#battleforbatuu5

[enkisstories]

At the end of their adventure, Rey speaks out loud what they all know. It helps the group get grounded in reality again after the surrealistic experience that was Exegol.

Rey: "Done. Ben Solo is no longer an unsurmountable super-human, but a regular force user. He'll also have to deal with a lot of emotional shit.”

Armitage: “But he still rules the First Order and we still have to defeat him.”

Rey: “We defeated Kylo Ren and at the same time put Ben Solo into a position to help us destroy the First Order. Let’s give him and us some time to reflect and then make contact.”

Rose: "I'm sorry, Hux. I wanted to free you, too, but we had only this one wish from Exegol."

Armitage: "Your wish was to bring back to life all victims of..."

Rose: "Yes, I know, but I've thought about that some more, and came to the conclusion that Finn's wish was more sensible. We've had time to mourn, to move on, whereas every single stormtrooper is a future death waiting to happen.

If we'd freed them from their conditioning with a second wish, we'd have prevented those deaths and deprieved the First Order of their army at the same time. And you being a victim of that brainwashing, too, it might just have cleared your mind. We could have been friends.”

Rey: “We already are!”

Armitage: "Hardly! I don’t befriend people who want to steal my army!”

Rose: “You don’t need that army anymore. Working together, and with Ben Solo, the First Order will soon be history!”

Armitage: “Yeah, dream on! As if that ever had been my intention! Let’s get a drop on Ren while he’s dazed, and afterwards I’ll find you all a nice place to retire to, before I will do away with the Resistance. 

Except... After everything we’ve been through together... If you wanted to join me, that wouldn’t be unwelcome.” (pause) “No, let’s say it as it is: I’d be happy to have you guys.”

Rose: “For the First Order High Command?”

Armitage: *nods* “We’d be unstoppable.”

Rose: “Okay, then. I was afraid I’d have to do this...” (cues the handbuzzer) "You're arrested in the name of the New Republic, Armitage Hux!"

Poe: "Wait, she's sorry for having lost a mind game against an eldritch horror, but not for electroshocking people?"

Finn: "Never."

(End of Round 5)

[enkisstories]

Savi: "There you are! A warm Welcome to Black Spire, Finn and company.”

Finn: “Warm would be nice.”

Savi: “Come inside and warm up, then!” (looking at each one in turn) “You would be Finn, coming for your first lightsaber... you’re Poe Dameron, correct? And...”

Finn: “Rose Tico, of the engineer corps.”

Savi (to Rose): “Nice to meet you!”

Savi (to Hux): “And you have taken great pains to look like General Hux! Coming fresh from an infiltration mission, I take it?”

Armitage: No. Not going to answer that. But, really, whyyyy do things keep going downhill?! Just when I thought to have acquired the most idiotic allies possible, their contacts turn out to be just as moronic as they are.

Poe: “You have no idea, Mr. Savi. It took him something like thirty years to achieve that look.”

One steaming can of apple tea and a pot of corned beef hash later...

...the world is looking nicer already. Their bellies full and their bodies having stopped shivering uncontrolled, the Resistance fighters start to relax and even exchange smiles with their unlikely ally.

General Hux calls himself “Supreme Leader of the First Order in Exile” and the others let him, because the pompous monicker conjures up less terrible images than what this man really is: The unrepentant commander of Starkiller base, a murderer of so many, that a sane mind can hardly fathom it. But he has saved the trio’s lives, for his own selfish reasons, and they have returned the favour within the same hour.

The General’s fate will be decided by Princess Rey, when they meet up again. Maybe then it will sink into Hux’ brain that he better should behave, if he doesn’t want his “shaky ally” status change into “prisoner locked up for life”.

Reminder that in this AU Rise of Skywalker didn’t happen and Last Jedi happened very mangled only. As movies I enjoyed TROS better than TLJ, but for my sims campaign it’s more convenient this way around.

[enkisstories]

One last foray into the cave...

Armitage: "What are you doing?"

Poe: "Drawing a smiling face in the snow, so that it is the first thing Finn will see when he comes out of that dreadful place!"

And waiting for the last time, before they’d break up their tents and climb even higher.

[enkisstories]

On Exegol Rey addresses Vol Tarem, finally voicing the wish the group has come up with, the wish they have earned by playing a game that had heavily been stacked against them.

Rey: "I wish... for Daniel O'Malley to return to the galaxy! How he was before he got corrupted by the space crystal!"

Vol Tarem: “If I do that, the man’s criminal record will resurface, too.”

Rey: “That’s actually the icing on the cake.”

On Coruscant Daniel flinches, when his lightsaber explodes in his hands.

He loses his grip on the weapon, that is subsequently flung aside.

Daniel and Kylo watch the red blade retreat as the crystal powering it crumbles into dust. The particles flush out of the hilt and dissipate into the morning air.

Daniel: "Oh, no... That was the crystal John brought home from space! It had grown on the Knights' space station in the Batuu system, you know?"

Kylo: "A powerful origin, indeed. I bet it served you well on your journey to the Dark Side. You'll be hard pressed to find an equal substitute."

Daniel: "Actually..."

Kylo: "Yes?"

Daniel: "No, forget I said something."

Rey: "And in the same vein I wish for Ben Solo to return to the galaxy! Both at the level of force sensitiveness of Gavin Dree, please."

Vol Tarem: “You could cut them off the Force completely...”

Rey: “Uh-uh, that would be too cruel. Trust me, being reduced to being good fencers will be hard on them.”

Daniel: "I draw satisfaction from knowing that you only won our duel because my lightsaber croaked, not by your own skill. But win you did nonetheless, so the right to choose our surname goes to you... fucker."

Kylo: "About that... Uh... How'd you like "Daniel Solo"? It would fit you well. Granted, in an emo way, but still."

Daniel: "Stop right there, Little Sun! What happened here?"

Kylo: "Wish I knew. All the voices I ever heard in my life suddenly cried out in unison and then... fell silent. It was only single voice in the first place, I think. Now there's only emptiness."

Daniel: "Same for my crystal. I feel the hole it left behind, but I also feel..."

Kylo: "...freed?"

Daniel: "Uh-huh."

Unlike the Selvadoradan Sun curse earlier in the story this isn’t enforced niceness, but really only freeing them from the outside influences (Palpatine’s force ghost and the evil crystal). They’re still two handful of trouble.

[enkisstories]

Vol Tarem: "So, are you ready to make your wish, the wish Ixigul will make come true, and no strings attached?"

Rey: "A question first. In their ability to use the Force, how do Kylo Ren and Daniel O'Malley compare to Palpatine?"

Vol Tarem: "Their current state aside, they have VERY high skill- and power ceilings. Less than Kylo and you combined, of course. I'd say together they are your grandfather's equals."

Rey: "So since you offered us the power of Palpatine, my wish will encompass both Daniel and Kylo."

Vol Tarem: "Oh, well played, girl!"

Meanwhile in Kylo's and Daniel's palace the dark lords of Ren are pursuing evil plans, plans of great reach, formulated and announced to the galaxy with much gravitas.

Or so one would think.

Daniel: "Spilph it is!"

Kylo: "You wish! Ren it'll be!"

Daniel: "That's not a surname, but a generic term!"

Kylo: "Lol, hardly. Spilph is the 786th common surname in the galaxy, whereas there are only five Knights of Ren at the moment."

Daniel: "...nerd."

[enkisstories]

Rose: "Sorry for letting you all down. But... To be frank, I feel more angry than guilty right now."

Rey: "Don't apologize. We did nothing wrong."

Armitage: "But YOU passed your test, so we have earned one favour from the eldritch hag. That's the minimum objective only, but at least we have Kylo Ren in the bag. We... we DO have that, do we? Or will you..."

Rey: "My mind is made up. I won't get tempted by asking for power for myself."

Rey: "I... sob... already have you all. That's enough power."

Armitage (sobbing, too): "You naive, young fool. Always painting things rosier than they are."

Vol Tarem: "This is how those people operate."

Poe: "You bet! Just you wait, Rey will still snatch victory from your manicured claws in ways you never expected!"

Vol Tarem: "There are several futures in which she'll pull that off. You've had your fun, now I'm excited to see which of the strands of time will firmly get tied into the tapestry of reality."

Finn: "Actually... Rey! Don't speak up yet! Not in this state. Let's group huddle and compare ideas first!"

Vol Tarem: "I'll see you after dinner, then."

[enkisstories]

After each contestant finished their task, the Master of Exegol assembled the group in the back of her tower.

Vol Tarem: "You probably are aware yourself that this didn't go too well. Only a single one of you passed their test."

Poe: "What? But Finn won that race!"

Finn: "And that cross-stitch of Poe's was really good. That makes at least two winners."

Vol Tarem: "One. And that's neither of you."

Vol Tarem: "Rose lost because her nerves failed her and she overlooked unsold merchandise. But you three all threw the towel voluntarily.

Finn, you got thrown by your horse. That ended your test. Armitage, you stopped writing your speech halfway through, thus abandoning your test. Poe, you set aside your work after getting stung with the needle. You all failed."

Armitage: "What? No! That's not how this goes! Only results matter!"

Finn: "For once the General is right. We completed the tasks you set us."

Poe: "We pushed through, despite the setbacks!"

Vol Tarem: "That you did, although I don't quite understand why. I never said anything about repeat attempts being allowed. You see, there is no try."

Poe: “There is no try? Wait, I know that one! It’s a Jedi-saying...”

Vol Tarem: “...originating in generations of Jedi and Sith failing at Ixigul’s tests, yes.”

(Sims 4 is an easy game. If I hadn’t counted the moment something went wrong as a defeat, there wouldn’t have been any challenge for the heroes at all.)

[enkisstories]

There was something to be said about rejoycing too early... Rose's test turned out to be about socializing, after all.

The moment she had completed the figurine set, she found herself in a landscape that strongly resembled her home planet, sometime after the First Order had taken over, but before the weapons testing had started.

Rose found herself running a fleamarket table and it scared her even more than the weapons.

Something told Rose that Master Vol Tarem must have been distracted, because her illusion wasn't anywhere near perfect:

The tower's gatekeeper strolled around the people of Hays minor undisguised and the woman walking with a stormtrooper's gait was not wearing the iconic white armour.

Rose was also confident that General Sonderan had never been involved with Hays minor, least of all while wearing a flower shirt.

Sonderan's presence gave Rose an idea, though. If she made believe that she wasn't selling her own work for pocket money here, but fundraising for the Resistance, that should give her the confidence to see this through and pass Tarem's test.

Journalist: "Oh, what nice figurines! A smile for Chandrila Today from a rising artist, please!"

Rose: "All proceeds go to fund the Resistance! - Sorry, but not sorry, General!"

Hank-phantasm: "In this case I'll buy those knives to kill rebel scum with!"

Rose: The dialogue is lacking, too. I wonder what Master Tarem is busy with to slack like this?

Shoot. Rose had been doing so well, selling the first batch of wares, but she still had two more figurines in the fleamarket table's inventory. By the time I noticed, the sales event was almost over already.

Tico, Rose, test results: - Crafted 5 excellent and 2 normal figurines - Succesfully sold five of those within the time limit

[enkisstories]

Rey: “They... are... my strength!”

Vol Tarem: "How vexing..."

Rey: "This is entirely on you. You didn't want to set up a real test for me, and resorted to a duel instead. Impulsiveness leads to the Dark Side... and to losing."

Rey: "But at the same time I have a hard time blocking out all the other potential outcomes of this battle. I see me win and lose this duel in different ways, and I even see me struggle in the test you could have set for me."

Vol Tarem: "As I told you, Ixigul is the planet of untapped potential. That includes glimpses of things that could have been. It's dangerous, easy to lose one's mind in. But also enticing. Losing my mind in Ixigul’s phantasms will be a pleasant way to spend my final days, when that time approaches.”

[enkisstories]

Returning to the tower, Hux found it transformed. The backyard now resembled a forum complete with a podium to give his speech from.

Give a speech! Ha! The General had expected his test to be grueling, not something he tremendously enjoyed. Apparently Master Vol Tarem was secretly favoring him over the rebel scum!

Nobody was there, no one to listen to the speech, but Hux still had to give his best performance.

After a while people appeared on the forum. Were they locals or phantasms created by Vol Tarem? Two of them looking vaguely familiar suggested the latter.

(leftmost sim is Eoura, rightmost sim is Jarik, two First Order members.)

Had the empty auditorium fueled Hux' insecurities already, the disinterested crowd caused them to have a field day.

The General tried not to let the sorry sight get to him. But the longer he spoke, the lower his head sank and eventually his voice faltered. The closing words came out at barely regular conversation volume and with about as little gravitas, inspiring nobody.

Never good enough... I never had followers due to my skills, only because of my rank... and parentage... one half of that parentage, that is...

His father's words echoed in Hux' mind again: "Isolate your enemies, make them feel alone. That's how you win. Even you should be able to snatch a victory with this method."

Apparently it was working.

Hux, Armitage, test results: - The written speech was delayed due to writer's block - But then came out "Excellent" - The speech itself "inspired nobody", 0 listeners

Outtake/Behind the scenes:

I actually canceled the speech, called over sims from the gymn and started anew. At one point the audience threw themselves to Hux' feet, what he must have liked a lot. Still, the result was nobody wanting to listen. The podium speeches are Charisma-based, whereas Hux’ trained skills are Writing and Debate/Research.

[enkisstories]

For Hux' test, Vol Tarem had placed a computer in her backyard. Unlike the two rebels, the First Order General didn't have to struggle with a skill he was untrained in or painful realisations about himself.

Surrounded by the sound of lightsabers flashing, hooves clopping and a woodworking bench screeching, Hux was to write a speech. He should have been in his element here, but even so encountered a sort of block in his head halfway through his work.

Nothing a quick jog through the mushroom forest and some vitamins couldn't solve.

BB-8 accompanied the frenemy - Hux would have done the same to get intel on his enemies, of course.

"Bip-bip-bip-tweeet-tweeet!"

"You saw Poe doing what in the tower? Sewing? No, that can't be correct. Looks like my binary has gotten a bit rusty. If my test entails a speech, Poe's will be navigation- or maneuvering related."

"Beep..."

"I guess I'll learn what he's really doing soon enough."

"Beep..."

"No, really, no need to worry. The tower's still standing, so your master can't have goofed up too badly."

On his way back to the tower Hux already formulated the rough draft of his speech's second half. Things were going swimmingly!

[enkisstories]

Again Finn mounted the horse and again she reared, but this time the rider stayed on. Too much was riding on him passing this test.

Finn: "Argh... ow... No founding a family for me in the next couple of hours."

Finn: "Fair warning, though: I killed my friends."

Horse: *whinny*

Finn: "No, for real. I refused to kill civillians and defected from the First Order, only to shoot my former comrades without so much as blinking something like an hour later. No one in the Resistance ever blamed me for that, but when you think about it, our enemies’ only “crime” is being of a weaker will than me with my privileged midichlorians. The stormtroopers didn’t make a choice to serve evil, they simply got brainwashed. As got Daniel, Armitage and maybe even Kylo Ren to some degree. 

They got broken, all of them. Like I’m doing to you now for a chance to earn a galaxy-saving favour from Vol Tarem. It’s all so fucked up...”

Once around the tower the rider and his unwilling mount went, following a trail marked by mushrooms. For what was the alternative? Rebel against Vol Tarem, and study Exegol’s mystery for a lifetime to get access to the “Potential Pool” on their own terms? When the Resistance couldn’t spare even a single day?

There was one difference between Finn and Vol Tarem, though: Where the latter completely disregarded any living being she considered her lesser, the former stormtrooper was fully aware of the damage he was doing. Vol Tarem could make Finn play her game, but she could never make him agree that it was okay.

FN-2187, Finn, test results:

Got thrown once

Won a gold medal in the race

[enkisstories]

So what had the others been up to during those three hours?

Finn had gotten sent into Vol Tarem's backyard, where a horse of the Batuu-hoof species was grazing. A note told Finn in uncertain terms that he was to win a race with her to pass his test.

Only problem: The horse wasn't used to getting ridden.

And she was very much not favour of changing that habit.

What was the fate of the galaxy to a horse?

What were the wishes of a horse to a desperate resistance figher?

And what were that soldier's feelings to Master Vol Tarem?

Back to carrying out the orders of an uncaring and demanding instructor... with the innocents suffering. If there was a lesson here, Finn didn't like it.

[enkisstories]

Finn: "Hey, Poe, how's it going? Master Tarem sent us, saying you had something for us."

Armitage: “BB-8 said you were... sewing? That can’t be right, can it?”

Poe: "I... oh, shoot. Sorry, I'm not quite finished. See, I pricked my finger..."

Finn: "What with? Your lightsaber? It's been three hours since you went up here!"

Poe: "Three...? No, that can't be!"

But his friends wouldn't lie to him, would they? Wondering what had come over him, the pilot picked up his work again to finish it regardless of the pain.

Poe: Some “hero” I am... 

What he hadn't been able to do to save the galaxy, Poe now easily completed in the awareness that he was doing it for Finn and Armitage.

For one of them anyway.

Dameron, Poe, test results: - Produced a "poor" quality cross-stitch - With a three hour delay due to pricking his finger (stupid moodlet) - Succesfully gifted it away

[enkisstories]

Finn: "Since everything will change tomorrow and we might not have another chance to talk... You and Poe...?"

Armitage: "Ask him."

Finn: "That was a non-answer."

Armitage: "Well, he's sending non-conclusive signals."

Finn: "Elaborate!"

Armitage: "I don't like Poe, he doesn't like me, but instead of avoiding each other, like Rose and me do, we seek the other out. It could be attraction."

Finn: "But you wouldn't take deliberate steps...?"

Armitage: "Correct. And I'd be ever so grateful if you could stop your Poe from "taking steps", too."

[enkisstories]

Vol Tarem: "Ixigul is the world where wants get fulfilled as quickly as they get wished for... but they vanish just as quickly in the big picture."

Poe: "So that one hundred thousand planet killer fleet doesn't exist yet?"

Vol Tarem: "Correct. It needs to get asked for. See, this planet is a reservoir for raw potential. As a Master I have the power to turn that potential into... stuff. What you use your wishes for is of no consequence to us here. The people of Ixigul have seen the same wishes made over and over, and nothing really changed in the galaxy."

Poe: "Maybe not on a scale of hundreds of generations. But for us it would be huge."

Vol Tarem: "But there are also limits. Think of your Emperor Palpatine! 

You can resurrect or kill, power up or depower an individual to or from approximately that power level. As for material riches, aforementioned fleet should give you an idea what is possible."

Rey: "We just want Kylo Ren not to make use of Exegol's power."

Armitage: "She just handed us the key to that. You wish him dead and are still left over with a little extra power for yourself, seeing that Kylo hardly compares to Palpatine. Then Finn wishes for me to become Supreme Leader of the First Order and I in turn guarantee that you guys survive the war and be as free and happy as possible. Surrender conditions for the Resistance as a whole will, of course, depend on how stubborn you are."

Rey: "Rrrrrright, that’s cute. Let’s ask the important thing first: What would be the price of making a wish?"

Vol Tarem: "There is no price except the one you pay for making a foolish wish. But there is a test beforehand, and much as I detest having to lend the power of Ixigul to forceblinds, since five of you carry lightsabers, all five are eligible to take that test. So, a maximum of five wishes."

Rose: "A Palpatine equals how many "forceblind vermin" again? We could probably rescurrect all the victims of Star Killer base!"

Finn: "And free every last stormtrooper from their indoctrination."

Poe: “Here’s a thought: The order we make our wishes in is important. I say we let Hux go first and mitigate any damage he might do with his wish with ours.”

Vol Taren: “I was thinking alphabetically.”

Since Rey goes by “Palpatine” in this AU, that gives us Dameron, FN, Hux, Palpatine and Tico.