Into the Darkness

23

We arrive back at the Resistance base, Poe prepares his things to leave. I pace back and forth as Finn walks in the room.

"No one here is going to like them I'm on this ship." I say, he shakes his head and walks toward me.

"You saved Rey, that's enough to prove to me that I can trust you. Don't worry, I've got your back." Finn tells me. "Come on." Poe walks off the ship first, I follow with Finn. As soon as I come into view of the other rebels, every blaster in the area is pointed at me.

"What is the Grand Admiral of the First Order doing on board the Millennium Falcon?" A soldier shouts.

"Hey! All of you! Put your weapons down! As your General, that is an order!" Poe yells. Everyone very cautiously lowers their blasters. "She helped save Rey, we can trust her." Poe looks back at me for a moment, then hurries away.

"Come on, I'll show you where you can stay." Finn says, leading me off to the living quarters.

...

I sit on my bed, holding a picture of Armitage in my hand. His smile practically shines through the paper, a tear slips down my face.

"I miss you, my love." I whisper before tucking the photo into the pocket of my new rebel attire. I look in the mirror before exiting my room, I have not seen myself like this in many years. I quickly walk out and into the surrounding woods.

I close my eyes and allow myself to float into the air. I cross my legs and breathe deeply, succumbing to the energy of the force. As I sit I can feel the pull to both sides of the force, to the dark and to the light.

"Fight the darkness, Eira." Master Anakin says in my ear.

"Focus." Grandfather says next.

"Hey Eira?" A voice says, but this one isn't a master in my head. I open my eyes and float down to see Poe standing before me, I watch him carefully. "I found this in Leia's room, she always hoped you would come back. She was planning on giving this to you." He holds a purple stone in his palm and offers it to me.

"A kyber crystal? Where could she have gotten this?" I ask him. He shrugs. I open my saber and swap the red stone for the purple one and activate it. The blade glows purple. "Thank you." He nods and starts to walk away. "Poe? Could you do something for me?" I hand him the red crystal. "Get rid of it, destroy it. I don't care what happens to it, I just never want to see it again." He gives me a small smile.

"Yeah of course." He stares at me for a moment, then runs into the woods.

...

"She's transmitting her coordinates." I hear Finn say as I walk up to the command center. The screen in front of everyone displays Rey's ship flying through the meteor shower to Exegol.

"I've been there. I've been to Exegol. I can lead the way." I say. Poe and Finn look at each other for a moment.

"You heard her. Let's suit up." I look at Finn and smile. The commanding officers formulate the plan to attack the Final Order fleet as I ready my X-Wing. The girl making adjustments to the ship looks over at me.

"You're new here. What's your name?" She asks me. I chuckle and shake my head.

"There's no way you haven't heard my name around here kid." I say. She smiles.

"Yes, but I haven't met you. I haven't met who you really are. I try not to judge people based on their past, we all come from very different places. Some of us haven't made the best decisions. So, what's you're name?" I think for a moment, then look at her.

"My name's Eira, Eira Kenobi."

...

"We're coming up on the meteor shower, everyone be careful. These fields are incredibly hard to navigate. Follow my lead." I say into the comms. I soar effortlessly through the giant rocks with the rest of the Resistance fleet following closely behind. Then, the temple on Exegol comes into view, along with the entirety of the Final Order fleet.

"Alright everyone, you know what to do. Go after the beacon on the ground, they won't be able to take off without it." Poe says. I soar forward as tons of TIE fighters join the fight. I pick them off one by one, but watch as other Resistance fighters fall.

"It seems as though the Grand Admiral has chosen her side." The voice of Pryde says through the comms.

"Ignore him, Eira." Finn says. I shake my head and continue to take down TIE fighters.

"You've chosen the wrong side, Vox. You will pay for it." I grind my teeth as I soar through the air.

"You killed the man I love, General Pryde. For that, I will destroy your army." I say. I can almost feel his smug smile through the comms.

"Do your worst."