Chapter Thirty: Dread

Disclaimer: I own nothing here, but this is where the fun begins!

Some blood and injury ahead. Though honestly, it's not worse than Dooku losing his head, Anakin losing limbs, or Maul and Snoke losing... well, you get the idea.

As she walked beside Ben down the bustling hallway, Rey noticed how the postures of the officers and staff would stiffen as they passed by, purposely avoiding eye contact more than usual. It was apparent that even if the majority of the Order didn't know what was about to happen, they at least could sense the tension in the air on some level.

"Any idea when this is all going to hit the cooling turbine?" she asked, attempting to mask her anxiety with a touch of humor.

"You heard Hux, didn't you?" Ben replied rhetorically, leading her into the hangar and towards his shuttle. "He said they deployed a garrison to the capital city. No doubt, that's a garrison full of troops he's handpicked for his coup."

"I still think we should have just strung him up by his boots, then and there." Rey crossed her arms over her chest, feigning a pout, though she couldn't fend off a streak of amusement at the daydream. She frowned at her next thought, however. "Whatever repercussions from that... Well, it couldn't be worse than this dread in the back of my mind."

It was true. Her frown steadily shifted into a scowl the closer they got to that huge, black shuttle. It was as if a heavy, looming ceiling were pressing down on her awareness; a warning.

"I agree with you," Ben replied, smirking with amusement at the mental image her comment invoked. He obviously hadn't received the silent warning. "But I've already calculated the many different outcomes. Beating him at his own game is the only way forward."

Rey pulled to a sudden halt some ten feet from the ship's ramp and reached out a tentative hand to tug on Ben's sleeve, effectively halting him as well. He gave her a quizzical, concerned look and she had to swallow down a raw lump of fear before she could speak again. "Ben... Every instinct in my body is telling me not to get on that ship."

Clearly puzzled, he glanced between her and the ship before turning to her fully and encompassing her arms within his in a mild, comforting embrace. "I don't sense anything except a vague tension in the Force." He cast a suspicious glance back at the shuttle. "Do you think it's rigged to blow? Should we use a different ship?"

Rey thought about that for a moment, thankful for his attentive patience, but finally shook her head. "No, I don't think that would matter... I can't explain what I'm feeling."

"You're probably just feeling paranoid after what happened on Canto Bight," Ben said and took her right hand in his left before gently leading her back towards the ship again. "We'll be fine."

Rey nodded as they ascended the ramp and paused in the spacious cabin as they always did. She couldn't stifle the shudder that seized her body the moment the ramp clamped shut behind them, the writhing dread in her stomach nearly causing her to gag; another warning.

"Rey?" Ben sounded worried as he noticed her physical cues, stepping away from her for only the few seconds it took to access the ship's intercom and order the pilot to take off. "What is it?" He was beside her again before the shuttle hummed to life. "Do you need to lie down?"

Contrary to what her body was trying to tell her, Rey shook her head again and grabbed hold of Ben's vest to anchor herself as the ship lurched forward and shot out of the hangar. The Force around her surged like Ahch-To's choppy, agitated ocean; a final warning.

"Hey, come on," Ben soothed and tried to coax her towards the command deck. "You need to at least sit down."

Feeling a shot of pure terror, Rey rooted herself where she stood and not even Ben's unquestionable strength managed to budge her. "No," she answered firmly, despite her wavering voice. How could he not this? It was like the very air around them was ! She had ignore the first two warnings. She wasn't about to ignore the last. "Ben, this was a mistake."

He stared at her intently, perplexed by her odd behavior until wide eyed realization dawned on him and he finally seemed to sense what she had been dreading all along. He started to pull away from her, intent on reaching the cockpit, but Rey held onto him with a fierce determination. "No! Ben, you have to stay here!"

He rounded on her with an urgent bark. "But the shields!"

"There's no time!" Rey cried back, panic lining her tone as she clung to him for dear life. She tried not to think about the pilot's grim fate.

The seconds that followed were drawn out as if in slow motion. Ben braced one arm around her and reached for the nearest stabilizing strap with the other. Proximity alarms blared, the pilot's voice wailed over the intercom, the ship spun and rocked violently as the cockpit exploded into a raging inferno.

Shrapnel and debris flew in every direction like deadly missiles, the vacuum of space roared through the wounded hull during the perilous few seconds before the blast shields finally engaged to close off the cabin.

Together, they had managed to hold their position farthest from the explosion and even drew up an invisible barrier to stave off the initial flames. Rey felt a fleeting wave of relief pass over her, but soon became aware of a distant ringing. The ringing became a screaming. It seemed strange how long it took her to realize it was her own screams.

The pain blooming in her left shoulder was unlike anything she had ever experienced, white hot and furious. The pain was so consuming that she couldn't even turn her head to survey the damage. In fact, she was inclined to believe she didn't even a left shoulder anymore.

She could not control her screams, she didn't bother trying. She thought she heard Ben's voice, faint and fading, and a part of her took comfort in the fact that maybe he was unharmed. The rest of her knew only agony, and darkness.

---

The Supremacy's bridge was utter chaos. The data pits were a cacophony of shouting as techs and officers scrambled to react to the sudden "accident" that had resulted in the Supreme Leader's shuttle getting targeted and blown to pieces by the ventral cannons.

"I want a response team deployed at once!" Hux thundered over the din of the crew below him, making a point to sound as upset as possible despite his erupting joy. "And someone get me a report on that cannon malfunction immediately!"

"Right away, sir!" one of the techs replied, wild eyed and tapping frantically at his terminal.

Striding to the fore of the bridge to peer out through the wide view-port, Hux could hardly contain his victorious grin. Kylo's shuttle was a listing chunk of smoking metal among a black sea of stars. At last, all his recruiting, planning and patience had paid off. At last, his arrogant, rival had fallen into his trap.

An elaborate, well orchestrated trap that had proven effective right before his eyes. Granted, it had taken time to gather enough loyal soldiers to his side, but that too, was proving well worth the effort.

First of all, a few loyal technicians in cannon control would make their report that the "accident" was indeed a mechanical malfunction and certainly the result of foul play. Secondly, a mechanic or two had made short work of the bafflers and security protocols on all the shuttles in Kylo's personal hangar, just in case he decided to get paranoid and take a different ship. Lastly, a handpicked response team would be deployed to... take care of any loose ends, under the guise of , of course.