Chapter 37 The Rule of Two
Ben saw the vast oceans before him as they finally reached Ahch-To and he could see why Luke would come to this place. It was beautiful, peaceful and the Force was everywhere. Rey piloted the cruiser knowing which island that they needed to be at. Ben felt his nerves kick in. He has not seen his uncle in years. They've come together in a dream once before but he was unsure if it was truly them or just a dream.
Rey started to land the cruiser on a small island as Ben could see little huts. There was no one around but porgs flying everywhere. Ben thought about brining a few back to base for Chewie.
"Stay here," Ben stated and Rey's eyes went big.
"No, we're going together, we're doing all of this together." She insisted and Ben knew she was persistent and it was a losing battle.
"Just let me handle Luke." Ben caved a bit.
"Last time you guys saw one another you nearly killed each other. I don't think he's going have the table set and ready for you." Rey reminded him. It just meant they both needed to go together. Ben once more gave in and they left the cruiser together and looked around. The place looked empty as they scanned the area. Luke knew someone was here and if his feelings and senses served him well he knew who it was.
Ben and Rey split off to cover more ground. Rey hoped she would find Luke first so as to ease him into all this. A lot has happened since leaving the island. Ben trailed off on his own hearing the waves crash up against the steep cliffs as he looked out. He could feel his old Master but the feeling was pushing back. Ben continued to search and his searching brought him to the steps of a long winding path up the middle of the island.
Ben began to ascend up following Luke's presence. Ben's heart started to race. He wasn't sure if the last time he and Luke encountered one another in his dream was real. If it wasn't real he had to be on guard because Luke will defend himself. If the dream was true then Luke will still attack.
"I know you're there." It was a familiar voice as Ben stopped in his tracks looking around. Luke was watching him, watching his every move and already calculating.
"I know you can see me, I know you're there." Ben challenged Luke holding his ground. "So, are we going to talk like civil people?" Ben asked and then Luke landed before him. Luke bore no lightsaber, neither did Ben, Ben even showed open hands.
"You're far from civil." Luke stated but it hit him. Ben was a grown man now, he went from a boy to a teenager and that was the last he ever saw of him. Now stood before him was a fully grown Ben and he looked like his father. Ben continued to show Luke he had no weapon, no reason to fight. But Luke didn't necessarily trust him, not after all that has happened. Luke quickly drew his saber, which prompted Ben to do the same. They blocked their blows but Ben's saber drew down Luke's catching it in the crossgaurd.
"You've grown slow and old uncle," Ben seemed to tease. "And fat." He added and Luke pushed Ben back. Luke was just slightly above Ben, there were no railings and it was a far tumble down. Ben blocked another blow but Ben was going to remain on the defensive end and let Luke fight this one. Ben held up his saber as Luke started to swing and Ben dodged the blows backing down the steep slope slowly.
Rey heard the clashing of sabers in the distance knowing that uncle and nephew have found one another. She raced in that direction knowing they weren't to far away. She turned the corner seeing Luke driving Ben down the stone steps. She needed to help and pull Luke back. She looked around saw the huge wall before her. Rey took a few steps back and with a running start scaled the wall. She then grabbed the narrow ledges and imbedded rocks and began to pull herself the rest of the way up.
Ben blocked another blow and watched his footing. Right now Luke had the high ground and until he can reverse that position Luke has the potential to win. Ben descended downwards a little trying to put some space between them.
"Can I just speak?" Ben asked but he could see it in Luke's face and eyes. Luke was in fear, he was afraid of him. Ben has haunted him for so long and see him here before him drove that fear.
"Get off my island." Luke demanded ad Ben stood there. Luke went to throw a heavy blow but then Rey landed before him and he held back. "Rey?" She stood between the two as Ben took another step back just show to Luke he wasn't here to fight. "Why would you bring him here?"
"We have a lot to talk about." Rey answered causing Luke to back off a little.
Luke poured some hot liquid into Ben and Rey's cups as they all sat around the little table in the small hut. Ben looked around seeing the isolation Luke has been in for a while. What he did see was something he did not expect. He found his own calligraphy set in the corner. Luke had to have dug for it in the aftermath of destroying the old temple. But the fact he dug it out and kept it meant he missed his nephew. Prior to Snoke fully taking Ben's mind and heart he adored his uncle.
Ben wanted to be both his father and uncle. He wanted to be an ace pilot like Han and he wanted to be a wise and powerful Jedi like Luke. He had great respect for them both and to see that old set still there, that Luke salvaged it; it gave him some hope.
Rey was recapping everything that has happened until now. Ben listened to her telling Luke what has transpired since killing Snoke, what they've been through, the Knights, Ben becoming King, and now the new voices of the Sith. Luke seemed shocked, surprised and intrigued by all this.
"Nova, she's trying to stand all on her own." Rey smiled at that sentence and realized she missed her daughter. Luke looked between the two; they were together and not just in the Force but actually together. They've built a life with one another and created a child. "Luke, something is rising and we're going to need all the help we can get, yours included."
"What's this message you speak of?" Luke asked. Rey then grabbed her pack she had and removed the device that decoded the message on the walls and brought out some parchment. She had began to translate it on the way here. "Ben, stop slouching." Luke looked to his nephew and Ben sat up even straighter. "You don't want a curved back, elbows off the table too." Ben removed his arms from the table.
"I'm not slouching." Ben more or less muttered and Rey held back a smile.
"We'll decode the message when we get back to base but this," Rey looked to the parchment then handed it to Luke and he took it. "Ben was drawn to this part of the Sith Temple,"
"It's about the Rule of Two." Luke stated.
"The master and the apprentice," Ben stated. "Once the apprentice kills the master then he or she must find another apprentice of their own. There's always two." Ben summed up the rule and Rey didn't like that. Luke continued to read through it.
"There's more though," Luke leaned forwards a little as he read through more. "Two…at one time to ensure…a linage…" Luke continued to read in silence but his eyes furrowed and something wasn't right. He then looked up to Ben and Rey. "Have…have you guys…bonded?"
Rey and Ben looked at one another with a confused look to say the least.
"Did you not listen to what she said?" Ben asked. "We have a child together, I think we've…bonded,"
"In the Force." Luke corrected the statement or at least explained it. "In the Force, do you share a bond?"
"We have for a long time." Rey answered.
"There's two types of bonds within the Force, the Jedi and the Sith share the same bond with their students, each other." Luke paused. "It's connection shared, they can sense one another it's very deep especially in a master and an apprentice relationship."
"I'm not her master, I never was." Ben stated and Rey looked to him.
"Equal…" Luke trailed off and then looked to the Sith device and took it. "Is there more on here?" He asked and Rey nodded meaning that they had more to go through. "Powerful light, powerful dark the balance."
"Yes, you've said that before in lesson one." Rey reminded him as Luke continued to look at them.
"The Sith believed that a bond between a master and an apprentice was the strongest that at some point they could connect across space and time, more than just a feeling or sensation. You two can do that right? You can see each other from lightyears away as if your standing in front of one another right?" Luke asked. Rey nodded and Ben could tell Luke was onto something. "You two have fought one another, sparring match, in a heated fight and neither can win right?" Again Rey nodded and Ben felt his heart racing again, Luke knew something. "The Rule of Two was meant to try and force something called a Dyad, it's rare but it has happened."
"A Dyad?" Rey asked and Luke nodded.
"Two opposites yet powerful equals in the Force, balanced, perfectly balanced." Luke looked to them. Even in the manner of their color in clothing reflected it. Ben was wearing darker material, Rey lighter. "Physically, you two are separate individuals, but in the Force you're one." Rey and Ben looked at one another. "Your bond gives you a clear sense of all your feeling and in combat you fight as one, one person no mater how far away. The bond within the Force mirrors and amplifies all of your strengths." Luke couldn't help but smile a little.
"How? Why me?" Rey asked as she looked to Ben. "He's from Anakin Skywalker and Leia I understand that but…me…? I'm nobody, I don't come from anything." She almost felt like crying.
"Coming from nothing doesn't mean you can't hold power or greatness. You don't need a name, you don't need wealth but you need spirit and you have it Rey." Luke assured her. "You had it when you came here to train and you were determined to save Ben and you've done both." Rey quickly got up and walked away.
Rey walked out from the cave to the ledge on the cliff that over looked the vast ocean before her. She took a seat like she did before and closed her eyes and went to reach out. Within seconds she felt the island, she felt the water, she felt the Force and it's calming wind. She could feel Ben; she could feel Nova and took in a deep breath. But why her? Why someone from a desolate place with nothing to her name?
"Because a Dyad is made of two sides," It was Ben's low yet soothing voice. He was standing behind her as she opened her eyes looking out into the clear skies and out on the horizon she couldn't tell where the ocean ended or where the sky began. "When I first met you I…" Ben paused. "There was something about you…the loneliness, the abandonment, I felt it because I knew what that was. I felt like I knew because I was you."
Rey stood up and turned around looking to Ben hearing the waves crash up on the sides of the cliffs. "Snoke didn't create the bond we did, he just jump started it."
"But why me?" Rey asked. "I've done nothing, I'm an orphan,"
"You're not, you have Poe and Finn," Ben began to list her family. "You have me…Nova…Leia, the Force choose you for a reason because of what you are. Balance, I had everything and I threw it away, you had nothing and gained all of it." Ben walked a little closer. "When this ends because it will you'll even be able to sit on the throne." Rey shook her head a little with some more tears forming. Ben was now in front of her. He took both her hands into his. The roughness of war could be felt in both their palms.
"You've always done the right thing no matter what, something I never did until I met you. You and Nova are the best things I have and created in this awful galaxy. You being the better part of me, of our Dyad, this is the right way, you're the right person. And I swore an oath to the people of Alderaan to continue to do what's right and you're it." Ben looked deep into her eyes as the tears were forming. He then lowered himself to both knees and the tears in her eyes began to roll down her cheeks. He then looked back up to her, the scar on his face was more of a line, it was healed. He held more confidence, more hope than most of his life. "To rule even a small group of people, a king needs a queen."
"Ben," Her voice was shaky but yet solid, and his name was the answer. He stood up and pulled her in for a passionate kiss. She wrapped her arms around his shoulder and neck pulling him even closer.
"Ah em," A voice broke the touching moment. Ben pulled away slowly but not taking his eyes off of her. He pushed a small strand of hair out of her face and tucked behind her ear and then kissed her forehead. Rey leaned in for one of his strong hug where she felt the safest. "Was wondering if you wanted to know more about this Dyad or continue on what you were doing?" Luke added and disappeared into the cave where Ben and Rey would follow in a bit. Ben wanted to reach his saber and have a talk but he felt Rey place a hand over the hilt of saber telling him to let it go.
The three were back at the table inside the hut as Luke laid out more translations from what they managed to save.
"You guys…" Luke looked to them, they looked like they needed a moment though from what he interrupted, like a more than a moment, a few moments that might turn into an hour or so. "You've uncovered two things at this Sith Temple,"
"Useful I hope," Ben got up and started to look for something stronger than tea.
"Top shelf as always." Luke pointed as he looked at the translations.
"All you have is Darkcoma?" Ben asked and Luke rolled his eyes.
"Do you see a cantina around here?" Luke's voice was covered in sarcasm. Ben came back with three new cups and started to pour each of them some of the strong drink. Rey reached for it and took a sip and it burned going down yet…there was a smooth after feeling. She looked to Ben as he took a large gulp and forced it down. "You have found the Rule of Two and this rule was set in place to force a Dyad between a Sith Master and an apprentice. From this it looks like it was rather…common and done just over time it stopped."
"Other than making us stronger, what else can it do?" Rey asked.
"According to legend the Dyad can provide healing components, uh…projection of the future as to help one another succeed." Luke read what he wrote.
"Didn't the Emperor want to live forever?" Ben asked thinking about the stories he's been told.
"I mean, he was very old at the time I met him. I'm sure he found ways to sustain himself." Luke answered and that got Ben thinking. "My father killed him."
"Luke," Ben's voice was more of a whisper. Luke looked up at him. "I've seen him…" Luke listened. "He's old, hooded with a black cloak, voice that seems rough and ragged." Rey could see Luke's face and it held fear. "He's been talking to me, offering,"
"Anakin killed Lord Sidious a long time ago." Luke more or less repeated hoping that statement held weight but seeing Ben's eyes there was something there.
"He's been the voice…all this time." Ben confirmed Luke's worse nightmare. "How?"
"That's something we'll need to find out." Luke sat back in his little makeshift seat.
"Come with us, you're no use here and Leia can use all the help that can be given." Rey offered him. Could Luke go back and see his sister again? After all this time and all that's happened, would she forgive him? Luke knew staying here was going to do nothing, it hasn't done anything in the past and if anything it'll create a darker future.
Luke looked back at the island that he has called home for a long time now. The peaceful place that offered shelter and solitude, he was about to say goodbye to for a very long time. He took in one deep breath to enjoy the smell and the calmness. He turned around board the small cruiser and walked to the cockpit where Ben and Rey began to start the flight sequencing.
"This is Falcon to Solo, come in Solo," It was Poe on the other line.
"We're here." Rey answered as Ben finished the flight sequence.
"Where are you guys?" Poe asked.
"On our home." Rey answered.
"Ok good, because we just intercepted a huge message from the Order like…yeah and oh TIE fighters are here." Poe announced.
"Get out of there and get back to base, that's an order." Ben stated.
"See you guys soon. Poe over and out." Poe's line went dead. Ben looked worried as he looked to Rey. The sooner they leave the sooner they can get underway.
As Ben was landing he saw the Falcon landing but he didn't like what he saw.
"Damnit," Ben muttered under his breath as Rey got up quickly and followed and Luke followed behind them. Ben ran to the Falcon seeing Poe, Finn and Chewie exit out as some of the fighters came out and started to spray water on the Falcon as some flames could be seen.
"It's on fire, the whole thing is on fire!" Poe yelled informing everyone as Ben looked to his legacy ship.
"What the," Ben was interrupted though.
"Hey, still one piece." Poe pointed out as Rey looked to the Falcon but Luke hung back.
"How did the interception go?" Rey asked but could see that Ben couldn't get passed the part that flames were coming out of the Falcon.
"What did you do to my ship?" Ben asked because it was his. Luke couldn't help but smile a little, he sounded just like Han.
"One piece like I said." Poe defended himself.
"I hate you, you know that." Ben continued to watch the fighters put out the flames.
"I love you too man." Poe stood there knowing he was provoking Ben and Rey wasn't sure if she should step in or not.
"I just got her back together, this was supposed to be an in and out mission." Ben reminded him, they sounded more like an old marry couple at times.
"Hey man," Finn greeted Ben as he walked passed the arguing couple and hugged Rey. Then Chewie started to talk and Ben's eyes went wider. Poe held a smile, a fake smile knowing he just might die right now.
"You lightspeed skipped…in the Falcon?" Ben asked Poe.
"Got us home right?" Poe countered.
"For Force sakes Poe, the compressor is down, it's been down, you can't do that. You can't lightspeed skip the Falcon!" Ben yelled as if he was lecturing a kid.
"Turns out ya can." Poe wasn't helping himself. Luke stood there realizing these people were going to save the galaxy. Just then Chewie said something else.
"You blew both sub-alternators too?" Ben asked and Poe just stood there.
"Ok, ok," Finn jumped in knowing the banter wasn't ending soon. "Yes, we lightspeed skipped but we got the information."
"We have a Sith decoder just in case." Rey tried to add some good news. Ben let out a very disapproving sigh.
"It's known a Sith Holocron," Luke stepped out of the shadows pulling back his hood. "Also these two," He gestured to Ben and Rey. "They proposed to one another."
"Oh my stars you did?" Poe sounded excited and which only annoyed Ben even more. "We're having a wedding?"
"That's enough, get the message over to R2." Ben ordered and a few men nodded as they took a disk from Finn.
"Oh, right, we brought back Luke Skywalker." Rey announced and then Chewie ran to his old friend hugging him. Finn and Poe looked to the legendary Jedi Master as he was finally here.
"It's an honor sir," Finn held out his hand to Luke and Luke took it.
"Where's the General?" Ben asked to Poe.
"Let's see," Poe looked to his wrist to the COMlink. "Probably finishing a briefing." He answered.
"Extend the briefing and clean this up." Ben ordered as he walked away.
"Yes sir," Some of the fighters acknowledge. Luke watched as Ben left the group and sighed.
"He's gained a lot of great qualities over these last few years." Poe added to Luke.
Ben quietly stepped into the dark room as the table in the middle was lit up as plans, strategies and so on were being discussed. Rose and Connix led the meeting. Ben stood there catching the last bits of it. Leia looked up seeing her son knowing that he's found something. She nodded to him meaning she'll be ready in a moment.
As Ben left the room a siren went off and he rushed to the main station. Once he reached there he looked around as everyone was either in their stations or about to be.
"Is it the Order!" Finn asked running in as he was followed by Rey, Poe and Luke.
"No sir, it's the prison block." A fighter announced. Ben turned to Finn and Poe with his eyes wide.
"Oh shit." Poe stated as he, Finn and Ben locked eyes.
A/N: How do we all feel? From here until the end I have a lot happening, which I hope you all will like it. I will do my best to update weekly until the end. So, what do you think is about to happen? Thoughts? Thanks for reading, reviewing and following, you guys are awesome.