Star Wars: A Resistance Story. Book 3

Chapter 22: Little Sister.

Ly'ra looked up at the tent. She was facing it for several minutes now, wondering if she should step in and discover the truth, or just leave it behind and join Rey, Leïa and BB8 to work with them. The young Jedi left running in Ajan Kloss' forest, the droid on her tail. The small metallic friend of Ly'ra seemed to really like Rey.

"Your brother... Unfortunately he's lost for both of us... You need to talk to him."

These words were still engraved in her head and they terrified her. Despite everything, she needed to know. So, slowly, she raised a shaking hand on the cloth and pushed it aside slightly before stepping under the tent. And then, she froze.

"Well, well... Her Highness is back! Funny though... I'm not even surprised that you're totally free!"

Ly'ra stayed silent, glaring at the mercenary in front of her. Switch had his hands tied above his head as he noticed the trouble in her eyes and the way she was looking at him. A small and cruel smile appeared then on his face. He fixed his eyes in hers and waited. He knew why she was here. Slowly, she stepped closer, refusing to see the same look the man had with her father, until her eyes fell on his chest. His shirt was half open, allowing a dark mark to make an appearance. Ly'ra took a deep breath, feeling herself shaking because of her nervousness and, with a fast move, pushed aside a part of his shirt. When she discovered the Dathomirian's tattoos, she stepped back, swearing before looking away, while Switch was laughing frankly.

"Surprise, little sister! You didn't see that coming, am I right?"

This time, her anger stepped over her fear and Ly'ra turned her green eyes on her brother.

"You knew? Since when?"

"Oh since... Well I always knew actually!"

The arrogant smile he was offering confused seriously the young woman who frowned, stepping closer.

"Hold on... You knew it and yet you sold us still? You're even working for the First Order? Why??"

This time, the blue eyes of Switch turned cold and his smile disappeared.

"Just to see your face right now, it was worth all the pains! But not only, I wanted him to lose everything. Even more his little loving princess he had looked for years. I thought it was kinda ironic."

"He knew who you were?"

Switch let out a little chuckle and nodded.

"Of course he knew! And he even asked me to keep it a secret. You know why? To protect you, of course! Ha! Can you imagine that? He was so sure that your little Coruscant life was enough for you! But he didn't care what I thought about it!"

Ly'ra stayed silent, waiting for him to continue his revelations and trying to take this little time to calm herself.

"But he didn't care about I've been through too. The only one who always had counted for him, it was you! My dear little sister. Do you think he would have tried to confront Silri on Dathomir when she sent me among the Nightbrothers? No! I lived as a slave since I was able to walk! And when the famous Luke Skywalker arrived to free the planet from the Empire's hold? Do you think he would have come to save me too? Never! But he looked for this lost princess for years! And you? You didn't even know we existed! You were living your life as a queen all these years and even after your arrest, he was protecting you and coddling you! You didn't even realise it!"

The hatred Ly'ra could see in Switch's eyes was starting to scare her. Despite all her own feelings, she could understand his anger, but could she forgive him after everything he had done? Probably not. So, still completely silent, she shook her head and turned on her heels. She was about to leave the tent when Switch reacted quickly.

"Hey! You don't turn your back on me like that! We're not done yet!"

The young woman tried to ignore him but when she heard the handcuffs falling down, she frowned and quickly turned on her heels before being lifted from the down, an invisible strength squeezing her throat. She understood that Switch wasn't just the slave of the Dathomirians, he was also their apprentice. Being the son of a Jedi, he mastered the Force and obviously, the Dark Side.

"Trained by Kylo Ren... Sure! You're not that gifted Princess! My Master taught me the true path of the Dark Side. Now, I'm gonna finish what the First Order started on Affavan and correct the Great Error!"

Ly'ra was suffocating, she couldn't focus long enough to push away her assailant and she was falling into darkness. Switch's words were echoing around her and a feeling she couldn't quite describe invaded her. Everything turned black and, at the last second, air came back into her lungs and she fell on the ground, coughing. When she felt hands taking a hold on her, she panicked and this time, gathered her powers and was about to attack her opponent when she recognized Poe.

"Wow! Hey!"

Lost and confused, the young woman looked back and saw Rey who was trying to hold back Switch on the ground, but she was quickly threw away further in the forest. The surprise and the fear disappeared then to let her hatred took the place. She was about to stand up but Poe grabbed her arm. She turned her head on him and he saw in her eyes that he wouldn't hold her back.

"Ly'ra... No!"

"Sorry."

The eyes usually so green of the young pilot turned suddenly bright red and she reached out for her lightsaber. Once it arrived in her hold, she activated it and the purple blade shone under the tent. Switch saw her move and avoided the first attack of the young woman just in time. Right at this time, the two fighters stepped out of the tent, revealing themselves to the Resistants. The man gathered his own powers and sent a violent Force lightning. Ly'ra blocked it with her saber, fought it off before allowing a small smile to appear on her face.

"I see you learnt a lot of things. But that was not just on Dathomir, am I right?"

The mercenary smiled back and nodded slowly, a red, familiar light appearing in his hands.

"No you're completely right, little sister."

"What?!"

Ly'ra didn't take the time to answer the surprise of Dameron and Rey. The first forced the Jedi to step back, clearing the space so that his girlfriend could attack once more, but after a violent exchange, when each of them was gaining over the other, Switch gathered his powers once more and tackled Ly'ra on a tree, before grabbing a simple knife and placing it against her throat. This time, the young woman stayed perfectly calm and kept her eyes fixed in her brother's.

"Let me guess... Sheev Palpatine?"

Suddenly, she dropped her weapon, fell on the ground, kicked her opponent behind his knee and stood up quickly. Then calling her powers, she sent two bright red energy balls before blocking his arms behind his back, sending him sliding further on the grass, totally strapped up. Few moment later, he was brought back under the tent and firmly tied up by Snap and Cane.

A cold silence fell on the small base of Ajan Kloss. Rey and Poe were fixing Ly'ra, totally confused. The pilot wanted  to step closer to the young woman, but when he noticed the bright red in her eyes, he hesitated.

"Ly'ra?"

The young woman didn't move for a moment, eyes shut, taking deep breaths. After one or two seconds, she finally turned her green eyes back on Dameron and sighed, still silent.

"Are you alright?"

Ly'ra shook her head and looked around her, suddenly realising what just happened. The base was terribly silent and all the eyes were on her. The Falcon had come back from its mission (and was on fire by the way), Finn was next to Rose, Chewie had found Leïa, Rey and BB8 (who had a missing part) were right behind her while Poe was closer. He placed a soft hand on her shoulder and turned to face her.

"My love?"

"He... Switch... He's Palpatine's agent. His...Henchman. And.. He's also... My brother."

The young woman took a deep breath and looked up at her lover. The shock of the news suddenly stroke her again and she hid her face against the pilot's chest, who held tight on her.

"It's gonna be alright..."