10| FAREWELL L'ULO

[ Chapter Ten ]

❝I am eternally grateful to have known L'ulo. His body might have left us, but he's in all our hearts. May the force be with you.❞

[Before the Events of The Force Awakens]

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Despite the funeral for L'ulo being held indoors, it seemed like the sky was reflecting the exact mood of all the Resistance fighters.

Adelina was putting on her dark dress which was almost black and came just above her ankles. She had paired it with black boots and was currently having Nara help her pin her hair up into two braided buns on the side of her head. Nara's dress was a similar design to her friend's but she left most of her hair down to tumble over her shoulders.

"You ready?" Nara looked at her friend who was touching up her light makeup.

"Nope but we have to." Adelina turned away from the small mirror and took a deep breath, "For L'ulo."

Nara gave her a smile and grabbed her hand, "For L'ulo."

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The funeral was opened with General Organa giving a small speech about Lu'ulo.

"Today is a sad day." General Leia began, laying a hand down on the casket which was displayed in the hanger. Of course, the casket was empty since no body had been recovered but it was merely there for symbolism. She was cloaked in a gown of all black but normally she looked regal like the princess she was. Today, she looked ragged, like a woman who had just lost another person who brought her light.

Almost the entire base had gathered in the hanger but where there usually was laughter and constant chaos, there was now silence save for the occasional sniffle. Everyone was dressed in black mourning colors. Adelina stood on the stage next to her mother with Nara beside her, clutching her hand. On the other side of General Leia stood Poe Dameron who had red rimmed eyes but no tears falling though Adelina could clearly see that he was trying hard to hold them back.

"As you all know, we recently lost one of our best fighters, L'ulo L'ampar. And though you all know him as part of the Black Squadron, he was a part of all of us. He was a skilled and fierce warrior who dedicated his life to fighting for the light side of the galaxy. He died protecting all of you and all that is good in this galaxy." General Leia paused and her eyes looked first to Poe and then to her daughter, "My daughter, Adelina is prepared to say a little something. Are you ready?"

Adelina nodded and let go of Nara's hand before she moved to the mike. She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes, "Um. I spent a lot of time with L'ulo. As General Leia said previously, he was an outstanding fighter as he was fierce and determined to protect everything that he thought was right. But besides being a fighter, he was a wonderful person. He asked everyone if they were okay, and if they weren't he'd take time out of his busy schedule to comfort them. He was one of the one's who helped me become a better pilot as well as a better person. I am eternally grateful to have known L'ulo. His body might have left us, but he's in all our hearts. May the force be with you." Adelina finished, tears pouring down her cheeks. She stepped to the side, briefly touching Poe's hand before she moved back to Nara.

Nara smiled at her friend and pulled her into her side, "You did great."

"I can't." Adelina, wiped away the tears, "It hurts so much."

"I know, Lina. I know." Nara wiped away her own tears before they both focused on Poe.

Poe stepped up to the casket where he rested his hand on it similarly to the General. He took in a breath like Adelina before he spoke, "The Force is not a topic that we address all that often anymore. Not sure why but I'd like to tell you a story about the Force." His eyes met the General's who nodded in permission, "I heard it from someone who was a good friend to my family and they knew the Force and understood it. She told me about an old Jedi that she knew. He was one of the very last and was strong and went out fighting evil just like L'ulo. She was there when it happened. And she said his body just vanished, leaving behind only his lightsaber and robes. She didn't understand in the moment but then when she spoke to her brother who's also a Jedi, he told her something he learned from his master."

Poe clears his throat, "We're not just this. Not just flesh and blood. We're more. We're luminous. That's what he told her."

The tears which had just stopped streaming down Nara and Adelina's cheeks began to freefall again. For some reason, Poe's speech was hitting their heartstrings more than anything else that had already happened.

Poe had begun speaking again and the words hardly registered in Adelina's brain. They seemed to just flow over her head but she managed to register some of them, "This coffin is empty as many starfighter pilot's are. We vanish after we die; just like that old Jedi did. But it doesn't mean that we're gone forever."

Tears were burning in Adelina's eyes as she finally registered just how close L'ulo and Poe were. She had always thought that they were good friends but now it almost seemed as if they were family. As if L'ulo was an uncle or a kind of father figure for the pilot. She had never realized how much they had meant to each other and she saw just how broken Poe's heart was despite his confidence. He appeared confident and compassionate in one of the saddest situations. He truly was an inspiring figure in a time of darkness.

Poe constantly hid behind a facade where he chose to show off charm, arrogance and flirtation though that wasn't what really made up the commander. He didn't always look like a commander but today he did. Today, he was showing a person that people would be willing to fight and die alongside. A person that even Adelina would fight alongside despite the deep divide that had been between them for many years.

As Poe finished his speech, Adelina found herself tuning in to every word, "He was an inspiration to each and every person he met. You want to talk about luminous? L'ulo L'ampar was about as luminous as they come. The stuff might be gone, but he's not. I can still feel him." Poe placed a hand over his heart, "Right here. Shining away." He closed his eyes, "May the Force be with you, L'ulo." A smile spread on his face, offering the room hope before he stepped over to the side.

Adelina's lips echoed the last sentence that Poe spoke and reached out her other hand to link it in Poe's. She squeezed it and then whispered, "You okay?"

Poe looked down at the smaller woman and shook his head, "Are any of us?"

Adelina gave him a small smile that showed almost no real happiness in it before she faced the room.

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The hanger was empty when Adelina re-entered it a couple hours later. She had hoped to find her mother there but it was clear that she was with the other Resistance members who were celebrating L'ulo's life outside.

It turned out that the hanger wasn't quite as empty as she had first thought. Apparently BB-8 was sitting by Black One, Poe's ship so his master wasn't far away.

"Damn it, BB-8. She's a mess." Poe's voice echoed through the hanger. A laugh soon followed, "True."

"Dameron?" Adelina called out.

"Who wants to know?" Poe stepped out from the other side of his ship and his mouth opens in surprise, "Solo. Why aren't you at the wake?"

"I was." Adelina stepped towards him, "I guess I'm just not in the mood for celebrating." She nodded at him, "Need help?"

"Not from you, I don't." Poe shook his head.

BB-8 beeped in protest at Poe and Adelina giggled, "See. Even he knows that you need some help. Just accept it and move on. Plus, I know my way around a ship considering how many times I've helped people repair theirs."

Poe sighed in defeat, "Alright Solo." He handed her a wrench. "It needs a lot of work though."

"Yeah?" Adelina nodded, "And you need a drink. You should go. People wanted to congratulate you on your speech."

"Well, I thought he deserved a good speech." Poe looked at her curiously, "I saw you practically loose it in the middle. Guess it was good, huh?"

Adelina rolled her eyes, "I guess. For a pilot." She took the wrench and slid under his ship, "Wow. This got really messed up. What happened?"

"You didn't hear?" Poe sat down on the ground next to her.

"No one bothered to tell me. I guess they figured I already knew and didn't want to rub salt in an already fresh wound."

Poe sighed, "I forgot. Leia wouldn't let you on duty. Well, it was pretty terrible. I'm glad you didn't have to see it, though I would have liked it better if you had been the one to nurse me."

"How is it possible that you can flirt even in these terrible circumstances?" Adelina scoffed as she tinkered.

"It's a skill, darling." Poe grinned.

"Well, it's not really a good one, Dameron. Okay, I think I got this part." Adelina smiled.

Adelina pulled herself out from underneath the plane and sat next to the other pilot, "Let's go to the wake, Poe. Before the General bursts in here and orders us too."

Poe laughed, "That sounds exactly like something she'd do. But you're all messy." He stuck a hand out and brushed her hair back from her forehead and wiped a grease stain which had appeared on her cheek, "Better."

Adelina swatted his hand away, "So are you. It's fine. Come on, flyboy." She stood up and offered her hand to him which he took and then followed her out of the hanger to the celebration.

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Word Count: 1731

Hey guys! Yes, it's a Tuesday update. I am not going to be able to update this weekend because I'll be on a trip. 

What did you think? Did this make you cry? (Fun fact: I literally cried while writing this!) What about the Poe and Adelina scenes?

I love you all and will see you soon!

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