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Rey reached out toward Ben’s mind, despite the throbbing pain in the back of her head.
She needed to warn him.
Her grandfather’s servants had finally found her on Jakku, and even though she put up a fight, Rey was now bruised and imprisoned onboard a cold, dark vessel.
And she wasn’t the only one.
Rey watched through an electrified shield as stormtroopers carried several unconscious bodies into cells. She hoped none of them were her friend, but she knew it was a possibility.
Palpatine hated the Jedi, almost as much as he loved power. If these other prisoners were Force-wielders like her, that might mean her grandfather was ready to move against the Jedi.
She needed to warn Ben and make sure he was safe.
But there was only silence in their bond, and she couldn’t feel the comforting warmth that always surrounded his presence.
“Lights are out, but the people are still home,” a woman across the hall said.
“What?” Rey asked.
“The power,” the woman began again, tapping the collar around her neck. “It’s still there, but they’ve cut the cords.”
Rey knew there was a collar around her neck as well, but now she brought her bound wrists up and let her fingers feel the metal. There was a strange energy humming along the links. Rey thought it was only meant to shock the prisoners if they tried to escape, but now she wondered.
“Are the collars cutting off our connection to the Force?” Rey asked her.
“Lights will stay off while the cords are cut.”
Rey didn’t know why the woman spoke in riddles, but she could understand enough. “We need to find a way to get free from these.”
“Need to wait.”
“Wait? Wait for what?”
Rey didn’t have time to wait. She needed to know that Ben was safe. He’d always been a target of Palpatine and his henchmen. Without their connection, Rey wasn’t sure if Ben could have kept Snoke out of his mind. What was happening to him now that their bond was severed?
“Fire’s coming,” the woman answered finally. “Have to let it burn.”
~~~
Jayne was going to hurt someone. He didn’t know who yet, but whoever it was, they were going to bleed.
“Why the hell ain’t we moving?” he yelled, as Mal, Zoe, and Simon entered the cargo hold.
“Because we don’t know where they took her,” the captain replied.
“We know it was someone in the gorram First Order,” Jayne said.
“And that narrows it down to thousands of individuals across hundreds of bases and ships in the verse,” Simon retorted.
Jayne picked up a crate and threw it against a wall.
“Would you mind not damaging the ship?” Mal asked. “We’re going to need her to be in one piece if we’re going to rescue River.”
“But we ain’t rescuing River if we’re all just sitting here with our heads up our asses.”
“There is one option we’re considering, even if we’re not all in favor of it,” Simon said.
“What option is that?” Jayne asked.
“The good doctor here thinks we should go to Ossus,” Mal answered.
“Are you out of your gorram mind? Ain’t you supposed to be smarter than that, Doc?”
“The Jedi may be able to help us,” Simon argued.
“Yeah, and they may also want to keep River.”
“We don’t have much of a choice—unless you’d prefer the First Order keep her.”
Jayne kicked his boot into the control console, but the new dent he left in the metal did nothing to ease his frustrations. River was his to protect, and he’d failed at that. He knew she hardly needed his protection with the way she could bring down her opponents, but that didn’t mean she was invulnerable.
He should’ve kept a closer eye on her.
“So what the hell are we waiting for?” Jayne asked, as he finally accepted the doctor’s suggestion.
“Inara,” Mal said. “She’s due back on the ship within the hour, and any rescue mission will be easier if we have both shuttles.”
“Fine,” Jayne said, before walking past them.
“Where are you headed?” the captain asked.
“My guns need cleaning,” he answered. “Need to make sure they’re ready to spill some blood.”
~~~
Ben made his way through the bustling city streets, trying to figure out his next move.
He’d already sent the padawans back to Ossus. They would be safer with Luke than with him right now.
Ben’s sole purpose in that moment was finding Rey.
He’d felt her fear through their connection, and he knew she was in trouble. Ben needed a way to Jakku, but unfortunately, no ships were headed there.
He should’ve taken her from that desert wasteland ages ago and convinced her to join him at the temple. If not that, then perhaps she would’ve at least agreed to traveling around the universe together. They could’ve found a ship and kept moving, staying off of Palpatine’s radar.
Ben could have protected her, if only he’d been by her side. Why did he choose to stay with his uncle rather than keep her safe?
Ben took a steadying breath. His worry wasn’t helping him find a way to reach Rey.
And he wondered if Jakku was his best course. Palpatine could’ve taken Rey anywhere, and with their bond now silent, Ben couldn’t be sure where she was.
He just knew he had to find her.
Closing his eyes, Ben let the Force guide him. The noise and traffic in the street faded around him, and a path presented itself. Ben followed it without question until he was standing in front of an old shuttle. He knocked on the door and waited for an answer.
“Can I help you?” a feminine voice asked through the comms.
“Look, I don’t have time to explain, but I need to board your ship. A person’s life is at stake.”
“Really?” the voice questioned. “That’s the first time I’ve heard someone try that excuse to gain entrance to my shuttle. I suggest you leave before I call the authorities.”
Ben sighed in frustration. “The Force led me here. My friend is in trouble, and I need to find a way to help her.”
The comms remained silent, so Ben tried another approach—one that went against all his training.
“I could take this shuttle without your permission,” he threatened.
The shuttle door opened, and a woman dressed in finery stood in front of him with a pistol aimed at his chest.
“You could try to take this ship, but that wouldn’t end well for you,” she replied.
Acting on instinct, Ben pulled the weapon from her hand using the Force.
“How did you…are you a Jedi?” she asked, sounding surprised.
There were still so few of them—even with his uncle’s best efforts, most people in the verse barely believed Jedi existed.
“Yes,” he answered. “And I’m not here to hurt you. I just need to find a way to my friend.”
“And the Force led you here? To a companion’s shuttle?”
Ben examined his surroundings, finally noticing the ornate bed and the scent of incense in the air.
“This isn’t…I’m not here for…” Ben said, stumbling over his words. Jedi training prepared him for fights, treaty negotiations, and resolving conflicts. It didn’t teach him how to speak to women, let alone companions. Ben believed he was only able to converse with Rey successfully because she was thousands of lightyears away from him.
And now his ears burned as the companion stared at him.
“I need to help my friend,” he finally managed to say.
“Very well,” the companion said. “I’m returning to the Firefly where I keep my shuttle docked. That ship’s crew takes odd jobs as they come up—perhaps they’ll be able to help you and your friend. But I do have one condition.”
“What’s that?” Ben asked.
“I need you to give me back my gun,” she replied, holding out her hand.
Ben took a deep breath and returned the weapon, hoping he was making the right choices.
“Now, take a seat, and I’ll get us in the air,” the companion added.
Examining his options, Ben sat down in the co-pilot’s chair.
~~~
River watched the blue hands drag in another sleeping body—and she counted.
Number of hands, number of times those hands changed during a shift, number of weak points in the armor.
The blue-gloved stormtroopers were supposed to be elite, but River knew they had their weaknesses—just like all the puppets.
Cut their strings and they were only dolls—and dolls were easy to deal with.
Snoke might be more of threat. He might have strings of steel, but she’d find a way to break him…or Jayne would.
If they continued down this path…if she couldn’t find an escape, Jayne would break a number of things.
She wouldn’t mind if he did. The First Order should be broken for all the hurt they caused, and River wasn’t going to let them win.
So she counted.
The twelve wires in her wrist cuff needed to be severed, and she already had four of them undone.
The woman across the hall had at least five cuffs—the collar, the wrist cuff, the two ankle cuffs, and the waist band. All of them prevented her from connecting to her power, and that many cuffs meant she must have some kind of power—power that made the puppets and their master afraid.
The woman must be the one the puppet master wanted.
And he just wanted River in a cage to make sure she wasn’t in his way, along with the other sleepers.
But River was counting, and the number of strings didn’t scare her.
Eight of the twelve wrist cuff wires were now broken, and her hands would soon be free. The collar wouldn’t take long after that. Then she would send a signal and help the woman, at which point they would deal with the puppets in their path.
The fire was starting, but new kindling would help it spread.
~~~
Jayne watched as Inara’s shuttle docked, and he demanded that Wash start flying.
“Not until Zoe or the Captain say so,” the pilot replied, and Jayne was ready to knock the man unconscious.
But then voices from the cargo hold drew his attention. If Mal was raising his voice, that meant trouble, and Jayne didn’t have time for trouble.
He made his way to the back of the ship and noticed Mal and Zoe stepping back with their hands raised. Then Jayne saw the stranger on the walkway that they were moving away from, and he aimed his gun at the man.
The stranger turned his head, apparently hearing Jayne’s entrance, and he released an annoyed sigh. A moment later, Jayne’s pistol was out of his hand and flying through the air toward the man.
“What the hell was that?”
“Apparently,” Mal began, “our new friend here can use the Force.”
“He’s here for our help, Mal,” Inara explained. “The Force led him to us.”
“The Force my ass,” Jayne called. “He stole my gun.”
“You mean the gun you had pointed at me?” the stranger asked. “The one you were about to fire inside a ship while we’re flying through space? You didn’t see any problem with that?”
“He does have a point,” Zoe commented.
Mal turned toward her with brows creased in annoyance. “You’re not helping.”
“Look,” the stranger said. “I’m not here to cause you any harm. I’m just looking for a way to find my friend. She was taken, and I need to get her back.”
“Taken?” Jayne repeated.
“We had a member of our crew taken not long ago,” Mal explained.
“What?” Inara questioned, her voice sounding surprised.
Jayne was too frustrated to let this nonsense continue. “They took River,” he said bluntly. “Took her and left no trace where they were going or else I would’ve hunted them down and killed them already.”
The stranger turned his attention to Jayne now. “River—does she have gifts?”
“What’s it matter to you?” Jayne asked.
“Rey—my friend—she has abilities as well, and I have reason to believe the Sith were behind her abduction.”
Mal raised an eyebrow. “The Sith? As in—”
“Those who use the Dark Side of the Force,” the stranger explained.
“Ain’t no way,” Jayne said, not liking the direction this conversation was headed. “That shit ain’t real, and even if it were, they wouldn’t have no reason to take River. She doesn’t have abilities.”
Inara sighed. “There’s no point lying to him, Jayne,” she said, gesturing to their new guest. “He’s a Jedi. He can probably read the truth from your mind.”
“I ain’t letting any Jedi near River. They can help me find her, but they can’t have her.”
“I’m not here for your River,” the stranger said. “I’m here for my friend. If I can help yours in the process, I will, but right now, I need to find Rey.”
A sharp pain shot through Jayne’s skull, and he fell to his knees. He’d felt this kind of pain before—always when River was in danger and trying to send him a message.
“What was that?” the stranger asked him.
“River,” Jayne answered. “She’s on a ship, headed to a spot on the Outer Rim.”
“Jayne,” the captain called from across the room. “Tell me you have coordinates.”
“River does,” Jayne answered. “And she’s waiting.”
~~~
Standing in the cockpit of the Firefly, Ben realized he’d never met a more ragtag and disorganized crew—even with all the peculiar spacers his father and Chewie had introduced him to over the years.
If these people weren’t his only hope of finding Rey, he probably would’ve left them behind ages ago.
But right now, he couldn’t connect to Rey, yet somehow the man with the knitted cap and rifle could connect to someone else trapped with her.
The woman—the one they called River—confirmed to Jayne that Rey was in the same holding block.
And that Rey was alive.
Ben couldn’t hold back his sigh of relief at that news.
Hearing she was on her way to Snoke gave Ben no comfort. He knew Snoke would turn her over to Palpatine, and who knew what kind of torture she would be subjected to then.
The Firefly couldn’t move fast enough for Ben. He needed to be with Rey and keep her safe.
But his worry wasn’t making the ship move any faster.
So Ben took a deep breath and waited.
If nothing else, he’d at least sent a message to his uncle, telling him where they were headed and what they were potentially up against. If Ben failed, there would still be someone else out there who could help Rey.
“No one can help Rey,” a sinister voice said at the back of his mind. “She will soon belong to the Dark Side.”
It had been years since he’d heard Snoke. Once his mind had found Rey’s, they’d managed to keep that demon out of his head.
But now Ben was alone.
“She will fall—and you let it happen. You failed to protect her, and your weakness will cost her everything. She will suffer to no end, and there is nothing your pathetic Jedi training can do to save her.”
Ben’s hand clenched into a fist, and the dinosaur figurines along the pilot’s console lifted into the air. He knew he had to stay calm and let go of his anger, but Snoke was right. He should have done more to protect Rey. If he lost her…
“Guys, what’s going on?” the pilot asked, watching the floating objects.
“You always resist. You think the light will keep you safe, but look what it’s done for Rey. The darkness is where the true power lies. You can feel that. She will feel it too in the end.”
“Ben?” the companion said, but he couldn’t listen.
His vision became unfocused, and all Ben could think about was the void in himself where he usually felt Rey. He was hollow, and this emptiness would be all he would know for the rest of his days.
Suddenly, Ben’s back collided with solid metal, and his vision cleared. Jayne held Ben’s collar, and the other man had apparently pushed him into a wall.
All the occupants of the cockpit stared at him, and Ben saw the dinosaurs and several other objects around the room bent as if they’d been crushed.
“River says to snap the hell out of it,” Jayne told him. “You ain’t helping Rey by losing your shit.”
“You don’t understand,” Ben argued. “Rey’s in danger.”
“River’s in danger too. Don’t see me crying about it.”
“No,” the captain interjected. “You only destroyed half the cargo bay because of it.”
The other man released Ben and shifted his focus to Mal at those words. “At least you could see me doing that. A crazed Jedi—who knows what he might do?”
Ben ground his teeth. “I am not crazed. I can just hear Snoke threatening her.”
“Hear Snoke?” the pilot repeated, with a concerned look on his face. “You can hear the Supreme Leader of the First Order…in your mind?”
“Can he hear us now?” Mal asked. “Does he know where we’re headed?”
“No,” Ben answered. “He’s only been able to see part of my thoughts. He can’t see or hear my surroundings, but my emotions are easier to read.”
“We shouldn’t take chances,” the captain replied. “The two of you,” he began, pointing to Ben and Jayne, “can wait in the mess hall until we’ve landed.”
“Why me?” Jayne asked with an annoyed whine.
“Because when River’s not around, you’re more likely than our crazed Jedi friend here to destroy my ship,” Mal said. “And if you’re going to start destroying things, you may as well start with the food rather than navigation or life support.”
“Fine,” Jayne replied, before heading to the door. “Nothing important happening here anyway.”
Ben watched him leave and saw the others continuing to stare. Given his choices, Ben followed Jayne. While he was used to people considering him abnormal because of his gifts, he didn’t like the fear he felt from the Firefly’s crew. Besides, Jayne was the only one with a link to River, and she was the only one who could let him know about Rey.
~~~
River slid her knife between two floor panels.
Jayne always liked the way she could hide her weapons. They made a game of it—she would hide, and he would seek, and somehow they both would win.
She and Jayne had an easier relationship than this new pair. River could sense the trouble the boy was causing Jayne, and the girl across from her was no less upset.
“There’s no way you can tell them to turn around?” Rey asked, as she paced in her cell. “Or maybe they could drop Ben off? He shouldn’t come here. Snoke will hurt him.”
“He won’t turn back,” River replied. “Too worried about you.”
“Tell him not to be. I’ll figure a way out of this—or we will, I mean.”
One of the panels came loose, and River pried back the metal to reveal the circuits underneath. A few more slices, and the shielding around their cells would fail.
“Your cuffs are deactivated, aren’t they?” Rey asked. “You could just focus on the wires and disconnect them with the Force.”
“Can’t,” River answered.
“But you can communicate with someone across the galaxy. You must have some control of your abilities.”
“Only the mind. Can’t make things fly.”
“With training, you could learn.”
“Not a Jedi,” River said. “Not a Sith either. Don’t want the label.”
“You don’t have to be a Jedi or a Sith,” Rey offered, crouching down to River’s eye level. “My parents helped me learn some control when I was young—ways to keep myself hidden from…from Snoke and others.”
The pause gave the other woman away. River could see the shadow of a secret in her gaze. It wouldn’t take much digging, and the secret would be River’s too.
But she didn’t want other people’s secrets anymore. Her head and Jayne’s—that was all she needed.
“Already know enough,” River answered, before driving her knife into floor.
Sparks flickered, and the electrified walls came down.
“You did it!” Rey exclaimed.
The alarms stayed quiet, which was exactly what River wanted. They would have twelve minutes before the blue hands passed by this way again, so they needed to move.
“Can you get me out of these?” Rey asked, gesturing to her bound wrists.
River ignored the question, instead grabbing Rey’s arm and pulling the other woman down a hallway.
“No time,” she said.
“What about the other prisoners? We need to help them,” Rey argued.
“Need a safe space first. Then party tricks.”
~~~
Rey followed River down winding corridors. The other woman moved with grace and speed, while Rey felt off-balance. The cuffs around her ankles weren’t locked together, so she had full use of her legs, but all of her bindings were cutting off her connection to the Force.
She’d hidden her abilities before, but she’d never been without them.
And it had been years since she’d been without Ben.
Rey felt alone in a way she hadn’t experienced since her parents’ deaths. But she kept moving, trying to maintain River’s pace. River was her best chance of finding a way out of this—and a way back to Ben.
River’s feet slowed as they approached a dark room. Lights turned on in response to their presence, and Rey could see storage lockers. Opening one, she found blasters and vibroblades.
“Finally,” Rey said, taking a vibroblade, turning it on, and putting it on a counter. She brought her wrist cuff down and let the blade slice through the central binding. Her arms parted, and Rey took a moment to stretch the abused limbs.
But she noticed there was still a hum of energy beneath each of her hands.
“How are these things still working?” Rey asked.
“Have to cut the right spots,” River answered, as she drew a large blaster out of one of the lockers.
“You deactivated yours. Can’t you do the same to mine?”
“No.”
“No? Why not?”
“Something else in your collar. Special—just for you. Cut them the wrong way and lights out—at least until he wants them back on again.”
“He?” Rey asked. “You mean Snoke?”
“You know who I mean,” River said. “The puppet master.”
Rey had only trusted Ben with her secret. She knew how much people hated Palpatine, and she imagined they would hate her as well for her blood. It was part of the reason she never took up Ben on his offer for her to join him at the temple. Rey doubted the other Jedi would be able to look past her villainous relation.
“Don’t care,” River said.
Rey’s brows furrowed in confusion. “What?”
“Blood doesn’t matter,” the other woman replied, as she retrieved an ax from another locker. “What you do matters—not what the past did. All of us have demons in our past, and most of us have demons in our future. Doesn’t matter.”
“The Jedi might disagree with you on that.”
“Ben’s a Jedi. He wants you. Doesn’t care about your blood.”
“Ben wants me?” Rey questioned. She'd fantasized about having something more with Ben, but that was a thought she kept buried deep in her mind. She never let Ben see it. He was a Jedi—he wouldn’t want to see that she had feelings for him.
River released a sigh. “Hopeless,” she said.
“What’s hopeless?”
“You two,” the other woman replied. “Need to seal you both in an airlock until you find some sense.”
Rey felt heat rise in her cheeks. Part of her wanted to deny River’s suggestions, but she couldn’t. Giving in to the idea that Ben might want her too brought Rey a feeling of joy, despite being trapped on a First Order ship.
“Escape first. Then figure the rest out.”
Rey was about to agree with her when River went completely still.
“What’s wrong?” Rey asked.
“Trouble,” River answered—just before the doors of the room blasted open.
~~~
“Gorram it!” Jayne bellowed, slamming his fist against the table.
“What? What is it?” the Jedi asked.
“Something went sideways, and she flipped the switch.”
“Flipped the switch?” Ben repeated, sounding confused.
“She ain’t letting me see anything.”
“What does that mean? Is she unconscious? Are they blocking her from using the Force again?”
“It means she ain’t letting me see shit. She’s doing this on purpose.”
“How often does that happen?”
“Whenever things are about to get bloody.”
“What was the last thing you saw?” the Jedi asked.
“They were getting weapons. River found this sweet repeater rifle, and then she felt something,” Jayne said, as a shiver passed through him. The feelings River sent to him weren’t always natural. They were more intense and raw than what he was used to feeling—like static electricity compared to sticking a finger in an open socket. But he wanted to feel them. Jayne wanted her joy when he’d found her a new present, wanted her ecstasy when he was inside her…and he wanted her fear.
That was when he knew to not hold back. Anyone who scared his River was going to meet the business end of his knife or find a bullet between their eyes.
“Were they hurt?” Ben asked.
“Don’t know,” Jayne answered. “They were armed, but company showed up.”
“I still can’t feel Rey. If they found weapons, why didn’t they remove her bindings?”
“I ain’t got all the answers. I just saw what I saw. You can ask your girl why they did what they did once we find them.”
“She’s not…” the Jedi began, pausing as if nervous.
“She’s not what?” Jayne demanded. He didn’t have time for indecisive crap today.
“Mine,” Ben answered. “She’s not my girl.”
“So you go around, forcing your way onto other people’s ships and stealing other people’s guns with your magic fingers—all for a girl that ain’t yours? Is that some kind of Jedi shit?”
“What?”
“Jedi—I heard they sworn off sex.”
“Some…some have,” the man said, uneasiness in his voice. “Others are trying a new path.”
“And which are you?” Jayne asked.
The Jedi offered no reply. Instead, his eyes went to the glass of water in front of him.
“Come on now,” Jayne continued. “Either you’re the some or you’re the others—so which is it?”
Ben rose from his seat and walked to the corridor leading to the cargo hold.
“Where you going?” Jayne asked. “Captain told us to stay here.”
“And what good is that doing either of us?” the Jedi questioned. “You’ve lost your connection to River, and until you’re able to speak to her again, I don’t see any reason to spend further time here.”
“And what about keeping your temper in check and not destroying shit?”
“I’ll manage somewhere else,” Ben said, before storming off.
Jayne turned back to the table. “That boy don’t even know whether he wants to be a virgin or not,” he mumbled. “Idiot.”
~~~
River knew they didn’t have the numbers.
She’d taken down ten, and Rey took down another seven before the darts were used. Both she and Rey were sleeping dolls after that—at least for a little bit.
Then they were in the blood room. River’s eyes opened to see red walls, red ceilings, red toy soldiers waiting to kill. And in front of them was a throne with a monster on top of it.
Both she and Rey struggled to sit up, and the monster watched their efforts, an amused look on his face.
“Aren’t you two quite the pair?” the monster said. “Did you honestly think your feeble attempt to escape would go unnoticed?”
River stared at the creature. “Like Jayne says—people with heads up their asses can’t see much.”
Lightning shot from the monster’s hand and pulsed through River, sending searing pain through every inch of her body. But River didn’t scream. She’d felt worse pain before, so she only grit her teeth and endured it.
“Stop,” Rey cried out. “It’s not her you’re after.”
The pain ended as the monster shifted his focus to Rey. “No, she’s not our primary objective, but she will make an entertaining pet.”
“Who’s the pet here?” River questioned. “Who’s a fish in a jar, ready to be flushed when his master’s tired of him? New fishes in new jars—ready to replace him.”
Lightning coursed through River again, until Rey shoved her aside and became the monster’s target. The bolts circled around Rey, weaving in and out of her until she screamed.
“That’s it, girl,” the monster said. “I want to make it loud enough for the boy to hear it. I’ll deliver you to my master and deliver Solo to the Dark Side in the process—then we’ll see who becomes the pet.”
River did the math.
There were too many guards around the monster, and all of them had helmets shielding their minds from her. She could try, but she wouldn’t succeed—not without help. And waiting for Serenity would mean death.
The numbers weren’t adding up right, and Rey was still screaming.
~~~
Ben fell to his knees in the cargo hold.
“You can feel her, can’t you?” Snoke whispered in his mind. “She’s going to beg for death soon—and after that, she’ll beg for anything the Dark Side wants—so long as it means an end to this pain.”
Ben could feel Rey’s anguish—but not through their bond. It was through the distorted lens of Snoke’s glee. The villain was torturing her, and Ben couldn’t save her or even offer her comfort. He could only feel her pain.
And he knew then he was going to kill Snoke. He’d never been so certain of anything in his life.
“You may try, boy, but no follower of the Light could ever truly hope to destroy a Sith.”
“We’ll see about that,” Ben replied, before reaching out with his mind.
He’d only ever tried to connect with Rey in this manner, and that was always driven by the Light Side of the Force. He’d heard the dangers of pushing out too far, but Ben had no other options. He had to stop Snoke, no matter the costs.
With all his focus, Ben centered his attention on Snoke’s hand—the hand currently making Rey suffer—and then his thoughts spread. The Force flowed through him and twisted around every bone in Snoke’s body until Ben sensed cracking and, finally, breaking. Snoke cried out, and Rey stopped screaming.
Ben felt relief for one moment before his eyes became too heavy, and everything went black.
~~~
Rey had been floating in the air, suspended by Snoke’s dark powers, until something shifted. She heard unnatural pops before falling to the ground.
On the throne, Snoke writhed in agony, and then stilled eerily. His guards had their weapons drawn, looking around the room for an enemy that didn’t seem to be there.
Rey heard hits beside her and then the thump of something falling. She turned to see River bringing down two of the guards.
“Numbers are changing,” the other woman said, before tossing Rey a staff.
Rey rose to her feet, and back-to-back, she and River faced off against the surrounding bodyguards.
It would be easier with the Force—Rey knew that, but she wasn’t going to back down just because she didn’t have her abilities. She kept moving and kept fighting. With Snoke gone, there was a chance they might escape, and a chance she might see Ben again.
That thought pushed her forward, knocking over the guards with her staff or using their own weapons against them. But she and River were still outnumbered.
The door to the chamber opened behind them, and Rey was certain they were in trouble—until River left the fight to jump into the arms of one of the newcomers.
The man held River tightly, as her legs wrapped around his waist and their lips met in a passionate kiss.
Rey had to turn herself away from the scene. There were still enemies nearby, but at least the new arrivals were helping to bring them down. A man in a brown coat and a woman with dark curly hair fired blasters at the remaining guards, and their numbers began to dwindle.
“Your River’s friends, I take it?” Rey asked. “Is Ben with you?”
“Shoot the bad guys first. Chit chat later,” the man said.
A chill ran down Rey’s spine. She wanted to know where Ben was, but the others weren’t focused on her question. River finally separated from her lover long enough to bring down the last of the guards, and Rey was feeling confident.
But then another set of doors opened, revealing men in dark cloaks with lightsabers in their hands.
“What the hell is this?” the man in the brown coat asked.
“Snoke’s acolytes,” Rey answered, looking back and forth between her recent allies and the approaching opponents. Their group wouldn’t survive this fight. She couldn’t access the Force, and River wasn’t trained to fight Sith. “I surrender,” she called out.
All of the dark hoods turned toward her.
“What exactly are you doing?” the man in the brown coat asked. “This is supposed to be a rescue.”
Rey continued to focus on the Sith. “It’s me your master wants, not them. Let them go, and I’ll turn myself over to you.”
“That ain’t the plan,” River’s lover said.
“There’s no other choice,” Rey argued.
“Always another choice,” River replied. “Flames aren’t dead yet.”
“I think they are, River,” Rey said. “Tell Ben I’m sorry.”
She took one step forward before her feet froze in place. Rey looked down but saw nothing holding her back; her body was simply immobile. Her eyes turned toward the acolytes, and she watched them take defensive positions.
Their eyes turned to a side passage, and Rey followed their gaze as a figure emerged from the shadows. Before any other feature, Rey noticed the glint of a lightsaber hilt in the newcomer’s hand. A green light extended, and the Sith made their move—each failing to strike or even disarm the man.
One by one, the acolytes fell, and suddenly Rey could move her legs again. The lightsaber was extinguished and tucked away, and the newcomer lowered the hood of his cloak.
The man in the brown coat moved to stand beside Rey. “And you are?” the man asked the newcomer.
“Luke Skywalker,” he answered. “And I’m looking for my nephew.”
“Master Skywalker?” Rey murmured.
“The Rebel General?” the man asked.
“The Jedi,” Rey replied, remembering what Ben had told her about his uncle.
“And you must be Rey,” Luke said. “You’re the one my nephew came here to save.”
She would have felt more awed to meet the famous Jedi if she weren’t worried about Ben. “Where is he? Is he all right?”
“He’s on our ship,” the man in the brown coat answered. “Blacked out or something, and our doc can’t wake him.”
“Take us to him,” Luke requested. “My students are dealing with the remaining First Order troops here and helping the prisoners. I need to see my nephew.”
Rey fell in line behind Luke, as the others led them to a hangar with TIE fighters, shuttles, and a worn-down Firefly. Once onboard, they made their way to the med bay, and Rey kept to the back of the cramped space. She watched Ben, lying still on a bed, as the doctor described his condition.
“It’s some sort of coma. He’s not responding to any of our normal stimulants, but he's still displaying functional brain activity. It’s as if he should be awake, but something’s keeping him from consciousness. I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“He pushed himself too far with the Force,” Luke replied, wrapping his hand around Ben’s.
Rey felt hollow. She’d never been this close to Ben in her life, but she’d never felt further away from him. She couldn’t sense his presence, either because of the bindings or because of his coma.
“Needs her,” River said suddenly, before walking toward Rey.
“Who needs what?” Rey asked.
“He…needs…you,” she spelled out slowly, before grabbing Rey’s arm, and pulling her closer to the bed.
“I’ve caused him enough trouble. He shouldn’t have come after me.”
“It was his choice to come after you,” Luke said. “What happens next is your choice.”
Luke lifted his hand, and Rey felt the bindings loosen and fall away from her skin.
Rey was once again connected to the Force and all life around her, but Ben’s voice was still silent. The lonely echo in her mind made her anxious.
“Master Skywalker—shouldn’t you be the one to help him?” Rey asked.
“Doesn’t need the Jedi,” River interrupted. “He needs you.”
Rey looked at Luke, and the man stepped back and shrugged, as if he agreed with River. All other eyes in the room were on her, waiting for Rey to make her decision.
Finally, she sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped her small hand around Ben’s larger one. It was colder than it should be, and Rey knew she would give anything to feel it warm.
A strange heat pulsed in her heart, and she felt it move from her chest, down her arm, and at last to her hand. The heat pushed from her body into his, just like she used to push her thoughts into his mind. And when he accepted those thoughts—Rey had never felt more complete.
But now it was so much more. The heat flowed from her, and she felt it welcomed into Ben’s body.
Suddenly, his chest lifted, and his breathing became stronger.
“Ben,” Rey said, holding back tears as she watched him.
His eyes fluttered beneath their lids—so close to waking.
“Please Ben,” Rey begged, needing him to be okay.
His grip tightened around her fingers, and his eyes flew open.
“Ben?”
He sat bolt upright, and his hand let go of hers so his arms could wrap around her body.
“Rey,” he said, and she could feel him release a sigh of relief at the same time the warmth of his mind enveloped hers. They were connected once more, and she never wanted to be parted from him again.
She pulled away just enough to look at his face, and his hand moved to her cheek. Behind her, Rey heard a door close, and out of the corner of her eye, she realized they were alone.
Their reestablished bond gave Rey a glimpse of how close his body had come to either dying or succumbing to the Dark Side.
“You shouldn’t have followed me,” she said through a shaky breath, realizing that she might have lost him today. “You could’ve—”
“I’ll always follow you,” he interrupted, leaning his forehead against hers. “Wherever you go, I’ll follow you.”
“But you can’t,” Rey insisted. “Look what almost happened against Snoke, and you know who’s after me. I can’t lose you.”
One of Ben’s hands explored her back, and his fingers pressed against her body, as if he couldn’t be close enough to her. The feeling echoed against their connection, and Rey knew he would never be satisfied only linking to her mind now that they’d touched.
“I can’t lose you either,” he said. “I’ll face a thousand emperors to be with you.”
It was all Rey wanted—all she ever wanted—to never be alone again. And through their bond, she knew it was what Ben wanted too.
She didn’t know which of them started it, but suddenly, their lips pressed together, and she’d never felt more complete than when she kissed Ben Solo.
The thought seemed to encourage him, as they explored each other—first with tongues, then with hands, and always with their minds. They remained fully clothed, but through their bond, they became intimately linked, and Rey knew neither of them would ever want to let go.
“Ahem,” a voice said from behind them, and reluctantly, they pulled apart from the kiss.
Rey turned back to see the man in the brown coat.
“The Captain—Malcolm Reynolds,” Ben informed her through their connection.
“Sorry to interrupt,” the captain said, “but your uncle just wanted you to know he’s leaving with the others he brought with him and the people they rescued.”
A shadow of unease passed through her mind, as Rey wondered if Ben would prefer to return to his life as a strict Jedi rather than remain with her.
“Thank you, Captain,” Ben replied. “Where’s Serenity headed?”
“Don’t have a course yet, but I have a feeling we’ll be keeping away from the First Order for a bit—if Jayne has any vote on the subject.”
“Could you drop Rey and I off on Chandrila?” Ben asked.
“Chandrila?” Rey questioned, turning back to him. “Isn’t that where your parents live?”
“I want you to meet them,” he answered before giving her a smile.
Rey wanted him to smile more. Nothing made her happier than the sight of him smiling.
“If I might add,” the captain said, once more interrupting them. “We do have open quarters where the two of you could avoid the audience.”
Rey followed the man’s gaze and realized several members of the crew were staring at them through glass windows, including River and her lover.
The other woman smiled at Rey, before the tall man scooped River up and carried her in his arms to another part of the ship.
Rey’s cheeks burned as her thoughts turned to Ben, and she wondered if they would ever be like that.
“We’ll be worse,” he said through their bond, before raising an eyebrow. “Or better—depending on how you look at it.”
Before Ben could prove himself to be any more adorable, Rey kissed him again. She didn’t care who was watching.
All that mattered was they were together.