The Broken Ones | REYLO [Complete]

19. A Little Wicked

POE

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" I ask again. Finn rolls his eyes at me and places another charge under a cruiser in the main hangar.

"Yes, I'm sure. Trust me, I'm an expert when it comes to planting explosives," he boasts, clearly referring to the tiny bombs he set off on Starkiller.

I roll my eyes. "Okay, whatever. But this isn't gonna blow my ship up, right? I need that X-Wing."

"No, it won't. Promise. But I do feel bad for all these other ships. Collateral damage sucks, but it's necessary." Finn attaches the last charge to the belly of an old freighter and wipes his hands clean on his shirt.

The thundering roar of an oversize craft coming out of hyperspace draws my attention skyward. A ridiculously large ship glints in the sun, making a swift approach toward the station. "Shit, here they come. Are we ready? Are we really doing this?" My palms begin to sweat and my heart races, anxiety about the coming fight taking over.

Finn shoves me to shake me from my daze. "Come on, I have the remote detonator. Let's go." I follow him across the hangar, deep shadows nipping at our heels. They catch up with us as we slide through the main door, and suddenly the world is shrouded in darkness.

"Jeez, why does anyone need a ship that big? That's friggin' ridiculous," I mutter. "Look, it's blocking out the entire sky."

Finn huffs. "That's the point. It's an intimidation tactic." We hide behind the wall as best we can without looking suspicious.

"Look at you, using big words," I tease him, using humor to mask my lack of confidence in our plan.

"Shut up and focus."

Snoke's ship slows to a stop, hovering over the sea, a low droning noise emitting from its engines. A few moments pass before the shuttles descend. Only four, which is fewer than I was expecting. This might actually work.

"That's...that's a lot more stormtroopers than I was expecting," Finn whispers, eyes wide.

"Huh? What do you mean? There's only four shuttles. We can handle that." I'm not sure if I'm trying to convince him or me.

"No, no, it's a lot, trust me. They're built to carry ten people comfortably but when it comes to stormtroopers, they just shove 'em in until they can't fit any more. That's gotta be at least sixty, maybe even eighty," Finn hisses nervously. I stare up at the quickly approaching shuttles and look back at my friend for orders. He glances my way and notices my expectant expression. "Okay, we can manage. We have to warn Rey and Ren. We can't let them-"

I shake my head. "It's too late, we'll never make it to them in time. Just blow the charges, we still have work to do."

"Okay, okay. Fine. Firing in three...two...one." Finn squeezes the detonator and at first, nothing happens. Then , all at once, a blinding light and deafening explosion send smoke, fire, and shrapnel in all directions. Ships are blown apart and the shriek of metal-on-metal fills the air, coupled with the stench of burning fuel. I peer through the smoke, trying to make out the shuttles to see if we did any damage.

"There's no way we hit them all," I mutter, moving toward the hangar door. "I'm going to see if I can figure out where they went."

Finn reaches out and grabs my shoulder. "Be careful, Poe. For Rey's sake. If we mess this up, she dies. And she's our last hope against the First Order."

I nod, false confidence bringing a grim smile to my lips. Finn steps backward into the shadows and I open the door, disappearing into the plumes of smoke. Ten paces in and already my eyes are burning, lungs unable to take a single breath without setting off a painful fit of coughing. Carefully, slowly, my feet shuffle along toward what I think is the edge of the hangar. Smoldering debris litters the ground around me, slowing me down as I try to keep from tripping on it, or setting myself on fire. Happy thoughts, Poe. Happy thoughts.