You flinched in shock at the blinding white light. You watched solemnly as you felt all the lives lost --- and you hoped that Finn, BB-8, and Rose weren't a part of those.

"Full speed to Crait," Poe ordered, his voice steady.

The landing on Crait was gentle, quiet. A bittersweet victory.

Those remaining in the Resistance were few. The low numbers were obvious and filled you with worry as you walked along the white ground. The crunching under your boots confused you. It wasn't that cold on this planet; how could it be covered in ice? You leaned down and touched it. It was salt. 

"Hey." Poe's voice caught your attention. He held out a hand for you to take. "Come on, we gotta get in before they get here." 

You nodded and rose to your feet. You took his hand and walked with him inside of the armored base that was tucked away in the red mountains. 

Everything was old and rusted, covered in a thin layer of salt, as if the dust was made of that, too. You were in awe of the old technology from the beginning days of the Rebellion. You'd never even dreamed of what the past had looked like. As a daughter of the First Order, you were only ever allowed to dream of the future. A future of horror.

"They're coming," Leia said. She had decided to stand outside and watch. "Close the door." 

With a groan, the door began to slide shut. But at the same time, TIE-Fighters were shooting at the entrance. The ground erupted with every shot. People screamed, and Poe waved them back, further into the room. 

"Go, go, go! Get that shield door down!" he exclaimed. 

A woman beside you tripped and fell. You reached down and grabbed her elbow to help her up to her feet. As you helped her regain her footing, you turned and met Poe's eyes. 

At the same time, a large First Order ship hit through the bottom of the door, bending it out of shape and flying into the room. You gasped and ducked as it soared over your head, nearly hitting the rest of the Resistance members as they fired at the exterior of it. 

"Wait! Wait, don't shoot! Don't shoot, it's us!" 

"Hold your fire!" Poe commanded. 

You ran around the side of the ship. "Finn!?"

At that moment, Finn and Rose climbed out of the ship, hands raised in surrender. 

"Finn! Rose, you're not dead!" Poe grinned. "Where's my droid?" 

BB-8 chirped happily as he came out of the ship. He rolled to Poe right away and met him halfway. Poe dropped to his knees in front of his droid and wrapped his arms around him. HIs forehead touched the top of BB-8's head. "Oh, buddy! I am so glad to see you!" 

You walked over to BB-8. "Hey, BB-8," you said softly, touching his back. "Welcome back."

He chirped and leaned against you, and for a brief moment, it was just you, BB-8, and Poe, all grinning at one another (well, BB-8 just chirped to express his happiness) and holding one another. Then BB-8 was chirping, clearly saying a mouthful that left even Poe confused.

"Wait, wait, what?" he asked. "Buddy, slow down." 

Rose glanced around and frowned. "Is this all that's left?" 

Finn looked at her and swallowed hard. 

* * *

"All right, shields are up, so they can't hit us from orbit," Poe said. "Use whatever power we've got left to broadcast a distress signal to the Outer Rim."

"Use my personal code," Leia said. "If there are any allies to the Resistance, it's now or never." 

Poe nodded. "Rose, ___ --- what do you guys got?" 

You and Rose had just walked back into the room after checking out the piles of junk (half broken ships, weapons, and other things you couldn't recognize) that were all you had to use. 

"Rotting munitions, rusted artillery, some half-gutted skim speeders." Rose sighed and shook her head. 

"It's not enough," you said, crossing your arms. "There's no way half of it could even work." 

"Well." Poe took a deep breath. "Let's just hope that door holds long enough for us to get help." 

The ground began to shake. Dust fell from the ceiling. Your heart was lodged in your throat. 

"I'll check what it is," Finn said softly. 

He grabbed a pair of scopes and peered outside. You held your breath as you waited. 

"A battering ram cannon," he said. 

Poe asked, "A what now?" 

"Miniaturized Death Star tech," you whispered. Finn's eyes met yours. 

"It'll crack that door open like an egg," he said. 

You swallowed hard. 

"There has to be a back way out of here, right?" Rose asked. 

BB-8 chirped. 

"BB-8, what you got?" Poe asked him. 

"BB-8 has analyzed the live schematics," C-3PO announced to the group. He gestured to the door. "This is the only way in or out." 

In the distance, there was more rumbling. The room grew quiet as they waited for the inevitable.

"Come on," Finn said. "We have allies. People believe in Leia. They'll get our message, they'll come. But we have to buy time. We gotta take out that cannon."

You smiled at Finn and looked at Poe. He nodded proudly as his friend. 

"All right," he said. "Let's get to work."

* * *

"Do you want me in the trenches or piloting one of those hunks of trash?" you asked Poe. 

He smiled. "That's your call." 

"You don't have a preference?" you asked. 

He looked at you. "You know what to do. This is our fight. What are you gonna be best at?"

"Staying on the ground to watch your back," you decided. 

He raised up his hand. You clapped yours against it and intertwined your fingers with his. He nodded. "Then that's what you'll do." 

You dropped down into one of the trenches, wearing an old helmet that was too big for your head and holding a gun that was too old and felt like it could break apart at any moment. You settled in, feeling the pressure of two shoulders pushing against yours. You were all wedged into this space, waiting. 

You saw the First Order ships breaking through the horizon. On the radio, you said to Poe, "Ground forces, incoming." 

"Copy that. On our way." 

You looked through the scope of your gun. Speeders flew out of the mine, leaving a streak of red where they hovered over the ground. 

"All right, listen up. I don't like these rust buckets, and I don't like our odds, but... what in the world? Just keep it tight and don't get drawn in too close til they roll that cannon out front."

You inhaled deeply, in and out. You hated that you got nervous before something like this. But you remembered that Poe told you that it was okay to get scared. You held onto that. 

"All right, ground forces --- lay down some fire!" 

TIE-Fighters flew towards the speeders. 

"Fighters, break off!" 

From the ground, you began to fire at the TIE-Fighters. The ground in front of the trench continuously exploded, chunks of salt raining down on your helmet. You blinked to keep pieces of it from getting in your eye. 

"Come on, we gotta hold 'em til we pull up that cannon!"

The air was red with dust. A shot fired in the trench beside you, knocking you over on your right, You called out in pain as you landed on your arm, where you'd gotten shot with a blaster only a couple of weeks earlier. The red landed on top of you and you were suddenly terrified of suffocating to death.

You stood up out of it and aimed again. After you fired once, ignoring the pain in your arm, you saw the Falcon zip through the sky. A grin spread across your face as it took out a cluster of TIE-Fighters at once. 

"Rey," you whispered. She was here. She was fighting with you. 

The speeders were able to get close enough to the weapon. You heard Rose say, "There it is! That's a huge gun." 

"It's heavily armored!" you screamed. "Your only shot is right down the throat."

"That's really our only shot, guys," Finn said. "It isn't going to be easy." 

"No, but it is possible," Poe said.

"The cannon's opening, this is our chance!" Finn said. 

You watched with held breath as three speeders were destroyed, one by one. Within a full second, three lives were lost. 

"Poe," you said. 

"I know. They're picking us all off. We're not gonna make it." 

"I'm making my approach," Finn said. "Target in sight. Guns are hot." 

"No. Pull off!" 

"What?" Finn yelled. 

"The cannon is charged! It's a suicide run! All craft, pull away!" 

"No, I'm almost there!" 

"Retreat, Finn! That's an order!" 

All speeders except for Finn's turned away. You rose out of the trench, straining to see. "Finn!?" 

"Finn, it's too late," Rose said. "Don't do this!" 

"No! I won't let them win!" he said. 

"Finn!" you screamed. "Listen to Poe! You have to retreat---"

At that moment, Rose's speeder turned towards Finn's, which was barreling towards the ray of orange from the weapon. You climbed out of the trench, your heart in your throat---

And she hit him, knocking him out of the way. 

Poe was running toward you. He hooked his arm around your waist and yanked you with him as he jumped into the trench. 

"No, Finn---" you started. You tore the helmet off of your head.

He shook his head. "We gotta go inside," he said. "Go, go, go!" 

You obeyed the order, going inside with him and the other soldiers.