Star Wars: A Bond Awakens
Chapter Four: We Lost Rey
"Where's Rey?" Ora asked Maz as she walked out of the castle.
"Luke's lightsaber called to her. Rey is a Jedi."
"No surprise there," Ora remarked, "But where is she?"
"She ran off into the woods-"
Before the little one could say anything more, Ora ran off trying to feel Rey's Force. The young scavenger was afraid. She could feel it.
Ora ran harder, catching a quick glimpse of Rey running deeper into the woods. Rey finally stopped to catch her breath, and Ora came running right up to her side.
"Why are you following me?"
"Because there is trouble coming, and I wanted to make sure you are okay."
Rey scrunched her brows but didn't say anything.
Suddenly, BB-8 came running up to her seeing if she was alright as well.
Rey merely shook her head. "You must go back BB-8, you're too important. No. I have to leave."
Ora's eyes went wide. "Leave? Rey, there isn't anything on Jakku. If you've been waiting for someone for that long, maybe they aren't coming back. Maybe you have to find them yourself? But you can do it with me and Han and Chewy. And it's clear BB-8 really wants you to come too."
"No," she said sternly. "I can't. I have to go back."
Up above them zoomed dozens of First Order ships and barracks. Chills ran down Ora's spine and Rey's eyes started watering in fear. She looked at Ora to do something, but she wasn't sure anyone could do much of anything. Ora thought hard, then looked at the gun tucked in the band of Rey's outfit.
"You have a gun. Take it out and be prepared. Let's get back to the others."
Rey nodded, and they both ran back to the castle with tie fighters flying fast overhead. She began to feel something strange in the Force, something strange in her. She remembered the letter Luke wrote for her all those years ago; how there was a bond between Ben and herself. Then she realized it was him he was feeling. He was very close.
BB-8 and the two young women stopped at the edge of the woods watching Maz's castle being blast to crumbling pieces. The tallest tower came crashing down on the statue of Maz, putting it all to pieces. Ora felt angry again, like everything was just being taken from her. Why couldn't she receive anything? Why couldn't anything stay constant for her? For any of them? The First Order destroyed Ben, they destroyed the Republic, they took Rey's family away, they destroyed the temple, they destroyed the rest of the Jedi.
Fortunately and unfortunately, there was no time to dwell on such negativities for there was a stormtrooper receiving orders over a communication device. Rey struggled to hold her gun up as she started blasting at the white-armored trooper immediately, but there was only a click and no blast.
"Oh shoot, the safety," Rey whispered, struggling again.
Ora switched her saber on, unsure whether she could actually fight. She never really had to and Han didn't want her to ever use it. She was to be hidden and kept safe. If it had gotten out she was a Jedi, she would have a bounty on her by the First Order. It had been nearly a decade since she used this. The only practice she had was with the Marksman and that was just a remote, not an actual living thing.
The trooper shot at them, but Ora was able to deflect it not so easily. She felt panicked just as much as Rey was. There was a vibration in her saber letting her know she just barely deflected it. It was quite clear how very unpracticed she was.
It took Rey only two shots, thank the Force, for her to hit the trooper right in the shoulder. He fell to the ground, still, and Rey looked at the out-of-practice Jedi with sadness and fear in her eyes.
First kill.
But she recovered herself and shot at a few other troopers who were aiming at them.
"Don't," Ora said. "Just run."
And they did.
The trooper was chasing them down. BB-8 let out some distressful beeps while Ora tried combating the energy beams from the blaster. She missed almost every time.
"It's clear you haven't used that thing in some time," Rey panted as they continued running.
"Yea. Haven't used it much." Ora kept right behind Rey to try and keep her back burn-free from the shooting. She wasn't sure how the scavenger was running so well with all the loose cloth wrapping and flying around her. Ora slowed only slightly so she didn't get caught up in it.
Still running.
Ora turned around quickly, feeling the trooper quite close and managed to stick her lightsaber right through him. He dropped to the ground hard. Suddenly, the half-trained Jedi stopped.
"What are you doing? We need to keep going. There are more, I'm sure," Rey said in a tizzy.
"I feel him coming."
Rey furrowed her brows, confused. "Who?"
"Nevermind that. BB-8, you must run and hide. You can't be caught by the Order. Go on," Ora demanded. She kept her tone harsh so he would listen without further arguments and he did. He rolled his way out of sight and out of mind.
Ora looked above, feeling, finally, a positive movement in the Force. Her smile was just as big as when Rey realized Han Solo was in fact Han Solo. "The Resistance. They're here."
Rey looked up as well seeing an X-Wing take out four Tie fighters at once. Suddenly the scavenger's smile faded. "I feel him, too."
The two women jumped down into a small ditch and hid themselves behind a fallen trunk.
"Ora," Rey whispered, "You have to go back. Back to Han and Finn. You can't be here."
"If you think I'm leaving you to fend for yourself, kid, you have another thing coming."
Rey clenched her jaw. The forest was much too quiet for either of their likings. Rey held her gun up, reading to shoot. She kept it aimed ahead of her, and Ora put forth her saber, readying herself as well. They had their backs to each other, covering more area of vision.
Ora felt him right here as Rey let out a small gasp and began shooting. Ora couldn't find herself to turn and look.
"You must go, Ora. You can't think about yourself anymore. I didn't miss what Maz said."
The half-trained Jedi began to run back towards the crumbled cantina. She hated herself then for pushing aside her protective, dutiful instincts and running away from the innocent scavenger to save herself.
But it isn't just you you're saving anymore.
She could hear the scratching sounds of the girl's blasts being deflected. She could hear the cries of her struggle and the gasps of her failures. And yet, she kept running; every step of the way, hating herself and what she had done to Rey more and more.
The fight was still raging on. Blasts were spewing every which way, and people were falling lifeless to the ground. Thankfully, more troopers falling than others. It was a death bath, but the Resistance was here now and she felt just a slight ray of hope that everything will be okay.
Ora ran to Chewy and Han immediately, tears streaming down her eyes. She had never cried like this in front of anymore, but she couldn't help it.
"Han!" Ora yelled. "I'm so sorry! I left her. I left her all alone and I shouldn't have, but I did and-"
He didn't answer her, he only stared straight behind her. Ora turned in the direction she was looking, watching the hooded figure carry an unconcious Rey on board of his black command ship.
This was all her doing.
"No!" she yelled. She tried focusing on the ship, running after it with such blurred vision, but Chewy groaned and grabbed her arm.
Only the stormtroopers looked in her direction at her fit of screaming, and Finn did just the same, only he wasn't being held back. He ran and ran as hard as he could towards the ship, crying out "No!" over and over. On the way, he threw the blaster he was holding down, trying with all his strength to sprint as fast as he could, but it was too late. The ship closed up and took off into the sky.
"NO!" Finn screamed. "REY!"
Ora looked away saddened and ashamed. She saw Han's face and he was angry, but tried to sympathize with the rest of them. It wasn't working all that well for him.
Finn ran back. "Did you see that? He took her. Ora, you were supposed to protect her and you left! This is your fault. You should have stayed, and she should have run back. Not you!"
Han waved a hand for them to be quiet. A transport landed right in front of them and opened up with Resistance soldiers walking out to asses the damage and injuries. C3-PO walked out to greet Ora and Han, but Ora wasn't having any of his rambling chatter. She immediately walked past him and hugged Leia with all her might, feeling she had somehow betrayed her too.
"I'm so sorry, Leia." Ora repeated it over without explanation, but somehow the general didn't need one.
Leia hugged right back, "Don't worry, child. Everything will be alright in the end. You know that."
She shook her head. "Not if the First Order isn't annihilated." There was an anger burning in her now, but Leia put a hand on her cheek to calm her in a gentle and motherly way.
Ora knew she needed to see Han, so she backed away for a moment to let them see each other.
Whenever Ora visited Leia, it was always without Han. He seemed to avoid her as much as possible, feeling like a failure, she assumed, what with Ben gone and having a drive to travel so often. Leia, on the other hand, buried herself so deep in being general and leading the Resistance, that she too felt like it was her fault for not only Ben but for a crumpled, breaking marriage.
"Different hair," Han said awkwardly.
Leia smiled at his trying. "Same jacket."
Han shook his head. "No, no, different jacket."
Lies. Ora actually managed a smile.
Chewy walked over, groaning his greetings and giving the general a big hairy hug.
"I saw him," Han said. Ora looked away then. "I saw our son. He was here."
Ora walked towards the Falcon, leaving them to their private talk.
Sitting on the bench in front of the holo table, she took out Luke's letter again, reading each word carefully as if it was a lifeline. I need you to put yourself physically at a distance, but stay in connection with him through the Force. She furrowed her brows at this. She recalled a time when both herself and Ben weren't paying much attention in their lesson and Luke punished them by separating them for two days. They hadn't seen one another at all, but they find a way to contact one another. They could speak to each other through the Force. They began speaking to each other that way much more often, through one another's head, but when he started dancing with the dark side, Ora recalled, he slowly kept her out.
Ora sighed, feeling betrayed by him. He could have spoken to her these past years, but he hadn't bothered. She was now furious.
The Jedi closed her eyes, searching the galaxy for Rey's life force. Rey.
Ora could feel Rey react, but she didn't know what to do with it. At least Ora knew she could project her thoughts into someone else's.
Looking at the letter, she read that one heavily weighted line over and over. That is the only thing that will bring him home.
The only thing.
Love.
At this present moment the idea of such a thing seemed stupid, ridiculous.
Ben, don't hurt her. Please, do not hurt her.
That was all she could manage to push through the Force. She couldn't find the strength to search and project further.
Ora. His voice was low and whispy. She fell off the bench in surprise. The last thing she expected was for him to talk back to her. But he did. He answered her, and now she was on the floor having fallen off the bench.
"What are you doing on the floor?" Han asked, walking into the lobby.
She quickly got up, dusting off her leggings.
"Look, the general wants to talk to you. She wants you to travel with her to the base."
"I'm not traveling with you?" Ora asked, feeling slightly hurt. He must be more upset than she originally thought.
He shrugged, but smile at her, "General's orders."
"So you aren't mad at me?"
He chuckled, giving that handsome crooked smile of his. "No, no. Just worried, I guess." He gave her an awkward hug, but held her tight. "But we sure as hell are having a talk when we get to the base," he said raising a brow, trying to look at her sternly like a father. He failed at that sometimes, but Ora loved him for trying.
Ora walked off the Falcon, making her way the general's ship. Leia greeted her at the front entrance and led her to the back of it where there was privacy for them. The ship took off just as the two women sat down at the table by the window. Ora glimpsed out to see the crumpled castle being left behind, soldiers still tending to the wounded. She was sad again.
"How are you feeling Ora?" Leia asked.
She looked at the general, the one whom was as close as a mother to her as she could be. Ora sighed. "I feel like I'm weak, like there was so much more I could have done, but instead of doing something to help, I just let everyone down."
The general smiled and laughed even. "I know it's hard not to, but you must try to remember that you can't do everything and not everything is your responsibility."
She nodded. "But I left Rey behind."
Leia gave her a sad smile. "You did. And can you tell me why you left her?"
"I couldn't face him...I couldn't face Ben." Ora looked away from Leia, unable to make eye contact.
"Ora. I know there is so much more to it than just that. What's the real reason you left?"
"Rey didn't want me to stay." Ora had little doubt that Leia would be very impatient at this point because she was doing everything she can to avoid the reasoning Leia was trying to draw out of her. But this was Leia Organa, a very patient women to those she cares about most. And after her son turning to the dark, an even more loving and patient mother who loved so unconditionally that Ora wondered where she hold all that love in her tiny being.
Leia made her tone lighter now, trying to make Ora feel happier and making sure she knew that it was okay to talk to her about anything. "Now why would this scared scavenger girl who has no family and hasn't had any friend in years want a fairly well trained Jedi to leave her when someone was about to attack her? I would want as many helpers as I could get to help me fight against the Order if I were her. So tell me, why would why be so insistant on you leaving her? Or maybe she was simply wanting you and somebody and else to be safe? It wasn't really about Rey, and it wasn't about you, was it, Ora?"
Not so surprisingly, Ora hadn't the time to wholly process Maz's implications, but now she did. She thought hard about it. She thought about how there was this tiny little being growing inside her and how she could no longer be selfish and wanting, but now she had to give up everything to make sure this child would be alright and grow up well and safe. She thought about who the father was and how she wanted him to know but at the same time didn't want him to ever know, didn't want anyone to ever know. She now felt a strong maternal instinct to keep him or her close and guarded. She didn't want the child to feel any pain, and she didn't want them to know the dark side. Only the light.
"She wanted to keep the baby safe," Ora managed to say. Finally, she looked into Leia's eyes with a smile, "Han must have mentioned it."
She laughed. "Of course he did. He is very protective of you, Ora. You may not see it, but he does want the best for you. Especially knowing how hard it is now to have any kind of normal life.
"I think simply knowing where I came from shot normal out of the ship window." Ora chuckled.
"Well, I would like to make a request, if I may."
"Of course, you don't even have to ask," Ora said, laying a hand on Leia's.
"Well, I talked to Han and I would love for you to stay permanently with me. Han and Chewy would of course visit, but I don't just want to keep your child surrounded by guards, I promise I'm not trying to control anything like that, but I do need someone to help me with the Resistance. A sort of co-leader. You would have your own quarters. Your own living space, and privacy. I know that's important. With the job, you would give suggestions, advice, give a different point of view, and maybe some insight..." she trailed off.
"You want me to use the connection I have with-" she cut herself off, "And give it to the Resistance?"
Leia looked sad. Even she felt like she was betraying her own son's privacy, but they both knew some things had to be done to stop the First Order. Still, Ora couldn't say yes.
"I can't gaurantee insight, but I would happily do everything else."
"I understand." She stood up and Ora did too. The general gave her a gentle hug, and Ora felt like despite not having a blood family, she couldn't ask for a better family than Leia and Han and the rest of the Resistance.
"Well, we've all had a rough day. You can rest in this back room. I'm going to talk to the pilot."
"Thank you, General," Ora said, smiling.
"Oh, don't bother. Leia, Ora."
She smiled bigger right before Leia left the room.
The young Jedi laid down on the bed, pulling the covers over her. She closed her eyes, searching again.
Rey, are you alright?
It took a few moments, but Ora was happy that Rey broke through and answered. Yes.
Ora shut her eyes and drifted off to sleep.