Chapter 17
Rey stepped off the falcon ahead of the group, BB-8 by her side. The little droid had become quite fond of the scavenger.
Padme stayed behind with Han and Finn. They were looking for old blasters in case they ran into trouble.
"Hey, Solo, I'm not sure what we're walking into here," He warned the two experienced space travelers.
"D'you just call me 'Solo'?" Han asked. Padme chuckled. She hadn't noticed it until then, but Finn had been calling him that the entire time they were working together. Padme grabbed a blaster and walked over to check on Rey. She saw she was enjoying herself, so she decided to leave her be.
"- Women always figure out the truth," She heard Han tell Finn. They looked at Padme when she entered the room.
"Me? Oh I already know it's bullshit, I found him on the -" She looked at him hesitantly, his wide eyes revealing his eagerness for no one to know his origins. "- planet we crashed on. He helped me get to town," She covered his history up, though they both knew Han would figure it out eventually. "Plus, he isn't exactly resistance material," She said sarcastically. Finn looked at her.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He said. Padme shook her head and smiled.
"Nevermind, stormy," She laughed and walked out to meet Padme.
Behind her, Finn looked at Han next to him with disbelief. Han only smiled and shook his head.
"Women, gotta love 'em," He joked.
Padme met Rey outside. "Enjoying the view?" She asked the newcomer.
"I've never seen anything like this," She was fascinated.
"Yeah, better views than Jakku, I'd say," She said. Han walked up behind them and Padme knew they should have their time. Padme knew her uncle was starting to feel at least a little bit more whole now that Rey was in his life. It was like he had a second chance at being a father.
Padme understood why he wanted it too. His last child didn't end up well. Padme still was unsure of if her uncle knew about Ben or not, but now was not the time to bring it up. He was finally starting to get his emotions together, she wasn't about to wreck that up with a petty question.
"Hey, Finn?" Padme called for him, but she just found him exactly where she had left him.
"What's up?" He asked. He seemed to try to play off everything coolly, but it was just awkward. He stood up and leaned against the wall, but it was just too far away for comfort. He leaned for it, but continued to fall. Padme shot her arms out to make sure he didn't fall, but he caught himself.
"Okay," Padme laughed. "Have you seen BB-7? She hasn't been with me since we landed," She was concerned. She knew there wasn't any danger, but nevertheless, she wanted to keep track of her droid.
"Yeah, um," He was still a bit shaken up from the embarrassing fall he took. "I saw her go back to some room in the back. I think it was empty," He explained.
Padme started towards the room she had hoped she wouldn't enter ever again. But before she left, she turned to Finn. "Thanks, and," She reached out to his shoulder. "Are you sure you're okay?" She asked him, amused.
"Yeah, no yeah, I'm fine, great, fine," He mumbled, standing up straight and waving his hand. "Just fine, thanks."
"Okay," She laughed and turned to the room.
Padme walked to a room no one had entered in years. It now served as a waste of space, a bucket for dust. The room BB-7 had decided to stay in, for reasons unknown to her. The droid had never known the man, and yet she insisted on going to the one room his presence was greatly void.
Approaching the room, memories flashed on the backs of her eyelids when she blinked. Memories of Ben, Luke, happy times when she had no idea what was to come.
"Catch me if you can!" A little girl teased her older cousin in the grassy hills of Ahch-To, racing to an old freighter parked on the peak of the mountain.
"Oh I will!" The young teen shouted after her.
"Ben, come on!" She shouted, the same freighter years later was in the distance. "He's back!"
"Mom!"
"Oh Ben, slow down! You'll hurt your cousin!"
"If I ever became a Sith, I would call myself Kalani Rex," She whispered in the darkness of the night, staring at the stars next to her favorite person.
"That's lame," He told her, sitting up.
"Whatever. Got anything better?"
Kylo Ren. She realized where the name had come from. She had been playing would you rather with her cousin mere months after he left them. Her question was whether she would rather become a Sith or join the First Order. She had chosen Sith, so she could still be powerful enough to save her friends. She had given herself a sith name incase the situation had ever risen, but never in a million years would she think the name would come to use.
Her name was after two of her favorite figures in history. A seperatist droid, who managed to not get killed in battle as quick as he had gotten there, and one of the best Clones in the war. He had died a few years earlier, as he was almost 90 years old, but he had become one of Padme's best friends.
Kalani Rex was the name she had chosen, Kylo Ren was the final draft. She admitted the name was pretty good, but she couldn't think that for long.
She rounded the corner to the room and found her droid already rolling towards her. She sighed in relief, glad she could keep that 6 year streak of not entering that room. Her cousin wasn't gone, she knew that. But he would never be the same. That much, she also knew.
"Solo, why are we here again?" Finn asked. The four humans and the droids made their way towards the castle gates.
"To get your droids on a clean ship," He responded curtly.
"Clean?" Rey asked. She wasn't quite sure what he had meant by that.
"Do you think it was luck that Chewie and I found the Falcon?" Han asked the group. "If we can find it on our scanners, the First Order's not far behind. Want to get BB-8 to the Resistance? Maz Kanata is our best bet," Han explained. Padme found Finn's hand and gripped it tightly. She was excited to meet the old friend, but she didn't want her to bring up any memories.
Finn looked up at her and squeezed her hand back. He didn't know what was going on inside her head, but he wasn't about to let go.
"We can trust her, right?" He asked, turning back to Han.
"Relax, kid. She's run this watering hole for a thousand years," He assured. "Maz is a bit of an acquired taste, so let me do the talking. And whatever you do, don't stare," He warned.
"At what?" Finn and Rey both asked at the same time. They arrived at the gates.
"Any of it," Padme told them, looking at Finn. She smiled a bit to let him know she was okay, but she knew memories would be stirred today.
The gates opened to reveal crowds and crowds of people dancing to the music, drinking to their hearts content, and at the center of it all, an old soul in a small body. Padme could feel her presence through the hustle and bustle. They took steps forward and into the hall. Humans, Rodians and Twi'leks alike swayed and stumbled next to them. One bumped in between Padme and Finn, breaking their handhold.
"Han Solo!" She heard a voice call out. Suddenly, the room was silent as the vacuum of space. Everyone was staring at the group of confused travelers.
"Oh boy," Han muttered. "Hey Maz," Han played it cool, something he was not good at.
The noise returned to the room. Padme spotted the small old woman walking towards them.
"Where's my boyfriend?" She asked Han.
"Chewie's working on the Falcon," Han said. Padme smiled a bit. She knew Maz liked him, but not that much.
"I like that Wookiee," She stated flatly. "I assume you need something. Desperately. Let's get to it," Maz walked off and waved her hand for them to follow her. They did, Han in front. Finn and Rey were confused, but Padme knew this was nothing knew. She told them to follow.
Padme eyed the large Grummar and his human arm candy. She was looking at them suspiciously. Something felt off with her.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Padme whispered to her uncle.
"Relax, nothing's gonna happen. It's Maz," He replied, easing absolutely none of her fears.