FORTUNA / POE DAMERON

₀₀ prologue

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      THE FIRST ORDER HAD FINALLY ARRIVED.

       It was only a matter of time, the entire planet was almost anticipating it, but they weren't prepared. They had nothing, and it's something they were well aware of. Batuu didn't stand a chance against them. No matter the amount of time they had to prepare for this attack, this takeover, they were not ready. Batuu was already gone. Explosions rocked the planet over and over again, and with every death the stone in the citizen's guts became heavier and heavier.

      Pandora Astalles held both of her children's hands in her own. Their time was dwindling, and Pandora knew she wasn't going to leave this planet alive. The overwhelming sense of anxiety bloomed over her entire body, but she forced herself to stay calm. Her daughter was crying. Her son was stoic, but she knew he was panicking.

      Time was something Pandora never had enough of. Never enough time on her home planet, with the Resistance, any of it. Never enough time with her parents or the Skywalkers. It was a harsh reality she learned too young. Time was a luxury that she never had. Something told her that her children would never have that luxury either.

      The sands of time were falling too quickly, and no matter what Pandora did, her hands weren't big enough to block the hole of the hourglass.

      "You two need to listen to me, okay?" Pandora rushed out in a panic. Her husband was downstairs in their house, getting together enough supplies to get their children out of there safely. "Our time has run out, my loves. You two need to run."

      "What about you and Dad?" Pollux asked, his voice breaking. The force of him trying to stay calm for his little sister was tearing him apart. "You're coming with us. You have to." The betrayal, the fear in his eyes was enough to shatter Pandora's heart in half.

      "We can't. Your father and I know that this is the end." The words that left Pandora's lips didn't feel real. But this was it. She knew it. "You two have to run. Do not split up, do not leave each other behind. The only way you'll make it out is together."

      Elara's large eyes were red and puffy. Her voice was choked with sobs. "I'm not leaving you, Mom." She adamantly shook her head no. "I can't do this without you."
"Yes, you can, my love." Pandora replied, cupping her daughter's face in her hands and wiping her tears with her thumbs. "You are so much stronger than you know, Elara." Pandora pressed her forehead against her daughter's, and then her son's. Her proudest creations.

      Juno ran up the stairs, stuffing two bags full with rations. Pandora looked at her husband with a knowing look in her eyes. They were a match made in the Force, two atoms of the same star, but too bad the First Order never cared about love. This was it for them.