Aurora's Journey | Ben Solo

Chapter 19 - The Rise of Skywalker

"Go help Rey. I'll take the ship and help the others up there." Aurora says after she and Ben climb out of the TIE they found. Ben spots the X-Wing Rey flew and grabs her arm before she can climb back inside the TIE.

"Take the X-Wing. Be careful." He tells her. She nods and pulls him in for a kiss.

"You be careful too." She replies. Before she can go, he grabs her and hugs her tightly.

"I love you." He says. She smiles and runs her fingers through his hair.

"I love you too." She tells him. He watches her as she runs over to the ship and hops inside. "I'll see you soon!" She calls. He smiles and nods, watching her take off before running away to help Rey. 

"I see you guys can actually survive without Rey and me. Congratulations." Aurora teases as she flips to the right channel, knowing which one Poe always uses. 

"Aurora? Is that you?" Poe asks.

"Of course, it is. I told you guys I'd be back." She answers. She flies around, helping the Resistance take out the TIEs around them. "Oh, I forgot to mention, Ben and Rey are on the surface. They've got a stolen TIE so once the fighting's over we need to keep an eye out for them."

"All right, we'll worry about that later. Right now, we've got some TIEs to take out." He replies. 

The two continue fighting the enemy, watching each other's back in the chaos. After a while, the TIEs begin overwhelming the Resistance.

"Snap, they're on your tail." Poe warns.

"Yeah, I see 'em!" He replies.

"No, no, no, Snap, Snap! No!" He shouts, watching as Snap's ship goes up in flames, exploding as it crashes into one of the Empire's ships. More casualties are reported over the comms as they watch the ships around them exploding.

"General, what's our next move?" One pilot asks.

"Poe, what now?" Another asks.

"My friends...I'm sorry. I thought we had a shot. But there's just too many of them." Poe tells them.

"But there are more of us, Poe. There are more of us." Lando says. Aurora smiles, recognizing her father's voice. 

"You're the best, Dad!" Aurora shouts, laughing as she spots the fleet joining them.

"Look at this. Look at this." Poe says, shocked at how many ships are joining the fight. Lando and Aurora laugh at his reaction. The Falcon takes the lead, Poe and Aurora close behind. "Hit those underbelly cannons. Every one we knock out is a world saved." He says. 

They get to work on taking them out, the tide turning in their favor. Moments later, Aurora cries out, clutching her chest.

"Aurora? What's wrong?" Lando asks, concerned at the pain in her voice.

"Ben. He's in trouble." She replies, a strong feeling in her chest urging her to go to him.

"Go. We've got this." Poe says. 

"We'll be back." She assures, turning her ship towards the surface. Before she can get too far, a large surge of electricity disrupts all the ships, causing everyone to lose control and fall.

The ships regain control after a few moments and Aurora manages to land the ship, although it's a little rough. She jumps out of the ship and follows her instincts, knowing that if she follows them, she'll reach Ben and Rey.

Aurora enters the large chamber and spots Rey laying on the ground. She looks around for Ben but doesn't see him anywhere. She rushes to her friend and feels for a pulse, unable to find one.

"No, no, no." She mumbles, doing anything she can to bring her friend back. She feels a hand on her arm and jumps back. She sees Ben and shakes her head, tears rolling down her face. He props Rey in his lap and hovers one hand over her body, the other reaching for Aurora. She looks at him and he nods. She takes his hand, and he closes his eyes, focusing on his breathing and the Force. 

After a few moments, Rey's eyes open and she sits up, spotting her friends. They both smile at her, and she throws her arms around them, hugging them tightly. The room begins to crumble, and they get to their feet, making their way back to the ships.

***

Ben climbs out of the TIE and holds his hand out, helping Aurora down. Both are still pretty weak from transferring their life force to Rey, leaning against each other as they follow behind Rey. They feel better the longer they touch, their connection to each other strong. Rey reaches Finn and Poe and hugs them tightly.

Aurora joins them, happy they all made it out alive. After a moment she and Rey pull back slightly, each opening an arm for Ben to join them. He looks uncertain, so Aurora pulls from the hug and grabs his hand. She leads him to the group and wraps one arm around him, the other wrapping around Poe next to her.

"Are we supposed to just act like everything's good?" Poe asks. Aurora pulls back and smacks his uninjured arm.

"Poe, I swear-" She starts to threaten him, but he laughs, cutting her off.

"I'm just kidding. I know." He says, squeezing her shoulder. She sighs in relief and the group hugs again, Ben joining them this time.

Chewie growls behind them, telling Ben to get over here. He pulls away from the group and slowly approaches the Wookiee, unsure how this interaction will go. Lando pulls Aurora from the group hug too, holding her tight as they watch Ben approach his Uncle Chewie.

He grabs Ben by the shoulders and looks at him for a moment before crushing him in a tight hug, growling softly at how good it is to have him back. Ben holds him back just as tightly, apologizing for all he's done as Chewie comforts him. Lando steers Aurora away, giving them their privacy and finding their own space to talk.

"Are you hurt? Do I need to get a medic?" He asks, inspecting her as he speaks. She chuckles and shakes her head.

"I'm okay, Dad." She assures. He sighs and pulls her into a hug, rubbing her back. "I have some good news now that the First Order is gone." She tells him, pulling back.

"What is it?" He asks as she guides him to the nearest spot to sit.

"Ben found Kadara. At least, he found where she escaped to. Last he knew, she was on Batuu. I thought that maybe once we've had a little bit to recover and prepare, we could go look for her." She explains.

"He found your sister?" Lando asks, shocked at the news.

"We'll have to follow her trail, but yeah. We'll have her back soon." She tells him. He smiles and wipes his eyes, wishing her mother was still alive to see her. 

Ben approaches, his eyes red and puffy from his reunion with Chewie. Before Aurora can go to him, Lando pulls him into a hug.

"Thank you for taking care of her. Thank you for finding her." He tells him, speaking about both twins. Aurora smiles seeing her father hugging Ben, happy there's no lingering resentment. "Go celebrate. I'll be here." Lando tells his daughter after turning to her. She nods and wraps her arms around Ben, hugging him tightly before pulling back to look at him.

"I'm proud of you." She tells him as they move away, his arm around her as they walk. He stops and turns to her, cupping her face in his hands.

"I love you." He says. She smiles and kisses him, brushing the hair out of his face.

"I love you, too." She replies. "Now, let's go celebrate with our friends." 

Ben smiles and pulls her closer as they join the celebration, sticking close to Rey, Finn, and Poe.

One chapter left guys!