Us Against the World

7

The next thing I heard was Maz crawling across the table to see Fin, looking at him with a knowing gaze. She knew her secret. There wasn't a thing in the galaxy that could get past Maz, she could read everyone like a book; so I tried to hide my laugh as the storm trooper feared the old lady. When I felt Fin brush past me, heading to another table, I wasn't surprised, although I had a feeling he would be back. I could feel the disappointment of both Han and Rey seeping from the table. Then Rey got up to storm after Fin so I sat down at the table, BB8 rolling to rest by my feet.

"Who's the girl?" Maz asked Han, her eyebrows furrowing as she asked the question. I felt my grin, knowing why she was asking and the answers she was looking for.
"You said the same thing to me the first time Leia and I brought Lowla to you." Han replied. Maz then turned to me, nodding to confirm that she had said the same thing to Han and Leia.
"It's because you can sense in her what you told Han was in me." Maz had, I'd been told before, confirmed what Leia already knew, that the little girl who was running after Ben with a stick in her hand pretending it to be a blaster, was force sensitive. Rey was exactly the same, although not running around with her best friend outside. Her eyes were filled with that same wonder at seeing things, and had the same curiosity hearing about the resistance, the force, the jedi. So, when Maz watched her descend a set of stairs on the opposite side of the cantena, I wasn't surprised when she left after Rey.

I had let Maz go and talk to Rey, hoping that the older woman could make Rey understand that the people she was waiting for weren't the ones that were coming back for her. If anyone could tell her and she not be angry, it would be Maz. I knew what it felt like, to have no idea who your family were or when they were coming back. Rey had turned that pain into belief, hoping that one day they would return for her, even though in her heart, she knew she was alone.

When Rey ran past me, I immediately followed her. Her anguish was obvious, and her fear. So, I ran after her. If she had found Luke's sabar, it was likely she had a vision, one that scared her, reminded her of her past and made her fully aware of the dark side, the evil we were fighting. As we ran I tried calling for her to stop, to wait, to talk to me. I felt a shift in the force and looked up, through the trees and to the sky to see bright red lights that showed an explosion.
"Oh Ben, what have you done?" I whispered, more to myself than anyone else. Still, I felt the force consume my words as they left my lips and take my sentence straight to the man himself. Instead of waiting for his reply, I simply ran off after Rey, after the girl that could hopefully help save us.

I reached Rey as she leant over a rock, trying to get her breath back. I stepped into the clearing, knowing she had heard me and waited, not sure how to begin to comfort her. The only people I had ever had to somewhat comfort had been Leia and Ben, so I wasn't the most experienced when it came to volatile emotions. Just as I had thought of something to begin with, I read the mechanical rolling of BB8 as he stopped beside me, beeping to Rey and asking if she was okay.
"What are you doing?" She snapped, directing her question at both me and the droid.
"We came to make sure you were okay." I answered, smiling gently at her. I could clearly see the tear marks that had been imprinted into her skin.
"You have to go back." She said, stepping towards BB8 who asked her what she was doing. If we were going back, then we were going back together. When Rey announced that she was leaving, BB8 started to beep rapidly, objecting and telling her that he wanted to follow wherever Rey went.
"BB8 you can't, you're too important. Besides you have Lowla." Rey was now kneeling in front of the droid. Rey stood and looked to me, almost begging me to take the droid myself, to leave her alone and stop her from getting too involved.
"Rey, you don't know much about droids do you?" My question caused the girl to raise her eyebrow. In fact, Rey knew a lot about droids and their circuits and wiring and their mechanics. But she didn't know about droids themselves. "Droids have a sense of loyalty reserved for one person. BB8's was for Poe, and now he's chosen you, Rey."