Revival- A Star Wars Story

Chapter 31- The Red Pendant

The Resistance guards point a gun behind Finn's back, forcing him to walk through the corridors in handcuffs. Just then, Finn senses an incoming message, as if someone is trying to contact him.

He thinks to himself: Rey? But something is blocking the message from coming through. And gradually, the signal begins to die down, fading faster until he can't even sense the soul instrument to contact her anymore.

The guards all reach a central meeting spot, and Finn sees that someone else is there: Merilia, beaten and cuffed.

Gnovian and Citho approach the scene. Citho is furious. "I knew it. Traitors. They were working together!"

Gnovian sighs. "Finn. What were you trying to do?"

"I had a feeling that Citho was a traitor."

Citho screams at him, "YOU THOUGHT WHAT? ON WHAT GROUNDS?"

"Well, you didn't need any when you accused me," Finn bites back. A guard punches Finn.

"Hey!" Gnovian commands. "Don't hit them! Let us listen to what they have to say."

Finn peers at Citho, and says, "I saw a Force vision. That you were on Fortuna, and speaking to someone about causing the Force disruptions. I figured you were going to use them against the Resistance." Finn then tells them the date, time, and coordinates he saw him at.

"A Force vision? Ridicuous! This boy's gone mad!" Citho exclaims.

Gnovian tells Finn, "I can assure you that General Citho was with me throughout that entire day."

Merilia interrupts him "That was during the Axilim Skirmish."

"Who said you could speak?" Citho says, glaring at her.

Merilia ignores him. "I remember. Gnovian, an elite Axilim assassin was tracking you, but its aircraft was never found."

"Yes," Gnovian replies, "We later discovered it had been intercepted by mercenaries who stole its equipment. Thank Fortune that occurred, as it would have been deadly had that assassin gotten to me."

Gnovian and Citho take their leave. The guards throw them in transportable jail cells, and drag them along. Suddenly, Finn is struck by an idea. It's all starting to come together.

Finn closes his eyes, and meditates. And he is transported back into the soul world, standing before all the bridges. In the distance, he sees it: the armored stalker.

"HEY!" Finn shouts at it, "I wanna ask you something!"

The armored stalker snaps its head towards Finn. With a menacing stride, it starts walking. And then, it runs.

Finn tries his hardest not to budge. Damn it, he thinks to himself. This is either the best or worst idea I've had this week.

Just as the stalker is about to come closer, Finn fumbles to think about what to say, and then he yells, "I'm not here on Resistance orders!"

The stalker stops. It is so close now that Finn can see its red pendant inscribed with three fangs. In a ghostly echo, he speaks. "Resistance clothes. Resistance insignia. If you aren't Resistance, what are you?"

"I'm trying to find the truth. This apparel, it's, uh," Finn thinks for a moment, "It's just a disguise. I think I know who you're looking for. I'm looking for him, too."

The stalker hisses. "Who?"

"Gnovian."

The stalker peers at Finn. In a low voice, it says, "He sent me here. Trapped in this enigmatic world. Never aging. Never dying. I was ordered by my King to kill him. But now, I have my own reasons to enact his death."