Few minutes later, Poe was finishing helping Ly'ra with her bodice when a warning beep echoed in the tent.
"It's Leïa..."
The young woman turned her eyes on Dameron, suddenly worried.
"Hey... Relax! Everything is fine."
He kissed his girlfriend before turning to welcome his superior with a small smile. The General Organa nodded, smiling back before turning to face the young pilot. The two women fixed each other a long moment running in each other's arms. For the second time in less than an hour, Ly'ra felt tears falling on her cheeks while Leïa was holding tight on her.
"I am so happy to see that you are fine!"
"I'm so sorry Leïa, I'm really sorry!"
The Princess looked up at the young woman before shaking her head and gesturing her to take a seat on the bed.
"You have no reason to be sorry Ly'ra."
Poe let out a sigh and arched a brow, arms crossed on his chest.
"That's what I said..."
Leïa glanced at the man, amused before looking back at Ly'ra.
"But I betrayed everyone..."
"No. It seems that you actually helped us. And even saved us."
Understanding the mention of her rescue on Ubardia, Ly'ra shrugged, looking down on her hands. She had saved them because Ben asked her to. He had avoided a slaughter, not her.
"That... That wasn't me. At first I didn't even know where you were..."
The General gently forced the pilot to look up at her and fixed her eyes in hers, taking her hand softly.
"Ly'ra, listen to me. I know that things have been really difficult for you. Things have been complicated for everyone. But I do not consider what you did for a betrayal. Not at all. But there are a lot of things you need to explain."
The young woman's gaze suddenly changed. A shadow came across her features and she took a deep breath, very serious.
"Leïa, there is indeed something very important I need to tell you. It's about... It's about Ben."
The Princess and Poe frowned at the same time and the pilot stepped closer to the women. Ly'ra had had very precise instructions from her mentor. If one of them could contact the Resistance, a message should be given to Leïa.
"Ben and I weren't on Batuu by a simple luck. The Black Spire Outpost received a message few days ago. The First Order warned the Supreme Leader and we were there to check if it was real or if it was just a bad joke."
Dameron, who had stayed silent until now, kneeled down in front of Ly'ra and gently took her hand.
"What message Love?"
The young woman looked back at him before turning her green eyes back on Leïa.
"A message from Darth Sidious."
And just like aboard the Finalizer, a freezing silence fell upon the group. The pilot and the General looked at each other before she slowly stood up, a hand on her lips.
"Ben had doubts about its authenticity and he will contact me if he finds more informations. But he gave me the order to talk to you about it if I could contact you by any way."
"Why no one else in the Galaxy heard this message?"
The young woman looked back at her boyfriend and sighed.
"Because Hux had the order to keep it secret for now. Batuu's Outpost was the first to receive it and we don't know why yet. Ben wanted to check the origins before starting a panic across the Galaxy."
"For once I agree with him..."
Leïa turned back on the couple, frowning.
"Ly'ra... Do you know where Ben is right now?"
"No. I'm sorry I have no idea. He had probably left Black Spire now. But I didn't know the next step of his plan."
The General nodded softly before taking a deep breath.
"Very well. I think I know who could help us. Commander, I need you to come with me."
Poe looked back at his superior before standing up, obviously reluctantly. Ly'ra could see he would have prefered to stay beside her and she gently tightened her grip around his hand, trying to reassure him.
"Hey... I'm not going anywhere."
The pilot smiled softly before turning to the General.
"Madam?"
"You are going to an ice mine, I will give you the coordinates. Be careful, you will probably have to be quick. You will talk to Boolio. He is an old friend of mine and a partisan of the Resistance. I think he could help us."
Dameron nodded and, after a quick glance at his girl, he left the tent to gather his team as fast as he could. He really didn't like the idea to leave Ly'ra behind when he just found her again, but he had a duty and a mission order to fulfill. According to the young woman's revelations, Palpatine was behind all this so they had to be sure about it. Under the tent, Leïa stepped closer to the young woman and sat next to her on the bed.
"What is it?"
Ly'ra looked down sadly and shrugged.
"Sometimes, I feel that things would have been much easier if I had never answered your call the first time."
Leïa smiled and nodded slowly before gently forcing her to look up.
"Maybe. Things would have certainly been different. But you have helped us in many different ways though. Some families are unable to keep looking away when something bad happens. I can give you some examples: the Skywalkers, the Damerons... The Ersos..."
The General left her words being heard before standing up slowly, with a small smile on her face.
"And you would have never met a certain Commander if you had never answered!"
Ly'ra let out a smile as well and nodded.
"That's true."
"Good. Now rest, I will see you tomorrow. You need to get back in shape!"
The young woman looked up at Leïa, frowning.
"Madam?"
The Princess turned back onto Dante's daughter, arms crossed.
"You did not think you were going to stay in bed all day? My son took care of your training but you are not on holidays my dear! Tomorrow you will train with Rey. I want to see what you are capable of, miss Erso."
Ly'ra let out a small laugh before nodding and standing up as well.
"I'll be there Madam!"
Then, the two women left the tent and while the General joined the group of informaticians with Rose and Bango, Ly'ra joined Poe and Finn to help them getting ready for their departure planned the same night.
*******
The following day, while the Sun was just rising above the horizon of Ajan Kloss, Leïa and Rey were already up and about, getting ready for a new training session. The two women had started earlier than usual, knowing that Ly'ra would join them as soon as she would be awaken. The General was observing her student while she was meditating, trying a new exercise she had found in one of Luke's books. The task was quite difficult and Leïa knew Rey wasn't quite ready yet but she kept encouraging her anyway.
And while Rey was trying to communicate with former Jedi Masters, Ly'ra walked silently closer, studying the young woman. It was the kind of thing Ben had never asked her to do, prefering to train her on various kind of fighting forms and controlling her Dathomirian's magic, more than working on meditation.
"It is a useful exercise though for a Jedi."
Surprised, the young woman turned her green eyes on Leïa who was still fixed on Rey. A small smile had appeared on her face, just as if she heard her thought. Ly'ra sighed before looking back at Rey, still focused on her meditation.
"But I'm not a Jedi, don't forget that..."
"You are both a Jedi and a Nightsister. You seem to forget this point. Ben taught you a lot of things, but you do not only have the Dark Side in you Ly'ra. Your father was a Jedi, and you are one as well."
The young woman stayed silent a moment, looking down, before nodding sadly.
"I miss him..."
"I know. I miss him too. But he is still here."
A bitter smile appeared on Ly'ra's face as she looked up at Leïa.
"Oh yeah... How proud of his daughter he must be. She's becoming exactly what he was fighting all these years."
"This is not what he said in your dream though."
The pilot frowned, suddenly intrigued by the words of the Princess.
"Hold on... How can you..."
The General offered a knowing smile but didn't answer.
"You talked to him too right?"
Leïa stayed silent and turned to face Rey as she was giving up her meditation training. She seemed to have troubles to contact the former Jedi Masters and let her frustration explode. Ly'ra stepped back, giving some intimacy to the two women as Rey was listening to Leïa's advices.
"Yes Master."
She nodded and turned to face the pilot who offered a soft smile to encourage her.
"Are you okay?"
"It seems that the exercise might be too difficult for now."
The young woman smiled back at Ly'ra before grabbing a bottle of water and pointing at her tattoos.
"Are these coming from the First Order?"
Ly'ra frowned and looked down at her left arm before looking up at Rey.
"Erm... No why?"
The Jedi shrugged softly, took a long sip from her bottle before putting it on a dead tree stump.
"Just being curious. I saw the same on someone else, that's all..."
Rey's words suddenly struck Ly'ra. She looked up and fixed the young woman for a long moment, unable to move or say anything. And just when the Jedi was about to leave again for the next part of her training, the pilot grabbed her arm more violently than she should have.
"Hold on! On whom did you see them?"
Rey looked down on her arm before turning her eyes back up at her friend, frowning. Ly'ra's presence on Ajan Kloss wasn't a problem for her, even if a part of her was a bit jealous when she had learnt that the young woman had become Ben's apprentice. But her sudden panicked behavior intrigued her and she removed her arm from her hold.
"Why is it so important? These are just tattoos..."
"No, no you don't understand. Rey this kind of mark it's like... It's like the Mandalorian's armor! You don't wear it because you like it! You actually could not wear it if you'd want. Not if you're not part of the clan!"
She stepped closer to Rey with a serious glance on her face. She didn't want to scare her, but her father's words were still engraved in her memory and the possibility that her brother was indeed present on the Resistance's base right now, was almost impossible for her mind. She took a deep breath, trying to calm down and asked again:
"On whom did you see them?"
Okay guys, I know you don't like these kind of ending but I love them! ;) So? What's your opinion, is her brother alive? If yes, who might he be? For those who have read the French version of the book, don't spoil it! ;)