STAR WARS:
WAR FOR THE OUTER RIM
Episode 2:
The Sirens of Ahch-To, part 1
Written by IgnusDei
Spell-checking by WarpObscura
"One cannot walk towards the future without a foothold in the past."
-Luke Skywalker.
Once upon a time, in a forest of shadow and magic...
EXT - DARK FOREST - DAY
All is blackness, and a voice echoes in the dark.
THE WITCH (echo)
Rey...
WIDE SHOT of a dark forest, made up of gnarled, twisted trees, their bark both burnt and slick with sap, their branches bare save perhaps for the silken webs woven around them. The sounds of beasts and insects can be heard, distant and faint. PAN DOWN into the trees, between the branches, so thick they might as well be walls... until we reach a road, the trees arching over it. Crickets sing from the shadows, soon joined by wailing unseen KATARN WOLVES.
This is the DARK FOREST, or at least, a dream of it.
THE WITCH (echo)
Open your eyes...
Suddenly, a girl, scared out of her wits, rises into the frame. Her hair is wild and dishevelled; her face is covered. Her dress, a simple weave, is torn and dirty. This is REY, or at least, a dream of her. The wolves are aroused by her scent, the scent of prey, and food, and REY's eyes and head dart about to spot the source of the growls. Unwilling to wait for them and be devoured, REY stands up and flees down the path. As she runs past the trees, she spots eyes and teeth in the darkness, then the giggles of goblins and the grins of ghouls, and countless things that live in the dark, eager to devour a poor maiden like her.
Rey runs and runs, but the growls of the KATARN WOLVES grow louder, and she looks back to see the shadowed forms of horned hounds getting close and closer to their Prey.
THE WITCH (echo)
Don't be scared...
REY stumbles and nearly falls, but her footing holds. Her breath becomes ragged, her expression becomes more desperate. The growls are getting closer, the branches of the forest seem to close in on her... until she sees a light at the end of the path, which grows brighter and brighter, and then...
EXT - DARK FOREST CLEARING - FOREST MANSION - DAY
REY finds herself in a clearing in the Dark Forest, illuminated by a shaft of sunlight. Past the light she can make out a great tree, darkened but nevertheless alive with leaves that glow with blues and greens and purples even in the shade. At the center of the clearing, amidst wondrous flowers and oddly adorable spider familiars, there is a blindfolded woman in a long dark dress, its fabric embroidered with leaf patterns. Her hair is midnight, her skin is alabaster, her voice? A dream. She spins and spins in place, her hands reaching out to find something she cannot see. Her movements, just like the pollen around her, feel slow.
This is the WITCH.
THE WITCH (echo, playful and sing-song)
Rey? Reeeyyy, wheeeere aaaare yooouuu?
We assume REY's Point of View as she approaches the WITCH, and it becomes apparent that the woman is very tall, or that Rey is very small. A small pair of hands appear into the frame from below, holding with them a bouquet of freshly picked flowers. The hands are dirty, riddled with small cuts. The WITCH's own hands, with their graceful slender fingers, find REY's, and we see her smile under a dark silk veil as she removes her blindfold. Her eyes, though an eldritch gold, are filled with warmth and love, then worry as she sees the wounds on the child's tiny hands.
CUT TO: The child's face, awed by the very sight of the WITCH, so much so that the pain of her wounds might as well not be there. Her skin is almost as fair as the WITCH, through her eyes and hair are matching shades of hazel, just like her father.
CUT TO: Rey's point of view, as the WITCH whispers something which, even at a distance, feels like it is channeled straight into REY's ears. The words are a jumble, but they have power: the wounds glow and scab over, and when the incantation is done the WITCH blows air onto the wounds, causing to scabs to disintegrate and scatter to the winds, leaving only behind unmarked, unbloodied skin on Little REY's hands.
INT - DARK FOREST MANSION - NIGHT
The inside of the Mansion is pretty much one would expect the inside of a tree to be like, everything made up of the dried flesh underneath the bark. Everything was grown to suit a person's needs, from beds to shelves, from sinks to chairs. The walls and shelves were decorated with the WITCH's trophies, gear and sundries: A Rancor doll, a coiled LIGHTWHIP, a set of black VIBROKNIVES, bundles of clothes, specimen jars of eyes, bird hearts, mushrooms and eggs suspended in liquid... As for what couldn't be grown, it had to be carved and cut, such as the stairwell REY climbed up to follow the Witch.
From REY's POINT OF VIEW, the Witch beckons her to follow her, bouquet in hand. The WITCH doesn't step so much as float towards the fireplace, and she kneels besides it, so that REY can have a good look at the flower she picks from all the rest - a POPPY. The WITCH shifts the POPPY between her fingers, mutterring something, before crushing its petals and spreading over the open fire. Smoke emerge from the flames, taking various shapes, before settling into butterflies that fly all around REY, making her giggle. The Witch traces a symbol into the ashes with a fire poker, and beckons REY once again to come closer.
THE WITCH (echo)
This sign will protect you...
Rey tries to focus on the sign, but the trails of smoke the butterflies leave around her make her dizzy, and her sight blurs...
INT - RUINED FOREST MANSION - NIGHT
The lights go out, and the Witch is nowhere to be found. Rey looks at her hands, sees the dirt and scratches, and realizes she is grown and disheveled again. The Katarn wolves' growls barely register over the sound of thunder that pierces the darkness.
THE WITCH [Off Screen, Whispering]
Run... Rey, run...
The flashes highlight the shadowy silhouette of a hooded man in a cloak, frightening Rey so much she falls back on the ground. The cloaked man approaches, seemingly growing larger with every step, and every step resounding louder on the wooden floor.
REY (frightened)
Please... don't...
The figure looms, casting an imposing shadow over her. Something ignites in his hands, creating a burning pillar of green fire that pierces the roof and sets the entire mansion on fire.
REY
No... NO!
The figure holds the sword up, and then brings it down on REY, killing her.
INT - TENT - AHCH-TO SURFACE – MORNING
7 DAYS BEFORE THE BATTLE OF D'QAR
Rey's head comes into the frame as she shoots up from her cot, rivulets of sweat streaming down her face, hiding tears. The tent's entrance flutters in the wind, giving us a glimpse of the outside - a lightly clouded morning sky, over rocky horizons of muted grass and dirt. The sound of water waves crashing over rocks and beaches comes through the opening. We are on one of the Islands of the planet AHCH-TO. Suddenly:
REY
NOOO!
REY gasps in shock and fright, and gulps nervously as she looks around her makeshift tent, wary of danger, but finding none. She lets out a sigh of relief.
WOOKIE [in Shyriiwook]
Rey? Rey, are you alright?
REY (shouting)
I'm okay! Just... just give me a moment, I'll be right out!
EXT - AHCH-TO SURFACE - ANCIENT ISLAND - MORNING
Rey steps out of the tent, and takes a deep breath, savouring the air of the sea world.
The tent is revealed to be a piece of tarp supported by the side of an old, heavily modified YT-1300 Light Transport, better known across the Galaxy as the MILLENNIUM FALCON. Much of its top plating had been removed in order to effect some repairs on the ship, as it has suffered some damage during the long trip towards the sea planet of Ahch-To. A WOOKIEE with light brown fur and a bandolier strapped across his chest removes a part, examines it, shakes his head, and puts it back. This is CHEWBACCA.
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Nope, not the problem.
Below CHEWBACCA, a white and blue astromech beeps and whistles. This is R2-D2.
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
You just keep working on that comms interference.
If I can't fix the hyperdrive...
REY
You haven't fixed the Hyperdrive?
[hopeful]
...Do you need me to help?
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Oh, no, you're not touching anything - not after
pulling out that compressor regulator!
REY
Hey, I didn't know that would deregulate the Hypermatter containment unit!
CHEWBACCA (angrily, in Shyriiwook)
That's basic engineering! That's literally the FIRST thing they TEACH
in ANY ship's mechanic course! Jawas know not to pull a regulator out,
for crying out loud! You're lucky I caught the problem before we jumped
to Starkiller; we would have been splattered across the very
fabric of the universe!
REY winces at CHEWBACCA's growls.
REY
I'm sorry... but I just feel so damned useless, right now.
There's absolutely nothing to do here.
CHEWBACCA's shoulders sag.
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Look, I'm sorry, it's just that...
[pause]
I might have to field strip the hyperdrive later, and I could use
an extra pair of hands for it, so I'll call on you. In the meantime, check on the old man...
But before you do that, R2-D2 found a waterfall you could use.
REY
A waterfall? What for?
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
To take a shower, what else? You stink, girl!
R2-D2 (in binary)
Coming from a wookie, that's saying something!
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Shut it, droid! But seriously, you smell like happabore snot!
REY
Alright, maybe I do! but... what's a shower?
CHEWBACCA just stares at her in disbelief.
SMASH CUT TO:
EXT - AHCH-TO SURFACE - WATERFALL - MORNING
Rey, now clad in undergarments visible through a long, thin shirt that ends below her hips, stands beneath a waterfall, gasping in excitement. Besides her is a bottle of soap and a beige TOWEL.
REY
OH MY STARS THIS FEELS WONDERFUL!
CUT TO:
EXT - AHCH-TO SURFACE - MILLENNIUM FALCON LANDING - MORNING
Chewbacca keeps working on the FALCON. The waterfall is quite a ways in the background, and the bottom, where REY is showering, can't quite be seen. REY's joyous voice carries quite some way, it seems.
CHEWBACCA [shouting in Shyriiwook]
I'll bet you never saw that much water on Jakku, huh?
REY [shouting]
No, never! Do people on other planets really do this every day?!
CHEWBACCA [shouting in Shyriiwook]
So I'm told!
EXT - AHCH-TO SURFACE - WATERFALL - MORNING
CLOSE UP of Rey's face, her eyes closed as the water flows around her.
REY [To herself, softly]
Well, of course they would... why wouldn't they?
As Rey relaxes, time seems to slow down, and before long everything feels like a dream. Rivulets of water hang in the air, and Rey admires the sunlight they scatter as rainbow colours. It reminds her of something. She looks back up, and begins to spin in place.
REY
It feels like... like rain...
Her eyes flutter under her eyelids.
CUT TO:
EXT - DARK FOREST CLEARING - FOREST MANSION - DAY
The WITCH holds Little Rey high up with her hands as they spin together joyfully, rain falling on their faces as they look up.
CUT TO:
EXT - AHCH-TO SURFACE - WATERFALL - MORNING
CLOSE UP of REY's face as her eyes open suddenly, as she feels like she's being watched by something. She looks around, and she shrieks in fright.
CUT TO:
Fifty small, beakless fat birds with a plumage of orange and white just standing there, the big empty soulless pools of darkness that serve as their eyes just staring at Rey's body. These are PORGS, and Rey absolutely hates them. It's the eyes! So close together, a cluster of black holes that would trigger a phobia in anyone!
REY [angrily shrieking]
Go away, you foul feathered freaks!
PORGS 1 through 50
Wark.
She throws a rock at them, hitting one of them right in the face. The rest don't flinch. Infuriated, REY taps into the Force, and with a gesture sends a bolt of kinetic energy at the school. There's a small explosion of feathers as the PORGS scatter away. But REY knows that the damned things will be back.
REY [screaming]
I HOPE CHEWIE EATS YOU ALL!
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook, Off-screen]
Hey, what's going on over there?
REY [livid]
It was those creepy, fat birds again!
CHEWBACCA [happily, in Shyriiwook, Off-screen]
Ooh! Time for second breakfast!
Would you like some?
Let me get my bowcaster!
Rey grabs the towel and begins drying herself.
REY
I'll stick to my rations, thanks!
CHEWBACCA [happily, in Shyriiwook, Off-screen]
Your loss! Oh, there's one!
A bowcaster shot rings out across the island.
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook, Off-screen]
Gotcha, you little bastard!
As REY dries herself, she hears someone whispering, though this time the sound lacks the dream-like echo she had been hearing lately. She turns to try and find the source, and looks past the waterfall to see the mouth of a dark cave. Wary, but curious, Rey walks up to the cave entrance and peers in the dark. Finding nothing, she walks away, shivering, but unaware that something was looking back and smiling.
EXT - AHCH-TO SURFACE - ANCIENT ISLAND - HILLS - MORNING
As REY climbs the hillside, she curiously pokes at her new clothes - a set of white short robes and trousers with grey bands of embroidered cloth wrapped around them. Her hair is down, and still drying. Hardly presentable, but she doesn't care about such things. She checks her SATCHEL: everything's in there.
She passes by the stone husks of ancient buildings, built by a civilization long forgotten. Alien to it all is LUKE'S HUT, made up of glassy stone that had to be cut by lightsaber, and assembled with the Force. It is a simple, humble abode, good enough for a Jedi to live comfortably.
At the top of the hill there is a man clad pale robes with a dark brown robe draped over his shoulders. He is old, almost past his sixties, and his hair is almost done greying. His right hand, lost a long time ago, has been replaced by a cybernetic prosthesis that hasn't been maintained in a while.
This is LUKE SKYWALKER, and the years have not been kind to his health.
His back is turned to REY as he sits on a rock near a cliff, a long fishing rod in his hands as he waits for the fish to bite. REY approaches LUKE carefully, not wanting to frighten the old man, but something makes him look back nonetheless. He sees her, and gives her a warm smile, the kind given to strangers, hoping to make friends of them.
LUKE
Oh, hello there.
REY smiles back at him, a mixture of happiness and weariness.
REY
Hello, Luke.
LUKE
Say, what's your name, traveller?
REY
Again, it's Rey.
LUKE
Again? Have we met before?
REY
A few times.
LUKE
...Sorry, I don't remember.
REY (weary)
I know.
REY sits next to LUKE.
REY
So, what are you doing?
LUKE
Fishing, obviously.
REY
Oh? They don't do that on Jakku. What's involved?
LUKE
Well, a lot of waiting.
REY
What for?
LUKE
For the fish to bite.
REY
...And then?
LUKE
Well, then you reel it in, and you either
let it go or you cook it on a pan and eat it.
REY
Ah. Does it taste good?
LUKE [shrugging]
Depends on the fish. Depends on the cook. Hungry?
I should get a bite any moment, now.
REY
No, but thanks for the offer.
REY smells something and looks at a basket by Luke's side. It's full of fish, though Rey isn't sure what those actually are.
REY
Aren't those fish?
LUKE
Hm?
Luke sees the basket and his eyes widen in surprise, then he laughs, and he stops fishing.
LUKE (cont'd)
Well, I'll be a monkey-lizard's uncle!
Where did those come from?
[looks at REY]
Thank you, thank you, I appreciate you bringing
me something to eat!
REY [confused, impatient]
But I didn't bring you those.
LUKE [puzzled]
Oh? Well, no matter. Are you hungry?
REY [frustrated]
No. Look, is this some kind of test?
To see how patient I am?
LUKE [puzzled]
Why would I test you?
REY
Because that's what Jedi do!
LUKE folds up his fishing rod and puts it in the basket.
LUKE
Who's a Jedi?
REY [frustrated]
You are!
LUKE
I am?
REY
Yes!
LUKE
How could that be?
I don't even know
what a Jedi is!
REY gets up, and takes out something out of her SATCHEL. It's ANAKIN'S SKYWALKER'S LIGHTSABER. She shoves it at him, and he recoils in surprise.
REY
This, THIS is the weapon of a Jedi!
And it's yours!
LUKE
It is?
REY [desperately]
Yes! Leia told me! You lost it when you fought
Darth Vader in the depths of the Cloud City!
REY grabs LUKE's mechanical arm, and shoves the LIGHTSABER in his hand.
REY
You lost your hand in that duel!
You've got to remember that, at least!
There's a moment, full of hope, when Rey thinks she's finally gotten through to him, but it fades, and LUKE goes back to smiling at her, dumbly. Rey is on the verge of tears.
REY
Look, I give up, okay? It's been three days,
and I don't know how much Jedi are supposed
to put up with, but I'm obviously not making the cut, alright?
LUKE examines the LIGHTSABER, surprised, as if it just popped into his hand. REY turns to leave, fed up with all this, and feeling guilty for not having the patience required for this trial, whatever it's supposed to be.
REY
I was supposed to tell you that as soon as our ship's
fixed, we'll be leaving to meet your sister.
LUKE
You have a ship?
REY
Yes, obviously, it's over there.
LUKE
Why can't you just take my ship?
REY [surprised]
You have a ship? Wait, of course
you do, but where did you put it?
LUKE points to another cliff on another side of the island, further away.
LUKE
In the cave. It's a nice ship.
REY
I'll go find it; you stay put.
LUKE
Okay.
Rey leaves, and makes it about twenty steps before Luke calls to her.
LUKE
Miss, is this yours?
He holds up and shakes the lightsaber at her.
REY [sighs]
I guess.
REY holds out her hand and, through the Force, calls the weapon to here. LUKE is a bit puzzled at the feat of Telekinesis, but then shrugs.
LUKE
Makes sense.
Luke rebuilds his fishing rod, and goes back to fishing. REY is well past earshot, now.
LUKE [cont'd]
Its heart calls to you.
Meanwhile, the Porgs were watching...
EXT - AHCH-TO SURFACE - ANCIENT ISLAND - CLIFFSIDE - MORNING
Rey finds a rope ladder, and climbs down to the opening of the cave. The ladder is a bit far from the opening, and Rey has to swing to reach it. Once her footing's good, she steps in...
INT - AHCH-TO SURFACE - CLIFFSIDE CAVE- MORNING
WIDE SHOT of a makeshift hangar, a room of stone ruined by millennia of sedimentation and water damage. At the center of this chamber is a vessel in a state of disrepair. Some of its parts are not stock, but it's quite recognizable as a Incom T-65 Starfighter.
This is LUKE'S CUSTOMIZED X-WING.
CLOSE UP of Rey's awed face, whose attention is focused solely on the X-wing.
REY
A T-65! And it's whole!
Well, mostly whole...
Titanium hull panels are strewn across the stone floor, revealing the ship's internal components. There's a nearby greasy tarp with engine parts on it, as well as S-foil grilles. A stone table and stool are nearby, built into a smooth wall of rock with a few holes that made for good shelves. Sundries have been placed on them: Consumables, X-wing blueprints, a few holo-recorders, and some soil and flower samples. There's a dirty metal dish, with some porg bones on them. What little meat was on them rotted away a long time ago, or was picked clean by insects.
R2-D2 [binary, happy beeps]
Is that what I think it is?!
REY turns around, and sees R2-D2 with his side thrusters deployed floating into the cave. He lands right next to REY, and rays of light stream out of his main optic as he scans the craft.
REY [overjoyed]
You can fly?!
R2-D2 [binary]
Of course I can!
REY
Well, you're a lot more spaceworthy than this old thing... hey, R2?
Is this... is this the actual x-wing that took out the Death Star?
R2-D2 [binary]
Well, no, but it's definitely the ship from his Rogue Squadron days.
REY [frowning]
Brilliant, another disappointment.
R2-D2 [binary]
Hey, come on, now... here, check this out.
R2 points a beam at the side of the cockpit, on which was printed several kill marks, most of which were TIE FIGHTERS.
R2-D2 [binary]
See those eight marks under the regular TIEs? Those are TIE Defender kills!
I printed those for him after the Battle of Pellaeon!
We never did break Wedge's record, though...
REY [awed]
Eight TIE Defender kills?! That's..
[sheepishly]
I actually never heard of those.
Or of the battle of Pellaon, really. Are Defenders tough?
R2-D2 [binary]
The toughest. We lost a lot of our best pilots to these things.
Farlander, the Azzameen brothers...
REY's awe fades as she looks back to where she came from, and recalls the sad state LUKE is now in.
REY [sadly]
But that was a long, long time ago, wasn't it?
R2-D2 [binary, sad beeps]
Yeah... yeah, it was.
REY takes a moment to examine all the parts.
REY
Hey... I think I could put this thing back together. Wanna help?
I could use some tools.
Compartments all over R2-D2's body open, revealing a vast arsenal of tools.
R2-D2 [binary]
I got you covered.
REY [smiling]
Brilliant! Just let me have a look at these, first...
REY walks up to the table, intent on examining the blueprints of the x-wing laid on the table, when something catches her eye. CLOSE up of a small bronze disk with three silver prongs curved radially around it. This is LUKE'S HOLOPROJECTOR, and there is a small light blinking on it.
REY
What's this?
She presses a button on the side, and the image of a middle-aged LUKE SKYWALKER appears. The hologram's appearance is shockingly different from that of the man still fishing on that hill. He was far healthier looking, with a soldier's build, a shorter head of hair, and a well-trimmed beard. His eyes were weary, but still had a bright spark of intelligence and will. Rey smiles at the sight, as the Hologram speaks:
LUKE [hologram]
Luke's journal, day 3, local time. Finally managed to fish my X-wing out
of the sea. Water damage is minimal, doesn't look like oxidation
is going to be a problem... but, the crash really shook up a lot of internals.
REY
Hm, I wonder how many more of these there are.
LUKE [cont'd]
I still don't know what went wrong, one minute
all the instruments were fine, the next...
R2-D2 [binary]
Could you leave it on while we work?
REY
Yeah, sure.
MONTAGE as Rey, with R2-D2's help, begins re-assembling the LUKE'S X-WING, first by going over the schematics, then performing task after task, each one a feat of engineering more complicated and more difficult than the next. As they do so, LUKE's holographic recording keeps playing as the day goes by.
LUKE [Voice-Over]
Day 7. Rogue Squadron survival training is getting me through the food situation.
Good news is the local fauna has these birds that breed as fast as Gizkas.
Pretty rich meat, too. Never thought I'd have to worry about getting fat in a survival situation.
[laughing]
Still, I need to be careful with these things - eat too much too soon and there won't be anything left to eat.
LUKE [Voice-Over, cont'd]
DAY 8, still no luck with the commslink. I've been transmitting the SOS all week, and no one's responded.
Not likely to: Every frequency I try listening in on has static, so something's definitely jamming it...
probably the sun's radiation. Fixing the X-wing's my only hope of leaving this place.
LUKE [Voice-Over, cont'd]
DAY 12... Creepy things, these birds: They always seem to watch me.
LUKE [Voice-Over, cont'd]
DAY 25, X-wing's flight-worthy again, Repulsorlifts are calibrated and the broken thrusters can burn fuel again.
Test flight tomorrow morning, and... well, gonna feel real silly about making those recordings.
LUKE [Voice-Over, cont'd]
Day 26, Test flight was good, except for the hyperdrive test. Its crystal oscillator's blown.
I can fly all over the planet, even the system, but I can't really leave. Damn it all.
LUKE [Voice-Over, cont'd]
Day 47, Not giving up hope. Crystal's blown but with some rocks and some creative uses
of the Force and my lightsaber, I've managed to build a small kiln to reshape the crystal.
Gonna have to provide the pressure myself. That's gonna burn some calories, I expect.
...Hope the strain doesn't kill me.
REY finds the kiln, basically a small stone spherical mold that fits in a stone box. There's a small cylindrical slot on top, wide enough for a LIGHTSABER's beam emitter , and Rey admires the ingenuity of it.
LUKE [Voice-Over, cont'd]
Day 48... not enough crystal left for a whole oscillator. Things aren't looking good...
No, no, I haven't given up, not yet. There should be some rare earths in the caves good enough to make a proper crystal,
strong enough for one trip, and get me far enough away to signal for help. I didn't come to this damned planet to die, and I'll be damned
if I spend my last days in the middle of nowhere!
LUKE [Voice-Over, cont'd]
DAY 49, I'm in luck - the caves are full of treasure! Aphra and Tekka would love it there.
None of it is what I came here for, but I've found some gemstones that will do the trick for the oscillator.
Just need to bake them into shape.
REY pops the last panel in place, lets R2-D2 solder it shut, and wipes the sweat off her greasy face. WIDE shot of the fully restored X-wing, as REY admires the craft, her chest swells with some pride. She smiles, then yawns: It's already dusk. MONTAGE ENDS.
EXT - AHCH-TO SURFACE - ANCIENT ISLAND - CLIFFSIDE - DUSK
REY [yawning]
Well, that was fun!
Shame it's getting so late though.
R2-D2
Test flight first thing after breakfast?
REY
You bet.
LUKE [Voice-Over, cont'd]
Day... I forget. Fifty? Fifty. Yeah. I think I woke something up down in the caves. Something I can't sense in the Force, or...
No, no, I've been here too long, I'm becoming paranoid.
I really need to get out of there.
I hate this place.
REY walks up to the HOLOPROJECTOR to turn it off.
LUKE [Voice-Over]
Day...six? Seven? Rogue Squadron survival training hasn't stuck, it seems. My rations are already gone.
Good news is the local fauna has these delicious birds that breed as fast as Gizkas.
[coughs]
Pretty rich meat, too. Never thought I'd have to worry about getting fat in a survival situation.
Creepy things, though, these birds... they never stop—
As if on cue, the device runs out of power, and goes into sleep mode.
REY
That's odd... I guess it was set to loop?
Not that it matters, the power cell's low.
If only I had a...
R2-D2 rolls in besides her, and opens one of the drawers in his body.
R2-D2
I've got an internal wireless charger.
Give it here.
REY
Oh, you can charge it? Well, here you go, then.
REY places the HOLOPROJECTOR in the drawer, and it beeps as wireless energy flows into it.
REY
I wonder what else might be in there...
In the shadows, the PORGS are watching...
EXT - AHCH-TO SURFACE - MILLENNIUM FALCON LANDING - NIGHT
CLOSE UP of a small box by CHEWBACCA's side, filled with singed BOWCASTER Flechettes with some dried blood on them. FOCUS on the background, and PORGS on a spit, roasting above a campfire.
WIDE SHOT of the camp site. Besides the Falcon, CHEWBACCA had set up the campfire to keep the cold of the night away... and to cook dinner, of course. Above the fire, several PORGS are roasting on a spit, having been previously plucked, gutted, beheaded, and marinated, if the small vat of sauce besides CHEWBACCA was any indication. REY sits on a stone opposite of CHEWBACCA, staring into the fire, tracing symbols in the ash with a branch out of boredom.
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
So where were you? I called you about the Hyperdrive.
REY
Sorry, I was putting Luke's X-wing back together.
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Is that right? Can it fly?
REY
It should be good for sub-light. I'll see tomorrow.
CHEWIE puts a roast PORG on a metal PLATE, and hands it to REY. He then grabs a spit for himself, with three stuck Porgs on it.
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
There you go; careful, it's hot.
REY
Oh, thanks!
REY eats for a bit, finding the meal quite tasty, but she's not quite regaling herself. Something is on her mind.
REY
What will we tell General Organa
when we get back? With Luke, I mean?
CHEWBACCA stops eating, and it's clear that he's been pondering that same question for a while, now.
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
We'll tell her the truth; what else?
REY
...and then what?
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
That'll be up to her. We might drop Luke off at
a hospital on Kamino, or Manaan.
REY
Kamino? Manaan? Can they help him there?
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
I hope so... but we should focus on getting out of here.
REY
I can't help but worry...
Chewbacca?
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Hm?
REY
Why did you ask Leia to bring me with you?
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Well, I had a good feeling about you... and I thought
that you and Luke should meet right away.
REY
Oh? Did you think Luke would train me in the Force?
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Well, yes. But...
[sighs]
That's not happening any time soon, is it?
REY
It's not fair. It's not right that all that's left of the Jedi just...
dies in Luke's mind, or lives on in...
[disgusted]
...in Kylo.
CHEWBACCA says nothing at that, the events leading to Han's death still fresh in his mind. He and REY finish their meal, and the girl yawns, and prepares to go to bed.
REY
Good night, Chewie.
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Goodnight, kid. Sweet dreams.
EXT - AHCH-TO SURFACE - NIGHT
The twin moons of Ahch-To, one red, one pearl, shine upon the island as a chorus of benign alien insects sing a song that echo through the night, backed by the gentle waves of the sea. REY is fast asleep, and R2-D2 is in sleep mode, connected to the Falcon's power train to recharge. The hitherto unnoticed POPPIES begin to bloom all around the island. Only Chewie is awake, a blanket draped over his head and shoulders, as he watches the flames, wondering of things that would be. As the flowers bloom and glow with the colours of the moons, his eyelids feel heavier and heavier, blinking more often until they flutter for a moment before closing completely. CHEWBACCA is asleep.
Suddenly, the insects stop singing.
The silence makes way for whispers, cackles, cruel laughter... and the soft song of a woman's voice echoing across the island.
Woman [off-screen]
Luke...
Neither CHEWBACCA or R2-D2 are stirred by the sound.
Woman [off-screen]
Luke... come to me...
REY stirs awake, groaning, barely opening her eyes. She manages to catch sight of a figure in the darkness, only for it to vanish in the shadows as she blinks. Her eyes focus on something else: LUKE SKYWALKER, stumbling in the dark as someone calls to him.
Woman [off-screen]
Luke...
LUKE
Mara...
REY hears the name... as a shadow crawls over her cot, moves to her face, and all is darkness.
SMASH TO BLACK
?
What's... this...?
EXT - DARK FOREST - DUSK(?)
REY finds herself in the DARK FOREST once again, only this time, time has stopped, and the dim light that permeates the area has washed out most of the colour. Black spores hang in the air, and REY looks around, confused, but wary of more wolves. She takes a few steps down the road...
CUT TO: EXT - DARK FOREST CLEARING - FOREST MANSION - DUSK(?)
And she finds herself back at the Witch's home, though the woman is no longer here.
REY
Hello? Hello!
WITCH'S VOICE
Remember...
Everything is quiet. Everything is still...
REY
Eek!
Save for a small spider climbing up her leg. Normal young women would be frightened beyond belief, but REY isn't quite normal, and simply lets the small creature climb over her, past the shoulder, and finally to Rey's palm. REY holds the tiny insect up closer to her face, to get a better look at it. Its body, black and purple and flecked with white, is barely the size of REY's thumb, with disproportionately large eyes and tiny legs. Being a spider, it should look horrific. Instead, Rey thinks it's actually kinda cute, like BB8.
Suddenly, the spider's black, glinting eyes widen, and it cowers in fear. REY turns around, and we assume her POV as she scans the area for whatever it is that frightened the spider so. Off the corner of her sight, something - made of black rags - crawled into a hole, hiding from REY's sight.
The spider jumps on REY's palm three times, getting her attention, before bouncing off like a cricket towards the mansion.
REY
Hey, wait!
INT - DARK FOREST MANSION - NIGHT(?)
REY chases the spider through the wooden halls of the mansion, unaware that she's being navigated through patches of void where the dream of the mansion simply cannot be. The spider leaps into the gap between two vast doors, and REY bursts through them, and finds herself...
INT - DARK FOREST MANSION - LIBRARY - DAY (?)
...Inside a vast library, at least four stories tall. At the center of that vast room was the WITCH, kneeling, held fast by the frozen passage of time. On her shoulder is the spider, bouncing up and down. Rey walks towards her, and we see that that WITCH's face is mostly gone, disintegrated into little prisms and shapes that hang in the air. REY's gaze follows the WITCH's arms, which are spread down to display the items by her knees: Various books, two of which are opened to specific pages. REY's eyes can't focus on the script, but the stark, black and white illustrations are clear enough: one of a poppy, the other a more complicated sign: a vertical eye, set inside a bird made of fire, its wings spread out in flight.
The WITCH, while frozen, can apparently still speak, as her voice rings out, clear as a bell.
WITCH
Remember...
the ward...
REY [frustrated]
I don't understand!
What good is a winged eyeball?!
The spider once again begins to cower, and REY turns around... and this time, she sees what the spider fears. Her eyes widen as six grasping hands grab hold of her neck, her face, her hair...
CUT TO: EXT - AHCH-TO SURFACE - ANCIENT ISLAND - MORNING
REY gasps as her eyes open, her irises contracting from the rush of fear coursing through her.
REY
NOOO!
She shoots up from her cot and blanket, and sees that she's back on Ahch-To. From far atop the Falcon, CHEWBACCA calls to her.
CHEWBACCA
[in Shyriiwook, worried]
Rey? Rey, are you alright?
REY
I'm okay! It's the nightmares again!
CHEWBACCA
[in Shyriiwook, confused]
...Again?
REY
Yes, again. Just give me a minute...
REY tastes something foul in her mouth, and feels something on the corner of her mouth; she wipes it off, and smears something pale and green on the back of her hand.
REY
Ew...
EXT - AHCH-TO SURFACE - FALCON LANDING - MORNING
After a light breakfast of polystarch bread and veg-meat, REY goes to see how CHEWBACCA is doing. He's removes a part from the FALCON, examines it, shakes his head, and puts it back.
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Nope... not the problem. Hm.
REY
Have you started working on the hyperdrive?
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
No, had to check one of the plasma manifolds.
REY
...But didn't you check that part yesterday, already?
CHEWBACCA rubs the back of his head, a bit confused. Then, he spits a pale green wad of spit, away from the Falcon.
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
...I might? Yeah, I did. Huh, I guess
Luke's not the only one getting too old.
REY
Will you be needing my help?
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Sure, soon.
REY
...What? No chewing me out over the compressor bypass?
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
What? Oh, that. I didn't give you grief over it.
Why would I? It saved our hides.
REY [curious]
But you did, yesterday, in fact!
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Well, if I did, I'm sorry.
Look, I should be have the hyperdrive pulled out
by the afternoon. Can you wait until then?
REY
Sure, R2 and I aren't done with Luke's X-wing.
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Luke's X-wing is here? Wait, of course it is...
REY eyes CHEWBACCA curiously, wondering if something is wrong with him.
INT - AHCH-TO SURFACE - CLIFFSIDE CAVE- MORNING
R2-D2 and REY make their way back into LUKE's makeshift hangar, and find his X-WING there, waiting for them. REY climbs into the cockpit, eager to get started, while R2-D2 hoists himself up to the Astromech slot.
INT - LUKE'S X-WING'S COCKPIT - MORNING
REY
Damn, no helmet.
R2-D2 [binary]
Eh, you don't need it.
REY
Fair enough, ready to get started?
R2-D2 [binary]
Ready when you are!
REY
Alright then!
REY powers up the console, and pushes a sequence of buttons that cause the X-wing's engines to hum and stutter back to life. REY is elated - she had always wanted to fly a classic.
REY
Just like the simulators back home...
R2-D2 [binary]
Systems check out, ready for take off!
REY slowly pulls the repulsorlift throttle up, and the X-wing begins to rise... Suddenly, inside the craft, the CRYSTAL OSCILLATOR blows, causing a power surge that arcs through every component of the ship, damaging some. Alarms framed in red pop-up all over the HUD as the repulsorlifts stutter and die, and the X-wing falls back down.
REY [angrily]
Blast!
CUT TO: The insides of the X-wing, as REY removes a panel and she peers inside. Seeing what's wrong, she pulls out a part - the CRYSTAL OSCILLATOR.
REY
That thing's been slotted in reverse!
No wonder the thing surged!
She shakes it close to her ear, and the tingling of glass can be heard.
REY
Yep, that blew the crystal alright.
I couldn't have made that kind of rookie mistake, couldn't I?
[unsure]
...Couldn't I?
R2-D2 [binary]
No, I was there, checking your work. You put that thing back in right.
REY
Well, clearly I didn't. Still...
CUT TO: The hangar's workbench. REY sits down and lays the OSCILLATOR on the table, and ANAKIN SKYWALKER'S Lightsaber. Using the tools laying on the stone table, she begins taking the oscillator apart.
R2-D2 [binary]
What are you doing?
REY
A quick fix! You can get a few extra hours out of these things
If you slot in a power crystal from a blaster, and since lightsabers
work pretty much the same...
R2-D2 [binary]
How do you know that?
REY doesn't answer as she opens up the middle of the lightsaber, revealing its crystal chamber. Instead of the traditional primary and focusing kyber crystals, however, REY finds a black marble that glows outwardly with blue light, small enough to fit into the modified primary crystal mount. REY pulls it out with a pair of tweezers, and admires the jewel, its magical light glinting in her eyes.
This is a KRAYT DRAGON PEARL.
REY
What the? I didn't know Kyber crystals looked like... that.
R2-D2 [binary]
They... don't. That's no Kyber crystal.
REY
It's not? Well, not that it matters. The shape's wrong, it won't slot into the oscillator.
With a sigh, REY slots the gem back in, an act that causes her to FLASHBACK to another moment in time, when she was smaller. The images are fleeting: Little REY's eyes peek over the edge as she watches a man put the pearl inside ANAKIN'S LIGHTSABER, the original kyber crystal's shards spread around the table, glinting in candlelight. The FLASHBACK quickly ENDS, and REY resumes her work. She ignites the saber, testing it to make sure she hasn't broken it. REY wistfully looks back at the X-wing.
REY
The main drives are good, but with no oscillator and the blown repulsorlifts...
That X-wing's just not getting off the ground.
R2-D2
Hey, don't lose hope...
REY
Eh, it was a pipe-dream anyways.
REY gets up from the table, packs the LIGHTSABER in her sack, and with a shrug, decides to pack in the oscillator as well.
EXT - AHCH-TO SURFACE - MILLENNIUM FALCON LANDING - NIGHT
CLOSE UP of a small box by CHEWBACCA's side, filled with singed BOWCASTER flechettes with some dried blood on them. FOCUS on the background, and PORGS on a spit, roasting above a campfire.
WIDE SHOT of the camp site. Besides the Falcon, CHEWBACCA had set up the campfire to keep the cold of the night away... and to cook dinner, of course. Above the fire, several PORGS are roasting on a spit, having been previously plucked, gutted, beheaded, and marinated, if the small vat of sauce besides CHEWBACCA was any indication. REY sits on a log opposite of CHEWBACCA, staring into the fire, tracing symbols in the ash with a branch out of boredom.
REY
Wait...
REY looks around, confused.
REY [cont'd]
How did I get here?
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
You walked?
REY
No, I mean...
I don't remember getting here.
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
You don't remember helping me fix the hyperdrive?
REY
No... did we?
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Sure, we replaced the oscillator together.
[pointing at the Falcon]
R2 is inside, cooking the Hypermatter. We'll be good to go by the morning.
REY [unsure]
That's... that's good.
REY massages her eyes, hoping to rub the weariness away. Absentmindedly, she draws a symbol of an eye with wings, but it's not quite right, not yet.
REY
I can't wait to leave this place.
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
You and me both.
Get some sleep.
REY [yawning]
Alright...
REY gets into her sleeping bag, and turns away from the fire, and closes her eyes. The Poppies bloom, the insects stop their song, and all is quiet, until...
MARA'S VOICE
Luke...
REY wakes at the sound, but is still groggy. She tried to go back to sleep, but...
MARA'S VOICE
Luke... come to me, my love...
LUKE
Mara...
LUKE's distant voice gets REY's attention, and arouses her curiosity. Through tired eyes she manages to catch his form, highlighted by the moonlight... and the ghostly figure of a woman, her blazing red hair and emerald-green dress floating in unseen waters. She watches on as LUKE follows the ghostly figure as it beckons him to follow.
REY gets on her feet, and tries to wake CHEWBACCA, slumped over the log he is sitting on.
REY [whispering]
Chewie... Chewie, wake up!
Come on, wake up!
Something's wrong!
But CHEWBACCA doesn't wake, not even when REY shakes him.
REY looks back at LUKE, and is about to call to him, when something in the back of her mind tells her that it would be a very bad idea. Instead, she shoulders her satchel, and stalks the elder Jedi as moves towards the phantom, ever out of reach, no matter how longingly he reaches out for her.
Unseen by REY, the symbol she traced glows.
EXT - AHCH-TO SURFACE - WATERFALL - MIDNIGHT
The glowing ghost floats towards the waterfall, and moves past it, untouched by the water, and disappears into the cave.
MARA
Luke... Luke... come to me...
REY hides behind a nearby rock, and watches on as LUKE follows the ghost into the cave, and hesitates to follow him in. She reaches into her satchel, and pulls out ANAKIN'S LIGHTSABER. She grasps it with both hands, as if drawing pure courage from the legendary weapon.
REY
I can do this.
It works: she stops hiding and enters the cave.
INT - AHCH-TO CAVERNS - MIDNIGHT
REY's first few steps into the cave are slow, and careful. The deeper she goes, the dimmer the moonlight behind her becomes, until it is too dark to see. She ignites the LIGHTSABER, and while the blade is bright, the light barely illuminates the walls of the caves. The blue glint reflecting from the wet surfaces, however, allow REY to travel through the network of tunnels that lie beneath the island.
Unfortunately, her sense of direction is led astray, and she becomes lost. The very shadows seem to stalk her, and some thing whispers around her. Still, she presses on, and on... until she sees something glow in the dark, in a passage to her left. Apprehensively, she approaches the glow, and begins to hear something:
OBI-WAN's VOICE [faint]
These are your first steps...
LEIA'S VOICE [faint]
Aren't you a little short...
HAN'S VOICE [faint]
But who's gonna fly it...?
REY [hopeful]
Han?
REY puts her hand over her mouth, feeling like she had alerted something in the dark, but nothing comes, and she continues on. The voices become clearer...
APHRA'S VOICE
...Are you in, Jedi?
KREEL'S VOICE
You can call me Gamemaster...
...And clearer, until she reaches their source.
INT - AHCH-TO CAVERNS - THE CHAMBER - MIDNIGHT
REY comes across a chamber so vast the light of the lightsaber cannot reach the walls, but it does illuminate the rocky ground. Thousands of glass marbles, some of them the size of a man's fist, some of them no larger than a pea, are set into the ground, in grooves carved in haste and glued with hardened, calcium rich spit. REY approaches one, kneels, and sees images moving inside of it. She peers into the glass, narrowing her eyes to get a better look... and sees none other than Darth Vader, crossing lightsabers with someone, someone who was right there...
All these pearls are containers for LUKE'S SKYWALKER'S MEMORIES.
REY goes from memory to memory, only getting the barest glimpse of them. Some of them are painful...
LUKE'S VOICE [anguished]
That's not true! That's impossible!
...And others are filled with rapturous joy.
MARA'S VOICE
I do.
LUKE'S VOICE
I do.
All had been cruelly stolen away from him, along with his sense of who he was, and his duty to the rest of the galaxy.
Something glows above REY, and she looks up to see LUKE floating upside down, a spinning black pyramid right beneath his head. Hundreds of tendrils of light protrude from its smooth obsidian surface, permeating LUKE's flesh.
This is the ENTECHMENT MACHINE, and it is draining LUKE's very lifeforce away.
But before REY can do something about it, something drips on her shoulder, something green, pale and milky... She looks at the source of the drip: a shadow made of six legs, six arms, and six eyes leering at her through a mass of hair and rags... hanging on the ceiling. The shadow falls on REY before she can scream.
SMASH TO BLACK
INT - REY'S MIND - DARK
This time there are no trees, or Katarn Wolves, or strange magical abodes. There is only a profound darkness, in which REY floats helplessly... and yet, she is unafraid, and oddly accepting of this.
Then, from a infinitely long strand of silk, the tiny purple jumping spider rappels down in front of her.
REY
Hello, you.
The friendly spider waves at her, then traces a strand around her hips. She feels a tug, and Rey drifts forward towards a light in the dark.
THE WITCH's VOICE
Child, this is your last chance...
After this, all hope is lost...
REY
I don't understand.
THE WITCH
You must remember the sign...
Remember the flower...
Remember the eye...
These are the things...
That will set you free.
The Witch's speech is punctuated by flashes of dreams/memories: the poppies burning in the hearth, the symbol of the flying eye drawn in ink in the book, the Krayt Dragon Pearl in the lightsaber.
Suddenly, the strand snaps; the spider reaches out for REY, distraught, but it can do nothing as the girls falls into the abyss...
...And drowns in a sea of pale green milk.
?
Drrrrriiiiiink...
INT - TENT - AHCH-TO SURFACE - MORNING
REY's waking is slow, and lacking any distress. Her eyes open, but the light behind them, the very thing that makes her REY, is mostly gone... and now she is just THE GIRL.
The GIRL feels something tart on her tongue, but doesn't spit or wipe her mouth. The GIRL hears rain outside, but doesn't sit up, instead enjoying the sense of safety that comes being sheltered from the weather. For hours, she lays under her blanket, staring out of the opening in her tent, watching the tiny bursts of millions upon millions of drops of water crashing against stone and metal and dirt.
Then she feels a rumbling in her belly, and decides that it's time to get up.
EXT - AHCH-TO SURFACE - FALCON LANDING - MORNING
The GIRL steps out into the rain, and shivers, but doesn't go back into the tent, which, as it turned out, was attached to a large piece of machinery. Atop that machinery there was no one, but the GIRL caught sight of a big hairy creature standing in front of the machine, as if admiring it.
It's CHEWBACCA, or at least it was. Now it's just a WOOKIE.
GIRL
Hello.
The WOOKIE just growls and whines at her, but she can't understand a word he's saying. He makes no sudden movements, makes no sign that he means her harm.
GIRL
I don't understand you...
He makes no further attempts at communication, and simply stares at the ship, or something far, far away, beyond it... as a drop of green liquid drips from the corner of his mouth. The GIRL sees an open ramp leading into the machine...
INT - MILLENNIUM FALCON - DAY
The GIRL explores the inside of the machine, fascinated, but recognizing nothing.
GIRL
Hello? Is anyone here?
There is no reply, and no sound, save for the hammering of rain on the hull. The GIRL comes across a machine unlike the others: it's R2-D2, but she doesn't recognize the unmoving machine, nor does she know how to reconnect the power cell that had been so violently pulled out of his body.
EXT - AHCH-TO SURFACE - HILLS - MORNING
The rains continue, as the GIRL explores the island. Her mind emptied, a certain magic is now freed to act through her, and an invisible aura around seems to catch the rain, holding it in place, causing droplets to dance around her. She smiles, amazed and dazed, while dancing along with the flow.
She catches sight of her reflection on a puddle atop a stone tile, and kneels besides it, examining it with both curiosity and narcissistic fascination. Fascination makes way for a bit of worry, as she notices that a lock of her wet hair has become silvery white.
Then, another face appears behind her, and she sees it in the reflection. She turns around, and stares at LUKE SKYWALKER as she gets up... but she doesn't recognize him. As far she's concerned, he's just an OLD MAN, wearing a cloak to shield himself from the rain. She approaches him, as he eyes her curiously, and she puts her hands on his face, fascinated by the wear and tear of old age, tracing his many wrinkles, and admiring the sheer whiteness of his hair. Her face is inches from his.
OLD MAN
Who are you?
GIRL
I don't know...
OLD MAN
Why are you here?
GIRL
I don't know...
OLD MAN
Where are you from?
GIRL
I...
The questions give the GIRL pause. She can feel the answers bubbling under the surface, but they escape her.
GIRL
I don't know...
What about you? Who are you?
Why are you here?
Where are you from?
OLD MAN
I... I don't know, either.
They laugh at the absurdity of it.
EXT - AHCH-TO SURFACE - LUKE'S HUT - NOON
The GIRL and the OLD MAN sit side by side on a wooden bench, silently watching as the rain lets up. The GIRL, still dripping wet, had been pondering the OLD MAN's questions for a while. Finally:
GIRL
I think I'm waiting for someone.
OLD MAN
Waiting for who?
GIRL
A friend. He's asleep, but he's going to wake up soon.
I'll see him again; I just have to wait.
The OLD MAN says nothing, having already forgotten the conversation. The GIRL notices something on the ground - a flower, but its petals are shut, despite the sun's rays piercing the clouds to reach them.
GIRL
What are those?
OLD MAN
Moon Poppies.
GIRL
Why do you call them that?
OLD MAN
Because they only bloom in the moonlight.
The GIRL sees hundreds of these closed MOON POPPIES on the field, and decides to pick one up. She rolls the petals between her fingers, and as if by magic, they bloom, soaking in the sunlight, changing their lunar colour from white to a dark shade of purple.
A vision flashes in the GIRL's mind: the witch, the hearth, the fire...
GIRL
A present. A present for my friend.
The Old Man looks on as the GIRL picks MOON POPPIES on the islands, turning them purple with her fingers. Before long she's got a whole bouquet of them, but she constantly needs to just pick one more flower. The last one, the important one, has something inside of it as she forces it to bloom.
A tiny, adorable SPIDER. As it wakes, it opens its big glassy eyes, and shakes off its drowsiness.
GIRL [with pity]
Oh, you poor thing. Were you trapped in there?
The SPIDER nods, and the GIRL marvels at the fact that it can understand her.
GIRL
Can you talk?
The SPIDER shakes his head, sadly.
GIRL
Oh, that's a shame. Are you alone?
The SPIDER nods.
GIRL
Would you like to come with me?
Happily, the SPIDER leaps out from the flower, and catches onto one of the GIRL'S locks. He climbs up, and hides between the strands of her hair, making a home out of her mane of hair.
The GIRL gathers up all her flowers, and holds them firmly into a bouquet again. Quickly the spider moves across the GIRL's arms, and wraps strand after strand of spider's silk around the flower stems, binding them together.
GIRL
Thank you.
EXT - AHCH-TO SURFACE - FALCON LANDING - NIGHT
The GIRL waits, and waits, and waits, but the one she's waiting for, has always waited for, has yet to come. But she is not alone; the OLD man sits opposite her on a stone, frying some fish over a campfire. He sees her, and the WOOKIE, and greets them as friendly strangers. They smile at him back. Quietly, they share a meal of grilled fish, courtesy of the OLD MAN's fishing.
The meal done, they sit in silence, the OLD MAN meditating on the flames, the WOOKIE curiously examining a crossbow, and the GIRL admiring the bouquet of PURPLE POPPIES. The SPIDER appears from her hair, and crawls to the back of her ear. Its eyes glow a bright purple, but only for a moment.
THE WITCH'S VOICE [faint]
Remember...
Inspiration strikes the GIRL, and she picks a small branch to trace something in the campfire ash. At first it's all curls and waves, but eventually she traces something almost perfect in its symmetry.
An eye under a soaring flaming bird.
The LUNAR POPPIES on the ground bloom, and before long the OLD MAN and the WOOKIE lay down on the ground and let themselves fall asleep. Only REY remains awake, but only barely. Her eyes flutter, and close.
This will be the last night they spend on Ahch-To.
SMASH TO BLACK
?
Tonight, the ritual ends...
EXT - AHCH-TO SURFACE - MILLENNIUM FALCON LANDING - MIDNIGHT
The GIRL is stirred awake by a noise. The WOOKIE still sleeps, snoring, as does the OLD MAN.
Suddenly, she hears a voice, distant and faint, but it becomes clearer, and clearer... and she realizes who it is.
MAN'S VOICE
Rey...
The girl rises from her spot to see the source of the voice, and her eyes widen with joy as she beholds a man's silhouette, past the campfire's flames. His face is shadow, but his aura is a wondrous bright light.
It's her FATHER.
FATHER
Rey... Rey, come to me, my child.
The FATHER reaches out, and beckons her to come. The GIRL begins to rise, but notices something on the ground: the BOUQUET. She picks it up, gets up, and holds it out to her FATHER.
GIRL
This is for you... for your return.
Just like I always did...
FATHER
Come to me, follow me...
GIRL
Just like mum and I always did, when you returned home.
FATHER [losing patience]
Rey come.
GIRL
Don't you want these?
FATHER
No. Come.
GIRL
But they're for you...
REY approaches her FATHER, but he recoils in fear. Dazes, she reaches out, and holds the flowers over the flames with both hands, as an offering. As she does so, the SPIDER comes out of her hair, and crawls over her right arm.
FATHER [angrier, deeper]
PUT THESE AWAY.
GIRL
...They've always been for you, always, always...
The SPIDER produces two short, blunted fangs from its mandibles, and with all its might, bites REY's hand.
GIRL
Ow!
Her grip loosens, and time slows to a crawl as the flowers fall...
FATHER [furious]
NOOOOO!
...And are ignited by the flames. There is a flash of purple as a cloud of smoke of smoke erupts from the campfire, and the signs she traced all around it glow with a magical energy. The FATHER fades away as purple embers swirl around the flames. Butterflies of smoke stream out, and find their way into the nostrils of REY, CHEWBACCA and LUKE. They wake as they convulse, and retch until they spew out a foul pale green liquid onto the ground.
This is the CRONE'S MILK. This is what had made them docile, and lost, and clouded their memories, and now that it was expelled from their bodies they are sane once more, and remember who they are.
Lightning splits the night sky, and thunder soon follows behind it. Dark clouds gather overhead, obscuring the light of the moons, and rain begins to pour.
More butterflies emerge, a swarm of smoke and purple embers spiraling outward from the campfire, revealing something invisible in the dark. Three figures appear around LUKE, CHEWBACCA and REY, the glamour dispelled. Each of them are taller than a wookie, their bodies piles of black rags that seem to float underwater. Their limbs are bare, wrinkled, veined, and far too long. REY could only barely make out their ugly, warped faces in the dark, but the glow of fire within their irises is clear, along with the glint upon their teeth.
These three CRONES are the SIRENS OF AHCH-TO.
These three witches are the SORCERESSES of SSI-RUUK.
CHEWBACCA roars, and attempts to shoot the YOUNGER CRONE right between the eyes. She seems to vanish for a moment, letting the BOWCASTER BOLT passing through a haze of heated air, before appearing in front of the wookie. She grabs him by the ankle, and tosses him over her shoulder. CHEWBACCA roars impotently as he soars into the dark, disappearing into it, before a distant splash is heard. The YOUNGER CRONE giggles.
LUKE
CHEWIE!
ELDER CRONE [croaking]
The girl has the Gift! She can resist us...
MIDDLE CRONE
Then we finish with the old man.
The ELDER AND MIDDLE CRONES perform the same vanishing feat as earlier - QUICKENING - and grab Luke, and hold him into an embrace as they practically merge into a single being, with four legs and four arms. LUKE screams in protest, struggling to free himself from their grasp. Alas, years of ENTECHMENT have left his body far too weak to pull free.
LUKE [angry]
Let me go!
REY
Get away from him!
MIDDLE CRONE
Sister... break the girl.
The merged crones flee, vanishing into the dark with their prize as LUKE screams' fade in the distance. The rain extinguishes the campfire's flames. Now, REY is all alone in the dark against an ancient horror.
YOUNGER CRONE
The shadows unfurl, plaything! And it is time to play-play!
As the CRONE approaches, REY's eyes frantically search for something, while her hands search her sides for her SATCHEL, with the lightsaber inside... it's not there.
The YOUNGER CRONE smiles, and her bony hands reach into her floating rags... and produces ANAKIN's LIGHTSABER.
YOUNGER CRONE [amused]
Looking for this?
REY [scared]
Oh, no...
The YOUNGER CRONE's jaw splits opens to reveal a thick prehensile tongue half as long as her elongated arms. She wraps the tip around the LIGHTSABER, and ignites it. The glow reveals her visage, smooth, like a doll's but framed by an infestation of coral and barnacles. The CRONE QUICKENS in front of REY, then behind her, then besides her, before taking a wide swipe with the stolen LIGHTSABER.
REY rolls out of the way, but it's obvious she's only being toyed with. Once the CRONE gets bored, REY is guaranteed to lose a limb, or worse.
The cackling CRONE herds REY towards the Falcon, and allows her to enter...
INT - MILLENNIUM FALCON - NIGHT
REY desperately mashes the CLOSE button by the entrance, making the FALCON'S RAMP rise. It is inches from closing shut before the CRONE, with a strength that could only come from magic, pulls the ramp down, making the RAMP's six hydraulics groan.
The CRONE's eyes peer over the edge of the ramp, smiling. REY would be trapped inside the FALCON with her...
REY
STAY AWAY!
REY draws her arm back, drawing from the Force, and sends an invisible bolt of kinetic energy at the CRONE'S face, knocking her head back with the force of a battering ram. Still, the CRONE holds fast, and it takes two more blasts before she lets go of the RAMP, allowing it to close and lock itself. REY sighs in relief, feeling safe.
That feeling disappears quickly when she hears the CRONE knocking against the hull.
REY rushes towards the FALCON's cargo bay and searches frantically for anything that might serve as a weapon, tossing aside pieces of useless junk as the CRONE attempts to breach her way in. Finding nothing that could hurt a monster, she moves on to another area of the ship, where she finds R2-D2 with some of his parts spilled out on the floor.
REY
Oh no, please be alright, please be alright...
REY's hands move quickly, reconnecting the astromech's parts with rapid, practiced ease. R2-D2 comes back to life, much to REY's relief.
R2-D2 [binary]
Whoa, what happened?!
One minute I was cooking Hypermatter, the next...
The entire ship rumbles as the CRONE tried to make her way in, screeching all the while.
YOUNGER CRONE [Off-Screen]
Girl! GIRL! Come out, plaything!
I am not done playing with you!
R2-D2 [binary]
What the hell is that?!
REY
There's no time! Look, I need you to do exactly what I tell you...
EXT - MILLENNIUM FALCON - NIGHT
Atop the FALCON, the CRONE screeches, snarls and cackles as she pounces on the ship, then stabs the lightsaber into the hull, hoping to frighten the girl trapped inside. It doesn't work, but she does a lot of damage.
Suddenly, the engines come to life, and it looks as though the FALCON is about to take off. Her eyes narrow at the cockpit, now full of lights...
INT - MILLENNIUM FALCON'S COCKPIT - NIGHT
The CRONE quickens, her face appearing inches from the canopy. She grins upon seeing R2-D2, plugged into the FALCON's computer. The droid, programmed to feel fear, beeps frantically at the sight of the creature.
CRONE
What's this? The toy-box lives again?
R2-D2
REY, SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE KRIFF IS THAT?!
The CRONE smashes her fists against the canopy, breaking the bones in her hands. In an act of madness, she smashes her own forehead against the solid transparisteel plates, and does no better. R2-D2 watches as her hands mend, and her face snaps back into place.
The madness fades, and she ignites the saber...
R2-D2
REY! HURRY UP! SHE'S CUTTING THROUGH!
EXT - MILLENNIUM FALCON - NIGHT
Outside, the FALCON's top QUAD LASER CANNON slowly moves, its whirring hidden by the rain...
INT- MILLENNIUM FALCON'S TOP TURRET - NIGHT
REY's hands are at the gun's controls. Her face is illuminated by the gun cam's screen light, the CRONE slowly coming into view, the cross hair just a few degrees away from being zero'ed in on her...
REY
Easy... Easy...
EXT - MILLENNIUM FALCON - NIGHT
The CRONE almost finishes tracing a circle on the cockpit with the lightsaber.
Suddenly, the CANNON's servomotors, badly maintained, grind, alerting the CRONE.
YOUNGER CRONE
What?!
INT- MILLENNIUM FALCON'S TOP TURRET - NIGHT
The reticle is centered on the CRONE, and REY's fingers presses both triggers...
EXT - MILLENNIUM FALCON - NIGHT
...unleashing a rain of proton bolts upon her target. The CRONE screeches in agony as her rags are perforated by laser fire, streaming glowing embers as she falls and disappears under the FALCON.
INT- MILLENNIUM FALCON'S TOP TURRET - NIGHT
REY
Is she dead?
R2? R2, is she dead?
INT - MILLENNIUM FALCON'S COCKPIT - NIGHT
R2-D2 peers out of the canopy, but can't see the CRONE's body.
R2-D2
I don't know! I can't see it!
INT- MILLENNIUM FALCON'S TOP TURRET - NIGHT
REY
Nobody could survive—
Suddenly, the QUAD LASER CANNON is ripped out of its mount, providing the wounded but enraged CRONE a handy club to smash the Transparisteel gunport, giving her access to its occupant. REY screams as the CRONE grabs her...
EXT - MILLENNIUM FALCON - NIGHT
...and hoists her up before tossing her away and onto the ground. REY lands and rolls on the ground, sparing her broken bones, but the wind is definitely knocked out of her. Stunned, REY is unable to get away from the CRONE as she leaps on top of her. Pale, long fingers coil tightly around REY's upper arms, pining her in place. The CRONE's tongue writhes, lightsaber at the tip, and openings at the side vibrate:
YOUNGER CRONE
You're no fun any more!
I'll cut off your feet,
And then my sisters and I will
gorge ourselves on your power!
The tongue extends, stabbing the lightsaber into the ground, right by REY's ankles. REY panics, frantically kicking at the tongue to keep the beam away from her flesh. The tongue wraps itself around REY's right leg, and the CRONE giggles as the blade is but a centimeter away from REY's ankle...
Suddenly, a furious wookie bellows a war cry as he unleashes a cluster of bowcaster flechettes at the CRONE. It's CHEWBACCA, very much alive and not happy at all about being casually tossed into the water.
CHEWBACCA [furiously, in Shyriiwook]
NOBODY!
TOSSES!
A WOOKIE!
CHEWBACCA's roars are punctuated by BOWCASTER fire, each shot stripping bloodless chunks of flesh from the CRONE's body, but the wounds mend too quickly for her to die. It definitely hurts, though, and the CRONE loosens her grip on REY, her attention now focused on the wookie. She QUICKENS all around him. Until she's got him right where she wants to kill him...
The SPIDER, unnoticed by the CRONE, had leapt from REY's hair and onto the crone's tongue, and is now crawling towards the tip. The intelligent arachnid deploys his fangs, now much, much pointier, and injects a purple venom within the glossy piece of flesh. That hurt the CRONE far more than the flechettes, causing her coiled grip on the lightsaber to unfurl mid-swing, saving CHEWBACCA from being beheaded.
The lightsaber is tossed in the air, and REY reaches out to it with the Force, calling it to her. The saber flies into her hand, and she ignites it, smiling. She shouts as she charges the CRONE, but the creature QUICKENS in and out of range and smacks REY across the face.
YOUNGER CRONE
Enough! Enough! A pox on you all!
The CRONE's tongue lashes out at REY, and wraps itself around her ankle.
REY
Oh no you don't!
REY swings down, slicing off the tongue. The broken off piece disintegrates, sloughing away from her ankle, and the tongue remains a cauterized stump, blue embers glowing upon the wound. The CRONE panics, and attempts to QUICKEN, but something holds her in place.
It's CHEWBACCA, twisting her right arm and applying as much force and leverage as he can on it to break it in half, and kicking her shin out while he's at it. The CRONE pushes him to the ground, but it's already too late. REY is already on her, swinging wildly and madly, screaming as she lops off black rags and two limbs.
REY [furious]
Just DIE already! DIE!
The CRONE is now flat on her back, the fight completely out of her. Too angry to give her any mercy, REY gives the CRONE the coup-de-grace, stabbing down into her vile, black heart.
YOUNGER CRONE
No, NO, NOOO! I must live! I was going to live forever! FOREVEEEEER!
REY
SHUT UP, JUST SHUT UP!
YOUNGER CRONE
GIRL! PLAYTHING! CATTLE!
I CURSE YOU!
REY
MY NAME IS REY!
REY stabs the CRONE again and again, and the human girl's eyes begin to glow an eldritch blue, matching the light of the saber... and the deep light of the KRAYT DRAGON PEARL. The CRONE bursts into blue flames, and lets out an otherworldly wail as she dies. REY is amidst the flames, but is unhurt by them, and only when the CRONE is nothing but ashes does she stop stabbing.
REY steps out of the dying flames, exhausted. She deactivates the lightsaber, and lets herself fall back, and sits down. She looks over at CHEWBACCA, standing there, a look of pride and victory on his face. REY can't manage the same sentiment.
REY [wearily]
There's two more of these things...
They still have Luke.
Then, the ground begins to shake.
REY [angry]
No, what is it NOW?!
The island cracks, and the FALCON suddenly finds itself a bit too close to an edge. The ground seems to get lower, and the sea becoming higher...
CHEWBACCA
The island is sinking! Get on the Falcon, now!
REY
We can't leave Luke here!
CHEWBACCA
We're no good to him dead or
without a ship! GO!
EXT- AHCH-TO SURFACE - NIGHT
The crew onboard, the FALCON rises with difficulty, the damage from the CRONE's onslaught hobbling the ship. The main thrusters roar, and the FALCON begins a circular flight around the island as the water around it begins to be pushes away, revealing the rocks to be the but the tip of a stone tower encrusted by sediments and coral.
INT - MILLENNIUM FALCON'S COCKPIT - NIGHT
REY
Oh, my stars...
EXT- AHCH-TO SURFACE - NIGHT
The water whirls farther and farther away. Lightning cracks, and for a moment, we can see what lies at the bottom of the water: buildings, streets, homes... temples.
INT - MILLENNIUM FALCON'S COCKPIT - NIGHT
CHEWBACCA is at the controls, while REY is in the co-pilot's seat. They both look to the right, seeing the buildings.
REY
A city...
CHEWBACCA
No... not a city.
EXT- AHCH-TO SURFACE - NIGHT
The structures begin to rise as more and more lightning strikes it. The shape of the city becomes more apparent: a six pointed star, its points long and narrow. Still, it keeps rising, and rising, until its barnacle-infested depths are well above the sea, dumping sea water back where it belongs through a hundred waterfalls. Graviton Engines hum to life. Lights all over the buildings blink awake. It's a starship, and its egress is getting faster and faster.
This is the ANCIENT CITY-SHIP OF FIRWIRRUNG, once long forgotten, now awakened from its millenia-long slumber.
Awakened by the waning life force of LUKE SKYWALKER.
INT - MILLENNIUM FALCON'S COCKPIT - NIGHT
REY exchanges looks with R2-D2, and CHEWBACCA. Nothing more needed to be said. They were going in, and nothing would stop them from rescuing THE LAST JEDI.
Nothing.
TO BE CONTINUED
============================[======]
PREVIEW FOR EPISODE 3:
EXT — ACH-TO LOW ORBIT — SPACE
The beautiful blue curve of Ahch-to, aglow with the light of the sun, becomes slowly obscured by the pronged shadow of a ship's prow. The craft, a modified MandalMotors Corvette, armed to the teeth with heavy blaster cannons and quad laser turrets, is just now coming into the planet's orbit. It is flanked by sixteen G1-M4-C DUNELIZARD FIGHTERS and four M22 GUNSHIPS. An audible, echoing ping is heard in the airless void of space: the Corvette is scanning for something.
Across the Corvette's side these words are painted in Aurebesh: RED REAVER.
INT — RED REAVER'S BRIDGE — SPACE
A man in a long coat overlooks a crew of red-clad cyborgs, his face illuminated by lights beneath the grille that served as the bridge's floor. Hundreds of holo-screen flicker in the gloom, overseen by augmented crewmen connected to the ship via high-bandwidth cables. The man, BALA-TIK, a high-ranking member of the GUAVIAN DEATH GANG, is pacing about, eager for something: payback. Payback against HAN SOLO.
The REAVER's SENSOR OPERATOR, a cyborg with a heavy metal visor, speaks with a metallic, warbling voice.
RED REAVER SENSOR OPERATOR
We've got a response to the sensor ping.
It's the tracking beacon.
BALA-TIK [smiling]
Unkar was true to his word. Show me.
The image of AHCH-TO appears on the BRIDGE's main screen. The planet spins to its night side, and the screen zooms in on the planet until the damaged MILLENNIUM FALCON is fully into view.
BALA-TIK
There you are, you burnt-out old has-been.
[curious]
What are they chasing?
The screen zooms out, and shifts towards the huge, six-pointed star shape of the FIRWIRRUNG, slowly spinning. The screen's HUD displays sensor readouts: size, mass, speed, energy...
RED REAVER SENSOR OPERATOR
Starship, Class 5. Scans show a carbon-date of at least 2500 standard years.
Building on surface suggests habitat - estimated population, 95000 sapients.
Lifesign scans... inconclusive.
BALA-TIK [awed]
...I take it back, looks like the old man
had been hunting for treasure all along...
And look at the prize he's got. Too bad we're about to take it from him.
BALA-TIK turns to his comm officer.
BALA-TIK
I want all fighters to intercept the FALCON and shoot it to pieces, the Gunships—
An alarm blinks on the SENSOR OPERATOR'S console.
RED REAVER SENSOR OPERATOR
Quantum waveforms detected. We have incoming.
BALA-TIK
Who?!
EXT — ACH-TO LOW ORBIT — SPACE
A STAR-GALLEON FRIGATE bursts out of hyperspace, with its eclectic escort of SCYK FIGHTERS, QUADJUMPERS, Z-95 HEADHUNTERS, and KIHRAXZ STARFIGHTERS. The Frigate had been modified for piracy, but it was in an obvious state of disrepair. Corrosion and metal patches marr its hull, and its escort matches it in their ramshackle state. They do, however, outnumber the GUAVIAN squadron 3 to 1.
The name of the STAR GALLEON has been scoured across the hull in Huttese: LEYAK.
INT — LEYAK'S BRIDGE — SPACE
Sitting on the captain's chair hunched over with his head propped up by his arm, the captain of the LEYAK sees what the RED REAVER sees on the planet, displayed in a holo-pit in front of him. The man's tanned face is scarred with the ravages of digestive acids, having suffered the horrible ordeal of being swallowed up by a RATHAR, courtesy (or so he believes) of HAN SOLO.
This is TASU LEECH, leader of the KANJIKLUB GANG. Standing by his side is his lieutenant RAZOO QIN-FEE.
TASU [in Huttese]
I knew the old scoundrel was up to something!
Look at this, just look at this! The ship alone must be worth
billions in Credits! RAZOO! Alert the boys! We're going to take that prize
from Han Solo's cold dead hands!
RAZOO [in Huttese, worried]
Tasu, we're not equipped to capture a Dreadnought
AND fight a bunch of Guavians! We should back off, and—
TASU grabs RAZOO by the collar and pulls him close.
TASU [in Huttese, enraged]
...I will chase SOLO from MALACHOR to the deep end of the MAW before I
even think about backing off!
TASU lets RAZOO go, and dismisses him. He bellows order at the rest of the crew.
TASU [in Huttese, enraged]
All hands, prepare for battle! All ships, full burn towards that flying city!
RAZOO leaves the BRIDGE, and goes to prepare his men.
RAZOO [in Huttese, worried]
I have a bad feeling about this...
EXT — ACH-TO LOW ORBIT — SPACE
The KANJIKLUB ships' engines glow as their output outmatches their safety limits. They accelerate well past the GUAVIANs as they enter AHCH-TO's atmosphere.
INT — RED REAVER'S BRIDGE — SPACE
BALA-TIK
ALL SHIPS, INTERCEPT THOSE KANJIKLUB GOONS!
DON'T LET THEM GET TO THE PRIZE!
EXT — ACH-TO LOW ORBIT — SPACE
The GUAVIAN ships accelerate towards AHCH-TO, unaware of the horror that awaits them on FIRWIRRUNG...
============================[======]
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