Chapter 9 – Vexing Situations
Ben smirked as the Resistance fighter he was sparring snapped her electrorod at him so forcefully he was forced to take a step back. A week later, the whole base had become much better at wielding weapons other than a blaster. He didn't want to brag, but he was convinced their progress was due to his instruction. He only had to correct hand placement or footwork every now and then. They'd progressed to working in groups while others practiced with the blaster ball droids, miniature droids that were programmed to fire sting beams and dart around using their repulsors. Ben had no need to train with the blaster balls, so he was sparring with the Resistance fighters in groups.
A part of him rejoiced when the other Resistance fighter in his group did a feint to his knees before swinging his electrified staff around to chop at his neck. Ben parried and returned with a powerful strike to the chest. These two fighters didn't like him at all and it was showing. It was a trivial matter to Ben; they weren't nearly as good at him so he was in no danger, but he relished the animosity and the challenge of working - however little it was - to win a fight. He'd missed this.
Ben blocked their strikes simultaneously and disengaged to hit the man's shoulder before whipping his staff around to zap the woman in the chest. They both fell back to recuperate, cursing his name. Ben chuckled under his breath and allowed them respite as he looked around at the other sparring teams.
Tawna and Sek'min were working together again, but this time coaching the base's eight children on using unpowered electrorods. The kids were having the time of their lives, whacking away at a leaf-filled dummy someone had mocked up for them as the bad guy.
Rey was also nearby, mentoring a Nothoiin and a Selkath on the fine points of using a quarterstaff. A frown rose to Ben's lips - an altogether too common occurrence these days - as he once again was faced with the confounding question which had been plaguing him. Rey was excelling in the lightsaber arts as well as wielding the Force, but she wasn't doing it to her fullest potential. When they sparred, she hesitated at times, as if expecting something to happen.
Rey demonstrated a move with the Nothoiin, slowing down their movements so the Selkath could see what they were doing. At Rey's nod, they sped up and progressed into a true mock fight. A light came on in Ben's mind as he watched Rey fluidly move to catch the blows she'd been hesitating to parry just yesterday. She used one end of her quarterstaff to block a strike before effortlessly using the other end to jab at her opponent.
Hairs raised on the back of Ben's neck and he turned as an electrorod missed his neck by mere millimeters and landed on his arm instead. He suppressed a pained hiss; even through layers of clothing, the electrorod delivered a mighty stun. Ben raised his electrostaff and blocked the fighter's next strike to his torso and retaliated with a jab to her stomach. She fell onto her back and groaned as the other fighter swung at Ben's back while he'd been focused on his other opponent. Ben reluctantly admired the fighter's willingness to suspend honor in favor of winning a fight, which would be to the death in a real situation. Nevertheless, Ben parried the blow with ease and delivered a quick attack series which sent the man to the ground, where he curled up into the fetal position.
"Good fight," Ben complimented them, smiling as they cursed him in panting breaths through gritted teeth.
Ben walked over to Rey, eager to continue his train of thought from earlier. She was better at using the quarterstaff than a lightsaber for some reason. Rey looked up as he approached, her eyebrows crinkling as she wondered what he was doing.
"Can I talk to you for a second?" Ben asked.
"Sure," Rey nodded. She raised her voice to the training group. "Let's take a five minute break!"
Everyone made a beeline for the snacks and drinks table. Today, there was fruit juice, water, and crackers. Rey narrowed her eyes at something over his shoulder and Ben turned to see the two Resistance members he'd been sparring with were still groaning on the ground.
"What happened?" Rey heatedly whispered to him.
"We sparred," Ben said as the fighters gingerly got up, supporting each other as they did so. "It was a good fight."
"I hope they think so as well," Rey said, losing the concerned expression as it seemed they weren't in critical condition.
"I doubt it," Ben smirked maliciously. He turned back to Rey, unconcerned about the fighters' welfare anymore. "Your quarterstaff. How long have you had it?"
"Oh, this old thing?" Rey brandished the aged weapon at him.
From a closer vantage point, Ben could see the wear and tear from many years of use as well as sand particles in the tiny cracks.
"I scavenged it when I was ten years old from a battlecruiser wreckage leftover from the Battle of Jakku. It took the place of this wooden staff a junk boss gave me to protect myself. I can't tell you how many countless times this staff has saved my life."
Ben wanted to hit himself in the head. He was an idiot. Rey was used to using a quarterstaff; it'd been her primary weapon all her life. Switching to a completely different fighting style was only going to hinder her development. He'd done the research on her background; he knew she'd grown up as a scavenger on Jakku. He should have put the pieces together sooner. But how to get her a lightsaber she could use? It wasn't something one could find in a supply depot. And she couldn't go around just using a quarterstaff, even an electrified one. It'd be an insult to their way of life.
Rey shifted as he remained lost in thought, her gaze following his to her staff.
"Some pieces are missing from it because I'm trying to fashion my own lightsaber," Rey brushed her fingers over the crevasses where metal plates were missing. Ben hadn't even noticed. "The lightsabers we have now just don't fit me right."
"I think I might know why," Ben said as all the pieces slid into place.
"Really?" Rey turned to him. "Why?"
Ben shook his head slightly. He needed to confirm his findings. He swung his electrostaff and sunk into a fighting pose. Rey hesitated before doing the same. Ben gave her no warning before launching into the Juyo variant of the Form VII combat style. Rey was pushed back under the onslaught of powerful, rapid strikes, but Ben wanted to see how she would fare against an aggressive and unpredictable opponent. He'd held back until now because he knew she wouldn't be able to keep up.
Ben's admiration and sense of smugness grew as Rey successfully blocked each of the quick strikes. She didn't even flinch as he completed a double feint and swung the staff at her hips. She effortlessly caught his staff and knocked it away, launching into her own attack. Ben was forced to defend against her cuts and jabs, moving backward to accomplish it. Rey pressed her advantage, adding power to her strikes, dodging the more obvious swings Ben made. The fight ended in a draw, both their staffs landing what would be a mortal blow at the same time, Rey's staff on his collarbone and his at her neck. They were both breathing hard at the conclusion of the match and smiling at each other.
"I've never seen you fight like that before," Ben remarked.
"I still lost," Rey said, pulling away.
"It was a draw. That's the closest you've ever gotten to beating me in a real match," Ben refused to let her brush off the compliment. "That was a good fight."
"Thanks," Rey brushed a runaway strand of hair off her forehead. "So what were you going to say before?"
Ben tossed his electrostaff in the designated bin. "I finally know what's going on."
He walked off, eager to put his plan into motion. Confusion lingered in the dyad, but Rey didn't call him back to interrogate him. Mixa and Sertali were right on his heels as he left the training grounds, still holding half-filled water bottles.
"What's got your tail in a spin?" Sertali asked as they passed the empty canteen.
"You know that thing that's been distracting me?" Ben questioned as he walked into the sea of tents. His guards had all noticed his distracted state of mind over the past week.
"Yes?" Sertali nodded.
"Well, I figured out what it was," Ben bypassed his tent and walked down the line to Rey's.
He'd been miffed when he figured out why she'd switched tents with someone, but he'd ultimately decided not to argue about it. Ben brushed aside the tent flap and stepped over the threshold.
"Um, Ben?" Mixa's flummoxed tone of voice didn't faze Ben at all as he entered the tent.
Rey's sleep items were neatly folded on top of the pillow at the ground cot's head, all of it pushed against the back wall. There was a ragged square piece of cloth laid out, covered with metal plates and miscellaneous tools and parts. A Jedi text was open to a page about lightsaber creation. The beginnings of a lightsaber had been fashioned out of the parts as illustrated in the book; she'd made the hilt longer than that of a normal lightsaber, but Ben could see it wasn't going to work. She didn't need a lightsaber with a longer hilt, she needed a double-sided lightsaber.
"Ben, what are you doing?" Mixa asked again, looking torn between scolding him or bodily dragging him out. "This is Rey's tent."
"I know," Ben said as he carefully bundled the patchwork lightsaber shell and tools with the square cloth. "I have a good reason."
"I'm not seeing one," Mixa said sternly.
"I'll explain later," Ben exited the tent and made his way back to the training grounds, almost vibrating with excitement. It'd been ages since he last messed around with a lightsaber. Now that he thought about it, it'd been his own he'd taken apart and modified to allow the exhaust to siphon off without unnecessarily heating up the casing.
Everyone looked at him and whispered as he stormed back onto the training grounds. Ben ignored them and went straight to Rey and unclipped both lightsabers from her belt.
"Ben, what's going on?" Rey asked, unconcerned yet curious. "We can't spar with those here." She raised an eyebrow as she saw he was holding her things in his arms.
"I don't need these to spar," Ben shook his head. "I'm going to make you a lightsaber you can actually use."
He headed for a shady spot where he could do his work in peace, grabbing a multi-purpose tool kit on his way over. He dumped everything on the grass, sat down cross-legged, and positioned all the pieces so he could reach everything easily.
Mixa and Sertali hovered over him as he opened the tool kit and picked out a hydrospanner and some small wrenches. He turned off the power supply to Luke's lightsaber and began picking it apart to get to its core wiring. Ben got a vindictive thrill of pleasure as he took Luke's lightsaber apart. This weapon had been a source of many nightmares over the years.
Ben looked up and glared at his guards as their hovering presence started to bother him. They were just standing there awkwardly and making him feel self-conscious. He didn't like it.
"Sit down or go away," Ben stared them down. "You're distracting me."
Sertali elected to rejoin the training session after a considering glance at him; she didn't stray too far and kept looking back at him.
"So what are you doing?" Mixa asked, perplexed as he sat down near Ben but out of his way.
"Making a new lightsaber for Rey. It'll be an amalgamation of these two since we don't have access to new Kyber crystals," Ben said as he pried plating off of his mother's old lightsaber. He refused to contemplate the sadness he felt at doing this. "She won't be able to fight properly otherwise."
"But you won't be able to use a lightsaber anymore," Mixa pointed out.
Ben nodded hesitantly as he realized the truth in that. "I know."
He was disappointed he'd have to give up wielding a lightsaber, but if he had to sacrifice that in order for Rey to have the lightsaber she needed, then he was willing to do it. Ben worked to combine the lightsabers, Mixa staying at his side and asking questions now and then. He didn't mind the company and found it interesting to answer the captain's insightful questions.
It soon became clear that it wouldn't be possible to connect the lightsabers end-to-end. The lightsabers' construction styles were just too different. When he attempted to force it anyway, a spray of sparks went up and set a patch of grass on fire. Ben ignored the startled cries from the fighters training closest to him and calmly patted it out. It was a setback, but he could work this out. Ben cast his mind back to his youth when he'd attended classes on lightsaber construction. Luke had brought up several options for the Padawans to attempt, everything from dual blades to the classic single blade to the double-sided lightsaber. But there'd been nothing for this particular scenario: building from existing lightsabers.
Ben considered what to do as he glared at the two lightsabers. His eyes landed on the metal scraps from Rey's quarterstaff he'd brought along. Hmm, it was unorthodox, but it might just work. Ben grabbed a hydrospanner meant for more delicate tasks and fiddled with the loose metal plates on the unfinished lightsaber shell, combining it with one lightsaber. The pieces went together as if they were meant to be joined. He slowly built the hilt together, connecting the unique pieces together and adding the other lightsaber.
He encountered a mind-boggling puzzle when the wiring refused to flow around the central core. It controlled beam strength and with two Kyber crystals contained within the casing, it was heating up just like his old lightsaber had. Ben hissed as his fingers were burned once more as he failed to reroute the wiring again. Clearly, he needed to take another approach. He was trying to segregate the two power sources, but perhaps the answer lay in combining them. It took some tricky maneuvering and several electrical zaps to his fingers, but Ben finally managed to reroute the power outputs into each other and place the wiring so it wouldn't fuse and cause a power overload.
He double-checked the shielding around the Kyber crystals and determined it was all in order. He did frown at the slight cracks in both crystals; there were differences in the hues along the edges. How had that happened? He hadn't handled these lightsabers nearly long enough to make them bleed.
"Alright, good job, everyone!" Rey shouted to make herself heard over the loud clashes of the sparring matches. "Let's go wash up and eat!"
There was a smattering of cheers and everyone burst into chatter as they stored their weapons away. Ben brushed aside his concerns and screwed the final metal plates down. Perfect. Ben picked up the hinged lightsaber and turned it over in his hands. Rey would be able to wield it as a classical lightsaber or as a double-sided lightsaber.
The Resistance group filtered out of the training grounds, eager to wash off all the sweat they'd accumulated from the training session.
"So what have you been making?" Aarzio asked as he walked up to them, having come straight from his shift at the shipyard.
"A lightsaber," Mixa said with awe as he stood up. "He made a completely new lightsaber."
"You did?" Rey asked as she joined their group.
"Yes," Ben said simply.
He stood up and activated the lightsaber. A pair of bright yellow beams shot out. Hmm, he hadn't anticipated the color change. Perhaps the cracks in the crystals and the unique configuration had contributed to it. He pressed the mechanism to swing one of the blades out and it worked perfectly, snapping into a full double-sided lightsaber. He swung it around with quick motions, slashing and jabbing at imaginary opponents. It was perfectly balanced and the hilt was long enough to enable him to change his hand positioning without worrying about burning himself. It was practically a quarterstaff. Ben ended the combat series and returned to a neutral position. He turned with a triumphant grin and held out the lightsaber for Rey to take.
-oOoOoOo-
Rey couldn't breathe. Her heart thumped madly within her chest as horror thrummed through her and blocks of ice formed in her veins. The lightsaber Ben held out to her was the exact one she'd seen in her dreams - the ones where she fell to the Dark Side and joined the First Order - and then later again on Exogol. She'd seen the vision so many times that it scared her. She'd thought it meant she was going to fall to the darkness. This lightsaber was an exact replica, down to the minute imperfections in the cobbled casing. The only difference was that the blades were yellow instead of red.
"Rey? Are you alright?" asked several voices, the most prominent among them Ben.
A hand touched her shoulder and Rey breathed in a shaky gasp as she tore her eyes away from the lightsaber. Ben gazed down at her in a half-panic, his grip harsh on her shoulder.
"Rey, what's wrong?" Ben asked urgently, his concern flooding their bond. He'd deactivated the lightsaber, but Rey still felt a sense of foreboding just looking at it.
"Nothing," Rey said, smiling up at him. It felt pained.
"You don't react like that to nothing," Ben shook his head. "What is it?"
Rey breathed deeply, trying to calm her heart. It was going to beat out of her chest. Mixa guided her towards a storage bin and sat her down.
"Why don't we give them a few moments," the captain said to his subordinates. Sertali readily nodded, though Aarzio looked between Ben and Rey with a guarded expression. Mixa led the two fighters away and stationed them at the borders of the training grounds.
"Rey?" Ben asked again.
He was going to think she was so silly. "It's the lightsaber," Rey gestured to it. "I... I saw it in a vision when I was searching for the Sith wayfinder. I dreamed of it afterward too. I was wielding that exact weapon. I'd fallen to the Dark Side and I... I did so many horrible things with it."
She shuddered as the faded memories resurfaced and she could almost smell blood and death in the air. The faint remnants of rage and single-minded purpose towards revenge and destruction threatened to encompass her and take over. Rey averted that train of thought and shoved the unwanted emotions away.
"It was just a vision," Ben said. "It's unlikely to come to pass unless you want it to, and it sounds like you don't want to go down that path." He extended the lightsaber to her again.
"I can't, Ben," Rey shook her head, side-stepping his attempt to hand her the weapon. "I can't risk it."
Ben tilted his head in confusion. Then understanding dawned on his face.
"Rey, visions are tricky things. They can show the future, but not always," Ben said slowly yet surely. "Most times, visions show possible outcomes of an important decision you have yet to make. Visions can also come from outside sources, but those sources have to be very powerful. It's up to us to interpret what the vision means."
"I think it means that if I take that lightsaber, I could eventually choose the Dark Side," Rey said. She was already tempted to use more power than she should when she reached out to the Force. Who was to say what would happen if she took this lightsaber?
"I had a vision of us after our fight on Starkiller Base," Ben took her hand, derailing her train of thought. "Snoke was dead. We were sitting on the Supreme Leader's throne, leaders of the First Order and conquerors of the galaxy."
Rey raised an eyebrow, wondering where he was going with this. That was so ludicrous.
"It was so clear. I thought that was our future," Ben said. "I was convinced of it right up until the moment you chose to stay with the Resistance after the battle in the throne room. You chose a different path and our decisions from that point on forged a future where my vision would never become reality."
"Just because I made the choice to not join you?" Rey couldn't believe so trivial a choice could create such a divergent future.
"Yes," Ben nodded simply. "So just because you had a vision of your dark self conquering the galaxy with this particular lightsaber, it doesn't mean it will come to pass."
He was making sense, but Rey was still petrified to even lay a finger on the lightsaber.
"Trust me, Rey," Ben said, holding out the lightsaber again. "It will be okay. You won't fall."
Rey nodded and reached a trembling hand out. Her fingers brushed against the warm metal and she let out a shaky breath. No urge to kill everyone and anything that got in her way. That was a good start. Ben was knowledgeable in this area and he wouldn't steer her wrong. She'd take a leap of faith and trust his word it would be okay.
"So was I in your vision?"
Rey looked up, confused and sufficiently distracted from her dark thoughts.
"To conquer the galaxy," Ben clarified.
"No, I was doing it myself," Rey said as she gave herself enough room and activated the lightsaber. Brilliant golden beams shot out and Rey gasped at the power running through her. It was more intense than wielding the other lightsabers. She pressed the switch to expand the lightsaber into its full form and it snapped out. Rey hesitantly swung the lightsaber as she would have done with her quarterstaff. The familiar metal of her trusty old quarterstaff under her fingers brought some comfort as the blades hummed; the noise was doubly loud as the blades whooshed through the air. Rey calmed further at the sense of rightness of wielding the double-sided lightsaber. Ben was right; this lightsaber did not spell her doom.
She turned with a half-smile and suppressed a laugh as she caught sight of the hurt and affronted look on his face.
"I wasn't in your vision?" Ben pouted.
"Sorry, no," Rey moved through the soothing steps of the Soresu defensive fighting style. "I conquered the galaxy on my own."
He looked so offended that amusement took the place of terror and apprehension and she let out a genuine laugh.
"I have no doubt you could do it on your own," Ben defended himself, crossing his arms. "I just thought I'd be at your side."
"Sorry to burst your bubble," Rey chuckled as she transitioned into Ataru, putting her new lightsaber through its paces. As she swung the blades in tight, controlled movements around her, it felt natural. She called on the Force and her movements sped up naturally and the blades became a blur.
"How does it feel?" Ben beamed as she ended the series. "Better?"
"Much," Rey nodded, looking at the weapon and admiring it this time now that the fear had been leeched from her system. "Thank you."
"Anything for you," Ben smiled at her softly. He turned and grabbed a three-foot electrostaff from an open storage container. He activated it and the deadly hum of electricity filled the air. "Let's see what you can do with it."
"One moment, let me adjust the power," Rey said, moving to open a panel.
Ben stopped her, covering her hand.
"No, we'll spar for real."
"We could hurt each other," Rey pinned him with a stern gaze. She didn't want to accidentally maim him. Her experience during the plague scare had taught her she might not be able to heal everything.
"We won't," Ben said with confidence. He sank into a fighting pose. "If my intuition is correct, you'll win this match. I trust you'll pull the final blow?"
"If I can land it, yes," Rey matched his pose. He really thought she could win this one? She hadn't been able to win any of their bouts so far. The closest she'd gotten was the draw from earlier.
Ben lunged without warning, jabbing the electrified point of the staff at her face. Rey batted it aside and swung at him with the opposite side of the lightsaber, slower than she would have if she'd been using her quarterstaff. Ben moved blindingly fast to parry it and swung his staff around in an uppercut to her jaw. Rey barely managed to move back in time to evade it. Her eyes narrowed and excitement thrummed through her. If that's how he wanted to play it, she would oblige! He was obviously confident in his ability to avoid the dangerous blades. Rey moved into an attack series she'd done a hundred times before. It was so much easier this time with a double-sided lightsaber; she hadn't realized how much the one-sided lightsaber had been hindering her. She was more in tune with her weapon than she had ever been before.
They moved faster and faster as the fight progressed. It was natural for Rey to divert energy from the Force into herself to power her movements and to sense where he would strike next. Exhaustion was almost non-existent as she moved her arms and legs synchronously to meet his strikes and return with quick swings and jabs designed to throw him off. She saw an opening and knocked his electrostaff out of the way and struck at his neck, stopping a hair's breadth away.
Ben stood extremely still and raised his hands in defeat.
"You win," he said, beaming with pride. "Fair and square."
Rey disengaged her lightsaber and powered off both beams, flipping it up and back into a hinged position. She smiled victoriously as she clipped it onto her belt. It was slightly heavier than both lightsabers had been by themselves, but the weight was comforting. It was right.
Rey looked to Ben as determination coursed through her.
"What's next?"
-oOoOoOo-
Rey's abilities grew in leaps and bounds. She was floating on cloud nine as she was able to best Ben at least half of the time. She was sure it would be closer to twenty-five percent of the time if Ben had full access to his abilities, but it was a far cry from the mess she'd been last week. In fact, she was winning so often that Ben had decided to add blaster balls to her training.
"I was able to best these training remotes before," Rey protested as Ben hauled two balls from the bottom of a storage bin. "Leia and I would place them along my path when we were training in the jungle."
"That's good as a start for hitting a moving target," Ben said as he called Rose over. She nodded and raised a finger, indicating she would come over after she'd finished mentoring a pair of fighters. It looked like they were having issues with deflecting. "But there's more you can learn from these."
"What's up?" asked Rose as she came over.
"I need you to reprogram these to move twice as fast," Ben requested as he placed the two inactive training remote droids on the bin's lid with a clunk.
"Sure," Rose pulled out a few tools and began tinkering with the droids.
"I don't see the point to this," Rey sighed. She could see those things coming from a mile away. It was child's play to deflect the sting beams.
"You're getting better at using the Force when you fight," Ben said as he brandished a long strip of black cloth. "I want you to harness that skill and improve upon it."
"Isn't that what I'm doing by sparring with you?" Rey was so confused; her eyes followed him as he moved around her.
"Face front," Ben nudged her back around so she was looking at Rose.
The Resistance commander looked just as confused as she adjusted the switchboards in the blaster balls. Rey shared a baffled shrug with Rose. At least she wasn't the only one who didn't know what was going through his head. Ben draped the thick strip of cloth over her eyes, completely obscuring her vision.
"We don't have a training helmet, so this will have to suffice," Ben tied the ends behind her head securely.
"You want me to train like this?" Rey laughed incredulously. "I can't see anything!"
"Exactly," Ben said as he moved back around her. "You should not be depending on sight alone during a fight. The one thing you can trust in completely is the Force."
Rey yelped as a sting beam unexpectedly hit her on the shoulder. She flailed wildly and listened desperately for the sound of the training remotes moving as she unclipped her lightsaber. She yipped again as another beam stung her on the upper thigh.
"Ben!" Rey shouted in indignation.
"Give her some warning first!" Rose exclaimed, echoing her sentiments.
"Defend yourself," Ben said without remorse. "Sense where the droids will be and when they will fire." He raised his voice. "Give her some room!"
Rey sensed Rose step away to give instructions to the surrounding Resistance fighters to clear the area, lest they get hit either by her or the training remotes. A blaster ball whooshed over her and Rey turned to follow it as she activated her lightsaber. Rey hissed as she was hit in the back with a sting beam from the other ball. If training remotes could sound smug, the one droid did as it flew over her head.
"Stop listening for them," Ben called out. "Sense them."
Rey stopped and reached out tentatively to the Force. It was harder to sense mechanical objects with the Force. They weren't natural conduits to the vast wealth of energy like animals and humanoids were. She breathed deep and let her senses be immersed in the energy connections. Something zipped over a cord of energy, like a fly trying to avoid the sticky strands of a spiderweb. Rey moved her lightsaber towards it as she heard the faint sounds of an energy beam whizzing towards her. The sting beam hit her blade and deflected off. Someone yelped as they were hit with the beam.
"Aim!" Ben called out, his voice full of amusement.
"Sorry!" Rey hollered in the direction of the person.
She hunkered down into a fighting stance, ready to get down to business now that she had an inkling of how to defend herself in this new situation. She sensed something behind her and she snapped around. She deflected the sting beam high into the air; a warning sounded in the back of her mind. She swept the lower end of her lightsaber up behind her back since she would be unable to turn fast enough; a low zap sounded as she successfully deflected another energy beam. A series of sting beams were fired from both remotes and Rey missed half of them as she tried to move her lightsaber fast enough. It was hard to defend against something if you couldn't see!
Rey moved around, trying to keep the blaster balls in front of her. She could sense them floating and zipping around; their repulsors were so quiet that she couldn't hear them unless they were flying directly over her.
"Let the Force be your second pair of eyes!" Ben coached as he sensed some of her frustration through the bond.
Rey stopped again and tried to calm her mind and stop forcing a connection with the Force. She breathed deep, letting the energy come to her, not the other way around. She visualized diverting the flow of energy around her to wrap around her, giving her a 360-degree view. The training remotes seemed to come into focus more and she could feel them displacing air as they zoomed around. Rey stepped to the left and a beam hit the dirt, just missing her foot. She raised her blades as she sensed the other training remote moving. It fired several shots, all aimed at different parts of her body; Rey found it easy to catch all the beams, taking care to deflect them away from people.
Rey shouted as two sting beams caught her on the back of the neck and the calf. The other ball had snuck behind her and taken advantage of the easy target she'd presented it with.
"You have to worry about two droids, not just one!" Ben called out, stating the obvious.
"I know!" Rey shouted at him. That was not helpful advice!
"Sense your surroundings and trust yourself to act," Ben elaborated. "When I said the Force is your second pair of eyes, I meant that quite literally."
Rey opened herself to everything, not trying to focus on anything in particular, waiting patiently. The Force alerted her as the two training remotes moved in synchronous motions around her. Rey whipped her lightsaber around her in a figure-eight, defending against the barrage of sting beams raining down on her. Only one beam penetrated her defense and hit her on the wrist. Rey rubbed it absently as she awaited the next attack.
An hour later, she was getting used to the new routine. The key seemed to be to wait and sense through the Force where the droids would attack next. She was still missing a few here and there, but she was getting much better at predicting the training remotes' actions.
A sudden warning slammed into her senses and Rey jumped back and parried the electrostaff that almost struck her on her hip. Ben had snuck up on her by shielding his emotions through the bond. As he withdrew and struck at her head next, Rey moved to defend against it and to deflect the sting beam one blaster ball had aimed at her back.
"Some warning next time would be nice," Rey smiled sharply in what she hoped was his direction.
"The enemy will not warn you and neither will I when we're training," Ben said, a hint of a smile in his voice.
He disengaged and started an aggressive attack series Rey struggled to defend against. It was simultaneously easy to sense his actions and hard to move to defend against them. She'd been depending so much on her sight during their bouts. Undeniably, sight helped, but being obligated to depend on her other senses alone was taxing on her strength and concentration.
Rey did her best and moved her double-sided lightsaber to defend against Ben's impressive combat strategy. She chose a defensive tactic to counter his chosen style; it allowed her to maintain her ground as well as lend focus to deflecting the beams from the training remotes, which were still operational.
The longer the fight went on, the more Rey was able to parry his strikes and jabs with ease and still defend against the sting beams fired by the quick blaster balls. The Force ebbed and flowed around her and she felt more connected with the web of energy than she had before during the fight. It wasn't the same deep connection she made when she was meditating, but it was close. Was this what Ben felt all the time, at least before he'd had his abilities shut away? No wonder he was so powerful.
A training remote shifted position to aim at her back and Rey sensed an opportunity. She dodged at the last moment and the sting beam missed her and instead hit Ben in the chest. He yelped in surprise and Rey took advantage of his momentary lapse in concentration to bat his electrostaff out of the way and jab her lightsaber near his head, missing by mere millimeters.
Rey smiled, knowing she'd just won.
Pride mixed with annoyance thrummed through the dyad. Ben grumbled to himself as he shut down his electrostaff. She heard him recall and deactivate the training remotes. Rey unknotted the blindfold and took it off, blinking a little as the bright mid-day sunlight stung her eyes. The training grounds were clear of Resistance fighters; they'd left a while ago to go about their daily tasks. Only Sertali had stayed behind; she was currently watching them with predator-like stillness, her tail flicking now and then. Rey beamed again when she saw Ben's proud expression mixed with a hint of embarrassment that tinged his cheeks pink.
"Good job," Ben praised her, rubbing his chest where the sting beam had gotten him. "I didn't see that coming."
"It's your fault for using the blaster balls at the same time," Rey teased him.
She was ecstatic about her hard-fought win. Defending against an experienced swordsman and two enhanced training remote droids had been no easy task. The numerous red and itchy patches all over her body attested to that.
"Brought down by a little sting beam," Ben bemoaned, amusement flitting over their bond, showing he was over the defeat. "How will I ever recover?"
Rey rolled her eyes and lightly punched his shoulder. "Your pride will recover," she sighed. "I suppose I won't be able to use that move again."
"Not easily," Ben smirked. "I know what to look out for now."
"Want to go again?" Rey asked. She was tired from the physical exertion that came with fighting and the mental concentration it took to keep diverting Force energy to her bidding, but she wasn't exhausted yet. After a brief break to rest and hydrate, she'd be raring to go again.
Ben's eyes lit up at the challenge. He opened his mouth to reply in the affirmative but closed it as his gaze shifted to something over her shoulder.
"I don't think that will be happening today," he said, his face closing off.
Rey turned curiously. Captain Daria Gser was striding towards them with quick steps.
"News from the siege, commander!" Daria said excitedly, bouncing on her heels as she reached them. "The generals want to speak with the commanders immediately."
Her excitement quickly infected Rey as she realized the importance of the sudden call for a war meeting. From Daria's exuberance, this could only mean one thing. They'd conquered the mining site and would be able to process Dedlanite to replenish their dwindling supply of blaster fuel! It would take a while to process the material, but not all hope was lost.
Rey turned to Ben, a smile on her face.
"Go," Ben was smiling too as her burgeoning excitement traveled over the dyad. "We'll spar again tomorrow."
"Okay," she said, eager to get to the command center. "I'll see you later."
Rey gave him a quick peck on the lips as thanks for all his help today. He'd done so much to help her advance so quickly. Ben enveloped her in his strong arms and gave her a proper kiss, leaving her blushing and stammering.
"See you later," Ben said with a devilishly handsome smile as he let her go.
Rey blushed harder and mumbled a goodbye. She and Daria headed out of the training grounds, the older Resistance fighter giving her a good-natured nudge of approval. Rey nodded to Sertali as they passed her at the edge of the training grounds. The Selonian acknowledged her with a regal nod and sprang up and ran over to Ben, who was storing his battered electrostaff. Rey's thoughts returned to the siege and excitement seized her anew at the thought of their victory. She couldn't wait to hear the details from Poe and Finn!
-oOoOoOo-
Ben put his electrostaff in the bin, immensely proud of the progress Rey had made. Ben couldn't help but admire Rey's quick thinking to use the training remote as a part of her attack strategy. He was only slightly disgruntled her victory had been the result of a momentary distraction on his part brought on by a droid meant to train Padawans.
"What's next?" Ben asked as Sertali bounded up to him. "Sustenance? It's almost time for mid-day meal."
She must be bored out of her mind. She'd been sitting in the training grounds since everyone had finished and left to start the day's tasks.
"No, we're needed at the comms tent on an urgent matter," Sertali shook her head. "The call just went out. Baso is helping Mosla modify the communications systems and it's going to take a while. The team will be pulling a double shift, so we won't be able to eat at the canteen with everyone else."
Ben groaned and tossed back his head. It looked like the morning would be the only good part of the day. The rest promised to be a long hard slog of monotonous back-breaking work.
"Come on, let's go find Mixa and Aarzio - wherever they are - and grab some food before we start the shift," Sertali led the way from the training grounds. "Neither of them is answering their comlink."
They headed to Aarzio's tent first, but no one was there. They stopped by Mixa's tent next to see if the captain was there. Ben sensed a myriad of emotions coming from the tent, the most prominent of which were excitement and arousal. Sertali reached out to brush open the tent flap.
"Wait!" Ben grimaced as he realized what was going on and extended his hand too late to stop her.
A shriek of surprise filled the air as Mixa and Aarzio's entwined figures were bared to the bright sunlight.
Sertali quickly dropped the tent flap and stepped back. "Sorry!"
"One moment!" Mixa called out.
Clothing rustled as Mixa and Aarzio got dressed. Aarzio was the first out of the tent, wearing an unrepentantly smug grin. Mixa came out next, adjusting his shirt and blushing dark red. The four of them stood there, locked in an awkward staring contest.
"Are we going to talk about this?" Sertali broke the silence, wriggling her whiskers in discomfort.
"Sith hells, no," Ben beseeched them.
"Aw, come on," Aarzio teased him. "Not even a little bit?"
"Aarzio," Mixa muttered, embarrassed.
The pilot grinned and kissed him on the cheek in response.
"Congrats on taking your relationship to the next level," Ben said genuinely. They seemed like they would do well together and he was happy for Mixa. He turned and headed for the canteen. "Now let's get going. We have work to do and I'm hungry."
"Thanks," Aarzio laughed lightly and took Mixa's hand, gently tugging him along.
"What work is there to be done?" Mixa asked as he regained his composure.
"Mosla has need of Baso's services and the chief has conscripted us to help," Sertali explained the situation to the two men as they entered the canteen. The space was devoid of people as it wasn't time for mid-day meal yet. The appetizing scent of the prepared food hung heavily in the air, and all of their stomachs gave a grumble. Ben cursed under his breath since he would not be able to partake of the meal. They stepped into the food prep area where Tawna was working and grabbed some fruit and bread rolls.
Tawna sniffled to herself and Ben turned fully to look at her. He became alarmed and horrified as he saw tears sliding down her cheeks. A small, frustrated sob left her mouth as she added frosting to some cupcakes.
"Tawna, what's wrong?" Mixa asked in concern as he heard the distressed noise.
The captain walked around the table to comfort the Jixiti. Sertali followed him and embraced Tawna as she let out a wail.
"It's wrong! It's all wrong!" Tawna fought her way out of Sertali's grasp and threw down her tools. She stomped away and Mixa and Sertali followed her, making soothing comments.
Ben shared a glance with Aarzio, grateful to see he was also at a loss for what to do.
"We should... help," Ben said unenthusiastically as Tawna continued to sob. "Right?" He typically only made things worse.
"Right," said Aarzio, looking as if he'd rather do anything else.
Ben mirrored that feeling. The pilot walked over to the trio and hovered awkwardly, looking extremely uncomfortable. Ben stayed where he was; he'd do more good not interacting with the distraught Jixiti.
Ben packed their food while he waited for the guards to come back. As he reached for more fruit near Tawna's work-station, he craned his head to see what she'd been working on. There were a couple dozen cupcakes decorated with small, delicate frosted flowers. A few had messages written on them in Aurebesh. While the flowers looked beautiful, the script was quite atrocious. Ben looked closer and deciphered some of the glyphs; they were birthday messages along with characters spelling out 'Ava'. He recalled that was her daughter's name.
"It's not about the cupcakes!" Tawna wept into Mixa's chest, clinging to him with taloned fingers. "I wish Tarazal was here! I need him so much. I can't do this without him!" She rubbed her stomach protectively with one hand.
"I understand," Mixa assured her, listening patiently. "It's going to be alright."
"How can it be?" Tawna whispered. "He's gone!"
Ben swallowed down the lump in his throat as a wave of sympathy for the grieving woman hit him. Curse this empathy thing. He picked up the implement Tawna had been using the frost the cupcakes and continued where she'd left off. He wrote generic birthday messages and the girl's name on the rest of the cupcakes. He added embellishes and swirls to all the Aurebesh glyphs, making the cupcakes look quite professional in his opinion.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," Tawna insisted and swiped the remaining tears off her cheeks. She smiled tremulously at Mixa and Sertali and put on a brave face. "It's just harder not to go feral without my mate, especially when I'm so close to giving birth."
Another wave of sympathy washed over Ben. So that's why she'd been gravitating towards him and trying so hard to get him to agree to be her mate. It wasn't that she wanted a mate; she needed a mate to function in her current state. He wished he could help her, but he wasn't that altruistic.
"We understand," Mixa said soothingly. Ben could feel the Zeltron's influence at work even from where he was standing. "We're here for you. Larma and I are working on a way to make this easier on you."
"Both of you have already done so much," Tawna said gratefully. "The pills are helping. The massive mood swings have stopped and I don't feel like my skin is on fire anymore, but I do feel cold all the time."
"How cold?" Mixa asked, narrowing his eyes in concern.
"It's manageable," Tawna stood, wiping her face and adopting a dignified composure. She waved away Mixa and Sertali's attempt to assist her. "I'm making you late for the emergency shift Baso called. The others were here ages ago to grab food. Go, I'll be fine."
"Comm me or Larma if the side-effects get worse," Mixa urged her, hesitantly stepping away. "It could be serious."
"Yes, yes," Tawna nodded and nudged him and the others back towards the food prep area.
All three guards came back and Ben hurriedly help them stuff more fruit and bread rolls into a knapsack. He didn't want to stick around just in case Tawna wasn't happy that he'd tried to help her. Mixa led the way to the communications tent, where a small group of engineers, mechanics, and communications analysts had congregated. Baso was conversing with one of her mechanics and acknowledged their late arrival with a minor stare of disapproval, but she didn't start berating them. Mosla stepped forward and got the group's attention.
"Thank you everyone for agreeing to switch shifts."
Ben scoffed and rolled his eyes. He'd only heard of this assignment in the past half-hour and he definitely hadn't agreed to anything. As always, the choice had been made for him.
"We'll be modifying the communications tower to boost our power and bandwidth," Mosla explained, extending an arm to the tower. "Chief Baso has graciously agreed to donate parts stripped from unsalvageable starships. I'll explain our needs more once we move the parts here."
"I have every part ready for transport in the shipyards," Baso belted out. "Everyone follow me!"
The group grumbled a little and followed Baso to the shipyards. Ben huffed and rolled back his sleeves. Why did every day have to include some component of manual labor?
"Kettplai, why do we need to make these changes? Can't it wait?" A mechanic whispered to a middle-aged woman.
Ben canted his head towards them, keen to hear her answer.
"General Antilles is waiting on information only we can provide before he will approve a scout team to investigate those First Order sources we discovered the other day," said Kettplai as she secured her long black hair into a ponytail. "These changes will allow the comms team to significantly increase our ability to intercept communications and perhaps even find a hyperspace node."
Ben rolled his eyes yet again. He didn't think this reason warranted an emergency double shift.
"All the parts are by the CX-30!" Baso shouted over the whispering. She pointed to the large mountain of dismantled starship parts. "Stop gossiping and let's get to work! The sooner we finish, the sooner we can eat!"
Ben picked up a heavy power node with a grunt and piled a few converters on top. He joined the group trudging back to the communications tent, all of them grunting under the hefty weights. Unsurprisingly, it was grueling, messy work transporting all the pre-allocated starship parts from the shipyard to the communications tent.
"Can't the communications tower have been set up closer to the shipyard?" Ben groaned after the fifth time they'd lugged countless parts across the base. He rubbed an aching muscle in his arm as he looked at the pile of scrapped parts they still needed to transport.
"We're halfway done," Aarzio gasped and took a swig of water from a flask.
He coughed harshly and took another drink. Ben narrowed his eyes. He had to have something other than water in the container.
"Aarzio is right," Mixa assured them. He passed Ben a water bottle. "It won't take much longer with all of us involved." He nodded towards the dozen or so people tasked with the endeavor.
Ben gave him a skeptical look. Most of the Resistance fighters were already exhausted and gasping for air.
"It builds character and muscle, young man!" Baso yelled behind him.
Ben jumped and turned to glare at the diminutive woman.
"I don't think Ben needs any help in the latter department," Aarzio said slyly as he picked up more parts.
Mixa flicked him in the head, making Aarzio chuckle and move off.
Ben shook his head at the silly comment and ignored how his muscles were burning as he hefted more equipment into his arms. His normal workout had not prepared him for this, but then what could?
"Hurry up, Skywalker. Time waits for no one!" Baso hauled two massive power nodes onto her shoulders and speed-walked away.
"Now she's just showing off," Ben muttered, not liking being shown up by the tiny woman. Damn, she was strong.
"She's the chief for a reason," Sertali wiggled her whiskers in jest.
Ben sighed and strode after the Selonian. He felt like a pack mule.
It took only a half-hour more to transport all the parts and everyone was grumbling to each other afterward. It was early afternoon and the time for mid-day meal had come and passed.
"Yes, I know, you're all tired!" Baso called out, drowning out the mumbled complaints. "That was the hardest part by far. Take a short break and eat something."
The group instantly became happier and conversed with each other as they gobbled down the food they'd taken from the canteen. Ben was starving and raided the knapsack for some fruit, making short work of them before starting on the bread rolls.
Celebratory sounds wafted over the air of the base's children shrieking and laughing, causing everyone to turn as one towards the noise.
"What's going on?" asked one of the comms people.
"It's a party for Ava, Tawna's daughter," answered Megyad, one of the mechanics. Ben only remembered her because she'd traded tents with Rey. "She turned six today and Tawna gathered only the children and a few of their parents. She wanted to keep the party small so her little girl wouldn't be overwhelmed."
Everyone made noises of understanding and nodded.
"Tawna told me we can give Ava well-wishes tonight at dinner if we so wish," Megyad relayed to the group. "Just be sure not to crowd the girl."
"BREAK'S OVER! LET'S GET TO WORK!" Baso blasted out, having finished her food and noticed everyone was gossiping.
People groaned as they rose to their feet, but they gamely grabbed their tools and looked to Mosla for instruction. Ben listened with half an ear as Mosla told the assembled group what she wanted to accomplish. Something about boosting the tower's capabilities by re-routing power couplings and incorporating the random set of starship parts into it.
Ben selected one of the power nodes he'd hauled and used one of the available tools to strip the paneling off. With practiced moves, he re-routed a patch of wiring from the comms tower into the power node. The device hummed as it activated and emitted a green glow as it fed power into the tower. Ben did the same for another power node and also upgraded some other connections that could be better. This work he actually liked, despite it being messy as hell. By the time he was done with the changes he needed to make, he was covered in grime and oily streaks. The tips of his hair were still smoking from the spray of sparks some rookie had caused because he forgot to turn the relay unit's power off before messing with it. Ben aimed a glare at the mechanic as he passed him. The sandy-haired man quailed and looked away. Ben chuckled as he walked into the communications tent. His precipitous entrance made the small team of comms analysts jump in their seats.
"I need to look at the communications array," Ben told one of them.
"What? Why?" She asked, looking to Kettplai in a panic.
"I want to check the efficiency of my changes," Ben said, reaching toward the console.
"Tell us what you need and we'll do it," Kettplai inserted herself between him and the comms equipment.
A burst of annoyance went through Ben. Hadn't he already proved he didn't intend to harm the Resistance fighters? If he wanted to damage the Resistance, it wouldn't be by sending a message.
"Calibrate the communications array to a frequency of point-two with a power level of ten," Ben directed. Perhaps he could convince them to have a little trust in him if he directed them towards a communications channel the First Order frequently used. This one was harder to tune into and monitor due to the power needed to access it. "Aim for the Cerean Quadrant if you can."
"Do we have enough power to do that?" The comms person asked Kettplai. "It's-"
"It's far," Kettplai said firmly, clutching the woman's shoulder to cut her off.
"Fine, don't tell me what planetoid we're on," Ben rolled his eyes. Like he cared. If he had the inclination to steal a starship and get the hell out of here, it'd be child's play to pinpoint his location. "Just tell me if the changes I made are working. You should be able to pick up on First Order chatter."
Ben tapped his foot impatiently as the analyst tapped away at the console, giving him quick, nervous glances every so often. Kettplai squeezed her shoulder in silent support as the minutes passed. A light flickered on the console and the analyst nodded up at Kettplai. Ben leaned in to examine the power outputs and signal strengths.
"We're picking up something, but it doesn't sound like much," reported the comms analyst as she pressed a hand to her headset.
"There isn't enough power to stabilize the incoming transmissions," Ben said as he pointed to the screen, bringing her attention to the fluctuating indicators.
He needed to wire another unit to the power supply. But how to do it without causing a sudden power overload? Ben left the tent and grabbed another power node, beating another Resistance fighter to it; they let it go without argument and grabbed some power modules instead. Ben snagged a couple of converters from a pile of scraps and shook the dust off them. He set up an intricate system of modules that would feed power into the comms tower, converting the energy along the way so the sudden influx of energy wouldn't overpower the grid.
Once the signal readout device he'd hooked up to it showed the connections were stabilized, he went back into the tent. Commander Mosla had joined Kettplai and the timid analyst at the console. They were examining the data together and looking very impressed.
"I don't know what you did, but it worked," Kettplai said in excitement.
Mosla was more reserved as she turned a few dials on the screen and sound poured into the room. The transmission was slightly overridden by static, but it was clear what the message was. The chatter was seemingly a random conversation but was actually a series of coded messages.
"Of course it worked," Ben said as he listened. "Sounds like the First Order is planning to recruit soldiers from the Greater..." He narrowed his eyes as he tried to decipher that last bit. What the hell was 'macaroon shot' code for?
"The Greater Plooriod sector," Mosla finished after listening to the combinations of code-word phrases.
"That's an expansive region with plenty of nebulas for star destroyers to hide in," Ben remarked. "You won't be able to pinpoint where they are."
"It's a start though," Kettplai said with a smile as a new set of messages came in.
"Well done," Mosla nodded curtly at him, turned the sound off, and donned a headset to analyze the transmissions better.
"Anytime," Ben said dryly, moving away and trying to repress the shiver going down his spine from meeting Mosla's gaze. Her pure black eyes were as unnerving as the first time Ben had seen them.
Whispers broke out among the other comms analysts, irking Ben beyond all reason. If they had something to say to him, they should say it to his face!
"It can't possibly be him!" said someone loudly.
"Shh, be quiet!" Another person shushed them harshly.
Ben stopped in his tracks halfway over the tent threshold. He turned and looked the analysts squarely in the eye, curiosity overriding his irritation. What were they talking about? Were they looking for a spy? Were Mosla and Baso telling them the real reason for updating the communications equipment? The analysts fidgeted under his gaze, looking at each other in growing panic.
"Ben, stop playing with the analysts and help me program this nav unit!" Aarzio ran up to him and tugged him away. "I can't make heads or tails out of it."
"I don't know how much help I'll be," Ben said as he subtly pried himself from the pilot's grasp.
"You're always a help to me," Aarzio smiled at him. "Help me."
Ben smirked and relented, grabbing a set of hydrospanners. Together, they looked at the nav unit and rewired several connections and modified the CPU. Aarzio had to correct him a few times. He moved to hook the wiring into the comms tower when someone tugged the wires out of his hand. Ben growled and stood up to glare at the person who dared interfere with his work. He towered over the young mechanic - the same one who'd almost set his head on fire - making the man almost shit himself if his wild-eyed, petrified stare was any indication.
"What are you doing?" Ben injected as much animosity into each word as he could.
"Something we can help you with, Jorlou?" Aarzio stood up and joined him in towering over the man.
"Yes," Jorlou said in a high-pitched voice, his hold on the wires firm. He coughed and spoke in a lower register. "I'm stopping you from overloading the communications matrix. If you hook it up as it is now, it's going to blow. It would take hours to restore the tracing algorithms."
"Bantha shit," Aarzio spit out. "Are you implying we intentionally screwed up?"
"No, I'm... I'm just saying it's wrong," Jorlou stared up at Ben in fear, waiting for the almighty Kylo Ren to smite him for daring to contradict him.
Rage encompassed Ben and he opened his mouth to destroy this man when his gaze landed on the navigation module he'd been modifying. He scowled as he realized the mechanic was right. A few connections were switched and would indeed initiate a cascade sequence and take out portions of the tower if he'd managed to connect it. He bent back down and jammed the wires into the right places and plugged the nav unit into the tower; it hummed as it powered up.
Ben stalked off, leaving the flabbergasted mechanic just standing there and stunned he'd survived a scrape with death. If Ben stayed, he was going to take his annoyance out on the man. He couldn't believe he'd messed up a simple mechanical re-routing task.
"Can you believe Bosh did that?" Aarzio huffed, his mood darkening as he matched Ben step for step.
"He was right," Ben pointed out, though he was consoled by Aarzio's analogous mood.
"He started just a month ago," Aarzio gritted his teeth so harshly that Ben winced in sympathy. "It's not like he knows what he's doing."
"I'm sure he'll leave us alone in the future," Ben gleefully recalled the horrified expression on Jorlou's face. He grinned as he started dismantling starship scraps, separating the power components from the unusable parts. "Come on, help me with this."
"Fine," Aarzio huffed and attacked his own part with vigor, ripping the components off.
Hours later, the joint team of mechanics and communication experts finished bolstering the existing communications network and upgrading the power capabilities. Mosla was satisfied with the work done and praised everyone. Ben just wished she would let them go wash up and eat. Everyone was covered in grime and bad-tempered from the constant work and few breaks. The only ecstatic one was Baso, who was happy despite being plastered with engine grease and smears of black sludge from head to toe. The group followed Baso, moving as one zombified group towards the river to wash off. They wanted to be somewhat clean before they joined the rest of the base in the canteen for dinner.
As they passed the canteen, the birthday festivities from earlier were still in full swing. Homemade banners were strung across the tables and light fixtures, wishing Ava a happy birthday. Ben watched as Resistance fighters lined up at a table a few at a time to give their well-wishes to a little girl with a flower crown woven into her startling bright blonde hair. Her gaze met Ben's and her eyes lit up. She got up from the table and ran through the group of adults and up to the exhausted group of mechanics and comms people with Tawna right behind her. Everyone tiredly greeted the little girl and she gave them beaming smiles as she moved through the group. Ben was startled when she stopped right in front of him.
"Are you the one who helped my mummy make the pretty cakies?" she asked in a bright voice, staring up at him with absolutely no fear.
Ben was bewildered the child was speaking to him. He was also shocked Tawna had acknowledged his help in frosting the cupcakes. He stared at the older Jixiti, who was looking at him with an odd emotion on her face. He was not comfortable with this situation.
"Yes, I did," he told the little girl, who was patiently waiting for an answer.
"I loved them!" Ava squealed and wrapped her arms around his leg and hugged tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Ben was unsure how to handle this. He knew a thousand ways to combat enemy fighters, but nothing about how to fend off small children who assaulted the legs.
Tawna threw her arms around him as well, hugging him tightly.
"I misjudged you. You are a good person," she whispered into his ear. "I'm sorry about the way I've treated you. It wasn't right of me. Thank you."
"You're welcome," Ben said, holding himself stiffly. He patted Tawna's back, trying to get her to let go. She stepped back, still beaming at him as she wiped away a joyful tear.
"Let's go back to the party, Ava," Tawna coaxed her daughter, seeing Ben's growing discomfort.
"You have to make the cakies for Bazil and Sylvie's birthday too!" Ava demanded, craning her head back to be able to look into his eyes. "Will you?"
"Umm," Ben stalled for time, not wanting to promise anything of the sort. He was a fighter first and foremost and then perhaps a mechanic and healer. He had never been and never would be a baker.
"Mr. Ben is a busy man, Ava," Tawna told her daughter as she extended a hand to her. "Let him get washed up and we'll ask him later."
"Okay," Ava chirped and jumped to hold her mother's hand. She looked back at Ben with a devastatingly sweet, happy smile. "Thanks again for the pretty cakies! Bye!"
Tawna smiled at him again in thanks and guided her daughter back to the canteen. Ben stood in place, shellshocked by the extreme display of affection. He shook himself out of the stupor and glared at the fighters around him, who were staring at him in varying degrees of confusion.
"Nothing to see here," Ben shot at them and walked quickly towards the river.
An explosion of whispers filled the air behind him and Ben scowled harder.
"What did you do, Ben?" Mixa asked curiously as he caught up.
"Yeah, what got into her?" Aarzio laughed.
"Why didn't you tell us you had aspirations to become a baker?" Sertali asked, trying and failing to keep her laughter contained.
"It was nothing," Ben dismissed their teasing with an annoyed swipe of the hand. "I just helped Tawna frost some cupcakes. She couldn't get the glyphs right so while you were all comforting her, I finished the cupcakes."
"Aww," someone cooed behind him.
Ben looked over his shoulder and glared at the Resistance fighter who was eavesdropping on their conversation. They blushed and backed off a little. Ben gnashed his teeth; his fearsome reputation was being blasted into a million pieces.
"Well, they evidently were a hit. Good job," Mixa complimented him.
"Yeah, I hope you know this means all the children will be hounding you for 'pretty cakies' now," Aarzio said with a shit-eating grin.
Ben stopped in his tracks and stared at the pilot in horror. "I do hope you're joking."
"You opened a can of worms and this is the result," Aarzio shrugged. "Congrats, all the children will love you now."
"Just my luck," Ben growled.
He heaved a sigh of relief as the river finally came into view. Shucking his leather jacket off, he grabbed a soap tin and jumped into the freezing water. The group of tired fighters splashed in after him, yelping and laughing as they submerged themselves in the frigid water. Ben scrubbed his skin and clothing ferociously to get the grease stains off. He rinsed his hair for good measure to get the smoky smell out. Once his legs started going numb, Ben stepped out of the river and wrung the water out of his clothes. He needn't have bothered as Baso was blasting them all with warm air from a pressurized capsule. Ben glared mildly at the chief after she'd turned the device on him. He was dry, but his hair had gained volume and poofed out; he ran his fingers through his hair, trying to flatten it.
"Stop primping. You look great," Aarzio told him, throwing his jacket at him. "Let's go eat."
Ben rolled his eyes as he put his jacket back on. He had not been primping! The whole group, now clean and dry, filtered into the canteen and self-served themselves food. Ben and his guards grabbed their trays and joined Rey and Rose at their table.
"I hear the cupcakes were a success," Rose smiled coyly at him as he sat down.
"Yes," Ben said shortly, digging in to quell his grumbling stomach.
"Is Tawna going to let you join her in the food prep area again?" Rose calmly sipped from her glass of water. "We've had a major increase in demand for cupcakes."
Rey's shoulders were shaking as she tried to contain her mirth. She opened her mouth and Ben raised his fork sharply.
"Not one word," he said without heat. "And don't you dare put me back on food preparation duties. I've had more than enough of that."
"I don't think the adults want that either, but the children might be disappointed," Rey smiled, giving him a teasing nudge.
"Even so," Ben shuddered at the thought of having to toil away again preparing food. He'd end up poisoning the base and it wouldn't even be intentional.
"Don't worry, your duties won't involve food prep anymore," Rey gave him a peck on the cheek, making him feel better. "Baso might have my head if we take you away from her. She likes you."
"I changed my mind. Put me back with Tawna."
Everyone at the table laughed. Ben huffed, half-offended but cracked a smile after a few seconds.
As Ben was finishing his meal, a Resistance fighter approached the table and sat on the bench opposite him. She fidgeted and wrung her hands, saying nothing while staring at him. Ben felt like fidgeting under her intense gaze. He couldn't read her intentions.
"What do you want?" Ben asked curtly. If she had something to say to him, he'd rather she say it sooner than later so he could finish his meal in peace. Rey nudged him subtly with her leg, urging him through their bond to be nice.
A series of complex emotions flashed across the woman's face and her gaze flitted to everyone else at the table before settling back on Ben. He wondered why she'd chosen now to confront him about whatever grudge she held against him. Perhaps it was only in front of other Resistance fighters, and those in the leadership, that she felt comfortable facing him.
The woman took a deep breath and let it out slowly, the gust of air wafting past Ben. "I want your help frosting cupcakes for my girls' birthday. It's tomorrow." Her voice wavered a little with repressed anger, but she was determined.
Ben blinked, completely blind-sided. "What?"
"Bazil and Sylvie, my twins, are celebrating their birthdays tomorrow and they insist on having the same cupcakes as Ava. They loved the ones at the party earlier."
"And you want my help?" Ben clarified.
"I'm not any happier about it than you are," she said, pursing her lips in displeasure. "But I'd do anything for my girls' happiness. I don't know how to do calligraphy and you do."
"I'm not a baker or a calligrapher," Ben shook his head. He had just wanted to help Tawna, not anyone else.
"Didn't you own a calligraphy set when you were younger?" Rey asked.
Ben turned to her in betrayal, raising an eyebrow and violently repressing a blush. Yes, he had and he hadn't wanted anyone else to know that. He'd been going through a phase.
"Poe told me," Rey shrugged, sending a silent apology through their dyad. "He said you were quite good. It seems like you still are."
"I'm just asking for a few hours of your time... please," pleaded the woman politely through clenched teeth. She really didn't want to be here. Ben could relate to that.
"We do have a busy day tomorrow," Mixa broke the tense silence. "We may not have the time to assist you."
Ben appreciated the out the captain was giving him, but the woman looked crushed when the Zeltron made the announcement. Guilt threatened to overwhelm Ben as he looked at the dejected Resistance fighter and he growled; he absolutely hated feeling these sorts of emotions. He almost longed for the days when empathy had ceased to bother him.
"I'll do it," Ben set down his fork, no longer hungry.
"Really?" The woman brightened up.
"Yes," Ben nodded. At least this would give him an excuse to get away from medic duties in the morning. It wasn't his area of expertise and without his access to his abilities, he usually just sat around like a spare end and feeling useless or completely bored.
"Comm me when you've made the cupcakes and we'll come to the canteen," Mixa told the overjoyed fighter.
"Okay, I will!" She stood up, fighting a smile and nodded curtly to Ben. "Thank you." She hurried away back to her own table, where Ben could see two girls about Ava's age regarding her approach with hope-filled expressions.
"That was very generous, Ben," Rose gave him an encouraging smile. "This will go a long way in gaining their trust."
"I don't want them to know me as the cupcake decorator," Ben scowled deeply as Aarzio and Sertali giggled. He was completely unamused.
"I think it's a rather strategic move," Mixa considered. "If you get the children on your side, the parents will follow and the others will see you aren't a threat to them."
Ben moodily stabbed the last vegetable on his plate and chewed it without tasting it. He supposed if he had the chance to get the Resistance fighters to like him, there were worst ways.
"Excuse us, do you have a moment?"
Ben looked up to see a pair of formidable Resistance fighters had approached him. They were both tall for humanoids, heavily scarred, and were holding hands. Ben raised an eyebrow at them while they struggled to find words now that they'd gotten his attention.
"Since you agreed to help Tawna and Megara-" The man started to say.
"Oh, kriffing hell!" Ben slammed his hands on the table, making plates and cups rattle. "Is the whole base going to ask me to frost cupcakes?"
"I don't know what the other parents are thinking, but we'd like to reserve your time now while we can," said the woman, a smile coming to her lips. "If it's any consolation, our son's name day is a month away."
The pair was completely unfazed by his exasperation. Ben could respect that.
"Work it out with Rose," Ben grudgingly told them.
"We'll be in touch," said the man, nodding in thanks. He led his wife away, both of them chattering excitedly as they returned to their table.
"Ben the cupcake decorator," Ben said morosely. His fearsome reputation was officially on life-support.
"Hopefully only in your spare time," Rey turned his head and kissed him fully on the mouth.
Ben relaxed into the kiss, leisurely exploring her mouth. Their tongues tangled slowly and Ben raised a hand to cup her nape. He could taste traces of chocolate she must have treated herself to earlier. Her fingers sank into his hair and tugged him closer. Happiness ran across the bond, followed by a trace of forgiveness.
Ben pulled back a little to look into her eyes. He wondered if this meant she was ready to forgive him for disclosing her secret. Rey gave a little nod and smiled as she pulled him back into a kiss. Ben couldn't care less this was in full view of the base as he wrapped his arms around her and returned her kiss.
A/N: Rey gets a new lightsaber more suited to her talents and Ben gets a fearsome new reputation! :D