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Rey jerked awake and saw Kylo, the room around them was partly on fire. Burnt flesh filled the air and her mind was flooded with images of the hours proceeding. He had killed Snoke, together they had taken down his guards but not before one of them landed a cut on her shoulder. Rey ignored the pain now as more important issues were present. She got up slowly, gaining her balance as her eyes took in more of her surroundings. The bodies belonging to the Praetorian guards lay scattered around the room serving as evidence and a reminder of the battle fought only hours before. A movement caught her eye drawing her mind back to the present. Kylo was awake. She found her voice but was surprised by the way it cracked. “Ben?”
Kylo had awoken with a headache worse than dehydration poisoning on Jakku. His head was split but to his utter surprise, he wasn’t alone. She hadn’t left, his master was dead. Kylo glanced at his corpse just to be sure it wasn’t some weird spice dream. He would be his own master now. He would be the Supreme Leader and Rey was still there. His eyes had fallen on her as she stood looking at him with concern. There was something else as well…something off in the force and while unspoken they both sensed it. Kylo struggled to find his voice, his mouth was dry and cracked from the ash. “Rey? I thought you'd be gone by the time I got up,” he said, rising to his full height.
“I've got news” Rey looked at him, her eyes lost and confused. She hurt for her friends not having the knowledge of their safety. “I just woke up. So unfortunately I didn’t have time to escape.” He scoffed in amusement but Rey's focus had been drawn to the throne room's large windows. She could hear the battle raging outside but it seemed quieter than before. She thought of her friends worrying for their safety. She was about to bring it up to him no doubt sparking another fight when both of their attention was drawn to a noise that came from the small room. Kylo turned his head in the direction of the noise. He had never noticed a door hidden behind the throne, He had no knowledge of a room existing there and the only evidence of it was the debris on the ground and the force radiating from within.
“Did you hear something?” Rey questioned, staring towards the room.
“Do you feel that?” Kylo wasn’t sure if he was asking himself or Rey. He carefully made his way to the small room and kept a hand on his lightsaber unsure of what was hiding behind his dead master's throne. Rey watched as he entered and on the floor in a corner of what once was a room no bigger than a closet, was a small human child drenched in blood. Rubble lay on top and around her, she must have been locked in there during the fight. The force radiated off her and Kylo was stunned, a little girl was the last thing he expected to find here. Carefully, he removed the rubble that was covering her until she was free. Kylo extended his hand out to her hoping she would take it. To his dismay, she did no such thing. Instead, she backed away from him, seeming utterly terrified. Her face showed pain as she tried to move away. Her eyes scared him, so small, so hurt, so afraid. “Hey, you're safe,” he said in an attempt to calm her. “What's your name?” Silence followed and he wondered if she could understand what he was saying nearly every humanoid in the galaxy knew some form of basic. To Kylo’s dismay, The girl's breath was staggered and she didn’t answer. Footsteps came from behind as Rey walked in with an audible gasp.
“Oh, my,” She removed the hand she had covered her mouth from shock before continuing. “Ben, she needs medical treatment.” Rey glanced at the ships fighting outside and took a deep breath. Something about this child was different yet familiar. Rey wondered if she had seen this child in a vision. “Call off the attack on the resistance and I'll help you.” Rey offered as she came closer allowing a better look at the girl. Rey could see she really wasn’t well. “Ben, I don’t think she has long.” Kylos eyes fell on Rey as he realized the truth of her words.
“Rey, this whole ship is falling apart.” His voice carried a harsh tone he hadn’t intended. He took a breath trying to steady his emotions “there may not be anybody left in the medbay to help.” His mind replayed the situation as he sighed realizing they didn’t have many options.“I guess we'll have to see and find out.” He turned back to the girl, part of him was surprised she was conscious. He motioned toward her hoping she would come closer so he could carry her to the medbay. They both watched as the girl made no effort to move. Rey looked at Kylo, he picked up the small child, fear radiated off her. The girls' blood covered his tunic already. Rey looked at the child in his arms once they were in the turbo lift.
“Ben,” Kylos eyes moved to meet hers that were watching the girl's chest rise and fall at an uneven pace. “Who is she?”
Kylo had been trying to find that out himself. He grabbed the girl's arm causing her to wince even though he was as gentle as possible. His search turned up empty as she didn’t have an identifying mark on her wrist. No number, no name, nothing. He could feel the girl's fear, she was strong which only added to his confusion. Somebody or something must have been masking her presence from him. Kylo was a mixture of emotions; joy from Rey staying, confusion at this child, and anxiety over claiming the throne. He wondered if Snoke had masked her presence from him because now that his master was dead the girl's presence was easily detectable.
“I'm not really sure and I'm just now finding out about her,” he paused, saying the next part more to himself. “Why would Snoke hide this from me?”
Rey looked confused. “Wait, you never saw, sensed, or heard this girl and she was on this ship?”
His anger spiked, was she calling him weak?
“No, I never did and I've been to the throne room plenty of times.” They walked out of the turbo lift into chaos. The ship was under evacuation orders. Troopers and officers run to the hangar or escape pods. Only a few weird glances were sent their way. He wished he had his mask on, Rey had clearly sensed his thoughts and he cursed their bond when he looked back down at her. “This just doesn't make any sense to me at all. I am strong, I would have felt something.”
The child started to squirm and cry, they both knew this would draw unwanted attention or more than they were already receiving. Rey looked over not sure if the child was scared, in pain, hungry, or maybe all of the above. She was about to suggest Kylo use the force to help her sleep when she saw he was already calming her without the use of the force. Rey watched in awe and amazement as Kylo started to gently rock her in his arms, trying to get her to calm down. “Just hold on a bit longer, we're almost there to the medbay,” his voice softer than she had heard from him as he looked at the child in his arms.
Rey looked at him almost shocked. “How do you know how to calm a child and since when are you this caring toward a person?” She realized this was Ben and it made some part of her smile. She knew Ben Solo wasn’t dead, she couldn’t leave him now.
“I'm just doing what I remember my mother would do me as a young child that's all.” Rey smiled at the thought of Leia holding a little Ben as he cried but she sensed more behind what Ben was saying. As if on cue he continued, “that was until the senate got busy, Han Solo went out to smuggle who knows what, and I was left in the care of a droid. Sometimes not seeing my mother for days.” Rey felt the pain from the memories he was going through. He had been lonely like she was. Rey felt a twang of anger pulling at her as she now thought of a very different image of a young Ben Solo. Him alone with a protocol droid as he cried wondering when his mother or father would come home. It reminded her of the vision she had on Takodana where she had seen herself call out to her parents as they left her on Jakku. Her mind was brought back to reality as the ship shook and more alarms blared. They met each other's gaze with urgency and picked up the pace not speaking a word till they reached the medbay. It was empty and much like the rest of the ship, falling apart. Rey hadn’t realized Kylo had left her side until she heard him speaking to a medic that was about to leave. The medic was caught off guard and Rey felt her fear at being faced with Kylo Ren. If Kylo sensed it he showed no evidence of it, his tone was filled with urgency and carried something Rey couldn’t quite place.
“Medic! I need help treating this girl.” The medic looked over at Rey before her eyes fell back on him and went wide. She had noticed the child in his arms and was almost too stunned to speak until Kylo's patience faltered. “Now,” his tone was harsh and the medics' gaze fell back to the girl as she glanced around the destroyer medbay. Her voice was full of fear no doubt afraid he would end her life. She had heard the stories of Kylo Ren, treated people wounded by his fits of anger.
“Lord Ren, sir, I don’t have proper equipment left.” Her voice continued to shake, the medic could see the anger on his face. “Sir, the Generals Star Destroyer is coming out of hyperspace now and I believe yours is with it. Lord Ren, you could take a shuttle and have her treated there, but I am afraid everything is destroyed here.”
Kylo glanced at Rey giving a nod, before the medic could finish they had both left headed for the hanger or what was left of it. Rey could feel Kylos anxiety, she knew he was nervous and so was she. They had killed Snoke who knew how the Order would react to finding out their beloved leader was dead?
“The leader is not dead,” Rey thought she had imagined it at first until she realized it was Kylo who had spoken.
“But we-”
“I am the Supreme Leader now.” Rey felt a stab of pain building in her.
“Ben, that's not why we-” again he cut her off as Rey realized they were approaching a hanger.
“We can discuss it later. You want the battle to stop, I need to regain control before Hux does. This is how I am doing that, that is how I am going to find out what is going on.” His voice lacked the normal strength and she realized he really was just as worried as she was. They stood at the far side of a hanger now, in the distance, two transports were headed towards them. One of them no doubt, transporting Hux. The hanger around them looked like a bomb had gone off. Half-destroyed ships scattered the once shiny and waxed floor. Bodies of troopers and mechanics lay dead on the floor. It smelled like leaking oil and grease.
As Huxs’ ship landed the thought of killing him, taking his transport, and leaving this war behind with Rey crossed his mind. A thought of peace and living a normal life, a notion that disappeared. “Ren!? What the hell happened here?” Kylo found his voice as annoying as ever. The General kept going as walked closer to them, nearly tripping on several ship parts scattered around the hanger. “The Supreme Leader is dead and then I hear you pulled the troops and ships back letting the Resistance get away. Just who do you think you are commanding my army? We have no ru-” Kylo didn’t have time to listen to the General complain. He watched as he started to gasp and grab at his neck. Rey realized what he was doing but he spoke before she could.
“The Supreme Leader is standing right in front of you. You will not question my methods. And it is my army. If you wish to keep your position and your life you will watch what you say.” He released Hux as the girl in his arms started to whine, he could feel she was in pain. Rey moved to try and help as Hux recovered and looked up.
“Forgive me Supreme Leader, but what is the Jedi scum doing here and wh-” again he was cut off.
“That is none of your concern. I am taking that transport to my ship. You will return to yours and wait for my orders. I have something urgent to attend to.” Kylos tone carried an obvious threat and Hux stood speechless while Rey followed Kylo onto the transport. A medical gurney was against the back wall and Rey watched him place the child on it before entering the cockpit and firing up the ship's engines. Rey followed and he turned to her with a look in his eyes she didn’t recognize. “Listen, Rey, we can take Hux's ship and get out of here. Just us two on our own, until we find out what's the deal with this child.” Oh, she was listening and in shock. She wanted to say yes more than anything but it was a delusional fantasy. She couldn’t abandon this war or her friends. Snoke was dead, they could have peace, and better the galaxy. But the girl had already forgotten the reason they were in the hangar.
Rey shook her head, “Ben, that child needs the medical technology on your Star Destroyer.” Rey watched his face change as he knew she spoke the truth. The girl would die if she didn’t get to his destroyer's medbay soon. He remembered the pain he felt in the girl through the force and looked at the floor before flying the ship out of the hangar.
“I know, you are right, that was ju-” noise from the back of the ship cut him off, the girl had woken back up. Rey stood and he watched her leave the cockpit knowing she was going to check on the child. She had always been that way, kind, willing to help people she didn’t even know. A quality he admired in her as it reminded him of his mother. He remembered her always trying to help people when he was younger. At the time he had seen his mother as a hero for helping all those people but it was those very people that had taken his mother away from him to be raised by C-3PO.
Rey had found a blanket and placed it over the girl before finding a seat on a cargo box at her side. She calmed down as Rey rubbed her small face, careful to avoid any bruises or marks. Rey wondered where the child's parents were. Did they abandon her the same way hers had? Were her parents part of the First Order, had they been on the ship? Rey for the first time was grateful for her small Imperial Walker home on the sands of Jakku. Scavenger for scrap every day seemed better than whatever life this child had been going through. Rey felt the girl's face tense and she looked down, her eyes were open, full of fear, but open. Rey spoke in a soft voice in an attempt to come across as non-threatening. “Your awake,” Rey smiled, “We are helping you, can you tell me your name.” A long silence followed and Rey wondered if the girl could understand her. As if on cue, Ben spoke from the front and Rey noticed the girl's eyes looking at the sound of the voice.
“I already tried to communicate with her, I don’t know if she speaks basic.” Rey ignored his remark as she heard him go back to talking to the comms officer. Rey made another attempt. She pointed to herself and the girl's eyes followed her hand.
“I am Rey,” she pointed at her chest, “Rey.” Another long silence followed but this time the girl moved her arm. Rey could see it was causing her great amounts of pain, yet at the same time, she acted as if she was fine. Her pain tolerance was extraordinary considering her condition. The girl now pointed at her own chest the same way Rey had done.
“Allana,” her voice was broken, hoarse, almost as if she had been screaming. Rey smiled at her, they were getting somewhere. In the cockpit Ben smiled as he heard Allana talk, she could understand basic, maybe not that well but she had a name. He smiled to himself as he said her name in his mind, he had to admit it was a pretty name. He stayed silent as he continued to listen to the two of them talk.
“Allana,” Rey started. “How old are you?” Rey held up her hand as if to count but Allana seemed to be thinking as if she wasn’t sure what the correct answer was. Rey was about to ask a different way when Allana responded.
“Eight…nine?” Rey watched her, wondering what had been this child's life. She wasn’t sure of her age and to Rey, she looked no more than seven. She was small, and thin, her blond hair in an unkept state and painted with small bits of debris and blood. Her attention was drawn back to the girl when she noticed her eyes starting to close again as she tried to speak. Rey hushed her.
“Just rest Allana, just rest. We are getting you help.” She fixed the blanket before returning to a seat near Allana which was an equal distance from the cockpit. As she had fixed the blanket she had noticed marks on Allana's arms much like those she had seen cover the arms of those addicted to spice like Glitterstim who would constantly have some sort of needle or injection device on them. Rey was so deep in thought she wasn’t aware Ben had been trying to talk to her until he moved, the movement catching her eyes and bringing her back as he repeated his question.
“Rey…I asked how is she?” Rey glanced over at Allana before meeting his gaze.
“She is okay, drifting in and out.” Rey moved back over to Allana wanting to see her arm again. Ben had turned his gaze back to the fast-approaching Star Destroyer. Rey lifted one of Allanas arms as she looked at it, she had no response as she had slipped unconscious again. Rey knew the girl was force sensitive, both she and Ben could feel it. But the marks on her arm confused Rey until a thought came to mind and she wondered if her blood meant anything. She looked toward Ben. “Ben, are force users' blood valuable?”
“Why would you ask that?” His voice carried an undertone of concern. Rey thought of how old Snoke looked, an almost ghostly figure.
“Allana's arms, they have marks on them. Almost look like they could be from needles an-” Rey suddenly found she wasn’t on the ship anymore, she was standing in darkness. It felt like a cave. “Ben?” There was no response, she felt nothing but the darkness that faded into a cave. A scream came from behind her, she turned to see the child laying on a floor made of dirt and rocks. Somebody held her still while another figure seemed to be taking blood from her arm. Allana seemed to be in pain, Rey winced as she begged them to stop, she watched in shock not knowing what else to do.
“Stop…hurts me.” From what Rey could tell this only made the figure push her harder, Rey couldn’t see his face even as he spoke.
“Quiet girl, this isn’t the first time and it won’t be the last. Master needs your blood to survive and will not be very happy if he hears you denying him and disobeying him.” Rey felt helpless to do anything, Allana reminded her of herself but what Rey went through on Jakku didn’t seem to amount to this. She took another step forward and found she was back on the ship.
“Rey! Rey?” Ben had been calling her name from the cockpit, she felt his concern through the force.
“Yeah..yeah I was just looking at the marks.” Rey turned her focus back to the cockpit and Ben. He had known Snoke and would have some better idea of what she had seen. “Do you think Snoke was using her blood to stay alive?” Rey could feel his shock and disgust across the bond.
“Rey, are you saying you think Snoke was using her blood for his own personal use?” Ben couldn’t believe it. He knew Snoke was old, or at least he assumed. He had seen Snoke as wise, powerful, and all-knowing until recently. Once he killed his father and felt none of the strength and power he had promised he began to doubt. Watching him torture Rey and promising the same power with her death was the last straw. He brought the ship down into the hangar. He disengaged the engines and lowered the ramp before joining Rey and Allana. He could see the marks now, it filled him with anger knowing Snoke must have been torturing this girl under his nose the whole time. “It's a good thing he is dead, things will be different now.” The blanket she had been wrapped in by the medic was covered in blood. He removed his cloak from his shoulders and placed it around the child before picking her up. “I'll carry her to the medbay, I won’t have my hands free so if you are coming you may have to put cuffs on until I-”
“I am coming but I will not wear cuffs. You are the Supreme Leader now, so own it.” Rey was having none of it, she was not a prisoner anymore or ever again. To her surprise, a grin formed on his face. It was something she wasn’t sure she had ever seen before. She wasn’t sure he could smile and at one point, when she first met him she wasn’t even sure he was human. Now things were different, that was Kylo Ren, and this was Ben Solo. She had learned Ben Solo could smile, he cared, Rey only hoped the rest of the galaxy could see this version of him someday. She watched him walk down the ramp and couldn’t help but smile herself. A lot had happened, she could feel the galaxy was changing and the force was working around them. She could see her reflection on the ship's floor as she took the first step onto the ship. Why did it feel like she had just taken the first step into a whole new life?