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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Saga - ST Star Wars Episode IX: The First Sky Walker [Contains SPOILERS for The Last Jedi!]

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction- Before, Saga, and Beyond' started by CairnsTony, Aug 5, 2017.

  1. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    To point that out and let us ponder on Breha´s fate is very kind of you. You also managed to bring an echo of Obi-Wan´s reasoning about a different point of view in here. Now I cannot wait for the next update.
     
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  2. CairnsTony

    CairnsTony Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 7, 2014
    Thank you! I might do other mini-essays a bit later on other recurring themes. I'll see how it goes.

    Speaking of Obi Wan... well hello there Darth_Drachonus! :)

    I'm posting this next bit several hours earlier than usual as work is going to be crazy for the rest of this week. Four chapters this time as three of them are pretty short.


    Luke and Maz discuss Breha... everyone converges on the Artefact.... Finn, Rose and Poe discuss their options... and Breha and Ben make a shocking discovery.




    THIRTY FOUR.


    Luke felt it. Breha had touched his mind once more and this time she stayed for more than a brief instant. Images and emotions filled his mind.
    She was OK… she was safe… she was heading for the artefact… she was with Kylo… no… Ben!…


    Luke felt a huge relief. She was unharmed and she was clearly on a mission, and then revelation… Ben had returned to the light! Despite everything he had done… she had brought him back, this Luke knew.
    They love each other… Luke thought. Love brought him back…
    But Luke had sensed something else… the darkness… it continued to swirl around her as if she were in the eye of the storm.
    He sensed no fear from her… it was as if she was unaware that it was even there. Luke struggled to make sense of this…
    Maz was watching him from the co-pilot’s seat, “She has made contact, hasn’t she?” she said.
    “Yes…” Luke said as he stared out of the viewport as hyperspace swirled around them.
    “And?”
    “She says she’s safe!” Luke said turning to look at Maz, “She is heading for the artefact with Ben. She has returned Ben to the light!” he added.
    Maz smiled, “She is indeed a remarkable person…” she said knowingly.
    “There’s more…” Luke now looked concerned, “She is at the centre of a great darkness that circles her, and she doesn’t even seem to be aware…”
    Maz thought momentarily before speaking, “Master Luke…” she began, “You once told me that you had the conviction that she would never fall to the Dark Side; that she was somehow… different.”
    “I knew she would face temptation,” Luke said, “But that she would never fall…”
    “Why is this?” Maz said, “The Skywalkers… you have always been susceptible to the darkness…”
    Luke knew that Maz was right. It was difficult to explain his conviction about Breha, it was more of a feeling…
    “I have delved deeply into the Force to seek answers…” he said, “Breha is like a bridge between the past and the future. When we were at the First Temple something remarkable happened… we went to the Wellspring. I witnessed things that I had never seen before. It bared itself before her…”
    Maz was silent for once. She was absorbing everything Luke said.
    Luke continued, “It tempted her… gave her the opportunity to seize complete control of the Force… of the very galaxy itself!”
    Maz’s eyes were widening in shock and awe. She could find no words…
    “Maz…” Luke said finally, “This Artefact… it’s another Wellspring; I know it…
    She was meant for this. She will be tempted once more…”
    Maz was shaking her head in wonder, “What will she do this time?” she asked, as much to herself as Luke.
    “I don’t know…” he said, “The darkness surrounds her and yet I believe she will not fall. I can’t explain it Maz…”


    Luke sighed and focussed his attention on the ship’s console.
    “We’re almost there…” he said.
    Almost there… Luke thought.






    THIRTY FIVE.


    Breha and Ben stood in the docking bay looking around. The walls stretched up for hundreds of metres towards a bright light source located in the ceiling high above their heads. It was a similar distance towards those same walls on either side or before them.
    “Can you feel it?” Ben said.
    Indeed she could… the Force was all around them, powerful and intense. The very structure itself exuded it. The air felt thicker here and she was reminded of the Wellspring at the First Temple and a similar sensation of elixir was here also… but not the same. It had a harsher quality; somehow less refined; artificial…
    She relayed all of this to Ben.
    “Somebody created this…” he said, “Another Wellspring…”
    “And I can see why….” Breha said, “The pursuit of ultimate power…”
    “Perhaps…” said Ben thinking… “Breha… do you think the natural Wellspring was there for this purpose?”
    Ben had a point, “It gave me wisdom and knowledge but it never felt as though it existed for the acquisiton of power. However… I was tempted…” she said, “I know it now… I could have had everything Snoke now desires. Master Luke was astonished…”
    Ben frowned and then slowly nodded, “It chose you… the ultimate test…”
    “I was never meant for that power Ben,” Breha explained, “I never sought power…”
    “And that is why it chose you!” he said at this revelation, “You are of the light Breha.”
    “But it didn’t choose Master Luke…” she said, “We’re still missing something here…”
    “So what now?” Ben said.
    “In response to this, Breha delved into the Force, “This way…” she said, pointing towards a dark archway directly ahead.
    “Agreed…” Ben said, “The Force is indeed showing us the way.”
    They moved off. As they entered the archway, lights came on at waist height along the walls to either side, and on the ceiling above illuminating their progress.
    After a few minutes they came to an octagonal chamber. This also lit up as they entered it. Corridors stretched off on three sides and there were doorways without doors on the other four.
    Breha decided to explore and entered one of the doorways to her left. Lights came on as expected and she could see that she was in a room full of equipment. She peered at consoles and instruments that looked nothing like she was used to. They appeared to be completely shut down.
    “They’re ancient, like this structure,” Ben was in the doorway.
    “I wonder if they still work?” Breha asked, “And if so, how and for what purpose?”
    “I don’t think they’re powered by the Force…” Ben said, “Look… there are wires leading into the wall.”
    “So there must be a conventonal power source…” Breha said, “Something that powers the machinery in this place.”
    “I’d say so…” Ben agreed, “But the Force powers the energy field we just passed through, and I think it’s still the main source. The Wellspring itself is what makes it a weapon.”
    “So where to now?” Breha asked?
    “I sense we should go up,” Ben said, “I feel that the Force is leading us that way.”
    Breha stretched out her senses and could feel it too, “We need to find some stairs then or a turbolift would be handy… this thing is huge!”
    They both returned to the octagonal chamber, feeling the Force as they did. Without a word, they both heading down the corridor opposite the one they had just come down. After a few minutes they came to another chamber like the previous. Ahead of them this time was a staircase. They looked at each other briefly and climbed.
    Breha looked up. The staircase stretched off into the darkness. Even as lights appeared on either side of them as they climbed, they did nothing to illuminate the top. The stairs stretched on and on.
    After a few minutes of climbing Breha stopped and turned around. They had climbed hundreds of stairs and she could barely make out the chamber in the other direction.
    She turned back and they resumed their climb. The stairs were broadening. As they continued to climb, the walls either side continued to recede until the stairs themselves were many times wider than originally. Breha looked up and she could see something ahead: an opening. After another minute of climbing, both she and Ben emerged into a vast chamber.
    Breha gasped. In every direction the chamber appeared to stretch for at least a kilometre.
    In the distance at the centre of the chamber was some sort of structure. From where they stood, it reminded Breha of a Staklus, a rotund burrowing animal from Jakku that had numerous spines sticking out of its body at odd angles. But unlike the pale-coloured staklus, the structure was dark and almost seemed to absorb the light.
    Ben was studying it too, “It’s designed to concentrate the Force,” he remarked, “There are probably other chambers like this one.”
    That reminded Breha all too readily of the sheer scale of this structure.
    “I think we still need to climb,” she said, “but I don’t see any other stairs.”
    They were both looking around.
    Off to their left and right, not far from the top of the stairs were what appeared to be columns of light. They were only present at this end of the chamber as far as Breha could tell.
    I wonder… she said and walked towards the nearest one.
    Ben came up beside her. The columns stretched up towards the distant ceiling. She glanced at him and took a step forward into the light. Immediately she felt her feet leave the ground as she rose into the air. She looked down to see Ben step into another column.
    Who needs a turbolift! She thought… this was amazing!


    They were gathering speed and the floor of the chamber was now far beneath them. As she looked up at the fast approaching ceiling she wondered where she was being taken. Whilst she pondered this, she finally reached the ceiling and continued through it. She was now surrounded on all sides by solid walls that seemed to absorb the light and reflect none back. She became disoriented… She imagined she was still rising, but couldn’t tell due to the lack of reference points. Without warning, she emerged into another chamber, one of much more conventional size and came to a stop. She stepped out. To her left Ben rose out of the floor in another column and joined her.
    This chamber was no more than twenty metres in either direction from where they stood. Straight ahead was a large flat rectangular structure mounted on the far wall which reminded Breha of a conventional viewscreen.
    “Let’s get our bearings,” said Ben.
    They both stretched out their senses… much further this time, allowing them to reach far and wide. Breha was searching for any clear pointers and then she felt something… it felt strange, and yet familiar…
    Breha looked at Ben. She could tell that he sensed it too.
    “We’re not alone…” she said.




    THIRTY SIX.



    Luke brought the Mirrorbright out of hyperspace. There before them was the Artefact.
    “Well I don’t think there’s any doubt that we’ve come to the right place…” said Maz with wry sarcasm.
    “There are no other ships in the system…” Luke said, checking his sensor readings.
    He reached out… searching for Breha… and there she was! She registered surprise and then joy!
    “They’re on the Artefact,” Luke said.
    Maz didn’t need to ask how he knew…
    Luke mentally requested that they come on board.
    “I’m hoping they can let us in…” Luke said, “We don’t have much time before the fleet arrives,” he added.
    Luke could sense confusion from Breha. He got the impression that she was trying to work out how to open the energy shield.
    Maz was sitting quietly and then she suddenly frowned.
    “Impossible…” she muttered, shaking her head.
    Luke was just about to ask what she meant when the ship lurched forward of its own accord.
    Luke checked the console, “We’re being pulled towards the energy barrier,” he said, “I’m no longer in control here…”
    “I think Breha may have worked out how to get us in,” she said smiling as they passed through the barrier.


    They both watched as their ship was guided towards a large rectangular opening.




    THIRTY SEVEN.



    Finn knew that the ship was fast. Poe had poured everything into the hyperspace engines that he could so that they could overtake Snoke’s command ship. It might give them time to plan a little surprise.

    “I’m still not sure what exactly this ‘little surprise’ will be,” said Poe but we somehow have to use the advantage this will give us.”
    “Finn and I managed to bluff our way on board that Star Destroyer over Canto Bight,” said Rose, “Maybe there’s a way for Finn to use his clearance codes…”
    “It won’t work…” Finn said, “That ship was expected, this one will be on their ‘wanted’ list.”
    Finn remembered the chase they led the First Order as they escaped from the Var II moon. They’d be blown up as soon as they were within range of the command ship’s turbolasers, he mused…
    “Maybe this ship has some special modifications that will give us an edge in a fight. We already know that it’s fast and manoeuvrable…” said Finn.
    “That would mean waking up our friend and asking him,” said Poe, “I’ve already checked the ships specs: it’s heavily armed, but nothing out of the ordinary…”
    “Maybe…” Rose began, “we should allow ourselves to get captured.”
    She was looking at Phasma.
    “How do we know they won’t just blow the ship up?” Finn suggested.
    “Because Snoke is on that ship,” she said, “And we have two wanted fugitives on board.”
    Rose was still looking at Phasma. Phasma’s face was, if anything paler as she stared back at Rose.
    “So… he would sense her presence is what you’re saying?” asked Finn.
    “I don’t know if he would do that or if he is even aware that Phasma is still alive, but he’ll know soon enough if we simply tell them we have her as soon as they arrive,”
    said Rose.
    Poe was thinking, “You know… that just might work. At least it might get us on board. Then comes the hard part…”
    “Finding Snoke…” said Finn.
    “You’re all completely mad,” said Phasma, “Even if you somehow got as far as the hangar, you’d never make it out of their alive. They’d surround the ship as soon as you landed.”


    Poe’s pilot console chimed, “Well we always knew this was a suicide mission…” he said grimly, “We’re coming out of hyperspace…”
    Poe pulled the lever and a normal starfield appeared in front of them, partially obliterated by an enormous diamond-shaped object.
    Everyone was momentarily lost for words…
    “Wow…” Poe said.
    Finn had to agree. Wow indeed…
     
    Last edited: Jul 25, 2018
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  3. Darth_Drachonus

    Darth_Drachonus Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 2005
    :D the plot thickens!
     
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  4. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    Good descriptions of the mysterious well-spring. One can feel the temptation rise within Breha as much as Luke´s concern.

    Do not wonder of I am not answering your next updates before the 9th October. I will be off-line busy with RL issues!
     
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  5. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2014
    Okay, so almost everyone is there now... except the Republic Fleet... and Snoke.

    I'm curious to know why Breha felt that Luke's presence was "strange" (yet familiar). Is it the Wellspring that causes this?

    Also, who set up the tech inside the Wellspring, and why does Breha think that this Wellspring is not natural the way the one on Ahch-To was?

    So many questions, just as things are about to come to a head [face_nail_biting]

    PS: Love how Phasma is getting trampled all over by the Finn-Poe-Rose trio :D
     
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  6. CairnsTony

    CairnsTony Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 7, 2014
    Thank you! Things are about to take a rather unexpected turn... ;)

    No worries! As I've said before, we all live busy lives! :)

    Thank you! Answers are coming fairly soon!

    Yep. ;)

    It's not Luke's presence she senses at that moment. There is someone else apart from her and Ben already on board the Artefact. ;)

    You'll find out who built the Wellspring eventually and why. You'll understand why it isn't natural as well once you have all the information. It ties in directly to who and what Breha is which is also yet to be revealed. :)


    Luke said a few chapters back, "She was meant for this". That's incredibly important.

    Don't worry, we're coming towards the end game. Answers are coming...

    I've also yet to reveal who and what Snoke is. ;)

    Thank you! I'm reminded of Finn's bravado to her face when she got captured on Starkiller Base! :D
     
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  7. CairnsTony

    CairnsTony Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 7, 2014
    Sorry folks for being late with these chapters! I've had a heavy weekend with work: I often work Saturdays but rarely Sundays, except today and it's been pretty insane...

    Anyways... moving swifty along, Darth_Drachonus here's your heads up! :)



    Finn, Rose and Poe's plans fall rapidly apart... Snoke puts his contingency into action... Luke searches desperately for Breha even as she and Ben become unwitting pawns...

    THIRTY EIGHT.


    “This doesn’t make sense!” Breha said to Ben, “It takes siblings to access this thing supposedly, and yet there’s someone here already?”
    “A lot of things aren’t making a great deal of sense at the moment…” said Ben.
    “You must unlearn etc etc….” she said, her lips curling with a smile.
    “Right…” Ben reciprocated; his amusement reflecting their collective bemusement.
    “Well… I suppose we’d better keep climbing!” Breha said, looking around. She could see two more columns of golden light in alcoves in the far corners of the room either side of the rectangular wall mount.
    As they started towards each of the light columns, the wall mount suddenly came to life. Visible on it was an image of a ship. They both stopped dead to look at it.
    “The Mirrorbright!” said Breha, “So it is a viewscreen!”
    The image kept breaking up but there was no mistaking what they were looking at. The Mirrorbright was a highly distinctive ship.
    “This thing probably hasn’t worked in centuries, maybe longer,” Breha remarked.
    “So this must be some sort of security station,” said Ben, “but how does it operate? There doesn’t appear to be any controls…” he said looking around the room.
    Breha was studying the viewscreen… she’d given the Mirrorbright to Luke… it had been a long time since they’d seen each other… and then she felt it!
    “It’s Luke!” Breha said turning to Ben, her face full of joy.
    Ben looked uncomfortable… Breha’s smile disappeared… she knew exactly why. She suddenly felt trepidation for Ben, knowing how the two of them had parted terms. He was the reason that Luke was such a wreck when she went to the First Temple.
    “I think he’s requesting to come on board…” she said, looking back around at the viewscreen, “We need to figure this thing out…”
    “The Force…” Ben said, “That’s how the shield works. The Wellspring has already accepted us, so it must surely have given us control.”
    “You’re right…” Breha said, and she focussed on the shield. She could feel Ben doing the same. As they did so she watched the ship on the viewscreen.
    She imagined the ship passing through unharmed… and no sooner did she do so, then the ship started moving until it passed through the shield.
    She looked at Ben, “Well that was pretty easy!” she remarked.
    “Almost effortless,” he said his eyebrows raised.
    “I suppose it being a Wellspring…” Breha began.
    “… means that the entire thing is ours to command!” Ben said, “I had no idea it would be this simple…”
    Breha marvelled at their discovery. They had full control over whom they could let in.
    “Let’s go back down and meet him…” Breha said, and then stopped herself.
    She looked at Ben who hadn’t moved.
    She sighed, “You’re not ready. Of course…”
    He studied her face, the old burdens of his past crimes were written across it once more. She went over and squeezed his arm.
    “Hey…” she said, and then she had an idea, “How about you carry on? Find out what we’re dealing with?”
    Ben nodded slowly, “I think that would be the wisest idea,” he said.
    She gave him a quick hug and she could feel some of the tension going out of him.
    “Go on!” she chivvied him.
    “I’ll see you soon,” he said, and turned.
    He walked towards one of the light columns in an alcove and entered it. In moments he had disappeared from sight.

    Breha remarked to herself how odd it was to watch him rise up in the air like that. How had such a beautiful, elegant technology been lost to the modern age?
    Breha’s thoughts turned to Luke. She knew that Ben was postponing the inevitable but by complete contrast, she was excited at the prospect of seeing Luke once more.
    She turned to hurry towards the column of light by which she had arrived when something on the viewscreen caught her eye. Another ship had appeared; one she didn’t recognise. It was a sleek, silver craft that looked as if it might have a wealthy owner.
    Who the hell is that? she thought…





    THIRTY NINE.


    Luke and Maz stood at the bottom of the Mirrorbright’s boarding ramp looking around.
    “Seems like overkill to me…” muttered Maz.
    “Maybe they wanted to dock Star Destroyers here…” Luke said with amusement.
    He looked towards the only other ship here. About one hundred metres away was parked Kylo Ren’s command ship.
    Now Ben’s… the notion seemed odd to Luke somehow…
    Maz turned to look up at Luke, “How far away is Breha do you think?”
    “Not far…” Luke said, “as far as I can tell…”
    Luke’s com suddenly came to life, “This is Pozzzzmeron callizzz if anybodzzzz hear me?”
    “Poe Dameron…” Luke said and raised his com to his lips, “This is Luke Skywalker on board the Artefact. Poe where are you?”
    “zzzz Luke? Hey wezzzz help herezzzzz Snoke zzzzz,” Poe said.
    “It must be the shield…” Maz said.
    “He mentioned Snoke…” Luke said with concern, “He’s trying to warn us.…”
    Luke spoke into the com once more, “Thank you for the warning Poe! Try and land in the artefact if you can! I will try and contact Breha!”
    Luke spoke in a slow deliberate manner. He hoped most of what he had said could be understood.
    “Understzzz will try zzzzz firing at zzzzz need help!” Poe said with clear agitation.
    Luke reached out for Breha. This had taken on a whole new urgency…. and he found her. Her response suggested that she already knew.
    “He’s here…” Maz said, “Snoke…”
    “We need to find Breha and Ben…” Luke said, and unhesitatingly headed towards the archway ahead that lit up at their approach. Maz hurried alongside.
    “I’m not quite as quick on my feet as you,” said Maz, “Don’t wait for me if I fall behind,” she said.
    Luke nodded and hurried on ahead. He felt a sudden sense of forboding. When he had touched Breha’s mind he could once again sense the darkness around her… and it was closing in.




    Breha reached out for the inhabitants of the ship. It felt so much easier to do here she found, and it took her no time at all to recognise that one of the ship’s inhabitants was Finn! And was that Poe? And… someone strong in the Force! Breha couldn’t be sure, but she thought it was the girl she had met briefly at the fortress. But there were two others… and Breha reacted with shock when she realised who they were…
    How is that even possible… who’s flying the ship? She reached for Finn’s mind again… she couldn’t feel fear, anger or pain. She had to risk it…
    Breha focussed on the shield once more whilst watching the silver ship on the viewscreen. No sooner did she do this then she saw another object appear out of hyperspace behind them. She gasped… the ship was immense and it filled almost the entire screen. Beams of energy started lancing out of it towards the other ship. They were being fired upon!
    Breha realised in her shock that she had lost concentration. She immediately refocussed her mind on the shield. She watched with growing anxiety as the ship took a hit. It was damaged on its port side and starting to list. She had to act fast. She delved deep into the Force and pulled. The silver ship shot forward and through the shield. She exhaled in relief and allowed the Wellspring’s automated systems to take over.

    She turned and headed towards the column of light. Without warning a powerful, dark presence entered her mind. It overwhelmed her in seconds.



    Poe pulled the ship hard to starboard.
    “Sublight engines are damaged… they’re gaining on us!” said Finn looking at the sensor readings.
    A turbolaser blast narrowly missed them on their port side, briefly illuminating the cabin.
    “Shield’s are starting to fail!” Poe said glancing down.
    “So much for trying to bluff our way on board!” yelled Finn.
    Suddenly the ship took a hit to the port engine. Rose was thrown out of her seat towards Phasma.
    “Everybody hang on!” said Poe, “We can…”
    Suddenly Poe and Finn were thrown back into their seats. It was as if a giant hand had grabbed the ship and pulled it forwards.
    Finn looked down at the console, “We’re through the shield! That must have been the Force pulling us towards the Artefact,” he said, “Was that Luke or was that your doing Rose?”
    There was no answer.
    Finn looked around and found himself facing the muzzle of a blaster. A blaster being held by Phasma.




    Snoke sat upon his throne. He watched proceedings on a large screen that had risen out of the floor for this purpose. He knew the moment that the Death Knell dropped out of hyperspace that there was another ship in system. His damaged eyes were still recovering from the torchlight that Hux had shone in them, but he could see well enough to know what was happening.
    It was gratifying to see his gunners responding so quickly to this threat. They had been under orders to destroy any other ships found here and they were carrying out those orders promptly.
    No-one must interfere… he thought to himself. He closed his eyes and reached out… as he did so, his twisted features stretched into an approximation of a smile.
    They’re here… he said to himself.

    He reached out his right hand and pressed two bony fingers against the large red jewel in the centre of the ring he wore and slowly turned it through ninety degrees… and in an instant Breha and Ben were his








    FORTY.


    In all her long years in this galaxy Maz had had adventures too numerous to count. She had seen Empires rise and fall; great tragedy and great achievements; Jedi and Sith and numerous Force cults that came and went; and she had accumulated memories over the centuries much as she had accumulated artefacts and curios from the furthest corners of the galaxy. A few of those memories were of truly remarkable things… and beings.
    The last time she had felt this presence was many centuries ago. She didn’t dare to believe that it could be true once more…
    They were extinct… she told herself, and yet… there was no mistaking what she felt.

    Maz stopped in an octagonal chamber at the end of the corridor leading from the docking bay. She could hear Luke’s now distant footfalls as he ran up the stairs ahead of her. She looked around and made a quick decision. She turned towards the corridor on her right and ran as fast as her short legs would let her.


    Finn looked at the blaster being pointed at him. It was being held between Phasma’s tightly clasped hands as they were still bound at the wrist. Despite her physical predicament, she was as deadly as when free and fully-armoured.
    He looked down. Rose was sprawled unconscious in a heap by her feet.
    “What did you do to her? I swear if she’s…” Finn began.
    “She’s alive if that’s what you’re asking…” Phasma said contemptuously, “She fell towards me when the ship got hit and I simply brought my fists down on the back of her head. She won’t be waking for a while…”
    Finn could feel his anger rising… he knew deep down how much easier it would have been to have just shot her on the landing platform. That way none of this would have happened… but he was just as quick to remind himself that he was not a natural born killer. Despite the First Order training he had been subjected to, they had not succeeded in eradicating his humanity. Finn was better than that…

    Finn’s own blaster rifle was out of reach tucked in a space below the main console. Finn glanced to his left. He could see Poe slowly reaching for his blaster. Phasma saw it too and in one smooth motion, swung her blaster towards him and pulled the trigger.
    Finn threw himself at Phasma’s arm just as the blaster discharged. The shot took off the end of Poe’s blaster and then impacted with the console in front of him. Phasma threw Finn off her arm and he fell backwards. He could see her wincing in pain where he had collided with the still healing elbow of her left arm.
    “Fine… you don’t want to play ball. I can’t say it’s been a pleasure knowing you FN-2187,” said Phasma as she levelled her blaster at him.
    She’s going to pull the trigger… He was about to die. Finn felt images flash through his head… one above all else. Breha…
    Without warning, Phasma was hit on the head from behind. Her eyes went wide with surprise and she slumped forward. Looking at her prostrate form with only mild interest was Locke.
    “I guess you owe me…” he said.
    Finn had no time to wonder how Locke had freed himself or why he was helping them. Locke retrieved his blaster from Phasma’s now loose grip.
    Locke went back into the lounge to where Phasma’s armour was stowed in a heap and started searching through it. Finn wondered what he was up to. Poe saw it too and jumped out of the pilot’s seat. He discarded what was left of his blaster by throwing it onto the seat now vacated by Phasma and went to check on Rose whom he helped still unconscious back into her chair. As Poe was attending to Rose, Finn grabbed his blaster rifle and joined him in the lounge.
    “How did you get free?” he asked.
    “I woke up…” he said, “I guess your friend there no longer had any control over me… and I guess you hadn’t done a very good job on my restraints…” he said matter-of-factly.
    Finn noticed that Locke had several First Order code cylinders in his hand as well as other items.
    “Should have everything I need here…” he remarked casually.
    He looked at his enquiring expression, “The money…” he said, “Phasma needs to be able to access her own money… or rather I should say, General Hux’s,” his face stretched into an ugly grin.
    Finn wondered at how singular Locke’s motivations were. Completely self-serving… he saw an opportunity to get what he wanted from Phasma and took it. He wasn’t helping them at all!
    “She told me that she’d practically cleaned out his account,” he continued, “he’s a wealthy man didn’t you know?… took the information from his private quarters on the command ship along with some surveillance device apparently… of course… I can’t have her blabbing about it.”
    He pointed his blaster at Phasma’s prone form and shot her twice in the back. Without looking back he went to the main ramp and reached for the release.
    Finn was staring open mouthed at what Locke had done.
    “Oh, and in case you hadn’t noticed… we’ve landed,” he said pointing out the viewport with his blaster, newly reacquired from Phasma.
    As the ramp lowered, Locke turned once more to Finn, “This ship’s too damaged now to get me to safety. Still… soon enough I’ll have money to buy an entire fleet of ships!” Finn could see Locke’s barely contained excitement.
    “In the meantime, that ship over there should do nicely.”
    Finn looked to where Locke was pointing. About fifty metres away sat the Mirrorbright. And beyond it… Kylo Ren’s command ship.
    Finn stared at it and wondered at how much worse things could get. That ship was Breha’s… He made a decision…
    No more… this ends now.


    Luke looked around the vast chamber. He could see several columns of light arranged near the wall nearest to where he stood. He instinctively moved towards them feeling a trace of where Breha and Ben had been. He stepped into the nearest one and found himself rising into the air. He didn’t allow himself the privilege of marvelling at the technology in play here, he was too concerned about Breha for that.
    He could sense her presence somewhere above, and the darkness… it no longer swirled around her, it was within her, and at that moment Luke knew that she was in mortal danger. He could sense Ben’s presence as well… and the same darkness…

    Luke found that he had risen up into a much smaller chamber. As he stepped out of the column of light, his attention was drawn to the visual monitor taking up most of the wall opposite. Filling most of the view was a dark vessel with a single red eye, looking like a vast malevolent creature.
    Luke regarded the vessel and as as he did so, he could see a tiny speck separate itself from its underside. The speck slowly grew in size as it headed towards the Wellspring, and with it came the darkness…

    He is coming… thought Luke, and they will let him in.
     
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  8. Darth_Drachonus

    Darth_Drachonus Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 2005
  9. CairnsTony

    CairnsTony Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 7, 2014
    Darth_Drachonus it's that time again. :)

    Finn makes a fateful decision... Luke faces a major threat... and Maz makes a discovery that will change everything...



    FORTY ONE.


    Finn walked down the ramp and saw Locke’s retreating back.
    He yelled out, “I can’t let you do this… I can’t let you take that ship!”
    Locke slowed to a halt but kept his back to Finn.
    “Are you going to shoot me in the back?” he said, still facing away from Finn.
    Finn chewed his lower lip before taking a deep breath, “That ship was once the property of General Leia Organa…”
    “But not now…” said Locke.
    “Now…” began Finn, “It belongs to her daughter, Breha. The most wonderful, brave person I have ever met!”
    Locke chuckled, “Looks like someone’s in love…” Locke slowly turned around.
    “You stole another ship once…” Finn said, “And as a result you stole a woman’s childhood. You could have taken her back to her parents but you didn’t did you? Instead you left her in a hellhole with a monster.”
    “That little tramp tried to kill me…” Locke said.
    Before Finn could reply, Locke spoke again, “…And I’m still taking this ship.”
    Locke began to turn around, using the move to draw his blaster without Finn seeing it. He spun back to face Finn blaster drawn, but Finn was ready. He shot him in the chest and Locke fell backwards.
    Finn didn’t like shooting people at the best of times, but this wasn’t his epiphany on Jakku. This person had ruined the childhood of the woman he loved when he stole the Millennium Falcon, and now he wanted to steal another ship that was hers. It took all his strength not to go over to Locke and shoot him again, repeatedly. But he stopped himself. He would rise above that…
    This one was for you Breha… he told himself.

    Finn didn’t have time to ponder the outcome. He ran back to the ship. Poe appeared at the top of the boarding ramp.
    “What just happened? I heard a shot,” Poe asked.
    Then he saw Locke’s body.
    Finn came back on board and saw with relief that Rose was conscious. He told them both what happened.
    “And did you kill her too?” Rose said nodding in the direction of Phasma.
    “No… Locke gets the credit for that one,” Finn said, then he turned back to Rose.
    “Are you OK by the way?”
    “Everything went black…” she said, “I think I automatically went into a Force healing trance or something…”
    Finn allowed himself a smile and slowly shook his head, “I never got to thank you properly for what you did for me back at base.”
    “It’s nothing,” she said smiling back, “Besides I didn’t know at the time what I was actually doing! There was this other time back on Canto Bight when…”
    Rose suddenly stopped speaking. Finn knew that look…
    “What’s happened?” he asked.
    “He’s coming!” Rose said in sudden fear.
    “Who?” asked Finn.
    “Snoke!” she exclaimed.
    At that they could hear the sound of a ship approaching. Finn, Poe and Rose reacted instantly.

    In moments they were at the top of the ramp. Poe turned and tapped on BB-8’s dome.
    “Hey, wake up buddy!” he said.
    BB-8 came back to life and tootled an enquiry at Poe.
    “The First Order are coming!”
    BB-8 needed no further encouragement and zoomed forward towards the ramp. As they got to the bottom, Finn looked left. A ship was fast approaching and was now only a couple of hundred metres away. Finn’s blood ran cold…
    Snoke’s personal shuttle… thought Finn.
    Rose and BB-8 raced ahead. Poe ran over to Locke and grabbed the blaster now lying by his side. Finn was still watching the ship getting closer before he snapped himself out of it and ran after the others towards the only entrance they could find and headed down a lit corridor.
    As they hurried along, Finn silently reminded himself that they were planning to fly straight onto his command ship and kill him. Now they were running for their lives. When faced with certain realities, self-preservation tends to kick in he thought, and besides… by running there was a chance they might find a suitable defensive position and still live!



    FORTY TWO.


    “Supreme Leader,” said the pilot of the shuttle, “There are people over there running. I’m unable to open fire as the ship is not currently under my control.”
    Snoke had given instructions to kill anyone found in the Wellspring… except the Skywalkers. Breha and Kylo were his to command. Then he sensed another presence… Luke Skywalker…
    I will deal with him personally… thought Snoke.
    Snoke rotated his seat to face a group of masked figures dressed entirely in black sat behind him.
    “Find them and kill them,” he said.
    He turned to face forward once more.
    It has been a long time… he thought. I am back in my rightful place…


    Luke moved along a corridor. As with every other corridor and room he had entered, lights came on as he progressed. He could sense both Breha and Ben nearby but they were moving around fast. It wasn’t the first time Luke had the sensation that he was being hunted.
    They’re trying to close in from both sides… Luke thought, and they want me to know it…
    Luke knew that both Breha and Ben could cloak themselves in the Force. If they wanted to surprise him, they could. He kept moving forward, ready for an attack at any moment. He could see that the corridor opened into a large chamber up ahead, but it wasn’t until he entered it that he realised that it was far deeper than wide.
    The main reactor shaft… thought Luke.
    Running across at regular intervals and varying heights above and below were numerous walkways. The only way to get to the other side.
    And besides… Luke told himself, Breha is straight ahead, across the walkway, and she is close…
    Luke stepped out on to the walkway heading towards the corridor leading off it on the other side. He got no more than halfway before she appeared in front of him.

    To Luke’s eyes she was barely recognisable. Her demeanour had changed completely from the Breha he once knew. She looked to Luke like a lethal predator poised to pounce on its victim for she was strange and terrible to behold…
    He could sense dark energy crackling and writhing around her like numerous deadly serpents. Even her hair was wild and loose to match the feral look of hunger in her yellow eyes; and she carried a sword of metal whose blade fizzed with energy.
    Luke recognised the weapon. The earliest Jedi used them before lightsabres were adopted by the order. As he faced her he could sense that Ben had stepped out on to the walkway behind him.
    Breha moved in a flash hurling herself towards him. In the split second it took her to cross the distance, he had ignited his lightsabre and blocked her sword as it slashed downwards. They clashed again and then Ben was upon him. Luke ducked to miss a swing of Ben’s sword from behind that would have otherwise decapitated him. As he did so, he swung his leg around sweeping Breha’s legs away. As she fell, he rolled forward past her, narrowing avoiding her sword as it missed his head by centimetres. Luke turned to face them as Ben barreled past Breha to clash with Luke’s lightsabre. Vicious blows rained down on Luke and he parried them all but he was being driven back. Breha was already on her feet and ran towards them. As she did so, Luke could see that she was about to jump over the top of Luke to cut off his retreat. He hurled Ben backwards with a force push, just as Breha flew over his head and swung her sword around in one fluid move. Luke was able to turn just in time to parry her. Without pausing she slashed repeatedly at him, driving him towards Ben, who had nearly fallen off the footbridge when he landed. In the time it would take him to get up, Luke would once again be trapped. He knew he needed to shift the odds in his favour.
    Luke rolled backwards from Breha’s sword so that she swung at thin air. As he came up into a stand, he gathered his strength and jumped. The Force took him up to a footbridge at least ten metres above. Before Breha and Ben could join him, he ran down the corridor leading off it knowing they would follow.


    Maz knew she was close. She stretched out her senses and could feel the presence up ahead. After another minute, she entered a room that was perfectly square and around fifty metres in diameter.
    In stark contrast to everything else that Maz had seen here, the room was stuffed full of things. There were pictures on the walls, statues arranged untidily around the room and numerous objects of antiquity that reminded Maz all too readily of her own storerooms of curios. She felt she was in strangely familiar surroundings. This didn’t hold her attention for long however, as she could see the reason she was drawn here in the middle of the room. Here were two rectangular raised structures about a metre in height and three metres in length with their ends facing towards her. They reminded Maz of sarcophagi belonging to some ancient culture. She walked towards them and came up alongside the one on the left. Upon it lay a being of an alien race that Maz thought she had seen the last of. She was surrounded by a stasis field that Maz imagined had protected her for millennia, probably for as long as the Wellspring had been in existence, for she was very much alive.
    Maz saw a small pedestal on one side and climbed onto it so as to obtain a better view.

    For the first time in many centuries Maz was looking into the face of a Whill.
     
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  10. CairnsTony

    CairnsTony Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 7, 2014
    Hi folks, I'll leave off the story for now until I have some indication that everyone has caught up.

    If anyone is reading this: there aren't many chapters left so please bear with me.
     
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  11. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    I was away for a while, being busy with RL stuff. But I just had a true reading marathon and I am glad that Maz plays such a crucial part in this story still. And she seems to know the Whill(s) since centuries. That is exciting news.
     
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  12. CairnsTony

    CairnsTony Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 7, 2014
    No worries! I've been crazy busy with work too; another weekend of working right through, and now I've injured my back...

    Yeah because some people have a lot of catching up to do, I'm pausing the story... a lot is happening and a whole lot more is about to happen. Once everyone appears to be caught up I'll resume posting.

    Maz: she plays an absolutely crucial role in the final chapters in several instances. ;) I don't explain her connection to the Whills but suffice it to say she has met them in the past, and she understands their role in the future, not least who and what Breha is and how she is connected to them.
     
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  13. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2014
    All caught up! Sorry I missed your latest updates, I had a busy week – but then I got all this to read today and it was a real treat.

    So now the only people missing from this little family reunion are the Resistance fleet, but until they turn up, boy is everyone in trouble! Ben and Breha under Snoke's mind control, Luke hunted down, Poe, Finn and Rose fleeing from Snoke's goons... but Maz is doing fine, and we can count on her to save the day, right? I love that you brought the actual Whills into this story and I'm very excited to see what they are able to do.

    Which brings me to a thought that jumped through my head because of Snoke's line about being back where he belongs: is he some sort of fallen angel/Whill? (Again, don't spoil; I want to find out through the story!)

    Oh, and I enjoyed the way Phasma and Locke met their unceremonious ends, as they richly deserved.
     
  14. CairnsTony

    CairnsTony Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 7, 2014
    Thank you! Yes I've been crazy busy and feel incredibly tired and yet can't sleep!

    It's going to be a crazy couple of days with the poster, trailer and possibly tickets on sale for TLJ, so I don't think I'll get much rest with all the excitement!

    Yes the Resistance Fleet are on their way... ;) and everyone is fighting for their lives.

    I went through several different versions of this reveal including making Maz a Whill, but I eventually settled for this as I think it worked best for the sort of story ending I wanted.

    You will learn a lot more about the role of the Whills in Jedi Lore and other things very soon... ;)

    I won't spoil anything for you... but I have of course hinted that he has been here before.

    I knew that they had reached the end of their arcs as soon as Snoke arrived as I wanted the baddie focus to shift to him. Locke's demise is one of the many repeating themes in the story: this one being Finn's reluctance to shoot someone, especially in the back. In the end he knew he had no choice here and he stepped up to the mark.

    I had planned a slightly different ending for Phasma which involved her being left unconscious but alive on the ship only to come around and face the drawn weapons of the KOR. It would have meant her surviving for mere minutes longer, but it may have been a more interesting demise I suppose. I confess that laziness is the primary reason I didn't change it as I wanted to take my time getting the closing chapters just how I wanted them.


    Once Darth_Drachonus has caught up I'll continue the story. I've obviously no idea if anonymous readers have caught up as they don't comment (hint... ;) ) so I have no way of gauging where they are in the story (sorry anonymous folks!); but said readers are very welcome nonetheless! :)
     
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  15. Eeyore freak

    Eeyore freak Jedi Knight star 2

    Registered:
    May 19, 2016
    I’m all caught up. Can’t wait to see the ending!
     
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  16. CairnsTony

    CairnsTony Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 7, 2014
    OK I'll move on, seeing as I'm just keeping people waiting here! :D

    I won't post the next bit right now mind, as I'm sure folks are still absorbing the trailer for TLJ!

    I'll post the next bit on Thursday and continue my Thursday/Sunday postings until you all have the whole thing.

    Not long to go now folks! :)
     
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  17. CairnsTony

    CairnsTony Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 7, 2014
    OK, now that most of us have digested the insanely good TLJ trailer, I'll plough on!

    Darth_Drachonus here's your heads up. :)

    Finn, Rose, Poe and Luke are all fighting for their lives....


    FORTY THREE.



    Rose ran over the footbridge as fast as she could with BB-8 barrelling alongside her. Bringing up the rear were Finn and Poe. Several of the Knights of Ren were already close behind and they had had to exchange fire with them several times now. They couldn’t keep this up indefinitely. They knew they needed to shake off their pursuers but they couldn’t find anything to give them this opportunity.

    As Rose ran, she remembered the one time that Snoke had paid her a visit at the fortress. She was sitting in a cell on a sleeping pad. It reminded her of the cell they had kept her in on the Star Destroyer: cold, dimly lit and devoid of any features other than the pad she sat on. She had no idea what time of day or night it was and she felt disorientated. She had been interrogated for hours and felt exhaustion all over her body. Her brain was shutting down with fatigue. She went to lie down just as the lock in the door started cycling.
    It opened and a tall, gaunt alien in a gold cloak stood there looking at her with piercing blue eyes set in a deformed face. He stepped into the doorway and said nothing for a few moments. Then he spoke… he asked her many questions, mainly about her sister Paige. At the time the questions made little sense: he asked about Paige’s piloting skills; her reflexes; the power of her voice…
    In retrospect Rose wondered why he didn’t simply ask her if her sister was Force sensitive… or simply tell her that she was. Rose could only assume that he didn’t want her to know too much otherwise she would have been less malleable to the suggestion that Kylo later planted in her head.
    Rose thought about that act… It felt like a basic violation of her mind and she knew that if they met again, she would return the favour. Revenge was not an instinct that Rose typically possessed, but in his case she told herself, she would make an exception.

    Rose ran past an archway glancing in as she passed and skidded to a halt. She peered in and could see lining the walls weapons: lots of them. BB-8 whistled with surprise.
    She could hear Finn and Poe exchanging fire back down the corridor and she heard a scream! She reached out… it wasn’t Finn or Poe… she exhaled in relief at the fact that there was at least one fewer pursuer.
    Arranged all around the walls she could see numerous swords and various other blades but also what appeared to be solid projectile weapons and still others that she couldn’t identify.
    I’m not going unarmed any longer… she thought, and grabbed the nearest sword from its wall mount. She felt the heft of the blade in her hand and was surprised at how light it was. As she did so she could hear feet running up the corridor towards her. She slid the sword into her belt.
    No time for anything else… she thought, and ran out of the archway just as Finn and Poe ran up to her. Together they carried on down the corridor.
    As they ran, BB-8 bleeped something at Rose.
    “I don’t… speak your language BB-8… sorry…” Rose said breathlessly.
    “He said, you look good… with that sword…” Poe translated, also out of breath.
    She didn’t have time to react to the compliment as a plasma bolt whizzed past their heads.
    At the end of the corridor, they found themselves in a large circular room with several exits. Finn and Poe took up defensive positions on either side of the exit to the corridor they had just run down. They began returning fire back the way they had come. As they did so, Rose looked up at the edge of the corridor. She could see a slot running down its full length and something sticking out of the ceiling above their heads.
    It’s a blast door… she thought.
    She concentrated on the door and imagined it coming down. For several seconds nothing happened. She could hear BB-8 bleep an enquiry. She needed to relax into this… she forced her breathing to slow and then her heartbeat… and she pulled. The door began to rattle in its housing, then suddenly plummeted. Finn and Poe had just enough time to withdraw their blasters to avoid them being crushed under the door as it fell. It hit the floor with a resounding clang. They both looked around at Rose.
    BB-8 whistled his admiration.
    “Was that you?” asked Finn.
    Rose smiled, “That should hold them for a while,” she said.
    Finn and Poe looked suitably impressed… Rose’s confidence with the Force had just increased a notch and she now knew not to think about it too much… that she should let her feelings guide her. She also now knew that this place made it easier to access the Force; it was more concentrated here…

    Finn looked down at the sword now sticking out of her belt, “I agree with BB-8; you’ll make a good Jedi. You’ve got the look!” he said smiling.
    Rose smiled back.
    “We’d better keep moving,” said Poe, “Any preferences?” he asked gesturing at the numerous exits.
    Rose’s attention was focussed on the centre of the room. She could see two columns of light and was drawn to them. The Force was speaking to her once more and she just knew what they were.
    “How about this way?” she said pointing at the columns.
    “Down the corridor straight ahead?” asked Poe, “that might be too obvious a choice if we want to shake off…”
    “Not the corridor, these light columns!” she said pointing towards them more insistently.
    Finn and Poe looked at each other and spoke together, “What light columns?”
    They can’t see them! We don’t have time to discuss this… she thought.
    She spoke to BB-8, “Do you trust me?”
    BB-8 bleeped an affirmative.
    “OK, come with me…” she said to the droid and he rolled forward. He swivelled his dome towards her inquiringly.
    “Just roll a little further BB-8,” she said, and the droid rolled towards the centre of the room.
    Suddenly he shot into the air at speed and disappeared through a circular hole in the ceiling. The others could hear his whistles and bleeps receding into the distance.
    “OK you two next!” she said. Poe and Finn exchanged a look of bafflement.
    “Come on! They could come through that door at any minute!” she said in appeal.
    Poe shook his head and stepped forward.
    “Just one more step Poe,” she said, and suddenly he shot upwards.
    “Whoah!” he said as his feet left the ground.
    Finn didn’t hesistate and within seconds he was also shooting skywards.
    Rose looked back at the blast door. She could hear them trying to break through. Without further hesistation she stepped into the light column and rose up towards the ceiling.

    As Rose appeared through the floor, she could see the others waiting for her. They were in a circular room identical to the one they had just left.
    She stepped out of the light column.
    “How did you know?” Finn said to her.
    “They must be powered by the Force,” she said, “I could see them as golden columns of light reaching up to the ceiling and I had an instinctive feel of what they were.”
    “This is a pretty unique place…” said Poe looking around the room, “But there’s a conventional power source here too… that was a reactor shaft we crossed earlier…”
    “And the blast door wasn’t powered by the Force either,” said Rose.
    They both looked at her.
    “I felt it,” she said, by way of explanation.
    “So which way now?” said Finn.
    “Luke is here,” said Poe, “I raised him on the com earlier, and I’m pretty sure he said he was going to speak to Breha, which means she must be here too!”
    Rose could see the change in Finn’s expression, and she felt strong emotions coming off him. The very mention of her name…
    “And Kylo Ren…” said Rose, “That was his ship in the docking bay.”
    “And now Snoke… and the Knights of Ren!” said Poe, “So… what’s the plan?”
    Rose was thinking… they came here to beat Snoke, but they had friends here too. Friends who could help them defeat him.
    She knew what to do and closed her eyes… Delving deep into the Force she reached out. She was getting better at this… she could feel her perceptions of what was around her increase. She could sense their pursuers below still trying to get through the blast door. She changed her direction of focus and reached further… and there! She could sense a locus of the Force. Someone powerful and highly trained. It was Luke… and he was in trouble!
    Her eyes snapped open! Poe and Finn were staring at her. Neither of them needed to ask what she had just been doing.
    “I’ve found Luke…” she said looking back at them, “He needs our help!”
    “Which way?” said Finn urgently.
    “Up,” she said.





    FORTY FOUR.




    Luke found himself in some sort of storeroom and it was huge. Everywhere he looked were what appeared to be storage bins and packing crates, often arranged in neat rows and stacks, but just as often untidily arranged or left randomly here and there. In some places, the contents of those crates were spilled out across the floor. As he hurried along one of the rows between the crates he saw objects of every description from simple tools and furniture to far more ornate items presumably for purely decorative purposes. As he approached the far end of the room he could see large vertical containers with transparent fronts arranged in a row that stretched off in both directions for hundreds of metres. He peered into the nearest one and momentarily recoiled. A skull was staring back at him. He took a step back and looked up. There were emitters in the ceiling but they weren’t operational.
    These should be in stasis… he thought.
    Luke could see that the energy field had failed at some point and the inhabitants of these hibernation pods or whatever they were had died. He stretched out his senses, looking for signs of life. There were none…
    Luke had many questions… the mystery of this Wellspring and its true purpose. Why were so many mundane items brought here and who were these people? It was as if they had been stored here like so many sundry items…

    He didn’t feel it until the last second… a slight whoosh of the air around him was the only warning he had. Luke ducked and rolled as Ben’s sword swished past his back missing him by a hair’s breadth.
    He had cloaked himself in the Force…
    As Luke jumped to his feet he ignited his lightsabre just as Ben rushed him again. The blows were savage, furious, intense… and Luke was driven back. Luke delved deeper into the force, to counter the ferocity of the attack. They locked blades. Luke could see a feral savagery in Ben’s face he had never seen before, and… something else… no… someone else.
    Snoke… and Luke knew.
    Luke gathered the Force and threw Ben backwards. Without hesitating, he reached out, and before Ben could recover, hit him smartly on the head with a large metal container that had been lying on the floor nearby.
    Ben slumped to the floor unconscious. Luke used the moment to put him in a deep force-induced sleep. He wouldn’t be waking any time soon.

    Luke looked around. He couldn’t sense Breha but figured that she must be close. He had fought Ben along the row of hibernation pods and so he turned to face the many rows between storage crates that stretched away towards the far end of the room.
    She’s in one of them… he told himself.
    He would take the high ground… He gathered the Force and leaped. He landed on top of a storage crate and was now several metres above the floor of the room. He looked around and as he did so, he saw her.
    She rose out of one of the rows and hovered in the air in front of him. Luke barely had time to raise his defences before she hurled Force lightning at him. He parried with his lightsabre. The attack was relentless and Luke was struggling to contain its ferocity. Some of it was getting through and Luke’s body twitched in pain as lightning stabbed him once, then twice. He reeled backwards and felt himself falling…
    He hit the floor hard. His Force attuned senses had been thrown off by the lightning hitting his body. And then she was there.
    Luke couldn’t breathe. The Force choke she had him in was like a vice squeezing his throat. His stunned senses made him lose concentration just long enough for her to get under his defences. The edges of Luke’s vision were starting to go dark. He was starting to lose conciousness. Then he thought he could see movement off to his left and something collide with Breha; and she released him…

    As they ran into the huge storage room Rose could sense that Luke was close.
    “This way!” she yelled and they ran down the nearest row.
    The hair on Rose’s head started to rise of its own accord as she ran. She could feel a powerful static charge in the air as if she had suddenly run into a lightning storm. She could sense that it came from the Dark Side and knew that Luke was in mortal danger.
    As they ran, she looked up to her left. There were bright flashes of light illuminating the ceiling of the room they were in. She gathered the Force around her and sprinted as fast as she could. The Force carried her and she easily outpaced the others. As she emerged from the end of the row she looked left and saw Ben lying on the ground, clearly unconscious. No sooner did she register this then Luke came flying off the top of some packing crates and hit the floor. Then she saw what at first glance appeared to be some wild animal hurling itself after Luke. She could feel dark energy roiling off this new threat and she realised in shock that she was looking at Breha.
    She couldn’t wait for Finn or Poe and instinctively she reached out. A metal box that was lying near Ben flew towards Breha of its own accord and collided with her side. Breha was knocked sideways but recovered almost instantly. She glared back at Rose through baleful eyes and raised her hands…

    Luke felt the choke hold suddenly disappear. He gazed up trying to focus his eyes in time to see Breha looking to her right. This was all the opportunity he needed and with the last of his strength he hurled Breha off him with a Force push. She collided with a storage bin and was momentarily stunned.
    Rose was beside him in an instant.
    “Are you OK Master Luke?!” she said.
    “It’s Snoke…” he could barely speak.
    Rose looked confused as she stared at him. In that moment Breha was back on her feet. She had drawn her sword and Luke could see that she was about to bring it down on Rose’s head. Then a blaster bolt whizzed past her and she turned to face the new threat. Luke could see that Finn and Poe were running towards them firing. She parried another bolt before somersaulting back into the row and running. She had been forced to retreat.
    Rose helped Luke to his feet as Finn and Poe ran up to them.
    “It’s Snoke…” Luke repeated, “He’s controlling her… both of them!” he pointed at the prostrate form of Ben.
    “What can we do?” Rose said to him.
    “He’s using something to control them,” Luke said, “This is ancient dark magic. We need to find its conduit.”
    “What exactly are we looking for?” said Finn.
    “Something that is imbued with the Force,” Luke explained, “An amulet perhaps… or a holocron.”
    “A holowhat?” said Finn.
    “They’re hand held geometric shapes.” Luke knew the simplest explanation would suffice, and he didn’t know when Breha would attack again.
    Luke watched as Poe ran back over to Ben and rolled him over. As he did so something tumbled out of a pocket in his cloak.
    Luke saw it… a holocron!
    Before anyone had time to react, Breha reappeared and hurled Force lightning once more. Poe was caught and his body twitched and convulsed and he collapsed to the ground. Luke watched as Breha strode past him. She lifted Finn up in the air and tossed his body down one of the rows. He disappeared from sight. She drew her sword once more. Luke saw Rose draw hers.
    She’ll die… I need to do something! Luke ignited his lightsabre and took up a stance.
    As he watched Breha ready to strike, Luke saw BB-8 peek out from a row behind her. He rolled over to the holocron and attacked it with electricity of his own. Breha raised her sword and wavered… confusion spread across her face. Her body started to convulse and her eyes went wide. Luke could see BB-8 continuing to pour electricity into the holocron. Then he switched to his blow torch and the holocron started to melt.
    As it did so, Luke returned his attention to Breha. She had stopped convulsing and collapsed to the floor.
    He ran over to her and lifted her head. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at him. Luke was relieved to see that they were her normal eye colour once more.
    She slowly focussed on Luke’s face and spoke…
    “Master… I’m… so sorry…” she said, before passing out.


    Snoke knew that the holocron was destroyed. He reacted with fury… he gathered dark energies around him and hurled them outwards. His command shuttle shook under the onslaught. Cracks started to appear in its main frame; they multiplied and grew in size, spreading all over the ship and then it blew apart. Pieces of ship flew in every direction, some of it impacting with Locke’s ship which sat nearby. The pilot’s body was torn to pieces in the explosion but Snoke’s remained unharmed. He rose slowly up into the air and out of the shattered craft feeling pure rage.

    He would come after them all… and his vengeance would consume them…
     
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  18. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2014
    Ooh, so the holocron was how Snoke was controlling the Solos! I was wondering about that in your previous entry, now I've got the explanation!

    Great action writing once more and it's nice to see the various groups and plotlines converging, but what I like above all is how you had BB-8 save the day. I squeed out loud when I read that bit!

    And now, Snoke is going to face one Skywalker, two Solos, Rose, Finn and Poe (who are Muggles, fine, but not just any Muggles) and their secret droid weapon. I wish him luck.
     
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  19. Darth_Drachonus

    Darth_Drachonus Jedi Master star 3

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 2005
    I can't wait to see Snoke get his. And I wanna see it come from the Solos
     
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  20. CairnsTony

    CairnsTony Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 7, 2014
    "This is not going to go the way you think!" - Luke Skywalker (The Last Jedi).
     
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  21. CairnsTony

    CairnsTony Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 7, 2014
    Thank you once again!

    Snoke set up the whole thing, only telling Ben enough to get him to do his part in uniting the two halves. This way he had a way of controlling them regardless of whether they were good or evil. Because of his connection to the Artefact it made for the ideal conduit for controlling them.

    Yes BB-8 needed to be more than just a spare part and I wasn't able to use him enough in my previous story, so I gave him a key role here. C3PO plays a key role later on... ;)
     
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  22. CairnsTony

    CairnsTony Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 7, 2014
    Darth_Drachonus ;)

    Note: the second chapter posted here shows some of the Whill language. I will do a detailed post down the line explaining the vocabulary, grammar and phonology of the language once you have all the pieces. Those of you who consider yourselves to be students of languages may recognise some of it, even whole sentences... ;)


    Luke and Ben reach a new understanding... we learn new things about the Force.... and Breha gets a glimpse of her fate...


    FORTY FIVE.



    Breha opened her eyes. Everything was a blur and she struggled to focus. She thought she could hear voices and see a face looking down on her. A face that looked familiar… and she reached out a jerky hand and touched his nose. Everything suddenly came back into sharp focus. It was Ben…
    Breha smiled… Ben was smiling back and there were tears in his eyes.
    “Welcome back…” he said.
    He looked to his left and called out, “She’s awake!”
    She tried to sit up. Suddenly the room began to swim and she fell back. She wasn’t ready just yet…
    Then Luke appeared. He looked as bad as she felt. Her relief and joy at seeing him once more was tainted by what had just happened. She remembered fighting him, but her actions were not her own… she had completely lost control of her body. She remembered with vivid horror attacking him; nearly killing him…
    “Where are the others?” she asked. She remembered what she had done to them, including Finn…
    “They’re going to be fine,” said Luke, “Finn has a few bruises and Poe got his nerve endings a little fried, but Rose is with them now. She has a remarkable capacity to heal…”
    “She’ll make a great Jedi one day,” Breha said.
    Luke’s face betrayed a weariness that Breha put down to his condition, but then she could see more… She got the impression that taking on another apprentice was not part of Luke’s plans. In fact he looked resigned… the face she remembered seeing that fateful day on Ahch-to when they first met. Breha wondered what it all meant…
    Luke returned her focus to the present, “You could do with some healing yourself!” he said.
    Breha tried sitting up again. This time it was easier.
    She looked at Luke once more, “Thank you for bringing me back…” she said, “I couldn’t control my actions! I…”
    “I know…” Luke said, “Ben was similarly apologetic. In fact he wouldn’t stop apologising…”
    Breha’s eyes shifted to Ben who stood nearby still looking uneasy.
    “Mistakes have been made,” Luke said, “and we learn from those and move on…”
    Breha knew he was addressing all three of them, but especially Ben. Despite everything… despite the horrors he had committed… Luke was too wise to allow this to interfere with the larger goal: defeating Snoke and the First Order.
    “Anyway!” he said as he helped her up on to her feet, “You can thank BB-8 on this occasion!”
    The droid whooped a reply as if in embarrassment and rocked back and forth at all the sudden attention.
    “He destroyed the holocron,” Luke said by way of explanation.
    Breha looked at Luke, “Master… about the holocron… we found that it had some very odd properties….”
    Luke nodded, “It appears to have been two halves of one,” he said, “I imagine you tried to join them together?”
    “Yes…” Breha began, “Yes! That’s exactly what we did, and it split apart again!”
    “I wondered if the day would come that I would see this…” Luke said, “Allow me to explain,” he added.
    “Please do,” said Breha encouragingly, “This is one mystery that I wouldn’t mind solving!”
    Luke began, “Holocrons were once numerous. They acted as repositories of knowledge and wisdom.”
    This Breha knew… she wondered what was so unusual about this one.
    “They were made in a range of geometric shapes,” Luke continued, “to focus the Force. This was often at the whim of the designer. Most of them would sit comfortably in the palm of the hand or whatever appendages a Jedi had. The particular Jedi who constructed this one had physiology that better suited a particular design.
    “A diamond…” offered Breha.
    “Exactly!” said Luke, “This particular shape had never been constructed before, or since as far as I am aware. By pure accident of design, the Jedi had mimicked the exact dimensions of this Wellspring, in miniature.”
    That made sense… Breha thought, and so there is some sort of connection between the two after all!
    Luke continued, “I would imagine that the holocron worked fine for centuries, but then the Dark Side steadily rose during the latter days of the Old Republic and it split apart. But that wasn’t the oddest thing that happened…”
    Breha suddenly became aware that everyone was hanging on Luke’s every word. She waited expectantly.
    Luke took a deep breath, “My time at the Wellspring gave me new knowledge and insight into the very nature of the Force itself… in my tormented state I struggled to make sense of it all…” he shook his head and looked at Breha, “And then you came. I trained you as best I could, taught you much of what I know; helped you to refine your skills and develop new ones. You were a wonderful student,” he said.
    Were? thought Breha… She was starting to worry where this was heading.
    “When the holocron split apart it somehow connected with this Wellspring. It became a conduit for its very essence,” he said, “It spoke of the Wellspring’s true nature. Before there was a schism in the Force.”
    Breha found herself frowning, and then it was as if a light had switched on in her head!
    “Of course…” she said. She looked at Ben, “The holocron told us! There are no Light and Dark sides! The Force just is!”
    “There are Light and Dark…” Luke said, “But there shouldn’t be… for centuries Jedi practised according to a duality of the Force, but that duality is a corruption of its true nature.”
    Breha was struggling herself to process this information. She exhaled through pursed lips…
    This is deep… she thought.
    Ben was the first to speak, “Master Skywalker, what happened do you think? To cause this… schism?”
    Luke turned to Ben and smiled, Breha was glad to see. It was warm and it was forgiving. It spoke volumes of the new relationship between the two.
    Luke spoke, “That’s the part I don’t know…”
    “You must unlearn what you have learned…” Breha said.
    “Indeed,” said Luke, “and the Jedi were wrong… about nearly everything.”
    “You, Breha…” said Luke, “Are the last of their kind… you were trained in the old ways, but even then you were stepping beyond what I knew and could teach. The Wellspring at the First Temple let you in and accepted you completely, and it transformed you.”
    Breha knew this, but had been unable to put it into words before now.
    “You are the last Jedi…” Luke said, “And the first of something… more.

    For several heartbeats everyone was silent.
    Breha looked at Ben. He was looking uncomfortable again…
    Then what does that make Ben… and in that moment she had a glimpse of possible futures… and she didn’t see Ben…

    Breha broke the silence, “Then… how was Snoke able to control us through them?” asked Breha, “He is the very essence of the Dark Side surely…”
    “Again I’m not sure,” Luke said, “But I think that he is connected somehow with this Wellspring. What I do know however is that we need to find Maz,” he said. “I can sense that she has found something, or rather someone. We must head there if we are to find the answers we seek and we don’t have much time. All of our fates depend on it.”
    Breha could sense the Force shifting, as if someone had shuffled a sabacc deck and was about to deal out cards to each and every one of them. Some would get good hands; others would not…
    It wasn’t just their fates, Breha knew… it was the fate of the galaxy itself that would be decided.




    FORTY SIX.



    General Amilyn Holdo stood on the deck of the command ship Nova. Hyperspace swirled around outside the main viewport.
    I hope you succeeded Luke… she thought. We’re about to join your party…
    Her silent plea was as much in hope as in expectation. Holdo knew that it was likely a race between them and the First Order to the artefact. She mulled over the possibility that they would have to fight as soon as they exited hyperspace.

    Commander Connix came up to her looking sheepish, “Sir…” she hesitated before continuing, “I just wanted to say something…”
    Holdo could see that Connix was steeling herself.
    Connix continued, “I… served under Leia. She led us through terrible dangers and came out the other end battered and bruised but still alive, and then…” she looked down, “then… we lost her on Naboo.”
    Holdo could see that Connix was becoming emotional at the memory. She felt a terrible sadness at what happened too…
    “I didn’t think we would see the likes of her again,” Connix said, her voice beginning to shake.
    “It’s OK Connix…” she said.
    “It’s just…” Connix was trying to find the words, “I just wanted to say that most of us probably wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. You were quick and decisive in evacuating the Var II base. You stepped into her shoes and you proved yourself.”
    Holdo felt touched. Until now she wasn’t at all sure how her new command was being received. She then became acutely aware of the fact that everybody on the bridge was looking at her.
    Connix looked around the room and smiled back at her, “We believe in you. All of us… and we know that the Resistance has the best leader possible. We all wanted to say thank you. We will fight for you and die for you if necessary!”
    A few people on the bridge started clapping, within seconds everybody was on their feet clapping and cheering loudly!
    Holdo looked around and her eyes were moist. She clapped back at all their efforts and was reminded that they had dedicated their lives to the Resistance. This was their rallying cry and they were in it together.


    Maz had pulled up a chair that she had fished out of the piles of things crowding the room. She pulled it up alongside the Whill and sat down beside her. She looked around the room.
    Whills are such hoarders… she mused. One of the many bad habits I picked up from them. I imagine there are many other rooms like this… still… they don’t just hoard things, they hoard knowledge and wisdom as well…
    Maz was waiting… she had finally worked out how to deactivate the stasis field. The time had come she knew to get some answers.
    As she sat, the stasis field fluctuated and then disappeared. She looked down at the Whill expectantly. As she did so, the Whill’s eyes flickered and opened. Her eyes were bright blue and Maz marvelled at her beauty.
    Indeed they are one of the most beautiful species… she thought.
    The Whill’s eyes searched unfocussed and then saw Maz. She frowned and then smiled. And then she spoke…
    “Antà chídãisha a hàon ka?” said the Whill.
    “No,” said Maz, “no I’m not.”
    Maz wondered at what a ‘chídãisha’ was, but she knew that she wasn’t one. She’d never heard the units of meaning used in that combination before. Then something occurred to her… surely not…
    The Whill frowned again and Maz remembered herself. She repeated the words in the Whill’s language.
    “(May I ask),” began Maz, “(What is your name?)”
    Maz suddenly realised that her knowledge of the language of the Whills was rusty. Her mastery of the tones was off and she repeated the question, this time remembering that the tones were just as important as the pronunciation.
    “Ayãla yān is anàm dõm,” said the Whill.
    “(Ayãla is a nice name)” said Maz, “(My name is Mazu),” she said, remembering to adapt her name to a language that had no ‘-z’ sound at the end of words.
    “(May I ask, why are you here?)” Maz asked.
    The Whills smile disappeared, “Is chúfàn õ da.”
    Maz knew that word… ‘chúfàn’. It meant ‘prisoner’.
    Then you’re not here out of choice… Maz thought, and where’s the other one?
    She looked at the empty slab across from Ayãla.
    She reached out to Luke and found him… he was injured… but he heard her call. She wondered how he had received his injuries and if the threat still remained. She suspected it wasn’t Snoke… he was still at large.
    Maz knew that Luke needed to know everything. He would come…

    No secrets… Maz had lived by that philosophy for centuries. Now the biggest secrets of all were being delved into, and despite her long centuries, Maz wasn’t sure she liked the thought of finding out. She returned her attention to Ayãla and the conversation began in earnest.
     
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  23. Chyntuck

    Chyntuck Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Jul 11, 2014
    Wow, you made up a language for this? My guess is that you went off Vietnamese or Chinese, am I getting this right? (By the way, if you want to write up your worldbuilding notes, the Fanon Thread is the place to do it.)

    Now, about the chapter itself. Many revelations packed here about the nature of the Force and the Whills: the light/dark dichotomy shouldn't exist and the Whills are prisoners... of whom? Or rather, to be precise, this specific Whill – I'm guessing the others are the skeletons that Luke ran into a few chapters ago; and then there's that empty sarcophagus which could be... Snoke's?

    I can't wait to see where this will go – and I'm very worried for Ben now that Rey can't see him in the future and that Snoke is on his way[face_nail_biting] (not to mention the Knights of Ren who are still on the loose!)
     
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  24. CairnsTony

    CairnsTony Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    May 7, 2014
    Thank you! And thank you for the link. What I think I'll do is post it here initially and if it gets noises of encouragement, I'll post it in the Fanon thread.

    I made up the language on the hoof as I wrote it. The grammar is based primarily off Irish as is some of the vocabulary. There are, as you correctly guessed, words from Mandarin Chinese and grammatical concepts from Japanese. I also borrowed the four tones from Mandarin. A few words are entirely made up for reasons that I will reveal right at the end (it's a massive spoiler... ;) ).

    All of this will be explained in an upcoming chapter, very soon.

    Ben has a pivotal role to play yet... stay tuned...

    And yes... there is still Snoke and the KOR to deal with, however forthcoming revelations will bring a new urgency to proceedings, plus the Resistance fleet is about to join the party. ;)
     
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  25. AzureAngel2

    AzureAngel2 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Jun 14, 2005
    Wow, not only are you a fabulous story teller you are also a unique mixer of words as the language of the Whills proves. (And I thought for some seconds that it would be Irish Gaelic or another Gaelic language.)
     
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