Chapter Text
The Mandalorian is gone, and only a handful of guards flank their side this morning as Rey follows the Governor and his team down the hotel lobby.
He is leading the way with his black cloak flaring dramatically behind him as always, while in deep conversation with Minister Hold who’s wearing a simple but elegant purple dress. Their steps are hurried and clipped on the polished floor, forcing the few occupants of the lobby to move aside for them to pass.
“You’ll be joining us at the Senate again today,” Jeff informs her, while Rey barely restrains herself from grimacing. “And later this evening you’ll be escorting the Governor to dinner with the Core’s most important leaders. I hope you have something to wear.”
“I’ll be wearing what I always wear," she grumbles. "No one told me I was supposed to carry a wardrobe of clothes."
She side-eyes the Governor who, at the moment, has his full attention on Minister Holdo and looks exceedingly well put together considering the circumstances. He’s back in his politician’s robes, with his black waves combed into silky perfection and the circles under his eyes completely covered up. He looks as if he got up all fresh and rested after an eight-hour sleep.
Rey feels like she spent the night in a trench.
“Don’t take this the wrong way," Jeff says. "These events are very formal, and you’ll be going to a lot of them with the Governor from now on.”
“Are they as boring as the Senate?”
He laughs aloud. “I honestly don’t know which is worse.”
Rey smiles, despite the idea of a long tedious dinner with the Governor making her reconsider the decision to stay. "Will you be there too?" she asks hopefully.
"Not this time, I'm afraid."
"A shame. I was hoping for a friendly face."
Jeff gives her a toothy grin. “I promise we'll have plenty of opportunities in the future. But for now, I think we should concentrate on what he needs us to do.” He gestures towards the Governor, who is already waiting at the urban shuttle that will be transporting them to the Senate, and looking anything but patient. “We'd better be moving. As boring as the Senate may be, we still need to get there by today.”
The Governor doesn’t spare either of them a glance as they approach, and boards the shuttle with a scowl. Rey slips inside after him, while Jeff follows suit. She feels rather relieved that he’ll be joining them at the Senate today. His company is pleasant and light-hearted, and it will take her mind off that awful meeting earlier in the morning.
The shuttle takes off, easing into the city’s air lanes. Tall buildings and infinite air shuttles zoom by the window, and it doesn’t take long before Rey gets tired of the sight. Amilyn Holdo is engrossed in reading a report, while the Governor stares out a window, eyes narrowed against the light filtering in and chin resting on a fist. He has barely acknowledged her presence.
Thankfully, Jeff decides to break the oppressive silence by pointing out important buildings and filling her in on the planet’s history. He has a lot of knowledge on history and social studies, along with a good sense of humor—a combination of which make his descriptions very intriguing. He’s in the middle of telling some seedy local story about a baron and his two mistresses, that even has Amilyn smiling in secret, when Rey lets out a loud giggle.
The Governor’s eyes snap in her direction. “Is this necessary?”
Rey’s smile falters. She had forgotten all about his mercurial temper.
“I apologize, sir.” Jeff is quick to remedy. “I was only trying to make Rey feel more at ease.”
“She’s not on vacation, and this isn’t a recreational tour of the city.”
“Of course not, sir.”
“We have a particularly long and difficult day ahead of us. I would appreciate it if you two concentrated on that, instead.”
Rey rolls her eyes, which doesn’t go unnoticed.
“Is there something you wish to add, Miss Jakku?” His gaze is particularly piercing.
She bites her lip, trying to figure out if it would be worth the hassle offering a piece of her mind. But he’s staring at her long and hard, and she figures it’s useless anyway, so she relents.
“No, Governor.”
He doesn’t comment any further. Only slides his gaze back at the rushing city.
It doesn’t take long for them to reach the Senate. They file out of the shuttle, and Rey takes her customary place behind his right shoulder. Security is particularly strict today, checking the delegates and their teams for any kind of weaponry. She is about to hand her saberstaff over to one of the men when the Governor raises his hand.
“You will allow her to pass with her weapon,” he says, capturing his eyes. The man nods, with a blank expression.
Rey’s jaw drops. “Did you just—”
But the Governor has already moved on, cloak flaring and boots clicking, without giving this matter any more attention.
She jogs to catch up, completely disregarding her usual position, and comes to his side.
“Did you just use the Force on the poor guy’s mind?” she grits out. “He might get into trouble because of it!”
“You are not giving away your saberstaff.”
“I can still protect you without it! He might end up losing his job because of what you just did! Not to mention how wrong it was to mess with his mind over such a simple matter as—”
He halts suddenly, and Jeff barely stops himself from running into his back. The alarmed expression on her friend’s face is absolutely priceless, and she would ordinarily be laughing her heart out, if the Governor wasn’t staring at her as if she'd lost her mind.
Stars only know what he’s about to unleash her way.
“Fine,” he growls. “Fill in whatever data work is required for our Jedi to hold on to her weapon,” he orders Jeff before he turns his attention back to Rey. “Happy?”
She has actually been caught a little off guard. “I guess.”
“Anything else?” he growls.
She could ask for a raise on the security man’s wage, but figures it would be best if she didn’t press her luck.
“No.”
“May we continue?”
“Yes.”
He mutters something under his breath that Rey doesn’t quite catch. He seems to do this often.
The Governor resumes his original pace. Rey remains next to him.
It’s a full house today. Something to do with a very important voting about a world that’s to enter the Republic. He spends most of the time in talks with ambassadors and Senators within the endless corridors, and her feet are beginning to hurt. The pain is so cumbersome it almost distracts her from keeping her guard up.
When they enter their pod, eventually, Rey wants to sigh with relief. Surprisingly, Leia Organa is also seated inside, looking almost regal in her blue and silver Senator’s robes from Chandrila. The Governor takes a seat next to his mother and runs his hand through his hair.
He seems very anxious.
Jeff, thankfully, takes the time to explain who each speaker is and what the purpose of each speech is, while the Governor sits silently in his seat, sliding an occasional glare their way when they get too loud. His frown seems to deepen with each passing orator. His mother’s seems to match his perfectly, Rey notices, as she studies their profiles under the scarce lighting of the pod.
“Can’t they see what an important addition to the Republic this world could be?” Leia Organa mumbles. The Governor leans over and sets his elbows on the pod’s ledge. Rey watches him rest his forehead on his forearms momentarily, feeling a knot form in her stomach. She has never seen him display weakness of any kind in public.
“We’ll need an alliance with them one way or another,” he states gruffly. “If what we’ve heard about the Order is true, we’ll need all the help we can get.”
“The Republic is afraid,” Leia says. “Their world is too powerful.”
His turn to speak comes around, and he passionately supports the world and their importance in expanding the New Republic. Rey stands next to him, trying her best to keep her mind open for any dangerous thoughts, but the truth is, the anxiety streaming from him feels like static and it practically short-circuits her brain.
The actual voting doesn’t take long to take place, since each pod needs to decide on a simple yes or no on its electronic panel. The results follow soon after.
The Governor shuts his eyes, rubbing them dolefully when the results are in. Leia Organa sets her hand on her son's back, looking at him with the most broken-hearted expression Rey has ever seen.
“You don’t have to do this, Ben.” Rey hears her whisper. “We can find another way to gain an alliance with them.”
He rubs his hand down his face before he answers. “There is no other way, mother. I have no choice.”
Rey feels her heart sink for some reason.
The Governor is quiet on the shuttle ride back to the hotel, and his foul mood has spread to the rest of its occupants—everyone sitting just as quietly. The only sound that breaks the depressive silence is the smooth whirring of the shuttle’s engine and the wind whistling against the hull. He sits with his chin resting on his fist, looking pensively out the window. His black form is a lonesome contrast to the cream-colored interior of the shuttle.
Rey looks at Jeff, who gives her a warm smile.
An eternity passes before they arrive back at the hotel. The lobby is fairly busy when they return, and apart from a couple of crisp nods, the Governor stalks down its length avoiding any further interactions—which is a good thing. At least he won’t be terrifying any of the hotel staff.
“I doubt his mood will get any better for that dinner tonight,” she comments when Jeff walks up to her.
“It has been a rough couple of days at the Senate for him.”
“Don’t tell me you actually feel sorry for him?” Jeff might be coming off as being polite, but Rey can sense he doesn’t particularly like his boss. “He threatened to fire you just a day ago.”
“It’s not the first time,” he shrugs.
Rey shakes her head. “Maybe it would be better if we skipped that dinner altogether. We wouldn’t want some war breaking out in the galaxy just because his steak was too raw.”
Jeff lets out a hearty laugh that has her smiling back. They come to a stop in front of a turbolift. She only has about an hour to rest and freshen up before she and the Governor depart for that infamous dinner.
“The dinner is important, and you can’t talk your way out of it,” he says.
“I am doing no such thing!” She’s actually in the process of trying, but he doesn’t seem to buy it.
He leans into her ear, green eyes sparkling with something other than mirth. “I wouldn’t be surprised. You’re not as innocent as you seem.”
Rey finds herself smiling fondly at him as she steps inside the lift, despite the pestering instinct to always keep her guard up. She really wishes Jeff could join them at this event. Part of her is dreading being on a one-to-one basis with the Governor.
The doors hiss shut, and the turbolift begins its ascent when Rey catches a black reflection on the metal surface of the walls. Her hand flies to her chest as she turns around to look at the other occupant, standing rigidly with his gloved hands clasped in front of him.
Shit.
He must have overheard their discussion. How could she have missed his presence again? Jeff is turning out to be a major distraction.
“You startled me. I didn’t see you.”
The Governor smirks lightly, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “Of course, you didn’t,” he drawls.
He tears his gaze from her and looks straight ahead. A couple of moments pass in tense silence, and Rey feels like she has to somehow break this iceberg forming between them. She’ll be spending most of her waking hours next to this man, after all.
“Jeff has been very helpful.”
“Is that so?”
Rey finds the Governor sounding a bit off, but figures it probably has to do with that Senate voting earlier, and decides not to give it much thought.
“He has a lot of knowledge on galactic history, and a keen sense of politics. He seems very capable.”
“Really?”
Rey gives the Governor a side-eye. Yes, he is in a much worse mood than she initially thought. The kind that simmers dangerously for hours before it boils over and brings absolute havoc to all its surroundings. She is starting to second-guess her decision to stay.
“Yes. Capable. I think you’re lucky to have him on your staff.”
The Governor chuckles coldly, pinching the bridge of his nose. “What else do you have to say about Mr. Hudson? Better say it now that you’re on a roll. You seem very fond of him.”
She bristles—something to do with the timbre of his voice that she can’t quite place.
‘Well. In a way. He seems like a good friend.”
He arches his brows, almost incredulous. “A friend? Is that how you think of him?”
Rey is starting to feel rather uncomfortable, like the temperature in the turbolift is rising. She raises her hand to touch her heated forehead. It's taking ages to get to their floor.
“Why do I get the feeling I am going through some kind of interrogation by you? Jeff is a friend. I don’t know what you’re implying.”
“I am not implying anything. But I believe your friend is.”
“You’re not making any sense.” He really isn’t. Rey turns to look at him, to figure out where he’s taking this conversation—because she can never be too careful around this man.
His narrowed eyes are already on her. “He gets a smile, while I get a slap on the face?”
The Governor’s dark, piercing gaze does its job marvelously, because Rey stands there gaping at him once again with nothing to say.
He drags his eyes from her just as the turbolift comes to a stop at their floor, and the doors open with a hiss. “Think about it,” he says over his shoulder, and steps into the corridor.
His heavy pace is muffled on the carpeted floor and Rey remains frozen, watching his broad frame walk away with his stygian cloak flaring like a night bird’s wings.
A teenage boy with raven hair is looking at her scrunched, appalled face as they watch a humongous reptile devour its meal from afar. “It’s no different than a bird catching a fly. Think about it.”
The doors start to close in on her.
“Wait!”
She squeezes herself through the hissing doors and rushes down the corridor. He doesn’t slow down, but Rey catches up with him easily. She grasps his arm, fingertips digging into the muscle underneath.
“Ben, wait!”
He halts. And stares at her hand.
“What you said to me was horrible. And you weren’t even sorry!” Rey can’t believe he is comparing his words to Jeff’s. “It’s not the same. He’s been nothing but respectful towards me.”
He raises his gaze, and Rey swears she has never seen him look at her this way before.
“Respectful?” He shakes his head lightly. “You have much to learn.”
“You’re in no position to teach.”
“I’m in a position to know.”
“Then you are wrong about him. He—”
“Don’t.”
Rey pulls her hand away as if she’s been cinched. She realizes that the look he’s giving her is full of bitterness and disappointment, and a million other emotions that have no names.
The Governor backs away, clenching his jaw. “Your affairs with Jeff Hudson are not my concern. You are free to do as you wish.”
Rey watches him turn and resume his heavy walk, feeling as if he’s robbing her of air.
“We are leaving in an hour,” he states over his shoulder. “Be ready.”
His steps disappear down the corridor, allowing Rey to take in a shuddering breath. No matter what she says or does around this man, it always comes out wrong. She doesn’t understand why that is, and she finally admits that she has never, ever felt so completely and utterly—
Lost.