Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.
Let's get to it.
Chapter 80- Pasana
(February 9, 2053)
Above the desert planet of Pasana, the Millenium Falcon drops out of hyperspace. In the cockpit of the old ship, Ben and Rey are monitoring the controls as they approach the planet.
After the war council held by Jonathan, Ben and Rey had had a quick discussion with Luke and Kelly while Jaina and Anakin had set off together to start their hunt. Luke had told the couple that during Ben's childhood years, he had become aware of a Sith worshipper and assassin who once hunted Jedi from Bestoon that had once served the Emperor, named Ochi. He had thought that Ochi might have clues to find Exegol, and he wanted to get rid of the last remaining influence of the Sith, and so had teamed up with Lando Calrissian to trail Ochi. However, their trail went cold at Pasana where they found Ochi's ship abandoned and no sign of Ochi himself. He had suggested they make their way to Pasana and see if they could find anything he might've missed.
Ben and Rey had soon departed Naboo, leaving Vestara in the care of Simone Biles again. They had brought R2 and 3PO with them, as well Chewbacca for companionship and extra muscle. Chewbacca is currently in the back, taking care of some minor repairs on a part that's failing.
"We really need to give this thing a good overhaul after this war is over," Ben says.
"Agreed," Rey responds with a smile.
"Alright, descending into the atmosphere," Ben mutters as he noses the ship further down and starts descending into the atmosphere.
As they descend through the upper atmosphere, Ben turns and asks Rey, "Do you have the map?" Luke had provided them with exact coordinates of the spot on Pasana where they had found Ochi's ship so they didn't have to scour the planet or risk the First Order finding them.
"Yup, I've got it," Rey says, pulling up a holo-display in front of them. A map of the planet comes up, with a red dot to indicate the location of Ochi's ship. Another dot is projected a second later, showing their location.
"Alright. Let's do this," Ben mutters as he starts following the map.
It takes them about 20 minutes before they spot a large butte of rock up ahead in the distance, with a ship parked on top of it.
"There it is," Ben mutters with a smile.
Ben flies low over the butte so they can get a good look at what they're dealing with and check for any threats down on the ground. As they pass over the butte and the ship, they both get a good look at the ship. To Ben, it doesn't look anything special, only very old and in bad mechanical shape after being abandoned so long. However, for Rey, the sight of the ship sends a chill down her spine.
"That ship…I've seen it before," Rey mutters.
"You've seen it? Where?" Ben asks intently.
"I…I'm not sure. I think…" Rey mutters. She pauses for several long moments before she says, "I think…it was there the day my parents left."
"So, Ochi took your parents? Or were they part of his crew?" Ben wonders aloud.
"I don't know. I hardly remember anything about that day. But that ship…I know I've seen it, and I think that was where," Rey says, her mind racing a mile a minute.
Ben is quiet for a moment as he looks down at the ship before he says, "Let's land a short distance away. Best to take caution."
"Agreed," Rey mutters.
Ben flies a short distance away from the butte where Ochi's ship is parked and carefully sets the Falcon down in a canyon to keep it hidden from prying eyes. Then, with their three companions, they set off for the ship.
As they come out of the canyon, they find themselves in the midst of a vast sea of black sand. Ben feels a bit confused, never remembering hearing of volcanic activity on Pasana and knowing from his time on Earth that black sand usually occurs along coastlines, not in the middle of deserts, even if there are volcanoes. However, he pushes it aside, attributing it to some kind of weird attribute of Pasana, and refocuses on the butte up ahead.
However, the sand has other ideas. After only a few steps, Ben finds that it's getting harder and harder to take each step, as if the sand is trying to hold onto his feet. Finally, after just 4 steps, he finds himself unable to pull his feet out of the sand anymore.
"Wait. Wait. These are sinking fields!" Ben cries out in alarm, but it's too late. Rey, Chewie, and the two droids have already entered the sand, and in a second all of them realize that they're trapped too.
"Don't move!" Ben cautions them, but it's too late. All of them are scrambling to get out of the sinking sand, but the more they struggle, the deeper they sink. In a matter of seconds, all five of them have disappeared into the sand.
Ben struggles as he finds himself totally immersed in the sand. He holds his breath as best he can as he struggles to try and get out, but he only sinks further. Then, his mind land on his use of telekinesis. But, right as he's about to try and use the Force to lift them up, he suddenly feels his legs slide free of the sand and into open space. A second later, the rest of his body follows, and Ben finds himself falling to the floor of a small cave.
Ben shakes his head to get the sand out of his hair before he props himself up on his hands. Looking around, he sees Rey, Chewie, and the droids falling through more holes in the ceiling of the cave. Rey recovers quickly as well, looking around in confusion. "A cave?" she mutters.
"Yeah. The sinking fields must be light enough that it rests on top of this cave," Ben mutters.
They look around for a few moments before Ben says, "R2, mind shining a little light?" The droid trills a bit before activating his flashlight. He then starts rolling along the cave corridor, lighting the way for the group behind him.
It doesn't take them long to find something. After rounding a corner in the cave, they come face to face with a broken down speeder. Ben bends down to examine it and mutters, "Hmm. Looks like this thing has been here at least a decade. Probably more. Probably couldn't run without some serious, serious work."
"Oh my. A hex charm," 3PO pipes up as he points to something fixed to the front of the speeder.
"A hex charm. A sith loyalist symbol," Ben mutters.
"So, Ochi was down here," Rey mutters. She starts looking around, looking for any sign of Ochi himself while Ben continues to inspect the speeder.
"Well, if the speeder is here, what happened to Ochi? Did he get out?" Ben mutters, mostly to himself.
"No, he didn't," Rey says in a tone that immediately draws Ben's attention.
Ben hurries over to Rey to see what she is looking at. And he quickly sees it. A collection of bones lying on the ground, partially buried in dust and sand.
The two are quiet for a moment before Ben slowly walks over and kneels down next to the bones. "No, he didn't," he says in a low voice.
Right as he says that, he notices something about the bones. He bends down to look more closely, examining some strange marking and breakages in the bones. After a few seconds, he says, "Darling, unless I'm mistaken, Ochi didn't die of natural causes. He was killed…by someone with a lightsaber."
"Someone with a lightsaber…killed him?" Rey asks in surprise.
"I'm about 95 percent sure that these marks I'm seeing were caused by a lightsaber," Ben says.
Silence reigns for a moment before Ben says, "Come on. We'd better get moving. We need to check out his ship. If somebody who is Force sensitive came after him, we need to find out why."
The two hurry to find a way out, and soon find an exit from the cave that is partially caved in. Using their powers, they quickly remove the debris covering the hole and hurry out.
However, as they turn towards Ochi's ship, they are stunned at what they see. A jet-black ship has landed at the base of the butte, and standing at the base of the butte are the Knights of Ren, with Kylo Ren himself standing in their midst.
Ben and Rey freeze in place, stunned that they've been found. Then, together, they draw their lightsaber and ignite them, the blades humming as the two hold their sabers in a defensive posture. "Chewie, stay behind us until we engage, then get to the Falcon as quick as you can," Ben orders the Wookie, who grunts a few times in response.
Ben and Rey slowly and carefully make their way towards the Knights of Ren and their leader, their sabers held at the ready. As they get within earshot, Ben calls out, "I'm surprised how easily you found us, cousin."
"I have eyes and ears everywhere," Kylo responds simply, just staring down his cousins. He is quiet for a moment before he says, "The Emperor wants you both dead."
"Serving another master, now?" Rey retorts, trying to get under his skin.
"No. I have other plans. He is only a means to an end," Kylo responds.
"I see past that mask, Ren," Ben says, spitting the name out in contempt for his cousin, "You can hide it as best you can, but I know the truth. You're still haunted by what you did to your father, and to the rest of your family. And deep down, you're just a coward."
Kylo snarls with anger, and they can almost feel the anger coming off of him. "I am not burdened by such weakness. But I cannot say the same for you. You, cousin, you are still yet held back by our identity as cousins. And Rey, you are still haunted by your parents leaving you."
Rey's face falls slightly for a brief moment before she firms it again and grips the hilt of her saber tightly. "I've moved past that. I have a new family now," she says.
"But you still can't forget it, because you can't let go of the need to know why. The need to know who they were," Kylo says. Despite her desires otherwise, his words ring true with Rey, and she struggles to push those memories from her mind, not wanting that distraction right now.
"The Emperor wants you dead most of all, Rey. Even Ben he thinks he might be able to turn to his service . But you, you are too much of a threat. And that's why your parents hid you," Kylo says.
A jolt runs through Rey's entire being as she realizes that Kylo Ren knows something. Something about her past. Despite part of her mind screaming that he's lying to get under her skin and distract her, part of her desperately wants to know the truth.
"You're lying," Rey snarls.
"It was the Emperor who had your parents taken. They sold you off to protect you, because they knew he would stop at nothing to find you," Kylo says, starting to take some pleasure in the effect he's having on Rey.
Rey lowers her saber slightly, her mind wrestling with itself as Ben looks at her in worry, knowing how this is going to affect her. Kylo then speaks again as he says, "I know what happened to them. They hid you away to keep you from the Emperor. And when they would not give up your location, he gave the order, and had them killed."
Rage swells up in Rey, both towards Kylo Ren and towards the Emperor as she begins to lose her doubt in what Kylo is saying. "Why? Why did the Emperor come for me? Why would the Emperor want to kill a child?!" she demands.
"Because. He saw what you could become, and he knew the danger of your lineage. He knew that, with your lineage, the risk of you turning against him, even if he corrupted you, was too great," Kylo says.
"My lineage?" Rey asks in confusion.
"Yes. Your father was the descendant of one of the strongest Force lines in history, and one that had betrayed the dark side before. You are a descendant of the Prodigal Knight. You…are a Shan, and a descendant of Lord Revan."
Shock floods through Rey, and she actually stumbles back a step. It can't be, she reasons with herself. How could that be possible? She has spoken with Revan himself. How could he, Bastila, or Satele not have told her the truth?
Ben looks at Kylo in shock, and then at his wife. The shock on her face is very apparent, and he is instantly worried about her chances of fighting back against the enemies before them.
"Just as Revan turned his back on the dark side, and shook free of the bonds of Emperor Vitiate, so too do you pose the same threat. And for that, you cannot be left alive," Kylo says. Then, with a snap, his lightsaber ignites, and he shouts, "Take them!"
As one, the Knights of Ren charge towards Ben and Rey. Ben quickly moves in front of Rey, determine to hold them off for a moment to allow Rey a moment to regain her senses. With a war cry, Ben charges to meet the Knights.
In seconds, Ben is surrounded by 8 opponents. The Knights attack as one, swinging their weapons at Ben with great strength. Ben backpedals, his lightsabers flashing around him as he tries to deflect their blows. However, Ben quickly realizes he needs to cut their numbers down to size. He quickly pulls his arms in before letting out a strong Force repulse around him, knocking the Knights of Ren back. He then picks three to focus on and charges, slashing at them with his lightsabers.
His force repulse gives him a moment's reprieve, but that quickly passes as the other five Knights regain their senses. The Knights charge at Ben from behind, but before they can get to him, something lands in front of them and they find themselves blocked by Rey, holding her double-bladed saber with both hands and a fierce look on her face. "Stay away from my husband!" she growls before she attacks.
Ben continues dueling the three Knights he is faced with. In a matter of seconds, he manages to inflict a cut on one's leg, and then quickly uses a Force push to send him flying away. Although he knows the Knight will be back on his feet in a few minutes, that should be just enough time.
Suddenly, without warning, Ben is knocked flying by a powerful Force wave. Looking back once he's landed, Ben sees Kylo Ren charging him, saber at the ready. However, right as he brings his saber, there's a flash of blue, and suddenly, there's another lightsaber blocking Kylo's blade.
Ben turns to look at his savior, and sees a humanoid clad entirely in a leather outfit, with some kind of helmet concealing his face. Without hesitation, the man attacks Kylo, pushing him back with quick and seemingly randomized strikes. Kylo, caught off guard by the sudden appearance of this new combatant, stumbles back, trying to get his footing. However, the man presses his advantage before kicking Kylo in the knee, then sending him flying back with a powerful Force wave. He then turns and uses another Force wave to send the Knights Rey is dueling flying back.
"Come on! We gotta go! Ren called in reinforcements and TIE fighters!" the mysterious man says.
Realizing this man is here to help, Ben and Rey decide to follow him. The man starts running in the direction of the Falcon. Rey follows him, while Ben uses the Force to send sand flying at Kylo and his Knights with such force that they feel as if they're caught in a sandstorm. After a few moments, Ben follows the others.
It takes the three of them only a few minutes to reach the Falcon, given Chewie has already taken off and is coming for them. As he flies low, Chewie lowers the boarding ramp, and all three leap up into the Falcon. Chewie then raises the ramp and climbs up into the atmosphere, leaving Kylo Ren raging behind on the surface.
On board the Falcon, Ben and Rey take a moment to catch their breath before turning to the man who helped them. "Thank you, stranger. We owe you one. How did you find us and know to help?"
"I've been keeping an eye on you for a long time. Especially you, young Rey," the man responds.
"Me? Why? Who are you?" Rey asks.
The man reaches up and removes his mask, revealing the face of a man about Luke's age, with a slight beard and mustache. And surprisingly, Ben feels a sense of familiarity.
"Have I met you before?" Ben asks.
"Yes, but I'm not surprised you don't remember who I am," the man responds. He smiles at both of them and says, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kyle Katarn."
Boom! I'll end there.
I hope you liked this introduction to a fan favorite character! I actually originally planned for Kyle to have a much smaller role in this story, but in my recent rewrite, I decided to give him a much bigger role, and have him introduced earlier. He will play a role in helping defeat the Dark Empire. Also, as for who would play him, I would cast Brad Pitt.
Now, to the big revelation in this chapter, and the first big difference from The Rise of Skywalker: Rey's heritage. Yes, that was not a red herring or a lie. Rey is descended from Revan and Bastila Shan. I decided to go with that instead of her being a Palpatine because I didn't like how they did Rey's Palpatine heritage in the film. That could've worked if they did it differently, but I didn't like how they did it. Now, there will be some more information on Rey's heritage and some more background, which will be given by Kyle. In fact, next chapter will be all about Kyle explaining where he's been, and sharing some useful information he's picked up on his travels. Also, I will confirm that Rey will, at some point, receive a visit from Revan's spirit, where she will have a chance to reconcile this new discovery with Revan.
Next chapter will be up soon. Until it is, please leave a review and stay tuned!