07 | two lost, two betrayed

"YOU HAVE TO TRUST ME."

ABANDONED RESISTANCE BASE, CRAIT-

Three days.

It had been three days since Kyra had willingly left the Resistance.

Three days since she had walked herself back into a death sentence. Three days since she had left the Resistance and Poe alongside it. Three days since she had sacrificed all of her happiness for the life of another.

Poe still didn't understand why she did it. Kyra was illogical in so many ways- just when he thought he understood her, there was always something else that was holding her back. Why she couldn't leave the First Order, her reservations about actually joining the Resistance, why she didn't want to go and see her father- the list went on and on.

And now this.

Poe was still racking his brain on why Kyra would've possibly left him- left her happiness- no, their happiness. But then again, one look inside of Fox's eyes and Poe felt like he knew the answer. Kyra would never abandon one of her own.

It was irritatingly endearing, he had to admit. There were times when even he would consider leaving someone behind for the greater good- but with Kyra, she never would. Mission after mission had proved that to him in the small amount of time that they spent together, the woman always making sure that everyone got back- even at her own expense.

Which is how it led to their current scenario, Kyra god knows where on a First Order Star Destroyer, and Poe... stuck.

Since the escape from the First Order by narrow means, Leia had found an old covert Rebellion now turned Resistance base on a planet called Crait, where the Resistance had been sheltered for the past couple days. It was tucked away inside of a mountainous-like cave, away from the harsh conditions that were on the outside of the planet.

The planet was a strange one, a salt coating covering the ground, the footsteps you left behind on the ground turning it a blood red. It was sort of eerie, Poe had to admit, but the strange and haunted nature of the planet meant that most strayed far away.

It was nothing all too special, really, just a place to hide out until the tides turned back into their favor.

Which they were hoping would happen sooner rather than later, what with no contact really being held with Rey and Han anymore. Poe often just hoped to whatever was out in the galaxy that their mission would be successful, and that Luke would be the shining hope that the Resistance needed in such a strange time like this.

Heaving yet another heavy sigh, Poe shook himself out of his moment of self-reflection, turning back towards the main control center of the base, an old and worn technology table off of the main hangar where all of the run-down skimmers and the craft they had escaped down to the planet with were.

"Our next order of business is finding a new base to call home. We obviously can't return back to the Illenium System base, as the First Order compromised that location, so we need to come up with some new locations that we might believe to be safe. Does anyone have any contacts?" General Organa looked across the room, Poe's eyes meeting hers- the woman giving him a cautious look.

"I know some places where the First Order doesn't dare venture." Finn murmured, softly throwing the idea out there. He tapped his fingers nervously against the rundown hologram table, looking around the room and seeing no other real answers piping up. "It's risky, a bit, to go that far out or to go into those systems at all-"

"But if it's what we need to have a secure location, Finn and I can go and scope those locations out." Fox finished, looking at the other man and giving him a slight nod of encouragement. "Not physically, obviously, but if you need us to look up which planet could be the safest to re-establish upon-"

"That would be great, thank you gentlemen." Leia dipped her head at the two of them, the two former storm troopers giving each other a glance before turning out of the circle, moving off to brainstorm some safe planets that they knew would be out of the First Order's radar.

"Other than that, we still have the ongoing mission with Han and Rey. I hope to make contact with them by tomorrow, updating them with everything that's happened and how we plan to move forward." Leia let out a sigh as she looked around the room, making eye contact with Poe again, almost as if she was speaking directly to him. "I know that there have been many other challenges the past few days, and I hope we can get to them. Our first priority right now is making sure all of our resistance members get back to us safe. But these things take time, and we have to play our cards right."

Poe, understanding what she met, albeit begrudgingly, nodded back to her, understanding exactly what her words meant. She hoped with the transition in the situation at hand, it would prompt Rey and Han to come back and, by extension, convince Luke to return. Or at the very least, it would add haste to the mission that they were involved in.

It meant Poe had to wait, but if it meant that Luke Skywalker was coming back, it would be waiting that he was willing to stand by.

For a little while.

He knew the situation they were in was a tightrope, and one wrong misstep could lead to ruin. Poe- while desperate to make sure that Kyra would get home to him safely, wasn't going to mess it all up. He could give Leia the couple of days that she was asking...

And then he was going to go storm the First Order- no matter what it took.

"Dismissed." Leia turned away from the table, gesturing for Poe to follow her, as he was the one that had the most information about the current mission that was all but going south. Quickly jogging to the other side of the table, Poe came to her side, waiting for her to instruct him.

"Dameron, this could not have gone possibly worse."

"That would be an understatement, General." Poe gave a small scoff, eyes looking down at his feet as he took another deep breath. This whole scenario was one that he swore could've only happened in the nightmares that he used to write off as fiction, one that he and Kyra would have laughed off and joked about over tea in their common room.

"I apologize for how the past few days have played out." Leia began to walk away from the main control center, attempting to find a more private place to converse. "It's been... uncertain, to put it lightly. But I believe that you know what the current plan is of things from the way that I put it out there."

"You want Han and Rey back."

"Desperately." Leia agreed with the Commander, finding a small storage room with two boxes inside, the two taking a seat inside . " If they're the key to helping us get back one of our most vital assets, then I want all hands on deck. The severity of this issue is one that is at the forefront of my mind. Especially if the First Order knows the little secret about Kyra."

"I have no doubt that they do. There would be no reason otherwise as to why they would want her back." Poe ran a hand through his hair, trying to calm his nerves when it came to this. The agitation of not hearing anything from the First Order about the capture of Kyra once again was making all of the uncertainty even worse.

"General, Commander-" Snap ran up to the both of them, finding their small hideaway spot, holding a blinking communicator within his hand. "I'm afraid we have a bigger problem on our hands. We have another incoming transmission... from the First Order."

"Oh stars. Give me the blasted thing." Leia's voice was filled with an obvious worry as Snap carefully placed the communicator into her hands, Poe noting a slight shake in the general's hands as a hologram appeared on the screen.

The face at first was unrecognizable, a woman's head lulled forward, Kylo Ren standing above this person, who was on her knees, mask unreadable, but staring into the watcher's soul all the same.

Then Ren pulled the woman's head up.

Poe's eyes met Kyra's.

And in that moment it felt like his world stopped.

"Enemies of the First Order- let this be a new message to you. We obviously know how to hold what one desires close to one's heart-" Ren gave a sharp tug to Kyra's head as he made sure her face jutted towards the camera the projection was coming from, the wince on the woman's face not obvious to many- but obvious to Poe.

Poe's breath hitched as he tried to analyze Kyra through the transmission. Her left eye was obviously black, nose crooked in a way that Poe knew not to be natural. Beyond that, he could tell from the dead look in her eyes that she was gone- disassociating from the pain, something he only saw her do when lost in the horrific memories of the past.

"So let this be a warning." Ren's voice cut through Poe's thoughts, eyes falling back upon the Sith in the transmission. "You cannot defy us. You cannot escape us. Those who have tried, well..." Kylo Ren's mask tilted down to look at Kyra's face. There was a hint of glee in his tone as he watched her physically recoil away from him, reaching his hand out to choke her.

Leia and Poe watched in horror as the man actually succeeded in making Kyra gasp for air, something that was thought to be impossible for one of the Ceydeas. All that came through the transmission was the gasps of air Kyra was attempting to take, the noise echoing through Poe's ears, sure to haunt his nightmares.

Suddenly, there was a release, Ren dropping his hand, allowing Kyra to breathe again. She disappeared from the frame of the transmission for a split second, attempting to catch her breath, but Kylo Ren wrenched her back up to stare at the camera.

"You can see what we do to those who try to defy us."

"So take this warning, and this little... message that we have alongside it-" Ren's voice was coy, understanding that the Resistance members would have no idea how he had been able to break through what used to be considered impossible when it came to the Ceydea's history.​​ "To give us what we want. We can do a trade, even, if you would like to take that gamble again."

"Bring us Luke Skywalker, and maybe some mercy will be offered to your meager Resistance. If not?" Kylo Ren looked back down at Kyra, who was obviously suffering from where she was kneeling, an attempt at an impartial look faltering on her face when he stared back down at her.

"Don't-" Kyra rasped out after Ren spoke, coughing as she tried to find her voice again. "Don't listen to him- don't  bring him here-" Her warnings cut out as Ren began to choke her again, her attempt at keeping the Resistance away dead.

"Well, let's just say that the Ceydea lineage is as good as gone."

The transmission fizzled out.

"General-"

"Dameron." Leia's eyes met his, worry obvious as her look hardened. Her hands grasped onto Poe's, dropping a communicator into his hands and squeezing it tightly. "This can't wait any longer." Taking the words right out of his mouth, Leia nodded at the pilot. "Go get Han and Rey. Take Finn and Fox with you too. If we're going to be getting them back and getting our girl out of there, you're going to need all the help you can get. Go save our girl."

"Gladly."

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

STAR DESTROYER-

Kyra couldn't breathe.

Every part of her body seemed to ache in all separate but equally as painful ways as she barely fought against the restraints of the two stormtroopers dragging her back to the cell she shared with Silas. The ragged gasps that escaped her lips were the only noise that shattered the silence of the First Order ship, blood leaking from her (probably) broken nose that someone along the way had been too kind to have given her.

Her ribs were more than likely bruised to hell and back, one of her fingers on her left hand jammed, pinky definitely broken. And after what her cousin did to her, Kyra was pretty sure she had a black eye, her vocal chords were at least somewhat ruined, and he had taken a nice pocket knife that had once belonged to her and slashed her shoulder for good measure.

Which was, of course, always something fun to have to worry about.

The amount of injuries that Kyra gotten during missions- whether First Order or Resistance- had never been a worry of hers. Someone would always end up patching her up, whether it was SIlas and Fox or Poe. Although this time- there was no one there to pick up her pieces and patch her together, no- there was another motive to the First Order's pain.

A motive that Kyra was well aware of. One that she was hellbent on stopping from actually succeeding.

Her wheezing breaths matched the pace of the stormtrooper's boots clunking in the hallway as the walk seemed to last an eternity. She had no idea what hall was what, her eyelids barely fluttering open and shut. Her world felt dizzy and uncertain as her head lulled, but Kyra's mind was perfectly clear with what she had to do. Hand grasped tight around something she knew she couldn't let go of, the trooper escorts continued to march forward, clueless as to what she held in her hands.

She could hear the soft and familiar whoosh of the door to a cell opening, the stomping of the trooper's boots coming to a halt, indicating their arrival at the cell once again. Her world was thrown on her head as Kyra was unceremoniously thrown back into the cell, landing onto the ground with a wince.

"Kai, what the hell-"

"Yeah. The First Order went to town is what it feels like." Kyra croaked out, a wheezing cough accompanying her remark, causing her to let out another wince again. "No scratch that- they definitely went to hell and back."

"Are you okay?" Silas quickly moved to her side, trying to get Kyra propped up against the wall so he could at least get a good gauge of her injuries. As he attempted to prop up the young woman's head, she gave the former trooper a glare that told him everything that he needed to know. "No, I know you're not okay. But where does it hurt the most?"

"Everywhere." Kyra shifted up to let her back rest against the wall, letting out another bout of coughs as she uncurled her hand to reveal the black cylindrical communication device she had snagged off of someone. "But that's not what's important right now."

"That's not important right now? What could possibly be-"

"This- this is a communicator that sends straight to Han Solo and Han Solo only." Kyra wheezed out, hand dropping the device into Silas's waiting hand. "I had it for me in case of an emergency, and Ren took it off of me. Unfortunately for him, before his nice little interrogators broke basically my whole left hand, I snagged it off of the table where they had left it."

"And what exactly are we going to be doing with this comm?" Silas questioned Kyra, holding it in front of her face as to give something for her to focus on. If she wasn't going to tell him exactly what was wrong with her, he was going to figure it out by other means- he had played this game before with the former assassin, and he could do it again.

"We are going to be contacting Han Solo." Kyra stated, giving Fox a look as if the answer was obvious the entire time. "And warning him that this whole thing is a trap, and to not bring my father or Rey or anyone even remotely close to the Resistance. Because if the Resistance tries to come here and rescue me or you, it's the end of us both. That was a part of the deal. And I don't want that to happen. I can't lose you, not again."

"That is the most stupid  idea ever."

"If I tell him to not trust anyone who comes close to him, it keeps him, and Luke, and Rey and Poe and everyone else that I care about safe! It ensures that they can not walk into a death trap that I've helped create." Kyra argued, snatching the comm from Silas's hand with her good one, knowing that he would try and stop her from doing what she was planning.

"No. No! Kai, I can't just watch you throw away everything for me!" Silas snapped back, frustration obvious in his voice as he watched the sadness hidden deep inside of Kyra's eyes suddenly become more apparent. "You already condemned yourself by coming here- by throwing yourself in front of me and becoming a target for the First Order again. And now you're pushing everyone who could possibly help us in this situation away. You pushed away Fox- your own brother, Poe- your lover pilot boy who was willing to cross the galaxy to find you, and Han- the man that you consider to be your father-"

"Silas!" Kyra snapped, her expression just begging for him to let her contact Han. "This is a warning. Han is with my father. If the First Order intends to use me as bait for a trap for Skywalker? It just ensures their safety. They won't believe that I'm within the First Order again, that they're trying to get Skywalker just by bluffing instead. It ensures that none of them get killed- so that me coming here won't be the end of the Resistance and the end of hope in the galaxy."

"And what if it makes them mistrust anyone who's trying to get you back?" He wrenched the communicator out of Kyra's hand, his voice cracking as he was close to losing his calm in front of Kyra. The instinct that he had buried for so long for him to put her above everything else, to save her from herself, was rising up again. She was throwing away everything, turning her back on any semblance of hope. "What does that do to solve all of this? What if Fox or Poe is trying to get you back and trying to get them to help? What then?"

"Then it ensures that the two of them don't do anything stupid to try and get me- get us back." Kyra spoke slowly, her eyes staring directly at Silas, trying to make him understand why she had said what she had said- why he had to let her call Han, why he had to go with her with this. "I made the decision to come here- and nothing is going to change that. It ensures that they fail."

"Kyra-"

"No. I knew exactly what that meant when I did what I did. You just have to trust me." Kyra pleaded.

"Kai. You can't be risking yourself doing stupid things like this. This isn't the old days where we were sure that we had a good cover within the First Order. You're a known enemy of the First Order now. You can't-"

"Do you trust me?"

"What?"

"Do you trust me." Kyra repeated the question, interrupting whatever train of thought Silas had been going down, her eyes now staring directly at the communicator that Silas held in his hand, hoping that he wouldn't use it and tell Han and Rey everything that had gone wrong and lead them into a trap.

There was a pause, a moment of hesitation as Silas really considered what she meant, giving Kyra a once over and a genuine look of clear fear before he answered. It was funny- in that moment, the woman knew his answer before he even did. "Of course."

"Then trust that I'm making the right decision."

The communicator was placed into Kyra's hands.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

oh my god guys she's been resurrected from the dead!!!!

hi. it's been a very very long while and for that I do apologize- I am officially in college now and very definitely settled into the life I have here! we're having fun and having more time to do the things that I love like writing.

we have officially figured out (for what I hope is the last time with this book) what we are doing and all of the revisions that I'm making to the plot should be finalized. that is, over the past like year that I haven't truly updated this book, I've switched up what was going to happen with the plot about 7 different times and I finally decided to just say "fuck it, we ball."

so I hope you all enjoy me being back, and I hope that the wait will be worth it in the end! cause I'm definitely back. I hope. I'm not jinxing it this time.

love all of you lots, hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you in the next one!

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