"Jaina?"

She turned to look at Jacen. His concerned gaze made her shrink inwards.

"Go away." She responded, looking away in embarrassment.

"Hey, I know what happened back there sucked. Believe me, I know I'd be upset too if I-"

"That's just it! You don't know! You don't know because you never fail at anything! Do you even know what it's like to fail?" Jaina asked in frustration.

Earlier, she, Jacen, and the other students were practicing with training remotes while Mara was observing. Jaina miscalculated and made a mistake. That on it's own wouldn't be enough to upset her, things like that happen to everyone, but so many things have been building up in her mind as of late. The rising threat of the First Order has everyone on edge. Master Sarrel and his padawan encountered a Knight of Ren that was stronger than others that have been documented so far. Unfortunately, the First Order was half the problem in Jaina's mind. Her mother and father had another fight that she overheard. She looked at her concerned brother again. He sat down next to her.

"This isn't just about the exercise, is it?" He asked, seemingly already knowing what she's thinking. Jaina supposed that was a gift and a curse when it came to twins.

"You don't need to answer, but... maybe I can help." Jacen offered. Jaina wanted to protest like usual, but she just stayed silent. Jacen took that as a sign to keep talking.

"You're thinking too much. All this... stuff that's happening... I know it's totally impossible to ignore, but that's what the exercises are for, right? To filter out the thoughts and just focus on the Force and its energy. I know it's hard to believe for you, but I have trouble doing that sometimes too." Jacen said.

Jaina scoffed. "Emphasis on the sometimes."

"I'm just saying that you should really pay more attention to what they're teaching us. Our emotions drive us, but we shouldn't let them control us. It is the Force that we should always rely on, not our feelings on various issues." Jacen said.

Jaina thought about his words. He was right. She never could focus on the Force. She could use it, but mastering the other aspects were beyond her. She couldn't concentrate or quiet her mind.

"I know it's hard, but we can get through it together. You, me, and Anakin... we'll always help each other." Jacen said with a smile.

"How could I help you? You always know what you're doing." Jaina asked.

"Well, without you, this place would be less fun." Jacen said, receiving a laugh from Jaina. "I'm serious! You know how to lift everyone's spirits and your sense of humor, although a little shoddy, really livens things up. Guess you got that from dad's side."

"Hey, I have a great sense of humor!" Jaina said, feigning offense to Jacen's comment. Jacen gave her a deadpan expression.

"You also got dad's ego." He responded. "Your sense of humor is about as good as 3PO's."

"So not true! You could make a better comparison then that!" Jaina said while laughing.

They both continued laughing. After a short while, the tension eased away from both of them. Things felt more calm than before.

"You're right. I'm sorry about overreacting like that. It's just another training exercise and..." Jacen put a comforting hand on her shoulder when she paused.

"I get it. I'm worried too. You might think it's easy for me not to be worried, but the truth is that I'm just as worried as you are. The secret is to let go of that fear. If you let it linger, things will just get worse for you. I've been down that path before, and I speak from experience when I say that fear does nothing for you. If you don't put your trust in the Force, then what's the point of being a Jedi?"

Jaina sighed. "I just wish it was that easy."

"It doesn't have to be hard. What did I just say? Do or do not, there is no try. You are just as connected to the Force as everyone else is in this place. You just need to find yourself first. You can only call upon your own strength in times of struggle."

***

A loud, rage filled yell broke Jaina out of the memory. She was brought back to the present just as Kylo's blade was inches away from her face. Instinctively, her hands reached out towards it and its descent towards her head came to a screeching halt. She quickly spun around and kicked Kylo away while flipping backwards. She gets back on her feet and the two of them face each other.

"I was wrong. I was wrong to think you're him. But... now I don't have to worry about beating you." Jaina said as she took a stance.

"It's you who's going to meet your end, you arrogant Jedi. My master wants your head, and I will bring it to him." Kylo stated.

"You're going to have to try first."

***

Finn looked around. There was nothing else he could do, nothing else to buy himself and the others time. Reveth already seemed to be accepting her fate and the others were also stuck between a rock and a hard place. No, we can't lose yet! There has to be something we can do! Something... Finn thought.

A noise was interrupting his train of thought. Really?! Come on! Focus! Think of something! He tried to tune it out, but the noise seemed to be getting louder. The stormtroopers seemed to be hearing it too. Suddenly, they began running towards the lake, shouting orders and taking positions. Finn and the others looked ahead towards the horizon and realized what got their attention.

"It's the Republic." Kix said.

Over a dozen X-Wings were flying over the lake towards them. Every TIE fighter in the air turned their attention to them and flew at high speeds towards them and shot at them. Finn counted the X-Wings and noticed that only fifteen X-Wings were approaching while there were dozens more TIEs. He could tell that they had low chances of getting past that many TIEs.

***

"Alright, people, we need to reach the castle and get to the survivors as quickly as possible!" Poe instructed. "We need to shoot down these fighters quickly so that our transports can make it through!" Poe heard the other pilots agreeing with his orders and he looked at both sides of his cockpit, seeing their ships go into attack mode. Poe smiled. It's good to be back in the sky...

The X-Wings skillfully maneuvered through the air and started shooting down TIE fighters left and right. Poe took the lead and gunned down the majority of them. He dodged and weaved between the swarm, picking them off one by one. Snap, another pilot and a friend of Poe's, shot a TIE that was trying to get behind Poe.

"Thanks, Snap!" Poe said.

"Don't thank me yet, Commander! We're not out of this yet!" Snap said.

***

Finn used the distraction of the troopers to his advantage and started shooting them down. The Ravagers started closing the distance even faster towards them. He shot at them again, but his blaster did no damage to their armor.

An X-Wing zoomed over them and blasted the surrounding area, sending the approaching Ravagers off their feet.

"WOO! THAT'S ONE HELL OF A PILOT!" Finn shouted.

"Hate to interrupt the celebration, but we need to go! Can't stay here for too long, or they'll just come after us again!" Reveth said. Sure enough, the Ravagers were all still alive and they were starting to get back up. Finn nodded and ran with them. They couldn't get on the ship yet with the battle still going on, and they couldn't stay in one place for too long either, lest they risk getting boxed in again. So, the plan was to change positions periodically and blast a few along the way until the battle ends. Hopefully, the Republic fighters are the victors and BB will be safe.

***

Poe pulled up and flew high in the air before diving back down and spinning 360 degrees and shooting any TIEs caught in the blaster whirlwind he'd created. He saw another pilot about to get shot by a homing missile launched from a TIE fighter, but he shoots both the starfighter and the missile.

"Thanks, Captain!" The pilot said in relief.

"Just keep your eyes peeled! Watch your scanners!" Poe reminded. He knew a nervous pilot when he sees one. This one in particular was still relatively new. He's seen them so many times before. They graduate from the academy all eager and proud to serve, but when they're faced with a high stakes battle like this, they lose their cool and they start to panic. Poe does what he can to calm them down and help them remember what they've learned in the heat of the battle, as any good commander should. Still, they don't know the skies like he does. They're not quite there yet, but that's alright to Poe. Everyone learns eventually.

He sees three more TIEs heading right for him. He smirks; these ones were all his. Just as they start shooting, Poe quickly banks to the left and lets them fly right past him. It's a maneuver he's pulled before, but never one that he gets bored of. He pulls back on the thrusters and turns the X-Wing around towards them and as he turns, he shoots all three of them before they get a chance to turn around again.

"Don't worry, BB. I'll get you out of this."

END OF CHAPTER 39