Silver Star

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Rey followed Luke Skywalker into the large structure. She was ready for her second lesson, still hopeful for him to change his mind and follow her back to the resistance.

Skywalker sat down next to the small disk of water on the ground.

"Lesson two. Now that they're extinct, the Jedi are romanticized, deified. But if you strip away the myth and look at their deeds, the legacy of the Jedi is failure. Hypocrisy, hubris."

"That's not true!"

"At the height of their powers, they allowed Darth Sidious to rise, create the Empire, and wipe them out. It was a Jedi Master who was responsible for the training and creation of Darth Vader."

"And a Jedi who saved him! Yes, your father was the most hated man in the galaxy. He caused so much death and destruction for many years. But you saw there was conflict inside him! You believed he wasn't gone. That he could be turned"

Skywalker scoffed

"And I became a legend. For many years, there was balance. And then I saw...Ben. My nephew with that mighty Skywalker blood. And in my hubris, I thought I could train him, I could pass on my strengths. Han was... Han about it, but...Leia trusted me with her son. I took him, and about a dozen other students, and began a training temple. But I was no match for the darkness rising in him. Not even the young healer who loved him was enough to stop the darkness rising in him"

Rey blinked. "Healer?"

"Do you know what the Healers order is?"

"No, I don't"

Skywalker rolled his eyes. "I didn't think so. The Healers Order can be traced back as far as the beginning of the Jedi. Women who didn't become Jedi went into the Healers Order. They were once considered as powerful as the Jedi, but they have long been extinct in their own powers. Until Saya. Saya was the first woman in decades to actually possess the true powers of a healer."

"She didn't want to become a Jedi?" Rey asked

Skywalker glanced down to the small pool of water. "I don't know. I don't think she was ever formally asked. I went to the temple of Elders, begging them to let me speak to her, to train her. The power that girl held was incredible. With training, she could have easily been a powerful Jedi. But they wouldn't allow her to leave. Saya is probably the last of her race of people that held such incredible power."

"What people? I thought only a select few could be Jedi"

"That's true to an extent. There was one an entire race of people, all born with strong connections to the force. Especially the women. Strong conductors of the force, with the ability to share their own power with others. But they were destroyed by the Sith long ago. Saya was one of the last of the survivors of that race."

Skywalker took a breath and continued.

"They wouldn't part with her. She was sent to the training temple on the same planet my own temple was built. When I found out they had met, I prayed she would keep him in the light. I even went to beg the Superior Mother of the Order to keep allowing them to meet. But... she still wasn't enough... She couldn't stop the darkness from rising in him."

"What happened?"

"I went to confront him, and he turned on me. He must've thought I was dead. When I came to, the temple was burning. He had vanished with a handful of my students, and slaughtered the rest. Leia blamed Snoke, but... it was me. I failed, because I was Luke Skywalker. Jedi Master. A Legend. The only relief I felt that night was knowing the Healers Order evacuated the planet before Ben could get to Saya. She escaped with the other trainees. If he had gotten her, there's no telling what his power would be like now."

Rey thought for a moment

"I... I saw her... With him..."

Skywalker's head snapped up to her.

"What did you say?"

"I saw her on the base. She had long silver hair. I remember when I was in the same room, I never felt stronger!"

Skywalker slowly shook his head and looked back to the ground.

"If he is really reunited with her, then there's no hope. She can add to not only Ben's power, but to Snokes as well."

"...She may be dead. Chewie accidentally shot her. He was trying to shoot Kylo Ren, but she took the blast. I don't know if she survived..."

Skywalker sighed.

"It doesn't matter. The galaxy doesn't need me. It doesn't need a false legend"

"The galaxy may need a legend! I need someone to show me my place in all this. And you didn't fail Kylo Ren. Kylo failed you. I won't."