#darkmindedren

getting rey to board the tie fighter to take them back to the supremacy had taken a lot of coaxing from ben, as well as promises of more time spent together before he returned fully to work. but it wasn’t nearly enough to keep her completely satisfied. not even close. she dreaded having to return there. the bruise on her eye ( which was fading gradually after ben had applied a special medicine the night before ) was a constant reminder of the pain, both internal and external, she’d have to endure just by being there. she was silent on the entire ride back to the supremacy, not like the playful banter they’d shared on their way away from it, and kept her gaze down, toying with her personal comm in her lap. she already knew what she had to do. a bit of her own revolution against the first order without anyone having to know. she’d aide the resistance, send them as much information as possible. and ben would never find out. it wasn’t worth making him upset with her. but she was determined to do it. when ben piloted the tie fighter into the hangar, rey finally looked up, seeing swarms of stormtroopers awaiting their arrival in position. she just sighed and stood as the hatch opened, and was less than pleased to see general hux standing there, looking as unamused as she did. certainly it was protocol for all of them to await the supreme leader’s arrival, but she hated it. she climbed out of the ship, tightly holding the small bag she’d packed in her hands, and kept her head dismally downwards as ben got out as well. if only they could be back in their own paradise... she tried not to be angry with him, but it just tore her apart to have to still endure this. “supreme leader,” hux greeted with a bite to his tone. the three of them walked together, with rey trailing behind as the two men spoke. “we have remained busy while you were gone. your... sudden disappearance made tasks and operations slightly more difficult. but we have an update on the resistance.” rey’s head snapped up immediately, her eyebrows pulling together. “we think we may have tracked them to a planet in the outer rim. not far from the girl’s home planet of jakku.” rey’s blood ran cold. the information wasn’t incorrect; they would all be found. she began breathing heavier as she held her bag tighter to her chest, already planning ways to help them escape before they could get there. but she couldn’t help but add in a comment of her own. “perhaps you could give your search a break for a short while,” she snapped to hux, her gaze cold. surely ben wouldn’t be happy about her added input, but she was just far too angry about having to return here, with the resistance being in trouble on top of it. “the resistance has not been a threat, you have absolutely no need to hunt them down, you monster.”

being separated from the resistance as a whole doesn’t mean that wedge was unaware of galactic events. he knows kylo ren, of course. he’s never met him (which he counts as a blessing), but he heard inklings about cruelty and death. either way, he spots a somber-looking guy, dressed all in black from head to toe. the fashion choices remind him of luke around the battle of endor, even if there’s something slightly more severe to it - which says something. black is inherently severe.

either way, the guy looks really damn somber.

see, wedge himself tends to be pretty serious, but he’s at least got a sense of humor when the moment calls for it. this guy looks like he wouldn’t laugh if every comedy troupe from one end of the outer rim to the other got out their best and raunchiest sets and gave him a tailored performance. then wedge’s eyes drift to the lightsaber at the guy’s side, and he pauses. oh. lightsaber doesn’t mean evil, not right away, but it does mean caution.

he keeps his back up against the tree, remaining comfortably seated, and decides to pick his battles carefully.

though it had been difficult, rey and ben had eventually worked through the issue they’d had. he’d pushed her away to try to better prepare her for his death, and it had only made things substantially worse for them both. but they’d talked about it for hours the previous day, and had fallen asleep in each other’s arms, as usual. when rey woke up the next morning to the sun shining through the window, she winced softly and buried her face further in ben’s chest, attempting to keep out the light. she could already tell that her symptoms had worsened over the course of the night, but emotionally, she was basically back to normal. the long rest had certainly helped with that. finally, rey lifted her head and looked up at ben with a lidded gaze, taking his hand and bringing his fingers to her lips, a common thing for them. “hey...” she whispered softly to rouse him, lightly biting on the end of his finger. also normal for them. rey rested her chin on his chest. “how are you feeling...?”

he knows the angles of that face.

ben solo has no direct relation to lando calrissian, except in that lando remembers him too well. he had spent too much time making fun of han solo (han, of all people, a father) and being far too proud of them to forget. he remembers joking specifically with leia that they ought to get the boy a little cape and toy blaster, just to bring him a few steps closer to being like uncle lando. and he remembers bringing him gifts from all the extravagant places that lando himself used to frequent.

and then things changed. they turned caustic, and it all fell to pieces.

so here they are, on either side of a sheet of glass. lando lays his hand against it gently. “ben.”

as rey returned to her suite with ben, she prepared herself for the worst. she’d have to tell him about her attack on effie, to apologize and ask for forgiveness before he could lash out. but as she approached the door, she winced slightly and placed a hand on her chest. something was... off. it was as if her emotions had just simmered down to almost nothing. but it had only been when she’d been close to the door, when she’d been closer to... ben. she pushed the door open and ran in swiftly. “ben?!” she asked, her tone fearful as she looked around, terrified for his safety. but as she saw him in the bedroom, she sighed in relief then jogged in. “oh, you scared me,” she chuckled, kicking off her shoes and pushing them into the closet. “i always assume the worst when things don’t quite feel right.” but it was oddly silent. he was not laughing or racing to embrace her as he usually did. so slowly, she turned to face him, her smile fading as her eyebrows pulled together. she moved to the edge of the bed where he was seated and sat beside him, brushing some of his hair out of his eyes. usually he would become embarrassed when she’d do it, especially in public; she supposed it did undermine his tough exterior. but right now, he seemed to be in no such state. he seemed... calmer somehow. relaxed. “...ben...?” she asked softly, repeatedly stroking her thumb over his brow bone and forehead. “are you alright...?”

many of the knights are restless on this planet, with the peace treaty binding them to be on their best behavior. verya is less disturbed than most. she adapts quickly to these kinds of changes, to the circumstances that now keep all of them together. much of her acclimation has been her isolating herself and wandering alone around this area of naboo, but never too far. the planet is at least beautiful. as concerned as the first order and the knights are with minimalism and a kind of cold grasp upon the galaxy’s throat, verya can at least admire the natural beauty of where they’ve been trapped.

but at some point, things will come back to orders and what is to be done. so she feels more than directly notices kylo ren’s approach to the door of her room, left ajar as a sign to any who do actually wish to speak with her.

when snoke had used the force to suffocate her, rey had been able to catch her breath within minutes. but this time, after ravana did it, she wasn’t healing as quickly. still, as she stumbled down the hallways back towards hers and ben’s suite, she could never truly even out her breathing pattern. she assumed ben to not be home, but it hadn’t occurred to her that when she’d managed to get the door open, it had been unlocked, a sure sign that he was there. it didn’t matter, though; as soon as she made it one step inside, she collapsed to the floor again and clutched at her throat, gasping and coughing heavily.