RISE OF SKYWALKER | FIXED

part vii | jedi master

Her white face pigments were a great contrast to her red skin. They were like a series of diamonds arranged very symmetrically on her wrinkled face. She seemed to be around eighty or so. Though she was short, her montrols towered over them both: even Ben. They were so tall they hunched over. Her blue-striped lekku reached her ankles.

She looked at Rey, confused "You have the energy of a Skywalker... the energy of his son, but I'm afraid the look of you two don't compute..."

Rey took a step forward, ignoring her. "Are your Jedi Master Ahsoka Tano?"

She gave a slow nod, still looking confused. "I am."

"Bail Organa sent us here," Ben told her.

"Bail Organa is dead. He died in the Alderaanian Armageddon," Master Tano said.

"He left instructions for your master's daughter, Leia to give once the Republic is rebuilt and the Jedi Order is brought back. Her brother, Luke failed, but we will not. The Empire is gone. The First Order is gone. Emperor Sheev Palpatine is gone," Rey promised.

Ahsoka stared at them long and hard. "You're right." A smile broke out over her face. "You've done it. His presence is gone. We can truly rebuild. Are you the only Jedi?"

"Yes," Ben said. Ahsoka turned to Ben. "You are strong with the force, my boy. You are a son of Luke or Leia?"

"Leia," Ben told her. "And—"

"Han Solo," Tano interrupted. "He was strong with force as well, though he may not have known it."

"How do you know?" Ben asked. Tano smiled.

"I had my run-ins with that smuggler. We were all scum at one point," she laughed. "No one can fly or handle a blaster the way he can without the Force. He could predict his opponents' next move with ease. Make lightspeed calculations in seconds."

"Han was amazing," Rey said wistfully. Ahsoka frowned a peered back at Ben.

"You killed him. You were trained as a Jedi... but you weren't always a Jedi, were you."

Ben looked at his feet in shame. Rey stepped in front of him and held her hands up. "There is no need to speak of that. Ben is a Jedi."

Ahsoka looked at them, confused again. "You're attached to him...he's attached to you..."

Rey stood in front of Ben, protectively not saying anything.

"Attachment is forbidden among the Jedi," Ahsoka told them.

"The Jedi, at the height of their power, facilitated and trained Darth Vader as a Sith Lord ruled the Republic and the Separatists right under their noses. I feel it's time for a reorganization of the Jedi Order."

"Anakin fell to the dark side because of attachment," Ahsoka countered.

"He was seduced because he felt alone," Ben corrected. "He was forced to keep his attachment a secret, when if the Jedi had been accepting of love, Anakin could have voiced his concerns and the entire thing could have been avoided. He could have healed Padmé if she had died. That's all he needed to keep from turning."

Ahsoka grimaced. "Have you seen this? Healing someone from death?"

Ben nodded. "I've done it. So has Rey."

Ahsoka looked at them as if they were not meant to be here, but the defeat behind her vibrant green eyes got the best of her. "We have a lot to do if we are going to rebuild the Jedi Order."

A smile broke out across Rey's face, and Ben let out a sigh of relief.

"But you must explain something to me," Ahsoka said. "Your life forces. They don't seem right to me. My feeling tells me I can trust you. Are they betraying me?"

"The Force bonded us. Were dyads in the force. Our life force is one. That's why you can only detect one," Ben explained.

"Not siblings..." Ahsoka understood. "Both Skywalkers, so... married?"

Rey nodded. Ahsoka took a step towards them and studied their faces. "A set of dyads has not existed for generations... amazing." She smiled. "What you have is far more than an attachment. Your son will be strong with the force."

Rey and Ben looked at each other with confused eyes and looked back to Ahsoka. "Excuse me?" Rey asked.

"You don't feel his presence already?" Ahsoka asked them. "Why of course you feel it. You just don't know it. Search your feelings."

Rey looked up at Ben and her wild eyes countered the sudden understanding that Ben's face then held. "It's true," he said in barely over a whisper. He picked his hand up and held it over her lower abdomen. He smiled. "He is strong with the force."

"He?" Rey asked, her mind too clouded with a strange mixture of excitement and fear to search her feeling. Ben laughed lightly, picking her chin up so that her eyes would meet his.

"Clear your mind, Rey. Focus, and you will feel him," Ben reminded. Rey nodded and closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. Her worries and excitement left her, and she felt him. Her son.

But someone else. Rey, though she was mistaken. Surrounding her, there was Jedi Master Ahsoka Tano. Ben was there. Life form all around. Within her, she could feel her own life force flowing strong. Her son, growing within her. But another.

"You guys don't feel her too?" Rey asked. "She not as strong yet. Not like her brother, but she's there. Oh, Ben, we've got a daughter too." Rey opens her eyes and looked at Ben. "Do you feel her?"

Ben put his hand back to her belly and Rey did the same, to have a stronger feeling. Rey didn't think that Ben's handsome face could show any more, happiness, But it did when he felt the presence of his daughter.

"Two," he said, a bit of worry in his voice. He looked at Rey. "Why isn't she as strong as him?"

Rey shook her head, now worried about the safety of her daughter. "I...I don't know."

"Perhaps the girl doesn't have as much room as the boy," Ahsoka suggested. "She'll catch up. Twins are a roll of the dice. If she doesn't catch up, your boy will only be stronger."

Ben frowned and flashed a glance at Rey again. He didn't want to worry anymore about the children. "What are we to do about the archives? The Republic can send freighters here to transport the data."

Ahsoka shook her head. "No need. I can bring the archives to the Temple on Coruscant. Each round of data is equipped as its own transport. I can enter the coordinates and send them all on their way. I have my own ship to leave on. I will continue my post as Keeper of the Archives on Coruscant."

Rey and Ben nodded. "Is it really that easy?"

Ahsoka nodded with a grin. "That easy," she confirmed. "May I ask... how did you complete you skilled as Jedi. I see your sabers. Most impressive designs. More like the Ancient Order. Who were your masters?"

"My uncle, Luke Skywalker trained me until I was seduced to the dark side. The Darth Sidious was in my mind for years until Rey brought me back to the light. I led Rey and me to Ilum where we found our crystals, then constructed the sabers."

Ahsoka turned to Rey. "And you?"

"I sought training from Luke, but he refused me. His sister, Leia trained me, and I completed it with Ben."

Ahsoka nodded. "You still have much to learn, children."

The two agreed. "We have someplace to go before going back to Coruscant," Rey told her.

Ahsoka nodded. "Yes, you do. I'll meet you at the temple," she said with a bow. "May the force be with you."

"May the Force be with you," they responded as they left Ahsoka there a reboarded the Falcon.