A/N: Hello there! Here's another chapter of Rey and Ben's story, hope you will enjoy it!
Disclaimer: No recognizable Star Wars character or location belongs to me, all I own is the plot!
The two planets that are mentioned in the chapter are taken from the official SW Galaxy map, they were mentioned at some point somewhere :) My OCD didn't let me make up new locations when there is such an abundance of them already! :)
Chapter 003 – Ash Angel
"Don't look at me like this, Poe!", Rey was seething. How foolish she was, oh Gods! There she was literally fantasising about undressing Ben, while he had given a price for her head and announced it to the whole galaxy. How incredibly stupid!
"Rey, I know you're angry, but we need to be rational," Poe was leaning against the wall. How could he be so cool about it? Rey wanted to smash things. Gods, she was so angry. Obviously, there was no way she could even begin to explain why to Poe. What was there to say? That mere minutes before she had been cuddling up against the enemy who had made her the most wanted criminal in the galaxy.
"Rational? Poe, how are we going to even leave this place, when my face is all over the holovids everywhere? Everywhere!"
"We can give you the holographic mask, you can easily pass for a Rodian." Poe suggested, but Rey wasn't convinced. When they had entered the station, they had to undergo a full scan at the check-in point. This was a required procedure at both the entry and the exit points. Anything masking her true identity would be detected immediately.
"That's not good enough, and we both know that." Rey said.
"How about we try it anyway," Poe replied impatiently, "Unless you have a better idea?"
Rey spread her hands in a hopeless gesture. She was so angry she could cry. They didn't have many options. Any options.
"Have you alerted the others?" she asked. Poe nodded, "They're already evacuating. I reckon we're the last to still be in the system."
"You should leave without me, Poe," Rey walked up to him and grabbed him by the arms. "I am endangering everyone, you need to leave me behind," she said with calm intent, but Poe only laughed and brushed her hands away. "Listen, I've been around Leia Organa long enough to know all about Jedi mind tricks!"
"Can she do that?" Rey asked, taken aback.
"Nah, she's enough of a politician to trick you without the help from the Force, but I've heard all about it."
Rey raised an eyebrow. Maybe the Force could be helpful again. It did help her escape the interrogation room on the Starkiller Base, perhaps she could trick a few weaker minds again.
"How far is your ship?" she asked.
"It's on the 13th Floor. Ready to go. I paid a guy to avoid the check-out queue."
"Can we pay to skip it altogether?" Rey asked with no real hope. Skipping check out procedures would be suspicious itself and, in their situation, this would be too much of a risk. Poe shook his head, confirming her fears.
"Let's try," she said, picked her backpack and headed for the door.
"Wait! The mask? You need to put it on now!" Poe said, hurrying up after her, but Rey smiled with confidence.
"I won't need it."
"What do you mean you won't – of course you will need it!" Poe protested. Rey stole a glance at him, he was just as handsome from the profile as ever, even with a worried frown. It would have been so much easier, if she longed for him, instead of the man who decided to hunt her down like a common criminal.
Not so common, she thought, 10 million credits, that's no price for a common law breaker. She didn't have time to watch the whole holovid info-transmission about herself, but she was sure some crimes must have been specified in it, something to justify the prize.
When they left the hotel and stepped into the jam-packed streets of Five Point Stations, Rey put all her focus into appearing plain and insignificant. She felt the calm intent surging through her and, judging from virtually zero attention she was getting, it seemed to be working. Poe kept giving her worried looks, as they passed numerous screens displaying her face and announcing her a criminal, but he was the only one. He could easily ruin the trick, though.
"Calm down, Poe," Rey whispered. "If this is going to work, you need to stop acting so tense."
"You couldn't just wear the mask, could you," Poe muttered, unconvinced, "At least until we get to the ship"
Rey sighed and got a hold of his hand. She imagined a calm dune of sand, under the perfect sky, a cosy silence of the Jakku desert and a quiet wreck of a Star Destroyer, offering the blissful shadow. For her these wrecks were always like oases in the unforgiving desert, a reprieve from the cruel sun.
Within moments her calmness emanated into Poe, who now looked almost content, as if they were simply having a stroll for pleasure. When she wanted to let go if his hand, however, he didn't allow her. Instead, he flashed her a mischievous grin. Rey decided to let it go. For now.
They reached the 13th Floor, where their ship was docked in, without any problems, but Rey felt slightly drained from focusing so much. Was this what using Force was like? Did it feed on your energy, instead of making you more powerful? Surely, it couldn't be so. She'd heard countless stories of almost God-like strength Jedi had, she had witnessed a tiny fraction of that from Master Luke. She had also experienced it rushing through her while fighting the Pretorian Guards in the Snoke's Throne Room and then, later, fighting Ben. So why was it that now it was making her tired and weary?
Rey looked around discreetly, while Poe was getting their ship documents verified. There were three other ships nearby, two of them just small enough to get through unnoticed. One of the ships had a human crew and, from what Rey could hear, they were on a route to the planet Sullust, far in the Outer Rim. The ship, called quite appropriately Ash Angel, was transporting a small cargo of people and not entirely legal explosives.
All the better, Rey thought. Illegal content meant higher safety measures, but, since not much was going on in Sullust of lately, since the planet was giving the First Order the military fuel with no objections, this seemed like the good place to be.
"Ship's cleared," Poe said, re-joining her at the check-out desk, "Now it's just us." She could hear the edge in his voice, the peace of mind she had given him was long gone.
"What is our destination?" Rey asked, looking him straight in the eyes.
"You don't expect me to tell you this now, in the open, where everyone can hear us?" Poe rolled his eyes, but Rey kept looking at him with purpose. She could sense him growing uncomfortable and worried, but she had made up her mind.
"Poe, listen to me," she said, "I cannot put you in danger more than I already have. We need to split up."
"You are part of the Resistance, Rey," Poe opposed, but his resolve was crumbling, "You belong with us. We need you."
"I know. I don't intend to leave you behind," Rey said, "I just need to buy you some time. It's me he is looking for. And he certainly does not expect me to go separate ways from you guys."
Poe winced. Rey wished she could do something to make it easier for him, but she also knew she didn't have much time left, if she wanted to board the Ash Angel. She could hear its crew laughing at some joke, but they seemed to be ready to go.
"Where do I meet you? Tell me." Rey urged. She fixed all her focus on Poe. He might know the Jedi tricks, but there is only so much one can resist.
"Rakata Prime." He whispered almost mechanically. This was all Rey needed. Without a single word, she turned on her heel and marched towards the Ash Angel. She knew Poe would know better than to go after her and make a scene.
There was only one obstacle between her and Ash Angel – the check-out gate for the crew members. Rey knew she wasn't logged in on the list, but she had to take the risk. Dealing with the officer (how surprising that this job was still done by a living creature, instead of a simple, never-failing machine or droid) would be easy, she was confident she could lull the officer's mind. It was obscuring the cameras that would be a challenge. She had no clue if this could be done at all.
Still, she had to try.
From the corner of her eye she saw Poe's ship taking off. She smiled. The Resistance was safer without her, for now, at least.
When she reached the officer's desk, he greeted her with an irritated sigh. "Why can't you people be on time for once?" he mumbled while taking her documents. When he saw her photo, he looked up alarmed, but the moment he met Rey's eyes all the doubt left him. He smiled in a childlike way and said "I hope you will have a pleasant flight, Ma'am", while handing her the documents back. Rey put the hood of her poncho up and smiled back, suddenly struck with an idea.
"I certainly will, my dear. And you will erase the last 10 minutes' footage from all the database"
"Right away!" the officer's smile brightened, as he typed in his access codes and began erasing the data. Rey left him to it and headed towards the ship.
Ash Angel was almost ready for the take-off; the captain was checking something under its missile tubes. Rey passed him by without a word and boarded the ship. Inside, she found an escape pod and locked herself in it.
She was seen by at least half of the crew. Yet, they would not mention the stranger on board their ship and, later, when questioned whether they saw anyone or anything suspicious during their flight from the Five Point Stations, they would swear everything was just as normal as it could be. And they truly believed it.
As they were taking off, Rey gave the last look at the Five Point Station. She would forever remember it as the place she gave in to the dark side, taking two lives as if they had no meaning.
Master Luke wouldn't be surprised, she thought, exhausted and bitter, just before she drifted off into a heavy, dreamless sleep.
A/N: If you stuck with me to this point - thank you so much! Even though err... not much is happening between Ben and Rey in this chapter, I felt like this "tactical" chapter was kind of necessary, just wanted to show how Rey escapes the Five Point Station and some of her motivation - she can still be selfless, despite her previous actions. I hope to explore her inner battle between the light and the dark a bit more soon. Plus, there will be more about Ben, too!
Thanks for reading, again and, please hit the review button and tell me what you think! xoxo