The Return of Ben

Chapter Eight: Ben?

REY

The other scavengers of Jakku were of all different alien races, including many small Teedos who were never far behind when it came to scavenging. Rey knew at least half of the aliens who were now standing around the discarded ship, keeping a safe distance from her. 

She squinted into the mid-day sun. They were waiting for her to leave. There were more of them now, watching, waiting.

They were at an impasse. If she left, they'd take apart the cryogenic chamber in seconds to scavenge it for working parts. They'd already taken her Speeder, along with the water flask that she'd had attached to it.

Rey swallowed hard, her throat so dry it burned with lack of moisture. Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth.

Where were Finn and Rose?

She needed to get back inside the ship, where it was cooler. But the second she turned her back to these scavengers, they'd devour the ship. They were already closing in on her, slowly, cautiously.

At first they'd kept a wide distance, afraid of her Force abilities, but as their numbers grew and the day got hotter, they became braver and more desperate to plunder her find, which they now seemed certain was valuable, even if they didn't know what it was exactly she was protecting.

Sweat dripped down the back of Rey's neck. The sun sat directly above and she needed water, desperately.

"Come back tomorrow!" she called out to them, her voice dry and raspy. "You can have the entire ship. I'll leave it all."

"We want it now!" one of the braver aliens said. He was a Gamorrean male riding atop a Luggabeast, towering above the rest. "You can't claim an entire ship."

"I found it first," Rey yelled back. Her voice cracked and she saw the Gamorrean smile.

Before either of them could do anything further, D-0 zoomed out into the desert sand from behind Rey.

"D-0!" she called after him. The aliens drew their blasters and various crude handheld weapons they'd brought with them. A Teedo raised his spear to throw at D-0 and Rey shot him back with a Force push. He flew back a small distance and landed in the sand. The others eyed Rey curiously. When they'd first arrived, she'd sent a group of them flying clear across the desert for trying to rush the ship she was protecting. Now she could barely push back a tiny Teedo. Her strength was wavering and they knew it.

"D-0?" Rey called, but the little robot had already zoomed out of sight. He'd get stripped for parts if someone captured him.

The scavengers moved in closer. Rey wiped at the sweat dripping down into her eyes, but the sand that had stuck to the sweaty back of her hand got into her eye and she cried out at the painful pinch of it.

She heard, more than saw, the attack that followed her show of weakness. The Gamorrean on the Luggabeast belted out a battle cry and the rest joined in, rushing the ship from all sides. They began beating on the ship's haul plating with their metal clubs and spears. Rey fought off the ones that came for the entrance which she was guarding, but she could only see with one eye and her Force abilities seemed to no longer be working. 

The scavengers noticed soon enough and shot at her with their small weapons. She blocked the rays with her lightsaber, which at least didn't waver from weakness. The rays and bullets ricochetted off the glowing blade of her saber and caught the Gamorrean in the shoulder. He fell off his beast and a few of the others seemed startled by this. But they were no longer scared of Rey and continued forward.

"No," she rasped, but her voice was unheard over the mayhem. Her head pounded with a headache from dehydration and for a moment her vision went black and she became light headed, falling to the ground.

When her vision returned, she saw the large Gamorrean standing over her, raising his sword to strike her down. She lifted her lightsaber but he was quicker.

Yet the sword was stopped short at the last second. The hum of another lightsaber buzzed in front of Rey's face, so close that she could feel the heat of its sparks. The light of it was blinding, a bright silver colour. She lay on her back, in the dust, the sounds of fighting all around, muffled in her ears. She squinted into the dust all around, kicked up in the battle.

A black robe spun in the cloud of dust as a tall figure wielded a silver lightsaber, unlike any Rey had ever seen before. Dark hair and masterful movements, he spun and disarmed all those around him with one swing of his blade.

The cries of battle retreated as the aliens ran off, their many footsteps, and that of their riding beasts, vibrating the ground beneath Rey until there was no more sound.

She looked up, stunned, dust covering her face and eyelashes and making her cough.

"Ben?" Her throat was so dry now that her voice came out as a whisper. The sky was red with dust and she couldn't see anything. Then suddenly the sun was blocked by Ben looking down at her. He had a concerned expression on his face, but then smiled, as he had done once before, like he was so happy to see her. She saw his lips move, saying her name. But she couldn't hear his words.

"Ben? I can't hear you," she tried to say, but her words were just dry wisps of breath. How could it be? He'd died, disappeared. She'd been there when it had happened. How was he here now?

Ben set her water flask down beside her and it bumped up against her leg, cold.

She sat up and reached for his hand, and for a fleeting moment she felt the cold of his fingers. Ice cold. But just as he leaned down to close the distance between then, he disappeared.