Author's note: I insisted to mention that this chapter is written from Ben's perspective.

"Run!" Ben yelled in a drowned voice as he threw a glance over his shoulders. "Run, now!" he urged Rey and Anni.

Rey's head bolted upright immediately and she took a guarded posture, as if to counter an enemy.

His head jerked to look back as he pushed Rey forward to run faster, there was no time to waste. And then he saw them for the first time; twenty native warriors at least, and through them spots of white that had to be stormtroopers.

He knew he would not let them approach, he would do anything that stood in his power to see Rey and Anni safe. Yet the natives were mounted on fatiers and the stormtroopers were on speeders. And their own mount was too far to be reached in time for an escape.

Anni couldn't quite keep pace with them, and kept tripping in the grass and stumbling. So Ben scooped her up in his arms as he ran and kept yelling "Run" at Rey.

They were both out of breath by the time they reached the base of the hill they had to climb, yet Ben was no more tired than he would have been without having to carry Annika. She was but a light presence in his arms, and it seemed as if she weighed nothing more than a porg.

A sheen sweat covered their foreheads as they reached the top of the hill to catch their breaths. And the wind whistled dreadfully past their ears. And on the troop came, the thundering of hooves louder and loud.

Ben stopped abruptly to scan the surroundings. A vastness of greeny valleys... And then, trees that sprang to life at the border where they have left their fathier.

He threw a glance at the upcoming troop, and back at the forest. They would not make it, they couldn't.

"Rey." he said, panting. "You take Anni and ride off. I'll distract them."

But the girl looked at him as if a rock had fallen on her head from the sky. "What!? No, I'm not leaving you!" she almost yelled. But behind that tone was a pleading for him to stay.

And Ben knew what it was. It was the sudden decision, too, but what had rooted her to the core, in fact, was the sense of being left. And he knew how great of an impact it had on her.

"Then let's go. I think there must still be a chance to make it." he adjusted his hold on Anni, so he could run better, and she pressed her face against his neck. "You at least will make it, I promise." he whispered to the little one in his arms.

He had been with those men, had been their leader. And he knew what they did to children, how they washed their brains and turned them into some killing machines. And sadly now, he had agreed with that once. How many young lives had he ruined? Hundreds? Thousands? Millions? He had lost count. In fact, had he ever cared to count?

But he would not let it happen. Not this time. He would not let them touch Rey, or take Annika and turn her into one of those ruthless soldiers.

They ran, and from time to time either Ben or Rey would throw a glance back, only to see the enemy come closer. And the fear added to the effort of running only slowed them down.

"They're coming closer!" Anni sobbed against Ben's neck as her face was straight toward them.

"I'll..." he panted. "I'll hold them back if it comes to that." he barely managed to say it through ragged breaths, and he had to reassure her. But he felt like giving up.

And aside from the usual fear of being caught surging from the girl in his arms, he could now feel a different kind. "What's?" he asked softly, a barely audible whisper, as he ran for their lives.

"I think they're going to fire." her small voice was cracked.

And it left him wordless. But what would he have expected of his enemies? To let him walk away with no mark?

Pew!

He side-stepped in time as the first blast grazed his ear. And when the next came, he was ready and pushed Rey away from its shooting range.

But he could see there was no happy ending to it. The thundering of another herd of fathiers roused him up from his thoughts. And as he looked ahead, he could see another troop, nearly as big as the one behind was, making them step back.

Rey stopped abruptly as she took notice of it, and gasped. The once fearless girl wore a desperate look as she glanced around back and forth. And there was no escape as both troops enclosed a circle around them, locking them in the middle.

The stormtroopers stopped in place, blasters aimed straight at their heads, but the natives ahorse rode around them in two countering circles, yelling indistinctive noises and flailing their knives and spears and lances in the air, as a ritual of catching something of great value.

And that had been Ben and Rey's mistake; not assuring about the planet's allegiance. And now they were quite sure whose part those men were on.

Ben grasped Rey's hand as he tightened the hold on Anni. Their eyes were lost to the ritual around them.

And when the warriors stopped, they aligned in two layers and held their spears at the ready. This allowed Ben and Rey a closer look. They wore leather breeches and iron-studded jerkins, and those with bare chests wore paints.

The natives' faces were stern, lacked any hint of mercy as they stepped forward and enclosed Ben, Rey and Annika inside the circle. Their hands were clasped on the shafts of long spears. And it was another kind if ritual they were doing again, for they were slamming the butts of the shafts against the hard ground, making some kind of drumming.

How did they found them? And Ben knew at once. The stormtroopers sent after them on their way to the Caverns have reported about their arrivial on this planet before they had killed them. Still, what could those people ever want from them?
And where was their leader?

Watching closely, a mad plan crossed Ben's mind. Maybe they could still outfight them. They could have, indeed, if they still had the force. But Rey was thinking at the same thing. Of course, it was so in her nature.
Slowly, and eyes never leaving the enemy, he placed Annika on the ground, and his other hand went to the hilf of his saber at his belt.

"Never let go of my hand." he turned to Anni.

She gave a curt nod, and held on to him even tighter with both her tiny hands, grasping even his thick cloak, and burying her head in it.

He tensed the moment he realized every eye was on him as he prepared to attack, yet it was Rey who took the lead. Letting out an angsty yell, she fired her blaster in all directions.
But a sudden wave of force pushed her backwards, slamming her against the ground.

"Rey!" Ben hurried over to her, forgetting in an instant about the warriors, about the spears and blasters aimed at his head.

He squatted down and placed an arm around her shoulder, helping her into a standing position. He had wanted to ask her if she was alright, when a thundering voice hammered in his ears.

"Drop your weapons! Now!" a man emerging from the circle of warriors commanded.

In spite of his harsh voice, his paces were slow but hard, as if he was prowling toward his prey, enjoying every moment of torture.

Out of instinct, Rey drew her hand to the hilt of her lightsaber. But Ben patted her arm lightly, and she restrained her urge.
He knew just how bad it was for her to feel cornered, for she had been a survivor all her life. And he could feel fear creeping up his lungs too. One arm went on the little one's shoulder, the other hand clasped with Rey's.

The air was tense around them as the leader of the army stepped forward. Only a gust of wind blew past their heads, stirring one of Ben's strand of hair in the air.

But there was something more unsettling Annika. She kept hiding behind Ben's legs, and burying her head in his cloak. He kept stroking her head to reassure her, but to no use.

"What do they want?" she asked him in a small voice.

"I don't know." he said. But he did. And he supposed Rey did too.

"Drop your weapons, I said! Do it before I tell my men to fire on you!" their commander yelled again as he stepped in front of them. And when he saw they didn't, with a swift motion of his hand ordered his soldiers to point their spears at Ben, Rey and Annika.

He held his weapon down, though. And to Ben, it seemed like he had seen this man before. Iron armor and red cape, helmet...even the voice was well known. Yes, He had once been one of Hux's commanders, and Ben knew his name, Comander Tieren. But how had he come to live in such a deserted place?

"Ah, look what we have here! I think it's our lucky day!" the commander sneered as he prowled round and round them. "It's the traitor, the deserter! And with him it's that jedi girl he had ran away with!" And then his gaze snapped back to Ben. "You're a shame, Supreme Leader!" he mocked. "Who knows how, somehow you've managed to fall for her. A filthy scavenger!"

"Say no more of that!" he snapped, not being able to contain his anger anymore at the man's last words. "And I'm no longer your Supreme Leader!"

"Wasn't 'scavenger' the name you used to call her not long ago?"

"He's no longer yours to torment!" Rey bared her teeth and rose her chin up. Her attitude surprised Ben. She had the composure of a true leader. No, not only a leader, but a queen.

"Shut up, slut! No one asked you anything!"

"What do you want?" Ben asked through gritted teeth. He had felt the urge to stick his new lightsaber through him at the name he had called Rey, but knew what to do better than that. And the man before him broke into a histerical laugh. "Who are you working for?" Ben spat the question straight into his face.

But his questions were ignored briefly.

"General Pryde pays a beautiful price for those who bring him the traitor and the jedi. Alive." he said with satisfaction.

It is true, Ben thought. It was true that the Final Order was once again to power. They've won a battle that night on Exegol, but not the war.

"And never in my life would I miss the moment your head will roll over the steps of the supremacy." The man clad in Grey armor continued. "Yours and that of the filthy girl you lost your power for." he spat. "And what you did can never be undone, Ren. If you truly believe all the lies she had told you, you're more of a fool than I had thought. You'll never be able to escape your past as she says."

You'll never be able to escape your past, the words that had hammered Ben's mind ever since he'd turned rang in his ears once again. And for a moment, he wondered, was he truly lost? Could there be no other path for him?
But in spite of the impact the words had on him, he remembered where he was. Remembered who the real enemy was. Who would he choose to trust? Rey, who loved him and believed in him, or the man that, same as Hux, had always craved to overthrow him when he was Supreme Leader?
How could he even think of that, when the answer was obvious?

"And who is the little one, pray?" the commander's words jerked him back to reality.

"She has nothing to do with all this!" Rey defended her. And Ben could feel her burying her head in his cloak and trembling.

He knew there was no fighting off. They were well outnumbered, and they had the child to protect. So his answer was pretty simple "Do what you want with me, but leave them out of this." he gestured at Rey and Anni. "Please, that's all I'm asking for."

"You're in no place to command!" Ben's old comrade growled, anger bursting out of him. "And wasn't she part of the resistance? Wasn't she our enemy?"

And he took even more paces toward them, and what surprised Ben the most, was when he placed his hands on his helmet and lifted it off his head. He was young. Not as young as Ben, but still young. Yet his unflinching face and stern posture made him look much older.

Rey tensed, as if ready to start a fight, and her eyes followed warily the man before them. There was a hint of hatred in them, and one of disgust. And Ben couldn't deny that he didn't feel the same.

One of Ben's hands was clasped with Rey's, and his other thumb stroked now mechanically Annika's head.

Suddenly, it seemed like Ramsay lost interest in both of them. Instead, he paced toward Annika and squinted at her. And in her fear, she began to sob. And as if drawn to it, she unburied her face from Ben's cloak and looked at the iron-clad man that loomed above her.

"Orange skin and patterns of a lighter shade of the color, blue eyes and strange hair... Hmm... " he rounded them once more, and looked Anni up and down.

Then with a sudden turn, he began to bark at the two stormtroopers that stood one pace inside the circle, ready to obey any command their leader gave them. "The child. Fetch me the child. She's the one our new Supreme Leader wants." he pointed at her.

The child. Why would they want the child? Why did General Pryde want a Force-sensitive child in his service?
Ben had a vague sensation that his old subordinate was not alone in this. And that it was something greater advicing him.

"No!" Ben yelled before he even thought about it. "She's done nothing wrong!"

"I had hoped I'd made myself understood when I said I want you out of this!"

His hand went an iron grip against the little girl as he pressed her harder against himself. "I won't let you ruin her life!"

He had felt an ill sensation churning in the pit of his stomach when he had heard they wanted her. He feared for her life, for what they'd do to her. But what if they'll make her use her force in a bad way? Him and Rey had to get her somewhere safe, to train her in the ways of the light, and have her on their side when the time came.

In an instant Rey drew out her lightsaber, and tried to disarm the commander.
It was the last thing they could do, fight, their only escape, even though they were well aware it led to nothing more than bring the spears and blasters on themselves faster. But the faster they knew the answer, the better.

And right that happened. And even worse than what they had expected. Almost ten warriors dismounted and ran to attack them, yelling.

But of course, they wouldn't give in without a little fight, be it as useless.

Rey charged at the first warrior with her saber, slicing the shaft of his spear before it could reach her. With a quick reflex, she grasped the falling shaft, making a weapon out of it. She turned around her on her heels, always guarded, and her yellow blade found another man's heart as she bared another spear with her makeshift weapon.

Ben was fighting three at a time now, and tried to shield Annika as well. He sidestepped and stabbed the one that sneaked up behind him in an attempt to steal a deadly wound, at the same time pushing another aside with his elbow.

And their commander knew it was time to summon his stormtroopers as well. It was enough of a spectacle for only one encounter.

As Rey fought four warriors, two white-clad men yanked her from behind and snatched the weapon from her grasp. She let out a drowned groan of indignation as she continued to kick and bite and scream.
But her hands were already tied tightly at her back with ropes that bit into her skin, causing blisters to appear on her wrists.

Another pair of stormtroopers were on Ben. It was harder to put him down than it had been with Rey, yet with the help of other warriors they managed.

"Ben!" Anni yelled helplessly as she watched the soldiers shackle his hands. And then, her eyes wandered for Rey. "Rey!" she screamed again as she saw her in the soldiers' grasp as well.

"Run!" Ben yelled at Anni as he saw her running toward him. "Run as you've never had in your life!"

She could still make it. In all that chaos, she could lose herself through their legs and run off and reach the fathier. Or hide in the forest at least.

But it was too late now. For as she backed down, eyes brimming with tears and still locked on Rey and Ben, the iron-clad commander grasped her thin arm with his hard gauntlet.

"Got you!" the man said and a wicked grin appeared on his face.

She let out a surprised yell and struggled to yank free. But all she did was only twist her elbow.

"No!" she heard Rey scream. "Leave her be!"

"Pack them off to the village!" he barked a command at his soldiers, and followed the trail of fathiers and speeders with the three captives caught between them. "It's gonna be fun tonight!"

~Thanks for reading!~

Author's note: finally, a faster update =))
Let me know your thoughts on this chapter, and I hope that you're looking forward to see what happens next to them ^^

Again, for Game of thrones (I love the show too much=)) ) fans, this scene was inspired from the ending of season 5, when Daenerys is captured by the dothraki horde XD 😁😁