The Future Is Not Ours To See
"You can't stop the change, any more than you can stop the suns from setting." — Shmi Skywalker
The Jedi have been taught by Luke and before him, by the Jedi knights old the old Republic. Luke was their teacher, to fight, to use the force and how to become a new Jedi in the eyes of the New Republic.
Ben could only try to be brave and continue his family's legacy. His cousin Kaydel also tried.
He knew about the ghosts, found out about Darth Vader being his grandfather when he was so young. He was ten and when Kaydel found out, Ben finally traced Anakin Skywalker's story with the help of his ghost.
Kaydel called the blue glowing figure pretty, the man with the scar smiled. Whenever they were left alone, seventeen-year-old Ben giving excuses to babysit his younger cousin just to listen uninterrupted about Anakin Skywalker's life.
He always came in the form before Darth Vader, as the young general of his clone squadron. Ben could see his Uncle Luke's face and his mother's eyes on Anakin.
"Where were you born?" Nine-year-old Kaydel asked him once.
"Tatooine. A planet full of sand, I was a slave there and then I left." His eyes became sad as if talking about the planet full of sand made him upset. He told them about his time as a slave, how he won his freedom, at nine years old left with a Jedi and a young queen of Naboo. Later on, telling his grandchildren his time as a padawan under Obi-Wan Kenobi and coming back to Tatooine, not being able to save his mother. "Your great-grandmother is buried there."
"What's her name?" Kaydel always asked a lot of questions. Such curiosity would get her into trouble or help her. Probably both, Ben thought.
Anakin pursed his lips, contemplating but he answered. "Her name was Shmi Skywalker."
Shmi Skywalker, Ben made sure he kept that name. He would later put it in a holo, which would fill up with the stories Anakin told them. He wanted to make sure the Skywalker history was kept intact, something his mother tried to smother and Luke barely knew.
But it wasn't enough to get Ben away from the darkness, Leia blaming Darth Vader. When Kaydel asked her aunt about where her father and Ben were, she only told her that "Ben is gone. Your father is gone and they aren't coming back." It was harsh but at that moment all Leia felt like her world imploded.
Kaydel was in her room, alone when Anakin appeared. She didn't blame him, he didn't make Ben go bad. She looked at the man that was Darth Vader, his scar on his face and the dark cloak. He looked crushed as if he heard Leia's words and maybe he did, he was after all a ghost. "I want you to teach me," She looked at him straight into his eyes that were the same blue as her father's. "I want you to teach me the ways of the force. If something happened to my dad, I need to learn. I have the force too. I need to learn this."
So, Anakin taught her how to fight, how to wield the force and what the Jedi's were, something long before her time. Kaydel Skywalker was the child of Luke Skywalker, one that silently disappeared in the eyes of the galaxy. She went on to change her name, not wanting the weight of her name to break her. She became Kaydel Ko Connix, pilot and intelligence personnel, later lieutenant of the fledgling Resistance.
The First Order came like a large punch into the New Republic. Anakin came to her when she was stationed with her estranged aunt on D'Qar.
She was known to everyone as Lieutenant Connix but sometimes she could see Leia look at her as if she was catching on to her ruse. That wasn't actually Connix but a Skywalker. They worked trying to restore the Republic, fighting off the First Order with the rumors swirling that Kylo Ren was actually a Sith. Kaydel didn't think much of it until she overheard Han and Leia talk about the monster and realized that monster was Ben. Her cousin Ben, who used to cheer her up whenever her dad had to leave and promised her that they would travel the galaxy, try to find out more about their lineage.
It felt like a punch to the gut. She knew she couldn't stand aside and let the adults decide about Ben. The last time that happened, she never saw him or her father ever again for years. Not again.
"General Organa, Captain Solo." That got the elder couple's attention. Nobody had called Han 'Captain' since his time in the Rebellion. "Yes, Connix?"
This was it, Kaydel thought.
Now or never, kiddo. The voice said, sounding a lot like her grandfather.
"I need to speak to you privately about Ben." Leia looked furious and was about to deny her when she spoke again. "I can try bringing him back. He's my cousin, I deserve to be apart of this kriffin mess."
It was at that moment that realization hit them, seeing her as a new person. "Kay?" Han seemed hesitant to reach out as if she might disappear. "B-But you ran away?" Kaydel nodded. It was true that she did run away when she was ten to Bespin after the disappearance of her father, getting on a ship and hiding with Lando. She had to beg him not to tell them, knowing full well that Leia or Han was in no shape to take care of her after what happened to Ben. He relented and Kaydel stayed there until her eighteenth birthday, leaving Bespin after living there for nine years. She went on to the academy, changing her name beforehand.
Now, Kaydel Skywalker was reborn in a messy fight to bring her cousin back to them.
"Let me try to bring him back. I can do this." She felt like she could. Leia relented much to the worry of Han. Han wanted to go but would be piloting the ship with Chewie to get her away when Starkiller base imploded. Leia told her to bring Finn as well, wanting to find Rey, the girl who brought Obi-Wan's missing lightsaber, now in the possession of her cousin.
Before Kaydel left, she touched R2. "Hope you wake up soon buddy." Whispering to the droid. She put on the hood of her cloak, the same black one that belonged to her father and headed to the Falcon.
"What is she doing?" Rey whispered to Finn. Just like her, Finn had no idea what one of the lieutenant's of the Resistance was trying to do facing Kylo Ren. The comm in his ear, he could hear Han yelling at them to get to the ship. But they were glued to the confrontation.
"Ben!" The name echoed and made Kylo Ren freeze. Kaydel wouldn't come close, getting a horrible feeling so she just stood in his view on the other side. "Ben, look at me!"
He turned, taking off the mask that reminded her of Darth Vader's mask that he had to wear. She had nightmares when Ben told her stories of Darth Vader and they came back again when Anakin told her his tale. But this wasn't a man trying to stop the death of his wife and child, this was her cousin, torn on the inside by a Sith Lord since his birth. Scared to turn out like Darth Vader only to accept his so-called destiny, something Kaydel refused to even see in her cousin.
If her father could turn Darth Vader before his death, then so can Kaydel.
"Kaydel? You're on their side?" He sounded so wounded. She wanted to run over and embrace him but she firmly planted her feet on the ground. "Please, I'm being torn on the inside. If you join me, we can accomplish so much." Kaydel could hear the tears, the sadness in his voice. She felt the war raging on the inside of Ben Solo. She needed to tip the scales.
Kaydel shook her head that made Ben recoil his outstretched hand. "I won't join you, Ben. I'm sorry but I won't. Please, come back to us, to your parents and me. I miss you and I won't give up on you. You were once Ben Solo and he's still in there just like Anakin Skywalker was once locked away inside Darth Vader. Come back home Ben, please."
Ben looked at her, emotions swimming in his dark brown eyes. Anger, sadness, pain, and agony all rolling inside him. In the end, he shook his head making Kaydel's heartbreak into pieces. "I need to find Luke Skywalker and end him, one and for all."
"No, you don't. Snoke has poisoned your mind and heart. You don't need this Ben."
She could see that her words had an effect on her older cousin but he sunk farther into the darkness, letting it wrap itself around him like a blanket. It should have devastated her and it did but it also brought her a tiny bit of hope knowing that there could be some part of Ben still in there. She sensed stormtroopers coming, Ben looked at her, unfazed and intense.
Go, he told her through the force. She didn't want to go but had no other choice with Finn hollering at her that it was time to go. She looked over her shoulder one last time seeing Kylo (Ben) motioning for the soldiers to stop, letting them go.
There was no death on Starkiller base unless you count the many lives lost when it exploded. The Resistance had a celebration but after that it was time to look for Luke Skywalker, R2 having woken up, setting the final piece of the map that BB-8 had.
Kaydel wanted to cry, finally seeing where her dad might finally be. Leia ordered an immediate evacuation all of them headed to Yavin while Han, Rey, and Chewie would go find Luke. Leia decided to give them R2, telling Han that a message was to be given to Luke that the little droid had. Wishing them luck, Kaydel and Leia watched as the Falcon flew away.
Luke Skywalker was a legend, no doubt about it. The base on Yavin was old, filled with memories of the old rebellion and the time of the empire.
Everyone looked at Luke with awe when he stepped off the Falcon, old with greying long hair and beard. Leia walked over and gave him a bone crushing hug which Luke returned. Kaydel knew once they were in more private setting her aunt would just end up yelling her heart out to her dad, making sure that he wouldn't do anything like that ever again.
She slowly walked over after they stopped hugging, Luke's eyes spotted Kaydel. "Dad?" She didn't know what to say to him, what could she say? She was angry at him for leaving her yet at the same time this overwhelming sadness that he wasn't there for her and just joy that he was finally here with her. He must have sensed all of those through the force or maybe her face showed every passing emotion because he reached out, touching her hand with his metal one. She used to joke as a kid that her dad must be stronger with his robotic hand and would test it out by swinging on it much to his amusement.
Luke pulled her into a hug and whispered into her ear. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry sweetie." Kaydel cried into her dad's shoulder. "It's okay dad. I'm just glad to have you back." and it was true, she was glad to have him back.
She and her aunt managed to persuade Luke to take on two students. Finn and Rey were very much eager to learn about the mystical ways of the force. They, along with the rest of the Resistance were shocked to find out that Kaydel was Luke's daughter. It took a while for Kaydel to get used to the awed looks and whispers sent her way whenever she stepped into a room. But even with the plan to add more people to their ranks by contacting more allies. They planned to attack smaller bases but for now, it was just gaining more people and intelligence.
She tried to contact Ben through the force but he seemed to block her attempts. Anakin told her to give it a rest, that he will come searching for her when he was ready. She trusted her grandfather's words and hoped that Ben did just that.
He did.
Kaydel, his voice sounded tired. Kaydel, I need you to come to Tatooine. Please.
NOTES: My first Star Wars fanfic, this little idea kept playing into my head for a while. This is an AU of Kaydel Ko Connix (played by Billie Lourde) being a Skywalker, more importantly, the daughter of Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade. I thought it be a cute idea to write and here it is!
The quote is from Star Wars: Phantom Menace and the title of the story is from Que Sera, Sera by Doris Day. Hope you guys enjoy the story, leave a comment! :3