What You Have Learned

Prologue

The hyperspace starlines quickly faded back into the darkness of space. Ahead of them in full view was the dark green planet of Vapos. Also in front of them was a First Order battle cruiser. Normally, alerts would be blaring by now. They stayed silent. In this case, they knew they would be encountering the enemy. They were in an enemy ship, after all.

Despite knowing the cruiser would be here, Rey still gasped at the sight. It was her first live sighting of a First Order ship since she escaped off of the Supreme Leader's grand ship almost a standard year and a half ago. Much had happened to her since that time. She looked at the viewscreen past the ship to the planet below. Vapos was mostly rocky forests with wild life as its primary inhabitants. Its contribution to the galaxy was the mining of the mineral zinite, which was the metallic component used in the construction of most blasters and weapons. There were human and alien beings living there. Most now were in various labor camps owned by the First Order for the profits of mining.

During the journey, Rey read about the labor camp run by a Magistrate named Biran Holst. He was not technically part of the First Order. He was more of a legal council member who had been trusted to run the compound on Vapos. It didn't hurt matters that Holst would share in the credits of profitability. It did seem to Rey that Holst ran the compound as if he owned it himself. He treated the laborers and villagers who mined the zinite as second-class slaves. Instances of torture and death surrounded Holst's manner of discipline..

Rey wanted nothing to do with this man who considered himself human. Yet, dealing with him may be inevitable. A few standard weeks ago, the Resistance received an anonymous encrypted message from Vapos informing them of a human Force user hidden in the caves. That perked Rey's interest and it was the reason she and Finn were there now. For the past several months, Rey and the Resistance had been tracking down those in the galaxy with hidden Force potential. It had been a task that she and General Leia Organa Solo began. Unfortunately, it wasn't long after they began the search that Leia succumbed to a respiratory illness. It was an illness related to her Force induced glide through open space that was necessary for her to survive the destruction of the bridge during the Resistance's escape from the First Order. After Leia passed away, Rey couldn't bring herself to continue searching for those with Force ability. She temporarily went on a quest to find more information about her parents. Very little new information was revealed about them in her search. She would have continued that quest if it wasn't for a former stormtrooper turned Resistance fighter.

She glanced over at her friend, Finn. He was busy instructing the captain and pilot on how to mask their ident codes to that of a stolen First Order craft. The captain and pilot was Adan Krun, who had also been a soldier for the Resistance for several years. Rey was positive that Adan knew how to fake a ship's identification. She sighed because she knew about Finn's constant need to help others.

She got up from her passenger seat and went over to them.

Finn was still instructing. "Now, if you bounce that code through the transponder they can't scan it to authorize."

"Right," said the blonde-headed Adan, "they'll only see a First Order code anyway and assume it's good to go. Won't they see that it's outdated?"

Finn pointed at the ship ahead of them. "That's a Dissident Class light battle cruiser. Smaller than your average Destroyer so their computers don't have the full memory banks for all the past codes."

"Exactly," said a bored Adan.

Rey cut in, "Don't worry about Finn, Captain. He just likes to hear himself talk."

"Yeah, I can tell. I also know that the codes are not changed as often as they once were. You can thank their new Supreme Leader for that."

Finn replied, "And you can thank this lady here for that change in leaders."

Rey shook her head in modesty. "Kylo Ren appointed himself to that position after he killed Snoke. I had nothing to do with it."

Adan uttered, "That's not what the grapevine says."

Rey snapped, "Then find another grapevine."

Finn looked almost guilty. "Yeah, I even heard that rumor that you killed Snoke."

"And guess who would be in a perfect position to make that up?" She shrugged. "Still, it could be an advantage when the time comes."

Finn looked her straight in the eye. "Who are you and what did you do to Rey?"

She gave him a soft punch in the arm. "Come on, Finn. You know we both have changed over the years."

"Not as much as you. You're a Jedi and you built your own lightsaber."

"You're half right. I'm no Jedi."

"Not yet."

Captain Adan interrupted. "I punched in the verification code and it's ready to send. Unless you two want to be alone for a while."

"No!" they both snapped in unison.

Finn added awkwardly, "I mean...proceed."

Adan switched on the comm and announced, "Battle cruiser, Fortune's Glory, this is shuttle Hope's Doom requesting passage to the mining compound."

A voice on the comm responded, "Shuttle Hope's Doom, what is your purpose and cargo?"

Adan replied, "Technical parts for your computer upgrade."

The voice returned. "Those weren't scheduled until next month."

Adan sighed in fake frustration. "Someone in admin decided to push it up. Hey, they only tell me when and where, what can I say? You know how they are."

"Understood. Proceed to transmit authorization code." After Adan punched the code in, the voice came back with, "Stand by, Hope's Doom, for verification."

The comm clicked off but both Rey and Adan looked at Finn on hearing about verification. Finn assured them. "That only means they have to get verbal authorization from the Magistrate."

"Holst," Rey said with contempt. Finn nodded.

"But Holst isn't an official for the First Order. He's only a legal figure," said Adan.

Finn explained, "The compound itself is First Order owned. You're right that Holst is only there as a legality. The First Order can no longer afford officers to act as babysitters for slaves mining zinite. Technically, Holst can't use stormtroopers as guards, either. He hires mercenaries to do the dirty work for them."

Rey said, "Including extreme torture or death for the villagers if they're not up to par."

Finn nodded. "On Holst's orders."

"Finn, this man is the real scum in the galaxy."

"I agree, but there may be someone with the Force down there wanting to escape."

"I know," she said.

The voice returned on comm to say, "Shuttle Hope's Doom, you are authorized passage to the main compound. Sending beacon coordinates now. Proceed to land on Platform A6."

"A6, got it. Hope's Doom out." Adan shut off the com. "No sweat."

Rey had to remind the Captain, "That was only Phase one."

Finn added, "One of twenty phases."

Rey continued. "We have to find our Force potential. The message said the person was somewhere inside those caves nearby."

"Too bad they couldn't be more specific," said Finn as he gathered his own gear.

Rey shook her head. "The message ended abruptly. It may have been done in a hurry."

"Or the messenger was shot before they could end the transmission," suggested Adan.

"Also a possibility. All the more reason to find this person."

Finn asked her, "How can you find this person in acres of caves?"

She smiled at him as she picked up her gear. "How else would you find someone who uses the Force?"

Vapos main mining compound - detention area

The guard opened the cell door for the man as ordered. A human male of medium height with balding brown-white hair nodded to the guard as a signal to leave them alone. Magistrate Biran Holst entered the cell further in. He straightened his beige tunic made of the finest fabric. It was too good to be worn here, but he had no choice. He looked down at her.

She was a frail human female in her late teens wearing a tattered tunic full of dark cave dust. Her long blonde hair strayed in every direction and looked darker than it really was from the dirt embedded in the hairs. She was curled into a fetal position in the far corner of the cell. She ignored the flat metal bed that the cell provided. Proof of recent torture had shown on her arms and legs.

Holst smiled. "Good morning. I trust you had a good night's sleep. On the floor." No reply. "You're not very talkative. You haven't been for the past few weeks. No matter. I will still get my answers. One way or another." He started to pace back and forth in front of her. "You haven't said a word since you were caught. That will change. As will your diet here. You really don't need all that food. And if you continue your silence, you won't need food at all. Of course, if you do cooperate and give me answers, then you'll have a four-course meal."

He stopped pacing and bent down to speak to her. "You see, my dear, cooperation is a two-way street. You give me something I need and I give you something back. So! Let's begin again, shall we? What do we know about you so far? Your name? No. We know you were caught sending a sub-space message, so you are tech savvy. What else do we know? Are you part of the laborers who escaped deep into the caves a few months ago? Perhaps.

"Now, I will divulge into what we found out just from the message you sent. It was too late to stop the transmission, so it went through. To the Resistance. The receiving codes of where it was sent were encrypted, of course. We can't know where the Resistance is, can we? What about the subject of the message, you ask? I shall tell you. It was to let them know that there is one among you that is Force sensitive. I mean, that would be sweet. The new Supreme Leader, Kylo Ren, happens to be hunting that same type. I'm sure he would be very interested in meeting this person."

The girl finally moved her position. Holst brightened his expression until she backed up to sit against the wall. She then grinned at him defiantly. She stayed silent.

Holst stood straight and said, "Very well. Your actions here are clear. We'll see how much smiling you do after your food is cut off. Water will eventually be the next essential item to go. Just know this. I will find your hidden traitors in those caves if I have to blast out every corner. And your Resistance pals? If they try to pay us a visit, I will be ready for them." He edged even closer to her face. "And I will eliminate every one of them. Because nobody can outthink me. Your silence will be their doom. And I surely hope for your sake-"

He was interrupted by his comlink that chirped. He gave a frustrated sigh and answered it. "What? I'm kind of busy here!"

"Sir, a First Order shuttle just came out of hyperspace and they requested to land at the compound."

"What do they want?"

"It's a tech crew for the computer upgrades you asked for."

"Those were not scheduled until next month."

"I know, sir. I told them but someone higher up seems to have pushed up the timeline."

Holst growled. "Typical! First Order is always changing their plans. Especially when they don't have a plan." He gasped after realizing he said it on comm. He told the officer, "That was off the record, Commander."

"Yes, sir."

"I'm serious. If any of what I just said gets back to me, I'll know who leaked it. And I can make your life a living Hell if you do."

"Understood, sir."

"Now, does this shuttle have a proper authorization code?"

"They do, sir."

"Very well. Authorization accepted. I may meet with them for an update later."

"Very good, sir."

"Dismissed." He clicked the comm off without hearing the Commander's reply.

Holst put the comlink away. He brushed through his balding hair with his hand. He readdressed the girl, who was still smiling. "Sorry for the interruption, my dear. Where were we? Oh, yes, your Resistance friends. I will know when they arrive. And they will pay for your mistake. Because nothing gets past Biran Holst."

Chapter One coming soon.