Rey kicks some ass here, to put it politely. I'm not sure how well this action sequence flows, but in the end, she makes a poignant point and sends a powerful Jedi message to a very anti-Jedi world.
Also, again shout out to uselessenglishmajor and Silmarilion279. Truly, what happened to Coruscant after the New Republic has fallen? How has the society changed since the First Order took hold of the city? Those are really very important and interesting points. I'd be over the moon if Ep. IX showed us more of this city-planet.
"Your presence is requested by the Supreme Leader", the ceremonial droid recites in a flat, unpleasant tone.
"What? Where"? She is perplexed, panting after series of planks followed by series of push-ups, sweat dripping back and forth.
"Training facilities, sector 5-B", droid says.
He stormed off yesterday. She anticipated some kind of repercussion, but nothing happened. Only silence.
And now this.
Had he spied on her? Because if he did, that is just not in that damn treaty.
She changes her clothes: no point of showing her weakness to the world. She trains, but breaks no sweat. She is one with the Force, and the Force is with her – no physical strain, just soft murmur of that ancient energy source.
She wears tan pants and shirt that resembles the First Order officers. At least they are not black, she thinks. She binds her hair tightly to her head in a high bun. Somehow, she is left with an unnerving feeling she is being morphed into a dark apprentice. That impression makes her shudder, but she doesn't have the time to ponder. He awaits her. And she is actually eager to spar with him again, having lost the opportunity to crack open his skull.
Breathe.
She opens the door – the entourage. Stormtroopers. Rey finds them somehow more tolerable than an average First Order Officer, probably under Finn's influence. There are people underneath, conflicted and trapped in their destinies like Finn, like her, like Ben…
It is this place again. Melancholy hitting like a wayward planet against the planet.
She will behave. She will not make any Jedi mischief. She feels acutely he wants her to.
Come on, scavenger. Make a mistake. Tug the thread too violently. Break the treaty apart.
The door opens. She flinches a bit. Praetorians. Another contingent. Why, of course. Why would the eight they've slain be the only ones in the existence? Do they know? Are they Force sensitive?
But the creatures are mum and she suspects yet again they're not human at all.
"They have to learn to protect their Supreme Leader better", he snarls behind her.
For a split second, she thinks this is not a training session – this is a downright execution. Praetorians and Kylo Ren are not the only ones in that room – there are high-ranking First Order officers and what she suspects are the scions of the Coruscant aristocracy. And as she observes all these potential jurors and judges with a swift glance, she makes a mental note that he was right about the dresses – there are women there, probably wives of the war barons and the upper classes. Concubinate – small arrows of jealousy hitting the back of her neck here and there. Scrutiny. This is something new.
This is a spectacle.
But it isn't directed against her, although there is the air of disdain and fear in the room.
You do not fear those you know you'll execute.
"Come", he says and makes a downright royal gesture. He doesn't touch her, but he makes a wide move with his gloved hand.
Rey fights the urge to look confused.
Breathe.
"We shall re-enact what has happened in the Throne Room", he says matter-of-factly, picking up a training sword from one of the droids. He inspects one and passes it on to her. It is the perfect replica of Luke's saber, only harmless, equipped with millions of sensors.
She swings it around not so much to feel its weight and versatility, but for all those inquisitive eyes around her that annoy her. She lets it make a whipping sound in the air and relishes in that forewarning. One of the women had an affair with him. She really didn't need to know that, but now it's stuck in her brain. Some of them covet him for whatever reasons, and it's not all about power, it's also about sex, just raw pleasure and lustful inquisitiveness. It sends some sort of a new, angry feeling up her spine.
What has happened in the Throne Room?
Play along, Rey.
He picks the sword that resembles his own saber the most.
"Not precisely, of course: but I want you not to spare these men, or me. They are instructed to hit you like an enemy that you were. We talked about it. I want your rage and your revenge again, Rey".
They are sipping amber-colored drink from exquisite crystal glasses – this is really just a distraction for them, something for the decadent masses.
They want me dead. This officer thinks of Court Marshall, war crimes tribunal for me. What a joke - .
They are nothing. Listen to me. You used the Jedi powers to hide in the Light. You had your Master's help in the Force. You killed Snoke. I tried to stop you, and we fought. Praetorians overwhelmed you for a moment, but you managed to kill 2, then 2 again, then we fought some more and before you killed off the last Praetorian, the "Supremacy" exploded. Part of the debris knocked me out. You were injured, you wanted to slay me, but you didn't have enough time. No one knows Luke's saber was torn into pieces. I kept it to myself. Do you understand?
She nodded inside her mind, perplexed. Had she only had his help the way he portrays it…
Breathe.
I barely managed to defeat the 4 of them last time. Now I have 9 against me.
Don't be afraid. I'll help you. You'll see. But no one else will notice.
Her narrowing eyes now dart a glance at him. "Don't be afraid". "Help". But he looks completely disinterested. He only wants to make a point. There are pro-Hux supporters here. The only reason they tolerate him is because they lost at least 2 millions in Starkiller Base, onboard the "Finalizer" and "Supremacy", weapons, guns, ammunitions, TIE fighters onboard those ships. Lot of their leadership has perished in Holdo's self-sacrificial attack. They are afraid, because they are tattered.
Her valiant, noble and precious Resistance hit them hard. That's what she can now hear and it fills her heart with pride and feral joy.
He doesn't disapprove that hint of ferociousness in her, although he smirks at her gentleness for the Resistance.
He gestures at his personnel to start recording the testimony of her enormous powers. They have to know that Jedi are a force to be reckoned with.
He attacks her viciously, not sparing her for a moment. But she uses all that power to her own advantage and lets him tumble over her. Her smaller stature is an advantage, not a fault – that is the way of the Jedi. Two Praetorians come rushing her way. They lock in a deadly match, but she feels they somehow falter. Not for more than one nanosecond, but it's enough for her to wiggle her way through them and hit the nearest one on the neck. The sensors detect the fatal blow. The Praetorian bows and leaves the arena. She has no time – Kylo Ren charges at her again. She stops him with the Force, his hand trembling as she tries to force the saber out of his hand. It's enough to stop him, but the other Praetorians circle her. She pulls Kylo Ren against them, sending them into a struggle not to harm their precious Supreme Leader. One of the Praetorians, however, hits his shoulder. Kylo Ren roars, perfectly imitating injured ego and knocks his own guard by himself.
Actually, he is fairly insulted how easily she swayed him this time. He actually again underestimated her powers – an error he won't make again.
How dare him, useless fool.
She cuts two Praetorians by lowering herself on the ground, again using her speed to her own advantage. She practically strangles one with his own whip, and hits the other one from below with one single fatal blow to the abdomen.
She uses his "corpse" as a shield against Kylo Ren. He pulls the poor creature from the arena with brutal force. The red armor yanks against the tiled floor, sending shards of the ceramics into the shocked public, breaking at least half of dozen of those accursed, luxurious glasses.
She grins at that spectacle, but it lasts for a nanosecond.
Four down, five more to go.
One of the Praetorians manages to grab hold of her from the behind, and she struggles again like that time. They don't fool around. Were this real, she wouldn't have survived until the end. She panics for a moment – it seemingly takes him forever to come to her aid.
Help me.
He loosens the man's grip with his Force only so much that she can escape on time, perfectly imitating the maneuver that sent her free the first time – letting go of the saber, and then catching it midair.
They all attack her now all at once. She feels his hot breath and his sweat. She has no idea how they didn't slay her from behind, because they are everywhere. The impossible geometry of that position somehow shields her, like a tent.
She roars, genuinely enraged and sends a Force blast that knocks out the Praetorians – only temporarily, again sending some of those ladies screaming in terror at the sight of tables overturned and glasses shattered. Stormtroopers' blasters vibrate and clatter like in a small earthquake.
She is left with Kylo Ren in an empty space. He doesn't falter. The Force can't sway him so easily. Their Forces clash and the walls of the facility tremble again inducing many more gasps in the audience, now even from some officers (exception are the Chiss) and from war barons, but it's all mild in comparison to what they've performed in the actual Throne Room.
Praetorians attack her eagerly, and she flings herself down to the ground, almost hitting the floor.
Luke's maneuver.
She cuts through one Praetorian's legs – he's mutilated.
Three more to go.
She spins upwards and observes a commotion – as the Praetorians charge at her, their Leader rushes between them to finish that Force duel they had. His speed and his impetuousness are his downfall. She shrieks and manages to pull the saber out of his hands. Now unarmed, he holds still for a moment and tries to bring the saber back, but an alarm roars.
It signals the exact moment in time when Holdo's ship hits the "Supremacy".
Kylo Ren leaves the arena with a hardened, unsatisfied gaze. Most of it is not an act – he scolds himself for underestimating her so.
She is left with only 3 Praetorians. She slays them, using the advantage of two powerful sabers. Luke's saber flies and cuts through 2 – Kylo Ren's saber is more volatile, more disobedient, so she decide to keep it to herself and cuts the last one.
Rey is left alone in the middle of the arena. Through her panting, she can hear the shock and the scandal that she produced. It all adds up so perfectly. In the end, she addresses the audience in a low, firm voice: "The debris hurt me".
She wanted to add: "…and flung Kylo Ren's saber from me. I had no time, I had to escape".
But that simply isn't true. She glares at the disgusted and terrified faces (save for Chiss again, they have a look resembling awe and contemplation on them) and is fed up with lies and deceit.
"I could've killed Kylo Ren. Just like I killed the Praetorians", she said in a low growl. "But I didn't".
Rey looks at him and wishes she had her beloved two-sided saber by her side right now. There is something in him – he tries to stop her, but he is still eager to hear what she has to say.
"It is not the Jedi way", she says with unprecedented honesty and serenity. "It is not the Jedi way to kill a man who cannot defend himself".
And with reverberating shock and gasps behind her back, she returns the sword to him.
Well, this is something they'll definitely teach their officers in the First Order military academies – the Jedi ways and what to make of them.
Even him swallows hard and gazes at her with blazing eyes. But then he turns on his heels and shuts her off completely. She finally has some time to catch her breath. Her knees and arms hurt. Actually, she aches all over.