CHAPTER VIII

Rey had been walking through the barren wastelands of Kessel for some time. She had heard all the signs of the battle behind her, and it had pained her to not be involved, but the call of Kur Wendar was too strong to ignore. And so she had walked ahead for hours, making her way through miles and miles of sterile land.

Finally, just as the pull of the Force was its strongest, she came towards a precipice.

This is it, she thought, Is this the opening of some cave or chasm? Is this where he lives?

But as she reached the edge, she peered over to see nothing there.

For a moment she hesitated-

-and then suddenly was pulled forward, straight off the precipice! It dawned on her for a second that something invisible was beneath her when she was already going through the barrier and inside-whatever it was!

It was some sort of sphere-shaped craft, and a young man was holding his fist out. He had used the Force to grab her, and for a moment, Rey wondered if she was being Force-choked, then realized she was only being paralyzed, yet with a feeling of peace. She strained to get a better look at her surroundings.

The inside of the sphere was a golden room, with a diameter of about ten feet. It was odd to think they were inside this golden orb, which had been completely invisible from the exterior, and which she had simply been pulled past a barrier as soft as just passing through a charming breeze. Stranger still was the young man inside.

He was indeed young; younger than she. He looked like a boy, one would still be training in some academy, hardly old enough to know how to pilot a ship. He was dressed all in bright yellow, but otherwise had a round face with a mischievous grin. Rey knew right away this was Kur Wendar.

"Hello," Kur said quietly, while levitating her, rotating her in mid-air, "I see I have an intruder in my midst. Who said you were welcome in the Golden Sphere?"

"Your name is Kur," Rey said, though it was hard to concentrate.

"That's right," the strange young man said, smiling as he floated around in his sphere.

"You were one of Luke Skywalker's students. You defected before-"

"Before Ben Solo became Kylo Ren."

He threw her to the floor-or at least as close a floor as it could be called. It was just the bottom of the sphere. However, the impact did not hurt; once again, Rey observed, it was like being thrown against a barrier consisting of a hard breeze.

Kur pulled out his lightsaber and ignited it.

Rey immediately was back on her feet and ignited her own, just in time to defend herself before he came at her. The two swung their sabers at one another, jumping onto the walls of the sphere. Rey had never had a lightsaber duel in such an enclosed space before.

"Stop all this!" she said, "I'm not your enemy. I came here because I want to talk to you-"

"Did Kylo Ren send you?" Kur asked, "I sense that he's here!"

"He is after me," she said, "I sensed-"

"We were two of Master Skywalker's last students," Kur went on. He clearly enjoyed talking about himself, "It was Ben and I, the two great minds of his class. We went our separate ways. And now I know that Master Skywalker is dead. I have felt his presence be absorbed by the Force."

Rey sighed. Had all of Luke's students turned out so obnoxious?

"Will all due respect, Master Wendar, neither of you were Luke Skywalker's last student. I was. He trained me on Hosnian Prime just before he died."

Kur froze for a second, then put his lightsaber away.

"I search through my feelings, and I find you speak true. Who are you?"

"My name is Rey."

He looked at her, as if trying to make sense of her, then turned away.

"I was told to look for you," Rey said, glad they had finally calmed down. She put away her lightsaber, "What is this place?"

"The Golden Sphere is my creation. Using the Force, I have learned how to reshape matter."

And with that, the walls of the sphere became translucent. Rey found herself still standing on the barrier, but could see right through the walls of the sphere, out at the barren wastelands of Kessel. And before she knew it, they were rising. The sphere was going up, up, higher into the sky. She looked down and saw the spice-covered ground shooting further and further away; then looked upward and saw the sky coming toward them, until they were passing through the atmosphere.

"Is this a spacecraft?" she asked, "Can we survive through space, the same as any ship?"

"Yes," Kur said, "We can't move too far away from the planet, but we can just leave the atmosphere."

And with that, they were in the black depths of outer space. Rey looked to see the entire planet just under them, a nice maroon orb, and an armaded of Star Destroyers and tie-righters right in front of them, having blockaded Kessel. Beyond that was the sea of endless stars.

"You have an interesting story, Rey," he said, "and a complicated past. I see it now. All checkered and fractured. Perhaps the galaxy isn't quite through with you."

"But what happened to you?" Rey asked, "After you defected, you came here to Kessel. What is it you did here? Why is the planet apparently Force-sensitive? And why does it have a twin planet out there?"

Kur smiled, "I told you I could use the Force to reshape matter."

"Yes, but what does that have to do with this?"

Rey was losing patience, but he was only grinning wider.

"Haven't you guessed yet? This planet is me."