Evangeline's P.O.V.
"I have a bad feeling about this."
I sigh while going over the words in the message from Jakku. Half an hour ago, the resistance base received a message that was for me only. There's a man in a town on Jakku that says he has the map to Luke's location.
It's clear in the message that he won't give it to anyone other than me. In my mind, this is an enormous risk for me and the resistance. We don't even know who the man is or if we can trust him.
Plus, how does he know I'm alive and with the resistance? For all he knows, I could be with Luke or dead right now. None of this makes sense to me, but by the looks of my mother, I know she wants me to take the chance.
"How do we know he's not lying?" I announce while pacing in the control room. "This could be a trap, mother. I don't like this."
Leia and I are in the center control room with a few people in the resistance. They're people Leia can trust with this information; she doesn't want this to get out until it's proven true. Poe is apparently the people my mother trusts since he's here leaning up against a desk with his arms crossed.
"I'll go with you." Poe speaks up from where he's watching my mother and me. "If this is a trap... Then someone should come with you."
Tilting my head, I turn away from all the eyes on me and my mother. Shaking my head, I put my hands on my hips and slowly pace in the room. I feel a hand set on my shoulder in the next second and my mother's voice says.
"Please, Eva... This isn't nothing."
Turning around, I face my mother and see her silently pleading with me. I see nothing but hope in her eyes at the thought of getting her brother back. Though, I don't understand any of this and I keep trying to wrap my brain around it.
"Whoever this man is... Knows who you are, Eva. He knows you're one of the last Jedi." Leia speaks up like a true General. "If I were him... And I had a map to one of the two Jedi left in the galaxy... I would want to give it to someone I can trust, the only other Jedi. You. Eva, this means something. There's a reason he'll only give it to you."
Letting out a breath, I know my mother is right, and it only makes me more frustrated. There's a reason this man wants to give it to me. Maybe he's had it for the last six years but refused to give it to anyone until he heard I was still alive.
Whatever the reason may be, I know I'm the only one that can get the map to Luke's location. Nodding my head in defeat, I look at my mother and silently agree to follow this lead. My eyes dart to Poe then and I point at him.
"You. You're coming with me." I declare, before turning around and storming out of the room. "Come on, flyboy."
Poe's P.O.V.
"You ready?"
I hear Eva's voice and turn around to find her walking towards me. She has on her brown tight pants with a just as skin tight gray shirt. Her belt and knee-high boots are black, but her fingerless gloves are dark brown.
Eva's wearing a black leather jacket over her grey shirt and her blaster is in her holster. Her dark brown hair is in a single braid, but what I notice most is that she's not bringing her light saber. I know it's in her room, probably still on her desk.
"Yup, everything looks good." I speak up while looking away from her belt. "BB-8 and I are ready when you are."
She nods to me and turns without speaking; she doesn't have to say it for me to know she's worried. Though I'm not sure what she's more worried about; this being a trap or actually getting the map to Luke Skywalker. Following her to the ramp of the cruiser we're taking, I notice Leia walking up to us.
"Evangeline... Poe." She speaks up in a gentle tone, making us both turn to face her. Leia smiles at the both of us before nodding her head and announcing. "May the force be with you."
"... And you, General."
I smile at her while Eva doesn't respond; instead, she walks up the ramp and into the ship without saying a word. Letting out a breath, I nod to Leia before following her into the cruiser. Walking towards the cockpit, I see Eva already in the captain's chair, setting up for flight.
Saying quiet, I help her start up the ship as BB-8 rolls into the cockpit. He's right between us while watching us move around the ship like a secondhand emotion. I sense tension in Eva and for once I don't want to make her mood worse than it already is.
"I'm fine, Dameron."
Eva then snaps in the silence just as the cruiser gets ready for takeoff. I frown at her, wondering if she can read my mind; if anyone could, it would be the one with the force voodoo. Glancing at me, she sighs in defeat while lifting our cruiser into the air.
"Let's just get this over with."
- Jakku -
"The message says this village."
I mumble while glancing at the desert town in front of us; we've landed on the outskirts of this small village. We arrived after the sunset, making it dark all around us. All we have for light are the torches and firepits in the town.
Turning to Eva, I see her searching for unwatched company. Fortunately for us, there isn't a First Order ship of trooper in sight. Though, who knows how long that will last until a squadron comes.
"We'll stick together." I speak up while glancing between Eva and BB-8. Nodding my head to the village, I propose in a hopeful tone. "I have a feeling this man will find us before we find him."
"Alright."
Eva murmurs before coming to my side walking toward the town. She's looking around skeptical, and I realize now that this is the first mission Eva's been on in six years. No wonder she's been acting stranger than usual; I would too if this is my first time in the field after being on the run for years.
The three of us walk into town with no need to hurry and glance around at the villagers. Eva's hand is near her blaster twitching and I can tell she's waiting for all hell to break loose. BB-8 is rolling in front of us, inspecting things as he goes further into the town.
I glance up at the night sky and only see stars and the moon around this planet. When I peer down and check on Eva, I see her eyes darting from person to person. The look on her face is the same one I saw when I first met her; It's an expression of distrust.
"Relax. The First Order isn't here." I whisper to her while putting a hand on her arm. Glaring at me, she grit out through her teeth. "Yet. They aren't here yet-"
"Miss Solo."
I hear an unfamiliar shaking voice breath out from behind us. Together, Eva and I turn our heads around to find an old man staring at her. He has a sorrow smile on his lips and Eva only frowns at him in confusion.
"Come with me." He whispers before glancing around the street and waving us over to follow him. "Hurry."
Eva and I look at one another, not knowing how to react to this old man. A second later, Eva, BB-8 and I follow him toward a hut, believing this is the man who sent her the message. He goes into the hut through an entrance that has beads of strings as a door.
I wave a hand at BB-8, silently telling him to wait outside and keep watch. Letting Eva walk in first, I follow closely behind her. The man goes to sit down on a cushion and pulls out a box on the side of it.
Glancing around the hut, I sit down on a cushion across from him. Though, Eva stays standing while wandering around the hut. It's only when the man speaks up again that Eva turns to look at him.
"This will begin to make things right."
Eva's P.O.V.
"I've traveled too far and seen too much to ignore the despair in the galaxy any longer." I watch the old hermit open a box while saying with hope in his voice. "Without the Jedi, there can be no balance in the force."
The man takes out a red cloth and I stop moving around his hut. Staring at the cloth in his shaking hands, I see him take out a data chip. I let out a breath, realizing this wasn't no trap; this man really has the map that leads to my uncle.
"Well, because of you..." Poe speaks up while nodding to the man. "Now, we have a chance."
"No. Not because of me." The man chuckles while looking at me and lifting the data chip for me to take. "... Because of you. Luke told me if I must give this to someone... To give it to you, Evangeline."
"Me?" I blurt out before taking the data chip and sitting down next to Poe. "Luke gave you this?"
"Yes, six years ago." He smiles while glancing down at the chip in my hand. "He said you'd know what to do with it."
Frowning at him, I look back at the small data chip in my palm. I have so many questions about this chip, about this man, and about why he's giving it to me now. Staring at the chip, I hear Poe say in such a wide-eye resistance pilot way.
"The General has been after this for a long time."
"Oh, the general?" The man says, making me look up to him and find him smirking at us. "To me, she is royalty... One would say you are too... Master Solo."
Tilting my head and staring at him with utter disbelief, I try to wrap my brain about all this. He's speaking about Alderaan, before the Death Star blew it up. In another life, I would have been a princess, just like my mother.
Though, all I can think about is how, after six years, I have the tool to find Luke. I never tried looking for him because I knew if he wanted to be found, he would let someone. Now, I hear he gave someone the means to find him; me and only I know what to do.
"Well..." Poe smiles at both me and the old hermit. "They certainly are that."
Meeting Poe's gaze, I find him looking at me for the first time with tenderness. I don't know if because of how he's looking at me or that I have this data chip, but I feel weight being put on my shoulders. Letting out a breath, I put the data chip in my jacket pocket and speak up.
"How do you know me, my uncle-"
BB-8 suddenly speeds into the hut, buzzing like crazy. He's beeping quickly while looking towards the entrance of the hut. I hear wind blowing hard on the outside and in the next second, Poe speaks up.
"We got company."
The three of us quickly stand up and walk outside to see what's coming. Glancing up to the dark sky, I find First Order ships in the distance. It's flying straight towards the small village and my heart drops; he knows I'm here.
"You have to hide."
I blurt out to the man while keeping my eyes on the cruisers coming closer. I can sense my brother's presence is near and I know it's for me and the map to our uncle. Not realizing it, I grab Poe's arm as if to make sure I'm not alone.
"You have to leave." I hear the man snap at us persistently. "Go."
Not a second later, Poe ushers me toward the way we came. We sprint through to town as two ships land in the dead center of the village. I feel my heart raising at the thought of my brother being on one.
As we get to the edge of town and head toward our cruiser, I glance back and find stormtroopers marching out of ships and blasting away at the villagers. Rushing to the ramp, I get on it with BB-8 and Poe right beside me. I'm about to enter the ship when a blast hits our ship and I stumble back.
Seconds later, more blasts hit our cruiser and I fall against Poe's chest. Peering up at him, we both send each the same panic looks. Taking out my blaster, I run out of the ship to see if the damage isn't that bad.
When I come to the side where the blasts hit, I find flames catching onto one of our wings. We don't have the time or resources to fix it now. Turning around, I find Poe holding his blaster with BB-8 at his side.
My expression alone is all Poe needs to see to know the problem we're in. I can smell smoke from behind me; people are screaming and cry as blasts go off rapidly. Glancing behind me, I find half of the village in flames and hear the screeches of the people.
Stormtroopers are running in our direction as others gather up the villagers in the center of town. When I look down at BB-8, an idea pops into my head and I make a judgment call. Coming back up to them, I kneel in front of BB-8 and pull out the data chip.
"Take this, BB-8." I speak up while showing him the chip. "Get as far away from here as you can."
He opens a pocket within him while beeping in worry. Ignoring his chirping words, I put it inside him and watch him close the pocket shut. I glance at Poe once before looking down at the droid and commanding him.
"Leave, now. Do you hear me? We'll come find you after this is over."
"BB-8, do as she says. Eva, behind you." I hear Poe breath out before lifting his blaster and shoot the stormtroopers nearing us. Nodding at the droid, I push him away from me, telling him. "It'll be alright. Leave!"
When I see BB-8 roll away as fast as he can, I turn and find the troopers Poe's blasting at. Raising my blaster, I shoot them one by one without hesitation. I stand up when the last one falls to the ground before Poe and I quickly hide behind a small hill of sand near the village.
We peer over the hill and see the destruction of the village with stormtroopers flooding it. At the same time, Poe and I look at each other before silently nodding our heads. Aiming our blasters, we shoot at the stormtroopers in our eyeline.
With each shot we take, it feels like two more troopers take its place. They're going into huts and pulling people out into the streets. Some are purposely burning huts while other round up survivors.
I go to shoot one stormtrooper that's dragging a woman in the street when I see another ship flying to land in the village. Peering up to the ship, I find it's three times as big as the others from the First Order. My brother's presence surrounds the ship, and it hits me like a wave from the sea.
Turning to look away from the village, I close my eyes, trying to calm myself. Though I know he senses it; he senses my presences here. When I hear the ship land, my eyes open and feel in the force him walking out.