Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter. This one actually takes place before the last one
Let's get to it.
Banzai Bill 28: They don't know about the Grysk. Even if they did, they'd have to get through the wormhole, which is no easy feat.
tristian5: Yes. It's called the Pathfinder.
MatbeK01: Their Star Destroyers, battlecruisers, the Dreadnought and America class battleships, and Freedom class Super Star Destroyers are all dagger shaped, as are the Halsey class troop transports. Their heavy and light cruisers, other auxiliary ships, starfighter carriers, and the Torfa-class battleships are not dagger shaped.
Chapter 21- Reunited at Last
(May 22, 2049)
In the cockpit of the Millenium Falcon, Ben looks down at the display in front of him. The display is showing that they only have a minute or so left until they reach their destination. Ben has tried to contain his emotions, but now that he's maybe an hour, or even minutes, from seeing his father again, he finds it hard to contain it any longer.
"Alright, Chewie. Prepare to cut to sublight engines," Ben says. Chewie grunts and growls a few times as he flips a few switches.
Ben looks back at Rey. "Are you ready to meet your new teacher?" he asks with a slight grin.
"I'm sure not as ready as you are to see your father again," Rey says with a smile.
Ben chuckles before he looks back at the screen as he places his hand on the hyperspace throttles. "Alright, Chewie. Here we go. Cutting to sublight engines….now." He pulls back gently on the throttle, and a moment later, the Falcon comes out of hyperspace. And up ahead, they can see the ocean planet of Ahch-To.
Ben stares out ahead of the ship at the planet. Ahch-To. He heard the stories about it from his father and mother. The legendary first home of the Jedi after they formed as the Jedi Order after they abandoned Tython after the Force Wars. It had been abandoned for millennium, but still held some of the greatest secrets of the Jedi ever compiled.
"Alright. Let's go find my father," Ben says as he throttles up the Falcon. The Falcon accelerates to max speed and closes on Ahch-To.
As the Falcon enters the atmosphere and descends through the clouds, Ben realizes that Ahch-To is mostly oceans. In fact, as he scans his surroundings, he'd venture to say almost the entire island is oceans. However, they are occasional clusters of rocky, greenery covered islands.
Ben continues flying over the ocean surface as he scans each group of islands for signs of inhabitants. It takes only minutes before the life form scanner begins to beep, showing a presence of more significant life forms on an island in the cluster coming into view up ahead.
"Looks like we found it," Ben mutters before he says, "Alright, Chewie, let's get ready for landing."
Chewie flips a few switches as Ben makes a low approach towards the island. Popping up as they reach the island, Ben then carefully sets the Falcon down carefully on a flat space on the edge of the island.
Ben waits a moment to make sure the Falcon is fully set down on the ground before he powers down the engines. He stares out of the windows before he finally gets up from his seat. He turns around to Rey and says, "Alright. Let's go find my dad."
Ben and Rey head out of the Falcon, Chewie and R2 following behind them. Chewie and R2 stay behind at the bottom of the boarding ramp to watch the ship as Ben and Rey begin ascending the steep cliffs leading towards the center of the island.
As Ben and Rey ascend the steep steps cut into the cliff, Ben looks around to take sense of his surroundings. He can hear the sounds of the waves breaking against the base of the island, and he can hear bird calls and other strange animal calls he doesn't recognize. "Reminds me of Ireland a bit," Ben says. His grandma Eliza's family was Irish on all sides going back generations, so he had taken multiple trips to Ireland throughout his teen years to get to know one of the lands of his ancestors.
"Ireland?" Rey asks in confusion
"A land on my mother's home planet where some of my ancestors come from. Obviously, Ireland isn't just a few small island, but this reminds of some of the coastal areas of Ireland," Ben responds.
"I'd love to visit Earth some day," Rey says with a tone of excitement. What little she's heard of Earth makes it sound like a paradise compared to what she's used to with life on Jakku. Already, she's making notes to visit Ireland as one of the first destinations when she finally gets to visit Earth.
"Don't worry. You'll get to visit soon enough, I'm sure," Ben says before he turns back to face forward and continues ascending the rocky stairs.
The pair soon reaches the top of the cliff, where they find a series of buildings, especially small huts, built amidst rocky ridges. Some of them are still intact, while others are crumbling. Most of the buildings and walls seem to be built out of flat rocks that almost look like shale. Some are bit in clumps, while others are spread out a bit more. They also find the remains of a crumbling lookout tower.
Ben and Rey explore amidst the buildings for a few moments before Ben feels a slight ripple in the Force. He looks in the direction he felt it from and mutters, "Follow me."
The two leave the collection of buildings and head up through a gap between two large outcropping of rock. As they come through the gap, the two of them come over a ridge and onto a flatter area. Immediately, the two of them come to a stop, as up ahead they see a single figure, clothed in a light brown robe and hood, standing at the edge of a cliff up ahead.
Ben's heart jumps in his chest as he and Rey make their way closer to the figure. As they get closer, the figure seems to sense their presence, straightening slightly before slowly turning to face them. Then, the figure pulls back its hood, revealing the face of Luke Skywalker.
Ben's heart jumps again as he sees his father for the first time in 7 years. Luke looks like he has aged a lot more than he really has, and unlike his usual clean-shaven appearance, he now has a thick beard. His hair is also graying and a little unkempt.
The three of them stand there for several long moments, Rey looking between the two as Ben and Luke just stare at each other. Ben finally takes a few steps towards Luke, and finally manages to say, "Dad."
Luke, who already seemed like he was recognizing Ben, now has a look of emotion come over his face. Luke walks slowly towards Ben, stopping right in front of Ben. The two look into each other's eyes for a moment before Luke begins to smile slightly and says in a quiet voice, "Ben."
Ben smiles and nods. The two stand there for a moment longer before they lash out and pull each other into a tight embrace. Ben tries to keep his emotions in his check as he hugs his father as tightly as possible.
"I missed you, dad," Ben says.
"I missed you too, Ben" Luke says, emotion in his voice as well.
It takes the two about a minute before they are finally able to make themselves let go of each other. Ben looks at Luke and says, "You thought you could stay away forever."
Luke's expression to a sorrowful one and says, "Ben, I didn't intend to stay away for so long. But I needed to leave."
Luke then really notices Rey. Luke looks at her for a moment, able to sense Rey's strength in the Force. "Who are you?" Luke asks, part in demand and part in curious, knowing that she can't just be some random person. There's something special about her.
"I'm Rey," she says.
Ben now steps in to explain to his father, "She's the reason we found you, dad. She lived on Jakku, but she helped get the map we needed to find you to Aunt Leia. And she is incredibly strong with the Force, as I'm sure you can tell. I brought her along because she needs help finding her way in the galaxy. I brought her because I thought…her path to belonging would begin here."
Luke stands there, silent for a few moments before he says, "Perhaps. But first, I think you owe a lot of explaining."
(The Temple, minutes later)
Ben and Rey look around as they enter a massive chamber cut into the central mountain of the island, a chamber part of the first Jedi Temple cut into the central mountain.
Luke walks over to a reflection pool in the center of the chamber, with a mosaic of a person at the bottom of it. He sits down next to it as Ben and Rey come and sit down in front of it.
"It's been 7 years since you disappeared, Dad. I've waited to know not just why you disappeared, but also what happened with Jacen. Leia and Mom have both told me to wait to learn. I think it's time for me to finally know," Ben says.
"Yes. I have caused you a lot of grief, my son. I think it's time for you to know everything that happened, as far as I can explain," Luke says. Luke then looks at Rey and says, "Rey, listen well. You will learn under me, and you will one day confront the First Order. You must know these events too."
Rey nods in response. Luke then looks at Ben and says, "Ben, in order to understand what happened and why I disappeared…you need to understand Jacen. Both him and Jaina sought to become the greatest Jedi of their age. However, they both sought this goal for very different reasons. Jaina sought this because she desired to preserve light and justice across the galaxy and to ensure the safety of those who could not protect themselves. But Jacen…he sought this goal because he wished to honor the legacy of the Skywalker family. He sought to follow in the steps of your grandfather, Anakin, and in my steps. However, his dedication to following in the steps of family led to an obsession with our family. In particular, that of your grandfather."
"Jacen grew to become obsessed with Anakin's legacy, seeing it as unfinished. He began to believe that he was the one who fulfill Anakin's legacy. It was after this obsession began…that he learned of my father's identity not only as Anakin Skywalker, but as Darth Vader. This revelation shook him like nothing before. He questioned everything he had ever known. He tried to deal with it…but he could not let go of his obsession. His obsession with your grandfather now fixated on what he accomplished as Darth Vader. He had always been a bit of a wild child, and this only made it worse."
"It was during this time he met Snoke, the leader of the First Order. I have encountered Snoke myself, but know little about him. But one thing I do know is his honed ability to prey on an individual's weakness. Snoke influenced Jacen and slowly began seducing Jacen to the dark side."
Luke pauses, then continues, "Everything came to a head that night. I had seen the darkness welling within Jacen as he was finishing his training. I went to confront him one night. I entered his hut as he slept. I looked into his mind as he slept, and I was shocked at the darkness I felt. It was then that Jacen awoke. I tried to talk to him, thinking perhaps I could still manage to turn him back. But as soon as I spoke, I saw the look on Jacen's face. He knew he was discovered. Jacen lashed out at me, bring down the roof on me. When I came to in the ruins of the hut, I found the temple burning. I tried to salvage what I could, or to find survivors, but the bodies of all my students lay in and around the temple. Only Jaina and Grogu escaped."
Luke is quiet for a minute, as are Rey and Ben, waiting to see what he will say. Luke finally said, "I could not handle the guilt I felt. I had failed my sister, and the galaxy. All of my work to raise a new order of Jedi had failed. I felt as though everything I had done was for nought, undone by my own family."
"Dad, you couldn't have stopped Jacen from making that decision, short of killing him yourself," Ben says.
"Perhaps, but whether I could have stopped him from making that decision, I could've done better to teach him, and to guide him away from such a path. I failed as his Master, and nothing can take that back," Luke says.
Ben is about to interject again, but Luke cuts him off before he can and continues speaking, "I came here because I realized I had not reached the pinnacle of my strength and ability. I thought that, if I did not have the answers to solve the fight against the darkness, perhaps the Jedi of old did. I came here to search for the most ancient knowledge of the Jedi Order, secrets long forgotten by the rest of the galaxy."
"Why did you never come back?" Ben asks his father.
"One never stops learning, Ben. No matter how experienced or powerful one becomes, there is always more to learn. I have continued to learn and study my entire time on this planet," Luke answers. He pauses, then says, "In addition, when I landed here, my X-Wing was damaged, and I didn't have the parts I needed to fix it. I was forced to remain here, continually learning and studying further into the secrets of the Force while waiting for the day someone would come for me."
Ben and Rey sit there for a moment before Rey speaks up and says, "Master Skywalker, the galaxy needs the Jedi again. And I…I need you to help me find my place in the galaxy. Something inside me has always been there, and now it's awake. I need someone to teach me."
"We need you back, Dad," Ben says.
Luke looks at his son for several long moments, then at Rey, before he finally speaks, "The Resistance and the Alliance, I'm sure, can manage without us for a short time. You and I have a lot of catching up to do Ben." Looking at Rey, he adds, "And I have a lot of work to do with you. I will teach you the ways of the Jedi, and how to become the person you are meant to be."
Ben and Rey both break out in big grins. Luke Skywalker is back.
And, I'll end there.
I know, this chapter didn't have a ton of stuff in it, but I thought it was good just to show the initial reunion. We'll get to them training on Ahch-To in later chapters.
So, yes, I am not doing the whole thing of Luke exiling himself because he thinks the Jedi have to end. He's been using this time to learn. And although I'm not sure to what extent we will see him fight in the war later on, I will say that he has achieved a strength in the Force few have ever achieved.
Also, I decided to include the little bit about Ireland and the Temple Island looking like Ireland because that's where the Ahch-To scenes were filmed for the movie.
Alright. Next chapter will be up soon. Until then, please leave a review, and stay tuned!