The evacuation was running smoothly, I thought, watching as several transport ships took off to rejoin our main cruiser. I marched around what was left of our base with Connix, the lieutenant in charge of the operation whilst I had decided to stay behind with her to oversee it all, my mother already gone ahead. She had, however, given me a commlink to communicate with her, so once I watched another two transports shoot off, I held the device up to my lips whilst Connix began to make more orders to the remaining crew.

"General Organa, there's only the last few transports left," I addressed my mother formally. "I'm coming up on the next one and Connix will be on the last one. Is the assault team ready?"

That was when Poe patched through onto the commlink. His voice seemed light, almost happy, though from the background noise I could tell he was already in his X-Wing. No wonder he sounded happy then, as he always was whenever he was flying and doing what he did best, even if it was when the Resistance was verging on a battle.

"I'm ready, General Solo, so's the rest of my team and the bombers," Poe said with an almost teasing tone. Clearly my new title was still amusing him.

"Don't get too cocky, Commander Dameron," I smirked as Connix began leading me to one of the last transport ships left. "Remember, you need to stall for time against the First Order when they arrive. The successful escape of the Resistance is depending on you, Commander, don't let me down,"

"When have I ever let you down before, General?" I could hear him flipping switches and Beebee-Ate whirling about into position and I had to fight back a laugh as I attempted to remain serious.

"If the two of you could stop flirting," my mother's voice came through again, cutting our conversation off and making the tone serious once more, even if I could hear her holding off a laugh. "Lucinda, the First Order is coming into range, get yourself and everyone else off D'Qar, now!"

I nodded, desite knowing that she couldn't see it. Taking one final glance around the base, I raised my arm, gesturing to the rest of the resistance members to get to the remaining transports. As general, I let everyone get on before me,  but Connix shook her head.

"I'll stay and make sure the rest of the base is evacuated," she explained, and I knew there was no arguing with her.

I quickly moved into the transport and took my place by the controls, quickly tapping in details to get it ready for take off. Stuff like that was second nature to me, considering I'd been raised watching my dad and Chewie do quick maths to get the Falcon to take off and into lightspeed, and though I wasn't the best pilot when it came to X-Wings, I could handle a transport ship. Knowing everyone was in, I raised the com-link to my mouth again.

"I'm all ready, and Connix is following me up, everything should be on the main ship now, I'll see you- Oh, Sith!" I began with a small smile on my face, though it faded when I felt something in the pit of my stomach, the force stirring with darkness within me.

"Luce, what is..." Poe began asking me before drifting off and I knew he'd seen what I'd sensed. "Get off that planet, now, alright?"

The First Order fleet had arrived, I knew, and as I glanced out of the closest window I realised that the force had served me well as I saw two Star Destroyers had appeared in the sky, shortly followed by another, much larger than the others, my stomach sinking in fear. If we didn't get the last transports off D'Qar soon we'd be in real danger, so instead of answering Poe, I slipped the commlink into my pocket, and looked back to the controls.

"Do you need a hand, General?" Someone asked me, sensing my urgency.

I turned to see a girl in a engineer's uniform with black hair pulled back into a small ponytail, bangs framing her face. She had a small, courageous smile on her face with a kind look in her eyes and I instantly trusted her. I nodded gratefully, because whilst I was certain I could handle it, I knew when to accept help, and so I called out to the rest of the transport ship to ready it for take off whilst the engineer worked on the controls to shut the door. I braced myself, reaching up and grabbing hold of the handle on the ceiling to stop me losing my balance as we took off, and before I knew it we were up past the atmosphere.

To say I'd grown up on a ship, I still hated take offs, and to distract myself I shut my eyes for a second, except for the briefest of moments my mind projected me off to the fleet in the sky. Perhaps my subconscious was searching for Kylo Ren, but I opened my eyes, desperate to not think of the man that was once my brother. I'd rather keep my mind on what was happening, and not on the past. My desperation to find Kylo and turn him back to the light was a thing of the past, but now I had to focus on fighting the First Order.

We'd docked on our ship, the Raddus, sooner than I thought, so as soon as the doors burst opened I waited for everyone else to get off before jumping out myself. The engineer girl who'd helped me had gone before I noticed too, leaving me feeling slightly disappointed that I'd not had chance to ask her name. Surely I'd see her again, though, so I didn't spend too much time dwelling on it, as I instead took in my surroundings. Glancing around the bay, I saw every X-Wing had gone out to defend the main control ship. That meant Izzy and Erika were out there as well as Poe, and I instantly grew scared for the fate of my friends. I knew I shouldn't worry though, as they were all more than capable pilots, so I took in a few deep breaths, making my way through the ship and onto the command deck where I could see my mother stood over the controls. She was monitoring the X-Wings and Bombers, C-3PO stood next to her, so I quickly ran to her side.

"What's going on?" I asked her, noticing her frown, but then I saw on the controls that Poe's X-Wing was up close to one of the Star Destroyers whilst Connix's transport was still on the ground on D'Qar. "Is he stalling?"

She didn't need to answer, as she patched in to Poe's communicator with the First Order. His attempt of stalling was playing through the speakers as he communicated with General Hux.

"Attention! This is Commander Poe Dameron of the Republic fleet, I have an urgent message for General Hux," he spoke, and the fact that we couldn't hear the other side of the conersation left me wondering just how he was going to pull this off. "Hi, I'm holding for General Hux... Okay, I'll hold... I'm still waiting for General Hux, tall, skinny guy, kinda pasty... Look, I can't wait for him all day, just tell him that Leia has an urgent message for him,"

"Oh, Holy Force," I whispered, my hand going to cover my mouth as I realised what he was about to say next.

"Regarding his mother," Poe finished, deadpan, unknowing to the fact I let out a scream of laughter, one that was echoed around the rest of the command deck as others heard his remark.

None of us needed to hear Hux's reply to Poe's sarcasm, his fury was clear enough from the fact that the star destroyers and dreadnaughts opened fire on him, making me flinch as I heard his screams of excitement. On the monitor I saw Poe send his ship flying towards the dreadnaught at full speed, firing straight back at them, aiming his fire right at the cannons. Over the commlink he was giving orders to the other pilots, instructing them on where to go to inflict the most damage on the First Order ships.

"Well, he really is stalling," I marvelled, watching on the monitors as Poe called the resistance bombers in.

At the same time, I saw the marker signifying Connix's transport ship leave the atmosphere of D'Qar and knew that Poe's job of stalling was complete. He and the other pilots could come back and the Resistance could take off into lightspeed and get far away from the First Order, except I knew Poe better than to assume he would just call it quits with the First Order, not when he had the chance to take down a dreadnaught. The two of us had grown up adoring the heroes of the rebellion and I knew he'd do anything to live up to those stories, except our X-Wings and bombers were highly outnumbered and so the odds were stacked against us.

"The last transport is in the air, the evacuation is complete," Connix's voice came through the speakers, confirming my thoughts.

"You did it, Poe, now get your squad back here so we can get out of here," Mum spoke into the commlink connecting us to Poe.

Even though I knew she was right, that it would be far too dangerous to risk our few remaining pilots on an assault, I knew he would disobey. Even if it would mean destroying a dreadnaught, in the grand scheme of things we would suffer and whilst I could see that, reaching my feelings out into the force I could sense that Poe's ambition to be a hero and take the dreadnaught down had blinded him.

"These things are fleet killers, we can't let it get away," he explained and I closed my eyes in exasperation, sighing.

Except, as I closed my eyes, the force projected the image of Poe's X-Wing coming under fire as he narrowly dodged danger into my minds eye. I didn't know what was worse, seeing what was really happening thanks to the force, or seeing his marker on the monitor and having no way of knowing what exactly was going on, leaving it up to my imagination. I quickly opened my eyes, anxiety seizing me as I tried to stay calm, trying to figure out a way I could convince Poe to give up on his mission and come back, though I knew that it would be a hopeless task.

"Poe, please," I attempted, hoping that he would sense my urgency and call the operation off. "The job is done, we need you back here... I need you back here,"

Surely the two of us had gone through enough together to understand when something was so desperately wrong. Surely he could tell how important it was that he came back safely, not just for the resistance but for me. I'd lost so many others, he couldn't possibly be so reckless to risk me losing him too. And then I remembered what he'd said, after he found out my dad had died, when he promised that he'd make the First Order pay for my pain. A feeling of dread took hold of me and I tried to get a hold of my emotions, tried to calm down, but how could I when my mind had settled on the thought that he was risking his life to be a hero and avenge my suffering?

"Disengage now, Commander, that is an order!" My Mum ordered him, and I wondered if she'd sensed how I was feeling.

Poe didn't answer. Instead, his audio cut out, and we both knew he'd shut off the connection. I instantly felt angry, because how dare he ignore an order, and how dare he continue on with his suicide mission when we'd both told him to fall back? I looked up to my Mum to see she was glaring at the monitor, and I could tell she was furious. Poe was her best pilot and he was risking his own life as well as the lives of everyone in his squad for what, one dreadnaught? Mum felt me looking over at her and so she looked up, still wearing a glare, and I knew that whilst she was also afraid for the fate of the Resistance because of Poe's stubbornness, she was far too angry to show it.

"Sith's sake," I hissed anxiously, glancing back at the monitor, noticing that Izzy and Erika's X-Wing's were close to Poe's, the three of them taking on the cannons of the dreadnaught whilst the bomber's closed in.

"Luci, go and meditate, it'll do you no good standing here watching his madness," Mum spoke, making me frown.

She was trying to keep her temper under control, though I knew her far too well to notice the signs, the way she tightened her jaw and clenched her fist taking me back to being a kid and watching my parent's disagree on the tiniest of things. Except even in her anger at the Resistance's danger, she was still trying to protect me, knowing how much I'd be worrying over my friends. And she was right, I would be no help up on the command deck, not with my mind too focused on trying not to panic over Poe's reckless behaviour.

"I'll... I'll be back," I excused myself, offering her what I hoped was a reassuring smile. "It's going to be fine, General, I know it'll be fine,"

With that I turned and ran out of the command room, down one of the corridors of the ship as I attempted to find a storage cupboard to find some peace, somewhere I could hide from the dark thoughts swarming my mind. I eventually found one close to the docking bay, though it was tiny and full of boxes, but it would have to do. I opened the door using the force, sat down cross-legged and quickly shut the door again, subjecting myself to the enclosing darkness. I closed my eyes, taking deep breaths as I tried to keep my thoughts away from Poe, Izzy and Erika unnecessarily risking their lives.

It turned out though, that once I'd turned my mind from that it automatically went to what had happened on Starkiller Base. I'd almost forgotten how I'd been in Snoke's presence and how he tortured me, that pain replaced by what Kylo Ren had done to my father, but now I was alone in complete darkness it was like he had hold of me once more,  my whole body constricting in pain as I fought to compose myself. All my anxiety surrounding Poe's attack alongside my grief for Dad had merged into one big reminder of everything Snoke had put me through, and I felt as though I could barely breathe.

Memories of Snoke's projection room flashed through my mind, combining with the images of Kylo Ren's lightsaber piercing through my father's chest as he fell from the bridge, and it was just as I thought it was all too much that I felt a rush of wind wave over me. My mind cleared quickly, instantly going blank before a new image appeared. I was in a stone cabin, the sound of wind and the sea crashing against the cliffs, and no sooner did I realise that I was back on Ach-to did my Uncle Luke appear before me.

"You again?" he spoke with mild annoyance, raising his eyebrow, and out of relief to be projected somewhere that wasn't a warzone, I let out a small laugh. "What's funny?"

"Just the fact that the galaxy is in chaos around you but yet here you are, sitting here like nothing is happening," I remarked, smirking at him. He looked back at me through narrowed eyes, as if he was seeing a ghost. "What?"

"It irritates me how much like your father you are," he shook his head with a laugh. "Though it'd be Han who would ignore the chaos, not lecture me for stepping away from it all,"

"Tell me about it, I feel like I spent my last few days with Dad doing nothing but trying to convince him to come back to the fight," I sighed with a sad smile, remembering his stubbornness. "I wish he'd come home sooner, I wish you were here too,"

"Luci, please," he sighed, shaking his head as if he was frustrated with me. "Is there anything you actually wanted? I've already had your friend bothering me, telling me to come with her to the resistance, trying to give me that damned lightsaber I'd lost years ago,"

"Rey's there then?" I smirked once again. "I thought I told you to be nice to her, but I wasn't holding out too much hope to be honest. I just wanted to see you, I thought talking to you would help me forget about everything else happening,"

"You're thinking of your father? Your brother? Snoke?" He asked, frowning as he tried to figure out what was plaguing my mind, eventually deciding it was the latter as I flinched, my focus being disrupted ever so slightly. "Why's Snoke bothering you?"

"Maybe because he manipulated the man that was once my brother into murdering my father and now his fleet are on the verge of killing my friends, not to mention he tortured me to try and turn me to the dark side, and there's so many questions I have for you but yet you're so far away," I explained.

At that point I was fighting to keep my focus because in truth I was so confused and just needed someone to help me get my thoughts straight. I assumed that Uncle Luke would be the one to help me. My Dad was gone, my brother was as good as dead, the man I loved was off risking his life and dragging my best friends off with him and my Mum was busy with the Resistance. Uncle Luke had been my Jedi Master, and I had been his Padawan, so surely he'd help me. We were family, he was my teacher, and considering the way he dumped me at the Resistance after the fall of the Academy I couldn't help but think that he owed it to me.

"There's no answers I can give you," he said with a small shrug, and it infuriated me how casual he was with it all. "I told you before, I'm sorry for everything that is happening, but I want no more part in it, I've done enough damage,"

"Fine," I clenched my jaw, deciding that if he wouldn't help me when I felt like I was at my worst point in a long time, I could no longer deal with him. "You taught me pretty much everything I know, but maybe it's time I figured things out on my own. You never taught me to hide from things that scared me, so maybe I should stop hiding in a cupboard and talking to a coward,"

There was no saving my focus then, the image of my Uncle disappearing from my mind as my eyes snapped open and I was in the cupboard once more. I thudded back down to the ground, not even realising I'd been levitating, letting out a long sigh. I was still mad at Uncle Luke, but at least my irritation at him had replaced my fear and pain surrounding everything else. All of those emotions were connected to the Sith, and I refused to hold onto them anymore. If Luke refused to help me, then I should push him from my mind and focus on what really mattered.

That seemed to become even more true as I got up, stretching slightly before I opened the cupboard door with a wave of my hand. Stepping out into the corridor, the ship seemed to be in a mad rush, and after I looked around I soon understood why as I saw the X-Wing fleet coming into land in the docking bay. I silently cursed, realising that after trying so hard to get a grip on my emotions the sight of the X-Wings would soon make me nervous once again.

Except I soon realised there had been no reason to worry, because right from across the docks I saw one park up and instantly a figure I recognised well hopped out in excited adrenaline. Poe. He'd survived, he'd won, and even after all the anxiety his spontaneous assault had caused me, I found myself running towards him.

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