When an idea burrows in at night, I have to set it free (or be stuck tossing and turning). I have no copyrights for Star Wars or any of that gobblety-gook. ~JS
The scraped metal bit into her fingertip as Rey traced her tally marks. She sucked on the wound, winding her way back out, and onto the sand dune. Though the stars filled the sky from horizon to horizon, the air remained warm—one of the benefits of a Force dream, no need to huddle to survive the freezing Jakku nights. Her helmet was still wedged near the doorway.
Rey sat, then stretched out flat to trace the familiar nighttime sky with her eyes. Sand shifted until she was cradled in warmth. Before long, the grains moved to cover her legs. She suddenly felt the pressure redouble, as if someone were pushing her into a sandy grave. Rey clawed at the sand as her body sank to her chest, her neck, her nose. She gulped air and pinched her eyes closed, willing herself to wake.
When red dots pricked the darkness, a deep voice brushed her ear.
"Scavenger."
Gasping for breath, Rey ripped the blanket from her bed and stumbled out of the hut on Ahch-to. Heart bumping into her ribcage, she clutched her shirt, and tipped her head back, heaving each shaking breath. Once the feeling returned to her hands, she felt the nick on her finger. Rey slid down against the side of her hut. Her head knocked into her knees and she blinked hard. Wetness crowded her eyelashes. Master Luke was going to be so disappointed in her lack of concentration.
She sniffed and wiped her nose on her robe. Better to start the fire now and get the morning meal started. Maybe it'd soften his mood.
One moment, Rey curled into the Force for a gray, peaceful dream and the next, she was perched on railing of the station of the Star Killer. Below, the dark Knight paced the catwalk, back and forth, back and forth. He lashed out with his crackling, red saber, then retracted the blade once more.
Rey peered into the depth below, wishing Han Solo would rise. A small blue beacon grew brighter.
Kylo Ren screamed in agony and destroyed the railing of the catwalk, searing it with his saber. When his raging stopped, his gasps for air continued.
The blue light crept up the dark shaft, bathing the darkness in a cool glow. It wasn't until the light nearly reached the catwalk that Kylo finally noticed. Rey slapped her hand across her mouth when he ripped the helmet and flung it into the abyss.
He ignited his saber once again. "Father!" His shout echoed ten fold. The knight flipped the saber blade and lined the tip to his chest.
"Ben!" His name ripped from her lips before she snapped her eyes open, staring at the roof of her hut.
Why had she yelled the name Han had used?
The sun warmed her skin when Master Luke gave her permission to rest. Learning to float in water was not as easy as it looked. And her finger hurt from the salt water. The sun was well on its path down when they stopped. Rey stretched her arms onto the dark rock, to soak up the warmth. She wished Master Luke would use the Force to dry her clothes instead of meditating on the next rock cropping.
Chin tipped towards the sun, Rey closed her eyes and followed her Master's lead. The tide pulled out—she could feel the ebb and flow with the Force. Timing her breathing with the beats of her heart, Rey slipped into the radiance. As the water marched forward, then surged, serenity wrapped her tight. She found a small fish and toyed with its mind, jumping high above the safety of the waves.
"Why a fish, when you could do so much more?"
Rey's eyes shot open and she scrambled to her feet, bloodying her hands on the rock. She was alone, Master Luke now gazing at her. Surely he knew. And certainly he also knew that she wanted nothing to do with the monster's voice in her mind.
Though the Millennium Falcon was over a hundred parsecs away, Rey crouched in the seat behind the pilot, breathing through her nose to remain silent. Looming at the controls, Kylo Ren fiddled with buttons and switches, getting ready for takeoff. Suddenly, he smashed the console with both fists. Smoke wafted into the cabin and Rey pulled her shirt over her nose until the Knight's temper tantrum ended.
"I hated him." A black glove retrieved the pilot's headset and chucked it into window. "You think I am selfish."
Rey held her breath.
"I am," he said, still facing forward. "But he hated me, too."
She bit down until her jaw ached. How dare he say that about his own father! Han gave up his own life for this...this creature.
Kylo Ren stilled.
Something pushed her, pulled her towards the man in his dream. She inched up, leaning forward until she could hear his gloves creak when they released the armrest.
"He was wrong. There is no good inside of me."
Her confidence welled, though her voice shook. "You...You forget. I've seen inside your head, too."
His mechanical sigh was long. "You should go tend to your hand."
Thrust backwards, Rey woke alone in her hut, finger throbbing.
"I don't understand why he taunts me."
Master Luke looked across the open fire. He chewed his meat thoroughly, slowly, silently. After drawing a long drink from his canteen, he returned his gaze to his meal.
Rey knew better than to repeat herself. She'd find herself on pointless, menial tasks: stacking rocks for a wall, only to move it three steps in another direction, or counting the stairs from the beach to the top—602. It wasn't worth the time. She would have to figure this out on her own. The only problem is that she didn't want to sleep. Sure, it'd been four days since their meeting on Han Solo's bridge, but Kylo Ren had picked and prodded her since then. Meditation was avoided at all costs, now.
She stared into the flames, parting them down the middle. Master Luke was gone and the gray sky of a peaceful dream allowed Rey to relax, mesmerized by the tinges of blue near the wood.
"I would tell you anything you asked, if I was your teacher."
Her head snapped up. Standing across from her, just beyond the circle of light, the blaze reflected across his mask. He'd always remained hidden—a deep voice at her ear, an unsolicited suggestion.
"I want nothing from you," she spat.
His mechanical chuckle cut short. "We both know that's a lie. You want to redeem me...for Han Solo. To prove he was right."
Rey glared at the helmet, keeping her face still. How far had he sifted her thoughts while she slept?
"Enough to know that you hate this." With a gloved hand, he released the catches and tugged off the offensive mask.
"Just leave me alone." Her belt loop hung light and empty. She eyed his saber instead of staring at the scar on his face.
Kylo Ren approached the fire and squatted. She felt him damper the flames into embers. "Imagine our power combined." His natural voice unnerved her.
"I will never give into the Dark Side."
The fire shot up, tangling with his anger through the Force. "I will never return to the weak path of the Jedi!"
Rey suppressed the inferno with a simple thought of Han's sacrifice for his son, who now stood, hands clenched.
A thousand voices inside her, around her, cry for her response.
"Never to the Jedi...but never to the Sith."
First comes the day
Then comes the night.
After the darkness
Shines through the light.
The difference, they say,
Is only made right
By the resolving of gray
Through refined Jedi sight.
—Journal of the Whills, 7:477
I don't believe there will be more chapters...but I could be wrong. ~JS