Chapter 6: Old Wounds

Kamino

"Glad to hear from you boys." Came the familiar voice of General Leia Organa as her hologram materialized in front of Finn and Poe. "Did you find our 'Clone Army'? Or is it a myth?"

Poe Dameron shook his head. "No, ma'am, we found the clone army alright. They're in conflict with a Mandalorian faction and led by another one. Apparently there's some kind of civil war going on between them. Something over a weapon called 'The Darksaber'."

Finn spoke up: "We're with one of the groups right now. The ones not leading that Clone Army. Turns out you might know one of them."

Leia raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Who?"

Finn and Poe exchanged a glance before the latter said: "Maybe...you should see for yourself."

Finn and Poe each stepped to one side, allowing Jaina to step forwards. Leia's eyes widened in shock and her mouth opened wide enough to stick a fist through. "No...Jaina?"

Jaina Solo smiled. "Hello, mom."

The old Resistance general was clearly making an effort to avoid any displays of sentimentality in front of her men, also going some way towards fighting the tears out of her eyes. Finally, she managed to force out: "It's...it's good to see you again…"

"Likewise, mother." Jaina said, also notably fighting to keep her tone even and her face composed. "Your men here might be interested in helping us."

"That depends." Leia said, quickly recomposing herself. "The Resistance and the Republic aren't generally friends of the Mandalorians. What do they want out of this alliance?"

"We just want to put our own affairs in order." Jaina said. "Our people are divided right now. If we find the Darksaber, we can close that rift. That's all."

Leia raised an eyebrow. "Are you speaking for your leader when you say that? Or have you somehow managed to become a Mandalore?"

Jaina shook her head. "No, mother. I'm not Mandalore. But Boba Fett wants his people united again. The Darksaber is the way to do that."

At the mention of "Boba Fett", everyone else's mouths (including Leia's) fell open. The infamous bounty hunter was before Finn and Poe's time, but they'd still heard the stories all the same. So great were Boba Fett's exploits (and bloody), that not even Finn's highly propagandized education and upbringing had failed to include him in it's historical accounts.

"Boba Fett. The Boba Fett? I thought he was dead!"

"As did I." Leia said, echoing Poe's sentiments. But then she shook her head. "Should have known Fett would never die so easily. I can't say I'm happy to hear that you're working for him now. He's a very dangerous man, not to mention he worked for the Empire."

"Yes, but he doesn't work for the First Order." Jaina said quickly. "And he saved me and trained me after The Knights of Ren almost killed me. He's earned my loyalty and trust. I can convince him to help you and your cause against the First Order, but only if you help us get the Darksaber."

Leia paused to consider everything her daughter had told her before finally saying: "I'll think about it. In the meantime, make sure that my men are well taken care of." She turned to Finn and Poe. "You're to stay with my daughter until I make my decision. Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am." Both men said without hesitation.

"Good. Then I'll get back to you soon." She turned to look at Jaina. "Jaina...there's...something important I need to tell you."

"What is it, mother?"

"It's about your father."

Jaina's face fell. She could already guess what the news was. "He's dead, isn't he?"

Leia nodded sadly, this time failing to keep back the tears.

"How did it happen?"

"Your brother killed him." Leia said gravely, and admitting to this hard truth just made the tears come all the more freely. Knowing it wasn't their place to watch, Finn and Poe turned their backs on the sight, and allowed their general and her daughter to have this private moment of grief. It was some time later, that Jaina came to Finn and Poe. "Thank you...for letting me speak to my mother again."

"How are you holding up?" Finn asked empathetically.

"As well as I can." Jaina said. "...which isn't very well. But I'm still glad to know. Better she tell me now than I find out on my own later."

"So...I have to ask..." Poe began. "...if you're General Organa's daughter, why…?"

"...am I with the Mandalorians?" She shook her head. "Long, tragic story. And also none of your business. Just know that I haven't seen my mother in a very long time. I'm sure you can appreciate how…'emotional' an experience that just was, despite our best attempts to hide it."

"We can." Poe assured her. "But I really hope that you do decide to side with us. I mean, you heard what your mother said; the Knights of Ren are the reason your father is dead."

"Yeah." Finn agreed. "Not to mention that if the First Order wipes us and what's left of the New Republic out, then it's Palpatine's Empire ruling the Galaxy all over again. And I don't think they'll let you and your people stay free after that."

"You'd be surprised." Jaina said. "Remember, our Mandalore worked for the Empire for years, and they were pretty lax as far as the fringe element went. But, our people haven't forgotten how other empires led by Dark Siders have treated us. We didn't do so well under Exar Kun, for instance."

"So you think Boba Fett will say yes?" Finn asked. "If we get you this 'Darksaber' I mean…"

"I think so." Jaina said, before making a slight grimace. "Mandalore's a cold bastard, even I can admit that. But he does have his people's honor, and that means he's true to his word. If I can get him to promise to help you in exchange for the Darksaber, he'll help you. Simple as that."

"I hope you're right about that." Poe said. "Because we really could use all the help we can get at this point."

The Shadow-Lance

Within his private chambers on the ship that had been given to him by Supreme Leader Snoke following his "promotion", Kylo Ren once more spoke to the collection of Sith Holocrons. It was right before the last of his trials under Snoke, and Kyo Ren knew he might not get another chance to glean insight from the holocrons for a good long while.

"This is it, masters." Kylo Ren said. "Once I complete these trials, my training as a Knight of Ren will be complete, and Snoke's trust in me will be total."

"Your desire to usurp him is quite transparent." The holocron of Tulak Hord noted matter-of-factly.

"The Sith will be reborn from the ashes of the Knights of Ren." Kylo Ren said. "The other Knights of Ren will submit to me after Snoke is gone, or they will die. But I won't do it right away. The Supreme Leader is no mere adept. If I challenge him too soon, I will fail. I must wait for the right moment, as Lord Sidious did against his master."

"Are you planning to kill Snoke in his sleep?" Darth Tyranus' holocron asked with a raised eyebrow.

Kylo Ren shook his head. "No. Something a bit more…'dramatic' I think. Snoke may no longer be useful to me as a leader or master, but he could serve a purpose, even in death; a martyr. A symbol for the First Order to rally behind after an...'unfortunate' premature demise."

"Deceitful and creative." Noted the holocron of Darth Bane, who nodded approvingly. "I like the way you think, boy."

"But as I said, I mustn't act too soon. First, I must complete the final trials…"

Coruscant

Since the fall of the Empire, Coruscant had returned to New Republic hands, and so Rey was not afraid of being shot at by Stormtroopers or similar when The Millennium Falcon landed on a wide-open loading bay. That said, upon exiting from the Falcon and making her way through Coruscant to get to the now abandoned temple, she could see that the streets were not only densely packed, but that the people in question were not in jolly spirits; large throngs of people holding up signs and holo-messages protesting the destruction of the New Republic fleet were everywhere. Rey's ears were assaulted by screams, wails, shouts, cries of the end times being upon the Galaxy, and more. Men and women had gotten up onto elevated platforms to shout out messages of doom and destruction, and how the New Republic was "finished".

Rey shook her head at it all and did her best to block it out. As she continued to walk (and more often than not awkwardly shove and stumble through the ever tightly packed masses), Rey found herself wishing desperately that she was deaf.

A deaf person with a hearing aid can choose what he wants to listen to. Rey thought sourly. The rest of us are not so fortunate.

Eventually though, Rey got far enough away from the main center of activity and protest and doomsday prophets, that the bedlam finally started to die down. The farther she walked, the fainter still it became, until soon Rey was in a part of Coruscant that was actually at a tolerable level of volume, activity, and living bodies in her way. As a result, Rey could also finally appreciate just what Coruscant had to offer.

Having lived on the desert world of Jakku for as long as she could remember, Rey had only really seen a large concentration of people in the one town she'd frequented working for Unkar. But that held not a candle to what even these less dense parts of Coruscant featured. On Jakku most people she saw were poor, aimless, downtrodden, or just plain not very interesting. Here on Coruscant, Rey saw a dazzling variety of people in all shapes, colors, and sizes doing all manner of things; a group of Rodian children were playing with a dark purple energy ball of some sort, a young Twi'lek female with dark pink skin darted by with mischief in her eyes. A Kel Dor dressed in a brown tunic, black pants, and worn boots cried out that he was selling tibanna gas from Bespin. Two Zabraks walked by holding hands lovingly, and a third did the same with a human male. Yet another Zabrak and a Duros were engaged in a shouting match with one another over something. Droids went back and forth, some toting bundles of things along, others free-handed. Rey could even see a small group of Jawas, all the way from their native Tatooine, handling some sensitive-looking machinery as they also led an Astromech Droid with green and blue markings along.

Rey breathed deeply as she took it all in. And just as she felt struck by how much life and vibrancy was here on Coruscant, she also realized that she felt the Force so intensely here. The chaotic but paradoxically beautiful mess of life fed into the Force, and made it so easy to feel it's presence. A smiled formed on Rey's face as she realized this.

I'm so glad that Master Skywalker sent me here. Rey thought happily.

But, she also knew that he hadn't sent her there to sightsee; no Rey had a job to do, and so she continued her journey.

Another long walk and a hired speeder ride later, Rey was in front of the Jedi Temple turned Emperor Palpatine's fortress, now long abandoned by both. No sooner did she set her feet down on the entryway, did Rey feel assaulted by an unpleasant feeling. Looking out at the area in front of her, now empty and abandoned, and then up at the temple itself, Rey felt a sudden, overpowering, impossible-to-resist shiver run up and down her spine. She realized all at once that here, where she was standing now, had been the site of something horrible once. Years ago.

"You alright, miss?" The speeder driver inquired. "This is the old Jedi Temple, you know. You said you wanted to go here…"

Rey turned around and nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes it is. Thank you."

"Sure thing. That's fifty credits please."

Rey obeyed, giving him some of the credits she had gotten for herself since inheriting what little spending money was on The Millennium Falcon, and what General Organa had given her before she left as a precaution.

Smart woman…

Breathing in deeply and doing her best to not let fear enter her heart and mind, Rey walked up the steps and soon was inside the Temple. No sooner did she set foot through the entrance did her anxiety spike. It came so fast, with so much force, that she could not do anything but shudder. She felt death and pain so intensely, even moreso than in the ruined Enclave on Dantooine due to the slaughter that had happened here being more "recent".

Rey didn't get too far into the Temple before she saw the ruins of what was once the Archives; destroyed data-shelves that had just been left as a ruin, no attempt made to repair them or replace them with anything worthwhile. The only explanation for that was that Palpatine had enjoyed admiring his "handiwork". Rey shook her head in disgust.

To be proud of something like that...

Rey moved ever further into what was left of the Temple, and with each step she felt increasingly sick and struck with a rising level of disgust. She could sense it; she could sense and feel the loss of life that had taken place here, the slaughter, the unfeeling betrayal by the perpetrators. All except one. One who did feel. Quite a few things, but with a sense of duty and desperation burying feelings of remorse or sorrow at the blood he'd spilled. All of it was such that it still left an aura around the husk of the Temple, one that persisted to this day and with such potency that Rey could still sense it.

...why would anyone do something like this?

Rey didn't get much farther though before a voice called out: "Who is it? Who's there!?" When Rey didn't answer, he repeated: "I said who's there!?"

Stepping out of the shadows with a long blaster rifle drawn and ready to fire, was a man dressed in crimson red robes that had seen better days, but strictly speaking were not in terrible condition. It was difficult for Rey to tell what the man was wearing beneath them, but over his head he wore a striking helmet the same color as his robes apart from the solid black visor. Upon seeing Rey, he called out threateningly: "What are you doing here, girl? This is no home for the Jedi anymore."

"How do you know I'm a Jedi?" Rey asked, deciding to play dumb.

"The lightsaber alone is a give-away. As are the robes." He lowered the rifle. "Come to kick a broken old man while he's down have you? Wipe out the last of my scum from the Galaxy? Is that it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Rey answered honestly, raising her hands and advancing slowly towards the man. "...I came here looking for some information that I think is here. Perhaps you could help me?"

"Information? Ha! That's a new one on me." He paused, before saying: "You really don't have any idea what I am, do you?" Rey shook her head. Sighing, the man removed his helmet to expose a fairly along in years male with mostly gray hair that had once been jet black. Sad, weary, brown eyes looked out at Rey, and she could perceive some burn scarring near the top right side of his head, which reminded Rey of Makr's facial scars.

"My name is Lexiit. I was once a member of Emperor Palpatine's Royal Guards. 'The Red Guards' we were sometimes called."

Lexiit saying this jogged Rey's memory as she recalled some of the stories she'd been told growing up. "Yes, I think I remember being told about you...you were the men who protected and guarded the Emperor! What are you doing here?"

"This was once the Emperor's palace, remember? Well, I stayed here long after all the others left or died. I had nowhere else to go, and I was stubborn in fulfilling my duty to the Emperor. Even in death. But, over twenty years of relative isolation have knocked all that nonsense out of me. You don't have anything to fear from me now, 'Jedi'."

"I didn't come here to hurt you." Rey assured him, advancing towards him again. "I didn't even know anyone was still here. I just want to find some information here, that's all."

"What sort of information?"

"Records from the Old Republic. I was told that anything Palpatine didn't destroy would have been kept here..."

Lexiit nodded. "That is correct. What exactly are you looking for?"

"The records of a Zabrak named 'Bao-Dur'. Could you maybe help me find it? Please?"

"What's your interest in it?"

"I think that a superweapon is being built. A very dangerous one. Bao-Dur helped design the original, so if anyone knows of any weaknesses in it or how to stop it, it would be him."

"I see...and you're asking for my help? Even after I told you what I am?"

"What you were." Rey corrected. "You said so yourself, all that nonsense got knocked out of you. Well if that's true, then I don't see why you can't help me."

The old man made a weary smile. "Eh, fair point. Very well, I'll see what I can do for you. Follow me."

Rey obeyed, following Lexiit through the ruins of the Jedi Temple until he eventually took her to a more out of the way room with a massive terminal built into one of the walls.

"All the data from the Old Republic The Emperor saw fit to keep is stored here. You may be able to find something."

As Lexiit said this, the sound of loud, clanging metal feet on a hard surface caught his and Rey's attention. They turned to see a Droid with a frame like a human skeleton walk up to them, photoreceptors glowing a dull red as it took in the two's appearances. Over one shoulder was worn a tattered, dirtied grayish-tan cape, and in one hand it held some kind of staff.

"Greetings, master. I see we have a visitor now."

"We do, Myn."

"Myn?"

"Yes. Named him after the Royal Guard who trained myself and others on Yinchorr. He's an old IG-series Magnaguard from the Clone Wars. I reprogrammed him."

"Why did you do that? Lonely?"

Lexiit nodded. "Yes. And it gave me something to do. You have to keep busy when you're living alone, or you go mad."

"...hello." Myn said to Rey, waving his free hand slowly as he did. Going back to her search, Rey looked for anything dating back to Bao-Dur's time, and anything he may have had a hand in writing. She didn't find a thing. Sighing in frustration, Rey shut her eyes for a moment and considered her options. She looked again through the data, and noted that there was a file on "superweapons". Hoping there was something there, Rey accessed it, and sure enough, there was a file on "The Mass Shadow Generator".

Opening it, Rey was pleased to see that it contained just about everything she and the Resistance could ever need...or so it initially seemed. Unfortunately, some of the files were corrupted, which meant that Rey would need to deliver them to the Resistance and hope they could restore them. Unless...

"...can you restore corrupted files?" Rey asked Lexiit. He shook his head. "No, I can't. I'm afraid you'll need a professional with the right equipment to do that."

"Well, it was worth a shot..." Rey muttered. Taking all the information on the Mass Shadow Generator (and all the other files on potential superweapons while she was at it), Rey thanked Lexiit for his help. She was all set to leave, when while walking down a hallway, she noticed a pathway lined with still-standing bronzium statues that led to an arch-way. Over it was a glowing blue symbol of the Jedi Order, that of a lightsaber with wings on the sides. Intrigued, and feeling an especially strong nexus of Force energy there, Rey walked slowly towards it. Seeing this, Lexiit ran after her and said: "Be careful, kid. That place you're walking towards? It's dangerous. Messes with your mind. I saw Stormtroopers wander into there, and the ones that came back did so without what little in the way of brains they had. You sure you want to go there?"

Rey nodded. "Yes. Something about it...calling to me through the Force..."

Rey walked through and under the archway. The area in front of her looked almost like small stars floating in a blue, misty ether. The whole place gave off the feeling of space, which Rey might have found peaceful if not for the sense of foreboding and dread that was beginning to return as she walked further in. The temperature also dropped dramatically, Rey being surprised that her breath wasn't starting to mist over.

The atmosphere past the entrance was decidedly more grim; blue lights still flickered faintly, but overall it was dark, rubble was strewn about as it was in other parts of the Temple, and Rey felt once more a pungent sense of death and merciless slaughter, though in this area especially it also felt like a mausoleum. A tomb for the dead.

Doing her best to shake off such unpleasant thoughts and comparisons, Rey kept moving. She soon came to a circular, spacious chamber that looked comparatively well-preserved, with statues of Jedi with hoods up and lightsabers drawn that were still fully intact. The same fake stars from before were just below the ceiling here, and resting on a podium was a large holocron that glowed blue. Approaching it cautiously, Rey dared to outstretch a black gloved hand to touch it...

A flash of light later, and the ghostly blue image of a small, diminutive creature with pointy ears, wrinkly forehead, and four-fingered hands appeared before her. In his hands he held a cane. Rey recognized him anywhere. She knew of him even before training under Luke:

"Yoda..."

"A Jedi you are?" The holocron of Yoda inquired. Rey nodded. "Yes, Master Yoda. Well, a Jedi in training anyway..."

"A long time it has been, since any have accessed this holocron."

"I know, Master Yoda."

The image of Yoda flickered out, replaced by the image of a Zabrak Jedi, either Eeth Koth or Agen Kolar Rey couldn't tell (those being the two Zabraks who had served on the Council in the last years of the Old Republic). "Why have you accessed this holocron? What is it you are attempting to learn?"

"I...I don't know, exactly. I'm training to be a Jedi, but..." Rey sighed and said: "For so long I was waiting for a family I didn't remember to come back for me. They never did. But...I still want to know. I want to know who my family were. I want to know why they left me...why they never came back." There was something about the holocron, and the forms of the Jedi Masters it channeled, that made Rey want to be completely honest with it.

The holographic Jedi image changed once more, this time to the grim Mace Windu. "You are curious. Hungry for knowledge of the past, and still clinging to your past pain."

Rey shook her head. "I've made my peace with what I left behind on Jakku. I don't want to go back now. I'm done waiting for them. But...I still want the truth. That's all. I just want to know why I was left behind."

"Bring peace to you, answers to these questions will?" Asked Yoda as the holocron's image briefly returned to him before turning back into Mace Windu again.

"Yes...or at least I hope so..."

"Most Jedi do not start their training at your age." Mace Windu's image noted. "They start far sooner. From infancy. Your starting so late is a complication that will make it harder for you to become a true Jedi."

Rey nodded. "I know, Master Windu. Which is why I would welcome your guidance."

"Tell you exactly what you must do, we cannot." Came Yoda's answer as his form became the holocron's once more. "Find the correct path on your own, you must."

"I just want some guidance while I walk that path, Master Yoda."

Yoda nodded. "Yes, yes. Wise answer, that is. Duty of the Masters it is, to guide the next generation. Give insight when we can. Caution, when we must. But always ultimately your choice, it is."

The image flickered once more, and now took the form of a Jedi with a black mask over his mouth and eyes, and a clearly alien appearance. He was clearly Kel-Dor, and from that Rey assumed him to be Plo Koon.

"What is it you are seeking within this Temple? Did you come here just for the holocron?"

Rey shook her head. "No. I didn't know it was even here." Then, an idea came to mind: "Do you...do you have the forms of Revan or Meetra Surik?"

The ghostly blue image of Plo Koon nodded, before shifting to another legendary masked Jedi. "You seek the knowledge of Revan specifically?"

"Yes, about a superweapon called 'The Mass Shadow Generator'. How can such a weapon be stopped?"

"A record of it's strengths and weaknesses was left behind by it's creator, Bao-Dur."

"Yes, I downloaded what remained of those records, but they're damaged..." Rey held it up. A slot opened in the holocron, and Rey inserted the data chip. Mere moments later, the data chip was spat back out to her.

"Corrupted data recovered. You should now have everything you need to either build a new Mass Shadow Generator, or destroy one. I strongly suggest the latter course."

Rey nodded. "Don't worry, I will."

"Good. Before you leave, there is one thing we would ask of you."

"Yes, masters?"

Revan's image shifted into a female form, one in dress-like robes with a headdress of some sort, and tattoos on the chin that suggested a Mirialan (though the hologram's being all blue in color made it difficult to tell).

"You aspire to be a Jedi one day, but a necessary part of that is completion of the Jedi Trials. Within these corridors are the Trial of the Mind, also known as the Trial of The Spirit. Complete it, and you shall be one step closer to becoming a Jedi."

Rey considered. She really shouldn't take up time unnecessarily, what with Luke expecting her to meet him on Yavin IV and then Vjun. But if this was indeed part of becoming a Jedi...

Rey nodded. "Very well. I'll take the Trial of The Spirit."

"Be warned..." The holocron said, turning back into the form of Mace Windu. "...the purpose of the Trial of the Spirit is to pit an Apprentice against the darkness within themselves. Most do not like what they see, and the experience can thus be a punishing one. Do you understand?"

Rey nodded once more. "Yes, Master Windu. I understand."

"There is no shame in deciding you are not yet ready to face this Trial. Most Jedi do not face it first."

Rey bit her lip. "Will failure...kill me?"

"Not likely. But it could leave you mentally broken or scarred, and likely traumatized for some time afterwards."

Rey thought about it. It sounded like such a risk, especially for a relatively inexperienced Jedi like herself. But at the same time, her curiosity had been piqued, and Rey felt that she might not get another chance of taking the trial anytime soon. But was that not a good thing?

"I...I don't know." Rey admitted. She breathed in deeply. "But I'll try."

"Do, or do not." Yoda's form warned sternly. "There is no 'try'."

"Very well, then. I'll do it."

No sooner had Rey say this did a wall slide back to reveal a cavernous chamber. Walking slowly and cautiously into it, Rey found herself facing a dark, starry void. The door slamming shut behind her, Rey breathed in and out deeply, and did her best to remember everything that Luke had taught her (as well as not let the eerie, haunting atmosphere scare her).

Concentrating on the glowing blue sphere in front of her, Rey outstretched a hand and used the Force to move it along a glowing blue line. She took care to not let it deviate from the path, until finally she had moved it all the way across. No sooner did she finish did the platform she was on seem to rapidly speed forwards through the starry void. Rey was certain it was just an illusion, but a part of her wasn't so sure.

Either way, Rey had to repeat these simple telekinetic exercises a few more times, but was pleased to see that she could move the energy spheres without a problem.

Good to see I've made some progress in my telekinesis training...

Finally, the platform seemed to come to a halt, namely at a large, circular arena that was overall quite featureless, and still surrounded by the void save for how off to one side was a large, blank face carved out of stone. Upon dropping down into this circular arena, Rey realized that there was a little girl there. Cuddled up and sobbing softly. Walking towards her slowly, Rey called out to her: "Hello? Hey, don't cry...it's alright..." She got closer. "...I'm here for you. I can help you."

Turning the girl around, Rey gasped in shock to see that it was her, when she was a little girl. When she was...

"You can't help me." Her younger self said softly, tears streaking down the sides of her face. "You can't help yourself."

"No, that isn't true." She wrapped her arms around her younger self, hugging her to her as though she were her daughter. "You won't be alone. Not forever. You'll find friends, you'll get away from Jakku, you'll..." Rey stopped when she looked down and realized that her younger self was no longer there. No longer in her arms. Looking around, Rey saw nothing. But she heard something. It sounded like a cross between labored, strained breathing, and malfunctioning machinery. It also had a pronounced echoing quality to it, sounding far away even though Rey could feel whatever it was get closer and closer to herself.

Then, out of the shadows came a figure that was like something out of a nightmare; a lean figure with ghostly pale skin that was mostly obscured by tattered black robes over the legs, and covering the torso a ribbed vest of flexible armor plates over tight-fitting black garments. Most of the forearms were cold steel, and in place of fingers were cruel looking claws like some sort of animal's, but in metal sharp enough to rend flesh. A piece of armor covered the left shoulder, and an intimidating helmet was worn over the head that bore some resemblance to those worn by Ubese bounty hunters, but was ultimately distinct from it. Hanging from the leather belts worn over the waist were several lightsabers.

With barely a mechanical snarl, the dark figure drew one of the lightsabers, a filthy-looking hilt covered in black rags and adorned with cruel spokes. Out of it shot a bloodshine red blade. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw both the dark figure and their lightsaber, Rey nearly didn't move in time as the assailant dashed towards her with inhuman speed. Rey took her double-saber's hilt in her small hands and ignited a green blade just in time to awkwardly meet the red lightsaber blade head-on. The resounding clash was enough to force Rey backwards. Stumbling, she accidentally dropped her lightsaber, the green blades winking out as the hilt clattered to the floor.

Fear rising up into her chest as sweat went down the sides of her head, Rey tried to make a grab for the lightsaber, but the dark figure streaked forwards at that moment, delivering a blinding slash that went right at Rey's leg. Rey screamed in pain and fell to the floor. Looking up, she could see the dark figure twirling it's red lightsaber challengingly before zipping towards Rey again. Holding out her hands, Rey willed on the Force to protect her, and was rewarded with a Force Push that the dark figure leaped over easily. Rey rolled as the figure brought it's lightsaber down, the red blade going into the floor. Sticking out a hand, Rey called on the Force to return her double-saber to her. The hilt flew back into her hand just in time to allow Rey to activate one of the green blades to block the dark warrior's red one as it came smashing down towards her comely face. The saber-lock held for a few moments, but the dark warrior pressed down harder, and Rey felt her own lightsaber blade being driven back into her face steadily. She soon found herself all but choking on the ozone of the blade as it got closer, closer, closer...

Though her vision was being consumed in bright green and red light, Rey could still see, off in the distance, her younger self, looking at her sadly. And she heard her say: "I told you you couldn't help yourself..."

The dark warrior pressed down all the way, Rey screamed as she felt an intense burning pain in her head, and everything went black.

Yavin IV

Luke frowned deeply as the ship he was on came within view of the jungle world known as Yavin IV. Indeed, the man piloting the ship said: "Are you sure you want to go down there, buddy? I mean, ever since the Jedi got driven out..."

"I am aware of how dangerous it is." Luke said simply. "But there are two people down there I must meet. Take me down there."

"If you say so. But don't say I didn't warn ya..." The man muttered as he went down to the planet's surface. Eventually, the ship landed, and Luke disembarked. Thanks to a very subtle use of Affect Mind, the man had not once realized it was Luke Skywalker he was taking down to the planet, instead imagining Luke as a middle-aged Duros. Once Luke was out, he set off in the direction where he sensed a powerful Force aura that was not blatantly of the Dark Side. The Dark Side, Luke found sadly, was now almost everywhere on Yavin IV, suffocating and suppressing his senses like a hot, muggy air in a steamy rainforest.

Yavin IV had long had a sordid history. It had been a stronghold for Naga Sadow once long ago, and then later became the mad Exar Kun's seat of power before he was overthrown. The balance of the Force on the planet had shifted to the Light Side when Luke had taken over and made it the home of his New Jedi Order, but of course, it's destruction had gone some lengths towards undoing all of that. Everywhere Luke dared to reach out with his senses, he could feel the darkness. Circling all around him.

Luke breathed in and out deeply. Feel, don't think. Follow the light...let the light guide me...

The two lights in the darkness of Yavin IV's jungles. Of course, there was darkness in them too. The two he sought out now did not subscribe solely to the Light Side of the Force. Like many in their family tree, they flirted with the Dark Side, tapping into it's power safely and with restraint without succumbing to it. This balance of light and dark along with just plain intrinsic power made them two of the most powerful Force users Luke had ever seen, just as their most famous ancestor and several others besides were some of the most powerful Jedi (and Force users), on record. All told, they would be excellent allies to have in the fight against the Knights of Ren and the First Order. If he could convince them to help.

Eventually, Luke's path took him deep into a jungle where the terrain was completely uneven, and just a little bit treacherous to navigate if one didn't know the area well. Luke did however, and so could make his way through well enough. Deeper in, he saw a great, golden-scaled, two headed beast feasting on the carcass of a large herbivore with both of it's mouths. It dug into it's kill over and over again, greedily taking in mouthfuls of red meat. One head looked up and saw Luke, and hissed threateningly. Becoming aware of this, the other head looked up as well and hissed too. The great reptile flared out it's golden-brown leather wings dramatically as a challenge and stomped it's feet for good measure. It's long, whip-like tail with stinger on the end also began to flick about.

Unconcerned by all of this, Luke raised his hands and called on the Force to reach out and calm the creature, which he had identified as a Battle Hydra. Sometimes called a Sith Battle Hydra for how much of a favorite war beast they were for the Sith back in the day, they had found their way on Yavin IV some time ago, and as Luke recalled, Ben in his few innocent years had once wished to adopt a young specimen as a pet. That is, until had Luke talked him out of it.

But, for all their associations with the Sith, plus their fearsome appearance, Battle Hydras were actually shy by nature, not likely to pick fights needlessly. Clearly, the Battle Hydra felt threatened or else thought Luke was attempting to "steal" it's food. But in using the Force to calm it's nerves and reassure it, he was able to convince it that he meant it no harm, and the Battle Hydra simply returned to it's meal, happily digging into the remainder of the meat.

Walking past the Battle Hydra, Luke eventually came out of the forest and into a clearing that showed the ruins of a temple. It was one that predated the Massassi Temples erected by Exar Kun's disciples and followers, instead having once been an attempt by the Jedi of the early Old Republic era to start up an academy. Like Luke's later effort, it had been a miserable failure.

And it was there that Luke sensed the siblings' presence quite distinctly.

With this in mind, Luke breathed in deeply once more, and made his way in.

Coruscant

Rey shot up with a gasp, waking up in a cold sweat. Looking around, she could see that she was back in the room with the holocron, and that her doublesaber was at her side. Her entire face was sweating, she felt like she was burning up when she placed a hand to her forehead, and in all, she felt entirely miserable.

Weakly getting up, Rey found that her legs felt like jelly, and she gripped the podium where the holocron still rested, trying to center herself. But strength remained elusive, and Rey eventually fell back down again.

She'd failed. She did not need anyone to tell her, because she knew it all on her own. She'd taken a test she was nowhere close to being ready for and had failed miserably. Rey should have seen it coming, but she had had to know. She had wanted to test herself even in spite of not being ready. And this was her punishment.

Rey sighed, breathing in deeply and savoring the air as she took it in, before trace amounts of dust in the air prompted her to cough. Breathing in and out again, Rey finally mustered up the strength to hobble out of the area altogether. No sooner did she emerge from that place did she see Lexiit waiting for her.

"You were in there a while. What happened?"

Rey shook her head. "I can't...I can't...won't, talk about it."

Lexiit shrugged. "If you say so. But you found what you were looking for, right?"

Rey nodded. "Yes, I did...but before I go, I have a question to ask of you."

"Yes?"

"You say you're not loyal to Emperor Palpatine anymore...well, in that case, why not join the fight against the First Order?"

Lexiit shook his head. "Nice try. But this old soldier has no more interest fighting for old enemies than he does for pretenders to Palpatine's legacy. And I rather doubt your friends would ever welcome my help anyway."

"If the First Order is allowed to win, they could destroy this entire planet. I saw what they did with Starkiller Base before it was destroyed. They won't be any more likely to spare this planet."

"Maybe not, but if I am to die here, then I accept that."

"But what about everyone else here? Will you stand by and let them all die?"

Lexiit seemed to consider this for a moment, before handing Rey a small device. "If you need me, use that. I will come. But until you require my assistance, I'm staying right here."

Rey nodded, and then with hardly another word, left the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and her failure there, behind. As she left though, she was unaware that a dark figure garbed in black tattered robes and gray armor with lightsabers dangling from belts and an eerie helmet over the head, was watching her go...

Author's Notes: Those Jedi Trials were based off of what was shown in some add-on content for The Force Unleashed, and likewise the dark warrior's attire is the Sith Stalker Armor from the same game.

The Trial of The Spirit is indeed one of the Jedi Trials in the Legends continuity, and also called "Facing the Mirror" by some Jedi. It involved them facing their innermost demons or suppressed fears. As one might imagine, it could make for a traumatizing experience, which is what I tried to convey here. The other Legends Jedi trials are the Trial of Skill, the Trial of Courage, the Trial of the Flesh, and the Trial of Insight.

"Myn Kyneugh" is the name of one Palpatine's Royal Guards in Legends who was on the Death Star with him when it blew up. He actually trained several other Royal Guard trainees, including Kir Kanos and Carnor Jax of Crimson Empire fame.

The Battle Hydra is an actual beast from the Legends continuity, one of several dragon species in the original Star Wars continuity (another famous one being of course Krayt Dragons, though that's far from the only one). Likewise, Yavin IV in Legends was indeed a planet Naga Sadow and Exar Kun spent time on before it became the site of the Rebel base (and later Luke's Jedi Academy).