Decision
Life has settled into a comfortable pattern, but the days shorten and the weather cools. Autumn has come and the time for leaving Ahch-To is fast approaching.
"It's blowing out there today!" Rey called, walking up the ramp and pushing the button to close the Falcon's door. Luke knew it. He could feel the freshening wind buffeting the ship.
"Come and give me a hand with this circuit?" She came and took the screw driver off him. "It's storm season. There's a big one coming in, can you feel it? It's a couple of days away yet but it's going to be savage."
"Yeah, I feel it." She agreed. "It will make life very unpleasant for a while."
"It's time for us to leave, Sweetheart. We need to be gone before the storm arrives. We can't afford to risk any damage to the Falcon." He walked a few steps away and stood looking back at her. She had learned to read that expression: he wanted to talk.
"I'll get Chewie to finish this," she said. "Let's have some tea."
They made a drink and sat down. Rey had been trying not to think about leaving this place. Now that the subject had come up, she felt sad, but a little guilty as well. "I've been gone a long time. It's been months. I wonder how everything's going with the Resistance."
"Leia knows that we needed this time. She has everything under control." He'd been sensing more regular, subtle probes from his sister in recent months. For years and years, he'd gently turned her away, but since Rey's arrival, he had sent love, comfort and encouraging hints of progress back to her. She responded with affection and hope.
"Have you been communicating with her?" Rey asked him.
"A little," he replied. "Just feelings. How about you?"
"Yes, I feel her. She's curious and I think she's starting to want us back now. Aunt Leia! She didn't tell me - back at the Base on D'Qar. I'm sure now that she knew me but she didn't say anything."
"She probably felt that we needed to make our own introductions," he smiled. "I feel terrible. I've shut her out all of these years. I shut myself off from everyone and everything."
"She understands. You needed time to regroup. Everything was such a mess, wasn't it?"
"Yes," he agreed, "but you've helped me more in these few months than all my years of brooding did. You've given me a new hope, Rey. How do you feel about going back? It will be difficult."
"I want to see Leia again, and Finn, and the others. I know it's going to be hard, but we have to make a start. Knocking out the Starkiller was a great victory for us, and once people know that you're back, they will rally to our cause. I think a lot of people believed you were dead, or just a myth. We will become stronger with you as our leader."
He smiled, not wanting to disillusion her, but thinking how ill-suited he was to lead. He knew that people would rally to Rey Skywalker more than to Luke. She was the brightest hope for the galaxy with her youth, power, courage and skill. She would be the beacon of the Resistance and he would quietly support and advise.
He sighed, decision made. "We need to leave. The day after tomorrow, in the morning, before the storm hits. Let's get working on final checks."
They spent the rest of that day preparing the Falcon. Everything seemed in order and Chewie was confident that the Hyperdrive was fully operational. They took the ship for a test flight across to the island where Luke's suppliers lived. He and Rey were thrilled to see the village and its inhabitants flourishing. Luke shook hands warmly with the elders and thanked them for looking after him. They were sad to know that he was leaving and wished him and Rey well. Chewie and Artoo stayed on the Falcon, not wanting to cause any alarm or be mistaken for deities!
That evening, they made the climb up to the old Temple for the last time, having decided to spend a final night there. Tomorrow night, they would sleep in the Falcon, ready for an early departure. It didn't take long to pack up their belongings ready for the morning. Then Rey wanted to say goodbye to Sami and Owen and scatter the last of her father's flower petals over their resting place; and some seeds too.
"Here's to new beginnings," she sighed, Luke's arm around her shoulders. "We have to put things right. For them. For everyone. We have to try."
He looked at her meaningfully and said: "Do. Or do not. There is no try."
"Thank you, Master Yoda," she answered him with a smile.
A calm morning greeted their last day as they gathered their things together. Luke felt a stab of anxiety at leaving his home of fifteen years. He put out his hand and leaned against one of his tally-scored walls. How would it be to see different places after all this time? To be in company again? What would old friends think of his long absence? How many people had he let down?
Rey came up behind him, sensing his despondency. She snaked an arm around his waist and laid her head on his back. "Dad. It will be alright. They will be so glad to have you back. Leia knows we're coming. She's desperate to see you again."
"I know," he replied, "and I want to see her. I'm just not used to people. It will take some time to adjust. Ahch-To is so quiet but I'm going to miss this place; it saved my life. It's hard to leave this behind. You know, I have a feeling I won't ever come back."
"Let's make ourselves a promise that we will," she said. "We will bring Leia. She'll love it here." He nodded his agreement, although he felt an inner certainty that this was the last time he would see this planet.
They made the long walk down the steps to the Falcon and stowed their packs in the cabin. They talked and fished the rest of the day away. Luke actually caught more than his daughter this time which they both found amusingly ironic. Finally, they watched the sun set for a final time, trailing a path of golden fire across the waves in farewell.
Sometime in the middle of the night, Luke was disturbed by the sensation of the wind picking up. He came fully awake in the darkness and listened for a moment to the blustering gale growing louder. Quickly, he roused Rey and Chewie and they headed blearily for the cockpit. The ship's instruments told them that the storm was rising – fast. The time for departure had arrived and they needed to make it a quick one before the weather worsened.
Rey and Chewie were piloting as Luke watched uneasily. Rubbing her eyes, Rey scanned the controls and began the engine start-up sequence. Despite his nerves, Luke was impressed once again by his daughter's ability in handling the ship. This was why he'd stood aside to let her and Chewie fly. She was gaining in confidence daily. Successfully handling the Falcon, in these difficult conditions, would help to confirm to Rey her own capabilities. The two pilots began lift-off protocols. Chewie was whining intermittently. As the ship inched its way skyward and the landing feet began to retract, a rogue squall caught the Falcon and blew it towards the cliff-face, metal clipping rock with an audible crunch. Luke winced. An alarm sounded in the cockpit. "Artoo! What's happening?" He called. Artoo engaged his data probe with the Falcon's computer and whistled a response. "Dammit!" Luke blurted. "We've got a damaged heat shield."
"We need to get out of here!" Rey called to him over her shoulder. "These gusts are treacherous!" Chewy proclaimed his distress with a long, pitiful cry. Rey used the Force, trying to still the air around the falcon and cushion the ship from further impact damage.
Focussing on a solution to overcome his alarm, Luke shouted: "Artoo, there are asteroids in this system, aren't there? We can't risk trying to enter an atmosphere with a damaged heat shield." Artoo replied positively, so Rey wasted no further time in completing their take-off. The storm's temper kindly eased for a few minutes to allow a smooth ascent and they rose safely above the troposphere and out into orbit.
Artoo showed them the star-map that guided them to the asteroid belt, out beyond the fifth planet. Luke had heard many times about Han and Leia's narrow escape from a gigantic space slug - burrowed into a tunnel in an asteroid - when they were escaping from the Empire's invasion of the Rebel Base on Hoth. They'd ended up landing in the belly of the creature and had only escaped by a whisker, between the beast's teeth. That had been… thirty years ago and more? A long time ago…
With fingers crossed for luck, they found a suitably stable asteroid to land on and make their repairs. Luke and Rey donned suits and went out to replace the heat shield. They would now be safe to re-enter any planet's atmosphere without burning into oblivion. They took off and Rey set the co-ordinates for D'Qar. "Punch it, Chewie!" The wookiee made the jump to lightspeed without a hitch. The Falcon's hyperdrive was behaving itself today.
Goodbye Ahch-To,Luke thought to himself as the distant pinprick planet of his refuge disappeared from view. He could sense Leia strongly now. She was counting the hours down until she saw her brother and niece again.
The flight passed uneventfully. Before they knew it, they were entering D'Qar's atmosphere and making their final descent. The Base looked quiet – all the Resistance ships were gone. "Sensible. They've moved to a new location," Luke spoke his thoughts aloud. As the Falcon made a circuit around the landing strip, he noticed a lone individual, draped in a long blue robe, standing unmoving below them.
The Falcon touched down seamlessly and the occupants made their way down the ramp to greet the patiently waiting figure.
Luke looked into the brimming eyes and radiant face of his twin sister. Their minds were open to each other, communicating their devotion, reflection and shared optimism as they embraced. A heartbeat behind, Rey threw her arms around her father and aunt. The three Skywalkers were surrounded and suffused with love.
"Welcome home," Leia whispered to them both.
