Into the Fray

Chapter Seven

Ben ran down the ramp of his ship. Rey grinned, his mother standing next to her. He ran straight into Leia's arms, nearly knocking her over and giving her a big hug. Leia regained her footing with the help of her son and laughed.

"Ben! What's all this?"

Ben took a step back, looking embarrassed. "Sorry. I just missed you."

He then turned to Rey, who was still beaming at him. After a moment's hesitation he hugged her too (just not as enthusiastically).

"I missed you, too," he told Rey.

When they were done embracing, Rey smiled up at him. "I think we all missed each other. Well, except maybe General Leia and I. We've seen each other pretty regularly."

Ben smirked. He couldn't help it. Rey was cute, but not in a romantic way to him. She just had this exuberant innocence about her, this awkward purity. It was unlike anything Ben had ever encountered. It was calming to him.

"What have you been up to?" Rey asked as the trio began walking into the cover of the forest.

They had decided to meet on a deserted planet, half covered in lush rainforest, the other half a barren desert. They were on the outskirts of where the two conflicting climates met. This planet had an imbalance in it's magnetic fields which made tracking electronic signals difficult. Not impossible, but difficult. This stay was not going to be as long, but the planet was once again far away enough that Ben could use it as a report when he returned.

Ben turned to Rey. Trying not to fantasize about Hux. "I've been working mostly."

Rey blinked at him but said nothing.

"Yes," Leia interjected excitedly. "Do you have anything for me?"

Ben didn't want to disappoint her, but he had to. "Honestly... No."

She looked crestfallen.

"I do have a matter to discuss though," Ben continued, trying to not sound irritable. "What in the blasted universe was that X-Wing pilot--what's his name, Poe? What was he doing suddenly appearing?"

Leia looked amused. "Oh, that? Did you like that?"

Ben couldn't help but bristle, thinking on how sore he was still, and how his chest had turned an ugly shade of yellow with some patches that were still dark blue and purple.

"Actually, I didn't. I nearly killed myself trying to protect him from not being shot out of the sky." He hoped they took this as an exaggeration.

"It was just a bit of psychological warfare. Just a drop in--hi, hello, we're still here."

"That's the entire problem. You are still there, but we have no idea where, which is why I showed up empty-handed."

At those words, something abruptly dawned on Ben. He stopped walking. The pair stopped and turned to him. Ben looked between them, his expression going dark.

"What?" Leia asked.

Rey, without meaning to, felt a whisper of the dark side snap out of Ben. "Ben?"

When he spoke, his voice was flat. "Why haven't you disclosed to me the location of the remaining Resistance?"

Rey looked guiltily at the General. Ben could tell she had tried to hide the look but failed. This merely fueled his anger.

"It's sensitive material."

"Ah, I see," Ben said, his voice still flat and matter-of-fact. "So you want me to work for you, but you still don't trust me. Yes, I see."