SotR - 21 - Animal Affinity

“Go for it. Anything is better than this. Ugh. Stay still!” Rose said as another TIE fighter sped past.

Rey took a deep breath and closed her eyes. All this time she’d been trying to reach for the Force, the spot inside of her that felt more connected to everything. Again and again it had been for naught, and she’d gotten more and more frustrated.

But this time she relaxed into the warm potential of the Force and she asked it to guide her, to make her steady, to lead her on a path that was successful. She wasn’t a Jedi, and she was nothing like Luke Skywalker, but for a moment Rey sensed something—a spark of possibility, an inkling of potential—and she felt more centered and infinitely more capable.

The Force was all around, just as it always had been, but this time Rey could feel it. And within that source of energy, she asked for help from Minfar.

When she opened her eyes, she still saw the TIE fighters. She also saw a flock of the giant creatures that had attacked them on their way to Minfar, approaching at a very high rate of speed.

“Um, Rey, are you seeing this?” Rose asked.

“Yes. Don’t worry about them, just focus on the fighters,” she said. She couldn’t have explained why, but she felt like the creatures were there to help.

“Hey, do you see the company you’re about to have?” Poe cut in over the comlink.

“It’s okay, Poe. We’ve got this!” Rey called.

One of the winged creatures forced a fighter to the ground, the ship exploding in a fiery cloud. “Hey, I guess these giant flying things are here to help!” Rose yelled.

“Yes! I’m going to take us into this canyon up ahead. Hold on!” Rey called.

She yanked hard on the yoke, forcing the Falcon into a steep dive between two pillars of rock. Rey’s heart pounded as she negotiated the Falcon into a canyon. The sheer walls sped by, a blur of red-and-black-striped rock, and most of the TIE fighters dropped back, only two ships following them into the treacherous twists and turns.