21 || fighting back

"YOU WANT A FIGHT? YOU GOT ONE, SHELL HEAD."

MAZ KANATA'S CANTINA, TAKODANA-

"Kyra."

Everything in the world seemed to slow down as she stared up at the sky. The bright red hues that light up the bright blue background seemed so innocent, so peaceful. If anything, it was the exact opposite. She was frozen in place, the young woman almost swearing that she could hear the screams of the people on those planets inside of her mind.

"Kyra!"

Her hand clamped over her mouth, there wasn't anything running through Kyra's mind except for the fact that she was too late. She had failed to get the information back to the Resistance fast enough. A whole planetary system was now gone, and all because of her.

Why hadn't she done more?

"Kyra!" Finn grabbed the young woman, snapping her out of whatever place she had just gone and drifted off into. "There's no time for this. We have to get inside and tell them. They just target the New Republic, and those planets are dead. Unless you want this system and the Illenium one next, we have to find-"

"Kid!" Han exclaimed, seeing the two of them outside. He scanned Finn and Kyra's faces, a sadness plastered over the both of their expressions. It made him nervous- he hadn't seen the two of them this worried since he had become a part of their company. "What the hell just happened here?" The smuggler looked around at the scene that was unfolding in front of them, people realizing that something big was going on- and all of them had just witnessed it.

"The First Order." Kyra croaked out, her eyes falling upon Han, who was now accompanied by Chewbacca. She assumed that he had run over to the fortress as soon as he had seen the blazing red streaks that looked like fire in the sky. "They did it. They used the weapon that I've been trying to stop for years. How could I have been so stupid?!"

"Kid- Kyra- slow down." Han placed his hands on her shoulders, seeing the young woman slowly start to freak out in front of him. "What do you mean weapon? Who did they target?" He asked, his questions slowly fed to Kyra, the smuggler afraid that he'd overwhelm her. There was a look in her eyes that made him nervous- he never expected to see her this rattled and vulnerable.

"The First Order has a weapon that has the capability to destroy entire planetary systems." Kyra whispered in response, looking up at Han with a look of defeated fear. "When I left the base last, I knew that it was going to be ready soon. I had no idea that they'd use it so fast. I thought I still had time." She muttered, shaking her head out of whatever thought came into her head next. "They targeted the New Republic."

"Whatever was on those planets? It's gone." Finn confirmed, standing by Kyra. Unsure of what to do to help stop her from freaking out, he wrapped his hand in hers, giving it a brotherly squeeze. "But there's a way to stop it. There's a way to fight back against it. And if we can get BB-8 back to the Resistance, Luke Skywalker can help us take it out. Speaking of, where's Rey?"

"I don't know, she left me. I assume she came looking for you." Kyra looked over at Finn, Han taking his hands off of her shoulders, seeing she was much more calmed down now. "But if she's not with you, Han, then-"

The roar of ion engines overtook the last of Kyra's words, the four looking up to see TIE fighters soaring above them. They roared loudly, and Han gave the two rebel First Order members a worried look as he turned to look back at where he had just come from. He had a feeling that if something was going as desperately wrong as this, Maz would have an idea. "Maz'll know. Let's get inside, quickly."

The four rushed up the stairs back inside the cantina, where Maz was waiting impatiently for the four of them. "Took you two long enough to get the kids." She remarked, giving Finn an impressed look as she stared back at him. "You didn't leave with the mercenaries."

"I was reminded that I have something to fight for." Finn shrugged, trying to seem nonchalantly heroic as he looked over at Kyra, who rolled her eyes. She knew that it wasn't because of heroics- it was because of the fact that the First Order was hot on their trail anyways- and she also had kind of forced him to come back.

There was a rumble inside of the fortress, rocks unsettling as dust showered down on the five that were still remaining inside. Maz let out a string of swears, turning around and bounding down a set of stairs quickly. "Follow me. There's something I need to give you all before you leave- and this place gets destroyed." She mumbled, hearing footsteps follow her down into the basement.

Turning her head, Maz saw that directly following her was Kyra, the kid that she needed to talk to the most. Good. "I've had this for ages." She stopped in front of a room filled with chests and artefacts, one obvious among the others. It looked like it had just been recently examined, the hilt eerily familiar to Kyra. "Kept it locked away."

In Maz's hands was a hilt of a lightsaber. There was a pause as she brought it out, the small woman inspecting it in the light above her. Kyra's breath hitched in her throat, something about the lightsaber eerily familiar to her. It seemed to call out to her, something inside of her pulling her to take it- to use it.

But she couldn't- because with her powers? That was impossible.

"Where did you get that?" Han questioned the woman, pointing to the lightsaber that he hadn't seen in years. Luke had told them years ago that it had been lost in an abyss to the Empire, along with one of his hands.

"A good question." Maz considered answering, but paused, hearing another shot rattle her fortress. "For another time." She added hastily, pressing the lightsaber into Kyra's hands. The young woman looked surprised that she did that, offering a look of confusion. "Take it. Find your friend."

"I don't think you understand, ma'am." Kyra stated politely, feeling the weight of the weapon in her hands. She knew what would happen if she tried to ignite the saber anywhere close to her- the blade would fizzle out. The weapon was good as useless to her. "I can't wield this."

Maz rolled her eyes at the naive young woman, giving a hefty sigh as she placed the blade properly into Kyra's dominant hand. "Yes you can." The woman sighed, igniting the weapon, watching the blue light bathe over everyone in the room.

The look on Kyra's face was priceless as she held the saber in her hand, the weapon actually being stable enough for her to wield in that moment. "But- but how?" She whispered, unable to fathom the fact that she was actually able to hold the lightsaber in her own hands- much less wield it. "I've never been able to wield a lightsaber before in my life."

"That's because you've never wielded one important to your bloodline, Kyra. Blood is stronger than any immunity or manipulation of the Force." Maz looked at the woman, carefully deactivating the lightsaber. Taking Kyra's free hand, she placed it over the saber, making sure that it was secure in her grasp. "Use it. Bring back Luke, save your friend."

Another firing shot rattled through the fortress, this one more intense than any of the last ones had been. Maz looked up at the ceiling, giving an irritated groan at the fact that her business and home was as good as gone. "Those beasts. They're here. We need to get all of you out of here, quickly."

Nodding, Kyra gripped onto the lightsaber in her hands, unsure of what to do with it in that exact moment. Something deep inside of her told her to cling onto it, grip it tight and not let go. Yet another part told her something else. Something told her to chuck it into the deepest part of the lake- that maybe using this would bring about a path that Kyra didn't want to walk down. "Thank you." She whispered to Maz, the woman nodding in acknowledgement.

"Of course. Now hurry, your friends have already left. This building is going to collapse soon if those First Order fiends keep attacking it." Maz turned the girl around, watching as she bounded up the steps. Placing her hands on her hips, she looked up at the sky, giving another small sigh. "I've done everything that I can for them. Their fates are in their hands now." She grumbled, turning back down into her basement. Maz always had contingencies for any situation that she was in- this one was no different. She would live to fight another day.

She just hoped that the others would too.

Bounding up the steps, Kyra saw Finn waiting at the top for her. Debris was scattered all around them, a familiar sea of white armor coming closer into view. "They've most definitely found us." Kyra remarked, holding the lightsaber in her dominant hand, the other reaching into her back jacket pocket to pull out a blaster. She placed it into Finn's hands, the girl noticing upon her arrival that he had lost his weapon that Han had given her. "Here. Take this." She nodded her head at the troopers that had realized they were above ground. "You gotta shoot back somehow."

"What about you?" Finn questioned, giving a gesture to her, seeing no visible weapon on her. "How are you going to fight back?" He asked, worry plastered all over his face. Finn knew that she could handle herself, sure, but up against the massive numbers of troops that had been brought in? That was almost impossible.

There was a small smile that formed on Kyra's face as she inspected the hilt of the lightsaber in front of her, giving a small shrug. It ignited in front of her, a beautiful yet piercing blue blade appearing before both of their eyes. "I've got my own trick up my sleeve."

Giving a small laugh, Finn nodded at Kyra, the both of them heading their separate ways on the now battle-torn fortress. As Kyra turned to the right, she saw at least three troopers standing in front of her, awe painted on their faces as they watched her, lightsaber in hand, stare them down.

Twirling the blade in her hand once, Kyra held it up with one hand. It felt like how a staff would feel in her hands, heavier than a blaster but light like a knife. She could get the hang of this. "Now, are we going to fight or are we just going to stand here and stare at each other?" She cocked an eyebrow at the three, challenging them to come and get her.

Seeing no movement from the troopers in front of her, Kyra shrugged, a smile coming onto her face. "Fine then. I guess I'll make the first move." She ran towards them, seeing an opening between the middle trooper and one to the right. Sprinting ahead, Kyra heard the familiar fire of blasters coming straight at her. She wasn't afraid strangely enough, her heart racing with almost elation as she charged them, sliding into the space between the two troopers that weren't expecting a low attack.

Everything seemed to slow as she slid underneath the two, the lightsaber guiding her arm as it swung around her head, her entire top half bending as if she was playing a game of limbo. By the time that the world had sped back up to Kyra, she was already skidding to a stop, the troopers falling dead behind her.

Whirling back around, Kyra saw the last remaining trooper stand before her in shock. There was a moment as they stared at each other, Kyra taking in a few deep breaths after her successful maneuver. Suddenly, the stormtrooper threw away the shield that he was holding, grabbing for an electric mace. "Traitor!" He screamed, the electricity crackling on the mace in a rather ominous way.

"Oh it's on, Dunce Head." Kyra challenged, whirling the lightsaber in her hand again. The movement felt natural, as strange as it seemed to the girl. Running towards the stormtrooper, the girl charged the man, their weapons clashing in a scene of sparks.

Kyra didn't flinch as the weapons separated, the trooper making a risky and stupid swing straight at the girl. She quickly stepped to the side of the weapon's blow, turning around to see another aggressive swing being sent towards her. Barely able to react, Kyra swung the lightsaber upward, hoping that the weapon would deflect whatever move was next. The charges came one after another, the girl barely able to block all of them. Eventually, the trooper had cornered Kyra into a dead end of the ruined fortress, Kyra gripping the saber with two hands as she horizontally blocked the mace from coming down on her.

"Give up, Solani. The First Order is going to take the droid and all of your rebel friends, whether you like it or not." The stormtrooper threatened, their words not shaking the young woman in front of him. In fact, she wasn't even looking at him. She was looking at someone behind him.

"I don't think so." Kyra fired back, cocking her head intimidatingly, a signal for the person she was staring at to fire. The stormtrooper fell down to the ground, the mace deactivating as it fell to the ground with a resounding thud. Giving herself a moment, Kyra dusted herself off, looking over to the person that she had made eye contact with. Finn was right in front of her, his blaster still raised in caution. "Thanks for the assist." She muttered, the blue lightsaber in her hand still humming with power.

"Course." Finn smiled at Kyra, offering his hand as she stepped over the dead stormtrooper's body, neither of them looking at the white armor that laid on the ground. "Now let's go find Han and Chewie." He gestured his blaster towards the way that he was going- the way that was towards their escape ship.

"And then we find Rey and BB-8."

"Yes. Then we find Rey and BB-8." Finn agreed, the two of them starting to rush off to the right, charging as many stormtroopers as they could. He was gripping his blaster fiercely, shooting any sign of white that he could see. Kyra was standing straight beside him, trying to block any blast towards them with the lightsaber in her hands. She didn't know why she was, it just felt right at that moment.

The two of them together were a great fighting duo. Kyra and Finn worked in an easy cohesion that felt almost natural. Kyra had never worked in such an easy tandem style as she did with Finn, the man drawing troopers into her close range weapon and finishing off troopers that were aiming for Kyra from a distance. It didn't take too long for them to find where Han and Chewie were, the Wookie towering over everyone else.

They didn't seem to be struggling with the troopers around them, although their numbers were most certainly increasing around them. "Finn, I take right and you take left, we'll reconvene right where Han and Chewie are. That way we can find Rey and get the hell out of here."

"Agreed." Finn kept his answer short, already getting ready to turn to the left and start to take down the troops that were in front of them. However, before either of them could move, a sea of white seemed to swarm all around them, the open area of where Han and Chewbacca were a trap.

Blasters aimed straight for them, five troopers pushed Kyra and Finn back to back with Han and Chewie, the two duos giving the other the same look that seemed to say, "You got stuck here too?" Kyra carefully placed her hands up, deactivating the lightsaber as the troopers made their encirclement smaller and smaller.

"Weapons down!" A stormtrooper called out to the four fugitives to the First Order, the trooper seemingly to be the leader of the group. He nudged his blaster close to Kyra's chest, seeing that she was still holding the lightsaber in her hand. "I said, weapons down, Solani."

"Unless you want your head chopped clean off of your head, I'd shut up." Kyra threatened cooly, seeing the man falter. "And if any of you call me by that name, I will not hesitate to make sure that you do not live to see another breathing day." She warned, all of the stormtroopers taking a collective step back. While Kyra might have been a fugitive, all of them had heard the stories about what she had done for the First Order- and if she was threatening them, it wasn't good.

"Keep your weapon then." The leader cleared his throat, watching as Kyra placed it into a weapon belt that she had gotten from Han. "Place your hands over your head. TK-338, we have targets in custody." He reported as the four placed their hands over their heads, two troopers falling in line to march each of them. There was a moment of silence, almost defeat in the four's eyes until an unfamiliar roar of engines brought their eyes to the water.

There were countless X-Wings skimming on the water- a sign of hope. A sign of the Resistance. Excitement and joy started to blossom up inside of Kyra as the stormtroopers around them started to scramble, trying to call for backup. A smile lit up Kyra's face as she watched the X-Wings start to soar down towards them, her hope not in vain.

"It's the Resistance." Han whispered, the same glimmer of hope in Kyra's eyes in his own. They were going to get out of this alive, now. There was hope. That hope soon came down in the form of one singular X-Wing, the pilot of the Resistance aircraft coming down and blasting all of the First Order company around the four away, the white sea around them falling to the ground.

"Quick!" Finn exclaimed, the three men scrambling to get their weapons back, realizing that they had a chance. Kyra quickly grabbed the lightsaber from her belt, igniting it again in her hands, gripping it with two hands. Her eyes were focused on the battle around her, ready to fight.

Kyra's movements caught the eyes of Han, who just stared at her for a moment. That look- she looked just like Luke when she stood there, the blue lightsaber lighting up her entire face. The determination in her eyes was almost a blue fire in the reflection of the saber, and it brought a smile to Han's face. Chewie gave a small roar, shoving a blaster into Han's chest, dragging him out of the moment and back into the battle at hand.

As the three tried to catch up to the point Kyra was at, the battle was already being fought in the sky above them. The call of the First Order's fire was met by the Resistance's response, the sounds mashing together to create a chaotic harmony. As the X-Wings swooped overhead, Kyra tried to maneuver her way around the battlefield, immobilizing as many troopers as she could. She didn't want any unnecessary lives spent in this- Kyra had made the mistake of doing so before, and she wouldn't again.

Just as a TIE fighter swooped low overhead Finn, Kyra ran to his side, both of them watching in awe as an X-Wing pilot came swooping down, quickly destroying all the ship, circling back around and destroying another TIE fighter within seconds. As the pilot came back around, they took out some troopers on the ground, making it a lot easier for Han, Chewie, Kyra, and Finn.

"That's one hell of a pilot!" Finn whooped as he started to run across the desolate and debris-filled battlefield, Kyra following quickly behind him. The two were sticking together in this fight- there was no one else that they could truly trust more than each other.

The fighting continued, Kyra and Finn still working together in perfect cohesion, trying to take out as many troopers as they could before they were caught yet again. Everything seemed to be going in their favor, the troops starting a retreat order rather quickly, the TIE fighters falling into the lake water and crashing onto the ground as the X-Wings took them out.

However, a hooded man walking through the debris caught Kyra's eye, the girl nudging Finn carefully, trying not to distract his shot. "Finn!" She hollered, seeing Kylo Ren carry someone in his arms. "We've got a bigger problem than just troopers!" She warned, pointing to the man that she despised so much. He was halfway across the battlefield, and was already loading into the ship.

"No!" Finn exclaimed, trying to run as quickly as he could towards the ship that Kylo Ren was on. That was his friend! "No, no, no! Rey!" He screamed, bounding towards the ship as he watched it fly into the sky. Kyra, trying to keep up with his pace, had to hold him back, the girl staring daggers into the ship as she watched it depart.

"Finn!" Kyra exclaimed, trying to get him to focus on her. She slapped him, seeing him stare off into the distance, hoping that if he stared at the sky long enough that it'd bring her back. Finn's eyes fell upon her, Kyra giving him a look of determination. "If Rey's with Ren, we can get her back. We know that. If you could get me out, we can get her back, okay? We can work with this."

"But-"

"They won't have her for long." Kyra promised, the lightsaber still ignited by her side. "I won't stand for it, you hear me?" She tapped his chest with her free hand, trying to offer him some sort of reassurance that things were going to get better. The both of them had seen better days, but Kyra had to convince him that this was doable. They would get their friend back. "I know it in here." She tapped his chest again, his hand wrapping around hers in that moment, the both of them desperate for hope to cling onto. " Because we have to believe it, okay?"

"Okay." Kyra nodded, gesturing her head back to where Han and Chewie were standing. "Now let's get back to them. They're probably waiting on us now that the battle's over. I don't know about you, but I don't want Han to think I'm dead." She deactivated the lightsaber, finally tucking it away into her belt once again.

The two ran over to where Han and Chewie were quickly, the Wookie noting them first, tapping Han on the shoulder to show they were alive. "You kids alright?" He double checked, hearing something move behind them. All four of them turned, Kyra quickly taking out her weapon again and igniting it, the boys raising their blasters at the noise.

When they turned, Kyra just saw BB-8.

Relief washed over her, the young woman quickly putting away her weapon again, running to crouch down beside the droid's side. "BB!" She exclaimed, rubbing his little ball belly in relief and joy. "I'm so glad to see you, little nuisance." Kyra laughed, earning her a little shock from the droid.

I'm not a nuisance. BB-8 huffed, seemingly offended by Kyra's little dig. And you had me worried sick for a minute. I thought I'd never find any of you again. When I did, you had a lightsaber in your hands. What the hell happened here? He quickly beeped out, firing so many questions at Kyra that it hurt her head.

"It's a long story, little guy." Kyra patted him tenderly, earning a few happy beeps of affection from him that had no meaning. "I promise I'm going to tell you all of it when we get back to the Falcon, okay?" She reassured him, standing up to turn around and face the rest of the crew.

By the time she did, Han and Chewbacca were gone, leaving only Finn. She was sure that the two elders of the group had gone to talk to the Resistance members that had just landed on a civilian transport ship, but she wasn't entirely sure.

"What do we do now?" Finn asked, looking around at the now desolate place that the two had considered a safe haven a couple of moments before. "The First Order has Rey, this place is a mess, and I don't even want to begin to process-"

"First? We get BB-8 back to the Resistance." Kyra nudged the little droid beside her, earning her a nudge back. "We have to complete Poe's mission, after all. It's what we set out to do in the first place." She reminded him, giving Finn a somewhat serious look.

"Okay, so we give the information that we have inside of BB-8 to the Resistance." Finn was on track with Kyra's plan, nodding his head in agreement. He knew what he was getting into when he signed up for this whole "break out a Resistance member from the First Order" scheme. "And then what?"

"Then? We get our friend back."

<~•~>

hi welcome back to ash has prewritten a ton of chapters but I'm going to make you wait! ( I have to have at least two chapters prewritten before I release the next one, so whenever I finish one the a new chapter shows up the next day published, if that gives you any context )

okay this chapter was very fun to write, we got lightsabers, the resistance, and so much more! 😌

IN THE MIDDLE OF WRITING THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE MARCH OF THE RESISTANCE STARTED PLAYING ON MY LAPTOP, IF THAT ISN'T A SIGN OF WHAT IS TO COME I HONESTLY DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS

y'all should probably know by now what happens next chapter and I hope you're as excited as I am :) 😏

anyways I hope y'all enjoyed! see you next time!