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supremeprince-bensolo · 4 years

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The Rise of Skywalker thoughts/review

I’ve now had two weeks to process my thoughts on the movie. Immediately after, I was actually feeling quite okay (but mostly sad due to the fate of my favourite character). But I didn’t hate the movie, I actually loved most of it after the first initial viewing. I went with my family who are casual fans. My dad said it’s his favourite SW movie, my mum loved it too, and my brother thought it was a satisfying ending to the saga. My feelings were a lot more complicated. There were things I loved, but also things I absolutely hated and thought should have been done differently.

First off, I had a bit of a memorable experience at the cinema. The projector stopped working twice (only in Australia will the temperature cause the projectors to malfunction!). But it meant they rewound the film a little so I got to see the scene where Rey shoots lightning to take the transport ship down (and Kylo strutting up looking like a prince) and Dark Rey/Kylo showing up on the Death Star twice. So, thankfully they stopped during Reylo scenes so I got to see them again (but if only it had stopped right after the kiss and they couldn’t get the projector working again…).

I was actually looking forward to Palpatine being back. He is the ultimate evil and the person who seduced Anakin to the Dark Side which started this whole saga. I could buy that he was behind everything. And as much as I’d hoped to find out how he survived, it didn’t bother me too much that they didn’t tell us. The Sith use the Force in very unnatural ways so it doesn’t surprise me that he somehow managed to cheat death.

“I have been every voice (Palpatine), you have ever heard (Snoke), inside your head (Vader).” The entire time it was Palpatine. It was him pulling the strings, wanting revenge on Vader by ruining the Skywalker legacy and grooming Ben into becoming a stronger and more loyal Vader. He made Snoke, literally (the jar full of Snoke clones was creepy). Kylo believed he was talking to his grandfather when he talked to the Vader mask, but it was really Palpatine feeding him lies and manipulating him. This entire sequence was unsettling and really worked for me.

‘The dead speak!’ In theory, Palpatine’s return could have worked very well. But it’s between movies that it all happens. There is a lot of exposition in the opening crawl, perhaps a bit too much. It was overwhelming. There was no build up, he’s just back and no one questions it and we’re straight into the action.

And also Kylo finding out that it was Palpatine who had been this voice in his head, that should have had huge ramifications. He should have had an identity crisis and started questioning everything. But there wasn’t time, there was too much plot to get through, no time to sit with a huge reveal like this I guess.

I was actually very surprised how well all the Leia scenes fit in. I can only imagine how limiting it must have been with only old footage from TFA, but considering the circumstances I think they did a good job. Having her training Rey and the reveal that Luke had actually trained her to become a Jedi, and she even made her own lightsaber. I did enjoy that. And it was very impactful to have her final word be ‘Ben’.

I hate that Rose was completely sidelined. She had one minute of screen time and had absolutely nothing to do. She was a important character in TLJ and this movie completely ignored her. She literally saved Finn’s life in the last movie and he didn’t even acknowledge her.

I enjoyed the trio adventure! It was just a lot of fun! Great to see Rey and Finn together again. And I loved how Rey and Poe were constantly at odds with each other couldn’t stop arguing. I love how they disagreed on everything. It made for a fun ride. Fun, but ultimately devoid of any real depth.

I didn’t like the whole thing of Finn constantly wanting to tell Rey something. He loves her? He’s Force sensitive? Who knows because we never find out. Poe was looking jealous (because he thought he loved Rey?). And Finn completely ignored Rose (which was awful). And Jannah being yet another love interest for him? I wasn’t a fan of any of that at all.

I actually like the idea of Rey being Palpatine’s granddaughter. I would much prefer her to be a nobody, but I do like the concept of her being a Palpatine. In theory, it is the basis for a great story. Vader’s grandson and Palpatine’s granddaughter falling in love and bringing balance to the Force. It could have been great. All the set up was there for it to be a compelling story that tied everything together. But the way the movie dealt with it was a letdown.

So I guess they didn’t completely retcon Rey’s parents reveal from TLJ. Her parents were nobodies, but by choice. To protect her. So… they sold her for drinking money to protect her? They apparently cared about her yet they left her with Unkar Plutt?

What didn’t work about Rey being a Palpatine is that it was essentially to explain that she’s only this powerful because of her bloodline. But what that does is undermine her. Why can’t she just be powerful on her own? I guess it also gave her a reason to want revenge on Palpatine, but that should have been Ben. You know, the actual descendant of the bloodline that he tried to corrupt.

The MacGuffins. The cave where they encounter an injured snake which Rey heals by passing on some of her life force to it, showing off her healing abilities which come into play later. Conveniently finding the Sith relics and an abandoned ship where Rey’s parents were killed. The dagger, which is map to the Wayfinder on the wreckage of the second Death Star. And it’s also the dagger that was used to kill her parents. The Wayfinder which leads them directly to Exegol. All these things that are necessary to get from point A to point B in order to further the plot. But there were just so many of them.

And all the fake out deaths. We thought Chewie died, but he didn’t. C-3PO’s memory was wiped, but R2-D2 restored it. Zorii Bliss may have been on Kimiji when it was destroyed, but she wasn’t. Either kill them or don’t. It just felt like there were no stakes because they weren’t bold enough to actually kill anyone.

All the Force Bond scenes were great! Kylo sensing where Rey is and SNATCHING THE NECKLACE!! First time they’ve connected in this movie, and possibly the first time in months?? There was a lot of tension between them. It showed how much stronger their bond has gotten. This is a long way from touching hands. The lightsaber battle through the bond in Kylo’s chambers causing damage to each others surroundings. Loved that!

Basically all the Rey/Kylo scenes were great! But the one thing I couldn’t believe that these two idiots were still so at arms with each other. I know they felt rejected from everything that went down in TLJ, but really Rey? She didn’t seem like herself. I guess this was to show us her dark side and the extent of her power. I LOVED Kylo strutting over to her on Pasaana like the prince he is. She was obviously a little impressed (and relieved!) that he managed to survive her little backflip/slice trick. The tug of war over the transport ship, neither could overpower the other because they are equals. And then Rey shoots FORCE LIGHTING OUT OF HER HANDS and he just looks on in awe at her. She can’t believe what she just did, and damn, just imagine how amazing would it have been if she’d accidentally killed her parents by bringing their ship crashing down. She looked absolutely traumatised by what she did to that transport ship. Missed opportunity.

Kylo repairing his mask did mostly work for me. I love the symbolism of it. He destroyed it in the last movie so he couldn’t hide anymore, but now he decided he did want to hide again. The obvious red cracks in the repaired mask representing how torn he is inside, and if there are cracks it means the light can still get in. I did like that. But I do feel like they just repaired it cause it looked cool and not for the symbolism but I’ll take what I can get.

Crushing the Wayfinder in his massive hand was something. The power he has. The lightsaber duel on the Death Star wreckage was EPIC! With the waves plummeting around them. Very visually stunning. And as always, Rey is the one who is angry. Kylo blocks her attacks and defends himself, but he never makes the first move. He wants Rey to join him. He wants them to team up and defeat Palpatine together. He wants her to take his hand and and he knows she will one day.

The death of Kylo Ren. His mothers voice distracts him, Leia uses the remainder of her life force in the hopes of bringing him back. All she wanted was for him to come home. That’s all she ever wanted.

“I did want to take your hand. Ben’s hand.” After Rey stabs him, symbolically killing the Kylo Ren persona, she heals him. This moment was so sweet, and emotional. After everything, I’m sure he doesn’t feel that he deserves to be healed. He looks on at her in awe, the only person who has ever showed him this kind of care and compassion. She looks so sad and regretful of what she did. And his scar is also healed.

That moment is important because that is when he realises he wants to come back. He does want to become Ben again. After trying so hard to kill that identity, the realisation that the woman he loves wants to be with Ben, not Kylo, is the motivation he needs. It’s love that brings him back. Love from from his mother and the love he has for Rey. Kylo Ren is dead. Ben Solo is reborn. I LOVED that moment.

I also loved when Han shows up to Ben. He shows up as a memory (I assume it was only a memory although it’s not entirely clear). Han tells him to come home, but Ben says he can’t. Leia is gone, but Han points out that her cause isn’t. He can go to the Resistance. He can still choose to do the right thing.

“I know what I have to do but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it.” He has the chance to replay this moment in his mind, and this time, he does what he wishes he had done back then. Instead of killing his father, he throws his lightsaber away, completely shunning the identity of Kylo Ren and chooses to be Ben Solo. He calls him ‘Dad’, and the way he said it is so fragile and so broken. And then his father puts his hand on his cheek, where his scar used to be. I loved that scene. It hit all the right emotional beats and was a huge turning point for Ben.

Hux being the spy was hilarious! I couldn’t help but laugh. We all suspected he’d try to overthrow Kylo, but this was just ridiculous. His character turned into a joke and then he was killed and the new officer took over just like that. What a waste.

Force Ghost Luke appearing to Rey. And only to her. After TLJ I thought he’d be haunting Ben, his nephew, and try to knock some sense into him. But he only appeared to Rey to give her Leia’s lightsaber and his old X-Wing. Oh, and he and Leia knew that she was Palpatine’s granddaughter and yet they helped her anyway. I’m sorry, they helped this evil’s offspring and completely neglected their own blood?? And Leia gave up becoming a Jedi after foreseeing Ben’s death at the end of her training. If she was scared of him dying she should have actually tried to help him, instead of neglecting him and sending him away. They all failed Ben and it just hurts.

“It’s not a navy, sir. It’s just people.” When everything seemed hopeless all these ships suddenly appear at lightspeed. But these aren’t armies, it’s the people. They were never alone in the fight. They never were. Good people of the galaxy came to help them fight. I loved that moment!

THE RETURN OF BEN SOLO!! He was wearing this crew neck sweater (which even has a hole in it! Adorable!). That little ‘ow’ when he lands on the structure (his final word, sob). The moment when Rey senses him close and their bond opens up. They relief on her face at seeing that someone came back for her. The look in her eyes and the blue illuminating her face. That was amazing!! And then passing the legacy lightsaber behind her and BEN TAKES IT and does this Han Solo shrug and obliterates the Knights of Ren!! The power of their bond. That moment was INCREDIBLE!!

Palpatine wants Rey to kill him so his spirit can be transferred into her and she can ascend as Empress. So lets get this straight, he wanted to kill her as a child, and he wanted Kylo to kill her, but now he wants her alive and wants her to kill him so she can take his power? What was his plan? I don’t even know. I was very unclear by what he was trying to do.

“The life force of your bond…a dyad in the Force. A power like life itself. Unseen for generations.” As Rey and Ben stand together with the lightsabers ignited, Palpatine senses their bond. They are a ‘Dyad in the Force’. Essentially, they are two halves of one soul. They explicitly give an explanation as to why they are so deeply connected to each other.

When Palpatine throws Ben down the pit, not gonna lie I was worried. The last Skywalker, gone. Rey hearing all the voices of the fallen Jedi was a powerful moment. Anakin, Luke, Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Mace Windu among others. With their help, she single handedly defeats Palpatine. But after they blatantly told us that Ben and Rey’s power combined is a power like life itself, they should have defeated him together. She shouldn’t have been able to defeat him alone. And after everything that Palpatine has done to the Skywalker’s, Ben should have been a part of his downfall.

And do not even get me started on the fact that the voices only came to Rey. They completely forgot about Ben who was down in the pit. He had to pull himself out and he manages to crawl over to Rey and cradles her in his arms. And he looks around for help, for anyone to help, but he’s all alone.

He uses his life force to revive her, because he can’t bear the thought of her dying. When she takes his hand, I swear my heart almost stopped. She takes Ben’s hand. She’s stunned, like she’s waking up from a nightmare, and then her face softens into a smile when she sees him. When she sees Ben. This was who she wanted all along. And the kiss WAS EVERYTHING!! She kisses him, and he kisses her back so desperately. And BEN’S SMILE!!! That lit up my entire world. He felt loved. He’d found his belonging. For a fleeting moment he was happy…

And then he falls and dies. But this whole scene was incredibly moving. He gave his life for her. He succeeded where Anakin failed and saved the woman he loved. He made the ultimate sacrifice. But it was cruel to have him finally find peace, to finally be on the path to a better life, and then take it all away. Ben never had the chance to really live. And now he never will. He chose to come back. He did the right thing, and he should have had the chance to keep making good choices. But instead they took the easy way out and killed him.

After all the fake out deaths I was waiting for him to show up at the end very much alive. But there was nothing. Rey didn’t mourn him. She didn’t tell anyone what he did. He didn’t come back as a Force Ghost. He was just forgotten. He was neglected, as he had been his entire life.

Rey’s new lightsaber. The hilt looks to be made of her staff and the blade is yellow. Neither light nor dark. It signifies that she’s found balance. I liked that.

Rey Skywalker. I get the whole sentiment of rejecting your bloodline and choosing your own family, but in a saga that has been about this one family to kill them all off and then have someone else take over their name? It’s insulting. The Skywalker family were all defeated. How is this a satisfying end to their story? And if anything, she should be a Solo, not a Skywalker. Or better yet, just Rey. Why does she even need a last name? Why can’t she just be Rey?

And she ended up alone on a desert planet, which is exactly where she began. She ended up in the same place she started. Except now she’s been on this adventure and she did find her belonging. But it was all taken away and now half her soul is dead.

So, I certainly have a lot of issues with this film but I didn’t hate it completely. There was a lot I loved. But it seems that they cared more about the spectacle and nostalgia rather than writing a cohesive conclusion to the saga. The seeds were all planted for them to nail the ending, but they didn’t. This movie was one big action packed mess with no clear vision.

This was supposed to be a fairytale but it ended in tragedy. How the hell is this satisfying? I do not understand. The last Skywalker died. Rey ended up alone with half her soul dead. This was not a happy and hopeful ending. This is not the ending the Skywalker Saga deserved.

#reylo #ben solo deserved better #save ben solo #tros spoilers #the rise of skywalker spoilers #sw spoilers #tros review #long post #mytxt

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whimsicalworldofme · 6 years

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In with a Whisper, Gone with a Bang

A blissful moment of family down time gets interrupted and Ava’s connection to the Force has her feeling like not all is what it seems.

Word Count: 2778

Content Warnings: None

“Keep your stance, Luke,” Ava called to her son, trying to give him pointers without being overbearing. “Feet apart, one slightly in front of the other.”

“I know, Mom,” Luke quickly shifted his feet to follow her advice, even though he insisted he’d been in the proper stance.

They were out on the hill that would one day be the site of their family home, the entire Dameron clan, Rey, and Finn. Poe had Shara on his lap, his knees up so that the baby’s back was propped up, sitting her like an actual little person while he played with her, waving her hands around, making her dance. Ava had Leia cradled in her arms, as the babe greedily downed a bottle of formula. Meanwhile, Luke, Rey and Finn, were sparring with wooden replicas of lightsabers. Rey clearly had the advantage since she’d been using a bo-staff her whole life. Luke did well and had natural skill. With more training he could be quite intimidating. Finn on the other hand was there just for fun. His belly laugh, the way he threw his head back and just unleashed his joy into the air each time he fumbled, made that evident.

It was a beautiful day, the sun shining, a pleasant breeze rustled the grass and the leaves on the trees. Ava had packed them a massive picnic lunch but for now they were just enjoying being outdoors. For weeks Poe had been cooped up in the command room, Rey and Finn in the Falcon, running missions. Being outside, being together, simply taking delight in the day was the order of the day. A recent mission had resulted in the loss of a handful of their new pilots and the whole base had been in mourning for a few days. It was the first loss in a while and it shook them. But they were ready to move forward again.

“Look at these pudgy little legs,” Poe gently squished and pinched Shara’s legs making her gurgle and squeal in delight, flailing her arms. “You and your sister are growing so big and strong,” he leaned forward shaking his head from side to side. “Yes, you are.”

“How big are they now?” Finn asked from the sidelines of the spar, the tip of his saber resting on the toe of his boot. Meanwhile Luke managed to get a few good cracks in, forcing Rey back a few paces which made her grin.

“Shara is twelve pounds,” Poe said. “Leia is thirteen.”

“Really?” Finn’s eyes went wide. “They were tiny a few weeks ago.”

“They grow fast,” Ava laughed. She watched Poe lean in and kiss Shara’s nose only for her to grab a tiny fistful of his curls and give it a sharp pull. “They’ll be crawling in another few months. Then walking.”

“And talking too,” Poe winced slightly as his daughter tugged at his hair even more, but he didn’t do anything to pry her hand off. “Everybody loves the curls,” he snickered.

Leia finished her bottle and Ava shifted her up to her shoulder to burp and found herself victim of a tiny hair grabber too. She couldn’t do much about it, so she just alternated between watching Poe with Shara and Luke sparring with Rey, who had him on the defensive now. Their wooden sabers clacked, and they grunted from effort, shouted when they made a good strike, and laughed when one of them messed up. Finn came over to the blanket and sat down, grabbing a canteen of water out of the picnic basket along with a piece of fruit. Soon, Rey and Luke joined the rest of them, red in the face, sweaty, and panting for breath.

“Who wants Leia while I get the food out?�� Ava asked since it seemed everyone was ready now to eat.

“Can I hold her?” Finn asked timidly.

“Of course,” she smiled and carefully passed her daughter over to his open, waiting hands, which were large and secure around Leia’s little frame as he held her up cooing and grinning, making kissy noises.

“You are such a cute little baby!” Finn insisted making Leia giggle. He blew a raspberry on her plump little belly before pulling her to his chest, holding her upright so she could look around, her tiny hand occasionally whacking against his chest or reaching up to grab at his broad nose. For a former Storm Trooper and a stocky, muscular guy who knew his way around any weapon he got his hands on, he was the softest, gentlest man Ava had ever met besides Poe. He radiated this gentle kindness that drew people to him, led them inherently to trust him. And he proved himself worthy of it too. Everyone on base loved Finn. There was no way you couldn’t. If you needed a friend to lean on or a shoulder to cry on, he was there.

“Hey Finn, have you given any more thought to a surname?” Ava asked as she pulled container after container of food out of the basket and laid it out for them. Luke reached for the little cakes she’d made but one look from his mother redirected his grasp to a piece of fruit instead.

“A little,” Finn nodded, his gaze never leaving Leia as she patted his cheeks with her little hands. She became particularly enthralled with his hair since it was so much shorter than anyone else’s she had encountered before and a different texture. “Not as much for you to grab up there, is there?” He snickered at her befuddlement, a quizzical frown on the baby’s pouty little lips.

“Have you narrowed it down any?” Poe asked, standing Shara up on his lap, watching her bounce and squeal merrily. Leia babbled at her sister from her spot in Finn’ arms and they began gurbling back and forth.

“I have one in mind, but I wanted to run it by you first,” he tipped his head to one side. Ever since he’d run away from the First Order, he’d simply been Finn. Poe had offered once to run an intel mission to see if someone could find any records of where he’d been taken from as a baby, who his family might be, and if they could be brought to the base and reunited. But Finn had begged off from that and Ava felt like he might already know the truth. Either his family was dead, or they hadn’t wanted him. It was a painfully common thread among their generation, left scarred and alone from the years of tumultuous war.

“All right, let’s hear it,” Poe continued to let Shara bounce, grinning at her as she cooed and grabbed at his nose.

“If it’s ok with you, I thought I’d be Finn Dameron.”

Poe’s attention lifted from his daughter to his friend and his face brightened with a wide, uncontrollable smile. Finn kept his gaze bashfully downcast, only glancing briefly up to see his friend’s reaction, otherwise keeping his eyes on Leia.

“Finn Dameron,” Poe mused.

“Just cause you’re the closest thing to family I’ve ever had,” Finn explained, clearly nervous that he’d made a mistake. “Never mind it was a dumb idea.”

“No, it’s a great idea!” Poe insisted. “I always wanted a brother.”

“Really?” Finn lit up. “You’d be ok with that?”

“Absolutely!” He laughed. “We can update your personnel file today.”

“At the rate our family is growing we’re going to need to plan for a bigger house,” Ava chuckled as she thought of how Poe would probably adopt every orphaned person on base given the chance. He’d bring them all into his family, give them his name, make sure they were welcomed and loved. It was something he’d picked up from Leia over the years which was probably why he’d done so well filling the empty spaces left by her. “What about you Rey?” She turned her attention to the girl she’d come to regard as her friend and apprentice. “Have you given any thoughts to a surname?”

“Not really,” Rey shrugged, biting into a piece of fruit. “Just Rey is fine for now.”

“Nothing wrong with that,” Ava grabbed a sandwich and tucked in. It was a rare moment without a baby in her arms and she planned to take full advantage for as long as she could.

They ate and chatted and laughed. Leia and Shara passed from one person’s lap to another’s, being smothered with affection regardless of who held them. They talked about flying and the progress on Luke’s speeder and restoration efforts Rey was making on the Falcon. They weighed in on the age-old debate of blasters over sabers, Poe and Finn adamantly on the side of the former. Plans for the future eventually came up and everything seemed close enough to feel real. Poe explained how he wanted to build a hangar by their house to build and customize ships and how people would come from all over the galaxy to get one, and how he’d run the business with Luke, who was very much on board with the idea. Finn sheepishly confessed that he thought he might like to be a school teacher. Rey didn’t know what she wanted to do but said she had a few ideas, though she wouldn’t reveal what they were.

“What about you Ava?” She asked, tucking her brown hair behind her ear to try to keep it out of reach of Shara who was in her lap, trying her hardest to grab at it. “Do you have any big plans for when everything is said and done?”

“Honestly?” Ava’s face scrunched a little. “I just want to be with my family.” She could feel Poe’s eyes on her, warm and reassuring, his affection radiated off him. “For as long as I can remember everything has been about the Resistance and fighting. Once it’s over all that matters is focusing entirely and only on my family.”

Poe scootched closer to her and slipped his arm around her waist, leaning over to kiss her cheek. She laid her head on his shoulder, a blissful, sleepy sigh passing from her lips.

“Plus, this one wants a whole house full of kids and silly me, I’m inclined to give it to him,” she teased making her husband laugh out loud, a vibrant, heartfelt laugh.

“You two are cute,” Rey giggled but Luke rolled his eyes, flushing pink with embarrassment as he dropped his gaze to Leia in his lap as she grabbed at handfuls of grass just offside of the picnic blanket.

A loud boom rang out all around the base, almost shaking the air. The girls began wailing and the warning sirens on base blared an instant later. Ava’s chest tightened as she felt Poe go rigid beside her. Looking up it was hard to miss what had brought an abrupt halt to their peaceful afternoon. Blazing through the sky like a comet as it descended through the planet’s atmosphere was a small ship, probably not much bigger than an X-Wing but a different model, different build. It jostled and bounced, not flown by a skilled pilot. Flames ricocheted off it as it made its haphazard way towards the ground. A chunk of metal flung off and barreled to the ground a few yards away from their picnic site as the ship blazed overhead before crashing about a hundred yards on the other side of them, plowing massive wounds into the earth, kicking out plumes of soil and grass, and sending pillars of smoke into the air.

“Luke help your mother get the babies back home,” Poe was on his feet before anyone else. He looked to Ava, alarm in his usually soft brown eyes. “Listen for the sirens and have the go bags ready,” he kissed her quickly on the cheek before running off in the direction of the crashed ship, pulling his blaster from its holster as he went. Rey wasn’t far behind after passing Shara to Ava’s open arms, her lightsaber in hand now, waiting until they got closer to the wreckage to light the blade.

“I’ll come with you,” Finn said, getting a hand under Ava’s elbow, helping her out of her shock and into a run. They didn’t bother gathering up their stuff. They simply bolted. No one had found them in the time they’d been at that base. The ship that crashed didn’t have any insignia of the First Order, but this didn’t sit well at all. Ava felt her heart pounding as she tore off to their quarters. It wasn’t too far but it seemed to take forever. All the time she ran she kept her eyes on Luke, Leia in his arms, fear wild in his eyes whenever his gaze met hers.

When they entered the far edge of the base, a unit of fighters barreled past them, armed and ready to face whatever the crashed ship had brought. The sirens had stopped. A few people peered fearfully out of windows, some lingered outside, necks craning, hands shading their eyes as they looked out into the fields to see past the black roiling smoke. Ava didn’t like that Poe had charged headlong into a potentially dangerous situation but his duty to protect the base had a bigger pull on him than anything else in moments of peril. He was the general now. He had a responsibility to look after the entire Resistance, not just his family.

Once inside their quarters Finn gently took Shara who was still crying and bounced her in his arms, trying to calm her.

“Get your stuff together, just in case,” he instructed Ava who was still in a bit of a panicked daze. “I’ll get this little one settled.”

She nodded and went about pulling together their go bags, something she had hoped she would never have to do again. Luke and Finn shuffled around each other in the living room, each trying to calm down one of the twins, neither one talking yet about what had just happened, tense relative silence choking the air in the room. Ava got the go bags all out and dumped in the living room, close to the front door, ready to grab and go if the signal went out. But it never came.

From the living room window, they could see the smoke wafting away, marring the beautiful lavender and peach of the sunset sky. After a while, they saw the unit of fighters coming back to base forming a tight group around a tall stranger. Poe and Rey were among them, unscathed, but grim and tense. Ava watched, hands pressed against the window, trying to get any understanding of what might be going on. It could be that the stranger, whoever she was, had simply come to join the Resistance and had a bad landing. But something felt off, the Force carried warnings that something wasn’t all that it seemed. The unit disappeared out of sight from the living room window, but the front door opened a minute later, and Rey stepped in.

“Poe needs you,” she said. “I’ll stay here and help Finn and Luke with the babies.”

“What’s going on exactly?” Ava hadn’t ever been requested for anything before, but she had a feeling it might have something to do with her Force abilities. “Are we safe? I don’t want to leave my kids if we’re not safe.”

“Everything is all right for now,” Rey nodded. “Poe said he’d explain. Main building, room four-eighteen is where they’re headed. No matter what, I’ll keep Luke and the girls safe, promise.” She laid a hand on Ava’s arm to reassure her.

“Ok,” she slowly conceded, figuring Poe wouldn’t have her abandon their children if they were in immediate danger. Luke was just a step behind her, Leia sniffling and hiding her face against his chest. “Be good,” she kissed her son on the forehead and her baby on the top of the head, going over to Shara to do the same. She had calmed down too, her little fist clenching a handful of Finn’s shirt as she laid against his chest.

Stepping out of her quarters, away from her children, Ava felt empty. She trusted Poe’s judgment but couldn’t shake her guilt. Something about this was out of the ordinary, even for the Resistance which sometimes got very odd recruits in the most unusual ways.

“What the kriff is going on?” She muttered to herself, tying her hair back as she strode with purpose to the main command center to see what her husband thought she could do to help the situation.

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