Haunting Memories

Chapter XXIV

Your POV:
I was unable to take a moment to enjoy my triumph over my former master and instead had to leap into action. After releasing the binds on Luke and Rey, I turned to face the praetorian guards that were processing the events that had just transpired and beginning to advance upon us.

Rey and Luke summoned their lightsabers and took a fighting stance beside me so that we formed a triangle, preparing to ward off the approaching guards. Before the first one could attack me, I slashed through their armor, causing them to drop to the ground. A different guard took that moment to try to land an attack on me but, using the momentum from slashing through the first guard, I managed to get my lightsaber up in time to block it. I stepped backwards, trying to regain my balance, then tried to stab through their heart.

They blocked my attack, our two weapons clashing against one another. I began to push harder against their vibro-voulge, causing them to push back with equal force. Without any warning, I pulled my saber away and stepped to the side so that they lost their balance, taking their moment of weakness to slash my lightsaber up their back.

Two more guards came up to me, but I took a quick glance to see how Luke and Rey were doing before protecting myself from them. Luke was battling off three of them while Rey had just taken down the one attacking her before going to help Luke. Filled with a glimmer of hope of getting through this despite there being eight of them and only three of us, I began to clash my lightsaber against the guards' weapons.

It didn't take long for the three of us to be standing in the midst of dead bodies, breathing heaving and beads of sweat glistening upon our skin. Honestly I wished that Ben could have been there to see my fighting skills, feeling as though I would have made him proud having taken down three of them, one of the ones who had attacked me having been killed by Rey.

"You know, for a moment there I actually thought you had been playing us," Rey admitted, breaking the silence that fell upon us as the fight ended.

"Well, that was the point," I smiled at her, pleased with my deception skills. "Snoke is a master at reading people's minds. I finally built up enough walls to keep him out of my mind, but I knew that you hadn't gone through the same training as I had, so I couldn't risk letting you into the plan."

"What's the best way to get out of here? We wouldn't want anyone to find out what has happened before getting the chance to escape," Luke asked me, looking a bit tired from the extensive fighting it had taken to kill all of the guards.

"Snoke has an escape pod right over here," I informed him, jogging over to where it was kept. "It might be a tight squeeze for us all to fit, but it should be fine."

I climbed in first, followed by Luke and then by Rey, who closed the door and pressed the eject button, shooting us off into the darkness of space. Rey began to pilot us down to the nearest planet, a beautiful sea foam green colored planet lying just beneath the Supremacy.

While Rey was working on that, Luke took out the comlink hidden in his clothes so that he could contact the Resistance, "Leia, we have successfully killed Snoke, but as the First Order was alerted to our presence, we thought it best to use Snoke's escape pod to escape. We are en route to a nearby planet, which is sort of a sea foam green color, and are requesting a ship to pick us up."

A moment later, Leia's voice replied, "I have just sent a transport for you, they should be there soon. And inform (y/n) that Ben has just awoken."

At her words, I perked up and my heart beat quickened. Was it true? Had he really awoken? I couldn't think of a reason for her to lie, but it just seemed so surreal. But why did he have to wake when I wasn't by his side? Did he now think that I didn't care about him because I wasn't constantly keeping vigil over him?

"You have just told her yourself," Luke smiled, looking over at me. "We'll see you soon Leia."

Just as Luke was finishing, the escape pod landed on the surface of the planet. Surrounding us was swampland and ocean, the area foggy with humidity. Vegetation was rampant and it was clear that there were no human settlements anywhere.

"Do you think it's safe to breathe this air?" Rey asked Luke and I, clearly wanting to get out of the cramped pod.

"One second, I think there's something on this pod that will test that for us, if I remember correctly," I replied, shifting my position and reaching over to a panel. It was rather difficult to control from such an angle but I finally found the air sampling controls and had the pod test the surrounding air.

"When did they start putting these things into escape pods?" Luke asked, looking at it in approval.

"Not all pods have it, but I figured Snoke's would. You wouldn't want your Supreme Leader to have to abandon ship to save his life but then end up dying on the planet he escaped to because the air wasn't breathable, would you? Even if the air isn't safe for us, there should be gas masks beneath our seats, but it will be quite the struggle to get them out."

It took a minute or so for the pod to process the air sample, but it ended up deeming the air breathable, much to the delight to the three of us. Rey climbed out first, relieved when she was able to stretch herself out. I stepped out onto the moist ground and found the air, although not poisonous, almost suffocating with its humidity. Perhaps it was because I had become so used to dry air of Dantooine and before that the cold of the Finalizer, that this climate was not when I was familiar with.

"Keep alert for any creatures that might feel threatened by our presence. I don't see anything as of right now, but there are certainly many life forms on this planet and I wouldn't be surprised if they attack any unknown intruders to their land," Luke cautioned us as he began to inspect the planet.

Thankfully it wasn't long before the Resistance transport came down to the planet, finding where we were awaiting for assistance. The ship landed only long enough for the three of us to board before taking off again and making a jump to lightspeed after leaving the atmosphere of the planet.