Genre (s): Fanfiction/Science Fiction

Written When? Junior to Senior Year of College

 

Chapter 21

Rey vs. the Supernova (right after Rey learns she's a Palpatine)

 

        No! Rey could not believe what the man just told her! Her body numbed. She felt like she just turned to stone. Falling to her knees, she grasped each side of her head and tried not to scream.

        The man let her arm go and backed away from her. As he disappeared in the deepest, darkest corner of the control room, he held his arms out to his sides and cackled, “Let yourself scream, for it is who you are.” Just like that, he vanished and left the traumatized, scarred girl behind.

        The tears fell like a monstrous hurricane. Rey punched the ground and did what the hooded man told her to do. She screamed. If what the man told her was true, then she really was a monster. She really was a descendant of evil! She really was the galaxy’s worst enemy! Rey screamed so loud that the entire computer room shook.

        Ben heard her scream. “Rey!” He stopped P-43 and the Beacerika on their tracks.

        The Luggabeast had to stay outside, but it acted as a bodyguard and paced back and forth in front of the building. At every sudden sound, it growled.

        In the building, Ben jumped into a run. He scurried in front of the droid and Force-sensitive creature, again yelling, “Rey!” When he reached a long, narrow hallway, he came to a screeching halt and rapidly searched the area. He tried to feel Rey’s aura, but it was difficult because she was concealed behind a door.

        Luckily, the Beacerika came to Ben’s rescue. It hopped down from his shoulder and scurried down the hallway like a mouse.

        “Wait!” Ben called. He and P-43 followed the Beacerika to the door of the computer room. Ben used his shoulder to break it down. However, because he did that so quickly, he fell forward and landed with a kasplat on the dirty ground. Rising to his hands and knees, his eyes widened when he saw he was in a computer room, but wait a minute. It looked a little familiar. That’s because the Desert Resort used to be a hideout for the First Order. The computers were chock-full of traps that they used against their enemies, particularly the Resistance.

        Not only that, but Ben noticed something unsettling in front of one computer and a latch: a bundle.

        She shook, as tears streamed down her cheeks.

        All the color drained from Ben’s face. “Rey!” He hurried to the twitching, traumatized girl on the floor. His eyes landed on the latch, and then the computer she rested in front of. It was the computer she was interested in when she stumbled into the room in the first place. “Rey!” Ben yelled again, grabbing her arm.

        She screamed, for he had her by her injured arm.

        Ben held her in his arms. He peered down on her flustered, yet pale face. “What have you done?”

***

        Like what he did when he snuck aboard Darth Vader’s ship with Luke, Leia, Han, and Obi Wan years ago, Chewie casually landed his and Temiri’s X-Wing in The Limpton’s ship hanger. They followed a few TIE Silencers in.

        In the hanger’s control room stood General Hux. Eyes landing on the ship, he asked his comrades, “What is that puny, little ship doing here?”

        “Sir, it’s a Resistance craft.”

        “A Resistance craft? What are you doing just sitting here, then? Blast it!”

        “Yes, Supreme Leader!” With that, the mechanic pushed a button for a Code Red crisis. As soon as he did, the doors in the hanger slid open.

        A bunch of stormtroopers sprinted in.

        Seeing them, Temiri smirked and told Chewie, “Now it’s time for the real fun to begin.”

        Laughing, Chewie nodded at the little boy. Grabbing his bowcaster, he hurried out of the X-Wing, with Temiri close on his heels. One at a time, Chewie blasted the stormtroopers coming towards him and the Force-sensitive child. Oh, ho, ho, ho! He had forgotten what that felt like!

        Temiri was too young to hold a blaster, but he did have his broom. Using the power of the Force, he spun it around the room like a boomerang. The broom snuck up on lines of stormtroopers and smashed through them, which caused them to fall like dominos. Who knew a broom could be such a reliable weapon?

        While the stormtroopers were down, Chewie blasted them with his bowcaster. Wow, he and Temiri actually made a pretty, darn good team. It reminded him of all those times he fought alongside Han Solo.

        “Why aren’t you blasting those freaks?” Hux snapped from the control room.

        “Sir, they’re taking out all our men!” shouted the comrade he spoke to originally.

        “Why? There’s only two of them!”

        “Yeah, but I think one of them is Force-sensitive.”

        “Force-sensitive? Who’s Force-sensitive?” Hux leaned in close to the mechanic’s computer.

        He pointed at Temiri in the camera and said, “I think it’s the boy.”

        “The boy?” Growling, Hux lowered his head. “We’ll see about that.” He shoved past the mechanic’s shoulder and stomped to the computer room’s exit.

        Chewie and Temiri continued to take out stormtroopers. Both of them had the time of their lives.

        Temiri continued his rampage with his broom, while Chewie did the dirty work. “Whoo!” shouted the young boy. “Now this is what I call steam!”

        Unfortunately, right as he said that, time suddenly froze. He and Chewie couldn’t move. They froze in their battle positions, as if they just became statues.

        Quickly, the stormtroopers who still stood moved off to the side when the ship’s main hanger opened.

        A figure appeared in the doorway.

        Where he and Chewie were, Temiri tried to let his broom go, but it was to no avail.

        Chewie whimpered, but Temiri told him in a confident voice, “Don’t worry, Chewie. We’ve got this.” When he said that, his eyes moved over to the figure in the doorway.

        Only a few seconds later, a red light, along with a buzzing sound, emerged from the shadows. “Welcome,” spoke an eerie, cackling voice. Just like that, General Hux stepped into the ship hanger.

***

        “Ben, I need to fly to the supernova.” The desperation in Rey’s voice was serious.

        After Ben found her in the computer room, he escorted her outside and to the medical center she came there looking for in the first place.

        She and Ben now sat across from one another in one of the center’s rooms. Rey rested her right arm in a tub of bacta. She flinched, for the bacta stung, but she felt safe with Ben close to her. So many terrible things had happened to her lately, but for some reason, Ben’s presence calmed her.

        They stared into each other’s eyes.

        “So, you know who you are?” Ben asked.

        “I do.” Nodding, Rey removed her arm from the bacta and shook it out. “And I also know I can fix this.”

        “Who are you?” Ben asked in a serious but somewhat hypnotic voice.

        “I am Rey.” Flashbacks of that special evening when Rey sat with Leia on Supher invaded her mind. “I have a talent with the Force like no other, and it is my duty to save Jakku, nay, the whole galaxy from myself.”

        “Do you know why you are in this situation in the first place?” questioned Ben.

        Rey nodded again. “Yes. It’s because I used the Dark side to encounter the Beacerika on the island.”

        “That’s right. Rey, I know who you are. I had a feeling you were a descendant of evil when we fought the Praetorian Guards. That’s why I lied and said you were nobody.”

        “You knew something like this would eventually happen.”

        “Yes.” Ben gave Rey a quick nod. “I wanted to protect you, to prevent the premonition from coming true. But now it looks like I’ve failed you.”

        “Oh, Ben, you didn’t fail me.” Again, Rey removed her arm from the bacta so she could see if her wound was getting better. “I failed you. I failed Luke. You’re not an amateur, but I am.”

        “Yes, you are, Rey,” a wise but mystical voice spoke from off to the side.

        At the same time, Ben and Rey turned their heads. Eyes widening, their jaws dropped.

        From the shadows stepped out a rather short but familiar figure. He had pointy ears, green skin, and wore a Jedi robe.

        “Master Yoda,” were the only words that left Ben’s lips.

        Right as Yoda appeared, another Force ghost stepped into the scene and stood next to him. He was much taller.

        Now it was Rey’s turn to speak. “Master Skywalker.”

        Indeed, it was Luke Skywalker. He came within reach of the two youths, and his eyes landed on Rey. To her, he repeated what Yoda told him back on Ahch-To: “‘The greatest lesson, failure is.’” He then repeated what he told her in the Phonolukamy Wormhole: “‘We’ve passed down all we know, Rey. A thousand generations live in you now. But this is your fight.’”

        “I said I wasn’t going to fail you, Master.” Rey choked on her words. “And look where my overconfidence got me.”

        “True, true,” Yoda chuckled. Using the support of his cane, he hobbled over to Ben and stood next to his left arm. “Join Ben when you had the chance, you should have. Travel to supernova, you must, to restore your moral ambiguity.”

        “As a descendant of evil, you need to stop fighting the Light and Dark sides of the Force,” Luke spoke. He kneeled to Rey and gently picked up her right hand. “You need to turn to the Dark side.”

        “But what if I can’t turn back?” Rey knew the power she was capable of. What if she destroyed the whole galaxy? What if she destroyed Ben? What if she destroyed her friends, even General Leia?

        It was Ben’s turn to comfort her. Luke turned her hand over to him, and the young man gently clutched it with both hands of his own. Smiling sheepishly, he promised, “Rey, you will. I’ll make sure you do. However, the only way to save the galaxy is for you to turn. In order for the Force to be balanced, there needs to be one Jedi and one Sith. Light and darkness. Trust me. This is your destiny.”

        “‘Destiny is not a horse’,” Rey repeated, as a fountain of tears rolled down her cheeks. “Ben, I’m scared.”

        “I know you are, but you have to do this.” The Beacerika jumped off Ben’s shoulder and landed on Rey’s, instead.

        Luke scratched it under the chin. “You will take the Beacerika with you. It will get you to the supernova safely.”

        “Have confidence, you must,” chuckled Yoda. “Learn from mistakes. Fight the battle. Live the dream.” He reached behind his back and pulled something out from it. It was a brand-new lightsaber.

        Gulping, Rey pulled up the hood of her cape and reached for it. She hesitated, but the Jedi Master nodded his head to encourage her.

        Luke placed his hand on her shoulder and rubbed it.

        In front of her, Ben once again said, “You need to do this.”

        Rey shivered, but she accepted Yoda’s gift. The second she did, the lightsaber ignited–buzz–and revealed a red, double-blade.

        Next to her, the Beacerika admired the weapon and telepathically told the girl, “Welcome, Rey, to the Dark side.”

***

        With Ben, Luke, Yoda, and P-43 on either side of her, Rey bound her healing wound and marched outside to the Desert Resort’s hot, steamy atmosphere. She held her new lightsaber in her hand.

        The Beacerika rode on her shoulder.

        Rey’s friends escorted her to the Desert Resort’s spaceport, where Ben landed The Robin Hood. For her mission, he gave it to her. Ben helped her into the cockpit of the ship.

        Once in it, the Beacerika hopped down from Rey’s shoulder and landed in the co-pilot seat next to her.

        Before taking off, Ben again took Rey’s hand. He gently shook it.

        She returned the shake. Letting go, she booted up The Robin Hood and focused her attention on Jakku’s supernova.

        Outside, Ben backed away from it and joined Yoda, Luke, and P-43. They watched as the ship lifted into the sky.

        Rey peered over her shoulder to her friends.

        They feebly smiled.

        With a flick of her wrist, Rey punched The Robin Hood’s accelerator and shot straight up, away from safety and in the direction of her final battle: Rey vs. the supernova.

***

        Luke, Yoda, and Ben remained in Jakku’s spaceport for a little while longer; at least until The Robin Hood disappeared in Jakku’s atmosphere.

        Ben seemed to be in a trance. His eyes did not leave the area where the ship disappeared. Already, he missed Rey. He wished he could go with her, but he couldn’t. As Luke said, this was Rey’s fight. Not his. However, he felt her. She was scared. No, she was traumatized. She needed somebody to comfort her. She had the Beacerika, sure, but Ben did not know if it was enough.

        Only a few minutes later, he heard a wise chuckle under him. Yoda patted Ben’s leg with his cane.

        Ben sank to his knees in front of him. “Yes, Master Yoda?”

        “Communicate with Rey, you must,” Yoda explained. “Scared, she is. Save the fallen angel, for she will want to come back.”

        “I must give her confidence? Is that what you’re asking?” Ben was not totally used to the way Yoda talked.

        Once again, he chuckled. He plopped down next to the young man. As Ben peered back into the sky, the alien nodded and answered, “Confidence is quiet, in the case of other Jedi, but not in that one. A failure she feels like, yes. Give her confidence, you must. Quiet her fear.”

        “But,” Ben protested, “she doesn’t have her Force abilities. The Emperor stripped her of them.”

        “Oh, he did, didn’t he?” Yoda chuckled a third time. “No use for supernova then. Supernova is no longer important.”

        “What are you saying?”

        While the two conversed, Luke backed away from the spaceport and came up with a plan. He had to get the galaxy ready for their most dangerous battle yet. The only way to do that was to return to Supher.

        With that in mind, the Force ghost put his hands together and closed his eyes. He faded away and left nothing but Yoda and a very confused, yet intrigued Ben Solo behind.

***

        Temiri didn’t even flinch, as General Hux led him and Chewie down one of The Limpton’s hallways.

        Stormtroopers bumped his back with their blasters, to tell him to pick up the pace.

        To Chewie’s annoyance, he roared at them.

        “Chewie, calm down,” Temiri said without looking back at him. He followed General Hux’s every movement. His eyes eventually landed on a lightsaber that hung from his belt. That was the lightsaber he threatened Chewie and Temiri with when he froze them during their battle against the stormtroopers.

        At Temiri’s request, Chewie calmed down. He gave the young boy a funny look.

        “I feel a presence,” Temiri told him. “We are going to get out of this. All the training Master Rey gave me at the Academy... It is time for it to pay off.”

***

        Rey was absolutely horrified. She just made it to space, but she brought The Robin Hood to a halt when she saw it. The supernova.

        A glowing ball of light in the distance, it creeped steadily closer to Jakku.

        Even though it was still quite far away, Rey could already feel its heat. She shook her head, as gruesome images of her destroying the whole galaxy invaded her mind. With tears streaming down her cheeks, she slapped her hands to her face and whimpered, “I can’t.”

        Next to her, the Beacerika gave her a funny look. What did Rey mean by, “I can’t”?

        “This is too stressful,” she cried out. Rey lowered her hands. She turned her head in the direction of the Beacerika, who sat on top of her new lightsaber. “I’m sorry, Beacerika, but I can’t do this. I don’t want to turn to the Dark side. I am going to destroy this whole galaxy if I do. Leia fears my power. Finn fears it. Everyone fears it. I am nothing but a disgrace to this galaxy. And now that I know who I am… I just can’t.”

        Rey tried to turn The Robin Hood around so she could return to Jakku, but the Beacerika did not let that happen.

        It jumped off the co-pilot seat and dove for the wheel. It grabbed it with its paws and jerked the ship back in the direction of the supernova.

        Rey clenched her teeth and closed her eyes as she fought it. “Stop!” she shouted. “I’m going back to Jakku!”

        “What for?” telepathically asked the Beacerika, as both it and Rey tugged on the wheel. “So you can watch the whole planet explode?

        “I’m scared!”

        “I know you are, but this is your destiny.”

        “I’m scared!!”

        “I’ll make sure nothing happens to you.”

        “I'm scared!!!” Just like that, Rey let the wheel go. Right when she did, The Robin Hood stalled and rocked back and forth in space.

        Rey got up from the pilot seat. She headed over to the cockpit’s back wall, with the Beacerika watching her from behind. Stopping in front of it, the young woman put her forehead to it. Sniffing, she whimpered, “I’m scared.”

        “Rey, you need to be more confident,” a familiar voice spoke in her head.

        She gasped when she recognized it. “Ben?” Sure enough, when Rey took her forehead off the wall and turned, there he was. Rey saw him. She remembered those days leading up to the battle in Snoke’s throne room, when she and Ben communicated using the Force. However, Rey thought she didn’t have her Force abilities. Therefore, why were she and Ben connecting with each other?

        She felt him take her hand, and he told her, “You need to travel to the supernova. It is a part of you.”

        “A part of me? What are you talking about?” How was Rey connected to a supernova? She saw no resemblance between it and her.

        That was when she heard another familiar voice from off to the side. “That supernova comprises of your lost Force abilities–the abilities the Emperor stole from you when he brought you to Jakku.”

        Rey turned her head. Her eyes widened when she no longer saw the Beacerika.

        In its place stood a woman who had blue skin, cyan eyes, and black hair with streaks of green and purple in it. The Beacerika was Aerolin.

***

        Just being there, Temiri shivered. The stormtroopers just pulled him and Chewie into the Supreme Leader’s throne room.

        Hux sat down on his throne.

        Temiri couldn’t help but to notice something sitting on the arm of the chair. It was Kylo Ren’s lightsaber. Temiri recognized the two prongs sticking out from either side of it. He stepped back towards Chewie, but once again, the stormtroopers bumped his back with the butt of their blasters. Temiri tried to run, but they grabbed him and shoved him to the ground. The broom boy landed in a heap at Hux’s feet. He peered into his eyes.

        “So, the rumors are true,” Hux spoke. He grabbed the boy’s arm. “You are indeed Force-sensitive.”

        “What do you want from me?” the little boy asked in an angry voice.

        “Oh, not much. I just don’t like children. Especially children who interfere with my plans.”

        “You may be connected to Rey, but she will never be as heartless as you.”

        “Maybe not, but I do have you.”

        “She will turn back to the Light side. She’s going to destroy you.” Temiri flinched when an eerie pain engulfed his head, and he stumbled backwards. However, he continued to speak: “Release General Hux from your torture, and maybe we’ll be friends.”

        Behind him, Chewie broke free from the stormtroopers grasps on him and hurried towards the little boy.

        When he saw him coming, General Hux held up his hand and pointed at him. Like what happened in the ship hanger, Chewie froze.

        “Chewie!” Temiri yelled.

        He glared at Hux who asked, “We don’t need any Wookies interrupting our big heart-to-heart chat, now do we? Where were we? Oh, yes.” He pulled Temiri next to him. “You can try all you want to stop me, but the girl belongs to me.”

        Still glaring, Temiri said in a stern voice, “Good. This is all going according to plan. You’ve fallen right into our trap.”

        “Oh, really?” cackled Hux. “We’ll see about that. I like you, kid. I think you will fit in nicely here. Rey will definitely need some company once she becomes Empress.”

        “Forget it.” Temiri broke free from Hux’s grip and backed up from the throne.

        Stormtroopers pointed their blasters at the young boy, but Chewie remained frozen in time.

        Temiri clenched his fists and told Hux in an angry, stern voice, “I will never join the Dark side… Darth Sidious.”

        “Very well,” Hux replied with a glare. “Then I am going to have a lot of fun killing you.” And just like that, a Force ghost leaped out of General Hux himself. Palpatine. He had taken over Hux’s body, declaring himself the new Supreme Leader of the First Order.

        Unconscious, the real Hux fell off the throne and landed with a splat on the ground next to it.

        Right when he did, Chewie unfroze. He, too, fell.

        Temiri hurried to him. He fell to his knees next to the Wookie. “Are you all right, Chewie?”

        Whimpering, Chewie nodded.

        Their eyes landed on Palpatine, who came towards them, with stormtroopers on either side of him.

        “Kill us, if you must,” Temiri spoke. “But you will never win. Rey exceeds your power. She will banish you to the deepest corner of the Outer Rim.”

        “Then after I kill you, I’ll kill her.”

        “You really would do that to your own granddaughter?”

        “And this is why I don’t like children.”

        However, just before Palpatine could lift his hand and unleash his Force lightning on Temiri and Chewie, a voice shouted at him from the throne room’s entrance. “We’ll see about that!” A blaster bolt pieced Palpatine’s ghost.

        He stumbled backwards and fell into his throne.

        Right when he did, four First Order stormtroopers rushed into the room. They shot their blasters at Palpatine’s minions.

        Due to all the noise, General Hux woke up. Gasping, his head shot up from the ground. Sweat trickled down his temples.

        A hand grabbed his arm–Temiri–and pulled the weary general up from the floor. “Come on!”

        “What’s going on?” Hux shouted.

        “I’ll tell you later!” Temiri replied.

        As Palpatine’s minions went down, Chewie one-by-one grabbed blasters and tested them, to see which ones he liked. Palpatine stole his bowcaster from him when he captured him and Temiri, and he had no idea where he put it.

        One of the stormtroopers who came to their rescue hurried to Temiri and Hux and shouted, “Go! Go!” in a female voice.

        Temiri did not have to be asked twice. He took off, while another stormtrooper wrapped Hux’s arm around his shoulders.

        The soldiers, boy, and Wookie hurried out of the throne room. They left a very angry Palpatine behind.

***

        Rey yelled, as the heat from the supernova started to engulf The Robin Hood the closer she approached it.

        Next to her, Aerolin, who sat in the co-pilot seat like before, snapped at her: “Let the supernova swallow you. It comprises of your Force abilities.”

        “This is a suicide run!“

        "That’s what it feels like, but it’s not. You’re going to get your new power. Trust me on this.” As Aerolin said that, a huge blast wave given off from the supernova chucked The Robin Hood backwards.

        It spun out of control, but Rey caught it. “Why isn’t it barbecuing us?” she asked Aerolin.

        “It’s because this ship resists supernovas. I used Phonolukamy’s technology to build it,” Aerolin replied.

        “Phonolukamy? Why Phonolukamy?” Sweat streamed down Rey’s face, as she steered The Robin Hood back in the direction of the supernova.

        Aerolin soon answered her. “Because the ships on Phonolukamy can survive whatever disaster space throws at them, even supernovas. Now, if you were in that Millennium Falcon, you definitely would barbecue. But not in The Robin Hood.”

        “What am I supposed to do?”

        “You need to use your lightsaber to suck your powers away from the supernova. Let its light hit you, and it will give you your gift.”

        “Are you sure this isn’t a suicide run?”

        “It’s not. Trust me on this one, Rey. Please.”

        “Okay.” Rey took a deep breath and tried to slow down her pounding heart. She felt like it was going to come flying out of her mouth. She thought the Phonolukamy Wormhole was scary, but no! Now she had to go up against some Force-created supernova!

        Rey knew her post-traumatic stress was going to get even worse from there, but she went ahead and followed Aero’s orders, even though she was traumatized. Like Ben told her through their Force communication, she had to be confident. Besides, Aero said she would keep her safe.

        Inhaling a breath of air, Rey grabbed her lightsaber from Aero’s hand and hopped up from her seat. She moved to the heart of the cockpit. As Aerolin steered The Robin Hood closer to the supernova, she prepared herself. Rey ignited her lightsaber, held it at the ready, and glared. She had to do this. “Destiny is not a horse.”

        “Now, Rey!” Aerolin yelled, snapping her hand back.

        Seeing it, the young woman nodded. Hands sweating, she lifted the lightsaber over her head and let the light rays from the supernova catch its blades.

        However, the supernova was not going to return her abilities just like that. That was too easy. Instead of giving them to her, it let out another huge, gravitational blast wave, which washed through the entire interior of The Robin Hood.

        It was so powerful that Rey flew backwards and smashed down on her right arm. Deactivating, the lightsaber flew from her hand. It wound up hitting the wall across from where she landed.

        Aerolin looked over her shoulder and yelled, “Rey!”

***

        Temiri, Chewie, and the stormtroopers hurried down one of The Limpton’s corridors. They shot at the army of First Order stormtroopers chasing them–more of Palpatine’s minions. Unfortunately, they stumbled upon a dead end at the back of the corridor. A huge door blocked the path.

        Everybody broke off and dove behind a few walls to protect themselves from the troopers’ blasters.

        Temiri hid with two of the rescue troopers, while the other two, Chewie, and Hux scrunched up behind the second wall. Temiri and his troopers were closest to the door. He yelled when another blaster bolt barely missed him. “They’ve got us!” he shouted. “There’s no way out of this!”

        “We’ll see about that!” one of his partners yelled. He pulled a radio off his belt and put it to his lips. “Artoo-Deetoo, Bee-Bee-Ate, open the door! We’re in Hallway F!”

        “Artoo-Deetoo? Bee-Bee-Ate?” Temiri asked in a confused voice.

        The trooper who just spoke into the radio pulled off his helmet.

        Temiri couldn’t believe who he was looking at. It was Lando Calrissian.

        “I hate this helmet,” he said. Lando tossed it to the ground. “It’s too damn hot!”

        “Lando!” Temiri’s jaw dropped. The stormtrooper next to him removed his helmet to reveal Poe Dameron. “Poe!” Temiri shouted. He quickly turned his head in the direction of Chewie, Hux, and the two other troopers. He assumed they were Rose and Finn. Sure enough, he was right.

        Just like Poe and Lando, they also removed their helmets. What in the world? How did they get there from Phonolukamy? What were they doing there on The Limpton? Now was not the time to be asking questions.

        Lando again brought his radio to his lips. “Wise droids. We’re in Hallway F! Not Hallway S! Yamo, make sure they get the right hallway this time.”

        Yamo? Yamo came, too? What in the name of heck was going on? Temiri had no idea. All he knew was that the Resistance team, excluding Rey, was back together.

***

        The pain in Rey’s arm was excruciating. She thought she was on the road to recovery, but now she felt like she just broke all the bones in her arm. What was up with the darn supernova? It did not want to give her back her Force abilities. It wanted to kill her. However, she attempted to give it another go.

        Straining, the young woman rose to her feet and reached her left hand out to her lightsaber.

        The supernova sensed what she was doing and released another blast wave.

        Like what happened with the lightsaber, Rey crashed into the wall. She rolled a few feet away from it. Shaking her head, she yelled at Aerolin, “I can’t do it! It’s too powerful!”

        “Wait! Don’t give up yet!” Aero shouted, as she quickly steered The Robin Hood away from one of the supernova’s fire rings. “Leave it to me. I’ll make sure you catch the supernova’s light.”

        “What are you saying? Aero? Aero!” Rey propped up on her elbow. She held her hand out to her friend.

        From out of nowhere, she vanished in midair and appeared outside, in the form of the Beacerika’s space form–the one that attacked Rey in the Phonolukamy Wormhole. So it was true. Aerolin was the Beacerika after all.

        “Aerolin!” Rey shouted, leaping to her feet. “Stop! I need you!” She knew the Beacerika’s plan. The young woman scooped up her lightsaber and hurried to The Robin Hood’s pilot seat. Sitting down, she peered out the window shield to the huge creature hovering between the ship and supernova. “Aerolin!” shouted the young girl. “Don’t do this! Please!”

        She heard Aero’s voice. “I need to do this, Rey. My mission is complete. What matters now is that you catch your abilities and complete your training.”

        “No!” Rey begged. “Please no!”

        “Ignite your lightsaber!” the Beacerika shouted.

        “I don’t want to turn to the Dark side!”

        “You need to!”

        Rey’s lightsaber ignited itself. She gasped when she saw that. She tried deactivating the weapon, but she couldn’t. The lightsaber would not deactivate.

        Outside The Robin Hood, the Beacerika backed away from the angry supernova. Nodding, it whispered, “My work here is complete.” Just like that, it curled into a ball.

        “No!” Rey screamed, but that was the last thing she yelled on the Light side of the Force.

        The Beacerika/Aerolin threw its whole body into the Jakku Supernova.

***

        After a few more failed attempts, R2 and BB-8 finally opened the correct door. Before Lando, Temiri, Chewie, Poe, Rose, Hux, and Finn knew it, it slid open and revealed The Limpton’s ship hanger.

        “Let’s go!” Lando shouted at his friends. He shot one more stormtrooper with his blaster.

        Everybody rushed through the open door, where they met up with R2, BB-8, and C-3PO at the end of the hallway.

        Stormtroopers continued to chase them from behind.

        The friends moved their fastest. It wasn’t long until they leaped into the ship hanger.

        There was Yamo. He held a blaster of his own and stood on the ramp of the Millennium Falcon. “Hurry!” he shouted at everybody.

        They did, except for poor 3PO, who never moved that fast. “Wait! Wait!” he called.

        At the sight of him struggling, General Hux came to a screeching stop. Turning on his heel, he hurried to the droid and grabbed his arm. “Come on, Wise Gold.” With that, he dragged him to the Falcon’s ramp.

        3PO yelled, when a blaster bolt from another stormtrooper narrowly missed him.

        Yamo shoved his back.

        The droid yelled again. Tripping, he fell onto his front at the ramp’s head.

        Temiri pushed the soles of his feet, so he could stop blocking the ramp, and dragged 3PO to a wall in the Falcon’s main hallway.

        Yamo was the last one to dive into the ship. As quick as a flash, he pulled up its ramp and hurried to the cockpit.

        The hanger’s door started to close, as an attempt to trap the Falcon inside The Limpton. It lifted into the air, with stormtroopers continuing to shoot their blasters at it, and headed towards the diminishing mouth.

        In the cockpit, Lando, who sat in the pilot seat, pushed the accelerator. He clenched his teeth, as the Falcon edged closer to the hanger’s mouth.

        Petrified, Temiri screamed and threw himself into Chewie’s furry arms.

        “We’re going to make it!” Finn shouted.

        Make it they did.

        The Falcon flew through the hanger’s mouth at the last second and accelerated into space, leaving The Limpton and Phonolukamy Blockade behind.

        Back in the hanger, Emperor Palpatine’s Force ghost appeared on a balcony one level up. He glared when he saw that piece of junk actually managed to escape. Though mad, he knew it wasn’t the end. He would see that ship again, and when he did, he would have a new Darth Vader with him.

***

        The explosion was intense!

        Rey screamed and closed her eyes, as the broken-up supernova chucked its light–her missing Force abilities–into the two blades of her new lightsaber. The pure blast of energy shoved her chair up against the back wall and chucked her forward like a rag doll. She performed a front-flip. During the process, Force lightning escaped her fingertips.

        It smashed into The Robin Hood’s control panel, which caused it to spin like five tops at the same time.

        The Robin Hood somersaulted back in the direction of Jakku, as the last of the supernova’s light engulfed Rey’s lightsaber.

        Her eyes flashed yellow. Another bolt of Force lightning escaped her fingertips. That was her new power. Just as Emperor Palpatine said, he had gifted her with something new–something Rey shared with him. What happened in space proved just how powerful Rey was. Rey, an orphan scavenger from Jakku, was just as powerful as a supernova.