Star Wars: War for the Outer Rim

by IgnusDei

It has been weeks since the destruction of Starkiller Base, but an undaunted First Order begins a blitzkrieg that will bring the outer rim territories to their knees, while the Republic struggles to maintain order in the core without leadership. The Resistance, about to be overwhelmed by the remnants of the Empire, is aided by none other than the Republic's greatest foe...

4. Episode 4: The Sirens of Ahch-To, part 3

(STAR WARS is the property of LUCASFILM and DISNEY)

---

PROLOGUE

EXT - FIRWIRRUNG CENTRAL TOWER - NIGHT

WIDE SHOT of The central tower that served as the control center of the FIRWIRRUNG, still topped by the artificial island that had been grown around it. Off screen, the last of the crones — VERTHANDI — hums a melancholic lullaby.

FADE TO the tower's courtyard, as thousands of corpses, both fresh and rotten, alien and human, slowly shamble around, the CRONE'S MILK dripping from their mouths. We move past them to an enormous, finely decorated double door, and still the humming continues, echoing.

FADE TO...

INT - CENTRAL TOWER – NIGHT

...the tower's main hall, its walls arrays of pillars. It leads to a vast chamber, which once held court solely for the city's leadership. Now, it served as the home of an artificial womb, a thing of metal, cables and tubes, wrapped around a stillborn abomination of incredible size.

As VERTHANDI'S song picks up, the machines that line the walls and ceilings of the chamber come to life as electricity arcs across ancient coils and dynamos. Tubes quiver and shake as ungodly fluids enter the sac, their pumps powered by whirring gyros and spinning cogs. This cacophony of technology reaches its apex, drowning the song for a moment as the light of the electric machines becomes blinding...

And suddenly, it stops.

ZOOM on the womb, as the song finishes, and the silence takes hold... and is ended, by a single heartbeat.

SMASH TO BLACK

There is an awful, splashing noise.

VERTHANDI [softly]

Happy Birthday...

---

STAR WARS:

WAR FOR THE OUTER RIM

Episode 4:

The Sirens of Ahch-To, part 3

Written by IgnusDei

Spell-check by WarpObscura

Guest starring:

Doug Jones as Dr. Theobald

and

Keith David as The Spider King

---

INT - FIRWIRRUNG, TEMPLE DISTRICT CLINIC - NIGHT

The clinic is ancient, but true to the Dagonian philosophy of preservation at all costs, everything inside of it is made to withstand the test of time. Every bottle, every book, and every tool could still be used, despite the age of it all... though some dusting might be in order, particularly on the EXAMINATION BED.

The door's hinges prove no match for the mighty kick of a Wookiee, and CHEWBACCA steps through, carrying a barely conscious REY in his arms, followed by R2-D2. RAZOO goes in next, REY'S SACK slung over his shoulder, and proceeds to try and find something to help her heal... or at least wake up. Unfortunately, the medicine cabinets and their contents are all labelled in ikhthýs, and RAZOO is unable to figure them out. As he continues to try, CHEWBACCA lays REY on the BED. She groans, and out of worry CHEWBACCA growls impatiently at RAZOO, who's begun to resort to popping open bottles and smelling them.

RAZOO
[sneezes]
Hey, what do you want me to do?!

I have no idea what this chicken scratch means!

R2-D2 [in binary]
You said you knew first aid!

RAZOO finds a pair of GOGGLES, an elaborate, finely crafted construct of steel, dials, brass and glass. He examines it up close, then puts it back.

RAZOO
BASIC first aid, in BASIC!
I'm a privateer, not a doctor! And that's what we need here, a DOCTOR!

Suddenly, the REAVERS outside the clinic toss someone in: a tall, thin, teal-skinned Dagonian man clad in the trappings of a country doctor, round spectacles included, the frost of a stasis pod still on his jacket, shirt and pants.

This is DOCTOR THEOBALD, and he lands face first onto the ground.

THEOBALD
Oof!

THEOBALD groans, and struggles to get up. He looks up, and we assume his point of view as his gaze falls on RAZOO...

THEOBALD [surprised]
Oh, a Hyur!

...On R2-D2...

THEOBALD
A construct...?

RAZOO
Hey! He speaks BASIC!

...and Chewbacca.

THEOBALD [gasping]
An arboreal?!

THEOBALD's lanky frame is galvanized by fear, and he quickly leaps on his feet and attempts to flee. CHEWBACCA is quicker, and grabs the Dagonian by the back of his jacket's collar, then pins him against the wall.

THEOBALD [scared]
Oh no no no NO!

CHEWBACCA [roaring, in Shyriiwook]
ARE YOU A DOCTOR?!

THEOBALD [blubbering]
OH PLEASE OH PLEASE DON'T EAT ME!

CHEWBACCA [roaring, in Shyriiwook]
I SAID, ARE YOU A DOCTOR?!
WE WERE PROMISED A DOCTOR!

THEOBALD keeps blubbering.

RAZOO [rolling his eyes]
He's asking if you're a doctor, fish man.

THEOBALD
Whuh... what?!

Theobald's blubbering stops, quickly replaced by utter confusion.

THEOBALD
It's capable of speech?!

CHEWBACCA roars at him, causing THEOBALD to shut his eyes.

THEOBALD [praying]
Oh, mighty Leviathan Ssi-Ruuk, please don't let it eat me!

RAZOO
Just answer the question and he won't!

THEOBALD
Alright, yes! I'm a doctor!

CHEWBACCA yanks him away from the wall.

THEOBALD
Urrrk!

CUT TO: CLOSE UP of RAZOO, CHEWBACCA, THEOBALD and R2's PERISCOPE, clustered together. They are staring down at REY, who is feverish. THEOBALD's face is half-covered by the GOGGLES, his long fingers fiddling with its dials as he thoroughly examines the damage.

THEOBALD
Oh... dear, oh dear... several fractures, punctures and bruises on the lungs... severe, rapid infection from water bacteria... what happened to her?!

RAZOO
She fell from the top of the library.

THEOBALD
Goodness! She should be dead!

Theobald fiddles with some more dials, and examines REY more closely.

THEOBALD
Hm... ah! Of course, higher bone and muscle density than a Hyur, I mean of course, obviously.

RAZOO
Look, can you help her?

THEOBALD
Oh, I don't have to.

CHEWBACCA [roaring, in Shyriiwook]
WHAT?!

THEOBALD [frightened]
Eep! I mean, I don't NEED to!

RAZOO [glaring]
That doesn't sound much better, doc.

THEOBALD
Well, here, better you see for yourself.

THEOBALD removes the GOGGLES and hands them to RAZOO, who puts them on. THEOBALD, gently puts his hands on the sides of the device, and guides RAZOO's sight.

THEOBALD
See that fracture in the arm?

It should be a major break, but something is holding it in place.

And more interestingly...

RAZOO [fascinated]
Hey, the cracks are disappearing... slowly, though.

THEOBALD [gleeful]
Remarkable, isn't it? Now look closer.

THEOBALD fiddles with some more dials, and RAZOO sees one of REY's cells. Another creak of the dials, and RAZOO can now see the microscopic flora inside of it.

They're glowing.

THEOBALD
The... what you call mitochondria, I believe,
are producing an incredible amount of energy, encouraging cell...

RAZOO
In Basic, doc. We didn't take cell biology in Crook Academy.

THEOBALD
Ah, yes... well... she heals really, really fast.
Hm... wait a moment.

THEOBALD takes back the GOGGLES, and peers into them, the green light cast over his eyes.

THEOBALD
Density... Nineteen thousand, four hundred and one?!
[awed]
A Jeedai! A real, live Jeedai! Oh I've always wanted to examine a live one!
Never managed it; either they killed us or we killed them.

CHEWBACCA and RAZOO exchange worried looks.

THEOBALD
The next eight hours should prove MOST illuminating!

RAZOO
Eight... hours?

THEOBALD
Hm? Oh, the time it will take her to fully heal, of course.

CHEWBACCA
We don't have that kind of time.

THEOBALD
I'm sorry?

RAZOO
He says we need her up and about yesterday, doc.
Can you speed her recovery up?

CUT TO:

The inside of the stasis fridge is dark, and is immediately illuminated once its door is opened, revealing THEOBALD's face. Inside there are various well-preserved jars of gel, cultures, and sea slugs suspended in frozen solution. The doctor picks up what he needs:

THEOBALD [excited]
Let's see... ah! My homemade Kolto, antibacterial
retro-viruses, and of course a local deep sea slug rich in stem cells.

REVERSE SHOT of Theobald in front of the fridge, as he turns around with jars in one arm, a menacing needle gun in the other hand, and an eager grin on his face.

THEOBALD
Let the operation begin!

Theobald's voice becomes a distant echo as we ZOOM IN on REY's eyes, which begin to flutter under her eyelids. Once again, she dreams, not of the WITCH's tree home, but of something more mundane and yet somehow far more precious.

INT - HOUSE OF REY'S DREAMS - DAY

REY half-wakes, smiling, in a bed made for two. She breathes in, slowly, and we get brief glimpses of what she smells, a myriad set of still life, breakfast for two: Eggs. Bacon. Freshly baked bread with butter on the side. A bowl of fresh fruit. A pitcher and glass of orange juice, covered in droplets. All of it is illuminated by golden sunshine blazing through the window. All made for her by her beloved. The montage ends with a CLOSE UP of REY's mouth, savoring the meal, suppressing a giggle as someone off-screen wipes egg from her mouth with his thumb. It would almost be erotic, were it not for the briefness of the moment.

We are back on the bed. The rays of sunlight move away from REY's half-sleeping form. The shadows reach her eyes, disturbing her, causing her to wake fully. REY stretches contently before reaching for the empty side of the bed. Her hand only finds soft fabric and quilted pillows. REY 'wakes' completely now - something's missing. Something important.

Someone important. This, she knows.

WIDE SHOT of the bedroom. The furniture is humble in its materials- wood and plaster, the occasional piece of iron... but somehow opulent in its decoration and the sheer care put into its crafting. The bedroom has a warmth to it, even as the sky outside becomes overcast.

REY, looking oddly magnificent while wrapped in her white nightgown and her head a long tangle of chocolate, steps out of bed.

EXT - HOUSE OF REY'S DREAMS - DAY

Rain begins to fall upon the coastal home, an ancient thing of stone bricks topped by a tiled roof. It is marked by age, but had been given a great deal of care, allowing it to endure the test of time. Another sequence begins, of not-so still life, all of it relentlessly assaulted with light rain: A project car, its mechanical heart exposed. A chopping block and firewood: rain plinks on an axe. A mailbox filled with birthday cards and congratulations for a happy event. A BICYCLE's wheel spinning through the power of a chain, shaking off the drops. The montage ends with the front door of the house, exposing the coat rack, a raincoat, REY's raincoat, conspicuously absent from it.

REY, clad against the rain, rides off on the BICYCLE.

EXT - REY'S DREAM, COUNTRYSIDE - DAY

The road in front of REY is gravel, mud, and the occasional puddle. The sky is grey, filtering the sunlight. On each side of her are broken palings, separating her from the grassy hills and fields. It's quiet and peaceful, but the warmth from earlier is gone. REY shivers under her coat, but she presses on. She's looking for someone, someone important.

Someone she hasn't met yet. This, she knows.

REY rides on... and catches a glimpses of lightning, and a mere moment later the rumble of thunder washes over her ears, and suddenly...

CUT TO: INT - HOUSE OF REY'S DREAMS - NIGHT

REY is back in bed, but someone is there with her. It's a man, tall, and strong. His shoulder-length hair is black, but his face is unseen, buried in REY's chest as she holds him tightly, comforting him as thunder claps outside.

REY [whispering]
It's okay, I'm here...

CUT TO: EXT - REY'S DREAM, COUNTRYSIDE - DAY

The vision within a vision is gone as suddenly as it appeared, and REY rides on...

CUT TO: A spiderweb, built between branches, laced with dew. At the center of which is a large black spider. Rey is in the background, admiring the creature, unafraid. She takes it in her hands, shielding it from the water. It doesn't bite. Through dream logic, REY knows this to be the SPIDER KING. She brings it closer to her face, and lends it her ear. The voice that rings out of the tiny creature is deep, and permeates all.

SPIDER KING
WHAT YOU LONG FOR CANNOT BE.

CUT TO:

REY riding onward. The road is gone, and her course takes her through a silent battlefield, the grave of thousands and thousands of soldiers. Their meatless skulls are a poor fit for their tin helmets, and their uniforms hang from their bones. Half of them are clad in red and white, the colours of liberty. The other half bear the unmistakable colours of fascists - black, grey, and silvery iron.

The crows are legion, picking at what remains. Some, their bellies full, stand perched idly atop tanks, the armour of which is just as ruined as the corpses beneath them.

SPIDER KING [off-screen]
YES, LEAVE THE DREAM OF SUNLIGHT BEHIND.
EMBRACE THIS FEAST; IT IS ALL FOR YOU.

REY
I don't want this. I didn't wish for this.

SPIDER KING [off-screen]
BUT YOU DESIRE IT.

REY rides on. It gets progressively darker, and the sound of battle echo just beyond her hearing. Shadows come to life, repeating the battle that had robbed them all of life. REY catches sight of a vision of herself, a Joan-Of-Arc figure brandishing a blazing weapon high, calling to all that love her to fight and die for her. FINN answers the call. POE answers the call. Them, and countless other men.

All save one.

SPIDER KING
YOU HUNGER FOR IT.

REY
No. I wished for something better.
I long for something better...

SPIDER KING
WHAT YOU LONG FOR MUST NOT BE.
IT IS THE PROMISE OF PEACE, AND PEACE...
PEACE IS A LIE.
RIDE ON, CHILD. SEE WHAT DESTINY HAS SET FOR YOU.

Defiantly, REY rides on, through the hammering of the rain, the roaring threats of thunder, and the screams of the damned, until...

CUT TO: EXT - REY'S DREAM, BEACH - DAY

The sky brightens, through it is still gray. The rain no longer pours, but it still falls.

REY pulls the brakes on her bicycle. She has arrived. Standing near the water, past a forest of swords planted in the sand, stands what REY longed for.

REY approaches him, moving past the swords, each one whispering a story that ends in cruel tragedy.

REY [hopefully]
Finn?

It could not be Finn. The man is simply too tall to be a stormtrooper.

REY continues to approach, her wet brown hair, clinging to her coat, begins to dry, and REY's shivers begin to fade. It's getting warmer.

REY [scared]
Kylo?

It could not be Kylo. The man is simply built too heroically to be the master of the Knights of Ren.

REY is right behind the man, now, feeling so small compared to him. She reaches out to him, longing to touch him.

REY
Show me your face, please...

The man twitches ever so slightly at the sound of her voice, and begins to turn around. REY smiles, but only catches a glimpse of the man's brilliant blue eyes before the world around her turns into hell, and the man before her is replaced with a horned titan clad in black armour, inlaid with silvery iron.

He backhands REY into the air.

CUT TO: EXT - REY'S NIGHTMARE, BATTLEFIELD - HELL

REY's back hits one of the swords, a wide paddle of iron, and she falls forward. Her LIGHTSABER, a saberstaff she had made herself, clatters in front of her. She is no longer in her raincoat. Instead, she is clad in dress-armour inspired by the uniforms of the Knights of Zakuul. The only bare part of her is her face, covered in cuts and bruises.

SPIDER KING [off-screen]
THIS IS WHAT MUST BE.

All around her, a battle rages amidst a firestorm. The dirt is red with blood. The screams she had thought she left behind are now roaring over the flames. Who is fighting who matters not.

The horned titan, her foe, approaches, growing larger and larger with each step. His aura is fire, but it pales in comparison to the blaze of hate that serves as the irises of his eyes, peering through the eyeslits of a beastly helm.

SPIDER KING [off-screen]
YOU KILL HIM, OR HE KILLS YOU.

REY reaches for her lightsaber, but the armored giant's foot crushes it to pieces. In his right hand he wields a great sword of metal, a wide executioner's blade with a bestial design carved into it, a chain wrapped around the base. The oils on it burn, a primitive imitation of a lightsaber, crude, brutal and far more evil.

The giant drops it, and REY's confusion makes way for horror, as she realizes he means to kill her with his clawed, armored hands.

He grabs her by the wrists, and pulls her closer to his face. The helmet opens at the mouth, revealing an array of sharp lion's teeth. They open just so as the monster's voice, the roar of a beast, twists itself into words.

CEADEUS
WHO ARE YOU?!

CUT TO:

INT - FIRWIRRUNG, TEMPLE DISTRICT CLINIC - NIGHT

REY wakes to find a pair of giant black lenses staring down at her, with THEOBALD right behind them, grinning like a madman.

THEOBALD
How are you —

REY
NOOOOOOO!

THEOBALD is quickly interrupted as REY panics and reaches out with the Force, and everyone present is hoisted by the throat. RAZOO and CHEWBACCA gurgle, unable to speak, while R2-D2 merely floats.

R2-D2 [in binary]

Rey! Stop! You're safe! You're safe!
He means you no harm!

REY relents, dropping everyone to the ground. CHEWBACCA coughs hoarsely.

RAZOO
Yeah, that's how THAT feels!

THEOBALD [giddy]
Again! AGAIN! Please! I need more data!

REY sits up, and contemplates for a moment what she had just done. That moment of reflection is quickly dashed by a realization.

REY
Luke!

She darts out of bed, and makes for the exit.

THEOBALD, RAZOO and CHEWBACCA [in unison]
WAIT!

EXT - FIRWIRRUNG, TEMPLE DISTRICT CLINIC - NIGHT

The entire group, THEOBALD included, hurry out of the clinic and onto the empty main street. REY leads them, her strides are wide and quick, and everyone else has trouble keeping up.

THEOBALD
Miss? Miss! I must insist you continue you stay in bed! You've only been resting for an hour!

He rummages through a DOCTOR'S BAG slung over his shoulder.

REY
Rubbish! I feel fine! Wait...

She stops.

REY
I've been asleep all that time?! Why didn't you wake me sooner?!
[To THEOBALD]
Who the heck are you?!
[To herself]
WHY AM I COVERED IN BANDAGES?!

THEOBALD
Oh, I have not been properly introduced, my name is Theobald, and I am your doctor!
The bandages were necessary, I made several incisions...

REY [livid]
Incisions

YAZOO
He cut into you.

REY [livid]
WHO THE HELL GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO CUT INTO ME YOU—

LEAD REAVER [offscreen, in ikhthýs]
We did.

Everyone looks up at the rooftops — Reavers, dozens of them, surround them. CHEWBACCA and RAZOO draw their weapons, while REY pats herself for her lightsaber.

THEOBALD just stands there, curious.

The lead REAVER steps forward, on the edge of a rooftop.

LEAD REAVER [in ikhthýs]
Peace, Witch. We mean you no harm. In fact,
we thawed doctor Theobald out to provide you with aid.

THEOBALD [oblivious, in ikhthýs]
Oh, hello, constable Thorfinn! How are you on this fine night?

REY [In basic]
Constable?

RAZOO [shocked]
CONSTABLE?! Those guys are COPS?!

THORFINN, the Lead Reaver [in ikhthýs]
We are no longer of the City Watch, good doctor.
Times have changed, as you soon will see.

REY nods slightly at RAZOO.

RAZOO
No wonder I hate these guys.

THORFINN [in ikhthýs]
Your release is conditional, good doctor.
You WILL follow this Hyur...
[he points at REY]
...wherever she goes. Fail to do so and
the consequences will be most dire.

THEO gulps.

REY [in ikhthýs]
[to Thorfinn]
Thank you, but is there anything
else you can do to help us?

THORFINN [in ikhthýs]
Aisa sang a last command through the blood song.
We were to cease attacking you, and do what we could to preserve your life.
That was her final command, and we obeyed it.
[curiously]
Have you, too, partaken in the Blood of Ren? Is that the source of your power?

REY [in ikhthýs]
No, at least I don't think so. Wait, what is the Blood of Ren?!
Aisa wrote of it in her journal, but...

The LEAD REAVER looks at his deformed hands, and frowns, bitterly.

THORFINN [in ikhthýs]
It's a curse. Whence it came from, or who made it... does it matter?
Without Aisa to give us her blood, we are doomed.
[sighs]
You mean to kill Verthandi next, don't you?

REY [in ikhthýs]
We'll have to! We can't escape otherwise. Can you help us against her?

THORFINN [in ikhthýs]
No.

REY [in ikhthýs]
But Aisa...

THORFINN [in ikhthýs]
Aisa did not order us to strike down her sister, and Verthandi
could still order us to kill you, if she wished it.
Whose order would we follow? We cannot decide...
So, we have given you all the aid we can.

He points at a Tram station nearby, its lights beginning to flicker on.

THORFINN [in ikhthýs]
Your ship no longer works. This tram will take you to the Tower.
No one will attack you on your way,
But once you are in the central district, you will be on your own against Verthandi's Thralls...
And should you evade them, SHE will certainly end you herself.

The REAVERS begin to leave. THORFINN takes something out of his cloak, a fully powered draining dagger and an incomplete LIGHTNING PISTOL. He slots the dagger into the PISTOL, turning its handle into a grip. He tosses it at THEOBALD, but it falls just short of the doctors shoes as it clatters to the ground.

REY [in ikhthýs]
Wait! Where are you going?!

THORFINN [in ikhthýs]
We go to await the end of all things.
[to REY]
Farewell, Jeedaii witch.
[to THEOBALD]
...Farewell, old friend.

THEOBALD
Wait! THORFINN, I don't understand!
I have so many questions!

THORFINN doesn't answer, and the REAVERS vanish into the dark corners of the city. THEOBALD, shocked and confused, slowly walks up to the LIGHTNING GUN, picks it up, and turns to the rest of the group, the weapon at his side, non-threatening.

RAZOO [to REY]
First they venerate you,
then they pike off? Hmph, the jerks.

THEOBALD [distraught]
Could... can any of you... could you be so kind
and explain to me what's going on?

WIPE TO: EXT - TEMPLE DISTRICT - NIGHT

WIDE SHOT of the city as a tram leaves the Temple district's station, taking a long, scenic route towards the tower. CLOSE UP of the TRAM. Through the window we see that the interior of the vehicle is very well lit. Inside, CHEWBACCA speaks to a dejected THEOBALD, sinking depressingly into a seat as RAZOO translates the Wookiee's speech.

CUT TO: INT - TRAM CAR - NIGHT

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
And that's when they tossed you in.

RAZOO [translating]
"And that's when they threw you in like a sack of potatoes."

THEOBALD [distraught]
Oh... oh my, this is unbelievable.

RAZOO
Hey, we're not lying!
Well, I'm not, anyways.

THEOBALD [resigned]
No, I believe you.

Meanwhile, REY fishes out ANAKIN'S LIGHTSABER from her SACK, and smiles as she sees CUDDLES crawl on her hand.

REY [whispering to CUDDLES]
Hey you.

REY opens a few ration packs, wolfing down several pieces of vegetable jerky to fill her empty stomach. She gives a bit to CUDDLES, who politely shakes his head. He had already had a whole PORG, after all.

Meanwhile:

THEOBALD [distraught]
You make them sound like... like
monsters out of one of those awful films.
The three priestesses of Ssi-Ruuk were divine, sage creatures.
And now they act as cackling witches?

RAZOO
Well, you saw those cops of yours.

They looked pretty monstrous...
Even compared to you.

THEOBALD
I know, I noticed. So much has changed
since they put me in the cryo-prison.
...How long has it been since then? What year is it?

RAZOO [pondering]
Uh, well, it's 1035 Ruusan, I think?

RAZOO turns to CHEWBACCA, and the Wookie nods, confirming the year.

THEOBALD
I... I am not familiar with that calendar. What is the year in Tho Yor?

CHEWBACCA tilts his head, and RAZOO shrugs. THEOBALD turns to R2, who merely swivels his top several times.

THEOBALD
Oh my... long enough for even your machines to forget.

THEOBALD looks out the window, and sees the damage the years spent underwater have done to the flying city. He recalls how the city looked like in the light of day, so many years ago. It was beautiful, then.

The memory fades, and the harsh reality hits him again, causing him to turn away from the window.

THEOBALD
Long enough for even our finest masonry to erode.

REY
Theo... Theobald, right?

THEOBALD [earnest]
Oh, please! You may call me Theo. All my friends do... or did, once.

REY
Theo, do you know what the Blood of Ren is?

THEO
Hm... oh! That thing Thorfinn mentioned earlier...

THEO ponders the question, but then shakes his head.

THEO [continued]
I... don't think so? Why do you ask?

REY
Aisa wrote about it.
[taps her sack]
A man came with a... decanter? I'm not sure what that is.

THEOBALD
A fancy glass bottle.

REY
Oh? Right. And that bottle had the Blood in it,
and I think that's what turned them into monsters...

THEOBALD
What colour is it? Green, I presume?

REY
No...

REY gets a brief vision of the Decanter of the Blood of Ren, an ornate piece of glass, with gleaming black steel leaves and vines wrapped around it, cradled by a pair of wrinkly hands with long fingers tipped by WELL MANICURED NAILS. Between the vines are 13 metal bas-reliefs of zodiac signs, with the addition of a serpent.

Inside of the bottle is a RED LIQUID.

REY shakes the vision off.

REY
It's red.

THEO thinks about it some more, then:

THEO [realizing]
The alien lymphocytes!
I remember now!
Verthandi gave me a sample,
the suspension was red!
Ah, it all makes sense! I TOLD them not to use it,
and they jailed me immediately afterward!

THEOBALD cradles his head.

THEO [upset]

I warned them! The horrid mutagenic properties! Too many variables!
Unpredictable! Dangerous!

R2-D2 [in binary]
We're almost there.

CUT TO:

EXT - CENTRAL DISTRICT TRAM STATION -NIGHT

The TRAM CAR approaches the Central Station's dock, illuminated by glow globes, but otherwise empty.

TRAM COMPUTER [in ikhthýs]
Attention passengers, we have arrived at Central Station Four.

RAZOO
Sorry you two, we're going to have to cut
the exposition short. That guy mentioned thralls earlier
Any idea what those might be, doc?

THEO
N-No, I'm sorry. I have no idea.

CHEWBACCA slings his Vibrosword on his back, and readies his bowcaster.

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
That's fine. If these "thralls" can bleed, then we can kill them.

The rest of the group get up and ready their own weapons, while THEO looks sullenly at his LIGHTNING PISTOL, holding it by the sides. There is a slight rumble as the TRAM docks, and the doors slide open... and a chorus of groans rushes in, echoing through the empty dock.

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Oh, no... I know that sound.
You guys stay here; I'll scout on ahead to be sure.

RAZOO
No, let me.
[he sniffs]
You'll be spotted a mile away, the way you smell.

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Very funny. Stay here, keep an eye on REY, and get the tram
ready to leave at a moment's notice.

CHEWIE steps out onto the dock, his steps oddly quiet for a creature so large. RAZOO keeps an eye out, his TL-50 ready to shoot anything hostile. The Wookie disappears down a stairwell.

THEO fishes out a pocket watch from his jacket. He opens it, and admires a picture of himself, his wife, and his infant son. He strokes the picture, lovingly. A light flickers above him, and he looks up, and is baffled at the array of adverts printed on the glowing surfaces, most of which were for entechment services, or entechment pods for the home.

The horror of it doesn't have time to sink in. Flashes of light come from the stairwell, the sound of CHEWIE'S BOWCASTER is muffled by distance and the windows. CHEWBACCA himself emerges, and sprints back towards the TRAM CAR with fear in his eyes.

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]

ZOMBIES! THRICE-DAMNED ZOMBIES!

Chewbacca's pursuers emerge from the stairwell: GUAVIANS running with an insane, jerky gait. They're quickly followed by some KANJIKLUBBERS, their uncovered heads revealing the CRONE'S MILK streaming from their mouths and faces.

These are VERTHANDI'S THRALLS.

Through the open door, RAZOO and REY cover CHEWBACCA's escape with their guns.

REY
Shoot them in the—

RAZOO
—The head, I know!

REY
No, the legs!

REY demonstrates by shooting a sprinting Guavian THRALL in the kneecap. It doesn't quite pulverize the Guavian's cybernetic knee actuator, but it locks it up, causing him to stumble and fall just short of CHEWBACCA'S heel. Meanwhile, the Kanjiklubber THRALL Razoo had shot in the head still lurched and stumbled forward, hands outstretched. RAZOO follows REY's advice, and kneecaps the THRALL, who finally falls.

REY and RAZOO gape at the fallen Thralls: they're still moving, crawling on the ground even as their friends step over them in their scramble to catch CHEWBACCA.

REY
Chewie! Get in, GET IN!

CHEWBACCA crosses the threshold, and REY shuts the door behind him.

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Quick! Before the shamblers get here!

She feeds the TRAM another coin, even as more THRALLS arrive and hammer their fists against the windows in an attempt to break in. The Tram fails to move, so REY makes a dash for the front of the TRAM.

TRAM COMPUTER
You're aaall going to diiie he-he-heeere.

The bright lights inside the TRAM flicker off, making way for the crimson of the emergency lamps.

REY
Oh, no... We've lost power!

We PAN around from the center of the cabin as more THRALLS appear, snarling at the nearly impenetrable windows as the group looks around them and the small horde of THRALLS that surround them. REY and RAZOO are clearly scared, and sweating. CHEWBACCA is tense, but remains determined. R2-D2 shakes.

RAZOO
Well, we're all pecked... unless someone's got an plan?

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
[readying his large vibrosword]
No, we're definitely kriffed. Those things just don't stay down. Trust me, I tried.

RAZOO
What's with the sword, then?

CHEWBACCA looks at RAZOO grimly.

RAZOO
...Nope. Nope Nope Nope I want a BETTER plan!

THEOBALD is also nervous, but that feeling quickly fades as he puts on his GOGGLES and scans a Twi'Lek THRALL behind one of the windows.

THEO
The Crone's Milk...

REY
What?

THEO
That fluid seeping from that one's mouth.
I never imagined...

REY
Do you know something about it?

Suddenly one of the windows begins to crack from the onslaught of blows. The Thralls, feeling no pain, have no problem shattering their fists against the thick, hardened glass. In a few moments, they would break in and kill everyone inside.

RAZOO
I'd rather you tell us how
to kill these things, doc!

The cracks widen...

THEO

Well, their entire bodies are oxygenated by the milk, but the neural spores—

RAZOO
In Basic, Doc! BASIC!

THEO [frustrated]
The brain! Disconnect the brain!

Suddenly one of the windows gives way, and shards of reinforced glass rain on the floor. RAZOO and CHEWBACCA begin shooting, aiming for the THRALL's heads. It keeps them at bay, but it doesn't kill them.

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
I told you, that won't work!

THEO [frustrated]
Don't shoot the brain! Disconnect it! Disconnect it!

RAZOO
What?!

R2-D2 [in binary]
He means cut their heads off, genius!

Another window breaks, and Thralls climb in. REY ignites her lightsaber, and swings at their necks. Her attacks aren't precise, lacking the expertise of a master. Sometimes she strikes true, and thrall heads roll, their bodies twitching on the ground. Sometimes she struck the body, leaving the Milk-infested brain an arm or two to work with. At her worst, REY manages to lop off a chunk of skull, but she never actually misses.

Eventually, the still-mobile THRALLS begin to overwhelm her.

R2-D2
Get away from her!

R2-D2 deploys his shock probes, shocking the THRALLS attacking REY, causing them to seize up and give her much needed breathing room to finish them off.

Meanwhile, CHEWBACCA manages to keep the horde at bay, his more practiced, expert swings consistently beheading THRALLS at a steady rate.

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
[to RAZOO]
I got this! Go help REY!

RAZOO, his machete out, comes to REY's aid, finishing off the THRALLS she had wounded, but not beheaded. It almost looks like they're going to make it... then all the other windows broke, and more THRALLS fall in.

THEOBALD begins to quake in fear, his scientific curiosity no longer overwhelming his basic survival instinct.

RAZOO [angry]
Doc! You gonna use that gun anytime soon?!

THEOBALD draws his LIGHTNING gun, and awkwardly aims it at the nearest THRALL. But then, he sees someone in the horde, someone he recognizes...

THEOBALD [scared]
I... I can't!

CHEWBACCA is overwhelmed. A Thrall bites RAZOO's ankle. THEOBALD goes into the fetal position. Only REY and R2-D2 stand.

A Thrall pins her sword hand against the console, and attempts to bite her face off. REY's free hand pushes against the side of his face.

REY [frantic]
N-No!

The THRALL's snapping teeth get closer.

REY [angry]
Stop!

As REY struggles, the light of her LIGHTSABER shifts from bright blue to a burning red. Wisps of glowing red smoke arise from the blade...

REY [enraged]
I said STOP!

CUT TO:

EXT - FIRWIRRUNG, CENTRAL TRAM STATION - NIGHT

A red glow brightens the inside of the TRAM. There is a snarl, and the familiar scorching hum of a LIGHTSABER arcing through the air, only louder, deeper, and stronger. A red beam cuts the TRAM's hull from the inside out, killing every THRALL still outside, waiting for their turn at the feast. The few that are out of reach keep moving forward.

One of them is crushed by the double doors as REY kicks them out with the strength of a Wookiee. She emerges, bite marks all over her, none of which managed to pierce the skin. A smoking aura of red light emanates from her.

She steps out, and steps on a biting, snarling THRALL's head, crushing it underfoot.

The THRALLS rush her, and she cuts several of them down with a single swing. She overcommits, and the last THRALL takes advantage of her stumbling... only to receive a backhanded fist in the head, pulping its skull. REY's growling is the last thing it hears.

The THRALLS - at least, the ones in the station - are all dead. REY switches the LIGHTSABER off, and she feels the strain of using the power of the KRAYT DRAGON PEARL. Her face is slick with sweat, and her breath is ragged.

The WITCH appears besides REY, and she whispers something in her ear.

WITCH
Just one more. One more kill, one more sacrifice,
and your weapon will be complete.

REY looks over her shoulder, but the WITCH is gone. Instead, she sees the rest of the party stepping out of the TRAM. CHEWBACCA is covered in blood and green milk, but he seems fine. RAZOO is missing a chunk of his boot, but he barely limps.

THEO [worried]
Please, let me...

RAZOO [bitterly]
Don't touch me, you damned coward.

RAZOO takes a good look at REY's carnage, and his attitude changes.

RAZOO
Peck.

They walk amidst the bodies. THEO looks down, shocked at the body parts. A DAGONIAN THRALL head snarls at him, and he shoots it with his lightning pistol, causing it to explode. CHEWBACCA, startled, snarls at him.

THEO
Oh my... I... I think that was my mailman.

RAZOO
Big deal. I used to play Pazaak
with that kriffer over there.

He stomps a KANJIKLUBBBER THRALL's skull three times, before it stops moving.

RAZOO
Schutta owed me 100 credits.

CHEWBACCA
Rey?

REY is still just standing there, marveling at her handiwork.

REY
Hm? Yeah, yeah I'm alright.
What now?

CHEWBACCA

We need to get out of here.

As the group leaves, a PORG looks on from above.

INT - FIRWIRRUNG CORE ROOM - NIGHT

VERTHANDI watches them leave, then replays the slaughter in her orb.

VERTHANDI
Magnificent.
[taunting]
Do you still hope to turn her into a Jeedai?
There is a... savagery in her that your heathen cult lacks.

LUKE [weakly]
There's still hope... for her... but not... not for you...
Not if you keep this up...
Her powers are growing too fast,
too much for anyone to control, not even you.

VERTHANDI
I can control ANYTHING.
I can control EVERYTHING.

LUKE [weakly]
I knew an Emperor who thought the same...

EXT - FIRWIRRUNG, CENTRAL DISTRICT MAIN STREET, NIGHT

Lit up by the lamposts and glowglobes, the Central district would have seemed luxurious, were it not for the millenia of water damage and the THRALLS infesting the slick cobblestone streets. The accumulation of centuries of errant adventurers unfortunate enough to have been caught in the CRONE's grasp, the THRALL HORDE is an ecclectic bunch of long dead DAGONIANS and various aliens species, all preserved by the CRONE's MILK inside their bodies. The state of their bodies are almost as diverse, with some looking like freshly slain corpses and others appearing as ambulant mummies.

The party walks through the streets, but the HORDE doesn't attack them. THEO looks at the DAGONIAN THRALLS just standing there, trying to catch something unseen...

THEO [horrified]
Ssi-Ruuk's mercy, this... this is...

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Quiet! We don't want to alert any Runners!

RAZOO shushes THEO.

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Watch out for the Shamblers. Keep yourselves out of their reach.

REY
You keep saying that. What are Shamblers?

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
[pointing at a THRALL]
Those. The ones too rotten and too slow to chase us.
Think of these as an environmental hazard, like a pool of acid.

They come across a HORDE so dense it's impossible to pass through. REY ignites her lightsaber...

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Rey, no!

[To RAZOO]
Ask the doctor if he knows a way up on the rooftops.

RAZOO repeats CHEWBACCA's question in basic.

THEO
...Hm? Oh! All buildings in Firwirrung have
fire escapes that lead all the way up.

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Is that so?

EXT - FIRWIRRUNG, CENTRAL DISTRICT ALLEY, NIGHT

CHEWBACCA beheads a SHAMBLER in the way, letting out a grunt as he crushes the severed head under his foot to keep it from snarling too loudly. He's visibly hurt and tired, but he soldiers on.

REY
Chewie, you look terrible.
Maybe Theo can have a look at you?

THEO [earnest]
I can treat arboreals, I assure you!

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Later, when we've found a safe spot.

They climb up the tallest building's fire escape. The metal stairs are encrusted with bits of underwater fauna, which react to their footsteps the whole way up, lashing their weak little tendrils in the hopes of finding food.

R2 simply flies up.

EXT - FIRWIRRUNG, CENTRAL DISTRICT, ROOFTOPS, NIGHT

RAZOO
Great view from up here, I guess. Now what?

From this vantage point, CHEWBACCA surveys the area with his EV2 Macrobinoculars. REY walks up besides him, and he hands them to her.

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Hm... and no secondary entrances to that tower...
But the front door's wide open. Rey? Have a look.

We assume REY's POV through the binoculars. She sees the main entrance to the TOWER... and the tens of thousands of THRALLS concentrated at the entrance and the TERRACE leading up to it.

The front double doors, large enough to fit an AT-AT walker through, were indeed wide open.

REY
Stars... how are we going to get past all of these?

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Hand me the binoculars...

CHEWBACCA scans the horizon, until he finds a few items of interest: a GUAVIAN speeder crashed into a storefront, and an upside-down KANJIKLUB SCYK STARFIGHTER that had managed to crashland on a stretch of rooftops, balanced precariously over the edge.

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Well, the fighter's down for good, but I see a
concussion missile poking out of that wing.
And there's a speeder... looks serviceable. Think you can fix it?

REY examines the SPEEDER through the binoculars.

REY
I think so, yeah, nothing's leaking
and Artoo's got a full set of tools.

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
The fighter? Think you can extract
that missile from the launcher?

REY
Hm... risky, but yeah, shouldn't be a problem.
Why? What do you have in mind?

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
You'll see.
[loudly]
Let's move out! We're headed for that fighter!

The group moves from rooftop to rooftop, across interconnected buildings. They quickly come across a gap six meters across.

RAZOO
I could jump that, easy.
[he smirks at CHEWBACCA]
Don't know about you, though.

THEO
Oh, that's not necessary.
All of Firwirrung's apartment buildings come equipped
with emergency bridge ladders.

RAZOO
Err... why?

THEO
In case the fire escapes are... well, on fire.

RAZOO
...They're METAL.

THEO
That didn't stop that pyromaniacal Jeedai...
Ahem! In any case...

THEO walks up to a contraption set on the edge of the roof, and proceeds to turn its large crank. The mechanism is loud, lacking in lubrication, but it works: A sturdy ladder rises from the machine.

Suddenly, the cranks locks up. THEO struggles to get to move, and CHEWBACCA takes over. With some effort, the ladder rises again, but slowly.

R2-D2 [in binary]
Really not liking the noise this thing makes.

REY
Any runners?

As if on cue, GUAVIAN THRALL RUNNERS can be heard snarling from below, emerging from the HORDE. Their cybernetics let them quickly scale the building. RAZOO keeps them at bay with his REPEATER, but more emerge from the darkness.

REY meets them with her lightsaber.

REY
CHEWIE, KEEP TURNING THE CRANK!

More RUNNERS come, and RAZOO switches to his melee weapon. R2 helps with his shockprobe, while THEOBALD, Lightning gun out, shakes with fear.

RAZOO
Doc! If you don't start shooting real soon
I'm going to take this REAL personal!

THEO
I... I can't, I'm a doctor! A doctor, not a shootist!

REY
Just shoot, damn you!

THEO finds some courage, aims at a RUNNER's general direction, and pulls the trigger, and misses... only to hit another RUNNER in the chest, causing its abdomen to explode. Without its core muscles, it wasn't going anywhere.

THEO [distraught]
Oh my!

Finally, the ladder is fully extended, and it falls down, bridging the gap.

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Go, go, go!
Doctor, you go first!

THEO can't make sense of the WOOKIEE's snarls, but goes through anyways. CHEWBACCA urges REY to go next, covering her with his BOWCASTER. It doesn't do enough raw damage to take out a THRALL, but its stopping power is enough to send them flying back.

RAZOO goes next, with R2 flying besides him across the bridge. CHEWBACCA goes last, and his weight causes the ladder to bend...

RAZOO
Hurry up!

The rest of the party covers CHEWBACCA's crossing with their ranged weapons, with THEO barely accounting for himself with only one more kill. CHEWBACCA is halfway there before a RUNNER leaps at the Wookiee, sinking its teeth into his neck, CHEWIE fights him off, but loses his balance, and nearly falls. He grabs the ladder... only for it to buckle under his weight and break.

CHEWBACCA falls. The HORDE awaits him, ten stories below...

REY [scared]
NO!

The Force gathers around CHEWBACCA, and holds him aloft, inches from the grasping hands of the THRALLS below, before lifting him back up and depositing him right in front of THEO.

R2-D2 [relieved, in binary]
Whew, thought you were a goner there, old friend!

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
So did I.
[To REY]
Thank you.

REY
That... that wasn't me.

RAZOO
Well, if it wasn't you, who was it?

THEO
Does it matter? The arboreal is wounded, he needs first aid!

CUT TO: THEO applying disinfectant and sticking a KOLTO patch on CHEWBACCA's neck wound, while the Wookiee sits on a lawn chair bolted on the roof.

RAZOO
That bite looks... really, really bad.

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Be honest with me, doctor. How long before
I start snarling and eating brains?

THEO
What did he say?

REY
He wants to know how long
before he turns into a Thrall.

THEO moves on to the superficial wounds, spraying a foam on them.

THEO [calmly]
Not any time soon - Crone's Milk bacteria
doesn't replicate that fast.
To saturate the brain, injection or ingestion would be faster.

RAZOO [suspicious]
You seem to know an awful lot about it.

THEO
I should; I worked on its initial clinical trials.

REY [confused]
Clinical... trials?

THEO
It was while it was an early discovery,
the product of culturing Jeedai liver cells.
The resulting... goo, for the lack of a better word,
proved to be a useful way to preserve
organic specimens for later use.
[he chuckles]
It smells like rotten milk, hence the name.

RAZOO eyes REY, and takes her aside while THEO keeps bandaging CHEWBACCA

RAZOO [whispering, in huttese]
You trust this guy?

REY [whispering, in huttese]
Sure, why not?

RAZOO [In huttese]
He just admitted to harvesting Jedi livers!

REY [In huttese]
Look, if he really meant us any harm,
I think we'd be dead by now.

RAZOO [In huttese]
We don't even know why he's following us around!

REY [In huttese]
Thorfinn told him to?
Maybe he just wants to help?
Good enough reasons for me.

RAZOO [In huttese]
You're far too trusting.

REY [In huttese]
Yeah, you're right. I mean here I am,
keeping company with a pirate that
wouldn't have thought twice about selling
me out to the First Order a few weeks ago.

She eyes him meaningfully.

RAZOO [In huttese]
How did you—

REY [In huttese]
[smiles, taps the side of her head]
Jedi trainee, remember?
Look, the point is, I have just as much
reason to trust him as I have to trust you...but I do it anyways.
Maybe it's the will of the Force, I don't know.
Just trust my instincts, okay?

RAZOO [relenting]
Fine, but I'll keep my eye on him.

CUT TO: A bandaged up CHEWBACCA cranking another bridge ladder. Despite the noise, no more RUNNERS come.

R2-D2
Nothing on motion sensors.
I guess we're good.

The party crosses over again, the fallen STARFIGHTER well within sight. As they walk across another roof, RAZOO probes THEO.

RAZOO
Hey... doc?

THEO
Yes?

RAZOO
Those ah, "clinical trials" ...
were any live Jedi involved?

THEO
I honestly do not know.
I was put in cryostasis before
the Milk's... other properties
were discovered. I don't see why not, though.
Why do you ask?

RAZOO [apprehensive]
So... what are our chances of
encountering Zombie Jedi?

THEO [nervous]
Slim, I hope...

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Just one more crank and we're there.

Something screams madly, the sound echoing through the dark, giving everyone in the party a fright.

RAZOO
What the hell was that?!

The scream echoes again, louder and closer. REY draws her lightsaber, while everyone else ready their guns. Back to back, they scan the area with their eyes.

REY
Where is it?
Artoo? Do you have
anything on your sensors?

R2-D2
Just the blips below us.

Another screech. They wait, and wait, but nothing comes. REY sighs in relief.

RAZOO
The minute we drop our guard,
it'll strike. I just know it.

REY
Well, we can't just stay still.
Come on.

CUT TO: REY and R2-D2 salvaging the warhead from the missile. The task is difficult, and precarious, made all the more stressful by the threat of the ship falling over.
The propellant tank is leaking, and THEO crinkles his nostrils while his gills shut.

THEO
Augh! The smell!
What is that?!

RAZOO [smiling]
My own recipe!
Extra hydrogen in the mix - gets
you twenty percent more thrust!

R2-D2 [in binary]
And a hundred percent more
flaming death on a critical hit.

RAZOO [deflated]
Yeah... yeah, that too.

Before long the explosive and its detonator are bundled in a sack of cloth, and strapped to CHEWBACCA's back.

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Good work, you two.

REY and R2-D2
Thanks.

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Now, let's get to that speeder!

EXT - FIRWIRRUNG, CENTRAL DISTRICT MAIN STREET, NIGHT

Atop a rooftop the party examines the crashed LANDSPEEDER directly below them. It's an older Aratech Imperial Light Infantry Utility Vehicle, customized with two extra seats and a triple-barreled BARAGWIN HEAVY AUTOBLASTER RIFLE mounted on the front, all painted in GUAVIAN colours. The driver and gunner were dead, having been beheaded only hours ago. Hundreds of THRALLS shamble about, some of them looking 'fresh' enough to be RUNNERS.

RAZOO
So, how badly do we need this speeder?

CHEWBACCA
Badly.
[to REY]
Still salvageable, right?

REY
Sure. Core block shouldn't be too banged up...
assuming we could get to it:
from the fire escape to the speeder,
there are just too many of those things.

RAZOO

I can get to it.
Could you walk me through the repairs?

REY

Sure, but...

RAZOO is already on his way down, using his parkour skills to quickly make his way below. CHEWBACCA covers him with the BOWCASTER.

Meanwhile, something catches THEO's eye: a large billboard, the painting protected by a layer of thick glass. It is an advertisement for a portable entechment pod, extolling its virtues: power for the home, longer life for you and your loved ones. A small line at the bottom, starting with an asterix, reads:

*CATTLE NOT INCLUDED.

A look of bafflement comes across THEO's face, quickly morphing into sheer disgust. He looks away, ashamed.

RAZOO lands on top of the SPEEDER, and checks for any reaction from the SHAMBLERS. So far, no RUNNERS among them. He activates his commlink.

RAZOO [radio]
Any movement?

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
No, you're clear.

RAZOO [radio]
Alright then, let's get to work.

RAZOO begins by pushing the bodies away, and trying out the ignition. There's a rumble of repulsorlifts coming to life, then a sputter, then nothing.

REY [through commlink]
Okay, sounds like the ignition magneto isn't turning right.

RAZOO [radio]
How do I fix it?

REY
Get to the front and pop that panel by the gun mount.

RAZOO [radio]
Done... oookay, that's a lot of bits. I forgot to pack a toolbox, here.

REY
No need, just use your blade to get the magneto spinning...
it's the rotor with all the magnets.

RAZOO [radio]
Aaaand done.

REY
Try igniting the engine now.

A moment later, the LANDSPEEDERS' engine comes to life, and RAZOO drives it as close to the fire escape. The rest of the group comes down the metal stairs of the fire escape.

RAZOO
Need a lift?

CUT TO: The party, aboard the LANDSPEEDER, RAZOO at the controls, laughing gleefully as THRALLS get run over.

REY
Having fun?

RAZOO
You bet!

REY
Still, can't you go any faster?

RAZOO
Not a good idea, the street's a curve and—

The wailing from earlier returns, the sound approaching fast.

RAZOO
Please tell me that was another false alarm!

REY
It's not! LOOK!

At the top of a tall apartment building crawls an affront against god and man, a gigantic, misshapen artificial creature that would resemble a man were it not for the six arms grasping the building like an arachnid, or the flayed flesh turned inside out, exposing various redudant organs of dubious purpose. It had no legs to speak of, only a mass of sloppy tentacles — or intestines — that clung to the walls like a mop. The creature's head, a disproportionately small skull with barely enough flesh to animate its jaw, is aimed directly at REY, staring at her with the void that served as its eyes.

This is THE ORPHAN, and it is half the size of a RANCOR. It roars at it leaps at the LANDSPEEDER, with an agility belied by its size.

THEO [horrified]
Oh, GODS!

REY's horrified face is obscured by its shadow, moments before it crashes to the ground... and moves itself forward with the power of its six arms, slowly catching up to the LANDSPEEDER.

REY
FASTER! GO FASTER!

RAZOO
I'm trying!

RAZOO pushes the throttle up, and grazes a wall as he attempts to make a turn. This slows the LANDSPEEDER down enough for the ORPHAN to take a swing at it, only to narrowly miss. Its palm hits cobblestone, sending a cloud of pulverized rock and cement up in the air. The ORPHAN resumes the chase,

THE ORPHAN [roaring]
DAAAAAAH...

The sound it makes causes THEO to make himself small in his seat, and cover his ears.

THEO [terrified]
No, no no this isn't happening this isn't happening...

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Rey! Finish priming the explosive!
I'll take care of this!

CHEWBACCA hands the warhead to REY, complete with the partially reconnected detonator. He then grabs the mounted AUTOBLASTER and begins firing bursts of photons at the ORPHAN. Bits and pieces of its flesh and bone evaporate on impact, but it doesn't seem to care.

The wounds vanish.

THE ORPHAN [roaring]
...DAAAAAAAAAAAH

RAZOO
You're just pissing it off!

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Shut up and drive!

RAZOO goes as fast as he can, but the ORPHAN gets closer, smashing any THRALL along the way, CHEWBACCA grows more desperate and gives up on trigger discipline. The stream of blaster bolts becomes constant, and the Orphan's head is inches from the LANDSPEEDER before the Wookiee gets the idea to aim for the eyes.

The ORPHAN screams in agony, and flees down another street. CHEWBACCA breathes a sigh of relief, as the emergency coolant flush dissipates the heat of the AUTOBLASTER RIFLE.

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Mother of trees, that was close!

RAZOO
Did you kill it?

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
No, but I expect it'll be licking its wounds wounds for a bit.
Rey? How's our little bomb?

REY
It's ready! I just need to set the timer!

The LANDSPEEDER turns, and is now on the straight path to the tower.

RAZOO
Well, we're almost there...

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Good, now the next part should be simple—

The ORPHAN moves to bar their way, grinning like a child, the imitation of insane laughter rumbling from its throat. RAZOO pulls the air-brakes just in time, and goes into reverse. Thus, a game of cat-and-mouse begins, with the LANDSPEEDER racing across the area in a desperate bid not to be eaten by the ORPHAN.

RAZOO
Anyone got an idea? Because we can't do this forever!

REY
I've got one! Get us back to the fighter!

RAZOO

What?!

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Do as she says!

CUT TO: The LANDSPEEDER approaching the building's ledge upon which the SCYK STARFIGHTER is dangerously balanced. REY takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and reaches out for the wreck.

REY
I hope this works...
Chewie! Get ready to shoot!

The LANDSPEEDER passes right under the fighter, and through the Force REY gives the fighter that nudge necessary to get to tip over and fall. The wreck lands, not atop the chasing ORPHAN as REY had hoped, but right in front of it.

The Orphan stops, and tilts its head, genuinely curious at the object, like a child discovering a new toy. It whines like a sad dog as it picks up the SCYK.

The LANDSPEEDER stops.

REY
SHOOT!

CHEWBACCA looses another barrage of blaster fire, aimed at the leaky fuel tank. The AUTOBLASTER is not a precise weapon, and it narrowly misses the mark.

Annoyed, the ORPHAN snarls and lifts the SCYK over its head, ready to throw the ship at the party.

The gun goes into emergency cooldown.

REY [eyes wide]
Oh, poodoo...

RAZOO sets the throttle back to max, but it doesn't look like he'll get the LANDSPEEDER out of the way in time.

Suddenly, lightning surges out and hits the SCYK. Electricity arcs all over the SCYK, igniting the leaking fuel and detonating the fuel tank. The ORPHAN screams as its grasping hands are disintegrated in the blast, and its body is bathed in flaming fuel.

CUT TO: Theo, holding a smoking lightning gun.

THEO [sadly]
I'm so sorry.

RAZOO [laughing]
Sorry for what?

RAZOO checks the rear-view mirror. The ORPHAN isn't chasing them, and its anguished cries grow more faint.

RAZOO [cont'd]
You just saved the day, doc!
Well done!

THEO says nothing, and merely clutches his pocket watch.

R2-D2 [in binary]
That was some quick thinking, Rey.

REY
Thanks. Now, Chewie, why are we lugging this warhead?

CHEWBACCA says nothing, and smiles.

CUT TO:

EXT - FIRWIRRUNG, CENTRAL TOWER's TERRACE - NIGHT

The LANDSPEEDER goes full speed towards the terrace.

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Jump!

REY and RAZOO leap off the LANDSPEEDER, tucking and rolling before they land. R2-D2, once again, just flies off, while CHEWBACCA, holding the ripped off AUTOBLASTER in one hand and THEO over his shoulder, is the last to jump out.

THEO [flustered]
Oh, my!

The WARHEAD next to the throttle set to max, ticks off...

The LANDSPEEDER's prow plows through the HORDE, barely slowing down from the sheer mass of bodies in its way. The ASSAULT MISSILE's warhead detonates, obliterating thousands of the THRALLS at once.

WIDE SHOT of the explosion, a fireball that mushrooms up, its orange blazing light contrasting sharply with the ambient green of FIRWIRRUNG. The fireball fades, but the blaze endures on the TERRACE. Thralls, the coral garden, the wreckage... all were on fire.

RAZOO, a pyromaniac, appreciates the spectacle.

RAZOO
Oh, it's beautiful.

CHEWBACCA and RAZOO take the lead, taking any shambling, burning THRALL in their way with their guns. THEO and REY are right behind them, along with R2-D2. The entrance to the tower awaits...

REY [in ikhthýs]
Theo? Are you alright?

THEO
All that's left of my people is going up in flames.
Before my very eyes. I could be doing better, I think.

REY looks around - once again, a blaze, consuming all.

REY
I'm sorry... If there had been a better way...

THEO
No, it's alright... they were already dead.
Well, we're almost there... Ms. Rey?

REY
Yes?

THEO
I beg you... let me talk to Verthandi,
let me try to talk some sense into her.

REY
I don't know... I fought her sisters,
and they're just too far gone.

THEO [pleading]
Please!... I beg you, I must try!

THEO grasps his pocket watch tightly.

THEO [cont'd]
I must!

REY
... Alright. But if you can't get her to stop, or just let us go...

REY grasps her Lightsaber tightly.

REY
I'll do what I must.

THEO
...I understand.

INT- FIRWIRRUNG CENTRAL TOWER, MAIN LEVEL.

The party crosses the threshold, and its members find themselves in the incredibly vast main hall of the CENTRAL TOWER. The floor, smooth marble, would be impeccable, if it weren't for the trail of afterbirth all over it.

REY and RAZOO
Ew.

R2-D2
So... there's an elevator, right? I mean, I only got so much fuel
and stairs aren't my best friend and this tower is really, REALLY tall.

REY
Theo? Where's the elevator?

THEO
Down the main hall, second to the left.

RAZOO
Eurgh. Watch your step, guys.

They come across the second hall on the left, and indeed find several elevators along its two walls. RAZOO and CHEWBACCA press the call buttons, but REY, overcome with curiosity, follows the trail of afterbirth to its source:

INT - CENTRAL TOWER, VERTHANDI'S LABORATORY – NIGHT

At the center what was once the city council chamber is the ruined artificial womb, from which the ORPHAN had emerged mere hours earlier. REY checks Luke's map: the chamber isn't marked, implying that Luke never managed to make it inside. THEO follows REY in, followed by the rest of the gang, who are a little perplexed.

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Rey? Luke can't wait much longer.

RAZOO
Oh, poodoo, the smell...

REY's eyes scan the room: There's a glass pod with a human pale dark haired woman inside, surrounded by antennae, wires, and dynamos. Little curiosities are strewn about. Of note is a lump of PROGRAMMABLE MATTER suspended on a small metal dish with three prongs, shifting between states. Books are strewn all over the ground and several tables, covering a cornucopia of subjects: anatomy, biology, psychology, microbiology, fencing, STAFF FIGHTING... even marriage. And of course, there is a journal: VERTHANDI's JOURNAL, in fact.

RAZOO, for his part, finds a PORG-SIZED cloning vat, then spots something far more interesting: a dozen beds with straps. Glass tanks filled with CRONE'S MILK hung right above them, hoses dangling from the side, with spiggots design to be shoved down someone's throat.

RAZOO
Doc? I take it that's the ah...
"Thrall" factory floor?

THEO merely stares at the glass pod. He knew the woman inside. RAZOO walks up behind him.

RAZOO [apprehensively]
...Jedi zombie?

THEO [sadly]
Jeedai? Yes.
Zombie? No.
[sighs]
Fear not, she's dead. Long dead.

Unable to stop herself, REY walks up to the JOURNAL and reads it out loud.

REY [reading]
Year of Tho Yor... 31,945.
The Blood of Ren has opened
our minds to something... beautiful.

KYLO REN appears behind her, and she feels the coldness of his presence, and turns around in a fright. He is not there. CHEWBACCA and RAZOO look at her, puzzled.

REY [cont'd]
Immortality is ours, and not only that,
we now have insight into energies we thought pagan myth.
There is a music in our thoughts. A Blood Song.

REY flips some pages.

REY [cont'd]
Tho Yor, 31,956...
Our understanding of the Jeedai grows, and so we apply what we've learned to Entechment.
We've thawed out some of the Jedi Cattle, and we've extracted so much from them.
Firwirrung lives again, will live on for another century... but still we must hide.

REY flips more and more pages.

REY [cont'd]
We've run out. We need to capture more. Our last Jedi, that mute WOMAN
HE took a fancy to! I will turn her into a siren's call. People will come here,
fall into our trap, and we will drain them dry.
The rationing is causing unrest.
I need to control the people.
The Crone's Milk... it sings a song as well.
It has potential.

REY turns one page.

REY [cont'd]
The Siren is playing us for fools, I know it.
No Jeedai come, and the catch is paltry.
We may have to go to sleep again soon,
to preserve what little we have left.

CLOSE UP of the glass pod.

REY [cont'd]
The song grows faint... and the nightly pains persist.
What is wrong with us?
Thirty... I feel so thirsty.

...

We are changing. We're becoming monsters...
The people cannot know.

REY skims through the pages.

REY [to herself]
It's all lists now, numbers of 'cattle' captured, organized by species.
She doesn't even track the year any more.
Sterile notes about the Crone's milk... how it serves as some sort of antenna for her
'Blood Song', whatever that is.

THEO
Anything more about the Blood of Ren?

REY
Hold on... urgh, detailed description of... wait, what's this word?

THEO comes over and translates.

THEO

"Metamorphosis" is the word in Basic, I believe.
[reads]
Oh... oh my.

REY
Yeah. Detailed. Gonna skip that...
[reads]
The Siren's Call is broken. No one else will come.

THEO looks at the glass pod with the woman inside.

REY [cont'd]
There is barely enough energy to leave this place, and without a destination
We would fly to our doom. We must wait.
The changes... they have stopped.
But it still hurts... and the Blood Song is a cacophony.

REY flips the next page... and the one after that, finding nothing but the word BLOOD OF REN printed over and over again in less and less graceful handwriting. Occasionally, the word THIRSTY breaks up the monotony. Finally, hundreds of pages later, REY finds something sane.

THEO
Wait, hold on, something about the milk... ahem!
[reading]
The Milk soothes the pain, a secret I shan't share with the others.

...

My addiction to the Jeedai filth grows, and my metamorphosis mocks me for it.
No matter, it has become useful for the trap.
I can control anything, now. So long as they DRINK.

REY [cont'd]
Ssi-Ruuk finally smiles on us.
A Jeedai has fallen into our trap... and the power in his blood is
stronger than all that have come before, even amongst his kind.
We must be careful with this one... drain too much too soon and we will
lose a deep font of energy.

REY skips ahead to the last entry. The ink is a bit smudged. REY sniffs, and smells its freshness.

REY [cont'd]
There is another.
The trap is sprung.

RAZOO
[sighs]
So what have we learned today, kids?

REY sets the journal down.

REY [dead serious]
That the Knights of Ren, Kylo, Snoke... the whole bloody First Order.
They're connected to all this somehow.
Everything horrible thing that's happened here... it's their fault.

She shuts it.

REY [cont'd]
All of it.

CUT TO:

INT- FIRWIRRUNG CENTRAL TOWER, MAIN LEVEL - NIGHT

The party enters one of the elevator cages. THEO shuts it, and presses the button to the top floor. The buttons that would have lead to the Undercity have a lock next to them, barring them from access to the public. The group checks their weapons, preparing themselves for the final confrontation.

INT- FIRWIRRUNG CENTRAL TOWER UPPER LEVELS - NIGHT

The floor indicator reaches its apex, and the elevator cage rises still, only now it is exposed to the TOWER's metallic entrails. The entire WIRELESS ELECTRIC TRANSMISSIONS system of the city is stored here, arcing electricity towards the ground. REY can feel her hairs raise, and poor CHEWBACCA struggles to keep some of his fur down.

RAZOO points at the spheres, lining the walls.

RAZOO

The heck are those?

REY

They look like... supercapacitors.

RAZOO

They look all charged...

Where does the juice come from?

Suddenly, the elevator stops on a mesh platform of criss-crossing black iron. The party steps out, REY taking the lead with her lightsaber. There is a tense silence in the darkness, occasionally broken up by an arc of lightning far below, as that party scan the area with their eyes, wary of any danger.

RAZOO
Is this it?
Is this as far as the elevator goes?

THEO
Probably. I have never been this far up.

RAZOO
So where's the big boss?

REY looks up: some six stories up is the ceiling, and a hatch leading up.

REY
We have to go further up.

CHEWBACCA points at a spiral staircase running along the TOWER's walls.

Unseen, a PORG watches them from a perch.

CHEWBACCA
Over there!

CUT TO: The party climbing up the stairs, with REY at the lead and CHEWBACCA at the back, lugging R2-D2 under his arm. Mercifully, the TOWER's slight sloping made it narrower at the upper levels, so the spiral of stairs doesn't take too long to scale.

Suddenly, there's a thump echoing through the walls.

R2-D2 [in binary]
What was that?!

The party hurries up the stairs. Chips of stone fall upon them with each stump, until finally, the ORPHAN's burnt fist smashes through the stone, narrowly missing REY. The ORPHAN peers through the hole, roaring in either fury or desperation, it's impossible to tell which. The ORPHAN reaches into the hole again, hoping to catch something, but REY slashes it with her lightsaber before it can grasp anything, or anyone.

It screams in pain as the gash burns in blue fire, and its arm retreats outside.

REY
Keep moving!
It won't be able to reach us inside the island!

The crew runs up the spiral staircase, growing more exhausted with every step. There is more thumping - a crack forms in front of REY, and she runs past it, confident her companions will clear it before the ORPHAN can punch through. They do, but the ORPHAN narrowly misses CHEWBACCA.

CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
I'm okay! Keep moving!

They keep running, and are half-way to the hatch. The ORPHAN keeps trying to break in...

EXT - FIRWIRRUNG, TOWER - NIGHT

Four of THE ORPHAN's clawed hands dig into the stone as the other two are brought together to smash against the TOWER's wall. Cracks form between them as the Orphan prepares to strike a third time...

INT- FIRWIRRUNG CENTRAL TOWER, MAIN LEVEL - NIGHT

THE ORPHAN crashes through the wall, taking RAZOO, CHEWBACCA and R2-D2 down with it to the mesh floor below. Miraculously, neither RAZOO nor CHEWBACCA are killed by the fall, but with the spiral staircase broken they are now trapped with a giant abomination strong enough to batter its way through stone.

REY is about to leap down to help them, but is stopped by THEO. CHEWBACCA snarls at her, bowcaster in one hand and autoblaster in the other. RAZOO gets up and squares off against the creature, even as he gulps and his eyes dart for an escape route.

CHEWBACCA
REY! GO!

REY
But...!

CHEWBACCA
You've wasted enough time!
Save Luke! Save the Resistance!

CHEWBACCA roars and fires his guns akimbo, getting the creatures attention. REY continues on, looking back at her newfound friends.

REY
I'll be back!
I promise! Just hold on!

RAZOO [nervous]
Just go already!

REY makes her way up the hatch with THEO, and once they are through they close the hatch, shutting away CHEWBACCA's war cry, RAZOO's flurry of insults, R2-D2's frantic beeps, and the sound of desperate combat...

INT - FIRWIRRUNG CORE ROOM - NIGHT

VERTHANDI stands beneath the ENTECHMENT MACHINE as it drains LUKE. The chamber is darkly lit by the sickly green glow of the artifact. Multicoloured marbles glow in the dark like stars, the accumulated memories of Luke Skywalker.

There is the sound of footsteps in the dark, and VERTHANDI smiles.

VERTHANDI
Ah, you've arrived at last.

Out of the shadows, THEOBALD steps out, nervously.

VERTHANDI [venomously]
Theo. I see Thorfinn has
the same sense of humor he always had.
Have you come to beg
forgiveness for your betrayal?

THEO
I betrayed no one!

VERTHANDI
No matter. I found some use for that
Hyur harlot you loved so much, after all.
But you know that already, don't you?

THEO nods, and she laughs cruelly at him.

VERTHANDI
Where is the girl?

THEO [lying]
She lost her way here.

VERTHANDI
Is that... so?
You've come here alone? Why?

THEO
I... I wanted to see for myself.
The aliens, they told me things, unbelievable things.
I thought that it was all a misunderstanding...
I believed that, even as I saw our own City Watch turned to mutants,
even as I saw so much of our dead desecrated,
even as I saw you and your sisters turn a desperate stopgap into
an entire way of life! Tell me, Thandi! Am I the last,
unchanged Dagonian in all Firwirrung?!

VERTHANDI
Hardly. More of our people sleep below, in the catacombs and undercities.

THEO [hopeful]
What?! Then there is still hope!

VERTHANDI
Oh, you have no idea. Soon, I will have enough
power to bring them all to the Blood of Ren.

THEO's face falls.

THEO [horrified]
...What?
You want to...
you want to give our people the mutagen?

VERTHANDI
Do not cheapen this miracle with
soulless nomenclature! I want to give our people
the gift of the Blood Song!

As they speak, the voice of SUPREME LEADER SNOKE can be heard whispering, faintly echoing in the dark, promising limitless power to VERTHANDI...

SNOKE [off-screen]
Come to me...
I have such things to show you...
Terrifying things...
Beautiful things...

THEO
You would force this mutation on us all?!

VERTHANDI
LOOK AT ME!
Look past the crude, IMMORTAL matter that is my body,
and FEEL the Luminous energy that emanates from my soul!
What am I now, if not Ssi-Ruuk's chosen angel?
Who would turn away such a gift?!
The fools, the heretics! Just like you!

THEO
JUST LIKE OUR CHILD?!

VERTHANDI, who had been towering over THEO, is taken aback at this. SNOKE's whispers fade.

THEO
That's right! I've seen what you've done to him!
Was he willing, when you desecrated his corpse and shoved
him inside that horrid imitation of a womb down below?!

VERTHANDI
...I gave him new life!

THEO
What sort of life?! As an undying abomination in constant pain?!

VERTHANDI
AS AN ANGEL OF SSI-RUUK!

THEO
Angels aren't DOOMED to DIE of mere CANCER!
I could see it, even as he chased us down!
Is that the glorious future you have in store for us?!
Is that—

VERTHANDI grabs THEO by the collar and hoists him up. Something attached to her chest snakes out, a breast distended into a tentacle. CRONE'S MILK drips from the tip. As it approaches THEO's mouth, VERTHANDI reaches for his Lightning Gun and hides it in her robes.

THEO struggles to keep it away from its mouth, knowing full well that drinking too much will mean the death of his mind.

VERTHANDI
You always lacked vision, Theo.
Just like Nona, just like Aisa...
At least as a Thrall you will stop ARGUING against
the divine, as you always did!

Tearfully, THEO closes his eyes, and resigns himself to what will happen.

THEO
Do what you must.

That is when REY QUICKENS from the shadows and swings her lightsaber's blue blade down into VERTHANDI'S torso, cutting through the right shoulder into the breast. VERTHANDI screams in agony as the tentacle convulses. CRONE'S MILK splashes and spills onto the ground.

The blade doesn't quite cut through all the way down. VERTHANDI grits her teeth, as a golden aura forms around her body. She reaches behind and grabs REY by the top of her head, and throws her into a wall of rock.

REY's lightsaber goes red, moments before she impacts against the wall. The rock she smashes against cracks, but REY herself is unbroken, even as she falls to the ground.

VERTHANDI
Ah, there you are.

VERTHANDI FORCE PUSHES THEO into the opposite wall, and with another gesture the stone melts to cover his arms and legs, then solidifies, holding him in place.

VERTHANDI
I'll deal with you later.

REY gets back on her feet, and holds up her lightsaber defiantly.

REY
You're beaten. Let them go.

VERTHANDI's twisted, pale face contorts into a smile. From an orifice in her arm she produces a long, engraved octagonal staff that stretches to twice her height. The golden aura turns into a blaze, and her wound heals.

VERTHANDI
Beaten? Hardly. As for my prisoners, well...

VERTHANDI raises her hand, lifting LUKE's limp body, causing the conduits piercing his body to crack and break like ashes in the wind.

VERTHANDI
Here! I don't need him anymore!

LUKE is thrown, and rolls at REY's feet. CLOSE UP of his face as he rolls face up. His eyes are sunken in, his cheeks are beyond sallow, and his skin is wrinkled beyond old age.

He's dead.

REY's eyes widen, and she falls to her knees.

REY
...No. I... No...!

REY cradles LUKE's body. He seems so fragile, now, robbed of all life.

VERTHANDI [taunting]

You should not have dawdled so long.

Was reading those journals so important?

Tears begin to stream down REY's cheeks as the depth of her failure sinks in.

REY

I... I...!

VERTHANDI

All is not lost... for I have a purpose for you.

Come, take your master's place and fuel the resurrection of my people...

REY's aura surges out, matching VERTHANDI's. The lightsaber's blade extends in length, becoming a tightly wound rod of flame, rather than mere light.

Her eyes glow red, filled with hate.

REY [enraged]
I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!

VERTHANDI [amused]
Oh?

VERTHANDI raises her hand, and the Force can be heard rumbling as it grasps around REY. The FORCE PULL fails to connect with REY, fizzling out.

VERTHANDI [laughing]
You may try.

As REY moves towards VERTHANDI with murderous intent, the Crone ten inches above the ground, raises her staff in front of her, and begins singing. The staff glows, emanating wisps of light that land on the ground and form ambulant stone duplicates of RAZOO and CHEWBACCA, armed with melee weapons. There are a dozen of them but REY mows them down easily, the lightsaber leaving arcs of red fire with every swing.

Frustratingly for REY, VERTHANDI always floats out of her reach. REY switches tactics, firing the BRYAR at VERTHANDI. The blaster pistol's photon bolts burn as intensely as the Lightsaber blade, each shot impacting against VERTHANDI's magical defense — a glowing mandala — with the raw force of a blaster cannon.

The blaster overheats quickly and goes into cooldown, giving VERTHANDI her opening. Bright globes of energy appear all around her, then fly off like drunk fireflies towards REY.

The young scavenger's talents, unfortunately, do not make up for her lack of practice in parrying bolts, and the first energy bolt that hits her explodes, sending her flying. Her grasp on her lightsaber is tight, but the BRYAR flies off.

VERTHANDI
Now, girl, you will—

The lightsaber turns blue, and REY QUICKENS around the chamber, dodging the bolts as she makes her way towards the CRONE. The young force-sensitive is so fast, VERTHANDI would have been stabbed in the heart, had she not blocked REY's attack with her rod, which withstood the power of the lightsaber better than a cortosis blade.

Then the blade turns red, extends, and narrowly misses the vital organ as the CRONE deflects the blade in time.

VERTHANDI
You are beginning to annoy me, girl!

VERTHANDI expertly performs a 3-move combination with her staff that sends REY to the ground. The Crone jabs the tip of the staff into the girl's adbomen, and while it doesn't penetrate her flesh, it does drain some of her energy...

VERTHANDI
But the power in you...
it's worth the trouble, oh yes...

REY smacks the staff away with her blade, and QUICKENS away, then back into the fight, only to get dominated again by VERTHANDI's superior skill. But still, she does not give up... even though it's clear using her powers is taking a huge toll on her body.

VERTHANDI moves in for a knockout, and REY, desperate, FORCE SCREAMS at her, and the crone responds in kind. The shriek is deafening, and resounds across all matter. The hard stone, along with the gems set into it, begin to crack. THEO cringes even as his restraints begin to crack. Finally, the sonic energy building up between the two women explodes, but the blast is shaped towards VERTHANDI, sending her flying high into the wall. It cracks, and she falls to the ground unconscious.

REY falls, utterly exhausted, and gasping for air. THEO is freed, and rushes to her aid, thinking the fight over.

THEO
MS. REY! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!

VERTHANDI wakes, and sees THEO touching REY, trying to help her up. CLOSE UP of her eye... at first an expression of sorrow... then jealousy, then HATE.

THEO is moments from injecting REY with lifesaving medicine before he is once again thrown away, but VERTHANDI can't concentrate, and the telekinesis merely causes him to fall and slide away... right by the BRYAR.

VERTHANDI is upon REY, kicks the lightsaber away, and delivers another hit in REY's gut while she's down.

VERTHANDI
What is it about you Hyur women that fascinate him so?

The crone gestures at the ENTECHMENT DEVICE, and sharp tendrils begin to snake out.

VERTHANDI
No matter; it's over, you've lost.

VERTHANDI raises REY up towards the machine, and its awaiting, painful embrace. One the prongs pierces her, and begins draining, REY fades in and out of consciousness. She reaches out for the lightsaber, but it barely responds to her call.

VERTHANDI [cont'd]
Once I have found the Blood of Ren
and turned my people into angels... we will descend upon you
Hyur like a plague of locusts...
Your worlds will tremble,
Your stars will die...

The BRYAR's charge reaches maximum, and THEO looses a POWER SHOT at the Entechment Device, not quite hitting it in the center... VERTHANDI screams in fury and looses a force bolt at him. The bolt explodes just short of his chest, knocking him down once more.

REY recovers enough of her strength, and pulls the lightsaber at her, then corrects its course to send it flying towards the DEVICE. The blue blade ignites, and pierces FIRWIRRUNG's very heart right in the center.

REY [groaning]
Your city...will fall.

REY falls to the ground again, as the pyramid shaped core begins to hiss, crack, and finally...

VERTHANDI
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

The core explodes, and the shockwave washes over everyone inside. The memory gems shatters, releasing the trapped memories as wisps of light...

EXT - FIRWIRRUNG, CENTRAL TOWER - NIGHT

WIDE SHOT of the the top of the tower. The artificial island made of programmable matter shatters into a thousand pieces as a shockwave of energy surges out... The debris hangs in the air, and its many parts orbit around the true top of the tower, a wide, smooth disc.

Amongst the flying debris is Luke's X-WING.

EXT - CENTRAL TOWER PLATFORM - NIGHT

The wisps of light hang in the air, their voices faint.

REY groans, and attempts to rise. Her breath is ragged, she is far too exhausted. Suddenly, VERTHANDI stomps her ankle, causing a sickening crack. REY screams in agony.

VERTHANDI [enraged]
YOU STUPID, MISERABLE, DISOBEDIENT APE!

VERTHANDI hoists her up with one hand and chokeslams her.

VERTHANDI
DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!

A kick to the kidney. REY still lives, despite the punishment, and despite the blood splashing from her teeth, she smiles.

REY
I won.

VERTHANDI hits the eye of the storm of her rage, and a veneer of calm washes over her as she straddles REY and presses her staff against her throat.

VERTHANDI
You're going to die now, little Hyur.
There is nothing but silence beneath us;
my child has killed all your little friends.

REY gurgles, and attempts to push against VERTHANDI's face.

A wisp flies between them. VERTHANDI ignores it.

VERTHANDI [viciously]
Look into my eyes, girl.
Look at me...
I want to see the life drain from those
disgusting little orbs of yours!

REY's attempts at freeing herself grow more frantic, and begin to slow.

VERTHANDI
And after you, I will find the nearest
nest of Hyur monkeys and murder
as many of your miserable disgusting race as I can!

Suddenly, the staff flies up, and smacks VERTHANDI in the face. The FORCE resounds in the air as VERTHANDI is force pushed back, again and again.

There is the ragged wheeze, an echo of DARTH VADER in his last moments, as a frail old man in robes approaches VERTHANDI and comes to REY's defense.

It's LUKE, still alive, if only barely. His gait is slow, and hunched over. His hands, held forward, are skinny, and frail, and shaking.

VERTHANDI FORCE PUSHES back, but the surge of telekinetic energy washes over LUKE like a gust of wind, he gasps, and shivers, but he soldiers on.

LUKE [weakly]
Stop...

VERTHANDI snarls as she hurls a floating rock it at LUKE through the Force. She misses.

LUKE [weakly]
Surrender...

Another rock turns into a spike, and the Crone hurls it at Luke. It stops just short of his hands, but now he's locked in a telekinetic grapple with it.

LUKE
It's... no...use... fighting... anymore!

VERTHANDI
Then why don't you DIE?

LUKE struggles to keep the enormous stone spike from piercing his body, the tip shakes, and inches ever closer... LUKE almost falls to one knee, his ragged breaths grow louder.

SUDDENLY the wisps gather around him, and the voices of all his companions PAST and PRESENT can be heard:

HAN, LEIA
Luke...

The wisps enter his heart, restoring his skills through their echoes. The spike stays still... then inches backwards.

MARA JADE, KYLE KATARN, CORRAN HORN
Luke...

LUKE's dispersed lifeforce gathers around him, and his body slowly begins to regain its vitality. His hair darkens, his flesh smooths, and his strength returns.

ANAKIN, YODA, OBI-WAN
Luke!

LUKE
[to Verthandi]
Because...

Luke rises from bended knee.

LUKE
I...

The stone spike cracks...

LUKE
Refuse!

And shatters into a hundred pieces. LUKE hurls them back at VERTHANDI, who can only block them with her luminous shield. Even then, she is pushed back. LUKE pulls his FATHER'S LIGHTSABER back to him, and ignites it.

REY looks up to see LUKE fully restored, and a weary, tearful look of child-like awe forms on her face, before she falls unconscious.

LUKE and VERTHANDI square off. The JEDI MASTER assumes the SORESU opening stance, while the last PRIESTESS OF SSI-RUUK assumes a spearfighter's stance, traditional to her own people. From the tip of the staff a blade springs out, half a meter long. Yellow lighting crackles from the glowing edges.

LUKE and VERTHANDI share one look at each other... CLOSE UP of the giant CRONE, staring down at Luke, the last of the people she holds responsible for all the horror her people had endured.

REVERSE SHOT of LUKE, staring up at VERTHANDI, pity making way for grim determination, the anger of seven years of imprisonment making way for serenity.

He closes his eyes...

WIDE shot of the two of them, as storm clouds begin to form in the background...

The duel begins. The crone opens up with a flurry of thrusts, and LUKE deflects all of them. She swings for the head, the arms, the legs, hoping to trap him. LUKE moves too fast, and she hits nothing but air.

The storm clouds cover the moon, but there is no rain...

VERTHANDI narrowly avoids getting beheaded by LUKE's counterstrike, and so she disengages and goes ranged, at first throwing bolts of energy at him. First a dozen, then hundreds. Luke puts his hand up, and they all stop... before they return to sender. The CRONE takes control of her spear through the Force, sending it swinging and flying at her foe. LUKE blocks, deflects, then becomes a blur of motion even as he throws the lightsaber at the CRONE, forcing her on the defensive. She blocks the thrown lightsaber with some difficulty, but she holds fast: her staff absorbs the energy of every hit, allowing her to fuel her powers indefinitely.

THEO awakes, and is awed at the sight of the battle. The clouds begin to rumble above...

The JEDI and the CRONE take their battle to the air. VERTHANDI leaps on a large rock, held in place by the FORCE, while LUKE has to FORCE JUMP on a moving rock. The CRONE's spear glows, and is hurled at LUKE, hitting nothing but rock but causing it to explode. LUKE becomes a blur of motion and after images as he leaps to another flying rock.

The X-wing's cockpit comes to life.

LUKE leaps away from the energized spear two more times, before finally leaping atop his old X-wing. VERTHANDI is about to throw again, but senses something is wrong...

The X-wing launches its two torpedoes at her. She snarls, and reaches out with the Force, sending one torpedo into another rock and the other one right back to sender. The X-wing explodes in a flash that blinds AISA, far too accustomed to the dark of night. VERTHANDI loses sight of LUKE...

The stormcloud finally roars, and a single bolt of lightning strikes something behind and above her. It's LUKE, holding up the lightsaber with his left hand to receive the raw power of ACH-TO's lightning into its blade.

THEN, Luke is a blur of motion again, the flickering of the lightsaber leaving afterimages behind. There are too many, and VERTHANDI cannot track them to throw her spear at LUKE.

CLOSE UP of VERTHANDI'S face as she looks up, and the glow of the blade illuminates her horrified face. She brings up her staff to defend against LUKE's overhead slash, blocking it.

VERTHANDI
Fool! All you do is gift me with more—

The sheer power of the augmented lightsaber blade is too much for the spear's shaft to bear, and it begins to melt...

CUT TO: THEO limping back to REY, and he attempts to revive her. His injector gun broken, he resorts to using salts... it doesn't work.

CUT TO: LUKE forcing VERTHANDI on her knee.

LUKE
LAST CHANCE!
SURRENDER!

But still, VERTHANDI holds fast, unwilling to show weakness to a mere monkey.

Pebbles begin to float up from the ground...

LUKE
...So be it.

...And promptly slam down as LUKE Force Pushes both himself and the saber downwards. VERTHANDI is crushed, and the very rock she is on falls straight down, onto the platform.

Dust is kicked up as the stone is pulverized. THEO shields REY with his body to prevent the rocks from hurting her. A cloud of dust covers the area. It disperses quickly, revealing LUKE and VERTHANDI deadlocked. The tip of his lightsaber is millimeters from her heart, but one of her hands is wrapped around the lightsaber, the palm pierced by the blade, while the other is wrapped around LUKE's head.

VERTHANDI laughs through the pain.

VERTHANDI
In the end... it comes down to strength, and you Hyur...

VERTHANDI begins to squeeze LUKE's head, his eye peering defiantly between her fingers. LUKE Force Pushes down some more, but the blade barely moves. Verthandi begins to squeeze LUKE's skull...

VERTHANDI
...Are WEAK.

CLOSE UP of VERTHANDI'S FACE, her victorious expression alight with blue...

Suddenly, the light turns RED, and her face falls, eyes wide.

VERTHANDI's hands let go of LUKE as the extended red blade pierces her heart.

CUT TO: REY, reaching out to the lightsaber, before falling into unconsciousness again.

LUKE stares at the lightsaber in his hand for a moment, his face bathed in red, before VERTHANDI's corpse ignites. Golden flames consume her body, and the pyre rushes into the KRAYT DRAGON pearl, leaving nothing but ashes behind. The blade becomes yellow... and switches off.

EXT- FIRWIRRUNG - MORNING

The clouds part, and the light of dawn shines upon the floating city.

INT - CENTRAL TOWER UPPER LEVEL - MORNING

Sunlight shines on the broken body of R2-D2, then CHEWBACCA, then RAZOO, then the CORPSE of THE ORPHAN, its organs sliced apart, a MACHETE stuck deep in its brain.

RAZOO opens his eyes. He's covered in blood, but still alive. He sees CHEWBACCA breathing, and smiles.

EXT- TOWER PLATFORM - MORNING

The sunlight washes over REY's face, but she does not wake. THEO makes another attempt to revive her, but LUKE stops him by laying a hand on her forehead. Her surface wounds vanish as the FORCE heals her.

LUKE

Let her rest... she's earned it.

THEO nods, and looks on sadly at the pile of ashes that had once been his wife.

---

EXT - REY'S DREAM, BEACH - DAY

The sound of the gentle waves of the sea crashing against the beach stir REY awake, and she rises from the sand, clad in nothing but a nightgown and a raincoat. The petal of a purple EMBER ROSE, caught gently by the wind, flies in front of her like a mischievous fairy. REY's eyes follow it until she is turned around, and sees a tall, heroically built young man. He stands on the edge of the water, barefoot in the sand, clad in a dark blue coat.

The purple petal lands on the palm of his hand, its edges glowing a bright teal.

His back is turned to REY, but he senses her presence. He speaks to her, his voice ringing out in her ear as if he was right next to her.

MAN [voice-over]
Who are you?

The voice is darkly rich, but gentle, which shocks REY.

REY [voice-over]
Rey... my name is Rey.
You... We... we haven't met, have we?

MAN [voice-over]
...No. Not Yet.

We assume REY's POV as the man turns around, revealing his pale, handsome face. His irises are bright blue, framed by black limbal rings. His dark, neck-length hair is parted in the center, cascading down.

SMASH TO BLACK

TRISTAN
But we will.

---

STAR WARS
The Sirens of Ahch-To

FIN

---

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