"I'm going to the doctor, for a checkup. You wanna come?" Ree asked, standing in the doorway, about to leave her and Kylo's joint chambers. The Supreme Leader sat at the dining table, only a couple of paces from the door but he didn't turn to look at the Commander. He only continued staring into the wall in front of him. She sighed, moved her hand down to her stomach, "it's still your child, our child." But it all fell to deaf ears. "Fine, stay here then." Why continue to nag him when he made his intentions clear? He wanted nothing to do with Ree, even if it meant ignoring his own offspring. She had hoped that she would hear two pairs of footsteps walking down the corridor, instead, it was only hers making its way to the infirmary.
---
The examining table was cold against the lower part of Ree's back. The blue gel on her stomach was equally as chilly. The cold air against the scars on her back was an unwelcoming feeling, the only time when they were out in the air for an extended period of time was either when she showered or made love. And the latter hadn't happened for a while. The male doctor traced the white ultrasound transducer over the Commander's rounded tummy, all whilst looking up at the little screen. A blurry 2D picture, nothing more then variations of grey, that was all that Ree saw. "So, how's the rascal doing?"
"The baby looks strong and healthy," the doctor assured, continuing to make traces in the gel.
"You can say that again, it's been kicking me to death lately." She tried to make a light-hearted joke, but the doctor barely moved the corners of his mouth. There was something in the air, for every other the check-up, Kylo had been there, not this time. Something the doctor had clearly taken notice of. And he would rather be on the Supreme Leader's good side than with the pregnant woman.
"Would you like to know the sex?" There was no joy, no excitement behind the question, he only followed the protocol to the bare minimum.
"Oh, I don't think," she trailed off, she and Ky hadn't gotten the time to discuss the matter before. On one hand, it could be nice with a surprise but on the other, Ree was dying to know. What would he think? Shouldn't he be a part of the decision, no, Keelor thought, he had his chance to be a part of it but he chose no to. "Actually, I would love to find out."
---
A piece of paper was thrown on the table in front of Kylo, he couldn't be in his trance of pretending that only the wall in front of him existed. He had to look at the paper in front of him. The Supreme Leader picked up the paper only to realize that it wasn't a letter but rather a photograph. It was the size of his palm, most of the picture was a black background with a blurry grey blob in the middle. "It's a girl," Ree commented as she walked further into the room, passing Kylo still sitting at the dining table. "Surprise." The sarcasm was spilling over as she made a sharp left turn into the bedroom. He wanted to storm after her, shout at her that he wanted to wait to found out but at the same time, he was sitting with a photograph of his child in his hands. No, of his daughter. And what father wouldn't be happy to learn that he soon was going to hold a little baby girl in his arms?
---
"Master Kenobi." The whisper was so quiet that Ree was surprised that anyone on the Other Side could hear it. Fortunately, they did. She turned away from Darth Vader's mask, seeing the Force-Ghost of the Jedi appear.
"You've never called me that before," the young apparition of Obi-Wan answered, as usual he was amused but he also made sure to keep his voice down. It was the middle of the night after all and the Supreme Leader was asleep in the other room.
"I-I just thought that's what they called you. When you were alive." Ree shrugged it off trying to not make it a big deal. But Obi-Wan couldn't help to smile at the fact that the blonde was finding more and more respect for him. Not wanting to make her uncomfortable, he didn't press the matter further.
"So, how did the check-up go?" He asked, looking down at the rounded belly. She had begun to wear more loosely fitted clothing, larger cloaks.
"You were right, he didn't want to come." Kenobi was humble so he didn't use the known phrase of 'I told you so', the blonde had suffered enough and the last thing she needed was a sassy grandfather. "At least, I found out it was a girl."
"Congratulations." He smiled, " thought of any names?"
"No, not yet. But I guess it'll come to me." Ree had actually thought of a few names already, Vania, after her mother. Call it selfish but she didn't want to name her daughter after someone she had never met. The same thing went for the name Satine.
"You know, Obi-Wan is androgynous."
"Ha. Ha," Keelor answered dryly, "very funny."
"Worth a try." The auburn-haired man mused and started pacing around the room, "did you call on me only to discuss baby names? Because, if so, I'm happy to do just that." Even though Ree talked to her grandfather almost every night, he seemed to never get tired of their conversations. They were often pointless but this was the closest thing she had to a family, a ghost.
"No," she sighed, "I-I need guidance."
"You? The mighty Ree Keelor. I thought you had everything figured out." Obi had offered his advice in the past, something which she hadn't accepted.
"You seem to be in a very annoying mood today," she remarked. Though the Jedi Master was often in a sassy mood. "But, I need to ask you want you to think I should do."
"About what?" Obi dropped his amused smile, his eyes were big filled with worry for his grandchild.
"About everything. About this," she looked down at her stomach, "about Kylo. About this damn war!" Ree quickly lowered her voice again, hoping that her exclamation hadn't woken Kylo up. "Since Ky is treating me like complete dirt, you're the only one I've got left, and you're not even alive," she sighed, "gosh, how pathetic is that?"
"Not at all, Ree," Kenobi reassured, "we're all a bit only at some point in our life. Heck, I lived as a hermit for two decades."
"But you chose to be alone. You weren't abandoned."
"No, you're right," he admitted, "but I know a place that accepts anyone coming their way. And they need all the help they can get."
"What kind of fantasy place is that?" Ree huffed.
"The Resistance."
She was quiet at first, waiting for Obi-Wan to say 'just kidding' but it never came. The otherwise so joyful Jedi was dead serious. So the Commander laughed, scoffed at the notion, "yeah right, and next thing you're gonna say is that I'll be best pals with the scavenger and the pilot?" She laughed at the notion of her and those two sitting at the same table, conversing, being friendly, "how would I find them? And how would I even get there? It's not like the First Order just hands out ships to anyone that needs them."
"But you're not just anyone, Ree" Obi started, "you're the former Head Technician turned Commander. I'm sure they would give you a ship of-" The ghost of the Jedi Master was cut off by a scenario all too familiar.
The masked Kylo had rushed into his mancave at the sound of voices. And as he expected, he found Ree, talking with the ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi. "You!" He roared as he stormed into the room, ready to kill the ghost a second time. But before the Supreme Leader could get his hands on the ghost had Obi-Wan disappeared into nothingness. Ree wished she could do the same. Instead, she was left to deal with the consequences. He was all up in her face, hands twitching and his face covered with that retched mask. The breathing through gritted teeth was heard through the mask and Ree could feel herself shrink a couple of sizes. "You've been talking to him?! Behind my back?!" He roared, his mask making his voice mechanical.
"Well, I," Ree found herself at a loss of words.
"Answer me!" Kylo's shout brought chills down her back.
"Yes!" She exclaimed, there was no point denying it.
"Why?!" Rage was pouring through Ren's veins his hand was fingering on the hilt of his lightsaber, the rage was giving him tunnel vision. All he saw was the love of his life betraying him. "He's a Jedi! A traitor! He tried to kill my grandfather!"
"Yours actually killed mine!" Ree spat.
"Kenobi was Jedi scum!"
"Scum..." Keelor tasted the word, "if your bloodline makes you so great then does that make me scum too? Does that make our daughter scum too?" Kylo's could feel his hand drop from his lightsaber, even though she was showing so much he always seemed to forget that she was carrying their child. Was he really about to strike down his own daughter?
"Why were you talking to him?" He managed to calm himself down a notch. Pulse still racing away.
"He's the only family I ever had and ever will have! You expect me to ignore my own grandfather?"
"Yes!" Her mouth dropped open. Was he really filled with that much hate for the person he was named after?
"Well, I don't care what you think!" Ree, who had practically been pinned between a control panel and Kylo finally pushed him away and started heading for the door. "You can't control me!"
"I am the Supreme Leader and I forbid you from talking to him!" Ky's words made her freeze. He had never used his authority over her. They had always been equals, something Ree took great pride in, but now, it was apparent that she was nothing but trash to the mighty Supreme Leader. She couldn't even find words to respond, she only shook her head and disappeared from his sight.
As Ree stormed through their chambers, she could hear a lightsaber being ignited, followed by the sound of technology being destroyed. She didn't stick around for long, only grabbing what she needed, her lightsaber and the computer in the black carry-on case. Leaving behind a man who had been so many things to her. A scary creature in a mask, her Master, her lover, her equal, the love of her life, her Supreme Leader. But now, she saw him for what he truly was, a power-hungry asshole.
---
Hurried footsteps were carrying Ree down the corridors of the Star Destroyer. She questioned every step she took towards her destination, was it the right thing to do, and if so, for who? For herself? For her baby? For Kylo? For the Galaxy? No, she didn't give a crap about the galaxy or the war, she had never done, every action she had taken against the Resistance, against the Jedi had either been personal or to please someone else, like Snoke or Kylo. It was never about ruling the galaxy. And that what set her apart from Kylo in the end. One only wanted to live for the other and the other wanted everyone to live for them.
A sharp turn to the left carried the Commander into the hangar. Ships were parked along the walls and scattered along the floor. To her right was the stairs up to the control room. Every step up the stairs was another step away from Kylo, away from the First Order.
The control room wasn't larger than an average living room. There were about ten officers scattered around the control room but the top dog was easy to spot. Whilst everyone was in black uniforms without a belt, the older man standing at the window overlooking the hangar was in a teal-coloured uniform with a silver belt around his waist. "Colonel," Ree spoke up as he walked up to the older man. Everyone else had their eyes glued on the screens in front of them but Ree knew that they weren't at all paying attention to the data on the screens but instead to the Commander walking down the corridor of the control room.
"Commander." He wasn't at all intimidated by her presence as the Junior Officers were, "what brings you here?" He looked down at the black carry-on case in Ree's hand.
"Urgent business," she spoke with clarity, trying not to sound like the wreck she was, "I need a ship."
"And what is this 'urgent business' that requires a ship?" The Colonel eyed her up and down, he must have felt that something was wrong. Maybe it was Ree's sudden appearance without any warning or that she had no backup. Either way, something was ticking him off.
"I believe that's above your paygrade, Colonel." Every word was a careful warning not to pry further.
The Colonel was quiet for a while, all the other conversations in there had died out. "I'll contact General Hux, just to verify." He started pushing some buttons on the control board in front of him, about to make a call to the General.
"No!" Ree exclaimed with rather too much anxiety, she quickly gathered herself from her small outburst, "I mean, that won't be necessary. You'll only be wasting his time."
"It's all standard protocol, ma'am. We need verification from the highest rank for an unscheduled departure." The Colonel was stead-fast, and a very apparent thorn in her side.
"I mean," Keelor lowered her tone as if that she was going to tell him something very secretive, "it's above the General's paygrade too, Colonel. Only I and the Supreme Leader know about this urgent business." The Colonel still looked unconvinced, Ree realized that she had to give him a little more bait, "it's about..." she lowered her voice so that it was barely a whisper, "the scavenger." At the mention of the scavenger, the Colonel's eyes turned as big as the windows of TIE-fighters.
"Oh, I see." He immediately started pushing buttons on his computer, trying to look for a vacant ship. Not more than a couple of seconds later, had a ship popped up on the screen, "ah, we have a Command Shuttle available, ma'am. Will that do?"
"Perfect." Ree answered and started heading for the door.
"But won't you need a pilot, ma'am?" The Colonel called out, freezing Ree freezing in her steps. There was no room for a pilot, it was a one-way ticket.
"I'll be fine, thank you." Ree ushered out of the Control Room before further questions could be asked.
The Commander knew exactly what ship was hers. The only Command Shuttle with the ramp down. Without questioning her decision Ree rushed into the Shuttle, closing the ramp behind her. Her shoulders released as she realized she had been holding them up the whole time.
Keelor plopped down in the pilot's seat. She had seen both pilots and Kylo fly these, heck she had even built them back in the days. It couldn't be that hard, Ree thought, right? She recognized the buttons, she could tell anyone how to install the buttons but she couldn't tell anyone which to push for take-off. She took a deep breath, "okay, Force, do your thing," closing her eyes, called out to the Force, but she didn't channel her power from anger this time, instead, she thought about her grandfather and that she needed guidance from him now more than anytime before.
A tingle in her fingers could be felt as she stroke her hands along the control board. The tingle got weaker the more she moved her hands to the left. She turned direction moving them towards the right. When her hand was on a lever the tingle got so strong that it coursed through her whole body. Her eyes opened, Ree could feel it, that was the right lever to pull.
As she was about to push the lever forward and jump into the vast space, she paused for a moment. Every moment leading up to her leaving Kylo in his chambers to Ree practically hijacking a Command Shuttle, had she never questioned her decision. But there she sat, hand on the lever, not having the guts to pull it. She was an orhpan who had gotten pregnant with the Supreme Leader, yes, she had a connection to the Force but that's the only thing that set her apart from a beggar on the street. She was nothing without the First Order. They had given her a job. They had given her safety, sheltered her from the dangers that lurked on Corellia. the First Order had led her to discover the powers within her. The Order had lead her to the love of her life. The Order, Kylo, it had all brought her so much success and happy moments and was she just gone throw it all away?
Then, the happy memories faded away. Sure, she had a job but she had nearly gotten sexually assaulted while doing it. Food on the table was always a plus but what had she eaten, grey slob, it wasn't really ideal. Where was that safety when Ree's back got painted with whippings? Scares that she would carry for the rest of her life. And her powers, they were both a blessing and a curse. Ree couldn't even count all the times she had gotten close to death because of the Force. And the love of her life? A power-hungry man-child who had hurt her both physically and mentally. Kylo had forbidden her from talking to Obi-Wan, treated her like garbage. No, like a traitor. Determination filled her and spread to the fingertips wrapped around the lever. "He treats me like some sort of traitor," Ree said to no one in particular, "very well then," her grip around the lever tightened, "I shall not disappoint." With a quick flick of the wrist, Ree pulled the lever, leaving the Star Destroyer at the speed of light.