Merry Christmas!
Chapter 28
Sidious
Hux washed his face, savoring the cold water over his eyelids. Blindly, he grabbed a towel and mopped it over his features, his eyes spotting the gleaming platinum ring etched with the ebony symbol of his household. He wanted to be with Veela, wanted to see her grow fat with his baby, but he knew that she would not survive another miscarriage if it was brought on by her anxiety.
He tossed the towel onto the sink and slipped the ring onto his finger. There will be plenty of time to be a father, He told himself, Especially with Ren and the Resistance gone.
His commlink beeped, prompting a disgusted exhale before touching it.
"Supreme Leader, we are ready to launch on your orders, sir," Colonel Cutter announced.
A smile touched his lips, and he turned it off. Finally, He thought, It ends today.
SWSWSW
Ikher Dawn
Rey sat on the edge of the bed, watching Ben as he slept. His hand was pressed against his forehead, and the blanket was positioned just so so that if anyone should come into the sleeping quarters of the Millennium Falcon, they wouldn't be surprised. She couldn't fathom why anyone would want to come in, what with the two Knights of Ren positioned outside the entry ramp.
She pulled her robe around her shoulders, and exhaled. Every instinct she had insisted she go to the Med Core. Something wasn't right, there had been a change. An inward change she couldn't describe. The worst part was she couldn't tell if it was the Force or if it was her own body. She could barely remember when the bleeding between her legs came, how frightened she was of it happening each month until she, well, didn't die of blood loss and so got used to it. Rey stood and donned her trousers, (noting that her blood hadn't come again). She paused, the ties slipping between her fingers.
What if the lack of her blood meant that she was…
Ben's breathing changed, and his hand moved away from his face. "Hey," He gurgled, "What's wrong?"
Rey swallowed and looked back to him, "Nothing's wrong, Ben."
He sat up, the muscles on his chest tightening for a moment. "Liar," He smirked. He crawled to her and pulled her back onto the bed so that she could feel his muscles around her, and smell the salt upon his body. "I can always tell when you're lying."
She turned to look at him, their noses brushing. "If I tell the truth," She breathed, watching his eyes flicker between chocolate to honey, "Then what's to stop the other knights from hearing me?"
He froze, his eyes hardening for a moment, before he leaned in and kissed her. What she would have given to have lain back down with him. Such a longing tightened in her chest that she turned her body, and tilted her head, pushing her fingers through his messy black hair, willing him to lay her down against the bedding.
He pulled away, resting his hand against her shoulder to stop her from coming forward with another kiss. His eyes glittered once again and he pushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"We're going to be okay, baby," He whispered. "I promise. I'll take care of us."
His words, and his smell, brought to her mind once more a cold river in a forest. Always constant, teeming with life beyond what could be seen. Rey rested her head on his shoulder, and inhaled deeply his natural smell, seeing a house nestled in trees, covered in moss and ferns… and a little boy. One with brown hair, and deep, mysterious chocolate brown eyes. He ran from swinging bridge to swinging bridge… a lightsaber attached to his side. He ran towards her, his smile one of mischief. She knew that smile.
"Mother."
She sat up straight, a sore pressing into her stomach as the boy's voice clamoured in her ears.
"Did you see him?" Ben breathed, his voice unsteady.
"Yeah," Rey gasped, pressing a hand to her stomach and looking at him. His chest was heaving, and he swallowed hard.
"Rey, is…?" He looked to the side, the words failing against his lips.
The sound of footsteps along the interior of the Millennium Falcon caused her lips to smack shut and for Ben to grab the blanket and rest it over his legs.
"Kylo," Fraja's voice called out. "Transport is inbound."
At once, Ben's hands touched her waist. "We'll be out in a moment, Fraja."
"Yes, Supreme Leader," Fraja replied. His boots resounded in receding order until silence once again echoed around them.
"Ben," Rey breathed, feeling the sore in her stomach ebb and flow. "Ben, promise me, when we live… away from here," She turned to him, her eyes holding him, "Promise me that when the time comes, you'll stay away from those men. You will leave them and they will have nothing to do with us or our family in future. Promise me, Ben."
He looked at her, his eyes hardening for a moment. "I already did, Rey."
SW
Ikher Dawn
Rey watched as the transport ship entered the hangar with smooth precision. Ben had explained earlier that the ship was to be piloted by Rana, Koita Mathe's daughter/apprentice so that there could be an experienced sword opening the doors of the Sidious. Almost as soon as it came into the hangar, however, something felt… wrong.
"Do you feel that?" Finn asked Rey and Ben as soon as he came near to them.
"Yeah," Ben answered, frowning at the transport ship.
Rey opened her mouth to speak when the loading ramp all but fell open, emitting a single Stormtrooper with his blaster raised. At once, Ben was in front of Rey, and the Knights of Ren appeared between the parked ships.
The Stormtrooper, an officer, shouldered his blaster and shouted, "In the name of the First Order, I command you surrender!"
It was bold, Rey had to give him that, and quite amusing, but what smiles were cracked at this ridiculously serious officer's command, immediately faded.
A whistle, playful and quick, brought the knights forward as if it were some type of code to do precisely what the whistle intended: play.
"Drop your weapons!" The Stormtrooper screamed, watching as the knights removed their lightsabers and, rather than ignite them, twirled them as though they were insignificant toys, brought along in case of an impromptu stickball game.
They circled him, watching his panic grow as they moved in orbit according to his own desire. Each precise step bringing the knight closer to the prey.
"What are they going to do?" Rose asked Ben, her eyes barely leaving the scene.
Ben said nothing, he only watched them with an intense curiosity, eyes flicking to and fro from one black clad figure to another with only slight movement from his head. Rey looked over his shoulder at the knights, to her husband, admiring his intense stare. These figures, these… spirits, were like drugs to him. They would pull him into their world of intense baiting and intimidation like they did before. Like they had been designed to do.
A shot blasted across the hanger followed swiftly by a clatter, the Stormtrooper's blaster skidding to a halt only because Ben lifted his boot and stopped it: a tribute.
At once, Maa'qui leapt forward and jabbed the Stormtrooper's back before leaping back again, the Stormtrooper letting out a yelp. Then Serotti stepped forward with a gleaming obsidian knife and slashed it across the Stormtrooper's breastplate, leaving upon it a wicked scar that brought the poor man's attention back around. Brunfar was the first to ignite his lightsaber, coming forth and slicing the Stormtrooper's calves with a disturbing kerr!
"Ben!" Rey hissed, touching his waist. He turned back to her, his fascination melting the moment he moved.
He faced forward, and gave a low whistle, catching Fraja's attention. He must have flicked his eyes towards the Stormtrooper, because he didn't move any further but Fraja moved forward and withdrew his lightsaber, making a noise in the back of his throat as he neared the kneeling Stormtrooper. Rey closed her eyes when the lightsaber fell, hearing the plastic thunk of the poor' man's head as it separated from his body.
"These guys are monsters," Rose breathed, her horrified words drawing Rey's eyes open.
The hangar stood in shocked silence, watching the knights clip their lightsabers back to their sides as casually as heading to the mess hall. Rey peeked over Ben's shoulder, seeing the bloodless body of the decapitated Stormtrooper, the smell of cooked meat disturbing her. At once, Romtao and Brunfar stepped forward, took the hands and feet, and dragged the body to the plasma screened hangar entrance and tossed the trooper out, Serrotti following them with the head.
Ben said nothing. He only turned full around to face Rey and swallowed. "I'm… sorry." He breathed, loud enough for only her to hear. Or so he thought.
The knights whirled on him, a tense silence descending upon those within the hangar. A chill breeze ruffled through those present as Finn took a step forward, followed by Rose.
The sore in Rey's stomach pressed again, but she did her best to ignore it. "I forgive you, Ben." She breathed.
He was sorry, she knew that. Not for killing the Stormtrooper, that had to be done lest he start taking out their own soldiers. But, Ben's intrigue in his death. His allowance of such a gruesome thing to be made into such play, therein lied his regret and for that, he begged forgiveness. And in spite of those who felt nothing for the loss of a soldier and the manner of his disposal, Rey gave her forgiveness.
That did not mean that they were at all happy with their First Couple. Ben however, couldn't care less. He called over his shoulder, "Don't we have a ship, now?"
At once, the knights moved onto the transport ship, ready for the task ahead.
Ben turned to Finn and Rose, his look drawing them near. When he spoke, his voice was low, lower than they had ever heard it.
"There is a very big chance, this will all go to hell," He said, "When it does, you fight with everything you've got, including the Force. They don't know you guys or your fighting style, but they can guess. When it happens, you fight to kill. They won't forgive, and they certainly won't forget. Survivors will only do so to come back with a vengeance."
"You think it'll come to that?" Rey asked, her hands floating to her stomach.
He looked at her, and touched her elbows. "Better you be prepared than surprised."
Overhead, alarms began wailing in slow, agonizing, burps.
"Into the transport," Ben commanded, taking hold of Rey's forearm as the thunderous clapping of feet stampeded towards the hangar.
Rey watched as pilots rushed into the hangar, BB-8 leading the charge ahead of Poe Dameron who called out to them as soon as he saw Rey.
"Go!" He shouted as he neared. "Keep in contact as much as you can! Take BB-8 with you!"
"How far out are they?" Rey asked, stepping aside to let the droid roll in beside her.
"About five minutes. They can't see you!"
SWSWSW
Sidious
Hux marched into the Command Bridge, Colonel Cutter and Admiral Craig on either heel. "Status?" Hux barked.
"Sir, we're coming up on the Rebel fleet now!" A lieutenant answered. "They've been made aware of our presence and appear to be… gah!"
Hux turned his attention to the lieutenant who was busy typing firmly on his screen.
"They've been doing that, sir," Colonel Cutter told him before Hux could speak. "Request permission to deliver new hard drives?"
Hux whirled around, "Hard drives?"
"A security caution, sir, one of Ren's insistences. Each computer runs on individual hard drives synced to perform uniformly. It was to prevent mass hacking, sir."
"And what is this?" Hux demanded.
"Off the main frame network, sir." Admiral Craig told him. "It would be better to cut it off completely for the sake of this mission."
"Be advised, sir," Colonel Cutter warned, looking from one man to the other, "If we cut off from the main frame network, we will leave the entire First Order's empire isolated for however long it takes to get back online."
"Do it," Hux commanded, "The First Order can survive in the quiet for an hour or two."
SWSWSW
Transport KJ316
Hyperspace
Ben held Rey's hand as the ship cut through hyperspace, his grip tight as though at any moment, she would disappear. Rey didn't mind. She wanted to hold on to him, grasp the kind man that she had come to know for a moment more before the monsters they flew with perverted that image once more.
"We've got the call!" Rana called over her shoulder. It was the first time Rey had heard her speak. She half expected her to stammer, to be as uncertain of her words as she was in her place next to her stepfather. The other half was surprised that she could speak at all.
"How long have you been with Koita Mathe?" Rey asked her, seeing BB-8 twitch towards the girl as well.
She hesitated, the slightest of gasps emitting from her throat. Then, she answered in a lower tone, "Since I was taken, Empress."
"Taken from where?" Rey asked.
Again, the girl froze. It was as though she was unused to speaking about herself. Or even speaking. There wasn't much need if her stepfather was such a talent of mindreading in the Force.
"From the bloody bag, Empress," She said at last. "That's all I can remember until I got my lightsaber."
She spoke with such a finality that Rey didn't ask any more questions. She looked back at Ben, and lifted her eyebrows. He looked Rana, then leaned close to Rey, "It's his thing. He raises the orphans he makes. She's his favorite."
"What's the plan?" Finn asked, BB-8 rolling between him and Rey's knees. "If we show up without the hard copies, they'll know something's up. Even with an army, they can cut us off from the Command Center."
"And gas us," Fraja added, stroking his chin, "Let's not forget that."
"Someone needs to go to Command ahead of us," Serotti told them. "In case they call to send more troops to fight. Your thin forces can only take so much."
"Split up, then," Rose suggested. "Half of us go to Command, the other takes out the ship."
"Blow up the ship?" Romtao piped, "Seems a bit… cliché."
"You have something better?" Ben asked, lifting his chin to him.
He puckered his bottom lip, and shrugged as though the answer was so simple. "The Sidious is a mobile capitol, much like the Supremacy. We eliminate their Command, including Hux, as quietly as possible, you turn the First Order from an empire to outposts with individual sovereignty. The only communicator would be that ship. Imagine having the First Order's roaches come out of hiding to meet the exterminator?"
Everyone turned to Ben and Rey in wait. Rey inhaled, "Someone will have to go directly to Command. Someone they wouldn't kill on sight but would go straight to Hux."
Ben stopped breathing for a moment, his fingers curling tighter around her hand. "You better be safe," He growled.
SWSWSW
Poe reread the instructions on his dash, and shook his head. "Beebee Ate, you tell 'em from me they're out of their minds!"
Beneath the instructions, a second message appeared that read: I think they already know that, Poe.
He cocked his head to the side and raised his eyebrows. "No arguments there," He muttered. Quickly, he dialed in the coordinates to the Sidious, and cleared his throat. "This is Commander Dameron of the Resistance Fleet with an urgent message for Supreme Leader Hux."
He waited, watching with one eye the small screen that showed how many pilots were on his flanks, and another on the black horizon ahead of him, dotted with dreadnoughts and stars.
"Roger, Commander Dameron," A voice on his commlink answered, "Your pleas will not be heard at this time."
Poe turned to his instructions. "Yeah, I really need to speak to Supreme Leader Hugs, if you please."
"Commander Dameron," The voice said firmly, "We will not be taking messages from you or your pathetic rabble. Over and out."
"Alright, but it's more of an F. Y. I., message. Your hard drives were intercepted and are in the hands of a Jedi Knight."
There was dead silence on the other end of the commlink, leaving Poe to wonder with beads of sweat forming on the back of his neck if they heard him or not.
"This is Hux. How did you know about our hard drives?"
It was him alright. Poe grinned. "Jedi sixth sense, y'know? Kinda creepy and cool at the same time."
"The Jedi do not exist!" Hux's voice snarled.
"Yeah, tell her that."
More silence. Then, "Her?"
"Yep! You know the one. She's going to you, and there's nothing we can do about it."
"What does she want?"
"To negotiate. Hear her out and she'll give you your hard drives."
"You know it's futile. We have the superior fleet; we will crush you like the insects that you are with the greatest prejudice!"
"Yeah, dude, you're going to have to get better insults. You used that last time."
"Wha- I did not!"
"Yeah, you did." Poe grinned.
Pause, "No, I distinctly remember that I didn't – you're tooling with me!"
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are!"
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you…" Pause. "I will cut off that girl's head myself and send it back to you!" Click.
"That, I would pay to see," Poe muttered. He pushed a button and said clearly, "Heads up, Rebels! Hell can open up at any second."
SWSWSW
Sidious
Hux seethed, stalking back and forth as the girl's small escape pod floated towards them, just as it had on that fateful day when Hux had been murdered. She had gall, he had to admit, though he was less than enthused to be seeing her again considering she almost killed him in their last encounter with her wretched sorcery. But, they needed those hard drives. And the Rebels were desperate enough to try negotiation instead of outright fighting, willing to send Ren's only balm straight into the enemy camp. Such was a welcoming thought, to have all the cards come to him rather than he to them.
The escape pod floated to a halt on the hangar floor, the exhaust from it's small propelling engine hissing around it. At once, the Stormtroopers pointed their weapons at it, giving Hux some sense of calm at the sight of the stupid girl pushing open the lid of the transport and sitting up.
Hux's first thought was that she appeared to be fatter, especially around the face. She was still rail-thin, but at least now she had less bones on her cheeks, making them perfect for slapping. Hux's second thought, much to his displeasure and ever increasing anxiety, was that there was a second passenger in the transport with her, the other stupid girl who was nearly executed upon the Supremacy the last time he saw her.
At once, these girls lifted their hands in surrender, watching as the Stormtroopers neared them, blasters drawn. Hux didn't move an inch until they were searched, lightsaber taken, and Ren's Girl was safely in manacles secured behind her.
"Where are the hard drives?" Hux demanded, glaring at the Execution Girl, feeling the disgust he felt for the Resistance like an annoying glop of mud upon his boot.
"We've come to negotiate a truce," Ren's Girl told him.
"Where," Hux growled slowly, "Are the hard drives?"
Execution Girl simply looked at him, and grinned placidly, before holding up a small info stick. "Right here," She said simply.
Hux leaned away, looking from one girl to the other. "What's the catch?"
"We want you to leave all systems west of the Courescant-Dantooine line to the Resistance." Ren's Girl told him, a slight pout on her features.
Hux almost laughed. "Now I know you're mad!"
"I'm being quite serious, general," Ren's Girl retorted, her face as calm as ever. "You will have the greater half of the galaxy, and we will have an independent republic."
"Republic!" Hux spat, and turned his heel to pace around these pathetic girls. "What is a Republic? What is a Jedi? Your people voted away their right to an independent republic when my father was a boy. They cannot hold on to a cluster of ships, and you want us to set you 'free'?" He chuckled as his boots clicked against the clean floor. "I don't know whether to admire your spirit or pity you, you pathetic creature. No wonder Ren pined after you."
Her face remained calm, though Hux knew she had to strongly dislike his words about her man.
"If that is your answer," She said slowly, "Then we will have no choice but to take the entire galaxy from you."
Enough. Hux looked over his shoulder and nodded, sending a Stormtrooper for the Execution Detail. "And how, pray, are you going to accomplish that whilst headless?"
The Stormtroopers marched with perfect steps, each carrying a firy red laser axe that purred uncomfortably.
"Well," Ren's Girl grinned, "For starters, you haven't noticed that the battle's begun outside," She jerked her head out the loading port, prompting him to turn as well.
Hux's jaw hit the floor the same time his stomach did. Before him, ships were firing and zooming passed, all soundless due to the new technology.
"Secondly, you're completely deaf to communication upstairs. That lets me do this,"
Hux turned in time to see a shoe meet his nose.
SWSWSW
Keeping one's balance whilst one's hands are tied behind their back is indeed a difficult task. Harder still when one is busy kicking the daylights out of the cruelest, sniveling enemy since Rey's husband.
"Rey!" Rose shouted, yanking her attention away from the bloodied Hux. Rose had tossed aside the info stick and had used the Force to grab Rey's elongated lightsaber. Using only one of the laser sides, Rose had quickly cut away her guards and now waited, knees bent, for phase two of the plan.
Rey backpedaled towards her and lifted her bound hands, breathing a sigh of relief with the feel of searing heat against her wrists. She whirled around, took her lightsaber, split it, and handed the lit sword to Rose whilst she ignited hers and turned her back to her companion.
Gathered around them were some forty Stormtroopers, all with blasters raised. The only reason they didn't fire was moaning at their feet, a bloody heap of rubbish they didn't want to injure.
"What was step two again," Rose asked, barely turning her head for Rey to hear her.
Rey grinned. "We have your Supreme Leader!" She shouted, her voice echoing in the hangar. "Surrender now, or we will cut through you!"
The officers, distinguished only by a red plastic fin on their shoulders, looked to one another. They had no orders, they had no contact. This was beyond their protocol, beyond their training.
"Fire!" Hux shouted, earning a swift kick from Rey.
The Stormtroopers hesitated, unsure of whom to follow. One wrong hit, and their leader was dead.
A blast went off from above them, turning half of the room as six Stormtroopers fell to the glossy floor.
Rey and Rose didn't hesitate. They surged forward, and swung their lightsabers, slicing in half a combined thirteen Stormtroopers in their first swings. The rest was a whirlwind, a combination of swings, Force deflections, and jabs and screams. Rey's voice was so loud in her ears, she couldn't truly hear Rose's movement, but that hardly mattered. All she cared about, was clearing the way for Ben and Finn.
A sharp sense as strong as an arm, pulled Rey's attention away for a moment, drawing her attention to the overhead balcony. Dressed in indistinguishable white Stormtrooper armor, the presence of Koita Mathe peered in and out of a shielding corner, his aura one of deep concern.
"Get Ben and the others in here," Rey hissed. "Leave these to us."
She felt a hiss of nerves, but felt him cease firing and bolt down the corridor. She exhaled, and turned to face the sixteen that remained. They trembled, the Force ringing their thoughts in her ears. Some had families. Most didn't. They weren't going to give up, though. They were going to maintain their duty as much as they were capable. Rey lifted her lightsaber higher, and screamed at them.
SW
Koita Mathe marched through the corridors of the Sidious, saluting what officers ran passed, and shooting anyone who asked questions. As he moved, a whistle came to his lips, one of perfect gravitas of this particular mission. Three low notes slowly blown, followed by two quick lows, and a succession of high then low notes in a swooping pattern. He whistled it perfectly, even as he dialed the correct number to the secondary loading bay.
Kylo sauntered in, followed on his right flank by his new student, and his left by Fraja. Koita Mathe pulled off his mask and exhaled, then bowed at the waist. "Supreme Leader," He breathed.
"Where's Rey?" Kylo asked, eyeing him as he passed.
"Fighting fit, Supreme Leader," Koita Mathe told him. "We should join her."
"Don't like the sound of that," His student, Finn muttered.
Fraja halted before Koita Mathe, looking him up and down with a smirk on his face. "Were you the bride or the groom?"
Koita Mathe smirked, "Just because your girlish figure can't pull off white."
SW
Rey wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. New Stormtroopers had arrived, a dozen or so much like the Praetorian Guards that she and Ben had fought in Snoke's throne room. Rose could hold her own, but these guards were so much stronger than what she was used to. She could fight Ben, but not for long. She needed constant help and had already sustained a serious cut to the side courtesy of a knife.
Rey parried a sword and killed it's wielder, then slung an arm across a panting Rose. "Just breathe," She told her. "Pace yourself."
Rose obeyed, but shook at the knees. She was beyond her limits and they both knew it. What was worse was it appeared that their opponents seemed to know it as well.
They felt Ben before they saw his black figure descend from the top railing. Like blackened rain, the Knights of Ren descended upon the red and white figures tormenting their women. In a flurry of red lightsabers, along with a renewed spirited white, the knights attacked.
"Get to the command center!" Rey shouted at Rose. "Shut them down!"
Rose doused her lightsaber and tossed it back to Rey, waiting for her to recoonect her staff before touching her side that bled. She huffed, and squeezed her eyes in pain, "M-master," She gasped, looking at her hand covered in her own blood.
Ben lopped off the head of his opponent before moving towards Rose. Using the hilt of his sword, he touched her wound, inspiring an even greater cry of anguish followed by the smell of cooking meat.
"Where's Beebee-Ate?!" Rey called.
"Should be up above!" Brunfar shouted back, pointing a curved red lightsaber to the balcony.
"Where's Hux?" Ben shouted, joining Rey's side.
"He was here," Rey told him, looking around.
"He's in the throne room," Koita Mathe hollered, easily chopping in half his opponent, leaving two (he had stripped off his white armor). "It's above the command bridge!"
Rey looked to Ben, the both of them thinking the same thing. Rey whirled around, and saw Finn panting alongside Rose, ushering her towards the belly of the ship. "Sever communications!" She shouted. "Find Beebee-Ate!"
They nodded, moving swiftly forward.
The last Guard fell, leaving the Knights in a triumphant pant. At once, Ben turned to Rey, and took her arm gently. "You alright?" He asked, his face soft.
Rey nodded, "Yeah. You?"
He had blood upon his tunic, but otherwise he looked normally, save for sweaty hair and a sopping face.
"Kylo," Koita Mathe called, drawing their attention to him. He didn't look at them, he simply stared at the ground and danced his hands to the side of him as though churning the Force to work in his favor. "Send our Empress back to the ship," He whispered.
"No," Rey told him, lifting her chin. "I go where he goes."
"What is it, brother?" Romto asked, shifting his weight and wide, flat lightsaber.
Koita Mathe scoffed, and looked up. "Well, if she is determined, then come this way."
Without another word, Koita Mathe turned his heel and led them out of the hangar, leaving them to step over burnt bodies to follow. Rey held Ben's hand as they moved, rubbing her thumb over the switch on her lightsaber as she did so, waiting, itching, for the next fight.
SW
"I have to stop!" Rose cried, clutching her side and trying not to cry.
Finn let her, looking both ways down the corridor. "What's up?"
She looked up at him, her body very much spent. "Something's not right," She managed to gasp.
"What do you mean?" Finn asked, leaning into her.
"I don't know," She gasped. "Around us. With the Knights of Ren. Something's not right. Something… won't go right."
From around them, BB-8 whistled, distracting them for a moment. The moment he rolled close to Rose, his hoots became lower.
"What's that mean?" Finn demanded, looking from the droid to Rose.
"He says the Knights are up to something," Rose told him, leaning her head back against the wall. "He says he heard them talking on the ship. Something about Rey's condition being a problem for them and Kylo."
"Her, condition?" Finn asked, lifting his eyebrow. Then, a thought hit him like a torpedo. "You don't think Rey's…?"
"She could be," Rose breathed. "But that's a problem, a major problem."
"Why, what do you mean?"
"I saw it in a meditation. The reason Jedi weren't allowed to marry and still be knights was because it became dangerous for both the mother and the baby. The Force… it could, somehow, kill them both."
Finn leaned away, his innards seeming to evaporate. "'Kill… them both?'"
Rose held a hand to her stomach and looked at it. She wasn't bleeding, but she looked to be in sheer pain.
"Can you hold on?" He asked, a calm resolution settling over him.
She nodded. "I just… need rest."
"Can you make it back to the ship?"
She smiled as much as her exhausted body could allow. "Yeah," She breathed. "I can."
Finn leaned forward and kissed her, running his fingers through her sweaty hair. He pulled away, and nodded, the both of them understanding. He turned to BB-8 and dropped his hands to his sides. "Mainframe, bud. Let's do it."
SW
Hux strode into the Command Bridge, holding his broken arm as he moved. It was an unbelievable pain, one that nearly caused him to cut his bottom lip from chomped teeth
as he dragged himself in.
"What. Is. Happening?!" He demanded.
"Sir!" Colonel Cutter called, striding towards him, arms outstretched to catch him. "The Rebels are putting up a decent fight. I fear that we will be severely wounded if we do not call for reinforcements."
"Then do it!" Hux snarled.
"Colonel Cutter, sir!" A lieutenant called, "Something seems to be interfering with our communications board!"
Hux huffed his way to the railing, grabbing on with his better elbow in time to see all screens on the command bridge yank sideways in two, awful successions.
SW
Poe shouted as he dodged yet another TIE fighter, watching as the Rebel fleet held on to it's last inch of hope.
"Let's try this one more time," He muttered, punching in the right coordinates. "Sidious, this is Rebel Commander, do you copy?"
Static filled his intercoms, followed by one quick yelp of, "Hello?" before filling with unsavory static once more.
"Sounds good to me," Poe told himself. He touched his commlink, "Alright Rebels! The First Order's flying blind, let's take advantage of it!"
SW
It hurt Rey to use the Force. She tried to see ahead of her, to feel what was safe for her and Ben, but her stomach clenched uncomfortably to the point that it plain hurt to reach out into that peaceful void. She shook her head, keeping abreast of Ben and hoping against hope that nothing came against them.
"Alright, empress?" Koita Mathe asked, his eyes locked forward, blaster at the ready.
"I…" She swallowed, "Keep me informed."
"My pleasure," He breathed.
SW
Finn fired six shots down the corridor, effectively killing three of four Stormtroopers and frightening the last one. He turned his head over his shoulder to shout at BB-8.
"Talk to me BB-8, what are we dealing with?"
BB-8 turned the rotating cog several times, whistling back to him. Communications down on the First Order, He chirped. They're completely open.
"Great," Finn breathed, a blaster shot zinging by his ear. "Where's Rose?" He demanded as he returned fire.
She made it to the transport, BB-8 answered. She's waiting for us.
Finn looked out over the chamber, seeing extra fuel cells stored into this area to better aid in independent function of the generators for the mainframes. If they were blown up, if they were lit on fire gradually, then this entire ship and it's communications would be ended for good. Any lieutenant could send a distress signal to secondary flagships. This ship needed to be destroyed, immediately.
"Hurry up there, BB-8," Finn told him. "We have work to do."
SW
There were Stormtroopers guarding the doors to the Command Bridge. A simple task to handle if given the option of seven trained mercinaries and a Jedi. The moment the door opened, Hux launched himself onto his throne, his heart leaping into his chest. From his armrest, he grabbed a small, hideable blaster, and stared down the smoky corridor, waiting, ready.
Two beams of light, one red, one white, cut through the smoke.
Around them, med dressed in black, those Hux recognized to be the garments of the Knights of Ren, thundered inside with lightsabers drawn. Hux fired at them, shouting until his throat hurt, gripping the armrests of his throne.
Kylo Ren, tall and imposing, hurtled in, easily deflecting Hux's blasts aimed at him. He swung his lightsaber, and, without hesitation, sliced Hux and the throne in half from the waist. Hux hesitated, what thoughts going through him consisting of memories of his father, his dealings with Captain Phasma, Veela… and a name. a perfect name. One ready to be given to a child… his, child.
SW
Rey held up her lightsaber to three lieutenants who lifted their hands in surrender, falling to their knees away from their monitors. They could be useful later. She whirled around, her hair flying in a circle around her shoulders. It had gotten quiet, far too quiet for her taste and her stomach churned once again when she felt an involuntary twinge from the Force.
"Take your place, brother." Fraja commanded, gesturing to the General's seat, the smoking throne at the command bridge. Brunfar moved and yanked the lower corpse from the throne, even dusting it with his sleeve before moving aside.
"What is this?" Rey spat, looking from Fraja to her husband. "'Your place'?"
"He didn't tell you?" Koita Mathe's tender voice whispered, his body sauntering into her view.
"Of course he didn't," Fraja sneered, eyes locked onto the man in question's face. He wasn't answering Rey, he was answering the Knights. Ben turned, his attention on Fraja, though he didn't look at him. "You saw Rey by your side," Fraja continued "Now here she is, your beautiful wife. You vowed when you became a Knight to serve the First Order absolutely as the sole order of the galaxy, guiding our brothers forward. You mentored a new generation of apprentices that we couldn't have fathomed possible. Now here's the final portion," He gestured to the seat of command. "Take your place at the seat of honor, Kylo."
Rey felt her head shaking in utter disbelief. "Ben?" She whimpered, looking from him to the throne, then back again. "What is this? What's happening?"
"It's simple," Koita Mathe's voice cooed. "This was the deal he made with us when he first brought you onto our home. He would train you to help him reclaim his rightful throne." He stepped in front of her, sweeping his eyes up and down her frame, "And now he's done that."
Rey's jaw slackened, and her heart felt like it was stopping. Ahch-To, their training. His genuine closeness… Jakku… was that… all a ruse? What about their marriage? When he held her at night, their dreaming of a new home…?
Ben lingered, eyeing the throne, listening as the Knights as they moved around him, encouraging him to take his place upon the throne.
"Kylo," Fraja urged, "A throne can be made for our empress, brother, you know that. Just take yours, Kylo." He straightened slightly, his smile wavering. "Kylo?"
Koita Mathe's head turned, as did Romto's and Brunfar's. Serotti shifted her weight and moved to stand beside Rey, eyes focused on Ben.
"Kylo," Fraja said, his voice lowering. "Take, your throne."
"MY NAME IS BEN SOLO!"
They saw his lightsaber before they saw what he had done with it. In a blinding rage, he had swung it and thrusted until the long sabre was lodged, hilt-deep, into Fraja's chest.
Serotti let out an earsplitting scream that would have echoed throughout the ship if it hadn't been cut off suddenly. Rey inhaled sharply watching as Serotti doubled over her lightsaber. Rey turned it off, letting the woman hit the ground with a loud smack!
The Knights turned and Koita Mathe took two steps aside, lowering his chin as his eyes flinched from husband to wife. Ben was now a traitor to the cause, one subject to tribunal and punishment. And the jury just reached a verdict.
Koita Mathe, new leader of the class, made one simple movement, a twitch towards Ben, and lightsabers ignited, three Knights moving to Ben and two to Rey. Rey dismantled her lightsaber in time to catch both swinging reds fly at her.
They fought, husband and wife against an enemy so skilled, and so precise, it was like fighting a mirror. Rey gritted her teeth as she maneuvered around the command bridge, deflecting and attacking the twin nightmare that came at her without mercy and with such tact Rey had little to no time to think. She needed the Force! She needed the Force! But she couldn't fight if she couldn't focus of anything but the pain. So, she alternated. For every engagement, she had two seconds of Force sight, guiding her and giving her warning. She whirled around, and landed a solid blow to Brunfar's throat, instantly killing him.
Maa'qui, the one with the green complexion and wicked teeth, crouched down with this lightsaber, snarling and spitting before her. Rey used her portion of the Force to look at Ben. He had killed Zakar straight away, and was finishing with Romtao when he straightened, eyes ahead.
Suddenly, a pain, a blinding pain, seared through Rey's leg, weaking her opposite ankle and causing her to fall over with a scream louder than anything she had ever emitted before. She clutched her leg at the knee… until it wasn't there anymore. She looked down, inhaling sharply, only to find that her leg had been severed from the knee downward, the smell of burned and cooking meat revolting her as she inhaled, feeling the oxygen scrape her insides. Her head pounded, and she could feel cold sweat rush down her temples. No, She thought, Ben! No!
Koita Mathe sauntered around her, turning off his lightsaber, his hand dancing on his side. Maa'qui marched to her drawing his lightsaber, sword down, to his chest. "For Fraja," He growled.
Koita Mathe's hand grabbed his shoulder, halting him. "What grows within her is more important than her deeds," He told him.
Rey looked up at him, tears of pain and terror sliding down her cheeks. Her legs! The seemingly only part of her body that could propel her through the harshest days! Her freedom!
Maa'qui flashed his pointed teeth as he nodded slowly. "She's pregnant."
Rey froze for a moment, hearing the haunting reality settle over her. The reason for her lack of ability with the Force made so clear…
"Rey!" Ben screamed, eliminating Hvarthan.
Koita Mathe was quick. He had a blaster, a small one, and fired it at Ben, six shots in succession. It only took one to land on Ben's stomach.
"BEN!" Rey screamed, releasing her sorely aching leg to flail onto her back, and roll towards him. One leg might have been gone, but both were sorely aching like they both were missing. Severed nerves seared through her lower half like a thousand individual cuts coated with acid. Ben! He groaned as he clamped a bare hand over moistening brown tunic.
A shot like that should have killed him. It would have if it had been a normal man. But Ben was far from normal. He was a Jedi Master, and a husband of a dying wife. He reached his free hand out, clawed a tile, and slid himself forward towards where Rey crawled desperately to him.
An explosion erupted somewhere down below, one powerful enough to knock both Koita Mathe and Maa'qui off their feet. Koita Mathe landed on top of Rey, using his body to shield her.
"What was that?" Koita Mathe shouted above Rey's ear.
He was answered by a scream. Rey moved as best she could, whimpering as she did so, to Maa'qui. He flailed his arms around his head, clutching and releasing his temples as he screamed. Suddenly, his eye socket caved in, followed by his ear, and his perpendicular skull.
Rey let out a short scream, shock and repulse flinching her body away from Maa'qui's falling corpse, Koita Mathe's arm drawing her close as he made similar noise of disgust.
She whirled around to where Ben lay. He clutched his stomach, and he panted hard with his arm extended towards them as he had been. But, his look was one of pure, unfiltered rage that he trembled and tround his teeth together until she could almost hear them.
"Let. Her. Go," He growled.
Suddenly, the heaviness of Koita Mathe's body left Rey and his scream filled her ears. The Knight fell back and writhed upon his shoulders, gripping his temples as he panted, chest scraping against his lungs.
"Ben," Rey cried, only a hand away from her husband.
"I can save them!" Koita Mathe screamed.
Silence descended for a moment. "What?" Ben demanded, twitching his direction.
From below, another explosion, one smaller than the one before it, blew hot smoke into the command bridge.
"Feel it, Ben," Koita Mathe spat. "Now's the time to get out, and you're spent! You cannot make it and save your wife and firstborn."
Ben flinched, looking quickly from him to Rey, then back again.
Rey's vision shifted without warning. The pain wasn't easing, and she was certain that something happened besides an involuntary amputation. Perhaps she was losing the baby? No! She couldn't lose something so precious so quickly! So foolishly!
Koita Mathe gave one quick, "Gah!" before dropping his body onto the floor, letting him pant for a moment. He rolled onto his side, his eyes red from the pressure upon his head. "Let me… go, and I will take her." He panted and swallowed, then continued, "She will live until the child is born. Then I shall raise the Pure One myself. Raise him to be the master that you should have been!"
"Ben," Rey pleaded, the taste of salt was bitter on her tongue. "Ben, don't. I won't leave you! Please," She dug her fingernails into the tiles, doing her best to close the distance to him, "Don't leave me. Don't let me go!"
Ben stared, stunned, at his wife as she tried with all her might to go to him.
The ground beneath them shuddered, proving it difficult for Koita Mathe to rise to his feet, but that didn't matter. Ben's warm brown eyes met Rey's, his face a picture of torment. He couldn't watch out for the three of them, if Koita Mathe would even let them go in peace. Assuming he did, Ben couldn't lift her with his wound and carry her the miles of corridors to an escape pod, (assuming Koita Mathe didn't blow them up on his way out).
Rey shook her head, knowing the turn of his thoughts. "No," She cried, appealing to his soul rather than his mind. "No!"
A single tear rolled down his face and he sniffed. "I love you Rey Solo," He cried.
Then he lifted his hand, and Rey's world went black.
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