Star Wars Episode IX: Force Link ✔️ (Editing)

54 | The Prisoners

Finn watched as Kylo carried Rey onto his ship.

"This is the second time I've had to watch her be captured by him," he said to Poe and Rose.

"We'll get her back, Finn," said Rose. "Somehow we'll find a way to get her back."

Finn gave her a sad smile. She smiled back encouragingly at him.

"I can't believe I used to serve him, and the First Order," said Finn. "If it weren't for you, Poe, I'd probably still be serving the First Order and Kylo Ren, ...who just kidnapped my friend... again."

"Well, if it weren't for you, Finn, I would probably still be a prisoner of the First Order," said Poe.

Finn smiled sadly. "You are a prisoner of the First Order," he said.

"True," Poe replied with a smirk. Then he helped lieutenant Kaydel to her feet.

The stormtroopers cuffed the group of Resistance fighters then escorted them on to the small ship. Once Kylo, Hux, Phasma, the prisoners, and the stormtroopers responsible for guarding them were on board, the ship left Naboo to return to the star destroyer.

Kylo gently laid the unconscious Rey across a row of seats. He touched her face gently.

Finn, who was watching, glared at him. How dare he touch Rey! Rey was almost like a sister to him and now this monster just captured her, ...again. And there was nothing he could do about it, ...again. Kylo looked at Rey one last time before sitting down in the seat beside her. Finn thought it almost looked like he was guarding her.

But what he didn't know was that he was guarding her from the stormtroopers, he didn't trust them. He was worried that they would try to carry out Hux's orders or hurt her if he left her side.

Finn glared at him.

Kylo saw the traitor glaring at him. He glared back. First he leaves the First Order, only to join their enemies. Now he is trying to come between him and Rey.

Finn and Kylo glared at each other the whole time they flew back to the star destroyer. Kylo also glared at any of the stormtroopers who came near Rey.

Three stormtroopers came over to Rey and Kylo Ren. Kylo glared at them and reached for his lightsaber. The stormtroopers quickly backed away.

Once on the star destroyer, Kylo ordered the stormtroopers to put the prisoners into the cells of the star destroyer.
Two of the stormtroopers moved to drag Rey to her cell. But then they saw Kylo sitting beside her. His eyes narrowed and the stormtroopers quickly moved to the other prisoners.

Kylo stood and gently lifted Rey into his arms. He carried Rey into her cell and gently laid her on a small cot. Then he touched her head again and her consciousness returned.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. Then he walked away.

Rey watched sadly as he left. She had hoped that Ben would change and it had seemed that he would. But he had kidnapped her again.

He looked back at her one last time before closing the cell door. He hoped she would forgive him for capturing her. But he knew it was the only way to save her from the First Order.

Rey thought about his whispered apology and realized that he didn't really have a choice but to kidnap her. He didn't let the stormtroopers hurt her, he had made sure she was safe. Perhaps there was still hope.

Though a small group of the Resistance fighters had been captured, there were still more of them on Naboo, fighting the First Order along with the queen's army and the old rebels. The battle was not over, it had just begun.

Rey looked at the cell door. She might be able to open it with the Force. But she would be hopelessly outnumbered. She remembered how the stormtroopers had wanted to kill her in the forest. But Ben had stopped them. He might not be able to stop them if she tried to escape, especially if he wasn't there. And she still had to locate her friends and free them.

She realized that her best chance of escape was patience. She knew she had to rely on the Force. She had to wait until she could sense the stormtroopers lower their guard.

She sat down on the floor with her legs crossed. She closed her eyes and used the Force to sense what was happening outside the door.

She could sense a group of stormtroopers escorting her friends into the cells near her. At least now she knew where they were.

She could sense Ben going down the hall. Normally, he stormed through the halls of the star ship. But now he walked slowly, as if he were carrying a heavy burden in his heart. She could see that he was being torn apart.

"Ben," she whispered.

Kylo walked down the hall, his heart heavy. There was a part of him that felt a terrible guilt for all the things he had done. A part of him wanted to free Rey and turn to the light. But there was a part of him that still held onto the darkness, and he fought back the light that was growing in him with all of his might.

Suddenly he could feel Rey. He could hear her whisper his name. Not Kylo Ren, but his real name. The name she had come to know him by: Ben. The first time she had called him that, it had surprised and startled him. But now it made his heart melt. She no longer saw him as a monster, she no longer saw him as Kylo Ren. She saw him as Ben Solo. She didn't see the bad in him, only the good.

"Rey," he whispered.

He wished he could help her, but he couldn't.