Chapter 40

"The ship's clean. I did a full sweep. Didn't even find a tracer," Teva said. He patted the underbelly of the ship to emphasize his point. "The make and model is one of the top five most common ships on the market too. No one should suspect a thing. Did you pick up anything in your night sweep?"

Rypo shook her head. "Nothing useful. Banto was particularly distressed, but I was too far away to determine more than that things were not going the way he wanted."

Teva snorted. "Hardly a surprise. It's obvious that he's no longer the favored one. Well, if you're set, let's get on board and take off."

Rypo hesitated and bit her lip.

"What is it?" Teva asked. "You're beautiful in plain clothes, if that's what you're wondering."

Rypo glanced down in shock, as if just now realizing she didn't have her standard black knight garb on. A blood red long tunic covered up a black knit turtleneck and black leggings, which were tucked into her standard issue black boots. Her long, curly black hair had been tied into a messy bun on her head. She looked like a creature of the night, and Teva smiled in amusement at the contrast with the relatively innocent woman underneath. "I had forgotten," Rypo said.

"Then what's the matter?"

Rypo hesitated. "I'm not sure I could properly pretend to be your wife."

Teva barked a laugh. "Don't worry about it. You are my girlfriend, right? We'll just stick with that, and you can be yourself. Except names. We'll need different names since Rey's companions know ours. Call me Brann. It's my first name, after all. Brann Teva."

Rypo smiled gently at him. "Brann Teva, huh?" She was quiet a moment, and then joined him on the ship and closed the hatch. "My real name is Indy Ryce-Potts."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Indy," Teva said, offering a hand.

"Likewise, Brann," Rypo said and shook his hand.

Teva pulled it to his mouth and kissed her knuckles gently. "Let's go," he said and released her hand.

Rypo gazed at the spot he had kissed. "You enjoy touching me," she said.

Teva smirked. "Well, I do like you. It's normal to want to touch the person you like."

He got the ship cleared for flight, brought them outside the hangar, and, after making sure Rypo was buckled in, brought them into hyperspace.

"And now for the wait," Teva said as the stars streaked by them.

Rypo unbuckled and stretched in the seat beside his. "It would be normal for me to touch you then?" Rypo asked.

Teva looked at his partner and felt the hairs all along his body stand up in anticipation. "Yes, it would."

Rypo reached out tentatively, then withdrew her hand. "I feel silly."

Teva smiled through his disappointment. "It's okay. Don't rush yourself. I can learn to become satisfied with elbow jabbings. I will simply have to make more inappropriate remarks."

Rypo bit her lip, then reached out and grabbed his hand tightly. "Is this okay?" she asked him.

Teva laughed, thrilling in the knowledge that she had reached out to him this time, even if he had goaded her some into it. "It's perfect."

Some time later, they arrived at the Resistance fleet. "Message for General Poe Dameron of the Resistance. My name is Brann. I've heard you're in need of help. Well, I'm a skilled fighter, and I would like to join the Resistance. Over."

Rypo gave him a funny look.

"What? Did I overdo it? Is there some more proper way to join up?"

Rypo shrugged and smiled at him. "We've never done a mission like this before."

"Yea, normally it's get close, let you do your mind-reading thing, kill whoever we need to, and then get out."

"Greetings Brann. Turn off all weapons and prepare for the tractor beam to take you aboard," came a voice over the com.

Teva followed orders and sat back. "Well, that was surprisingly easy."

Rypo snorted. "It's probably a trap."

"You're right," Teva said. "Yet, I can't think of anyone I'd rather die beside than you."

Rypo gave him an askance look and turned her direction back to the view outside. Teva grinned. He found it hard to be upset at much of anything now that he was with Rypo. Sure, he wanted to help the First Order and the Resistance find peace, but his mind was on the woman next to him.

As they entered the docking bay, they saw Rey and Nighwitch waiting for them along with Finn, Rose, and someone he didn't know. No one else was in sight. The ship landed. Teva lowered the ramp and walked out with Rypo at his side.

"Hi there, folks. Would one of you happen to be the General Poe Dameron?"

"Drop the act. They know who you are, Teva," Nighwitch said. Teva raised an eyebrow at both her words and her attitude. He had never seen her so distraught.

Teva stepped in front of Rypo, shielding her with his large frame. "Is that so?" he said. Rey hadn't seemed the type to go on the offensive, but he had been wrong before.

The unknown man stepped forward and offered a hand. "I'm General Poe Dameron. Your... master informed us of your mission and asked that I might work with you."

"Did he?" Teva said, glancing at Rypo.

"General Poe's telling the truth, at least," she said. "What happened here?"

"Master Kylo lied to us!" Nighwitch said.

"He didn't lie to you… he just chose not to share everything," Rey said in the tone of someone who's had to repeat herself several times. She looked at them next. "I'm bonded with him… through the force."

Teva frowned at Rey. "With who? Master Kylo?"

Rey reached out and grabbed something where there was nothing, and then Master Kylo was in the room with them. Teva's eyes widened, and Rypo stepped closer to his back. "What sorcery is this?" she asked.

"The force," Master Kylo explained. "We're not certain how it happened. We became bonded after the destruction of Starkiller Base. Snoke took credit for it, of course, but he's gone and the bond remains."

"Bonded?" Teva asked.

"They can see each other from across the galaxy… communicate and interact at any time," Finn said. "They can even exchange objects."

"And life," Rey added. All heads turned to her but Master Kylo's. "We experimented with the porg the other night."

"So no matter where you are in the galaxy, you can reach each other?" Teva said.

"Yes," Master Kylo responded.

"That is amazing." Teva turned to Rypo and bit his lip. He wished he could have that kind of connection with Rypo. Then again, if Rypo hadn't been interested, it would be a nightmare. "So, if you can transfer life, could you just toss all the officials opposing the treaty through to the First Order?"

Poe snorted, and Finn's eyes lit up with delight. "Okay, I like him. I really like him."

"That is the extraction plan," Rypo said, ignoring Finn's comments. "Passing us from Rey to Master Kylo through the force. That's… that is amazing. These three know of it… anyone else?" she asked, gesturing at Rose, Poe, and Finn.

Rey shook her head. "They're the only ones I trusted enough, except perhaps Chewbacca," Rey said, gazing at Master Kylo.

"Who's Chewbacca?" Rypo asked.

"A wookiee," Finn said at the same time that Rey answered, "His uncle," while looking at Master Kylo. Teva snorted. He had heard of the famous Chewbacca that had flown with the even more famous Han Solo, who was Master Kylo's father, but Rypo clearly hadn't.

"A wookiee's his uncle?" Rypo asked. Both Finn and Poe snorted, while Rose seemed surprised.

Master Kylo gave Rey an exasperated stare while she smiled boldly at him, and Teva found himself grinning too. He could definitely handle supporting their love.

"We're getting off track," Master Kylo said. "Everyone knows each other now. Rose and Finn, will you have trouble working with Rypo and Teva given your prior encounter?"

"Your ankle all healed up?" Teva asked, sticking his hands in his pockets and looking at Rose.

Rose turned to face him, and while she seemed wary, her eyes held no malice. "Yes, thanks. Alice, or Nighwitch, or whoever she is… she actually was the one to heal it. She did a good job," Rose said.

"I didn't know you knew how to heal," Rypo said, looking at Nighwitch. Teva hadn't either.

"You two hang out. Sometimes Hama-Ki and I would hang out too," Nighwitch said quietly.

Master Kylo sighed, and all eyes turned to him. "Okay, so it looks like everyone can handle working together. Do we have a plan for convincing the rest of the Resistance to work with the First Order in establishing peace and order in the galaxy?"

Everyone looked quietly at each other. Teva had known they would be looking for ideas when they arrived, but they had only just gotten off the ship.

"I liked that guy's idea of just tossing everyone who disagrees to the First Order using the force," Finn said.

Teva grinned at Finn despite the scowls Rypo and Rey were sending both of them.

"As appealing as the idea may be, any method involving brute force will not lead to a sustainable solution," Master Kylo said.

"But, it could lead to a temporary one," Rose said.

"Temporary isn't bad," General Poe said thoughtfully.

Teva snorted. No wonder the Resistance was in such a mess if this is what their leadership looked like.

"I'm confident we can come up with a better solution," Rypo said. "Nighwitch, you've been quiet. What are you thinking?"

All eyes turned to Nighwitch. "We need something that would provide a common goal for the First Order and the Resistance. The union between Master Kylo and Rey is what brought us together today. We need something for tomorrow that everyone would be invested in."

Teva shrugged. "Do you have something particular in mind?"

"An academy for force users. An academy for all force users. No more of the jedi and sith and light and dark nonsense. A place for force users to belong, learn, and feel safe from the politics of the galaxy so they're not pressured into these extremist roles that will pit loved ones against each other in this vicious cycle of death and destruction."

Teva considered her suggestion, and he could tell the others were thinking it over too. It wasn't bad. Especially if the school also invited speakers from both the First Order and the Resistance. He had wondered, at times, if the restriction against intimacy was to prevent force-strong children from being used as pawns.

"It's something to make happen, but is it enough?" Rey asked. "I'm the only Resistance force user that I know of."

Nighwitch's shoulders sank, and Teva stepped forward. "But there will be more force users. It's obvious that you and Master Kylo are heading in that direction, and…" he paused as he considered that Rypo might not be ready to think that far ahead yet. "There will be others. There will always be others. The force works in mysterious ways."

Poe clapped his hands together. "And if a force academy cuts more deeply into the First Order's power, that's all the more reason for the others to agree."

"So what do we say? Let's have peace with the First Order in exchange for having a neutral academy for all who are force sensitive? Isn't there more to it?" Rose asked.

"It's a start, and I would like to address them, if I may," Master Kylo said.

Poe sighed. "You know what? Why not? Absolutely nothing else has gone to plan. Go for it."

"But let's make sure your extraction plan works first," Rypo said. "Just in case anyone needs a quick escape."


So... I finished writing Sugar. You've got two more chapters after this one, and I'll post them slightly more than 24 hrs apart to avoid the update glitch and hopefully get to see your reactions between chapters.

Please let me know what you think! Much thanks for all the feedback. Y'all deal very well with my hunger for reviews when I mention it. :)