Across The Stars // Star Wars (Sequels)

✰Chapter 18✰

As we hide behind a brick wall, Dad attempts to shoot down the incoming Stormtroopers while I fend off the blasts they shoot at us with my Lightsaber. The red balls bounce off my light blue blade and it almost becomes a game for me. 

"Hey, can I try that?" Dad asks Chewie, taking the crossbow from his hands. He aims it at the huddled Stormtroopers that keep shooting at us and with one pull of the trigger, they are blown off their feet. Dad grins. "I like this thing." His eye catches something in the distance and he points, making me turn around. I spot Finn, clumsily holding Luke's Lightsaber as he engages one of the Stormtroopers. "I think Big Deal needs your help," Dad comments and I nod. 

As silently as possible, I run over to aid Finn and when he is nearly struck by the taser of the Stormtrooper, I impale the First Order soldier with my Lightsaber before dropping his limp body to the ground. "You okay?" I ask Finn, who stares up at me with wide eyes. 

He nods and holds out a hand, which I grab to haul him off the ground. "Thanks," he says, holding up the Saber again. Dad and Chewie jog up to us. 

"Don't move!" a robotic voice barks and we freeze. Over Dad's shoulder, I spot a Stormtrooper holding us at gunpoint and in only a few seconds, we are surrounded. "TK-338, we have targets in custody," he speaks into his commlink. Chewie's crossbow is taken away and mine and Finn's Lightsabers are ripped from our grasp. I glare down the Stormtrooper but he doesn't seem affected, at all. I contemplate using the Force to get us out, but as I look around, I know we are vastly outnumbered. 

"Hands up!" the Stormtrooper from earlier orders and we hesitantly do so. 

The squadron leads us away but we barely make it twenty steps until the vague sound of Ion engines appears in the distance. Someone calls, "We have incoming at 28.6! Move, move, move!" Most of the Stormtroopers jog off and get into position. I narrow my eyes and spot a large tidal wave on the lake, but after a few seconds, I realise that it's not a wave. It's a group of X-Wings.

Chewie roars softly and Dad says, "It's the Resistance." 

The First Order opens fire, but now they are the ones that are outnumbered. All around us, First Order TIE fighters are shot down, leaving messy piles of burning metal. The two Stormtroopers that were guarding us are blown off their feet. "Quick!" Dad says and we take off, running to get our weapons back. Luckily, they aren't far. My Lightsaber is covered in dirt after being squashed between a dead Stormtrooper and the ground, but after pressing the ignition button, I discover it works just fine.

Finn takes back Luke's Lightsaber but decides to take a blaster with him, one that he uses to shoot down the new wave of incoming Stormtroopers. I hear the sound of an X-Wing behind me and when I turn around, I see the aircraft shooting down not one, but five TIE fighters in a row. 

"Whoo!" Finn cheers. "That's one hell of a pilot!"

I giggle at his enthusiasm before I feel an enormous disturbance in the Force. "Raven, are you okay?" Finn asks and I shake my head shortly.

"It's Rey. She's in trouble," I mutter before turning around. I realise most of the Stormtroopers are hurrying back to their ship and I frown, but that frown falls as I spot a cloaked figure stalking up to the ship, holding someone in their arms. 

My breath quickens and I put a step forward, but Dad grabs my wrist, holding me back. He doesn't say anything as I stare at him, but the overwhelming amount of emotions flowing through him tells me enough. Don't go after him.

"No!" Finn exclaims, running to go after Rey. "Rey!" I hear him shout seconds later, but he's too late. The ship takes off, leaving us in a field of rubble.

An elongated spaceship flies over our heads and Finn runs back to us. "He took her. Did you see that?" he rambles. "He took her, she's gone." 

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Dad says, waving him off. He sounds out of breath and I suddenly realise, I am too. I feel something bounce against my leg and I look down, an instant smile appearing on my face. 

"BB-8! There you are," I say with a grin, kneeling down. "Where'd you go? I couldn't find you," I ask, wiping off a few streaks of dirt. He beeps. "You went with Rey, huh?" I ask and he beeps once. "Yeah, I know. We'll figure it out." 

The large spaceship lands on the ground with a thud and the door slides open, revealing several Resistance commanders and colonels. Seconds later, my mother follows. Her eyes lock with Dad's and she smiles softly. She walks up to him and keeps a few feet in between them, leaving room for C-3PO, who merges himself with the situation.

"Goodness!" he exclaims. "Han Solo! Raven Solo! It is I, C-3PO. You probably don't recognise because of the red arm." He turns to Mom. "Look who it is. Did you see who..." As Mom raises her brows at him, he stops, stammering a few unfinished words. "Excuse me, Prin- General. Sorry," he rambles before he walks over to BB-8, engaging conversation. 

"You changed your hair," Dad comments. 

"Same jacket," Mom replies.

"No, new jacket," Dad says. Chewie walks up to Mom, wrapping her in a hug while growling kindly. Her eyes travel to me. 

"Good to see you're okay," she says with a smile, one I'm happy to reciprocate. 

"We saw him," Dad says softly. "Leia, I saw our son." I lower my eyes at the pain in his voice. "He was here."

She nods. "I know," she mumbles. She glances at the battlefield behind us. "We should head home." 

"Leia..." Dad starts, only to be cut off. 

"Han, come on. It's been months," she says. "Come home." 

"She's right, Dad. We could really use your help," I add. 

He sighs, raising a brow at me. "You've got too much of your mother's stubbornness in you, did you know that?" he comments. "Alright, let's go. Chewie!" 

Chewie jogs up to us. "We're going home. Fire up the Falcon," he says. Chewie roars before running off ever so giddily.

"The Falcon?" Mom asks, furrowing her brows. 

"Yeah, we found it," Dad says. "Big Deal over there stole it from Unkar Plutt on Jakku." 

"Big Deal?" she asks. 

"His name's Finn," I say, glancing over my shoulder to find him sitting on a piece of debris, his head hung low. "Excuse me for a second," I say to my parents before heading over to where he sat. "Hey," I say softly and he looks up. 

"Oh, hey. It's you," he says, scooting over so I can sit down next to him. 

"I'm sorry about Rey," I start. "She doesn't deserve to be there." 

"Yeah, no kidding." He chuckles gloomily. 

"We'll get her back," I say. "My brother can't keep his claws in her forever." 

His eyes widen and I realise what I said. "Brother?" he asks. 

I sigh. "Yeah, Kylo Ren is my twin brother," I tell him. 

"Wow," he mutters. "How did that happen?" 

I chuckle softly. "He wasn't always evil. He was my best friend growing up, besides Poe. Until something shifted in him and he turned to the Dark Side. Today was the first time I've seen him in years," I say. 

"I'm sorry. That must've been really hard," Finn says. 

I shrug. "I don't see him as my brother anymore. This persona he's adopted is... It's something else. I don't even know what to call it." 

"Raven! Finn! We're leaving!" Dad shouts and we stand up. I let out a breath and send Finn a smile before heading over to the Falcon to fly back to the Resistance base on Yavin 4.