DYING OF THE LIGHT ➣ BEN SOLO

FORTY - THREE

[ THE NEW REBEL BASE ]

AJAN KLOSS WAS WET.

halo knew this the moment she woke up. she was seated in the co-captains chair, a reflective blanket pulled gently around her shoulders. that was her first awareness. because she was hot.

the inside of the falcon swam with moisture. the air was humid, fogging the corners of the front windshield, sticking to halo's damp hair, and dripping from every surface. she discarded the metallic draping from her body, and stood quickly.

they were landed in the middle of nothing but jungle. she could see the flora of the moon just outside, emerald in color, heavy with moisture. just beyond the horizon, the sun had begin to rise, casting golden light on the inside of the falcon.

poe was fast asleep, eyes rimmed red, body slumped over the main control deck.

he must have landed them there before deciding to sleep again. halo could only wonder why he hadn't taken them straight to the base the resistance was no doubt in the midst of constructing.

she pulled her wild curls up, securing them in place with a piece of cloth she had torn from her shirt. huffing in a much needed breath, she went quickly to the air control panel on the side of the falcon's main port, pushing an array of buttons before the temperature finally began to drop, and the moisture slowly evaporated.

poe must have forgot to climatize before sleeping.

she beckoned her saber to her side with the force, clicking it to her belt, before walking to the next compartment. but before she could move any further, she froze.

ben was still asleep, skin pale and covered in sweat. dark bruises haunted the underside of his eyes, and his breaths came and went in shallow and quick intervals. and right beside him, sat finn.

the ex storm trooper radiated a wild amount of emotion, halo could feel it. anger, hatred, confusion, loyalty... betrayal. his fists were clenched by his side, and his jaw was stiff. halo could tell by the angle of his back that he had been sitting like this for some time.

"i've been sitting here all night," finn said, his voice low and tired.

halo did not ask how he knew that she was standing there.

"why?"

finn let out a breathy laugh, but in it, there was no humor.

"i've been trying to pick up even the slightest bit of evil off of him. anything to give me a good reason to shoot him, right here, right now."

halo swallowed down the instinct that rose up inside of her to protect ben at all costs. she pushed it far away. because even though those words brought about something inside of her that was too primal for even the young jedi to understand, she knew why finn felt that way. she understood. his whole life had been stripped away because of the choices kylo ren had made. halo wouldn't be able to live with something like that either.