Rey Skywalker (
thatwaslucky) wrote2019-07-30 06:14 am
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Ahch-To- Tuesday
Upon arriving at the planet that had hidden Luke Skywalker for all these years, Rey was struck by how much he must not have wanted to be found. It was a small island with nothing in the distance but more churning water. It took a while to find a safe place to land, with all the sheer cliff faces and rocky outcroppings, and the island went upward instead of sprawling horizontally. When they finally could land, there was no one around, and it meant that Rey had to climb the steep stone stairs up towards the top of the mountain.
She looked around after a while and was surprised by how small the Falcon already looked, and amused to see Chewbacca offer her a wave. He had declined to come with her, explaining that the Falcon had years' worth of malfunctions, breakdowns, and ill-advised modifications that needed to be put right.
R2-D2 had been more than willing, but had gotten no farther than the base of the first step before retreating with an electronic sigh.
Rey had to stop a couple times to catch her breath. Scaling a Star Destroyer was easy. This was different. She told herself to just climb and not think about what awaited her at the top, but that was impossible. It would be a cruel cosmic joke to find that Jedi Master Luke Skywalker had packed up and left some time ago. But something told Rey he hadn't. Somehow she was certain of his presence- it was like a fleeting something captured in peripheral vision.
She'd been meant to come to this planet, to land on this island, to climb this stair. She was sure of it. Her whole life had been a prelude to this.
As she got closer to the top, she found several modest stone huts, ancient but well cared for. She kept going up a glassy slope until it ended between pillars of rock. And there stood a hooded figure with his back to her. When she got closer and slowed to a stop, he turned and threw back his hood to get a look at her. She hadn't known what she'd expected, but what she found was an older man, with mostly gray hair and a beard, dressed in robes. He didn't say anything, and stared at her in silence. She had no idea what to read in his expression.
Rey stepped forward, holding the lightsaber out to him, not saying anything. In truth, she didn't want it. It wasn't hers. She might have the Force, but she didn't have the slightest clue how to actually use it, and she couldn't be who they- everyone- needed Luke to be.
He took the lightsaber with both hands. One was robotic, and Rey realized she'd seen it before, in that vision when all this had started. She stepped back again, and waited.
He looked at it for a long moment, and then threw it over his shoulder and walked right past her without a word.
Rey stood, stunned. She'd gone over this scenario a hundred times in her head and none of them had gone like that.
"Master Skywalker," she called, and started after him.
She followed him down the stairs, to the village of huts. While she was looking around for where he might have gone, she caught the motion of a heavy metal door decorated with faded red stripes slamming, with Luke behind it.
She went to that door, and tapped on it. "Master Skywalker, I'm here with the Resistance. Your sister Leia sent me. We need your help."
No answer. No sound at all.
"Hello?" she said, like that would do any good.
After banging on the door futilely for a while, she went in search of the lightsaber. She found it in the grass below the cliff where Luke had thrown it, where a couple of chubby birds were inspecting it. She shooed them away and picked up the weapon, and caught sight of a shape under the water below: an X-wing fighter.
That was where his door had come from, she supposed. He'd salvaged a wing. Had he stripped it of anything else? Her practiced eye picked out the location of antenna coils, maneuvering repulsors, static discharge couplings, and other gear that she once might have removed and bargained for rations.
I don't think that's salvageable. Zero portions.
She supposed some of the wiring and conduits would be intact inside protective jacketing, but everything else would be junk. Sure, you could maybe dredge it up and pass it off as operational, but the result would be a malfunction or a breakdown waiting to happen.
Hmm. Malfunctions and breakdowns.
If Master Skywalker wouldn't talk to her, she'd arrange a conversation with someone he couldn't ignore. She strode off in the direction of the Falcon.
Some time later, when she returned to his door, the knocking got a response: "Go away!"
Chewie's own response was to knock the door in and barge inside, roaring. Rey liked him. She followed him inside, like Luke might somehow slip away if she didn't get to him immediately.
It definitely surprised Luke, at least. Rey had to admit that was satisfying. "Chewie! What are you doing here?"
Chewie, still angry, subjected Luke to another round of bellowing.
"He said you're coming with us," Rey translated, not knowing that Luke didn't need it. "It's a long story, we'll tell you on the Falcon."
"The Falcon," Luke repeated, and then paused for a long moment as he realized what was wrong about this. "Wait. Where's Han?"
The Wookiee's anger drained away, leaving him slump-shouldered. Rey hesitated, then stepped forward. The last she could do was spare Chewie this part. But that meant it was up to her to tell Luke that Han Solo was dead, and why.
After she'd broken the news, Luke had gone outside. At first Rey thought he might stalk off again, but he just sat on the stone bench outside his hut. She was reluctant to interrupt this moment, but after a while, she had to.
"Han Solo was my friend," she said quietly. "There's no light left in Kylo Ren, and he's only getting stronger."
The mention of that name made Luke wince, and she felt terrible for having to get into this. But the galaxy needed this man- needed him to rise above whatever misfortune and misery had driven him into his self-imposed exile. Rey had been sent to find him, and know she had to reach him, had to make him understand.
"The First Order will control all the major systems within weeks. We need your help. We need the Jedi Order back. We need Luke Skywalker."
Luke's expression turned derisive. "You don't need Luke Skywalker."
"Did you hear a word I just said?" Rey asked.
"You think⦠what? That I'm going to walk out with a laser sword and face down the whole First Order? What did you think was going to happen here? You think I came to the most unfindable place in the galaxy for no reason at all?" Luke said, getting to his feet and walking away.
"I'm not leaving without you," Rey warned.
Luke picked up the broken door of his hut to lean it in the doorway so he could be alone again.
Rey looked back at Chewie, trying not to let her frustration get the better of her. Let Luke think she'd given up- he'd soon discover otherwise. Jakku had trained her to do two things better than anyone else could.
The first was to salvage broken things.
The second was to wait.
[NFB, NFI, OOC okay. Bits here and there taken from The Last Jedi novelization by Jason Fry, which is so, so good.]
She looked around after a while and was surprised by how small the Falcon already looked, and amused to see Chewbacca offer her a wave. He had declined to come with her, explaining that the Falcon had years' worth of malfunctions, breakdowns, and ill-advised modifications that needed to be put right.
R2-D2 had been more than willing, but had gotten no farther than the base of the first step before retreating with an electronic sigh.
Rey had to stop a couple times to catch her breath. Scaling a Star Destroyer was easy. This was different. She told herself to just climb and not think about what awaited her at the top, but that was impossible. It would be a cruel cosmic joke to find that Jedi Master Luke Skywalker had packed up and left some time ago. But something told Rey he hadn't. Somehow she was certain of his presence- it was like a fleeting something captured in peripheral vision.
She'd been meant to come to this planet, to land on this island, to climb this stair. She was sure of it. Her whole life had been a prelude to this.
As she got closer to the top, she found several modest stone huts, ancient but well cared for. She kept going up a glassy slope until it ended between pillars of rock. And there stood a hooded figure with his back to her. When she got closer and slowed to a stop, he turned and threw back his hood to get a look at her. She hadn't known what she'd expected, but what she found was an older man, with mostly gray hair and a beard, dressed in robes. He didn't say anything, and stared at her in silence. She had no idea what to read in his expression.
Rey stepped forward, holding the lightsaber out to him, not saying anything. In truth, she didn't want it. It wasn't hers. She might have the Force, but she didn't have the slightest clue how to actually use it, and she couldn't be who they- everyone- needed Luke to be.
He took the lightsaber with both hands. One was robotic, and Rey realized she'd seen it before, in that vision when all this had started. She stepped back again, and waited.
He looked at it for a long moment, and then threw it over his shoulder and walked right past her without a word.
Rey stood, stunned. She'd gone over this scenario a hundred times in her head and none of them had gone like that.
"Master Skywalker," she called, and started after him.
She followed him down the stairs, to the village of huts. While she was looking around for where he might have gone, she caught the motion of a heavy metal door decorated with faded red stripes slamming, with Luke behind it.
She went to that door, and tapped on it. "Master Skywalker, I'm here with the Resistance. Your sister Leia sent me. We need your help."
No answer. No sound at all.
"Hello?" she said, like that would do any good.
After banging on the door futilely for a while, she went in search of the lightsaber. She found it in the grass below the cliff where Luke had thrown it, where a couple of chubby birds were inspecting it. She shooed them away and picked up the weapon, and caught sight of a shape under the water below: an X-wing fighter.
That was where his door had come from, she supposed. He'd salvaged a wing. Had he stripped it of anything else? Her practiced eye picked out the location of antenna coils, maneuvering repulsors, static discharge couplings, and other gear that she once might have removed and bargained for rations.
I don't think that's salvageable. Zero portions.
She supposed some of the wiring and conduits would be intact inside protective jacketing, but everything else would be junk. Sure, you could maybe dredge it up and pass it off as operational, but the result would be a malfunction or a breakdown waiting to happen.
Hmm. Malfunctions and breakdowns.
If Master Skywalker wouldn't talk to her, she'd arrange a conversation with someone he couldn't ignore. She strode off in the direction of the Falcon.
Some time later, when she returned to his door, the knocking got a response: "Go away!"
Chewie's own response was to knock the door in and barge inside, roaring. Rey liked him. She followed him inside, like Luke might somehow slip away if she didn't get to him immediately.
It definitely surprised Luke, at least. Rey had to admit that was satisfying. "Chewie! What are you doing here?"
Chewie, still angry, subjected Luke to another round of bellowing.
"He said you're coming with us," Rey translated, not knowing that Luke didn't need it. "It's a long story, we'll tell you on the Falcon."
"The Falcon," Luke repeated, and then paused for a long moment as he realized what was wrong about this. "Wait. Where's Han?"
The Wookiee's anger drained away, leaving him slump-shouldered. Rey hesitated, then stepped forward. The last she could do was spare Chewie this part. But that meant it was up to her to tell Luke that Han Solo was dead, and why.
After she'd broken the news, Luke had gone outside. At first Rey thought he might stalk off again, but he just sat on the stone bench outside his hut. She was reluctant to interrupt this moment, but after a while, she had to.
"Han Solo was my friend," she said quietly. "There's no light left in Kylo Ren, and he's only getting stronger."
The mention of that name made Luke wince, and she felt terrible for having to get into this. But the galaxy needed this man- needed him to rise above whatever misfortune and misery had driven him into his self-imposed exile. Rey had been sent to find him, and know she had to reach him, had to make him understand.
"The First Order will control all the major systems within weeks. We need your help. We need the Jedi Order back. We need Luke Skywalker."
Luke's expression turned derisive. "You don't need Luke Skywalker."
"Did you hear a word I just said?" Rey asked.
"You think⦠what? That I'm going to walk out with a laser sword and face down the whole First Order? What did you think was going to happen here? You think I came to the most unfindable place in the galaxy for no reason at all?" Luke said, getting to his feet and walking away.
"I'm not leaving without you," Rey warned.
Luke picked up the broken door of his hut to lean it in the doorway so he could be alone again.
Rey looked back at Chewie, trying not to let her frustration get the better of her. Let Luke think she'd given up- he'd soon discover otherwise. Jakku had trained her to do two things better than anyone else could.
The first was to salvage broken things.
The second was to wait.
[NFB, NFI, OOC okay. Bits here and there taken from The Last Jedi novelization by Jason Fry, which is so, so good.]