The Sands of Jakku

The Battle

It was night by the time the two of them ventured out of the base. There was no one there to stop them, to prevent them from raising the base entrance from the ground. The only people left behind had long since gone to bed, or had other duties to occupy their time.

Besides, Kylo believed everyone would rest easier knowing he'd left their base, even if they saw that he'd taken Rey as well. To them, she had already been tainted by the darkness that they believe lived inside of him. He was a monster, after all.

He already knew.

They took speeders from the hangar, knowing full well that without them they'd never catch the Resistance militia before they arrived at the palace. On foot, as some of the resistance soldiers were, it would take the better part of a day and a half for them to get there, longer if they ran into the special operations team on the way.

"Are you ready?" Rey asked him, holding her helmet in her hands.

"No," he told her honestly, turning his own helmet over and over. She nodded at him in understanding, because she wasn't ready either. Though, she supposed that you're never truly ready to walk into what could very well be your last few moments of life. She knew the Resistance would have the upper hand with the two of them there to help, but it didn't make it any less terrifying.

Kylo abandoned his helmet on the seat of his speeder, pulling her to him by gripping her hips. She yelped in surprise, but found herself smiling up at him.

He smiled back, leaning down and kissing her. He kissed her like he was saying good-bye, and she could taste the sorrow on his lips. She kissed him like it was her last day on earth, holding him as close as she could.

At least they would always have what happened between them here in the quiet of this empty base. No one could take that away.

They were both breathless when they finally pulled away, wind whipping sand up around them. He stared at her, his eyes filled with such an intense sense of longing Rey felt her knees go weak.

A long silence passed between them. It said enough without them having to say anything at all. Words weighed heavily on both of them, but in the end, they both decide to remain silent.

Instead, they slipped their helmets over their heads and started their engines. They came to life with a loud roar, rumbling against the sand. With a wayward glance back at Kylo and the Resistance base, Rey set off into the desert, her speeder lurching forward.

Kylo followed.

*

The Resistance made camp after Phasma and her troops were defeated. There were wounded to tend to and dead to bury from both sides. Leia would not give in to the cruelty of leaving Phasma's soldiers without a proper burial even though she had no doubt that Phasma would have left her troops unburied if she was given the chance. Leia, however, was above that.

By the time night fell over the desert, the last of the dead had been lowered beneath the sand. Leia gave out the order for her troops to settle in, watching from the edge of the camp as they pitched temporary shelters and tended to the wounded.

If they had kept marching, the whole militia would have reached the palace by nightfall. However, after facing Phasma's battalion, they chose to regroup and send a few of the more mobile members of the militia ahead to send intelligence back.

Leia wandered back through the camp, heading for the tent the officers had set up. She needed to work on strategy for tomorrow and check to see if the soldiers she had sent to the palace had reported in yet. Communication links were a rare thing since the great war, but the Resistance had always made do with what they had.