Force Destiny

Fallen

Blue was waiting outside the escape shuttle as promised, tethered to the wall in the event the ship experienced another steep descent. The doors of the small craft were open, and Rey did her best to smile for Blue's sake as she dragged Ben off the Finalizer. The droid trilled an innocent string of questions. With her back to him, Rey bit her hand to suppress a sob. Should she worry him needlessly? Should she lie to him? "Not exactly like after Concordia, Blue."

Rey remembered how terrified she had been back then as Ben's life slipped through her fingers. He had come so far since then; they both had. She could only have hope they could do it again. "We need to find a medpac," she whispered, "and get to the Falcon and find a medbay. Can you launch the shuttle?" The droid chirped in the affirmative and left toward the cockpit, but hesitated next to Ben.

She knelt next to him. "Ben, talk to me." He didn't answer. She reached into the Force and held onto the bond. She could sense his weakening lifeforce, and the thought of not making it to a medbay in time terrified her.

Before she could stop him, Blue shocked Ben as he had done after Concordia. Rey smiled down at Ben reassuringly when his eyes finally fluttered open. "Sorry about that, but you have to stay awake." She tried to keep Ben focused while she searched the emergency craft for a medpac.

The pod was large for its purpose. It was comprised of a cockpit and a passenger compartment. It contained space for two pilots in the cockpit and a blastdoor that could close the cockpit off from the remainder of the craft. The passenger compartment was an arrangement of two bench seats, each side long enough to fit five people comfortably. Each bench was situated under transparisteel viewports that ran the length of the craft.

Ben was on the floor in between the two benches, and the sight was painful in its familiarity. It was where Rey had lain, in an identical craft, after she had fled the throne room. She had imagined then what it would have looked like if she had dragged his unconscious body with her, stowing him in the compartment until he reawoke, likely in a fit of fury. She had never thought she would be back there with him as he lay unconscious at her feet. She wished it was only unconsciousness that afflicted him now.

Rey knew she couldn't stand around regretting the way it had all transpired; she needed to find that medpac. There was an empty storage compartment for weapons or luggage at the stern of the craft, as well as storage underneath the bench seats, but it was all empty. A quick scan of the cockpit confirmed her fears. She stared at the propaganda holoposters projected over the viewports with a hand clasped over her mouth as she tried to hold it together.

How can an emergency pod have no medpacs?!

Blue must have recognized Rey's struggle and moved toward the cockpit to launch the shuttle, but Ben lifted a hand to stop him. He patted the droid gently, his eyes glistening. Blue pivoted toward him and held out a tool arm with an ignited blue flame, small but bright in the dim lights of the escape craft. Rey felt the pull of energy from the Force in the small space, and an orange flame sparked in her bondmate's hand. Ben reached out a finger to the droid to blend the flames together, only for a second, before the flame extinguished. His arm fell heavily to his side in exhaustion. The droid stared meaningfully at the single flame for a moment before returning the tool arm away with a small whimper of understanding. Ben smiled something wistful and full of pride. "The best part about you is that you're not like the others. Don't ever forget that, okay?"

Rey couldn't bite back the sob this time.

Don't, Ben. Don't you dare say goodbye.

For as innocent and naïve as the droid had been, he seemed to understand. Or, in the very least, he thought he'd trade one truth for another. He whirred a string of low beeps in return. She could hear Blue's rueful words in her head as if he'd given voice to them himself. And you are not bad, Master. They stared at each other for a moment, a lifetime of meaning in one glance, before Ben nodded once, and Blue hung his domed head as he rolled into the cockpit to start the launch procedure. When he was out of earshot, Ben turned to her.