Skywalker Rises

A Yoda

Rey had made a few discoveries since she started working with Master Yoda. She had met with him two more times since she'd arrived on Ahch-To. He never stayed long, but he seemed genuinely invested in her training. He had yet to give her a straight answer to any question she asked about the Force. He had told her that she wasn't much more patient than Ben, just more pleasant about her setbacks.

The first discovery was that she could still call Force Lightning. Which terrified her. She had absolutely no control over it, and she nearly destroyed a Porg nest. The cinged and disgruntled creatures had squawked at her for the rest of the day. After that, she had decided to stop experimenting with that kind of power until Ben could help her.

The second discovery was a puzzle. She had translated the first section of the book Yoda had directed her to start with. In that translation was a brief reference to the Force Dyad. Apparently, there was an old prophecy foretelling the coming of a dyad. She didn't know if it had happened before. Or if she and Ben were the fulfillment.

She wasn't as confident with her translation of the second part of the reference. It appeared to say that the dyad bond exists over space and time. Yoda hadn't returned since she'd found it, so she hadn't been able to ask. Did space mean - space? The in-betweens of the galaxy? That made sense. Her connection with Ben had grown as they used it, so much so that they could physically interact when light-years apart. Or was it more abstract? Was the place where he currently existed a "space?"

And time. That made no sense at all no matter what angle she examined it from. Time was linear. What she did in the present affected the future. The past affected the present, but couldn't be changed. Perhaps time also had to do with distance? 

"What do you think?" 

BB-8 responded that he didn't know. 

Rey sighed. "Me, either. Hopefully one of them will show up soon and explain it." 

She heard the ship before she saw it. At first, she thought it might be the Falcon, with Finn and Poe, and maybe even Rose. There was so much to do on Ahch-To that she hadn't had much time to focus on her solitary existence. But it would be nice to see friends again. 

When the pre-Galactic Empire gunship came into view on the horizon, she shifted into fight mode. Very few people knew where she was. Poe's lectures about pirates and bounty hunters came to mind. And according to him, they still had enemies, biding their time and waiting for an opportunity to strike. Rey called her lightsaber to her from its place in her hut and prepared for a fight. 

The door opened, and a man wearing a silver helmet and armor stomped out of the ship. 

Great. Another angsty man in a helmet. Just what she needed. She held her blade in front of her, the gold reflecting off of the man's armor in the dusky haze of evening. 

He held out his hands in the universal sign for 'I come in peace.' 

"Jedi," he said. Not a question. 

"Mandalorian." She was grateful her time in the library hadn't been completely useless. 

What in the galaxy was he doing here?

"I've been looking for you."

"Why?" Her heart was pounding so fast she thought it might burst. A bounty hunter? Surely no one would put a bounty on her. 

"My son needs a teacher." 

"You won't find any Jedi masters here."

She retracted her lightsaber, but kept it in her hand. A Mandalorian looking for a Jedi? 

The helmeted head cocked to the side. "What are you, then?"

"A student." 

The man dropped his arms to his sides and rotated in a complete circle, inspecting the island. A few of the Caretakers peeked out at him from behind a boulder. 

"Those creatures are not your teachers." He gestured toward the Caretakers, and they scurried away back up the narrow path to the other side of the island. 

She'd read about their technology. Their helmets were capable of droid-like function. 

"They aren't. I'm the only Jedi here. Where is your son?"

He gestured back toward the ship. "When will you begin teaching? We have come far to find you."

"When my teacher says I'm ready. I can't honestly say when that will be." And based on my progress so far, it might be years. Even decades. She decided not to share that with him. 

"You're his people," said the Mandalorian. "That's why I brought him." 

Rey was confused. His people? The student's people? "Where are you from?"

The Mandalorian shrugged. "I was a foundling. So is my son. My task is to reunite him with his people. Jedi are his people."

"How do you know?" 

Now she was curious, and her body's fight instinct had calmed a bit. "He is like you. He uses the Force." 

Well, Yoda had said students would come. Maybe this one had just arrived early.

The Mandalorian turned his back on her and entered his ship. A tiny figure emerged with him. As he drew closer, Rey couldn't stop her mouth from dropping open. It was a miniature version of Yoda, but much cuter. The creature reached out its tiny tridactyl  hand. In it was a lightsaber. The little Yoda looked to the Mandalorian, who nodded. 

Rey's shock increased as the little Yoda ignited the lightsaber. A small, black blade emerged. The Yoda craned its little neck to look up at her. 

"Will you teach me," it said in a small voice.

Rey had to remind herself to close her mouth. She knew this task would bring her interesting experiences. But she would never have believed this was possible. A tiny Jedi with a lightsaber. A tiny Jedi who was like Yoda. 

"How old are you?" said Rey, kneeling to bring her face closer to his level.

"Seventy-seven," said the child. 

Rey's mouth fell open again. The Mandalorian chuckled. And the child just stared at her with its giant black eyes.