The Raddus maintained its course and speed, keeping itself out of the Supremacy's range. As if nothing in the world had changed. But it was not enough. Not enough to make Amilyn sure that the Empire's gaze would not slip to the departing crew. The surface of the Crait was not far away... but not close either. They could not get any closer however without revealing their plan.
It was time for a little demonstration.
The controller's buttons flashed one after the other as they received commands. Amilyn smiled to herself. Whoever sees this from the outside will think that the one behind the panel either doesn't speak the language of his superior or gone mad from fear already.
She pulled the small lever, sending energy into the outer shields. Reinforcing its defences against the Imperial ship's cannons. The thrust, of course, was not enough. But the system still sent waves, like lightning, across the cruiser's surface, which was exactly as spectacular as she planned. Like the Resistance's last, desperate attempt. Like the last, utterly pointless struggle of a trapped prey.
They will buy it.
Waiting another minute, she makes a few adjustments on the track. Just enough to be noticed, but no more. Sweating slightly, she wiped her hands on her clothes before reaching for the coordinates. As she turned around, however, the room seemed to blur. She lowered herself into the chair quickly, almost falling over the armrest. It felt like fainting. This must not happen. She reached for her face as felt a warm moisture flowing to her lips.
What is it? Am I bleeding?- she took her hand away from her nose. Her eyebrows knitted together. Blood ran down her face and neck. The floor felt icy cold under her damp back.What?Why was she lying on the floor? She couldn't remember. Her silver headdress lay beside her, her long purple locks splayed around her.
She turned on her side, clenched her fists and took deep breaths. Not yet. Not yet - she pushed herself up again until she could stand again.
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Poe felt his heart pounding in his throat.
The words reached him slowly, and he was even slower to grasp what they meant. Nor was he sure of what he was seeing. The scene looked so surreal. At first, he was sure of only one thing: Leia. Leia was awake, Leia was there. A heavy stone rolled off his shoulder as an instant. For a moment, a long-forgotten, warm wave of hope washed over him. Just until he finally came to his senses again. Then confusion came. He realized he didn't understand anything.
And then, with another blink, everything fell into place and realisation hit him like a bolt of lightning.
No. That woman was not true. That was not true. What did she mean? What the hell was she thinking? Poe was so nervous, he couldn't see where he was. He didn't care that she was a Vice Admiral, he didn't care that it was her thing to do. And he didn't care that she definitely had the balls to do so. He was on the verge of a heart attack. Crazy. These thoughts were crazy. But Poe Dameron was not crazy. He was just...
This could not happen. If this woman thought she could just go and sacrifice herself, she was very wrong. If she thought, she could be as stupid as Dameron was… that she could just make a decision without telling anyone, without caring about herself… she was fucking wrong. But she did. She was just like him. God damn her for that!
He shouldn't have gone to her when he saw her crying. He shouldn't have held her in his arms. He shouldn't have stayed with her at night and stood by her side, ready to save her if anything happened. And he shouldn't have felt like this.
But his head wanted to split open, his heart was stabbing. It didn't matter what Captain Poe Dameron wanted.
"Play the hero knowing that if you don't make yourself killed in the process,Iwill kill you for this, I swear to all the gods" he growled under his breath. "I swear"
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Armitage Hux watched the dark figure of Raddus impatiently. If he could have, he would have set the whole thing aflame with a flash of his eye. But never mind, it was only a matter of time. He was already counting backwards. With each passing moment he was getting closer to it. If only he could see the faces of the rebel rats while it happened. The terror in their eyes. Their screams. He counted.
"General"
"Report," he said monotonously. He was distant, not moving, not blinking.
"There's a spy on board. He claims the rebels have abandoned the cruiser and are on the run"
Hux's eyebrows rose high on his forehead. He blinked and turned to the commander.
"That cruiser is active"
"Excuse me Sir... but that's impossible. It was confirmed by our recon corps. The Raddus is empty"
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When the first pod suddenly shattered with a crash, the ground opened up beneath Amilyn's feet. She tried to believe what she was seeing, but couldn't. Her jaw fell, her head pounded. She barely heard the voices when the hologram suddenly appeared in front of her.
"Admiral, we're taking fire! Do we turn around?"
No sound came out of Amilyn's mouth at first. How was that possible? What had gone wrong? What had she done wrong? They shouldn't have seen them, she had planned everything, it was impossible. And there was no turning back. Where to? The Raddus meant certain death. They had only one chance.
"No, you're too far out" she finally managed to say. "Full speed to planetfall"
"Full speed!" the pilot shouted, passing on the command, then with a huge bang he exploded in front of Holdo's eyes.
She hurried to the window. Another pod was targeted. Why weren't they shooting at her? Nobody fired at the cruiser. She stood completely helpless. Everything was backfiring. New plan – she panicked. New plan. Gasping, she turned around in the huge room. Come on! Ami! Now!
It was only a blink, a sudden gasp. She hardly realised what she was doing when started a full recalibration on the controller. Her fingers moved on their own. The panels beeped one after another. Her hand trembled slightly, yet the movements were firm and precise. And slowly, the bow of the ship took aim at the Supremacy's weakest point. The hangar door.
Well that's going to make a big splash.
"I'll be waiting for you, Leia," she breathed as tried to breathe evenly. Her vision was getting blurry. "Light speed, baby" she ran her palm over the Raddus's instruments. "We'll have another badass trip together" Then hastily switched the system. "Don't worry, you're not alone, little cruiser. You'll meet the Ninka over there in a moment"
It was almost a fumble to find the switch. Just a moment. She stopped for a moment. Just wanted to understand what was coming. Perhaps wanted to imagine a face once again. With dark hair and stubble. That was all the time she gave herself. Then, with the last of her strength, she slowly pushed the lever forward.
Fuel level low. The system is switching over. After fuel reallocation, the system automatically executes the command. Fuel level low. The system will switch over...
"What?!" burst out Amilyn. "No!" she banged both fists on the dashboard. "Fucking hell!"
The booming sound of the loudspeaker came from the walls like a thunder.
Countdown starts. Recharge in progress. Countdown starts…
She needed to get their attention. To blind them to everything else. Just a little bit, that's enough. But how?!
She ran her hand through her hair nervously, then suddenly froze.
Slowly, she pushed herself up from the chair and unsteadily managed to step to the window. Her bare feet left a trail in the blood on the white ground, but she was not aware anymore. She clung to the ledge to steady herself and looked up. Out the huge window. Straight towards the Supremacy's heart.
"Hey bastard. Can you hear me?" she asked, forcing an edge into her voice. "I'm not afraid of you, you've probably noticed that. And I have a vague memory, I may have even mentioned it once. Just where I mentioned your mother. Do you have anything to add?"
Then she quickly closed her eyes and held her breath. But for the first time, the pain did not come. There was no response, not a sound.
What the hell? Every star in the galaxy turned against her today?!
"Supreme Leader Snoke? Are you taking your siesta? Let's chat. I'm tired. I give up. I kept you waiting a long time, but now you can do whatever you want with me. It's not a bad deal, is it?"
Another pod has been shot. She trembled. Tears welled up in her eyes.
Recharge in progress. Recharge in progress.…
"Don't want to even torture me?" her voice shook with anger. "You enjoyed it filthily, I was aware," Amilyn insisted, but she spoke into the void. No one was listening on the other side.
"Snoke," her voice trailed off. "Busy?"
She could barely finish the word, when her eyes widened. Her white, bloodless hand rose to her waist slowly. It felt like… As if she had been cut in two. She could not take another breath. Felt no pain.
She knitted her brows. That was the last thing she knew.
There was no last thought. The darkness came so fast, it reached her before her body reached the floor.
Light had left Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo as well as Supreme Leader Snoke by then.
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( Two more chapters to go, darlings! )