2025 Evil Author Day

Ben Solo has never felt more like his parents’ son than in this particular moment.  He knows that going back to Exogol with only a blaster is a rather stupid idea, especially after he throws his lightsaber out into the rolling waves on Kef Bir, but he does it anyway.

Rey’s in danger and needs him.

Rey’s in danger and precious little else can send him running back into the depths of this frankly unsettling planet.  Of course, she’s always been someone who can spur him into action.  Even as Kylo Ren, though thankfully this is the only true thing he shares with his former self.

The stormtroopers he runs into fall easily to his blaster, but then he skids to a stop at a crossroads when the hairs of the back of his neck stand on end.  Out of the many shadows step the Knights of Ren.  Their raised weapons tell him exactly what they think of his redemption.

Ben curses silently to himself, frantically trying to figure out the quickest way through them.  He trusts his combat skills, but again, he just has a blaster and his former followers are armed to the teeth.  This would’ve been much easier if he’d kept Kylo Ren’s lightsaber.  And every moment wasted getting through them is one moment more that Rey has to stand alone against her grandfather who isn’t the least bit interested in redemption like Ben’s grandfather had been at the very end.

As if thinking about her now catches her attention, warmth floods him and the world quiets as the dyad bond between them blooms to life.  They’d both retreated from it after Rey had stabbed him on Kef Bir, the combined pain from both of them and the abrupt death of his mother had rocked them.

Ben?

Her voice is soft and hesitant, but quite honestly the most beautiful sound in the world to Ben.

Ben, it is you.

From her comes the whirling storm of emotions she’s battling.  Her fear at having to stand before her grandfather alone, that he might win.  Her despair that she might’ve led her friends all here only for them to die before they can win simply because she was too weak.  Her growing joy that Ben was even here.

I’m coming for you, he whispers.

I know, she says.  Her lips tilt up into the smallest smile ever, but it’s still a smile that Ben wants to cherish. But it looks like you could use a little help.

Ben nods, her reassurance that she wasn’t giving up her sole weapon heavy in the air between them.  So he watches as she raises the lightsaber in her hand above her head like she’s going to strike down Palpatine as he’s been taunting her to, only for her to let go when it’s behind her back.

And she drops Anakin Skywalker’s lightsaber right into his waiting hand.

Small mercies, Ben falls unconscious the instant he hits the ground after Palpatine throws him away.  Unfortunately, coming round hits hard.  His head is pounding with an absolutely splitting headache.  There is dust in his mouth and throat that make him cough.  He tries to roll onto his side in an attempt to brace himself, but pain flares through his chest the instant he does like someone took a knife to his side.

Karking hells, that means at least one rib is broken.

And he’s not Rey, he doesn’t know how to heal this.  That wasn’t what Snoke wanted to teach his prize pupil.  No, Kylo Ren only learned how to destroy anything in his way.  The slide of his bare fingers against Rey’s on Ahch-To was the first gentle touch he’d experienced since he’d run away from Luke and the Light.

He gives himself a moment to breath through the pain in his side before he forces himself to stand—

—And immediately falls to jarringly brace himself against the wall as his leg refuses to support his weight.

He casts a desperate look upwards.  The ledge that Palpatine threw him from is so high up Ben can barely see it, and the walls look far too smooth to be able to get any traction even if he could climb, which he can’t.  His connection with the Force is so muted it barely feels like it’s still there.  The Emperor had been merciless when he’d torn the power of their dyad from them to restore his body.

And Rey’s still up there with him, alone, while Ben is stuck down here in a pit with no way up to her.

Hopelessness floods him.

He’s failed yet again.

He failed his mother and father, Palpatine whispering in his ears even before he was born to lead him to ruin.

He failed his uncle, destroying the Jedi legacy that he’d tried so hard to rebuild.

He failed his namesake, falling to the Dark Side just like the man’s padawan had done.

He spectacularly failed his grandfather, thinking he knew what the man wanted from his grandson.

He failed every single Jedi who came before him by going to Snoke and eventually Palpatine.

And now he’s failing the woman he loves, unable to get to her when she needs him.

His good leg slides out from underneath him and he crumples to the ground despite his ribs protesting the entire way.  He doesn’t know what to do .

“Of all the things you could’ve truly inherited, it just had to be the Skywalker dramatics, didn’t it?” a wry voice says from right beside him.

Ben jerks away from the unexpected voice, head whipping up.  His jaw drops at the sight of an unfamiliar face surrounded by an ethereal glow that told him this person was a Force Spirit.  Yet the longer he looked, the more familiar the man became.  The man’s sandy blond hair and bright blue eyes reminds him very much of Luke, but the grin—the man’s grin takes him back to those days where he saw his mother’s satisfaction when one of her more exciting plans played out exactly as she’d expected it to.

“Grandfather,” Ben whispers, the hoarse word a prayer and a hope.

Anakin Skywalker beams at him, and Ben abruptly wants to cry.  This isn’t the masked monster Kylo Ren spent so long chasing and trying to stylize himself after in an effort to walk in his bloody footsteps.  No, this is a man looking at Ben Solo with an expression so full of love and affection simply for being his grandson, for simply being Ben.

“Come on Ben, you can’t give up now.” Anakin extends a hand.

His own hand shaking, Ben takes the offered help and somehow manages to leverage himself back up onto his feet.  They’re of a similar height, but Ben has never felt so small as he does now leaning against his grandfather’s shoulder while trying to rally his continually waning strength.

“You can still save her,” Anakin says softly, his smile slipping away and leaving only regret behind. “You can do what I wasn’t able to.”

“I can finish what you started,” Ben says, truly meaning it in so many different ways now that he’s finally listening.  But above all else, he doesn’t want his and Rey’s story to end the same way Anakin and Padme’s did.

The devilish carefree grin returns. “I don’t doubt it.” Anakin turns his gaze upwards, much to Ben’s confusion. “Think we can give him a hand?”

There’s a scoff from up above. “Like I’m ever solely leaving the fate of the galaxy in your hands again, Skyguy.”

Ben glances up, looking for the source of the voice.  There’s a female Togruta hovering a ways up, lekku white and blue.  Her arms are crossed and she has an amused smile on her lips that grows even wider when their eyes meet.

“Love you too, Snips,” Anakin gripes just before Ben feels a grip on his arm and he’s being tossed through the air.  He barely has any time to be surprised before he’s being caught by Anakin Skywalker’s padawan.

“Nice to finally meet you,” Ahsoka Tano says cheerfully. “Gotta say, the drama is real with you Skywalkers.”

“Isn’t that just the truth?” another voice sighs from higher up.

“Master, what’d keep you entertained if not for us Skywalkers?” Anakin calls out below as Ben’s tossed further up.  This time he’s caught by an older man with a bushy beard and woolen cloak.

“I can think of many things,” Obi-Wan Kenobi, the man Ben is named for, retorts. “Most of them nowhere near as stressful.” Despite his stern expression, Obi-Wan’s eyes are full of laughter as he regards Ben thoughtfully. “I would say to trust your instincts, but I’ve seen the result of listening to Skywalker instincts.  Please do try to do the opposite of whatever those are.  The galaxy will inevitably thank you for it.” He gifts Ben with a warm smile as he guides him even higher, thankfully not tossing him.

“Hey kid.” The rueful words are said by a voice that Ben knows well, having idolized the man for the thirteen years he’d studied under him. “Told you I’d see you around.” Luke Skywalker reaches for him, though there’s a hesitance to him.  Like he’s not entirely sure Ben will accept his help.  Shame, regret, determination, hope, love.  They’re all swimming in his expression.

There’s no hesitance on Ben’s part.  He takes the offered hand, making Luke grin at him in almost boyish delight.  His uncle gathers him close and carries him higher still.

“There’s one more person who’d like to help,” Luke says gently as an achingly familiar Force signature approaches.

Dread pools in Ben’s chest because this is both the person he aches to see the most and yet is terrified of standing in front of again.  Yet he doesn’t protest as delicate fingers wrap around his wrists and he’s lifted into his mother’s arms for the first time in years.

“You’re almost there, sweetheart,” Leia Organa says, sweeping a hand through his sweat soaked hair.

His lips tremble from how tightly he’s pressing them together.  There just isn’t time to say all that he needs to say.  To attempt to explain the slow, painful slide to the Dark Side he’s unwillingly and unknowingly lived his whole life.  To convey just how sorry he is for the galactic sized mess he’s created.

Leia’s eyes are gentle and forgiving when he finally manages to meet them.

“Just a little further,” she promises, guiding him to a little ledge just below the edge Palpatine had thrown him over. “You can do this, Ben.  I believe in you.” She kisses his forehead just like she had before sending him off to Ossus to study under Luke. “I always have.” She fades away, and Ben’s left alone again.  Only now he knows has the love of his family behind him.

But just as he’s gathering his strength to cover the last little distance between him and Rey, one half of his soul is terrifyingly ripped right out of him.

And Ben Solo screams.

He ignores the way his ribs and his leg are aching as he frantically hauls himself up that last ledge as they pale in comparison to the pain and anguish and grief he’s absolutely consumed by, along with the fractured edges of a broken bond he’s still desperately reaching for.

She can’t be gone, she can’t, please don’t be gone, please don’t leave me alone.

He limps his way into the sith chamber as quickly as his broken leg will allow him.  The Force is hauntingly quiet all around him.  Palpatine’s vile and twisted signature has vanished, along with the eerily intertwined signatures for all the Sith loyalists that had lined the chamber walls.  But so has that starbright signature that always told him that she was nearby.

The chamber is absolutely obliterated, jagged lines from what he can only guess was Sith lightning carved into the floor and the walls.  Chunks of ceiling are strewn everywhere, but he doesn’t care about any of that.  There’s only one thing in this forsaken chamber that he cares about, and his eyes dart rapidly through all the rubble trying to spot—

There.

She’s there, sprawled gracelessly on the dirty chamber floor.

Rey.

He stumbles faster, falling to his knees when his good leg finally gives up on him so frenzied is his relentless pace.  He crawls through the dust and dirt and grime until he reaches her.

Her tiny, unassuming form.

Her eyes are open, staring blankly up at the stars she no longer mirrors.

And she’s not—

Rey’s not—

She’s not moving, she’s not breathing.

Ben contorts himself so he can pull her into his lap.  He holds her tightly to his chest, hoping against hope to find a pulse on her wrist.  He just needs one lowly beat against his fingers, that’s all he wants.  But her skin is like ice against his, cold and unmoving.  Just like her chest no longer rises and falls in time with his own shaky, uneven breathing.

No.

Please no.

Anything but this.

He looks desperately around the chamber for help.  No Force signature steps forward to offer him guidance.  No member of the Resistance steps out of the many shadows with a med-kit.

No one is coming.

Ben Solo is down here all alone.

There’s no one to save her.

No one but him.

Broken and shattered and scarred Ben Solo.

He buries his face in the crook of her neck, desperately wishing they’d had more than this.  That they’d had more than being on opposite sides of a war he’d started in a vain attempt to connect with his grandfather.  That they’d had years together instead of just mere moments.

There’s a lot he wishes for right now.

But like hell is he going to let this be where Rey’s story ends.

She deserves so much more than what she’s been forced to endure.

He sits as upright as he can with his leg and ribs, though he can barely feel the pain anymore, and cradles her tenderly in his left arm while placing his right hand on her stomach.

He breathes in.

He breathes out.

He reaches for the starbright light that burns deep inside of him, that gift of life she’d given him on Kef Bir, and pours it into the other half of his soul.

He offers up all that he ever was.

He offers up all that he ever could be.

He offers up everything, hoping and praying that it’ll be enough.

And somehow, miraculously, the Force answers his desperate and insane plea.

Warm fingers skim across the back of his right hand while Rey, marvelously alive Rey, stirs in his arms.  She sits up and they stare at one another.  Him absolutely confounded that this gamble of his worked and her just surprised to even be alive.  And then she says his name.

“Ben.”

Her fingers kiss his cheek, leaving burning fire wherever they touch.  He can feel himself shaking.  Her skin is warm underneath his own fingers and her pulse beats a steady rhythm in her throat.

She’s here and real and alive.

She moves, a hesitant little jerk, before she ducks down and presses her chapped lips against his own.  It’s a benediction and homecoming and warmth and light and love.  He wraps an arm around her waist, hardly daring to believe that she still wants him after all he’s put her through.  An indiscernible amount of time later they break apart, Rey giggling and her joy bubbling up in their bond.

Ben can feel his own chest shaking with rumbling answering chuckles of his own.  His head’s spinning and he feels as if he could just float away, but he’s anchored here by the sight and sound and touch and taste of the other half of his soul.

But only barely anchored.

Now that he can see that she’s saved, now that he’s held her in his arms, he can feel himself slipping away.  His body goes limp and he can feel himself slumping backwards.  He just wishes that Rey had kept that wonderful smile on her lips as the darkness crashes over him.

Ben opens his eyes to sunshine and green grass spread out before him.

He lurches sideways, expecting his leg to buckle out from underneath him, but it doesn’t.  Nor do his ribs hurt with every ragged breath he takes.  The unfamiliar lightsaber in his hand falls to the ground as he frantically looks around, trying to figure out what exactly is happening to him.

“Holy kriff, Solo!” a voice yelps just as a green lightsaber goes swinging right in front of his face. “Pay attention!”

Ben jerks his gaze to in front of him, jaw dropping at the young dark skinned woman standing in front of him, panting slightly and staring at him with a confused expression.  He wants to hurl, because by killing her back on the Minemoon of Mimban, he’d cemented the loyalty of the Knights of Ren.  Her face haunted his dreams far longer than he cares to admit.

“Voe,” he breathes, horror growing with every passing second, stumbling backwards in an attempt to put some distance between them.

“Honestly, Solo, what gives?” she demands. “You’re the one who asked for extra saber practice, but if you’re not going to pay attention then I’ll just go help Tai.”

“I—” he sputters, at a complete loss for words. “I don’t—” He presses a hand to his chest, his knees abruptly buckling out from underneath him.  Dirt bites underneath his fingernails as he fights for air that doesn’t seem to want to come.  Stars dance in and out of his vision, white spots that grow bigger with every passing second.  He’s choking on nothing and everything and the weight of the universe is pressing down on his chest while his heart goes supernova and—

“Ben, look at me.”

The thundering sound of Anakin Skywalker’s Force heavy voice echoing in his ears pulls Ben out of his downward spiral.

“Breathe with me,” Anakin firmly instructs. “In—” His shoulders rise despite not actually needing to breathe as a Force Spirit. “—and out.” His shoulders fall. “In—” Ben forces himself to copy his grandfather for all that it doesn’t feel like anything is happening. “—and out.  In and out.  In—” Air finally seems to burn down his throat and he greedily sucks it up. “Steady, steady.  Keep breathing with me.  In and out.  In and out.”

They stay kneeling in the green grass with the wind blowing gently around them as Luke Skywalker's padawans begin to gather around in a loose semi-circle.  Ben ignores them as best he can, cheeks burning from shame both for the display and the fate he subjected them to even while focusing on his grandfather’s instructions.  He’s just feeling like he’s gotten himself back in control when an orange female Twi’lek comes rushing over.

“What’s happened?” Enyo asks, briskly weaving between all the younger padawans. “Ben, Voe, is something wrong?”

“I don’t know,” Voe says, waving a hand in Ben’s general direction with a disbelieving expression on her face warring with barely visible concern. “Solo asked to run saber drills with me when something distracted him.”

Ben finds himself unable to answer Enyo, instead keeping his eyes on Anakin. “Grandfather, what’s happening to me?” he all but pleads.

“We’re not sure,” Anakin says grimly. “The Force kind of lurched after you saved Rey and then we all abruptly found ourselves here.”

Ben swallows around the rising lump in his throat. “Rey, was she—?”

“She made it out,” Anakin gently assures him. “They all did.”

Eyes fluttering closed as relief settles in, Ben lets himself just be glad that he saved her for a single moment.  That for once in his kriffing life he got it right.  Warmth suddenly floods him and the world quiets in an oh so familiar way as the dyad bond nestled deep within his soul wakes up.  An echo of worry and fear and steadfast love slides across him, and Ben finds himself futilely blinking back tears.

Rey’s out in the galaxy somewhere.

And somehow, she’s still full to the brim with love for her parents for all that she’s also scared for them as well.

He sends as much love and hope and safety that he can down the bond as it softly goes back to sleep.

“Grandfather,” he breathes and he knows the look in his eyes must be wild beyond imagination. “They’re all still alive.”

Rey.

Her parents.

His parents.

His uncle.

All the padawans.

Everyone.

A sad yet understanding smile spreads across Anakin’s lips. “And what exactly do you plan to do about that, Ben Solo?”

Ben scrambles to his feet as his own lips stretch with a wild and fierce grin. “I plan on saving them.” He doesn’t even know if it’s possible, but right now he feels as if he could do just about anything. “I plan on saving all of them.”

Anakin picks up Ben’s forgotten lightsaber and offers it almost reverently to him. “That sounds like a good idea, grandson.  That sounds like a very good idea.”

The clearing of a throat reminds Ben that he and his grandfather aren’t alone out here.

“Master…Skywalker…?” Enyo asks hesitantly, awe and wonder splashed across her face.  The feeling is understandable, though it currently makes Ben’s skin crawl.  He’s experienced first hand how awe and wonder can oh so quickly slide into fanatic obsession after all.  And they’d never been visited by Force Spirits before, either.

“My son, Luke,” Anakin says, standing shoulder to shoulder with Ben. “I don’t sense him anywhere nearby.”

Which is a mercy for Ben at the moment.  He knows that eventually he’ll have to stand in front of his uncle again, along with his mother and father.  He’ll have to stand in front of them and know the magnitude of the tragedies he subjected them to while they’re none the wiser.  He’ll have to stand in front of them a changed man in ways they can’t ever even begin to imagine, broken and shattered and scarred.  But these worries, thankfully, can keep until another day.

“Master Skywalker left with Ser San Tekka a month ago,” Enyo offers the information freely and Ben can vaguely remember Luke returning from said trip, quiet and contemplative.  His uncle had never really spoken about what he’d found or experienced on that trip, which had frustrated him at the time because he’d been on the previous trip Luke had gone on with San Tekka.  Granted, they’d run into the Knights of Ren during that particular adventure. “There is an archaeological dig on Yoturba that Ser San Tekka wished to show Master Skywalker.  Ben Solo was left nominally in charge of Jedi training while I am simply here to help with the younglings.”

Ben can feel it deep in his bones.  He can’t wait for Luke to get back.  Not if he wants to get there in time.

Also, the thought of being in charge of younglings is horrifying at the moment.

“I have to go,” he says softly, his feet already starting to carry him towards where Luke keeps a few ships available in case they ever need to evacuate. “I have to go now.”

“Go where exactly?” Voe calls after him, indignant sounding, but Ben just ignores her.  All he cares about is getting to a ship and getting off this planet.

“Do you know where you’re going?” Anakin inquires, falling into step beside him.  The younglings part for them with wide-eyes, and Ben tries not to let his gaze linger on them too long.  Through the Force he can feel his grandfather’s sad understanding at the emotions churning inside of him.

“Jakku.”  It’s where their story started last time, and where it’ll start again.

“Always the desert planets,” Anakin grumbles in obvious distaste.

“Solo, you can’t just up and leave!” Voe shouts.

Ben spins on his heel and fixes a look at her.  She’d started running after him and said look makes her skid to a stop. “Yes, I can,” he enunciates slowly and firmly, letting a mere hint of his fear at the thought of losing Rey a second time leak into his voice, along with his determination to not let that become a reality.  Voe’s eyes widen and she takes a hesitant step backwards. “There is absolutely nothing you could say or do right now that could make me stay.  I am going.” He glances at Hennix and Tai who are now flanking Voe at either shoulder, looking at him warily. “Hennix can be in charge of saber training until my uncle returns.”

He might feel an immense guilt over all three of their deaths, but he still remembers Voe’s resentment over his better skill in just about everything compared to her.  He doesn’t want to risk the possibility of the younglings being subjected to her venting her frustration over that on them.  He doesn’t want to be in charge of them, but that doesn’t mean he wants them harmed in any way.

Voe, just as he guessed she might, immediately starts sputtering at the perceived slight. “I’m just as—”

Ben cuts her off. “I don’t have time to listen to your petty reasons as to why you think you should be in charge instead of Hennix,” he states flatly, trying not to grit his teeth or give in to his frustration. “There is a little girl who will lose her parents if you don’t let me go.” 

Shock ripples through the Force from everyone in the clearing, adult and youngling alike.

“Ben—” Hennix starts.

He just shakes his head. “You’ve always been able to make me laugh, Hennix, and that’s what they need right now.  Someone who can make training fun.” He exhales forcefully, firming his resolve. “The next person who tries to stop me will be put to sleep.” He turns and starts marching again towards the ships, silently sending up a prayer of thanks to the Force when no one tests him.  He’d do it, because he absolutely refuses to be too late.

Upon reaching the very small shipyard, Ben’s immensely grateful both that his uncle trained him to fly all the ships on planet once he’d shown an aptitude and that there are even ships available.  He’d probably be pitching an unbecoming fit if that weren’t the case.  As it is, he’s very happy the VCX-100 is available for him to use.  It’ll be able to house him, Rey, and her parents without any difficulties no matter what they decide to do or where they decide to go after Ben finds them.  He casts his mind back to remember all the checks he has to go through before attempting to bring the ship into space.

It’s soothing now in a way it never was when he was Kylo Ren, going through these motions.  He’d still done it, having had it drilled into his head since he was little, but it’s nice to have this bit of peace back.  Anakin shadows his footsteps silently, a solemn expression on his face that contrasts the building hurry in Ben’s chest.

“You’re certain about Jakku?” Anakin asks one more time when Ben finishes all his preflight checks.

He gives a jerky nod in response, the Force practically singing the rightness of it in his ear.  He’s a little surprised how much more of the Force he can hear now.

His grandfather’s lips twitch into a small smile. “Then let’s get going.”

After nearly ten hours of flying through hyperspace, Ben feels about ready to vibrate out of his skin.  The closer he gets to Jakku, the heavier the Force seems to be settling over him.  The dyad bond has stayed silent so far, which isn’t really surprising.  It only ever connected them sporadically last time.  But he hopes that because Rey hasn’t unintentionally flooded the bond with any sort of emotion that he isn’t too late.  He breathes out a sigh of relief and slumps slightly in his seat as he comes out of hyperspace and Jakku appears in front of him.

The desert planet looks just as uninviting as ever, and yet Ben’s never been happier to see it before.

“Ugh, so much sand,” Anakin grunts.

“You’re a Force Spirit,” Ben feels the need to point out. “The sand shouldn’t bother you anymore.”

“And yet it still gets everywhere,” Anakin mutters.  His grandfather shudders before visibly rallying himself. “So, we’ve made it to Jakku.  What now?”

Ben casts his gaze back out towards Jakku and finds his eyes immediately drawn to a ship off in the distance hovering in orbit above the planet that looks vaguely familiar even with another ship right next to it.  The Force trilled lightly in his ear the longer he focused on it.

If this becomes his new normal, it’ll take some getting used to.

“Getting onto that ship,” is what he says.

Since he doesn’t want to give the bounty hunter that’s after Rey and her family time to prepare for his arrival in any way, Ben doesn’t bother hailing the other ship as he docks his own against it.  Thankfully, he has no issues docking.  With his unlit lightsaber in hand, he quietly but quickly makes his way from his ship onto the one the bounty hunters used and then towards the one he remembers from Jakku that he hopes and prays Rey’s parents are on.

Rounding the corner, he stumbles upon three humanoids.  It’s the one with the knife that reeks of the Dark Side that he focuses on first.  As the being raises it up to strike the male, Ben reaches out with the Force and yanks him away.  The being slams into the ship wall and the knife clatters to the floor.  Ben forcibly stomps on his instinctive reaction to want to hurl the knife as far away from himself as possible because puncturing a hole in the ship’s wall right now would be a very bad idea.  Instead he focuses on the bounty hunter, reaches for the Force, and says, “Sleep.” Despite the obvious blow to the head, the bounty hunter still somehow starts stirring on the floor.  So Ben grits his teeth, reaches deeper than before, and bites out, “Sleep.” This time thankfully the bounty hunter slumps, body going limp as unconsciousness hits.

“Who the hell are you?”

Ben lifts his gaze from the unconscious bounty hunter to finally really look at Rey’s parents.  They’re huddled back up against the ship’s wall behind them.  Both are looking at him with wary expressions, Rey’s father grimly as he stands in front and Rey’s mother almost defiantly behind him.  “My name is Ben Solo,” he offers, clipping his lightsaber to his belt before holding out his hands palm upwards, “and I mean you no harm.”

“You’ll forgive me if I don’t believe you,” Rey’s mother says stiffly.

Which, given that they’ve been running for their lives for a while now, is probably a good idea.  Even though Ben really doesn’t mean them any harm.

Ben gives them a wry smile. “I’m not sure there’s anything I could swear by to prove it.”

“Why were you looking for us?” Rey’s father demands.

And isn’t that just the crux of the matter, what exactly to say without flat out saying that he's lived a whole life and knew their daughter, because despite having lived it the thought still sounds insane even to him. “Would you believe me if I told you the Force gave me a vision?”

Somehow, Rey’s father’s spine goes even straighter than it already was. “You will not get our daughter,” he snaps, eyes flashing dangerously.

“We’ve hidden her away,” Rey’s mother states almost proudly. “You’ll not find her.”

Ben exhales forcefully, already bracing himself for the fear what he’s about to say will definitely produce. “Your daughter, Rey, is currently down on Jakku in the dubious care of Unkar Plutt.  She’s strong in the Force and the entire reason Palpatine is hunting you.  He wants to use her to rebuild his Sith Empire.”

Both pale drastically at his words. “How do you know that?” Rey’s mother chokes out, one hand curling over her husband’s shoulder while the other holds a very familiar Aki-Aki necklace in a white-knuckled grip.

“Like I said, the Force gave me a vision,” Ben repeats, “and I swear to you on your daughter’s life that I mean your family no harm.  I want to help.”

“What do you want with her?”

He wants many things for and from Rey.

He wants her to be able to grow up with her parents instead of on her own.

He wants her to grow up on a lush green planet instead of on the desert below them.

He wants her to look at him and know him.

He can hopefully at least get two of those three things.

“The only thing I want from her right now is for her to be safe,” is what he says.  Anything else will just make them think he’s insane.

Rey’s father narrows his eyes. “And later?  What will you want from her later?”

Ben shrugs. “Whatever she’s willing to give.” He’s not about to tell them, given that he doesn’t want to explain the reason, but the mere thought of trying to force anything out of Rey makes him feel sick.  He doesn’t think he even has it in him to use a Force suggestion on her if she were in a dangerous situation.  Hopefully he won’t have to test that anytime soon.  And then there’s the fact that this won’t be his Rey.  She won’t truly know the depths to which he sank for all that their dyad bond still exists. “Now, I don’t know about you, but I’d really like to go get Rey instead of staying up here.  You’re welcome to join me on my ship, as I don’t trust either of these ships not to have trackers on them.”

“And Ochi?” Rey’s mother asks, motioning to the unconscious bounty hunter still slumped on the floor. “What do you plan to do with him?”

What indeed.

Ben purses his lips.  He doesn’t want to start just killing beings because they inconvenience him, but Palpatine wouldn’t have chosen Ochi to go after his granddaughter if the being would just give up.  Especially after he finally managed to corner them.  No, he’ll follow after them until he finishes his job.  So Ben grimly says, “A good captain ought to go down with his ship.  It's the only way to keep him from continuing to hunt you down.” If not here, then there’s a good chance Ben will eventually be forced to kill him anyway.

Despite not wanting to start killing indiscriminately again, there’s precious little he won’t do to keep Rey safe.

His starbright girl will live this time round if it’s the last thing he does.

Not just survive, but live.

Rey’s mother nods sharply. “Fair enough.  We stole this ship from Ochi to begin with.” She relaxes her grip on Rey’s father’s shoulder. “You have the room on your ship for all three of us?”

“It’s a VCX-100, there’s plenty of room,” Ben assures her. “Just grab anything you want to keep and put it in one of the bunk rooms.” He stays standing beside Ochi as both of Rey’s parents gather up a few meager things from this ship and make their way towards his.  Once they’re gone from his line of sight, he glances down at the knife lying inconspicuously on the floor.  He’s torn between destroying it with the ship or taking it with him.

It’d lead him to the wayfinder on Kef Bir in the ruins of the second Death Star.

But it reeks of the Dark Side, and he really wants nothing to do with the Dark Side right now.

“I can lead you to the one I left on Mustafar again,” Anakin says softly, appearing beside him. “You don’t need this sort of temptation around you.  And much as I wish otherwise, now isn’t the time to go after Palpatine.  He won’t come into his full power again for another eleven years.  You have time.”

Ben exhales shakily. “Thank you, Grandfather.”

“You’re welcome, grandson.”

He reaches out with the Force, checking to see how deeply under Ochi is.  He’s relieved when he feels there’s no chance of the bounty hunter coming round any time soon.

But just to make sure, he mangles the controls on the ship with his lightsaber, planning on using the other ship’s navigation system to point them towards Jakku’s sun.  As he starts towards the ship he assumes Ochi used to catch up with Rey and her family, he spots a little powered down droid in the corner.

He’s reminded of the little BB unit that seemed to always be right on Rey’s heels.

While he has no idea of the programing on it, he still gathers it up.

As far as he’s aware, the droid had nothing to do with Ochi chasing after Rey.  No need for it to suffer a fiery death with Ochi.  He’ll definitely check the programing before giving it to Rey, but he imagines she’ll enjoy its company.

After setting the auto-pilot on the ship Ochi came on to Jakku’s sun despite the warning systems that immediately start blaring, Ben slashes it with his lightsaber yet again before sprinting back to his own ship.  He undocks as quickly as possible, staying in orbit to make sure that the ships stay in their deathly flight.  Rey’s parents join him, though neither say anything as they watch the ships disappear into the sun.  Rey’s mother murmurs something softly to herself as they vanish, but Ben doesn’t catch the words.  Rey’s father just remains stoic, lips pressed into a firm line.

After a few moments of them all just standing there looking at Jakku’s sun, Rey’s mother whispers, “I’d like to go get my daughter, Ser Solo.”

“Just Ben, and of course.”