There were far too many pilots in the cockpit, and if anything was more frustrating than being the one backseat piloting, it was being the one receiving unsolicited guidance.

"Look out!" Poe shouted, clinging to the edge of the jumpseat.

Kira gritted her teeth. The command shuttle they'd retrieved from the Citadel was, quite frankly, not ideal for engaging in a dogfight with a couple dozen TIE fighters. While it was well-armed, it did not possess the agility she would have preferred. Her Force-attuned reflexes could only do so much when the ship couldn't turn on a pin, or even a very large beam.

"Go find a gun and blow something up, Dameron," she growled, but he was too far gone on battle-adrenaline to notice the menace in her tone.

"You're doing fine," Ben said, monitoring the instruments. "Just, watch your -"

She wrenched the shuttle into a falling curve. They were still close enough to Lola Sayu that the gravitational pull dragged the ship downward with a shuddering groan.

"Oh, stars," Silyana moaned. "Anyone have a bucket handy?"

"Hey, be careful!" Poe snapped at Kira, patting Silyana on the back. "Be a little considerate!"

"Dameron, so help me!"

Alarms whined as the swarm of TIEs dove behind to follow.

"We're supposed to be getting closer to the Finalizer, not further! Pull up!"

She nearly let go of the controls to -

Ben gave her a mental nudge. Let it go. He's scared.

The command shuttle's guns pulsed as Ahsoka and Finn covered their flank from oncoming fire from the gunnery. Rose was at the small comms station in cockpit, headset framing her face, a determined expression creasing her brow as she opened channels between them and the rebel troopers on board.

He's a pain in the ass. We could still throw him out the airlock.

We'd have to fight off Silyana first. Incoming squadron from four o' clock.

She twisted the shuttle into an ascending spiral. He should take a cue from the others. They're being useful.

Behind them, Silyana gagged. Poe murmured something comforting.

Fine, Kira thought. But we're ditching him as soon as we get on board.

As you wish.

The Finalizer filled their viewport, flickering as the cannonfire from the Retribution and the Fortitude skidded across its shields. A few guns along the Finalizer's belly flashed in response, but most were silent, either under rebel control or hesitant to fire on their allies. The flagship was their target, assuming Finn's troopers came through in time.

"One of the Star Destroyers just jumped to hyperspace," Ben noted.

"Fleeing like womp rats in a burrow," Silyana chuckled, then wretched into the container Poe held.

"There," Ben said, but she didn't have to glance over to see what he meant. The Millennium Falcon speeding around the curvature of the planet. She changed the general trajectory to intercept the Corellian freighter, providing a rear guard as Chewie couldn't pilot the ship and control the weapon systems on his own. From experience, she could say that the Falcon was oddly difficult to fly without a copilot.

"More squadrons incoming," Ben said. "Looks like this is going to be a race to the Finalizer. Rose, tell Chewie we have to make a dash for it."

"Got it," Rose said, switching channels to speak with Chewbacca over the headset. Kira and Ben's eyes swept the control panel, minds entwined, absorbing information together through the bond. He noted the systems' energy readings, she the myriad TIE fighters on the scanners, then both looked at their relative position to the Finalizer. They came to the same conclusion.

"Tell Chewbacca to divert all power to sublight engines," Ben said.

Rose hesitated. "What about shields? We'll be defenseless."

"It takes a lot to outpace a TIE," Kira said, lining up with the Finalizer's main hangar. "Especially in this oversized bird."

"This sounds exciting." Poe half-rose out of his seat, handing the bucket to a disgruntled Silyana. "You've got a plan?"

"Tell Finn and Ahsoka to brace themselves. We're losing shields."

"Oh, Force," Silyana said, clinging to the bucket like a lifesaver.

The tenor of the engines rose as she pushed the throttle forward. The thrust pushed them back against their seats. The blue glow of the Falcon's engines bloomed white hot as they sprinted for the Finalizer.

"Yes!" Poe crowed.

"Buckle in!" Kira barked, willing the command shuttle to go faster.

Too close, Ben thought, but she couldn't deviate if they were going to make it. Instead, the plasma bolt hit one of the command shuttle's wings. The cockpit shuddered and an alarm wailed. A quick diagnostic said the wing was intact, but a shattered panel was creating an awkward drag. Kira gritted her teeth, knuckles turning white on the yoke as she fought against physics to keep them on course.

"Finn!" Ben shouted.

"On it!"

The guns rumbled, and a TIE spiraled downward in a cloud of flame.

Noise faded to the background as they all held what felt like their last breath, waiting for the shot that would end their little joyride. The Falcon outpaced them, lighter and modified for situations like this where speed was survival. The distance dwindled, and she felt the first trickles of relief across her shoulders.

Poe coughed. "Um, not to be that person, but the hangar doors are going to open in time, right?"

The main hangar door controls had been a top priority for Finn's stormtroopers, but they hadn't budged beyond the requisite distance to let TIE squadrons leave. The command shuttle was considerably bigger.

"They'll have to," Kira growled, fighting the damaged wing.

The Finalizer loomed large, blocking out the stars.

"Okay," he said in a suspiciously high pitch. "Just asking."

"Raise them," Kira said, as Ben was already going through the sequence to bring the shuttle's wings into landing position.

The Falcon twisted sideways and slipped through the narrow gap. Was it her desperate hopefulness, or was a slip of light growing between the doors? Kira jockeyed the controls, trying to align the oversized wings to fit the opening they had.

She trusted the Force, but natural reflexes squeezed her eyes shut as they reached the hangar.

"Brace!" Ben cried.

The wings clipped the edge of the doors as they breached the air seal, sending them careening across the hangar floor.

Someone shrieked. The ship listed to the side under the abrupt shift of gravity before crashing onto one broad wing. Sparks sprayed in a shrieking arc as they skidded across the floor. Ben raised his hands, dragging the ship to a groaning halt with the Force just shy of grounded TIE.

The shuttle was filled with relieved panting, like they'd all sprinted a dozen clicks while holding their breath. Kira looked up to find Ben, his seat now tilted and almost vertically above hers.

"Are you alright?" Ben asked.

Their harnesses had held, but she felt as though all her joints had been stretched, each vertebrae disconnected and snapped back together like a rubber band.

"You're hurt," Kira replied, reaching up towards a blooming bruise on his cheek, brushing back a lock of sweaty hair.

"Occupational hazard," he grunted, then slid her a cocksure grin. "You ready?"

She nodded sharply, once.

After struggling to unhook their seatbelts, they tumbled out onto the walls, which were now the floor. They heaved themselves out of the door and landed on the immaculate floor of the Finalizer, now scored by smoking black dents from the shuttle's poor landing.

Kira reached for the lightsaber at her belt, fingers twitching towards the ignition switch. When they weren't immediately mowed down by blasterfire, she forwent activating it, though still held it at the ready.

The phalanxes of stormtroopers stood at attention, which made sense given they'd just crash landed into a First Order Star Destroyer's hold. It took a few seconds, but then she realized the inconsistency with any other time she'd been surrounded by troops. There were no gray starched uniforms.

The stormtroopers stood without any officers present. She squinted up at the control room, and only white helmets peered back.

One of the troopers, wearing a red shoulder guard, marking her as the squad leader, stepped forward. Kira almost moved to meet her before she remembered. These troopers wouldn't know her without the faceless mask, the dark robes, the Knights at her back. If they did know her, they wouldn't answer to her, not now. It wasn't her place. She wasn't the leader here.

Kira realized the untwisting in her gut was relief. She hid the unlit lightsaber behind her hip and stepped back, next to Ben and Ahsoka.

The trooper removed her helmet, revealing dark skin and coiled hair shorn close at the sides. "Where is FN-2187?"

Finn stepped forward. "Here. Are you TZ-1719?"

The woman grinned, a bright, elated smile of recognition. "Traitor," she said, but it was welcoming.

"Rebel," he corrected, relief clear in his answering smile. "But I go by Finn now."

"In that case, call me Jannah. Welcome aboard the Finalizer, sir."

He baulked for a split second before straightening his shoulders. "What's the situation?"

Kira watched as FN-2187, the trooper she'd spared on the sands of Jakku, the rebel scum, took to the role of leader, not without a hint of trepidation, but with determination and keen concern.

"So many years, others have commanded the lives of those who wear the helmets," Ahsoka observed. "Maybe, this is the beginning of a true change, away from a galaxy in never ending war."

"Yes," Kira agreed. "But first there is Hux to deal with."

The situation was not as dire as it could be, Finn thought. It could also be better.

"We've gotten control of communications, and disabled most of the guns," Jannah said. "There are hostages in the detention block. Only a few ongoing skirmishes in the training center and the officer's quarters. But everything else is well under control."

"What of the rest of the fleet?" Finn said. "They'll be more willing to surrender once we have Hux and secure the Finalizer."

"True," Jannah said. "But it's easier said than done, even with the element of surprise."

"Where is Hux?" he asked.

Jannah grimaced. "The bridge was our priority, but the First Order did a few things right. The blast doors have proven to be well-engineered. We've been trying, but they can't be breached."

Finn nodded, forehead wrinkled in thought. "We can't waste time." He looked back to his friends. Well, perhaps not all of them were friends. He met Kira's guarded eyes. Allies, maybe? "Luckily, I brought some… specialists."

Jannah glanced over the group with a keen gaze. "Well, then. Let's get to it."

"They'll go ahead. I trust them and your men to take the bridge."

Jannah raised an eyebrow, but she took a step back and gestured a unit of six troopers forward. "They can take the specialists to the bridge."

"Great." He turned and spoke to Ben. "I trust you can handle this?"

Ben glanced at Kira for a long moment. Finn could almost imagine the lightning they'd summoned on Lola Sayu crackling between them with the heat and intensity riding on their gaze. "Consider it handled."

Without a backward look, they headed after the troopers towards the lifts.

He turned to Poe next. "Would you and Silyana take the Falcon with Chewbacca to the Retribution? We'll reach out the rebels aboard, tell Zeroes that we're sending reinforcements."

Poe saluted. "Sure thing, boss."

"Do we have to fly there?" Silyana grumbled, and dragged her feet after Poe towards the Falcon. Chewbacca stood with arms crossed, a squadron of stormtroopers keeping a cautious distance from the towering Wookiee.

Finn turned to the troopers who waited, still in formation, for his orders. "I don't need to give a speech, do I?"

Jannah laughed. "You've already done that. When you escaped, when you killed Phasma. When you didn't forget us."

"Oh," he said, shifting his weight and rubbing his thumb with a forefinger.

"You lead them, Finn," Rose said.

He shot her a wry glance.

Rose shrugged. "Just guide them. Believe in them a little."

"Alright." He took a deep breath and started relaying orders to Jannah, gaining surety as he assigned units to reinforce the conflicts scattered throughout the ship. The Falcon's engines rumbled on the other side of the hangar as Chewbacca and his crew headed to the Retribution. He swallowed down a rush of panic - this wasn't just these troopers or this ship, it was so many more. He had to be here, with these brothers and sisters, and lead them.

"Anything else, sir?" Jannah said.

"The hostages. I'll go to the detention block."

Once again, Jannah lifted an eyebrow, but it seemed like an endorsement. "Alright, then. Let's do it."

"I'm coming with you," Rose said. "Who knows when you might need my skills."

Finn hesitated. He didn't know where he wanted her, but she'd been through enough for the day - for the year, actually. "Your knee, though."

"It's just a little stiff. It's fine." She punched him lightly on the shoulder and flashed a grin. "Let's make Hux regret he was ever born."

A wry grin twitched across his lips. "Alright." Finn turned to address the waiting soldiers, now rebels, raising his voice to the crowd, "You have your directives. Our aim here is to capture, not kill." Not everyone would be happy with that, and indeed it seemed there was some indignant mumbling in the back, but justice was foggy terrain at best. He didn't want to begin with the halls of the Finalizer running crimson.

The troopers dispersed to different quadrants, jogging towards their tasks. Though there were still some pockets of resistance to address, the Finalizer was fairly secure, it wouldn't be that easy every time. Finn was sure more Star Destroyers had abandoned the fleet, fearful that sedition was catching. It was, in a way. They couldn't help the troopers on those ships or communicate with them.

He couldn't let that paralyze him. "Let's move out."

The detention block was deep in the heart of the Finalizer, above the engine rooms, the heat rising into the cell blocks where Resistance fighters, political leverage, and soldiers due for reconditioning were held. The officers on duty had barricaded themselves in and taken the prisoners hostage.

Jannah slipped her helmet on so she could communicate with the troops and receive status updates.

"They've demanded a ship," she said, and gestured them forward. Finn was very familiar with where the detention center was on the Finalizer, as was every trooper. Getting assigned to guard the cell blocks had been one of the least desirable rotations, and even now he felt a surge of dread as they made their way.

The stormtroopers had taken the hangar without much trouble. The detention block was a different story. Three soldiers, missing pieces of their armor, were carried past on stretchers. Blasterfire had scorched the walls, leaving the smell of ozone and the crackle of static lingering in the air. They moved to the side and passed a tarp-covered body single file.

Finn walked to the sealed doors. The soldiers clustered nearby saluted at his approach.

"How many?" he asked.

A pale man with narrow face and close cropped black hair removed his helmet to answer. "At least a dozen troopers, sir. We're not sure what condition they're in."

What the soldier meant was if they were in the middle of a reconditioning cycle, which was a nice word for torture. A grim frown tugged on Finn's mouth. "Any others?"

"Two Resistance fighters. An informant from Corellia."

"Right. Their demands?"

"Safe passage to ship. They say they'll drop the hostages at the nearest port but…"

They would just shoot them and dump the bodies from an airlock.

"Get me on comms with them."

Jannah nodded.

"And Rose -" he began, but Rose was already plugging her datapad - had she had that the whole time? - into the nearest access point, forehead knit in concentration.

"It'll take me a minute," she said. "But the ventilation and sewage systems for the cell block are separate from the general ship. Probably so it can't be used to escape."

"What are you thinking?" Finn said.

"I can drop the oxygen levels until they pass out." She tapped a few more lines of code before looking up. "The cell blocks have heat scanners I can let you know when they're out."

"How long will that take?"

She shrugged. "Air cycles through every thirty minutes. Oxygen should be low enough in ten, twelve minutes?"

"Sir, they've said they'll start shooting prisoners."

"Let me talk to them."

"Even if we starve them of oxygen, they won't all drop at once," Rose pointed out. "They may start shooting hostages as soon as they realize what's happening."

"We'll have to stall as long as we can," Finn said. "Can you get these doors open?"

Rose scoffed. "When will you understand that I've spent my life preparing for the moment I can destroy Hux's ship from the inside?"

"Sir?"

Someone handed him a comm and he turned away from Rose towards the sealed doors. Pressing the switch, he spoke into the unit. "This is FN-2187."

There was a pause. "We don't negotiate with traitors and scum."

"You will if you understand your situation." He glanced back at Rose, who raised ten fingers. Ten minutes. "I can guarantee your safety, both on board the Finalizer and Resistance jurisdiction if you surrender yourselves to our custody."

Another silence, likely as they discussed the new offer. If they believed he was FN-2187, they'd know he was with the Resistance. Hopefully that would convince them of the validity of his claim.

"Our terms remain unchanged. A ship, fueled and prepared for hyperspace travel."

Finn glanced at Rose, who held up eight fingers.

"We'll need time to prepare a ship," he said into the comm.

"We stated our terms an hour ago. If they are not met in the next ten, we will begin executing prisoners."

Finn turned to Jannah. "Get a squad ready to go. Blasters on stun. We're going to have to storm the block as soon as their incapacitated."

She saluted and moved to prepare the troopers crowding the hall.

He lifted the comm again. "Give us thirty minutes. It will take at least that long to prepare the ship."

"Fifteen."

"Twenty."

Another pause, this one longer yet. The troopers formed rank behind him, a trio flank each side of the doors. Finn glanced at Rose. Four minutes. "I'll need a spare," he said, but Jannah had already requisitioned a discarded helmet and blaster.

"Twenty. And the prisoners stay with us."

"Twenty. And the hostages will remain aboard the Finalizer." He looked to Rose and jerked his chin towards the doors. She nodded, lifting two fingers.

"You will shoot us down as soon as we - What is this? What are you doing?"

"One of the officers collapsed," Rose reported. "You need to go!"

He slipped the helmet over his head, and sucked in a breath. The edge of nausea rose in his gut, cold sweat slicking his palms as he gripped the blaster. "Now, Rose!"

The doors snapped open and the lights went out. The helmet provided night vision, a sickly green version of the detention center's. Blasterfire raced at them through the dark, but his troopers rushed forward, quick to find the sources and put them down. It happened fast, as violent conflict did, and within ten minutes, the troopers had taken the detention center. The officers that hadn't passed out from oxygen deprivation quickly surrendered.

One of the troopers was dead, the lack of oxygen too much after several cycles of reconditioning. Finn hadn't thought of that, of what their clever plan could mean for someone weakened by years of abuse and now torture. He should have. He was one of them, after all.

"I'm sorry," he murmured.

He shrouded the man's body and stood above it for a long minute. When he finally turned, Jannah and Rose waited a few meters away. A few troopers were watching, too, their eyes regarding him with sadness and respect.

Jannah removed her helmet when he approached.

"Any word from the bridge?" he asked.

"Nothing. All surveillance was destroyed by the officers on deck, and we've had no comms from your specialists."

He nodded. "They'll tell us when it's done. In the meantime, Rose, I need you to set up a temporary bridge. All system controls go through you. We'll give you a room and equipment. And we need to reach out to the Retribution, check their status. I want updates on the rest of the fleet."

And so it went. Finn paced the halls, taking stock of the Finalizer. Officers, hands raised behind their heads, were being marched down to the newly won detention block; technicians in gray jumpsuits, seated in huddles, backs against the wall; pilots in black flight suits, handcuffed to the flight decks. Above them all, rows of gleaming white storm trooper armor, their steady hands aiming primed blasters. Some had forgone their helmets, daring their former masters to look them in the eye. Others kept the helmets but they stood firm, leaving no room to question who was in charge.

Finn paced the halls, Jannah and Rose at his shoulders, saluting his fellow troopers, clapping others on the back when they came up to talk to him, some smiling when they shook his hand. He was known, maybe even celebrated, and a heady rush of surreality swept over him.

This was it. This was the stormtrooper rebellion, and they had done it. It was just a beginning, but at this moment it was unstoppable.

A/N: A few days late, I know, but worth the wait, perhaps? Let me know what you think! Next (and final?!) update expected June 6