Force connections

Sacrifice

I found myself back in the room with Rose. "She's in the medical bay, come on we need to go" I said struggling to my feet, using the wall as support. "Woah, hey come on now, you can barely stand up" Rose said catching hold of my arm. I shrugged her hand away, "I saw her, I know where she is. We have to get to her, we have to".  I headed to the door and tried to clear my mind.  I leant my back against the wall and visualised the lock.  I imagined the mechanism and tried to picture it turning.  My head ached with the effort but suddenly I heard a loud click.  I opened my eyes and saw Rose stood by the now open door. "Ben come on" She said reaching out and taking my hand.  I stumbled forwards, my hand flying down to my belt, "They've taken my saber" I muttered.  "I know, my blaster too" Rose said edging into the hallway.  We looked both ways and Rose dropped my hand, "Which way?".  I pointed to the left, my temples aching mercilessly, my vision blurry from the blow to my head.  Rose started down the corridor and I followed her as quickly as I could, leaning against the wall for support.  We rounded a corner.  Blaster fire sent us ducking into a doorway.  More blaster fire and then it became quiet.  Rose and I exchanged glances, "Come on" she urged and we headed out back into the corridor.  Suddenly a figure stepped out of a side passageway and we both froze, my hand flying down to my belt and finding my saber missing again. "You get away from her!" The figure shouted.  I blinked and my eyes cleared, it was the traitor.  "Finn!" Rose shouted from my side.  I watched the traitor approach us, his eyes cold, a blaster in his hand, aimed at me.  Rose saw it too and stepped in front of me, her little hands held up, "You think you can just take her? Bring her back here?  Rose get away from him!" "No, Finn you don't understand, I came here with him, we're looking for Rey".  I watched the traitors face drop, his mouth hanging open in surprise "We? You and him? Are you serious Rose?".  Just then the sound of approaching voices sounded and Finn opened a side door, ushering us inside.  It turned out to be a storage cupboard and suddenly we were all tightly packed against each other.  "Ok, talk quickly.  What the hell is going on Rose" the traitor hissed, his cold eyes on my face.  "Rey was taken here by Bens old general..." the traitor interrupted  then his eyes wide, "Ben? What the hell Rose, whose side are you on?" I glared at him coldly, "Let me finish before someone finds us" Rose said irritatedly, "Rey is being held captive here, Ben came to get her and I came to help, only we got caught", "So where's Rey now?" The traitor asked, "She's in the medical bay, Ben knows how to get there".  With one last glare in my direction the traitor opened the door a crack and looked out, "It's clear".  We edged out into the hallway.  I led, my head thumping. We got to the next corner and I looked round it carefully.  There was the medical bay and stood out front was a stormtrooper holding a blaster.  I moved back quickly and turned to face the others.  The traitor held his arms up "What?" He hissed.  I ignored him and looked at Rose, "It's guarded.  I'll go out first, freeze his blaster fire and then freeze him so he can't move" I whispered. The traitor shook his head, "No way, I'm not depending on First Order tricks, I'll blow him away with my blaster", "And draw even more attention?" I hissed. Rose held up her hands, "Ben, do your thing" she whispered. The traitor shot Rose a withering glare and then turned to me, his eyebrows raised. I stepped around the corner and was amused to see the trooper hesitate when he saw me. For so long they had feared me, for so long I had been someone important here. The troopers hesitation gave me enough time to freeze his arms in place, dropping his blaster in the process. The other two ran out behind me, Rose racing over to take the troopers blaster. We reached the door and I concentrated my mind on the lock again, unlocking it easily this time and then waving my arm, causing the troooper to collapse. "Wow" Rose muttered and I saw the traitor send her another furious glare. I pressed the button next to the door and with a hiss it slid open.

She was there, sat up on the bed, her bloody clothes gone, dressed in stark white trousers and a shirt. When she saw me she pushed herself off the bed and threw her arms around me. Squeezing me tight. I hugged her back, allowing for a moment my face to burrow into her soft hair, happy to have someone on my side who felt about me as I did about them.  We pulled apart slightly and Rey's eyes landed on the swelling on my head, "it's nothing" I said quickly, catching her hand as it rose to investigate it.  Rey nodded and kissed my cheek.  We turned hand in hand to face the others then.  Rose was smiling, clearly pleased to see that Rey was safe, but the traitors face was like stone, clearly hating mine and Rey's connection. 

We headed out into the hallway, me leading.  We needed to get out of here.  The quickest exit I knew of was two floors up.  We were almost at the lift when suddenly Hux and a group of stormtroopers stepped out of a doorway.  I stopped so abruptly that Rey ran into my back.  Hux was sneering and every gun was trained on me.  "Drop your weapons" Rey said quietly turning to Rose and the traitor.  I wondered in that moment that if Rey wasn't there if the traitor would have still shot at Hux and his men despite all guns being aimed at me.  Two Troopers took the traitors and Roses guns forcibly from them and then Hux looked at me. "Well,well, well Ren, we meet again, and so soon.  I never realised how weak you were you know.  The mighty Kylo Ren, falling for a girl and not just any girl, a scavenger". I looked back at him, biting the inside of my mouth, my hands balling into fists at my side, "And pregnant too, seems the slightest smell of a female and you forget your training, you have been a bad boy Ren" Hux mocked, turning his attention to Rey as the traitors head spun between myself and Hux, clearly shocked by the news of Rey's pregnancy. "You got quite a catch there scavenger, did you know he's technically royalty?" Hux said, a smile tugging at his lips. Rey glanced at me and I held her gaze for a few moments, our eyes melting into each other's, saying so much without words. That if this was the end then we loved each other,that everything that Hux was saying didn't matter. "Too bad it has to end like this. The two star crossed lovers, the traitor and a pathetic resistance fighter all blown to bits" with saying that he raised his hand, "On my command, fire!".

What happened next felt as though it happened in slow motion. I felt Rey's hand slide into mine and out of the corner of my eye I saw the traitor do the same to Rose as a sob escaped her lips. "On the count of five, fire! One..." I looked at Rey and she looked back at me, tears running down her cheeks. I squeezed her hand and then closed my eyes. So this was how it was going to end. "Two....three....four..". Boom! I fell backwards, my hand losing Rey's,  my back hitting the wall. For a few moments all I could see was dust. As it began to clear I looked around for Rey. She was staggering to her feet and next to her the traitor and Rose were doing the same, coughing from the dust. The sudden sound of a space craft and I looked up just as a resistance x-wing flew over. The traitor whooped, his fist punching the air. "The troopers, where are they?" I asked looking around. "The floor gave way and they fell" Rose said, her little face lit up with excitement as she began to follow the traitor. "Ben come on, we have to go" Rey said, pausing to hold out her hand to me. I took two steps towards her and then froze. A figure had appeared to the side of her, climbing up from the damaged floor, a blaster in his hand. I knew almost immediately that it was Hux. "Rey look out!" I shouted. Ahead of her the traitor and Rose stopped and turned, their faces panicked. Hux grabbed Rey then, his blaster pressed to her temple, "It's over Ren, for you and your girlfriend". Rey struggled but Hux's grip remained, his pale face drawn into a sneer. He began to pull the trigger, Rey gasped, closing her eyes, "Stop!" I screamed. Hux stared at me then, turning his body and the blaster towards me. I saw my chance. My hand flew up, lifting him into a choke hold just as he pulled the trigger. Rey fell to one side and I dropped to my knees, still holding Hux in my grip as a blinding pain flew through my body.

I heard Rey scream. The pain was so intense that I had to grit my teeth against it but still I held Hux there, his face turning blue, capillaries showing in his eyes. The sound of fighters above us as a resistance x-wing whizzed over, a Tie fighter in close pursuit and then the sound of fire power and another explosion, this one rocking what was left of the hallway we were stood in, pieces of the ceiling scattering around us, "Go!" I barked at Rey, sweat running down my face, using every last bit of strength I had to carry on force choking Hux and deal with the blinding pain I felt. I kicked Hux's blaster in her direction and she grabbed it but made no effort to leave. She had to get out or all this would be for nothing, "Leave him Ben, come on!" She screamed. Shaking from the pain and effort I shook my head, "Go Rey, please". She started to cry and I saw the traitor touch her arm, urging her away, her eyes fixed on mine, tears pouring down her face, "Ben!" She sobbed. I swallowed back my own tears as I continued my hold on Hux who was now foaming at the mouth, his feet kicking furiously, "Rey go, I'll be right behind you". Another explosion and another part of the roof collapsed, narrowly missing Rey. The traitor grabbed her arm then and I watched as she disappeared with him into a cloud of dust. With Rey out of my sight I increased my hold on Hux who was now unconscious and with one flick of my wrist I snapped his neck and dropped his lifeless body to the floor. I looked down at my hand which had been clutched to my side and watched blood drip off it, pooling on the floor. Another explosion and cloud of dust and I began to make my way out, stumbling blindly, feeling lightheaded, my hand gripping the wall for support. I might not make it out, I knew that, but I also knew that the sacrifice would be worth it if Rey did.