FLARES 🌠 The Force Awakens

05. Back in the Saddle Again

'Yes,' Jysella cheered. The comlink let out a series of small blips. She was finally in range to make contact.

She kept one hand on the flight controls and reached out with her other. She turned the comlink on and prayed that someone would be on the other end.

Jysella looked up. The base was looming closer and closer. She could even make out the orange jumpsuit of the X-Wing pilots below. Many of the people on the ground were congregating in groups as they noticed the chase happening above.

'This is agent nine-three-two requesting permission to land. Authorisation code nine-five-victor-victor...two.' She winced hoping it was right, her mind wasn't exactly in a great place to remember codes. A gravelly voice replied after a few moments. 'Agent please repeat the authorisation code.' Jysella growled.

'I don't have time, I need to land now, my fuel tanks are running on empty and I have two fighters on my six.' Jysella flicked a toggle above her head and deployed the landing gear. Guess I'll have to give you the code when I get down there. As she suspected the tread for the left brace came flying away from the array without any support to keep it there.

Jysella pressed her knees against the dashboard and pulled back on the thrusters as much as she could. They were still coming in too fast. The ground crew raced out of the path of the falling ship.

'Hold on buddy,' she called out to the droid. K5 let out a weary bleep and burrowed his mechanical arm even further into the inner hull. The TIE fighter shook with the turbulence. Jysella stomach leapt into her throat. Her fingers slipped from the controls. She held onto the armrest, her knuckles straining.

The fighter hit the ground. They spun around several times. Jysella was jolted backwards and forwards in her seat. Her arms flailed uncontrollably. A piercing screech filled the air and as the solar arrays dragged along the tarmac. Sparks flew from the friction of the array dragging across the ground. The fighter stopped spinning and it skidded along the last third of the tarmac before it began to slow down.

Jysella could now make out some panicked and confused voices. A TIE fighter at a resistance base was certainly a strange sight. In the chaos she felt it. Poe was here. She could have cried at the relief she felt. All she wanted to do was run into his arms.

A few more seconds passed as the fighter came to a juddering stop. A cloud of grey smoke was beginning to seep from the engines. Her head swam. Jysella groaned and spat out the bile rising in her throat. She didn't want to be in this glorified eyeball any longer. Jysella mumbled as she got out from her seat. 'I would kill for some Caf right now.' She narrowed her eyes and paused for a moment, her hand hovering over the release for the door. She couldn't see anything from the viewport, the smoke was obscuring her view.

There was no doubt in her mind that at least one person would be holding a weapon ready for when she came out. 'No time like the present.' Jysella shook her head and pressed the button to open the viewport.

Tears began to run down her face as the smoke hit her eyes. She coughed. Jysella pulled the neckline of her shirt up over her mouth and nose. It didn't do much to help. She walked slowly away from the wrecked ship. The view of the resistance base grew clearer. Every eye on the tarmac was on her. And as she suspected several people were positioned at a safe distance with their blasters aimed right at her.

She slowly raised her good arm above her head in a placating gesture. Jysella scanned the group hoping for a familiar face behind of the blasters. She could have sworn that ex Stormtrooper was in the crowd somewhere. She sensed a few of the people holding the blasters tense as she got closer. One of them stepped forward.