The flight in hyperspace was short, Yavin was relatively close to the Thesme sector. Finn watched as the stars stretched on. The control panel beeped, signaling that they were ready to come out of hyperspace at their destination. The remains of ships of all sizes floated aimlessly in space as Rey and Chewie took the Falcon out of hyperspace. Rey checked in with the Resistance that she arrived, just as the other Resistance ships started to appear.
Poe announced on the intercom for Red and Blue squadrons to do sweeps in the surrounding space, and they divided into their squadrons. Flying in formation, the squadrons scouted the debris field. Finn kept his eye on Poe's ship until it went out of sight.
"Finn do you want to do some target practice?" Rey asked him, grinning. Finn smiled and agreed, remembering when they first commandeered the ship and ended up having to fight off pursuing TIE fighters. Finn made his way through the Falcon and strapped himself into the gun well. Rey took him close to some debris that he targeted and ended up destroying. The practice didn't last longer than an hour as Poe came back on the telecom.
"Black Leader reporting - we have intercepted a First Order ship and they deployed TIEs; they just got out of hyperspace. Red and Blue squadrons get into formation." Poe proceeded to give the coordinates and without waiting the ship lunged as Rey flew the Falcon in to assist. The squadrons confirmed Poe's request and entered battle formation. Blue squadron remained closer to the main fleet to provide tactical defense while Red squadron divided into threes to corner and fight the the oncoming threat. Finn heard steps in the corridor and then climbing the ladder above him, Ren was going to man the top turret.
"Get ready, TIE fighters incoming!" Rey said into the telecom, and flying aggressively gave Finn the opportunity to take one down. The TIEs' red lasers flashed across space as Finn set the targeting computer for battle. Ren was still trying to seat himself with the jarring of the ship, when Rey broadcasted "Ren, what are you doing?!"
Ren had strapped on his headset to retort heatedly "I'm trying to stay in my seat long enough to buckle in!" And a few moments later "This targeting system isn't working!"
Chewie roared in response, Finn had no idea what the wookie said but he sounded annoyed. The Falcon dipped again to allow Finn to help peel two TIEs off an x-wing. The TIEs had to abandon their target or risk being shot. Rey followed one and Finn saw his scanners target and flash red, he fired the laser cannons and they hit their mark. Another x-wing flew past and chased the other TIE.
"Ren just use the Force!" Rey shouted over the intercom. Finn heard something being slammed in the upper gun well, most likely Ren taking his temper out on the faulty targeting system. Finn bit his lip to stifle a laugh.
The Falcon approached the main ship that appeared, an Acclamator-II class transport. Finn recognized the ship class from his time in the First Order. It was a smaller ship in the First Order navy, mostly used to carry troops, and only had room for 14 TIEs in its hangar. The presence of the Resistance ships were a surprise to the First Order, and they were paying dearly for it. The capital Resistance ship Bravura had gotten into range of the Acclamator-II and started firing their turbo lasers. Few TIE's remained and Rey shifted the Falcon's attention on to weakening the ship's shields. Rey took the ship in close, Finn and Ren targeted their cannons to disable them before pulling up. Even with a failed targeting system, Ren shot almost accurately. A turbo laser from the First Order ship hit the Falcon's rear shields and the ship shuddered. Finn grabbed hold of his arm rests. He heard Chewie growl and whine from the cockpit. "Re-adjust the shields Chewie, this is almost over! Red Squadron has taken care of the rest of the TIEs." Rey yelled.
Poe came over the intercom "Millennium Falcon, are you ok? You took a hit."
Rey responded, her focus and stress evident in her tone "We're going in for another strike Black Leader. We're adjusting the shields right now."
"Understood. Red-Five, Red-Four follow me, we're going to flank the Falcon and assist." Finn saw Poe's signature black x-wing drop back behind the Falcon.
Rey took the ship close again, and twin laser shots from the upper and lower gun wells from the Falcon flew true. Behind the Falcon additional shots were fired from their x-wing escorts to maximize the damage. The wookie roared in the cockpit and Poe confirmed "Black Leader reporting, their shields are down."
Finn knew that the Resistance was most likely attempting to contact the ship to see if they wanted to surrender, but the Acclamator-II class ship kept firing. "Rey, they're not surrendering. Something important is on that ship for them to want to risk this!" Rey relayed Finn's words to the rest of the Resistance.
Admiral Statura calmly directed into their frequencies "Careful squadrons. Do not take any unnecessary damage but keep the pressure on them. Be wary of any jettisoned items or escape pods and advise immediately."
As if his words were a prophecy, a small transport vessel disembarked from the Acclamator-II craft. Poe commanded immediately "Black Leader reporting- disable that ship ONLY, we cannot have it reach hyperspace." The First Order ship still fired upon the x-wings and weakly attempted to position itself to give time for the small ship the ability to go into hyperpace. Two x-wings sped up and dove towards the small vessel. A calculated strike hit the left wing, causing it to tailspin.
"The First Order is not ending their attacks Admiral, Black Leader." Rey said into the intercom. She was maneuvering the Falcon away from the laser canons that were still operational.
"Permission granted to return full fire on the Acclamator-II class warship" Statura answered. Finn felt the ship shift as Rey took the ship in for another attack. It wasn't as close as the other two dives, without the shields the ship would be close to exploding with enough damage. The Ion canons from the Bravura started pummeling the First Order ship, and just as Rey tilted the Falcon away, it exploded. The reverberations shocked the Falcon and the lights dimmed momentarily before coming back on.
"All units report back immediately. " Poe requested.
Finn made his way out of the lower gun well and back to the cockpit. The small transport shuttle, weakened by the x-wing hit was being slowly beamed into the Bravura. Ren appeared a moment later. "We need to be prepared for whoever is on that ship." Finn said, curiously.
"Agreed." Ren said, his hand on his lightsaber.
Rey sped up the Falcon and landed in the hangar of the Bravura. As they were exiting Chewie whined and passed Ren to head for the ladder on the upper gun well. A few moments later the wookie unleashed a mighty roar. Finn almost tripped with the ferocity of the noise, and Rey looked at Ren questioningly.
"I may have been irritated with the system not working... I will help fix it." Ren stated, looking straight ahead as they descended the ramp. Finn was grinning.
Rey turned "Chewie I'll help fix it later!" She shouted. Ren turned to her and she said "We both know I should fix it. Also. Don't break my ship again." She grinned to let him know it was forgiven. She admitted to herself in the stress of the battle, she was probably a bit curt with him. Ren looked slightly abashed so she squeezed his hand.
Finn spoke up "Rey, your flying was amazing. Again!" Ren nodded in agreement. They were stopped outside of the Falcon. The shuttle would be docking soon.
Rey replied "Both of you did well too!" The memory of the battle was fresh in her mind. She felt so alive. She used the Force while piloting and let guide her. She could just relive that memory over and over...
The atmosphere of the hangar changed almost instantly. Soldiers with blaster rifles filled the hangar and picked positions with cover for whomever may be on the transport. Finn un-holstered his blaster and took a few steps away from Rey and Ren. Rey held her lightsaber ready, and Ren had his hand on his. The shuttle landed, the damaged wing sparking and smoking. The blast screens were up in the shuttle's cockpit, they were unable to determine who was inside.
The commanding officer motioned quietly to his subordinates to carefully make their way to the hatch. Ren moved forward, his lightsaber was already in his hands ready to be activated. Rey moved slowly behind him and reached out with the Force. The tension was thick in the air.
The hatch opened and the hydraulics emitted white smoke. A dark shape was in the fog and moving down. Ren quickened his pace, something was going to happen. She could sense it...
Indigo lightening shot out of the figure's hands, those the lightening touched crumbled to the hangar's floor. It was a female Rey saw, and she Pushed soldiers away like they were toy dolls. Ren activated his silver beamed lightsaber and was attempting to deflect her lightening back to her. Rey was right behind him trying to defend others from the Force Lightening, her dark green blade humming in her hands. The hangar erupted in chaos, people attempting to help the wounded while others called for back up. Rey moved toward her, and strangely, with close enough range the Force Lightening felt drawn into Rey's lightsaff. Rey felt better knowing she could help defend but the lightening was strong, it was jarring the lightstaff in her hands. Rey gripped harder and focused on the lightnings paths with the Force. It was a struggle just to keep it intact, to keep it from forking to others. Finn had moved to the other of Ren and was analyzing the foe before shooting... Finn didn't want to kill her. Rey's eyes returned to studying the woman, she had raven hair that was braided and it tailed down her back. She had some sort of animal leather armor. But that wasn't the most frightening thing, her eyes were yellow and the skin near her eyes were black, like tendrils creeping out of her eye sockets. She took a blaster shot in the leg from Finn and didn't flinch, her snarl the only acknowledgement to her pain.
"Finn! We can't keep her prisoner!" Ren shouted. He was struggling with subduing the Force Lightening as well. Any stray bolt could kill someone. Bodies behind them showed them their misjudgment. Finn aimed and fired at will, hitting her in the back, her torso. She collapsed after taking numerous wounds, more so than a normal person, and the Force lightening ceased from her hands. Ren walked up to her with his saber out to her chest. Her chest was heaving heavily, blood pooling around her body, and she stared angrily at Ren.
"Why are you with them. You're fooling no one" She growled at him in a peculiar accent.
Ren clenched his jaw and said nothing. He stabbed her in her heart and her eyes faded. Rey was glad her last words were lost in the chaos. At this moment, no one knew who Ren really was on the ship. They would realize now he was a Force user. But if his true identity came out, it could demoralize the Resistance and also impact General Leia's standing. They had a meeting earlier that he would be addressed only as Ren, not Ben and obviously not Kylo Ren. She wondered if anyone would link Kylo Ren to Ren the Force user who just helped subdue this woman. Ren was still looking at her corpse. No, not looking, examining. Ren was most likely trying to figure out who this person was. Finn made his way over and Poe jogged up behind him. Several other soldiers were making their way into the shuttle to see what could be found.
Before Rey could speak Ren spoke coldly. "Finn. That is what needed to happen." Ren blinked and coughed, and said much more warmly "You saved people. We needed to weaken her." Finn nodded slowly.
"Who is she?" Rey wondered out loud. Ren turned, and everyone else did too. Luke and General Leia were making their way to where they stood. R2-D2 beeped and followed right behind. Luke looked calm however Leia had a concerned look on her face. The four of them parted so that Luke could examine the body. He knelt and intently studied the woman's face.
"We saw what happened on the hanger overlook. We ran as fast as we could when we saw she was using the Force." Leia's eyes held no sympathy for the dead woman.
Luke stood up and spoke in a near whisper "For now say she is part of the First Order and we're finding out more information. However we need to discuss her. I know where she is from. I need all information available from that ship." He turned, and as he did two crew members were carrying out a stormtrooper. At first Rey thought his helmet was on wrong... then she gasped when she realized that his neck had been snapped. She couldn't tear her eyes away until Ren forced her her face into his chest instead. Leia huffed in disgust. Luke continued "R2, lets go into the ship and see what information you can gather. We'll meet all of you shortly."
