𝕃𝕖𝕘𝕒𝕔𝕪 - 𝔸 𝕊𝕋𝔸ℝ𝕎𝔸ℝ𝕊 𝕊𝕋𝕆ℝ𝕐

28 - VOICES OF THE FORCE

(Songs: Across the Stars - John Williams)

"CALEB!"

Mae watched as Caleb fell into the breaking crumbling ground. His hand reaches out to her, his eyes widen in fear as he falls.

Mae hadn't made it to the ship in time before the first bombs went off. Caleb had run back to get her, disregarding the plan. Disregarding the one promise she asked of him. But they were now divided by a long crack in the moon's surface. Mae was on the side closest to the ship as Caleb had pushed her forwards.

Caleb thought to himself as he fell down the deep dark pit. At least she was safe. Mae deserved to live. The ground shook and crumbled beneath Caleb. He couldn't find anything to grab, so he ignited his lightsaber and tried to plunge it into the rocks. He strapped across the rocks until he found another platform to roll on to. The rocks from above started to cave him in like an avalanche. Trying to evade them he tripped and fell. His body plunged deeper into the hole. He saw the sharpened rocks at the bottom. They waited for him.

Let it be quick.

He closed his eyes but suddenly he felt his body jolt to a stop. The wind had stopped. He wasn't stabbed by the rocks. He opened his eyes to see them not a foot away. His body was frozen in place, levitating. He looked over his shoulder, to the light above him. All the rocks that we were falling into the pit have stopped as well.

His body started to move up towards the opening of the pit. When he reached the top he saw Mae. Mae was sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed on a small rock platform. She was concentrating so hard, she was shaking. She caught him. She had held herself up. He looked behind her, and she was also balancing their ship, which was half falling into its own crack. She caught everything before it fell. She was holding the entire moon together, for him.

Slowly, she moved him to her and dropped him on her floating rock. He grabbed her hand. She was pushing herself to the limit.

"Mae. Let go now." Caleb told her trying to help her in any way that he could.

She opened her eyes and let the rocks go. The huge rocks fall deep into to pit. Each one shook the ground, but Mae still held the ship and them up. Together they held their hands out and brought the ship toward them. Caleb helped Mae get up and stepped off Mae's rock and into the ship.

"I made you a promise, didn't I? " Mae whispered in his ear. She was exhausted.

He turns to look at her and kisses her forehead gently.

Caleb puts the energy drained Mae into the co-pilot's chair. And starts the engine, flying the ship higher above the ground.

Caleb then holds out the deactivator for the rest of the explosives in the temple to Mae. He bows his head as he did with the computer ship on the First Order Listening Post about 2 years ago. Mae was a lot younger then. Less in control. Unbalanced. So was he. They had grown so much. Mae smiles.

"Oh, for me? You really shouldn't have." She plays along, her eyes are tired. Mae's body was in so much pain, from so many things. She used a lot of her strength on the Zillo Beast then of course holding a fucking moon together to save Caleb. But there was something else going on in the galaxy right now. Seeing Caleb smile at her made her feel like it didn't matter.

"Milady, will you do the honours?" He smiles.

Mae takes the device in her left hand and with her right moves his to hold around hers. She then places her finger above the red button. They take one more good look at the temple. She pushes it and immediately the building starts to collapse. They watch out the window on their ship. They can feel the blast and the heat from the explosion. No one would ever try to do what Palpatine had done.