Star Wars VIII: Stand of the Republic

26: Overreaching

Chewbacca sat on a supply crate at the base of the Millennium Falcon's ramp. Although the island lacked the towering trees of his home world of Kashyyyk, the open air was still better than the stifling confines of the ship's corridors.

Using his claws, Chewbacca sliced into the covering and broke the seal on the food ration pack he held. Within the partitioned interior, one selection began to warm itself automatically while a block of pale tan inflated to become a bread roll as the contents were exposed to the atmosphere. Chewbacca was about to eat when a chirping sound made him look down.

Hopping up and down at his feet was one of the small porgs, its diminutive wings flapping excitedly as it chirped and whistled at him. Chewbacca tore off a piece of the roll and tossed it to the creature. Leaning over, the porg inspected the offered morsel before swallowing it whole and looking expectantly at Chewbacca with its wide, round eyes.

***

Rey sat cross-legged on a cliff overlooking the sea. Her eyes were closed while she breathed deeply.

"Feel the Force around you," Luke instructed from where he stood behind her. "The Force is everywhere, so through the Force, you can see everywhere. Look around the island with the Force, feel the life it's a part of. Life creates the force and makes it grow, so every source of life is connected, allowing you to reach them."

Rey stretched out with her mind to the Force and felt the flow of the energy across the island. She sensed the porgs on land as well as the fish and other creatures in the surrounding waters. She detected Chewie by the Falcon. The ship itself was cold and lifeless, but the energy of the Force filled its interior corridors and surrounded its hull on all sides like a fog.

"That's enough for today," Luke announced.

"Can I reach beyond this world?" Rey asked. "Since the Force is everywhere, I should be able to reach anywhere in the galaxy."

"True," Luke confirmed. "However, you're not ready for that. When the time comes, I'll train you to extend your reach."

Luke headed back up the mountain toward the empty village of stone huts. Rey remained behind. She rested her elbows on her knees and cradled her head in her hands.

"I'll never be ready at this rate," she muttered under her breath.

Closing her eyes, Rey reached out to the Force, following the energy wherever it would lead her. When she opened her eyes, she was sitting cross-legged in a room of black metal. Red lights burned from the walls. She stood up and looked around but didn't see anything of immediate interest.

Suddenly, she felt cold. A shiver crawled up her spine with the pinpricks of an insect's legs scurrying across her skin. The hairs on the back of her neck bristled. She was sure she was being watched, but couldn't see anyone. Something was very wrong here; she had to get away, but she didn't know how.

The hiss of a door opening caused Rey to spin around and find herself staring into the reflective lens built into the black and silver mask of Kylo Ren.

With speed she'd never imagined, Kylo seized her by the arm, his fingers digging painfully into her flesh.

"What are you doing here?" Kylo demanded in a cold whisper through the filters of his mask. "How did you survive the destruction of Starkiller base?"

Rey couldn't answer, couldn't move, couldn't even scream. Kylo's grip tightened on her arm to the point she thought it would be severed in half.

"It doesn't matter why you're here," Kylo admitted. "You will help me prove my devotion to the First Order."

Dragging her along, Kylo went back into the throne room and presented her to Snoke.

"Master," Kylo called. "I bring you the Jedi girl who escaped Starkiller base."

"Welcome child," Snoke said. His twisted face tried to smile, but it resembled a sneer. "I sense abundant power in you. With proper training, you could become a great addition to the First Order, perhaps even one of the Knights of Ren."

"Never!" Rey shouted, finding her voice.

"Such defiance," Snoke chuckled. "It will not serve you. My apprentice, Kylo Ren, has killed Jedi with far more training than you, and you will fall just as easily if you defy me."

"That's a lie!" Rey blurted before she could think. "Kylo never killed anyone at the Jedi academy."

"Really?" Snoke questioned as he leaned forward on his throne. "How would you know? Have you seen them?"

The pain in Rey's arm diminished as Kylo suddenly released her. She still couldn't flee as it felt as if she was buried from the waist down in thick mud.

"She's telling the truth?" Kylo questioned, taking a step toward Snoke and losing all thought of his prisoner. "I didn't kill the other trainees? You've been lying to me?"

"I am the Supreme Leader!" Snoke roared as he rose from his throne, the tarnished gold of his robes shimmering slightly. "I do as I please, and my subjects obey whatever I tell them. If you didn't kill them before, you'll do so now."

"Not for you, I won't," Kylo snarled. He reached out a hand, and the lightsaber formerly resting on the armrest of the throne switched on as it flew toward Kylo. The red blade activated as it turned in mid-flight, cutting through Snoke at the waist in passing.

Rey felt the restricting pressure on her legs cease as Snoke's lifeless body collapsed in two parts on the floor. She staggered back a few steps as the Praetorian guards drew their weapons.

"I am now the Supreme Leader!" Kylo shouted. "Kneel in service to me!"

"I don't think they're going to," Rey commented as the guards moved to attack.

"How unfortunate for them," Kylo growled. Extending his free hand, Kylo tapped into the Force and the guards halted in place while gasping for air.

Rey watched in stunned horror as Kylo killed all eight of the guards simultaneously. When the dead men dropped, Kylo turned his attention toward her.