Welcome back.

I'd like to note that, starting with this chapter, we're going to be jumping from perspective to perspective based on the needs of the narrative.I know where this story is going, but I don't feel the need to ensure the character's perspectives align each time with the pre-established order of these first chapters. Think of the layout of A Song of Ice and Fire.

5. Rey II

Rey slipped out of the meeting as soon as it seemed acceptable.

It wasn't as if Leia's words had fallen on deaf ears-in fact, her plans and her words had been told to her far before this meeting, or even the earlier meeting with the officers of the ship.

It was last night actually, that Leia asked Rey to listen to her speech. It was comforting to know now that even the bright and valiant Leia Organa needed someone to listen to what she had to say. Of course, Rey had no feedback to offer her. And her speech remained unchanged.

From the sounds of the shouting crowds behind Rey, it seemed as if her speech had worked. But Rey had a different idea of how to spend her time.

She was consumed-focused completely on the sacred Jedi texts. Once she rounded the corner and arrived at her sleeping quarters, she shut and locked the door immediately. She couldn't be bothered. Not now.

Rey thought briefly of Finn. Would he come for me? She asked herself. She could sense his eyes linger towards her during the meeting. Did he fear for me?

She pushed the thoughts from her mind. There was so much to do now. So much to cover. There would be time to catch up and to speak to Finn, but now was not that time.

Rey looked now to her cot-where the texts lay open before her. She had gone back out into the Falcon some time after her interaction with Poe to collect the books. Ever since, she'd been trying to glean information out of them where she could. She would compare symbols to other symbols. She would think back on her time on Jakku, and wondered if any of what she had seen there could help her now.

But as she looked to the texts in front of her, the challenge seemed no less daunting than it had earlier. She would need help. It was no longer an option to hide away from the others.

But who could she ask?

"Master Rey?" came a sharp voice at the door, followed by 3 sharp knocks.

C3PO!

"Master Rey, are you in there?" Threepio asked from the other side of the door. "I was sent by Finn to inquire about your well-being. He seemed very concerned for you."

"Yes, I'll speak with him," Rey dismissed. "C3PO, how many languages do you know again?"

"Oh," Threepio said. He sounded nearly surprised to be asked such a question. "Well, I am fluent in over six million forms of-"

He stopped speaking once Rey opened the door. Rey took the droid by the arm and pulled him into the room. She shut and locked the door behind him.

"My goodness!" Threepio exclaimed. "Was it something that I said?"

"It was, actually," Rey said. "I have something I need you to translate for me."

"Oh, wonderful!" Came Threepio's response. "You know, I'm never asked to do what I was programmed to for. It's a shame, really."

Rey nodded. She pointed over towards her cot, where the books lay. "I came across these books recently," she explained. "I need them translated. The information inside is incredibly important to me. Do you know what language this is?"

C3PO leaned over to look at the words, and didn't speak for a long time. Rey was about to ask further when his response finally came.

"Oh dear," he lamented. "I'm afraid-well, I'm rather embarrassed, really-"

"What?" Rey asked.

"Well, while I'm fluent in over six million forms of communication," Threepio explained, "this is actually one of the forms I am not proficient in."

"Perfect," Rey sighed. "If you can't read this, nobody can."

"Well," Threepio continued, "while I appreciate the compliment, that's actually not entirely true. You see, while I'm not fluent in this language, I do know the origins of it."

"You do?" Rey asked. She leaned in closer to him. "Where is it from? Is it still spoken?"

"Well, this is actually one of the root languages for Galactic Basic Standard," Threepio explained. "Well over tens of thousands of years ago, Galactic Basic resembled little of what it does today. Many dialects and ways of communication were combined. So, I know a little from these books."

"What can you tell me?" She asked.

"Well, this symbol here," Threepio pointed, "is an old Jedi insignia. This was used to represent their way of life. These shapes here indicate the balance the Jedi seek."

Threepio's golden finger pointed towards a circular shape in the middle of the page.

"If I were to wager a guess," Threepio said, "I would say that these books contain information about the Jedi."

"Yeah, I knew that," Rey said. She thought for a moment. "Do any reaches of the galaxy still communicate in this language?"

"A very small few, perhaps," Threepio explained. "But these planets are in the Unknown Regions. Very few travel there, and even fewer leave. The only places that still speak in this manner are surely very uncivilized."

"Unknown Regions," Rey repeated. "Thank you, Threepio. You've been a big help."

"Well," Threepio said. "That might be the first time I've ever been told that."

Rey thanked him again and released him from her room. After closing the door behind her, she looked back to the texts.

Of all the things I discussed with Luke, she thought to herself, I never once thought these books would be in a different language. How could he read them?

Since Luke was gone now, the task of deciphering what's discussed in these texts would fall onto her. If Rey was to have any hope of understanding what it means to be a Jedi, this seemed as if it would be her only option.

"Luke," Rey sighed. "Why'd you have to make this difficult?"

"I wasn't trying to."

Rey jolted upright. Who said that?

But before she could think about it further, there was another knock on the door.

"Rey?" came another voice-different than the last. This one was no doubt Finn's. "Threepio said you were acting strangely."

"I don't see how kindness is strange," Rey muttered to herself. She supposed she could not put off this conversation any longer. She opened the door.

On the other side of the steel, Finn looked almost surprised to see her again. Both stood on the opposite ends of the door as they talked:

"I'm sorry," Finn began. "I'm not trying to bother you. I just-we haven't really spoken since Starkiller Base, and there's been so much going on-"

"I know," Rey said. "I'm sorry too. It's just-there's a lot I'm trying to figure out."

"Things Luke taught you?" Finn asked.

Rey nodded.

"He wasn't what I thought he'd be," Rey said. "He was old, and tired, and weak. But in a lot of ways, he was more powerful than I could ever hope to be. He said he wanted the Jedi to end, but he faced Kylo Ren. Alone. He saved us all."

"Where did he go?" Finn asked.

Rey looked down. "Luke's gone, Finn," Rey explained. "I don't know how to explain it to you. But I felt him leave. It was a great power for him to do what he did on Crait. Afterwards, he faded away, into the Force."

Finn thought to himself. "Well then," he said. "I guess you're our last hope."

"I'm not your hope," Rey said. She was almost defensive about it. "You all were able to hold off the First Order for so long. That's not nothing. Don't discredit yourselves."

"But we need you," Finn said. "We need the Force."

Rey laughed. "That's not how the Force works, Finn."

Rey watched as Finn's expression dropped. He seemed pensive, suddenly. "That's not the first time I've been told that."

Before the two could continue talking, a jolt in the ship took Rey off guard. It was the unmistakable groan of the Falcon that meant that the ship was coming out of hyperspace.

"So I guess we're in Iriad now," Rey said.

Finn nodded. "Leia's going to meet with others here to help us rebuild our fleet. And we're going to fight back against the First Order."

Rey didn't respond. Instead, she nodded gently and moved to her cot. "I'm glad," she said.

She knew Finn could sense something was wrong with her. In a way, she was letting him sense it.

And could anyone blame her? She had discovered so much in too few of days. She had met the legendary Luke Skywalker, only to discover he was not what he was said to be. She discovered the Force within her, and the darkness she so easily chased after. She had seen the heart of Ben Solo and tried to stoke the conflict in him. She had fought side-by-side with her former enemy, only to have to leave him again. There was question after question after question in her mind about so much. She had to get answers. She needed them, more than she needed to protect her friends.

And that thought scared her the most.

"You're coming, right?" Finn asked. "You're going to help us rebuild the fleet?"

Rey paused. How quickly had the tables turned. She had been the one convincing Finn to see things through just a short time ago. And now, it seemed as if it was going to be her turn to be convinced.

"These books," Rey started, "are from the first Jedi temple. These hold the secrets of the Jedi. And to discover these secrets, I might not be able to stay with you guys."

"Rey, you can't leave," Finn started. He entered the room from the hall. "We need you. If it weren't for you, we would be dead-"

"I know, Finn," Rey acknowledged. "And I want to help the Resistance. I really do. But how am I supposed to help if I don't know the true power that's inside of me?"

Rey turned to face Finn, and moved closer to him. "Luke Skywalker showed me just the surface of the ways of the Force," she explained. "And with that knowledge, I was able to move the rocks on Crait. Imagine what I could do if I knew the secrets that lie in these texts. Imagine what I could train others to do! A group of people, trained in the Force. What chance would the First Order stand?"

But Finn wasn't convinced. "You mean a Jedi training camp like the one Luke Skywalker founded? The same camp that fell into destruction at the hands of Kylo Ren."

"It's not that simple," Rey pleaded. "Kylo wasn't simply evil. There was a misunderstanding-"

"And now you're defending our enemy?" Finn asked. "Rey, Kylo Ren and the First Order tied to kill us! I almost died fighting them! Rose almost died fighting them! We all have sacrificed to win this battle. We barely survive, and-and you're talking about running away? About misunderstandings?"

Rey looked down. "I'm not asking you to change your mind about any of what happened to you. And I understand that you have to follow what you believe. But I have to trust my instincts. And I know I am better serving the Resistance by understanding what these books are talking about. By learning and growing in the Force."

The ground beneath them shook somewhat. The ship's artificial gravity had been turned off, but the two still stood on the Falcon's floors. They had landed on Iriad.

"You should go," Rey said. "I think Leia said something about getting Rose help as soon as we landed? I don't want to keep you from that."

There was hurt in Finn's eyes-unlike hurt she had ever seen in him. And behind that hurt-anger.

"Yeah," Finn said. "Alright. But you tell the others about your plan here." Finn cast a finger towards the books. "I won't do your dirty work for you."

"Finn-" Rey started, but Finn had already left the room.

She didn't mean to make him mad or angry at him. But the truth was, she needed to understand what was happening in these texts. She needed to know a way to control her powers-to gain strength in the Force. And she would return to the Resistance, surely. But she also needed to know if there was a way that Ben could be turned.

She had a million questions in her mind, and she intended to start getting some answers.

And soon.

So it seems Rey will be leaving the Resistance yet again. Meanwhile, much work remains to be done on Iriad, if the Resistance has any hope of surviving another attack from the First Order.

I would just like to say if you're reading this text, that I would like to thank you. You're well over 10,000 words into this story, and I'm just now getting to where things are happening. That wasn't my intent when beginning, but hey-there's a lot of characters to cover and ground to make up. The more I write, the less I envy Rian Johnson and JJ Abrams.

Until next,

-BYIT