Chapter Text
There were two types of storm chasers in this world. Those who were in it for all the right reasons, and those who simply had a reckless fascination with the wonder of nature.
Rey belonged to the former group. Every storm she tracked, each damage path she analyzed, was aimed toward a nobler purpose; to better understand the natural phenomenon and make advancements in preventing the devastation it wrought.
Ben Solo, on the other hand, was the epitome of the latter type. He was reckless and arrogant and had an utter disregard for the stakes at hand. He wasn't in it for the science. He didn't care about the damage tornadoes left in their wake or the upheaval they brought into people's lives. Ben was in it for the thrill, for the fame. He wanted to be the one to get the best shot of the twister, to make a spectacle of the devastation they wrought. He reveled in the chaos, and his antics often put him and his team in unnecessary danger, not to mention the amateurs he inspired to do the same.
Rey had never known a more insufferable member of her profession, him and his entire crew. When their caravan of mismatched trucks and sedans, equipped with film gear, roll cages, and painted with ridiculous designs of red and black, pulled into a gas station outside of El Reno, Oklahoma, Rey could only roll her eyes and sigh.
"Oh, great," Rose muttered, walking up beside her. "Who invited these idiots?"
"That would be the Doppler," Rey grumbled, focusing on the radar equipment she was adjusting. "Just ignore them."
Behind her, she heard a series of car doors open and slam shut, followed by a cacophony of mixed shouts and raised voices.
Rose scoffed. "I'll certainly try."
Rey certainly tried as well, but it was only a short while before she heard the approach of footsteps on gravel, and a low voice rose up behind her.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the science brigade."
Rey tightened her jaw in irritation and turned to see Ben Solo. She glowered at him, then feigned a polite smile. "If it isn't the hot-headed thrill seekers division."
Ben gave a satirically offended look, smirking slightly. "You say that like it's a bad thing."
She shrugged half-heartedly, ignoring him as she fiddled with the tuning on the radar discs. "You do you. Just don't act like what you're doing is actually important."
"Is that so?" he remarked, leaning casually against the side of her van, making it impossible for her to avoid him in her peripheral vision.
"Yes," Rey said flatly. "Now if you don't mind, I'm busy."
"Mmm," he hummed, glancing away with a nod. She could see in the corner of her eye that he was glancing upward, and she surmised he was eyeing the clouds. "Which way you headed?"
Of course. He wanted to know their plan. Probably because he was just following the storm trackers, and didn't actually know the best course of action to get in close.
"Don't see why I should tell you," Rey muttered, finishing off with her adjustments. She stepped around him, crouching into the open side of the van to check the radar she'd been tuning. Ben turned to watch, dangling by a hand as he peeked inside the sliding door.
"Come, now," he chastised. "Where's your regard for a fellow chaser? Aren't we in this together?"
Rey tapped an irritated finger across her trackpad, then sighed. She studied the Doppler for a moment, then turned around, looking past Ben's shoulder. He shifted aside, turning too to gaze at the growing mass of black clouds in the distance.
She turned back. "West northwest. Cutting up the 270, for now."
Ben clicked his tongue, and she heard him lightly tap the outside of the van. "Smart." Yes, it was smart. Because she was following the science, not whatever bullshit instincts he claimed to have a handle on. "But I'm thinking it might shift east," he added as an afterthought.
"And what makes you say that?" she asked absently, tone dripping with condescension.
"Oh, I just know these things, sweetheart."
Rey could hear the grin in his voice, and it made her seethe. She turned back, and the sight of his smug expression gave her the sudden urge to slap it right off his face.
"You don't know the first thing about it," she snapped.
His eyes narrowed at her, but that stupid smirk stayed firmly in place. God, he was infuriating. Every attempt to tell him off just seemed to amuse him further. He was clearly thriving off of her annoyance.
"Now, now. I may not have a fancy education and government funding like you lot," he said, gesturing dismissively to all of the equipment around them. "But I do have something you can't gain from simply staring at Dopplers all day."
"And what's that?" Rey deadpanned, giving him her flattest, most unamused look.
He leaned in close, as if to share a secret, and Rey was suddenly too aware of his proximity, the faint scent of sandalwood mixed with dust and sweat rising to her senses. "Intuition," he said wryly. "You may know the data, but I know the storm."
She scowled at him. "That data is what saves lives, here. It's what allows for advance warnings and path projections. Up-close shots of twisters for the sake of spectacle aren't helping anyone."
He shrugged. "If you say so."
"Oi! Ren!" a voice shouted from across the parking lot. "Quit canoodling and get over here!"
Ren. That stupid nickname—if it could even be called that. She couldn't imagine much thought went into simply changing the first letter of his name, and if there was any meaning behind it, she didn't care enough to know.
Rey made a sour face at his teammate's insinuation, but Ben just beamed amusedly. He tapped the roof of the van with finality before stepping back. "Good talk."
As he turned to walk away, Finn was returning from the gas station with a bag of snacks for the road.
"Oh! You again." Ben glanced back to Rey with a stupid smile, then turned back, patting Finn on the shoulder as he walked past. "Good seeing you."
Finn made a repulsed face, glancing back at Ben before turning his attention to Rey. When he was out of earshot, he shook his head. "He's such a dick."
—
NOAA was predicting a hell of a week for tornado activity. Starting on the outskirts of Oklahoma City and working its way up to southwestern Iowa, meteorologists were already tracking multiple supercells expected to develop within the next few days. Already that day, there had been two touchdowns and three funnels seen to the south, though none that exceeded an EF-1. The storm Rey's team was currently tracking was already predicted to develop into at least an EF-2.
Their convoy consisted of four vehicles. At the very rear was a Transit van, equipped with state-of-the-art weather analysis equipment. It served as their mobile data hub, with Rose actively tracking readings of every kind while her sister, Paige, drove. Ahead of them were two Tahoes: the first carrying Tallie and Nix, and the second carrying Kaydel and Jess, each of which acted as both pursuit vehicles and additional data collectors. At the front of the pack rode a heavily reinforced RAV4, with Poe at the wheel, Rey riding shotgun, and Finn in the backseat.
As they sped along the highway, Rey intently scanned the computer in her lap, analyzing Doppler readings and various radars.
"We're right on track. Finn, how's it looking?" her voice carried into the backseat.
"We've got some small rotations, but nothing serious yet," he announced from behind her, eyeing the data being fed to him by Rose.
"Good," Rey said with a nod. "Keep me posted."
She leaned in closer to her screen, switching between the low and high-range Dopplers. Her fingers flew over the keyboard as she zoomed in and out, dragging the time slider back and forward again. Her face fell, jaw subtly tightening.
With a reluctant sigh, Rey reached for the radio. "Kaydel," she spoke into the device, trying to mask the tightness in her voice. "It looks to shift east. Find us a route in case we have to change course."
"On it," Kaydel's voice crackled back through the radio.
"Uhh, boss?" Poe spoke up. Rey looked over at him, and he gestured a nod at his rearview mirror. "Looks like your boyfriend's here."
Her head whipped around, looking out the side windows as the tainted, silver grill of a black Dodge Ram appeared in the left lane, steadily overtaking them. Finn shot her a look, raising an eyebrow, and she huffed, turning back in her seat to fixate on her screen. In her peripherals, she watched four vehicles pass them by, each going at least fifteen over the speed limit.
"How many times have I told you not to call him that?" Rey grumbled indignantly.
Poe shrugged innocently. "Sorry. It's just that I saw you two talking earlier, and you looked to be standing awfully close for two people who despise each other."
There was a snicker from behind her, and Rey threw a blind middle finger over her shoulder.
"I don't know why you're laughing," she remarked dryly. "You hate him just as much as I do."
"Well, hate is a strong word for it," Finn argued. "Do I think he's an insufferable asshat? Absolutely. But he's the only reason I ended up here with you guys, so I guess I'll always have some gratitude for that."
Right. Sometimes Rey forgot about that. Before he joined her team, Finn had spent a season with Solo's crew. Maybe she was always forgetting because he seemed so unlike them—more grounded and less reckless. But he had told her some time after they met that he only rode with Solo because they were the only ones who would take him on, and she could understand that. It was a hard game to get into.
Rey glanced back to the road ahead, noting with annoyance that Ben's convoy was already a quarter mile ahead of them, before taking in a much more pressing detail: the sky above was slowly bleeding into a murky green.
"Finn?" she called back to him with some urgency. "We've got greenage. What am I seeing here?"
"Uhhh." Rey heard him tap aggressively at his keyboard. "We're getting some pretty heavy rotations, but nothing's funneling yet."
"Well, it's about to," she remarked.
"Rey?" Poe chimed in. She looked over, and he pointed a finger over his steering wheel. "They're turning."
Her gaze flicked ahead, spotting a plume of dust where Ben's team had veered off onto gravel.
"You wanna follow?"
Rey hesitated, her pulse quickening as she looked back at her radar. Her eyes flicked quickly over the screen before turning back to the ominous sky, then to the four vehicles speeding north. She gave a tight-lipped nod.
"Do it."
Poe swung the car off the main road, the tires skidding slightly as they gripped gravel. The sound of rocks shifting and being thrown against the undercarriage filled Rey's ears as they accelerated. Overhead, the sky continued to churn, dark masses swirling ominously in the distance.
"We've got a funnel!" Finn suddenly shouted.
Rey whipped her head around, looking out through every window. "Where?!"
"Two miles northeast!"
Poe floored the gas pedal, and Rey got on the radio to alert the others. "Tallie and Jess, head east and try to take it from the other side. We'll keep going north. Paige, stick with us, but keep your distance."
A chorus of affirmatives echoed back, and Rey watched as two vehicles split off in a trail of dust behind them.
"It's over that hill," Poe said, eyeing the horizon as they neared a slope.
She nodded. "It's over that hill."
Rey noted absently that they had lost sight of Ben's crew, but she paid it no mind. She had bigger fish to fry at the moment. As they crested the hill, she saw it—a slender, white tube of vapor reaching toward the earth, the swirling column stretching out with a deceptive calmness that betrayed the impending chaos.
After a brief moment of awe, Rey spoke into the radio. "We see it. It's coming down straight to the northeast. What's your position?"
"We're coming up from the southwest," Kaydel's voice came through the radio.
"All right. It's about to touch down. Tallie—SHIT!"
Out of nowhere, a vehicle came swerving onto the road. Poe, ever skillful behind the wheel, yanked the steering just in time to avoid a collision, but the action sent them plunging down into the ditch. They tore through the grass, wheels violently gripping and sliding before Poe managed to maneuver them back onto the road. Once she had her bearings, Rey quickly looked ahead to identify the culprit.
She instantly snarled a groan, fiddling with the radio to switch channels. "You asshole!" she barked into it. "What the hell do you think you're doing!?"
There was silence for a moment, and then a voice filtered back. "Whoops."
Rey groaned even harsher, watching Solo's lone, dirtied truck speed ahead of them.
"Just leave it be," Poe muttered gruffly, doing a much better job of keeping his composure than she was. "Track your twister."
When Rey switched back the channels, she heard Kaydel repeating her name. "Rey? Rey, are you guys all right?"
"We're fine, we're fine," she huffed. "Are you in position?"
"We're alongside it, heading east."
Rey took a deep breath, trying to steady her racing heart. "Good. Stay with it, but keep your distance. We'll track it from the west. Tallie, Jess—stay sharp."
She hooked the radio and refocused her attention. In the time it had taken to recover from their near-collision, the tornado had touched down and was steadily making its way across acres of grass fields. The wind around them was picking up, waves of dust washing over the road and onto their windshield.
"We've got debris," Poe announced, suddenly swinging a right to avoid a tangled heap of fencing that struck the ground a moment later.
Rey took hold of the grab handle—or, the oh shit handle, as Poe had coined it—steadying herself against the tossing movement.
"Easy," she warned. "Fall back if you need to."
"Nah, I've got it," he assured, swerving to narrowly avoid a flying fence post.
"Finn, what speeds are we looking at?"
"115 and climbing," he informed. "This could hit EF-3 if it keeps it up."
The wind roared louder, and the car rocked as small chunks of wreckage whipped past them. Rey's eyes flicked between the ominous clouds above and the chaotic ground below, where dust and debris were being sucked up into the vortex and scattered across the plains, the spinning column tracing a scarred path into the terrain as it went.
Poe took a sharp right and then left, chasing after the winding behemoth as it steadily shifted northeast. Their sight was momentarily obscured by a patch of trees, whose limbs bent and thrashed against the harsh winds.
When the landscape opened wide again, Poe suddenly groaned, peering out over the steering wheel with a look of disbelief. "Oh, you've got to be kidding."
Rey furrowed her brow, squinting at the base of the tornado. There, barreling across the uneven grass and riding right along the edge of the suck zone, was Ben Solo.
"Is this asshole serious?" Kaydel's voice came through the radio.
Rey sighed, raising the receiver. "Afraid so."
"Remind me to send flowers when we're done here," Nix jested dryly.
Rey pinched the bridge of her nose, watching in exasperation as the black truck skidded dangerously close to the tornado's edge.
"Was he always like this?" she asked Finn, who leaned forward between the seats, steadying himself against Rey's headrest.
"Completely insane?" he asked. "Oh, yes. But to his credit, he seems to have a handle on it."
Begrudgingly, Rey would have to agree, though she'd never admit it out loud. It was maddening how he could flirt so dangerously with disaster and somehow always walk away unscathed, and yet a part of her had to admire him for it.
"Can't help but wonder if the sheer balls it takes to play chicken with a tornado is what keeps his truck weighed down," Finn mused.
Rey shot him an irked side-eye before shaking her head. "Just keep an eye on him," she muttered, turning her attention back to the Doppler. "I'd rather not have his death on my conscience, if I can help it."
The tornado continued its track, carving a path of destruction through the open plains. Thankfully, the storm was isolated enough that there wasn't much for it to eat up, spare the occasional cluster of trees that had their leaves and bark stripped and thrown like confetti. In a denser area, it might have been rated an EF-3, but Rey wasn't seeing enough damage to warrant anything above an EF-2.
As they trailed the storm, Rey and her team gathered the data. Finn called out wind speeds, barometric pressure readings, and damage radius, while Rey adjusted the Doppler to capture the diminishing velocities of the storm. The storm chaser's dashboard was a flurry of lights and data streams, but Rey had no trouble making sense of it.
"Pressure is stabilizing," she announced after a decent period of chasing. "Storm's weakening."
"Wind speeds are dropping," Finn concurred. "115... 110... 105."
The funnel began to lose its definition. The edges frayed, turning whispy and translucent, and the base wobbled, as though struggling to cling to the ground. When it finally lifted, retreating into the atmosphere, an eerie calm settled in its wake. The clouds eased back, allowing bits of sunlight to shine through in scattered rays. The only evidence the twister had ever existed was now in the form of the acres of grassland left razed and scarred in the aftermath.
There was a clear, destructive path etched across the landscape, cutting through fields and over hills, the vegetation surrounding it left flattened and twisted. Within an even vaster radius, the ground was left littered with debris: pieces of fencing, sections of roofing and siding from outbuildings, and heaps of torn branches and greenery tossed sporadically in every direction.
The few structures that dotted the land hadn't fared well. A barn in the distance leaned precariously, one side collapsed where the tornado had brushed past. Nearer to their position, a small shed lay in ruins, its walls caved in and roof scattered across the ground like puzzle pieces. But there were no broken homes left in its wake; no lives uprooted in a matter of seconds and no families torn apart. For that, Rey was thankful.
"All right," she spoke into the radio. "Let's start damage assessments."
As Rey, Finn, and Poe started to shift gears, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. She looked out to see Ben exiting the field. The front of his truck dipped and bounded over the rough terrain as he drove up onto the road, and Rey could only glare as he drove past in a cloud of dust. Her team would stay behind to finish the work, meticulously documenting the damage and gathering data, but for Ben, just like that, his job was done here.
Rey sighed, shook her head, and got to work.