Book 3:

The Rise of SkyWalker

Chapter 4: The SteadFast

Our heroes are back on the ship, piloting towards the Steadfast, using the medallion to get on.

Poe, "medallion's good. Clear for entrance into Hangar 12."

Rey, "hang on, Chewie and Rose. We're coming."

Finn, "no-one gets left behind."

C-3PO, "whoever this Chewie person is, this is madness!"

Padme, "even with a memory wipe, he's still the same Threepio."

Once they make it onto the ship, two troopers approach

Trooper, "credentials and manifest."

Both troopers are blasted by Rey and Finn.

A female trooper yells, "close the blast doors!"

She gets shot as she yells.

Rey turns to Threepio, BB-8, D-O and Nine.

Thumper gets out of the pack and flies on top of Nine.

Rey, "you five stay here."

C-3PO, "happily."

Padme, "Nine, take care of Thumper while I'm gone!"

Nine beeps, as if to say, "yessir!"

Poe, "which way?"

Finn, "uh, no idea. Follow me."

The doors before them open, and two troopers point their guns at the crew.

Trooper 1, "drop your weapons!"

Rey uses a Jedi Mind Trick.

Rey, "it's okay that we're here."

They lower their weapons.

Trooper 1, "it's okay that you're here."

Trooper 2, "it's good."

Owen, "you're relieved that we're here."

Trooper 1, "thank goodness you're here."

Trooper 2, "welcome, guys."

Mara, "you will forget you ever saw us."

Trooper 1, "we'll forget we ever saw you."

Trooper 2, "who were we talking to again?"

Padme, "move along."

Trooper 1, "move along."

Trooper 2, "I'm gonna get lunch."

As the two troopers walk away, Poe looks at Finn and says, "do they do that to us?"

Padme, "only when you're being irritating."

Rey, "we're looking for a prisoner and his belongings. The cameras."

They shoot the cameras so no-one spots them.

Finn, "they said Chewie's this way. Rey, come on."

Rey, "the dagger is on this ship. We need it."

Poe, "why?"

Rey, "a feeling.

Owen, "me and Padme will go with Rey. Mom, you go with Poe and Finn."

Mara, "you got it."

Rey, "we'll meet you back at the hangar."

Finn, "Rey, you can't just..."

Poe, "Chewie and Rose."

And with that, the two groups split off.

….

Ren and his knights are searching the city.

Kylo, "search the city again. She's close."

….

Soon Finn, Poe and Mara find Chewie and Rose!

Rose shares a kiss with Finn as Mara hugs Chewie.

Chewie grunts at Poe.

Poe, "of course we came for you, Chewie."

Chewie grunts as Finn.

Finn, "yeah, Rey, Owen and Padme are here. They're gonna get the dagger."

Rose, "it's always something with those three."

Mara shrugs, "those're my students."

Alarms begin blaring.

Mara, "Kriff!"

….

Meanwhile, Pryde discovers the ship.

Pryde, "whose ship is this?"

….

Finn, "the ship's this way. Follow me."

As they try to make their way back to their ship, a female trooper spots them and yells, "over there!"

Mara uses her saber to slice them in two.

Finn, "wrong way!"

Rose, "ya think?!"

Poe, "there's not really a right way, is there?"

Another trooper yells, "I found them."

A female trooper, "blast them!"

Chewie grunts as the crew exchange fire, with Mara using her saber to deflect any bolts sent her way.

A trooper yells, "over there! There they are. Get them!"

The firefight continues as they run.

Poe, "we close?"

Finn, "straight ahead."

Rose, "I hope you're right!"

The group starts to get cornered by troopers as Poe is shot in the shoulder!

Finn, "Poe!"

Mara, "damnit!"

Poe groans as Rose and Finn help him.

Finn, "are you okay?"

They hear footsteps approaching.

Poe, "nope."

The group is surrounded by stormtrooper reinforcements.

One trooper yells, "you there, hands up! Drop your weapons now!"

Another yells, "put your weapons down! Drop them!"

Yet another one yells, "drop them now!"

Reluctantly, our heroes put their weapons down.

Poe, "hey, fellas."

Another female trooper says, "shut up, scum."

Chewie laughs, despite the situation.

….

Rey, Padme and Owen enter Ren's chambers, their hands ready to grab their sabers.

Rey finds the dagger on a desk.

Along with Luke's green saber.

He had left the item there.

Owen picked the weapon up in awe.

Owen, "dad's other saber."

Padme, "Poe told me Luke used it to fight Ben, all that time ago. He must have kept it."

Owen, "as what?"

Rey, "an heirloom?"

Padme, "a trophy?"

Owen, "for whatever reason, he doesn't deserve it. At least not right now."

Padme finds Chewie and Roses weapons, and straps them to her back.

Rey picks the dagger up, and hears voices.

Her own younger voice.

And her mother's!

Rey, "no."

Kylo contacts Owen, Rey and Padme through their force bond.

Kylo, "Rey."

The three Jedi saw Ren there, but not his surroundings.

Kylo, "Jace and Jaina."

Padme, "hello nerf herder."

Kylo, "wherever you are... you are hard to find."

Padme, "an understatement."

Rey, "you're hard to get rid of."

Owen, "also an understatement.:

Kylo, "I pushed you in the desert, because I needed to see it. I needed you to see it. Who you are. The blood you share with him. I know the rest of your story. Rey."

Rey turns and lights up her lightsaber.

Owen and Padme both light up their own weapons.

Rey speaks quietly, "you're lying."

Kylo, "I never lied to you. Your parents were no one. They chose to be. To keep you safe, given your heritage."

Rey, "don't!"

Owen, "I'd heed her words. Her powers have doubled since last we met."

Kylo, "twice the pride, and double the fall. You remember more than you say. I've been in your head."

Padme and Owen shared a look.

They knew Rey had been left at a young age, but had she simply blocked out the painful memories?

Rey, "I don't want this!"

Kylo, "search your memories."

Rey, "no!"

Owen, "leave her be Ben!"

Rey activates her sabers, connecting them into their doible balded form and attacks Kylo with them, but he stops her.

Owen and Padme get ready to jump in.

Kylo, "remember them. See them."

Rey sees a vision, as clear as day in front of her.

/

Her mother, "my love. Rey, be brave."

Her father, "you'll be safer here. I promise. They would come for you if they knew of you."

Rey, "come back! No!"

/

Rey grunts in anger as Ren continues.

Kylo, "they sold you to protect you."

Owen held a pained look. He wanted Rey to learn the reason behind her parents actions.

But not like this.

Rey, "stop talking."

Kylo, "Rey, I know what happened to them."

Rey continues trying to strike Ren.

Padme, "Rey, stop!"

….

The others are taken prisoner.

A trooper, "move it! Allegiant General, the scavenger and Skywalker siblings are not with them."

Pryde, "take them away. Skywalker's whore will remain a prisoner. Terminate the others. And let her watch."

….

Kyko, "tell me where you are. You don't know the whole story. It was Palpatine who had your parents taken. He was looking for you. For the last of his and Kenobi's bloodline. A powerful combination. But they wouldn't say where you were. So he gave the order."

/

Ochi approaches Rey's parents.

She says, "she's not on Jakku. She's gone."

Ochi stabs Rey's father before moving onto her mother.

Rey's mother, "no!"

/

Rey, "no!"

The battle escalates when Rey is knocked down, and Padme jumps in, she and Ren strike down the table with Vader's helmet on it, sending it to the ground.

Ren sees this.

He's discovered that Rey, Owen and Padme are on his Destroyer!

Kyko, "so that's where you are. You know why the Emperor's always wanted you dead."

Rey, "no."

Kylo, "I'll tell you more."

Kylo breaks their vision bond.

Owen helps Rey up from the ground as they quickly make their way out of the room.

….

Kylo, "she was in my quarters. Lock down the ship."

….

Hux and a firing squad have Poe, Finn, Chewie and Rose ready for execution.

Mara is held back, nearly crying at the sight of her friends about to die.

Hux, "actually... I'd like to do this myself."

The trooper handed Hux their gun.

Hux said, "before you're executed, any last words?"

Poe, "before we die, didn't you wanna tell Rose something?"

Finn, "you still on that?"

Poe, "you've been putting it off since before the mission with the spy!"

Chewie groans.

Finn, "yeah. Sort of is a bad time, Poe."

Poe, "well, 'cause later doesn't really look like an option. If you're gonna let something off your chest, maybe now's not the worst time to!"

Finn, "fine, Rose?"

Rose, "yeah?"

Finn, "I was gonna propose."

Rose was awestruck.

Finn, "if we had lived through this mission, what would you have said?"

Rose, "... yes."

Finn and Rose gave tear filled smiles.

That's when they hear the blaster going off and turn to see Hux has killed the Stormtroopers!

All of them have dumbstruck looks on their faces.

Hux, "I'm the spy."

Poe, "what?"

Finn, "you?"

Mara, "I never would've guessed!"

Hux throws the lightsaber back to Mara and says, "we don't have much time."

Poe, "I knew it."

Finn, "no, you did not."

Rose, "can I ask why you're suddenly a rebel?"

Hux, "I'm not. But I can't stand to see Kylo Ren ruling the First Order. Now hurry!"

….

A stormtrooper is speaking to the droids, "what's your operation number?"

C-3PO speaks gibberish.

The trooper, "that's not even a language."

The trooper is suddenly hit by a laser blast! Thumper jumps in surprise!

Rey being the shooter.

Owen and Padme slice down two more troopers.

C-3PO, "oh, dear! My first laser battle."

Rey, "where are the others?"

C-3PO, "they haven't come back."

They hear an engine whirring in the distance.

Owen, "uh oh."

Rey, "find them. Go."

Padme, "and make it fast!"

C-3PO, "yes."

D-O, "friends ahead."

Nine beeps.

BB-8 chirps.

Thumper yells in excitement!

C-3PO, "oh, yes, there they are!"

Hux leads them to the Falcon.

Finn, "BB-8, come on!"

Mara, "you too Nine!'

Hux, "I'll shut down the impeders. You've got seconds."

They see the Falcon.

Poe, "there she is. She's a survivor."

Rose, "indeed she is!"

Hux, "wait. Wait. Blast me in the arm. Quick."

Finn, "what?"

Hux, "or they'll know."

Finn blasts him in the leg, instead.

Rose kicks him in the side as Mara uses her lightsaber to make a slice on his arm.

Hux, "no! Ahh!"

Hux groans in pain as Mara says, "putting in the extra effort."

Finn, "why are you helping us?"

Hux, "I don't care if you win. I need Kylo Ren to lose."

….

Kylo Ren arrives on the Destroyer and faces our three Jedi heroes.

Rey, "the Emperor came for me. A child. I didn't even know I had a connection to the Force until I met Owen."

Kylo, "because he saw what you would become. You have his power. And not just his. Kenobi's as well. Your parents sent you to Jakku for protection. Because they knew that your power couldn't fall into his hands."

Owen, "he wants all of us. His own granddaughter, and the children of the SkyWalker family."

Kylo, "my mother was the daughter of Vader. Your father was the son of the Emperor. Your mother was the daughter of Kenobi. Jace and Jaina are the children of SkyWalker and Jade. What Palpatine doesn't know is that we share a connection in the Force, Rey, Owen, Padme. Four that are one."

Padme, "our bloodlines don't make us who we are!"

Owen, "we choose our family."

They hear the wind whistling as Ren keeps trying to convince them to join him.

Kylo, "we'll kill him together and take the throne."

Rey breathes raggedly as Owen and Padme hold her hands.

Kylo takes off his helmet, revealing his pleading look.

Kylo, "you know what you need to do. You know."

He offers his hand to them.

Rey, "I do."

They hear a loud engine whirring as Poe and the others arrive on the Falcon!

….

Poe, "hold her steady. Finn, Mara, move fast!"

Finn, "Rey! Come on!"

Mara, "Owen, Padme, hurry!"

Padme runs into her mother's arms.

Finn, "come on! I got you!"

Owen begins running, but turns to Rey.

Owen, "Rey! Come on!"

Rey runs to Owen, and the two grab Finn and Mara's hands, helping them into the ship as the Falcon quickly speeds away.

Leaving Kylo Ren to glare at the fleeing ship.

….

Hux, "it was a coordinated incursion, Allegiant General. They overpowered the guards and forced me to take them to their ship. The Jedi named Mara Jade sliced my arm.

Hux stood with Phasma.

Pryde, "I see", he turns to one of the officers, "get me the Supreme Leader."

The officer, "yes, sir."

Pryde takes one of the Stormtrooper's weapons and points his blaster at Hux.

Pryde, "tell him we found our spy."

Before he can shoot Hux, Phasma jumps in front of the blast, making it blast into a random trooper.

Pryde, "what are you doing?"

Phasma, "you honestly think Hux is the spy? The man who rallied against the Republic?"

Pryde felt foolish for a moment.

Pryde, "very well. But if it turns out you were wrong-"

Phasma, "I will deal with him myself."

The officers walked off as Phasma turned to Hux, "for your sake, I hope your plan to overthrow Ren works…."

Little did Phasma know of Hux's true intentions...

….

Poe, "I don't know why they're not following us, but I don't trust it."

Chewie grunts a response.

Poe, "landing gear's busted? How busted?"

They hear a popping noise.

Mara, "pretty busted."

Rey sighs as she sits with Owen.

Padme stands nearby, Thumper back on her shoulder once more.

Finn sits with Rose, the two of them holding hands.

Rey, "all that matters is the wayfinder. Finding Exegol."

Finn, "that's what we're doing."

Padme, "things aren't always that simple."

Rey, "he killed my mother. And my father. I'm going to find Palpatine... and destroy him."

Everyone looked at Rey with worried expressions.

Finn, "Rey... that doesn't sound like you."

Owen, "I agree with Finn. We've known you for the better part of these last couple of years."

Finn turns a device off.

Finn, "Rey, I know you..."

Rey, "people keep telling me they know me. I'm afraid no one does."

Owen gives a look to the others. They all wander off, leaving the two of them alone.

Owen, "Rey, look at me."

Rey looked away.

Owen, "look. At. Me."

Rey turns to Owen, "I know who you are. Your past doesn't matter. Whether you're a Kenobi, a Palpatine, or even a Skywalker or Solo, it doesn't matter. You. Are. Rey."

Rey, "and tell me Owen, who is Rey?"

Owen, "Rey is the girl who saved me and BB-8 on Jakku. Rey is the girl who could pilot the Falcon with ease the First time. Rey is the girl who's skills with a staff translated to a lightsaber like magic. Rey is the woman who, despite years being alone, she never gave up hope. Rey is the girl who showed true talent with the Force in the days she trained with Luke Skywalker. And Rey is the girl I fell in love with."

Rey had tears in her eyes.

Rey, "Owen…."

Owen, "Rey, you're the most amazing person I ever met."

Rey smiled with tear filled eyes as she said, "do you know who Owen is?"

Owen was confused for a moment.

Owen, "who?"

Rey, "Owen's the boy who saved my life. Owen's the boy who gave me hope. Owen's the boy who took me from Jakku. Owen's the boy who defended me against Kylo Ren. Owen's the boy who helped train me. Owen's the boy who never gave up on me. And Owen's the boy I love."

Owen and Rey both had tears in their eyes as they shared a kiss.

Rey felt a little more complete after hearing this.

Nearby, Finn and Rose were crying too as they smiled at one another and shared a kiss.

Padme and Poe were watching as well.

Padme kisses Poe on the cheek, making him give extremely wide eyes!

….

Palpatine, "the girl still lives. Skywalker's children still live. The Jedi friends still live! Perhaps you have betrayed me. Do not make me turn my fleet against you."

Kylo, "I know where they are going. She'll never be a Jedi like the man she loves, or any of her allies."

Palpatine, "make sure of it. Kill them. Meanwhile, I will be sending…. Aid, to help you accomplish your goal…."

….

Using the information learned from Threepio's translation of the dagger's writing, the Resistance team takes the Millennium Falcon to the ocean moon of Kef Bir in the Endor system. As the Falcon descends into Kef Bir, they are detected by a woman riding an Orbak.

Her name is Jannah.

Due to its damaged struts, the Falcon has a hard landing, carving up soil.

The crew makes their way through the fields, and see quite a sight.

The remains of the second Death Star!

D-O, "what... What is that?"

Rey, "it's the Death Star. A bad place from an old war."

Owen, "the place my father and grandfather destroyed the Empire."

Mara, "and where Palpatine should have stayed dead."

Poe, "it's gonna take us years to find what we're looking for."

C-3PO, "oh, dear."

Rey speaks quietly, "'only the blade tells.' The wayfinder's there."

Rey uses the dagger to locate the wayfinder by aligning a plate hidden in the hilt with a specific part of the Death Star's wreckage, and discovering the two shapes match perfectly.

Padme, "good thinking."

They suddenly hear a creature braying.

Poe, "heads up."

They encounter Jannah and her group on their obraks.

Jannah, "rough landing."

Poe, "I've seen worse."

Padme, "we all know from expirience."

Jannah, "I've seen better. Are you Resistance?"

Poe, "that depends."

Rose, "namely on your side."

Jannah, "we picked up a transmission from someone named Babu Frik."

Owen, "ha, good ol' Babu."

C-3PO, "Babu Frik? Oh, he's one of my oldest friends."

Jannah, "he said you'd come. He said you were the last hope."

Rey, "we have to get to that wreck. There is something inside there we need."

Jannah, "I can take you there by water."

Owen, "uh, come again?"

Finn, "have you seen the water?"

Rose, "it's a death trap!"

Jannah, "not now. Too dangerous. We can go first light tomorrow."

Rey, "we can't wait that long. We don't have the time."

Owen, "and Force knows if the First Order is behind us!"

Poe, "or the choice. Let's get that ship fixed. Do you have any spare parts?"

Jannah, "some. I'm Jannah."

Poe, "I'm Poe."

Padme, "Jaina."

Owen, "Jace, at your service."

The siblings used their middle names, since they had only just met these people.

BB-8 chirps.

D-O, "hello."

An orbak brays, making D-O roll back.

D-O, "no thank you. No, thank you."

BB-8 chirps again.

….

The crew speak as they are trying to fix the Falcon.

C-3PO, "what a dreadful situation. Is every day like this for you people? Madness."

Padme, "madness indeed."

Poe, "did we ever find this volume control?"

Padme shrugged.

Poe, "so, about that kiss on the cheek?"

Padme, "oh, does flyboy want another?"

Poe blushed as Padme snickered.

Mara is working with Finn, Rose and Jannah.

Jannah, "it's an O-6, but should work."

Finn, "thank you. This is a First Order part."

Rose, "suspicious."

Jannah, "there's an old cruiser on the west edge. Stripped for parts. The one we were assigned to. The one we escaped in."

Finn, "okay, wait. You were First Order?"

Jannah, "not by choice. We were conscripted as kids. All of us. I was TZ-1719. Stormtrooper."

Finn, "FN-2187."

Mara, "I was an Imperial assassin."

Jannah, "you two?"

Rose, "amazing, I'm with three people who betrayed an evil order of bucket-headed nerf herders."

Mara, "I was on the wrong path for quite awhile until I met my husband."

Finn, "I never knew there were more."

Jannah, "deserters? All of us here were stormtroopers. We mutinied at the Battle of Ansett Island. They told us to fire on civilians. We wouldn't do it. We laid our weapons down."

Finn, "all of you?"

Jannah, "the whole company. Heh, don't even know how it happened. It wasn't a decision, really, it was like..."

Finn, "an instinct."

Rose, "a feeling, to do the right thing."

Jannah, "a feeling."

Mara felt something from this girl.

Something familiar.

But she couldn't quite place it yet.

Finn, "the Force. The Force brought me here. It brought me to Rey. To Jace. To Rose. And Poe."

Jannah, "you say that like you're sure it's real."

Mara, "oh, it's real all right."

Finn, "it's real. I wasn't sure then... but I am now. I've seen it."

Rose, "all of us here have."

BB-8 chirps and beeps to Poe.

Poe, "what is it, buddy?"

BB-8 continues chirping.

Poe, "what do you mean you haven't seen them?"

….

We see Rey and Owen on a skimmer, headed towards the Death Star.

….

Jannah, "they took the skimmer?"

Padme, "damnit O-Jace!"

Poe, "what the hell were they thinking?"

Rose, "where-ever Rey goes, Jace is sure to follow."

Mara, "and vice versa."

Finn, "Poe, we gotta go after them."

Poe, "we'll get the Falcon fixed, and get out there as fast as we can."

Padme, "that'll take too long!"

Finn, "no, we're gonna lose them!"

Poe, "look, they left us! What do you wanna do? Swim?"

Finn, "Rey's not herself. You have no idea what she's fighting."

Poe, "and you do? Jace seems to he the only one who truly understands her!"

Finn, "I know what she's going through. And so does Leia."

Poe, "well, I'm not Leia."

Finn, "that's for damn sure."

Mara, "even Han wasn't this stubborn about things."

….

Owen and Rey continue piloting the skimmer.

….

Jannah, "Finn. There's another skimmer."

Padme, "me and Finn are going after them!"

….

Reviews:

Amanny: it all depends on the poll. Glad you liked the chapter. Also, yes, Rey will confront her Dark side more. You'll see what I mean...

Mmat: I am probably not gonna continue the story after the ending of Rise of SkyWalker.

….

Since Rey already knew the truth, Ren's speech to her is a little different.

Along with Finn not having to tell Rey anything, so instead he wanted to speak with Rose about something. And thus I chose for him to propose.

And also, Hux lives!

I added the talk between Owen and Rey at the end for a bit of romance. Along with Finn and Rose sharing a kiss.

And I bet none of you were expecting Padme to kiss Poe.

I wanted the whole thing to be a suprise.

Also, who was super happy to see Ahsoka appear in the Mandolorian?!