Note: This is meant to follow "The Force Awakens", everything in Force Awakens should be considered canon. Additionally, this is written in present tense, there are no novel-only devices like inner thoughts. This is to make it a fair comparison to Disney's movies which have the limitations of a movie script.
Star Wars Episode 8:
Casualties of Chaos
Leia boards a medium sized ship alongside a younger woman in a noble but military uniform. Leia and the woman sit next to each other calmly as military personnel go about setting up for lift off. Leia breaks the silence with "Who are you, and why did the republic allow you to come with me?". The younger woman responds "My name is Selena, I'm secretary of treasury for sector FO-23 and I requested to come." The military personnel begin to load weaponry onto the ship. "You realize, this is a dangerous mission don't you?" Leia says annoyed. "I came to see how a rebel does things" Selena replies. "A rebel? Rebellions are overrated..." Leia replies, still bothered. "I'm just tired of the republic's bureaucracy… I was hoping you would be different" Selena says. "We are about to visit a planet that longs for the return of the Empire, maybe you should stay with them instead of returning with the republic" Leia suggests viciously. Selena retorts "You're right from my point of view the republic is the Empire just much slower..." After an awkward silence Selena goes on "Maybe they have valid grievances we should listen to." Leia smiles as she says "Why do you think I agreed to go there myself." Selena is surprised and says "I thought they were forcing you to go… but I guess the rumors are true no one can get Leia to do something she didn't agree to herself". Leia smiles a little embarrassed and asks "But, you never answered my question, why did the republic allow you to come?" Selena replies, smirking "I'm a bit of a rebel myself... they don't know I'm here". Leia stops smiling and seriously says "Be careful… The republic really might be trying to get rid of me. There are rumors of a rising terrorist faction called... The First Order." The ship warps into the darkness.
The planet is barren. Leia's ship flies over countless miles of desolate empty desert until finally approaching a large construct that appears to be digging deep into the earth. The construct is surrounded by only a few tents, populating about 70 people of mixed species. As the ship lands people seem somewhat angry and head inside their tents. Leia, Selena, and 12 armed soldiers exit the craft and begin to walk toward a large tent, the loud sounds of the digging construct drown out the sounds of their movement.
Inside the tent the machinery sounds are soft enough that voices can be heard. Leia walks up to a man covered in oil and other filth standing over a table listening to the complaints of five others. The man turns around and extends his filthy hand. Leia looks at the hand and briefly sighs before hiding her expression with a smile as she shakes the man's hand. "You must be Korax?" Leia asks. Korax answers "Yes... General... I was elated when I found out our complaints would be answered by someone as high ranking as you". Leia replies "Of course! Your planet and it's citizens deserve to be heard." Leia looks for chairs but notices none. Korax smiles "Sorry, we are usually too busy to have time to sit during the day..." Leia reples "Oh it's great to stretch our legs after travel!" Leia turns to see her crew frowning annoyed, Selena though manages to force a smile. "So, I imagine at least some of our demands are to be met if you're here?" Korax asks. "Well..." Leia says with an ashamed sad look on her face. Korax looks toward a young alien standing behind Leia and her group, nods, and the alien runs off.
Several minutes later the conversation has devolved. Korax angrily says "YEARS! The republic takes YEARS to fix a few refueling ports! Our planet is running out of water! No one has bothered to come here for MONTHS! The trade route affects dozens of other planets and the republic can't lower our taxes, can't give us aid, NOTHING?" Leia tries to calmly reply "There are so many regions affected with similar problems, if we gave your area special treatment we would have to give it to everyone, which we can't afford. This is the cost of war. The Empire refused to surrender peacefully and we are feeling the echoes of that decision today." Korax replies "The Empire would have at least fixed the route by now!" and Selena speaks up "How? By disregarding and lying about meeting regulations?". Leia looks surprised as she witnesses Selena defending the republic. The young alien returns near the entrance of the tent, he locks eyes with Korax and they both nod. Korax turns to Leia and says "Finally..." Men behind Korax hit some levers and suddenly the tent collapses revealing dozens of soldiers armed with First Order weaponry and armor aiming blasters at Leia's group. Leia frowns "So the rumors are true… The First Order does exist… and looks like you are better armed than we thought." Leia's soldiers arm their weapons as well but seem terrified as only half of them are wearing armor themselves. Selena stands behind Leia. "Fire!" Korax yells, the rest of the soldiers reply "FIRST COMES ORDER" as they start shooting. Leia's group scatter to hide behind the limited furniture they can find. Blaster shots fired at Leia seem to always miss as she raises both her hands with her eyes closed. One of the soldiers near Leia gets shot, falls and drops their weapon. Selena moves from behind Leia, grabs the fallen weapon and begins to shoot back. "NO!" Leia yells but it is too late, blaster shots hit Selena killing her instantly. Leia drops all composure and has a look of complete madness on her face.
A First Order helmet lays on the desert planet, crushed, and covered in blood. A ship, different from the one Leia landed with flies away from the planet. A radio transmission sounds "This is General Leia… we were attacked by a group of heavily armed soldiers from a faction calling themselves The First Order. There are no other survivors..."
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The First Order has become scattered and weak after the destruction of the StarKiller Base. They are low on supplies but not personnel. General Hox continues to command small battles that are won with few casualties but have a low impact on the war itself. General Leia continues to prevent large scale battle from erupting, and to the Republic peace is seemingly restored.
Rey holds out her hand clenched with Luke's saber kneeling before him. Luke looks curiously but seems preemptively annoyed. Luke asks "you've used it yourself?". Rey replies "It was against your nephew". Luke replies "Who won?" and Rey confidently says "Me…". Luke is surprised, "Oh, guess you don't need me then" and walks away. Rey follows him to his hut where she sees a meal half eaten. She pleads "The first order has blown up planets!". Luke replies "I know" and then continues "I also know my sister and her forces have gotten that under control". Luke sits down and continues his meal ignoring her presence. Rey stares at him unsure on how to proceed.
A hologram of Snoke appears towering over Kylo Ren and General Hox. Hox says "In sector FO-21 we have destroyed 13 fighter-class ships, 1 higher class ship and lost only 2 fighter-class ships, Sector FO-22 we destroyed 6 fighter-class ships lost no ships, Sector FO-23 we-" Snoke interrupts "NONE OF THIS MATTERS! WE NEED TO CONQUER TERRITORY!" Hox replies "Building the StarKiller took too many resources we don't have-" Hox is cut off as Snoke's eyes narrow and Hox grabs his head in pain. Hox collapses onto all fours, screaming. Kylo looks saddened by what he is seeing, kneels down and puts his hand on Hox's shoulder. Hox breathes a sigh of relief and Kylo helps him stand back up. Snoke looks at Kylo and yells "AND YOU! You call yourself Kylo Ren? You have done nothing but fail. How could killing your father, a man who abandoned you, lead you to being defeated by someone who has never used a lightsaber before? Even now she trains with Skywalker, growing in power as you..." Snoke looks at Kylo's hand holding Hox's as he helps him up "Comfort buffoons!" Snoke coughs sighs and concludes "Stop, with your trifling hit and run nonsense. Do as we did before! Gather troops in one region... Sow discontent... And take one planet at a time!"
Poe is tries to teach Finn how to pilot using a simulator. He gives him tips as he is flying but ultimately Finn loses in the simulation horribly. Poe asks Finn "You sure you quit the first order and didn't get fired?" Finn says "I quit" and Poe asks "Well why did they keep you around". Finn replies "Honestly, I think they liked my cooking".
Leia talks with other commanders about retreating First Order forces. She says "They aren't retreating, we need to increase the number of ships ready for battle, we can only defend one planet at a time." But the rest of them smirk until one of them with a red hat responds "The economy is already strained enough. It's why the First Order rose in the first place. And you want MORE ships? The First Order wasted all their resources on a planet destroyer, they have nothing left." The rest of the council nodes in agreement.
Rey continues to train on her own. She sees Luke watching her do it. She asks him if he's going to just sit around and watch her why not train her. Luke says she hasn't given him a real reason yet. Rey replies with "BUT THE FIRST ORDER-" before being interrupted by Luke who says "Are getting their ass kicked..." Rey sighs and continues to train. "The Empire is gone. This is an era of peace." says Luke but Rey replies "Then why are you hiding here what are you scared of!" and Luke replies "I'm scared of annoying twerps like you ruining my day."
Over dinner Rey asks about Kylo Ren. Luke says he used to have a school where he trained people in the force. But there was an accident and he realized training people in combat in an era of peace would just bring more strife. Rey asks more about the details but Luke walks away to do chores. He mentions how he used to hate working on his Dad's farm, but now it's relaxing to him. Luke seems quite old in his movements, each movement seems slow and strenuous.
The first order is about to attack a large commercial planet with their fleet. They watch as the few remaining ships are destroyed by theirs. Hox comments "My superior tactics have made this an easy victory." Kylo replies "Even if you spent the entire day asleep this battle would have turned out the same". Kylo gets a thought message from Snoke saying "Get ready, something is wrong…" Kylo commands the ships into a defensive position. Nothing seems to happen and Hox says with a concerned voice "Are you having another paranoid episode?". A single first order ship is sent slowly toward the planet when suddenly an entire fleet of republic ships warp in and the single ship is destroyed.
A commander asks Leia how she knew this is where they would attack. She says "The republic is fortunate that The Force is strong in my family". They proceed to mop the floor against the First Order. Finn tries to help man the cannons. He aims at a First Order ship, prepares to fire, but hesitates, causing the shot to miss. He several more times before giving up and helping repair and refuel ships. Meanwhile, Poe is destroying ship after ship, a little bored at the lack of challenge.
Rey stands on very narrow dangerous rocks hopping around while trying to swing with her lightsaber at leaves she threw into the air. She's doing well and interweaves kicks before a bird flies close by and she has to change her swing, missing the leaf, and falls hard on the rocks below hurting her arm. Luke helps dress her wounds and asks her "What is the real reason you're training?". Rey replies "If I become a Jedi… I won't have to be scared of anything anymore". Luke says "You have plenty of friends, you don't have to be scared anymore". Rey replies "What if something happens to them? What if I have to save them alone?" Luke nods. "Meet me tomorrow morning by the river".
Kylo confronts a large ship alone. He dodges three other fighters destroying two of them in the process before ramming his ship through the larger ships lower segment. Kylo's ship comes out unscathed as fire erupts from the hole Kylo created. Five more ships chase Kylo as the larger ship explodes. Kylo hears Hox on the radio "Retreat!" Kylo answers "We can win!". Hox replies "Even if we managed to win, the casualties would be too great!". Kylo answers back "We are warriors we are ready to be sacrificed for victory." However, Kylo's looks at the battlefield as almost all the First Order ships have docked and several large ships have already warped away. Alone Kylo's ship becomes surrounded by enemies. Kylo is narrowly dodging fire as he attempts to fly toward one of the few remaining larger First Order ships. Kylo is getting overwhelmed his ship taking shots every now and then. Suddenly a squad of three First Order ships come in blasting and distracting republic forces. Kylo hears on the radio "Sir, we will distract them, escape before its too late!" Kylo shakes his head angrily and tries to turn and fire to help his comrades however nothing fires from his ship except sparks where his gun used to be. Kylo reluctantly flies back toward the larger ship while he says "I'm almost there, you can make it too!" as one of the ships are destroyed. As Kylo's ship enters the dock he sees the two remaining ships head toward him but get destroyed. Kylo hears Snoke's voice in his head "Leia is powerful… we are powerless until she dies". The First Order ship Warps away.
After the battle Leia walks around her ship with the commander in a red hat who now has his uniform half off and looks quite rugged. He talks excitedly about all the parts they salvaged from the enemy. Leia comments "you seem more happy about getting new parts to sell than for winning the battle". The Scavenger replies "You should be happy as well, after the empire fell, it's been difficult to find such finely crafted parts". Leia replies "Taking down the empire required many sacrifices had to be made...". The Scavenger replies disingenuously "Sacrifices… Of course… I'm sure someone who was raised like you understands" and under his breath mutters "princess". Leia is about to ask him what he said before being cut off by a different commander. "General, we captured a few soldiers, we are having trouble getting information, should we bring… those… Interrogators?" Leia replies "no, I'll talk to them myself".
There is a gushing river with some special vines connecting the two sides. Luke tells Rey "Go to the other side and drink from the pool of green water there and it will make her stronger". Before she steps on the bridge he tells her "The vines are attuned to the force, they won't let you step on them easily" he has her lightly step on one and it causes her leg to spasm slightly. Luke continues "They will attack your nerves directly". She looks down at the gushing rapid river beneath the vine bridge "I'm not scared..." she says to Luke worryingly. She makes it a few steps before falling into the river and being pushed far along until she reaches a river bank. She goes back to Luke and is about to try again before Luke tells her "wait, come and try this instead". He takes her to a room where there are two balls embedded decoratively into the ground. He picks them up, they are amazingly smooth and frictionless and look like perfect spheres. He puts one on top of the other and then lets go of the top ball. In order to balance them Luke's hand twitches quite fast. After showing her he places a ball in her hand. She finds it hard to keep the ball in her hand and drops it. She says "It feels like something is moving the ball". Luke explains "The balls are a jedi training tool, first try to keep a single ball in your hand and after you can handle that add another ball on top". She picks up the ball she dropped and tries to balance it, but drops it in a matter of seconds. He tells her "Remember, don't try to balance the ball with your hand, feel The Force inside the ball and let it guide you". Rey asks "The Force is inside the ball?" and Luke replies "It's inside all living things, that ball was made with a special kind of wood that keeps its connection to The Force even when molded into a different shape".
Poe and Finn are in front of a first order trooper in a small prison room. Poe tells the trooper angrily "You're a terrorist, you kill innocent people. You should be thankful you weren't executed on the spot!". Finn gently continues "I used to be a trooper too. Even now I can't bring myself to shoot at First Order ships. I have nightmares of my old team dying cause I'm not there to help them. But the truth is, you're all going to die eventually. Unless you give up. You have no chance and you're just destroying the galaxy trying to resist. And I know you're thinking you can't give up because your teammates haven't given up. But that's why telling us more information could help save them. If you tell us, and the First Order gets tricked, they'll have to peacefully surrender and no one will have to die. If you don't tell us, it'll be a long drawn out fight and everyone you remember will die." The trooper responds "You're just a coward" then faces Poe smiles says "If you really want to prove your skills you should join the First Order, we're the real underdogs here!" Poe stares inquisitively at the trooper, before Finn taps him on the shoulder and says "Leia is coming". Finn and Poe leave the room and they are shorly replaced by Leia who sits down in front of the trooper with a tired look on her face, then she suddenly smiles. The trooper seems calm. Leia squints her eyes and the trooper slowly grows increasingly more terrified.
Rey continues to train, trying the ball only to drop it and the vine bridge only to fall repeatedly. After several days of this she wakes up in the middle of the night and heads to the vine bridge. She looks completely frustrated. Before she steps on the bridge small sand and stones around her levitate slightly. She steps onto the bridge manages to take two steps and then force jumps to the other side. She walks over to the green glowing water pool and takes a sip. She makes a face showing it tastes disgusting. Luke walks out of his hut and watches her and says "Don't actually drink that water...". She spits out the water and uses the same trick to jump back to the other side. Luke seems visibly disappointed and sighs. Rey notices him looking and smiles at him saying she did it. Luke says "I guess that counts... come with me". He takes her deep into the jungle. Eventually coming across a small plant whose center has glowing petals, but vines are constantly moving around it slowly. Luke tells her "The plant is extremely old and it only grows on this island. It takes over a thousand years for the petals to bloom. And so the plant has thorns that are extremely painful to keep itself safe." She nods and he continues "The petal can be used to make a tea that lets you temporarily see The Force more closely." Rey nods, sits down and stares at the plant. She tries to figure out a pattern to the plant's thorns movement. After a few moments she finally tries to put her hand through, it seems she timed it right but suddenly the plant's vines react move quickly and hurt her, causing her to yelp in pain. She asks Luke "how long did it take you to do the things you keep asking me to do?". He replies "Years…" Rey sighs and goes back to her hut to sleep. Luke tells her as she walks away.
That night Rey activates her transponder and begins a conversation with Leia directly. Rey asks "How is it going?" Leia says "The First Order is on its last legs, and plan to gather their remaining forces. After interrogating prisoners we have tracked them down to a base hidden in an asteroid belt. Snoke, his generals, and Ben will be there. I could use your help to finish this war." Rey rushes to Luke and tells him what's happening. She asks him "Shouldn't you go there and confront your nephew once and for all?" Luke replies, "his mother will be there, she should be the one to talk to him". Rey reminds Luke "That's what got Mr. Solo killed...". Luke sighs unsure of what to say. Rey asks him "What happened to him. How did he get like this?"
A young Ben Solo celebrates his birthday alone. He begins to talk to himself "Ya, you were right they didn't come again. At least you-" he stops as a younger Luke enter, sees Ben looking sad and says, "Hey kiddo. You shouldn't worry about your mom getting hurt, just worry that she doesn't lose her temper haha" Luke's joke lands flat, Ben seems sadder than before. "So, did you hear? This year your present is learning how to become a Jedi!" Luke says. "Did you bring another book or something?" Ben says unimpressed. Luke smiles and says excitedly "No! You get to come with me and join my school!"
Ben is with a group of other teens on Luke's island. One asks Luke "Why do only Jedi use lightsabers?". Luke explains "At the core of a lightsaber is a crystal, and in order to pull the energy out of the crystal you need to use The Force. And... maintaining the saber requires focus making it difficult to use other force abilities while wielding one." Ben asks Luke "Why aren't we being taught lightsaber techniques?" and Luke says "Lightsabers aren't what The Force is really about."
The teens try to balance the force balls in their hands but fail. Ben seems to last a bit longer than the others. Another teen teases Ben saying "You shouldn't be so happy these balls don't mean anything". The teen leads Ben to a hidden area where a few teens are practicing saber combat with wooden swords. The teen tells Ben "you better not tell your uncle about this!" Ben asks them "Where did you get the equipment?" and one of them steps up and says "It was thanks to that guy's mother who is a big senator" as he points to one of the teens drenched in sweat mid spar. Ben starts to walk away, but says before he leaves "don't worry I won't tell anyone" and we see Ben go back to practicing the ball, he talks to himself as he does so. "Are you sure this ball stuff is more important?"... "So you agree with my uncle"... "Huh, I didn't know he fought my granddad. He always told me they just talked it out…" "Wow you're practically my uncle's fanboy..."
A group of adults gather as they watch their offspring during their final exams. There tests are balancing two force balls, reading the minds of their partners to guess a card, and touching vines with their hands for as long as they can. Ben wins with marks that embarrass his peers. An extremely decorated senator looks disappointingly at their child. After, Ben packs in his room, talking to himself as he does "you really think what I did was that interesting?"... "well you were the one who made me practice so hard"... Suddenly he hears the other students yelling "He obviously cheated, his uncle was probably helping him with The Force." Ben runs out of his hut and tells them "I didn't cheat!" They tell him "Prove it!" and Ben replies "how?". They bring him to the secret chamber.
Instead of handing him a wooden sword they hand him a small lightsaber. The three others all manage to ignite their sabers but Ben is having trouble. "He can't even make it start!" one of says as they all laugh. Ben grows angry and this helps him manage to ignite the saber, accidentally cutting a nearby table as he does so. The other's laughter stops. They all stare at him angrily. The senator's child charges at Ben, terrified Ben blocks but loses his balance. Even off balance Ben is surprised he is managing to block every blow. He regains balance and eventually he manages to trip his opponent who falls and drops his saber. The teens get even more mad. The senators child says "How can you be better than us at this without any practice?" another yells "HE'S CHEATING OBVIOUSLY!"
All three children start attacking Ben at once. Ben is having a lot of trouble and is eventually backed into a corner. Eventually he stumbles and as he is falling the senators child attacks him aiming for his hand. Ben stabs the student before the student can connect, killing him. "I didn't… I..." the other teenagers run away. Ben collapses and starts to talk to himself again. "What do I do now. Everyone will hate me, maybe you hate me too?"..."Tell my uncle? Are you sure?"..."What if he can't protect me?"...Ben looks at the lightsaber in his hand "train with this?"...
Luke says "The Senator was so furious he sent a small army to the school to attack Ben in the night."
A few ships descend onto Luke's island. They shoot at the buildings destroying most of them. One of the ships descends and sends out soldiers. They find Ben and start shooting at him. Ben deflects and chops off one of their arms and tells commands them to "Run!". The other two soldiers don't seem to be intimidated by the teenager and charge him with electric melee weapons. Ben has difficulty blocking their heavy weapons but manages to stab one of them in the stomach. The soldier collapses and the other looks at Ben in astonishment. Ben starts to cry as he says angrily "I TOLD YOU TO RUN!" The soldier and the one with their arm chopped off run back to their ship.
Luke says "My school was destroyed… When Ben found out I wasn't going to counter attack and just let them spread rumors he disappeared… When I found him again he had already become Kylo Ren and was known as a merciless killer. I blamed myself for not noticing the jealousy and letting Ben deal with himself. Until, I found out Snoke had been talking to him since he was a child. I became obsessed and promised Leia and Han I would bring their kid back no matter what."
Luke lands his ship on an abandoned mine inside a dormant volcano. He finds a healthy Snoke kneeling, whispering things into Kylo's ear with a hand on his shoulder. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Luke yells. Snoke stands up towering above both Luke and Kylo making them look like children. "Teaching him things you failed to do" says Snoke confidently. "How can you look at yourself in the mirror after preying on CHILDREN?" Luke says angrily. Snoke seems visibly disappointed. Luke reaches his arm out and says comfortingly to Kylo "It's alright Ben, I can make sure your crimes are nulled, you don't have to hide like a criminal anymore." Ben looks at him disappointedly "I didn't commit any crimes." Luke replies "Ben but you..." Ben continues "I didn't do anything wrong. Neither did my Friend." Kylo looks at Snoke and smiles. "He's been screwing with your mind since you were a kid Ben! That's why all this happened!" Ben rolls his eyes in disgust "You want to blame him? You think I'm just some innocent child? You just don't want to believe your nephew is anything other than what you imagined." Luke sighs. He then looks at Snoke "What is wrong with you, couldn't you have talked to an adult?" Snoke frowns "I was a slave. I reached out to anyone that could listen..." "A slave? The Republic-" Snoke cuts him off "THE EMPIRE, through Lord Vader who was once a slave himself, nearly ended the slave trade. It was allowed to survive because the republic couldn't maintain ORDER!" Luke grabs his head in frustration. He looks back but says "I promised I would bring you back Ben..." Luke starts to walk toward Ben. Ben lights his blue saber and charges at Luke. Luke dodges the attack and palms Kylo's elbow with a small Force push breaking Kylo's arm and causing his saber to fall onto the ground. "Who's the one attacking children now!?" Snoke says as he sends force lightning at Luke. Luke blocks the lightning with his palms but is pushed back. "RUN KYLO!" Snoke yells as he strains to maintain his lightning. Kylo runs out and boards a small fighter ship to escape. Luke is getting close to the edge of a cliff as he is pushed back. Snoke says "I USED TO LOOK UP TO YOU! I thought you would save me one day! But… I had to save myself...". Luke sees Kylo's saber on the ground. He blocks the lightning with a single palm, and quickly force pulls the saber to his hand and ignites it. He holds the Saber in front of him and uses it to bounce the lightning back at Snoke who is launched back off the cliff and screams in agony as he falls into the darkness.
Luke concludes "I left thinking I killed Snoke. But I was wrong. After that day he grew increasingly unstable and his power with the dark side grew. He recruited people who suffered from the chaos of forming the New Republic creating The First Order. I still wonder if Snoke and Ben would have found peace if I never attacked them."
Rey tells Luke "I have to go… maybe we can force the First Order into a quick surrender." Luke looks at his robotic hand and replies "I know exactly how you feel...". Rey asks "Why don't you come with me?" Luke gazes down and eventually replies "I'm done attacking people…" Rey nods in understanding. She boards her ship and as the engine revs Luke yells "You don't need to come back here to learn. Leia has plenty to teach herself!" Rey nods, the cockpit hatch closes and she flys off.
The Republic's large fleet is gathered around the asteroid belt. Leia yells onto the crowd "You are the most skilled pilots in the galaxy! The asteroids will destroy our larger ships and novice pilots. They are few, but extremely experienced. Destroy them now and the entire galaxy can rest and be at peace!" The crowd cheers with Poe and Rey as members. Leia forces herself onto one of the larger ships piloted by some of her elite commanders. When one of the commanders disapproves she responds "The asteroids block our vision, I need a closer look if I'm to lead this operation", the commander reluctantly agrees.
Kylo boards his own ship ready to battle. Snoke's voice is in his mind telling him "I can sense Leia on one of those ships. If we can kill her the war will end in our favor. Ignore Skywalker's student and everyone else."
The battle rages on and it's very close. Rey, Poe, and Kylo are all getting the upper hand on the ships they do battle with. Eventually Kylo watches Leia's ship take down an enemy and he hears Snoke tell him "She's there!". Kylo starts to aim his lasers onto the ship but hesitates. During the hesitation Rey starts attacking his ship. They start dogfighting. Kylo brings the ships towards a dense patch of asteroids. To his surprise he can't lose her as they both dangerously fly through the debris. Eventually he turns around and their ships face each other. Kylo charges forward, and Rey does too. They dodge each other's blasters getting closer and closer. Until they collide. Rey's wings are sliced off as Kylo's much stronger ship comes out unscathed. Rey manages to crash land her ship onto an asteroid, furious at losing. Kylo then flies back to Leia's ship, Snoke is yelling at him "FIRE!", and this time without hesitation he does so. The two beams he fires are perfectly on target, but just as they are about to hit the ship, they deflect around it. Snoke surprisingly calm whispers "I always wondered how you learned that trick of yours so quickly…" Kylo yells in a panic "What do we do?" Snoke tells him "Calm down I have a backup plan". Kylo hears Hox command "All ships move retreat to tier A as planned!" The First Order ships retreat close to their base.
Republic ships pursue but are shot down by large cannons outside the First Order Base. Leia commands all ships to stay far away. She then tells her own ship "Maintain this distance and charge your cannons". Her pilot is confused and says "what why, there is no way we can hit them from here!" Leia tells them "trust in the force" and they reply "The force? What? The force of the blast?" and Leia replies "nevermind just trust ME. Aim at that canon there". The blasters charge and fire. It's clear they are going to miss but Leia outstretches her hand and the beams curve hitting the first order cannon dead-on destroying it. One by one the other canon's are destroyed in a similar way.
The First Order are slowly losing more and more ships as the republic sends in a second wave of ships. Leia's pilots are cheerful and relaxed. They start counting how many fighters they managed to defeat. They damage a ship and it starts retreating toward a dense asteroid field. Suddenly, their ship hits an edge of an asteroid damaging the wing. The cannoneer yells at the pilot "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" but the pilot responds "it isn't me it's the ship!" Leia calls the base and the Scavenger with the red hat picks up. She asks him "Our ship's controls aren't responding correctly, do you have any suggestions?". "There's a shortage of good parts General. In order to outfit everyone we had to make a few... sacrifices..." "ARREST HIM NOW" Leia yells into the communicator. "My father starved to death after the empire fell..." he says as we see Republic soldiers surround the Savanger with weapons drawn. "FIRST COMES ORDER! THEN COMES PEACE!" yells the Scavenger as he grabs his pistol only to be shot before he can fire. Meanwhile, Leia's ship has gone completely haywire. More and more debris hits the ship as it's ragdolled across the asteroid field until it finally crashes onto a large meteor. First Order ships surround it and fire blowing up not only the ship but the meteor too. Rey stranded on her broken ship yells and cries as she feels Leia's death. A republic ship comes and picks her up and she immediately finds a new ship and re-engages in battle, enraged, destroying many ships in her wake.
Eventually the First Order ships are destroyed and all that remains is entering the base itself. It's guarded by a forcefield preventing bombardment. Soldiers gather prepared to infiltrate the base. Among them are Poe, Finn and Rey with Luke's lightsaber on her belt. Finn asks Poe what their chances are. Poe replies "to be honest… I don't think our guys have ever fought in a close range battle like this". Rey replies "I have...". They start to hear cheering coming from behind them "HE CAME!" "HE'S HERE!". Rey and Finn turn around as soldiers part ways to make way for Luke Skywalker. Rey smiles "YOU CAME!" and hugs him. She kneels down and hands him his lightsaber again. Luke says "I don't need it". Rey looks confused. "I'm just here to talk..." he says as Rey and the soldiers around them look at each other in confusion. He tells everyone "Just stay there and wait for me" Luke enters the large base alone.
As soon as he enters blasters rain down on him from above. But they all seem to miss. A few stray blasts end up causing friendly fire. Luke yells "SNOKE! I'm just here to talk!". A swarm of soldiers with melee weapons charge Luke yelling "he's unarmed". Luke casually walks through like an old man, but with a few deflections with his arms and force pushes along the way he goes through them like butter. Blasters from above keep firing on Luke until suddenly the blasters seem to move with a life of their own. A few soldiers try to hang onto their weapons only to be dragged off the ledge falling and losing consciousness. Those who don't let go find their blasters pointed back at them. They kneel with their arms up in surrender. Their weapons crumble and break before falling onto the ground.
Snoke motions for his eight elite Praetorian guards and Kylo to go after him. Snoke yells "HE WON'T KILL YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT!" Kylo and the guards surround him. Luke sighs and takes off his robe.
Meanwhile Rey sneaks past the door and toward the enemy base herself. Finn sees her do it and follows her. He catches up and tells her "Just let Luke handle it!". Rey replies "They killed Han in front of us! Leia is gone too!". Finn sighs and reluctantly follows her.
The elite attack Luke but suddenly Luke stops moving like an old man and instead like a true Jedi Grand Master dodges their attacks with ease and grace. One elite slices down with his spear but Luke dodges and breaks the spear with a chop of his hand before knocking the guard out with a single punch. He picks up the handle half of the spear and force throws it with enough power that it knocks out another guard. Two attack on both sides of him. Luke dodges one attack and deflects the other into hitting the first one's weapon breaking it. A third elite charges at Luke only for Luke to jump over him and use both palms to force push the elite into the two that just attacked him knocking out all 3. The remaining three elite hesitate, before Kylo charges, inspiring them to continue as well. As Luke dodges Kylo's attacks one of the elite attacks with a wipe. Luke nearly get hits by the first attack but the second he deflects with his palm in a way that causes the whip to swing back and wrap around the wielder electrifying them unconscious. Kylo continues to attack with the remaining two guards. Luke dodges Kylo's attack then force pulls a weapon on the ground into hitting the back of Kylo's knee causing him to stumble onto the ground. The other two continue to attack Luke. Snoke telepathically tells Kylo "fall back to me" and Kylo does so. Luke continues to dodge the final two elites until he sees an opening and gently places a palm on each of their heads, which instantly knocks them out.
After finishing off the guards Luke continues his calm walk to Snoke's throne. He finally arrives and in the face of Snoke and Kylo Ren he says "Let's talk…". "The New Republic made some mistakes... I made some mistakes…" he says to them. "Stop pretending you're some hero. The New Republic is led by spoiled bureaucrats who don't even notice their people starving" says Snoke bitterly. "The republic will find its way just give it time" replies Luke "The galaxy disagrees. Our members are all volunteers who see the weakness of your republic" Snoke sneers. "The Galaxy needs a true leader one who can feel the suffering of their people... through The Force" says Snoke. "You aren't Sith Snoke, why do you want to follow in Sidious's footsteps" replies Luke. "I just want what's best for the galaxy" says Snoke. Luke sighs and says "It doesn't matter if you think you're doing the right thing Snoke. There is an army outside that will stop you even if I don't. Just surrender. Even if you have some good ideas, you can't tell anyone if you're dead because of your childish rebellion." "You Hypocrite!" yells Kylo as he attacks Luke. Luke dodges but Snoke sends a barrage of debris. Luke manages to jump over the debris but Snoke and Kylo continue their attack. Snoke starts including blasts of Force Lightning at Luke forcing Luke to block with a defensive Force blast, making it difficult to dodge Kylo at the same time. "Maybe I should have brought my lightsaber after all" says Luke while panting. As Luke blocks another force lightning Kylo charges at him from behind, but his lightsaber is blocked by Rey. "I told you to stay back!" says Luke, unable to hold in a smile. "You seem pretty happy to see me though '' says Rey.
Rey isn't able to get the upper hand on Kylo but is able to distract him and block his attacks enough to survive. Luke alone with Snoke has an easy time deflecting his lightning and debris attacks. Luke has his palm upright, visibly the force begins to charge around it. Snoke panics and levitates off his throne in order to dodge Luke's force blast. As Rey and Kylo duel Kylo tells her "If it wasn't for us you would be a slave right now". Rey yells back "Your lies won't distract me" as she continues to battle. "Your parents sold you to pay off the debts the Republic put on them". Kylo starts to easily get the upper hand as Rey loses focus. "The First Order killed the slavers! Leaving you on that planet in peace". Rey starts to get angry, and to Kylo's surprise begins to push him back as they duel. "It's true isn't it… uncle..." Luke looks back at Rey and Kylo with disappointed eyes. "The Republic..." begins Luke before being cut off by Snoke "Couldn't handle its job!" yells Snoke as he flings a large stone between Rey and Kylo and telepathically tells Kylo "Focus on Luke!". Kylo charges Luke as Snoke prepares his force lightning. "Enough!" yells Luke as he force pulls Rey's lightsaber into his hands. Luke deflects Snoke's force lightning back at him with the saber while force pushing Kylo hard into a wall causing him to drop his saber which Rey destroys. Snoke falls onto the floor. Luke says "It's over Snoke, just give up and write your manifesto in prison!". Kylo hears Snoke in his head "do it NOW!". Suddenly Kylo force pushes Rey with all of his might toward Snoke who force grabs her infront of himself shielding himself and preventing her from moving. The force holding Rey ripples through her flesh as she screams in pain. Suddenly a small ship breaks through the throne room being force levitated by Snoke. "Come Kylo, Hox has already managed to evacuate most of the remaining troops". Rey's screams cause Kylo to hesitate. "Is this the type of person you want to follow Ben?" says Luke. Kylo starts walking toward Snoke. "You could save her couldn't you uncle?" says Kylo as he walks past Luke. "Not without killing him…" says Luke as he deactivates his lightsaber. Rey begins to cry as she screams in pain. Kylo walks up the steps into the hanger of the ship with Snoke following after. Snoke continues to face Rey at Luke as he stares him down eying for any movement. Kylo looks back at Luke and sighs. Kylo looks at Snoke and murmurs "This… isn't Order...". Snoke turns back only to find Kylo has already cut off Snoke's head. Rey falls to the ground still crying. She gets up and stares at Kylo who has his hand stretched out to help her board. Rey looks back at Luke and yells "You were going to let him take me!" Luke looks down at Snoke's head "maybe he could have changed...". Rey's face shows disgust as she grabs Kylo's hand. Suddenly Finn runs in yelling at Rey "NO DON'T GO!". Rey responds "come with me". Finn shakes his head "I... can't…". Kylo and Rey board. Their ship flies off. Luke looks at Finn and asks him "Why didn't you go with them?" and Finn replies "I'm… not much of a fighter." Luke replies "good..." and starts to walk back. Finn, not sure what to do, follows Luke out.
Republic ships attempt to pursue the escaping First Order ships. But they are difficult to follow through the dense debris field. Eventually the Republic ships turn back, and we see Kylo and Rey's ship escape.