Planet of Tzamura:

Rey is sitting on a large meadow, beautiful forests surrounding her. She sits in meditation. Luke is standing not far off.

"The Dark Side feeds off emotion" Luke says. "The stronger the emotion, the more power the Dark Side can draw from it."

"Like anger and jealousy?" Rey asks.

Luke nods. "And love" he says, something that makes Rey lose focus and turn to look at him. "It was love that turned my father against the Jedi. The love for my mother."

"But how can you defeat the Dark Side if anger, hate and love makes it stronger?" Rey asks. "Are you saying I should live a life without love?"

Luke sighs. "That was part of the reason why I decided not to train you" he says. "Why I wanted you to grow up like an ordinary girl. I saw what Jacen had to give up, what he had to sacrifice. When your mother died, I… I didn't want you to give up all that. To never truly… feel."

"What was she like?" Rey asks.

Luke sits down next to Rey and lets out a slow sigh. "She was… fiery. Her hair bright red. Her soul wild and untamed. So unlike anyone I had ever met before. It was easy to fall in love with her. It was harder to live with her."

"Tell me how she died" Rey asks, slightly hesitant.

Luke hangs his head as memories cloud his mind with dark thoughts. "A noghri-assassin, sent by Thrawn, tried to kill me. Mara pushed me to the side and took the poison-dart meant for me. The poison worked fast." Luke shakes his head. "You were only three years old. After that, everything changed."

Rey takes it all in, it is difficult to listen to. "Jacen told me how he betrayed you. How he helped the Knights of Ren attack your academy. He took me away. Saved me from being killed."

"Jacen loved you like a sister" Luke says, almost with a smile. "Han and Leia never had any more children. So when you were born, Jacen practically adopted you. Looked after you, protected you. He always defended you." Luke sighs and looks at the sky. "I thought you died with the others, that day the Knights of Ren attacked. It was too much to bare… so I left. I suppose, leaving you on Jakku was his way of still looking after you, even after he had joined the Knights of Ren."

"On Creels ship" Rey says, "he turned on the Knights of Ren. Helped me defeat them. Could he… could he still be protecting me?"

Luke nods. "I think he is. Your bond is strong. You are both Skywalkers. The Force is strong our family. The Emperor could not brake that bond. Creel could not brake it. Deep within, Kylo Ren is still Jacen Solo, your cousin."

"Could I turn him back?" Rey asks. "If he has not forsaken his true self, there must be a chance for me to reach out to him. To reach out to Jacen."

Luke frowns. "He murdered his own father. And he made sure his mother would die. And he almost had me killed when he let the Knights of Ren attack my academy and kill all those boys and girls."

"Yet, he made sure I survived" Rey points out. "He took me to Jakku to hide me from Creel. He fought with me against the Knights of Ren. He wanted me to join him to rule the First Order." Rey pauses and considers what it could mean. "It's like you said, I'm like a sister to him." She turns to Luke. "I can reach him. I can turn him back. I have to try."

Luke nods. "I suppose you do. But be careful. The Dark Side is treacherous and should not be underestimated. Always remember what you stand to lose when given the choice to join him. Never forget what you will lose."

Planet of Baramon, Republic Capitol:

A small freighter lands on a platform where Maz Kanata is waiting. Leaving the ship is Lando, Zorii and Jannah.

"Well?" Maz asks. "What news?"

Lando sighs. "I have used all favors I could collect upon. Nothing indicates that a secret army has been smuggled into Republic space."

Jannah shrugs her shoulders. "No one has seen or heard anything about secret cloning facilities within the First Order."

Zorii is next to speak. "The only thing that stands out recently is that Sky Marshal Yorrick intercepted an unidentified vessel in the Karyan system and destroyed it as it tried to jump to hyperspace. If it was a smuggler, pirate or a First Order surveillance vessel we will never know."

"Who knows" Lando says. "With a little luck, Yorrick might have destroyed the ship carrying those clones."

Maz gives it some consideration. "I am not in the habit of providing luck much trust. You have done well. Rest now. I will have need of you soon enough."

Elsewhere on Baramon, Holdo is walking down a corridor of a government-building together with Yorrick and Maz.

"I'm sorry, Sky Marshal" Holdo says, "but I will not condone the attack you are suggesting at this time. We have no confirmation that the First Order have the facilities needed, to create a clone-army of the size they need, to launch their attack. Nor that their bases are training the amount of recruits we are talking about."

Yorrick is not pleased. "Chancellor, if I may; the First Order could have hidden such installations in any number of systems that they control. Just because our spies have not found them doesn't mean that they don't exist."

"We are already winning the war, Sky Marshal" Holdo points out. "The First Order are low on resources, manpower and support and simply can not contend with us for much longer. Why then should I order a quarter of the fleet to enter First Order territory to conduct a preemptive strike? Besides, we are about to formally form an alliance with the Holqawa Confederacy. With their armies and fleets on our side in the war against the First Order, the war will be practically over. With the Holqawans as our allies, not even Coruscant and the Imperial Alliance will dare threaten us." Holdo stops by a doorway. "Now, if you excuse me, sky marshal, general, but I have an important meeting to attend."

Holdo steps through the door and it closes behind her.

"You know I'm right" Yorrick says as he turns to Maz. "A quick end to the war will save billions of lives."

"I agree" Maz says. "But not if we act too quickly and surrender the initiative to the First Order and the Supreme Leader. I wonder if you are too eager to launch this attack, sky marshal. You have always argued in favor of a war of attrition and now we are winning. So why all of a sudden this change of heart?"

"All I want is an end to the war, general" Yorrick says with a frown. "And if you do not argue in my favor, billions of lives will be on your head the coming years."

Yorrick leaves with determined strides. Maz sighs.

"I wonder" Maz says to herself. "I wonder."

In her grand office, Holdo sits down behind her desk and activates a transmission-frequency. "Prime Minister Plaquawa" Holdo says. "This is Chancellor Holdo. We are speaking on a secure frequency."

In front of her desk, a humanoid appears in the shape of a hologram. But to Holdos great surprise, and terror, it is a hologram of Kylo Ren! Holdo reaches over to sound the alarm, but Kylo holds out his hand and Holdo gets hoisted into the air while being Force Choked! She struggles to breath while she is dealing with the pain.

"Chancellor Holdo" Kylo Ren says. "Finally we have chance to talk. I have been looking forward to this for quite some time. I only regret it is under such unfortunate circumstances."

Outside, in the corridor, Maz senses something is amiss and turns. She walks up to the door leading to Holdo's office and opens it. As the door slides open, she sees what is going on. Kylo turns to look at Maz and then pushes her away from the door and then the door slides shut. Maz runs up to the door and tries and open it but it doesn't move!

"Help!" Maz then calls out. "Help! The chancellor! The chancellor needs our help!"

In the office, Kylo turns his attention back at Holdo. "Your friends can not save you. I just wanted to have a chance to talk to you before you died. It wouldn't be right if someone else killed you."

Outside the office, guards and others working in the government runs up to try and help Maz in opening the door, but no-one succeeds, despite desperate attempts. A BB-droid even tries to hook up to the door and open it via a droid-socket.

In the office, Kylo looks straight at the struggling Holdo. "I will admit that you have been a great nuisance. You have held the Republic together. My mother would have been proud of you. But it can not last. It will not last. Because I will destroy it all. And it all starts with you... Right now."

Holdo's head snaps once, then twice, and then the body flies into the wall and lands in a heap on the floor. Holdo is dead. And the hologram of Kylo fades. The moment he vanishes, the door opens and Maz and the others run inside and over to the body of Holdo.

Maz places a hand on the body and sighs. "She's dead."

Holqawa Confederacy Homeworld:

Kylo Ren is standing in a room filled with dead holqawa officials, killed by him and his lightsaber. He turns and leaves the room and walks out into a great hall filled with stormtroopers and officers, the room showing signs of combat. Other holqawas are scattered on the floor, shot dead. Kylo walks past it all and out onto a platform where his shuttle is waiting. As he walks to the shuttle, we see a great city spreading out around him and three Star Destroyers hovering over the skyscrapers, dozens and dozens of TIE Fighters patrolling the skies.

Planet of Baramon, Republic Capitol:

Maz and Yorrick sit in a meeting with high ranking Republic senators and officers.

"It is confirmed" a Gran senator says. "The Holqawa Confederacy has surrendered to the First Order. And the First Order has replaced parliament with the formerly exiled royal family and reinstalled them as the rightful regime."

"A puppet-regime" another senator fills in, "ready to do the First Orders bidding."

"Senators, fellows officers" Yorrick says. "In one bold move, the First Order has increased their territory by a full quarter as they now annex the Holqawa Confederacy. And the resources we had hoped could be used to end the threat of the First Order, is now at the disposal of the Supreme Leader to be used against us instead. We must act decisively to counter this threat."

A Rodian senator turns to Maz, speaking her own language. "General Kanata, do you support the Sky Marshal's assessment of the situation?"

Maz glances at Yorrick and then looks back at the senators. "I don't believe that the holqawan fleet is that much of a threat to us. It is their resources that has the most value to the Supreme Leader. It will be months, maybe years, before those resources will start to have an impact on the war."

Yorrick frowns. "It is not ships and resources that worries me" he growls. "We know that there is a strong possibility that the First Order is planning to attack us. To destroy our shipyards."

"With an army they don't have" a senator points out.

Yorrick looks at them all. "Until now" he tells them. "The First Order now controls the holqawan clone-army. The stage is set. They will attack."

Yorrick and Maz look at each other. The senators and officers look at each other with troubled expressions and whisper and murmur between one another. Then, a human senator turns to Yorrick.

"Sky Marshal Yorrick" the senator says. "In the interest of the Republic, you are granted mandate to launch an assault against the First Order fleet, before they are ready to attack us in full. You may proceed at will, Sky Marshal."

Elsewhere on Baramon, Maz hurries through corridors and enters a room with determination, where she finds Lando, Zorii and Jannah.

"My friends, we have work to do."

Lando doesnt seem surprised. "Holqawa'weyu?" he says.

Maz nods. "Holqawa'weyu."

Planet of Tzamura:

Rey moves between rocks in a river towards a giant waterfall that crashes down in front of her from above. Luke is watching, standing on the shores of the river together with R2D2. Rey reaches a large rock, finds her footing and then reaches out with a hand and then focuses. It takes time, but slowly, she is creating a rift in the waterfall, splitting the water like it hit a divide on its way down.

"Do you feel the water?" Luke asks. "Do you feel the power of it? The untamed strength of nature?"

Rey nods, eyes closed. "Yes!"

"You can draw strength from it" Luke says. "The Force connects with the waterfall, with the energy within it. That energy you can use. You can connect to it and let it flow through you."

"Like a battery powering up?" Rey asks.

Luke sighs and shakes his head. "Like a luminous being in touch with the cosmos" Luke then says. "Not crude matter, not flesh being drowned, but spirit and energy merging."

The Falcon flies in overhead and circles the location, gaining both Luke and Reys attention. Rey climbs a small hill, closely followed by R2, to reach the Falcon where it has landed and sees Finn stepping outside.

"It's time, Rey" Finn says.

"For what?"

"We're attacking the First Order head on" Finn says. "We're ending the war."

Republic Flagship, The Raddus:

The Millennium Falcon flies in towards a huge Republic warship, The Raddus, surrounded by a smaller squadron of cruisers. Finn, Rey, Chewie and R2 leave the hangar on the Raddus and run into Poe and BB-8 almost immediately.

"Have you guys heard?" Poe asks.

"Is it true?" Finn wonders.

Rey is not up to speed. "What are you on about?"

Poe is excited. "Rumor has it we are attacking the First Order homeworld."

"Not likely" Finn says, not believing it. "The Republic wouldn't dare take the risk."

"Well, they're up to something" Poe says. "And the flagship wouldn't be this close to the front unless they're planning something big. I mean bigger than anything before."

"Calm down" Rey says. "I'm sure we'll find out soon enough."

In a hangar-bay, Rose is climbing on Poe's FT-6 Pike fighter, doing some tuning on its systems. She spots six larger transports entering the hangar and settling down. Rose climbs down from the fighter and finds another crewmember.

"Major" she says and gains the mans attention. "What's with the cargo-haulers?"

"Classified, ensign" the man tells her. "That's all I know. The Sky Marshal brought them with him and everyone onboard is under strict orders to leave those ships alone. Rumor has it that they're carrying new weapons that will take the First Order nerf herders by surprise. They wont know what hit 'em."

Rose nods as she listens and wipes her hand with on a rag.

Rey, Finn, Chewie, Poe and the two droids enter a large briefing-room that is already filled with pilots, officers and other crew. Our heroes find a place to sit as Sky Marshal Yorrick and Maz enters the room and walks over to the podium. Everyone turns silent as Yorrick prepares to speak.

"Evening" Yorrick tells the gathered. "I don't see the need to hold back on what we're about to do. We are going to attack the First Order and strike at the heart of its leadership. Reconnaissance to Holqawa'weyu has confirmed that Grand Admiral Armitage is personally overseeing the occupation of the Holqawa Confederacy, commanding the occupation from his personal flagship, The Xiphos." A hologram of the Star Destroyer appears in the room. "The flagship is protected by an escort of twenty-five warships, including two more Star Destroyers." These ships also appear as holograms. "Currently deployed in orbit over Holqawa'weyu. But there's more. We have learned that the Supreme Leader himself is overseeing the installment of the royal family to govern the Holqawa Confederacy in the name of the First Order." Twelve more ships appear as holograms, of which four are Star Destroyers. "This fleet, of thirty-seven warships, in orbit over the holqawan homeworld, is our target, ladies and gentlemen. We will go in with a hundred ships and pin them down and destroy them. Our objective is to not let Grand Admiral Armitage, or the Supreme Leader, to escape. The orders from the Senate are clear; kill or capture. Preferably the former. We have a real chance to end the war, my friends. While we attack the Supreme Leader head on, a quarter of the Republic fleet will attack sixteen strategically vital systems along the frontline and deep within First Order held territory. We will not only break their spirit, we will break their backs. The First Order will never expect it. They will be taken by complete surprise. May the Force be with us."

As the briefing ends, people get up and leaves. Maz and Yorrick walk over to our heroes.

"Major Skywalker" Maz says. "May I introduce, Sky Marshal Yorrick. Commanding officer of the Republic navy."

"Sir!" Rey says and stands at attention, as does Finn and Poe.

"Stand down, pilot" Yorrick says and shakes Reys hand. "I just wanted to shake your hand. It's not every day you get a chance to meet a real-life Jedi, and the apprentice of Luke Skywalker no less. I hear you are fast becoming as skilled a pilot as Commander Dameron here."

"I got nothing on her" Poe says. "She's put her fighter through some moves I didn't think were even physically possible."

"Good" Yorrick grins. "That's exactly what we'll need when we reach Holqawa'weyu. Give 'em hell, pilot."

Yorrick walks off, but Maz stays. "Once we get there, be careful my friends" Maz says. "I don't trust the Supreme Leader to simply sit out in the open, waiting for us to attack."

"Who knows" Finn says, "we could be lucky."

"We would be truly lucky, indeed" Maz says.

"You think we're walking into something?" Poe wonders.

Maz sighs. "I don't know. But it feels like Kylo Ren has goaded us to attack him. Killing Holdo, getting his hands on a clone-army. And now we are ready to launch an all-out assault? I don't like it. So please, be careful."

Rey smiles. "We'll try our best."

Later, back down in the hangar. Rey and Poe enter the hangar-bay, both dressed as Republic pilots, followed by BB-8 and R2. The hangar is organized chaos as pilots and crew prepare fighters for the coming battle. Rey takes note that people are looking at her as she walks past.

"What's wrong with people?" Rey says to Poe. "Is there something wrong with the flight-suit?"

"It's just hero-worship" Poe says. "You are Rey, the last living Jedi. You trained with Luke Skywalker, a legend, the man who destroyed the Death Star! You've become the best starpilot in the entire fleet. Well, apart from yours truly of course, but second-best at least." Poe puts his hand on Reys shoulder. "You're a war-hero, Rey, whether you like it or not."

Rey and Poe walk up to their two fighters, their droids being hoisted into position. Crew removing fuel-lines and power-cables from the hull of the fighters. Rose walks up to them.

"You're good to go. Please try and bring them back in one piece this time."

"No promises, Rose" Poe says and climbs the ladder to the cockpit. "There's this small problem with First Order pilots trying to shoot at me."

"And turbo-lasers" Rey adds as she climbs her ladder.

"And missiles" Poe say as he sits down in the cockpit and puts on the helmet.

"Mines" Rey adds, putting on her helmet.

Poe's canopy beings to close. "Torpedoes" he says.

Rey pushes the button that closes her canopy. "Debris from destroyed ships."

"Friendly fire" Poe says just before the canopy seals the cockpit.

Rose shakes her head and walks off.

Elsewhere in the hangar, Finn is carrying a backpack over his shoulder and is heading towards the Millennium Falcon. Chewie and four other aliens are carrying crates onboard. The aliens are a sullustan named Niel Nubub, a drabatan named Poqmoq, a tognath named Lagro and a dark grey-haired gigoran named Froff. They speak their own alien languages between one another. As Finn gets closer, they tell him what needs to be done.

"I don't understand that" Finn tells Niel. "You need to slow down" he tells Poqmoq. "I don't even know if you are using words or just making sounds" he tells Lagro. Then, Froff walks up to him, says nothing and hands him a large bag and points at the ship. "Sure thing, buddy" Finn says and carries the bag, plus his own, onboard.

Over by the fighters, Rose gives Poe and Rey the OK signal to take off. The two fighters lift and flies out of the hangar.

Republic Fleet:

Outside The Raddus, Poe and Rey join formation with dozens and dozens of other fighters, flying through a fleet of a hundred warships. Poe checks his instruments.

"This is Black Leader. Black Squadron, call in."

"Black Two, ready."

"This is Black Three, standing by."

"Black Four, ready."

"Black Five, ready and waiting."

"Black Six" Rey says, "standing by."

A large formation of close to thirty SF-17 bombers joins the fleet.

"This is Gold Leader" a pilot and leader of Gold Squadron says. "Fleet command, Gold Squadron is standing by. Waiting to make the jump to lightspeed."

"Blue Squadron is good to go" another voice is heard over the radio.

"This is Red Leader, Red Squadron is ready and eager to get going."

"Green Squadron is ready, Fleet Command."

Poe checks his instruments. "Fleet Command, this is Black Leader. Black Squadron is ready. Waiting to go to hyperspace."

The Falcon flies through the large fleet and comes out in front of it together with all the fighters. In the cockpit, Chewie is the pilot, Largo is the co-pilot and Niel and Poqmoq are crew behind them. Chewie growls in his head-set. Largo gives the thumbs up. Niel says something and Poqmoq begins to laugh. Froff, the giant gigoran, is jammed into the ventral gun-pit and he too chuckles. Finn, seated in the newly installed dorsal gun-pit, listens in his headset and doesn't get why everyone is laughing.

"What's so funny?" Finn asks. "I didn't get that. What's so funny? Come on guys. Was it something about me? Are you laughing at me? Did you make a joke about me?!" Froff calls up to Finn via the ladder. Finn looks down at Froff. "I can't understand a word coming out of your mouth! Or what ever you call that hole in your face."

In the cockpit, everyone is laughing, except for Chewie who is simply shaking his head.

Rey, sitting in her cockpit, surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of fighters, flies in formation. "R2, please take a look at that stabilizer again. I think it's playing a trick on us." R2 responds and extends his tools to deal with the issue.

Then, Rey hears Luke's voice. "Remember, let go of your conscious self and act on instinct."

Rey nods, closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and lets it out. "Alright… Let's do this."

The Bridge of The Raddus:

Maz is looking out the viewports at the large fleet. She is troubled. Sky Marshal Yorrick seems as confident as ever where he stands in the middle of the bridge.

"Alert the fleet" Yorrick says. "All craft… jump to hyperspace. Now."

The Republic Fleet:

Within a few short seconds, the fleet of a hundred warships and a thousand fighters, have made the jump to hyperspace.

To be continued...

When Luke tells Rey how her mother, Mara, dies, I have been toying with the idea of it being a flashback so we see the noghri assassin, since I think it might be cool to have the assassin carry an Ysalamiri in a cage or in a jar on his back or something to show how an assassin could sneak up on a Jedi, plus it would be a bit of fanservice. I dunno... Just a thought.