Since their arrival on D'qar, Han and Chewie had been working painstakingly on catching up with all of the repairs and overdue maintenance the Falcon had so sorely needed. It would have been an understatement to say that he had been unhappy when Ben and Rey had approached him and asked to borrow the ship for a rescue mission in First Order territory. Thankfully, Han had relented, begrudgingly. But he made Ben swear to bring the ship back in one piece, this time. Rey made a mental note to get that whole story at some point.
Ben had not been happy to find Poe in the pilot's seat when he and Rey entered the cockpit after procuring some rations for their trip from storage.
"Up. Out." Ben said, curtly. Rey merely stepped back, folding her arms across her chest. She would let the boys duke it out. Poe looked up at Ben, his eyebrows quirked, a cocky smile playing across his lips.
"I don't think so." Poe swirled his chair around so that he faced the both of them fully, his arms crossed lazily. "This is the pilot's seat, I'm a pilot. It's pretty simple stuff, buddy." Rey felt Ben bristle at the word 'buddy', as he always did. She had to bite back a laugh.
"You are not flying this ship." Ben said, his voice dripping with an unspoken threat. Poe didn't flinch, he merely leaned back, his smile growing wider. If Rey didn't know any better, she would think that Poe enjoyed pushing Ben's buttons – but who was she kidding, Poe enjoyed pressing everyone's buttons.
"I'm the best pilot in the Resistance." Poe said with a laugh, as if that were the end of the conversation.
"Maybe you were." Ben said, leaning forward slightly, the corner of his mouth twitching up in a scoundrel's grin.
Poe shot up at that accusation. He pointed a finger in Ben's face, so close it nearly touched the tip of his nose. "You -" Is all he said, the rest of his words lost in some indignant rage.
All Rey could do was lean back against a wall panel and shake her head. Both of these men were at least ten years her senior and here they were, squabbling like children. She sighed.
"Boys," She said coolly. Both of them looked at her, Poe had the sense of mind to look ashamed at least, she had to give him that. Ben, on the other hand, looked at her with eyes that screamed "what, am I wrong?"
"This is Ben's father's ship," Rey pointed out. Ben looked both annoyed and embarrassed that she would play that card, but Poe relented and allowed Ben to pilot the ship. "Children," She muttered under her breath as she exited the cockpit.
A few hours into the trip, Rey laid herself across the curved seat in the lounge and closed her eyes. She tried not to worry about Finn or any of the other things that needed to be done and absolutely needed to be worried about, and she was failing miserably. She was more than relieved when Poe, a friendly distraction, entered the lounge and sat across from her.
"So," He said, leaning closer as Rey sat up, resting his forearms on his knees. "What's the deal with you and First Order?"
"What do you mean?" Rey asked, taken aback.
"I mean, how did the two of you meet, what's his deal, what's yours? You don't seem like you were a part of -"
"No," Rey cut him off. "No, I wasn't." Though, not from lack of trying on his part, Rey thought but knew better than to add.
"Then how did you and the big guy meet and wind up running away to the Resistance base?" He asked with a laugh.
"It's a long story," Rey laughed back. "We weren't friendly at first, not at all."
"But you are friends now?" Poe asked, a smile Rey didn't understand spreading across his face.
"Yes," She agreed almost indignantly. If she thought about it, 'friends' was definitely not the most accurate word for what she and Ben were, if such a word existed, she did not know it.
"You seemed like you were a little bit more than friendly last night." Poe said with a wink and suddenly Rey hated him. She could feel the blush spreading along her cheeks.
Yes, she had kissed Ben and, apparently, it hadn't been the first time - she still wasn't ready to think too long and hard about what she'd seen in her vision. She knew, somehow, that it was what had happened in the time before. What she didn't know was why she didn't remember it or why Ben hadn't said anything. Well, that second part wasn't as difficult to figure out. Ben was almost certainly as confused as she was as to the status of their current... relationship.
She cared for Ben, deeply. She had ever since they'd touched hands through the bond a lifetime ago, and it was clear that Ben cared for her as well, perhaps for even longer than she had, as confusing as that was for her. She'd wanted so badly for him to go with her after the fight in the throne room on the Supremacy. She'd imagined him running with her, back to the Resistance, taking down the First Order, being with her - whatever that had meant to her at the time. Something in her had broken when he'd chosen power over her, called her nothing, made her fight him. When she'd sensed him on Exegol, when she'd sensed that he was Ben, it was like her heart had started beating again for the first time since Crait.
Still, every now and again she would be hit hard and fast with the memory of Kylo Ren and it was difficult to concede Ben's past with the man he was becoming... It was all very confusing, and she still hadn't sorted out her feelings competently, and she sure as hell wasn't about to do that with Poe Dameron. She glowered at him, but he didn't seem cowed.
"That's -"
"None of my business, I know." Poe laughed. "Don't worry, I get it. He's a handsome fella, for a First Order type." Rey's blush grew hotter under his scrutiny. "Sorry, I didn't mean to fluster you." He lied; she was sure that was exactly what he had been doing.
"So, what? He was the First Order officer; you were the damsel in distress and he left his life behind to save you?"
"No," Rey laughed softly, trying not to take offense to being called 'a damsel in distress.' Then she laughed again, harder this time, at just how very absurd the idea was. "No, that's not at all –"
"I'd say that's pretty much exactly what happened." Ben interrupted her. She looked up to find him leaning nonchalantly against the doorway to the cockpit.
"It absolutely is not what happened." Rey turned to face him, arms crossed defensively across her chest.
"Oh," Ben said, his voice laden with faux shock and confusion. "Do you not remember me rushing into a certain somewhere to save you from doing a certain something. I'd say that you were in distress," Ben said with a cocky half-smile. "But I certainly wouldn't call you a damsel."
Exegol, he was talking about Exegol. Rey sighed, frustrated. That is 'pretty much exactly what happened', him rushing in like some sort of dark knight to rescue her from killing and then, subsequently becoming possessed by the Emperor – not to mention him bringing her back to life, though she could not allow herself to think of that. It hurt too much still; it confused her heart too much. Instead, she doubled down on frustration.
"That is not how we met though, is it? I was certainly in distress then, though, who's fault was that?" She asked with a pleased nod.
"Fair enough," Ben snorted.
Someone coughed. Both Ben and Rey turned to face Poe who looked between the two of them, more than a little entertained. Both she and Ben had completely forgotten about the Resistance pilot's presence in the room. Rey shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Ben, for his part, seemed unfazed.
"Wow," Poe said, throwing his head back in laughter. "I'll bet it is a long story. You two are great, I love it." Poe stood and strode towards the cockpit. "Won't be too much longer, First Order. You gonna get back in there or do you want me to pilot this baby the rest of the way?"
"Not a chance, Dameron." Ben growled as Poe passed him through the threshold and into the cockpit.
Pressy's Tumble was, apparently, an asteroid field. It was home to a mining colony currently under First Order occupation and the workers were striking which is why Finn was down there – maybe, Rey had to remind herself. He might be down there, but he could be anywhere. She could not get her hopes up. It was just… the idea that he wasn't down there was too much to bear. If he was not down there, she had little to no hope of ever finding him.
"It's just down there," Ben said, pointing out an especially large asteroid in the viewport. "I mean, it should be, I've never actually been myself."
"You mean you didn't actually visit every colony your group terrorized?" Poe asked, his tone was light to offset the harsh words.
"No, I'm sure that's hard to imagine." Ben grumbled. "And they are not my group."
"Not anymore, eh buddy?" Poe said, lightly tapping Ben's shoulder with his fist. Rey watched as Ben's shoulders tensed at the contact and smiled. Rey thought that being friends with Poe would do Ben some good, if Ben didn't kill him first, that was.
"So," Poe turned his chair to face Rey who was sat in the seat just behind Ben. "Your friend is a stormtrooper? You certainly have a type." He laughed.
"He is," Rey said, ignoring Poe's second point. "He doesn't want to be. Actually… He may not seem like he recognizes me at first, it's a -"
"A long story, I get it." Poe threw his hands up in the air, palms facing Rey. "I think I'm beyond asking you questions at this point. Let's get your friend out of there, and if we can make things harder for the First Order in the process, well, that might just make my day."
Rey smiled, as difficult as Poe could be – and he was, often – he was a good friend, a good person. He really, truly cared about people. That was why she had agreed to him tagging along. She knew Ben thought it was a bad idea, and it probably was. She still wasn't sure how to explain to Finn how she knew him, let alone Poe. She would figure it out. If she had to sound crazy to the both of them, it would be worth it to save Finn.
As they drew closer to the asteroid's surface, they could see the mining operation and the town that supported it along with the First Order camp just outside of the town.
Ben landed the Falcon on the ridge of a tall cliff overlooking the town. All three of them exited the ship and crept to the cliff's edge overlooking the town. They could see people gathering en-masse in the town's center, preparing for something, a last stand of sorts if Rey had to guess. In the distance, Rey could see the First Order gathering as well. A couple of AT-AT walker and several dozen ground troops looked to be headed towards the town.
"Looks like we're here right in time for the action." Poe said, holding his pair of binoculars to his face. "You all ready?".
Suddenly, Ben grabbed his head, wincing in pain. Rey grabbed his arm and he looked up at her, pain and fear flooding his eyes. With a quick shake of his head he schooled his face back into a neutral expression, but it did not calm Rey's heart.
"What was that?"
"Nothing," Ben said, one hand still gripping his head, the other reaching for his lightsaber. "Headache."
"Did you think you could run from me?" The deep voice, rough like it was breaking over rocks still rang through Ben's head, his heart still raced, his hands were trembling.
"Are we going or not?" Ben asked, willing his voice to stay calm as he strode past Rey and Dameron down the rocky path towards the mining town.
Something had happened, something had shattered. His mental shields had broken, just for a split second and Snoke had wormed his way inside. Ben could not be sure how much Snoke knew at this point, he knew where they were, that was for sure. He should tell Rey, he knew that, they were all in so much danger, but he couldn't.
Ben could hear the two follow him, pebbles clattering against the asteroid's rocky surface as they approached the town. There was shouting, but not the frightened or angry screams of battle - rabble rousing, he'd heard it before, though Ben had never before been on the side of the rabble.
"… And we will stand for it no longer!" A male Rodian screamed to the crowd who cheered in response. He was stood on a pile of boxes, steadying himself on a flagpole nearby. The black and white flag of the First Order burned in his free hand.
"Are you the leader here?" Dameron asked the man who eyed him suspiciously.
"Who are you?" The Rodian asked, not answering Dameron's question.
"We're from the Resistance, we're here to help." Dameron said with a cocky smirk. The Rodian just shook his head.
"The Resistance sent three fighters?" He scoffed.
"We don't have time for this." Ben said grabbing Rey's wrist and weaving through the crowd.
"Hey, where are you going?" Dameron's voice called out from somewhere behind them, but Ben had neither the time nor the patience to explain anything to the pilot.
"Ben, what's going on?" Rey asked, ripping her arm from his grasp.
"Finding your friend, that's why we're here, isn't it?" Ben asked, whirling around. He could feel how frantic he must have looked. "Come on, we need to go."
"Ben," Rey began again slowly, not moving from her spot as people bumped into her from all sides. Ben could feel her trying to meet his gaze, but he couldn't look her in the eyes. "What is going on?"
"It's Snoke – he knows where we are. He's coming." Ben sighed heavily. He wanted to scream, to lash out, to destroy something, but he couldn't. He would not allow himself to. He tried breathing deeply, but that did little to calm his nerves.
"What?" Rey breathed, her eyes going wide.
"He broke through back up on the ridge, I'm so sorry Rey, I'm -." Ben should have been stronger, should have been able to keep him out. How had he let this happen? He'd endangered the mission, endangered Rey. If he thought he could convince her to leave without her friend they would be back in hyperspace already, but he knew that there was not use.
"No," Rey said softly, placing a hand on his arm. "It's not your fault." She said, even though it was his fault, it really was. Ben shook his head but said nothing.
"Can you sense him, your friend? Is he here?" He said finally.
Rey closed her eyes and steadied her breathing. He could feel her presence in the force engulf him, swallowing him like a brilliant, inescapable light. She opened her eyes and nodded.
"He's here." She said. "But how will we tell which one he is?"
"I've got a plan and it might be terrible," Ben said, shaking his head, knowing that his plan was, in fact, definitely terrible, but he saw no other option. "But we've got to take out those AT-AT walkers first. Can you take the one on the left?"
"What if Finn is inside one of those?" Rey asked. Ben growled, it was a good question, one he hadn't considered. It would have been much easier to just smash them.
"Okay, we'll just have to be gentle then." He sighed. Rey nodded and they ran towards the edge of town. The troopers were just about within firing distance.
Ben took a deep breath and he felt Rey do the same beside him. He readjusted his feet so that they were square with his shoulders, his heels digging into the rock beneath his feet. He raised his arm and his whole body tensed as he called on the force. The AT-AT walker on the right rose slowly in the air, not much only a few inches. It was such a large, heavy object, his hand began to shake from the effort. He saw the walker on the left wobble, but not rise.
"Concentrate Rey, it's just like Pasaana, like the transport." He said, his voice strained with effort.
"Hopefully not just like Pasaana." Rey grunted. Ben tried to laugh, but he could not under the strain.
"A little lightning would actually be helpful right now." Ben said as his AT-AT began to gently lower itself to the ground. It would be so much easier if he could have just let it fall.
"No, it really wouldn't." Rey said through gritted teeth. Her walker finally began to raise and lower onto its side as well.
The troopers, once they'd noticed what was happening broke ranks, ran from the huge machines that seemed to be floating and falling on top of them. Ben heard a familiar voice in the distance yelling, he knew that she would be here.
Ben and Rey, once their jobs were done stood still and shaking, their bodies exhausted and covered in a fine sheen of sweat. Ben's arm trembled as he lowered it, but there was no time to waste. As he turned to tell Rey just that a green blaster bolt flew past his shoulder. He looked back, the strikers had taken up arms, they had become a full-on revolt.
"Well, we'd better go find your friend." Ben said, igniting his lightsaber which crackled and burned with untamed power beside him. Rey nodded as she ignited her own, the blue blade flashing to life beside her. They charged into the oncoming army, screaming.
This was decidedly not what Ben had in mind for this 'rescue mission'. The plan he'd been forming in his head during the trip from D'Qar to the asteroid cluster had been a much more covert operation, involving more subtlety - though, Ben would be the first to admit this was not his strong suit. He'd hoped they'd be able to sneak in and out with out detection or, at the very least, have the element of surprise on their side. Not once during his planning had he accounted for charging a squadron of stormtroopers head-on - because that was a bad plan, well, really, it wasn't much of a plan at all. They didn't have the luxury of plans on their side now, not with Snoke so hot on their tails.
A good amount of the stormtroopers were still too stunned and confused to realize that they were being attacked, but some had already taken up their rifles and were returning fire. Normally, it was easy for Ben to deflect a few blaster bolts, but when he was also reaching out with the force trying desperately to find an energy signature he may or may not recognize it was quite a bit more difficult.
Ben knew very little about FN-2187. He had noticed him, his hesitation, during the siege of Tuanul. He had felt the fear rolling off of the stormtrooper but had done nothing, the feelings of one stormtrooper had been meaningless in the grand scheme of Snoke's plan – how wrong he had been. Ben had also fought him in the forest of Starkiller, though calling that a fight was being generous to be sure. Ben had been toying with the trai – trooper until, of course, FN-2187 had landed a lucky strike.
Ben reached out for the same fear he had felt on Jakku, the same resistance, the same hesitation, but, to his genuine surprise, he felt it in so many of the troopers he couldn't pin-point just one source.
"Fi – FN-2187?" Rey called out, her voice cracking with worry. Ben doubted very much any of the troopers could hear much over the sound of blaster fire.
"FN-2187!" He called out, his own voice loud and low and booming.
The troopers surrounded them now and many turned to face Ben at the sound of his voice, quiet a few of those taking steps back in confusion at the sight of his blade.
"STAND DOWN!" He ordered them, channeling his anger, channeling the piece of Kylo Ren that was still inside of him.
Many actually did, mostly out of confusion, most likely, their weapons clattering to the ground at their feet.
"FN-2187!" Ben called again. One trooper looked up and held Ben's gaze, blaster still in hand but pointed at nothing and no one. Ben knew instantly that this was the right trooper.
Ben ran to the man, roughly grabbing his wrist. The trooper tried to fight him off, the blaster in his other hand trembling terribly. With the flick of a wrist, Ben sent the blaster skidding across the rocky surface of the asteroid below them. He couldn't have FN-2187 getting any crazy ideas and getting one or both of them hurt.
"Wha - What are you doing?" FN-2187 asked, his fear no masked by the mechanical distortion of his helmet's audio processors. He saw the trooper's masked gaze shift towards Ben's lightsaber and the man began fighting in real earnest. Ben just held on tighter. He might bruise Rey's friend's wrist, but he was sure, given the situation, this would be forgivable. He continued shuffling them through the crowd of confused and frightened troopers towards the energy source he knew to be Rey.
"I found him, I found…" Ben started, but a familiar voice, one dripping with hatred and disgust called out a name he had once used.
"Ren!"
Ben called on the force and pushed the stormtrooper the rest of the way towards Rey. She helped her friend back up to his feet and made to rush over to Ben who shot out one hand in a gesture that said stay back. She hesitated but he ensured her through their bond hat he could handle it, he was fine, to get FN-2187 to the ship.
Golden sunlight shone violently off of Captain Phasma's signature chromium covered armor. Her stance was offensive, shoulders straight and square with her feet, command baton in both hands held diagonally across her body, black and red cape flying in the wind.
"Stand back," She motioned with one hand at the troopers behind her to back off, they did so obediently.
"I'd heard you'd turned traitor, Ren." Phasma said, her shoulders rolling as she and Ben began to circle each other. Ben pulled his lightsaber up in front of him in a defensive position. "A foolish move."
"Brave of you to fight me yourself, Captain." Ben said, quirking his lip into a half smile.
"What would you know about bravery, coward?" Phasma said, jutting the butt of her spear-like baton into the ground. "Running to hide behind your mother's skirts." Ben took a step back, but quickly righted himself. She knew, of course she knew. "Yes, I know all about your rebel scum parentage, word spreads fast, Ren." He could almost hear her smiling.
"Are you going to fight me, or did you just want to talk, Phasma?"
As soon as the words left Ben's lips, Phasma charged, screaming, her baton raised high. Ben quickly blocked her overhead strike and used his position to overpower her, driving the tip of her spear hard into the rocky ground. Before Ben could return with a strike of his own, Phasma jumped back, dodging his crossbody swipe.
It was Ben's turn to be the aggressor this time, he turned his saber around in his hand in one deft movement. He twirled, his blade held backwards, into Phasma. His reversed movements nearly tripped her up, but she blocked him and tucked the end of her blade under his foot, literally tripping him up. Ben recovered easily dodging a swipe and rolling away.
"I had wondered why the Supreme Leader was coming here of all places." Phasma said. Her voice dripping with poison. "He mentioned the Jedi girl, is that her?" Ben felt something hot and angry growing in his chest at the mention of Rey. Snoke knew about her? Had he found out through Ben's own traitorous mind? His jaw set hard and the muscles under his left eye twitched as he struggled to keep the flames within him tamed. "He'll kill her, you know, and the rest of the pathetic Resistance. He's told me to leave you for himself, but I -"
Ben had had enough. He raised his off hand and Phasma rose with it. She dropped her spear, the silver baton clattered on the ground below her feet as Phasma clutched at the invisible hands wrapped around her throat. She coughed and sputtered, and Ben felt the darkness rising in him and he did nothing to fight it. His blood was hot and he reveled in the anger and hatred that coursed through him. No one would harm Rey, he would do anything to ensure that. He closed his fist, Phasma fell limply to the ground, and he pushed the darkness back where it belonged, deep inside. He breathed deeply for a moment as hot shame washed over him. How could he have ever pretended that he was anything but a monster?