Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Rey’s Story Page 5

  Rey kept her blaster drawn. Then she heard the menacing hum of Kylo Ren’s lightsaber. It was now or never.

  Rey leaped from her hiding place and fired two quick blasts at her attacker.

  Kylo easily deflected both bolts. With a terrifying confidence, he walked toward her.

  Rey fired shot after shot, but Kylo deflected every blast. Soon he was standing right before her.

  “Tell me, girl,” he said, “where is the droid I seek?” He lifted his left hand and reached toward Rey.

  Suddenly, Rey felt a searing pain in her head. Kylo was penetrating her mind with the Force. Rey tried to think of anything but BB-8. Her thoughts went immediately to Finn. Wherever he was, she hoped he was all right.

  “You’ve met the traitor who served under me,” Kylo said, reading her mind. “You’ve even begun to care for him.”

  The pain intensified as Kylo dug deeper. Rey tried to hold on tightly to every thought of BB-8, but Kylo ripped them from her grasp.

  He drew back in surprise. “You’ve seen it…the map. It’s in your mind right now.” Kylo contacted his stormtroopers and ordered them to leave the planet. “Forget the droid: we have what we need.”

  Kylo flicked his wrist, and Rey felt herself losing consciousness.

  When Rey woke up, she saw the weathered mask of Kylo Ren hovering above her. Reflexively, she reached for her blaster but then realized she was locked in an interrogation chair.

  “Where am I?” Rey demanded.

  Kylo paused for a moment before replying. “You’re my guest.”

  He lifted a hand and the restraints around her arms clicked open. Rey tried to hide her surprise as she rubbed her sore wrists. She still wanted answers.

  “Where are the others?”

  “The traitors, murderers, and thieves you call your friends?” he asked. “You’ll be relieved to hear that I have no idea.”

  Rey’s relief was matched only by her anger at the cruel man. What kind of game was he playing?

  Kylo clearly sensed her thoughts. “You still want to kill me.”

  “That happens when you’re being hunted by a creature in a mask,” Rey spat.

  Kylo considered her a moment, then reached up and removed the mask.

  Rey was stunned. She had expected the face of a monster—twisted and scarred. But nothing about Kylo’s face showed the darkness inside him. With his wavy black hair and dark eyes, he looked no different from the young men Rey saw scavenging on Jakku.

  But when he spoke, Rey was immediately reminded of the power and evil concealed by his ordinary face. “I know you’ve seen the map. I can take whatever I want.”

  “Then you don’t need me to tell you anything,” Rey replied.

  “True.” Kylo Ren accepted her challenge.

  He reached out with his mind and began searching Rey’s thoughts for the map to Luke Skywalker. Again, Rey tried to clear her mind, but thoughts of her friends kept interrupting.

  “You’ve been so lonely…so afraid to leave,” he said. “At night, desperate to sleep, you’d imagine an ocean. I can see it. I can see the island.”

  Rey tried to pull away, but Kylo continued. “And Han Solo. He feels like the father you never had.”

  “Get out of my head!” Rey shouted.

  “Rey, you’ve seen the map. It’s in there, and I’m going to take it,” Kylo said.

  “I’m not giving you anything.”

  Kylo reached toward her again. “We’ll see.”

  This time Rey met his eyes. She pushed back against his probing thoughts, harder and harder, until the pain in her head suddenly disappeared. A flash of surprise crossed Kylo’s face, and Rey pressed her advantage. She reached out with her mind, entering his thoughts.

  “You…you’re afraid that you will never be as powerful as Darth Vader!” Rey smiled in triumph.

  Kylo Ren stepped backward, dropping his hand. He staggered toward the door, clearly rattled by Rey’s power. He had just enough awareness to snap Rey’s restraints back into place. Then he fled the room.

  REY’S MIND RACED as she looked around her prison cell. She was trapped, and yet she had never felt more powerful. Was that the Force Maz had spoken of? Maybe it was time she stopped making excuses and accepted the truth in front of her.

  There was only one way to be sure. A stormtrooper guarded the entrance to her cell. Perhaps she could reach into his mind as she had with Kylo.

  Rey cleared her throat. “You will remove these restraints. And leave this cell. With the door open.”

  That hadn’t come out quite right. The stormtrooper seemed to agree. “What did you say to me?”

  Rey kept her eyes trained on the guard and let the power, or Force, or whatever flow through her.

  “You will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open,” she commanded.

  Her heart pounded in her chest. It needed to work.

  “I will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open,” the stormtrooper repeated. He reached down and unlatched the manacles holding Rey down. Then he turned and headed toward the cell door.

  “And you will drop you weapon,” Rey added quickly.

  The stormtrooper dropped his rifle on the ground, then left the cell. The door was wide open.

  Rey picked up the weapon and ran into a gray corridor. She appeared to be inside a massive First Order stronghold. She couldn’t feel the hum of engines through the floor panels. She must not be on a ship.

  That was a setback. No ship meant no escape pods. A planet would be much harder to find a way off of. But which of the First Order’s conquered planets had Kylo taken her to?

  Rey followed the corridor until it turned into a walkway high above an empty atrium. On one side of the walkway was a steel wall, and on the other side was a straight drop-off to the atrium more than fifty meters below. The walkway ended in a giant hangar door and past that—a fleet of TIE fighters just waiting to be stolen!

  The only problem was the platoon of stormtroopers guarding the door. There was no way she could fight all of them. Perhaps there was another entrance to the hangar bay back the way she had come….

  That was when she heard the clank of boots against metal. A group of stormtroopers was headed up the walkway behind her. She was trapped.

  Rey glanced over the edge. If she climbed down, she could disappear before the stormtroopers spotted her. She tried to tell herself it would be just like climbing in the ship graveyard back home.

  She ran to the edge of the walkway and spotted a perfect foothold.

  Don’t look down. Don’t look down. Don’t look down.

  Rey slipped over the side and pressed against the stony wall. Above her the stormtroopers passed by without noticing a thing.

  There were just forty-eight meters to go before she reached the atrium floor. As Rey looked for another foothold, she spotted an even better option. Just a stone’s throw away on her left side was a service hatch. She could climb inside and use the maintenance tunnels to get outside of the First Order base.

  Five tunnels, three hatches, and two wrong turns later, Rey felt sure she must be getting close to the edge of the base. The air was growing colder and her sweaty palms were beginning to stick to the cold metal floor beneath her. Rey saw an exit hatch in front of her and decided to take a chance.

  She climbed into a—thankfully—empty corridor. Her blaster at the ready, Rey slowly crept toward what she hoped was the exit.

  Suddenly, she heard a noise behind her. Rey pivoted, ready to fire, and saw—

  “Finn!” Rey couldn’t believe her eyes. “What are you doing here?”

  “We came back for you,” he said.

  It was then that she noticed Han and Chewie standing guard behind Finn. Rey felt tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. After all those years, someone had finally returned for her. She didn’t have to wait any longer.

  Chewie moaned happily at Rey, and she smiled.

  “What did he say?” Finn asked.

  “That it was your idea,” Rey replied. Finn had clearly embraced his role as a hero, and Rey couldn’t have been prouder. She ran forward and hugged him tightly.

  “Hug later,” Han growled. “Escape now.”

  As they ran from the base, Finn explained what was going on. Kylo had taken her to a frozen planet that housed a weapon so powerful it could destroy an entire star system. The weapon was called the Starkiller, and the First Order had already used it to obliterate the New Republic capital. That was the beam of light Rey had seen in the sky above Maz’s castle. Now the Resistance was all that stood against the evil group.

  So the Resistance had launched a desperate mission to destroy the weapon. Finn had volunteered to be a part of the ground team, hoping to find Rey. He, Han, and Chewie had already succeeded in lowering the shield that protected the Starkiller. Now Poe Dameron—who was not dead, by the way—and his team of pilots were firing on the exposed weapon.

  Rey and her friends finally reached the planet’s surface. There she was able to see everything herself. A squadron of X-wings circled above their heads, taking turns leading attack runs on the massive weapon. But Han looked worried. It was all taking too long. The X-wings should have been finished with their attack already.

  They had to help destroy the Starkiller.

  “My friend here has a bag full of explosives,” Han said, gesturing to Chewie. “Let’s put them to use.”

  “The oscillator is the only target, but there’s no way to get inside,” Finn said.

  Oscillator? Rey knew that device was responsible for cooling powerful engines. The Resistance must have identified an oscillator within the Starkiller that kept the weapon from overheating.

  “There is a way,” Rey chimed in. “I’ve been inside these walls: the mechanics are the same as the Star Destroyers. Get me to a junction and I can get us in.”

  REY PULLED THE LAST TWO WIRES out of place and reached deep inside the junction box.

  They were right above the oscillator control room. Rey had managed to rewire the entrance hatch, and one last piece stood between them and their target.

  “Been doing this all my life…never thought about it until now,” Rey said, almost to herself.

  “What?” Finn asked.

  “One small piece can be so important.” Rey yanked the control box from the base of the hatch and the door swung open.

  Once inside, Han and Chewie divided the explosives between them while Rey and Finn stood guard.

  “You take the upper levels. I’ll go down,” Han suggested to Chewie. “We’ll meet back here.”

  Rey held her blaster high as Han and Chewie planted the explosives throughout the oscillator room. They were so close to finishing their mission. She and Finn even checked the upper catwalk and made sure the area was secure.

  Rey looked down into the oscillator room below them, and her heart skipped a beat. How had she not sensed him? The evil pulsing around him was unmistakable. Kylo Ren was standing on another catwalk below them.

  Rey held her breath and looked around frantically for Han and Chewie. She couldn’t see the Wookiee anywhere, but Han was safely concealed behind a tall pillar. If he could make it to the hatch behind him, they could all slip away unnoticed.

  But instead of moving to safety, Han stepped towards the catwalk and called out: “Ben.”

  Kylo Ren stopped and turned around. “Han Solo. I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.” He took a step forward. “The Supreme Leader is wise. He knows you for what you really are: Han Solo, small-time thief.”

  Han shrugged. “Well, he’s got that part right.”

  Rey tried to process what was happening. How did Han know Kylo Ren? And who was the leader even Kylo seemed to fear?

  “Snoke’s using you for your power,” Han continued. “When he gets what he wants, he’ll crush you. You know it’s true.”

  Kylo hesitated for a moment. “It’s too late.”

  “No, it’s not,” Han said. “Leave here with me. Come home.”

  Home? Suddenly, Rey registered the resemblance between the father and son. But how? How could Han Solo’s son have turned to the First Order?

  “I know what I have to do, but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it,” Kylo said. The conflict in his voice was clear. “Will you help me?”

  “Yes. Anything,” Han said.

  Kylo unholstered his lightsaber and slowly raised the hilt toward Han. He was close to his father. Rey saw the metal of the lightsaber flash in the dying sunlight. Han reached out to take the weapon.

  But Kylo suddenly ignited the blade, and Han fell, lifeless, to the chasm below.

  Rey screamed in horror. She couldn’t believe her eyes. She stood frozen for three, six, ten seconds. Then a cascade of blasts snapped her out of her daze. Chewbacca fired a quarrel from his bowcaster into Kylo’s side before setting off the explosives. They had to get out of there.

  She took one more look down at Kylo Ren. Their eyes met, a flash of recognition crossing his face. He rose to his full height and headed for her with long strides.

  Rey fumbled with her blaster, but Finn knew the odds were against them. Stormtroopers where flooding the area to investigate the explosions. Finn grabbed Rey’s arm and pulled her out of the oscillator room and up to the planet’s surface.

  Rey tried to focus on the ground beneath her feet. Somewhere behind her she heard the X-wings fire on the vulnerable oscillator. She barely registered its destruction.

  Finn kept pulling them forward. Kylo Ren was surely close behind them. The red flash of his lightsaber caught Rey’s eye.

  Rey and Finn stopped for a moment and looked at each other. Silently, they agreed that they couldn’t outrun him. They turned to face the First Order warrior. That was where they would make their stand. For Han.

  Rey raised her blaster, but before she could even fire, Kylo used the Force to throw her backward. Rey’s body slammed into a tree, knocking the wind out of her. Everything started to go dark as she fought to stay conscious.

  She saw a beam of blue light appear and clash against the red glow of Kylo’s lightsaber. Muted sounds from the battle fought to make their way through the haze that surrounded her.

  Rey focused on the blue light, slowly rising to her feet. It was Finn! He was wielding a lightsaber. Rey raced over to help him.

  Finn was fighting bravely, and Kylo was hurt from Chewbacca’s earlier shot, but Finn was still no match for Kylo’s practiced attacks. With a mighty blow, Kylo knocked Finn to the ground, wounding him.

  Kylo used the Force to pull Finn’s lightsaber from his grip. As the weapon flew through the air, Rey knew it would be her only chance to stop Kylo. She raised her hand and focused on drawing the lightsaber toward her. She felt a tug as it neared Kylo Ren.

  But she was stronger. The hilt flew into her hand. Instantly, she knew it was the lightsaber from the box. She had seen all of this before. Kylo. Kylo Ren was the apprentice whom Luke had trained. Kylo had fallen to the dark side. Kylo had sent Luke into hiding. It all centered on Kylo.

  Kylo stared at the lightsaber in Rey’s hand. “It is you,” he breathed.

  Rey didn’t know what his words meant, but she was too furious to do anything but attack. She charged at Kylo and ignited the weapon. Instantly, the hum of the blade resonated within her. The lightsaber was unlike anything Rey had held in her life. She didn’t understand it, but she inherently knew it was the most important weapon in the entire galaxy. As she swept the blue beam down toward Kylo, it moved as though it were an extension of her arm.

  Instinctively, Kylo raised his lightsaber to block her. Their blades crackled as they connected. Rey took advantage of Kylo’s surprise and put him on the defensive.

  Suddenly, the ground began shaking beneath them. Rey realized that the destruction of the Starkiller weapon must have started tearing the planet apart. A piece of the forest broke away from them and disappeared into a newly formed gulf.

  “I don’t want to kill you,” Kylo said as their weapons sparked.

  Rey laughed. “Don’t you?”

  “You need a teacher,” Kylo explained. “I can show you the ways of the Force.”

  Rey wasn’t buying a word of it. “You’re a monster.”

  She intensified her attacks, sensing more than seeing where he would strike next. Her blade cut across Kylo’s face before connecting with his saber hilt. Kylo’s weapon went flying into the snow.

  Rey stood above him with her lightsaber raised. He was defenseless. She could strike him down right then and end it all.

  With a great rumble, the ground between them split apart. A deep ravine opened wider and wider, until Kylo was well beyond Rey’s reach. Her revenge had been taken from her, but Rey had still won the fight.

  She watched as Kylo stumbled away from the battlefield. His men soon found him and escorted him to an escape shuttle.

  Rey returned to Finn’s side and knelt beside him. He fluttered near unconsciousness. His wound was deep, and there was no way he would be able to walk. She wasn’t sure how they would escape before the planet erupted into nothingness, but she knew it couldn’t end like that.

  She felt more alive than she ever had on Jakku. She had a destiny. It was big and frightening, but she had friends by her side to help her. Her life was only just beginning.

  Rey held Finn tightly in her arms and waited for a miracle.

  There was silence. Then the bright lights of a familiar spacecraft glowed above them. It was Chewbacca in the Millennium Falcon!

  Finally, they were safe.

  THE CELEBRATION STARTED as soon as they returned to the Resistance base.

  Everywhere Rey looked she saw Resistance fighters happily reuniting. Each time it was exactly the same: the separated friends would see each other from across the room and race to be together. She watched the hugs, the tears, and the giddy laughter of survival repeat again and again.

  Rey was truly happy for those brave soldiers who had risked everything to save the galaxy. And yet she felt a pang of sadness at every reunion. She mourned for Han and for the friendship they would never have. And she worried about Finn, who was still lying unconscious in the medbay. He hadn’t woken up since the Starkiller battle. But the doctors assured her that they were doing all they could for him. All he needed was time.