As the gunships rose into the stratosphere, they and their fighter escort were joined by a multitude of craft. Bombers, gunships, cumbersom cargo haulers, all taking wing from the spaceport and streaking upward. TIE Fighters moved to intercept but the escapees were too many, and moving much too high up.
Finn caught giddy smiles among the people around him, but he shook his head worriedly. "We're not out of it yet." And still no sign of the Resistance in-system, when he checked his comms unit.
Sure enough, once they were outside the atmosphere the picture changed. TIE Fighters and Interceptors swarmed ahead, all screaming in on attack vectors. The Kerothime fighters leapt to meet them, and the space became a lethal ballet as they tried to fend them off from the escaping transports.
Finn felt distinctly nervous. The gunship had turrets, but it was no Millennium Falcon with all the attendant speed. All it would take was for enough TIEs to target them, and that would be their fate sealed. The fighters had to hang in there, whilst still providing cover for the transports.
So far, they were. The Kerothime pilots were good, and they had the measure of the First Order by now. As Finn watched, one of the few remaining Spitedragons tore through a squadron of TIEs, leaving only one to pull away.
"They're holding," LM said, watching through the viewport.
"Don't speak to soon," Cylarei reproached him. "There's worse yet to-" she let out an angry hiss. "There!"
"A kriffing Silencer again," rasped Tannel. A chill ran through Finn. The fastest, most vicious fighter the First Order had was coming at them, on top of all the other TIE-shaped threats.
There it was, moving rapidly, already spitting green light from its cannons as it came on. One of the bulky haulers was first to go, gutted by torpedoes and spinning away into the inky blankness. Then a bomber, disintegrating when a pinpoint shot found its payload.
"The turrets!" Finn yelled, and scrambled to man the starboard one himself. He primed it, turning it hard to cover the rear as much as he could.
"Ready!" called Cylarei, settling into the port one.
"Then light 'em up!"
Vivid red bolts of plasma leapt from the barrel as he fired, joined moments later by the rest of the gunships. TIEs were caught and blown apart, Finn taking out two with a raking volley. The report of the gun sent pain searing up through his shoulder, but he hung on, hauling the gun around to hammer the attacking fighters.
The Silencer however, jinked and spun away, coming back in a howling dive that caught and blew apart two of the escorts.
"He's taking out the fighters," Tannel hissed, and with a sinking feeling, Finn recognised the pattern as well. The Silencer, as well as the craft which came in its wake, were cutting out and destroying the escort craft, stripping the rest of their protection. Even with the guns they mounted, they couldn't hold out against this attack.
The starfield beyond beckoned mockingly. After all this, they were so close, but so overmatched, doomed to be torn apart before help could reach them.
"Karabast," growled Nyzar. Because now the Silencer came right for them in a rapid, spiralling dive, closer and closer, cleaving through the void to-
A torpedo smashed into the Silencer's engine block and blew the fighter apart in a bloom of fire and a maelstrom of black metal fragments. A white-and-blue shape flashed by, canons blazing red.
"Is that-" Cylarei started, but she was drowned out by the cheers from the others. The unmistakable shapes of X-Wing fighters shot into view, accompanied by a B-Wing and squadron of smaller A-Wings.
Finn slumped back in his seat, watching them pass. "Blue, Silver and Violet," he murmured, a wave of relief passing through him as his commlink chattered. "Snap, you really picked your moment."
"You're welcome," Snap chuckled.
The TIEs, taken wholly by surprise, were set upon and overwhelmed, blasted to atoms by the Resistance fighters. Ahead, at the edge of the First Order formation, a small squadron of Resistance ships sprang into realspace, led by the battleship Aldera.
Calling what remained of the Kerothime fleet to them, the Resistance vessels went on the offensive. With fierce broadsides, they drove the nearest Star Destroyers into retreat, their hulls cracked and stripped of guns. More fighter squadrons raced out into the void, striking hard at the TIE wings and keeping them from the Kerothime craft.
The newcomers couldn't stand against the overwhelming numbers of the invaders, and certainly not the looming Subjugator, but then that had never been the plan. They held just long enough for the escaping craft from the surface to get aboard the ships, and made the jump for hyperspace.
Finn still didn't quite let out the breath he had pent-up until Rulm could assure him that the new jamming arrays had done their work, and no one was tracking them. When he did, he slumped back, finally allowing himself to feel the aches and pains of his exertions.
"Hey." Rose prodded him gently. "Don't fall asleep just yet. We need to show our new friends to the bridge, and Rulm's gonna want to debrief you. Probably pin a medal on you too."
Finn sighed. "This is what we normally have Poe for."
"Maybe, but this way the applause will mostly be for you. And deservedly so." She kissed him, letting him slip his arms around her, and for a while they simply held each other. "You were inspiring down there, Finn."
"Thanks." Finn looked past her, and found Dade asleep on the seat. "Let's find him a cabin along the way."
The boy showed no signs of waking up as Finn carried him out into the hangar and then the corridors. "He's a little like you and Paige now," he mused quietly. "One more kid whose home is gone because of the First Order."
Rose gave him a small, sad smile, and squeezed his arm. "A kid who'd have lost even more, if not for you, Finn. We'll get him to somewhere safe, and in time we'll get him a teacher."
That did go a way towards lifting Finn's spirits. "I wonder where we can take him," he wondered. "Rey won't be ready to teach him for a long time, even if we win the war tomorrow." And as if any proof were needed, today demonstrated that that wasn't about to happen. It would be a long road to beating the First Order.
"There'll be somewhere," Ki'rii said by way of announcing herself. "There are a few little enclaves out there, refuges for the families of Resistance fighters. Dade will be safe there, until we drag Kylo off his throne. Same for the other civilians, if they don't find a place in one of our bases. And as for the scientists…" Finally, her trademark grin was back in place. "Ah, let's get to the bridge already. I want to see what designs we've retrieved."
So Finn dragged himself to his feet, and willed his battered body to move. Soon he'd see Rey and Poe, and they'd enfold him and Rose in their arms and tell him that they'd known he'd come through but still, they were proud as hell of him. That thought would carry him through the rest of today's business – that, and the knowledge of what he fought for.
As it always was. As it always would be.
/¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯\
Tannell and Cylarei were sat by one of the viewports, watching hyperspace flow formlessly by. To Tannell, it seemed apt somehow.
There was a sense of muted celebration aboard the Aldera. The Incom-Freitek files had been shown to the Resistance commanders, and turned out to contain a wealth of designs. Schematics for new weapons systems and potent new craft. There was a powerful gunship among them, something they called an H-Wing and which they reckoned would pack a bigger punch than anything the Resistance currently flew in. It already had people making comparisons to the original Incom escape, which had brought the X-Wing to the Rebel Alliance.
But all of that was cold comfort to Tannel, as he sat and watched home grow ever more distant. He was filthy, and exhausted. If not for the latter, he'd have been more bothered about the former. His fur was matted and caked with dust. Cylarei's native blue complexion was almost lost under it. But neither of them could trust their legs to carry them a few metres right now, let alone to find a fresher.
"So that's our world's freedom gone," he eventually said. "I knew it had to happen, logically I mean…" He looked up at Cylarei, giving her a small, sad smile. "But I wasn't ready to see it all go down, you know?"
"Yeah," Cylarei sighed.
"It doesn't really get easier," came Finn's voice. "But we did what needed to be done."
They looked up as he approached. He looked almost as shattered as them. His armour was off now, and the lower portion of a bacta sleeve was visible under his shirtsleeve.
"Captain," Cylarei said, and they both found themselves saluting. "Thanks for leading us out of there."
"You're more than welcome," he smiled, sitting down with them. "Without the two of you, we probably wouldn't have found our way through the city in time. Wouldn't have come through those fights so cleanly either."
"I just wish we could've done more," Tannel said.
Finn put a hand on his shoulder. "We did what good we could, and right now that's how we find a way to fight back and win. Keep the spark lit, keep rebuilding. These designs can make the difference for the next system, and the one after that. Ren can't keep up this kind of pace forever. The First Order is weaker than it looks. And when that weakness shows, we will be the ones to jump on it."
"Are you building to something here, Captain?" Cylarei asked warily.
"Yeah." Finn smiled. "Assuming you're both keen to carry on the fight with us…" He smiled when the two of them nodded. "I'd like to make a pitch before you go to just be assigned to a squadron or a company. Because I think you could be put to better use alongside myself and our Jedi."
Tannel almost said something at that point, but stopped himself, realising the full import of what was being said, as Finn continued.
"Where I fight – where Rey and I fight – we need more than just good soldiers with us. We need the exceptional. We need warriors. And based on everything I've seen today, you two are exactly the type I want at my side."
"We'd all welcome you," Ki'rii added, walking over with the others. "You had our backs all the way through the mission."
"So what do you say?" Finn asked. "Rebel scum?"
Tannel glanced at the group, and then one another. "Rebel scum."
/¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯\
Kylo Ren stepped over the corpse of Marshal Tolhen, glancing momentarily at the shallow cut in the crook of his elbow. Blood glinted on his armour in the firelight. A little nick, the only blow that Tolhen had landed before Ren cut him down, and yet it was enough to spoil the moment, somehow. The old soldier had wounded him, true to his vow. And however inconsequential the injury, that bothered Ren.
It matters not. He is dead, and now I will see this world broken to the yoke of my First Order.
But of course, it did matter in quite a substantial way. The Resistance had fled Kerothime with the plans. Tolhen and his company's last stand had kept Ren from them, and his companies advancing along other routes had not been quick enough.
Darkness still swallowed the city, thanks to the dust and smoke, but he noted the faint light of the risen sun nonetheless. He could almost hear old Skywalker's voice, some wry aphorism about hope. He scowled, and turned back to practical matters.
Griss had confirmed the enemy's escape into hyperspace, with no hope of tracking them. So Ren, followed at a cautious distance by the Knights, stalked among the bodies of the Marshal's company and the First Order's fallen, letting his rage simmer. He found himself fantasising that the Traitor had stayed behind, so at least their vendetta could be finished tonight.
Once upon a time, that might have happened. He had, after all, watched the same man make that hopeless lone charge on Crait. But no. When he reached and entered the Incom-Freitek facility, tolerating an initial sweep by his elite, the place was dark and lifeless. Everything of value was taken or destroyed.
Gwaelyn drew close. He almost heard the question form in her throat as she glanced at his wounded arm.
To forestall any question or remark, he shot her a hard look through the dark lenses of his helmet. "It can wait. We do not stay the execution for a little blood." He turned to one of his captains. "Is the Parliament secured?"
"Yes, Supreme Leader… but the political leadership was evacuated. The Resistance has them." Another little victory which the enemy had snatched from the jaws of defeat.
Ren turned to the rest of his servants. "Then they are fled, and have merely prolonged the inevitable. Our power was too great for them, and so the planet is ours." He had the nagging sense that the words didn't sound as solid and certain as he wanted them to. With some effort, he banished the thought. "For now, we had best get the formalities over with. We will pronounce Kerothime's fate to its people, and they will go to their knees in submission." And that was the battle done. He had a new world in his grip, but somehow, it still felt hollow.
His hand curled into an armoured fist. Next time, traitor. Next time.