"Take that, you sons of banthas!" Poe yelled in his fighter's cockpit as he expertly shot down the three TIE fighters before him. He heard BB-8 chirp in approval in the slot behind him. As Poe watched the TIE fighters crash down into the pavement below, his eyes caught on a lone, dark figure. Though he was well above the courtyard, Poe saw the unmistakable red crossguard lightsaber in the figure's hands.

"What the—" Poe stared at the figure in utter shock, turning his fighter back around at a sharp angle. He descended his fighter closer to the ground, aiming his blasters direcly at Kylo Ren. Poe shot at him several times, but cussed under his breath as Ren had remarkably managed to jump out of the way of his blasts.

As Poe's X-wing soared past Ren, another figure near the edge of the open courtyard caught Poe's eye. But he was only able to see for a fleeting second before his fighter passed back over the rooftops of the buildings. It can't be… he thought in astonishment. BB-8 beeped excitedly, also having recognized her.

Poe steered his X-wing back around towards the direction of the courtyard, but he growled as he was faced with two oncoming TIE fighters. Poe quickly shot one down, but the other TIE evaded him, dipping right below the line of his ship's blasts. Scowling, Poe was forced to turn his ship back around, away from the courtyard to pursue the TIE fighter, away from Rey.

After he had caught up to the TIE fighter, Poe shot it down from the sky, sending it careening it down into the streets below. He sincerely hoped that the wreckage wouldn't land on anyone.

As Poe was finally able to steer his X-wing back around to the palace courtyard, his heart sunk in his chest as he no longer saw Rey, or Kylo Ren for that matter. He's captured her, Poe thought bitterly. As he steered his starfighter back towards the courtyard, he turned on his communicator and signaled all of the other Naboo patrols now circling over the city of Theed. "Kylo Ren is here, I repeat, Kylo Ren is in the city and is holding Rey prisoner. Search the city, we must find them and rescue Rey!" He yelled urgently into his speaker.

Poe circled his X-wing around the edge of the courtyard several times, scanning the perimeter for Rey. Growing frantic, he steered his fighter close to the rooftops of the buildings below, trailing the streets, hoping to spot her. I'll find you, Rey, don't worry, he thought ardently. And I'll blast that damned Kylo Ren to pieces.

….

News travelled quickly to the Organa headquarters on Trora. Luke and Leia had been the first to be told the information about Kylo Ren and Rey's sighting on Naboo.

"Are we sure he's holding her hostage?" Leia asked, looking up at Luke concernedly. "Rey did leave on her own accord, there were confirmed reports of her taking one of our cargo ships and leaving the system, alone."

Luke sighed, pacing in front of Leia. "I don't know exactly why Rey left, but I know she was still upset with me. And I know you still want to give Ben the benefit of the doubt, Leia, but we need to face reality. No matter how much you still love him, Ben is not a user of the light, nor will he ever be again," he said, looking at Leia seriously. "We cannot be certain of his plans, but it would be a mistake to think that he isn't a danger to Rey."

Leia shook her head. "But as you said, they are bonded. He's not going to hurt her."

Luke stopped in his tracks, meeting Leia's gaze with a somber look. "I'm not so sure of that," he said, his voice strained. "After all this time, I don't know how you can still see any in him."

Leia hung her head, pressing a hand over her chest as she felt a familiar pang of grief. "It's enough having both my son and Han gone, Luke...but now, Rey...I can't imagine…" she trailed, her voice breaking. "I have to believe she's going to be okay."

Luke stepped forward, placing his hands upon Leia's frail shoulders reassuringly. "She is strong, Leia," he said reassuringly. "She will find a way out."

"Yes...I was once strong too, Luke, you know that. But over the years I have grown so weak...I often feel as if I have been sapped of my will to live," she breathed, her gaze dropping to the ground.

Luke shrunk back at the darkness in her voice. "Never say that," he said softly. "Leia, we all need you. I need you. Rey needs you."

Leia met his gaze once again, a tear sliding down her cheek. Luke gave her a small, reassuring smile, but the one Leia returned was forced, her once bright eyes now completely dispirited.

….

It had now been a day and a half since Rey and Ben had left Naboo. They'd mostly slept since they'd been back on the ship, to recover their energy.

On their way out of the Naboo's atmosphere, they'd been tailed by three X-wing fighters, two of which Ben had shot down, much to the chagrin of Rey. She still felt upset at him for it. What if one of them had been Poe? She thought, although she knew it hadn't; she would have recognized his X-wing.

Now, as she looked over at Ben, who stood over the control board, Rey's anger felt mixed with other, more conflicting emotions. She sensed a rising tension, a palpable energy between them. She often found herself studying his dark features, his facial expressions, the way his black hair cascaded across his forehead.

Since they'd been back on the command shuttle, Ben had stopped wrapping his arms in the usual dark cloth, leaving them bare. Rey had noticed the myriad of faded bruises that marked his arms.

Rey remembered watching Ben fight the stormtroopers on Naboo, the adept swings of his lightsaber effortlessly parrying the oncoming blaster bolts. Rey had followed a distance behind him and the stormtroopers, watching Ben's swift movements, his aggressive, predatory style of fighting. She had hesitated to join the fight, wanting to watch Ben, to study and learn from his movements.

Ben now must have felt her eyes on him, as he turned to look over at her. His gaze was relaxed.

"Where are we headed now, Captain?" Rey asked teasingly.

Ben smiled briefly. "We're stopping for gas again. I didn't have time to grab any on Naboo."

Rey pretended to scowl at him. "You didn't? How lazy. It's not like we were fighting off Stormtroopers," she teased.

Ben smiled again, a brightness growing in his eyes. "Lazy, indeed," he said, lifting his head a bit. "You fought quite well, back there," he said, blinking. "I was...impressed."

Rey felt herself blush slightly at his praise. "You were also...impressive," she returned, lifting an eyebrow. "You stopped the blast from that TIE fighter in midair—how'd you do that?" She asked animatedly.

Ben, too, seemed a bit flushed at her compliment. He shifted his weight as he leaned against the control desk. "It's something that's taken a lot of practice," he said.

"Is that something you could teach me?" Rey asked, sitting up straighter in the chair.

Ben's dark eyes flickered back to hers, his mouth opening slightly as he hesitated to speak. "Probably, yes," he said.

Rey felt a rush of excitement, but she concealed it, not wanting Ben to realize how fervently she wanted to train with the Force once again.

Ben turned and looked back down at the coordinate map. "In answer to your previous question, we're stopping at an isolated fuel station."

"A fuel station? So we're guaranteed to find fuel here?" She asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"Yes, as long as they charge a fair price," he said, giving her a knowing glance. "But they at least load your fuel into your ship for you here, for no added fee."

….

Ben carefully steered the shuttle into the large hangar on the solitary, drifting station. As they entered, the hangar door closed shut automatically behind them. Rey noticed Ben's painstaking concentration whilst landing the ship. He had parked it well away from the other ships in the hangar. Probably to keep people from going near it, Rey thought.

As they got off of the command shuttle, stepping down onto the smooth grey metal of the hangar floor, Rey looked up at Ben questioningly. "So, this entire floating station is just built for fuel?"

"Essentially, yes," Ben said, beginning to lead Rey up a staircase at the back of the hangar, towards a sliding door. "But they also have shops, some lodging, a bar."

Rey's ears perked up at this last mention. "A bar?"

"Yes," Ben said, waving his hand to open the sliding door for them with the Force. "Why?"

"Do you ever drink? Alcohol, I mean?" Rey asked diffidently.

Ben paused momentarily before answering. "Yes. But rarely," he said, glancing down at her curiously as he led them down the hall to a counter. "Why? You want to go to the bar?"

Rey hesitated. "I was just curious," she said, avoiding his eyes.

"I guess I could go for a drink," Ben said as they reached the service counter. He glanced back down at her, his weary eyes an attestation to his claim.

….

Ben paid the attendants at the counter for the fuel to be loaded into his shuttle after having given them careful instructions of how to load it into his ship. He warned them not to scratch his ship, his tone threatening.

After that, they entered the nearby bar, and everyone there turned to look at them momentarily. Ben shot glares at everyone, and they quickly averted their eyes.

As he and Rey sat side-by-side on stools at the bar counter, people still sneaked fearful glances at Ben, whose commanding presence was almost tangible.

The bar room itself was slightly smaller than Maz Kenata's, but busier and louder; drunk people and aliens around them spoke animatedly, while the upbeat music in the background pulsated through the walls, the ground.

Ben ordered them each a tall, dark orange drink that was unfamiliar to Rey. Its taste was much stronger than that of the drink she'd had with Poe before.

"This place is a lot different than Ma—" Rey cut herself off abruptly, not wanting to bring up someone from Ben's past.

"Maz Kenata's?" Ben finished, subsequently taking another gulp of his drink as his eyes remained on hers.

"Yes," Rey said. "Maz's bar isn't as lively as this." Her eyes surveyed the bustling room.

Ben nodded once, turning to look around them for a few moments. When his gaze returned back to hers, there was a stirring in his eyes. His gaze remained on hers, and Rey felt flushed. "How do you like it?" He finally asked, nodding to the large drink in her hands.

"It's...strong?" She said uncertainly, her face growing hot. "It's definitely more potent than anything I've had before." Rey felt her inhibitions beginning to fade away with the alcohol as she formulated a question to pose back at him.

"When can we start my training?" She asked suddenly, raising her eyebrows.

Ben gave a small sigh, but a half-smile formed upon his mouth. "Now, if you wish," he said.

"Now? What should I do?" She asked, looking around the room.

"Well, perhaps something...discreet," he said, taking another drink from his glass. He nodded to a group of men standing near them. "Read someone's thoughts."

Accepting the challenge, Rey turned to her side and decided upon a middle-aged man. She focused and tried to clear her mind as she began pressing into his head. She was only able to pick up general feelings from the man, the alcohol's pacifying effect thwarting her full access to the Force. She sensed his drunkenness, as well a feeling she had trouble discerning.

"What did you see?" Ben asked, folding his arms.

"Well, I only really felt things..." Rey trailed. "I felt his intoxication, and...well, I'm not completely sure," she added.

Ben nodded once, a half-smile forming across his mouth as he shifted his dark gaze.

"Can I ask you something else?" Rey asked, taking a sip from her still half-full glass. Ben nodded, leaning slightly forward on his stool. His cheeks had developed an uncharacteristic shade of pink, which Rey assumed was from the effects of the alcohol.

"Ask away," Ben said, waving a hand.

"What do you like to do? I mean, just for fun?" Rey said.

Ben seemed to consider the question, tilting his head as his gaze flickered around behind Rey. "'Fun?'" He asked, his gaze detached.

"I mean, how do you spend your free time? Don't you have any?"

"Not much," Ben said, leaning his elbow onto the countertop beside him. "But I find ways to occupy my time."

"Such as?"

"Why does this interest you?" He asked, tilting his head.

Rey opened her mouth to speak but hesitated. He didn't seem very open to answering her questions after all. She'd hoped that the alcohol would have loosened his restraint. Perhaps…

Rey scrunched her face as she forced herself to chug the remainder of her drink. Her throat burned as she thudded her glass back down onto the countertop. Ben's eyebrows raised in concern as he stared at her.

"You...really want to drink, huh?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Can I get another one?" She asked him, glancing at his nearly-empty glass.

He hesitated to answer. "Uh, yeah, sure," he said, swivelling back to face the bartender.

Ben finished his drink just as the bartender brought them another round. Rey pulled her drink in front of her, tilting the glass left and right.

"I like to read," Ben said abruptly, keeping a hand around his drink on the counter. Rey looked up at him, raising an eyebrow. "You asked me what I do in my free time. I like to read."

"I like to read, too," Rey said, her eyes drifting around the decorated walls of the bar. "I read a lot of books when I was on Jakku. There really wasn't much else to do, there."

"Besides scavenging, you mean?" Ben asked, a teasing smile on his mouth. He took another gulp from his drink.

Rey nodded, taking a small sip from her own. She ran a hand through her hair, but her fingers caught at the knot at the top of her head. Her scalp was sore from having her hair constantly pulled back in the three knots at the back of her head. Rey began to undo them, her hair falling down onto her shoulders one section at a time.

She ran her hands all the way through her hair as she surveyed the room, placing a hand on her hot cheek. Her mind felt hazy, a pleasant warmth filling her body from the alcohol. She turned on her stool and faced Ben again, who was looking at her fixedly.

Rey's brows knitted together, unsure of his gaze. "What is it?" She asked quietly.

Ben opened his mouth slightly as if to speak, then quickly shifted his eyes back to his drink. His posture seemed stiff.

Deciding to brush it off, Rey turned and took a drink from her glass, and out of her peripheral vision she saw Ben do the same. Rey felt a strange tension in the air, and her heart quickened. The Force bond, she thought.

"What do you like to read about?" Ben asked abruptly, seeming to want to make conversation again. Rey looked over at Ben, and she found her eyes tracing the line of his back, his arms. She quickly shifted her gaze back to the bar counter, confused at the feelings that the drink arose in her.

"I, um. I've read a lot of fairytales, myths, legends. I probably most like to read about the heroes and history of the Old Republic," she said, turning to face him again. "What about you? You like to read about Flash Speeders, right?"

A small smile spread on his face. "Yes. I caught you reading that, too," he said, lifting an eyebrow.

"You like vehicles, huh? Speeders, ships...well, your ship, at least" she said teasingly.

Ben chuckled. "I'm not going to deny that," he said, slurring his words. He leaned towards her. "You hate that ship, don't you?"

"I don't hate it, it just doesn't have a lot of space to move around. No place to sleep."

Ben shrugged, the movement exaggerated.

"That ship's kind of scary, actually, with those giant wings. It looks very intimidating."

Ben laughed. "You think so? That may or may not have been intentional," he said, narrowing his eyes at her. He straightened his posture as he looked around the room, running a hand through his hair. "Speaking of which, we should leave. We don't want to be recognized by anyone." He stood up from his seat.

Rey slid from her bar seat, but as she stood, she felt as if the alcohol hit her twice as hard. Her legs were numb, wobbly, and she gripped the bar to keep herself standing. She let out a quick breath.

"You got it?" Ben asked, and Rey looked up at him, her head spinning.

"Yeah," she said, and took a step away from the bar. As she did so, her knees buckled, but Ben was quick to grip her upper arm to keep her from falling down. "I've got it," Rey mumbled, pulling her arm away from his grasp. She took a slow step forward, and another, but on the third step, her legs wobbled, and Ben was quick to move to her side, holding her up by the arm.

"At this rate, it'll be an hour before we get back to the ship," he said, but his voice sounded amused. He bent down.

"Hey!" Rey exclaimed as he swept her off of her feet, holding her against his chest. He began carrying her out of the bar. "What am I, a baby?" She slurred, tilting her face back to look up at his, her head bobbing with his every step.

"Basically," he said, chuckling. Rey's head spun and her body felt warm, but it was pleasant. As Ben carried her out into the hangar, she gripped onto his arm tightly, not wanting to fall as she realized how far from the ground she was. "This was a horrible idea," Ben muttered, but Rey saw a small smile upon his face.

As they reached the ship, Ben set her onto the ground. He moved to the ship's door and pressed a control, opening it. He then scooped her back up and stepped up into the dark of the ship, the door closing automatically behind them.

He carried her into the front section of the ship, setting her down into her usual seat in the pilot's chair. As he did so, he stood over her a moment, his mouth opening slightly. Rey tucked herself into a ball in the chair, her eyes flickering up to his. Their gaze held for a moment, but then Ben turned, moving out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Rey asked, turning her face back over her shoulder.

Ben stopped just as he was about to turn the corner, looking back at her. "I'm going to sleep," he said. "I can't fly this thing while drunk." He turned and left Rey alone in the dark room.

She turned and stared ahead through the ship's window at the grey of the hangar outside. Her thoughts travelled back to the look Ben had given her just now, the look he'd given her earlier in the bar when she'd let her hair down. Rey realized she'd seen that look before, in the faces of men. It was the same look she'd seen on Poe's face when they'd been swimming in the lagoon, near the waterfall.

But Rey wasn't able to contemplate the thought much further, her eyelids growing heavy as she began to drift into a deep sleep.