Star Wars IX- Balance Of The Force

Chapter 23 - Preparing

Rose was checking the X-wings over with Poe. Five squadrons was going to be tight, but the more, the better. She could sense Poe was fractious and not merely because of his legitimate concerns over the war they were about to engage in. Finn had been training with the ground forces, General Ematt had been checking weapons and tanks, and Admiral Nunb, with Admiral Statura, had landed their large MC80 star cruisers to take the tanks and troops to Ruusan. Rose had been busy with anything and everything that needed someone who understood technical engineering. Rey had been helping where she could, but she'd been training a lot with Kyl.... Ben. Must remember to call him Ben.

Rose had never met Kylo Ren. She'd just heard stories across the galaxy and from the personal experiences of Finn and Poe. She had come into contact with General Hux. She'd personally bitten that callous man through his gloved hands when he'd reached for her necklace when she and Finn had sneaked on board the old Supremacy ship. She'd seen Ben at the table a few days ago glowering up at Poe, darkness seeming to expand from his person, and he'd taunted Poe cruelly about Poe's torture at his hands. Rose could see he was disturbed and deeply. She'd seen him floating in the bacta tank when she'd visited Rey, his body riddled with scars. She could see that his existence had been moulded by pain, but she found him difficult to be around or even look at with that massive scar running down his face and those dark eyes. He was often silent, a man of few words, and he was huge. Mind you, everyone was huge compared to Rose. Damn, my inherited height. Small and feisty, that's what Finn said about her, and she smiled to herself. Rey had barely left Ben's side, and Rose couldn't quite understand why. Rey had tried to explain that their bond through the Force had occurred years earlier when he'd kidnapped her. They were bound and always would be. Together, they were better and stronger. Rose had tried to argue in the nicest way she could that he was a horrible person. How could Rey be with someone so cruel? Rey had smiled at her sadly, admitting that yes he could be dark and cruel, abusive even, but not to her, and not anymore. He was changing because of her, the darkness, pain and anger fading as a different man emerged. He's not changing physically, thought Rose, allowing a judder to run down her; he was intensely scary. In the distance, she could see them in the grass, their sabers shimmering and buzzing as they trained.

"Rose!"

Rose turned from looking in the direction of Rey and Ben and turned to look at Poe. His hands were on his hips, eyebrows arched in expectation and exasperation.

"Hhhmm, sorry, what?"

He turned to look where her gaze had been, and his hands fell from his hips, and his face fell as he sighed.

"Sorry, Poe, what did you say?" Rose realised in gazing at Rey and Ben she'd now caused Poe to do the same, and she knew how he felt about all of that, so she tried to keep him on track. She failed.

"How can she be with him, that monster? How?" he looked from the sabers twirling in the distance to look at Rose.

Rose gave a weak, sympathetic smile. Poe had held a torch for Rey, but as her powers had grown, she'd changed. Since Fondor, she was different from watching them train. Now it was clear her power had increased the same Rey was still in there, but her abilities had made people nervous, not to mention the towering, looming shadowy figure who was ever-present at her side. Poe knew it would never be. He'd known before Rey went to Fondor, but that didn't change the fact that he was not happy about her relationship with Ben. Ben was the opposite of Poe; Rose didn't think Ben was capable of smiling, although, at the moment, Poe was struggling with that affliction, too.

"I can't answer that for you, Poe. I thought she talked to you about him when she first brought him here?"

"She did, but it's more than that now you saw him at the table the other day and how she stood by him, and he was in her room late the other night."