Hi everyone! Man, some of your comments really made me laugh hard this time, you guys are the best!
Just a short update for you, but I've been typing all day, so you get it early. Hopefully some of the things that happen will have you on the edges of your seats for all the inevitable angst that's yet to come.
As always, please let me know what you think!
Present Day...
Leia was exhausted.
She eased herself down onto her bunk in her rooms on the Resistance base, her older body weary and tired of the endless fighting. The politics. The war.
She'd spent the last several days holding herself together, knowing that her raging emotions were not what were needed during their negotiations. But just seeing her son again, it had affected her much more than she'd ever admit to anyone.
It had been more than fifteen years since they'd last been close enough to each other to speak. Even longer if you only counted the times when their conversations hadn't simply devolved into angry shouting and resentful looks.
He'd grown up. It shouldn't have been a surprise to her, but it was. And it saddened her so much to know that she'd missed it all, and she had no one to blame for it but herself.
Ben had always been tall, even as a child, but now it seemed that he was more confident, more comfortable in his own body. His facial features, they were so much like his father's. With Anakin as well, it was clear that the distinctive Solo looks were being passed down through the generations. His hair at least hadn't changed, still black as night and unruly and unmanageable. She supposed it reflected his personality well.
Leia knew what he'd done, had seen first-hand the devastation and misery he'd brought to millions of people under the instruction of Snoke and with the might of the First Order behind him. He'd killed his own father, and who knew how many others out of some sort of twisted need to prove himself. Though even without this, the threats, and the aggression he showed towards her alone would have given her enough of a view of the man he'd been as Kylo Ren. Yet somehow now, something about him felt different.
She supposed it was because he had something to fight for now, something to protect. Her son had a family. And she hoped more than anything that he wouldn't make the same mistakes she'd made, that he wouldn't do anything to push them away.
And as for her? She was going to do whatever it took to make up for the past. In spite of everything that had happened between them, she would do anything to protect him and the life he'd created for himself. She would never stop.
And he would never find out what she'd already done for him.
The First Order had already found information of Ben and Rey's location before they'd had the chance to leave Nocoma, and they'd been heading directly towards the planet. Without her intervention, it would have been a massacre. But by providing them with coordinates that were just slightly off, the First Order had jumped out of hyperspace at the wrong location, giving Ben and Rey more time to get themselves safely away. Better that they face a few scouting TIE fighters leading the convoy than the full destructive capabilities of a destroyer.
No. He didn't need to know the true reason she'd contacted the First Order, he never would have believed her anyway and Rey would have been unlikely to stand up for her. The girl's allegiance was to Ben, not Leia or the Resistance. The burden of knowing how much he hated her for the act would be hers to carry alone.
It wasn't even all she'd done, and it was nowhere near the worst thing, but those were worries for Luke to deal with. If she were to do anything to cause Ben to find out what she'd done, then she'd no doubt be dead long before she had a chance to stop him.
But she did not feel fear, only contentment. The contentment that came with knowing her son had finally found a purpose and a cause to give his life for, just as she had as a young woman, and Leia began to fall gently to sleep. Maybe mother and son were more alike than either would ever say aloud.
'Something's going on.' Rey suddenly burst out, as though she'd been bottling the words inside her for hours.
And in truth, she probably had been. Once they'd gotten back on the ship, she'd been so happy, she was projecting so much he probably would have felt her from the other side of the galaxy. But all too quickly, her good mood had disappeared. She'd huddled up next to Anakin on the bunk at the back of the ship, stroking the sleeping child's back softly but making no move to speak or interact with him.
It took him a moment to recover and process what she'd just said, 'What, with the Resistance?' Ben was surprised that Rey had sensed some deception from them in the clearing when he had not, especially given that he'd been much more on guard than her.
But she shook her head in his direction, 'No Ben. With you.'
Where were her accusations coming from? Since his plan had begun to form in his head, he'd been unusually concerned about her sensing the details of it in his head, paranoia seeping in and causing him to lock her out increasingly often. So, what had made her suspect him of something?
'When I agreed to us helping the Resistance, I turned and saw you smiling. For all your arguments against them when we were on Nocoma, the moment I make a decision you start smiling.' She said accusingly her voice getting louder with each word.
Ben's mind worked quickly to come up with a good excuse for his actions, but the reply he managed was poor to say the least.
'And why wouldn't I be smiling? You got what you wanted.'
'Don't lie to me! We both know you're not that nice.' She shouted at him, jumping off the bed in irritation at his ridiculous answer, 'What is this really about Ben? Did you want the texts, is that it? Because I've seen them and from what I remember from Starkiller, you can just take what you want straight from my head.'
As always, her reaction to being frustrated with him lead to her saying something that, were the tables reversed, she would not forgive easily. It was an instinct she'd spent years trying, and failing, to stop.
'You know I'd never do that again.' He said, sounding defeated.
'No.' She sighed, 'But I need you swear to me there's nothing going on. That you haven't formed some insane plan that could actually get us killed.'
'I swear.' He said, his voice even and calm. She barely reacted to his words this time, she was sure he was still lying to her.
'Look at me.' He said, and she turned her face upwards, towards his. He took her hands into his, rubbing his thumbs across the backs of her knuckles and staring down at them as he spoke. He was still so uncomfortable with expressing his emotions openly, 'Today I expected that we would enter a meeting dominated by that woman's demands, her attempts to guilt us into helping her and her pathetic Resistance. And she did try. She even tried to take Anakin with her. But you held firm. You were magnificent today; you were strong and determined and I was able to witness that. That's the only reason I had today to be anything even resembling happy. You.'
She nodded, and he seemed to accept her muted response as a sign of her belief. But she'd noted that he hadn't looked her in the eye as he'd said it, and the composure with which he'd said the words only put her further on edge. Her Ben would have been affronted by her demands, as much as he would try to hide it, and through his passionate words his simmering rage would still be prickling at the back of her mind.
As Ben walked away from her and back into the cockpit, Rey hurried to the back end of the ship, as far away from him as she could go. She looked around to be certain he'd left her alone and pulled a communicator from her pocket. She'd only been given one frequency to try and she hoped beyond anything that it would work.
There was no answer for a short time, her panic rising with every second that passed, but eventually the faint crackle of static bled through the line.
'Rey?' Finn's voice sounded worried. When he'd given her the communicator he'd told her it was for just in case. He certainly hadn't expected to hear from her so soon.
'Rey, what's happened?' He asked seriously.
'Nothing,' she spoke quietly, determined not to catch Ben's attention. 'It's just… Finn, I know I have no right to ask this of you, but I need your help.'
The ship landed on the outskirts of the capital city of the planet Bakura, Salis D'aar. The city itself was designed like the spokes of a wheel, concentric circles spreading out from the centre with roads bisecting them. Each of the three districts of the city was colour coded, and it was to the deep red industrial centre that Ben and Rey headed.
The streets there were quieter than they were in the other areas of the city, with the wet and wild weather system of the planet forcing most of the factory workers inside for long periods of time. Few people lived in the district, only those who didn't want to be easily found.
They arrived at a house they had visited numerous times before, situated at the very end of a quiet side street. It was shadowed by the larger buildings surrounding it, and pushed back from the road, making it almost invisible to anyone who didn't already know it was there. They rapped three times on the door, and it opened.
Syndal's old, wrinkled face popped out and towards them. They looked as though they'd been heavily battered by the weather, thick cloaks wrapped tightly around themselves, and she leaned out further to glance up the street to make sure that no one else was around. She knew the two-people stood before her would have checked, but she'd not survived so long by relying on other's judgements of what was safe and what wasn't.
She turned back to them, 'Well, come on in then.' She said brusquely.
They followed her through, though they already knew the layout of the home intimately and didn't need her as a guide. It had been Ben who'd purchased the home for Syndal as a show of appreciation for her help during a difficult time, and so that she could finally leave Jakku. She'd been extremely reluctant at first, determined not to leave a planet that afforded her such privacy and anonymity. But she did eventually relent, finding that she'd grown close to their child and that they had been unwilling to travel with him to Jakku to visit her.
Once they were safely inside with the door firmly closed behind them, Ben opened his cloak, revealing the little boy curled up in his arms.
Anakin's face lit up when he saw the old woman stood in front of him, and he reached out to her, grasping at the air in a concerted effort to use his force powers on her to bring her closer. She felt a small tug at her middle and she couldn't help but smile in return. The boy would be a powerful force wielder one day.
Ben handed him over to her, and as she settled him in her arms Anakin began babbling at her, unable yet to speak, and grabbing at her hair with his hands. He was getting spittle everywhere, but she didn't mind at all.
Gradually, she became aware of Rey coughing, trying to get her attention as politely as possible. It must have been important if they wanted to get straight down to business, they usually allowed her more time to greet the child.
The couple had explained most of what they needed from her through their communicator, but that didn't mean she didn't still want some answers from them.
'So, what's this mission you've got going on?' No one could ever accuse her of not being straightforward.
'We can't tell you.' Rey said quietly.
Syndal sucked her tongue against her teeth, making a small tsk sound of disapproval. Evasive behaviour did not sit well with her. 'Okay, then how long will you be gone?'
'We don't know.' Rey said. She felt like a child about to be scolded by a parent, knowing from personal experience how scathing Syndal's words could be when she became irritated enough.
'Well, at least you're not being vague with me.' She replied sarcastically.
'Syn, we're sorry for dropping this on you, but there's no one else we can trust. We can't have the First Order or the Resistance anyone near him and we need someone who can protect him if it comes to it.'
Syndal backed down, realising that she was being harsh with them. She understood their desperation, their willingness to leave him for an as yet undetermined amount of time was enough to show her how serious things had become. They would never leave if they felt there was another choice.
She straightened her back, determination filling her bones. 'Right, well then I guess there's nothing else for it.'
'Thank you.' Ben said solemnly.
A silence descended over the room, broken only by Anakin's constant happy noises. He was surrounded by the familiar force signatures of his family and nothing made the boy happier than feeling those comforting presences around him.
Rey looked up at Ben beseechingly, begging with her eyes for just a little more time with their son before they had to leave. She knew that if she wanted to, she could just tell him that they were staying for a while and he would go along with her decision. But she needed him to be strong for the both of them, and to make sure that her emotions didn't spill over into irrational actions.
He gave her a small nod and she ran to her son, planning to make the most of every second she had with him before they needed to leave. But time seemed to fly with Anakin in her arms again, and soon their time was up. Ben placed his hand on Rey's back and leant in close.
'Rey.' He said quietly.
She stood from where she'd been playing with him on the floor, and shook her head, hoping to get rid of some of the tears that were building in her eyes.
'I know, I know, I'm just being silly.' She said, hoping that by saying it aloud she could convince herself that her words were true. But it didn't stop the choked sob that forced its way up her throat.
He pressed his lips to her forehead and wrapped his arm around her waist. She was still angry at him for his secrecy, but it didn't seem to matter anymore because she needed him. He surrounded her like a comforting blanket and not for the first time, she was truly grateful for his strength. She knew that he felt the same way about leaving their son behind, but he was forcing himself to be strong for her sake.
'We'll be back for him, I promise.' He whispered against her, his lips brushing across her temple. She nodded in return, worried that if she were to speak, she wouldn't be able to hold back her emotions.
Instead, she moved closer to where Syndal was standing with Anakin in her arms and stroked her the backs of her fingers down her son's soft cheek. He laughed happily in response, and it just made it that much harder for her to leave him.
She looked at Syndal with a face full of pain and anguish, before grasping the other woman's hand in her own, squeezing it tightly and hoping that Ben couldn't see the note that passed between them. When she pulled away, she could see the confusion in her eyes, but Rey couldn't say anything whilst her partner was nearby. Rey hoped that the note alone would be enough of an explanation.
She wrenched herself away, practically running to the door. She couldn't look back at Anakin now, if she did she knew she'd never be able to leave. Ben followed her out into the rain, hoping that the darkness surrounding them would hide the tears in his own eyes.
A while later, once Syndal was certain that their ship had passed through the atmosphere and wouldn't be returning, she opened the note.
If anything happens, these are the coordinates for a friend. Take Anakin there. He'll be safe.
Underneath the writing were the coordinates of someplace far away, as well as a communicator frequency code. Rey had gone a long way to keep her son safe, though with how secretive she'd been handing her the note, Syndal wasn't sure who she was trying to protect the boy from most.