STAR WARS
War for the Outer Rim
Episode 6: The Battle of Charon Belt, part 2
Written by IgnusDei
Spellcheck by WarpObscura
Author's notes: numbered brackets are musical notes for the "soundtrack", as I realized inserting whole titles was actually a bit silly... but marking them for after you're done reading shouldn't take you out of the experience.
Scroll to the bottom for more details.
INT - POE DAMERON'S COCKPIT - SPACE
POE DAMERON is unconscious, and the tiny world of metal, plastic and cracked transparisteel is eerily silent as empty foil sachets marked SLEEP AID and NUTRIENT PILLS float about around his head. Suddenly, flashes of red light up his face from the outside, followed by flashes of green... the light of laser fire.
TALLIE [faintly, radio]
Poe! Poe, wake up!
The sounds coming from the auditory emulators are muffled, distant, then become completely silent just before a SEISMIC CHARGE explodes, its blue glow intensifying just as the dissipating blast wave shakes the cockpit, snapping POE out of his unconsciousness.
POE [dizzy]
I'm awake! I'm awake!
[1] From inside the cockpit we TRACK the flight of a ship outside: a STARVIPER MARK FOUR, painted in the unmistakable tiger stripes of the TURANIC PIRATES. As per TURANIC doctrine, four extra engine pods have been bolted onto its back, spewing a trail of yellow plasma behind as it afterburns away from TALLIE LINTRA'S A-WING STARFIGHTER and its hail of laser gunfire.
In the starry background, a ruined DERELICT SITH DREADNOUGHT floats in space, amidst the hulks and debris of a battle fought a long, long time ago, in an era of Legends. Now, all that remains of that war plays host to the skirmish between the RESISTANCE —composed of Blue and Black Squadrons — and the TURANIC PIRATES, flying MARK IV STARVIPERS and RAIDER-CLASS HEAVY FIGHTERS.
SNAP [radio]
POE! Raider on your six!
Rapidly, POE flips up the necessary switches for him to take control of his cockpit pod's maneuvering jets, and he grabs the joystick.
EXT - DREXEL SYSTEM, DEBRIS FIELD - SPACE
THREE DAYS AFTER THE BATTLE OF D'QAR
POE's cockpit pod's jets fire, moving it sideways. A stream of photon shots narrowly miss it, galvanizing POE into pushing the thrust to max in an attempt to get away from the attacking RAIDER, a beveled brick of a craft with two oversized engines and a nose-mounted rotary quad laser gun.
POE [radio]
I could really use some help, here!
SNAP [radio]
I'm onto him! Just hold on!
The RAIDER practically dances around POE's pod, taking potshots at him.
POE [radio]
I'm headed for the debris field!
TALLIE [radio]
Poe! They've got seismic charges; it's suicide!
POE [radio]
And when I run out of propellant I might as well be dead!
I'm going in!
POE fires all thrusters, giving his pod a burst of kinetic energy towards the debris field, dodging laser bolts from his pursuer.
INT - POE'S COCKPIT - SPACE
POE looks down at his HUD. A meter labelled PROPELLANT slowly degrades the more he fires his thrusters.
EXT - DREXEL SYSTEM, DEBRIS FIELD - SPACE
The pod keeps performing acrobatics it shouldn't be able to execute...
INT - TURANIC RAIDER'S COCKPIT - SPACE
... frustrating the TURANIC PILOT inside the RAIDER to no end. The alien's face is obscured by a dome helmet of polarized plastic, itself part of an old, thick spacesuit decorated with war trophies - vertebrae, Republic dogtags, Imperial code-cylinders - the mementos of a successful and long career as a pirate. The inside of the RAIDER says much about the TURANIC mindset - exposed wiring, tubing, and electronics, held together by tape, metal plates, bolts, and prayers. The main decoration, besides garlands of empty beer cans and mounted skulls, is the AXE OF TURAN, the symbol of the TURANIC PIRATES.
We get but the barest glimpse of the liquid atmosphere inside the helmet dome visor, and the snarling, beastly face underneath it.
SCHAKAL the PIRATE [in Turanic]
You're going to PAY!
EXT - DREXEL SYSTEM, DEBRIS FIELD - SPACE
Fresh off a Tallon Roll maneuver, SNAP lines up his X-WING's four laser cannons at the RAIDER and fires, ravaging the hull, causing one of the engine pods to burst into flames. SCHAKAL snarls, and refocuses his attention on SNAP, not bothered one bit by his burning engine.
SNAP [radio]
I got his attention! Go! Go! Go!
POE looses a large burst from his thrusters, shuts them off, and lets the inertia carry him to the debris field. Meanwhile, SCHAKAL's RAIDER continues to perform aggressively, shocking SNAP.
SNAP [radio]
How many bullets can these things take?!
TALLIE [radio]
A lot! Watch your heat!
SCHAKAL outmaneuvers SNAP with a segnor's loop, and engages his boosters in an attempt to collide with him. SNAP does a barrel roll, evading the attack, but the RAIDER cuts its engines and fires its plasma verniers to aim his rotary laser cannon at him. He lets out a burst, managing to shave SNAP's shields before another X-wing flown by KARÉ KUN engages the RAIDER, saving SNAP.
KARÉ [radio, playful]
Hey sweetie! Miss me?
SNAP [radio]
Did I ever, now let's take this rustbucket to the junkyard!
As the resistance fighters continue their dogfights with the TURANICS, POE manages to make it to the debris field, and begins looking for a place to hide.
POE
Wait, where's BB8? Anyone got eyes on BB8?
He was clamped to my pod!
NIEN NUMB [radio, in Haya]
Little too busy to look right now!
C'AI
Kid, I'm sorry, I saw him get knocked off by the blast.
Droid's as good as scrapped.
POE
No...
TALLIE
Poe, hide! I lost track of the StarViper
and he might be coming your way!
POE finds a husk of metal large enough to hide into, maneuvers into a full stop inside of it, and polarizes his canopy to reduce his light emissions to zero.
INT - POE DAMERON'S COCKPIT - SPACE
There is a tense moment of silence - constantly interrupted by POE's nervous breathing - as he awaits for the skirmish to conclude, one way or another. Then, BLACK SQUADRON's speech over the radio begins to paint a vision of a hard-fought fight, but ultimately one in the RESISTANCE's favour.
We assume POE's point of view as he scans the debris field with his eyes, wary of any enemies. He catches a glimpse of the STARVIPER, its wings switching from cruise mode to attack mode, allowing its wing-tip verniers to stabilize the craft as it slows down. POE takes a deep breath and holds it, believing that it would somehow make him less noticeable.
ZOOM IN on the STARVIPER's cockpit, leading to:
INT - STARVIPER COCKPIT - SPACE
A CLOSE UP of the STARVIPER's pilot, whose glassy dome of a helmet has the face of a grinning demon intricately painted on it in reds, whites, greens and yellows. The painted demon's eyes are empty, allowing us to make out the eyes of the pilot underneath. His name is GRINSEN, and he is silent as he looks for his prey. He looks down at his HUD: Too many contacts, and too much interference to tell which is which. No choice but to eyeball it.
EXT - DREXEL SYSTEM, DEBRIS FIELD - SPACE
Meanwhile, amidst gunfire and missile trails, SNAP and KARÉ finally outmaneuver SCHAKAL, and fire at him from two different angles, leaving him unable to dodge. His RAIDER takes blast after blast...
SNAP
Damn, I knew we should have stocked up on missiles
when we had the chance! Those things can take a beating!
KARÉ
Well, it's not like we had the credits!
The RAIDER attempts another inertial slide...
INT - TURANIC RAIDER'S COCKPIT - SPACE
... only for the Turanics' bad maintenance habits to bite SCHAKAL in the rear end: his HUD fizzles out, and his controls become unresponsive.
SCHAKAL [in turanic]
Stupid machine!
He grabs the ejection lever and pulls it.
It does nothing.
He pulls it again.
No ejection.
SCHAKAL [in turanic, panicking]
No... NO!
He frantically pulls at it some more as sparks fly around the cockpit...
EXT - DREXEL SYSTEM, DEBRIS FIELD - SPACE
The RAIDER catches fire, becoming a comet of flame, and just before it explodes, the cockpit ejects forward, saving SCHAKAL's life... for now.
The light of the RAIDER's explosion shines on POE's pod...
CLOSE UP of the POD, as the polarized glass reflects the orange of the blast.
INT - STARVIPER COCKPIT - SPACE
CLOSE UP of GRINSEN'S helmet from the side, the reflected orange light glinting on the polarized glass of his helmet. He turns his head around, and the painted-on grinning demon now seems alive with the viciousness of a predator...
GRINSEN [madly]
Heehehehiheheh...
INT - POE DAMERON'S COCKPIT - SPACE
POE watches as the STARVIPER turns to face him, its two gatling blasters spinning in unison...
POE [eyes widening]
Oh, crap!
Just as the STARVIPER is about to fire, a missile flies past it, trailing smoke. Another makes full contact with its shields, but unfortunately, does not explode, but does cause the shield emitters to burst from the kinetic energy. Again, bad maintenance.
As the STARVIPER goes into evasive maneuvers, POE follows the trail with his eyes.
ZOOM IN on BB8, attached to the missile launcher of a LIBERATOR-class Old Republic starfighter's concussion missile pod. BB8's happy beeps comes through the radio channel, while POE laughs with joy and relief.
POE [overjoyed]
BB8, you brave little droid - you're the BEST!
POE begins maneuvering his pod.
POE
Hold on, buddy! I'm coming to get you!
BB8's beeps go from relieved to frantic...
CUT TO:
EXT - DREXEL SYSTEM, DEBRIS FIELD - SPACE
The STARVIPER looses a VOID 9 SEISMIC CHARGE from its mine launcher pod, and afterburns away. The auditory emulators go silent, unable to translate the bubbling, cloud-like reaction of baradium and collapsium from the sensor data, until the munition finally explodes, releasing a bright disc of kinetic energy channeled through ionized gas that tears through every piece of metal debris in its way.
POE maneuvers away from the disc's path, but has to contend with the resulting KESSLER EFFECT of metal debris that follows.
BB8, unfortunately, takes a blunt, ancient power converter to the body, causing him to get knocked off his wire moorings and tumble helplessly in space. The droid lets out panicked beeps...
POE
BB8, NO!
And just as POE is about to try and rescue his friend, blaster shots rain down on him grazing the pod's hull.
SHOT of the POD, as POE looks up...
COUNTER-SHOT of the STARVIPER, firing its gatling blasters wildly. ZOOM IN on the STARVIPER's cockpit...
CUT TO:
INT - STARVIPER COCKPIT - SPACE
CLOSE UP of GRINSEN's demonic grin, alight with the red blaster bursts coming through the sides.
GRINSEN [maniacally]
HEEEE HEE HEE HEEHEEHEE!
EXT - DREXEL SYSTEM, DEBRIS FIELD - SPACE
POE fires his POD's jets, and evades. Meanwhile, BB8 floats helplessly through the debris field, bouncing here and there, losing momentum, attempting in vain to latch on to something immobile with his cable launchers. Finally, he hits something that brings him nearly to a complete stop, and his cables anchor onto it.
BB8 looks around, and beeps out his confusion - he's attached to something invisible, its long silhouette distorting the light around it. Cold gas jets fire, making it move, the parallax distortions betraying the form of a sleek starfighter.
There is the unmistakable sound of an Ion Drive revving up, much like those of a TIE FIGHTER, as the cloaked craft's engines begin to glow - casting their light on BB8.
BB8 [in binary]
Uh oh...
CUT TO: POE and GRINSEN's crafts, practically dancing as the latter attempts to kill the former. POE's reputation as an ace pilot is earned, here, as he constantly keeps a piece of debris between himself and the aggressive STARVIPER, whose guns have yet to reach critical heat saturation. The blaster shots, unlike lasers, have little penetration power, but their bursts of photon on impact cause the POD's canopy to start cracking...
INT - POE DAMERON'S COCKPIT - SPACE
The propellant gauge is at 25 percent, and dropping fast!
POE [radio]
Guys? GUYS!
I can't last much longer!
A little help, here?
SNAP [radio]
You're not on my scopes!
Anyone got eyes on Poe?
TALLIE [radio]
I can't see him!
Poe, where are you?!
POE [frustrated, radio]
I should be right next to a big
tide of debris!
Another SEISMIC charge explodes, elsewhere.
TALLIE [radio]
That doesn't narrow it down!
Blue two! Blue six! Fan out into the debris field and try to eyeball him!
BLUE TWO
Yes ma'am!
BLUE SIX
Wait, I've got another Raider on my six!
KARÉ
We're on it!
POE continues to evade, bursts of photon exploding all around him as the STARVIPER keeps trying to kill him to no avail. Finally, the gatling guns overheat, giving POE a temporary reprieve.
Suddenly, the propellant gauge hits zero...
EXT - DREXEL SYSTEM, DEBRIS FIELD - SPACE
...And POE helplessly flies into a wreck. His pod becomes stuck between two support beams. Utterly trapped, POE sees his doom coming as the STARVIPER takes position and spins its now cooled Gatling blasters at him.
INT - POE DAMERON'S COCKPIT - SPACE
POE closes his eyes, bracing himself for a flaming death.
Suddenly, a thin streak of glinting metal punches through the STARVIPER, right in the cockpit, and a delayed kinetic shock causes the craft to cave in on itself, rupturing a fuel cell...
POE opens his eyes just in time to see the explosion. Smoking debris hit the hulk he's stuck to, but he is in no danger of getting perforated.
POE
Huh.
The distant light of other explosions get his attention - three more RAIDERS explode past the cloud of debris. As they do so, the radio chatter between BLUE SQUADRON and BLACK SQUADRON grows more confused.
BLUE TWO [radio, surprised]
What the?!
Hostile down!
NIEN NUMB [radio, in Haya]
Thanks for the assist, Snap!
SNAP [radio, confused]
What? That wasn't me!
I thought that was you!
C'AI [radio]
Wasn't me, wasn't you, who was it?
TALLIE [worried, radio]
Scopes are clear!
Poe? Poe, are you still alive?!
Poe, answer me!
POE is about to reply, but he is interrupted by the lurch of his POD as an invisible tractor beam yanks him from the wreck, and holds it steady. POE looks up, and sees the rippling shape of the INVISIBLE STARFIGHTER, a spindle shape twice as long as an x-wing, resembling that of a fish with a very long, pointy nose. Fascinated, he ignores TALLIE's pleas, as the faint distortion approaches, its center mere three meters away from his own canopy.
Suddenly, BB8's domed head pops into view, as he rolls over the almost glass like surface of the ship. He leaps off, and latches on to POE's canopy, beeping worriedly as he patches up the cracks in the COCKPIT's canopy with a gel dispenser. POE nods at him, smiling, just as the cloaking field at the center of the ship loses just enough power for him to reveal the stealth fighter's central dome cockpit, and its pilot.
The finely-shaped, leggy woman looking up at him is clad in a purple space suit - so thin and tight it might as well have been painted on her - evocative of swoop-racer's suit with its thick white and black stripes and protective ceramic plates and parts. A matching jet-biker's helmet, sleek and glossy with a black visor, completely hides her features. For now she will be known as OMEGA ONE.
Oddly enough, OMEGA ONE's cockpit is configured like a jet-bike, and POE, in spite of himself, can't help but stare at her shapely buttocks... and so she has to repeat her light signals, getting his attention by shining her flashlight at his eyes.
POE, being a former Republic Navy officer, is able to translate the galactic morse code:
POE [translating]
Verify... Box...
Verify box? What box?
More signals.
POE [translating]
Verify box information...
[realizing]
Oh, a black box!
Sensing his understanding, OMEGA ONE puts her flashlight away, and the cloaking field fully restores itself. Moments before she vanishes completely, OMEGA ONE puts two fingers in front of where her mouth ought to be, then puts the bottom of her palm on her chin.
It takes a moment for POE to realize that she was blowing him a kiss, a moment that she uses to disappear and fly away.
POE
...Huh.
[to BB8]
Friend of yours, kiddo?
BB8 swivels his dome head left and right by way of response.
TALLIE [radio]
POE, is that you?
POE
Oh crap - Yeah! Yeah, it's me!
StarViper's down, but I'm out of propellant.
TALLIE [radio, very relieved]
Oh, thank the Force!
I'm so sorry, I had to detach your pod,
or we'd both have been killed.
POE [reassuring]
Hey, it's alright. I understand.
BLUE FOUR [radio]
Got eyes on his pod! Moving in to dock.
POE
Black Squadron, casualty report!
SNAP [radio]
We're good. My engine's busted and C'ai lost
his shields for good, but nobody's dead.
POE breathes a sigh of relief.
EXT - DREXEL SYSTEM, DEBRIS FIELD - SPACE
BLUE FOUR's A-WING makes its way towards POE, and begins lining up its bottom magnetic clamps to pick up POE's pod.
TALLIE [radio]
No losses for us Blues, either.
POE [to himself, relieved]
Thank the force...
[Radio]
Anybody got eyes on a Turanic wreck
big enough to contain a black box?
SNAP [radio]
Not sure - we were pretty thorough.
Why do you ask?
POE [radio]
I'd like to know why these guys attacked us...
C'AI [radio]
They're pirates! Probably after the bounties
the First Order's put on all our heads.
POE [radio]
Nah, they'd have used ion weapons
to do the job. Something's not right...
They REALLY wanted us dead.
NIEN NUMB [radio, in Haya]
We were a little too aggressive.
Scanning for a black box in this debris going to take too long.
KARÉ [radio]
Hold on...
TRACK KARÉ's X-wing as it slowly approaches SCHAKAL's escape pod. The X-wing stops some ten meters away, and shines its floodlight at it.
KARÉ [radio]
There you are - looks like I've got an
intact escape pod. Guaranteed black box
in there... and hey! Got a lifesign, too!
POE [radio]
Perfect, let's take him prisoner.
Taika speaks Turanic, he can handle the interrogation.
SIDE WIPE INTO:
EXT - CHARON SYSTEM, ASTEROID BELT - SPACE
The RESISTANCE fleet floats in orbit of the Charon star, hidden from long range sensors by a belt of asteroid so dense the risk of collision nearly outweighs the benefits of stealth. Running lights fly between the thirty corvettes, twenty-five assault frigates, and and 12 cruisers of the fleet, appearing as fireflies. These lights are shuttles and transports, carrying supplies, fuel and personnel. Their flagship, the MC99 Viscount-class Supercarrier RADDUS, is the hub of this activity, the shuttles moving to and from a well-lit trench in the sides of the hull.
KAYDELL [radio]
Nikopol, this is Raddus command,
you've just been cleared to launch.
NIKOPOL's CAPTAIN
Raddus, roger that, we're on the move.
CLOSE UP of one of the RADDUS's trenches, more specifically, one of its HANGAR BAYS, marked 4. A KUNDE class modular cargo transport - missing its cargo pods - emerges from the mouth of the hangar, into bright orange sequencing guidance holograms. This is the NIKOPOL, flown by a crew of sapient birds known as the RISHII.
INT - NIKOPOL BRIDGE - SPACE
The CAPTAIN sits on a suspended chair surrounded by holo-displays, and his crew, in the middle of a room walled by exposed panels, wires, and conduits. He speaks to a holographic bust of KAYDELL KO CONNIX, who's looking just a bit tired.
NIKOPOL's CAPTAIN
Hope the cargo helps you fight the good fight, Raddus.
INT - RADDUS BRIDGE - SPACE
KAYDELL is sitting at her station, looking at a miniature holographic version of the NIKOPOL's CAPTAIN. Behind her, in the background by the main Command and Control holographic table display, stands LEIA ORGANA, clad in her dark longcoat — equal parts Alderaanian mourning garb and royal uniform — rubbing her eyes after putting a datapad down. GIAL ACKBAR, sitting in his pod-chair suspended on a mechanical arm mounted on the ceiling, holds up a cup of coffee at her from where he sits. LEIA resumes her reading and - without looking at Ackbar - raises her hand, and the cup gently floats away from his hand, into hers. She takes a sip, and wordlessly thanks ACKBAR.
KAYDELL
Thanks, it'll make a huge difference.
[smiling]
Send our regards to our mysterious benefactors.
NIKOPOL's CAPTAIN HOLOGRAM
Whoever they are.
[tapping controls]
Alright, going into radio silence.
See you next delivery.
KAYDELL
Roger that, be careful.
NIKOPOL's CAPTAIN HOLOGRAM
Always. Nikopol out.
ACKBAR
One of these days, we'll have to find out
who these so-called benefactors are...
LEIA
Does it matter?
ACKBAR
I think it does. They've got resources,
that's for certain... you'd think they'd send us
better hardware than Clone Wars surplus.
LEIA
Hm... you would think.
However—
CUT TO:
SENSOR OPERATOR TAM DRADIS, whose console alerts him of something new on sensors.
TAM DRADIS
I've got quantum waveforms on the scopes!
Fighter displacements, around... twenty of them at
thirty klicks at our starboard and stern!
LEIA
Friend or Foe?
TAM
Too early to tell ma'am,
we'll know for sure in three, two...
CUT TO:
EXT - CHARON BELT - SPACE
TAM [off-screen]
...One!
In the backdrop of space, empty save for the stars, several starfighters jump in from hyperspace: A-wings and X-wings, from BLUE SQUADRON and BLACK SQUADRON, respectively. TALLIE's A-wing is dragging SCHAKAL's pod.
CLOSE UP of BLUE FOUR's A-WING's underside, with POE's pod magnetically clamped to it.
INT - POE DAMERON'S COCKPIT POD - SPACE
POE
Resistance Command?
This is Black and Blue squadrons, returning home.
Request permission to land ASAP?
We've got intel to share with the admirals.
INT - RADDUS BRIDGE - SPACE
LEIA walks up to KAYDELL'S COMMUNICATIONS STATION while the young Lieutenant types a message and sends it to the RADDUS's hangar crews.
KAYDELL
Roger that, Commander Dameron,
give us a minute, we're in the middle of
reorganizing the fleet.
POE [radio]
Yeah, I can see that.
LEIA [fuming]
Ask him why he's so damned late.
KAYDELL
Uh, Black Squadron, we were worried about you.
What took you so long?
POE [radio]
Sorry about that, between the pirates and a mystery stalker,
we had to follow protocol and add two jumps.
Which reminds me: Be advised, we're hauling a Turanic escape pod -
Occupant is alive and hostile.
KAYDELL
Roger that...
Sending update to the fleet, and... oh wait.
There's a red marker on her touch display, which she taps, connecting her to STATURA, the logistics officer of the Resistance Fleet.
STATURA
Statura here, all hangars are a no-go for further landing.
KAYDELL
How come?
CUT TO:
INT - RADDUS CENTRAL HANGAR - SPACE
With a finger on his headset, STATURA stands atop a catwalk overlooking the incredibly vast central space that leads to the RADDUS' four hangars. A Besalisk aide flanks him, holding several datapads, trying to make sense of a logistical nightmare. Below them, Resistance crewmen and members of the Free Droids Alliance are busy moving cargo out of the pods left by the NIKOPOL. B1 Droids are pretty much tireless, but uncoordinated, leaving a mess of scattered crates across the vast floor, in between plenty of starfighters and shuttles in need of repairs.
Two people of note can be seen walking around below - A Duros male named SHRIV SUURGAV, and a young human woman named ZAY VERSIO. Both are trained soldiers, and they are inspecting some of the cargo, more specifically, a crate of blaster carbines and Trandoshan shotguns.
Meanwhile, a few B1s admire a refurbished AT-TE Walker, its Mass Driver replaced by a HEAVY BLASTER CANNON.
STATURA
We've got a mess of cargo
to deal with in the central bay.
The side hangars are full: 'Pliers' is
fast-tracking our fighters' repairs, but
there's only so much his team can do.
STATURA is LYING. While the bay floor is close to capacity, there's plenty of room for both Black Squadron and Blue Squadron to land, not to mention a great deal of space on the stacking lifts of the RADDUS' internal mechanized starfighter docking system.
INT - RADDUS BRIDGE - SPACE
KAYDELL, tired and somewhat overwhelmed coordinating the fleet's activities, and unfamiliar with the RADDUS' vast storage systems, doesn't check STATURA's claim. She types a text message and transmits it to the fleet.
KAYDELL
Roger that, putting an open call to the rest of the fleet...
and we got a hit! Blue Squadron, Black Squadron, the Stormblood
reports it's got open berths. They're sending you clearance to land.
POE [radio]
Roger that, clearance received!
TALLIE [radio]
Roger, clearance received.
Blue squadron, follow me, we're finally home.
LEIA [to KAYDELL]
Ready my shuttle. And while you're at it,
call someone to relieve you of your post, then get some
pod-time. You look like death.
LEIA rubs KAYDELL's shoulder, earning a smile from the Lieutenant.
KAYDELL
Thank you, ma'am. But I can hold out—
LEIA
That's an order, sweetheart.
KAYDELL
Yes ma'am.
EXT - CHARON BELT, RESISTANCE FLEET - SPACE
The returning squadrons enter the fleet's perimeter passing CAPTAIN ELSON's CR-200 corvette, the PROTECTOR painted in the Old republic colours of maroon and ivory white. It launches a small munition, packed with fireworks, bringing a smile to the pilot's face.
TALLIE LINTRA [radio]
Blue Leader to Protector, we celebrating something, captain?
ELSON [radio]
Celebrating your return, of course!
You folks went above and beyond and gave
the First Order the mother of all bloody noses.
INT - POE DAMERON'S COCKPIT POD - SPACE
POE doesn't reply, his thoughts plagued by JESS PAVA's horrible screams as she made the ultimate sacrifice.
TALLIE LINTRA [radio]
Thanks, Elson. Let's give them
another one real soon, yeah?
ELSON
Looking forward to it.
Dameron? You helped prevent entire
countless mass slaughters.
[firmly]
Don't you forget it, because we won't.
POE
Yeah. I will. Thanks.
EXT - CHARON BELT, RESISTANCE FLEET - SPACE
The squadrons fly amidst the ships, passing the Free Droids Alliance's ageing confederate PROVIDENCE cruiser, then the pirate Carrier SABLE PEARL, a modified Caravel mark IV Superfreighter.
The STORMBLOOD comes into view. A heavy assault frigate initially designed by the Mon Calamari, the design was sold to the Hapes Cluster, who modified the chassis extensively. The most obvious of these modifications is the smooth pearl-coloured armour over the black hull, painted tastefully with a few swirls of fuschia and cyan. A tall vertical fin was added on the prow, on which were mounted fifteen fixed-forward turbolaser cannons. The exposed machinery - the turrets, the radiators, the hangars - were all painted matte black, set off with what appeared to be gold highlights.
SNAP [radio, shocked]
Spast! How much of mommy's money do you
think Celchu spent on primping up her ship?
C'AI [radio]
Damned Hapans... always gotta show off.
TALLIE [radio]
Not a scratch on it, either.
Suddenly that mis-jump makes a lot more sense.
POE [radio]
Come on, short jumps aren't exactly precise.
TALLIE [radio]
Not for her.
SNAP
Hey, think we're due for a hero's welcome?
Party hats, and a red carpet?
NIEN NUMB [in haya]
I don't want a red carpet,
just directions to a sleep pod...
KARÉ
Seeing as we salvaged her plan from her screw-up,
I'd say Celchu owes us all a lap-dance.
SNAP
Yeah, that'll be the day!
Do Hapans even have strippers?
NIEN [in haya]
Male ones, definitely.
C'AI
Probably painted in gold.
POE
I'd settle for a pat on the shoulder, at least.
CUT TO:
INT - STORMBLOOD'S MAIN HANGAR - SPACE
CLOSE UP of POE's face, getting smacked across the mouth with the stock of a HAPAN BATTLE RIFLE.
He had just been forced on his knees, in the middle of a pristine metal floor, kept clean by small droids. He is surrounded from all sides by Celchu's HAPAN MERCENARIES - hundreds of them! - their advanced combat uniforms matching the outside of the STORMBLOOD in colours. The one that had just clocked POE across the face aims his BATTLE RIFLE at the resistance pilot's head.
MERCENARY
Hands behind your head.
POE obeys, and looks at the pilots that had accompanied him here. They were standing, but guns were trained on them, keeping them at bay. They are all confused, but SNAP is angry, while TALLIE is utterly worried.
Meanwhile, SCHAKAL's pod is being transported away from an A-wing on a cargo repulsorlift, with the Turanic pilot still inside.
POE
Look, this is all a misunderstanding—
LUMI CELCHU
Is it?
The MERCENARIES make way for a woman of average height, clad in a long quilted black leather dress-coat that covered her entire body save her hands and head, a simple yet opulent number with silver pieces placed at the shoulders and the high collar, all reminiscent of the patterns of windblown ice on windows. Her skin is pale, but not nearly as pale as her white hair, swept back and wound into an elaborate, long braid that falls over her right shoulder, drawing attention to a winter flower pin.
The woman approaches POE, a large middle-aged footman in a beige uniform and white cape following close behind her, hand on the hilt of a finely crafted vibrosword, its sheath suspended from a shield-belt. Her every step is announced by the clapping of very fine boots. She is only meters away from POE, staring down at him as a queen would look down at a mere peasant, certain that if he tried anything her bodyguard would cut him down. POE looks up at her, into her icy blue eyes... he would have found her utterly beautiful, if not for the contempt she almost completely hides behind an icy composure.
This is LUMI CELCHU, and she wants vengeance.
Towering besides her is her bodyguard, GARLAND ALLECK, who hands her a data pad. She reviews the text in the blink of an eye, and hands the datapad back.
LUMI [coldly]
Are you not Commander Palladino Dameron?
POE
Friends call me Poe, but yeah.
POE's eyes fall on her locket.
LUMI
Were you not involved in the battle in orbit of the planet D'qar,
on Primeday, thirtieth of Nivôse 1035 Ruusan?
POE
Well, of course I was!
LUMI
At 0450 hours, did you or did you not disobey
direct orders from your superiors to retreat?
POE
... I did.
LUMI
Did you or did you not proceed to commandeer
Storm Squadron to assault the First Order
Dreadnought Eclipse, causing the deaths of half its pilots,
and the near destruction of all its assets?
POE [angry]
I did what I had to do! If we had left that thing
alone the consequences would have been dire!
LUMI
Then there is no mistake.
[to ALLECK]
Let the record show that Palladino Dameron
has admitted culpability of insubordination
and treason at the battle of D'Qar.
POE [shocked]
What?!
SNAP [seething]
Oh you miserable, Imperial-loving piece of sithspit!
TALLIE
You're the one who karked the jump!
YOU take responsibility for—
A gesture from LUMI, and one of the MERCENARIES - a woman, as Hapan men are not allowed to strike women - silences her with a knee to the gut, followed by a punch to the head so strong her helmet flies off, revealing her mane of copper-red hair as she falls to the ground.
C'AI [enraged]
KARK YOU!
C'AI and some BLUE SQUADRON come to her defense, but are promptly hit by the blue ring-shaped blasts of the MERCENARIES'S BATTLE RIFLES set to stun. SNAP, reflexively, covers KARE with his body, and discovers the Hapan idea of 'stun' involves excruciating pain. KARE and he fall to their knees, groaning, but conscious. SNAP attempts to get up, only to be pushed down by a boot to the face.
SCHAKAL who is still stuck in his pod, watches all this, utterly confused.
POE [pleading]
Leave them out of this!
They were just following my lead!
LUMI
And for that they'll get their turn.
POE [horrified]
No...
LUMI
Paladino Dameron, as master
and commander of this ship,
I find you guilty of treason.
The penalty - death, by beheading.
Alleck?
ALLECK
My lady?
LUMI clutches her pendant, the only clue to her motivations.
LUMI
Pass the sentence.
ALLECK
...As you wish.
ALLECK moves besides POE, and slowly draws his sword - a curved cavalry saber, its High-Frequency Module integrated into a hilt of ivory and brass. ALLECK sets the blade close to the back of POE's neck, the hum of the vibrating blade practically giving the young pilot tinnitus.
ALLECK
I'm sorry it has to end like this, lad...
But take this lesson into the next life:
Obey your betters.
POE
Yeah well...
ALLECK raises his sword, swings to behead POE...
...And misses completely as POE ducks under the swing. ALLECK had not over-committed, but he is nevertheless shocked by POE's speed as the ace pilot delivers a punch to the bodyguard's shield belt buckle.
POE [defiant]
Never was a good student!
The Hapan Mercenaries guarding POE attempt to shoot him with lethal blasts, but POE is safe from them, as while he grapples with ALLECK he is surrounded by the shield belt's protective bubble. As they struggle, a shuttle lands on the far deck, unnoticed by all.
LUMI barely reacts to the fight, telling her Mercs not to bother shooting with a gesture, knowing that POE would lose the advantages of surprise and youthful vitality to the far stronger and more seasoned warrior. True enough, ALLECK manages to perform a judo throw that sends POE to the floor, knocking the wind out of him.
ALLECK shows no anger towards POE, even as he raises his sword to deliver the coup-de-grâce on the young man.
The tip of the blade stops an inch from POE's heart, the vibrations of the HF module struggling against the power of the Force.
LUMI [annoyed]
Pass the sentence, Alleck.
ALLECK [struggling]
I'm... trying!
LEIA [booming through the Force]
WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE PLAYING AT, LUMI?
ENTER LEIA, exiting the shuttle. Two mercs barr her way, and with a technique taught to her by her brother, causes them to choke with a gesture, forcing them to their knees. The others get the the hint, and stay out of their way.
SNAP
Oh, you fools are in trouble now...
The merc stepping on SNAP's face is thrown against a wall, freeing the pilot. LEIA strides forward, alone, coming face to face with ALLECK.
LEIA [commanding]
Unless you want to find out what
getting choked by the Force is like,
you're going to stuff that thing
back into your pants, Alleck!
No prompting from LUMI is necessary. As powerful a warrior as ALLECK is, he really doesn't want to test LEIA. He sheathes his weapon, and goes the extra step of helping POE up.
POE [relieved]
General, I...
LEIA [tersely]
Quiet.
The hangar becomes utterly silent as LEIA comes face to face with LUMI. In spite of being half a head shorter than the younger woman, the older monarch proves to be the more dominant.
LEIA
You forget yourself, Lady Celchu.
What would your mother say?
LEIA almost makes "Lady" sound as low as "peasant". LUMI says nothing for a moment, then takes a knee before LEIA, and bows her head in deference.
LUMI
I apologize...
CLOSE UP of LUMI's lips, as they curve ever so slightly upward.
LUMI
...Lady Vader.
The verbal counter-jab is subtle, missed by all save LEIA: her authority over LUMI is built on DARTH VADER's legacy and his history with HAPES, Lumi's home sector... and they both know it. LEIA lets it slide... for now.
LEIA
I want my pilots back.
LUMI
As do I.
LEIA
And you'll get them back soon enough.
LUMI
So far, all that the Mercy has given me
... are corpses.
POE's face falls.
LEIA
This is not Hapes. This 'eye for
an eye' garbage stays there.
This may be your ship, but this is my fleet,
and if anyone is going to dole out
the discipline, it's going to be ME. Is that clear?
LUMI
...Yes, my Lady.
LUMI nods at her mercenaries, and the soldiers of fortune let the pilots of Blue Squadron and Black Squadron go. LEIA motions them to follow her back to the shuttle, and she turns around, POE following close behind.
POE
General, thank—
LEIA [coldly]
I said be quiet.
[to LUMI, loudly]
I expect you on the Raddus in two hours.
We have much to discuss.
The master and commander of the Stormblood looks up as the group passes her by. Most of the juniors of the group don't dare look her in the eye, but SNAP, C'AI, and TALLIE glare at her. KARE blows makes a kissy face at her, an arrogant taunt that LUMI would not forget.
ALLECK stands by his mistress, silently.
INT - RADDUS HANGAR BAY 2 - SPACE
LEIA's shuttle comes in for a landing as ZAY VERSIO-MEEKO — a young human woman — and SHRIV SUURGAV — a middle-aged male Duros — go about their business, specifically, tagging fighters for a soon to be restored DANGER SQUADRON. SHRIV had led the Rebel squadron up to the battle of Jakku, and ZAY's parents had been members after defecting to the Rebellion, shortly after Operation Cinder proved too much for their loyalty to bear.
SHRIV admires an RZ-2 A-WING, which has seen better days. One of its engines is missing, but it is salvageable overall. He smiles. Perfect.
SHRIV
Welcome to Danger Squadron, beautiful.
ZAY
I thought Danger was all about X-wings?
SHRIV
Yeah, well, this is the new and improved Danger Squadron.
Gotta diversify, you know?
The shuttle lands, and opens its loading ramp. Its many occupants stream out, lead by LEIA. SHRIV, out of habit, salutes at her. LEIA salutes back. POE does as well, which sours SHRIV's mood, who goes back to inspecting the candidate fighters.
SHRIV [sarcastically]
Oh, look the "conquering hero" returns. Feh.
[spits]
Idiot.
ZAY
What did he do?
The pair walk and talk across the HANGAR, surrounded by activity and noises of a lively hangar, full of the whirring of machinery, the hiss of plasma torches, and the roar of the engines of passing shuttles and gunships.
SHRIV [bitterly]
Pissed away nearly all of our force projection, that's what.
after we spent days rallying this force, too!
Oh, his mother would be so proud.
Heh, looks like he got a taste of Hapan hospitality for it. Guess I can't complain.
ZAY [smiling]
Hasn't stopped you so far.
SHRIV [laughing]
Ha! Sorry, I just don't have any respect
for people who fight stupid.
Now, your mother, she knew how to—
ZAY's smile fades, and SHRIV realizes he just reminded her of their mutual loss of IDEN VERSIO. Some time before that, DEL MEEKO, Captain of the Corvus, had been coldly executed by his former comrade, GIDEON HASK.
SHRIV
Nuts. Sorry.
ZAY
It's okay.
SHRIV
...Hey, look around.
ZAY does, and sees the myriad sapient beings going about their business. Outside, fighters and capital ships can be seen floating in the black.
SHRIV
Took a lot of fancy flying, but
you helped rally what may be the single
biggest fighting force in the Outer Rim.
Be proud, and take heart, 'cause we're about to get some payback.
For Iden. For Del.
ZAY
Gideon's dead. I already got payback. Now?
[sighing]
I'm just going with the flow, I guess.
Before SHRIV can respond, a KARTIKEYA GUNSHIP, successor to the much older Wookiee Auzituck gunship, comes in for a landing. SHRIV recognizes the markings and smiles.
SHRIV
Speaking of a large fighting force...
ZAY [confused]
Is that... gunship made of wood?
SHRIV
Yep. Crazy, right?
Come on, let me introduce you.
SHRIV and ZEY jog towards the KARTIKEYA's landing spot, just as it deploys its landing gear and lands. The first person to step out is the largest Wookiee ZAY had ever seen, at two-hundred and sixty centimeters in height, and a muscle mass of at least 160 kilos. His fur is all black, with a streak of orange-brown surging out of his left brow, curled in the air. He's dressed like a chieftain, complete with a decorated ironwood chestplate, and a collar made of bones. There's what appears to be a metal buckle on a belt tightening the sash around his waist, but the outfit couldn't pull ZAY's attention away from the immense GRAVITON HAMMER the Wookiee was casually carrying in his right hand. The weapon's haft is as long as ZAY is tall, and its head - forged into a menacing spike on one side - looked to be just as heavy as she is, seeing as the whole thing was made of what appeared to be Beskar - Mandalorian steel.
The Wookiee sees SHRIV, bellows as he sets his sledgehammer down, head first - making a loud THUNK - and pulls the ageing Duros into a bear hug. This is MAHRACCOR.
SHRIV hugs the Wookiee back, laughing, glad to see an old friend again. MAHRACCOR puts him down.
SHRIV [smiling]
What the heck took you so long?!
We sent that holo mail days ago!
MAHRACCOR [in basic, laughing]
I got here the day after - I just didn't actually
want to see your ugly face!
ZAY is shocked to hear basic come out of a Wookiee's mouth, of all things. More Wookiees come out of the Gunship as its engines begin to rest. None of them are as large as MAHRACCOR, but they're close. They all have heavy blaster weapons and rocket launchers slung over their shoulders, and smaller - though no less deadly - collapsible bowcasters hanging from their belts, along with grenades.
SHRIV
Well, har dee har har!
[looks at ZAY]
Let me introduce you!
This is Zay, Del's kid.
Zay, this is Mahrracor,
leader of Mahrracor's Siegebreakers.
SHRIV pats MAHRACCOR's arm.
SHRIV
They're a mercenary outfit:
best heavy infantry a life debt can buy!
MAHRACCOR [in basic]
Meeko's child, eh?
Your father did right by us.
MAHRACCOR holds out his huge, furry hand in friendship.
MAHRACCOR [in basic]
I would be honored to call you friend.
ZAY shakes put her relatively tiny hand in his palm, and shakes it.
ZAY
You... speak basic?
MAHRACCOR laughs rumbles out from his belly to his throat.
MAHRACCOR [in basic]
Technically...
MAHRACCOR taps his buckle. Two metallic orbs open, revealing droid optics.
MAHRACCOR [in basic, cont'd]
Emteedee does.
He translates my speech into basic.
[proud]
My son made it! Amazing, no?
SHRIV
Where is Lowbacca? He didn't come with you?
MAHRACCOR [in basic]
He's safe at home, back on Kashyyyk...
and that's where he'll stay until I see Luke Skywalker
with my own two eyes.
SHRIV
We really could use another lightsaber in this fight.
MAHRACCOR [in basic]
Oh no, Lowie can only keep his lightsabers on for a few minutes
before they melt into slag. He needs more training!
And until Luke can give it to him...
MAHRACCOR picks up his hammer, and pats its head like a pet's.
MAHRACCOR [in basic, cont'd]
These Sith imitators will contend... with MoonBreaker.
MAHRACCOR gently squeezes the lever on MoonBreaker's haft, causing the armature of the Graviton Drive - a relic of the RAKATAN - to spin and glow with a bright cyan light. Elsewhere, someone can be heard yelping and falling.
MAHRACCOR
So, where is Leia? I would speak with her.
SHRIV
You just missed her. She was headed for the Bridge, I think.
MAHRACCOR
Then I shall join her there.
[to his men]
Follow me!
MAHRACCOR nods at SHRIV, then ZAY, and makes his way towards the Raddus's bridge.
SHRIV [to ZAY]
Well, what do you think?
ZAY looks at one of the Siegebreakers, who is casually opening up a ration pack before devouring its contents in one bite, then going for another pack...
ZAY [smiling]
I think feeding Wookiees is going to be
a logistical nightmare.
SHRIV
Heh, ain't that the truth!
But they're worth it, mark my words!
INT - RADDUS BRIDGE - SPACE
At the main holo-table, POE and TALLIE stand opposite LEIA and ACKBAR, giving them their reports of recent events. BB8 is plugged into the table, displaying what he and the other astromech droids scanned during the earlier skirmish. The rest of the bridge is silent as the debriefing occurs.
TALLIE
...As soon as it was clear that Freeport Seven
had a First Order presence on it, we topped up our tanks as fast
as we could and made three random jumps, as per protocol.
We thought we were clear when we arrived at Drexel,
but then we encountered a flight of Turanic fighters.
BB8 creates a display of the skirmish at Drexel on the holo-table's projectors as tiny versions of the X-wings, A-wings, and the Turanic Raiders and StarVipers re-enact it.
ACKBAR
Strange... where's their corvette?
Turanics never engage without corvette
support, or at least a loot barge.
POE
That's why we took in that escape pod, TAIKA
spoke to the pilot - according to him they attacked
us for destroying their starbase.
POE glances at ACKBAR and LEIA.
POE [cont'd]
Was there an attack while we were gone?
LEIA
No.
ACKBAR merely shakes his head.
POE
Figured as much, sirs.
BB8 extracted the Turanic's black box data...
BB8 makes a few statements in beeps.
POE
...And he'll break the encryption soon, he says.
LEIA watches the skirmish continue to unfold on the holo-table.
LEIA
I'm amazed you made it out with zero casualties.
TALLIE
It was touch and go at the end, but...
SNAP
But then Poe's "guardian angel"
came and saved ...
The remaining enemy ship holograms turn into big red and orange X symbols, marking their explosions.
LEIA
Guardian angel?
POE
A cloaked fighter, ma'am.
ACKBAR [shocked]
A TIE Phantom?!
POE and TALLIE look at each other, confused. SNAP, a veteran of the Galactic Civil War, is not.
SNAP
No, sir. This fighter was capable of firing
even while cloaked.
[pointing at the holograms]
Look...
On cue, BB8 conjures up flat holograms of his visual memory: the killshot on the STARVIPER, from the point of view of the cloaked fighter. ACKBAR frowns at the sight of the ship practically caving in on itself before it explodes.
ACKBAR [shocked]
A railgun... Kinetics? In space?!
Those were banned by the Izak Accords!
LEIA
[to ACKBAR]
I doubt pirates or the First Order
care much for an eight thousand year old treaty, Gial.
SNAP
Ma'am, I don't think this is First Order tech.
The heat spike should have made it visible on sensors.
And Stygium-based cloaks make the pilot blind as well.
We never saw it, ever, and those shots...
ACKBAR
[to POE]
You were very close to its firing position.
Did you manage to get a visual?
POE
Yeah, she gave us a pretty good visual.
LEIA
She?
POE
BB8, show her...
BB8 displays a still image of OMEGA-ONE, looking "up" at POE. The image comes to life, repeating the morse communication from before. BB8 zooms the image on OMEGA ONE, accidentally focusing on her posterior.
LEIA and TALLIE glare at the small droid. Embarrassed, BB8 shifts the focus back on OMEGA ONE's visor.
TALLIE [jealous]
[to POE]
Good visual, huh?
POE [oblivious]
Yeah, parked it right in front of me.
SNAP, in the background, suppresses a chuckle.
ACKBAR
Can we enhance the image? Get a look at her face?
BB8 stops the playback cycles through several filters, but none of them reveal OMEGA ONE's features.
SNAP
Well, we know she's humanoid, at least.
ACKBAR
From the signals, she's the one who suggested you
inspect the Turanics' black boxes, yes?
LEIA
Now why would our mystery lady would do that?
BB8 chirps and beeps.
LEIA
[to BB8]
Is that so? Show us.
The white and orange ball droid brings up two more flat holo-screen, the larger one showing a recording taken by SCHAKAL's HELMET CAMERA, while the smaller one streams bits and lines of code, the sensor data at the time of the recording. BB8 fast-forwards to the relevant part. At first, all that can be seen are stars behind panes of transparisteel and metal frames. HUD monitors crawl into view.
SCHAKAL [in Turanic]
Reaver 1, reporting in. All clear...
Wait... wait! incoming jump.
The footage then focuses on the circular rear sensors' display, as a blue dot appears along side several green ones. The dots shift as SCHAKAL brings his RAIDER about to face the dot, and his home base — a ruined, ancient HARROWER-CLASS SITH DREADNOUGHT — comes into view, surrounded by twenty-four orbiting defense guns, and watched over by the unmistakable brick-shape of a TURANIC MEDIUM CARRIER. Parts of a CARRICK-CLASS space station had been grafted onto the main hull along with hundreds of cargo pods festooned with running lights, seeming like a growth of barnacles on what had once been a mighty warship.
The new contact streaks past SCHAKAL's RAIDER in a blur of pseudomotion, as a TURANIC MINELAYER light corvette appears into realspace.
MINELAYER PILOT [in Turanic, radio]
Vandal Station, this is Trapper 3...
LEIA
In Basic please, BB8.
MINELAYER PILOT [in Basic, cont'd]
...Finished mining Nav Beta.
Need to stock up on charges, over.
VANDAL CONTROL [radio]
Roger that Trapper 3, your IFF checks out, welcome home, over.
TURANIC PILOT 2 [radio]
Reaver 2 to Vandal Control, be advised I've got a faint mass reading coming in fast. No IFF,
too far to get a heat signature... headed straight for you. Could be unfriendly. Orders?
VANDAL CONTROL [radio]
Probably debris. Let the autoguns handle it.
BB8 fast forwards...
FRIGHTENED PIRATE [radio, static]
...day... help...
SCHAKAL [radio]
That's not debris, it's one of ours!
VANDAL CONTROL [radio]
...Scopes confirm it. Raider, you're coming
in like a bat out of the Maw, what's going on?
The signal clears up, and the FRIGHTENED PIRATE's voice can be heard more clearly over the channel. From his sobs, it's clear he's scared out of his mind.
FRIGHTENED PIRATE [radio, static, utter panic]
...gods! It's following me!
Mayday, - is Ashur, I've taken heavy damage!
Requesting - Fighter - Search and -
COME IN ANYBODY! SOMEONE, ANYONE, PLEASE!
VANDAL CONTROL [radio]
Ashur, this is Vandal station, we're barely receiving you!
What's your situation?
ASHUR THE FRIGHTENED PIRATE [radio, static]
[relieved]
Oh, thank the gods!
[scared]
- Ambushed! Didn't have a chance!
-Tracking me!
VANDAL CONTROL [radio]
Calm down, boy! Who attacked you?
The Republic?
ASHUR [radio, static]
The REPUBLIC - too!
- killed everyone!
VANDAL CONTROL [radio]
Calm the hell down! You were attacked by
Republic ships, is that true?!
ASHUR [radio, static]
NO! It - out of nowhere!
-completely ALIEN!
VANDAL CONTROL [radio]
Well, who was it then?!
ASHUR [radio, static]
I DON'T KNOW!
Oh gods, - death black - was alive -
out of a horror show! Eyes! So many eyes!
SCHAKAL [radio]
He's delirious... Republic must have hit him hard.
REAVER 3 [radio]
Not as hard as the spice, obviously.
VANDAL CONTROL [radio]
Ashur... Ashur! Relax, we're sending out a salvage corvette right now!
It's going to be okay!
ASHUR [radio, static]
Send FIGHTERS!
SCHAKAL [radio]
Reaver 2, Reaver 3, form up on me, let's give this guy an escort...
At the very least, he'll stop crying.
REAVER 2
Heh, roger that, forming up.
SCHAKAL maneuvers his fighter towards a spot in empty space and burns his engines into cruise speed.
VANDAL CONTROL [radio]
Ashur, was your jump vector clear?
ASHUR [radio, static]
-DOESN'T MATTER... hahaha... the shadow,
- always right behind me... - matter how fast
I - it was always there, right behind me!
VANDAL CONTROL [radio]
What shadow? Where?
ASHUR [radio, static]
IN HYPERSPACE! - STALKS HYPERSPACE!
SNAP
Wait, is he saying... No, it can't be!
ACKBAR
Pursuing someone in hyperspace is impossible!
SALVAGE CORVETTE PILOT [radio]
Cleared dock, headed for target, ETA three minutes...
SCHAKAL [radio]
Base, I got eyes on Ashur's Raider... it looks bad,
lots of kinetic damage, engine's leaking plasma.
That corvette better hurry.
SCHAKAL's instruments begin to glitch while a strange noise — the low rumble of a tiger mingled with the hum of an electric engine and the groans of weary metal — can be heard echoing through SCHAKAL's cockpit. Meanwhile, ASHUR keeps rumbling incoherently.
VANDAL CONTROL [radio]
Ashur, it's okay! We've got nothing besides you
on our scopes. You're home free!
SCHAKAL is only a few kilometers away from ASHUR's RAIDER, which is training plasma behind it.
SUDDENLY, a black sphere of oily blackness, its outer edges burning like the fires of a sun, appears right behind ASHUR.
SCHAKAL
WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!
ASHUR [radio, screaming]
No! NOOO! We're all gonna DIE!
VANDAL
OH GODS, LAUNCH FIGHTERS, LAUNCH FIGHTERS!
The low rumble becomes an eldritch roar, unnerving all who hear it, announcing the arrival of something enormous coming out of the sphere. Schakal's instruments go absolutely haywire. Ashur screams in utter horror as his fighter explodes. Static takes over the screen - we only get the barest glimpses of a desperate battle: screams, weapons fire, calls for help, the carrier being crushed by an unseen force, fighters being obliterated by lances of white light.
POE
Stop. Rewind...
BB8 obeys, and the footage rewinds.
POE
Stop. Move in sector 34 to 36,
Move in... enhance?
The droid follows POE's instructions, until an artifact-laced image of a monstrous eyeless metal visage with a RAIDER flying in front of it appears. LEIA, POE and the rest don't know what it is.
We do. The prow of a ship, its beastly mouth baring its teeth...
BB8 disconnects from the table, and hides behind POE's legs, shaking.
SNAP
What the hell is that ...?
ACKBAR
Where did this battle take place?
BB8 answers, and POE translates.
POE
Drexel, sir.
Twenty-six lightyears away.
LEIA
Too close for comfort.
ACKBAR
I'll make arrangements for
a recon flight immediately.
POE
Sir? I volunteer for—
LEIA
You've done enough, ensign.
POE
I can still... wait, ensign?
LEIA
You heard Lumi back there.
She went overboard, make no
mistake... it wasn't by much.
You're demoted. Wexley will lead
Black Squadron from here on in.
TALLIE
But we won!
The Eclipse has been destroyed!
The fleet's been saved!
POE
[to Tallie]
Tallie, it's okay, I...
[to LEIA]
I accept responsibility, ma'am.
TALLIE [outraged]
What responsibility?!
Celchu's, for karking up the jump?!
[to LEIA and ACKBAR]
Or YOURS, for coming up with that crappy plan in the first place?!
LEIA gives TALLIE a death glare.
CUT TO:
INT - RADDUS, BRIG - SPACE
Two RESISTANCE marines toss TALLIE into a cell. Thick titanium bars slide into place, locking her in, while POE looks on from the outside.
POE [reassuring]
Tallie, don't worry, I'll talk to Leia once she calms down,
you'll be out before you know it.
TALLIE stands by the bars, crossing her arms as she frowns at the marines, who ignore her.
TALLIE
[To POE, bitterly]
You know, between the speeches and the
"grandmother you never had" act, I actually
forgot that Leia is a politician at heart.
POE
Tallie... I did disobey orders.
TALLIE
She's throwing you to the wolves!
Just so that she can pretend none of our
losses are her fault!
POE
Even if that was true...
I'd still be fine with it.
TALLIE
Poe!
POE
If laying the blame on me
helps her hold the Resistance together, I'll bear it.
TALLIE
And it would be a mistake! Poe, Black Squadron needs you!
The Resistance needs you in an X-wing, blowing stuff up, not...
where were you reassigned?
POE
The Mercy. I'll be joining her escort detail as soon as
I get some pod time.
TALLIE
Far cry from taking down planet killers.
We need our heroes at the front, doing what they do best.
Assigning you babysitting duty is just the
latest boneheaded move she's come up with.
And Ackbar's no help, either.
POE
Tallie, come on, we're talking about the heroes of
both the Civil War and Thrawn's campaign.
We owe them our respect, and more!
TALLIE
That was then, this is NOW.
Ackbar's so old he can barely move without his pod chair,
and Leia? Was she ever a good general?
POE [offended]
That's enough.
TALLIE
The longer those two geezers are in charge...
POE
Enough!
TALLIE
...the sooner the Resistance is going to die!
POE contains his anger, but it's clear from his expression that TALLIE is voicing his thoughts on the matter. Loyalty, however, wins out.
POE [tersely]
I've heard enough — I'll be back when your head's cool,
In the meantime, think about how you're going to apologize to
Leia for pretty much accusing her of treason.
TALLIE
No.
POE
Excuse me?
TALLIE removes her scarf and points to the pips on her collar.
TALLIE
Lieutenant...
She points at POE.
TALLIE
Ensign.
POE sighs and leaves, while TALLIE sits on her bunk, dejected, feeling as though she hasn't gotten through to him.
INT - RADDUS, MAIN HANGAR - SPACE
There is a small space in the hangar that the droids have walled off with empty metal crates and plasteel barrels. In it is a single examination chair, surrounded by monitors, carts, floating light projectors, toolboxes, miscellaneous robotics equipment, and - most notably of all - a great variety of paint jars and a paint-gun.
On the examination chair, there is a B1 battledroid being given light repairs by a young woman. It is painted red, with 13 printed in white in roman numerals on the side of its head. It has received extensive modifications to enhance its piloting abilities: interface plugs and a few secondary cranial processors, specifically.
This is "XIII", ace droid pilot.
The edges of a circular panel on the side of his head blink with a blue light.
XIII
Sonochee, I just got some
new orders, can you hurry up?
The young woman, SONOCHEE, is a petite but shapely young woman, with the look of a pop-idol trying to be a grease monkey. Her hair is dual coloured- outwardly pink but inwardly light sea green, the effect only evident on her girlish, bunched-up twintails and the bangs she blows away from her nose. In spite of her sugary-sweet appearance, she appears depressed.
SONOCHEE
Sorry, I'm usually faster than this...
SONOCHEE moves to a cart with a hydrospanner in hand, and trades it for a screwdriver. Atop the cart are some of SONOCHEE's private effects: A music player, magazines, and a holo-pic of her and her sister, JESS PAVA.
XIII
You got things on your mind, it's cool.
The young mechanic finishes fine tuning XIII's sticky knee actuator, and taps him on the shoulder.
SONOCHEE
Okay, you're all good.
XIII gets up from the examination chair, and goes through several motions to test out his actuators.
XIII
Feels great, thanks.
See you at the Rec Room when I get back?
SONOCHEE [depressed]
If you get back, yeah.
SONOCHEE leads XIII to an opening in the crates, and waves him away.
SONOCHEE
Alright, who's next?
At the fore of the line of droids waiting their turn to get modded or fixed, are an odd gang of separatist droids, each holding a gift for SONOCHEE. The B1 holds a card with a heart on it, the MagnaGuard holds a fine desert rose, and the large B2 holds a box of chocolates. Intent on outdoing them all, a BX Commando holds a specimen jar containing an animal's heart. They all shyly present their gifts at the young technician, who can only wince in response.
CUT TO:
XIII walks up to his craft, a VULTURE Mark II MOD, specced for reconnaissance. An old Besalisk mechanic, dressed for the job and equipped with two secondary mechanical arms to replace the ones he lost during the Thrawn Campaign, greets XIII.
This is PLIERS.
PLIERS
Just got the word, she's fueled up and ready to go!
XIII
Thanks.
PLIERS rotates a panel on the VULTURE's head, the back of which opens up, reveal a space far too small for a normal human.
PLIERS
Off to tag some salvage?
XIII gets in, and collapses himself into the opening, assuming the role of the RECON VULTURE's brain. The cockpit closes, and the VULTURE's blue optics gradually brighten. XIII's voice comes out of the cockpit, much louder than before.
XIII
Hopefully. With my luck, though?
I'm probably going to jump right in
the middle of Snoke's battlefleet!
PLIERS [laughing]
Heh! Kiddo, you'll do just fine.
PLIERS give's XIII's new 'head' a good pat on the side, before clearing the area.
CUT TO:
The RADDUS's HANGAR's ceiling, from which the HANGAR's control room is suspended. CLOSE UP of one of its windows, as one of the operators looks down at XIII's craft and speaks into his headset.
HANGAR CONTROL
This is Raddus Control to Recon Droid XIII...
You are cleared to launch.
XIII
Roger-Roger that!
XIII's repulsorlifts slowly lift him up, and his engines slowly push him towards Hangar 4, and then out into space...
INT - RADDUS, LEIA's QUARTERS - SPACE
...XIII's VULTURE flies past the window, on its way out of the asteroid fields.
Contrary to what TALLIE might think about LEIA, the former princess' quarters aboard the ship were actually quite spartan, if a bit spacious, with clean walls of metal paneled with ceramics. The only decorations were on a desk built into the wall, which include a photo of HAN, LEIA and a young BEN SOLO, the boy that would become KYLO REN. The most lavish luxury? A long couch in front of a holo-projector.
LEIA is sitting on the couch, looking at the holographic data from the black box that BB8 had managed to collate. A blue hologram of the Turanic base is suspended in the air, opposing a twisted almagation of red cubes and greebles that was supposed to be the mysterious alien craft that had attacked it. LEIA stares at the hologram, pondering implications over a cup of coffee.
There is a chime at the door.
LEIA
Come in.
The doors slide apart, letting an Architect-type droid in. It is humanoid in shape, its shell made of old brass and titanium patches. It wears a leather apron over its torso, and several lenses augment its right optic. It has the gait of a wizened old man, emphasized by the use of a cane on his left manipulator. In his right hand is an ivory box, inlaid with gold.
This is Professor HUYANG, once the Jedi Order's foremost expert on Lightsabers and their construction.
HUYANG
Your majesty.
LEIA gets up to greet him with a smile.
LEIA
Huyang, please, it's just Leia these days.
HUYANG
Ah, I apologize...
He taps the side of his head with the pommel of his cane.
HUYANG
...Still have some of the protocol droid in there.
Leia invites him to sit.
HUYANG
I've finished my examination of your purchase,
and I'm happy to say that your credits were well spent.
HUYANG and LEIA sit besides each other on the couch, and the architect droid hands her the box. CLOSE UP of the box as she opens it. We catch the glint of three lightsabers, their design matching their container's.
LEIA smiles. These Zakuul lightsabers had cost her a great deal.
LEIA
I was worried I got duped. What a relief!
Have you restored them?
HUYANG
Power cells are charged and the crystals are realigned.
Are they a welcome back present for Master Skywalker?
LEIA
No, no... but if Luke intends to rebuild the order,
he'll need all the lightsabers he can get.
HUYANG
Can't say that I approve.
A lightsaber should be a personal extension of the self,
an expression of a Jedi's craft and skill... then again,
it's not like the new Jedi have
an abundance of Kyber crystals, at the moment.
LEIA
We'll retake Illum, I promise you.
HUYANG nods, and takes notice of the holographic Turanic base.
HUYANG
Oh, a Harrower-class Dreadnought! I haven't seen
one of these since the Doom of the Sith Empire!
LEIA
Palpatine certainly loved throwing money
at prototype Star Destroyers...
HUYANG
Oh, no no no, the Empire I speak of met its end
some three thousand and five hundred years ago!
[pointing at the hologram]
These were the Star Destroyers of their day!
LEIA
Sith Emperors and Star Destroyers, so long ago?
History sure has a funny way of repeating itself.
HUYANG
Indeed - ever since the Doom of the Old Empire,
the Sith had made 3 more attempts to resurrect it,
all with varying degrees of success. After Bane had established
the Rule of Two, the Sith seemed content to merely exist... ah, that is
until Palpatine turned the Republic into the Empire from the inside out.
As he speaks, LEIA walks up to her window, and looks out to space.
LEIA
Three times, in three thousand years...
Stars, Palpatine died thirty-one years ago, and his
Empire is set for a rebirth. Three miserable decades,
that's all the sacrifices we've made was worth.
HUYANG
Those were a good thirty years, princess.
LEIA
Were they? I remember the first few days of the New Republic...
After the battle of Jakku Mothma and I were certain
Thrawn would take his fleet to Coruscant.
He shocked us both when he went for Kuat instead.
Do you know why he let us have the capital?
HUYANG shakes his head.
LEIA
A trillion mouths to feed, that's why.
When we took Coruscant it fell to us to provide
the food its hydroponic complexes couldn't.
We... weren't up to the task, at first, and billions died,
half of them during the riots.
HUYANG
Oh my.
LEIA
If it hadn't been for Han gathering the Smuggler's Alliance...
LEIA closes her eyes, suppressing the horror of those terrible days. She takes a deep breath, and turns to Huyang:
LEIA
Between that and Mothma's mad quest for disarmament,
those years weren't as good as they should have been.
The Centralists kept throwing that at my party's face
during my senate days.
HUYANG
Bah, politicians! What do they know?
I've traveled a great deal across the
galaxy these past years.
People are happier now that they don't
have to suffer under the jackboots of thugs.
These were good thirty years, and mark my words what you do here
will give the galaxy even more!
LEIA [frustrated]
Honestly, Huyang, I'm not certain I can keep this all together.
I've got a small fleet of scum and scoundrels,
backed up by Hapan mercs led by a glory seeking little brat
whose only loyalty to me is her mother's word. I've got an army of weird droids - no offense —
HUYANG
Oh! None taken.
LEIA [frustrated]
—led by a Clone War relic with unreadable motives...
and at the core of it allis an army of... of children,
who've just had their first real taste of war and would have deserted
if I hadn't pinned the blame on my best pilot!
It's not falling apart, but I can feel the cracks growing, and
I don't know if I still have the strength to hold it all together!
She turns to the stars, hoping to see the ship that carries all her hopes.
LEIA
I wish my brother would hurry up, already.
SIDE WIPE into:
INT - FIRWIRRUNG, INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT, VERTHANDI'S WORKSHOP - DAY
Through the gaps of metal window shutters, beams of sunlight cut through the darkness, illuminating a table top where LUKE SKYWALKER'S LIGHTSABER rests on a coral stand, under the gaze of six lenses of various magnifying power. From the dark, LUKE SKYWALKER emerges, approaching the SABER. He crosses the sunlight's path, his face barely illuminated by the light reflected from the chrome parts. His eyes, though, reflect the chrome's glint, and a smile comes across his face.
LUKE
There you are.
Some of the lightsaber's parts are on the table, next to VERTHANDI's notes on their function. LUKE raises his hand, and through the Force the parts float up as the lightsaber opens up, revealing even more parts that hang in the air. LUKE examines them all and, satisfied that all is in order, begins the process of telekinetically reassembling it.
The last part clicks into place, and LUKE gently lets his LIGHTSABER fall into his hand. He grips the tool with both hands, and ignites it. There is that familiar snap-hiss as the bright green blade of light extends, casting a green gloom over the darkened room that reveals the papers plastered all over the walls. LUKE holds out his hand towards the windows, opening the shutters to let the sunlight in and get a better look at the papers. There are diagrams and designs of the lightsaber itself, as well as detailed schematics of VERTHANDI'S staff, complex circular sigils, and even sketches of a prototype for a Dagonian light-saber rifle.
LUKE looks around, a slight expression of awe on his face, awe for VERTHANDI's brilliance and technical mind for both magicks and sciences. Then, awe turns to sadness.
LUKE [sadly]
Such a waste.
LUKE moves towards a door and opens it, revealing a sky made up of shades of indigo and cream coloured clouds that catch the orange sunlight. He steps out...
FADE IN
EXT - PLANET ARJUNA, FIRWIRRUNG, TEMPLE DISTRICT, MILLENNIUM FALCON LANDING - DAY
RAZOO QIN-FEE sits by a campfire, making Porg stew with spices from home he found in one of the MILLENIUM FALCON's many little nooks. Besides him, on a couch he found in a nearby house, sits THEO CILGHAL, smoking a pipe full of dried seaweed, playing a game of Dejarik opposite R2-D2's head, propped up by cushions. Behind them is the FALCON, atop which CHEWBACCA is working on replacing the top turret with weapons cobbled together from salvage gathered by REY and RAZOO.
REY herself is standing some distance from them all as a dozen spheroid droids - REMOTES - surround her, painted in GUAVIAN colours. She's changed her hair again - gone are the three buns, and the simple pony tail. Now, her mane is tied into a loose French braid, a misguided attempt at imitating the side braids of the Padawans of the old Jedi Order.
She takes a deep breath, and ignites ANAKIN SKYWALKER'S LIGHTSABER. The blade glows yellow, shining with the power of VERTHANDI'S POWER... for a while, before it shifts to blue, the colour of AISA's PASSION.
REY
Okay...
[deep breath]
I'm ready.
RAZOO stops stirring the stew in the pot, then pulls out the REMOTES' control unit out of his pocket.
RAZOO
You sure about this?
REY
I'll be fine!
RAZOO [sarcastically]
Yeah, sure you will.
RAZOO presses a button, and the Remotes begin pacing around REY, their micro-thrusters hissing as they move. Anticipation swells as the young Force prodigy readies herself to perform a feat of Jedi Defense the likes of which had never been seen before. Suddenly, one of the droids fires, and REY moves to block the shot with the blade...
...And misses.
REY
OW!
The remotes take their turns firing at her, and their shots meet their mark, unblocked in spite of her frantic swinging.
REY
OW! OW! OW!
THEO [worried]
Oh... oh dear.
Are you alright, miss?
R2-D2 [in binary]
Ah, she'll be fine.
Focus on the game, will ya?
CHEWBACCA and RAZOO laugh at her as she swings wildly at the REMOTES, only for her to overcommit, stumble and fall. She goes into a fetal position, and shields herself with her arms from the sting of low-power blaster shots. Having had enough, RAZOO shuts the remotes down, and they fall all around her. The show over, CHEWBACCA gets back to work.
LUKE [off-screen]
Well, that could have gone better.
REY freezes, embarrassed.
REY
...Razoo?
RAZOO
Yeah?
REY
Is that Luke?
ENTER LUKE, who saw everything.
REY
Did he see everything?
LUKE walks up to REY, who is pointedly not facing him.
LUKE
He saw everything.
REY groans, and could swear she could die of embarrassment. Luke helps her up, and pats her clothes, the burn marks come off. Luke then Force Pulls the controller out of RAZOO's hand, and shakes it at him.
LUKE
[to Razoo, chiding]
That was cruel.
RAZOO [mock-offended]
Hey... she's the one who thought she
could handle twelve of these things!
LUKE
Really?
[To Rey]
Ever heard of biting off more than you can chew?
REY [genuinely confused]
...No? I mean, there's hardly enough in a portion...
LUKE sighs, depressed at the thought that REY had been left to grow up in such horrible conditions. He sets up a single REMOTE...
LUKE
You have to start small, at first.
REY
But I can take on more! I know I can!
LUKE [chiding]
That's your impatience talking.
Now, show me your stance.
REY re-ignites her LIGHTSABER and drops into an imitation of a SORESU defensive stance.
LUKE [surprised]
You've done this before?
This gets CHEWBACCA's attention, who stops working on the new gun for a moment to listen in.
REY
It seemed appropriate.
LUKE
Appropriate, but not quite right, here...
LUKE makes adjustments to REY's stance with his hands, then adjusts her feet with a few gentle kicks.
CLOSE UP of the BRYAR PISTOL strapped to REY's thigh, with LUKE's face out of focus in the background. FOCUS on LUKE's face as he begins to recognize the weapon. He looks back at CHEWBACCA, who nods at him.
LUKE
Alright, that should do it.
[backing away]
Now, close your eyes.
REY
Why? I mean, don't I
need to see the shot
coming to block it?
LUKE
Your eyes can deceive you,
don't trust them.
THEO [indignant]
Well, that's hardly accurate!
Hyur eyes deliver their stimuli quite accurately,
it's the BRAIN that—
LUKE, RAZOO and REY give him a look.
THEO [embarrassed]
Ah, sorry.
REY closes her eyes as the remote prepares to attack...
LUKE
Breathe, let the Force flow through you...
REY obeys, and takes deep breaths.
RAZOO
What good that's gonna do?
REY [droning]
The Force will control my actions,
even as it follows my commands.
LUKE [puzzled]
...That's right.
The remote shoots, and REY nearly blocks the shots, which goes on to hit her hip.
REY
Ow! Damn it!
RAZOO [snickering]
What, did you order the Force to do that?
REY [frustrated]
Let's see you try it some time!
LUKE
Do, or do not, there is no try.
THEO [confused]
That... makes even less sense!
How does one learn without trial?
REY
...What he said.
LUKE
Trying is believing you can fail,
which is the worst thing a Jedi can do.
In order to succeed at blocking blaster shots,
you must allow the Force to control your
inner sight, allowing you to see the incoming
attack. Then, through clarity and focus,
know that you can block the shot.
REY
But I want to block the shot already!
That's all I think about!
LUKE
Wanting, and thinking, are not the same as knowing.
Do you understand?
REY
...I think so.
Wait, wait! I know I can.
LUKE
Good. Again.
REY takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and assumes the defensive stance once more. The remote stalks around her, and she shifts her stance to keep the saber between herself and the droid.
Finally, the REMOTE fires, and REY blocks the shot. It shoots again, and the shot once again fizzles against REY's blade.
Then comes a three shot burst, and REY blocks the first two bolts, but the third hits her in the shoulder.
LUKE
You see? You can—
REY snarls as she senses a fourth shot. The saber turns red, and she performs a Deflecting Slash that sends the shot back right at the REMOTE, imbued by AISA's STRENGTH. The blazing red shot buries itself inside the REMOTE, causing it to melt from the inside out as it flies out of control. LUKE seizes it through the Force, moments before it falls into RAZOO's stew.
LUKE
—Do it.
REY [overjoyed]
Wow! Did you see that?!
THEO
... That's enough training for today, I hope.
LUKE
Not quite.
CUT TO: REY and RAZOO sparring while Luke sits at the fire, observing REY's movements, taking note of any flaw in her technique. Rey's blade is dim, her lightsaber having been set to training mode, sparing Razoo's vibro-machete considerable damage. The blade proves solid enough to smash through RAZOO's guard, however, but the Kanjiklubber proves too agile to be struck by Rey's awkward follow-through.
RAZOO [taunting]
That was a good hit...
but you swing way too wide, trainee!
Gives up the game!
LUKE
He's right, tighten your strikes.
save the power swings for when he's off balance.
REY doesn't listen, and doubles her aggression. LUKE shakes his head as RAZOO continues to toy with Rey, occasionally tapping her with the back of his blade. Rey nearly growls, but doesn't quite loses her cool even as her movements become more and more unpredictable. Luke feels the rumble of the Force in the back of his mind, and REY's movements become more advanced, impressing RAZOO but not quite besting him just yet.
The wildness of her movements, an amateurish version of Form VII JUYO, and a blade of solid metal holding fast against a beam of light, stirs memories in Luke. The sounds of the sparring session grow distant, until...
FLASHBACK: EXT — PLANET TYTHON, NEW JEDI ACADEMY — NIGHT
LUKE looks on as a master and apprentice spar atop a lone hill with a technique, skill and speed that had not been seen since the Clone Wars.
The master is a red-maned woman clad in a blood-red cloak over a high-tech black combat bodyglove that hugs her athletic contours tightly. Her body and visage is those of a young woman in her mid-20s, hiding her true age. Her lightsaber is a blur of purple light as she spins acrobatically all around her opponent, hoping to confuse him and breach his guard.
This is MARA JADE, named so for her demonic fighting style and the brilliant colour of her eyes. Her true name, passed on to her by her father, is not known to us, but it will.
The apprentice is a tall, well-built, dark-haired young man, clad in a blue double breasted medieval tunic with elaborate patterns stiched into its hems. Ceramic gauntlets cover his hands, while dark pants and ceramic boots protect his legs. His entire outfit is worn, but good maintenance keeps the ravages of years of torturous training and following his master on various missions against evil at bay. His weapon, a broadsword, is made of dalmascan steel. Imbued with the Force, the weapon weathers the fury of MARA's dizzying flurries of Juyo, Ataru and Shien strikes with its wielder's unyielding Soresu.
This is TRISTAN, named after a sorrowful character in a play. His real name, given to him by his mother, is not known to us yet, but it will.
The fight goes on. TRISTAN switches from Soresu to Djem So, attempting to put MARA on the defensive. Mara's aggression triples, drawing a second lightsaber for her Ataru's Jar'kai, then plugging their pommels together to form a saberstaff for her Juyo. The saberstaff spins in her hand even as she somersaults over Tristan, a distraction for her true attack: a vibroknife telekinetically thrown at his face.
Tristan, in contrast, keeps his feet on the ground, weathering Mara's acrobatic onslaught some more. His own attack forces her to sacrifice one of her lightsabers to disarm him, opening him up for a stab to the heart. Tristan, his head cool in spite of his impending death, puts his hands together in front of the purple blade. We hear the sizzling of burning flesh for just a moment...
CUT TO: Luke's left shoulder, as it is being grasped by a hand covered in a black leather glove with triangular metal plates on its back and knuckles. We do not see the man it belongs to, but his voice is particular:
KYLE KATARN [off-screen]
Luke?
KYLE's voice echoes, and fades into another's:
REY
Luke?
EXT - PLANET ARJUNA, FIRWIRRUNG, TEMPLE DISTRICT, MILLENNIUM FALCON LANDING - NIGHT
REY's hand rests on Luke's left shoulder, snapping him out of his reverie.
REY
Luke, are you alright?
It's night, now, Luke realizes, much to his shock and concern. Clouds gather, slowly covering the moon. LUKE looks at Rey, and she tenses, worried that he may have lost his memories again.
LUKE
Relax, I'm still here. I just...
I guess I was out of it for a moment.
LUKE looks around. It's just REY and him outside.
LUKE
Where is everyone?
What happened?
REY
Well, Razoo and I had been fighting for
a while and he had just managed
to send me to the floor...
[under her breath]
...for the third time,
[clears throat]
...and I got carried away and kicked him in the bits.
RAZOO's scream of pain resounds from the inside of the FALCON.
THEO [off screen]
Please hold still, the pomade should
allow the leeches to soothe—
RAZOO
GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!
LUKE gives her a look of disapproval.
REY [sheepishly]
...Anyways, are you hungry? There's still
some food left in the pot.
LUKE nods, and the two share a meal by the fire, sitting side by side.
REY
You looked so sad.
LUKE
Hm?
REY
While you were zoned out.
You looked sad.
LUKE [sighing]
I was recalling my wife.
REY
Oh.
An awkward silence falls between them for a moment.
REY
What was her name?
What was she like?
CLOSE UP of LUKE's face, lit by the fire, as a warm smile dawns over his face.
LUKE [fondly]
Her name was Mara... and she was...
Passionate. Strong. Powerful.
[wistfully]
... and beautiful. Stars! you have no idea.
There were times when I wondered if I had
simply dreamed her. It wasn't just her looks,
the way she moved... with incredible grace and speed.
There will never be a lightsaber duelist like her, ever again.
REY
How did you meet her?
LUKE [embarassed]
Well... she snuck into my house one night
and... tried to kill me in my sleep.
REY
Oh...That... doesn't sound like something a Jedi would do.
LUKE [smiling]
No, it doesn't.
Luke recalls something else, and chuckles.
REY
What?
LUKE
I was remembering those early days at the new academy.
We kept saddling her with Padawan after Padawan and...
Luke laughs out loud, but there is a tinge of sorrow to it.
LUKE [laughing]
And they were all so scared of her! Terrified!
REY
Why?
LUKE
Oh, she was merciless! If she didn't drill them past their limits,
she played cruel pranks on them! There was this Devaronian,
I forget his name, but... She once tasked him to lift a boulder with
the Force, it was huge, but he figured that was the point, so he
concentrates and concentrates and concentrates and finally he lifts
the boulder... but that was the only thing protecting him from a whole pack
of hibernating Manka Cats who were not happy at all to be woken up!
REY [smiling]
Oh, that's awful!
LUKE
Oh, it was, it was, but... nobody ever got hurt.
He laughs some more, wiping a tear from his eye, then sighs.
LUKE
We sent some of the toughest recruits her way, but
after a while we just gave up on giving her any instructor duty...
until...
LUKE's expression falls, and he seems to stare at something far away. There isn't a single happy memory of Mara that doesn't eventually remind LUKE of her death.
LUKE
...until Tristan.
Oh, Mara...
REY
You mentionned him last week... Her student?
LUKE [coldly]
Her killer.
Hundreds of worthy students, rejected!
And she goes out of her way to train
the one that would kill her.
REY
He... must have been special if
she choose him over all the others.
REY's choice of words angers Luke, but his Jedi training holds.
LUKE
He wasn't. When he first came to us
he barely had a trace of the Force in him.
We didn't know what to do with him until Kenth
decided it was about time to bring the Agricorps back.
Tristan had no complaints. He even seemed to enjoy the farm work.
I still... I still don't understand what she saw in him back then.
But her training paid off tenfold.
REY
Why did he kill her?
LUKE
Who knows?
All I know is, after I had Tristan exiled
to the forest for killing Brakiss,
Mara had returned from a mission and immediately
went to look after him.
We found... we found her body weeks later.
LUKE's lip quivers, as he holds back tears.
LUKE
It was as if a Rancor had slashed her apart.
For the longest time we thought that was what did it...
but when the droids found... the foreign DNA inside of her I knew
we had been looking for the wrong kind of monster all along.
Luke said 'foreign DNA' with a hint of disgust, implying something horrific.
REY's jaw tenses, as she expresses through her eyes a mixture of sorrow for Luke and anger at this Tristan for what he did. Having already cast him in the role of father figure, Rey is now eager to please him somehow. She takes her lightsaber out of her bag, drawing confidence from it, and decides to make an offering of revenge.
REY
I've grown quite good at killing monsters.
I promise you... I will find this Tristan,
and I will make his pay for what he's done.
LUKE looks at REY, his expression unreadable.
LUKE
No, you won't.
Rey, if you ever encounter Tristan,
and I am not around to help,
do the wise thing: flee.
REY
But...!
LUKE
...At least until you complete your training.
You still have a long way to go mastering basic meditation,
nevermind dueling young Sith Lords.
CLOSE UP of the lightsaber as REY clutches it with both hands. Voices that only she can hear whisper to her, in alien tongues. Only once voice can be heard clearly:
THE WITCH [whispering]
Your weapon is complete...
REY
I defeated two sorceresses with my power.
I could defeat a Sith Lord, young or old.
LUKE
But did you defeat them alone?
The whispers die, and REY recalls the past events. She realizes that, had it not been for Chewbacca, or Razoo, or Artoo, or Theo... no, she would not have made it.
LUKE
I know that you draw strength from your emotions.
And it has served you well, to a point.
But it will always be to a point, and
it will fail you at the worst possible of times.
A Jedi...
LUKE points at REY's heart.
LUKE [cont'd]
...does not draw his strength from there...
LUKE's finger moves up, and taps her forehead.
LUKE [cont'd]
...But from here, where knowledge, discipline and calm
must reign. Keep yourself centered, and balanced,
and the Force will never abandon you.
That is why I've been trying to
teach you meditation these past few days.
REY
I've been trying to learn, it's just that...
I don't know, no matter how hard I try,
I can't seem to grasp your meditation techniques.
It's like I'm constantly being tripped up.
LUKE
I know. Firwirrung is not a place where one
can find a sense of inner peace.
Once we reach Leia's fleet,
I'll ask her to lend us a craft.
The sooner we get you to the
temple on Tython, the sooner
you'll be able to find your center.
[smiling]
And, while we're there, we'll craft you
your very own saberstaff.
REY
Saber what, now?
LUKE
Exactly what it sounds like.
Long hilt, blade on each end.
It'll be perfect for your style.
Rather than try to unlearn
years of staff-fighting lessons,
better to embrace them, no?
As LUKE finishes speaking, REY begins to yawn, and the clouds cover ARJUNA's moon.
LUKE
Tired?
REY nods, still yawning, and the clouds begin to rumble with thunder before unleashing rain upon them. The fire begins to go out.
LUKE
Ah, finally!
REY
We've been chasing that storm for days!
LUKE
Come on, it looks like it's going to pour!
LUKE and REY get up and move towards the Falcon, seeking shelter from the rain. Behind them, the city-ship's central tower is struck by lightning, absorbing the planet's energy in preparation for another jump.
INT - MILLENIUM FALCON - NIGHT
The Master and Apprentice walk up the ramp, their clothes wet with Arjuna's rain. REY shivers a bit.
REY
Luke? Will you... will you be looking
for more apprentices?
They walk through the ship's main corridor on a clockwise course...
LUKE
Well, I should have my hands full training you,
but I wouldn't turn away a potential student,
considering the circumstances. Why?
Do you know someone with potential?
... and arrive at the crew quarters.
REY
Maybe. I'm not sure, but I had this funny feeling
about him since the first time I saw him.
LUKE
Oh?
REY puts her bag and gun holster away, and goes into her bunk while Luke fetches himself a can of coffee.
REY
It could be nothing, though...
Luke sits at the foot of the bunk.
LUKE
What is his name?
REY
Finn. Just Finn.
I'm... worried about him.
The last I saw of him he was barely
hanging on after Kylo had slashed his spine.
Using the force, Luke pulls the sheets over REY, covering her from the cold.
LUKE [reassuring]
I wouldn't worry. Anyone tough enough
to survive a lightsaber to the back... well,
I have no doubt you'll be seeing him again.
REY
Maybe you're right.
LUKE is about to leave...
REY
Luke, could you?
LUKE
Bad dreams again?
REY nods.
LUKE
Of course...
LUKE waves a hand over her face.
LUKE [Force Persuade]
Go to sleep, and dream in peace.
There is a low, gentle rumble as REY lets the Force in, and her eyes flutter closed.
LUKE
Good night, Rey.
SMASH TO BLACK
There is a low hum that makes way for the distant sounds of battle and carnage: Blaster fire, laser beams, and the hum of vibroknives. These make way for the screaming of Stormtroopers, the echoes of which make way for the constant hiss of a rebreather.
CUT TO:
INT - RESISTANCE MEDICAL CRUISER "MERCY" , WARD 114, ROOM 23 - SPACE
CLOSE UP of FINN's face, surrounded by bubbling bacta, a breath mask struggling to provide him with oxygen. Muffled voices can be heard as the din of battle fades away.
POE [off-screen]
Hey, doc? Is he alright?
ASURAN ADASCA [off-screen]
His brain is negotiating with his new implants,
they're spiking his neural activity.
FINN's eyes flutter behind closed eyelids, before opening in a panic. They dart around, trying to make sense of his surroundings.
POE [off-screen]
He's awake!
ADASCA [off-screen]
Already? Interesting...
POE knocks on something - a pane of glass? - getting FINN's attention. He reaches out with his hands , feeling the barrier trapping him inside some sort of pod. He panics, thinking himself a prisoner.
POE [shouting through the glass]
Hey, it's okay! it's okay!
You're among friends!
Seeing the Resistance pilot's face calms the former stormtrooper down, and he stops panicking.
WIDE SHOT of the room, its walls plated with smooth clean, sterile white plastic. To the left FINN is floating in a bacta tank labelled 23, the number matching the one printed on the frosted glass sliding door behind POE, who is standing in front of FINN. To the right, sitting at a medical console with several flat displays and holographic projections is an ARKANIAN HYBRID male of average height, clad in a white medical longcoat. His skin is pale, but nowhere near as white as his silvery eyes and irises. His ears are only slightly pointed, marking him as different from his ARKANIAN OFFSHOOT brethren.
This is DOCTOR ASURAN ADASCA, biomechanics expert, and one of the two cyberneticists in the Resistance fleet.
[2]
ADASCA types in some commands on his holographic interface, and in response a metal ring surrounding FINN's bacta tank rises, emitting a field of bright blue light that penetrates the glass, bacta and flesh as it scans FINN's body. We see a wide strip of thick white bioplastic lining the middle of Finn's back, translucent conduits plugged into it leading to machinery set into the tank's machinery at the ceiling.
A hologram of FINN's organs constructs itself in front of ADASCA, who admires his handiwork - an artificial spine, bought and paid for by LEIA ORGANA to replace the one horribly damaged by KYLO REN's cruel lightsaber strike back on Starkiller Base. A circular electronic sticker is stuck on FINN's temple, scanning his brain's activity.
ADASCA
Excellent, cyberware integration is... perfect.
No rejection symptoms whatsoever.
Bioplastic blood vessel fusion is complete, and...
Interesting.
POE
What? What is it?
ADASCA
There's no glial cell buildup whatsoever.
POE
Which means?
ADASCA eyes POE, sizing him up, and doesn't see much of a biologist. He considers his explanation, and decides to keep it simple:
ADASCA
It appears he was born to have
cyberware grafted into him.
POE is normally very friendly with people, even strangers, but ADASCA's flat tone and seeming lack of empathy had always unsettled him to the point that he could never be his usual, friendly self with him.
POE [unsettled]
...Right, anyways,
Is it about time to let him out,
Doctor Adasca?
ADASCA
He still needs more recovery time—
CLOSE UP of the sticker, as it blinks an alarming red.
CUT TO: The hologram of FINN's brain matches the sticker's blinking, alerting ADASCA of a major spike in FINN's brain activity. The Arkanian doctor merely frowns as FINN begins to have a seizure. Bubbles stream out of FINN's breath mask, and POE doesn't need a med school degree to know something is wrong. Meanwhile, a brainwave graph goes up and down erratically in front of the doctor, fascinating him.
POE [alarmed]
Doc! What's happening?!
ADASCA [calmly]
It appears to be an epileptic fit.
Just a moment...
The conduits plugged to FINN's back fill with a different coloured liquid, an anti-epileptic medicine. It fails to work, and POE keeps gesticulating inside the bacta tank.
CLOSE UP of his face.
CLOSE UP of his eyes, shut tight in an expression of pain.
Images flash across FINN's mind's eye. Glimpses of happier days, an early childhood with loving parents. The brutality of his Stormtrooper training, intercut with images of his kindly mother smiling warmly at him, and of his mighty father, the KING OF KINGS, champion of the TRIBAL ARENA. Cheers resound for the KING OF KINGS, even as STAR DESTROYERS raze his home city and STORMTROOPERS kill every adult they can find. The destruction of his homeworld is mingled with flashes of cybernetic gladiators clad in full armour clashing over a ball with rotors, or duelling with disc launchers. The visions that causes the greatest pain and sorrow, however, is that of the KING OF KINGS pumping his fists up in the air victoriously, a machine god of the arena... knowing that his doom is inevitable.
RAE SLOANE
Discard the meat.
Salvage the metal.
And in his desperation to chase the painful sights away, FINN knocks off his breath mask. He begins to drown in a pool of life-saving liquid.
POE acts immediately, and pulls a lever to initiate an emergency bacta flush. The liquid is rapidly drained, but some of it is inside FINN's lungs. The glass cylinder rises, and FINN plops on the ground, spasming like a fish in a thin puddle, gasping for air. POE kneels and takes him in his arms, if only to stop him from flailing.
POE [scared]
Nurse! NURSE!
ADASCA [calm]
Waste of time.
Hold him down.
ADASCA, medkit in hand, kneels besides FINN, takes out a small thin tube from the kit and, calmly and with practiced ease, shoves it down FINN's throat.
POE [shocked]
What are you doing?! That's not proper—
The technique works, and FINN spews out the bacta in his airway.
POE
Breathe, Finn! Breathe!
ADASCA
His brain is still hyperactive - the medicine
will kick in in approximately...
[checks his watch]
Sixteen seconds.
FINN continues to spasm, trying to cry out in pain but only managing to choke. More images flash across his mind, haunting visions of his family, and Rey, their eyes empty with blaster holes in their skulls. Kylo Ren, slashing him apart, over and over again...
POE
Finn! It's okay, you're going to be alright!
FINN looks at his hands - they're fine, but in his mind the flesh is peeling away, and metal takes its place.
FINN
No! NOOOO!
I DON'T WANNA BE A MACHINE!
POE
It's okay! It's okay! It's just a few implants!
Just so you can walk again!
FINN looks up at POE, past his "metal" hands, and POE's visage alternates between his own and that of a dark-skinned man with thick braids painted in gold, with strips of golden circuitry printed under his eyes - the mark of the Sunbreakers. His neck is metal - pistons and carbon fiber plates and actuators, rather than flesh, skin, and sinew.
FINN
PAPA! PAPA, DON'T LET THEM TAKE ME AWAY!
POE
No one's taking you away, I swear! It's going to be okay!
As FINN screams, ADASCA keeps calmly staring at his chronometer... and after sixteen seconds, FINN begins to calm down. His breaths are ragged and quick, but their cadence slows. FINN looks at his fleshy hands, then up at POE... and blinks.
FINN
Poe?
POE [reassuring]
Yeah, pal, it's me...
FINN...
I need you to tell me something...
POE
What?
FINN
...Am I naked?
POE lets out a small chuckle, as he is, at this moment, holding a semi-naked bacta-covered Finn in his arms.
POE
...A little.
INT - RESISTANCE MEDICAL CRUISER "MERCY" , WARD 114, HALLWAY - SPACE
POE pushes a wheelchair-bound Finn, who is dry and clad in a hospital gown. ADASCA follows closely besides them, checking readings on a medical scanner. They pass a wall with the word "WARD 114" printed on it in huge, bold black letters. They are not alone: medical technicians work calmly but diligently to provide care for hundreds of trauma and burn victims - casualties of the battle of D'Qar. Finn sees a Twi'lek nurse pull a sheet over a Devaronian's body. Another fatality, and POE feels guilty for it.
FINN
What happened?
POE
We fought the First Order at D'Qar. We won.
FINN
Doesn't... feel like we won.
POE says nothing.
INT - RESISTANCE MEDICAL CRUISER "MERCY" , WARD 114, EXAMINATION ROOM - SPACE
FINN sits on an examination table as ADASCA gives him a physical, shining a light in his eyes. POE stands besides him, concerned.
ADASCA
It appears your motor functions
have been completely restored.
However your earlier seizure is cause
for concern. I'll set up a meeting
with Doctor Yueh in neurology.
FINN
Am I... am I shell shocked, doctor?
ADASCA
I do not believe so, no, but Yueh
will give you a more accurate diagnosis.
I also need you to come back in once a week
for the next six months, if possible, for any
necessary implant adjustments.
FINN
Yeah, alright.
Been meaning to ask, though... how did
I survive a plasma beam to the spine?
ADASCA
You didn't.
FINN
...What?
ADASCA
You were virtually beheaded.
Fortunately your white blood capsules
activated in time and preserved your brain
long enough for the EMTs to plug you into
an external life support unit.
POE
Huh, I didn't know stormtroopers got that biomod.
FINN
We... they don't. That stuff's reserved
for special forces pilots or Zero-G troopers.
Us grunts don't get anything that fancy.
ADASCA
Interesting, not even gene-therapy?
FINN
Again, Special Forces get all the cool stuff.
[confused]
...Who would put white blood bioware in me?
I mean, I'm not important.
ADASCA nods, and produces a datapad from his coat.
ADASCA
There is another anomaly in your test results
that I must discuss with you.
ADASCA eyes POE, but not meaningfully enough that the pilot can discern his intent.
ADASCA
Privately.
POE
Oh! Okay, I'll just—
FINN
Can't he stay?
ADASCA
He can, if you wish.
FINN nods.
ADASCA
Basic blood work detected an anomaly
in your Midichlorian per cell count.
POE
Midi what now?
FINN
Tiny power plants in your cells, basically.
Why's that important?
POE frowns, wondering why the FIRST ORDER would give FINN biology lessons.
ADASCA
It averages at about 7500 - three times the average for humans,
and it's the second marker for Force sensitivity.
FINN [shocked]
...What's the second one?
ADASCA
Abnormal brain activity characterized
by high Gamma and Theta waves...
which we just detected earlier.
FINN is completely silent as POE puts two and two together and begins beaming. He clasps Finn shoulder and shakes him.
POE
Finn, you're going to be a Jedi!
Congratulations, buddy!
FINN says nothing, shocked.
POE
Finn? You okay?
[to ADASCA]
Is he okay?
Before ADASCA can scan him again, FINN's eyes roll back and he faints. POE catches his friend just before he falls off the bed completely.
EXT - RESISTANCE FLEET - SPACE
The MERCY floats amidst the myriad warships of the Resistance fleet, in formation close to the RADDUS. Painted a bright beige with a white cross inside a blood-red stripe, its Imperial origins are betrayed by its elongated dagger shape.
CLOSE UP of the MERCY's hull. A set of double doors can be seen past one of the large windows arrayed in a shallow trench of the hospital ship, marked MAG TRAM STATION 4 in Aurebesh.
INT - RESISTANCE MEDICAL CRUISER "MERCY" , HALLWAY - SPACE
The doors slide open, revealing the interior of one of the MERCY's mag trams, the means through which the ship's crew and staff rapidly move along the length of the long, but slender craft.
FINN [distraught]
I can't be a Jedi!
FINN, sitting on a wheelchair, is being pushed by POE out of the tram into the hallway, and towards the physiotherapy ward. The array of windows are on their right.
FINN [gulping]
I mean, I spent my whole
life thinking they were
evil space wizards! Heck,
I spent most of my life
learning how to kill them
with a riot prod! And now...
Turns out I'm one of them?!
POE [smiling]
I can picture it already...
You standing tall, clad in
white ceramic armour
holding up your lightsaber
with both hands...
FINN [worried]
Can stormtroopers even be Jedi?
Do Jedi even wear armour?
I... I'm so confused!
POE [amused]
...And a sweet, black cape,
billowing in the wind
while Rey looks up at you
with awe and admiration and
maybe just a tiny bit of lust.
FINN suddenly remembers when he had last seen REY: Alone, against KYLO REN...
FINN [panicking]
Rey? REY! Is she here?!
Is she okay?!
POE
Ah, she's not back yet,
but she's on her way,
and guess who's she's bringing
with her?
FINN
Who?
POE
Luke Skywalker, man!
He's coming back, and
with him, the Jedi!
FINN
Poe, I don't know, I...
FINN finally notices the RADDUS in the window, and the rest of the RESISTANCE fleet in the background. For his benefit, POE turns the wheelchair to the right, and stands besides FINN in admiring the immense ship.
FINN [awed]
Whoa... that's a big ship.
Is that a Star Defender?
A Viscount Star Defender?
POE
Yep. Only one of its class.
Pride and joy of the fleet, courtesy
Mon Cala. Ain't she something?
FINN
And the fleet!
How'd you get so many ships and crew?
POE
We called in a LOT of favors.
The Resistance isn't the only one
with a bone to pick with First Order,
you know? Twenty-thousand people
and change. Droids, humans, bothans, twi'leks...
troopers, sailors, medics, mechanics.
But you know what we'll need more than
anything else?
FINN
Jedi.
POE
That's right. I mean, Skywalker's a big deal,
and Rey's got the gift, if what Chewie told me is true.
But that's only two.
FINN senses what POE is driving at.
FINN
Poe, honestly, I don't think I'd be a good Jedi.
The best I can offer the Resistance for...
FINN looks back, trying to look at his replacement spine.
FINN
... for all it's done for me is another blaster.
POE
Come on, you'd make a great Jedi.
FINN
What makes you so sure?
All I've wanted to do since
my conditioning broke is run away...
POE kneels in front of FINN, bringing the two to eye level.
POE
Enough of that.
You went on a rescue mission
to Starkiller on a piece of junk!
FINN
I just wanted to save Rey...
POE
Hey, you know what's in there?
He taps FINN's chest with his finger.
FINN
Fear, horror and terror?
POE
Courage.
And every Jedi of legend
had that in spades and then some.
You'll make a great Jedi.
I can see it, Leia can see it,
and so will Luke.
FINN [moved]
You... really believe that?
POE
I know it. Now come on,
let's get you some therapy.
POE gets back up and resumes pushing FINN's chair. The ex-stormtrooper, meanwhile, is looking at his hands, his face full of hope for his own future. At first, he thought he'd spend the rest of his life as a fugitive running away from the First Order, the alternative being a slave, or worse, but now...
FINN [murmuring]
A Jedi...?
INT - RESISTANCE MEDICAL CRUISER "MERCY" PHYSIOTHERAPY WARD - SPACE
POE and FINN enter the physiotherapy ward, basically a small gym where patients that had suffered debilitating injuries come to restore the full functionality of their limbs through exercises. The place isn't very crowded, since most of the Resistance casualties are either in the burn ward or still recovering in the Bacta tanks. A maroon-haired Zeltron nurse comes to greet them. She's very lovely, with a uniform just snug enough to show off some curves but not quite enough to reinforce the clichés of her species.
ZELTRON NURSE
Hello, there. Mister Finn, I presume?
FINN [flustered]
Err... ah, maybe?
POE
Yeah, it's him.
The nurse double checks by scanning the tag attached to FINN's wrist, and nods.
ZELTRON NURSE
Hi, I'm Nurse Chani. I'll be the one
administering your basic motion range exam.
FINN [flustered]
How long will that take?
NURSE CHANI
Not long - Dr. Adasca tells me
your've adapted to your new spine
extremely well. Assuming you pass
you'll be allowed to get back to
active duty almost immediately.
Nurse CHANI moves behind FINN, and grabs his wheelchair's handles. They begin to move towards a testing machine.
FINN
Hey, Poe? Where can I find you after this?
POE [yawning]
I'll be right there.
With his thumb, POE point points behind him, at another room past the door to the Ward. Said room was full of sleep pods, and some members of the Resistance milling about it.
POE
Getting some pod time.
FINN
Sweet dreams, I guess.
POE
Nah, you don't dream in those.
POE turns around, and makes his way towards the pods.
POE [under his breath]
...they'd just be nightmares.
EXT - HOSPITAL SHIP MERCY - SPACE
From outside we see POE as he examines a free sleep pod and dials in an hour of rejuvenating stasis. As he removes his flight suit and stores it a locker besides the pod, the barely visible, distorted silhouette of POE's guardian angel's ship — OMEGA ONE — comes into view. Inside the cloaked craft, the pilot eyes POE through the thick transparisteel, her visor hiding her intent. Suddenly, there is a beep resounding in her cockpit before shetouches the side of her helmet as she receives a coded transmission.
She flies away, unnoticed by all...
...Except POE, who looks out the window, feeling like someone had been watching him.
EXT - DREXEL SYSTEM - TURANIC BASE DERELICT - SPACE
DREXEL, a red-dwarf star from which a fine particulate radiates out into the emptiness of space... just dense enough for the astral bodies in its system to cast a visible shadow in the red gloom.
XIII's Vulture jumps in from Hyperspace, and streaks across the stars. PAN to his destination - the TURANIC BASE that SCHAKAL's flight of fighters once called home.
At least, what remains of it.
XIII [radio]
This is XIII to Raddus.
INT - RADDUS, BRIDGE - SPACE
ACKBAR's pod chair moves towards the central holo-table as KAYDELL gives him the thumbs up.
ACKBAR
Raddus to XIII,
We receive you.
XIII
I'm beginning my recon flight now.
No active pings on sensors so far.
Streaming sensor data.
A miniature hologram of XIII's VULTURE appears in front of ACKBAR, followed by the low-resolution light-voxels of the debris and derelicts surrounding the recon craft.
EXT - DREXEL SYSTEM - TURANIC BASE DERELICT - SPACE
XIII flies amidst the shadows cast by the derelict ships in the area...
ACKBAR [radio]
It's a graveyard out there...
The debris in the area barely moves, still in relative orbit around the red dwarf.
XIII
Yeah. Everything's so... still.
XIII flies towards one of the base's perimeter autoguns, floating rotary cannons in space mounted on chassis, their hulls dotted with the holes of vernier thrusters. At least, that's what they should have looked like - instead, the autoguns that XIII flies around and shines his searchlight on had been mangled beyond recognition in an earlier attack. The only one that appeared intact hadn't functioned in years.
XIII [radio]
Fleet, you seeing this?
It's like something just... grabbed
that autogun and crushed it.
ACKBAR [radio]
Optics feed is good, we see it.
XIII
I think this was done by War Droids.
ACKBAR
No, Mandalorians don't come this far out, not these days.
XIII
Tagging the wrecks for salvage.
Pliers should be able to make something
out of the scrap.
XIII makes another pass at the autoguns, and fires signal darts at them.
CLOSE UP of the last signal dart as it impacts with the intact derelict autogun. It beeps in unison with the bursts of its strobe light.
XIII flies closer to the base - where the torn pieces of Turanic RAIDER-class and STARVIPER-class fighters float in space. Corpses float among the debris... and the globes of coalesced liquids leaking from their suits.
XIII
Hm, couldn't be torpedoes or missiles.
The bodies are in good condition.
ACKBAR
What kind of weapon tears the ship in two
but leaves the pilot mostly whole?
XIII
The Force, maybe?
ACKBAR
It can't be - Luke Skywalker
is the most powerful Jedi I know,
and not even he could do this.
XIII
Maybe it's a really, REALLY big Jedi, then?
The TURANIC CARRIER that had tried to defend the base had fared much worse: whatever attack the place had split it only partway in two, with just enough hull and girder left to hold the two halves together. Holes and burn marks are present all over, having turned much of the inside into slag. The crew had fared worst than the pilots, evidently.
XIII tags the wreck for salvage.
XIII
Huh, laser hits all over.
Had to have been surrounded.
Alright, I'm moving on to the station.
The station's hull was ruined, leaving the inside lifeless, but compared to the carrier and fighters, had come out in better shape. XIII's vulture enters through a major breach in the hull, shining a searchlight over the interal workings of the ship, and finds more dead bodies and debris.
The dead turanics, strangely enough, had been cut apart.
XIII
Hm... looks like the station got
taken out by a boarding action.
The Vulture parks itself near a door as its rear hatch open, allowing XIII to come out and extend his body. Taking a small repeater blaster with him, the droid ignites his micro-thrusters and flies further into the ship.
XIII
I'm going in. Gravity is nil
and air is non-existent.
Don't expect survivors.
ACKBAR
Be careful.
At the first sign of danger, get out
and return to base.
XIII
Roger Roger!
INT - RADDUS, LEIA'S QUARTERS - SPACE
Now alone and still clad in her dark longcoat, Leia lays asleep on her couch, her weariness having finally caught up with her. The room is dark, lit only by the stars and the running lights of ships outside the window. Something can be heard in the shadows - the whispers of many, growing in number culminating in a single voice:
CEADEUS REN
Leia...
LEIA does not wake, not yet. As she sleeps, the heavy footfalls of metal boots can be heard as they approach her, until CEADEUS' shadow looms over her. With more clarity, he speaks again.
CEADEUS REN
...Organa.
LEIA heard that, and wakes with a start and rises, years of training on Alderaan kicking in: she quickly draws a pistol from her coat, and her eyes seek for any telltale sign of an assassin, if not the intruder himself.
LEIA
Lights on!
The lights in the room activate, and the shadows retreat... but no one else is there. LEIA doesn't breathe a sigh of relief: her instincts are still telling her that danger is imminent...
CLOSE UP of the box of sabers, as LEIA grabs them.
CUT TO:
INT - RADDUS, BRIDGE - SPACE
The main doors slide open, getting the golden droid's — Threepio — attention as LEIA enters and strides toward ACKBAR.
THREEPIO
Oh, princess! Are you alright? you seem—
LEIA motions THREEPIO to be quiet as ACKBAR and XIII talk over the radio.
XIII [radio]
Lots of dead bodies, cause of death: vibroblade cut.
Had to have been a raid.
ACKBAR [skeptically]
You said there was too much hardware
laying around to be one, earlier.
XIII [radio]
Yeah, but... I dunno, but whoever did this
had to want something real bad from
the Turanics if they boarded, right?
LEIA
Ackbar...
ACKBAR
[to XIII]
XIII, keep us posted. Ackbar out.
[to LEIA]
Leia, what is it?
LEIA [tense]
Has anything happened
while I was gone?
ACKBAR
Besides XIII's recon flight?
No, nothing.
LEIA
Are you sure?
No anomalies on sensors or
any waveforms on the edge of
the system?
ACKBAR
Nothing as of yet...
Leia, what's wrong?
LEIA
I just had one of my bad feelings...
ACKBAR nods.
ACKBAR
[to the bridge crew]
Set condition yellow across the fleet.
Tell all ships and patrol flights to keep their
eyes peeled and report any danger.
KAYDELL relays the orders to the rest of the fleet, while ACKBAR swivels his chair towards the NAVIGATOR.
ACKBAR
Navigation, how's our escape vector?
TAM DRADIS transmits the relevant data to the NAVIGATOR's console, who goes over it and nods.
RADDUS NAVIGATOR
It's a little narrow, but it's clear enough
of asteroids for a stable hyperspace jump.
I've already begun synching the navcoms.
EXT - CHARON SYSTEM, RESISTANCE FLEET - SPACE
A flight of GREEN A-wings streak into the foreground, the fleet far behind them as they weave around errant asteroids. In the background, the shuttles and transports make themselves scarce, docking with the nearest available ship large enough to accommodate them.
CLOSE UP of GREEN LEADER in his cockpit as he catches a red blip on his sensor screen.
GREEN LEADER [radio]
This is Green Leader, Raddus, do you read?
KAYDELL [radio]
We read you, Green leader. Something to report?
GREEN LEADER [radio]
I think I saw something on my current vector.
Permission to investigate?
KAYDELL
...permission granted. Good hunting!
GREEN LEADER
Roger that. You heard her, Greens.
INT - RADDUS, BRIDGE - SPACE
LEIA [worried]
Threepio, have you heard anything from our spies?
Did they get any intel on the Knights of Ren, or
does the First Order have anything else up its sleeve?
THREEPIO
I'm sorry, your majesty, but after Starkiller they've
they've gone completely silent. I fear the worst.
LEIA
Dammit...
ACKBAR
I've learned to trust your instincts,
but... I would like to know what we're
on the look-out for.
LEIA [frustrated]
I don't know! I just know something's coming.
ACKBAR
Leia, the First Order can't jump on top of us -
they'd phase into an asteroid! By the time
a Star Destroyer can get past this wall of rocks
we'll be long gone.
CLOSE UP of LEIA, her anxiety growing.
EXT - CHARON SYSTEM, ASTEROID BELT - SPACE
GREEN FLIGHT's A-WINGS are at the spot where they detected the errant sensor blip.
GREEN LEADER
Spread out.
The other pilots obey, and GREEN FLIGHT scatters among the asteroids. Little do they know... a VT 66, painted with a BLOODSTRIPE across its menacing hull, stalks them, hidden in the shadow of a large asteroid. Unaware, GREEN LEADER keeps flying, until two asteroids part and he catches a glimpse of TIE WORKERS putting something into place.
The VT 66 strikes - four quad blaster turrets and its main forward guns quickly tear the A-wings apart. GREEN LEADER barely has time to scream before his own craft erupts into flame, and he is soon joined by his wingmen. Only a severely damaged A-wing survives, and escapes to warn the fleet.
INT - RADDUS , BRIDGE - SPACE
The Bridge's lights begin to flicker, and go out.
ACKBAR
What's happening?!
Before anyone can speak, a voice - low, deep, and growling - booms across the hull, silencing all.
CEADEUS REN's VOICE
LEIA ORGANA.
A MONTAGE across the fleet:
FINN and CHANI aboard the MERCY...
LUMI and GARLAND aboard the RADDUS, stepping off its main tram...
SONOCHEE and PLIERS, in the main HANGAR...
ADASCA in one of the MERCY's labs...
TALLIE, in the brig...
MAHRACCOR and his men...
ZEV and SHRIV checking another fighter...
TAIKA, interrogating SCHAKAL aboard the SABLE PEARL...
KALANI and his bridge crew, aboard the Providence...
...All look up in surprise, and are struck silent by shock. CEADEUS' voice reaches them all.
MONTAGE ENDS
INT - RADDUS , BRIDGE - SPACE
CEADEUS REN's VOICE
I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME.
YOU... ARE TRAPPED.
Leia puts on a mask of boldness.
LEIA
...are we, now?
LEIA gives TAM DRADIS a look, who shakes his head: nothing on the scopes.
CEADEUS REN's VOICE
I AM CEADEUS REN,
AND I HAVE COME TO SEE JUSTICE DONE.
LEIA ORGANA.
YOU STAND ACCUSED OF DESECRATING HOLY LANDS,
OF ORCHESTRATING THE ASSASSINATION OF
HIS HOLINESS, THE GRAND KILTIAS HIMSELF,
AND THE ATTEMPTED FILICIDE OF GRAND MASTER KYLO REN.
I OFFER YOU THIS CHANCE TO SURRENDER YOURSELF,
AND SUBMIT TO GOD'S JUDGEMENT.
IN EXCHANGE, YOUR CREW SHALL BE SPARED THE WRATH...
...OF THE KNIGHTS OF REN.
WHAT SAY YOU?
LEIA
[to KAYDELL]
Can he even hear me?
KAYDELL gives her a look of complete bafflement in response.
CEADEUS REN's VOICE
YES...
Suddenly, black smoke and red embers erupt behind LEIA, taking the shape of CEADEUS REN.
CEADEUS' APPARITION
...I CAN.
LEIA whirls around, surprised, but unafraid, while the rest of the bridge crew immediately point their sidearms at CEADEUS. One of the Marines proves to have an itchy trigger finger, and the red bolt passes through CEADEUS's head, causing the smoke to briefly distort. An illusion, made of shadow, smoke and embers.
CEADEUS' APPARITION
I ASK AGAIN:
WHAT SAY YOU?
EXT - CHARON SYSTEM, ASTEROID BELT - SPACE
A lone A-wing pilot — GREEN FOUR — manages to make it within radio range of the fleet, past the interference of ferrous asteroids.
CLOSE UP of GREEN FOUR's A-WING. It's barely holding together: the left engine is smoking scrap, the canopy is cracked, and the pilot's consoles are sparking.
GREEN FOUR
Mayday! Mayday!
Fleet! The First Order is here!
RADDUS, please respond!
But only static is transmitted.
INT - TURANIC BASE, MAGAZINE - SPACE
XIII is inside a vast chamber - the MAGAZINE - full of pirate ordnance: torpedoes, missiles, thermal detonators, mines. But something is missing in the room: a thousand cubic meters of it is conspicuously empty. XIII is accessing a computer, looking for something... and finds it: the MAGAZINE's manifest.
XIII
Raddus, I think I figured
out what they wanted...
Raddus? Raddus! Do you read?
INT - RADDUS , BRIDGE - SPACE
CLOSE UP of KAYDELL's earpiece, as XIII's voice can be faintly heard, garbled by static.
WIDE SHOT of the bridge, as LEIA stands defiantly against CEADEUS. The KNIGHT of REN's arms are crossed, waiting for her response.
LEIA [defiant]
Here's what I say, you
cheap, discount Vader wannabe!
You're bluffing! There isn't a single
Star Destroyer in the system
or even an interdictor remotely
close enough to prevent our escape!
I don't have to submit to your authority,
or your "Grand Kiltias", or your God, or Kylo Ren!
CEADEUS' blazing eyes narrow at LEIA.
CEADEUS' APPARITION
AND YOUR CREW? WILL THEY LAY DOWN
THEIR LIVES SO THAT YOU MAY
ESCAPE GOD'S JUSTICE?
EXT - CHARON SYSTEM, ASTEROID BELT - SPACE
GREEN FOUR
MAYDAY! MAYDAY!
ANYONE, PLEASE RESPOND!
CAPTAIN ELSON [radio]
This is the Protector! Green Four, we read you!
What's going on?!
GREEN FOUR
We need to get out of here!
The First Order...
INT - RADDUS , BRIDGE - SPACE
LEIA
They'll lay down their lives
because they know damn well what
First Order Mercy looks like!
If they're going to die, they're might as well die fighting!
Now, are you going to keep up this conjurer's trick—
As LEIA speaks, XIII's voice finally comes through clearly. CUT TO KAYDELL, listening in on her headset.
XIII [radio]
XIII to RADDUS, I've found out
what the Turanics got killed for!
I repeat—
KAYDELL
[to XIII]
What, what was it?!
EXT - CHARON SYSTEM, ASTEROID BELT - SPACE
GREEN FOUR [scared]
They put one in every asteroid!
We need to go, now!
ELSON [shocked]
Repeat! Put what in every asteroid?!
INT - RADDUS , BRIDGE - SPACE
LEIA
—Or are you going to put your money where you mouth is?!
INT - TURANIC BASE, MAGAZINE - SPACE
XIII
—Seismic charges! Two thousand of them!
INT - RADDUS , BRIDGE - SPACE
CEADEUS opens his arms wide...
CEADEUS' APPARITION
...AS YOU WISH.
...and vanishes, just as the light of over two thousand seismic charges detonating washes over the inside of the bridge. The entire crew, excluding THREEPIO, shield their eyes...
EXT - CHARON SYSTEM, ASTEROID BELT - SPACE
Sound is momentarily erased from the world, and is promptly unleashed again as the seismic charges planted by the TIE WORKERS into the asteroids erupt into bright clouds of concentrated kinetic energy. They then burst into thousands of shockwave rings that tear, shatter and rupture everything in their path! Rock smashes into rock, causing a Kessler Effect that sends countless pieces — large and small — of ferrous rock flying at the Resistance Fleet. GREEN FOUR, in the path of the asteroid storm, attempts to evade, but a single pebble enters through a breach in his hull, causing his remaining engine to choke, and he spins out of control, right into the path of a shard of iron ore.
His death marks the start of THE BATTLE OF CHARON'S BELT.
INT - MILLENIUM FALCON, COCKPIT - NIGHT
Sitting at the pilot's seat, LUKE SKYWALKER awakes from his slumber, as the Force alerts him of the threat to his sister.
LUKE [frightened]
Leia...!
END OF EPISODE 6
Musical Notes:
[1]: Homeworld Remastered Soundtrack: Turanic Raiders. Yep, crossover! What better way to introduce these guys with their original theme? A mix of drums and long synth notes, evoking thoughts of a tribal culture, along with a feeling of dread, as unbelievably fast and resilient starfighters swarm around you to take your money, cargo and your life.
[2]: Fifth Element OST: Leeloo. If you saw the movie, recall the fascinating scene where the deuteragonist of that movie is bioprinted back to life, and you should have some idea of how the scene with Finn in his bacta pod plays out. Halfway in, the track turns bittersweet and sorrowful, matching Finn's emotions as the memories of his family elude him.
Authors Notes: Legends fans! Asuran Adasca is, indeed, a descendant of the late Arkoh Adasca, CEO of the biotech company Adascorp. As his presence implies, Adascorp has survived in some form into the Sequel Trilogy Era. What's the scion of a wealthy family of doctors doing on the Mercy? Who knows?
Speaking of the Mercy, the numbers mentioned in its interior are a reference to another Legends character. Can you guess who?
By the way, episode 7 is in progress, and should get posted within the week!
This fanfic is being made with the support of 34 patrons on p-a-t-r-e-o-n!
Extra special thanks to CMY187, Kalaong, Andrew, and PNG1!
