The star craft entered into the upper atmosphere of the planet, a world beholden to a permanent fog, enveloping everything and anything in its twinning wisps, holding onto everything with and threatening to pull whatever it grasps into an even darker and impermeable void before finally letting go. The craft descended to the surface, its thrusters igniting the layer of clouds, giving it an eerily deathly glow. The two passengers aboard the craft girded themselves for an uncertain landing, before suddenly leaving the layer of gaseous substance that threatened their survival to a dimly lit, and sparsely populated world below. The cloud layer in the upper atmosphere filtered the starlight and sunlight from outer space, creating a reddish purplish glow cascading on to the rocky and desert landscape below. Small forests dotted the landscape, but the world was mostly devoid of life. The travelers had traversed an enormous nebula cloud, a cacophony of electricity, gas, and dark matter concealing this world from even the most sophisticated scans. Probes that entered into the system contained within in the nebula were damaged almost immediately upon entry. The fact that this world was even known to the travelers was due to an arduous and painstaking investigation into the origins one of the galaxy's most powerful wielders of the dark side of the force.
Rey and Chewbecca navigated the Falcon to the surface of the planet. Rey had spent long months poring over the data banks of the First Order, and more importantly, the ventures of Snoke to uncover this world and its location. She reached out with her increasing powers to uncover the mysterious origins of Snoke. The Resistance, on the run, and desperate to cling on to hope, had sent spies into the wreckage of Snoke's command ship. Rey had reached out with the Force, an ability that had been strengthened via Snoke's meddling to auspiciously connect her and Kylo Ren through the intertwining web of the Force. Fortunately for Rey, this had the unintended consequence of opening up a doorway to allow her to reach out to others, including salvage crews. She was able to glean information otherwise inaccessible, and also to convince any First Order patrols to conveniently look away as Resistance spies closed in on protected First Order data banks.
Now her and Chewbecca were on Lotus VI, a planet far outside of the outer rim, ready to uncover the mysteries of the dark side of the Force, the training ground for Snoke and the masters of the Sith. The rest of the Resistance remained hidden, on various worlds, attempting to sway would be allies, but otherwise remain in hiding, hoping her and Chewbacca would be able to find something. Chewbecca let out a low growl, a hint of nervousness and trepidation that Rey had never before witnessed from her stalwart companion. They had agreed earlier upon entering the system to make an immediate jump to light speed if their shields dropped below a low threshold due to the encompassing pressure of the gaseous system. Fortunately, the did not have to do that as they made their way to the planet.
"Easy, Chewie. Think of this as Tattoine. Except more…red." She tried to make her co-pilot feel at ease, although she felt just a little uncomfortable herself. She expected a vergence in the Force, perhaps even a malevolence as they neared their destination. But all she felt was emptiness. That alone terrified her.
A small mountain range lay ahead of them. They selected a landing space nearby, an outcropping large enough for the Millinium Falcon. They noticed, as they landed, a small citadel embedded into the face of the mountain range. At first believing it to be an optical illusion, they came to realize it was indeed a structure created by sentient beings, an observation made during their landing approach.
"Chewie, stay here."
Chewbacca growled his disapproval and reached for his bowcaster. Rey placed her on his shoulder and shook her head. He let out a sad moan, not wanting to leave his friend to traverse the mountain range alone. She disembarked the Falcon, walking down the landing ramp to the rocky surface of the impromptu landing spot. She carried only her staff and the two broken pieces of Anakin Skywalker's old lightsaber, stowed away inside one of her pockets. She stopped briefly to get her bearings before finding a path suitable for hiking and in the general direction of the citadel. Chewbacca remained in the cockpit, his features illuminated only by the glow of the Falcon's flight console and the deathly glow of the planet's sky. He made some minor adjustments to the Falcon's communications array, to compensate for the interference from the fog above, and also attempt to track his friend's trek.
Rey finally made it to citadel. She had made some false turns, but somehow managed to correct her course. She felt a deep sense each time she made a wrong turn that she had somehow failed her friends, that she somehow failed herself. Those feelings left her like a weight being lifted from her shoulders when she changed course. Somehow, her feelings guided her to the entrance of the citadel. It was embedded into the surface of the mountain side. Its texture had a slick and almost slimy surface. There was a singled arched entrance into citadel. There was no door. There were no guards. The natural but dim light revealed a small foyer inside the citadel. She stood at the entrance. She cast a long shadow into the entrance of the citadel. She noticed for the first time the planet's four moons, at various orbits around the planet, reflecting the light of the binary stars at the center of this planet's system. The permanent fog in the upper atmosphere of the planet diffracted the light
Rey stepped inside the entrance and immediately runes, each a meter wide, appeared on the floor, ignited by a blue light, lay in straight line in front of her. She recognized these runes as symbols from Jedi texts. She saw them on Ahch-to when she first met Luke Skywalker. What she didn't know was that the Sith had specifically chosen these specific runes to mock the Jedi. They took the Jedi's sage wisdom and rearranged them into gibberish. Despite their nefarious origins they lit the citadel and she could see that it was simply a single room with a vaulted ceiling except there was an alcove in front of her; a smaller enclosed citadel, a simulacrum of the larger citadel. The runes led directly to the alcove, which she followed. When she entered she could see an obelisk that stood at the center, which towered above her. Its face appeared to be made of obsidian.
The obelisk ignited into a pale blue-green fire as she entered the alcove. She gasped but then composed herself when it ignited. She did not feel any heat coming from the fire as it consumed the obelisk. It did not grow and did not even crackle like any other fire should. She peered into the blaze. She saw a shadow approaching her, emerging from the center of the obelisk. She was reminded of her first exposure to the dark side on Ahch-to, when she pleaded to the dark side of the Force to tell her who her parents were. The feeling she felt now was almost the same, except she also sensed a presence of another person. That presence felt warm, welcoming in a sense. The shadow began to manifest itself as it reached the edge of the obelisk. Then it stepped through the flame and into the alcove to stand in front of her. It was a robbed figure, roughly her own height. The hood of the robe concealed the figure's face.
"Rey," a ghostlike voice whispered to her. "Rey, welcome."
Rey felt a comfort wash over her. She felt a flicker of joy. She felt some semblance of love reach out to her, not just from the figure that stood before her but from the entire environment. Rey shuddered and let out a brief gasp; a sigh really. She felt unburdened from here past adventures, her obligations to her friends. She felt something else she could not understand. It was like a general wave of elation, washing over her.
"Who…who are you?" she asked the figure.
The figure stood motionless for what seemed an eternity. Rey thought that maybe she had offended the figure, and the sense of joy that had just enveloped her seemed to fade. She was afraid that the comfort she had just experienced would simply vanish, leaving her alone and confused once again.
The figure pulled back the hood and revealed a face of a beautiful woman. Rey thought she recognized this face. She did know this face. She gasped.
"I know you!" she exclaimed. "I know you." she said again in disbelief. Before her stood the mother of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. The woman smiled at Rey.
"Rey." Padme Amidala paused, "Rey, you found me. You found us."
Rey faltered, felt all of her strength leave her, and fell to her knees before the figure of Padme. Her head fell. Padme strode towards her and gently touched Rey's chin, lifting it up. Tears streamed from Rey's face as looked up at Padme. The glow of the obelisk also gave a glow to the figure of Padme that made her almost seem angelic. Padme reached out and stroked Rey's hair and then caressed her face. Rey had never felt such warmth before. It was as if all of her cares had been washed away. She also felt strengthened by the touch. Briefly, though, she sensed something else. She sensed another presence, just for a moment behind Padme. Rey looked into the face of Padme and could tell that this feeling of this third presence was sensed by Padme too. Padme's smile faded for just a moment, and then reappeared. Was this a trick, Rey thought? It must be. An expression of sadness appeared on the Padme's face.
"Oh, Rey." Padme said.
Rey felt trapped, and then, with a moment of lightning reflexes she used the Force to push back from the figure of Padme. Padme doubled over from the blast of Rey's Force push and her hood fell back over her face. The figure remained momentarily motionless and then stood upright and smoothed out her robes. The figure's hands reached out from the sleeves of the robes and pulled back the hood. This time, though, the face of the figure was not that of Padme Amidala. Rey did not recognize this person. She stood up. Her expression was that of sheer determination to stand up against this new foe. She faced a man with sharp angular features and a smooth face. He appeared emotionless. She knew this to be a dark Jedi, a Force user that denied the teachings of the Jedi and embraced the dark side of the Force. The pupils of his eyes grew so that his eyes became completely black.
The dark Jedi reached into his robes and pulled out a lightsaber and ignited it. He held it in front of him pointed straight up. It wasn't a defensive or an offensive posture. Then he let go of the lightsaber and levitated it a meter in front of him. Its red glow intensified and had the effect of absorbing all other light so that even the room, dimly lit as it already was, went into complete darkness. He then used the Force to spin the lightsaber in a circle, rotating at first slowly and then with increasing speed. This had the effect of creating a vortex, a whirlwind, behind it. This vortex intensified and created a wind storm that practically exploded in front of the light blade, knocking Rey back. She reached out using the Force to keep herself planted on the ground, but nonetheless was forced backwards. Rey extended her hands and called upon her abilities to repel the blast of wind. She managed a stalemate, staying in place as the eruption of wind violently streamed around her. She grunted as she pushed back. She managed to repel the dark Jedi and his lightsaber off balance. The vortex caused by the lightsaber halted and the light streamed back into the chamber. The sudden change in brightness hurt Rey's eyes and she feared that she would fall victim to an attack by the dark Jedi. She realized that the dark Jedi was also affected. His enlarged pupils, which gave a distinctive strategic advantage in the dark were now a weakness. She heard him grunt and could barely see that he too was blinded momentarily by the light, holding up his arm to shield his eyes.
Rey acted quickly. She reached out with the Force to retrieve the dark Jedi's lightsaber, still outside of his grasp. She reignited its blade and took an offensive stance against her foe. The dark Jedi had by this time become accustomed to the increased brightness too, although he had to strain his eyes. He removed his arm from face and stared dispassionately at her. He reached out with his hand directed towards Rey. Rey braced herself but did not even remotely expect what happened next. She knew about the tricks of the Sith, Snoke, and Kylo Ren. She knew about the powers of Force lightning. But she did not know anything about what happened next. She felt intense pain in her entire body. She felt millions upon millions of tiny pin pricks discharged into her skin. She screamed in intense agony and collapsed onto the floor. Her eyes flickered, and she passed out.
"Rey."
She regained consciousness as someone called out to her.
"Rey."
The voice called out to her again. She recognized the voice, but her mind couldn't put the voice to a name.
"Rey, what are doing?" She opened her eyes and saw a robed figure kneeling before her. She thought, briefly, that may the dark Jedi had a change of heart and decided to take mercy upon her. But this didn't make sense. This wasn't the dark Jedi. She didn't sense that she was being led astray. This other figure felt like a true friend. That and the man's face was bearded and looked like Luke Skywalker. Somehow, in her pain ridden mind, she knew this didn't make sense either. Luke, this strange apparition of Luke, placed his hand gently on her shoulder and she felt the pain dissipate. He was also dead.
"Take your time Rey."
She could tell that this figure, this Luke, was not the same as the other figure in the room. Luke turned to face the dark Jedi. He ignited his lightsaber, a green lightsaber, and squared off against their common foe. Rey braced herself upon her elbow and observed this new confrontation between her old mentor and the wielder of the dark side of the Force. The dark Jedi grinned, bearing his teeth, which to Rey almost looked like fangs. The dark Jedi reached out with his hand to retrieve his own lightsaber which he reignited before taking an offensive stance against Skywalker.
Luke placed some distance between himself and Rey while still remaining between the dark Jedi and Rey, which Rey realized was an attempt to draw the dark Jedi away from her. The dark Jedi, growing impatient used his telekinetic powers to volley pieces of stray rubble in the room at Luke while simultaneously lunging towards him with a fierce overhead strike with his lightsaber, the attacks in perfect synchronicity with each other. Then Luke dissipated, reappearing behind the dark Jedi with his back turned. The dark Jedi sneered in agitation. He swung his blade in arcs first to his right and the to his left and repositioned himself to face Luke again. Rey regained her composure and raised herself to her knees.
The dark Jedi raised his light saber above his head and charged Luke Skywalker. The dark Jedi called upon such fury that as he struck down upon Luke that the air around became an edged weapon too, just as sharp as a lightsaber. Again, Luke disappeared, fading away before reappearing behind the dark Jedi.
The dark Jedi halted his attack dead in his tracks. He lifted his head to the roof and chuckled.
"Skywalker. Your attempts at trickery are certainly amusing. Is this all you have? Is this all you can do to protect this child?"
Rey, fazed by the dark Jedi's attack but still maintaining her full facilities, was amazed that her opponent could be tricked by Luke. He must not have known that Luke had passed away. But this apparition of Luke did seem remarkably real.
The dark Jedi turned to face Skywalker again. He held out his lightsaber straight to his side perpendicular to his body. He slowly brought his lightsaber to his front to point it directly at Luke. Then with an amazing velocity he launched his lightsaber directly at Rey.
Luke with equally swift reflexes flung his lightsaber towards Rey which she caught and deflected the dark Jedi's own lightsaber. She marveled that the illusion crafted by Luke could manifest a real lightsaber, or at least one that seemed real to her touch. Luke reached out and pulled the dark Jedi's lightsaber towards him.
"Now, Rey!"
Both Luke and Rey leapt towards the dark Jedi, each with a lightsaber and with the dark Jedi defenseless and completely caught off guard and cut him down. The dark Jedi collapsed. Rey and Luke both stood above the body of their once deadly nemesis. Rey noticed that she was sweating profusely and breathing heavily. She looked up from the body of the dark Jedi to look at Luke.
"Luke?"
Luke deactivated the dark Jedi's lightsaber and threw it aside. He looked into Rey's face.
"You went straight to the dark. Again."
Rey grimaced.
"is this really you?" she asked him.
"Yes. This is me. Our unfortunate enemy here was once one of my pupils, a Knight of Ren, ostensibly stationed here as a Knight of Ren by Kylo Ren to defend this place if the situation arises," Luke described. Rey trusted him, although she had the slight inclination that maybe she shouldn't. She resigned herself. If this turns into another trap, she reasoned, she would fight this apparition too, she supposed.
He resumed, "Rey, I want to show you something. I want you to learn something about this place. About Snoke. About Kylo Ren. About the dark side of the Force," said Luke. "You want to understand the dark side of the Force? You have experienced firsthand how the dark side tempts users of the Force not once but twice. It exploits your fears, your ambitions, and even the love you have for others. It knows you," Luke continued. "Rey, I want you to embrace the dark side."
These words uttered by Luke stunned Rey and had the remarkable effect, caused also by his unusual physical manifestation, to make her doubt the reality of her circumstances. She would for the rest of her life always remember this moment as if it were a haunting dream. She always doubted what she experienced on Lotus VI, even though her trip was recorded in excruciating detail by the Millinium Falcon's nav computer. She could also acutely remember the pain she felt from the dark Jedi's force powers, a stark reminder of the reality of her adventure.
"Luke…" she stammered, "is ... that wise?"
"Conquer the dark side of the Force. Everything that has been done by the First Order and by Snoke has been, ultimately, wrought by an extension and mastery of the dark side of the Force," Luke continued, ignoring Rey's protests. "I have had a unique opportunity to explore aspects of the Force since I have become one with it. I want you to become a part of it as well. You will disrupt it. You will disrupt the source of the First Order's power. The First Order, via Snoke's intervention, has eclipsed the might of the former Empire by exploiting ways of the Force previously unknown, at least as far as I know. This is the only way we can stop them."
Rey began to renew her protests but stopped herself. She felt, no, rather she knew Skywalker was right.
"Rey, this is very dangerous, as you can imagine. You can walk away. You can leave this conflict. But you must know that if you do we will fail to stand up against the march of the First Order. I will not force you to stay. This will be a sacrifice that will weigh heavily upon you for the rest of your existence," Luke cautioned.
Another presence entered the room. A diminutive figure appeared next to Luke Skywalker. His wrinkled features conveyed ages of wisdom, unfathomable to Rey and even to Luke.
"Guide you, we will. Protect you, to the best of our abilities, we will," exclaimed Yoda.
Rey, who had never seen Luke's onetime mentor, was struggling to let this turn of events sink in. She squeezed her eyes shut and placed her hand onto her forehead with her thumb and fingers gently pressed against her temples, in a meager and fruitless attempt to alleviate her situation.
"Ok. Please. Let me think," Rey pleaded. "I don't know how this will work. What exactly are we supposed to do?" she asked the Jedi duo.
Yoda smiled. Luke nodded.
"We need to bridge the gap between the natural Force and the physical realm. You will be…like a conduit, to bridge the gap between the facets of the Force and the source of the First Order's power," Luke attempted to explain.
Rey was struck by a glimpse of insight, of the genius behind the plan. She could see how this would succeed, as well as the obvious danger to herself. She would be vulnerable to the most devasting aspects of the Force. She could potentially be destroyed by the dark side, just like Kylo Ren and like Aniken Skywalker before him. But she could also save her friends. She could save Finn, Rose, Poe, and the rest of the Resistance. She would become a capacitor that would overcharge the dark side of the Force and push the First Order and Kylo Ren into the abyss.