Kira reached the X-wing's wreckage after 30 minutes of careful scrambling. Debris scattered across the hillside, and down into a ravine just beyond the highest concentration of wreckage. Kira stepped cautiously across jagged scraps of metal left behind where rocks and trees had sheered the wings of the ship apart. Upon reaching the fuselage, Kira saw a sight that stopped her heart. The dome-shaped head of R2-D2 lay lifeless on the ground, severed completely from the droid's cylindrical body. After five minutes of searching, Kira found the remainder of the droid's body, and BD-5 scrambled down and began to run diagnostic scans of the droid to assess whether it could be salvaged. Kira stared sadly at the droid for a moment, then with mounting dread, she picked her way through debris to the center of the fuselage, where she hoped and prayed she would not find a grisly discovery in the cockpit.
With apprehension mounting, Kira reached the cockpit. She was momentarily relieved to find the cockpit empty. Luke had discarded his helmet, and as she rummaged through the cockpit, she also found his lightsaber discarded. She picked up the lightsaber and attached it to her belt. For an hour, she continued to explore the area surrounding the crash, even carefully working her way into the ravine. After an hour's worth of searching, she found no sign of any human remains, and she began to allow herself to feel a faint hope that Luke had survived.
BD-5 clucked mournfully to Kira as she returned to the ship's fuselage. She knelt to the droid and listened as he explained that R2-D2 did not experience a catastrophic system failure, but there was extensive physical damage that would take time to repair.
"Can you repair him?" Kira asked, picking up the droid's domed head and examining it. BD-5 gave a noncommittal chirp in response, and Kira responded, saying, "I am going to continue into the valley to see if I can find any sign of Luke. Do you want to stay here with R2?"
BD-5 clucked nervously, then activated his sensor antennae out of his head. Kira knew he was scanning for dangerous predators, and she smiled as he beeped an affirmative moments later. Standing up she said, "Ok, ping me on my comm if anything comes up, and I'll come back as fast as possible."
BD-5 set to work on repairing R2, and Kira continued to follow the primitive, rocky trail down into the valley below. As she descended, she struggled to keep her attention off the caldera, which drew her focus, calling to her with its purity in the Force. After another two hours of careful scrambling, the angle of the steep slopes lessened until she found a more well-worn path descending to flat ground.
She followed the path through a dense forest. A faint orange-red glow to the east heralded the start of the day, and the diffused light mingling with the fading blue-white of the sinking moons cast deep purple shadows on the forest floor. The trees here were not as tall in the valley and rushing water from the nearby river dimmed much of the sound of the evening birds saluting the end of day. As she passed, she continued to scan the forest around her for any signs of human activity, all while keeping her senses attuned for the slightest perturbation in the Force as she sought out Luke.
Her thoughts lingered on the X-wing. Luke appeared to have crashed his ship on the side of the cliff, which was astonishing on its own as Luke was an outstanding pilot. He had then apparently walked away despite the damage to his droid, also leaving his lightsaber behind on an unfamiliar, unnamed planet. As she considered this mystery, her mind drifted to the mystery of how she had ended up on this planet, as well. One minute, she was drifting off to sleep after concluding that she was dead in space without any means of contacting help. The next moment, she woke up on this planet, nearly followed a vision of Leia to her death, and then found the abandoned remains of Luke's X-wing, his lightsaber, and a nearly destroyed R2-D2. As she continued deeper in the forest, a familiar refrain ran through her head as she thought, I have a bad feeling about this.
Kira saw a glow ahead through the gaps in the trees, and she guessed that the path she followed would lead her to the caldera. The trail neared the edge of a river that also appeared to flow to the caldera, and she stopped to scoop up several handfuls of ice-cold water. It was delicious and fresh, reinvigorating her like a short nap. She stood and began rustling in her pockets for a ration bar, when she felt a sudden awareness that somebody was nearby.
Spinning on the spot, she detached both of her lightsabers and ignited them. Standing in front of her was a young male child, bald and cloaked in white, who could not have been any older than eight. He was ringed by a white aura, and his preternatural calm radiated an overwhelming sense of power. Kira concluded immediately that this was no ordinary boy.
The boy regarded her curiously, his head tilted to the side with a slight frown on his face. He seemed untroubled by the lightsabers, and he raised his hand. Both of Kira's lightsabers shut down on their own accord, alarming Kira.
The boy spoke, his voice clear, but resonant and echoing, "Why are you here?"
The child's voice permeated Kira, and she felt it from within as much as without. It occurred to Kira that he might be a ghost, but his presence was unlike anything she had experienced with Master Anakin and Master Ahsoka. Kira responded to the child's inquiry, saying, "Honestly, I don't know. I was stranded in space, and I woke up here. I'm not even sure where I am."
The child tilted his head to the right, and the frown remained fixed on his face. Then, as the child straightened up, his face darkened as he said, "That's impossible."
Kira was confused now, as she could not see how something could be impossible if it had already happened. As she considered the child, she resumed her rummaging back into her cloak to find her rations as her hunger re-emerged following the shock of the child's unexpected appearance. Finding her rations bar, she unwrapped it, saying, "I'm as perplexed as you are." Then as she dug into the bar, and with her mouth half full, she asked between bites, "What's your name?"
The boy assumed a distant, almost bored expression as he said, "I forgot my given name a long time ago." He then paused and looked at her intently, saying, "There are some who have called me the Prime Jedi."
"You're a Jedi?" Kira asked, forgetting that her mouth was full. Excitement coursed through her as she considered the possibilities. "Do you know Master Luke?"
"I know the Jedi Skywalker," the boy said, and then his face became quite stern, almost alarmed, as he said, "You cannot be here."
"But I'm a friend of Master Luke's. He trained me," Kira said, looking to the child in confusion.
"Be that as it may, the Force did not will you here. You must leave at once," the child said, and there was no mistaking that he was becoming angry. He even appeared slightly afraid.
"Will me?" Kira asked, confused.
"Nobody comes to this place unless by the will of the Force," the child explained cryptically.
"How can the Force decide whether somebody can come to a planet?" Kira asked, feeling a twinge of irritation emerging at the child's imperious manner.
"There is little that the Force does not decide," the child said cryptically.
They were both distracted by a rustling in the undergrowth in the forest to her left. She turned away from the child to see a man push through the bushes and stumble into the clearing near the river. He was thin and haggard, a simple robe hanging loosely on his frame. His hair and beard were long and unkempt, and he had a wild, haunted look about him. He caught sight of Kira and became alarmed at the sight of her. As they locked gazes, Kira recognized the eyes that belonged to the man, which were the only parts of him that remained recognizable. She felt her jaw slacken as she found herself gazing across the clearing at Luke Skywalker.
"Who are you?!" Luke asked, his voice hoarse as if it had not been used for weeks.
"Master Luke!" Kira said, her excitement muted by her alarm at his destitute appearance. "You survived!"
Luke surveyed her suspiciously and did not appear to recognize her. His eyes hardened, and he appeared to withdraw as if seeking to escape the situation. Kira looked back to the spot where the child was standing, and she discovered that there was no trace of the child who had appeared as clear as the moon just moments ago.
Turning back to Luke, she said, "Master Luke, it's me. Kira. Don't you recognize me?"
Luke stared at her, not appearing to register her name or the relation. His gaze drifted beyond her, and as the moments dragged on without him responding, Kira began to wonder if he had dissociated from reality.
"Master Luke?" Kira asked tentatively.
His gaze snapped back to her, and he regarded her intently. His voice raspy, he asked, "What did you say your name is?"
"It's Kira. Kira Palpatine?" She added her full name in the hopes that her surname, which always had such a profound effect on people she met, would jar his memory.
The word did indeed affect Luke, as his eyes widened in alarm. He whispered, "Sidious."
"No, not him. I'm his daughter. You found me on Jakku, trained me as a Jedi on Yavin-4," Kira explained. A wave of sadness washed over her as he still struggled to recognize her. She added, "Don't you remember me?"
Kira sensed his mind laboriously piecing this information together. Gradually, realization dawned on his face, and his mouth twitched beneath his matted beard as he attempted to smile. The smile was awkward and strained, as if he had not done so in years. Still, his eyes twinkled as he said tentatively, "Kira?"
"That's right," she said, surprised to hear how reassuring she was attempting to sound. What had happened to him? He was at least fifty pounds lighter, and his hair was wild and unkempt. His mind appeared fractured, even unhinged. Had he come to this place and lost his mind? "What happened to you, Master Luke?"
Kira felt yet another shimmer in the Force, and at Luke's side, another, much smaller being coalesced before them. With another shock of recognition, Kira saw Master Yoda appear. He gazed up sternly at her, not belaying the humor and warmth he had shown in the past. Instead, he stared at her imperiously, appearing as if he was ready to scold.
Kira nodded her head at the venerable Jedi Master, but Yoda did not return the greeting. Luke turned to him and instantaneously adopted an air of obedience, as if ready and eager for his Master's next pearl of wisdom. The sudden shift in bearing scared Kira as much as his destitute appearance.
Luke waited for the Jedi Master to speak, and after he finished appraising Kira, Yoda said gravely, "Remain here, the girl cannot."
Luke turned back to her, and said, coldly, "You must leave."
Stung by the harsh rebuke from her two heroes, Kira said, "But my ship is damaged. I don't have the parts." She hesitated, searching for words, and then added, "And. . . we need you, Master Luke."
"Parts you will find in Skywalker's starship. Take them, you can. Leave, you will, once your ship is fixed," Yoda said, his voice still cold and stern, his gaze harsh. The indifference stung Kira, deflating her hope at finding Luke alive.
Skywalker regarded her in the same imperious way, then said, "As good as it is to see you Kira, I must agree with Master Yoda. I have important work to do here, and I cannot be distracted. You may repair your ship, and then you must leave."
"But Master Luke, the Order of . . ." Kira began.
Luke cut her off, saying coldly, "Enough. I will hear no more." And with that, he turned and vanished back into the forest.
Yoda remained behind, and he continued to survey her as he leaned on his walking stick. Kira, heartsick and thunderstruck at the change in her Master, turned to him after Luke left, and asked in disbelief, "Master Yoda, what is happening?"
"Fulfilling his destiny, Skywalker is," Yoda explained. "A distraction you are. Heed his request, you will. Fix your ship, you shall – then go."
Kira opened her mouth to argue, but Yoda abruptly disappeared, leaving Kira alone in the clearing, wildly confused and deeply hurt. After a year of hoping she would see Luke again, here he was, barely willing to acknowledge her.
Something gnawed at her about the situation, and she opened herself to the Force to begin meditating on the strange feeling. As she settled into her breath, images of Leia holding her arms open to embrace her flashed through her mind, followed by images of the abandoned X-wing and R2's shattered body. Then, she had an image of Anakin disappearing before her, along with Luke saying that the Departed Masters were now beyond their reach. How could Yoda have appeared here if that was the case? The Force was strong here – moreso than on any planet she had ever experienced. Could it be that the Masters could reach Luke here because of that strength?
As she considered the possibility, she spoke a name aloud, whispering, "Leia?"
She waited for a long time, but Leia did not respond. She went through each departed Master in turn, including Ahsoka, Obi-Wan, Anakin, and even Qui-Gon Jinn, whom she had never met. Nobody responded to her. She even attempted to reach Yoda again, but he did not respond either.
She then considered the mysterious child who had appeared and then quickly disappeared as soon as Luke had arrived. None of these occurrences added up, and despite Yoda and Luke's warnings that she must leave immediately, she resolved to do no such thing.
Speaking into her commlink, she said, "BD-5, I found Luke. Take whatever parts you can find from the X-wing and bring them to the Amaya. Something's not right with him, and I'm not leaving until I find out what."
