Across The Stars // Star Wars (Sequels)

✰Chapter 30✰

"You okay?" Poe asks softly. The two of us have resided to my mother's hospital room. 

"She called me a conflicted, impulsive Jedi girl," I say, disbelief lacing my words. "No one has ever talked down at me like that."

"Rave, I'm sorry," he says. "I guess she's a little different than Leia."

"She's nothing like my mother and she will never be," I say, my voice scarily calm. "And I'm going to make sure Mom can return as soon as possible 'cause I'm not putting up with that."

"I don't want to put up with Holdo either but we have to have a little patience. Leia will be back before we know it and things will go back to normal," he says but I shake my head.

"Patience won't do us any good," I say. "I'm going to find Ben. He'll be able to help me."

"Ben? As in your brother, Ben?" he deadpans. "No, no, no, that's not happening."

"Poe..." I sigh.

"No, you are not leaving and she'd agree with me," he says, motioning to my mother's still form.

"Why not?"

"Ben is gone. It's just Kylo Ren and he'll do anything to turn you to the Dark Side," he says.

"Maybe that's exactly what I need to do," I blurt out.

"What?"

"The Light Side doesn't have all the answers," I say. "I read about a group of Jedi called the Grey Jedi the other day. They're Jedi that walk on the line between the Light and the Dark, benefiting from both sides. Maybe that's what I need to save my mother."

"Are you even hearing yourself? You're telling me you want to get closer to the Dark Side after you've spent years steering completely clear of it."

"Poe, I can do it. I know I can," I say.

"Who put you up to this?" he asks.

"What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean. Where did you get this crazy idea that you can save your mother by turning to the Dark Side?" he asks, but once the words leave his mouth, I can see the realisation in his eyes. "It was your grandfather, wasn't it? He's the one who talked you into doing this."

I don't say anything and avert my eyes. 

"Seriously? Raven, he was a Sith! Of course, he'd want you to turn!" he exclaims angrily.

"Why are you getting all worked up? I'm just trying to do the right thing, why won't you let me do that?!" I yell, tears of frustration welling up in my eyes.

"Because I love you, dammit!" he shouts and I take a step back with widened eyes. Poe sees the look on my face. "Shit," he curses to himself. "Rave, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to blurt it out like that."

I glare up at him. "Loving me isn't a reason to keep me from doing what I was meant to do," I say coldly. 

"I know that but-" 

The door bursts open and I quickly turn away, wiping away the tears on my cheeks with the sleeve of my robes. 

"Poe, Raven! We need your help," Finn's voice says and I turn back, finding him with a dark-haired girl that I don't recognise. "Oh, did we interrupt something?" Finn asks once he sees my tear-stained face and swollen eyes. 

"It's fine," I say, sniffing. "What's up? Who's the girl?" 

"I'm Rose," she says, waving.

"We were talking and we realised the First Order has to be tracking us from one Destroyer, the lead one," Finn starts to explain. "You'd think that if we blow that one up, we'd be good to go, but they would just start tracking us from another Destroyer. But if we can sneak on board the lead Destroyer and disable the tracker without them realising, then we can-"