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

Thank you so much! I just fell back on what I knew and threw it together!

Darth_Drachonus here you go.

I'm posting this a bit early because I know I won't have time tomorrow.


The Resistance Fleet and their allies are in a desperate fight for survival... Ayãla tells a story.... and Breha finds out who she truly is...

FORTY SEVEN.​

Holdo took her seat. As soon as the fleet came out of hyperspace, battle command would immediately revert to Admiral Ackbar. The moment had arrived. Holdo watched out of the forward viewport as hyperspace resolved into… an enormous object filling space in front of them. She listened to Ackbar.
“All craft report in,” he said.
She heard numerous call designations in quick succession and Ackbar continued.
“The shield is still up. We cannot attack the Artefact until that shield comes down! But we have identified another target.” he said.
Indeed we have… thought Holdo and it was rapidly growing in their viewscreen off to the right of the Artefact.
“That’s Snoke’s personal command ship!” said Ackbar, “It appears to be the only enemy ship here. Without the rest of the First Order fleet, we have an opportunity to hit it with everything we’ve got.”
Holdo agreed… this was a chance they couldn’t let go.
The entire fleet changed trajectory and went for the command ship and as they got closer it grew and grew in their viewport.
They weren’t kidding when they said this thing was big… Holdo knew that even with the combined resources of the fleet and its allies, they had their work cut out.
“We will soon be in range of their turbolasers. Shields at maximum!” Ackbar said.
Holdo could make out the Millennium Falcon in the distance. It was spearheading the attack with the rest of Black Squadron, and suddenly she was reminded of the absence of Poe…

Her thoughts were interrupted by sudden loud chatter over the com. Several voices were speaking at once.
“Watch out for heavy fire to your left Black Six…”
“Tie fighter squadrons dead ahead. Engage in a one to one!”
“Target the sensor array Red Squadron…”
“Enemy missiles coming in!”
Holdo watched as laser fire lanced across space in every direction. The battle was heating up, and now the capital ships were moving in for broadsides on the command ship. Soon they would be in the thick of it.
May the Force be with us all… she thought.


Lando swung the Falcon hard to port and did a complete roll, slipping the ship between two tie fighter squadrons coming their way. He knew that some of them would come around and already he could hear Zeb firing at them from the turret.
“Maximum power on those rear shields Chewie,” he said, “If we can get to those communications towers we might be able to knock out their sensor array.”
Lando rolled the Falcon hard to starboard to avoid incoming laser fire and then again hard to port. He was weaving a path through some heavy fire. Suddenly the ship took a hit to its underside and Lando had to take further evasive action to prevent the turbolaser turret on the command ship from hitting them again. A few seconds later and they were above its range. The sensor array was directly ahead.
“Now Chewie!” he yelled.
Two concussion missiles flew ahead of them, straight at the sensor array, and bounced harmlessly off its shields before exploding.
“Those shields are too strong! We need the combined firepower of several ships up here!”
Lando looked up to see members of blue squadron in furious combat with tie fighters and pulled the Falcon up to head in their direction.
Chewie growled a question.
“We’re here now, so we may as well help!” Lando said, and besides they clearly need it,” he said as he saw two X-Wings destroyed in quick succession.
Lando could see this was going to be a battle of attrition. Just as well the entire fleet was here as they were going to need every ship they had…

FORTY EIGHT.​

Luke turned to the others, “We’re almost there,” he said. And in less than a minute they entered a chamber crowded with objects of every description. In the centre of the chamber he could see Maz and with her, a tall, elegant pale-skinned alien with large blue eyes sitting together. The group filed along a path between the clutter and arrived at their position.
Maz looked at them with satisfaction.
“You are all here,” she said looking around, “That is good to see! And Ben…” she set eyes on him and then got up and walked over, “Good to see you…” she said, “Indeed this is wonderful!”
Ben looked awkward, but his attention was being drawn by the Whill. Luke knew why… it was the same reason that he looked at her with curiosity. Breha and Rose were doing the same, and Luke could see worry on their faces.
Luke’s eyes were on Ayãla. She was looking at the new arrivals with keen interest. The smile never left her face.
“Antà do fēngyú ka?” said Ayãla.
“(Yes they are)” said Maz in reply.
She turned to the others, “She asked if you are friends,” Maz said, “And naturally I said yes! This is Ayãla by the way,” she said by way of introduction.
Maz could see the looks on some faces and turned to them.
“Yes she’s the same species as Snoke,” she confirmed, “But don’t worry, she’s nothing like him; quite the opposite in fact.”
“Is she what I’m thinking she is?” asked Luke.
“She’s a Whill,” Maz said, “I thought her species were extinct! Until now…”
Breha spoke up, “The First Temple had Whills! They occupied a spirit state, inhabiting living and inanimate objects. I had no idea they could even be real beings!”
“They were all like Ayãla at one time,” Maz said, “But that’s a story for another time…”
Maz looked at Ayãla and translated what she had said. Ayãla appeared surprised in her reaction. She spoke again; Maz translated.
“We had been talking for some time before you arrived,” Maz began, “She states she doesn’t have much time left and needs to tell us everything.”
“Understood,” said Luke.
Everybody improvised seats from surrounding clutter. Luke ended up sitting on the floor and politely refused seats offered to him. He preferred the floor he told them.

Ayãla began speaking and Maz translated:
“Our species is very old. We have been in this galaxy for longer than many. During that time we learned of the Force and before long we were all naturally attuned to it. We learned many of its secrets and so we desired to share what we had learned with others.”

“We created an order and in its earliest days we came together in one place to worship the Force and teach its wisdom to others. We called this place The Hearth and gathered disciples to us.”
The Hearth…. thought Luke… Ahch-to!
“Once they had sufficient knowledge and wisdom they would be inducted into many of the secrets of the Wellspring. There they would gain new enlightenment into the true nature of the Force.
One day two disciples arrived whose names were Talian and Zana. They were brother and sister. At first they accepted our teachings but before long they began to create disharmony amongst the Walkers of the Sky, for that was our name.”

Luke’s eyes widened in shock! Connections were forming in his mind…

Maz continued translating, “They disagreed with many of our tenets. They did not display aggression for fear of losing their connection with the Force, but instead calmly questioned our approach, openly stating they could do better. Before long they formed a splinter group and left the Hearth.”
Luke had a pretty good idea of where this was heading…
“They travelled far and wide but could not settle in one place. They quickly discovered that there were no other Wellsprings in the galaxy, and in their arrogance they decided to make one: This place. They constructed it so as to concentrate the Force in one place in the hope of opening another Wellspring into the Force, but they failed. Then they did a truly terrible thing: they returned to the Hearth and lured two Whills, myself and my life partner Xalas to this place. They treated us well, explaining that they wanted our help to create their own sect here on this construct. They brought our possessions, of which there were many, to this place to make us feel more at home. But they deceived us and we were imprisoned in this place using stasis fields. Then they reconfigured this construct to feed off our life energies.
They knew that if they were able to open our minds sufficiently then the Wellspring would form. This time they succeeded. Then we learned of their terrible plans. They had created a Force nexus at the apex of the Wellspring. They intended to use the Wellspring to focus the power of the Force using their own minds as conduits. However, due to their dark intentions, they had lost their connection to the Force, and so they joined us directly to the apex to use us by proxy. We would provide the Force connection, but they would be in control of it.
They didn’t reckon on us fighting back however…”

Ayãla stopped speaking. She stared at the floor, apparently weary of this knowledge. She looked at Maz in appeal.
Maz spoke to her and was clearly trying to soothe her and after a minute or so Ayãla continued her story…

“They wanted to use the power of the Wellspring to enslave the galaxy! They kidnapped numerous beings from around this galaxy with the intention to form a slave workforce, and brought here every tool and weapon they could gather so that their slaves could live out their lives on this construct in service to them, providing them with every comfort.”
Those hibernation pods… thought Luke.
“We couldn’t allow this to happen! As they activated the artefact from the apex we fought back and overloaded their minds. It destroyed them but it did far worse… it opened a schism in the Force which fed back to our minds. This feedback caused the positive Force to enter me, and the negative Force to enter Xalas. It drove him mad. In his rage and madness, he broke free of his restraint.”

The Walkers of the Sky sensed that the Force had corrupted and came here to find the source. They encountered Xalas and he fought them with terrible Dark powers. Many died, but he was eventually overpowered. They took him far away and buried him in a secure place in stasis. They knew if he died than so would I. We were inextricably bound. They feared also that if this happened they would lose their connection to the Force.”
All the pieces are falling into place… thought Luke.
“This Wellspring is an abomination. It has become a repository for the souls of Dark side users; a place for them to suffer in torment for eternity. They cannot know peace so long as it exists. But I fear another’s return; and return he has. I modified the energy shield to try and keep him out. Despite the torment of those souls I had to wait, a prisoner of the Wellspring, until the time was right. Until the First Walker of the Sky returned. Now and only now can the schism be healed.”

Ayãla looked around the room and addressed them all. Maz translated.

“Which of you is the first Walker of the Sky?”
Everybody looked around at each person in turn except Maz and Luke. They were both looking at Breha.
Luke chose to speak, “Breha is the first…” he said, gesturing at Breha, “I know this to be true. The First Temple Wellspring accepted her completely.”
Maz translated for Ayãla.
She fixed her eyes on Breha and smiled. Luke studied Breha’s face. He could see that she was struggling to accept this revelation.
Ayãla spoke again and Maz translated once more.
“You must heal the schism; you must drive back the darkness; you must save the galaxy.”
Fate has chosen you… he thought, and now your true temptation is at hand…

FORTY NINE.​

Holdo watched the battle.
We’re losing… this was her only thought.
The command ship was a formidable adversary. Its strange armour seemed to absorb laser fire on the rare occasions a ship managed to penetrate its shields. Legions of tie fighters had poured out of its hangars; they were slowly but surely increasing the odds in their favour.
She looked back down at the technical readouts that were pouring in. One in particular had not changed since the start of the battle; the shields surrounding the artefact were still intact. She looked back out of the viewport, this time at the artefact.
Where are you Luke… she thought. We need you.
If only someone could just grab that ship and hurl it into the artefact, everything would change. We need a miracle… she thought.


“You’ve got another one on your tail!” Yelled Lando on his intercom as he wove his way between heavy fire on one side and an incoming squadron of ties on the other.
The Falcon took another hit. Chewie roared.
“I know! Rear shields are starting to fail!” Lando said in agitation, “We can’t keep this up much longer!”
Lando pulled the ship up hard to avoid a collision with a Resistance capital ship that was hurling itself into the fray. Everything was being thrown at the command ship right now.


Paige ducked and wove Black Two through a maelstrom of laser fire. Her wing pilot had just detonated under heavy fire and exploded. She was alone. She juked hard to starboard to avoid missiles coming her way. They came back around, tracking her. She pressed hard for the edge of the shields of the command ship and pulled up at the last second; a move that most pilots would never be able to do. The missiles detonated against the shields.
She yanked the joystick back to bring her ship around and almost immediately nailed another tie fighter with a single shot. She flew through the resultant explosion as debris bounced off her shields. Suddenly she found herself in clear space and dead ahead was the artefact. A single thought entered her head…

Rose is there… I can feel it…

 

Mind.....Blown!! This is awesome!

 

Thank you so much!

 

Oh I love this! I love the climatic space battle, I love the fact that Snoke turns out to be a fallen angel of sorts and I love the idea that Rey is heir to the power of the Whills. She's going to have to confront Snoke now!

Are you planning to explain in this story how Snoke escaped the "prison" he had been put in? If not it could make for a great one-shot.

Another bit I find interesting is that Paige can sense Rose. More Force-sensitive siblings, eh? Snoke doesn't stand a chance

Lastly, a little nugget that I thought was very heart-warming: the fact that Maz recognises Ben as Ben, not Kylo. She truly is a compassionate person!

 

Thank you!

I can't comment on this bit other than to say... keep reading.

I mentioned earlier in the story that Palpatine found him. I left it up to the imagination of the reader as to how he freed him, but then as you say, it could make for an interesting little spin off.

Yes Paige is FS. I put this in here because I liked the irony that Snoke's first big mistake was letting Rose go. All he needed was FS siblings to help him gain access to the Artefact. Two untrained FS sisters would have been highly malleable to Snoke's suggestions and probably much easier to control than Breha and Ben.

Yes. You don't live for centuries without developing emotional intelligence. It is every bit as important as IQ because it demonstrates an ability to show measured, appropriate responses to others, as well as good self-awareness. Likewise Luke demonstrated this when meeting Ben once more; despite everything that had happened. A lack of emotional intelligence would have seen a desire for revenge or bitterness and anger.

 

Darth_Drachonus here you go!

We're getting fairly close to the end folks...

Fate finally catches up with everyone in the Wellspring...

FIFTY.​

Breha was listening to the animated conversation taking place.
“We all have to leave now! There is nothing more we can do!” Maz was remonstrating with Poe.
“So long as there’s a fight to be had here, I’m not leaving!” Poe said back, waving his arms to emphasise his point.
“We want to help!” said Rose, “Together we can beat him!”
“If I may…” Luke interjected, “Breha and Ben have a job to do. We cannot change that. You all need to leave as Maz says. I will deal with Snoke.”
“Alone? Against that monster?” said Rose, “Master Skywalker… I have the Force, I can…”
“You are untrained…” Luke said, “He would cut you down in moments. He is too powerful!”

Breha was aware of Finn stealing furtive looks at her. He could do his best to hide his true feelings and intentions, but his emotions betrayed him. It took a will of effort for Breha not to look at him.
I can’t… she thought. I can’t do that him…
Her attention was brought back to the conversation taking place.
“If we keep on bickering about the best course of action then we are all going to die!” Maz said, “He is almost here and that way,” she pointed to a side corridor, “Is our only chance of escape!”
Breha knew that Maz was a pragmatist at heart. She understood odds very well, and even though she was brave, she hadn’t lived all these centuries running fool’s errands.
She knew in no uncertain terms that they stood no chance against Snoke. She wondered if others understood that implication… the real reason Luke went to face him alone…
Breha knew she had to speak out, “Everyone please!” she said loudly.
Poe was about to yell back at Maz but stopped at her voice.

“Maz is right…” she looked at the diminutive alien who was now looking back expectantly, “This is the only course of action that we can take, and we need to do it now!”
“She’s right…” Finn looked at the floor, his voice flat. He then looked up at her face and Breha could feel that look in the core of her very being.
“Let’s move out… now!” he said, and went to grab his blaster rifle.
Breha could see the others were now resigned to this course of action and they gathered themselves for departure.
“Go!” Breha said, “What are you waiting for?!”
They were out of time. Everybody knew this…
Poe nodded wordlessly at her and moved towards the corridor; Rose wished her a silent good luck that Breha could read all to well. She hurried after Poe with BB-8 alongside.
“Alãya will meet whatever fate hands her…” Maz said to Breha, “She has chosen.” She glanced at the Whill with a look of great sadness.
She turned and hurried after the others as fast as her short legs would allow her.
Luke came up to her, “I know you can do this…” he said, “And you will choose wisely…”
Breha was about to ask what he meant, but he was already hurrying towards the other exit. She watched his retreating back knowing what he was about to do. A single tear rolled down her cheek.
It can’t end like this…
Ben was waiting by the third exit. She turned to run and realised that Finn was still with her.
Her silent enquiring plea was answered immediately.
“I’m coming with you…” he said as she hurried towards the exit with Finn alongside her. She could see the look of exasperation on Ben’s face. He shook his head and hurried off down the corridor.
Breha and Finn were alone.

Breha stopped in the entrance to the corridor and faced him.
“You… can’t,” she said, “You’ll die! We have to do it this way Finn… we have no choice…”
“No… I” Finn began.
Without warning Breha grabbed him and pulled him to her. The kiss was hot, deep and passionate as she held him close; her right hand caressing the side of his face. She had finally given in… if only for a few seconds. She opened her eyes as Finn slowly opened his and pushed him away. Before he could react to this equally sudden change, she spoke.
“I love you!” she said and with a wave of her hand dropped the blast door down that separated the room from the corridor. More tears arrived and she gulped, took a deep breath, turned and ran as fast as her legs would carry her.

FIFTY ONE.​

​

Luke moved rapidly down the corridor. He continued through a large rectangular room full of ancient machinery without slowing his pace before entering the corridor opposite. He passed several intersecting corridors without deviating from his course.
Luke knew what was at stake; that Breha and Ben had a job to do and Snoke must not be allowed to stop them. That was where he came in…

Luke slowed his pace to a walk and entered a large circular chamber. The Dark Side was strong here. He could feel it like a heavy blanket smothering everything in the chamber; thickening the air. It took him only a moment to see why…
Above him he could see a terrible sight: Suspended in the very centre of the room was a huge, black sphere with patterns swirling on its surface. It appeared to be sucking the very light in from around it and reflecting none. Luke could tell that it was a manifestation of pure concentrated Dark side energy. Every now and then he could see a face come to the surface as if trying to escape. Each and every face he saw had the same expression of torment and suffering. Luke knew at once that the souls of every Dark Sider who had ever lived remained trapped here; he could sense them. The schism in the Force had seen to that… Despite all his years of deep Force knowledge, Luke shuddered and felt cold. As he approached the centre of the room, he could feel his feet becoming heavier with every step and his breathing became laboured. He gathered the Light side around him and pushed on.
Looking away from the sphere he returned his focus to the far end of the room and walked slowly around the sphere entering a short corridor beyond. No sooner did he do so then his walking became easier once more and his breathing returned to normal, but the Dark Side continued to hang thickly around him. This was not due to the sphere however, this Luke knew.

After less than a minute he came out onto a wide balcony several metres wide. The balcony hung off the edge of a vast chasm hundreds of metres wide which it encircled. Luke could see several other exits from the balcony dotted at regular interviews around the circumference. As he stood looking around, the lights in the chamber started to go out and were gradually being replaced by red lights that came on in sequence around the walls. Soon Luke found himself bathed in an eerie blood red light. The chamber was adapting itself to another…
From the exit immediately to Luke’s right about thirty metres away appeared that other: Snoke.
Luke turned to face him.

“Luke… Skywalker…” Snoke said slowly.
Luke pulled out his lightsabre and ignited it.
In response, Snoke produced a curved handle from which grew a blade of black fire, which crackled loudly.
Even his weapon is an abomination… thought Luke.
They rushed towards each other and their blades clashed. Luke noted as this happened, tendrils creeping out of the blade towards him. It was like a living thing that groped towards his very soul. He pulled away rapidly. Snoke rushed him and again their blades clashed. Faster and faster they moved until their weapons were a blur, each looking for an opening. They locked blades once more and one of the tendrils made the briefest of contact with Luke’s left wrist. It was like ice and it travelled into his hand causing a numbness. It started to spread into his arm. Luke pulled away from Snoke and somersaulted backwards. He concentrated on his arm, trying to force the sensation away. It slowed but it didn’t stop.
“The Wellspring is mine,” Snoke said, full of menace.
Luke couldn’t feel his left arm at all now, “No…” he said, “It ends here… it ends now.”
Luke gathered the Force around him and leaped forward. Their blades clashed furiously once more and this time Luke was slowly pushing him back. As he struck repeatedly at Snoke, he finally got past his guard and cleaved Snoke’s darksabre at the base, causing it to sputter out. The weapon fell from Snoke’s hand and rolled across the balcony before tumbling into the abyss. Snoke raised his hands just as Luke had poised to strike. One by one, panels started ripping off the walls of the chamber and flying at Luke. Luke ducked one, then two, but a third caught him on his left shoulder just as it started to go numb.
The cold was reaching slowly into his body. Luke could feel his strength ebbing. He fell to his knee just as Snoke unleashed Force lightning at him. Luke was thrown back and landed on the edge of the abyss. He rolled away from it and raised his lightsabre to deflect the lightning away. As he did so he got slowly to his feet and gathered his strength through the Force. With one hand he held the lightsabre and with the other he Force shoved Snoke backwards. Snoke bounced hard off the wall leaving a deep impression and was stunned. He fell to the floor. Luke, keeping his lightsabre raised moved towards him. As he did so, Snoke looked up and past Luke.

Luke hesitated. He could sense the arrival of another. Without turning around, he knew who it was.
“A Xālàsǝ…” she said, “Tá anõsi díom…”
Luke could hear her sadness and knew the meaning. She was pleading with him to come back to the light. With the same sadness, he knew what Snoke’s response would be…
Snoke looked at her and said, “H’Alãya…”
Luke watched as Snoke shook his head briefly before his face twisted into a sneer. He raised his hands and Alãya was lifted off the ground. She did nothing to resist as Snoke began to choke the life out of her. Luke looked at her resigned face and saw tears in her beautiful blue eyes.
Luke could feel the cold creeping towards his heart and saw only one option… he hurled himself at Snoke with the last of his strength and held on tight. Their momentum carried them over the edge and they fell.
Snoke was twisting his body every which way to try and release himself from Luke’s grip. He then seized Luke around his chest and poured lightning into him, but still Luke would not release him.
Luke remembered Obi Wan and Yoda… Owen and Beru… his father… his sister Leia… and her daughter…Breha…
It is time for the Jedi to end… he thought. She will rise from the ashes…
The reactor core rushed up to meet them.


Alãya picked herself slowly up and looked down into the abyss. Her life partner was gone… she had only one option left as per her age old custom and she closed her eyes.
The shield… she said to herself.
It was done… and she knew that soon she would join the rest of them and her spirit would finally be free. The thought made her happy and she smiled one last time as the Song of the Whills filled her senses.

FIFTY TWO.​

The First Order were driving them back and General Holdo knew that the moment would come soon when she would have to order a retreat. Her heart was heavy with the weight of failure. After all the cheers and bravado before they had leaped into the fray… and what fate would befall the galaxy?

Her thought processes were interrupted by Dex.
“I don’t believe it…” he said off to her left. He turned to face her, “General! The shield on the artefact. It’s down!”
No sooner did he say this then her com came to life.
“The shield is down!” Ackbar said, “All craft, the shield is down! We have a new target! Hit the artefact with everything you’ve got!”
Holdo watched as ships disengaged with the Command Ship and as one headed for the Artefact. They knew that the shield was its only weapon. It was completely defenceless.
Luke… she said to herself. You did it… May the Force be with you!

Fighters, Capital ships and miscellaneous allied craft spread out to fire on the artefact. Already explosions were blossoming on its surface. Chunks of surface plating floated off into space.
Whatever it was made of Holdo thought, it was no match for modern weapons technology. Only the Force protected it.
The Force… Holdo knew that anybody on the artefact was now at their mercy. Their time was up. Holdo knew it could come to this, but it didn’t make it any easier knowing.

​

​

 

Stunning, simply stunning and it shows the best & the worst of human nature. The temptation, the loss of paradise, the betrayal and the sacrifice! All has happened before and all will happen again.

 

Thank you so much!

I tried to write this bit differently so that Breha and Ben also encountered Snoke at this point but I just couldn't get it to work, especially since I really wanted Rey and Finn to have that little moment together... I kept it simple in the end.

 

My heart! So many emotions!

I’m so happy you made Finn and Rey have that moment. They’re by far my favorite pairing. <3

And Luke!!! What an epic end for his character. I really, really don’t want him to die in the films, but if he has to, I hope it’s with a bang like this.

I can’t wait for the next part! I’m nervous about Ben and Breha now...

 

Thank you so much!

To me it was always going to be Breha/Rey and Finn. I never had any doubts about this and considering that Daisy and John are close friends in real life, the chemistry would be amazing!

I never find it easy to kill off any character, but I always wanted real stakes in this story. If it breaks my heart to do it but it makes sense for the story then I can be confident that it will resonate with others.

If I had to guess... I think Luke dies in TLJ, though it will kill me inside to see it. As you say, if it happens in the movies, here's hoping he goes down like a boss!

I think four more postings will do it; and then you will have the whole story.

Nobody is safe.

 

Darth_Drachonus it's that time again!

Our heroes race towards their fates... time is up... a familiar face from the past returns to finish what he started...

FIFTY THREE.​

Finn finally caught up with the others just as they were taking up position to fire on some figures approaching from the other direction.
“The Knights of Ren…” said Maz angrily, “Those monsters…”
Poe had taken up a kneeling position behind a pillar and was returning fire. Even Maz was returning fire with a small hold out blaster that he didn’t even know she possessed.
“Sorry I’m late to the party!” he said as he ducked to avoid a plasma bolt that narrowly missed his head, and he took up position behind another pillar. A knight went down with a shot to the chest from Maz. Finn was impressed! She handled a blaster like a pro but then he imagined in her long life she would have had plenty of time to practice.
A piece of the pillar exploded just above Finn’s head. Despite one going down, they were intensifying their weapons fire.
“They’re going to rush us!” said Rose.
Finn looked across to where she was crouched low behind the same pillar as Poe. He didn’t need to ask how she knew. He got off two shots in quick succession but was forced back behind the pillar under sustained heavy fire. He could see Poe in a similar predicament.
We’re pinned down… thought Finn, and there are more of them than us. Rose is right…
He looked across to where she was crouched and saw her stand up close her eyes and draw her sword.
Oh no… he thought.
Before he could say a word, Rose stepped out from behind the pillar and charged forward. Finn saw her deflect one then another plasma bolt straight back at their opponents, dropping them both. Suddenly the others had an opening and three more dropped under fire from their combined efforts. There was only one left. Rose raised her sword but she wasn’t quick enough. The remaining Knight hit her in the chest from close range with a plasma bolt and she was spun around by the impact. She collapsed to the ground.
“Nooo!” Finn yelled and he opened up on the Knight blasting him several times with his rifle. They ran forward to where Rose lay still.
“It looks bad…” said Poe.
“She’s alive…” said Maz, “but we need to get her back to the Mirrorbright as quickly as possible. These plasma weapons are particularly deadly. Even a healing trance may not be enough…”
Suddenly the floor under their feet shook and Finn had to put a hand against the wall to steady himself.
They all looked at each in surprise.
“The shield’s down!” said Poe, “We need to get off this thing as soon as possible! The fleet will rip through it in no time!”
Finn took it upon himself to lift Rose and carry her. They hurried on. Now all they could do was run as fast as possible. Their lives depended on it.
Don’t die Rose… thought Finn as they ran. You just saved us… don’t die….

FIFTY FOUR.​

Breha and Ben ran along a corridor that curved around to their right. As they did so, the corridor gradually rose towards the very apex of the Wellspring. With each full revolution the curves of the corridor got tighter. They knew they were near the top.

Breha filled herself with the Force as she ran. She could feel Ben doing the same. They needed to pour every last bit of their strength into running. Fatigue was simply not an option. Every now and then they could feel impacts from the Resistance fleet as their weaponry hewed ever larger chunks off the Wellspring. The whole structure was destabilising Breha knew…

The First Order fleet were still out there and that planet destroying weapon would still ensure their victory, even with Snoke dead… at least she could take a grim satisfaction in knowing that Luke had succeeded even though she knew the cost. It chewed away at her heart to know that her Master was gone… she didn’t know if she was ready, even though he told her she was. She had to make a choice and the thought frightened her!

She wondered at why Talian and Zana had designed the top of the Wellspring with such a ridiculously lengthy approach. Columns of levitating light would surely have been better. She imagined it was something of an initiation to access the apex to show that one had earned the right to be here. To Breha the notion seemed faintly ridiculous. There was nothing humble about this construct; it was the very epitome of arrogance. These two saw themselves as literally at the apex of the Wellspring as well as the apex of the galaxy.

As she had this thought, the corridor suddenly straightened out for several metres. At the end of it she could see an energy field guarding the entrance to a small chamber.
“It’s to keep out everyone but us,” Ben said, “I’m sure of it!”
He stepped forward, and passed through easily. Breha joined him.
She bent over to recover her breath. As she did so she looked around the room. It was perfectly square and devoid of anything other than a golden column of light that stretched up into the ceiling.
As she wondered what was above them, an image started to form in her mind. Not just an image… a memory! She thought all her memories had returned, and yet here was one more that only now surfaced. The timing was odd and yet…

She was very young, around four years of age. She remembered lying in bed at night. She remembered opening her eyes and there was Snoke leaning over the bed staring at her. She remembered becoming very frightened and him leaning closer. Then he said something to her and she screamed! She remembered Ben running into the room moments later and Snoke disappearing before her eyes.
“Ben…” she said, now fully recovered from their run, “It’s Snoke… I suddenly remember something…. something he said to me when I was very young!”
Ben looked at her with concern, “I remember… he came to our home! I found him in your bedroom. He could astrally project himself with Dark magic. It was if he was really in front of you, but it was only an apparition.”
“An apparition…” Breha said, “He seemed so real…”
“It was real enough,” Ben said, “I saw him many times when I was young.”
“You never told me this before….” Breha said.
She realised that there was still so much they didn’t know about each other. It explained so much about Ben’s troubled youth.
“What did he say to you Breha?” Ben asked.
Breha looked at him, “The Vergence will guide you at the Wellspring.”
“Vergence…” Ben looked thoughtful.
Breha suddenly noticed something behind Ben. A ball of light had appeared and was growing. The last time Breha had been this close to the source of the Wellspring a similar thing had happened. Now Ben had turned to see the light as it grew, much larger this time than the one that became Yoda. This one resolved into a human male.
Breha could tell from Ben’s reaction that he knew who it was. He looked away as if in shame.
He looked at them both and spoke.
“Greetings,” he said, “I am Anakin Skyalker.”
Breha’s mouth fell open. She was lost for words…

FIFTY FIVE.​

Finn could see the hangar up ahead as he ran. The corridor they were in led directly to it. It was lucky for him he thought that Rose was light and he was able to keep up with the others, but he dreaded to think what this had cost her. She was gravely injured and running with her in his arms probably wasn’t doing her a great deal of good. They were so close…

Suddenly a huge explosion rocked the hangar and Finn was thrown backwards. Rose landed on top of him. Dust filled the air and for several seconds Finn couldn’t see. It started to fill his mouth and nose as he struggled to breathe. His ears were ringing and his head pounded from where he’d collided with the floor and he knew he probably had a concussion. As he struggled to his feet he felt dizzy and realised that he was having trouble focussing. He picked Rose up and staggered forward.
Maz appeared out of the dust and called to him, “Are you alright!” she yelled, “It’s Poe! He’s injured!”
Finn entered the hangar to see debris everywhere. He suddenly saw Poe lying on the ground.
“He’s unconscious! We need to get him to the Mirrorbright!”
“We need a pilot!” Finn yelled back.
“We’ve got one!” yelled Maz pointing to her chest.
BB-8 had extended his gripping arm sideways and with surprising strength was managing to pull Poe along the floor of the hangar. Maz raced off to the ship and up the boarding ramp. Another explosion rocked the hangar and again Finn fell.
He could hear the engines of the Mirrorbright come to life. Then he realised they had another problem. The decking under his feet was starting to break up. Suddenly a massive crack opened and the whole deck split apart. It grew rapidly into a chasm between them and the ship and BB-8 narrowly avoided tumbling over the edge.
Finn watched as the Mirrorbright took off and turned through ninety degrees and flew toward them. Within seconds Maz had manoeuvred the ship over the chasm and lowered the boarding ramp invitingly right in front of them. Finn ran with the last of his strength up the ramp and placed Rose as gently as possible just inside the doorway and then he turned to help BB-8 with Poe.
Just as they hauled him over the threshold of the doorway, the decking below the ship gave away entirely. Maz was quick to respond and lifted the ship above the decking just in time.
“Let’s go!” Finn yelled forward as he raised the boarding ramp and sealed the hatch.
“It’s about to get a little rough!” Maz yelled back, “The entire hangar is collapsing around us!”
As he did his best to tend to Rose and Poe he could feel the ship swaying violently from side to side as she fought to avoid the ship’s destruction. He had to admire Maz for her skills as a pilot. Only Poe could have done a better job.
“We’re clear!” she yelled back.
Finn exhaled in relief. Now he had two injured patients to tend to. As he did so, he pushed the thought out of his mind of one who didn’t make it. He couldn’t and wouldn’t face that loss…

 

An Anakin Force ghost! Nearly missed my right bus stop. Breathtaking action.

 

Thank you!

After the next posting this Sunday, I intend to do a little vignette on Snoke's Master Plan, which will explain why he appeared to Breha when she was only four and how he knew about Anakin's role in all of this.

 

Good to know. I will keep alert.

 

Darth_Drachonus!

Breha faces her past and her future and embraces her destiny... the ultimate test...

FIFTY SIX.​

Breha had barely recovered from the shock of seeing her grandfather and then he spoke again.
“We don’t have much time,” he said, “I must guide you to your goal.”
Now Breha understood and remembered the stories of Anakin Skywalker. He was the Vergence…
“Snoke said you would…” Breha remarked.
Suddenly she felt uneasy… Luke’s words came back to her… that she would be tempted again… was this a trick? How did Snoke know?
“Why should we trust you?” Breha couldn’t believe what she was saying!
“Snoke believed that Darth Vader would guide you to do his bidding,” Anakin said, “he thought you would be guided in Darkness. He was unaware that I had returned to the light moments before my death. I am not that monster anymore Breha…”
She looked at Ben. He was almost cowering with fear in Anakin’s presence.
Of course… Breha thought. Ben hadn’t known either! This isn’t Vader… Anakin is telling the truth!
Suddenly the floor lurched under their feet.
“The Wellspring is being destroyed.” Anakin said, “you must choose now.”
“What do we have to do?” Asked Breha.
“It took both of you to access the Wellspring and both of you to access this chamber. That is the duality of the Force at work. That cannot continue… the schism must be healed. Only one of you can access the Apex, which means that one of you must stay behind. Choose wisely…”
He started to fade, “My job is done. Farewell…”
No sooner did Anakin deliver this message then he was gone.

Breha knew exactly what Anakin meant. The truth had finally hit home. And at once she knew this was a decision she could not take. She looked at Ben as he looked back. Tears filled her eyes and she shook her head. This was their last time together…
“It must be you…” Ben said, “Luke knew, Maz knew… even Snoke knew! You are the first Sky Walker!”
“No…” Breha could barely speak through her sobs, “I… won’t leave you…”
Ben’s eyes filled with tears too and he struggled to speak, “You are… pure of heart Breha you are… Mother’s… Ray of Light.”
Ben pulled her to him and they hugged and he held her shoulders regarding her with a look that said ‘I’m sorry’… and he pushed.
She was thrown into the column of light. Before she could react, she shot upwards into the ceiling.

Breha rose up out of the floor. No sooner did she do so then the hole she had emerged from disappeared and the column of light with it.
She looked down and howled with despair! “Nooo! Ben! Nooo….”
The floor under her feet shook once more and Breha looked up. Through her cloudy tear-filled vision she realised that she was quite literally in the apex of the Wellspring. She was inside a completely clear pyramid only a few metres high looking out onto the stars. In the middle of the pyramid was a glowing ball of light.

She gulped and sniffed and wiped her face as she studied it. She tried desperately to focus her mind and then she remembered Luke’s words, ‘You will choose wisely’. She needed to be strong now more than ever and she closed her eyes. She delved deep into the Force. Her breathing and heartbeat slowed and she reached forward and touched the light.

Breha suddenly felt a massive rush of energy through her body. She could feel herself growing and the floor disappeared from beneath her feet. She could see streaks of light whizz around her at tremendous speed and then they slowed and resolved into stars and planets and soon the entire galaxy spun around her as if she were at its centre. Knowledge of that galaxy poured into her head and at once she knew things beyond imagining. It was all laid out before her to do with as she saw fit and she knew that all she had to do was reach out…

The temptation was overwhelming…

‘You will choose wisely…’
I can’t…
Yes you can…
I don’t want this power…
It is yours to use…
Or abuse…
You are too wise for that…
I want to save my friends…
And so you can…

Breha hesitated, made a decision and then dived in…

Her mind rushed around the galaxy; she found that she could go anywhere she wanted, as stars and planets beyond counting passed by; she focussed her mind on one thing and then she found them. Her consciousness rushed into Star Destroyers, and other First Order ships and at once their systems shut down. In moments they were inoperable and so much space junk. She did the same to many more ships with the same result. She found herself on planets occupied by the First Order and in moments all of their military hardwear was rendered useless…
Only seconds had passed and she found herself back at the Wellspring and she could see it being pounded under the relentless assault of Resistance ships. One target was left; she saw the command ship and she pulled; immediately it moved forward heading straight for the Wellspring’s equator. She pushed Alliance ships out of its way as it came; she pulled until it ploughed into the Wellspring and right through it, and still she pulled until it impacted with the main reactor. In her final act she pushed the Alliance fleet away to a safe distance as the reactors of the ship and the Wellspring collided and detonated with the power of a small sun.

She had chosen…
She pulled back…

And then she found herself back in the pyramid. She could feel the explosion coming towards her. She closed her eyes and focussed on the transparent canopy above her. As she did so, it shattered and she was blown out into the vacuum of space.

FIFTY SEVEN.​

Finn had felt the sudden rush of movement as the Mirrorbright was pushed though space by an invisible force. Under normal circumstances he wouldn’t have been able to rationalise what had just happened, but this time he knew and he realised at once that Breha at that moment had just exercised immense power over their ship, and Maz had immediately confirmed this.
He heard the com chatter from the cockpit suggesting that it wasn’t just their ship either. She had pushed the entire fleet through space and as he looked forward he could see why, as a new sun blossomed where the Wellspring had been. The energy that had been released with the destruction of the command ship had seen to that.

Finn shielded his eyes even as the canopy of their ship darkened automatically in response. He could feel his chest tighten as he knew that Breha was on board when it exploded. His tears came freely… he didn’t care any more even as Maz watched him. He went back and checked on Rose. She was in a bacta suit and her vital signs were stabilising. The on board medical droid had saved her life; the Mirrorbright had the finest medical equipment. He checked on Poe who was still unconscious. He had been assured that he was also stable. These were two people that Finn would not be losing today. The thought gave him some comfort.

She saved us all… he thought and sacrificed herself in the process.

Maz brought the Mirrorbright into the main hangar of the Na’qal and Finn debarked. Rose and Poe were placed on anti-gravity pallets and guided past him to the ship’s medical facility. He watched them go and felt helpless to do any more for them.
He started to wander aimlessly around the hangar, wondering what to do next… as he did so he could see knots of people gathering to celebrate the destruction of the Wellspring and the Command Ship. This was indeed a major victory and they were clearly savouring the moment. Even now, more ships entered the hangar and as they did so, spilled their occupants out into the gathering crowd.
Finn felt strangely detached from the celebrations and struggled to quell the churlish desire to go off and hide in a corner somewhere. He would force a smile onto his face and try to be part of the moment, however difficult…

Finn felt the bottom of his jacket being tugged. He looked down and saw BB-8 with his gripping claw extended clearly trying to get his attention. The droid tootled something that Finn didn’t understand and started to pull him along towards the far end of the hangar. He looked up in the direction they were now moving and could see someone gesticulating to him in an animated manner. He picked up his pace and BB-8 finally released him.
As he got closer, he could see a deck officer whose face was familar but whose name escaped him calling him over to a doorway leading immediately off the main hangar.
“Thank goodness we’ve found you!” the deck officer said, “Your com was switched off!”
Finn looked down at the comlink hanging off his belt. He hadn’t even realised what he’d done; it was an unconscious gesture carried out in his moment of grief.
“Come with us please Finn,” he said as they walked rapidly towards the door, “There’s something you need to see…”
The deck officer’s excitement was evident. Finn had the morose thought that nothing in the galaxy would excite him right now.
As Finn approached the door, Maz’s face appeared from within and became animated at Finn’s arrival.
“Finn! Where have you been?” she said, her voice higher pitched than usual, “Come and see!”
Finn entered and found himself in a communications room with numerous display screens. He was led hurriedly through the room by Maz to a large communications screen at the far end. Several personnel were already gathered watching the screen. As Finn looked, he could see numerous pieces of debris drifting through space and wondered what it was he was meant to be seeing. Then his eyes focussed on one of those pieces of debris as it spun slowly. Finn realised that the debris was human in shape.
“Zoom in…” said Maz to the communications officer operating the display, “Show Finn… show Finn who it is!”
Finn kept on staring and his mind refused to acknowledge what his eyes were telling him.
“Breha…” said Finn. His voice was barely audible.
“She’s alive… but just barely…” said Maz, “I can feel it…”
As Breha’s image grew, Finn realised that she had not survived the experience intact. He saw that both of her legs ended just below the knees and her body looked battered and torn.
“The rescue ship should be there any moment,” said the communications officer.
Finn kept staring in shock at her condition and disbelief that anyone could survive the destruction of the Wellspring.
“But she’s in space… how did she…”
Maz jabbed her finger at the growing image as Breha on the viewscreen, “What do you see?” she asked; her skin had gone bright orange in her excitement.
Finn could see that Breha had a silvery coating over her body, “What is that covering her?” he asked, and then he realised and his heart did a backflip, “It’s air! She’s somehow holding air around her!”
“There is still a chance…” said Maz.
Finn looked at Maz, “Still a chance… you mean that she…”
“She is severely injured Finn,” interrupted Maz, “I cannot believe that there is still life in her.”
Finn shook his head in disbelief as he watched the rescue vessel obscure their view.
He repeated a silent plea over and over again.

Please live…

​

 

Ben’s eyes filled with tears too and he struggled to speak, “You are… pure of heart Breha you are… Mother’s… Ray of Light.”
Ben pulled her to him and they hugged and he held her shoulders regarding her with a look that said ‘I’m sorry’… and he pushed.
She was thrown into the column of light. Before she could react, she shot upwards into the ceiling.

This is the first sacrifice.

As Breha’s image grew, Finn realised that she had not survived the experience intact. He saw that both of her legs ended just below the knees and her body looked battered and torn.

This is the second one.

After this true "twin" sacrifice the Force schism should be healed. The "price" has been paid in blood like in old Maya rituals.

 

Thank you! Yes I knew the price should be high for healing the Force schism. Breha should be dead too...

Destroying the Artefact would have removed it as a threat but the schism would have remained and the endless cosmic battle of Dark and Light would have continued. The sacrifice was unavoidable.

 

If Doctor Aphra survived a little walk into space in one of her last comics, I am sure someone of the Skywalker line can do so, too.

 

Oh my freaking goodness. I go away for a week and you kill off everyone?

Okay, maybe not everyone, but still, some major deaths here. Snoke, Alãya, Luke and Ben, plus Poe and Rose gravely injured and Breha's life hanging by a thread? This is a bittersweet ending for a SW story, but the truth is that I like it this way

Going back a bit: Luke found himself facing an interesting dilemma. He knew that Snoke's death would result in Alãya's death as well, didn't she mention it in an earlier chapter? But he couldn't let him kill her for nothing, and she was clearly not willing to fight as she tried to convince him to come back to the light. I liked the description of Snoke's weapon and its effects; are there any particular sources of inspiration you used for that?

Rose fighting off the Knights of Ren was glorious. I hope she can recover from the wounds they inflicted on her. The whole running-for-our-lives scene was very well done, with Poe carrying Rose and BB-8 (squee! ) dragging Poe. Another bit that made me squee is Maz producing a holdout blaster and shooting a KoR off his feet. (Oh, and the change of her skin colour with excitement was a nice touch too!)


And Ben and Breha running into Anakin's ghost... that was a brilliant twist, together with Snoke's miscalculation of who the Solo siblings' grandfather precisely was. I'm looking forward to that little spin-off you promised! But that scene with Ben pushing Breha into the column of light was so sad. Like his grandfather, he could only reach true redemption through death.

I hope there will be a few survivors in your next post!

 

Well it is Halloween...

Seriously though... I didn't want to make this a bloodbath, but I do get a little annoyed with heroes emerging at the end of a story relatively unscathed. Considering the odds they typically face, I think they really do need to get bashed up a bit; or quite a lot... or maybe die.

Not Finn though... he's suffered enough with injury. He had a concussion when the hangar blew up, but otherwise he was relatively unharmed.

Poe was knocked out, but he isn't that seriously injured otherwise. Rose's life hung by a thread until the medical droid on the Mirrorbright stabilised her; Breha's condition?... read on...

Whills pair for life. It's not that Alãya would literally die if Snoke died, merely that it was her species' tradition to surrender their life spirit if their life partner died. Snoke didn't respect this tradition because he's evil, so he could have killed Alãya and still lived, had Luke not intervened. Luke knew that Alãya had already chosen death in effect because she knew that Snoke had to die. Her fate was effectively sealed regardless.

Snoke's weapon just came to me as I pondered how to write the fight between him and Luke. I can't think of any immediate source of inspiration tbh...

Yes, this was Rose's moment to shine; but there's more going on here... you'll find out Rose's primary motive this coming Thursday.

Snoke knew that Anakin would do this, but he did indeed miscalculate how it would pan out. I'll explain more shortly.

Ben would likely have had to stand trial had he survived. He was after all guilty of terrible crimes, irrespective of the fact that he was motivated by the Dark Side. He made bad life choices and would need to own his actions regardless of any influences internal or external. Breha may have loved her brother, but she knew, without wishing to really acknowledge it that he had already sealed his own fate.

Sacrifice is a big theme in this story as AzureAngel2 pointed out. For me at least, I wanted to use it as a sort of counterpoint to Temptation, another major theme, and show that, whilst they are typically somewhat opposite actions, they can sometimes be in an odd sense one and the same thing. Breha succumbed to temptation in the apex of the Wellspring, and sacrificed herself in the process.

This is an example of where I touch on the concept on non-duality without fully embracing it (that would be very arrogant of me), but just dipping my toe in its essence with the idea of not thinking of opposites with some sort of central balance, rather seeing things (or in this case the Force) as one thing... it just is.

There will be... I can feel it.

 

Not really Snoke's Master Plan (sorry!), but sort of his back story...

OK I started writing Snoke's Master Plan on Monday and it grew into this all consuming monster that was taking up all my day's off. I came to realise that all this stuff I had in my head was actually quite difficult to explain in a logical and sequential way. A pounding headache was only exacerbated by a couple of beers and I jacked it in... sorry!

FTR I have a lot of backstories in my head for the various characters and one for Rose almost made it into my Episode IX story. I had it written... and then deleted it because quite frankly it wasn't very interesting and it didn't really add anything to her character.

I will try and summarise (in a way that I hope isn't too confusing) what I wanted to say about Snoke. Or at least some of it:



In his captivity, Snoke had visions.... lots of them. One name kept on entering these visions.... Skywalker.

Palpatine found and released him from his stasis in the latter days of the Old Republic on Jakku. The planet's name means 'evil' in the Whill language (which I will still be doing a post on a bit later), and was so named by the Walkers of the Sky when they buried him there. His dark presence suffused the then nameless planet with the Dark Side. Other Whills and their followers shunned it from then onwards. It is a supreme irony that the Church of the Force were later drawn to the planet by the Force itself, apparently oblivious as to why.

Anyway... Snoke was in a weakened state when found, so Palpatine was able to control him to a degree. Snoke also had significant memory loss. Bear in mind that Snoke didn't need to be taught anything about the DS by Palps. Snoke was the DS embodied. Nonetheless, the relationship became something of a 'master-student' one. Snoke was good at playing this role as he needed to gather his strength, learn about Palps' own plans for power and start planning his own rise. Then Snoke heard about the discovery of Anakin Skywalker on Tatooine and he knew this was incredibly significant. Palps recognised his potential quickly and the rest is Galactic history... Snoke was content for now to bide his time... Palps was doing all the work for him at this point and drawing Anakin towards the DS.

It has been established that Snoke is a powerful telepath and can exert some degree of control over others in a way that many force sensitives cannot. 'Mind affect' tends to work only on the minds of the weak, but Snoke could exert influence beyond this. Snoke can also astrally project himself as he did with Ben and Breha (more of which later). He formulated a plan to work his influence on Anakin by astral projection and subtle mind control, but Palps had other plans...

Palpatine had discovered the Artefact. He suspected that Snoke was connected to it in some way even though he could not find any ancient texts on the matter. He suspected Snoke's true nature and why he was buried in stasis in the first place. He informed Snoke of the discovery and suggested he investigate (knowing that Snoke would not be able to resist). Up until this point Snoke had lost the knowledge of the artefact's location (other Whills had removed the knowledge from his mind millennia earlier along with other memories). What Snoke didn't know is that Palps had already ascertained with probe droids and living test subjects sent in drone ships that the Artefact would attack anyone and anything that came too close. Ayãla had seen to that; not that Palps knew this. Snoke had no idea what he was getting himself into. Upon approaching the Artefact, Snoke's ship was attacked, and Snoke was severely maimed as a result. But, unbeknownst to Palps, his proximity to the Artefact caused him to have a powerful vision as well as causing his memories to return in a rush. Snoke barely got away in his damaged ship and returned badly injured but with his mind now intact. More on his vision shortly...

Palps had hoped that Snoke would be killed by the Artefact, as he was becoming all too aware that if his memories fully returned that he would be an extreme threat to his position. Palps had miscalculated and once Snoke physically recovered from his injuries there is no question that he would have overthrown or killed Palps. Snoke quickly ascertained what Palps had tried to do and promptly disappeared. He retreated to the galactic rim allowing the Force to guide him. There he found a healer and possessed his mind. The healer got to work straight away on healing Snoke's physical injures. As you can tell by his appearance, he was less than entirely successful, but at least Snoke's strength slowly returned. In his convalescence, Snoke tried to make sense of his vision at the Artefact.

The vision showed him a succession of faces over and over again. They were Skywalkers, all of them. Some were born thousands of years earlier, others were more recent. He was puzzled by the fact that two of them appeared to be memories from the present. It occurred to Snoke in a flash that the one now known as Vader had had children! If this wasn't significant enough, he had also learned that a prophecy focussed on Vader stated that he would be the 'Guide at the Wellspring'. He knew that the now extinct Jedi had mistranslated his own language, in which the prophesy had been written. They falsely believing that Anakin would 'bring balance' to the Force. He knew that the Force could never be fully balanced in its corrupted state, and he had no desire to see Anakin do anything of the sort anyway. Seeing as Anakin was now Vader and was immersed in the DS, Snoke could only conclude that Vader would one day enable him to take control of the Artefact. The DS would finally triumph!

With his returned memories, Snoke once again had the knowledge that it took siblings to enter the Wellspring. With Vader's children, he realised that he had the means to enact his plan. In the meantime, he started gathering power and personnel around him; enslaving the minds of the weak to construct his fortress for him in a hidden location. Gradually, Snoke infiltrated Palpatine's ranks. He had already won the loyalty of some of his henchmen with demonstrations of his DS power before his abortive mission to the Artefact, and those particular individuals had remained loyal with promises of power and wealth.

Then the Battle of Endor happened. Snoke was surprised to hear of the death of Vader. Such was Snoke's conviction in the prophecy that he surmised that Vader would return as a Dark Side Force Wraith, something that could only happen where the Force was super concentrated, such as near the Wellspring. In the meantime, the Battle of Jakku happened and Snoke was in a position, with his loyal foot soldiers, to seize control of much of what was left of the Imperial Fleet. The First Order was founded, and Snoke gradually built up his forces...

Snoke's obsession with the Skywalkers continued. Even as his intelligence gathering told him that the children of Vader were still out there, he was only able to locate one of them: Leia, and only because of her prominence in the fledgling New Republic. Luke appeared to be moving around the galaxy and was proving much harder to pinpoint. He would not be able to enact his plan to use them to access the Artefact just yet.

Then Snoke learned of Leia's pregnancy. He had tried to position himself to get close to her to ascertain the significance of this. Both mother and unborn child sensed his presence and he drew away so as not to give himself away. It was too soon for him to make any bold moves. However, by doing this Snoke had discovered something remarkable... Leia was very powerful in the Force; at least as powerful as her brother. But more remarkably, her unborn son was more powerful still! Snoke knew that his conviction that the Skywalkers were important to his plans was indeed correct. Anakin, Leia and Luke, and now Leia's new born child, Ben could all be a part of his future plans. In Ben he saw raw, untamed power! A future apprentice in the making...

As Snoke gathered power to him, he also gathered artefacts. He had already recovered something from the Endor moon that would enable him to infiltrate the Skywalker family: Vader's helmet. The helmet had a Force memory; it was imbued with Dark power. Using ancient dark magic, Snoke used it as a vessel to astrally project himself. He appeared to Ben for the first time and began the steady process of gaining his trust. Snoke was careful not to frighten the young Ben and so gave the appearance of someone who still had his original handsome features; before his injures at the wellspring. Snoke's hold on Ben gradually increased...

Then his sister was born...

As Snoke now had the means to infiltrate the Skywalker family, he turned his attention to her... and drew back! He sensed the same raw power as with Ben but something was wrong... she was 'different'. Snoke pondered its significance...

There was another prophecy, one that spoke of the return of the first Walker of the Sky. There was something about her... surely not... the Force didn't appear to work the same way with her! She was unique. It was as if she pointed the way to a possible future that past Force users could only imagine. She had to be the First Walker of the Sky! And such power! Snoke would try and get to her through her rather gullible brother. But she had powerful mental defences even as a small child; he would bide his time... wait until she was off guard; perhaps asleep... then he would reveal her future to her.

Of course he didn't reckon on her pushing him out of her mind and then screaming for help! In a very Harry Potteresque way, Snoke was beaten by love. The close bond between brother and sister. He had met his match...

 

Darth_Drachonus!

Penultimate posting folks!

Time to check in on our heroes... Maz discusses the future with Finn... The chief medic reveals something strange about Breha...

FIFTY EIGHT.​

Holdo had collaped back into her chair. She was still struggling to process it… the entire fleet had moved away from the Wellspring as if a giant invisible hand had pushed them. No sensor on the ship had detected what could have caused it; no energy readings; nothing…

And then she knew… there was only one explanation, and it astonished her.
The Force…something truly miraculous had just happened. The Wellspring and Command Ship were no more!
Reports were coming in thick and fast from all over the fleet. Everyone was registering first disbelief then relief and then joy!
Reports were coming in from elsewhere as well and Holdo struggled to make sense of them. It would seem that something had happened to the First Order: their fleet, their weaponry, everything… they had just stopped working…
General Holdo didn’t dare to entertain the possibility that the Force had done this too, and yet these things had coincided exactly with events here.
Holdo didn’t consider herself to be a particularly spiritual person but one thought did coalesce in her mind: Anyone with this sort of power, she thought, must be a God.


Finn had gone straight to the medical facility to check on Rose and Poe.
He had heard that whilst doing so that Breha had arrived and been put into isolation. No-one was allowed to see her. Her injuries were severe and the medics were doing all they could just to keep her alive. They were also conducting a range of tests to determine how her body had survived the rigours of space. Finn longed to see her… longed to set eyes on her beautiful face once more… the woman he loved…

Poe was now awake and sitting up. His face and body were heavily bruised and he felt groggy but the medic assured him that he was already on the mend. That at least was a sign of encouragement thought Finn… and already Poe was indulging in his usual banter. As Finn could see however, Rose had not fared so well. As he sat by her bed looking down at her unconscious form, he was reminded of her incredible bravery. He had been informed that her injuries were serious and that she would be in the bacta suit for some time. Whilst he sat with her, Maz appeared and sat alongside him.
“She didn’t even have the presence of mind to go into a healing trance,” said Maz, with casual bluntness, “What a foolish, brave… wonderful woman,” she added by way of a back-handed compliment.
“She healed me…” said Finn, “She even healed Phasma!” he said his voice suddenly rising, “But she couldn’t heal herself…”
“Wouldn’t…” Maz corrected him, “She did this on purpose. She was prepared to die to save her friends.”
“They told me she would live…” began Finn.
“She will…” said Maz, “But that was not her intention…”
Finn was now frowning at Maz, “Why? It sounds like she just gave up!”
“She felt Luke die… she thought Breha would die…” Maz sighed, “She felt that a possible future had been taken from her. She saw no point in carrying on.”
Finn looked back at Rose, “Breha will train her…”
“Yes I expect she will…” said Maz, “if she survives…”
Finn looked back to Maz, “You had such high hopes for her… didn’t you?”
“I still do!” Maz said, “but the experience on the Wellspring has changed her… she has lost her Master; and then… at the apex… she experienced something that should not have been possible. We all felt it… she took the First Order in her hand and crushed it like a bug. For mere moments in time, she became a God.”
Finn knew that even Breha would face temptation again, and this time she had succumbed. The galaxy would never be the same again.
Maz continued, “The Force… it has changed. It feels different; textured; subtle… and … whole.”
Maz looked at Finn, “She did it. She healed the schism, and by doing so banished the Dark Side forever…”
“I don’t think I understand…” said Finn, “What if… what if somebody wanted to use the Force to do bad things? Could that not still happen?”
“No…” explained Maz, “Now that it is whole once more, to retain a connection to it, one’s intentions must be good and honourable, otherwise one is cut off from it entirely… stripped of one’s Force sensitivity.”
Finn realised the implications of this straight away, but one thing was still bugging him…
“When Breha destroyed the First Order fleet, people died… was that not in any way a bad act?”
“The act was destructive on a certain level…” Maz began, “but it was for the greater good of the galaxy. Many billions more lives were saved this way… and an evil was vanquished.”
Finn nodded, “Makes sense…”
“And now we have the business of rebuilding once more…” Maz said, “But maybe I won’t be so keen to hoard quite so much this time…” she said winking at him.

A medic approached the bed and spoke, “I thought you’d like to know that you can see Breha now.”
Finn jumped out of his chair, suddenly anxious once more, “How is she?!” he said in a rush.
“She’s been stabilised,” she said, “but please… don’t try to wake her, she has a long way to go.”
Finn and Maz were taken to the room. Finn was shocked at how much medical equipment she was surrounded by and connected to. Now that he was up close he could see the pallor of her skin where it was still visible amongst the welter of bruises and burns. Much of her body was swathed in bandages. Finn looked down at where her legs should have been and quickly looked away. Instead he focussed on her face. It was, he was relieved to see, the only part of her that looked relatively undamaged.
“She will need extensive organ repair and cloning,” said the medic, “and some prosthetics I’m afraid. Then we can start bacta treatment to complete the cycle of healing. She’s a very lucky woman in some ways…”
Finn looked at the medic in confusion. How was this lucky?
She read Finn’s face, “I’m from Naboo. I spoke to Master Luke Skywalker there at a wake for his sister, Breha’s mother,” she said by way of explanation, “He told me that she was strong in the Force, and that this would see her through the toughest challenges. I may not know how the Force really works, but I do know that it is simply not possible that she could have survived without it. Even now, we have detected through our scans an unusually rapid rate of tissue regeneration.”
“She’s in a Force healing trance,” said Maz.
“Yes…” said the medic, “Something like that!”
The medic continued, “Master Luke also told me something much more curious… it sounded crazy to me at the time…”
“Go on…” Maz said slowly with encouragement.
The medic looked at Maz uncertainly as if she was about to say something heretical. “He said…” she began, “that his soul had joined with his sister and kept her alive just long enough to see her daughter one last time,” the medic shook her head, “When… we treated her mother we… detected two heart beats. At the time we thought she was pregnant or our equipment was faulty…”
Maz’s eyes twinkled, “And the same thing has happened again…”
The medic stared at Maz and slowly nodded.
“There were two heartbeats when we first checked Breha’s vital signs on the rescue ship,” she said before turning towards the heart monitor that displayed her current status, “And now there is one…”
Finn was speechless for several seconds… he knew there was only one possible explanation… someone had kept her alive just long enough to be rescued; had wrapped her body in air… Breha hadn’t done this herself… she was too badly injured.
“It would seem that in death, Ben finally succeeded in protecting his sister…” Maz said, shaking her head and sighing.

Finn had recovered his senses after this revelation. His own protective instincts kicked in…
“May I hold her hand?” said Finn.
“You may,” said the medic, “But her left hand; the right has a bacta dressing covering it right now.”
Finn sat down at the head of Breha’s bed. Maz took a seat by the wall.
I don’t care what you look like after this… thought Finn. I will never leave you…

Maz suddenly spoke, “I just remembered!” she said reaching into the large shoulder bag she was carrying. She rummaged around and presently pulled out an item that Finn knew all too well.
“She’ll need this again one day,” said Maz, placing the lightsabre by her bedside, “Luke gave me her most valued possessions for safekeeping. I think he knew he wasn’t coming back from the Wellspring…”
Finn had known Luke all too briefly. He was responsible for opening her up to a much bigger world. He knew she would miss him terribly; but time would heal as her body would heal, and… as her mind already had healed.

“The first time I touched this lightsabre I felt its Force memory… events past, present, and especially future and I saw a face…” Maz said, “the face of this woman lying here. Then I knew that the day she came into my castle, things would never be the same again. The day of reckoning had come, and here we are…”

Finn could hear movement in the corridor and a face appeared at the door.
“Hey! How’s she doing?” said Lando as he looked at her with false bravado which quickly vanished.
“She lives,” said Maz, “But she won’t be running around saving the galaxy again any time soon.”
Chewie appeared behind Lando and barked a greeting before casting sad eyes on Breha.
“Zeb is with Rose,” said Lando, “He said that she once saved his life. I think he’s trying to heal her all by himself…”
The others nodded silently before returning their attention to Breha.

Only minutes later and all of them were shooed out of the room by a medic who didn’t wish Breha to be disturbed any further. They reluctantly filed out; Finn was the last to leave. He looked back at her one last time before exiting.
One thought entered his head:

I will wait for you…

 

Haha. I can imagine Zeb sitting at Rose's side and waving his paws above her to heal her

I love how you connected the dots while inversing the situation – Luke kept Leia alive in the previous story but then she died; Ben kept Rey alive here and then he died. I hope Rey doesn't need cybernetic armour after this. I don't want to see Finn living happily ever after with a light side Darth Vader!

 

Yep I had something similar in my head when I wrote that...

Yes, well spotted! I often use repeating themes, but sometimes I reverse the outcome. Ben finally did good, and helped changed the fate of the galaxy as a result.

I think realistically, most of her organs were damaged in her little trip into space plus she now has no legs and a mangled right hand. Her namesake Breha Organa had an artificial heart that glowed through her skin. I had half a mind to alter my text upon this recent revelation to give our Breha the same but in the end decided it was a little contrived.

The surgeons will slowly put her back together... we'll see what she looks like in my final posting this Sunday.

 

This bit is a joke. I was sick of writing the damn thing and decided to be a bit silly with it!

However... I am serious about the bit where she used pure instinct to push him out of her mind. He wasn't however beaten by love, but more by the fact she was a more powerful Force user than him. In a straight fight, as a fully trained adult, she could have beaten him. In an alternate version of this, I may have had that happen.

Darth_Drachonus here's the final part for you!

Our heroes gather to discuss the future... C3PO has one more big revelation for everyone...

Breha opens a new chapter in the Force...

FIFTY NINE.​

A few days later and a reception was being held in the memory of Luke Skywalker, the Jedi who gave his life to defeat the First Order. Guests had come from halfway across the galaxy just to be here; to celebrate the life of this mysterious and yet hugely influential Jedi.
It was every bit as lavish as the one that was given in memory of Leia on Naboo, but the sense of déjà vu weighed heavily on many minds; this was also a time to commiserate.
The First Order was no more and the galaxy’s freedoms were being reclaimed day by day. Many members of the Resistance suddenly found that their lives would never be the same again, but for all the right reasons.
Finn found himself talking to a knot of people whom he had fought alongside and shared many adventures with.

Lando informed the group of his plans to go into business with Zeb Orrelios. It seemed that they had discovered a mutual interest in trade in antiques. Finn didn’t believe even for a second that these ‘antiques’ were quite what was being implied, but he wished them the best of luck anyway.
Chewbacca announced his return to Kashyyyk whilst Breha recovered, but he would return. His life debt was now transferred to her. Once he had spent time with his family, he would return to be her co-pilot on the Falcon if she would have him.
“She’d have you in a hearbeat, Chewie,” Finn said reassuringly.
Amilyn and Poe joined the group. Poe was already looking much improved and his bruises were fading rapidly. BB-8 also rolled up and greeted everyone in turn.
They announced their impending marriage to the assembled group and insisted that everybody present was invited.
“Oh, how wonderful!” said Maz clasping her hands in joy.
Kaydel leant forward and gave Amilyn and Poe a hug in turn, “That’s fantastic news!” she said.
C3PO and Artoo came up to the group next. Amilyn did her best to ignore C3PO as he barged into the conversation.
“How lovely it is to see you all here!” he said loudly, “Why, I was only saying to Artoo the other day…”
C3PO droned on. Amilyn waited patiently for a pause in his monologue to speak to Maz…
“And what are your plans Maz?” said Amilyn, “Do you think you might start collecting again?”
Maz looked thoughtful… “Yes… in a way,” she said….
Finn could see that familiar twinkle in Maz’s eye. He wondered where this was going.
“I paid a visit to Breha yesterday,” she said, “Alone… as I sat quietly with her, she suddenly opened her eyes!”
This was news to Finn! He had no idea she had regained consciousness at all! The others in the group were now completely focussed on Maz…
“She looked at me. I could feel her probing softly with the Force… she wanted to tell me something, but was unable to speak,” Maz looked at Finn, “so she sent me a message through the Force instead: to help her… to build a new order.”
“The Jedi?” said Amilyn expectantly.
“No…” said Maz, “not the Jedi; the Force has shifted, it is whole; things will be different now… this is the beginning of something new and also very old. She wants me to help her… to find and train new recruits.”
“Well that’s quite a responsibility…” said Amilyn, “How marvellous!”
Maz smiled at the plaudits that rippled through the group.
She then turned to C3PO, “I need to ask you something Threepio.”
“Certainly Maz Kanata,” said C3PO, “How may I be of service?”
“Do you know the language of the Whills?” Maz asked.
“I do know the language,” he began, “But it hasn’t been spoken in centuries. I’ve had very little cause to use it myself I’m afraid.”
“Well now’s your chance!” Maz said, “I spoke to a Whill recently… the last of her kind in fact… and she used a word to describe the very first Force users of millennia ago. Could you translate it for me?”
“I will do my best, Maz Kanata,” said C3PO.
Maz continued, “She used the word ‘Chídãisha’. How would you translate that?”
“The word Chídãisha,” C3PO began, “means ‘one who walks the sky’,” said C3PO.
“Thank you Threepio,” Maz said, “and do you know if the word has survived into modern usage?”
“Oh yes!” C3PO said enthusiastically, “Once the suffix ‘Sha’ denoting the being who Walks the Sky was lost, its pronunciation gradually changed. Of course we now know the word as ‘Jedi.’”
Everybody turned to stare at C3PO. He looked around at the many faces and somehow managed to express bemusement in his expressionless face. He had never known so much attention in his existence.
Finn was the first to recover, “Are you telling me… that ‘Jedi’ effectively means ‘Skywalker’ in the Whill language?!”
“Why of course!” Threepio said in response, “That would be the most literal etymology. Of course most beings do not speak the Whill language and are unaware of its derivation.”
“Have you always known this?” said Poe, “And did you ever think of mentioning it to anyone before?”
“Of course I’ve always known Poe Dameron,” C3PO replied, “But no-one ever listens to a protocol droid so I didn’t think it worth mentioning before…”
“Who taught you the language then?” Finn asked in astonishment.
“I was programmed with the language by my builder Anakin Skywalker. He added it to the many other languages I already knew.”

Finn considered this the biggest revelation of them all. That the Skywalkers were probably in some weird way connected to the mythos of the earliest Jedi and Anakin likely knew! Why he programmed C3PO with such an ancient language however would probably remain a mystery…

Epilogue.​

The day promised to be sunny and warm with only a light breeze.
Rose stood near the foot of the boarding ramp of the Falcon and looked up at the steps that climbed steeply up the rock face above where they stood. She looked at Breha and smiled and they began to climb.
Rose was impressed with how comfortable Breha was on the steep, uneven steps. Her prosthetic legs were a natural extension of herself and Breha moved as sure-footed as a Chaldean Rock Jumper. Rose watched as she climbed swiftly despite her condition, which spurred Rose to keep pace all the way up.
Rose looked up and around, watching the numerous avians as she climbed. She knew what they were… and considered herself incredibly lucky to meet the last one to retain a mortal physical form. They were forever now beings of spirit, observing the galaxy as they had for millennia.

Rose had learned so much in recent weeks of the mythos of the ancient Force users of the First Temple. Breha told her many stories as they both recovered from their injuries. What she had learned in that moment in the apex along with so much more… Breha would never know such power ever again, but the knowledge she had gained had stayed with her. Rose now knew that the first ever apprentice of the Whills had the surname of Skywalker. The Whills felt it strangely appropriate that the first should bear such a name and they adopted it to describe their new religion. It seemed so ironic now to Rose that a Skywalker had completed the circle so many millennia later…
The will of the Force… I dare say, she thought; or maybe the Force has a sense of humour…

They finally reached the top and took a moment to look around. Without further pause Breha led Rose over to another set of steps which this time led down. Breha practically skipped down them and Rose could sense that she was enjoying herself immensely. The steps were steep and narrow and Rose followed her cautiously as the sheer drop off the side of them made her feel giddy.


Breha was waiting at the bottom of the steps for Rose as she negotiated the last of them. Rose could see and sense Breha’s barely contained excitement. She knew that something wonderful waited at the end.

After another minute they arrived in a tiny valley containing a single long dead tree. They were at the Wellspring; this Rose knew. Breha had told her what to expect and also what was about to happen…

Rose looked to Breha in admiration. She had recovered impressively over many months and finally they were here. She looked down at Breha’s swollen belly and smiled.
The future… she thought.

They walked forward and immediately the air appeared to thicken around them. Rose could now understand the elixir that Breha had described. They wouldn’t be here long Rose knew, as they had a single task to perform. Rose looked up and could see the Whills gathered silently and with clear expectation on the rocks all around them.
As they approached the tree, a glowing figure resolved out of thin air beside it.
Luke… Rose thought. He smiled benignly as they approached.
Breha acknowledged her former master with a beaming smile as she stepped forward and placed her hand on the tree. She motioned for Rose to do the same a couple of metres away. No sooner did she do so then the tree started to vibrate slightly as if imbued with new life. As Rose watched, a hole began to appear in the bark of the tree between where they stood. It grew in size until it formed an opening easily large enough to enter. Without hesitation Breha stepped through the opening with Rose immediately behind her.
They had entered a small chamber. Rose’s attention was immediately drawn to the only thing in the chamber; something that reminded her of an altar used by religious devotees. It appeared to grow out of the very tree itself. On this altar was a large book; the item they had come for; the thing that contained all the knowledge that currently resided in Breha’s head; knowledge that could now be accessed by others: The Journal of the Whills.


The bond between master and student was already strong Rose knew and she was excited at the prospect of what lay ahead… she too would learn to walk the sky…
Breha looked at Rose and smiled before saying, “Shall we begin?”

​

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The end.​

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