—Chapter 15: Reconstruction—
Rey set the tool kit down on her table, and crossed the room to her trunk to retrieve the broken lightsaber. While Rey searched her belongings, Ben sifted through the materials looking for what he would need in order to make the repairs. Once Rey had recovered the two broken halves and the Jedi text that described lightsaber construction, she rejoined Ben at the table.
"The Jedi texts?" observed Ben, impressed. "Then why did you need me to train you?"
"It's not written in Basic… I translated what I could, but there are a lot of nuances that don't come through. Plus, the section on lightsaber construction seemed more philosophical than technical, and technical is what I really needed."
"You mean the harmonious, cultured language of the Jedi wasn't practically useful? I'm shocked."
Rey smirked, torn between a need to defend the Jedi Order and a desire to agree with him—the texts were somewhat lacking in practical instructions. "It's not as if I expected schematics or anything, but yeah. The best I found were some warnings about not accidentally inverting the emitter matrix or the power grid would backfire and explode. Basically, just enough real information to completely undermine my confidence that I could do it without killing myself."
Ben huffed in amusement. "'Use caution'. That's very Jedi advice."
"Well, it's not all the texts' fault," conceded Rey. "The crystal is in two pieces—I wasn't even sure I could use it anymore."
"Well, it's lucky I'm here then," said Ben, the corner of his mouth twitching up almost imperceptibly. He removed the kyber crystals from the broken hilt and examined the ruptured metal. "I can fuse the housing back together for you, but you'll need to meditate on the crystals for a little while, and the final assembly needs to be completed by you. I'll make sure you don't screw it up, but you need to do it yourself or it won't really be your lightsaber."
"Wasn't this your grandfather's?" Rey asked.
"Anakin Skywalker's, yes," replied Ben. "Then it became Luke's, but he lost it when Darth Vader took his hand on Bespin. This is a family heirloom," he eyed her accusingly, provoking her good-naturedly.
"I guess I should thank you for letting me keep it then," she observed.
Ben shrugged. "It's all right. Anakin abandoned this saber when he became Darth Vader, making a new saber with the characteristic red color of the Sith."
"Like yours?"
"I wasn't a Sith Lord, but yes. The color of the blade is a reflection of the soul of the person who made it. Red is typical of the dark side."
"Did you have a different one before you turned to the dark?" Rey asked.
"Sort of. It was the same original pieces, but fundamentally changed. I bled the kyber crystal after I burned Luke's Praxeum, forcing me to alter the hilt to accommodate it."
"So bitter…" she teased.
"Yeah, I'm a real piece of work." His flat tone belied his sarcasm. She had gotten used to his wry sense of humor. "Anyway, you meditate, I'll work on this hilt."
"Anything in particular I should be meditating about?" she asked.
"Meditate on your relationship to the Force; why you seek its use. My blade was red because I meditated about how I would use it to destroy my enemies and bend the galaxy to my will… you do you."
Rey laughed inwardly and plucked the crystals from the table. "I'm going outside. I can't meditate with you watching me."
"Mmm." Ben was already preparing his soldering tool to fuse the casing back together, and was barely listening.
—
On Kamino, First Order officers were preparing to receive the Adragna. The facility had been originally intended for the mass production of adult clones, but the grounds were sufficiently large enough to house tens of thousands of children at a time. The facility was equipped with the technology to accelerate an individual's growth; children's development could be accelerated, but not to nearly the same degree as a clone's. The mental conditioning process could be carried out while the children were in growth hibernation. Before Kamino had been brought back online, the technology to accelerate the development of stormtroopers was unavailable.
Former Supreme Leader Kylo Ren was right to have reestablished this facility, thought Lieutenant General Tonkin. He had been forward thinking—it was a shame he'd also been so deeply flawed.
Tonkin had ensured the chambers were ready to receive the children that were being delivered, and awaited the Adragna's final approach.
The bay doors opened, and the Adragna settled into position on the tarmac. Tonkin stood by, waiting. Finally, the Adragna's main doors opened, revealing Lieutenant Ainu'u, a broad, dark-skinned, and imposing figure, who strode casually down the lowered ramp, long braid swaying behind her from under her officer's cap.
"Lieutenant General Tonkin," Ainu'u saluted.
"Lieutenant," greeted Tonkin. "May I assume all the new recruits are ready to be transferred to the hibernation chambers?"
"That's correct, Lieutenant General. A number of them have been sedated. Most of them, actually—they were incredibly noisy. Your staff may retrieve them at your leisure. I'll have my men disengage the locks." She gestured toward the Adragna.
"Thank you, Lieutenant," replied Tonkin. With that brief exchange complete, the staff aboard the Adragna summarily got to work unloading and transporting the children into the facility.
—
Rey wasn't certain how long she had been meditating for, but when she opened her eyes, she discovered that night had fallen. In spite of the rush they were in, she felt curiously at peace. She collected her kyber crystals and returned inside to find Ben propped up in a chair against the corner wall, asleep. The hilt of her saber was laid out and waiting for her final touches. She didn't want to begin without Ben, but she was also reluctant to rouse him from sleep, so she picked around in her kitchen for something to eat. Finding nothing but field rations and moldy fruit, she plunked down on her bed with her Jedi texts and tried to make sense of lightsaber construction.
She read and reread the same passages, three or four times at least, only somewhat confident that she wouldn't kill herself. She regarded Ben in the corner, glad to have someone with her who could help. She closed the book and tucked it under her bed, heaving a deep sigh.
Ben groaned and shifted in his chair, opening one eye. Spying her on the bed, he roused the rest of the way awake and straightened up away from the wall. He looked stiff. "All done?" he asked.
"Yes. I believe I'm ready to get started. Did you have a nice nap?"
Ben leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "Well, I had a nap, let's leave it at that." He stood, stretched, and pulled his chair back over to the table, sitting again once he'd gotten it into position. Gesturing to the repaired hilt, he invited her to come closer.
She rose from the bed and crossed the short span over to the table and the empty chair. "I'm disappointed you didn't add a crossguard to it," she joked.
"Hey, that crossguard wasn't just for looks. It needed vents on the side to divert excess energy away from the crystal—when I bled the crystal, it became cracked and unstable."
"Just like you."
"A reflection of my broken, tainted soul," he replied, joking, but not. Pointing to the parts laid out on the table, he asked, "Do you know how to put them together?"
Rey studied the pieces, but furrowed her brows as she took in the changes Ben had made. "I thought I knew how to put it together, but this looks totally different than it was before. It looks like it has two tops," she observed, puzzled.
"Since we have two crystals, I thought it made sense to alter the hilt into a saberstaff." Turning to her, he appraised her admiringly. "Seemed more fitting for you anyway," he added with a small shrug.
Rey smiled. She collected the parts one at a time, selected the appropriate tools, and set to work reconstructing the saber. Ben quietly observed, watching as her fingers moved intuitively over the emitter matrix, expertly inserting it into the energy gate. He nodded occasionally at her work. Rey was completely engrossed in what she was doing, and sweat was beading on her forehead from the anticipation of it.
At long last, she secured the blade emitter shroud into position, took a breath, and looked at Ben, trying to read his expression.
"Don't tell me you're waiting for my permission… Ignite it, already," he encouraged, nudging her slightly.
She flicked the switch, and the blades burst to life. Brilliant yellow beams jutted out from either end, cutting the air and humming with vibrant energy. Rey panted at the sight of it. "It's beautiful," she remarked in wonderment.
Ben nodded. "It is. And yellow is a rare color. A balanced color."
"Balanced?" she queried.
"Yes," he answered. "In the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, red sits at one end, and blue and green toward the other. Yellow resides between them." He smiled at her.
Rey turned off her saberstaff and set it on the table, studying Ben thoughtfully. "I have something for you," she said, and walked over to her trunk. He watched as she dug into it, producing a small bundle wrapped in canvas scraps. Returning to him, she held it out with both hands for him to take.
He looked at it cautiously, as though he felt unworthy of whatever it could contain. He accepted it carefully, unwrapping the fabric and observing its contents.
"My lightsaber…" he gaped, studying it. "You said they didn't find it."
"No, obviously, because I took it," she quipped.
He actually guffawed. "You took it! You've been holding it hostage this whole time? You're unbelievable!"
She smacked him on the arm. "Hey, it wouldn't have been fair for you to have a lightsaber if I didn't!" she protested.
Ben's mouth was twisted into a disbelieving smile, and he gazed at her. Holding the lightsaber in one hand, he suddenly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a deep kiss. She was startled, but quickly reciprocated, encircling him with her arms. They remained like this for a time, before Ben pulled away just far enough that he could look into her eyes. Rey recognized something in those eyes—a new resolve, or some rediscovered vigor. She knew what it signified, and in her belly, a fire was ignited.
What they did next was something she certainly wouldn't be sharing with her friends. Theirs was a desperate encounter, full of trepidation and uncertainty, but also passion, need, and tremendous affection. When they were finished, they lay in bed together, Ben crammed between her body and the wall, struggling to fit himself on Rey's tiny mattress. They were exhausted, and all concern with the events at the base, on Lothal, and at Kamino seemed galaxies away.
"I love you," she whispered into his chest.
He couldn't find the words, responding only by kissing the top of her head and nodding almost imperceptibly as he breathed in the scent of her. His hand rested on her hip, thumb brushing delicately against the protruding bone. He was too spent to do anything more.
Somehow, in that cramped space, each of them managed to find sleep.
—
End of Part 2
