Star Wars: 30 Years Later The Real Story - Chapter 35

Starkiller Planet – Orbit

– “Multiple casualties!”

– “Blue team asking for reinforcements”

– “Are your watching this, General?”- said an officer showing Leia the last infrom they were receiving.

– “Yes, I am”- said Leia not daring to believe what she was reading- “how are the casualties in total?”

– “Taking in consideration only the Resistance”- said an officer making the calculations- “it’s half of our fleet gone.”

– “Send this communication to all units!”- ordered Leia with a new vigor in her voice- “Mon Mothma did it! There is hope!”

– “Yes, Ma’am!”

– “How much time for the weapon to be ready?”- asked General Hux.

– “Ten minutes”- informed an officer and Hux grinned with the confidence of someone who knows that he had already won- “they are just their last ditch efforts… send the groups….”

– “Hyperspace jumps detected in sector AC-251 and JK-853, General…”

However, in that moment Hux ordered the panels to show both places and not so long after, massive fleets appeared from both sector and approached the battle at maximum speed.

– “Inform!”- asked Hux with a sour taste in his mouth- “who are the newcomers?”

– “The emblems are showing…”- the officer said but he had a doubtful expression in his face.

– “Hurry up and tell me!”- ordered Hux.

– “They…, they are the Populist Faction and the Centrist Faction fleets!”

Hux looked in disbelief the fleets approaching and he wonder how…. no who had managed to make these two factions who hated to the limit to work together in such a short time.

(…)

There was a lot of movement in the base of the Starkiller planet and the noisy alarm could be heard in all the place. The stormtroopers had been mobilized and they were looking everywhere in order to find the invaders that were lurking round.

– “We’re finally here!”- said Han smiling at the visage of his objective.

Han and company managed to enter the shield generator room with no problems thank to Luke unlocking all the defense systems. Rey knew the place should be big but her imagination had been short sighted and she was extremely shocked to see the size of it. Rey wondered if they had enough bombs to cover all the place.

– “Ok, let’s divide and place the bombs”- said Han who did not doubt for a second and started to walk- “Big deal and Rey, you go to the upper floors, Chewee and me will do the middle and lower ones. And do it fast since we’ll have company in any moment.”

Rey started to move along with Finn and both of them placed the bombs following a pattern that would ȧssure the maximum damage. Finn moved confidently since this had been part of his training and he could mentally calculate the most effective distribution. Rey could not help but feel happy to be with them once again.

– “They really returned for me”- she thought and a smile formed on her face.

When she had been in the interrogation room she had felt only pain and desperation. She had to admit that she had lost all hope and she could only ask for everything to end as fast as possible. She did not show any of these feelings to her captors of course and she put a tough front everytime they tortured her. Kylo Ren seemed to be especially entertained by her and every time he visited her he fed her with negative comments and he tried to made her feel desperation. It was as if he knew what she was thinking.

– “You know they will not come for you”- he whispered softly on her ear- “you have been abandoned once again… they just used you and then discarded you once you were not useful anymore…”

– “Tomorrow we will destroy the last bastion of the Resistance”- Kylo Ren had told her the previous day- “once that happens… those who you believe in will vanish as it will be your hope.”

Rey could only grit her teeth and bear with the horrible feelings she was having in that moment. She had always been alone and the fear of abandonement was just too much for her. Every time she was tortured, her denials were weaker everytime and she could feel the darkness grasping her heart many times. She was at the limit both mentally and physically since the First Order had not stopped torturing her in both aspects with no rest all the previous day. She had not been permitted to sleep nor eat and she was only left alone due to the attack of the Resistance but she did not know what would happen. In the moment she was about to give up, as the light that appears after a long night, Han, Chewee and Finn had come to rescue her. She had not been abandoned nor left behind.

– “Let’s go to the next one”- said Finn and Rey could only nod in joy.

– “Let’s go!”- she said with the most radiant smile one could imagine

Anyone would see her with a strange look if they could see the happy smile she had while placing bombs that would cause massive destruction.

Patapatapatapatapata!

Han and the rest were working as fast as they could since knew that every second was vital for the fleet. After a while they started to hear sounds of footsteps coming.

– “Cheh! They are coming!”- shouted Han looking at the place where the footsteps were coming from- “take cover and keep placing the bombs.”

BOOM!

– “Chewee! cover us!”- shouted Han who was still programming one bomb

– “Rgggrrrrreeoooo”

– “Stop complaining!”- shouted Han activating the bomb- “Big deal! Cover Rey and let her place the bombs”

– “Roger that!”- replied Finn who started to return fire to the stormtroopers while Rey placed the bombs with a speed that Finn found incredible.

– “I should have let you do it from the beginning”- he said smiling.

– “I just hope I can maintain this speed”- said Rey who did not stop working.

– “Don’t worry”- said Finn with a reassuring voice- “I’ll cover your back, just focus on what you’re doing”

Rey kept working as fast as he could but she knew that soon they would be surrounded unless something happened.

(…)

BUZZ BUZZ SWISH!!!

CRACK!!!

PONG!!!

CRASH!!!

The sounds inside the containment cell were extremely terrifying and one could only imagine the level of brutality and violence that was ocurring inside. The two knights of Ren that had been left on watch by Kylo Ren stayed in front of the main door in constant alert since they knew that there was a possibility that Skywalker managed to escape.

– “Since today you will have a different training”- Kylo Ren had told them when they had been selected from the rest of Knights of Ren- “your objective will be only one and one only… to destroy Luke Skywalker…”

The knights of Ren had always heard about the legend of Luke Skywalker and all the incredible feats he had done through all the years. They had been trained especifically to fight him along with Kylo Ren and they had reached a level that was impossible to imagine for them before. They had been able to fight toe to toe with a legendary master and they had managed to make him fall into a trap.

It had not been easy of course, their group had started with 12 knights of Ren of the highest skill and experience, but the riguroruous training had been so harsh and deadly that by the end of the first part of the training, only the half of them had been able to survive.

– “Good”- had said Kylo Ren looking at the first batch of survivors with a cold attitude- “you are at the minimum level to have an opportunity in your mission”

– “Many had died immediately”- thought one of the knights of Ren- “but Skywalker had already been there for many minutes and the sounds indicated that he continued fighting against them- “we could certainly witness his power today.”

There were four Yuuzhan Vong fighting against the Jedi and even though they were enemies, they could not help but admire the willpower of the old master. It had been already a while but the fight continued and the furious sounds had only increased in intensity. The knarls, shouts and things breaking combined in a gory way with the lightsaber buzzing along with the cracks and sounds of smashing that constantly came from the inside of the cell.

GRAAAAA!!

PANK!

A strong impact hit the cell door from the inside and managed to bend the metallic gate. One could only imagine the potency of the impact to make a reinforced containment cell like that one. The Knights of Ren looked at each other when they noticed that the sounds had stopped coming from the inside. They nervously got closer while paying attention.

KONNN CHHIIIIIIINNNNNNNGGG PLOOOONG

Instead of another impact, the cell door started to bend in a very violent and savage way. Both Sith warriors stepped back knowing that Skywalker was going to use the cell door as a bullet and took cover in the corners. However, there was no violent impact and the cell door opened like a can of tuna with sufficient space for a human to fit.

– “No way!”- said a knight of Ren noticing the figure of kywalker walking out of the containment cell with no signs of the Yuuzhan vong- “he defeated them in such a short time?”

Luke Skywalker’s figure got out. His state was in extremely poor condition and his robes were in tatters. He had mixed red and black blood all over his body but the bleeding also gave more definition to his well-built muscles which were normally under his robes. He was definitely injured so the Knights of Ren knew that this was the best opportunity to attack, it was impossible to be unscathed after a fight with so many Yuuzhan Vong. The Knights of Ren jumped fiercely to attack him using all their hatred and passions just as they had been trained, but when they had been just a meter of distance from him, they knew something was extremely wrong.

– “His eyes are…”

Buzz!!

Swing!!

The movement was extremely swift and impossible to predict. Skywalker had defeated them in a second and the Knights of Ren had not even noticed they were dead until the moment they closed their eyes bȧrėly noticing they were watching their own lower limbs some meters away. They had been so delusioned to believe they could defeat Luke Skywalker. This was a level he had not shown before and then they realized just before dying that Skywalker had not been using his full power and he wondered why… why would he not trash them since the beginning and let himself be injured like that… and he heard for the last time the rough voice of the old man who seemed to be angry…

– “You’re testing my patience too much, Ben”

(…)

Rey finished placing the last bomb it activated with a click.

– “Done!”- said Rey to Finn who was shooting down the enemies who seemed to be taking cover due to the advantage they had for the high ground.

– “All bombs in place”- informed Finn

– “Good”- said Han who had also finished long ago- “go to the exit K-99 and let’s get out of here!”

– “Ok we’ll start by…”- said Finn but his eyes opened like plates and Rey turned to see Kylo Ren approaching them with his lightsaber in hand.

– “Run!”- he said knowing there was no way they could defeat such monster by themselves

They started to run but then Rey felt something wrong and when he looked back they saw the lightsaber of Kylo Ren flying to them at an incredible speed.

ZUN ZUN ZUN ZUN!

Rey wanted to do something but she had nothing to react. However, in a split second, she saw Finn grabbing his own lightsaber and ignite it while throwing it just like Kylo Ren had done.

ZUN ZUN ZUN!

ZUUMMMM!

CLASH! ZOOMMM!

Both lightsabers clashed in the air and were repelled while turning off. Rey managed to recover Anakin’s lightsaber which had been sent flying on her direction. Kylo Ren had stopped in his tracks and even though she could not see his face, he seemed to be surprised by Finn’s actions. Rey thought about what to do when Kylo Ren was sent flying to the wall to his right by a very powerful shot that cracked his armor on his left ribs and a piece of metal which had a light flickering was firmly stuck on his body. Han appeared with a special blaster and kept pointing at Kylo Ren.

– “Keep going”- Han said with a different voice that she had heard from him before and Rey could see the troubled expression in Han’s face- “I have bussiness with this guy”

– “But…”

– “No buts… this is an order!”- said Han firmly but then he softened his tone- “I’ve been waiting for this too long, please lend me handle it.”

– “Understood”- said Finn who seemed to detect something in Han’s voice and knew it was better not to pry too much. He pulled Rey’s hand who seemed to be confsed- “you’d better come soon”

– “Chewee, come to my position with the special handcuffs!”- ordered Han after nodding Finn and giving him a grateful look.

After Rey and Finn dissapeared arund the corner in direction to the exit, Han got close to Kylo Ren keeping the blaster pointed at the Lord Sith. His left hand seemed to be grabbing a switch that was part of the blaster. He was in full alert.

– “This stops now, Ben.”- Han said with a tough but caring voice that made it clear there was no negotiation- “You will return home with me and your mother.”

– “You will not stop my destiny”- said Kylo fighting the pain he was suffering from the bolt embeded to his side. He tried to grab it to pull it off but Han immediately pushed the switch and a powerful electric discharge ran through his body and stunned him in pain- “Arrrrghh!”

– “Your destiny is being with your family and I’ll stop even if I have to drag you unconscious… Son”- said Han- “this taser bolt gives a charge of 5.0 miliamps which is more than sufficient for you Force users to get knocked pout even with all your resistances”

– “It seems you came prepared”- said Kylo Ren but his voice showed great hostility instead of praising.

– “I know your skills too well to lower my guard, Son”- said Han looking at Kylo Ren with mixed feelings in his eyes- “we’ll have time to talk all you want later along with your mother… she misses you a lot.”

– “Supreme leader Snoke showed something more useful than you… my family will be able to- said Kylo Ren with a tone charged of hate- “you have no idea what is coming… this is the only way to stop it!”

Immediately, he tried to Force push Han but the latter saw the attack coming long ago activated the taser bolt making Kylo Ren receive a new discharge that mmade him sit down again. Han was impressed by the tenacity of his son and once again he thought that Force users were a cheat due to their enhanced physical abilities. The discharge he was giving him was enough to send a bull to sleep for six hours but Kylo Ren had not even lost consciousness which was the original plan of Han.

– “It’s true that I’m not the best father and I don’t know what you saw…”- said Han using a tone he only used with his beloved ones while being in constant alert- “but Snoke only wants to use you and then he will get rid of you once you’re not useful… you’re not stupid… you know that.”

Kylo tries to stand up and call his lightsaber but Han shot another taser bolt and activated both of them making Kylo Ren to fall to the floor immobilised.

– “Dont force me, Kid…”- said Han with a decisive expression which showed his absolute decisiveness- “next time I will use penetration ammo on your leg.”

And to show he was serious he changed the settings of his blaster to “kill” in front of Kylo Ren who felt the threatening aura emanating from his father.

– “You’d shoot your own son?”- taunted Kylo Ren not believing his father would take such drastic measures against him.

– “Only in the legs and probably shoulder”- said Han with an unwavering voice which left no doubt whatsoever- “We can cure you later!”

– “You won’t”- said Kylo Ren gathering his strength for the next ȧssault thinking he was just bluffing.

– “Try me!”- said Han and Kylo Ren knew by his cold and firm voice that he would shoot without hesitation- “I told you I’ll drag you unconscious if I must.”

Han Solo and Kylo Ren, father and son looked at each other as in a staring game but in the end, Kylo Ren relaxed and just stayed in the floor.

– “I surrender”- said Kylo lifting his hands after a while knowing that his father was just too cunning to fall in any of his tricks- “Always with the tough love.”

– “When it is necesary…”- said Han not lowering his guard- “I love you more than anything… and because of that I’ll take you home where you belong… hey Chewee, where are you?”

Chewee had these special handcuffs that were made to restrain Force users and were salvaged from the Empire vaults. In the moment Chewee appeared in Han’s vision range, there was an explosion and soon many stormtroopers entered the place shooting all over. Han received a shot on the shoulder but managed to turn and return fire. Kylo Ren used the Force to make his lightsaber fly to Han who was caught unguarded and was slashed by the lightsaber.

– “GRAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWW!”

Chewee yelled in anger seeing this and immediately shot Kylo Ren with a penetrating bolt from his bowcaster which made the Sith Lord stepped back many steps.

– “Shoot the wookie!”- Kylo Ren shouted while recovering and at the same time pushing a huge metal container blocking Chewee from Han and him. He knew he had to finish the job so he got closer to his father and knelt. His injuries were grave but Kylo Ren knew that his own injuries were also serious.

– “He was always a good shot, right Ben?”- said Han who seemed to be relaxed despite the fact that he was dying- “I’m sorry we have to come to this point”

– “It’s necessary!”- said Ben whose voice seemed to be affected- “I must become strong to avoid what’s coming… you will die anyway so at least I can use your death to gain power!”

– “I see”- said Han who could see his son face even though it was behind a mask- “take off that mask… you don’t need it”

– “What do you think you’ll see if I do?”- asked Kylo Ren whose voice seemed to doubt.

– “The face of my son…”- replied Han.

– “Your son is gone”- replied Kylo Ren trying to ascentain his voice- “He was weak and foolish like his father.”

– “Take it as the dying wish of an old man”- said Han and Kylo Ren took his hands to the helmet and took it away.

Seeing the face of his son, a warm smile floated in Han’s face and countless memories of him as a baby and child ran through his eyes. No matter what he did or what he said he were… he would always be his little boy.

– Thank you, Ben”- said Han smiling at his son- “As a father I wish I could hope you can achieve your goal, my son. However, I’ll have to dissapoint you once more…”

He took out the remote detonator and activated it. Immediately an explosion blew up the place where they both were and Kylo Ren managed to dodge the explosion with great difficulty. He waited for the smoke to clear out and he noticed that his father had created a hole that would separate them.

– “Blow it up, Chewee!”- Han shouted- “”it’s too late for me

– “Grrreeeeee graraaaaawww!”- shouted Chewee back.

– “Take the kids out of here!”- shouted Han again- “Thank you for everything my old friend…”

– “Greeeewwww Groooooeeee!”- replied Chewee and immediately the bombs that were planted activated at once making the place tremble with explosions.

BOOM! BOOM! BAM!

All the bombs that had been set started the countdown. Kylo Ren looked shocked at the lack of doubt from Chewee since he knew how much he loved his father..

– “I will not let you kill me…”- said Han and took out a thermal detonator- “You have 10 seconds to run, my son…”

Kylo Ren could only look with admiration the stubborness and decisiveness his father showed and after many years he could still a little pride for him.

– “This changes nothing”- said Kylo Ren who knew he only had enough time to kill his father or try to escape- “you still die due to the injuries I made.”

– “It does make a difference”- said Han whose breathing was more ruggish and tired- “You will notice one day… now go before it’s too late”

Kylo watched Han and for a moment a sliver of doubt crossed his mind but then Han activated the detonator for the rest of the bombs in his hand and it started a countdown.

– “Tell your mother I always loved her…”- said Han with hopeful eyes as if even now he hoped his son could change from his ways- “I love you, Ben… even now and until the moment I close my eyes… Now go!”

The explosions started to blow off all over the place making the structure to collapse and Kylo Ren moved turning around and giving his back to his father and after a last look, he started running to the exit.

– “Yes… run… get out of here…”- said Han who now lied down on the floor watching the ceiling.

Everything seemed to be slower now. He did not feel pain anymore, just peace… he could hear the voices of Chewee, Rey and Finn calling for him in tears and desperation… but for some reason he felt that it was not his responsibility anymore… Only a face appeared in his mind now…

– “Not a bad ending, don’t you think, Leia?”- he said smiling and then he turned to see to his left and saw the figure of Luke entering for the door and shouting at him.

He could not respond and just grinned to him while waving his hand before he was surrounded by a dashing light which transported him to an eternal rest.

BOOM!!!!!

(…)

Meanwhile Leia who was next to Maz felt a terrible pain in her ċhėst and sat down looking at the emptiness. Tears started flowing knowing what had happened. She tried to maintain a stoich disposition but she failed miserably while feeling a dagger cutting her heart. It was as if a part of her had been ripped apart and the rest was now painfully bleeding nonstop.

– “Oh my dear Leia…”- said Maz also aware of Han’s passing.

Maz only put a hand on her shoulder and Leia grabbed it to find strength. The connection he had with Han had been cut off and she knew that the man that had accompanied her for so many years following her most crazy ideas was no more. She felt shattered and incomplete and she was overwhelmed by a huge sense of emptiness. . She would never see that ċȯċky grin of his and she would never be able to scold him again. She would never fight with him for silly things and she would not have anyone to open up like she did with him. She was alone and she knew that the great pain she was feeling would only grow with the time.

– “Rogue Squadron initiate your attack”- she said knowing that she could not dishonor Han by permitting this to crumble her.

“Chapter Title: The Death of Han Solo”