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In most stories the heroes win, save the world and defeat the monstrous villains. But, if not for one detail, this is the battle nobody in the Resistance would want to talk about. Their biggest defeat.
It was just another mission for the Resistance. The First Order had a powerful stronghold in Geonosis. Of course, it was heavily guarded.
General Leia had a brilliant plan. Poe would lead the fleet to destroy the defences of the base. Rose and Connix would lead a batallion each, distracting the forces of Hux. Finally, Rey and Finn would infiltrate the fortress and defeat the Knights of Ren.
As Rey is training, Finn comes with some flowers. "Hello, love. Are you ready to stop Kylo once again?"
"Yes, I am. After all, I am getting stronger every day. Also, I have to tell you something. I love you, dearly. But we are already best friends. I believe we should actually stay that way." Rey answers.
Finn is not amused. "Rey... Every single day, I give my life for you. And this is your response? Really?"
"Yes. Don't worry... you will always be the best friend I ever had."
After the two friends hug, they prepare for the assault. The Resistance attacks during the night. Poe commands his ships to surround the base. The turrets are quickly destroyed, but an officer presses a big red button and the alarm rings.
Soon, an entire fleet of TIE Fighters emerges, trying to attack from behind. Poe doesn't let the enemy fleet succeed and orders the X-Wings to turn and shoot the TIEs. However, Tareth Ren, a ruthless Knight, uses his TIE Poacher and starts shooting down the attacking fighters. Behind him, four TIE Interceptors defend the base.
Connix's force is repelling the Stormtroopers until they call reinforcements. Geonosians. A lot of Geonosians. Whose blasters are average, but they fly and avoid shots. Rose shoots two Geonosian Soldiers and her men use their detonators to blow up part of the base.
But three Knights of Ren await.
Krugg Ren is there, his red energy axe reflecting his bloodlust. Slick is on his side, armed with his lightsaber and his blaster. Finally, Von Ren equips his lightsaber.
"You can't beat all three of us. We all have the Force." Von gloats.
Rose sees that the battle will end in many deaths. She decides to save her allies by ordering them to flee. Then she runs away, too. Some soldiers want to fight back. Rose shoots them with the tranquilizer.
This way, Rose lost no troops.
Believing Rose was their mole, the three Knights leave her alone. Finn steals a cargo and asks Rose to transport her troops. She agrees and does so.
Connix and her troops are pinned because of the Geonosians and the Stormtroopers. They are outnumbered by twenty-to-one. Besides, the Geonosians use spider-like tanks. Rose's forces won't help. However, Rey has been trained partially by Luke Skywalker. And she attacks the numerous enemies single-handedly. The Stormtroopers and Geonosians don't stand a chance.
A Stormtrooper Commander is ready to take a clean shot to Rey. But Connix shoots first. Then she ducks four shots and kills two officers. A Geonosian manages to shoot the Liutenant and injure her. After Rey defeats one thousand enemies, some with the help of rebel soldiers, she sees the breach in the fortress and enters.
Tareth shoots down three X-Wings in three shots. He locks Jessika, who has shot down an Interceptor, and shoots her down. She struggles to get control of the ship and, when she does, she aims at a tank. She ejects at the last moment and gets injured, but survives the following explosion, unlike the Geonosians in the tank.
Tareth looks unstoppable. But Poe is the best pilot in the Resistance. When he sees Tareth going for Snap, he accelerates and manages to shoot the Knight's Poacher.
"Knight hit! Knight hit!" yells Tareth on his microphone. "Send backup! We can't lose the advantage!"
Kylo gestures to Bruton and Kreia. "Tareth needs help. Protect him!"
Soon, a TIE Berserker and a TIE Seductor emerge. The three Knights are too strong, even for Poe.
Rey fights her way up to the tower, slashing and thrusting her lightsaber at enemies. However, a Magnaguard manages to knock her down. The droid raises its staff, only to be stabbed in the back by a crossguard saber.
Kylo and his remaining Knights emerge. "Leave her alone. She is mine." Kylo commands.
Then the two charge at each other. Unlike their past two battles, they show a lot more skill. The Knights go outside and attack the remaining Resistance soldiers. They strike as one, causing the rebels to flee.
Poe is shot down by Kreia, but manages to survive the crash, along with BB-8. Snap is enraged. He is usually funny, but now he gets serious. He destroys two Fighters before shooting the Seductor. Kreia dodges a lot of shots, but one destroys the cannons. This causes Kreia to flee. Snap follows her, but Bruton and Tareth surround him and shoot him down.
Rey still fights against Kylo. She crouches to dodge a flying spin attack, blocks a horizontal slash and jumps over a stab, behind Kylo. He avoids her quick jabs and uses Djem So to slash rapidly at his archenemy. Even though he is rotten to the core, he is still a Skywalker and fights like one. Rey struggles to cope. She thought Kylo would let her win, like the first time. But the Supreme Leader doesn't hold back this time. She is no longer useful for him.
And this shows. The scavenger gets hit by the crossguard lightsaber twice. Then Kylo pushes her with the Force against a wall, cracking it a bit. Rey gets up and manages to Force Push her adversary back, knocking him down. She follows then with a leap and manages to stab Kylo through his big torso.
"AAAAAARGH! YOU ARE GOING TO DIE, SCAVENGER! I WON'T LOSE TO YOU AGAIN!" Kylo screams in top of his lungs, burning with rage. Rey takes a step back.
Kylo concentrates all of his anger, creating a bolt of Force Lightning. Rey has learned how to redirect it, but not perfectly. She uses two fingers to stop the lightning. But she doesn't focus very much.
ZAP! Rey is knocked down, screaming in pain. She can't get up, despite her attempts. Kylo is relentlessly striking her with his lightning.
"Ben..." Rey mutters weakly.
"Who is Ben?" mocks Kylo. "Here is only me, the Supreme Leader. Oh, and a desert worm. But not for long. You should have joined my cause. You would be a Knight. Now, you will be history."
Then a loud voice is heard. "STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM HER, YOU SELF-MADE ORPHAN!"
"What?" Kylo doesn't manage to stop the blaster bolts coming at him, because he is busy using his lightning. Four shots knock him down. Before he gets up, he gets punched in the nose, which bleeds. His eyes turn to his attacker.
"Traitor! I can't believe you showed up! You are a spineless coward! My saber made sure of that! I remember that!" he spits.
Finn stabs Kylo in his right shoulder. " Remember this?" Then he attacks with a vertical two-handed strike, aiming for the head.
Kylo instantly blocks the strike. "You have improved. But still can't catch up." He directs his lightning at Finn, knocking him out after twenty seconds. Rey picks her friend up and flees. Even though she is injured and carries a person, she still manages to escape. Kylo has been pretty weary, having been stabbed in his torso and shot four times. If Finn could stand one more round, Kylo would have lost. But he failed. Kylo has won.
Leia herself sees that the Resistance army has been obliterated and rushes to help. She equips a lightsaber. "For Han."
In the tower exit, Slick points his lightsaber at Rey. "You and your friend are too weak to fight back. I will be extremely glad to kill you both." He would actually do it if someone didn't stop him with the Force.
Leia pushes him into a wall and ignites her saber. It is a bright yellow one. The General fights pretty well for her age. After five rounds, Leia manages to land a hit at Slick's left shoulder. Then Pectra and Krugg emerge. Their weapons are activated. "First one who kills the Princess wins." says Slick. Pectra attacks with her two sabers, but Leia manages to parry every single attack. Rey manages to escape with the half-conscious Finn. Leia's morale improves and she forces Pectra and Slick on the defensive.
She forgot Krugg, however. The bulky Knight with one swing crashes Leia's lightsaber and knocks her down with the Force. "We already killed four thousand of your men. Your son beat Rey and the Traitor. Poe is shot down. And don't try to fly again." taunts Krugg.
Von emerges too, lightsaber at hand. "Only Connix escaped from her army. Pathetic."
Leia knocks down all four Knights with the Force and runs away. She barely escapes.
This day is a disaster for the Resistance. The First Order soundly won. Kylo beat Rey fairly and almost killed her. Poe was shot down, by a Knight of Ren. Finn was knocked out. The Resistance lost a lot of good men and women.
Leia is in a really bad mood. The next day, Leia learns about Rose's tactic and demotes her to Sergeant. "You commanded your entire battallion to flee without a fight and knocked out anyone who stayed! With which side are you?"
"But nobody of my troops died. You demoted Poe when he did the opposite!" Rose protests.
"I was blind then. Now I see how wrong I was. Thank you for showing me what would happen if Poe was never there. Don't do something that stupid again!" Leia nags.
Rose crouches, blushing. She is on the verge of crying. "I am sorry, General."
"I forgive you. But you are still demoted. No other punishment. Go, Sergeant. Leave." Leia commands softly.
As for Rey, she places Finn in her bedroom. "Finn... I am sorry. Sorry for rejecting you before the battle. I was ungrateful. I love you, Finn. I should have accepted your proposal long ago. You were there for me, even after I rejected your advances. You got knocked out so I could be alive more than once. If not for you, I would be dead. I overestimated myself."
"Which means you and I are finally a couple?" Finn asks.
"Yes. I am glad you love me. For your bravery, your selflessness and overall heroism, I will reward you the best way a female Jedi can."
Before Finn responds, Rey leans in and kisses him. His lips feel very warm. Time stops for them. He eagerly kisses her back, clearly accepting his well-deserved reward.
After a long time, the two break their passionate kiss.
"Oh, Rey..." Finn moans "... I love you."
"I know" says Rey with a smile.
In the worst of times, the friends become lovers.
In the aftermath of destruction, a bond is created.
In the fires of war, love has blossomed.
In the face of danger, two young people stayed alive for their selflessness.
This is how Finn and Rey became a couple.