Keep Him There

Taught

"Drop us here, Chewie!" Rey instructed, hitting a button to lower the Falcon's ramp.

She pulled her hood up as she disembarked, observing the dark and littered street they had landed close to. The four did the best they could do find an available platform as they had only really gone over such details of the plan minutes before they arrived. Rey and Ben were to leave the Falcon and infiltrate the facility.

If all went well, they would be able to leave without a fight. If all went wrong, Finn and Chewie would make a run to disable the planet's main power grid, causing a diversion and providing easier access to the library.

"The real view is topside. From what I've heard the lower levels were always grimy." Ben's boots clunked down the ramp behind her.

His dark hair was covered by a black robe that they had found in the Falcon's spare closet. He was a good foot or two taller than whoever the cloak belonged to, it barely came past his knees.

"Who told you that?" she replied, looking up into the mesmerizing mess of skyscrapers and traffic above her.

"My dad."

"Of course." Rey said unflinchingly. Han had been a smuggler after all.

She turned back to the Falcon, giving it another once over before it left them on the streets. Finn frowned down at them from the doorway.

"Are you sure about this Rey? I can be helpful, you don't have to go alone."

She smiled back at her friend, "I'm not alone, Finn. And I thought you trusted my judgement?"

"I do," Finn admitted, "It's his I'm worried about."

Beside her, Ben scoffed and started back towards the ship. Rey was quick to stop him from going further, putting an arm in front of his torso. Ben did as she asked but, leveled a dark glare at the stormtrooper first.

"Ok, let's go scruffy." she told him, grabbing his hand to guide him in the opposite direction.

Ben wrenched his hand out of her grasp, acting very offended, "Who's scruffy?"

Rey threw him a small smirk before settling into determined silence. It would not serve them to draw attention to themselves. As if sensing the shift in her mood, Ben also grew quiet.

They walked down the road, avoiding the shops and clubs as much as they could. Avoiding the people that frequented them was much harder. Many beings yelled after them, trying to sell off their wares. Some of the bolder ones even tried to stop them, standing right in their path or reaching to grab their arms.

One dealer was particularly forward with Rey, holding her by placing each of his hands on her shoulders. In an instant, Ben towered over both of them and ripped the dealer's hands off of her. By the way he fell, it looked like the being's arm was dislocated.

Rey's eyes shot around the crowd, worried that their cover was blown. They needed the element of surprise if they wanted to get the holocron without a mess.

Luckily, the few who had actually turned looked and looked away. Maybe it was just another daily occurrence for them. But that was beside the point.

"Ben!" she hissed and dragged him into a nearby alley.

Her partner looked left and right before settling his gaze on her, "What? Are you hurt?"

"No! I'm not hurt! But I can take care of myself! Why did you do that? We're lucky if the whole planet doesn't know we're here!"

"Are you kidding me, Rey?" Ben grabbed her shoulders, "Did you stop to read his mind? He wasn't trying to sell you goods, he was trying to sell you as goods!"