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      THE FIRST ORDER HAD FINALLY ARRIVED.

       It was only a matter of time, the entire planet was almost anticipating it, but they weren't prepared. They had nothing, and it's something they were well aware of. Batuu didn't stand a chance against them. No matter the amount of time they had to prepare for this attack, this takeover, they were not ready. Batuu was already gone. Explosions rocked the planet over and over again, and with every death the stone in the citizen's guts became heavier and heavier.

      Pandora Astalles held both of her children's hands in her own. Their time was dwindling, and Pandora knew she wasn't going to leave this planet alive. The overwhelming sense of anxiety bloomed over her entire body, but she forced herself to stay calm. Her daughter was crying. Her son was stoic, but she knew he was panicking.

      Time was something Pandora never had enough of. Never enough time on her home planet, with the Resistance, any of it. Never enough time with her parents or the Skywalkers. It was a harsh reality she learned too young. Time was a luxury that she never had. Something told her that her children would never have that luxury either.

      The sands of time were falling too quickly, and no matter what Pandora did, her hands weren't big enough to block the hole of the hourglass.

      "You two need to listen to me, okay?" Pandora rushed out in a panic. Her husband was downstairs in their house, getting together enough supplies to get their children out of there safely. "Our time has run out, my loves. You two need to run."

      "What about you and Dad?" Pollux asked, his voice breaking. The force of him trying to stay calm for his little sister was tearing him apart. "You're coming with us. You have to." The betrayal, the fear in his eyes was enough to shatter Pandora's heart in half.

      "We can't. Your father and I know that this is the end." The words that left Pandora's lips didn't feel real. But this was it. She knew it. "You two have to run. Do not split up, do not leave each other behind. The only way you'll make it out is together."

      Elara's large eyes were red and puffy. Her voice was choked with sobs. "I'm not leaving you, Mom." She adamantly shook her head no. "I can't do this without you."
"Yes, you can, my love." Pandora replied, cupping her daughter's face in her hands and wiping her tears with her thumbs. "You are so much stronger than you know, Elara." Pandora pressed her forehead against her daughter's, and then her son's. Her proudest creations.

      Juno ran up the stairs, stuffing two bags full with rations. Pandora looked at her husband with a knowing look in her eyes. They were a match made in the Force, two atoms of the same star, but too bad the First Order never cared about love. This was it for them.

      Juno shoved the backpacks into Pollux's and Elara's hands. Elara's whole body wracked with sobs, but Pollux just understood. His face was blank, he had to protect his little sister. If it was the last thing he did, if he were chased to the end of the earth, we would always stand in front of Elara. This world was cruel. He would not let Elara fall victim to it.

      And so, Pollux secured his bag over his shoulder and forced the other one through Elara's arms. She was fighting against him, crying out for her mom and dad to not leave them. Juno kissed her head and held her so tight that her airways were blocked, but if it was the last time she would get to hug him, and wouldn't complain. Pandora whispered something in her ear, something Elara would never forget and Pollux would never know, and that was the end.

      Elara and Pollux left their home, their hearts on their sleeves, as it was gunned down by First Order stormtroopers. Pandora and Juno did not cry out when they reached their untimely end, but unbeknownst to the Astalles children, their parents went out holding each other in their arms and assuring the other that they would see them on the other side. Pandora and Juno were meant to be. They knew when they joined the Resistance, the Jedi, that they would go out together. One would not die without the other at their side. Fate was a sick, twisted being, but she held her word.

      Elara would not fall victim to fate that day. She ran, she ran as fast and far as she could, her brother pulling her along to try and get them to safety. The first of Elara's friends that they ran into was Delphie. She was just escaping her house, which had exploded a few seconds after she ran out of it. Elara yelled out her name and grabbed her arm, forcing her to run along with her. The rest of their friends were already in a group together, Kai, Kathy, and Winnie, and frantically trying to find cover to escape the sounds of blasters firing and people dying. Pollux shouted out their names, and they turned around, shocked. Kai was the first to stand up and grab Elara into a hug that said things he couldn't at the moment — that he was glad to see her alive. They made a group effort to grab all of them and try to get out of the line of fire, but unfortunately, the effectiveness of that plan fell short. Elara stopped cold as a blaster fired and someone in her group fell to the ground.

      Pollux was hit. Kathy turned around first and almost screamed, as he lay on the ground, almost motionless. Elara shoved through her friends and dropped on her knees beside her brother. He pulled her to his chest and whispered in her ear, "You have to leave me behind, Lara." and Elara, stubborn and sixteen years old, shook her head.

      "I've lost too many people today, you asshole." Elara's tears fell from her eyes and onto Pollux's face. Her gut clenched, with the foreboding feeling of grief. "I am not losing you too. You're the last family I have, Pollux. Please." She was pleading with him, a silent don't you dare die on me. Not after everything we've been through.

      "You have to go and you have to go now, Lara." He whispered. His eyes pleaded right back. Pollux told his parents he would always protect his sister, and if that meant dying so she didn't, he would. The shot hit his abdomen, which he was clutching with his left hand. His right hand brushed the hair out of his sister's face. "There are ships on the other side of the mountain. Take them. Get your friends out of here."

      At that moment, Elara was so stricken with pain, the only word she could get out was "No." That was all she needed to say, because deep down she knew this was the end. The First Order was going to keep taking and taking and taking, and if she didn't flee, they would take her too.

      "Go, Elara," he ordered. The tears in his eyes reflected the light of the flames around them. "I love you."

      "I love you too."

      That was the last thing Elara ever said to Pollux. Kai was pulling at her arm, and she stood up and turned around to the group. Delphie's face was covered in dirt and ash, and Elara knew her's was probably the same. Kathy's eyes were red with tears. They were looking at her for guidance. All four of them, staring straight at Elara, trusting she knew what to do.

      "Let's run. As long as we get to the other side of the mountain, where they have ships, we're golden." She couldn't mourn - no matter how deeply she wanted to - because her friends needed her to be more than just their friend. They needed a leader.

      Winnie grabbed the blaster from Pollux's belt. She nodded at the group. They turned around at the same moment and their legs kicked off before they could process it. Kathy's lungs were burning, and it didn't help that she had been hyperventilating before they started moving, and the pins and needles in her head were a red flag that she needed to stop but they just needed to get out. Her flight response was winning over any rational thought in her head.

      Winnie would turn around and fire at any stormtroopers she could, and Elara and Kai were in the front of the group searching for those ships. They were a ton of kids forced to fight in a war that shouldn't have ever begun. And, Hell, they were surviving.

      Elara let out a small sigh of relief as they got eyes on a transport, which was small, but big enough to carry a few kids off the planet. She entered a clearance code, which was on the underside of the ship, into the keypad and the doors opened.

      Winnie was still firing at stormtroopers as they were loading up the ship, Elara jumping in the pilot seat with Kathy copiloting. It was an old ship, one of which Elara was having a hard time figuring out. Kathy reached forward and flipped a switch, which brought the control panel alive.

      "If we're gonna get out of here it's going to have to be in the next ten seconds, guys!" Kai called out, pulling Winnie inside and closing the doors behind her. They had too many soldiers on them, and if the First Order discovered that some of the only people that survived the attack were a bunch of children in a transport that didn't have a clue what they were doing, they would be pissed.

      "Kath, can you figure out how to put up the shields?" Elara asked, flipping some switches. "I'm going to get us out of here."

      "I can try, but no promises."

      "Just do what you can."

      The controls were all over the place, it was obvious the ship had been altered since it landed on Batuu. The hyperdrive was going to take a second to boot up, and Elara wasn't even sure where the Hell they were going to go, but it had to just be anywhere but there. Pulling up on the controls, the transport left the ground. Elara knew this was like her mom's A-Wing that she had practiced with, because all ships were just slightly different to pilot, so she took a deep breath and just let her consciousness take over. Soon enough, they were in the air and moving.

      "Shields are... up." Kathy said, pressing some buttons on the control board and wiping the sweat from her brow on the back of her hand. "We have a problem, though." Kathy was looking at the proximity calculator above her head, which displayed four First Order TIE fighters following after them.

      "Shit." Elara muttered, finally glancing over at the calculator. She made a few futile attempts at getting them off of their tails, but it was pointless. They were too close. "Winnie!" Elara yelled. "Can you get down in the gunner chair and try to get those ships off of us? I can't lose them!" It wasn't necessarily a question, it was an order. One that Win understood, because she called out a confirmation, and before long, the cannon on the underside of the ship was firing back at the First Order fighters.

      Delphie walked into the cockpit and took one look at the wiring in the ship and had to sit down. She analyzed it before trying to do anything, but it only took a few seconds for her to grab the hyperdrive. "Who cares about the fighters? Get us off this planet so I can get us in hyperspace!"

      Delphie was only fifteen, and her bravery never failed to make Elara proud. She focused on getting them through the Batuu atmosphere. "How much fuel do we have, Kath?" She glanced beside her, worry etched between her eyebrows.

      "Not enough." Kathy sighed. "We'd make it through one hyperspace jump, but that's about it." Her eyes flew over the control board, trying to figure out what to do to save fuel. "Once we get into hyperspace, I'm going to have to turn off the shields. It's taking too much of our fuel."

      "Okay." Elara replied. They were nearly out of the atmosphere now, and Winnie had managed to get three ships off of their tails. That left one more, which wouldn't be a problem once they got into space, because it was a short-range fighter. It couldn't stray too far from it's ship. "Your job is just about over, Win! You did great!" She screamed, hoping Winnie could hear her.

      She could. "Thanks!"

      They had made it through Batuu's atmosphere. Delphie started calculating their hyperspace jump. "This will only take a second... or a few." She murmured the last part, but she knew Elara could still hear her. Winnie and Kai entered the cockpit as quietly as they could.

      "You two are gonna want to sit down and strap in. We're going to be in hyperspace for a few minutes as I send out a distress call." Elara told them. They nodded.

      "I'm going to need your bag." Kai said, and it took a moment for Elara to process that he was talking to her. She glanced down at it, confusion and apprehension in her eyes when she looked back at him. "I'm getting all of our supplies together to see how much we have in rations."

      Elara nodded and handed her backpack to him. His bottom lip curled slightly, thanking her.

      Winnie and Kai left the cockpit as soon as they entered it, going to strap in. The hyperspace calculations were ready. "So, when I tell you you're all good, just reach up and press that button there. It'll send us through eight minutes of hyperspace, which leaves us with enough fuel to land on Endor's moon." Delphie told Kath and Elara. "I'm going to go sit down. I'll yell when the three of us are ready." She ducked out of the cockpit, leaving Elara and Kathy alone.

      Elara just nodded at her words. Kath was staring into space with an empty expression on her face. Elara knew that Kathy just realized what all had happened. Kathy had a little sister on Batuu. She didn't make it out.

      In all honesty, Elara didn't want to think about the fact that her parents and older brother had just died until she could handle it. Right now, she had a squad of orphans who needed her help. She had to get them to safety before she could worry about herself. But there was no mistaking the empty hole in her heart where her family used to be.

      "How are you not freaking out right now, Lara?" Kathy finally spoke up from the copilot seat. "I'm freaking out. Why aren't you?"

      Elara took a deep breath before talking. Her eyes stayed focused on the control board. "If I think about it, it's real. And if it's real, then we're really surviving on our own in the middle of space." She turned her head toward Kathy. She was talking slowly so as not to overwhelm herself. "I'd rather just deal with it later then have to deal with it right now."

      Kath looked as if she were going to reply, but Delphie gave them the okay from the main part of the ship to jump into hyperspace. Elara happily cleared her throat and pressed the button on the hyperdrive.

      Into hyperspace they went. The colors of the bright stars whizzed past the ship. Elara pointed her head back to the group. "You wanna go talk to them?" It wasn't necessarily a question. She knew Kath wanted to go talk to their friends. "Go ahead. I'm gonna make sure we make it out of hyperspace alive." It was a pathetic excuse of a joke, but the corners of Kathy's lips upturned in a slight smile. She unbuckled her seatbelt and ducked out of the cockpit.

      Which left Elara alone to her own thoughts.

      She tried to turn on the radio, to no success. She let out a groan of frustration. If their communications were wiped out, there was no way she could contact the Resistance, which meant they were as good as dead. After messing with the wires a bit, she eventually powered it up to life. Her mother, being who she was, left instructions for Elara to reach the Resistance. She changed the settings on the radio.

      "Can anybody hear me?" Elara clicked the button on the side of the receiver and began talking. "My name is Elara Astalles, I just escaped the First Order and I need some help." It was silent. No response from the Resistance. "Hello? My name is Elara Astalles. I escaped the First Order with a group and we need help." She waited a few seconds. The only response she got was white noise. "Damnit." she whispered, pressing the control to her forehead. "Is anyone out there?" The static only seemed to add to her frustrations. She let out a groan. "If anyone is there can you please kriffing answer me? My name is-"

      "This is the Resistance." A man's voice finally answered her, causing her to nearly jump out of her seat. "Who is this?"

      "Thank the Force," Elara whispered. "I'm Elara Astalles." Her voice had returned to it's normal volume. Relief spread through her like a wildfire. "The First Order just invaded Batuu. I'm with a group and we need your help."

      "How many people are in your party?"

      "Five." Elara replied quickly. "Five including me, Sir. We're all kids. We need help."

      "Who's piloting your ship?" This guy was beginning to get on Elara's nerves, but if she wanted any shot of getting into the Resistance, she was going to have to play nice.

      "I am." Elara said confidently. "Listen, I could try to send you our coordinates, but we're going through hyperspace right now and this transport is so old I'm not sure I'd even be able to-"

      The person's voice she was speaking to changed. "Miss Astalles, you're speaking to General Leia Organa right now." The woman stated. "I'm going to help you, but you have to give me more to work off of. You're in hyperspace? How old are you?"

      "I'm sixteen, General." Somehow, Elara knew what to say and exactly how to say it. "I have a group, but we're low on fuel as it is. The moon Endor is where we're planning on docking." She paused for a second. "Any help you can get us will be fantastic, General."

      General Organa didn't reply immediately. It worried her. Just when she thought the General had shut off the line, refusing to accept a bunch of kid's wishes for help, the radio buzzed back to life. "Elara, don't worry. Land on the Endor moon. Once you get there, send us your coordinates and I will send some pilots out there to get you and your friends." The General sounded so soothing, letting her know that help was coming and to keep on their current path.

      Elara nodded before realizing General Organa couldn't see her. "Thank you, General Organa. Thank you so much."

      "Just focus on landing safely. Help is on the way." the General replied. "Once you get to our base, I am going to have to interrogate you all on the full story."

      "I expect nothing less. May the Force be with you."

      "As with you."

      The General had turned off the private line, leaving Elara to sit there in shock. She just contacted the Resistance and got her entire group help. "Guys!" Elara turned around in her seat and yelled as loud as she could. "Guys, I got in contact with the Resistance!"

      All Elara could hear was the scrambling of feet as all her friends tried to get into the cockpit. "What?" Kai asked, bewildered.

      "Don't run in my ship while we're going through hyperspace." Was the first thing that left Elara's mouth. She felt like a mother berating a child - despite the fact that Kai was two years older than her. "I talked to General Leia Organa. She told us to land on the Endor moon and she's sending a squad out to retrieve us as soon as I get our coordinates to them."

      Delphie's mouth dropped in disbelief. "You're joking." She said, looking around at the entire group. "You talked to Leia Organa?" Her eyes were red and puffy, so seeing her with a small ounce of hope made Elara feel a little better.

      "Yeah." Despite their current situation, Elara couldn't stop the grin from spreading across her face. "I talked to Leia Organa with the Resistance. We're getting help, you guys."

      Winnie's face broke out in a wide smile and she almost began jumping up and down. "We did it guys. We actually did it." She put her arms out, and everyone rushed together to hug.

      The pure glee the group felt at the sign of hope was enough to make their grief dissipate, even if it was only for a few seconds. Even if they had all lost their families, and their friends besides each other, as long as they were getting aid from people fighting for good, they had a good reason to be full of joy.

      There was always hope.

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