"NOOOOOO!"
Rey's voice fills the hall of the atrium. She cannot accept it. Not after all that she's faced, all that she'd endured, for the future to fall into darkness again. To be tossed aside by the Knights of Ren. To fail those she'd promised to help. To never see Ben again. She refused.
"There must be something, anything I can do!" She gazes at the Oracle in desperation, needing an answer to materialise. "Please, tell me!"
But the Oracle gazes back without an ounce of empathy, as though Rey asks her for things she already possesses.
"We have exchanged nothing but truth, you must look and see. The prophecy will be fulfilled, but you hold the key."
But Rey has heard enough from this overbearing, apathetic creature. She pulls her lightsaber from her belt and ignites the yellow-green blade, pointing it up at the Oracle's semi-circular face. The hopelessness of her situation, of being abandoned by her parents, of failing those she loved, of being alone, and of being doomed to die at the hands of the Knights of Ren overwhelms her.
"YOU'RE WRONG!" She roars.
The Oracle remains unphased, simply bowing her head.
"Then I bid you farewell, until next we meet. It is not long now until the prophecy is complete."
The smoke that forms her body swirls aggressively, as though disturbed by a sudden wind. The white gas unnaturally darts for the heart of the statue, and disappears from the room. The sunlight returns and Rey can feel that the temple is rumbling, in motion beneath her feet. To her right, the long windows no longer depict the mountain side, but a vast evening horizon of Tyjimi. Rey is too frustrated, too full of anguish to take in the beautiful sight. As the smoke finally dissipates she simply stands, shaking with fury. Alone.
BB-8 whistles and chirps hysterically, crossing the debris of the atrium to find her. She'd momentarily forgotten he was even there. Her fury breaks into deep sadness at the sight of him.
"Oh BB-8," she says in a small voice. "I thought I was on the right path..."
But BB-8 isn't chirping at her, he is worried by something else. Rey holds her blade aloft and turns, integrating the gloom of the atrium with her eyes. The yellow-green light catches on the metal of two metallic faces, staring at her through the shadows. Vicrul and Cardo leer at her from near the three door frames. Vicrul holds his vibroscythe and dagger aloft, and Cardo juggles two silver detonators with relish. Rey's despair turns to anger again.
"Ap'lek told us that you'd found the temple," sneers Cardo. "But we never thought you'd lead us to the molten heart too."
"Did the Oracle tell you?" Adds Vicrul with cruel glee. "The prophecy is inevitable. We cannot lose. Now step aside, and let us fulfil our destiny. We will reshape the galaxy in our image!"
Rey's hands shake. She isn't sure if it is rage, disgust, anguish, or all three that fill her chest. She is so close to the edge. But there is one bright light. It comes from the end of a shock prod that BB-8 points threateningly at the masked warriors before him, followed by a slew of binary curses. Rey manages a smile at her brave little companion. Even amongst such detestable odds, he refuses to give up. So how can she?
Rey brings her lightsaber up in both hands and aims it horizontally at the two Knights. She lowers her body and breaths deep, calm, the Force energizing her. Even if this fight is unwinnable, the prophecy inevitable, she refuses to give in. Not yet.
"Poe!"
Rose's voice comes half excited, half panicked over the crackling commlink. "They're coming straight for us!"
Poe approaches the edge of the hangar and gazes up into the sky. He spots the triangular form of the Finalizer moving slowly towards the mountain, a behemoth of military might. He curses under his breath.
"What about Finn, Rose?"
"He's had half his time, and we're almost ready to jump."
Poe's thoughts move fast. "Get us up in the air, Finn can come to us. We need to be out of the atmosphere to jump anyway, time to move."
Rose takes a moment to take in what she's being asked, then responds diligently. "Yes, General!"
In the temple control room, Rose examines the huge stone sphere hovering at it's centre. She places both hands on the side and turns it to point upward. The ancient temple groans as it lifts into the air, leaving behind a great dust cloud as it climbs parallel with the mountain peaks.
Poe retreats from the edge of the hangar to his ship, standing atop it and looking upon his fleet. All eyes are on him, and his voice fills the stone room.
"The Final Order is gonna be hot on Finn's heels, on my mark we'll blast any TIEs out of the sky! Get ready for a fight!"
On the bridge of the Finalizer, wonders never cease for Grand Admiral Hux. Below him stretches the spiked mountain ranges of Tyjimi, and he watches in complete shock as an octahedron shaped building lifts into the air, stone cracks glinting with yellow-green energy.
"What exactly am I looking at?" Hux's anger temporarily recedes to make way for sheer astonishment.
Fingers dash over terminals, scans are examined, and holoimages are scrutinised, but none of the officers present can categorise the flying fortress that steadily climbs the mountain range before them.
"Grand Admiral, our scans cannot penetrate it," shouts an officer in the control well behind Hux. "It appears to be organic in origin."
Hux's lip curls into a sneer. "This is either Resistance desperation or trickery. Keep our advance and begin bombardment when we're within range."
"Yes, Grand Admiral."
He turns to the three lieutenants huddled behind him, his bitter fury breaking from its restraints once more.
"And where is FN-2187?"
Along a corridor, Finn runs for his life. Thirty or so troopers rush behind him, peppering the walls with blaster fire as he turns a corner. But Finn's luck finally runs out.
As he reaches the end of a hallway, it opens out into the starboard hangar. Two companies of Stormtroopers aim their blasters at him. Though sweat drips from his face and he is more tired than ever, Finn smiles wide. He throws his blaster and helmet down in a show of surrender. Two troopers rush forward, binders in hand. Finn expects the vitriol, the spitting of words like 'traitor' and 'scum', but they don't come. He's placed roughly in binders and shepherded towards the centre of a barricade of troopers. Lowering their weapons, most scarcely bare to look at him. A sharp-chinned officer at their centre is of a different temperament. He narrows his eyes delightfully at Finn and opens a comm channel.
"Grand Admiral, FN-2187 is in our custody."
Surrounded by Stormtroopers and with the worst fate imaginable ahead of him, Finn does something that unnerves all soldiers present. He smiles wide, at peace. He is exactly where he should be.
Back on the command bridge, Hux cackles triumphantly.
"Excellent Lieutenant, take him to the cells and fetch me-"
But Hux's spiteful celebration is interrupted almost immediately, contributing further to his stress.
"Grand Admiral, we have intruders!"
Hux turns to his gaggle of lieutenants, clenching and unclenching his fists. One of them stands out from the rest - his arm in a sling and his eye blackened from a near fatal encounter with Kylo Ren. Grand Admiral Hux rounds on him with no remorse.
"We've just captured the traitor, Lieutenant Quonit, were you not listening?!"
The young Quonit gulps.
"Yes sir, but a transport was spotted exciting our rear maintenance hangar."
Hux's pupils shrink with fear in his bloodshot eyes. "What? Why would they be in there? Explain, now!"
As Quonit grasps at flat explanations, words spoken earlier that day suddenly come to Hux, words said in this very room by his most hated rival:
The Resistance are preparing to attack Othkore. The fate of the war depends on the outcome.
"No." Hux mutters to himself. "No, no, it's impossible. They do not have the men, they do not have the ships, they do not have the-"
Hux's frantic eyes suddenly dart to the floating stone temple slowly coming into view, and the bottom of his stomach seems to disappear. A vein bulges in his reddening temple as he grips a fist full of Quonit's uniform and pulls him close.
"I WANT EVERY FIGHTER WE HAVE DEPLOYED AND THAT ESCAPING TRANSPORT DESTROYED!" He screams into the young officer's face. "UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL IT REACH THE RESISTANCE!"
Just below the Finalizer, Jaytu is learning how to pilot quite literally on the fly. The evening wind and snow of Tyjimi buffets the transport this way and that, her team inside holding onto their seats for dear life.
"I'm sorry!" She calls down to her bruising teammates. But what she lacks in flying finesse she makes up for in scouting experience. Instead of diving straight for the temple, she manoeuvres the ship to gain on two TIE Daggers patrolling the sky, hanging in the blindspot before tearing off towards the safety of the temple hangar. The Finalizer has closed a considerable distance between itself and the floating temple, and Jaytu counts it amongst her blessings. She opens a closed comm from the cockpit.
"Rose?! General Poe? I don't know if you can hear me but we're coming in now, and we're coming in hot. I don't think I've been-"
"Lieutenant!" Huf's voice echoes from below. "We've got a lot of company!"
As the temple grows closer, Jaytu checks her scopes and feels her heart sink. Not only has both pairs of TIE Daggers begun to follow her, but the atmosphere around the Finalizer fills with a disgusting number of enemy fighters. The swarm of angry ships meet at a point behind her, and aggressively pepper the air around her tiny ship with emerald blaster bolts. They are faster than she is, and cold fear floods her heart.
"Someone, anyone!" Jaytu shouts into the comm. "We need help!"
The sounds of lightsaber clashes and blaster fire ring high off the atrium walls. Rey fights fiercely against two crude foes, deflecting blaster bolts and vibroblade alike. BB-8 scurries around her, jabbing at the ankles of Cardo and throwing him off balance. Rey's new lightsaber feels just right in her hand, like an extension of her body. She twirls the blade at Vicrul, feinting a slash, and rolls into a jab that cuts his crude vibrodagger in two. He flinches his hand away from the useless weapon, and Rey steps forward, claiming ground. She points her lightsaber at them threateningly, standing between them and the crystal hovering in the statue behind her. She is determined to defeat them, no matter what the Oracle has foretold.
Cardo pulls himself to his feet. Vicrul switches his vibroscythe to a two-handed grip and laughs at the serious expression on Rey's face.
"So determined are you to defy fate?"
Rey says nothing, keeping her blade steady between her body and her foes. Vicrul inches close, almost within its range.
"The time of the Jedi is over, just accept it."
Rey's blade doesn't falter. She will die keeping her promises. She promised Ben. She promised everyone. She promised herself. She will not be tossed aside. Not again. Never Again.
"No," she retorts to the crushing hopelessness surrounding her. Cardo sneers beneath his metal face, mistaking her fiery courage for naïve stubbornness.
"Have it your way, nobody!"
On the insult he throws a flame detonator, but not at Rey. The bomb strikes the ground between them and an explosion of flame erupted from the floor. Reacting fast, Rey summoned the Force to push the flames away from her and BB-8. What she doesn't expect is for someone to use the flames as a smokescreen.
Vicrul dives through the flames, his arms crossed before him. He emerges just to Rey's right, but doesn't attack her. Hitting the ground running, Vicrul makes a dash towards the crystal housed in the statue's chest. BB-8 rolls to intercept, but Vicrul leaps over him and kicks him down the stairs. Rey is close behind, ducking out the way of squealing BB-8 flying through the air towards her. Rey is mere steps behind as Vicrul outstretches a gloved hand and takes a hold of the crystal. Though crudely disciplined in the Force, he channels his dark desires into the worn and cracked crystal. The effect is immediate.
The crystal colour changes, staining a blood red. The temple shudders violently. The atrium floor creaks as its stones move up and down, displacing both Cardo, Rey and BB-8 down the steps and away from Vicrul. The veins of crystal around them turn from yellow-green to a sickly scarlet. As Rey attempts to regain her footing, Vicrul reaches out a hand to his brother in arms.
"Cardo!" He roars. "NOW!"
The shout sends ice cold fear into Rey's stomach. Cardo is just in front of her, his path unblocked by debris. They both move at the same time, their legs working at inhumane speeds. Rey gains on him as they climb the steps, she is almost level. Rey throws herself forward and slashes with her glowing lightsaber. The blade extends her reach, but she isn't aiming for Cardo beside her - she aims for Vicrul's hand, still holding the bleeding crystal. The Knight's instincts are sharp, and he involuntarily retracts his hand to stop it from being severed. He lurches backwards into Cardo and both topple down the atrium stairs, landing in a heap of metal and dark clothing. But Rey spots the crystal in his hand a second before she realises what will happen now.
The temple shudders even more violently and the scarlet lines of crystal fade. The magnetic shield weakens, and suddenly the atrium is blasted by a howl of wind from outside. Beyond the atrium's six windows Rey can see the peak of the mountain they had been ascending past, but the temple rumbles irritably as it slows down, unable to fly without the crystal. The scream of TIE Daggers can be heard far above them as the Final Order closes in.
"We're losing altitude!" Yells Rose over the confused din in the control room. "Can someone tell me what's going on?!"
Several of Rose's allies scrutinise their stone workstations, but the patterns and symbols they study are fading in and out, as though the power that lights them grows weak. Rose attempts to reposition the control sphere before her, but it groans in protest. The ancient temple still hovers, but it starts to droop, leaning sideways to rest against the peak of the mountain. The control room shudders as the floor begins to lean to Rose's left. She digs in her feet and tries to convince the temple to lift into the air again.
It's at this moment Rose hears a faint voice coming from her comm.
"Finn?!" She calls into her commlink.
"No it's me!" Calls back Jaytu, panic infecting her usual cool tone. "I'm being beaten up here!"
Jaytu is closing the gap between her and the temple but her transport is in a bad way. The turret gun they'd used to bat away fighters is disabled, and her starboard engine is a smoking mess. Without the jammer to protect them, Jaytu has caught the attention of foe starfighters. Her ship sputters through the air as she desperately tries to outrun the TIE Daggers on her tail, but they're faster.
"Like right now!" Jaytu yells desperately into an open channel.
The TIE Daggers trip over each other, all attempting to get the bullseye, all fearing the wrath of the Grand Admiral if they fail. Suddenly, a squadron of A-Wing fighters cuts through the swarm of attackers, sending a dozen spiralling towards the earth below. Jaytu screams in relief.
"POE! General, is that you?!"
Several X-Wings blast a second hole in the swarm, scattering them into two manageable clouds of TIE. The Resistance's plan becomes clear when a squad of lopsided B-Wings, led by Poe's U-Wing, speed through the opening and up towards the approaching Finalizer. Poe's voice blazes through Jaytu's comm, the very embodiment of confidence and optimism.
"Black Squadron, break up those gangs! Comet Squadron, pick off any who break off solo! Razor and Cobalt Squadrons, stick close to the transport and don't let any fighter get within range. Defend it with your life!"
Jaytu's heart swells with gratitude as a mass of Y-Wing and A-Wings cut the advancing TIE Daggers around her to ribbons, some even blocking fire with their own hulls. She presses the sputtering transport on, not wanting to waste their sacrifice.
"Shell Squadron, on my mark-" Calls Poe over comms. "Let's blunt that Destroyer's beak!"
Now in range, the Finalizer unleashes a barrage of turret fire at Poe and Shell Squadron, but they may as well not have bothered. Poe's U-Wing weaves and dances around the flurry of green blasts, instead popping each one of the turrets in view with a flick of his blaster controls. He has been doing this for so long, it feels welcome to be back. Uscathed, Shell Squadron follows Poe as they cut a wide curve above the Finalizer's command bridge, levelling out to drop an ion bomb payload right atop their port hangar. The TIE Daggers preparing for takeoff are suddenly halted by the hangar entrance collapsing in on itself, blocking their advance.
Grand Admiral Hux watches this happen with teeth gritted so tight they might shatter.
"BLAST THAT TRANSPORT TO PIECES!" He screams.
Rey looks from the scarlet crystal in Vicrul's hand to the now empty cavity in the statue. She knows in her heart that Vicrul won't give up the crystal in time, and putting it there corrupts the temple somehow. She knows that the Resistance doesn't stand a chance without the temple, and there is only one other crystal in the room.
Not giving Cardo and Vicrul time to recover, Rey dashes up the stairs they all just tumbled down. As she gets close, a button click retracts her lightsaber blade and Rey reaches out to place the hilt in the statue's chest - hoping against hope the crystal contained inside the hilt will be enough. Mere steps away from the statue's open arms, Rey hears a howl of rage to her right. Vicrul throws his weapon to the ground and launches himself at her, tackling her to the floor. As Rey hits the hard stone floor she yells in pain, and her saber flies from her hand across the steps.
"ARGH!"
Rey's cry is barbaric as she punches Vicrul's head as he holds her tight. One of his gloved hands fumbles for her neck, but her brawling upbringing comes out as she twists his hand sharply, snapping his wrist. She prepares to punch him again when the temple stops shuddering. Staring around for the culprit, she spots Cardo just regaining his bearings, dazed, but far from the statue. Confusion sets in for a moment. Then, a stream of excitable and playful beeps erupts behind her, and she turns in utter amazement.
BB-8, hanging from the stone head by one of his thin cables, has placed her lightsaber in the statue's chest. The atrium suddenly erupts with wonderful light, yellow-green colours surging through the cut patterns in the walls. The temple shudders to life, slowly regaining it's hazy shield and levitation. Rey kicks Vicrul in the stomach, winding him, and throws him off her down the stairs to her left. She can scarcely believe she underestimated BB-8, her first companion, her first friend. She beams back at him as he gloats victoriously with beeps and chirps.
"BB-8 you did it! You-"
But her relief dies in her throat. Cardo scrambles forward, motivated by rage, and picks up Vicrul's fallen vibroscythe. Both BB-8 and Rey yell in shock as Cardo unleashes his full furry upon the tiny droid, cutting at his spherical body and head with the scythe blade. The lightsaber stays hovering in the statue, but BB-8's body drops to the floor with a resounding and unceremonious CLUNK.
Rey's anguish is actualised as she lifts her hands aloft, commanding the Force. Vicrul, Cardo, and the hulks of stone littering the atrium floor rise into the air. Cardo squirms against his invisible bonds, but Rey's command of the Force is too great. A younger Rey would have struck out of anger, out of rage, like she once did when fighting Kylo Ren in the snow. But now, despite the rage, despair, the desire to hurt, to maim, to avenge that bubbles inside her, Rey makes a choice. If there is any hope of saving her friend, every second counts.
With great effort, Rey cries out and sweeps her hands towards the window, and the Force obeys. Vicrul and Cardo pass through the magnetic shield and are thrown from the atrium windows, as though a sudden gust of wind tosses them into the cold air of Tyjimi. They hit the side of the mountain peak hard. Tumbling unconscious through snow and rock, followed by the atrium debris as they disappear into the mists of the mountain. But Rey is unconcerned with their well being.
Panting from the effort, Rey stumbles half bruised, half dazed, towards the glowing statue. Her lightsaber hovers in the chest, held there by magnetism no doubt, and reflects the dancing lights of the lava below onto the crumbled heap of robotic metal parts now sitting at the statue's feet. The rumble of the temple and the distant sounds of starfighters can be heard, but Rey is numb to the world. She crouches next to the mess of white and orange scrap and picks up BB-8's damaged head. Sparks fly from the deep left by Cardo. BB-8's small red eye flickers in and out of focus.
"BB-8?" She calls to him in a small voice, a sting already happening at the edges of her eyes. "Can you hear me?"
A series of mis-matched beeps streams from his body. He can't quite focus on her.
"It's alright!" She says, fighting back the tears. "I'm going to fix you! I'm not going to let you-"
Part of BB-8's body creaks and falls away, sparks flying from inside the spherical shell. Even Rey knows she can't possibly repair him now. The mismatched bleeps sound again and she attempts to pull his body together. A lump takes form in her throat.
"I never said thank-you for coming down here with me," she smiles through the first tears. "So, thank-you."
The little red eye swivels round, and BB-8 manages a series of bleeps akin to 'Your Welcome!'. Then, the sounds fade. The red light in his eye swivels side-to-side, then it disappears too.
Alone once again, Rey cradles the droid's broken body in her arms and weeps for her friend.
"Commander, we've got power!" Yells a Resistance officer across the temple control room. "We're almost at full!"
"Then let's get her up and away!" Rose yells back, readying herself. She grips the sides of the spherical controls and lifts it upwards. With a groan, it swivels on its hovering axis to point up. The equilibrium of the temple rights itself, the off-kilter flooring becomes level once more. The temple levitates away from the mountain and towards the dogfight. Rose watches the ships draw closer and opens her comm.
"All wings, we're preparing for lightspeed! Jaytu, get in the hangar now! We're coming to you! Hurry!"
High above them, Hux's nose is practically pressed to the glass of the Finalizer viewport. His rasping breath catches on the glass as he heaves like a mad dog. Veins pop in his temple as his face turns as red as his hair. Poe and his team of Y-Wing's approach once more, avoiding the Finalizer's cannons, and drop a second ion payload over their remaining hangar, halting any more TIE Daggers joining the fight. Smoke obscures Hux's view momentarily. He can feel the unmistakable, slipper feeling of defeat tinge his consciousness. It makes him sick.
"DO NOT LET THEM ESCAPE, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES!"
He bangs a gloved fist against the glass, willing it to shatter and allow him to reach out and squeeze the life from the Resistance himself. Hux stares at the floating stone temple as it becomes level with them some distance away. They're trying to escape.
"READY OUR TURRETS! ADVANCE ON THAT RUNAWAY SHIP! OPEN FIRE!"
"But s-sir," stammers Lieutenant Quonit. "We'll be firing through our flee-"
But it takes one glance of Hux's bloodshot eyes for Quonit's quarrel with collateral damage to die in his throat. He turns swiftly to the officers in the Finalizer's sunken control well, pointing with hsi good hand.
"Get us as close as possible! Open fire!"
The Finalizer tips its nose skyward to pursue Jaytu's transport as she fights to reach the ascending ancient temple. A volley of turret lasers fires from the Star Destroyer's remaining cannons, but only hit unsuspecting TIE Daggers in the way. Jaytu is out of their reach. But the sudden execution of their wingmates plunges the hearts of many TIE pilots further into the embrace of fear. One careers off ahead of the pack, and is quickly taken down by an X-Wing, but not before firing off two ion torpedoes into the transports back.
"AAARRRRGGGH!" Screams Jaytu as the transport lurches forward with the impact of the blast. She keeps her hands on the controls but her engines sputter and die. Jaytu hears the wind whistle around her as the nose of the transport tips, and they fall.
"I'm hit!" Jaytu screams into the commlink, into the cockpit itself. "I'm hit! I'm going down! Someone, please-"
As the horizon line starts to dip before her, a cold cynicism sneaks into Jaytu's mind. That whether Final Order or Resistance, this was always her fate. No matter what she tried, it was always going to end this way.
A jerk from the transport knocks her back to reality. Has she hit something? Solid? In midair? Then a crackling voice comes over comms.
"We've got you Lieutenant, prepare for a rough landing!"
Jaytu gazes to her left out the viewport and sees Major Snap Wexley, using the wing of his X-Wing to keep the transport from falling. As she watches in amazement, two A-Wing's are shot from the sky defending a second X-Wing as it approaches her right.
"Just hang on!"
She is now being supported and guided upwards, towards the flying temple and the safety of the hangar.
"Keep your hand on the controls kid, keep steady."
Jaytu does so, the din of fighters clashing filling her ears as the stone temple swallows her view. They are approaching at breakneck speed.
"Nice and easy, nice and easy!"
A TIE Dagger smashed into the back of them but they keep steady. Four ships, huddled, keeping Jaytu on course. Ion torpedoes erupt Snap's right wing into a blaze of flame, but another ship comes in underneath, preventing Jaytu from missing the approaching hangar.
"We've got you Jaytu!" Comes Poe's charismatic yell. "Get ready to hit the ground, be ready! We got you!"
The hangar approaches, and Jaytu resists the temptation to shut her eyes. Suddenly, they are through, and the transports metal landing gear scraped the stone floor as it tried to grip and stop. Snap and Poe blocked her path, using their own manoeuvring skills to forcibly slow the transport down. With their guidance, it skids to a halt at the far end of the hangar, a smoking wreck of metal and busted cannons. Poe is still in the air as his voice blazes over comms once more.
"Infiltration team secured! Resistance get back in here on the double, and Rose, shut the hangar door! Let's get the hell out of here!"
"Twenty seconds, General!" Yells Rose as she angles the control sphere almost directly upwards. In the hangar, the first four ships are followed slowly by the remaining squads as they abandon the dogfight, chased by remaining TIEs, but Poe has prepared for this. Either side of the hangar, soldiers fire flurries of blaster bolts at TIE Daggers still bold enough to pursue, and some catch fatal blows from anti-vehicle laser cannon towers. After the last Y-Wing panicky docks in the hangar, the soldiers defend the entrance with their lives. The bolts of the TIE Dagger's are neutralised by their magnetic shield, and the hangar defence team blast those who get too close.
"KILL THEM!" Screams Hux from the command bridge. "I WILL RECONDITION ALL WHO FAIL! WIPE THEM OUT!"
But now the temple has secured all ships, it lifts off high into the air with gathering momentum. Inside the hangar, several of the soldiers fall back. The rushing sky beyond the hangar doors dizzying them.
"Five seconds!" Calls Rose.
The Finalizer closes in on the temple as it leaves the wintery atmosphere of Tyjimi, but their turret fire seems to have no effect. In Hux's mind he has countless backups, but one stands firm: they can be tracked. They can be found. The glowing veins of crystal that connect the entire temple pulse white hot. A deafening whirring can be hard from the core room as the temple approaches the very edge of space. Inside the control room, Rose watches as the great navigational rings representing hyperspace turn of their own accord, their destination coming to rest at the top. She presses her hand on a large glyph before her and braces.
The three-thousand ton mass of crystal and stone hits lightspeed with a sudden quake, leaving behind nothing but dust as those inside watch the kaleidoscope of white and blue dance outside the nearest viewport. All gathered on the Finalizer bridge watch as in a flash of white light, their quarry disappears into an unknown hyperspace lane. But not for long.
Hux turns swiftly, his brow sweating, and points to a junior controller.
"Where did they jump to?"
A split second goes past before Hux asks again.
"Where did they jump to?!"
The controller looks from her datascreen to Hux in panic. "G-Grand Admiral, th-they-, Our tracker can't sense-, I don't-"
The reality of their situation falls upon all on the command bridge. Against all odds the has Resistance escaped them, again. But something even worse settles over Hux. That Kylo Ren may have been right. He manages to slow his breathing to wheezes, but his eyes still bulge. His next words are filled with loathsome contempt.
"Set a course for Othkore. Return our pilots to the main hangar and throw them in the detention level. They will all be sent to the Reconditioning Division immediately upon our arrival, along with all security staff who allowed the traitors to run rampant."
He turns swiftly and settles his dangerous eyes on Lieutenant Quonit, who flinches as if burned. Hux barely notices as he shudders with sheer rage.
"Quonit, with me. Once we return, every single officer on this bridge will be sent to Reconditioning." He stares around, all other eyes averting away from his bloody gaze.
"Your failure will not be tolerated."
The lieutenants, junior controllers and officers look at each other in sheer terror. Most of them have only heard whispers of the conditioning of their troops, and now they face the same fate. Hux stomps from the room, the muscles beneath his face so tort Quonit fears they might snap. As Hux approaches the double doors, white cloak billowing behind, he pauses at the two flametroopers guarding the door.
"You two, with me. We have preparations to make."
Flametroopers TN-2729 and GH-1719 nod and fall in step behind Hux and Quonit as they depart the command bridge. After Hux's outburst and subsequent demand of punishment, many left upon the command bridge operate navigation controls, data-screens and terminals with shaking hands. Most with fear of Reconditioning. But some are filled with outrage against their Grand Admiral. Soon, he will discover the extent of their contempt.
The immolation room of the Night Buzzard teams with activity. Down in the sunken well at the centre of the room, a fire sputters. Kuruk has gathered several Jedi trinkets, which he places in the flames in celebration of their coming victory. Dathomirian fire lichen has been gathered and spread across the flames, resulting in a thick red smoke that fills the room. Ap'lek watches from the top of the pit, and hands a ceremonial vibrodagger each to Trudgen and Ushar. Without his master's knowledge, Ap'lek allowed Vicrul to be cut on the dagger blades first, in the hopes they would succeed in their mission aboard the Talon scout ship. Their radio silence suggests they weren't. No matter, they are destined to succeed. Ap'lek examines the cut upon his own hand for a moment, before noticing that his master fills the entrance behind him.
Ap'lek immediately straightens up, holding his executioners axe aloft in salute. Strangely, Kylo Ren's entrance is usually heralded by loud footfalls or a growl of orders. Trudgen pulls back his glove and opens a fresh cut on the palm of his rough tanned hand. Ushar is forced to use his left hand as his right is made of rusted metal. Kuruk attends to the sacred fire, a cut already open upon his right palm. They all look up to the entrance as Ap'lek addresses the last of their number.
"Master!"
The man standing in the door frame looks around for a moment, noting all four of their positions. Ap'lek shifts uncomfortably, noticing that his master lacks his usual gloves, cloak, and something unseen. Ap'lek decides to get the bad news out of the way.
"Vicrul and Cardo failed, master. They have been defeated by the Jedi. If they live, they shall join us at the temple."
For a split second, Ap'lek is distracted by a twitching at the edge of his master's mouth. A smile? He continues.
"But it matters not! We shall seal our bond in blood, and you possess the cracked crystal, therefore we have everything we need!"
His master's eyes widen briefly. Ap'lek has chosen now to divulge what he knows, and his master notably places a hand on the lightsaber hilt on his belt. Ap'lek reaches inside his dark robes and produces another matching ceremonial dagger. Its hilt and blade are crudely crafted.
"The feats will be completed. We will go to Othkore, enter the temple, and fulfil the prophecy. We will reshape the galaxy in our image, in our creed! We will achieve victory!"
Ap'lek gets a little carried away, and reproaches before offering the hilt of the dagger towards his master, bowing his head slightly.
"Kylo Ren will achieve victory. Of course."
The man in the doorway stares at Ap'lek. Though a momentary slip of faux brotherhood, a mere mistake, Ap'lek's mask slips to reveal his true nature. A ruthless, crude, obsessed warrior, and a threat to everything the man in the doorway holds dear. Of course Rey survived Vicrul and Cardo, and she'll survive these four too. He will make sure of it.
"That's not my name," says Ben quietly.
The snap hiss of his crossguard lightsaber sounds and he points it at Ap'lek's face. The Knight backs away, shocked.
"Master, you-" he splutters, barely able to comprehend what he is seeing. Trudgen, Ushar, and Kuruk hurry to the top of the pit, and revel at the man who stands before them. Ben wears Kylo Ren's tunic, holds Kylo Ren's saber, but something is amiss to his followers. His scar is barely visible, the angry red colouration having disappeared. His shoulders and muscles are not hunched and tort like a coiled snake, but relaxed, passive, calm. They don't recognise this man.
"Who?" Asks Ushar, over the stuttering of his fellow Knight. Ben looks at Ushar and smiles, unafraid. Ushar's suspicions are all but fully realised. Realisation dawns over all four of his followers, but the depths of his treachery reach deepest for Ap'lek, his most faithful, now shaking with fury. The dagger clatters to the ground as Ap'lek lifts his axe high into the air and charges forward.
"TRAITOR!" He screams.
But the man he fights is not Kylo Ren, and doesn't move like him. Ben curves his body out of reach, the axe slicing only air. He brings his saber hilt down on Ap'lek helmeted face, bludgeoning his nose. Ap'lek yells in pain as blood dribbles down his neck. Ben doesn't angrily advance without cause, he retreats slightly, keeping all four in his line of view and his blade raised. He will not allow them to leave here alive. But now they know of his cracked saber crystal, it is more dangerous to let it fall into their hands. He can't deny it feels right to be here, and his heart blazes with confidence. Ushar steps over the gasping Ap'lek, clenching and unclenching his crude metal hand, his warclub ready.
"I knew it," he growls. "I knew you were soft."
Ben twists his mouth into a half smirk. "As usual you comprehend very little of what's going on."
Ushar loses what little composure he has. He lunges for Ben with his sharp metal hand, clawing at the taunting face, but Ben is too fast. He reaches out into the Force. For years he had commanded its compliance through his own emotions, his own frustrations, but now he asks for its help. Not as a master, but an ally. As Ben stretches a hand, the Force could refuse him. To his relief, it does not.
A telekinetic blast is unleashed, sending a shockwave through the immolation room. The very corridor they stand in explodes, and smoke fills Ben's view. The four Knights are thrown to the ground, but the scramble of footsteps and clink of weaponry tells Ben they aren't done. He swings his scarlet saber to deflect blades and bolts through the smoke, and dashes backwards down the corridor towards the Night Buzzard docking ramp. He finds it and turns to run, but the fight erupts into pure chaos.
Charging through the smoke the Knights chase him ferociously, intent on blocking his escape. Bringing up the rear, Ap'lek is screaming something about the cracked crystal of his lightsaber, but Ben has no time to pause and listen. Kuruk bares his blaster rifle at his head and unleashes several explosive bolts, but Ben doesn't raise his blade to deflect. He calls on the Force once more, to protect him, and it does so. The crackling bolts rebound off his palm with a flash of sparks, rebounding into Kuruk's left shoulder and Ap'lek's hand. They both scream as their flesh is seared underneath their clothes. Ben takes his opportunity and runs, his boots pummelling the metal grating of the bridge furiously as he dashes for his shuttle. If he can just get away, get his lightsaber away from them, everything will be fine.
"He must not escape!" Yells Ap'lek as he pulls himself up by one hand. "Shoot him Kuruk, shoot him!"
The metal bridge shudders as explosive shots hit the bridge but Ben keeps running. Kuruk is not far behind and takes a moment to aim a shot square at his back. Ben can sense his intent a moment before he squeezes the trigger. He outstretches a hand and the blaster bolt freezes in midair. Ben is about to send the bolt into Kuruk's chest when the Knight is pushed aside violently, falling face first onto the metal bridge.
"RRRRRRRAAAAGGGH!"
Trudgen shoves Kuruk to the ground in rage as he and Ushar race towards Ben. He sends the blaster bolt at Trudgen but he deflects it with his vibroclever, and they are upon him.
Ben stumbles backwards off the bridge and deflects a heavy slash of Trudgen's vibroclever. It sinks into the mud of the landing pad, with the shuttle just behind Ben, but Ushar circles behind him. The blade of the vibroclever glows where Ben's lightsaber has melted it, but Trudgen has no care for the state of his weapon. Ben points his blade intimidatingly at Ushar and Trudgen who circle him, his eerie calm still placing them on edge, hesitating.
Trudgen lunges with his vibroclever, and Ben moves to deflect, but too late. Trudgen puts his whole weight into the slash, and it proves too much for Ben. Sparks fly as his saber hilt is slashed, narrowly missing his fingers, and a cut open on his chest. Ben is fast enough to regain himself in time to deflect the strike of Ushar's warclub, but he finds himself in danger. As he brings his saber up to point at his two circling foes, his vision blurs. His legs, already tinged with exhaustion, now feel heavy and move inelegantly. His followers possess prowess in the Dark-Side, but nothing beyond crude manipulation. So what is this feeling? Then Ben realises why the smell of his own blood reminds him of Bogar Prax - it's the poison of the Oracle's pool. Sparks fly from Ben's crossguard hilt and he realises he cannot win this fight, his only option is escape.
Unfortunately for Ben, the Knights of Ren know this too.
Ben manoeuvres Ushar between himself and the shuttle, then slashes at him. As Ushar gives ground Ben dashes for the safety of his ship, but Ushar doesn't counterattack. He throws his warclub to the ground and wraps both hands around Ben's saber hilt. He yells as the blade burns his glove, but he won't let go, and Ben can't drag him along. Trudgen raises his vibroclever high, ready to cut Ben in half to get the saber. At the last second, Ben releases his hold of his hilt and rolls backwards up the shuttle docking ramp. He reaches out a hand and calls back his saber. The metal hilt tugs at Ushar's hands but Trudgen holds his fellow Knight steady, matching the strength of Ben's summoning by brute force. A haze begins to obscure Ben's vision as the poison spreads through his blood stream. Ap'lek and Kuruk arrive on the landing pad and Ben realises he is out of options.
He turns and dashes up the ramp, slamming the emergency hatch. The ramp seal almost immediately with a hiss of steam, and Ben struggles into the cockpit. His anger and disappointment in himself doesn't yet match his need to fulfil his promise to get back to Rey, to warn her, to help her.
"FA-17!" He yells as he crosses the cockpit threshold. The dumpy pilot droid twists its head from the driver's seat expectantly.
"Yes, master?"
"Get us out of here, get us to Othkore right n-"
The ground beneath Ren shudders and his legs give. He collapses to the floor, a cold sweat starting to form on his brow as the poison courses inside him. Ben looks through the shuttle viewport and sees the reason for the disturbance. The four Knights of Ren stand in unison, hands raised. Though their command of the Dark-Side is untrained, they can still command it. Four hands push the shuttle through the Force towards the edge of the muddy pad, his shuttle's landing gear scraping in protest.
"Fire up the engines!" Ben forces himself to his feet and runs his hands over the cockpit controls. "We've got to go!"
"I'm sorry master I've lost control of-" begins FA-17, but it's too late.
The shuttle tips sideways and falls into the ravine, its large wings spinning as it descends between the walls of scrap. It hits the edges and lurches violently, Ben and FA-17 at the mercy of Zoh's gravity. The Knights of Ren watch it go, wounded, but triumphant. Ap'lek's helmet still drips with blood as he curses his former master. Whilst his brothers in arms revel in their triumph, Ushar turns his attention to the crossguard hilt in his hand. With the edges of his metal prosthetic fingers he prizes open the emitter to expose the crystal inside, snapping the hilt in two. He takes the cracked crystal in one hand and holds it before his fellow Knights.
"We have all that we need."
Ap'lek takes the crystal from Ushar's hand and leads them back to the Buzzard. Ushar looks to the unsalvageable debris of Kylo Ren's lightsaber held in his hand. As his three comrades depart, Ushar has a moment alone.
"You were wrong, master," He mutters to the hilt. "I always knew Kylo Ren was weak."
He tosses the snapped pieces into the ravine. Only the Jedi stands in their way now. Later, emboldened by their success, the Knights of Ren take each other's hands and seal their bond in blood. With a cracked crystal in hand, they have but one feat to complete. With a boom of it's thruster the Night Buzzard enters hyperspace, to conclude the Oracle's prophecy, and bring a new future to the galaxy.
Without Kylo Ren.
The hangar set into the ancient temple is filled with smoke. Several of the ships that made it back did so with uncommon landing procedures, and technicians and pilots dash about attempting to extinguish fires.
The cockpits doors to the U-Wing slide open and Poe emerges, covered in sweat and grease.
"Is everyone alright!? Snap, Terez, I need damage reports! Casualties! How are we doing?"
Major Snap Wexley pulls himself free of his X-Wing cockpit. "I'm good Poe, Black Squadron made it back!"
Colonel Terez appears over Poe's shoulder. "Few casualties General, one of Shell Squadron's ships may be down for the count." She indicates to a smoking B-Wing, but Poe waves this off.
"That's great, we made it, we made it!"
Poe can't help himself any longer. As the rest of his pilots clear up, he half walks half runs towards the Stormtrooper transport. What will he say? Not only had Finn been right, he'd proven it beyond all doubt. His recruits had stayed loyal behind enemy lines and secured some of the most important intel in the war! Poe squeezes the jacket he holds as he approaches the transport. He is sure he will find a way to express how he feels, when the moment comes.
The docking ramp of the transport falls and several of Finn's team disembark, dazed. Poe is about to call out Finn's name when Jaytu appears, and her expression makes him freeze where he stands. Her eyes are wet, and she holds the datapad in her hands. Poe doesn't breathe as she approaches him.
"He said," she begins. Many of the recruits around Poe remove their Stormtrooper disguises, revealing faces of anguish. "He said we needed to get this back to you, he said..."
Jaytu's lip trembles as she holds out the datapad. Poe stares at it, realising the immense cost. He can't possibly take it. He can't possibly afford to lose what he has just lost. But Poe looks around, and sees his despair on the faces of Finn's recruits. A tear rolls down Jaytu's face. All at once Poe remembers that this isn't about him and Finn. It's about these people, and what Finn fought for. He takes the datapad from Jaytu's shaking hands.
"I know what he said."
He pockets the datapad and places a hand firmly on Jaytu's shoulder. She avoids his gaze at first but he shakes her until she does. He forces his heart back together just for a moment, resisting the slow break just for them.
"Thanks, Rebel."
Jaytu manages a small smile and nods at the affectionate title. Poe looks around at the somber audience.
"Thank-you all."
"Yes, General." They salute.
He indicates for them to get cleaned up, his face set in a business-like smile. They move towards the barracks and he hears a noise that splinters his heart.
"Finn! Finn you did it!"
Rose comes thundering into the hangar, searching through the crowd of scarlet armoured Resistance soldiers with keen eyes, her necklace bouncing off her chest in excitement.
"Where are you? Poe wher-"
And it is the slow realisation on Rose's face that does it. She shakes her head as she gets closer to him, muttering quietly.
"No. No. No. Not him not-"
The excitement in her eyes dies, and they fill with tears. As she falls into Poe's arms, his heart breaks. He wraps his arms around her tight as she cries, gripping the jacket with anguish. Poe Dameron has lost many things in this war, but he mourns more than a friend now. He manages to fight the tears back for a few minutes, but they have their way eventually. The Resistance and their allies have escaped once again, but the cost is high. Too high.
The columns of junk on Zoh stretch a mile from the planet surface. Between them, rain water and oil collects into pools and streams. In one such pool is the final resting place of Kylo Ren's Upsilon-class command shuttle, smashed into several pieces. One of the wings has torn from the hull during its fall, and the docking ramp sits half submerged in water. To any viewer, there appears to be no signs of life in the downed craft. But Ben Solo lives.
Barely conscious, Ben prizes the docking ramp open and rolls out onto the hull. Before his ship filled with water, Ben was able to discard his thick tunic and dresses his wound. Now in a mere undershirt, trousers, and boots, Ben struggles to stand. The shuttle lays upside down, half submerged in the yellowish brown waters of the junkyard. Ben manages to jump to a dirt bank across from the shuttle, but the effort makes him collapse. The poison seeps through him but he fights it, harder every second. If only he had help.
"Rey…."
Ben tries to summon his energy and gaze through the Force at the one person he wishes to see. But he isn't strong enough, the poison making concentration difficult. Ben forces himself to his feet, standing in the dirt of the bank and looking upwards. He has to get out of here, back to her. There are other ships on Zoh, he can get to Othkore. The Knights of Ren will be going there now, to complete the prophecy, to kill her…
"No," he urges under his breath.
Ben gazes skyward. The walls of the junk cliff are jagged and treacherous, but they are climbable. The scrap is stacked so haphazardly that plenty of the layers can be walked upon. He looks down at his bleeding chest, at the still open cut on his hands. Kylo Ren would have thought he had no choice but to climb, but Ben Solo is not so deluded. Ben wants to get out of here, he wants to get to her, and there's only one way of doing it. In truth Ben has all the options in the world, but he chooses to climb. And that is what gives him strength.
The climb is not as forgiving. Metal edges cut at Ben's arms and knees, and he becomes exhausted from maintaining awareness and balance. On a ridge made of old metal plates he pauses for rest, but he can't give up. Below him in the water, he spots the discarded pommel of his own lightsaber. The Knights of Ren have his crystal, the 'heart of kyber' spoken of by the Oracle. They have all they need.
No, not yet.
"Damn them," he mutters under his breath. A small voice inside him retorts to do it himself, and he resumes his climb.
He makes it halfway before he realises the poison is straining his body too much. He has to rest, but what if he doesn't wake up? A familiar noise sounds above him, the roar of one of the humongous junk droids no doubt. A few metres away he spots another ledge. If he can summon the strength to get there, he promises his body a break. Deep down, he knows that if he stops moving, his chances of survival are slim. Still he climbs. Ben Solo, disgraced Jedi and traitor, climbs for dear life, and he shuts these thoughts out. She has told him. She said it is never too late to choose, never too late to be helped. So those things don't matter. He tears strips of his undershirt and winds them around his palms, refusing to give up. The rain patters his face in ice cold droplets.
He climbs.
His forearm catches on a sharp corner and cuts deep.
He climbs.
The ledge he'd seen comes into focus. Was it minutes or hours ago he'd spotted it? He is losing time. His boot slips and he hangs painfully on the handle of a discarded railing.
"Huuurk!" Ben groans in both pain and desperation.
With a huge effort he swings his foot back into place and breathes for a moment, but he has reached his limit. Exhausted and numb from cold and poison, Ben hangs there on the wall of the ravine, so close to the ledge. He closes his eyes and grits his teeth. He can't give up. Not yet. Not here, at the end of all things. He can't.
Above him, footsteps sound on metal grating. Ben's eyes fly open, and he does something he hasn't done for so long, his voice feels disconnected as he speaks.
"Help!" He gasps, barely able to hold on. His voice sounds hoarse, desperate. "Please, help!"
Clanking footsteps respond and Ben squints as the light of a torch shines upon him. The glare disappears and Ben's hopes plummet, but a gloved hand swims before him. It's just out of reach. Ben tries to lift himself up but he's too exhausted. He takes a few deep breaths.
"Come on Solo," he coaches himself. "Come on you-"
But his words die as he gasps for breath, hoisting himself up onto the railing and reaching upward. The gloved stranger takes his hand and he almost goes limp from exhaustion. The stranger isn't strong enough to lift all six foot two inches of him, so Ben uses the hands now clasped around his own to anchor his climb. After five excruciating minutes of digging and scraping, Ben is hoisted up onto another makeshift landing pad.
The stranger yanks him away from the edge and he is too exhausted to resist, laying on his back looking up into the cloudy sky of Zoh. The rain drizzles onto his cold face and for the first time in weeks he can feel all the exhaustion of his many years of living. He catches a hazy glimpse of the stranger. They're wearing a large overall suit and helmet, gloves, boots, and cape protecting them from the elements. A ship is somewhere behind him, bathing the stranger and himself in white light. He breathes deep, but the cut on his chest has become inflamed and he coughs harshly. To his surprise, the stranger approaches him and cradles his head. They stare at each other for a few moments.
"I've been poisoned," he says hoarsely.
"I know," says the stranger in a mechanical voice coming from the mask. "I'll help you, don't worry."
Ben has endured just about enough masked figures with mechanical voices, but his frustration gives way to another feeling; familiarity. He feels dizzy and exhausted, but he can't deny the ease at which he was being held.
"Who…?" He asks.
As the stranger removes their helmet, Ben is overcome by a wave of emotions. His eyes widen as he searches every detail of the woman's face.
"...Mom?"
Leia smiles down at her son and nods, holding him tight. He continues to search her face. It must be a trick, a lie, another vision of the Oracle's doing. The white light illuminating her is suddenly blocked out by an approaching party. Ben can't even look around to see, but he doesn't need to. A pair of figures come into view of his hazy eyes, and he manages a single word upon seeing them.
"Uncle?"
Lando chuckles lightly. "Yeah, that's right kid."
But Chewbacca isn't laughing. Great tears fall from his hairy face as he wines in a low and mourning song. The giant wookie crouches down and wraps his long arms around mother and son, squeezing them tight. Leia can't take her eyes off her son's face. Ben reaches up to clasps a handful of Chewie's hair, and his nostrils fill with familiar smells; Lando's fine aftershave, Chewie's fur, Leia's clothes. He looks into his mother's eyes and all the emotions struggling to escape burst forth all at once. The last hold that connects Ben Solo to Kylo Ren breaks as he erupts into tears and great, heaving sobs. He wants to shut his eyes against the sting but he just stares into Leia's eyes. Lando crouches down and strokes his nephew's hair as he cries.
In the lights of the Millennium Falcon, the Solo family is reunited and made whole once more. 3PO and R2 watch the scene silently from the docking ramp. They have seen so much over their years, but nothing like this. R2 is speechless for once, but 3PO knows just what to do. He places a golden hand comfortingly atop the domed head of his partner, who whistles a low beeping chime.
Far below them, deep in the ravine Ben has left behind, a charred mask floats atop a pool of black tar. Slowly it sinks, and the face of Vader disappears from the galaxy forever - as Anakin Skywalker's descendants embrace in the rain.