The interrogation room doors were meant to be well-shielded enough that noise couldn't escape; it had to be Eight-Seven's imagination that he could still hear the enemy soldier screaming.

Then Slip glanced at him for his post on the other side of the door. "You think there'll be anything left of this guy?"

Eight-Seven frowned under his helmet. "Why?"

"I dunno. But… he looks familiar, doesn't he? I swear I've seen him somewhere before."

"Yeah." Eight-Seven looked away, back down the corridor. The distant alerts had gone quiet, suggesting the attack had ended one way or another. "He does."

The door snapped open, making both of them twitch, and the wraith that was Kylo Ren stormed past, ignoring Slip when he called, "Sir?"

Eight-Seven sighed. Without a direct order, they would have to stay on guard while everyone else was dealing with the intruders. Movement caught the corner of his eye and he turned in time to see Slip peeking into the interrogation room.

"Slip-"

"It's fine, he's still alive. I gotta know, Eight-Seven."

Squeezing his eyes shut, Eight-Seven followed Slip in. They weren't technically abandoning their posts if they were in the room with the prisoner. But they really shouldn't be in there, either.

The prisoner eyed them warily. He looked awful, with bruise-dark circles ringing his eyes, and he was still shackled to the interrogation platform. He wasn't much taller than Eight-Seven, and a little on the skinny side now that he wasn't wrapped in the thick jacket they'd tossed into the corner. The edge of some sort of tattoo could be seen on his left temple, disappearing under short-trimmed black hair.

"What do you want?"

And he still had an attitude, that was fun. Eight-Seven grinned under his helmet. "What's your name, soldier?"

The man squinted at him. "What, is this the second stage of interrogation?"

"No, man," Slip insisted. "We think we've seen you before."

"Unlikely. I've been with the Resistance for nine years."

Eight-Seven and Slip had been mere cadets back then, under the command of- "Shit! He looks like Captain Geritt!" Eight-Seven blurted.

The soldier paused in tugging at his shackles. "Who's that?"

"He trained us," Slip volunteered. "He's a good man, you'd like him."

The man smirked. "That's quite a claim to make, uh…"

"FN-twenty-oh-three. This is FN-two-one-eight-seven."

The man rolled his head back, looking exhausted. "Well, I'm CT-6116, but my name is Kix. You shinies have names yet?"

Captain Geritt hadn't liked calling them by their service numbers either, unlike Captain Phasma; Captain Geritt had remembered every name they chose. He had also called them shinies, affectionately. Eight-Seven regarded the way the man kept working against the restraints, wondering if there was a purpose to it or if he just couldn't help himself. "Just Kix?"

"Commander. Commander Kix. I'm the CMO for our entire division."

Slip turned to stare at Eight-Seven. "You knocked out a medic?!"

"No, he was smart," Kix insisted. "Everyone underestimates medics."

"What did Ren want you for?" Eight-Seven found himself asking.

"I happen to know the location of a high-value target world populated by a bunch of kids and their families. Which is really unfortunate," Kix grunted, "because it won't take long for the planet's rotation to align for a firing pattern. I'm guessing an hour or so."

Eight-Seven could practically hear Slip's brain grinding over that information. "Why are a bunch of kids a target?"

"Jedi kids."

Slip scoffed. "Jedi? That's just a myth."

Kix arched an expressive eyebrow at them. "I served with enough of 'em back in the day. Ever hear of the 501st Legion?"

"Vader's Fist," Eight-Seven confirmed eagerly. Kix winced but nodded, and he wondered what that reaction had been for. "No way. You're too young."

"You know, you learn a thing or two when your lifespan is half that of a nat-born human. Age is relative." Kix's right hand was suddenly free; he hurled the tool he'd somehow palmed into Slip's blaster, rupturing the power pack. Before Eight-Seven could blink, the man had released himself from the platform and had an arm jacked up under Eight-Seven's chin; the move knocked Eight-Seven's helmet off as Kix maneuvered Eight-Seven between himself and Slip. "I really don't want to kill you kids, but I have a superlaser to destroy before innocent people get killed. Take your helmet off."

There was an awful ring of truth in his words, and a chill ran down Eight-Seven's spine. "Wait. I- I can help you."

"Eight-Seven!" Slip hissed.

"Kids, Slip!"

"But the First Order-"

"This isn't about the First Order," Kix said from behind Eight-Seven. "Your Supreme Leader has been trying to kill these kids for years, just for training to be Jedi. I spent three awful years fighting to keep people safe, and fifty years later nothing's changed except the names." The bitterness in his voice could have stripped paint.

A plan was already forming in Eight-Seven's mind. "I know someone who can shut the whole thing down, Kix- Commander- Sir! She's a prisoner here-"

"Eight-Seven, what are you doing?!" Slip raised his blaster toward them before remembering that there was a metallic spike sticking out of it, with small jets of vaporising tibanna puffing past. "What is this, anyway?"

"Laser scalpel," Kix said off-handedly. "I'm gonna let you go, Eight-Seven. You know Doctor Tai-Sa?"

Eight-Seven held a hand out to calm Slip as he regained his balance. Kix was twirling another metal spike between his fingers and eyeing them warily. "Anann Tai-Sa, yeah. We're- well, not friends, but we would talk when it was my turn to guard her. If you want to take this thing down, she's the person to do it."

Slip protested again and Eight-Seven pushed his own blaster into Kix's hands before turning to his friend. The only reason Slip hadn't shot either of them yet was because Kix had killed Slip's blaster; Slip was the squad fuck-up, and had been trying to make up for his shortcomings by being more fanatical than the rest of their squad combined. Either Eight-Seven would talk him around, or he'd have to force Slip to remove his helmet to stun him out.

"Look, Slip. Can you really support this?"

"I-"

"Do you remember your family?"

Slip was scowling; he could tell by the tilt of Slip's helmet. "That's not fair, man!"

"Ever wonder if your parents looked for you? If the First Order even left them alive after taking you?"

"You know I did!" Eight-Seven was the only person Slip had felt safe confiding in when they were cadets.

"Are you really going to support the First Order destroying a planet full of non-combatants? Families? Kids like we were?"

"We were never Jedi, Eight-Seven."

"I can't do this anymore." Eight-Seven took a step closer, holding a hand out. "This man's alive because I couldn't shoot him. Eventually I'll be ordered to kill, and maybe that will be the time they notice and send me for reconditioning. I'm already on borrowed time, Slip. If I can do something right on my way out…."

Slip swore and tugged the scalpel from the side of his blaster. "Alright! I get it. But I'm coming with you."

Kix snatched the deactivated scalpel out of the air when Slip tossed it over. "You sure about that, kid?"

Shaking his head, Slip replaced his blaster's power pack. "Someone's gotta make sure Eight-Seven doesn't screw up."

It was a joke, and Eight-Seven grinned with relief. He bent to retrieve his helmet and slapped it back on. "Right, here's what we're gonna do. Kix, I'm gonna bind your hands-"

"That's your idea of a plan?" Kix asked with an incredulous stare. "Take a supposed prisoner into an area where prisoners aren't usually taken?"

Eight-Seven scowled and folded his arms. "Do you have a better idea?"

"Yeah." The man smirked at him. "Get me some armour."

Kylo Ren stormed blindly through Starkiller Base, scattering troops and officers who made the mistake of being in his way. His mind churned, with thoughts of finally and they have my sister and how dare they try to deny me? The knowledge that the Resistance had found his sister eight years ago - they could have told me why did Poe never comm me - burned his vision red with rage.

You know what you have to do, his grandfather's deep, mechanical voice intoned. With your sister at your side, you could remake the galaxy.

His sister would be… she would be seventeen by now. She had been at Skywalker's academy on Pa Tho four years earlier. Their support cruiser, summoned from a nearby First Order fleet, had been inbound as soon as they had confirmation Skywalker was there, with orders to fire as soon as it connected to the remote targeting sensors. He might have killed his own sister without even knowing, and it would have been their fault.

The door to the Supreme Leader's sanctum swished open silently at his approach. Supreme Leader Snoke was not on Starkiller Base - he rarely left his command ship in the Fleet - but the holocomm registered Kylo's presence and sent a summons automatically while he waited.

There was an itch under Kylo's skin screaming that they were wasting time, that every moment lost was a moment his uncle could use to move Breha somewhere else. After what seemed like hours the projector hummed to life and cast blue light through the dimly-lit chamber, the magnified projection filling the open space.

"I understand Starkiller Base is under assault." Snoke's deep voice, raspy and cold, carried a hint of reproach. "Should you not be leading your forces?"

"The attacking force is in retreat, Supreme Leader. But I was able to capture one of their agents who has knowledge of Luke Skywalker." Kylo refused to kneel, even though it disappointed Snoke; he was the Leader of the Knights of Ren and bowed to no one. "I have the location of Skywalker's secret academy: Phaseera."

A rare smile crossed Snoke's face. "Well done. Prepare the Starkiller to fire as soon as a targeting lock has been acquired."

"There's more, Supreme Leader," Kylo said quickly. "My sister, Breha, has been found. She is on Phaseera, at the academy. I intend to lead a force to destroy the academy and bring the girl home where she belongs."

Snoke studied him for a long moment. "Are you certain of this, Lord Ren?"

Kylo's eyes narrowed and he took a step closer to the dais. "They have my sister."

Nothing in Snoke's manner changed, but the temperature in the room seemed to drop; Kylo fancied he would be able to see his breath in the air if he hadn't been wearing his mask. "Fool. Once you take your sister, the Jedi will know their secrecy has failed. They will scatter like the rats they are." Snoke's fist clenched and an invisible force seized Kylo by the shoulders and shoved , dropping him painfully to his knees on the duracrete tiles.

Fury crackled down Kylo's spine, overpowering the pain in his kneecaps. "You promised you would give Breha to me if we found her!"

"But you failed to find her, Lord Ren." Snoke sounded almost bored. "The Jedi's poison must be eradicated. Do you defy me in this?"

Gritting his teeth, Kylo promised, "With your leave I will raze their academy with my own hands! I will-"

The sensation of a noose tightening around his throat cut off what he'd been about to say next. Snoke's giant hologram regarded Kylo almost pityingly as first his knees, then his feet left the floor. "Like you did on Pa Tho?"

Lightyears away, Snoke still had the power to fling Kylo back across the room. The breath rushed from Kylo's lungs as he struck the wall; the back of his helmet smacked off the bare stone with a resounding crack. Eyes wide with panic, he wheezed for air, clawing futilely at the mask that seemed suddenly oppressive and suffocating.

"I know you failed to eliminate the Jedi. I have long wondered where your true loyalties lie." Snoke's hand moved, pressing a key on the arm of his throne. "General Hux. We have a target for the Starkiller: Phaseera, in the Lantillian sector."

Kylo hung, helplessly thrashing against Snoke's invisible grip, as that smug shit Hux responded, "Firing solution will be achieved in one point six three hours."

"Excellent. Today, the galaxy will see the end of the Jedi." Snoke turned his attention back to Kylo, regarding him like a particularly boring specimen. "You forget yourself, Lord Ren. I lead the First Order; not you. If you cannot be trusted to know your place, another Lord of Ren can be found."

The grip around Kylo's throat tightened, the thunder of his pulse in his ears nearly drowning out Snoke's words, and he gagged. There was nothing to grab or find purchase on even as he scrabbled reflexively at his throat. Dark spots began to crowd the edges of his vision, and Snoke's lipless mouth twitched in a horrifying smile.

Kylo would be damned if the last thing he saw was Snoke gloating. He stopped flailing, reaching deep for the well of power his grandfather had helped him cultivate and conceal. Snoke's grip on him had a source that transcended the physical, and Kylo reached back through that connection to strike Snoke with everything he had.

The man barely flinched. "Such strength. It's a pity you aren't more useful-"

Something erupted down that link Kylo had forged; he convulsed with the cold, burning agony of it tearing at his mind, and Snoke reeled as if shot. The grip on Kylo's throat vanished and he dropped three metres onto the hard stone floor. Something in his left knee gave as he let himself crumple, feeling suddenly drained, and the hologram cut off, plunging the room into darkness.

Get up! his grandfather hissed. I bought you what time I could, but he will rally his strength soon enough. If you want any hope of rescuing your sister, you need to reach the command center and disable the laser.

Wheezing for breath, Kylo staggered to his feet. Snoke had betrayed him. He focused his thoughts on his Knights, withdrawing them from the base's defense line, as he limped toward the exit.

The Starkiller weapon would not fire while he still lived.

There had been some major improvements to mass-produced armour in the last fifty years, and Kix grudgingly appreciated the extra coverage of the breastplate with its lapped plating at the shoulders. The First Order still sucked, but they did give a shit about their troops living through a fight.

Eight-Seven and Slip were increasingly nervous at Kix's side, Eight-Seven muttering under his breath as they made their way into the bowels of the superweapon - and the further in they got, the less base-like and more weapon-like it appeared. Slip was twitchy and knocked his pauldrons into more than one corner as they went. Kix was going to get so much shit for this when they got back to the Fleet - collecting ducklings had always been Boil's thing. On the other hand, having backup to get the Doctor out could only be a good thing: these kids knew the station inside out and led him down corridors well away from the main routes.

Of course, they could be planning to backstab him for a little glory. But they could have also stunned him out before he'd managed to get the scalpel out of his pocket. One thing was certain: Kix was going to try to get them off this rock before it exploded.

The lab had only a single young trooper inside minding the doctor; with three of them pointing blasters, the trooper dropped her weapon and put her hands up. "What are you doing?"

Leaving the kids to cover his back, Kix stalked forward and tugged the trooper's helmet off, revealing a Mirialan girl with regulation-short hair who couldn't be much older than Eight-Seven. The poor girl didn't even have the customary diamond-shaped tattoos of her culture - probably kidnapped too young to have received any yet.

"You're gonna stand there and be quiet, alright? Where's Doctor Tai-Sa?"

"I'm here." An older woman in a plain grey jumpsuit emerged from what looked like a small secondary lab with her hands held up and open. "What's going on here?"

Kix pulled his helmet off and was rewarded by the Doctor's sharp, indrawn breath. She was old enough to have been an adult during the War, old enough to know what a clone of Jango Fett looked like. "I'm with the Resistance, we're here to shut this facility down." He pulled the slicer spike from where he'd stashed it in his borrowed belt. "Galen Erso asked us to get you out first."

"Galen's alive?" Tai-Sa took the spike and plugged it into her datapad. "I see what he's trying to do!" She glanced up at him and then at the three troopers behind him. "But you know this will destroy the planet, right? Ilum's significance-"

Kix sighed. "The Jedi are aware, believe me. It's-"

"Wait, no! You want to blow this place up?!" Eight-Seven blurted, and then there were three increasingly distraught troopers trying to yell at Kix simultaneously.

Kix turned and used his trained Medic Voice - usually meant for bellowing across a crowded medbay during triage - to reclaim their attention. "The brass discussed merely shutting the weapon down, but it's too deeply integrated with the planet. There are enough people here who know its inner workings to get it running again," he explained, and was gratified when the Doctor nodded agreement.

"Any effort to destroy the weapon sufficiently that it can't be repurposed will destabilise the planet," she said sadly.

"But what about all the people here?" the girl wailed. "Our friends?"

Kix hesitated. The virus on the spike was designed to stifle alarms, preventing anyone from finding out about it until it was too late to counteract the overload sequence. "Maybe we can set it to trigger an evac alert at a certain point?"

Doctor Tai-Sa nodded and began tapping away on her datapad. "The most we could give is fifteen minutes."

"That's not long enough." Eight-Seven pulled his helmet again, glaring at Kix with serious brown eyes. "There's thousands of people here. You don't want this thing killing Jedi kids, but do you care about ours?"

Shit. Of course the First Order would put their trainees here. He frowned, several pieces of information falling together in his somewhat scrambled brain. "You said Captain Geritt trained you. Would he be there?"

"You want me to comm him?"

"No." Kix grinned and keyed his Fulcrum codes into his comm. "I bet you anything I know who he is. I'll comm him, myself."

Cody was in the process of putting his armour on when his comm chimed. Cursing under his breath, he shoved his helmet on and opened a voice channel. "Captain Geritt."

"The 501st sends their regards," an achingly familiar voice said, and Cody wanted to sob with relief. He wasn't certain which brother it was on the other end, but it was definitely a brother.

"Is that you at the front door making all the racket?"

"Nah, that's Wolffe and Boil. I'm on the inside about to pull the plug on this giant superlaser. I have a few friends here who say you're in charge of the shinies. Think you can get them off the planet before we blow it up?"

Cody paused in the middle of strapping his left vambrace on and cursed softly. "How much time?"

Indistinct voices murmured in the background and then his brother uncovered his mic. "We can give you 40 minutes. Unfortunately, the First Order found out the location of the Jedi academy, and our window is gone."

"Fuck. Forty minutes it is. But where do I take them?"

His brother sounded like he was grinning. "Once we set this thing running, I'm signalling the Fleet to cover our exit. This system's gonna be very busy in a few minutes. Contact the Raddus with your Fulcrum codes, they'll give your ducklings a ride out."

Over a thousand ducklings. Cody was going to need to steal the biggest transport they had. And it was going to be easy.

He signed off and made sure his essentials were stowed in his belt. Then he sent a command to the facility's training alert system.

The intrusion alarms had roused his charges; the kids were scrambling into their gear as he patrolled the long corridors of bunkrooms, and some of them were already dressed and stationed in formation along the corridor wall, ready to serve. Phasma was nowhere to be seen; a quick check of the system showed she was off on the other side of the planet dealing with an attacking force. Good. Cody could make off with the teenagers, too.

Five minutes later, the evac drill he'd scheduled went off, and all the lights turned red. Despite their training, the kids froze, wide-eyed, and Cody turned his helmet's vox on full volume to be heard over the deep hooting of the alarms.

"Full evac drill! I shouldn't have to remind you where to go!"

The other side of the complex, where the teenagers were racked, was a quick hustle across the exercise hall. The most senior of the cadets, a pink-skinned Zeltron with vivid violet hair in a severe brush cut, met him at the door.

"Sir! Where's Captain Phasma?"

"At the main base. You know the drill, Cadet Vidi."

They hesitated. "Sir, there's an intrusion alert. Shouldn't we be standing ready to assist the main base?"

Force bless the well-intentioned adherence to their training. Cody rested his hand on Vidi's shoulder. "What are the regulations regarding evac drills, Cadet?"

They bit their lower lip, eyes wide. "Sir! In the condition of an evacuation drill, all other activity must be suspended until such time as conditions have been determined safe, sir!"

Cody patted them lightly and let his hand drop. "Then you have your orders, Cadet Vidi. As senior cadet, in Captain Phasma's absence, command falls to you; you answer to me. Follow procedure and then meet me in the transport's command pod."

Vidi's spine straightened and they snapped off a perfect salute. "Sir, yes, sir!"

It was inevitable that the older cadets would have questions or uncertainty; in any other situation, they'd be drawing rifles and gear from the armory and queueing for the transit system to take them to the main base, in case they were needed to bolster defenses. Cody confirmed orders for kids three more times before they really seemed to get the hint, and he still couldn't help feeling a little bit proud that they were that interested in defending their own people.

The Resistance wasn't anywhere near equipped to help these kids, but maybe the kids could help each other.

The transport was a refurbished and modified light cruiser leftover from the last regime; it had been stripped down to the bolts and rebuilt as a troop carrier for training missions. Cody deputised Vidi and other senior cadets to make certain each squad was accounted for and strapped in while he went to the command pod to fire up the engines.

The First Order's comms were pure chaos, and he pinched a smile behind his teeth. The assaulting forces had been pushed back from the primary base's main entrance, only for a surprise attack at the secondary hangar to succeed, right as the crews were in the process of charging the superlaser. And now the local space was filling with Resistance signatures, engaging with the First Order fleet in skirmish tactics. Nobody had any idea what was going on, and General Hux was screeching conflicting orders at anyone who would listen.

Evac drill procedure called for the transport to lift into geosynchronous orbit over the training base, wait for the cadets to go through a routine check-in, then land. Cody had maybe ten minutes to figure out how to explain things and head off a mutiny. He turned the comm channel off and set his helmet aside as he heard Vidi come up the ladder.

"Sir, everyone's accounted for and strapped in, sir."

Cody gestured to the copilot's seat. Vidi wasn't certified for piloting yet, but they'd done the basic intro courses. "Run a preflight check, Cadet." He talked them through it, correcting a couple harmless rookie errors, as if this were a normal drill.

Twenty minutes after his comm with one of Rex's people, Cody had the entire complement of the First Order's cadet corps in the air.

Vidi was frowning at their control panel. "Sir, space on the other side of the planet is active. It looks like there's a battle!"

"That's right, Cadet." Cody turned his Fulcrum code cylinder over between his fingers. "The First Order base is under attack."

The cadet turned wide golden eyes on him. "We're not going to help them?!"

He ignored the breach in decorum and guided the ship on a course to meet up with the incoming fleet. "No, we are not."

Beside him, Vidi went still. "Are you committing treason, sir?"

Cody smiled. "Can't commit treason if you were never loyal, Cadet. I'm a Resistance agent. Always have been."

He plugged the code cylinder into the transport's system; it would shift the ship's beacon signal from First Order to Resistance. "Do you see that?" He pointed out the window as they came around the planet's curve into the day-side. Cody had only seen the superlaser emplacement for himself a few days before when he'd taken a new shuttle for a shakedown run to the moon and back. The sheer scale of it had rendered him speechless; now he saw Vidi's bright skin blanch with shock. "That laser is about to be used on an innocent world with no combatants. Taking it down will destroy the entire base. My orders were to get clear; I'm breaking those orders to rescue all of you."

Vidi's hand had slipped out of view, probably to the blaster all senior cadets carried. "You're taking us prisoner?" they said quietly.

Shaking his head, Cody said, "No. Once this is over, if you want to return to the First Order, I'll arrange a transfer. But my job here is done." He caught their eye and grinned. "Think you can hold off on calling a mutiny, Cadet?"

The teenager took a deep breath. "You're a spy."

"Yep."

Vidi sat silent for a minute, watching as the embattled ships grew larger in the viewscreen. "You could have left us all to die there. Or knocked us all out with gas in the air exchange once we were onboard. I won't stage a mutiny, but I won't take orders from you anymore."

Cody nodded. "That's entirely fair, Cadet." A hail from the Raddus, sounding confused and angry, blared from the comm, and Cody held up a hand to forestall Vidi's response.

"Raddus, this is Fulcrum ID 2224, requesting permission to join the fleet. We'll need an exit vector to the rendezvous."

The comms officer started to respond but then there was a scuffle, as if they were being shoved out of their chair. A new voice exclaimed, "Cody!" and he nearly cried.

"Hey, Commander," he said quietly. She hadn't been a Commander in fifty years. "Can I come home now?"

Jesse was having a hard time not staring at Fives, alive and well, alongside Fox, Stone, Thire, and - of all people - Dogma. Jek and Rys, the other two members of Fox's old Coruscant Guard squad, were at the helm of their ship, keeping it in the air.

Fives had tackled Echo into the snow, and it didn't look like they'd be coming up for air anytime soon. Jesse was so happy to see the group, he almost didn't mind the schmoopy noises.

Fox, helmet tucked under his arm, rolled his eyes and ignored the couple. "What's the plan, gentlemen?"

Checking his chrono, Rex said, "Two parts: plug a virus spike into this rock, and rescue one of my Commanders who was taken hostage not too long ago."

Dogma's eyes went wide. "Who'd they take? Why?"

"Kix, and we don't know, but it can't be good. Hey!" Rex barked, kicking Echo's boot. "We're on an op here. You gonna finish sometime this century?"

"Five more minutes?" Fives whined, and winced as Echo prodded him in the ribs through a gap in his armour. "The last time I saw him, he blew up!"

Jesse shook his head. "Another hour won't kill you. And you boys have a lot of explaining to do," he added, eyeing Dogma, who flushed before stuffing his helmet back on.

"Guess we're all waiting until later." Fives helped Echo back up, both of them grinning unapologetically. "You said they took Kix?"

"Yeah. We tried to go after them but one of the Knights… huh." Rex turned to squint into the darkness of the hangar. "Sniper, but he hasn't tried to take any of us out since you arrived. Wonder if he left."

"I'm risking it," Jesse said. "We still have to spike this thing, and my husband is in there."

Fives stared at him for a moment. "Well, that took you long enough!"

"Vod, you have no idea."

Rex ordered the rest of their division to withdraw, keeping only Trapper's platoon. It would be a tight fit on Fox's ship, but he confirmed they could get everyone out. Rys and Jek waved through the viewport before the ship effectively vanished from view; only its shadow suggested there was something there.

Echo found the hangar bay computer terminal and hooked in directly with a cable that plugged into a port behind his right ear; he'd have a splitting headache from it, but he was still their best slicer. "So, this is bad?" he announced after a second. "Looks like Ren dragged Kix in for interrogation and figured out where the Jedi are: they're preparing to fire on Phaseera."

Jesse gritted his teeth. No amount of training could prepare anyone for being mind-probed by a Force user. "How much time do we have?"

"Hour and a half, give or take." Echo glanced up from the terminal, only the tension at the corners of his eyes hinting at the strain he was under. "We're gonna have to split up-"

Jesse's personal comm went off in that moment, and he stepped back from the conversation. "Yes?"

"Fucking finally!" Kix's voice announced.

"Kix?!"

Everyone else stopped talking and turned to stare at him.

"What happened to your ops comm, di'kut? We're on our way out, I have a doctor and three ducklings, and you have thirty-five minutes to get everyone off this rock." Kix sounded incredibly pleased with himself, even if his voice was a bit ragged.

Jesse laughed. "Should've known they couldn't hold you for long."

"I had a little help. There's a private hangar closer to us, we're gonna steal a ship. See you back at the Raddus."

Something eased between Jesse's shoulders. "We'll see you there." His eyes fell on Fives and Dogma, and he grinned in anticipation. "We have a surprise for you, too."