When Kat walked through the doors to the bridge, Connix looked over and smiled at her. Wanting to apologize, she made her way over and leaned against her station. "I wanted to apologize for what you witnessed earlier, lieutenant. I hope that I can earn whatever trust I may have lost with my outburst back."
Connix shook her head. "I never lost any trust with you, colonel. Anyone in your position would have done the same. I'm just glad to see you looking a little better."
Kat smiled and chuckled. "Must have looked awful earlier then. Either way, I appreciate it." She pushed away from the station so she could stand behind the lieutenant. "Now, what are we working with?"
"Colonel Metonae, may I have a word?" Holdo asked before Connix could respond.
The colonel made her way over, unsure of what Holdo wanted to speak with her about, especially since it felt like she was being called into the headmaster's office. "I know what you're doing," Holdo said once Kat was at her side.
Confusion was written all over Kat's face. "My job? I know we're running low on fuel but I was asking for an update so that I can better assist in things."
"You and Captain Dameron are close, yes?" Holdo asked instead of giving an update like Kat had hoped for.
"I don't see how that has anything to do with this. He was one of my best commanders and when he learns to think things through he can certainly be that way again. I'm assuming we're keeping out of range of the Star Destroyer cannons or the TIE's wouldn't have retreated. If I can just know what your plan is I can make sure my team is ready."
"It matters a great deal, actually. You see after the meeting ended, he tried to get some information. Since he's been demoted, he is now on a need to know basis. I need to trust that my colonel isn't going to go against orders. I know Leia let you run about how you saw fit but right now we need to stay strict so that we don't have another dreadnought incident."
Kat scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "And I need to trust that the commanding officer I let lead in her place isn't going to ruin what she's worked so hard for."
"That's funny coming from the commanding officer who ran instead of taking charge."
A self-deprecating smile grew across Kat's features as realization hit. "Then I'm sure you were thrilled when I did so. It fed into your belief that I'm not meant for the position Leia put me in." She then let out a harsh, humorless laugh. "And here I believed your words of comfort. Thought that because you were close with Leia that you trusted me." She then took a step closer, her shoulders square, her expression cold. Despite being on the taller side for being a woman, Holdo still stood above Kat but that didn't make the young colonel back down. "Now tell me how are we going to lose the First Order fleet?"
"We will not be doing anything because I currently don't need the few remaining pilots to do anything. So back to the med bay. I'd appreciate all updates when they're available."
Kat knew when she was being dismissed. She curled her hands into fists, holding back her outrage. If she had an outburst, she would only be proving Holdo and those who thought like her right. Here she thought she had proved herself from all the rumors that followed her from Naboo.
She was greeted by not just Poe when she got back to Leia's room but Finn, Rose, and C3PO as well. They swiftly turned to face whoever was entering but Kat noticed all three of them relax when they noticed that it was just her. "Well, I'm not getting anything out of Holdo. Said I shouldn't have run which is a whole lot of banthashit. So what are you three up to?"
"Ah, Colonel Metonae, finally another voice of reason these three just might listen to," C3PO said from where the droid was standing by Leia's bed.
Kat looked over to the gold droid with an eyebrow raised. Oh, now she was intrigued. "Okay, what's going on? And where did you two meet up?" She motioned between Rose and Finn.
"That doesn't matter." Rose quickly dismissed. "Kat, we figured a way to disable the tracker the First Order has on us."
The colonel's face lit up at the prospect of having some sort of action to do instead of waiting around. Poe smirked, knowing that look all too well. She was about to ask for the details so she could help create a plan. "You sure she's gonna be the other voice of reason?" He asked C3PO.
"Tell me everything," Kat said before the droid could respond.
"Oh dear." C3PO murmured as Rose and Finn launched into what they had figured out.
"It's a sound plan," Kat smirked. "We just need to make sure that you two get off the ship before they detect that the tracker is down."
"I helped steal a TIE Fighter before. And I'll know how to get us to one within that time frame." Finn said.
Kat smiled, clasping his shoulder before turning to Rose. "You sure you're up for this?"
Rose nodded. "I know I've only ever been on base but I can do this. I have to, for my sister."
"Then if I must be the sole voice of reason," the droid started, "Admiral Holdo will never agree to this plan."
"You're right, Threepio," Poe said, his look of sorrow at being the cause of Paige no longer being here turning into one of determination. "It's a need to know plan, and she doesn't." He smirked towards Kat while the gold droid tried to argue about the meaning of his warning.
Coming up beside Kat who was already working through the blueprints of Snoke's Destroyer, Poe placed a hand on her shoulder. "You guys shut down that tracker, we'll be here to jump us to light speed. The question is, how do we sneak the two of you onto Snoke's Destroyer?"
Kat looked up at Finn and Poe at that question. She hadn't thought that far ahead yet. Truly she was still on how they were going to get the pair off the Raddus without them being detected.
"We steal clearance codes," Rose suggested as if that was the obvious answer.
Finn disagreed. "They're Bio-Hexaencripted and rescrambled every hour. We can't get through their security shields undetected. Nobody can."
As if at the same time both Kat and Poe looked to each other as they stood from their hunched over stance. Poe then pointed to Finn as if to silently say actually. Kat hurried over to the holoscreen and called up Maz, who seemed in the middle of a battle herself.
"Could I do it?" She scoffed. "Of course I could do it. But I can't do it. I'm a little tied up right now." She then turned and fired off her blaster.
"Maz, what is happening?" Finn asked.
"Union dispute. You do not want to hear about it." Then there was a laser blast far too close to Maz's face for Kat's liking. "But lucky for you, there's exactly one guy I trust who can crack that kind of security!"
"Well, great, Maz, who is he?" Kat asked.
"He's a master codebreaker," she started to answer after having run from an attack and now fiddling with her blaster, "an ace pilot, a poet with a blaster."
"Sounds like he can do everything," Kat smirked which Maz easily returned.
"You'll find him with a red plom bloom on his lapel, rolling at a high stakes table in the casino on Canto Bight."
Poe sighed. "Canto Bight? No, no. That's…" That's too far and out of the way. "Maz, is there any way that we can take care of this ourselves?"
"Sorry, kiddo. This is rarefied cracking." Maz apologized. "You wanna get on that Destroyer, I only know one option. Find the master codebreaker." She ended the call just as she took to the skies with her jet pack.
Both Kat and Poe let out a sigh. This was not good. There was no way they could get to Canto Bight and then onto Snoke's Destroyer within enough time that there would be enough fuel in the Raddus to even get to light speed. Kat wished she knew of someone else she could give a call but Maz was truly the best hacker she knew.
Finn held up the remote tracker that connected them to Rey. Both Resistance leaders looked to the man and accepted that this was going to have to be the way. It was a lot better than sitting around after all. Poe took the tracker and Kat let out another sigh. "Alright you two, go pack whatever you might need." She ordered before turning to Poe. "Help them get into an escape pod and then inform those you trust. We might have to start a mutiny to give them enough time."
"And what exactly are you going to do?" Poe asked her.
"I'm going to see if I can talk with Connix." Kat smiled before she made her way back towards the bridge.
Just as the door closed behind her, she heard Rose's voice. "You heard the colonel, let's go!" The mechanic's order made Kat smirk but also made her send up a prayer to the Maker that everything would work out.
Slowing to a stop in the middle of the doorway, she stared down Connix, willing the newly promoted lieutenant to look her way. When the blonde did, Kat motioned for her to join her out in the hallway before she continued on her way.
Connix excused herself and met with Kat who was leaning against the wall out of the way of everything else. "What is it, Colonel?" The young woman asked.
"I have an idea but this cannot get back to Admiral Holdo. Can I trust you?" Kat said.
Nodding, Connix stood at the ready. "After what she said to you and seeing how you not only planned the attack on the First Order base and our own evacuation, I'd do anything you'd ask. You've shown nothing but want towards the best of the Resistance."
Kat gave the woman a soft smile before launching into how they were planning on stopping the tracker. "What I need from you right now is to make sure that Holdo suspects nothing, especially after the pod leaves."
Connix agreed and soon the two women went their separate ways once more. Kat headed towards the pods and when she got there, Poe, Finn, and Rose were already waiting. "Find the codebreaker, sneak onto the Destroyer, disable the tracker, steal a TIE fighter, follow you guys to safety." Rose listed once Kat joined them.
Finn looked between the three a bit confused which caused Rose to roll her eyes slightly. "We're on a mission from Kat. She always makes sure those who are going out in the field know each step so that they remain as safe as they can." The mechanic explained.
The colonel smirked as Poe nodded with a small shrug as Finn looked for confirmation. "Connix is on board. She'll help cover your departure." She then held out a comm device for Rose who smiled.
"Poe already gave us one and he's letting BB-8 come with us."
Kat looked to him with a raised eyebrow. He just shrugged. "Learned from the best."
A small smirk tugged at the corner of her lips as she looked back to Finn and Rose. "May the force be with you both." And with that, the pair climbed into the pod and flew off.
"Do you want tea or anything?" Poe asked as they walked back to Leia's room.
"Just because we put another plan together, doesn't mean I'm no longer mad at you." She gave him a pointed look.
Groaning, he looked up to the ceiling. "When we planned that, you were all for it. Now you're mad at me because I followed through with the plan you helped create?"
"Just because I helped create it, doesn't mean I can't change my mind, Poe." She let out an exasperated sigh before continuing. "Especially when in real time it didn't work out how we had hoped. Sure we took out a dreadnought but look how many lives we lost because of it. If you want to truly be a leader in this, you have to know when to pull back instead of charging ahead. We can't stop the First Order if we don't have any people to fight."
Poe couldn't exactly argue against that. The fact that she had pulled back should have been a clear indicator for him that he should have listened. Instead, because things were going so well at first, he got too cocky and kept his head in his cockpit-like Leia said. "I should've trusted you." Is all he wound up saying.
"You're damn right, you should have." Kat agreed. "I thought you would have known my tactics better by now. Go see who you can round up for our side. I think I'd rather just be alone right now." She said as they got to Leia's door.
He went to reach out for her but stopped himself. He wanted to offer up comfort but how could he when it was clear she was so disappointed in him. He bit his lower lip as he hesitated, slowly nodding in agreeance to what she requested before going to find the remainder of the pilots.
As soon as the door closed, Kat sank to the floor and completely lost it. The weight of everything became overwhelming and too much to bear. She mourned the loss of Han and the pilots she had under her watch. She cried in fear of the unknown with Leia's condition. Her body shook as angry sobs towards her brother for doing all of this wracked her body.
She wanted Leia to wake up, pull her into a hug, and tell her everything was going to be okay. She honestly didn't think she had cried this hard since the death of her birth parents. It was all-consuming, to the point where she didn't realize that C3PO came over to her. The gold droid placed a hand on her head, stroking her hair as best he could. Threepio had seen Leia do this motion often towards the young colonel so the droid thought it would help. It seemingly made her cry harder and yet she felt just as comforted as if she had been wrapped in a hug.
A watery laugh escaped her lips as she thought about the absurd picture they probably made. "Thank you." She sniffled, looking up at the droid she had known since childhood.
"You are most welcome, Katerina," C3PO replied. "May I ask why Commander, I'm sorry, Captain Dameron isn't here with you?"
Kat laughed once more as she wiped her tears away. "Because I wouldn't let him."
"Oh," the droid commented softly before speaking up again. "If I may make an observation…"
"You're already going to tell me regardless," Kat muttered.
"Captain Dameron seems to really care for you. While you had gone to speak with Holdo, I heard him tell Leia how she needed to come back mostly for you." The golden droid continued speaking despite Kat's whispers.
Looking over to where Leia laid, Kat let out a sigh. "You sound like her. She's so sure that something's there."
"Do you not care for Captain Dameron?" C3PO asked.
Kat bit her lip and nodded. "I do." She let out, barely a whisper.
"Then what seems to be the problem?"
Kat looked up at the droid she had known since childhood. "Everyone leaves in the end."
She's not entirely sure how much time had passed when she looked up to find that Poe had entered Leia's room. She had gotten up from the floor earlier and had settled in a chair next to her mom's bed. "Have you heard from Finn and Rose?" She asked.
He shook his head. "No. I came to give you an update on our status, though."
When she motioned for him to continue, he let out a sigh as he moved closer. "It's not good, Kat. Our medical freighter just went down and we're six hours away from losing all our own fuel supply."
Kat's face fell at the news. That was not good. They would need to act soon. "Who did you get on our side?"
"All of the Black Squadron of course."
"That's it?"
Poe rolled his eyes. "I didn't want to make this too big yet. If we need to make a move, then surely others will follow. You've got your top squadron behind you and you're an excellent strategist, they'll listen whether we talk to them beforehand or not."
"Oh, so now I'm the leader of this thing?" She asked, eyebrows raised.
"It's where you should have been since Leia went down."
Kat scoffed, turning away from him. She stood by her choice. She was far too emotional to think properly. She would have fought to figure out a way to attack the First Order fleet without the current knowledge that she now had. She wouldn't have been smart about things.
"You have led with your emotions since day one. I may not have realized it until recently but you know I'm right. Today's been a shit day and no one can fault you for letting your walls slip. The second you found out that there was another way to save the Resistance, you jumped into action and helped put a plan together. So stop being so hard on yourself for nearly attacking a medic droid. I have done way worse."
There was a short silence that fell over the two. Kat remained looking at Leia, watching the monitor that was over her face. Poe was close now, she could feel him by her side. She really wanted nothing more than to turn and bury her face in his chest. She remained still though, unknowing to how much he wanted to just pull her into his arms so he could tell her that things were going to be okay and that they'd figure a way out of this.
"Do you think she'd be mad?" She finally spoke up, voice soft and a little shaky.
"About which part?" He chuckled causing Kat to look up at him with a small glare. "For the potential mutiny, yeah. She's always been about trusting your leader. For you not stepping into her place just yet? No. She'd be understanding about that but definitely push you to see that you've been ready."
Her glare turned softer as she took in his words. "Do you really believe that? That I could lead this whole group?"
"I do. Especially now that I've figured out you're not what the rumors say you are."
Her lips twitched up into a small smile. "Yeah, I'm still wondering if that was a good decision or not." She teased him.
Poe laughed, shaking his head. "I'm glad you did. I've actually enjoyed becoming more of a team."
She brought her hand up to place it on his forehead, probing a little bit to check to see if he had a knot from hitting his head. "I'm sorry, did you hit your head harder than I thought?"
Chuckling, he took her hand in his and placed a kiss on her palm. "It's the truth." He then kissed her wrist before tugging her up from her seat so he could properly hug her. "Everything's gonna work out." He whispered into her hair, not sure if he was reassuring her or himself.
She let out a small "oof" when he pulled her to him but the minute his arms wrapped around her, she sunk into the embrace. He felt her nod against his shoulder although the hand that was rubbing up and down his back was rather distracting. In that moment they were comforting each other. They both had to deal with loss and guilt. It truly was one of the worst days they had experienced after joining the Resistance and now they were trying to give each other a little bit of that hope that fueled their fight.
"We need to check in with Finn and Rose," Kat whispered.
A chime sounding throughout the room broke the two apart as if whoever was on the other side could witness the vulnerable moment between the two. "Colonel Metonae do you copy?" Connix asked over the line.
Kat hurried over to the small console so she could reply. "I copy. What is it, lieutenant?"
"We've just lost our last support ship. We are the remaining cruiser and we don't have much fuel left. What would you like me to do?"
The colonel looked across to Poe, her jaw tightened as she flexed her fingers around the console. "Wait for me. I'm coming to the bridge."
"Understood," Connix replied before cutting off communication.
Kat stood as she took a deep breath. Poe stood at the ready, watching as she seemingly got a handle on her anger. "Go get your squadron and meet me at the bridge. Wait for my signal. I'm not entirely sure what I'm going to do yet but I will not let Holdo destroy what Leia has fought for, for most of her life." With that, she marched out of the room and towards the bridge.
D'Acy greeted Kat just before she could reach her destination, an uneasy look on her face. The young woman's features were determined and honestly reminded her of Leia. The commander trusted in Leia's decision to make Kat a colonel. She had proven herself plenty to be knowledgeable. She even understood why she had decided to not step up. She knew they all had the capabilities to compartmentalize things to keep fighting but even she didn't know if she could keep the fight going with all of the loss the young woman had experienced in the few hours that everything had taken place. "Kat, unless you have an update on Leia, you're not allowed on the bridge."
"Well, then I have an update on Leia."
The commander smirked slightly. "Do you really?"
"D'Acy, just let me through. We are down to one ship. I am the only other original commanding officer and I would like to know what our plan is since I know we've got to only have a few hours left of fuel."
"Let's not have a scene. You'll know soon enough." D'Acy tried once more.
Kat laughed humorlessly. "Oh, I think I'm 'bout due for one." She pushed the commander aside and stormed the bridge. "Holdo?"
"Kat, do you have an update on Leia?" Holdo looked over to where the colonel entered the bridge.
"Cut the shit, Admiral. We had a fleet and now we're down to a single ship. You have not only kept a commanding officer in the dark but you have told your members nothing." She stepped down, making her way towards Holdo. "Tell us you have a plan. That there's hope."
"When I served under Leia, she used to always say hope is like the sun. If you only believe in it when you can see it…"
"You'll never make it through the night. Yeah, I know." She gave the other woman a pointed look.
"Then why do you need me to tell you there is?"
Scoffing, Kat rolled her eyes. It wasn't about hope, necessarily. Kat just needed to know a plan so she could jump into action. She couldn't just sit and wait any longer. Looking behind the other woman's shoulder, she saw the screen showing the transports being fueled up. There was no hiding the anger that was being barely contained beneath the surface any longer. "Are you fueling up the transports?"
When Holdo didn't answer, Kat made her way towards the screen. When she got the visual confirmation she needed, she spun around to face Holdo once more, fists curled tight at her side. "Is this why you didn't tell me? You didn't want my push back? We could have figured out another way Holdo!" She began to pace, trying to get control over her emotions so she could take things over. In a burst of anger, she pushed over some trunks just as Poe entered the room.
He had told his team to wait in the hall when he heard Kat yell towards the interim general. He wasn't sure how he was going to help her or if that was the signal but seeing Holdo keep back guards after her outburst, he stepped forward which caused D'Acy to roll her eyes. "Colonel, what's going on?" He asked, causing both Kat and Holdo to turn towards him.
He barely registered Holdo's glare. The interim general was not at all surprised that the pilot wasn't too far behind the colonel. All he had eyes for was the brunette who had her hands placed on her hips with a storm raging behind her eyes. He didn't think he had ever seen her so upset and he pissed her off far too often for him to know the differences in the levels of her anger.
"Her grand plan is to abandon ship. She's fueling up the transport ships which are unarmed and unshielded." She finally answered, motioning towards Holdo.
Poe stared at the interim general in disbelief. "Are you serious? Are you really being that much of a coward? Right there is one of the best strategists you have. You should have used her instead of becoming a traitor."
"Get these two off my bridge," Holdo ordered.
Kat pushed the guard's arm away when he tried to grab her arm. "I'm going." She hissed as she walked out of the room, head held high as she tugged Poe along with her.
"I need you to try and make contact," Kat said when they were far enough away. "We need to know where Finn and Rose are before we do anything else because if we have to stall for longer than we have fuel…" She trailed off, not even wanting to say it.
Poe nodded and turned to his team. "Head back to the hangar. We'll meet you there and let you know what our next steps are."
The group nodded and continued walking as Poe and Kat entered his room. Pulling out the commlink connected to Finn and Rose, he called them. "Finn, Holdo's loading the crew in the shuttle. She's going to abandon ship. Where are you?" Poe asked as soon as the line connected.
With the stars flying by them in a blue light, they were so close to getting back to the Resistance. They didn't have the master codebreaker but they still managed to get a codebreaker while stirring up some trouble on Canto Bight. Finn and Rose looked at each other with worry. "Poe, we're on our way back to the fleet. We're so close." Finn promised.
"Did you find the master codebreaker?" Kat asked.
"Well, we found a codebreaker," Finn answered, trying not to sound too nervous. "We can shut the tracker down. Just buy us a little more time."
Both Kat and Poe looked to each other, their frustration written all over their faces. Kat let out a sigh and turned away from where she was huddled next to Poe so she could hear the commlink. Once more she started pacing, fingers twitching for her batons.
"All right. Hurry." Poe agreed before ending the connection.
He let out a sigh and tossed the commlink on his bed. Placing his hands on his hips, he watched Kat pace a couple more times before bringing her into his arms so they could start swaying around his room. "We just need to give them more time and then figure out a way to get back on the bridge so we can jump to lightspeed. Even then we should be able to get enough away from the First Order so we can use the transports to get somewhere to hide and regroup."
Kat let out a small huff as he swept her into his arms so they could start dancing instead of having her pace. "We're going to have to take it over. We're really gonna have to cause a mutiny so I can take back the interim position."
"We can do that. I'm sure you'll have plenty of support." Poe nodded.
"I'm beginning to think I should have just taken it all along." She shook her head, not really liking how things were playing out. Leia had always told her to trust her leaders but Holdo was just making it so hard.
"I mean I wasn't going to say it, but…" He trailed off, smirking at her.
Rolling her eyes, she pushed away from him. "Let's go tell the team."