I DO NOT own recognizable Star Wars characters, events, places, plot lines, items, and anything else Lucas has licensed. I DO own my OC character *to be named in a later chapter* and a few places/events that I have created myself. There IS changes to canon lore in the form of more info from my own mind with the canon books, films, games, and shows taken into account. Thank you.
Rey felt a sudden tug at her chest as she tried to calm her breathing again. Sitting what felt like a whole parsec away from the fire in the ruined temple wasn't helping her much. This place, it felt so powerful and yet so alien. It wasn't a desert like Jakku but it also wasn't a snowy forest like Starkiller base. Ahch-To was something different- new. And with everything else new in her life Rey wasn't sure that she could handle much more of new.
"Your mind wanders, Padawan." A cloaked figure murmured from beside her. "Wandering isn't always a bad thing, but it won't help your meditation."
Rey took another deep breath and tried again to center herself, but nearly instantly let the breath out in a deep sigh. Her Master was right, she was wandering. To where, she did not know, but she knew she was wandering.
"I am sorry, Master Skywalker." She sighed again. "I don't know where my mind is going, but I keep feeling a deep pull. Something that I can't seem to shake, like a whisper on the edge of the universe."
"As a force sensitive you are more aware of things like this, Padawan. Knowing they are there and acting on those impulses are what separate
a Jedi from a Sith. A Jedi knows and hears the universe and listens as the Force flows through it all. A Sith, however, knows the Universe and sees how the Force flows but wishes to control them to their own will and ends." Luke Skywalker said as he moved to stand. For an older Jedi he was spritely still, in Rey's eyes. "You are beginning to see the Universe through a different set of eyes. It is like being blinded, Rey."
As it was one of the few times that her Master used her real name- she listened deeply. She felt blind, in a sense. But she also felt like she could feel, see, hear, and taste everything. It was like the universe was assaulting her at every turn. Pulling and pushing, like the waves did to the island on which she and her Master sat.
"Master," Rey said quickly as Luke turned to leave her to her meditation practice. "This pull I feel, I don't know why, but… But I think it's becoming stronger. Almost like whatever is pulling me is coming closer. I feel like I need to follow this to its source. It doesn't seem dangerous, Master. What am I to do?"
"Do? You are to do nothing. Meditate on it again, young one. Acting too quickly and we could force our own hands. We must be cautious, calculated. You won a great victory for the Resistance at Starkiller and although no victory comes without casualties… they also do not come without repercussions."
Luke found himself sounding much like Obi-Wan, a thought that at one time would have made him proud. Right now, though, it seemed to be a burden. How was he ever to become like the Jedi of old? He had already failed the Galaxy, twice in fact. And here in front of him was his last hope- and she didn't even know who she was. Or what she could become. And he couldn't tell her.
Not yet.
"Calm your mind, Padawan." Luke said with a tug on his robe to bring the hood over his head. "Follow the tug to its source through the Force and you will find what you're looking for without ever leaving Ahch-To."
And with that he left Rey on her own next to the fire. The scavenger shivered as she shifted to become comfortable. Bringing her hands to her knees and resting them as open as she could she breathed.
In and out, a steady rhythm.
Her mind began to wander again, following the pull like water down a stream. Images appeared through Rey's mind. Memories of her childhood- left on Jakku alone and afraid. The Graveyard of Giants, Hellhound Two- her home. Finn. BB-8. The Falcon. Han. Chewie.
Sweat began to appear on Rey's forehead as she hit a wall, a block, in her mind. There was something pulling her past that wall- but she couldn't seem to get past it herself.
In and out she breathed. In and out she repeated. In and out.
'Restrain yourself. Calm strength. Feel it flow through you.' a voice said in the air. It was that of a man, both old and young at once. That voice had been in her dreams before, helping her as it did so now. 'Follow the path, the wall is not impossible.'
In and out.
As she meditated, she felt herself leave Ahch-To, and began to climb the wall in her mind. She could almost see herself trying to scale the heights. The pull kept playing with her, toying at the edge of her consciousness. But it wasn't leading over the wall, she found. It was leading around it.
She was running now, running down a path she didn't know on a planet that seemed even more alien than this one. It was devoid of life, it was en echo. It was pain. So painful, in fact, that she almost stopped running- Rey almost turned around.
'Follow, don't run.'
Steeling herself she felt her mind continue through the Force on this planet. She wasn't sure if what she felt or saw was real. Did this planet really exist? Was she there? She couldn't be, could she? She knew that she was sitting on Ahch-To, right?
The path she ran became broken, like something long since unused. The echo she followed became louder and louder. Like a scream in her mind through the Force. The pull in her mind became stronger and stronger as she surged onward.
And then it was gone. The path, the echo, the pull. She was alone again, standing in the darkness of the force.
"There you are." A voice, female this time, called across the space. Rey turned in the dark, but saw nothing. No one was there. "You will see me when you are ready. But I see you now, and that is what matters. So listen well, Rey."
"How do you know me?" Rey questioned the darkness. "Who are you?"
"There is no time. Listen." The darkness faded and the planet was back. Lifeless and empty- the echo in the background of the Force returned. "I am here. And here is where you will find me. A planet that lies dead in space. Follow the echo through the force, Rey. Follow it quickly- the galaxy depends on it."
"But- I- What is this place?"
"Follow the echo, and you will know."
Rey felt a great jerk as she was suddenly pulled into her body again. She was exhausted, and could barely move. The fire had nearly died, and it was suddenly dark in the temple. How long had she been meditating? Where was Master Luke? Who had that been? Where had the Force taken her?
All of those questions seemed to darken at the edge of her mind as sleep began to claim her. Answers, it seemed, would have to wait.
—
Far away on a dead world a figure in a billowing cloak walked across the desolate surface. The girl had finally reached out and followed the call. It had taken months, yet time was precious and short.
"Find me, Rey Kenobi." The figure said to the darkness. "Find me, before he finds you."
A/N:
This is my first Star Wars fic that I have felt comfortable publishing. I realize that it wont be everyone's cup of tea and I accept that. All reviews or criticisms are welcome. I will admit to this chapter being partially Beta'd as my current beta doesn't do Star Wars so I am kind of in the market, I guess, for a beta for this and other stories.
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy!
