Mission to Kef Bir

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Mission to Kef Bir

In35 ABY, theJediapprenticeRey and her companions,Chewbacca,Poe Dameron andFinn, undertook amission to theKef Birmoon in theEndor system. Havingacquired aSithrelic atKijimi, theResistance team discovered the location of thewayfinder thatbelonged to the formerGalactic Emperor andDark Lord of the SithDarth Sidious. Determined to gain theobject that would lead them to the Sithworld ofExegol, Rey entered theruins of theDS-2 Death Star II Mobile Battle Station alone and found the wayfinder in theEmperor's Throne Room.

However, Rey was followed to Kef Bir bySupreme Leader of theFirst OrderKylo Ren, who destroyed the wayfinder in the hope of pushing the formerscavenger to thedark side of the Force. Alightsaber duel ensued between Ren and Rey, thegrandson ofDarth Vader and thegranddaughter ofDarth Sidious, respectively. During the fight, Ren's focus wavered as he sensed thedeath of hismother,PrincessLeia Organa, acrossthe galaxy, allowing Rey to pierce him withhis own lightsaber. Realizing that anger had driven her actions, Rey usedthe Force toheal Ren before departing from Kef Bir, seekingexile onAhch-To. Theconnectionbetween them, along with the loss of Ren's mother and the memory of his father,Han Solo, ultimately restored Ben Solo to thelight side of the Force.

Prelude[]

During theFirst Order-Resistance War, theResistance sent a team^[1] in35 ABY^[2] to acquire aSith wayfinder containing the coordinates ofExegol, ahiddenSithworld whereDarth Sidious, publicly known asEmperor Palpatine, plotted his return to power. The team, consisting of theJediapprenticeRey,Chewbacca,CommanderPoe Dameron, andFinn,traveled to thedesert planetPasaana where they discovered an oldSith dagger. The inscription on thismelee weapon revealed the location of theEmperor's wayfinder, but the item ultimately fell into theFirst Order's possession before the Resistance could analyze it.^[1]

However, the group'sprotocol droid,C-3PO, had stored the blade's Sith code in his memory banks but was unable to decipher it due to a programming block that prohibited the translation of theSith language. Seeking to override the block, the groupmade their way toKijimi, a planet underoccupation by theFirst Order military. With the help ofBabu Frik, they bypassed thedroid's programming and discovered that thewayfinder was located on amoon in theEndor system, where theGalactic Civil War effectivelyended.^[1]

In the course of their journey, however, Rey learned the truth of her identity fromSupreme LeaderKylo Ren—herconnection tothe Force was inherited fromDarth Sidious, hergrandfather. Having learned about her lineage and that Palpatine was responsible for thedeaths ofRey's father andmother, Rey vowed to complete her mission and destroy the Sith Lord. Knowing of Rey's next destination, Ren followed the Jedi apprentice toKef Bir, determined to turn her to thedark side of the Force so that they could overthrow Sidious and rulethe galaxy together.^[1]

Mission[]

The lost company[]

Following a difficult landing on Kef Bir due to the damaged struts of theMillennium Falcon, Rey's team encounteredJannah and aband of warriors. They were, in fact,stormtroopers thatdeserted the First Order.^[1] Finn, another deserter of theStormtrooper Corps, discovered a kindred spirit in Jannah,^[4] both having refused orders to kill unarmed civilians.^[1]

Jannah and her warriors had expected the arrival of Rey's team, having received a transmission from Babu Frik identifying them as "the last hope." They lead the new arrivals to theruins of thesecond Death Star, which had fallen into theocean after its destruction. Jannah advised crossing the highly-turbulent waters the following day, but time was of the essence for Dameron, who convinced the former stormtroopers to help with repairs to theMillennium Falcon. However, Rey continued the mission on her own, commandeering askimmer to reach the Death Star while her team was distracted with repairing theirstarship. Her companions were divided over their next course of action, with Dameron wanting to finish the work on theFalcon while Finn insisted on following Rey. They ultimately went separate ways as Finn convinced Jannah to help him reach the Death Star ruins by using a second skimmer.^[1]

Journey into the past[]

Meanwhile, Rey climbed her way through the wreckage of the fallenbattle station, an experience that reminded her of her past as ascavenger exploring abandonedStar Destroyers in the desert ofJakku.^[3] After making her way toher grandfather's former throne room, she felt a dark presence beckoning her from an adjacent chamber which housed the wayfinder that she sought. Rey took the artifact, but was also confronted by a vision of herself, clothed in a black hood and robes, armed with a redhinged double-bladed lightsaber,^[1] and consumed by the dark side of the Force.^[3] Attacked by the dark mirror of her, Rey fought back using theSkywalker lightsaber until she stumbled backward, falling out of the chamber and dropping the wayfinder.^[1]

The wayfinder slid across the floor to Kylo Ren. Despair choked at Rey; the dark vision of her future and the sudden appearance of her nemesis caused Rey to fear that destiny brought them together in this moment. Ren had come to Rey without hismask and Rey had a feeling that she would never see him wear it again. Ren's tone betrayed his contempt for Rey's desperation to prove herself as a Jedi to her mentor—hismother,GeneralLeia Organa. Ren believed that Rey could never return to Organa, as he could not either, due to their Sith heritage. Believing the dark side was in their nature, he urged her to surrender to its power. Rey demanded that Ren return the wayfinder to her, even going so far as to attempt amind trick on him out of desperation. It had no effect on him. Panic surged through Rey as she sensed her adversary's intentions. Ren crushed the wayfinder with his hand, declaring that Rey would never reach Exegol without him.^[3]

Battle of the dyad[]

A hot, primal rage rose inside of Rey likevolcanicmagma. She and her friends had traveled halfway across the galaxy, endured various life-threatening perils, just to find the wayfinder. She screamed as she erupted forward, swinging herlightsaber. Ren's initial response was sidestep Rey's blade instead of fighting back, further enraging Rey, now lost to her fury. Drawing more power from the Force, her attacks increased with speed, forcing Ren to bringhis own lightsaber to bear. Rey grew increasingly ferocious and desperate to hit Ren just once, but the Supreme Leader continued to counter all of her attacks while matching her in ferocity. He eventually gave ground, jumping down into a shaft with Rey pursuing him without hesitation.^[3]

The duel continued outside on the Death Star wreckage, near a massive gunturret looming over them. As the two Force wielders fought on a bridge-like hunk of metal onlymeters wide, Rey sensed that Finn was approaching their location. Though oblivious to the danger of the ocean raging around them, an instinctive need to protect her friends dominated Rey's senses. Reaching out through the Force, shepushed the former stormtrooper away, sending him flying backward and leaping to another section of the wreckage with Ren now in pursuit of her. She continued to pour more of her energy into her next attacks, determined to keep fighting until either she or Ren was dead, though ultimately she could not break through his guard. As time wore on, Ren's counterattack strikes grew in strength, sending shivers through Rey's arms. Nevertheless, she welcomed the sensation as a distraction from thoughts of her Sith heritage.^[3]

Rey stood her ground as Ren began fighting back, pushing against her power with his own Force energy. The effort of matching Ren's power was physically taxing for Rey, whose temples began to throb with pain. They also sparred telepathically, with Ren intimating that he knew Rey despite her belief that no one knew her. It became clear to Rey that, despite being a little faster than Ren, she could not match him in physical strength the longer the duel continued. As the ocean reached a high tide, it sent a colossal wave toward the two Force users. Rey leapt away using the Force to propel her to a safe distance before the wave came crashing down, and for a moment she thought Ren had been washed away. Ren withstood the wave, however, and advanced toward Rey with unerring calm.^[3]

Rey resumed her attack but moved slower, having become fatigued from the duel as well as sleep deprivation and her earlier use of the Force toheal the wounds of avexis on Pasaana, whereas Ren was in top fighting form. By now Ren had gone on the offense, using a series of physically powerful blows to break down Rey's defense. Looming above the scavenger, Ren raised his saber once more and, in that moment, Rey was convinced he would kill her. Ren froze before he could follow through with the attack, his gaze becoming distant as he sensed his drying mother's presence through the Force. As Organa prepared to release the last of her strength to reach her son, she allowed the voices and faces of her family to surround her. Among the voices she heard was that ofAnakin Skywalker, whose apology she finally accepted, returning his love in a way she had never before. With her last breath she called out her son's birth name, pouring all of her love and forgiveness for him into the Force in a final attempt to turn him back to thelight side of the Force.^[3]

Distracted by his mother's passing and forgotten memories of his childhood, Ren dropped his lightsaber as it fell into the hand of Rey, who also sensed Organa's death but only after she stabbed Ren in the chest with his own weapon. The realization that her master was gone came as a shock to Rey, replacing her anger with sorrow. Realizing that she had given into every emotion that she had been trained to reject as a Jedi, Rey felt regret over her actions and further realized that she had no desire to see Ren die. She therefore turned to the Force, using it to transfer much of her life energy to him in the hope of saving him. The wound had been mortal, and so it required much of her power to repair the damage, but in that moment Rey was prepared to give her life for Ren. Once the wound was fully healed, Rey confessed that she had wanted toaccept his hand, but as Ben Solo. Rey then left him and fled from the Death Star, commandeeringKylo Ren's TIE whisper to leave Kef Bir.^[3]

Aftermath[]

The revelation of her Sith heritage, combined with Organa's death, drove Rey to follow inLuke Skywalker's example by going into self-imposedexile onAhch-To. Her companions returned to theResistance base onAjan Kloss, where they learned of Organa's fate. Ren, who was still on Kef Bir, was confronted by a memory of hisfather, forcing him to relive thelast time they saw each other.^[3] The vision of Han Solo told his son that he loved him, and that even if his mother was gone, what she fought for isn't. This emotional encounter led Kylo Ren to cast hisSith lightsaber into the ocean and become Ben Solo once more.^[5] Having reclaimed his former identity by renouncing the dark side, Ben embarked on his path^[3] to redemption^[5] with a newfound purpose: to find and protect Rey.^[3]

Despite losing Kylo Ren as a result of Organa's sacrifice, Sidious seized direct control of the First Order and its assets throughAllegiant GeneralEnric Pryde, who pledged fealty to the Sith Lord, whom he once served. With the combined might of the First Order and theSith Eternal at his command, Sidious broadcasted an ultimatum to the galaxy, demanding that all worlds submit to him and the new Sith Empire or be destroyed. However, Rey's exile was brief as—with the guidance of theForce spirit of Luke Skywalker—she resolved to confront her grandfather and prevent the return of the Sith. Using DarthVader's wayfinder that she recovered from Ren'sstarfighter, Rey navigated the path to Exegol where thedecisive battle would be fought.^[3]

Behind the scenes[]

The mission to Kef Bir first appeared in the2019 filmStar Wars: Episode IXThe Rise of Skywalker, the third and final installment of theStar Warssequel trilogy.^[1]

The scenes of the mission were filmed inEngland inNovember 2019. According toDaisy Ridley, the lightsaber fight between Rey and Kylo Ren were physically the most challenging to do for her as in contrast to other lightsaber duels from the trilogy. They were doused with water cannons the whole time, aside that it was very cold as well.^[6]

Appearances[]

• Star Wars: Episode IXThe Rise of Skywalker(First appearance)
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: Expanded Edition(andaudiobook)
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: A Junior Novel(andaudiobook)

Non-canon appearances[]

• LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

Sources[]

• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – The Official Collector's Edition
• Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary
• The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
• "Database" —Star Wars - Das offizielle Magazin 99(Indirect mention only)
• Star Wars: The Lightsaber Collection(Indirect mention only)
• Star Wars: Card TraderSet:2021 Base, Card:Dark Side Rey(Indirect mention only)
• Star Wars: The Black Series(Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Figure:#01: Rey (Dark Side Vision)) (backup link)(Indirect mention only)
• "The Final Order and the Battle of Exegol" —Star Wars Encyclopedia
• "C-3PO" —Star Wars Encyclopedia
• "BB-8 and Other Astromech Droids" —Star Wars Encyclopedia
• Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga – The Official Collector's Edition
• Star Wars A to Z:Kylo on the officialStar Wars KidsYouTube channel(original link is obsolete)
• Acme Archive Art Prints(Pack:The Duel: Kylo Ren) (backup link)
• Acme Archive Art Prints(Pack:The Duel: Rey) (backup link)
• Star Wars: Timelines
• Secrets from the Set ofAndor Season 2: Week 2 Trivia onStarWars.com(backup link)
• Kef Bir in theDatabank(backup link)(Picture only)

Notes and references[]