Revelation
Luke and Rey return to the heights of his island where he tells her of their lost family.
Rey woke up feeling surprisingly rested. Luke's bunk was empty, as was Chewie's. She swung her legs out of bed, hopped down onto the floor and padded through the main corridor, following the enticing smell of something cooking. Walking down the boarding ramp, she was met by a breath-taking Ahch-To morning; a ragged patchwork sky of gold and blue stretched over her head.
Luke was sitting on a rock, tending a small campfire and carefully twisting a skewer full of slowly blackening fish. He smiled up at her. Rey was delighted. She'd never eaten fish and they smelled incredible.
"Where did you get those?" She asked. He burst into laughter and gestured at the ocean surrounding them. "Stop laughing! Did you catch them?"
"I've learned a few tricks since I've been here," he said, amusement wrinkling his eyes. She went to fetch some travel biscuits from the Falcon to go with the fish. Chewie joined them for an open air breakfast. The day brightened. It was fresh and lovely down there by the water; the faint spray of the waves scattered silvery-white speckles across the rocks. Rey was astonished by the sight of so much water. The movement, colour and sparkle enchanted her. Luke watched, enjoying her obvious pleasure at the watery environment. He knew a little about Jakku; it was a dry planet, much like Tatooine. He remembered all too well his own first impressions of other planets after leaving his desert home.
They cleared away the scraps and discussed what to do with the day. "I'm going to tell you about when you were little. We need to go back up there so we can talk."
"Alright," she responded. "Why up there? We could stay with the Falcon today. Go for a flight, maybe?"
"I'd like to, but not today. There's something you should see."
She shrugged. "Ok," and wondered what he was being so cagey about. They grabbed a few items from the Falcon's hold – maps and extra supplies. Chewie and Artoo agreed to stay with the ship.
"Those bunks are more comfortable than I remember. We'll come back, maybe tomorrow, and spend the night here again?" Luke suggested.
"Yeah," Rey smiled. "I love the water. And the fish!"
They took their time walking back up and stopped a few times to admire the views. Clear, sunny days were welcome on this wild, wet planet. Luke stopped now and then to point out different landmarks and tell her about some of the things he'd seen in his time here. Sheet lightning out at sea; huge sea creatures breaching; multitudes of birds migrating. She found it all fascinating.
They made it back to Luke's dwelling and went in to leave the supplies and items from the Falcon. After a drink and a rest, they went outside. The sun was still shining. She hadn't noticed yesterday that he had small fruit plants and flowers growing in pots in sheltered corners of the courtyard between the buildings.
The two of them sat on a wall. "So, this is the First Jedi Temple," she said. "It's old, isn't it? How old?"
"I'm not sure. Thousands of years. It was built early on by the founders of the Order." He told her. "It's one of the few Jedi places that was not destroyed by the Empire."
"It's amazing. Such a beautiful place."
"It is incredible," he agreed. Head on one side, he looked at her. She was struggling to read his expression but he obviously needed to get something off his mind. "I came here looking for anything that might help with Ben. I didn't find very much. You can see, most of these buildings are just shells now. No Jedi have lived here for long ages - except me. But although I didn't find answers, I did find healing. I was in a bad way, but as soon as I set foot here, I could feel the power of the Force. Can you feel it?"
"I think so," she replied, "though it's all really new to me. It feels strong here, but mysterious. Like there's something just out of sight or some music I can't quite hear."
He smiled, then that far distant look came into his face again. "You will learn to feel the power here," he said. "This is a very special place. You being here seems right, even in these circumstances. I can't believe we have this chance. I will wake up pinching myself forever. I'll never take for granted the unexpected gift that you are, even after all this time. Rey, after I felt stronger, I was planning on going back, but the ship let me down. So stupid! I should have had a contingency plan." He shook his head. "I've sunk further and further these last few years. I'd given up."
"But you're going to help me now, aren't you?" She asked. "You say I'm strong. I need you to show me the Force. You're the last Jedi. You have to pass the knowledge on."
"Of course I want to help you and teach you. So much," he assured her, with every shred of sincerity he owned. "But I'm afraid, too. I don't want to get it wrong. I don't want to provoke the Dark in you. It's so easy to fall into that trap. I failed with Ben."
"I won't turn," she said, steel in her voice. "I felt the Dark in Kylo. When he was questioning me and when we fought. It's eating him! He can't think straight or free himself of his doubts and anger."
"We all have doubts and anger," Luke said.
"Not like him. My mind is clear." She asserted. "I know what evil is and I want nothing to do with it. I will do what is right."
He nodded slowly, overflowing with pride once again. How had this young woman grown to be so true and so strong, without the love and support of her family, or of anyone at all for that matter? She was so much like Sami – brave, thoughtful, determined; apparently not plagued by frustration and impulse like the Skywalkers had always been.
"You are very much like your mother." He said. She looked at him, eager to learn about the mother she couldn't remember. He told her quietly about meeting Sami, falling in love, wrestling with his guilt for not following the Jedi Code, for allowing himself to develop feelings and form a relationship. "In the end, I thought our marriage would do more good than harm. The Jedi order was all but wiped out, with only me left. Han and Leia had Ben and it was a joy to find that he had the Force. I couldn't see what was wrong with marrying and maybe, in time, having children of our own who might be strong with the Force."
"I think you were right," Rey said. "Why should you be less of a Jedi because you have a wife and child?"
Luke was having a difficult time coming to the next bit. "The Code says that a Jedi can become confused, can fall into chaos if they form strong emotional attachments. Sami didn't have that effect on me at all, though. She made everything clearer. I was stronger because of her. In time, we were given a great blessing. A child."
Rey smiled. "Me." But he was looking at her with those expressive blue eyes, awash with heartache. Not me, she realised. "Tell me," she said, misgiving in her voice.
"Your brother." He replied, taking her hand.
Her head was spinning. Her brother. She looked at the flowers, bobbing at her from their nook by the wall. "Owen," she whispered. Luke stared at her in amazement.
"You remember him?"
"I… no, not really. I don't know. But that name has always been with me. Where is he?"
They were clasping hands. Luke dreaded telling her. How could he find the words? He carefully reached his thoughts out to her and felt that she was calm. She returned his touch, reassuring him, but it wasn't enough. His grief and his reservations overcame him and he bowed his head. "He is with your mother."
Rey gasped. She swallowed back a cry of shock. After a few moments, she asked: "Tell me what happened to them?"
"Everything comes back to my failure to keep Ben to the Light. If he hadn't turned, we would all still be together."
"What happened?" She repeated.
"It was the night the Academy was destroyed…" he began. He told her of the hooded figures, of the massacre of the young apprentices. He told her how he'd found her mother and brother lying dead in the rain. He almost opened up to let her see it, but changed his mind at the last moment. His urge to be honest with her could go too far. Some things were better kept to himself.
She wept. Despite her father's care, she was numb. Her own imagination painted images in her head of the full horror of that terrible night. "Did he kill them? Did my cousin murder them?" She hissed through gritted teeth.
"I don't know," Luke said truthfully. "If he didn't, then one of his friends did." The word 'friends' came out with a twist of irony. "He had you. They held sabres on us – Han and Leia and me. He let them do that and he took you away."
They embraced in shared distress. She radiated anger, heartbreak and frustration. He hugged her tightly until her swirling, dark emotions began to ease, and wiped away her tears with gentle fingers.
"I thought I'd never stop grieving. In truth, I don't think you ever do. I'm sorry that it's so fresh for you, Sweetheart. There's no way to shield you from the truth. I've had a long time to get used to it. I know it hurts, but don't be angry, Rey. It does you no good and will turn your heart Dark."
She nodded. "I know. I just need a minute to get through it. I saw him kill Han; it was awful. And I didn't even know he was my uncle, then. I hope I never find out that he killed my brother and mother too. I don't want to be angry, but that's a lot - that would be…" she paused, "a lot to try to be calm about."
He almost smiled at her understatement, but the moment was too raw. He wondered if she would find some comfort in what he was about to tell her.
"Rey? I brought them here with me. Afterwards."
"Here? Really?" She blinked. "Where are they?"
"Up where you found me yesterday. On the cliff-top." He told her.
She looked at him with wide eyes. "Will you take me to them?"
"Of course I will." He said.
They gathered themselves together and, hand in hand, steadily made their way up the well-trodden path to Luke's cliff-top.
Right on the brink, Rey saw the leaning grave marker. That moment when she had found her father, just the day before, stood out in her mind sharply. She stole a glance at him and felt his anguish, freshly sharpened by yesterday's shared sensations of his best friend's death. Her growing empathic link with him gave her a honed insight and, now, she could feel exactly how his emotions had been thrumming when she had first approached him. Little wonder he'd looked so distraught.
She walked on, right up to the grave, and stopped. Luke had let go of her hand and held back a few paces, allowing her a quiet space, and time to give her feelings their liberty, whilst staying close at hand in case she should need him. She looked down at the resting place of her mother and brother. How should she feel?
She was angry. Her face knotted as she tried to push her fury away, knowing that it would only lead to misery and Darkness, but she was still seething at Kylo. At the cruel fate that had not allowed her the opportunity to know and love two people who would have been, should have been, beyond precious to her. She wanted to throw blame at someone. Kylo. Luke still called him Ben, but he was Kylo to her. A monster. She had lost the chance of a happy family and childhood because of his weak, pathetic inability to resist the lure of the Dark Side. And he had not been helped to reverse his downward spiral by the adults around him…
She looked back at her father in a moment's ire. He stood there, silent and motionless, watching her with a stricken expression. Her stomach lurched with that single glance at his anxious face. She turned away quickly, afraid that he would recognise her anger, her desire to lash out. Battling to still her mind and ease her heartsickness, she squeezed her eyes shut.
When she opened them again, she looked upwards. Her sight took in the sky, the clouds scudding carelessly across the blue expanse. She looked outwards to the horizon, and noticed the myriad rocky islets stabbing upwards from their saltwater roots. She looked down and saw the ocean currents weaving and swirling around the rocks at the tideline; a dizzying sweep of pitted, vertical cliff-face below her. She breathed deeply and absorbed the sharp, maritime tang of the crystalline air moving over and around and above her.
She let her senses unravel and spread; tendrils of need and hope, reaching out for absolution.
Long minutes passed and still she stayed at the edge. Luke stood his ground also, not daring to move. He knew that she understood how he felt and how he'd tried, and failed. He couldn't change that or make up to her what she had lost. He vowed to himself that he would be there for her from this day onwards. Whatever it took, whatever the sacrifice. He would never leave her again, as long as she wanted and needed him with her. But now, even in full knowledge of her history and the evils and mistakes of the past, he knew he must allow her these first moments to find her own peace.
Finally, she turned around to face him.
"I know why you chose this spot," she said, her voice trembling but her eyes clear. "This is a special place. I understand why you stayed here."
He listened and he watched, afraid of what she might say next.
"I think I could heal here too." She sighed. Then she held her hands out to him. He came forward and took them in his own. They stood for a while in silent, shared communion. Then, as one, they walked arm in arm back down the path the way they'd come.