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chapter forty-one: heroes and legends
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"MASTER SKYWALKER, PLEASE," the girl begs. Frustration is evident in her tone as she follows the older man into the ruins of a Jedi Temple, forcing her presence onto him so that he is unable to ignore her. "Our friends — the Resistance, your sister — they're in trouble! We need to go to them. It's been months since I left them and they've been waiting all this time for me to return with you. They need us!"

Luke Skywalker sighs.

"Rey," he says, tired and weary from this argument. The very same argument that they have had almost every day in the months since the scavenger first landed on Anch-To, bearing the gift of his long-lost lightsaber. "I'd rather not do this today."

"You don't understand!" Rey protests. "It's different this time. They really do need us!"

"If that's true, then they don't need me," he contradicts her, taking a seat on the edge of the small pool at the center of the temple. "They need you. That was our deal from the beginning, remember? I train you to use the Force and you leave here, without me, after your training is complete."

Rey makes an impatient sound. "I only agreed to that deal because I thought that you would change your mind!"

"Well, I haven't," Luke replies, raising a brow at her. "And now that I know you were only trying to trick me, I feel cheated."

He hadn't wanted to train Rey at all in the beginning. When the girl had first arrived on the island in Han's old ship, Luke had done his damndest to send her away. The thought of ever training another Jedi again — of losing another student the way he lost Ben — was terrifying for him. But, Rey had been persistent and the presence of Chewbacca and R2-D2 had been enough to convince him to compromise. He had agreed to teach her about the Force — not the Jedi, who he had become entirely disillusioned with — and she would leave the island once she finished her lessons with him.

Even so, Rey had been unrelenting in her quest to change his mind. Every day, she would tell Luke stories about her friends in the Resistance; a stormtrooper that defected from the First Order named Finn, a commander and starpilot named Poe Dameron, a spunky astromech droid named BB-8, and — to Luke's surprise and devastation — a technician who happened to be the daughter of a New Republic senator.

His daughter, his little girl, his Indira.

Rey had seemed oblivious to Luke's relation to the girl, but her name alone had been enough to leave him shaken. How his daughter had somehow wound up as part of the Resistance was a mystery to him; especially when he and her mother, Jana, had both agreed to do everything in their power to keep Indira away from a life surrounded by war. Even so, fate seemed to have a twisted sense of humor — by leading his daughter into the arms of his twin sister when Luke was unable to be there for her.

When he asked Rey to tell him more about Indira — in what he hoped was a casual, conversational manner — she had told him about Starkiller base and how another prisoner had been rescued when Rey escaped captivity. It broke Luke's heart to learn about what had happened to Jana in his absence, feeling as if he was to blame for her years of years of suffering at the hands of his nefarious nephew.

That day had been the closest that Luke had come to abandoning Anch-To and returning to the Resistance, but he ultimately found himself too cowardly to go through with it. He could never face them again — Leia, Jana, and Indira; all the women in his life he had failed — and instead chose to dedicate himself to Rey, hoping that by teaching her he could somehow atone for everything else.

But Rey hadn't been satisfied with that. She wanted more from Luke than just a teacher. She wanted a hero, a legend, but he couldn't give that to her. No matter how many times he tried to explain — even after confessing the whole truth of how Ben Solo fell to the Dark Side — she still chose to misplace her faith in him, leading into this never-ending argument that neither of them were willing to back down from.

On the other side of the pool, Rey heaves a heavy sigh and takes a seat on the stone rim. "I understand why you don't want to go back," she says softly. "Especially after everything that happened. But Leia won't blame you for it. She won't, Master Luke. I could feel it in her heart. Whatever disdain you think she might hold for you, it doesn't exist. All she wants is to see you again — her brother; the only family that she has left."

"Rey, I can't," Luke sighs. The mere memory of Leia brings tears to his eyes as he thinks of everything he did wrong to lead them to this place. "I can never face her again."

"People are dying," Rey implores. "The Resistance is the only thing standing between the First Order and the rest of the galaxy. I know you wanted to train me to fight, but I'm not strong enough to take on Snoke yet. It has to be you, Master Skywalker. You're our only hope."

"Rey," he repeats tiredly. And he is tired; so, so tired. Hearing those words — our only hope — makes his heart long for his twin. "How many times do I have to tell you that your faith in me is misplaced? I am not the hero of this story. I'm just a failure and a relic whose hubris cost my family and the rest of the galaxy everything. The hero of this story is you, Rey. It's not me; not anymore."

"None of that is true," his pupil replies stubbornly. "A single moment of weakness doesn't define you. But right now, across the galaxy, my friends — and your family — are in danger. Leia is hurt and Finn could be, too. No one gives a damn about what you did in the past. But if you still choose to do nothing now, that will be your legacy."

Luke's brow furrows at her words and he looks at her sharply. "What do you mean Leia is hurt?" He asks warily. "How do you know this? Did you see something?"

Rey swallows. "I had a dream," she admits, looking away. "I know what you're thinking, but it wasn't like the visions I told you about. It wasn't ... him. This was different; I could feel it. It wasn't a trick or a projection. It was real."

When Rey first came to the island, she confessed to Luke about a mysterious connection that the Force had brought between her and his nephew. She was frightened by it, rightfully so, once Luke warned her of the dangers of visions and dreams. He had told her the story of how Anakin Skywalker had fallen to the Dark Side due to dreams of a future he wanted to change and of his own experience when he chose to abandon Master Yoda on Dagobah to save Han and Leia — a decision that ultimately cost him a hand and nearly cost his friends their lives.

Knowing that she is still having these dreams and — more worryingly — listening to them, fills Luke with disappointment. He had thought that she was making progress in shutting them out — that she knew better than to believe them — but he had clearly been wrong about that.

He sighs. "Rey. What have I told you about dreams and visions?"

His student rolls her eyes. "Master Luke, it wasn't like that —"

He holds up a hand to silence her. "What did I tell you, Rey?"

Her shoulders deflate. "That they can't be trusted," she mutters in defeat. "That Snoke or Kylo Ren could be using the Force to manipulate me with them."

"Exactly," Luke says, folding his arms over his chest. "I already told you what happened to me when I abandoned my master to pursue a dream that showed my friends in danger. I flew straight into a trap."

"But this was real," Rey protests. "I know it was real."

"You cannot dwell on dreams like this, Rey," Luke warns, standing from the stone bench. "They only lead to Darkness."

The scavenger rises to meet him, eyes filled with a fiery fury that reminds him so much of Leia it takes him aback. "So I'm just supposed to do nothing?" She demands. "I leave it all up to chance and hope that my friends are alright?"

"A true Jedi would do nothing," Luke challenges her. "Interfering means creating unbalance in the Force."

"I can't just sit here!" Rey protests. "Even if the vision isn't true, my friends still need me to come back!"

"I know," he replies and his smile is sad. "That's why the Resistance needs you and not me. They need someone who is willing to fight for them; a hero that brings them hope. Not some failed husk of a dead religion. Do you understand now?"

Tears prickle at the corners of her eyes as she shakes her head; torn between whether she should stay with Luke or give up and go. "I understand that across the galaxy, our friends are dying!" Rey shouts and Luke flinches slightly. "That old legend of Luke Skywalker that you hate so much? I believed in it."

She gives him one final disappointed look before making her way towards the temple's exit. "Maybe I was wrong."

FIXING THE TURBO-LIFTS was boring work, but Indira had been able to finish it up quickly and wrapped repairs in just under two hours. She had definitely rushed the job — something that she paid for with a few burnt fingertips and a cut on the knuckle of her right index finger — but she finished in record time and that was all that mattered. And once she was done, she made the decision to abandon her post and return to Leia's bedside, where Poe promised he would be waiting.

However, before she could get far, Indira was accosted by her droid, EV-1, who interrupted her path in the hallway and made it impossible for Indira to get more than two steps away from the elevator doors.

"Evie, what the hell?" She demands, batting hovering droid away from her head. "What's going on?"

In a string of frantic binary beeps, EV-1 relays a jumbled message involving Finn, Rose, escape pods, and a very powerful stun gun.

"Wait, what?" She interrupts her droid, shaking her head. "Why would Rose do that to Finn? Why is she even guarding transport pods to begin with? She's a technician; not a security guard. And what the hell was Finn even doing down there?"

In response to her inquiry, EV launches into a second story about BB-8 showing Finn a holovid of Rey saying goodbye to him before leaving. The droid had shown it to Finn with the intention of cheering him up, but the plan had backfired; instead inspiring him to abandon ship so he could find Rey ... which is how he ended up at the escape pods with Rose, who had been ordered by Holdo to stun anyone trying to desert.

"Oh, for kriff's sake," Indira mutters, smacking a hand to her forehead. "You said that Rose was going to take Finn to the bridge and turn him in for deserting?"

EV-1 nods anxiously.

"That can't happen," the technician mutters. She backs into one of the elevators before hitting the button for the bottom level of the ship. "I definitely do not want Finn in trouble with Holdo."

     The elevator makes a quick trip down to the Raddus's lowest level. It's musty and dark in the boiler room, causing Indira to squint as soon as she steps out of the doors. She does a quick scan, looking around for any sign of Rose or Finn, but finds that the basement is completely deserted. Frustrated, Indira hurries down one of the dimly lit hallways in search of her friends.

"Rose?" She whisper-yells. "Finn?"

There's no response, but she does hear the faint echoes of two people arguing with each other somewhere in the distance. Indira's eyes widen at the sound and she takes off running in the direction of the noise, skidding to a stop once she turns the corner. There, she finds Rose dragging an immobile Finn down the hallway on some sort of wheeled contraption.

"I was not deserting!" Finn is protesting loudly as Rose continues wheeling him away. "I told you that —"

"My sister just died," Rose snaps, grief still raw in her tone as she cuts him off, "protecting the fleet. And you were running away!"

Finn winces. "And I'm so sorry about that," he apologizes sincerely. "But this fleet is doomed and if my friend comes back to it, she's doomed, too. I've gotta get this beacon far away from here, then she'll find me and be safe."

Rose glares at him. "You're a selfish traitor."

Having heard enough, Indira decides to make her presence known. "Rose! Finn!" They whip their heads towards her, eyes widening in unison. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Indira," Finn yelps, struggling to sit up. "I can explain everything, but you have to help me first —"

"He was deserting!" Rose shouts accusingly, pointing a finger at him. "Admiral Holdo assigned me to guard the transport pods from anyone trying to abandon ship and I caught him sneaking into a pod with a fully packed bag!"

Indira sighs and rubs her temples. "Finn, what were you thinking? Help me understand because right now, this situation does not look good."

"I wasn't trying to desert!" He replies earnestly. "But you and I both know that Rey is as good as dead if she comes back to this ship. As long as the First Order can track us through lightspeed, it isn't safe for her to be here. I have to protect her." He looks Indira directly in the eyes. "You would do the same thing for Poe."

Indira closes her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before nodding her head slowly. Finn hadn't signed up for this fight; not really. He had told Indira and Poe on the very first day that he returned to consciousness that he didn't want to join another war or continue living as a soldier after being forced to fight his whole life. His dedication to the Resistance had always stemmed from his loyalty to Rey and Rey only.

"Wait," Rose interrupts her train of thought, frowning deeply. "Is that true?" She asks Indira. "The First Order can track us through lightspeed?"

Indira nods, crossing her arms over her chest. "Yeah. If we try to jump again, they'll just show up right after and we'll be completely out of fuel."

Her brow furrows. "They can track us through lightspeed," Rose repeats thoughtfully and Indira can practically see the wheels in her head spinning before she snaps her fingers. "Active tracking."

"What-now?" Finn asks, confused.

Indira nods slowly as she begins to realize what Rose is talking about. "Hyperspace tracking is new tech, but the principal must be the same as ..."

"... any active tracker," Rose murmurs, eyes dancing with excitement. "I've done maintenance on active trackers — they're single source to avoid interference."

"Wait a minute," Finn interrupts, following Rose's logic. "If that's the case, it would mean that they're only tracking us from the lead ship!"

Indira's pulse quickens as she realizes what this means. If the tracker could somehow be disabled, their fleet would be able to make the jump to lightspeed without running the risk of being followed. But hyperspace tracking like that would require a lot of computing power and a generator that powerful wouldn't be easy to access. In fact, more likely than not, it would be right under the watchful eye of the First Order's commanding officers; making it practically impossible to reach.

"We can't get to the tracker," Indira says, frowning at the realization. "It's an A-class process, which means they'll control it from the main bridge. It would be way too dangerous to try and access it directly."

"Well, I mean, yes," Finn agrees. "But every A-class process ..."

"... has a dedicated power breaker," Rose surmises, looking at Finn with wide eyes. All her former animosity has been replaced with child-like hope and enthusiasm.

"There's still one huge problem," Indira says, holding up a hand to stop them before they get too carried away. "Who would even know where the breaker room is located on a Star Destroyer?"

Finn thumps his chest excitedly. "The guy who used to mop it!" He replies. "If someone can get me onto the ship —"

"I can shut their tracker down," Rose finishes, meeting Indira's gaze with an earnest expression.

     Indira's heart twists. Sending Rose on a mission like that would be far too dangerous and — with Paige gone — she feels responsible for her. "I don't know about that," she says cautiously, wincing when Rose's face falls. "But before we decide anything else, we need to talk to Poe."

     "Alright, then let's go," Finn says, pulling himself off the crate Rose had been dragging him on and standing with difficulty. "We need to find Poe fast, so that —"

     As if on cue, the doors to the elevator swing open; revealing a frazzled looking Poe, BB-8, and EV-1. The trio makes their way out of the elevator to where Indira, Finn, and Rose are standing. Indira smiles at first when she sees them, but one look at Poe's face tells her that he doesn't have good news.

     "Hey," he greets them tersely. From his clenched jaw and stiff shoulders, Indira can tell she won't like whatever he's about to say. "I just talked to Connix and we've got a problem."

     "What happened?" Indira asks, brow furrowed.

     "Holdo thinks that there's a mole on the ship and that the First Order is tracking us that way," he replies through gritted teeth. "She had Stefan Nakada arrested and locked in the brig."

     Indira's mouth drops open. "What? Tell me you're joking."

     "I wish I was," he replies flatly. "But it only gets worse."

     "Define worse," she says.

     Poe's gaze shifts from hers to Finn's. "I think she might want to arrest Finn, too."

EDITED ON:
11.03.19