Chapter 29 - Shadows of the Past

Takodana

Ruins of the Jedi Temple

"Is he always like that?"

Rey didn't bother turning, instead keeping her eyes on the courtyard of marble and cobblestone as she leaned over the stone bannister, her elbows supporting her as she looked over the nostalgic inducing scenery, "Is who always like that?" she asked distracted.

"Oh c'mon, don't give me that," he grumbled.

"Poe, he's just doing his job. Master Shrike's been in this business a very long time. He treats every defectee like that."

"And you couldn't have vouched for him?" Poe asked her in disbelief, "I mean, you're frickin' Jedi. He even knows you. Why is that not enough?"

"He wouldn't have cared," she sighed, turning around to face him, "he wouldn't have cared even if Master Luke himself had vouched for him. He still would have-"

"Thrown Finn in a cell like an animal?" Poe shook his head, "After everything he did?"

"That's not fair, Poe. Look, I'm not saying I like it, but I can understand the reasoning behind it. He has to be vetted. Hell, even the New Republic does this. It's just sometimes they're lax about the rules."

"You mean they'd actually take the word of a Commander in the New Republic Navy into consideration instead of just blatantly ignoring it?"

"Poe, this isn't a New Republic base, and like it or not, the New Republic has a long history of making slip-ups. The way Shrike sees it, we can't afford that anymore."

"I suppose that's fair," Poe sighed, "I still don't like this."

"Because you made that promise back on Jakku?"

"Just like you did on the Raptor. Look, Finn turned his back on everything he knew to save me and you. The Corsairs all but confirmed that he has a bounty now. Can't that be enough?"

"Shrike would just say, 'That's a great cover.'"

"Is he always so paranoid?" Poe snorted, leaning against the stone pillar with his arms crossed so he wouldn't do anything stupid with them.

"Yes, and it's well justified," she gestured to the temple all around them, "this is what happens when you're not."

Poe sighed, staring at the tiled floor, "I just… I want to give Finn a life that ain't this. Being stuck in a damn cell, being poked and prodded. I mean, the guy has such a narrow view of things and I want to shake him from that. Show him the galaxy and what it really is, not what some hardass ex-Imperials made him believe it is."

"It won't come to that," she soothed, placing a reaffirming hand on his shoulder, "Shrike will only try to get his side of things… and maybe whatever intelligence he can provide. Besides I think Finn understands that. I mean, he defected. He knew what he was in for."

"I agree, I just want him to see it for himself," he shook his head before chuckling as he looked all around him, "so, this is the fabled High Jedi Temple, huh?"

"What's left of it anyway."

"Y'know, I'll admit I'd always wanted to kind of stumble upon this place by accident."

"Accident, huh?" she grinned, "So desperate to become a Jedi you'd risk getting thrown in a cell and poked and prodded like an animal, hmm?"

"Oh you're hilarious. But seriously, I always heard stories about this place, and I wanted to see it for myself. But I never imagine it'd look so old."

"Well, it was bombed to hell-"

"That's not what I mean," Poe deadpanned, "I mean, look at this place. It almost looks older than the Temple on Yavin."

"That's because it is," Rey replied with a shrug, "by about twenty thousand years, give or take."

Poe turned to her, his eyebrows raised in surprise, "Seriously?"

"Yeah, apparently this was built around the same time as the Temple on Ossus."

"Ossus?" Poe asked again his tone bewildered, "Isn't that the first Jedi Temple after the Jedi left their home planet, Tython?"

"Hence why this place is so mysterious. Where did it come from? Who built this place, and where did they go?"

"Wait, you guys don't know all this?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "Poe, all we really know is what Lor San found in the old records and even that was by accident."

"What do you mean accident?"

"I mean he found a single crumbled old page written in an aurabesh dialect so old he almost couldn't translate it, buried quite literally in the back of the Old Jedi Records on Coruscant, and all that had was just a passing mention of this place and the general area that it was in."

"Talk about a needle in a haystack. What a second, you're telling me the Jedi literally lost track of a temple as old as Ossus?"

"Not surprising, considering Jocasta Nu didn't even notice Kamino had been deleted from the records by Dooku, who wasn't even a member of the Order anymore at the time."

"Who's Jocasta Nu?" Poe asked.

"She was a Jedi master and keeper of the records. An incredibly pompous and arrogant one, too. Lor San's words, not mine. Stars, he promised to personally smack anyone with his lightsaber if any of us turned out like her."

"Man, what did this lady do that provoked that kind of anger outta the guy?"

"She said that the Jedi Order knew everything and that there was nothing left to discover."

"Oh. That'll do it."

"Yeah. And you know what's weirder? There's a Force Nexus here."

"Hold on, what? You mean one of those places where the Force is the strongest?"

"Well, sort of," she held out her hands on top of each other, "okay, imagine my bottom hand is us, right now. And this top hand is the Force, well, more like the Netherworld really, but still," she began to move her top hand around, "everywhere, the barrier between the two planes of existence is always normal. Nothing much bleeds through. But this place? Well, it's like someone thinned the layer and let it seep in. That's why the Force is so strong in this place."

"Okay, lemme get this straight. The Jedi of Old literally forgot the place where the Immaterium leaks into the real world, which was apparently built around the same time as their second oldest temple, for literally twenty thousand years?"

"Perhaps something bad went down and they were forced to abandon it. It could even have something to do with the Netherworld.I mean, we really have no idea what exists out there or if it's friendly. Maybe they wanted to leave this place be and let the Barrier rebuild."

"What could be so wrong with Heaven?"

"Well, if there is a Heaven...?"

"Then there's a Hell," Poe nodded, "should we be here, then?"

"Relax. I've spent the better part of half of my life here. Some of the ghosts are actually pretty nice."

Poe's jaw dropped at that one, "Ghosts?"

"Yes, they exist. Granted, it seems only those with a strong connection to the Force, either physical or spiritual, can see them."

"Damn," Poe shook his head, "there was an old flight buddy of mine. Wanted to ask him what he did with the twenty credits I loaned him."

Rey laughed at that, "Ghosts don't work like that. They have minds of their own and tend to come here at random, or by will of the Force. It's unlikely that your buddy would be here at this point in time."

"Yeah," Poe said quietly, his eyes staring blankly at the floor, "I was hoping I could actually talk to someone else here, too."

"Your mother," Rey stated more than asked.

"Yeah, I mean, what are the odds? My dad, who I haven't talked to in months, just happens to be here, on a planet where my mom's ghost might be. Talk about reunion."

"Well, you just might see here," she smiled, "if you do, listen to what she has to say. Might well be important."

"Yeah, maybe." Poe sighed, then a thought hit him, "Hey, why didn't you open this place up to the public? Would be great for people to get closure."

"One, we like our privacy. Two, Shrike's workload would be enormous, and he has a life. Three, this is a spiritual place. Would you really want people to come here willy nilly like you would a bar?"

"I doubt the ghosts would. So, have you gone looking, too?"

"For my father, you mean?" she asked sadly, slumping her head as she did, "I did. I sat in the woods for hours before we were called back for questioning, waiting for… something," she bit her lip, "but nothing came."

"This could mean he's still alive," Poe offered hopefully.

"Or maybe he just doesn't want to talk to me," she replied in a hollow tone.

"What? You're his kid. Why wouldn't he want to talk to you?"

"Because I ran," she cursed so softly he almost didn't hear, "because I ran and I should've died here with him."

"Rey, I highly doubt that's going to matter to him. If anything he might be glad you're safe and sound, alive and well. Also, the Rangers said some of the Jedi got out. Hell, you yourself said that K'Kruhk and Shaak Ti got out."

"But why wait this long?" she asked with a hoarse whisper, her face becoming gaunt with grief, "If they are alive and well, why haven't they come back?"

"Dunno. Neither does Shrike, apparently. But if my folks taught me anything, it's to have faith. Besides, things tend to turn out for the best in the end."

Rey grinned at him, "Are you sure you're not a Jedi, flyboy?"

"Nope," Poe grinned back, "besides, if I was, do you think I'd be flying for the Navy?"

"No, I suppose not."

"You know what it probably is? If your dad really is gone, he's probably shocked. you managed to fly all the way to Jakku without hitting anything, and he's figuring out how to congratulate you on your progress."

"Oh shut up!" she laughed, socking him in the shoulder.

"Hey, it's true! Also, if he is a Jedi, then it shouldn't matter where he is. He could appear to you at anytime."

"I thought you didn't believe ghosts exist?"

"I never said that, I just have never seen one. Besides, I believe in an afterlife. I kind of have to believe in ghosts. Plus, who hasn't heard of Jedi coming back as ghosts?"

"True, I suppose," she said simply, continuing to stare out at the courtyard ahead.

"Rey," Poe said, coming up next to her, "what exactly happened here?"

Rey didn't answer. Instead, her face just seemed to grow paler as she slumped further onto the bannister.

"Rey-"

"Commander Dameron," a Ranger suddenly appeared behind them, "Boss wants to talk to you."

"Again? We just got out of interrogation-"

"Now, sir."

"Okay, I'm coming. Rey, are you-?"

"I'm fine, Poe. I'll be along soon. I just… need to think."

Poe nodded, and went his way. Rey remain posed over the bannister, her eyes observing the very distinct details that made up the coarse, white sand of the courtyard. She smiled softly at the sight of years dried dark blood staining it every now and then. For a moment, she had the temptation to slip into some nostalgic daydream of a childhood long past, but she thought better of it.

She'd turned away from the courtyard and was about to make her way back to the conference room when she heard a familiar voice belonging to a boy behind her back, sounding distant like an echo, "Oh hey, Tahiri! H-how are you? I mean I haven't seen you in months!"

Rey's eyes widened and she spun around, "Ben?"

She'd expected to see nothing. Instead, what she did see was an almost transparent tapestry of the past play out in front of her amidst the moss covered stonework. There were children everywhere of every creed, race and age imaginable; wacking each other with training sabers with little impromptu duels more playful than serious.

In the center of the merriment was a pair of children both about ten years old. One was a young blonde girl, standing barefoot and looking like she'd just stumbled into something awful. The other was a redhead boy whose eager yet awkward face brought a smile to Rey's.

"Uh oh," her smile widened, "someone's been lovestruck."

"So, uh, T-Tahiri," Ben stuttered, rubbing his hand across the back of his head, "I see you're… well, um-"

"What are you gawking at, twerp?" Tahiri snorted before she suddenly socked him in the stomach. He doubled over, holding his stomach and lunch in as he grinned like a love-sick puppy at her.

"Wow, you're strong!"

"You're hopeless, Ben Skywalker," the girl snorted, and Rey couldn't help but laugh.

"You two really were made for each other. Wait a second, why am I seeing this?"

"Hey! Why the hell did you just hit my cousin, you jerk?" an older, dark haired boy came up, towering over Tahiri as he looked over at the redhead, "you okay, Ben?"

"C'mon, Cale! Back out of this! I'm making progress here!"

"Progress? Pfff," Cale smirked as he put his hands on his hips, "you wouldn't know progress if it hit you in the-"

"Cale, look out behind you!"

"Huh?" and Rey burst out laughing as a saber suddenly whacked him over the head and he went down like an overly dramatic sack of panga fruit. Rey's eyes widened at the sight of the girl, with her braid of chestnut brown hair, hazel eyes and…

"Freckles? I don't remember having freckles. Wait… why am I viewing it from this perspective? Oh right, someone was standing here, but who though?" she shook her head, "I will never fully understand this temple."

"What the hell, Rey?" Cale shouted as he jumped back to his feet, glaring deep into her face. She shot him a winning smile as she shrugged her shoulders.

"You weren't paying attention, string-bean, so I whacked you. Just like I'm gonna whack-" she swung her saber so fast it almost didn't seem like it moved at all. There was a loud thwang as the saber bounced off another saber, and Cale grinned down at her.

"I'm paying attention now, slowpoke," and he went out thawking away at Rey's guard, who started dancing around like a lithe dervish. That was until he finally tripped her up and she fell to the sand. Before he could make the move to 'finish' her, another saber appeared from nowhere and a red Twi'lek girl threw his blade back with a childish growl.

"Don't even think about it, pink skin," the girl said as she pulled Rey to her feet, "or I'll redecorate that pretty face of yours."

"Oh stay out of this, Kali," Cale snorted, "me and Rey have a long score that needs settling. Wait a second, did you just say I'm pretty?"

"Of course she does, you big adorable goofball," the younger Rey grinned, "and Kali? Please do stay out of this. We were making-"

"Progress?" another, much older voice said endearingly from the shadows and Rey's heart suddenly jumped.

"Dad," she whispered as a tall man sporting a beard towered over ever one present, bearing a smile that only happy fathers could as he grinned wolfishly down at Cale.

"And just what progress is that, Cale Solo? Hmm?"

"Uh… progress on our lightsaber skills, Sir." Cale said, sweating bolts, "yessir, lightsaber progress. Um… yeah."

"Um, dad?" the younger Rey said with a face like a cordial apple, "W-what he means to say is-"

"Oh, I heard him loud and clear, kiddo," her father's smile broadened, "and I'm embarrassed at you, little one. Cale over there tripped you up like a rank amatuer. Did A'Sharad not teach you anything on Tatooine?'

"Um…"

"Oh kriff it!" Cale admitted, "progress in the way my dad had with mom!"

The battle master couldn't help but chuckle at the young man, "I like your honesty and gusto, kiddo," he said, "but know this, you do anything with my daughter, I will put you through one of my more... rigorous, training regimens until you wish you were dead. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir," he said sheepishly.

"Also, language," and an invisible hand slapped him across the scalp, and the older Rey couldn't help but burst out laughing at the image.

"Oh come on, dad! Why were you so mean to him? Oh, that's right," she rolled her eyes playful, "'he's a Solo. Scoundrel runs in his veins. Gotta be taught a lesson, yada yada.'"

Her father turned quite suddenly then, staring right at her. Rey's breath was caught in her throat and she took an instinctual step back, her eyes waiting expectantly for what would come. It never did however, and instead he just smiled to all around with his arms spread.

"Children," he said, drawing the hilt of his saber, "goofing around with your sabers is all good and fun, believe me I did it when I got mine. But life is not quite so easy, lemme tell you. Now, show me what you have-"

"INCOMING!" a sudden scream tore across Rey's mind as she dropped to a knee in its direction, her mind becoming focused to a sudden realization of danger. In that moment, day turned to night, and night turned to chaos as flashes of fire filled the air. Everything smelled like cordite and fear.

She turned to see a sky on fire as thousands of ships danced a lethal walts of blaster bolts illuminating the night and filling it with an endless, deafening whine. Suddenly, she felt herself being enveloped by a panicking crowd, screaming and cursing as she was swallowed in the madness.

"Wait-" she tried to scream, but she sank to the bottom of the onrushing feet, the weight sure to crush her beneath their damnable weight.

"This planet is ours, Jed'dai!" a voice like thunder ripped across the air as a Jedi wearing the garbs of a Knight was sent hurtling into a wall amidst a torrent of blinding red electricity. The crowds dispersed, running for their lives down the hall as a figure appeared in the doorway. Then a weapon was drawn, and the illumination of a sheen as red as blood filled the air with a dull hum.

"That's not a lightsaber," Rey noted as she rose to her feet, studying what she quickly deduced to be a vibro-sword, and even odder, an Aquillan Spathic blade at that. Before she could make a further deduction, the familiar sound of a lightsaber igniting drew all eyes to the end of the hall as its owner growled with a grim confidence.

"Guess again, you Sith wannabe."

"Dad," Rey gasped.

"Finally," the Sith said with satisfaction heavy in his voice, "a Jed'dai worth killing."

"Come on, then," and the Battle Master threw himself at the Sith, his blade crashing into his, "time to meet your maker."

"You first, Jed-dai. You can save me a seat in Elysia."

The Aquillan moved like grease lightning, but her father was even faster. As the Aquillan threw away the man's guard, he was blown away by a Force Push like a gunslinger quick drawing. He went head over heels out the entrance, but before her father could pursue, a half dozen scarlet blades ignited down the hall.

"Dad, run," Rey said, though she knew it was pointless. He would never run, and with a smile he spun to face his opponents, his sapphire blade held with the confidence found only in veteran warriors. The enemy came, and he battled them with a fierce and fiery determination. Yet, there were six of them, and though they lagged greatly in their skill compared to the Battle Master, their numbers still counted.

Fortunately, he would not have to fight them alone. A silver blade appeared like an angel of death, decapitating one of the attackers as the two Jedi went back to back.

"Corran!" her father shouted, deflecting and stabbing an attacker as he did, "The south entrance-"

"Overrun!" Corran shouted back as he handily cleaved away an enemy's fighting hand, "The Sun Guard have dug in there!"

"Sun Guard?" Rey asked in disbelief. "How can that be? Those Sith wannabes were betrayed by Sidious and Dooku at the end of the Clone Wars. What are they doing here?"

"Find Ti and K'Kruhk!" her father shouted, interrupting her thoughts, "Get the kids to the hidden passages! Get them off planet!"

"But what about you!?" Corran shouted, suddenly whipping his blade around and swiftly dispatched another of the shadowed attackers coming up behind him.

"Kanan, Kyp and I will hold them off as long as we can! Now get the hell out of here!"

"Why? So that you can run away and hide again like the cowards you are?" the voice asked in the gloom before the Battle Master was sent flying back into a wall and into another corridor. Rey got up to her feet and ran, desperation fueling her flight as she barrelled through a shifting reality turning to darkness and light all around her.

She rounded the corner, and there he was: her father in the fight of his life against a man wearing a silver suit of armor, a mane of purple and back hair sprouting from his helm as his violet cape danced in the air. He became almost elemental in that moment, like rage and malice given form as his blade whistled its death note.

For a handful of moments, Jedi and Sith fought, their movements incomprehensible blurs that not even Rey with all her enhanced senses could fully discern. She remained rooted to the spot, staring with jaw agape as her heart pounded like an engine. A second passed, and then another before quite suddenly the combat climaxed into holding action, her father's saber pressed against the Force-imbued blade.

With a ragged and tired smile, her father chuckled softly, "We'll soon see which of us is the coward here, tinman."

With this he heaved with all his might and threw the Aquilian back several paces, his off hand held in the air as lightning began to crackle from his fingertips. The air turned to ozone when with a mighty roar, her father threw the bolt of blinding white electricity at his attacker. Then, with the crack of thunder, the lightning struck home, but not against flesh and metal.

From his own fingertips had emerged lightning crimson as a blood moon, the current crashing into the opposing force as the two combatants dueled with the elements. "Impressive," the Sith chuckled, "but not very Jed'dai of you. Are you sure you're fighting for the right side, 'Battle Master?'"

"Are you?" her father grinned as he poured all of his will and power into his attack, the Sith across from him following suit in equal measure. The ball of contact grew and grew as more power fed it, becoming unstable with each passing second as the crackles of white and scarlet torched all it contacted. Yet, neither man seemed to notice, only focused on killing the other.

Rey raised a desperate hand, shouting in fear, "Dad, no!"

Then the room exploded and she was thrown to the ground, her eyes blinded by the illumination. When she recovered, the echoes were gone. She took in a deep shuddering breath, pushing herself off of the cold stone floor as she came to realize where she was. The hallway had been melted into fine sheen glass, and Rey collapsed to her knees at the sight of it.

"So," she said in a haunted voice, tears streaming down her cheeks as she shook her head bitterly, "this is what you wanted to show me?" she curled her hands into fists as she spat, "Why?"

There were footsteps behind her. She expected to hear Poe or Han or one of the Rangers call to her, ask her what she was doing. Instead, there was a silence and the air grew frigidly cold. She turned very slowly, and saw there a tall hooded figure standing in the doorway.

"Who are you?" she asked, but the figure didn't speak and in a moment he took off at a desperate run. Rey immediately sprang to her feet, but by the time she got to the threshold, he was gone. Then his footfalls began to echo through halls of cobblestone, prompting her to follow the sound until she came upon a security room.

"No," she gasped, attempting to turn away but some invisible kept her rooted to the ground. The wail of the dead and dying filled her ears, Rey clamping her hands to them as she fell to the floor and screamed, "No! NO!"

The Temple however did not listen, and in a moment she found herself in the room. The emergency lights painted it a dull red flickering back and forth with with the darkness. All around her were bodies of dead Rangers and Jedi, and she was about to cry in anguish when she saw one of them stir. Righting herself and forcing her mind to focus, she felt life still beating in each of them.

"I don't understand," she shook her head, "why are you showing me this?"

"What have I done?"

She turned around, and she found the man she'd grown to love sitting there at the security terminal. Tears were streaming down his face as he studied the footage on the screens, his face becoming a hollow mask of grief and self-directed rage.

"Cale," Rey whispered as she rose carefully to her feet, "why did you do this? Why?"

She came around behind him, peering over his shoulder at what he was looking at, and doing so made her heart sink even further. The Jedi and the people they'd come to call family were dying, all because of this single act of betrayal, and Rey could feel every ounce of it crushing Cale's soul. He closed his eyes, letting out a shuddering breath as he tried to tune it out but couldn't; his hands gripping the arms of the chair so tightly his fingers dug into the metal.

Rey let out a gasp as a sudden sting struck her side, and the sound of blaster fire rang from the terminal. Her eyes went wide, and she felt Cale's doing the same as Rey herself came into view one of the monitors, running with sheer desperation.

"I remember now," Rey nodded, "they'd found me. I was trying to find dad, and they started chasing me. They," she felt her side were the scar was, "shot me."

Soon enough, men in black came into view, and on another screen, a small cadre of children flanked by the battered and wearied Corran Horn, Shaak Ti and K'Kruhk were likewise being pursued and cornered in a dead end of powerless doors.

"No!" Cale growled, rage as hot as a forge exploding from him as he slammed his fist into the table, leaving a dent, "Not them. Not her!"

He began to press the buttons on the console, and the power sprang back to life. Cale then shot his hand up to his ear, like as though he had a comlink there, and he suddenly snarled, "No, Praetor. I agreed to let you in. I didn't agree to let you butcher them. Besides, our work is done. The Jedi won't be able to stop what's coming."

He then deactivated the comlink and sat back in his chair as Jedi all around were finally able to start making their retreat. He sighed deeply, turning his body gaunt and almost skeletal in appearance, all the color drained from his cheeks as he shook his head, "I'm damned either way. But at least," he choked on the words and he forced himself to say it, "at least she… they'll, make it out alive."

Rey's hands clenched into fists, her knuckles turning white and blood seeped through her fingers. "You idiot!" she screamed at him, "I was the only reason you turned back on the power!? My father might be dead because of you, you… you idiot!"

She threw herself at him, hoping to tackle him out of the chair and… what? She didn't know what she would do, but she didn't care. Yet when her fingers touched the briefest strands of his dark hair, he was gone. She fell to her knees in an uncaring void without sound or reason, and all she could do was weep.

"Why?" she cried to the void, "Why?"

"Rey?"

Her eyes snapped open. She hadn't moved from the bannister, and looking up at the sky, she realized it was evening.

"Hey," Poe's hands took her by the shoulders, "are you okay? The Rangers told me you've been standing here for hours."

"Hours?" she mused, "I… I'll never understand this temple."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing," she sighed, "has Finn been questioned yet?"

"No, they're just about to. It's why I came to get you."

"Okay," she nodded, wiping away her tears with her sleeve, "then let's get going then."