Fragments in itallics are used to dive into specific characters' heads throughout the narrative.
Chapter 29: "Like a Fleeting Shadow"
"It's hopeless…" Luke whispered as he felt Ben's violence, ambition, and resentment leading to the deaths of millions of people, including Han Solo himself, "It…". And the thought breezed through his mind. Ben wasn't listening to him. He was already turned. How long until he slaughtered the entire new Jedi Order? He was already gone. It was his duty as a Jedi, as the old teachings said, to not act. He was too dangerous to be left alive, right? Was this not the way of the Jedi? Was this not the right thing to do?
Luke turned on his green lightsaber. And his mind broke down. No. It wasn't too late. It hadn't been with Vader after almost two decades of committing atrocities. Ben wasn't gone. He could still be saved. Maybe the instinct Luke had had years ago, to reject the Jedi code, was right all along. Ben seemed like a happy kid before all of this. Before being separated from his family. Before Luke tried to bring the Jedi back. The Jedi. It was the Jedi philosophy that broke Ben, and Luke was responsible for it. The light didn't need the Jedi. Not like this. But it was now too late. The young boy woke up before Luke turned off his weapon, and saw the eyes of a frightened man whose student had become more powerful than him. And Luke saw the eyes of his frightened student, who pulled his lightsaber to his hand and struck. Luke protected himself and wanted to talk to him, but it was too late. Ben used the Force to pull his hut inwards, and slashed his way out, just as the debris started to burn. The fireplace inside it had reacted with the debris and it seemed like hell now. Luke was apparently still inside.
Luke…
This isn't what he wanted. Ever. He knew he didn't want to be a Jedi, but he didn't want to kill his master either. He didn't want to kill his uncle. But he'd gotten in his way.
He tried to kill you. He… your uncle…
What is wrong with him? He was supposed to be good, right? And noble?
Fellow Jedi Knight Xan ran out of his hut, his lightsaber ignited.
"Solo!" he yelled, "Where's master Skywalker? What happened?".
"Look, calm down!" Ben responded. His sword was lit up as well, "This didn't go the way you think".
"I knew the Vader blood was in you," Xan said, menacingly, "Boiling up, waiting for the perfect moment to strike".
"Ben," Snoke's voice said inside the boy's head, "I'm here. Where we met. Find me. I'll take you out of here".
Yes. I'll be there.
Ben Force-pushed Xan all the way back to his hut, and then, in his rage against the thing that he felt had destroyed his life, he turned to the main temple, just a brief mountain climb away from their small village, and with a harmonious movement of his arms made it collapse into itself. The torches in its walls reacted to the destruction and ended up causing the whole temple to burn to ashes. Then, in the blink of an eye, Ben turned around and ran as fast as he could, rushing to the cave where he'd met Snoke years earlier.
Unbeknownst to Ben, though, Snoke and four Knights of Ren were just approaching the small Jedi Order village, and wreaking havoc as they made their way through it. One by one, the remaining eleven students came out of their huts and attempted to confront them. The fight was tough; the Knights of Ren were well trained, and Snoke intervened several times, immobilizing their Jedi opponents briefly to expose them to a final stroke. Six of the Jedi, however, simply surrendered and agreed to be captured instead. Snoke knew they would be useful. They weren't truly well trained. They didn't believe in the Jedi Order enough. If Snoke could turn them, the tide would shift in his favor. Xan jumped out of his hut after a few minutes of waiting, to make a surprise attack, but he was paralyzed mid-air by Snoke, and slaughtered violently by two of the Knights.
The village was left as nothing but flames and debris, along with the temple itself nearby. The surrendered Jedi were cuffed and stunned, and left under the Knights' guard inside their ship. Snoke, meanwhile, went to the cave, and Ben was there, waiting, shivering in the cold.
"My boy," Snoke's voice said in the darkness. Ben could hardly see anything inside the cave, having no source of light, but Snoke fired a bolt of lightning at a tree on an entrance nearby, and the flames colored him, approaching the young man, "I'm here". Ben kneeled.
Your path is now clear.
This is my destiny.
"Have you found out what your fate is, Ben Solo?" Snoke asked.
"My fate is with you, master," Ben responded, his face looking downwards, "With the dark side. I have seen my future. Darth Vader's legacy. Freedom from the pain in my past. Rejecting the life I didn't choose to have. I'm not Ben Solo anymore".
Or am I?
You're not. Ben Solo was weak… foolish… a slave.
"Will you be joining the Knights of Ren?" Snoke asked, after more than a decade of manipulating the boy to give him the answer he wanted. There was a smug smile on Snoke's face. He'd won.
"I will give everything I have and everything I am… to the dark side".
"Yes, you will," Snoke said, as he rubbed the boy's chin, raising his head, "Now, stand, my Knight. We must depart".
As Snoke turned around to leave, Ben stood up and looked over in the direction of the town he'd just escaped from, and the life he'd just given up. It had been a few years already of him knowing he wouldn't follow the Jedi path his uncle was setting up for him, but he never imagined it would come to these circumstances.
Years later, Ben was cooking in the early morning, as Burnhar entered the room.
"Hey, good morning," Burnhar says, then proceeding to sit down on the table, "How are those legs feeling?".
"I feel like I could run and leap almost like usual," Ben responds, "Thanks. And thanks again for… well, getting me to this point in my health. I couldn't have done this without you".
Burnhar chuckles in joy.
"Hey, uh… something came up today and some of us have to go for the day," Burnhar says, "Do you think you could take care of little Wille while we're gone? I know you've met him".
"Uh… yeah," Ben responds, while he serves his friend a dish with bread and the meat he just cooked, "I think I might've yelled at him at some point".
"I mean," Burnhar says, holding back laughter, "that could be almost anyone".
Ben laughs for a few seconds. His bright smile shines upon the entire kitchen.
"If you want, though," he says, "I can help you with whatever it is that came up".
"We need you here, taking care of him," Burnhar reiterates, "Can you do that for us?".
"Absolutely".
"By the way," Burnhar says, before taking his first bite, "I don't know if I've told you. You have seven different outfits. They all look the same, of course; just black robes. They're all made by Ferrin… maybe we should visit him again sometime soon, by the way… and your old, messed up, torn apart clothing has been washed and sewn and you can wear it again. But you've been here some three months already, don't you care for any new clothes?".
"Well, to be honest," Ben responds, "I just showered and grabbed the clothes that you left there. I assumed there were two sets, at best. In my defense, showering was quite a task, so I didn't think much of what was going on…" then he remains contemplative briefly, "I'll let you know if I think of anything".
Burnhar nods and continues eating, as the two share a more casual conversation. Then, Ben thinks of something he somehow hadn't considered asking before.
"Hey," he takes a sip of water from his glass, "Who are Wille's parents?". Burnhar tightens his lips. The answer is probably uncomfortable.
"We don't know who his biological parents are," Burnhar responds, "We found him after the massacre. He was just two at the time and Duni heard him and took him in… so his biological parents are gone, but he's like a child of this whole community. Children shouldn't grow up without parents".
"Right…" Ben says, "So you take turns taking care of him".
"Some of us take longer turns than others, you know," Burnhar explains, "It's been evolving as time goes on, but today we'll all be gone".
Rose and Finn explore Cloon, walking through the sectioned and irregularly-placed streets of the city where they're staying. There are countless staircases and elevating sections of the floor itself, and there aren't many railings.
"This place is insane," Finn says, as he marvels at the sight of a person jumping off a wall to climb to a higher ground, "And it's so populated. How will we reach people here?".
"Well, I'm sure most of these people live day to day," Rose responds. The two see a Stormtrooper walking by; the first they've seen on this planet. They take a few steps back and hide in the shadow of a higher ground, "Which means some of these people must already be on our side, whether or not they know it".
"Do you think there are Rebels here, though?" Finn asks. The Stormtrooper moves along. Rose and Finn walk out of the shadows and to an open plaza with a mostly even ground level, leading to a massive supermarket. Rose and Finn make their way to it
"How do we get to know about this place?" Finn asks, as they walk toward the supermarket, "We literally know nothing, and there's no way we're gonna cross through all of it to find some Rebel. There must be a hundred times more people in this planet than in Fegwet".
"Let's ask questions," Rose says, as she speeds up to reach a man walking in front of them. This is a human with dark brown hair, wearing a black jacket. Rose taps his shoulder, "Hey, excuse me," the man turns to see them, cheerful, "My friend and I are visiting this planet and we know nothing, not even what kind of government we have… can you give us a hand?".
Finn hides the doubt inside. He feels like anyone could be allegiant to the First Order.
"Absolutely, my name's Jow, I was born here in Cloon, and honestly…" he shakes his head as he smiles, "It's the best. This place is excellent. Really, we can do anything we want in here, it's entirely free. We have a Prime Minister, of course, and a Senate, ruling over us, but they are all elected by us, so they represent the interests of the people…" he blinks, searching for more words, "Yeah, it's just… I've never been anywhere else, but we here about other places all the time, and they just… they don't compare. This is such a great place. It's the planet of happiness. If you have a dream and you come here, you'll live it".
Finn and Rose turn to each other, their microexpressions communicating that neither of them is sure of how to respond. Rose takes a blind step.
"Do you think we could contact you later?" she asks, "You seem like you probably know this place pretty well, and, like I said, we literally just got here… my name is Rosie, by the way".
"And I'm Finn," he shakes Jow's hand, "Sorry if we're a little weird. We're just excited".
"That's okay," Jow responds, "My code is 10675-225. Need paper to write that down?".
Both Finn and Rose look baffled at his response.
"Sorry, your code?" Finn asks. Jow expresses realization and pulls out a small but fancy apparatus with a small screen and a keyboard that fits on his palm.
"We use linkers here in Cloon, I assumed they were everywhere," he responds, showing the device to the two Rebels, "You can buy one almost anywhere here, it's very useful to communicate across distances". He then pulls a small pen and a piece of paper out of his chest pocket and writes out his number on it, "Here you go".
He then says goodbye to them and continues on his way to the supermarket.
"You think we should buy one of those?" Rose asks.
"I'm not sure," Finn responds, "It could be useful to get to know this planet, but I'm not sure regardless".
Back in the rented room, Leia wakes up and sees Rey cooking herself breakfast. She remembers what seemed to be both a dream and a reality. Ben was alive. If only for a moment, but she felt him. And she knows Rey would want to know. Hiding things was counterproductive.
"Rey," Leia says, as she sits on her mattress. The young scavenger turns to her and raises her eyebrows as she smiles. Leia shows an indescribable mix of emotions on her face, and Rey notices it, "I felt him. Last night. It was brief, but it was real. I know it".
Rey stares into nothingness briefly.
Ben? It must be. But what does this mean? Is he alive? Or is he still dead?
"If he's alive, and I hope that's the case…" Leia shuts her eyes in pain, "I don't know what we could do… or what we should do".
This whole thing feels terrible. We don't know what's going on and, whatever it is, we wouldn't know what to do anyways. This was a lost cause from the get-go.
"I need to get some fresh air…" Rey responds, "Explore…".
And so Rey walks out of the room after taking her last bite. Leia remains sitting on her bed, contemplating once again what exactly she could have done in the past decades to save her son.
Ben opens the door and Wille walks in, excited, with many toys on his hands. Ben speechlessly follows him with his eyes and closes the door behind him. Wille lies down on one of the couches and leaves his toys in front of him. Ben sits down on the couch perpendicular to it, and observes Wille.
"I will not let you destroy this city, Lord Vader!" Wille says, shaking a homemade figurine of a knight. On the other side, he holds another makeshift toy, this one painted in black and holding a stick on one hand, "The Jedi protect people and I am a Jedi".
Ben chuckles inaudibly.
"The Jedi always lose against the Stith!" Wille says, shaking his stand-in Vader.
"That may be true. But peace always beats war!" the makeshift Jedi replies in Wille's voice.
"The Stith are stronger!" Vader threatens.
Wille then lifts his Jedi above Vader's height.
"Not strong enough," the Jedi responds. Vader then shakes in the Jedi's direction, as Wille makes the sound of a burning fireplace with his mouth.
"Do Stith masters shoot fire?" Wille asks Ben, suddenly completely ignoring the plot he'd been building up, "Do you know, mister Ben?".
"Uh…" Ben says, having been caught off-guard, "Fire? Not that I know of".
"Well, but you're not a Stith, how would you know?".
"I think they're called Sith," Ben responds, "And they're extinct, so who would know?".
"Are Jedi extinct?" Wille asks.
"N- I'm not sure," Ben answers. He really isn't sure what to respond, "They might be".
"Have you ever met a Jedi?" Wille asks before Ben can even finish his sentence, "I don't know if they're real or if they're like angels".
"I don't enjoy personal questions," Ben responds, "I pass".
"That's boring".
"Y-"
He's just a kid.
"You'r-" Ben starts, but then closes his mouth before continuing, "You're interested in knowing about me?".
"I don't wanna be bored, do you wanna play with my toys with me?" Wille asks.
"Uh, sure, I guess," Ben grabs one of the figures, one who also wields a stick in place of a sword, "Who am I?".
"You can be the Jedi Skywalker," Wille responds. Ben's throat inches briefly, "I like him, he's based on Luke. He's my hero".
"Alright, sure," Ben responds, "And who will you be?".
"Darth Kyloren," Wille says, "From the First Order".
Ben swallows and shivers subtly.
"No, I know… I know who he is…" Ben says.
"He's the worst of the worst," Wille adds, "I think he's a Stith too but I'm not sure".
"Well, who knows?" Ben says, "Let's-".
"I wish Luke would find him and kill him".
Ben's face freezes for what feels like an hour, but it really is just a matter of seconds. That night from decades ago flashes before his eyes. Luke tried to kill him. Luke turned on his lightsaber right behind his back as he slept. Clearly, it was an attempt to kill him. And all because he was growing too powerful and thinking of a different path.
Right?
But also, it's pretty clear, in hindsight, that Snoke and the First Order were not the right path. If Luke saw that…
No, but it's unjustifiable. Luke tried to kill him.
Right?
No, but he had decided he could and should forgive him. It wasn't as simple as an assassination attempt, but it also wasn't as simple as it being all right to kill someone for something they hadn't yet done. Bad decisions were made by both of them, but Luke was now gone. And Ben had seen the harm his decisions had caused on other people.
"I wish he and Luke had tried to be there for each other… empathy was all they needed".
If only…
And, back in Cloon, Rey walks around the city, examining her surroundings to attempt to distract herself. Why did Ben mean so much to her?
But then, suddenly, it all gets quiet and the sunlight feels slightly less bright. And, just a few steps of her, the throne of the First Order appears, and the man she'd only seen once in a hologram was now sitting in front of her. Rey's breathing slows down.
"You".
"So we finally meet, girl".
"Who are you?" Rey asks, daringly.
"You know who I am," the hooded monster responds, "Sidious".
"I didn't ask what your name was".
"Then I assume you're wondering how I came to rule the galaxy overnight".
"You don't rule the galaxy".
"I don't?" he asks, arrogantly.
"No".
"I don't rule the galaxy?" he repeats, and Rey shakes her head decidedly, "Then who does?".
"We'll show you".
"Ah, you think you'll be powerful enough to take me down, girl?".
"I didn't say I would".
"Right, you said 'we'. I imagine you and your friends will take me down then. The power of love will win".
"You have nothing!" she yells.
"I have your location and everything about you without ever even having seen you personally".
"Your arrogance will be your downfall" Rey threatens.
"That's funnily ironic coming from a semi-slave with favorable luck".
"Where's Ben?".
"You two used to do this, didn't you?".
"Where is he?!" Rey asks, increasing her volume.
"You'll never win," Ducan says as he chuckles, "And also, people are staring at you".
Ducan and the throne vanish, and dozens of people around Rey are freaked out, looking at her with disdain.
And, in a section added to the Senate Building during the times of the Empire, made specifically for the Emperor's throne, Ducan was now sitting. He presses a button on the side of the throne and waits silently for about a minute. Then, the massive doors of this hall open and General Hux walks in.
"Give me the report, Hux," he orders.
"One of our investors has reported strikes on planet Verveo, in many of his mining facilities. Workers want higher wages. I will have local Stormtroopers repress their protest," Hux reports, "It might be useful to turn this planet into something more explicitly controlled by the First Order, like Badu Haw, Crinno, Fegwet, Galatra…".
"We can't jump to such a drastic change just like that," Ducan responds, "Have our troops make some acts of terror and make it seem as if the strikers are responsible. Get the majority to think we should intervene directly. Give privileges to the higher-ranking public officials and make them agree to this agenda. In a matter of months, they'll turn the planet into a dictatorship themselves," he concludes without a second to take a breath or hesitate, "And remember, we are not the First Order anymore. We are the United Galactic Republic".
Hux makes a reverence.
"As you wish, Supreme Leader".
"Anything else?"
Hux's mind accelerates. Ducan is asking him about things he knows. That must mean that he isn't reading his mind at the moment. He's open to an attack, and they're all alone in that room. Hux stutters.
"T-The Knights of Ren are on their way back from Mustafar, sir," Hux reports, "They will be here shortly".
"Good," Ducan responds, "Leave now".
Could he have read Hux's mind?
Hux turns around and leaves silently.
A few days later, in Cloon, after having purchased their own linker and contacted Jow, Finn and Rose make their way to a social event he's invited them to, where they can meet people and get to know about where to work. The two young Rebels arrive at the entrance of a tall, cylindrical apartment building and ring the bell.
"Think this will mean anything?" Rose asks.
"Well, so far everyone around here seems to like the way they live…" Finn responds, shrugging his shoulders, "Maybe we just made a mistake in choosing this place. Maybe there's no oppression here". Rose doesn't audibly respond, but it's clear that this statement seems unreal to her.
The door opens and Jow is inside.
"Rose, Finn," he shakes their hands, "Please come in! Good to see you!".
The two walk in and make their way upstairs as Jow makes smalltalk.
"These are people I've met throughout my whole life. They all live around here. I think you'll find them very inspiring and likeable, and who knows? Maybe one of them will give you guys a job offer you'd like".
"I sure hope so," Finn responds, "I hear it's tough to be employed in some places".
"Well, if you work hard," Jow says, as he finally opens the door to his apartment, "It's not an issue here". The three walk in and the place is filled with nicely dressed people. There's music playing and lots of snacks.
"Everyone!" Jow screams, making his guests turn to the entrance, "These are Rose and Finn. They arrived here a few days ago and they live in this area. They want to know about getting a job here. Will we be friendly to them?".
Most people respond positively in unison.
"Good, great," Jow says, then turns to his new guests, "make yourselves at home".
Meanwhile, Rey, Poe, Chewie, R2-D2, C-3PO, and BB-8 climb to the ceiling of a small but spacious building. Poe looks around, analyzing the area.
"Looks nice," he says, "Might work for you".
"Thank you for coming with me," Rey responds, as she pulls out Leia's lightsaber and ignites it, "All of you".
Chewie growls as he and Poe get on opposite extremes of Rey, and she closes her eyes. The droids stand nearby, just as spectators.
"Are we sure this is safe?" C-3PO asks, "It seems terribly d-" but R2 interrupts him with a beep, "… Necessary? Necessary for what?".
"To fight the Supreme Leader," Rey responds, her eyes still closed, while she stretches out her muscles doing maneuvers with the lightsaber harmonically, "To kill him".
Chewie growls again.
"All due respect, Rey," Poe says, "but I don't think he'll fight you using a blaster".
"This is for reflexes," Rey responds, "Not just to blasters".
"But also, and I hate to ask this type of question," Poe adds, "But how can you be sure that this guy isn't another Kylo Ren? That there isn't more to him as well?".
"I don't…" Rey says, hesitantly, "I'm not sure… but I'm the only one who can possibly fight him, so I need to be ready".
Rey gets into a defensive position, and Poe and Chewie fire at her from opposite sides.
"They were gonna cut wages," one of Jow's friend says. He's telling a story to a group of seven people in the small reunion. Finn is also nearby, listening, "But I managed to talk to our boss and persuade him that our work was important and we deserved the wages we had, if not a higher one". The listeners react in excitement. Finn continues to pay attention, unsure of how to react.
"That's unreal!" another guest responds, "And what did he do?".
"He agreed with me! Reluctantly, but he agreed to maintain our wages," he concludes, "So I kind of saved us all, in a way".
"I'm not sure if we're too far from doing something like that over at Codice," another guest adds, "It looks more and more like wages can be cut and we'll be fine, so we'll have to wait and see".
Finn walks out of the conversation, looking for Rose. On the other side of the room, she sits near some ten guests and Jow himself, also arguing about their jobs.
"Look, it's simple," Jow says, "If we feel like there's an injustice being done, we'll do something. We'll fight. I'm not going to let some greedy boss cut my wages just to increase his revenue!" he concludes inspiringly as his friends cheer and agree. Rose smiles in pride. Perhaps they've already found strong allies in Cloon.
Finn sees Rose and gestures at her. She stands up and walks towards him, and the two walk together to an open window nearby, away from the noise.
"So what do we think?" Finn asks.
"Great news," Rose responds, "I know this is just thirty people at best, maybe, but they seem to already be on our side, against injustice".
"I felt that too".
"If anything," Rose adds, "maybe we just need to help them focus their distaste for injustice on bigger things as well as the smaller ones they already focus it on".
"This is hopeful…" Finn says, "I have to admit this is not how I expected this to go down".
"Me neither…" Rose responds, "… we have to get them on board now. Take this chance. They're all together, talking about injustices… it's the perfect time".
Finn turns around and grabs a cup, which he then bangs a fork on to get everyone's attention. Just then, Jow opens the door to a man in dirty clothing carrying a broom.
"All right, everyone," Finn says, as everyone turns to listen to him. Rose looks at her fellow Rebel with pride, but then the man with the broom catches her attention, "I want to thank you all for welcoming us to your family, for sharing your stories about fighting injustice… and I want to also tell you a little bit about us and maybe even make you an offer," he continues. Rose notices that Jow talks with disdain and exhaustion to the man with the broom, "We want to ask you if you'd like to join our efforts in fighting the injustice across the galaxy, alongside the Rebellion," there are some gasps among the guests, and Rose's face grows worried, as Jow shuts the door on the man.
"Finn, I don't think…" Rose says.
"The Rebellion?" one of the guests asks, "What for? We deal with real problems, not their imaginary injustices".
"Imaginary?" Finn asks, "What's imaginary about people not having houses or proper attention to their health? What's imaginary about the First Order slaughtering people like it's nothing?".
"Hey, the First Order is gone!" another guest says, "Now with Sidious, it's all okay. And besides, they were all most likely criminals anyway! And what's this about housing and health? If you want those things you work hard for them!".
"Finn…" Rose says, grabbing his arm.
"So you're saying all those people who don't have a fair living standard are just lazy?" Finn asks, challengingly, "You think poverty and… starvation and… slavery are just people being lazy? What happened to fighting for wages?!".
Jow finally intervenes.
"We fight for our wages," he says, "For us, the people with an education and jobs that warrant higher salaries. I fought my boss for not cutting our wages to be as much as his miners', as I said".
"What?!" Rose asks.
"You only fight when it affects you?" Finn asks.
"Hey, we fight injustice," Jow responds, "Real injustice. And if they or the factory workers or any of those tail-end workers want to fight for being paid more, let them make their inexplicable demands themselves. What do I care? They should've worked harder in their education if they wanted a better salary!".
"This is unbelievable," Rose says to herself, and then she turns to Finn, "We have to leave. We don't belong here".
"Yeah, you don't belong here," Jow responds, as he opens the door and gestures them with his hand to walk out, "Your radical and arbitrary ideas are baffling. Here we only talk about real issues," his friends clap and agree verbally, "Maybe you should focus your efforts on making the workers and the poor a little less lazy and then you'll get your imaginary injustice solved out".
Finn and Rose make their way to the door. Everyone stares at them. The silence is deafening. Finn walks out and Rose grabs the door to close it, but not before one final comment.
"You need them more than they need you," she remarks, "If they realize it before you do… you're all in serious trouble". The door closes.
"We should go home," Finn says, "This just… it's the worst".
"Wait, we can't leave yet," Rose responds, as she rushes down the hallway and the stairs. She finds the man with the broom just leaving the building, "Hey, sir, wait!".
The man turns to her.
"How may I help you?" he asks.
"I'm Rose," she says, finally catching up to him. She then points back to Finn, who hurries to reach them, "This is Finn… I'm sorry if this sounds insensitive, but do you have a place to stay tonight?".
"Not really," he responds, "I'm Pohleen".
"Come with us, Pohleen" Rose says, "We have room for you".
"That's not fair…" Pohleen responds, "If I were smart and hardworking enough, I'd have room for myself".
"You're not homeless because of those things," Rose says, "But if they convince you that you are, they win".
"I'm…" he responds, "… I'm not sure if I follow… but I do miss sleeping with blankets".
Back in Neast, Ben wakes up in the morning on one of the couches in the living room. He smells his sweaty armpits and makes an expression of disgust.
I need a shower.
"Wille!" Ben screams, "Are you awake?".
"We're here," Burnhar's voice echoes from the kitchen, "Come join us, Ben".
Ben slowly stretches his back and his arms and sits down. He then stands up and walks up to the kitchen, to see Wille standing up on a chair beside the table, with bumcakes on his plate. Burnhar bakes more bumcakes in the oven.
"When I grow up, I'm gonna be tall like Ben!" Wille says, just as Ben enters and their faces almost meet in height.
"Good morning, kid," Ben says, as he sits down next to Wille's chair, "You look taller today, I do have to say. Maybe I shrank".
"Mr. Burnhar, if Ben shrank, can I keep the jacket?" Wille asks.
"What jacket?" Ben asks the kid.
"Ferrin brought you one," Burnhar says, as he washes his hands and grabs a dark brown jacket that was hanging on his chair, "Along with a blank shirt to go underneath," he points to it, hanging on the back of Wille's chair.
"I didn't tell him what I wanted," Ben responds, as he grabs the shirt and is handed the jacket by Burnhar, "How come?".
"Well, he connected with you that one time, right?" Burnhar recalls, "He doesn't forget things easily. He felt you, Ben. If he gave you this, he probably knew it was what you wanted".
"I'll thank him when I see him," Ben says. He then stands up to leave the room, "I'm gonna shower and put on clean clothes".
"Shower quickly," Burnhar advises, "We're going fishing today. Wille's coming with us, too".
Rey, Poe, Chewie, R2-D2, C-3PO, and BB-8 walk into the rented room. There are now two tables on the kitchen. Leia, Rose, and Pohleen sit down on one of them, while Finn heats up food for them. Rey has wounds and scars on her face, and after hanging her robes near the door, there are also some visible on her arms.
"Uh, hi, sir…" Poe says when he notices Pohleen, "Do we…?".
"I'm Pohleen," he responds, "Your kind friends invited me here to spend the night".
"Take a seat, guys!" Rose says. Rey, Poe, and Chewie sit down. The droids awkwardly stand nearby, even though there are two chairs left unused. Poe notices this and recalls his promise to BB-8 a few days earlier.
"You know what?" Poe says, as he stands up and walks towards the droids, "Why don't you guys join us?" he then gestures them to the table.
"Sir, I'm afraid none of us has the legs to sit on those chairs," 3PO responds, "But we surely appreciate-".
R2 interrupts him with a beep.
"We also don't eat," 3PO says, "But thank you, sir".
"No need to call me or any of us 'sir'," Poe says, "And okay, don't eat, don't sit… but join us. We've got plenty of room here". The Rebels sitting down smile awkwardly.
"You guys should talk to the droid emancipation folks in town," Pohleen comments, "They know what's up about these things".
Poe turns to their guest, with a shocked and confused face.
"Droid emancipation folks?" he asks, "Who?".
"Sit down and I'll tell ya!" Pohleen says, "And yeah, you come join us!". Poe sits down. Rey moves the two unused chairs, allowing 3PO and R2 to stand in their place. BB-8 knocks on Poe's chair, and Poe leans down to pick up the droid.
"Want to sit with me?" Poe asks, as he places BB-8 on his lap. BB beeps in a friendly way, "Sure, buddy".
Finn hands each one their heated up plate.
"Who wants the one that looks like a burnt-up brain?" Finn asks. Everybody laughs. Chewie additionally growls, as if asking for it.
"Actually, if it's okay" 3PO adds, "I think I'll have it".
Again everyone laughs in unison.
"Did you just make a joke?" Poe asks.
"Is that the first time you ever joke?" Rose asks.
"Well, I've observed you for a long time," 3PO responds, "I can learn. I thought the timing was appropriate".
"Threepio, I hope you feel free to do it again more often from now on," Leia says, "It will be welcome".
"Yeah," Poe adds, "Just no bad jokes, please".
Even R2 reacts to this comment.
As Finn stands up to grab the last plate, for Rey, he looks back at the table and smiles. This is what he never had. He turns to Rey, who coincidentally also sees him. She knows what he's feeling. She feels it too.
I don't want this night to end. I don't want to get back to the heavy and impossible world we have to deal with outside of this table tonight…
"So, droid emancipation," Pohleen says, "These guys have been fighting for generations to make droid ownership illegal. And we see it as just normal business, but when they talk about it, it just… you get it, y'know?". Everyone just remains quiet. They know they've all been complicit in droid slavery in one way or another.
"They're right," Leia says, "And the three of you will be able to be free. To choose your own path". Poe smiles in pride.
"Leia," Rey adds, "I think we should also contemplate going one step further".
"What's that?" the general asks.
"We'll support this cause," Rey says, "Whatever happens after we take down the First Order or whatever they want to call themselves now… there won't be droid ownership. Not anymore… The only way to avoid falling into the same trappings is to take a different pathway". Leia nods in agreement.
"Good, so we do this as soon as possible," Poe says, "Find droids in this cause and talk to them. Surely, the support of the Rebellion will be useful to them".
"Oh, they could use it," Pohleen adds, "Definitely, but the Rebels here haven't tried it out".
And with that sentence, it's like time stops. None of them had even considered anymore the possibility that there may be a Rebellion in this planet.
"Excuse me?" Finn asks.
"They aren't on the urban sites, usually," Pohleen continues, "But they are around where I live. On a communitarian home down there set up by them, on a mining region".
Rey still hasn't gotten past the initial shock.
"There are Rebels here…" she says, in awe.
"And we'll see them tomorrow…" Leia determines, decidedly.
Ducan opens his eyes dramatically inside his office, and looks shocked. He was meditating while sitting on his carpet and something had just violently crossed his mind. He quickly stands up, grabs and puts on his dark red cape, complementing his dark red attire with yellow and black portions, and speeds out of his office, with his eyes closed. The thought was driving him crazy. Could it be? Was this powerful rise to power going to end up being the setup to the most ironic, large-scale cosmic prank the galaxy itself had ever played on anyone? He was right, wasn't he? He was the only one who saw that portions of history tend to repeat themselves, and he was playing into that, exploiting it. There would continue to be a stand-in Empire for generations, and a stand-in Rebellion fighting it. This was the way. He was just playing his part in the story, actively helping the cycle perpetuate itself. So why did it seem now like it was all going to crash down before his eyes? He was aiding history in repeating itself, so why did he seem terrified all of a sudden? What could have possibly altered him in this way?
He finally arrived and sat down at his Throne, and just then, the gates to the room opened. Cardo Ren, the most skilled of the Knights that now followed his preachings, walked into the throne room.
"My lord, I heard your calling," he says as he kneels before the Supreme Leader, "My brothers did not wake up. I imagine they didn't hear it".
"It's not necessary… they're not necessary," Ducan responds, "I wanted the eight of you tomorrow for general management procedure, but I only need one of you for this. It doesn't concern me too much, but it is a minor nuisance…" he lies, "I need you to go to planet Cloon and find the scavenger girl. The one you saw that time in the Star Destroyer with Kylo Ren".
"Find her?" Cardo Ren asks.
"Find her and kill her," Ducan adds, "As soon as possible".
"May I ask why the urgency, my lord?" Cardo Ren follows up.
"It- something about her fate has come to my attention," Ducan responds, "I can't see her future, but I can see the past and the present and I can find patterns. I see what she's shaping up to be".
"I thought she was a part of the cycle," Cardo Ren says, "Isn't it necessary for her to follow patterns? And if she's so dangerous, why just me?".
"She's not too dangerous yet… that's why it's just you. And, about the girl… that's the point," Ducan says, "She doesn't follow patterns. She breaks the cycle".