Rhyming With Oranges: Thanks for the advice and I am glad you liked the backstory for Hask. It is like you said, important to understand the motivations of people. That is how you understand why they fight for the 'bad' side instead of just 'because they are evil'. On your point about Kylo Ren and Kuvira I will be having more focus on their relation ship in the battle of Starkiller Base. That is the titanic scene when emotions etc are running high. Everything up until now has been very professional due to the timeframe of the events and their individual personalities. These are two people who do not declare their undying love and sit under the moonlight. They can be together, but I need to stay true to their nature. But it definitely will develop if slowly.

MrMayhem FF: Thanks for the review. I agree with you comment about Iden. They finally had a chance to portray the other side of the conflict. To show that it was not all 'Imperials kicking puppies' and 'Rebels rescuing children' in this war. They could have shown an in-depth story about why someone wold fight for the Empire and how the rebellion might look without the propaganda of the movies. Instead, they completely went back on what they advertised and did the cliché defection to the rebellion in the first three missions of the game. It was a complete let down.

I have to say I did not even consider a Rey and Kuvira pairing like you suggested. Although I can see how that could make for a good story. However so far the reviews have been overwhelmingly in favour of a Kylo/Kuvira pairing. So, I do not think it will be likely. However, Rey and Kuvira will definitely have a unique relationship too as shown in the 14th chapter.

TishaLiz: Thanks for all your comments in your review they really mean a lot. Also, thanks for your opinion on my question about the matter of original or movie content. I will take it into account. Once again thank you for your compliments they are greatly appreciated.

Guest: Thanks for your review and your opinion. As for the matter of the First Order winning. I will not reveal too much so as to keep suspense. But I will say that this will not be a 'redemption' story and I have no intention of abiding my 'protagonist rules'.

(2nd) Guest: Thanks for your review and your thoughts on the question about the storyline. I liked your suggestions for the potential outcomes of the story and will consider those that I can. In regard to your point about Kuvira's loyalty to Snoke. Well that is true, she is very loyal to Snoke. She admires him for his intelligence, power and ability to command respect as a leader should. But unlike some Imperial's previously, Kuvira is loyal to the First Order above all else. She is loyal to the Supreme Leader and to the First Order. But she knows that they are two different things. For her the Supreme Leader is a majorly important part of the First Order but to her he is just that. A part of the First Order.

And if she thinks it is in the best interests of the unity and safety of the First Order. She will bow to a new Supreme Leader if the need arises.

Chapter 16 – Root and Stem

Resurgent Class Star Destroyer – Retribution

Kuvira - POV

Kuvira stood on the bridge of the Retribution, watching the flames blazing down on the surface of Jinata city as towers of black smoke rose into the sky like demonic fingers. The central tower she, Hask and their prisoners had recently vacated had collapsed during the bombardment that the star destroyer had sent down onto their attempted ambushers in the city.

The former members of the now extinct Jinata security force had clearly been intending to ambush them as they exited the building after completing their trap for Iden Versio and Shriv. Whether this was motivated by revenge for Gleb or some other perceived offense she did not know. Nor did she care, but it was irrelevant now.

The Retribution had sent dozens of turbo laser blasts into the city district where they had been congregating. The fires and the explosions had quickly forced the failed assassins to abandon their positions and run for cover. But there had been no cover available strong enough to safe them from the power of the First Order. One by one the lifeform readings on the Retribution's seniors had faded away like the stars on a morning sunrise, until they were all gone.

And with their rather violent deaths. The reminder that you should not provoke the First Order remained very much alive.

As she watched the fires blaze and the smoke rising even higher, the star destroyer began to move away and steadily rise into the atmosphere. Slowly the planet surface and city scape fell away and soon the ship broke through the cloud cover and continue to head into open space. The TIE fighters that had been deployed to patrol the planet's skies began to form up on the vessel as they were recalled from their mission.

As she watched the display she allowed herself to do something she almost always tried to avoid. She let her mind wander. She found that the brightness of the setting sun combined with the pure white of the clouds against a golden sky was awe-inspiring. Combined with the movements of the Star destroyer as it rose through the clouds and the TIE fighters almost seeming to dance in syce with the situation. It seemed to her to reflect the beauty and purpose of both the universe and the First Order. And the fact that they were constant forces of nature that could not be opposed.

She was broken out of her musings as she heard footsteps coming up the bridge walkway. Turning she forced herself not to wince at the sight of the golden stormtrooper marching up toward her.

Commander Pyre was an experienced and capable officer within the Stormtrooper core. He was a valued tactical officer and he had great skill in is command of operations in both the military and espionage. He had been valuable in the operations in the Outer Rim territories, like on Castilon. And he had proven to be skilled when it came to utilise the undesirable elements of the galaxy, such as pirates. In summation he was a commander that any Admiral would have been happy to have aboard their ship.

And she was glad to have him. Her concealed wince did not stem from him, but his choice of armour. She frankly found the gold-plated armour to be rather too garish and gauche then what was expected of an officer in the First Order.

But she only had herself to blame.

In one of her many changes to the First Order military doctrine. She had ordered that all soldiers who attained an officer's rank were to select names for themselves to replace their previous identification numbers. She found it to be an effective way to motivate soldiers to excel and to reward soldiers who had served well and become officers.

However, the new regulation had also allowed for them to customise their own armour if they wished. Most officers had not taken up this option. Instead they preferred to remain in the traditional white armour with their officer's rank displayed normally. However, some, like Cardinal, Phasma, Vonreg and Pyre had indeed used this to customise their now iconic armour.

Thankfully they had kept it to a simple colour alteration. She would not have tolerated poke-a-dotted or rainbow coloured officers in her military.

But despite her distaste for his fashion choice. Kuvira was certainly not let that interfere with her respect and appreciation of a capable officer like Pyre.

Pyre reached her and snapped off a perfect salute. "Grand Admiral." He said and waited to be acknowledged.

Kuvira turned fully around to face him. "At ease Commander. Have your troopers completed your sweep of the area around the wreck of the Corvus?" She asked.

Pyre nodded. "Yes Admiral. They scoured the wreckage and have collected any useful data from the computers. However, they were unable to locate the body of the pilot Zay Versio." He said. "It is possible that her corpse was vaporised or is simply buried under the wreckage. But our scanners did not detect any organic residue to correlate that scenario. In addition, an escape pod appears to have been jettisoned from the ship. Although that could have been a result of the attack and surface impact. We searched the ejected escape pod. No one was inside when we arrived but there were signs that it had been occupied."

Kuvira's raised an eyebrow. "Did you initiate the scanners to see if there are any lifeforms left in the city? It is possible that the girl has taken refuge in the nearby buildings."

Pyre shook his head. "We conducted the scan already Ma'am. There are no lifeforms left in the city. Aside from those that belong to the local wildlife." He reported.

"Then the girl is still alive apparently." Kuvira considered for a moment before she continued. "The girl will be aiming to rescue her mother if she can. She will not try to contact outside help. She doesn't have assured means of contacting them and based on what we know, she lacks the patience to allow such a time-consuming option. She will therefore make the attempt herself. The only way for her to do that is to get on board the Retribution. And the only option will be to use one of our ships as we have destroyed all the ones that belonged to the Jinata security force." She paused in her analyse to look at the bridge officer directly.

"Have all of our troop transports returned to the hanger, Lieutenant?" She asked.

The officer took a few moments to consult his instruments and read outs before replying. "Yes, Ma'am. All transports and their squads have returned and disembarked. All surviving troopers from the city battle have been accounted for and debriefings are already underway. The only forces that are yet to return are the fighter patrols."

Kuvira's eyes lit up once she heard that and she gave a small smile. "Ah, clever girl. Lieutenant monitor those fighters closely. If any of them display unusual behaviour I expect to be notified." She commanded.

The Lieutenant nodded and relayed the orders to the squadron commander. Kuvira meanwhile settled in to wait.

She did not have to wait long.

"Admiral, the squadron leader is reporting that Delta Six has left their post on the planet and joined them in their flight formation and is not responding to hails." The officer reported.

Kuvira nodded. "Attempt contact one more time and bring the turrets online and lock on to the fighter with the ventral cannons. If the pilot doesn't respond, destroy it." She stated plainly.

The officer nodded. But before he could begin relaying the orders his display lit up with urgent notifications. "Admiral the fighter has attacked and destroyed three of its formation mates and is now taking evasive action. The squadron is moving to intercept it." He stated as his fingers flew over the console relaying various instructions to the fighters.

Kuvira nodded and turned back to face Pyre. "I think he have found our erstwhile missing Zay Versio." She said.

Pyre nodded. "The girl is brave. Clearly stupid but brave." He muttered with some level of respect.

Kuvira nodded in agreement. "A very dangerous combination. For her."

But as the dogfight continued outside the Star destroyer Kuvira began to grow less amused at the progression of the battle. "May I ask why our entire squadron has not yet managed to bring down a single TIE piloted by a young girl?" She asked with a level of calm apathy that fooled no one and caused many of the bridge crew to wish they were invisible.

The same officer eventually was forced to find his voice. "Admiral, the opening attack caught the squadron completely off guard and claimed the life of the flight leader. In addition, the pilots are having trouble identifying the target among all of the other TIE's in the sky. And we cannot use the ventral cannons without placing our own fighters at risk." The officer mumbled in response.

Kuvira sighed and nodded, remaining silent. The officer had brought up valid concerns and there was nothing to be gained by growing visibly frustrated. A fool like Hux would have ranted and raged at the bridge crew but that would gain nothing. A leader was expected to remain composed when things did not go according to plan. A moments loss of control could result in their subordinates losing faith in their ability to lead them through defeat and death.

The girl could shoot down more than her fair share of TIE fighters. But this battle was unwinnable. Sooner or later she would be hit, and her fighter would be destroyed.

Suddenly as the monitors showed the dogfight moving to the back of the ship near the engines. Kuvira's heard her personal commlink go off.

She pulled the small device out of her coat pocket and keyed the button to activate it. A small blue Nephitina appeared on the projection. Kuvira noticed immediately that she had a slightly worried look on her face. That immediately drove the concerns of the lone fighter from her mind.

"Lieutenant, what has happened?" She asked, not wasting time on formality. Thankfully neither did Nephitina, who offered a quick salute before she began to speak.

"Admiral, Starkiller Base is under attack! Resistance X-wings are attacking the planet's oscillator with everything they have!" She blurted out.

Kuvira's stomach clenched. She knew that the power of Starkiller base was virtually unfathomable. A power that could obliterate an entire star system in an instant and fed of a star's concentrated dark matter, was nothing short of godlike. And she knew that containing power like that until the moment it was fired required an intense number of safeguards along natural and artificial means.

One of those artificial safeguards was the planets thermal oscillator. The planets magnetic field was unusually strong and was used to help contain the sheer amount of energy with the planetary core. But even a strong natural field was simply not up to that kind of task. Therefore, the oscillator was essential in boosting the containment field and ensuring that the power remained stable and contained until it was intentional released out of the firing mechanism.

If the oscillator was destroyed while the weapon was charged up to fire. Then the containment system would fail. And the power of the weapon, instead of firing in a linear path out the barrel. Would instead shoot through the entire planetary core and shatter the crust like an egg. The result of which would be nothing short of cataclysmic.

She refocussed herself and focused on the nervous Twi'lek. "How did the Resistance fighters get through the defence perimeter? The entire 1st fleet is stationed over Starkiller and an entire attack force would be decimated before they reached the surface." She demanded.

Nephitina paused as she seemed to gather her courage. "Admiral, the 1st fleet has been ordered out of the system. General Hux ordered it shortly after your departure. He claimed he did not want anything to potentially interfere with the firing mechanism." She reported with the last sentence dripping with sarcasm. Like Kuvira she clearly knew that Hux had done what he did to ensure that he did not have to share any credit with other commanders.

Kuvira stood as still as a statue as she digested the information. The bridge crew seemed to be holding their breath as they had clearly heard the conversation between the Admiral and her aid. The Admiral remained still and silent and gave no indication of anger.

Only someone attuned to the Force would have sensed the storm of anger and rage that was ragging within her.

She was furious. Furious at Hux for being such an idiotic fool too have ordered their entire defence fleet away from its position just so he could claim more glory for himself. She was furious at Hask for drawing her away from Starkiller to attend an interesting but ultimately menial task. She was furious at the Resistance and all their insipid refusals to simply accept defeat and surrender with grace.

But most of all, she was furious at herself. She had allowed this to happened by allowing Hux to retain his rank and his life. She knew what he was, and she knew that she should have simply killed him years ago. Whether it was by open military tribunal for some offense or if it was done in the darkness of night with a vibroblade. It would not have mattered. But that incompetent fool would have been wiped from the galaxy and could no longer have endangered the First Order with his idiocy!

She should have had him killed and damn what the Supreme Leader said!

Kuvira took an audible inhale as she regained control of her fury. The noise of her breath only added to the tension in the bridge as the crew felt the tension spike at the noise and focused on what was directly ahead of them with all their might.

As Kuvira exhaled, she felt her iron-willed control reassert itself. She could not undo Hux's foolishness. But she could work to ensure it did not cost the First Order Starkiller Base.

And she would also make sure that this mistake would be Hux's last. She would be certain of that!

She refocused on Nephitina's hologram and when she spoke it was with her usual iconic factual tone of voice. "Order all non-essential staff to evacuate the planet. Fighter squadrons will be deployed to combat the enemy if they have not been already. The base weapon is to be fired as soon as it is able to. It is too late to stop the weapon charging so it must expel the energy as fast as possible to eliminate the danger. I will be returning with the Retribution with all speed." She commanded as she gestured to the bridge crew to begin preparations for travel.

Nephitina looked slightly stunned. "Evacuate the planet? Admiral, many of the planetary command will not want to follow that order." She said in what was a legendary understatement.

Kuvira brushed that aside with clear contempt. "Then remind them that they are currently standing on a thin layer of rock, stone and metal that is all that is keeping them from the celestial mass of dark matter energy swirling in the planet core under their feet. And that the Resistance is currently trying to destroy the one thing that is stopping that planet from crumpling to dust beneath them." She stated bluntly.

"If they continue to refuse the order, tell them they are welcome to discuss the matter with me if they remain alive afterwards. At which point I will then have them all executed for insubordination. I will not make Tarkin's mistake." She stated with a noticeable bite to her words now.

Nephitina nodded her understanding. She was about to shut down the commlink before Kuvira gave her final instructions. "And get yourself to a ship as soon as possible. If some stubborn fools want to risk death I will not have you share their fate. I am returning from Vardos now." She instructed.

Nephitina's eyes filled with an emotion that Kuvira could not place. Gratitude? Vindication? Respect?

Whatever it was, it could wait as Kuvira closed down the commlink and turned to her bridge crew which remained waiting for instructions.

"Forget that TIE fighter. Set course for Starkiller base and prepare to jump to lightspeed."

The bridge crew nodded and immediately began to enter the coordinates into the nav computers and ordered all fighters to be recalled to their hangers. Hask stepped up to her from his previous position by the tactical readouts. "Should we not contact the 1st fleet to return to Starkiller. The fleets firepower would ensure that the Resistance was destroyed in a matter of moments." He asked tentatively, well aware of how the Admiral's temper had very nearly erupted moments before.

Kuvira shook her head as she turned to regard him. "The danger is too great. If the fleet arrives over the planet but the Resistance succeeds in destroying the oscillator. Then the planets destruction could very well take our entire fleet with it. We would face our own version of the Hosnian Prime attack. For now, the fleet will be kept well away from the system, as will all others. The planetary garrison forces will need to resolve this matter."

She turned back to the bridge crew. "Ensure that we come out of lightspeed a safe distance from the planet. And have the coordinates for out nearest outpost logged into the computer in case we need to make a quick escape from the system.

With all that said. Kuvira moved to face the bridge windows as the star destroyer broke through the upper atmosphere and the golden and red sky of Vados's sunset gave way to the star studded black of space. As she watched the stars began to stretch to eternity as the hyperdrive came online. Then the black of real space was lost in the swirling blue tunnel of hyperspace.

Kuvira turned away and walked down the bridge walk way. "I will be in my quarters. Inform me thirty minutes before we arrive at Starkiller." She ordered. She had been working almost non-stop for the last two days and it was clearly beginning to show in her emotional control. She needed some sleep.

Zay Versio - POV

Zay moved through the corridors of the star destroyer as silently as she could. She was just thankful that the corridors of the ship's detention level were largely empty. Occasionally she had been forced to duck behind a corner or move into an adjacent room. But the occasional pairs of patrolling stormtroopers had mostly left her alone after a few tense moments of hiding.

She was just thankful to be alive. And she owes that to Dio, her mother's faithful imperial droid who had been left with her on the Corvus on Vados. Dio had been able to locate an opening through a heating port by the starboard engines, so they blasted it open and flew in just as the Star Destroyer prepare to jump to hyperspace.

The TIE fighter had not survived contact with the ship's engine electrical discharges as the star destroyer had activated their hyperdrive. The energy blasts had scrambled her systems and it was only by sheer luck that the TIE had remained mostly intact from the crash and not burst into flames with her in it.

She had quickly pulled herself from the wreckage and made her escape as far away from the crash site as she could while moving to the detention area. She had been certain that the First Order would come and investigate the crash. How could they not? A TIE had crashed inside their star destroyer. But so far there had been no alarms or increase in stormtrooper patrols. She was starting to wonder if the star destroyer was so large that a little fighter blowing up in the engine was beneath their notice.

But that didn't matter anymore as she finally found her way in to the interior of the ship and eventually arrived at the detention centre. As she peaked through the entryway to the brig she noticed two stormtroopers were standing guard at two cell doors on either side of the corridor.

Zay paused. She could shoot a blaster well. Both her mother and her father had given her the same training in blasters that they had received at the Imperial academy. She was confident that she could get a headshot in on one of the guards and drop him in an instant. But she was not so gifted that she felt she could get off another shot and take down the other guard before he returned fire or set off an alarm.

And if a firefight started in the brig. Well I would not be long before she ended up joining mom and Shriv in the cells.

Thankfully that was the kind of situation Dio was programmed to help with. "You take out the guard on the right and I will shoot the one on the left. You got that buddy?" She whispered top the floating droid beside her.

The highly modified ID10 seeker droid chirped its understanding and silently floated to the top of the corridor ceiling so it could sneak up on the troopers with less chance of being seen.

A few seconds later, after quickly checking up and down the corridors to make sure (as much as she could) that no one was in earshot. She fired and managed to score a direct hit on the side of the stormtroopers neck just between his helmet and chest armour. At the exact same instant, Dio hit the other with an electric discharge from his extension arms. The charge was strong enough to stop a heart or at the very least knock him out for a few hours.

Both men (women?) fell to the floor and their weapons clattered out of their hands and rolled to a stop on the floor. Zay quickly dashed forward and snatched up one of the rifles and held it the ready in case someone came to investigate the noise. But thankfully she seemed to have been lucky as no one came running to check on the blaster bolt noise.

Once she was certain that an entire army of the white ghouls was not going to come running at her. She turned and opened the doors to the cells.

Shriv emerged and gave a nod and a thanks as he tenderly touched at some clearly fresh bruises on his face. It looked like his hosts had not been gracious ones.

Meanwhile her mother practically tackled her as she burst from her cell to take her daughter in her arms. "Zay!, I thought you were dead. I thought I had lost you too." Her mother whisper in to her hair as she gripped her as tightly as she could.

Zay also returned the embrace just as eagerly. She had not been certain if her mom was even alive. She had seen a shuttle take off from the tower where they had been before the Corvus had been blasted out of the sky. But that could just as easily have been the shuttle for the First Order personnel. For all she knew the First Order could have killed them then and there. But she could not even check the tower before it was engulfed in the fire storm unleashed by the star destroyer's cannons that blasted the Jinata security forces left.

She had only been able to escape by taking out a patrolling pilot and taking his TIE fighter. After that she had gone with the only half-baked plan she could think of to rescue her mom and Shriv. Which somehow had succeeded!

Wait?!

She pulled away slightly and looked her mother square in the face. "Mom, what did you mean 'you thought you had lost me too'?" She asked. She already had an idea, but she did not want to consider that. She needed to hear it from her mom before she would even allow that thought to take root in her mind.

Iden looked stricken and from behind Zay, Shriv looked sympathetic. She had clearly not intended to let that slip. She definitely did not want to have this conversation so soon or in the middle of a First Order star destroyer. But clearly this needed to be said if Zay was going to remain focused for this mission.

She took a deep breath and swallowed her own emotions from what she was about to say. "Honey. Your dad is dead." She said, feeling it was better to just have it out and said. Even if saying it made her choke up. But then again she had not really had time to process her husband's death since Hask gloatingly admitted to his murder.

Zay took a step back. As if the impact of the words caused a physical impact to her body that forced her back a step. She started to shake her head as if to deny the words. But the motion never quite materialised. Maybe that was a sign that she had been bracing herself for this news since her dad's disappearance.

"What?" She asked shakily. Her mind still trying to process what she had just been told. And her emotions were all fighting for dominance right now. Grief, anger, rage, denial, blame. All of them were struggling to be preeminent in her mind. But until one of them won out she was cast adrift in the sea of feelings.

Iden pressed on as she felt that she needed to say this quickly for both Zay's emotional state and her own. "We were wrong about Gleb. It was Hask who killed your father." She said, her words becoming a snarl by the end of her sentence.

Zay was now completely confused. "Hask is alive?"

She had heard of Gideon Hask from both her parents. They had told her that he had been their closest friend in their Imperial days on Inferno squad. But towards the end of the war with Operation Cinder in effect. He had remained loyal to the Empire and had refused to speak out against the actions of the Imperial High Command. Later he had also refused to defect to the Rebellion and had stood against them in several battles after that on Bespin and Jakku where he supposedly died.

Her parents had not talked about him often. But when they had they had expressed regret that he had died on Jakku. They said that they had wished it had not ended like that between them and him. That to this day they were not certain if Hask had betrayed them or if they had betrayed Hask.

And now suddenly she was being told that a dead man had killed her dad from beyond the grave?! She was starting to wonder if the stress of the recent events had caused her to lose her mind.

"Yes, but not for long. He is on board this star destroyer and we are going to end him for good." Iden snarled as she bent down to pick up the rifle of the other fallen stormtrooper. Shriv however looked at her like he could not credit his ears.

"Iden?" He asked in a tone a voice that was part questioning and part incredulous. Zay looked just as shocked. "You want to go after Hask?!" She asked just to make certain that they had heard right.

Her mother was a trained and experienced pilot and commando soldier. She had fought in dozens of battles and never taken a scratch. She had a tactical mind that had been honed in the crucible of war and she was never one to jump into a situation without at least three backup plans in case the situation changed. There had been times when her strategies were dangerous, but they were always the least risk for the greatest reward.

But now here she was suggesting that they fight through the crew of an entire star destroyer with thousands of personnel and who knows how many droids single handed. Then to just march up to one of their senior commanders and just shot him? Like it would be that easy?

What her mother was suggesting was insane. And while her mother could be called many things, a crazy person had never been one of them.

"Hurry up we need to move!" Iden declared as she made to march down the corridor. But Shriv interposed himself between her and the entrance while Zay tried to break through the fog of grief and anger that had descended on her mother's heart.

"Mom stop!" She said and the tone forced her mother to turn back as Zay continued. "Killing one person will not change what happened to dad." She said while trying to keep the emotion from her voice as she mentioned her dad. She was trying to get her mother to be logical and to do that she could not let her own grief and anger leak through.

Iden did stop as she stared at her daughter. The aggression and need to move faded slightly as she walked to the wall and leaned against it as the weight of today proved to much.

After a few seconds of silence as Iden gathered herself she began to speak. Though neither Shriv nor Zay could tell if she was talking to them or to herself. "If I had just been willing to fight. If I'd just joined the Resistance, then none of this would be happening." She whispered as if in mourning for the lost possibilities.

Zay made to move towards her mom to give her a hug or to offer some form of comfort. But Shriv beat her to it. "You heard Hask. The First Order has been planning this for a long time. And Admiral Kuvira planned for all this to happen. Almost everything the New Republic and even the Resistance has done played directly into her hands. I know your good Iden, but I don't think your joining the Resistance would have made that much of a difference." He reassured her. He allowed his voice to gain some humour as he spoke and was glad to see Iden''s lips twitch upwards at the joke at her expense.

Zay took another step forward. "None of this is your fault." She stated in a tone of voice that allowed no argument. "And its not to late to make a difference."

Shriv nodded. "The Resistance need all the help it can get. We are on board this ship with who knows how much invaluable information in its data banks. If we can learn how powerful the First Order really is. Plus, any information on the fleets, command structure and especially that doomsday weapon of theirs."

Iden interrupted. "Then the Resistance might just have a chance." Iden took a few seconds to digest all the information and to allow a plan to begin to take root in her mind and she looked at the deceased troopers that were still lying in the hallway. "Okay, Okay. Grab their weapons and put their bodies in the cells. Then we need to find a data terminal or a communications hub. If this star destroyer design is in anyway similar to the Imperial class I think I might have an idea about where to go."

Once the weapons were gathered and the bodies were concealed they made their way out of the brig and began to search for their target.

Kuvira – POV

The incessant noises of her commlink were heard as Kuvira found herself floating back to consciousness. She was aware of the warm feeling of her bed and the silent but very present whispers in her head to turn off her commlink and return to sleep. To just this once, let someone else handle whatever was amiss.

She had been trying to train this behaviour out of herself for most of her life. But so far without success. She was not able to completely silence such thoughts and feelings within herself. But still duty called.

With a reluctance that she shamefully found very strong. She forced herself to open her eyes and focus them on the chrono display next the bed that she was lying in on the quarters that she had been provided on the Retribution.

She had been asleep for just over four hours. Not ideal but enough to function normally for a while. But it was not enough time to reach Starkiller Base from Vardos. The journey should take another one to two hours even at lightspeed. That could only mean something unexpected had happened. This knowledge refocused her thoughts and brought the still chiming commlink back to her attention.

With her eyes still blurry and her black hair undone from its usual military braid and splayed across the pillow she was certainly not going to activate the holo setting on her commlink. So, as she grabbed it from the bed side table she set it to audio only and activated it, silencing the increasingly annoying incoming transmission alarm.

"Admiral, I apologies for disturbing you." Pyre's voice came through the speakers.

Kuvira rubbed her eyes as she sat up in bed as the blanket fell away and she readjusted the straps on her tank up that she routinely slept in. "It is fine Commander, what is it?" She asked in a tone that was professional but clearly not in the mood for idle conversation.

Pyre clearly grasped that and immediately continued with his report. "Admiral, the prisoners from Vardos have escaped their cells and they are currently in the hyperdrive generator chambers. We cannot be certain, but my troopers have reported that they have progressed through an armoury and appear to have stolen a large number of explosives. They are attempting to disable the hyperdrive."

That report blasted the cobwebs of sleep from Kuvira's mind as she jumped out of bed, landing with her bare feet on the cold floor and strode over to the wardrobe that housed her clothes. "How did they escape the brig Commander?" She demanded

"It appears that somehow their accomplice. The girl who commandeered the TIE fighter. Managed to get on board the ship before we made the jump to lightspeed. From there she freed them from the brig. We have run a security check and it seems that there was an impact in the bowels of the ship's engines. At the time it was mistaken for system damage due to the hyperdrive's activation." Pyre reported.

Kuvira was forced to pause and put the comlink down as she stepped into her trousers and pulled them over her combat briefs. Once done she snatched it up again. "I want the security officer's and the maintenance officer's in charge of that section of the ship disciplined, severely Commander. If neither of them could not notice a TIE fighter crashing into the engines then they have no place on our fleet." She ordered as she pulled on her boots.

"Yes Admiral. Commander Hask is heading down to the hyperdrive chamber with fresh troops. He anticipates that he will have the pair of them in custody soon." Pyre reported confidently.

Kuvira paused as she was adjusting her belt. "The pair of them? What about the third member of their party?" She inquired.

Pyre paused as he seemed to consult something. Then he returned to the conversation. "According to our reports and security footage. The Duro's Shriv Suurgav is not with them in then hyperdrive chamber. It is just the traitor Iden and her daughter." he reported.

Ignoring for the moment the feeling she got about how two combatants (one of them a half-trained girl) had managed to hold off dozens of her soldiers. Kuvira considered all the details she had been told. After a few seconds she made her decision. "Commander, I want soldiers stationed at all hangers. I want the magnetic locks on fighters activated and the bay doors sealed. Activate the tractor beams and the ventral cannons. I want them ready to use at a moments notice." She commanded while pulling on her black undershirt and grabbing her uniform jacket.

"Yes Admiral." Pyre's voice sounded confused at her seemingly random orders. But to his credit he did not ask questions before relaying her instructions. With that in mind, Kuvira felt she could elaborate.

"The prisoners know that they cannot escape the ship while its in hyperspace. The only reason for them to be attempting to sabotage the hyperdrive is to force us into real space again. But they are not going anywhere without a ship of their own. Which I can only surmise, is what Shriv Suurgav is currently doing while the other two attack the hyperdrive. So, we are going to limit his options as much as possible and ensure we are ready to apprehend him. If they do manage to escape the star destroyer I want us ready to either recapture them with the tractor beams or destroy them with the ventral cannons.

Pyre's voice came back with a hint of admiration in its tone. "Understood Admiral, it will be as you say." Pyre confirmed.

Kuvira nodded as she finished getting dressed and grabbed her blaster pistol and its holster which she quickly added to her belt. She also grabbed her vibro knife and placed it in the compartment on the back of her belt. And she took her spare vibro knife and slipped it into the concealed holster in her boot.

There was no time for such luxuries as doing her hair. So, she simply gave it a brush back to ensure it looked presentable and did not impede her field of vision. Unleashed from its tight style sit fell down past her shoulder blades in ebony waves.

"Tell Commander Hask I am on my way to the Hyperdrive chamber. I will see to the defeat of Iden Versio and her daughter personally." She declared with all the strength and intent a lifetime of military command had given her.

Pyre started and managed to get his objection in before she closed down the comlink. "Admiral, with all respect, I must protest! You should not put yourself in danger for something so trivial. If you were to be lost it would be a great blow to the First Order." Pyre protested, trying to keep his voice deferential while making his disapproval clearly known.

Kuvira strode through the doorway to her chambers and made her way to the turbo lift. As she did so the two red Pretorian guards moved away from their position at the door and fell in behind her. "Your concern's have been noted Commander. But I feel the need to see to this personally. And if the First Order is so fragile that it cannot survive in the event of my death. Then it does not deserve to survive."

With that she switched off the comlink, entered the lift and it the console for the engineering levels.

Iden – POV

"It's all clear, want to do the honours. Plant the last charge?" Zay said in a gleeful voice as they moved towards the last pylon that they needed to blow before the star destroyer would get pulled out of hyperspace.

Iden moved ahead of her to the pylon while pulling out the ion detonators that she and Zay had appropriated from the star destroyer's armoury that they had fought through on their way to the hyperdrive chamber. Iden was never one to celebrate a victory before it was won. And she knew that even if they succeeded in taking the star destroyer out of hyperspace. They still needed Shriv to have a ship ready and waiting for them to escape at a moments notice.

The fact that they had not heard from him yet made her worried. But she and Zay had their own job to focus on. And she was going to take some joy in damaging Hask's own ship.

"Sure, then we find Shriv and get out of here." She replied and moved towards the pylon. She pulled out the final detonator and began to set it on the pylon and activate the armed sequence. As she was just finishing she heard hurried footsteps behind her and turned around to see what had caused Zay to move so rabidly.

"Zay?" She asked. But her neutral tone and mood instantly fell away when she heard her daughter cry out and begin to struggle with an unseen assailant. "Let me go!"

Turning Iden raised her weapon at the ready only to see that bastard Hask had her daughter in a choke hold while using her as a human shield while aiming his blaster pistol to her head.

"No!" Iden screamed and raised her blaster rifle to take aim right between Hask's eyes. She would have been more satisfied if his face did not immediately turn into a grin. Like that was the reaction he was hoping to receive from her.

"That's the Iden I remember." He said gleefully as he pulled his weapon away from Zay's head and aimed it right at her chest. "Bold, unpredictable!" He shouted. He kept his blaster aimed right at her, but he didn't fire it. Instead they just stood there in a standoff with neither seeming to be willing to make the killing shot.

"Use your weapon. Come on use your weapon!" Hask yelled as he brought the weapon back to Zay's temble. Iden's eyes widened in confusion. Was Hask so driven by revenge, so filled with hatred of her that he wanted her to kill him as long as he got to take her daughter with him? Maybe he just wanted this thing between them to end? Maybe he had been carrying this grudge against his former friends for so long, the last thirty years. That he was just tired of it and wanted it resolved one way or another.

Whatever the reasons behind his ramblings. Iden was not going to give him whatever he wanted while her daughter's life was as stake.

She threw her arms out to the side with her rifle handing lose in her hand. But she did not drop the weapon entirely.

"Zay, Its okay." She reassured. But when she saw that Hask was not buying her halfway surrender. She reluctantly threw her weapon aside and watched as the rifle felled down in to the abyss of the hyperdrive chamber.

But despite that Hask seemed to be….. disappointed?

With a scoff of disgusted he took his blaster pistol away from Zay's head and aimed it at her. "Motherhood really has made you weak." He said with scorn.

It was then that Iden understood what Hask had been looking for when he had called on her to use the rifle and shoot him regardless of Zay's presence.

He had wanted to see the Iden that he remembered. He had wanted to see the efficient pragmatic leader of Inferno squad. The one that had always gotten the mission finished regardless of the dangers or the losses. He had wanted to see the Iden that he had served with and fought beside and looked up too.

He had wanted to see his friend again. Even if it was for a brief moment in the act of her shooting him.

But she had denied him that by forsaking the mission to save Zay. And that act, filled Hask with sadness and with disgust at what she had become.

With a look of condescension, he prepared to pull the trigger and sent the bolt of super-heated plasma into Iden's face.

But then Zay, acting like a trained warrior. Dug her elbow into Hask's unprotected stomach and sent him doubling over in surprise more then pain. As he did so she grabbed at the hand holding the blaster pistol and began to struggle with it.

Before Hask could recover Zay sent her elbow slamming into the underside of Hask's chin sending him reeling back with a cry of pain. Zay followed up her attach by sending the same elbow slamming down on Hask's forearm along the main nerve that caused his army to jerk involuntarily and made the blaster pistol fire into the durusteel walkway.

While Zay showed that she had clearly been paying more attention to her mother's self-defence lessons then Iden had ever realised. Iden ran towards the pair of them and tackled Hask to the floor while sending Zay sprawling to the floor to the side of them. The force of the fall caused her to roll of the edge of the walkway, but she managed to halt her fall to her death just in time by grabbing the rim of the bridge.

Iden meanwhile landed on top of Hask and she immediately straightened up and sent her fists crashing into the side of his face, one after the other.

Hask was dazed but he recovered with the speed of a life time in the military and sent his own fist into Iden's nose. He then followed up by grabbing her vest with both hands and pulled, bringing her face smashing into the hard bone of his forehead. Blood gushed on both his face and Iden's as the cartilage in her nose gave way and her nose broke.

Iden reeled back from the pain. But even through that she grabbed Hask's head with both hands and sent slammed it into the hard steel of the walkway. Then she repeated it a second, third and fourth time. Leaving Hask dazed and his head pounding.

Hask could not get his arms up to break the hold Iden had on his head so he did the only think he could think off in his brain rattled state. He turned his head to face Iden's left hand and bit down as hard as he could, sinking his teeth into the flesh of her hand.

Iden screamed in pain as reared trying to break Hask's hold but failed. She then sent her right fist slamming into Hask's face again and again, trying to force him into releasing his bite. Eventually Hask was unable to maintain his grip any longer with an increasingly swollen eye and a broken nose of his own. He eventually was forced to release his bite but not before he wrenched his head to the side. The jerking movement tore the flesh from Iden's hand and took away a fingernail.

Iden screamed anew and in a flash of anger she sent her uninjured hand into a fist and propelled it with all her might into Hask's groin. Her own screams were soon joined by Hask's howls of agony. But Iden was not finished as she pulled her knife free from her belt and slammed it into Hask's left foreleg, just missing the artery and bring more howls of pain from his throat.

Hask rolled away with pain shooting through his body and blood flowing from his leg. But even so he used the motion to lash out with his right leg and sent it smashing in to Iden's kidneys that caused her to reel backwards. Using the motion of Hask's attack, Iden rose back to her feet and grabbed her savaged hand as the blood pumped from the bite mark.

Soon Hask regain his feet (albeit slightly hunched over and favouring his uninjured leg) and glared at Iden his eyes burning with hate. "Yes, that is the Iden I remember. The one who was willing to resort to anything for victory!" He snarled.

Iden returned the look with one of pure loathing as she straightened up and did her best to block out the searing pain from her hand. "That Iden Versio died a long time ago. It is just a shame that Gideon Hask did not die with her!" She snarled.

Hask spat out a glob of blood and pulled his own knife free from its sheath. "Well come on then, Rebel scum. Let's finish this!" He shouted as he lunged forward.

Iden returned the gesture and threw herself forward to give her blade a new home in Hask's throat!

But then she felt a searing pain in her left shoulder blade and then two more impacts slammed into her back that caused her to lose her balance and slam into the cold metallic floor. Her knife fell from her suddenly nerveless fingers and she felt the pain in her shoulder double with the shock wearing off.

Hask meanwhile caught himself in his leap and regained his balance. Through Iden's bleary gaze he was staring behind her. And then he heard a voice she was rabidly learning to hate cut through the sudden silence that the end of the battle had left.

"That is quite enough of that." The voice of Admiral Kuvira announced.

Iden forced her body to roll over as she looked behind her. Kuvira was standing behind her and just in front of the hyperdrive pylon. She looked like she had been dragged out of bed. Her hair was hanging loose behind her, her eyes were slightly red, and she was not wearing her Admiral's greatcoat. Instead she was clad in the standard black First Order officers' uniform.

In her right hand was her blaster pistol. Still aimed directly at Iden. In her left hand was the Ion detonator that Iden had planted on the pylon. Based on the lack of flashing lights on the device. It had clearly been deactivated.

But what really drew Iden's attention was Zay, on her knees with her hands on her head and two stormtroopers with their rifles aimed at her with point blank range. She looked up at her mom with a look of hopelessness and even Iden was struggling to think of a way to escape from this one.

In the end she settled for what she could do. Which was alert Shriv to their situation and maybe get enough of warning to him so that he might still escape back to the Resistance. So, she subtle activated her comlink and set it to audio.

Meanwhile Kuvira was looking to the bloodied Hask. Who stood to attention (as much as he was able with his injuries), but he had a definite look like he had been robbed of his moment.

"I apologies for interrupting Commander. But this has gone on long enough and we must bring this to a close before we reach Starkiller Base." Kuvira said to Hask who, after a moment, nodded his acceptance.

Iden then turned and addressed the Admiral. "You can defeat us, but it doesn't matter. Shriv has already escaped and he will give the Resistance the intel it needs to destroy you and the entire First Order!" Iden growled, putting as much conviction as she could into her bluff as she could. If she convinced the First Order that Shriv had already escaped then maybe they would be more lax with security. And when they came out of hyperspace he could really escape back to General Organa.

Kuvira however only looked at her with sardonic humour. "Mr Suurgav has already escaped you say. Well that is a strange phenomenon because…." She trailed off and dropped the useless ion detonator to the floor. Then she raised her hand and snapped her fingers with a click that echoed through the chamber.

Instantly the door behind Iden and Hask whooshed open. When Iden turned to see who had entered the room. Her heart sank like a stone in the oceans of Castilon.

Shriv, bloodied and bruised was being dragged into the room by the two red Praetorian guards that she had seen on Vardos, each one had their vibro-voulge in their free hand and each of them was activated and ready.

Shriv looked up at Iden and Zay through his bruised eyes and offered a smile that had no mirth behind it. "Sorry guys, they caught me in the fighter hanger." He whispered with an exhausted tone.

As Iden and Zay looked on with increasing despair. Kuvira spoke up again. "We knew that if you two where here then he would be going for a ship to escape. So, I sent my best to apprehend him. Oh, and as for that intel you said he had. I believe your droid has that data." She paused as if suddenly remembering something. "But I suppose I should say. The droid had that data." She said with the tone of victory beginning to creep into her voice.

At first Iden was confused by what the Admiral meant. Then she remembered the two impacts to her back and she quickly released Dio from his compartment on her back manually. The sound of him crashing to the floor instead of his usual hovering told her all she needed too.

Turing she saw Dio on the ground. Two blaster wounds were visible on his body casing. Inside she could see melted circuitry and sparks flying on as the acrid smell of burning metal and wires wafted up from the little droid. The droid made no sounds or motion as he lay there on the ground and it was apparent that he never would again.

Iden could not help herself. She reached out and picked up the faithful droid and held it in her hands. She ignored the pain from the electrical burns she was receiving, or the bite wound on her hand as she looked at the droid as her eyes began to well up with tears.

Some might call her crazy for mourning a droid. But she could not help it. Dio had been with her since the days of Inferno squad and the Empire. The droid had then followed her into the rebellion and had been her constant companion for over three decades. He had been Zay favourite toy as a baby, constantly floating around as she tried to grab him and laughing in delight when he flew over her.

And now he was gone and the data with him.

To Iden it was like watching a dear friend die.

No. There was nothing 'like' about it. She was watching a dear friend die.

She was broken from her grief as she heard Kuvira talking to her troops and Hask. "It is clear from the brig's security footage that Mrs and Miss Versio are not and have never been an actual part of the Resistance and will have no additional intelligence beyond what Mr Suurgav can provide us. Dispose of them and take Mr Suurgav back to the brig." Kuvira said as she turned to walk away.

As Iden watched the stormtroopers and Hask raise and aim their blasters at Zay and herself respectively. She then through all pride to the winds and called out to the Admiral. "Wait, kill me if you want but I beg you to spare my daughter." She pleaded.

Kuvira turned around to regard her with confusion. "Why would I do that?" She asked simply and seemingly with genuine curiosity.

"Because she is innocent in all this. She never betrayed the Empire like I did, and you have just said she is not part of the Resistance. There is no reason to kill her." Iden said desperately.

But Kuvira was not moved by her pleading. "I acknowledge that she is not part of the Resistance. But innocent? I hardly think so. She has already killed many of my pilots, my soldiers and destroyed First Order property. Not even counting what she and you attempted to do here today." She said with a tone that showed she was not impressed with Iden's reasoning.

Iden started to become desperate. "She only did those things because I led her into this. She would never have done it if not for me. And if you let her go she will not hinder the First Order again." She claimed while looking at Zay silently telling her to stay quiet.

Kuvira however looked incredibly doubtful. "Is that so? Well then…"

She walked over to Zay and stopped right in front of her. She looked down on the young woman who looked back up at her with fear but with undisguised hostility. "Well Miss Zay. Is what your mother says accurate? If we were to release you, would you leave and live your life away from the Resistance and the First Order? Will you lead a life of peace in the galaxy and play no part in the conflict? And if the First Order wins, you will not join any insurgent groups? Or will you dedicate your life to avenging your mother and father and destroying the First Order at all costs?" She asked with a deadly serious tone.

Zay looked into the Admiral's burning green eyes. And then she looked at her mom who was staring at her with pleading eyes silently willing her to say what the Admiral wanted to hear.

Then she looked at the bloodied and bruised Shriv who was still in semi-conciousness held by the Praetorian guards. At the Resistance symbol on his shoulder pad that was streaked with his green blood.

Finally, she turned back to the Admiral and gave her a defiant glare. "You already know what my answer is!" She snarled and then she spat at Kuvira's face, though the glob fell short and splattered on her boots instead.

As Iden looked fearful and Shriv looked defeated but proud. Kuvira looked at the girl and then at the glob of spit on her boot. Then she turned back to the girl.

"Thank you for not insulting either of us by lying." She said softly. Then she looked at Hask and her guards and gave a short nod. The stormtroopers took aim at the back of Zay's head and she heard Hask behind her raising his weapon.

But she and Zay were only looking at each other. No words were exchanged but the meaning in their eyes was clear. 'I love you'.

Iden wanted to close her eyes but she would not abandon Zay in this moment. She would be here for her till the end and offer any strength and comfort she could. She would not falter, or cry or scream in rage. She would go to her death with dignity and she would go to her death with a daughter she could not be prouder of.

She saw the stormtrooper fire his blaster. She saw the blot slam into Zay's head and saw her jerk as the plasma burrowed into her skull. But she was spared anything more as she heard Hask give a noise of satisfaction and heard his own blaster fire.

Then the world fell away. And Iden Versio welcomed whatever peace the void offered.

Kuvira - POV

Kuvira looked up from the two corpses and turned to Hask. "Place Mr Suurgav in his cell and place him in restraints." She commanded. "Continue to interrogate him on everything he knows about the Resistance."

Shriv looked up from the corpses of Iden and Zay and whispered one word. "Murderer."

Kuvira looked back at him with a flash of anger. "You know Mr Suurgav. I do get incredibly sick of you people's self-righteousness and hypocrisy. When we kill our enemies, you label it as murder. But when you kill your enemies it is called 'necessary' or 'for the cause'." She spat in clear distaste.

She turned back to the Praetorian guards. "On second thought. I have no interesting chasing him down if he escapes again." She said as regarded the Duro's once more. "Break his spinal column and take him to the secure med bay." She ordered in a voice like a Hoth blizzard.

With that she turned around to head back to her chambers for another hour of sleep before they reached Starkiller.

As she entered the turbo lift. The Duro's began to scream.

Authors Note

100,000 words! That is a milestone every fanfic hopes to reach. Now lets see if we can get as many reviews.