Part VI
Six days…Rey had six days to come up with a reason to leave Dantooine. The night after Leia's passing, she had snuck into the General's quarters and collected some personal items to return to Ben. She didn't want strangers to go through Leia's things…her family should be able to keep what was important.
As she stood in the well lived in quarters, Rey felt a sense of home, much the same as what she felt in the bond with Ben. She didn't have much time but looked for items that would have been kept closest to the General.
A ring, a large nebula opal set in dark gold, sat in a small dish on her bed side table, right next to a photo and Leia and Han, the General perhaps just a few years older than Rey. She was a beauty in white, her brown hair was plaited into a crowing braid, soft ringlets carried over her shoulders.
Her wedding day perhaps, Rey mused to herself seeing the opal ring set upon Leia's third finger on her left hand. She set the photo next to the ring on a plush looking cot and then turned and walked to the General's desk.
What was scattered on top were mostly Resistance documents, at times Leia was old fashioned and didn't trust technology. Rey saw an old ink well writing set and she wondered if Ben had penned her letters with something similar. She then pulled at a few drawers and found a well worn red leather bond book.
Picking out the book, it bulged with the bulk of extra papers being kept between the pages. Pulling a band from around the book, Rey flipped through the pages before snapping it shut again. It appeared to be the General's private diary. She bit her lip trying to think of what to do with it, before coming to the conclusion that she would let Ben make that decision.
She picked up a few other things, namely a silver plated hairbrush, a gold looking medallion with a flower and sun engraved into it, and a small painting, no bigger than the pieces of parchment that Ben wrote her letters on.
Collecting the items, Rey slid back out of the quarters and started to walk down the hall but froze in her tracks.
"Hey!" A female voice called. "What were you doing in there?"
It was Major Connix, newly promoted since Poe was now General. Rey cursed under her breath and shifted the bag on her shoulder, "I was um…uh…" She thought about just turning and running as the young but fierce looking blonde approached her with long determined strides.
"No one is allowed in the late General's quarters, even a Jedi," there may have been a slight sneer to her voice. "By orders of General Dameron."
Trying to think quickly and not wanting to use physical measures to overtake the other woman, Rey thought back to her time Starkiller and also the lessons that Ben had been giving her in wielding her Force powers. She relaxed her mind, opened herself up to the Force, made eye contact with Kaydel and stated plainly, "You didn't see me coming out of the General's quarters."
"I didn't see you coming out of the General's quarters," Connix mimicked.
She bit at her lip, thinking that perhaps this was her chance to get off-world, even if she was using her Jedi powers for manipulation. "You have approved me to go off-world," she paused for just a breath, trying to come up with a good enough excuse that the rest of command would believe. "Concerning matters of the Force follow Leia's death."
Kaydel repeated the phrases again, under Rey's trance. Being the only Force sensitive person on the base, people sometimes gave her a wide berth. When she wanted to be alone she would make up something about the Force and since no one knew better, her actions weren't questioned. "You will come to once I exit the hall," Rey finished her compulsion before turning and walking at a hurried pace.
Rey made it back to her quarters in record time, throwing some more of her personal belongings into a slightly larger bag than the one that held Leia's belongings, she picked up her saberstaff and then turned towards the door, almost jumping out of her skin. "Ben," she breathed, clutching her hand over her heart. "You scared the ever loving bantha shit out of me."
His gaze shifted quickly between her face and the sack thrown over her shoulder, "You're really coming?" He asked almost in disbelief.
"I told you I would," Rey said, catching her breath and squaring her shoulders. "But I don't even know where we are going."
"Mygeeto," Ben answered quickly. "It's in Sector K5, along the same hyperspace lane as Dantoonie."
Rey faltered for a moment, "You know where I am? Where the Resistance is?"
Ben shifted on his feet, decent enough to at least look ashamed of himself. "I've known for about six months now..."
"And you didn't think to tell me?" Rey's voice rose.
He now reached out his hands in defense, "If I would have told you that I knew, the Resistance would have moved and I would have to find you all over again. At least with me knowing, I could get to you in case you needed me." She still didn't look satisfied. "No one else in the First Order knows...just me."
She pressed her lips tightly, knowing that he was right but still didn't like being lied to. Getting ready to say something in reply, he stepped towards her, placing his large hands on her small shoulders. "I needed you to want to come to me, not out of fear for your friends or to avoid retaliation...I needed you to want me...us."
Squinting her eyes up at him, she wagged a finger in his face, "You are lucky I love you, Ben Solo," before she brushed around him and exited her quarters.
Ben was shocked into stillness for a moment, before he went after her, sliding into the hall much how he had after their first connection, "You love me?" He called in desperation out to her.
Rey stopped in the hall and looked over her shoulder, giving him a cheeky smile. "I'll see you soon, Ben."
The only person she ran into on her way to the hangar was Rose. "Going some place?" Her small friend asked, peeking into the transport craft that was being keyed up for flight.
"Yeah..." she spun the tale in her mind, not wanting to influence Rose, but she needed to be believed. "I'm going back to the temple on Ahch-To. I need to make sure that Leia's soul is settled in the Force. I've already cleaned it with Kaydel...I mean Major Connix."
Rose gave a soft smile. The entire base had been in mourning since the General's passing. Without a body to bury a lot of them were still seeking closure, including their own resident Jedi. "I wish you would let someone go with you...Kylo Ren still has a price on your head."
Rey wanted to blush or out right bark out a laugh, but pushed it down, wondering what Rose would say if she knew that Rey was running into the arms of the very man that put the bounty out on her. "You know I can take care of myself...and this is something I need to do. Perhaps I'll even see her Force ghost."
"Well if you do, tell her that if Finn and I ever have a baby girl, we are going to name her Leia Rey after the two greatest women we know."
"That's very sweet of you guys," Rey said almost with tears in her eyes, but also looked down her friend's body, wondering if there was already a life form growing in the tiny woman's womb. Shaking the thought from her mind, she moved around in the small transport's cargo bay, "Well I need to be getting off if I want to avoid traffic in the hyperspace lanes."
"Send us a hale when you are on your way back," Rose waved her off as she watched the hull door roll up and lock shut with a hiss.
So on day two hundred and ninety-one, almost ten months after Crait and since seeing Ben in person on the Supremacy, Rey left Dantooine in route to the crystalline planet of Mygeeto.
Punching in the coordinates that Ben had given her, it was calculated that the trip wouldn't take long. The two sectors were caddy corner to each other, but the hyperspace lane swept out to reach a few other systems in a neighboring sector. So she sat in the pilot's seat and watched the blue streaks of stars fly past her, settling in for the journey that would take her about a half a day.
Riding the Braxant Run was uneventful for the first few hours and then Rey heard the distinct sound of the hyperdrive going out again. She cursed in Shyriiwook just as Chewie had taught her. This was now the sixth time that the drive had gone out and she was ready to tell Poe that the transport had to be scrapped.
So just outside to a topical planet called Aris, Rey attempted to limp the ship the rest of the way to Mygeeto. The few hundred parsecs would add several hours onto her travel time at real space speed.
Finally, after almost sixteen hours in space, Rey saw the dark planet come into view. It appeared to be coated in a layer of deep gray clouds and she thought that perhaps she would pick their next rendezvous point since there seemed to be nothing enticing or romantic about the smog-covered planet. But she plowed forward, through the atmosphere of dense fog and was surprised to see a landscape of towering crystal structures.
Since the system's one sun had a hard time shedding its warm rays on the surface of Mygeeto, the jagged mountains were dim with snow covering their peaks. Rey thought that if the sun was to shine down upon this sad world, that it would light up like a rainbow and possibly be the most beautiful place she had ever seen.
She laughed, remembering Leia's words from a few months back stating that one of the best and worse parts of Rey's heart was her ability to see the potential in the most downtrodden of people and places. That part of her heart was exactly why she was now starting her landing sequence to meet with the roughest of diamonds in the galaxy.
Before she could even finish shutting down the thrusters, the hull door was being opened and heavy but frantic boot falls sounded on the durasteel floor. Rey stood from the pilot's seat just in time to be engulfed in large arms and pressed to a broad chest. A mixture of musk, citrus, and ionized air flooded her senses and Rey knew she was home.
Gripping her face between his hands, he peppered her with kisses, starting on her forehead then moving to both of her cheeks and finally capturing her lips to his. After a few lingering seconds he parted from her and looked into Rey's eyes, with an expression somewhere between concern and relief sat upon his features. "You're late," he said searching her eyes for a moment. "I thought that…well, I thought a lot of things…but I thought something happened to you."
Namely at the forefront of his panicked thoughts was the idea that she had changed her mind and had no intention of coming to him at all. Other just as terrifying thoughts included her being picked up by bounty hunters, being stranded on a nonterrestrial world, her being dumped in the middle of dead space, or catastrophic ship failure that would end in her death from suffocation or explosion.
"The damn hyperdrive went out again," Rey reassured him and placed her open palm against his right cheek, running her fingers along what had become her favorite mark on his body.
"So you didn't change your mind?" His eyes still scanned her features for any sign of hesitation.
She smiles sweetly up at him, "I'm here aren't I?"
Ben stroked at her face once more and returned her smile, "You sure are." Finally, he kissed her again, this time it was long and deep as he gathered her into his arms.
Rey returned the gesture in kind, stretching up on her toes and wrapping her arms around his shoulders, dragging her body as close as possible to his. It felt so good to be with him, be wanted and cared for in a way she had never felt before. Sure, she felt loved by her friends and had even considered Leia motherly at times, but it was nothing compared to the way Ben needed her, desired her, pampered her, understood her, saw her.
So she continued to kiss him until they both needed air. "You're really here," he said again almost in disbelief.
"Yes Ben," she said with a laughing tone. "Now are we going to spend all of our time in this crap heap of a transport or are you going to show me why you brought me to this depressing planet?"
He looked sheepish, almost wanting to just close the hatch and spend the next few days locked in the crap heap as she called it, but he had invited her here for a reason. So being a gentleman, he grabbed her bag and let her leave the ship first, placing his hands at the small of her back. He wanted to sweep her up in his arms and run up to his quarters, but he still had a reputation to uphold.
Under his fingertips, he felt her shiver. This was a frigid planet and snow swirled around them. Only breaking contact with Rey for the briefest moment, he slipped his cowl over his head and wrapped it around her shoulders. He smirked to himself as he watched her nuzzle into the warm cloth.
Guiding her across the large tarmac, Rey was led into a crystal tower that was so tall that the tip of it disappeared into the low lying clouds. The inside was hallowed out and she gazed with wonder at how the lights bounced off the high ceiling. It felt more like a temple than a...she wasn't really sure where they were or what to think of the small creatures that looked like a mix of a raccoon and a fox. "What is this place?"
"One of the offices for the InterGalactic Banking Clan." Rey pulled a face which made Ben chuckle. "I had business to attend to here and it was close to where you were." He looked down at his feet for a moment as they waiting for a lift. "I was hoping that you could help me with something."
Rey looked up at him, "Help you?"
The elevator came and he ushered her on. "I have trusted your counsel for months now. You have helped the galaxy more than you will ever know." He watched her confused look shift to realization and then pride. She had been ruling with him, just from across the galaxy, across their bond. "I can't do this without you," he finally admitted, stepping in closer leaning his face down to hers. "I don't want to do this without you."
Before she could reply a bell rang and the doors to the lift opened. Ben stepped back from her, reaching out to place his hand on her back again, leading her down a short hall with luxurious carpet underfoot.
He opened one of just a handful of doors in the hall and when Rey entered, her jaw dropped. Half of the walls were made of crystal, pale pink with cuts of white and blue. The furnishings were like nothing she had ever seen, unlike anything on Jakku or within the old Rebel bases. In her naivety she wasn't aware that there was this much wealth in the galaxy.
"Please," Ben gestured towards twin settees.
Rey walked to the sitting area and watched at Ben set her bag down on the table that separated them. Shifting forward she reached inside and pulled out the items of Leia's that she had collected. "I brought you somethings..." she started and watched Ben's eyes light up, "of your mother's." His expression fell.
"I don't want anything from her."
Ignoring him, she started to pull out the items. "I believe this is from their wedding day," she pushed the picture across the table. "They look so young and happy," she observed.
"They were once," Ben reached out and held the photo for just a moment before turning it face down and placing it back on the table.
"Ever since I've known her, Leia wore this ring," she placed the gold and opal piece in front of him.
The stone that took up most of his mother's finger, looked like a trinket between his large thumb and forefinger. "It was from her home world, Alderaan, not Polis Massa," he clarified. "Part of the royal jewels."
"Oh," Rey said studying the ring again. "I thought it was a wedding ring since she wore it on her left ring finger."
Ben scoffed, "She may have wed Han Solo, but she was married to her people, to her cause, and to her beliefs."
Not wanting to fight with him, or open old wounds further she slipped the last few items out of the bag, quickly placing the hair brush, medal, and painting on the table before passing the journal to his waiting hands.
Surprisingly he picked up the brush twisting it between his fingers. "She went gray," he mused seeing the stray strands in the short bristles.
"A lot happened in the eight years you were gone."
"So it appears." He put down the brush and also pushed the gold medal to the side of the table, treating it as if he was going to catch an incurable disease form the simple touch.
"What's that?" Rey asked, wondering about it since taking it from the General's quarters.
"It's the Medal of Bravery presented to Han…my father after they blew up the Death Star during the Battle of Yavin."
Rey just nodded, knowing not to bring up Han so soon after Leia's passing. "And this?" She pushed the painting across to him.
Studying the landscape for a moment he traced the horizon, "The view from my grandmother's balcony on Naboo. My mother used to tell me that the lake behind the house sparked in the sun because stars were caught just under the water." His expression was tight, the memory was fond but the issue was that there were fewer of these than the fights, fear, and disappointment that surrounded his youth.
"That's her personal journal," Rey pointed to the red leather book.
Ben placed his fingers on the book as if he could absorb the contents just through a simple touch. He pulled back the cover and then slammed the book closed again, moving his hands to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose before an audible sob racked through him.
Rey moved around the table and knelt on the couch next to Ben, wrapping her arms around his heaving shoulders. She rubbed at his back, attempting to comfort him as she did the other night, she stated humming, but this time it only made him more upset.
Moving away from him for just a moment, she flipped through the first few pages of the journal and saw what had caused Ben to break down. A photo was taped into the book, a photo of a smiling Han Solo holding a very happy baby with a mop of black curly hair.
"Ben," she said softly, turning back to him reaching for his face, watching tears run through the channel of his scar.
Without opening his eyes and just relying on feeling her presence in the Force, he pulled her into his lap much the same as the night they shared their first kiss, with her chest pressed to his and his face buried in her hair.
Rey so wished that she could take his pain away, that she could unburden him of his self-loathing. She had forgiven him for his past, but she doubted that he would ever forgive himself. For now, though, she could be his comfort, his counselor, his partner, and his light.
AN: I do believe that I have the best readers. You are all so kind and your words stoke the fire in me to continuing writing. Keep them coming and I will try to keep going with daily updates. I'm currently working on Part 10 and think this story will run about 16-18 parts. (Future me...lolololol 40 chapters later)