The Fett Legacy

CHAPTER 31

I told her not to.

But she did it anyway.

And now she's gone.

**A few hours earlier**

"No, Rosemary. You're staying here," I said firmly, preparing an X-Wing for my use. It had been a day since Leia died, and Rey was still missing. Poe, Finn, and Chewy made it back to the base safely, only to find out that Leia was gone. Then, we received a report that Kijimi had been destroyed, devastating both me and Poe. Now, we were getting ready to leave for Exegol, hopefully to destroy the First Order. Rosemary was begging me to allow her to fly an X-Wing, but I told her no. She crossed her arms and sat on a crate, giving me a dirty look.

"What?" I asked.

"Can I please go with you?"

"Rose, I told you no," I said sternly. "If something were to happen-" but I brushed the thought away. I couldn't bear to imagine something happening to Rosemary. "Just stay here, please."

"Fine, I'll stay," she reluctantly agreed. I sighed and sat by her.

"Hey," I said.

"Mom, I'm sorry," she said, resting her head on my lap. "I know how much you loved him." I stroked her brown hair and looked down at her.

"It's alright, Rose. Life happens. There are things we can control, and there are things we can't. Death is something that comes to all, with or without our help. It's inevitable."

"I'm afraid of death," she whispered.

"I am too; that's why I embrace it."

Rosemary looked up at me, confused.

"What do you mean?"

"I was always taught to face my fears. It's what I've lived by. Death has always been a fear, thus why I welcome it."

"I wish I were as brave as you, mom," she said, laying back down.

"There's a difference between bravery and foolishness, Rose. Please be brave where I couldn't be." She stood up and looked into my eyes.

"I love you," she said, hugging me. I wrapped my arms around her tightly.

"I love you too, Rose," I whispered. She stepped back, revealing Poe standing a few feet away.

"Hey, Jett," he said, walking over to me. Rose walked away, leaving Poe and I alone.

"Poe," I acknowledged.

"You don't have to do this. Stay here and we'll get rid of the First Order. You know, just in case something was to happen."

"Poe, I want to do this," I said. I knew what he meant by "something." He was worried I would die and leave Jango as an orphan. "I would rather Jango be an orphan than be raised under the influence of the organization I once served. I don't know why I trusted them; I should've known they were never going to bring order to the galaxy."

"You weren't the only one brain washed by the First Order," he said. "There have been others. Several people here have run away from the First Order because they realized the same thing you did."

"Poe, I-" but I sighed.

"Yeah?"

"Armitage and I had a plan," I began, awkwardly looking down and playing with my gloves. "He wanted to kill, um, to kill Ren. He and I agreed that we would take over the First Order, make it our own, and be unstoppable. I was all for that plan until they destroyed the New Republic. That's when I began to have doubts about who I was serving."