Staring at the blue lightsaber with tears in her eyes, Rey stood from the grass and began to slowly move through some exercises; sweeping the lightsaber through the defense arc and pulling back to thrust forward to an attack. A pleasureable tickle in her chest almost made her smile.
The movements were familiar to her muscles, mirroring the way she moved on Ahch-To while practicing under the watchful eye of Luke. There was freedom on the island, allowing the force to flow through her and be one with it.
Her arm strangely quivered as it gripped the hilt, and her peripheral vision seemed to catch how the flesh barely rippled in response. Did she imagine it just now?
Holding the saber out, she studied her arm more closely but was unable to ascertain the peculiar feeling in her bicep and forearm that now turned to heat that spread into her chest. Overwhelmed by the sensation, Rey disengaged the lightsaber.
"I need to go" she said distantly, breathing through the nearly suffocating impression.
She could sense Ren's confusion hearing him rise from to his feet, but she didn't dare look at him.
"I just don't feel like myself..." she trailed off before trodding toward the trees. "I'll see you back at Maz's."
*
Ren was speechless as he solemnly watched Rey depart, her beige robes hastily disappearing between the foliage. The moment she was gone he picked up a rock bigger than his hand and hurled it angrily over the treetops in the opposite direction.
This is madness, his thoughts rang.
When was he going to divulge the discovery of her parents bodies? There never seemed to be a right moment between the two of them for him to broach the topic. If there wasn't imminent danger lurking, then there was always other people around. Whenever he and Rey got within close proximity to one another, it seemed magnetic and infallible the way they would become drawn together physically; something always managed to fall through however, the tension never quite seeming to be dealt with. The connection was always left bereft and denied.
Igniting his saber, he swung with maximum force to fell the wide birth of a tree trunk. Cracking and snapping filled the air as it began to topple, and he willed it to fall in the opposite direction. The ground shook as the massive tree crashed against others beside it before finally coming to rest on the ground. The act did not cure him of the rising frustration.
He'd dedicated over ten years of his life to this cause, this purpose of his to the First Order, and to the Dark Side. The betrayal of his uncle was the finishing blow in a series of events that put him on track to his current path.
"Ben!....No!" Luke pleaded before the roof came down on him.
He'd committed to it, and never looked back. All the way to killing his own father.
Ren took long strides over to another large tree, raising his saber again. Moments later, it joined the first on the ground.
"You have compassion for her."
Encountering Rey in the forest changed everything. He'd been enticed by the lingering feeling of familiarity between them, and taken her for other purposes.
"We have what we need."
He'd even gone so far as to comfort her, and touch her when he'd appeared in the hut after her excursion beneath the island.
"You're not alone."
When she came for him, he knew there was something between them and she felt it too; he had pleaded with her.
"Rey, I want you to join me."
And when she left him, he uttered words on Crait that he stood now to regret.
"I'll destroy her, and you, and all of it."
It nearly broke him when Rey almost drowned, and he stopped himself from wondering what would have happened if he hadn't arrived in time. What if he hadn't been able to revive her?
The ghost of Anakin Skywalker that had appeared to him with the warning of losing Padme...the one he'd loved.
Was he Kylo Ren or Ben Solo? He wasn't so sure anymore. One thing that was certain was a dire decision was coming; perilously barrelling towards him, one that he desperately needed to make. One of the choices involved Rey, and the other one didn't.
Disengaging the saber, he returned it to its place on the belt, and hastily wiped the hair from his brow. Making his way back to the castle ruins, his thoughts lingered on the troubles of his current path.
He was being torn apart constantly. Once he got onboard the Finalizer, it would be his only opportunity to put a stop to the pain forever.
*
Rey jogged back to Maz's castle as the sun got low. She'd taken a scenic route to get her fill of the views. The green grass of the field beyond the trees was skimmed with golden tones from the sun peeking over just above the horizon.
Adrenaline coursed in her veins as she held her pace out for the last half an hour. She'd felt sick to her stomach for a long period after the mental shield training, but now it was like her body was in hyperdrive. Running was the only way to make use of the vibrating energy she was experiencing.
Sprinting up the stone steps of Maz's castle, she found Maz and Ren waiting at the top, his mind closed to her and expression void of emotion much to her dismay.
"Everyone has their orders, Rey" Maz reached for her hand as she spoke. "They are just waiting to hear from you...because of General Organa's absence". Rey bowed her head as she wiped the thick layer of sweat away, then nodded in acceptance. Maz motioned for Rey and Ren to follow her inside. Ren allowed her to go first.
The inside of the building was darkened as the sun was setting, the only light present was illuminated off the stone floor from the doorway. The sounds of their steps echoed inside the building.
Maz walked through the chairs and tables in the lounge to a decorative wall. Reaching behind a Mandalorian tapestry, and there was an audible click heard. The ground they stood on rumbled as the wall opened up behind the tapestry. Pushing it out of the way, Maz descended down the steps as they followed closely behind. They turned down a dim hallway at the bottom that ended in what appeared to be a small mess hall.
Poe and Finn were seated at a table, rising as they entered the room.
"You can show yourselves, it's ok" Finn announced loudly, before he joined Rey at the head of the room.
Members of the Resistance appeared one by one, hesistant at first. Gasps were heard throughout the small crowd of men, women, and various species at the sight of Kylo Ren among the leaders.
"You have brought destruction to us by bringing him here!" a man shouted loudly at the front of the group.
"Are we surrendering?" another asked aloud.
"No," Maz held up one orange hand, "please listen to Rey for a moment."
Rey's cheeks flushed with the rising tension in the room, knowing that this conversation would be heated due to his presence at the base.
"Fighters, there is a new threat to not only our cause, but the rest of the galaxy. The First Order is now under the command of a Sith Lord more powerful and merciless than Snoke. Kylo Ren and his Knights are here to shift the tide against them with us."
A silence held the crowd. "How can we trust him?" a woman with short cropped hair challenged.
"We've spent months slowly recruiting many of you, and that was not in vain, I promise you that."
The members shifted uncomfortably back and forth, some of them leaning toward each other to whisper under their breath.
A younger man stepped forward from a close knit group of three that had been deep in a discussion.
"Can anyone leave before the departure?" he asked. "Surely this is a death wish seeing how our numbers are so small.."
Rey couldn't help but turn to Poe, who nodded his agreement with the young man's question. "Yes. Whoever does not want to partake in this may leave now. We cannot provide you transport at this time however."
A handful of people worked their way through the crowd until they appeared at the forefront. A T'wilek male bowed in respect to Rey, before heading toward the exit out into Takodana. He was followed by the younger man who asked the original question.
A humanoid woman with pale skin approached next, her auburn hair tied in a severe ponytail at the nape of her neck. She didn't make eye contact with any of them as she took a shallow dip with a limp hand over her heart before proceeding toward the exit as well. Passing Kylo Ren on the end, she noticeably scowled crossing him.
Rey watched in shock as his hand flung out from his side, an invisible force halting the woman mid-step. Clutching at her throat as she was yanked backwards toward Ren, her body rotated to face him as some of the Resistance members yelled in surprise.
Before Finn and Poe could react, Rey was at his side, grabbing his outstretched arm as she pleaded with him. "What are you doing? She wants to leave, so let her go!"
"Do you know this one?" he asked in a low voice as he concentrated on suspending woman, her boots just an inch from the ground.
The crowd continued to shout and complain behind them.
"I...no...I don't" Rey stuttered as she turned her attention to the woman, who clawed at the invisible hand around her throat, the air whistling in her windpipe with each breath as her face went red with effort. "She was recruited about three months ago from a planet on the Outer Rim by another team...I was not a part of that mission."
"Look in her mind" he responded, his tone causing the hairs to raise on Rey's arms. Had she missed something?
Searching her memory for any solid interactions with the woman, she could remember none. Only fleeting recollections of seeing her sitting in the mess hall and sometimes with her friends, always retreating or dismissing herself before Rey got to close. Come to think of it, they had never had a single direct interaction with each other in the total sum of time she'd been a part of the Resistance crew.
Reaching out to the woman, Rey searched her mind.
Flashes of sterile steel hallways and ebony floors on a bridge basked in scarlet were nauseating and endless; a First Order vessel. Donning a grey uniform, black gloves, and militia boots. Finally, a pale face with a severe haircut to red tresses came into view.
"Infiltrate their base. That is your mandate."
"Yes, sir."
The memory transitioned. The interior of the rebel base was easily identifiable in the dimness of the lights. Instruments picking into the security pad outside the communications room. A screen illuminated with hands on the transponder.
A single word was whispered in the dark.
"Takodana."
Rey's eyes went wide as she realized that what Ren had done was caught a spy for the First Order. Was it his spy? No, that couldn't be right because it was Armitage Hux giving the order to her in the memories.
Her mind raced as she realized the First Order, under the command of Palpatine, had been alerted their location as the last memory in the spy's mind.
Rey turned on her heel to Poe and Finn standing behind her.
"Evacuate the planet" she said under her breath.
"What?" Finn asked incredulously.
"She's a spy" Rey shouted audibly for everyone to hear. "The First Order knows exactly where we are. They are coming for us."
The members hushed as they heard her announcement, looking at each other with uncertainty and fear in their eyes.
Poe pointed his chin in Ren's direction. "What do we do with her for the time being?"
You can't allow her to live, Ren's voice boomed in her mind.
Yes, we can. She's of no use to us, and she'll have no way off the planet after we're gone, Rey answered in return. Pressing her lips together, she crossed her arms on the spot.
A muscle twitched in Ren's cheek as they had an intense moment of eye contact; both waiting for the other to concede first. When Rey did not waiver, he blinked once before waving his hand across the struggling woman's face, causing her to fall unconscious on the spot. He released her as she crumpled to the ground.
"Strip her of any weapons or tools, then lock her in the storage room" she said to Poe and Finn, who waived some people to assist them with the woman. "If the First Order wants her, they can retrieve her after we are gone."
It took three people to pull the woman off the floor as she hung limply in their arms, and Rey watched as they carried her off down the hallway.
Poe stepped close. "I'll get everyone organized on the two freighters Maz has left here. Finn and I will transport everyone to the available x-wings."
Finn nodded in agreement. "I'll grab Rose and meet you upstairs."
"And you know where I'm going" Rey said. "I'll contact you when we are airborne. When you've got everyone setted, we'll pick you up."
Finn and Poe glanced at Ren, then back at each other. "If you're ok for the time being..." Finn trailed off.
"We'll be fine" she assured with a slight smile, watching them depart as Ren approached her on the right side.
"It'll be a bit of a hike with the Knights to get to the ship" she said, her arms still crossed as she turned to him.
"What ship?" he asked.
"We can't take the Knight's vessel" Rey stated. "It's too slow, not at all built for speed."
"If you're going to suggest we take that piece of junk-"
"That's exactly what I'm suggesting."
Ren worked his jaw back and forth, deeply inhaling and exhaling his annoyance.
"You and I both know that if we're going to get onboard a First Order ship, the Millenium Falcon is the logical choice here" she confidently pushed the issue.
He was guarded in that moment, deep in thought with the option presented. After some time, Ren crossed his arms and sighed in defeat as he looked around the empty room.
"As you wish."