Chapter 4: Will you pick me up, please?
Upon entering the old hut Rey shrugs off Luke Skywalker's cloak, carefully putting it on the small cot in one of the corners of the room. She sighed and sat down at the small desk. Curiously she took in the little belongings of her Master that had gathered dust over the years. "I hope you don't mind me being here.", She mumbled. "But if I remember correctly, emyou/em blew up the other hut where I was staying." With a sudden shudder she remembered that night, when she had made contact with Kylo Ren through the force.
She was so young and naïve to think it was in her power to bring the Supreme Leader of the First Order back to the light side. She had nothing to offer to him, that could convince him back then. She thought about that time. Those encounters in the force had been strange – and in retrospect – creepy. A single tear ran down her face when she contemplated the duel on the Supremacy. Not for the blink of an eye had she considered joining Kylo Ren. He had tried to hurt and humiliate her, when he had called her a "nothing". She had known it in her heart back then, that this wasn't true. Before having gone to Ahch'To she had met wonderful people who only showed her kindness and love. She thought of Han Solo, who had offered her a job on the Falcon. With a smile she remembered the enthusiasm and easy flirting, that Finn had tried on her even back on Jakku. And of course, there was Leia. She treated her with such warmth and kindness.
Over the course of those five years since she had left Ahch'To, another person had shown her that she mattered. Poe Dameron – damn those soft eyes, that warm voice and this kindness. Rey sighed. "But, he's my friend. And, I'm a Jedi. I'm not supposed to feel like that."
"Like what?"Luke Skywalker appeared again in front of her. "And don't worry about going through my stuff. I don't need this anymore. And the cottage needs some house-keeping, while you're at it."
"You want me to clean up this mess?", Rey exclaimed with furrowed brows. Being the housekeeper for a force ghost hadn't really been her idea of deepening her understanding of the force – and those nagging feelings inside her head.
"When I came to train with my Master on Dagobah, he lectured me on warriors and greatness. He taught me to stay humble and not overestimate my own place in the universe." Luke went on to start a lesson himself. "A little tidying-up won't hurt you either. And it would redeem you in the eyes of the Lanai – as it doesn't look like you'll leave anytime soon".
Rey picked up the broom, that was leaning in the corner next to the cot and started sweeping the floor. "I won't stay too long anyways. Chewbacca fears we'll carry even more Porgs off the island, if the Falcon is parked long enough." She quickly got rid of most of the dust off the floor. She glanced at the desk, unsure whether or not she should get the cobwebs off the items strewn across the surface.
"Never mind, Rey. I was merely joking. I'm more interested in your conflicting emotions than the garbage on my old desk."
Rey stared into the darkness of the room. So far, she only had heard Luke Skywalker speaking. She blinked a little, as she thought she saw something on the periphery. A blueish figure appeared out of thin air.
"Master Skywalker. It is really you?" Rey smiled and approached him. "I'd love to hug you, but I guess that wouldn't work."
Luke smiled fondly but raised a hand to stop her. "No, you cannot touch me, and I cannot touch anything in this realm. I'm just here in the force. Or do you think, the keepers would allow for this mess?"
Rey looked around. "No, not really." She contemplated the fact, that her reluctant former Master was very visibly present. "This is possible, because of the force of the island, right?"
"You always were a quick learner." Luke answered approvingly. "You haven't yet beaten my nephew?"
Shaking her head, Rey answered "No. But we're gathering strength. The fleet is almost as strong as before. Leia and Poe lead the Rebel Alliance. And I think, I'll be soon in a place, where I can face him again. This time, we'll finish them for good."
"Leia." Luke uttered with a sad smile. "Keep an eye on her, please. She has been fighting for so long. She deserves some peace in this galaxy. Even if it means – well, you know, what I want to say. Don't try to save him again."
"I'm sorry, I didn't trust you back then." Rey stared intently at her shoes. She felt responsible for Luke's demise after having gone to seek out Kylo Ren.
"Don't blame yourself, Rey. Luke said with a soft smile. "I didn't follow my master's advice either, when I was in your position. I tried to save my friends, when I saw them in a vision. It cost me my arm and Han almost his life."
Rey still stared intently at her shoes. She still felt embarrassed about her decision to go after Kylo Ren back then.
"Hey Rey. It's no good to live in the past. You made that call because you believed there was a chance for him to come back to the light side. It might have been a bad call, but you were convinced of it. I made the same call, when I confronted my own father – Darth Vader. I was lucky, in the end, he came back to the light. Even if it was too late for him. It is a good thing to believe in the goodness of people. I should have taught you better, when you came here. If I had told you all about Kylo Ren's fall towards darkness, you might have not gone after him. Or you still might have wanted to safe him. We don't know that. But I should have put all the cards on the table, so you could have taken a wiser choice."
Rey sighed, but nodded in accordance.
"But – Rey, he's not the one you have conflicting feelings about, right?" Luke's force ghost sounded appalled at the mere thought of the possibility.
"Oh god. No way. I was only sad about how that whole thing on the Supremacy went down. I was so naïve to think I, a nobody from nowhere, could save the Resistance by turning Kylo Ren back to the light."
"First of all, you're not a nobody from nowhere. Kriff, you live with the Resistance. My sister should have already made you aware of the fact, that you belong to them. And then, I was a nobody from nowhere myself, when I joined the Rebellion. It doesn't matter, where you come from. And you should never listen to anyone who tries to devalue you."
Rey softly smiled. "I guess, when you become a legend, the origin of that legend often gets forgotten."
"Look at this, I actually taught you something./em Luke chuckled. em"So, young Jedi. Who do you like and are insecure about? Don't tell me, it is a pilot. They are trouble. Ask my sister."
Rey blushed at what was meant to be a harmless joke and stammered: "Well, to be honest, well…" She coughed slightly "Am I even allowed to like somebody? The Jedi texts go on about the forbiddance of attachment. I thought, that means a Jedi has to be celibate."
"It is a tricky question, to be honest. The old Jedi Order – after everything I researched about it – forbade attachment. That is true. And it caused the demise of the Order, when one of their own fell in love and married in secret. By trying to abide by the rules and still protect, wo he loved, he ended the Jedi way altogether. This is, was Darth Vader caused." Luke explained. With a sad smile he added. "Well, I lived a lonely and isolated life. I tried to follow the rules and revive the way of the Jedi Order. Did it do me any good? I don't know. I rather think, it is a good call to follow your heart. Try to be true to yourself. Don't force yourself to give up or avoid things or people who in fact make your life better and fuller."
"So, loving somebody is okay? Or do you just refer to being compassionate?", Rey blushed even harder. After not having had a parental figure in her life when she was younger, this conversation started to feel a lot like "the talk", that Rose had told her about some time ago.
"I don't think, you are speaking hypothetically here. Am I right?" Luke inquired.
"Well. Yes. There is somebody. He is my friend. But I think, I might feel more than just friendship for him. And I'm afraid, I could go to the dark side, if I follow my feelings."
"So, your friend. Does he make you feel welcome and cherished?"
At this, Rey nodded.
"Does he make you feel valued, respected and understood?"
Rey nodded again.
"Does he act impulsive or does he show possessiveness? Does he devalue other people or put them down?"
"No, not at all."
"What feeling does he invoke, when you think about him?"
Rey answered, without hesitating: "He feels like home. I feel calm and secure, when I work with him. He always listens to my advice." With a little smiled, she added "He doesn't necessarily follow my advice, but he takes me seriously. And I feel drawn to him. Not in a negative or creepy way. I feel drawn to him, because, well – I really don't know why."
"Well, sounds a lot like you're in love. And if this person is everything you just told me, I don't think, he would ever lead you to the dark side."
"He grew up with a force tree in his backyard. Isn't that a dangerous thing?" Rey added for consideration.
"You're in love with Shara Bey's son?/em Luke realized and chuckled. em"If he is anything like his parents, you made a good call. Although we know, that good parents don't necessarily lead to good offspring."
"Why does a force tree grow at his childhood home?"
Luke shrugged. "Because I gave the sapling to my friend, when she retired from active duty. I wanted to safeguard this precious plant, that was almost extinct by the time we found it. And her and Kes Dameron had a farm, so they should have known how to take care of a plant."
Rey chuckled. "So, no reason to worry about it?"
"You launched yourself into the abyss on Ahch'To without hesitation. And you're telling me, you're afraid of a guy who grew up with a force tree in his parent's orchard?" Luke summarized bewildered. "There's no need to be afraid here, at least not of the tree. Don't get selfish in what you want. Don't be afraid of the things you do not yet know. That is the way to stay clear of the darkness. But I think, it is time for that old Jedi Code to end."
"Or at least, we could adept it for our present times?", Rey offered. She really didn't want to go back to that conversation she had had with Luke five years ago, where he wanted the Jedi to end.
"You could do that. Your time, your rules."/em The blueish shine started to pale around Luke Skywalker. em"I think, it is time for you to go home. Our lesson is completed."
"I agree, Master Luke. Thank you for your counsel. I'll go home." Rey smiled and couldn't prevent herself from picturing dark brown eyes and a soft smile appearing in her mind at the mention of home.
Back on Lah'mu another day had started, the base bustled with activity. Poe, being still off-duty, headed to the gym. He didn't enjoy working out, but as he had nothing else to do, he decided to do something about his fitness. He was accompanied by his ever-loyal droid, who was beeping excitedly.
"No, buddy. We won't go flying today. General Organa has grounded me." Poe explained and chuckled, as his droid beeped frantically. "No worries. It's nothing bad. I didn't do anything wrong and neither did you. She just thinks, we should take some time off. You could get that maintenance done you complained about, when we last flew together."
Another series of beeps, this time sounding almost worried, followed. "Beebee-Ate, you should know, that I would never allow for anyone to touch your memory chips. But you could have Artoo oversee that maintenance, if you are too worried about it."
With a disapproving beep, BB-8 rolled away.
"Good luck with that, buddy.", Poe laughed and entered the gym.
It was empty. He eyed the punch bag in the corner and decided to give it a try. At least preparing for physical combat would also train his reflexes. And that could never be a bad choice when it came to flying, either. The commander started tying up his hands with tape, while jumping in place to warm up. He wouldn't admit it, but he enjoyed boxing and martial arts quite a lot. He had picked up on some outer rim martial arts lately. And these were the moves he wanted to repeat in this session.
It started as a slow and flowing sequence of movements. He breathed steadily and calmly, while executing every movement with precision and calculation. A lunge of the left forearm and fist, followed by ducking sideways and moving his right foot as if to pull an opponent's leg. The swift movements and calculated motions were something Rey had taught him. And it was not surprising, that Poe Dameron trained after a technique that his friend had taught him recently.
After having left the solstice party, it had been almost impossible for the dark-haired pilot and leader of the Reborn Rebels Alliance to close his eyes and not think about his friend.
"Kriff. Why do you always have to be on my mind." Poe sighed while heavily breathing, when he had finished the routine.
"Do you mind if I join you?", a small and almost timid voice asked. Poe looked closely to where the voice came from, only to see a pale and almost grey-looking Jessica Pava shuffling into the gym.
"Of course not. Come on in, this is not a private session." Poe waves her to enter the room. "You look like hell, Jess." He noticed unceremoniously.
"Well thank you. You don't look too sharp, either.", the pilot scoffed, while bandaging her wrists. Obviously, she wanted to punch something, too.
"Couldn't sleep. Maybe it was those strange blooms. They were quite impressive; don't you think so?" Poe tried to lighten the atmosphere.
Jessika friendly scoffed and shook her head. "Yeah, sure. That must be it. Or maybe, you're just very lovesick and miss the person you long for?"
Poe raised his eyebrow at his friend and said "I'm really sorry about last night, Jess. I know, we had this fling at the academy and hooked up from time to time. I didn't mean to hurt you by turning you down last night. I'm sorry for being a lousy friend."
Jess tried her best to smile. "Don't worry. I know we're friends. And I knew it was supposed to be a one-time thing back then. It's not your fault you're so damn charming and gorgeous." Jess grinned. "Well, it is your fault you're so charming. But never mind." She drew her knees to herself and perched into the corner of the punching bag. "I really get, why you fell for her. She is like a saint, something really special."
"What do you mean?", Poe shot her a quizzical look.
"Come on. Everybody sees what you are too blind or obnoxious to see." She shook her head again in disbelief. "You like Rey. And if you don't act on it, I swear to the gods, I will."
Poe chuckled at the threat. "Oh, is that so? You'll make a move on Rey? I didn't know, you liked women that way."
"It's a big universe, and I wouldn't want to limit myself to charming male pilots."
"Are we good?" Poe asked her nervously. He didn't want to lose his friend, and he wanted to divert her from the topic of the hazel-eyed Jedi, he so clearly and dearly missed.
"Always, Commander. I wouldn't want to be on your bad side. We're partners after all."
At this moment, Poe's communicator started beeping. He lunged towards it and hit the "receive" button.
"Commander Dameron receiving, what is the matter?", he answered the call breathlessly. Apparently, the workout had left him a little shaky after all. Time to do more for his fitness, he decided in this moment.
em"Commander Dameron, please report to the war room. There's a situation on Dantooine."/em Leia Organa's voice could be heard over the comms.
"Dantooine? We don't have a base there at the moment." Jess interjected the comms, earning her a grunt from Poe.
"I'm on my way, General." Poe answered instead and switched off the communicator. "Sorry Jess. It seems like a bad new habit for me to leave you in the middle of a conversation. If the general needs the squadron, I'll let you know. And you can be sure, I would never want to be on your bad side either."
With this, the Commander had left the gym, running down the halls to the war room.
Upon entering, he could already see the worry in Leia Organa's face.
"What is the matter, General? I came here as fast as I could.", the pilot said breathlessly.
"Oh, good. I need you back on active duty. Chewbacca and Rey had to make an emergency landing on Dantooine. They were on their way back from Ahch'To when their engines gave out. Both the hyperdrive and the backup hyperdrive appear to be out of order." Leia Organa summed up the nature of the emergency without further ado.
"Are they okay?" Poe couldn't hide the worry in his voice as he asked.
"Yes, they are healthy and in one piece. But we need to send a repair crew and a shuttle to pick them up or at least bring the Falcon back into space." Leia overlooked the worry in her trusted officer's voice and motioned for Rose Tico and Finn to join them, who had just entered the war room.
"Rose, how are you advancing on the spare parts for the Falcon? They need repair on both hyper drives." She asked matter-of-factly.
"We have a substitute drive for the main engine. But the backup hyperdrive hasn't been maintained in over ten years. The log book shows a replacement about twenty years ago, after that, there is no entry on any upkeeping. It's totally busted. We need to completely replace it, General." Rose's cheeks blushed with excitement. She loved being asked about her expertise. And of course, she never missed a chance to bring up the Millenium Falcon's maintenance. She really wanted that ship to be under her supervision.
"So, the plan is to bring Rose to Dantooine, have the Falcon repaired enough to make the flight home and have her properly inspected once on Lah'mu." General Organa explained to the people present. "In order to do so, we are sending a shuttle to Dantooine."
Before Poe could say anything – and he was eager to interject his superior's brief – General Organa raised her hand. "I know, you want to volunteer, Commander Dameron. And with your flight status being revoked, this is a problem."
"Please, General. Let me give Rose a lift to Dantooine. We already know, who is going to be in charge of the repairs." Poe eagerly explained. He ran a hand through his tousled hair and tried his best not to look too worried.
General Organa sighed. "I think, I couldn't keep you, even if I tried." She quickly typed a series of numbers into the holo pad in front of her. "Your flight status is reinstated – but only on probation. I still think, you need to take a few days off. But I also understand your concern for the Falcon's status and its crew's wellbeing."
"Thank you, General. I'd like to take a small shuttle to Dantooine, accompanying Rose. She should lead the repair team, if she needs any assistance in bringing the Falcon and its crew home safely." Poe reasoned.
The general looked around the faces in the war room. "I agree, Commander. Please report back as soon as you picked up our Jedi and Chewbacca. And please, put the Falcon on the Rebellion's inventory for crying out loud. This would never have happened if she were under Rose's control."
On this cue, the officers and Rose left the war room to head off to the "rescue" mission.