29 | the secrets we keep

"I DON'T GET IT, GENERAL. WHAT DID YOU CALL ME HERE ABOUT?"

RESISTANCE BASE, ILLENIAN SYSTEM-

Over the past few days within the Resistance, Kyra had learned one thing- there  was nothing more comforting than to wake up to inside of the Resistance base than of Poe's company. He was a figure that was always beside her now, whether that was just by her side introducing her to other people around the Resistance Headquarters or stealing a kiss from her in an uncrowded hallway of the base, her laughter echoing through the hall as they ran off to their next debrief or next place to be.

But this morning- waking up inside of Poe's arms, his hand gently stirring her awake as the sun rose through the blinds of the one small window that his quarters had, there was something more to the comfort that she always felt. It was a feeling that wasn't easily describable, a feeling of ease and warmth that overwhelmed her soul.

Something in the back of her mind vaguely reminded her that this was what home felt like.

No, this was what love felt like.

"Morning." A light and tender kiss was pressed to Kyra's cheek as she opened her eyes, Poe just on the other side of her. As she turned around, Kyra saw the small smile that was on Poe's face, the man just staring at her with a look that she had never been given by anyone else in the galaxy.

"Morning." Kyra smiled back, giving him a light peck on his forehead, pure joy just overwhelming her as she stared at him. She gave a small chuckle as she watched him push back his unruly bedhead hair, his curls almost falling over his forehead as he tried to push them back. There were truly no other words to describe the way that Kyra felt in that moment, her heart full as he laughed back at her.

There was a moment that the two of them just looked at each other while still in bed, just enjoying the other's company. They had fought so hard to get to the moment that they were in now- why would they not savor it?

The light that was softly streaming in from the small window to the right of the bed offered the only light that was inside the room, everything silent and still in the best way possible. The whole setting was something that seemed almost unreal, everything almost glowing under the soft sunlight that was slowly setting in over Poe (and now Kyra)'s quarters.

And there, just across the way from where Kyra was laying, was Poe. His eyes were squinted as the sunlight slowly came in, his hand trying to cover his eyes from being sharply introduced to the sun. His curls were very ragged and bedhead-ish, a smile plastered on his face as he stared over at her, just happy to be in her company.

Kyra could've spent the whole day like this.

Unfortunately for her, a knock at their quarter's doors interrupted their thoughts and time in bed together, the two of them turning to look down the hall to where the source of the noise was- the front door. Poe let out a small groan, rubbing his eyes as he sat up in bed, Kyra already sitting up, placing her hand on Poe's shoulder, a silent indication for him to stay where he was.

"I'll get it. I'm closer to the door anyways." She swung her legs over the side of the bed, seeing her plain black shirt from the day before on the floor, snagging it and slipping it on before she moved into the hallway. Her bare feet padding against the cold stone ground of the quarters, it was definitely one way to wake the woman up from out of bed.

Upon arriving in the little kitchen area where there was a table and chairs, Kyra found some of Poe's cargo pants that he had washed and left to dry on a chair, the woman taking those as well. Shimmying the pants on, Kyra gave herself a quick look over and patted herself down to make sure that she was clear before she typed in the keypad to open the door that someone kept pounding on, the door sliding open quickly.

Outside of the door was Han Solo. He looked just as rugged and unkempt as she did, the early hours of the morning not a good look on anyone. There were heavy bags under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept at all in the past few days (Han probably hadn't, he had been helping plot the course of where Luke's map was leading the Resistance), his hair disheveled.

"Han." Kyra greeted the man, rubbing her eyes to confirm that it was, in fact, him in front of her. "What are you doing here so early?" She grumbled, wishing that she could just be back in bed with Poe, and be able to get up and get ready for the day on her own time.

"Nice pants." Han grunted back, a smirk coming to his face as Kyra tinged a light pink, the smuggler watching as the young woman rolled her eyes at him. "No, really." He continued to talk, giving the woman a onceover. "They do look good on you."

Still annoyed by his comment, the pink tinge still on her cheeks, Kyra gave a small sigh. "What are you here so early for, Han?" She repeated her question, not really wanting to bother all that much with the conversation of why she was wearing Poe's pants and the inevitable questions that would follow.

"I'm here because Leia- General Organa, sorry- wants you to meet her in her office. Bring that boyfriend of yours, too." Han inclined his head back to where Poe had dragged himself out of bed, the man in a simple white tee in the hallway. Poe was just in Han's view, the smuggler giving Kyra a small smirk. "They want you there in ten."

"Shit!"

Poe and Kyra had scrambled to get ready after that, the two of them not even opting for breakfast as they started to move around their quarters in a hurry. Kyra ran back to the bedroom to try and find the leather jacket that Poe had gifted her- which she did rather quickly- while Poe grabbed another pair of his cargo pants that were drying on a chair, the man slipping them on easily.

"Hey Space Girl, you seen my other jacket?" Poe hollered back at Kyra, who was currently going through the small closet space that they now shared, trying to find the combat boots that she had been gifted when she had gotten on Resistance base by General Organa that she hadn't bothered to wear yet. She had found her weapons belt draped over the single chair that was by a hologram table in the bedroom, the belt already strapped around her waist.

"Which one?" Kyra yelled back, looking up at where about three or four leather jackets hung inside of Poe's closet, each a different color. There was a lighter grey one with some small designs on the front, a darker mahogany hued one that had no design, and a deeper gray one that had the Resistance emblem on one side.

"The dark grey one!" Poe shouted, hoping that he hadn't been an idiot and misplaced it. "Should be one of the first ones that you see!" He scrambled to find where he had thrown his shoes the night before, the two of them getting back to their quarters late the night before after talking to Snap and the rest of Poe's X-Wing crew, swapping stories about places they had been and the adventure that they had been on.

"Found it!" Kyra answered quickly, grabbing the jacket off of its hangar and quickly snapping up the combat boots from their place on the floor along with some socks. She then hurriedly moved towards the kitchen and main area of the quarters. Giving a small huff, she handed Poe his jacket, plopping down in one of the two chairs by the table. "There's that, and now I gotta get these boots on."  Sliding her socks on quickly, Kyra had to wiggle her feet into the combat boots, trying to lace them up as rapidly as possible.

Once she had her shoes on, Kyra looked over to Poe, who was quickly placing his jacket on, his shoes finally found from their mysterious hiding place inside of the house. "How much time do we have before we have to be over there now?" Kyra questioned, realizing that Poe was much closer to where the clock hung inside of the house.

"Uh-" He studied the clock for a moment, squinting his eyes at it again before grabbing Kyra's hand from across the table. "Not enough." Poe lightly tugged on Kyra's hand, the two of them launching themselves out into the bright dawn that was rising over the Resistance base, the soft yellows and pinks that the sun gave lighting up every hallway. "C'mon, we gotta go!"

The hallways of the Resistance base had gotten easier to maneuver over the past couple days that Kyra had stayed on base, that was for sure. However running through them at almost breakneck speed? That definitely didn't help her get used to where everything was.

At this point, Kyra was just trusting in Poe to get her to the right place at the right time. She wasn't all too concerned with learning the base as she was concerned with getting to Leia's office on time- something that she was pretty sure wouldn't happen. It wasn't their fault, truly, they would just say that it got sprung on them only a couple of minutes before.

Which it did.

The two eventually stopped at the end of a hallway, only one door down it. Kyra assumed that it was General Organa's office, not only because it was the only door left, but because Poe faltered before he knocked, trying to adjust himself to not look like a mess. Giving Kyra's hand a small squeeze, he reached out to knock the door, but it slid open before he could do so.

"Great. You two finally got here." General Organa greeted them from her place at her desk, which was more like a holographic table where she was still studying the map to Luke. Already inside the room were Rey, Han, Fox, BB-8, and Chewbacca, all seated in chairs (well, except for BB-8, who was just moving around the table to talk to different people) that were all around the table. There were only two left, and they were right next to each other- but directly across from Leia. "Take a seat."

Exchanging a look of confusion, Poe and Kyra decided that it was probably better to not ask questions, and instead just opted to take the two seats. Kyra sat next to Rey, while Poe sat next to Han. As soon as the two sat down, Poe gave a quick glance over to Kyra to check if she was comfortable, the young woman just sharing a small smile with Rey before she glanced over to Poe, smile still on her face. There was a moment of silence as the two settled in, Leia giving a small sigh before clearing her throat and beginning.

"I'm very sorry for calling all of you here at such an early hour, but there have been some advancements with the Skywalker map and his location, and I figured that now would be the best time to allow some secrets that I've been withholding from all of you to come to light." Leia looked up at the map that was shown on the holotable, expanding the map so that she showed how it fit into the galaxy.

"We've found the planet where Luke had hidden away. There are some rumors that this was the birthplace of the Jedi." General Organa explained, the blue light showing a concerned look forming on her face as she explained the situation- which was the exact opposite of what Kyra expected her expression to look like in this moment. "He's currently hiding away on a planet called Ahch-To."

"That's wonderful news, General." Poe interrupted the woman, looking over at Kyra as he spoke, seeing the perplexed look on her own face. He figured he might speak up, the man having the most experience with the general and talking to her about Resistance matters. If Kyra had that look on her face, it meant she wanted answers. And normally that was a good indication that they probably should get some answers. "But why the long face?"

"Now that we know where Luke is, there is the matter of who should go and retrieve him." Leia cleared her throat, her eyes scanning the room as she tried to swallow down the fear of what she was about to begin talking about. "It's been predecided that Han and Chewbacca are going to go with whoever out of you to get him, as it is their ship- but I feel as if there are many candidates that could go with him, all of you great ones."

There was a moment of silence as the group that Leia had gathered stared up at the hologram, no one entirely sure what to do. There would be one person who went to go and retrieve Luke Skywalker, and the rest would stay behind and help the Resistance live to fight another day and rise up in ranks.

It was a difficult decision.

"Well, if I know anything from the stories that Rey has been sharing the last few days, I'd say that she would probably be the best candidate to go." Fox spoke up, his eyes falling upon Rey, who was just across the way from him. "Luke might be able to sympathize with a new order of the Jedi rising, starting with you. From what you've told us and what we've all seen, the Force definitely is strong with you."

"Exactly." Kyra agreed with Fox, a surprised look falling upon Rey's face as the two women made eye contact, Kyra surprisingly calm as she spoke. "I don't understand what there is to discuss. We need a Jedi to come back and help us, and who would be better to go and bring the Jedi back than someone who's strong with the Force and almost a Jedi herself?"

"His daughter."

"Luke Skywalker had a daughter?" Rey looked over at Han, who was currently almost having a conversation with just his stares with General Organa, the two probably talking in a somewhat heated fashion about the way that they had just dropped a bombshell on the group. "How- how has no one ever figured this out?"

"Because the two of us didn't even know she existed until very recent events that allowed her existence to come to light." Leia answered, tearing her eyes away from the contact with Han, scanning the room to see the reactions that were coming from the Resistance members in the room.

Fox, one of the newcomers, seemed to be confused and shocked at the same time. He just kept his eyes up on the map, studying the hologram. His expression was one that was harder to read, although the glint in his eyes and small frown gave everything away to Leia. Time to time, he would glance a look over to Kyra, who would share that same confused look with him if he caught her gaze.

Rey's reaction was a mixed bag. She was in awe at the fact that they had found the myth that the Resistance had been tracking down- Luke Skywalker, but also confused and afraid. Sure, she was honored to be chosen as one of the top candidates to go and chase down Luke- Rey just never expected this type of responsibility and burden to come this quickly when she had just joined the ranks of the Resistance.

Poe was absolutely floored by this information. Out of everything that had happened within his time of the Resistance, nothing to this spectre had ever happened. Normally, there were no oversights when it came to Leia and the rest of the generals. They all knew what they were doing, and they knew every piece of information before the First Order or any other group did.

Kyra had a small but noticeable frown on her face, the young woman doing the same thing that Leia was doing in that exact moment. She was trying to get a read on what the hell was going on in that situation, her eyes flitting between all of the different reactions in the room. It became a rather frustrating thing when Kyra couldn't really determine what General Organa and Han were holding back from the group now that Luke Skywalker's daughter was on the table.

"Well, if we're considering candidates, it only makes sense if we go out and we try to find her. If the two of you believe that strongly that his daughter would be a motive for him to return, I say we do whatever it takes to find her and get her back." Poe voiced his opinion, seeing nods come from everyone around the table except for Kyra, who had placed her right hand on her forehead, deep in thought.

The woman was trying to understand everything that was unfolding in front of her, all of the information too much to process all at once. On top of everything that had occurred over the past few days from the destruction of Star Killer base, the rescuing of old and new friends, and the fact the Kyra herself was now able to wield a lightsaber, they were now dealing with a daughter of Luke Skywalk-

Then it hit Kyra like a X-Wing jumping into hyperspace.

"But you wouldn't just call us here for you to assign us to go out on another mission to find the missing Skywalker." Kyra lowered her hand from where it rested on her face, her eyes falling into direct eye contact with Leia. "You'd already have someone out there searching for her before the First Order got to her and used her for their personal gains."

"I don't understand." Fox turned to look directly at Kyra, who wasn't even giving him eye contact back. "Then what was the whole point in having us all here and telling us about the Skywalker daughter? Why wouldn't we already be out searching for her?"

"Because she's in this very room." Kyra answered Fox's question before Han or Leia could answer the question for her. Her eye contact never straying from Leia, all the puzzle pieces of the meeting that they had called finally fell into place.

She was the daughter of Luke Skywalker.

It explained so much. How her mother never told Kyra her father's name, how vaguely she spoke about the man she loved, how Kyra never understood why she grew up fatherless. The vague way that Han and Leia faltered when she said her last name, something more to the story than just her mother being an old Rebellion friend that they had lost in the fight. It explained the look General Organa had given her the day she arrived on base, even after learning who her mother was.  It explained how she was able to wield the lightsaber, because, as Maz Kanata had said, She was wielding a lightsaber that was important to her bloodline.

Giving a cold laugh, Kyra shook her head, reaching down into her weapons belt to unclip the lightsaber that still hung there. She placed it on the table, the motion disrupting the hologram as she stared Leia down. Sliding the lightsaber across the table, Kyra smoothly rose from her seat in the room, turned around, and ran.

Funnily enough, the first place that Kyra found solace in was the Millennium Falcon. It was towards the edge of the base, a ship that was important enough to the Resistance that members left it alone and didn't mess with it. It was also the first place that Kyra had felt like she was free of the First Order, sitting inside of the cockpit, talking with Rey and Finn.

It was where she was now, the woman sitting in the cockpit silently as she stared out at the morning sun, the bright sunlight now steadily streaming in from a much higher angle than it had when Kyra had woken up beside Poe that morning. It made everything feel different now, the almost white yellow light bouncing off of the dark greens and light greys of the Resistance base.

Although, she supposed, that wasn't the only thing that was different now.

Everything was different now, she supposed. Kyra was a Skywalker, a part of a lineage that held so much mystery and glory behind it that there was an innate pressure and expectation to do good. And for most of her life, Kyra had done the exact opposite of that. She had brought darkness and despair to the galaxy, killing innocent lives instead of saving them. How was she supposed to be any type of Skywalker when she had done such unspeakable deeds?

Kyra had been out in the cockpit alone for so long, just trying to process everything that had just been dumped onto her that the sun had changed its position. In the moment of just staring out the cockpit of the Falcon, she barely noticed the light footsteps of someone entering the ship behind her.

"You know, this was probably the last place I expected you to be." Kyra turned around to see Han Solo beside her, carefully sliding his way into the co-pilot seat. "I would've expected you to run off to that lake that always seems to eerily quiet on the other side of the base, or just run back off to the quarters that you and Poe share. Didn't expect you to show up on my ship."

"Yeah, well, I didn't expect a lot of things to happen the way they did today." Kyra grumbled, tearing her eyes away from where she watched Han give a sympathetic look to her. Blowing a piece of her hair out of her face, Kyra tried to keep her expression as neutral as possible, masking all of the confusing feelings that were going through her at the moment.

"None of us did, kid." Han mumbled in agreement, staring out at the sky and the view that Kyra was looking at. He wasn't exactly sure how to salvage the conversation and the situation that Kyra had been thrust into, but he would make his best attempts. "You know, when Luke and Alora first met, they hated each other."

"What?" Kyra whispered, her attention turning from the sky to Han, who gave her a small smirk. His remark had caught her attention, and piqued her curiosity. He couldn't blame her- he was a man who, if he was in her shoes, would have scrounged for any bit of information that someone had on their parents.

"Yeah. The first time we all met, your mother literally told Luke that he was nothing like how she expected a Jedi to look. Luke then fired back at her that she was nothing like what he'd expect of a princess and, well, they had an interesting first conversation." Han chuckled, his hand resting on his face as he let out a small scoff, thinking back to when the four of them had gone on some of the most wild adventures together.

There was a moment of silence after Han spoke about Kyra's parents, the young woman just trying to process everything that he had told her about them. Everything was still a confusing mess to her, more complex than what it had been just hours before.

It had all been simple then.

Kyra had Poe, Fox, Rey, and that was it. She would go and make sure that Finn was alright every morning after breakfast, and she'd spend the rest of the day exploring the base with Poe and spend her nights talking to Resistance members who would tell stories while passing around bottles of firewater and various other alcohols. Everything had been good, great even- but the fact that she was Skywalker's daughter? It was almost too much for her to handle.

"How am I supposed to-" Kyra stopped herself, unable to put into words all of the feelings that were swirling inside her, all of the decisions that she had to make confusing her. She just wanted things to be simple for once, for things to be easy. "I can't just make this decision for the entire Resistance."

"It's a difficult thing." Han agreed, looking out the window of his cockpit once again. "I would hate to be in your shoes." That comment earned him an annoyed glare from Kyra, the man just throwing up his hands in defense of himself. "I'm just telling you the truth, kid."

Another moment of silence engulfed the two after that, Han finding nothing else to say in the situation. He knew that not everyone liked their company to fill up the silence that constantly filled up rooms. Hell, as Han had gotten older, he had learned to hate it too. He figured that it was best to just keep Kyra company- because she couldn't deal with this alone.

Plus, he didn't want her stealing his ship.

"You know, when my mom raised me on Sorgan, she used to tell me stories about you guys." Kyra spoke again, finding the words that she had been searching for. "She always made it seem so real, like she had actually been with you guys on your adventures." She murmured, tracing the shape of some of the ship's buttons to her left. "I never would have thought that she actually was with you."

"She was with us for a lot of it, kid." Han smiled, his memories of what he and Alora had done together once on a mission all by themselves rather funny. "Well, as much as she could be in that year. When we lost her- when we lost all of your mom's family- it was hard on all of us. Luke especially."

Kyra's eyes met Han's, the look in the smuggler's eyes telling her all that she needed to know. All of them had been hit by the so-called death of her mother and the death of her family, and it wasn't just from Han saying it outright. There was a hidden pain in his eyes, one that Kyra was familiar with- because she had that same look hidden deep in her eyes too.

"I-I need time." Kyra took a shuddering deep breath in, averting her eyes back to where her left hand was still tracing the outline of a button on the ship. "All of this- I just, it's a lot all to process at once." The words barely escaped her lips before she felt the pressure of the situation weigh down on her again.

How the hell was she, a woman who had just joined the Resistance after defecting from the First Order, the literal daughter of Luke Skywalker and force immune Princess Alora Ceydea, supposed to do this? Sure, she had made bigger decisions than this, like deciding to defect from the First Order, but that felt innately right.

Kyra wasn't sure what her gut was telling her about this decision.

The split second feeling, that impulse that would tell her what was right and what was wrong , was all but gone in this situation. In its place were nerves swimming at the bottom of her stomach, a pressure that she never fathomed she'd feel weighing down on her.

"You can take all the time you need." Han reassured her, reaching over from the cockpit to place his hand on her shoulder, his eyes meeting hers once again. "Whatever decision that you make, it's yours. I'm going to be here for you no matter if you stay or go, kid." He squeezed her shoulder in a fatherly way, Kyra's free hand instinctively covering it, the contact between the two almost a pact of some sorts. A quiet and unspoken pact that whatever would happen, Han would be by her side.

"Thank you." Kyra whispered, the worry that had folded into her face being met with a glint of gratitude in her eyes, small but noticeable. The fact that she had Han on her side, no matter the pressure of the Resistance and the magnitude of the decision, felt comforting.

Taking a deep breath in, Kyra's gaze fell back upon the sky outside of the Falcon, the blue of the morning sky mixing in with the light pinks and yellows of the dawn that was slowly fading away from the view of the two. Everything seemed to be calm in that moment, the fears of everything that Kyra had just learned shoved to the back. There was one thought that still lingered in her mind as Han removed his hand from her shoulder, the smuggler opting to look out at the sky with Kyra.

Luke Skywalker's kid or not, there was a decision to make.

Should she stay or should she go?

<~•~>

we got one chapter to go and then this journey is over 😪✌🏼

wild, isn't it?

okay, I'm not really sure about what I'm going to say about this chapter except Poe and Kyra being domestic?? yes. Han and Kyra's relationship?? also another yes.

those two relationships are just too iconic and I really just stan them too much to freaking FUNCTION and I'm the AUTHOR!

okay, so since we have one chapter left, and there IS going to be a SEQUEL ( y'all please read it when it comes out, I need validation 🥺 ) I have a question for y'all:

what do you think is gonna happen and what would you like to see? maybe I'll take some of your answers and keep them in mind 🤭

also, would you like me to release a quick chapter when I release the sequel to tell y'all it's up? I wanna do what's best for y'all because this book is just as much your as it is mine :)

okay, I think that's about everything that I need to ask y'all!

thank you so so so much for reading and I'll see you in the next one!