Will of the Many~ Poe Dameron

Exhaustion

How do we forgive ourselves for all of the things we did not become...

-Doc Luben

An explosion shook the ground next to Serena. The vibration rumbled her insides just enough to bring her back to consciousness. Her eyes fluttered open to see the stunning white of the sand in front of her. She smacked her lips to taste something overly salty coated over her tongue. Her throat thirsted for something wet as the heat and inhaled sand rubbed at its dry walls. 

She swallowed what little moisture she had in her mouth as she lifted her head off the ground. As she did she heard a mellow ringing in both ears that drowned out any and all sound around her. She shook her head to try and knock the ringing from her ears, but as another deaf explosion broke the ground to her left, she knew it was to no avail. 

She curled her fingers into the sand and grabbed fists of the red salt as she pushed herself up to her knees. The red and white were disconcerting, mainly because she didn't remember where she was- or why there was blood red under such pure white. She lifted her left hand and spread her fingers out to watch the coarse sand trickle through her fingers. She tilted her head at the blend of white and red- the quick falling grains mixed together to create a beautiful pink shade. She let her hand fall to the side so the rest of the sand fall off. 

Another explosion shook the ground and made some of the sand vibrate off the close edge down into the trench. Without her hearing, she used the vibration to try and find the source of the destruction. As the ground continued to quake, she turned on her knees to squint behind her. The bright sun reflected off the white sand and washed everything out. Through the haze, she saw half of a First Order fleet- several walkers leading the charge as a battering ram took center stage. The sight of them rejuvenated her as she suddenly remembered everything that happened. 

She staggered to her feet and turned just as the battering ram fired off its burst of pure energy at the thick hangar door. Serena lifted her arms to block the tall wall of light from drying her eyes out. Even with her arms raised she still bowed her head and squinted her eyes to protect them from the strong heat the pulse gave off. 

The pulsing beam of energy cracked the ground underneath Serena's feet. As the earth broke open, she stumbled and peeled her eyes open just in time to watch a deep split pierce the ground between her feet. Her eyes widened as she turned back towards the trench and blindly jumped down into it. She landed harshly against one of the soldiers and immediately pushed off of him and lifted a hand to feel if she still had the commlink in her ear. When she came up empty she swore under her breath and turned back towards the horror scene beyond the trench. She squinted to see a single skimmer heading towards the cannon. She shook her head as she tried to find the others- there had to be others. 

The ringing in her ears dulled just enough for her to hear the consistent blasts of cannons against flimsy blaster shots. She shook her head to try and get rid of the ringing in her left ear but it was annoyingly persistent. As she turned her head to the left she heard the fight before her, but when she turned it the other way the fire shots got lost in the ringing. 

She clenched her jaw as she raised her hand to slap herself in the ear to try and break it open. As she tended to her ear she noticed a shadow darken the length of the trench. She turned towards the darkness to see a skimmer rolling on the ground as it tumbled straight towards them. 

"Shit-" Serena dropped to her knees as she protectively guarded her head with her hands. 

The skimmer crashed just over her, then a millisecond later something landed in the trench right behind her. She couldn't hear what it was, but then a pair of hands grabbed her hips to push her towards the door.