AN: My husband and I (and the 4 dogs) are hunkering down waiting for Hurricane Micheal to make landfall. We are lucky that we are on the west side of the storm, but we are expecting rain, wind, and possible tornados. If we have power/internet tomorrow I will put up Part XI and I'll be finishing up Part XII tonight.

Say a little prayer for us and everyone else in the panhandle that is about to be slammed by this storm.

Part X

Another month down and Rey buzzed with excitement. She was due to be off world again and was doing another check over the transport that she brought back from Mygeeto. "I should name you," she said to the ship as she ran her hands along the hull.

Ben had come to her in the bond, whispering words about missing her and needing to feel her…really feel her under his finger tips again. So he had set aside a few days on his way to Yavin and they had agreed to meet half way.

She was able to get away from Dantooine without much fuss, offering to stop on Despayre to pick up some new recruits, including another Wookiee. But for the first part of her journey, she entered the Braxant Run hyperspace lane and made headway to Er'Kit.

Double checking the coordinates that Ben had provided her, she set course for the planet in sector M6 and sat back to relax on the day's journey.

As the red and orange planet came into view, Rey groaned and her heart dropped. When she had asked Ben to find a warmer world for their next meeting, she had not meant a desert. Either way, she flew to the dark side of the planet and landed her craft few hundred yards from his Command Shuttle that sat perched between a set of dunes.

So on day three hundred and forty seven Rey shut off the transport's engines and marched down the loading ramp towards the looming figure in black, "Ben Solo!" Her voice carried across the space between them. "You promise to show me the galaxy and all I get is more sand?"

His laugh caught her off guard, but he lunged for her, lifting his love straight from the ground and pressing his lips to hers. "You asked for heat."

She hummed into his kiss, "I guess you will do."

When Rey was placed back onto her own two feet, she noticed movement behind Ben and her saberstaff was lit and at the ready before either of them could blink. The sound of a cocking blaster made her move defensively in front of Ben and she practically bared her teeth at the unseen threat.

Ben placed his hand on her shoulder and ordered his guards to stand down all at the same time. Although he almost wanted to watch his warrior Empress take on his select guard, her fire and passion came off of her in waves, her first instinct was to protect him and something budded deep inside of him. Pride perhaps.

When his guards, dressed in black trooper armor did not heed his more calm command and their weapons were still trained on Rey, he stepped out from behind her. "Would all of you commit treason by standing against your Empress," his tone carried and he reached out his gloved hand, ready to take down any of his men who still wished to disobey.

To their credit, the four guards holstered their weapon, stood at attention for just a breath, before going down on one knee before her, their head hung in respect. "What is the meaning of this Kylo?" Rey now used his political name thinking it would be less confusing to the troopers still kneeling not ten feet from her.

"This is my take on the Praetorian guards of the past. My Knights are too highly trained to bother keeping tabs on me, but any man..." he looked down and stroked her cheek with his gloved hand, "or woman who wishes to one day be considered for Knighthood must prove their loyalty to the Empire and its ruler."

"So you have started the shift away from the First Order?" Rey bypassed the information about the Knights of Ren, only concerned on their plans moving forwards.

While he trusted his guard, conversations such as this were only meant to be heard by Rey, so he held out the crook of his arm, "Your chariot, m'lady," and he gestured towards his Command Shuttle. Next, he turned back to his guard, "Stay with her ship and make sure she wasn't followed."

"Yes, sir," came a swift reply.

"Please tell me we are going somewhere else and not staying on this godforsaken sand hole," Rey whispered up to him as they walked towards the shuttle.

"The planet is not the surprise...the ship is." He leaned down to talked against her ear. "Last time I took you on to my ship, I carried you over the threshold," he now smirked.

Rey gave him a sarcastic look, "Yeah, unconscious and like a sack of potatoes."

"No," he said down to her. "Like a bride," and he swept her up into his arms again. She squealed in shock and flailed her legs for a moment before she fell to giggles and wrapped her arms around his neck, already trying to catch his lips to hers as he ascended the ramp.

"Aren't you scared of your guard seeing us?" Rey questioned once they were in the main hold of the shuttle.

"They were on the same floor as us on Mygeeto and haven't breathed a word about it."

Rey flushed, thinking about all the times she had called out his name during their few days together, "I never saw them..."

"That's the point." He smiled and cupped her sweet face again, still unable to believe that she had once more come to him. "Let's break atmosphere and then I'll show you around."

She followed him dumbly through the ship, expecting to see a crew in the cockpit awaiting Ben's order, but the shuttle was completely empty. Her eye's widened further when she saw him slip into the captain's seat, gesturing for her to take the seat next to him, "It takes two to fly this thing."

"Oh...I just didn't..." she walked over and mimicked his movements, strapping herself into the black leather chair.

"I am a pilot you know," Ben smirked at her as he started flipping switches on the console in front of him. "And I've heard you aren't too shabby at flying either," he mused thinking about the reports of her evading a few TIE fighters on Jakku after stealing the Falcon.

"Most of my hours are logged on a simulator and mainly on crafts from the Old Empire…apart from the transport shuttles that is."

Ben was a little shocked at this information, but took it in and filed it away for a later date before focusing back on the task at hand, "I'm going to need you to lift the landing gear and extend the wings when I say..."

Rey nodded, looking over the console and finding the switches and panels she would need. With a rumble of thrusters, the shuttle jostled some before she felt it shift into the air. Sand flew out around them, the black figures of the guards didn't even flinch as the wind wiped around them.

"Landing gear," Ben said, taking hold of the control stick with his left hand and thruster lever with his right. Shifting his gaze quickly to her, Ben watched her pick at two switches, engaging the motors to raise the landing feet both on the wings and the body of the craft.

They continued to gain altitude, her ship, and the guards becoming small dots in an endless sea of sand and dunes. Ben had been smart with picking their landing point, a small valley that would conceal her shuttle from anyone skimming along the desert surface.

"Wings," Ben commanded, drawing her attention from looking out of the red-tinted windscreen.

Pushing another few buttons, Rey heard the whirling sounds of the wings coming down from their erect position. She looked to him for any other instructions and she had to smile at the look of absolute devotion on his face.

"The controls are your's, my love." He included his head towards the matching stick and lever on the console in front of her.

"Really?" Rey asked, still not believing that she was about to take control of possibly the most recognizable and menacing craft in the galaxy, Kylo Ren's Command Shuttle.

"Take us out into your galaxy," he offered again.

She didn't have to be told a third time and she pushed the thrusters almost to full, causing them both to be pressed into their seats at the sheer force of their forward motion. Rey whooped out in joy and Ben laughed at her giddiness.

They shot through the atmosphere like a blaster bolt and the artificial gravity drives kicked in. Rey continued to put the craft through its paces, pulling the stick to one side causing them to enter into a barrel roll.

When she righted the ship and her hair fell back down around her face, Rey let out a breathy laugh, "This is bloody brilliant, Ben."

"I knew you would love it," he grinned at her. "Now put us into orbit and come here so I can kiss you."

Rey had never followed an order so quickly in her life. She slowed the shuttle's speed down and found the sweet spot a few miles outside of the atmosphere and the craft was switched into autopilot to drift around the orange planet below them.

Her harness came off with a metallic click and she was spanning the five or so feet between the chairs as she watched him shrug off the shoulder belts. Rey sat across his lap, her feet dangling over the arm of the chair and she finally kissed him in the way she had been craving for weeks.

"I've missed you," Ben said before running his fingers through her hair.

"You see me all the time…" she bit at her lip and her gaze wandered his face, "but I know exactly what you mean."

The bond was becoming not enough. They were starting to need more than a minute here or an hour there. She wanted to fall asleep in his arm every night and he wanted her at his side in every aspect of his life. He wanted to properly court her, truly show her the galaxy, ask for her hand, and present her as his forever and always Empress.

Heated Force pulsed around them and before long Rey was sinking down upon him. This had been one of his fantasies ever since carrying her onto his shuttle on Takodana. Though at that time Rey had feared and even hated him, Kylo had wondered what her cries of passion would sound like echoing off the cold walls of his flagship.

So he marveled at the sight of her, rolling her hips into his lap as her finger nails dug into the leather of the chair on either side of his head. Her pace was starting to become rushed and Rey shifted, leaning back and placing her hands on his bent knees, causing him to both hit the spot deep inside of her but also at the forefront of her textured walls with each twist of her hips.

Rey called out her release as Ben devoured her sensitive breasts. She was sure that bruises would form where his teeth had blurred the lines of pleasure and pain. Even with her body limp and spasming with each little touch or movement within, Ben lifted her easily and laid her out on the small portion of the console between the pilot and co-pilot's controls.

She looked breathtaking spread out in the cockpit of his ship, her skin glowed with the intense heat of Er'Kit one sun as it's rays poured in through the viewscreen. Her body still jerked with the after-effects of her orgasm and she almost hit the thruster lever with a flailing arm.

Ben took her legs, crossing them at the ankles before resting them at his left shoulder. Next, he took her arms, running his hands up the length of them and held her wrists, anchoring them above her head before he started to move within her again.

He wrapped his free arm around the tops of her thighs so he could keep her at the edge of the console despite the force of his skin meeting hers. Rey tried thrashed under him, but she was held steady, and she almost cried with need for another high.

Discipline and determination allowed him to bring her over the edge again, breathless and screaming his name, before he released deep within her. Before his breathing could even start to steady, he moved her legs around his waist and stumbled back into the pilot's chair, holding her trembling form to his chest.

"How is it even possible to feel this good?" Rey breathed into the skin of his neck.

"I think this is what we were made for," he replied, stroking his fingertips along her back.

Rey sat back some, looking at his face, "What? Fucking like ash-rabbits?"

His smile was brilliant and his laugh was rooted deep in his chest, "No, my beautiful girl." He now stroked at her face and pulled her lips to his, kissing them playfully. "Loving each other."

She blushed, also thinking that if her body had been made for anyone, it had been made for Ben. After the first few times when it was pleasurable but still slightly uncomfortable accommodating him, Rey's body seemed to mold to his whims. His touch would send off sparks and set a blaze. His kiss would both pull and give her breath. When he joined with her, it was as if she found the missing piece of herself and for the first time in her life felt whole.

Yes, she would agree with him that the Force had made them for each other. The Force had brought them together under strife so when they were able to make amends, able to love each other, even after all of the tragedy of their past, that nothing could stop them from fulfilling their destiny.

So she looked into his eyes and spoke with certainty, "I was made to love you."

"I was made to be yours," Ben answered in kind.

They sat curled in on each other for a long moment and Ben noticed when Rey's breathing started to even out, "Let's go down to our quarters and you can take a nap." He kissed at her temple as she started to slid from his lap.

Rey looked at the collection of clothing thrown about the cockpit, but settled for his cowl, slipping the dark fabric over her head. Walking towards the rear of the bridge she didn't hear his footsteps behind and and turned to look over her shoulder, "You coming?"

Ben was frozen in all his naked glory. Rey…his star, his home, his love, stood before him, dark cowl pooling on her shoulders and fading into the creamy skin of her mid-back and the round swells of her rear.

The poise and elegances in which she stood, Rey may as well have been wearing a flowing gown of red silk about to command armies. When she turned, one breast peered from beneath the woven black fabric, her stomach was toned, slightly rising with each of her breaths, her hips were squared, strong, and a combination of their slick glistened like dew on the light curls that gave modesty to her mound.

At this moment Ben realized that for the rest of his days he would only have one Master, and it would be her.

Walking to her, he resisted the urge to drop to his knees before her, instead just cupping her cheek before taking her hand and leading her further into the ship.

When they stood before a steel door, Ben typed a few commands into a screen set into the wall before lifting her hand and placing it palm down on the screen.

"What are you doing?" Rey asked as her palm was scanned.

"Giving you complete access to the ship."

The screen beeped and then the door slid open and they walked into his private chambers aboard the Command Shuttle. Rey's eyes went wide, the room was three, maybe four times the size of her quarters on the Resistance base and there was a desk in the far corner, a small seating area in the middle, a screen separated what she guessed was the sleeping area and then there was a door on the far side, most likely to a fresher. The wall were not all black like she would have expected, but gray, white, and red also touched many of the surfaces. Lights came to life and Rey would have never suspected that they were in deep space. "This is amazing…" she mused.

"I'm glad you like it. I uh…designed it to accommodate two…" he shifted nervously.

"Designed it?" Rey asked walking over to the desk and running her fingers along the black polished top.

"This isn't the same ship I used on Takodana or Crait. I commissioned it about six months after assuming leadership. I designed it for us…for you."

Rey walked around more, feeling his eyes on her the entire time. There were two couches in the sitting area, two seats at a table she just notices by the wall the door was on, two sinks and an oversized shower in the fresher, two closets, and a bed wider than three of her cots put together.

"I wanted…hoped that when you decided to be with me, that you would always want to be with me. I wanted to show you that I would always have a place for you, that there is no where I will go without wanting…needing you there as well."

If there was anything that Ben Solo made Rey feel in spades, it was loved, wanted, needed, respected, valued, and treasured. So why was her head still telling her 'not yet' even though her heart was telling her never to leave him ever again?

But apparently, her body wouldn't let her dwell on the thought as she yawned so hard her hands shook. "Let's get you to bed," Ben offered, leading her over to the sleeping area. He quickly pulled on a clean pair of boxers before slipping under the warm covers, pressing her body to his, and cooing in her ear for her to sleep.

Ben held her for a while before getting up but made sure she was still wrapped tightly in the quilt for warmth. He put on some training pants and a black undershirt before going to his desk across the room and settling in to do some work.

During her slumber, Ben had collected their clothes from the bridge and laid hers out on the counter in the fresher, guessing that she would like a shower before dressing again. For a moment he wanted to pretend that this was real. He wanted to think that his Empress had joined him on a diplomatic mission to the Mid Rim, that she would exit the shuttle on his arm and they would, together, bring change and peace to the galaxy.

Her meager beginnings would make her popular in the Outer regions and his heritage would make him unstoppable in the Core. Buried deep in the notes and memos about the progress that he had already achieved, was mention of a woman, a counselor that swayed the ruthless hand of the Supreme Leader into benevolence. Only once their relationship was made public, would he give this woman a name and write Rey into the history books as the Mistress of Peace.

He gleefully awaited the day when Rey would truly see the fruits of their love and their balance.

But for the present moment, he would decline a request from Hux to move his military against a Mid Rim planet and be exactly what Rey needed him to be…patient and present.

She started to stir after just a few hours, sat up and stretched before nuzzling into the cowl still around her neck. "What time is it?" She asked Ben who sat across the room on one of the couches with his datapad in his lap.

"2025," he answered, setting the tablet to the side and walking to the bed, crawling to her spot in the middle of the large mattress, his lips were needy for hers. "Sleep well?"

"I did," but she frowned at him. "You didn't rest…"

"I had some work to attend to."

"You work too much," Rey observed.

"Yes, but the quicker the galaxy can be settled, the sooner we can have our forever." He kissed her again and heard her stomach roll. "Hungry?" He chucked onto her lips.

"Ravenous," she said with as much double meaning as possible. They had just over twenty-four hours with each other this time and she almost didn't want to waste it on food, but her body needed fuel to hopefully be spread out under him for the rest of the night.

Ben had met with her on his shuttle for a few reasons, and while having her completely to himself was one of them, her future safety was at the forefront of his mind. "Get dressed and meet me on the bridge," he said with one more kiss before he turned to redress in his uniform.

The fresher was huge compared to small toilet closet on her transport and she took a few extra minutes to slip under the heated spray of the shower before putting back on her black pants, white tunic, and gray vest. She had started wearing her arm warps less and less, no longer needing the extra protection from the Jakku sun and also feeling more comfortable and confident in her own skin. Some of the thanks went to the breathtaking man who worships at her body like it holds the answers to the questions of the galaxy, but also Rey had started to feel more and more that she understands her place in all of this, and being ashamed while executing the will of the Force would not do.

After she dressed, Rey made her way up to the bridge. Ben was sitting in the co-pilot's seat and she came to stand beside them. They were still in orbit around Er'Kit, the shuttle still on auto. "Are we going back down to the surface?"

"Not yet…I want to show you something," he offered the pilot's chair to her. Once she was settled he reached to the console and pressed a button, exposing another touch screen. "These are access and override panels," he started to explain.

"Like the one on the outside of our quarters," Rey mused.

"Yes, there is this one and then one on the exterior of the ship to access the ramp."

"Why are you showing this to me, Ben?" Rey could hear the seriousness in his voice. He was teaching her something that he thought had the upmost importance.

He reached for her hand, "When we are together, either like this or…permanently, I need you to know how to access and use this ship to get to safety."

She narrowed her eyes at him, "What aren't you telling me?"

He signed, "Hux still controls the military and I at time barely control him. He's a suspicious little leech and has many attempts to bribe my guard for information. My General also doesn't seem to care that I can see his mind, that I know his contempt for me and that he fantasizes almost daily of over throwing me and claiming the throne for himself."

Rey looked down at their joined hands and ran her thumb over his knuckles, "Why don't you just…take care of him?"

Ben slightly jerked in surprise, "I never thought you would be the one calling for his head."

She turned more towards him in her seat, "Snoke needed to die." Her tone was final with no uncertainty. "He needed to pay for what he did to the galaxy and what he did to you." Her eyes searched his, some times at night she still felt his pain from their shared memories. "But Hux is going to be a problem, and if it his life or yours…I would cut him down myself."

With his chest glowing with pride Ben straightened, "If my Empress so commands it, my hand is her's to wield, for his blood is only mine to bear."

Now Rey reached her free hand for his cheek, running her fingers along her mark, her eyes softened. "No, we must not condemn him just for his thoughts. But if he moves against you, against our plan for peace, I will not fault you for the choice you make on the matter."

Closing the space between them, he kissed her softly. The fact that she ever thought that she was not fit to rule due to her humble start was now beyond absurd. He wanted nothing more than to put her on the throne and stand at her side, be her Knight, do her will.

But for now he needed to make sure she would be safe in any situation. So he sat back in his chair and pointed again to the screen, "Your palm was scanned into the system earlier and it will open the ramp and allow you to start and fly the ship. Only you and myself have access to our quarters."

Rey just nodded, absorbing the information.

"I know I told you that it takes two to fly this shuttle, but you are no ordinary pilot, so I want you to access the controls, take us out of orbit, engaged the hyperdrive and get us to these coordinates," he took a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and placed it on the console. "I want you to do this by yourself, and as quickly as possible."

She nodded again, taking the paper and looking at the series of numbers penned across it: 1792.19, 5097.06.

Ben moved from the co-pilot's chair to the back of the bridge, sitting in a jump seat where he could observe her.

"Now Rey!" He barked out, almost sorry when he saw her shoulders jump in surprise.

But she immediately went to work pressing her palm to the screen and pulling the ship from auto. Reaching over to the other side of the console, she flipped off the controls for the co-pilot before coming back to her own set of buttons, switches, and levers.

Grabbing the stick she shifted the craft out of orbit and pushed the trusters, speeding away from the planet. Another switch was thrown to key up the hyperdrive as she punched in the coordinates into the touch screen.

She sat back in her seat as the shuttle lurched into hyperspace. Traveling above light speed outside of the hyperspace lanes was dangerous since the ship's navigation computers had to calculate the fastest course while avoiding both mapped and unknown masses. Rey had total faith in the capabilities of Ben's shuttle, but a simple stray piece of space trash could mean the end of them both.

"Minute-fifteen," Ben said while putting a round timepiece back into his pocket. "Not bad for a ship you have never flown before, but I would like to see you be able to board, access, and be in hyperspace in under a minute."

He walked up to her, holding out another slip of paper. "If you ever need to leave the Resistance and you can't come to me right away, for whatever reason, go here."

More coordinates. 267.85 , -14770.12. "Where is this?"

"Outer Rim, sector L19, a planet called Mustafar." When she just continued to look up at him in confusion he further explained, "My grandfather has a stronghold there. I'll upload your palm to that system as well. But you go there and stay there until I come for you. Don't trust my Knights or my guards. Only me, do you understand?"

"Yes," she hurried out, "but why do we need all of these plans?"

Ben sat back down in the co-pilot's chair. "There will always be the Poe Damerons and Armitage Huxs in the galaxy and I don't want you caught in the cross fire meant for me."

Rey moved to him, curling up in his lap, "I wouldn't be able to exist without you," tears were pooling in her eyes.

Swiping at her cheek as a tear fell, his sad smile didn't reach his gaze, "You must…you will…"

Their heavy mood was shifted when the alarm sounded to notify them that the ship was being pulled from hyperspace and they had arrived at the prearranged destination. "Where are we?" Rey asked looking down at the blue and green planet.

"Noonar," Ben answered simply, tapping on her bottom, telling her without words that she needed to get to the pilot's seat to fly the ship. He also ran his hand through his hair before turning to her, "I was wondering if you would join me on the surface for dinner?"

Rey smirked at him, "Is the Supreme Leader asking me, Jakku orphan, Jedi reject, and Resistance fighter out on a date?"

"No," he said with a light tone, but her face still fell. He reached for her, skimming his fingers down the side of her face, "I'm just a man, hopelessly in love with an amazing woman, and wanting to make sure she is well taken care of, so when I take her to bed later," his gaze turned dark, "she will not wither away with fatigue."

All she could do was swallow thickly, heat and moisture already pooling at her core. "Yes," she whispered. "Yes to all of it."

She was rewarded with a Solo smirk as Ben flipped back on the co-pilot controls and started their descent down to the surface.