Sequel Trilogy Rewrite

Chapter 1

Poe and BB-8 had just landed by a small village on Jakku. The cool night air made Poe sigh with relief. To him, it would have sucked to arrive in the daytime. As he and his little droid approached the hut of an old friend, BB-8 beeped.

"Don't worry. We'll be in and out before anyone notices." BB-8 beeped again. "That happened one time." He beeped again, recounting their previous missions. "Okay, now you're just being a smartass."

BB-8 let out a little laugh as they approached the hut. "Stay out here, bud. I'll be out in a minute." Poe went inside the hut and was greeted by Lor San Tekka.

"Poe, it's good to see you."

"It's good to see you, too." The two hugged briefly before sitting down. "I'm sorry we're not talking under better circumstances," Poe said. "There's no need to apologize. Besides, the galaxy needs hope, and hope is very powerful."

He pulled out a small hard drive and handed it to Poe. "Thank you. You have no idea how much it means to General Leia to have this."

"To you, she's a general, but to me, she'll always be royalty." Poe smiled and was about to respond when BB-8 rolled, frantically beeping.

"Whoa, whoa. Slow down, BB-8. What's wrong?" Poe asked. BB-8 beeped at a slower pace, telling the two men what he saw. "What?!" Poe exclaimed as the two men got up. They rushed outside and saw the shuttles landing.

"You need to hide," Poe said to Tekka. "You need to leave. Go, go!" Poe and BB-8 ran off as a battle ensued in the village. In the battle, a stormtrooper lost his only friend and suddenly realized that he was a part of something horrible.

Poe and BB-8 were almost to their X-wing when it was blown up by a stormtrooper. "Shit!" BB-8 beeped in distress as Poe kneeled down and gave the hard drive to the droid.

"BB-8, I need to take this and get this as far from here as possible." BB-8 beeped. "Don't worry about me. Just go. Go!" BB-8 spun around and sped away as Poe pulled out his blaster. He ran to and laid on a sand dune, ready to fire.

Much to his dismay, the stormtroopers had the surviving villagers surrounded, including Tekka. Then, a familiar masked figure cloaked in black emerged from the shuttle. He walked with an air of authority and power. The stormtroopers stood in attention as the figure strode past them.

He stopped and looked at Tekka for a moment, and there was a flicker of recognition in Tekka's eyes as he realized who this figure was. In an unnaturally deep and distorted voice, the figure ordered, "Bring him here."

Two of them grabbed Tekka's arms and practically dragged the old man over to him. "Lor San Tekka, the years haven't been kind to you," the figure stated. Tekka didn't respond. Instead, he gave the figure a stern, almost grandfatherly look.

"We know you have it, so give it to the First Order, and I'll spare your life."

"You are wasting your time, young man. I don't have it, and I can see through you now just as much as I could back when you were a child. You don't belong with the First Order. Your family misses you."

At the mention of his family, he gritted his teeth behind the mask and tightened his already clenched fists. "Where is it?"

"As I said, I don't have it."

"Then maybe they'll reveal themselves when I'm done with you." He pulled off the hilt of his lightsaber and activated it. Its angry red blade crackled as he raised it over his head, ready to deal a killing blow when Poe yelled, "NO!"

He jumped up and fired his blaster. The figure shot his free hand up, and the blue lazer froze in midair along with Poe. Poe's eyes widened as he realized he was immobile. It was like the air around his body was vibrating and restraining him.

Two stormtroopers rushed over to him and grabbed him, and the air suddenly felt normal again for Poe. They dragged Poe past the still frozen lazer as the figure lowered his hand and lightsaber. They shoved Poe onto his knees, and the figure turned off his weapon and kneeled in front of him.

His heart was pounding but refused to show it. "So, you're the infamous Kylo Ren. Not what I expected."

Kylo Ren didn't respond as he studied the other man. Feeling even more anxious, Poe asked, "So, who talks first? You talk first?"

"The old man gave it to you," Kylo Ren stated. Poe swallowed hard, silently cursing himself for being stupid. Kylo Ren stood up and ordered, "Search him." The stormtroopers yanked him up onto his feet and patted him down. "Nothing, sir."

"Put him on board," Kylo Ren ordered. The stormtroopers dragged him away and onto a shuttle behind him. A stormtrooper in silver armor walked up to him. "Sir, what should we do with the villagers?"

Kylo Ren looked at the terrified looks on their faces, mothers hugging their children, fathers looking ready to die protecting their families. Tekka gave him a stern and unwavering look, trying to silently plead with him to not harm them. All this sent guilt washing over his heart.

"Leave them. They're no threat. Let's go." He turned and started walking away. The stormtroopers lowered their weapons and followed him. As they walked, the stormtrooper who had lost his friend was reeling from what happened. That when he was startled out of his racing thoughts when the lazer that was frozen suddenly shot past and struck a pole.

He'd heard about Kylo Ren and how powerful he was but just thought they were rumors. Clearly, he was wrong. What he didn't expect was him to spare the villagers. Still, he knew he couldn't stay there longer. He had do to something to make things right. With a new resolve, he followed his fellow stormtroopers onto the shuttles and left.