Ahch-To, Unknown Regions
Luke floated Artoo over one final rock and settled the sturdy old droid on the soft ground at the shoreline. Artoo chirped his thanks and Luke patted him absently on the head before leading the way forward. Rey and Chewbacca looked around curiously but asked no questions, trusting Luke to explain at his own pace.
He led the way to a rocky inlet between two sharp cliffs and stopped, looking down at the water. The others followed, their expressions ranging from curious to expectant. The wind whipped viciously at Luke's robes, Chewbacca's fur, and Rey's knotted hair, tugging hard as though trying to pull them down to join-
"An X-Wing?" Rey exclaimed, goggling at the distant ship barely visible beneath the tide.
Chewbacca barked a curious interrogative.
Luke nodded. "When I realized that no one was coming for me, I knew something must have gone wrong. Fearing that the Empire or someone like them had gotten their hands on the map, I hid my ship where a passing sensor sweep wouldn't detect it." He turned to smile at his friends and his niece and held his hand - the metal one - over the edge of the cliff. Sunlight glinted off his fingers. "Now that you're here, seems like it's finally time to pull it out again."
Rey looked confused. Artoo beeped excitedly and Chewie gave a quiet wuff of laughter.
For a long moment, it seemed like nothing was happening. Rey took a step forward, opening her mouth to speak - and then looked down, her eyes going wide and her mouth falling open as she stared at an impossible sight: the old X-Wing was rising from the water as though being drawn by a repair winch or a tractor beam...but there was no such device present. It was just Luke, his eyes closed and a small smile on his face, and the ship rising up at his silent command.
Water streamed down, pouring out of its engines, its lasers, its landing gear, everything. Tendrils of straggling seaweed waved in the air like tattered flags.
Rey stumbled backwards. Her heel caught on a jutting rock and she sprawled in the sand, too captivated by the sight of the snubfighter moving under no power but that of Luke's will to catch herself. Artoo squealed with alarm and reversed several inches, then drew forward to butt-up against Luke's legs and beep excitedly.
Chewbacca just watched, an affectionate smile on his furry face, although he did raise one long arm to shield his head and take a wide step back to avoid getting dripped on as the ship passed overhead.
"What-!" Rey gasped. "How-!"
"I gather you've not seen much of the Force," Luke said mildly.
Chewie snorted then reached over to haul the young woman back to her feet. She shook her head mutely, still staring in wide-eyed shock as Luke gently lowered the dripping snubfighter to the rocky shore.
Artoo, trilling in outrage, rolled over and extended three different sensors at once so he could begin assessing the X-Wing's condition. His quiet beeping was occasionally punctuated by louder, ruder noises as he scolded Luke for allowing the old ship to deteriorate in such a way.
Luke smiled affectionately at the little droid, then turned back to Rey and Chewie. The Wookiee still looked amused; the girl, flabbergasted. "As you can tell from Artoo's commentary, it needs a few repairs."
"Uh-huh," said Rey numbly.
"It was damaged even before I crashed, and sitting down there for almost ten years certainly didn't help. Fortunately," he smiled at the Wookiee, "Chewie here is the best mechanic in the galaxy. He can fix anything. The fact that the Falcon is still in the air is proof enough of that."
Chewbacca growled and bared his teeth in mock-insult, but the warbling barks that followed as he ran a practiced eye across the water-logged X-Wing were amicable enough.
Artoo beeped quietly in dismay as he trundled around to run his sensors over the engines, then raised the volume to give Luke a loud, shrill scolding.
Luke smiled wryly and added, "And Artoo, of course, will help."
Rey had finally managed to close her mouth and catch her breath, although she still looked a bit off-balance. "I, uh, I can help too," she stammered and started hesitantly towards the ship, pausing several times to glance back at Luke as though seeking his permission. "I mean - I'm a mechanic, too. A - a scavenger, really, but I learned how to put things back together in order to sell them, and most of what I worked on was old war-era stuff like this, so I know what I'm doing with an antique like a T-65…"
"I'm sure Chewie will be glad of any help," Luke said, his voice mild; if he felt any pain at hearing his faithful snubfighter referred to as an antique, he hid it well. "Although I fear you'll be too busy to do more than lend an occasional hand."
Rey turned back around and frowned at Luke. "Busy?" she repeated. "Busy doing what?"
Luke smiled. "Learning the ways of the Force, of course."
Rey's mouth fell open again as Chewbacca wuffed and Artoo trilled in happy support.