Love and The Force Know No Bounds

Confrontation and Questions

The once intense blanket of heat had receded back to the very place from which it came. Pillars of fire slowly dwindled and dissipated into brilliant gems carried away by invisible currents. Mounds of charcoal lay dying a peaceful death as their once pulsating canals began to drain away. Luke sat by himself admiring the simplicity of a dying fire. Rey had left a while ago, and his vision was blurring around the corners due to sleepiness.

The grave Jedi Master hadn't been sleeping much as dreams of Han stomped around his subconscious. He could feel the defeat that his brother-in law must have felt when he was stabbed through the heart by his only son. He watched the life drain from his friend's face and eyes, searching for a world less bitter than the one they had just left. Han's fall was perpetual, as Luke was meant to forever watch his best friend plummet to certain death. Luke would then look down to find the same lightsaber in the center of his stomach; completely undoing the complex patchwork that was the human body. The wielder of the weapon was the masked fiend that had murdered his own father:Kylo Ren.

Luke rose to head to his home, taking careful steps among the minefield of rocks. The blurry outline of his camp grew closer when a rush of ice surrounded Luke's head. Metal clamps bit into his skull and froze all coherent thought. Only one thing made it through the unwavering barriers: his former apprentice was on this very mountain. If only he could loosen the steel teeth a fraction, he might be able to sense what was happening.

His teeth ground together as he battled against the mental restraints that Kylo had imposed upon him. His former student was a prodigy when it came to screwing with one's mind. After a significant effort, Luke was able to break through Ren's hold.

Luke's sense of urgency increased as he felt Rey's cry for help through the force. The sense of paralysis that had fallen upon Rey was so strong, that it almost crawled through the echo and snaked itself around Luke's body. Deciding that running would take too much time, Luke decided to "lightning rod."

The sturdy feel of the floor beneath Luke's feet alerted him to the fact that he was on the Millennium Falcon once more.

Peering around to study his surroundings, the dejarik game board, refreshment table in the corner, and the hint of familiarity told him that he had arrived in the common area for recreation. A choked scream tore away the calm, and gave Luke the information he needed as to where Ren was. Bolting through the adjoining hallway, he almost ran into Rey.

Ren's hold over Rey snapped as his attention drew to the arrival of his forsaken master. Before he could utter a single word, Rey had Ren pinned to the ground with her lightsaber to his neck. The look upon herself was one of pure disgust. "What the hell are you doing here? Have you come to finish the job, or am I just another name to add to your list of kills?" Kylo remained silent, only making Rey even angrier. "Well which is it? Giving me the silent treatment certainly isn't goig to give you any favors. What are you doing here?" The blade had shifted lower than Rey intended and began to burn the skin beneath.

"Rey! That is enough! Let him go!" Rey had never looked so astonished.

"Why would we let him go? He is a monster! For all we know, he has come to kill you. That would certainly be ironic, killing your own uncle over the very soil that he tried to help you. Well, I will not let that happen."

Ren only offered a sinister smile that made it seem as if he had planned the entire thing this way.

"Rey, I will not ask again. Drop the lightsaber now! I entrusted that weapon to you, to defend the light. Do not make me regret that."

Rey looked down at her hands and felt a sudden wave of nausea. What was she doing? She hated Kylo Ren; that was certain, but she was not going to throw everything away before it had even begun. Luke's pleading eyes gave her the resolve she needed to walk away from that scary line.