THE SIRENS OF AHCH-TO, EPILOGUE
INT – MILLENIUM FALCON, MAIN HOLD - DAY
In her bunk, REY half-wakes up with a gentle gasp escaping her mouth. The bandages from before are gone, replaced with KOLTO PATCHES designed by THEO, helping her heal the internal injuries she suffered while fighting her way to LUKE. She groans, faintly, as she struggles to maintain consciousness... but the drugs being pumped through her intravenous drip keep her sedate.
ENTER LUKE, his hair and beard trimmed, clad in his black and white robes. He approaches REY, then puts his left hand on her forehead, checking her temperature.
LUKE [soothingly]
Shush. Go back to sleep.
Rest...
The act soothes REY, allowing her to rest.
THEO approaches, checks REY with his BIOSCOPE. Satisfied at the results, he deactivates the IV drip.
THEO
There, that should remedy the ah...
[in ikhthýs]
...lactic acidosis.
[in basic]
This Force... it takes its toll on a Jeedai's body, it seems.
LUKE
She's not a Jedi...
LUKE's expression as he looks down at REY is a mixture of concern, worry, and fear.
LUKE [cont'd]
Not yet, at least.
...How long until she recovers?
THEO
She'll be awake in an hour;
by then her internal injuries will be gone.
It should take two days for the ankle fracture to fully mend...
and my bio-scope's readings tell me she won't be handicapped at all.
LUKE looks up at THEO, wordlessly expressing his surprise.
THEO
I know. I've never met a Hyur – I mean, a HUMAN
with that level of hardiness.
LUKE [sadly]
I knew one, long ago.
LUKE hangs the holstered BRYAR gun by the BUNK.
CLOSE UP of the gun as it hangs there, with REY's sleeping face in the background.
THEO
Now, you must pardon me, but I have some
business to attend to. I won't be long.
LUKE
Thank you... I didn't catch your whole name, doctor...?
THEO
Cilghal. Theobald Cilghal.
LUKE
Skywalker. Luke Skywalker.
They shake hands, and LUKE senses something special about the dagonian. THEO takes his leave, leaving LUKE alone in the MAIN HOLD. WIDE SHOT of the HOLD as LUKE takes a seat by the CONSOLE and he looks around.
As he gazes upon the console:
HAN'S VOICE
...Good blaster at your side, kid.
OBI-WAN's VOICE
...Stretch out with your feelings...
As he looks down smiling on the DEJARIK board.
C3P0's VOICE
...Let the Wookiee win...
LEIA
There wasn't anything you could have done...
LUKE begins exploring the starship that had once taken him into a greater world. In the background, the voices of the past ring in his head...
...As he walks past the engines and hyperdrive, both in terrible need of repairs.
HAN'S VOICE
...The ship that made the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs.
...As he walks through the main hall, his left hand touching the worn walls:
LUKE'S VOICE
...What a piece of junk!
...As he walks past the gun well's ladder:
LUKE'S VOICE
I got him!
HAN'S VOICE
Great, kid! Don't get cocky!
The voices turn into a jumble as LUKE approaches the cockpit. He steps through...
INT – MILLENIUM FALCON COCKPIT – DAY
The echoes are cut off. CLOSE UP of LUKE's face, baffled and surprised...
REVERSE SHOT of HAN SOLO, just as he looked like 35 years ago, sitting at the pilot's seat, his back turned to LUKE. He looks behind him, and swivels around, giving LUKE that winning smile.
HAN SOLO
Ready to take off, farmboy?
LUKE responds with a sad smile of this own.
LUKE
Always.
The vision of Han is gone in the next shot, as LUKE sits on the co-pilot's seat. He looks at the empty pilot's seat, full of melancholy and nostalgia.
LUKE
I'm sorry, Han.
I should have been there.
To pass the time, LUKE begins running a diagnostic on the FALCON's systems. Various displays report things in red letters, and from LUKE's grim expression, it doesn't look good.
LUKE
Getting tired too, eh, old girl?
He sighs, and looks out the window. FIRWIRRUNG's tower stands tall at the center of it.
LUKE
Don't worry, I'll get you to a safe harbour.
INT – MILLENIUM FALCON, MAIN HOLD – DAY
CUDDLES the spider steps out of his hiding place in the BRYAR's holster, and leaps on top of REY's forehead. He crawls on her nose, making her frown, then jumps over it, again and again, until finally REY wakes up from her dream.
REY [gasping]
Wait!
REY sits up, and looks down at her hand, seeing CUDDLES on top of it.
REY
Hey you. Are you okay?
CUDDLES nods, then gives her worried puppy dog eyes... as far as a tiny spider can give puppy dog eyes, anyways.
REY
I'm lucky to be alive, aren't I?
CUDDLES nods again, as REY pets him.
REY
Well, up you go, now.
The friendly spider leaps into her hair, and vanishes between her unbound locks.
REY looks around. All she finds next to her is the BRYAR blaster and a makeshift crutch. Only when she tries to stand does she realize what it's for.
INT – MILLENIUM FALCON, CREW QUARTERS – DAY
With the BRYAR on her hip and the CRUTCH under her shoulder, REY limps through the entrance to the crew quarters, worried. Something bubbles on the galley's stovetop – a pot of PORG stew, courtesy of LUKE.
REY
Luke? Chewbacca? Anyone?
RAZOO
Pazaak?! Again?!
A shirtless, bandaged up RAZOO sits on the bunk bed, opposite a disembodied but still functional R2-D2, whose ruined body is in salvageable pieces on a piece of tarpaulin on the ground. The droid's dome is wired to a makeshift manipulator, enabling it to play a card game with the privateer: a game of Pazaak.
R2-D2 [in smug binary]
Heh. Guess I'm just lucky.
RAZOO
One more! And this time we flip a coin
for the first turn!
The faint sound of hammering resounds across the FALCON's hull, and REY realizes that CHEWBACCA is outside. REY sighs with relief, happy that her companions are still alive.
R2-D2 [in happy beeps]
Hey there!
RAZOO
Our heroine's awake! Hungry?
He nods at the stew pot.
RAZOO [cont'd]
Theo made you something.
REY is about to say no, but her stomach growls, no longer happy with dry Imperial rations. She helps herself to a bowl of stew... or at least tries to. It takes her a few tries of scooping up a decent portion with the bowl, since she has no idea what the ladle is for. Old habits die hard, however, and she attempts to eat the hot stew with her fingers.
Predictably:
REY
Ow!
The contents of the bowl scatter, and mini-cleaning droids deploy from the bottom of the galley - wedding gifts from Han to Leia, when they were still thinking about living together on the ship.
RAZOO [exasperatedly]
Do you need help?
REY [indignant]
No!
RAZOO gives her a look.
REY [sheepishly]
Yes.
RAZOO slaps down his hand by his side deck, and gets up.
CUT TO:
REY sitting next to R2-D2 and RAZOO, watching them play as she tentatively eats the hot stew with a clean bowl and a proper utensil. She slurps it up: it's good stuff.
RAZOO
Your parents never taught you table manners, eh?
REY
My parents didn't teach me anything...
REY recalls recent events, the strange visions from before... and realizes that may not be quite true.
REY [unsure]
As far as I recall, anyways.
They just left me on Jakku, and Unkar Plutt
wasn't much of a teacher.
RAZOO
Jakku, eh? Can't imagine that dustball's a nice place to grow up.
REY
What about you? Who taught
you, ah... manners for tables?
RAZOO
My dad. I didn't see the point - we were pit fighters,
living in filth. He insisted on it, though, said it made us
better than the savages the Hutts wanted us to be.
REY
Is your father still around?
RAZOO [darkly]
Probably not. Looked all over.
RAZOO wins the fifth hand against R2-D2, and laughs.
REY
I'm surprised you all made it.
I thought the monster would have killed you for sure.
RAZOO
That makes three of us. I usually run from
creatures like that. Still, it's gonna make a
great story when I get back to the Klub.
REY
Oh... You're not staying.
RAZOO
You're headed back to the Resistance, right?
Somehow, I doubt they'd let a scoundrel like me stick around.
REY
You never know. I think they could use more recruits...
and you DID help save Luke Skywalker.
RAZOO
Maybe. I hear the pay is crap, though.
Look, here's my plan. Loot whatever I can from this city,
while you guys fix the damage I did to this old bird —
REY
Wait, that was you?!
RAZOO
— and as soon as you've got a working hyperdrive feel free to drop me
off at the nearest hive of scumbags. I'll make my own way home from there.
REY tries to hide her disappointment, but fails.
REY
Okay, but... do you really think you can go back to being
just a crook after what's happened?
R2-D2 [in binary]
Funny, that's what Luke said, too.
RAZOO
And I'll tell you what I told Luke:
Absolutely. An army of fascist
maniacs, monsters borne out of mutant blood?
That's not something you'd want
to deal with every day, does it?
REY
Actually, it is.
RAZOO [rolling his eyes]
Urgh, of course it does. That's the kind
of crap Jedi deal with, and you want to be one.
Well, I don't. I haven't got what it takes.
REY [resigned]
...You're probably right.
RAZOO
...You know I am.
REY silently finishes her meal as RAZOO and R2-D2 keep playing their game. She puts her bowl in the sink, and is about to head back into the main corridor.
REY
I'll miss you.
RAZOO
Heh. No you won't.
REY exits.
R2-D2 [victorious beeps]
Pazaak. That's two wins for me...
RAZOO
Dammit!
EXT - FIRWIRRUNG - DAY
WIDE SHOT on the Millenium Falcon, still on the edge of the TEMPLE DISTRICT. Its landing gear has been properly deployed, allowing CHEWBACCA to examine the damage of the underside.
EXT- TEMPLE DISTRICT, MILLENIUM FALCON - DAY
REY limps on the FALCON's loading ramp, and begins examining the external damage done to the FALCON.
It doesn't look good: between the crash and the heavy laser cannon damage, the FALCON's armour plating had buckled and blown apart at key locations. Pieces of engine are dangling below the hull - the FALCON won't be flying any time soon, unless they could salvage some parts.
Atop the Falcon, CHEWBACCA hammers a junk plate into place to cover a hole, before bonding it to the ship with a plasma torch. His face and head are hidden behind a welding mask.
REY
Chewie? You okay up there?
CHEWBACCA stops the torch and flips the mask up. REY winces at the sight of the bandages wrapped around his head and over his eye, feeling a measure of guilt for leaving him to the ORPHAN. The fact that he had urged her to do it mattered little to her conscience.
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
As okay as I can be.
That doctor knows his craft.
REY
Need help fixing the ship?
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
More than you can possibly imagine: I need a proper
hangar, a full team of mechanics, and ten
thousand credits' worth of spare parts.
REY
Can't do anything about the first
two, but there's got to be plenty of
salvage left on that Galleon.
I could go get some...
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Not alone and with a bad ankle, you're not.
REY
Oh, come on...
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
And besides, Luke's waiting on you.
CHEWBACCA points at the top of the TOWER, some six kilometers away.
REY
What's he doing up there?
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
Don't know. Probably just meditating.
Jedi tend to do that a lot.
REY sighs.
REY
Does he expect me to leg it all the way back there?
CHEWBACCA [in Shyriiwook]
That's why Theo left you that.
CHEWBACCA points at a small vehicle parked in front of the FALCON. It has the look for a small swoop bike, but with a Glossair engine ring, smaller than the ones powering the trams.
CUT TO: REY starting up the GLOSSAIR BIKE. It hovers slightly above the ground, and REY tests out the controls. Initially, she has trouble keeping it steady...
REY
Eep!
...And it almost seems to have a mind of its own, but eventually she figures out how to keep it steady.
CHEWBACCA
You come back before nightfall, you hear?
REY
Sure!
Rey begins her ascent...
CHEWBACCA
And watch out for Thralls!
Those things are still out there!
REY
Don't worry, I'll be fine!
...And she flies off.
WIDE SHOT of FIRWIRRUNG as REY goes on a joyride, taking a scenic route around the TEMPLE DISTRICT. Thanks to the destruction of the Entechment Device, the flying city had fallen from its invisible perch in the sky and onto shallow waters. Through a miracle — or the power of the Force — the landing hadn't caused any damage to the vessel.
The sun shines brightly on the water, bringing out its rich blue colour, contrasting sharply with the dull, dominant dark grey of the massive stone vessel it is splashing on. A flock of seagulls fly past REY as they scout out the stone spires as potential new homes. The sight lifts her spirit up considerably.
Suddenly, REY's keen eyes spot something. ZOOM IN on THEO, sitting at the starboard edge of the district. He simply stands there, not caring one bit that the waves could crash on him. Concerned, REY brings her GLOSSAIR BIKE around.
EXT - TEMPLE DISTRICT - DAY
THEO is staring out to the sea, his thoughts and feelings melancholic, as they had been since VERTHANDI's death. He takes out his POCKET WATCH and opens it, revealing the picture of himself, VERTHANDI, and his son. Only the child is happy; THEO and VERTHANDI appear lukewarm to one another... though subtly, one could tell they cared for their son deeply.
He takes the picture out, looks at it while he waits for a strong enough gust of wind. When it finally arrives, he closes his eyes... and lets the picture go.
THEO sighs with relief, feeling a weight coming off of him... only for it to come back when he looks down upon the pocket watch again... for beneath the picture of his family is proof of the affair VERTHANDI had accused him of so many years ago, another picture: that of THEO and a dark-haired, pale-skinned human woman. In it, they look longingly at each other, eyes full of love...
THEO's fingers hover over the image. He wants to let it go, let the wind catch it and carry it to the sea, but he can't.
He doesn't notice REY coming up behind him, looking over his shoulder.
REY
She's beautiful... who is she?
THEO barely reacts to her presence, and keeps staring at the picture as he talks.
THEO
She was indeed.
Her name is... was, Ariadne.
She was a Jeedai.
REY
I feel like I've seen her before.
THEO
You did. In VERTHANDI's laboratory.
The FLASHBACK back to the LABORATORY as THEO stares at the dead woman in the glass cylinder is brief, but telling.
THEO [continued]
I looked over VERTHANDI's notes...
She had been using her as a lure to capture
passing ships to capture their crew for draining.
REY [in ikhthýs]
A Siren.
THEO
That is what she called her... though not
quite for what she had... purposed her into.
REY
Why, then?
THEO
Sirens are legendary in leading men astray... usually from their wives.
REY
Oh.
REY's eyes widen in realization.
REY
Oooh.
THEO
Indeed.
An awkward silence falls between them.
THEO
I... I lied.
REY
About what?
THEO
I told your friends that we never did capture Jeedai.
Not at first... but then we did, by the dozens.
And I was one of the chief scientists assigned
to study their powers.
REY takes a step back, pushing awful visions away. Distant echoes of screaming and calls for mercy fade away.
THEO
We did... terrible things to them.
Some begged for mercy but I did nothing.
Some of them endured, and I observed.
Their eyes turned yellow and they screamed
curses at me as they died, and I didn't care.
I couldn't. I could feel nothing for them.
I could barely feel anything at all.
REY
Except for Ariadne?
THEO
At first she was just another test subject.
But unlike the others, who had dismissed
me as just another pawn of evil, Ariadne...
she wanted to understand me,
and I found myself wanting to understand her.
THEO's eyes moisten.
THEO
I don't know how, but somehow,
she taught me how to feel...
And so I became acquainted with remorse.
He closes the pocket watch, grips it tightly, and puts it back in his jacket.
THEO
I have so much to atone for.
REY
...What will you do now?
THEO
I'm going to ask Mister Skywalker
to help me with her last rites and cremate
her body, as was her people's custom.
REY
And then what?
THEO
And then... I think I'll stay here.
Between the Thralls, Thorfinn's men,
and the Sleepers somewhere aboard Firwirrung,
I will have a great deal of work to do.
REY [disappointed]
...Oh.
THEO
I have hurt you, I'm sorry.
...You wish my company, even
after what I have told you?
REY
...I'm not good with goodbyes.
THEO
Perhaps we shall meet again.
You could visit... I don't see the
Firwirrung going anywhere in the near future.
REY and THEO share a laugh.
REY
Theo, about the Thralls? I think I know of a way to help them.
CUT TO: EXT - FIRWIRRUNG, CENTRAL DISTRICT - DAY
REY flies over the rooftops of the central district, and lands on the streets. The horde of THRALLS had dispersed, and the ones that remained just stood there, unresponsive, just like THEO said they would be. Despite this, REY keeps eyeing her BRYAR, just in case one of them wanted to try and eat her.
After a few minutes of walking among them, REY finds what she's looking for: dirt. Dirt that had been gathered atop the layer of programmable matter, forming the false island. REY kneels next to a pile of it, her hands dirty from a long search...
REY
Yes! There you are!
Rey picks up an intact MOON POPPY and cleans some of the dirt away with her hands. She puts it in her satchel, where more of the same flowers awaited. REY had been gathering them for a while, now.
REY
Now, where can I find out more about you lot...
CUT TO: INT - VERTHANDI'S LABORATORY - DAY
REY finds VERTHANDI's book on plants, sets it besides a MOON POPPY on a table, and skims through it until she finds a image matching the sample. CUDDLES comes out of REY's hair, and she reads out loud for his benefit.
REY [in ikhthýs]
Local flora, specimen number 451, name undecided. Nocturnal bloom...
...Experimentation has shown pollen to have a somnolent effect
on various sapient species... adds hallucinogenic properties of Crone's Milk...
Cultivate in Botanical District, integrate with island ecosystem.
...rate of capture increased.
REY
...I have no idea what most of that means.
It makes people sleepy, I guess?
CUDDLES nods, and pats REY on the head, patronizingly.
REY [disappointed]
Hm... is that it?
I thought there was so much more to these things...
REY picks up the poppy, and looks at it, recalling something. Then, she wraps the flower's perianth in her hand, and upon unwrapping her fingers, the petals turn purple, and bloom.
CUDDLES crawls on top of her arm, and sits next to the enchanted flower. Glowing teal pollen move like fairies around the stamen, as if beckoning the spider to come to them...
REY
I remember...
That's where you came from.
Are you... are you going back?
CUDDLES looks at her... then moves towards the flower.
It occurs to REY that it would be so easy to swat him away from the flower, but she doesn't. Instead, she merely pleads:
REY
Please, don't go, I...
Cuddles, with more strength than is possible for an creature his size, rips off the Moon Poppy's entire perianth with his front limbs and carries it on his head as he moves back towards REY's hair...
REY
What are you...?
REY moves to a standing mirror - broken and repaired several times - and watches as CUDDLES singles out a single lock of hair on the side of her head, bonding filament to sepal with his silk. REY blushes, feeling self-conscious: her scavenger's robes and wrappings contrasted sharply with the new accessory.
Cuddles gives her a reassuring nod, telling her that he's not going away. Then he yawns, stretching, and crawls into the flower - his home - and it wraps its petals closed around him. A flash of purple, and glowing teal dust... and the flower vanishes.
REY touches the side of her head, curious. The flower reappears, then disappears, seeming at REY's will. She smiles, knowing that she can call upon CUDDLES whenever she likes.
CUT TO: REY leaving a bundle of MOON POPPIES in a box, then writing instructions for THEO to cast the spell that had freed LUKE, CHEWBACCA and herself from the influence of the Crone's Milk. At first the writing is poor, and she crumples the note, and tries again. Her script grows more elegant and poetic, as if someone had just taken over her hand.
The True-Seeing Eye you must trace
'Round and 'round a roaring pyre
Faerie Dreams, a bundle of grace
Cast it into the fire
And behold your true foe's face!
For THEO's benefit, REY illustrates the sign of the TRUE-SEEING EYE on paper, as well as an approximation of the MOON POPPY with Faerie Dream written under it.
REY [to herself]
He'll probably think I'm nuts...
She says this as she folds the note and leaves it atop the box of flowers, and prepares to leave, only to stop at ARIADNE's glass pod. She reaches out to the glass, and pulls back, fearing of what she may see... or feel.
REY
What made you want to understand
those that hurt you so?
Was it worth it, in the end?
Ariadne does not reply.
EXT - FIRWIRRUNG TERRACE - DAY
REY is about to climb on the GLOSSAIR BIKE when she notices something, a small piece of black crystal that floats up to the air. She looks up as we TRACK the piece of crystal on its way up towards...
EXT - FIRWIRRUNG, TOWER PLATFORM - DAY
The shard floats towards the other thousands of pieces of the pyramid that served as the main power source of the flying city. Below it, LUKE sits in meditation on a cushion of air, as he reassembles the gem through the Force. He senses REY's presence as she lands near him.
REY
What are you doing?!
Luke's concentration does not break.
LUKE [smiling]
Putting a puzzle back together.
A small piece of the ENTECHMENT DEVICE is fitted back into place.
LUKE
It helps my senile old brain stay sharp, you see.
And... it passes the time.
He looks meaningfully at Rey, who sits in front of Luke, in a position that put as little as pressure on her ankle as possible.
REY
Sorry I'm late, I was gathering... things for the doctor.
LUKE
That is kind of you.
...You have questions, don't you?
REY
Oh, oh I've got plenty.
LUKE
Ask them. I'm not going anywhere.
REY [blurting]
Are you my father?!
LUKE gives REY a sad look, and shakes his head.
REY
Oh. Oh well, i know the idea
was silly, but... I was kinda hoping...
Well, did you know my parents, then?
LUKE
We've only met a few days ago, Rey.
How could I possibly know your parents?
REY doesn't realize it, but Luke had just evaded her question.
REY
Well, I figured... I thought my parents would be Jedi, and that you'd...
[stammering]
Ah... You don't have any children, do you?
LUKE [sadly]
I had two. One of them... didn't make it.
The other vanished somewhere. I have no idea where she is.
REY
Oh. I'm so sorry. Was it.. Kylo?
LUKE [regretful]
...No.
REY
I'm... ah, I'm really messing this up, aren't I?
LUKE
You're not the first starry-eyed young lady
I've had to deal with.
He smiles warmly at her.
LUKE
You're doing fine.
REY thinks about her next question:
REY
...Why did you come here?
What were you hoping to find?
LUKE
An old fosh gave me a map to this place...
She had told me that I would find a cure.
REY [worried]
...Are you sick?
LUKE
No... but my nephew is.
Have you heard of the Blood of Ren?
REY
Several times. Right here, in fact.
It turned the three crones into what they were.
Someone came, and offered them a drink of it.
LUKE
The promise of unlimited power...
And what the crones received was but a taste.
Thirteen years ago... my apprentice had found the whole bottle,
and had brought it to the Jedi Academy.
REY
Oh... oh stars.
Luke nods.
LUKE
At the time we knew little about it, save legends.
"Those who drink of the Blood of Ren shall be blessed with the Force."
And seeing as there were so few Jedi... you can imagine the controversy that caused.
REY
You thought about using it? To make more Jedi?
LUKE
I wanted that thing studied, and jealously guarded.
A... pupil of my wife's, a young man named Tristan, was vocal about
using its power. He claimed he wanted to use to help a galaxy in need,
but the truth was that he was secretly a Sith, and coveted the Blood's power.
He had started a small cult amidst the Orphans... those children among
us who were blind to the Force... and when he killed my
Padawan in a rage I knew what he was. I thought sealing his power and exiling him
had been enough but... he had already seduced my nephew to the dark side.
REY
What happened then?
CLOSE UP of LUKE's face, as he tries to contain the horror and sorrow of that day...
FLASHBACK: EXT - PLANET TYTHON, JEDI ACADEMY - NIGHT
LUKE [narrating]
And then... I woke up one night to the sound of carnage.
Luke Skywalker emerges from his hut, and is greeted by fire, screaming, and the maniacal cackling of demons as they, hidden by shadow and smoke and fog, descend upon the new Jedi, who are powerless before this enemy.
LUKE [narrating]
The Blood of Ren does far more than
grant power, it... changes you. I trained the new Jedi
to fight dark-side cultists, the Sith, maybe even Rancor.
In the sky, there is an enormous thing of wings and scorpion tails that sings like a banshee, driving people mad. It had a Jedi Master in its grasp: KENTH HAMNER, who had lost his lightsaber earlier and couldn't free himself.
KENTH [panicked]
LUKE! HELP ME! HELP MEEEEE!
LUKE [Voice-Over]
I never trained them to fight nightmares.
LUKE [horrified]
Kenth!
LUKE reaches out with the Force, but it's too late. The winged creature absconds with KENTH, and his horrible screams are eventually cut short by the crack of bones and the wet gnashing of teeth.
LUKE [narrating]
I ran across the temple, lightsaber drawn, hoping to find our attacker...
LUKE coughs... and holds his breath, drawing on Jedi techniques to prevent his lungs from burning up. Those that hadn't been taught that technique lay dead at his feet.
LUKE [narrating]
All I found was death...
The source of the smog, a giant, corpulent being the size of a rancor, laughed, hidden in its own fumes. Luke gives chase, but is blocked off by a wall of fire. Luke catches a glimpse of the cause: a four armed giant, wielding a staff of iron and flame. Great shafts of black iron rained down from above, impaling anyone unlucky enough to be in their way.
LUKE [narrating]
And standing at the center of all this death...
just... reveling in it, was Ben.
BEN SOLO is not a man; he is a shadow and smoke in the shape of one. His eyes burn with hellfire. In his right hand is the cross-bladed saber he had made himself, the colour of his allegiance.
LUKE [narrating]
He drank the Blood of Ren, and revelled in its power...
With a wave of Ben's hand the very earth cracked, and he sent a wave of rock and dirt towards his uncle, submerging him.
LUKE [narrating]
He believed me dead.
REY [voice-over]
Why?
LUKE [narrating]
Because I was.
LUKE wakes with a gasp as R2-D2 resuscitates him with shock probes. A spent hypo rolls off his chest as he gets up, covered in dirt. The massacre is over, and all that remains of the New Jedi Order is rubble, a handful of flaming huts and a ruined temple.
LUKE
Artoo...?
R2-D2 beeps worriedly.
LUKE
Did you... did you find anyone else?
R2-D2 whistles sadly.
LUKE
No, it's not true, it's not...
LUKE [narrating]
I spent hours looking for any other survivors...
LUKE [desperately]
KAM! TIONNE! ANYONE!
LUKE [narrating]
It was no use. Nothing remained,
not even their corpses.
I was all alone.
LUKE falls on his knees, and weeps into his hands. R2-D2 rolls besides him, but can provide no consolation. The New Jedi Order is dead, and for all he knew, Luke Skywalker, who was once meant to be the first of the new Jedi, is now the last.
The FLASHBACK ends.
EXT - FIRWIRRUNG, TOWER PLATFORM - DAY
REY [confused]
You make him sound like...
some sort of monster.
LUKE
It wasn't always so. That is why
I undertook this journey.
I believe that if I can purge the Blood of Ren
from his veins, then I can bring him back to the light.
I came here, thinking I would find an ancient
trove of Jedi knowledge... insight into a cure but alas,
that's what I get for putting stock in rumors.
REY
It's just that... when I fought Kylo Ren...
he didn't display such frightening power...
LUKE
Chewbacca told me about that.
He was shot in the gut, yes?
REY
Yes.
LUKE
I trained him as a Consular. He was never tough, despite his size.
A wound like that, his concentration would have been ruined.
REY
So?
LUKE
His powers are vast, but it takes a great deal
of preparation to conjure it all up at once.
But... think back; there had to have been a moment
when he displayed the full breadth of his power.
CLOSE UP of REY, who glances aside as she thinks back to her duel with Kylo...
LUKE [echoing]
Think back, concentrate... and show me.
FLASHBACK: EXT - STARKILLER BASE, FOREST - NIGHT
REY slashes upwards, the tip of the lightsaber slicing KYLO REN across the torso and face. He falls to the ground... REY begins to pace, savoring the moment before the coup de grâce... and suddenly, the very ground splits, and separates the two duelists.
FLASHBACK ENDS
EXT - FIRWIRRUNG, TOWER PLATFORM - DAY
LUKE
It seems a little convenient that the ground
would separate you two mere seconds before you
deliver the killing blow.
REY
...No, that was Starkiller... the X-wings,
they took out something important.
LUKE
No, Rey. The entire time you were fighting him
Ben had been preparing that power to unleash it.
The only reason you're alive...
REY
Is because he missed...
The realization, and its implications, sinks into REY.
LUKE
My turn.
REY
What?
LUKE
Why are you here, Rey?
REY
Err... Leia asked me to?
No, Chewbacca wanted us to meet.
LUKE
No, that's the who, not the why.
Why are you here, Rey?
Why made you confront
the horrors of this place
just to find me?
REY
Maz said...
LUKE shakes his head; the answer does not satisfy him.
REY [desperate]
The Resistance! they...
LUKE
No, Rey.
Why are YOU here?
What drives you forward?
REY ponders the question for some time. Finally:
REY
I've walked this path...
hoping to find the answer to this question:
Who am I?
LUKE lets her continue.
REY
I can do things... I can fly the Falcon like I've done it my whole life.
I can hide in shadows, and become invisible...
And I can use the Force, merely by instinct, and something else...
She makes the flower in her hair appear, and disappear, with a gesture.
REY [cont'd]
And I know it's not right.
I know it's not how it's supposed to be;
I can feel it. Can you?
LUKE
...Yes. I can feel it. It's strange.
You almost move like a Jedi.
You almost fight like a Jedi,
but your power... The Force...
It twists around you.
REY
I want to understand why that is.
I want to know why a piece of me is gone.
I want to know if my parents had a hand in this,
who they were, and why did they did it.
I want to know myself, and the only
way I can do that is if I walk the path of the Jedi.
She holds Luke's gaze.
REY
Will you teach me?
LUKE
Do you understand what you're asking of me?
Rey, war is upon us. If I train you as a Jedi now...
You will spend little time meditating
on the higher mysteries of the Force.
You will know only conflict,
and the answers you seek
may well be at the end of a long,
perilous journey, filled with terrors.
REY
I am not afraid.
LUKE
You will be.
REY [firmly]
Maybe, but I won't let that stop me.
The last piece of the crystal comes into place, and LUKE's feet gently hit the ground, the Force no longer supporting his weight. He gets up, and REY rises in turn.
Storm clouds, much like the ones that appeared when LUKE fought VERTHANDI, begin to form.
LUKE
Perhaps the Fosh was right.
Perhaps I have found what I was looking for.
Very well. I will train you.
Rey lets out a nervous sigh of relief.
REY
When... when do we begin?!
LUKE
Tomorrow. You still need your bed rest, young lady.
Go back to the Falcon, and tell Chewie to get ready.
We're leaving this planet.
REY
But the Falcon's broken. It won't fly unless we repair it. It might take days...
LUKE
Leia can't wait that long.
Luke holds his hand up towards the crystal, the stormclouds rumble...
LUKE
Cover your ears.
And thunder cracks as a bolt of lightning strikes the crystal. REY ducks, covering her ears and shutting her eyes as a stream of electricity melts the Entechment Device. Through the Force, Luke applies pressure to the gem, mending a thousand cracks. The air warps around the crystal as it cools. The Entechment Device is gone - the Kaiburr Crystal of Pomojema is restored.
A great wind howls across the platform, forcing LUKE to shout to be heard.
LUKE
I guess it's okay to teach you your first lesson early!
Lightning strikes the gem again.
LUKE
The Force is everywhere, and in all things!
Lightning strikes the gem a third time.
LUKE
Know it, feel it, understand it... and it will hear your call!
And when it listens to you, there is no limit to what you can do!
The platform shakes...
INT - TOWER UPPER LEVELS - DAY
The supercapacitors lining the tower's walls hum to life, their crystals glowing a faint pale green.
INT - FIRWIRRUNG ENGINE ROOM - DAY
While the great Glossair Engines begin to whirl, lightning arcing across their spinning rings.
EXT - AHCH-TO, FIRWIRRUNG - DAY
FIRWIRRUNG is alive once more. Thousands of birds fly off as it begins to lift itself up, and up, until it begins to touch the clouds. The mouths of the sewers shut closed, while curved arcs of plasma stream outwards, forming a translucent globe of energy that both protects the ship and holds the air in.
EXT - FIRWIRRUNG, TOWER PLATFORM - DAY
REY looks up at the stars, awed, as a bubble of programmable matter forms around the platform. Holograms appear around the gem, glowing rings framing a map of the known galaxy.
LUKE
Now, let's go save my sister.
EXT - AHCH-TO, LOW-ORBIT - SPACE
We track the FIRWIRRUNG as it accelerates away from Ahch-To's gravity... and it becomes a blur as it enters hyperspace.
ROLL CREDITS