Cordella gasped as her ship jerked forward among the stars. Her chest ached painfully from the force her harness had used to keep her in her seat.
She yanked the steering in her hand and her X-Wing spun out of the way of another laser cannon shot.
The TIE Fighters might not have any shielding or hyperdrive, but that only made them lighter and harder for her to chase down. They were faster than she thought something without a hyperdrive could be.
They stayed tight on her tail and she grumbled under her breath as her mind scrambled for an idea.
Alarms were blaring around her, damaged reports flashing across the screen of her helmet visor.
"I know!" she shouted angrily at all of the pop ups. "I know the core processor is on fire!"
"How are you holding up?" Poe's voice asked into her ear and she rolled her eyes.
She didn't have the patience she normally had to deal with the other two at the moment. She needed to lose these three tie fighters that had better aim than stormtroopers. Or at least the rumor was that they weren't very good at aiming. She had never been able to see one before. Her life had been nothing but politics since she was a child, even after her parents had died, and she had grown fond of what it meant to be a leader and help people and that was why she had run for the position, but there were moments like these where she wished she didn't have the pressure. It added more to this fight, an underlying understanding that she was responsible for what happened from here on out.
"Fine," she replied tightly.
With a firm grip, she pulled back on the steering and was shoved against the back of her seat at the sudden change in movement. Her ship climbed upright before looping back around. Ahead of her were the three ships and she didn't waste any time opening fire on them.
Not having shields had been a design flaw that she was more than happy to capitalize from. An explosion of debris flew past her as one of the TIE Fighters went down in a ball of contained flames that were quickly extinguished as all of the oxygen burned up.
"Poe, on your right," Finn instructed and Cordella did her best to push the instructions not meant for her out of her mind.
There was another shove and Cordella could feel something sharp hit her side. Her teeth clenched and she exhaled, one hand shooting to the pain to hold pressure to it. Her fingers touched something cold, but she didn't give much thought to it.
Her ship was losing power. The lights around her were flickering and her headset was showing warnings for what felt like every inch of her ship that was damaged. Her core processor was whirling somewhere behind her, gasping for help.
"My ship is down," she said, her voice pitched high with the pain that was finally starting to set in as warmth licked at her fingers.
"Can you hyper jump back to Naboo?" Poe asked over the headset.
Cordella's head drooped forward as her ship came to a sputtering stop, the cockpit lights now fully off and washing her in a deep darkness. "I have no power," she explained, even though she was sure that they couldn't hear her anymore. With a deep breath she sat up fully and began flipping switches for emergency backup power. She could hear the engine breathe with life, but it died again with a sad whirring noise. Once more she flipped the switch and it gave one hopeful breath before falling silent again.
She wasn't sure what else to do. There were still a good eight Tie Fighters they were battling and the two men didn't have the time to help her. She had to do something though. She didn't know how much more oxygen she had left and if there was still a fire within her core processor then it would be burning up all of her air.
She could just make out the fight going on outside of her canopy, bright flashes popping up across the sky among the stars. A bright beam shot towards her and she jolted in her seat as her ship became detached from one of its wings.
Her heart beat madly in her chest and her hands worked as quickly as they could, trying to start her x-wing back up desperately. With all attention back on her, she didn't stand a chance and this was not where she was going to die. She had things she wanted to do when her term was up. She didn't want to be a politician forever damn it.
Nothing was working. The switch wasn't even giving a startup hum anymore. She pulled off her helmet and tossed it to her feet with a crash before making sure that her oxygen mask was snug over her mouth and nose.
There was a flash of movement outside and her eyes watched as a TIE Fighter circled her ship. It was playing with her. It had to be. It had an open shot at her and she had no way to stop it.
There was a large flash and Cordella jumped as the TIE Fighter exploded, sending her ship skirting back with the power of the blast. A new light colored ship zipped past her and she stared. It was a Y-Wing. It had been a while since she had seen one of those and she couldn't pull anything to mind of who could possibly be flying it.
Whoever it was, was an excellent pilot and she was grateful that this person had shown up in time to help her. She watched curiously as the new ship took out another TIE Fighter as easily as the first, leaving Finn open to take out one in front of him now that he didn't have to worry about the one following him.
"I didn't think that you would make it," Poe found himself teasing over the headset.
"It looked like you desperately needed a bit of help," the familiar voice of Zorii answered.
"You two can flirt later," Finn's voice crackled through and Poe frowned.
"We weren't-" he broke off knowing that it was worthless to fight against Finn and this definitely wasn't the place. "Is the queen alright?"
"In that beat up thing? Not sure," Zorii replied. Poe exhaled tightly and a smile covered his face as he blasted one of the few ships left out of the sky. "I couldn't see any movement inside."
"Shit," Poe hissed, watching as Finn took out the last one. "Zorii, I'm going to pull that ship in. As soon as we hit the gravity it will fall without power. Can you get under it and guide it in?"
"Alright."
"Finn, how are you holding up?" Poe asked as he made his way closer to Cordella's ship and shot a tow cable into the wing that was still attached. He waited for Zorii to get under the X-Wing before turning back towards Naboo.
"I'm good. Looks like there's an issue with the fuel line, but I should have enough to make it back."
"Right." Poe gave a nod to no one and slowly pulled on the tow line, the other ship moving fairly easily after him. Reentry wasn't too difficult. Zorii was doing well with supporting the destroyed ship until the hanger where it was less than gracefully tipped off of her y-wing and to the hanger floor with a squeal of metal grinding against stone.
Poe landed and immediately jumped down from his cockpit, sprinting to Cordella's ship. Finn had beat him to it and was doing his best to pry open the canopy that had been damaged in such a way that it wouldn't open.
"Here," Zorii called, tossing him a hand tool that Finn caught and looked at curiously.
Finn found the small switch that ignited the arch welder and blue contained streams of electricity buzzed to life. He pointed it at the metal frame around the transparisteel. All three of them looked away as sparks flew into the air.
"Zorii, we may need a first aid kit," Poe called above the loud sound of the welding. Zorii nodded within her helmet and went back to her ship to search for one.
The brightness faded and Poe watched from below as Finn tore open the canopy to reveal a lightly banged up Cordella. She didn't look too bad off. There was a small nick on her cheek and her hair had mostly fallen from its ponytail. She pulled her oxygen mask off her face and exhaled deeply.
"Would you mind helping me down?" she asked in a voice half as strong as she normally used, her face paling.
Finn jumped into action and carefully unstrapped her from her seat, supporting her as she climbed over the edge of the cockpit and onto the wing. Finn's grip was tight around her upper arm as he helped lower her down into Poe's waiting form.
Poe's hands took the young queen's waist and helped her drop down to the hanger floor. Her knees gave way beneath her and Poe snatched her up quickly before she could crumple to the ground.
"Zorii," Poe called, waiting for her to return from her ship. Finn dropped down and stepped closer. "Finn, help me." Finn nodded as he helped Poe lower the girl gently to the floor, using himself for the teen to lean against. She rested back against Finn's chest, face blanched and sweat forming on her brow. "Zorii!"
"I'm coming!" she shot back in annoyance from somewhere in the distance, her footsteps echoing as she raced back to them.
"How are you doing?" Poe asked with a kind smile, trying to make sure that the young girl was comfortable and not afraid.
"I'm hurt, not dying," she teased with a weak smile. "I'll be fine."
Zorii dropped to her knees beside the group and opened up the case for Poe to look at. Poe dug through it and stopped at the sight of blood that had soaked into the side of his shirt that he hadn't noticed before. His eyes immediately went back to the queen.
A flood of different emotions rushed through him at how her flight suit was stained with her blood, the color darker from a large hunk of twisted metal that was stuck in her side. He had never felt so much guilt before. He shouldn't have let her go with them. They could have handled it just fine without her.
"Poe," Finn hissed, trying to get his friend's attention back from the intense stare he had.
Poe's face fell as he moved closer to the queen and reached out to help her. The moment his fingertips brushed against the metal Cordella squirmed out of his reach and snatched up one of Finn's hands with a grimace and whimper. Poe's hand shot back and he glanced over at Zorii whose face was still hidden behind her helmet and giving him no direction.
"You need to stay still," Poe said softly, his eyes meeting Cordella's with an apology. This had been his fault. He should have told her no, but he had let her come. He had given her the idea of sneaking out and now she was hurt. "Ok?"
She licked her lips and nodded her head, turning her face away and hiding it into Finn's neck who looked surprised at the movement, but let her seek out comfort however she wanted. Her fingers laced with Finn's who returned the grip and Poe took a deep breath, reaching back out. He cast a glance to Zorii who was ready with some gauze.
With a determined nod he took a firm hold on the slick metal and felt a pang of apprehension. "On three. One." His gaze flickered over the young girl's face as her breathing quickened as if she were trying to ready herself for the pain. "Two." He didn't make it to three. He knew she would be too worked up if he waited. So he pulled at the metal and she cried through her teeth, feet kicking as Finn held her still. Tears were pouring down her cheeks as she gasped. "It's ok," Poe assured gently as he tossed the piece of debris away with a clank. "We need to get this off of you, alright?"
His fingers worked as quickly and softly as they could, unbuttoning her suit down to her waist and pulling it off of her shoulders so that he could more clearly work. He lifted the hem of her thin undershirt off of the wound and took some of the gauze that Zorii held out. He placed it to the deep gash and Cordella groaned.
Zorii held out a container of clear liquid and Poe snatched it up, pulling back the gauze and pouring some of the liquid over the wound. The queen cried, biting at her lip so harshly that it would leave marks.
The open wound bubbled as the liquid cleaned the cut with a harsh burn. Poe leaned down to get a better look at the problem and shook his head. "There's still shards of metal. I need something to get them out." Zorii dug back through the bag and Poe caught Finn whispering softly to Cordella while his free hand that wasn't trapped in her grip was gently smoothing out her hair. Zorii held out a pair of needle nosed pliers of some sort and Poe chewed on his tongue as he did his best to be careful as he dug around to retrieve the remaining pieces of metal.
Once he was sure that everything was clean he pressed more gauze onto the wound and Zorii helped wrap the bandages around her middle. They were done with their work that would need to be looked over by a better medical professional later, but for now that would do.
Poe carefully scooped Cordella up into his arms and her face scrunched up in pain as she settled against him, head on his shoulder. "We're going to get you taken care of," he whispered to her as he made his way out of the hanger to find someone who could help her far better than they could.
"Thank you general," she answered in a breathless voice, curling further against him.
"I'm so sorry," he whispered.
"As long as my people are safe, you have done nothing wrong."
Then why did he feel so awful? The guilt didn't sit on his chest, it was swirling in his brain. What had happened couldn't be undone and he could mend things in subtle ways, but nothing would repair this. There was gasoline in his gut. His insides were slowly dying from the toxicity, burning him. He had done everything wrong.
Ben hadn't been able to sleep. There was something wrong. Something wasn't sitting right in his chest. That commander that Wayzac seemed to like was gone. Apparently he was among the crew that Wayzac had approved to depart and he was long gone by the time Ben had gone to find him.
Ben made his way down the maze of halls doing his best to push aside his annoyance that was bubbling in his chest. This was going to be more difficult than he thought it would be. He was positive that he had made the right choice in coming back to the Finalizer, he just wasn't sure how to get rid of Wayzac. He had to wait for the right moment. He had to keep tearing her down. He couldn't get rid of her now. The other officers still liked her and he knew that he would be in for a rough time of it even if he was the Supreme Leader. He wasn't Snoke. He couldn't rule with absolute fear and there was no way he was good at manipulating like Wayzac. He just had to make sure he played the game right.
Up the hall there was a commotion that captured Ben's attention and he could only stare at the struggling woman that some guards were dragging down the hall.
"Let go of me!" the woman hissed as she tried to free her arms.
"Rose," Ben whispered, taking swift steps forward. He was about to demand her release, but the cold eyes and red hair that turned the corner trapped the words in his mouth.
"Ah, Kylo," Wayzac said happily. Rose immediately froze and her eyes darted to Ben's face, her dark hair seized by one of the guards, holding her head in place. "We picked this one up on the Resistance base."
"I see," Ben muttered, his voice small. He cleared his throat. "And the Jedi?"
"I'm afraid she might still be on Naboo. We didn't find her. Only this one." Wayzac moved closer and Ben avoided her gaze, eyes on Rose. "We will be checking in with our group that was sent there during our conference later today."
"And what are you going to do with this one?" Ben nodded to Rose whose nose had scrunched up in absolute hate, her eyes dark, jaw clenched tightly. She didn't know. Rey hadn't told her. What happened to Rey? He had to bite back the question.
"She will be posted in Cell Block C," Wayzac answered calmly. "We will interrogate her to find where the rest of the Resistance is. I have also been updated about the small crew we sent to Naboo. It looks like there weren't any survivors." She didn't at all seem concerned about the man she had been flinging herself on that was not dead somewhere off the planet of Naboo. In all honesty, she didn't care. She would find another like him. There were always more men like that one, another nameless face to dispose of when the time came.
Ben nodded, hoping that his face stayed neutral enough for Wayzac but with enough expression for Rose to understand. He would get her out. She didn't have to worry. "I will conduct the interrogation myself," Ben instructed. Wayzac didn't look impressed but didn't fight him. "Take her away."
The guards began to shove Rose again and it took her a moment to realize that she was being moved. Her eyes stayed on Ben as she fought once again.
"We trusted you!" she shouted, making Ben's heart sink and a pink heat flood the top of his ears. "You gave us up, didn't you?"
Ben watched with his tongue held tightly between his teeth so he wouldn't speak. His hands were tight fists at his side's and he did his best to breathe deeply.
"She loves you bastard!"
"She's excitable, isn't she?" Wayzac said from somewhere beside Ben. "Are you going to be able to handle the-"
"I'll be fine." His voice came out harsh.
"She seemed like she knew you," she pushed finally calling Ben's eyes to her. There was something smug in her tone. He couldn't let her know. "How does a member of the Resistance know you?"
"Prison." Ben quickly turned his back on the woman and started back up the hallway he had come down to head back to his room.
"Why were Resistance personnel in the prison?"
"They commit war crimes just like everybody else. There are still laws that have to be obeyed, Wayzac." He rolled his eyes as her footsteps followed behind him at a swift pace to catch up to him. "Please let me retire to my room alone."
"Kylo, who could ever love you?"
Ben's steps faltered and he stopped, his heart aching at the laugh she gave. His eyes lowered to the floor and he tried to step again, but it was like his feet were welded to the floor.
Her laugh continued to echo in his head long after it had disappeared from the hallway.
"Did I hit a nerve?" Her tone was so innocent that it infuriated him and he closed his eyes, willing his feet to move forward but they wouldn't. "Did Kylo Ren really think that someone could actually love him?" She laughed again and Ben clenched his teeth so hard that it made his ears ring. "No one could love you. No one in their right mind-"
He couldn't stop himself. It was so natural, so quick. He spun around and his hand went to her neck like a missile finding its target. He slammed her against the wall with a loud crash, her eyes wide in surprise as she gasped.
"Shut up!" he snarled. He couldn't remember having been this angry in a long time. His free hand trembled in a fist. The shock slowly ebbed from her face and she simply smiled that damned smile that said she was better than him. "I want to kill you. You have no idea how badly I want to end you." The words spilled from him, unable to be held back by his gritted teeth. He shocked himself as the words bounced off of the metal tomb like walls around them.
"You don't have the guts," she shot back sweetly. "We both know you can't."
With a deep breath he forced his hand to release her. He couldn't let her taunt him and he definitely couldn't blow up like he used to. He might have had his father's temper and short fuse, but he didn't have to act on it. Not anymore.
"You forget your place, Irwilig," Ben said, brushing his hair back from his face and stepping away from her. Her expression flickered from smug to again surprised as if she had been expecting him to try to hurt her. Kylo Ren would have, but Ben Solo would be a better man. "You would do well to remember."
"Go change," Finn instructed, patting Poe's shoulder as he entered the infirmary. The room was a long, large hall that was lined with beds and medical equipment. Personal humans in white robes and robots were quietly walking around checking on a small handful of others that were in the same room. Poe didn't move from his forward slump from the bedside of the queen who was fast asleep. "Go take a shower. She's fine. Her vitals are stable."
Poe shook his head and glanced up, hands steepled at his mouth. His eyes raked over the bed, stopping on the young girl's face. "She ordered me to stay."
"I will be right here and I am sure that the queen would not want you still wearing her blood when she wakes up."
Poe was silent for a moment before sighing. He rose to his feet, his knees cracking as his stiff joints straightened out for the first time in hours. He stretched his arms over his head, his back popping too. Finn winced at the sound, but Poe didn't notice.
He made his way past the bed, but froze at Finn's words.
"You don't need to keep beating yourself up for this. It wasn't your fault." – He said.
Poe's head dropped down as he held back tears and he pushed himself from the room.
Finn took Poe's seat and looked over the queen whose face was calm and breathing steady as she slept. Poe had done a good job patching her up according to the doctor that had looked over her.
Cordella would be fine with rest and time, but she wouldn't be fit for duty for quite a while. The piece of metal had damaged one of her internal organs, but the doctors had been able to fix it up. It was just a matter of waiting.
Finn looked back up to where Poe had been. He understood why Poe was upset. He knew that it had to do with Poe's brother and what had happened. He just had a feeling that was it, but he wasn't sure how to fix it. Finn didn't even know if there was anything that he could do to help. A lot of the time he honestly felt in the way.
He wanted to be something more than in the way. He wanted to be something useful. He wanted to be someone that they could all look to for help.
An odd memory entered his head and he wasn't sure why. That desert planet, the quick sand, the cave. That monster that Rey had... Healed.
His eyes widened and he turned back to the bed. Could he? He still wasn't very good at anything that had to do with the force yet. He still had trouble summoning it when he needed it. He was nowhere near as talented as Rey and nowhere near as practiced as Ben. But he could still try, couldn't he?
Or would he just make things worse like he always made things worse? He was the screw up of the group. The last to understand. The last to know. The last to act. And he wouldn't be that anymore.
Finn got to his feet and carefully took Cordella's hand into his own. He could do this. He would do this.
What was it that Rey had said? Life force. She was giving her life force.
He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, concentrating as best he could. The force was a feeling, or that was how he had come to think of it. Or maybe that was how he used it. Emotions were what summoned it. So what emotion did he need? How did he use the force to help? How did he give his life force?
"Will you stop pacing? You're going to make me sick." Poe didn't pay any attention and continued in his brisk walk back and forth across the ornate room of the suite. "You're still wearing that shirt," Zorii pointed out again trying to get his attention. When Poe still didn't acknowledge her, she sighed and got from the couch, stepping into his path.
He came to a stop in front of her, eyes slowly coming back to life as he stared at her helmet. He took a few steps backwards and changed his direction, getting lost in thought again.
"What has gotten into you?" Zorii demanded, getting back in front of him. She caught the pilot by the chest and shoved him back. He stumbled and fell to the floor. His eyes flickered up to her, tears lining them. She frowned. "I've never seen you like this before." – She affirmed.
Poe sniffed and used the sleeve of his jacket to wipe at his nose. He didn't move from where he was on the floor, just crossed his legs and began to play with some loose thread at the cuff of his pants.
Zorii growled and her hands moved up to grasp each side of her helmet and lift it over her head. Her brown loose ringlet curls were wild now that they were free from her helmet. She dropped to her knees in front of Poe and when he caught her eyes, he finally met her gaze.
He couldn't remember the last time he had seen her without her helmet. She never took the thing off. Maybe when they had kissed the first time? But it was so long ago and alcohol blurred that he wasn't sure.
His eyes raked over her face, taking in every detail he could before she decided to block him out again. Her eyes were a clear glass bottle green that were concerned, which was a nice change from having to guess what she was thinking. Her nose was slim and there was a scar across it that matched Poe's still healing nick. Her thin pink lips were turned down in a frown.
"What is going on, Poe?" she asked.
He inhaled sharply and held it until his lungs burned and he left it go. He lowered his head into his hand with another deep breath.
"It's my fault that she's hurt," he got out, rubbing at his eyes with his palms until patterns played in front of him. "I let her go." He regretted it. All of it.
"Did she want to go?"
"Yes," Poe answered softly, looking back up at her eyes.
"Were you the one who shot her?"
"No."
"Did you do your best to protect her?"
"Yes."
"And you helped fix her up, didn't you?" she questioned.
"Yes," he whispered.
"Then this is not your fault!" Her jaw was tight and her eyes bright. Poe felt his chest restricting as he tried to breathe. "You obviously don't believe me. Why in the world is that your fault?"
He blinked several times and licked his lips that were suddenly dry. Zorii's expression became annoyed and he pushed herself back to her feet.
"If you're not going to talk to me then I'm done." She scooped her helmet from the floor and shoved it under her arms as she began to twist her hair up so she could shove it into her helmet.
"N-no," he gasped out. "Please." His hand reached out to her, nowhere near touching her and she eyed it. His voice cracked, his tone a beg. "Stay."
She paused, looking over the disheveled man who desperately needed a shower and shave on the floor before her. With a huff of air, she released her hold on her hair and lowered herself back to the floor in front of him.
"Then you better start talking."
He swallowed and Zorii waited until her patience was about to snap before he finally spoke. "She reminds me of Cole."
"Your brother?" she questioned. Poe nodded in answer and she pursed her lips as if she were trying to fight back something she was going to say. "Why?"
"She's just full of this life and power. She can do whatever she wants, not because she's queen, but because she's determined. She doesn't take shit and she-"
"I get it," Zorii interrupted, perturbed. Had he said something wrong? He was about to ask when he saw a pink ting in her cheeks. He couldn't help but give a small smile at what he never got to see. "Your brother wasn't your fault either."
His smile dropped and he turned his gaze to the floor, hands gripping the fabric of his pant leg tightly. "You don't know that."
"I do know that," she argued, her hand reaching out to his, the fabric of her glove somehow warm despite the coldness of the leather. "You have to stop blaming yourself for something you had no control over."
"But maybe if I hadn't left with my mom, he wouldn't have run off. Maybe I should have tried to look for him when he went missing, maybe-"
"There are a lot of maybes that didn't happen and you can't change now. Stop trying to fix it."
He stared at her, shocked.
"You can't keep holding onto the maybes. It's going to drive you crazy." Her hand squeezed his tightly and he released his hold on his pant leg and let hers encircle his. "You have to let it go or it's going to kill you."
He had never had someone say that out loud before. It was always I'm sorry or You'll get over it. Her words held a truth in them he didn't know that he had to hear until the words echoed in his head.
With a new feeling in his chest that he couldn't place and a deep breath, he got to his feet, holding out his hand for Zorii to take. He helped her up and pulled her closer, placing a kiss to her cheek.
She stared at him, wide eyed as blush covered her cheeks.
"Thank you," he whispered before releasing her hand and turning around. "I'm going to clean up."
