A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away….

Lord Elron watched Rey from his vantage point within the Force. The beautiful young woman sat cross-legged on a low outcropping of rock near the edge of a deep pit on the desert planet of Tatooine. Long ago, that pit had served as the home of a farm boy named Luke Skywalker.

It was now a drinking establishment for local moisture farmers and others not wanting to be found. Recesses within the pit provided extra privacy for patrons who could afford them. A four-eyed, white-pelted Dvorak tended bar, and a group of nebulous Sistales played wind instruments by flowing through them.

A fastidious silver droid moved about, serving drinks and sweeping sand off the furnishings. The droid’s limbs gave off mild grinding noises as it moved. “I hate sand! I can’t wait to soak in an oil bath and put my feet up tonight.”

The first of the planet’s twin suns kissed the horizon, the other not far behind. Their orange light accented Rey’s shoulder-length brown hair with hints of burnt umber. The suns reflected off her eyes, as if revealing the intense passion for life that burned within her.

Rey sipped blue Bantha milk purchased from the bar below, and in her lap rested a handwritten journal entitled “Return of the Jedi”, one of several texts Luke had gathered and placed in a hollowed-out tree near the remains of the Jedi Temple on Ahch-To. It was the planet where he had lived in self-imposed exile in the last years of his life. The ancient tree was no more, but Rey had saved the texts before departing that world. The Force had urged her to keep them safe.

Rey set her beverage on the rock next to her and closed her eyes. Her body relaxed and her breathing slowed — signs she was entering a trance, summoning a Force vision. After a few minutes, she said, “Are you going to show yourself or just keep staring?”

Elron materialized on a rock, facing Rey, and smiled.

“Who are you?” she asked, frowning.

“Forgive the intrusion, Rey. My name is Elron. I am a Whill.”

“I feel your powerful presence in the Force. Are you a spirit like Masters Skywalker and Yoda?”

“No. Whills are Lords of the Force, immortal beings who live in that realm, although I am still a youth compared to most of my kind. More than a Jedi or a Sith, it is we who maintain ultimate balance within the Force.”

“Master Skywalker never mentioned Whills.”

“It was not his place to do so. We choose to whom we wish to appear. I have chosen to appear before you.”

“Why?”

Elron pointed at the journal. “You have questions. I bring answers.”

Rey picked it up. “I was reading about Emperor Palpatine’s plot to destroy the Rebel Alliance using the second Death Star in the Endor System.”

“And do you find the journal interesting?”

“Very much. At its heart is the battle between the Emperor — my grandfather — and Master Skywalker, then a young Jedi.”

Elron nodded. “I wrote that journal. However, the climax of their battle is a myth, as are many of the events leading up to it.”

“Myths?”

“Yes.”

“It says Darth Vader turned from the Dark Side in order to save Luke. Vader threw the Emperor down a reactor shaft, and was mortally wounded doing so.”

“Unfortunately, Vader wasn’t powerful enough to destroy the Emperor. That task fell to me.”

Rey frowned. “I don’t understand. I’ve been using the Force all afternoon to look back on that battle, and it matches what is in your journal. I didn’t see you there.”

“We Whills are storytellers, but not in the conventional sense. We ‘shape’ the Force to tell the story we wish told. When you use the Force to see the future, you may be looking at one of our stories. The same is true when you look back. Even those who participated in past events are influenced by the Force to remember them as we desire.”

“But why?”

“Because the Force must remain balanced, lest either the light or the dark comes to dominate. The two are locked in a never-ending struggle that serves as the catalyst for complex life to exist and evolve, some toward the light, others toward the dark. One cannot truly know what light is without darkness, and vice versa. Our role is to provide the music for an eternal cosmic dance between both extremes.”

“Why, then, do you hide from us?”

“Because most Force-sensitives are not meant to know about the Whills, nor our ability to shape the Force. If they did, they would be drawn to that power like mynocks to a power cable, attempting to do the same. The result would be chaos, with competing beings writing and rewriting a particular story the way they want it to unfold. Eventually, they would tear holes in the fabric of spacetime, destroying causality among the time periods and worlds involved in the tale, leaving what we call plot holes. In spite of our best efforts, this galaxy is rife with them.”

“Is it as simple as writing a story and allowing those who live within it to go about their lives, unknowingly influenced by the tale you have written?”

“Not always. Sometimes the imbalance is so great, we are forced to enter our own stories to set things right. Once that is complete, we rewrite the tale to erase knowledge of our involvement, leaving only the history we want told. What you saw in your vision was a story I created. It became necessary to intervene because Palpatine had become too powerful, dragging the galaxy into ever greater darkness. He had learned, to a degree, how to shape the Force and was using that power for his own ends, the author of one battle after another, one conquest after another.”

Rey tapped the journal. “Given how dangerous he was, why didn’t you destroy him?”

Elron sighed. “That was my intent, but I failed. As a result, the next battle fell to you.”

Rey set the journal aside and pulled her knees to her chest. “Please tell me more.”

“The story I wrote brought together the two great powers of the galaxy into a pivotal battle between good and evil. When Palpatine used his powers to see the future, he saw what I wanted him to see — the destruction of the Rebel Alliance and the fall of Luke Skywalker to the Dark Side. Palpatine thought he was moving pieces on a galactic chessboard only he could see, but in reality, he was following an irresistible trail of carefully plotted events intended to lead him to his own destruction.”

“You said you failed. That must mean you don’t have a perfect vision of the future.”

“Correct. We see better than most, but the future is always in motion. That is why, when we write a story, we plan for hundreds of contingencies, all to steer the tale toward our desired ending.”

“And you personally took part in the battle between the Empire and the Alliance?”

“Yes.”

“Why are you revealing yourself to me?”

“As Palpatine’s granddaughter, you too have the potential to shape the Force. You already have the ability to use both Jedi and Sith powers without succumbing to the lure of either. You must use those powers with great care, lest you create an imbalance.”

“It seems strange to have to seek balance with the Dark Side. It causes so much pain and suffering.”

“Indeed. But consider, with your abilities, you could inspire entire worlds to lay down their arms and seek out the light. I know you have thought about pursuing such a course. But that would leave those worlds ripe for conquest, a magnet for evil. The result could be even greater suffering, the opposite of what you intended. An uneasy truce — balance — is often the best you can hope for.”

Rey eyed Elron skeptically. “Surely, though, lesser acts of kindness won’t lead to darkness.”

“Perhaps. But suppose you come across a Force-sensitive boy in your travels. Say he’s a slave. What do you do?”

“I would try to free him.”

“How?”

“By buying his freedom.”

“With what money?”

“I’m resourceful.”

“Can you find enough money to free every slave in the galaxy? And can you predict in advance what that would do to the balance in the Force?”

“Perhaps I’m not looking to free them all; just one boy. Surely that won’t upset the balance.”

“And where will you take the boy?”

“Back to his family.”

“And if they are slaves, too?”

Rey sighed impatiently. “Then to someone who will treat him kindly.”

“Perhaps a benevolent Master of the Force? Someone who might train him the way Luke trained you?”

“Yes.”

“What if the boy grows up and betrays the Master and kills all those like him?”

Rey went silent for a time. “You’re talking about Anakin Skywalker — Darth Vader.”

“Indeed. He and his Emperor so upset the balance of power that the Council of Lords sent me to step in. It was my first experience as a being made of ‘crude matter,’ as Yoda likes to call it. Not everyone on the Council believed I was ready for such an important mission. They grilled me for hours about my story, looking for weaknesses in my plan. In hindsight, I was overly sure of myself.”

“What was your plan?”

“That is a story that began here on Tatooine, when Luke was still a teenager. I stepped out of the Force and became flesh near this homestead, taking the form of an eight-year-old boy. I laid down outside, pretending to be near death, and waited to be found. It was Luke’s Aunt Beru who stumbled upon me. She brought me inside, gave me food and water. I told her my parents had been killed by Tusken Raiders and that they left me in the desert to die. She discussed my situation with her husband, Owen Lars, and they agreed to take me in. As a result, Luke became my older brother. We lived together for six years, until he was twenty and I fourteen. In spite of the importance of my mission, I developed a real affection for him.”

“And I for you, my brother,” Luke’s disembodied voice said. His Force ghost materialized, sitting next to Rey, surrounded by a blue aura.

She smiled broadly. “Master Skywalker.”

Elron gave him a sidelong look. “You used to call me ‘runt’ whenever I acted my role of annoying little brother.”

Luke smiled. “A role you perfected in our time together.”

Elron resumed his tale. “It was then that the Alliance managed to steal secret plans to the first Death Star. With the plans in his memory, R2-D2, accompanied by C-3PO, wound up on Tatooine, hunted by stormtroopers. R2-D2 ran off in search of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Luke and C-3PO set off after him. Before they could return, stormtroopers arrived at the homestead and killed Owen and Beru because they, fearing for Luke’s safety, wouldn’t reveal where he might have gone.”

Luke looked beyond the pit, to its far side. “I still miss them.”

Elron followed his gaze. “Their grave markers are long gone. They are one with the Force. Be at peace.”

Luke sighed and nodded.

Elron turned back to Rey. “They would have executed me as well, but I used the Force to convince the stormtroopers they needed to turn me over to Darth Vader, who was in orbit aboard a Star Destroyer. He looked into my future and saw exactly what I wanted him to see — a Force-sensitive with dark potential, destined to become his apprentice.

“Ever wary, Palpatine summoned me to Coruscant, where he, too, looked into my future. He concluded I was no threat to his rule. While I was with him, Luke destroyed the first Death Star.”

Luke chuckled. “I take it he found the news mildly upsetting.”

Elron arched an eyebrow. “He seethed. He ordered Vader and me to hunt for you. The Dark Lord gave me the lowly rank of lieutenant. A good thing, since he had a habit of throttling his senior officers. The search dragged on for months. I knew where the rebels were hiding, of course, since my story had steered Luke to the ice world of Hoth. I quietly programmed one of the Imperial probe droids to travel there and discover them. I then led the ground assault and we destroyed the rebel base’s shield generator, allowing Vader to land.”

Elron showed Rey long scars on his neck. “This is where one of Hoth’s native predators, a Wampa, attacked me inside the base. Nasty claws. Almost took my head off. Surprisingly, I never saw it coming.”

Rey winced.

Elron shrugged. “The ways of the Force are truly mysterious.” He leaned forward. “The ice beneath us began to collapse. Instinctively, I grabbed the creature and we fell into a deep chasm. It died in the fall, and I landed on top, its body cushioning the blow. Near death, I was transported back up to the fleet for weeks of intensive care. Vader was so furious that a simple creature could so surprise me, he instructed the medical droid not to heal my neck wound, a permanent reminder whenever I step outside the Force.

“Luke fled to Dagobah to train with Master Yoda while Vader pursued Han and Leia in the Millennium Falcon to Cloud City on Bespin.

Yoda’s ghost materialized next to Rey, on the opposite side from Luke. She reached for her milk to get it out of Yoda’s way, but accidentally spilled it, coating the rock where he sat. Yoda gave her an exasperated look and rapped her knuckles with his cane.

“Ow!” She shook her hand and frowned at the cane. “Is that real?”

Elron continued the tale. “Vader tortured Luke’s friends to draw him out. When he asked Yoda if his friends would die, Yoda, himself almost as powerful as a Lord, sensed what I was doing and played along. He gave Luke vague answers, ensuring he would fly to Bespin and attempt a rescue.”

“A big risk it was, Lord Elron,” Yoda said.

“Vader had me hide while he and Luke fought their first lightsaber duel in the carbon-freezing chamber inside Cloud City. Vader defeated Luke and cut off his hand, forcing him to retreat to the edge of a wind vane used to steer the floating city. He hung hundreds of meters above the inner bowels of the habitat. Vader revealed he was Luke’s father and tried to lure him to the Dark Side. Luke was devastated. The dead father he had idealized in his mind for so many years turned out to be the galaxy’s most feared living villain. That’s when I made my entrance.”

Luke picked up the story. “After Vader’s revelation, when I saw Elron in an Imperial uniform and sensed his dark presence, it was too much for me. I screamed and my mind created a psychic shockwave in the Force that almost sent Vader and Elron tumbling off the catwalk. In my condition, I knew there was no way I could rescue my brother. At that moment, my mind encountered an escape plan he had written for me in the Force, although I assumed the idea was my own. I allowed myself to drop from the edge of the vane and used the Force to guide my fall. I dropped out the bottom of Cloud City, where Leia rescued me aboard the Falcon.”

The bartender called up from the pit, pointing at the new arrivals. “Hey, no free seats here. What’ll it be?”

Luke frowned and made a sweeping motion with his hand that encompassed the homestead. “These seats belong to me. This used to be my home.”

The bartender pointed at himself. “Squatter’s rights!”

Luke scowled. “Water, then!”

The bartender laughed. “This is Tatooine. D’you know how much water costs?”

Luke reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny coin. He tossed it into the pit.

The bartender caught it and turned it over in his furry paws. He tested its weight, then tried to bite it. It faded to nothing and he bit his forked tongue instead. “Hey!” He reached for something behind the bar.

Rey moved with lightning speed, igniting and throwing her lightsaber at the bartender. He raised a blaster and fired. Rey’s blade deflected the shot, sliced the blaster in two, then returned to her outstretched hand.

Yoda’s eyes opened wide and his floppy ears straightened. “Strong are you in the Force!”

The bartender raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I don’t want no trouble. Four waters coming right up. On the house.”

“I’m not thirsty,” Luke groused.

Elron sighed. “Anyway, a few years later, our destinies converged in the Endor System. Palpatine had planned what he thought would be the destruction of the Alliance, using himself and the partially completed second Death Star as bait. Luke and a small band of rebels had landed on the Sanctuary Moon, intent on destroying a ground-based shield generator that was protecting the Death Star from impending attack by the rebel fleet.” Elron chuckled. “Palpatine’s plan was brilliant, if I do say so myself.”

Rey grinned.

“The night before the raid on the shield generator, Luke turned himself over to the Imperials in a bid to save Vader and me from destruction. Palpatine had foreseen this, and Vader sent me down to the moon ahead of him.

“An Imperial walker delivered Luke to me at the landing platform, his wrists in restraints. The officer in charge gave me Luke’s lightsaber. I dismissed him, leaving Luke and me alone for the first time in many years.

‘Hello, Luke.’

‘Hello, runt.’

‘It’s good to see you again.’

Luke looked at me sadly. ‘I never thought we’d end up on opposite sides of the war.’

‘Vader will be here shortly.’

‘You don’t need to do this,’ he said, using the Force in an attempt to influence my mind. ‘Walk into the forest and disappear.’

‘I can’t do that. I have a role to play, as do you.’

“I wanted to take Luke into my confidence and reveal my plan, but it was too dangerous. Palpatine was an incredibly powerful Sith Lord. One stray thought from Luke and the story would’ve fallen apart, leaving Palpatine aware he had been manipulated. He would not fall for the same ruse twice.

‘The Emperor hopes to turn you to the Dark Side,’ I told him.

‘Yes, I know. I’d rather die.’

‘I’d rather you didn’t.’

‘What happened at the homestead?’

‘Stormtroopers.’

‘And you?’

‘Captured. Vader sensed my potential and made me his apprentice.’

‘I’m surprised he bothered. Your presence in the Force is weak.’

I shrugged. ‘I know my place and I do as I’m told.’

“In due course, Vader arrived. ‘Leave us,’ he told me. ‘Find his companions.’

“I left and tracked down the same Imperial officer, telling him where to direct his search. Han and Leia and several close companions had become separated from the strike force. My plan depended on capturing the former. The attack against the shield generator would proceed at dawn, with or without them. The strike force’s commander was Force-sensitive, and I had planted the access codes to the Imperial bunker in the Force for him to divine.

“Luke and Vader left for the Death Star. The ground search proved fruitful, and Han and Leia were brought to me in restraints. Against the officer’s objections, I freed Chewbacca and the droids as I knew the Ewoks would fight for C-3PO, their golden god. They disappeared into the forest.

“Han, Leia, and I boarded a shuttle and lifted off, arriving at the Death Star two hours after Luke. I escorted my captives to the throne room, backed by Red Guards. The battle station’s main reactor lay far below us, visible down a deep shaft connected to the room.

“Luke and Vader were locked in a ferocious lightsaber duel while Palpatine bathed in the dark energy flowing in the room. When Palpatine saw me with the captives, he cackled with glee. Luke and Vader separated a few paces and Luke stared at us in horror.

“‘Kill them,’ Palpatine commanded me.

“I ignited my lightsaber.

“‘No!’ Luke roared. He used the Force to yank the saber away from me and sliced it in half midair.

“Palpatine glared at me. ‘You weak fool!’

“Vader renewed his attack on Luke, who responded viciously, desperate to save Han and Leia. Vader put up a relentless defense, but it was only a defense. He stumbled backward and fell, and Luke severed his father’s arm.

“Palpatine urged Luke to give in to the Dark Side and strike Vader down if he wanted his friends to live.

“Luke looked desperately at us. He radiated with Dark Side potential.

“It was then the shield generator exploded on the moon. Our shields were down and the Falcon flew toward us, accompanied by rebel fighters. Palpatine appeared unconcerned. One of the visions I had planted in the Force reassured him they would not reach the reactor.”

“I managed to reign in my dark emotions,” Luke said. “I decided it was better to sacrifice all of us rather than join forces with Palpatine. I foolishly threw away my lightsaber. ‘You failed, Your Highness,’ I told him. ‘I am a Jedi, like my father before me.’

“Palpatine glared at me. ‘So be it, Jedi. If you will not be turned, you will be destroyed!’ He hit me with Force lightning, almost sending me over the edge into the reactor shaft.”

Luke turned to Yoda. “You should have warned me about Force lightning. I was caught completely unprepared. Palpatine had me screaming and writhing.”

“Warn you, I would have, but for Lord Elron. Save your father, he wanted.”

Luke nodded at Elron. “For which I am eternally grateful.”

Elron resumed the tale. “Palpatine continued his assault. ‘Young fool. Only now, at the end, do you understand. Your feeble skills are no match for the power of the Dark Side. You will pay the price for your lack of vision.’

“Vader stood up and moved to Palpatine’s side.

“Luke continued screaming, begging his father for help.

“I watched Vader closely. Would he try to save Luke? The Force had been unclear about this, but I knew Luke would want me to give his father a chance. Han and Leia struggled to reach Luke in spite of their restraints. The Red Guards held them back.

“Leia yelled at me, ‘He’s your brother! Save him!’

“I reached into her mind. Wait. Trust me, Leia.

“‘But he’ll die!’

“I won’t let him. Use the Force. Look into his future.

“She fell silent. Han looked to her but she shook her head.

“Palpatine continued to attack Luke, who was near death. Just as I was about to intervene, Vader picked up Palpatine and threw him over the railing into the reactor shaft. Anakin Skywalker had returned! Vader was no more.

“But Palpatine didn’t fall! He levitated over the shaft and fired Force lightning at Anakin, causing him to collapse. Palpatine stepped from the reactor shaft onto the platform. He continued his assault on Anakin. Luke tried to stand but was too weak.

“I whirled and used the Force to snap the necks of the Red Guards, simultaneously freeing Han and Leia from their restraints. ‘Grab Luke and flee! Stop for nothing.’

“‘What about you?’ Leia asked.

“‘Go!’ I snapped and stalked toward Palpatine. Han and Leia ran to help Luke. Anakin was dead. I revealed myself within the Force, radiating my full power for Palpatine to feel. He turned to me, his face a twisted mix of terror and hate. We blasted each other with Force lightning, both screaming as our flesh smoldered. I continued my approach.

“Palpatine had grown more powerful than even the Council had realized. I wouldn’t be able to overwhelm him with lightning alone, as I had planned. We were now in unscripted territory, on the edge of disaster. That’s when I remembered my encounter with the Wampa: a dangerous creature that died in a long fall with me. In its own unique way, the Force had told me just what to do.

“I grabbed Palpatine by his robes and jumped down the reactor shaft, using the Force to drag us both down. He tried to levitate, but in this, I was stronger. We fired lightning into each other at point-blank range as we fell, both in unspeakable agony, our clothes on fire. Our intense battle distorted the flow of time. Although our descent took only ten seconds from the perspective of those in the throne room, for Palpatine and me it lasted countless minutes. An eternity when lightning burns through your organs and ruptures your cells. As our bodies turned to ash, I read his final thoughts. They were of clones of himself he kept ready in case he were ever grievously injured or killed.

“We hit the reactor and disintegrated, blasted into subatomic particles. I awoke within the Force, my mother — the head of the Council — at my side.

“‘Clones!’ I cried.

“She smiled. ‘Fear not. A clone is a weak vessel. It will rob him of much of his potency. And he is the architect of his own doom. He fathered a son, who will father a daughter. We believe she is destined to scatter his essence to the farthest corners of the universe. But, that, is another story.’

Rey asked, “Does that mean my battle against my grandfather was also scripted?”

“Yes.”

“Did you write that story, too?”

“No, another Lord did that.” Elron looked to his right. The figure of a young man materialized next to him on the rock. Slim, a mane of black hair, haunted eyes from a long and harrowing mission.

“Ben!” Rey cried of the former Kylo Ren, the one-time Supreme Leader of the First Order. They stood and hugged for a long moment, lost in each other’s arms.

The group turned to watch Tatooine’s second sun bid them goodnight. The planet’s moons and the stars lit up the homestead. Rey shivered as a cool evening breeze washed over her. Ben removed his cloak and placed it around her shoulders.

The droid in the bar called from the pit. “Lord Elron wishes to dedicate this next song to Rey and Ben. It is called ‘The Force Theme.’”

The Sistales began playing.

Rey and Ben looked at Elron.

He smiled. “It’s a little something I composed one evening, decades ago, while Luke observed this same sunset, a yearning in his heart for something … more.”

Yoda shook his head. “Young Skywalker. All his life did he look away. To the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was, what he was doing.”

Imitating Yoda’s raspy voice, Luke said, “Adventure. Hah! Excitement. Hah! A Jedi craves not these things.”

Yoda leaned toward Luke and poked him with his cane.

“Hey! How are you doing that?”

Yoda harrumphed.

Rey and Ben looked into each other’s eyes. Could the hero and villain of their story really have more than conflict? They smiled at each other.

“Kill the music,” Rey called down.

“Totally,” Ben said.

© Copyright 2025 Dirk B. All rights reserved.