Luke was scared. He was scared of the path young Rey was going down, but for the first time in over a decade he wasn't going to run away. On a flat cliff outside of the villagers party Luke sat down, and tried to force his old stiffening body into a meditation position. He closed his eyes, breathed, and let the force once again flow through him.
It was like nothing he had ever felt. The force had flown through him his entire life until he arrived on the island, and it always had flown through everything force sensitive or not, so to feel the force enter his mind, body, and soul was something almost no one in the existence of the universe had experienced. The light side of the force had always felt warm, but Luke currently felt like every aspect of him was on fire.
Suddenly the voices of all who had ever mentored him spoke his name, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, and his father.
"Luke."
Luke focused himself, tried to find his center, but found it impossible, not because of his rustiness, but because the balance currently felt like a twisting, storming ocean. This concerned him greatly, but he had more immediate worries.
He projected his consciousness into the living force. He could she Rey almost immediately, her energy powerful and familiar, but despite giving off great light, darkness was surrounding her. He pushed further, searching for the one thing he had missed all this time, Leia. She was so far away that it hurt him, but he could still sense her, and she was in tremendous pain. Physical and emotional, the loss of her son, husband, and brother had worn her out, and the state of the Resistance was taking its toll on her.
Luke finally realized that Rey spoke the truth, the Resistance needed him. The only problem was Luke didn't know if the Luke Skywalker they needed was the one he was now. He opened his eyes.
Rey stood at the edge of the deep black hole she had seen in her vision that morning. She wasn't sure what she was doing, every logical part of her was telling her that this was the most wrong thing she could ever do, but she remembered what it had told her, and with Luke's sanity or at least sincerity in doubt she needed to hear what it had to say.
Rey stood on the dark, slimy moss that surrounded the hole. To get down she would need some sturdy rope, a climbing spike, and perhaps some warmer clothes for the cold she could feel coming from the cave. She turned to go find said equipment when she losses her footing in the slimy moss and fell into the hole. It was most likely her imagination, but as she fell she swore she heard Ben's voice.
"Rey!"
She hit the water and fell far below the surface. She kicked her arms and legs violently, but growing up on a dessert planet something she didn't know how to do was swim. She hadn't gotten a sufficient breath before going under and her lungs now felt like they were being stabbed. She managed to get to the surface for a few seconds, to cough up water and take a new breath, but the fridged water and violent kicking was sapping her strength quickly, and she soon was under again.
She sunk further and further. She still kicked but it wasn't helping. Her lungs started aching again, and soon she was breathing in water. As the world around her started blacking out she saw a dark figure diving into the water. The last thing she thought was 'Luke?' and than everything went dark.
Coughing, she woke up on the flat stone that lead into the water that nearly drowned her, no sign of whatever saved her. Her long tied up hair had come undone. Turning her head she could see an opening in the cave other than the hole, however it seemed accessible only by boat, or swimming, neither were an option.
She'd have to worry about that later though, because when she looked forward there in front of her was a solid stone wall, and it was calling to her. Rey stood and walked towards it, the wall itself did not seem to be special, just the product of three million years of waves polishing dark stone until it acted like a mirror. What Rey could not see however she could sense, and pure evil was oozing out of the mirror wall, oozing right into her mind.
Rey found that she could not resist reaching out to touch the stone, and as she reached she whispered to it.
"Let me see the truth, let me see who I am."
To her shock and terror her hand passed right through the mirror, and she stumbled in. She could not speak, or move her feet, and all she could see was the black stone around her and thousands of perfect reflections of herself. If she snapped her fingers the one in front and behind her would snap there fingers, and the Rey's in front and behind them would snap there fingers, and continuous for what seemed like eternity.
'I have to go deeper.'
She snapped again but this time mentally projected herself to follow the snap until it's end, and there was an end.
A dark voice she had never heard before spoke in her mind.
"You want the truth, and too know who you are, those two things contradict each other. You will be unsatisfied."
'Just do it!'
The darkness around her changed, she saw glimpses of two men over the course of what must have been a decade or two. It started with a small boy with sandy blonde hair grow to be a young man with dark brown hair beside his most trusted mentor and friend, a man who started out by the boys side the same age she is now until his orange hair began to grow white and lines permanently etched into his face. They were both Jedi and the older one was the boys Master, but something changed.
The scene that was laid out was the two men on a molten planet, the boy now grown up was at the edge of a river of lava, and his Master at the top of an incline, both men had there blue lightsabers ignited. They yelled at each other but Rey did not hear a sound. The apprentice jumped at the Master and the Jedi cut all but one of his limbs off. The Master than took his apprentices lightsaber, watched as he caught on fire, burning his hair, clothes, and skin away, than left him to die.
Rey wanted to throw up after what she just witnessed, but she knew the horrors were not over yet.
The scene changed to a dessert planet, for a second Rey thought it was Jakku but it felt different. The Master was standing next to a woman about his age with the same colour hair as Rey. The man was asking her and her children to leave, to go to some planet called Alderaan. She practically begged him to come with her but he refused. The scene changed to show the woman, heavily pregnant, sitting in a small room all alone.
The vision shifted again, although there was no indication, Rey could sense over thirty years had past. A much more familiar dessert scene formed around her. She saw herself, no older than three years old, standing at the legs of a orange haired man with similar features to the traitorous Jedi Master. She begged to go with the man that she could only guess was her father, but he refused.
"No! I'll come back for you sweetheart, I promise."
But she knew he never did. Tears were now dripping down her face. Her father left her, as his father had left his mother. Was it her destiny to leave love ones behind to a cruel fate?
"You now know who you are, but do you still wish to see the truth, we can show you what truly happened the night the temple burned, the night of Kylo Ren's birth."
Rey could feel the voice manipulating her, and she was terrified of what she possibly was about to see, but she was so fed up with Luke's, Kylo's, and her own lies that she could not resist nodding her head.
Ben Solo-no longer a boy but not yet a man-wakes up from loud thunder and, of a strong sense of danger in the force. He opens his eyes to see his beloved uncle standing over him with his green lightsaber raised, his Masters face twisted in a snarl. As the raised lightsaber starts its descent towards Ben, he desperately uses the force to grab and ignite his blue lightsaber, the two blades collide in a explosion of sparks. Ben, realizing that from his laying position his uncles next strike will surely kill him, he forces the ceiling and walls down upon his uncles head.
'Luke-tried to kill him in his sleep?'
The darkness tried to pull her deeper, but she fought it, pushing until she broke free of her invisible restraints. When she next opened her eyes she was standing next to the dark mirror wall, her hand centimetres away from where it had been. She lowered her hand and stepped away, tears were once again streaming down her face.
All her life she had hoped that her, mother, her father, a brother, sister, uncle, cousin, or anyone would one day come for her, telling her that they had desperately wanted to come back for her but couldn't until now. So many slashes on the wall of the hallowed out AT-AT walker that represented every day that she had survived on Jakku since finding her makeshift home. Each day hoping to see a ship land that matches the sliver one she had seen in her vision on Takodana, but no one ever came back.
She knew who she had to talk to about what she saw.
Rey, with new found determination, ran towards the cave's wall that was at the edge of the water. Everything was soaking wet but she found the best hand and foot holes, and started putting her 16 years of scaling crashed Imperial ships to use, making her way towards the opening opposite to the mirror wall. She lost her footing on the slippery stone twice, but had managed to hold on by her hands each time until she found her footing. When she finally reached the opening she was pleased to see that a ledge was not far away. She reached it, and sprinted towards the privacy of her hut.
When she arrived she closed the door and made up her mind. Taking deep breaths she focused her mind on Ben Solo, finding him through the force, and when she opened her eyes there he was.
He looked confused for a second, than relieved. He came towards her but stopped a few feet away.
"You are alright. I had just gotten you to the shore when I was disconnected somehow, I thought it was because you had died, it didn't look like you were breathing."
"You were the one who dragged me out?"
She spoke as she started assembling kindling in the centre of her hut to start a fire. She also found a makeshift blanket ,and wrapped it around herself as she worked on the fire and listened.
"Yes, I sensed you were in imminent danger. I don't quite understand how I saved you because I could not see your surroundings, but I could see you floating mid air. When I grabbed you I could feel the water so I walked until I could no longer feel it. Than you disappeared from my arms."
Rey finally managed to light the fire.
"I have to thank you than, but from what the cave showed me I almost wish you hadn't. For one it showed me who I am, the granddaughter of a Jedi Master who left his apprentice to burn, and pushed his pregnant lover away. His son, my father is a liar who abandoned me. All that is nothing compared to what I saw of Luke, he tried to kill you in your sleep."
Rey could see him react to that, like he was reliving that moment, but he took a deep breath, and kept talking to her.
"Rey, that vision, it came straight from the darkside, it was feeding you visions that would keep you distracted long enough so it could permanently corrupt your soul. Your Grandfather did abandon mine, but not for the reason you think."
"That boy, th-that was Darth Vader? How do you know who my grandfather was?"
"Because I have also had a vision, one that pointed me in the direction of a Jedi relic I have recently found. The lightsaber of Obi-Wan Ben Kenobi, the vision told me I needed a Kenobi's help. I only put it together that it was you when you mentioned your vision."
Rey fell backwards, flashes of memories were trying to resurface but were failing. All her life she thought the only name she had was Rey, but now she was learning of a surname she didn't know she had. Something else was bothering her though, if Ben was attacked by Luke, and not the other way around, why did he turn dark and kill everyone?
"What happened after you pulled the ceiling down on Skywalker?"
"Im not going to lie to you, it was moments after the initial shock of what happened that I did turn to the darkside, and I have killed many people, but no one died by my hand that night. I had gone door to door in the dormitory, rounding up my most loyal and trustworthy friends, and told them what happened. I wanted to leave Luke's Jedi ways behind, and have them come with me. It had been storming violently for hours, when we were halfway to one of the instructors shuttles a massive blue bolt of lightning struck the temple. We ran back to evacuate the temple but in the minutes that it took us to reach it the flames were so intense we could not enter it. Although I had already let the darkside in, I hadn't yet let it rule my emotions, but knowing that two dozen of the people I was raised with were dead and dying sparked the raging anger that still lives within me. My only guess as to how Skywalker survived is that my quarters were in the farthest corner of the temple so the flames might not have been as bad, and the rubble he was under might have shielded him. That is what happened that night. Most of my companions had yet to earn the title of Jedi Knight when we left, so many refused to use there lightsabers, they all crafted weapons that matched there fighting styles. Two years of searching for a purpose in the Unknown Region we had come across several legends of a insane, but powerful force user on a quest for one thing, something called 'Wren' or 'Ren', and destroyed anything that got in his way. Although he had reportedly disappeared we all still took on his symbolism, as well as the Unknown Regions fear of the word Ren. I am there master but we all hold the title."
"That is a remarkable journey, but I can't appreciate a title that represents the fear and death of others, going around causing pain, although that seems to be what my father did."
Rey was starting to warm up, but there was a deep shiver she hadn't been able to shake since the mirror.
"I agree that it is far time the Knights change there priorities, when Snoke took me as his apprentice I forced them to recite Sith prayers everyday to darken there souls further from the light that they respected, but I disagree with you that your father purposely abandoned you. The darkside corrupts what you see to bring out negative emotions. Perhaps if you saw it through a purer lens?"
He took off one of his gloves and held out his hand to her. Rey flinched.
"What are you doing?"
"You don't have to if you don't feel comfortable from what I did on Starkiller, I will understand, but if you let me I can try and see this vision, and find the actual memory that is attached to it. Than you can do what you did on Starkiller where you saw into my mind. It would allow you to relive that memory."
"I've always felt so alone, but that doesn't mean I trust the first murderer that offers me companionship."
"I understand, I also understand feeling completely alone. You could have flown back to the Stormtrooper and the Resistance the moment Luke gave you his answer to your plea, but instead you are still here, something is keeping you here and it might just be within you."
Ben could see the change in her eyes. Her defences dropped, she opened herself up to the aspect that the good man buried deep within had started to surface, and something sparked inside her, warming the shiver away. Slowly, she raised her hand, and touched his. Both were surprised at how smooth the other ones hand felt, and how there connection only felt right. Rey gave a consenting nod and Ben entered her mind, after a second she entered his. What she saw shocked her.
I couldn't be older than three. I didn't quite understand what was going on around me, so I just kept squeezing the doll my father had made out of my mother's flight suit.
Unkar Plutt stood by my father, though his attention was greedily on me. I wanted to be next to him, but he had told me to keep my distance from the pirates that he was dealing with, and there silver ship.
Finally he turned to me, and forced a smile. He said one last thing to Plutt and the pirates, handed each a bag of credits, than walked to were I was standing.
He was only in his mid thirties but the desert life, struggling parent, and scavenging had weathered his face and whitened his orange hair. His green eyes never changed however, as long as she had been alive. He still had that black tear shaped tattoo under his left eye. He gently took my hand in his and kneeled down to my level.
"My little Ray of starlight, I'm going to miss you so much."
"Where are you going daddy?"
"Somewhere safer Kira Rey, dear, and once I get there I'll work day and night until I can get you back to me. Plutt is going to take care of you for now, but you are going to have to work hard for him, okay?"
"Okay Daddy."
"You will be alright, you maybe as strong and beautiful as your mother, but it's your Thaney blood that will help you thrive in this desert hole."
He handed me an old Rebel pilot's helmet that had belonged to my mother, who he had crashed with. The helmet was marked 'R?h' on the side and it was his second most prized possession. It was so heavy I could barely hold it.
"But Thaney's also flourish in space, like your aunt Kallie and myself. One day you too will soar through the galaxy."
He hugged me tighter than he ever had before, than stood up. I pulled on his flight suit.
"Please can I come with you daddy?"
"No, it is not safe. Stay here, I'll come back for you sweetheart, I promise."
He gave me one last kiss on the head.
"I love you Kira."
With that he turned around, and headed towards the ship where most of the pirates and passengers had already boarded. The last thing I saw of him was the back of his old orange flight suit with the initials 'S.B.K.T.'
Plutt grabbed my arm and began pulling me away, but I fell from the weight of the helmet. He yanked it, and the doll out of my hands, shoved the doll into the helmet, and continued to forcefully pull me away. I cried and kicked, and screamed.
Than I watched in horror as the ship my father was on began to rise high into the sky, flying away without me.
"Nooo! Come Back!"
But my only response was more pulling from Plutt, and his harsh words.
"Quite girl."
The memory faded, and nothing new arose, however hundreds of memories from before that day resurfaced.
Rey, or Kira as she now remembered, had many answers now, but even more questions. What happened to her mother? Why didn't her father come back? Was her aunt Kallie still alive out there? She would not figure that out now however, because she was brought out of the memory from a loud shout.
"Stop!"
Luke Skywalker had entered her hut. He saw Kylo, he saw him and Rey holding hands.
He flung out his hand, and the newly returned power inside him hurled every stone in the hut in every direction. The fire extinguished from the pouring rain, and Ben faded away. Rey stood, shedding the blanket.
"Is it true? Did you try to murder him?"
Luke did not answer, instead he started walking away at a brisk pace.
"Leave this island. Now!"
From her possession Rey yelled at him.
"Stop!"
He did not answer and kept walking. Grabbing her staff Rey ran towards him.
"STOP!"
He still did not comply, so she raised her staff, and in one swoop hit him hard on his back with the end of her weapon. Luke fell on to the stone path. When he turned around an enraged Rey was pointing the end of her staff at him.
"Did you do it? Did you create Kylo Ren?"
Scared of what she might do, Luke pushed her, and her staff away and got up, and half ran away from her. He did not get far however when she prepared another strike. Through the force he broke a lightning rod off of a near by hut and brought it to his hands, using it to bloke her blow.
'If it's a fight he wants, it's a fight he will get.'
Blinded by anger, Rey recklessly continued to strike at him, but the old Jedi hadn't forgotten his lessons and easily dodged all her attacks, not even needing to use his makeshift staff to block. However Rey quickly adapted to his strategy, and forced him into a duel, still he blocked every strike.
In an attempt to end the duel, Luke swiftly grabbed her staff and force pushed it away. Rey countered however by force reaching for her lightsaber, and before Luke could force grab his own green one she had the blade an inch from his nose.
Luke fell backwards, he knew she was about to strike him down, she had fallen just like his nephew. To his surprise however the darkness left her face, although she still did not deactivate her lightsaber. She stared into his eyes.
"Tell me the truth."
Knowing he could not get away, he finally allowed himself to tell the unaltered truth.
"I saw darkness. I had sensed it building in him. I had seen it in moments during his training. But that night I entered his room, and looked inside his mind, the darkness was beyond what I ever could have imagined. Snoke had already turned his heart. He would bring chaos, and death, and destroy everything that I loved because of what he would become. And in the briefest moment of pure instinct I thought I could stop him. But looking at the ignited lightsaber in my hand the anger depleted like a passing shadow, and all I felt was shame. Ben woke up and saw the blade in my hand, and the last thing I saw before he reacted was the eyes of a terrified child. He was the boy of a Master who had failed him."
Rey lowered her lightsaber.
"You failed him by thinking his choice was made. It wasn't. There is still great light within him now. If he turns away from the darkside it could shift the balance. He could be the Skywalker to restore the balance."
"I agree that his turning could shift the balance, but I know he would never save your Resistance, I see now that they are the hope of the galaxy and they need help."
"Then your mind is made, but so is mine."
She held out her lightsaber one last time, but just as she thought he did not take it.
"May the force be with you Luke Skywalker."
With that she turned and headed to the Falcon, where Chewie would be waiting to take off.
Poe was confused, and desperate. Desperate because it looked like they were escaping to some local planet, and he had yet to catch the spy. Before he could apprehend his suspect he, along with Finn, Connix, Ackbar, and Leia were all over run by panicking crew members making for the exit. Suu Leh-Lawquane accidentally bumped into Poe, who bumped into Leia, causing them both to fall. She immediately went to there aid, with the help of Rose, who had just rejoined the group, they pulled them back up.
"My deepest apologies General. Captain Dameron, we met earlier, have you seen my boyfriend Belac Cham, we were separated, and I want to leave on the same transport as him."
"Sorry Ms. Leh-Lawquane, I saw him leave over an hour ago."
Without even responding she ran back into the crowd. Leia, with a frantic look in her eyes, grabbed Poe's shoulder.
"Does Belac Cham have green hair?"
"He's blonde, although he does have green roots-"
"Oh Lord, Jacen! Poe, that's the spy."
Not another word necessary Poe took off, and Finn took off after Poe. Finn effortlessly caught up to his pilot, and even surpassed him when Poe started doubting.
"I don't know where he went."
Seeing the path in his mind, and without any doubt Finn pointed in a directing.
"He went this way, he's heading for the escape pods."
As they ran, than encountered less, and less people. The lights started to go out as the ship diverted the majority of its remaining power to fuel the lifeboats. While running Poe had to reach into his pockets and turn on a miniature light beam for them to see at all.
They entered the escape pod bay, and had made it down the hall when they were force slammed against the wall. The light from the activated pod indeed showed Belac Cham, but he seemed more annoyed than angry to see opposition.
"I mean you no harm, I am a spy, but I am not the one who's about to get you all killed. The great slayer Rosita Thorn will be your doom if you don't let me go peacefully, or as she's stupidly calling herself 'Rose Tico'."
Finn was in shock, Poe however was not, he had been suspicious of her since the pilot quarters. What did shock Poe however was how Finn suddenly managed to break free of his force bonds and charged Belac.
Belac also seemed surprised, which was most likely the only reason he wasn't able to dodge Finn's force jump tackle. Holding him to the ground, and grabbing at the mans shirt Finn noticed a tattoo peaking out from his sleeve. Yanking the sleeve up Finn saw a depiction of a cross-guarded lightsaber much like Kylo Ren's, except with a light yellow blade.
Belac, no longer in shock, force pushed Finn out of the pod. He force shut the hatch, and a second later it launched. Poe fell to the ground.
"You're a Jedi?"
"What? No, yes, maybe. I don't know, but what I do know is if he's telling the truth, Rose back-stabbed us and is getting away."
He helped Poe back up, and they started the mad dash to catch Rose before she got on a transport. Through deep breaths Finn asked a question.
"Will she be able to send a transmission from the transport?"
"No, the transports are small enough ships that we fitted them all with the best stealth tech we could buy. They have emission cloaking, reflective shielding instead of deflecting, and all transmissions are blocked, none can come in or out. What that means though is that if she gets on a transport without us we can't warn anybody."
They kept running, they eventually made it to where there chase for Jacen had started, which was about three quarters of the distance to the transports. Finn realized something and shouted back at Poe.
"Do you have an extra light beam?"
"Yes, why?"
Poe tossed it forward and Finn stopped, Poe slowed down but did not stop.
"There is something I need to get, keep going, I'll catch up."
"But-"
"Go!"
Not daring to waste another second Poe picked up his speed, pushing himself to run faster. In the dark he nearly tripped several times over his own feet. Finally however he got within yelling distance of the crowd lined up for the transport currently boarding.
"Stop boarding! Don't launch! Let me through. Stop!"
Poe managed to get through the crowd and to the front of the line. Leia, Ackbar, Holdo, and BB-8 who had been helping the bridge crew for the past few days, as well as C-3PO and 2-9NT, were all overseeing the boarding process.
"Its Rose, does anyone have eyes on Rose Tico? Is she in the crowd, or on that transport?"
Leia spoke to the frantic Poe.
"I do not see her in the remains of the crowd Poe."
Poe pushed his way into the loaded transport, which was full and ready to disembark, and asked the same question. From the very front of the transport C'ai Threnalli spoke in his native tongue.
"The girl was a few people ahead of me, she was the second last to board the transport that left five minutes ago."
Poe screamed in frustration.
"Uhg!"
Not an inch of room in the transport Poe was forced to leave, and take the transport next to this one that had just started its boarding, the second last transport to leave the Raddus.
Poe stood at the front of the transport and watched as the ship Rose was on get lower, and lower. The transport was one large open space, with a minuscule bridge/engineering room in the center. Large windows were all along the outer wall, and benches were attached to the wall under the windows and outer walls of the bridge.
Just outside the transport, Leia was making her goodbyes to her oldest friends.
"Amilyn, I am going to take this transport, will you join me, or take the next?"
"For the First Order to be fooled into thinking we are not on Crait someone needs to pilot the ship, make the slight changes and jolts a autopilot, or droid wouldn't make."
"Are you saying that you aren't coming? Amilyn, the Resistance needs you, even if they think you are a careless fool."
"Is that really how they see me? Either way, I'm afraid I outrank you now Princess, and an Admiral goes down with there ship."
"Indeed they do."
Ackbar stepped closer towards the two powerful women.
"Princess Organa is right, you might not be the leader the Resistance wants, but the one they may need. This is a Mon Calamari ship, it was made by my brethren, I chose it now to be where I make my last stance. That is all. Leia, there is a young Mandalorian that deserves my thanks, if you find him let him know. May the force be with you all."
"It's been an honour serving with you Admiral."
Holdo turned to talk to Ackbar.
"I will wait until the last transport then to make sure everyone besides you has gotten on board."
Leia bowed towards both Admiral. She than turned and boarded the transport. She found Poe starring at the planet below.
"It's called Crait, a planet made entirely of different crystals. There is an old Rebel base that was abandoned before it really got used. It'll have communication equipment we can use to contact Vi, Snap, Pava, Kun, Rey, and anyone who will listen to come to our aid."
Poe nodded halfheartedly.
"If they arrive before Rose contacts the First Order and they decimate the planet."
"Poe, we have to have hope, that is what rebellions are fuelled by. I've seen it rise and prevail."
They stayed in silence for some time, the transport filled and would soon depart. Eventually Poe broke the silence.
"Both Belac and Rose were spies, Belac confessed that she is some sort of assassin named Rosita Thorn, but how did you know him to be someone named Jacen?"
"Jacen Syndulla, he's the son of a Jedi Knight and a Twi'lek who was the best pilot in the Rebellion besides Han, I dare say she was better than my brother Luke. His mother realized he was force sensitive from a young age, and he became Luke's first student. He was presumed dead with the rest of Luke's students, the heartbreak killed his mother I'm sad to say. I guess though that he joined my son, and took on an alias. His father's birth name was Caleb, Belac backwards, and Cham is the name of his heroic Twi'lek grandfather who helped free Ryloth in both galactic wars. I now realize I was sensing two force signatures on the Raddus, and not just your friend."
The transport shook for a second as it disembarked and started its planetary descent.
"So you knew about Finn."
"I wasn't completely certain, and it was obvious that he did not know himself, so I was going to wait until I was sure to tell him. Where is he by the way?"
"I honestly don't know where he is."
"Where who is?"
Smiling, Poe turned around to see the out of breath ex-stormtrooper.
"Finn, you made it!"
Poe wrapped his arms around him for a tight hug, he had to eventually let him go to breath.
"You didn't get Rose, did you?"
The smile dimmed slightly on his face.
"Yah, she's two transports below us. Leia was just explaining to me about Jacen Syndulla, who she knew when he was little."
"I saw his tattoo, he's a Knight of Ren, he's probably been deep undercover for years, probably longer than Rose. I still can't believe she's our spy."
"Finn, I know you see the best in everyone but she knew things no low rank mechanic could ever know, and she was unaccounted for at the time Connix said she intercepted those transmissions. I'm sorry I didn't share my suspicions, I just wasn't sure until Jacen called her out."
"You said you knew her sister, was she a spy too?"
"I don't think so, I don't know how Paige fits into all of this."
Finn let this sink in. A question popped into Poe's head.
"Where did you go?"
"Oh right, follow me."
Finn took Poe's hand and excitedly took him to the bench that went around the bridge room. Happily, he pointed to a spot on the bench.
To Poe's amazement and awe, laying on the bench were Poe's sapling, and synthsilk wrapped branch. He had completely forgot that he had left them behind. This was the most heartfelt and selfless thing anyone had ever done for him in his life. What was even more touching was that he hadn't asked Finn to do this, he just did, and Finn now looked happy just because Poe was happy.
Poe realized that the man standing beside him was the most loyal, and kind man he would ever meet, and before he even realized what he was doing he had grabbed Finn by his jacket, and had pulled him into a kiss.
Finn was surprised, but definitely did not resist this confession of attention because he felt exactly the same way about Poe. It was Leia who ended up forcing them to stop.
"Save it for later, Rose will land soon, and she will undoubtably contact the First Order the very first chase she gets, we have to prepare ourselves mentally for what is to come.."
They did stop, but with nothing else they could possibly do until they land, Poe picked up his two possessions, and he and Finn sat where they had laid. Leia returned to the front of the transport, and remained standing. Finn spoke what was on his mind.
"I was disappointed earlier because I wanted to live with you, and I still do."
"I can not abandon the Resistance, not until the First Order is obliterated."
"I know, but I refuse to live in a house alone, so I will stay and fight. Fight as long as it takes so that you and I can go home."
Finn lay his head on Poe's shoulder, resting up before the guarantied chaos that awaited them on the surface ensued. Finn found Poe's hand creep into his and he squeezed it tight.
After days of waiting Hux finally got the transmission he had been waiting all this time for. The beautiful face of his cutthroat flower finally appeared to him. The majority of her pitch black hair was cut, and tied back in a shockingly girly hairstyle, and she wore an ugly yellowish-brown mechanics outfit. He had seen her like this several times in updates over the last two years, but it still appeared jarring compared too her long wavy hair and form fitted specialized First Order uniform.
"You look terrible."
"Say that again, and I'll rip your tongue out - and I'll make you enjoy it."
Hux wanted to talk dirty all day, he'd been wanted her by his side for so long, but he had to focus.
"Play times over love, status report. They're on Crait, am I correct?"
"Correct, track my current location. I'm also sending you information on how to locate there transports heading to the surface, there are still two in the air. Finally there is something you need to know about Captain Phasma, about how FN-2187, and Poe Dameron escaped, as well as who truly lowered the shields of Starkiller base."
Hux threw a chair through a console.
Phasma had been guarding a old Rebel safe house on Sullust's moon with a portion of her troops, the rest were spread throughout the sector on six different orbital bodies. So far no unauthorized ships had landed.
A transmission came in from the First Order, but it went to her troops instead of her. Before any of them could yell 'Traitor' she had shot dead three of them, and had made a sprint for the closest TIE. They shot at her, and most of them hit her, but they stupidly forgot that her armour was made from chromium, which deflects all ray-based weapons, they should be shooting at the TIE, but they weren't.
As she entered, and started the takeoff sequence, she took off her helmet and pulled out her Parnassos knife from her pouch, the two items that embodies her time with the First Order, 25 years worth of working behind there back but still doing there dirty work. She threw them both out of the hatch at the top, closed it, and took off.
Dawn was approaching the island, and Luke had finally made up his mind. He was going to burn the uneti tree, and it's ancient contents to the ground, than use his X-wing to fly to Leia to help. He had tried several times to burn the tree, and disassemble the temple, but the Caretakers would always get in the way, and eventually he just gave up. Strangely through no Caretakers were in sight as he lit his red flamed torch. As he turned the corner on the path the tree now laid straight ahead, however he thought he had seen a small humanoid figure.
He did not look back because he had convinced himself it was a Caretaker here to stop him, but as he reached the tree every fiber in his aging body told him to turn around.
He quickly realized that the figure did not belong to a Caretaker, but instead the longest lived Grand Jedi Master in history, Yoda. He had not seen a force ghost since his father's funeral on Endor, but Yoda did not look like how he did than. Yoda looked how he did when he was alive, fully corporeal with only the slightest blue aura. Luke figured he was here to stop Luke himself.
"Master Yoda."
"Young Skywalker."
"I'm ending all of this. I'm going to burn it down. Don't try and stop me."
Luke turned his back on his old master, thinking he would convince him otherwise. Full of determination Luke took the final steps to the ancient tree, and lifted his blazing torch up towards one of its branches. But he could not bring himself to make the flame contact the branch, for years after Endor Luke had searched the galaxy for different Jedi artifacts, and he just could not make himself burn the oldest of there teachings.
Yoda however could. Closing his eyes, and raising but one of his six fingers, a powerful white bolt of lightning shot down from the sky at his request, causing the tree to Split into large blazing pieces. Luke had been flung back by the explosion, and he now stared speechless at the burning three million year old history. Finally he turned his head to face Yoda, who was giggling uncontrollably.
"Oh Skywalker, missed you have I."
"So it is time then? For the Jedi to end."
"Time it is. Users of light and dark there will always be, but time it is for the Jedi Order, time it is for you to look past a pile of old book, hum."
Luke protested.
"The sacred Jedi texts-"
"Read them have you?"
Never even really touching them Luke bowed his head in defeat.
"Page-turners they were not. Relearn there wisdom any force wielder can. Hiding you still are from what you must do."
"Master, I don't understand. I have failed Ben, Rey, all my students. I plan to return to my sisters side-"
"To hide and cower more."
Yoda shook his head, trying to think of a way to make Luke understand.
"Skywalker, still looking at the horizon. Never here or now. In front of your nose the need is."
"I don't think I can turn Ben or Rey back."
"Heed my words did you not? Pass on what you have learned. Wisdom and strength always the Jedi way they have been, but also openness and failure. Yes, failure most of all, the greatest teacher failure is. Lost not are Ben Solo or Kira Kenobi, but your destiny to find them it is not. Fighting darkness it is."
"Kenobi?"
"Much you still do not know. Luke?"
"Yes Master?"
"Heed me now, told you on Dagobah I did, to stay and help yours friends, and fight you should not, tell you now I do to go fight and help your friends you must. Listen this time young Skywalker."
Knowing he could not fight what he must do anymore he stood.
"I will listen this time Master."
With that he turned away from the fire, and what he thought to be the burning remains of the Jedi texts, and rushed for the village. Reaching the outside of his hut he out reached his hands and mentally told the stones what to do. Each stone separated and floated high above, followed by his few possessions, and finally the stone floor. What remained was a crude but durable lightsaber that he had buried here over a decade ago. He willed it to his hand, than gently placed everything as it had been a minute ago.
The crystal inside still called to him as joyfully as the day he had first acquired it. It's hilt still felt right in his hand of flesh. Not wasting a second more in the rising sunlights, Luke climbed the ancient steps one final time to the cliff clearing where he had left his X-wing.
He had not entered the shelter he had built around his trustworthy vessel once since its creation, and was almost surprised to see it was still there and in perfect condition. What he was surprised by was R2-D2 standing next to it.
"Artoo!"
The old Jedi said overjoyed as he ran over to the droid.
"Does Chewie or Rey know you are here?"
The droid beeped a mischievous negative. Luke chuckled and patted the droids head once more before lifting him up into the droid socket. Finally he himself climbed into the cockpit, put on his old helmet, and started the launch sequence.
"Artoo, I need you to give me the location of an old friend."
Breaking atmosphere, Luke found himself surprised when he punched in familiar coordinate for Bespin. The beautiful lights of hyperspace where more beautiful than he had remembered, and after sometime they ceased and a gassy planet replaced his horizon. The surface contacted him.
"Unauthorized spacecraft, state your name, destination and purpose."
"I am General Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, I am remaining in orbit because I am out of fuel, and I need to speak to Landonis Calrissian the third. I need his help."
Rey, in a new dry outfit she had found, sat in the copilot seat of the Millennium Falcon as it traveled through light speed. She was anxious because of what she was about to do, and for the lie she had told Chewbacca. She had told him that the force had sent her a vision of Kylo Ren turning to the light side and would return if she went to him now, and that the beacon Leia gave her will guide her home, despite knowing that that was far from the truth.
Through the force she had told Ben that she was coming, and he told her what remote part of the Supremacy to lunch her escape pod towards so he could tractor beam her in, and they could secretly find a way to restore balance to the breaking force.
Rey turned, and faced the friend she had come to care about over the past week, she knew how much pain he was in, and felt horrible to be about to cause any more of it.
"Let's go over this one more time. As soon as I launch, you jump back into hyperspace, and stay there until the Resistance contacts you to pick me up. You got that?"
He growled an annoyed yes, she had said this several times. Rey flicked a few controls and then stood. She knew this was most likely the last time she'd ever see him, she wanted to say something touching, hug him goodbye, but if she did any of that he might prevent her from leaving so she had to play it like it was just a 'see you later.'
"Stay safe Chewie."
She turned and as she was about to leave the cockpit she reached to touch Hans lucky golden dice, but they weren't in there normal spot, so she put something in its place and kept on walking. It only took her a couple minutes to reach the single escape pod. Chewie growled loudly from the cockpit to let her know they were almost there.
Rey opened the coffin like escape pod and put her Lightsaber in a small holder inside the escape pod and than got in herself, laying her staff next to her. She put the restraint belts over her waist and chest. She pulled the top of the human capsule down via a hand-gripping bar, and than pressurized and activated life support in the pod via a small panel on the side near where she was keeping her lightsaber. Finally she pressed the com button.
"Chewbacca-"
The Wookiee turned his head in surprise, he had not expected Rey to call to him again. With his head turned he noticed something blue flashing, upon further inspection he saw Rey's wrist beacon, the beacon that was supposed to aid her rescue. Realizing that she was planning something deadly, or stupid he tried to override the escape pod controls but quickly figured out that she had rigged the override.
"If you try, and stop me from launching, I will launch immediately into hyperspace where there is a good chance I will be torn apart or crushed to death. So in a few seconds when we reach our destination you will bring us out of hyperspace so I don't die, than jump back in so you can go help the Resistance. I'm sorry Chewie, but this is the only way to save the Galaxy."
Chewbacca howled in protest.
"I'm not betray the Resistance by joining the First Order, I'm going to try and turn Kylo, I didn't lie about that, I just don't think I'll be coming back."
Rey's thoughts were on Finn as they emerged from hyperspace. The first friend she ever had, and the man who gave her the excuse to leave Jakku. She felt guilty leaving him behind, but she had a feeling that he wasn't alone, and that he was on his own path. Just before she hit the launch button she spoke one last time.
"If you ever see Finn, if he's awake, tell him that he is a hero, and that I am sorry."
She hit the button and grabbed onto the gripping bar as she was shot out of the ship at laser speed. Seconds later a tractor beam indeed began pulling her towards the biggest ship she had ever seen, she just hoped it was the one she was promised, and not one bringing her to her doom.
Looking out the minuscule window in front of her head she could see that she was indeed being pulled to an obscure part of the ship, she allowed herself to let in hope. Finally her pod was brought into a small cargo bay in the underbelly of the ship, and before she even opened the pod she could sense Ben's presence next to her. His presence had grown even warmer and more light than when they touched on Ahch-To.
She grabbed her lightsaber, no matter what outcome she knew she'd need it, and opened the pod. An outreached hand greeted her, Ben offering to help her out, a small but worried smile on his face. She in turn grew a nervous smile but took his hand none the less. Next to him was a single stormtrooper and a floating droid that started scanning her.
"She is just making sure you are perfectly healthy, I programmed her myself so she shouldn't be a problem."
The problem, Rey thought, was that they were both now on a ship that means to kill them.
"AH-0904, take the pod to my personal shuttle through the maintenance chambers, and prime it's engines, and than leave."
"Yes Sir."
The trooper bowed, and pushed the hovering pod away.
"Do you not fear him reporting this in?"
"They are brainwashed since there recruitment, some since birth, they follow orders and never ask questions."
"Why ask me to meet here, and not us both meet up at a neutral location, we could easily be found out and killed here."
"Because the First Order's darkness is close to breaking the balance, close to permanently submerging the cosmic and living force into eternal darkness. It has to be stopped as soon as possible, and they aren't expecting an attack from the inside. However I also think bending of the force is revealing abilities we never knew we had, like our visual and sensual force communications."
"I see what you mean. Well, I agree to help because I also believe the First Order must fall."
"Sadly, neither I, or the Supreme Leader share either of your beliefs."
Ben and Rey turned to see that a door had opened, and hundreds of Stormtroopers were flooding in with General Hux in the middle of them.
"Ren, you know how much I hate you, but collaborating with the enemy is something I never thought I'd live to see."
Countless blasters aiming at both there heads it would be a fatal mistake to even activate a lightsaber. Rey still wanted to fight, but held her impulse back, Ben however looked like he was about to unleash fiery hell. Thinking quickly Rey dropped her lightsaber, and grabbed his hand, his head whipped around in shock and all he could see was Rey's concern.
'Don't fight them Ben.'
'I won't.'
There lips never moved, and yet these thoughts were still heard. Rey let go, and Ben placed his lightsaber on the ground. Troopers surrounded them, and restrained there hands behind there backs, one picked up both there lightsabers.
"I was supposed to be on the bridge minutes ago, but I just had to be the one to capture you Ren, seeing your downfall is something I've waited for year. Take them to Snoke, and secure the lightsabers, they can activate them without touching them."
"I don't agree with Snoke anymore, but he was right about you, you are nothing more than a immature, power hungry, snivelling cur."
Hux walked right up to his face, anger engulfed in his eyes, but than smiled. He proceeded to spit in Ben's eyes, and than walk away without another word.
The troopers escorted them through long compressed corridors, open base, and even longer hallways, and finally after awhile they reached an elevator. It stood out from all the other lifts because it a single soldier waited in front of it.
'It is Snoke's lift, there is no other way to his throne room.'
'I figured.'
When the door opened Rey and Ben, along with the guard holding there lightsabers stepped inside.
"You are trying so hard to let the light side shine through, but I can sense the dark still boiling away inside you Ben."
"The same anger you feel inside me Kira- do you want to be called Kira or Rey-"
"-Rey-"
"There is similar anger inside you, just below the surface, ready to emerge when necessary, I don't know if I can control which I feel. The light is where I wish to be, but the darkness is all I have known for so long, and it gives me such power, the conflict is tearing me apart."
"Like the force is being torn apart."
Rey pointed out.
A wave of anger over came Ben, nothing provoked it, just the bottled up anger had sprung a leak. He slammed himself into the wall, causing the guard to draw his weapon. Before blood could be shed, Rey put herself between the two conflicting bodies. Ren practically growled in pain, and was breathing heavily.
"No! Look at me. Ben, look at me."
He did, and looking into her eyes he found his personal balance again, and calmed down. The guard lowered his blaster but did not return it to his side.
"We are going to survive this, we have to."
'Together, they both thought.
The turbolift doors opened with a hiss, and the two force users were led into the throne room. At the other side of the long red room, Supreme Leader Snoke, in his dark purple robes, was waiting.
Fear managed to creep into Rey as she looked at the Supreme Leader of the First Order for the first time. Several stomach churning scars were present on his head, mouth, and neck. So deep she wondered how he survived the injuries. He was far taller than any humanoid she had ever seen, and despite his frailness he possessed a dark aura of deadly power. His blue eyes were as cold as the desert nights on Jakku.
Along the side walls of the room were eight guards decked out from head to foot in crimson red armour, different weapons at each guards side. The Stormtrooper ran ahead and placed both lightsabers on the Supreme Leader's throne arm, bowed, and than speed walked out.
Snoke grabs Ben's lightsaber, his hand made it appear small. He stood with the help of his cane, and stepped towards the pair of force users.
"Welcome young Solo and Thaney, you are just in time to watch your friends die."
On the bridge of the Supremacy, Hux stood next to Commander Yago with a devilish smirk on his face.
"Has the detection algorithm our spy provided proven to be useful?"
"To a degree General, three transport vessels are still on route to the Crait's surface, however from there size I estimate they only hold a total of 40 percent or less of the Raddus' crew. Should we not just use a laser canon and blast the ships, and surface to ash?"
"No, the very spy that gave us there location, and how to track there escape shuttles, is down there and I will not lose another loyal comrade today if I can help it Commander. Fire on the ships, and prepare a landing party."
"Yes General."
Yago wished to smack Hux's selfish, and arrogant face so hard that it would break his own hand, but the Supreme Leader's favouritism of the young General was well know and Yago did not wish to lose his ship, the only thing he had that Hux did not. He settled just for the mental image of shooting Hux through the chest with his personal blaster.
"Shall we also obliterate the Raddus?"
"It's empty, no need to waste costly ammunition."
Finn was jolted awake by the sound of a turbolader blast, and several impacts to there shuttle. Panicking Poe ran to the window, BB-8 close behind him. To his horror, when he looked up he saw that the debris crashing into them was the fiery remains of the transport above them.
"No, no, no, no, no, no. Beebee-Ate with me."
As Poe ran to the bridge entrance, with his droid by his side, Finn came up behind him.
"What is it, what do you need?"
"Space!"
Poe flung the door open, causing the frightened pilot to quickly turn to face him, with her hands not on the controls, the transport flung to the left. An instant later a laser past right where they were.
Poe grabbed the pilot by the collar, and pulled her out of her seat, and took over flying.
"Beebee-Ate, see if you can give us more power. This ship was only made for steady inclines and declines, but let's how fast she can really go."
Poe could only hope Threnalli was doing the same bellow them, he couldn't lose another pilot, he couldn't lose another friend.
With just the raising of one finger both Ben, and Rey's restraints unlocked and fell to the floor. The black stone tiles were so smooth, and polished that they reflected, just like the dark mirror on Ahch-To. Although Snoke had stepped down from his throne, he still stood quite a distance from them. Pointing at Rey, he spoke.
"Come closer child."
He was speaking calmly but his voice boomed in the large throne room. Rey, fully aware of the danger she was in, did not comply, and stood her ground. Snoke was annoyed at her resistances but simply spoke in response.
"Darkness rises, and the light to meet it. As my power and armies grew, I knew a light counterbalance would form. Despite the darkness in himself, Kylo had been concerned for sometime now of the balance of the force being shattered, but only recently he realized that has always been what I've wanted all along. I have spent the last two decades eradicating every light force that could threaten my darkness."
Ben spoke, followed by Rey.
"You cast the lightning, burning Luke's temple to the ground."
"And that is why you prioritized destroying the Resistance when so few days ago every member of the First Order was after Luke Skywalker."
"I have done far more than that, you small minded fools. I turned the Knights of Ren to solely practice darkness, I ensured the destruction of the New Republic no matter what, and It was I who bridged your minds at key moments to ensure that young Kira would die. Did you really think I did not feel the change in you Solo, I sensed the fading of Kylo Ren, and your scheming the moment they occurred."
"Luke still lives, his light is stronger than when I first came to his island."
"His fate is sealed, and I have confidence his twin's spark will fade with his. Now young Kenobi, I said closer!"
Rey desperately tried to resist his force control over her, but her feet began to walk without her willing them to. She reached an arm back for Ben, but similarly how she was being pulled, he was frozen in a kneeling position. Her legs finally stopped when she was right in front of Snoke. She now found herself also frozen in place.
"I See it now, I see the Kenobi in your face, however the most of him that I see in you is your control over your own actions. I am glad that will die with you."
"You underestimate the light, it's small but powerful. It is strong in the Resistance, it is strong in Ben Solo, and it is strong in me. And my name is Rey!"
"Young fool, combined they might rival some of my assets, but separated I am far more powerful than you, and I am definitely more powerful than him."
Snoke pointed a boney finger at Ben.
"He is weak, and more pathetic than you can imagine. He is more conflicted than when I first met him."
Blue Lightning, aimed at Ben, shot out of his fingers. Ben was still frozen in place on his knees so all he could do was scream. Rey could not turn around to watch, but see could sense his great agony. However that was not all that she could sense, she could feel Snoke's dark lightning forcing the darkness within him to surface and erupt. Ben screamed more, but now they were more screams of rage than pain.
Finally Snoke stopped. Using the force he turned Rey around to see the smouldering Solo rising to his feet, his eyes almost flaming with hate and anger.
Through the windows in the outer Raddus halls, Ackbar could see the Supremacy firing at Crait, presumably at the base, and the Resistance transports.
"They won't last ten minutes with fire power of that magnitude."
Knowing what he must do Ackbar started hobbling towards the bridge as fast as his leg would allow. With all systems except artificial gravity, and bridge controls completely powerless, the dropping temperature was starting to have its affect on the old Admiral, he could only hope he'd make it in time.
Captain Poe Dameron was giving Tillie, that's what he was mentally calling the transport, a very hard time. She was not meant to fly, turn, or dive this fast, she wasn't meant to dive at all. Poe was swerving and rotating her in every direction to try and evade enamel fire.
BB-8 calculated that it would take twelve more minutes to reach the surface, not counting his dodging. Sadly, with the hundreds of people calculating there demise, Poe knew any laser blast could be the one that did him in. He'd die in a pilot's seat like he had thought, but he was going to try and buy Finn, Leia, and the fifty other people on board as many seconds of life that he could give them.
Snoke's stoic face turned to a sort of focused annoyance as he turned his attention to Rey.
"I do not need a second apprentice, but you might still have worth. Embrace the darkside, and give me the location of the first jedi temple so I can obliterate it, or force me to pry it out of your mind through torture, and than have Ren kill you."
Both these options were horrible, and she refused to accept those as her only options. She could still feel the light in Ren, if she could help it surface she might still have a chance.
"I will not follow you, nor will today be the day that I die. There should not be any pure good or bad in the universe, only Grey. True balance between the light and dark, and I will fight you for that balance."
Rey, with all her strength, managed to reach out with the force for a lightsaber. Snoke must have predicted this, and was force holding hers down on his throne's arm, so she instead went for the unexpected.
Kylo's lightsaber went flying through the air, and ignited the second it was in Rey's hands. All of the guards got into a battle stance, revealing that there weapons had plasma photonic energy shielding that most likely made them capable of withstanding lightsaber strikes.
She was just about to charge the Supreme Leader when she was put off guard, Snoke had chuckled. Suddenly the lightsaber came flying out of her hands, and she turned to see the blade return to its master, Kylo Ren.
"This belongs to me."
"You have made your choice."
Her resistance to Snoke's force grip over her gave out, and she now found herself being thrust into the air, and than held in place. Her arms were glued to her sides, as were her legs to each other, she could only move her head. She yelled.
"Let me go!"
"I think not, your mind will now tell me everything."
Powerful lightning once again shot out of his fingers, this time making contact with Rey's body. Lightning wasn't apart of mind probing, but if your victim is weakened they can not possibly resist, and Rey was now a victim of that strategy.
Rey screamed in agony, the stabbing shocks never ending. She could feel the pain of the dark electrocution in every inch of her body, out and in. It struck her very soul. The darkness sapping her strength, and without the ability to move, Snoke could not miss. Unseen to all but Kylo, the closest Elite Praetorian Guard to Snoke located along the right wall fell to there knees, there vibro-arbir blades fell to the ground next to them. Although the torture lasted less than a minute, Rey felt as if years were ripped away from her lifespan, and yet she still hung in the air.
"The location of Luke Skywalker, and your pledge of loyalty, or your death!"
"I choose life and freedom, and always will."
"Than death at the hands of a comrade it shall be."
Ackbar had finally reached the bridge. The old Mon Calamari threw his cane way and took the helm. He commanded the Raddus to turn around, but for a ship of its size, and ship's current power level, he was not sure if it would realign in time.
Several Resistance fighters watched from the large entrance of the base as laser after laser shot out of the sky towards the surface. They realized not long after the bombardment began that they weren't firing at the base, yet, but instead at there remaining transports. They could see the remains of one falling towards the surface. Some wanted to close the blast shield now, but Lieutenant Connix was trying to convince everyone to keep it open until the last shuttles entered, or she saw with her own eyes the remains of the last two shuttles fall. All they could do was have hope.
"Why aren't those last two transports space dust?!"
"General, we are firing at them with everything we've got, they are just very small, and are dodging with remarkable skill. No mater what today is the end for the Resistance."
Yago was just as mad as Hux, but he knew how to channel his anger into something productive, unlike the former kitchen slave child who had barely entered his third decade. Out from a console a tactical officer shouted a report at them.
"There flag ship is turning around Commander!"
Both Hux and Yago looked out, and indeed saw the Raddus rotating. Hux spoke.
"Scan the ship for any energy signatures, see if there is any concentrations of Rhydonium."
"Sir, one life sign, but I don't know how the ship is even turning. There is only point one percent of fuel remaining to power the entirety of the ship, and barely any hyperspace fuel. Should we fire upon it?"
Hux answered not a second later.
"Not yet, it's empty so we should focus on the shuttles, and the planets surface, we'll blow up the Raddus like she deserves when the Resistance has already burned."
Yago was not comfortable with this decision, even if one rebel escapes, like a cancerous cell, it could multiply and regrow. The Raddus was clearly doing something, and Hux wasn't concerned in the slightest.
Snoke sat back into his throne, he wanted to be comfortable watching the death of the Kenobi bloodline. Still without control of her body Snoke forced Rey to her knees, and pushed her in front of Kylo. She could see that the struggle had returned to his eyes, but Snoke's darkness still dominated him.
"I will not fall."
Snoke chuckled at her comment, but his annoyance could be heard.
"Still that fiery spirit of hope."
Snoke allowed her to be able to turn her head.
"This monitor shows the last two of your Resistance ships, they will be blasted out of the sky any second now. On the one closest in range I sense two force sensitives, one I do not know, but the other is there leader, and she is about to die."
Her head was now forced forward again. Forced to look into the eyes of Kylo Ren, as he held the weapon of her destruction.
"Yes I care for the people of the Resistance, but I am no longer sure if they are my calling. What I am sure of is that you will fall."
"Darkness is apart of you, but you are still to pure, and you have the heart of a fearsome warrior. I have wasted to much time, you die now."
Kylo held out his lightsaber in a way that if it were activated the blade, it would go straight through her chest. Fear was being to creep in.
"Ben-"
He did not respond, but Snoke did in a laugh. Unlike his last laugh, this one was genuine.
"You think you can turn him, darkness will forever be apart of his soul. I can sense his dark thoughts, I will not be betrayed. I see his every intention through the darkness, he is positioning his lightsaber, and with a single thought, he ignited it upon his true enemy-"
Snoke tried to finish his sentence, but he couldn't, for Rey's lightsaber that had been sitting by his side had been turned and ignited Ben through Snoke's torso. Ben had been channeling both the light, and the dark, giving him the ability to manipulate behind Snoke's back. Rey, free from Snoke's control, force grabbed the lightsaber to her hand, cutting the Supreme Leader in half. Some of his species most vital organs having been destroyed, Snoke's upper body fell off the throne, dead.
Snoke defeated, and both force users holding there activated respective weapons, they both prepared to fight the approaching guards.
The Praetorian guards were upon them in seconds. Three on Rey, and four on Ben. Both overwhelmed, all they could do in the infancy of the battle was dodge and block attacks, and push the guards back so that they could push back the next.
Rey had been in many life or death fights in her life, that was how her staff had become apart of her. But now she felt added pressure in the fight, she was not just fighting for her life, but for the life of everyone. She had a purpose now, and the red-headed snazzliers were damned if they thought they were going to take that from her. The force was guiding her, guiding her weapon, it told her where to strike and when to dodge.
A guard, wielding a vibro-voulge, has preparing to charge Ben, which left them open to Rey for only a moment. She thrusted her blade through him and retracted just as fast to block another attack.
All six attackers forced Rey and Ben back-to-back again. Without speaking, without telepathy even, Ben bent over and Rey simultaneously leaned her back on to his and used him as a support as she pushed two guards back with her legs before standing again.
Ben manages to draw four of the guards away from Rey, he could see that she was a skilled fighter, but could tell she was out of her element, and he wanted her to live long enough to perfect lightsaber dueling. He had been focusing on his assassination of the Supreme Leader and it had left him open to a vibro-voulge's attack, if Rey hadn't been as levelheaded and focused as she was, he would have been decapitated. He had to continue to be perfectly attuned to the force and focus on the present, and not the recent past. If he let his true blazing anger out he might end up killing everyone, including Rey.
An Electro-Bisento guard blocked Ben's strike from above, but Ben used this momentum to force both of there locked blades to the side, leaving Ben's right arm free for an attack. He punched the guard in there face, knocking them off balance. He sensed another guard, a Vibro-Voulge, about to strike, so he grabbed the Electro-Bisento by the neck, kicked the Vibro-Voulge in the leg, and than pushed the Electro-Bisento as far as he could, sending him spiraling to the ground.
On the bridge the Commander and General received an update on the Raddus's status.
"Sirs, the Raddus is still rotating, and they are charging there hyperdrive."
Hux responded first to the ensign, followed by Yago.
"There is only one life sign, if they escape they can't resurrect there dead comrades, and who would they turn too for help? There is no where in the galaxy that we cannot find them."
"Regardless I say fire at there engines, better safe than sorry."
"Fine."
Ben might have four guards facing him, but Rey found her two were quite a handful. The guards she was exchanging blows with were a Vibro-air Blade and an Electro-Chain Whip, both clearly were far more attuned to there weapons than she was to hers.
Rey blocked a vicious strike from one end of the Vibro-air Blade's weapon, but as the Whipped guard got threateningly close, and the Vibro-air Bladed guard rotated there weapon to attack from its other end, she had to come up with an evasive action. As she dodged the other end of the Vibro-air Blade, she simultaneously kicked the Whipped guard hard enough to knock them back, freeing her for a needed couple of seconds.
Rey made contact with one end of the Vibro-air Blade's weapon, kicked them in the thigh so they fall backwards, and using the force pushed them further away as they fell. Momentarily free from the Vibro-air Blade, Rey charged the Whip.
Ready for her, the Electro-Chain Whipped guard lashed the end of there weapon around her lightsaber. Rey quickly discovered that the chain portion of the whip worked as safe hand holds for its wielder, but the plasma engulfed portion weren't lightsaber defective like the other melee weapons, but instead fused itself to the lightsabers blade. The pointed metal end of the whip was also enhanced as Rey discovered, because no matter how she or the guard now moved, its tip always pointed straight for her jugular.
Grabbing one hand hold at a time, and pulling with all there strength, aided also by the slick floors, the whips wielder slowly drew Rey closer. When they finally brought her within arms reach they grabbed her neck, and tried to force the tip of there weapon through her neck. Unable to move the lightsaber or herself from her enemies grasp, fear once again set in. However she used her fear to fuel her determination, and with it an idea occurred. She deactivated the blade, freeing it from the whip, than reactivated it, cutting off her attackers arm. In one motion she positioned herself behind the guard and violently stabbed them through the back, and moved the blade up until she had guarantiedly destroyed there heart, and any other vital organ along the way. Only than did she draw back her lightsabers blade.
Rey's aggression rising she turned to see that the Vibro-air Blade guard had recovered, and was in a ready battle stance. They pointed one end of the weapon at her, challenging her to a duel. When they believed she got there message they took one step forward, and with a simple press of button, had separated there Vibro into two daggers.
They started to walk towards her. Rey had not ever been enveloped in darkness like Ben had, but because she was channeling the force as a whole, and not one aspect of it, darkside bursts accrued. Rage at having to kill to survive, and not knowing if she had the moral high ground enveloped her. As the guard went from a walk to a charge she stood her ground, weapon ready, and screamed a war cry so terrifying it stopped the guard in there tracks, but only for a second.
Two Electro-Bisento guards simultaneously locked there blades with Ben's, forcing his blade and body to the ground. A guard, wielding a Vibro-Voulge, started charging at the vulnerable Ben, there weapon raised above his head ready to strike it down on him. Channeling a controlled amount of anger, Ben managed to find the strength to fling his blade up, knocking the two Electro-Bisentos back and disarming the Vibro-Voulge all at once. With one swift motion Ben impaled the Voulge guard, leaving only five guards alive.
Ben, holding his lightsaber with both hands straight in front of him, pivoted to survey the battle scene. The two Electro-Bisento and a Electro-Chain Whip were stocking him in a circle. As he rotated he could see Rey, he watched as a Vibro-air Bladed guard slashed her arm. Nothing that would impede her from defending herself, but it must hurt.
The guard with the Electro-Chain Whip cracked there weapon at Ben, not to hurt him, but to encourage him to make the first move. Ben refused however, not letting his anger take hold, and continue to pivot with his weapon ready. Not waiting any longer, the Whip charged. Ben however was ready, and with one swing of his lightsaber cut the Whip's weapon in half through one of the hand holds. A second later he made contact with the first Electro-Bisento's blade, and than the other.
When Poe felt the laser hit he knew he was done for. BB-8 updated him that the laser only nicked the Transport, taking out one of the engines, but Poe knew it would mean there deaths. With an engine missing they would be slower, and the transport would be harder to maneuver, not even his fancy flying could save him and the crew members aboard. Just after finding a man he would like to spend the rest of his life with, they were both going to die. He could only hope that the rest of the Resistance will somehow survive.
The first Electro-Bisento guard, and the Whip guard attacked Ben from above, so to dodge he was forced to do a back bend as well as swing his lightsaber through the ground causing a fiery explosion of sparks and shrapnel to erupt from his swing. Using this momentum, Ben dodged the second Electro-Bisento's blade and cut the Whipped guards head off. Keeping his weapon ahead of him he prepared for the next wave of attacks as the two Electro-Bisentos charged.
Rey continued to fend off her opponent, but the Vibro-Dagger guard kept pushing her back, and kept her off guard. The guard raised both there weapons for an upper strike, so Rey brought her lightsaber up to block, however this left the crimson guard able to kick her in the right thigh, causing Rey to fall to the floor hard.
On her stomach, Rey forced herself to ignore the pain, and quickly bounce back to her feet. This action had left her vulnerable so to compensate she swung violently and repeatedly at her attacker. The guard however just stayed out of her blades reach, and studied her reckless pattern. One of Rey's strikes did make contact with one of the guard's blades, but they used this as an opportunity to attack her with her other blade. Rey managed to shift positions, but the damage was done, the guard had struck her lightsaber.
Only having gotten the very end of the handle, the weapon did not deactivate, but it did start to spark from the injury. The blade also started to augment it's own length, growing and shrinking, and than started to flicker out, deactivating for a second and than reactivating. It was only a matter of time before the weapon overloaded or deactivated while she was trying to block a blow. She needed to take out the Vibro-Daggered guard as quickly as she could.
Ben was using the force to sense even more thoroughly his opponents intentions. Currently sensing the other Electro-Bisento guard approaching with a strike that he will need all his attention on, Ben manages to cut into his Electro-Bisento guard, and than cut there weapon in half, destroying it, and than shoves the guard out of his way.
Temporarily free from the first Bisento guard, Ben raised his weapon above his head to block the vicious downward strike of the second Bisento guard. Locking weapons, Ben takes the guard for a semi-torso cartwheel, in the process taking there weapon and knocking them to the ground.
Weaponless and injured, the first Electro-Bisento guard rises. Defenseless Ben made an offer he would never make even a day previous.
"Surrender and live, or charge me and die!"
The guard could not speak through there helmet, but Ben was hoping they'd walk away or make some sign of surrender. Instead however the Electro-Bisento guard hit there fists together, activating a small energy field around there forearm and hands, and charged at him. Trying to make there death quick Ben went for an upward strike, but the guard managed to block that with there field. Keeping there arms busy with his lightsaber, Ben reached around and stabbed them through the back with there comrade's blade. He than dropped the blade and cast it aside. Not actually sure there injury was fatal Ben quickly slit there throat to be curtain with his lightsaber.
This deeds karma however immediately took effect for his lightsaber got caught in the guards armour. The second Electro-Bisento, now wielding the first's weapon, swings at Ben. To save his life, or at the very least his arms, Ben drops his lightsaber and jumps back to dodge.
Frustrated that there attack didn't work the guard slashed Ben's lightsaber hilt in two. Ben felt it instantly, the Kyber crystal that he had had since he and the started exploring the Unknown Region, was broken. Knowing the different possibilities of destruction that could occur with a Kyber crystals destruction, Ben ran. As the crystal absorbed all the energy in the halves of Ben's lightsaber, Ben turned to see that the guard was in pursuit. Either to attack him, escape the explosion, or both the guard was right behind him. A bloodcurdling bang could be heard and than all the lights went out. Thankfully the blast was only that of an electromagnet pulse, but now he was defenceless and blind, and became both remaining guards only had plasma projected around a pre-existing blade, Rey was also in danger.
Any visual help in there helmets would be out from the pulse wave, but there swings could still make contact. Ben reached out with the force, and managed to sense his opponents location and actions, making it possible to dodge. He could only hope Rey was having just as much luck.
Lights flickered on, but so did the guards plasma enhanced blades. Trying to take advantage of the discombobulated Electro-Bisento guard, Ben grabbed there weapon arm as they swung and the weapon itself with his other. Unlike before however, Ben could not get the blade out of the guards hand. Fighting for control, Ben did not notice as the guard repositioned his grip, and in one foul swoop brought the weapons long handle forcefully against his neck. Choking, Ben brought his hands to the bar and pushed so he could breathe, but just barely. Eyes starting to bulge all he could see was Rey fighting with her short-circuiting lightsaber.
With only one dagger left, Rey thought her opponent would now be at a disadvantage, but she was wrong. In fact it seemed like when they lost one of there blades, they put all of there energy into there second one. Rey stabbed at the guard, but her weapon deactivated again so the guard grabbed her arm mid thrust and turned the weapon away from them both before it reactivated.
Rey managed to get her blade arm interlocked with the Vibro-Dagger's blade arm, and Rey used her free arm to keep her enemy's blade away from her head, but she didn't know how long she could hold it there.
Brought to his knees, Ben watched as the Vibro-air Bladed guard who had fallen to there knees during Rey's torture now rise. The crimson guard, who's weapon was already separate into the two daggers, started to approach Rey and her comrade in arms from behind. Choking, Ben tried to warn her, but all that emerged was a whisper.
"Rey, behind you."
Rey's guard used there free hand to try and force there blade into her head. Rey continued to try and push there weapon away, or dislodge her own which had started to grow hot, but her survival depended on her focusing completely on forcing her opponent's weapon back. The dagger however was getting scarily close to her face.
Watching in terror as the second Vibro-Daggered guard raise there weapon to strike Rey down, Ben desperately tried to warn her.
'REY!'
With one fatal strike-
The head of the first Vibro-air Bladed Praetorian guard rolling to the floor, Rey didn't even question her saviours reasoning a second, and instead stood and faced Ben.
"Ben-Catch!"
Rey force threw her lightsaber to the gray force user, and he caught it. Activating it right in the Electro-Bisento guard's face, killing him instantly.
Finally aligned with the Supremacy Ackbar finished over-riding the ships collision prevention protocol, and double checked his trajectory. An hour previous he had known he was going to die soon, but now he felt as if his death would have purpose. He thought about the young Mandalorian and hoped him well.
"For the Rebels!"
On the Supremacy it finally occurred to Hux and Yago what was happening. Hux was in shock.
"It's a trap!"
"Fire everything on that cruiser now!"
Rey and Kylo had taken one step towards each other when everything went white.
If a pointed wooden cylindrical stick, twenty centimetres long and with a diameter of one centimetre, got caught in an air storm column of rapidly rotating air, the column rotating at one hundred and eighty kilometres an hour, the stick could potentially be launched from the column at mentioned one hundred and eighty kilometres an hour and be shot clean through a native perennial plant up to three times its density and six million times its weight. The Supremacy is sixteen times the size of the Raddus, however traveling at light speed allowed the ship to do more than just be shot through.
First Order vessels can only keep out objects, or projectiles flying at less than light speed, so the Raddus cut through the Supremacy like a hot knife in bantha cheese. The true damage was caused by the plasma emitted from the disintegrating Raddus as it passed through the Supremacy. The plasma was over 20,000,000 degrees Celsius, causing the Supremacy to melt and explode in half. Any minuscule amount of the plasma that hit the surrounding First Order vessels caused massive damage.
Cutting the Supremacy in half, rendering twenty Star Destroyers inoperable or destroyed, and causing massive damage to the remaining fleet, Admiral Ackbar gave the Resistance fleet a fighting chance. The ships attack was visible throughout the Crait system, as well as the Sullust and Malastare systems, and the shock wave was recorded as far as Mustafar.
The two remaining shuttles managed to escape destruction, but the Resistance was no where near out of harms way. The Raddus cut the Supremacy in half, but for strategic measure the Supreme Leaders throne room and the main bridge where located away from the centre of the ship to the right, and each half had several hundred back up systems in case the primary failed. General Hux and Commander Yago survived, and although the cascading system failures would eventually reduce the ship inhospitable, Hux estimated that would not occur for several hours.
After a very stressful ten minutes Poe finally landed his transport inside the mine base. BB-8 beeped a cheerful congratulations to him.
"Thanks buddy, couldn't have done it without you, but we aren't safe yet."
Poe turned the cockpit back over to its pilot, and made his way to the exit. His mind set on finding Rose, or Thorn, whoever she was, and making her pay for Holdo and the 40 other deaths she caused.
Leia and Finn walked by his side.
"That was the best flying I've ever seen."
"You saved our lives Poe."
"I haven't if Rose continues to relay life or death information."
Poe stormed off the shuttle, Finn, and BB-8 by his side. C'ai Threnalli and Connix were waiting for Poe, and General Organa at the bottom of the transport. For some it is hard to distinguish Abednedo emotions, but Poe could tell that his aging friend was worried. In his native tongue he spoke.
"No sign of the Tico girl, and we've searched everywhere. This base is also severely out of date, half the tech doesn't even work, there is no way to cloak any signals so that the First Order can not read them."
"Close the blast door. Can we send a single through all the armour?"
"Yes General."
Leia held out a small data stick to Connix.
"Take this, it's my signature code. This base was only built to be a hideout, not a fortress. If there are any allies of the Rebellion or Resistance left, we're going to need them. Finn and Poe, gather as many crew members as you can, and find Thorn."
"You got it Leia."
The two man ran off as the blast door closed painfully slow. Connix headed to the communications hub with Leia's data stick, but Threnalli remained.
"There's another problem, isn't there?"
"Yes General, we aren't announcing this so that there won't be a mass panic, but there was a cave in. The mining that occurred here must have destabilized part of the mine shafts because at some point over the last few decades the oxygen tunnel which second as the secret escape route has completely collapsed. Closing the blast doors might save us from an attack, but it will also trap us in here, and unless we can dig out the tunnel we'll have a limited amount of oxygen."
"Halt closing the blast door- We will close it when we see them coming, giving us as much breathing time as possible."
As Threnalli joined the search for Thorn another commotion caught Leia's attention. The Lethan Twi'lek was asking anyone and everyone if they had seen her boyfriend. Leia did not know the woman, nor did she wish to be the one to tell her, but she knew it had to be done.
"Ms. Leh-Lawquane, isn't it?"
"Yes General Organa. Do you have word on Belac? We were separated, and I was forced onto a transport without him. He has very light blonde hair and-"
"I know who your loved one is. Ms. Leh-Lawquane, I have some hard news to relay."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Oh please don't say he's de- no, I can't say that, he isn't is he?"
Leia hand to make a choice, one scarily similar to one she had to make years prior. To tell her the man she loved was dead would be so much easier than the truth of who he was. Unlike years prior however she chose the hard way.
"Lawquane, you may wish to brace yourself."
Rey regained consciousness, her head was pounding, her ears were ring, and when she opened her eyes she couldn't see. She panicked, but after a few blinks she could make out colour, a few more blinks she could make out shapes, and after a minute or so of blinking her vision returned to normal. However she almost wished it hadn't from what she was now seeing. Half of the enormous room was engulfed in flames, and a good portion of the ceiling had collapsed, exposing damaged ventilation tubes and electrical wires. The fires contrasting the red room made it look and feel as if she were in hell.
Pushing herself up she spotted Ben, who was still unconscious, but coming to. Despite aching all over she forced herself to her feet, and than knelt by the awakening Solo.
"Ben, Ben wake up! I don't think it's safe here! Ben!"
"Mmmmh."
Ben finally opened his eyes, but he seemed to be experiencing the same problems that occurred to her, he blinked wildly. He spoke calmly but loudly, his ears must be ringing as well.
"I can't see!"
"It'll pass, it'll pass. There was an explosion. This is the most secure room in the ship and it's a wreck, I fear the ship might be exploding."
"Not yet, we can't just walk out, we need to get to my shuttle without you being recognized or anyone finding out about what we did until we are as far away as possible from this ship. Help me up."
Rey stood and held out her hands to Ben, he took them and she pulled him to his feet. All of what just happened rushed back into Rey's mind, and looking into Ben's eyes she could tell he was thinking about it to.
"Ben, what you did, I want to say-"
"There'll be time for that when we're safe from the First Order. Our lightsabers are to damaged to use so we'll have to use any of the functioning guard weapons, and-"
"Ben!"
They locked eyes, she could sense his fear, and he could sense her bravery. Other feelings were there, and she almost acted upon them, but last minute decided not to, now was not the time.
"Ben, we are going to get out of this alive. Your filled with darkness but your light makes you no Sith, I'm filled with light but my darkness makes me not a Jedi, together we balence each other out into pure grey. Our parentage connects us but so does this link that was there before Snoke, together we can get through this."
Ben opened his mouth to speak but they were interrupted.
"I know how to get you two out of here."
The guard that had saved Rey's life had awakened. She was sitting on the floor, a piece of rubble pinned one of her legs down. She had removed her helmet. Ben had a face on like he was about to charge her, but Rey put her hand on his chest to signal him that she wished to handle this. Taking the hit he went to collect the remains of there lightsabers. Rey took a step forward.
"Who are you?"
"FN-2509, Elite Praetorian vibro-air bladed guard number 3"
"You aren't a Resistance spy?"
"No, I was born and raised here. Until today I never felt like this, but when I heard you scream in pain something broke inside me. I should call in backup, report the Supreme Leader's demise, but everything inside me says that's wrong and helping you is right."
Rey was now standing over the girl. Rey realized she was young, most likely two to four years younger than her, but very tall, only a couple inches shorter than Ben. Her dark brown hair was as short as Finn's, and her skin was a tone in between her's and Finn's. Her eyes were interesting, there shape was similar to that of the Kanjiklub leader Tasu Leech, although less pronounced, and they were two different colours, her left was brown and the right was an ocean blue. Rey did not know Finn's story but this seemed oddly similar, and she could sense that the girl had a strong connection to the force, how strong only time could tell.
"I believe you, you said you were the third vibro-air bladed guard, but counting you I only saw two, are there more guards?"
"Yes, there are 18 Guards at any time, four of each weapon, one trainee, and one retired guard that acts as a trainer. Not counting myself there are ten left that are most likely heading our way."
"Ben, come help me. I'm Rey, Rey Thaney."
Rey tried pushing the rubble but some was impaled into the floor. Ben came over, handed Rey her lightsaber, and lift the rubble off with the force. This embarrassed Rey because she had not thought to try that.
Ben now took a good look at the former guard and was shocked. Although she had a different skin tone and eyes, the girl had a striking resemblance to holos of his mother when she was young. She did not look like the holos of his maternal grandmother however.
"Where are you from?"
"I was born into the First Order, from two DNA samples of First Order soldiers, I don't know who they are. All I know is from medical scans is that I have a genetic marcher that is solely found in humans descendant from Vodran."
Ben did not know how this young girl was connected to him, but even the force inside her was familiar. A mystery for another time, they had to get off the Supremacy.
"Will you come with us. The First Order will kill you for surviving the death of the Supreme Leader, let alone what you did."
The girl seemed scared, as well as conflicted. Seeing some of her friend in the girl, Rey offered her hand to help her up. After some quick consideration she took it.
"I'll join you. If we are going to get by other guards we are going to have to disguise you, grab different pieces of intact armour and one of the weapons, we'll drag Kylo out of here."
Poe had lost Finn. The crew members that weren't currently working on communications had split up into groups to search for Thorn. Poe had been searching with Finn and a handful of other Resistance members, than one minute he looked over his shoulder and Finn wasn't with his group anymore.
"Anyone have eyes on Shot?"
"No Captain."
"Great, just great."
Where could he have gone. He knew that if he saw something he was supposed to let the group know so they could search together. For a moment something that Holdo had told him resurfaced, if anyone was a spy it was Finn.
'No!'
If Finn was a spy he was horrible at it, doing genuine acts of kindness, confessing to being First Order, calling out a fellow spy of the same army, and seeing the best in people. That was it, he wanted to confront Rosita. Poe thought hard for a couple seconds, Finn is force sensitive and has been able to navigate flawlessly with no direction needed. The last he saw Finn he was facing-"
"Continue around that area but remain quite. If you hear anything loud or I give a signal, converge on my position."
Quite on his feet Poe headed in the direction he saw Finn look, keeping his eyes open, and body ready for anything. After a couple minutes Poe noticed a small hatch, most likely an electrical service compartment. He could only hope that Finn was ok, to find each other, and than have him die would be to much for him to take. He opened it and shown a light down, but he saw nothing. He climbed halfway down when he heard a blaster charging and a harsh voice.
"Close the door behind you or this filthy traitor will die!"
Not even looking Poe complied. He pulled the hatch closed, and than stepped to the bottom of the ladder. Finally he turned to were he heard Rosita's voice and activated his light. Standing on the far side of the server room was Finn, unconscious, and slumped against the wall with a blaster to his head, another blaster was pointed right at Poe.
"The first blast was just a stun, the second definitely won't be."
"He trusted you, even after he learned the truth he trusted you weren't the bad person who'd be the cause of our doom. He thought you were the person your sister believed you to be. I am not Finn, you always stunk of a fake persona."
"Paige didn't know what happened to me, she didn't know about the twenty years of being the First Order's, and Armitage's personal spy and assassin. You think being the cause of four hundred puny deaths is the worst I've done. Nearly a hundred thousand people have died either by my hands, or by my information. This was just a vacation to me."
"I believe you that you have killed that many, but you're lying about this being easy for you."
"You're talking to much. I think I'm going to blow the head off of this traitor, and than yours."
"Rose, that really is your real name right? Paige told me what the First Order did to your planet, what they did to your family. How can you not hate them, to help them repeat the tragedy of Hays Minor over and over again."
Poe finally hit a nerve, Rose's face went from a stone faced annoyance, to sad and angry.
"Of course I don't, but I had to make a choice, one that the whole galaxy is going to have to make. Join them, or die."
"You aren't in there grasp right now, you could slip away and-"
"Die, they would hunt me down, and kill me, just like Phasma, just like Finn. But working willingly insures survival. Did you know that the majority of there original First Order soldiers were adolescents and young adults suffering on inhospitable worlds. The First Order gave them there first steady meals, and a place to sleep at night. Young children are taken from all over the galaxy from broken abusive homes, or from having to survive on there own, and are given a friendly environment and a purpose. And unlike the Empire, the First Order isn't xenophobic."
"Yah, they don't judge who they enslave and brainwash by there species, but they are still abducting and brainwashing children, some younger than a year old. They also take kids that were in a loving family, like you."
"That's it, I'm blasting his head off!"
A blaster went off, but not the one pointed at Finn's head. Rose fell, unconscious. Finn stood up, holding a blaster he had pick-pocketed off of Rose.
"I'm getting really sick of being knocked unconscious."
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine. Thanks for stalling until I woke up."
Poe started climbing the ladder, and as he opened the hatch he turned back to Finn.
"I'm glad you woke up, because I was ten seconds away from shooting her, and my blaster wouldn't have been on stun."
Finn hoisted Rose over his shoulders, and went to the base of the ladder. Finn looked up at Poe, and instantly could tell something was wrong. Poe's face was panicked, and despite the soundproofing of the server room he could hear an alarm.
"What's happening?"
"TIEs are flying straight for us. Get her, and yourself up here now."
Finn did as he said. One arm he used to climb, and the other he held Rose's limp body over his shoulders. When he reached the top he put her down, Poe had flagged down two buff ground soldiers to restrain, and guard her, leaving them both free to assess the situation.
The Resistance was trying to close the blast door as quickly as possible, but the door being as heavily fortified as it was, could only be lowered at a deadly slow pace. Six TIE Fighters were approaching fast, the sixth much closer than the rest. From inside the base, many of the Resistance were trying to shoot at the approaching TIEs but they were far enough away that it was making aiming almost impossible. The five TIEs in the back were shooting, and there was blaster fire shooting at the front TIE from above the base.
"Do we have men up there?"
"No, but there are a handful of Stormtroopers that had been waiting for our transports to arrive up there. They had fired on the first few, but when more, and more transports landed, and they were outnumbered they ceased firing."
"But if they are stormtrooper, why are they firing on that TIE?"
Finn squints at the quickly approaching TIEs and realized that the five TIEs behind the sixth were also shooting at the sixth in front of them. Finn also realized that the sixth TIE was getting pretty close, and the blast door wasn't lowering fast enough.
"It's going to make it."
Finn said nervously. Poe responded while charging his blaster and jogging to join the firing squad.
"It's not going to make it. Everyone fire on the front TIE!"
Everyone with a blaste,r and a steady hand started firing rapidly at all the TIEs, especially the front on. Poe could see that it's shields were now down, and it's engines failing, but it still had strong metal shielding and great forward momentum. Poe's eyes widened with fear, and realization as it became obvious that the TIE was about to crash into everyone.
"It's going to make it! Everyone fall back!"
Everyone stopped firing, and ran for cover. The TIE crashed through the remaining gap but seconds later the door was to low for the others to fit through, everyone could hear the explosions as they crashed into the blast door at full speed. This TIE however would never fly again. As the firing party reassembled, Poe and Finn took lead.
"Everyone ready-"
The hatch opened.
"Aim-"
Phasma, helmetless, rose from her now fiery TIE. She held her arms up in surrender. Finn jumped in front of Poe, and the rest of the firing squad just as Poe said, "Fire!"
"Wait! Don't fire! Please don't fire! She's on our side! You are on our side?"
Out of breath Phasma barely managed to speak one word.
"Yes."
"She's on our side. She's here to help! You are here to help?"
"Yes!"
From the crowd someone shouted an inquiry that sounded more like an accusation.
"Who is she?!"
Phasma did not dare speak, for she could not think of an answer that was honest that wouldn't get her head blown off. Finn was similarly unsure but he tried.
"She is-She tried-She-Sh-"
Poe put his arm around Finn and took over.
"She lowered the shields on Starkiller Base, without her, me and my squad would never have been able to blow up the most dangerous weapon in our galaxy to date. Do not fire until me, and General Organa have heard her out!"
Everyone lowered there blasters, allowing for Phasma to lower her arms, and leave the fiery hell that was becoming her TIE. Everyone except a small flame control team backed up, and went back to finding a way for them all to survive the next 24 hours, while Finn, Leia, and Poe went to the tall traitor.
"Thanks Poe."
Finn whispered, to which Poe replied.
"No problem, I think."
"Thank you Commander Dameron. General Organa, I have been a secret admirer of your leading tactics for sometime now, and it's an honour to finally meet you other than on the battlefield."
She put out her arm in greeting. She spoke kind words but her face was eternally stoic. Leia hesitate, but eventually did not take her hand.
"You yourself are responsible for the lives of countless people, not just of the New Republic Defense Fleet, and my Resistance, but of defenseless civilians. You can not claim like Finn here that you were brainwashed because from your apparent age you were one of the recruits that willingly joined in there adolescence, the only brainwashing you received was through First Order propaganda."
"I admit to have at a time have agreed completely with the First Order's ideals, and that I definitely have killed enough people that it will haunt my conscience for every waking hour for the rest of my life. But something inside me changed, and I have spent the last twenty five years building a secret army within the First Order's army. So if I survive the imminent attack, I will gladly turn myself in to you for working with a mass terrorist group, but for right now you need me to survive the coming attack. I also have information that might be useful in willing this rising war."
Leia sighed, Poe could tell she didn't like the idea of cooperating with the First Order's poster soldier, but she knew the Resistance needed every ounce of help they could get.
"What do you mean an army?"
"Just under twenty five years ago I had an epiphany. I started training children from birth that I believed had the potential to be the greatest soldiers the galaxy has ever known. While I waited for my first selections to reach an age where I could start there training, I studied in secret the First Orders brainwashing system and came up with a way of counteracting it, as well as a training regimen that would make them not only physically the strongest, but also morally and mentally. Now Captain Cardinal ran the training for soldier from five to fifteen while I have fifteen to twenty five, so I learned how to hack into his personal training regimens for each of my selected soldier. I gave them extra puzzle solving exercise to help them with free thinking, janitorial duties on the Finalizer for humility, and to know the layout of that ship. When they aged up and were transferred to me on the Supremacy, I started implementing the counter-brainwashing, set to free there mind of all programming when they hear a real scream of terror from an innocent person. I also personally trained them so they'd be stronger than any of my normal soldiers, I gave them extra holo civilian saving training so they'd have strong morals. I gave them janitorial duties on the Supremacy, as well as each soldier got transferred for a year to a different base or ship to janitor so that combined they would know the layouts of every ship and base in the First Order."
"And how many members of this secret army have you raised?"
"Each year since I started I chose over two thousand infants to begin on the path of being a secret soldier. When they reached my training though at fifteen I assess them, if they hadn't taken to the program yet I released them into the normal regimen. Over the next ten years if at anytime they show that they were not fit for my training I also release them. Finn's year was my first so counting for all the releases, and the couple of deaths, there are only about 500 dormant fully trained soldiers, but the training regimens of a decade of soldier is already set, therefore I don't need to be present to train them, making the total number around 15 500."
"We could use that kind of man power, despite how unethical it may be."
"The First Order fleet that was chasing you wasn't completely destroyed. A couple ships are landing as we speak with the sole purpose of blasting that door open, and than a grand army of stormtroopers will invade and conquer. So you better have a fleet of your own to fend off the ships, and rescue your troops."
"We're working on it, can you contact your army?"
"I told you, they need to be activated. The first generation will be entering battlefields which should activate them, but it will be up to them, and your scouts to recruit them."
Suddenly the whole compound shook. The feeling was familiar to all but Finn.
"What was that?"
"Bombers! Leia, the blast door will withstand that kind of explosion, but what about the rest of this mine?"
"Don't worry just yet, my father was smart when he chose this location. This entire planet in made up of different crystallized elements, this region, including the utmost top layer of this mine, is predominantly sodium based, but as the First Order bombers are now realizing is that this is a Rhodochrosite Crystal mine. Rhodochrosite is close to indestructible and it would take hours of bombing to break even the smallest hole in our ceiling, they aren't going to waste that much ammunition and time, they are going to wait until something stronger arrives. We just have to hope our backup arrives before there's does."
Hux was as angry as a Wookie, and was just as likely to rip someone's head off with his bare hands. Despite this though he had duties to perform, to give a status report to Supreme Leader Snoke, then lead a ground team to demolish the Resistance as painfully as possible.
Something Hux was not expecting was Kylo's unconscious body being dragged away from the lift by two Elite Praetorian Guards. One of Kylo's arms was over one guard's shoulder, while the other did the same with his second. Kylo was scratched up, and despite his head being down Hux could tell he was bruised and sweaty.
There was something peculiar about the guards. One appeared completely normal, clean armour, they stood at the angle all First Order recruits are taught at a young age. The second was a different story, there armour was a mess and covered in scratches, there armour didn't appear to fit them right, and although it was slight, Hux could see that they weren't standing quite at the angle they should be.
After attempting to assist the scavenger girl in deeds that would undermine the First Order, Hux assumed the traitorous Kylo Ren would have been executed by now. The two guards halted in his presence.
"General."
"Where are you escorting Ren?"
"To the holding facility, the Supreme Leader could not make him see reason, but that explosion interrupted his execution. He will proceed after the ship is secure. The scavenger girl is dead."
"Excellent. I am glad that I now will be able to watch him be brutally tortured and than executed, carry on."
"Yes General."
The guards continued to drag the limp body of the Supreme Leader's former prized pupil away, and Hux knew he was now on his way to taking Kylo's place. The lift was long, giving him plenty of time to compose a version of recent events that made him appear as a promotional leader. Perhaps that he ordered the destruction of the Raddus, but last minute ordered the shields to be angled to the front of the Supremacy which minimized the devastating damage.
Finally, after a torturously long silent ride up, Hux finally reached his destination, he composed himself, and started speaking the second the doors opened.
"Supreme Leader Snoke, I- Sweet Nerf Cheese!"
Hux could not believe what he was seeing in front of him. The mighty throne room was a bloody war zone, all the guards were defeated, and in the centre of it all was the Supreme Leader himself, dead, half of him on his throne and the rest of him was unceremoniously lying in front of the throne.
It didn't take a genius, which Hux was, to figure out what just happened, Ren and the girl assassinated the Supreme Leader. Hux opened a com-link to the docking bay where Kylo's personal shuttle resided.
"Kylo Ren has murdered the Supreme Leader, do not permit him to dock his shuttle and leave. The two Elite Praetorian Guards are his accomplices, kill them all."
"Murder, dear god, General they just took off."
"Useless."
Hux got gunners on his com.
"The Supreme Leader is dead, vaporize Kylo Ren's shuttle."
"Yes General."
But they never got the chance, the shuttle went into hyperspace moments later, this Hux did not learn until later. Something did accrue to him however, neither Kylo Ren or Snoke could give him orders ever again, and that made him feel powerful. What can only be described as a malicious smile came across Hux's face.
Hux marched right up to the Supreme Leader's throne, and without even a second of consideration pushed the bottom half of Snoke off of the throne, and sat in his place. His smile only widening, Hux waited for someone else to come, and he didn't have to wait long.
The remaining ten Elite Praetorian Guards, Commander Yago, and a handful of other high ranking officers ranging from Captain to Admiral, exited the lift. Each officer, especially the Admiral and Yago, had a far more significant claim to being Supreme Leader over Hux. All approached Hux. Yago spoke.
"It saddens me to see that your report is true. Sadly we won't be able to deal with Snoke's death until after the Resistance are demolished, but we will destroy Ren for this."
"That we will, but I believe that Snoke's death will be dealt with right now."
Yago clued into what was going on, and he started laughing.
"That is funny, for a moment I thought you were laying claim to the throne. If it were to go to anyone it would be me or Captain Peavey, we'll decide on the matter later, but the throne will never be yours Armitage, you foolish child-"
Hux drew his blaster and shot Commander Yago right between his eyes.
"The decision is already made old man. My father was one of the founders of this military, he founded the soldier program that has built our armies to the glory they are now, and I am his only heir, no matter how scandalous my birth was I still share his name. I am the architect that designed the capital ship you currently are standing on, and It was I who turned this military into the ruling body of the galaxy. Anyone else who challenges me will share the fate of Yago, but if you bow now you will be rewarded. So bow, bow before your new Supreme Leader, bow before Emperor Armitage Hux!"
The guards fell to one knee instantly, which scared most of the others to kneel as well, and finally everyone was on there knees.
"Excellent. Now, evacuate the training soldiers to the non-damaged star destroyers, and I shall personally lead the ground attack on the Resistance. My Empress is waiting for me."
Rey didn't take off her helmet until Ben's shuttle was deep in hyperspace. Up until now she herself was the best pilot she had ever seen, but after seeing Ben take off and punch in hyperspace coordinates as he did she realized she still had much to learn. Thanks to him and the guard they were now free, and had to stop thinking of the past and start worrying about the immediate future.
"Where do we go?"
"I am unsure. We need to meet up with my Knights, to redirect us onto the right path. We will need a rendezvous, somewhere the First Order doesn't know."
Rey thought for a moment and knew what she must do. She sighed.
"Luke's island. The first jedi temple, from back when they practiced both light and dark to maintain the balance of the universe. I sense that Luke has left, leaving it vacant for us to use."
Rey punched in the coordinates. She than gestured backwards, referring to the young guard sitting in the main compartment of the ship on the other side of the cockpit door.
"I sense awakening force abilities inside of her, not unlike how I was only a week ago. She seems so lost and confused, and yet she helped us."
"I also sense a familial bond about her, I can't quite explain it but I feel connected to her, but a very different connection than the one that seems to have brought us together. I have to work in here for a few minutes, and than I'll activate the autopilot, but for right now I think you should speak to her. She seems to relate with you far more."
Rey nodded than stood. She left the incredibly small cockpit and entered the main compartment. FN-2509 had removed her helmet and was starring at it, it was clear to Rey that the shock of her actions were just now being realized.
"I killed a fellow guard, and I did nothing to help defeat the man who killed the Supreme Leader who was my sole purpose, and yet I feel no guilt for him because he was a monster. Why haven't I felt this way before, why couldn't I see the evil of my own home?"
Rey walked over to the girl who was only a few years younger than her.
"I can not give you full answers, the truth of who you are is a journey you must take alone, but I do know that there is something special inside of you, something me, Ben, you, and I regret to say it but Snoke all share. Have you ever heard of the force, or the jedi?"
"I don't know about the force you speak, but once when I was a little girl I did hear the tale of the Jedi Luke Skywalker from another cadet who had been recruited, not born, into the First Order. Until today I would have said he was something that the cadet had made up, but I heard Snoke ask for him, I saw Snoke use his powers on you, and I saw Ben lift the debris off my body. But I am not sure if I believe that I have that power."
A small smile crossed Rey's lips.
"Sit with me."
Rey sat, and the crimson armoured girl sat in front of her.
"You said your designation was FN-2509, would you like me to call you something else?"
"Yes, but I know no other names, other than yours and my former superior officers."
"Would you like me to suggest one?"
"Please."
Rey thought for a moment. The first letters of the numbers were a good place to start, two, five, zero which could also be an o, and nine.
"Well the letters t, f, o, and n come to mind. There was an old scavenger women on my planet that was kind to me as a young child who called herself Tiffony. What do you think of that name, the spelling of it you can decide on your own."
"I like that very much. I would like to incorporate the FN as well, I was thinking Fen?"
Rey held out her hand.
"It's nice to meet you Tiffony Fen."
"It's nice to meet you as well Rey Thaney, but didn't the Supreme Leader address you as Kira Kenobi?"
Rey sighed, it was time to start her lesson. The lesson Luke had taught her only days prior.
"That is a long story, one I do not yet know enough to tell, but you say you do not believe yourself to hold anything special within you, no matter what you are wrong. I want you to close your eyes and breath. I want you to hear your breath and mine, can you do that?"
"Yes."
"Now, reach out with your feelings, can you hear Ben's breath?"
"Yes! How can I do that?"
"The living force connects every living thing, everything has it, but some have the ability to manipulate it. Can you sense anything else?"
"I can sense his sadness, he is guilty, and in mourning. He is also nervous-"
"Wait, are you sensing his feelings?"
"I think so, they are projecting really strong. He is unsure of himself and his own feelings, he is afraid of-"
"Maybe not dip into people's heads just yet, is there anything else you can feel. Just breathe."
"I sense three bright lights, they are singing songs, songs I don't understand. One is by your side, and two are in different compartments in this shuttle. There is one more thing, one more person breathing."
"There is no one else on board?"
"There is about to be."
Ben had exited the cockpit.
"One of my Knights are coming aboard. Rey, that panel, lift it."
Rey removed a floor panel in front of her, revealing a pressurized hatch. The ship suddenly lurched, the feeling of another ship connecting with the shuttle. After a minute the hatch opened, and a man climbed out. He was maybe five years older than Ben, and although he seemed human, there was some potentially unhuman traits about him. His recently shaved hair was green, despite his eyebrows and eyelashes being blonde, and the tips of his slightly pointed ears also had green hues.
Ben offered him a hand, the Knight took it, and Ben lifted him out.
"It's good to see you Spector, I'm grateful that you are safe."
"It wasn't easy to escape that ship, but it's good to see you again old friend, even better to hear that we are leaving the absolute darkness behind, it was changing you into something none of us could recognize."
Ben closed the hatch, and than pressed a few buttons which caused a sound that could only be Spector's ship detaching. Ben than put the panel back and stood next to Spector.
"Introductions are in order. This is Spector Ren, and this is Rey and-"
"Tiffony, Tiffony Fen."
"It nice to meet you ladies, but if you don't mind, I do not feel like socializing right now. Kylo, do mind if I take the pilot seat."
"Go ahead, coordinates are already punched in, just go to light speed."
"Do you mind if I join you Spector, I have never seen hyperspace before. I won't say a word."
Spector simply responded with one word.
"Ok."
Soon the two were in the cockpit, and the door closed. Moments later Rey could feel the rustle that ment they had entered hyperspace. This was the first time they had been truly alone together since her hut, and neither knew exactly how they felt about that.
"I have something that is rightfully yours."
Ben walked behind where she sat, Rey turned to see that he was opening multiple compartments, she rose and stood beside him. The first thing he revealed to her was her staff, her trusted weapon that had enabled her to survive Jakku's harsh population and fauna.
"I am grateful that you had the foresight to keep this safe."
"That wasn't all that was in your pod, I'm not exactly sure what these are."
For a moment Rey believed one of the island's porgs had somehow stowed away but than she remembered one of the first things she had done when she arrived on Ahch-To.
"The original Jedi Texts."
"Unbelievable, you really did go to the first jedi temple. But I'm not sure how useful those books will be with the path we're on."
"Not necessarily. From what Luke told me about the temple, and from what I learned about it myself, is that the original Jedi practiced balancing themselves and the force around them, they did not just use the light. They recognized that both are needed for balance in nature and the cosmos. I think the Sith and Jedi the galaxy knew derived from this unified source, the island and these texts could teach us exactly what we need to restore the balance once and for all."
"This will take a great deal of time, and it will not be easy, that is why you will need this."
The final drawer revealed a lightsaber with an interesting shape, it's handle was made up of several black cylindrical grooves. The colour scheme was of a silvery metal, black, and a small golden component near where the blade ignites. What Rey noticed most of all however was, although she could hear the crystal inside, it did not sing to her like Luke's did.
"Who's was this?"
"This lightsaber belonged to your grandfather, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Even before I left Luke's temple I searched for force artifacts. This I can say sadly that I did not obtain peacefully, but the Tehar raid seemed necessary at the time, and something good did come out of it. When I picked up this blade for the first time it showed me a vision of you. Now I return it to you."
Rey did not need to think about this offer for long, the blade did not resonate with her, and she was not ready to accept a blade that had cost people there lives to obtain.
"The gesture is appreciated, but Luke's lightsaber calls to my, touching it awoke the force inside me with a vision. I would rather use the remains of it to construct my own."
At hearing that she would not be taking the blade, Ben seemed relieved.
"You want it?"
"It's not exactly that I want it, it's more along the line that I do not wish to give it away. My cross-guarded lightsaber's bleeding kyber crystal never resonated with me, I had come across it during my Knights first crusade for force artifacts, and used it to power my newly constructed lightsaber. But even from Tehar's atmosphere I could sense Kenobi's crystal speaking to me, and when I picked it up I too had that vision of you."
A small amount of red emerged from both there faces.
"I think I am going to use the parts of Luke's saber and incorporate them with my staff to convert it into a double bladed weapon. I've already mastered the symmetrical fighting style, and it would be easier to continue using it."
"Good. I am going to use Kenobi's blade to repair my own."
Using the force, Ben disassembled the broken pieces of his blade, as well as all of Kenobi's. Rey watched so she could repeat the process. As she watched him work, a question entered her mind, and despite not wishing to disturb him, she felt compelled to ask.
"Does 'Kylo' have any significant meaning to you?"
"Yes."
His eyes remained closed, still focusing on his weapon.
"What does it mean?"
"It is the ancient Alderaanian word for 'Prince.' Since the planet does not exist anymore my mother never became Queen, and I am a prince of only a thousand people who had been off world at the time, and there descendants. When I first took the name, like all the rest of my Knights, it represented a part of who I am, but now it represents darkness."
"That may be, but I think if you still plan on leading the Knights you should still use that name, you can't run away from your darkness, you just have to accept it and try and be better."
There were small tactical windows at the base of the blast door, too small to fit anyone through if they were broken, just big enough to see what was happening outside, and what was happening was scaring Leia. Several enormous transport ships had landed and were disembarking over a thousand soldier. But what really scared her was what had just been dropped off, a Superlaser Siege Cannon, a smaller version of the Death Star's Mk I Superlaser which would act as a battering ram to the mine's blast door.
Worried, Leia let out an anxious sigh than walked over to Connix who was one of the crew members working the communication equipment.
"Status report."
"Not good, only one squadron has reported in, and its with bad news, Kazuda Xiono and the entirety of team Colossus has had there cover blown, and on a separate note are currently lost in space with a malfunctioning navigational computer and hyperdrive."
Poe spoke up.
"The whole operation is practically run by kids, so they are lucky to be alive right now instead of ending up like the Hosnian System."
"We can't give up hope yet Captain."
Not to far away, Phasma had pulled Finn aside.
"Finn is a nice name for you, did you come up with it?"
"No, Poe did."
"That must make him quite special to you."
Finn simply smiled.
"Yah, he really is. This isn't why you pulled me over here though, is it?"
"It's not, I just fear that my time maybe short, and I wanted to know you are happy."
"Are you sick?"
"No, but there is going to be a fight, and every stormtrooper is going to be aiming at me. The odds are not that great."
"I'm sure Threepio would say there like a million to one."
"So because of that I need to know everything is in order. There is something I need to tell you, and something I need to ask."
"What?"
"When General Brendol Hux first brought me to the Supremacy, he gave me a simple job to preform while I got caught up on First Order training. The job was to observe all the newborns and recent infant recruits, and euthanize the small ones or ones with any mental or physical defects."
"That's horrible."
"I know that now, but I grew up on a planet where if a single clan member was weak or sick we could all die, and because of the radiation most children died before coming to term so I was used to dead infants. I only had this job for a week when you were born."
"I think I see where you are going with this, growing up Captain Cardinal once told me I was so scrawny that I was lucky you let me live, I spent two years bulking up. Why did you save me."
"I almost didn't, you were healthy enough, you had no mental delays or respiratory issues, but you were born a month early, and therefor small and incredibly underweight. I had the needle in my hand, and was about to inject the dose when you opened your eyes for the first time, and when I looked into them I saw something-"
"Like a dream?"
"I wasn't sure at the time but now I believe it was a precognitive vision. I saw a village in flames, and all the townspeople rounded up and surrounded by trooper, the rebels separate from the civilians. I than gave the order for them all to be executed, every trooper except one fired, killing everyone. I immediately ask the trooper why he didn't fire and he responds with not knowing why. I shoot him dead. I did not want to be that chromium wearing Captain that I saw I would become, but I couldn't just walk away either."
"And you did become that soldier, you ordered everyone killed."
"I'm not a good person Finn, small improvements, and painfully setting up the First Order's demise was the only good I could do. I did not euthanize you, right before General Hux's death I made him right a contract that I would rise in rank, lead some ground assaults, and take over training soldiers from age fifteen to twenty five, as well as keeping my original job of inspecting the newborns. I did all of this for you, not for me."
"You spent twenty five years of your life to insure that I would not die in Tuanul?"
"And I built you an army inside of there army for you to confront them with. Finn, you are the future of freedom of the galaxy."
Finn had to let this sink in. He thought he defied the First Order, making him special, but instead he was programmed from birth to defect. He now knew that there were others like him, but it was only because Phasma had played god with her troopers. But what Finn thought about the most was without Phasma's actions he would be dead twice over, or even if he wasn't killed at birth he would still be executing the First Order's orders.
Phasma clearly saw Finn's confliction. She changed the subject.
"Your destiny and decisions are your own, whatever you decide I will be happy for you, but there is something I must ask of you."
"What is it?"
Phasma opened a larger compartment that was attached to her belt and pulled out a small mask made out of organic materials such as wood, small pebbles, dried sea plants, and feathers.
"My people made masks for themselves when they had proven themselves to be a warrior, children do not have masks. My brother and I weren't raised by our people, and I learned that he planned to break there tradition. He had a daughter, the first child in our clan to live to the age of five years, she was dear to us all, I found this mask on my brother after I... after he was killed. I believe he was going to give it to her despite her age. Frey is my niece's name, and she was recruited alongside of me. Fifteen years ago, when she herself was fifteen, I faked her death and managed to smuggle her on a drop ship, where after myself and my troops were deployed she escaped. I don't know if she lived or died. I want you to try and find her, and if she is alive I want you too give this too her, and remind her of how much the Scyre, and how much her father loved her."
Finn took the mask and held it in his hands.
"What planet did you drop her off on, and if she was with the First Order for ten years she might not remember her actual name."
"Her designation was UV-8855, and her fellow cadets called her Warcry. The planet was Castilon in the Tashtor sector, but I specifically left her on the mobile supertanker fuel depot which has since left the planet, and last I heard it was orbiting Nordis Prime."
"You left her all alone on a planet being invaded by your trooper, do you think she wants any of this contact from you?"
Phasma remained stoic as always, but looking up Finn could see some sadness, and perhaps guilt in her cold blue eyes.
"I-"
The entire mine shock, it shock so violently that along with other small crystalline debris, a whole stalactite fell to the ground. Finn nearly fell, and looking around he could see that several crew members weren't as lucky. The shaking did not stop, and a great amount of heat was now coming off of the blast door. Leia managed to grab a com, and set it to transmit to everyone.
"Everyone move away from the door, and stay to the sides of the walls, than I want every non-combatant Resistance member to follow me to the back exit, than all the soldiers."
Everyone immediately did as she said, the more technical or tactical members of the Resistance ran after the General, and Finn started to head off to find Poe when he realized Phasma, although staying along the wall, was heading towards the blast door instead of away from it.
"Phasma?"
"Someone needs to hold them off, kill as many as possible so that your men have a chance at defeating them, and escaping."
"Phasma-"
She turned her head as she strapped four blasters to her hip, and charged the two she held.
"You will be remembered as a hero."
She nodded, and Finn than went after Poe. The superlaser was melting through the blast door quickly, and it wouldn't be long until the hole it forms would cool enough for the stormtroopers to enter the mine base.
Leia lead them to the dead end. She knew it was there, but from the now rising panic among her crew she wished she had told them before now. As horrible as it was her plan was to sacrifice her soldiers to by time until someone, anyone came to there rescue, but deep down she knew no one was coming, and that she just pinned the defenceless portion of her Resistance between the unmovable rocks and there deaths. The only good news was that Rosita Thorn was still unconscious and tied up, the two guards securing her were the best in Leia's army, and from here she could watch her every move.
Suddenly a high frequency yelp, and than a lot of surprised noises coming from different crew members closer, and closer to the boulders where Leia stood. Suddenly a medium sized creature emerged from the crowd, it walked on four paws, it had a long tail, was quite thin and agile, had yellow eyes and very pointy ears. In fact every inch of it was pointy because at least it's fur, but quite possibly it's entire body, was made of crystal. It's fur was made up of thin crystals that were translucent with a silvery hue.
"Hello there, how did you get trapped with us?"
The crystal creature calmly walked past Leia, jumped on one of the boulders, flattened its ears and fur to the rest of it's body, and than disappeared among the boulders. One of the crewmen pointed and shouted.
"It escaped!"
Indeed it had, and this filled Leia with hope and determination. She lifted one hand from her cane and concentrated, she was out of practice, but knew that the size of an object did not matter when trying to lift it with the force. Slowly the biggest boulder rose, and moved away from the others, and towards herself and her Resistance, finally she put it down.
The whole cavern finally stopped shaking, but that was not a good sign, they were running out of time. Despite all this Connix cheered the former princess on.
"You can do it Leia!"
Leia wasn't sure if she could though, she had the power, but she was still physically weakened by her self-rescue in space. She handed the cane to Connix, and with both hands outstretched tried to move as many as she could before she collapsed. First the smaller ones jamming all the others in, this caused her to feel faint. Next she pulled away medium ones from the top, this caused her vision to be hazy, but she didn't need to see to use the force. Finally with the last of her strength she cast aside several large boulders, causing her to fall. Thankfully a strong crew member caught her, but even with hazy vision Leia could see a big problem.
"There are still to many-"
In the distance everyone could hear faint blaster fire.
Leia looked back up to see the bright light of a setting sun. The boulders were being effortlessly lifted away, revealing a figure dressed all in grey. With her slowly returning vision, Leia wasn't sure if she trusted her eyes. Luke picked up her cane and reached out a hand to help her, which she took.
"Luke?"
"I'm here."
He pulled her into a hug, one both twins sorely needed. But than Leia slamming the end of her cane into Luke's foot.
"You Nerf Herding fool! You abandoned the galaxy for over a decade just so you can show up last minute to save the day!"
"I almost didn't come, it was Rey who convinced me."
Leia could see that he arrived in a small shuttle that could at most could hold fifteen people.
"Your help is desperately needed, if only you weren't the only one to come to our aid."
"Who said he was?"
Stepping away from Luke, and taking a few steps through the new entrance, Leia was in shock to see that multiple ships had landed, most of which with high crew capacity, and the man who had spoke now stepped forward.
"Lando!"
"Your majesty."
Before she could indulge in anymore of this reunion Leia turned to Connix.
"Run back and tell the troops to strategically retreat so that we may all evacuate, and get Dameron over here immediately."
"Yes General!"
Leia now had the chance to take in what was happening. Looking to the sky Leia could see several Calrissian flyers, three T-70 X-Wings, an old T-65B X-Wing, and surprisingly the VCX-100 light freighter known as the Ghost, all circling the airspace above the ravine the mine led out too. On the ground there were ten ships, a modified Sheathipede-class transport shuttle, six Tibanna transporters, a modified sienar X-C SSSDS 11-A shuttle, an ARC-170 starfighter and-
"Chewie! You made it you big fur ball. How is Han's ship."
Chewbacca gave a little growl, but it was Lando how truly responded.
"She's fine, I just wish I was flying it under better circumstances."
Lando was clearly referring to Han, but Leia knew that there should be no room for him to fly it.
"Where's Rey?"
Luke did not hide from the truth, not this time.
"She went after Ben, she believed she could turn him, and I was too weak to stop her."
"Perhaps, but you were strong enough to come here, and do what is right. And we really needed you, we needed all of you."
Chewie seemed pleased by this, but for once Lando did not take this to heart, instead he seemed quite sad.
"It greatly troubled me to hear what happened to Han. Ben, he was like the son I never had."
Leia took a deep sigh.
"There will be a time for proper mourning later. For right now Lando, I want you to help with evacuations."
He nodded and started directing crew members towards the Falcon. Leia was pleased to see everyone boarding ships, and even more pleased to see who they belonged too. The Sienar X-C SSSDS 11-A's pilot seemed to be a familiar light brown male Twi'lek in his late sixties, but when Suu Leh-Lawquane walked over to him and he hugged her, Leia recognized him as Head Mechanic Jek Lawquane of the Saleucami branch of the rebellion, she was surprised she didn't put the daughter to the father. The ARC-170 star fighter revealed itself to piloted by Norra Susser, looking up Leia could see her husband and son flying over head, Wedge and Snap. Two blonde furry humanoids were helping Resistance members onto the Sheathipede-class transport, also known as the Phantom ll, she thought they looked like more humanoid Lasats, and from remembering the original Ghost crew they probably were, she wondered if these two used to be friends with Jacen...
Looking to the sky Leia could see the Ghost, most likely piloted by Captain Orrelios or Kallus, patrolling with Wedge's T-65B X-Wing, and the three T-70 X-Wings that most likely belonged to Snap, Kun, and Pava. Also slowly descending from farther above was a First Order AAL-1971/9.1 Troop Transport, despite the threat none of the ships were firing on it, so Leia could only hope that ship was good news.
Luke sat down on a nearby boulder, and gestured her to sit with him. Still weak she gladly welcomed a moment of rest.
"I'm sorry. About Han, if I had been there."
"Luke, you used to always look to the future, but now you are only looking at the past. You can't change it, nobody can, we can only have hope for a brighter future."
"I thought I was finally the wise one."
Leia only chuckled, but after both Luke and Lando mentioning Han, great sadness had resurfaced, and it showed. Luke took Leia's hands in his, she could feel something else between them.
"He might not be with us now Leia, but no one is ever truly gone."
Luke stood and Leia cupped her hands, concealing from herself the item Luke had left. Luke gently kissed her head, and Leia clued in on what was happening.
"You are going to fight, aren't you?"
"They are cramming every soldier that they can into this mine, I'm going to help buy you time to escape."
He turned to head back through the tunnel, but Leia called out to him.
"Luke. May the force be with you."
"And May it be with you, always."
As he disappeared into the base Leia finally opened her hands, revealing the chained together golden sabacc dice Han had used to win his prized ship. Tears began to fall.
Despite not all being professionally trained, Phasma thought that the Resistance soldiers fought valiantly. However dozens had been killed, and almost the entirety of the remaining soldiers had evacuated, leaving Phasma alone to hold an entire army off, and it was taking its toll. Dozens of laser blasts had already hit her armour, she was thankful she picked the deflective, and nearly indestructible chromium as her armour material, but there were gaps and she wore no helmet, making it only a matter of time before a shot found its target.
Three of her blasters had either ran out of ammunition, or had malfunctioned, but she just pulled another one from her belt and kept firing. So far over a hundred stormtroopers lay dead among the thousand others by her hands alone. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, she could only hope it would-
ZEIW
A laser blast managed to hit her between her breast plate and right shoulder plate, immediately, possibly fatally rendering her right arm inoperable. It also put her in shock, she desperately tried to fight it, but all her mind would let her focus on was her injury. She knew this was it, she knew it would take only a second for another shot to blow her head clean off. She waited.
BJWZOO
POW
POW
Not dead Phasma forced herself to focus. Now standing between her, and the First Order was an older man wielding a blade not unlike Kylo Ren's, but green.
"Skywalker?"
"Go! If you leave now you will catch a shuttle!"
Finally able to think clearly again Phasma did not leave, instead she raised her good arm, and started firing again.
"I fought for the First Order for too long, now at least I can kill some of the monsters I helped create. It is an honour to fight by your side Jedi."
Luke felt uneasy about a soldier sacrificing herself in his name, but he understood the need to redeem oneself. Besides, from where he fought there was little he could do to get her to safety.
His lightsaber deflected all bolts that came towards him, but only some of them hit a Stormtrooper. The tall warrior in chromium armour was truly the one who was keeping there ranks from coming any closer, but from her injured arm, and the beads of sweat pouring from her face, he wasn't sure how long she would survive. On his own he wasn't sure how long he would survive either.
From the center of there ranks a tall young man emerged, he wore all black, which signified his rank. He carried in front of him a purple energy shield as tall as he was with one hand, and in the other a blaster with precise aiming enhancements. He poked the weapon through his shield, aimed, steadied his hands, and pulled the trigger.
A single bolt was fired, Luke readied himself in a defensive stance, but he realized too late that the bolt wasn't aimed at him. He quickly turned to see the shocked, and dimming face on the soldier, smoke coming from between her breast and chest plates. Before she could even hit the ground a trooper shot a grappling gun at her and it managed to entangle her right arm. They pulled her into there ranks so quickly Luke could barely see her try and desperately pull at her entangled arm before disappearing into the wall of white. Looking at the slowly closing in stormtroopers, Luke no longer could see the cowardly man anymore, not even the light of his shield. All Luke could do now was fight to save his sister, the Resistance, and to avenge the women he fought beside.
The AAL-1971/9.1 Troop Transporter finally landed, and Leia was happy to see when it opened that it contained her missing spy, and not a platoon of First Order Stormtroopers. Two other women stood in the opening of the ship, one was middle aged with greying black hair, and the other was about Finn's age and was clearly the other's daughter, the only difference was her skin was slightly darker than her mother's. Vi Moradi came directly to Leia, and held out her hand.
"It's good to see you General Leia."
Leia took the woman's hand and shook it.
"It's good to see that you are alive Starling."
Her short curly hair was still bleached blonde, clearly she had lost her favourite black and blue wig sometime in the last two weeks. Her eyes were now amber which complimented her golden brown skin, Leia couldn't tell if she was seeing the spies true eyes for the first time, or if this was just another one of her wide variety of colourful contacts.
"Is it to late to report that there are First Order ships in the area?"
"Sadly yes, but you are here now, and I assume you can help."
"Yes actually. You remember my mission to Parnassos?-"
Gun fire came from over head. Looking up Leia could see that there ships were now in a dog fight with a handful of First Order TIEs. If they didn't leave soon they would be overwhelmed from ground and air. Thankful almost everyone was boarded. Out of nowhere BB-8 came rolling out of the mine, Poe and Finn were right behind him, they were the last of the Resistance in there. The last besides Luke.
"I'll make this brief. The planet is almost completely uninhabitable, half of it now being a barren radioactive dessert. In the centre of that dessert however is an underground shielded mining facility, more armoured than this one even, it has enough supplies to feed an army for almost a decade, and the miners just left behind gallons of already refined fuel. There is a fully stocked infirmary run by droids, and a lowering platform that leads into an area that I believe could hold a few ships. Phasma at some point whipped it from the First Order's databanks, they don't know it exists. Siv and Torbi have been living there for over twenty five years, and they are perfectly-"
Poe spoke up.
"Sorry, who?"
Vi pointed at the open ship which was now filling up like all the others.
"The two women over there in white uniforms, they are the sole survivors of the radioactive portion of the planet. I promised them I'd drop them off on a world where they can start a new life."
Leia spoke next.
"Starling, get in your ship and tell everyone to take off, and to head to those coordinates under my orders. Only the Falcon will stay grounded until we are sure everyone is evacuated."
"Yes Ma'am!"
Vi ran off towards her stolen ship. BB-8 made a couple high pitched beeps that even Leia could tell was a concerned question. Poe's face went dark, and responded to the droids inquiry.
"What guys?"
BB-8 rolled back into the mine, Leia, Poe, and Finn followed. There were some of the large boulders that Leia had cast aside, and hidden between them in the dark were two large male bodies, both with there throats cut. They were Thorn's guards. Leia had a soft gasp.
Through the force Luke could sense that he was surrounded by darkness, and yet looking around only a wall of white stood in front of him. He was deflecting all blasts fired at him, and managed to force push many back, but twice as many were advancing at an alarming rate. His blade moved so fast that to the naked eye it looked like a circle of green light was just emanating from his hands, but Luke knew he was slowing down. He needed to stall the First Order for as long as he could, only one idea came to mind.
"Where is the cowardice boy who hides behind a body shield while all his men die?!"
To Luke's surprise the troops stopped firing, and the man emerged once more. He did not carry the shield, or the blaster, instead he wielded what appeared to be a quicksilver baton contained in some form of field, it was about the length of his forearm.
"Who are you, you worthless scum?"
Hux was annoyed by the legendary Luke Skywalker not knowing who he was, but he remained stoic.
"I am the Supreme Leader of the First Order, Emperor of the-"
"You are shorter than I was told Snoke, but they were spot on for the ugliness."
Heat rose to Hux's cheeks, deep down he knew that the Jedi was toying with him like the pilot Dameron had, but he couldn't resist yelling at him.
"Snoke is dead you miserable old man, I am the new Supreme Leader, I am Emperor Armitage Hux, I am your d-"
"Wrong!"
"I'm sorry?"
"The First Order may have blown up the Republic, but many councilmen survived on there homeworlds, which you, nor anybody else has any claim to, but themselves. So what you meant was you are a young spoiled brat who inherited your job, and havn't worked a day in your life."
Somewhere in the crowd a trooper snickered, Hux made a mental note to later track him down and torture them until there heart stopped. Hux squeezed his baton and it grew to be a little more than half his height, and the ends sharped to a point that could pierce Zillo Beast scales. He than charged at the Jedi.
Hux was more proficient with a blaster, but ever since he met Kylo Ren he knew that he needed to know how to defend himself from a lightsaber wielding opponent. He jabbed at Luke, he missed, but immediately changed his position to prevent Luke from preforming a counter strike.
Luke knew if he could strike Hux down, although not the Jedi way, might cause the First Order to give up and retreat, or it could cause them to all simultaneously open fire, but Luke had little choice. He striked at Hux's baton causing a large amount of sparks to fly, but no damage. He than tried to downward strike him, but this left him open and Hux nearly impaled him. Hux swept at Luke's feet, but he simply jumped over it.
Luke tried to use his lightsaber to push Hux's weapon away, and this caused Hux to become off balanced. Using this to his advantage, Luke stabbed at Hux, the self proclaimed Emperor dodged, but Luke managed to graze part of his right arm.
"Ahg!"
Hux dropped his weapon, but before Luke could finish him off, Hux managed to stumble out of stabbing distance. Luke took a step closer and raised his weapon to point at Hux's head.
"You are defeated, surrender. I will take no pleasure from killing you, but I won't hesitate to do so if you don't accept my mercy."
Luke saw before he felt it, a bright red bolt of plasma flew out of his chest, he had been shot through the back. Before he fell, all he could see was Hux straighten his posture and smirk.
"Thank you Flower."
Leia felt Luke's pain, she knew what had happened.
"No!"
She, C-3P0, Finn, and Poe had been waiting at the edge of the mine's exit in hope that Luke would emerge, all the other ships had taken off, leaving only the X-Wings and the Falcon. Despite her physical condition Leia tried to run to her brother, to try and save him, but Poe grabbed tightly onto her arm.
"I'm sorry General, but I can't let you go in there, we waited as long as we could but we must go now."
"Luke, he-"
"Princess, Master Luke would want you to survive, to continue to lead the Resistance. Please don't go, your chance of not being captured is 60 to 1, and your chance of surviving are 3972 to 1."
Leia stopped fighting, and let Poe lead her out of the mine, but she was still focused on Luke. She didn't hear Poe order the protocol droid to go ahead and tell Chewie to prepare for take off, all she could feel was Luke's pain and the life draining out of him. She didn't even hear the sniper shot, she only felt it's blast rip through her shoulder as she, Poe, and Finn exited the mine.
"Leia, Oh my lord! Finn!"
Finn immediately whipped out his blaster, and with a single shot each he took out the half a dozen troopers that were positioned on top of the ravine above them, than quickly turned to Poe who had caught the wounded princess. Desperately Poe cried out.
"Help me!"
Finn helped Poe lift Leia, who was now in shock, and helped quickly carry her onto the Falcon. Finn yelled into the Falcon in hopes that Lando or Chewie would hear.
"Take off! Take off now! And is anyone here a medic?!"
C-3P0, along with three dozen Resistance members crowded the men as they lay Leia down on the med-bed.
"Princess Leia, oh dear."
As Leia had felt his pain, Luke now felt hers. As he lay on his stomach, he used his arms to pushed himself high enough to see one last time. His shooter now made herself known, walking towards Supreme Leader Hux. She wore a simple yellowish brown Resistance mechanic's outfit, her skin was only slightly darker than his own, and she had an interesting hairstyle that made her shiny hair look like a black wave. Her face was what was of interest, although her expression was maniacal, her features suggested a normally kind face, and although she did not appear to regret her deed, her black eyes were filled with regretted decisions. Luke realized that this woman was as much of a victim as he now was.
The woman put her arms around Hux's neck playfully, and kissed him lovingly on cheek.
"It's been so long Army, you didn't have to bring the entire First Order and fight a Jedi just for me."
"I see now that I'd do anything for you my Flower, but right now we have to hurry if we are going to kill the Resistance."
Everyone rushed past Luke, they knew his injury was fatal, and therefore left him so that his own body could torture him until he died. Knowing the same thing Luke considered ending his pain right now with his own lightsaber, but a blue glowing light stopped him.
"Father?"
"Let go Luke, it is your time to join us."
He could see his father as he last saw him alive and as a ghost on Endor, still in the Vader suit but his face was free of all the scars and damage. Standing beside him was all the Jedi he'd ever known, Obi-Wan, Yoda, Ahsoka, and all the students and teachers who didn't make it in the fire, including her.
"Hedala-"
She hadn't aged a day since the fire, her dark skin glistened from her ghostly blue hues.
"We are here Luke, it's time for you to let go."
"Let go."
"Let go Luke."
"Let go you must."
Finally his father spoke once more.
"Let go, and be at peace."
Luke did as they said, and shed his mortal self, becoming apart of the cosmic light. All that was left behind was his lightsaber and his robes.
The Falcon had taken off, but TIEs were still on there tail as they rose through the atmosphere. There were no medics on board, the most qualified person was crew member who had studied human biology growing up, and had taken military first aid like every other soldier. She examined her but than turned to Poe and shock her head, she than stepped back. Leia tried to speak, but her voice could only manage a whisper.
"Poe, she's gone-"
Barely able to hear her Poe shouted at everyone.
"Out, give me some room, just go."
Everyone but C-3P0 left the room, Poe knelt next to where Leia was laying so he could hear her better.
"I am promoting you to General."
"No, no, you are going to be fine, and you said it yourself that I am a reckless leader. The Resistance needs you."
"No, the Resistance needs you Poe. You followed your gut to catch the spy, you flew us to safety, and you spoke on behalf of Phasma who we would have surely killed. You have shown to have great judgement in people."
Leia held out her hand and Poe took it, she than placed the famed golden dice of Han Solo in his hands.
"These belonged to the best pilot in the galaxy, and the most selfless man I've ever met. That man is now you."
Leia began to wheeze as she spoke, and Poe could tell she was using the very last of her strength to tell him these things.
"You have been like a second son to me Poe, I have watched you come from hardship and pain, yet you still grew up to be a great man. The Resistance needs you. You have made me so proud, finish my dream, bring peace-"
Leia stopped squeezing his hand. And before Poe's very eyes she faded from existence, leaving behind only her gown. A small amount of tears started to stain Poe's cheeks, C-3P0 broke the never ending silence.
"She is gone."
Poe called everybody, including Chewie and Lando into the main room, all ships had successfully entered hyperspace and were heading for Parnassos, and Poe had an open com to them all. Some crew members were crying, some looked like they wanted to fight, and some just looked broken and hopeless. Everyone was looking at him expectantly, and he didn't know were to start, but he than looked at all the faces he had fought beside, the same faces that had survived until now fighting for what was right. He looked at Finn who stood close by, and gave a half hearted smile to Poe in support. Poe took a deep breath.
"Leia is dead, and so is so many others who were apart of the cause, or were innocent bystanders. Her final act was to make me the General, leaving a great responsibility on my shoulders, but I don't plan on carrying it alone. As we have, and will continue fighting for the galaxies freedom you all have supported me, and I know that together we can survive and rise from the ashes. To rephrase what a wise leader once said, we the Resistance, are the spark that will light the fire, that'll burn the First Order down! We will be able to do this if we fight together!"
When Rey, Kylo, Spector, and Tiffony arrive on the sacred island on Ahch-To, all the other Knights were waiting. The Caretakers were overjoyed that there were so many force sensitive people that they were throwing an even grander party than the one Rey had attended. The Knights were all waiting around a large bonfire.
Kylo and Spector departed the shuttle immediately, Spector now carrying his lightsaber that Kylo had been storing for him, but just as Rey was starting to descend the ramp she noticed Tiffony hanging behind. She called out to the girl.
"Are you coming Fen?"
The girl looked lost, and confused, but also now determined.
"Rey, I am forever in your debt for showing me the truth of the horrors I was calling home, and for helping me learn more about who I am. Go on without me."
Rey could sense her intentions, she hoped Kylo would forgive her, but she simply nodded and left the ship. Just as she reached Kylo's side his ship began to rise, the ramp rose and sealed, and before anyone could do anything the shuttle was high in the night sky. Kylo turned to Rey for answers and Gave him one.
"Her path wasn't ours, and unlike those that came before us, I didn't want to force her into a destiny that wasn't meant for her."
Kylo simply smiled at her, and than turned to address the Knights. The six of them had removed there dark masks revealing mostly human males around Kylo's age, although there was one female Pantoran. They all awaited patiently.
"First I need to apologize, I forced you all to channel solely the darkside against your wills, and yet I must ask you to follow me, and help restore true balance to the galaxy. Legend says that Force sensitives from across this system found there way to this island and formed the first ever counsel of jedi and of people of different species."
Kylo turned to Rey. She began where he left off.
"They built this temple where they practiced, and maintained both the darkness and the light. As there numbers grew they founded temples across the galaxy, and more force sensitives of all different species joined."
"As members of there species joined this new 'Jedi Order' there people began to interact more, and more until alliances, and relations between worlds began to develop into what would become the Old Republic. The Jedi then didn't know of what there exploration would cause, but we do. During the Imperial reign the Empire demolished, and culturally obliterated many planets, and the New Republic made the mistake of throwing there old culture back at these worlds, and forced planets to join in hopes of a unified galaxy. Although it's tragic, with the New Republic gone every planet has a chance to rebuild there own way, and if you join me we will make sure that no one interferes, including us, and that balance is restored world by world."
Kylo ignited his cross guard lightsaber that now was a dark purple, and raised it over the fire. Because some never completed there Jedi training most did not have a lightsaber, so the majority of the Knights just raised there weapons, some like Spector ignited and raised there's, leaving only Rey.
"You may pick a name that represents you, or you may keep the one you have, but now is the time to choose."
Rey thought about herself, and about how Ben choose his own name. In her mind she would always be Rey, but something deep within her whispered to her of what to choose. Rey ignited her long double-bladed lightsaber that's hue was that of a light violet, and placed one end over the fire.
"I am Kira Ren."
The Caretakers had managed to get everyone to enjoy themselves, the Knights were drinking, and socializing, and listening to the music, but all Rey and Kylo could feel was death.
"They are both gone."
"I sense it too Ben, but they are at peace."
"I feel her, she is one with the force, she will always be with me."
Rey knew that for the first time since he had leaned the truth about his lineage, that Kylo was at peace with himself, but Rey was not.
"You wish to go?"
"I will be a Grey Knight, and I will not stop until I know the galaxy is safe from shattering into darkness or blinding light, but there is something else I must do."
"Your father?"
"I still do not know his fate, and while I was training here I had a vision, and one of the things I saw was an old woman on a jungle planet who I felt connected to, maybe if I can find her she may know the rest of my story, she may be my Aunt or even my mother. I have to find her."
"Kira Rey, you were meant to explore the stars, do not think that I will stop you."
The song that had been played when he had appeared to her as a vision was playing once more, and Kylo stood and once again offered her his hand.
"Tomorrow you may be off to search the stars, but tonight you are here, with the Knights, and with me. Would you like to dance?"
All Rey could think was, 'Has it been that long?' But a soft smile crossed her face, she took his hand, and together they made there way to the fire where the Caretakers were playing their song.
New/Altered Characters: Don't read any if you're not finished the book.
As I promised at the beginning any knew characters or characters with histories I have greatly changed from cannon I will be posting here. Some of the stuff I wrote either will better explain characters actions, or it will spoil big details not in the book so read at your own risk. They might also be taken down or altered if I ever do a "Rise of Skywalker" because they might spoil a reveal or are just no longer accurate to my version of events. Thank you everyone who has read through the entire story, it has meant a lot.
Heritage: Great-grandfather was Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn of Coruscant who accidentally had a child with Tatoonine Slave Shmi Skywalker. The child had to be given away at age four and was sold to Harra the Hutt on Vodran the child grew up in slavery and worked hard, and at age 24 had a child. That child was also a slave on Vodran, but was liberated by the First Order and was brought up as a solider, they were extremely strong and hard working and there DNA was selected with another to produce a child, that child was FN-2509.
Given Name: FN-2509
Chosen Name: Tiffony Fen
Affiliations:
-Elite Praetorian Guard of the First Order (formerly)
-Kira Rey
-Ben Solo (limited)
Weapon:
-Vibro-air blades
History: At the age of one day old Phasma did her rounds of choosing which children would be soldiers and which would be executed, when she saw her, she saw a vision just like she had seen in FN-2187 seven years earlier, so she secretly placed her in her special training program. She excelled in civilian protection not just to First Order's or Phasma's expectations, but also Supreme Leader Snoke's, he arranged for her to be given extra drills in obedience, combat, and mood/scenery assessment. These extra courses prevented Phasma from fully assessing her, she only had her for combat, she programmed what she could and trained her 3 times harder then even Snoke wanted her to be trained. After 4 and a half years she was granted the position of Elite Praetorian Guard at only halfway through her 16th year of life. She kept this position for 6 months until Rey had come to see Kylo Ren and was taken prisoner and sent to see Snoke. Everything was normal for FN-2509 until Rey screamed in pain, then everything became very confusing, her inner programming of free thinking and protect the innocent from Phasma activated and she was free from First Order brain washing. She stood still, not knowing what to do, she didn't raise her weapon when Snoke was threatening Rey, or when Rey wielded Ren's lightsaber but did raise her weapon when she thought Ren would kill Rey. But even when her master died she did not move with the others, only when Rey was about to be killed by one of her comrades, and Kylo couldn't save her, did she run up and slash her own partners head off. She was knocked out by the Raddus attack and pinned down by debris but was rescued by Rey and Ben, she realized that if she stayed it would be death and she felt a familial connection with Ben and a mentor bond with Rey. She helped Rey into a friends armour and they escape to Ben's drop ship. On the ship FN-2509 is confronted by Rey who can sense the force in side her and asks if she'd like the name Tiffony Fen, she excepts, and Rey gives her a brief explanation and lesson in the force. Jacen Syndulla comes aboard and Tiffony asks to join him in the cockpit, she does this to see hyperspace for the first time but also to learn the controls of the ship. They all land on Ahch-To and Rey notices that Tiffony was staying behind, she thanked Rey and when she left she quickly re-activated the ship and took off because she did not wish to join the Gray Knights or Ren and instead wanted to find out what she wanted to do in life. later she would realize that the original Jedi texts were on the ship.
Heritage: Unknown parantage but Phasma and her brother Keldo were part of a small and weak clan that resided directly around the Nautilus on the desolate planet Parnassos.
Given Name: Phasma
Chosen Name: Phasma
Affiliations:
-Unknown clan(formally)
-The Scyre Clan and Keldo (formally)
-First Order (believed in ideals but eventually betrayed)
-Supreme Leader/General Hux (Formally)
-Resistance(partly)
-Her special troops
-Frey (Warcry) (UV-8855)
- Finn Shot
History: Phasma and Keldo grew up having to defend the clan's territory from raiders from rival clans such as the Scyre and the Claw. One day Phasma orchestrated the deaths of her entire clan including her father and mother because they would rather die than join. Keldo was unaware of this and ended up having his leg gravely injured. They ended up joining the Scyre clan were they eventually became there leaders by the age of 18 and ruled together for 3 years although Keldo technically had a higher rank.
Everything changed, when Phasma observed a First Order starship escape pod crashing in the neighbouring Claw clan territory. Covertly leading her Scyre warriors over the border into Claw territory, Phasma was brought face to face with First Order General Brendol Hux, three Stormtroopers and a black protocol droid. Hux introduced himself as an officer for the First Order, who had been on a mission to recruit the strongest warriors in the galaxy to the First Order military when his ship had been shot down by a forgotten ancient Parnassos' automated defence system.
Seizing her opportunity to get off-world and really agreeing with Hux's promise to bring prosperity and peace to struggling planets like her own, Phasma stepped forward and unmasked herself, introducing herself and offering to help Hux find his crashed ship behind her brother's back.
She took her closest warriors and headed out with Hux and his two Stormtroopers. Along the way a couple warriors died along with a Stormtrooper. When they reached the ship the rest of the Scyre clan and Claw clan caught up to them to try and talk sense into Phasma and her group but eventually resorting to trying to kill them. In the fight Phasma's group killed just about everyone but almost all of them were killed as well. Phasma killed her brother. Hux was bitten by a Parnassos' beetle right before boarding the escape craft. Phasma took her niece Frey with her.
Once aboard Hux's star destroyer she was given her first assignment of checking new born babies to see if they're worthy of The First Order, she was unhappy with the thought of this job but the now sick General Hux promised and signed a contract saying that once she's fully trained in The First Order ways and understands the technology that she would take over training soldiers 15-25. Hux died a couple weeks later from the poison of the beetle leaving behind his four year old son.
After completing all training and teachings with flying colours Phasma started her first job with the intent to be promoted quickly. On one of her first inspection rounds of newborn infants that day she came to FN-2187. He did not appear strong enough so she was going to immunize him but she looked him in the eyes and had a vision, a vision of this child refusing to kill innocent lives and her exicuting him. This child was different. She saw for the first time the cruelty of who she worked for and wanted out.
She realized that if she tried to leave they'd kill her and nothing would be done, so starting with this baby she devised a secret special training program behind Supreme Leader Snoke's back. She would pick children that stood out, might not have looked the strongest or even opened their eyes yet but if they had a special smile or looked at her with fascinating she would arranged for those few special to go through extra training.
She decided that they'd do janitorial work on every major base so they'd know the layouts of all major First Order bases. Plenty of puzzle solving activities for strategy and free thinking. Multiple simulator programs on protecting the innocent for just that, protecting the innocent and a moral compass.
Once they would reached 15 they fell into her hands when she gets the training job where she would test the special ones and if they showed that they have taken to the special training she would first start programming them with overrides for the other First Order programming.
The overriding would only kick in when the trooper heard a real innocent person scream in terror or pain. The ones that weren't taking to the special training were released back to normal First Order training. She would personally train her soldiers in battle combat, she would trained them twice as hard.
After a month she was promoted to older soldier training but when they offered to take away her previous job she refused, she said she wanted to see them at the very start of there training and when they finish which was partially true so they let her keep both jobs. She trained every trooper 15 through 25.
She picked around 500 a year of the special babies, but rarely did she see "the different ones" as she thought of them, the ones like FN-2187, but she did see them sometimes.
Eight years past and she had risen in rank, but kept the same job, sometimes she went to battle on her soldiers first real battle but not much had changed.
On one of her patrols however she came across FN-2509 who had the same look in her eyes as FN-2187, and FN-2509 also gave her a vision of this young girl standing in the middle of the fight that would be Snoke's demise. So she secretly placed her in her special training program.
When her niece, Frey, turned 15 and fell into her hands Phasma knew that she had to get her out of the First Order. So she explained who she was to her niece because she wasn't sure if Frey would remember her. She told her of the horrors that the First Order was covering up and managed to convince Frey to leave.
They faked her death, making it appear as a training accident. Than Phasma kept her hidden in her quarters for weeks until Phasma's next battle. Phasma snuck her aboard the transport. When they landed on the Colossus everyone including Phasma deployed Phasma than Frey snuck out and headed away from all the stormtroopers with only a handful of rations, water rations, and the few credits Phasma had managed to come by.
Phasma knew things would start getting difficult for herself. Her first batch of special Stormtroopers just turned 25 and would be sent into real battle where there programming could start kicking in. She kept a close eye on FN-2187 knowing he was more special then the other special soldiers. He didn't just excel at his normal training but at hers as well. She had also developed a sort of motherly attachment to FN-2187.
She made sure that she was on FN's first battle. On Jakku she could see her overriding programming overcoming the First Order's programming. She covered up the fact that he never fired a single shot.
Her original plan was to bring her special soldiers together once more were ready and take down the First Order. But when it came to FN-2187 specifically she was informed that the Resistance pilot that been taken was critically important to the thriving of the Resistance.
So she approached FN soon after his transport had landed. She noticed his helmet was off, she understood that he was having some sort of panic attack, but she needed him to put his helmet back on or someone might notice and report him. She then told him that everything was ok and asked if he wanted to leave the First Order which he responded with yes.
She took him to her quarters and gave him the necessary details to get Commander Dameron and escape. Although she never directly did anything to improve his odds.
When Hux asked for her help figuring out why FN-2187 rebelled she did so as honestly as possible, not to raise suspicion. Her presence was soon after required on Star Killer base for its christening. She remained there because she had a well thought out guess that if FN-2187 had reached the Resistance that he might be apart of an attack on the base.
FN did indeed infiltrate the base. He knew not to blow her cover so he had Chewwbaca tackle her for any camera to see and "threatened" her to lower the bases shields. This is when she learned his new name Finn. He pretended to knock her out and dumped her in a garbage compactor. She stayed down for a few minutes, than made her way to an escape ship, arriving just as the planetary reaction had started.
She went straight to the nearest First Order base to prevent anyone from thinking she was abandoning. She was put back on the Supremacy which is where she trained her troops, but was also the ship that entered the long lasting space chase after the Resistance Raddus.
She was "guarding" a possible Resistance base when Hux was informed by Rosita Thorn that she was a traitor. The closest troopers near by fired at her, but all deflected off her chrome armour, none hitting in between her armour plates. She blasted her way to the closest ship and took off. Many TIEs shot at her and she quickly was taking damage. She barely made it to the planet Crait.
Still being heavily fired at her only chance was to crash land directly into there base. However the blaster doors were closing. She barely made it in, and the TIEs following her crashed into the door.
She took her helmet off and said she came in peace. She was still blasted at until Poe stopped them all and explained that she was a spy. She explained to Leia and Poe about her secret soldiers.
Phasma went to the Finn and explained everything. Soon the cavalry arrived, but so did the First Order, now being ruled by Supreme Leader Emperor Hux. She knew she could hold the ground forces off for a while so she volunteered to do just that.
Before Finn left her she told him that he should seek out the other special troopers, and to find Frey, to tell her of her fate and to give her her mask.
She than fights. She fights without her helmet. She buys the Resistance a few minutes, but soon a shot hit her rendering one of her arms unusable and the amount of troopers only increases. Jedi Master Luke Skywalker joins her with his green lightsaber, and saves her while she is in shock. She expresses her gratitude to fight side by side with a warrior greater than her.
Moments later she is shot in the stomach by Hux and grappled into the Stormtrooper hoard.
Although she appears to be dead, Hux does bark at his soldiers to revive her at all costs because he was not finished with her. Her final fate is unknown.
Skin tone: Caucasian with green hues, most apparent at ear tips, and fingers. Cheeks when blushing.
Hair: shaggy, naturally green, but bleached blonde with green roots.
Eye: two, blue.
Heritage: Grandson of freedom fighter Cham Syndulla, son of General/ace pilot Hera Syndulla of the Rebel Alliance and Caleb Dume/Kanan Jarrus Jedi Knight.
Given Name: Jacen Syndulla
Alias: Belac Cham, Spector Ren, Spector 7
Affiliations:
-Ghost crew (formerly)
-Ahsoka Tano (Master, formerly)
-Resistance of the New Republic (traitor to them for the Knights of Ren and spy)
-Suu Leh-Lawquane (limited)
-Grey Knights of Ren
-Ben Solo
History: Jacen was born sometime right before the Battle of Yavin and was raised by his mother and her crew till the age of 8, when his force sensitivity became apparent. Hera decided it would be best if he was raised in the ways of the Jedi like his father. He was sent to Luke's Jedi Temple to train. He trained for 15 years. He also studied pilot training and kept in touch with his mother and her stories about the Rebel Alliance. At age 11, old family friend and former Jedi Padawan Ahsoka Tano took Jacen as her Padawan. She trained him, and the other members of Luke's Temple, several lost Jedi techniques and lessons. She took Jacen on several missions across the galaxy. At age 20 Jacen passed Luke Skywalker's Jedi trials and became one of the few Jedi Knights in the galaxy. At 21 Ahsoka left for a personal secret mission, leaving Jacen behind not even telling him she was leaving, and than never returned, this left the young Knight scared, allowing for darkness to enter his mind.
At the age of 23, one night fellow student, and good friend Ben Solo went to the dark side and started recruiting his closest friends to join him and leave the Jedi, as they left a major lightning bolt struck the temple causing it to burn to the ground. They tried to save the students but were prevented from entering from the flames, this plunged most of the other students onto the dark path that would lead them to form the Knights of Ren. He became Spector Ren. He and the Knights of Ren trained in the dark side and travelled the Galaxy taking what they wanted until Supreme Leader Snoke of the First Order organized them. Ben, now Kylo, was plunged into an endless darkness and forced the other Knights, including Spector, to recite Sith prayers whenever they felt themselves being pulled to the light.
He was then sent undercover several times ending with him ordered to infiltrate the Resistance. He dyed his hair blonde and joined as a Electrician. He learned his mother died of grief not long after his supposed death. He gained the trust of the base but kept a distance from Leia because she had met him a few times as a child and she knew his mother, but Leia was also force sensitive and might be able to sense him. So he had to hide his force sensitivity. He kept his hair long enough to hide his ears and always covered his arm to hide the Knights of Ren cross-lightsaber tattoo. He had to keep his cover from being blown, but a couple months before the destruction of Starkiller base he entered a relationship with technician Suu Leh-Lawquane, she was a Lethan Twi'lek. After Starkiller base blew up there was no time to escape so he joined the escape ship. He kept his distance from Leia but kept his eye on the escape pods. He also did his Resistance job and told everyone to conserve power.
On one of his rounds with Suu he takes interest in who he knew to be one of the pod guards and First Order spy and assassin, he also talked with her acquaintances to lower suspicion. He sensed the force sensitivity in Finn and did not wish to tip him off. He later attends the uni-cultural pray group meeting which doubled as supporting those mourning. He prayed in Sith because he was feeling a tremendous pull to the light to remain with Suu, however this praying sent chills down the spines of force sensitives and non-force sensitives alike. He pulls Rose aside and calls her out for who she is and who he is, she doesn't know who he is but states she doesn't care what happens to him and would blow his cover if needed.
When the evacuation starts he tries to escape to the pods before they are drained to the escape transport shuttles. Minutes later he's opened and activated a pod when Finn tackles him. In shock he can't resist Finn lifting up his sleeve revealing the yellow cross-guarded lightsaber tattoo. Jacen reveals Rose's true purpose on the ship, than force pushes Finn off and launches the ship. He later joins up with Kylo after receiving the homing beacon. He takes over piloting and agrees to join the new path of the Gray Knights of Ren when they arrive at Ahch-To.
Heritage: Parents were impoverished minors of the Planet Hays Minor, a cold planet distant from its sun in the Otomok System. After her planet was polluted and destroyed by the First Order, Rose and her older sister Paige were smuggled out of Otomok as refugees by their parents but were captured and Rose was trained to be a First Order Spy.
Given Name: Rose Tico
Chosen Name: Rosita Thorn
Affiliations:
-First Order
-Supreme Leader/General Hux (To her own advantage and benefit.)
-Paige Tico (Limited)
-Resistance (formerly, traitor to them for the first order and spy)
History: Rose was born to poor miners on Hays Minor and two years younger to her sister Paige. Life was hard and everyone worked hard but the people of Hays Minor, including the Tico's, were happy. But when Rose was three the First Order came and claimed the planet, its resources and its people for themselves. The people had to work four times as hard and it quickly destroyed there planet.
Before becoming completely inhospitable and as the First Order ships started to leave, the Tico's tried to smuggle themselves and there children off world as refugees. At this time Rose was 6 and Paige was 8, and there parents had given them matching Haysian ore Otomok medallions which were a relegious simple of there people. One of the few remaining First Order ships spotted them and boarded. The resistance showed up to help fight off the ship but Rose had been taken and there parents and grandparents were killed.
When taken, to preserve her previous identity she went by Rosita Thorn. For 6 years she tried many times to escape but eventually learned to appreciate what the First Order did but ultimately decided to stay because she realized that the First Order was going to take over the galaxy and she wanted to be on there good side. After this realization she trained to be a spy for 8 years then went on many undercover missions as a spy and assassin and during this time started a passionate relationship with General Armitage Hux after originally having to pretend to be his lover on a mission.
6 years later she was then given the assignment to go undercover in the resistance to gain Intel and move up in ranks. But when she arrived she met a female pilot with the same medallion as her, it was her sister Paige who was raised by the resistance pilot who saved her and they reunited. Rose started having doubts about the First Order. She stayed in the lower ranks, keeping contact minimal, only sending partial data, such as location of resistance attacks.
But when Starkiller base was destroyed she knew she had to act. First she gave Hux information on the attack and how Dameron had fired the death blow. Second, Rose being part of colbalt squadron she had access to the bombers and sabotaged all of them, the only ship she didn't sabotage was her sisters, she instead used the little First Order technology she had to enhance her sister's shield's. In the battle Paige died anyway and Rose's heart darkened, she contacted the First Order Multiple times giving them two years of knowledge and currant stats. One of her transmissions were partially intercepted by Holdo unknown to Rose.
Rose later was making a transmission to General Hux which she was updating/flirting with him. She heard footsteps and turned off the communicator and started crying, fake at first but then real for the love and loss of her sister. It was Finn and she recognized him from the info Hux sent and smallest of gossip from the D'Qar base, she pretended to be impressed, then did the job Holdo assigned her to do by tasing him, once unconscious she was taking him to a close by cellar to kill him but he regained consciousness at a surprising rate, she changed course for the brig. He mentions a plan to save the resistance and although she's against it, it sounded like he could get her to the bridge of the Resistance cruiser where she could learn more about the plan and send it to the First Order. She gave off First Order knowledge passing it off as common ship knowledge and Finn believe it.
Instead of taking her to the bridge he took her to Poe who took Finn aside and said something that changed the plan to what Rose would later guess to be looking for her. She stuck with them, flirts with Poe but stops when Poe makes it obvious he's gay. She points out how Belac Cham is obviously hiding something. She attends the pray group meeting where she lets her guard down a little and does some Otoian prays for her sister and cries a bit, Belac approaches her, telling her it was unprofessional to let your real emotions show, she calmly says back that his roots were showing. They discuss there loyalties and threaten each others mission, Rose doesn't actually recognize him.
Later during the evacuation and Leia informs them about Jacen and how they need to catch him, she runs in the opposite direction and joins a shuttle about to deport. When she gets to the surface she contacts Hux and tells him there location, the dirt she has on phasma and the current state of the resistance. Finn barges in and she takes him hostage, she stuns him and holds a blaster to his head, then Poe stuns her. She's tied up and guarded, and when everyone starts heading for the exit she takes out her guards and heads for the front exit were Skywalker is holding off the First Order, and she then shoots him in the back. As he lays dying she goes up to Hux, put her arms around his neck and lays a big kiss on him, he tells her that they need to catch up to the Resistance and so she, Hux, and all the stormtroopers run through the mine only to find the Falcon already in the air. She joins Hux at his right hand side as his personal assassin/spy and Empress.
This was a fun read, Ivy (but it took me a while).
My favorite thing was that you got rid of the casino planet!!!! :-D
Also, the other big thing that bothered me in the original is the "tracking through hyperspace" subplot - it makes much more sense that it was a spy, and I remember the first time I watched the movie, I was extremely sus about Rose's character, since she was the new kid. But instead we got a subplot with a casino planet that, in the end, did zero to advance the plot of the movie. LOL
Thanks for posting!
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Thank you. Yes, having a spy also explains why the first order didn't just hyperspace ahead and blow them up, they don't want to kill there own unless necessary. Thanks again for reading.
One other thing - I appreciated the Tardigrade call out in the scene with Leia pulling herself back into the ship. Do you watch ST-Discovery? It made me think of that, so I thought it was another good reference, intentional or not. :-)
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