A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...
Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi
The First Order, led by Supreme Leader Snoke and his minions of evil, has driven the Resistance out of their base and sent them fleeing across the galaxy.
General Leia Organa has sent a mysterious scavenger named Rey to find the exiled Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, in order to bring down the First Order once and for all.
As the Resistance fleet fights back against their pursuers, Snoke prepares to unleash his new weapon, apprentice Kylo Ren, against the forces of light, intent on bringing the Jedi to an end...
"Hang on, BB8," Poe Dameron said as he swerved his X Wing craft sideways to avoid an incoming blast from a TIE Fighter, "We got a couple more on our tail!"
The Resistance flagship Raddus had been fleeing across hyperspace for days, and had finally run out of fuel. The Resistance fleet was now surrounded by First Order fighters and ships, lead by the Dreadnought Star Destroyer of Supreme Leader Snoke himself.
"Commander, incoming!" came the voice of pilot Jessika Pava. Poe gritted his teeth as he aimed the small vehicle downwards as a laser cannon shot out from one of the First Order Dreadnoughts.
"Don't worry, BB8, we're going to deal with them soon," Poe said to the droid in the wing of his X Wing, "First we got to shake these guys off!"
Poe had recently commanded the mission to destroy Starkiller Base, and before that escaped from a First Order Star Destroyer with the help of Finn, a defected stormtrooper. This should have been no problem, but despite his light-hearted demeanor, Poe knew just how high the stakes here were. The remaining hope for the Republic was all nested on the Raddus, and if it went down, the free galaxy was doomed.
"I have to tell you, Commander," said another voice on the radio, "I'm with the droid on this one."
General Leia Organa stood monitoring the fighters from the Raddus' holotable, flanked by protocol droid C-3PO and several Resistance officers. She watched the battle nervously, wondering if taking out the Dreadnoughts was indeed a lost cause.
"Thanks for the support, General," Poe replied jokingly. He grunted as he was forced out of the way an incoming TIE Fighter. Maneuvering his own craft so that its guns faced the bottom of the enemy vehicle, Poe pressed the trigger and opened fire, sending the flaming TIE flying into oblivion.
Poe turned his head to glance out into the battle, visualizing the path to the Supremacy.
"Bombers, prepare to attack the Dreadnoughts!" he exclaimed, "We're going in for the kill!"
"Commander, it's too dangerous," Leia said from the Raddus, "We have to keep going."
"We've run from the enemy long enough, General!" Poe replied as he shot down another TIE Fighter.
Accompanied by a bridage of stormtrooper guards and First Order officers, General Armitage Hux stood on the command bridge of the Supremacy, surveying the battle. The Resistance capital ship stood alone, vulnerable and waiting for death to take it.
"Captain Canady," he said into the comlink in his hand, "Prepare your cannons to fire on their main ship."
"We're bogged down by their fighters, sir," came the reply from the Fulminatrix.
Hux bared his teeth as he hissed an impatient reply. "Once their lead ship is destroyed, the fighters won't matter. Do it."
"Very well, General," the older officer grumbled through the radio transmission. To the crew within the Dreadnought Fulminatrix, Canady bellowed, "General's orders! Fire the long range missles!"
The scanners built into Poe's X-Wing were picking up on the mechanical activity within the Fulminatrix as it prepared to attack.
Yes, I know, BB8," Poe said. Into his radio he said, "We got to take out this Dreadnought. Tico!"
I'm on it, Commander," Paige Tico replied, taking a deep breath as she realized the sacrifices that would need to be made, "Just keep them off my tail!
Poe gritted his teeth as he shot down another TIE Fighter while listening to Leia's admonishing.
"Disengage now, commander!" the general snapped, having no more patience for Poe's boldness, "That is an order!"
Poe switched off his communication channel to the Raddus, focusing on the fighters around Paige's bomber, which specialized in such stealth missions as the one required to repel the Fulminatrix's next move.
Inside her bombing freighter, which she had strategically flown above the hull of the Fulminatrix, Paige switched on the ship's autopilot mode and climbed out of the cockpit, praying that Poe could cover her long enough for her to execute the mission.
Reaching the storage unit where dozens of proton bombs were stacked on the cold, hard shelves, Paige switched on the comlink built onto her pilot uniform's wrist gauntlet.
"Commander, are you sure about this? I'm prepared to go, but this could kill all of our pilots!"
"I'm ready to die myself," Poe replied, glaring with hatred at the First Order Dreadnoughts.
As Paige drew a small, black switch from her pocket, the floor beneath her trembled as it took a blast from an outside fighter.
Seeing Paige's plight, Poe swerved his own vehicle upward to take the TIE Fighter by surprise. The fighter jerked upward before erupting in a ball of fire.
Gritting his teeth in satisfaction, Poe continued repelling fire from Paige's bomber.
On board the command deck of the Raddus, Leia watched the battle gravely via hologram.
"He's going to get us all killed," she grumbled.
"General," Admiral Ackbar spoke up, "you do realize that unless we go into lightspeed now, we won't be able to clear the explosion in time."
Leia looked from Ackbar to the protocol droid anxiously, knowing she had to make a decision soon. As much as she had always admired Poe's skills and staunch sense of duty, she knew that his attempt at heroism was putting the entire Resistance in jeopardy.
"Dameron's got pilots under his command out there," she replied, "they're only following his orders."
"Princess Leia, hurry!" Threepio fretted as a TIE Fighter blast shook the command station of the Raddus.
She gazed around the room, at Lieutenant Connix, at Nien Nunb, at the entire assembly of officers anxiously waiting for her command.
Paige hit the deck hard on her back, watching with despair as the remote flew up from her hand, the entire chamber trembling as TIE Fighters began to overpower the defense around her.
"Captain Canady!" Hux barked into his comlink
"Cannons fully charged and ready," Canady replied.
Hux smiled through the viewing screen at the helpless Raddus, heavily besieged by the TIE Fighters and with its aerial defenses severely weakened
"Open fire," he sneered. Organa's indecisiveness would be her undoing. The First Order's ruthlessness was why it would always be supreme.
Above all, Hux had himself to thank for that. Soon, his true genius would be realized by all.
Leia took a gulp as she watched the hulking Fulminatrix, Paige Tico's bomber, and the dogfight between Poe's pilots and the First Order fighters.
The detonators shook above Paige, who watched desparately as the remote fell downward, towards the metal hatch. Weakly, she reached out a hand to grab it. Paige knew that whether she succeeded or not, she would not survive.
"Godspeed, Rebels," Paige said to herself as she stretched her hand out towards the switch.
"All craft, return to the main ship," Poe shouted into his X-Wing's radio. "Let's go, BB8," he sighed regretfully as he steered the fighter back towards the Raddus' main hangar.
Leia gazed sadly out at the battle scene, inevitable tears etched across her cheeks . First, she had lost Luke and Han, and now, many brave, loyal pilots would be killed. The war had always been about sacrifice, but this was too much, so soon after Han's death.
In the end, however, the last of the Resistance remained aboard her ship, and their fates rested with her. She had learned from Luke that her duty came before her emotions. She was still a Jedi as well as a Rebel leader.
Hux watched in horror as the bombs began dropping towards the Fulminatrix. How the Resistance had been so cunning, so sneaky, so daring, he had no idea, but this was an emergency
"GET THIS SHIP OUT OF RANGE!" he screamed, but his crew was already working in a panic. The Finalizer backed away as the Fulminatrix found itself besieged by the proton bombs released from Paige's bomber.
The Fulminatrix was crumpled by explosion after explosion, the ships around it consumed by the inferno.
Through his helmet, Kylo Ren watched as a dozen Separatist-era droidekas rolled out, their shields protecting them from returning fire.
Kylo jumped high into the scorched, smoky air as the heavy ammunition came at him all at once, lighting up the otherwise bleak training room.
Several droidekas struck the walls with their fire, sending chunks of debris crashing to the floor.
As Kylo landed, he blocked the fire coming his way, and reached out with his hand towards the nearest droideka. Seizing the round destroyer droid with the Force, he sent it rolling into its nearest companion, all the while continuing to deflect fire from the others.
As the two droidekas collided in a loud explosion, Kylo leapt over to the wall, facing all the droids at once as they cornered him.
Not letting up for a fraction of a second, Kylo held up his hand as several streaks of red laserfire came flying at him. His body trembling from the exertion, Kylo kept every bolt suspended in the air, as he had done when shot at by Poe Dameron on Jakku.
Then, a split second later, he gave the streaks of fire a telekinetic shove, every one striking back at the droideka that had fired the shots.
Kylo watched with a dark, sinister satisfaction as the droids exploded one by one, the pieces flying across the room. He deactivated his cross-shaped lightsaber and waited.
"Well done, Kylo Ren, well done."
Two shadowy figures entered Kylo's training room. The taller of the two had a white, scarred face and a twisted, deformed neck. The shorter man wore a hood that entirely concealed his face and had a lightsaber clipped to his belt.
Kylo turned to the hulking form of Supreme Leader Snoke and knelt.
"Your training has served you well, Kylo Ren," Snoke said, "Where I sensed conflict, I now sense resolve. Where there was weakness, strength. Complete your training and fulfill your destiny."
"My master, I am ready to face the Resistance," Kylo replied, "Let me deal the final blow. Then, I will follow the girl to Skywalker and deal with them both."
Snoke paused, turning to his hooded companion. Then, in a flash, he extended a gnarled hand towards Kylo, who screamed as he was sent flying backwards, a surge of Force lightning rippling through his body.
Snoke stood over him, his demeanor having changed from deceptively benign to malignant. He had caught Kylo by surprise, tricking him into letting down his guard.
"Ready, you say?" Snoke shouted, "What do you know about ready? Are you ready to kill your mother? You are telling me that you won't crumble from your weakness like you did last time?"
Kylo could not take this abuse lying down. "I killed Han Solo!" he yelled back irreverently, "When the moment came, I didn't hesitate!"
"And look at you," Snoke spat, "The deed split your spirit to the bone. You were unbalanced, BESTED BY A GIRL WHO HAD NEVER HELD A LIGHTSABER!"
Snoke assumed a calmer tone, yet remained just as spiteful. "You're no Vader," he growled, "you're just a child in a mask."
And with that, the Supreme Leader was gone.
His bones and organs still throbbing from the pain of Snoke's torture, Kylo climbed to his feet. With a grunt of anger, he grabbed his helmet with both hands and tore it off his head. As he stormed out of his training room towards the elevator, Kylo silently vowed to find the scavenger girl and Skywalker. He would prove himself far beyond Snoke's expectations.
Kylo stalked into the elevator and sealed it shut. He clenched the helmet in his hand, the one he'd crafted soon after joining Snoke's cause. To him, it had been a symbol of his connection to Vader. But Vader had been weak, hadn't he? When he was put to the test, Vader had crumbled from weakness.
With a grunt of fury, Kylo drove the helmet into the elevator wall. A large crack and a dent pushing the visor inward. Again and again, until the mask was nothing but fragmented pieces on the floor.
I will destroy the Resistance, here and now. And then I'm going to find Skywalker and take the girl.
Within the Raddus' medical facility, strapped to a system of life-support, Finn snapped awake, breathing heavily as he sat up in his cot. He ripped off his life-sustaining tubes and, a miraculous burst of strength returning, jumped up onto the floor.
Leia closed her eyes as the Raddus sped off to safety. Unseen by anyone, she was making a prayer to the Force. More accurately, she was reaching out to her brother, not for the first time. But this time was different.
"We need you, Luke. Please."