Across The Stars // Star Wars (Sequels)

✰Chapter 29✰

"Be with me and I'll be with you. Be with me and I'll be with you. Be with me and I'll be with you," I mumble to myself as I sit cross-legged on the floor of the quietest room I could find on our cruiser. A frown creases my forehead as I try to focus, but my thoughts keep getting in the way. 

The Force that surrounds me feels different. Colder, more restless. To me, the Force has always felt like something alive that darts around me whenever I meditate, but right now, it feels like a predator circling its prey, just waiting for the right time to strike. 

"Raven," a deep voice speaks and my eyes shoot open. A man stands in front of me, a deep brown cloak covering his body. The darkness surrounding us keeps me from seeing his face, but the voice sounds familiar. "You know what you have to do to save your mother," he continues. 

"Who are you?" I ask softly. 

The man reaches up and lowers his hood, keeping his eyes on the ground. 

"Anakin?" I whisper. 

"You have to save your mother, Raven. You're the only one with the strength to do it," he tells me. 

I stare at him with widened eyes. "What do you mean?" I ask him. 

He glances up and instead of the blue eyes I expected to see, a pair of yellow ones look back. 

"You're not the Anakin I know," I say. 

"No, I'm not," he says, softly shaking his head. "But I'm the only one that can tell you how to keep your mother from dying." 

I frown, looking down at my lap. My mind is swirling but all I can think of is, I have to save Mom, so I look up again and say, "Tell me." 

***

"Poe, can I talk to you?" I ask and he jumps, obviously startled by my sudden appearance behind him. 

"Geez, Rave, you scared me," he says, holding a hand on his heart. "What's going on? Why the long face?" 

"I know what I have to do to keep Mom from dying," I say. 

"Dying? What are you talking about? She's recovering. You were there when the doctors told us that," he says, confusion clouding his eyes. 

"You don't understand, Poe. She'll die if we don't do anything," I say. "If I don't do anything." 

"When will you stop blaming yourself for this? This wasn't your fault." 

"Maybe, maybe not. But I am the only one who can bring her back." 

"Rave, I swear. Whatever you think you have to do, you're not alone. Let me help you. Please." 

I close my eyes. "I can't," I mutter. "I won't put you in danger." 

"Okay, you're making zero sense. What are you saying?" He unknowingly raises his voice and people around us start to stare. 

"I'm saying that I have to leave for a bit," I say then. 

"You have to- What? Leave? To go where?" he asks.

"I can't tell you," I say. "And before you can say anything else. I need you to trust me." 

"I trust you, I really do. But I don't want anything to happen to you," he says. "Rave, you are the only person I truly care about in this place and I'm not going to let you end up in a situation you shouldn't be in." 

"I won't, but Poe-" 

"I apologise for interrupting, Mistress Solo, but Commander D'Acy requests your presence in the main control room," C-3PO says. "Yours too, commander." 

"We'll be there in a second, 3PO," I tell him and he nods before turning around. 

"We're not done talking about this," Poe says. "And you're not going anywhere until we've talked this out." 

"I whole-heartedly agree," I say rather forcefully before I walk off toward the control room. Poe catches up after a few seconds and walks next to me while an uncomfortable silence hangs between us. 

When we enter the room, I see everyone has already gathered around. Poe and I find a seat as commander D'Acy steps forward. 

"General Organa, Leia," she starts. "Is unconscious, but recovering." I can feel Poe's eyes on me but I choose to keep my own on the commander. "That's the only good news I have. Admiral Ackbar, all our leadership, they're gone." All around us, people start murmuring. "Leia was the sole survivor on the bridge." 

"This is a mess," I whisper to myself and Poe nods. 

"If she were here, she'd say save your sorrow for after the fight," D'Acy continues. "To that end, the chain of command is clear as to who should take her place." 

"It's gotta be you," Poe mutters, leaning forward just a bit.

But D'Acy says, "Vice Admiral Holdo of the cruiser Ninka." 

Poe shifts in his seat, blowing out a breath. I should feel disappointed, considering I'm literally the general's daughter, but I don't have a rank within the Resistance. I'm the only Jedi, but so far, that hasn't really gotten me anywhere except regular missions. And I don't blame them. I barely have any experience in the field. All I've ever done is train on an island with people I knew. Or, at least I thought I did.

Vice admiral Holdo steps forward, and she's not what I expected to see after hearing all those stories about her when I was growing up. She's tall and the grey gown she wears only emphasises that. She has short purple hair and wears a confident expression on her face. 

"Thank you, commander," she speaks in a soft voice. Her eyes travel around the room and they linger on me for just a second longer. A gentle yet sad smile plays on her lips. "Four hundred of us on three ships. We're the very last of the Resistance, but we're not alone. In every corner of the galaxy, the downtrodden and oppressed know our symbol and they put their hope in it. We are the spark that will light the fire that will restore the Republic. That spark, this Resistance, must survive. That is our mission." She pronounces every word with importance and speaks slowly, yet meaningfully. "Now, to your stations. And may the Force be with us." 

Everyone rises to their feet but I choose to stay seated, and so does Poe. He sighs tiredly, running his hands down his face. "I'm sorry, Rave," he mutters. I just nod softly, not saying anything. "C'mon." He rises to his feet and grabs my hand, taking me across the room to the Admiral. "Admiral Holdo? Commander Dameron and Master Solo," he introduces us. "With our current fuel consumption, there's a very limited amount of time that we can stay out of range of those Star Destroyers." 

"Very kind of you to make me aware," she says before she starts talking to the workers she's standing with. 

"And we need to shake 'em before we can find a new base, so... What's our plan?" Poe presses.

"Our plan, captain? Not commander, right? Wasn't it Leia's last official act to demote you for your Dreadnought plan where we lost our entire bombing fleet?" she says and the belittling tone in her voice makes the hairs on my neck stand upright. 

She walks off but I go after her, my robes flowing behind me. "Commander, captain, you can call him whatever you like, and the same goes for me, but we just want to know what's going on," I tell her. 

She smiles, but I can tell it's not a true smile. "Of course you do," she says. "I understand." 

I look at her for a second before I fold my arms, tilting my head slightly. "I'm glad we're on the same page," I say.

"I've dealt with plenty of trigger-happy flyboys like him," she says, nodding her head toward Poe, who stands a few feet behind me with a dark look in his eyes. "And I'm sure I can add a conflicted, impulsive Jedi girl to that list." 

My blood begins to boil but I keep on my calm facade. 

"You two are the last we need right now," she states. "So stick to your post and follow my orders." She leaves and I blow a long, deep breath through my nose.