Title: Something Better


Summary: A young man lives what is, and dreams of what could be.



Disclaimer: Star Wars belongs to the Walt Disney Co. No infringement is intended.





Canto Bight

Cantonica

39 ABY



“Why do you still wear that thing?” Arashall Sar asked her friend as they walked.


Temiri looked down at the ring on his finger and shrugged. “It reminds me that there is something better out there. Something worth fighting for; worth living for.”


She snickered. “We’ll never see out there. All we have is here, Temiri. It’s all we’ll ever have.”


The teenager shrugged again. “Maybe. Maybe not. But we won’t know what’s out there unless we try to escape here.”


“Escape?” she demanded. “How do you plan to escape? Bargwill will never let you go. He’ll never let any of us go. We’re stuck here, Temiri. You’d better get used to that.”


He watched her walk away and shook his head. He looked down at the Resistance ring he’d had for five years. He remembered the young woman who’d given it to him; remembered letting the fathiers run free to help her and her friend escape.


“Five years,” he muttered to himself. “Seems like a lifetime some days.”


His dreams took him to the stars. In his dreams he flew free just like the fathiers on that long-ago day. In his dreams, he was alive.


Temiri took a deep breath and headed after Arashall, back to the stables. Back to what his life was, rather than what he always dreamed it could be.


*************************************************************************


Ahch-To

45 ABY



“Who is she?” a voice sounded behind him.


Temiri Blagg turned and smiled at the woman beside him while looking at the holo in his hand. “She is…she was a friend. When the…she was killed when the First Order came to Canto Bight. They destroyed the casino and the…the stables around the racetrack.”


“I’m sorry,” Rey said to the young man, her hand rested on his shoulder in comfort.


Temiri smiled sadly. “She didn’t ever believe she’d see anything more than those stables in Canto Bight. That was Arashall’s life. She liked listening to our friend Oniho tell stories about Luke Skywalker and the Resistance. But she wasn’t a dreamer.”


Rey smiled. “But you were. You are a dreamer.”


He laughed softly. “I suppose I am. But, the dream ends here. Why am I here, Rey? Why did you bring me here?”


She pointed out to the boulder on the cliff. “Go sit out there and close your eyes.”


Temiri had come to trust Rey in the few weeks he’d known her, since she had shown him the way out of Canto Bight. He walked out and took a seat on the stone, crossing his legs and resting his arms on his thighs.


“Now what?” he questioned.


“Close your eyes,” she instructed, her mind filled with images of the past. “Take a deep breath and tell me what you see.”


He closed his eyes and took that deep breath. “I see…the ocean, the waves. The birds in the sky. The suns about to set.”


“What do you feel?” she asked.


“Calm, peace,” he answered. “Harmony. Everything working together.”


“Put your hands on the stone beside you,” she told him. “Feel everything around you. Let it guide you, bind you to it.”


Temiri could feel the water and the sky and the rocks.


“Open your eyes,” he heard.


He slowly opened his eyes and saw the pebbles beside him floating. He concentrated on them and reached out and they came to his hands.


Rey grinned. “The dream doesn’t end here, Temiri Blagg. This is where it begins; where it is reborn in you.”


Rey turned and walked away then, leaving Temiri alone. He climbed down from the stone and walked to the edge of the cliff and looked out at the binary sunset. He watched until the suns both dipped below the horizon.


He smiled to himself as he listened to the waves crash ashore below him. His dreams had brought him there and he was for the first time, truly alive.


“Something better. This is definitely something better.”

 

Oh, I like this! I very much like this. I too was very intrigued by this character, and with his apparent Force-sensitivity and love of the ancient legends of “Jedi Master Luke Skywalker,” it would be so wonderful to see him meet and train with Rey somewhere down the line. I love that Rey is compassionate and curious Temiri’s memory of his old friend Arashall, too, rather than asking him just to let go of it (à la the Old Jedi Order approach). And what a wonderful touch that Temiri, like Luke long ago, gets to look out at the binary sunset—a SW symbol par excellence! Very nice piece, and thanks so much for sharing.

 

Jen, you write with sympathy and insightfulness both of Temiri and Rey.

 

This was beautiful! Temiri is an intriguing character and it's fun to see him brought to life and by Rey's side. Great job

 

Nicely done, @JediMaster_Jen! I looked at the DK Visual dictionary last night, which was just in time for this fic. I like the character of Temiri, if not the name. Rey as a master is interesting, but I can get used to that.

 

@brodiew, as I recall, the character's name is a riff on that of the young actor who played him, Temirlan Blaev. I remember when I first learned his name thinking that “Blagg” wasn’t so pretty, but then I remembered that “blag” means “good” in several Slavic languages, and thought hey, that fits!

 

Thank you so much! I'm so glad you like it. My favorite scene in TLJ was the end scene with Temiri. Such a terrific set-up for future stories, possibly even something in Ep 9. Who knows?

Thank you!!

Thanks! I love all the possibilities for Temiri. I definitely see him as a potentially great character.

I think she'd be a pretty interesting master. I don't see her as being particularly strict, but I think she'd be stern when she needed to be. Thanks for reading.

Yep, the name was indeed a play on the actor's name. I didn't know that about the word blag. Interesting fact!

 

This was splendid! I always love it when side characters and completely random ones known for iconic scenes take the central stage and the kid's probably more memorable than most such folks...okay, maybe not the one and only ice cream man from Bespin, but yeah.

This was my favourite part. <3

It means "mild" here.

 

Sorry I didn't reply before now, Mom. I really liked the ending with Temiri looking out at the binary sunset. Very new hope-ish. Is that a word? I don't think so, but loved the parallel with A New Hope.

 

Thank you! He was definitely memorable to me.

Glad you liked it. It was the fifth different line I tried. Didn't like any of them, but liked this one the best.

Pretty sure hope-ish isn't a word, kid. Are you sure you passed English class last semester? But I'm glad you liked it.