The Redemption of Ben Skywalker

by AngelofTartarus

Reylo AU. While the fight against Palpatine is over, the war is not finished. The First Order has regrouped and its generals have seized power in the absence of Kylo Ren and are continuing their mission to conquer the galaxy. Rey, Ben, Poe, and Finn must overcome their differences to defeat the First Order once and for all. Pairings: Reylo, Poe/Finn

11. Death and Futility Come Calling

Chapter 11 – Death and Futility Come Calling

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Ben dreamed of a woman most nights.

The odd thing was, the woman wasn't Rey. Even though he couldn't see her face, he felt a connection with her. An intrinsic part of him always reached out, wanting to know who she was yet somehow knowing already.

The dreams had started after the Battle of Exogol and had become more frequent as time passed. He never saw her whole face in any of the dreams, but he could tell her hair was long and a rich deep brown and her face was round and ageless. Sometimes he caught a flash of blue eyes reminiscent of the most crystal clear oceans. She was always reaching out to Ben in these dreams, her mouth moving indistinctly as she spoke yet Ben could never hear what she had to say. They were always separated by some impassible barrier, but with each dream, the barrier seemed to grow thinner. He could swear the mystery woman's face was becoming more detailed.

In this dream, their surroundings had finally come into focus. They were both standing in a metal corridor that went on endlessly in both directions. Light came from some unknown source, yet didn't touch either of them.

Ben studied the mystery woman as she languidly drew closer as if wading through molasses. Her black uniform was formfitting and the edge of a red cape swished around her knees. An insignia of some sort was emblazoned above her left breast, but it was encased in shadow. She stopped several feet from him, just shy of a beam of light. Her hands raised as she pressed against an unseen force. Ben tried to move closer to see her face, but couldn't.

"Ben," The mystery woman reached out.

Ben gasped as he finally heard her speak. He'd never heard her voice before yet the clear bell tones reached deep into his soul.

"I've finally found you."

"Me?" Ben asked, the words echoing through the corridor as if traveling a great distance. He was so confused. He'd never met this woman, yet there was a spark of recognition in him.

"I've waited years for this," she said with a tremulous smile. "Now you can finally come home."

"Who are you?" Ben whispered.

The woman took a step forward to enter the light.

"I'm-"

"Ben, wake up!"

Ben gasped and shot upright as he struck out at the figure over him. They jumped back quickly, his fingers barely swiping their jacket.

The dream haze faded and any memory of it slipped into the ether. Ben rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he recognized Mixa patiently standing over him.

"What is it?" Ben muttered.

"We have a shift at the shipyards," Mixa said, looking at his timepiece. "We need to go early if you want to participate in the sparring session later."

"Don't want to," Ben whined even as he got up and shrugged his jacket on.

"Well, they all love you anyway," Mixa sighed as he prodded Ben out of the tent into the weak sunshine. "The gods only know why. You're as prickly as a tanga bush."

"Doesn't that plant have really sweet berries?" Ben asked as they entered the canteen.

"As a matter of fact, it does," Mixa said with a self-satisfied smile. "Once you get through the spiky, armored shells."

Ben scowled as he realized the trap he'd walked into. He glared disdainfully at a chuckling Mixa as he joined the line to get today's breakfast. He tempered his expression as he came face-to-face with Tawna. The Jixiti offered a greeting while spooning porridge into a bowl for him. Ben nodded in thanks and Tawna beamed as though he'd done some great service for her. Tawna leaned over to plop a steaming bread roll on top of the white granules, supporting her burgeoning belly with one hand so she wouldn't lose her balance.

Ben sat at an empty table and shoveled porridge into his mouth, barely tasting the faint sweetness. Mixa was still chuckling at his joke as he joined him. Ben rolled his eyes and tore into the bread roll, wishing he had some butter to go with it. Sertali joined them at the table when they'd almost finished eating; she was licking blood droplets off her whiskers from her own breakfast she'd caught in the river.

"Ready to start the day whenever you are, boys," Sertali vibrated with unspent energy. "Baso's giving us the evil eye."

They all turned to the canteen entrance where a lone woman was standing there with her arms crossed, tapping a finger and looking at all the mechanics present.

"I'm done anyway," Ben dropped his bowl and spoon into the bucket of soap suds a droid was carrying around.

Mixa swallowed the last tablespoon of porridge in his bowl and slipped his bowl into the bucket as well. "Best not keep the chief waiting."

Baso nodded in approval as they stood up and moved towards the shipyard. She turned her impatient gaze upon the other mechanics dilly-dallying as they ate and conversed with each other.

"What's the rush today?" Mixa asked.

"There are dozens of repairs to do from the last deployment," Sertali said, walking ahead of them. "Poe needs the starships in working states for the next skirmish in a few days."

Ben danced out of the way of her tail as it whipped back and forth.

"It's going to take some time," Sertali said, looking back impatiently as he and Mixa didn't match her manic pace. "Most of the damage is contained to the hulls and the shield generators instead of the fuel and weapons systems."

Ben sighed to himself. Shield generation technology was tricky to repair, especially the older the version was. It'd be easier to replace the parts, but Resistance fighters couldn't just walk into the nearest spaceport to do business.

Ben zipped his leather jacket up higher as a cold breeze swept over them when they stepped foot in the shipyard. Sertali led them over to a squadron of battlecruisers with hulls that were charred and blackened. A couple of mechanics were already hard at work scraping off the ruined material so they could spray liquid metal over it.

"What happened?" Ben asked, keeping his bewilderment to himself. No starfighter weapon could have caused that, First Order or Resistance.

"Friendly fire during the mission," One of the mechanics shrugged as he applied an acrid-smelling corrosion preventative compound to the hull.

"From who?" Sertali asked as she picked up a tool.

"It was incredible!" Megyad cut in animatedly. "Jorlou, how can you be so blasé about it?"

"I wasn't there to see it," Jorlou said as he finished touching up a spot.

Megyad huffed and turned to Ben, her red eyes glittering with excitement. "We were distributing supplies to villages on Agamar and building relationships with the people so we can take part in the Braxant Ru trade route. During the mission, we were ambushed by a First Order squadron of jet troopers and raiders," Megyad took a deep breath and continued in a rush. "I thought we were done for, but then Rey shot lightning out her hands and destroyed them and their ships like a weather goddess! I've never seen anything like it! The rest of the yellow-bellied troopers ran like the cowards they are."

Ben started as Mixa handed him an electrical toolkit. He shoved away the shock and rising jealousy and started examining the damaged shield generator unit. He'd always wanted the ability to summon Force-lightning, but no matter how hard he'd tried, not even a spark had come from his fingertips. Snoke had been absolutely no help in that area as he only encouraged Ben to try harder. Ben had finally tracked down an old Jedi tome dating back to the time of the Old Republic containing a single useful passage. Once he'd deciphered the words, all hope he'd had of learning the ability had been extinguished.

To wieldst the moste anciente and arduous techniqueth of summonyng skie energie from thy fyngertips, thee must be styll within as the calmest bodie of wauter. Onlie oneth devoid of turmoil who hath trueth control o'er oneself canst useth the moste devastatyng abilitie of the Jedi.

His inner self had housed a vortex of pride, regret, and self-loathing for so long that he couldn't summon the steel focus and inner peace needed to channel the energy required to make lightning. It was one of his many regrets in life as it was one of the most difficult techniques to master, yet it defined one as a masterful Force user.

But there was no point in gnashing his teeth over that now, Ben reasoned as he patched up frayed coils and induced plasma to flow through them again. He moved on to the next damaged shield generator, but his access was blocked by a throng of mechanics who'd finally come from the canteen. They were collectively trying to pry a section of the starship's hull off. There was a jagged hole in the metal plate; the lightning had eaten through almost all of the layers.

Ben tamped down the jealously that swarmed in his chest like a thousand buzzing hornets. He'd already known Rey could summon lightning, though he'd seen it only the once, but the extraordinary evidence here of the power she was able to summon was humbling.

Ben breathed out harshly to calm himself. Putting some gloves on, he grabbed the hull piece and tore it off without straining a muscle. Handing the heavy piece to an astounded mechanic, Ben shoved his way through the group and got to work on the next generator.

His focus should be on convincing Poe to remove the cuffs by showing he can play nice with the Resistance. Then he could get back to some semblance of normality where his abilities were concerned and help Rey advance faster.

A piquant note of concern washed over Ben amidst a jumble of mixed emotions. Ben exercised control over his mind to cordon off the wave of emotions so he could safely process them. It wasn't often that Rey lost herself in a vortex of emotions. She must be working through something. Ben raised his head and saw Rey standing at the nose of the starfighter he was working on. Her lips were pinched, there were faint shadows under her eyes, and her hands were nervously fiddling with a small hydrospanner.

Ben turned his head to see what Baso was doing. The chief was mentoring some mechanics on how to re-route plasma a few ships away. She wasn't paying attention to him, so Ben took a chance and went over to talk with Rey.

"What's wrong?" Ben asked, plucking the hydrospanner out of her tense fingers.

Rey took a deep breath and jammed her hands in her tunic's pockets. Her foot tapped with manic energy as she fretfully looked around to make sure no one was eavesdropping. Ben waited patiently as distressed emotions flitted through their bond again. Rey took another deep breath and exhaled slowly. Ben could see her applying a meditation technique to regain control and he nodded in approval. She was learning quickly.

"I need your help," Rey said quietly.

"Anything," Ben responded immediately. "Is it about mastering the Soresu fighting style?" She'd been having some difficulty learning the defensive form. "This shift ends a few hours before lunch–"

"No, it's about my ability to summon lightning."

"Doesn't seem like you need help in that area," Ben smiled with just a hint of jealousy. "I heard how you sent a platoon of stormtroopers scurrying to save their own skins. Impressive."

"And I almost took out four of our people with it," Rey frowned and ran a hand over a charred hole in the starfighter. The depth of the damage threatened the structural integrity of the ship. "I lost control. People were injured." Rey looked him in the eye with a steely gaze. "I got lucky, just like the last time. I need to gain control over this ability. Can you help me?"

Ben swallowed hard as he recalled their battle over control of the cruiser transport they'd thought was carrying Chewbacca. Rey had used Force lightning and accidentally destroyed the cruiser. She was right; she had been lucky. Even with the additional meditation and training Ben was giving her, wielding Force lightning with precision and accuracy was going to take more effort.

"You don't need to ask," Ben said firmly. "Of course I'll help you."

Rey smiled gratefully, some of the tension leaving her body. "Thank you, Ben. Why don't we–"

"BEN!" Baso chucked a corroded coil into a trash bin and angrily stalked over to them.

"Shit," Ben muttered as the chief drew closer.

"I'm not paying you to stand around and gossip!" Baso berated him as she got into his personal space. "I don't care it's Commander Rey you're speaking to. When you're in my shipyard, you better be working!"

"You don't pay me, chief," Ben said sardonically.

A few eavesdropping mechanics gasped.

Baso blinked dangerously. "ARE YOU GIVING ME LIP, SKYWALKER?"

"Just pointing out the obvious," Ben shrugged as his ears rang. He grabbed a fresh set of coils from a storage container and moved back to the generator. Mixa gave him a warning glance. "We'll have to wait until after my shift is done, Rey," Ben nodded towards an irate Baso. "No one escapes the shipyard until their time is done."

"Damn straight!" Baso huffed and went back to mentoring the other mechanics. They scrambled to get back to work as their entertainment ended. The copper glint of credits flashed in the sun as the money exchanged hands to winners of the bets.

Rey's lips twitched up in amusement. "Very well. Carry on."

"I'll meet you at the lightning tree," Ben bent down close to her ear. "As soon as this shift is done, I promise. Sooner if I can."

"Are you sure that's a good location to practice throwing lightning around?" Rey turned her head up at him, her luminous eyes throwing his thoughts off track. "There's a lot of vegetation out there."

"I'll borrow some fire retardant spray," Ben shrugged. He really just wanted the privacy the lightning tree afforded. "Baso keeps a lot of it handy."

"I can't wait to hear what excuse you'll give her to get your hands on some," Rey smirked.

"BEN, WHAT DID WE JUST DISCUSS?"

Ben sighed. "Back to work."

Rey brightened up and Ben felt like he'd won a million credits. She kissed him on the cheek and walked off. Ben grinned like an idiot as he watched her exit the shipyard.

"That's just creepy," Jorlou muttered as he walked past him, his eyes pinned to his mouth. "Stick to frowning, Ben."

Ben scowled at him and got back to work. He ripped out the damaged wires and sprayed a compound into the compartment to deactivate any active materials. He glanced at his watch while he waited for the compound to do its work. Only five more hours to go for this shift. Great.

-oOoOoOo-

Rey paced around the lightning tree as she waited for Ben to arrive. When she checked her watch for the fifth time, she huffed in annoyance. It hadn't even been a minute since the last time she'd looked at it. Granted, she was a little early. She just wanted to get control of her ability to summon lightning. She hadn't been able to focus on anything else all day.

A sick feeling lingered in her stomach as she remembered how she'd almost killed four of her fellow Resistance fighters. She'd gotten extremely lucky; they all had. In her arrogance, she'd thought she'd had control over the lightning. She'd reveled in the power coursing through her veins as the white energy left her fingertips and took out the stormtroopers who'd ambushed them. The elation had quickly turned to horror as the lightning had branched out of her control to hit a few Resistance starships and blow apart a few vacant houses. Innocent bystanders had been hurt, but fortunately not mortally injured.

The Resistance fighters who'd gone on the mission had praised her the entire flight back to the base, mistaking her objections as humility. Rey knew she didn't deserve their admiration or thanks. She could have just as easily killed them as saved them. Rey swallowed hard. She couldn't rely on luck going forward. That was just asking for trouble. She needed to get control, quickly.

"Ready to begin?"

Rey jumped and gasped. She turned to see Ben had entered the clearing and was setting down several fire-extinguishing foam devices onto a flat rock.

"Yes, of course," Rey nodded, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I see you got some foam sprayers from Baso. I hope she didn't get too mad at you. How do you suppose we start? Theory or practice? I guess theory since I'm not too good at practice yet."

Stop babbling, Rey told herself sternly. But nervous, rambling words kept flowing from her lips.

Ben raised an eyebrow and came over to her. He folded his arms around her and squeezed tight, stunning her into silence.

"It's going to be okay, Rey," Ben rumbled, caressing her back in a soothing manner.

The trembling in Rey's body ceased. She hadn't even noticed it before. The reassuring words were accompanied by a strong wave of emotion, calming her frazzled thoughts. She wrapped her arms around his muscled torso and let him support her.

"You're going to master this ability," Ben continued to rub her back in circular motions. "You've advanced so quickly in every other Jedi art I've taught you. This one will be no different."

"Force lightning isn't a Jedi art, it's Sith," Rey muttered into his jacket. It smelled slightly of metal from his shift in the shipyard.

"Not so, young Padawan," Ben hummed in disagreement. "During my quest to wield the power for myself, I came across a tome from the Old Republic. It said Force lightning is a Jedi ability, but it was heavily controlled due to its volatile nature. It's only been in the past few decades that the ability was outlawed and all knowledge struck from the archives."

"What else did the book say?" Rey wondered even as she melted into his warm embrace. "Did it tell you how to control Force lightning?"

"Yes, in a way," Ben nodded, the movement lightly bumping his head against hers. "One has to have steel focus to channel the energy needed to make the lightning and then inner calmness to control it."

"That's it?" Rey asked in disbelief, leaning back to look up at him. "There has to be more than that!"

"I read the whole book and even had a protocol droid process it," Ben shrugged. "That was the only applicable passage. It gives us a good starting point, though. Focus and calm."

"I feel the complete opposite of calm right now," Rey muttered as guilt tore up her innards. The cries of innocents being hurt still echoed in her ears. She took a couple of steps back and embraced herself to stop her hands from trembling again.

"I've had years to think about it," Ben said slowly. "While the ability may require one to be single-mindedly focused on the task, perhaps being calm in the traditional sense isn't required. Translated literally, the tome says you must be still within as a calm body of water and devoid of turmoil."

"Doesn't that mean no emotions?" Rey questioned. If so, then they'd reached a dead end.

"No," Ben shook his head. "I think it means you have to channel a strong emotion that you have complete control over. The stronger it is, the more lightning you can call and maintain."

"I don't want to have to call upon negative emotions whenever I need to call some Force lightning," Rey moped, kicking some pebbles on the ground. She had enough negativity in her life without having to rely on it to fuel her abilities.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be negative emotion. It just has to be strong," Ben advised her after he thought about it for a moment. "Some of the best Sith warriors won their most difficult battles by channeling singular emotions. Count Dooku and Quinlan Vos were particularly good at controlling their emotions. I read their memoirs and other second-hand accounts. Interesting reads."

Rey raised an eyebrow in skeptical disbelief. Was there anything worth learning from Sith lords?

"Knowledge is knowledge," Ben told her sternly, correctly interpreting her hesitation. "It only matters what you do with it."

Rey nodded, humbled. "I'll give it a try." She turned fully to the lightning tree and pointed her hand at the trunk.

Rey closed her eyes and focused on the anguish she'd felt when she'd realized innocents had been hurt by her actions. Their pained cries increased in volume in her memories and she could almost scent burning stone and metal. Power surged through her and left through her hand. Rey opened her eyes in time to see her aim was completely off; the lightning bolt hit one of the top branches. With a massive crack, the branch snapped and fell to the ground, partially aflame.

With a startled cry, Rey lunged for one of the fire-extinguishers, but Ben beat her to it. Pressing the button on the device, he released a spray of dense white foam to cover the branch before it could ignite a nearby bush. Rey could only look on in horror, but she'd retained enough of her wits to jam her hands into her pockets. It was a lame attempt to contain the energy she still felt dancing in her fingers, but she had to do something.

"What were you thinking about?" Ben asked once he'd doused the flames.

"The Agamar mission," Rey gasped out. "After I lost control."

"That's too much emotion," Ben said shortly.

Rey scowled at him, growing angry. "I thought you said I needed strong emotion! That's the strongest I'm going to be able to feel right now!" She angrily gestured with a hand to punctuate her frustration and a spark flew from her index finger. It landed on a bush and started another fire.

"Kriffing hell!" Rey shouted, quickly putting her hand back into the pocket.

Ben calmly sprayed the leaves with the foam. The device beeped and a red light turned on, indicating it was out of foam.

"Strong emotion that you have control over," Ben clarified, grabbing another device from the stack on the rock. "Remember the other part of the equation. You have to have strong focus and be devoid of turmoil. The Agamar mission is tearing you up; you won't be able to channel a single emotion from that. Choose another memory, one that generates emotion you can cut off when you need to."

Rey considered this as she turned back to the tree. This time, she kept her eyes open as she aimed her hand at the trunk. Maybe a happier emotion would be easier to control. Her thoughts turned to the flight to Agamar when she and Poe had found a few minutes to have a private conversation amid the bustle. Rey smiled as she recalled the unbridled joy Poe had emitted when he talked about his budding relationship with Finn. It'd been a long time in coming. Whatever Ben had said to Finn that day had given her friend the courage to finally make a move.

Energy leaped across her fingers; she released the barrier keeping the energy back and lightning snapped forward to strike the tree trunk. She was able to exert total control over the lightning – for a split second. The power the memory gave her surged and left her fingers in the form of white-hot energy. The lightning spread rapidly and branched out to the nearby vegetation. Rey quickly made a fist and diverted her thoughts. She thought to this morning where she'd been so distracted that she'd put salt instead of extra sugar into her porridge. Rey made the same face she had when she'd placed a spoonful of salted granules into her mouth. The energy fizzled out, just like the bushes Ben was spraying with another fire extinguisher.

"Maybe we should move this to the gorge we always pass through on our morning runs," Ben teased with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "At least there's less to put aflame there and I won't have to go beg for more extinguishers from Baso."

"I'd agree, but I don't want to risk damaging the ngoisa plants growing there," Rey smiled. "I fear Larma more than I do Baso."

"Ah, yes," Ben sighed and agreed, rubbing his neck.

"That was better though, right?" Rey asked, unable to prevent a note of uncertainty from entering her voice.

"Yes," Ben nodded, squashing her fears instantly. "You definitely had better control this time."

His forehead crinkled as he got lost in thought. Rey fidgeted as she waited, comparing both attempts. The second memory had been no less powerful than the first, but there was only one emotion embodying it. She saw now how the first memory contained so many emotions in it. Using it as fuel for summoning lightning had been destined to result in a clusterfuck from the start.

"There may be a way I can help you control the ability through the dyad," Ben suggested, still thinking hard.

"Is that possible?" Rey said, looking at the black bands on his wrists.

"I can still touch minds, so it should be," Ben nodded, moving up behind her.

Rey blushed as his hands touched her shoulders. His mind brushed against hers, seeking entry and she blushed harder. Despite the many times they'd done it, she was still unused to how intimate the experience was. Focusing on this thought, she raised her hand again. Energy burst from her fingertips, arcing towards the tree. Ghost fingers slid over her hand, somehow guiding her to better channel the lightning. She could feel the minute differences in how the energy left her hand. The lightning focused on a single tree branch, only a few bolts branching off here and there.

A rabbit suddenly burst from the undergrowth at Rey's feet, startling her and splitting her focus. Her hand twitched as she watched the animal flee deeper into the jungle. The lightning she'd summoned jumped onto another branch and grew more intense. Rey fought to regain her focus, but she struggled to choose another memory.

Rey gasped as a hard chest pressed around her back, her focus completely jumping to that contact. Ben wound one arm around her waist and pressed his other arm against her extended arm to steady her. The lightning turned blue and consolidated into one beam, carving a hole into the branch instead of blasting it to kindling. Rey sustained the energy, feeling how much easier it was to control the bolts of lightning. After a minute, Rey cut off the energy source, letting the excess flow back into the Force. Rey beamed, wiggling her fingers. They didn't even tingle!

"I did it!" Rey tilted her head back to look up at Ben.

"That you did," Ben smiled proudly.

She could feel he genuinely meant the praise. Even though it must pain him to see her achieve what he couldn't, he'd still helped her.

"Thank you," Rey said sincerely. "I couldn't have done it without you."

"Yes, you could have," Ben's grip on her waist tightened for a second. "You have the drive and passion to learn how to control your abilities. If I wasn't here, you still would have found a way. You'd have read ancient tomes and tracked down masters you could learn from."

Rey turned in his embrace and slid her hands into those silky black locks. "Well, then aren't I the lucky one to have you here? You already have the knowledge I need," She tugged him down and pressed her mouth to his.

Ben gasped as she passionately kissed him. His grip on her hips shifted and she found herself being plastered against his body. Rey moaned in pleasure as his hands started wandering and the hard shape of his erection pressed into her stomach. Her panties started getting wet in response to the voracious way Ben plundered her mouth.

"Ahem."

Rey broke out of the kiss to glare at the person. She could feel the heat of Ben's glare as he expressed similar displeasure at being interrupted. There was a dangerous undercurrent to his emotions that faded a little as they saw it was only Finn.

"We're having a private moment here, Finn," Ben growled, not releasing his hold on Rey. She felt a similar disinclination to move.

"Normally, I wouldn't interrupt–" Finn said as he sprayed white foam at the lightning tree.

"You should have stayed true to that," Ben cut over him. "Is this the thanks I get for jumpstarting your relationship with Poe?"

"You set the tree on fire," Finn defended himself as he put out the last of the flames.

"Rey was using Force lightning," Ben said dryly.

"Yeah, we figured from all the noise," Finn shrugged. "Luckily, Mixa gave us the heads up on what you were doing. Winn wanted to come in with blasters blazing."

"That'd be a waste of blaster fuel," Ben rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, since the crackling noises had stopped, I figured you two were taking a break," Finn continued as he grabbed the last working fire extinguisher device. "You were kissing and sparks flew onto the tree."

"Really?" Rey crinkled her nose as she looked back to the tree. Lo and behold, a different section of the tree had caught fire. Finn was right.

"Yes," Finn nodded, priming the device in his hand. "Your boots are on fire, by the way."

Rey and Ben looked down as one. Rey yelped and batted at her boots to stomp out the flames threatening to grow bigger. Cold, frothy liquid sprayed over her boots, putting out the fire. Finn turned the fire extinguisher on Ben and doused his boots as well.

"Interesting," Ben said thoughtfully, looking at his boots and then at her. "Linking our minds seems to have increased our abilities. We should try to replicate it."

"Repli-" Rey blushed in a combination of interest and embarrassment. "Ben, are you saying you want to kiss me again?"

"In the interest of learning, yes," Ben said with a half-smile.

"Smooth, man," Finn clapped him on the back.

Ben scraped the foam off his boots using the flat rock. "So what's so important you had to barge in on us?"

"Besides the fire you were causing?" Finn laughed as he helped Rey gather the empty fire extinguisher devices. He grew serious as he turned to face Ben again. "We've found some… odd transmissions we want you to take a look at."

"Can you be any more specific?" Ben asked sarcastically.

Rey nudged him in the ribs, subtly reminding him to be nice.

"That's the word Mosla used: odd," Finn shrugged as they headed back up the path to the base. "We can't tell if it will help the Resistance fight the First Order."

"Did you find the right hyperspace comm node I told you about?" Ben asked. As they passed the perimeter of the shipyards, Ben took the empty fire extinguishers from Rey and darted in to drop them into a container so they could be refilled.

"Mosla and Kettplai are pretty certain they've found one," Finn confirmed as Ben rejoined them. "But we have no frame of reference to make sure these are the transmissions we're looking for."

"Fine, I'll take a look," Ben said with a long-suffering sigh.

Rey rolled her eyes. She could feel he was secretly pleased they were asking for his help. They entered the comms tent and the lively conversations stopped.

"Take a holopic. It'll last longer," Ben said as the silence was drawn out. He sneered at the cautious comms analysts and walked over to the main control unit where Poe, Mosla, and Kettplai were gathered.

"Mosla, how can we help you?" Rey inquired politely, trying to salvage Ben's poor greeting.

"We found a transmission signal, but we need to confirm it's the right one," Mosla reached out and pressed a yellow button on the dashboard.

A myriad of crackling and buzzing roared over the sound system, filling the tent with an indecipherable sound.

"This is one of the sound bites we selected for analysis," Kettplai explained as the noise continued to grate on their ears. "It's unlike normal hyperspace noise and the other signals we parse through. We've found a dozen of them so far."

"Are all of them like this one?" Ben asked, grabbing a headset to listen more closely.

"Yes," Poe nodded in confirmation.

Ben smirked and Rey sighed.

"I give you key information on how to gain the upper hand on the First Order and you can't decode a transmission signal?" Ben clucked in faux disappointment.

Everyone winced as Poe gnashed his teeth loudly enough for them all to hear.

"Is this what we're supposed to be looking for?" Poe demanded in a monotone voice.

"Can't be sure until you apply the cipher key to decode it," Ben shrugged offhandedly, handing the headset back to Mosla.

"And you know this cipher key?" Mosla sternly asked, determined to keep things civil and on topic.

"No one knows it," Ben crossed his arms and leaned onto a comms glass. "The key depends on the day the message was recorded and the random phrase that was chosen to create it. That information is only kept onboard the dreadnought class star destroyers."

Poe gave a mocking laugh. "We're not going to plan an assault on a fucking dreadnought on your say so. We're going to need solid proof these secret communiqués exist."

Ben sighed. "I have to do everything, don't I?"

Everyone tensed as Ben stepped up to the control board and put his hands on it. Rey moved her hand to her lightsaber, keeping an eye on the other Resistance fighters.

"Take your hands off the equipment," Poe grabbed Ben's forearm, preventing him from pressing anything.

"Do you want proof or not?" Ben said tauntingly back. "Make up your mind."

"You can tell Mosla–" Poe said.

"She doesn't know what to look for," Ben argued back, fighting the urge to throw Poe off him. "This will be faster and more accurate."

The atmosphere grew charged as the two men glared at each other. Poe eventually stepped back and nodded for Ben to continue.

"If you make one wrong move and try to alert the First Order of our location–" Poe warned darkly.

"I know, I know. You'll shoot first and ask questions later," Ben waved a hand dismissively. "I don't even know what planet I'm on, so I don't see how I could betray our location." His hands flew over the controls.

"What's he doing, Kettplai?" Poe asked the comms person.

"Going through the databanks of all the signals we've recorded," Kettplai reported as she followed along with Ben's work. "These transmissions occurred over a year ago."

"The attack on the D'Qar base was precipitated by an encrypted message using the hyperspace nodes," Ben explained as numbers and letters flashed over the screen.

"One of the first times it was used," Rey nodded, remembering Ben had told them this mode of communication was relatively new.

"Hence why I remember the date and the random phrase used for the cipher key," Ben nodded. "Here we go." He pointed to the screen at the sine waves of a transmission signal. It was dated a day before the base had been taken unawares by a First Order fleet appearing above the planet while they tried to evacuate. "The cipher key was a standard greeting from a Geonosian dialect. I'm not seeing anything besides standard Geonosian in your language databases though."

"We don't have the rarer languages in our database," Mosla sighed in disappointment.

"Could you reconstruct the cipher key from memory?" Poe asked.

"My memory isn't that decent," Ben scoffed at the stupid question. "Besides, it wouldn't do much good. The engineers let an AI system take over creating the cipher key for each message. You can be sure it's gotten more sophisticated over time. To keep up, you'd need to build your own decoder software based on the current system."

"And we can't do that without boarding a First Order vessel," Mosla finished, pursing her lips as she thought for a way around this dilemma. "Options, people."

"We could hack into a star destroyer's communications array," Jorlou suggested from his station.

Ben raised an eyebrow at him. "You're just fucking everywhere, aren't you?"

Rey glanced between them in confusion.

"I do more here than just patch starships," Jorlou replied dryly.

"It's a good idea, but it won't work in this case," Ben smiled, enjoying the banter. "You'd have to hack the main computer and that may only give you partial data. Only the high command star destroyers have all the information on secure computers in the core of the ships."

"Damn, there's no way around it, is there?" Poe sighed as Mosla remained silent. "There's a star destroyer headed toward Vicondor. It will be isolated from the rest of the fleet for a few days. If we send a small team, they won't even notice our presence."

"It won't work," Ben said flatly.

"We didn't ask you," Poe gave him a dark glare.

"It's one thing to steal droids and copy databanks from support consoles," Ben forged ahead anyway. "You'll need to hack into the core computer to access the unencrypted transmission and even your best hacker won't be able to obtain the information before the alarms sound. If you really want this mission to succeed, you'll need to input a command code."

Silence grew as the solution presented itself, but no one wanted to voice it.

"So if we go, we need to bring you along," Rey relented and voiced what they were all reluctant to say.

"Yes, unless you have another First Order commander at another base," Ben nodded in confirmation. Everyone looked to Poe to make the final decision.

"You're not leaving this base," Poe said through gritted teeth. "We can find another way. Threepio knows over six thousand languages. This Geonosian dialect has to be one of them. We can extrapolate the current code once he translates the first cipher key."

"Unless you have genius software engineers who can create something from nothing, then you're out of luck," Ben huffed in amusement as he watched Poe desperately grasp for any solution that might work. "Droids can only do so much."

"How do we know your command code will still work?" Poe shot back. "They may have wiped it from the system and then we'll be easy pickings for the stormtroopers."

"Biometrics can't be forged; there are too many safeguards in place," Ben explained. "There's no point in clearing a dead man's code from the system until the annual purge. Luckily for you, the next purge is several months from now."

"It looks like this is our only option, Poe," Rey urged gently. "We can't let this opportunity slip by."

"As much as I hate to admit it, general, I agree," Mosla gestured with two of her arms to the comms dashboard and Ben. "It's worth the risk if we can gain the upper hand over the First Order."

Poe sighed and closed his eyes before nodding once.

"I'll make the arrangements," Finn said, drawing his comlink from his belt.

"Rey, I want you on this mission," Poe said curtly, resigned to this course of events.

"Not that I'm complaining about Rey's presence, but you don't need to recruit the strongest fighters for this mission," Ben remarked dryly. "What if I promise to behave?"

"I'm not taking any chances," Poe shook his head. "Your loyalties switch depending on which way the wind blows."

"Shut it, both of you," Rey stepped between them. This wasn't the time to act on their childish feud. "Act your age."

Ben snickered and turned back to the dashboard, having lost interest in the conversation.

"Really, Poe?" Rey said, disappointed her friend was still raising doubts about Ben's loyalty. If he did it often enough, Ben might just decide to defect back to the First Order out of spite.

Poe opened his mouth to respond, but they were distracted by Finn's dumbfounded question.

"What? Are you sure?" Finn said loudly into his comm.

The room quieted as everyone turned to look at him.

"That's very good news. Thanks, Baso," Finn flicked the comlink off and turned with a smile on his lips. "We may have caught a break. BB-8 says he has the code we're looking for."

"Just when I was getting my hopes up," Ben deadpanned, cutting through the stunned silence.

"You'll get another chance soon, I'm sure," Rey said distractedly as BB-8 entered the tent.

The little droid rolled up to Poe and excitedly tooted.

"I can't believe it," A grin spread across Poe's face. "Show us, BB-8."

The droid sped over to a console and plugged into the port. The screens flashed as data was transferred at lightning speed. Rey watched Ben's face and read his emotions as he examined the data. His face was still but disappointment and reluctant approval came clear through the dyad.

BB-8 rolled back, having finished relaying the data. The droid started speaking so fast that Rey found it a little hard to follow along. BB-8 said it'd tapped into the Supremacy's mainframe while trying to locate Finn and Rose to prevent their execution. During the scan, he'd come across a cache of information and had decided to download it with everything else. It hadn't seemed important at the time.

"Well, it's a fucking life-saver now," Poe praised the little droid, kneeling to give him a belly rub. He raised his head to look at Ben. "Tell me we can use this."

"It's an older code, but it checks out," Ben nodded as Kettplai parsed through the lines of code. "You should be able to recreate the first cipher key from the words here and then use it and the one BB-8 uploaded to extrapolate the current key. Then you can intercept and read First Order command transmissions whenever you want."

"We can do it," Mosla nodded in agreement. "I'll have my team work on it around the clock until we have a working decoder. It will be rudimentary, but sufficient enough for our purposes until C-3PO can get his processors on it.

Mosla directed all but two comms analysts to start working on the code. Kettplai and the one other person remained at their stations. Rey was about to suggest to Ben that they go back to practicing her Force lightning abilities when a loud siren echoed throughout the tent. Red alarm lights flashed as a transmission in matching scarlet letters flashed onto the main holoscreen, demanding their attention immediately. Kettplai redirected it to her glass screen and decrypted it.

"General, it's an emergency beacon from a stranded Resistance ship in First Order territory," Kettplai reported quickly. "We're the closest base who can support."

"How many people?" Rey asked, stepping close to read the message over her shoulder. "Is the ship damaged?"

"It's a small, Yazir-class starfighter. Those typically carry five people maximum," Kettplai replied as she authenticated the source. "Propulsion and weapons are offline, but no indication life support is at risk. I don't see any reports of First Order activity in the area."

"That could change at any moment," Rey straightened. "I'll take a few fighters with me to rescue them. They're only twenty-thousand light-years away, so I should be back in a couple of days."

"Take Winn with you as co-pilot. I need Kettplai here working the communications array," Poe directed, nodding in approval at her plan.

"Good idea," Rey said. "I'll take Jecob and Megyad as part of my team as well."

"May the Force be with you," Poe smiled at her.

"May the Force be with you," Rey finished the farewell.

"You shouldn't go," Ben said curtly, moving to block her path to the exit.

Every person in the tent gave Ben a nasty glare or a look of astonishment.

"We have no choice but to send a rescue team," Poe bit out darkly. "They're our comrades. We won't leave them to die!"

"I mean Rey shouldn't go," Ben clarified, staring deep into her eyes. Rey gulped as a flicker of fear brushed against her mind. "She's needed here."

"I'll be careful," Rey gave him a knowing glance. She didn't feel any warnings coming from the Force despite Ben's trepidations. "Don't worry. I'll be back in no time at all, just a few days." She pulled Ben down to kiss him on the cheek, wishing to give him some comfort.

"Don't get distracted," Ben grabbed her by her arms and stared intently into her eyes. "Do continuous scans for First Order scouts."

"I will," Rey promised and left the tent.

She commed Jecob, Megyad, and Winn to let them know they were leaving on an emergency rescue mission and to meet her in the shipyard. As she prepped the starship for departure, her thoughts went to Ben's cryptic warning that she shouldn't leave and she wondered if there was any truth to his bad feeling. She wasn't feeling anything strange in the Force lately. She should be fine.

-oOoOoOo-

Ben fought to keep his feet rooted to the ground. The urge to go after Rey and stop her from leaving this planetoid was insanely strong. Over the years, he'd learned not to question his instincts and right now, every fiber of his being was telling him she shouldn't leave the base. He couldn't tell if it was because she would run into danger because of the damn cuffs, but he knew for certain something was going to go wrong.

"Keep a comm lock on Rey's starship until they return," Poe ordered the other comms person. They nodded and set it up on their holoscreen, a blinking green icon.

Ben raised an eyebrow in surprise. He wouldn't have thought Poe shared his concern on this matter. Poe looked up briefly and caught his gaze.

Poe cleared his throat and turned his back on him.

"Kettplai, reply to the distress call and say their message was received."

"Yes, sir," Kettplai's fingers danced as she complied. As she finished, another transmission in block blue letters popped up on the main holoscreen. "General, our Dathomirian friends are ready to make the exchange," Kettplai said brightly.

"Finally," Poe muttered, joining her at the viewscreen.

Finn joined them to read the message. "I'll assemble a team. We'll leave immediately."

"I can be ready in thirty minutes," Poe said distractedly. "I just need to finish going over the-"

"You stay here," Finn held a finger up to Poe's lips, cutting him off. "There won't be a fight. I can handle it on my own."

"Fine," Poe grinned. "Be safe."

"Always," Finn kissed him on the cheek.

A hint of a dark red blush swept over Poe's cheekbones. Finn chuckled and turned back to a smiling Kettplai.

"What are the coordinates for the meetup?" Finn asked.

"It's a spaceport near Dathomir," Kettplai replied, pinpointing the spot in the Quelii Sector.

"That's the last place you should be meeting anyone, let alone a Dathomirian," Ben couldn't help cutting in as another bad feeling swept over him. "Isn't there a neutral meeting place you can set up?"

"What is he still doing here?" Poe said in exasperation.

"I've already commed Captain Ivin," Mosla momentarily broke away from her meeting with the majority of comms analysts. "He should be here any moment."

"I am here, commander," Mixa said as he stepped into the tent.

A soothing wave of calm swept over Ben and pacified his frayed emotions. Ben pushed away the Zeltron's influence. He needed to keep a clear mind to notice any more disturbances in the Force. If it weren't for the cuffs, he wouldn't be doubting his instincts that something bad was going to happen.

"Perfect timing, captain," Mosla nodded to him. "Ben, thank you for your assistance with the encrypted transmissions. We'll contact you if we require your aid again."

Ben gave her a stiff smile, not trusting himself to speak without saying anything negative. He stalked out of the tent, Mixa and Aarzio almost running to keep pace with him.

"Where are we going, speedster?" Aarzio asked with a half-laugh.

"Anywhere but here," Ben said as he walked without direction.

"Is everything okay, Ben?" Mixa asked. "You seem more tense than usual."

"I'm not sure," Ben admitted as Sertali bounded over to join them.

An idea sparked about how to work off his existing tension.

"Sertali, are you up for a run?"

He changed course, heading for the trail marker of his and Rey's jungle run. Perhaps a few laps would keep his mind off the danger that may be coming.

"I'll keep pace this time," Sertali gave him a wolfish grin.

Running did help a little bit. Ben breathed hard as he sped through the trees, avoided the puddles in the gorge, and flew across the meadow for the fifteenth time. Sertali was hot on his tail, still as exuberant as ever. She was able to keep within a few paces of him as he began to tire. Mixa and Aarzio had chosen to station themselves near the river that was close to the trail. They sat close to each other on a rock, conversing and raising their heads only to watch Ben and Sertali fly by.

The repetitive motions of the run gave Ben a sense of purpose and allowed him to turn inward. He still wasn't calm within, but he was better able to think. That nagging feeling at the back of his mind was still present, never leaving him alone. Any effort to interpret it was pointless; its meaning was obscured behind a thick layer of fog.

Ben slowed as he passed the river again. Aarzio was jumping up and down and waving for him to stop.

"What?" Ben asked curtly. The abrupt stop made the thundering of his racing heart all the more apparent.

"There's a training session that's starting in five minutes," Aarzio explained.

"I'm not attending," Ben huffed and dug his heel into the ground to launch into another run.

"Yes, you are," Mixa said in a tone that brooked no arguments. He firmly grabbed Ben's arm before he could start running again and turned him around. "You've been running for four hours straight. You need to do something different now."

"I have better things to do than train knuckleheads how to swing a stick," Ben complained as he was guided back to the base. Now that he wasn't running, he did feel a little fatigued. "It's monotonous."

"Then trade one monotonous activity for another one," Mixa pushed him into the training fields where two dozen people were already gathered.

Ben sighed and grabbed an electrorod. He went through the motions, correcting stances and grips. They were getting better, slowly but surely. It was child's play to spar with these fighters. Ben let his body go on auto-pilot as he reflected on current events. He'd been juggling so many things lately: the cloying effects of the suppressor cuffs, his deep feelings for Rey, continuous conflict with Poe, and his budding friendships with Finn, Rose, and the other Resistance fighters. And the latest addition was this harrying feeling he shouldn't have let Rey leave the base. He can't feel anything bad happening to Rey, but the unease is still there.

Ben growled to himself in frustration, startling a Resistance fighter. He stopped and corrected his form, gesturing for him to attack. He'd been watching this pilot and it's obvious they were still struggling. He mechanically blocked and parried strikes, letting his thoughts focus on something more interesting. He guessed he should tackle his problems one at a time. His thoughts wandered to the cuffs and the challenge they presented.

The cuffs were supposed to completely block his ability to access the Force according to Poe, so how had he been able to get around its influence in the past? Positive, calm emotions seem to be the key, like when he's with Rey or Resistance fighters he actually likes, but he's still extremely limited in what he can do. What was he missing?

A stark feeling of dread slammed into Ben's mind, culminating in a cold lump in his gut. It's paralyzing in its intensity, stealing his focus completely. It lasted for a split second and then was overridden by a stinging zap to his thigh.

Ben glared at his sparring partner, who hadn't seen him lose focus.

"I'm so sorry," gasped the Resistance fighter, backing away in terror.

Ben swiped the weapon from his hands and the pilot gasped; he tripped over his feet and landed on his butt.

Everyone in the training arena went silent. The only noises were the gentle humming of the electro-weapons and bird calls from the jungle canopies. The atmosphere was tense with fear and battle-readiness as they watched him.

Ben ignored them all and turned the weapon off. He chucked it at Mixa without looking to see if he caught it.

Mixa grunted as he barely managed to catch the electrorod.

"Ben?" Mixa asked under his breath, tacitly questioning if he was okay.

"Something's wrong," Ben said with certainty. He looked around at the fighters and their surroundings, searching for what could have caused that flash of terror and despair.

An ear-rending scream filled the sky above them and everyone looked up in time to see a scout starship descend towards the base. Fire was spreading over the nose and wings as the starship descended at a dangerous angle.

"Stars above!"

"Is the ship even being piloted?"

The starship drew close, showing no signs of pulling up. The Resistance fighters stood around, gaping up at the startling sight. Ben was astounded by their lack of reaction and pushed the nearest fighters to take cover.

"Get out of the way!" Ben ordered. "Move!"

The group broke free of their stupor and did as Ben directed, running for the jungle tree line.

"Kriff, the watchtower!"

One of the fighters stayed in the middle of the arena and waved crazily at the watchtower, trying to get the current sentry's attention. Ben growled in frustration and ran back to get the crazy, altruistic woman. A tiny figure jumped from the tower just as the starship crashed into the structure, demolishing it and sending wood and metal flying everywhere. The starship's trajectory changed by several degrees and became more turbulent, heading straight for the training arena.

Ben grabbed the fighter and tossed her over his shoulder. He'd almost reached the tree line when the starship crashed into the training grounds, missing them by a few feet. The force of the impact threw them to the ground. Ben turned as he fell, protecting the Resistance fighter from hitting the stones jutting from the ground.

The starship dug deep divots into the earth as it slid across the grounds and into the trees. Thick branches snapped like small twigs and wildlife screamed in terror.

Ben groaned as he stopped shielding the woman he'd saved and sat up. He clutched his torso where he'd landed on some stones. That was going to leave some nasty bruises.

Fires spread quickly through the thick brush, ignited by the sparks flying off the flaming vehicle. The cacophony of the starship smashing its way through the jungle continued until they heard it splash into the river.

Finally, silence fell. Then everyone started shouting at the same time.

"What the fuck!"

"What's happening?"

"That was the scout ship Finn took!"

"Are you sure?" Ben grabbed the last person by the shoulders.

"Positive," The older man nodded. "I saw Finn and a few others board the ship a few hours ago."

"They crashed in the riverbed!" Ayanin shouted from her vantage point at the start of the burning path carved by the ship.

"We need to get them out before the ship gets swept down the river!" Sertali urged them all. "Come on!"

Everyone ran after her, racing for the damaged starship. Ben coughed as he ran through the smoke; he turned his jacket collar up and did his best to breathe into that instead. The group ran into more Resistance fighters as they congregated on the bank of the river.

The starship had lost one of its wings and was grounded partially in the riverbed, directly in the path of flowing water. The starship groaned and creaked as it wobbled precariously.

"Kriff, the ship isn't stable!"

"Keep your heads, everyone!" Poe shouted as he joined the fray. "Get those doors open and get our people out!"

"Use your blasters!" Rose took the lead, taking her weapon out and setting it to a continuous beam. She waded into the river and pointed her blaster at the door edges.

The metal slowly turned to liquid. Other fighters joined her in this endeavor, their efforts slowly melting the door.

"This isn't working fast enough," One fighter murmured, eyeing the shifting pebbles underneath her as the starship slid a centimeter into the river.

"Baso and her team are on the way with cutting tools and flame retardants," Poe said as he concentrated his blaster's beam on a widening gap now the size of a bronze credit. "We just need to do our part before she gets here."

Everyone screamed and gasped as the starship shifted and lurched a few feet into the river. Those closest to the center of the river were pushed into the flow and swept downstream; they fought their way to the bank, spluttering from the sudden dunking.

"Kriff," Poe stepped back, fear flitting across his features for the first time.

Poe tugged Winn away from the sinking starship and dragged him back towards the base. As he passed, Poe thrust his blaster at Ben.

"Take my place," Poe ordered him as he broke into a run.

"Where are you going?" Ben shouted after him, bewildered the man had just voluntarily given him a weapon when he'd avoided doing so for so many months.

Poe gave no answer, instead urging Winn to hurry up.

Ben rolled his eyes and joined the panicking Resistance fighters as they tried to cut through the starship doors. Naturally resistant to heat, the starship's hull resisted their efforts.

"Keep going, we're breaking through!" Rose yelled encouragement as everyone started muttering to each other in panic.

"Concentrate on that gap," Ben said as he shouldered his way into the group. He pointed his blaster at the inch-wide hole in one of the door seams.

"But this one is wider!" A fighter argued as they worked on the larger hole they'd made.

"It's nowhere near the control panel that will open the door," Ben argued back. "We won't be able to melt the door off but if the ship still has power, we can trigger the door to open if we can get through this one spot."

The others nodded to each other, acknowledging that was actually a good idea. They followed his suggestion, pointing their blasters towards that spot. Their hands turned red from the combined heat of so many blasters being used at once in the confined area, but everyone just gritted their teeth and pressed on through the pain. It was more important to free their trapped comrades. The combined energy from the blasters turned the hull into scalding white goop. Soon, there was a wide enough hole to stick a hand through.

Ben gingerly reached through the opening, feeling for the control panel.

"Be careful, Ben," Rose raised an arm in alarm.

Ben hissed through his teeth as drops of liquid metal plopped onto his arm, burning straight through his jacket. His fingers brushed against the set of controls and he quickly entered the sequence to trigger the doors. With a grinding whir, the starship doors jerked open unevenly; one of the doors opened a quarter of the way while the other only slid open a few inches. It wasn't enough for anyone to enter, but enough for white smoke to pour out, causing those closest to start coughing and hacking.

Ben held his breath and carefully removed his arm from the opening, wincing as his arm burned with pain in several concentrated areas.

"Here, quickly," Mixa pulled him a few feet away as fighters started entering the starship.

He tugged off Ben's jacket from the injured arm and removed the metal solidifying on his skin. Ben bit back the pained yelps that threatened to burst from his throat as Mixa yanked out the metal pieces. The healer then wrapped the forearm with some gauze. He tied off the ends with an efficient knot and helped Ben put his arm back in the sleeve. Ben nodded his thanks, trying not to focus on the burning points that hurt worse now.

The strongest Resistance fighters were trying to force the doors wider so they could squeeze through, but the door mechanisms were jammed.

"Cut through the supports on the right side," Rose directed, handing her blaster to the fighter with the longest reach.

He accepted the blaster and got to work cutting the supports, but thirty seconds later, the beam died.

"I need another blaster!" He yelled, coughing slightly as smoke continued to waft out of the starship.

"Here," Ben handed over his blaster.

This one too only lasted less than a minute before the fuel ran out. He must have spent the majority of the fuel on cutting through the hull. Everyone gathered in a line to give their blaster over as fuel ran out on each one. No one questioned wasting precious blaster fuel on this endeavor because to them it wasn't a waste.

Metal squealed and ruptured as the starship dislodged from the riverbed, sliding into the river, only to stop and hang on with the remaining wing.

"Shit!"

"Hurry!"

"I'm almost through the second support!" The Resistance fighter said as he accepted another blaster. "I just need one more minute!"

"We're not going to make it," One person sobbed in horror as pebbles shifted under the wing.

The starship slowly and inexorably slid into the river as it was no longer meaningfully supported. Water started pouring through the open doors, making the starship sink and allowing more water to get in.

A loud engine hummed and everyone looked up as an X-wing descended on them. Poe was in the cockpit and he expertly maneuvered the craft so it made contact with the scout ship, preventing it from dislodging further. The scout ship's hull buckled as it fought to drift downstream, but it wasn't moving anymore.

"Supports are disabled!" yelled the Resistance fighter as he pushed against the door. "Help me get it open!"

Everyone grabbed the edge of the door and together they got it to slide open a couple of feet. It was enough for people to walk through. Mixa jumped from the water into the ship, disappearing into the smoke. Ben covered his nose and mouth and followed him. His eyes burned and watered as he tried to see where he was going.

The interior of the ship was filled with white smoke. Even if the lights did work, it wouldn't have helped. Ben almost tripped over a motionless person lying near the door. Mixa was picking up another fighter, gesturing for Ben to do the same.

Ben hoisted the unconscious man onto his shoulder and followed Mixa's indistinct shape out of the damaged ship. They splashed through the water and set their charges down safely on the stretchers Larma and her team had brought. A healer gave Ben a gas mask before distributing masks to the other volunteers who were venturing into the disabled ship. Ben breathed in clean air as he headed back into the starship. He splashed through the rising water, feeling for the next injured person. He felt them through the Force before he brushed up against them, so he managed to rescue the next person without trampling over them. Ben took them out of the ship, alarmed at how weak their life signature was.

He jumped back into the ship, evading other people carrying victims to shore. The hull creaked as the river gradually won the battle over Poe's efforts to keep the starship stable. The ship rocked precariously from so many people throwing it off-balance. Ben lurched to hold onto a handle as the starship tilted suddenly. Then there was a loud thud and the floor became level again. They were still moving, though at a slower rate.

Ben grabbed the next person and ran for the exit. He had to wade through waist-deep, icy water to get back to the shore. He set the person down on a stretcher and healers immediately converged on them. Now that the smoke had dissipated a little and his eyes had stopped watering, Ben was able to notice the squad was covered in nasty red burns, probably caused by some chemical they'd encountered on their mission. It was bad.

He looked back to the starship and saw another pilot in an X-wing had come and fired their harpoon into the hull opposite to Poe. Winn angled his ship towards the bank, stabilizing the starship.

"That's everyone!" Mixa shouted, his voice slightly muffled by his mask. He jumped into the water, holding a large black case. He waved with his free hand for everyone to return to dry land. "Everyone get clear!"

Sparks flew from the open doors as water intermixed with the damaged electronics. Poe must have seen everyone was rescued because he pulled back from the ship. Gallons of water seeped into the ship as it floated freely. Poe fired his own harpoon into the hull and together, he and Winn lifted the wrecked starship into the air and carried it downstream. They set it down on land in a rocky outcropping, clear of the Resistance fighters and the trees.

The scout ship exploded, sending Poe and Winn tumbling through the air, their harpoons ripping free. The blast wave hit Ben and made him stumble back a few steps before he regained his balance. Luckily, the ship had been carried far enough that the shrapnel and flames couldn't reach them.

"MAKE WAY!" Baso boomed as she sped past them, carrying two large cases in her arms.

People jumped out of her way, forming a clear path for her to run through. A team of mechanics followed on her heels, holding equipment of their own. They were all wearing protective suits that covered them from head to toe. Their gait was swift but awkward as they ran in the thick material. The team sprayed the flaming starship with several hundred pounds of white foam, absolutely dousing it with the fire retardant substance.

"Keep that IV bag high," Larma lectured a fellow healer.

Ben took his gas mask off and watched as three healers lifted the last injured person on the stretcher while a fourth raised a clear bag higher into the air. They walked quickly up the slope back to the base, keeping the injured fighter level. Ben followed them as he was of no more use at the river.

It was mayhem inside the med tent. Mixa and Larma were directing the other healers on what to do, but their calm demeanors were doing little to soothe the flustered healers-in-training. The chemical burns were bad. Most were red blisters swelling at an alarming rate, but other burns were deep divots in the skin, rimmed with an ominous black coloring.

The devices monitoring the injured fighters' vitals glowed red as they beeped in harmony with their hearts. The beats were frighteningly slow and irregular. One device started bleating loudly as a fighter went into cardiac arrest. Their attendant started CPR as another healer grabbed the necessary equipment to automate the life-saving practice.

"Larma, what's causing this?" Mixa asked as he used an instrument to stimulate one of the fighter's breathing. Her chest moved up and down mechanically as her monitor indicated her rising oxygen levels. "What's the treatment?"

"It's acid," said Larma as she read the results from the device in her hands. "The chemical makeup is a match for the substance in the carbon dioxide removal system."

"That wouldn't cause this on its own," Mixa was aghast as he continued to help the injured fighter. "Even if it did leak into the cabin, it should have been harmless."

"Unless it mixed with something that shouldn't have been aboard," Ben offered.

"That's the only explanation," Larma nodded in agreement. "I can mix a salve to remove the acid residue and start the healing process, but until we know what else is causing the burns, there's little we can do."

Poe burst into the tent, knocking over one of the healers. He muttered an apology and helped them back to their feet.

"How are they? How's Finn?" Poe asked as he made a beeline for his injured friend. Concern was etched on his face as he stood over Finn's unconscious form.

"I won't lie, the prognosis is not good," Larma said as she added powders, bacta, and other liquids into a large mixing bowl. "I can slow the necrosis and heal the surface injuries, but the damage has already been done internally. Whatever caused these burns is in their bodies and causing full system shutdowns. I can't detect what it is."

"What can we do?" Poe swallowed hard. "Surely there must be something we can do!"

"I'm sorry, Poe," Larma said. "By the time the analyzer figures out what's causing the burns, the team will be dead. We need a Force healer to heal the damage, one who knows how to heal burns."

"I'll establish contact with Rey immediately," Sertali offered, racing out of the tent.

The atmosphere in the tent was tinged with despair. They all knew Rey wouldn't make it back in time.

"Ben?" Mixa asked him hopefully. "Have you ever healed a chemical burn?"

Ben shifted in discomfort as every pair of eyes in the tent focused on him.

"Technically, yes," Ben admitted slowly. "I was caught in an explosion once and received some chemical burns. I had to heal myself enough to walk out of the building. A bacta tank healed most of the damage though."

"Close enough," Mixa assured him, turning to face Poe. "General, Commander Rey won't make it back in time. We need Ben's help."

"She'll make it back," Poe shook his head.

As if to contradict him, another injured fighter went into cardiac arrest. Healers worked together to keep him alive, setting up equipment and transferring control to a droid unit.

"She won't. You know it and I know it," Ben argued back, getting into Poe's personal space. "I should have listened to my instincts and forced her to stay, but what's done is done. These people need a Force healer if they'll have a modicum of a chance of survival. That leaves only me."

"I can't allow that," Poe shook his head, barely looking at Ben. His gaze remained laser-focused on Finn's charred face.

"Please, general," Mixa pleaded. "We can do no more. We need Ben's abilities."

"He only needs full access to his abilities to save the team," Aarzio added his argument to the mix. "It will only be for a little while."

"Poe, you need to do this," Ben said candidly. Even though it killed him a little on the inside, he continued on. "I'll let you put the cuffs back on when I'm done."

"I can't," Poe clutched Finn's hand harder. "Please Larma, what else-"

"There is nothing else!" Ben snapped, losing patience. He tugged Poe around by the shoulders, forcing the man to face him. "I need to heal them now if there's any chance of them pulling through. Take off the damn cuffs!"

"I can't," Poe said, starting to hyperventilate. "I don't know how."

Ben's tight hold on him loosened as he tried to comprehend. His throat clenched tight, making it feel like he was speaking through shards of glass.

"Say that again?"

"I don't know how to take off the cuffs," Poe said quietly.

"It's permanent?" Someone asked behind them.

Ben sucker-punched Poe in the face, breaking his nose and spraying blood over both of them. It took every ounce of control he'd learned over the past few months to prevent himself from continuing to bash Poe's face into his skull. He barely registered Mixa dragging him away from Poe. The roaring in his mind was all-encompassing, giving way quickly to fear, hate, and rage.

"You moron," Aarzio snarled, his face twisting into an ugly expression. "You've ruined everything!" He dragged Poe bodily from the tent.

"Focus on me, Ben," Mixa stepped in front of him, shaking him slightly.

Ben breathed harshly, not even attempting to rein in his emotions.

"Ben, I'm angry too, but please focus!" Mixa shouted, shaking him harder.

Ben forced himself to look into Mixa's blue eyes and let the Zeltron temper his incandescent wrath. As Mixa's influence washed over him, the berserker rage lifted a little.

"Your focus needs to be on saving Finn and the rest of the team," Mixa turned him around the face the injured fighters.

Healing their injuries seemed even more daunting and useless now.

"I can't do anything without my abilities," Ben crossed his arms, hiding the unwelcome sight of the cuffs in his armpits. "It's lost to me, forever."

Mixa slapped him across the face. Ben spluttered at the unexpected gesture and raised a hand to his heated cheek.

"Are you or are you not one of the greatest Force users of our time?" Mixa waved his hands in disbelief. "Your abilities are not lost! No one else lifted Winn and Jecob in the air that day in the canteen. It wasn't a figment of our imaginations. You did that," Mixa punctuated his point by jabbing a finger into Ben's chest. "You did, Ben."

"I believe in you, Ben," Larma gently touched the point of his elbow. "You've always been able to do the impossible."

"This is different, Larma," Ben muttered, shifting away from her touch though he really wanted to lean into it. "I was so angry that day in the canteen. I don't know how I accessed the Force. I'm angrier now and my powers are still locked away. It's pointless."

"No, it isn't," Larma reached up to cup his cheek, encouraging him to meet her eyes. "You've always been at your strongest when you try to help. I remember how you first used the Force to lift that little Loth-cat out of that snake-filled hole. You were so determined to save it. Nothing and no one could have stopped you. Tap into that inner strength now."

Ben swallowed hard, his gaze landing on the injured fighters. Finn's injuries were the worst; the wounds were still smoking.

"Commander, I have Rose and Sertali on the line, as requested," Tattara stepped forward, holding a comlink aloft.

"We've lost the comm lock with the Falcon," Rose reported. "We're doing all we can to get it back. They must have run into a dead spot."

"Inform us the moment you regain contact," Larma requested.

"Yes, ma'am," Sertali responded.

A guttural chain of growls came over the comms, directed at Ben. Chewie rumbled that Ben had the power to save the team. He knows he can save them.

"Just try, Ben," Mixa pleaded as another fighter went into fits. "That's all we're asking. Try."

Ben inhaled deeply, centering himself. His gaze landed on Finn again and an idea came to him. He nodded curtly. "Okay." The healers gave him some space as he sat in a chair by Finn's cot.

Ben laid a hand over Finn's inflamed forehead and closed his eyes. They needed a Force healer, but Ben wasn't the only one here who was Force-sensitive. If he could act through Finn, it may just be enough.

Spending time with Finn had given Ben reason to like and respect the man. Casting his thoughts back, Ben let himself slip into a trance. There was no time to process Poe's deception; he had to save Finn, an honorable man who didn't deserve to die. Energy tingled in Ben's fingers and he urged it to flow into Finn's body. The energy fought him like an elastic anchored in concrete. He spent long minutes coaxing the energy to flow, focusing on positive memories.

Finally, the energy flowed and Ben was able to enter Finn's mind. He almost backed out again as he was met by a vortex of tearing pain and a terrible burning that was somehow also ice-cold. Ben steeled himself and forced more energy to pour into Finn and find the damaged areas. It nearly caused him to pass out, but he managed. It was enough to stave off the organ shut-downs for a few crucial seconds.

Finn's mind vaguely acknowledged his presence, but he couldn't form a coherent thought. Ben took advantage of the contact and turned Finn's focus to each of his injuries, feeding him energy to stop the chain reaction causing his organs to fail.

He can't easily control where the energy goes, but he can summon it and give it to Finn. With relief, he felt Finn blindly follow his tacit instructions. One by one, they went to each major injury and funneled Force energy into it to repair the damage.

Ben breathed deeper and continued to transfer the energy, feeling as though he was trying to lift a mountain; the strain was almost unbearable, but he has to help Finn. Their connection strengthened as the burns began to heal and the pain receded a little. Ben could sense the injured squad's lifeforces along with the other healers in the tent. Ben urged Finn to draw the others in so they could share the energy Ben was able to provide. He knew he wouldn't be able to duplicate this process with the other fighters.

Finn tentatively reached out, not really understanding the command at first, but inherently trusting the presence in his mind. In his wounded state, his first instinct was to protect himself, but Ben persisted. The others are soon drawn into their sphere of influence and Ben can tell the damage has gotten worse.

Finn distributed the energy to himself and the others, beginning the healing process. All but two of the squad's lifeforces strengthened in response. Ben could feel those two members of the squad slip from their grasp, their presence becoming wispy and insubstantial. Their wounds had been too substantial for either him or Finn to heal. There hadn't been enough time. Another one started to slip away and Ben refused to let him get away.

Adding the power of his mind to Finn's, Ben pinned their lifeforce, forcing the man to stay and survive. Together, they passed more energy into the mortally injured fighter, repairing his heart and lungs until they started working again.

Time passed. It could have been minutes, hours, or years, but each second was fraught with the fear they would lose another person. Ben could sense Larma and the healers working frantically around him to stabilize the fighters as their organs ceased to shut down and the internal damage faded away. He could tell all of the injured fighters, even Finn, were hovering on death's doorstep. The stress of the injuries and the sudden healing were taking their toll. They just wanted to escape the pain and torment, but Ben prevented them from leaving through sheer force of will. For the millionth time, Ben ignored the silent pleas to let them go and be at peace. He prayed they would forgive him once they woke up.

An eon later, Ben couldn't feel the insistent tugging on their lifeforces anymore. They were still badly injured, but the danger of losing their lives because of fatal injuries had lessened. It would be up to healer technology and medicine to keep them stable until Rey could return and finish healing the damage.

Ben pulled back, gently breaking his connection to each of them. He opened his eyes and stood up. One knee immediately gave out and he crashed into a shelf, sending all the supplies onto the floor in disarray.

"Ben!" Larma helped him back into the chair. "Are you okay?"

"M'fine," Ben mumbled, still trying to get his bearings. His head was fuzzy as if filled with cotton and he was starting to get a headache.

"Drink," Larma ordered, pushing a glass into his hands and guiding it to his lips. "You've been at it for hours."

Ben swallowed the mystery liquid down, trusting her not to poison him. He immediately felt re-energized and the pounding in his head lessened.

"How are they?" Ben asked, setting the glass down with shaking hands.

"Whatever you did, it worked. We can keep them in a medical coma until Rey returns," Larma smiled at him. "You did it, Ben."

The other healers grouped around them, expressing similar praise. Ben shakily pushed himself to his feet, feeling claustrophobic.

"I'm no miracle worker," insisted Ben, moving away from the crowd. "Finn did all the work."

"Are Finn and the others going to be okay?"

Anger and hate bloomed anew in Ben's heart as he heard Poe voice the question. He must have snuck back into the tent unnoticed to hover over Finn.

"Only time will tell, but Ben and Finn have given them a chance," Larma said, rubbing soothing passes over Ben's back.

"Thank goodness," Poe breathed a sigh of relief. He was still pale with distress, but the worry lines were fading. He levied a grateful look at Ben and opened his mouth to speak.

Ben forced his aching legs to carry him out of the tent, unable to stay and hear any words of thanks leave Poe's mouth. It was an insult too great to bear after all Poe had taken from him.

Mixa stayed behind while Ben stormed off, but Aarzio and Sertali left their stations outside the tent to follow him. Ben wanted to go to Falcon to see if its databanks held any information on the suppressor cuffs, but his purpose was derailed by his grumbling stomach. Sharp pains shot through his abdomen, begging for food.

Ben changed trajectory to go to the canteen first. He startled Tawna as he barged into the food prep area to find some food.

"Sorry," Ben muttered, containing himself so he wouldn't cause further stress to the pregnant woman. He steadied her until her eyes stopped glowing so brightly. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, you just startled me," Tawna patted him on the shoulder. "What can I do for you?"

His stomach rumbled again.

"Ah, say no more," Tawna giggled as she popped some seed-studded bread rolls into the rehydrator. "All I can think of is food as well."

She handed three rolls each to Ben and his guards, keeping two for herself.

"Thanks, Tawna," Ben mustered up a grateful smile. Tawna was a good soul.

"Have a good day," Tawna nodded at him. She turned away, sensing his need to get away.

Ben made a beeline for the Falcon, sidestepping Baso as she tried to start a conversation. Baso made to follow him, but he heard Sertali stop her and make some explanation. He tore into the bread rolls, eating them in record time; he tucked one into a pouch on his belt to save for later. He might be here a while. He unfolded a console on the main computer and entered search parameters.

The black metal cuffs had distinctive half-circle patterns; they were barely etched into the metal, but the markings were unmistakable. The ship's computer should be able to identify the marks' origins and extrapolate where the cuffs could have been purchased.

Once he found a lead, he was going to track down the sellers and torture them for information on how to remove and destroy the cuffs before killing them. He entered keyword after keyword, but each search turned up no results. Perhaps he had to search for entries on the specialized technology used within the cuffs; it wasn't commonplace.

Aarzio and Sertali sat at the dejarik table in the main cabin, choosing to give him space. They quietly conversed, their voices a pleasant hum; it was contrary to the rising panic that was twisting Ben's stomach into knots.

The ship's computer beeped, showing a few results. However, as Ben analyzed the results, he saw they would be of no help in his search. Ben slammed his hand into the wall beside the console, swearing under his breath. How could it be that the Falcon with its extensive database was unable to give him any usable answers? Surely, it must have come across the markings: a half-moon of concentric circles. He started a search for anything even remotely similar in its database. The computer indicated a wait time of several minutes, so Ben returned to the main cabin to pace.

He stuffed his hands into his pockets to hide the tremors. His steps slowed as his fingers brushed against the dice pair he'd left in there. It reminded him of the old chest his father had left him. He triggered the secret latch to the smuggling compartment and jumped in to grab the metal chest. Familiar now with the lock-pick sequence, Ben deftly maneuvered the pins and opened the chest.

He pawed through the loose items, lingering on the last holovid card his father had left him. His throat tightened again as he thought to his father's words. How was he supposed to carry on if his access to the Force had been cut off permanently? He continued looking through the chest, hoping one of the journal logs had some obscure information he could use. So far, nothing.

He moved an old hand-drawn picture aside to access the next journal, but something about the picture made him stop. It'd been drawn with a graphite pencil, but the details were exquisite and fine. It depicted Han, his uncles Lando and Chewie, and a woman. His father had an arm thrown around both Lando and the woman, and Chewie stood behind them enveloping them in a big bear hug. They were laughing at some joke known only to them. Ben smiled just looking at them, so carefree. There was something familiar about the woman, but he couldn't place it; perhaps it was some depth of emotion in her eyes. He carefully placed the picture back in the chest and picked up the next holoreader.

This one turned out to be a repository of holopics. There were a few random images of Han and Chewie and then Luke and an older gentleman made an appearance as the timestamp increased. Luke grew more constant and then Leia joined them. A wistful feeling settled in Ben's chest as he came across the last few pictures. These were dated the day the final Death Star had been destroyed. His parents looked so happy.

Ben's senses tingled and he became aware of another presence on the ship. He looked up to see Poe standing at the threshold leading to the main hold. Ben stared at him, wondering what he wanted now. Perhaps he wanted to carve out his heart as well.

After a long, bitter silence, Poe stepped into the room.

"Thank you, for saving them, for saving Finn."

"I didn't do it for you," Ben refused to make this easy for him. And that's not why Poe was here. He was just using this as a precursor to apologizing for the cuffs. "Why did you do it? Why did you put the suppressor cuffs on me, knowing you couldn't take them off?"

"It seemed like the right decision at the time," Poe swallowed hard, his fingers curling into tight fists. "I remembered Leia wanting to use the cuffs years ago when we were dealing with a rogue Force user. They were killed before we had a chance to use the cuffs. After our last stand on Crait and your ascension to Supreme Leader of the First Order, she took me aside to discuss how to stop you. I brought the suppressor cuffs up as an option."

Ben's jaw dropped in disbelief and horror. His mother had bought into using the cuffs on him?

Poe pressed on as he saw Ben's darkening expression. "She nixed the idea almost immediately. The cuffs stayed in her travel pack ever since, collecting dust. But when Rey brought you to the base, I didn't want to take any chances. My duty is to the Resistance, so I dug them out and… and put them on you. They didn't come with any instructions and there was no lock or passphrase. If Leia knew, she never told me."

Ben keenly felt the devastating loss of his abilities all over again. There was no way Poe could reverse this. He was cursed to forever be unable to summon the Force at will and feel its comforting presence and revel in the power it endowed him with. He was doomed to snatch random bits of energy in small spurts.

"Go away," Ben was shocked at how destroyed he sounded.

"Ben, I'm so sorry," said Poe, his voice laden with regret. "I promise I'll find a way to fix this. I swear it on our past friendship."

"Our past friendship has been non-existent for years," Ben said, straining to get every word out through the pain squeezing his chest in a tight vise. "Your promise is meaningless. Go away."

"Ben-"

"Go!" Ben raised his voice so it boomed through the room. "Leave… before I kill you."

Poe's face fell and he looked lost, but he nodded and left quickly, not wanting to test Ben's patience.

Ben wanted to rage, to destroy something, but what would that accomplish? It wouldn't restore his ability to summon the Force.

The ship's computer beeped, having finished the search. Ben forced himself slowly to his feet, trying to remain calm. He scrolled through the list, analyzing each data file in detail, searching for something, anything, that would lead him to the makers of the cuffs. It was his only hope now.

---

A/N: Fifty points to Hufflepuff if you found any plot points!