Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. Just writing fan fiction for fun.

Chapter Twenty-four: Hope

In just a few minutes, not even an hour the command center was up and running. It was a makeshift of the old base back on D'Qar, just with less equipment.

Aunt Leia watched her fellow Resistance members and fighters help each other around the clock. Elle helped Lt. Connix try to get her communications set up and asked Admiral D'Arcy if there was anything else she could do since they were in short supply of Resistance members.

"All right, shields are up so they can't hit us from orbit," Poe said, striding across base grounds, checking to make sure everyone was at the ready. "Use whatever power we have left to broadcast a signal to the outer rim."

"Use my personal code," Aunt Leia chimed in. "If there are any allies to the Resistance, it's now or never."

Nervous chills swept over Elle's body at those words. Why did she suddenly have a bad feeling about this?

"Rose, what'd you got?" Poe asked the mechanic as she came back with whatever she could scrounge.

"Busted ammunitions, rusted artillery, and half gutted skim speeders," she replied.

Elle made a face, scrunching up her nose. Very bad idea. She gave Poe a strained look.

"Well, let's just hope that big ass door will hold long enough for us to get help," Poe said.

Suddenly, and no sooner did he say that out loud did the walls of the cave shook, making the creatures around them whine in fear. Everyone's eyes looked up at the terrible sound.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Elle said, unable to help it out loud.

Finn looked over through the scope and they joined him not a moment later as he tried to detect what had made the cave walls shake like that and get on everyone's high nerves.

"A battering ram canon," Finn said.

"A what now?" Poe asked.

"A miniaturized death star tech. It will crack that door open like an egg," Finn replied.

"There has to be a backdoor out of here, right?" Rose asked.

"BB-8 what do you got?" Poe asked as he spotted the white and orange droid rolling over to them. Threepio followed quickly after.

"BB-8 has analyzed the live schematics. This is the only way in or out," Threepio informed.

Elle frowned, glancing back at the huge door blocking their way in, and then looked at her aunt, who seemed to be in pensive mode. If she didn't stop this, they were dead. They were all dead and there'd be no chance left for escape. She could save the Resistance fleet right now and make a quick get away with what little fuel they had left.

"Come on," Finn said suddenly, making the Resistance look at him questionably. "We have allies. People believe in Leia, they'll get our message, they'll come. But we have to buy time."

When Finn said those exact words in Elle's ears she glanced over at her aunt. She wanted to do this. She wanted to help more than anything.

"We gotta buy them as much time as we need. We can do this," Poe added, glancing at everyone giving them ounces of hope he could muster.

"We gotta take out that cannon," Finn said.

Indeed they did. Rose and the others went to grab the skim speeders. As clunky as they were, they were the best things they got right now in a line of defense.

~*TLJ*~

Elle watched nervously as the fighter pilots got into their half batted little skim speeders. She meandered her way over towards Poe out from the base and into the cold. She clung onto her cloak that kept her warm and found her way towards Poe's speeder in the front. He looked up from his speeder after checking its parts to make sure that it was enough.

He walked over towards her concernedly, "Hey, you shouldn't be out here. It's freezing."

He pulled her in gently, and ran his hands down her arms.

She inhaled sharply and looked towards the looming First Order, pointing their walkers and their battering ram at the Resistance before flicking her eyes to face Poe's beautiful yet handsome face.

"Poe," she said softly, trembling slightly.

"What? What is it? You're making me nervous," he said, a slight chuckle leaving his lips.

"Imagine how I feel," she said, biting her lip. She looked up at him.

"Um, I'm pregnant."

Poe raised his eyebrows, and blinked several times as the news finally slipped from her lips. She could feel the others on her, and a few grins from Finn and Rose that were near by ready in their speeders.

"I wasn't really sure when the right time to tell you was, a-and I was kind of scared too," she said, cause Ben was the first one to tell her and let her know that she was pregnant. She had to go find out herself. And after she had time to think it over, she knew that now was the perfect time to tell him. She'd worried about what he thought. She worried a lot.

"You're pregnant? He asked.

She nodded, eyes dancing and searching for answers on his stoic face. She could sense a mixture rush of emotions from him, rushing like a huge tidal wave. Should she have told him at that moment? Was now a good time? Was any time a good time for that matter when the First Order was slowly picking them off one by one?

A slow smile appeared on his face, and he stepped forward, holding her in his arms, pulling her in close.

"This is the happiest moment in my life," he whispered.

She looked up at him, almost feeling the tears ready to spill out. "It is?" she asked meekly.

He gave her a real grin, she felt that, and he picked her up and twirled her around. He was laughing for once, and it felt good to laugh. She smiled as he put her down and pulled her in for a hug, and then kissed her, letting her lips melt right into him, forgetting that anyone was ever there around them like they were the only two people on Crait.

She slowly pulled apart, and held her arms around him, leaning back to look up at him and search his eyes. They were definitely happy eyes. It was a happy moment even in dark times like these. Maybe it was needed. Hope. Light. The light Elle was supposed to be.

"What are we going to do?" she asked finally.

He let out an exhale after a thoughtful look on his face. "I'm going to get us out of this, and then we are going to raise that beautiful child of our own, and see him or her grow up to be an amazing pilot."

Elle blinked, and smirked a little. "A pilot, huh? What if they don't want to be a pilot?"

"Well…it can be a hobby if they must," Poe regarded with a grin. He pulled her in for a hug. "Oh, this is amazing news, Elle. Thank you. We'll find a way. I promise."

Elle nodded against his shoulder, hugging him back in return. "You just make it back to me, to us, okay?"

Poe nodded. "I promise. Now go," he said, shoving her lightly out of the speeder's way so he could get into formation.

"Be careful," she said.

Poe nodded, and she walked back behind the lines of the trenches where ground artillery fighters were and slid right back into base. She let out a relieved sigh. Good. She told him. And he didn't seem all that upset or freaked out by it. Nor did he seem to be distracted either. She smiled. Maybe they were going to be okay after all. She had her doubts for a minute there. She looked onward, hearing the sounds of the speeders in the air.

"Ground forces incoming!"

"Copy that! We're on our way!"

"All right listen up! I don't like these rust buckets, and I don't like our odds. Just keep it tight, and don't get drawn in too close until they bring that cannon up front," Poe's static-y voice was heard on dispatch communications operated by Lt. Connix and D'Arcy.

"All right, ground forces, lay down some fire!" he yelled his orders.

Elle wondered if they were going to make it out there. She knew Poe. She knew he would do it. He'd make it. He had to. He promised. He couldn't leave her, leave them. She didn't want to be alone. It's what scared her the most.

"Such insecure doubts I sense from you, cousin," A voice taunted her, making her pause in her step. She was halfway inside the base with the others, causing her to stop, and turn slightly away from them. "I know you did that for my benefit."

"Did I?" Elle asked in a mere whisper. She smirked, knowing full well that he could see her inside the cave. She heard the roaring sounds of TIE-fighters out there that made her shiver.

"You think you've won," he said. "By telling him. By giving him that extra boost."

Elle shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. I know one thing; we'll never give up. You under estimate us."

"Such bold words who became a traitor and a coward," he spat in her mind that made her shiver.

"Coward? Look who's still hiding behind his mask like a temper tantrum little child," Elle said.

"You could've had it all you know. You could've been my right hand, and together we would've been unstoppable!"

"And what then? Kylo Ren. What do you hope to gain out of this? Universal rule? Alone on your throne? Is that what you want?"

"I want you all to suffer!" he yelled, making her wince.

Elle licked her lips and looked down, contemplating her own idea, and looked over at her aunt, who kept an eye on her.

Elle turned to face the base door. "We will never bow to you. We are not going to bow to you, do you hear me? Look, I have a proposition for you."

There was a slight pause before he answered, "I'm listening."

"Rose!"

"I can't shake them!"

Elle looked over to the voices coming through dispatch communications. They were the only ones coming through the communications. No one had answered their pleading call yet.

Suddenly, she heard it. She heard the familiar cry of the Millennium Falcon and she looked over at her aunt with excitement in her eyes.

Rey!

"Woo! I like this!"

"She drew them off, all of them!" Poe cried out.

"Oh, they hate that ship!"

Now this was what she was hoping for! This was a battle. The Battle of Crait.

"Blow that piece of junk out of the sky!"

Elle smirked, feeling the irate anger rivet off of Kylo Ren. She could sense it a mile a way, especially when it came to the Falcon, his father's ship.

"You hear me now, Kylo Ren?" Elle taunted.

"I hear you loud and clear," he sneered in pure anger. "What do you want?"

"I'm prepared to go with you," Elle said. "But you must let them go. You will take me with you, and you will leave them alone."

There was a bit of silence in Elle's mind.

"There it is!" Rose cried. "That is a big gun."

"Okay, it's heavily armored. The only shot is right down the throat," Finn announced.

"They're picking us all off! We're not going to make it!" Poe cried.

Elle felt worried, listening to the trouble they were having out there, and felt a little sick to her stomach.

"Come on, Ben…" she thought to herself.

"Just because that we're no longer brother and sister, doesn't mean that we aren't still family."

"All right, making my final approach!" Finn informed. "I have it in sight! Guns are hot!"

"No, pull out!" Poe said suddenly.

"What?"

"The cannon is charged," Poe informed. "It's a suicide run!"

"No, I'm almost there!" Finn pushed forward.

"Retreat Finn! That's an order!" Poe yelled back.

"Finn, it's too late! Don't do this!" Rose cried.

"No! I won't let them win!" he was so determined.

Elle pleaded worriedly, as she watched from the sidelines, unable to do much of anything, once more feeling like a waste of space.

"Finn….Rose…" Elle clutched at her heart, hoping they were okay. The other remaining speeder fighter pilots ran and slid back to safety, running back to base.

She ran over to join Poe at her aunt's side. "Where are Finn and Rose? What happened?"

"Help! I need a medic! She's hurt!" Finn cried out not a moment later. One of Kalonia's remaining medics rushed over to help him. Poe and Elle turned and ran to Finn's side.

"Is she okay?"

"She will be," he nodded. Yes, she will be, once she got help.

"Elle…" Poe said gently, tugging at her sleeve. Elle looked up from a concerned look for Rose towards him.

"What?"

"Look," he whispered in awe.

Elle turned around and then faced the newcomer. Lips parted ajar, and her eyes went wide.

"Dad."

~*TLJ*~

A/N: ((GRIN)) YAY! Luke is finally here, and Elle finally told Poe about her pregnancy! By the way, my favorite line in the movie is, "Blow that piece of junk out of the sky!" So I had to include that in, duh! Love it. It gets me every time. He just delivers it so well. Hehe. Anyway, thank ya'll for reading, following, favoriting, and reviewing, especially the recents! They are loved and welcomed! More updates soon!