Chapter Twenty One: Torment

Disclaimer: I own nothing here, roger roger.

AN: This chapter launches the fluff train. If you are allergic to fluff or have any known side effects, turn back now! xD Enjoy and try not to die of overexposure!

Zeroes yawned grandly as he eased down into the holo-chess booth and fixed his fellow trooper with a bleary eyed stare. He had to keep reminding himself that he wasn't sleepwalking. "Start talking Eina. And this had better be worth my sleep deprivation or I won't be slipping you my daily portion of muja fruit anymore."

Eina had been tinkering with the chess game before he arrived but she quickly turned her focus on him with an vibrant smirk. She was clearly not on the same sleeping schedule as him, nor were the handful of other soldiers currently loitering around in the rec room. "Oh it is, but now I have even interesting information." She leaned forward to talk covertly despite the others in the expansive chamber lazing about way out of earshot.

"Go on," Zeroes prompted, feeling impatient for her to get on with her explanation. He made an absent move on the chess board to stave off any unwanted suspicion, just in case someone was watching their private exchange.

"Well, you know how I like to slice into private com channels for fun-?" Eina began, only for Zeroes to cut her off irritably.

"Yes Eina, the whole squad knows about your... hobby. Go on."

"Something strange within the Order is happening..." Eina murmured, her tone unusually dark and hesitant. "I've overheard some officers giving... odd orders, and only to certain individuals."

"Strange? Odd?" Zeroes repeated with a quirked brow. "What do you mean exactly?" It wasn't unusual for commanding officers to give orders in a coded message to confuse eavesdroppers like Eina and the wordage was often odd or even silly, therefore the fact that she considered it strange was a bit ridiculous. "How so?"

The female trooper hesitated, her gaze drifting briefly, as if the words she were about to speak were almost too dangerous to even think, much less voice aloud. "As in, that attack on you and Supreme Leader's apprentice? It was not an isolated case."

Zeroes hardened his expression at her, suddenly wide awake. If he understood her correctly, the orders she spoke of were of a treasonous sort. "You mean, it could happen again?"

"Not ," Eina corrected him direly. "The amount of chatter I've come across suggests it's only a matter of time before something goes down. And after what I heard today... It's going to be sooner than later."

Zeroes was growing tired of her baiting, though he fought off the urge to snap and settled for an impatient sigh instead. "And did you hear today?"

Eina lowered her voice again, as if she suspected a listening device had been placed nearby. "That this supposed coup leads straight to the top."

Zeroes blinked at her, astonished and bewildered and he found himself whispering covertly as well. "Hux?"

Eina gave him a piercing, sober stare. ", we will all have to choose a side." She sat back and crossed her arms in front of her to smirk knowingly. "But somehow I get the feeling you've already chosen a side for our squad."

Zeroes dropped his gaze to the chess board, the game entirely forgotten, and yet, it gave him an idea. The first lesson of Dejarik was the concept of thinking a few steps ahead... He looked back to his fellow trooper. "Say, Eina, how do you suppose the rest of the squad would feel about a little espionage?"

Eina flashed a toothy grin; apparently having finally heard what she had been anxiously anticipating. "I'd say we could all use a little more excitement in our impeccably scheduled, mundane lives."---

Rey was no stranger to abdominal pain, in fact over the years she had simply accepted it as a fact of life, but Sarla hadn't been kidding when she mentioned the pain might be worse for the first few hours after receiving the stim. The cramping torment was nearly unbearable, having coupled itself with a terrible nausea, and if she had to make trip to the fresher after her current venture then she was going to simply opt to camp there and sleep on the cold floor; she had slept in worse conditions, after all.

Drawing herself up as best she could, Rey exited the fresher and made for her room with a determined scowl. She had to consciously ignore Ben's concerned gaze from his place in one of the plush reclining chairs off to the left. He had been considerably more subdued from his probing questions after he had consulted his datapad earlier, presumably having educated himself about her "condition" and was clearly balking at how to approach the situation to which he found himself.

Rey certainly wasn't expecting him to instigate a conversation. "Rey," he called and she paused, though it took every fiber of her willpower not to crumple and double over in pain right where she stood. "Come here."

"Ben," she grumbled miserably. "Now really isn't the best time for a discussion."

"Please," Ben said as he reached out his left hand, palm up.

Rey sighed in defeat at his unfair tactic; she couldn't deny that supplication and he knew it. She crossed over to him reluctantly.

"You're in pain," he noted but he didn't get up as she approached.

Rey blinked at him in surprise. "You can feel it?"

"No," he answered plainly and set his datapad aside. "You're expression and posture gave it away."

"Oh." She paused beside him and gingerly slipped her hand into his, tipping her head in astonishment as her pain slowly began to ebb. "How-?"

Ben had closed his eyes briefly in concentration but was wincing when he opened them to regard her. "That is... ."

"Ben, what are you doing?" Rey asked pressingly, concerned when he groaned and doubled forward slightly.

"I'm channeling our connection through the Force to split the pain with you," he said and added through a strained humor, "though I'll admit, I'm beginning to regret it."

"You... You don't have to do this..." Rey was almost afraid to accept this form of salvation, as if it were simply too good to be true.

"It's fine," he replied with a rare and genuine softness. "I to help. Just, give me a minute to equalize it." The Force seemed to wreath around them like a sentient mist, pulsing and alive and comforting. Ben met her gaze again, exertion clear on his features as he balanced out the shared pain. "There. Is that... bearable?"

"Yes," Rey replied with a nod and barely resisted the tendency to sigh in relief. The tormenting pain had dulled to a rolling ache and she had to wonder just how much he was siphoning from her, or if maybe a portion of it was somehow mercifully lost between them. She gave him an uncertain look. "But... now what?" This new element to their connection had obviously required physical contact and she doubted he could keep it going if she stepped away, much less if she retreated to her room.

"I leave that up to you," Ben replied as he raised his other arm in a silent invitation. "You're the one that suffers if you move away."

Rey considered her options briefly. She could head back to her room and take her agony with her, or she could take him up on his offer and squeeze into his spacious recliner with him. A third option came to mind as if he had projected it at her and she scrutinized him suspiciously before rolling her eyes. "Another ploy to bed me for the night."