The Return of Ben

Chapter Fifteen: Gone?

BEN

"Fire!" Pryde yelled.

"Rey!" Ben balled his hands into fists. He had to warn her, but it was too late! Why couldn't he just go there? He focused again, with every ounce of his being, determined to return to the little cabin in the middle of the desert even if he blew up along with it.

The flames of the blast billowed towards him suddenly and he raised his arm in an automatic response. But he didn't feel the heat of it. He felt nothing,  no hot or cold, just the devastation of seeing the end of the only person he'd ever been sure about in his entire existence, Rey.

A desperate cry rang out from within him, one that didn't come from his throat or chest, but from his very being. He wanted to feel the burn of the fire, to step into it along with her and let it consume him, ending his lonely existence. She was all that had been holding him together, and now... 

It couldn't have all been for nothing. Them finding each other and finally coming together to defeat Palpatine. They were a dyad in the Force, if she was dead then he wouldn't still be existing. Not here. Not anywhere. Unless...

He turned around abruptly, taking in the desert around him. Would she join him now, in this empty realm? The thought gripped his heart with hope. He'd gladly wander all eternity as just as an onlooker in the universe, like this, if she was by his side. He'd always wandered alone even in his previous life, the rest of the universe in motion around him but not really part of his inner world, then Rey had come along, the only one who had ever really stepped inside hollow existence that was his life. 

He did another circle to look around. He didn't sense her presence now. Not anywhere near him. Was she really gone?

The explosion had died down, leaving only a massive empty chasm where the cabin had been, charred as black as the fear now in Ben's heart. If she was really gone...

He couldn't even end his life, because it had already ended and left him trapped here. There was no escaping this.

PRYDE

"Sir, a ship just left from near the cabin, four life signs on board," the tactical officer said.

"What ship?" Pryde shouted. He was losing his cool and the other officers exchanged glances.

"An old freight ship."

"How did they know...?" Pryde looked out towards the planet of Jakku, hands behind his back, regaining his composure. 

"They're Force Sensitive so-" the tactical officer said, echoing Pryde's very thoughts.

"I know that!" Pryde barked at the man. Then he turned to leave. "They'll anticipate our every move," he said on his way out. "We need a different plan."

REY

Rey watched the bright glare of the explosion on Jakku, seeing it through the freight ship's small viewscreen. Rose had noticed it on the sensors first, soon after they'd left the atmosphere. Now they sat in silence watching the pixelated representation of a massive explosion in the desert, where Rey's cabin had been seconds ago. 

Finn had been right.

Rey turned in the pilot's chair to look up at him. He was looking ahead, a frown on his face. She would have expected him to jump around and yell "see! I told you!" But he didn't and the silence was uncomfortable. Was he waiting for an apology? A reaction of some sort? 

Rey glanced at Rose who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat. She seemed stunned, as though her mind was stuck on some thought that she was having trouble processing.

"What happened?" Temiri asked. The young boy stepped into the cockpit looking confused. He'd been in the back, resting.

"Nothing." Finn set his hand on the boy's shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile. "We'll be at the doctor soon. Why don't we go play a game of Dejarik?"

POE

Poe hit the breaks when the ship appeared on his sensors, but it was too late. He was already in range of their sensors now and would be discovered. He shivered in his seat. The temperature had dropped dramatically while his engine was off earlier and it hadn't warmed up. He was dangerously low on fuel so he didn't turn anything additional outside of auxiliary power and forward thrusters to get here. He should have flown to the nearest inhabited planet, but instead he'd returned to the empty space of where D'Quar had once been. He needed to come back, to have one more look. He couldn't come to terms with the fact that D'Quar and the Resistance Base had been destroyed on his watch.

He'd expected to find Zorii perhaps, hanging around the area, but not an old Imperial ship. What were they doing here? Was it Pryde and the Final Order coming to see that the job was done? If these were the ships they had to use now, then he could defeat them singlehandedly himself.

Poe powered up his laser cannons. One shot was all he had, before his power would be out, but he wasn't going down without a fight.

HUX

An X-wing appeared suddenly, jumping out of hyper drive right in front of them.

"It's a Resistance plane," the tactical officer reported.

"Hail them." Hux was glad for the monotone sound of his voice through the mask he was wearing, otherwise his voice would have sounded a lot higher at that moment. He was pretty sure he knew whose plane this was.

"This is the Radiant VII, please identify yourself," the tactical officer said. There was a pause, then the crackle of a low-grade signal came through.

"Acting General Poe Dameron, of the Resistance. What is your business here?"

Hux froze. So the Pilot, he was alive. And he was here. All heads were turned to Hux, awaiting his response. For a second he couldn't think. All he could think about was how relieved he was that the Resistance Pilot was alive.

"We've come to assist the Resistance," he said, "in whatever way we can."

"To assist with what? The Resistance Base has been destroyed," came the response.

General Poe sounded strong, aloof almost to the destruction of his entire base and those who'd been there, but Hux could see through the facade. Poe was not happy about losing their base and their fighters.

"We don't see any signs of it being destroyed," Hux replied.

"Other than the obvious fact that it no longer exists?" Poe answered.

"Yes." Hux smiled. "Other than that."

"Permission to come aboard," Poe the Pilot said.

Hux swallowed hard, his palms sweating inside his gloves. "Permission granted."

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Author's Note: Hello everyone. Been really wanting to continue this! But haven't found any extra time. I have another chapter that I hope to type up and post on Monday (in 2 days). Not a lot happened in this last chapter but I'm glad I got back to the story again, even if it was for just one chapter. See you all on Monday :) and thanks for reading!