Star Wars: A Resistance Story. Book 3

Chapter 19: Ajan Kloss.

"Easy... Okay we're good!"

Snap gestured to the pilot to stop the engines and looked around him. After the attack on Batuu, the Resistance had decided to leave for another planet for the security of the fighters and to avoid any unplanned visit of the First Order. The new base would thus be Ajan Kloss. The thick forest and mild climate of the planet would offer a nice base and a good hide point.

"Rose! Have you seen Poe?"

Hidden behind a control panel, the young woman looked up at Snap with a soft sigh before turning her eyes onto the Commander's tent, placed apart from the rest of the camp. The pilot nodded to thank her and headed towards his superior.

Dameron hadn't left Ly'ra's side since he had found her back on Batuu. She was now stabilized but she needed a lot of rest. It had been days now and she was still unconscious. Rey wasn't able to help her anymore, her healing process had already weakened her more than she thought. Snap stepped carefully closer to the tent and glanced inside. Poe was asleep next to the young woman, his head on the mattress and his hand holding Ly'ra's. The pilot let out a sigh before going back to the ships that were joining the fleet.

"How is she?"

Snap looked up at Rose and shrugged, annoyed.

"Still the same. If she doesn't wake up soon, I don't think Poe will make it..."

The young woman sighed and nodded slowly before joining Finn, busy dividing everyone's task, further on the improvised tarmac.

*******

"Ly'ra? Listen to me... Ly'ra!"

The young woman suddenly opened her eyes before looking around her. Everything was clear but empty and she didn't recognise anything, she couldn't remember anything. The panic started invading her when a familiar frame appeared in front of her.

"Dad?"

Dante Erso was smiling to his daughter, right in front of her.

"Hello sweetheart."

"Where... Where am I?"

Dante stepped closer and took the young woman's hands in his own. He could feel her panic growing and he always knew how to calm her down.

"Breathe... Everything is perfectly fine. You're home."

Ly'ra frowned, tightening her hold around her father's hand.

"I... Am I dead?"

"Oh no! No Princess, not at all. You're on Ajan Kloss. The Resistants brought you back with them because you were wounded. But you need to wake up now. You have a mission to finish."

"Oh no I... Ben!"

Dante nodded softly.

"Don't think I don't keep an eye on you sweetheart. I know everything that happened. Ben was right to force you into this training. He had to. He saved your life. I thought I could take it on me and maybe I could have but... The Force had other plans for us. Your mission is not completed darling. You still have a lot to do and a lot of fights to face."

Ly'ra tried to hold back her tears, in vain. The presence of her father, so real next to her, even if it only was a dream, upset her.

"I know..."

"You're gonna need help. I'll always  be there and all the persons you need are here, right now. Everyone."

Dante stayed silent a moment, as he seemed to hesitate if he should continue his discourse or not. He knew that his words would change a lot of things for Ly'ra but he didn't have a lot of time and he didn't have the choice. So he took a deep breath and kept going: