CHAPTER XII

Looking up at the sky, Rey saw the freighter take off and was able to breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that Finn had escaped, and she sensed the Udo likely was with him.

"They got away," she told Luke, "I don't know where they'll go, but at least they're safe."

"I'm happy for your friends," he responded, very solemnly, as then continued to lead her uphill into the forest.

"Master Skywalker," she said, working up the nerve, "Your sister needs you. The galaxy-"

"You know my sister?"

"I briefly met Leia. She's in pain."

"The Force is really strong with you," he said bluntly, "I'm guessing you want to be a Jedi?"

"I-I honestly don't know. I don't even know what the Jedi are."

Luke only stared back at her.

"I was once just like you. And I'm grateful now to have been so naive. What's your name?"

"Rey."

"And where's your lightsaber, Rey?"

"I-I don't have one."

"I can help you make one," he said, and gestured to his own, "I crafted this one myself after losing my first one, along with my hand. I chose to make it green, my own color."

"I would love to learn," Rey said, "If I could know more about the Force."

They kept walking uphill. She sensed something interesting in Luke. He seemed angry and bitter about many things, yet he also seemed to trust her.

"It smells like dead fish," Rey commented as they walked.

"That's because hundreds of Nom have been slaughtered at the bottom of the hill," Luke said starkly, and Rey felt bad for having spoken at all.

Finally they reached the top of the mountain, and Rey looked down. It was a sad sight to see: an entire village in flames.

"Where have you been all this time?" Rey asked.

"Going to bed early," Luke said with a slight smile, then turned serious, "When the Empire collapsed, I was the most famous person in the galaxy, and I wasn't even twenty-five years old. I was Luke Skywalker, the man who had single-handedly destroyed the first Death Star, and then been beside Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine at the moment of both their deaths in the second Death Star. My sister was one of the leaders of the Alliance, and she helped rebuild the New Republic. Everyone wanted to know my story, my legend. Do you know what it's like to be the most famous person in a galaxy that had been so fragmented that it barely knew what it was? You have nothing left to do but make mistakes and inherit other ones. So I decided to take it upon myself to rebuild the Jedi, to right the wrongs of my father's legacy.

"Now Leia and I had to make a bold choice: would we tell the world who our father had been, given that he had been one of the most feared men in the galaxy. We both chose no. She had a career in politics, so it was easy for her to share the same cover story she had always lived by: that her parents were some distant relatives of Alderaan's royalty, and nobody needed to know who my parents were. After all, Alderaan was long destroyed, and no one had reason to care that much about who the former royal families had been.

"I chose to never have children; I didn't want the Skywalker gene to continue. When Leia told me she was pregnant, I was immediately scared, scared of another Vader. But of course, I couldn't tell Han and Leia not to have children; that's their right. Anyway, their son was born, and I wasn't surprised to discover just how strong with the Force he was. I knew right away I'd have to train him; letting him into the world without any supervision would be a danger waiting to happen.

"I loved him as a nephew, and he was my best student. But the news of who his grandfather had been fueled so much rage in him. The darkside told hold of him and never let go. He destroyed my school, took half my students as his followers and murdered the rest. And now the Sith Imperialists conquer the galaxy, taking planets, like this one, and making them Sith colonies."

"If he's a Sith, why doesn't he call himself Darth Something?"

"There's a reason he calls himself Kylo Ren, but Han knows that story, not me."

"What happened then?"

"I lived in shame of what I'd created. I went off in search of the old Jedi texts, hoping to find something. To find myself. And then, when I realized I owed it to the galaxy to try and fix what I had created, I became a wanderer. I said 'I am a Jedi without either master or apprentice, so I shall walk the galaxy alone, dealing justice where it need be dealt. Over the last few months, I've drifted from planet to planet, stopping travesties like the one we just saw today."

"Well, you're here now," Rey said, "And you've met him again. Will you train me?"

"I haven't trained someone in a long time. Part of me wants to, but how do I know you won't become another Sith?"

"I guess you can't," Rey said, "But you can take a leap of faith."

"Yes," he said, "I suppose I can."