Fragments in itallics are used to dive into specific characters' heads throughout the narrative.
Chapter 25: "The Rising Tide"
The top of a hill, years ago, in Yavin-4. Luke and three younglings sat before a duel. The young Ben Solo, wielding a shining blue lightsaber, was in the middle of a fight with Xan Jones, who wielded a green sword. Luke observed as his students practiced what he'd spent almost a year now teaching them. Xan had been the last to join the New Jedi Order; he was humanoid, but his head was red, his skin was somewhat scaled, he had only four fingers on each hand, and he had small fangs near his chin. He wore goggles and a small breathing apparatus over his nose and mouth. To Ben, this almost looked like he should be in pain.
The duel began. Ben slashed his saber several times in front of himself, to gain space, to intimidate, and to make his next move unpredictable. Xan had his left arm on his back, and held his saber decisively in a slightly diagonal direction, protecting his head.
Ben made a full spin over his right foot in the blink of an eye, and struck downwards with his sword, aiming at Xan's legs. Xan took a step back and instinctively swung his saber to block Ben's next strike. The sabers met as the two young boys both slowly rose. Luke felt something and decided to intervene.
"All right," he said, as he stood up, "That's enough," the boys separated their sabers and Xan turned it off, "That was a very quick defense, Xan, it will do you well. The Force is with you".
"Thank you, Master Skywalker," Xan responded, making a humble reverence to his teacher.
And what about me?
"I'll see you all tonight when we meditate," Luke said, turning to the three boys still sitting down, "You may take some time off now". The three stood up and, along with Xan, began their climb down the hill. Ben tightened his grip on the lightsaber as he faced Luke's back.
Is this going to be a lecture?
Ben finally shut off his saber, and Luke turned around.
"You were somehow both distracted and trying real hard to hurt him," he said, "Do you need me to explain why that's wrong or can you tell me that yourself?".
Trying to hurt him? Why does he say that?
"No, I wasn't trying to hurt him!" Ben snapped back almost instantly, "We're in a fight, I just fought". Luke leaned in and got closer to his nephew's face.
"You're naturally gifted," Luke said, "and much more so than he is, I might add. These things can sometimes get a hold of you… get the better of you".
I have no idea what he's talking about… I was distracted, of course… could that have affected without me knowing?
"How were you feeling during the duel?" a familiar voice in Ben's head asked.
It's my mom's birthday today… I missed her a lot.
"Tell him".
"I miss my mom…" Ben confessed, "It's her birthday today and I… well, I miss her". He looked to the ground in shame.
I feel bad for feeling that way. It's pathetic… and really not very much what a Jedi would do… but like, I can't… stop feeling it? Am I wrong for that? Or am I wrong for feeling it in the first place?
"Look," Ben's uncle said, "Your mother is doing her duties to the galaxy, to save it. That's above everything else. We are doing our part, and that involves you becoming a Jedi. Do you know what a Jedi would do with these feelings?".
"What?" Ben asked.
"Own them," Luke explained, "You feel these things, but Leia has her own life, her own path, and you have yours. Rejoice for the different paths that the Force allows us to take. Do not miss her; that's selfish. That's not the Jedi way". And, though Luke framed it as an eloquent and wise speech, Ben just felt incredibly small.
I… don't think that's what owning feelings means… but I don't wanna be… I'm not selfish, am I? Also, I don't remember choosing this path, really. Wasn't it chosen for me to prevent me from going all monster with the Force? If the Jedi way is not caring, I don't know if I want to be a Jedi.
"Thanks, Uncle Luke," Ben said, attempting to comfort himself through the reminder that this man was, at the end of the day, family, "I know what to do now".
"You're welcome," Luke said, as he turned around and walked away, "And it's Master Luke, remember. Jedi Order here".
I think I don't like it here.
Ben walked off down the hill as Luke remained, meditating. Ben was quiet the whole way, but his mind was blowing up. Why was he there? Why was he trying to be a Jedi? This wasn't the first time he felt this uncertainty, but it felt more intense than ever before.
Should I run away? Go back home, perhaps?
No… that's where I was kicked out of…
This…
This just…
This is the worst thing ever! I can't even count on anyone! I don't understand what he or my parents think and they have no interest in trying to make it clear to me, nor do they try to understand me! This is the worst. I want to leave and never come back.
Ben arrived at his hut and started preparing a supper.
Why?! I don't want to be here anymore… And I can't even tell Luke because he'll just be all "rejoice for being here and having food while others starve… it's those people that we are fighting for", and also "stop caring about people". This is the worst life I could imagine after such a normal childhood. Or is this still my childhood? I know I don't feel like a child.
"That's because they hardly even make you feel like a person".
It is, isn't it? Yes it is. He doesn't care about my feelings.
"But I do".
What?
Ben stopped moving. Throughout the past year, he'd heard this voice several times, but never as anyone outside himself. That last statement finally made the voice someone separate.
Who?
"Who are you?" Ben asked.
"I'm your friend, I've been here since I felt what would happen to you".
What does he mean?
"I mean I can see your mind. I have for a long time. And I saw your future, too. I saw Skywalker turning you into his little, emotionless slave. I've tried to alert you by making you ask important questions, but I saw what happened today. Luke and your parents just don't get you and they make no efforts to even try to change that. Their entire generation, as well as the previous ones, are what got the galaxy into this terrible conflict which took the lives of my parents".
Your parents were killed by the Empire?
"On the day that the Emperor was killed. His death meant nothing. It didn't solve any real problems, but they won't tell you that, they'll just raise you poorly and then die off, leaving behind an impossible world".
Sure feels like it.
"It's odd, isn't it? You have to deal with their terrible way of thinking and behaving when you're growing up, and when you finally get out of home, you're left on your own, out in the world, to deal with the messes they created… They're already training you to do that".
…right, that's true.
"But what do you feel?".
I feel like I want to go back and stop Luke from getting to Organa City…
"Back to your parents?".
Yeah. I miss them.
"But they sent you here".
Well… but…
"I guess they're your parents. You're right to feel that way".
Ben felt right then something he hadn't felt in a long time. His feelings had just been validated.
Yeah… I couldn't put it into words, but I guess you understand me better than I understand myself.
"Ben, I must now leave you for a moment to become just an observer again. Just one final advice: don't let them make you forget how extraordinarily powerful you are. Rather, let their fear remind you of it".
Thank you.
"See you around".
Ben felt like the lights got brighter, suddenly. There really was a presence there. Was that experience real or had he just imagined it? After all, the voice only said things about his own mind, right? The voice didn't even identify itself. Whatever it was, he hoped to be able to hear it again. Those two minutes were an escape, even if the subject of their conversation was the very situation Ben yearned to escape from.
Years later, in the distant planet Neast, an old man rolls Ben on a wheelchair out of the small house he's been sleeping in.
You're a monster.
I don't want to hear th-
You're weak and unlovable and a coward. Look at yourself. Pathetic.
Ben feels the weight of the coming torment, and it's really not what he wants, so he instead decides to talk to Burnhar.
"Burnhar, why do you do good things?" Ben asks, "Don't you ever feel like doing bad things?".
"Well," the gentle old man responds, "It's like a whisper in my head, telling me when something is right and when something isn't".
"That's funny," Ben comments, "In my head, the voice tells me to be a bad person".
The small caravan walks by a home, in the front yard of which the little Wille plays with action figures. Ben remembers having yelled at the kid a few weeks earlier.
"Have you always heard this voice?" he asks Burnhar.
"No… like most people, I had my dark times…" he looks to the distance, remembering a distant life, "But you learn things, and you form a moral code… and if you believe in it strongly enough, I can promise you that that code will start yelling at you when you do something that breaks it".
Hangred was pacing nearby, carrying a bag filled with everyone's dried-up clothes.
"Hey, Han!" Burnhar yells. Ben flinches for a moment and turns to his sides, then finally locating his neighbor and regaining composure, "Remember to drop off Carel's clothes first! She needs them to be warm".
"Will do, sir!" the short villager responds.
"Burnhar, you strike me as a very responsible man…" Ben admits, "You're just a person, and yet you try to do your best always to help people… to be selfless".
"Well, we're not alone, Ben," the man responds, "We're all together… and, like it or not, that means we should be there for each other".
"That… that makes sense," Ben responds.
Galaxies away, the Rebellion, lead by Finn and Rose, meets with five mine workers at a table on the dark edge of a bar.
"Look, listen," Rose says, "We're building something. We're taking down the First Order with small steps. In your mine, there are, what? Twenty six workers?".
"Twenty six, counting us, that's correct" one of them responds.
"We have a long-term plan," Rose explains, as she pulls out a large yellow-ish paper and puts it on the table. The paper has a massive diagram with about forty "X"s marked throughout it, as well as some eight circles sparkled in between, "But it's very fragile".
"What is this?" a mustached worker asks.
These are the planets that the First Order has its hand on," Rose points to one particular X, "This is here. The Xs are the planets in which TIE fighters are built for them, and the circles are the planets in which Star Destroyers are built".
"And how do you know this?" the mustached worker asks.
"I was a Stormtrooper," Finn responds, "Now I'm a Rebel. It may sound crazy, but, trust me, we'll need you to buy it for the next parts of this plan".
"We want to make a large-scale uprising," Rose finally says outright, "Everyone in here fears rebelling because of the retaliation. But think about it. How can they retaliate without ships?".
"I think I like where this is going," another worker says, "I mean, as a game, or something. To do it in real-life… I'm sketchy on it".
Finn chuckles. Deep down, he and Rose are also terrified.
"If we can take control of all of these… say, we take ten to twelve months to have Rebel movements in all of these planets. Then, for the next two months, every worker in all of these planets produces malfunctioning ships, and so the next batch of ships that the First Order gets will all be faulty".
"All right…" the mustached worker nods, and then his eyes open, and, though he looks at nothing, it's clear, he can see the plan already.
"On the other side of the field, we spend those same two months, maybe one or two additional months before, fighting their current ships, as hard as we possibly can, leaving them with as little as possible".
"So they're forced to use only the faulty ones," the mustached worker guesses, "Which makes them destined to fail".
"Exactly!" Rose says, excited, with a grin of hope on her face, "And then," Rose quiets down again, "Having Rebel movements on all of those planets, we organize a general uprising, and all of these planets gain their freedom…". Rose then sits back, in satisfaction. The other four workers are slowly coming to the same expression as their mustached friend.
"And so," Finn adds, to make the plan sound more attractive, "with one move, we simultaneously free these planets, get rid of most of the First Order's ships, and build a massive Rebel movement. This is how we win".
"Sounds pretty effective," one of the workers admits, "But a little hard to achieve".
"Yeah," Finn nods, "the timeframe we gave is maybe a little too optimistic. The key is for people to really believe".
"Exactly, "Rose adds, "They might make us think we're alone and powerless, but the truth is that if we stand together, they have no way to fight us. There are more of us, and what we fight for is real".
"All right, Rebels," the mustached worker says, "I think you made the right choice. I hope you keep being smart in how you sell this".
"Thank you…" Rose says, humbled, "Rebels". She and Finn stand up, leave some money on the table, and walk away, putting on hoods to cover their faces.
"It was probably a smart choice not to tell her about the Stormtrooper side of the plan," Finn says, discreetly, "Even I'm not totally sold on it, yet".
"It's the same principle," Rose responds, "Turn them around silently, then blow it up once we're everywhere".
"Yeah," Finn says. They both look to the ground as they exit the bar and a Stormtrooper walks by, "But we know not all Stormtroopers are easy to turn".
A few days later, in Neast, Burnhar is about to roll Ben into a small, local gymnasium.
"You'll be fine, Ben," Burnhar says, "Everyone in there already thinks you're a good person. No one in there hates you". Ben takes a deep breath.
I like it here. I like these people. Come on. I have to convince myself. You like them. You want them to… not hate you. They already don't hate you. Just…
No, you're a monster. Murder them the second you get in.
No, I don't want that life anymore.
Kill everyone in here. What, are you weak? No matter. Your life isn't worth living. How about you k-
"I'm ready," Ben says with his eyes closed, trying to convince himself by saying it out loud, "I'm ready". Burnhar makes a slight proud smile and then rolls Ben through the door, opening it. Inside the gym, there are three people: one of them is a humanoid with tiny eyes, blue, leather-ish skin, breathing pores in his cheeks as opposed to a nose, and claws on his fingers. He lays on a bench near the left wall and lifts a box over his chest. On the other side of the room, a pale humanoid with small horns over her head, a comparatively little nose, and purple lips and fingertips, exercises her legs with a very rudimentary-looking machine. In the middle of the room, a third humanoid, with arms that branch into tentacles, works on building another machine. Ben and Burnhar approach.
"Oh, you're here," she says, as she unbends, revealing to be about twice as tall as Burnhar, "I'm working on something new, but I got what you asked, Burn". She then points to her left, where there are two parallel bars with adjustable height.
"Time to get you back on your feet, Ben," Burnhar says, leaning into Ben's ear, "I hope you're ready". Burnhar starts to roll Ben toward the bars, but Ben remembers Burnhar's words.
"Hey, I don't think we've had the pleasure," he tells the tall villager, "I'm Ben".
"Pleased to meet you, Ben. I'm Duni," she says, "I'm in charge of everyone's health in the village. Over there," she points to the villager lifting the box, "Is Ymaure. And, over here," she then points to the opposite side of the room, "That's Voloyruedau".
"Oh," Ben responds, "Oh, you're the medic!".
"Medic?" she asks, looking confused. Then, she realizes what Ben means, and chuckles "Oh, no, that's Alexxo, my… former husband".
Burnhar parks Ben right in front of the two parallel bars.
I should try to sound empathetic and kind.
"Sorry to hear that," Ben says. His lips flinch a lot afterwards, as he puts his hands on the bars, and feels uncertainty, and a fear of falling.
I could use the Force to hold myself up, I guess…
Ben slowly but surely uses his arms' strength to be on his two feet again, but he's not allowing himself to rest on them. Rather, they're left hanging while his arms do the heavy lifting. His entire upper body shakes.
No, I have to really get back on my feet.
"He and I still talk," Duni explains, "The first few months were tough. We weren't great for each other, but it's funny, we grew and a different kind of love grew. We have dinner together, just the two of us, once every week, and it's really fulfilling. Sometimes love needs to be given time to change and grow".
"I'm g-" Ben begins to say, but he suddenly trips and falls to the ground over his left arm and shoulder. Everyone present reacts less than a second later. Ben agonizes on the ground, and throws insults at the air.
You can do nothing right!
"Ben, are you okay?" Burnhar asks, approaching the boy and wanting him to calm down, "Count to ten".
"Don't tell me what to do, you weak corpse!" Ben responds aggressively, pushing off Burnhar's hand. Burnhar looks shocked and disappointed, but he doesn't walk back even one step.
"Count to ten in your head," he insists.
Ben is breathing like he just finished a race.
Why? Alright, one, two, three… why did…?
Did I call him a corpse?
Ben slowly gets back to a more regular breathing rate.
Alright, four, five…
No, shut up, weakling, you were finally getting back to being who you are. Kill him now. Kill them all.
No! No! My head!
Ben cries in frustration and hits the ground, the bars, and then even tries to kick the wheelchair away, but it only hurts him more. He ends up in fetal position, crying quietly.
Burnhar looks upon him with sympathy, and sits down beside him. The remaining three villagers return to their tasks, though Duni does bring over tissues and a glass of water
"I'm… I-" Ben can barely talk. His nose is running off and his face is all messed up, "I'm sorry, Burnhar, I really am… I don't know if I want to be alive anymore, I don't think I can".
"Well…" Burnhar rests his hand on Ben's right arm and gently rubs it, "I don't believe this is an appropriate time for you to make such a decision. Let's go back home. We'll come back later".
Burnhar helps Ben get up as everyone remains quiet. He rolls Ben away as he says goodbye to his fellow villagers and they wish Ben comes back soon, stronger.
Burnhar and Ben are silent on the way home. Ben's mind is exploding. After a long journey, they get back to the room and Burnhar helps Ben lie on his bed.
"Would you feel better if I stayed here, nearby?" Burnhar asks. Ben just shakes his head, distracted, and Burnhar turns around to leave.
"I have to kill myself," Ben says, "I have to". Burnhar walks back to the bed, slowly.
"Why do you feel that way?" he asks.
"Because I've done terrible things. I should be punished. I… made the galaxy a worse place".
"Do you want to die?" Burnhar asks.
"I think so," Ben responds, "I'm bad for this galaxy".
"Well, but let me ask you this:" Burnhar gets closer, "Is there nothing worth living for?".
"No," Ben responds almost immediately, but his eyes get lost then, "Or… I don't know".
"Are there any good things out there?" Burnhar asks, "Any you can think of?".
Not in my life.
"I don't know…" he responds, "I should go to sleep. Don't worry, I'll still be alive tomorrow".
"All right," Burnhar stands up and walks away, "Try to look back and think of things that you like, that you think are good or… beautiful. Good night". He almost shuts the door behind him, but instead he takes a step back for one final thought, "If you think you deserve to die because of what you've done, because of the person you were… you're not doomed to be that person anymore. If you think that person should die, then so be it. Kill him. Bury him. You don't have to let him kill you". Then, he shuts the door and leaves.
Ben falls asleep almost immediately, and by morning, all he can remember from his dream is Kylo Ren and Darth Vader destroying a Rebel base on a cold planet. At one point, the Death Star fired its beam near Vader, accidentally killing him, but despite being dead, in a voice that didn't sound very robotic, Vader warned Kylo Ren that he still had time.
Back in Fegwet, five captured Stormtroopers were inside a cage on the Rebel base. Finn and Cade arrived suddenly, bringing along nine chairs. Terr and Waldenhur arrived briefly, and thus the nine former First Order troops all sat down, in two parallel groups: those who had become Rebels, and those who were prisoners.
"What should we call you?" Finn asked them, "What would you like to be called?". One of them responds almost immediately.
"AX-7-," but he's interrupted by one of his partners.
"I was called Gali," he says, "Long ago. I think my parents called me that. That's what I'd like you to call me".
"Thank you, Gali," Finn says. The other four prisoners look at their partner. Two of them are genuinely shocked, while the other two seem to be understanding and following, "Anyone else would like to be treated as a person?".
"I think I want to be Rober," one of the two understanding troopers says, "I once met someone with that name on a planet we had to invade, and he convinced me to let him go".
"Why?" Cade asks.
"Well, he had come from the same planet I did," Rober explains, "And lost his children the day I lost my parents, which I can only remember glimpses of… I guess I thought he might be my father. Not really, though… but he could've been. And here I was, hunting him down. It just didn't seem right".
"Did it make you question anything about the First Order?" Terr asks.
"Absolutely," Rober responds, "Doubts I remember having at first. After all, we were essentially programmed from birth, sometimes abusively, to follow the First Order blindly. I wondered ever since, and I'm glad you pulled me out. I'm joining you. I'm taking down the First Order alongside you".
"What the h-".
"Me too," Gali adds, "The horrors have gone on for too long, and I'm tired of being a prisoner".
"I'm not sure what I want my name to be," the other understanding trooper says, "I'm open to ideas, but I'm done being a generic code".
"What is wrong with you?"
"Maybe they're right, AX…" the last trooper says.
"They are the enemy!"
"Based on what? For the record," he responds, "I want to be Davis".
"Have you all lost your minds?"
"My father's name. He was a Stormtrooper," Davis recalls, "From the times of the Empire. He deserted by the time it was about to fall. He fell in love with a woman in Towo, whom he'd met when they invaded a few months prior. They'd fallen in love, but he wouldn't give up his duty. He'd gone back to the Empire, but quickly realized he didn't want to be there anymore. Not really. So he found support among the troops, and all together, they crashed a Star Destroyer and escaped. He lived on with my mother. They got married. I was born. They told me this story when I was very young and actually told it again and again several times," Davis drops a few tears discreetly, trying to hide it, "The First Order got to us relatively late. I was seven. They made me think they were good. For a while they convinced me that my father betraying his 'duty' had been wrong… but no, he was right. Of course, he was captured, if not killed, actually, later on… and I want to honor him and my mother… Fight this curse which has wounded the galaxy for too long".
"Bu-" the last trooper is the only remaining prisoner. He can barely come up with any response, "This is the way things are… I'm… we've… have we been wrong this whole time?".
Terr can't keep looking at him. He felt this pain himself. Change always comes with the acceptance that what came before can't continue, and this isn't easy for everyone.
Outside the cages and in the main area, Rey, Lyn, and Rose stand around a table with more maps and a few books. Professor Rhuddal then joins them.
"Right, so, what's our next target?" Rey asks.
"Well," Lyn responds, "History showed that people on this planet, though hopeless, are also conscious of injustice and have anger toward it stored deep inside, mostly because most people in one way or another are directly involved in the mining work. But that's not true of all planets, and that's where it gets troubling".
"And then even with this planet," Rose adds, "having gone through its history, we had to try that failure of a first gathering, and then that first uprising, and then we even promised another uprising for the next day, before we came up with the definitive plan, and even that plan isn't a sure fire. It depends on countless other plans we haven't made working out in places we don't know".
"Yeah," Rey says, nodding as she comes to the realization that the stakes will get higher with each planet they start a movement on, "that's rough…".
Lyn pulls over a map of Fegwet, showing the main mining areas, with data about numbers of workers.
"We need to visit the other side of the planet," she plots, "Get everyone on board".
"Okay, let's be pragmatic about this," Rose says. She takes her eyes off of the table and looks at the emptiness before her, as if she's visualizing everything she's about to describe, "Very broadly speaking, there must be only four or five variations of the kind of planets we'll find. This is very much a planet with resented, radicalized workers, because the majority of the population is the working class, and of mines in particular. We know how to fire them up, how to give them hope, how to get them to unite. All right, that's one kind of planet. Let's look for a place which may be structured differently".
"Right," Rey says, "A workers' uprising here is almost a general uprising. But, say…" she sees planets on one of the many labelled maps, and carefully analyzes numbers, "Panta Filla… only fifty percent of the population work on the manufacturing of ships… Now, they must be incredibly oppressed, sure, but what about the other fifty percent?".
"I don't know," Lyn responds, "But I like where your heads are at. We need to know how to mobilize all kinds of people, or as many as possible. Whether we like it or not, I'm sure there are people who don't feel hatred toward the First Order".
"So, Panta Filla it is," Rey says, then looking at Rose, "Is it?".
"I think so," Rose responds, "Seems like it".
"Good," Rey smiles, "So, all we need i-" her eyes divert, as she feels something, or someone.
"Rey?" Lyn asks.
Is she here? Why is she here?
The First Order will go after her.
"Leia's here, somehow," Rey says, shocked, still processing. When they landed, Stormtroopers presumably awaited their arrival outside. Leia could have a few hours, at best, but if they're captured, matters will get really complicated, "They'll detect her ship or something". Rose rubs her forehead in stress, trying to come up with a solution. Lyn paces around the table, clenching her right fist, wondering how to proceed.
"Wait," Lyn finally realizes, "We have Stormtroopers!".
"Right!" Rey says, "All right, I'll try to approach their landing zone, by foot, just in case. The troopers had intercoms of some kind, right? Maybe we can tell the First Order's station that it's not a threat or something, and-".
"Go!" Rose yells, "We'll figure it out!".
Rey turns around dramatically, waving her massive yet light cape, and runs off out of the base. Rose and Lyn turn to the rest of the base. Lyn asks for the communication technology disabled and taken from the troopers days earlier. Rose looks for Finn and finds him sharing some Stormtrooper stories with fellow Rebels.
"Finn," Rose says, "Come with me". Finn rushes to her side and the two run off to the cages, where Lyn awaits.
"All except the four who seem to have turned already are inside here," Lyn explains, "There are thirty one Stormtroopers. Surely one must know how to solve this".
Rey opens the cage and the three of them walk in and close it behind them.
"Important people are entering the atmosphere and we need to prevent the First Order from capturing them," Rose explains, "We have your radio devices. Help us save these people".
"You're wasting your time!" one of the caged trooper yells.
"I can turn it on and synthesize the station for vigilance," Davis says, from outside the cage, "And we could talk to them, but I don't know the exact procedure for this. I'm just a field trooper".
"Does anyone in here know the procedure?" Lyn asks. The prisoners remain quiet for a moment, and then a familiar face raises his hand. Finn remembers him. He was the only trooper who hadn't turned to the Rebel cause hours earlier. Finn rolls his eyes. Of course he knows! The one trooper whom they couldn't get through to.
Rey is running faster than ever, clenching her teeth, jumping from lower to higher terrain, and then from higher to lower. It seems like she'll get there in time.
If I get there in time, we may not need the distraction. I just…
And then, a familiar sound. She turns her head and sees a First Order Settler; a ship designed to give a warm and violent welcome to intruders. In looking back, Rey misses a step and falls to the river running in front of her, wounding her right knee.
"No!" she yells, in pain, "Get up, come on!".
Almost on the other side of the planet, a small cargo ship searches for a landing zone. In the inside, thirty familiar Rebel faces wait patiently for events to unfold. General Leia opens her eyes. She lost communication with Rey. Chewie notices this and howls calmly at her, in doubt.
"I'm not sure," Leia responds, "She's still here".
Back in base, Davis hands Lyn the radio, which they now all hear out loud.
"Has it not identified itself?" a voice asks.
"Negative, commander," a different voice responds, "We have deployed and are on our way. Orders are to fire, correct?".
"I confirm," the first voice says, "Blow them to pieces".
"Please, do something!" Finn begs the trooper who knows the procedure, "These people are trying to save the galaxy! And they're going to get killed because you're too cowardly to accept that you could be a better person".
"They are almost in sight," a voice over the radio says, "Orders are still to fire?".
"You literally have a chance to become a better person right now!" Finn insists, "Please!".
The trooper remains sitting down. His forehead looks wrinkled, like he's conflicted. Every trooper around him focuses on him, waiting to see his reaction.
"I serve the First Order," he says, "Not you".
Finn growls in frustration.
"The First Order doesn't care about you!" Rose says, "If this falls apart and they find all of you, they'll just have you die on another battle for no real reason. You're worthless to them. Are you worthless to yourself?".
Rey stands up strugglingly and limps forward a few feet, then falling to the ground.
I can't see the ship… but maybe if I can feel it, I could stop it…
She closes her eyes and tries to narrow it down. It's moving too fast.
Come on. If you could keep up with Leia a few minutes ago, you can do this. Find it!
But, though she can momentarily sense it, it's beyond her to get a hold of it, especially with the physical pain of her knee bleeding off.
Leia, I'm sorry…
Finn grows desperate and grabs the radio himself.
"Base, I am confirming. We are the foreign ship. We are First Order, too". His mouth shrinks. He struggled to say each and every word. Rose stares at him. The two fear profoundly.
"Confirm. What is your mission code?" a voice asks.
"Uhh…" Finn responds, "I was not given one…".
"I'm afraid we cannot confirm your allegiance without either a mission code or the landing code for this system. If you have neither of these, I'm afraid, even if there are some of you inside that ship, we must take it as a threat and respond adequately".
Finn's mouth opens and nothing comes out of it.
"We found them, sir," another voice says through the radio, "We're engaging".
"No!" Finn yells. Some of the prisoner troopers look like they're feeling shame. The higher-ranking trooper sees this and looks into himself as well. The voice over the radio just confirmed Rose's point that their lives are less than numbers to the First Order. Everything in his head breaks apart. What's the point of continuing to be a Stormtrooper? What's the point of anything? Surely, his life must be worth something.
The First Order ship shoots its first blast at the Rebels' ship. On the inside, Chewie falls to the floor, and several Rebels seem to have given up. Leia also falls off balance.
The trooper stands up decisively and takes the radio from Finn's han, then speaking into it.
"Yes, this is AX-7791. The landing code is two, zero, one, seven, T, H, X, five, one, four. The ship is First Order. We will welcome it. Call for a return to base. Stop the attack".
"Understood," a voice says, "Returning to main base".
"I apologize for my fellow trooper. He was slightly misinformed and is on his first mission outside the city. You know how things are. They spend so much time in their bubble, it takes time to get them adjusted to things".
"Don't I know?" a voice responds, "We confirm. The ship is not intrusive".
Finn sighs in relief and hugs Rose. The two let off all the air they were keeping in. AX-7791 turns off the radio.
"Yeah, okay," he then says, "I understand".
