Part XII

They fell asleep under the stars of Jakku and only when the temperature in the desert dropped did Ben pick up his resting Empress and carry her back into the AT-AT where he set up a palette of blankets on the sandy floor. This was possibly the most uncomfortable surface he had ever slept on his entire life, but with Rey tucked into his side, he couldn't care about the lumps under his spine.

The next day he woke to the smell of caf. "I hope you like eggs," Rey called from her makeshift kitchen.

Rolling over on the pile of blankets he groaned. His socks were filled with sand, his scalp felt itchy with sand, he feared to rub the sleep from his eyes. "I hate sand," he mumbled to himself.

"I hope you don't mind, I took some of the grinds from your shuttle. The caf here is even worse than what we have with the Resistance."

"I brought you an extra bag for this exact reason," he now stood and walked over to her.

Rey reached out to him, grabbing on to his shirt and pulling him in for a morning breath laced kiss, "I knew there was a reason that I love you."

"Mmm," he hummed against her lips. "If I had only known a year ago that your love could so easily be earned with a cup of Nabooian coffee…"

"Your rugged looks," she stroked his cheek, "and good heart," she put her palm on his chest, "had nothing to do with it." Rey teased as she stretched up on her toes and kissed him again. "Happy birthday Ben."

"Rey…" he said against her lips. When she just moaned in response, his tone became a little more warning, "Rey…"

"What?" She cooed.

"Your eggs are burning," Ben chuckled as the AT-AT started to fill with the smell of charred food.

Rey cursed and turned off the stove, scraping at the pan to see if she could salvage their breakfast. "I ruined it," she said in frustration. "I wanted to do something special…"

"It's okay," he reassured, slipping his off white tunic over his head he moved towards the door, "I'll go grab us some protein rations."

Cursing again, Rey scraped the burned food into the bin. Any other day she would feel sinful about wasting food. Even burned, her old self would have savored the taste of real eggs, but the mess hall had spoiled her…she took a sip of the heavenly caf…Ben had spoiled her.

And this gave her an idea.

When Ben walked back in, Rey handed him a cup of caf, which he exchanged for a maroon block of pure protein. Before he could utter a word, Rey spoke, "I've been thinking…"

"Oh?" He asked with intrigue.

"I've decided what my first act as Empress will be."

Ben almost choked on his caf. "Is that so," he sputtered out. While they had called each other by official terms in jest or out of teasing passion, this was the first time Rey had said anything close to making plans towards her future as a ruler.

Rey stepped up to him, placing her hand on his toned stomach. "I want to feed the hungry."

Her dream was so fitting and Ben stroked her cheek, "Tell me what you need." He wouldn't deny her any good, any change, any calling the Force or her heart guided her to.

"Really?" Rey asked excitedly. "Just like that?"

"You're wanting to rule…"

"I'm wanting to help…"

"To me, those two are the exact same," his gaze bore into hers. "Tell me what you need."

Thankful that she didn't have a cup of caf in her hands, Rey jumped at him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "I really don't know where to start," she admitted, her face almost level with his.

"How about when I get back, I will have population records sent to you, outlining some of the most impoverish worlds. I can have someone from the agricultural sector be made available to help you."

Her eyes watered. He was doing this for her. Her Ben was helping her to foster change. Her Emperor was letting her rule with nothing but love requested in return. "Thank you," she said simply before kissing him and then sliding back down his body to return to her caf. They needed to eat and get out before the day became too hot.

Ben grumbled with the prospect of not being able to shower but figured that he would be covered in sand for the remainder of their time on Jakku and had plans to take her up against the cramped shower wall in his shuttle later anyhow.

Once they had finished their caf and meal bars, Rey led him around the back of the Walker again, pulling back the tarp to expose the speeder.

"What did you have in mind for today?" Ben asked, still eyeing the decrepit machine as it would explode upon ignition.

"We are going scavenging," Rey said happily as she checked the fuel lines and knocked some carbon off the battery terminals.

He had to shake his head and chuckle. Of course, the rulers of the galaxy were going to descend into the bowels of wrecked Star Destroyers that had been rotting away for longer than he had been alive. But if he could say anything about her harebrained plan, it was that she was allowing him to experience something that he never had in his thirty-one years of life.

The gravity stabilizer on the speeder whirled and Rey was able to push the bike from it's hiding place out into the open. With a sly look on her face, she held out her hand, gesturing for him to get on the bike first. She laughed at his weary expression as he stepped up and threw his leg over the machine. With the grace of a thousand mounts, Rey climbed up behind him, wrapping her arms around his middle as she peeked over his shoulder and pointed to the ignition switch.

It took a few tries, but the speeder chugged to life and Rey pointed to the throttle under Ben's right hand. With a twist of his wrist, they were racing off over the dunes towards the Starship Graveyard.

They spent a few hours exploring the Inflictor and they were even able to find a spare part that Rey needed to fix another Resistance shuttle. Back on the speeder, Ben had to admit that the hunk of junk was actually really fun. He also enjoyed the feeling of Rey's hands pressed against his chest and her laughter ghosting past his ear.

The Ravager was in worse shape, but nothing could prepare Ben for the feeling of insignificance that he felt when standing in the gaping hole of one of the Destroyer's rear thrusters. "Pretty amazing that these things just float through space," Rey mused as she walked past Ben's stationary form.

"Makes me wonder if we put such ingenuity and resources into peace and not into war, would the Force have brought us about to right so many wrongs."

Rey walked back to him, taking his hand, "I would rather not think of a time when you didn't exist, but the mistakes of the past have already been made and we have to be wise enough, strong enough to not make them again."

He continued to be amazed by her. So he took her hand and let her lead him into the belly of the fallen Destroyer.

They seemed to have walked for a long time, spanning almost half of the nineteen-thousand-meter length of the ship. Rey shifted their direction to climbing up a few decks until she ushered him into the ghostly bridge of the Ravager.

Ben felt as if he was stepping onto hallowed ground. The command center was frozen in time and if he reached out through the Force he could almost feel the souls of the crew that had gone down with the ship.

"Do you think Vader ever stood here?" Rey asked walking to the end of the command lane and looking out through the hazy view screen.

"He may have…" Ben mused as he went to stand by Rey's side. "This Destroyer only became a flagship after my grandfather's ship, the Executor, was destroyed during the Battle of Endor. He would have never seen this craft in its glory under Commander Rax though."

"Has he ever come to you?" Rey looked up at his sullen face.

"I think perhaps I have been praying to the wrong man," Ben admitted. "Under Snoke, I asked Vader for guidance, I vowed to finish what he started, but he turned to the Darkside for love, love of my grandmother and their unborn children. Like myself, he was swayed by a mentor who looked to capitalize on someone who was conflicted and desperate."

"But he turned…you turned…"

"He died with redemption. He died for the love of his children, and I cannot fault him for that, regardless of the mess that my mother and uncle made of everything." He shifted away from her and moved to the front control panel, placing his fingertips upon it as if to sense the power of the decaying craft. "Everything I thought I knew about him was for nothing…I wasn't put here to finish what he started." He looked over this shoulder at his Empress, "I understand now that I was put here to finish what we started."

How could Rey not love the man that made such enchanting proclamations? So she crossed to him and took his right cheek in her hand. Lifting herself slightly, he bent down to meet his lips to hers. As they stood on the bridge of the old Star Destroyer, the Force around them sang and gifted them both a vision of sweeping images. Rey in a dress of deep green silk and Ben in his in black uniform, in much the same position, wrap up in each other, on the bridge of the ship named the Redemption, as the stars became streaks of blue behind them.

They parted breathlessly with need and amazement of the Force vision. Before she could even blink, Rey started to pull at that belt around Ben's waist, hearing his saber clatter to the floor. Ben's fingers were just a nimble and soon only her breast band separated her supple mounds from his needy hands.

For once, Rey cursed pants as she stepped on the heel of her boot, trying to wiggle them from her feet without breaking contact with Ben's lips as he worked down her neck. The second shoe hit the metal floor of the bridge at the same time as his tunic and Ben now grabbed at her waist and pulled her up his body, her legs wrapped around his middle.

Much like in his shuttle, Ben found the wide expanse of the control console the perfect place to lay out his love. His large hands made quick work of her pants before he went back to palming her overheated skin. Rey's hands were stretched down between her legs, pulling at the ties of his pants and then using her feet to shove them down past his hips.

He thrust into her with ease, her body now utterly accustomed to his size, even though she still felt as tight as the first time. Ben said a quick blessing to the 'exercises' Rey had embarrassingly told him about a few bonds ago.

Rey's back arched off the console and Ben pulled her breast band down around her toned waist. Twisting the constricting fabric around his hand, Ben used the leverage of the band to deepen his assault between her thighs. Her hand searched for purchase on anything that would keep her rooted in place and ready to absorb each thrust as he hit the spot that made her eyes roll into the back of her head and that caused her to forget to breathe.

Their joining was not sweet or soft. There were no whispers of love or devotion. Ben fucked his Empress on the bridge of one of the Old Empire's last battleships. She clawed at his flanks, begging him to go harder and faster. His fingers dug into the flesh of her hips to the point that she would have bruises. He could feel a piece of scrap digging into his thigh each time he pounded into her and he knew he was bleeding.

Curses in seven different languages fell from Rey's lips as she rushed towards her climax. She threatened his life if he were to stop. She called out his name in the same breath as the Gods. Sweat pooled in all the divots of their bodies and the sounds of slick skin coming together echoed off the durasteel walls.

Ben thought he felt the ship shift in the sand with the force of her orgasm. She cried out as if there wasn't a soul around for miles. Light poured from her and for a moment he wondered if she hovered in thin air. But he kept her grounded…focused…and with a few more deep thrusts, followed her into oblivion.

As she started to come down from her high, Rey thought of all the times she had stood on this bridge wondering about the people that once believed so thoroughly in the Empire that they were willing to die for it. And she considered what she was willing to die for.

But Ray was no longer the frightened and malnourished nobody who's family craved drink over their own daughter. She was no longer under the thumb of ruthless thugs from the Outpost. Her survival no longer depended on the perverted mercy of a bulbous cretin. She was now a powerful Force user matched only by the likes of Ben Solo, whose blood ran thick with Jedi pedigree. She was a secret Empress ruling and enforcing change through the benevolent hand of Kylo Ren. She was a nobody from Jakku who became the unsung hero of the galaxy.

So now, she lay with her beloved, the two designers and defenders of peace, lovers and leaders, Light, Dark, and Balanced, and knew what and who she was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice for.

The news of the attack came over the holonet later that evening. They were back in the AT-AT and Rey was attempting to make him a birthday cake when Ben's datapad sounded with multiple alerts. Plucking at the screen, he read aloud, "Supreme Leader's Command Shuttle shot down on way from Finalizer to Coruscant for his birthday celebration. Status of Supreme Leader unknown at this time. Resistance taking responsibility for the attack on the galaxy's Peace Keeper."

Rey gave him an incredulous look, "Galaxy's Peace Keeper?"

"I don't make up the titles and I can't help it if the galaxy loves me." His tone was laced with snark.

"Oh so now the galaxy loves you," she said with a cheeky grin.

He walked over to her as she started to slather a white sticky substance onto two thin cakes she cooked on the stove top. "The galaxy is thankful for what we have done, and when you finally stand at my side they will love you more than they could ever love me. You are an Empress of the people, you are going to feed the hungry, education the forgotten, inspire the downtrodden, and so much more, Rey. The amount of changes that you can bring about is limitless."

Her insides melted and she was weak in the knees when Ben spoke like that. If only they had been permitted time to have a conversation like this before Snoke's throne room. But at that time in their relationship, Rey was more likely to spit venom at Kylo than to listen to his golden daydreams of their future and her potential.

Shaking her head and looking back down at the cakes, she stacked one on top of the other like she had seen done in the mess hall a few times. "They shot down your shuttle..." she changed the subject back to the attack.

"Yes. I needed it to appear as if I was still attending."

"The crew was killed then?" Her eyes were pleading, not wanting to think of who lost their lives.

"I'm not sure, reports from the crash site have not come in yet," he bit his lip knowing that he needed to honest with her. "I asked Hux to take the shuttle down to the party..."

"Hux?" Rey asked in shock. "Hux was on that shuttle?"

"If he followed orders he was."

Rey quickly tried to work through the implications of what she had just been told. "I didn't know that the shuttle would be attacked," Ben tried to defend. "I just needed it to look as if I had arrived. Even you didn't know when or how they would strike."

"You're right...I didn't. I just can't believe that they would be as cowardly as to not care about the crew...how many do they need to kill to try to get to you?"

"I don't think you want the answer to that," Ben said with a depressed expression.

She huffed and set down the knife a little too roughly, it made a metallic clack against the steel bench. "No, I'd rather not, otherwise I might just really try to take General Dameron down a few pegs." She sighed almost exhaustedly, "I'm sorry, I've ruined your birthday with all of this..."

He took her shoulders in his hands and turned her towards him, "You didn't ruin anything." He tipped her chin up so that she would look at him, "You saved me. You brought me to your home..."

"You are my home..." Rey interjected.

"You showed me a part of yourself that not many have seen. I quite think that this is the best birthday I have ever had," he gave her a genuine smile so that she would know that he wasn't just placating her. Ben ducked his head down more, catching her gaze again as she tried to lower it, "Why don't we try some of this cake and try to put the worries of the galaxy away for a night."

Her smile was sad but understanding, "Let me guess…you want to be just a man in a downed AT-AT with the woman he loves, trying to choke down this sad excuse of a birthday cake."

"Something along those lines," he gave her a smirk before pressing his lips to hers.

Instead of cutting off slices, they went to sit back outside on the Walker with the whole cake, each digging a fork into the stacked sweet. Ben took the first bite and hummed. Rey looked at him with bated breath unsure if he was surprised or disgusted.

"This is actually really good, Rey. Thank you," he forked another chuck into his mouth.

Rey finally used her own fork to try the cake. The taste wasn't as decadent as the chocolates that Ben had given her, but it was sweet and the texture was right. They ate until their stomachs hurt before they laid back to once again to watch the night sky.

"You know I have to leave tomorrow," Ben said up into the abyss.

When she didn't reply, Ben spoke again, "I will need to make a live and public appearance to prove that I am unharmed."

"I know..." Rey finally said and then shifted nervously, "What will you do?"

"About?"

"What will you do to the Resistance? Everyone will expect you to retaliate since they made a public claim on the attack."

Ben reached for her hand, "How would you handle this? If you were completely mine..."

"I am completely yours," Rey turned her head towards him with a furrowed brow.

"But you're not," he defended. "Your heart...your body," he reached out for her, barely grazing his fingertips along her arm, "may be mine, but my mother's ideas and your friends still hold pieces of your mind and soul."

Rey was quiet, unable to deny his claim. "Finish your thought..."

He sighed and turned back to look up at the sky, "If you were completely mine if you were the Empress at my side, and an attempt was made on my life...what would you do?"

Many different outcomes washed through her mind. The quick to anger, quick to act budding Jedi in her would pull her saber and advance a counter-attack at once. The maturing leader in her would want to strategize and ensure that justice was seen. But the simple woman in her, who couldn't think of life without the man she loves, that would bend the galaxy to save her soulmate…that simple woman was still conflicted between retribution and salvation.

For a moment she thought that this was the reason that Poe had not included her in the command of the Resistance. Perhaps he saw that she would be unable to make the hard choices, her Light preventing her from seeing that sometimes the few had to die for the benefit of the many. But who were the many that would benefit from Ben's death? Were Poe and the Resistance command so blinded by past hate that they can't see the good that is being done?

She also didn't envy that soon the First Order command would be looking to Ben to make a decision about the attack. The Resistance had planned and executed an attack on the Supreme Leader, the First Order's top General had been, at the very least, gravely injured and the counsels would be calling for blood.

With a large inhale Rey conceded, "I truly don't know. The Resistance has become fanatical, many of the new recruits are high born, from families displaced by the dissolution of the Senate, pandering to be brought back into power." She looked over at him and his gaze was still towards the stars but his brow was pinched. "They don't want the good for all, they want the good for themselves."

"Is it time for the Resistance to go?"

"Peacefully perhaps, but not from ion canons shot from orbit."

He finally turned to her, "If anyone ever attempts to hurt a hair on your head…" his breath shuttered. "I wouldn't hesitate to strike them down with brutal force."

Rey's smile was partly loving and partly sad, but she still reached for him and placed her hand on his cheek, "I know. But I want you to give me some time…when I go back, to assess their reaction to their plans failing. I need to see if this will just intensify their hate and cause them to be even more reckless. I want to try to get them to see the good that your New Order is doing."

Ben was tight-lipped, wanting dearly to correct her, saying that it was their New Order, that her hand and heart swayed almost every decision made. But instead he just nodded, allowing her time, "You know I will give you anything you desire."

Again not wanting to spoil his birthday and their short time together by talking about the sad state of the relations between the Resistance and the New Order, Rey rolled closer to him, "I desire you." She kissed his still tight lips and felt them relax and purse under hers. "Make love to me Ben," she cooed and ran her fingers through his hair.

He let his actions answer such a sweet request, rolling her on to her back as he covered her body with his. They made love on the top of the AT-AT that was Rey's sanctuary for many years. It had been the first place she considered home and now as she pawed at his pitted but warm skin, pulling his body impossibly closer to her, she knew without any uncertainty that her home had always been and would always be, Ben.