Let It Burn

I Watch the City Burn, These Passions Slowly Smoldering

Rey's new robes were very comfortable – probably more so than what she'd worn on Jakku had been. Of course, that outfit was functional for the life she'd led. Now, she wavered back and forth between excitement at wearing new clothes and wishing it was one less decision she had to make. For the mission to Coruscant, though, she knew that a darker hue would be ideal – they were intending to kidnap someone, after all. So she chose to wear the grey clothes she'd worn when she went to Ahch-To. Luke was wearing his Jedi robes, but black ones instead of the tan he'd been wearing when they met.

Finn and the rest of the squad were wearing dark clothes as well, milling around and waiting for her and Luke. Finn smiled at her and she smiled back, hoping she wouldn't let everyone down. She had her lightstaff, Luke had his saber – they should be prepared to face anything a Knight of Ren might throw their way. Even if Luke had been unusually circumspect regarding who or what the Knights actually were. They were Dark Side-users, he'd told her, and that was all she needed to know. Which wasn't true, of course. What weapons did they have? Or would they just fight using the Force? How many were there? What kinds of skills did they possess?

It was a relief to get on the Millennium Falcon and find that Chewie would be copiloting! He greeted her and she gave him a hug, very pleased – she hadn't seen enough of him lately. The other ships available in the Resistance were mostly fighters, which would be out of place on Coruscant. Rey had never been somewhere so populated and was struggling to imagine a planet made up entirely of one city. How could there be so many people?

Lightspeed brought the eight of them – Finn, Luke, Chewie, herself, and four soldiers – to the old capital soon enough. One of Finn's men, Lito, directed her toward a safe landing platform. There was a well-dressed woman waiting for them, and Rey wondered who she was and how this safe house had been arranged. The woman smiled tightly at them but didn't speak, and none of Rey's party spoke to her. Instead, they gave her a nod and slipped inside the building, heading for an elevator.

Once on the ground, they exited the building and started walking. It was night here, and Rey was shocked by how many people were wandering about. Within the first few minutes, she had seen more people than she thought she'd probably seen in her life. On Jakku, night was when a person locked themselves in and hoped not to be disturbed. She had never moved around at night because it was too dangerous. So this was rather exhilarating and she had to force herself to stay calm to focus on what she was here to do.

Luke and Finn both seemed much more intent than she was, so she stopped craning her neck to look at buildings and copied their determined stances. None of them were exactly marching, but it was close. Chewie was trying to make himself less noticeable, which made her smile – he was far too tall to blend in with this crowd. Most of the people they passed were humanoid and about her size. She wondered if that was because the city was built to accommodate such persons and anyone who didn't fit the mold would live elsewhere. Perhaps there were places to accommodate other sizes of peoples on this planet.

The man called Lito was a native of Coruscant, so he was guiding them. She had only met him in passing before and didn't know what had driven him to join the Resistance. It was apparent that Finn knew him better than she did, and she wondered what else she had missed while training so heavily with Luke. Automatically, she touched the lightstaff in her belt, reminding herself of its presence. Regardless of who was protecting the First Order governor, she would be able to handle it.

Lito led them down a narrower path to the right of the one they had been following, and to a small door on the side of a building. Some kind of card he had opened the door and they all filed inside. Surprisingly, the space was large but had none of the elegance of the last building, where the woman had lived. Rey's experience with large ships made her think that this was some sort of maintenance corridor, not a living space. Their silent journey continued through the unfinished hallway until they reached an elevator.