all. "Not until you tell us what information Rey wrote you in those letters! There are others, I presume?"
"Yes," Ben freely admitted. "But they are no different than that one. Innocent love letters and flirting. Would you like me to read them for you?"
Poe glowered. "No."
Rey glanced fearfully between her commanding officer and her husband. Ben and Poe were now knee-deep in a pissing contest that was now digging them into a deeper and deeper hole - a tunnel to nowhere, in fact.
Poe's brow was furrowed, as he tried to find a way back to gaining the upper hand. Across from him, Rey could almost see the gears turning in Ben's head. Finally, Poe slowly turned back to his prisoner with a sickly smile on his face.
"Well, Rey, I must thank you for luring Ben here. You played your part beautifully."
The blood in Rey's veins moved quickly to make a noose around her heart. Fear blossomed in Ben's gaze, trained on her.
"Rey... what is he talking about?"
"Now, I don't take kindly to potential military plans being leaked to the enemy, but since you led the Supreme Leader here, I think I can forgive all that," Poe droned on.
"You forced her to call me!" Ben blasted out, though his gaze was uncertain.
"I did nothing of the kind," Poe drolled. He smirked. "Checkmate. Game finished."
Ben snorted. "You're playing checkers on a dejarik board, Commander. Rey would never betray me. Not for some pathetic little cause." Then his gaze, tinged with heartbreak, swiveled to his wife. "Would you?"
"Of course she would!" Poe chuckled. "She wants to free the galaxy! She hates the First Order - and you!"
"Rey: you said you didn't belong with the Resistance..." Ben started.
By now, Rey was crying, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I did, and it's true!"
"You said you didn't love them..."
"I don't love the Resistance; I love YOU!" Rey blasted out.
There was a pronounced gasp from all assembled, and Ben's eyes went big. So did Rey's, for she had never spoken those three little words until now - hours into her young marriage, and yet, her heart felt like it was finally set free. An almost hysterical little giggle bubbled up from her lips and a smile shone on her face.
"I love you!" she chirped happily, giddy. "I love you, Ben."
Ben's gaze softened into one of undying love, and he murmured, "I know."
Poe's eyes darted between the lovers' tender looks. His face contorted. "Was that your best shot, Kylo Ren? Now let me show you mine." Shoving Snap aside, he kept Rey pinned to him, reaching around so that his blaster remained trained directly over her heart. Snap stood off to the side, aiming at Rey's temple.
Ben lunged forward. "Stop it, both of you!"
"Poe, please, I've been telling the truth all along! I love my husband, but I would never betray the Resistance!"
Poe froze, looking between the couple with intrigue. "Husband, did you say?" His gaze found Snoke's ring glistening on Rey's finger. "Ah, so there has been a union!"
By now, Rey was practically hysterical. "I would never betray the Resistance!"
"Then prove it!" Poe goaded. "Kiss me." At Rey's look of revulsion and horror, Poe's grin turned positively feral as he stared Ben sadistically down. "Kiss me the way you did that night when you were trying to protect him from me!"
Ben's expression was collapsing into something hopelessly shattered. Tears were streaming down Rey's cheeks and she began to weep in heaving sobs.
"I will not be unfaithful to my husband! I will not betray my wedding vows!"
"Prove your loyalty to me, or you die!" Poe's voice had risen to nearly a yell. He cocked the trigger on his blaster.
"You're bluffing!" Ben shouted.
"Oh, am I?" Poe sneered; he looked truly desperate. Desperate to hurt Kylo as badly as he thought the Supreme Leader had hurt him and his cause.
"Yes. You are. Because the last time you threatened my wife's life, you didn't go through with it! Just like you won't do it now! If you were in the First Order, threatening an ally - charges of treason or not - would get you court-martialed and thrown out on your ass in a Coruscant minute!" Ben snapped his fingers. "But I digress. Face it, Dameron - you're too yeller!"
"SWEAR YOUR LOYALTY, REY, OR YOU DIE! Say goodbye to the wife, Ben! You have three parsecs:" Poe was now yelling for the heavens to hear. "One... Two..."
Turning her head, Rey chastely pecked Poe's lips - so fast, everyone almost missed it. But Rey made damn sure the pilot didn't miss the look of hatred and disgust on her face as she turned back to her husband and spoke in a deadened monotone: "My loyalty is to the Resistance."
Poe grinned triumphantly as Ben's expression crumbled. Poe and Snap both took a step away from their prisoner, the muzzles of their guns drifting away...
... Before they both fired almost simultaneously.
"NO!" Ben's lunging body was obscured by the smoke from the blasters' shots, his face - contorted with rage concealed by the flash of red from the two blaster bolts. But his cry of anguish still echoed in Rey's head as liquid fire spasmed across her abdomen, her ears ringing from Snap's shot whizzing just behind her skull.
Somewhere, in the distance, it seemed, she could hear Rose screaming. Finn was yelling as she swooned, "She's going! She's going!"
And then Rey felt herself falling. Falling in a dead faint. Closing her eyes, she let the darkness of unconsciousness, death, whatever was next, take her. She would rather die, here, right now, then live and watch to see what Ben would soon become. What he would do in his unleashed heartache and rage.
The last thing she felt was the Bond connection slamming shut...
"Ben..." Rey stirred back into the conscious world, squeezing her eyes tightly shut against the bright light that now swam across her vision. Backlit by this light was the outline of a stout and stocky person, and once her eyes adjusted, the outline took shape to reveal a sympathetic Rose gazing down at her friend with a smile of relief.
"You gave us quite a scare, Jedi."
Rey sharply sat up in the whitewashed bed in a room in the medical ward, her brown orbs blinking back the tears that threatened to spill.
"Oh, Rosie!" Flinging herself into the technician's arms, Rey broke down completely. She shook with horror and disgust and lingering fear over what Poe and Snap had done to her and Ben. What Poe had made her do. Rose simply held her weeping friend, rubbing Rey's back soothingly.
When the two women finally broke apart from the hug, Rose's hazel eyes were wide with urgency. "Poe has a blaster. If Ben tries to enter the base, he's vowed to kill him."
A stricken expression flashed across Rey's face, but only for a moment. Poe, on the hunt... Ben, likely worried sick over seeing her being shot and then frantic to get to her once the Bond connection broke.
Yanking the IVs out of her arm, Rey swung her legs off the medical cot with determination. "Well, then, we have to find Ben first, Rosie. Come on. I have to warn him. I have to save my husband."