The sound of explosions was audible from inside the cruiser. Rey swung the ship left and right, dodging blaster fire as x-wings exchanged gunfire with tie fighters.
"Watch it!" Ben yelped as one of their oppressors narrowly missed clipping the side of their engine.
"I don't need a backseat driver!" Rey shouted over the noise, wishing he were more of a co-pilot and less of a complainer during an air battle. "Hang tight, we're almost there,"
They fought their way through the mass of ships, looking for a place they could touch down. But between the foliage and the skirmish on the ground, it was impossible to land the cruiser unscathed.
The cruiser suddenly rocked forward, throwing the two against their restraints as the vessel took a hit from behind. The gadgets began to blink furiously as the nose of the ship began to dive.
"Brace for impact!" Rey yelled. They were far enough out of the atmosphere that she could maneuver the ship safely, but it would be a bumpy descent. The floor vibrated ferociously as the base of the cruiser smashed through braches. Even Rey gave a start when, upon touching down, the floor beneath their feet concaved outwards.
Hastily, Rey pressed a button to open the exit door, but the mechanism refused to budge. "Come on!" she growled, hitting her thumb against it again. Nothing. "We'll have to open it manually," she decided as she unbuckled herself. As Ben grabbed Pit (who was currently in his compacted position) and shut the cockpit door behind them, Ben and Rey just got to the cruiser's exit door when something thudded above their heads.
"What was that?" Ben asked.
A pounding sounded from the other side of the door, and the words "Open up!" were ordered from a muffled voice behind a stormtrooper helmet. There was a shattering sound as the glass from the cockpit blasted into a thousand pieces in the adjacent room.
"They're swarming on us," Rey said. She tried to sense where each of the attackers were located, but it was no use. Staying aware of her immediate surroundings was hard enough; to look beyond the metal walls as well was too involved for such a dire situation.
A second blast sounded, sending a second round of glass spraying around the unseen dashboard. "Forget the door," Ben said. "If we exit through the cockpit's windshield we can take our attackers straight on,"
Nodding in agreement, Rey unhooked Ben's lightsaber from her belt. She couldn't help but notice the grimace on Ben's face as she ignited the blade. Every time he saw the weapon, we was reminded of all the destruction he'd caused with it. This was why he'd given the lightsaber to Rey, as she no longer had Luke's weapon. Ben knew the blade would serve a better purpose in her hands as opposed to his own.
Suddenly, the door separating them from the cockpit blew off its hinges. Two troopers stepped through, guns raised, when in an unexpected turn a blast hit the front of the ship. Taking advantage of the stormtroopers' momentary lack of balance, Rey slashed at the two, keeping a safe distance from the cockpit that was suddenly ablaze. So much for going through the windshield.
"The door," Ben pointed. "Use the lightsaber to burn a hole through the door,"
With the fire quickly eating away at the transport vehicle, Rey shoved the hot blade through the door. There was a loud hiss as the lightsaber penetrated the ship, turning the metal around the saber red-hot. Wiping away the sweat from her forehead, Rey angled the saber upward, causing a red streak to appear in a diagonal direction. If whoever was firing at the cockpit was an ally and shooting at the other troopers, she and Ben could use the Force to push through the crumbling door, provided she could melt enough of the metal away. Luckily, as the flames roared violently closer, the door finally began to give.
"On the count of three we push," Ben said, collecting his thoughts as he called upon the Force. It's been too long, Ben thought. He'd almost forgotten what it felt like to be bathed in the light. "One, two…"
With their combined effort the door split in two. Peeling the metal backwards with the Force, Rey and Ben simultaneously stepped out into the battlefield.
"My my, you two sure know how to make an entrance," a familiar voice shouted.
"Poe!" Rey called, relief visibily flooding her face. Poe grinned from his perch in the docked x-wing. "Figured you guys could use a little help," Looking side to side to make sure the coast was clear, Rey and Ben cut away from the fiery wreck of their ship and joined Poe.
"What's that?" Poe asked, nodding at the folded piece of metal under Ben's arm. "Is it a weapon?"
"Quite the opposite," Ben said. "A droid, and not one that can be of use during a battle. Can we store it on your ship for now?" Not seeing any need to refuse the request, Poe obliged.
"Do you know where Master Luke and the Padawans are?" Rey asked eagerly as Ben placed Pit in the x-wing's storage compartment.
"We think they're in the ruins," Poe looked at the decayed buildings, the tops visible above the treetops. "I was on my way there when I saw your ship come in. I told the squad to continue on,"
"Then we should meet them there," Ben said. "I have a feeling what we just experienced is magnified tenfold over there,"
