CONSTELLATIONS | Poe Dameron

CHAPTER XX

"Ezra isn't going to get rid of me that easily, don't you worry. I'll be back before you know it."

Once Tash reluctantly let me go, I turned and took Leia's hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "I can't be too far behind them. I have to go."

The older woman turned to me with a look of confidence, as if able to sense that I felt some uncertainty with this mission. I wasn't ignorant to the fact that I could lose my life during this. She pulled me into a motherly embrace. "Your father would be so proud of you." I let that statement sink in, thinking about the legacy my family had forged in history. Her words lit a fire in me. Pulling back, a new determination filled my eyes. "May the force be with you, my dear."

With those final words, I gave her a smile as I turned and headed to the X-wing that I had flown with Poe. It was crazy to think how much time had passed since that night, all leading us to this moment.

Climbing into the pit, I pulled on my helmet and shut the hatch, ready to take off.

"Dreis to flight deck, clear for takeoff?"

"Flight deck to Dreis, you're clear."

With a deep breath, I started the engines and rose into the air, following the path that the squadrons had taken before me. Kicking it into a higher speed, I broke through D' Qar's atmosphere and was met with the stars. The sight eased my mind as I made my way to the Starkiller base. I wasn't too far behind the others, but was far enough where the inevitable First Order fighters would be too busy with the squadron fighters to notice me slip onto the planet.

Once we all made it around the base, I stayed back while the fighters made their way in. With Han, Chewie and Finn already having landed, they had time to lower the shields before the fighters arrived, Poe was just waiting for the word.

"Black leader, go to sublights on your call." I heard over the headset.

"Roger that, base. Red squad, blue squad, take my lead." Poe's voice came through, bringing me some comfort as I saw the other X-wings drop out of lightspeed and make their way to the base. "Almost in range. Hit the target dead center, as many rounds as we can get."

I blocked out the rest of the assault. Once I was sure the Order was focused on the incoming Resistance attack, I made my way towards the coordinates of the Falcon and prepared to land. Navigating around the trees to find a clear spot wasn't the easiest task.

"Could they not have picked a better spot?" I muttered under my breath to no one in particular. I brought the ship down to the ground, kicking up a fresh dusting of snow that had just fallen. It reminded me a lot of the snowy surroundings of my home planet.

"Base, I've made landed South-East of the Falcon."

"Roger, Dreis."

Taking off my helmet, I opened the hatch and let the ladder down. My feet sunk into the deep snow. It was eerily quiet, with nothing but my slow breathing making a sound.

I waited for what felt like ages, wandering around the area of my ship, listening for any shots or the Falcon starting up. It was cold, but nothing I wasn't used to. To the North, I suddenly heard a scream echo throughout the trees a second before a blaster shot went into the air. I grabbed my own blaster and took off towards that direction, pushing my legs as fast as they could go in the powdery snow.

"Traitor!" An unfamiliar voice yelled nearby. I was getting close. I came up over the top of a hill and saw Finn facing a man dressed all in black wielding a red lightsaber. Kylo Ren. I thought back, remembering how Poe had told me about the red weapon. His back was to me, allowing me to look him over quickly through the thickly wooded area. I noticed the droplets of blood at his left side and how he held his hand over his injury trying to protect it. There was a girl laying behind Finn, who must have been Rey. She was unconscious, but the small puffs of steam coming from her mouth let me know she was still alive.