A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...
Star Wars
Episode IX
The Rise of Skywalker
The tide of the war is turning. With the return of Luke Skywalker, the Resistance has gained significant traction against the ruthless First Order.
With his Knights of Ren in pursuit of the fugitives Rey and Kylo Ren, Supreme Leader Snoke must take a more active role in the conflict, carrying out lethal attacks on Republic worlds.
On the First Order world of Onderon, Poe Dameron leads an offensive strike against the forces of evil. But Snoke has a trap in store, luring the Resistance into an explosive endgame...
On the far side of Onderon's second moon, the massive Dreadnought Supremacy revolved in orbit.
The Star Destroyers flanking the Supremacy were massive, but this vessel made them all appear like mynocks swarming around a zillo beast.
The fleet waited craftily as the Supremacy monitored the activity around the jungle world of Onderon, TIE Fighters exchanging fire with the Republic ships. The First Order's capital ship was protected by a cloaking device, rendering it invisible to any outsider viewer.
"Supreme Leader, when do we attack?" General Hux asked, keeping an air of deference to the dark side master.
The Supremacy was
Hux's design, which he woul use to quickly crush the Republic. Then, Snoke himself would fall to Hux's military genius. It was only a matter of time.
"Once the Resistance troops are on the ground, the ships will have little defense," Snoke replied, a twisted smile appearing on his face, "I want to destroy Skywalker myself."
Hux nodded broodingly, gazing out into the black, empty vacuum of space as Snoke watched the Resistance ground assault on Onderon, broadcast to him by hologram.
Poe Dameron sliced a vine with his dagger as he beckoned his men forward.
"This way!" he shouted as he raised his blaster, keeping an eye out for any potential threat.
The Resistance soldiers marched through the jungles as the aireal battle commenced above.
Poe looked back at the men following him as they approached a large clearing in the jungle.
This clearing was the area containing the a valuabe shipyard on Onderon. Here, all kinds of vehicles were constructed, from TIE Fighters, to Star Destroyers.
"Got the grenades ready?" Poe asked Major Connix.
She nodded and replied, "Ready to fire."
Connix withdrew a sack of thermal detonators from her survival pack and passed one along to as many men as she could.
There appeared to be relatively little stormtrooper activity around the shipyard, Poe noted, too little.
Still, there was little he could do about it now.
"Ready..." he said.
The Resistance troopers balled the detonators in their fists.
"Aim..."
They wound up their arms in preparation to toss the detonators a long distance.
"Fire!"
Every armed Resistance soldier, including Poe, hurled their detonators into the air, past the vines and shrubbery concealing them from the enemy.
The stormtrooper patrols turned as the detonators soared in a group, striking the ground and the outer fence.
"Now go!" Poe said, racing back into the jungle.
His unit all followed suit, determined to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the explosions.
On the Supremacy's holotable, the scene switched to the land battle, where Snoke and Hux watched the miniature images of Poe's strike team racing from the exploding shipyard.
The First Order's own forces could be seen prowling through the jungle via the holographic map, waiting to spring the trap.
"Where is Skywalker?" Snoke growled, shaking an impatient fist.
As the fire spread through the construction facility, the stormtroopers raced towards the bushes, firing at the unseen guerrilla fighters.
Yet mysteriously, the white armored stormtroopers did not follow the fleeing Resistance army any further than the outer perimeter.
Poe looked back suspiciously as he saw no bodies of white in pursuit.
"Wait!" he said, "they haven't followed us."
"That's a good thing," Connix replied, "Hopefully we took a lot of them down."
"It's not over yet," Poe said, waving his blaster around the surrounding trees and vines, "This isn't even half the battle."
"Are you sure about this plan, Colonel?" Connix asked Poe.
Poe nodded. "We went over it a long time ago," he replied, "Just try not to die in the meantime." He attempted a humorous smirk, but it appeared half-hearted due to the grim feeling inside him.
Just then, Poe's comlink on his utility belt buzzed.
Adjusting his blaster into a one hand grip, Poe pulled the device and switched it on. "This is Operation Infiltrator."
Inside the strategy room of the New Alderaan, General Antilles spoke via comlink.
"Poe, are you sure about this plan of yours? You're taking an awful risk with the men and women under your command."
"With respect, General Antilles, this is a small price to pay. We're all prepared to die if necessary to complete the mission."
"Leia told me what happened during the Hyperspace Battle," Wedge Antilles replied skeptically, "I would think that that experience would tell you not to undergo such a dangerous gamble."
"This isn't a gamble, General, this is what Leia sent me out to do. The Resistance knows what we're doing, thanks. Over and out."
Poe sighed impatiently as he reattached his comlink to his belt.
The command station of the New Alderaan trembled as the Republic cruiser was struck by several TIE Fighters.
"Keep up your defense," Wedge spoke into the intercom as the Y Wing pilots swarmed to retaliate against the attackers.
Aboard the Raddus, Admiral Ackbar said, "We may be falling into yet another trap."
"Hopefully, we'll be able to draw Snoke's ship out of hiding soon enough," Commander D'Acy replied.
A series of beeps came out of the survival pack strapped to Poe's back.
"Don't worry, BB8," Poe said to the tiny round droid hidden inside his backpack
Several silent cocks of blasters sounded from within the trees.
"Let's hope this operation works," Poe muttered anxiously.
The First Order scouttroopers dressed in camouflage green nodded to one another, opening fire.
"Take cover!" Poe dove into the blanket covering of a fern plant as several jets of laserfire flew over his body.
He cringed as one of his men was hit in the chest, falling into the mud as he gripped his chest. Shooting at the green-armored First Order soldier, Poe rose from his hiding place as he saw Lieutenant Connix wounded as well, struck in the shoulder.
The Resistance unit soldiers who had not been shot down were forced to raise their hands in surrender as several dozen camouflage scouttroopers came crawling out of the shrubbery, blasters aimed.
"For the Resistance" Poe muttered, slowly raising his hands. Surrender was part of his plan, but even now, with the dead men and women around him, he had to wonder whether it was worth the risk.
Through the jungle vines, several additional First Order troopers could be seen marching towards Poe's captured unit, completely blocking off all routes of escape.
Just then, the sound of two lightsabers igniting hummed within the jungle, and two plasma blades, green and blue, became visible in the dense family of vegetation.
"It's the Jedi!" the camoflauge sergeant exclaimed.
The cloaked, hooded Jedi Master Luke Skywalker jumped into the fray, followed by his apprentice Finn, dressed in the flight jacket that had once belonged to Poe.
Poe bared his teeth in frustration, realizing that his best friend may be a liabilty more than an asset in this particular battle.
"Finn, what are you doing here?" Poe asked.
"Saving you!" Finn replied with a grin, "You're lucky I got here when I did."
His lightsaber caught a blast flying at him from a scouttrooper's blaster, sending the bolt back at the shooter.
"No, that's not the plan! The plan is, I get captured, I figure out a way to take out their lead ship," Poe replied, "With you and Skywalker here, there's no way I'm going to get captured."
"Stand down!" Luke shouted at the enemy, but they of course ignored him. So, he sent the scouttrooper's blaster shots back at them, striking them down one at a time.
As a stormtrooper struck at Luke from behind with a Z6 zion control baton, Luke sprang into the air and somersaulted forward, aiming a Force-push at the assaulting trooper with his hand.
The baton-wielding stormtrooper flew into one of his comrades who was engaging Poe in an exchange of fire.
"This plan is going to get you killed!" Finn replied, "Did you learn anything from what General Organa told you? Do you remember what you said to me on Mustafar?"
"General Organa trusted me to lead this Resistance," Poe replied as he jerked his head out of the way of the line of fire targeting him, "The only person who's being put at this time is me. Everybody else knew what they were doing when they volunteered for this mission!"
"I hope you're right," Finn mumbled as he cut the weapon arm off of a scouttrooper.
A smile crept over Snoke's scarred face as he watched the two lightsaber-wielders join the fray.
"Prepare my ship," he said to the nearby Captain Peavey."
As Luke slammed another trooper against a tree, he was confronted by five specialized commandos who carried not only control batons but also electrical shields, all pointed at him.
Luke twisted his lightsaber into a horizontal position, and with a rapid movement, he sliced in half each of the batons.
As the broken pieces fell unceremoniously into the vines below, Luke raised his metallic hand and clenched the fingers together, seizing the men with the Force.
The five commandos were forced into colliding with one another with such magnitude that it send all of them flying across the battlefield.
Poe's remaining strike team members were diving for cover under the larger fern leaves as the Jedi and his Padawan took over the Republic front of the battle, with two soldiers carrying the wounded Connix.
"Finn, you have to get out ofhere!" Poe yelled. This wasn't working at all, he thought.
"I can't let you do this, Poe, not after Rey," Finn replied, "You'd be dead right now if we weren't here!"
"The operation!" Poe reminded him, "Listen, I know you're still upset about Rey, but I have a responsibility! Do you remember what happened on Mustafar?"
Finn did not reply, but lashed out with more aggression at the next incomings trooper, slicing through his torso with his blue-bladed lightsaber, which he had constructed on the crystal world of Ilum.
Suddenly, Luke paused and placed a hand to his temple, a familiar feeling of dread coming about him.
"I feel a tremor," he said, "It...it's him."
Finn looked to his instructor with alarm. "Are you sure, Master Skywalker?"
A towering Imperial shuttle was descending from the clouds towards the floor of Onderon's thick jungle. Supreme Leader Snoke was entering the fray.
"Poe, get out of here!" Finn yelled as he cut down another stormtrooper, "Snoke's coming!"
With that, the surviving members of Operation Infiltrator emerged from their hiding places and scrambled into the depths of the vegetation, continuing to shoot at whichever stormtroopers were persistent enough to attempt a pursuit.
Poe on the other hand, remained where he was as. BB8 peeked his head out of the backpack.
"Stay low," Poe said under his breath. BB8's head disappeared once again as Snoke's shuttle landed somewhere obscured by the trees and vines.
Luke held his saber at the ready. More camoflagued First Order stormtroopers were charging from the pathway that led back to the damaged factory.
At last, Poe turned on his heels and sprinted. He had to get far away from the two Jedi, if he wanted to be captured alive. Inwardly, he cursed himself for cowardice before remembering that he was doing this to uncover the most important secret to winning the war.
"No, Poe!" Finn shouted, afraid for his friend who as sure to be captured, if not immediately shot to death by the overwhelming number of scouts.
He moved to race after the squadron, but stopped as his throat suddenly tightened and was squeezed by an unseen grip.
Finn dropped his lightsaber, reaching frightenedly towards his neck. He levitated into the air off the jungle floor, choking.
"No!" Luke exclaimed, reaching a hand towards the vines that concealed Finn's assailant.
A low chuckle came from the shadows of the fauna of the jungle, and the Supreme Leader revealed himself.
"Skywalker," he snarled, "As expected. Let us continue what we started three years ago."
Luke didn't waste any time with words. He aimed a Force push at Snoke, forcing his attention to divert from Finn.
As Snoke was pushed aside by Luke, Finn dropped to the vines below, grabbing at his neck and gasping heavily for breath.
Luke kept his saber pointed at Snoke, who activated his red blade and held it up to his face.
"Why you thought you could make an apprentice out of this cannon fodder, I have no idea," Snoke laughed, indicating Finn.
Luke advanced, swinging hard and backing Snoke up towards a cluster of vines.
Snoke slashed the vines with his lightsaber as he backed into them and jumped up the tree onto a branch.
As Luke glanced up to where his arch-enemy was perched, Snoke reached towards a nearby tree and made a fist.
With an incredible display of Force strength, Snoke lifted the entire tree off the ground, snapping the roots binding it to bits and pieces with his mind.
Luke hit the ground and rolled out of the way as the tree came crashing with a thud.
Finn had to duck as he was nearly whacked by one of the falling tree's branches.
Luke moved to stand up, his arms and legs partially tangled in the vines and leaves growing on the ground. He was admittedly having greater trouble than their last encounter three years previously, due to the difficulty of the terrain.
Luke gathered his physical strength and rose to his feet, remembering Darth Vader's lightsaber throw.
With a flick of the wrist, Luke tossed his blade towards the branch where Snoke rested.
The vantage point was sliced off the trunk of the tree, and Luke was quick to summon his lightsaber back to him.
"Holy..." Finn muttered as he watched Luke's unbelievable skill.
Poe kept ducking under branches and pivoting through vines of thicker vegetation, careful not to be exposed to blasterfire. On the other hand, he needed to make sure the pursuing men knew he was viable to be taken as a prisoner.
As he stopped at a clearing far enough so that he couldn't hear the clashing lightsabers, it dawned on Poe that the scouttroopers may simply decide to shoot him dead.
He was a pretty well known enemy of the First Order, wasn't he? Sure, there was the Hyperspace bartle, but he'd helped lead the Republic to victory on Mustafar. After that had been Ord Mantell, Iego, and Christophsis. So it was a safe bet that these men would see him as a valuable hostage to the Republic.
"Show time," Poe said to himself. BB8 squirmed inside his backpack as the stormtroopers flooded the clearing.
Immediately, Poe threw his hands into the air as several blaster rifles cocked.
"Don't move, Resistance scum," the stromtrooper commander said.
"You got me," Poe said with calculated resignation a two armored men approached.
"Take his backpack," the commander said.
As one of the men grabbed Poe's pack and pried it off of him, BB8 stealthily bounced out of the opening and into the vines before the stormtroopers could spot him.
There, he remained hidden as Poe's wrists were forced into the cuffs and he was led away towards the transport carrier that had brought them from the command ship.
Finally, after the last of the enemy soldiers had their backs to him, BB8 emerged from the concealing vines and rolled along, determined to keep up