I do not own Star Wars or its characters. It will be updated with its sister story 'The Spark of Resistance'. Please enjoy and leave a review.
Chapter Two
Ben knew he was going to die. He didn't know why this girl wanted to kill him, or what he had done that she thought he deserved to die, but the fact is this girl will kill him. She flipped the knife so that it pointed towards him, then lunged forward. The world slowed for him in that moment. He could feel his breath exhale from his lungs, feel his feet trip over themselves, feel the rush of gravity push him to the ground. His eyes narrowed in on the girl's face. There wasn't any hate or joy, just a focus unlike anything he had ever seen. His vision narrowed even further to her eyes, so intense he swears he can see flames within them. He feels himself crash into the floor outside his room, pain shoots into his head. He blinks reflexively, and sees the girl is gone. He scrambles a foot away, still expecting the girl to follow through her killing blow, but she is gone. Confused, Ben gets up off the floor, and cautiously investigates his room. Peering in, he sees his bed, still made from this morning, his calligraphy kit was neatly set into the corner of his desk, along with the various parts and tools he needed to make a lightsaber. There was nothing to indicate that anyone was just in here trying to kill him. Did he imagine it?
"Ben!" A light voice called out, startling him. "Is everything okay? Your hand is bleeding."
Ben turned to face the voice. It was Voe, she claimed to be a friend, but only hung around Ben to get closer to Luke. She disapproved Ben's attitude about becoming a Jedi and thought he should be ashamed of himself. Her words finally registered into his head, and he looked down at his still bleeding hand. So clearly, the girl was there, but then she disappeared? Why would she do that in the middle of her attack? Maybe she was Force-projecting and didn't know it? She did seem confused by his presence at first. He looked back up at Voe's expectant face.
"Just an accident, nothing to worry about." He explained.
Voe gave him a wary once-over before moving on. Ben re-entered his room, confident there were no more homicidal little girls waiting for him. Reaching for the small med kit next to his bed, he applied a small bacta patch over his wound. Massaging his hand, Ben plopped down onto his bed and tried to process what he was feeling. He settled on confused and stunned. A little girl had appeared out of nowhere, and then disappeared just as suddenly. Why had she done this? And more importantly how? From what Luke taught, projecting through the Force required a tremendous amount of energy and that wasn't accounting the factor for distance. The farther one projected, the more effort one exerted, running the risk of literally burning oneself out. For a child to manage this feat, she had to be very strong. Probably as strong as Luke. Feeling the pain in his hand begin to numb, he tried to remember what else he knew. Luke described Force projection like a very convincing illusion. It could briefly feel real, but in the end, it was just an image and nothing physical. So how had she managed to cut him? Perhaps Luke could provide some answers.
Rey was feeling a myriad of emotions, disappointment at the forefront of it all. The boy, "her prey" as Snoke would have put it, suddenly disappeared. Her first impulse was to follow through with her bloodlust, but she with-held it. Giving in to rash, impulsive actions made a person more easily manipulated. Breaking down the scenario logically, Rey concluded that she needed answers for three specific questions. Who was the boy? How had he snuck into her room? And, what was the boy's purpose? Perhaps Snoke had conjured the boy as a test. Noticing a couple droplets of blood on the floor disproved that theory. Moving on to the door panel, she verified that the lock was working correctly. The door refused to open, proving that the lock was not tampered with. Unlocking the door, she scanned for any evidence in the hallway.
"Is there something you need my Lady?" A stormtrooper inquired, announcing its position a few feet away.
"How long have you been on shift in this hallway?" Rey demanded.
"I have been patrolling this hallway for six hours, ma'am. Is there anything else I may help you with?" It replied.
"No, return to your post. Should I need assistance, I will call for you." She firmly directed.
Rey stepped back into her and locked the door once more. She let out a breath of relief, nearly sagging against the door. She had forgotten that Snoke now had her guarded by stormtroopers, rather than some of his personal guard. Not that they guarded her, they were put there to make sure she didn't run away. If she had done the exact same before the change, that guard would have stationed itself inside her room, regardless of her orders. Relief was short-lived, as she remembered why she stepped out in the first place. Apart from the guard, she found nothing to indicate where the boy could have come in from. If she probed the guard, she would most likely have to explain to Snoke her reasoning, and Rey wanted to avoid interacting with Snoke as much as possible. Especially if she couldn't rule out his involvement with the boy. Rey could feel her frustration building and decided to meditate on the matter. The intercom suddenly notified her of an incoming call.
"What is it?" She ordered.
"My Lady, the Supreme Leader would like to meet with you in the throne room immediately." The officer at the other end replied.
Luke would never admit it to anyone if they asked, but he always found reading the old Jedi records to be drier than the Dune sea. Sometimes it felt like he applied more of his training to reading thousand-year-old texts, than being a defender of the galaxy. Between his duties as a Jedi master, teacher, and archaeologist, Luke was beginning to feel the exhaustion. He couldn't even remember the last time he had any decent sleep. Realizing that he had read the same sentence five times already, Luke gently closed the book and contemplated taking a nap at his desk. A gentle knock on his door broke Luke's reverie.
"Come in." Luke called out, and his nephew entered the room. "Ben, what can I do for you?"
"I have a few questions about Force projection I was hoping to go over with you." Ben replied.
"Sure thing! What do you want to know?" Luke asked excitedly, pleased that he wasn't having another tense encounter with his nephew.
"You said that a projection could briefly feel solid, could you explain how to make that possible?" Ben asked.
"Well, as I said before projecting requires a lot energy and focus. It's like projecting your essence, and the more you exorcise the less of yourself you have. And doing all that while making yourself corporeal. . . You'd be literally trying to teleport yourself through the Force while being tethered in one spot. It would take a majority, if not all of one's energy." Luke explained.
"Is it possible for someone to do it subconsciously?" Ben inquired.
"No. For one thing, you have to mentally place yourself in one place, then apply the energy to do so." Luke replied.
"Is there no other way for someone to project through the Force, without meaning to?" Ben persisted. Luke thought about the text he just read.
"It is possible for person to project themselves to someone they have a strong connection to, but I can't really tell you more about it. What's all this about anyway? Why are you so curious about this?" Luke asked.
"No reason, just want to be thorough." Ben replied.
Luke furrowed his eyebrows in suspicion. Ben was lying to him, but Luke couldn't see why. His nephew was only asking a few questions about something complex, why would Ben need to be secretive about it? Maybe the lack of sleep was making him paranoid. Watching his nephew move to leave, Luke noticed a bacta-patch on Ben's hand.
"What happened to your hand?" Luke questioned in concern.
"Oh, nothing really, I wasn't paying attention and accidently cut myself." Ben answered before leaving.
Luke felt that that was another lie, but why? Why was Ben lying to him about something insignificant? None of this was making any sense. Luke let out a weary sigh before rubbing his eyes. Maybe fatigue was finally getting to him. In the morning, he'll talk to Ben again.
Snoke hadn't planned on bringing the girl before him so soon, but he felt a strong disturbance in the Force surrounding her. The girl was always trying to expand her capabilities without his awareness. Not that it was possible, nothing escaped his notice especially when it concerned his protégé. Snoke attributed the girl's defiance to her age, most children were considered . . . rambunctious. Lately she has been trying to improve her mind, but that hadn't yet changed the girl's maturity. The elevator doors opened, and the girl stepped out. Disgust and frustration rolled off her in waves, but there was something else as well.
"Come closer child." He commanded.
The child hesitated before complying. Her hatred for him was a steady constant, one that always pleased him when he felt it. But that overwhelming hatred sometimes overpowered her other feelings. The girl stopped within reaching distance, not willing to be any closer to him. Snoke reached out, and gently held her face. He literally feels her repulsion through his fingers. Smiling coldly, he sifts through the hate and disgust until he finds what he is looking for.
"Something has disappointed you greatly." Snoke announces, releasing her face.
"You do not approve of my suggestion." She replied after several seconds.
Ahh, so she was still upset about that. It has nearly a week now, since she suggested infiltrating Skywalker's school. Her idea was to infiltrate the school, become close to Skywalker, then eliminate him. It was not an unsound plan, the results would greatly benefit the First Order. The risks were too great however, as the girl had yet to learn to control her feelings.
"As I have told to you before, do not underestimate Skywalker's power. While his compassion is a great advantage against him, he is still a Jedi Master and will stop you before you could act. You are not ready." Snoke declared.
"You would tell me to wait until I am stronger, and yet do nothing to improve my training?" She accused.
"Patience my child. You will be ready, but you must first learn to control yourself. Only when you can bury your feelings, will you be able to defeat Skywalker. In response to your feelings of your training becoming negligent, tomorrow you will begin training with a lightsaber. You may go." Snoke disclosed with a wave of his hand.
He watched the girl give a short bow, before retreating as fast she could without appearing desperate to escape. The girl was hiding more, but he would leave the matter for now. There wasn't much the girl could do, even less what she could hide. For now, he would anticipate tomorrow's lesson with relish.