only one thing is needed after they’ve parted: the coordinates to ajan kloss.
with the desired ship now in his possession and a pair of helping hands, the downed stormtroopers and lieutenant croy are loaded— still unconscious— onto the transport. for the sake of time, thor carries with him two at once. disarmed of weapons, hands bound, they all pose little to no threat upon waking. thor approaches the cockpit once they are all restrained and the member who’d accompanied him remains on guard whilst he pilots.
returning to ajan kloss after his call to rey—- to say he will meet her again once they’ve touched ground, the prisoners are handled, all is well— is simple enough. upon landing, he realizes he was the first to make it back. understandably so. corellia, all the planets with remaining first order presence, those seeing uprisings & rebellion, will not be so easily righted from their disorder after one trip. finishing the order off and rebuilding all that was lost will take a long time. the galaxy will not return to normal for years to come.
defeating the final order wasn’t the end, but the beginning.
the generals are in agreement over doing this the right way. with the scales of the war at last tipping in their favor, it is not the time to betray who they’ve been all along. the first order will answer for their crimes, but the punishment isn’t for them alone to decide. all the world leaders of the senate will decide together how to proceed. thor knows that will be neither today, tomorrow, nor the day after. they will be held in cells, again, for a long time to come.
the transport ship needs refueled and checked before another journey. ajan kloss is hardly equipped, with its shortage of resources and abundance of jungle, to hold prisoners. whilst the ship is worked on, it is guarded all the while. thor assists where he can; there are weapons to be repaired, more returning injured to tend to, plans to devise.
it has been a quick few hours when the falcon lands. thor has taken to one of the communal showers to cool off from the evening heat. he rushes to redress in cargo pants, hurrying out of the shower while he tugs a loose fitting shirt over his head. he wrings the moisture from his hair on his way back to her.
“rey,” he calls once he sees her, amongst the small crowd that disembarks. “i apologize for not being there. once i’d flown croy & the stormtroopers back…” help was needed here. slowing to a stop in front of her, he sighs, the stiffness he hadn’t noticed in his shoulders deflating. “they’re to be taken before the senate. they all will be. a real pilot has taken on the task of transport. and we’ve received word of more uprisings across the galaxy we will need to lend our assistance to.”
pausing, he falls into a silence. looking down between them, he reaches for her hands. “i can go back to corellia with you, to make up for my absence, when a plan is made to do so. uh—“ knitting his brows, contemplation in his eyes, he treads carefully. “it is getting late. do you intend to keep going, or… will you join the first group to leave in the morning?”
