Last Shot - A Star Wars Story

Chapter 8

Lyra Solo

 "No!" Lyra screamed as Kaia shut the door between the hallway and the room filled with escape pods, separating Cora and herself from the rest of the group, so that they wouldn't have to face Kylo Ren, or as Lyra knew him, Ben Solo, her brother.

"Come on you two have to go," Ersela cried, and Lyra realized that Kelsa was just as distraught as she was.

"What about you?" Kelsa demanded sharply.

"I'm going to go help the others," Ersela responded. "And you're not coming along."

"Actually, none of you are going anywhere." Lyra turned around, heart thumping loudly in her chest, to see a slightly beaten up General Hux with two stormtroopers flanking him on either side.

"Oh great, it's you," Kelsa grumbled. She gripped her blaster in both hands and glared at the First Order officer.

"I wouldn't try anything if I were you," Hux warned, raising one hand to signal his troops to move forward. They raised their blasters and marched over to them, cutting off their exit.

"How did you get out of that closet?" Ersela asked, and Lyra decided not to question where that was coming from. Kelsa glanced at Ersela with mild confusion before returning to glaring intensely at Hux.

"You forget who I am, General," Hux replied. "You can't get rid of me that easily." Kelsa rolled her eyes.

"Apparently not," Ersela muttered with a sigh. "So what are you going to do with us?"

Hux took several small steps toward them, his expression victorious. "Taking you prisoner would be a start."

"Good luck with that," Kelsa snapped, turning to fire at one of the stormtroopers, who didn't see it coming and was soon lying dead on the floor.

The remaining troopers went into action, taking aim at Lyra and her friends, to which Kelsa responded by blasting at another one. Lyra moved to help her, but an arm grabbed her and pulled her back.

"I don't think so," Hux hissed, putting his arm around her neck and pressing her against him while he held a blaster to her head with his other hand. But he addressed Ersela and Kelsa when he announced, "If you want your friend to live, I suggest you surrender."

Kelsa watched him with a venomous look in her eyes, probably debating whether or not she should listen to him. While Lyra really wanted to live, she also didn't want her friends to be all captured along with her.

"Don't worry about me," she told them, though her voice was high with fear. "Just get out of here. Tell the Resistance what happened."

Lyra could see a brief flash of hesitation in both of her friends' eyes before it vanished, replaced by steely resolve.

"We'll come back for you," Kelsa promised, and Lyra could see that she was itching to free her right now. Instead, Lyra's friend glanced at Ersela, and they both tensed, getting into fighting stances as the stormtroopers came in closer.

"Don't let them escape!" Hux ordered. He kept his blaster pressed against Lyra's temple, and she was choked with fear as she watched her friends take on the remaining stormtroopers.

Ersela spun with surprising grace to kick a trooper in the head, sending him tumbling into another one. At the same time, Kelsa fired her blaster and killed them, leaving only one stormtrooper, who looked a bit hesitant to engage them, and she had good reason to. Without even glancing at her, Kelsa shot the trooper in the head, her fury still focused on Hux.

The First Order officer temporarily removed his blaster from Lyra's head to tap on his com and say, "I need backup in the escape pod area. Send in two squadrons." Lyra tried to take advantage of the moment and escape his grip, but it was too tight, and she found herself clawing at his arm desperately. He winced but didn't release his grip, instead pressing his blaster back against her forehead.

"Let her go," Kelsa demanded, training her own weapon on Hux. "Clearly you're no match for us."

"I have more troopers on the way," Hux reminded them as Lyra squirmed in his grasp. "If you want to live, you should surrender now." He cast a glance at the dead troopers on the ground. "Although I don't think it will do you much good at this point."

At that moment, two more squadrons of stormtroopers burst into the room behind Hux, quickly moving to cut off Kelsa and Ersela from Lyra once more.

"We have to go," Ersela muttered in a low, careful voice. "We don't stand a chance against them."

"You go," Kelsa told her. "I'll cover you." Ersela nodded, taking several steps backwards, towards the door. Kelsa glanced back at her for a brief moment, then turned back around and started firing at the stormtroopers. Then chaos ensued.

Ersela shoved one of the stormtroopers out of the way as she slammed her fist into the button that opened the door to the hallway where they had just come from, while Kelsa continued to unleash a fury of blaster fire upon the other troopers.

Lyra stamped down hard on Hux's foot, and he let her go with a yelp. She shoved him backwards and started running in Kelsa direction, but before she got more than a few steps away, she heard the sound of a blaster, clearly set to stun, fire, and then everything went dark.