Chapter Text
The whine of failing engines reached Rey’s ears before her eyes could find the source. Raising her hazel gaze from the half scaled fish in front of her, she searched the sky. It didn’t take long for her to lock on to the dark grey mass that broke through the even darker blanket of clouds, to come plummeting at the planet’s surface.
“Master Luke!” she called to the Jedi master sitting near to her side, but he was already on his feet, one hand reaching out towards the ship.
Clambering up, she barely avoided knocking over the wooden table holding her now forgotten dinner, watching with wide eyes as the rapid descent began to slow.
Luke’s eyes remained trained on the object of his focus, and it looked to Rey like his reaction of slowing the ship was more on instinct than anything else. It still met the surface with a loud crash, and, slinging the strap of her staff over one shoulder, Rey ran over the rugged ground, nimbly picking her way between craggy mounds, and vaulting over boulders in her haste. White-grey billows of smoke guided her to the crash site and she came to a skidding halt only a scant few feet from the vessel.
It was small, relatively speaking, with a long neck, on the end of which was the cockpit. The ship had landed, propped crookedly against a rock, and she watched the hatch on top of the cockpit open with a loud groan. Smoke continued to twist from the engines and a small cloud accompanied the pilot that came tumbling out in a fit of coughing, to land practically at her feet.
The man took a moment to breathe in the clean island air before turning his face up to hers. Confusion flashed over his features briefly, and he glanced back at the ship in time to watch a round, orange and white shape vault itself out. It hit the stones with a loud bang that made Rey jump. Her mouth opened and closed as she tried to decide how to address the stranger, who had not yet tried to stand up.
He looked at her again and raised a hand to sweep dark curls back off his sweat slicked forehead and then smiled, an incredulous laugh finally breaking the silence. Something in the laugh made the corner of her mouth twitch up slightly.
“Something tells me this landing wasn’t luck,” he said. Rey opened her mouth to reply, but footfalls behind her drew her eyes instead, and she looked over her shoulder to find Luke had caught up with her and was eyeing their visitor with caution. Seeing his expression, Rey took her staff from her shoulder and held it in front of her, though she did not aim it at the man.
“Who are you?” Luke asked.
Instead of answering, the man looked Luke up and down, cautious recognition dawning in his eyes.
“I’m here looking for Jedi Master Luke Skywalker,” he said. Luke shook his head ever so slightly.
“I didn’t ask what you were here for. I asked who you are.”
The pilot climbed to his feet as though the movement was painful, and swallowed hard, his eyes not leaving the older man.
“My name is Poe. Poe Dameron. I’m with the Resistance. General Leia Organa sent me in search of her brother, the Jedi, Luke Skywalker.”
Luke continued to show little concern for the man, and Rey slowly slid the strap of her staff back over her shoulder, eyes darting between the two of them. The little orange droid rolled up next to the pilot, Poe, and beeped hurriedly at him. Poe’s eyes flickered down to the droid, a BB unit, Rey realized belatedly, and then came back up to Luke once more, looking him over carefully when Luke said nothing.
“You look like her,” he ventured. Luke shook his head, but did not deny the insinuation that this ‘General Leia Organa’ was, in fact, his sister. Rey felt curiosity prickling at her. Luke didn’t talk much about his past. In fact, she didn’t know anything about his life before he had found her on Jakku six years prior.
“Glad you survived the crash, Poe. We’ll leave you to your repairs. I trust you will be heading back to the Resistance as soon as they’re done.”
Luke’s dismissal seemed to stun Poe and his mouth opened in shock.
“Rey,” Luke called to her as he turned and headed back the way they had come. Hesitantly she moved to follow, but the pilot was faster, stepping around her to follow at Luke’s heels.
“Master Skywalker,” he said, and Rey looked down at the BB unit which swiveled to turn its optical orb up to her. With a heavy sigh she waved a hand at it.
“I’m Rey,” she said. The droid whistled at her cheerfully.
“Pleasure to meet you, BB-8.”
Introductions over, the girl and the droid began to follow after the Jedi and the pilot, slowly moving around the rocks that Rey had previous vaulted over. Vaulting would have been much more difficult for BB-8, and Rey didn’t want to simply abandon him.
As they came upon the place where Rey and Luke had been preparing their supper, she saw Luke standing over the tables, hands on hips and a somewhat sour expression on his face. Rey didn’t need to see the fish to know that the porg on the island had likely gotten to them. If she had to eat grubs again for supper she was going to be cross.
“Are you listening to me?” Poe’s voice had taken on an exasperated tone and he was trying to get himself in Luke’s line of sight, but the older man simply kept looking away like the pilot wasn’t there at all.
“The First Order is winning. The Republic is gone. We need you to come back. We need some kriffing help.” He swept his hands out to the sides, gesturing at the rocks and huts around them. “You want me to believe something you are doing here is more important than that?”
Rey waited patiently. Experience had taught her that making these arguments against Luke was going to get the pilot nowhere, but she found she was very interested in what he said.
Vague memories came to her from her time on Jakku. Mentions of the First Order and of the Republic. Neither had had much to do with the daily life on that dry, desert wasteland of a planet, so Rey had never taken the time to learn about them. Ironic, since it was a battle between the predecessor of the First Order, the Galactic Empire, and the Republic that had graciously gifted her her AT-AT home.
Beside her, BB-8 was rolling in nervous little circles, keeping its optics trained on its master as he pleaded his case. Finally, Luke locked his eyes on Poe again. His back was to Rey, so she could not see his expression, but Poe was all adamant defiance. She admired him for his tenacity, at least.
“I am no help to the Resistance. I’m not leaving,” he said.
Poe opened his mouth to argue again, but Luke continued, “I know the Republic is gone. I felt it. But this is not a fight I can involve myself in. Now, I suggest you get back to your ship before it gets dark, and start your repairs.”
Luke moved around Poe and, instead of returning to the task of salvaging dinner, he disappeared into one of the crude stone huts they called home, and shut the door behind him. Poe continued to stand where Luke had left him for several minutes, simply looking at the closed door. When it became apparent he wasn’t going to move on his own, Rey came to stand beside him.
“You won’t change his mind,” she said. Poe turned to look at her, and she saw his eyes sweep over her frame, sizing her up. She knew she wasn’t much to look at, brown hair, hazel eyes, and slender, unassuming frame. She tilted her chin up, daring him to say something.
“Leia didn’t say there would be anyone else here with him.”
She heard the confusion in his voice. Undoubtedly, this meeting was not going how he had thought it would. Rey shrugged her shoulders and raised her eyebrows.
“Yeah, well, Luke never said he had a sister off the island,” she replied. BB-8 rolled up on Poe’s other side and whistled forlornly at him.
“No, we won’t be leaving without Skywalker. I can’t return to the General empty handed. We’ll convince him.” He looked once more at Rey, but this time he was not appraising her. “Any advice?” he asked.
Chewing the inside of her cheek, Rey shook her head and Poe nodded his as though he had figured as much.
“Well, he’s right about one thing. I better start fixing that heap if we are gonna get out of here.” His eyes went one more time to the door. “This isn’t over, though.”
Making sure that the determined pilot really was going to go back to his ship, Rey watched until he had passed out of view behind one of the mounds of rocks before she went to Luke’s door, giving it a gentle tap with her staff.
“Master Luke?” She let the unasked question hang in the air, and had almost accepted that he would not answer for her either, when she heard the sound of movement within and the door slowly creaked back open, enough for him to look out at her.
“You have questions,” he said. Rey nodded her head slowly. Of course she did. Luke sighed and pushed the door open further.
In the time he had been inside a fire had been started. While Rey sat down on a stone seat against one wall, Luke left long enough to gather the remains of their dinner. They finished scaling in silence, Rey mentally preparing questions, and Luke, doubtlessly, trying to figure out how to answer those questions.
As they watched the prepared fish, now set on spikes around the fire to cook, Rey cleared her throat, twisting the fabric of her tunic in one hand. It was surprisingly frightening to think she could ask the old Jedi questions and receive answers.
“Who are you?”
Luke smiled slightly at the question, his eyebrows rising and falling quickly.
“Luke Skywalker,” he said. “You had heard of the Jedi before. When I found you, you said the Jedi were myths. Laughed when I told you my name and, as I recall, you told me Luke Skywalker was a myth too.”
Rey smiled at the memory and nodded her head.
“You used the Force to toss some other scavengers off of me only a few minutes after.” It had been the first time Rey had ever seen proof of the Force, which had, until then, only been stories told by the various spacers that passed through Niima Outpost. “Why did you offer to take me offworld?”
Rey had been on her own for a year before Luke had showed up in Niima Outpost. Her parents had died the year prior, but even before then she had known her share of loneliness. Her parents had been more interested in where their next drop of alcohol would be coming from, or the next hit of spice, than they had been in their daughter.
“My sister, Leia. I never knew her when she was that young, but I imagine she was like you. All stubborn independence. Actually, she was about the age you are now when I finally met her.”
The affectionate statement brought an unexpected flutter of warmth to Rey’s chest. It was unlike Luke to speak with such sentimentality. However…
“What about the First Order? And the Resistance? What does he mean the Republic is gone?”
As suddenly as it had appeared, the gentle expression on Luke’s face closed off once more, and he leaned back in his chair with a heavy sigh.
“Don’t worry about any of that. I’m not going anywhere.”
The dismissal of the question had Rey sitting back as well, echoing his movements.
“It sounded important. Why can’t you help him?” she asked. Luke wasn’t looking at her anymore. He reached out and took one of the fish that had been cooking while they spoke.
“My help wouldn’t help anything. I didn’t banish myself to this planet on a whim.” As soon as he said it, Rey knew it was an unintentional slip. Information he had not meant for her to receive.
“You banished yourself? Why?”
Luke swallowed hard and set his fish down uneaten.
“Rey,” there was tired resignation in his voice, “this is something you’ll have to take on faith. My place is here. I won’t be leaving the planet.”
Rey realized she had told Poe he would never be able to drag the information out of Luke, so why was she in here now trying? Had she honestly thought it would be different for her, just because she had lived as his ward for the last six years? Bitterly, she realized that she had in fact hoped he would willingly answer her.
Chewing at the inside of her cheek to keep from speaking again, she leaned forward and picked up two of the three remaining skewered fish. It was silent when she stood up and left the hut.
Outside, the sky was a kaleidoscope of orange, red, and pink clouds, stretching to the horizon to kiss the ocean, colored dark blue with spots of frothing white to mark the caps of waves. The sea here was always in turmoil, and, if holovids on board Luke’s own downed ship hadn’t told her otherwise, Rey would have assumed all oceans were like the ones on Ahch-To. But, the wind didn’t smell like rain, so she began to pick her way back over the hills and rocks to the pilot and his ship.
Rey could hear the man before she could see him. Muttered curses drifted over the air to her and she found herself smiling a little at the grumblings. When she topped the hill where the ship sat, she saw Poe perched on the end near one of the engines, elbows deep in an open panel, brows furrowed. Lamps had been set up around the perimeter of the crash site to give him light as the sun set and night began to set in.
BB-8 detected her first, his head swiveling 180 degrees to watch her walk closer, chirping a greeting to her. Hearing his droid greeting the girl, Poe looked up from his work and went to wipe a hand over his forehead, smearing it with grease.
“Sod it,” he muttered with one more glance at the innards of the ship, sliding down to land on the ground again.
“Stories say Luke Skywalker was quite the gearhead. If he wants me off his island so bad, maybe he should come and fix the ship himself.” The remark was made offhand, an invitation for her to speak if she wanted, or to ignore if she didn’t. Rey smiled a little more and shrugged her shoulders.
“I brought you a peace offering. You probably have rations, but-” She held out one of the skewered fish and earned a smile in return from Poe. He crossed the few feet to stand directly in front of her, taking the offering from her hand.
“If it isn’t freeze-dried or dehydrated, I’ll take it.” Without skipping a beat, he brought the fish up and took a bite. Chewing thoughtfully, he looked surprised. “Not bad, actually.”
He ate like a man who hadn’t seen food in days. If he was as dedicated to his mission as he seemed, Rey wondered if perhaps eating had slipped his mind. He finished the rest of the fish before speaking again, using the time to discreetly watch her. Rey ate as well, though she was aching to ask him questions about why he had come to the island.
“BB-8 says your name is Rey? Sorry I didn’t ask earlier. I was… distracted.”
This was her opportunity to ask.
“Why exactly are you here? What were you saying about the Republic? Why do you need Master Luke?”
Poe’s eyes widened at the slew of questions and he held up his hands to get her to slow down.
“Whoa, whoa. How long have you been on this planet, exactly?” he asked, one eyebrow raised. For a heartbeat, Rey felt inexplicably embarrassed about her lack of knowledge on the state of the galaxy beyond Ahch-To.
“Six years. Here. Before here I lived on Jakku.”
The mention of the desert planet seemed to catch Poe’s interest and he cocked his head to one side, stepping closer.
“Jakku. Did you now Lor San Tekka? We think he’s who told Luke how to find this place.”
Rey chewed on her bottom lip as she thought, trying to recall the name and coming up empty. Shaking her head she watched Poe nod, and take a step back again, giving her a little more space.
BB-8 managed something impossibly close to a sigh, and Rey smiled a little at him as he rolled forward and back, looking for all the world like a bored, impatient child.
“You know what the First Order is though, right?”
She nodded her head. “I’ve… heard of it,” she said haltingly.
“They’re the bastard child of the Galactic Empire.” The sun had set, and despite the white glow of the lamps set around the camp, his expression still managed to darken. “And, they’ve been getting stronger. Recently, they,” he paused as he thought over the recent deeds of the First Order. “They built a super weapon. Kept it a secret from the Republic and then destroyed them with it. The entire Hosnian system. Gone. Nobody is left to stand against them. Nobody but us.” He trailed off as though the anger that was written across his face was making it difficult to speak.
“That’s why you need Luke,” Rey said. “To help defeat the First Order.”
Poe nodded. “He fought against the Empire. The General is a brilliant leader, but she wants her brother back to help her. To give us some hope.” He glanced back at his ship. “Even if I convince him, we won’t be leaving in this if I can’t patch it up.”
Rey looked to the ship as well, mulling over what he had told her. It sounded like the galaxy needed Luke.
“Luke has a ship. Not a scouter like yours, but…”
Poe shook his head, interrupting the unspoken offer.
“This one’s been modified. It’s small and fast and our best bet of slipping past any First Order ships. They know we have the map and who we are looking for. There’s nothing they would like more than to kill all of us, Skywalker most of all.”
“Why do they want him dead? Because he helped destroy the Empire?”
Poe was still contemplative. “Because he’s a symbol. Luke Skywalker grew up thinking he was nothing and wanting to be more. He saw darkness in the galaxy and wanted to stop it. A nobody that became a somebody. Luke Skywalker gives people hope.”
Rey continued to eye the ship, finally placing the model, a A-24 Sleuth. It was an older style of ship, but with modifications…
“Well, I’m no Luke Skywalker, but I know my way around a hydrospanner. Maybe I can help?”
Poe glanced back at her from the ship and then down to BB-8
“It’d be pretty stupid of me to say no to help. Be my guest.”
***
“Alright, BB-8. Thrusters on low. See if you can get her off the ground. Just off the ground, so we can set her down straight.”
Rey was standing back a safe distance, watching the Sleuth. She could still hear Poe calling out orders from inside, with the top hatch left wide open.
The dual suns had crested the horizon and her eyes were aching. They had worked through the night on the ship while Poe continued to tell her about the threat that was the First Order.
The more they spoke, the more certain she became that something would have to be done. Poe talked about the leaders of the First Order, agents of the Dark Side of the Force. A mysterious, ancient figure, the Supreme Leader, Snoke. And, his twisted apprentice, a monster called Kylo Ren, who had killed Han Solo, the Rebellion legend and Luke Skywalker’s best friend. Rey had grown up hearing stories on Jakku about Han and his First Mate, Chewbacca, even more than she had heard tales of the Jedi.
If the Dark Side had risen to such heights, Luke had to step in. He was a Jedi. A warrior of the Light.
“Gently!” Poe’s shout drew Rey’s troubled thoughts back to the task at hand, of getting the ship back in working order.
The engines hissed and whined, and with a jerk, the Sleuth slipped off the sides of the massive boulders it had been propped against. It hovered in the air, and Rey waited for something to go wrong. Some sort of explosion that would send it crashing back to the ground, but nothing happened.
The ship hovered, smoothly and effortlessly, until Poe moved it, setting it down properly on landing gears a short distance away.
He was back at the hatch an instant later, a victorious grin spread over his face as he climbed out and slid down the access ladder to touch solid ground again.
“Well, I don’t know about Luke, but you sure as hell didn’t lie about knowing what you were doing.” He came to a stop in front of her, still grinning, reaching out a hand.
Rey clapped her hand into his, returning the infectious smile at the small victory of repairing the ship. She gave his hand a firm shake, but the sounds of frantic beeping from BB-8, still inside the Sleuth, cut the moment of celebration short.
Poe’s smile was all too brief as he let go of her hand and turned back to the newly fixed craft, returning to the cockpit once more. This time, Rey followed, climbing the extended ladder and perching on the hull of the ship. Poe had his headset on and was listening intently to the speaker on the other end.
“Damn,” he grumbled, shaking his head. “I don’t know if I can change his mind, General.” He paused to listen again. “Alright. Understood.”
Swiping the headset off, Poe turned to frantically scramble out again, almost knocking heads with Rey as she tried to move out of his way.
“The First Order is headed for D’Qar. I need to get back. It’s now or never.” Poe didn’t bother with the ladder, jumping to the ground instead. Without breaking stride he headed for Luke’s hut.
The door was still closed, but, as it was barely dawn, it was possible Luke was still asleep. Rey stood to one side as Poe knocked loudly on the door.
“Master Skywalker,” he called several times before the door abruptly swung open. He stopped his next knock just shy of hitting the old Jedi by mistake.
Luke did not look receptive. His gaze was dark, and there were purple bags under his eyes that suggested he hadn’t gotten any more sleep than they had.
“No,” he said, cutting off anything Poe might have been preparing to say. The pilot gritted his teeth.
“Just kriffing listen to me. The Resistance, your sister, everyone, the whole galaxy; it’s all in danger. We need you, and we need you now. The First Order knows where our base is. They are going to wipe us out.” Poe’s hands were clenched tightly at his sides, and he was leaning in towards the Jedi as he spoke, eyes blazing with fierce determination.
“I’m doing the galaxy more good by staying exactly where I am,” Luke said evenly. Poe’s fist came up and he brought it down on the wall of the hut.
“Aren’t you listening to me? People are going to die!”
Luke didn’t blink. “People are always dying. I won’t meddle in the balance.”
Poe took a step back, nearly shaking with the need to leave the planet and return to his friends, to save them from the First Order.
“I don’t have time for this,” he spat. Before he could move to leave, though, Rey stepped forward, putting herself at his side in front of Luke.
“I want to go with you,” she announced. Both Jedi and pilot turned to look at her, wearing similar expressions of surprise, though Luke’s quickly shifted to stern disapproval. Rey pressed on before he could say anything.
“I’m not Luke. I’m not a Jedi. I’m- I’m nobody. But I can’t just stand by now. Not after what you told me. I want to help.”
Luke took a step out of his hut, turning towards her, towering as best he could.
“You can’t go,” he said flatly. Rey arched an eyebrow and squared her shoulders, refusing to back down.
“I can. I have to. It was my choice to come with you here. And if you won’t leave, I will.”
“It’s not safe,” Luke said. Rey searched his face and wondered if the concern she saw glinting in his eyes was real or imagined.
“I can’t stay safe here while the galaxy is overrun.” Turning to Poe, Rey met his eyes, hoping she looked as sure as she felt.
“I won’t say no to help, so long as you know what you’re signing up for. You’re handy with tools, but there’s a lot more going on here than fixing ships.” He looked over his shoulder towards the hill the Sleuth was settled on. “Whatever we do, we gotta do it fast. Grab anything you want to take with you.”
Rey nodded her head sharply and headed for her own hut. There wasn’t much to take, she realized, as she bundled clothes together in a rough, cloth sack. Her staff had been left back at the Sleuth, so she pulled the strap of her bag over her shoulder and returned to where Poe and Luke still stood, staring each other down.
“Rey,” Luke turned to look at her as she drew near. “Don’t do this.”
Rey jutted her chin out, wearing the defiance she had built up like a protective cloak.
“If you go, I’ll stay,” she offered. Luke’s mouth opened and then snapped shut again.
“We have to go,” Poe said.
Rey nodded to him and then looked one more time at Luke, giving a small bow to the man who had watched over her for the past six years of her life.
“Thank you for everything, Master Skywalker.” She kept her tone monotonous and formal, afraid that if she showed any sign of regret at leaving, he might try to convince her again to stay.
Then, putting Luke at her back, Rey followed Poe back to the ship.