Never Had |§| Star Wars

Chapter 5 |§| Darkness and Light

Wrong, the Supreme Leader snarled, and Kylo was suddenly pinned to the floor, wave after wave of power washing over him. A war in which the enemy simply rolls over is a quick war. A victorious war.

"I will not fail you again, Master," Kylo yelled over the sound of blood pounding in his ears.

You most certainly will not, agreed the Supreme Leader, and Kylo was released, gasping. Find the girl. Bring her back to me. Turn her, or else kill her.

Kylo nodded, swallowing, and touched his forehead to the floor. It didn't matter anymore. Her eyes and her smile were nothing. He pushed aside all emotion and thoughts with a strength he didn't know he had.

He'd do what he was told to. Because those were his orders. And that was his mission.

***

It wasn't long before the First Order "found" them.

Rey laughed bitterly to herself as desperate evacuation attempts continued, with people loading into escape pods, crammed to the brim with cargo, and heading towards the already airborne command ship.

Rey was already on the command ship, along with Finn and Poe, busy moving the supplies from the pods into the storage areas. They were running out of time—just under half their ammunition was still down on D'Qar, and the remaining people would have to evacuate soon to escape in time. The only question now was; how much would they have to leave behind?

The answer arrived far too quickly in the form of star destroyers appearing out of lightspeed just outside the atmosphere. Some people around Rey screamed, but quickly stifled their cries. Rey gritted her teeth as the command ship came into view, but it wasn't as worrying as the Dreadnought star destroyer that accompanied it, cannons priming. Behind her, Leia and her top officers worked frantically to find a safe base to escape to. From what she could hear, their primary option was Crait. Pilots desperately set a course, staring up at the star destroyer and mouthing what might have been prayers.

This is your fault.

You didn't even warn them. He said he wouldn't tell, and you believed him. So naïve. So stupid.

Rey pushed the negative thoughts away. She needed to focus. Poe had stepped away and was now speaking rapidly to the General, who looked somewhat incredulous. She began shaking her head, but Poe kept talking, mouth moving rapidly. Eventually, he must have convinced her, because he ran off to god-knows-where.

Worry only began to coil in her gut when Leia moved to the controls and turned on the intercom, watching a very familiar Black Squad x-wing speed, alone, towards the Order command ship.

"What is he doing?" Rey asked, suddenly nervous.

Leia sighed. "Something very stupid."

BB-8 clearly shared her feelings, beeping skeptically over the comm. Poe shushed him.

"Happy beeps here, buddy, come on," the commander said, "we've pulled crazier stunts than this."

"Just for the record, Commander Dameron," Leia sighed again, "I'm with the droid on this one."

"Thank you for your support, General."

"Oh god," Finn breathed, "what's he going to do?"

"Happy beeps," Poe repeated, although it sounded more of a self-reminder. Then, the buzz and crackle of his radio turning on could be heard. "Attention! This is Commander Poe Dameron of the Resistance fleet. I have an urgent communique for General Hugs."

Beside Rey, Finn let out something that might have been a choked laugh. Rey stifled a smile at the intended mispronunciation.

"This is General Hux of the First Order." A scornful voice replied, "The Republic is no more. Your fleet are rebel scum and war criminals. Tell your precious princess that there will be no terms, there will be no surrender!"