Us Against the World

20

Hearing the voices of the Jedi that came before you was tough. It had taken me a whole week of meditation to finally hear someone. In fact this was one of the hardest lessons that Rey had faced and although she didn't agree, she was doing well. She could get into a deep state of meditation a lot quicker than she could before, and she was more focused each time.

I stood by Leia, watching Rey. BB8 was sitting watching her, the little droid had quite the attachment to the girl. Leia and I had taken over Rey's training, Leia had mostly been in charge, but when it came to saber training and reading of the ancient texts, that was my forte. We watched Rey drop the rocks that had been circling her, flipping down to the ground with an exasperated expression. This was her second day of trying.
"Rey, be patient." Leia instructed. Ever since we had landed Rey was eager for a fight, eager to return to battle. Once we received the eerie transmission, she was even more determined to go and fight.
"I'm starting to think it isn't possible to hear the voices of the Jedi who came before you." She said. Her outfit that she had taken to wearing matched mine. It was the same design except mine was a purer white rather than her cream. Apparently it matched my heart. When Leia had said that I rolled my eyes and walked off, leaving her laughing behind me. White wasn't practical.
"I thought the same, until I heard one." I announced. Rey's eyes widened at my announcement. Curiosity filled her eyes as she asked me who I had heard, who had come through to me. I simply smiled, looking to my weapon as it hung by my side. "The only other person to wield a white lightsaber." Her eyes filled with realisation.

When I had first heard her, I almost thought I was hearing things. I didn't know who I expected but it wasn't her. Ahsoka told me that I would be important, a crucial part of the force as it guided the future. She told me about the lightsaber, how the crafting process had purified my Kyber crystal, and that it represented a force for good, free from bureaucracy. I didn't know much about it then, but now I understand it so much more. Now older, she was a Jedi that I understood a lot more than others.

"How about a run?" I asked Rey, nodding my head to where the training course was. I had designed the route and the exercises, ran it myself to make sure it was challenging enough to push her, but not impossible, at the same time, not so easy as to bore her. I can remember running courses similar with Ben. We'd time each other and try to beat the others. Leia handed Rey Luke's saber and we watched her walk off.

Leia and I wondered back to the base, admiring the trees and the peaceful silence that came from being away from the action.
"Have you heard from him?" Leia meant Ben. She stopped talking when I dropped my head, indicating that I hadn't. In fact, since we landed I had tried every day to reach him. I wanted, needed to see what he looked like, needed to hear why he had chosen to stay, whether the title of Supreme Leader was worth it. But I was shut out. I wondered if this was what Ben had felt all the years I shut him out, not being able to face him. Now I wished I had answered him, because this feeling of emptiness was like a stabbing pain, and absence within my soul.

When Rey came back, not only was she scratched, but seemed upset. I knew from her face that she had sensed Ben, that they had felt the force of the other. I worried that Ben's bond with me was diminishing, and reattaching Rey and him. Every night, I prayed it wasn't that. That somehow, someone was still using the force bond between us to connect to Rey and they had worked out how to block a bond. Hearing this, I climbed the nearest tree.

There was something freeing about sitting on a branch that was high above the treeline, exposing the sky to you. I felt like this place was my secret. With only my cloak for warmth, this was practically my living quarters. From there, I could see the birds flying above me; I could watch the sun run away, hiding behind the horizon; every sound was a gift for me to hear. Leia was the only one that knew exactly what tree I was in. If anyone else needed me, I would jump down when I heard them shout for me, thankful for Jedi abilities that meant I could jump from

the top branch unharmed.

With the sun watching over me, I closed my eyes. Tonight I wasn't reaching out to Ben. Tonight I needed guidance, I needed to get someone to help me. I had established a new plan, not being able to take the heartbreak at Ben's lack of response. At first, I had considered my grandfather, begging him to help give me strength and find hope in this time. A better idea came to me. It wasn't me that desperately needed to hear from the dead, it was Ben.
"Anakin..." I whispered, letting the breeze carry my words away. I needed to hear him and ask him to visit Ben, show his grandson what would happen if he continued on this path. Reaching with your mind to hear the voices of past Jedi was a strange feeling. You felt like you were drifting off to sleep but you could sense everything around you.

"Master Kenobi, you coming down?" I heard Poe's voice shout. He insisted on using my last name, saying he liked seeing my annoyance at the unwanted nickname. Night had fallen by this point and I hadn't managed to contact Anakin, or hear anyone for that matter. I slipped my body off the branch, revelling in the feeling of falling before my feet connected with the floor. Poe was facing away from me, looking up at a tree, expecting to see me fall. In front of him the resistance had gathered around Leia, ready to hear the intel that had been gathered. "Come on, Poe. Don't want to keep everyone waiting." I stated, watching him jump at the sound of my voice, turning to face me with a glare as I walked ahead of him to the group. We were gathered in a circle. Everyone that was left to support the resistance stood around, me beside Leia. Poe began to talk, telling our group that the message had been decoded, that the First Order spy had confirmed the worst, something Leia and I believed to be impossible."Somehow, Palpatine returned." Poe announced. Nerves rose and fear was heightened, if the First Order were beginning to carry out more and more impossible acts, where would that leave us? People asked if it was to be believed, if the spy could be trusted, pulling on the theories of dark science and cloning. "However it's happened, there is a disturbance in the force." I added, trying to get people that were doubting the information to see the gravity of the situation. It didn't matter how they had done it, or if it was true, something dark was coming. "He's been planning his revenge. His followers have been building something for years. The largest fleet the galaxy has ever known." Poe declared. It was named the Final Order. The most disturbing news was the time limit. 16 hours. Less than a day to completely save the galaxy from certain destruction. I'd argue that we were used to this, only that was a feeble attempt at optimism. Even Leia tensed beside me.