Rey stood in front of Poe, swaying on the balls of her feet as she reeled from their kiss. It certainly wasn't the greeting she had expected, but it was a greeting that Rey found that she liked. She looked down at Poe's chest, smiling and blushing in response.
He chuckled to himself, as did she.
"Should we…" Rey started, looking back up at Poe's deep brown eyes.
"Yeah, we should probably follow. The council will want to speak with Luke. And," Poe swallowed his words a moment, and his face grew dark, "there's something else."
Rey searched his face. "What? Is it Finn, is something wrong?"
Poe shook his head. "No, Finn is fine. Great, in fact, and walking. But it's Kylo Ren, Rey."
Rey swallowed in disbelief. Was he alive after all?
"What about him?" She didn't want to hear the answer.
"He surrendered. On his own. We had his hearing earlier today. He's being charged with murder and treason."
"As well he should be," Rey said, almost yelling it.
"I know, I agree with you. But he's going to plead his case to the council. No doubt he has some story, some web he's weaving. I don't trust him."
"Nor do I!" Rey said, her breath now coming faster. She was very nearly losing her composure. She hadn't considered the possibility that she would have to face him so soon. After what he did to Han and Finn, and her… "Has he done anything while he's been here?"
"No," Poe said, taking Rey's hand in his, gently leading her away from the Falcon. She followed reluctantly. "And that's the other thing. I don't have time to explain it all right now, but your power with the Force," Poe paused. They had never quite come out and exactly addressed her power, and doing so for the first time felt oddly stilted.
"You won't be able to use it around him. And he around you."
"How is that possible?" Rey wondered quickly if Luke knew, if Leia had told him.
"It's these little animals, they have this sort of… anti-Force power. We know the Emperor had considered using them at one point. And when we found this out, we decided to use them to our advantage."
Rey stopped in her tracks, her blood draining from her face. "The Emperor?" Rey felt as if her voice was miles away, detached from her body somehow.
Poe considered Rey's reaction, finding it oddly panicked.
"Leia made the call. It will all make sense soon. Or, I hope it does. But the point is, they're making it so Ren doesn't try anything. That's what matters right now."
Poe gave Rey's hand a gentle squeeze in reassurance. Steeling herself for what was to come, Rey followed Poe's lead yet again. She wondered for a moment when she might feel the absence of the Force, and before she had time to anticipate it, it was simply gone. Her ties to the Force were stamped out like a wildfire in a rainstorm.
Her breath caught, and she gripped Poe's hand for support.
He looked over at her, observing her as she felt the presence of the ysalamiri. He led her to the underground bunker where all the technicians were diligently monitoring the moon's atmosphere for any First Order attacks. They passed through the main hub of the base where technicians and fighters alike tried to hide their staring.
Rey could feel their eyes on her, and wanted nothing more than to get out. With a great deal of relief, Poe continued to lead her through the bowels of the Resistance hideout and into an inner chamber, where there already was a very tense meeting underway.
The room looked like a small amphitheater, with seats in a perfect circle around a recessed landing. Little did Rey know, but this was the very spot that Kylo Ren was to be tried for his crimes in the days to follow. For now, it was a meeting place for the top members of the Resistance: the council, the generals and admirals, and upper-ranking officers.
They appeared to be walking in on an already intense discussion.
Leia was speaking. "We found the journals, and gleaned enough information that led us to believe that the ysalamiri were worth looking into," she said directly to Luke, who sat next to her.
"The Emperor didn't use them, so why should we?" Luke asked, pensively. She might not have been able to read him through the Force, but Rey could already guess what Luke's stance on the little creatures was.
"Because you weren't here!" an angry voice from the back said. A man with a white beard spoke, his eyes blazing. "Meanwhile the Hosnian system was destroyed. Millions of lives, perhaps billions, just wiped out. And where were you? Off on some planet, doing nothing? While we had to think of something."
Luke regarded the man, who Rey recognized as one of the surviving council members they rescued from Naboo. "My being here isn't going to change everything," Luke reasoned. "But all the same, I do hope that in this matter, when it comes to the Force, this council trusts my judgment from now on."
This quieted the bearded man. His face, though bright red, was closed off.
"I have only been back for ten minutes. This will take some time, coming up with a plan. My padawan and I will do everything we can to help the Resistance." Luke spoke confidently, but Rey could hear how tired he was. She could pick up on his distaste for war, even without the Force. When your whole life had been nothing but one conflict after another, one loss after another, you were allowed to be a little tired.
At the mention of Rey, all eyes turned to her, standing next to Poe at the top of the amphitheater. Poe put his hand on her upper back, gently coaxing her down the steps with him where they came to sit next to Luke and Leia.
"But I am to understand that you have Ben Solo in your custody," Luke continued, pushing past the quiet murmur that followed Rey's entrance. "I will not make any final decision on the use of the ysalamiri until I am able to see him for myself."
"That monster," a voice said behind Rey, "killed Han Solo, and dozens of your padawans." Rey could not identify its source.
"All the same," Luke said, his face now dark with seriousness. "I will speak to my nephew. His trial will go on as planned. There is much to discuss, but not here. If you'll forgive me, members of the council, but I have come a long way, and am quite tired. I wish to see the prisoner before I retire for some rest."
Luke rose without being dismissed, and ascended the steps of the amphitheater. Rey knew enough that she should follow close behind. She was no longer Rey the lonely scavenger. She was Rey the Jedi padawan of Master Luke Skywalker. She had feared owning up to her new role in front of Poe. So used to being no one for so long, Rey held a strong distaste for anything that drew attention to herself.
Still, she gave Poe a meaningful glance, and trudged off in his wake.
Standing there in silence, Poe watched as she disappeared through the entrance of the amphitheater. Leia drew up beside him, and spoke to him while looking at her brother leave.
"We have to trust in the will of the Force, Commander Dameron. My brother is the only one who can lead us through this dark time." She sighed, and faced her much taller, star pilot. "I fear that their arrival will cause some discord among your troops."
"How do you mean?" Poe asked, confused.
"Well," Leia said, considering the question. "I know Luke, and he will want to give my son a chance to atone for his wrongdoings. That will not sit well with many here." Poe nodded in understanding. "Can I count on you to help them keep the faith?"
"You have my word, General. I believe in them."
Leia smiled. Poe truly was like a son to her, and indispensible to the Resistance. "So do I, Poe."
AN: I am sorry for the LONG time since updating this story. I have a new flame lit under me now though that the teaser trailer came out (amazing, right?). So, I wanted to give a quick, but slightly short, update on this story, and update you all on the fact that I am going to finish this story, come hell or high water. I will be incorporating some of the things I have interpreted from the teaser trailer, but want to finish before the new film comes out.
As always, reviews mean the world to me, and so many of you give such insightful reviews that it makes my heart swell! You're the absolute best. Cheers, and welcome back to my little story!