Star Wars: A Resistance Story. Book 1.

Chapter 13: The Hutt's Palace.

Valek, Poe and Ly'ra were heading towards the Hutt's Palace. The party has begun just two hours ago, giving a chance to our three guests to step in without being noticed. They easily reached the Reception Hall where some members of the First Order's High Command were mixed with Bounty Hunters and the Hutt's main assassins. Valek was shaking violently, only being stopped from running away by the presence of the two pilots by his sides. Poe and Ly'ra were studying the scene in front of them.

Biths musicians were playing in a corner of the room. A group of Bounty Hunters were talking while the High Command of the First Order were having a drink not far from them. Ly'ra took a minute to try and see the General Hux, but he wasn't around for now. Dameron saw her sighing in relief before he turned and grabbed Valek's arm.

"Okay, so you're gonna play your part. Make the deal as planned. And for your own safety, stay quiet about us. If you talk, don't think they'll spare you, you'll be dead too. Okay? Alright, now go!"

The young woman watched him leave before stepping closer to Poe, arching a brow.

"You're sure he's gonna shut his mouth?"

"Nope... But we have no choice. Now we must go. Hurry!"

The two pilots stepped into a small corridor next to the Reception Hall. It was opened by small arks all along the room. Dameron and Ly'ra hid behind each beam, keeping an eye on the guests. Valek seemed to more or less well play his role, which meant the two Resistants had very few time in front of them before being noticed.

Only three arks left. Two. One. And when they were about to reach it, Poe saw two Bounty Hunters stepping into the corridor as well, in front of them. He only had few seconds to react so he grabbed the young woman's arm, turned her to tackle her against the wall, under the last ark. Surprised, Ly'ra didn't fight back but she unconsciously grabbed the pilot's jacket. Poe leaned down and stopped only few inches away from her face. The warm breath of the man was caressing her skin and she looked slightly down, trying to ignore the violent beatings of her heart. The pilot couldn't help but stare into her emerald green eyes and get lost into them. Several minutes went by and, after what seemed to be an eternity, Dameron stepped away, clearing his throat.

"Sorry..."

Ly'ra shook softly her head, her cheeks slightly pink, before facing the door they were heading to few minutes ago.

"It's okay... We... We should go now. We don't have much time left."

"Yeah... We should, indeed..."

And finally, they reached the back room, trying not to think about what happened under this ark, and Poe tried to open the door. It was locked. As he was striving against it, Ly'ra couldn't hold back a laugh before pushing him away.

"I'll do it, bully boy!"

She bent, faced the lock and grabbed one of her hair clip before putting it inside the lock. After few delicates moves from her wrist, the door opened slowly, and the young woman looked up, smiling triumphantly at Dameron, placing her clip back into her hair.

"The good old methods are always the best."

The pilot tried to hold back a smile before bending slightly, inviting her to step in first.

"Women first..."

"Dumbass."

Ly'ra looked quickly behind her before taking her blaster and stepping inside the room cautiously. No one. Well, they should all be at the party it seemed. Poe followed her and closed the door behind them. The two pilots headed firmly towards the window from where they were supposed to reach the other side of the Palace. But, first, the rift. The young woman looked down: a small ridge just under the window was allowing one person to step between the Palace and the gap. The rift between the two parts of the Palace was around sixty five, seventy feet and the room containing the cristals was lower than the main part.

"Okay... Now we're gonna see if your idea was as good as you think it was..."

After having taken a deep breath, she stepped out of the window, facing the rift. Poe gave her a small crossbow before joining her on the edge, passing his right arm around her waist to help her maintaining her balance.

"And we're gonna see if you're a good shoot..."

Ly'ra arched a brow before getting ready. She placed the crossbow against her shoulder and adjusted her shoot. She slowed down her breathing, aimed the point right above the window in front of her, took one last breath before blocking it. She squeezed the trigger and the arrow flew across the rift to fix itself above the only entry point of the strongroom. A small and satisfied smile appeared on the young woman's face and she turned to face Dameron.

"Am I a good enough shoot in your opinion Commander?"

The pilot smiled back before taking the other end of the rope tied to the arrow and going back into the room to fix it behind them. When he turned to face the window again, Ly'ra felt the ridge cracked under her feet and she skidded. A surprise cry left her lips but Poe caught her just in time. The man took support on the window to help him lifting her inside.

"Hold on... You're okay?"

The young woman closed her eyes a second, reassured by the presence of the ground under her feet and by Dameron next to her. She then nodded softly before looking up.

"Yeah... I think so. Thanks."

"Don't mention it. We have to hurry now. Valek won't keep his role much more longer.""

The two pilots faced the window and Ly'ra stepped out again, sitting on the edge. The sight of the rift wasn't really making her jump with joy but she kept her mission in mind. She jumped on the rope and slipped above the hole. When the window of the other room was close enough, she bent her legs and gave a violent hit into the glass, jumping inside the room. Poe joined her few seconds later.

"On another day, it could have been fun..."

The young woman rolled her eyes before turning away. In front of them were three big boxes. They were three feet high and nearly the same in deep. A smile appeared on Ly'ra's face and she placed her right hand on one of the boxes.

"Hopefully it's the right place!"

Poe frowned and shook his head slowly.

"I think it is... Look..."

He pointed to the young woman's wrist. On her bracelet, the Stygium fragments sparkled before really starting to shine. The two pilots shared a smile. They did it.