Across the Stars

Chapter 16: Bidding Goodbye

My eyes blink open when I hear a knocking on my door. "Dayae! Get up!" Shoot. I overslept. I jolt out of bed and grab my jacket off of the floor where I dumped it last night. I quickly change my shirt and pants to clear, but otherwise identical to the ones I just ripped off. I throw on the jacket ant pull my brush through my hair, ripping out some chunks along the way. I put it quickly in my typical spiraling braid around my hair. I have no choice but to leave a few of my shorter strands down in the front, on the sides by my ears, and in the back. I'm not a pilot in this mission. I'm just riding in the same fighter as Jess. She's an extraordinarily gifted pilot. Almost as good as Poe. But he'll be back soon. I hope.

I kick open my door as I stick a few pins in my hair to make sure it holds. I grab my knee high boots from by my door and attempt to simultaneously put them on and run at the same time. I bolt up the stairs. I open the hatch and run as fast as possible over to the launch pad. As I run out of breath, I slow down. I rest my hands on my knees. I look up and realize that, despite it being before sunrise, everyone has come out to support us and even say good bye. The general comes over to me and places her hand on my shoulder. I stand up straight so that I tower over her. "I have something for you." She tells me as she reaches for something. What she pulls out looks like a detailed hilt of some kind. "It was Luke's. Rey has his another one of his old ones. When the time comes, press this and you'll have everything you need."

"Thank you, General, but I already have my blaster."

"A blaster isn't going to do much against Kylo Ren. Trust me. You're going to need this." I take it from her and lean down at my torso to give her a hug. I wrap my arms around her and she does the same to me. "Bring Poe home."

"I will." I assure her. I can't really promise that I will, but at the very least, I'll give it my best shot.

"Dayae," Jess calls from a distance, "you ready?"

I sigh out the breath I've been holding in. "I guess." I say with the last bit of air I have in me. I look down at the hilt, wondering what it really is. It could be like the beam of light I saw Ren use, but I don't know. I suppose the general just assumed I knew. I clutch it. This could be the difference of life and death for both Poe and myself.

I follow Jess up into her x-wing fighter. We climb the ladder and she sits in the pilots seat, naturally, and I sit behind her. I have to put a helmet on, but not the pilot uniform. I put the helmet on. I hear some transmissions coming through to Jess. "Let's go get Poe." Is the last thing anyone says before we take off. I clench the hilt as tight as I can. It is the only thing keeping me grounded right now.