It was a sunny, humid day on Ajan Kloss, where Rey Skywalker, Finn, Poe Dameron, Rose Tico, Chewbacca, C-3PO, BB-8, R2-D2 and a few others from the Resistance were currently residing. Rey was meditating with Finn in the jungle, when she had a vision of a green skinned Rodian boy dressed in dusty, ragged clothing lifting a vapor manifold with the Force. Rey had seen the location in her vision before.
"I know where we need to go." Rey said to Finn as she got up from meditating. Finn, sitting cross legged in the clearing they were in, opened his eyes,
"We're going somewhere?" Finn asked.
"Jakku," Rey said, "I had a vision. I believe there is a Force sensitive Rodian boy there. He could join us if he would like. I could train him along with you."
"Jakku?!" Finn said with dissatisfaction. "I could have gone the rest of my life without returning to that dust bowl."
"Hey! Show some respect!" Rey said jokingly.
"You have to admit, it's not the most hospitable place in the Inner rim ... or the galaxy for that matter." Finn teased.
"I can't argue with that." Rey said, drifting away in her memories for just a moment before she continued, "We should go let everyone know that we will be heading out soon."
"And grab something to eat!" Finn said with a smile as they both walked back to the settlement."
After letting everyone know Finn and herself would be heading out and deciding it would be best to leave at dawn the next day, they all gathered together to eat dinner. Rey looked around the table. At Rose joking with Finn about eating more than Chewbacca. Chewbacca laughing at that remark. Poe talking with Zorii Bliss, who was visiting for an unknown amount of time with Babu Frik, who was sitting on top the table near Zorii enjoying some type of orange, spiky fruit Rey didn't recognize. Rey was filled with gratitude. Her friends, her family, everyone alive that she loved was here with her. She smiled as a tear ran down her face. This was a happy moment that she would always remember.
After she finished eating and enjoying the company and conversation, Rey got up and said, "I think I'm going to get some rest for the trip tomorrow."
"You don't want to have a drink with us?" Zorii asked. "It's Corellian brandy!" She said with a smile.
"Maybe another time." Rey said, smiling back. Though, she had never drank before and didn't really see the appeal.
"Sleep well, then." Zorii said.
"See you in the morning." said Finn.
Chewy growled a goodnight.
Poe nodded to Rey with a smile and in unison with Rose said, "Night."
Rey smiled to everyone and headed to the captain's quarters in the Millennium Falcon, where she had recently been living. As she was laying in her bunk, Rey couldn't help but think about Ben. How he had come back to the light and fought by her side. How he gave his life so she could live. How she could feel his absence in the Force more than Luke or Leia. He was her Dyad. Through their connection in the Force, they were one. She was attuned to Ben's emotions and even what he heard and saw. And now all of that was gone along with him. It was like a part of her was gone.
Then she thought of that kiss. It was such an exhilarating moment. Rey couldn't help but smile thinking about it. She couldn't deny that she had come to have feelings for Ben. She always saw the light in him and the more of it she saw, the more her feelings grew, even if she didn't want to admit it at times. But she did admit it eventually. Even to him. She would never forget Ben, and she wasn't sure if anyone could ever take his place, either. But that didn't bother her. She was grateful that she had the time with him she did. Even if it was too short ... way too short. Maybe he will visit sometime. She thought, as she started to drift off to sleep.
The next thing she knew, she was back on Jakku. The green skinned Rodian boy was there, cowering against the exterior wall of what appeared to be the Concession Stand. Then she saw Unkar Plutt with an electro-whip, the kind that was most often seen being used by Zygerrian slavers. Unkar was whipping it toward the Rodian, just barely missing him every time.
"You need to learn a lesson, Kantu!" Unkar yelled in anger. "No one steals from me!"
Then the whip connected with Kantu's leg and the boy screamed.
Rey awoke with a panic, realizing what she had just seen was another vision. The Rodian boy, Kantu, was in trouble! At the hands of the greedy, callous Crolute she was all too familiar with. As she went to tell Finn what had transpired, she realized she had actually slept through the night before having the vision and the sun was beginning to rise on the warm, green jungle moon.
When she got to Finn's small hut, she knocked on the door, still a bit shaken up but with a sense of urgency to help Kantu.
Finn opened the door, "Morni-" Was all he got out.
"We have to get going to Jakku. Now!" Rey said. "I'll meet you on the Falcon in 10."
"What's the hurry?" Finn asked.
"I had another vision of Kantu. Unkar Plutt was torturing him with an electro-whip! We have to go help him before things get worse." Rey said.
"Kantu? You mean the Force sensitive Rodian?" Finn asked, slightly confused.
"Yes! In my last Force vision, I heard Unkar call the boy Kantu. I assume that is his name. But we have to get going!" Rey said with slight frustration. "Go get dressed and meet me at the Falcon! We can eat some rations on the way!" She said as she started running for the Corellian light freighter. "Get Threepio, too! We may need a translator!" She yelled back.
*~*~*~*
On the Falcon, as the beautiful blue of hyperspace streaked by, Rey sat in the pilot seat, taking in the the view. Finn was starting to become a decent co-pilot these days, Rey thought as she got up to go to the main hold to try and relax while they traveled to her home world.
"You want to play some dejarik?" Finn asked as he got up to follow her.
"I think I'm going to try and relax a bit. Maybe meditate." Rey said without directly saying no to his suggestion. "You're welcome to join me if you'd like." She offered. "I'll just stay up here. Not that anyone asked" C-3PO said as they walked out of the cockpit.
"I have a better idea." Finn said with a smile. "If you don't want to lose dejarik,"Finn teased. "Why don't we use this time for lightsaber practice?"
It wasn't at the top of the list of things Rey wanted to do at that moment but she couldn't deny that it would be a good use of their time. She also thought it might help take her mind off the future and help bring her back to the moment.
"Sure." Rey said, smiling back and resisting the urge to playfully disagree about losing a game of dejarik. "But after we leave Jakku, at some point, we have to start looking for a kyber crystal for you so you can build your own saber. Though, I'm not quite sure where to start looking." She said.
"We can worry about that after Jakku," Finn said. "For now, let me see that saber of yours." He said as he held out his hand.
Rey handed it over and went to get the training remote that she had used when training with Leia and turning it on, then handed the helmet to Finn.
"Remember, feel the Force flowing through you." Rey said to Finn, remembering what Leia and Luke had taught her. "Use your instincts. Your feelings."
Finn ignited the saber. The golden yellow blade hummed to life. Finn stood ready. The first bolt shot out and hit Finn in the leg. He jumped, "Ah!" He said jumping back.
"Focus." Rey said. "Let the Force guide you."
The second bolt shot out of the remote and he blocked it. And the third. The fourth one made contact on this left arm and he jolted to the side. "Dank Farrik!" Finn said, obviously frustrated.
Rey paused the training remote and said, "It's okay Finn. You're making progress!"
"I don't feel like it's fast enough," Finn said, sounding discouraged.
Rey smiled and said reassuringly, "Finn, remember, I may not have trained with Luke for too long, though, I did learn a lot from him, I trained with Leia for a little over a year. One of the main lessons she taught me was one Luke learned from his master, Yoda. 'Do not try. Do.' Plus, Leia told me that some people are naturally more gifted at certain aspects of the Force. Maybe this isn't your strongest attribute." Rey walked over and put her hand on his shoulder, "Time will tell. Just have some patience. There is no rush."
Finn looked her in the eyes, "Thank you. I can be a bit hard on myself."
"Trust me, I know what that's like." Rey said. "But let's try something different."
Finn seemed unsure but said, "Okay, what do you have in mind?"
"Let's try levitating something." Rey said with another smile.
They spent the rest of the trip practicing until C-3PO walked out into the main hold. "Pardon the interruption but we should be approaching Jakku in approximately 5 minutes." The protocol droid said. As Finn let a wrench fall a couple inches to the floor, Rey said, "Thanks Threepio." Then turned to Finn, "We can practice some more later. Let's go help Kantu." She said as she brought her focus to the task at hand.
I don't believe I am as attuned to the Force as Rey but I think I am learning to accept that. Finn thought as the Falcon was touching down on Jakku, just outside Niima Outpost. He finished the landing procedures with Rey and then stood up from his copilot's chair.
"Hold on a moment. I want to scan the area for lifeforms. See if I can see any signs of Unkar, Kantu or any others we may need to be concerned about." Rey said as she clicked away at the controls. After a few seconds she said, "Looks like there are only two lifeforms inside the Concession Stand. A Crolute and a Rodian." Finn could tell Rey was having a hard time being back here. But he decided not to bring it up at the moment. "Well, sounds like that's who we're looking for." He said, almost jokingly. "So, What's the plan?"
Rey stopped and thought for a moment, then said, "Well, the Concession Stand has some decent armor on it from a cargo crawler, so, cutting through with my lightsaber would be too slow. We would get noticed before we got in. But I don't think we have to worry about that. There is only one door in, on the far side of the building. If we can get in, I can try to use a mind trick to get Unkar to give us Kantu and if that doesn't work we could try making a deal of some sort. Then, if all else fails and it comes to it, which I hope it doesn't, I know we can take The Blobfish." She said with confidence. "That just leaves the matter of the security system." Rey added.
"It's a shame we didn't bring Beebee-Ate or Artoo." Finn said.
Rey smirked and said, "No worries, I can handle it. The access panel is right on the far corner of the Stand. You stay here while I go shut down the system."
Rey walked down the ramp of the Falcon and in the direction of the building trying to act casual so she wouldn't draw any attention. Just as she got around the corner of the building she heard the door open and someone walking out. She stood against the wall so she was as out of sight as she could manage. After a few seconds, she peaked around the corner and saw Unkar walking toward the small rundown outhouse that pretty much everyone in Niima Outpost used. This is our chance, Rey Thought. She pulled out her com and said, "Finn, change of plan, Unkar is headed to the outhouse on the other side of the Outpost. We should have a few minutes. Keep look out for me, I'm going in." The com let out some static and then Finn's voice came through, "You got it, Master."
I'm not sure I'll ever get used to that, Rey thought as she headed to the access panel and quickly disabled the security system and unlocked the door. Finn didn't always refer to her as Master but the times he did just felt strange to her. She viewed him as a peer; as a friend. But maybe all Masters and Padawans had a relationship like that, she thought. She pushed the thought aside for now and refocused on the task at hand. Opening the door, she looked around and saw nothing at first. Then, she saw the Rodian boy crouched in a dark corner in binders.
"Hey there." Rey said with a kind, welcoming voice and a smile. "Kantu, isn't it?"
"How do you know my name?" Kantu asked, surprised.
Thank the stars! He speaks basic, Rey thought.
"I can explain that later. I'm here to help. I'm going to pull out my lightsaber to cut off your binders. Don't be scared." Rey said as she slowly unclipped her saber from her belt and ignited the blade. Kantu stared in amazement as the yellow blade reflected in his big eyes, looking like yellow streaks going through two separate galaxies. Rey cut the binders, retracted her saber and clipped it back on her belt. "Lets get you out of here." She said as she reached out her hand and Kantu took it without hesitation. Just then she heard Finn's voice through her com, "You might want to hurry up in there. Unkar just walked out of the outhouse."
"Copy that. Get the ship ready to get us out of here." Rey said over the com. She turned and looked at the Rodian boy, "Stay close to me." She said in the kindest voice. He nodded and took a step closer to her and proceeded to follow her as she walked out of the Concession Stand. She noticed he was limping from where the electro-whip had cut his leg.
"We'll get that leg of yours healed up once we get you out of here." Rey said to Kantu with a smile, and he smiled back and said, "Okay."
"Hey! What are you doing with my new slave?!" Unkar yelled from across the desert. He started to run then suddenly stopped, "Wait a minute, I know you, scavenger girl." He said demeaningly.
"I'm flattered, Unkar." Rey said back. "I see you're stooping to a new low. Hurting little kids, taking them as slaves. You can do better than this."
"What I do is none of your business, Scavenger!" Unkar spat back. "Are you going to give me back my property or am I going to have to take it from you?"
"I was hoping I could make a deal with you. What would you want in exchange for Kantu?" Rey asked.
Unkar seemed taken aback that Rey knew the Rodian's name but didn't mention it, "Well, I caught the scum stealing a vapor manifold from me. I was going to make him work it off." He stopped and thought for a moment before continuing, "How about I take that blaster of yours and we call it a deal."
Rey pulled out the NN-14 blaster pistol that Han Solo had given to her and looked at it. This was the only thing she had that Han gave her ... but it wasn't all she had to remember him by. She had the Falcon. She had Chewie back on Ajan Kloss. Besides, she was learning to let go and not be attached to things, and it was well worth the trade for Kantu's safety and freedom. "You've got a deal." Rey said as she tossed it over at Unkar's feet. He started laughing as he bent down and picked up the blaster. Then, he quickly raised the blaster, aiming it at Rey and fired. Rey was ready for this, though and pulled her lightsaber out and ignited it just in time to reflect the bolt right back at Unkar. He fell backwards with thud and a smoking hole in his chest.
Rey retracted her blade and clipped it back on her belt as she walked over to Unkar and took her blaster back out of his hand and holstered it. So much for the deal ... or a mind trick for that matter, Rey thought. She took no pleasure in taking Unkar's life, even though he wasn't the most pleasant being. He still deserved the chance to live and maybe even find the light inside himself. But he left Rey no choice. She looked back at Kantu, who hadn't moved an inch and was shaking. "It's okay, Kantu. It's all over now. You're safe." Rey said with a reassuring smile. Kantu tried to smile but it was obvious he was still shaken up. Rey walked over, took his hand and they walked back to the Falcon.
*~*~*~*
On the journey back to Ajan Kloss, Kantu was sleeping after Rey had healed his leg with the Force. Finn, C-3PO and Rey sat in the main hold of the Falcon. "So, are you going to have two Padawan's now?" Finn asked. Rey hadn't really thought about that too much.
"Well, if we are to follow the ways of the traditional Jedi Order, Kantu would technically be a Youngling. But I suppose that still leaves me training him, so, in a sense, yes. From what I've read in Master Luke's notes, when he started his New Jedi Order, He was teaching everyone all at once, kind of like a class. I guess that is the best way to go about this given our limited numbers."
"That would be the most logical course of action." C-3PO said.
"Well, if Threepio approves, I'm in." Finn said with a smile and he and Rey both laughed.
"First, we can take a couple of days to let Kantu settle in. Then, after we let him know about the Jedi and what they ... we, stand for, and figure out how much he knows about the Force and explain what we know to fill in the gaps, we can let him decide if he even wants to be a part of this. We can move forward from there." Rey explained. "And as we move forward, I think an old Jedi saying I found in Luke's notes would be a great one to use for our new Order. Luke said it was from a time period known as the High Republic. It will always remind us why we are doing this and what we stand for. It's a saying I would be proud to serve under and one I think should be brought back." Rey looked at Kantu sleeping peacefully. At Finn and C-3PO sitting there looking at her, and she said, "For light and life."