Chapter 29: Godfather

The recording lasted long into the night, well beyond the anticipated 4 hours. Rey kept getting tired, but droids kept bringing drinks that woke her up. She didn't know what was in them, but they tasted fruity, and Janus said they were expensive but would cause her no harm.

She felt mentally dead and was ready to pass out by the time they were done. Stumbling out of the room, she slumped onto Emi and groaned, “I want to go home.”

Janus spoke up at this, grumbling slightly as he reviewed their completed recording, “It's pretty mediocre, but I've worked with worse.” He looked at the glaring Jedi and smiled, “I'll have everything ready by tomorrow morning.”

Rey blinked at this surprise and asked, “Don't you need sleep.”

The man clenched his fists, appearing energetic, “Of course not. With such a challenge in front of me, how could I sleep.”

His enthusiasm was admirable, though Rey suddenly remembered something and blurted while standing straight, “Wait, you said this was my second time in your studio. When was the first?”

Janus smiled widely at this, “I'm not surprised you don't remember. You were only a baby at the time.” His face grew reminiscent and tone soft, “You were such a cute baby.” Then, in a sharper tone, he grumbled, “How you turned out to be a Jedi, I'll never understand.”

Rey was too tired to be angry and too curious to get sidetracked; she asked, “Why was I here? Was I with my parents?”

Janus waved dismissively at this while standing up. He walked to the middle of the right wall, which had a built-in storage compartment. As he walked, he responded, “Yes, you were here with your parents. They tried to keep you hushed up, but news like that was impossible to keep hidden. Once things became formal amongst the higher echelon, you were brought here for your public debut.”

He opened the compartment by inserting a code and removed a golden box which he placed on his desk. After opening it, he shifted through a neat stack of photographs printed on high-end paper. As he did so, he continued, “You were the most loved child in all the Galaxy. I ran so many stories about you your parents started to get mad.”

The old man seemed surprisingly gentle, no longer opportunistic or vial. He pulled out three photos from the pile and returned the rest before looking at them. His gaze became happy as he continued, “Back then, the First Order was just gaining momentum. It was a chaotic time when people needed something light-hearted to console them. Everyone in the core worlds still missed the Emperor. He was like a father to us all.” Looking to Rey, he went on, “When news of your birth spread, it inspired people to make the Galaxy a better place. For the Emperor’s Granddaughter and all our future children.” He then shook his head, “Sadly, it was short-lived. The news of your and your parent's death broke all our hearts.”

Rey had been attracted by the photos in the man's hands and had been approaching him slowly. Looking at her with a melancholy expression, he handed them over. The first image showed a baby with bright blond hair and bright eyes. She was wrapped in an ivory blanket and was surprisingly calm. Janus continued to reminisce, “It was so sad, too. All the Emperor ever wanted was a Force-sensitive child. Cain did not possess that gift, but you have it in abundance. He would have been so happy to have you as a granddaughter.”

The Jedi almost laughed at this, thinking how the only thing the Emperor would have been happy to have her as was a Force battery. Clearly, this Janus was a slimeball, but like most people had still been lied to about so many things. His belief in such a romantic and ideal world was a little admirable, though also terribly hypocritical. Rey moved to the next photo of her being held by her parents. This scene caused her heart to melt as flashes of distant memories coursed through her mind. The man went on, having become a real chatterbox, “Not to say you lacked affection as a child. Your parents loved you so much. Not to mention the others from the Liberator. Oh, how they all cried when your parents decided to return to Naboo.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Rey was startled by this and looked up from the image of her happy parents and blurted, “The Liberator, like the Admiral's ship.”

Janus blinked at this surprise as well but nodded, “Indeed, it's where you were born, after all. After the Emperor passed on, there was nowhere safe for them in the Galaxy aside from with Sir Primidian. You must have spent the first three years of your life on that ship.”

Rey became a little dizzy, having felt that the ship was vaguely familiar. To a normal child, experiences from when they were 3 meant nothing. But to a force user, they could still leave an impact. Thinking about this made her incredibly confused as countless variables blew around in her head.

She suddenly felt like she was missing something, like a puzzle piece in her life had been missing, but she was only now realizing it. This feeling was not only in her mind but even radiated through the Force energy in her body. At the same time, she felt a sudden draw to the third and final photo, as though it held the answer to a question she had never known to ask. She pulled out the photo and grew still as death, her face going white.

In the image were her parents holding her, looking proud, while behind the two of them was Admiral Primidian with a big smile. However, strangely, the Admiral looked exactly the same as he did not a few days past at the ball. The photo was twenty years old, but he had not changed at all. This was not the least shocking thing. To her father's right was a familiar, though far younger, happy-looking man with a large head, his arm wrapped around her father's shoulder; this person was Supreme Leader Snoke.

Janus hardly noticed this and continued, “I'm surprised you didn't know. You've been working with the Admiral, haven't you?”

Rey barely recognized his words and turned to him with lost eyes, “What?”

Janus didn't hold back and repeated, “I'm just surprised you didn't know.”

Rey blinked and shook her head to try and clear it before asking, “Why's that?”

The man seemed confused and responded, “Because the Admiral’s your Godfather, of course.”

The Jedi felt like fainting at this point, having no idea what was going on. In a frantic voice, she pointed to Snoke and blurted, “But what's he doing here?”

Janus looked at the man and sneered before responding, “That's Snoke, of course. He and your father were best friends despite their political disagreements. In fact, he was the best man at your parent's wedding. He was like an uncle to you and was particularly devastated to hear about your death.” The man shook his head at this and sighed, “It's sad you never got to know him in his prime. He was a brilliant scholar, the Admiral's finest student. Then, he pushed too far and let the Dark Side corrupt him. After that, the rest is history.”

Rey was trembling at this point, completely lost. Her worldview had been shattered. It was like she had lived two entirely different lives. One was Rey, the Jedi Master, the disciple of Luke and Laya Skywalker, and the slayer of Sidious. The other was Rey, the granddaughter of Palpatine, the child beloved by the Empire, the goddaughter of Admiral Primidian, and practically the niece of former Supreme Leader Snoke.

Emi appeared at her side and spoke curtly, “I believe the lady is a bit exhausted from everything and isn't thinking straight. It's time we turned in for the night.”

Janus nodded at this slowly, still eyeing Rey, and responded, “Of course, feel free to stop by my humble studio any time.”

He reached for the photos, though Rey clutched them and blurted, “Can I keep these.”

The man's gaze grew cold as he responded, “They are priceless originals, the Crown Jewels of my life work. These belong to me, though I'll surely send you copies.”

Rey hesitated but nodded and released the photos. With almost as much urgency as Rey had, he quickly returned them to his box and held it close to his chest. At this point, he added, “Your speeches will go live tomorrow. I am sure you won't be disappointed.”

Emi latched onto Rey's arm and responded, “Thank you, Sir Janus. Your work will no doubt be amazing.” She then pulled the Jedi, who was still in shock, from the room, leaving behind an old man with a perplexed expression mixed with reminiscence and regret.

Once in the transport, Rey slouched in her seat and barely a bed to verbalize, “I have a godfather...”

The rest of the trip back, she spent half asleep, trying to process everything she had just learned. On top of this, she was worried about how Finn would take her speeches. While still having to consider the Padawan problem and all the other issues that came with preparing for the peace talks.

Emi helped guide her back to her room and escorted her to bed. Rey changed into more comfortable clothes like a robot and stumbled over to check on Fama, who was sound asleep. Once this was done, she collapsed on her bed and immediately sank into a deep sleep. The last thing on her mind was the need to sit down with the Admiral and have him explain exactly what was going on. Her past had too many secrets, and although so many people had died since then, she still felt entangled in an invisible web. There was something more at work here that she just couldn't see, though Rey was determined to get to the bottom of it and unravel the mystery.

Still, at the moment, she needed rest and did not resist the oncoming wave of sleep.