Hello! Hope you all are staying safe. As promised, here's a new chapter. Enjoy!


Chapter 9: Hopeful


26 ABY

Luke Skywalker's Jedi Temple

Two years before its destruction…

Sweat descended her forehead and onto her brows before she swiped it away with her arm. Her breaths were coming out ragged and rough as her heart pounded against her flesh while her grip tightened around her disengaged lightsaber. She slowly got up from where she had fallen, sore to her very core. She shook it off and faced her opponent with an increased determination.

"Again." She breathed out and ignited her lightsaber once more.

Her opponent scoffed at her before smirking, "And here I thought you were going to let an old man best you." He said as he twirled his green hue ignited lightsaber in his hand before getting into the dueling stance.

Their lightsabers clashed, green against purple. Klara gave him an amused smile before pushing away. "You are a Jedi Master after all, and I, a soon to be Jedi Knight."

He moved to attack her once more. Klara evaded it and rolled to the side before getting back up and blocking his oncoming attack again. It was a dance of attacking and blocking between them both that seemed to be never ending, He would attack, she would block and then attack resulting in him blocking. He wasn't a Jedi Master for nothing, and Klara was determined to knock him down so he could feel the very soreness she had felt.

They came together again, locking their lightsabers together and both staring at the other. Him with a more amused look that Klara wanted to knock off. Thinking quickly, she pushed him with her lightsaber and withdrew their interlock. She smirked at him.

"Catch." She shouted as she disengaged her lightsaber and tossed it to him. His confused state was enough for her to slide to him and swipe her legs under his feet while he caught her lightsaber. He fell, tumbling to the ground as she snatched her lightsaber from his grip and summoned his lightsaber to her other hand. She ignited both, pinning him down as her breaths became noticeably labored. He simply looked at her with bewilderment as he slowly held his hands up in defeat. She smiled, pleased, before disengaging both lightsabers and helping him up.

"That was a cheap trick." He mused as Klara give him his lightsaber. "You must be hanging around Han too much."

Klara laughed at this. "You're the one that keeps telling me to hang out with people more." She stated. He handed her a towel and she accepted, immediately wiping at her sweat covered face as he did the same.

"As Jedi Master, it does please me to see how dedicated you are to your training," he paused before resting his hand on her shoulder, "but as your father, it concerns me as to how much time you spend on training."

Scoffing she said, "You make it sound like I don't have friends." She noticed his stern look and sighed. "I just want to…you know…be like you. I don't want to disappoint you. So, I train harder." She shrugged.

Giving her a knowing look, Luke understood her. "Are you sure it's only me you don't want to disappoint and not the expectations everyone has of you because you bear the Skywalker name?"

Klara pondered. Was there more to it than just her father's disappointment? She had indeed become quite perceptive on what others thought of her. She heard their whispers, noting that she was Luke Skywalkers daughter, and how great she would become, just like him. So perhaps it was more than just her father.

Noticing his daughters silence, he sighed and pulled her into a hug. His mechno-arm resting on her back while his other arm found its way to her hair. She returned his embrace, finding comfort like she's always had whenever he hugged her.

Luke kissed the top of her head before pulling away. "You should never try to be someone else. You need to be you and finding out who you are is just a part of the journey. I will always be proud of you and your mother would be just as proud of the woman you are becoming. Do not let your fears control who you are going to be."

Klara nodded, understanding.


Present

34 ABY

D'Qar

The first thing she heard before opening her eyes, were the shuffling of feet, and then pressure on her wrist. The hands evading her wrist were soft, unseen by war. She slowly opened her eyes, letting them adjust to the brightness of the room. Once they adjusted, her eyes fell on the doctor before her, Gar. He seemed to be checking the stability of her pulse on her wrist.

Noticing her beginning to stir awake, Gar let go of her wrists and met the gaze of Klara and smiled. "So, she lives to see another day." He joked with her as he grabbed the datapad from the counter.

"So, it seems," She laughed.

Shifting to an upright position on the medical bed, she groaned when she recalled the events of what happened with Ben. She had let her guard down and was certainly not expecting that sort of power from him. Such a dark power. She needed to stop letting him get through to her; she was taught better. Yet, it was such a difficult task for her. He was like a brother to her and they always shared things. One thing was for sure, she needed to train with another jedi.

Rey.

Klara bolted up from her bed so suddenly that when her feet landed on the ground, they had a hard time maintaining stability.

"Woah there." Gar cautioned as he moved to steady her. "You shouldn't move so fast."

"I'm alright," she half-lied as she stared at the ground, urging it to stop spinning. Once the world stopped spinning, she nodded to Gar and he let go of her. "How long was I out?"

"Han brought you in before coming to me. I only just got in a couple minutes ago, so I assume not that long." He said as he calculated. "You're fine physically, just a couple scrapes here and there. Han voiced out that Kylo Ren did something to you?" He questioned her.

She nodded, slightly wincing at the mention of Ben's alternate name. "Nothing too terrible."

Gar gave her a look that made her feel he didn't quite believe her. "Well whatever the case, you're perfectly fine."

Nodding again, Klara whispered her thanks as she made her way to the door.

"And Klara?" Gar Began. Klara paused at the door and turned to face him. He walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, reassuringly. "If you ever just want to talk, I'm here for you. As a friend." He smiled at her. "I'm more than just a doctor."

Klara returned his smile. "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you again Gar, you are appreciated." She finished as she rested her hand on top of his and gave it a gentle squeeze before leaving in search to find Leia or Han. Preferably both.

Klara was worried about Rey and hoped she made it out alright. She knew the droid, BB8, had accompanied Rey after she had dismissed her to help fight off the stormtroopers. The droid was important, but Rey's safety was just as important to Klara. Even with their short meeting, Klara had taking a liking to Rey. She felt connected with her.

After making her way around the many corners the base had, Klara found the opening to the hanger that was kept open to the outside. From afar, she spotted Poe in his orange flight suit talking with Finn. He was still wearing Poe's jacket. Klara eyes fell onto BB8 making her sigh in relief with the droid's safety. It gave her hope on seeing her father soon.

Klara trotted her way to them. Poe was the first to see her since Finn's back was to her. He flashed her a smile in which Klara returned him one of her own.

"Hey." Klara greeted as she approached them.

Finn turned around and smiled at her. "Hey! I'm glad you're okay. Han was freaking out the entire ride here no matter how much Chewbacca assured him you were fine." Finn finished patting her shoulder.

"What?" Poe questioned with concern laced in his voice as he looked her over. "You were injured?"

Amused, Klara replied, "I'm fine Poe, I just passed out. Nothing to worry about." Before Poe could question her further, Klara turned her attention to Finn. "Is Rey okay, I last saw her right as the chaos was happening."

Finn gave her a solemn look. "Kylo Ren took her. That's what I just got done telling Poe. I need to speak to General Organa about this. I need to save her, Klara."

Klara nodded, understanding. "Then let's not waste time." She turned her attention back to Poe, noticing his handsome features. "Do you know where Leia is right now, Poe?"

"This way." Poe waived and they followed.

It didn't take long for Poe to lead them down the stairs and into the main headquarters of the base where the strategic planning was made. It also housed the many communications distributers the Resistance used to get in contact with fellow pilots as well as other members that are within the Resistance. As they entered, the area was buzzing with members communicating with one another as well as communicating through the communication devices. He saw General Organa having a discussion with some diplomatic officials and made his way in her direction.

"General Organa." Poe called out loudly amongst the noise of the room. She turned her attention to him as she approached, making note of the presence of her niece as well as an unfamiliar man, whom she assumed was the former stormtrooper Han had mentioned earlier. "Sorry to interrupt," He apologized as he pointed at Finn, "This is Finn and he needs to talk to you."

Klara noticed one of Poe's friends, and a member of his squadron, was standing beside a female she didn't recognize. Snap is the name she believed he was called. Upon noticing her, Snap gave her a polite smile and nodded in greeting in which Klara returned.

"And I need to talk to him." Leia stated as she directed her attention to the man named Finn. "That was incredibly brave what you did. Renouncing the First Order, saving this man's life."

As much as he appreciated General Organa's compliments, Finn grew impatient before she could continue. "Thank you, ma'am. But a friend of mine was taken prisoner."

"Han told me about the girl." Leia said as she gave him a grim look. "I'm sorry."

Klara debated about stressing out the importance of the girl that now remains in Ben's grip but thought otherwise. The importance of the girl wouldn't matter to Leia because Leia valued any life, especially those that were innocent in the making of the current war. Instead, Klara felt she would discuss it with Leia later when they had a moment of privacy to themselves.

"Finn's familiar with the weapon that destroyed the Hosnian System. He worked on the base." Poe interrupted. Klara's heart skipped in sorrow at the memory of all the loss of life from those planets.

"We're desperate for anything you can tell us." Leia advised to Finn.

"That's where my friend was taken. I've got to get there fast." Finn replied solemnly.

"And I will do everything I can to help, but first you need to tell us all you know." Leia stated. She turned her attention to Klara and gave her a small smile. "We will first look at the map that was successfully retrieved for Luke's location. Later, we will have a meeting where we will discuss our plan of action and Finn will tell us everything he knows then." Leia paused as she looked around the group surrounding her. "In between that time, I highly suggest you all take a break and relax. I have a feeling it may be awhile before you can do so again."

After Leia finished, she led them to the holotable. Klara stood by the edge of the rounded holotable and shifted nervously on her feet, she was certain her nervousness was visible to others. Finn had taken a place to her left while Poe to her right. She hadn't realized her hands had started to fidget with one another until she felt a soft brush of a hand on her own. Startled, she glanced to see that it was Poe. He gave her a soft smile and it was then that she realized that he was comforting her. Heat rose to her cheeks as she felt herself blush at his gesture. She felt him rub his thumb on her hand, as if to tell her everything was going to be alright. She nodded to him, thankful for the gesture, and he removed his hand back to his side while she did the same. Why was her heart beating abnormally faster? Klara simply brushed it off as nerves. She returned her focus to the holotable where she caught Han giving her an odd look from where he stood across from her, next to Leia. However, before she could think for of it, Threepio approached the holotable with BB8.

"General, I regret to inform you, but this map recovered from BB8 is only partially complete." Threepio voiced as the droid inputted the device into the holotable. Klara felt he shoulder start to sulk at threepio's words. "And even worse, it matches no charted system on record. We simply do not have enough information to locate Master Luke." The droid stressed as he finished.

Poe turned to see Klara mutter something under her breath before storming off in the same direction they came from. He wanted to go after her, to comfort her because for some reason, he didn't like seeing her look so down. It was an odd feeling for him, one he didn't quite understand. Poe felt a nudge on his shoulder and looked to see Finn.

"Aren't you going to go after her?" Finn questioned.

It took Poe a moment before he could reply. "I suppose I should." He smiled as he patted Finn's shoulder before departing in search of Klara.

When Poe had noticed Klara fidgeting nervously with her hands earlier, he didn't hesitate to comfort her. He knew she desperately wanted to find her father and couldn't blame her for her reaction to the map that was presented to them. Ever since he met her, he felt an odd connection with her. None like he's ever felt before. Poe won't deny that she is attractive and that perhaps he may slightly be attracted to her, but was he starting to like her? No. He shook his head. She was his friend and he simply cared about her.

After a little bit of asking around, Poe finally found her sitting on a bench that rested outside the base and overlooked the horizon. She was sitting facing away from him, leaned forward. He also noticed that she had taken her hair out of its usual braid and had it gracefully flowing around her.

"I never apologized." He heard her say softly as he approached her from behind. She lifted her head from its perch on her hands and glanced at him. Her piecing ocean blue eyes were slightly glossed over, as if she had been fighting the urge to cry.

"What?" Poe questioned as she gestured him to sit beside her.

"We haven't had time to talk alone since I've gotten here, and I haven't apologized for keeping my true heritage from you."

He gave her a soft smile. "There is no need to apologize. We had just met and neither of us were quite willing to trust the other."

Klara didn't reply but instead returned her gaze back the scenery before her. There were mountains upon mountains in the distance away from the open field that surrounded them. Among the chaos that made up her life, she always did enjoy the down time she had to bask in the beauty of whatever planet she was in. It was usually in those times that she also chose to meditate since the scene was always peaceful.

"My father," She started. "He was a man that always felt that there were more good people than bad people. He was a man with a vision. A vision that with the right guidance, we could correct the world." Klara glanced back at Poe. She was met with soft dark brown eyes watching her. She noted the way his brown silky hair laid perfectly upon his head. Ben also has nice hair. "There was an incident which I'm sure you're away of. The man you know today as Kylo Ren, attacked my father's temple. All those young people," She started to choke back a sob, "children even, were killed. I was there. I saw the horrors that evil can do. I don't know how I survived. I should have died, but I lived and spent those wasted years of living remained in the unknown. No memory of who I was and when I finally regained such memory, I desperately started to look for him. My father. And now today…" She paused and stood up.

Poe noticed the breeze that caught her hair as she took a few steps forward. He stood up and walked up to her, unsure of what to do, he rested his hand on her shoulder.

"Hey," He started which earned her attention to him. "Don't lose hope. There's just an unexpected extra step you have to cross. You will find your father, Leia will find her brother, and the Resistance will find a Jedi."

Klara nodded with a regained sense of hope. She had been forcing back the tears that wanted to break from their hold but couldn't prevent a single stray tear breaking free from her eye. Poe noticed this and unconsciously reached out and thumbed it way, letting his hand rest where it sat on her cheek. Klara stiffened and looked up at him, where he stood a few inches taller than her. The both simply gazed into each other's eyes, captivated by some unknown force. Poe doesn't know what had gotten into him lately. Ever since he touched her hand today, he couldn't help but want to lay his hands on her smooth toned skin again. She was beautiful.

Before any of them could understand what was happening, a cough was heard and they both separated quickly from each other. They both had their hearts fluttering faster than their average beats and glanced to see Han standing before them.

"I uh, hope I wasn't interrupting something?" Han spoke, knowing full well he did.

Klara was blushing furiously as shook her head, "Um no, Poe was just being a good friend. He saw a damsel in distress and rescued her from impending doom." She laughed awkwardly.

Han glanced over to Poe, who nodded to him in acknowledgement. Han clenched and unclenched his jaw before speaking. "Friend, huh?" He said. "Well Poe, I would like to speak to my niece for a moment if you don't mind."

"Yes, of course sir." Poe replied quickly as he started to make his way back inside. He paused to glance back at Klara, whom was already looking at him. She gave a soft smile at him and he returned the smile back to her. He turned back to the direction he was heading, running a hand through his hair and chuckled to himself.

He was in trouble.


Alone with Han, Klara glanced up to meet his questioning gaze and let out a sigh. "What?" She questioned.

Han raised an eyebrow. "What was that?"

Klara chose this time to sit on the ground facing away from him and got in position to meditate. "What was what?"

"You know what." Han replied simply.

"What do I know?" Klara tried not to let humor lace her voice.

Growing frustrated Han pointed in the direction where Poe left, despite that Klara's eyes were closed and facing away from him. "That. They boy."

"Hmm?" She simply stated. She knew full well what Han was implying but to be honest, she didn't know herself. She had been surprised by his gestures today, but she didn't deny she didn't like it. In fact, she found herself wanting him to comfort her more. She didn't like him, did she? No. He was simply a friend helping a friend in need. That was all. Wasn't it?

"Fine, you don't want to tell me." He exasperated.

Chuckling she replied, "Calm down old man."

"Excuse me?" He scoffed in disbelief. "Old? Now listen here kiddo-."

"What're you gonna do? Hmm. You know you spoil me." Klara laughed smugly.

Han opened his mouth to reply but shut it quickly. She was right. He cursed his soft spot for her. He cleared his throat before speaking again, "I just came to see how you were holding up. Leia wants to speak with you."

Sighing she got up and faced Han. "I'm doing fine, thank you." She replied as the both started walking back inside.

"Anything to do with that friend of yours?" Han joked.

Klara laughed but ignored his question, not bothering to reply.

After Klara met with Leia, they both made their way back to the holotable where other members of the Resistance were waiting. Her eyes didn't take long to fall onto Poe. He had taken off some of his flighter suit equipment and was simply dressed in the orange jumpsuit. Beside him were members of his squadron, Oddy, Jess, Karé, and Snap, all in which were fully geared. Poe glanced up to her and gave her a smile. Heat returned to her cheeks as the memory of earlier played through her head. She smiled back. This interaction didn't go unnoticed by Jess and Karé, in which they smugly smiled to one another.

"The scan data from Snap's reconnaissance flight confirms Finn's report." Poe started, leaning against the holotable which displayed the data.

"They've somehow created a hyper-lightspeed weapon built within the planet itself." Snap continued.

"A laser canon?" A member of the resistance questioned as he stared at the map.

"We're not sure how to describe the weapon of this scale." Snap stressed.

"It's another death star." Ematt replied. Klara was familiar with Ematt. He was once a soldier who served as a lieutenant in the alliance to restore the republic during the Galactic Civil War. He fought against the Galactic Empire but his current role among the Resistance was a Major of the Shrikes, a special force unit tasked with identifying, securing, and preparing new bases for the Resistance. He was also a close friend of Leia's.

"I wish that were the case Major. This was the Death Star." Poe spoke and turned on a hologram display of the Death Star on the holotable, removing the map before. "And this is Starkiller Base." He finished.

The room erupted in exclaims at the size difference. Klara herself was surprised and mortified by the size.

"So, it's big." Han spoke out making it seem like it wasn't a big deal. Klara chuckled to herself. Leave it to Han to make some sort of joke.

"How is it possible to power a weapon of that size?" Another member of the Resistance spoke out.

"It uses the power of the sun." Finn spoke, pausing briefly. "As the weapon is charged, the sun is drained until it disappears."

"Ma'am." A woman softly spoke to Leia as she handed her something.

Leia sighed before she spoke. "The First Order, they're charging their weapon again now. Our system is the next target."

The room was silent before Threepio spoke. "Oh, my. Without the Republic fleet, we're doomed."

"Okay. How do we blow it up? There's always a way to do that." Han spoke up.

"Han's right." Leia replied.

"In order for that amount of power to be contained that base has to have some kind of thermal oscillator." Statura spoke. Klara recalled that he was an admiral and a senior officer within the Resistance.

"There is one." Finn voiced as he moved around the holotable to Poe's side. "Precinct 47. Here." He pointed, and the mark was highlighted yellow.

"If we can destroy that oscillator, it might destabilize the core and cripple the weapon." Statura beamed with hope.

"Maybe the planet." Ematt added.

"We'll go in there, we'll hit that oscillator with everything we've got." Poe strategized.

"They have defensive shields that our ships cannot penetrate." A Resistance member spoke.

"We disable the shields." Han started as he turned his attention to Finn. "Kid, you worked there. What do you got?"

"I can do it." Finn replied, eagerly.

"I like this guy." Han smirked as he pointed to Finn. Klara smiled at that.

"I can disable the shields, but I have to be there. On the planet." Finn voiced, determined.

Han glanced up at Chewbacca before returning his gaze back to Finn. "We'll get you there."

"Han, how?" Leia voiced, trying to reason with his sanity.

"If I told you, you wouldn't like it." Han remarked.

"I'll go with him as well." Klara finally spoke up. Han glanced at her but didn't argue knowing full well she was stubborn.

"Klara…" Leia trailed.

"I'm sorry, but who is this?" A member from the crowd spoke up.

It hadn't occurred to her that among this chaos, she was still new and that meant, most of the Resistance, aside from those that knew her from her past, didn't know who she was. Klara straightened her posture before she spoke. "My name is Klara Skywalker, daughter of Luke Skywalker. I am a Jedi, and I am here to help." There were some gasping and murmurs among the crowd when she finished.

"Forgive me, Master Skywalker." The member that questioned her breathed in apology.

Klara didn't bother to correct his formal address when he called her 'master'. She certainly didn't feel she was deserving of such title.

"So, we disable the shields," Poe interrupted the crowd. He was looking directly at Klara; proud she joined the Resistance. She was looking back at him with fierce and determined laced eyes. "we take out the oscillator and we blow up their big gun."

Chewbacca let out a roar, remarking his approval of the plan and eagerness to go.

"Alright, let's go." Poe finished and everyone dispersed to their designated places.

Chewbacca and Han were already gone leaving Finn and Klara to walk out themselves. Klara was surprised she didn't have more resistance from Han or Leia about her going onto Starkiller base. Although they simply cared for her safety, it pleased her that they didn't try to further hold her back. Klara and Finn walked in silence as they passed several pilots readying their spacecrafts. All the Resistance members were scurrying about, preparing for their mission. Klara pondered on if they ever feared not returning. She knew the members of the Resistance would sacrifice anything to rid the world of such cruelty that was the First Order, but did they fear their own death? Klara shook her head. She knew it was natural to fear death but as she glanced around, they looked rather more determined and hopeful than fearful.

"Good luck Klara!" A voice shouted from her side as she walked. She turned to see Snap waving at her.

"May the Force be with you, Snap!" She hollered back to him.

Somehow during this confrontation, she had fallen behind from Finn. He was walking a few steps ahead of her, completely focused on the task. She saw Poe in the distance as he was preparing his X-Wing with BB8 attached in the back. As Finn walked past him, he received an encouraging pat on his shoulder from Poe and Klara watched him turn and give Poe a nod, indicating some silent communication. Finn continued and Klara stopped short when she approached Poe.

Poe took notice of Klara immediately after he gave Finn an encouraging pat. She redid her hair back in its usual braid. Perhaps she did this whenever she knew she was going to fight. Hair can be quite a nuisance and Poe always tried to keep his as short as he liked. Her two lightsabers she kept on either side of her utility belt bounced as she slowly approached Poe. Upon noticing her empty holster, Poe quickly climbed his X-Wing and reached in for the item he was looking for before popping back down, meeting Klara.

"Hey," He smirked. "I figured you might want this back." He said as he handed her the item.

Klara took the blaster he gave her, remembering that she had given it to him to use back on Jakku. "Thanks." She grinned. "I almost forgot about this thing." She said as she strapped it on her holster that hung on her right leg.

"I figured you'd need it more than me." Poe smiled. He shifted around to unhook the cables connected to his X-Wing. "Do you even use that?" He questioned as he continued to prepare his spacecraft.

Klara chuckled. "Hardly, but it's always safe to have it in case, you know, you save a man that doesn't have a weapon to defend himself."

Poe let out a chuckle at this. "Fair enough." He picked up his helmet and rested it on his hips as he glanced back up at Klara. "Good luck out there."

"You as well." She smiled to him before walking away.

Making her way to the Falcon, Klara thought about Rey. She knew Ben well enough to sense the Force in an individual but hoped he hadn't tried to offer her the same future he had once offered her. Klara was certain that even Rey herself didn't fully understand her ability with the Force. Confusion can lead to fear and that fear can lead to the dark side. She just hoped Rey was safe.


A/N Thanks again for being patient and waiting for my updates. I remind you all again that my updates have no schedule, but I will always update unless I say otherwise. As always, comments are always appreciated. How did you guys like this chapter? The interactions between Poe and Klara? This is only just a taste of what's to come! Also note that this was not edited. Until the next update.