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chapter twenty-four: an awakening
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SPARKS ILLUMINATE THE SKY as Poe watches from the cockpit of his ship while another X-wing bursts into flames, dropping from the sky like a deadweight before smashing onto the ground. There's no time for him to even think about who it might have been before three TIE fighters come racing after him. In a desperate maneuver, he forces his ship down into a dive, rolling in a full 360-degree rotation before pulling up sharply. The sun has vanished entirely, engulfing the world outside in complete darkness. He knows what it means; they're out of time.
"We just lost R-1!" Karé shouts over the comm link and Poe grimaces. That had been the ship he'd seen spiraling.
"We're overwhelmed," Jess adds. "What do we do? It isn't working!"
Poe inhales deeply, trying to think of some way to salvage the mission. There would be no forfeiting from this fight; they would either blow this base to hell or they would all die trying. Too much was riding on their mission to surrender. He scans the ground below, narrowing his gaze when he sees smoke and flames rising from one side of the oscillator that most definitely hadn't been there previously.
"Black Leader, there's a brand new hole in that oscillator," Snap reports, confirming that he, too, had seen what Poe saw. "Looks like our friends got in."
Poe can't help the small flicker of a smile that crosses his face at that; another confirmation that, for the time being, Indira and the rest of the party on the ground were still alive and kicking. Whatever they'd done to damage the oscillator had created an opening — one that would hopefully allow for their torpedoes to finally make contact with the center of it.
"Red Four, Red Six," Poe calls out, steering his ship down towards the base once more after scoping out the skies below. "Cover us!
"I'm on it!" Lieutenant Bastian replies, jetting after Poe to flank his left side.
Another X-wing comes up on Poe's right, guarding him from that side. "Roger!" Ello Atsy confirms, picking up speed to stay steady with Black One.
Focusing his gaze on the path before him, Poe makes sure to give one last series of orders to the rest of the pilots before diving into the trench. "Everybody else, hit the target hard!" He instructs. "Give it everything you got!"
He guides his ship dangerously low to the ground in the trench as he dodges and weaves between cannons. Behind him, Poe can see several TIE fighters gaining on him and he knows he'll need cover if he wants to clear the rest of the run. "I need some help here," he calls out. "I need some help!"
Bastian answers first. "I'm coming in!" The pilot fires his cannons on the ships behind Poe and takes one of the TIEs out.
Poe grins at that, but the smile quickly slips from his face when he hears Jessika shout over the comm unit. "Watch out!" She cries to Ello, but the warning comes too late. One of the cannons in the trench sends a torpedo directly at the Abednedo male's ship, sinking a hole into the vessel's hull.
"I'm hit!" Ello shouts before his vehicle goes careening into the wall of the trench, bursting into flames on impact.
Kriff! Poe nearly swears over the radio before biting his tongue. He hunkers down in his seat and focuses on the path ahead of him. It's a straight shot to the oscillator if he can just get there. Not wanting to risk the lives of any more members of his squadrons, Poe makes a split second decision to take the rest of the trench alone. "All teams, I'm going in," he tells them as the red glow from the oscillator grows brighter in the distance. "Pull up and cover me."
"Copy that, Black Leader!" Snap replies, pulling his ship out of the trench. Poe sees Jessika and Bastian also pull up, leaving him on his own. "Good luck, Poe!"
Most of the TIE fighters pursue the other pilots as they leave the trench, but one persistent fighter stays on his tail. Poe does his best to lose the stray ship, swerving through the trench in an attempt to shake it. As he comes up on the opening to the oscillator, Poe rotates his ship sideways, barely weaving Black One through the gap before he sees the TIE fighter go smashing into it, bursting into flames on impact.
He exhales deeply, knowing that the worst of the fight is now over. With no ships left to oppose him, he sends volley after volley of torpedoes into the unguarded structure of the base, taking out the foundations of the oscillator before clearing the blast as quickly as he can. Seconds after Poe escapes the interior, the planet's core detonates in a tremendous explosion that wracks the entire surface. Towering clouds of smoke and flame burst from the center of the base as the fuel reserves rupture, stoking the fire even higher with each passing moment.
Unable to stop himself, Poe lets out a triumphant whoop that the other pilots echo as they make their way from the blast, soaring high above the explosion. In the back of his ship, Poe hears BB-8 beeping excitedly and he can't help the smile that crosses his face.
"All teams, nice job!" He commends his pilots before opening up his comm unit's frequency to the base. "General, the target has been destroyed."
Leia's voice is warm and reassuring in his ear. "Good," she tells him. "Now, I want you to retreat immediately. The planet could be unstable. Get out of there now."
Poe frowns when he hears her words. "If we retreat, we leave our friends on the ground behind," he replies stubbornly. He had absolutely no intention of following that order and abandoning Indira, Finn, and the rest of their group.
"Poe, outside of those here with me on the base, your group is all that remains of the Resistance that is capable of putting up a fight," Leia warns him. "If you stay to find them, we risk losing you all."
"General, with all due respect," Poe says evenly, "we're not leaving our friends behind. Teams, who's with me?"
Immediately, Snap speaks up. "We're all with you, Poe. You know that." He hears the sentiment echoed by Pava, Kali, and several of the pilots on the radio as well and his heart swells with affection for his teammates.
"Alright," Poe decides, filled with determination. "Then let's go do some good and find them."
THE GLINT OF THE glowing red blade in Ren's hands sends a shiver down Indira's spine; something akin to the feeling of someone walking on her grave. Her breathing comes in short, rapid pants as she stares at the man across from her. Out of the corner of her eye, she can see Rey glaring at him fiercely; no trace of fear on her face as she bares her teeth at him in spite of the tears that are streaming down her cheeks.
"You're a monster!" The scavenger shouts venomously.
"It's just us now," Ren replies, balling his free hand into a fist before pounding it against his side. Blood splatters onto the snow from the wound where Chewbacca had shot him, tainting white with crimson. "Han Solo can't save you."
There's a beat of silence before Rey moves in a flash, raising her weapon in an attempt to gun the man down. As if he had anticipated this move, Ren throws an arm in her direction, lifting her forcefully from the ground and launching her backwards several feet into the air. Rey crashes into one of the towering trees behind them with a sickening thump before falling into the snow; limp and unmoving like a rag doll.
"REY!" Finn screams at the unconscious girl before tearing across the snow in her direction. Indira follows close behind him, sinking to her knees in the snow at the scavenger's side. She puts a hand up to the girl's mouth and presses her fingertips to her neck, checking for breath and a pulse before sighing in relief when she finds both. Beside her, Finn is panting heavily while shaking his head back and forth.
"No, no, no," he whimpers, hands trembling as he cups the scavenger's face. "Rey, no!"
The sound of Ren's blade gliding through the air forces their attention away from Rey's fallen form to their advancing opponent. "TRAITOR!" Kylo Ren screams at Finn, the sound echoing through the forest.
For a moment, Finn goes completely still next to Indira before his expression turns murderous. Abruptly, he stands from the ground and whirls on Ren. From his pocket, he pulls a thin, cylindrical object before igniting it. A luminescent blue blade springs from the hilt of the weapon that Finn grips firmly with both hands. Even from her spot a few feet away, Indira can almost feel the power radiating from the blade in his hands.
"That lightsaber," Ren spits, pointing at Finn with his weapon. "It belongs to me."
"Come get it," Finn replies before charging at Ren with a powerful yell.
Their blades meet in a clash of light, humming with an electric sort of energy. Finn — the obviously less-experienced fighter between the two — holds his own against Ren by the sheer strength of his own willpower and determination. He presses back against the force-user, gaining an advantage over him in his already wounded and weakened state. Even so, Ren — the superior swordsman — quickly turns the tables on Finn, cornering him up against a tree as they battle for dominance.
"Rey," Indira whispers frantically, shaking her shoulders in an attempt to rouse her. She scoops some snow from the ground and presses it to Rey's forehead and cheeks, hoping to wake her with the shock of cold. The scavenger's eyelashes flutter slightly in response, but she displays no other signs of consciousness. "Rey, wake up, please!"
Behind her, Finn lets out a cry of pain before tearing away from Ren, grazing the man's arm with his blade during his retreat. The small wound enrages Ren even further and he charges at Finn with a vengeance, swiftly disarming him in a matter of blows. Indira watches in horror as Finn's weapon goes soaring through the air, landing several feet away in the snow. Unarmed and unguarded, Finn hardly has a chance to defend himself before Ren whirls his blade on him, slicing up Finn's spine and knocking him to ground.
"NO!" Indira shrieks, rising to her feet as he advances on Finn's unmoving form.
In a last ditch effort to defend her fallen friend, she pulls the blaster tucked away in her belt from its holster and attempts to fire it. Before she can even pull the trigger, the weapon is torn from her hands by an invisible force and she is slammed backwards against a tree. Her head makes impact first and she cries out in pain, feeling blood begin to trickle down the side of her face.
Though she had escaped most of his wrath, Ren's full attention is on her now. The dark-haired man approaches with alarming speed, advancing on Indira as she stumbles backwards in an attempt to get away from him. Her feet get caught on a protruding tree root and she falls back, sprawling onto the frozen ground as he comes to a stop before her. Hands digging into the snow, Indira glowers at the towering figure above her; almost certain that this will be the end for her. However, instead of bringing his blade down on her like she had anticipated him doing, Ren sheathes his weapon and examines her with a cold, unflinching gaze.
"So you're her," he says, voice emotionless and detached. "The senator's daughter." When she doesn't respond, he narrows his gaze at her. "Where did you take her?"
Indira glares at him fiercely, every fiber in her body filled with hatred for this vicious, soulless murderer. "Somewhere safe," she spits. "And far away from you. You'll never touch her again."
Something like amusement flickers across his face before it vanishes. "I don't need her if I have you."
Startled by that, Indira jerks back slightly. "What could you possibly want from me?"
He barks out a laugh and Indira finds that there is something oddly familiar about him now that he's standing so close. She can't place who or what it is, but he reminds her of someone else in a way that she can't explain. "Did your mother never tell you?"
Indira's blood runs cold at his words. "Tell me what?"
He laughs again; a sharp, biting sound that lacks any humor. "She didn't tell you," he observes; clearly enjoying knowing something that she doesn't. "How interesting. I never would have thought."
"What are you talking about?" Indira demands, tired of whatever game he is playing with her. Still, she is grateful for the small amount of time that she has bought both Finn and Rey. Just behind Ren's figure, she can see Rey stirring slightly in the snow as she regains consciousness.
"Luke Skywalker," Ren replies, spitting the words out like poison from his mouth. His darkened eyes meet Indira's, filled with utter loathing and vexation. "Your father."
A tremor wracks her body that has nothing to do with the cold. "What?" She whispers weakly, eyes widening in shock. "What are you talking about? That's ... that's impossible."
Her mind flashes back to every word her mother had ever said about her father. A pilot for the rebellion, she'd told her. Hadn't Luke Skywalker been a gifted pilot before he became a Jedi Knight? And on her first night on D'Qar, hadn't Leia told her the same? Your mother was always closer with my brother, Luke, Leia had confided in her. Shaking her head in disbelief, Indira squeezes her eyes shut to chase the thoughts away before they can take root in her head. Still, she can't help but remember one last thing — the vision of a man from a dream with kind eyes and a sad smile — and she gasps without meaning to, eyes flying open abruptly.
Ren, who had been watching her the entire time, looks down on her with an expression that borders on hatred and disgust. "Don't bother denying it," he sneers. "You know that it's true."
Though stunned by the revelation, Indira does her best to keep her composure as she struggles to stand from the ground. "That's why you did this?" She demands, finding her voice amidst the shock. Anger burns through her as she rises to her feet. "That's why you ... you kidnapped and tortured my mother? That's why you kept her locked away for years? Because you thought it would help you get to him?"
"I was mistaken in that respect," Ren admits, not bothering to deny her accusation. "Your mother was of no use to me as a hostage, but perhaps you will be."
"Like hell I will be," she snarls back at him, having absolutely no intention of becoming his prisoner.
Knowing that she has no weapon to protect herself and no other defenses left, Indira does the one final thing she knows how to do; a skill taught to her by none other than Jessika Pava back during her early days of combat training. Tensing her shoulders, she plants her feet on the ground before punching her fist downward towards Ren's side without warning. The bones of her knuckles collide with the muscles of his abdominals where Chewie's blaster had already pierced his skin. Immediately, he yells in pain and Indira takes the time to slam another punch into his face, hearing a satisfying crunch when her hand makes contact with his jaw. Caught off guard, the taller man lets out a grunt as he staggers backwards before falling to the ground, clutching his already wounded side in agony.
At the sight of him on the ground, Indira makes a mad dash for her blaster that had been discarded in the snow a few feet away. She barely takes three steps before the weight of an invisible force slams into her body, sending her sprawling face forward onto the ground and she cries out in pain.
Behind her, she can hear the sound of Kylo Ren struggling to pull himself off the ground and she does the same, attempting to rise to her feet before he can, but she is too slow. The commander stands tall above her, eyes blazing with untamed rage. He reaches out a hand for something in the distance, attempting to summon the discarded lightsaber that Finn had used to fight him earlier so that he can strike her down.
Heart pounding wildly in her chest, Indira silently pleads for some sort of miracle as she reaches out a hand into the air with desperation. A surge of energy floods through her body, rushing through her veins in an awakening before it channels itself out of her and latches onto Ren. Instinctively, Indira tugs and watches in disbelief as Ren's feet are pulled from underneath him and he slams onto the frozen ground face first.
For a moment, there is nothing but stillness in the forest; a hum of energy crackling through the air around her. Indira looks down at her hands with incredulity, swaying slightly as she struggles onto her knees. Whatever she had done to make Ren fall had taken most of her remaining strength, leaving her in a weakened state. From his spot on the ground, Kylo Ren looks up at her with a murderous expression and lets out a rage filled roar before rising to his feet. His hand stretches out once more, struggling to summon the discarded weapon.
Indira watches in fear as the weapon goes flying through the snow towards Ren's outstretched hand and closes her eyes tightly, fully prepared for him to bring the blade down on her with the full strength of his power — until she feels a gust of wind that nearly knocks her backwards and hears the sound of a lightsaber igniting behind her.
Whirling around, Indira sees Rey standing a few feet away with the luminous blue blade clutched in both hands; strong and powerful as she stares Ren down. A feral expression overtakes the scavenger's face and Kylo Ren ignites his blade before she charges at him with ferocity. The clash of their glowing swords illuminates the entire forest as they meet, raining heavy blows down on one another. The fight carries them away from Indira, deeper and deeper into the forest until she can no longer see them.
Still trembling, Indira drags herself off the ground over to where Finn's unconscious form is lying. Her hands shake as she gently rolls him onto his back, flinching when she sees the blood that is leaking from his mouth. Tears well up in her eyes as she frets over her friend, unsure of what to do to help him. The wound on his back had been cauterized, but she has no idea what kind of damage was done to his spine. It's too dark for her to see just how deep the injury is and she isn't expert enough on the subject to know anything of use. Basic medical training had prepared her for nothing like this.
"Finn, I'm so sorry," she breathes, feeling tears well up in her eyes. She wipes some of the blood from his chin and feels for a pulse on his neck, sobbing in relief when she finds one. "Just hold on, Finn. I'm so, so sorry."
Her breathing comes in short, sharp gasps as she tries to keep the ever-rising panic inside of her at bay. Han is dead. Rey is gone. Finn is barely clinging to life. Chewbacca and her mother have disappeared. And her father ... she squeezes her eyes shut as more tears flood down her cheeks and she claps a hand over her mouth to prevent any other sounds from leaving her lips.
Without warning, an explosion wracks the foundation of the planet, shaking the very ground beneath her. Swaying slightly, Indira looks to the sky with wide eyes, watching from miles away as a cloud of fire and smoke rises from the direction of the oscillator in a colossal blast.
"They did it," she breathes, wiping her eyes quickly as she realizes that the Resistance starfighters had been able to detonate the base's center.
A sense of relief washes over her then, knowing that it hadn't all been in vain. Even if she didn't make it off the planet alive, the Resistance would not end today. The knowledge of that simple fact alone gives her a sense of peace amidst the chaos, allowing her to close her eyes and just breathe.
A few moments later, Rey comes crashing back through the forest with a crazed look in her eyes; completely unharmed with no sign of Ren behind her. When she sees Indira and Finn, she lets out a small cry before running towards them and falling to her knees beside Indira.
"What happened?" Indira asks her, putting a hand on Rey's shoulder to help steady her. "Where's Ren?"
Rey shakes her head, trembling slightly. "We fought until the blast split the ground apart and separated us. I came back here as soon as I could."
"Is he dead?" Indira asks cautiously.
The scavenger's chin quivers and she shrugs. "I don't know," she says, voice breaking as the shock of all they'd endured finally begins to catch up with her.
Instantly, Indira pulls her into a hug and the younger girl squeezes back, clinging to her tightly for a brief moment before pulling away to examine Finn. "Oh, Finn," she murmurs, touching his face gently before bowing her head and sobbing.
Indira slips an arm over Rey's shaking shoulders to comfort her and takes one of Finn's limp hands. Around them, the planet continues its collapse; trees crashing into the ground as the earth splits apart. Indira knows that its likely that they only have minutes — possibly even seconds — before the core of the planet ruptures. Any hope of survival for the three of them would be lost once that happened.
There are worse ways to die, she thinks bleakly, staring up at the scattered constellations in the sky and the miles and miles of stardust painted across the horizon. She can't help but think of Poe as she looks up, hoping that he can see all the stars from wherever he is, too.
A blinding light beams down on her, flooding Indira's vision with nothing but white, and for a moment she thinks she's actually died and gone on to the next life. It takes Rey whacking her arm repeatedly to tell her otherwise and Indira squints at the source of the light before nearly bursting into tears again.
The Millennium Falcon hovers a few meters away; headlights trained on the grounded trio by Chewbacca in the pilot's seat. Next to him, Indira sees her mother and the faint hovering outline of EV-1. Chewie lands the ship before exiting quickly. He approaches their group with haste and scoops Finn's broken body from the ground, carrying him onto the Falcon with Rey and Indira trailing close behind.
As soon as the doors shut, Chewie takes off from the planet without hesitation, speeding away as the surface they'd been trapped upon just moments before it collapses and crumbles into nothingness. Rey takes a seat at Finn's side, watching him carefully as Indira searches the ship for some sort of oxygen mask. She finds a few spares stored away in one of the cargo holds and Rey slips the mask over Finn's face, hoping to stabilize his condition as they make their departure. Only once she is certain that Finn is in stable condition does Indira leave, squeezing Rey's shoulder gently before making her way to the cockpit where Chewie and her mother are sitting.
The sight of her mother takes Indira's breath back slightly as she remembers what Kylo Ren had told her in the forest. She has questions — lots of them — but she also knows that now is not the time to ask them. She takes a seat at her mother's side and allows the older woman to wrap her arms around her, squeezing tightly. Indira tucks her head under her chin, feeling very much like a small child as her mother presses a kiss to her forehead. She closes her eyes, clinging tighter as the planet outside goes supernova and bursts into billions of flaming pieces.
Behind the Millenium Falcon, a squadron of X-wings come swooping up behind the freighter, led by none other than Poe Dameron. When he lays his eyes upon the infamous ship, he can't help but sigh in relief.
"All teams, I've got eyes on them," he announces, a smile lighting up his face.
"YES!" Snap shouts enthusiastically into his comm link and Poe hears the sound of Kali and Jessika laughing; all of them giddy from the thrill of victory and the simple fact that they are still alive.
"Our job's done here," Poe sighs, watching the reflection of the planet's combustion from his cockpit. He sets his ship's coordinates for D'Qar, anxious to return to the base once more and leave the fight behind. "Let's go home."
D'QAR IS ENGULFED IN triumphant celebration when the Millenium Falcon touches down on the surface of the planet. Even so, Indira doesn't feel much like celebrating as she helps Chewie lift Finn's unconscious body from the ship's bunks. Cosimo and several other members of the medical team are already waiting for them when they step off the ship, taking Finn from Chewie's arms and speeding him off on a stretcher. After some persuasion, Indira manages to convince her mother to go with Doctor Kalonia, who is present as well. She knows that a medical examination will help to soothe some of her many anxieties — even if her mother isn't enthusiastic about that prospect.
Chewie disappears after Finn is loaded onto the stretcher, leaving just Indira and Rey behind. A few meters away, several members of the Resistance have gathered around to converse with one another excitedly in the aftermath of their victory. Indira spots Snap and Karé chatting with Connix; Jess and Kali holding hands with one another; Rose and Paige Tico embracing tightly. Still, there is only one person that Indira truly wants to see and she scans the crowd for his face anxiously.
From the group of pilots and other Resistance members, Leia steps forward with a transfixed expression as her eyes lock on Rey. The older woman walks towards the scavenger as if she is in a trance and Rey meets her halfway; neither of them speaking. Indira watches as Leia opens her arms to Rey, who immediately falls into the older woman's embrace, allowing herself to be held while tears stream down her cheeks. There's an intimacy that almost feels wrong for Indira to witness, so she looks down at her shoes and steps away to give them some privacy.
"Indira!" A male voice shouts, drawing her attention upwards. "Indira, Indira!"
Her gaze locks on the sight of a familiar male figure wearing an orange flight suit running towards her at full speed, trailed by a spherical orange and white droid. She hardly has time to brace for impact before Poe is in front of her, sweeping her up into his arms and spinning her around in a circle as he lifts her off the ground.
"Thank the gods," he murmurs into her hair as he sets her down. He cups her face with both hands, examining her for any injuries. "Are you hurt? What happened?"
As she tries to process the magnitude of everything that has occurred over the past several hours, Indira finds herself utterly speechless. She opens and closes her mouth repeatedly, struggling to find the words before giving up with a shrug. "Please," she asks in a very small voice, "just hold me."
His eyes soften immediately and Poe folds her back into his arms, enveloping her in the warmth and sturdiness of his embrace. Indira lets her eyes fall shut, breathing in his familiar scent while clutching him back tightly. She trembles against him and he presses his lips to her forehead, tucking her head beneath his chin and holding her close.
"Hey, hey, it's okay," he says gently, rubbing her back when she lets out a shuddering breath against his neck. "It's all over." Indira nods, breathing in deeply as she focuses on the way his heart is beating in his chest. "You did it. You're safe now. Everything's gonna be alright."
She fists a hand in the fabric of his uniform, pulling her head back slightly to tilt her face up and press her lips to his in a brief, fleeting kiss to express her gratitude that, after all that has been lost, the two of them are still alive. He kisses her back sweetly, cupping her face with both hands and brushing his lips against hers once, twice, three times before he pulls back and holds her close again.
"Don't let me go," she murmurs against his neck and he shakes his head quickly, closing his eyes as he holds her close.
"Never in a million years."
a/n: okay, SO ... i know some of you guessed the revelation that came from this chapter a long, long time ago — i think chapter 5 was the earliest when i first published this fic — so finally being able to confirm it was exciting for me because keeping my mouth shut was so difficult!!!! i know the whole secret parentage trope might be cliche, but i'm putting my own flare on it. so yes, it is cliche, but cliche tropes can be fun to read/write. and if you don't like it ... then don't read it!
EDITED ON:
10.14.19