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Chapter One
The Map
The sunset on Jakku seemed to be one of the most beautiful sights Elle had ever witnessed during her lifetime. In the west, the sun was sinking into a violet sea of light; the day was making its escape to the horizon and the vibrant pinks and oranges in the air struggled to linger on. The darkness of the night had begun to invade the sky, melting away all colour and consuming all light. It had been a while since she had experienced something so peaceful, she was sad to see it go. At least she had received the best view of it, flying above.
They had arrived at the perfect time. The scene was completely dark and the night had just begun. Climbing out of her X Wing, she heard the joyous mechanical beeps of BB-8 as the small droid rolled towards her. "It was beautiful, wasn't it?" Elle stated, looking back to the now dark sky. Instead of speaking words, the droid beeped a happy reply. Her smile widened because of it's adorable response.
"Are you just going to stand there and daydream?" Poe jested as he exited his own ship. He was sporting a stylish, tool-leather jacket instead of his normal attire, an orange flight suit. His usual smirk was on his lips and his hair had been tousled by his helmet.
With a playful sense of sarcasm, she rolled her eyes and lightly punched the him on the arm. "Some of us like to appreciate the simple things in life."
Poe pushed his bottom lip forward in a pouting expression as he rubbed his arm. "You know that hurt, right?"
Before she could answer, someone spoke her name. It was a familiar voice, one she had not heard in years. "Ethereal, I have not seen you for ages," Lor San Tekka announced. He approached Elle slowly and pulled her to him, wrapping his arms around her. His embrace was warm and was a simple gesture of affection.
"It has been too long," she said with a smile as the hug was broken.
Elle had not seen the elderly man for quite some time. She had first met him when she was merely a child, perhaps six or seven. It was rare that the two came in contact with one another, but when they did, it was always pleasant and Elle appreciated the visit.
"I was not aware you were coming," he stated.
"Last minute changes to plan," her attention turned to the pilot who was patiently standing behind her, waiting for their conversation to finish, "the best pilot in the Resistance simply can not go without protection. Even if he does not want it."
The last sentence had been spat with a playful yet sincere tone causing the elderly man to laugh; even Poe cracked a slight smirk. Elle had always been a teaser. In Lor's opinion, she was simply too bubbly for the Jedi order.
"I have to continuously tell you that I can handle myself," Poe justified, "but I have to admit, you are very helpful."
She smiled a wide smile. There was something about the way she smiled; the way it always seemed to make a person feel happy to be alive. It was always genuine and filled with so much serenity. "Thank you," she said, enjoying the compliment.
"My apologies," she stated, remembering why the two Resistance fighters were there. "My friend, this is Poe Dameron," she introduced, gesturing to Poe. The pilot nodded earning a similar response from the elderly man.
A few beeps sounded from below and Elle laughed. "I could never forget you," she replied, "and this is BB-8. Poe's adorable companion." The compliment caused BB-8 to squeal with glee.
"It is a pleasure to meet the both of you," Lor San Tekka greeted. The tone between the four had suddenly became serious. "Quickly, let's get to what you have come for."
"I will stand watch," she stated to the two departing males, "and keep BB-8 company," she rubbed the top of the droids head, earning a few beeps in response.
Poe nodded, "I won't be long," he reassured her before entering a fire-lit shelter.
Elle lowered herself to the droids level and spoke, "How about we go take a look around." Over joyed, the droid began beeping. It then followed her in agreement.
This small village on Jakku seemed to come alive at night. Not many resided here, but it was enough to populate each tent and home. Elle stood near the fire and witnessed as the people spoke to each other, happily discussing their day. She wondered what it was like to grow up in a small village with a family.
Of course she knew what it was like to have a "family", perhaps her vision was a little different. Elle's childhood had ended very abruptly after her mother abandoned her. Her mother, who was too young to care for her, had given her to the Resistance at the tender age of four. Elle had not seen the woman since, and she could not recall a single memory from before then. Leia had cared for her until it had been time for her to train with Luke. Her master was the closest she had to a father - besides Han -, he fellow pupils had been her siblings.
A sigh escaped her lips, as she looked up at the sky once again. It was strange, what she was currently feeling. It was a mixture of anxiety and excitement; which was unnerving to say the least. With this map - that Poe was now receiving - she would be reunited with Master Luke and hopefully, her training would continue. Because of one man, Lor San Tekka, the Jedi still had a chance.
Yet, there was still doubt in her mind; a doubt she felt guilty for having. What if Master Luke did not want to found, and he was done training Force sensitive individuals? The thought brought her great sadness, for she knew why he had left. Seeing her Master again would make her jump for joy, but she could not remember Luke without being reminded of him.
Leia had swore that the dull pains of longing would heal with time, and her need for Ben would cease to exist; and only part of that was true. Over time, the memory of his presence had escaped her mind. She no longer saw his face in strangers, and the things they once shared no longer brought tears to her eyes. What was still there was her will to forgive him, for that was her nature. Elle had always been swift to forgive, but slow to hate.
She rather suffer her entire life, than forget Ben as what he was before he transferred to the dark side. If she stopped to dwell for even a fraction of a second, her face would be wet with tears. She could never fathom why fate would give her someone so good only to have them snatched away.
A few beeps distracted her from her thoughts. She peered down to see the droid in a panic and her eyes scanned the sky. "I feel a disturbance," she declared to BB-8. Her hand shot to her lightsaber which was locked on her waist. The droid answered with an alarming reply. "Yeah," she whispered to it, breathless, "I see it."
She spotted a three-winged shuttle first; She knew that it was the First Order. Many more ships followed the first, and they were heading straight towards them, signally that they had been caught. The three of them had to leave, and they had to leave now.
"Go get Poe," she commanded and the droid was off rolling without hesitation. Elle sprinted towards her and Poe's X Wings in order to prepare for take off. They did not have much time.
The astromech droid poked into the opening of the tent and announced the impending attack. Poe, clearly understanding what BB-8 had said, was quick to move out of the tent. "Aw, we've got company," he said with alarm. The pilot was followed by Lor, as the two left the dwelling with haste.
Once outside, they saw the incoming fleet. "You have to hide," Poe informed his older companion.
Lor was swift to reply with, "You have to leave."
Poe ran the short distance to his X Wing, shouting for BB-8 to hurry along. He spotted Elle opening his ship before climbing into hers. His heart was beating frantically as he boarded the already open aircraft. Before either of them could take off, Poe's ship received damage from a fired blaster. Attempting to stay calm and collected, Elle continued to prepare for take off, but her efforts were in vain. Nearly seconds after Poe was hit, she felt a dangerous impact.
In a hurry, the two jumped out, ready to defend themselves against the unknown. Elle carried her lightsaber in her left hand while Poe stole a blaster from a lifeless storm trooper. Between stormtroopers shooting and the race to keep the map safe, Poe was at a lost for words. With desperation, he dropped the contents of his pouch into a little drawer on BB-8's body.
"You get as far away from here as you can!" Poe instructed the frightened droid.
When Elle tried to follow Poe, he stopped her. "No," he said to her sternly, "go with BB-8."
Baffled she scuffed at him. "I'm here to protect you."
More focused on defending himself, Poe shot and killed a storm trooper who was getting a bit too close for his liking. "You were sent to protect that map!" He pointed at BB-8 for emphasis.
"Your safety matters to me as well," she argued.
"How many times do I have to tell you that I don't need your saving," he retorted, "I can handle myself."
"The audacity of men!"
"The audacity of women!"
Frustrated she closed her eyes in order to calm herself down. Anger led to fear and fear led to the dark side. She had to remember her lessons with Master Luke in order to keep herself sane. "Listen," she began, "the First Order knows my face. They do not know that droid. I will be a danger to the map."
As though he did not want to give in, Poe huffed. "Alright," he whispered in a low tone, "stay close."
A smile spread across her face and she was over the moon. Elle took a moment to say her goodbyes to BB-8, for she did not know when or if she would see the droid again. "Be safe, my friend," she muttered sweetly, before applying a soft kiss to the top of it's head.
"I'll come back for you!" Poe added as the two ran towards the feud, "You'll be alright!"
Those were their last words to BB-8 before Elle and Poe were gone. The droid felt a twinge of sadness as he watched his friends rush back to the fight. He knew if he stalled any longer he could put both himself and the map in danger. Following the instructions of Poe, he began to roll away, hoping to find somewhere safe.
While BB-8 was finding somewhere safe, Poe and Elle were doing the exact opposite. They were currently hiding behind a wall, watching as storm trooper after storm trooper marched out of the First Order ships. They were causing complete chaos.
One was using a flamethrower to torch victims alive. Others were taking villagers into their custody. The ones who resisted got the worst of it. Elle was only glad that their deaths were quick and painless: a blast to the head.
Poe observed the inner conflict that she was currently battling. Her hand continued to twitch, in need for her to wield her lightsaber and end the lives of these sorry murders, but she would kill perhaps three or four before being captured and executed herself. It was either save the few and be a hero, or stay hidden and be selfish.
"I have to-," she was cut off by Poe protesting.
"I know it's hard, but you will die."
"But-," her words came to a halt when she witnessed a tall figure dressed in all black swagger out of the ship. His presence was commanding and the second she laid eyes on him, she knew who he was. "Kylo Ren," she whispered. Poe took her hand, not to comfort her but to make sure she stayed by him. With the appearance of Kylo Ren, there was no telling what Elle would do.
It was not long until the capture of Lor San Tekka happened. When he was paraded down a cleared walkway, Poe could feel the woman beside him fidget.
"Look how old you've become," were his first spoken words, and Elle could barely recognize his voice. It was a falsely deep voice used for intimidation.
"Something far worse has happened to you," Lor answered sadly, "The First Order rose from the Dark Side; you did not. You cannot deny the truth of your family."
"You're so right," came his reply before he raised his lightsaber, a red cross guard weapon that extended with two miniature blades.
With a single movement, the elderly man was executed, and his lifeless corpse fell to the ground with a gave a long, loud, piercing cry of pain as she witnessed the murder of Lor San Tekka. Unable to hold her back, Poe could only remain in hiding as she ran toward Kylo Ren.
Her lightsaber, a double-bladed green blade, cut through the air in a flash. To her surprise, he managed to dodge her attack. Only his armor seemed to get nicked by her blade. Her brows furrowed when she saw storm troopers raise their blasters to defend. With an outstretched hand, she used the Force to send them flying, away from her, away from Kylo Ren.
"You are filled with so much rage," he declared as the two circled each other.
"You have murdered an innocent man," she growled back.
He was unable to reply when her lightsaber was swung towards him. Skillfully, he blocked her attack, but he had been pushed back in the process. She pressed harshly into him until their weapons bounced off each other. She did not hesitate to go at him again.
Every move she made, he seemed to block. Every step Elle took, he seemed to know she would take. Elle was beginning to become irritated. Not from Kylo Ren, but from herself. Her rage was clouding her ability to defend herself. She was carelessly throwing herself into battle. She needed to stay leveled and fight smartly.
She spun her lightsaber in order to get a better grip, before swinging at him once again, but Kylo was swifter. He blocked her attack and turned his blade in order to disarm her. Elle watched helplessly as her lightsaber flew into the distance, landing in the sand.
Roughly, Kylo Ren gripped her by her arm pit and dragged her towards him. He wrapped his arms around her body and placed his lightsaber across her neck. It took all her mental strength to stay calm. "Where is the map?" He asked her once he had gotten her in his face.
She was about to reply with a fake answer, saying something along the lines of: "the map was in that X Wing you destroyed", but her response never came. In replace of the sound of her voice was a blasting noise. Kylo Ren reached out his left hand in and used the Force to stop the blue beam that was speeding towards them.
Storm troopers rushed towards the source who happened to be Poe. They harshly escorted the pilot towards their leader. Poe was brought forth and shoved to his knees. He glanced up at Kylo Ren with such disgust before he calmed himself and spoke, "So," he began with his distracting babble, "who talks first, do I talk first? You talk first."
"The map, he gave it to you."
Poe rolled his eyes, "I can't really understand you with the-"
"Search him," Kylo commanded, not wanting to deal with the pilot's efforts to distract him from what they came for. The storm troopers moved to pat down Poe. When the map was not found, he seemed to grow irritated. "Tell me where it is."
His order had not been for Poe, but for girl who was currently in his arms. "I don't know," she murmured out.
Unhappy with her response, he turned his attentions back to the pilot. Poe let out a fierce gasp as Kylo Ren used the Force to enter his mind. The pain was unbearable and he continued to scream as he dug deeper and deeper.
"She's telling the truth," Poe shouted on the top of his lungs.
His yelling was horrid, and made Elle feel hollow. She began to resist Kylo's grip, kicking and continuously saying that she did not know where the map was.
"I'm telling the truth! He did not give it to me," she confessed. It was not a lie. Lor San Tekka had never given her the map. "I haven't even seen it." Another truth, one that caused Kylo Ren to release Poe from his mental grasp.
"Poe!" She wailed as he fell to the sand in pain.
"Take him on board," Kylo ordered
A tall, chrome-plated storm trooper marched towards Kylo Ren and asked, "Sir, the villagers."
Elle lifted her head to look at the helpless people of the village. Because of her and Poe being caught, their lives were about to end. For a moment, she wished that Kylo Ren would spare their lives, tell this head storm trooper to leave them, but her wish was not granted.
"Kill them all," was his reply and the firing resumed.
Before, she had thought that Ben was perhaps not too far gone. Maybe he could be brought back if he only saw the light, the truth! The only one seeing the truth now was her. Her pupil, her friend had been lost. This person who stood before her in a dark mask and cape was an impostor who had taken a hold of Ben's body, and was not planning to let go.
She stood there, helpless and frozen as they disposed of the civilians. Elle looked on in horror as they were shot down with blasters. All the stormtroopers firing, except for one. He had blood-streaked on the front of his helmet. The soldier stood in the firing-squad line but did not pull the trigger. Instead, he lowered his blaster, and continued to look on not doing anything.
Once the firing was done, she was bewildered. "You have become a monster," she muttered more to herself than to the man holding her.
His lightsaber sounded, and she feared the end of her life, but it never came. Even though he had put his weapon away, he kept a good hold on her.
"Perhaps," he responded before using the Force to put her to sleep.