Author's note: Okay, I am fully aware that there could be some inconsistencies between the first chapter and the second chapter. Hopefully, all will be reconciled in this chapter in order to understand what really happened.
"Man, that's really deep, Ben," Poe said, amazed that his former friend has found true love in his life: The love that brought him back to the good side.
"It was. It's something I will always cherish, but for how long? I don't know," Ben sighed for a moment, grasping to have that back again. If it wasn't for Snoke and his entire planned to awaken Rey to the dark side, Rey would be sitting right here next to him.
"How did you escape, anyways?" Poe asked just to get Ben back to his senses and not adrift to sadness.
"Oh yes, how did we escape?" Ben said, surprised, but willing to continue, "You see. There was always a dead end everywhere we go. It got tiring afterwards. But, we persevere." Ben replied.
"Then…there was a stopping point," Ben said.
At the caves…
"Another dead end," Rey said stoically.
"Okay, then. Well, let's trained," Ben said like it was really that necessary to train.
Rey laughed.
"What's so funny? If we are going to beat Snoke and we got to keep practicing on what we are going to do, what we're going to say in case something goes wrong. Like, once you remember Luke's orders to not kill me, you turn around and tell Snoke that…"
"I'm of the Skywalker Legacy," Rey finished Ben's last sentence, "Ben…do you really that's going to work? That sounds really off when you say that. Snoke is a powerful dark lord after all. Do you really think he's going to believe that?"
"Rey, Snoke is a powerful man. I know. He can read minds…if he chooses to. But, he probably believes that since you're much stronger than I am...that as long I play dumb and act all emotional, we can trick Snoke into believing it. It's psychological warfare, Rey. A Ren Knight specialty."
"More like everyone's specialty…ole dear Ben," Rey replied as she walked over to tickle Ben.
"Hey, stop! That tickles! Ha ha…hahahahahahahah!" Ben laughed incessantly.
"Oh Ben, I am going to miss this once we find a way out of here."
"I know. But, once we kill Snoke, there's more time to be together then and we'll do whatever we want, right?"
"Right," Rey as Ben and Rey smiled at each other.
Ben sat down to do some leg stretches while Rey looked at the dead end and said, "I can't believe we're performing some sort skit or sketch. It's like that theatre book I read back at the resistance base."
"A theatre book, really?" Ben asked.
"Yeah, a book published by this entertainment company that does this circus show across various planets before the Empire shut it down. Now, as I think of it. Let's hope Snoke does not get the wrong the idea that this is some kind of joke."
"Well, the joke is on him and we're going to have the last laugh once he's dead."
"True," Rey replied, "Hey, Ben I have an idea. Let's go and shoot some…lightning…at the walls."
"What?" Ben said.
"You hear me. Shoot...some...lightning."
"That's sounds kind of…awkward…by…the…way you say it."
"Ben…please don't tease me. I'm serious. I just want to make sure that if Snoke has something up his sleeve, I'll be ready to take him down."
Ben thought about it for moment and said, "Okay...sure."
Rey immediately held up one hand and without hesitation, fire a continuous bolt of lightning at the wall. She held it for about five minutes without tire. As pieces of the wall fell off, a gush of water came through.
"What the?" Rey reacted.
"Water?" Ben asked.
"Then that means…"
"There could be a lake behind this wall."
"An exit," Rey and Ben said at the same time like as if they were reading each other's thoughts.
Then right away Ben and Rey packed all of their gear, lightsabers, electronics, in one tight bag and sealed it tight. Once everything was ready, Ben and Rey held close to each other. With their hands raised up in the air, they fired.
A stream of lightning hit the wall and a big hole came through. The deluge of water rushed in, pushing them back a bit and flooded the area. Then, a big pull of the underwater current pulled Ben and Rey through the hole. Ben and Rey swam to the top of the lake, exhaling along the way. They reached the surface and finally smell the fresh air of relief.
"We made it!" Rey screamed.
"Ha ha!" Ben laughed in joy of being free in the open world.
They both swam to the nearby shore and checked everything. Rey handed over the crossguard-saber and Ben ignited it and it worked. Ben turned it off and asked Rey if her saber-staff was functioning.
"Yep," Rey said. Rey turned it put back in her bag and immediately ran to Ben to hug him one more time.
They both kissed. Ben lifted her up and swung her around.
Ben placed her down and Rey said, "I love you, Ben."
"I know. I love you, too."
"I guess this is goodbye for now?" Rey asked.
"For now," Ben said, "Don't forget the plan. Tell Leia and Luke that I saved you and there's always been good in me. Tell them that you know where I'll be located and get the Resistance to head over Malcord V to attack. I believe there are some Mandalorians over there who hates the First Order. They could provide some help in attacking a First Order base there. Also, don't them about my secret mission until we killed Snoke. Got it?"
Rey nodded, "Got it."
"Good," Ben said, "And one more thing. Timing is important. I have a feeling that some of your Resistance commanders want you to rush in to capture me or kill me if have to. But, whatever you do, don't rush it. Don't attack too soon. Don't attack too late. If for some reason you have to pull out, don't worry. I'll understand. Also, once we engaged in battle. I am not going to be easy on you, so don't forget our strategy in fooling Snoke to kill him, okay?"
Rey nodded and gave Ben a big hug. Rey and Ben kissed each other one more time before departing for that fateful dark day.
Back to the present moment, Ben finished his story. "Then, you know what happened next. Ironic as it is, Snoke sprang a trap on us. He knew the whole time what we're up to and that freaking female Ren Knight, claiming that she is Rey's mother…took her away from me. Whoever that woman was, I am beginning to have doubts if she really is her mother. One of the abilities in using the force is to alter one's appearance. I don't have that ability in me since I wore a mask. I will not surprise if this female Ren Knight took on the image of Rey's mother as a way to get Rey…to the dark side. I can't believe I've been played."
Ben placed his face into his palms and shed some tears into his hands. Poe placed his hand on Ben's shoulder and said, "Ben, it's not your fault. You did what you could. You said before that there's hope to bring Rey Back. I mean if you can come back to the light side, so does she."
"I starting to doubt that everyday now Poe," Ben said, "It's just that, I mean. If Rey was really born from the dark side while I the light, I don't think there's any way we can…bring her back."
"I know, Ben. You missed her deeply. I don't know much about the force, but after everything you been through together, it sounds like you two had some sort of connection. A force…"
"Bond. A force bond, you mean?"
"Yeah, a force bond? Like, maybe you could read her mind and know what she's thinking."
"I don't know if that's possible, Poe. When Rey became Reina, her dark alter ego, that connection I had with her was gone."
"It could still be there. I remember overhearing you talking to her when I walked by."
"Well, I don't know. I keep hearing her sometimes, telling me not to give up. I went to the Doctor and he told that it could just be side effects from the post-mortem experience I had when I was thrown into the lake at Malcord V. I don't know Poe. What's there to be done?"
Ben took two more tablets in his mouth and chugged them, hoping the medications will calm his mind. Poe looked at Ben and did not want to say anything about his medications since post-traumatic effects is a serious issue and everyone at the resistance base knew it should not be taken lightly in any kind of conversation.
Poe stood up and had of an idea to keep Ben occupied. "Ben, I have an idea. You said before that Rey's mother could actually be dead and this female Knight of Ren may be an actual impostor?"
"Yeah, why?" asked a stoic Ben.
"You have that holo-recall disc, do you? You know, the one containing all of your memories."
"Yes."
"We have a prototype holo-extractor right by the command center. We can use this machine to take a snapshot of Rey's so-called Mother and do some close analysis to see if we can find any proof that she may not be Rey's mother at all. "
"Hmm," Ben replied, "That sound like great idea," Ben said, sounding a bit happy now since he has something to do in order to quench his inner anger against Snoke in taking Rey away from him.
Meanwhile…
"It's good meeting you again, Caterous Endo. I presume we have much to discuss," said Master Luke sitting down next to a round table in front of him.
Leia sat by as well as Caterous and his aid, Kal Dronus, presented an old Jedi Fighting and Force manual that is written in Basic, Arabesh, Mando'a, and Shillick (a mixed Jedi and Mando'an language).
"As a gift from one Force User to another, here is an old Jedi training manual, preserved and updated over the years. It dates back to the days of the Clone Wars and passed down through over the years from one master to the next. We the Knights of Mandalore take with great pride to preserve the legacies and teachings of both Jedi and Mandalore," said Caterous.
"Unbelievable," Leia said.
Luke replied, "It is, but I must say…tell me more about your people. How did the Knights of Mandalore came to be? My sister and I never even heard of your order before."
"Good thing you asked," replied Caterous, "Where do I begin? It all started:
Back during the Clone Wars. The Great Duchess Satine, the pacifist reformer of Mandalore was assassinated by a Sith Lord named Darth Maul and plunged our people into a civil war. Many had died and everything that was built in Satine's name was destroyed. There were those of who hated both the Sith and the rival clans who allied themselves with the them. So, many vengeance groups were formed to take down the Sith and their allies. Taking out rival clan members and their allies was easy. But, to actually take down a Sith…well, that was hard. Many have died. Many were brutally injured and no longer able to fight. There was some who ended up joining the dark side.
When Emperor Palpatine initiated Order 66, the order to exterminate all Jedi, the Jedi who survived the massacre fled and went into hiding at various locations across the galaxy. Having sympathies with the Jedi who also suffered the same manipulation by the Sith, we went out to find them. Once we do, we offered them a place amongst us. In so doing, they taught us the ways of the Force and in return we taught the fighting ways of a Mandalorian Warrior. You may find a lot of our fighting methods quite unconventional and probably displeasing for a more civilized fighter. But from our experience, in the fighting the dark side, we must use everything to win even no matter how brutal the method is.
From then on, the various vengeance groups out there merged together with these Jedi and thus became the Knights of Mandalore. Since then we launched a very long campaign of assignations on warlords, gangsters, Imperial sympathizers, regional governors, and destroyed many secret research installations not even your Rebel Alliance knew about. Like, another Dark Trooper training academy located somewhere in the Outer Rim. We staged a chain of events that led to the downfall of the Empire esp. that one incident that brought two rival pirate groups in fighting each other, forcing the Empire to intervene, allowing us to destroy their key supply chains. We even fought alongside with you without you knowing. In case you haven't realized at the Battle of Hoth, there was another contingent of snow troopers coming to attack your base the other side. My order placed snipers at key locations and took them out before they arrived. At the Battle of Endor, you may know of a sharpshooter whom we called as Racks Barracks who fought alongside with you in taking out that shield generator.
My grandfather was the great Jedi Master Takael Endo and my grandmother, a Mandalorian Warrior, Dasha Sateel. My family was tasked to recruit and find potential force users and non-force users to our cause and swore secrecy to not reveal our identities and activities to anyone. At the same time, keep records of the many families that make up the Knights of Mandalore. We even searched out for any surviving relatives of the Satine's family and...that of her former lover, a man I always look up to…Obi-Wan Kenobi."
"Wait, what? Obi-Wan Kenobi?" Luke asked shock that never knew about this not even Uncle Ben's journals ever mention in detail on this.
"How did he get involved with your group let alone having this exact lover in his life?" Luke continued to ask as Leia, not knowing that much about Ben Kenobi, was starting to be interested in this.
"It's good to hear that Obi-Wan went out of his way to train you," Caterous responded, "How did he get involved? It was many years ago, a young Obi Wan Kenobi came to Mandalore on a peace mission to help restore peace in Mandalore sector. At that time, Obi-Wan met and fell in love with the future Duchess Satine before he left. During the Clone Wars, Obi Wan came back to aid our Duchess up to her last days. Obi-Wan's friendship and defense of our culture, inspired many of my people who would later founded the Knights of Mandalore. We owe that man a great debt. His understanding and appreciation of our culture eased tensions between the Republic and the Mandalorians at the time. But, knowing that Mandalore is in disarray and with the First Order is trying back the glory days of the Empire, we…we…we…the Knights of Mandalore will do everything to hunt down the Dark Side before they rise up and achieve victory. It's funny how the Force works in strange ways since how did you know about finding us in battling a First Order base on Malcord V?"
Leia jumped in, "There is a girl, a student of my brother here, who goes by Rey. She told us that Snoke was hiding there and we came in to aid you in taking out a First Order base and retrieve my son Ben Solo."
"Rey…oh yes, I remembered her. She's Ben's lover. Isn't she? The one who turned to the dark side?" asked Caterous.
Leia replied, "Yes, she did, and it is something I don't want to divulge into since it is affecting a lot of us here."
"Understandable, I know how that feels. Even members of my group lost love ones. Losing a love does take a lot out of a person. Tell me more about this Rey? Who is she?"
Leia then continued, "Well, we do not know too much of her family, except the fact that we believe she could be Obi-Wan's granddaughter."
Caterous, his eyes brightened in surprised, asked, "Really?"
"Well, that's what we're presuming at the moment," Leia replied.
"Okay, interesting enough. Well, uhhh…not everyone in our group knows much about whether Obi-Wan...uh...had any descendants. So, whether Rey is a Kenobi or not? Your guess is good as mine."
A silent came into the meeting as Luke and Leia have nothing more to say.
"Well that settles it. Where's your son, by the way? I would like to see him, if that's all right," Caterous asked,
"That's fine. I think it will be great for Ben to have more friends like you. He's been going through a lot lately esp. what happened to Rey. Last time I heard from him, he's with Poe Dameron at the holo-extractor room, two floors down by the command center. They're probably doing some analytical work in gathering intelligence to stop the First Order and their Knights of Ren."
"Good son, he is then," said Caterous.
"He always was," Leia replied as he watched Caterous stood up and exited the door.
"Luke, did you sense something unusual when we mentioned about Obi-Wan Kenobi and Rey?" asked Leia, looking at her brother.
"I do. I felt there is something irking in him. He appears to know more than he let out," Luke replied.
Author's Note: The idea behind the Knights of Mandalore in this fic is based off the "Republic Commando" and "Legacy of the Force" books. These books are non-canon and are part of Star Wars Legends. But, it's in these novels that mentioned about Force-sensitive Mandalorians running around and these books are the source on the theory behind the Mandalorians allying with the protagonists. It has been speculated and theorized that it's likely that the Mandalorians may make their return in large numbers in Star Wars Episode IX to help aid the Republic, Resistance, and the Jedi to fight the First Order and the Knights of Ren. The reason for saying this is that in Episode III, Revenge of the Sith, we had Wookies. In Star wars, Episode VI, Return of the Jedi, we had Ewoks. Now, for Episode IX, we could see Mandalorians participating in the war. Another way to look at the Knights of Mandalore in this fanfic is to see the Knights of Mandalore as the polar opposite of the Knights of Ren. These two groups both wear armor except that the Ren Knight are more like hellish, black-clad armored, dark knight demons while the Knights of Mandalore are the angelic beings in shining blue and chrome armor. It's like having a Light Knight taking on the Dark Knights of the medieval era since the Knights of Ren are seen as dark side Templar Knights during the Crusades while the Knights of Mandalore are your chivalrous knights in shining armor.