Star Wars: A Resistance Story. Book 2

Chapter 7: Attack on Hosnian Prime.

When the Falcon landed on Takodana, BB8 was reassured, at least as possible as it was for a droid. He knew he came several times on planet with his previous owner, but today, it was with his new friends.

Things hadn't been easy for the little droid since his escape from Jakku. He had almost been kidnapped, twice, disassembled by scrap dealers who wanted to take his parts and he even had been shot! But luckily for him, Rey was here. The girl saved him and took care of him. And then there was Finn. BB8 wasn't too sure if he was trusting him or not. He was a Stormtrooper and he had stolen Poe's jacket and he even told him that the pilot was dead. The droid had been sad when he learnt about Poe's death. He really liked this human and he knew that, when Ly'ra would know about it, she would be wrecked.

"Come on BB8..."

The droid raised his only eye on the girl and let out a small and friendly beep before following her. Rey was really nice with him and, just like Ly'ra and Poe before her, she wasn't treating him like a simple robot. The group, now composed of Rey, Finn, BB8 and Han Solo (because yes, they also met the famous smuggler and his furry friend!), stepped inside Maz's castle. The little droid chose the less risky option for himself and tried to be as discreet as possible to avoid attract attention on him. He was so good at hiding that Maz didn't notice him, or didn't say anything about it. The droid let the humans talk to each other and looked around him. The castle didn't really change since the last time he was there. Most of Maz's customers were outlaws, mercenaries and bounty hunters. And according to the informations he collected about this place, he knew it was a dangerous place and he stayed close to Rey.

Once around the table, he noticed that the discussion had somewhat changed. Finn, the renegade Stormtrooper, just wanted to run away, saying that they had been noticed. BB8 couldn't blame him and say he was wrong but the young Rey didn't understand. She actually couldn't because she didn't have all the informations, contrary to the droid. When Finn stood up to leave, the girl followed him, BB8 on her heels. The droid didn't want to leave her side. Since Poe let him go, he actually realised that doing a mission alone wasn't as fun as he thought it was and Rey did want to bring him back on D'Qar, so he was staying with her.

As the two young Resistants were talking, BB8 noticed a man at the bar. His back was facing the droid, his face regularly hidden by customers. According to his sensors, the droid thought he looked a lot like Dante Verano, the Jedi who was working with his former owner. The man nodded towards the waiter-droid before stepping away, heading to the exit. BB8 suddenly wanted to follow him but he noticed that Rey was heading towards the basement of the castle. He hesitated, but his sensors were only giving the similarities with Dante at seventy-four per cents. It wasn't enough for the droid who decided to follow the girl. Never mind. And even if it truly was Dante, he couldn't be sure that Ly'ra was still with him, nor that he could bring him back to the Resistance base. Rey, yes. Mission first!

*******

Settled under the cabin of her X-Wing, Ly'ra sighed. The repairs were nearly over, Maz had found all the spare parts she needed and Bango was done working on the technical problems she encountered on Castilon. The young woman closed firmly the trap of the engines before she went to refresh her face with some water. Takodana's Sun was strong and with her obvious lack of sleep, the hot weather wasn't helping. Bango was peacefully settled on Dante's Y-Wing and he seemed asleep. The Jedi was just stepping out of the castle with their belongings and put them under his ship.

"Already ready to go?"

"You know we can't stay Ly'ra. It's too dangerous. They're still looking for us."

The young woman let out an annoyed sigh. If she wanted to be honest with herself, she didn't want to run. A part of her was screaming that it was the best for her and her friends, but it was her reason, and since few times, Ly'ra wasn't listening to it anymore. Her instinct though, was whispering to face her fear, and confront them. She was about to talk about it to her mentor when she saw him frowning on something that was happening behind her. Ly'ra turned on her heels, intrigued, and noticed a girl who was running away from the castle. She was young, no more than twenty years old, quite poorly dressed but armed and she was running towards the forest. The pilot studied her, sure that someone was right behind her but she seemed alone. Ly'ra was about to check on her when screams could be heard. The three friends looked up and quickly understood why Maz's customers were horrified.

A laser beam large enough to be seen from the ground was crossing the sky and then, divided into five other red lights. Each of them reached their targets and Ly'ra understood instinctively it was the Capital, Hosnian Prime.  The planet and its moons around were destroyed in few seconds, killing in the same time all the people who were leaving there. Placing a hand on her mouth, the pilot could hardly hold back a scream feeling the fear and despair of each person killed by the First Order. Because it was them. The destruction of the Capital would give them the sureness of the Galaxy's support, way too petrified to resist such a new weapon.

"Starkiller..."

A memory stroke the young woman. Hux was sent to oversee the creation of a new weapon, just few days after their engagement. She could remember the folder he had in his hands, with a simple name written on the black leather "STARKILLER".

"No..."

She turned to face Dante who, under the shock, sat down on his ship. As a Jedi, he must have felt the same thing the young pilot felt at the impact and the destruction of Hosnian Prime. Before she could say anything, Bango's computer let out several furious beeps. The three mercenaries turned their eyes on the proximity alarm, and shared worried glances. The young man jumped down on his feet and quickly checked the information. After several seconds, he looked up, terrified.

"They're here!"

The pilot instinctively turned her green eyes towards the sky where dozen of ships of the First Order were appearing.

"Oh no..."

"They found us!"

Ly'ra shook her head and hurried towards her X-Wing to grab her blaster and her daggers. As she was fixing her belt and adjusted her jacket, she explained:

"They wouldn't have sent such an army just for three mercenaries. There's another reason explaining their presence here. And it's probably the Resistance..."

Dante shook his head and pointed the ship furiously.

"Ly'ra we have to go! If they're not here for us, we take that opportunity and we leave while we still can!"

"NO!"

The young woman turned and faced Dante, grabbing her blaster from her belt.

"I'm not running away, it's over. You saw what they just did. The Resistance will need all the possible help we can give."

And as she saw the hesitation in her friend's eyes, she sighed.

"You had always been free to do whatever you wanted to. I always gave you the choice. I'm still giving it to you now. I can need your help, but I won't force you into anything. It's your choice."

With this said, Ly'ra ran towards Maz's castle, castle that had just been destroyed,  and left her friends on the tarmac, obviously still hesitating.