General Leia Organa stood on the command bridge of her Resistance command ship. As she contemplated the next move in the seemingly endless struggle against the First Order, she grew more and more impatient as she waited for Poe Dameron to return from his mission. Finally, the door to the bridge slid open.
"You're late" Leia barked at Poe.
"Forgive me," Poe said. "I have some crucial information to give you."
"Did you find out anything more about the whereabouts of Supreme Leader Snoke or Ben?"
"Unfortunately no, but I ran into someone who wishes to speak to you." Poe replied.
"Who?" Leia asked.
"She has asked me not to say. She is waiting in your quarters." Poe answered.
Leia was slightly more exasperated to hear this, but did not show any anger toward her solider. She left the bridge and walked down a series of corridors to her quarters on the ship. She opened up the door and saw a very old woman sitting in a chair profile to where she was standing.
"Leia Organa," the woman said, not yet turned to look at her. "We have a lot to talk about."
"With whom am I speaking?" Leia asked.
At that moment, the woman, with a cane in her hand, began to stand up. She faced Leia. "I'm your mother" she said.
"That isn't possible," Leia retorted. "My mother is dead. She died when I was very young."
"That is where you are wrong. Just as you know Darth Vader is your father, I am your mother. My name is Padme Amidala."
At that moment, Leia gestured to Poe to leave them and close the door behind them.
"Tell me more," Leia continued. "How did you meet my father?"
"It all started one fateful day on my home planet of Naboo. An organization called the Trade Federation had blockaded the planet and thrown many of my people in prison or killed them. Unfortunately the Republic could not intervene, as the political tensions were very high at that time. Two Jedi knights came to negotiate with the federation but they were not given any chance to make a deal. The federation shortly after invaded Naboo, but the two Jedi knights, Obi-Wan Kenobi and his master Qui-Gon Jinn were able to rescue me and get me off the planet and to Coruscant. But our ship had been damaged and we had to land to repair the ship. I went into town with Qui-Gon and there met your father, who was a slave boy at the time. In order to get the parts we need, Anakin had to win a pod race. He did just that, and Qui-Gon knew he was meant to be a Jedi. Initially the Jedi council balked at Qui-Gon training Anakin. But during the battle of Naboo, Qui-Gon was slain and at that point Obi-Wan took Anakin as his apprentice. I didn't see him for another 10 years, but after an attempt on my life I was sent to Naboo for safety with Anakin and we well in love just before the outbreak of the clone wars. We married and toward the end of the war you and Luke were conceived. Unfortunately, Chancellor Palpatine had manipulated Anakin and convinced him to leave the Jedi and turn to the Sith. Obi-Wan visited me and told me that Anakin had betrayed the Jedi. I could not believe him, so I followed Anakin to a planet called Mustafar. Unbeknownst to me, Obi-Wan stowed away aboard my ship. He came out and after that Anakin tried to kill me. He then fought Obi-Wan, and his master beat him. He could not bring himself to kill Anakin, and just left him for dead and the Emperor found him and repaired his body. I gave birth to you and Luke on a small colony called Polis Massa in the outer rim. After that, I nearly died. But I didn't. After you and your brother were born, master Kenobi knew the Emperor would look for me and for you two. He knew that I was the only thing that could break Anakin's loyalty to him. So they faked a funeral for me on Naboo, and the Emperor's men reported to him that I was dead. But your adopted father, Bail Organa, left me a day's worth of oxygen and in the night dug me out of my casket and put me on a ship back to Polis Massa, where I have remained for over 50 years. However, it was not over then. The Emperor was never convinced that I was dead, so he sent multitudes of soldiers throughout the galaxy to find me. But they never did."
"Hold on a minute," Leia interjected. "If you could have gotten Vader to turn on the Emperor, why did not just reveal yourself to Vader?"
"The Emperor convinced him I was dead. He himself never looked for me. It was also too dangerous to try and contact him with the Emperor's spies all over the galaxy. I could not send transmissions to anyone, not even my family on Naboo, who also were convinced I was dead. But I knew it was necessary if I was to survive. But sometimes, fate finds you. The Emperor knew that the Rebel Alliance had become more powerful and more organized in various parts of the galaxy, and he feared the worst. He knew he could not cover the whole galaxy with his armies, so he had Vader oversee a secret project in the darkest region of space to crush the Rebels once and for all. He called it the Wraith Fleet. It was a set of unmanned starships that could travel as fast as any ship in the galaxy and pack the firepower of a Star Destroyer. The construction of the second Death Star was a diversion. The Emperor had no intent of ever finishing it. He just wanted something that would distract the Rebels long enough for the Wraith Fleet to be completed. But alas, fate did find me one day. There was a checkpoint at which Vader would fly his ship alone the rest of the way to where the Wraith Fleet was being constructed. But a few rebel fighters were performing a patrol in the area and engaged Vader. Your father was an excellent pilot and managed to escape, but his ship was damaged. He landed on Polis Massa, about a parsec away from the construction site. They repaired his ship, with some coercion required, but he felt my presence there. He looked around the site and found me in my quarters. As I looked upon the masked face that had terrorized the galaxy for years, I seemingly knew that was the end for me. Then he said, 'Padme, is that you?' I was in utter disbelief. Even though he was shell of what he once was, I then could see the man I loved all those years ago behind the black suit. I told him about Luke, but of course he already knew about Luke because he had fought him in Cloud City already. I told him about you, and he seemed quite angry at the fact that the Emperor had lied to him. He told me to stay there until he came back for me. But he never did. I later learned that Luke defeated him on the Death Star. Rumors circulated around the galaxy that the Emperor and Vader had been defeated, but the war raged on. It was too dangerous for me to come out of hiding. Finally the war reached a low point, and I have spent more than a decade trying to find you or your brother. Finally, after giving up hope, I went to Naboo to seemingly live out my last days with the little family I have left, telling them the whole story. That is when I met Poe, and he brought me here."
Leia was befuddled by this. She sat in silence for a moment and contemplated what she had just heard. Finally, Padme continued, "it was not an act of mercy for his son that compelled Vader to betray the emperor. It was the knowledge that he had been lied to that made him throw the Dark Lord of the Sith to his death. When was the last time you saw Luke?"
"Not for a very long time. He went into hiding years ago and we just completed the map to finding him. The only one to make the journey to find him is a young girl named Rey, one who is strong with the force" Leia answered. "Back to the Wraith Fleet, what happened to it?"
"Shortly after the Empire was defeated at the Battle of Endor, the facility was abandoned. Nobody knew why. Seeing it as a non-threat, the rulers of Polis Massa did nothing about it. Even though they themselves had no firepower, they could have contacted the alliance to do something about it but they didn't." Padme responded.
"Do you believe that the first order will try to reactivate the Wraith Fleet?" Leia asked.
"If Supreme Leader Snoke or any of his associates have discovered it, I imagine they will try to move quickly upon it." Padme replied.
"How close were they to completing it?" Leia asked.
"Nobody knows for sure," Padme answered. "It's also a miracle nobody came across the construction site all this time. But if the location of the site has been found again, it is only a matter of time before the First Order completes what the Empire began."
"You will be our most valuable resource in this fight," Leia answered. "Only you know the way to Polis Massa and has seen what has gone on all this time."
At once Leia summoned Poe Dameron and the highest leaders of Resistance intelligence to the command bridge.
"Thanks to the information provided by Poe's informant, we know of a very real threat. The First Order is gathering outside of Polis Massa, on a space station construction site for a project known as the Wraith Fleet. This was a secret Imperial project that was designed to give the Empire an unbreakable grip on the galaxy. But it was not completed before the fall of Emperor Palpitine, and then the project was abandoned. But there is reason to believe the First Order might be seeking to use this technology in their war against us. We will need a reconnaissance team to investigate the area. Poe, you are to lead this team. You will be joined by Orange squadron."
"They are the second best group of pilots we have," Poe answered. "Will it not spread us out too think and leave us vulnerable to an attack?"
"It is a risk to be sure," Leia answered. "But it is one we must take if this information is credible."
"It will be done. Just give us the coordinates." Poe responded.
Taking the coordinates, Poe briefed his squad and the orange squadron on their mission. Their orders were simple. Stakeout Polis Massa, make sure that nothing suspicious happened while they were there and find the construction site.
Captain Tarona, leader of the Orange squadron, pulled Poe aside.
"What if the First Order has already found this? If they have, we won't come back. How does Leia's mother know the First Order has been there?" He asked.
"We don't. But this could be the explanation for what Snoke said when he said that soon no army would be able to oppose him. If he has found this fleet and has a way to complete it, then we must destroy the facility." Poe responded.
"What if these ships are there but the First Order has not found them? Could we complete them and then use them to our advantage?" Tarona asked.
"One step at a time." Poe responded.
After that, the two men boarded their ships and prepared for the flight into the outer rim. The ships engines roared to life, and one by one they took off, formed up and began their journey. Leia watched from the bridge as the ten pilots, ten of the best in the entire Resistance, flew to their most perilous assignment yet. She sat with an exhaustive apprehension in her eyes.
"It was necessary to send the men you did," Admiral Ackbar said to console her. "Regardless of what they say, the information they will provide is most crucial."
"Assuming they live to provide any" Leia responded.