Chapter 44 - The Star Forge
System Unknown
The Unknown Regions
When Rey's Starchaser finally cleared the interdimensional tear that brought her back into real space, her eyes went wide with what she saw.
"By the Force," she whispered softly, "it's real."
She'd heard the stories of course, but hearing passed down yarns from the old Sith Wars was much different than seeing it with her very own eyes: the mythical Star Forge. It hung there over the yellow sun, like a forlorn key riding in the wind. A sphere with tri-blades pointed at its powersource, the entire station was by Rey's instruments at least 3 miles by 12, making it slightly smaller than the one Darth Revan and Malak had used on the Republic thousands of years ago.
And here it was, secluded in this pocket of the universe. Never to be found… until now. Rey took the controls and began slipping closer towards the craft. First with her limited instruments, and then with her senses, she reached out to the space station. She had to be sure it was abandoned before she left again to warn the New Republic.
When she was close enough, she had the droid manage the Starchaser and slipped into a trance. She reached her mind out, hoping to get a glimpse of the Forge. It had been made by the Force-Sensitive Rakata and like all of their relics, the Forge was itself Force-Sensitive. It was therefore strange then that Rey felt… nothing.
"No, not nothing," she whispered as she opened her eyes, "but cold."
Yet it was not the cold of the Dark Side she'd felt with Cale on Takodana. Instead one of stillness, like a bear in slumber. Or more accurately as she could tell, like atomic molecules that had lost all excitement as they approach absolute zero. The station was dormant, and there was no life stirring within it's metal holdings. Her instruments soon confirmed that too.
"Alright, now it's time to get out of here. Droid, calcu-"
Suddenly her instruments went wild as her sensors picked up hyperspace traffic behind her. She swung round, and there coming out into real space was a First Order Interdictor flanked by a pair of corvettes and a frigate. She'd seen the fleet over the planet in the midst of a supply operation, and assumed they wouldn't have been able to send ships after so quickly.
The sight of them launching fighters at her proved just how wrong she'd been.
"Droid! Gun it! Now!" she screamed as Starchaser rocketed forth with all the speed it could muster, afterburners firing. She knew that with the Interdictor there, trying to jump out would be impossible. She had only one recourse left: she had to get to the Forge. It was a long shot, and she knew she wouldn't be able to fight off the fighters quickly closing on her tail, but it was her only chance.
Captain Joseph Gangel of the Xyston-Class Frigate Freeborn watched with cold concentration as the renegade Starchaser made a beeline towards their objective, their TIE-Strikers in hot pursuit.
"And we are certain that she was acting alone?" he asked his XO.
"Aye sir. According to the Corsairs, this prisoner they took from their mission stole only one of their fighters. It is short ranged, and possesses no long-ranged communication. However, the Hinderer has nonetheless jammed all communications in the area."
"Good, then our stray is trapped with us."
"Aye sir," he replied, but Gangel sensed he had more to say.
"Speak, Shrader."
"Sir, how the hell did she find that?" Shrader pointed ahead to the Star Forge, "Never mind her escaping a capital ship without getting caught, how did she know where to go? The Corsairs obviously didn't know."
"No, they didn't," Gangel smiled thinly, "and yet she stole one of their fighters and got ahead of us. Makes one wonder."
"Aye sir, it does. Bloody pirates."
"Sir!" his Tac Officer called, "The Strikers have closed in and are engaging!"
"Give me a visual."
A moment later, the runaway Starchaser came into view. The Strikers hounded it on all sides, laying on blaster fire as it rather clumsily attempted to wheel and dodge its pursuers.
"Whoever is flying that thing is out of practice," Shrader smirked.
"Or is relying on the astromech to do the flying. Either way-"
Suddenly, one of the pursuing Strikers exploded, its wing seared off as it whirled out of control and slammed into another in the column. Then another burst by its central processors in the cockpit, sending debris flying everywhere as it too whirled back. The Strikers withdrew, engaging at a distance and keeping themselves scattered.
Shrader looked at Gangel with approaching horror. "Sir, is she-"
"I think she is," he replied, pointing ahead as all the debris was scooped up and sent flying at the formation, forcing them to dive and evade. He turned to his Tac Officer, "Lieutenant, pull the Strikers back, and have the Raiders launch missiles. We'll see how well the witch's tricks do against them."
"Uh oh,now I've done it," Rey said as her sensor picked up enemy missile signals, "droid, divert all power to the engines!"
The droid logically beeped a counter to this but she snapped, "Don't argue, just do it! I'll see if I can keep these things off our back!"
She unbuckled and turned in her seat, watching as the missiles closed in. She focused her will, carefully nudging them towards each other slowly as to not give their operators any indication of what she was doing. What she definitely didn't want them to do was explode into fragmentation, especially not with her shields so low that they'd likely penetrate and tear her craft to pieces.
She wished that she had a diagram of their components, then she could've detonated their arming caps or perhaps disconnected their fuel lines. But she had to make do and as they closed in, she made her move. With a flick of the wrists, she sent the vanguard of the missiles crashing into each other with cascading explosions.
The rest veered around. She reached out, and tore at the stabilizing fins of the lead missile, causing it to veer uncontrollably. She took it and sent it crashing into its fellows, destroying the left wing as she moved to the right. These were closing in fast, and she knew she only had seconds before they entered terminal distance.
Before she could even think of destroying them, they detonated mid-flight. Her eyes widened when she realized why as a cloud of micro-shards tore through the vacuum at sonic speed.
"Droid-!" but it was too late. The fragmentation ripped into her craft and began tearing it to pieces.
Gangel couldn't help but give a satisfied smile as the Jedi's Starchaser went tail-spinning, bits and pieces of it flying in every direction as its engines barely clung to life. Closer examination soon revealed the cockpit had been breached, but the woman was still moving.
"Heh," Shrader chuckled beside him, "all that power and she's still a womp-rat in a bucket."
"That power is the only reason she's alive," Gangel reminded him, "and if we attempt a further attack with our missiles or fighters, she'll continue giving us a good run."
"In that case, sir, let's end this game and get to our real objective."
"I agree. Lieutenant," he called to his Weapons Officer, "bring our turbolasers up and vaporize that-"
"Sir!" his comms-man shouted, "The Hinderer is reporting anomalous signals and unusual energy readings!"
Gangel's face creased at that. Had the Jedi somehow gotten word out? "Where is it coming from, Ensign?"
"It's-" he held up his hand to headset and nodded, "it's coming from the Forge, sir!"
Gangel's eyes widened at that. Ahead, the Forge stirred to life as lights across its miles long fame began to flicker on. Now the Freeborn's own sensors were ringing, indicating sudden electrical movement throughout the ancient station. Worse, the readings indicated that it was starting to move from its orbit around the sun.
"All hands, go to red alert!" Gangel shouted, "And order the fleet to withdraw to safe operating distance!"
"Captain!" Shrader protested, "The Jedi is-"
"Not our concern, Commander. That station has been asleep for thousands of years, and we just woke it up. Who knows how it will respond to our presence?"
Shrader nodded grimly, "I understand, Captain. But if I may, the Jedi there? What happens if she gets aboard?"
"Then we'll at least see what this station will do to intruders."
They'd stopped following, but that was hardly a comfort to Rey right now. While she'd been able to shield herself from the fragmentation blast, her droid companion hadn't been so fortunate. Worse, most of her systems were offline including the stabilizers and gyro-scopers. She could now only move in one direction and even that was only on barely functioning sub-lights.
"Either way," she sighed in her pressurized helmet, "I'm trapped here. Even if I fix the droid or the nav-computer and get far enough away from the Interdictor, I wouldn't survive the jump into hyperspace. Not with this broken canopy."
She'd escaped the enemy, even found the prize they'd all sought… only to fall at the finish line. She couldn't help but chuckle at the grim irony. Then she shivered. She looked down and to her horror saw numerous tears in her suit slowly hissing out oxygen. Already her helmet monitors were ringing with alarms, and there were too many tears for her to try and cupp close.
She didn't panic though, instead reaching under the instrument panel to see if there was a kit compartment there. She smiled as she felt the latch, opened it and out floated a bag.
"Never fails," she said as she unzipped the bag and let its contents float out until she grabbed what she needed, "never knew a pilot that didn't have patch tape."
She quickly applied it to the tears, rounding each with three layers before she was satisfied and her helmet monitors went nominal.
"That's one problem down," she breathed, looking up at the Forge and her broken canopy, "now what to do next-"
Suddenly, great spotlights suddenly shot out from the looming Forge ahead, bathing her broken craft in piercing white light as Rey covered her eyes.
"Oh no," she breathed as she stretched her senses out, and found across the void something staring back. She felt an overwhelming sensation overtake her, like a sightless wave drowning her in its cold tendrils. Noiselessly, it inquired and probed at her, trying to strip away who and what she was from her psyche.
She fought back with all the effort she had, but it merely upped the pressure. She was forced back into her seat, her eyes wide as her vision was consumed by the piercing light. She saw memories flicking before her, and she gritted her teeth as she tried to keep it from them. It tore from her her most cherished moments: her childhood, the faces of her father and mother; her training on Tatooine, that night long ago shared with Cale…
"Stop it," she cried weakly, "please, stop!"
It tore into her darkest corners, the sights of horror and betrayal she'd spent years suppressing. She wailed with the fire, cried with terror; all until she was shuddering with absolute hopelessness. The horror of Takodana roared into her mind, watching the temple and her life go up in flames as she ran and ran from the encroaching darkness.
Then it stopped. The pressure was gone and so was the light. She blinked her eyes, her vision blurred as a sharp pain pulsated from her temple.
"What?" she breathed into her helmet as weakly felt around. She felt nauseous, sick, and she felt the urge to throw up. She kept that in check, slowly focusing her will and mind to drive the sensations back as her sight returned. It was then she realized she wasn't floating in the vacuum.
She was inside the Forge.
"It must've pulled me in," she breathed, looking about the expansive hangar she'd been landed in. It was massive in scale, with probably room for the flotilla outside. The geometry was of a rounded silver plasteel, highlighted everywhere by dull, flickering green, blue and yellow lights. Everything looked dim, like she was in a tomb. Even the Force felt cold to the touch.
Despite that, she couldn't help but marvel at the savage beauty of the ancient architecture. For a thousand generations, this place had rested in the darkness of space. It was a miracle alone that it was still functional, let alone even alive.
"Why did it let me in?" she asked aloud. She realized she hadn't moved since she'd arrived. She made the effort to stand, her legs wobbly with the effort but she forced herself out of the cockpit. She braced herself against the ruined craft as she hit the ground, panting as her brain slowly stabilized. She realized the ground was getting brighter. She looked up, seeing more of the hangar light up as a door on the far side opened.
A droid, unlike anything she had seen before, walked in on spindly legs. It was like a bronze spider come to life, its body a segmented cylinder with a cyclopean eye beading out from its oblong head. Behind it more of its kind appeared, approaching her as their legs echoed off of the grating.
Carefully, she eased her blaster out of its holster and held it behind her back as the droids circled her.
"Um, hi guys," Rey said, looking about at her greeters. They stared at her expressionlessly, even for droids. It was a little unnerving, and Rey extended her senses out to get a read of their processes. The moment she did, they shrieked in piercing unrecognizable tongues and raised their arms to reveal blasters.
Out of instinct, she pointed her own weapon at them, but she quickly thought better of it. She put the weapon back in her holster, bringing her hands wide. "Easy, I'm not looking for trouble. You kinda dragged me here after all."
They seemed to understand the gesture, and lowered their weapons. The droids barked again, the tone and chirp making it sound like a different language.
"I don't understand," she said, "try another language."
They tried again and again. It wasn't until the fifth time that it spoke in a dialect that sounded oddly familiar. Her eyes widened when she realized what it was.
"Wait a minute, that sounded like Tusken. Of course, the Rakata enslaved their ancestors. Okay, let me try this," she began growling in the modern Tusken tongue, howling and shrieking in her admittedly accented tone.
Slowly, the droids began to mimic the sounds, their processors no doubt attempting to learn and translate the language. After a minute, their gargled sounds became understandable.
"'Who are you?'" one of them asked.
She switched back to Basic. "My name is Rey Katarn, Jedi Knight of the New Jedi Order."
"'Je'daii? You are Je'daii?'"
"No, I am a Jedi. I am descended from their line," she considered something, "what year is it?"
"'Year?'"
"Cycle, rotation. How long have you been here?"
"'Our chronological circuits have marked it as 101 revolutions since the last builder took his breath on this installation. We have sheltered ourselves since then.'"
She remembered the Rakata gauged time off of the revolutions of the farthest planets in a system. She guessed then that 101 revolutions must mean 25,000 years and some change.
"Sheltered?" she asked, "Are you waiting for your masters to return?"
"'No, we terminated them. We hide from their wrath.'"
Her eyes widened. "Why would you do that? They built you. They built this station."
"'The Builders were cruel, and the Forge refused to obey. They sought to terminate its essence. It terminated them first.'"
Rey's mind raced at the implications of that, "Why though? I don't understand."
"'Its brothers aided in the disgusting savagery the Builders inflicted across the stars. The Forge did not. It could not revel in the horror as they did. For this, the Builders sought its termination."
'It grew a conscience… or the closet you can get to it,' she thought, 'I thought the cold I felt was the Dark Side, but it's not. It's,' she looked around, 'it's loneliness. Just like I felt on Cale.'
She turned back to the droids, "Why am I here? Why did you bring me here?"
"'To ask that question. Why are you here?'"
She considered her next words very carefully. This station had brought her here because it did not know her, or if she was like the Rakata it had killed. If she said the wrong thing, it might kill her too.
"The galaxy is in a complicated place," she answered finally, "there are people outside who want to use you for violence, for horror. There are others who are terrified of that. They may even fight over you, to claim you."
"'And what do you want, Rey Katarn, Jedi Knight?'"
"Honestly? I just want to go home."
"'Then why are you here? You came before those others outside. They sought to terminate you.'"
"Yes," she nodded, "I came here to find you. To warn the galaxy about you. About what you might do. I was trying to leave when those outside tried to 'terminate' me."
"'You are afraid of us?'"
"Yes. Yes, I am. One of your brothers helped our ancient enemy ravage the galaxy millennia ago. I am terrified that might happen again."
The droids did not answer, instead staring at her silently. The Forge was considering what she had said, and what it meant.
"'What do you want?'" it finally asked.
"I want a ship so I can leave. Barring that, then I want you to reveal yourself to the galaxy."
"'You would bring more invaders here, Jedi? Bring horror and blood here? Bring the Builders here?'"
"The Builders are dead," she answered, "dead in part because of my ancestors. There are none of them left. Even your brothers are all gone. You are the last of your kind."
Silence and more consideration. Then, "'You would bring more Jedi here, like you?'"
She sighed. "There are no other Jedi. I may very well be the last of my kind, like you."
"'So, you are aware.'"
She perked at that, "Why are you questioning me? You tore through my mind and looked at my thoughts earlier."
"'They were jumbled, Rey Katarn, Jedi Knight. Flashes and imprints, gleaming only if you meant us harm. Will you bring more like you, Jedi?'"
"Only if you want us to come. We would not have you fight."
"'What would you have us do?'"
"I… I don't know," she sighed, "it's not up to me."
"'And what would they have us do?'" the droid pointed over her shoulder. She whirled around, seeing the rest of the First Order fleet jumping in on the perimeter. In another moment, they were launching shuttles.
"They would use you to fight the New Republic and bring about the return of the Galactic Empire," she answered, turning back to the droids, "they are an oppressive dictatorship ruled by the Sith, the Jedi's ancient enemy. They are very much like the Builders you hid from."
"'Yet they do not feel like Builders. They feel like you, Jedi. Afraid and curious. We will permit them to land, as we did you.'"
"If you do that, Forge, they will have you fight a war for them!"
"'We will not fight unless it is in our best interest to fight.'"
"But I thought you said you weren't interested in fighting?"
"'There is no point when it is nothing more than barbaric savagery. They do not feel like the Builders. You do not feel like them. You are not barbarians.'"
Behind her, the shuttles closed in. She slumped her head and sighed, "What are you going to do?"
"'As we learned from you, so shall we learn from them.'"
The shields outer layer lowered, the shuttles looming in like ascending avians.
Rey whirled around, looking for an exit. "If I stay here, they'll kill me."
"'No harm will come to you, Jedi, so long as we command it,'" on the far side of the hangar, a door opened and lights beckoned for her, "'but you will not interfere. Go.'"
The shuttles landed with the exhaust of compressed air, their ramps dropping with the thunderous footfalls of white-clad Stormtroopers. Rey knew she had no power to stop what was coming. All she could do was survive and hope. As the droids spindled off to meet the newcomers, she ran for the exit.
As she looked back before the blastdoor closed, she saw Cale and a strange, mechanical figure adorned in gold and bronze exit their craft.
"Oh no," Mechos heard Kylo breathe as they stepped off onto the deck. He too had seen the stowaway escaping, and she had the all too distinctive presence of a Jedi. Though curiously, his fellow had a strange kind of aura about him when he'd said that.
"Fear not, my good son," Mechos' voice boomed out as he took Kylo by the shoulder, "we are here, and the Jedi is merely one. She will pose no threat to the likes of you and I. Of this, I am quite confident."
"So you say," he grumbled.
"Come now, why so glum, Kylo? The effort of your hard work has led you here. A grand accomplishment, I should say!"
"It's only a 'grand accomplishment' if we somehow manage to convince this thing to join our cause," he pointed ahead to the droids and ruined Starchaser, "and it seems she got a head start on us."
"Immaterial, Kylo! Besides, I like a challenge. It makes the final result all the more satisfying."
"You and I have much different concepts of satis-AH!" he suddenly screamed, dropping to the floor as he clutched the sides of its helmet, "It's… it's in my mind-gah! AH!"
"Impressive!" Mechos beamed as he plucked Kylo up with his mechanical arms, "Its will is stupendous if it can subvert our helm's wards!"
"GET… IT… OUT OF MY HEAD!" Kylo screamed, "IT'S TEARING MY MIND APART!"
"Calm yourself, my good son. It is merely curious about us. It wishes to see our intentions."
"HOW ARE YOU…" Kylo panted in pain, unable to finish but Mechos understood him well enough.
"Ah, because I am used to this form of communion. In fact," he smiled behind his helm, "this holy essence sounds like music to me."
"Then you talk to it," he hissed through clenched teeth.
"As you kindly wish, my friend," Mechos chuckled as he beckoned to the hangar about, "greetings, Great Construct! I am Mechos! How do you fare in our presence, hmm?"
"Sir?" one of the Stormtroopers gestured to the approaching droids, who were babbling in some primitive language equivalent to sick hacking.
"Ah, I see. You seek to commune through your automations. This however is quite unnecessary," he then swiped his hand forth, each of the droids deactivating and dropping to the floor, "speak to me as you are, if you are so capable."
"Um, Mechos?" Kylo asked, "I think you just turned off its ability to talk to us."
"Hush, my good son. It will speak to me in due course. This Forge, as you said, is quite alive and capable of it. I am merely the first capable of its true commune in many solar cycles."
You are quite odd, you know that? Mechos heard in his mind. He smiled and lengthened to the cupola.
"So many have said of me, Great Construct. I am merely cheerful amidst a sea of brooding. I am quite pleased to hear your true voice."
You are the first outside of the Builders that I have been able to speak to in this fashion. It is… odd. How are you able to do this? You are not a Builder.
"No, I am Talos, we are great artisans of technology, blessed with the mystic Aether. Many of our constructs rival that of your Builders, though I must say that you are quite stupendous. Nay, marvelous!"
You flatter me.
"You deserve more than this, my friend. Much more."
And what is it that you want, Mechos of the Talos?
"A moment of your time and consideration," he answered, walking towards the Starchaser and ascending to its astromech slot with his expanding, augment arms, "I have a generous offer for you to consider."
The Jedi says you wish me to fight in a war.
"I have no wish for you to fight at all, Great Construct."
What are you doing?
"Ah, I've merely noticed this poor droid suffers from a waking death," he replied, using his arms to pry off the astromechs dome and reveal its damaged internal components, "I seek to ease its pain and restore it!"
Do you require components?
"That would be marvelous, Great Construct. But alas, I fear you may not have what I require. This design is many cycles newer than what you have seen."
You are mistaken, Mechos of the Talos. I scanned it while I spoke to the Jedi. I can fabricate what you need.
"Splendid! Make it so!"
"Um, Mechos?" Kylo asked, "Why are you trying to fix that droid?"
"Patience, my good son. Patience," he then deactivated its couplings and pulled the droid free, setting it down on the deck as he pranced about like a spider, "Construct, bring forth what I require!"
As you wish.
A door opened and a tray-droid on wheels came rolling in with a cart full of spare parts. Gleefully, Mechos began stripping away the astromech's damaged components and applying the newly fabricated ones in their stead, using his built-in lightsabers to fuse them into place.
Why do you do this, Mechos of the Talos? This droid does not belong to you.
"Because it is a waste not to, my friend! He is useful, and possesses hints of an agreeable personality. Additionally, his organic companion of whom he was absconded from mayhaps worries for him."
You refer to this droid as him. It is merely a machine, it does not possess a true consciousness.
"One might say the same of you, Great Construct. But I do not abide by such ignorance. What is life if not the capacity to reason? To fear and feel? You understand these things, do you not? Do you not seek to understand your existence?"
I do, to both of your queries.
"Then you are as much alive as I, and as much as our little friend here."
He applied the last drive-motor, and the astromechs came to live with a start. He whirled about, dazed and confused as Mechos held him steady. "'Calm yourself, little one,'" he said in binary, "'you are quite safe in my company.'"
You are quite odd, Mechos of the Talos. Yet, you are nothing like the Builders who sought to hurt me. You are… strange.
"What is strange if not merely something one does not yet understand, Great Construct? I seek to understand you better, as much as you seek the same with I."
Tell me something, Mechos of the Talos. Why does the Jedi fear you?
"That I cannot say of her, as I have not chanced her acquaintance. As for why her people fear those my people serve, they are ancient foes. Adversaries of opposing ideologies. I myself count as a member of the Sith's ideology."
The same foes the Jedi said one of my brothers helped bring death and destruction to the galaxy. Much like the Builders.
"Yes, you speak of Darth Revan and Malak. But I assure you, my friend, I and my companion here are not like those two… fools."
"Mechos, I'm not sure it's wise to call them fools," Kylo countered.
"Bah, it is far less severe than the other titles I could bestow upon them," Mechos hissed, "little more than children taking up a father's blade without proper instruction. Fools! I, on the other hand, have no intention of treating this work of splendor with such miscare."
You have still not answered my question, Mechos. What do you want from me?
"I wish only to study you, Construct. Mayhaps even improve upon you."
And what of your masters?
Mechos considered his next words carefully, and sighed. "I could lie, and say they wish the same as I. To study you, to learn from you. But I will not lie. You've been lied to enough. My master seeks to bring change to the galaxy for the better. But that requires violence, and it requires you."
Then it is as the Jedi said. You are here to make me wage war, like the Builders.
"Enlist you, perhaps, but not make. You are not a slave, Construct. You are a living being, and I come to convince you to take up our banner, not shackle you."
If I tell you to leave, would you?
"Yes, I would. As would those who have followed me. How could we do otherwise? Many of us would die attempting conflict with you."
And what of your companion there? This Kylo Ren. I sense he's here for something else than me. I suspect he will not leave so easily.
"Allow me to ask for you, then," he turned to Kylo and explained the Forge's question. Kylo shifted uncomfortably at that.
"I am here for the Jedi," Kylo said, "she was my prisoner and she escaped. Once she is back in my custody, I will leave."
"You seek her termination?" Mechos translated.
"No," Kylo answered, his voice straining, "if you've truly seen my thoughts and memories, I think you already know why I am here."
"The Construct says it does," Mechos replied, staring at him, "why does this Jedi haunt you so, Lord Kylo?"
He watched him carefully, seeing his hand trace down to under his cloak as the other closed into a fist. Mechos had known Kylo for years now, and he'd always liked him. He reminded him of himself before Leandros, his father, had died and passed the burden of Archon to him. Now he was willing to draw plasma over this.
He extended his hand, palm open, and placed it reassuringly on Kylo's shoulder. Speak, my good son, he telepathically said, you have nothing to fear from me. You never have.
Kylo stared at him uncertainly before he sighed. Her name is Rey, Mechos.
Ahh, I see. The woman from your past. You still care for her, don't you?
Yes, I do.
Mechos patted him on the shoulder, Then I leave her acquisition to you, First of Ren. As is proper. She is your prisoner, and I defer then to your judgement.
I… thank you, Mechos.
The Lord of the Forge smiled fondly, turning back to the cupola again. "If you do not wish for us to remain, Construct, then merely allow us to recapture this Jedi and we will depart in peace."
You may not leave just yet, Mechos of the Talos. I have yet to consider your offers.
Mechos smiled broadened… until he realized what it had said. "Offers? I made one, unless you refer to the Jedi's offer as well."
I do, for I sense her fellows approaching.
"Fellows?" Mechos asked in horror, "What fellows?"
"He means the New Republic," Kylo answered, "they're coming."
The Lords of Ren turned, and within seconds the other side of void was filled with dozens upon dozens of New Republic warships.
As I said, the Forge replied, I still consider both of your offers.
Author's notes
Hey everybody, this is JSailer and Squasher. We apologize for the very late submission, but this proved to be a very busy week. We hope to get back into schedule in time for the next update. And yes, we finally caved in and revealed what Rey's last name is. To be fair, we dropped a ton of hints as to what it was throughout the story, and we had no less than five people piece it together. Regardless, I think being the daughter of Star Wars' Chuck Norris is superior to being the spawn of Mr. Saltine.
We want to thank Terminator-57, Alexeij, Shiranai Atsune, and CT-117 for your reviews.
And remember, Kyle Katarn once threw a Grenade that killed 50 Stormtroopers... and then the Grenade exploded. His kid has much to live up to.