Chapter 23 - Battle for Takodana - Sixth Part (2/2)

Poe felt even more nervous since he was in front of a living legend. General Skywalker, however, did not show any arrogant front and smiled warmly while extending his hand.

- It's nice to meet you, Poe”- he said and his voice sounded very charming and soothing but you could also feel power and decision- ”I've heard great things abut you.”

- ”The pŀėȧsurė is mine, General”- said Poe who was absolutely shocked by the man in front of him.

Poe could not stop looking at those deep blue eyes which were extremely hypnotic and Poe felt he could lose himself inside them. They were so clear and transmitted a deepness impossible to describe. It was like watching a sky full of stars and Poe had the impression that his eyes had the faculty of reading him completely. He felt he could simply not hide anything from Luke Skywalker but he did not feel any threat coming from him. Poe felt a very strange emotion when he saw Luke so close. He transmitted a very peaceful and comforting aura but at the same time Poe felt that he was extremely distant and unreachable with some tints of loneliness. Poe felt as if he was in front of a deep and vast ocean which he could never explore even in a thousand years.

- ”You are good, Poe...”- had told him Luke Skywalker, one of the most illustrious members of the Rogue Squadron which made Poe feel extremely honored- ”and you can be even better... I need talented young people like you to continue the fight... so if you are interested, I'd like you to be part of the Rogue Squadron.”

- ”Your angle is too wide... close it by 4° and you'll see the difference in your speed”- had said General Skywalker during a training session where he had owned Poe with an astounding 17 kills against zero. General Skywalker was simply too good and Poe knew that he was not even being serious- ”Also, you should consider switch some parts of your X-wing to make it more personal to your flying style. I feel the starfighter is limiting your maneuvering and speed.”

Under the tutelage of Luke Skywalker himself and many other veteran pilots inclusing Han Solo and Wedge Antilles, his skill soared to a level where he could have never imagined before. After years of constant battle and training he had finally ascended to be Rogue 3 as a wingman under General Skywalker and Commander Antilles. He had gained the respect of the squadron and now that the General was dissapeared and Commander Antilles was out of commision due to illness, he had ȧssumed the position of temporary leader by default until they returned. This had put a lot of pressure on his shoulders, but it had not stopped him from doing duty asbest as he could.

- ”Reinforcements from the East!”- alerted a pilot from the team 4 taking out Poe from his reverie- ”I see the two Shadows leading the squadron.”

- ”Ok, guys... you know the drill...”- said Poe changing directions to meet the reinforcements- ”Team One will engage the Shadows while Team Two get rid of the extras!”

The teams flew in coordination with such speed that if you were to see them from the ground you could believe you were seeing an air acrobatics show. Soon however, you would hide wherever you could to not be hit by the lasers flying around for the battle.

(...)

Han was still looking for an opportunity to escape. The attack of the Resistance had been very swift and accurate and many of the stormtroopers around them had been taken down but the Knight of Ren in front of them had managed to survive by deflecting the turbo lasers of the starfighters with his lightsaber and now was leading his troops to take cover while dragging them along.

- ”Hurry up!”- shouted the Knight of Ren while being on guard against any X-wing that could be in the area- ”all forces retreat to the hangar ruins!”

- ”Resistance fighters returning, Sir!”- informed a stormtrooper- ”also, many Resistance transporters are landing on the West of our location and are preparing for a counter attack!”

- ”Take cover!”- said the knight of Ren while preparing to deflect another round- ”they won't use their torpedoes while we have the prisoners here!”

Han knew that he was right and just prepared to receive the attack and use any opportunity that appeared. The X-wing starfighters passed at incredible speed once again and started to shoot but for some reason it seemed as if they were all aiming at the Knight of Ren. Suddenly, Finn freed himself from the stortrooper who was holding him and managed to disarm his captor. He immediately used the blaster rifle and shot at the Knight of Ren who was too worried with the Resistance fighters to notice him. Even so, he still tried to react but he had already been shot on the leg which distabilized him and made him tumble. This short opening in his defense was all that was needed for the Resistance pilots who shot many rounds at him.

- ”Damn you!”- managed to say the Knight of Ren before receving all the lasers directly at full potency.

The knight of Ren's body was blasted into pieces which flew on the air. The other stormtroopers were too shocked to react which gave Han the opportunity he needed. He and Chewee disarmed them and started to shoot all the enemies around them. This created a chain reaction and many other captives started to fight against the surprised troops of the First Order.

- ”Let's go”- said Han while grabbing another blaster rifle and recovering his pistol while Chewee did the same. He then noticed the face Finn was doing and he could clearly saw the guilt he was feeling seeing the stormtroopers in the ground. He got close and slapped his back making him jump in surprise- ”We are in the middle of battle, kid. They won't show mercy so don't make their job easier.”

Finn nodded and recovered the lightsaber from the stormtrooper who had taken it from him. He placed it in his belt and ran after Han who had ignited a flare to attract the attention of the reinforcements to the area. Han, Chewee and Finn found a good hiding spot from where they could shoot safely. Han smiled seeing that Finn was already shooting and covering his back. He detected many stormtroopers hiding in a wreckage that was a bunker like space from where the enemy had a vantage point. He saw the weapon of Chewee.

- ”Let me that for a second”- said Han and received the bow and changed the settings to max power and shot making the enemy position explode with all the enemies inside- ”As usual I love this thing”

The the only reason he did not have one permanently was the weight and size which would make it impractical for his physique and honestly he would look ridiculous. In that moment, they saw a squadron of TIE approaching his position.

- ”Aerial attack!”- shouted Han remembering what had happened the last time the enemy had bombed the area- ”take cover!”

However, before the TIE fighter squadron could reach their position, a group of X-wing starfighters passed above the area at an incredible speed and engaged the enemy. The leader of the group was even more impressive and downed TIE fighter after TIE fighter with incredible maneuvers. The pilot techniques were extremely effective and after just moments he shot down like ten enemies in succession. It was as if he had already predetermined the way his opponent would move. This scene reminded Han of Luke in his best days.

- ”Woooo! That's one hell of a pilot!”- shouted Finn in admiration and Han had an idea of who that pilot may be.

- I'll introduce you later- said Han- now it's time to counterattack.

He looked at the South and saw many Resistance transports landing and letting troops out to support the Takodana forces. For what Han could hear, they were pushing back the enemy lines and the First Order forces were retreating to the forest. Han took one of the helmets of the stormtroopers.

- ”Damn! Did they use encrypeted codes to access communications now?”- Han said with a very annoyed voice.

- ”What do you want to do?”- asked Finn very confused about Han's actions.

- ”I want to know their pick up point, genius!”- said Han with exasperation- ”Rey may have been taken captive so if we find their pick up point , we may be able to find her, too.”

- ”Give it to me”- said Finn finally understanding and he put on the helmet- ”E.C.L. system enabled... code 504”

The communication system of the First Order was encrypted and every squad had a unique and non-transferible code to access it. This meant that not even other members of a different squad would know the code. He knew that his old code would not work since the code changed every week and also every mission, so he used the emergency line that was used in case the stormtrooper had his normal communication systems damaged and could not access his squad signal.

- ”FOEC here”- said a female voice which sounded extremely exhausted and Finn could ony imagine the quantity of emergency calls she was receiving- ”state your problem!”

- ”I'm injured and can't find my squad...”- said Finn using a pained voice- ”I need the pick up coordinates!”

- ”State identification protocol”- asked the female officer and Finn started to look for the batlle tag of the stormtrooper, after a while he found a small plaque with some numbers.

- ”LR-8967... Takodana Mission...”- he started to gasp as if he was running- ”Damn! Enemy troops... please the coordinates!”

- ”You know we need to follow the...”

- ”Hurry up damn it! They are on me now!”

Han took a blaster and started to shoot around. Finn scremed in pain and he could feel the worry on the other side of the line. Finn could imagine her face and how she may be deciding what to do now.

- ”The coordinates are 345, 987 NW”- she finally said with a soft voice.

- ”Thanks...”- said Finn and cut the communication.

- ”You surely are a ladiesman, kid”- said Han with a grin- ”I'm impressed.”

Finn smiled with sarcasm and told Han the coordinates who also passed it to Maz.

- ”You heard that Maz?”- asked Han on the radio he had.

- ”Loud and clear!”- replied Maz who seemed like a predator smelling her prey- ”I'm sending my forces there. Wanna join?”

- ”Of course!”- said Han and cut down the communication- ”lets go... and cross fingers Rey is fine!”

They started to run in direction of the coordinates and Finn prayed for the safety of that girl who believed in him.