I've written short stories, long stories, essays, and even some atrocious poetry, but never fan fiction. This is new for me, so please be patient and give me ALL of the constructive criticism. My favorite fan fiction has always been what is conceivable in the universe and in character (Sherlock fanfic Full House, I'm looking at you), but with a healthy dose of fan service (the fan being me in this case) so that's what I hope to do. If my characters make choices that don't make sense relative to what we've seen in the movies, please let me know. Obviously over time they'll evolve and start making choices that wouldn't be made now, but that's in the future.
A couple things before I start (at least one of which could be controversial):
1) I didn't like a lot of what was done in the Last Jedi, especially given Carrie Fisher's death and the practical obstacles they now face while respecting her memory (which means not animating her... Do you hear me, Disney?). However, I'm not making any major changes, just additions if you will. For example, clarifying Ben/Kylo's motives which may be at odds with what the writers thought his motives were. So I'm not changing anything (Luke is still gone, sorry), but I will add when it makes sense and is needed to support my own story.
2) No Rose. Sorry, but her character was boring and underdeveloped and she deserved better. There's nothing to work with and since I don't want to essentially create a new character it's easier for me to leave her out.
3) The extended universe is gone, guys, so if I contradict a bunch of that I'm not worried. I don't know most of it anyway.
4) I will, however, be using a fan theory from The Revenge of the Sith that is definitely not canon. Have fun guessing which one ;)
5) If I do things with the Force you think shouldn't happen, I want a reason. Every movie expands on what can be done with the Force, but I'm not an expert in the Star Wars universe so if it's blatantly wrong let me know.
So that was more than a couple but I'm new to Star Wars and this so... let's get cracking.
The last Jedi felt Luke slip away; he felt peace...acceptance...even joy. He hadn't felt Luke's presence for many years, but he'd always known he wasn't gone, only hiding. Now he was gone, and a single tear trailed down the man's leathered cheek. He'd never met Luke, but as he watched the young man grow in the Force and influence the fate of the galaxy, he began to view him as a son. Someone who had done what he failed to do so many years ago.
The old Jedi painfully stood from the half-rotten log outside the door of his cottage. He sat there every morning, and had for many years. In the beginning, the log had been whole and sound, but the humid atmosphere of the forest had eaten away at it just as his failure had eaten away at his soul. He'd seen the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire. It had been largely his fault. The signs had all been there but his arrogance blinded him. He had hidden, walked away from the Jedi Order, and justified it by saying he was not worthy to bear the title anymore. He had stayed silent when young Luke Skywalker emerged and trained under Yoda. He did not reveal himself when Obi Wan fell, nor when he felt Yoda's death. There was always someone else to do what needed to be done. Now there was no one. He was not worthy of the name Jedi, but he would have to take it.
He opened the door and ducked into the cottage, his metallic hand scraping on the metal latch. He was no longer a large man, shrunken by age and a hard life, but the house had belonged to a humanoid race that was significantly shorter than his own. Inside, an outdated Q-49T protocol droid reclined lifelessly against the wall. Without access to new parts, the droid had slowly rusted away, and the old Jedi had been truly alone for the last few years. There was no reason not to take it apart and reuse the pieces, but he felt sentimental. His self-imposed exile had been lonely, and the Q-49T had an unusually sharp wit for such an old droid. Before the Republic collapsed, Anakin Skywalker had worked on it, and the Jedi often wondered if the boy had altered some of the original hardware.
"Well, Q," he said softly, knowing there would be no response, "It's finally time to go. There's no one left to do what I should have done long ago."
Saying the words out loud brought a finality to his decision. He stood and surveyed the room. A single bed with worn blankets took up much of the space. A small stove that often sputtered black smoke from the damp wood was next to it, and a sink with running water was by the door. Running water was the one luxury he had here, but he often had to use the Force to draw it out at more than a trickle. The wooden floor was worn to a polish in spots, and rotted through in others. There were no windows, but the Jedi had long ago mastered moving sightless in the dark. Solitude had drawn him closer to the Force, even as he tried to escape the duties it pressed on him.
There was nothing to take but his lightsaber, always clipped to his belt, and a sack of food that he picked up from the bed. He did not have the strength to carry Q, and could not float him into the nearest town using the Force. Until he found who he was looking for, it was important no one knew he could use the Force. Q would have to stay.
The old man stepped from the cottage into the warm dampness of the forest. He latched the door as if he were making his usual trip to town for supplies and would return before dark, yet he felt he would never return. Wherever this journey took him, it would be his last. He surveyed the expanse of mossy carpet, a bright jewel green, and the soft light that filtered through thick layers of branches above. He felt water drip from leaves and soak into the ground to aid in the destruction of the roots of the very tree it had fallen from, continuing the cycle of life and death. He felt the pulsating Force of millions of creatures existing in the same forest, in the same cycle. But beyond it all he felt a beacon of Light, a girl so strong with the Force it equaled the darkness he felt from Vader's grandson.
Yet, he often caught glimpses of Darkness in her Light. It was woven through it, not subdued by it, and not trying to drown the other out. Coexisting. He saw the reverse in Vader's heir, Darkness shot through with Light, as if tendrils of ivy had grown through it and around it. Years ago he would have viewed the girl as weak and the boy as a threat, now he was older and wiser. Had he not walked the line between Light and Dark more successfully than any Jedi before him? True, he had always been a Jedi, never really giving in to the lure of the Sith, but he had been close to the fulcrum, always so close to tipping the scale.
He second-guessed himself. Maybe he had been weak. Maybe his balancing act had been his undoing. He shook off the thought. It didn't matter so much now. Yoda and Obi Wan had been gone for a long time, and now Luke was gone. The girl could not be trained by Ren; she would give in to the Dark Side. He would have to take up the mantle of Jedi one last time to set things right. It was about time he stopped avoiding his duty. He followed the path to town, never once looking back.
Probably not where you expected me to begin, but I like stories that begin in an unexpected (and hopefully interesting) way. Q-49T is a droid I completely made up. I have homework, so I didn't want to spend an hour researching Star Wars droids. Don't worry, I'll get to Rey and Ben soon enough. Most chapters won't focus on this character, but he is really important to the plot. What do you guys think? What do you like? Not like? I know the pacing was slow; I wanted some background on this character since he isn't in TFA or TLJ.