Confronting Fear

Warm

Everglow
You'll never know
The beauty I see when you open your shadows
Everglow
They'll never know
The worlds that I see in the darkness you don't show

Everglow- Starset

Rey wrapped herself in her black cloak, protecting herself from the chill wind as best she could until the Bright Star arrived at their location, trying to think of something other than what had happened below those glassy waters. Ben, as usual stood at attention scanning the area around them for whatever may be lurking in the skies or grounds.

A sigh of relief escaped her lips as the familiar black and green ship descended to the top of the rocky hill. The hike that had taken them a day and half took the ship less than an hour and she couldn't help but be slightly bitter that they had made the trek for nothing. But, if they hadn't their sure as Hell would have been some kind of flying monstrosity here to meet them. The loading ramp had barely touched the ground when she practically sprang into the ship.

Ben followed at a more controlled pace though he was as eager as Rey was to leave this wretched place. He followed her wet and dirty footsteps to the cockpit where she was already behind the controls preparing to leave the atmosphere. He removed his helmet, placing it next to hers on the console before taking the copilot's seat next to her. Normally, her takeoffs were smooth, but this one had an uncharacteristic roughness to it. He looked at the console, realizing her hands were shaking on the controls. She hadn't said a word since he'd sat down, but her troubled aura told Ben everything he needed to know about her current state of mind as he was sure his own must have.

Once free of the planet's orbit she relaxed, slouching in her chair, her whole body shaking from exertion and cold. Even though he was on the verge of losing it himself he gently laid his hand over hers. "Hey, its okay now. We got the holocron. You never have to go back there again."

She nodded. "I know, but that was awful." she admitted, sitting up straighter. "I need to send a message to Leia. While I'm doing that can you get us ready to jump to lightspeed?"

Ben was already typing in the coordinates when Rey asked, so it took only a few minutes for them to be finished with their tasks as Rey's message was very simple, saying only that their mission was a success and they'd contact her later with details.

Once safely in hyperspace Ben and Rey headed to the captain's quarters where Ben grabbed a bundle of dry clothing, intending on using the crew refresher as Rey was already headed into the captain's private one.

Once inside the fresher Ben stripped down leaving his wet clothes in a pile on the floor, except for his boots and leather arm guards which he set to the side. They would need to be cleaned and oiled separately from the rest of his probably ruined garments. His large frame barely fit into the small shower stall but that didn't keep him from enjoying the hot water and soap washing away the grime of the past few days.

As he watched the dirty soap bubbles swirl the drain he felt as though the incident in the holocron chamber with the four Sith lords was being washed down with it. Somehow it was harder to be worried about that when he didn't feel like a drowned lothrat.

Once dry he pulled on his shorts and pants, but realized he'd left his shirt behind. Grumbling, he returned to Rey's room to grab his shirt, stopping dead in his tracks in the doorway.

Rey sat on the floor of the 'fresher spritzing bacta on her blistered feet, the bleeding stopping immediately. Despite being clean, dry and her feet tended to, she was still so cold. It appears the hot shower, while able to wash away the remnants of the cold lake water couldn't remove the coldness of the Dark voices of the Sith that had settled into her marrow. Hopefully getting dressed and resting would help. It was, after all, a long flight back to the Steadfast.