Skywalker Rises

Shadows

The last time Ben had been around so many people, they were stormtroopers, standing in neat, orderly rows. They were silent. If he gave them a command, they obeyed without hesitation. They didn't come near him. They didn't speak to him, or try to introduce themselves. For all intents and purposes, they were pieces of furniture. 

The people at this wedding were everywhere, and they sounded a bit like a flock of unruly geese, chattering and cackling and creating an irritating cacophony of chaos. 

Ben stayed right beside Rey, fingers lightly pressed into the exposed skin of her back. He was concerned he'd lose her in this mass of humanity. He tried to learn the names of the people who came up to her and spoke. Mercifully, no one had approached him all evening. Rey politely introduced him as Ben, and then steered the conversation away from him entirely. It appeared the Council had been true to their word - none of these people had any idea who he had been.

Rey had a good presence about her for political maneuvering. A little bit of Leia may have rubbed off on her. He knew she was anxious, but none of these people would ever guess it. She was poised and confident. She didn't allow any of them to pin her down about the Jedi, or allow them to walk away feeling like they had influenced her plans for the order. 

The dress she wore was blood red. It cut deliciously low, fully exposing her sternum. It stopped just shy of the wound on her stomach, which was nearly healed. Beneath the folds of the loose, thin, layered skirts, she had her lightsaber strapped to her thigh. It wasn't completely invisible, but you had to know where to look to see it. He wore black from head to toe. Some habits died harder than others. 

After the ceremony ended, they'd all been milling around the Senate Building, waiting for dinner and dancing. The kid was entertaining people by showing his levitation skills, which Ben had to admit were surprising for one so young. The Mandalorian stood nearby, stiff and projecting an air of general disinterest. No one approached him, either. Rey said dangerous looking men made people nervous. 

Dinner was held on an outside terrace overlooking the city. Tables were scattered about in a random pattern. Ben and Rey sat with the Mandalorian and the kid. 

"How are you going to eat?" asked Ben. 

"How did you eat when you wore a helmet?" said the Mandalorian. 

"I took it off. But I didn't usually eat around other people."

"Neither do I." 

"This is The Way," said Yoda.

"I'll be fine," said the Mandalorian. 

"Are you going to dance with me, Master Rey?" asked the kid. 

Rey made an exaggerated expression of shock. "Aren't you a little old to be asking me to dance?"

Yoda giggled so hard Ben thought he might topple out of his chair.

"How old are you?" said Ben.

"Seventy-seven," said Yoda. 

Ben nodded, though this creature's age compared to his appearance was a bit of a mind-bender. "Old men should not ask young women to dance. It isn't proper."  

Ben felt a nagging itch between his shoulder blades. He had seated himself against a wall so he could keep an eye on everything around him, but he still felt as if he were being watched. Or sensed. He made eye contact with Rey, and tried to convey his concern. She seemed to understand him. Moments later, sirens in the building began to wail. 

The Mandalorian grumbled something about how they should have left earlier. Ben couldn't agree more. 

"Are we going to have a fight?" asked the kid.

"Let's hope not," said Rey, though her weapon was in her hand already. 

Yoda tugged at the hem of Ben's coat. "Do you want to borrow mine?" 

Ben looked down. The kid was holding a lightsaber out for him to take. With an absent nod of approval from Rey, he took the weapon. 

"Let's spread out and see what we can find," said Rey, already moving toward the hall where they had mingled before dinner.

"No," said Ben. "We stay together. We are stronger together."

That was a gross understatement. The Dyad Bond created a strange synergistic reaction. He had sought power his entire life. He'd never felt anything like what he experienced when he and Rey were using the Force in close proximity, whether it was collaborative or not. 

People ran every which way. They hadn't been at peace long enough for them to have forgotten their terror and training. 

In the entry hall, clad all in black and wearing a black helmet, was one of his Knights. The shift in the Force when he and Rey were near death that notified Yoda must have been evident to all Force sensitive beings. Rey's blade extended, but he placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"Let me deal with him," said Ben.

"How?" said Rey.

"He's mine," said Ben. "At least, I think he is."

Snoke had gifted him with the Knights of Ren. They were a radicalized group of dark side users. Seekers of power. And he was their leader. He had taken great pride in them. In their ruthlessness and single-minded determination. Now, he regretted fostering those qualities in them.

"Ren," said the Knight. He put his fist over his chest in salute. "We have searched long for you."

"I'm no longer Ren," said Ben. 

The Knight motioned to the retracted lightsaber in Ben's hand. Ben extended the blade, and sucked in a sharp breath when it extended in a smooth, inky black line. A darksaber. THE darksaber. 

"I see the shadow in you still," said the Knight. Ben flinched. "And I see the shadow in the boy, too." 

Ben glanced behind to see that Mando and Yoda had followed them. 

"Surrender, or we cross blades," said Ben.

The Knight lifted his weapon, a long-handled ax Ben knew had been altered to cause greater damage. 

Ben shrugged, and attacked. It felt good to fight again. He ignored everything around him, slipping into the forms he had practiced for so long. The blade was shorter than he was used to, but it served well enough. 

The Knight's head ended up across the floor from his body. Ben retracted the blade and returned it to the kid. "Nice weapon." 

Rey had gone very pale. Finn and Poe joined them as they stood over the dead Knight. 

"Sorry about the body at your wedding," Ben said to Finn.

The general just shook his head.