How's everyone doing with the coronavirus? Hope everything's OK! I've been kind of distracted, but I'm back.
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Starkiller Base. The First Order's superweapon.
The icy blue planet of Ilum now housed the most powerful killing machine of the galaxy. How fitting, mused General Hux, that the planet that provided kyber crystals for the Jedi will be their end...and the end of everything else that stands in our way.
But Hux didn't have much time to turn over these thoughts as he and Kylo Ren stood at attention, listening to the discourse coming from their leader. The huge assembly room was empty, and every word, every moment, sent an eerie echo throughout the room. Supreme Leader Snoke sat on a platform. Twenty-five feet tall, sickly gray, and with a deeply pitted and small face, Supreme Leader Snoke was old, mysterious, and a force to be reckoned with all at the same time.
"The droid will be delivered to the Resistance, and the map will lead them to Skywalker. If he returns, the new Jedi order will rise." His purred words held an undercurrent of fury.
Hux gulped. He knew that he would be blamed for any failure in this regard. "I'm sorry, Supreme Leader, I-"
"Silence, General!" Snoke barked. "Our plan must change now."
Hux took a deep breath and began to speak rapidly. "The superweapon is ready now. We shall destroy anything that stands in our way or that is allied with the Resistance. Without their friends, the Resistance will be vulnerable, and we can annihilate them."
Snoke fell silent, considering. Hux was wondering if Snoke was alive or not when the Supreme Leader spoke. "Go and begin preparations." Hux nodded and walked out of the room.
"There has been an awakening. Have you felt it?"
Kylo Ren didn't acknowledge his master's question right away, instead letting the question settle as he watched General Hux mince out of the room. After a few moments, Ren turned back to face his master. "Yes."
"There's something more. The droid is in the possession of your father, Han Solo."
Ren jolted. His...father?
"He means nothing to me," he managed to force out.
"What about your brother?"
"Tobias is gone," snapped Kylo. He didn't want to think otherwise.
Snoke chuckled. "This will be a challenge you have never faced before."
"I will not be seduced to the Jedi," replied Ren with resolve heavy in his voice.
"We'll see."
Kylo wheeled around and walked out of the room, resisting the urge to run away as fast as he could.
Alarms screaming, the light of hyperspace streaming past, and the roars of Chewie being treated in the lounge made up the general atmosphere of the Millenium Falcon. Sparks flew out from the cockpit. "Electrical overload!" Tobias called to Rey.
"Got-"
"Coolant's leaking!" Han was desperately punching buttons.
"Transfer auxiliary power to the second tank-"
"Second tank, great." Han flipped a switch and a warning light blinked off. Chewie roared loudly as Finn gingerly wrapped a bandage around his shoulder. "C'mon, now!" Finn begged. "I'm trying to help you!"
"Hurt Chewie, you deal with me!" Called Han.
"Hurt him?" Finn was indignant. "He's almost killed me six times, and I've been helping him!"
Rostek was trying to sleep, per Finn's orders, but it was impossible amid the cacophony. "I'll help," he replied, crawling over and holding down Chewie's shoulder.
"REY! This hyperdrive looks like it's gonna blow, and if it does there'll be pieces of the ship in three systems!"
"Do you mind?" Rey asked Tobias, beckoning to the co-pilot seat.
"Not at all." He gratefully slipped out and Rey plopped down, flipping switches and punching buttons. All the alarms stopped. Han stared at her.
"What'd you do?"
Rey grinned wide. "I bypassed the compressor."
After setting the ship on autopilot, the crew congregated in the lounge. Finn accidentally bumped the Dejarik table and stared at the holofigures that appeared. "Cool!" Cheered Rostek, sliding into one of the seats across the table and playing with a few of the controls.
"So y'all are fugitives, huh?" Han shook his head. "Quite the group."
"The First Order wants the map that he has," said Rey, gesturing to BB-8. "Finn and Rostek are the ones with the Resistance. Tobias and I are just scavengers."
Han glanced at his son, who looked away guiltily.
Finn turned the Dejarik game off, ignoring Rostek's protests. "Let's see the map," grunted Han. Rey nudged BB-8 forward and the little droid projected a map of systems, planets and stars that made absolutely no sense.
"It's not complete," mused Han. "This is the map that everyone's been looking for since Luke disappeared."
"Why did he leave?" Asked Tobias quietly. Han looked at him again. His son's face was inscrutable.
"He was training a new generation of Jedi, but his apprentice betrayed him." Han was practiced at not showing emotion, and those years of experience paid off. His voice didn't even crack. "The boy destroyed everything, and Luke felt responsible. He dropped everything and disappeared."
"What happened?" Asked Finn, intrigued.
"There's lots of stories. A lot of people who knew him said he went looking for the first Jedi temple."
"Do you believe that?" Questioned Rey.
"Don't know what I believe."
"The Jedi were real?" Finn was incredulous.
"I used to wonder about that myself, when I was younger. Thought it was a bunch of hooey, laser-wielding robed guys running around with the wooshy-wooshy light and dark side, or something like that. But it's true. All of it. The Force, the Jedi..." Here, Han couldn't resist the urge to sneak a look at his son.
Tobias wandered away, thoughts whirling like snowflakes in a blizzard. The Jedi were real? Uncle Luke might still be alive? He ran his hands over his face and took a shuddering breath. He had disconnected himself from the Force. He was no longer a Jedi. He didn't need to worry about that, but still...
The ship dropped out of hyperspeed, and Tobias walked over to a sink, splashing his face with cold water. He rejoined Rey and his father to disembark on Takodana.
