by Rae Carson
Rey stepped forward, toward a domed adobe building jutting from the sand. Only BB-8 accompanied her. All her friends had offered to come with her, but Finn had insisted they stay behind. He understood that she needed to do this alone.
She carried three lightsabers with her. Her own, which she had finally finished, was hooked to her belt.
Rey carried the other two in her haversack.
The adobe building had an arched doorway, but years of wind and sand had half buried it. There’d be no accessing the Lars homestead that way.
Moisture vaporators rose in the distance at irregular intervals, tall spindly towers much like the wind-grain traps on Pasaana. The intervals were irregular, she realized, because some had fallen over.
She stepped past the building and discovered what appeared to be a large sinkhole, half filled with sand. A closer look revealed an arched window and a half-covered door at the base of the sinkhole, built into adobe walls.
At her feet lay a tower panel from one of the fallen vaporators, slightly curved, large enough for one person to sit. She yanked it aside, turned it around, and aimed. A few hours from now, the metal would be too hot to touch. Until then, it would make a perfect sand sled.
She climbed in, drew up her knees, and pushed off. The sled whipped down a sand drift into the heart of the sinkhole, where it gently collided with the base of a broken condenser tower. Rey stepped out and looked around.
So many memories here. She could feel them—yearning, loss, worry, desperation, love—and not just Luke’s. Two generations of Skywalkers had visited this place.
A cavelike entrance in the wall drew her forward. As she passed into shadow and her eyes adjusted, she noted a long dining table, covered with dust. She ran a finger through the dust, tracing a line of soft blue. Luke had dined here. And also—she reached out, sensing—Anakin?
An adjoining alcove contained some kind of beverage dispenser, but most of the levers and paneling had been scavenged, probably by the local Jawas. A single tall beverage cup made of plastex lay on its side, oddly pristine.
She wandered around for a few more minutes and discovered what used to be a speeder garage, Luke’s sleeping loft, and the remains of an electrostatic repeller that had probably kept sand and dust away for years.
Other rooms remained inaccessible to her, their entrances buried in drifts.
Rey stood in the center for a while, taking it all in. Would her life have been different? If she’d been raised in a real home like this, by an aunt and uncle who loved her?
Perhaps not. The family she’d been seeking had been ahead of her the whole time, and she wouldn’t change a thing.
The cracked adobe walls and jutting pipes made for an easy climb. She reached the top and pulled Luke’s and Leia’s lightsabers from her haversack.
Holding them side by side in her hand, she gazed down at them for a long moment. They’d belonged to her teachers. Her family.
She placed them on the ground, wrapped them gently into a small package, using some fabric and a leather tie. Calling on the power of the Force, she pushed, and the lightsabers sank, lower and lower until the ground had fully welcomed them, shrouded them in cool, quiet rest.
Rey stood, pulling out her own lightsaber. She ignited it.
Her lightsaber glowed white-gold, and she gazed at it a long moment. It was single-bladed, with an outer casing and emitter salvaged from her quarterstaff. The final result felt like the exact inverse of the lightsaber held by the dark Rey of her vision, and she loved it. It was beautiful, it fit so perfectly in her hand, and she would carry it with her forever.
“Hello!” came a strange voice, and she turned. An old human woman approached, skin wrinkled and sand-blown, hood pulled up against the elements. She held the reins of a tall, gangly etobi, probably on her way to the nearby trading post.
“There’s been no one for so long,” she said. “Who are you?”
“I’m Rey,” she said.
“Rey who?” the old woman asked.
Light snagged Rey’s gaze, and she turned her head.
Leia and Luke stood on the edge of the homestead, glowing blue, smiling at her. Rey missed them both so much.
Luke gave her a gentle nod, It’s yours, Rey.
She turned back to the trader woman. Standing tall, she said, “Rey Skywalker.”
“Ah,” the woman said, unsurprised. “See you around?” And she hobbled off without sharing her own name.
Rey Skywalker headed toward the Falcon to return to her family. People were precious. They were life and light. She couldn’t have survived the Emperor, couldn’t have resisted him, if not for the goodness and strength of her friends, and the generosity of the Jedi who had come before. And Ben, she reminded herself.
As she approached, BB-8 warbled that he’d had enough of desert planets. But he gave no complaint when she paused to gaze into the vast desert morning.
Together Rey and BB-8 watched as Tatooine’s twin suns rose on a new day.
After a strange message heralds the return of an ancient evil, the Resistance must endure their most perilous adventure yet to learn the truth. The heroes will face those challenges together.
Rey continues to train in the ways of the Force, enhancing her skills and knowledge as a Jedi, knowing that a final showdown with Kylo Ren is inevitable.
Bent on ruling the galaxy, Kylo Ren has ascended to the role of Supreme Leader within the First Order. He is determined to crush any opposition in his path.
If the Resistance is to save the galaxy, the next generation of heroes, including Rose Tico, Poe Dameron, and Finn, must rise to lead the way.
A year after escaping the Battle of Crait with only a few survivors, the Resistance has been reborn with new allies and old friends.
The enemies of the Resistance use many tools to spread terror and oppression, including the ominous Knights of Ren and terrifying crimson Sith troopers.
After nearly wiping out the Resistance, the First Order has swept across the galaxy seizing power and control with their ruthlessness and military precision.
As the Skywalker saga reaches an end, heroes from across generations come together one last time with the fate of the galaxy at stake.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Any decent rebellion starts with a plucky team. My plucky team includes but is not limited to editors Tom Hoeler and Jennifer Heddle; my husband, C. C. Finlay; my agent, Holly Root; the Lucasfilm Story Group, but especially Pablo Hidalgo; my fellow novelizer Michael Kogge; J. J. Abrams and Chris Terrio for providing such great material to work with; and, of course, George Lucas, who started it all.
But with this, the final Skywalker Saga novelization, I find I’m most grateful to you, readers and fans of Star Wars. Thank you for your enthusiasm, your lightsaber duels, your impeccable costumes, your insatiable appetite for yet more books, your utter devotion to details. Thank you to the fans who dip into the Star Wars galaxy only once in a while, have been obsessively following the material for four decades, and everyone in-between. Thank you for engaging with the material both critically and joyfully. Thank you for your passionate vlogs, blogs, and podcasts. This is the best community in any galaxy, and I’m so proud to be part of it.
The Rise of Skywalker may be the last of a saga, but the Force will be with us. Always.
BY RAE CARSON
Star Wars: Most Wanted
Star Wars: Canto Bight
The Girl of Fire and Thorns
The Crown of Embers
The Bitter Kingdom
The Girl of Fire and Thorns Stories
The Empire of Dreams
Walk on Earth a Stranger
Like a River Glorious
Into the Bright Unknown
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
RAE CARSON has been inspir
ed to create stories ever since seeing a certain 1977 film. She’s the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of eight novels, including the acclaimed Girl of Fire and Thorns series, the award-winning Walk on Earth a Stranger, and Star Wars: Most Wanted. She lives in Arizona with her husband, surrounded by cats and tie-in merchandise.
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