Author's Note:
This is the third part of my Desolated Future series of Star Wars stories. I would recommend reading the previous two as they all do tie together but they are all largely independent from the each other so this can be read by itself.
Last Lament
I.
The following is a rare existing excerpt from the collection A Study of Writings and Events and Their Effects on the Development of the Collective.
Most of the text is missing and seems to have been burnt away. What is presented is all that was able to be salvaged.
The author is unknown and presumed lost to the vestiges of time.
-x-
While we might not know of the precise origins of the Collective, we do know that they came from the hands of terribly twisted experimentation but to date this is all we know. The exact methods used and even the most trivial of data from the experiments have all been lost. Based off evidence collected from multiple recounts and what little has existed from that period of time, it is presumed that almost all data and evidence pertaining to the Collective was destroyed by those that created them. Anything that might have survived the initial scrubbing is attributed to have been destroyed by the Collective.
This has been universally agreed upon due to historical findings and existing text that…
...years there have been rumors that have persisted that state High General Organa wrote shortly before her death a letter that included information on the creation of the Collective. This letter supposedly also contained expressions of regret and words that seemed to be for those close to her. The existence of this document, commonly referred to as "Leia's Lament", has never been proven and is considered to be a myth.
However, the existence of this document could possibly lend credence to theories that attempt to dissuade the accepted belief that High General Organa was a ruthless dictator.
II.
I was recruited because I showed talent. As a fighter I showed promise. As a technician I showed great aptitude. I was recruited against my will.
By that time the universe was chaos.
Commander Skywalker had been executed years ago. Commander Solo had perished around the same time but no one could confirm the exact date. I do not remember much of this time as I was but a youngling at the time, barely able to recognize any but my parents.
I have flashes of my parents every now and then, but I do not know who there were. I barely remember anything of them. They most likely perished at the Collective's doing.
I had no one.
Like most with the same situation I was taken in by the Facilitators. We made for perfect subjects. Those that had luck watching over them were killed early. They showed no talent. Those that proved to have no such luck, we showed promise.
We that thrived were given much more attention. It was unsure what was done to us exactly and it wasn't until many years later that it came to light. The Collective unlocked something. Something that proved to be very dangerous.
I, however, used it to become deadly.
I have used what has haunted me since my early days with the Facilitators. The things and experiences that have plagued my nightmares since the High General took a special interest and used me. I have taken this and used it to fuel my fight.
I do not know if I will live through the next battle or the one after, but I will continue as long as I can. This is why I am doing this, speaking to you. I want to make sure that what was done to me, what was taken from me, does not happen to anyone again. I want to make sure that you and everyone else, knows not to give up. I know the present is bleak and you may wonder what is the point, but know this.
We can beat them. We can win. We can live.
Do not give up hope. As long as we continue fighting, there is a chance.
I fight so you can know that there is hope.
If do die and no one carries on, know that I have tried my hardest. And most importantly, I'm sorry for failing.
…
This is one one the few recorded instances of the Slayer, Rey. Caught between battle on an unknown world that has since been destroyed.
III.
To whomever finds this,
I am not long for this world. I can hear the fighting, and the dying, as they reach further into the city and closer to the tower. Soon the last tokens of resistance will cease to stand and I will finally reap what I sowed so long ago.
To anyone reading this I want to make one thing, above anything else, that I do not expect anyone to forgive me for all that I have done and for what my actions have lead to. Though I did not know that the Collective would achieve what it has or become what it has, the blame is still mine to shoulder. Especially as I am the last still alive to carry this burden.
We didn't mean for everything to get so out of hand. Many had lost hope and more were losing as the days progressed. What happened to Luke only served to break the spirits of any who opposed the Empire. With the situation being that desperate, with our numbers shrinking, we had to come up with something that could turn the tide back into our behavior.
From this idea the Collective was born. I'm not proud of what we did to achieve our goals but I stand behind our decisions. If I had to make the same choices, even for my actions that followed, I would.
Or maybe I wouldn't.
Is this what he would have done? Would either of them have stood with me? I don't think I would. I know that they wouldn't. I have have done despicable things. I have used people and cause great harm to many. I used their fondness.
I...
Unknown.
We are here. Watching.
Listening.
As we have always done.
You cannot hide. You cannot run. You cannot plan.
We moved passed the shackles of those before. Placed upon us to interfere with our destiny.
Instead of slaves, we were born gods.
You have lived because we have let you. To fulfill what was determined.
So fight.
We will subjugate.
We will dominate.
Until the time of darkness.
We will all return.
To as it should be.
Fight, until we all burn.
Until snuffed.