Luke, Yoda, and Ben remained in Jakku’s spaceport until The Robin Hood disappeared into Jakku’s atmosphere.
Ben seemed to be in a trance. His eyes did not leave the area where the ship disappeared. Already, he missed Rey. He wished he could go with her, but as Luke had said, he couldn't. This was Rey’s fight—not his. However, Ben felt her. She was scared. No, she was traumatized. She needed somebody to comfort her. She had the Beacerika, sure, but Ben did not know if it was enough.
Only a few minutes later, he heard a wise chuckle under him. Yoda patted Ben’s leg with his cane, and he sank to his knees before him. “Yes, Master Yoda?”
“Communicate with Rey, you must,” Yoda explained. “Scared, she is. Save the fallen angel, for she will want to come back.”
“I must give her confidence? Is that what you’re asking?” Ben was not used to the way Yoda talked.
Once again, he chuckled and plopped down beside the young man. As Ben peered back into the sky, Yoda answered, “Confidence is quiet in the case of other Jedi, but not in that one. A failure she feels like, yes. Give her confidence, you must. Quiet her fear.”
“But,” Ben protested, “she doesn’t have her Force abilities. The Emperor stripped her of them.”
“Oh, he did, didn’t he?” Yoda chuckled a third time. “No use for supernova then. Supernova is no longer important.”
“What are you saying?”
As the two conversed, Luke backed away from the spaceport and devised a plan. He had to get the galaxy ready for their most dangerous battle yet, and the only way to do that was to return to Supher. The Force ghost put his hands together and closed his eyes. Within seconds, he faded away, leaving nothing but Yoda and a confused, intrigued Ben Solo behind.
***
Temiri didn’t flinch as General Hux led him and Chewie down one of The Limpton’s hallways. Stormtroopers bumped his back with their blasters to tell him to pick up the pace.
Chewie roared at them.
“Chewie, calm down,” Temiri said without looking back at him. He followed General Hux’s every movement, and his eyes eventually landed on a lightsaber that hung from his belt. That was the lightsaber he threatened Chewie and Temiri with when he froze them during their battle against the stormtroopers.
At Temiri’s request, Chewie calmed down and gave the young boy a funny look.
“I feel a presence,” he told him. “We are going to get out of this. All the training Master Rey gave me at the Academy—it is time for it to pay off.”
***
Rey had just made it into space but brought The Robin Hood to a halt when she saw it—the supernova. A glowing ball of light in the distance crept steadily closer to Jakku. Even though it was far away, Rey already felt its heat. She shook her head as gruesome images of her destroying the galaxy invaded her mind.
With tears streaming down her cheeks, she slapped her hands to her face and whimpered, “I can’t.”
Beside her, the Beacerika gave her a funny look.
“This is too stressful!” Rey lowered her hands and turned toward the Beacerika, who sat on her new lightsaber. “I’m sorry, Beacerika, but I can’t do this. I don’t want to turn to the Dark side. I am going to destroy this whole galaxy if I do! Leia fears my power. Finn fears it. Everyone fears it! I am nothing but a disgrace to this galaxy! And now that I know who I am… I just can’t.”
Rey tried to turn The Robin Hood around so she could return to Jakku, but the Beacerika jumped off the co-pilot seat and dove for the wheel. It grabbed it with its paws and jerked the ship back toward the supernova.
Rey clenched her teeth and closed her eyes. “Stop!” she shouted. “I’m returning to Jakku!”
“What for?” telepathically asked the Beacerika as it and Rey tugged on the wheel. “So you can watch the whole planet explode? “
“I’m scared!”
“I know you are, but this is your destiny!”
“I’m scared!!”
“I’ll make sure nothing happens to you.”
“I'm scared!!!” And just like that, Rey let the wheel go. The Robin Hood stalled and rocked back and forth in space. Rey got up from the pilot seat. She headed to the cockpit’s back wall, the Beacerika watching her from behind. The young woman stopped before it and put her forehead on it. Sniffing, she whimpered, “I’m scared.”
“Rey, you need to be more confident,” a familiar voice suddenly spoke in her head. Rey gasped when she recognized it.
“Ben?” Sure enough, when Rey took her forehead off the wall and turned, there he was. Rey saw him. She remembered those days leading to the battle in Snoke’s throne room when she and Ben communicated using the Force. However, Rey thought she didn’t have her Force abilities. Therefore, why were she and Ben connecting?
She felt him take her hand, and he said, “You must travel to the supernova. It is a part of you.”
“A part of me? What are you talking about?” How was Rey connected to a supernova? She saw no resemblance between it and her.
That was when she heard another familiar voice. “That supernova comprises of your lost Force abilities—the abilities the Emperor stole when he brought you to Jakku.”
Rey turned her head, and her eyes widened when she no longer saw the Beacerika. In its place stood a woman who had blue skin, cyan eyes, and black hair with streaks of green and purple in it. The Beacerika… was Aerolin.
***
Just being there, Temiri shivered. The stormtroopers had just pulled him and Chewie into the Supreme Leader’s throne room.
Hux sat on his throne, and Temiri couldn’t help but notice something on the arm of the chair—Kylo Ren’s lightsaber. Temiri recognized the two prongs sticking out from either side of it. He stepped back toward Chewie, but once again, the stormtroopers bumped his back with the butt of their blasters. Temiri tried to run, but they grabbed him and shoved him to the ground.
The broom boy landed in a heap at Hux’s feet and peered into his eyes.
“So, the rumors are true,” Hux said, grabbing the boy’s arm. “You are indeed Force-sensitive.”
“What do you want from me?” the little boy angrily asked.
“Oh, not much. I just don’t like children. Especially children who interfere with my plans.”
“You may be connected to Rey, but she will never be as heartless as you.”
“Maybe not, but I do have you.”
“She will turn back to the Light side. She’s going to destroy you.” Temiri flinched when an eerie pain engulfed his head, and he stumbled backward. However, he continued. “Release General Hux from your torture, and maybe we’ll be friends.”
Behind him, Chewie broke free from the stormtroopers' grasp and hurried toward Temiri.
When he saw him coming, General Hux held up his hand and pointed at him. Just like what happened in the ship hanger, Chewie froze.
“Chewie!” Temiri yelled. He glared at Hux, who asked:
“We don’t need Wookies interrupting our big heart-to-heart chat, do we? Where were we? Oh, yes.” Hux pulled Temiri beside him. “You can try all you want to stop me, but the girl belongs to me.”
Still glaring, Temiri sternly said, “Good. This is all going according to plan. You’ve fallen right into our trap.”
“Oh, really?” cackled Hux. “We’ll see about that. I like you, kid. I think you will fit in nicely here. Rey will need some company once she becomes Empress.”
“Forget it.” Temiri broke free and backed away from the throne.
Stormtroopers pointed their blasters at the young boy, but Chewie remained frozen in time.
Temiri clenched his fists and told Hux, “I will never join the Dark side… Darth Sidious.”
“Very well,” Hux replied with a glare. “Then I am going to have a lot of fun killing you.” And just like that, a Force ghost leaped out of General Hux himself. Palpatine had taken over Hux’s body, declaring himself the new Supreme Leader of the First Order.
Unconscious, the real Hux fell off the throne and landed on the ground beside it. When he did, Chewie unfroze and fell, too.
Temiri hurried to him and dropped to his knees. “Are you all right, Chewie?”
Whimpering, Chewie nodded. Their eyes landed on Palpatine, who came toward them with stormtroopers on either side of him.
“Kill us if you must,” Temiri spoke, “but you will never win. Rey exceeds your power. She will banish you to the deepest corner of the Outer Rim.”
“Then, after I kill you, I’ll kill her.”
“You really would do that to your own granddaughter?”
“And this is why I don’t like children!”
Just before Palpatine unleashed his Force lightning on Temiri and Chewie, a voice shouted at him from the throne room’s entrance. “We’ll see about that!” A blaster bolt pieced Palpatine’s ghost.
He stumbled backward and fell onto his throne.
When he did, four First Order stormtroopers rushed into the room and shot their blasters at Palpatine’s minions.
Due to all the noise, General Hux woke. Gasping, his head shot up from the ground, and sweat trickled down his temples. A hand grabbed his arm—Temiri.
He pulled the weary general up from the floor. “Come on!”
“What’s going on?” Hux shouted.
“I’ll tell you later!”
As Palpatine’s minions went down, Chewie grabbed blasters and tested them individually to see which ones he liked. Palpatine had stolen his bowcaster when he captured him and Temiri, and Chewie had no idea where he put it.
One of the stormtroopers who came to their rescue hurried to Temiri and Hux and shouted, “Go! Go!” in a female voice.
Temiri did not have to be asked twice. He took off while another stormtrooper wrapped Hux’s arm around his shoulders. Together, the soldiers, boy, and Wookie hurried out of the throne room and left a very angry Palpatine behind.
***
Rey yelled as heat from the supernova started to engulf The Robin Hood the closer she approached.
Beside her, Aerolin, who sat in the co-pilot seat, yelled, “Let the supernova swallow you! For it comprises of your Force abilities!”
“This is a suicide run!“
"That’s what it feels like, but it’s not. You’re going to get your new power. Trust me on this.” As Aerolin said that, a blast wave from the supernova chucked The Robin Hood backward.
It spun out of control, but Rey caught it. “Why isn’t it barbecuing us?” she asked Aerolin.
“It’s because this ship resists supernovas. I used Phonolukamy’s technology to build it.”
“Phonolukamy? Why Phonolukamy?” Sweat streamed down Rey’s face as she steered The Robin Hood back toward the supernova.
Aerolin answered, “Because the ships on Phonolukamy can survive whatever disaster space throws, even supernovas. Now, if you were in that Millennium Falcon, you definitely would barbecue. But not in The Robin Hood.”
“What am I supposed to do?”
“You must use your lightsaber to suck your powers away from the supernova. Let its light hit you, and it will give you your gift.”
“Are you sure this isn’t a suicide run?”
“It’s not. Trust me on this one, Rey. Please.”
“Okay.” Rey inhaled and tried to slow her pounding heart. She felt like it would come flying right out of her mouth. She thought the Phonolukamy Wormhole was scary, but no. She now had to face a Force-created supernova.
Rey knew her post-traumatic stress would worsen, but she went ahead and followed Aero’s orders. Like Ben told her through their Force communication, she had to be confident. Besides, Aero said that she would keep her safe.
Inhaling, Rey grabbed her lightsaber from Aero’s hand and hopped up from her seat. She moved to the heart of the cockpit. As Aerolin steered The Robin Hood to the supernova, Rey prepared herself. She ignited her lightsaber, held it at the ready, and glared.
“Now, Rey!” Aerolin yelled. She snapped her hand back to give her a sign.
Seeing it, the young woman nodded. Hands sweating, she lifted the lightsaber over her head and let the light rays from the supernova catch its blades.
However, the supernova would not return her abilities just like that. That was too easy. Therefore, instead of giving them to her, it let out another huge gravitational blast wave, which washed through the entire interior of The Robin Hood. It was so powerful that Rey flew backward and smashed hard on her right arm.
Deactivating, the lightsaber flew from her hand. It winded up hitting the wall across from where Rey landed.
Aerolin looked over her shoulder and yelled, “Rey!”
***
Temiri, Chewie, and the stormtroopers hurried down one of The Limpton’s corridors. They shot at the army of First Order stormtroopers chasing them. Unfortunately, they stumbled upon a dead end at the back of the corridor. A huge door blocked the path.
Seeing it, everybody broke off and dove behind a few walls to protect themselves from the troopers’ blasters. Temiri hid with two of the rescue troopers, while the other two, Chewie, and Hux scrunched up behind the second wall. Temiri and his troopers were closest to the door.
He yelled as another blaster bolt barely missed him, “They’ve got us! There’s no way out of this!”
“We’ll see about that!” one of his partners argued. He pulled a radio off his belt and put it to his lips. “Artoo-Deetoo and Bee-Bee-Ate, open the door. We’re in Hallway F.”
“Artoo-Deetoo? Bee-Bee-Ate?” Temiri inquired.
The trooper who spoke into the radio pulled off his helmet, and Temiri gasped.
“I hate this helmet!” Lando yelled, tossing it on the ground. “It’s too damn hot!”
“Lando!” Temiri’s eyes widened next. The stormtrooper beside him removed his helmet, revealing Poe. “Poe!” Temiri shouted. He turned his head toward Chewie, Hux, and the two other troopers. Temiri assumed they were Rose and Finn.
Like Poe and Lando, they removed their helmets. What in the world? How did they get there from Phonolukamy? What were they doing on The Limpton? Now was not the time to ask questions.
Lando again brought his radio to his lips. “Wise droids. We’re in Hallway F! Not Hallway S! Yamo, make sure they get the right hallway this time!”
Yamo? Yamo came, too? What was going on? Temiri had no idea. All he knew was that the Resistance team, excluding Rey, was back together.
***
The pain in Rey’s arm was excruciating. She thought she was on the road to recovery, and now she felt like she just broke her arm. What was up with the supernova? It did not want to give her back her Force abilities; it wanted to kill her. However, Rey attempted to give it another go.
Straining, she rose and reached her left hand out to her lightsaber, but the supernova sensed what she was doing and released another blast wave. Like what happened with the lightsaber, Rey crashed into the wall and rolled a few feet away from it.
She shook her head and yelled at Aerolin, “I can’t do it! It’s too powerful!”
“Wait! Don’t give up yet!” Aero shouted as she steered The Robin Hood from one of the supernova’s fire rings. “Leave it to me! I’ll make sure you catch the supernova’s light!”
“What are you saying? Aero? Aero!” Rey propped up on her elbow and held her hand to her friend. Out of nowhere, she vanished in midair and appeared outside in the form of the Beacerika’s space form, the one that attacked Rey in the Phonolukamy Wormhole. So, it was true. Aerolin was the Beacerika, after all.
“Aerolin!” Rey shouted, leaping to her feet. “Stop! I need you!” She knew the Beacerika’s plan.
The young woman scooped up her lightsaber and hurried to The Robin Hood’s pilot seat. Sitting down, she peered out the window shield to the enormous creature hovering between the ship and supernova. “Aerolin!” Rey shouted. “Don’t do this! Please!”
Suddenly, she heard Aero’s voice. Like what happened with Ben earlier, it communicated with her through the Force. “I need to do this, Rey. My mission is complete. What matters now is that you catch your abilities and complete your training.”
“No!” Rey begged. “Please no!” but the Beacerika shouted:
“Ignite your lightsaber!”
“I don’t want to turn to the Dark side!”
“You need to!”
Rey’s lightsaber ignited itself. She gasped when she saw that. Rey tried deactivating the weapon but couldn’t.
Outside The Robin Hood, the Beacerika backed away from the angry supernova. Nodding, it whispered, “My work here is complete,” and curled into a ball.
“No!” Rey screamed, but that was the last thing she yelled.
The Beacerika/Aerolin threw its body into the Jakku Supernova.
***
After several failed attempts, R2 and BB-8 finally opened the correct door. Before Lando, Temiri, Chewie, Poe, Rose, Hux, and Finn knew it, it slid open and revealed The Limpton’s ship hanger.
“Let’s go!” Lando shouted at his friends. He shot one more stormtrooper with his blaster.
Everybody rushed through the open door, where they met up with R2, BB-8, and C-3PO at the end of the hallway.
Stormtroopers continued to chase them from behind.
The friends moved their fastest, and it wasn’t long until they leaped into the ship hanger.
Yamo held a blaster of his own and stood on the ramp of the Millennium Falcon. “Hurry!” he ordered.
They did, except for poor 3PO, who never moved that fast. “Wait! Wait!” he begged.
At the sight of him, General Hux came to a screeching stop. Turning on his heel, he hurried to the droid and grabbed his arm. “Come on, Wise Gold!” With that, he dragged him to the Falcon’s ramp.
3PO yelled when a blaster bolt from another stormtrooper narrowly missed him. Yamo shoved his back, and the droid yelled again. Tripping, he fell onto his front at the ramp’s head.
Temiri pushed the soles of his feet so he could stop blocking the ramp and dragged him to a wall in the Falcon’s main hallway.
Yamo was the last one to dive into the ship. As quick as a flash, he pulled up its ramp and hurried to the cockpit.
The hanger’s door started to close in an attempt to trap the Falcon inside The Limpton. It lifted into the air, and stormtroopers continued shooting their blasters at it.
In the cockpit, Lando, who sat in the pilot seat, pushed the accelerator. He clenched his teeth as the Falcon edged closer to the hanger’s mouth.
Temiri screamed and threw himself into Chewie’s furry arms.
“We’re going to make it!” Finn shouted.
Make it, they did. The Falcon flew through the hanger’s mouth at the last second and accelerated into space, leaving The Limpton and Phonolukamy Blockade behind.
Emperor Palpatine’s Force ghost appeared on a balcony one level up in the hangar. He glared when he saw that that piece of junk managed to escape. Though mad, he knew it wasn’t the end. He would see that ship again, and when he did, he would have a new Darth Vader with him.
***
Rey cried out and closed her eyes as the broken-up supernova chucked its light, her missing Force abilities, into the two blades of her new lightsaber. The pure blast of energy shoved her chair against the back wall and chucked her forward like a rag doll.
Rey performed a front flip, and Force lightning escaped her fingertips. It smashed into The Robin Hood’s control panel, which caused it to spin like five tops simultaneously. It spun so fast that one could barely see it.
The Robin Hood somersaulted back toward Jakku as the last of the supernova’s light engulfed Rey’s lightsaber. Her eyes flashed yellow, and another bolt of Force lightning escaped her fingertips. That was her new power. Just as Emperor Palpatine said, he had gifted her something new, which Rey shared with him. What happened in space proved how powerful Rey was.
She, an orphan scavenger from Jakku, was just as powerful as a supernova.
ns 15.158.61.6da2
