"So, that's what we're dealing with?" Finn hoped the tremble in his voice was unnoticeable, but he highly doubted it.
Without looking at him, Lando explained, "Well, that's only part of it. Not to mention that we also have to travel through a wormhole."
"So, how did you get past these guys in the first place?" Rose wanted to know. "The First Order may not be the smartest people in the galaxy, but they're not stupid."
Even though Finn used to work for the First Order, he could not help but agree with her.
"That's Kylo Ren's ship," Temiri suddenly spoke from the Falcon's pilot seat.
"Kylo Ren? Where?" As if he had forgotten what he said earlier about a little kid flying the legendary ship, Poe rushed to his side.
"There." Temiri pointed forward to The Limpton. It just opened its hatch, and a TIE Silencer flew into it. "Kylo Ren is here," explained the young boy, "and he is upset about something."
"Is it about Rey?" Finn wondered. He knew Rey and Kylo Ren had a connection like none other. "Is Rey on that ship?"
"Unclear. I just feel frustration and a little bit of sadness."
"Kylo Ren, sad?" Finn almost laughed, but he hid it behind a scoff. "Since when is that monster sad?"
"I think he wanted to help Rey, but he failed." Temiri had no idea why he felt what he said was true. The Force, indeed, was a confusing gift. "We need to go to him."
"What?" Poe, Rose, and Finn asked at the same time.
Lando merely smirked.
"What about Rey?" said Finn. "I thought the whole reason why we left Supher was to chase after her."
"Perhaps, but Rey is not the only one struggling between the Light and Dark sides of the Force," Temiri answered. "I feel it. Kylo Ren is, too. He wants to find her, but he needs help."
"If he finds her, he is going to turn her to the Dark side," Poe argued.
"How can you be so sure, Mr. Dameron?" Temiri asked with confidence in his voice. "If we're going to win this war, we need to establish alliances with old enemies. Currently, I feel Rey is more dangerous than Kylo."
"I think we should listen to this kid," Lando said. "I will say that I did have to communicate with the First Order to get through the blockade, so perhaps we should confront Kylo Ren."
"Why don't we just get a squad of X-Wings and blow up his ship?" asked Poe. "Boom. End of story. We get rid of Kylo, we save Rey." He forced a nervous smile.
"You know what, I think I'm just going to slip back into headquarters and shut down for the night," 3PO said.
"3PO, you're an even bigger coward than I thought," said Poe.
"Well, I am not programmed to throw myself into battles I know I can't win."
An idea popped into Lando's brain. "Then it's settled! We'll use you as bait to get us to Kylo Ren!"
"Now, just wait a minute!" Even though he was a droid, there was some emotion in 3PO's voice. "That isn't what I meant! It's very unfair to my programming for me to pretend I am an alliance of the First Order."
"Yeah, what happened to blowing up the ship?" asked Poe.
"We're not here to confront Kylo Ren," Rose said with her arms crossed.
Finn spoke right after her. "We're here to save Rey."
Temiri even joined in on the argument, and he was a little kid. "The only way to save her is to save Kylo Ren from himself. What I'm saying, guys, is that we need to let Rey turn to the Dark side."
As the words escaped his lips, all color drained from Poe, Finn, and Rose's faces.
Lando thought Temiri's idea was accurate, so he nodded in agreement.
"You are one messed up stowaway," Poe said with a shake of his head. "And I thought Mr. Calrissian's plan was bad."
"You're kidding, Temiri," said Finn. "Tell me you are. I don't know what gave you a crazy idea like that. The whole reason why we're in this mess in the first place is because of Kylo Ren."
"You're wrong." Temiri shook his head.
Finn, Rose, and Poe tried to argue with him, but Lando shouted, "Hey! Let the kid speak!" Right as he said that, he flipped up a switch for anti-gravity.
Poe, Finn, and Rose yelped as they lifted into the air and headed toward the Falcon's ceiling. Chewie, Lando, and Temiri were strapped to their seats, so they remained on the ground.
3PO and both astromechs also floated into the sky.
R2 beeped with panic, while BB-8 beeped excitedly.
3PO just said, "Oh my! We seem to be floating in zero gravity."
"Really, 3PO? You don't say?" asked Rose. She peered down to Lando. "Please, Mr. Calrissian, turn off the anti-gravity."
"Not until you listen to Temiri." With that, Lando glanced at Temiri and nodded.
He returned it and took a deep breath as he tried the best way to explain his plan. When he eventually came up with something, he spoke in a voice that told Poe, Finn, and Rose he knew what he was saying. "This is what Leia told me back on Supher. Rey's destiny is to turn to the Dark side, and Ren's is to turn to the Light side. When Ben Solo comes out of his shell and joins the Resistance, we will work together to bring Rey back to the Light side. Rey and Ben will confront a villain long thought to be dead together. It's someone Leia knew from her youth."
"Do you know who he's talking about?" Lando asked Poe, Rose, and Finn.
Chewie knew, and so did C-3PO and R2-D2.
Finn, Rose, and Poe shook their heads no. They weren't around at the time of the Rebellion.
"During our journey to help out Ben, you will figure out who," explained Lando.
"Rey can't turn to the Dark side!" Finn argued. "There is no one in the galaxy who exceeds her power!"
"You're wrong, kid. There is somebody. Only Rey and Kylo Ren can defeat him." Lando pulled back the switch of the anti-gravity.
Finn, Rose, and Poe fell to the ground. They landed on top of one another at Lando and Temiri's feet. While they lay there, they tried to dissect everything the veteran pilot and child told them.
Before long, something crossed Finn's mind. He hopped off Poe and Rose. "Wait a minute. Temiri, you're not a stowaway, are you? Leia sent you here, did she not?"
Temiri nodded. "She did. She asked me to come because Rey and I have similar Force abilities. We are intertwined, and we both know what we must do. We have to bring Kylo Ren back to the Light side, and our first step is to have him join the Resistance."
"With that said, let's boot it to The Limpton and pick up the man of the hour," Lando chuckled. "I'll tell ya, I am super excited to see how this plan plays out."
"You did not crash into the No'Ela Lagoon just for the heck of it, right?" was Finn's next question. "Leia also sought you out."
"Correct, kid. I'm glad you finally figured that out. She called me and said that the next generation of space heroes need help. Twas, here I am." Lando grinned and proudly shrugged his shoulders.
"But that still doesn't answer why you sought out a gangster on Phonolukamy." Finn still had to know, but Lando wanted to keep the secret to himself.
"I'll tell you, son, but only when right. Currently, we have one mission and one mission only. We need to destroy the Phonolukamy Blockade by kidnapping the Supreme Leader of the First Order," Lando said.
***
"You are a disgrace to the whole First Order!" Kylo Ren boomed to Hux in his throne room. "I told you not to come, and here you are!"
"Hey, it's not my fault you are too weak to capture the girl," Hux sarcastically said.
"I am not weak! I had her! I literally had her, and you ruined everything! Thanks to you, she's probably already on Phonolukamy!"
"No, what happened is that you gave into your Light side energy, and that caused you to lose your prey." Hux knew he was right.
"Light side energy?" Both confusion and anger blasted through Kylo's body. "Who do you think you are? I hereby demote you! I knew I should have never turned the position of Supreme Leader over to you!"
"It's too late. I am mighty comfortable here." Hux crossed his right leg over his left knee and placed his hands behind his head.
"Then I'll kill you and take back what is rightfully mine," Kylo growled.
"I'd love to see you try." When Supreme Leader Hux said that, Kylo Ren pulled his lightsaber off his belt and ignited it. The red light shone on his face, and he tightly gripped the weapon's handle. He wanted to kill Hux so badly, but at the same time, something in his head told him to spare his life. Just like what happened with Leia, he hesitated.
"Well?" Hux asked. "Are you going to do it or not?"
"I'm mentally preparing myself, thank you very much!" Ren could not bring himself to run his lightsaber through Hux. The light energy in him was too strong.
"You're not going to do it," cackled Hux. "I know you're not."
"Ugh!" Ren deactivated his lightsaber and threw it to the ground. He clenched his fists so tightly that they turned white.
Hux glared at him. "I think it's safe to say that you're the disgrace. Not me."
"I will prove you wrong," Ren said. "I know who the girl is, unlike you. She will smack that smirk straight off your ugly face when I teach her everything I know."
"We'll see about that... Ben Solo."
***
Rey was exhausted when she finally lugged herself out of Phonolukamy's lake onto the desolate landscape. The escape pod disappeared underwater, leaving her alone on the dystopian planet.
She rested her hand on her injured arm and searched the area. "Hello?" There was no answer, so she tried again. "Hello? Can somebody help me?" Still no answer. Rey pushed herself to her feet and tried to look for any sign of life. She felt like she was the only living thing on the whole planet of Phonolukamy. Her eyes landed on a cliff at the end of the landscape. She could not help but feel like she saw something hidden in the shadows across it.
Rey turned on a serious face and headed for the cliff. She passed rock towers and stepped on numerous cracks in the rocky ground, but she stopped when boom! A geyser exploded right in front of her and threw her back. Rey smashed down on her back, but she quickly sat up and focused on the geysers. One by one, they exploded.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The explosions made Rey antsy, especially since each was stronger and bigger than the last. She did not give up, though. She leaped to her feet and ran toward the geysers. Once again, they exploded. Rey held up her hands and retreated backward. She remembered what Luke told her in the wormhole.
"'We've passed down all we know. A thousand generations live in you now. But this is your fight.'"
Rey knew what she had to do. She had to use the Force to find her way through the geysers and to the shadow on the horizon. With a plan in mind, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Her head filled with the sound of the geysers. She felt the Force–the light. Rey calmed herself down by telling herself she could do it. If she made it through the Phonolukamy Wormhole, she could make it through the geysers.
As soon as the young woman felt calm, she started her trek. Rey lifted her foot and stepped right into the mass of exploding geysers.
Boom!
None of them incinerated her. Instead, they spewed up around her and created a magnificent light show. The first geyser Rey passed exploded into the air after she left it. Her ears rang due to the sound, but she kept on moving. She knew she could do it, and sure enough, she succeeded.
Rey made it to the end of the pit of geysers. The second she did, every one erupted behind her.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sight was breathtaking. The cliff edge was the next stop after the pit.
Standing on the very end of it, Rey opened her eyes. A zephyr blew her robes and hair. She maintained a serious face as she studied her find. The shadow Rey saw... It was a wrecked Star Destroyer.
ns 15.158.61.8da2
