What Ben Solo Deserved

The First Battle

REYS POV

We found Poe racing toward his ship to defend the base. 

"What's happening? Who are they?" I yelled.

"We don't know, they came out of nowhere, get to the Falcon, we gotta get on their level if we're gonna come out on top!" Poe shouted down at us. Ben and I spun around and ran as fast as we could toward the Falcon. Chewie was already inside and we took off. I told Ben to get to the cockpit as I ran to the gunner position. The entire ship shook as another bomb exploded close by. As we rose through the air I could see the number of enemy ships had doubled. More and more were arriving. Each ship looked the same, sleek glossy black on the outside with a blood red insignia on the underside. 

I took out three fighters by the time I started seeing rebels on the ground bringing out the canons and blasters to defend the base. A few enemy ships had landed, and they were advancing towards our people. I tried to fire at them as well. 

By the time the fight was over, everything I could see was either engulfed in flames or blasted to bits. The handful of enemy fighters that had survived were fleeing the planet, but we had taken down 20 or so. The Falcon landed and I ran out of the gunner seat to meet Ben and Chewie. 

"Are you alright?" Ben asked hurriedly. 

"Yeah, I'm fine. You?" He was breathing heavily, so I moved quickly to his side to support him. His first day able to walk around and our base gets attacked. Funny. 

"Fine. Chewie let me pilot the ship." Ben said with a small smile. Chewie growled in agreement. The two of them had had time to reconnect over the past couple of weeks. When I was unable to sit with Ben, Chewie would typically take over watch. Ben used to call him 'Uncle Chewie' when he was young. Chewie hadn't forgiven him for what he did to Han, and I don't think he ever will. None of us can forget, Ben least of all, but the most we can do is keep moving forward. 

The three of us make our way onto the battlefield. People are racing past us, trying to put out the fires before the entire planet is turned to ash. 

"You should get back to the med bay and rest," I tell Ben. He looks pale and exhausted. I hope he isn't in too much pain. I can tell that going back to that room is the last thing he wants to do, but he agrees. "I'll come back to you later. They fire team needs help, okay?" 

"Alright. I wish I could do more." Ben said quietly. My heart hurt for him. He wanted to prove he was changed, but he needed time to recover. He left Exegol with a broken back and Leia's remaining life force- which wasn't much, just enough to keep him alive.

"You will," I reassure him. I watch him limp back inside the base and when he's out of sight I run to find water to help put out the fires. 

Everyone works tirelessly for hours clearing rubble, dousing fires, and helping injured rebels. Finally, the work is done for the most part. There's still smoke rising from the ground but no fire. The pathways we've established since settling here are clear again. The med bay was destroyed during the fight, so we've had to set up a large tent to help the wounded. Poe and Finn had announced that there'd be a meeting tonight about the enemy attackers we'd faced today. They say they'd received a transmission just minutes before the attack began, explaining who they were and what they wanted. 

After having been constantly moving and working for the last few hours, I start to feel the exhaustion and soreness in my muscles. I'm starving and thirsty, and I feel like I could collapse right there in the middle of the med tent. I look around for Ben, but I can't see him anywhere. He should be around here somewhere, right? I catch Rose as she's bringing water to the injured. 

"Rose, have you seen Ben?" 

"You mean Kylo? No, I haven't seen him." When Rose speaks of Ben she always uses his old name. She spits it out like a bitter tasting food. 

"I can't find him-" I start to say, but she's already moved on. I take a deep breath. It's frustrating, but I understand. Ben did horrible things in the past. I think Rose partly blames him for the death of her sister. I just wish I could tell everyone about what he did for me on Exegol, maybe then they would see that Ben chose to be better. I run out of the med tent and into the partially destroyed base. It was a large, old, limestone cave that we used mainly as our command center. I search everywhere. I finally move towards the small area in the back that served as Leia's room when she was still here. I find him leaning against the wall outside her room, asleep. The wound on his arm from the flying tree branch has stopped bleeding, but it looked pretty bad. 

I hadn't had time to truly process Leia's passing. There had been so much happening at the time. Even in my down time watching over Ben I kept my mind occupied with other things. I wondered if Ben had done the same. I walk quietly over to him and kneel in front of him. His breaths are slow, and he always looked so youthful as he slept. I reach out and touch his arm gently. 

"Ben... wake up." His eyes flutter open and he looks around confused. "Are you okay?" I ask. 

"Yeah, I guess I fell asleep. The um... the med bay was destroyed so I just tried to find somewhere to rest." 

"Do you want to go inside?" I ask him. He turns his head to look towards the room. For a few moments he just sits in silence, but eventually he looks back at me with his big brown eyes and nods once. I grab his hand to help him stand up, and he begins to walk in. I stay where I am, I don't want to crowd him or make him feel uncomfortable. I know what it's like to lose a mother. 

He looks back at me, his eyebrows raised slightly. He reaches out his hand and says, "Come with me?" I take it. Together we walk slowly toward her bed.