Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter.
Let's get to it.
Chapter 49- The Desert Planet
(January 22, 2051)
Ben flips a few switches and glances at the navicomputer. "Alright, coming out of hyperspace in 30 seconds," he says. He glances over at the co-pilot's seat, where Rey is carefully monitoring her controls. "Ready for this?" he asks.
"Always," Rey responds.
The two had decided to take the Millenium Falcon on their journey, knowing they might need it's speed and special modifications. Chewie had stay behind with the Resistance, so the two had embarked on their journey with only R2-D2.
Ben returns his attention to the controls, waiting for the navicomputer to signal him. As the last seconds tick away, he lays his hand on the hyperspace throttles. Soon enough, he pulls back on the throttle, and the Falcon drops out of hyperspace. Out of the viewport, the familiar sight of Tatooine comes into view.
Rey looks over at Ben as they fly towards the planet. "Why would Revan tell you to come here?"
"I'm not sure. I mean, this is why my grandfather and father both were raised…but that just seems too obvious. This can't just be a family history trip," he mutters.
The Falcon reaches Tatooine and descends into the atmosphere. Ben heads into the northern hemisphere in the direction of Mos Eisley. Ben now starts focusing on the topography below, looking for anything of note or that could point him in the direction they're supposed to go while Rey monitors the flight controls and keeps the Falcon flying.
The two continue flying for quite a while, just flying at low speed and low altitude over the planet while Ben is just looking for something to indicate why they are there. Finally, after too long of just relying on his own eyes, Ben says, "Alright. Keep her steady, and listen to any directions I give." He then takes a deep breath as he closes his eyes and begins to meditate into the Force.
For almost a minute, Ben is silent, and Rey maintains their flight path. Then, Ben suddenly says, "Rey, turn 80 degrees to the right." Rey immediately obeys and guides the Falcon into a hard turn to the right.
"Now what?" Rey asks.
"Maintain this course for 170 miles," Ben says as he opens his eyes.
The two hold their course for the next 170 miles, flying over the Dune Sea with almost nothing in sight. Finally, up ahead, they spot a mountainous region up ahead.
"Hmm. That looks interesting," Ben says, focusing his attention on the hills and high rocky places up ahead.
It doesn't take long to reach this mountain area. As they do, Ben spots a building on top of a large butte. "Hey, look at that. Looks like some kind of residence," Ben says. Then, it clicks to him what he's looking at. "Wait. Is this where Master Kenobi lived during his time in exile?" he mutters.
Rey has, of course, heard of Obi-Wan since she started her training under Luke, and her eyes widen a bit as she hears this. Both of them look down at the building as they slowly circle it. After a few moments, Ben says, "I think this. From what my dad told me about it, it sure looks like it." He pauses again and says, "Let's check this out. Maybe this is why we came here. Maybe there's something here for us to find."
Ben guides the Falcon down to a landing close to the hut, setting down gently on a flat stretch of rock. The two power down the Falcon, then together head out to explore this new discovery.
As they approach the hut, Ben realizes that this place really hasn't had any visitors since his father made a brief visit to it back in 2017. With 34 years of no inhabitation or visitation, mounds of sand from sandstorms have piled up around the hut, with the entrance almost completely blocked off by a mound of sand.
"It looks nobody has been here in years," Rey mutters.
"Yeah. I guess it's far enough out of the way that nobody would take notice of it," Ben says. He pauses for a moment before he finally says out loud, "Alright, Revan. Why are we here?"
The two stand in silence for several moments before Rey says, "Wait. I can feel something. A disturbance in the Force."
"Where?" Ben asks.
Rey is again quiet for a moment before she silently turns and walks around the hut, coming around to the back of the hut. Ben follows her, trusting her feelings and staying quiet while she searches for whatever she is looking for. Rey is quiet as she follows the nudging of the Force. Finally, she stops behind the hut, about 10 feet from the outer wall, in a spot where the sand is deep. She looks down at the ground and says in a low voice, "Something's buried here. I can feel it."
Ben gets down on one knee at the spot she's pointing at and rests his hand against the sand. Sure enough, he can feel something under the sand. Touching the Force, he uses it to move the sand away, leaving a pit in the sand leading down to the rock below. And in the rock, he can see the outline of where someone had cut into the rock and then replaced the rock they had cut out in order to cover the hole. Ben uses the Force to remove the rock, revealing a small hole cut in the stone, a hole which holds a small leather bag.
"What is this?" Ben mutters. He crouches down closer to the sand and reaches all the way down to grab the bag. He then straightens up and lifts the bag out of the hole. Rey looks down curiously as Ben opens the bag. Inside, to their surprise, they find a single, small, dark blue-colored holocron.
Ben holds the holocron up in the palm of his hand so Rey can also see it while he examines it. There doesn't seem to be anything particularly unusual about this holocron. The two examine it silently for several moments before Rey mutters, "What do you think is in it?"
"I'm not sure," Ben says. Looking at it, it looks like it was made by someone who didn't have a perfect knowledge of how to make a holocron. The construction is not as refined as the holocrons Ben has used in his training.
After a few more moments, Ben decides to try and access the data within the holocron, realizing that this has to be at least a reason they came here, if not the sole reason. Ben reaches out with the Force to try and activate the holocron. After a moment, he can see a light within the holocron and the interior begin to shift. Then, all of a sudden, the holocron begins projecting a hologram.
Ben and Rey look down in surprise at the hologram. The hologram shows a man, probably in his 30s. Part of his face is hidden by a beard, and what isn't hidden bears several scars. More than that, the man seems to have a look of exhaustion about him, as one would find in someone worn down by a lifetime of great struggles and pain.
"Who is that?" Rey asks.
"I don't know," Ben says. Then, he notices something on the man's outfit. Something that looks suspiciously like the flag of the United Kingdom.
Then, the recording begins to play, and the man in the hologram begins to speak. "My name is Philip Nelson. It has been 10 years since the Empire rose. I am recording this as my final message."
The man pauses, a sad look on his face, before he continues, "Over the last 10 years, I have been called many names. The Inquisitor Killer. The Dark Warrior. The Crimson Blade. All of them earned, for I have slaughtered not only 16 Inquisitors, but thousands more of the Empire. I have delved deeper into the secrets of the Force than most have since the time of the New Sith Wars. I have travelled the galaxy, visiting long forgotten sanctuaries of the Sith and the Jedi, learning their secrets and building my own knowledge."
"However, this path has driven me far into darkness. I have gone too far in my pursuit of vengeance, and I will allow myself to go no further. I intend to disappear from the galaxy forever. But I do not do so without leaving something behind. I have foreseen the future, a time of darkness when great heroes will arise to defeat it. This message is for you.
"I have gathered many holocrons and secrets of the light and dark side of the Force. I have buried them in the ancient sanctuary of the Jedi on Ossus. There they will remain hidden until the heroes I foresaw come forward. This holocron will guide someone of the purest heart to their location. When the time comes and you discover this holocron, take it to Ossus. I pray the knowledge I have left behind will be the crucial aid you need.
"I now big goodbye to the Terran Alliance, my old friends and family, and the entire galaxy. I now go into exile. I pray that one day, the Empire's reign will be broken by someone more worthy than me, and that evil will finally be defeated. For those who find this holocron, do no attempt to look for me. I have renounced the Force, for I will no longer be an instrument of darkness. Farewell." And with that, the recording cuts off and the light within the holocron fades.
Ben and Rey are frozen in place, their minds going over what they just watched and heard. Neither of them had known about Philip beforehand, let alone that there was a Terran out there who had fallen to the dark side and delved so deep into the Force. However, as Ben thinks about it, he does remember hearing stories from the Empire about a figure that was known for hunting Inquisitors before being defeated by Darth Vader on Naboo. Clearly, the Empire had covered up the fact that Philip had escaped.
Ben finally raises his free arm up to his mouth and activates his wrist commlink, saying into it, "R2, do a records search for me. Search records of Terran Alliance troops reported as left behind or missing in action in the aftermath of Order 66. Focus especially on those within the Commonwealth. Look for the name Philip Nelson."
There is a few moments of silence before R2 beeps back over the commlink in response, confirming a Philip Nelson of the British Army had been reported as missing at the Jedi Temple, and his whereabouts were still unknown. Ben and Rey look at each other, as Rey heard R2 and understood him too, and Ben says, "This Philip Nelson…he must have discovered he was Force sensitive after he got left behind on Coruscant. My parents…they told me about stories from the Empire about someone that liked killing Inquisitors, and was strong enough even to fight against Darth Vader. That must have been him."
"So, a Terran who was left behind waged a one-man war on the Empire?" Rey asks. Ben only nods in response.
Ben looks back at the holocron, thinking hard. "This guy…it sounds like he decided to fight fire with fire, so to speak. But…it seems he realized his mistakes, and exiled himself because of it," he says. He pauses again, then says, "But…a dark time where heroes would rise to fight it…he must have foreseen the rise of the First Order…and us."
Ben looks up at Rey. "Rey, this is why Revan sent us here. Nelson said he left behind all the knowledge he discovered on Ossus. That must hold the secrets we need to know to be able to eventually defeat the First Order." Ben smiles, then says into his commlink again, "R2, start her up." He stands up before he and Rey hurry back to the Falcon. However, as they do, Ben pauses for a moment and looks back at the hut, realizing the history this place has for his family, before he turns back to the Falcon and boards the ship.
(January 24, 2051, Ossus)
Holding their ignited sabers up for lighting, Ben and Rey carefully make their ways through the crumbling halls of the Great Library on Ossus. They had immediately made their way to Ossus after leaving Tatooine. However, due to the territory lines of First Order controls that went through certain hyperspace lanes, it took two days to make the trip to Ossus. However, once they reached the planet, the holocron Philip Nelson left on Tatooine began operating like a compass, eventually guiding them to the ruins of the Great Library. Rey had suggested they stop at the ruins of Luke's temple on the way, but Ben refused, admitting he wasn't ready to return there yet. Leaving R2 to watch the Falcon, they had made their way into the Great Library's ruins.
Finally, they emerge into a chamber, and the glow coming from the holocron, which is lying in Ben's hand, increases dramatically. Ben turns to Rey and says, "It's here."
She nods, and the two move into the chamber. As they walk around the chamber, Rey suddenly feels a swell within the Force, and she calls over to Ben, "Here."
Ben hurries over, and the two begin pulling aside the stones set in the floor. Sure enough, right in that spot, under the stones making up the floor, they find a large hole dug in the earth beneath, and resting in that hole is a large bag. Opening it, they find a collection of holocrons and tablets, a lightsaber, and what looks like pieces of a set of armor.
Ben pulls the objects out of the hole using the Force, and lays them out on the ground in front of them. The two stare in amazement at the sheer number of objects in front of them. Rey is the one to speak about it as she says, "Wow. He really gathered a lot of knowledge."
"Yes," Ben mutters. He looks up slightly, staring off into space. "I wonder what actually happened to him…"
"Well, he said he was going into exile in that holocron…I suppose he made good on that promise," Rey says. She pauses for a moment before she says, "I wonder if he's still alive somewhere."
"Maybe," Ben says. For a several long moments, he considers whether or not he and Rey should try and search for Philip. But, after a moment, he shakes his head and says, "But whether he is or not, I don't think searching for him should be our goal. We have no idea where he went, and he clearly never wanted to be found again. I think studying what he left behind would be much more worthwhile."
"I suppose you're right," Rey says, still allowing herself a moment longer to feel pity for Philip and whatever he must have went through before she refocuses on the spread of objects before them. "Where do we start?"
And, I'll end there.
So, as I'm sure many of you guessed, Revan sent Ben and Rey to Tatooine to set them on the path to recover the holocrons and relics hidden by Philip Nelson. For anyone who doesn't know who that is, go read my EU story The Terran Alliance: The Dark Soldier. Philip's knowledge that he left behind will be critical to Ben and Rey learning what they need to know to win in the end, and will guide much of their journey for the next 8 or 9 chapters.
And sadly, yes, we will not be seeing Philip in person in this story. His story is over, but his legacy will live on in this series.
Alright. The journey has begun, and I'm sure you guys will like where I take this. Next chapter will be up soon. Until it is, please leave a review, and stay tuned!