The Dyad: Star Wars Ep. IX Continuation

Chapter 2

The X-Wing touched down on Ajan Kloss not long after. Ben could see out the window the hundreds of resistance fighters celebrating on the ground. There was cheering and hugging and crying. Ben thought it was a strange sight. They won the war but also killed millions of people in the process, First Order or not, they were people. A bit hypocritical, he thought.
Anxiety began to swell in his chest when the hood of the X-Wing lifted off. It was time for him to face the Resistance.

"Common Ben." Rey smiled and reached her hand out for his. "Don't worry, none of these people know who you are. They've never seen your face."

Bens chest relaxed. She was right. He could walk through this crowd and not a single person would know who he is. Rey is the only one who's seen his face. Ben grabbed her hand and hopped down from the cock pit.

BB8 practically slammed its body into Rey's legs. She bent down and smoothed her hands over his round body. He seemed to be totally in tact. She was pleased the battle didn't take its toll on her small droid friend.

Rey weaved her way through the crowd with Ben following closely behind. He wasn't sure how to act or feel. This was one of the first times he's walked through a crowd of people without a helmet on. Resistance fighters accidentally bumped shoulders with him and brushed passed him, paying no mind to who he was. He was just a face in the crowd.

Ben stopped when he saw Rey sprint ahead. She embraced her two best friends about 10 yards in front of him. If anyone was going to know who he was it would be the Resistance pilot and the deserter Stormtrooper. He watched as they all laughed and squeezed each other. Pure joy on all of their faces. He crossed his arms over his chest while a pilot walked passed him and said,

"We did it!"

He chuckled at the interaction.

When Ben looked back at the three before him, he was startled by the deserter Stormtrooper running towards him. He took a defensive step back and tried to not draw attention to what was unfolding in front of him.

The deserter had an expression of pure hatred. Not only that, but Ben could feel the disgust radiating from within him. Ben was brought back to the reality of who he was, and what he had done.

Rey caught up to Finn and put her hand on his shoulder, stopping him before he could reach Ben. Poe was following closely behind, a similar look of hatred on his face.

"Finn, stop!" Rey said harshly, "We need to go talk. All of us."

The four of them settled into a secluded meeting room by the command tower. The celebrations raged beyond the room but the four of them were only focused on the situation in front of them.

"Tell me exactly what happened on that planet!" Finn shouted at Rey, "I need to know what possibly could have made you bring back...."

"Finn..." Poe interjected,

"This piece of human garbage!" Finn finished his statement anyways.

Rey looked down at her hands that were beginning to shake. She was torn. She knew why Finn felt the way he did. She also knew she would have a hell of a time explaining what changed with Ben.

She looked at the faces around the room. Ben was pushed a foot away from the table, his arms crossed against him chest and his ankle over his knee. His expression was stoic. He looked at his foot instead of at the people before him. If he looked at the others he risked letting his emotions run rampant. He needed to stay calm if this talk was to go well.

Poe was concerned more than anything. He was open to hearing what Ben had to say for himself but hesitant to trust him. He needed to hear the truth straight from Rey if he was going to allow Ben in.