A/N: The wait for EpIX was killing me, so I wrote a version of it :) Please read and review! I will be updating daily.
Almost thought we made it home, but we don't know this place at all
A bulky white cylinder shot through space, gaining speed as parts of it broke off whenever it approached the orbit of a planet. Thrusters on the smaller pieces guided them down to take readings about the surface. One plummeted through the atmosphere of a green, swampy world and plunged into the muck that took the place of landmasses.
Poe Dameron was watching its progress through his macrobinoculars from a hidden lookout in a tree. He waited patiently as the intruder rose back out of the sludge. It was a probe droid, and it began scanning immediately as he considered what to do. On one hand, destroying it would trigger an alarm that might alert the First Order to their base's location. On the other hand, preventing their enemies from getting any information, even whatever technical readings it might glean of the submerged infrastructure, was a dangerous risk.
The First Order's probe droids had few weaknesses, according to Finn, so maybe attempting to stop it would just attract attention. They had known this day would come, when the First Order would focus on finding the Resistance base. And still they had no plan. Their attempts at rebuilding had been steady, but they had scarcely returned to the strength they'd had before the Republic had been destroyed. Leia insisted that she needed more time to rebuild the government. So he'd have to buy her some.
The droid beeped as it turned and made careful appraisals of the swampland. Poe silently climbed down from the lookout to get closer to it, keeping an eye on which way it was facing. Sneaking up behind a droid wasn't something he'd had to do before, he thought with some amusement, but he was confident that he did not need to call for any reinforcements. Especially since he wanted to keep any activity from registering on its scans.
When he was close enough, he pulled out his blaster to shoot – not at the droid, but at the base of a nearby tree, causing enough damage for the trunk to split in half with a crack, sinking into the swamp. His calculations were proven correct by the droid being struck by the bulk of the tree before both sunk. He held his breath and waited to see if the thing survived the unorthodox attack. It wouldn't hurt to be thorough, he decided. He climbed over the remains of the trunk and moved aside branches until he could reach the machine. Its flickering lights had all gone out. Tragedy averted, he thought to himself, and headed back to his lookout.
The alarm was ringing on the Falcon loud enough to deafen passerby. Finn was shooting Rey a glare from the other side of the hangar, not to mention the other frowns from the rest of the Resistance's pilots and techs, and Chewie's roars of displeasure could be heard over the din.
"I'm trying!" she snapped, trying to locate the source of the distress. No small feat when so much of this bucket of bolts was replacement parts – nothing seemed to work for very long. Chewie offered his opinion in somewhat less than polite terms and she grimaced. He was right, though. He usually was. She applied her wrench as directed and the alarm stopped abruptly.
"Happy now?" she grumbled in the ensuing silence. Chewie responded in a similarly annoyed tone and she rolled her eyes. "Maybe if there weren't so many components being repurposed as nests, it would run better."
Rose giggled at Chewie's answer and Rey glanced at her sharply, unaware that Rose could understand the language. "I've been picking up a few things," the other girl explained. "He says that to you a lot," she added almost sheepishly.
Rey resisted the urge to roll her eyes again. "I appreciate your support. Both of your support. Now, are you two going to help me or just complain?"
"I wasn't complaining," Rose said defensively while Chewie asserted that he could complain as much as he wanted.
"Fine," Rey waved her hand impatiently. "Bring me the bonding tape, will you? I think it's the motivator again."
Rose was a good mechanic, about as good as Rey. Chewie had fewer general skills, but was obviously more familiar with the Falcon. He knew its history and knew what would and wouldn't work, though he did not often see any reason to explain things to her. Still, this was a much easier project than tinkering with the lightsaber or reading those old Jedi books. Reading was not something particularly encouraged on Jakku, but she was making some headway. The cramped bases in which the Resistance had been hiding did not offer many opportunities for privacy in which to study, so she was not progressing as quickly as she would have liked.
"Hey, sorry to interrupt, but Poe's calling a meeting," Finn called as he approached.
Rey did not miss the way he glanced shyly at Rose and the way she looked back at him. "What's this about?" she asked, not wanting to think about why the exchange made her ache.
Finn shrugged. "He didn't say."
Shrugging, Rey closed up the panel in which she had been working and followed her friends to the main room, the one large enough to fit everyone. Space was a precious commodity underneath a swamp, though she did enjoy that the hallways were often transparent. She liked looking out, even if it made her feel sort of trapped and sometimes disgusted by the swamp life.
As a result of her curiosity, she fell a little behind the others.
"Rey…?" a whisper in her ear caused her to jump, looking around. There was no one in sight. She bit her lip, uncertain if she wanted to hear the voice again or not.
"Come on, Rey, hurry!" Rose called back and she jogged to catch up.
Most of the officers in the Resistance were already seated around the room and Rey took her customary place near the front. She did not like being so close to the center of attention, but she understood her role here. The Last Jedi. The hero on whom everyone depended. It was important to look the part in front of the Resistance, especially any new recruits who may have heard exaggerated stories about her. At least her friends did not have such lofty expectations.
"Well, I have bad news," Poe Dameron said abruptly. The murmuring in the room ceased and everyone turned their attention to him. "A probe droid dropped into our orbit an hour ago. I took care of it, but there is no way to know how much information it may have communicated to the First Order before I did. We have been considering relocating for a while now and I think it's time that we do."
As was so often the case, this idea prompted a discussion amongst the generals of the Resistance. Rey had no official capacity, not really, so she kept her thoughts to herself. Often, she wondered why she attended these meetings. She had no tactical training and her books seemed to be more theoretical than immediately useful for the Resistance, except for little things like a healing technique she was looking forward to trying out. In any case, it was difficult to listen to them talk about the First Order, and there was the real fear that things mentioned in front of her might find themselves known by their enemies. Especially with what had just happened. So she tried not to listen to the discussion.
Another precaution was that she had insisted on staying inside the base. She had explained to everyone that there was the possibility of her Force signature being traced. That might not be true, but the structure did seem to have a dampening effect on things. She had been feeling more than a little claustrophobic as a result of the crushing weight of swamp water all around her, but it was for the best. Or had been – what would she do if wasn't anymore?
"We can't just leave here without somewhere to go," Finn was saying, frowning at Poe.
"I told you, General Organa said –" Poe defended himself.
"Yes, that her old allies could be counted on. And I'm sure she's doing her best to contact them and rebuild, but I didn't see anyone volunteering when we were on Crait. It's been more than 30 years since she's talked to some of these people! We can't evacuate the whole Resistance on faith," Finn retorted.
Rose put a hand on his arm gently. "Maybe we could send a message ahead of us," she offered. "Is there anywhere else we can go?"
Poe sat back and shrugged. "Our agents are working on it, and Leia is doing her best. But it takes time and the First Order has become entrenched. It won't be long before we have no allies left that we haven't exhausted. Well, none with the kind of resources we need, anyway."
"Fine," Finn muttered, glancing at those around him. "Let's go to Cloud City. But I don't think we should unpack right away."
Poe made little attempt to hide his triumphant smirk. "Are we all in agreement?"
Those who had sided with Finn or had other misgivings grudgingly agreed and Poe ended the meeting, issuing orders to begin the evacuation immediately.
"Rey, you okay?" Finn asked quietly as they left the room.
She shook off her thoughts and smiled at him. "Yes, of course. Looking forward to a change in scenery."
"Oh, I see, that's why you didn't chime in – you were against me!"
Grinning, she nodded. "I didn't want to undermine you in public."
He huffed. "Well, I wouldn't think someone who had the same view for twenty years would be so picky, but I'm sure giving our Jedi something new to see will be worth the effort of relocating all of our people."
She pushed him but couldn't suppress a giggle. "Yeah, twenty years of the same view was terrible. I'm loving all these new ones. Rose, you're on my side, right?"
Rose smiled at them politely, then cocked her head. "What's that? Oh, I hear someone calling my name. I'd hate to keep them waiting. You'll have to sort this out on your own," she told them with convincing sincerity before hurrying off toward the hangar.
"You know, I think she was just making excuses," Finn said with a fond smile. "Well, we do all have our orders. I'll see you later," he added and headed off after Rose.
Rey let out a sigh, and then made her way toward the barracks to start packing.
The Jedi Killer, Master of the Knights of Ren, heir apparent to Darth Vader, Supreme Leader of the First Order sat on his throne, surrounded by his officers. General Hux stood a little too close, nearer than he would have with the previous Supreme Leader. The other officers kept their distance, not least because of his famous temper. But Hux was ever encroaching on his space. He wasn't so obvious that a direct order would be reasonable, just enough that it did not seem inappropriate if Hux offered his comments on reports before Kylo Ren did. Addressing it directly would invite open competition, so he satisfied himself with more subtle retaliation. Like communications being cut off when his former rival was mid-rant, data screens shattering near him without warning, or intelligence missives no longer being encoded properly.
Lieutenant Basout was giving a report on the outer rim planet they had most recently acquired. It was difficult to pay attention – he had heard the same report many times since becoming Supreme Leader. It would be handled much like the others, with little input on his part. The disastrous engagement on Crait had resulted in his tactical leadership qualities being brought into question by the older officers; though these tended to not to be fond of Hux, either. He was likely still in power because he was better than the alternative. Particularly given his willingness to delegate – he had little interest in the details of ruling the galaxy.
As expected, Hux gave the usual orders about the new acquisition and Lieutenant Basout went off to follow them. Lieutenant Mitaka came forward to present next and the Supreme Leader tried not to become too outwardly interested.
"What of the girl?" Hux prompted coldly.
"There are stories circulating about the Last Jedi and how powerful she is. Assassinating our previous Supreme Leader has made her into a figurehead for the Resistance, with all the superstitious ideas that go along with it. We have had very little new intelligence," he admitted. "Her background on Jakku is known but lacks any indication of her abilities. A slaver called Plutt, who bought her, was unable to provide anything enlightening. If she was working with the Resistance or otherwise affiliated before leaving the planet, we don't know."
Hux waved his hand dismissively. "I don't care much about her history, except how she managed to kill our guards and Supreme Leader unaided."
He didn't look at the current Supreme Leader when he spoke. Everyone carefully avoided doing so when Snoke's death came up. There was only so much Kylo could do to suppress people's thoughts about it, but he had made it clear it was not to be discussed openly.
"The records, sir, are being pieced together from the wreck of the Supremacy, but we have not had the manpower to make much progress," Mitaka replied pointedly. Hux fixed him with a glare, so he continued. "There have been no definitive sightings of her since then."
"So, what, she just disappeared?" Hux wanted to know.
Mitaka glanced at the Supreme Leader and back to Hux. "I suspect she is with the Resistance, sir. We have experienced a few acts of sabotage that might have been perpetrated by them, but we have found no direct representations of their movement for some time."
"Supreme Leader, some of your officers, like the Lieutenant here, believe that the Resistance is no longer a substantial threat. That, regardless of what happened to our former Leader, our resources would be better spent on other things. What do you think?" Hux asked, all supercilious condescension.
It made Kylo Ren's skin crawl, but he took care not to show his disgust on his face while he answered. "The Rebellion destroyed two Death Stars and decimated the Empire with a fraction of our predecessors' resources. We have not gained enough of a foothold in the galaxy to rival the Empire. The Resistance does not need manpower when it is believed to have moral superiority, represented by the Last Jedi. Ignoring that will only make our work harder. If the Resistance were destroyed, many systems will be more amenable to our rule."
Hux looked smugly at Mitaka, who frowned in return. "Perhaps, Supreme Leader, your reputation as the Jedi Killer could be put to use in this situation," Hux replied confidently.
Kylo Ren sat back on his throne and leveled his gaze at the general, challenging him to suggest that he leave his role as their leader to hunt their enemies.
A long moment passed with the two staring each other down before Hux relented and glanced away. "Or, perhaps, your Knights would be of use."
"The Knights of Ren?"
"Yes, Supreme Leader. I am sure they would be most helpful if sent for."
Kylo Ren watched him carefully, assessing. "Send for them, then."
Pleased, Hux gave Mitaka a dismissive gesture. "Any results from our probe droids?"
"None, sir," another officer, Aryss replied from her station.
"And General Organa? Has she resurfaced?"
There was a crash as a few of the data screens on the walls dropped abruptly to the floor. The silence that followed was brief before an officer muttered a few apologies and sent for the Stormtroopers on duty to clean up the mess. No one commented on the incident, which had been increasing in frequency of late. Hux just looked annoyed and repeated his question impatiently after he saw that the problem was being handled.
A nervous officer called Sapan responded to the query. "We are gathering all of the footage of her that we can from the HoloNet, but it is difficult to determine which are the most recent. And the location from them."
Hux snorted in distaste. "Well, keep at it. Have you found anything of use from after she stepped down as Senator?"
"Yes, sir."
"Let's see those, then."
Sapan dutifully spent a few moments setting up the holo, then the projection of General Organa appeared in the center of the floor. Everyone watched in silence as the officer explained each entry.
"Here she is, announcing her retirement to the Senate. We have identified several sympathizers from the footage who have proven to be allies of hers. Here is a brief one from Chandrila, her home, from quite recently."
The Supreme Leader shifted in his throne, fists clenching tightly on the armrests, though Hux's attention was on the holos. No one else appeared to notice.
A few more images of her flashed by, none of them lasting long or of apparent tactical importance, since Sapan did not explain them. And then –
"Ben, I've been trying to reach you. I'm sure – I hope that you and Luke are getting along, and your training is going well. I wanted to tell you… You've heard the news, of course. I'm sorry you had to hear about it that way. I wanted to tell you myself. I was trying to protect you, but I was wrong. You deserve to know where you came from. Where we came from. But it doesn't need to define us, Ben. Please come home. We miss you."