Skywalker Rises

Stealth

Rey studied the other three, wondering if they were all panicking as much as she was. Maybe they were just better at putting on a good face. 

"Plan?" said Ben.

The Mandalorian's extended pause made Rey squirm. Those K2s were brutal. This was proof Poe was right about there still being dark elements in the galaxy. If she lived through this, she'd make sure to tell him.

"Let's drown them," said Ben. "Rey and I will lift the water and drop it on their heads. Short them out."

"It won't work," said Rey. "They are submersible. Really, they're one of the worst possible enemies. How many can we take out before they land a killing blow?"

Ben and the Mandalorian looked at each other. "Not enough," said the Mandalorian. 

"If we could get them back onto the ship and blow it up..." said Ben.

"Difficult," said the Mandalorian. "And better done in space than here."

"The Knights sense you here?" asked Rey.

Ben nodded. "Not well, though. They can't pinpoint my location. Just a vague sense that I'm in the vicinity." 

Rey took a few deep breaths and focused. "Is it correct that I am the most familiar with mechanics and droid function?"

"I think so," said Ben. "I've been known to misidentify a calcinator." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Embarrassing. I always had a crew of mechanics available." 

"If given proper instructions, I can assist," said the Mandalorian. "But I'm better with ships."

"OK," said Rey. "Here's my plan, since it looks like our Plan B did not account for an army of killer droids."

After she was done explaining, they all stood there looking at her. Little Yoda had wrapped his arms around her leg. Ben was slowly shaking his head. The Mandalorian's hand was on his weapon. They didn't like it. It didn't matter. No one else had a better idea.

"Well," said Rey. "Get going. It will be easier with Ben gone."

Little Yoda hugged his father. Ben kissed Rey. Then the two men, big, strong, and completely useless in stealth missions, boarded the Razor Crest and left the planet. 

"OK, buddy," said Rey. "It's just us now." 

At the sound of the ship exiting the atmosphere, the Knights began shouting orders at the K2s. They scattered, just as Rey had hoped they would. She hoisted Little Yoda on her back, and he Cloaked them. 

Rey focused on the task at hand. If she focused on how much danger she was in, or how much danger Little Yoda was in, she thought she might crumple into a useless heap and shake. Focus on the job. Just the job. Her internal talk grounded her, and she began to move on silent feet through the forest toward the nearest droid. 

They sneaked up behind it. Rey had studied the schematics of all kinds of droids. She was good at repairing them. Most had a kill switch. She'd never worked on a K2. Usually, the deadlier the droid, the more likely there was to be a kill switch. The trick was getting to it. She had no idea where it was. 

Little Yoda tightened his grip around her neck. She'd never seen actual fear in him before. She wasn't sure if this was fear, or excitement. Probably the latter. 

She crept up behind the droid, who had gone still. Carefully, she extended her hand, willing it not to shake. There were several columns of buttons, two antennae, and a circular panel. Carefully she, reached beneath the droid's jaw on the right side. There should be a button there...

The droid whipped its head around, and Rey dropped to the ground and turned her back away from the droid, hoping Little Yoda had the good sense to hold on tight. The K2 scanned the forest behind it. 

Don't step on me, don't step on me, don't step on me! Rey held her breath. The droid finally turned its head back around and continued to move forward, scanning the forest.

Thankfully, Little Yoda was still on her back. When her heart rate had calmed, she whispered, "You OK?"

Little Yoda patted her head, and she took that for assent. 

"Bad first try," said Rey.

"Bad would be us dead."

"True. I think I know where the kill switch is. Let's follow it."

Though she trusted Little Yoda's Cloaking, she stayed behind trees and rocks wherever possible. They caught up with the droid at the top of a rocky overlook. Hundreds of metres below lay a jagged ravine. Perfect.

"Let's shove it," whispered Little Yoda.

"I'm not strong enough. It would be like pushing a boulder."

Rey was so, so thankful they had extensively tested the Cloaking on Ahch-To. The fact that Little Yoda could hide them from Droid scans was invaluable. 

Willing her trembling hands to still, Rey reached forward and slipped her fingers beneath the K2's jaw. This was a lot like the exercises Leia had her practice with the Force. Find the thing you cannot see. She depressed the tiny button, and jumped back in case she had made a mistake. Thankfully, the panel on the K2's back went dark. 

"We need to short it out so the Knights don't come along and turn it back on," said Rey. 

"Push it over!" said Little Yoda. The glee in his voice disturbed her. Boys. 

Rey put her hand on the K2's back, and shoved. It was as stable as a ever. Of course, the Force could move things, too. Rey reached down inside of herself and shoved. She'd never used the Push before, but the K2 tumbled over the edge, crashing on the rocks below and breaking into unrecoverable pieces. 

"That was lucky," said Rey. "We aren't going to be able to get them all up against this cliff before we deactivate them."

"That was awesome!" said Little Yoda. 

"Only twenty-something more to go," said Rey. "Let's get out of here before his friends come poking around to see what happened."