"You want me to let you go scout out Kylo Ren's whereabouts?" Leia stood firm in front of Aria, Poe, Chewie and Rey. Once again, it felt like just the day before, but this time was different- this time Aria had Poe on her side.
"I think it's important we keep a close eye on him now more than ever. He's rising to his truest potential, he just killed his father so he could be irrational-"
"Like you?" Leia cut Aria off. Aria lifted her head as she refused to answer the General. "I'm afraid your intentions for this mission are not just." She spoke her truth.
Again, Aria didn't answer.
"It was my idea, General." Poe lied. Aria's eyes widened as both she and Leia looked to him. He cleared his throat as he first met Aria's eyes, then his General's. "We destroyed Starkiller Base, but someone like Kylo Ren does not let that stop him for long. We can't give him a moment alone. I want to use Black Squadron to hunt him down and make sure he's still sulking instead of plotting."
Leia began to pace the room. Her small, slow strides took her longer to walk the length of the room, but it gave her more time to think.
The others all stayed silent to allow her time to do so. They knew it was no easy decision, it was her son they were tracking down, after all.
"Rey and Chewie are using the map we put together to find Luke and bring him back home to us." Leia stopped in front of Aria as she said it. She knew out of all of them, Aria needed to hear it most. And just as she expected, Aria's eyes widened as a newfound hope filled them. "While they are gone... you may track down Kylo Ren- but do not- do not-" she repeated as Poe and Aria looked at each other with smirks. "Do not engage with him. This is a stealth mission. If you are detected, get the hell out of there." Again, Leia looked directly at Aria as she said it. "We've already lost too much. We can't lose any more."
Aria gulped as she gave a grave nod. "Yes, General."
Leia gave them her nod of dismissal, and they all took it to get ready for their next mission.
"Aria!" Rey followed after Aria as she went to her dorm to change.
"Yeah?" Aria didn't stop walking. She didn't have time to. Any second they wasted here was more time for her brother to get away or do something heinous.
She opened the door to her room and left it open for Rey to follow her in.
The girl did with ease, and took a second to revel in the fact that she was in Ariavanna Solo's room. It was messy just like she expected it to be, but smelled like mint and vanilla.
"Why aren't you coming with me to Luke? He knows you, right? So wouldn't seeing you help bring him back?" Rey asked the question had that had been bothering her ever since Leia had given her the mission.
"I haven't been able to bring him back yet." Aria told the young training Jedi as she grabbed her pilot's uniform from her wardrobe and threw it on her bed. "My going wouldn't ensure him returning."
"Neither would my going." Rey told her as she watched her move into her bathroom. The water ran, then Aria came out with her toothbrush in her mouth.
"It's something new." She mumbled as a dribble of foam dropped from her chin. She went back into the bathroom to finish brushing her teeth, then she came out with red, freshly cleaned cheeks. "You have potential and a want to learn the force." Aria told Rey as she pulled her leather jacket off and set it on her bed next to her pilot's uniform. "He will see the potential in you and that might just be enough to bring him back." She unbuttoned her pants and gave Rey a pointed look. "I don't mind changing in front of you... unless it makes you squirrely."
Rey's eyes widened and she turned around to give Aria a bit of freedom.
Aria chuckled at Rey's innocence as she removed her pants and pulled on her orange jumpsuit over her underwear and ribbed tank top. She zipped it up until it met the hem of her white tank top, then she stopped to let herself breath before she was shoved into her fighter for several hours.
"I'm decent." Aria told Rey as she bent down to start to tie her boots.
"I don't know what I'm supposed to tell Luke to get him to come back." Rey shared her concerns for her mission. "What should I say?"
"Well..." Aria dropped her right foot and picked up her left foot and rested it on the edge of her bed to tie the laces. "I would tell him that it's been long over due and it's time to come home. I'd say that if everyone blamed themselves for the galaxy's problems then nothing would get done. He's lived a life believing in the balance of the universe and that hope is essential to the light surviving but now he's given it all up? I'd call him on his shit." Aria dropped her left foot and stood up. She tucked her hair behind her ears and moved to grab her weapons belt from her coffee table. "But he doesn't do well with the truth. Never has. He'd shut down. So instead, go for something soft, say that his people need him. Tell him that Leia and I are here waiting for him. He's a sucker for family."
Rey found Aria's manipulation slightly intriguing. She could easily go from one tactic to another depending on what was most effective.
"Just remember, he thinks this is all his fault." Aria stopped in front of Rey on her way out the door. She clipped her weapons belt around her hips. She much preferred her holster, but it wasn't ideal in the uniform. "We all put the blame of what happened on our shoulders. I think I was a bad sister and drove him away. Dad thinks he didn't do enough fathering, Leia thinks she was too distance... we all blame ourselves and... Luke is no different. But it's important to remember that Kylo Ren's actions are all his own. His motives, his needs- they are all him." Aria shook her head sadly, but there was a glint of malice in her beautiful eyes.
Rey nodded as she absorbed what Aria had to say. She didn't know Kylo Ren, but from what little she did, she understood he was a man full of hate. She couldn't understand how he could be from a family so full of loyalty and passion. Han, Leia and Aria were all very accepting of her and so light, Rey didn't understand how Kylo Ren became what he was when he had them.
"I need to go." Aria put a soft hand on Rey's shoulder. "Leia believes in you and... I do too." Aria gave a small, meaningful smile. "I may not believe in the force or the good behind it, but Leia does and Luke did so... may the force be with you, Rey." She squeezed Rey's shoulder before she moved passed her and out of her room entirely.
The hangar was in normal structure, there was no chaos for her to move around, no bustling of weapons onto cargo ships, no yelling, nothing.
It was normal and Aria thrived on it.
She loved everything about the hangar atmosphere. She loved the smells of oil and metals, she loved the sounds of wielding and starting of engines. Everything about the hangar called to her youth and made her feel at home.
Aria spotted the rest of her squadron, minus Poe, and she headed over to them. "Hey," She nodded at them as she looked at her brand new X-wing. Truthfully, just the sight of the fresh paint made her miss her old X-wing- the one she abandoned on Jakku when she met Rey and Finn. Now she had to start all over on the modifications.
"Hey, we heard what happened back on Starkiller Base..." L'ulo walked up to Aria cautiously. "It was very brave of you to do what you did."
"Brave?" Aria tilted her head at the word. She thought on it. "You think it was brave?" She stopped admiring her X-wing as she looked over at L'ulo, and the others behind him.
"It took strength to see what you saw and still go on." Kare stepped up beside her teammate. "So yes, brave is the word we would use." She agreed with L'ulo.
Aria huffed and moved to her stand to grab her white vest. First she zipped her orange jumpsuit the rest of the way up, the she slipped the harness over her shoulders.
"Sure, it was brave for you to go after Kylo Ren... but what about now? This plan doesn't really sound like something Poe would purpose." Jessika folded her arms over her chest as she stayed back by Temmin.
Aria tilted her head as she looked over at the skeptical girl. "What are you trying to imply?" She asked as she folded her own arms over her chest.
Jessika didn't back down as she was met with all of Aria's anger and disdain. Instead, she stepped up to play. "I'm saying that maybe this was your idea. Your bravery is slowly transitioning into stupidity and you're willing to get all of us killed to act out a vendetta."
Aria gave a loud laugh at Jessika's audacity. "This is a simple recon mission." Aria took a step up towards Jessika. The rest of the squadron fell back a step to allow them more room. None were surprised by the challenge, they had been expecting it since the very first meeting. "Are you so unsure of your leader that you question his orders?"
Jessika's jaw clenched so hard the muscle feathered along her jawline. "I do not question Poe."
"No?" Aria tilted her head as the two started to slowly walk circles around one another. "So it's me, then?" She lifted a hand to her chest in self-admiration. "I'm flattered-"
"You're undeserving." Jessika spat.
Aria's eyes widened as Jessika's true feelings came to light.
"Oh, I was right... it is me." Aria dropped her hand at her chest. "This is ridiculous!" Aria laughed as she looked at Jessika's red face. "I get that I can be a bit of a bitch- but everyone else on our squadron has looked past that... everyone but you!" Aria shook her head in disbelief. "What did I do to you that was so horrible you can't forgive me?" She asked genuinely.
Jessika shook her head defiantly. Sure, everyone else had somehow found it in their hearts to accept Aria for what she is, but not her.
"Come on! If I was such a bad person don't you think Poe would have forced me out already?" Aria threw her arms up in defeat. At the mention of their leader, Jessika moved from foot to foot. Aria's eyebrows knitted together at the small tale, it wasn't much, but it clued her in on what the issue really was. "That's it, isn't it? You want him to force me out but he won't." Aria shook her head slowly. "Why do you want me gone so bad, Jessika? Is it so you'll be number two? Temmin is in line behind me." Aria nodded towards Temmin off to the side. "Or do I take up too much of our leader's attention?" Again, Jessika switched her weight from her left foot to her right. "Oh-" Aria gave a teasing snicker. "That's it! You like Poe and it kills you that he relies on me more than you." Aria shook her head at the pathetic excuse for all this hate. "I'm sorry to burst your bubble, Jess, but he comes to me because he trusts me more than he trusts you-"
Jessika stepped forward and swung her fist with every bit of strength she could gain. Her knuckles connected with Aria's left eye and split the skin by the tail of her bushy eyebrow. The force of the blow was enough to knock Aria off her feet, and she barely caught herself from falling on her face.
The rest of Black Squadron stepped towards the two bickering girls, but they didn't intervene yet.
Aria raised a hand and lightly touched the sore spot by her eye. She hissed as the slightest pressure caused a string of pain down her cheek.
"Alright, I guess I deserved that..." Aria pushed herself off the ground, and barely stood before Jessika punched her with her other arm. Again, Aria fell from the unexpected blow, and had no time to catch herself so she fell onto her shoulder. Pain exploded down her arm and across her jawline. She rolled over onto her back and laughed to try and ease the pain. "I don't think I deserved that one." She gritted her teeth as a metallic taste filled her mouth. She swallowed the hot blood but made no move to stand up.
"Jessika, that's enough..." Kare looked carefully from Aria's fallen form to the enraged Jessika.
"I don't understand what he sees in her!" Jessika turned towards the others to try and gain their support for her outrage. "She constantly disobeys him! She doesn't know how to follow an order if her life were on the line! She talks back... I'm a good teammate! I listen when he talks!" Her face slowly transitioned from red to a muted purple as she pled her case.
"That's why..." Aria pushed herself up to her elbows and spit out another mouthful of blood next to her. "You do what he asks but nothing more." She looked up at Jessika with pity. She was the one on the ground with blood pouring from her face, but it was Jessika she looked down on. "You would obey an order even if his life were on the line." She slowly stood to her feet, but this time she was prepared if Jessika tried to hit her again. "The Resistance wasn't built by people who always followed orders... General Leia didn't rise to her position because she was a dutiful follower. She took risks-" Aria wiped some blood that trailed down the cut by her eye. Instead of wiping it away, she merely smeared it across her cheekbone. "If you want to make a statement- make a statement. Do something worth remembering, don't fight me just because you hate the legacy I've made for myself."
Jessika clenched her fists as she tried for Aria again, but Aria had enough. She understood being angry and lashing out, but she wasn't going to be Jessika's punching bag just to make her feel better.
As Jessika went for another punch, Aria ducked under her arm. When she missed, Aria stood up and took a step back. "I see there's still a bit of hostility- but really I think we can talk this out like civil-" Before Aria could finish, Jessika swiveled on one heel and raised her other foot to kick Aria in the side. Aria gritted her teeth as she grabbed Jessika's foot and rammed her elbow down on the side of Jessika's knee.
Jessika let out a blood-curdling scream as her knee popped out of its socket. Aria let go of her foot, causing the girl to tumble to the ground with her hands clutching onto her knee.
"If we talked this out like adults, you wouldn't be in pain right now." Aria told her as she rubbed at her own sore jaw. "God, you can really pack a punch." She spit out more blood as she tried to get her breathing under control. "Poe trusts me because I went after him when he was taken by the First Order. I disobeyed Leia and went after him because he is my commanding officer and that is what we do." Aria stood tall over Jessika's fallen form. She cradled her broken knee as she looked up at Aria with hateful eyes. "I have his back and he has mine. That is what trust is." Aria spat at the unappreciative girl. "I would have done the same for you because we are a team. But you? You wouldn't do anything for me." Aria shook her head.
Poe chose that exact moment to walk into the hangar: with Jessika on the ground holding onto her left leg and Aria standing over her with blood running down the side of her face, it was quite the sight.
"What the hell is going on here?" Poe stopped before the two girls. He looked between them quickly for an explanation. When neither of them spoke he turned to the rest of his squadron who were all watching from the side. "Well?" He asked them. But still, they were all tight lipped. Poe turned and looked directly at Aria. Though her left eye was already starting to swell and there was a giant welt on the corner of her mouth, she still met his fiery gaze with one of her own. "You are my number two, I can't have you beating the other members of our squad-"
"Poe-" L'ulo started to explain, but Poe was through waiting for an explanation.
"You are supposed to be a model for them, not knock them down." He spat at her. Aria clenched her jaw but didn't say anything to correct him. "I understand you're going through a hard time right now, Aria, but you can't lash out at everyone around you! You'll lose every friend you have." Aria snorted at the term friend, and it just brightened the fire inside Poe. "Does this team mean so little to you that you'd just fight your way through it?" Poe's eyes searched Aria's for the answer, but he couldn't find it. "Because if that's the case then I don't think you're going to fit in with this-"
"She didn't start it!" L'ulo interrupted his captain to put his two cents in. Poe stopped and looked at his longest friend. Of all the members of their squad, he trusted L'ulo the most. "It was a small fight, these things happen when a new squadron comes together. There are kinks that need to be sorted out... this was one of those kinks." Poe narrowed his eyes as he looked first back at Aria who wore a smug smirk, then down to Jessika who's face had turned beat red.
"Is this true?" He asked Jessika. The red slowly started to drain from his face with each breath.
"I-" She paused. "Yes, I started it- but you didn't hear what she said about you-" Jessika lifted one hand from her knee to motion towards Aria.
"What I said about Poe?" Aria turned hotly towards Jessika. In a blink her cheeks tinged red with a new, hot fury. "All I said was that you needed to change your view of the world if you wanted to get anywhere in life."
Jessika's lips pulled back into an animalistic snarl. "You told me I had to disobey what Poe says-"
"I said the resistance wasn't built by followers!" Aria wasn't afraid to raise her voice, and it showed. Her face turned the deepest shade of red as she screamed her beliefs to Jessika. "It was built by leaders! And I stand by what I said, you are no leader-"
"Alright!" Poe stepped between the two girls before they got worked up again. He gave a sigh as he looked between them. Both girls were heated- that was obvious- but Aria had the advantage of being able to stand on her own two feet. She used that advantage as she tried to pass Poe to get to Jessika. He raised a hand to stop Aria her and gave a stern, hard glare. "Kare, take Jessika to the med bay to get her knee looked at." Poe instructed Kare as he kept his eyes on Aria so she wouldn't move. "Jess, you won't be able to come with us this time-"
"What?" Jessika tried to push herself up, but her knee gave out and she fell back down to her butt. Poe looked down at her as she tried to hold herself up. While he gaze softened by seeing his hurt squad mate, Aria scoffed.
She thought Jessika was milking the injury for all that she could. She hated the added theatrics, but she hated that she knew Poe would lap it up and forgive her because her injury affected her more than Aria's hurt her.
Kare stepped forward to help Jess stand to her good leg. She put an arm around Jessika's waist to support her weight.
"I'm sorry, but there isn't time to wait for you." Poe shook his head solemnly. "Kare, bring her and hurry back. We're getting ready to leave now." Kare nodded and headed towards the Med bay with Jessika.
L'ulo and Temmin started for their fighters to load up their droids. Aria stepped towards her X-wing to load R-8 into his spot. Poe waited patiently behind her until R-8 was secured. When she was finished, she turned back to see Poe's stone-cold face. "What happened?" He asked as he folded his arms over his chest.
Aria sighed as she looked up at the ceiling above them. "Nothing, it's like L'ulo said, these things happen." She didn't want to look into his eyes, not when he was looking at her with such disappointment. It was a new look for him, and it only took Aria half a second to realize she did not like it.
"No they don't." Poe argued her. "Not with you. Something happened." He pressed. He watched her face closely. He was use to her many moods- anger, frustration, irritation, playful, teasing. This was different, there were no wrinkles of concentration or curved lips like she was holding back a secret. No, right now her face was smooth and eyes dull. There was something, and he knew it.
Aria shook her head as she looked down to clip her vest and made sure it clung securely to her. "She doesn't trust me." Aria muttered as she kept herself occupied. "She questioned my motive for this mission- and your loyalty to me." Her voice was so soft Poe almost didn't hear it over the clanking of tools.
Poe let out a long breath as he swiped his hand across his forehead. Now he understood what happened. Their relationship was questioned, as well as her honor. Aria was many things, but she was prideful most of all, and if that was questioned she couldn't help but lash out.
"Look, Aria-" Poe stepped up into Aria's bubble and looked all around her face: from the bags under her eyes, to her choppy bangs that almost swept down into her line of sight. He looked at all parts of her face and found it increasingly hard to stay mad as he drank her in. "Sometimes the people around us say things we disagree with... but we can't hurt them."
"She hit me first." Aria defended herself as she looked between Poe's galaxy-encapsulating eyes. "Then she hit me again, Poe. I tried to talk her down but she wouldn't listen. I wasn't going to let her walk all over me, no matter how much she means to this team." Aria shook her head as her eyes lowered to the shadow along Poe's jaw. He shaved, so there was no more stubble, only the memory of it left behind.
Poe closed his eyes as he tried to think of a way to reason with her. "Sometimes Aria, sometimes I wish you would actually listen to what I was telling you." He opened his eyes to see the sorrow embed in her hazel and blue eyes. "Load up, we need to go." He walked passed her without so much as a 'good luck' or funny quip like they usually shared before a mission.
Aria turned to watch him leave, but she didn't say anything. For the first time she couldn't think of anything to say. She disappointed him and it hurt her beyond comprehension.
Aria let out a sigh as she loaded into her fighter. She slipped her helmet on and connected to the commlink, but she didn't give them her call sign- not yet.
R-8 gave a buzz from behind her shoulder. "Yeah, I know it's not our usual birdie, but she'll do." Aria patted the dash of the new fighter. "We'll build her up better than before."
"Black Squadron, this is Black One, ready to dismount."
"Roger Black One, this is Black Three."
"Black five, back from dropping Jess off."
"How's she doing?"
"Sore loser."
"Kare..."
"What? It's the truth."
Aria smirked at her friend's sassy demeanor. She liked it. "This is Black Two, ready." Aria finally gave her call sign, then she disconnected her commlink. As they waited for L'ulo to give his ready sign, she removed her helmet and carefully used the sleeve of her jumpsuit to wipe the blood from the corner of her mouth and her temple.
When she was sure the blood clotted and wouldn't run down her face anymore, she put her helmet back on.
"Black Squadron, head out. Follow my lead. This is a recon mission. If we are engaged, we leave. No casualties today, understood?"
After everyone echoed their agreement, Poe took off out the hangar first. Due to the order or their ranking, Aria followed, then Temmin, Kare with L'ulo keeping up the rear.
"Leia gave us a possible location, everyone put into your maps the coordinates 4.1222.312.14."
"The Trudger System?" Aria asked as she recognized the numbers. "Unbelievable."
"What is it, Black Two?" L'ulo asked.
"Nothing." Aria shook her head as she realized they all heard her. "I just... I know that system, that's all."
"Alright, Black Squadron, switch into lightspeed in three, two, one-" Aria flipped her switch just as the rest of her squadron.
They all pushed forward, Aria was forced into her chair as all of her bones vibrated under the pressure of the jump.
The feeling exhilarated her, she couldn't help as a crazed smile spread over her dry lips. There was nothing quite comparable to the skin crawling, bone vibrated sensation of jumping into lightspeed.
With nothing but the black and blue of stretched stars and systems around her, she found it incredibly soothing. It was hard for her to look away, and in one swift moment it brought her back to her childhood, with her dad and Chewie by her side and the galaxy all around them. Back then, she was naïve and impressionable. She idolized her father and all that he did, his love for flying and the galaxy gave her a love for it. It was hard not too when Han Solo showed her all his greatest moves in the cockpit.
Aria's eyes fluttered as she thought back to her dad. For the first time since his death, she thought of him for what he was, not for what he is now.
He was a great man, a man she will remember and continue to celebrate every day of her life.
With that thought, Aria gave a gracious laugh that filled her cockpit and echoed back lovingly to her.
Time sped by her as she stayed in her memories. She had no concept for how much had passed until Poe told them to make the jump out of lightspeed.
Aria knew it was a hell of a lot longer to the Trudger System, but to her it felt like mere minutes.
Still, she listened and pulled out of lightspeed just as the others had.
After the familiar tug back into regular speed, she knew instantly they were in the right place. The bright purple planet third from the system's twin suns was exactly as she remembered it- Allocroxynia, the planet known for its purple rivers as warm as your body. Whenever she swam it felt like she was floating. It was never too hot or too cold for her. It was paradise- for her and her brother. Which is why she couldn't believe he would retreat here.
At the end of the system, nearly at the outskirts, was the giant Star Destroyer. Aria didn't know what came over her, but the second she entered the system, a foreboding sense of doom came over her.
"He's here." Aria lifted a shaking hand to connect her commlink to the others. "He's on that Star Destroyer."
"Are you sure?" Kare asked. Aria nodded, then realized they couldn't see her.
"I'm sure." She tried to kill the quiver to her voice, but it couldn't be stopped.
"Stick close, Black Squadron. Stay tight, don't engage unless they attack first. Remember, this is a recon." Poe told his team. His voice was as steady as Aria wanted hers to be. He oozed confidence, and it just further proved to Aria that he was the only leader she would follow. His words fed into her own esteem until she was just as confident as he was.
The five members of Black Squadron stayed just far enough from the Star Destroyer to keep out of their radar, but that didn't mean they couldn't do their own scans.
"BB-8, do an internal scan, see if you can count how many people are on board." Poe's voice came through their commlink as he instructed his own droid.
"We have to move in closer for an internal scan, Black One." Aria advised him. "The best BB-8 can do from here is a weapon's scan."
There was a pause as BB-8 confirmed what Aria told him. "Okay team, let's move in, but not too-" The hangar door of the Star Destroyer opened and from it came two dozen TIE fighters. "WE'VE BEEN SPOTTED!" An urgency entered Poe's voice. "Pull back, everyone pull back!"
Aria jerked her joysticks up to circle back. They all broke formation as they pulled back, just like Poe instructed.
"They're gaining on us!" Temmin's warning made Aria turn in her seat to look over her shoulder. Just as he said, the two dozen TIE fighters were quickly clearing the space between them. They traveled through the system faster than Aria had ever seen before.
"We can't risk them following us." Kare shared her concern. Aria nodded, though again no one could see her.
"Agreed." Aria voiced her own opinion.
"No, this was a recon mission. No casualties, remember?" Poe asked them.
Aria turned back in her seat and looked out at the black sky in front of them. The distance between them and the next system was astronomical. They would run out of fuel before they lost the TIE Fighters, and they couldn't slow down before jumping to lightspeed or else the TIE fighters would catch up to them.
"Black Two, remember your orders."
"I hear you, Black One." Aria told him stiffly. "No casualties. I read you loud and clear. But... what do we do, then?" She asked the question the rest of the squadron was thinking.
"They're gaining!"
Aria was ready to turn around and engage. Her blood pulled her back towards the fight. Her body craved it, but she knew she had to wait for Poe's signal. She couldn't disobey him, not after what Jessika had said in front of the entire squadron.
"Black Squadron... engage!" At Poe's command Black Squadron turned back around and headed straight on for the TIE fighters.
Aria's crazed, familiar smile grew on her lips as she flipped the switch to turn on her blasters. Her thumbs hovered over the red, springy buttons on top of her joysticks.
"This is Black Two, I'm heading towards the two on the left." Aria told her team as she broke off to head towards the left.
"Black Two, this is Black Three, I'm covering you." Temmin told her as he broke off to follow her tail. "I'll take care of the next two." He bargained.
Aria jammed her joysticks all the way to the left and pulled back to spiral out of any possible locke the TIE fighters had on her. As she straightened out, she pulled straight up then dove down when she was practically on top of the first TIE fighter. She lined the TIE fighter up on her table read, and when he was boxed in her cross hairs, she pressed down on both of the bouncy red buttons. Aria's eyes lit up with the explosion of the first down TIE fighter. She let out a wild call as she dove through the flames and took a sharp right to the next TIE fighter.
He was right in front of her, and without being able to aim, she fired blindly as she pulled up to avoid hitting him. She didn't know if any of her shots landed, but as she pulled up she looked back to see nothing but flames and smoke in her wake.
"Yeah!" She called out to herself. She continued to pull back until she did a full circle and ended up behind the TIE fighters. She looked around her to see the rest of her squadron taking on the rest of the TIE fighters.
She saw one dip down to avoid Kare's wrath. While Kare pulled up to focus on another TIE fighter, Aria followed after the escaping First Order Soldier. She pulled up behind the TIE fighter and tried to line it up in her crosshairs, but it had more training than the other two. It kept zipping across her table read, any time she almost had him locked he moved away.
"Careful! They're bringing us back to the Star Destroyer!" Poe warned the others as the TIE fighters turned on them and corralled them backwards.
Just as he said it, Aria realized in her endeavor of the escapee, they were heading straight for the Star Destroyer.
"These guys are good." Aria commented right as she fired blindly at the irritating TIE fighter. One of her shots nicked the wing of the fighter and caused it to spiral off towards the dwarf planet on the outer rim. "But not that good!" She laughed as she turned in her seat to watch it explode on impact. She let out a loud cheer as she quickly turned her attention back to her navigation. She pulled up and turned back towards the main fighting. She turned just in time to catch Poe perfectly land a series of shots on one TIE fighter, which dominoed into another TIE fighter, knocking two out with a single shot. "Good shot, Black One" Aria craned her neck to watch the colorful explosion to her right. "Beautifully done!"
"You flatter me, Black Two." Poe's voice came in gravely through the commlink.
Aria gave a laugh as she looked back ahead and jerked her joystick to the left to avoid a stray piece of space Junk. As she turned, a TIE fighter fired off several random shots, and one perfectly hit the left wing of Aria's X-wing. Aria hissed as the fighter spiraled away from the hit. Several of her sensors blared in her ears, alerting her that the hit was near critical.
"I've been hit- repeat- Black Two has been hit!" Aria twisted in her seat to see the small fire on her wing. She cursed as she flipped a switch to kill the left engine before the small fire exploded into a much bigger one. Without the left engine, her entire X-wing rocked to one side and she had to adjust her controls to account for the over powering energy from one wing.
"Pull back, Black Two." Poe commanded her. Aria shook her head as she flipped another series of switches and craned her joystick to the right to keep straight.
"I can't do that, Black Leader. My gas tank was hit. I'm losing fuel fast." Aria watched the guage of her gas tank as the little needle edged closer to E. "My left engine is inoperational. I'm going down." R-8 whistled as he put out the small fire. She looked back to see the flames die and give way to a thick, black billowing smoke.
"Negative, you are not going down. Get back to Base one." Poe commanded her.
"I can't-" Aria confirmed as she straightened out her joystick. As soon as it wasn't fully right, she went into a full spiral, right towards the First Order's Star Destroyer. "Shit-" R-8 gave a loud beep at the excessive spinning. "I know, give me just- one- second-" Aria waited until she was right side up, then pushed forward on her thruster.
She looked back down at her gas gauge to see she was now running on fumes.
Aria let out a worried breath as she looked out ahead of her. Her two options: crash into the Star Destroyer and die in a fiery ball of exploding metal pieces, or- "I have an idea." Aria said into her commlink. She disconnected R-8's navigation so she had sole control of her ship, then positioned herself towards the open hangar of the Star Destroyer.
"What are you doing, Black Two?" Poe asked as he watched from his post above her. He had a TIE fighter on his tail and one ahead of him in his sights but he kept looking at Aria's smoking fighter.
"The only thing I can do to ensure my survival, Black Leader." Aria chewed on her bottom lip as she lined up perfectly with the hangar. She sped up, using the rest of her gas to propel in. "Hopefully I can take out a few of theirs too."
"Pull back, Black Two. That's an order!" Poe's voice took on a shout as it came through her commlink. Aria gave a smile as she kept her teeth dug into her bottom lip.
"That is one order I wish I could follow, Black Leader." Aria saw the line of Storm Troopers at the mouth of the hangar. They had their blasters aimed at her, waiting for her to break through the barrier before they fired off shots. Her hand twitched ever so slightly on the joystick until she pointed at them. A devilish smirk pulled her bottom lip from her teeth. "Sweet, sweet victory..."
"Damnit- Aria, pull back!" Poe broke code as he called her by her real name.
"It was an honor working under you, Black Leader." Aria pushed up her visor to get a clear image of the hangar in front of her. "I'll see you on the other side... Black Two, signing off." Aria flipped off her commlink just as she crashed through the hangar. Her body propelled forward at the impact, and she lost the entirety of her left wing as it snagged on the edge of the hangar door.
Storm Troopers collapsed under her, but one pushed up onto the window of her cockpit, cracking the glass around her.
Her X-wing shot off sparks as it slid dangerously across the entire hangar. It banged against several First Order TIE fighters, denting them before they ever had a chance to fight.
Aria's fighter slowed down to a stop just shy of hitting the wall on the far side of the hangar, and by the time she opened the dome and stood up, every last Storm Trooper and First Order Officer had their weapons pointed at her. She placed her hands above her head to show them she wasn't armed. "I want to speak to Kylo Ren." Her voice held steady as she looked at all the blasters aimed right at her head. "Please." She added for safe measure.