The New Empire

Chapter 6 - Hardly A Plan

The room fell into a deadly silence. The girls were traumatized and it was imaginable that one of them will faint. Ben was waiting for his death sentence, but something unexplainable happened.

Liv stood up with tears flowing down her face. She went to Ben and put his face in her hands, making him to look at her. "Oh, Ben." It was weird. She was crying, yet smiling at the same time.

"No. Stop it. This is not right!" He pushed Liv's hands away and stood up angrily, but mostly confused. "You two stop it!" Liv backed away a few steps, she was scared and didn't know what to think. She thought that people need compassion and consolation.

"I killed thousands, I killed my own father. You should scream and yell, hit me, shoot me or even kill me. Anything, but not this."

"So," Liv's voice was so small. "if I would stab you with a knife would you fight back?"

"No." His answer was calm, but cold. "I would deserve it."

"Ben," Rey's hard voice cut the conversation in half. "What he did to you was mental and physical torture." She looked at him with sad compassion. "And you were only fifteen years old."

"I could have been stronger or smarter. I could have escaped or something, but I was too weak. That's it!" He still didn't understand that. Why are they so kind?

"No one can take something like that. No one can escape from Snoke." Rey still believed in him.

Ben sat down between his sighs and tried to calm down a bit. The two girls were still looking at him with compassion.

"Can't you see?" Rey managed to open up Ben's eyes. "We have already given out our rage. And that is the past. We need to concentrate on the future."

"And we're making sure that no one else will ever have to live like that. No on else will ever have to feel that pain."

Ben didn't know what to say, or feel. It was just so bizarre for him, and he needed time to understand it.

"Liv it's really late we should go." Rey faint-heartedly recommended. "Leia must be nervous by now."

"You can go, but I'm staying." She didn't want to let go of Ben. Not ever.

"For how long?"

"I don't know. Maybe a few hours." But in her mind she has already decided.

"Right." Rey didn't want to leave either, but she knew that they need some time in private. "Goodnight." And from the door she sent another gloomy smile.

Liv didn't say a word, instead he shyly and slowly went to Ben and sat in his lap putting her head on his shoulder. Ben responded with gently stroking her hair.

"Why?" She was weeping.

"I don't know, but at least you can see why I don't want to face Leia." For the first time his voice was tiny.

"I told you she has already forgiven you, and she wants you back."

But Liv was too tired and shocked. She quickly cried herself into sleep and spent the night there.

_____

"Rey come to my office. You've got ten minutes." Leia's creaking voice woke Rey up through her radio.

Rey needed a minute to come round, but she started to get ready. Suddenly yesterday's memories came to her mind. Oh, Ben. But there was no time for mourning, the General sounded quite serious.

Rey took a deep breath and entered the office. "Good morning General." Rey tried to smile, but a strange feeling got over her. It was weird that Ben's mother was standing in front of her. She was the woman Ben talked about so much. Rey tried to imagine her younger with little Ben on her arm, but it was impossible.