The Broken Ones | REYLO [Complete]

35. Holding On and Letting Go

--POE--

Snap Wexley's final shout of terror and defiance pierces my ears. Time slows to a crawl as I watch helplessly from a distance, unable to look away from the explosion of my friend's X-Wing colliding with a Star Destroyer. The cry that tears from my throat leaves my chest feeling ragged and hollow. I hear my name in the screams of my comrades, but their voices sound muffled. Distant.

This is it. This is the end.

"Poe, what now?!"

Mara's voice snaps me out of my horrified daze. I look around, feeling hot tears mix with the sweat on my face, wishing for just an ounce of Leia's bravery and wisdom. Panic seizes my chest and each breath feels like a thousand nails in my lungs.

"My friends, I'm sorry," I choke, voice breaking. My mind goes numb as more explosions send remnants of our fleet careening through the air. Fire consumes my vision. "I thought we had a shot...but there's just too many of them." I'm sorry, Leia. I let you down. I let everyone down. The war is lost and it's my fault.

I hear static again, followed by a familiar and welcome voice.

"But there are more of us, Poe," General Calrissian says. "There are more of us."

Relief courses through me and I push my X-Wing into a wingover maneuver, lifting it over a Star Destroyer to come face-to-face with the largest fleet of non-military craft I've ever seen. Transport ships, freighters, and everything in-between, with more coming out of lightspeed, all formed up behind the Millennium Falcon.

"Look at this," I whisper in awe. "Look at this!"

Lando's triumphant laugh crackles through the comm link, and I hear Finn's cry of joy and relief. "Lando, you did it. You did it!" He cheers, the first of many hopeful voices to fill the comms with shouts of triumph. Renewed determination surges within me as the Falcon passes my ship with a roar. I drop in behind it, heading back into the fray.

"Hit those underbelly cannons with everything you've got! Every one we take out is a world saved!"

The fleet responds to my command with battle cries as they pummel the enemy, taking down one destroyer after another. The Emperor's forces, once appearing indomitable, nearly disappear from view in a swarm of civilian ships and the rapid-fire explosions that engulf the destroyers, one by one, in plumes of smoke that seem to reach into the stars.

Mara's ship appears out of nowhere, cutting me off and firing a final shot at the cannon I'd nearly destroyed, blowing it to smithereens. I can't help but laugh as she drops in beside me and salutes me with a cheeky grin.

"That's another one for me, Dameron. Try to keep up!" She peels away before I have the chance to give a proper middle finger salute in response.

I watch her maneuver around a TIE fighter and take it out like it's nothing. "Nobody likes a show-off, Lieutenant Vali!" I call after her, hearing an amused chuckle through the comms.

I look away when I notice the smaller fireballs that litter the air around me, the broken hulls of ships that float to the ground like dead leaves off a tree. Ordinary people who came to my rescue, our rescue, who will never see their families again. A bitter taste fills my mouth, invisible hands gripping my throat, but Finn's voice pulls me out of my guilt.