Star Wars: A Resistance Story. Book 1.

Chapter 22: We did it.

Poe let his joy and relief exploded. His whole squadron came to their rescue and shot the enemy Fighter. He quickly grabbed his mic and smiled.

"Snap! Buddy, you have no idea how good it is to hear your voice my friend!"

"We're glad to hear you too Commander."

Poe could almost see his friend's smile through the comlink.

"The way is clear Commander, you can follow us now."

"Jess?"

"We're all here. Do you have the base's location?"

Poe glanced at BB8 who confirmed with a beep.

"D'Qar? Okay, let's go, we're f... Ly'ra?"

The pilot looked behind him and suddenly, panic invaded him. The young woman was livid and nearly unconscious.

"Commander? Is everything alright?"

The pilot dropped his comlink, catching Ly'ra as she was falling into darkness.

"Hey... Hey, hold on sweetie, okay? Do it for me..."

Poe rested the young woman against his chest, trying his best to stay calm. He checked her wound and cussed. The woman was losing a lot of blood and there was nothing he could do. He pressed on it, trying to slow down the bleeding.

"Commander? Poe, do you copy?"

Taking a deep breath, Dameron grabbed the mic and gestured for BB8 to take the pilot seat.

"Hey... I'm here Jay. We need to get out of here as quickly as possible. And send a message to the Resistance that we'll need a medical assistance as soon as we arrive..."

"You're hurt?"

Poe really wanted to say yes. To joke and saying that it was only a scratch he would add to his collection. But no. He looked down at Ly'ra who seemed to get even worse each instants. His voice broke when he answered his friend.

"It's Ly'ra. Hux shot her."

"Shit. To the pilots, Light Speed. We're going back to the base. Don't worry Poe. She's gonna make it."

Dameron didn't answer and let BB8 took care of the Fighter. The little droid seemed to be used to fly a ship, he registered D'Qar's location and went into Light Speed almost as quickly as he fixed Ly'ra's X-Wing. Despite this unusual sight, the pilot didn't want to smile. He kept the young woman against him, his hand still firmly on her wound.

After several seconds, Ly'ra slowly wake up, her face still as pale and her body was slightly shaking.

"Poe...?"

"Hey... It's gonna be alright, you'll see. The Resistance sent my squadron to help us."

A small smile appeared on the young woman's face before being replaced by a grimace of pain.

"I'm sorry sweetie, I need to press. If not you can..."

"Die? Yeah, I think I got the general idea."

The pilot quickly shook his head, moving away the dark curls that had fallen on her face.

"No you're not gonna die okay? You're gonna make it..."

BB8 triggered the autopilot and jumped down of the seat, rolling closer to the couple, worried beeps escaping his round body.

"Did you hear that? We're far from D'Qar. You're frosted, wait..."

Poe quickly removed his jacket and used it as a cover for the young woman.

"It's funny... When I met Armitage, I knew this guy would be the death of me. I was right in the end... Even if I had something more romantic in mind at this moment..."

"Stop that! Don't say that okay? I'm not gonna let you die. Not now. Not like that."

Ly'ra slowly turned her face towards Dameron and smiled, almost amused.

"Are you falling in love with me Commander Dameron? You who were saying that you couldn't stand the idea of having mercenaries as partners? Even worse, you who refused the idea of being engaged to someone and thus, avoid any suffering?"

Poe couldn't hold back a laugh before he smiled back.

"That was before I met an amazing pilot, a beautiful woman, headstrong and very very brave. Yes, Ly'ra Kaplan, you're a fucking brave woman. Look where you come from! You should never be right here and you're here anyway. You fought back all your fears and faced the worst enemy ever: your family. It's always easier to fight an enemy we don't know. Easier than fight your own family. So... i'm gonna follow your lead and fall in love. And I hope you'll never suffer because of me."

"I'm afraid I'm the one you'll make you suffer Dameron..."

Ly'ra saw a light of fear going through the pilot's gaze and she smiled sadly. She knew. She felt that she was slowly fading and that nothing could stop it. Not even their feelings for each other, as strong as they could be.

"Commander? D'Qar is on sight. Just few more minutes. Hold on."

BB8 jumped back onto the pilot seat and removed the autopilot. A light start and they knew they left the Light Speed. Poe looked up a second, noticing the planet. 

"Hold on Princess. We're arriving. Hold on, just few moments more, please..."

Ly'ra slowly raised her hand towards the pilot, softly caressing his hair. Dameron looked down at her and smiled. The young woman returned the smile before she started coughing. She was lacking of oxygen. 

"Did we make it?"

"Yes my Love. We did it."

The TIE Fighter appeared into D'Qar's atmosphere. They really did it. They really did. Poe looked down at the pilot in his arms, with a new hope that they could leave this mission behind them and move on. The young woman softly smiled and brought him closer to her face. Dameron didn't waste any more time and kissed her. But he quickly understood that the Sky, the Force or anyone else above them had other plans. He felt Ly'ra's hand falling from his face and a second later, she had stopped moving. Poe lifted his head up and frowned. The young woman's eyes were closed. These beautiful and amazing green eyes that bewitched him when they first met were gone. And he will never see them again.

"No... Ly'ra? Talk to me Sweetheart. Ly'ra?"

BB8 jumped down of the seat and rolled closer to the woman, sadly beeping. The pilot kept calling the young woman, a dazzling pain tearing his heart apart. He didn't even feel the tears on his cheeks. He only felt this pain that was invading his whole body.

"Please my love... We did it... Don't do this! Not now! Ly'ra? LY'RA!"

But the young woman didn't answer. Poe took her in arms, holding her tight, allowing the pain to fully overwhelm him.