The Myriori Osprey flies through the Skor landscape, and lands back in Kru. Inside the Osprey, Rey grabs a few flash bombs. She tells Litha that she’ll be back. Yamados and Rey walk through a hidden passageway in the wilderness.

“What is it you want to show me?” Rey asks.

Yamados replies, “Did you catch the Tau leader saying that the Tau will never break a treaty again? Our scouts have discovered several of them on Kru grounds. They’re surverying the land, devising ways to break another agreement and take Kru over. See for yourself.”

They reach a small opening behind the mangled, thorny Kru vegetation, and Rey’s eyes widen when she realizes Yamados is right- she sees several important Tau leaders surveying the land, discussing their plans to drive the Skor out of it. They’re accompanied by a platoon of sturdy guards. They are hovering around a strange, opaque orb that lies on a stand.

“So, this is the only surviving ancient relic that can infiltrate the controls of both Skor and Tau systems, and either bolster or shut them down?” a Tau leader inquires.

“Yes,” another one replies, “We found it lying dormant, in total secrecy. The Skor are not aware that it is here. Against it, they do not stand a chance. Even if they protest our methods, they cannot do anything about it. The catch is, the orb will only open itself to those with incredible amount of inner Force potential. It only needs a small sample from someone to tell. Fortunately, we have devised technology that can artificially mimic just that...”

Rey clenches her fist with indignation. She whispers to Yamados, “How could Luke ever side with these scoundrels?”

Yamados sighs. “He was deceived. He was a victim of his own idealism and naive optimism. Though I do not completely agree with the Skor rogues, they were fighting for a good cause. For Luke to abandon his own movement... it destroyed the only hope that many of us had left.”

Rey can’t stand it any longer. And then, in a moment’s instant, she hatches a plan. She starts to stand up. “Hey,” Yamados frantically whispers to her, “Get down, they’ll see you! We have to do this another way!”

But Rey is not listening, and rushes out of the thorns, throwing a flash bomb into the scene, and ignites her lightsaber. She startles the leaders, cuts through a guard’s shield and reaches the orb, placing her hand over it. The guards surround her with their plasma lances. Rey stands firm with a fierce fighting position.

“What are you doing?” a Tau leader angrily shouts at her.

“I’m using your own weapon against you.”

The Tau leaders laugh. “That was your plan? Do you realize the orb only grants access to those it deems worthy? Only the Jedi with the greatest inner potential, whether it was realized or not, have been able to activate it! Guards!” The guards shift into a different formation, ready to attack.

Rey panics. She senses the sharp points of the plasma lances leering at her. At any moment now, they would charge in. She doesn’t stand a chance. There’s only one way she can get out of this- she has to enact her plan. This time, she has a way to trick them.

Rey shuts her eyes and lets down her surrogate. But the Watchers don’t appear. Her nerves racing, she tries to channel her energy through the orb. She feels a slight tingle- she feels the invisible threads that run through the orb and into every device on the planet. They are all powered by the same frequency of the Force. As she tries to push everything through, she grunts, but then unleashes gasps for air. Nothing has happened.

But then, there’s a flash. In an instant, she’s transported before the four Watchers yet again. She is now in a realm where a thousand years lasts one second in the physical world.

Kiyla sees her and exclaims, “We were worried for you! Are you hurt, child?”

Rey replies, “I am. I did not listen, and so I paid the price.” She shows Kiyla her hand, and Kiyla gasps.

“I saw what Luke did,” Rey says, “I do not agree with him anymore. So I’ve decided to contact you behind his back.”

Kiyla smiles and tells her, “We are glad that you now understand us.”

Alstaire says, “Truly. Then we shall return your power. Together, we will win against the First Order.”

“Yes. I have learned my lesson,” Rey sternly states. But she cannot help herself from shaking just a bit.

The Watchers notice her unease. Kiyla speaks up, “Is something amiss, young one?”

Alstaire says, “Are you certain... you believe in us? Tell us what ails you, child.”

Rey’s nerves begin to race, but she calms herself down. Even though she has a hidden plan, she still is genuinely curious about the Watchers’ goals. “If we are to save the galaxy... do we still have to harm it?”

Alstiare reassures her, “We try to avoid violence as best as we can, but sometimes, it is a necessity. Though we do not believe in depriving people of the Force, you must keep in mind that the Force is not food or pleasure; people don’t need it to be happy. Such a weapon needs to be guarded against those who seek to use it to shatter peace in exchange for their own lust for power. Not everyone ascribes to the right morals that allow one to judge whether someone should be executed or not; this is just an extension of the same philosophy.”

“Will the people accept it?”

Alstaire tells her, “Every soul desires peace.”

Rey replies, “Then I believe in your cause. I need your power to help these people. But I cannot let all of my surrogate down just yet, when Luke is so close by. He would get suspicious. Please, just lend me a little, so I can do whatever bidding you wish of me.”

She feels a slight surge in power; as it courses through her shoulders, her arms, and her fingers. She gasps, and slowly, she senses that a hint of her power has emerged back inside her in the physical world. And as soon as it does, she tries to put the rest of her surrogate back up. But something is not right. The Watchers stare at her with great distrust. And then Alstaire speaks again:

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“We saw through your lies. You did not mean everything you said. We know you are only using us.”

Rey panics, and fumbles; she has a hard time fully enacting her surrogate. Alstiare continues:

“But no matter how much you lie to us, we are willing to help you. We will temporarily lend you back your power. In time, you will come to understand that you need us, just as you do now. And as you learn more, you will know we are just trying to help you. For you have been Chosen by the Force.”

Rey yells back in denial, “You’re wrong! I haven’t been chosen by anyone!”

“You have been lied to. Look within yourself.” Rey glares at him, her heartbeat striking faster and faster. Her fingers race to retrieve the barrier. Alstaire continues, “Deeper... much, much deeper within.”

Finally, Rey unleashes her surrogate, and is blown back out into the physical world. The guards charge at her, but suddenly a blast of extraordinary energy emits out from the orb and blows all the guards and leaders away. When they can get up again, they see a formidable presence before them: an aura of the purest form of the Force surrounds Rey. The orb is now shattered. Rey senses that the quick surge of the Force has now left her.

“What- what did you do?” a Tau leader shouts.

Rey cooly replies, “I’ve strengethened the Skor technology, and weakened the Tau technology. The Tau are in no position to boss the Skor around ever again.”

“Impossible! Guards!”

The guards charge at Rey again, but when they do, their plasma weapons fizzle out and explode against their own wielders, knocking them out.

The Tau leaders stand there, agape at Rey. She speaks again, “You deceived the Skor. You deceived Luke. And now, everyone will know what you did. Tell Luke and all of Inimoni, or I will order the Skor to this location, and launch an attack on you.”

The leaders panic. “No!” one of them pleads, “You cannot do this!”

“Then do what I say. And give the Skor back their cities. Go back to your own. Never return.”

From behind the vegetation, Yamados is holding a transmission device. He is broadcasting all of this to the Skor media sector. It is being shown live to all of Inimoni.

LUKE groans. He rubs his forehead, and sits up from his bed. “How long have I been out for?” he says to himself. Just then, he notices a hologram of a report being displayed. His eyes widen.

He rushes out of the chambers, and runs into hordes of panicking Tau leaders.

“She’s discovered our plot and compromised our systems!” one says to another.

Luke runs down a corridor, and reaches a grand meeting room, with a vast, cathedral-like ceiling. In the middle, he sees Rey facing away from him, talking with both Tau and Skor leaders.

“Rey!” Luke shouts. Rey turns around. Luke shouts again, “What did you do?”

“I ended the war!” Rey exclaims. Luke finally reaches her, and then looks towards the Tau and Skor leaders. To his surprise, he sees both sides calming discussing with one another. They are working out many compromises.

Rey tells Luke, “Did you hear the reports? The Tau were planning to-”

“Yeah, I heard about everything.” He looks at the Tau leaders with sheer disappointment. He tells them, “One time just wasn’t enough for you all, was it?” They hang their heads in shame.

Sensing the opportunity, the Skor leaders bite at them. “And we want Prim, too.”

Startled, Luke eyes the Skor leaders now. “No! You’re asking for too much. We have to work out a better compromise!”

Rey interrupts, but since this is her first time in a political negotation and she doesn’t want to embarrass herself, she tries to be as courteous as she can, “But the Skor have lost so much when their former capital was taken over. Shouldn’t they deserve to take part of Prim?”

“What? No!” Luke cries out. “Rey, I need a moment with you.” The two walk away from the leaders, exit the room, and stand outside in the hallway.

Luke starts talking, “Rey, you’ve stopped the Tau from doing something terrible. But that doesn’t mean you can just stomp all over them.”

“I’m not! I’m trying to be as fair as I can.”

“Taking away whatever is left of the Tau’s dignity is not going to stop the hatred both sides have for each other. The Tau are just gonna get angry, and they’ll rebel.”

“How do you know that? It hasn’t even been a day yet. Haven’t you already tried to make peace? The treaties, the negotiations- none of them work because the Tau keep breaking them!”

Luke sighs. “That’s true.” He sighs again, and tries to think of what to say. “We don’t know how this is going to work out. There have been planets where something like this has happened before. But we can’t tell what will happen just by looking at them. Each situation is different, and complex.”

“But... both sides have promised to end the war now. The Tau will never be in a position to double cross the Skor ever again.”

“You used the orb as a weapon to intimidate the Tau? That’s not what the Force is about!”

“I don’t understand!” Rey shouts, both in disappointment and confusion, “Why are you upset? We’ve found a way to end the war. Isn’t this how we’re fighting the Watchers? We’re using the Force to attack them before they can attack us!”

Luke shakes his head, and calmly but firmly tells her, “The Force is not a weapon. It can be used to attack. It can be used to kill. But only as a way to protect others.”

“That’s what I’m using it for. To protect the Skor.”

“The Skor leaders are going overboard with their demands. Taking away Prim isn’t protecting the Skor; it’s an act of revenge. The Tau living in Prim are going to suffer if they’re goverened by Skor.”

Rey is suddenly reminded of Drunev. She shuts her eyes when she remembers her, and forces herself to believe that she survived the attack.

Luke continues, “You’re young. If I was your age, I wouldn’t be able to handle something like this. But back then, I was never in the position that you are in now.”

Rey huffs in frustration, but soon, calms down too. She looks away from Luke, and down to the side. “I know you wouldn’t have liked to do things this way, but can’t you give it a chance?”

Luke tries to find something to say, but can’t. He looks around him, and sees more holograms displaying the reports. Skor rogues have announced, for the first time, that they will stop the attacks. Skor are celebrating in the streets, cheering for Rey, their new savior. Tau civilians are claiming to be relieved that the attacks will cease. Luke sighs. He looks away from the hologram, and back at Rey, “Kid... sometimes, an old guy like me may be stuck in his old ways. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad. But if what you did turns out to be the best solution, then, I give credit where credit is due.”

Rey gives a side smile, somewhat happy, but also somewhat despondent, knowing that Luke isn’t completely on board with her. She tries to change to subject, “So if it’s not a weapon, what is the Force to you?”

Luke answers, “To me, it gives me the strength to see the good in people, even if it’s hard to do. Through it, each being expresses their own voice in the universe. With the Force, you can actually change the universe with your own hands. You just have to do it in a way that sits well with others.”

He pauses. Then he continues, “So, about that orb. I guess I underestimated you. You do have a lot of potential in you, even after the Watchers took it away.”

Rey realizes what she just did, and tries her best to lie, saying, “It was because of your teachings that I was able to find my inner power!”

Luke slightly smiles, “Then I suppose I got a part in saving Inimoni, too. Even though, most of the time, you’ve just been teaching yourself...”

Rey quickly refutes, and now says with sincerity, “Yes, but if I didn’t use your principles to guide me, I would never have ended up in the right place!”

Luke smiles even more now. “Then that’s good to hear. Well, our journey here isn’t over. We’re gonna have to follow the expedition team into Nissidha. And we’re going to get that crystal.”

REY heads back into her chamber, and plomps down on the bed. She tries to close her eyes, but so much is on her mind, and she has a hard time sleeping. Lost in her thoughts, something from deep down begins to emerge. It’s been with her this whole time, but she has been fighting it: an emptiness. She winces; she wants to curl up, and wants it to go away. But suddenly, she senses that she’s not alone. There’s a voice, perhaps her imagination- it echoes the words of Kiyla and Alstaire. As she listens to it, something else begins to flicker inside of her. A warmth. A familiarity. The emptiness begins to dissipate. And Rey smiles as she hears those words: “You have been Chosen by the Force.”

But then, she rubs her head into her pillow. Stop it, she thinks to herself. That’s not possible. Soon, filled with warmness, she begins to doze off.