Chapter 6
Rey was watching the porgs flutter around and occasionally roar at each other in mock fights when the door slid back open to reveal Poe, alone this time.
"Hey," Rey said. "That was fast."
"Well, Maz is good about answering the phone, even when she's juggling ten things. This time she was helping someone give birth-off-camera. Should have seen the look on Finn's face when she came into view with blood all over her," Poe said, grinning.
Rey smiled. "He's checking on Rose?" she guessed.
Poe nodded. "She's been stirring. Not quite awake yet, but we're optimistic it will be soon. I sent Chewie off to gather the rest of the Resistance from the local taverns. They'll want to be here for that, and to say farewell to you."
Rey frowned and looked at the mask of Kylo Ren. "Maz told you I need to go to him?"
"Not exactly. She said you would go no matter what we did, but she also said that we need to either lock you up or have you leave for our own safety. I don't have to ask you to know which one you would pick. Finn offered to go with you though, as did Chewie when I told him."
"You told Chewie!?" Rey said, shocked.
"Not everything, just that you would be leaving the Resistance for a special mission. I figure the less people who know about your force connection, the safer you will be. You don't have to go directly to him if you don't want to. I trust the force will guide you where you need to be when you need to be there."
Rey nodded. "Thanks, Poe. Do I have a ship?"
Poe clapped his hands together and pursed his lips. "That is something I need to work on. I can't send our best Jedi on a secret mission without a ship, can I?"
"No, you can't," Rey said, smiling at him. He was charming-handsome too, now that she thought about it. Of course, Finn was handsome too, as were several of the other Resistance fighters. She sighed. It wasn't that she wanted to fall in love, but having the force drag her on an inevitable path to Ben made her wonder what it would be like to be normal.
Poe seemed to guess her thoughts, because he suddenly cleared his throat and stepped back, as if feeling awkward. "Um, I'll get that settled as soon as I can. Do you know what your plans are? I'm going to see if we can't find a communicator like the one Maz has to send with you, so we can still check in on you."
"I haven't decided yet," Rey said. She knew she would return to Ben eventually, especially given the danger her connection was to the Resistance, but she also wanted to research more about the Jedi before she left, if only to forge a new lightsaber. "Umm… you don't know if General Organa had saved any information on the Jedi, do you?"
Poe's eyes widened. "Like, records on where they lived? Philosophy books? What are you looking for?"
"My lightsaber was broken. I need to make a new one, and if I could get any more information that might guide me… well, I need help."
Poe tapped a thoughtful finger against his chin. "You know, Leia didn't keep things on her, and the destroyed New Republic system would have been the most likely place for her to store any personal data, but there are libraries. Have you been to Coruscant?"
Rey shook her head, bewildered that he had to ask. Until she joined the Resistance, the only place she had been was Jakku.
"It's where both the Old Republic and the Empire had their headquarters. It's a nasty place to be, and it's possible the archives have already been destroyed, but it's probably your best bet for information on the Jedi. Even better, it's still such a central hub that you could probably get a ferry ride there."
"A ferry ride?" Rey asked.
"That's right, you're from Jakku. There aren't ferry rides from there to anywhere, but a lot of the bigger planets have them. Come to think of it, not sure this place has one, but we can drop you off tomorrow at another planet for you to ferry there."
"Why not just drop me at Coruscant directly?"
Poe shook his head. "There's no way to land where we wouldn't be seen, and the Millenium Falcon is far too famous to be missed. We'll need to find someplace where we can land discreetly close enough that you can walk the rest of the way."
"Okay, yea, that works."
"And I'll need to lock you in for the night… Um… What things will you need?"
Rey sighed. She wasn't surprised, but she wasn't happy about it either. "Dinner rations, extra water, and a bucket, I suppose."
"A bucket?" Rey stared at him until he blushed. "Ah, yes, a bucket. Got it. I'll come back with it soon. And Rey? Thanks for understanding. If you get into trouble, tell us, and we'll do everything in our power to get you out. Even if it's just 30 Resistance fighters in a single junk freighter against the entire First Order. You're one of us."
Rey bit her lip and smiled at him. "Thanks. That means a lot to me," she said, and it did. She had been waiting for her family to find her all those years on Jakku. She would never see her parents again, but she had found a perfect family with the Resistance.
"May the force be with you," Poe said. He saluted her and left the room. A buzz announced that the room had been locked from the outside, and she sighed.
Just because Rey was physically cut off from the rest of the ship didn't mean she couldn't see what was going on. She entered meditation and reached out through the force, feeling the lives and emotions around her. There was celebration in the med bay, and Rey could see that Rose was awake, though still groggy, and leaning on Finn with an amazed expression, as if she couldn't believe her luck. Finn, for his part, seemed happy, but nervous too, and Rey wondered once again what had happened between them while she was gone.
She would need to get that story from them another time.
The repair work was completed, if the absence of the repairmen were any indication. Chewie was back in the cockpit. Others were mingling in the lounge, talking. Their grieving seemed to be past as they went over recruitment, attack, and defense plans for the Resistance. Rey smiled wistfully. If she hadn't had her connection with Ben, she could have been out there with them, but she was also relieved in a way.
She had spent most of her life alone, and the idea of being in the middle of so many people at once was as overwhelming as it was appealing. If it were up to her, she would have her own ship and either trade or smuggle for a living, depending on how corrupt the governments were, and maybe she would tinker on the side. She was good with machines, and seeing so many working aircraft and robots gave her all sorts of ideas.
Of course, she didn't want to be alone. A companion or two would be nice. Chewbacca had been a good friend during her travels to Ahch-To, and Ben… Rey paused, considering. Ben was someone she felt comfortable with. She had a thousand reasons not to trust him, but she did, and she knew the force was a big part of that, but she did trust him. He would probably give her anything within his power if she asked, except for the First Order itself.
She shook her head, trying to imagine Finn or Poe with her instead, but she knew that Finn would drive her nuts, and Poe, for all that he was handsome, smooth, and charming, Poe was boring. However, Ben challenged her. He challenged her in combat, in the force, in her values… in everything. She would never stop evolving while at his side, and the idea thrilled her.
If only she could get the pesky First Order business out of the way.
Rey's eyes lit up as she realized that maybe she could, and she began planning.
As always, please tell me what you think. After writing The Force Likes Reylo offline, editing it, then posting it over 3 days, it feels very strange to just write whatever for this story and then post it without more than minor editing. I have no idea where I'm going and I love it! Freedom!
