Skywalker Rises

A Start

Finn turned to Rey as soon as they were out in the hallway. "You're seeing and hearing this too, right?"

"Crazy, you are not," said Yoda.

Rey could have sworn his eyes twinkled. She sucked in a sharp breath, and looked between the ghosts, connecting some memories and mysteries from the past. Their voices were familiar.

"You've both spoken to me in the past. I didn't just imagine it."

"We have," said the man. "I am Obi-Wan. And this is Yoda. We were Jedi masters." 

Rey had read plenty about both of them. They were legends. 

"We have a few questions," said Obi-Wan.

"So do we," said Finn.

"How can you see them?" said Rey to Finn.

"Would you like to tell her?" said Obi-Wan.

Finn grimaced. "I tried to tell you before. I think I have some Force. Not like you, but a little."

"Felt it, you did," said Yoda. "When Rey died."

"WHAT?!" said Finn. He rounded on Rey. "You died?!"

"I'm not dead now," said Rey, wishing she had had the energy to talk through everything with them. She shrugged. 

"You are alive because Ben Solo gave his life for yours," said Obi-Wan.

Rey hadn't thought about it in such bald terms. It remained a raw, open wound that refused to heal. Even now, tears spilled down her cheeks. She had cried enough to fill a river in the confines of her little library workroom. 

"I know, young one," said Obi-Wan. "It is to your credit that you feel his loss so keenly. The new Jedi you train, and the galaxy, will benefit from your nature."

"Wait," said Finn. 

Finn looked like he wanted to continue, but he was opening and closing his mouth in search for words to describe his confusion. He reached up and brushed the tears off of Rey's cheeks with the backs of his fingers. Rey wasn't sure if she could convince Finn that in the end, in her last thirty seconds with him, Ben had been just Ben. Not Kylo Ren. 

Obi-Wan seemed to understand the situation. Perhaps ghosts had more knowledge than the living. 

"Kylo Ren died on Kef Bir. Ben Solo died on Exegol, to restore Rey's life. She did not survive her successful destruction of the Sith. Ben chose willingly. He knew it would result in his death."

"Is that normal?" said Finn. "Raising the dead?" He looked uncomfortable.

Obi-Wan and Yoda  engaged in some kind of long, silent communication. Rey wondered if they could read each other's minds. Maybe they could read hers. 

"Normal, it is not," said Yoda. "Possible, though, yes. Mhm."

"Darth Sidious practiced raising the dead and manipulating and taking life forces using the Force," said Obi-Wan. "But he did not give of himself to accomplish it. He took from others. We previously thought it a skill obtained by using the dark side. But Ben could not have done so. The other possibility is that due to their dyad relationship, the exchange was possible in a way it would not have been for anyone else, in any other circumstance."

"So, Kylo Ren was a good guy then?" said Finn.

"No," said Rey, finally recovering her composure. "Certainly not. But he and Ben were not, are not, the same person."

"That's...complicated," said Finn.

"Complicated, it is," said Yoda. "But true." 

"You want to ask me about it," said Rey. "That's why you're here." 

Yoda nodded. 

"I don't remember being healed," said Rey. "I was dead. And then I wasn't. And then Ben died."

"Consider the dyad, we must," said Yoda to Obi-Wan. 

"They want me to train new Jedi," said Rey, motioning back to the room full of stuffy dignitaries. "I don't think I can. But you're here. Can you train them? The other Force users?"

"No," said Obi-Wan. "Our time here is limited. We come to give advice. To give what little guidance we can. In the past, we have been permitted to cross over rarely. If you agree, Rey, we suggest two teachers for your consideration. Master Yoda, on the ways of the Jedi, and Ben Solo, on a more controlled use of the Force. Do you approve of these masters?"

"What?" said Rey, and though she meant to sound confident, it came out as a whisper.

"They are the strongest," said Obi-Wan, likely misinterpreting her response as a lack of enthusiasm. "These appearances to the living are difficult. Yoda has centuries of experience with the Force, and his crossings are easier than the rest of us. And we believe your dyad bond with Ben will aid him in sustaining his presence long enough to teach you what you need."

"Yes," said Rey. "I accept. It's fine. Please. Yes."

A faint buzzing had begun in her ears. Ben. She would see him again. Talk to him. The last conversation they had had, if it could be called that, happened in the middle of a storm tossed sea, and they were trying to kill each other. She had nearly succeeded.

"Back to Ahch-To, you must go," said Yoda. "To learn, and to teach. Students will come when you are ready."

Ben. The tight knot of grief in her chest unspooled a bit, and she took a few deep breaths.

"So, recap," said Finn. "Rey is going to be the new Jedi general, and you dead Jedi are going to teach her how to teach the others, who will just show up when it's time."

"Teach you, she will," said Yoda.

"Go to Ahch-To," said Obi-Wan to Rey.

Then Yoda and Obi-Wan vanished.

"Good talk!" said Finn into the now empty corridor. "Was that helpful? I mean, 'go to this remote planet and some dead guys will show up and help you,' doesn't seem all that helpful."

Rey slid down the wall and leaned her head against the cool marble.

"It's OK," she said. "It's a start, and they said they would help more."

"Do you really trust Kylo," said Finn, but cut off at her raised eyebrows, "I mean, Ben?"

Rey smiled. The first genuinely, carefree smile in months. "Ben is," she cut off, fishing around for words that wouldn't freak Finn out. Then she abandoned the effort. How could she explain what he was to her when she wasn't even sure herself? "I trust him explicitly." 

"OK," said Finn. "And I trust you."