"Incoming TIEs!" Snap calls through the comms.
"We see 'em," Poe says, diving toward the surface of Exegol.
"We got you, Finn!" I pull the trigger several times in a row, taking out three TIE-fighters.
"Whoo! Nice one, Rave!" Poe cheers. I can't believe he's actually enjoying this. My heart is pounding my throat at the sharp turns and twists we're doing. Luckily, the firing gives me something else to focus on.
"The navigation tower's been deactivated!" Maleena, one of the pilots flying with Finn's freighter, calls.
"What?" Finn asks.
"Those ships need that signal," Snap says. "It's gotta be coming from somewhere."
"They've figured out what we're doing," Poe says.
"Call of the ground invasion!" I order.
A short silence falls that Finn breaks, "The nav signal's coming from that command ship. That's our drop zone."
"You wanna launch a ground invasion on a Star Destroyer?" Maleena questions.
"I don't want to, but we can't take out that ship's nav system from the air. Give us cover. We gotta keep that fleet here till help arrives," he says.
"Generals?" Maleena asks.
"You heard the man. All X-Wings, cover that lander!" I call into the comms.
Minutes go by. Minutes that are spent with shooting down TIE-fighters while dodging their blasts. My nerves have left my body to make room for sheer terror. My palms are damp with sweat and my breathing is ragged, but I don't allow that to distract me.
Through the side window, I spot the engines of the Star Destroyers activating, their blue glow a stark contrast with the darkness on Exegol. "Poe, are you seeing that?"
"Yeah, I am," he replies. "Those thrusters are hot. How are we doing?"
"We're gonna blow our way in and take out that nav tower!" Finn replies.
"Watch out!" I shout and Poe is right on time to yank the control to the left to dodge a TIE-fighter that was headed toward us at top speed. As Poe turns the X-Wing around, I take out the TIE-fighter with two blasts. My eyes widen as a piece of the fighter's wing hurdles straight at us. Poe isn't fast enough to avoid it and it crashes into the side of the X-Wing. We bounce to the side and my head smacks against the headrest of my seat. I hear Poe exclaim.
"You okay?" I call.
"I'm fine!" he replies, although his voice tells me he's far from okay. The X-Wing swerves before centring again and we fly over a Star Destroyer. Just as we pass, we watch the nav tower deactivate.
"Nice one, Finn!" Poe calls into the comms. "Nav signal's down, but not for long."
"Still no Falcon or backup," Snap says.
"Maybe no one else is coming," I hear Poe mumble.
"We can't think like that. Lando and Chewie will figure something out!" I tell him.
"What do we do, generals?" Commander E'ron asks.
"We gotta hit 'em ourselves," Poe then says.
"What can we do against these things?" Maleena asks.
Poe hesitates for a second, knowing he can't tell them anything they don't already know. Eventually, he settles for, "Just stay alive!"
YOU ARE READING
Across The Stars // Star Wars (Sequels)
Fanfiction"They say home is where your heart is. Mine is among the stars, across the universe." The Force is a beautiful, amazing thing that no one truly understands. But it is also dangerous, especially when it is whispering in your ear every second of every...
