Star Wars The Last Jedi Re-Write

Chapter 21

Rey was practicing sparring in the late afternoon against a large human-like rock with her staff. On Jakku she had practiced anytime she wasn't scavenging, flight training, or sleeping, because if she ever got rusty the other scavenger would have shown no mercy. Ever since she left the depressing dessert plant however she had been neglecting her training and decided it was time to get back on schedule.

Her strikes never made contact with the stone however, it was only used to hitting fleshy things, but every false blow she pretended it was something she really wanted to hit. Smack to the reluctant and overly sarcastic Jedi Master, pow to the monstrous Kylo Ren who killed her mentor and comatosed her only friend, and Blam to herself for leaving Jakku when her family had told her to stay.

When she realized that she was beating herself up she took a breath. She leaned on her staff as she recovered, the cawing Porgs were flying all around her, from her new angle she watched as one porg land on her bag.

"Shoo, go on, that's not a nest."

The funny birds landing and take off had jostled Luke's lightsaber free. She starred at it, wondering if it would be alright to practice with it. She made up her mind and picked it up.

Although it had called to her it did not quite feel right in her hands. She was used to the long well balanced staff, along with its grip and fighting technique, but this didn't quite feel wrong either. Something, perhaps deeper within, was what called to her. Something inside worth exploring, it might also be saying the same thing about herself.

She couldn't help remember what it had shown her when she first touched the lightsaber. That it had shown her the helmeted figure of Kylo Ren in the forest of Starkiller base, and yet when that actual event accrued he was not wearing said mask. Perhaps the vision stated that she had to also look deeper into-

"No!"

She ignited the blue lightsaber. She swung the blade in a combination of how she fought Kylo, and her own technique of her staff. The result was a defence so rhythmic it was almost a dance. She got so entranced that the world fell away. She continued until she slashed through the rock she had before been intentionally missing.

"Impressive."

Rey deactivated the lightsaber and turned to see Luke watching her from a higher up point. She was about to comment on his creepy distance watching of her when the top part of the large stone slid off the cliff she was practising on.

Rey peeked over in embarrassment to see that the stone had crushed a Caretaker's cart and what it held, barely missing the two Caretakers themselves. They stared up at her disapprovingly.

She quickly turned back to Luke who was climbing back towards the temple. He gave no signal for her to follow him, but she did so none the less. The climb wasn't as long as the first, but just as silent. Thankfully the silence this time wasn't as hostile as before. By the time they had reached the meditation ledge outside of the temple the two suns were barely over the horizon.

"I've shown you that you don't need the jedi to use the force, so why do you think you need the Jedi Order?"

Rey thought about her answer, she did not want Skywalker to yell 'Wrong' in her face again. She had heard stories of the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, and the different powers that he had. She had seen, and felt, first hand the cruel powers of Kylo Ren, and on Starkiller base she had started to scratch the surface of her own powers. She had heard older stories how the Jedi had fought against the Sith in the Clone Wars, how without them the Republic wouldn't have lasted as long as it did.

"The Jedi Order is needed to squash the darkness before it grows more powerful. To keep the peace and protect all that is light and good in the galaxy-I'm going to guess from your smirk that every word I just said was wrong."