Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
'𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐞' ═════════╝
━━ -ˋˏ★ˎˊ- ━━
...OUTER RIM TERRITORIES
𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐏𝐒 of the Black Squadron finally touched down on the ground, Poe knew he wasn't ready. He was never going to be ready for what he was about to hear.
Three ships, not four.
Snap, Karé, Jess.
That was who had made it. Their ships touched down lightly, hardly making a sound compared to the dull roar in his mind. It sounded like the planet had split in two with an echoic crack. The three pilots, his friends, they had all made it safe and sound.
And L'ulo Lampar hadn't.
The Duros had watched him and Eleni grow up, spending so much time around his house that Poe used to think the man was actually his uncle and not just his parents' best friend. He helped him grieve after the death of his mother, even when Poe rejected the help and ran away, L'ulo never faulted him for it. He had always been there.
Now he was gone. Irrevocably, gone.
Jess's eyes were red-rimmed from crying as she climbed out of her ship. A staggering reminder that she was the youngest of all of them, the one who had seen a lot but still, nothing like this. Snap and Karé were both stoic, experienced at keeping their emotions below the surface for the sake of duty. Jess had the innocent gift of living without that talent.
"We lost him as we were flying in, the flagship turned its guns on us before we even had a chance," Snap explained, words filled with the anguish of loss. "He went down fighting, saying how he was going to light the bastards up."
Karé gave the smallest, saddest smile Poe had ever seen as she reached out and squeezed his hand. "He went out the only way he would have wanted."
Jess, crying quietly, was pulled into a comforting hug by Snap. All four of them looked at each other, none of them really knowing what to say. Poe was supposed to take charge and lead, but what good had that done? L'ulo was gone, and Lyra was aboard a shuttle heading farther and farther from their reach. The heat from the sun was suddenly unbearable, burning mercilessly on the back of his neck.
