AN: Hi everyone! I've been really busy the last few months, with university classes and all. Plus, I had a serious case of writers' block while hammering out this chapter. I hope you all enjoy it!
Cockpit, Millennium Falcon, Coruscant System
The floor of the cockpit lurched as the Corellian freighter dropped out of hyperspace. From the pilot's seat, Poe gazed longingly at the glimmering city planet, mesmerized by the grand view. His father told him many stories about the impossibly tall buildings, endless urban canyons, and bustling corridors of airspeeder traffic that gave this world its unique identity. This was his first time seeing it with his own eyes.
Poe's attention then shifted to the crowded lines of First Order warships gathered together in the planet's orbit, as if in an elaborate procession. He took a long, deep breath. They dropped in out of range of the First Order's scanners. Their arrival went completely unnoticed.
"Alright Rose, Chewie, is the cloaking system ready?"
"Ready, Poe," she replied. Chewbacca followed up with an affirmative grunt.
If this doesn't work, this trip's gonna be awfully short, Poe thought. He placed his hand on a newly-installed lever on the dashboard.
"Going silent in five, four, three, two, one, now."
He slowly pulled the lever down, and the room grew dead silent, save for the soft hum of Rose's energy bafflers. He then guided the Falcon towards the First Order blockade. From the corridor, R2-D2 and BB-8 traded nervous beeps as the ships grew bigger.
The mass of ships seemed to thin as they got closer. The gang could now tell the makeup of the massive enemy fleet. A handful of large dreadnoughts hovered at the center of the formation, flanked by hundreds of battlecruisers and various models of destroyers and frigates. The Falcon was close enough that Rose could make out the shapes of even the gun emplacements on the largest warships. Somewhat reassuringly, they were all aimlessly pointed directly ahead, oblivious to the invisible freighter's presence.
"That's a lot of ships," Rose mumbled aloud.
Poe's heart skipped a beat. He had no idea how many ships Leia had left. Not many, by his impression.
"I recognize what they're doing." Finn seemed to guess almost perfectly what his friend was thinking. "They're getting into parade formation."
"Say again?" Rey asked. Chewbacca followed up with a confused grunt.
"It means they're preparing for a naval review. It may look impressive, but if a firefight starts anywhere near them, because they're packed so close together, they won't be able to bring all their guns to bear without shooting each other."
"Let's hope Leia and Kallus drop in right on time to rain on their parade then," Poe quipped with a playful smirk.
A primal gut feeling rose up in Poe's stomach as they approached a Resurgent Class Star Destroyer. With a reckless smile on his face, he gently banked right towards the massive warship. It was as if his old impulses as a starfighter pilot had taken over. An unexplainable drive to push the systems of whatever craft he was flying to their absolute limit.
Finn tensed up. From where he was sitting, the hull of the battlecruiser appeared so close that it was as if he could reach out of the window to touch it.
"Uhh, Poe?"
"Oh I have a bad feeling about this," muttered C-3PO.
"Relax, Threepio," Rose replied reassuringly, "As long as we don't bump into anything, they won't see us."
"Precisely my point, Mistress Rose, so please don't take us any closer than we have to, Master Poe."
Poe's excitement quickly deflated into a pang of guilt. His smile disappeared as he put some more distance between themselves and the massive warship.
"Sorry guys."
After passing the last star destroyer, Poe turned his attention back towards the surface of the planet below. Glowing rings and lines dotted the purple landscape like dozens of overlapping spiderwebs spread out across a ball. It soon dawned on the cocky Resistance pilot that those elaborate patterns were demarcating massive, continent-sized city blocks. Oh boy, landing is gonna be a nightmare, he thought as he descended further towards the surface, careful to keep a wide berth between anything that moved.
Main Hold, Millennium Falcon, Coruscant System
The moment the Falcon touched down, Broc's shocktroopers were up and about in the cargo holds getting ready to deploy. By the time Poe, Finn, Rey, and Rose stepped into the main hold a few short minutes later, the droppers were already fully geared up and standing at attention.
"What's the plan, sir?" Broc asked.
"Chewie, BB-8, and I will meet up with our contact in the Coruscanti Resistance."
He then turned to a cloaked, heavily-armed female Rodian.
"Thun, your team will be guarding the Falcon."
"Yes General."
"Everyone else, take the droids, get to the temple and get that beacon back up and running. Finn's in charge. We'll rendezvous back here when we're done. Good luck."
"May the Force be with you," said Finn.
Poe reached out his hand to give his friend an affectionate pat on the shoulder.
"You too, buddy."
Within a minute, the entire main hold was empty of people, save for Poe, Chewbacca, and BB-8. Thun's team had disembarked to secure the perimeter.
The orange droid beeped curiously, inquiring as to who the contact is. Poe casually shrugged.
"Yeah, I know how to find him."
Capitol Square Market, Coruscant
"Yeah, I totally know how to find him," Poe sarcastically thought out loud.
He could barely hear himself speak amidst the commotion. The market square was a massive open space. All along the edges of the square were thousands of bustling shops, street stalls, and food stands. Humans, animals, and aliens of countless different species wandered about all around him, visiting different establishments and making purchases. Poe couldn't stop whirling his head around back and forth, absolutely dumbfounded. Being the well-travelled pilot that he is, he had been to markets and bazaars before. None of them compared to the sheer scale of the one he was standing in. It also made his mission orders of magnitudes more difficult.
Chewbacca growled confusedly. BB-8 concurred with a series of puzzled beeps.
"I know, right?" Poe muttered, "It sounded simple enough over the comlink. 'Keep the contact coin in my left trouser pocket, go to the Capitol Square Market, and respond to the secret code phrase when we meet.' Question is, where is the guy? Didn't even tell me what he looks like."
When Poe turned around to look behind him, a large structure at the center of the square immediately caught his attention. Despite the dense crowds, everyone in the square instinctively gave it a wide berth. It was a massive raised stage, towering about two stories above the rest of the market. But it was what was on the structure that got the Resistance pilot nervously fingering the collar of his shirt: four laser guillotines, lined up side by side on the execution stage. A grim reminder of the fate that would befall him and everyone he knows if this all ends poorly.
With his mind back on the mission, Poe scanned the area again. This time, he took note of the market's security arrangements. At every major gateway was a squad of white-armored stormtroopers whose appearance Poe was more than familiar with. The dingy, run-down alleyways scattered about between the colorful shops and stands, by contrast, were largely left unguarded. That was how Poe and his crew managed to get in. The guard detail for the execution stage, however, was interestingly different. The stormtroopers standing around the stage were clad in polished silver armor. Their arms were partially concealed by black capes with a red trim. Brutetroopers, mercenaries hired to free up the regular army for the front lines.
Poe continued to observe the square. I guess even in a market as big as this, the rules are all the same, he thought. Whether it's here, or the night markets of Nar Shaddaa, or the bazaars on Bonadan, there's always the guards, panhandlers, unscrupulous merchants, and-
A small, warm body impacted hard into the side of Poe's left leg, breaking his train of thought. He immediately looked down to lock eyes with a ragged young boy.
"Many apologies, sir!" he stammered.
"No worries, kid-" Poe began to reply with a smile. The kid was gone. Poe simply shrugged.
Where was I? Oh yeah, panhandlers, unscrupulous merchants, and-
A realization of dread washed over his entire body. Chewbacca growled in alarm. He came to the same conclusion too. Poe frantically patted down his left side, and felt a wave of relief wash over him when he found his credit pouch still attached to his belt. When his hand made it to his trouser pocket, however, the feeling of dread instantly returned. The coin was gone.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Poe exclaimed under his breath.
Jedi Temple Precinct, Coruscant
From their vantage point overlooking the grand staircase, Finn and Broc quietly observed the scene through a pair of binoculars. Guarding the main entrance to the temple was about a dozen white-armored stormtroopers. An uncomfortable sensation churned in his stomach as he lowered his binoculars and looked around. Behind him sat Rose and Rey, quietly awaiting his instructions. Next to him were two of his men, lying as still and quiet as statues and staring intently into the scopes of their sniper rifles. Broc looked over to his commander and smirked.
"Those bucketheads won't be a problem for us, sir. Even without the Jedi, we can quietly sanction them with extreme prejudice." A bloodthirsty zeal flashed in his eyes as he spoke.
Finn's mind drifted back to the dying stormtrooper on Kuat. Those men and women down there are still his enemies, but after that experience, he just can't bring himself to kill any of them without second thoughts anymore.
His mind once again drifted back to the moment he chose to desert. He did it because he couldn't bring himself to mindlessly kill innocent people anymore. Now, it's that moral dilemma all over again. It wasn't his choice to be taken for the Stormtrooper Corps. It was no one's choice, really. So is it even right to kill them too? No matter which side he chooses, he must kill without remorse, and those he must kill are victims themselves.
"There's still too many of them. There's got to be another way in."
Broc frowned.
"With all due respect, sir. We're on the clock."
Finn then recalled their conversation aboard the Falcon. The gunnery sergeant was literally radiating with raw hatred. They won't understand. I can't do this.
A warm hand touched his shoulder. Finn turned to see that it belonged to Rey. She looked concerned, as if she could feel the conflicted emotions swirling inside him, and empathize with them. He then turned his attention back towards the temple. Right, there's no running from this anymore. There's got to be another way.
A burst of whistles and blips behind him interrupted the silence. A stuffy, familiar voice followed.
"Master Finn, what my compatriot is trying to say is that he has a detailed layout of the Temple stored in his memory banks, taken directly from the archives before they were wiped at the start of the Jedi Purge," said C-3PO.
"Can you show us?"
The blue astromech rolled forward and projected a detailed hologram of the temple. Together, they meticulously studied the maze of rooms, hallways, and passages that ran through the projected structure. Finn's face then suddenly lit up.
"There, a secret passageway that leads directly to the lower levels of the Temple. Let's go."
If what Threepio said is true, not even the First Order would know of that entrance's existence. Reluctantly, Broc gestured to the snipers.
"Pack it up. We're moving out."
The two men quickly did as they were told, and they were all soon on their way.
Capitol Square Market, Coruscant
Poe rounded the corner into the dark alley, pistol drawn in his right hand. Clutched in his left hand was a small note he found in his pocket in the place of his contact coin that directed him to this place. Behind him stood Chewbacca, who menacingly brandished his bowcaster. Poe took another deep breath to calm his nerves and took another few steps forward. BB-8 rolled ahead with his searchlight on.
"I don't know what your plan is, kid," Poe called out into the darkness, "If you're hungry, I'll be happy to spare you some credits. I just need that coin back."
"This war isn't about politics or resources," a young boy's voice responded, "We fight for survival."
The group stopped, dumbfounded. With some hesitation, Poe finished the code phrase.
"We fight, knowing that a single spark of courage is all it takes to light the fires of hope." -Jace Malcom.
The child from before stepped forward into the light, coin in hand, which he held out for Poe to take. Wait, he's the contact?
"My name is Dade. It's not safe out here. I'll show you to the others."
Jedi Temple, Coruscant
As they made their way through the once-ornate hallways, Finn wondered why the temple was left unguarded save for the entrance. Then, after thinking back on his First Order indoctrination, it dawned on him.
From the very beginning, Snoke, Phasma, and Hux railed against the flaws and decadence that led to Palpatine's downfall. Finn and his peers were taught to revere the accomplishments of the Sith's old regime, but not the Sith themselves. In fact, Finn was sure that Snoke absolutely hated Palpatine's guts. So by that logic, the best way to insult the Emperor's memory is to abandon his once splendid palace and let it crumble to dust along with history. The Dark Side is very petty indeed.
Finn glanced back at the rest of the unit. Directly behind him was Rey, who had one blade of her saber staff activated to light her way. Rose was looking around, waving her flashlight along with her field of view. The other droppers had their helmet floodlights on, blaster rifles drawn and on alert for any threats. He turned his attention back ahead towards their guides, R2-D2 and C-3PO.
They soon reached a polished metal door, and the blue astromech directed the attention of his floodlight towards a dusty access panel. Without wasting a second, he extended his data probe out to connect to the interface, except there wasn't a hole in the interface to plug into. The droid then beeped with frustration. Finn turned to his most tech-savvy friend.
"Rose, can you slice it?"
Before she could answer, Rey stepped forward.
"I think I know how it works."
She reached out her hand and called out to the Force. Then, to the entire team's amazement, the interface disk began to move, spinning back and forth in quick succession until a satisfying click could be heard, and the door promptly opened. Finn turned to give his Jedi friend a warm smile, and Rey returned on in kind.
They then stepped forward into the circular beacon room. The communications beacon at the center of the space was a massive silo-shaped tower suspended about three meters above the ground by three heavily-built support struts. At the bottom of the structure was a tangled mess of dangling, sparking wires that made up the maintenance access area.
"Think you can get it working again?" Finn asked Rose.
"Yeah, absolutely."
"I'll help," Rey added.
R2-D2 blipped and whistled in agreement, and the two joined Rose as she unpacked her toolbox and started untangling the cables., trading technobabble with Rey as they worked. Finn smiled as he watched, until Broc tapped him on the shoulder.
"Eyes on the mission, soldier," he said with a half-cheeky smirk.
Coruscant Orbit
With a sudden lurch that he was all too used to, Kylo Ren's personal starfighter dropped out of hyperspace in front of the city planet. Arranged before him in tidy rows and columns were at least a few hundred First Order warships parading triumphantly in orbit. It was clear that Hux spared no expense to soothe his shattered pride. Pathetic fools.
Yet, the long shadow of fear the parading armada is casting over Coruscant is well worth it to him. Through his mask, the dark lord took a deep breath and reached out into the Force to taste that delicious fear.
Something felt off.
He probed even deeper. Yes, the unmistakable ray of hope amidst the sea of despair.
The onboard comlink crackled.
"Supreme Leader! Welcome home," the military space traffic controller said cheerfully.
Kylo Ren dispensed with the pleasantries immediately.
"Get me the Knights of Ren. I have found the girl."
So she is here. To stop him, perhaps? No matter. The final confrontation is inevitable.
Jedi Temple
A cold feeling coursed its way up Rey's spine as she picked up her wrench. She froze. The wrench clattered loudly as it hit the ground. Finn immediately rushed to her side. Rey turned to give him a worried look.
"He knows we're here."
Finn's expression turned cold. Rose turned and lifted her welding visor, puzzled.
"Who knows we're here?" she asked.
"Kylo Ren," Finn answered, "How soon until we can send Leia's message?"
"Almost done."
Rey shook her head.
"I sense a disturbance. We're not alone here."
Finn knew what had to be done. He turned and nodded solemnly to the sergeant. Broc returned the gesture and bellowed orders to the shocktroopers.
"Split up into two teams. Marco's team goes with the Jedi. Petra, you're with me. Berner, stay with the Commander and guard the beacon. Let's move out!"
AN: Because of life and everything, I can no longer stick to a consistent upload schedule. As of late November, I haven't even started writing the next chapter, so it could be at least a month before the next chapter is posted. On the other hand, unlike previous fanfics I've worked on, I already have the entire story planned out, so rest assured, I will finish this fic.