Allegiance | Kylo Ren

LXXII

A steady stream of troopers flooded into the room. Rey ignited her lightsaber and cut some of them down easily, while Poe shot at the white armor with his small gun. The other Resistance fighters took action, firing quick shots in the direction of my troopers.

More and more troopers crowded into the small conference room, making me wonder if our reinforcements had actually arrived. I weaved my way through the crowd, keenly aware how exposed I was without armor. My shoulder burned as I was grazed by a shot, and I gritted my teeth as I continued my search for Rey and Poe. I shot down another Resistance fighter before turning at the sound of a lightsaber.

It wasn't Rey, though.

Luke Skywalked had ignited his vivid green saber and was gracefully dispatching troopers left and right. I watched in awe his smooth movements and precise actions, almost impressed by his power. But then he turned towards me, and my heart plummeted. I fired a desperate shot towards him, but he deflected it easily and began to approach.

If he reaches me, I'm dead for sure.

I began to backtrack, dodging the occasional shot in my direction. At last I caught sight of Rey fighting off troopers to my left, and in that moment I made a reasonably stupid decision. I dropped my blaster and dove towards her, driving my shoulder squarely between her shoulder blades. She fell forward with a cry of alarm, her lightsaber tumbling out of her hands. I rolled towards it and grasped it firmly, lighting it and swinging it upwards just in time to meet Skywalker's swing.

We became locked in a fierce duel, weaving our way in and out of a mixture of troopers and Resistance fighters. My actions came as instinct, driven into my memory from my training with Kylo. But fighting Luke was not like fighting Kylo. It was difficult to deflect Luke's attacks. He moved smoothly, unpredictably, and I became vividly aware that any mistake on my part would most certainly result in my death. I was fighting explicitly in defense, unable to launch any offensive attacks.

I heard Poe yell something from my other side, but I didn't dare look in his direction as I ducked to avoid being decapitated by a green lightsaber. I was put off by the genuine lack of emotion on Luke's features; he seemed to be nothing but calm, fighting effortlessly. I, on the other hand, was expressive. Sweat streamed down the sides of my face as I faced countless attacks, and my muscles began to burn from continual use. I let out a breathless grunt as our lightsabers clashed together, emitting an explosion of sparks.

Troopers and Resistance fighters alike became quick to move out of the way as Luke and I travelled through the room, twisting and slashing our lit weapons. I was growing weary, and I knew I would not last much longer. My movements became desperate and sloppy, and I could feel several burns across my forearms and shoulders from where I hadn't been fast enough.

At last my back met the wall. I was cornered. My eyes widened with fear as Luke advanced towards me, knowing that this was it. I raised my lightsaber feebly, but was cut off by the sound of the window breaking next to me. Shards of glass flew through the air, lacing my skin with small cuts. I squeezed my eyes shut to avoid getting glass in them, and heard the whir of a third lightsaber igniting.

Somehow, I knew without looking who it was.

Kylo's saber crashed into Luke's, the scarlet sparks raging against green as he fought viciously with his uncle. I watched with wide eyes, sheathing my own saber and sliding to the ground, where I began to shake uncontrollably. The two men seemed evenly matched; their movements almost resembled a dance as they fought.

My eyes slid past the pair to a familiar trooper. Malia was a full head shorter than everybody in the room as she stood motionless, staring at me. At last she broke into a run in my direction. I held out a hand towards her, waiting for her to reach my side. But I noticed the man behind her a moment too late.

The Resistance fighter known as Lane caught sight of a trooper with their back turned, and fired two shots easily into Malia's back. I let out a soundless scream as the young girl froze, then crumpled to the ground, two gaping holes in the back of her armor. She landed with her head near my feet, her blaster tumbling from her grasp.

Lane was quick to take aim at me next, but I got a shot off first, grabbing Malia's blaster and hitting him squarely in the chest. He fell back and laid motionless.

"Malia?" I gasped desperately, rolling her over and pulling off her helmet. Her eyes stared sightlessly at the ceiling above her, her mouth slightly open with words that would never leave her lips.

Blood pounded in my ears as I stared down at the girl.

This can't be happening.

My hand cupped her cheek as I desperately tried to revive her. "Malia, please wake up. Malia, please."

She didn't respond. Hot tears streamed down my face as my cries grew louder and more desperate. I hugged her to my chest, sobbing into her limp shoulder.

I looked up with tear-blurred vision to see that the room was almost empty—the fight had travelled outside. There was the roar of an engine nearby, followed by more gunshots. Lifeless bodies of both sides littered the ground, never to move again.

A gentle tapping of footsteps against tile grew louder as the last person I wanted to speak to approached.

"We need to leave." Kylo's voice was curt.

I clutched Malia's body tighter and began to cry again.