A/N: Thank you again for the incredible reviews, everyone! I read them all and am so grateful for every single one of them! This chapter is for you, lovely readers.

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Rey stood at Vashti's right hand, now freed from her bonds. Her lightsaber had been returned to her at the queen's bidding, for she believed that she could have no better protector than a Jedi. Ben, however, was still in cuffs and remained under heavy guard, much to Rey's disapproval. But Vashti refused to release him until he had proven his loyalty—until the meeting with Hux had been concluded without a trap being sprung.

Poe was on the queen's left, his fingers restlessly tapping against the grip of his blaster. Rey knew that he didn't like this—not one bit. He didn't trust Hux, and she couldn't blame him. But the self-declared Supreme Leader had recently arrived on a small, Upsilon-class shuttle and would be accompanied by no more troops than he could fit inside it. He was vastly outnumbered.

So why couldn't she shake the uneasy feeling that had settled inside her gut? Glancing sideways, she saw that Finn was very specifically not looking in her direction. Rose, however, leaned past him and gave her a sympathetic yet encouraging smile. Rey managed a weak smile in return, but something was wrong—she was certain of it. What was the Force trying to tell her?

Instinctively, her gazed shifted to the other side of the room and met Ben's. He felt it too—the imbalance. The unnatural silence as the Force itself seemed to hold its breath. Something was coming.

The doors opened, and every head turned as Hux entered the throne room, accompanied by a squadron of stormtroopers. They had been escorted from the hangar by some of Vashti's royal guards, who marched in front of and behind them.

Though she had never met him, Rey recognized Hux from HoloNet vids, and she had heard enough about him and his despicable deeds to make her blood boil when she saw him. But she took a deep, calming breath and reminded herself to stay focused. There could be no room for error with the life of the queen—and the life of the Rebellion itself—at stake.

"Supreme Leader Hux." Vashti greeted him with a gracious smile and a polite inclination of her head, but she did not rise from her throne.

The guards blocking his path stepped aside, allowing Hux to gaze upon the queen directly. He took one step forward, his pale hands clasped behind his back and his pointed chin held high. "Queen Vashti—we meet at last. It is unfortunate that our first introduction is to be conducted amidst such…unpleasant circumstances."

"Unfortunate indeed." she responded with the slightest hint of skepticism. "Perhaps you would care to explain why you have formed a blockade around Naboo?"

He gave a mirthless laugh. "This is war, Your Highness, is it not? And you are harboring traitors. Vile terrorists who plague the galaxy with chaos and senseless violence."

Rey heard Poe shift and huff angrily under his breath, but he held his tongue for the queen's sake.

"That is how you view them, yes," Vashti replied calmly, "but there are many who would say the same of you. So, for the sake of our negotiations, let us dispense with the obligatory accusations and address the matter at hand."

Hux's jaw clenched, and his eyes narrowed. "Very well."

Suddenly, his gaze flicked to his right, and he noticed Ben for the first time. He instantly recoiled, his lip curling.

"What is he doing here?"

"He surrendered himself to us," the queen answered with undisguised admiration in her voice. "He has recognized the wrongness of his past actions and wishes to atone for them."

"Ha!" Hux scoffed, adjusting the collar of his long black coat. "He is a coward and a liar—a stray dog with no one left to claim him."

"Better to be a lone wolf with a mind of his own rather than one who has deluded himself into thinking that he's leader of the pack." Rey had spoken before she could stop herself, biting out each word with as much scorn as she could muster. "But he's not alone, and you're no leader."

"And who might you—ah yes." Hux stopped and sneered with sickening pleasure. "I know who you are. Who could have guessed that a simple scavenger from Jakku would become such a persistent thorn in our side? You would have been eliminated, weak and insignificant as you are, if not for Ren's more…carnal inclinations. It should come as no surprise, I suppose, that someone as trifling and destitute as yourself would become his trull."

The Force moved, violently and unexpectedly. Rey felt a swell of anger, jagged pulses ripping through the air as Hux began to clutch at his throat. Gasping and sputtering, he collapsed onto his knees, and the stormtroopers raised their weapons. Her gaze flicked to Ben's face, and she saw that his brow was furrowed in concentration, his dark eyes simmering. Without hesitation, she stepped forward and urgently extended her hand toward him.

"Ben."

She stared at him, aghast, when he didn't seem to hear her.

"Ben, stop!"

His eyes snapped to hers. The embers burning inside them were instantly extinguished, and Hux fell forward, released from his ruthless grip. Heart pounding, Rey looked around the room and saw that every blaster was aimed at Ben.

"No—don't shoot!" she pleaded, moving between him and the stormtroopers.

"Lower your weapons," Vashti commanded. "All of you."

Slowly, her own soldiers obeyed, but Hux's did not.

"Rey…"

A pang of concern rippled through the Force as Ben tried to step toward her, but the queen's guards held him back. Coughs wracked Hux's body, several displaced locks of hair falling over his forehead. When he was finally able to catch his breath again, his enraged eyes rose to Vashti's.

"Can you not keep your captive on his leash?"

"I warned you not to continue with your reckless insults," she responded coolly. "It is foolish of you to provoke your enemies to anger while claiming that you have come to negotiate."

Startled, Rey glanced down as a small device fastened around Hux's wrist started to beep and flash with a bright red light.

He smirked and climbed to his feet, dusting off his already spotless tunic. "Well, I'm afraid that's just the thing, Your Majesty. I haven't come to negotiate."

She snatched her lightsaber from her belt and ignited its blue blades, but the queen held out a hand and bid her to wait. Vashti's expression had grown solemn, her lips pressed into a hard line.

"Then for what purpose have you come?"

There was a wicked gleam in his gaze as it shifted to the window behind her. "You'll see soon enough."

For the first time, Rey saw a flicker of fear in Vashti's eyes as she swiftly rose from her throne and turned around. The view of their surroundings beyond the glass panes was mostly obscured by the exterior walls of adjacent structures, but high above them, a sliver of the rippling deflector shield was visible.

BOOM!

Rey gasped, feeling a disturbance in the Force that sent a chill down her spine. Seconds later, the ground beneath them trembled. The windows shook, and when she looked up again, the shield had vanished. The queen stared in horror.

"What have you done?" Poe demanded furiously.

"Your precious shield is no more," Hux gloated, "and now there is nothing preventing my forces from obliterating the entire city."

Anxiously, Rey glanced back at Ben. She knew that look—he was planning something.

"This is your final chance to surrender," Hux went on gleefully. "If you do, perhaps I will consider sparing your pathetic lives."

Poe drew his blaster in an act of shameless defiance. "We'll take our chances."

Scowling darkly, Hux jabbed his finger at the rebel general. "Kill them! Kill them all!"

"Look out!" Poe cried, tackling Vashti to the floor behind her desk as blasterfire peppered the throne and shattered glass.

Rey sprang into action, deflecting a series of shots from Hux's pistol, and he quickly backed away from her. The stormtroopers advanced, covering him, and Vashti's forces moved to defend their queen. Red and green bolts flashed by Rey's face as she ducked and twirled her blades, taking down two of Hux's men. A moment later, she heard the deep thrum of a crossguard saber igniting behind her. And then Ben was fighting at her side, having freed himself from his cuffs and retrieved his confiscated weapon.

"We have to evacuate the city!" Rey called to him over the ringing of blasterfire.

"They'll be wiped out by the blockade!" he shouted back, thrusting his silver blade through the torso of a stormtrooper. "We need to call for reinforcements!"

"Already done!" Poe announced, bracing his blaster on top of the desk as he fired.

"What?" Vashti exclaimed. "I never approved—"

"I'm sorry, Your Highness! I did it as a precaution!"

"Well, for once, I suppose I'm grateful that you decided to take matters into your own hands!"

After Force pushing a trooper into a nearby column, Rey saw the last one get gunned down by the queen's guards. Now only Hux remained.

"I suggest you surrender, Supreme Leader," she growled.

His nose wrinkled with disdain, but he dropped his weapon.

"Cuff him," Poe ordered.

Two of the remaining rebel soldiers did as he commanded, and Rey deactivated her saber. Deep rumblings could now be heard outside the palace, in addition to the screaming of TIE fighters and of living beings as the First Order began to bombard the city.

"They won't destroy the palace with Hux still inside," Ben said, "but that doesn't mean they won't burn everything else in their path."

"We've got to rally our forces," Finn declared urgently. "We have to save as many people as we can."

Vashti nodded in agreement. "I will deploy my pilots and security forces."

Ben suddenly lowered his head and looked toward the stairs. Concerned, Rey stepped closer to him.

"What is it?" she asked quietly.

"They're here," he murmured.

Her brow furrowed. "Who?"

"The Knights of Ren."

Rey's eyes widened. "Inside the palace?"

He nodded.

"Then we have to stop them."

Quickly, she turned and addressed the queen. "Your Majesty, Ben believes that some very powerful, very dangerous Force users have entered the palace. You must remain here, where it's safe, while we go and confront them."

"Then you'll want to take these," Vashti replied, retrieving two comlinks from inside her desk.

Rey smiled gratefully as the queen approached her and held out the small communication devices. "Yes, thank you," she said, accepting one for herself and handing the other to Ben.

"Finn, Rose, and the others are going to assist the troops on the front lines," Poe told her, "but I'm staying here with the Security Forces to ensure that the queen—and our hostage—remain unharmed."

She nodded. "We'll stay in touch. Good luck—to all of you."

Finn's gaze met hers, but he glanced away. She swallowed and sadly hung her head, then looked up again as she heard him grunt irritably. Rose had sharply jabbed an elbow into his side, and he eyed her grumpily, massaging his wounded ribs. Finally, he looked at Rey again and cleared his throat.

"Uh…yeah. Be careful."

She managed a small smile in response before turning toward the stairs. "Let's go, Ben."

He fell into step beside her, but just as they began their descent—

"Rey!"

She paused and glanced back. For the first time since he had learned the truth—the first time since he had realized that she lied to him—Finn had allowed his anger to fade. His features were open and earnest again, as she remembered them.

"May the Force be with you."

"You too," she answered warmly.

It was their tradition. Every time they parted ways before a mission, one of them would say it to the other. Those simple yet profound words were always enough. And as Rey departed the throne room, her steps felt lighter. She stood straighter, held her chin a little higher, and reminded herself to have faith. That they would be victorious. That this time, their calls for aid would not go unanswered. That help was on the way.