Chapter 13: Ghosts

Author's Note:  @hal.issa_art did this wonderful commission of Vurdan, one of the KOR!

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Rey lay wide awake, disturbed by Kylo's screams; the echoes had faded as the connection closed an hour prior.

Her heart was still pounding in fear as she imagined all the possible scenarios he was in the midst of. It was certainly a cry of physical pain.

Was he on board the Finalizer still? She wondered.

Replaying the conversation in his dream, she recalled the sensation she experienced when his gaze lingered on her in the dark. Her breath had hitched as a pleasurable swell manifested in her abdomen unexpectedly.

She'd noticed he had a similar breathing pattern change at that same moment.

Did he feel it too?

Rey sighed before allowing herself to fall down the rabbit hole of feelings she had buried months ago. The feelings she had for...Ben.

His face came flooding back to her in the throne room. Brutal honesty was exchanged but still it was something she had come to admire of him. He'd always told her the truth, never plying her with silken words, never asking for anything from her...except for herself.

He'd asked for her.

Eyes brimming with emotion as his hand opened to her, and the word "please" uttered from those full lips of his.

A warmth blossomed in her chest, remembering that version of him. The version that ended his master in order to save her.

Her heart had desperately wanted to take his hand, and accept whatever else came after.

And then there was that vision.

Rey hesitated before she closed her eyes, allowing it to replay in detail.

She clung to him with an iron grip, her heart shattering as the tears poured down her face. Her arms seemed so small thrown around the broad shoulders of the man she knelt with. Wisps of dark hair tickled her cheek as billowing smoke rose up around them both.

Relief poured over her suddenly, and when she pulled back to look at him, Ben Solo's face was wet with tears of his own, staring back at her in amazement and disbelief.

"Rey...you saved me."

She laughed through her tears. "But you saved all of us."

Then his mouth came down on hers; the sensation of his lips against hers stirred longing deep in her belly, and his bare hands came up to cradle her face with tenderness. A kiss of desperation, love, and hope.

A single tear slipped as she faced everything she had put aside in the past months, but her thoughts were interrupted as the ship shook and rumbled, causing her pod to tip back and forth. Her stomach flip-flopped as she realized it was landing.

Muffled voices were heard speaking outside the pod, but the small window had nothing in its view.

Deciphering the noises, she could make out the lowering of the ramp, but did not catch the vibrations of any descending footsteps. She did, however, hear what sounded like more than one being board the ship. More voices exchanged words, impossible to understand through the pod.

Something moved underneath her vessel, and it slowly began to mechanically incline from its flat position to an upright one. It stopped just shy of standing.

The yellow eyes of Freen appeared suddenly, peering at her through the window of the pod and effectively startling her.

"Shall I open it Tyrus?" he asked with eagerness.

"It's not necessary, no matter how much you'd prefer to."

"Come now," another male voice chided, "we came all the way out here and waited for nothing on this absolutely desolate rock, only for you two to acquire her. I'd like to personally see what all the trouble was about."

There was a quiet pause where Tyrus did not answer right away.

"Alright...open it."

"I do prefer to quench curiosity" Freen answered as he engaged the unlock sequence from the outside. The pod hissed as it opened again, and Rey gasped in the fresh air.

Freen stayed rooted to the left side of the pod, eyes locked on her.

The room was silent as several pairs of eyes peered at her. Freen, Tyrus, and two masked Knights, one frighteningly tall with a massive hood and a mask spiked along the temples, the other was a very short being with a flat top and wide visor.

"She killed Snoke?" the tall one asked incredulously, gesturing to her. When no one answered, the knight with the spiked mask crossed its arms and shrugged before adding "I don't believe it."

Freen still had his unflinching gaze on her as he spoke lightly. "But isn't it quite obvious? She couldn't have done it. Someone else did."

Parched, Rey cleared her throat and addressed the room.

"May I have a drink of water please? Is that a reasonable request for a prisoner?"

Tyrus considered her before walking out of view for a couple moments, then returned with a steel glass full of water, offering it to her hands in the binders.

She sighed, awkwardly raising stiff arms to coordinate and grasp the cup with both hands. It took everything not to just gulp down the water in front of her observers, but she remained tactful with controlled sips.

Handing the cup back to Tyrus, she made a point of direct eye contact as she thanked him. He nearly balked at her sincerity, but turned away to return the cup.

"Let's discuss this, shall we?" Freen spoke up. "This girl couldn't put up a fight on Tatooine when I ambushed her. She's inherently fearful as I detected through our conversation, untrained in the Jedi arts, and then there's the best part."

Rey side-eyed him, wondering where this was going. The rest of the knights did not engage, allowing him to continue his monologue.

Freen extended a hand out to rest it lightly on her head. "She dreams about him."

Warmth crept up into Rey's cheeks as he said it out loud. She preferred they believe her to be a secretly powerful murderer than the notion of having a crush on their leader.

"About...who?" the spiked mask asked.

Freen's expression was almost giddy. "About Kylo Ren of course."

They all took a moment to look at one another, before turning back to her.

Tyrus broke the silence, reaching behind to rub the back of his neck. "So...Kylo killed Snoke?"

"I would have never guessed he'd had it in him" the knight in the spiked mask shrugged.

"He betrayed Snoke and now he wants her to become one of us?" the last knight chimed in.

"Kylo said he was sure she would turn" Tyrus offered, "regardless, we still need to bring her back."

Rey's impatience was building as they continued to discuss what they believed to be plausible situations without just asking her. They didn't seem to be aware that Kylo could be facing a First Order mutiny on his end.

Amidst their discussion, Rey spied the lightsaber on the belt of Tyrus, opposite of Freen. Everyone seemed to be too distracted by their own conversations,and she took advantage of the moment by calling out to the force, seizing hold of the lightsaber, and yanking it right from his belt into her cuffed hands.

It ignited loudly, a fiery amber light humming in the dimness, and Freen jumped back from the pod as she thrust it out in front of her, awkwardly stepping from the pod in an attempt not to lose her balance.

The knights paused in their discussion, and all casually took a step back from her with their hands resting on their own hilts. Their expressions were indifferent and almost bored-looking; certainly not the reaction she'd hoped for.

She staggered her stance as she worked with the limited mobility of her hands to get a strong enough grip on the hilt as it was pointed at the group.

The knight with the spiked helmet raised both gloved hands up in surrender, before pulling back the hood to reveal tall horn projections, then removed the mask last. A Torgruta male revealed himself; his skin a deep scarlet shade with white markings on his long and narrow face, striped head-tails cascaded over his shoulders.

"If you're going to become a Knight of Ren, you might want to live long enough to even receive the offer or the training for it. I am Vurdan of Shili, and if I'm correct, your name is Rey?"

Rey set her jaw, watching where each of their hands was, unsure what her next move would be.

Vurdan motioned with a hand at the knight still donning a helmet, and the knight in turn removed his coverings to reveal a younger-looking boy.

His expression was in awe as his voice wavered. "Greetings, I am Alwick."

"Tyrus, may I?" Freen's voice piped in as he looked to their sub-leader.

Tyrus tilted his head in consideration. "Permitted."

Rey backed up in anticipation, tensing herself in preparation for the fight. The detention binders on her wrists clicked spontaneously before dropping heavily to the steel floor upon their release. She looked up to see Freen lower his right hand, eyes glowing with a pleased grin.

Confused, Rey relaxed her shoulders a touch, looking over at Tyrus as he crossed his arms before speaking to her.

"We're under orders to specifically bring you in alive and unharmed, so there will be no fighting on this ship today." He took a step forward "You're strong, but I'm afraid it would be pointless to believe you could take on the four of us all alone. Best to just put the lightsaber down, and rest for the jump from this planet to the Finalizer."

Rey felt defeat wash over her, beginning to finally accept that this was not a fight she could win.

A thought popped into her head before she could surrender the lightsaber.

"Have you been in contact with Kylo Ren recently?" her question coming out uncertain, as she wasn't totally sure of how this conversation might go.

Tyrus blinked at her question, and turned directly to Freen, who's perfect features were warped in a look of distress

"I've hailed the First Order several times regarding your, ahem, capture, but I've been told the Supreme Leader is currently unavailable for low priority communication."

"Who told you that?" Rey asked.

"General Hux" he answered.

Of course he did.

Slowly lowering the lightsaber to point at the floor, she adjusted her posture more upright.

"What if...I told you that you're right, Freen? That Kylo Ren and I have a connection."

No one spoke, but some raised eyebrows to her statement.

She gulped nervously, barely nodding as she continued. "Kylo and I have a direct connection, through the Force, and sometimes we can see each other from across the galaxy. It's something I cannot explain fully. Snoke claimed to have created the bond in order to draw out Kylo's weaknesses, but it still exists even now that he's dead. I believe he is in trouble right now."

Freen slowly put his palms together, looking all together elated at her words.

"How do we know you're telling the truth?" Vurdan asked doubtfully.

Rey disengaged the lightsaber, laying it on the ground before standing to point two fingers at her temple.

"Read me" she challenged.

Tyrus approached her slowly, retrieving his lightsaber first to his belt, before he reached out to her with a determined expression on his face. Hand poised in the air, Rey was assailed by his powerful wielding of the Force.

Invisible fingers glided over her skull before dipping into her mind, picking through the memories to find the scenes of the bond connections. She felt the invisible fingers freeze over the moments of the bond opening. Tyrus' expression was distant as he watched the playback, receiving glancing emotions from the memories before he withdrew completely from her.

Several minutes passed before he finally quietly declared the verdict.

"She's telling the truth. The bond is real."

Alwick put a hand on his shoulder. "Which parts, sir?"

"All of it" Tyrus cupped his own jaw, "including the part where Kylo is in torment. I saw her last vision of him screaming. "

Rey put a hand over her heart in relief that he believed her; her head was aching from the prodding in her mind. "Thank you...we have to help him. He saved my life, and I owe him. If Hux has taken over the First Order, then he may be planning to execute Kylo."

"Hold on there," Vurdan cut in, "I hope you are not suggesting we take down the First Order. That's a conflict of interest."

"No," Rey shook her head "just that we save him from certain death. I'll willingly go, but I need your help."

Freen's eyes connected with hers in a look that almost reflected sympathy. "I think he loves her." he simply stated. Was the pronouncement his best guess or did he expect her to confirm his ideas?

Before anyone could reply to his statement, Alwick was making erratic sounds as if he was trying to say too many words at once, pointing madly at the spot behind Rey. The knights eyes filled with fear and confusion as they looked on in shock.

Rey felt the hairs prickle on the back of her neck as a subtle breeze passed over the skin. She turned slowly to view what they were looking at, and lost all train of thought.

Standing before her, basked in a blue aura, was the ghost of Luke Skywalker.