Skywalker Rises

Beacon

Rey sat at the end of the dock, her fingertips just touching the surface of the lake. Tiny, toothless fish nibbled at them, thinking them food. Fish were fascinating creatures. She'd eaten fish on occasion whist with the Rebellion, and often on Ahch-To. But she had never seen them so close up before, or so small.

Ben strode down the dock. She recognized his purposeful steps. 

"Ready?" he said. 

"I guess. The sooner we broadcast our location, the sooner they'll come."

"Aren't you eager to return to Ahch-To?"

"I know the Mandalorian is. Little Yoda doesn't care. But it doesn't seem as pressing anymore."

He sat down behind her and scooped her into his lap. The fish scattered. She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him. 

"This place has an interesting feel," said Ben. He paused, searching for better words, and ended up shaking his head.

"The Force is strong here. Like on Ahch-To."

"It feels heavy to me, not strong."

"Will they come for you here?"

"They will come for me wherever I am. Best to get it over with on our terms. I don't think you want their company on Ahch-To."

"No."

He helped her up. "Let's send a signal fire, then."

"How?"

"I think if we work together, it will be bright enough a beacon to draw their attention. Your use of the Force feeds mine."

She waited. She still wasn't clear on what exactly they were supposed to do to get these creatures' attention. 

"Let's see what the bottom of the lake looks like."

Rey blinked. "I'm not going in that lake again." 

"Let's get the water out of it, first." He laced his fingers through hers and squeezed her hand. 

She felt the tug as soon as he started. It reached for her, begging her to join. Rey watched as the water along the banks of the lake began to recede into the center. She knew the Force could do big things. It had restored life to dead bodies. She couldn't understand why this strange feat seemed so much more difficult.

"We're just lifting it out of the lake?"

"So far, I'm doing it alone."

Water in the center began to churn. 

"Straight up, like a column?"

"Rey." Ben said her name through gritted teeth. "I will follow your lead."

Right. She gripped his hand tighter and concentrated on lifting billions of litres of water. 

The air hummed with displaced energy. Rey shivered. 

Slowly, haltingly, the water rose away from the lake bed into the still air. Rey pressed at the sides of it, gathering it together into a ball. 

When the lake was empty, Ben helped her down off of the dock onto the muddy lake bed. The ground gently sloped down. They squished through it to the deepest point. Rey looked up at the enormous mass of water. Fish and turtles darted around inside the sphere, apparently not noticing that their home had shifted locations. 

"Now what?" she whispered. 

"Now we throw off enough energy to call my errant Knights' attention."

"This wasn't enough?"

Sweat trickled down Ben's face, and he looked a little gray and haggard. She doubted she looked much better. 

"Let's make sure. Let go."

And he did. Rey had about half a second to panic before the sphere of water collapsed and flooded down toward them. She was a terrible swimmer. And that water was ice cold. 

She screamed, allowing her own Force to snatch up Ben's power and create a protective bubble around them. The water collided with her barrier. Ben wrapped his arms around her and she felt him take back control of his own power and bolster her efforts. 

It was eerily silent beneath the lake. Silent, and dark. 

When Rey had regained her breath, she pulled back from Ben. "Are you insane?" 

"Probably."

"How did you know that would work?"

He shrugged. "I didn't."

Rey pressed her lips together to keep from sputtering. "I'm not a risk taker."

He gave her an amused half smile, one side of his mouth tugging up higher than the other. It looked a lot like his father's smile. "I know. But sometimes we have to take risks."

She was too tired to be angry. 

"Besides," he said. "You said no more stabbing or near-killing."

"You could have warned me."

She tested the bubble, still concentrating on keeping it in tact. She started the walk back to shore, careful to move their protection along with them. 

"No. If I had warned you, you would have prepared some brilliant defense. You would have used the Force in a measured manner. It wouldn't have created the same result."

"I don't like your teaching methods," she grumbled. 

"I don't have any methods."

"Madness is a method. Just not a good one."

"I believe you have much more control of the Force than you think," he said, his tone sobering. "You once tore apart a ship I liked from hundreds of meters away. But you were driven to that act out of sheer desperation. I don't intend to scare you into learning to use the Force. But this was not a learning experience. We needed a bright flash of energy to move throughout the galaxy. We got one."

Little Yoda scurried along the shore of the lake, chasing a frog that had not tolerated the sudden drop in his watery habitat as well as the fish. He snatched it up and shoved it in his mouth. 

"He eats them raw?" said Ben. 

They moved away from the lake and onto the grassy shore. Rey dropped down onto her back. She was shaking from the adrenaline rush, and wasn't sure her legs would support her weight any longer. 

"Do you want one, Master Ben? I can catch you one. Or maybe three or four. You're probably hungrier than me."

Ben laughed. "No thanks. Keep them for yourself." 

Little Yoda shrugged and continued his hunt.

"He didn't even comment on the entirety of the lake floating in the air," said Rey.

"That kid has seen some weird shit since he met you. I doubt this even registered."