CHAPTER 51
THINK POSITIVELY

RAENA managed to distract any troopers trying to enter the hangar on the first floor. She told them the rebels had gone in the opposite direction to confusion them, and were heading to the hangar from the back entrance. Hopefully, she had given them enough time to find Rey and escape, but she could never be too sure. Once the ground level was cleared out, she typed in a passcode to lock the hangar entrance – one that only Ren would've known, which might just keep her in the clear – and headed for the second floor.

After taking the elevator up, Raena entered the second level with caution, holding the stolen blaster tightly in her two hands. She tiptoed across the clean floors, but was surprised at how empty the area was. Did she manage to fool everyone into going to the back entrance of the hangar? It couldn't be. Not many trusted her around here, and with good reason. With a furrowed brow, Raena approached doors for the hangar deck and finally got her answer.

The deck entrance was wide open, which meant a bountiful of troopers had gotten in there within the mere few minutes she was away. How could she be so stupid to not lock that entrance?! Raena closed her eyes and curled her fists into her hair. This was definitely not the time to panic, but one wrong move could mean detrimental things for both her and the rebels. Probably much worse for them, seeing as they still had the ability to die. Her, on the other hand, the torture might be far worse. General Pryde could take inspiration from an old story she heard as a kid and have a bird of some sort peck out her spleen twenty-four-seven, only to grow back each time and happen all over again.

She shook her head. It wasn't the time to think about that. Aiming the blaster in front of her, Raena carefully stepped through the entrance. The thin, metal floor squeaked and rattled underneath her feet, threatening to disclose her presence, so she made her steps lighter. Raena breathed and put one foot in front of the other with restraint, turning to look at the scene below.

The blaster slipped out of her grasp, but still swung against her shoulder. Raena froze in place. A hoard of stormtroopers gathered in a circle across the hangar, all pointing their weapons at the girl wandering aimlessly on the floor, but she wasn't alone. Striding around her with a sinister, new helmet was Kylo, waiting for her to make the first move. Rey didn't have a plan, though. Seeing as the Falcon wasn't here, she had to come up with her own means of escape. Approaching the edge of the hangar, she stopped short, and Kylo paused a few feet away.

"Why did the Emperor come for me?" She asked, loud enough for the whole room to hear. "Why did he want to kill the child?"

Kylo took a step forward. "Because he saw what you would become. You don't just have power. You have his power."

Rey's breath hitched. Raena found her hands gripping the railing so tight that the scabs on her knuckles were opening.

"You're his granddaughter," he finished. "You are a Palpatine."

"Holy fuck," Raena whispered under her breath.

Suddenly, this was reminded of the same scene she had witnessed years ago. Back on Starkiller Base. Her first day on the job. She had stood on a deck just like this one, a blaster rifle almost the same as the one hanging across her back, except she had it pointed at Han Solo. She remembered the look of shock and horror on his face as Kylo thrust the saber through his chest and Raena's bullets rained down on him. This scene right now – it looked almost like that night, but Raena would never participate in something like that again. She wished she had done the same for Han Solo and excepted the consequences.

Rey stepped back, clutching her chest. That didn't stop Kylo from following her movements. His voice lowered, and Raena struggled to hear it: "My mother was the daughter of Vader. Your father was the son of the Emperor. You are the only competition. In order for me to inherit the throne once and for all, you know what I must do –"

"Not going to happen," Rey quipped, looking over her shoulder for a split second. "Lies. You're a liar."

"Why would I lie?" He asked. Raena noticed his hand was on the hilt of his saber. "You can either come with me willingly, or we can end this right here, right now."

I know you're there, Kylo said, voice floating into her mind like smoke. Raena gasped softly, but covered her mouth before it could escape. Get your blaster out. Aim at Rey. Execute if she puts up a fight.

Raena's eyes darted in several different directions. What? She sent back. That's scummy. I thought you learned from your dirty tricks. I can't do that.

Since when have you ever had a problem with an execution?

Her jaw clenched. Raena tried to form a block around her mind again, to shut him out of her thoughts, but it was difficult to concentrate with the scene happening before her. She couldn't allow this to happen again. She wouldn't repeat what happened with Han Solo.

Raena couldn't kill Rey.

The scavenger's eyes moved upward, lingering on the deck where Raena stood. Their stares connected, and Raena felt frozen by the way the bright, blue light reflected against Rey's dark irises. She might have been born from darkness, but there was so much good in her. The kind of good that wouldn't go down without a fight.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew through the hangar, sending a mass of stormtroopers to the ground. Raena looked up to see Rey smirking in Kylo's direction. The Millennium Falcon appeared behind her back and hovered in the air. Raena felt a wash of relief knowing that her friends were okay.

The entrance of the ship opened and Finn ran out, holding onto the sides for balance. He reached out, screaming, "Rey! Come on!"

Rey didn't hesitate. Casting one last glance up above, right where Raena stood, Rey saluted the assassin and jumped off the edge of hangar. Finn stretched his hand out as Rey leaped into the air, and she grasped his hand tightly, allowing him to pull her inside. The Falcon disappeared into the dead of night, along with Kylo's only hope to prove himself to the Emperor.

He ran a hand over his face. Kylo wanted to shout and stomp and destroy everything in his wake, but there was no time to do that right now, not with Rey gone again. He turned sharply and searched for Raena's presence, but the assassin had already vanished.

•••

Raena desperately tried to catch her breath as she slammed her bedroom door shut. She leaned back against its surface, feeling her heart rate skyrocket through her shirt. "Breathe. Breathe," she told herself, but that was easier said than done. A cold sweat formed on her brow and she was too distracted by her running thoughts to wipe it away.

If someone had seen her helping the rebels, then her efforts were useless. Raena continued to get dressed in a new pair of clothes, unable to stop her racing thoughts. Kylo was definitely going to come and find her. She was surprised he hadn't shown up already to complain about his defeat. But if there was one person she should be seriously worried about, it was Hux. She had completely left him in the execution room, along with the other dead stormtroopers, and who knows when he was going to wake up. Maybe – if Raena was lucky – he would vouch for her, like how he'd done before. But she could never be too sure of his motives, especially when she knocked him out to get him out of her way.

She just had to think positively, but it was so hard. Taking in a deep breath through her nose, Raena sat on the ground, crossed her legs, and leaned her head on the bedframe. She just had to focus on breathing. In and out. In and out. In and out. It became easier, and soon enough, Raena felt her heartbeat slow down. Her head became clearer. The goosebumps that had once been on her skin had died down.

As her panic fizzled out, Raena felt her mind enter a state of consciousness she had only visited during meditation. She placed her hands on her legs while focusing in on the darkness around her, and sure enough, that dainty, little red string appeared on her fingertip once again. Raena turned, seeing the same bright light on the other side. She knew the consequences of walking towards the light; she knew she would only be dragged back, and she would hear that sinister cackle once again. Instinctively, Raena exhaled and faced the light with determination.

"This is so difficult," she announced, voice echoing into the distance. "I don't know what I'm doing. I thought I did."

Raena tried to take another step forward and felt that familiar pinch on her finger again, where the red string locked around her finger. She sighed, narrowing her eyes at the light.

"I wanted to fulfill my promise to Leia. I thought that was the only way to repay her for her kindness. She wanted her son back, and I thought I could do that." Raena shook her head. "I'm failing. I can't do this. It's so hard. I want to be a good person, but that's the most difficult task of all, isn't it?"

Her own echo surrounded her, but after that, immediate silence. Raena huffed loudly. What was she thinking? Did she really assume that she would get an answer back? And from who exactly? She didn't know. Raena simply thought that this would be an outlet for her feelings. She never liked to voice them, in fear of the repercussions. But she was growing tired; she was sick of failure, and maybe talking to some impenetrable light force would make her feel better.

Raena pinched the bridge of her nose. She spun back to the dark, ready for it to pull her in, but then she heard a voice. She froze and everything became clear.

"Raena Nhagy ..."

Slowly, she looked over her shoulder at the light. It pulsed as if it was breathing, and Raena felt her own heartbeat quicken at the familiar voice. She swallowed hard.

It was Leia speaking to her.

"You don't need to fulfill any promise," the voice continued. "You don't need to finish this on your own. You're never alone, and no one's ever really gone. There is good still left in everyone."

Raena couldn't stop herself from walking forward. She ignored the string warning her to come back, and the pinch on her finger grew harsher with each step.

"What matters is what you think of yourself."

The string yanked her back. Raena waited for her feet to give out, and for the string to start dragging her back. But instead, her eyes opened. She gasped softly, and a knock resonated against her door. Raena tucked her flyaway hair behind her ear, feeling a sheen of sweat across her forehead. She didn't even have time to deduce what she just experienced, because the knock came again. She did her best to collect herself and approached the door.

Raena expected the worse. A group of stormtroopers with a pair of cuffs, coming to arrest her for helping the enemy. Maybe, if she were lucky, it would just be General Pryde, sent to escort her to Kylo. Would they even make her speak to the Emperor?

She opened her door and was greeted with the sight of a beaten-down Kylo Ren.

Before she could utter a word, Kylo raised his head, gripping the sides of her door to hold himself upright. His eyes were glassy, and his hair was incredibly shiny from a fresh coat of sweat. "I ..." He ran a hand over his face and straightened his back. "I had to know you were safe."

Raena furrowed her brow. "Huh?" She could hardly get out another word, because Kylo was pulling her into his embrace, wrapping his arms tightly around her. It only lasted for a moment – some might say, a moment too long – and Kylo unlatched himself from her as he noticed a pair of stormtroopers pass by the hallway. He rubbed at the end of his nose.

"I – um – I wanted to let you know that General Hux is no longer with us. He has been executed." He licked the corners of his lips. Raena's eyes went wide. "We found out that he was the spy helping the Resistance."

Raena arched a brow. "He admitted to being the spy?"

Kylo rubbed the back of his head. "Not exactly," he replied. "He – well – he said you were the one helping the rebels escape. Honestly, I expected the worst when I couldn't find you around. But I looked into Hux's mind and saw he once had plans to help the rebels. He was always fueled by his own hatred for me."

Raena viewed at her feet. Once Hux realized his own life was in jeopardy, he completely threw her under the bus. After everything they'd been through ... after he saved her from certain death – and then burdened her with the curse of immortality – he betrayed her so easily. Raena felt her hands form into fists. Her nails dug into her calloused palms.

He deserved to die, she told herself. He was selfish. He got what was coming for him. Everyone does in the end.

Raena lifted her eyes and swallowed hard. Her hands relaxed, but marks were still left on her palms.

"He tried to pin it on me," she repeated. "Why didn't you believe him?"

"Because I believe in you, Raena."

A chill ran up her spine, but she refused to shiver. Kylo hesitated before leaning in slowly. His mouth brushed against her own. His familiar scent enveloped her, and she was suddenly seeing memories of the past flash across her vision, haunting her own reality. Raena blinked and moved away, allowing his lips to graze the side of her cheek. "Have you ..." He paused, mouth still sweeping against her cheekbone. "Have you thought about the proposition?"

She looked at him from the corner of her eye. Their stares connected, and he still hadn't leaned away. "How are you so sure that the First Order is going to win the war and that you'll become Emperor?"

Kylo's brow furrowed. Raena then realized how her question sounded. Her mouth went dry as she tried to figure out a response to save herself.

"I ..." She allowed her lips to curl a bit at the sides. "Do you have like an oracle stone or something?"

Kylo finally moved back, standing tall before her. Raena's gaze traveled up to meet his. "We will win this war," he quipped confidently. "I know this. I'm being haunted, but that only assures me that we're getting closer to my goal."

Raena felt a scream rise in her throat and she desperately pushed it down. She gripped the doorframe for support.

"Perhaps you can think harder about my offer," he continued, mouth pulling into a smirk, "while we're headed to Kef Bir."

•••

A/N: OOOOOOH we're almost at Kef Bir, which means..........it's ALMOST the end. (not quite just yet, but SOON.) and that's so sad 🥺 I've been working on this story for too long lol