Kylo stands in the Resurgence hangar bay surrounded by a show of force. He's hosting his enemy today, and hoping for an alliance, but he plans to do it from a position of strength. Hence, the hundreds of uniformed troops flanking him in his flagship.
He's definitely not overcompensating. He has nothing to prove to his mother's protege. Kylo tells himself that he's merely following official protocol and continuing the First Order tradition of military pageantry.
Frankly, he's a little shocked that Poe Dameron agreed to meet with him, let alone to meet with him on his own turf. It's a bold move. The guy has balls. Either there's a deal in the works or Dameron is just here to dare him to arrest him in some total boss move. Well, maybe it's both.
Normally, the Supreme Leader does not deign to receive guests personally. He has people to do that on his behalf. But Kylo feels compelled to act as Dameron's bodyguard because there are plenty here who will be tempted to take a cheap blaster shot at the enemy when they discover who's on the first special transport. Plus, there's actually a second special transport arriving—also from Coruscant—and that guest doesn't need a bodyguard but she deserves his attendance. And so, here he is standing around as his own welcoming committee.
His presence no doubt adds to the curious suspense. Everyone on his command ship knows that he likes to dispense with the pleasantries.
Soon, the first transport arrives. Kylo can hear the collective stifled gasp as the single occupant trots down the ramp. Kylo doesn't need the Force to read the room. His stormtroopers all wear helmets but 'what the fuck?!' is written on the face of all the officers present. Kylo himself makes a deliberate smirk. Just because he's ready to ally with this guy doesn't mean he likes him.
Poe Dameron marches straight for him. Is he going to offer a handshake? He does not. The Republic hero and newly elected Senator halts three paces away and crosses his arms. Is this going to be some sort of schoolyard stare down? If so, Kylo is determined to win. He puts on his own best glower.
Dameron talks first. He pointedly looks around the hangar bay. "Is the war back on and you forgot to tell me? Or does this fanfare mean you're happy to see me?"
Fuck this guy's smart mouth. The magnanimous speech Kylo had been prepared to give dies on his lips. Instead, he aims for solemn gravitas and nods coolly. "Chancellor."
"Chancellor Elect," Dameron corrects him. He glances again at the impressive assembly. Kylo sees his pilot's eye count the racks of stored TIEs overhead. His guest now sighs theatrically and starts throwing more shade. "So, this is your flagship now? I expected it to be bigger."
Kylo is irritated to hear his ship dissed. The Resurgence might not look like much, but she's got it where it counts. Stung, he snarls back at the somewhat slightly built Republic hero. "I expected you to be bigger when I first saw you."
Beside him, Colonel Crassus snorts and rather unconvincingly attempts to pass it off as a cough. But if Dameron is embarrassed, it doesn't show. This guy has confidence to spare.
"Don't flatter yourself," Kylo now fibs a little, "this show isn't for you."
"Yeah? Who else is coming?"
"Darth Vader's widow." Kylo nods to the transport that is crossing the airlock as they speak. "That's her now."
Dameron looks to the airlock and shrugs. "Huh. Didn't know he had a wife."
"Actually, he had two wives."
"Ladies man?" Dameron blinks, then cracks a smirk. "Who knew?"
"Don't diss Vader," Kylo growls a stern warning that he absolutely means.
"Yeah, he's your anti-hero hero, I understand."
"He should be your hero too. He threw Palpatine down a reactor shaft. That's more than you've accomplished," Kylo sniffs.
"So does this mean I've been invited to crash the Skywalker family reunion?" Dameron wonders aloud.
"Something like that, yes."
The second transport touches down and its ramp immediately deploys. Astral Sidhu appears. His aged grandmother leans heavily on the arm of a helpful stormtrooper as she makes her way down the steep ramp. She's garbed, as always, like a queen. His grandmother just reeks of Upper Level rich bitch with her genteel demeanor and big jewels that should be gaudy but somehow aren't. Watching her progress, Kylo thinks it's not hard to imagine Lady Vader as the galaxy's long ago almost-Empress.
Ignoring Dameron who pouts a bit as he cools his heels, Kylo steps forward to watch his grandmother thank her stormtrooper escort. The trooper hands her back her walking cane and Kylo greets her with a rare smile. "Grandmother."
Astral grins up at him. Her face is lined by time, but her aristocratic features are still elegant. It's not hard to envision her beautiful in her younger years. She promptly plants her cane and begins to dip low, inclining her head. "My Lord Supreme Leader."
This is all wrong. Kylo rushes to intercept her. "Do not bow to me. Never bow to me. We're family."
There again is her warm smile the years cannot dim. "Let me look at you." Her gnarled but still soft hands reach up to cup at his cheeks. It's a motherly gesture that feels good. "Oh, I can see how tired you are," she frets. "You must be worried sick about Rey. Vanee told me what happened. I still can't believe that Milo betrayed us . . . but then again, Lord Vader never trusted Milo . . ."
Astral envelopes him now in a very quick, very public hug. Normally, that sort of display would be counterproductive for his badass image, but Lady Vader gets a pass. Kylo even dutifully bends for her kiss on the cheek. Is Dameron watching? He is. Good. His mother might have loved that Republic flyboy better than her own son, but that doesn't mean Kylo Ren is not loved.
"We'll get Rey back," Astral comforts with a pat on his arm. "Don't lose hope. We'll find her or she'll find us. Rey is a very resourceful girl."
"I know . . ." This is encouragement he desperately needs to hear. Kylo is practically lapping up her stalwart optimism. Because privately he judges the situation to be extremely bleak.
His attention is fully on Astral. And that's when some fool actually dares to take a shot at Dameron who stands off to the side watching him with his grandmother.
Kylo has fast Force-attuned reflexes. He freezes the blaster bolt with several meters to spare.
Dameron yelps and ducks.
Colonel Crassus draws his sidearm.
His grandmother, Kylo notes, doesn't even flinch.
"Stand down. I'll handle this," Kylo orders to everyone.
Stalking past the spooked looking Chancellor, thoroughly irritated Kylo raises up a hand and literally drags the culprit to him with the Force. It's a trooper standing several rows back to the left.
The assassin is unrepentant about his act. "He is the enemy!" the man accuses, his voice modulated by his standard issue helmet.
Kylo answers calmly, "We made peace with the Republic. He is no longer an enemy. Today, he is our guest. You demean our hospitality with your violence." Then, Kylo lights the blue Skywalker sword he carries now and delivers swift justice. With one swing, he neatly takes the offending trooper's head off.
He turns to the surprisingly squeamish Chancellor and tells him, "You're welcome."
"You're uh good at that freezing shots thing," Dameron sputters, his eyes taking in the gory scene.
"I'm good at a lot of things," Kylo can't resist bragging. And all things considered, this random assassination attempt is a good development, he decides. Because in a single flex move, Kylo just demonstrated his goodwill and simultaneously put Dameron in debt to him.
Introductions are in order now. Using his best prince of Alderaan manners while pointedly ignoring the bleeding decapitated body at their feet, he introduces Dameron to his grandmother. "Chancellor, this is Professor Astral Sidhu of Coruscant University, my grandmother, Lady Darth Vader."
Dameron is all politician now with his smooth drawl and easy poise. "It's a pleasure, ma'am."
"She's 'my Lady' to you," Kylo corrects him. "Show respect."
His grandmother merely smiles. She inclines her head in a regal gesture at 'man of the people' Poe Dameron. "Chancellor."
Dameron glances down at the dead man and then up at the blaster bolt still frozen and buzzing in mid air. "Are you alright, my Lady? That was close. Too close." It's rather painfully obvious that concerned Dameron is referring to himself. For his grandmother appears completely nonplused about what happened.
Still, she is gracious about it. "Yes, I'm fine, thank you." But is that a smile tugging at his grandmother's lips? She next murmurs, "How fortunate we are that Lord Ren is so powerful," in a subtle troll move.
Force bless this old lady, Kylo thinks.
He can't resist smirking at Dameron as he reminds him, "She's Lady Vader. She's seen plenty of dead men."
The Chancellor looks to his grandmother with eyebrows raised. She merely smiles blandly and declines to comment. Instead, Astral suggests, "Is there someplace more private where we can talk?"
"Yeah, like a room with fewer blasters?" wary Dameron complains.
"Very well. Let's go, before I have to save your life again." Kylo starts ushering his guests away. As they depart, he waves a hand behind him and the frozen blaster bolt is released. It hits the ground with a sharp pang.
Unflappable Lady Vader never breaks stride at his side.
Dameron, however, jumps and looks back. It makes Kylo laugh.
He matches his steps to his grandmother's pace, so their progress is slow. But when they are sufficiently out of earshot of others, Astral inquires discreetly, "Where is Snoke? Vanee said Snoke is here."
"Snoke?" the eavesdropping Chancellor reacts. "Lady, Snoke is dead . . . at least, reportedly."
"She means the other Snoke," Kylo explains as they exit the hangar bay and head for a waiting elevator.
His answer only further confuses Dameron. "There's two? How many of you space wizards are there?" Suddenly suspicious, he glances at Astral and demands, "Are you one too?"
She is amused. "Don't look at me. I'm not magic. I'm an art historian."
"She's a lot more than that," Kylo grumbles.
"None of you are who you seem, are you?" the Chancellor mutters.
"Good to see you're catching on."
As they exit the elevator on the bridge level, their trio happens upon Plagueis gliding towards them like this is his ship and he actually is the Supreme Leader.
"You're late," Kylo complains.
"What did I miss? Someone died. I felt it in the Force."
"A rogue trooper used the Chancellor here for target practice." Kylo jabs a thumb in the direction of Dameron. "I made an example out of him."
"Sword or Force?"
"Sword."
"Sorry I missed that show." Plagueis' eyes are dancing with excitement. "Ah, well . . . Welcome, Chancellor Dameron. We are honored that you join us."
"You really are Snoke . . . " bewildered Dameron looks up and down the seven foot Supreme Leader doppelgänger. Then he squints at Plagueis and demands, "Are you Snoke? Because you look like some sort of Jedi Snoke."
Plagueis smooths his stately grey garb and decides, "I'll take that comment in the best way."
Astral pipes up, "My lord, you do sort look Jedi. I love it," she approves. "Now, give me a hug."
"Can someone explain what's going on?" Dameron starts to whine as he watches Astral and Plagueis embrace.
His grandmother turns and begins, "The galaxy doesn't know it, but there are two Snokes. Darth Sidious' puppet Sith Snoke clone—"
"And the original version, this goofy Jedi wannabe Snoke," Kylo finishes.
Plagueis eyes him for that remark. "Say that again, Apprentice, and you're getting Force lightning."
"It will be worth it," Kylo replies with a hater's glee.
"No one is getting Force lightning while I'm here," Astral inserts herself. "Now, both of you—act nice," she orders firmly. "We have company."
Dameron is getting irritated with this family bickering. "So, who are you exactly?" he demands of the Muun.
"Which name do you want? I have several."
"Give me the scary one. Because you look like you have a scary Darth name."
"Good guess. I am Plagueis," the Muun announces in his gravelly baritone.
"Formerly Darth," Kylo adds.
"Formerly wise too," Astral pipes up.
The Muun chuckles. He assures her, "I'm still wise, my dear. But all my lessons were learned the hard way regrettably."
"Huh?" Dameron squints. He's more and more lost. "Okay, so who are you? I want a straight answer."
"Snoke is my father-in-law," Astral offers. "He is Darth Vader's father."
"And my great grandfather," Kylo offers. "As well as Rey's father."
Dameron is hopelessly confused and extremely suspicious. "That makes no sense. For starters, he's not human."
"It's complicated," Kylo concedes.
"Exceedingly complicated," Astral affirms.
"The relationship is through the Force," Plagueis volunteers as though that explains it all in a nutshell.
"Oookay." Force layman Dameron clearly has no idea what he's being told. He looks to Kylo to ask, "And why is he here?"
"Mostly because I can't get him to leave."
"Oh, stop it, both of you." Astral insists, "Snoke is here to help. He's family."
Plagueis himself states it bluntly. "I'm here because no one hates Sheev Palpatine like I do."
"Got it. The enemy of my enemy is my friend?" Dameron surmises.
"Precisely," the Muun purrs. "Chancellor, we are the Skywalkers—what's left of the family—and we're here to save the galaxy and balance the Force."
"And to save Rey," Kylo speaks up with determination. "We're going to save Rey."
"So let me get this straight," Dameron attempts to understand. "There are two Snokes, and you are the original Snoke, not the Sidious Snoke?"
"Yes."
"But you're really Darth Plagueis and you're a—a—" Dameron pauses, unable to decide what species the towering man with the ruined face actually is.
"I am Muun."
"Right. So, you are Darth Vader's daddy and that makes you General Organa's uh grandfather?"
"Yes, although she would deny it."
Astral sighs and reveals, "I approached the princess many years ago. She wanted nothing to do with us. It was the same with Luke after Endor . . ."
"Luke knew about you?" Dameron squints up at Plagueis.
"Oh, yes. Back when I was funding the Rebel Alliance, I once tried to overthrow Darth Sidious with the help of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. We were going to rule the galaxy together . . . grandfather, father, and son . . . but it didn't work out."
"Are you serious?" Dameron looks to Kylo and demands, "Is he serious?"
He nods. "He's serious."
"Yeah, I thought so."
"We have a lot to talk about. History is not what it seems," Plagueis warns. "You may need to unlearn a few things, Chancellor."
The Republic's leader is wary of being misled. He snaps at the former Sith mastermind like Plagueis is some unreliable underling, "Do not dare feed me lies."
Plagueis takes this rudeness in stride. The Muun merely nods, "Very well, Chancellor. But don't expect to like everything you hear."
Their quartet now sequesters themselves in a conference room. His grandmother looks grateful for a chair as she seats herself. Kylo sprawls at the head of the table, as usual. Dameron takes up position closest to the door, as if at any moment he might make a run for it. Plagueis prefers to stand. He looms at the front of the room, majestic and in charge as the reigning paterfamilias.
The Muun is in full-on wiseman mode—calm, collaborative, and patient. All the usual mocking and snark are gone. He begins by telling Dameron, "I appreciate that our bona fides are suspect and that there is much which you do not know. So let me commence by telling you the full and complicated tale of the Skywalkers. It is the context, you see, to everything."
Dameron raises an eyebrow at this bold claim. "Do I really want to hear this? Do I need to hear this?"
"Can you risk being ignorant?" Plagueis challenges. His words have no heat, but they still have bite. For such is the Muun's quiet gravitas. "Our family has shaped the course of history for eighty years now. Our conflicts are the subtext of every civil war, and our struggles are as personal as they are political. You were close to my granddaughter Leia, yes?"
"Yes."
"Then you are perhaps better positioned than most to understand the nuances of what happened."
"Alright. I'll listen. But," Dameron twists his jaw and shoots a hard look Kylo's way, "I came here to talk about Darth Sidious. The security of the Republic is my main concern, not the Force and not your family."
"Then let us begin with Sheev Palpatine," Plagueis responds smoothly. "He is my greatest regret in life. I created a monster I could not control and the ramifications for myself, for my family, and for the galaxy have been terrible. We are where we are today because of me. I brought this upon all of us."
It's a huge mea culpa that gets Dameron's attention. "Go on."
The Muun now tells of his Dark past. How as Darth Plagueis the Wise he was determined to achieve the aim of all Sith: the destruction of the Republic and the conquest of Coruscant. But he wasn't going to attack the Republic from outside, like the Sith Empire did. Instead, he would collapse the Republic from within. The conquest of the galaxy would be a creeping takeover that no one saw coming. Dark influence would reach to the highest levels of authority thanks to bribes, extortion, and plenty of violence from the Sith Eternal cult loyalists. To enact the plot, the Sith would emerge from the shadows to hide in plain sight amid the Republic's cherished institutions. And in the end, when all was revealed, they would have earned the public's trust. For that was the most insidious part of the conspiracy—by the time it was all announced as a fait accompli, Plagueis wanted the public to be grateful . . . and therefore, loyal and docile to govern.
But Darth Plagueis couldn't do it alone—he needed an Apprentice. People might easily accept a Muun as an economic overlord, entrusted to tinker with currencies and preside over the galaxy's commodities, debt, and equity markets. The Muun species had long controlled much of the galaxy's finances in one fashion or another. But alien species had yet to gain broad acceptance among the Senate, despite their long history of representation. I needed a fully human Apprentice, Plagueis recounts. A promising young man whom others could admire and encourage, a person the electorate could get to know and easily trust. For that role, I chose Sheev Palpatine.
He is the scion of an aristocratic Naboo family, Plagueis reveals. A son of privilege, raised in a loving and indulgent home. He had every advantage in life, and yet he was much aggrieved and full of Force. He was perfect, the Muun declares. I named him Sidious for his natural guile. Sheev eagerly made a blood sacrifice to Darkness of his entire family and joined my cause.
"We all know this part," Dameron tries to hurry him along. "The Sith plotted the Clone Wars, took over the Republic, killed the Jedi, and declared themselves a new Empire."
"Slow down, Chancellor," the Muun tempers. "For the seeds of today's conflict began long before we succeeded in our grand plan."
Plagueis now starts explaining the Rule of Two, the Sith's 'kill and replace' cycle of power whereby a young person is groomed as Apprentice in hopes that one day he will supplant the Master. The Master either dies with a smile on his face, knowing he has done his duty to Darkness, or the Apprentice dies in the failed attempt. And then, the cycle begins again. Plagueis wanted to end all of that. He planned to dispense with the Rule of Two. He judged it unnecessary for a future in which the Sith would rule the galaxy. There was far too much work for two men, the Muun contends. That's where Darth Maul came in.
"Darth who?" Dameron blinks. He shakes his head. "Never heard of him."
"I'm not surprised. Maul mattered in ways few know."
Plagueis goes on to explain that he thought giving Sheev Palpatine his own Apprentice to train would mature him. Darth Maul also initially solved another problem: the risk to the Sith from the mythical Chosen One. Plagueis now proceeds to describe to Dameron the Jedi Chosen One prophecy and its analog Dark version, the Sith'ari of Shadow Force lore. It all boils down to this, the Muun summarizes: one day a prophet will come to bring balance to the Force. The Jedi version focuses on peace and harmony. The Sith version focuses on calamitous destruction that will cleanse the Sith and remake them anew. But the point is the same: someone will come to supersede the powers that be and everything will forever change.
"My plans were intricate and perfectly conceived. All was proceeding as I had hoped and foreseen. But out there somewhere potentially lurked my undoing . . . the Chosen One. So, I planned for the contingency," Plagueis relates.
He kept close watch on the Witches of Dathomir, a small, ancient Force cult where he found Maul. Could the little Zabrak boy be the Chosen One? He might. So, Plagueis took no chances. Sheev Palpatine kidnapped the child and Plagueis decreed that Maul would be raised Sith. The theory being that if the Chosen One could be raised in Darkness, he could be corrupted as an ally and blunted as an enemy.
"He who controls the Chosen One controls the Force," Kylo pipes up.
"Yes. Remember that," the Muun admonishes to the Chancellor. "We'll come back to that point more than once."
But as it turns out, Maul wasn't the Chosen One. Still, the risk kept Darth Plagueis up at night, and he worried that even with Sidious and Maul on the Dark Side he would need more helpers. So the Muun conceived of the idea to create the perfect Dark Apprentice. The young man would be born of the Force and imbued with great power. He would save the Sith should the Chosen One appear. And that's where Rey's goddess mother came into the story.
Plagueis tells of his plot with elusive Lady Abeloth to create Anakin Skywalker, and his bumbling decisions in the aftermath. Ultimately, the perfect Dark Apprentice was born into life, but ironically raised a Jedi. In the end, Plagueis was chagrined, Lady Abeloth was angry, Sheev Palpatine felt threatened, and little slave boy Anakin Skywalker was abandoned. Everyone lost.
Dameron, like the rest of the galaxy, knows a different version of Anakin Skywalker's story. It's the version with the fallen Jedi Darth Vader turning good at the last second to save his hero son. The whole balance of the Force angle never made it into the conventional wisdom, which focused on redemption and love. Largely, Kylo thinks, because his sentimental uncle was the one telling the story. The Chancellor now looks to Plagueis and asks, "So . . . was Darth Vader the Chosen One?"
"Indeed, he was."
"But he didn't balance the Force?"
"He did not. The burden next fell to his son and daughter."
Dameron considers this. "Luke didn't balance the Force. Neither did Leia, I guess."
"Correct. And so, the responsibility rests with Kylo Ren and Rey now. Perhaps most especially with Rey," Plagueis supposes, "as she is a first-generation child of the Force."
"Where does Rey come in?"
"Patience, Chancellor. I'm getting to that part. We're not finished with Darth Vader yet."
Plagueis resumes his tale. In the intervening years after Anakin Skywalker was born, a lot happened. First and foremost, Sheev Palpatine became angry enough and sufficiently emboldened to confront his Master. To both men's complete shock, Darth Plagueis lost the duel and slunk away into exile. For though he is immortal, he was still severely injured. When all the dust settled, Darth Sidious was running Team Sith.
Maul was maimed as well, left for dead, and replaced with the Jedi turncoat Count Dooku. Dooku was a placeholder, according to Plagueis. For Sheev Palpatine continually kept tabs on young Anakin Skywalker, grooming him slowly as Dooku's replacement. Meanwhile, the Sith grand plan unfolded and the Separatist movement arose to kick off the Clone Wars. These were the waning days of the embattled Old Republic. Its bickering leaders made grave missteps that only aided and abetted Darth Sidious. Things culminated when the Jedi High Council discovered the now Chancellor Sheev Palpatine's Sith alter-ego. The ruse was up. The panicking Jedi made the flagrantly unconstitutional, due process flouting, fatal error of moving to arrest him.
This was the moment Darth Sidious was waiting for, the Muun sighs. Sheev Palpatine used the opportunity to complete his goal of seducing Anakin Skywalker to the Dark Side and to justify Order 66. Palpatine promptly declared the Clone Wars over and announced his Empire. Finally, a Sith ruled the galaxy. The Jedi were no longer a threat. The grand plan was achieved. A long line of dead Dark Lords stretching back to Darth Bane heaved a collective sigh of relief in the Force: mission accomplished. Best of all, the maybe-probably-perhaps Jedi Chosen One Anakin Skywalker was the newest Sith Apprentice. That move was checkmate for any hope of balancing the Force.
Dameron looks to Plagueis and drawls, "And you just sat back and watched all this?"
"Oh, no. I did a lot of hard thinking in exile, examining my mistakes. I also sought to overthrow my upstart Apprentice. Astral," the Muun looks to her seated at the end of the table, "Would you like to continue the story?"
Lady Vader picks up the Skywalker story in the Imperial years. She tells of her beleaguered and burned husband who knew he had made a terrible mistake but couldn't find a way out. Being Darth Sidious' Apprentice pretty much sucked, as Kylo knows firsthand. Darth Vader got lots of responsibility but no real authority. Sheev Palpatine had no interest in teaching the Chosen One. He merely wanted to control him and to keep him busy. Darth Sidious didn't trust his Apprentice, and with good reason.
Since he wasn't the suiciding, martyr type, Lord Vader became an expert on subterfuge. He was the deep state of the Empire when I met him, Astral explains. He went through the motions in public and before Darth Sidious. But behind the scenes, Vader conspired to thwart his Master. Lord Vader was not exactly a Rebel, he was more akin to a closeted reformer. The historians would be shocked to know just how pragmatic and moderate the private man Anakin Skywalker was, at least according to Astral.
That all changed when he learned of his secret son. Miserable Lord Vader had long suspected that his dead wife survived to bear his children. Sure enough, in time he learned of their existence. And that's when Darth Plagueis stepped back into the picture.
The Muun resumes the complicated saga now. He speaks of how he knew all along of Luke and Leia Skywalker's survival in hiding in the protection of the Jedi. Plagueis let things be—by now, he had come around to his theory of balance and he no longer saw the Chosen Ones as a threat to Darkness. In fact, he saw the budding Alliance to Restore the Republic as a potential ally and a necessary counterbalance to Sheev's Sith Empire. That's why the Muun covertly funded the Rebels through Bail Organa and even recruited the former Darth Maul to get them organized.
When Luke Skywalker burst onto the scene, the stage was finally set for a credible threat to Sheev Palpatine. Disgruntled second-in-command Darth Vader had a Force strong son he hoped to ally with to destroy the Emperor. At this point, twenty years into Palpatine's reign, there was discontent brewing galaxy wide. Many people wanted change, even if they weren't ready for a revolution. Things were ripe, Plagueis decided, for him, Lord Vader, and Luke Skywalker to join forces to depose Darth Sidious.
He plotted that Vader would be the new Emperor with his son Luke at his side as the representative of the Alliance political goals. Leia and her pal Mon Mothma could run the Senate that Emperor Vader would reinstate. The new government would be a hybrid of the best of the Old Republic and the best of the Empire. Both sides of the Force would join together in a compromise, reform minded effort. And maybe, just maybe, if they got it right . . . in time, there would be balance.
Except it didn't work. With Plagueis and Astral working overtime as go-betweens, the mistrust persisted. In the end, it proved insurmountable and the plot to kill Sheev Palpatine with his second Death Star went horribly awry. Vader died, not his Master. Darth Sidious retreated to Exogol to his clone workshop to bide his time. In his wake, the Skywalker twins now helmed the Force and the galaxy as they sought to reinstate the Old Republic.
"So why did Vader save his son if he didn't actually turn back to the good side?" dubious Dameron wants to know.
"He did it for Padme," Astral speaks up. "She was his first wife and the mother of his children. He never dreamed that his allegiance to Darth Sidious would end up killing her. He was terribly guilty about that . . . and terribly guilty about the fate of his children. Lord Vader was forever regretful that the Jedi had brainwashed Luke and Leia. He worried they would go on to repeat the mistakes of the past."
"In many ways, they did," Plagueis sighs. "Luke Skywalker was not an adherent to the concept of balance." The Muun is clearly sour about that. "Neither was his sister. She was Padme Amidala all over again—full of principle and lofty words, and short on compromise and nuance. As far as I could tell, Leia Organa mostly ignored the Force beyond pious public statements. She was too afraid of becoming her father, so she focused on other things."
Dameron chafes at this less than adoring summation of his beloved mentor. "The General built the New Republic," he grinds out.
The Muun, of course, finds this effort to be a secondary goal to the Force. He makes a face. "I kept hoping that my estranged granddaughter would come around in time to see the shortcomings of the Old Republic. But she was a Rebel until the end."
"Yes, she was," Dameron affirms stiffly.
Kylo can't resist rolling his eyes. It earns him a sharp glare from the Chancellor and sympathetic nod from Astral, who is clearly no fan of his mother.
"Luke Skywalker thought balance was the Light Side in ascendancy. He was terrified of Darkness and worried that it would consume him. And it did for a time," Plagueis muses sadly. "For the Jedi son was as conflicted as his Sith father. All the Skywalkers are. That is the point of the Chosen Ones—they are both Light and Dark."
"Where were you during the New Republic?" Dameron jeers. "Still sitting on the sidelines watching the mess you made unfold?"
"I was in exile but more committed than ever to my evolving ideas about balance," the Muun contends. "Still, my meddling had come to nothing. So, I decided to let the Force do its own work. I retreated. I thought I should give the Skywalker twins a chance to figure things out for themselves. I was wrong," Plagueis bemoans, "terribly wrong. And the galaxy and most especially young Ben Solo paid for my error."
"I guess he means you . . ." Dameron grumbles, looking to him begrudgingly. "This is where you come in, I take it?"
The Muun continues, "Once Skywalker went Dark and tried to murder his nephew in his sleep—"
"Wait—say what? He what?" Dameron blinks. Evidently Leia Organa left out that part of the story. She was always careful to safeguard her and Luke's public image, Kylo recalls. Probably no more so than than with her favorite flyboy groupie.
Kylo nods to the Chancellor and affirms grimly, "It's true. Luke tried to execute me."
"And I'm supposed to think that's a bad thing?" Dameron drawls back acid sarcasm.
"It is if you seek balance," Plagueis answers flatly. "But young Ben Solo fought back hard and unwittingly tapped into his own Dark power. You want to it from here?" Plagueis offers.
Kylo takes the cue. These aren't his favorite memories, but there is no avoiding them today. He keeps the story short and to the point. "Luke tried to kill me because he had foreseen my future in the Force and it was Dark. He was right. But once I fought back and killed a bunch of bystanders in the process, Luke must have felt completely justified in his actions." Kylo looks away as he sheepishly admits, "I fled to Snoke for protection and training. I knew there would be a rematch with my uncle. I wanted to beat him next time so I didn't have to spend my whole life looking over my shoulder. But that was never an issue. Luke left for Ahch-To for exile. He quit the fight. And fool kid that I was, I got stuck as the Apprentice."
"Remember-he who controls the Chosen One controls the Force," Plagueis intones the overarching theme of the Skywalkers' ongoing battle with Darth Sidious.
Dameron digests this information. "Rey said you didn't know Snoke was Sidious."
"That's right, I didn't. But I think Luke did, and he didn't tell me." Kylo is still plenty bitter about that omission. "Just like Luke knew who my grandfather was and he neglected to divulge that information as well. He and my mother had a pact for silence. It was supposed to protect me, I guess. Instead, it perfectly positioned me for Darth Sidious to manipulate."
"Oh, come on, you're no saint!" Dameron hotly accuses.
Kylo shrugs. "I have never claimed to be one . . . unlike my fraud uncle who was everyone's childhood hero."
Dameron bristles. His response is vicious. "I doubt many people would fault Luke Skywalker for wanting to prevent Kylo Ren from happening."
Again, Kylo shrugs. Annoying as the guy is, Kylo refuses to let Dameron get a rise out of him. He's taking a page out of the Muun's playbook and speaking of himself and his deeds with deliberate distance and objectivity. "Luke saw one side of me—the side of himself that he was most afraid of. But Luke didn't see the whole of me. No one did until Rey came along," he adds wistfully. And whoops, that went too far. Kylo can feel his cheeks redden with embarrassment.
From across the room, Astral catches his eye and nods silently. His grandmother gets it. For long ago even as an Alderaan survivor, she had seen the best in fearsome Darth Vader.
"Yeah, yeah, enough about your whining," Dameron is brutal in his dismissal. "What about Rey? Can we get to Rey?"
Plagueis resumes telling the tale now. "When I foresaw in the Force that Ben Solo would become ensnared by Sheev, it was a decision point for me. Sheev had a new Vader to groom—another gifted young man he could enslave for his own uses. Here was the latest—maybe the last—of the lineage of the Chosen One, and Sheev would control him completely. I knew I had to act. The Skywalkers were my progeny and Sheev Palpatine was my responsibility. This was a mess mostly of my creation."
Dameron eyes the Muun with little enthusiasm. "Yeah, you have a lot to answer for." His eyes dart to him next. "You too, Ren."
Plagueis dutifully takes the hit and moves on. "I went back to Lady Abeloth. I groveled and begged. I wanted another child. This time, I would find the boy and raise him and train him. Together, we would make right all that I had destroyed."
"That child was Rey, wasn't it?" the Chancellor guesses.
"Yes. The goddess double crossed me. The boy Apprentice was a girl this time, and she was born to the wife of Sheev Palpatine's clone son. For Lady Abeloth was in league with Sheev this time."
Kylo spells out the bargain for Dameron. "Sidious got the next Chosen One to control and to one day use against Plagueis should he ever return. And Lady Abeloth got her revenge for being left in the Maw."
"Indeed," the Muun sighs. "The catch this time was that Sheev's clone son went rogue. He and his wife died, but they managed to hide Rey first. She lived on Jakku anonymously for years."
"So Rey is a Palpatine after all . . ." Dameron remarks under his breath.
"In name only. She is my daughter in the Force with Lady Abeloth, and she is a first generation Chosen One."
"And now Sidious has her? You're sure about that?"
"He has more than just Rey," Kylo reveals. "Rey's pregnant."
"She's what?" Dameron chokes.
Across the room, Astral outright wails, "Oh, no! It all makes sense now!" Lady Vader is dismayed as she realizes aloud Sheev Palpatine's latest move. "Darth Sidious re-emerged in order to capture the future once again . . . just like the Jedi once stole Lord Vader's children to use as a weapon against him . . . "
"Because whoever controls the Chosen One controls the Force," Plagueis delivers the punchline yet again.
His grandmother is utterly aghast. She's on her feet now, wringing her hands. "Oh, I'm so, so sorry . . . I know what this means. We simply must save Rey or Sheev will have your child to enslave and to punish like he once had Lord Vader and then you . . ."
Glaring at the flustered looking Dameron, Kylo spells out how this game of thrones works. "It's all a dejarik game, don't you see? Power at these levels is about the future—about who controls and influences the select few who are capable of balancing the Force. Blunt their potential, like with Vader. Or chase them away discouraged, like with Luke. Or control them, like with me and with Rey . . . that's how you win. Because only a Skywalker will be capable of ending Darth Sidious, and he knows it. Only we have the power to make things right. Because so goes the Skywalkers, so goes the galaxy-we are the axis of Light and Dark upon which everything pivots."
Dameron now plays lip service to democracy, huffing, "All power rightfully belongs to the people. Regular people, not magic people like you."
But the Muun schools him with harsh history. "Those regular people once elected Sheev Palpatine over and over again in free and fair elections. Chancellor, democracy is no guarantee of truth or of balance. Even democracy can be a tool of Darkness when manipulative evildoers are in office."
Is any of this getting through? It is. Troubled Dameron exhales, "Fuck . . . you might be right . . . "
Old school Plagueis immediately takes umbrage at the language. "Chancellor, may I remind you that there is a lady present?"
Astral waves away the vulgarity. His ever-pragmatic grandmother has no time for niceties given what is afoot. "Oh, Snoke, I've heard the word before," she calls him off in a tone that tells Kylo his grandmother had no trouble speaking her mind to Lord Vader. Turning to the Chancellor, Astral implores, "Mr. Dameron, what's at stake here is the future of our family, the Force, and the galaxy. Darth Sidious has dogged us for generations now. I know you have strong feelings about the Empire and the First Order, and l probably share some of your opinions-"
"I doubt that, Lady Vader." The Chancellor's tone is dismissive with a hard edge of contempt.
Scowling Plagueis inserts himself again, rallying to Astral's defense. "She's from Alderaan. Did I leave that part out?"
"Oh. Huh." Dameron clearly did not anticipate that detail coming. Because he's the kind of Core guy who thinks he's so tolerant and openminded when in reality he's very judgmental, Kylo knows.
Again, Astral waves off the looming Plagueis. Lady Vader will fight her own battles. "We are a complicated clan with a problematic past. I'm not saying we're always right—"
"Mostly, he seems to have been wrong." The Chancellor point to Plagueis. "Him too." Dameron next points to him. Finger pointing is clearly this guy's favorite pastime, Kylo decides. He probably learned that from Leia Organa.
But Plagueis owns his mistakes, as he has throughout the entire discussion. "I was wrong. That's true," he agrees with Dameron, adding, "Great power does not make you right. It merely makes you important."
"But see the risk here," Astral insists. "Your Republic will not stand if Darth Sidious isn't permanently killed."
"The enemy of your enemy is your friend," Kylo now hammers home the theme of his original pitch back on Coruscant when he broke into the Chancellor's apartment.
But Dameron is still reluctant and unsure. "The way I see it, you're asking me to let the Republic get dragged into a power struggle between rival bad guys."
"We're not the bad guys," Kylo objects.
"Seriously?" Dameron's sarcasm is biting. So is his side eye.
It prompts Plagueis to suggest compromise semantics. "We're the less-bad guys. The formerly bad guys."
"You're a Sith!" the Chancellor retorts.
"I haven't been Sith since before you were born," the Muun responds calmly.
"Yeah, okay. But what's to stop you from beating Sheev Palpatine and then going after the Republic? How am I certain that you're not a threat as well?"
"We have a ceasefire," Kylo reminds him. "The First Order gave up a lot for that deal."
"I don't trust you," Dameron sniffs. "And why should I trust him?" Again, he's finger pointing at Plagueis. "He just gave us a long list of people he let down and betrayed. You know, if he hadn't ghosted his goddess lady friend—if she even exists—none of this would have happened."
They don't have time for this bickering. Kylo now deploys his fallback argument: "Do it for Rey."
"I can't do this for Rey!" Dameron's frustration bubbles over. "My allegiance is to the Republic—to democracy! And Rey is a self-admitted traitor—how would that look?"
"Worried about your poll numbers?" Kylo sneers.
"I'm worried about how I could possibly explain any of this to anyone and have it make sense! You know, transparency is a virtue where I come from," Dameron huffs. "We don't all revel in fake news and secrecy. Look, even if I want to help, I don't see how I can . . ."
"It's easy," Kylo replies. "Tell everyone that Darth Sidious isn't dead after all and you are allying with the First Order to kill him."
"And explain to the Senate that Kylo Ren told me old Palps is alive and I trust him?"
"Rey told you that he lives too," Kylo points out.
"Tell everyone you're doing it to ensure there won't be another Hosnia or another Alderaan," Astral speaks up.
Dameron shoots her a glare like the comment is some kind of threat. "You people already agreed to no more superweapons."
"Yes, but Darth Sidious hasn't agreed to anything," Lady Vader reminds him. She digs in with an argument that frankly Kylo hasn't thought of: "Leia Organa would do this, Mr. Dameron. She knew how dangerous Sheev Palpatine is."
That's actually a good point. Kylo looks to his mother's pet to see how he responds.
The Chancellor swears under his breath and wipes a hand down his troubled face. "You're right. She would," he concedes after a moment's reflection. "She would cut a deal with the devil if it meant saving the New Republic . . . if it meant no more Hosnias and Alderaans . . . "
Kylo crosses his arms, sensing headway. "So what's your hesitation? Besides your poll numbers, that is."
"I don't trust you. Look, I get it—Darth Sidious is an existential threat! That's why I'm here to listen. But I don't like this . . . I really don't like this," Dameron mutters.
Plagueis weighs in now. "Rarely is a leader presented with easy options. We can appreciate that this is a hard call for you personally and professionally—"
Kylo interrupts. "No, it's not. Just do what you always do—ask yourself what would my mother do?" It's Astral's argument rephrased more aggressively.
The Chancellor pauses.
"Well?" Kylo prompts.
"She would be a hero," Dameron answers softly, "no matter what the cost. That's the kind of person she was . . . full of honor and hope . . . dedicated to justice and freedom until the end . . ."
Kylo has to stifle a groan at this sappy eulogy. He settles for rolling his eyes.
Plagueis shoots him a sharp, quelling glare from across the room. "So, we are agreed to work together to kill Sheev Palpatine?" he prods.
"No—no," Dameron balks. "That's not how this works. I lead a democracy and I don't decide things on my own."
"We can't wait for you to convene the Senate," Kylo growls. "There isn't time."
"Fine. But this isn't my decision alone."
"You are the duly elected Chancellor of the New Republic," Plagueis reminds him. "It is your responsibility."
"Yeah, you don't get political cover on this decision," Kylo heckles. "Time to man up, Chancellor."
Dameron looks to him and then to Plagueis. He issues a challenge. "I'm not the only one you need to convince. You get Finn to support this, and I'm in. But without Finn, you're on your own."
"Finn?" Kylo outright groans.
"You know him as FN-2187, I believe," Dameron hisses back.
Fuck. Getting the traitor general onboard will never be possible. That guy hates him for dragging a lightsaber up his back on the Starkiller. Also, for helming the First Order that made him a stormtrooper. Certainly, for achieving the peace deal that the traitor bitterly opposed. But most of all, Kylo knows, FN-2187 hates him for Rey.
Kylo opens his mouth to object to this impossible standard, but Plagueis is the first to speak. "Very well. Bring him to us."
"Oh, no!" Dameron immediately starts making conditions. "Finn's never coming back to the First Order. You're going to have to convince him on our turf. I took the risk to come here. Next time, we meet at the Republic. You can be the ones to get shot at next time."
"Very well," the Muun agrees. "We accept your invitation, Chancellor."