Aurora's freighter touched down just outside the tree line near the refinery. Twitch was anxiously waiting at the cargo bay doors, unable to stay still. As soon as the doors opened just a crack, Twitch was through. He tumbled onto his face, forgetting to let the ramp lower. As he got up, the sight was something to behold.
People were everywhere. A stream of refinery workers was being escorted away from the volcano facility by a few Cloud Squadron soldiers. To his left, Twitch could see a couple dozen stormtroopers and Imperial officers in rows on their knees with their arms behind their white helmets. Walking in front and behind the rows were a few refinery workers armed with Imperial blaster rifles.
Twitch made his way to the first familiar face he saw. It was Rose tending to an injured Cloud Squadron soldier. "Rose, where is Lena?" Twitch asked in a frantic tone.
Rose took a few glances around her before saying, "I don't know. Last I heard, she defeated the Admiral and is on her way back. The refinery is also evacuated so Abie should be here any minute."
As soon as Rose finished her statement, commotion could be heard coming from the direction of the woods. Twitch pushed his way past the mass of people where he got a glimpse of a figure coming out of the forest.
Twitch ran over to see Lena dragging Timber's body. He quickly placed a hand on Lena's shoulder and urged her to stop. Lena let go of the clone before falling backwards into Twitch's arms. "Are you ok?" he asked.
Lena, who was panting, took a second to slow her breathing. "It's over," she muttered.
Twitch cradled her head against his chest, his gaze eventually falling onto Timber. "Is he?"
"Yes," Lena answered. "He saved me."
Twitch squeezed her tighter before motioning two Cloud Squadron soldiers over. "This man deserves a proper burial. There are some tools in the freighter," Twitch said once the two men reached him.
"Right away, Commander," one replied before they both ran back toward Aurora's ship.
Twitch turned his attention back to Lena. Before he could say anything, both his and Lena's commlinks were alive with Abie's voice. "Look to the skies Cloud Squadron!"
Just about everyone in the area heard the message from the dozen commlinks scattered amongst the Cloud Squadron soldiers. Everyone looked up to see ships piercing through the clouds.
Leading the charge was a trio of Y-wing bombers that dropped their payloads on the refinery. The proton bombs detonated against one of the main supports that kept the refinery suspended above the volcano. The sounds of scraping metal could be heard as the refinery began to shake. Despite losing one of its four main supports, the refinery remained in place.
That didn't last long as a swarm of vulture droids, A-wings and X-wings engulfed the refinery in a hail of blaster bolts. Small explosions could be seen triggering across the structure as it began to fall apart. After one more bombing run from the Y-wings, a second main support was taken out.
Everyone on the ground burst into cheers as they watched the rest of the refinery collapse into the lava below. As soon as the building collapsed, the swarm of ships pulled away and retreated to space.
"We did it," Twitch said softly to Lena.
"We really did," Lena replied.
The two smiled at each other before getting up. The two men that Twitch sent to retrieve tools soon returned and, with the help of some refinery workers, Timber was given a proper burial.
"A true soldier of the Republic, serving the Jedi until the end," Lena said as she looked at the makeshift headstone that Twitch hammered into the ground.
They didn't have much more time to mourn when Abie's voice came on the comm, although this time it was just Twitch's communicator that was active. "Twitch, during our attack on the blockade, we jammed long range transmissions but one of the light cruisers slipped away. Imperial sector reinforcements are likely on the way. The frigates are in low orbit loading the fighters, but we can't stay long. Get the rest of our people up here so we can jump."
"Copy that, Abie," Twitch replied before turning to Lena. "Time to go."
Lena simply nodded her head and turned toward Aurora's freighter. The two weaved their way through the crowds of people while gathering the remaining Cloud Squadron soldiers. Twitch waited in front of the ramp to the ship until everyone was aboard.
By now, most of the refinery workers were watching Twitch, waiting for him to say something. He stepped up onto the ramp and took a deep breath. "Refinery workers of Serenno, what you do with your life is your choice now. Good luck and may the Force be with you."
It was all Twitch could think of saying. Although, if the dozens of smiling faces said anything, he had done enough. Twitch climbed the rest of the ramp and looked back once more to see the refinery workers beginning to surround the frightened Imperials.
He eventually made his way into the roomy cargo hold of the ship to see the small group of Cloud Squadron soldiers beginning to celebrate. Oster was in the middle of the group cracking open a bottle of spotchka. Despite one of the soldiers waving him over, all he could think of was Lena. He walked straight past the group where he spotted Lena, sitting alone in one of the corners of the cargo hold.
As he approached her, he could tell that she was staring at something in her lap. "What's going on?" he asked as he sat down next to her. It was now apparent that she was staring at the hilt of Rhodes' saber as well as the two pieces of her own.
Lena didn't look up as she said, "It's broken."
Twitch leaned forward to try to get a look at her face. "It'll be ok. You can rebuild it. Besides, there's no reason to be down right now. This win is the start of a great future for Cloud Squadron!"
Lena sighed as she started to fiddle with the lightsaber parts. "You know I can't stay."
Twitch didn't know what to say. He leaned back against the cold metal wall as he felt the ship take off. "I don't understand," he said with a shaky voice.
Lena's voice was calm and steady as she replied. "These last few months have been a lot and I need time. My future lies elsewhere."
"Will I see you again?"
It was all Twitch could say. His body was tense as he sat uncomfortably next to her.
Now, she finally looked up and after a brief moment of eye contact, she glanced back down. "Perhaps. If I learned one thing from Rhodes, it is that the Force works in mysterious ways. So, I really don't know what the future has in store."
"I see," Twitch said while nodding his head. "At least stay long enough to say bye to everyone."
Lena looked back up, nodded, and forced out a slight smile. After a few awkward seconds of Twitch waiting to see if she would say anything else, he quickly gave up and rose to his feet. "Well, I am going to go check on Aurora and make sure she gets us to the rendezvous on Akiva."
Lena once again nodded but remained silent. Twitch chose not to push the matter and turned toward the entrance to the rest of the ship. He quickly navigated the hallways until reaching the cockpit.
"How goes it?" Twitch asked as he walked into the small room.
"Right on schedule," Aurora replied. "We jumped just a few minutes after the rest of the fleet. Should be coming up on Akiva soon."
"Very good," Twitch said before turning back around and leaving the cockpit.
It wasn't that he disliked Aurora's company, it was rather the fact that his mind was still spinning. Twitch spent the rest of the short hyperspace journey pacing back and forth through the narrow halls of the old freighter. He didn't know what he would say to Lena once they got there. He went over dozens of things to say in his mind, occasionally rehearsing out loud.
Once Aurora announced that they had arrived, he stopped his pacing and made his way back to the cargo hold. The large room was exactly how he left it. The other Cloud Squadron soldiers were still celebrating, and Lena was still sitting in the corner, but she was now watching the others. It wasn't long before he could feel the ship touch down.
As the cargo bay doors opened, Lena got up and joined him. The two followed the rest of the group out of the ship, walking stride for stride in silence. The ship had landed on a plateau overlooking the planet's vast jungles. The final destination was the Insurgent which had landed just a few minutes before. Next to the rebel flagship was the Violet Kestrel and in front of the ship sat Hunter.
Once the droid spotted Lena, he hopped up on his third leg and began speeding over. Lena smiled as the droid rushed up to her. As far as he could tell, it was Lena's first real smile since the battle had ended. Twitch watched as Lena greeted the delighted droid before the three resumed following the others into the ship. It was obvious that they were the last to arrive as they filled in the last bit of space in the Insurgent's hangar.
Twitch took a deep breath before turning to Lena. "Lena, I just wanted to say that—"
His words were soon drowned out when the rest of Cloud Squadron began to cheer. Abie had just hopped up onto an A-wing and taken center stage. Twitch was frustrated that he didn't have a chance to finish his words but turned his attention toward his sister.
"Where do I even begin? Abie said, a beaming smile spread across her face. "The mission was a success. The refinery and mines are no more, and I have all of you to thank for that. Before I get too far into it, I'd like to invite Twitch, destroyer of the mines, up here to say a few words."
All eyes turned toward Twitch as he shied away from the attention. He glanced at Lena who was smiling and urging him along. Twitch reluctantly agreed, moving to the other side of the room, and hopping up on the A-wing.
He looked out over the crowd of smiling faces but only one spot he focused on. Immediately when he jumped on the fighter, he noticed Lena starting to walk down the ramp with Hunter in tow. She stopped halfway down and looked back.
Twitch was quick to speak this time. With a wave of confidence, he addressed the crowd. "I guess I don't really have much to say except, I love you all. I couldn't ask for better friends or a better family. May the Force be with you."
While his words were directed toward the whole group, he was staring at Lena the whole time. She smiled back at him before nodding. A few seconds later, she was gone, her figure finally being obscured as she moved down the ramp.
His concentration was broken when he was wrapped in a tight squeeze by Abie. "Well said," she started before turning to the others. "And we also couldn't have done it without Lena. Where is she?"
Twitch quietly watched as people began looking around, trying to find the girl he knew was long gone. A puzzled look spread across Abie's face as she looked back toward Twitch. "Where did she go? She was right with you."
"I don't know," Twitch said with a shrug. Unwilling to share anymore, Twitch hopped off the A-wing and returned to his spot in the back of the room. As much as he wanted to find Lena right where he left her, he knew he wouldn't. Twitch waited in the back of the room as Abie eventually moved on to the rest of her speech.
She congratulated everyone before moving on and recognizing multiple acts of bravery from members of the group. She thanked Aurora as well as the group that came from Teth and even offered some credits to which everyone declined. Abie wrapped up her speech by holding a moment of silence for those that had been lost to achieve their victory.
Twitch waited for a few seconds before using it as his chance to slip away. He quietly retreated down the ramp until he was back on the plateau. He first looked to his left to see that the Violet Kestrel was gone. His gaze soon fell upon his own frigate, the Iron Stump. Twitch eventually made his way to his quarters where he laid on his bed.
He reached over to the nightstand and grabbed a picture frame. The picture was of Twitch holding Lena in his arms while Abie was on his shoulders. Rhodes had been able to capture the image and had gifted it to Twitch a few days after. It was one of his fondest memories of the two people that he and Abie met as bounty hunters only to find out just how important they really were. They had changed his life and would not be easily forgotten.
Twitch smiled as he ran his hand over the wooden frame. He pulled the picture close to his chest before slowly drifting off to sleep.