Kyber Heart - Poe Dameron

Chapter 54

Finn jumped ahead to map out their path, Nova hot on his heels to help clear out the stormtroopers.

Poe hung back, grabbing a trooper's discarded weapon and sliding it across the floor to Chewie. It shrunk in the Wookiee's great paws, and hardly looked comfortable for him to use, but it would have to suffice.

Nova's knee grumbled under the pressure of her sprint, but she ignored it. Keeping pace with Finn was proving difficult, her boots barely finding grip on the floors, polished within an inch of their life. She found an advantage in it however; barging her way into a trooper before landing a bolt in his chest.

Poe and Chewie caught up behind her, and they continued to run, marking their path with bodies. Ducking and dodging blaster bolts – mostly coming head-on.

Around a corner. Down a small set of stairs. Up a ramp. Into another corridor.

They were able to slow to a controlled walk, finding reprieve from attack. Finn and Nova had fallen back to flank Poe, holding a loose formation.

"We close?" Poe asked.

"Straight ahead," Finn confirmed.

Another squadron arrived behind them, carving them apart.

Nov cursed when her blaster jammed, causing Finn to grab her arm and yank her to cover behind him. Smacking the weapon, it managed a single bolt before jamming again.

Her heart raced at what felt like one hundred miles per hour as panic crept up on her. Brown eyes narrowed past her rapidly unravelling hair. Teeth mangled the inside of her cheek.

The sound of an unarmoured body hitting the floor gave her cause to turn. The sight of Poe's crumpled body made her heart jump into her mouth and her stomach drop. Against her better judgement she broke cover to run for him, unsure if he was dead or alive. She had heard Finn shout behind her, and a bolt flew past her head to hit the offending stormtrooper.

Poe was alive, stirring as they reached him. He had taken the hit in his left arm, leaving both the wound and his shirt scorched from the heat. Fortunately there was very little blood.

He leaned against Nova when she crouched beside him, though he did not look at her. He was too far into shock to move much aside from to grab his arm and push himself up somewhat.

"You alright?" Finn asked.

The pilot groaned, about to answer when they were surrounded by the rushing sound of plastoid boots on durasteel floors coming closer and closer from every direction.

"Nope," he managed weakly.

Four squadrons of stormtroopers surrounded them in the intersection. An imposing wall of bright white and clean black, with weapons drawn and primed to stun any of them at a moment's notice.

Nova shot to her feet, taking a protective stand over Poe despite being unarmed and outnumbered. There was no viable way out for them now – at least not that they could see. No hope to fight or run. But the fire that burned inside Nova would not be easily smothered, least of all by stormtroopers.

"Drop your weapons!" various troopers demanded in a barked chorus, getting harsher the longer they delayed. "Drop 'em! Now!"

The group all eventually complied, dropping or tossing their weapons and raising their hands in surrender.

"Hey, fellas," Poe tried half-heartedly.

"Shut up, scum."

Their weapons were collected, and binders were brought out.

Nova watched the trooper who retrieved her blaster, cocking an eyebrow. "Mind taking a look at that for me? Been giving me some trouble."

The insolence earned her a kick to the back of her knee, sending her to the floor with a groan. She heard Poe call her name, struggling against his restraints.