Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Opening crawl is pretty much the same. The dreadnought was the same. This is where things really change.

Out on the ocean world of Ahch-to lies a giant sacred island with a stone village. Somewhere on a hillside, the young scavenger Rey approaches Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. Rey approaches Luke and gives him his father’s lightsaber. Luke reaches his human hand and dented prosthetic hand and grabs the saber. Rey steps back as Luke looks at the saber. He then turns his head up towards Rey. He takes Rey to his cabin at the village.
“I never thought I’d see my father’s saber after our duel at Cloud City,” Luke stated. “How did you get this? I thought it was lost forever.”
“That’s something I wanna know too,” Rey replied. “Maz Kanata found it and brought it to her castle on Takondana. While I was there, I heard it calling out to me.”
“Who are you?” Luke asked.
“I’m Rey.”
“Rey who?” Luke wondered.
“I don’t know my family. I’ve been orphaned on Jakku ever since I was a child,” Rey replied.
“I don’t know what it is, but I sense something familiar about you,” Luke said. “Why are you here?”
“I’m from the Resistance. Your sister Leia sent me,” Rey replied.
“Leia? Is she alright?” Luke asked.
“She’s okay. She’s evacuating the Resistance before the First Order arrives at their base. I’m sure she escaped to safety,” said Rey.
“I know she did. I can feel it,” Luke replied. “Did Leia send you here alone?”
“I’m not alone. I brought a few old friends of yours,” Rey replied. She turns towards the doorway and a tall brown Wookie enters the room, roaring in excitement.
“Chewie!” Luke exclaimed. Chewbacca opens his arms and gives his old pal a hug. “It’s so good to see you too! How have you been?” Chewie then moans. Rey turns her head down. “Wait. Where’s Han?”

The sequence in the throne room is pretty much the same, but Captain Phasma makes a brief appearance.

“There is no light left in Kylo Ren. He’s only getting stronger,” Rey spoke to Luke Skywalker outside of his cabin. “The First Order will control all of the major systems within weeks. We need your help. We need the Jedi Order back. We need Luke Skywalker.” Luke looks up to Rey.
“I knew it was only a matter of time until the galaxy needed me. After I lost my nephew to the dark side, I began searching for answers. Seeing if I could find anything out about Supreme Leader Snoke,” Luke explained. “Unfortunately, I haven’t found all of them yet, but I will share with you what I do know about Snoke. Rey, come with me. I wanna show you something.” Luke then starts leading Rey out of the village.
“It’s okay, Chewie. Go back and wait by the Falcon. I’ll let you know what I know,” Rey told Chewie as she started following Luke.
Somewhere on the mountains of the island, Luke leads Rey to the place he wants to share. Rey stops for a moment and kneels to the ground. She closes her eyes and puts her hands on the ground. There are strange voices through the force calling out to her.
“I sense something up ahead,” she stated to Luke.
“You feel it? Good. It’s just this way,” Luke replied and Rey got back up.
Luke brings Rey to a cloud of mist surrounding an old tree with no leaves. The mist slowly moves away to reveal a hole in the tree. Luke lets Rey walk ahead and into the tree. Inside, it is a small round room with a small shelf and a hole leading to the top of the tree and outside. Rey gets a closer look at the shelf and sees some old books stacked there.
“I know this place,” said Rey as Luke walked up behind her.
“Built a thousand years ago to keep these. The original Jedi texts. Just like me, they’re the last of the Jedi religion. Every bit of history of the light and dark side recorded by the ancient Jedi,” Luke replied. “You’ve seen this place. You’ve seen this island.”
“Only in dreams,” Rey whispered.
“Rey, remember when I asked you about why you were here? There’s more to the question. I know Leia sent you here. What I want to know now is why she sent you. Why are you here, Rey from Jakku?” Luke asked.
“Something inside me has always been there. But now it’s awake. And I’m afraid. I don’t know what it is or what to do with it. And I need help,” Rey replied.
“You need a teacher,” Luke replied. “Rey, whatever’s inside you, I can feel it too. I wanna help you find it. If you’ll let me help you. I can teach you the ways of the Jedi. The way of the force, and I’ll help you find whatever is inside you.” Rey takes a moment and nods her head. “Okay. I’m sure you’ve been through a lot lately. Get some rest, and we’ll start fresh tomorrow.” Luke then gives his father’s saber to Rey.
“You keep it. It was your father’s and it was passed on to you,” Rey refused.
“No, it’s okay. It belongs to you now,” Luke replied and gave it to Rey. “Besides, I’ve got my own.” He reveals his saber on his belt. “Remember, a lightsaber doesn’t make you a Jedi. It’s an extension of yourself. It’s your life. And it’s your responsibility. Just like it is mine with my lightsaber. See you around.” Luke then walks out of the library, leaving Rey with her saber.
Luke walks back to his hutt at the village. He closes his door and sits in front of the table. Luke places his hands and takes a moment. He lowers his head down as he mourns for the loss of his best friend, Han Solo.

On the cruiser in hyperspace, Leia sits at a table with a water bottle sitting on the side as she too takes a moment from all that has happened. The cruiser exits out of hyperspace as the blue lightspeed through the window behind Leia disappears and there’s nothing but the black void of space and the millions of stars. The other three cruise ships exit out of hyperspace next to the lead ship.

The tracking through light speed is the same. But Captain Phasma was ordered to prepare her troops for boarding, and she's the one who tells Kylo Ren to return to the fleet. She's also promised by Hux that she'll have revenge on Finn. Kylo Ren feels the struggle in himself and fires the missiles at the bridge with his eyes getting that Sith color for it a bit before they go back to normal. Leia still survives, but uses the Force to grab a cable to pull herself into the bridge instead of using the Force to fly through space. That's not how the Force works.

Back on Ahch-To, Rey looks up at the sea of stars on a ledge outside the village. Down at the shore sits the Millennium Falcon where Chewbacca is making camp and making dinner. He grabs some meat from the package he brought out and cooks it over the fire. With one of them completely cooked, Chewie is prepared to eat. He hears the sound of an animal cooing before he takes a bite. There, he sees four little bird-like creatures staring at the meat Chewie cooked. They all then turn towards Chewie. He growls at them and they all fly away.
“Don’t mind them, Chewie,” said Luke as he came up to the ship’s docking ramp. “The Porgs are curious creatures. I know they’re annoying sometimes, but they’re just doing what they do.” Chewie moans as he turns around to enjoy his dinner while Luke heads inside the Falcon.
Luke walks through the halls of the Falcon and into the cockpit. He turns on the lights and looks around. Above, Luke sees two golden gambler’s dice connected by a chain. Luke grabs them and heads into the lounge. He sits down on the chair and looks down feeling depressed for the loss of his good friend. Across the room, a blue and silver astromech droid activates and turns its head towards Luke. Luke looks up and takes his hood off.
“R2?” Luke asked. R2-D2 beeps and whistles in excitement. “R2!” R2 rolls over to Luke while beeping. “Yes. Yeah, I know. Hey, sacred island, watch the language.” R2 beeps low after ranting and rambling about Luke and the island. “Old friend. What do I do? I told Rey that I would teach her the way of the Jedi. I know Leia needs my help. But I’m afraid. I lost Ben to the dark side. I can’t afford to lose anyone else. What should I do?” R2 rotates his head to the left and projects an old recording of Princess Leia.
“Years ago, you served my father during the Clone Wars. Now he begs you to help in his struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father’s request to you in person. . .” While R2 plays the message, Luke looks to his old friend and wonders what it means. “. . .but my ship has fallen under attack, and I’m afraid my mission to bring you to Alderaan has failed. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.” As the message ends, Luke looks down before looking up at R2 again.
“Thanks, buddy. I know what I must do,” he said to his fateful droid, putting his left hand on his dome head.
Outside, Rey continues to gaze up at the stars while sitting on a hillside. She looks down at the water. Although it’s dark, she can see that in the shallows, she can see a large object in the waters.
“Red Five,” said Luke as he approached Rey on her right. “It’s been with me ever since the battle of Yavin when I blew up the Death Star. I keep it there just in case any unfriendly faces pass by.”
“You okay, Master Skywalker?” Rey wondered.
“Yeah. I just needed a few moments. I grew scared. I lost Han to his son. It made me think that he’s really gone. And I was afraid if someone might share the same fate,” Luke explained. “Until my old friend R2 came to me and helped me find the courage I needed. And I remembered the words of a wise teacher. ‘Pass on what you have learned.’ Ain’t that right, Master Yoda?” Luke turns his head to the left to see the force ghost of Master Yoda sitting on the rock.
“Yes indeed, Skywalker,” he replied.
“Master Yoda!?” Rey asked. “I heard about this. They said if a Jedi manifests a consciousness, they will be able to communicate with the living after death.”
“They can indeed do that. I saw that the ancient Jedi accomplished that as well while I was looking at the sacred Jedi texts,” Luke stated.
“Oh. Read them, have you?” Yoda asked. “Page turners, they were not. But, yes. Many Jedi communicate with the living through the cosmic force, they can.”
“It’s really an honor to meet you, Master Yoda,” said Rey.
“Likewise, young Rey,” Yoda replied.
“We have a big day tomorrow, Rey. We’ll be starting training bright and early. You should get some rest,” Luke recommended.
“Yes, Master,” Rey replied and started walking back to the village.
“Sense fear, I do,” Yoda stated.
“Yeah. I sense it in her. And I am scared, too,” Luke admitted.
“Lost Ben Solo, you did. Lose Rey, we must not,” said Yoda. “Something special I sense in her.”
“Indeed. And we’re gonna try to find it together,” said Luke.
“No. Heeded my words not, did you? Do. Or do not. There is no try,” Yoda reminded.
“You never change, Master. Yes. I’m not gonna try. I’m gonna do,” Luke stated while walking back to camp. Yoda smiles as he watches his student go back to the village.

Chapter Text

The start of the speech remains the same before Vice Admiral Holdo comes in and takes the command, but this time, she shares the plan to the entire Resistance.
“Thank you, Commander,” Holdo complimented as she presented herself to everyone in the room in her grey outfit and purple short hair. “Four hundred of us on three ships. We’re the very last of the Resistance. But we’re not alone. In every corner of the galaxy, the downtrodden and oppressed know our symbol, and they put their hope in it. We are the spark that will light the fire that will restore the Republic. That spark, this Resistance, must survive. And we have a plan. Not far away from here is an old abandoned but heavily fortified Rebel base that was used during the war against the Empire. A base the First Order doesn’t know about. It’s on the mineral planet Crait. We are maintaining our course. Once we get close enough for the First Order not to notice, we’ll slip down there and set up base to call for our allies scattered through the Outer Rim. That is our mission. Now, to your stations. And may the force be with us.” Everyone gets up and heads to their stations.
“That’s Admiral Holdo? Battle of Chyron Belt Admiral Holdo?” Poe asked a fellow pilot who answered in alien dialect. “Not what I expected. But it's a good plan.” Poe gets up and walks up to Holdo. “Vice Admiral? Commander Dameron. With our current fuel consumption, there’s a very limited amount of time that we can stay out of range of those Star Destroyers. How far away is Crait and do we have enough to get there?”
“Yes, we do. Crait is only over a few hundred parsecs away from here. Once we get close, we’ll fuel up the transports and we’ll make our way to the surface while the First Order is distracted by the drifting cruiser,” Holdo explained. “That’s the plan, Captain. Not commander, right? Wasn’t it Leia’s last official act to demote you for your dreadnought plan where we lost our entire bombing fleet?”
“‘Captain,’ ‘Commander,’ you can call me whatever you like. Although, not to sound disrespectful or anything, but since they can track us through lightspeed, don’t you think it was good that we destroyed the dreadnought? We would’ve been toast already,” Poe pointed out.
“To be honest, that is a valid point, Captain Dameron,” Holdo replied.
“Anyway, we’re getting off topic here. I just wanna do my part to help this Resistance,” said Poe.
“Of course you do. I understand. I’ve dealt with plenty of trigger-happy flyboys like you. You’re impulsive. Dangerous. Your heart is in the right place, but Leia’s right. You have to learn how to solve problems outside the cockpit of an X-wing,” Holdo stated. “Here’s what I want you to do: When we get close to Crait and start fueling the transports, we’re gonna have to make sure we’re clear to leave the hangar. The transports may be blind to the First Order’s eyes at this distance, but they’re gonna suspect we’re up to something with us not using the last of our fuel to escape. They’ll most likely widen their scanners to find any kind of signal outside the cruiser. And since no ship that small usually has a cloaking device, I want you to figure out a way to hide the signals of the transports so we can safely get to the planet surface. And make sure all of the signals are cloaked. If even one is detected, they’ll know what we’re doing and blast us into oblivion. Can you do that? It’ll help the Resistance, and it will help Leia.” Poe turns around and looks to the other troops.
“Yes, ma’am. I can do that,” Poe replied.
“Good. Good luck, flyboy,” Holdo replied and walked away.

The meeting between Finn and Rose remains the same. There are changes to this bit of the dialogue where Finn finds himself being taken to the bridge by Rose.
“I can’t move. I can’t move,” Finn noticed.
“I know,” Rose replied.
“What happened?” Finn asked.
“I’m taking you to the brig and turning you in for desertion,” Rose replied.
“I was not deserting. I told you that. . .” Finn tries to reason.
“My sister just died protecting the fleet. And you were running away,” Rose stated.
“I’m sorry. But this fleet is doomed, and if my friend comes back to it, she along with Master Skywalker are doomed, too,” Finn explained.
“Did you say Master Skywalker?” Rose asked. “Like the Luke Skywalker? The last of the Jedi?”
“Yes. I need to. . .” Finn starts adding as he swings his left arm over him to show Rose the beacon. “I gotta get this beacon far away from here. They’ll come find me and the last of the Jedi will be safe.”
“Jedi don’t run and hide from a fight. Master Skywalker vanished for a reason. Leia believed it. My sister believed it. I believed it,” Rose stated and started pulling Finn away again.
“We can’t outrun the First Order fleet,” Finn replied.
“We can jump to lightspeed!” Rose responded while grabbing the handle.
“Well, they can track us through lightspeed,” Finn said.
“They can track us through lightspeed?” Rose asked.
“Yeah. They just showed up thirty seconds later and we’d have blown a ton of fuel, which, by the way, we’re dangerously short on,” Finn explained.
“They can track us through lightspeed,” Rose repeated.
“Yes. And right now, Vice Admiral Holdo is planning to keep going with the fuel we have until we reach the mineral planet Crait and slip down there to set up a new base and. . .” Finn starts before feeling numb. “I can’t feel my teeth. What did you shoot me with?”
“Active tracking,” Rose started.
“What now?” Finn asked.
“Hyperspace tracking is new tech but the principle must be the same as any active tracker,” Rose explained.
“So they’re only tracking us from the lead ship,” they both said.
“But we can’t get to the tracker. It’s an A-class process, they’ll control it from the main bridge and find our transports leaving the cruiser before they could reach the surface,” Rose pointed out.
“Well, I mean, yes, but every A-class process. . .” Finn started.
“Has a dedicated power breaker,” Rose joined with Finn and finished together.
“But wait, but who knows where the breaker room is on a Star Destroyer?” Rose asked.
“I’m the guy that used to mop it. I did not just do sanitation at Starkiller Base. I did sanitation on Star Destroyers, too,” Finn explained. “If I can get us there,” “I can shut their tracker down,” Rose finished.

“Okay, so, just give it to me one time, simpler,” Vice Admiral Holdo requested as she is briefed with Finn, Poe, Rose, and Threepio in the medical room.
“Yeah. Can you do it more simply, please?” Poe asked.
“So, the First Order’s only tracking us from one Destroyer, the lead one,” Finn started.
“So we blow that one up?” Poe guessed.
“I like where your head’s at, but no. Even if we had the ships and fire power, they’d only start tracking us from another Destroyer,” Finn added.
“But if we can sneak on board the lead Destroyer and disable the tracker without them realizing for one system cycle. That’s about six minutes. We sneak on board. Disable the tracker. It will disable their long-ranged scanners too. Our transports can slip down to Crait before they realize the cruiser is empty,” Rose finished.
“That sounds like it could work. If you can slip on board to disable the tracker while we also cloak our transports’ signals, the chances of surviving would be in our favor,” Holdo stated.
“Why, yes. It most certainly would. The odds of surviving if both plans go according to plan are. . .” 3PO started.
“Never tell us the odds,” Holdo interrupted. Poe walks over to Leia resting on her medical bed.
“Poe, we gotta do this. It’ll save the fleet, and it’ll save Rey,” said Finn.
“Do you approve, Vice Admiral?” Poe asked.
“I approve of this mission,” she replied. “All right. We just need to figure out how to get you onto that Star Destroyer.”
“We steal clearance codes,” Rose suggested.
“No, they’re bio-hexacrypt and rescrambled every hour,” Finn pointed out. “We can’t get through their security shields undetected. Nobody can.” Poe then points to Finn.
“Could I do it?” asked Maz Kanata who was contacted by Finn. “Of course I could do it. But I can’t do it. I’m a little tied down right now.” She fires her blaster towards some growling beast behind her.
“Maz, what is happening?” Finn asked.
“Union dispute. You do not want to hear about it,” Maz replied before almost being shot by someone the others can’t see. “But, lucky for you, I know some friends of yours who can crack that kind of security!” Maz avoids the danger by rolling through a tube. “They are Inferno Squad. They passed through here looking for allies in the Outer Rim.”
“Inferno Squad? The former squad of the Empire?” Holdo wondered.
“Yes, Vice Admiral. The former imperial squad led by Iden Versio. She was a good fighter,” said Maz.
“Was?” Finn asked.
“Iden, her daughter Zay, Danger Leader Shriv Surrgav, and their droid Dio were the ones who transmitted us the plans for the dreadnought. Iden didn’t make it,” Holdo explained. “So I guess her sacrifice was not in vain, flyboy. Maz, do you know where they are now?”
“Yes. They’re heading into the far reaches of the Outer Rim. I told them I knew some allies there that could help you. They’re heading for the casino of Canto Bight on Cantonica,” Maz replied.
“Cantonica? No, no. That’s too far away. Maz, is there any way that we can take care of this ourselves?” Poe asked.
“Sorry, kiddo. This is rarefied cracking. With Dio being an old Imperial Droid, and having been in the First Order’s systems, he’ll have what you need to sneak onto that Star Destroyer, and cloak the signals of your transports. You want all of that done, I only know one option. Find Inferno Squad,” Maz replied before taking off using a jetpack and cutting off the transmission. Finn holds out to Poe and Holdo Leia’s tracker.
“This may be our only chance to survive,” Finn stated.
“He’s right. Finn, Rose, BB-8, find Inferno Squad on Cantonica. Bring them back to hide our transports, and get you on that Star Destroyer. We’ll stay the course until we’re ready to load up the transports. We’re counting on you,” said Holdo. Finn nods his head. Holdo takes Leia’s binary tracker.

Chapter Text

The start of the day on Ahcto remains the same with the intro of the dyad in the Force between Rey and Kylo Ren. But throughout training, Luke is not cut off from the Force.
Luke leads Rey into the caves at the highest mountain on the island. He leads her into a room with a round image and small drops of water falling into it. Luke heads onto a balcony outside the room with a stone on it.
“Master Skywalker, we need you to bring the Jedi Order back because Kylo Ren is strong with the dark side of the Force,” said Rey. ‘Without the Jedi, we won’t stand a chance against him.”
“Only a fully trained Jedi Knight with the force as their ally can conquer the Dark Lord of the Sith,” Luke stated. “What do you know about the Force?”
“It’s. . .an energy source. . .it moves through and surrounds every living thing,” Rey remembers what Maz told her back on Takodana.
“Impressive. Every word you said is right. Okay, sit here. Legs crossed,” Luke instructed. Rey sits on the stone and crosses her legs. “Here’s something you probably didn’t know about the Force. It’s not a power you have. It’s not about lifting rocks or mind controlling people. It’s the energy between all living things, a tension, a balance, that binds the universe together. And anyone can use it if they’re open and connected to the Force.”
“Okay. But what is it?” Rey asked.
“Close your eyes,” Luke instructed and Rey closed her eyes. “Breathe. Now, reach out.” Rey reaches her right hand out. “No. No. Not like that. Here.” Luke takes her hand and places it on the rock. “Breathe. Just breathe. Reach out with your feelings. What do you see?”
“The island. Life. Death and decay, that feeds new life. Warmth. Cold. Peace. Violence,” Rey answered.
“And between it all?” Luke asked.
“Balance. An energy. A Force,” Rey answered.
“And inside you?” Luke went on.
“Inside me that same Force,” Rey replied.
“And this is the lesson. That Force does not belong to the Jedi or the Sith. The Sith use that power for evil. The Jedi use that power to protect the balance,” Luke explained.
“There’s something else beneath the island,” Rey begins to describe. “A place. A dark place.” She sees a hole in the ground beneath the island.
“Balance. Powerful light, powerful darkness,” said Luke.
“It’s cold,” Rey said. As she meditates, the rocks around the two begin to crack. “It’s calling me.”
“Resist it, Rey!” Luke calls out. Rey struggles but she wants to see. Rey eventually snaps out of it and falls off the rock. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. That place was trying to show me something,” Rey tried to explain.
“There are many worlds that have a deep connection to the Force. They live in light, but there are also places of the Dark Side. Light begets darkness. Darkness is attracted to light. My master showed me one. I’ve seen what those places can do to you,” Luke explained. “Rey, when you open yourself to the Force like that, you become vulnerable to the dark side. It will begin to tempt you. We Jedi have to learn to resist the temptations. Qualities of darkness include fear, anger, and hate. When we become afraid, it grows into anger and a desire for more power. That’s what happened to my nephew Ben Solo. He wanted more. He was consumed by that.” Rey keeps breathing heavily after being pulled out of that vision. “I’ll talk more about that later. Take a break, Rey. Just so you know, I will test you with that cave later tonight. Just be ready, okay?” Luke then walks off while Rey continues to rest.

Back with the Resistance fleet, they keep receiving heavy bombardments from the First Order. In the chaos, a tiny ship makes the jump to lightspeed. The radar on the cruiser detects it.
“Did they make it?” Holdo asked Connix.
“Yes, admiral. They’re clear. As far as the First Order is concerned, it was just passing debris,” Connix replied.
“Good. Let’s hope they can make it back by the time we’re ready to depart,” Holdo replied.
Finn, Rose, and BB-8 take the tiny ship through hyperspace on their route to Cantonica.
“The fleet’s only got 18 hours of fuel left, and Crait is still at least over 100 parsecs away. We gotta hurry,” said Finn.

Rey and Kylo Ren have that moment again through the dyad in the Force. The only change is when Ren says "yes I am" his eyes turn to that Sith color again for a brief moment.

By a large rock on a ledge on the island in bright daylight, Rey practices with her gaffi stick to fight without her lightsaber. She swings her stick around and holds it against the rock like she has an enemy pinned. Rey takes a moment to breathe and lean against her stick.
“You’ve got some skill with that,” Luke complimented while walking down to her. “I like that you’re learning to fight without a lightsaber. If a Jedi ever loses it or can’t use it in a certain situation, they gotta improvise while in combat.” Luke looks down to his father’s saber. “Let’s see what you got.” Luke pulls out his lightsaber and ignites the green blade. Rey grabs her lightsaber and ignites the blue blade. “You feel that?”
“Yeah. It’s a little heavy. It was heavy when I fought Kylo Ren on Starkiller Base,” Rey replied.
“Energy constantly flows through the kyper crystal. We’re not fighting with a simple blade as much as we are directing a current of power. Every thought. Every action we make becomes energy. They flow through the crystal as well and become a part of the blade,” Luke explained. “Did you ever feel some kind of pull when your saber clashed with Ren?”
“Yeah. It’s as if the blades were being drawn together,” Rey replied.
“That’s right. Block high!” Luke shouted and swung from above. Rey blocks.
“There it is. I feel it,” said Rey.
“Good. My father’s saber has seen much ever since the Clone Wars. It’s old, heavy, but powerful. Respect its strength,” Luke replied. “Block low.” Rey blocks a low attack. “Middle. Low. High. Low.” Rey blocks each attack. “Very good. Let’s work on a series of attacks. But first, let me show you the forms. Watch carefully.” Luke prepares himself for a series of attacks. “One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. You got that? Start slow. Then go faster.” Rey does each move slowly. She slowly builds up speed. “Very good. Now let’s do it. You ready?”
“Yes,” Rey replied and she prepared herself.
“We start slow. Then we go faster,” Luke stated and started clashing with Rey. “One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. Not bad. Let’s kick it up a bit.” They start moving faster and Luke counts faster. “One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Six.”
“It feels much lighter now,” Rey points out.
“Good. You’re connecting with the saber and the crystal inside. It’s becoming a part of you,” Luke replied. “Now, every attack will be random. And remember, don’t rely solely on the blade. Use all of your skills together. Don’t hold back.” The two begin clashing again. The two spin blades and Luke knocks Rey’s saber out of her hand. “I learned that from my father. Whenever you lose your weapon, prioritize defense until you get back in the fight. A Jedi uses the Force for knowledge and defense. The Sith use it as a weapon.” Rey ducks down Luke’s attacks and leaps over while using the Force to grab her saber. She ignites it and blocks Luke’s attack. “Not bad. I’m impressed.” They continue to clash blades on the ledge. Rey holds her own with each attack Luke throws at her. Blocking left and right, while also dodging left and right. “I can sense something inside you. It’s making you fight yourself instead of me.”
“I’m. . . I feel fear, pain, and loss,” Rey explains.
“Your parents?” Luke asked.
“Yeah. They left me on Jakku. They never told me why. Years past and I never saw them again,” Rey explained while clashing with Luke. “When I found this saber, I feared it would only bring me pain and despair. That’s why I ran away from Maz’s castle before I was captured. I’m afraid that my parents are gone. And this weapon, the Jedi legacy, feels like a curse. I found nothing but pain and loss. I witnessed Kylo Ren murder his father, and he hurt my friend!” Rey knocks Luke’s saber out of his hand and kicks him down. Rey lifts her saber up. “I’m afraid. . . I’m afraid the First Order has something to do with my parents. I’m afraid to find out who I am and why they left me.” Rey turns off her saber and sits down next to Luke.
“I had no idea. Rey, don’t be so hard on yourself. You were young when they left. I’m sure they had a good reason. Everyone has their reasons,” Luke sympathizes with Rey. “My Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru didn’t tell me much because they were trying to protect me. Obi-Wan didn’t tell me that my father was Darth Vader either. They kept it from me to protect me. Maybe your parents are the same.”
“What do you mean?” Rey asked while wiping her tears away.
“When we fought, I looked more into what I sensed in you before. I sensed something I haven’t felt since before I joined the war against the Empire,” Luke explained. “Within your veins, I sense the legacy of a Jedi. I can’t figure out who you’re related to yet, but I do know that within your family line, one of your relatives was a Jedi.” Rey starts forming a smile. “Come with me. It’s time you knew the truth about my nephew.” Luke stands up and Rey follows him up the stairs to that secret room in the mountain.
In the room, Luke sits at the center while Rey stands by the pathway that led them there. The sunset shines through the balcony and over the little pond over the symbol on the floor.
“Okay. When the Jedi first went extinct, they were romanticized, deified. But if you strip away the myth and look at their deeds, many see the legacy of the Jedi as failure,” Luke explained.
“But not everyone believed that,” Rey replied.
“True. But little did they know they were pawns in Darth Sidious’s games. Playing along and fighting in the Clone Wars meant the Jedi became soldiers when they were supposed to be keepers of the peace. Eventually almost everyone turned against the Jedi, Darth Sidious rose to power, created the Empire, and wiped them out,” Luke added. “Eventually, it led to the creation of Darth Vader.”
“Then a Jedi saved him,” said Rey. “Yes, the most hated man in the galaxy. But you saw there was conflict inside him. You believed Anakin wasn’t gone. That he could come back.”
“Then I became a legend,” said Luke. “For years there was balance, and then I saw Ben. My nephew with that mighty Skywalker blood. And in my hubris, I thought I could train him, I could pass on my strengths. Han was Han about it, but. . . Leia trusted me with her son. It turns out, while I was training my sister the ways of the Jedi, she had sensed something in her son at the end of her Jedi path. I took him, and a dozen students, and began a training temple. However, sometime during his training, he started acting differently. I sensed darkness. I’d seen it in moments during training.”
“What happened?” Rey asked.

All those years ago, Luke recalls the night he went to confront Ben. It was dark out. A crescent moon shined down on the massive temple along with the various hutts outside of it. In Ben’s hutt, Luke sticks his hand out and senses anger, hate, and terrible things he would do.
“I checked on him. I couldn’t believe what I saw. It was beyond what I ever imagined,” Luke recalled. “Snoke had turned his heart. He offered him greater power. Become powerful as my father. But it wasn’t Anakin he was referring to. It was Darth Vader. Snoke had sensed that bit in him. He would bring destruction, and pain, and death, and the end of everything I love because of what he will become. And for the briefest moment of pure instinct, I thought I could stop it.” As Luke grabs his saber, he ignites it but immediately stops. “It passed like a fleeting shadow. And I was left with shame and with consequence. And the last thing I saw were the eyes of a frightened boy whose master had failed him.” Ben reaches for his lightsaber and tries to strike Luke before he blocked the attack.
“Ben, no!” Luke shouted. Ben uses the force to bring the hutt crashing down on them.
“He must have thought I was dead,” Luke continued. “When I came to, the temple was burning.” Luke walks up to R2 and falls to his knees to see the temple burning. “He had vanished with a handful of my students. And slaughtered the rest. Leia blamed Snoke, but it was me. I failed.”

“You failed him by thinking his decision was made?” Rey asked.
“Yeah. Because I was Luke Skywalker. Jedi Master. A legend,” Luke stated.
“The galaxy may need a legend. I need someone to show me my place in all of this,” Rey replied. “Luke, you’ve started showing me that I do have a choice. For all my life, I thought I had no choice to leave Jakku, but I did. You’ve taught me that we all each have a choice. Like after Ben became Kylo Ren, you thought you had no choice but to come here, but you did have a choice. You disappeared for a reason.” Luke smiles at Rey.
“Yeah. You’re right. I had some time to think after recovering from the burning of the temple,” Luke explained. “I looked for the first Jedi Temple. That’s what this place is. I looked through the Jedi texts to see if there was anything about the Sith I could learn about that could help me understand Snoke. I suddenly realized Snoke was not who I thought he was. When I sensed his power, it felt very ancient. So I looked in a place that was ancient and sacred to the Sith. Their homeworld. Moraband.”
“Yes. Moraband. Been to I have,” said the Force ghost of Master Yoda who comes walking into the room. “Part of training to manifest my consciousness, it was. Strong with the dark side it is.”
“Master Yoda told me about the dangers I would be facing on Moraband,” Luke began recalling.

The red planet of Moraband lies in the Outer Rim with wind blowing red sand across the planet. Luke pilots Red Five to the outskirts of an ancient Sith temple. Luke walks into the temple.
“When I arrived, I felt the darkness coming from inside the temple. I sensed it trying to enter and destroy my heart,” Luke continued explaining. “As soon as I entered, something was wrong. From the shadows, I saw what appeared to be spirits of every Sith Lord that ever existed. From Darth Bane to Darth Vader. The master. Their apprentice. On and on. From the darkest of shadows, I saw Snoke. And I saw who he really was.” After Luke sees the spirits of all of the Sith Lords, Luke looks towards the dark hallway and sees the shadow of Snoke coming out. The darkness surrounds him to reveal who he was before where his face was clean and not damaged. Behind him was briefly a vision of a Sith Citadel shaped like a trapezoid. The spirit of Snoke’s master was on his right, and his apprentice on his left was Darth Sidious. “He was Darth Plagueis.” Luke escapes the shadows and the temple and flies away on Red Five.

“Darth Plagueis!? The ancient Sith Lord who found a way to use the Force to create life and prevent death?” Rey asked.
“Yes. Master to Darth Sidious, and thought to have been destroyed by him he was,” Yoda added.
“How is he still alive?” Rey asked.
“I started looking for that citadel I saw in that vision. It was the only link to discover how he lives,” Luke added. “I looked through the texts, and it was a citadel on a world that had a connection to Moraband and the Sith hidden in the Unknown Regions. Exagol. Unfortunately, the planet is surrounded by a large red abyss that’s impossible to navigate without the use of a Sith Wayfinder. I went back to Moraband to try and find one, but there weren’t any there. My best guess is Snoke probably used one to get to Exagol, but then hid the other one.”
“The other one?” Rey asked.
“Always two, there are. No more. No less,” said Yoda.
“Sadly, my trail has gone cold. I still don’t know much about that citadel and what was in there that saved Snoke’s life, nor do I know where the wayfinders could be. All I know is that it’s our only link to more answers,” said Luke. They all stare at each other to see the dead end they have come to.

Chapter Text

Dropping out of lightspeed, Finn, Rose, and BB-8 arrive in the Cantonica system. An orange desert-like planet, a blue moon and a red moon orbiting around the planet.
“Okay. We get in, find Inferno Squad, and get out,” said Rose.
“You know this town? Canto Bight?” Finn asked.
“From stories. It may look like a luxurious casino, but it’s a terrible place filled with some of the worst people in the galaxy,” Rose answered.
“Great,” Finn stated as he piloted the ship.
Down on the surface of Cantonica, aliens from across the galaxy come together to have drinks, gamble, and ride barges over the falls and across the planet. Finn pilots the small ship down to the beach. After parking, two security ships find the empty ship just sitting on the beach.
At the main palace, everyone is bedding and gambling in their games. Finn takes a look around to see how luxurious the place is, while Rose just stands by and ignores Finn.
“Aw, yes! This place is great!” Finn complimented.
“Okay,” Rose quietly complained. “I don’t know what kind of allies we would have hiding out here, but let’s just find Inferno Squad. We’re looking for Zay Versio. Shriv Suurgav. And their droid, Dio. He’s an ID10 seeker droid. Painted yellow and white. We find him, we find Zay and Shriv, and we get out of here.” Rose heads off while Finn looks around. “Come on!” Rose grabs Finn by the jacket.
BB-8 rolls around the casino close to a few vending machines. A small creature places his drink on BB-8’s head before he shakes it off. The creature places his coin inside BB-8. He growls to see that BB-8 is acting like one of those vending machines and places it in another coin.
“We’ve covered this whole casino. Zero yellow and white ID10 droids. Where is this Inferno Squad?” Finn complained. A rumbling occurs outside the window behind the bar. Finn and Rose duck down before looking above the counter again.
(The talk after seeing the fatheirs stay the same. Rose still wants to tear up the town.)
BB-8 comes in and chirps with excitement. “You found Dio?” The small ID10 seeker droid floats right up to Rose and Finn. “Oh. Hey, little guy. Aren’t you curious.”
“We’re so glad we found you. The Resistance needs your help. Where is Zay and Shriv?” Finn asked. Dio swings his arm around for the three to follow him. He leads them back to the casino. Before Dio can take them any further, Slowen Lo spots Finn and Rose.
“Yep. Those are the shuttle parkers,” he said to the security guards that come in and zap them while another one grabs BB-8. Dio quickly hovers over everyone and hides.
“Okay. You two are under arrest for parking violation 27B/6,” one of the officers told Finn and Rose. Another officer throws BB-8 out of the casino.
Dio links up with BB-8 and the two communicate about what is going on and why the Resistance needs the Inferno Squad. Dio then takes BB-8 to a secret place outside the casino. Dio meets up with young Zay Veriso and Danger Leader Shriv Suurgav.
“Hey, Dio. There you are. Where have you been?” Zay asked.
“Oh great. You brought in a friend,” Shriv complained. BB-8 beeps to him. “Oh. You’re from the Resistance. You’re welcome with the plans for the dreadnought. I’m glad you managed to take it down. What are you doing here anyway? We’re on a mission here.”
Beeps! Chirps!
“The Resistance is in trouble and they need our help,” Zay translated. “We wish we could help, but we’re trying to help an ally here deal some damage to this town.” BB-8 beeps again to Zay. “Your friends got arrested for parking on the beach?” Dio beeps to Zay. “If you help us, we can help you. Cool?” BB-8 takes out his flame and points it up. “You’re a cute droid.”
“Yeah. I will admit. He is cute. Nice touch with that thumbs up,” Shriv complimented. “Come on. He’ll know what to do.”
Beep?
“You’ll see pal,” Zay replied as they all rush off to find their ally to come up with a plan to free Finn and Rose.

The Resistance fleet continues to burn fuel to outrun the First Order. The medical cruiser slows down and engines power down while the other two cruisers speed on ahead. Two transports depart from the medical cruiser and docks on the main cruiser.
“The main cruiser’s still keeping beyond range. But their medical frigate is out of fuel and its shields are down,” said an officer to General Hux.
“The beginning of their end,” Hux stated. “Destroy it.” The Star Destroyer opens fire on the medical frigate.
“The last of our crew has been evacuated and heading your way. It’s been an honor, Admiral,” said the pilot of the cruiser. “Godspeed, Rebels!” The transmission is cut off and Holdo looks on.
“Admiral, fuel reserves at six hours. We’ve had no word from Finn, Rose, or Inferno Squad yet,” Connix reported.
“Maintain our current course. Steady on. Let me know as soon as you hear something,” Holdo commanded. Poe looks out the window to see the destroyed medical frigate.
“Finn, Rose, where are you guys?” He asked.

On Cantonica, Inferno Squad, BB-8, and their ally dressed in robes and a helmet sneak into the prison complex to rescue Finn and Rose so they can get back to the fleet. They peek around a corner and find three guards sitting at a table.
“Your friends are just past these guards. We get them out, and get back to the fleet,” their ally planned out.
“Any ideas how to get past them,” Shriv asked.
“Relax. I’ll come up with something,” their ally replied. BB-8 beeps and rolls on ahead.
“Hey, this is a restricted area,” one of the guards shouted at BB-8. BB-8 opens a slot and shoots out all of the coins that were injected into him earlier at the casino. He knocks down every guard. Dio flies in and zaps each guard unconscious. BB-8 makes a breathing sound to blow through his shooter. Dio lifts his hand up for a thumbs up. BB-8 replies with a flame up.
“Not bad. It’s a good thing you saved up, my little friend,” the ally complimented. “All right, let’s move.” They all make their way to Finn and Rose.
“Finn, the fleet is running on fumes,” Rose told Finn as she checked on the fuel reserves for the fleet. “Without Inferno Squad to cloak our ships to get down to Crait or onto Snoke’s Star Destroyer, what do we do?”
“I don’t know. Unless you got a thief in your pocket, our plan is shot,” said Finn. “You know, now that I see the bad behind this place, I was kinda hoping to help you cause a little bit of damage.”
“You wanna cause some damage to the First Order?” asked the voice of Shriv as he approached the door. “You and me both, pal.” Finn and Rose run to the door.
“Shriv? Is that you?” Rose asked.
“Yep. It’s me. Danger Leader at your service,” Shriv replied.
“Your friend here told us you guys were in trouble,” Zay added as BB-8 rolls up to the cell. “Dio, you’re up.” Dio goes to the door and starts slicing the console. The red light turns green and the door unlocks.
“Hey, thanks!” Finn complimented. “I’m Finn. I used to be stormtrooper FN-2187 before I joined the Resistance.”
“You used to be a stormtrooper? My parents were stormtroopers,” Zay added. “I’m Zay Veriso.”
“I’m Rose Tico. Nice to meet you,” Rose introduced herself.
“You can thank our friend here for getting inside,” Shriv pointed out to their friend. He removes his helmet.
“Hello, what have we here?” he said.
“Finn, Rose, BB-8, I’d like you to meet General Lando Calrissian,” Shriv introduced them.
“Mr. Calrissian, it’s a real honor to meet you,” said Finn.
“Please, no ‘mister’ just ‘General’ or ‘Lando.’ But it’s nice to meet you, too,” Lando replied. “I hear your droid says you guys need help.”
“Yeah. The First Order tracked us through lightspeed when we escaped our base,” Rose started.
“Tracked you through lightspeed? They can do that now?” Shriv asked. “Is there anything the Empire or First Order hasn’t achieved?”
“I know that feeling. But right now, the fleet is almost out of fuel. It only has six hours left,” Finn added.
“But we have a plan,” Rose continued. “The fleet is heading towards the mineral planet Crait. There’s an abandoned Rebel base there. Once we get to a certain point, we’re gonna load the transports and slip to the planet surface. However, the First Order will suspect something is wrong when they see the big cruiser just floating through space. They’ll use the tracker to broaden their scanners to locate any signal outside the cruiser. We figured if Dio could find a way to cloak the transports’ signals, they could slip down to the planet undetected. And he could slip us onto Snoke’s Star Destroyer to diable the tracker to give them a better chance.”
“Hey, you’re in luck. After the First Order took Cloud City, I went into hiding to try to help from the shadows,” Lando explained. “I looked for jobs I could do to make money to fund the Resistance and find someone they took from me. When I came here, I saw them making a profit by selling to the First Order. Then I met these guys. While we were sneaking around, I may have managed to snag some special codes that can cloak signals. And this droid here downloaded some of those codes too. So I guess you could say we’re codebreakers.”
“That’s perfect! That’s just what we need,” said Rose and alarms started blaring.
“Uh oh. I thought it would take them a lot longer,” said Shriv.
“Relax. We always figure things out. Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do: You two head for the race tracks and grab yourself a Fathier. Head to the outskirts of town and we’ll pick you up with our ship. In the meantime, we’ll try to draw them away from the tracks. Use the sewer system to get to the stables,” Lando planned.
“Okay. Be careful,” said Rose.
“You, too,” said Zay. They all split up. Finn and Rose go right while the others go left.
“There they are! Blast them!” shouted one of the guards as he saw Lando and the others. They set their weapons for stun and open fire.
“Looks like we got their attention,” said Shriv.
“You still trust me, don’t you?” Lando asked.
“After that crazy stunt back on Sullust where you flooded the factory with lava? Knowing you, you’re full of crazy ideas,” Shriv replied.
“Can we discuss it until we get back to the ship,” Zay interrupted while shooting back at the guards.
Through the sewer system, Rose and Finn climb out and enter the stables where all of the Fathiers are at.
(The escape on the Fathiers are the same. Maybe the designs could be improved.)
“I think we lost him! Now we just gotta hold out until Lando and Inferno Squa. . .” Finn started after the two ran in the long grass on the Fathier.
“Cliff!” Rose shouted and turned the Fathier around. Rose and Finn fly off and almost roll off the cliff. “No sign of them. We’re trapped.”
“It was worth it though. They know the Resistance needs their help. Also to tear up that town, make ‘em hurt,” said Finn. The Fathier approaches FInn and Rose. Rose walks over and takes the saddle off.
“Go,” Rose said to the Fathier and he rejoins his herd in the fields. “Now it’s worth it. It’s not just about fighting. It’s about saving what we love, and giving life another chance to thrive.” The two look at each other and smile. A ship appears behind them and shines the lights at them. The patrol ships spot the ship at the edge of the cliff. The hatch opens and a staircase comes down. There is BB-8 beeping in excitement.
“BB-8! Wait, are you flying that thing?” Finn asked as Lando stepped down the stairs.
“Hey, nice distraction. Draw the officers away so we can snag ourselves a ship. Worked like a charm. You wanna ride?” he said. As the patrol ships come closer, they zoom past them and make the jump to lightspeed.

Chapter Text

(Luke still feels Leia in trouble. Rey and Kylo Ren have that talk, only no version of Ben's flashback and he's still wearing his upper robes.)
"But you can’t stop needing them. It’s your greatest weakness. I see it in your eyes,” Kylo said. “Looking for them everywhere in Han Solo, now in Skywalker. Funny. I sensed something special in you when we first met. Now you’re with Luke, I see that you have a connection to a Jedi. The question is what Jedi? Was your Mother or Father a Jedi hiding from the Empire? You’re still trying to find answers, huh? About who you are. Who and where your parents are. Skywalker is helping you, isn’t he? Did he tell you what happened that night?”
“Yes. He told me about what Snoke wanted to give you. To be powerful like your grandfather. But not like Anakin Skywalker. But like Darth Vader,” Rey replied.
“Yeah. He sensed my power. As he senses yours,” Kylo replied. “The only difference is that your relative was a Jedi and didn’t fall to the dark side based on what Luke or I can tell, and I was a descendant of both Jedi and Sith. Luke had grown fearful of the power growing inside me. He tried to stop me, but I knew what he was doing. Let the past die. Kill it if you have to. It’s the only way for you to get what you want.” The two disconnect.
“Rey? You okay?” Luke asked as he came down the stairs.
“Luke, do the Jedi texts say anything about someone or something using the Force to connect someone from across the stars? I keep seeing Kylo Ren here even though he’s back on Snoke’s Star Destroyer, and he keeps seeing me even though I’m here,” Rey explained.
“I think I remember seeing something like that. This is unexpected. Rey, I’m gonna go to the Jedi texts and find some answers. I have one last test for you,” Luke started. “That place you saw in your vision. Go there. Face the cave. Come back to my cabin when you’re done. Once we’re both done, it’ll be time to go help the Resistance. Okay?”
“Okay. See you in a bit,” said Rey as the two head off to their destinations.
(The encounter in the cave is the same, but Rey talks with Luke instead of Ben.)
“I thought I’d find answers here. I thought that was part of the test. I was wrong. I failed. I’d never felt so alone,” Rey finished talking to Luke back at his hutt.
“Don’t beat yourself up, Rey. I failed facing the cave on Dagobah when it showed me my fears and I responded to them with aggression. But you didn’t. You’re not alone,” said Luke.
“Neither are you,” Rey replied.
“And maybe it was showing you that you had the answers all along,” said Luke. “Here’s what I found after what you told me. It says ‘If a Jedi Master and Apprentice were to have any descendants, they can form a connection known as a dyad in the Force that will allow them to communicate with each other across the stars. It also allows them to pass various items to their locations.’ It’s super rare, and there are other abilities that they can do. This is the answer, Rey. I don’t know how yours and his mind have been bridged, but the connection you and Ben have is because of your heritage. Ben was Leia’s son who was the daughter of Anakin. Rey, he’s the grandson of a Jedi apprentice. Which means that would make you. . .”
“A descendant of his master. My grandfather is. . . Obi-Wan Kenobi?” Rey thought.
“I knew there was something special I sensed in your veins. I sensed Obi-Wan’s blood inside you. I just can’t believe it took this to realize that,” said Luke.
“But how? I thought Jedi weren’t allowed any romantic connections,” Rey asked.
“Indeed, they were. The Force works in mysterious ways, and my father wasn’t the only one who had feelings for someone,” Luke started. “Obi-wan told me he didn’t know about it until after he became one with the Force. Before the Clone Wars, he and his master were on a mission to Mandalore. There he met Satine Kryze who eventually was the dutchess of her people. During the Clone Wars, a former apprentice of Darth Sidious rose to power to get revenge on Obi-wan. He rule Mandalore, lured him there, and he killed Satine right in front of him. I’m not sure how it happened, nor do Obi-wan or I know how Satine protected her child. She had a nephew who survived the Seige of Mandalore, but as far as both of us were concerned, he and Bo-Katan Kryze were the only other members of Satine’s family. I don’t even know if Bo Katan knows about it. My best guess is that anything about Satine and her child are in the archives on Mandaldore.” Rey lowers her head. “I’m sorry. I thought for sure I had found the answers.”
“It’s okay. I want to know more about my parents and my heritage to your old master. But I am grateful for all of your support thus far. . .Master,” Rey replied, and Luke smiled at her. “Do the texts say anything about how the connection can be broken so I won’t be connecting with Kylo Ren?”
“That’s the tricky part. I tried looking for a way to cut it off, but I got nothing. Rey, you must be careful when you two connect. Given how far deep in darkness Ben has fallen, he may try to drag you down. I don’t know if Snoke knows your heritage, but it’s only a matter of time until he does and tells Kylo Ren,” said Luke. “Once he finds out, who knows what he’ll do to you.”
“So what do we do?” Rey asked.
“I sensed Leia was in trouble. She was nearly killed by her own son. I don’t know if I can save him,” said Luke. “I’m not ready yet.”
“Always ready, we are not,” said the spirit of Yoda who appears next to Luke. “Luke, time it is for you to look past a pile of old books. Hmm. Still looking to the horizon. Never here, now, hmm? The need in front of your nose. Hmm? Taught Rey well, you have. Found the mystery of her heritage, you did. Strength, mastery. But weakness, folly, failure also. Yes, failure most of all. The greatest teacher, failure is.”
“He’s right. We learn from our mistakes. That’s the thing about life. We fall down. But what do we do?” Rey asked.
“We always get back up,” Luke replied. “Look at you giving me lessons. Much like your grandfather.” Rey chuckled.
“The master teaches the student. But guide the master, the student does,” said Yoda. “Luke, confronting fear, destiny of the Jedi, it is. Face Ben Solo, you must.”
“And I will,” Luke replied and turned to Rey. “Rey, there’s something my sister would want you to have.” He turns to a lose stone in the cabin and pulls it out. He grabs a small box and opens it to reveal a lightsaber. Silver with a two bronze stripes towards the top of the hilt. “It’s my sister’s saber. It was the last night of her training.”

Years back, it was night in the middle of a forest. Two beings wearing battlemasks and holding two lightsabers. Luke Skywalker wields his green lightsaber, while his sister grabs and ignites her blue lightsaber. Leia engages her brother in a final training session. The two clash and spin their blades in the middle of the night. Leia blocks an attack and uses her open hand to grab Luke’s saber. Leia kicks Luke and throws him down to the ground. Luke removes the mask and looks up at his sister who takes off her mask.
“Leia told me that she had sensed the death of her son at the end of her Jedi path,” Luke explained to Rey. “She surrendered her saber to me and said that one day it would be picked up again by someone who would finish her journey.”

“Rey, you told me about your friend fighting with you against Kylo Ren on the Starkiller Base,” Luke continued. “Has he recovered yet?”
“I think so. Before I left to come here, I briefly felt something strong within him,” Rey answered.
“I have a feeling he too is strong with the Force. If he is willing to continue down that path, would you be willing to help him?” Luke asked and handed Leia’s saber towards Rey.
“If it’s what he wants, I’d be honored to,” Rey replied and grabbed Leia’s saber. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah. There’s something else I must do first,” Luke started.
Out in the rain, Luke walks over to a ledge and sticks his hand out. The water below rumbles. Rey walks over to see what Luke is doing. From the watery depths is the Red Five X-wing rising into the storm. Luke moves the X-wing over as it drains water out and has seaweed hanging off of it. Luke sets the old fighter down on the ground on a hill overlooking the Millennium Falcon. Luke turns towards Rey and Yoda’s Force ghost and smiles. The other two smile back. Rey heads back to the Falcon while Luke gets into his X-wing. Both ships lift off the ground and soar off into the clouds. Yoda watches the light from their engines disappear.
“May the Force be with you,” he said while looking up to the sky.

Chapter Text

Deep in hyperspace, Finn, Rose, BB-8, Lando, and Inferno Squad rush back in their stolen ship from Cantonica to get back to the fleet.
“Four parsecs to go. This thing really cooks,” said Finn.
“I just hope we’re in time,” said Rose. “You can actually do this, right?”
“Yeah. I’m sure it will,” Lando replied. Finn and Rose turn around. “Relax. I know how to work these things and so does Dio. Once we get there, I want you to drop me off on the cruiser. I’ll take care of those transports while you guys sneak onto the Destroyer and disable that tracker.”
“He may be full of crazy ideas, but Lando knows what he’s doing,” said Shriv.
“Thank you, Shriv. See? I knew you trust me,” said Lando. Shriv then walks to the back. “Rose, that medallion there. It means something special to you, doesn’t it? I’ve seen that medallion before. Usually has a second identical piece that connects together.”
“The other one belonged to my sister. She sacrificed herself to save the Resistance. Thanks to you guys, she was able to drop the bombs onto the dreadnought,” said Rose.
“Hey, I know how it feels to lose someone you love so much,” Zay sympathizes with Rose. “While we were on a Star Destroyer that had the dreadnought plans, my mother and I were gonna rip it out of hyperspace to get out. She was confronted by an old colleague. She got shot, but she managed to make it count and we got off with what we needed to help the Resistance. Your sister honored my mother’s sacrifice to protect the fleet. She made it count. From what I see, she would want you to fight on. Just like how my mother wants me to.”
“Thanks, Zay,” Rose thanked and smiled.

As the First Order fires at the Resistance cruisers, another ship runs out of fuel and drifts in space. The First Order blasts it to bits as the two small transports dock in the main cruiser.
“That was the last of their support ships. It’s just their main cruiser now,” the officer reported.
“And their fuel reserve?” Hux asked.
“By our calculation, critical,” the officer replied.

On the main cruiser, Poe Dameron heads onto the emergency bridge to meet with Vice Admiral Holdo.
“You wanted to see me, Admiral?” Poe asked.
“Yes, flyboy. Have you made contact with Finn and Rose yet?” Holdo asked.
“Not yet. I haven’t heard a single word from them,” Poe replied.
“Then we’re gonna have to risk it. Start fueling and loading the transports. Prepare to depart on my signal,” Holdo ordered.
“No. Wait. We won’t stand a. . ." Just as Poe says that, he gets a call. “Finn, is that you?”
“Yeah. It’s me. Rose and BB-8 are here, too,” Finn replied on comms.
“Oh boy, it’s good to hear your voice. Holdo just gave the orders to fuel the transports. Where are you?” Poe asked.
“Poe, we’re on our way back to the fleet. We’re so close,” Finn replied.
“Did you find Inferno Squad?” Holdo asked.
“Yes. But better than that. Their droid is now a master codebreaker. He stole some codes from Canto Byte,” Rose replied.
“And better yet, you’ve got me, too,” said Lando.
“Yeah. We also have Lando Calrissian with us. He’s a codebreaker, too,” Finn added.
“Wait. Did you say Lando Calrissian?” Holdo wondered.
“Yeah. We’re gonna drop him off at the cruiser so he can cloak the transports, while Dio gets us on the Destroyer to disable the tracker,” Finn replied.
“All right. Please hurry,” Holdo replied and hung up. “I can’t believe they found Lando Calrissian. I’ve always wanted to meet him. Leia has told me about him during the war with the Empire. Ah. Anyway, Captain, stand by for Lando’s arrival and once he starts cloaking the signals, help load the transports.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Poe replied and walked out of the bridge.

The Millennium Falcon flies through hyperspace with Red Five hot on its tail.
“I do not like this plan, Rey,” said Luke in his cockpit.
Beeps! Whistles!
“R2 is right. If you go in there, Snoke will kill you. I learned this the hard way when I faced my father on Cloud City,” Luke backed up his droid.
“Luke, you said you’re not ready yet. And if I go in there, Snoke and Kylo Ren will be distracted with me and they won’t broaden their scanners to find the transports heading to the planet surface,” said Rey while loading up an escape pod. “You have to trust me on this.”
“All right. I trust you. Just be careful, okay?” Luke replied.
“I will,” Rey replied. “Okay. As soon as I launch, you jump back out of range and rendezvous with Luke. Stay there until you get my signal for where to rendezvous with me.” Chewie hands Rey her lightsaber.
Growls.
“If you see Finn before I do, give this to him and tell him. . .” Rey started as she handed Leia’s lightsaber to Chewie.
Growls.
“Yeah. Perfect. Tell him that,” Rey replied to Chewie.
“Rey, remember to bury your feelings down. If Snoke knows about your connections, he may use them against you,” Luke informed Rey.
“Yes, Master,” Rey replied and layed in the escape pod.
The pod positions itself as the hatch opens. The Falcon jumps out of lightspeed and lets the pod slip out before jumping again. The pod flies to the main hangar to Snoke’s Star Destroyer. It lands and comes to a hard stop. The window opens and Rey looks up to see Kylo Ren’s scarred face looking at her. He walks away and lets the stormtroopers bring out the handcuffs.
The ship from Cantonica drops out of lightspeed and in front of the cruiser. Finn pilots the ship to the main hangar. The staircase lowers down and Lando gets off. Dio activates the codes to hide the ship’s signal before pulling out.
“General Calrisssian, I’m Captain Poe Dameron. Very nice to meet you,” Poe introduced himself.
“It’s good to meet you, too. Where’s Leia?” Lando wondered.
“She’s in the medical bay right now. But she’ll live,” Poe answered. “You got those codes for our transports?”
“Why yes, I do. I got them right here. I just gotta put them in the cockpits on these things, and they’ll be good to go,” Lando answered.
“Great. Thanks for coming to help us,” said Poe.
“It’s always a pleasure to help my best buddies,” Lando replied.

Finn pilots the ship down to avoid detection from the First Order fleet as it continues to shoot at the main cruiser.
“Okay. Cloaking tech is working. We’re off their scopes. We just need to get inside,” said Rose.
“Head for the back of the Destroyer and enter the vents next to the ship’s engines,” Zay suggested.
“Didn’t we do that when we boarded Hask’s Star Destroyer back over Vardos?” Shriv recalled. “I’m at least glad it’s not gonna jump while we’re flying in there.”
Finn pilots the ship into the vents behind the engines and land.

“Wait, you don’t have enough for all of the transports?” Holdo asked Lando.
“I must’ve left some on the ship. But don’t worry. Since these transports are the same model, we can link the uncloaked ships to the cloaked ones,” Lando planned.
“If there’s one thing Leia has told me about you, you always improvise when a plan doesn’t go so well,” said Holdo.
“I mean, we all gotta improvise to make a plan work, right? Remember when Leia told you about us rescuing Han Solo at Jabba’s Palace?” Lando asked. “It didn’t go very smoothly, but we figured things out. We always do.”
“How very true,” Holdo replied. “Flyboy, how are the transports looking?”
“About more than half are fueled and filled up. Ready to go,” Poe answered.
“Good. Can you help Lando link up the uncloaked transports to the cloaked ones? We gotta make sure all transports are cloaked before we leave,” Holda asked.
“Of course. I’m willing to do whatever it takes for the Resistance,” Poe replied.
“That’s the spirit, Flyboy. Leia would be proud,” Holdo complimented.
“If there’s one thing you both taught me, jumping in an X-wing and blowing something up is never gonna be the same solution to every problem,” Poe replied and Holdo smiled.

On board Snoke’s Star Destroyer, Finn, Rose, BB-8, Zay, Shriv, and Dio disguise themselves as officers and stormtroopers in a room where officer clothes are being ironed after entering from the vents.
“Never thought I’d be wearing this armor,” said Zay.
“Agh! They couldn’t make any that are my size? It’s just too tight,” Shriv complained. “Does this make my head look big?”
“Relax, Shriv. You pass as a stormtrooper. Right?” Zay asked the others. They all nodded their heads and the droids beeped. “Well, then, come on, soldier. Dio, stay in the ventilation system and meet us at the tracker.” Dio enters the vents. Finn grabs a trash can and puts it over BB-8 to hide him.
“Let’s move,” said Finn.
They all make their way through a big generator room with officers and stormtroopers. BB-8 beeps and whistles like a mouse droid but bumps into a stormtrooper. On a platform overlooking the path, a black BB unit, BB-9E spots the heroes. He doesn’t suspect anything with Finn and Rose being officers, nor does he suspect Zay and Shriv being stormtroopers. When he looks at BB-8’s trash bin, he starts beeping.
“Almost there,” Finn whispered to everyone. As they continue moving, an elevator passes up. Finn looks up.
“You alright?” Shriv asked.
“I thought I felt. . . Nevermind. Can’t let anything distract us,” Finn replied.
Inside the evlevator, Rey stands next to Kylo Ren as they approach Snoke’s throne room. Kylo Ren has her lightsaber while her hands are cuffed in front of her. “You don’t have to do this. I can feel some conflict in you. It’s tearing you apart. I know you’re denying it, but I can feel something in you. You will not bow before Snoke,” Rey tried to appease Ren. “I feel it.”
“I feel something, too. I don’t know what it is, but I can see it in your eyes. I know when the moment comes, you’ll be the one to turn. Rey, I saw who your parents are. If you join me, I can give you everything you want,” Kylo Ren appeased Rey.
“I don’t know what happened to them, but I know who they are now. I know who I am,” Rey refused.
“Then, I guess we’re gonna see what happens next,” Kylo Ren replied. The elevator stops and the door opens. Kylo Ren then takes Rey in to meet Supreme Leader Snoke.
“Well done, my good and faithful apprentice. My faith in you is restored.” Snoke complimented. Kylo Ren let's Rey walk forward a little more as he kneels. “Young, Rey. Welcome.”

In the lower levels, Finn, Rose, BB-8 and Inferno Squad approach a locked door. Dio comes out of the ventilation system and joins them.
“This is it. The tracker’s right behind this door,” said Finn.
“All right, Dio. You’re up,” said Zay. Dio begins to slice the door open.
“Uh, Finn, do you have a plan to get us back to the fleet?” Shriv asked.
“I know where the nearest escape pods are. We’ll slip down to Crait and meet them there,” Finn replied.
“BB-8, tell me something good,” Poe contacted BB-8. He sends the commlink to Finn.
“Poe, we’re almost there. Are the transports almost ready?” Finn asked.
“Yeah. Just a couple more transports to cloak and we’re good to go. You just make sure you get to Crait in one piece,” Poe replied.
“Excuse me, sir, if I may, the odds of us getting down to the surface with the tracker still active is approximately. . .” 3PO talks to Poe.
“Never tell me the odds, Threepio,” Poe declined.
“Did I just hear you say Threepio?” Lando asked.
“Oh my goodness! Lando Calrissian! It’s so nice to see a familiar face,” said 3PO.
“It’s good to see you, too. You've been keeping out of trouble?” Lando asked.
“Trouble? Me? Well, I barely survived being melted on an acid planet. I just realized that you didn’t get to see me with my red arm,” said Threepio.
“Oh. I bet it looked good on you,” said Lando.
“It looked alright, but I didn’t like it. I lost my arm on that acid planet, and my red arm was a replacement from one of the droids that was down there with me,” Threepio explained.
“I’d like to hear that story another time. Right now, we need to get these things ready to launch,” said Lando.
“Finn, we’re ready to launch,” Poe contacted Finn.
“We gotta hurry,” said Rose.
“Come on, Dio. It’s now or never,” said Shriv. Dio then opens the door to the tracker.
“You’re up,” Finn told Rose and they entered the room.
Just as they cross the bridge, BB-9E rolls in front of them with First Order officers and stormtroopers.
“You there, hands up!” ordered one of the troopers. “Drop your weapons now!”
“Hands up, Rebel scum,” ordered another trooper. Poe overhears it all on his communicator. Holdo hears it too.
BB-8 hides outside the room while hiding in his trash bin. BB-9E rotates his head towards the bridge. Rose, Finn, Zay, and Shriv turn around and they are approached by Captain Phasma.
“FN-2187. So good to have you back,” she said.

“They didn’t make it,” said Poe.
“As I was saying, now the odds of all of us getting down to Crait is,” Threepio continued.
“We know the math, Threepio,” Holdo interrupted. “We’re gonna have to risk it.”
“I guess we don’t have any other choice,” Poe agreed.
“Time to board your transport,” said the voice of General Leia Organa who is back on her feet.
“Leia! It’s so good to see you!” Lando exclaimed and hugged Leia. “Where’s my favorite no-good swindler?” Leia lowers her head. “No. No, don't tell me Han has. . .”
“We’ll explain it all on the transports,” said Holdo.
“It’s gonna be a long shot. But I trust him. And if I know Finn, he’s gonna find a way out and meet us on Crait,” said Poe while boarding his transport.
“That one’s a troublemaker. I like him,” said Lando.
“Me, too,” said Leia.
“Same here,” Holdo added.
“Well, I guess it’s time to board our transports,” said Lando.
“For the transports to escape, someone needs to stay behind and pilot the cruiser,” said Holdo.
“Too many losses. I can’t take any more,” Leia refused.
“Sure you can. You taught me how,” Holdo encouraged Leia.
“May the Force be wi. . .” they both started at the same time and laughed.
“You go on. I’ve said it enough,” Leia insisted.
“May the Force be with you always,” said Holdo. The two hold hands before Leia boards her transport. Leia looks back at Holdo as she watches the transports leave the cruiser.

In Snoke’s throne room, he deactivates Rey’s handcuffs and they drop to the floor.
“Come closer, child,” said Snoke, but Rey refuses. “So much strength. Darkness rises, and light to meet it. Light begets darkness. Darkness is drawn to light. I warned my young apprentice that as he grew stronger, his equal in the light would rise.” He force pulls Rey’s saber to his hand and places it on his right arm chair. “Skywalker I assumed. Wrongly. Closer, I said.” He then uses the Force to slowly pull Rey closer.
“You’ve underestimated Skywalker, and Ben Solo, and me. It will be your downfall,” Rey stated as she is pulled up the ramp to the throne.
“Oh. . . Have you seen something? A weakness in my apprentice. Is that why you came?” Snoke questioned and laughed. “Young fool. It was I who bridged your minds. I stoked Ren’s conflicted soul. I knew he was not strong enough to hide it from you. And you were not wise enough to resist the bait. And when I did look there, I saw something that held the bridge together. Your heritage. A dyad in the Force. My apprentice being the grandson of Darth Vader. And you being the granddaughter of a Jedi Master. But not just any Jedi Master. Your grandfather is Obi-Wan Kenobi.” Kylo Ren looks up in shock after hearing that. “And now, you will give me Skywalker. Then I will kill you with the cruelest stroke.”
“You don’t scare me. I know who you are. Answer me this: How did you escape death all those years ago?” Rey questioned him.
“Ah. Skywalker told you about his trip to Moraband,” said Snoke. “After I saw him there, I knew he would pose a threat to my new empire. He would share this info to a new disciple, and use that to help the Resistance. Well, the secret of Darth Plagueis the Wise’s return will die with you, and Skywalker.”
“What did you say?” Kylo Ren asked.
“Yes. I am Darth Plagueis the Wise. Master to Darth Sidious,” Snoke stated.
“That’s impossible. Darth Sidious destroyed him long ago,” said Kylo Ren.
“Which brings us back to my question. How did you escape death? We know you can use the Force to save others from death, but not yourself. How are you still alive?” Rey asked again.
“It was after Palpatine betrayed me. Darth Sidious had sent his well trained apprentice Darth Maul to face the Jedi on Naboo. On the night before Sidious left for the planet, he snuck into my quarters and cut me down. After he left me to die, I mastered whatever strength I had left and I returned to my secret ship and fled to Moraband. The spirits of the Sith gave me an ancient Sith wayfinder. I followed it to the hidden world of Exagol. There, I was brought into the Sith Citadel. There, I was met with a Sith cult known as the Sith Eternal, and they tended to me. It was almost not enough, but here I am before you. Over the years, I watched Darth Sidious orchestrate the Clone Wars and eventually bring the Jedi to an end while the Knights of Ren led by the Ren secretly brought destruction. It was until Skywalker came along, and brought his father back from the darkness and destroyed Darth Sidious. Over the past thirty years, I have seen many loyalists attempt to rebuild the Empire. I stepped in and created the First Order.” Kylo Ren lowers his head as his eyes slowly fade between his normal color and orange. “I’ve answered your questions. Now you will answer mine.”
“No,” Rey refused.
“Yes,” Snoke stated. He pushes Rey into the air and holds her in place. “Give me everything.” Kylo Ren watches as Rey screams in torture.

On the transports, Poe checks with everyone to see if they’re secured and all of the supplies are also secured. He takes a moment to look at the cruiser that’s still taking heavy bombardment from the First Order fleet.
“Poe,” Leia called out from the other side. Poe walks over and looks out the window at a planet.
“Is that it?” Poe asked.
“Yes. That is Crait,” D’acy answered. “The rebel base there still has enough power to get a distress signal to our allies scattered in the Outer Rim.”
“The First Order hasn’t fired at us yet?” Poe asked.
“No. Holdo knew the First Order was tracking our big ship. They’re not monitoring little transports,” Leia replied. Poe sits down next to Leia. “She was more interested in protecting the light than she was seeming like a hero.” Leia grabs the binary beacon from Poe and puts it back on her wrist.
Holdo watches from the bridge to see the whole Resistance safely fly to the surface of Crait.
“Godspeed, Rebels,” she said.

First Order stormtroopers escort prisoners Finn, Rose, Zay, Shriv, and Dio to the main hangar on Snoke’s Destroyer. The hangar is full of stormtroopers and officers. The four prisoners are brought to their knees in front of General Hux. Hux walks up to Finn and slaps him in the face.
“Well done, Phasma,” he complimented. “Well, well. Zay Versio. Daughter of Iden Versio and Del Meeko. Yes, I’ve seen your parents' records from the days of the Empire. Your parents betrayed the Empire all because of Operation: Cinder. The satellites created the storm above Vardos. I’ve seen all of those reports. And this droid was your mother’s faithful companion. To think you could’ve worn that armor with us and not against us. And you, Danger Leader. Shriv Suurgav. Always known for getting into danger. A shame it has brought you here to where your survivor streak ends.”
“Sir, we checked on the droid’s diagnostics. We noticed some special cloaking codes. We ran a decloaking scan, and sure enough, 30 Resistance transports have just launched from the cruiser,” said one of the officers.
“Not even old Imperial droids can keep secrets from us. Will wonders never cease?” Hux wondered. “Our weapons are ready?”
“Ready and aimed, sir,” the officer replied.
“Fire at will,” Hux ordered.
“Wait. No, no. No, you can’t!” Finn tries to resist.
“No!” Rose shouted.
The cannons open fire on the small transports. After one is blown up, everyone on board begins to panic as the pilots continue to rush to the surface of Crait.
Vice Admiral Holdo watches the ships get blown up from the bridge as a pilot makes contact with her.
“Admiral, we’re taking fire! Do we turn around?” he asked.
“No, you’re too far out. Full speed to planetfall. Full speed!” Holdo replied as she lost contact with the pilot.

Snoke drops Rey to the floor after torturing her. “Well, well, I did not expect Skywalker to be so wise. After the Rebels are gone, every Jedi secret on that island will belong to me. When Skywalker returns he and the Jedi Order will be no more,” Snoke stated. Rey gets back up and reaches for her saber. It flies past her and back into her head before Snoke brings it back to him. “Such spunk. Look here now.” He moves Rey to a scope to the left of the throne. “The entire Resistance on those transports. Soon they will all be gone. For you, all is lost.” Rey turns around and reaches for Kylo Ren’s lightsaber. She ignites it and two pretorien guards aim their weapons at her. “Ooh! And still that fiery spit of hope. You have the spirit of a true Jedi!” Rey charges at Snoke. She raises the saber up before Snoke just pushes her towards Kylo Ren. She drops the saber and lands in front of him. “And because of that, you must die.” Snoke picks up Rey and turns her around to face Kylo Ren. “My worthy apprentice, son of darkness, heir apparent to Lord Vader. Where there was conflict, I now sense resolve. Where there was weakness, strength. Complete your training, and fulfill your destiny.” Kylo Ren picks up his saber and stands up in front of Rey.
“I know what I have to do,” Kylo stated.
“Ben,” Rey whispered. Snoke laughs.
“You think you can turn him? Pathetic child,” Snoke stated. “I cannot be betrayed, I cannot be beaten. I see his mind, I see his every intent. Yes.” Kylo raises his saber towards Rey while he uses his left hand on Rey’s saber to rotate it to the left. “I see him turning the lightsaber to strike true. And now, foolish child, he ignites it, and kills his true enemy!”
Kylo Ren folds his left fingers inwards and ignites Rey’s lightsaber and the blue blade shoots straight through Snoke’s torso. Rey falls to the ground and looks up at Snoke. The impaled Darth Plagueis sees the saber turned on to see that he has been betrayed. Kylo Ren pulls Rey’s saber to her while cutting Snoke in half. Rey grabs her saber and stands with Kylo Ren as Snoke’s top half falls to the ground. The praetorian guards draw their weapons and close in. Kylo Ren activates his lightsaber. The two stand side by side and take on the ten pretorien guards. Lightsabers and metal blades clash as Rey and Kylo Ren stand their ground against them all. Kylo blocks a high attack and Rey stabs one. They continue to block attacks from all sides.

The fleet continues to take heavy hits as they rush to the surface of Crait. Poe runs to the cockpit.
“Come on, give full thrusters. Full speed!” Poe tells the pilot.
“I am, sir,” the pilot replied.

Rose shakes a bit and her medallion falls off. She reaches for it but Hux steps on it. He picks it up and examines it.
“The Otomok system. That brings back memories.” Hux nods slightly and the stormtrooper lets go of Rose. “You vermin may draw a little blood with a bite now and then.” Hux puts the necklace back on Rose and his right pointer finger on her chin. “But we will always win.” Rose quickly bites Hux’s finger. He struggles to pull it out while a stormtrooper pulls her back. “Execute them all!” Hux leaves Phasma to execute them. BB-8 watches Hux leave and looks into the hanger for something to help his friends.

(The fight is the same, only the action changes to be faster and more choreographed.) “The fleet. Order them to stop firing. There’s still time to save the fleet,” Rey said. She notices Kylo Ren staring at the corpse of the dead Darth Plagueis by the throne. “Ben?”
“It’s time to let old things die,” Kylo Ren stated. “Snoke. Plagueis. Skywalker. The Sith, the Jedi, the Rebels. Let it all die. Rey, I want you to join me.” He reaches his right hand out to her. “We can rule together and bring a new order to the galaxy.”
“Don’t do this, Ben. Please don’t go this way,” Rey pleaded.
“No. No, you’re still holding on! Let go!” Kylo Ren shouted. “Do you wanna know the truth about your parents? Snoke or Darth Plagueis whatever - he never told me who their parents were - but I know who they are and what happened to them. Plagueis knew they’d be a threat to his plans to rebuild the Empire and achieve what Palpatine could not. Your parents gave up their lives to protect you. I never knew why they’d risk everything to leave you to be nobody on Jakku, but I can see it now.” Rey lets out some tears. “But Snoke is gone now. You’re safe from his tyranny. You’re not a nobody anymore. Not to me. Rey, join me.” He reaches his hand out again. Rey turns her eyes to the fleet. “Please. If you want them to live, all you gotta do is take my hand.” Rey reaches her hand out towards Kylo Ren.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered and pulled her saber towards her. Kylo Ren reaches his other hand out and tries to pull the saber back.

Vice Admiral Holdo watches as almost the entire fleet is gone. She quickly gets into the pilot chair and powers up the engines.
“Sir, the Resistance cruiser’s preparing to jump to lightspeed,” said one of the officers as General Hux comes on deck.
“It’s empty. They’re just trying to pull our attention away. Pathetic. Keep your fire on the transports,” Hux ordered.

“Execution by blaster is too good for them. Let’s make this hurt,” Captain Phasma suggested. Four stormtroopers come in with rods in hand. The troopers kick the prisoners to the ground. The executioners activate the murder weapons with two electric lines on the end of the sticks. They line them up with their heads. “On my command.”

The survivors watch the giant cruiser turn away from them.
“She’s running away?” Connix thought.
“No, she isn’t,” said Poe.
Holdo preps up the hyperdrive as she angles the ship towards the First Order fleet.
Hux and the officer watch the cruiser make aim at them.
“No!” said the officer.
“Fire on that cruiser!” Hux ordered.

Rey and Kylo Ren keep trying to pull the saber towards each other. They end up pushing each other away from the saber while still trying to pull it towards one another. The crystal inside begins to shine through the metal.

“Execute,” Phasma ordered and the troopers raised their weapons up.

In that moment, Holdo activates the hyperdrive, the lightsaber breaks in half, and the cruiser goes straight through the First Order fleet. Through the right wing of Snoke’s Destroying and into several Star Destroyers. The remaining survivors look on at Holdo’s sacrifice as they dive for the surface of Crait.
The main hanger comes apart as TIE fighters and walkers fall from the ceiling. Rose drags Finn along the ground before he wakes up. Zay and Shriv get up to see all of the destruction. Dio gets out of his little cage.
“Guys! There’s a shuttle back that way! We gotta go!” Rose told them and they all started making a run to the shuttle. As they make their way through the destruction, more debris keeps falling down. Out from the smoke in front of them comes Captain Phasma and her squadron.
“Traitor!” Phasma shouted while aiming her blaster at them. A walker suddenly shoots towards them. “What!?” Phasma turns towards the walker and focuses fire on it. The walker fires at the troopers to give everyone a path. The walker moves forward and the head comes off to reveal BB-8 piloting the walker. Everyone ducks down and gets into cover. Finn grabs a riot weapon.
“Finn!” Rose shouted and he turned around to see Captain Phasma behind him. Rose shoots at her, but it deflects off of her beskar armor. Rose gets into cover with Zay to avoid a stormtrooper shooting at her.
Phasma pulls out a spear, and Finn activates his weapon. Finn knocks down a stormtrooper and begins clashing with his former captain. The two hold weapons for a moment. “You are a bug in the system,” Phasma stated.
“Let’s go, Chrome dome!” Finn replied and continued to clash with Phasma. The two block attacks while everyone else deals with the stormtroopers behind them. “Come on!” Phasma blocks high and punches Finn in the face. Phasma strikes hard and knocks Finn down a hole.
“No!” Rose shouted. Phasma turns around and shoots towards her. Rose gets into cover and Phasma waits for her to come out.
“Hey,” said Finn as he is raised up by a platform and smashes Phasma in the face with his weapon. Finn looks down at his old commander as the platform stops moving.
“Finn, look out!” Zay shouted and pointed to BB-9E on a turret.
“Never underestimate a droid,” Shriv stated. BB-9E opens fire on the heroes. They quickly get into cover.
“What do we do? We can’t get to the shuttle with him in the way,” Finn asked.
“Dio, you’re small enough to move unnoticed. We’ll draw his fire while you sneak around and disable the turret,” Zay tells Dio. Dio starts making his way to the turret. BB-9E looks for the Rebels while they’re behind cover. Once they shoot at him, they begin moving to draw his fire. Rose, Zay, and Shriv make it by the platform Finn is on. Dio sneaks up behind the droid and begins to slice it. BB-9E spots a hanging TIE Fighter above the Rebels. He takes aim and pulls the trigger. No lasers came out of the guns. BB-9E turns around and finds Dio has deactivated the turret. BB-9E zaps Dio in the middle eye. BB-8 walks over and swings hooks onto the cannon to swing into BB-9E. 9E recovers while BB-8 lands on the ground. They draw their tasers and cables, and they battle. The two droids zap at each other and butt their heads at each other in an attempt to roast or send each other into the vacuum of space. BB-9E pulls out his taser cables and spins around the area. BB-8 tries to zap his head but the tasers keep the shocks back. BB-8 leans his head to his right and shoots a cable into the walker to get above BB-9E and zap his head. BB-9E flinches back and BB-8 lands on the ground. BB-8 pulls out his cables and starts spinning around, whacking each cable in BB-9E’s face. He gets dizzy from all of the hits, and BB-8 charges at him and sends him down a pit.
“Nice going, BB-8!” Finn complimented.
“You too, Dio. You two make a great team,” Shriv complimented. BB-8 and Dio give each other a thumbs up.
Finn hears climbing behind him and sees Captain Phasma climb up with her left lens in her helmet destroyed. Other stormtroopers move in and surround him.
“Disobedient, disrespectful traitor!” Phasma shouted at Finn. Finn lowers his weapon.
“You call for order. You beat us down. But when your shiny neck was threatened, you squealed like a whoop hog,” Finn mocked Phasma. “The evidence blew up with the base, but you and I know the truth. When I put a gun to your head, you shut down Starkiller’s shields. Now what would your troops do if they found out? Or your masters?”
“Who would believe a story like that?” Phasma questioned him. All of the stormtroopers look at each other. Phasma looks around with her eyes and sees her troopers looking at each other before turning towards her. Phasma pulls her blaster pistol out and blasts her troopers down. Finn charges at Phasma and knocks her hand off. Phasma squeals like a whoop hog. She grabs her spear with her other hand and counters Finn’s attack and knocks him down. She walks up to her traitorous trooper. Finn looks her in the eye as she says, “You were always scum.”
“Rebel scum,” Finn added. Phasma raises her spear up and Finn grabs a heavy blaster and blasts Phasma into the air and into a hole. BB-8 pilots the walker with Zay, Shriv, Dio, and Rose on board.
“Hey, need a lift?” Rose asked. Finn gets onboard and they make their way to the shuttle. As they get off their walker, a silver hand reaches over the platform. Phasma pulls herself up and watches as they escape in the shuttle. She stares through the destroyed lens and her breathing gets heavier and heavier.
Finn flies the shuttle out of the flames and into the debris field. Everyone takes a moment to breathe after escaping death by the hands of the First Order.
“So, where are we going?” Rose asked.
“To where we belong,” Finn answered. “You with us, Inferno Squad?”
“You know we are,” Zay answered as she stood up. Shriv joins her and Dio floats next to them. Finn pilots the shuttle through the debris field and to Crait.

In Snoke’s throne room, General Hux witnesses the corpse of Snoke. His lower body falls out of the throne. Hux hears the sound of clanking metal coming his way as Phasma struggles towards him.
“They escaped, didn’t they?” Hux asked.
“What has happened to our Supreme Leader?” Phasma asked.
“I was about to ask him that,” Hux answered while turning to the unconscious Kylo Ren. Hux reaches for his blaster. Kylo Ren wakes up. “What happened?”
“The girl murdered Snoke,” Kylo Ren lied. “What happened?”
“She took Snoke’s escape craft,” Hux answered.
“We know where she’s going,” Kylo Ren started. “Get our forces down to that Resistance Base. Let’s finish this.”
“As you wish,” Phasma replied.
“Finish this? Who do you think you’re talking to? You presume command my army? Our Supreme Leader is dead! We have no ruler!” Hux complained. Kylo Ren reacts by force choking Hux. He turns towards him.
"The Supreme Leader is dead,” said Kylo Ren.
“Let him go,” said a mysterious voice. Kylo Ren lets go of Hux. “Your Supreme Leader lives.” From the throne, a hologram of Supreme Leader Snoke is projected.
“You! But I saw you die! How is this possible!?” Kylo Ren shouted.
“Project: Necromancer. What you see before you was a clone created from the records that were left by Darth Sidious, and the many experiments performed during his reign as Emperor. A way for him to achieve immortality,” Snoke explained. “I knew you desired much more power. Just like my apprentice did before you. Did you think I was gonna be betrayed a second time!?” He uses the Force to pick up Kylo Ren and throw him to ground. He looks up and his eyes changed to yellow again. “The girl has fled to the planet. I’ll give you one more chance. Go to that planet. Wipe out the Resistance and end the Jedi. Once you are done, contact me from the base. The time has come for the New Empire.”
“Supreme Leader, what are you. . .?” Hux asked.
“Your answers will come soon enough, General Hux. For now, go to the planet and finish this,” Snoke ordered.
“Long live the Supreme Leader,” Hux saluted.
“Long live the Supreme Leader,” Phasma followed.
“Long live the Supreme Leader,” Kylo Ren joined while slowly looking away. Kylo Ren then gets up and walks away. Hux and Phasma follow. Snoke looks on and smiles before deactivating the transmission.

Chapter Text

Down on the salty surface of Crait, the rebel base rests within the giant walls built within the crystal caves. Leia stands by the entrance and looks out across the salty fields. Coming into view is a First Order shuttle along with TIE Fighters.
“They’re coming. Shut the door,” Leia ordered and turned around.
As the giant door closes, a bunch of small critters with their bodies made of crystals run inside as the shuttle approaches the base. The two TIE Fighters shoot at the shuttle as it flies towards the shield door. Several shots from the fighters land inside the base, taking some Resistance troopers down. The shuttle lands on the ground and slides into the base as the door clips the tail wing and the left wing. The TIE Fighters pull away before they crash into it. As the shuttle comes to a stop, the Resistance take their blasters and open fire.
“No! Wait, don’t shoot! It’s us!” Rose shouted as she, Finn, Zay, and Shriv raise their hands.
“No! Don’t shoot!” Finn shouted.
“Hold your fire! Hold your fire!” Poe shouted. Everyone ceases fire.
“Oh man. I couldn’t make contact on this thing to tell them we’re friendlies, nor did I ask them to not shoot us. I didn’t even get to say ‘please’,” Shriv complained as everyone raises their heads out from the shuttle.
“Finn?” Leia asked.
“Finn! Rose! You’re not dead!” Poe shouted.
“Zay! Shriv! Dio! You made it out, too! Welcome back!” Lando shouted. “Sorry about that. Communications haven’t been set up yet.”
“Well you were the one who always told me to take risks even it seemed like the most irresponsible thing we could to,” Shriv replied.
“Ah. I’m so proud of you, Shriv!” Lando replied.
“Where’s my droid?” Poe asked. BB-8 busts out of the shuttle and begins chirping with excitement as he rolls to Poe. “Buddy! I’m so glad to see you!”
“This is all that’s left?” Zay asked as she looked at what’s left of the Resistance.
The Resistance unloads their supplies and set up base. The set up computers and get the built-in ones online.
“All right, shields are up so they can’t hit us from orbit. Use whatever powe we’ve got left to broadcast a distress signal to the Outer Rim,” said Poe.
“Use my personal code. If there are any allies to the Resistance, it’s now or never,” said Leia.
“Rose, what do you got?” Poe asked Rose as she entered the control room.
“Rotting munitions, rusted artillery, some half-gutted skim speeders,” Rose replied.
“Well, let’s just pray that big-ass door holds long enough for us to get help,” said Poe. The base begins to rumble to loud noise outside. The crystal critters bark and whimper as the rumbling comes to a stop.
Finn gets on a scope to take a look outside. He sees the First Order with AT-M6 walkers and three ships setting up a giant cannon.
“A battering ram cannon,” he said.
“A what now?” Poe asked.
“Miniaturized Death Star tech. It’ll crack that door open like an egg,” Finn explained. “They’ve also got AT-M6 walkers. All Terrain MegaCaliber Six. They’ve got modifications to their front legs that could cut cables before one pass could be completed.”
“There has to be a back way out of here, right?” Rose asked.
“BB-8, Dio, what have you got?” Poe asked the droids.
Beep! Beep!
“Dio and BB-8 have analyzed the mine’s schematics. This is the only way in or out,” Threepio translated. The cannon rumbles outside which causes the walls around the Resistance to creak.
“Come on. We have allies. People believe in Leia. They’ll get our message, they’ll come. But we have to buy time. We gotta take out that cannon,” said Finn. Poe and Rose smile. Zay smiles too, but Shriv groans a bit.
“You have a bad feeling about this. I’d be worried if you didn’t this time,” Lando pointed out.

Resistance troops move outside and take positions in the trenches and in the cannons outside. The troopers in the trenches point their basters to the incoming walkers. The general steps out to look through his binochs. A solider realizes his footsteps leave some red beneath all of the white. He sticks his finger in it and tastes it.
“Salt,” he said after spitting it out.
“Ground forces incoming,” said the commander on the salty plains.
“Copy that. On our way,” Poe replied on the radio.
Ski speeders speed out of the base from the hatches above the door and glide down to the salty surface. Finn stears his speeder down and bounces off of the ground.
“Hey, engage your mono-ski. The green toggle,” Rose advised. Finn releases the ski and starts skiing across the surface leaving a large trail of red salt behind.
“It’s a little shaky here,” Shriv complained.
“Well, these things have been left in the base for nearly three decades,” Zay replied.
“That’s a fair point, Zay,” Shriv replied.
“All right, listen up. I don’t like these rust buckets, and I don’t like our odds, but. . .” Poe started briefing before his foot broke through a panel in the cockpit. “What the hell? Just keep it tight and don’t drawn in too close ‘till they roll that cannon out front.” All of the speeders ski across the salty landscape and the pilots prep themselves as they approach the First Order. “All right, ground forces, lay down some fire!” The turrets open fire at the incoming AT-M6 walkers. Above them floats Kylo Ren’s shuttle as he along with Hux and Phasma watch the speeders come their way.
“Thirteen incoming light craft. Shall we hold until we clear them?” Phasma asked.
“No. The Resistance is in that mine. Push through,” Kylo Ren ordered. A fleet of TIE Fighters fly past the shuttle and the walkers and head for the speeders.
“Fighters! Break off!” Poe commanded. They all split up to try and shake off the fighters. As the fighters shoot towards the ground, their blasts that hit the ground explode red salt everywhere. “Come on! We gotta hold them till they pull that cannon!” The TIEs firing towards the base and wipe out some of the ground troops and take out the turrets. “Rose, you got three right behind you!”
“I can’t lose them!” Rose panicked as she speeds up and moves from side to side to shake off the three TIE Fighters. Blaster fire comes out of nowhere and blasts the fighters. Rose looks back and sees the shadow of the Millennium Falcon pass over along with an X-wing.
“Whoo! Yeah!” Finn cheered. The Falcon and Red Five fly over the battlefield and shoot down TIE Fighters.
“Wow! Feels like old times, eh, Chewie?” Luke shouted from his X-wing.
Growls!
A Porg stowaway growls in the cockpit with Chewie. Rey manned the Falcon’s lower gun. She blasts a TIE that was flying right towards her.
“Whoo! I like this!” Rey exclaimed. The two ships continue to fly together and blast down the TIE Fighters.
“Those ships. That is the Millennium Falcon. And based on the markings of that fighter, that belonged to Skywalker,” Hux said.
“Blow those pieces of junk out of the sky!” Kylo Ren shouted.
“All fighters!” Hux ordered. All of the TIE Fighters focus their fire on Red Five and the Falcon.
Beeps! Whistles!
“I see them, R2. We’ve got their attention,” Luke replied.
“Chewie, peel off from the battle. Draw them away from the speeders,” Rey tells Chewie.
Growls.
The Falcon and Red Five fly towards the mountains with every single TIE Fighter following them.
“They drew them off! All of them!” Poe exclaimed.
“Oh, they hate those ships!” Finn added.
Red Five slows down to get behind some of the TIEs while Rey uses the lower cannon on the Falcon to shoot back. Chewie pilots the Falcon on its side and into a crystal chasm. The Prog stoaway falls onto the windshield and looks down the red crystal chasm. The lower cannon drags along the crystal walls.
“Chewie!” Rey shouted.
Growls!
Chewie pilots the Falcon through the caves with the fighters following it, crashing into crystals as they go. Luke pilots his X-wing behind the fighters and the Falcon and follows them into a giant opened crystal cave. The Falcon pulls up towards daylight with Red Five following the remaining TIEs. One TIE Fighter manages to shoot off The Falcon’s rectangular satellite dish as it navigates the tight cave. The Porg starts shaking and Chewie knocks him into the pilot seat. Luke shoots down a few more TIE Fighters before folding the wings together to avoid crashing into the crystals. The last of the TIEs crash into the crystals. The Falcon scrapes along the walls before the two ships fly straight out of the mountains. The Falcon continues straight for a bit while Red Five pulls away back towards the ground.

Back with the Resistance and the First Order, with every TIE Fighter gone, the speeders pull together and make a run for the giant cannon.
“There it is,” Rose stated. “That is a big gun.”
“Okay, it’s heavily armored. Our only shot is right down the throat,” said Finn.
“You want us to fire straight down the barrel of that cannon, while it’s charging up? I really don’t like this plan,” Shriv complained.
“Oh, Uncle Shriv, you never change,” Zay stated. The cannon stops and locks into place. The barrel starts glowing orange.
“The cannon’s opening. This is our chance,” said Finn.
“All firepower on those speeders,” Kylo Ren ordered the walkers.
“Concentrate all fire on the speeders!” Hux gave the same order. The walkers focus their fire on the remaining speeders.
“We’re taking heavy losses,” one of the officers said to Leia.
As they all approach the cannon, Poe watches as the walkers take down the other speeders.
“They’re picking us all off. We’re not gonna make it,” said Poe.
“All right, making my final approach. Target in sight, guns are hot,” said Finn.
“No! Pull off!” Poe commanded. “The cannon is charged! It’s a suicide run! All craft, pull away!”
“I know Lando told me to always take risks, but a suicide run is probably not what he had in mind,” said Shriv.
“Indeed, Shriv. This has become far too dangerous. Head back to the base,” Lando said on the radio.
“No! I’m almost there!” Finn declined.
“Retreat, Finn! That’s an order!” Poe commanded as he and the others started pulling away. As Rose moves her joystick, it remains trapped in place and the machine starts making noises.
“Finn, my stearing’s jammed! I’m heading straight for a walker. I need your help,” Rose said.
“I’m so close! I won’t let them win,” Finn declined again.
“Finn, I know we have to stop them, but we’re outnumbered and outmatched,” Zay said.
“She’s right, Finn. The only way we’re gonna win is if we survive,” Shriv added.
“That’s what I’m doing. I’m helping the Resistance survive,” Finn replied.
“Finn, remember what I told you back on Cantonica? It’s not about fighting what we hate. It’s about saving what we love and giving life another chance,” Rose recalled. “We’re in position to stop them right now. We have to head back and help the Resistance.” Finn takes a moment as the cannon prepares to fire on the base. “Finn, help me. Please.”
“All right. I’m coming,” Finn replied and turns towards Rose’s ski as it heads for the walkers. “You’re gonna have to jump, Rose.”
“I just got an idea. Can you try to stear my speeder towards the cannon?” Rose asked.
“I think so,” Finn replies as he gets behind Rose’s speeder. Finn gently pushes against the speeder to turn it towards the cannon. “Good enough.”
“Yeah. Let’s go,” Rose replied as she unbunkled herself. Finn angles his cannon wing with Rose’s cockpit. Rose jumps onto Finn’s speeder. Finn turns away and heads back to the base. “I hope it’s enough.”
“You and me both, Rose. If it doesn’t, we’ll do what we can to help the Resistance stay alive,” Finn replied and smiled at Rose. Rose smiles back while hanging onto the speeder. Rose’s speeder melts in the heat of the cannon before flying into the cannon. As it collides with the walls, the cannon sends a large red blast at the Resistance base. The shockwave knocks Finn’s speeder over and it starts falling to pieces. Rose holds tight before flying off the wing and onto the salty surface. Finn crashes in his cockpit and slides towards one of the destroyed turrets. Finn clears some of the debris off of him and unbuckles his seat belt. He sees Rose laying unconscious on the salty surface. Finn gets up and runs to her. “Rose, are you okay?” She doesn’t reply, but he feels a pulse. Finn looks to the blown up door. “Don’t worry. I got you.” Finn grabs a metal debris and lays Rose on it. He starts pulling her to the base.

The First Order looks on with the fires from the blown up blast door coming falling down.
“General Hux, Captain Phasma, advance. No quarter. No prisoners,” Kylo Ren ordered.

Finn brings an unconscious Rose across the red salty surface and into the hole of the giant blast door.
“Med pack! I need a med pack!” Finn shouted for help. Soldiers run to Finn and Rose. “She’s hurt pretty bad.”
In the control room, the radio shows various systems that the message has reached.
“Our distress signal’s been received at multiple points, but no response,” Connix said.
“They’ve heard us, but no one’s coming,” D’acy replied. Everyone turns towards Leia.
“We fought till the end. But the galaxy has lost all of its hope. The spark is out,” Leia stated. Everyone hears footsteps and look down a hallway to see a hooded figure walking towards them. The figure takes off his hood in front of Leia. “Luke.” Luke sits down in front of his sister. “I know what you’re gonna say. I changed my hair.”
“It’s nice that way,” Luke complimented. “Leia, I’m sorry.”
“I know. I know you are. I’m just glad you’re here at the end,” Leia replied.
“I came to face him, Leia,” Luke started. “And I can’t save him.”
“I held out hope for so long, but I know my son is gone,” said Leia.
“No one’s every really gone,” Luke replied, reaching his hand out to his sister. He leaves her Han Solo’s gambler dice. Luke stands gives his sister a kiss on the forehead. Luke begins walking out before stopping by C-3PO.
“Master Luke,” he said. Luke winks back at him. Luke walks over to Lando.
“Welcome back, Luke,” he said. Luke smiles back at him and keeps walking.
All of the Resistance troops come out of cover to watch Luke Skywalker walk through the flames to face down the whole First Order.
“Stop!” Kylo Ren ordered. All of the walkers stop as Luke walks out onto the red surface. “Bring me down to him. Keep the door covered and don’t advance until I say.”
“Sir, don’t get distracted, our goal. . .” Hux started before Kylo Ren forced pushed him into the wall.
“Right away, sir,” the pilot replied. He begins landing the shuttle. The ramp opens. Kylo Ren walks out of the shuttle.
“It’s Kylo Ren. Luke is facing him alone,” Poe told everyone after looking through his binochs.
“Well, we should help him. Let’s go,” Finn replied.
“No, wait. Wait,” Poe stopped Finn and looked again.
Kylo Ren walk towards Luke on the red surface while it slowly covers up with white salt again. Ren stops a few feet away from Luke.
“Did you come back to say you forgive me? To save my soul?” Kylo Ren questioned him.
“No,” Luke replied.
Kylo Ren removes his cloak and activates his red crossguard lightsaber. Luke removes his Jedi robes and pulls out his green lightsaber. Luke has both his hands on the blade and he’s holding it down and facing upwards towards Kylo Ren. Kylo Ren brings his saber arm straight up and puts his other hand on it and points his lightsaber at Luke.
“He’s doing this for a reason. He’s stalling so we can escape,” Poe realized the situation.
“Escape? He’s one man against an army. We have to help him, we have to fight,” Finn refused.
“No, no. We are the spark that’ll light the fire that’ll burn the First Order down. Skywalker’s doing this so we can survive,” Poe replied.
“He’s right. It’s like what my mom told me. We fight so others can live,” Zay recalled. “And Luke is doing that right now.”
“There’s gotta be a way out of this mine. Hell, how did he get in here?” Poe started.
“Sir, it is possible that a natural unmapped opening exists. But this facility is such a maze of endless tunnels that the odds of finding an exit are 15,428. . .” Threepio started stating.
“Shh. Shush. Hush. Shush up. Shut up!” Poe stopped him.
“. . .to one,” Threepio finished.
“You seriously had to tell us the odds, droid? None of us here would wanna know the odds,” Shriv complained.
“They don’t call you danger leader for nothing,” Zay added.
“Listen,” Poe whispered.
“My audio sensors no longer detect the. . .” Threepio started.
“Exactly,” Poe stopped him again while looking towards the mines.
“Where’d the crystal critters go?” Finn asked. Towards the back of the base, there they see a crystal critter. It begins running into the mines.
“Follow me,” Poe said while everyone turns towards Leia.
“What are you looking at me for? Follow him,” Leia tells them. Poe starts leading everyone through the mines.

In the skies, the Millennium Falcon and Red Five fly over the mountains. R2-D2 pilots the X-wing and links up with Rey’s binary beacon to try and locate Leia’s. The beacon starts rapidly beeping.
Beeps!
“If the beacon’s right beneath us, they’ve got to be somewhere,” Rey replied. “Master Skywalker clearly found a way into the caves when he landed. Keep scanning for life forms.

In the mines, Leia’s beacon starts rapidly beeping too while she and Resistance follow the crystal critter to find an exit.
“This way,” Poe directed everyone.

As the Falcon and X-wing continue to fly over the mountains, the Porg looks out the cockpit and spots some crystal critters running up the mountain.
“I see them! Chewie, there,” Rey pointed. The two take the Falcon and circle back around to land while R2 follows in the X-wing.

Poe continues to lead the Resistance deep into the mines. He runs down a path where the crystal critter ran to and finds it on a pile of rocks. The critter squeezes between the rocks.
“No. No, no, no,” Poe complained while climbing up the rocks and watching the critter escape. No!”
The crystal critter gets out of the rocks and runs up the mountain where the Millennium Falcon has parked. Rey slides past the critter and runs up to the pile of rocks that block the exit.
“Lifting rocks,” she said to herself.

Kylo Ren and Luke hold their positions with their lightsabers in hand buzzing and crackling. Ren charges at Luke and the two battle. Luke blocks every attack Kylo Ren throws at him. Ren strikes high, low, and from the sides, and Luke blocks each one while also dodging a few of them. Luke holds another attack from Kylo Ren. Ren tries to push his crossguards towards Luke, but Luke pushes Ren back and dodges the swing. Both lightsabers swing all over the place and both combatants spin around while also flipping away from attacks. Ren strikes hard at Luke as he pushes him in the direction his shuttle is at. Luke blocks each attack while spinning his lightsaber and trying to strike his fallen nephew. Ren knocks Luke backwards and swings towards Luke. Luke quickly ducks under the saber and dodges away from Ren.
“I failed you, Ben. I’m sorry,” Luke apologized.
“I’m sure you are! The Resistance is dead. The war is over. And when I killed you, I will have killed the last Jedi,” Kylo Ren claimed.
“Amazing. Every word of what you just said was wrong,” Luke replied. “The Rebellion is reborn today. The war is just beginning. And I will not be the last Jedi.”

The Resistance watches the boulders move as daylight breaks into the mines. Poe and Finn run out ahead and sees Rey moving all of the boulders out of the way with the Force. Rey moves all of the boulders out of the way and drops them on the sides as everyone runs out. Finn runs to Rey and the two hug it out.

“I’ll destroy her, and you, and all of it. The legacy of both Skywalker and Kenobi will end with you and her,” Kylo Ren stated.
“No. Strike me down in anger, and I’ll always be with you. Just like your father,” Luke stated. Kylo Ren’s eyes turn orange again. He grips his crackling lightsaber tight in his hand. Luke turns his eyes towards towards the base. He looks back and smirks at Kylo Ren. “See you around, kid.” Kylo Ren runs and swings his lightsaber at Luke as he closes his eyes and holds his saber up. Kylo Ren turns around and sees nothing but Luke’s Jedi robes and lightsaber fall to the salty ground. Kylo Ren then steps on the cloak. He quickly turns around and senses nothing in the mines.
“NOOOO!!!” Kylo Ren yelled.

At the ships, Rey helps load the Resistance onto the Millennium Falcon. She stops and heard the echo of Kylo Ren’s scream. She also feels Luke’s disappearance. She turns towards Leia as she feels it too. The two form tears in their eyes. Rey turns her head to the right and Leia turns to her left and they’re met with Luke Skywalker as a glowing blue Force ghost. Rey and Leia smile while forming more tears. Luke smiles at his sister and apprentice before turning towards the sunset. He looks to the horizon one last time before lowering his head and disappears. Rey and Leia watch Luke’s ghost form disappear into the cosmic Force and stare off into the sunset.
Kylo Ren leads General Hux and Captain Phasma into the Resistance base. Phasma takes her troopers to cover every end of the base. Kylo Ren heads into the control room, and Hux watches Kylo Ren enter. In the room, Kylo finds his father’s golden dice Leia dropped on the floor. He then feels the force connect with him.
Every last member of the Resistance is loaded onto the Millennium Falcon. Chewie closes the hatch while nodding at Rey as she makes her way to Red Five. She climbs into the X-wing and looks out onto the mountains to see Kylo Ren looking at her from inside the base. She stares into his bright orange eyes before closing the hatch and firing up the engines. Kylo Ren looks at the dice again and crushes them into his hand. Hux brings in a comm link and hooks it up to the computers of the base. A hologram projection of Snoke’s head appears in the darkness.
“The Resistance escaped. But Skywalker is dead,” Kylo Ren told his master.
“Excellent. The Resistance will begin to crumble to their last troops. There will be nothing they can do to stop us. The Final Order is almost ready,” Snoke claimed.
“Final Order?” Kylo Ren asked.
“The First Order was only the beginning,” Snoke started. On Exegol, Snoke sits in his throne and then lifts his hands out to use the Force. Outside the giant Sith Citadel, a gaint object breaks through the ground. A head that looks like that of an Imperial Star Destroyer. Beneath the large traingle-shaped body are large buildings hanging down as it all comes out of the ground over the surface. “A brand new Empire. It will soon be ready, and then we will rule all of the galaxy at its very heart.” Snoke smiles as everyone back on the base bows before their future emperor.

The Millennium Falcon and Red Five fly out into outer space and make the jump to lightspeed. The Resistance rejoices in the lounge of the Falcon for surviving.
“C’ai!” Poe exclaimed while hugging his fellow pilot friend.
Growls!
“Chewie!” Leia exclaimed while hugging her wookie friend. Chewie turns towards Lando and hugs him.
“Good to see you, too, old buddy!” he exclaimed.
Finn opens a drawer to pulls out a blanket from behind the sacred Jedi texts Rey took with her and covers Rose as she lays on the bed.

On the distant forest planet of Ajan Kloss, The Falcon and Red Five land in the deep jungle and unload themselves. Outside, they’re greeted with Maz Kanata. Chewie growls with excitement and hugs Maz.
“It’s good to see you, too, Chewie. I’m glad you made it in one piece,” Maz replied.
“I see you’ve dealt with that little problem you had earlier?” Shriv asked.
“Yep. It’s all good, Shriv,” Maz replied.
“This looks like a good place for a new base,” said Zay.
“This planet is also uncharted. The First Order won’t find us here,” Maz added. BB-8 rolls past everyone to Rey who was getting out of Red Five.
Beeps!
“BB-8! It’s so good to see you again!” Rey exclaimed. BB-8 chirps. “It looks good.” She slightly adjusts BB-8’s antenna. Poe walks out of the Falcon and sees the two.
“Hey,” Poe said.
“Hi,” Rey replied.
“I saw you back on D’Qar but I didn’t get the chance to introduce myself. I’m Poe,” he introduced himself.
“I’m Rey.”
“I know. Finn told me a lot about you,” Poe replied. “Thanks for taking care of my droid on Jakku.”
“You’re welcome,” Rey replied.
“Hello, what have we here?” Lando asked while walking over to Rey. “I’m Lando Calrissian. Former administrator of Cloud City. Who might you be?”
“Rey.”
“Nice to meet you, Rey,” Lando replied. “Thank you for taking care of the Faclon.”
“It was my pleasure. I’m sorry about Han. I think he would want you to have the Falcon again,” said Rey.
“Nah. My flying days are over, but I’ll do what I can for this Resistance. Take good care of her. Don’t scratch her too badly. I can see she took a few hits back on Crait. And she needs a new satellite dish again,” said Lando.
“All right, General Calrissian. Chewie and I will take good care of her. Right Chewie?” Rey replied. Chewie growls back. Rey turns towards a ledge overlooking the massive forest, and she sees Leia sitting on a rock. Rey walks over and joins her. “Luke is gone. I felt it back there before we saw him. But it wasn’t sadness or pain. It was peace and purpose.”
“I felt it, too,” Leia replied.
“How do we build a Rebellion from this?” Rey asked. Leia puts her hand on Rey’s hand as she holds her broken saber.
“We have everything we need,” Leia replied. Chewie, Finn, and Poe walk up to the two. Chewie gives Rey Leia’s lightsaber. Rey looks to Leia who smiles at her. Rey stands up and walks to Finn.
“Are you willing to continue down this path?” Rey asked as she presented the saber to Finn. Finn looks at the saber and slowly reaches his hand out. Finn smiles and nods at Rey as he grabbed the saber. Poe reaches his arm over Finn and smiles. BB-8 rolls over to Rey. She smiles at all of her friends. They all look up to the stars as a new hope for the Resistance and the galaxy is born.

The End