Chapter 12
Rey, Allana, and Jack tore through the abandoned, narrow alleyways of Mos Eisley. After learning that First Order ships were congregating right above them, Allana had thrown a few necessities into a bag and sprinted out the door, dragging Rey with her. Jack was leading them through the city to a house on the edge of the city where they could stay until the First Order left. They followed him through the city until they came out of the alleyways right into the bustling market. Allana stopped right in her tracks, sticking an arm out to stop Rey and reached out with her other to grab Jack by the collar to pull him back.
"Are you insane," she hissed, "we can't go out there! The storm troopers are bound to notice three people running though the square!"
"Unless you want to walk the outskirts of the entire city, which will take all day by the way, this is the only way to get where we're going. Just follow me and walk normally."
Rey and Allana exchanged glances and reluctantly followed him. Jack wove expertly through the crowds of people, stopping to chat with everyone he knew. When they had stopped so he could exchange pleasantries for the fifth time, Rey grabbed his arm, making him face them.
"I'm pretty sure you don't have to speak with everyone here," Rey said, her voice dangerously low.
"I know what I'm doing. We're almost there, relax."
"Oh, do you have expirence trying to smuggle two girls out of the city right under the First Order's nose," Allana asked, a biting edge to her voice.
Jack glared at her, but he turned around and walked a little faster. The girls did their best to stick to his side, not an easy feat in a crowded market square. They almost missed it when Jack took a sharp turn after one booth, disappearing into an alley. The trio eventually reached a nondescript house on the edge of Mos Eisley. Jack rapped a pattern on the wooden door, and after a few moments, they heard the click of a key in a lock. The door creaked open, and they darted inside.
The house was small and somewhat dark. To their left, a table sat in one corner, and a small kitchen in the other. To the right, there was a couch and small table and further along the wall was a bed covered in a worn quilt and a wardrobe. The door was shut and locked behind them by the elderly woman that lived in this house. She was short, even shorter than Allana, and she was slightly hunched over. Her long white hair was tied in a neat braid down her back, and she was wearing a plain grey tunic and tan pants. Her eyes were a piercing blue, and her skin was tanned and leathery due to living in the desert.
"Allana, Rey, this is Ms. Aves. She has agreed to let you stay with her until the storm troopers are gone. She used to hide people from the Empire and from Jabba the Hutt, before your mother killed him."
"Your mom killed Jabba," Rey asked Allana incredulously.
"We'll talk about it later," she said waving her hand slightly.
"Anyways, it's nice to meet you," Rey said, shaking Ms. Aves' hand. Allana merely nodded at her.
"I have to get back, " Jack said, handing a comm link to Allana, "I'll comm you or her if anything happens, and I'll be back to get you when it's safe."
He hugged Allana and Ms. Aves goodbye, shook Rey's hand, and slipped out the door.
"Where are we going to be staying," Allana asked once he was gone, "there's not enough space in this room for all three of us."
"I'll show you," Ms. Aves said in a gravely voice.
She walked over the wardrobe on the far wall.
"Can you girls move this to the side please?"
Allana and Rey slid the wardrobe over, revealing a wooden door. Ms. Aves used her key to unlock the door and pull it open.
"You'll be staying in here."
The room was small, very small. There was barley enough room for the two pallets that were on the floor, and a box sitting in between them. There were no windows, and the only light came from a lantern that hung from the celling.
"It's a bit small, but…"
"It's perfect," Allana said, a ghost of a smile flitting across her face. "No one will think to look for us in here."
"The box has enough food in it to last for a few days, and there is more fuel for the lantern in there as well."
"Thank you so much for helping us out," Rey said as she and Allana entered the room.
"Think nothing of it. Anything else you need before, I shut you in here?"
"We're all set thank you."
She pulled the door shut and locked it. As soon as they heard the wardrobe being pulled shut, Rey turned to Allana.
"So… what happens now?"
…
The Resistance Base was in frenzy. Leia was closely monitoring the evacuation of the base. If the message they intercepted was correct, the First Order would be attacking them today. Tensions were running high as they rushed around, trying to ensure that everyone got off the base safely.
"General Organa!"
"Yes Lieutenant Connix," she said to the young girl that had appeared at her side.
"The Gold Squadron and our combat fighters have reached Tatooine. They are awaiting further instructions. The First Order has not made any moves to attack them or the city, and no transports have been seen going to the surface."
"Tell them not to engage unless the First Order deliberately attacks them or the city. They need to stay out of range of the Star Destroyers, so they don't attract unnecessary attention."
"Yes General."
Poe Dameron burst into the room.
"General, First Order ships are beginning to appear on the horizon."
"Thank you Commander. Admiral Ackbar, give the command to begin loading the remaining transports. Commander Dameron, ensure that all of our fighters are ready to go at any given moment. Everyone in here who is not a part of our emergency crew, please begin boarding your assigned transport."
Leia turned back to what she was originally doing. Everyone else began following their orders, except for one.
"Can I help you Commander Dameron," she asked, not looking up.
"General, I want your permission to join the Gold Squadron on Tatooine."
"We've been over this Poe. I am not allowing one of my best pilots to leave the fleet especially considering we're going to need your expertise. No go do your job!"
Poe opened his mouth as if to protest, but snapped it shut and sighed instead. His shoulders were slumped slightly as he turned away, and one of his hands was balled into a fist.
Leia watched Poe leave the room and then turned to Lieutenant Connix.
"Connix, I want you to follow him. If he disobeys my order, I want you to stun him and put him on a transport. His droid will fly his X-wing."
"Yes General."
…
Back on Tatooine, it had been two days since Allana and Rey gone into hiding. Rey was lying on her cot, staring at the celling.
"Allana?"
"Yes," Allana murmured sleepily.
"Do you know why they're here? Why the First Order decided to come here? You've been on Tatooine a lot longer than I have, so you must have heard something."
Allana was quiet for a moment.
"The Falcon."
"The Falcon?"
"Some of the guys that work down in the shipyard have been talking about how the storm troopers have taken a special interest in the Falcon, and now the X-wing that you brought here."
"Why does the First Order even care? This place has no recourses and is too far way from the Core Worlds to be of any asset to them."
"They might be worried that we're planning on using the area around here for a base. No matter what the First Order is planning, Kylo Ren has his own agenda. I'm sure of it."
"What do you mean?"
"The storm troopers only started arriving after the Falcon was docked. Even though it's been disguised, if he saw a holo, Kylo Ren would be able to recognize it. He's looking for whoever is piloting it, and he's hoping that it's either me or you."
"Why us? Well I mean I get him wanting to find me, but you?"
"I'm a bargaining chip. He's knows that our mother will do anything to protect the people she loves. He could use me as a way to break my mother's spirt, making it harder for her to lead the Resistance properly. It's unlikely, but he may hope that he'll be able to get information out of her in exchange for my life."
"Your mother would never do anything like that!"
"Normally no. However, Kylo Ren knows that even though we don't particularly get along, she would do anything to keep me safe, especially now that Dad is gone. She's a strong woman, but even the strongest have their limits. As for you, besides the fact that you are a very powerful force user, you're also really involved in the Resistance. He probably wants to try to get information out of you."
"He already tried that. I kept him out of my head."
"Would you be able to keep your mouth shut if he threatened Luke, Finn, Poe, Chewie, or the Resistance as a whole? Would you be able to keep him out if he told you that if you didn't start talking, he would start blowing up planets?"
"I…"
"Exactly. Kylo Ren doesn't play nice, and something tells me that he's even more desperate for information now. He's planning something, I just don't know what it is."
Rey started to say something, but the beeping of the comm link cut her off. Allan sat up and switched it on.
"Jack what's up?"
"We are in trouble."
Rey and Allana locked eyes.
"What kind of trouble," Allana asked holding Rey's gaze.
"The First Order is beginning to send transports filled with soldiers to the surface, and TIE Fighters are beginning to get in attack formation."
"Shit. How long do we have before they begin opening fire."
"Not sure. All I know is that you two need to get off planet fast."
"Are you insane," Rey said grabbing the comm link from Allana. "The whole reason we came to this house is because it was too dangerous to fly before. It's even worse now! We're going to get shot out of the sky!"
"I'm aware of the dangers. The First Order troops that are already here have been given orders to fly the Falcon and the X-wing up to one of the Destroyers. There are some guys trying to stall them, but it won't work forever. If we don't get you two on those ships soon, they'll be gone forever."
Before either of them could respond, the ground began to shake.
"Please tell that wasn't what I think it was,'' Allana said grabbing the comm back.
"They've opened fired. I'm going to head down to the shipyard to get your clearance. Meet me there as soon as you can. Jack out."
As soon as Jack hung up, the door to their little room swung open.
"You two need to leave! Now," exclaimed Ms. Aves.
She ushered the out and with shaking hands unlocked the door.
"Try to stay in the alleys as much as you can and don't stop for anything. Now go!"
"Thank you," Allana and Rey called over their shoulders as they ran out into the streets.
…
A blast from the Star Destroyers shook the base, throwing a few people to the ground. Leia was hunched over a data pad, hurriedly sending coordinates of their meeting spot to the remaining transports.
"General Organa there's a message for you from General Calrissian."
"Put him through. What's your status Lando?"
"My group has made it safely out of the system. We lost two A-wings from the Orion Squadron, but other than that we're unscathed."
"Perfect. Jump to hyperspace and we'll all join you at the meeting point."
"Roger that Princess. Calrissian out."
"General we also have a message from Lieutenant Connix. She said that Commander Dameron was spotted trying to head to Tatooine, but he has been stunned and placed on the last transport."
"Tell her thank you."
Admiral Holdo appeared at Leia's side.
"General, the last transport is about to leave we need to go now!"
Leia sent her last message and followed the remainder of her skeleton crew to the remaining transport. As they took off, she turned around and watched as the planet got smaller and smaller and as one last blast destroyed the rest of the base.
…
Poe awoke with a start. It took him a minuet to figure out his surroundings, but when he did, he jumped up.
"Shit, shit shit!"
He was almost to the door when someone called out.
"Going somewhere?"
He spun around to see Finn sitting in a chair looking out the window.
"What are you doing here Finn?"
"I'm supposed to make sure you don't do anything crazy."
"Finn please you have to understand. I'm just trying to help Allana."
"Poe I understand why you want to go help, but you can't," he said standing up.
"If you understood you would be helping me get to Tatooine!"
"I do understand, and that's exactly why I'm not letting you go! Sit down and listen to me. I don't know what yours and Allana's relationship is like, but you obviously will do anything to keep her safe. I feel the same way about Rey. She's on Tatooine with Allana, and I'm worried out of my mind for her. However, I know there is nothing I can do. If I decided to go in there and save her, I'd most likely end up dead before I could help her. The same thing would happen to you."
"You don't know that."
"And you don't know that going there will end up helping her in anyway. I've already talked to General Organa, and she said that after the First Order leaves, if we haven't heard anything from either of them, she will give the two of us permission to go to Tatooine and look for them."
"That won't help them if they're already dead!"
"No it won't, but it's the only thing we've got, so you need to accept it."
Poe buried his head in his hands and groaned loudly. He stayed like that until Finn placed a hand on his back.
"Poe."
Poe looked up, frustration clear on his face.
"I'm sorry for snipping at you, I'm just really frustrated at this situation. The girls are going to be fine. They're tough. It's going to take a lot more than a few storm troopers to take them out."
"Do you actually believe that, or are you just saying that to make me feel better?"
"I think I'm saying it to make myself feel better."
Poe chuckled softly.
"Thanks for the apology. Now I guess we just wait."
…
Allana and Rey stopped running a few blocks away from the market.
"Here's the plan," Allana said breathing hard, "stick to the edges of the people, go behind stalls if you have to. If we get split up, just keep going. I'll contact your X-wing once we're out of danger."
"Okay."
Right as they entered the market square, a squadron of storm troopers walked in and began firing. A blast from TIE Fighters destroyed a few buildings. Allana and Rey whipped out their blasters and began running, successfully shooting a few storm troopers on their way. They darted down a side street and didn't stop until they ran straight into a large squadron of storm troopers. They began slowly backing up as they began firing. Allana hissed loudly as one shot her in the thigh.
"Are you okay," Rey asked.
"Fine."
The storm troopers kept advancing, backing them into a corner. Rey whipped out her lightsaber and began deflecting shots with one hand and shooting with the other. One of them managed to shoot Rey in the lower arm, momentarily distracting her. She dropped her guard in order to quickly examine her arm, and a storm trooper aimed a shot right at her heart. Allana shot the storm trooper dead, but not before he fired. However, instead of hitting Rey the bullet veered off to the side, and hit Allana's stomach. She crumpled to the ground, with Rey immediately at her side. Before the storm troopers could cause any more damage, someone began shooting at them from behind. Once they had all been killed, and a man dressed in the Resistance Uniform stepped forward.
"Allana?"
"Matt," she said, her voice laced with pain, "what are you doing here?"
"The General sent a group of us and the Gold Squadron to monitor the situation here."
As if proving his point, and X-wing flew low overhead.
"What are you two doing here?"
"I met up with a friend when I left and Rey joined us. My friend, Jack, is at the ship yard getting our clearance to leave, and we're supposed to meet him there."
"We'll help you guys get there."
"Matt you have an actual misson to complete. We'll be fine as soon I as can stand."
"You're injured. You can't walk. Let us help. The General will kill us if she finds out that we didn't do anything to help."
Before Allana could say anything, her comm link buzzed.
"Allana where are you?"
"We've run into a little trouble. I've been shot in the stomach." Allana looked at the men that had helped them. "Can any of you guys fly an X-wing?"
A tall man standing in the back nodded.
"Great. Jack we're sending some else to fly the X-wing. We ran into some Resistance fighters. Rey give him the codes. I've been injured, so I'm going to find a place to hide out, and Rey is going to take the Flacon back to the base."
"What," Rey exclaimed, "I'm not leaving you here."
"Rey you have to. I'm not going to be able to make it there safely. You have to do it."
"No way," she said as she grabbed the comm link out of Allana's hand. "Jack listen to me. Take the Falcon to the base. It already is connected to a Resistance Channel, so they can give you the coordinates. When you get there, send someone back to get us."
"I don't like this plan."
"None of us do."
"Fine. The best bet for you and Allana is to find a speeder and get out of the city. There's an abandoned moisture farm about 50 clicks out of the city. It should be fairly well stocked will water and medical supplies. It's used now a recovery place if you get attacked by Sand People. Allana knows where it is. I'll send a rescue team there."
"Fine. Rey out."
While they were talking, a few guys had created a makeshift bandage for Allana, and Matt had found them a speeder and was helping Allana onto it.
"Thank you for your help," Rey said as she climbed on.
"No problem. I'll let the General know what happened. Be careful."
"Thanks."
Rey revved up the engine and sped towards the outskirts of the city, hoping that they would get there before anything else happened.
AN: Hi everyone! Sorry for not posting in a LONG time, but school has been absolutely crazy. Now that school is out, I will be able to post much more often. As always, please let me know if there are any mistakes, and please review!
