Learning to Fly - A Star Wars Fanfiction - Part One of the "Balance" Trilogy

Jay

Jay slammed the controls, sweating, eyes darting from one TIE to another.
"Poe, you've got two on your back!"
"I see 'em," the man shouted, pulling his fighter up and looping over the TIEs, twisting towards them while launching blast after blast. They evaded every beam.
"We have to get clear!" Jay exclaimed.
"I know, I know!" Poe turned the nose of his X-Wing in a sharp pull to the right, diving down and away from the retaliating fighters. Jay felt his own fighter tremble as he just narrowly avoided a close-range laser from -
"Oh, no," Jay muttered.
"What?!" Poe yelled into the comm, still in a tight corkscrew, avoiding the two fighters. "What is it?!"
"Kylo Ren," Jay whispered.
"Jay, six o' clock!" Poe told him, but too late. Jay's line of vision flashed a blinding white and his seat trembled. Then the lights of the simulator flickered on, the screen turning red, marking his failure. Jay tore his headset off, punching the console. The door opened behind him, light pouring in.
"Russo," the General started, but he interrupted her.
"I don't want to hear it," he muttered. The General pressed her lips together.
"Someone has to tell you," she pointed out. "You can't get distracted. You're not with them anymore. You're with us. My son can't get you."
"I know, I just... I just can't shake it, you know?" he said hurriedly. "So many of us, lost to the Knights..."
"Well, you can be the first of many to be free of them," the General replied. Then, after a pause, "You have to tell them, Jay. Poe and Morgan need to know. Just in case."
"I can't tell them," he muttered.
"Please, Jay -"
"I can't!" he exclaimed. "I was the one who captured Morgan's friends! They were the ones that shot me!" He buried his head in his arms, pressing himself into the console as he tried to slow his breathing. The General sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder.
    "I didn't know that," she admitted. "But I rest my case. You have to tell them. You know the dangers of hiding it. And who knows? The rookie might end up needing it. Maybe even Poe. We don't know Asher. We don't know if this is a trap. Your abilities could come in handy, Jay."
    "Let's hope it doesn't come to that," he mumbled. She nodded.
    "Can't argue there," she told him. "But you'd better get ready. Poe's already left the simulator to find Morgan. You leave in an hour."