Finn experienced a familiar sinking feeling.
The petal girls continued to create their mottled white path and the parade advanced towards him, step by step, as he watched, frozen in place. At last they reached him, one white petal settling onto the toe of his shoe, and the girls withdrew to either side. The woman in black stepped up to him, the dense black veil hiding her eyes even at this close range.
"What do you think?" asked Rey.
Keep it together, Finn. "Nice. Very nice."
"Nice?" her glare sliced through the veil. "It's fucking spectacular."
"You said you wanted to keep a low profile," Finn whispered, loudly.
"Yeah," she pointed at the veil. "Low profile. But with style."
Finn squinted involuntarily and pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to relieve the pressure. That headache was coming on nicely. "Are these girls going to be around all night?"
"No. They're almost out of petals," she sighed. "Unscheduled visit to the ladies room. Wow, that was a real team effort, I can tell you." She looked down at the petals at her feet and back at the dotted white trail that wandered across the polished stone of the casino floor. "You think the petals are a bit much?"
"Yeah, a bit."
"My darling FN," she said. "You keep this Skywalker grounded. What will I do without you? Ok, no refill on the petals. Keeping the girls at the back though," she added. "You wouldn't believe how much this thing costs. Don't want it snagging on something or some dirty droid rolling over it."
She moved closer and fussed with his lapel. "You look fabulous, by the way. Stood on the balcony, the lights of Canto Bight behind you, I was quite overcome for a moment there..." she paused and pouted.
"I'd been there for a while. Wondered if you'd stood me up."
"No!" she protested. "I had a few Interviews, you know."
"Ah yes." There she goes. Took her all of one minute to get to it. "Most awesome person in the galaxy."
"No," she corrected him. "Not the most awesome person. Most awesome thing. Period."
Finn chewed this over for a moment. "So you're more awesome than that artifact they found near Rakata Prime? Billion years old, reads your mind and creates inter-dimensional gateways to your true heart's desire. Powers itself by harvesting gravity waves from binary black holes?"
"Yup," she declared confidently.
"Ok. You do have your moments," Finn conceded.
Chimes announced an incoming call and one of the flower girls presented a phone to Rey with a curtsey. "Oh. The Council. I have to take this." She walked to a corner of the balcony that was hidden from the casino floor and set the phone on the surrounding balustrade to read the message projected above it.
"Congrats on finding a part of Tantalus, they say. They never told me there was more than one part," she tutted. "Excellent work both of us. Blah, blah, I'm so great, etc. Ah - they have a location for the other half. Let's see where we - sorry - I am off next..." she directed a gesture at the phone, requesting it to display the attached schematics.
"That was fast. How did they find- " Finn began, but stopped, dumbstruck by the projection of the world that hung in the air before them. "Whoa. What the fuck?" he breathed.
Rey lifted her veil to get an uninterrupted view, eyes wide in disbelief. Surely it had obscured her vision, or there had been a glitch in the imaging of some kind. But the image persisted. There was no mistake in what it was showing.
"Finn," a tension in Rey's voice as she struggled to understand what she was seeing. "What is this?"
"I don't know. It doesn't make any sense," he replied, brow furrowed in confusion.
"Here," he pointed to the rust brown half of the planet, "is a desert world. But here," he pointed to the other half of the planet which was a verdant green, "its a forest or jungle world, but..." he stopped, unable to go further.
"But they're both on the same planet." Rey completed the paradox for him. "I've never seen anything like it."
"It's a kind of..." Finn groped for words. "Multi-Terrain world."
"How is that possible?" Rey said, unable to look away from the multi-hued sphere before them. "How can you have desert and forest on one planet? It's against all natural laws."
"It's breaking my brain just looking at it." said Finn, turning away from the image, but it could not be unseen.
Rey reached out to the casino floor, using the Force to whip a drinks tray out of the grasp of a serving droid and into her hand. She positioned the tray to block out the green part of the planet's image.
Finn exhaled in relief. "Desert planet. It's a desert planet. Ok."
"That's better." Rey composed herself. "The objective is on the desert part, so I only have to worry about that. I can ignore the forests. Just pretend they don't exist."
"I'm not sure I can," he was overcome by a feeling of disquiet, something tugging at his soul and senses, protesting at the wrongness of the situation. "Rey, this isn't right. Don't go."
"I don't like it either," she deactivated the phone's display and looked away, folding her arms around herself as if chilled, though the evening air was warm. Her voice was quiet and burdened by doubts that she'd never shared with anyone, though she'd come close recently, so very close. "But I have to. They depend on me. Everyone's depending on me. What can I do?"
"You could do what's right for you, for once. Go somewhere else. Anywhere."
Her dark eyes met his, and the words they whispered in silence formed a plea that filled the world between them, surrounding and connecting them, twisting Finn's heart in a way he struggled to identify, emotions as unexpected as they were painful.
And for a moment, they were alone, the glamour and buzz of Canto Bight a few steps and a thousand light years away, just the two of them, a boy and a girl together in the night beneath a billion stars. He found himself beside her, his hand on her arm, with no memory of how and when he'd moved to her, just a need to banish her fears and feel her smile again.
"It doesn't matter where I go, Finn. I can't run from the Dark," her voice subdued, resigned, "It's always with me. You've seen it."
"It's the part of me that wants to go there and find them waiting so I can kill them all, every single one. It whispers to me at night about how good that would feel."
Finn searched for words that would carry her away from here. Words that would make her see that she could break free and rise above all of this instead of falling deeper. But they faltered and died on his lips; how could he defeat the truth that this struggle was something he could never fully understand. It was hers alone.
She held his gaze. "You can't help me. Nobody can. And anyway, you're gone, remember? It's not your business anymore."
Finn sighed and looked away. She was right, he was getting out because it was the right thing to do. He had to look after himself, and she would be fine. She was a survivor, more than capable of handling whatever the universe threw at her.
"Come on," he snapped out of the moment, "I booked the table. The restaurant's through there."
She lowered the veil and lifted her chin to resume the regal demeanor demanded by her outfit. "Excellent. You go ahead and I'll follow," she waved him on. "Don't want you messing up my petals."
Finn led, slowing his pace to adjust to her stately procession of petal scatterers and train bearers. Yet again he was reduced to being part of her parade. He heard her muttering in a tense, low voice and glanced back. She was alone, so he guessed it was Solo again. She didn't seem to be enjoying the conversation. Lovers quarrel? How do you break up with a Force Ghost that can drop in any time, any place, whether you like it or not?
As their path wound through the main casino floor, Finn realized that it would take them dangerously near a bank of slot machines. He looked behind him, ready to divert her, or physically take her down and drag her away if necessary, but thankfully she was distracted, head down, the grim downturn of her mouth visible under the veil.
They arrived at the entrance to the restaurant, to be greeted by the maitre'd, a tall, slender Kaminoan dressed in gold and black; the casino style. Beyond, the interior was dark and hushed, diners from every corner of the galaxy consuming lavish dishes every bit as varied and exotic as the clientele.
The maitre'd guided them to their table, discreetly located in an alcove, lit by candles.
Rey looked to the window overlooking the racetrack and another empty table for two.
"I want that one," she pointed.
"Apologies Madam," the Kaminoan began, "but I'm afraid that table is reserved for-"
"That's my table," she cut him off with a wave of her hand.
"That is Madam's table," the alien assured her, motioning her towards the table with a slight bow.
Finn groaned and rolled his eyes extravagantly. Rey sniggered, barely succeeding in keeping her composure as they followed the stately figure of the alien to the window table, where they took their seats, the attendants arranging her train and skirts before retreating from the room.
"I hate it when you do that," Finn said.
Rey burst out laughing, unable to hold it any longer. "Oh come on, it never gets old."
"It does, it's really-"
She waved her hand. "It never gets old, FN."
"It never gets old." he agreed calmly, then widened his eyes in distress. "Fuck! Stop that shit!"
Rey convulsed with laughter, veil dancing a shimmy across her eyes.
The neighboring diners glanced over at the disruptive pair, and Rey raised a hand again, only for it to be caught by Finn.
"Rey! No abusing the civilians."
She relented, lowering her hand and Finn looked to the heavens. That headache was here to stay, and she'd not even had a drink yet. "You're the worst."
"But seriously," she chuckled, "It's the best Force skill, hands down."
"It's an abuse of power. And a waste of your talents."
"It's got us the best table in the place."
"What would Luke and Leia think?"
Her eyes fell, the smile gone. "Spoilsport," she tutted and removed the veil, setting it down on the table. "Come on, FN. I'm having some fun. There's very little light in my life these days."
"Well, you're getting rid of me," he teased.
"Exactly."
What did she mean by that? She was sad to see him go? It had been her idea, as he remembered.
After making their orders, they received a carafe of Tuskan wine; the real thing, not synthesized. Finn watched her as she sipped from a crystal glass and looked out at the race track, quiet for a moment, then smirking to herself. Probably planning some new Force/Finn-abusing prank. Gods, she thought she was so hilarious. Sometimes she was. Or at least, Finn corrected himself, she could be quite amusing when she wasn't being a pain.
She looked down at her glass and chewed her lip, still oblivious to his gaze. Now he considered it, under the soft lighting of the restaurant, she looked good tonight. She was wearing cosmetics, a rare event. That dress, at first glance absurdly elaborate, was rather elegant, or perhaps she made it look that way. Occasionally he was taken by surprise, caught in a moment where the years and familiarity were forgotten and he saw her anew, not Rey the Scavenger, or Skywalker the Savior, but just a girl, and then he had to stop and catch himself from falling into something deep and dark that he might never find his way out of. He wouldn't miss that. Not at all.
Relax Finn, enjoy the evening. When the hell else are you going to live like this on someone else's credits. Make the most of the opportunities before you. However, does sitting in a fabulously expensive restaurant, dining with dodgy zillionaires, watching fathier races, make you part of what you vowed to pull down? Part of what Rose wanted to put her fist through? Not if it was just for one night, he decided. A reward for services rendered. He took a sip and watched the gamblers below as they celebrated victories, commiserated losses.
"This is really cool," Finn said, looking around. "Why have we never done anything like this before?"
"Always too busy working," she replied. "Surviving. Fighting. What a ridiculous bloody life we lead."
Finn lifted his glass, "To a ridiculous bloody life. Long may it continue."
She clinked hers against his. "Cheers. Although your life is going to be a lot more boring without me to spice it up."
"Says who? I've got plenty lined up."
She shot him a look over the top of her glass.
"You doubt me? I'm looking forward to doing my own thing. I've been trailing around after you and Poe too much. I need to get out there and start my own ventures."
"I don't doubt you, really. You'll do great," she looked at him thoughtfully, "You'll be better off without me."
"Oh definitely." Did she really mean that? She was harder to read when she was quiet.
"And what about you?" he asked, "Better off as well?"
"Absolutely. Of course," she took another drink. "It's such a pain having someone to look after. I work best alone."
He looked at her dubiously.
"Really," she assured him, "Alone is my thing. I survived for years by myself, remember."
"Bullshit. You were never happier than on Ajan Kloss, butting heads with Poe, hanging out with me and Chewie, taking long walks with Leia."
"Whatever," she scowled. "Anyway, the Council has lined up some new assistant for me already. Poor guy." She produced the phone and brought up a message, displayed an attachment and turned it to face Finn.
It showed an image of a man and some accompanying text, but calling the specimen before him merely 'a man' was doing him a terrible disservice. One foot rested on top of a huge vanquished beast of which only a small part was shown, as he stared purposefully into the distance, eyes narrowed and indomitable, scanning the horizon, ready for the next challenge. His dark dreadlocks and cape flowed dramatically behind him, blown by winds that could never bow him. His clothing appeared to consist mainly of leather straps and pouches designed to accentuate pecs carved from polished dark stone and all 27 of his gleaming abdominal muscles. In the background, storm clouds gathered, his mighty frame unable to contain the passion and violence within, which spilled out into the world around him to shape its elemental forces.
"Wait. This is his Council ID photo?" Finn asked in disbelief. His looked as if he'd been caught stealing at 3am after a 3 day bender.
"Yeah. Impressive isn't it."
"His name's really Lazor Stormbold?"
"That's what it says. Not as good as Skywalker. Better than 2187."
Finn ignored this running joke and coolly turned his attention to the racetrack. "Ok. Well. Have fun then," he mumbled.
Rey was unable to contain a sly grin. "Finn. My darling FN. You're not jealous are you?"
"Of course not. It's a dirty job. He's welcome to it."
"Don't worry. They all look like that until some Sith lops bits off them."
"I'm not worried," Finn dismissed her, casually watching the races below.
"You realize you lasted longer than the previous three combined? Although this one looks like he has some stamina..." she mused, eyes wandering over the image of the titan before her.
"I do realize," Finn interrupted. "So I better get while the going's good."
"To getting out while the going's good," she raised her glass, "Oh, how I envy you."