Beating Heart ♔ Rey

twenty

Chapter Twenty;

Hester really should have known by that point that things never turned out as you wanted them to.

They ran out of the complex and straight into a battlefield; it took place in the sk, but it's destruction rained down upon the planet. Hester watched, horror-struck at the sheer brutality of it. Resistance and First Order ships swarmed the ships, attacking each other like oversized birds of prey. The sky was a chaotic mix of blaster fire from either side; smoke rose into the air, explosions blew up in the sky and ship smashed into the snowy earth sending up a shower of snow.

And to make matters worse: the Resistance was heavily outgunned. They were being overwhelmed - they were losing.

They couldn't leave, not when they were still needed. And Han had the perfect idea - explosives.

Or, Hester reflected, it would have been more perfect if he's allowed her to accompany him.

The ex-smuggler has insisted that Hester join Rey and Finn as they went to another control to open the way to the oscillator. Hester had argued furiously with him.

"Solo, I have a really bad feeling about this," she insisted. "Please, let me come with you! You're so much more likely to run into Stormtroopers in there than we are other here - I don't think anyone would want to be in this cold with the sun out and a battle raging on! I'll be so much useful to you inside. Let me come with you. You need me."

Han had only smiled and rested a hand on Hester's shoulders.

"Kid, Chewie and I have been in much worse situations that this. We'll be fine. I'd feel much more at ease if I knew you were looking out for Rey and Finn... they need you more than they'd admit."

Hester had eventually caved in and agreed - mostly because time was running short and it was obvious that Han was not going to back down.

On a stolen speeder with Finn and Rey, Hester had travelled over the snow to the necessary outpost with her two friends. Rey, with all her knowledge from years and years of scavenging, was able to have the entrance to the oscillator open in a flash. Before they knew it they were speeding back to the oscillator.

Through the entire journey Hester kept a close eye on Rey. She knew Rey could easily take care of herself, but that didn't stop her worrying. Kylo Ren was not easy when he invaded one's mind for information, and Hester hated to think of the mental torture Rey had been forced to endure. That would have had an impact, and Hester was going to make sure Rey wasn't bottling anything up.

Besides, she had grown so fond of and attached to Rey that she couldn't not worry.

Finally, they made it back to the oscillator. The entrance was at the top of a ladder. Grimacing at the extra effort required, Hester climbed up, the tours close behind her.

Hester didn't fail to realise how the darkness grew thicker by the second as they sun grew smaller, sucked into the core of the planet to use as a weapon against the Resistance. It was definitely an ominous sign.

They made their way into the space by opening a hatch. A beam of precious sunlight was allowed to stream through the new gap; it rested like a spotlight on two figures standing alone on a walkway. With a jolt, Hester realised that Han was one of the two figures... The other was Kylo Ren. Ben Solo. Han's son.

"Take off that mask," Han said, walking ever closer to his son. "You don't need it."

"What do you think you'll see if I do?" Kylo Ren retorted.