"Girls! Quick! Come see this!"
Rey calls out excitedly from the cockpit of the Falcon. She can barely contain a smile as she hears Soya and Irenie clattering loudly through the ship. They race into the room so fast they barely stop themselves from crashing into the control panel. Irenie presses her palms onto it, leaning as far forward as possible to the window. Soya climbs to stand on top of the empty co-pilot's chair so she can see over her sister. Her mouth gapes as she gazes out in wonder.
The wide river winds through rolling mountains, sunlight glittering across its smooth surface. Miles and miles of lush green stretches out endlessly before them, sloping down and then curving high into the sky to form jagged cliffs and soft peaks.
Rey looks over to Soya for a moment. "Hold on." She nods her head towards the command chair. The girl leans back on it, still standing, and brings her arms behind her to grasp it and brace herself.
Rey dips smoothly down into the ravine. A large, crane-like bird flies gracefully just ahead of them. It looks back, then dives down towards the water. It stops just above the surface, expanding its large, white wings out and flying forward, skimming its talons across the blue sheen. They are closer to the sides of the mountains now. They can see the individual trees that together make the appearance of a carpet of green from far away. They are tall and thick with leaves, so thick that it's impossible to see through them to the ground.
"So much green." Irenie practically whispers the words as if in a trance, gaze fixed on the scene before her.
Rey's heart twists with that special kind of joy one gets when experiencing something for the first time again through another's eyes. She remembers that feeling years ago, sitting right were Soya is. After a lifetime wandering through uniformly brown sand dunes, this place seemed like a paradise.
Takodana.
The first planet she saw outside of Jakku. The place where she first felt her calling. The place where she first met Ben.
Coming here always feels a bit like coming home. She'd only spent a few hours here... but those hours changed the course of her life forever.
She continues to navigate her way through the landscape, the girls oohing and aahing next to her. She sees Maz's castle in the distance, still partially under construction after the First Order destroyed it. Suddenly, Rey frowns.
"Where's Ben?" she asks the girls.
"He's with Jian in the lounge," Irenie responds without looking at her.
"Hmm," Rey replies in acknowledgement, a tinge of concern in her voice.
"They're having a discussion," Soya says, drawing out the last word with emphasis.
"About what?"
"The Force," Soya says absently, crawling off the chair to stand next to her sister.
"Ahh, I see." Rey's eyebrows furrow.
Poor Jian. But he brought this on himself. If he'd only listened to her, Ben would have no idea what he's capable of. She's told him hundreds of times not to use his abilities on people without explaining to them exactly what he's doing and never to do it on a child without a parent's permission. But he gets excited... and impatient. She admires his passion, but he needs to learn restraint. Perhaps some time under an inquisition with Ben will impress upon him the importance of heeding her guidance.
Rey slows for landing, looking for a spot not far from the castle. She sees an opening in the trees near the water. It's small but big enough for the Falcon. She slows even more, stopping to hover above the clearing then gently rest the ship down. Soya looks over at her with a glint in her eye.
"When I grow up, I'm going to be a pilot just like you," she announces before whipping around and running out of the cockpit.
"I thought you were going to be a Force missionary like Jian," Irenie calls after her, following close behind.
"I'm gonna be both!" Rey hears Soya yell at a distance.
Rey smiles to herself for a moment then turns to finish post-landing before getting up and heading to the lounge. When she enters, she doesn't see the girls but hears them bumbling around nearby. Ben is sitting across from Jian at the table at the side of the room. He's leaning back with his a shin propped across his knee. Jian's slumped over, his right elbow propped on the table, chin resting on his palm. He looks miserable until he catches sight of Rey. Then his expression suddenly changes to a look that seems to cry out "save me!" Rey turns her back to him and opens up a panel on the side of the Falcon, running through a few simple repairs.
"So, let's say you enhance the connection for someone who is already Force-sensitive," Ben is saying. "And that person then uses that enhanced power to terrorize someone—steal, hurt, even murder. Do you think you'd bear responsibility for that?" Rey doesn't look up, and yet she can almost see Ben raising an eyebrow and looking pointedly at Jian.
"Nooo," Jian drags out his answer, clearly both bored and frustrated by the conversation.
"No?" Ben shoots back, the question sounding more like a reprimand.
"Uh... yes?" Jian changes his answer tentatively. Ben sighs.
"If that person would have been otherwise unable to commit that crime, then yes, you would be partially responsible for their actions. In fact, I think a legal argument can be made that you were an accomplice by enabling them. Have you thought about that?"
Rey hears Jian's head drop down on the table. "Not really," he responds, voice muffled.
"Well, that's comforting." Rey can hear the direction of Ben's voice shift towards her, but she doesn't look over at him. She just continues tinkering.
"You cannot grant someone power without considering the consequences of your actions," Ben continues. "You have to ask yourself, what is this person likely to do with this power? Am I willing to accept responsibility for their choices?"
"Sooo..." Jian starts a little hesitantly. "Does that mean you're responsible for Mei-Ren destroying an entire town on Hosnian Prime? You're the one who trained her how to channel the Dark Side."
"Boy!" Ben barks, abruptly sitting up and raising his voice. "What have I told you about staying out of my head?"
"Sorry," Jian mumbles. "It's hard for me to control it."
"Then learn." Ben replies dryly. "And to answer your question, yes, that does mean I was partially responsible for what happened that day."
"Yeah, but you never had to answer for it cuz most people think you're dead," Jian states matter-of-factly. Rey feels Ben's anger rise alongside Jian's fear. But before Ben can answer, Soya and Irenie run into the lounge towards him.
"What are you waiting for!?" Soya demands, reaching out to pull Ben's arm. "Let's go!"
"Hold on, honey," Ben puts a hand gently on her shoulder as she bops up and down expectantly next to him. "Jian and I are having a discussion."
Suddenly, Rey stops and turns around. "Maz is waiting for us," she tells Ben. He looks over at her and nods as Soya resumes tugging at his arm.
"Come on!" She leans the weight of her body back, trying to drag him from the chair to no avail.
"But you're not ready," he says with a half-smile as he pulls her upright. She looks back at him blankly with confusion. "We're staying the night remember? You need your things."
"Oh!" Soya exclaims. She turns a heel and runs back out of the room. Irenie follows her. Jian looks at them longingly as they go, then turns back towards Ben.
"Can I go help?" he asks with barely disguised impatience in his voice.
Ben blinks. "Sure." Jian jets out of the lounge so fast he appears to just be a blur.
Rey closes the panel on the Falcon and turns her body towards Ben, leaning back against the ship and crossing her arms. He's already looking over at her with piercing eyes.
That boy is dangerous, he projects into her mind, planting his other foot on the floor and shifting towards her in his seat.
That boy has a good heart, she projects back at him.
Ben's eyes narrow. "He tells me he's taught you this Force enhancement skill. And you'll be teaching it to others in your school."
"That's right," she responds nonchalantly.
He flicks his head slightly to the right with a patronizing look. "Rey..." he begins with a voice full of worry.
"Don't start," she cuts him off. "The reality is much less extreme than whatever apocalyptic scenario you're picturing. First of all, no one has come even close to doing what Jian can do. Secondly, the idea isn't for the students to use it on each other but on those who've never felt the Force at all. Most people don't even believe in the Force anymore, Ben. It's time to change that. It's time to remind them there are no isolated beings in this galaxy, only living things bound together by this energy all around us. This is part of what my students are preparing to do."
His eyes darken with thought.
"Ben," she says softly as she walks towards him. He looks up at her warily, still seated, as she settles between his knees and brings a hand to smooth his hair back from his forehead. "I'll tell you all about my school when we see it on Cantonica. But you said we needed to focus on finding the Interloper before all else. That's why we're here. One thing at a time." She looks down at him and raises an eyebrow, her hand curled behind his neck. He twitches his jaw, then casts his eyes down briefly. He nods in assent, reaching for her hips and gently pulling her to him. She buries her lips in his hair as they wrap their arms around each other, embracing for a lingering moment. She pulls away and he instinctively resists, letting her go slowly.
"What's the status of the prisoner transport?" Ben asks as she turns away.
"Finn's about twenty minutes out," Rey answers. She hears the children's chatter grow louder as they enter the room.
"She's hilarious," Jian's telling Irenie. "You're gonna love her."
"Mazzz," Soya exaggerates the z as she speaks the name. She drops a bag to the floor. Rey reaches over and presses a panel that opens the Falcon. Immediately, she swings around with alarm as the kids charge down the descending ramp, leaping off before it lands on the damp earth below and racing into the thick forest outside.
"Hey!" Rey shouts, running after them. "Wait!" They ignore her calls, charging forward with laughter.
"Girls!" Ben bellows from behind. Irenie and Soya stop dead in their tracks. Ben strides slowly down the ramp, two small bags in hand. "You forgot something." They both run back towards him to retrieve their things. Jian lags behind them, his own bag hanging lightly from his shoulder.
Rey looks back at Ben to confirm he has their luggage, then clicks the remote to close the ship. She waits for the crew to catch up before turning to make her way with them towards the castle.
It's not far, but their progress is slow because the girls keep stopping to explore their surroundings—chasing a fuzzy animal they've never seen before, trying to climb a tree, using branches to dig up loose patches of earth.
Rey's been back here many times, but never with Ben. Walking through these woods with him like this feels surreal. It really wasn't that long ago...
The memory washes over her. She'd run deep into the forest after her vision in Maz's basement. BB-8 had followed her. Then she heard the explosions. She told BB-8 to run. She'd never fired a blaster before, but she scared off two Stormtroopers nonetheless. She raced along the uneven ground, branches whipping across her face. She knew someone would be following her. She stopped and hid behind the thick trunk of a tree, blaster pointed and ready...
Then she heard it. An electric hum thrashing through the woods. She had no idea what it was but she knew it was coming for her. She ran in spurts, stopping every so often to point her blaster in the direction of noise then turning to run again. Her heart was racing. She was terrified. But she soon learned that she didn't really know terror. Not yet.
He emerged from behind a large boulder wielding a weapon she'd never seen before. He was a literal nightmare... she'd seen him in her vision not twenty minutes earlier—soaked and surrounded by six others just like him. "This can't be real," she'd told herself as he advanced on her, swatting away blaster fire like it was a game. Then before she knew it, she was frozen before him. His voice was distorted and eerily calm. "The girl I've heard so much about..."
She feels Ben's fingers wrap around hers. She looks up and he looks down at her with a glint in his eyes.
Of course he's thinking about it too.
Jian, striding along just in front of them, using a large branch as a walking stick, abruptly turns his head back towards Rey.
"Isn't this where you two first met?" He asks the question like he knows the answer.
Rey gives him a wry look in reply, and he averts his eyes sheepishly, turning his head back forward. She has got to teach him how to better control his telepathy...
Both Irenie and Soya have stopped dead a few paces ahead of them. They're both looking up at Ben, eyes curious and expectant.
"You met Rey here?" Soya asks Ben to confirm as she tilts her head towards her ear.
He sighs and looks briefly over at Rey before he answers. "Yes," he says succinctly.
"Why were you here? What were you doing?" Irenie probes, situating herself between Ben and Rey as they walk forward
Ben clicks his tongue, thinking for a moment. "I was... on a mission."
"What kind of mission?" Soya asks, trotting alongside him, looking up at him for an answer.
He inhales deeply. "I needed something that Rey had."
"Like what?" Irenie's eyebrows furrow.
"A map."
"Did she give it to you?" Soya follows up.
"Uh... no." He says hesitantly.
Now both girls look confused.
"Why?" Irenie asks. "Didn't she want to help you?"
"I didn't ask very nicely," Ben responds.
"Oooooh...." Irenie says this like she understands, but she's clearly still perplexed. "So..." she continues, "you didn't like each other at first?"
Ben purses his lips. "You could say that."
"Did you like her but she didn't like you?" Soya tries to clarify.
Ben hesitates.
You could help out here, you know, he projects into Rey's mind.
Why ruin the fun? She replies playfully, fighting a losing battle to suppress a smile.
He shakes his head, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly.
"You could say that," he says again.
Irenie shoots Ben a wry look. "You're being evasive," she tells him.
"Wow... evasive? Someone's been doing very well on her language modules," Rey remarks.
Irenie juts her chin up, looking pleased with herself.
"So, what's the answer?" Soya's not giving up. "Did you like her or not?"
Ben sighs heavily. He's not getting out of this one.
"Let's just say I didn't exactly treat her like most of my prisoners." Ben immediately jerks his head back, realizing that he revealed too much.
"PRISONER?" The girls ask in unison, faces both turned up incredulously towards him.
"You took her prisoner?" Irenie sounds indignant. "No wonder she slashed your face."
"Yeah, no wonder," Soya mirrors. "But maybe the hand was too far." Suddenly, the girl looks over at Rey with solemn eyes. "Dad told me that he thinks you cutting off his hand was overkill."
Rey halts and jerks her head up towards Ben. Soya immediately slaps her hand over her mouth. Ben shoots Soya a glare that says "you've got to be kidding me," but she's already squealing and racing far ahead with her sister as if she can somehow outrun the fact the she just said something she shouldn't have. Jian runs after them, giggling.
"You're still on that?" Rey demands. "I've told you I'm sorry a thousand times."
Ben rolls his eyes, shaking his head. "Let it go, honey," he tells her.
"But I'm not the one who can't let things go!" She insists.
"Let it go," he says again, kissing her forehead and sweeping an arm around her back to guide her forward.
They emerge from the forest into a clearing. Maz's castle towers high above them, the muffled sounds of chatter and music emanating from within.
Irenie and Jian are play fighting with their walking sticks by the water. Soya's splashing around a few feet in.
Rey looks over at them and then at Ben. "I should go in first," she tells him as she opens her pouch and reaches inside. She hands him her commlink, and he takes it.
"Finn will be here any minute now with prisoner. When he comes, we need to move quickly." He nods and she turns towards the large door.
Rey reaches a hand out to open it but hesitates a moment. Maz can sense that she's here... and that she's not alone. Rey takes a deep breath and enters.
She's greeted with sensory overload. The tavern is packed with all manner of creatures, talking, drinking, shouting, shoving, jerking, and dancing to the frenetic but steady beat of a drum chorus lead by a quartet of unkempt Botori men hunched over their instruments. Rey begins sidling her way through the raucous crowd. Suddenly, she stops and sidesteps a hulking, long-haired creature stumbling into her from behind, but in doing so, accidentally kicks a short, red Orlak who curses at her after he spills his drink. She looks apologetically down at him.
In the midst of the noise and the heat of so many bodies around her, Rey closes her eyes. A moment later, she steps forward, eyes still closed. She weaves through the crowd, stepping over a creature sprawled on the ground, leaning away to narrowly miss a pair of fighting Barabels. She follows the Force as it guides her right to Maz. When she opens her eyes, the small woman is looking up at her through large goggles, hands on her hips.
"I can sense you brought that boy with you," she says with a deadpan expression.
"Yes, Jian's here," Rey confirms.
"Not that one." Maz enunciates the last words.
"It's been just a little while since you've seen him, Maz," Rey reminds her circumspect friend. "He's not a boy anymore."
Maz grunts.
She turns away for a moment to yell something indistinguishable at a nearby employee, then turns back. "Go outside. I'll meet you there in a minute." She swiftly darts away and disappears behind a nearby door.
Before Rey begins to make her way back through the crowd, she senses Finn draw nearer. Right on time, she thinks.
When she emerges through the castle door, she sees the junky, borrowed transport docked to the left next to the water. Finn is standing near Ben and the girls, smiling down at Jian as the boy chatters away excitedly. He looks up to greet Rey as she approaches.
"Did it give you any trouble?" Rey asks, gesturing towards the ship.
Finn rolls his eyes in response. "I get not using an official prison transport to avoid drawing any unwanted attention, but that thing? Really? We couldn't do any better than that?"
"Not on short notice," Rey shrugs, shaking her head. She steps towards him and lowers her voice. "How is he?"
"Same." He sighs looking down. "Honestly... I'd be shocked if Aradia can get anything out of him."
Rey purses her lips and looks up to the sky. "I don't know, Finn. You haven't seen her do what I have." Suddenly, she turns a heel to look out over the lake behind her. She sees two medium sized boats in the distance, both steadily making their way through the water with Maz at the helm of one and a short, furry creature at the helm of the other. They gently pull up next to narrow shore.
"We're taking you in the back way," Maz announces to Rey. "My friend here is going to your quarters for the evening," she nods her head towards her furry employee. If Rey didn't know any better, she'd say the creature was an Ewok... the resemblance is uncanny, anyway. "I'll be taking our guest and whoever else to Aradia." Rey looks down at Jian.
"Go with Irenie and Soya to our quarters," she tells him.
"But I want to go with the prisoner!" he protests. "How am I ever supposed to learn anything if I'm not allowed to go see important stuff like this?"
"This isn't about not allowing you to go," Rey responds, shaking her head. "I know you can handle seeing this. But I don't want Irenie and Soya alone in a strange place. They trust you." She reaches a hand out and rests it on the boy's shoulder. "And I trust you to protect them."
He nods, reluctantly but solemnly. He turns towards the girls. "Hey Irenie! Ever been on a boat?" he yells out.
"Yeah," Irenie responds, unimpressed.
"Wanna go on another one?" Jian asks without skipping a beat. The girl shrugs and turns towards her younger sister. They both look up at Ben.
"Go on," he tells them, nodding over at Jian. They both pick up their bags from the ground and walk towards him. The Ewok-like creature helps the children onto the boat. They settle in and the girls look over at the adults, a little uncertainty in their eyes.
"We'll be right behind you soon," Ben assures them. Soya can't take her wide eyes off him as the boat begins to smoothly move across the water towards the back of the castle.
"Take care of 'em, Jian!" Finn yells out as they leave. Then he turns to walk to the junky transport, pressing a remote for the landing ramp to descend.
Finn disappears up the ramp into the ship. He emerges a minute later, guiding a hovering stretcher with the prisoner from the attack on Leia's funeral secured on top. Maz adjusts the boat so it's parallel to the shore. Ben helps Finn lift the stretcher higher and guide it towards Rey, who's awaiting inside the boat with outstretched arms. She eases it over the rail and down to settle in the center of the small deck. Ben and Finn begin to board.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Maz holds out a hand towards them and they freeze. "Who's going to move that piece of junk away from my castle?" she demands, pointing towards the ship. Finn sighs and looks over at Rey.
"See you in a bit." He says to her before turning to jog towards the transport.
"When you're done, come in at the front!" Maz calls after him. "Tell that Kordan idiot working the bar to take you to the vault. And if he tries to give you any grief, tell him I'm keeping his Poncy box for another month!"
The boat glides quietly and swiftly away from the shore. Maz navigates at the helm. She stares directly forward for a minute but soon turns her head back slightly to glance at the prisoner on the deck behind her.
He's remarkably unchanged since Rey first saw him. The only difference is that his eyes are now closed most of the time. But his head still swings rhythmically from side to side, the same staccato grunts, unintelligible but predictable. It's like he's trying to speak, and saying the same thing over and over again without ever being heard.
Maz's gaze travels upwards and settles briefly on Ben before she turns to face ahead once more.
"I see you still have that unsightly mop on your head," she calls back without moving. "I told Han a thousand times to take a pair of shears to it, but he always insisted that you should make your own choices. Of course, we all know how that turned out." Now she turns her head back to glare at him for a moment. Ben returns her gaze, resting against the railing of the boat, unblinking and unfazed.
The crew soon disembarks, prisoner in tow, and enters the castle through a secret stone door opened by a skinny human woman Maz calls Raja.
After Rey checks on the prisoner, she stands to take stock of her surroundings. They're in a dark, curved corridor with junk stacked along one side, a large room to the right full of crates and all manner of odds and ends. She hears stone scraping the ground behind her. Raja is closing the opening as Maz steps around the prisoner and begins to charge ahead.
"Come on!" she calls after them. "Aradia has been waiting for you."
Rey and Ben settle on either end of the stretcher, Rey in front. She turns to follow Maz, who leads them through a remote part of the castle, kicking aside stray pieces of junk as she goes. Rey follows swiftly, Ben guiding the stretcher forward behind her. Both of them churn with rising anticipation.
Rey is hopeful that Aradia will be able to recover something from this man. Ben's emotions are a bit different... she senses a disquiet muddling his expectancy. Something's eating at him... he's still deeply suspicious of everything about this New Age, despite his assurances to give Rey a fair hearing. Some biases cannot be overcome.
But that doesn't make convincing him impossible. Just harder. Their encounter after the hearing renewed her faith in him, in her quiet confidence that he will come around eventually. It's already started to happen. She can sense it. He's starting to see... his destiny is bigger than he thought. Destruction will not be his only legacy.
Learning about the terraforming school was a turning point for him. Rey hopes this encounter with Aradia and her school will have a similar effect. If she's able to get through this man's mysterious affliction... Rey's heart flutters. They could end this. They could end this before the next hearing scheduled two weeks from now. They can show the Senate that the advantages this New Age brings to the galaxy far outweigh its dangers. And even those can be managed. Now that Ben has promised to stand with her, to help her find a way to do this, she feels more confident than ever. She WILL convince him. He'll see.
"Is this where the school is?" Ben interrupts her thoughts, his voice tinged with confusion.
"No, you idiot," Maz replies as she continues charging ahead. "The school is miles away. You're here and not there because my castle is the most secure structure on this planet. I hope Finn's managed to get the prisoner here unnoticed but... you can never be too careful."
She turns a corner sharply and begins climbing a steep staircase. Rey stops to grip the stretcher behind her then continues up the stairs to follow. When she emerges at the top, she sees Aradia standing beside a large, wooden door opened into a room at the end of a straight hall. Her hands are clasped gently in front of her, thin, silver robes billowing around her ankles. She slowly turns and walks away from them as they get nearer. Maz turns to the left once she enters the room. Rey and Ben walk straight ahead, the stretcher gliding lightly between them. As they lower it gently down to the ground, Maz walks towards the door again.
"I have my own business to attend to. I'll leave you to yours," she announces as she exits into the hallway without so much as looking back.
Rey remains crouching next to the prisoner, but Ben stands and regards the woman to his right with curiosity. She's a young Ferroan with pale blue skin and long wisps of white hair that seem to glitter faintly in the light. Her features are delicate. She has high cheekbones and distinctly curved lips with almond shaped eyes that slant upwards. Her eyes are pure white. No irises.
She's blind. She's been blind since birth. For most of her years, she lived in isolation, barely leaving her home. But then Rey released the power of the artifacts... and everything changed. After a lifetime of blindness, Aradia began to see for the very first time. But it was a very different kind of sight. Many different kinds. She could sense the world around her, even in parts of her planet that she'd never been. She began to hear people. It took her a while to realize she was hearing thoughts and not voices. Her ability to enter others' minds grew and developed into something much more. That's when Rey found her. That's when she realized that what was happening to her was not a curse but a blessing.
Aradia walks forward towards the prisoner and stops just above his head. Staring directly forward, she bends her knees and lowers with a straight back. She settles gracefully on the floor, tucking her calves under her. She reaches out and strokes the man's forehead with her left hand. She lets it glide over his smooth, dark skin until she cups the back of his bald head with her palm. Her right hand extends and stretches out just an inch above his face. She coos softly as her ear drops slightly towards her shoulder. Her eyes are still open and unmoving—glassy as if they were synthetic instead of organic.
Ben crouches where he stands at the prisoner's feet, eyes transfixed on the blue-skinned woman. She seems to be in a trance, her hand hovering over the prisoner's face. Suddenly, her body jerks forward and she cries out.
"No..." the words escape her lips as a whisper. "He is truly an evil man." She closes her eyes and a single tear escapes, rolling down her cheek. Aradia's body folds over and she rests her forehead on the prisoner's, white hair falling down around both of their faces. She cries softly like this for a minute as Rey and Ben watch awkwardly.
Finally, Rey reaches out, still crouching on the other side of the prisoner, and gently rests a hand on Aradia's head. The woman rises with tears streaming down her face.
"He's trapped in his most painful memory," she says in a broken voice. "He lives it again and again and again, the emotions acute as though he were feeling them for the very first time." A sob escapes her before she finishes the sentence. "It's so horrible..." she whispers. "The screaming... everyone he loves is dying and he's helpless to stop it."
"How did this happen?" Rey asks intently.
Aradia breathes sharply. "Oh, it's him. You were right." She answers in a darker tone. "The things he thinks to do with his abilities... things I could do. But why would anyone ever want to be so cruel?" She looks blankly down, stunned.
"What happened exactly?" Rey leans in towards Aradia.
She purses her lips and looks towards Rey. "It's as if he transformed the man's memory into a mine. Who knows how long it's been there? It lay dormant until triggered. I wouldn't be surprised if he's done it to all his knights."
Rey's eyes widen in disbelief. "So this will happen if we capture any of the others?"
"Upon interrogation, yes," Aradia replies. "It's a safeguard. The lengths this man is willing to go to in order keep himself hidden..." Rey shakes her head and looks away for a moment, lost in thought. Then, she whips back to face Aradia.
"Can you undo it?"
The woman clicks her tongue in response, uncertain. "I could've easily undone it before it was triggered. But now...? Now that it's spreading through his brain like a thick web, sticking to everything." She bows her head. "It is very possible that in trying to undo this thing, I will turn the rest of his mind into mush."
Rey's shoulders drop. "Do no harm..." she says quietly to herself. This is the first lesson Aradia teaches all of the students at her school. Rey takes a deep breath. "I'm not going to ask you to compromise your values," she tells her. Rey leans forward, her voice becoming more intense. "You know how much I admire you, your principles. But this Interloper... he's growing more and more out of control—"
"Oh, I know it," Aradia interrupts. "He can hide his location from me, but I still sense his mind, just as I know you can. You feel how unstable his is becoming, how broken he is. If only your school had existed years ago... it would have been exactly what he needed. But it's too late for that now."
Rey sighs, a familiar longing burning inside her. She thinks about this often. It was pain that first drew her to the Interloper. He was in so much pain, and still is. Even now, she can't fight the instinct to feel compassion for him, despite everything he's done. If only she had approached him more carefully when she first sensed him... Maybe he wouldn't have had a chance to run from her. Maybe things would be different now.
"I will try to free this man from the Interloper's web." Aradia interrupts Rey's thoughts. "Mostly because keeping him in his current state is a cruelty that is even worse than whatever my come from trying to undo it. But Rey... this will take time." She says this gently but firmly. She knows exactly how impatient Rey is for a lead on the Interloper. "I will have to do this in stages. I must proceed very carefully for there to be any hope of keeping his mind intact."
"How long?" Rey asks immediately.
Aradia thinks for a moment. "A month, at least." At this, both Rey and Ben let out a gasp of disappointment. Aradia's head turns sharply towards Ben, who's still crouched near the prisoner's feet.
"Ben Solo," she addresses him flatly. "I know you. I've sensed your pain as well. You're in a living nightmare, just like this man. A past you thought you buried for good turns out to be very much alive. But it is not what you think... as you will soon find out." Upon hearing this, Ben eyes her curiously along with Rey.
"What have you seen?" Rey asks eagerly.
Like Rey, Aradia experiences time differently but to a much greater degree, in a way that even Rey doesn't quite understand. While Rey always sees right now and a few seconds ahead, Aradia seems to see right now, as well as weeks into the past and the future all at once. And, because of her incredibly advanced telepathy, she can even see the future from different perspectives than her own. But Aradia is a very cautious woman. She is extremely wary of revealing anything she's seen. She believes in the Force and in a natural order. She is intent not to interfere with events as the Force intends them to play out.
"I've seen enough to know that you don't need me to find the Interloper," she answers, stroking the forehead of the prisoner as he continues to groan. "He will find you. Now, leave me to my work with this man. Let me try to give him some peace..." She stretches her right hand over his face again.
Ben stands abruptly and looks down at the white-haired Ferroan. "If you know something that could help us find the Interloper, it would be irresponsible of you not to share it," He tells her coldly.
He waits for a response. He doesn't receive one. Aradia does not make even the slightest acknowledgement that she heard him. Clearly frustrated, he steps around the prisoner and walks forward towards Aradia. Rey senses what he's up to...
Ben, don't, she projects. He ignores her as he attempts to enter Aradia's mind.
Suddenly he stumbles back, nearly tripping over himself as he does.
"You're out of your league, Ben Solo," Aradia says dispassionately. "Go now. You have other business here. Go now to your daughter. Irenie needs you. She needs you to do what is right for her. Clea is with her, waiting for you." Ben's eyes widen in alarm and confusion. His head snaps towards Rey for answers.
"Thank you," Rey says to the woman still preoccupied with prisoner before her. "Please keep me informed." She rises to leave.
"Of course," Aradia answers without moving. Rey exits the room and Ben follows swiftly behind. She feels him churning with a complex palette of emotions— worry, anger and uncertainty.
What the hell is she talking about? Who's Clea? he projects to Rey as they walk down the straight hall towards the stairs.
"Clea is one of Aradia's students," Rey answers. "And she means that..." She pauses, considering her next words for a moment. "She means that the prisoner is not the only reason we came here," Rey confesses to Ben as he follows her down the steps. She turns to the right and they walk side by side down the hall.
"I'm listening," Ben says when Rey doesn't continue.
She takes a breath, hesitant to start. This is an important conversation. She's been thinking about it, practicing it in her mind, imagining different ways to frame it...
"Aradia's school focuses on telepathy and mind manipulation," she finally begins. "She and her students are working to cultivate many skills, healing mental wounds chief among them."
"Mental wounds?" She feels Ben's worry suddenly eclipsed by curiosity.
"Yes. Like depression. Anxiety. But especially... past trauma. Everyone in my school has come here. And hundreds of others, mostly former slaves. Aradia explains what she can do, and they choose whether or not to let her do it. Most choose to let her."
"So... what? They erase troubling memories?" He probes.
"No," she answers. "They reframe them."
"How?"
Rey thinks for a moment before continuing. "The problem with a traumatic memory is not the memory itself but the emotions it triggers. The emotions are overwhelming, fresh, as though the experience is happening all over again for the very first time. Think of what you've felt when you read Irenie's nightmares... to her, it's not a dream. It's real. The emotions are what make traumatic memories so powerful and so dangerous. Over time, if a person doesn't learn how to manage them..." Rey's voice trails off. They walk in silence for a few moments, Ben lost in thought.
"You know better than anyone how past trauma can stoke the flames of resentment... anger... hatred. How it can draw one down a darker path. But what if the hard edges of a traumatic memory could be softened before that damage is done? This is what Aradia teaches her students to do. They've done it to hundreds Ben, primarily children."
"What is being done to them exactly?" Ben asks.
"Something that's a lot like what happens naturally over time," Rey answers. "We grow older, and the farther we get from a memory, the duller the emotions associated with it become. Essentially, Aradia and her students make it so that when a person remembers something traumatic, the emotions it triggers are muffled. Regardless of when the event happened, the memory of it feels distant, so a person recalls the event more objectively. Quite frankly..." Rey hesitates. "I've thought you might consider having this done to a couple of your memories."
Ben scoffs, clearly dismissive of the idea. Rey halts abruptly and whips around to face him.
"Ben," she begins with a voice full of warning. "If you won't even consider doing something like this yourself, fine. That's your choice. But do not keep Irenie from trying something that could really help her. In a minute, you're about to sit next to her as Clea explains all of this to both of you. Then, she's going to ask Irenie if she would like to consent to Clea reframing one of her memories just to try it out."
"Is it reversible?" Ben interrupts.
"Yes," Rey responds emphatically. "And, the procedure takes less than five minutes to perform. Clea's done it many times. She is an extremely mature, caring, and highly skilled young woman. And when she asks if Irenie if she's willing to undergo the procedure, you know exactly what Irenie will do. She'll look to you. She trusts you, Ben. She will follow your lead."
Ben sighs as he leans back against the wall, his eyes drifting to the ceiling. He crosses his arms. Rey stays out of his head, allowing him to process everything she's told him.
"This alone won't suffice," he says finally.
"I know," Rey replies softly. "There are other things that we can do, that we will do, regardless of what Irenie says today. But Ben..." Rey looks down, shaking her head. She looks back up. "I've seen this procedure change lives. Completely. Children who once couldn't sleep through the night now sleep like babies. A seven-year-old girl who barely spoke a word to anyone now has a dozen friends. I could go on and on... it makes a difference, Ben. Especially for the young ones."
Ben listens, staring up into nothing. He's struggling with himself, struggling to decide what's best for Irenie. Finally, his eyes lock with Rey's. He gives an almost imperceptible nod. Rey lets out an exhale, not realizing she was holding her breathe. She turns to continue their walk down the hall, a warm feeling rising inside her. This could be another turning point. if Irenie says yes, Ben will experience the fruits of the New Age in a very personal way. And if that happens, he'll be all the more convinced that this new galaxy she is trying to build is worth fighting for. Rey tries to contain her excitement. Irenie hasn't said yes yet...
They both slow as they turn the corner and hear bursts of laughter emanating from the door at the end of the hall. When she reaches it, Rey opens the door smiling. The kids are sitting in a circle on the floor with Clea, an ebony-skinned human woman barely out of her teens. She's wearing a loose purple garment and her head is crowned with a thick mane of frizzy curls. They all look up at Rey and Ben as they enter.
"Rey!" Clea exclaims, gracefully rising and walking over to embrace her. "Why don't you bring Jian here more often?" She asks pouting as she pulls away, looking back over at the grinning boy.
"Because he's got a lot of work to do in Cantonica," Rey looks down at him, raising her eyebrows. "He's going to take over the school there when he's old enough, aren't you?"
Jian ducks his head and nods, acknowledging his responsibility. Clea tsks, looking back at Rey. "Then I'll just have to visit you there," she says with a shrug.
"You'd be very welcome," Rey says in a warm tone. She looks towards the children.
"Jian and Soya... will you come with me for a little while?"
They both get up and walk towards the door, Soya stopping by Ben to show him a strange pair of die in her palm. Irenie looks over with furrowed eyebrows, unsure why she's been left out. Ben crouches down to kiss Soya's forehead and nudges her towards Rey. He rises to walk towards Irenie. Before she leaves, Rey looks to Clea who gives her a reassuring nod. Rey nods nervously back. Just as she turns and begins to close the door, Jian races back into the room from the hallway and stops abruptly next to Irenie, who is now standing beside Ben. He looks on suspiciously as Jian whispers something in her ear. She pulls away, looking confused. Jian gives a quick, exasperated sigh, then whispers something else. Irenie still looks confused as he turns to leave the room again.
Jian offers his hand to Soya as Rey closes the door. Together, they begin walking down the hall. Rey churns nervously as they go. Please say yes, Irenie, she thinks to herself.
"Why are we leaving? What's dad doing with Irenie?" Soya's head whips up towards Rey, her dark eyes full of worry.
Rey hesitates, unsure of how to answer.
"They're just having a talk with Clea about her nightmares." Jian replies before she can.
"Oh," Soya responds, still sounding uncertain. "How do you know about her nightmares?" She narrows her eyes at Jian. He flashes her a winning grin.
"Because I know things," he says with an air of mystery.
Rey rolls her eyes, smiling as they round a corner and stop midway down the hall in front of a door. She opens it, walking into the room and standing to the side to let the children pass her.
"What did you whisper Irenie before we left?" Rey cocks her head, addressing Jian as he enters the room. He slows and visibly stiffens, keeping his back to her as he walks towards the window.
"Jian?"
He stops, cautiously turning to face her. He tries to make eye contact but can't quite manage it. She sighs and folds her arms, looking down on the boy shuffling his feet.
"Jian."
He finally looks her in the eye, letting out a burst of air. "I just told her... uh... you know, to trust the Force." Rey raises an eyebrow doubtfully. Jian shrugs. Rey takes a step towards him without breaking her gaze.
"What else did you tell her?"
Jian's eyes roll to the ceiling. "Um, well... I think... I recall... I told her to trust Clea. And... to say yes because I want her to be happy."
"Jian!"
"What?!" The boy asks defensively. Soya watches them both with solemn eyes.
"You know better than to influence somebody's decision about something like this. It has to be Irenie's choice."
"It still is!" Jian insists. "She can choose to ignore me, to decide my opinion is stupid. She can still choose to say no."
"Yes, but now she has your voice in her head, interfering with her instincts."
"You think Ben's not gonna do the same thing?" He shoots back accusingly. "Ben hates the Force. You know he'll tell her to say no."
"No, he won't." Rey catches herself, realizing she practically yells this. She looks over at Soya sitting cross-legged on the bed, her back erect and her face contorted as if she's about to cry. Rey walks over to sit down gently next to her, placing a hand on her back.
"I want dad," she whispers softly.
"Don't worry, love," Rey rubs her back. "Regardless of Irenie's answer, this won't take long."
"Won't take long for what? What does Jian mean about saying yes?" Soya looks up at Rey curiously. Rey takes a breath, looking briefly away then back at the girl. "Clea is a very talented young woman. If your sister lets her, she can help her have a peaceful night of sleep."
Soya's eyes widen with recognition and she nods. "Oh, ok. Well then I'm glad Jian told her to say yes." She announces this definitively. Rey continues to rub her back, gazing off into nothing.
"I hope so too," she says absently. Jian seats himself in a chair across the room, hugging his knees into his chest. Soya shifts her body on the bed, laying her head on Rey's lap. Rey strokes her hair, closing her eyes and trying to quiet her mind. They sit like this for a few minutes.
"Hey, where's dad?" Jian's voice abruptly breaks the silence.
Rey stiffens when the realization hits her. Finn should have joined them a long time ago. Her mind's been so preoccupied...
"I don't know," she answers honestly. "Stay here with Soya while I look for him." Soya lifts her head to let her rise. Rey walks to the door and exits swiftly into the hall, a twinge of worry rising in her gut. Finn's been as eager as she has for a lead on the Interloper. It's very unusual that he didn't join him when they were with Aradia.
As Rey turns the corner of the hall, she can't help but stop and look towards the room where she left Ben, Irenie, and Clea. The door is still shut. She's not sure, but she guesses it's been about ten minutes since she left them. A smile creeps upon her lips. She turns to head the opposite way towards the cacophony of the tavern.
Irenie must have said yes. They'd be done by now if she hadn't. She feels a surge of warmth inside but quickly banishes the feeling to focus on finding Finn. She charges down the steps, acknowledging Raja as she passes, and stops in front of the large wooden door leading that opens into the bar. She stands to the side, closing her eyes, concentrating to sense Finn's presence.
He's... not in the tavern. He's not even in the castle. He's still outside with the transport. Now Rey really starts to worry. Something's not right...
She opens the wooden door and steps into the bustling tavern, starting to push her way through the crowd towards the entrance of the castle. Once she reaches it, she grabs the handle of the door, but stops before twisting to open it. A strange feeling descends upon Rey... nothing concrete. Just an instinct. But it terrifies her. She feels her heart grow cold and drop into her stomach.
Leia's funeral... the voice that lured her away. She can't explain how she knows, but she senses this is what is happening right now... he's trying to use Finn to lure her away from the castle. Rey gasps and turns abruptly around.
The Knights. They're here.
She closes her eyes and reaches out with her feelings, mapping the environment around her. She senses everything... a wine glass shattering to the floor. A heated argument in the corner of the room. A woman slipping on slick liquid and falling to her back. But she cannot sense them... yet she knows they are here.
Her eyes fly open and she surveys the room, worry quickly escalating to sheer panic. Who here does not belong? Who looks uncomfortable... stiff... Who stands out from the rest? Suddenly, a trio of figures sitting at a table far to the left catch her eye. She begins to make her way over to them. They are covered in loose brown cloaks, hoods pulled over their faces. In a sea of motion and noise, they sit silently and almost completely still. Her heart quickens as she approaches them, weaving through dancing bodies and staggering drunks. She's only a few paces away when one of them looks up in her direction. She freezes. She sees nothing but blackness inside the hood. She stares into it intently, unmoving. She takes a step towards the figure without breaking her gaze.
Suddenly, the figure rises and puts a hand to his belt. His hood draws back as he does, revealing a masked face.
Rey ignites her saber just before he does, lunging forward. The other two figures stand, igniting their lightsabers and casting off their brown cloaks to reveal black-clad forms.
Rey leaps up, somersaulting over the heads of several patrons and landing just in front of the trio of Knights. As the tavern erupts into chaos, patrons drunkenly stampeding towards the castle entrance, Rey jumps onto the table and begins twirling her double-sided saber around her, fending off blows from three attackers.
She Force-slams one of them back into the stampeding crowd and his lightsaber clatters out of his hand. She backflips and lands on the table next to her, then drops to the floor. She expertly maneuvers between the two Knights, easily deflecting their awkward, unpracticed strikes.
The third Knight reclaims his lightsaber and joins his peers. The tavern is starting to clear out, though Rey can see several bodies littering the floor, victims of the stampede. She tucks and rolls to her right, leaping up to kick a nearby table towards her attackers. It crashes right into two of them and they fall back.
She just has to keep them here. She just has to keep them away from the prisoner.
Suddenly, she freezes as if time stops in the midst of battle.
Only three Knights... This is a distraction.
Rey leaps up onto the table to her right then pivots high into the air, somersaulting over her attackers. She lands behind them and bursts towards the door leading to the labyrinthine halls that make up the heart of the castle. The Knights race after her. Just when she reaches it, she turns abruptly to Force-slam all three of them away from her. She twists the knob and runs into the hall and up the stairs.
Aradia... the prisoner... she needs to get to them now.
She skids across the floor as she turns to fly down another hall, heading directly towards the staircase that leads to the room where she last saw Aradia. She leaps over several steps as she ascends and sprints down the hall, bursting through the large wooden door. Aradia's head snaps in her direction when she enters. She's seated next to the prisoner almost exactly as she was when Rey left her. Rey looks around the room... they're alone.
She staggers back in confusion. If they aren't here for the prisoner, then why are they here?
In an instant, the answer hits her with a force that makes her bowl over in shock. She feels it the moment he loses consciousness.
It's not the prisoner they're after... it's Ben.
And they just took him.