"You're not going to believe it," Snap said as he approached Kat. He just returned from his recon mission and what he saw was certainly a sight to behold. "They weaponized the planet. It's practically a planet-sized Death Star." He further explained as he handed over the drive with all the information he gathered.
They both shared a look of grave understanding as she took the drive from him. In an act to try and lift their spirits, she flashed him a smile. "Well, then it looks like we're just going to have to figure out how to blow it up."
He chuckled and nodded. "Looks that way."
She patted his arm before backing away to head to central command. "Good work, captain. Now let's go inform everyone else."
Everyone gathered around the map table as Snap went through all that he learned, pointing out the various things on the holographic image of the planet. Everything Finn had told them had been confirmed and now they had to figure out what to do. No one had ever seen a weapon of this size.
"So how exactly do they power this thing?" Kat asked, looking to Finn.
"They use the power of the sun. As the weapon is charged, the sun is drained until it disappears." He explained.
An officer soon came running in and gave Leia a data card before running back to their post. Leia looked it over, her heart sinking. The First Order figured out where they were located. She could only assume it was when Kylo Ren took information from Poe's memories. "They're charging up the weapon again. Our system is the next target."
"Oh my. Without the Republic Fleet, we're doomed." C3PO said making everyone more fearful than the news already made them.
Kat rolled her eyes. The droid always said the worst possible things when danger was imminent. "There's gotta be a way to blow it up. We send all of our fighter pilots and then those here will prepare for evacuation except for the necessities for a mission. There's not a reason to give up hope yet." She flashed a glare towards the gold droid.
Han and Leia shared a proud look before turning back to the crowd. Everyone remained silent. Fears played into insecurities and Leia could see the trepidation in their eyes as they looked between the small family. She tampered down on her motherly anger in regards to how they still looked at Kat as a wild child instead of the intelligent woman that she was. "She's right." She spoke up, agreeing with Kat's plan. They just needed to add the details and it would become more cohesive.
Admiral Statura let out a small sigh as he looked over the holograph once more. There was no other way and if they didn't stop the First Order now, they would continue to use the weapon. "In order for that amount of power to be contained, that base would need some kind of thermal oscillator."
Finn nodded and then set to zoom in on what he was looking for. "There is one. Precinct 47. Here." He pointed to the hexagonal structure in the middle of the image.
"If we can destroy that oscillator it might destabilize the core and cripple the weapon," Statura said.
"Maybe even the planet," Kat said, grateful that they were all finally starting to come up with a strategy.
Poe stood beside her, trying to keep his excitement down. "We'll go in there and we'll hit that oscillator with everything we've got."
"Not so fast." Admiral Ackbar spoke up. "They have shields that our ships cannot penetrate."
Han rolled his eyes. "Then we disable the shields." He then turned to Finn. "Kid, you worked there, what do you got?"
The former stormtrooper took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to do. This wasn't just him renouncing the First Order anymore. He was now fully in the fight and on the other side, against everything that he's ever known. "I can do it. But I have to be there, on the planet."
"We'll get you there," Han promised, readying himself to get back into the fight.
Leia looked at him with confusion. "Han, how?"
He flashed her a smirk. "If I told you, you wouldn't like it."
Poe could no longer keep his grin at bay. "So, we disable the shields, take out the oscillator and we blow up their big gun. All right, let's go!"
Everyone dispersed then. Before Kat could get away, Leia stopped her. "Where are you at in all this?"
"I'm going to stay here. Lead both efforts. If we are successful then we have more time to evacuate but I want to go ahead and get all non-essentials prepped and ready to go. General Solo will be leading the ground efforts and Commander Dameron will be leading our air team." Kat explained.
Leia nodded, a proud smile on her face. "Well, go on then. Go prepare your teams."
Kat grinned before placing a quick kiss on Leia's cheek. She first visited ground control informing them of how she wanted the evacuation plan to go, electing Connix to take point. Once everyone jumped into action, she went back to the hangar, checking with everyone to see how they were doing before she wound up at the Falcon.
Chewbacca got to her first. They embraced, holding onto each other tight. There was nothing like getting a hug from a Wookiee. "Be safe and look out for each other." She told him. He growled in agreement, letting her go so she could make her rounds.
She didn't have to go far, for Han walked down the ramp next. He saw Leia first but when he noticed Kat was closer he smirked her way. "Smart thinking in there today, kid."
Kat waved him off. "You would have said the same."
"When did you get so grown? The only hell you used to give was to me and Leia."
She laughed and gave a small shrug. "That's what happens when you get old." She teased him.
"I think you meant when you get old." He said with a laugh.
When they quieted down, he motioned towards Leia. Sure he was hopeful about the success of this mission but could he really be so lucky for coming out unscathed for this type of plan again. Unlike the last time he left, he wanted to make sure his girls were taken care of. "Look out for her for me, will ya?"
"What do you think I've been doing while I'm here?"
"Flirting with hotshot pilots." He then motioned to where Poe seemed to be waiting for his turn.
Kat turned to see what Han motioned towards and rolled her eyes before hugging Han. "I'll look after her as always." She promised.
She felt his chuckle more than she heard it before he pressed a kiss to her hair. "And take care of yourself, kid." He said before going to give Leia one last goodbye kiss.
Poe took that as his cue to come over to Kat's side. "Wait until the shields are down. Blow up the oscillator. Get back here and help with the evac. This is our most complicated mission yet and it has the least amount of steps. You losing your touch?"
"Oh, shut up." She nudged his shoulder, a smile on her face. "Just be careful out there okay?"
"Okay." He smiled and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek before heading to his X-Wing.
"I still don't know how I feel about those two," Han said after Kat walked past them. He and Leia had just finished their goodbye. The promise of him bringing Ben back still fresh as he watched his other child check in with the others to make sure they were set.
Leia chuckled. "That's because you never liked the thought of her dating."
"A pilot though?"
"They're a good fit now that they've figured out they work better together than fighting each other every step of the way."
Han chuckled, looking down at Leia with a loving look. "That bit sounds familiar, huh?"
Leia smiled knowingly back at him. "You better get going so both of us don't have too long to worry." She said referencing Kat.
Han let out a small sigh before giving her one last kiss.
Kat let out a groan of frustration as she watched two more X-Wings show up on her console as red, blinking lights. Two more pilots she just lost. They got the shields down but still with the ground fire and with the much larger First Order fleet, her hope began to dwindle. "We've lost half our fleet and we're still not making progress."
"And their weapon will be charged in ten minutes! It'll take a miracle to save us now." C3PO stated.
"Thank you, Threepio!" She shouted, sarcasm dripping from her words.
"There's gotta be another way." She muttered to herself, fully planning to go look at the hologram again to see if she could figure anything out.
That was until out of the corner of her eye, Kat noticed Leia waver before sitting down. The younger woman raced over, worry written all over her face. "What happened?"
Leia looked up to her daughter and placed a hand on her cheek. "Finish the mission, dear. Your team needs you. You don't worry about me." She said, tears pooling in her eyes.
That's when Chewbacca's report came in. Kylo Ren had killed Han Solo but they had managed to set up enough explosives to blast an opening that could prove to be helpful for their mission. Kat stumbled, tears immediately coming to her eyes. "Blow that base to hell, Black Leader. All other ships back him up and then get the hell out of there." She ordered, biting back her tears.
"With pleasure," Poe replied.
Hearing the affirmative responses, she pushed her mic up on her headset. Kat shook her head, dropping to her knees in front of Leia. "Please tell me it's not true." She didn't want to believe it. Han was going to come back and saunter down the Falcon's ramp with that smirk on his face, cracking some joke when this was all over. She didn't want to believe that she just lost another father.
Leia once more cupped Kat's face. "He loved you, so much and he was so proud. He even made sure that you were listened to. I know I ran him off after you left for Naboo but he truly considered you to be his daughter and would have done anything for you."
Kat began to cry, leaning briefly into her touch before enveloping her into a hug. "How could Ben do this?" The shock of it all started to wear off as anger began to come in. She thought she had been pissed at her brother before but this was something new, something she hadn't felt since her birth parents were killed.
"Snoke has him further in his clutches than I thought." She pressed a kiss to Kat's head. "We can mourn later, but, dear, you have a team to bring back home."
The younger woman pulled back and saw that silent tears had been falling this whole time on her mother's face. Yes, she had known her birth parents for the first decade of her life but it was Han and Leia who raised her and helped form her into the woman she was today. They were truly her mom and dad. Kat gave her a nod and as she stood, she placed a kiss on Leia's cheek. "For dad." Kat's voice cracked on that tiny, tiny word that held so much weight. It was the first time she had ever said the title out loud and it meant Han. Growing up she hadn't wanted to tarnish her birth parents' memory by calling someone else mom or dad, using aunt and uncle instead, until her late teenage years where she dropped aunt and uncle and just called them by their names. She just wished that Han didn't have to die for her to fully accept that it was okay to call them mom and dad. She hoped he somehow knew.
Leia choked back a sob and nodded, squeezing Kat's hand before watching her daughter walk back towards the command center to bring everyone else home. She had always had some kind of inkling that Kat considered her and Han to be her parents but to actually hear her call Han dad out loud broke her heart in new ways than Han's death did.
Mother and daughter stood together to greet those who returned from destroying the Starkiller base. Kat truly felt numb as a medic team raced past her to take over care for a critically injured Finn. She barely even registered Poe or waving him off to go be with his friend. She was focused on the ramp of the Falcon, waiting for Han to walk down it and ask who he needed to take care of for making her cry.
Her view was suddenly blocked by brown fur. Chewbacca had stopped to share in an embrace with Leia but she told him she had to greet the newcomer. She promised to properly mourn with him and Kat once things were able to calm down. The second Kat was enveloped in his warmth, all reserve was lost. She broke down, holding on to her Uncle Chewie as if she wouldn't be able to stand on her own if he wasn't holding her up. Sobs wracked her body and if she was of sound mind she would know that the heavier shaking was due to both her and Chewbacca crying together.
When the sobs finally stopped, Kat took some deep breaths to calm down and gather herself again. With one last sniffle, she pulled back and looked up to Chewbacca with a reserved look. "We gotta figure out the best evacuation plan now or it would have all been for nothing. We'll talk soon?"
Chewbacca gave a mournful groan while he nodded his head.
Kat gave him one last hug. "I miss him already, too." She pulled back and pressed a kiss to the side of his head. "Love you, Uncle Chewie." With his answering murmur of reciprocated love, she headed back to the main part of the base, wiping her remaining tears away.
With her head held high, she checked in with her team. She shared condolences with those who had lost friends in the fight. While she was close with a select few, she still made sure she knew the names of all of her team. She also checked in with Connix, seeing where the packing efforts were. She gave the woman praise for getting it all completed while also keeping up with communications during the fight before telling her to start the loading process. Kat made the mental note to ask Leia if she could be given a promotion.
She finally made her way into the med bay. Dr. Kalonia, a few medic droids, and the newcomer were in the room with Finn. Poe stood outside the room, watching through the window. At the sound of someone approaching, he looked over to see Kat. He gave her a small smile and raised an arm to offer some comfort.
If someone had told her a few weeks ago that she would willingly go into Poe Dameron's embrace, she would have called them crazy. That's exactly what she did, though. She stepped right into his side, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head against his. His arms immediately came around her to hold her. "How're you holding up?" He asked after pressing a kiss to her hair.
"I'll manage. I always do." She brought a hand up to wipe away a pesky tear. "Who's the girl?"
"That's Rey, Finn's friend, and the girl who saved BB-8 on Jakku." He informed her. She tucked away the information so she could ask Chewbacca what he thought of her.
"And how is Finn?"
"Dr. Kalonia said that it wasn't the worst saber wound she had seen but it was still bad. His body went into a coma to help with the healing process. It's now all a matter of when he'll wake up."
It was her turn to press a kiss to Poe's temple before returning to her previous position. "And how are you?"
"I'm doing okay. Waiting for my next orders honestly. I know we truly don't have all that much time to lick our wounds."
She nodded, pulling back. "I already told Connix to start loading up the Raddus."
"You know they're more than likely going to send a dreadnought."
Kat grew stoic and nodded, gears already turning as she started to think of a plan. "I'll let you know as soon as I come up with something." She started walking away when she felt a tug on her hand.
She turned around to see Poe with a smirk. "Won't have to tell me if we figure it out together."
With a roll of her eyes and an exasperated smile, she agreed, pulling him with her as she hurried to find Leia. When Leia saw them, a smirk formed on her lips causing Kat to immediately let go and finish the rest of the way with Poe just behind her. She fully expected some kind of sneaky remark from the woman but instead got, "look who decided to wake up."
Kat looked down to see the blue and white droid who just beeped at her. "Of course I've grown up. You were asleep for a long time and not to mention you haven't seen me since I was at least nineteen." She rolled her eyes as she crouched down to hug R2-D2. "Please tell me you have good news."
"Matter of fact he does," Leia said, helping Kat back up as R2-D2 projected a hologram. It was a large navigational map but there was a chunk of it missing. Before anyone could truly react good, bad, or otherwise, BB-8 let out a string of beeps.
"Yeah, all right, buddy, hold on," Poe said as he went to the main control computer and pulled out the drive that they had gotten from Lor San Tekka.
Crouching down, Poe gave his astromech the drive and soon the orange and white droid projected the missing piece to the map. Both Leia and Kat gasped when they realized just where the map was leading them to. They clasped their hands together, a hopeful smile shared between the two. "Luke." They whispered, trying to contain their joy. They had finally found Luke. Resolve washed over both of them as they started working on their next steps. This was good news indeed; hope had been restored.