Leia frowned at the Commander. "We gain nothing by antagonizing one another," she said. Her voice was gentle, but it was an obvious rebuke.

Dameron glanced over the schematics. "I assume the placement of the isotope containment wells are correct," he said, pointing to several bulges on the rear of the ship.

I nodded.

"If we could damage them," Dameron continued, "it could destabilize the reactant silos."

"That would knock the secondary engines off-line," Parsons said, "as well as anything associated with them."

"And isotope wells will be just below the outer hull plating," Seastriker added. "They should be easy to take out… if we can get through the shields."

Welles raised a hand to interrupt. "You are telling me the First Order designed a ship with an exposed engine component that, if destroyed, can bring down aft shields and weapons?"

"It isn't exposed," Dameron explained, "but they aren't buried in the ship. Isotope wells use heat exchangers so they are more efficient when exposed to space."

"I'm familiar with starship systems, Commander," Welles said dryly.

Dameron ignored him. "And it normally wouldn't matter. No one would charge into range of dozens of turbolasers, dodge missiles, amd punch through the aft shields just to disable a secondary engine. They'd target weapons, sensors, shield emitters…"

"But they cut corners," Seastriker said, "So that now taking out that engine brings down everything else."

"I still don't buy it," Welles said. "Why would they leave such a glaring weakness?"

"We required the vessel to be returned to service quickly for an operation," I said. "It was deemed an acceptable risk. Given that you were unaware it existed, it seems that was a reasonable decision."

"This is all assuming the Eviscerator is the ship that responds," Welles pointed out.

"Any comparable weaknesses on the Finalizer?" Parsons asked.

"No," I replied succinctly. Externally, Finalizer was nearly indistinguishable from Eviscerator. But despite their nearly identical hulls and structure, their systems were substantially different, with Finalizer being bolstered by everything from a triple-redundant high capacity power distribution network to Kyber-crystal enhanced weapons. Any weakness that had been identified on the first generation of Resurgent class ships had been carefully corrected by the time Finalizer was launched.

"So what do you suggest if the Finalizer joins the battle?" Welles pressed.

"Withdraw."

"History is not written by those who make a hasty retreat," another officer at the table huffed.

"Nor by the dead," I said quietly.

"The Resistance is no stranger to seemingly insurmountable odds," Welles said stiffly. "You should know that well by now."

Parsons shifted his weight in his seat. "But such victories required careful planning to exploit known weaknesses," he said, seemingly uncomfortable contradicting his peer in front of me.

"Spoken like an intelligence officer," Welles grumbled. "Our accomplishments are the result of the perseverance and bravery of our people, not some back room analysis."

"I don't intend to suggest otherwise," Parsons said, a hint of irritation in his voice. "Let me remind you that I was an infantry commander before I moved to intelligence. I have seen what great men and women can accomplish on the battlefield." He looked back at Leia. "And that is why it is so uncomfortable for me to discuss sending people against an overwhelming force. They deserve better from us."

Leia nodded. "I agree. But our retreat would result in another wave of destruction on Ultan. I cannot take that lightly."

"I do not envy your position," Parsons replied.

"For now, I want two battle plans developed. One to execute the strategy that has been proposed to deal with the Eviscerator and another on how to delay the Finalizer as long as possible." With that she stood, and the officers at the table immediately came to attention. Rey came to her feet as well, though more informally.

Leia stepped back from the table and several of the officer immediately began discussions, one referencing the Star Destroyer diagram that still hung in the air. Others went to private workstations to begin their own analysis. I stood near the door, taking in the activity before I noticed a young officer guiding Rey to one of the work stations. I carefully kept my distance, using the Force to refine my senses so I could observe what was occurring without intruding.

"We had a holonet transmission come in for you about ten minutes ago," the man said. "I informed him you were in a meeting with the General but he insisted on holding the channel until you were free."

"Thank you," Rey said as she took a seat at the workstation. She punched a code into the computer before her and the attached hologram projector crackled to life. Even from my obscure viewing angle it was immediately evident who the man was: The traitor. FN-2187.

"Finn!" Rey greeted him warmly despite the strain she was under. "How are you? How is the therapy going—when I left Doctor…" She trailed off as the man raised his hands.

FN-2187 offered her a toothy grin. "I'm fine Rey, and thanks for asking. But that isn't why I'm calling. There is a rumor going around I thought you and the General needed to know about. I'm not sure if it is true, but apparently someone either captured or killed Kylo Ren. I'm not sure how or when, but the New Republic dispatched the Vision to investigate so it must be pretty serious."

Rey's lips tightened noticeably as she considered how to respond. "It's complicated," she said.

"Tell me about it. No one knows exactly what is going on, and with something this big everyone has an opinion. Hopefully it means you'll never need to deal with that thing again."

"I meant it's complicated here." Rey paused for a moment. "You see… he wasn't exactly captured."

"So he's dead," he said. "I kind of assumed he'd fight to the death. He was as arrogant as he was evil." Rey raised her hands slightly, but the former stormtrooper failed to notice. "Probably better in the long run." His expression cooled noticeably as he realized there was another consideration he had failed to take into account. "How is the General taking it?"

"Actually," Rey said slowly. "He's not dead."

"How could you… are you at Ultan? That's where the ship was headed."

"I am." Rey swallowed, unsure how her friend would react to her next statement. "And so is he."

The surprise on the ex-stormtooper's face was evident, even on the quarter scale hologram. "What do you mean?" he demanded.

"He has left the First Order," Rey said.

There were several seconds of silence before the man quietly replied: "I don't believe it. He's a twisted, evil puppet of Snoke. Beyond redemption."

"Something happened between him and Snoke. He hasn't said much about it, but if he goes back Snoke will kill him."

"Sounds like a plan."

"You don't really believe that," Rey admonished.

"If anyone has ever deserved to be tortured and killed, it's Kylo Ren."

Rey flinched slightly. As much as she wanted to sympathize with her friend, her training prevented her from agreeing with his statement. "He's been helping us," She countered, "Right now we have a common enemy."

"He is the enemy," FN-2187 spat. "No amount of smooth talking changes that." He looked almost pleadingly at Rey. "And you said it yourself. 'For now'. What happens when that changes? He'll hurt you the moment he no longer needs you."

"It isn't that simple," Rey said.

"Yes it is!" the traitor insisted. "I get the General's sympathies… she can't separate that creature from her son. But you… you know better. You saw what he did to Han. He's capable of anything. There are no limits to his cruelty."

"I can't condone what he's done," Rey replied, "but if he can help us to defeat Snoke…"

"Forget what should happen to him. I'm worried about you."

"I know," Rey said, fighting back tears. "I know you won't understand, but he isn't what you think he is."

"I won't understand?" the former Stormtrooper scoffed. "I'm not strong in the Force so I don't get it. That's what you meant to say."

"I've seen his thoughts," Rey said. "There is something within him. Something good that wants to be free."

"Or that is what he wants you to see. I may not be a Jedi, but I can see when someone is being used."

"Finn, please."

"Look, I should be out there with you, but I still can't walk without excruciating pain! All because of that man—that thing!" The man glanced down. "And compared to most of his victims," he said more solemnly, "I am incredibly lucky."

I took several steps forward, placing myself into view of the holocamera. I saw FN-2187's throat muscles tightened noticeably as a he fought back a wave of nausea. "No…" His attention snapped back to Rey. "What are you people thinking? He should be in a cell."

"Had my blade been less precise, perhaps you would not have lived long enough to endure such agony," I said, my voice calm and emotionless despite my revulsion for the traitor.

"Had you been precise," he taunted, "I'd be dead."

"Believe what you wish," I replied. "My desire to end you was nothing next to my craving to see you suffer." Had I truly wanted the man dead, he would have been. But my blade was guided by the Force, and thus by my motivations.

To my surprise, the traitor laughed. "You're making excuses now."

My expression darkened. Who was this vile, untrustworthy creature to challenge me?

The traitor's eyebrows raised slightly and grinned smugly. "Touched a nerve there, huh?"

I inhaled almost imperceptibly. "As did I," I replied quietly, darkness lacing my words.

The smile faded. "You think it's funny?" he asked. "What you do… inflicting injuries, torturing, killing… it amuses you?" FN-2187's gaze shifted to Rey. "Life doesn't matter to him. He doesn't care about suffering. He doesn't respect anything," He said in exasperation. "Least of all you."

"Rey is most certainly worthy of respect," I said. "You do not even begin to comprehend why."

The former Stormtrooper shook his head. "No, you're the one who doesn't understand. To me Rey is a kind, caring, good person. All you see is a power that you can manipulate to do your bidding. That isn't respect, its exploitation."

"If you believe I can coerce her that easily you do not know her as well as you think," I snapped. "Rather than challenging me, perhaps you should focus on helping her. I understand the New Republic has not provided any information about when the Vision will arrive or the composition of its battle group."

The other man's eyes narrowed. "And why would you want to know that?"

"We are expecting another First Order attack," Rey interjected. "The timing of the Vision's arrival could make a major difference."

"And I should know that," he replied, almost sarcastically. "After all, I'm a liaison officer to the New Republic military." The hologram glared at me, the fury behind the traitor's eyes clearly showing despite the poor quality of the transmission. "Which, I might add, is not a job I wanted but the kind of thing they give to a cripple who can't serve on the front lines."

His head shifted almost imperceptibly back towards Rey. "The truth is our relations aren't great, and when it comes to Kylo Ren they don't trust Leia's judgement. I found out everything I know through friends and contacts. I can tell you the Vision left Conderis one to two hours ago, but that is about it."

I withheld comment on the acrimonious relationship between the Resistance and Republic, instead mentally calculating travel time from Conderis to Ultan. "Six hours," I said.

"Is that soon enough?" the traitor asked, his animosity for me momentarily set aside and replaced by concern for his friends about the Emancipator.

I returned his stare without emotion, knowing that it was likely the First Order would arrive first. "No," I said bluntly.

His expression darkened noticeably, the fear in his eyes evident even through the flickering hologram. "You need to retreat," he said quietly. "It's too much of a risk. You can go back and fight them off when the Vision arrives."

"That could be too late for a lot of innocent people," Rey argued. "And I know you understand that. You barely knew me when you strong-armed the Resistance into launching a rescue mission to get me off Starkiller base."

"That was different… we needed to disable the shields so that—"

"And would you have left without me?" Rey asked.

"No," the traitor admitted. "You were the reason I was there," he said candidly.

"And protecting innocent people is the reason I am here."

Hopefully everyone enjoyed Finn's appearance! He's too interesting of a character not to include, and obviously he and Kylo have some serious unresolved issues!

As always, thank you for the faves, follows, views, and especially reviews!