Chewie still refuses to look at Ben. Luke only studies his nephew when Ben's otherwise distracted, but Rey sees.
With them all aboard the Millennium Falcon and Rey, Luke, and Chewie in the cockpit, Rey finally decides to broach the topic. "Luke, what does it mean if someone's having dreams? Of another Force user?"
"Specifics, Rey. They help."
"Well, Ben had a dream about me before Jakku. Before we'd even met. We couldn't have been bonded yet, right?"
"I would assume not," Luke says carefully.
"So why would he have a dream about me?"
"I'm guessing it was a Force vision," Luke says. "They happen, sometimes. I've heard my father was… afflicted with them. They're like prophecies, but subject to change as all predictions are. They can't necessarily be relied upon."
What was your dream of? she asks Ben.
He dredges it up from his memories. Himself, in his chambers on board the Finalizer, praying before Darth Vader's decaying helmet. And beyond the windows, instead of the menagerie of stars and planets, was the sands of Jakku, and Rey.
That's it?
That's it.
"Are you going to talk to him?" Rey asks, peering at her mentor.
Stop, Rey, Ben insists.
No.
"Of course," Luke says. "But… you remember the story I told you, Rey, about how—"
"I think you should save this conversation for Ben, face to face," Rey interrupts.
"You are so much like Leia," Luke tells her, and Chewie grunts in agreement. Rey's face burns.
"On that note." Luke rises, his hand brushing Rey's shoulder as he exits.
Rey glances at her copilot. Not yet. She can't ask Chewie to talk to Ben yet. She can sense the agony emanating from the Wookiee.
"Yes, General?"
"Supreme Leader." Hux bows, hating himself for the news he's about to deliver. "Bazine Netal has made contact with us."
"Indeed. And?" Even through the hologram Hux senses extra gravel in Snoke's voice. Could the Supreme Leader be forced to use his powers in the Force already? Hux hopes, but it doesn't matter, thanks to this stupid mercenary.
"She has word that Leia Organa, the girl from Jakku—Rey—Luke Skywalker, and Ben Solo are on their way back." Essentially, it was a platter of Force users for Snoke to pick from.
"Do not ever use that name!" Snoke roars, rising and swooping his neck downwards to glare at Hux. "How dare you, General! You forget your place." He swipes his arm, and the hologram slices through Hux like an icy wind.
My place is right where you are, Hux thinks hatefully. "My sincerest apologies, Supreme Leader. That was the name Netal used. Perhaps because it's the name the Resistance used."
Snoke sits back, appearing satisfied, but Hux knows his mistake will creep out eventually, will haunt him until Snoke dies. If he ever dies.
"Authorize a strike force," Snoke says.
"Supreme Leader, would it not make more sense to wait?" Hux suggests. "Until the Starkiller is—"
"The Starkiller is years away from becoming a reality, General! We cannot afford to wait years."
No, Hux thinks. You can't. I already have been waiting for years. "With all due respect, it's only months away, Supreme Leader."
"Enough! I am halting all operations on that infernal base until my wishes are carried out!"
Hux freezes. He can't let this happen. His plans cannot stall.
"Authorize a strike team," Snoke says. "Tell them to make certain, this time, that this princess who styles herself a general dies. Tell them to kill Luke Skywalker, as well. And tell them to capture the girl and Kylo Ren alive."
"Of course," Hux says, voice slick and cold. If Kylo Ren survives this strike and is indeed captured, Snoke will be infinitely harder to kill.
No, they will have to continue operations on the Starkiller. Because that might be the only weapon powerful enough to kill Snoke.
"Ben."
Ben lifts his head to see his uncle standing in front of him. Poe and BB-8, and R2 and Finn power down their Dejarik game.
"Rematch later," Poe promises.
"They probably paid him because we were winning," Finn says to R2, who bleeps in agreement.
They trickle out, and it's just Ben and his mother and Luke.
For the first time since Ben destroyed his uncle's academy, they face each other, and Ben wonders what Luke could be thinking. Was there any chance he remembered that boy who listened, rapt, to his stories? Or did he just see his best friend's murderer?
"I'm sorry," Luke says.
Ben wasn't sure what he expected, but it was not that. "What?" he squeaks.
"I encouraged him to explore the Dark Side, Leia," Luke admits, looking to his sister. Ben watches as his mother's face drains.
"No," Ben insists. "I was already—before you—"
"I wanted to see if the myths of a gray Jedi were real. If they were possible. When Ben asked me about it, I—I encouraged him. To satisfy my own curiosity," Luke confesses.
"Snoke was already taking me down that path, though!" Ben says. "He suggested I ask—he said you might have useful advice—he said it would be a good way to cover—it was me, not you."
"It was me," Mother says. "I should have warned you, Luke. And you, Ben, but I wanted to protect you. I thought I could handle it. I thought I could shield you from Snoke."
"What are you talking about?" Luke asks. Rocks pile in Ben's stomach.
"When I was pregnant with you," Leia says, looking to Ben. "I had a vision. From the Force. I saw Snoke trying to draw you to the Dark Side. I knew he was always there, but I thought I could—I thought—I hoped—"
"It's neither of your faults, though!" Ben shouts. "It's mine. I made those choices, on my own. It's my fault."
Months ago, the thought that Snoke had singled him out before birth flattered him, stoked his ego. Now, it nauseates him.
"Snoke met me in my dreams," Ben says. "From the time I was four years old."
"The nightmares," Mother realizes.
"He chased them away," Ben corrects. "He said he could help me…"
Luke frowns. "Do you think Snoke sent you those nightmares?"
Ben feels in the Force but can't tell. "He could have. Maybe. Some of them."
"Snoke is a master manipulator," Mother spits.
"But it's not either of your faults," Ben says. "Uncle—I'm sorry. I know the words can't—"
"I forgive you, Ben," Luke says, taking his hands and looking at him with something like respect, something pure that Ben doesn't deserve. "And I ask for your forgiveness as well."
"The gray—"
"No, not for that." Luke swallows. "You grew up knowing the story of how I ran away from Yoda to save your mother and father. You knew how I never gave up on my father. But you must have thought I gave up on you."
Ben blinks. "You didn't?"
"I tried to," Luke says. "Because I may be a Jedi, Ben, but I was so tired. So tired of watching the Dark Side take and take and take from me. I gave up on myself, on everything I knew to be good—I went to find the Jedi temple to assuage my own guilt, convince myself that maybe the gray Jedi were real and it wasn't all my fault—get peace from that, but it never came."
Ben reaches out for his uncle, and Luke clutches him, peers at him like he still can't quite believe Ben's back.
"Ahem." Luke finally pulls away and studies Ben with a glint in his eyes. "So, I'm sure your mother's already asked, but you and Rey…"
"I have not, because I have tact, Luke."
"I love her," Ben says quickly, glancing at his mother.
Luke smiles, his hand clapping Ben on the shoulder. "Take good care of her, or I might have to intervene. She is the granddaughter of my first mentor, you know."
"She told me," Ben says. His namesake. Her grandfather, the mentor to his grandfather, the one his grandfather struck down. "Our family histories are complicated," he says aloud.
That's okay, she answers.
Luke and Leia exchange something of an embarrassed look. Ben doesn't even want to know. And then they're both smiling at him, like they're happy for him, proud maybe, and he feels so unworthy, because as happy as it makes him feel, it's still tempered by the realization that his father should be sitting by his side instead of his uncle, and the only reason he's not is because of Ben himself.
Are you sure he doesn't know? Rey asks. He did like me an awful lot.
Come here, he requests.
"Now, really!" shrieks C-3PO as it marches into the room. "Master, Princess—General—are you aware you have two eavesdroppers?"
Poe pops his head in. "We're not really eavesdropping."
"Just maybe to the parts about Rey," comes Finn's voice.
"You sneaks!" Rey accuses as she enters. She smiles at Luke. "Isn't this where my grandfather gave you some of your first lessons?"
"It is," Luke confirms. He swallows and looks back at Ben. "Would you and Rey want to practice?"
"You're offering to train me again?" Ben manages. So soon? Teaching Rey and Finn what he already knows is one thing, but growing stronger in the Force himself—he wants it, and it's the fact that he wants it that scares him. Because he doesn't trust himself.
I'll be here, Rey reassures him, and she holds out her hand.
He takes her hand, lets her pull him up. "Finn?" he calls.
"Show Luke," Rey interrupts, grabbing Ben's lightsaber from his belt and holding it out.
Finn concentrates, and the lightsaber wavers and flies into his palm.
Mother's jaw drops.
"Oh my," gasps C-3PO.
"Ben taught me," Finn offers, looking to Ben with a smile.
Surrounded by so much love, so many smiling faces and giddy droids, Ben can't remember what ever made him fall for the Dark Side in the first place.
And then he remembers the Senator, and the New Republic.
The memories surge once they land on D'Qar. Fear grapples with him. They're going to want my head.
Rey slips her hand in his. He tries to jerk his away. You shouldn't—
I'm in love with you, Ben Solo. I know you have to face what you've done and I can't face it for you, but I can walk next to you. She squeezes his hand.
A low growl erupts behind them. Chewie appears, still refusing to look at Ben, who cringes.
"Let's go," says Leia, descending first off the ramp, with 3PO. R2 and Luke follow.
"We're going behind you," Poe says, grimly clutching a blaster. Finn nods and BB-8 purrs.
Chewie snorts and shoves Ben so hard his hand wrenches out of Rey's grasp and he almost falls to the floor.
Rey groans and helps Ben up, but as they descend the ramp, she notices Chewie walking directly behind Ben, giving out the impression of a guardian.
"You're back!"
"Luke Skywalker! It's Luke Skywalker!"
A female pilot—Jessika, Rey remembers—rushes to give Poe a hug. Her nose wrinkles when she sees Ben, who keeps his head low and his shoulders slumped. His lightsaber is safely in Leia's hands.
"Finn, we're all so glad you made it," Jessika gushes.
"Thanks to this guy," Finn says, nodding to Ben, who flinches.
"Well, if you can change…" Jessika shrugs. "And Bazine, she used to work for you too, right?"
A black-lipped, beautiful woman emerges from the crowd to smile at Rey. Chills skip up Rey's pine, because for whatever reason, she doesn't trust Bazine and knows that, with her hand clutched in Ben's, she has no reason not to.
We'll keep an eye on her, Ben says.
"Kylo Ren," Bazine says. "I must admit I never thought I'd see the day."
"Ben. My name's Ben."
"Right." Bazine flashes a smile. "It's good, though, isn't it? Both of us escaped."
Rey's not certain how much a mercenary needs to escape, but it makes sense that the First Order wouldn't easily let go of anyone they'd worked with.
Rey sees something else flash through Ben's mind. She's the one who gave us up on Takodana!
I'm sorry.
It's okay, Rey says.
"General, he cannot be allowed to stay alone," a man Rey recalls as Wexley says.. "Even if he helped Finn escape."
"I know," Leia says. "Rey can keep him in line." She gives Rey a smile of not just maternal care, but also confidence, and Rey realizes just what this show of confidence means, just how much trust Leia is putting in both her and Ben.
"And my brother will be the next door over," Leia adds.
That night, as Rey sleeps with her skin pressed against Ben's, she hears him gasp and moan in his sleep. She shakes off her blue dreams to shove him awake.
"What's wrong?'
He faces her. "Nightmare."
"Snoke?"
"I don't think so." He traces her face, but she can tell he doesn't want her to see the dream, and she's irritated. She could press, search for it, but she doesn't want to do that.
Neither of them drifts back to sleep for hours, Rey wondering what was in the dream, because he won't let her see, and Ben wondering and fearing how he could have a dream where he lost Rey to the Dark Side, to Snoke.
She's here. With me. We've chosen the Light, he reminds himself.
Oh, have you? Have you truly?
I have. I have. I have.
"What can we do?" Phasma asks.
"I didn't come this far to let Kylo Ren ruin everything again!" Hux rants, pacing back and forth.
"Hence why I asked what we can do," Phasma snaps. "He's ruining—he's sacrificing stormtroopers on a foolish mission. We can and will wipe the Resistance out with the new Starkiller Base. There is no reason for this mission besides getting back Ren and the scavenger girl."
"Exactly!" Hux seethes. Snoke is cutting their manpower simply for his own devices. This is not what the First Order needs.
"Any ideas?" Phasma prompts.
"I'm working on it, Captain."
"There might be nothing we can do," Phasma says. "Besides wait and see what becomes of this mission. Maybe we're wrong. Maybe Snoke is vital to the First Order and if he's stronger—"
Hux wishes he had Kylo Ren's ability to choke someone. "He is not vital to the First Order! The Force isn't vital to the First Order!"
"General, I don't recall you ever complaining when Ren's interrogation techniques worked—"
"I do recall you complaining when Snoke decided to sacrifice more of your troops!" Hux hisses. "Minutes ago, in fact." His blood boils and infernal heat sweeps through him, throttling him. "Or was that all an act? Is this all a trap? Are you—"
Phasma removes her helmet for the first time in Hux's presence. He's startled by the strong, determined face under there. She's younger than he imagined, unscarred but marred with fury. "Don't ever question me again."
Hux nods, stunned into complacency.
"As much as any of us can trust one another," she spits, fully aware of the irony of them two traitors discussing trust. "You can trust me."
"We're doing this for the First Order," Hux says.
Her eyes glitter. "No. I'm doing this for the First Order. You're doing this for your vision for the First Order, which I happen to think might be beneficial. For now."
"For now?" Hux demands. "So I can't trust you."
"Right now you can. And if there's ever a day you can't, I'll warn you first, General."
"I suppose—while we wait—" Hux hates conceding. "I can find our more about the Emperor, since he supposedly killed Darth Plagueis but obviously did not. Maybe there will be something that can help us."
"How can you be so sure he's changed?" Jessika quizzes Poe.
He chugs blue milk, dawn's soft gold falling to the ground. "I don't know. Rey seems pretty certain of it. Finn even. And I trust them, so." And there's the way Ben looks at Rey—I love her—he does, Poe knows he does, because it's the same way Poe looks at Finn. "How are you so sure what's-her-face has changed?"
"She's given us good information so far, about the new Starkiller. Some people are still treating her strangely, though. Like they're suspicious., which I get, I mean, I definitely get it, but I feel bad for her."
Whatever Bazine is facing, Poe doubts it's anything compared to what Ben's dealing with. Not that he doesn't deserve it.
"Maybe Finn could talk to her," Jessika suggests. "He might be able to help."
"You want me to ask him?" Poe knows Finn would probably jump at the idea. Finn likes being useful.
"Yeah, and maybe you can ask Bazine too. Sometimes I think she thinks I hover too much."
Poe snorts. "Okay, then." He rises.
"You're going now?"
"Yep!" Poe lifts his empty glass in the air as he heads off. BB08 rolls up behind him, chattering about how Rey and Ben and Finn are all practicing with Luke and doesn't Poe want to go watch?
"I've got things to take care of. Important things," Poe says, winking at the droid. "You can come, if you want."
BB-8 pauses in the hallway and sheepishly bleeps out that it would rather be levitated by Force users or whatever.
"Fine, fine. I get it. I'm no fun."
BB-8 squeaks.
"I'm kidding, BB-8! Go on."
BB-8 sticks out its stinger, but Poe dances out of the way. "Don't hesitate to use that thing on any of them if they drop you!" he hollers as he searches for Bazine.
BB-8 insults him before driving off.
"Her room's that way," Admiral Ackbar directs Poe.
Poe knocks, hearing Bazine talking in a strange tongue inside. "Bazine? It's Poe, Poe Dameron."
Silence. Then, she opens the door, surveying him with a creased brow. "What do you want?"
"Jessika suggested I talk to you." This is probably now how Jessika wanted him to start out, but Poe doesn't care. He wants Bazine to know she can trust him. He smiles. "Can I come in?"
She steps aside to let him into a chilly room, sparse and small.
A radio blips and crackles.
"So," Poe begins.
"Netal," comes a voice, hard and steely. "The strike team will be landing within the hour. You know your orders."
Poe freezes, and the chill from the room evaporates in comparison to the chill emanating from his own bones. "What strike team?"
"Get Ren and the girl."
Poe grabs at his waist for his blaster, only to realize he never grabbed it this morning. Shit. But Bazine has one, and she's pointing it directly at Poe's forehead.
"Make a sound, and I'll kill you," she hisses, her tongue protruding from her mouth ever so slightly, like a snake.
Poe swallows and shrugs. "You'll kill me anyway." He lunges at her, expecting to hear a shot go off, feel a blaster burn its way through his body, but nothing comes. He crashes into Bazine, and her fist collides with his jaw. The back of his skull slams into the wall with a crack.
But Poe scrambles back to his feet only to realize that Bazine is clearly trained to fight, and she's fast and lithe and merciless. He knocks her down only for her to bite his forearm and knee him in the groin. Gasping, Poe feels his hair yanked back, his shoulder slamming into a corner, a sharp corner, and then Bazine is on top of him and her hands close around his throat.
He gags, and air's right there, he can feel it, it's cool and fresh and ready for him, but he can't suck it in, and his lungs are dying, and his brain is burning, and his eyes swell with pressure, and still she doesn't let up. His fingertips tingle, his toes.
Is this how I die?
Poe thinks of his mother, his father, General Organa, and Finn. Steeling every last ounce of energy, he bucks his legs and throws her off him, but he can't run. Air floods his lungs, and he's still gasping, still wheezing.
A blaster slams against his temple.