Star Wars VIII: The Path to Anguish

Synopsis
We open on the familiar shot of a Star Destroyer hovering over the surface of a world and pull out to reveal Kalin-ewa - a world belonging to Smuggler Clans. The planet is surrounded by defensive ships all poised to attack, but the Star Destroyer glides past them elegantly as it approaches ever closer to the surface. The ships seem to part for it.

Inside the Star Destroyer, known as the Eternal, a new dark figure stands at the heart of the Bridge as he watches down passionately at his Imperial Officers, desperate to impress this high up figure in the First Order. They will not let their Master down. We watch as the figure, who wears white militaristic clothing, lifts up his head to reveal blue skin and soul destroying red eyes.

The figure turns to his Captain and tells him that they must make contact with the Smugglers on the planet surface and inform them of their arrival, so that the welcoming party will be ready to meet them. The Captain does as his Master tells him to whilst his Master looks down at his hard working crew once more.

In the Throne Palace of Kalin-ewa, leader of the gang Kunjina Caren - Ellin Darius - is told by his second that a transmission has arrived from the Eternal; the First Order has arrived. Darius dismisses his second before he calls another figure out of the shadows; a Mandalorian in green armour. He asks the Mandalorian for advise and the Mandalorian tells him to do everything the First Order tells him to do or be willing to face terrible consequences.

We watch as the Star Destroyer passes through the atmosphere of Kalin-ewa into its dark green sky, before setting itself down on a massive landing pad on the outskirts of a city, known simply as the Capital. We pull out and reveal yet another hidden figure, this time wearing the uniform of a low class restaurant worker. He speaks into his comlink and informs a contact that the First Order have arrived, before he turns to walk away and we realize this man is... Poe Dameron!

Returning to the Eternal, we watch as the blue man walks down an enormous ramp with his Captain standing by his side and Darius struggling to lead the way and talk at the same time. Around thirty Stormtroopers appear to be escorting them. Darius informs the blue man that he would like them to feel welcome on Kalin-ewa but insists that the First Order not stay long; they cannot afford to make an enemy out of the remnants of the Republic (we are not sure of why yet).

Meanwhile, Poe sneaks into a dirty looking restaurant where he sees Finn (FN-2187) sitting on a stool by the bar, reading a holo-book. Poe quickly approaches him and pats him on the back, before telling him that they need to get off of Kalin-ewa now; as Poe has told Finn, the First Order have arrived and their mission to make discreet contact is now over. Finn is reluctant at first, but after some convincing, they leave to escape to the local star port.

Darius continues to lead the blue man through the city, and we learn that the blue man is none other than Admiral Thrawn, below only Supreme Leader Snoke and General Hux in the chain of command. Thrawn informs Darius casually that he has had all routes off of Kalin-ewa blocked so that he can have his troopers search the area for Resistance troops, as they are a frequent menace. Darius struggles to resist but is quickly cut off.

This new set up by Thrawn turns up to be a trouble for Finn and Poe because as they try to enter their Vessel - the Millennium Falcon (!), they are stopped by ten Stormtroopers, all well armed. One of the Stormtroopers immediately recognises Finn as a traitor and begins to fire at the two men, and a fire fight breaks out between them all. The two separate forces quickly take cover - the Stormtroopers behind the Falcon, and Finn and Poe behind some crates. They take out around four of the troopers but are too outnumbered to have any chance of winning...

...Until Chewbacca arrives from inside the Falcon and fires his bowcaster at the bewildered troops, causing an explosion that kills them all! Chewbacca growls aggressively so Finn apologises for the pair taking so long to get back to the ship. Poe asks Chewie whether the Falcon is fired up and ready to take off, and Chewie growls an affirmative. The trio quickly enters the ship.

We pull out to view the Falcon from a distance, where the Mandalorian in green armour sits watching them, with a pair of advanced binoculars focused on the ship. We hear him sigh before he attaches the binoculars back on his belt and activates his jet-pack, shooting away back towards the Capital.

Meanwhile, Thrawn arrives in the negotiating room with Darius where he comfortably takes a seat and once again casually informs Darius that General Hux is on his ways with the documents to solidify the deal that Kalin-ewa is about to make; there is no escape from the grips of the First Order now, and Darius will have to do what the First Order likes.

Darius asks Thrawn why he will do such a thing, but before Thrawn can answer, one of the Stormtroopers fires a weapon that leaves a dart in Darius's neck, causing him to become dizzy. Thrawn explains to Darius that he has just been struck by a dart that has been designed to reprogram his brain, meaning that when he wakes up from the sleep he is about to fall into, he will do all the First Order asks him to. Darius asks what this may be, so Thrawn informs him that it will be the total blockade of the inner core of the galaxy. Darius then passes out.

We watch the Falcon take off into the atmosphere of Kalin-ewa, but it is immediately stalked by about six TIE-Fighters. Poe, who is piloting the ship with Chewie, is able to swing the ship around the TIE-Fighters and take them out one by one; in this great action sequence, Poe makes it look easy. However, the Falcon is unexpectedly shot by yet another TIE-Fighter, and it begins to spiral down.

Inside the cockpit, we see that Finn is trying not to panic as Poe and Chewie struggle for the controls. BB-8 and R2-D2, who we discover have been on this ship for the whole mission, converse casually with each other as if nothing is going on. Knowing that the ship is going down, Poe orders R2 to revert all power to the shields so that the Falcon has minimum damage when it crashes down and so that it cannot be damaged any more by TIE-Fighters.

We again watch the Falcon from above, this time from the perspective of the flying Mandalorian, as the ship collides with a tall building below and shatters it, causing brick and metal to spray in all directions. The Falcon makes contact with the surface of Kalin-ewa and scrapes across it, causing sparks to erupt as the ship takes even more damage. The Mandalorian watches in surprise before he turns and shoots off towards the Capital.

Back in the Throne Palace, Thrawn and an escort of Stormtroopers march through casually, with Thrawn reading datapads checking that everything is in order for General Hux's arrival. Suddenly, his Captain launches towards him down the corridor, slight panic taking over his features. The Captain informs Thrawn that the Resistance ship known as the Millennium Falcon has crash landed through a tower complex. Thrawn orders the Captain to send in armed troops and TIE-Fighters immediately, in case there are any survivors.

In the meantime, Finn wakes up inside the Falcon to find BB-8 rolling around him and R2 checking the ship status. Poe is knocked out, with his head smashed against the panel and bleeding heavily. Chewbacca is tending him. Finn wakes Poe up and they realize that they will have to leave the Falcon behind in order to escape. They quickly make for the exit with their droids and breach the air to find themselves among-

-rubble and Stormtroopers! A battle begins between them all as the crew tries to dash away from the Falcon but the First Order troops try to stop them from doing so. Eventually, the crew is able to overpower the Stormtroopers, but not before leaving behind a mass of rubble and bodies. They begin to run as the whine of TIE-Fighters is heard overhead, approaching fast. Suddenly, they all jump to the side in time to miss darts of green!

Now in the streets of the Capital, Poe and Finn cut off from Chewbacca and the droids, hoping to create a diversion so that Chewbacca can make it back to the spaceport and hijack a ship. Finn and Poe launch into what turns out to be a casino, where they are confronted by angry gamblers. Moments later, five Stormtroopers burst in, firing without mercy. They kill civilians, so a riot breaks out, giving Finn and Poe a chance to escape through the other exit.

Launching through the door, they are confronted by a landspeeder - beautiful and blue - attached to metallic safe guards. Poe is about to hi-jack the speeder when the owner of the speeder emerges through the door. Ignoring Poe and Finn, the owner deactivates the safe guards and throws himself inside, beginning to drive away just as a Stormtrooper emerges. Finn shoots the Stormtrooper whilst Poe switches his gun to stun and shoots the driver.

Finn and Poe launch inside the speeder and throw out the stunned driver, before beginning their desperate drive away. We pan out again to reveal the Mandalorian watching from above, blaster in hand poised as he considers shooting the pair. He eventually lets the blaster drop and we see that he has made a crucial decision as he launches off in the direction of the spaceport.

Meanwhile, Poe struggles to keep control of the landspeeder as he is shot at from two TIE-Fighters from above. After a few moments of panicked banter between Poe and Finn, Finn takes a blaster and begins to fire at the TIE-Fighters. They swerve elegantly out of the way but Finn continues the attack, shooting with good accuracy.

Moments later, the landspeeder shoots next to a running Chewbacca - heading towards the spaceport - with R2 and BB-8 storming behind. Chewbacca notices the speeder struggling to remain next to him and recognizes Poe as the pilot so he picks up R2 and drops him in the back of the vehicle, before attaching his bowcaster to his ammo belt, picking up BB-8 and jumping into the back himself.

Finn gives them all the friendliest welcome he can handle in the situation as they continue onwards, permanently stalked by the shadow that is the TIE-Fighters. Chewbacca has now joined the fight, using his own bowcaster to permanently defend them all. And then there is a burst of light... It's an explosion! A TIE-Fighter has been hit. Beams of green crash into the sides of the second TIE-Fighter, destroying it immediately.

And there, directly behind the remnants of the TIE-Fighters, is the Slave One! It's as beautiful as ever but is battered and struggling from the wars its been in since we last saw it. Slave One swerves in front of the landspeeder, blocking its exit and causing the landspeeder to come to a halt. Chewbacca raises his bowcaster with worry; he recognizes the ship.

Suddenly, the main door of the Slave One swings open to reveal the Mandalorian, blasters in hand and ready for action. He tells the crew that this is their last chance to escape Kalin-ewa before it is overpowered by the First Order; they must make their escape with him now because they will never make it to the spaceport.

Chewbacca is reluctant but Poe and Finn make the decision for him when they hear the whines of more TIE-Fighters... They launch out of the speeder and rush towards Slave One, with R2 flying closely behind them. Chewbacca sighs before he picks up BB-8 and leaves the landspeeder himself, sprinting to join the rest of the crew. Eventually he gets inside of the ship in time for the doors to shut...

Inside Slave One, the Mandalorian rushes over to the flight control station and begins to ascend the ship. Finn is giving the Mandalorian his thanks but the Mandalorian tells Finn to stop, telling him that they haven't escaped Kalin-ewa yet. Poe then asks the Mandalorian whether he needs a co-pilot (after all, he is the best pilot in the Resistance) but the Mandalorian tells Poe that he prefers to fly alone.

We watch Slave One from the outside as it leaves the atmosphere of Kalin-ewa followed by six TIE-Fighters - they shoot blasts of green towards Slave One but the ship does not retaliate. It spins around the Explorer just as the Star Destroyer opens fire with its cannons. The cannot blasts miss and hit two of the TIE-Fighters, obliterating them. Slave One jumps into hyperspace.

Inside Slave One, the Mandalorian lets his hands drop from the console and shakes hands with Finn, Poe and Chewie, jokingly telling them that he is a big fan. He then takes off his mask to reveal the young face of a man in his late twenties/early thirties, with a grin controlling his features. He takes a seat on one of his leather chairs and introduces himself as Jallec Fett, son of the legendary Boba Fett and soon to be the greatest Bounty Hunter in the galaxy.

Meanwhile, in the Kalin-ewa Throne Palace, Admiral Thrawn is made aware by his Captain that the Resistance members who crashed the Millennium Falcon have escaped. In an unexpected act of evil but with a sincere sense of calmness, Thrawn pulls out a blaster from his holster and shoots the Captain multiple times, killing him. Thrawn then calmly turns towards another one of his Stormtroopers, telling the trooper that he has the duty of arranging the city so that General Hux cannot see damage upon arrival.

We then fade to...

Ahch-To - a shot from the sky of this world, looking down on the lonely island that has been the home of Luke Skywalker for many years. Soon we are in a cave, starring at the face of... Rey! Her eyes are closed in concentration and she is sitting with her legs crossed as the darkness envelops her. A simple flame sits in front of Rey, dancing. Anakin Skywalker's lightsaber sits in the air, rolling.

Suddenly, the flames stop dancing and the world looses colour as screams fill the cave. Rey is having a vision, and we can hear the cries that come from it. She opens her eyes suddenly and examines the world around her before standing and leaving the flickers of the flames, catching Anakin's lightsaber as she does so.

Rey exits the cave and we can see on her face a permanent concentration as she begins a long walk, climbing up steps, examining different vegetation and the like. She reaches a small step where her rucksack and staff sit so she picks them up, strapping her lightsaber to the bag and taking her staff in her hands. She continues to walk upward.

Eventually she reaches a clearing - the peak of the island - and we realize that it is the location where Rey first met Luke at the end of 'The Force Awakens'. The sun glazes down on her. She strands over the edge of the island and examines the oceans before her and the beautiful skyline, before she notices the small blip in the sky that eventually comes closer to be revealed as an X-Wing. It's old, battered and its Luke Skywalker's.

The cockpit pops open and Luke climbs out, starring at Rey, wondering why she is not in the cave as he unloads vegetables from the X-Wing back seat. He doesn't speak as he approaches her and puts his natural hand on her shoulder, using the Force to read her mind. He stares at her a smiles - congratulates her on the vision. He cannot read what it is about, but he knows she has had one. Luke tells Rey that she will make a good Jedi; once she has fully enveloped the Force that surrounds this world, he will be willing to train her.

Rey sits down with Luke as he begins to cook food over a fire; he's in a good mood today. He begins to tell her a story of a time when he was beginning to train the new Jedi Order, and of how he had a student who used to always mistake casual dreams for visions, leading the young Jedi on adventures that would never end. He laughs for a moment before he remembers the student is dead, in which he turns deadly silent. Luke tells Rey that she must become a Jedi; the galaxy depends on her.

After eating, Luke sends Rey down to the remains of the old Jedi Council Chamber on the Island in order for her to meditate in an area he has learnt is particularly strong in the Force. We watch Rey as she travels down the hills, with the figure of Luke above her. Eventually she reaches the Jedi Council Chamber, now only a massive mound of rubble, where she sits and begins to hesitate. She closes her eyes and the screams begin again.

Returning to Kalin-ewa, Thrawn stands in a small private room in the Throne Palace before a giant hologram of Supreme Leader Snoke. Snoke tells Thrawn that he must take full control of the Capital and enforce strict rules on the locals of the world because they will not be as willing to listen to the First Order as Darius is... Before Snoke ends the hologram, he tells Thrawn that General Hux will no longer be visiting to sign the contract. Instead, Kylo Ren will be delivering it... The hologram of Snoke disappears leaving Thrawn alone.

Thrawn quickly finds his new second, informing the second that they must act quickly to make this world acceptable, as their visitor will no longer be willing to sit still and watch the Stormtroopers act if a true problem emerges. Thrawn tells his second that Kylo Ren cannot be allowed to take control of the operations of this world. It is Thrawn's master plan and Thrawn wants to get the praise for it.

We cut to...

The screaming face of General Hux! Kylo Ren stands before him in the interrogation room of the Star Destroyer Sunhawk as he begins to crush his brain using the Force. Hux resists Ren, so Ren tells Hux that if he were just to admit his mistakes in the events that led to the destruction of Starkiller Base two months ago, this torture would stop. Hux tells Ren that he has suffered long enough for his mistake to learn that he will never have a place in the First Order.

As a response to this, Ren casually informs Hux that a replacement has been found as head of the First Order military, and it is a man far more powerful than Hux could ever reach. As a result of this, Hux spits on Ren so Ren lifts up Hux using the Force and chokes him near to death before letting Hux fall back into his interrogation chair. Ren tells Hux that he will break him, whatever the cost, and then Hux will finally be free from his pain.