Images flashed before Rey's eyes, Ben, his body frozen and floating in the air, his own lightsaber pointed towards his chest, making to strike his heart. The surroundings were familiar, red walls and shiny black floors. Red-clad guards lined the room.
A familiar place, huge and cavernous, statues towered around her. The air tinged with an oppressive darkness that seeped into every pore, crevasse and crack it could find. White-blue lightning cracked across the room accompanied by a horrible, ragged sound too perverse to truly be called laughter. A flash of green and a flash of blue, a lightsaber Rey did not recognize clattered to the ground.
A masked man dressed all in black, his hand extended in supplication "Join me," he said, his voice deep and rich and heavily distorted. Though the scene was familiar, it was not Kylo Ren and his words were not meant for Rey.
The vision that had haunted her though, the one that broke her was all too familiar. It was Rey, cold and limp on a stone floor, washed in blue light. Ben was there too, broken and limping, but alive. He cradled Rey's body in his arms, tears swimming in his eyes. He held her close for a moment before setting a hand gently on her stomach. He breathed life back into her and she rose. Ben looked at her like she was the most precious thing, the only thing in the world that mattered, and she had kissed him. Ben smiled, but it only lasted a moment.
Even though Rey was only watching, she could feel Ben grow cold in her hands, she felt the life leave his body as he fell. Her heart too numb to be broken, she watched in stunned silence as he faded away to nothing. Rey had screamed, clawed at the floor, at the dark swath of clothing he had left behind. She felt the bond sever; it was more painful than anything she could have imagined. She had felt broken, truly lost and empty. Like a piece of her soul had been ripped away.
"Rey," A soft voice ripped Rey back from the void. Rey looked up at Ben, alive and well, his eyes swimming with concern. "We're here."
Rey turned to look out of the view port. Starkiller Base rose before her. She looked in disgust at what the Empire and the First Order had wrought on the planet once sacred to the Jedi Order. A deep, wide crevasse carved along the equator of the planet; a horrible weapon capable to wiping out an entire system shoved down the center of it. Rey's stomach suddenly seized with fear at the thought of returning here.
"Please state your identification and purpose." The ship's communicator buzzed.
Ben jumped up and grabbed the comm roughly, Rey worried that he would rip it from the ship's terminal.
"Cargo Ship DE - 7538, requesting permission to land for drop-off and delivery. Clearance code Aurek Dorn 974." Ben said in an affected accent. Rey quirked an eyebrow at him and he shrugged in response looking almost embarrassed.
"That code is out of date." The voice on the other end, obviously a First Order officer replied, her tone neutral.
"I – It is?" Ben replied, his eyes going wide, his voice strained with an obvious attempt to not sound rattled. He shook his head, his mouth silently forming the words of course it is. "I haven't received any new communique."
"Yeah," The voice on the other end laughed, their neutrality breaking. "They changed all of the codes yesterday. I know, it's completely off schedule. Something big must have happened, everyone was panicking. Of course, no one tells us anything"
"Oh. I think our lines went down sometime yesterday, some freak malfunction." Ben said, a smile playing on the corner of his lips.
"I bet." The voice responded, her tone playful. "Listen, I'll give you clearance but just be sure to keep your comm lines open in the future. You know how top brass is, and security will only get tighter once we're operational."
"Thanks," Ben responded, the relief obvious on his face. "We'll be sure to."
Ben plopped back down next to Rey with a relieved sigh as the cargo ship began it's descent onto the planet's surface. Ben shook his head once, his dark hair tumbling over his eyes and then set his shoulders as if steeling himself. He unclipped his lightsaber from his belt, thumbing the ignition without turning it on. He looked to Rey, his eyes asking if she was ready. Rey nodded, grasping her own lightsaber. Suddenly, she remembered something she had been meaning to ask.
"Ben," Rey hissed, her tone frantic. "Finn, do you have any idea where Finn is, do you think he's here?" Ben furrowed his brows and shook his head.
"Finn?" He asked. Of course, he didn't know who Rey was talking about.
"My friend, the stormtrooper." Ben's eyes lit up in recognition and then he glowered at her.
"FN-2187?" He asked, his nose scrunched up. "No, I have no idea where he is." He turned away as Rey's heart sank and then sighed. "I doubt he's here. I don't know where he is but the squadron that accompanied me to Tuanul," Ben's voice lowered further. "They were a newer one, it was their first mission. He's probably still in training, he wouldn't be here."
Rey tried to grasp at relief in that revelation, but she found none. She still had no idea where Finn was, even if he wasn't here. She sighed, shaking her head to clear her mind.
"Okay," She said, not meeting Ben's eyes. "Okay, thank you."
The ship landed with a shudder and Rey's heart jumped into her throat. The Resistance soldiers lined the walls along the ramp entrance. Ben pounded a fist against a large red button on the wall and the ship's ramp lowered with a hiss. The group waited in silence.
Two stormtroopers armed with blaster rifles entered the ship. Ben's lightsaber flashed to life, casting a flickering red glow over the interior of the ship. "What the…" one of the troopers managed to say before Ben struck both of them down with one swipe of his blade. Rey looked up at Ben as she ignited her own lightsaber, his eyes were dark and focused. He nodded down to the planet's surface.
Luckily, they had landed at a relatively unpopulated outside landing platform. Certainly, Ben had chosen this one for that specific reason. There were a few more troopers nearby, two of them flew back into the snow hard at a flick of Ben's wrist. Rey deflected blaster fire easily, sending the bolts back at their attackers.
"Ground team headed towards shield control now." Ben said, raising his comm to his mouth. "Let's go," He gestured the group forward.
Ben took the lead, knowing the terrain best it was an obvious choice, Rey covered the rear. Rey noticed a couple of fighters casting nervous glances at Ben's unstable red lightsaber. She wondered how well known Kylo Ren was at this point in time. She had never heard of him in the time before, but she was trapped on a nowhere planet with no access to communication with the outside world save for the rare trader or explorer.
They entered a sleek, shiny hallway, the walls, ceiling and floor all matching, spotless black. It looked the same as every other First Order hallway to Rey, but Ben knew where he was. After ensuring the area was secure with a quick probe of the force, Ben nodded them forward and to the left.
After a few hallways and staircases that proved too easy to navigate, they found themselves in a four-way intersection with teams of stormtroopers coming at them from every direction but behind. The Resistance fighters fell back into doorways and behind whatever cover they could find.
Rey and Ben took the lead, both blocking and reflecting shots expertly as they advanced slowly on the troopers. Every once in a while, Ben would raise his off hand and a few troopers would fly up, paralyzed by the force, making them much easier targets for the Resistance marksmen and women.
Rey could sense confusion rolling off of the troopers, more than once she heard one shout a question to his comrades, while Rey could not hear much over the blaster fire, she did hear the name Kylo Ren several times. They knew, of course the First Order troopers would know, especially those stationed on Starkiller. With a sinking feeling, Rey realized it was only a matter of time before the Resistance knew as well.
A scream from behind her shocked Rey enough to twist her head and look back, one of her squadron laid dead on the ground, the hole in his chest still smoking from the heat of the baster bolt that hit him. Another fighter tried to rush to him, but the person next to her held her back. Rey felt a hot wave of shame for not knowing any of their names.
Momentarily distracted, Rey did not see, nor did she sense the red-hot bolt of plasma headed straight for her. Ben reached over to her, one hand around her waist, he pulled her into himself, but she stumbled, falling to the ground behind him. Ben let out an animalistic grunt as a bolt of blaster fire grazed his arm, singeing his jacket sleeve and leaving a red-black mark of charred flesh in its wake.
Ben turned around and roared. With a violent twist of his arm, the remaining troopers flew to the end of the hall where they crumbled to the ground, lifeless.
"Ben!" Rey exclaimed, rushing over to him. He looked at her, his eyes full of fire and passion. Rey took a step back. He shook his head, his sweat-soaked hair flying into his eyes, his face softening as he breathed hard.
"Let's go." He breathed, low and rough.
They placed explosions as they went. Small beeping discs that lined the wall and marked their exit.
When they reached the shield bay, Ben burst through the door. There were only two officers manning the shields and both of them turned towards the commotion, their eyes wide with fear and confusion.
"…Sir?" The older of the two asked before gripping his head and screaming in pain. Rey looked over to Ben who had one hand extended, his eyes cool and calm, his mouth set into a tight line.
The officer fell to the floor, seemingly unconscious, the younger officer slumped over in her chair not long after. Ben stormed to the console and punched in a sequence of codes before raising the comm to his lips.
"Shields are down, you are good to go, Black Leader."
Poe's voice on the other end laughed.
"You did it, First Order, I'm impressed. Let me know when you're planning on blowing those charges. You've got air support."
Ben rolled his eyes at that, but said nothing. He then raised his lightsaber and destroyed the console entirely, reducing the machine to a twisted piece of molten metal. Rey eyed him, her brows furrowed and confused.
"What?" He asked with the shrug of one shoulder. "Now they can't fix it. Rey just sighed.
"We should go, we need to get to the oscillator, we can plant some more explosives along the way, but then we've got to get out of here." Ben said, mostly addressing Rey.
"Would they have information on where different stormtroopers are stationed, where they would be training, things like that?" Rey asked, hearing the desperation in her own voice.
"Not here," Ben shook his head. He looked at her, his eyes pleading. "Rey, we don't have time for that now. I'll help you find your friend, I promise, but we have to go."
"I know," Rey said, refocusing herself. Starkiller was about to blow. Ben was right, but her heart ached. When was the next time she would be in a First Order base, so close to that kind of information – the information that could help her rescue Finn?
Ben placed a hand on Rey's shoulder and offered her a gentle, reassuring nod before leading the group from the room and down another sterile, black hallway. Rey was glad that Ben was here to guide them, she remembered how easily she had gotten lost the last time.
Ben led them to a room that Rey knew all too well. A tall, wide cylindrical room lined and crisscrossed with metal catwalks which led all the way down to the oscillator. Ben said something to the fighters about placing explosives on the support beams, but Rey wasn't listening.
She walked to the edge of the catwalk, clutching the railing for support, her knuckles white. She stared down at one of he paths that bisected the room, the air below it falling off into deep nothing. Had this been the place? She could see it playing out like a vision in front of her eyes. Father and son, the light outside quickly fading, bathing them in darkness. A flash of red and a shooting pain Rey could not understand.
Rey glanced over her shoulder to see Ben watching her, his shoulders tense, a muscle working in his jaw. He turned his attention to the same pathway that had caught hers. His eyes were cold, he looked lost, his mouth twitched. Rey tore herself from the railing and walked over to him, grabbing the sleeve of his jacket.
"Come on," She said firmly. She knew that if he stayed here, he would allow himself to spiral, she would have too. They had to save each other.
Ben snapped out of it, but the expression on his face did not change.
"Rey and the two mechanics come with me. Everyone else, keep planting those explosives. If we don't blow this place open, the flyers won't be able to get down to that oscillator." Ben called out to the group, half of whom were already halfway across the cylinder from where he and Rey stood.
Luckily, the X-Wings attacking above provided enough of a distraction that they ran into no more interference as they placed their remaining charges and headed down to the thermal oscillator. Only a few maintenance workers were present this deep in the base's core, Rey subdued them nonviolently. It had felt like the right thing to do at the time even though, as Ben pointed out, they would die when the planet exploded anyway.
Rey, Tia and Daro – the two Resistance fighters/ mechanics that had joined their team – got to work instantly on bypassing the manual override. It was actually quite a simple procedure, made all the more easy by having studied the blue-prints Ben had provided. Rey was still in shock over that, by how much he had brought to the Resistance, how much he had helped the cause. Rey had known that he was on their side now, her side at the very least, but she hadn't realized how much he was willing to help, how much he was willing to give.
The machine hummed to life slowly as the manual override kicked the weapon's power on and it slowly began to glow red with energy and raw, dark power. Daro, being particularly clever, was able to set the machine to only be able to be shut off through the manual override to ensure no interference from the command center
"Are we good to go?" Ben shouted from the doorway. A group of stormtroopers were approaching from the opposite end of the hall in front of them, but Ben dispatched them quickly.
Back at the top of the cylindrical room they met back up with the other members of their party who informed them that all of the charges were set and ready to go. They quickly made their way back to the ship.
The light outside was fading quickly. Rey's eyes turned skyward to see very essence of the sun above her being sucked into the planet below her feet. It was an awe inspiring and terrible sight. The ground trembled from the very act of it, or perhaps that was just Rey shaking. Ben, seemingly reading Rey's mind hung back.
"Don't worry, this is all part of the plan, right?" He said, snow falling into his dark hair and eyelashes. Half of his face glowed red and orange from the column of fire that shot from the sun into the planet. His eyes were a different kind of fire, dark burning coals. They had been here before, in the dark, in the snow, but this time was different – everything was different. Rey smiled at him despite herself. They stood there, just staring at each other for a while before Ben grabbed her hand and lead her back into their transport.
"Setting the charge now." Ben spoke in to the comm pressed to his lips. TIEs and X-Wings screamed above them as the cargo ship's pilot frantically ran through the launch sequence. Without being prompted, Ben threw himself into the copilot's seat. They would have the enemy on their tail this time, and luckily this rig had been modified with deflector shields, probably after it had been stolen by the Resistance. The pilot acknowledged Ben with a quick, thankful nod before continuing.
Ben pressed the button on the small ignition switch he had been keeping in his pocket. Everything seemed too quiet for a moment, before the planet shuddered around them.
"Whooooo!" Dameron's celebrative call crackled from the other side of the comm. "Good job, ground team. We'll take it from here."
As the cargo ship took off, they were pursued by two TIE fighters. Unfortunately, there were no guns equipped on this ship, so they just had to hit hyperspace as soon as possible.
"Burn sky until we see lines," Ben shouted, though the voice he heard was his father's. Ben concentrated on the two enemy craft, using the force to slam one into the other. Both ships hit the ground in a fiery explosion. The pilot cheered, fists wildly punching the air, as the stars blurred into white-blue lines in the front viewport. Ben smiled despite himself.
Ben stood and turned; Rey was talking with four of the fighters that had joined them. They seemed relived but also sad. Some laughed, some cried, one of them was doing both while Rey rested a hand on her shoulder. Ben remembered that one of their crew had died. He screwed up his face, wondering if he should join them, what he would say. Instead, he took his seat awkwardly and sat silently, staring at his hands.
He thought back to the room on Starkiller. He'd known that they would go there, he'd tried to prepare himself to be back in that space, but it had still hurt. What had hurt more was something he hadn't anticipated – Rey's reaction.
She had looked like she was about to collapse, like she was watching it happen all over again. He had known that Rey had felt close to his father, he had seen it. So few people in her life had been kind to her in the way that Han Solo had been that she had come to truly admire him in the short time since he had found her. She had imagined that Han was her father, or what she would have wanted a father to be like.
It broke something in Ben to see her nearly doubled over in pain at the memory. He saw how she must have seen him then, how she must now see him. She had called him a monster and she had called Poe Dameron a 'good man,' a sad, shriveled part of Ben told him both were true.
"His name was Marcus," Rey said, sitting down next to Ben, pulling from his spiral.
"Hmm?" Ben turned to look at her, brows furrowed in confusion. Her eyes were red-rimmed, but she didn't look sad.
"The man that died. His name was Marcus." She said with a tearful smile. "Tia was his sister," Rey gestured to one of the fighters who was now openly sobbing into the chest of another.
Ben didn't know what to say. He though for a moment to say that they were at war and this is what happened in war – people died. Thankfully, he was not a complete idiot and knew not to say that, even if it was true. To be completely honest, Ben had not thought much of people dying. He had not actually known may people that had died in battle and the ones he did know had usually died because of him. The thought sent a sharp spark of pain through his stomach.
"Oh," Was all Ben could manage.
The rest of the flight the fighters and Rey passed around stories of loved ones lost. They laughed and they cried. Tia shared the story of how she and her family had found the resistance. They had been part of a mining colony in the Unknown Regions that had been taken over by the First Order. When her mother learned that she was expecting their younger sibling, Kai, they had known it was time to get out. A Resistance member had organized for their family and a few others to be smuggled out into the Outer Rim, but things had gone wrong. The First Order had attacked, and their father had died. When Resistance support arrived, Marcus had offered to join up right away.
Ben stayed quiet, he figured that stories of sieges and slaughtered villages and burning temples would not fit well with the bittersweet mood in the air.
Ben's stomach turned over and over again all through the flight. They had received no communication on whether or not the mission had been a success, but he knew that they wouldn't until they dropped out of hyperspace. He tried to remind himself of that, tried to reassure himself that everything had to have gone well, but his nerves were shot.
When they landed back at the Resistance base it was raining and the sun was setting. They received no messages when they dropped out of lightspeed and into realspace over D'qar which either meant that the X-Wing battalion was still on their way back or the worst had happened. Either or, no big deal really.
They descended the ramp to cheers. A crowd of people swamped the cargo plane, throwing hugs and back pats around to the conquering heroes. Realization hit like the rain falling from the sky above and something inside of Ben soared. They had done it; they had really done it. Ben had led many successful campaigns in his life, but he had never felt like this afterwards.
"We did it!" Rey looked up at him, her hazel eyes glowing. The way she said it was half like a question and half a celebration. Ben could only think to nod back at her.
Rey reached up, threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. It took Ben a long moment to realize what was happening before it sank in. He put one hand on the back of her head and one on her lower back and pulled her closer.
Ben had kissed Rey once before, but this time was so much better. The last time they were both sore and broken. Ben had kissed her like a dying man, like it was the last thing he would ever do because, well, it was. He was very glad he was not dying now.
The heavy rain fell around them, soaking them to the bone, but Ben could hardly feel it. He could only feel Rey and the warmth that spread through him like a rising sun.
Rey pulled away from him, all too soon in Ben's opinion, and smiled up at him. She was crying again, but they were happy tears that disappeared into the raindrops that fell on her face. Her cheeks had taken on a light-pink blush and he desperately wanted to pull her in for another kiss but was afraid of being greedy. Ben had convinced himself that he was lucky enough to get one kiss from her, two was more than he ever deserved.
Rey pulled Ben close again, burying her face in his, now sodden, shirt. "We did it." She mumbled against him. The crowd cheered around them yet again as the X-Wings descended, but Ben could hardly hear them over the rushing in his ears.
Ben was pulled from his bliss by a strong hand clapping him hard on the back. He pulled away from Rey and swirled around to see Dameron, a huge smile pasted on his face and dripping wet from the rain.
"I can't believe it, can you believe it?" Dameron said to Rey and then turned his attention to Ben. "Good job, First Order. We really did it, buddy." The pilot laughed and threw his arms around both Ben and Rey. Ben, no idea what to do, kept his arms straight at his side. "Just a guy with a lightsaber, look at you." Dameron winked and playfully punched at Ben's chest without making real contact before turning and waving at someone in the crowd.
"Vix!" Dameron yelled, throwing his hand up into the air. "That was some fancy flying – you madwoman!"
"What," Ben began blankly, turning to Rey. "Was that?" Rey closed her eyes and laughed.
"I think you've made a friend, Ben." She playfully elbowed him in the side and Ben wondered when people would stop pretending to hit him.
"I thought he hated me." Ben said, shaking his head.
"That's Poe." Rey laughed again. As confused as he was, it was worth it to hear her laugh.
Ben and Rey parted ways to change into dry clothes after the celebration had died down some, but she had agreed to meet him back up in the mess hall. Unfortunately, there wasn't much choice clothing-wise in Ben's size, though he did manage to snag a light-grey shirt, a dark grey vest, and black pants. Looking at the clothing, Ben knew that he would never want for pockets again.
He grabbed a metal tray piled high with nearly inedible looking beige colored 'food', if it could be called that. 'Slop' is the word Ben would have used. He found Rey sitting alone at a table, poking curiously at the pile on her tray. He was glad to see that she had managed to find clothes that were a bit looser, which he knew she preferred. She had even managed to find some fabric to fashion the crossbody sash he had come to associate her with. The colors were new though, the shirt was a dusty green and her calf-length pants tan, which matched her arm wraps, but the fabric that crossed her body loosely was a dark grey. She smiled when she saw him and waved him over.
"Looks good, doesn't it?" Rey laughed as Ben sat down his tray across from her.
"It looks inedible." He said dryly.
"It almost makes me miss the portions on Jakku – almost." She laughed again. "The texture is worse but the flavor is better. Just try it. Apparently, it's fairly similar to what they feed the stormtroopers, according to Finn, at least."
Ben hummed in response and poked at the pile of 'food' on his tray. If he didn't know any better, he would have sworn that it was moving on its own.
"I have no idea what stormtroopers eat." Ben said flatly. "Speaking of," he looked up at her over his nose, dropping the tone of his voice. "I have an idea of maybe where your friend might be."
Rey's eyes lit up and she nearly jumped out of her seat.
"Really?" She asked in a whisper that was nearly a squeal.
"I can't say for sure." Ben said, picking up the piece of bread on his tray that felt so stale, he feared it may chip a tooth. "But, the squadron that was assigned to accompany me to Tuanul – the village on Jakku – they were fresh, just out of training. Phasma told me that they had recently, very recently, suppressed a strike in Pressy's Tumble." Ben took a tentative bite of the slop. Rey was right, the texture was terrible, but he was starving. "It is possible that he could be there."
"What do you think?" Rey asked, her voice full of hope.
"Like I said, it's possible. After the attack on Starkiller, they may move everyone together to regroup, I don't know." He shrugged, spooning some slop onto the stale bread before taking a bite which did make it slightly more palatable.
"That's something," Rey said, crumbling her own bread into the slop – an interesting technique. "It's better than nothing," She paused. "And you'll go with me?" She looked up at him through her lashes.
"I promised you, didn't I?" As if he could have said no to her.
Rey beamed at him as she scooped a spoonful of her concoction into her mouth. She looked as though she were about to say something but clammed up when a tray hit the table on Ben's right. The sudden noise caused Ben to nearly jump. It was Dameron, that same cocksure grin spreading across his face.
"What are we talking about?" He asked, sitting down without being invited.
"Nothing." Ben and Rey both said at the same time. Dameron's eyebrow quirked and his smile grew devious.
"That's my favorite subject." He said, his voice low, his eyes narrowing. "What kind of nothing? Illegal nothing?" He cast suspicious eyes around the room.
"No," Rey laughed. Ben just rolled his eyes. "Nothing like that."
"It's none of your business," Ben said tonelessly without looking up from his food.
"I know that, buddy." Ben bristled at the word. "Don't worry, I won't pry." He winked at Rey and Ben hand half a mind to wrap his hand around the pilot's throat. Instead, he took in a deep breath and breathed out the bad impulse.
"Actually," Rey began, Ben eyed her in warning, but she paid him no mind. "I have a friend, he's in… trouble." She said carefully.
"Anything I could do to help?" Dameron asked. Ben found himself rolling his eyes again as he took another bite.
"You'd help us?" Rey asked, her voice bright. Ben sent a warning through the bond to stop it, Rey! She just shook her head subtly.
"Anything for the heroes that brought us that victory against the First Order." Dameron laughed, slapping Ben on the back for the second time about as many hours. Ben hardly noticed, something in him stirred at being called a 'hero'. "Plus," the pilot leaned in conspiratorially, "I love a good rescue mission."