Sylphi: Thank you for the review as always. I am glad you enjoyed it so much.
Auguste the Clown: Thanks for your review. I also enjoyed our discussion on the Private Message system. I am glad you liked how I wrote the last chapter while trying to keep to who Kuvira and Kylo Ren are while making them more human. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.
Alice: Thanks for your review. Sorry to hear you were not feeling good last month. But I am glad to hear the chapter cheered you up. I hope this one does as well.
WitchofDuva: Thank you for your review. I am glad you enjoyed the power dynamic and the refusal of either one of them to submit to the other. I was hoping it would flesh them out while keeping their power and personal respect intact.
TishaLiz: Haha I suppose that is the best way to describe it. As you say it is going to be complicated to keep their relationship going while maintaining their power dynamic. But I am glad with how the chapter turned out. I was hoping to have them display vulnerability while maintaining their aura of power. It was complicated. I am considering a Leia POV in these Interlude chapters. We could get a glance at the interrogations so I hope you will enjoy that.
Guest: Thanks for your review. I am honestly not sure how I am going to incorporate Rise of Skywalker into this fanfic. It has thrown a few of my plans into question. But I can say that Kuvira is not going to be happy about Palpatines return.
.2019: That is what I was going for. I am glad you enjoyed it.
C.E.W: Thanks for your review as always. Yeah they got round to it eventually. It just took them some time to figure it out. As established they are not experienced in these matters. I have been considering how to incorporate First Order Allegiant General Enric Pryde. To be truthful Rise of Skywalker has thrown a lot of my ideas out the window. Still I am working on the overall plan. Whether this will result in a First Order civil war, a coup'd'tat or something else is still being decided. Palpatine's power will definite demand Kuvira's attention. But the deeper reasons for her distaste for the Force will be revealed in future chapters.
Loken 16: Hi. Thank you very much for your time to write this message. I really appreciate all the support you have shown for my story. I have read your message and I like the idea's. I have thought about them before and have been trying to put together the basic plan for the story to take. I also liked your suggestion of Palpatine ordering Snoke to kill Kuvira for the reasons you listed. It works because Palpatine is so paranoid and megalomaniac that he would never allow someone to be even a potential threat to his rule. Which Kuvira definitely is with her distaste for him.
It also helps because Snoke is going to become a problem later and without the confrontation with Rey in the throne room. I have been struggling with what to do about him. Especially since currently Kylo and Kuvira have no real reason to move against him. Kylo still has more to learn from his master and Kuvira will not risk civil war in play for the throne.
My only concern with this plan is the following question: "Does Snoke know he is working for Palpatine?"By that I mean does Snoke actively serve and bow before Palpatine? Or does he think he is serving his own ambitions and is being played as a unknowing tool" If it is the former then your suggestion can work easily. But if it is the latter (as I suspect it is) then it becomes more complicated.
Truth's Hierarch: Thanks for your review as always. I am considering how their relationship will develop. But it will be different from Vader and Padme. For one thing Padme and Kuvira are very different women. I have always been curious how Vader and Padme's relationship would have gone if she was an imperialist and not a fanatical republic idealist. That being said it will not be a lovey dovey romance as that is just not them. If someone brought Kuvira flowers she would likely have him beaten for deserting his post.
That being said the Rise of Skywalker and the way that movie affected Kylo Ren have complicated things somewhat. I am still piecing my plan together. In the meantime I hope you enjoy this interlude chapter.
Hayatin: Thank you for your review. I am always glad to read how that people are enjoying the story and Kuvira's development as a character. OC's are always a problem as they are usually under developed so that you don't care about them. Or they are so overpowered that it makes the story redundant. While maintaining Kuvira's Thrawn like genius and skills as a warrior I am trying to make it clear that she is a person with thoughts and feelings. It is the strong proud characters with hidden depths that I have always found the most fascinating.
I am also glad you like how the story is not black and white. That is one of the main reasons I started this story. It has always annoyed me how one sided the star wars universe is. It is all Republic/Rebels/Jedi = Good - Empire/ Imperials/Sith = Bad.
Nothing is that simple much less a conflict spanning a galaxy and being waged across millions of years. While Disney has begun to make some efforts to give us a more realistic and balanced view of the Star Wars Universe it is still often presented as black and white. This story is my attempt to present the story from the other side. Or at least a much less biased side. To show that if you actually think about it the war is much more complicated then often presented and that the 'good' guys. May not be the guys you actually want in to win.
Shade: Thanks for your review.
Anakin Solo: Nope there will not be any Reylo in this story. I never liked that side of the trilogy beyond the uncertainty it gave Rey's allegiance.
TeslaRivera: Thank you for your review. I am glad that you read and enjoyed my story despite your initial reservations. I admit the Romance tag can be a put off as there are thousands of stories that are heavily focused on that before anything else. I have since changed the tags as I feel that while Romance is now a part of this story it will not be the defining part. I hope you continue to enjoy the rest of the story.
VioletCitizen: Thank you for your review. I am glad that you like the story and my OC so far. I agree that OC's are always a risk. They can be boring or simply overpowered. But if done right they can make some of the best stories. Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.
Guest: Thank you for your review. I am glad you like the story so far.
BlackWatcher1234: Thank you for your review. I hope this chapter answers your question.
Chapter 29 – Interlude Part 1
Crait – Resistance Base
Admiral Holdo – POV
"You mean you just left them there?!" Poe Dameron screamed out.
The sound of his yell echoing throughout the cavernous mine shaft that the tattered remnants of the Resistance were currently huddled. The noise also startled a number of the crystal animals (that C-3PO had ladled as Vulptex, despite no one asking) that were watching from the shadows and causing them to jump back in fright.
The rest of the Resistance survivors from this disastrous day winced as the noise and the accusation washed over them. Many of them avoiding the burning gaze of Poe's eyes while others looked down at the dirt floor and their feet.
But the woman who the accusation was directed at did not so much as flinch. Instead, Admiral Holdo stared straight back at Poe. Her icy expression a complete contrast to the red faced fury displayed on Poe's face.
Her apparent lack of reaction or remorse for her actions only seemed to infuriate Poe further as he clenched his hands into fists and his breathing became sharp and aggressive.
After the ambush in deep space and the fall of the Raddus. The surviving members of the Resistance had fled on the Ninka. As it had been the only ship to still be operational and capable of lightspeed after the battle at D'Qar. They had jumped into hyperspace just before the First Order had been able to destroy them with blasts from the Monolithic ship that had appeared before them.
After that they had made another jump and then a third. All the while thanking the Force that while the Raddus had been low on fuel, the Ninka had a sufficient supply.
After the third jump they had sat still in the black ether of deep space, and waited.
They knew that the First Order clearly had some means of tracking a ship through hyperspace. How they had done that they did not know. But they knew that at any moment a fleet of First Order star destroyers could appear and rain fire down on them.
They could only hope that they had been more focused on the Raddus and that they could not track them through multiple hyperspace jumps.
They had sat there in almost complete silence for what felt like hours. All talking was done in little more than a whisper, even among officers. It was as if the crew had been afraid that even the slightest noise would attract the First Order, like some horrific stalking predator.
The tension had been so think it was almost visible as it circulated between the individual members of the crew as they tried to occupy their time and their minds with their duties. But through it all, each and every one of them had been prepared for the alarms to blare out and for the sound of plasma fire to impact against their ship's hull.
That was assuming they even got a warning and were not just snuffed out in a ball of fire before they even knew what was happening.
Finally, Admiral Holdo had proclaimed that they had waited long enough. She then ordered that the coordinates for Crait be entered into the navi computer and for the crew to begin preparations to transfer their flag from the Ninka to a planetary base.
Upon their arrival on the abandoned salt encrusted mining world. The Resistance had quickly moved to set up within the old Rebel base. They had moved the Ninka itself to the surface in a nearby ravine. This ravine would conceal it from observation and allowed access to the base through the system of tunnels that extended from the main base cavern.
They had just set up the communications network when a call had come through on the Resistance's private secure frequency.
It had been Poe and his remaining squadron pilots. They had apparently jumped to the Mek-Sha system and had been waiting near the asteroid belt for the promised communication to direct them to the new base.
But when the communication had not come. He had tried to raise the Raddus himself. When that failed he had resorted to sending out coded messages on the Resistance long range communication channel. He had been on the verge of despairing when he had final received the answer from Crait.
Poe had initially been overjoyed to receive a response to his hails and had immediately ordered his pilots to jump to lightspeed and head directly for Crait. They had landed their fighters within the derelict hanger within the base. After the ground teams had removed some crumpling old speeder vehicles from the area.
That had all been about half an hour ago. But it had not taken long for Poe to ask what had happened and where Leia and the rest of the leadership was.
The story had then been revealed. The last minute escape from D'Qar. The dire shape the Raddus was left in after the jump. The ambush by the First Order fleet. And the final order from General Organa to leave them behind and escape.
No one had expected Commander Dameron to react well to the news. But they were surprised when it became apparent that his anger was not being directed against the First Order. But against the Ninka survivor's.
"Leia needed your help. They all needed your help and you just decided to save yourselves?!" He yelled as the other members of his fighter squadron stood behind him. They were not yelling along with him. But they were all looking at the Ninka crew with scorn and in some cases disgust.
Admiral Holdo continued to stare right back as Poe was forced into silence to collect another breath after shouting so hard. "General Organa herself ordered us to leave the battlefield. The Raddus was crippled and there was no time to evacuate anyone else. She knew that there was nothing she could so except order us to save the Resistance to fight another day." Holdo replied to Poe.
Her tone was not angry despite Poe's accusations. But her lips displayed a tightness that implied she was holding in her temper with effort.
Poe however did not seem to notice in his anger fuelled state. Or maybe he simply did not care.
"Then you should have made time. You should have made a distraction or a surprise assault to keep the First Order occupied while the Raddus and Leia got to the escape shuttles!" He shouted.
Holdo's expression did not change but her tone took on a clear note of sarcasm. "You think we should have taken the Ninka into battle against a full First Order fleet and the Supremacy, alone?" She said with clear condescension. "I understand you have a taste for grandiose attacks and defiant gestures, Commander. But that is not a strategy, it is suicide."
She gestured to the assembled crew behind her. "They knew that. I knew it and Leia definitely knew it. She made the only choice she could. To save as many as possible. And we made the only choice we could. To obey her orders and live to fight another day." Holdo stated with utter surety.
"There is no point in fighting a battle you cannot win, Commander. It is not brave or heroic, it is just stupid. If we had done what you suggest we would be dead or captured along with Leia and the rest. And you and your pilots would be all that was left of the Resistance." Holdo said. Her tone had been dropping as she spoke as she allowed her mind to settle.
She clearly felt that the conversation was nearing its end and that Poe and his fellows would understand the situation once her logical words reached them and they allowed their grief and frustration to cool.
She was confident that once they accepted their situation as it was, (rather then what they wished it was) they would accept the outcome and begin to work alongside the rest to begin building up the Resistance.
But it seemed that Poe was not seeing things that way. "Yes, because this situation is so much better!" He said mockingly as he gestured to the crowd and around the cavern. "We are down to one ship and a dozen starfighters. The Resistance has less than two hundred people left; half of which are too injured for action. We are hiding in this hole in the ground with only ancient supplies and equipment. We have lost almost our entire leadership council. We have lost D'Qar, our allies are silent."
He stopped as he returned his gaze to Holdo. "And worst of all. The woman who had been leading us since the beginning. The woman who put this all together. Who kept us going in the darkest times, has been captured. Leia is probably being tortured right now, or maybe she is even dead!" He yelled as he lifted a murderous gaze at Holdo whose own expression was growing darker at each accusation.
"Princes Leia Organa may be dead. Because of you and your fucking cowardice!" He roared as his words echoed and reverberated around the chamber.
"No." Poe uttered. His voice no longer a shout but a much more malevolent whisper. "You're not a coward. You're a traitor!" He snarled with a long before which Holdo should have sunk into the earth.
On some level Poe knew he was being unreasonable. He knew that Holdo and the others had done all that they could do to save Leia and the Raddus. He knew that if they had stayed to fight they would have been obliterated and the Resistance would have been all but dead. He knew that they had done the right thing.
He knew all these things.
But in this moment a larger part of him didn't care. That larger part of him was being driven by anger, frustration, grief and despair and desperately needed some close at hand to blame. Right now that side of him kept whispering that they had an opportunity to save Leia, no matter how small the chance was. Or to at least go down fighting. To die a valiant death, standing defiant in the face of evil.
But instead they had chosen to run away. And he found that he could not force himself to care about their reasons or logic. All that mattered was that they had fled. That they had abandoned Leia!
That they had betrayed her!
Betrayed him!
Betrayed the Resistance!
Betrayed the galaxy!
It was these thoughts that were being screamed into Poe's head right now. Almost as if a malevolent demon was whispering them directly into his ear. And in turn it was these thoughts that he had screamed out into the faces of his fellow Resistance pilots.
The chamber was silent as the words died away. Even Poe looked stunned. As if he had acted without thinking.
For a moment Poe's pilots were surprised as well. But as his words sunk in they too began to level accusing and condemning stares at Holdo and the crew of the Ninka. One or two of them even fingered the blasters as if they were ready for this to devolve into a fire fight.
Meanwhile the Ninka crew had been listening as well. They had heard Holdo's arguments about how there was nothing they could have done. And while some of them might harbour doubts. They heard the logic of her argument and were all desperate to believe that they had done all they could.
Because of that their shame and self-recrimination had begun to leave them. And as Poe's insults and accusations built up. Their shame had quickly been replaced with anger and indignation. Now they were staring aggressively back at Poe and his pilots and some of them were hefting weapons or simple tools in their hands. As if testing the weight in case they were called to swing it at something or someone.
It was a strange sight. What only half an hour ago had been a joyous reunion of comrades, had devolved to hostile setting in which the Resistance seemed to be splitting in two.
Holdo's expression had lost its icy calm and was now openly looking at Poe in way that could only be called contemptuous.
"I will remind you Commander Dameron that until the situation changes I am acting leader for the Resistance and a good and loyal soldier. (She said with clear emphasis on those words). Is expected to follow orders and stand by his comrades. Not shout out blame and defeatist accusations when things go wrong." She said in a jagged tone to match the crimson crystals in the cave around them.
"As of this moment you may consider yourself demoted." She said. "You will now serve simply as squadron leader. The rank of Wing Commander will be given to someone more deserving and clearly more loyal to his fellow Resistance members." She stated in a tone that brooked no argument.
Poe took a step towards her that could only be called threatening. "You do not have the right to issue that order." He hissed venomously.
Holdo simply stared back. "I certainly do. But this order does not come from me. It comes from General Organa. It was among the final orders she transmitted to the Ninka before the First Order attacked. You have been relieved of you rank due to your recklessness and your blatant insubordination." She paused as if debating whether to continue her condemnation.
Then she did.
"In fact if anyone here is in danger of being called a traitor Squadron Leader. It is you!" She proclaimed acidly.
Poe reacted as if he had been slapped across the face. His jaw dropped and his eyes went wide. He looked as though he could hardly credit his ears.
"Me?! Wha….What did I do?!" He asked. His tone half indignant, half genuinely surprised.
"You disobeyed a direct order from both General Organa and Admiral Ackbar." Holdo bit out bluntly. "They ordered you to pull back your fighters and bombers to defend the Raddus and the fleet from the First Order TIE's. They needed your fighters to protect the engines and the hyper drives so that we could escape from D'Qar."
"Instead, you chose to ignore the order and you continued your attack on the First Order command ship. In doing so you left the Raddus and the rest of the fleet critically under defended and you led your attack force into a suicidal charge against a well prepared and ready enemy. Because of this act of treason. The Resistance bombers were cut to pieces and all the members of their crews died a needless death in an attack that never needed to happen. Those people died because of you!" Holdo said with clear anger in her voice.
Poe took a step back as if he had been struck. But Holdo was not finished.
"It was also because of you that the fleet was not able to jump out of the system in time. Leia held the fleet in orbit while she waited for your squadron to come to their senses and make it back to the hangers. This allowed the First Order dreadnaught enough time to charge their cannons and fire at the fleet. The Vigil and the Anodyne were completely destroyed because of the delay you caused. And it was this same attack that led to the Raddus being crippled beyond any hope of repair!" Holdo continued with her voice rising along with her temper.
"Finally it was because of you that the First Order was able to capture the Raddus with virtually no effort. And because of your actions that Leia and most of the leadership council was captured." Holdo said with her eyes boring into Poe like a laser beam.
"You can accuse us of abandoning Leia if you must Dameron. But it will not change the fact that you practically delivered her to them on a silver platter." She said as she looked into Poe's stricken face. "And I think you know that as well. Is that why you are so desperate to blame us for what happened to Leia. Are you desperately searching for some fault in others so that your mistakes will be mitigated? That your actions did not cause all this pain and loss?" She asked sardonically.
"Well I am sorry Squadron Leader but you can't undo what has happened. It is too little, too late." She said with finality. "Now I suggest you get your pilots to the hanger to begin the after flight maintenance checks." Holdo said as she stood facing Poe and his assembled pilots.
Silence followed her condemnations. The cavern was free from all sounds except the occasional tinkling of the Vulptix's crystal fur as they watched from the shadows.
Poe simply stood there for a moment. His face ashen as his mouth opened and closed slowly as if he was trying to speak but found himself unable to. Finally he slowly turned and walked back towards the hanger. His movements were slow and stiff as if he was running on automatic pilot.
As he had it half way to the cavern exit he turned back to face Holdo and the assembled Ninka crew. He gave a small appealing gesture and made what seemed to be another attempt at talking. Was he trying to offer an apology? Or was he trying to offer some defence for his actions?
Whatever it was he seemed unable to offer it. After another second he simply turned and walked away. His pilots following him. Some looking back with commiserating faces, others with cautious glances. Until they were out of sight.
With them gone. Holdo let out a small breath she didn't realise she was holding as the Ninka crew dispersed back to their tasks.
Holdo moved through the throng and made her way to the cavern that had been set up as the command centre for the new Resistance base. No one else appeared to be in the room at the time. So Holdo took the opportunity to place her hands on the tactical display table in the centre of the room and let out a long sigh of pent up emotion.
"Well that was stupid." She chided herself in a whisper.
"Not at all." A voice answered. Holdo turned around and saw that Captain Idrosen Gawat had followed her into the command room. Gawat was an old veteran in his seventies. A member of the Rebel Alliance and a long-time colleague of her and Leia. He had been captain of the Ninka before Holdo took it as her own flagship. This had allowed them a lot of time to work together.
She had always respected him for his wisdom borne of experience. She could definatly use it now.
"Poe has a certain romantic view of the Galaxy, the Resistance and of himself." Gawat continued. "He could use a dose of cold water."
Holdo did not deny it. But she felt she could have handled the situation better. "Still I could have picked a better time and setting then in front of the entire base." She said.
Gawat stepped forward. "If he is going to be the leader that Leia believed he could be. If he is going to become the leader we all need him to be. Then the pain of your words will make him more likely to become that leader, not less." He said with calm surety.
Holdo could only hope that he was right. The Resistance needed strong and wise leadership now more than ever.
Ahch-To – The Unknown Regions
Rey – POV
Rey watched as Jedi Master Luke Skywalker sat on a stone bench outside the modest hut that he had tried to shut himself away in.
(Until Chewbacca had smashed the door down and Han had dragged his old friend out of the hut by the front of his robes.)
Now the Jedi sat before them. He had not been overjoyed to see his old friends. Nor had he been angered by the rough breaking and entering of his house. He simply seemed sad. And tired. So completely tired. Now he simple sat there with his head bowed and his eyes on the floor.
Han stood in front of him as he leaned on the crumpling stone wall behind him while Chewbacca remained positioned in front of the shattered door to the hut. Just in case the Jedi decided to try to make his way back into it she supposed.
She hovered nearby as she listened to Han and Chewie bring Luke up to speed with what had been happening in the galaxy since his self-imposed exile.
Below them the surf and the waves crashed against the rocky shores of the island that sat adrift in the seemingly endless grey seas of the planet. For someone like her, who had grown up on a desert world like Jakku, the sight of so much water was a difficult thing to process.
She was reluctant to interrupt these old friends catch up after all this time. But as the conversation continued. She felt she had to say what they had all been dancing around. It could not be put off any longer.
"There is no light left in Kylo Ren. He has become so powerful in the dark side. He nearly killed us all on Starkiller base. And he is only getting stronger." She said.
Saying that name invoked a reaction with all three of them. Chewie uttered a low growl of hatred as he gently fingered the black patch that had been place cover his ruined eye. She supposed they should be thankful Kuvira had such good aim. The blade had it its target directly and so the rest of his face had been mostly spared from slashing injury.
Han flinched as the name was spoken. The reminder of the encounter with his son was clearly still painful. But his eyes also took on a steely look and his jaw was set firm as he remembered his conviction. His son Ben had died long ago. Killed by Snoke and the curse Darth Vader placed in his blood. Kylo Ren was just the monster that stepped into the hollow shell that was left behind. A monster that he would gladly end if given the chance.
The name seemed to pierce Luke as he sat slumped beside Chewie. He seemed so much older in that moment then he had when Rey had first seen him. He seemed broken too. Drained of whatever power he had once possessed.
But the galaxy could not afford to wait for Luke Skywalker to work through whatever tragedy had sent him into this downward spiral. They had to make him understand that everything he and everyone else he loved had every fought for was balancing on a knife edge. So close to being destroyed forever.
They had been sent to find him. But somehow they still seemed to be searching for him. Despite the fact that he was sitting right in front of them.
"Leia showed me estimates of the First Order's military strength. It is massive!" She proclaimed. "And now that the Republic has been destroyed. There is nothing to stop them. They will control all the major systems within weeks. We received confirmation before we arrived that Coreilla and Chandrila have surrendered to First Order oversight. Grand Admiral Kuvira's fleet was has been reported to be moving towards Coruscant." She said, her voice taking on the tone of pleading.
"They will destroy the Resistance, Finn, Leia, BB-8, everyone I care about. We need the Jedi Order back. We need Luke Skywalker."
Han stepped up beside her. "She's right kid." Han said, using the old nickname. Despite the fact that Luke was definitely not a kid anymore. "I haven't been in the fight long but I know how it will go. I have been across the galaxy and kept my ears open to what people are saying. The galaxy is not interested in fighting the First Order. They will either surrender because of the fear of what happened to Hosnian Prime. Or because they just don't care enough to bother resisting." Han said with a sad shake of his head.
"They just see it as the latest in a long line of power transitions from Republic to Empire and back again. They have become numb to it and most simply don't care anymore." Han pressed. "The First Order will have taken full control soon. We have heard rumours from Resistance agents that some of the New Republic navy commanders were away from Hosnian Prime when it happened. They have been trying to consolidate their forces into a joint fleet. But it has become nearly impossible to coordinate it with them spread across the galaxy and the chain of command decimated. There have also been problems with some of the Navy wanting to return to worlds that have surrendered. It could tear the remaining Republic forces apart."
"Even if they do manage to combine their forces. It will still not be nearly enough to challenge the entire First Order. At best it might but up a decent fight against one of their fleets." He said as he continued to stare at Luke expectantly.
"I never thought I would say this. But we need you and your hockey religion back. Because right now. All the blasters on Balmorra are not going be able to save us from the First Order." He finished as he allowed a hint of humour to creep into his voice.
Rey took that opportunity to step in and add her two credits. "He's right. We need the Jedi Order back. We need you." She said earnestly.
Luke looked up at them after a moment. But when he did, there was no fire of conviction in his eyes. No expression of determination. In fact it was as if he had not heard their words at all. Eventually he turned back to face Han. "You don't need me Han. You never have." He muttered.
Rey's expression became one of disbelieve. Maybe he really hadn't heard them. It seemed to be the only logical explanation for his apathy.
That or maybe he had gone insane in this isolation.
But Han was less understanding.
"Have you got sand in your ears farm boy?!" Han demanded, his temper starting to fray at Luke apparent indolence. "The First Order has wiped out the New Republic. The Republic you, me and Leia fought so long and hard to build. They are chasing the Resistance across the galaxy and are on the verge of destroying them! Hell, they might have already done it. We haven't heard anything from them since we left D'Qar." He yelled as he moved to put his face directly in front of Luke's.
"Now we need you to get on your feet. Pick up the lightsaber you threw off a cliff! And come back with us to the Resistance." He ground out as he looked at his friends impassive face.
"And do what?" Luke asked bluntly.
Han stood up and backed away. He looked as if Luke was speaking a different language to him. Rey gasped as soon as she heard that.
Luke glared at them harshly. "What did you think was going to happen? That I would pick up my laser sword and face down the entire First Order? You say you need the Jedi Order back. A few of them in robes with lightsabers. How much of a difference do you think they would actually make?" He demanded.
Rey was starting to grow angry now. This was not the time for a philosophical or tactical debate. But Luke was not finished. "Do you think I can't sense what is happening in the galaxy? I felt what happened to Hosnian Prime and it nearly drove me into unconsciousness. Do you think I can't sense the galaxy at war? Do you think I can sense our friends suffering?" He asked sardonically.
Now Rey's anger was real. It was becoming clear that he did understand the situation. He simply didn't care. "So why don't you do something about it!" She shouted.
Han moved forward. "He can explain on the falcon. Maybe getting away from this god forsaken island will snap him out of it. Chewie grab him!" He said as he moved to pin Luke between the Wookie and himself. Clearly Luke had lost his mind on this planet. But he was taking him back to Leia whether he liked it or not.
Chewie growled and affirmation and moved forward to come behind Luke.
Rey took a step back. Aghast at what was happening. When they had come to fine Luke Skywalker. She had imaged hundreds of different scenarios of how that meeting would go. But she had never considered that they would have to kidnap him to getting to come back to help Leia.
But suddenly both the Wookie and Han stopped moving. Not just stood still. They literally froze in place as they were moving to grab Luke. But whatever was happening was clearly involuntary as she heard both Han and Chewie making angry and annoyed noises as they found themselves unable to move or talk.
Luke slowly rose up from his seat and moved between the frozen forms of his friends. Once he was a few metres away from them, Han and Chewie suddenly stumped forward into each other as the invisible force that held them fast suddenly released them.
Rey understood now. It was the same power that Kylo Ren had used on her on Takodana. That grip in the Force that made froze you solid. She suddenly wondered if Luke had been the one to teach Kylo that ability. Back when he had been Ben Solo.
"I am sorry, old friends." Luke said tiredly to Han and Chewie. "But I am not coming back."
Chewie did not respond. His fury at Luke was spent. Han simply stared at him angrily. But impotently as he realised he had no chance of forcing Luke to do anything he did not want to do.
But Rey was not finished yet. "We are not leaving without you!" She declared.
"Get comfortable then." Luke returned as he began to walk away down the slope of the hill.
The sheer apathy that Luke was showing was infuriating to Rey. After all they had done to recover the map. Everything they had banked their hopes on. All the people that they had lost to find him before the First Order did. He was just going to walk away!
The next words came out before she could stop herself.
"Maybe Kuvira was right about you. Maybe you really are just a pathetic coward! No wonder she wasn't worried about you!" She screamed as tears of frustration and desperation began to collect in the corners of her eyes.
Luke stopped as her words reached him.
Slowly he turned around to look back at them. "This Kuvira. You keep saying her name. Always in the same tone of voice, half whispered as if she was somehow listening. And always with the same under current of emotion. I sense the fear, the anger and from you." He gestured to Rey. "The grudging respect."
He paused. "Who is she?" He asked finally.
Han fielded that question. He stepped forward, still angry at Luke's dismissal. "She is the shutta who did that to Chewie!" He said as he gestured to Chewbacca's destroyed eye. "She is the commander in chief of the entire First Order and the one who ordered the destruction of Hosnian Prime! And she is the one who is currently chasing down your sister with plans to have her executed. If that matters to you at all!" He spat.
Luke turned to him. "It matters to me Han." He said softly. He turned back to Rey. "And yet I can sense your respect for her. Why?" He asked.
Rey was hesitant. She was not sure why Master Skywalker would want to ask her that. He clearly had no interest in returning to the known galaxy. So what difference did it make to him who Kuvira was? She was also a bit nervous about talking about her respect for Kuvira while Han and Chewie were in ear shot. Since neither of them had anything nice or redeemable to say about the Grand Admiral.
But after a few seconds, she figured that if answering his questions made Luke understand the gravity of the situation. Then it was worth the attempt.
"Grand Admiral Kuvira. She is dangerous but she is impressive. She is a tactical genius able to command entire fleets to win victory. She is a great warrior. I tried to fight her once but she completely kicked my ass. She is not afraid of death. She was still fighting us while she was suspended over a river of lava. And she is a charismatic person who leads her people from the front. I hate her for what she has done. But I respect her for her qualities." She trailed off.
But Master Skywalker looked at her. Clearly knowing there was more.
With a moment of hesitation. She continued. "She was the first person who saw any worth in me. I was a prisoner on Starkiller Base. She could have killed me right there. No one would have cared. I am a nobody. A scavenger from Jakku would not have been missed by anyone." Rey said pitifully. "But she didn't she asked me about my life and we talked about what happened on Takodana during a battle. She said that I was impressive and had natural talent. Even when I tried to escape she said that I had proven myself to her."
Rey looked down at the floor as she continued speaking. "No one had ever said thing like that to me before. I have always been on the side lines. On Jakku you kept out of the way and you did not draw attention to yourself. If you did you ran the risk of being killed by other more violent scavengers. I have never had anything to be proud of or skills I could take pride in. Kuvira was the first person who saw anything in me."
"Even after I could not land a blow on her during my escape attempt she offered me a place in the First Order. She was even willing to shield me from Kylo Ren if I gave up the information he wanted. To have someone that powerful and that important think I was worth something was…nice." She trailed off feebly.
It was the only thing that she could think to say.
Luke looked at her for a few more moments. Then he turned away and continued walking back down the slope.
Rey watched him go. Her hope sinking as she saw him turn his back on her, his friends, the Resistance and his own sister.
She did not understand. The legends and stories of Luke Skywalker that she had heard about over the years were nothing like this angry, bitter old man that she had found. It was almost enough to make her wonder if this was not the real Luke Skywalker but instead some impersonator playing a bad joke.
But Han and Chewie had confirmed his identity and even they did not seem to understand what had driven him to close himself off from the galaxy on this barren and almost lifeless island on a planet that might as well not exist to the wider galaxy.
Once again Rey could not help but think back to what Kuvira had told her. How she had no fear or interest in Luke Skywalker. How he was a coward that had fled into the dark of the galaxy and clearly had no interest in helping her or the Resistance.
At the time it had been easy to dismiss her words as wrong. But now she was faced with Luke Skywalker and he appeared to be everything that Kuvira had claimed that he was.
The Colossus – D'Qar System
Kazuda Xiono – POV
"We are coming out of hyperspace in two minutes Captain Doza. We will be at the Resistance base any moment." Neeku said happily as the endlessly cheerful green faced Nikto looked up from his station on the navigation terminal.
Captain Doza stood on the bridge and nodded down at him. "Thank you Neeku. Let us know when we are exiting hyperspace. The captain turned to look at Jarek Yeager. "Yeager, have the citizens of the Colossus ready for our arrival and keep the aces on alert. We don't know what the situation is on D'Qar." Dosa ordered firmly.
Yeager nodded. "I'll have Tora and the others at their ships just in case things go sour. It probably wouldn't hurt to have the defence cannons primed and ready." Yeager added as Doza.
Kaz looked at them with puzzlement. "Guys we are not going into battle. We are about to arrive at the Resistance base. If there is any place in the galaxy safe from the First Order it will be with Poe and General Organa. I think you can dial down the paranoia." He said as he emphasised his words with hand gestures.
Captain Doza turned to Kaz with a look that brooked no argument. "We are still at war young Kazuda and until we know for certain that we are in friendly territory we should remain on our guard." He said before he turned back to the viewpoint.
Kaz looked to Yeagar for support. "Yeager, back me up here. You were in the rebellion. You know we can trust the Resistance to give us a place to rest and regroup." He pleaded.
Yeahar looked at Kaz with a classic look of the elder pitying the youth for their innocent naivety. "Your right Kaz." He said to a look of triumph from Kaz. However his next words brought it crashing down. "And when I was in the rebellion we lost bases all the time. Yavin, Hoth, Dantooine, the list goes on. So until we know that we are safe we will keep our eyes open and our guns ready." Yeager said as Kaz deflated behind him.
Still he could not argue they made some good points. "Ok, fine." He muttered as he folded his arms across his chest in a clear pout of disappointment.
At that moment Neeku spoke up. "Well I can happily say that we are arriving at D'Qar so we will soon know if we are safe or about to be blasted into a fiery ball of wreckage." The Nikto said in his usual cheerful voice that did not suite the words that came out of his mouth.
With that said the Colossus burst out of the hyperspace tunnel and found themselves back in real space.
In front of them was the green and blue marble that was D'Qar. The planet was a beautiful one and it would have been a nice sight to see after the void of space and the endless blue of Castillon.
It would also have been a nice sight if it were not for the massive debris field that was hanging in the orbit of the planet.
At first Kaz hoped that it was just a part of the planets natural asteroid belt. But that hope was quickly crushed when it was obvious that the field was not part of the natural formation. Also when it was clear that the debris were made of metal rather than ice and rock formations.
The entire command room fell silent as they moved closer to the transparasteel viewport to get a better look at the wreckage surrounding the planet.
"I am scanning the area for lifesigns." Captain Doza's personal security droid reported as it manned the console that linked to the sensors. Neeku also turned to the scanner read outs and began to servery them as the scan reports came in. He also began to send out messages on the Resistance communication frequency.
"I am not getting any response from the Resistance base. Just static." The Nikto reported as he trailed off. Clearly not knowing what else to say.
Yeagar looked out at the scene of destruction in front of him. His face was mournful but also set and resilient. It was as if he had been preparing himself for this possibility since they left Castillon. Perhaps he had. As he had just said. He had seen many bases and places that were thought safe destroyed by the Empire.
Maybe this was just the latest in a long list.
"Whatever happened, it looks like they put up a fight. And not that long ago either." He said with grim stoicism in his tone.
His eyes, along with almost everyone else on the bridge. Had been drawn to the surface of D'Qar itself.
On the planets green and verdant surface was a glowing red hole in the crust of the planet. It was clearly caused by a massive blast. The glowing was born from a thousand fires that must still be burning on the surface. Cracks in the planet's crust spread from the centre of the crater that glowed as magma flowed from the jagged scars that branched out from the centre of impact.
It had the look of a bloody wound. An actual injury to the planet itself like a stab wound might be found on the body of a person. In many ways that was quite appropriate.
The red crater was clearly where the Resistance base had once stood. It had been a place of hope and freedom for the galaxy only days ago. Now it stood as a testament to evil. A blight on the galaxy that served only to remind people of the price of defying the First Order.
For there was no doubt in anyone's mind who had done this. If it had not been obvious enough there was the scattered ruins of TIE fighters all over the place. Mingling with the charred hulls of X-wings and A-wings.
But Kaz was not willing to give up yet. With mounting dread he keyed the Resistance frequency and send it out across all bandwidths. "This is Kazuda Xiono of the Colossus. Is anyone there?" He asked.
Silence.
With mounting desperation, he tried again. "Commander Dameron, please respond."
Nothing
Still he persisted. "Commander Dameron, General Organa, are you there? Anyone please respond." He begged as hopelessness began to seep into his soul.
"I think we are too late Kaz." Yeagar said with a calm bluntness that angered Kaz. But right now he was too rattled to do anything or call him out on it.
"No, no it's gone. The Resistance base. It's been wiped out." He said as if saying the words out loud would help him believe it.
For a moment they just stared out at the debris field. Trying to gain some sense of what had happened.
It was clear who the combatants had been. The destroyed hulls of dozens, if not hundreds of TIE fighters, X-wings and A-Wings littered the space around D'Qar. Many of them bouncing off the Colossus's hull as they moved closer to the planet.
They would also make out the shattered hulls of several larger ships within the battle zone. Kaz recognised them as star fortress bombers. A ship he had seen during his time in the New Republic navy. But most clear of all where the burned out husks of what had once been two larger cruiser size ships. Admittedly they were so damaged they could not even make out what shape or class they had been. But they were clearly larger then run of the mill star fighters.
But the face that they did not have the look of First Order ships did not help their feelings on who won the battle.
Yeager came up behind Kaz and put his hand on his shoulder. "Kaz, this was clearly a huge battle. But if I know Poe. I bet he and Leia are on the other side of the galaxy by now." He comforted the depressed Resistance agent.
Before Kaz could answer the sensor console began to beep as Doza's droid looked up at them. "We might wish to go to the other side of the galaxy as well. Life sensors have picked up a massive concentration of life forms heading straight towards us from the other side of the planet." The droid reported in a tone that was the closest a droid could get to panicked.
Doza snapped his head to look at her. Military bearing in full force. "Can you identify the ship or who it is controlled by?!" He asked.
In response the droid simply pointed a robotic finger out the view screen, forcing the others to turn back to face the planet again.
From the darkside of the planet a shape was emerging as the light of the system sun slowly illuminated the ship. The sight was very ominous which seemed to fit the situation perfectly. It was almost like watching a stalking predator emerge from the undergrowth and step out to face its cornered prey directly.
It did not take long to figure out who the ship belonged too. The shape was clearly in the iconic wedge shape that all First Order and before them Imperial ships had used.
But what was not iconic was the outlandish size that the ship displayed. It was about twice the size of the star destroyer that had attacked them on Castillon. And that had been far too big for Kaz's liking already.
It was bristling with gun emplacements and it had some kind of strange cannons on the underside of its hull. Somehow Kaz knew that this was the ship that had destroyed the Resistance base. Only guns as stupidly big as those could create such an impact to the surface of a planet.
Doza slammed an emergency button in front of him and suddenly the sound of alarms was ringing through the entire Colossus space station.
Yeager turned to the droid. "Is there any chance they haven't detected us yet?" He asked in a voice that seemed to accept that it was a foolish hope.
Before the droid could even answer the massive ship completed its circulation of the planet and turned directly to face them.
"That is a negative Mr Yeager." The droid replied.
Doza was not amused. "We need to jump out of here now." He said as he began inputting the instructions and coordinates for the hyper drive into his command console. But before he was half way finished Neeku spoke up with a clear expression of foreboding.
"Captain. I am afraid that now that the Resistance base has been utterly obliterated. We cannot replenish our hyperdrive fuel. We do not have the ability to jump anywhere." Neeku said as he wrung his hands nervously.
Doza, Kaz and Yeagar looked at him in horror as they realised he was right. They had been banking on getting their supplies restocked at the Resistance base. That they had managed to get a thirty year old hyperdrive working had been nothing short of a miracle.
But they had been taxing it to the limits to get to D'Qar. And now it was drained with nothing left to give.
They were caught. In a trap that was almost entirely of their own making.
Kaz rushed forward. "There has to be away we can get the Hyperdrive working. We can syphon fuel from the rest of the station." He said with clear desperation.
Neeku however was shaking his head. "I am afraid it is not simple fuel that we need Kaz. We have drained our supply of qulaxium. Without a new source we are not going anywhere." The Nikto reported.
Kaz turned to Yeager and then to Doza. Hoping that one of them would know what to do. "We have to do something. If we don't get out of here now the Colossus will be destroyed and the Resistance needs us to help them!" He stressed as he searched for some sign of salvation.
But there was nothing in Doza's face that shows he had an idea. He had been a Captain in the Imperial Navy. He had gone through many difficult situations and more often then not he had been able to find away. But in this case he had nothing. They needed the hyperdrive to get out of here and they did not have any fuel for it.
It was as simple as that.
Yeager was not much better. His time in the Rebellion had forced him to work with what he had rather then what he wanted. And in his life he had pulled off some truly miraculous victories or escapes from the jaws of death.
But even he could not conjure something from thin air.
Captain Doza stood still for a moment as his mind cycled through countless scenario's that maybe they could use to get out of here.
But before he could do anything the door to the Command deck burst open, and in stepped a very angry and very dangerous looking Quarren pirate.
"What the kark is going on?!" Captain Kragan shouted as he strode onto the deck. "Why are their alarms blaring through the ship?! Some of us are trying to sleep off a hangover you know!" He emphasised his point by slamming his cybernetic hand down on the command consoles.
Doza was not in the mood to indulge this degenerate. "The alarms are going off because we are under attack Kragan!" He bit out as he pointed out the viewport at the First Order ship that was growing larger and larger as it headed towards them.
Kragan saw the ship and immediately seemed to come to his usual self as his mind snapped into action. He turned to face Doza. "Then why the kriff are you not getting us into hyperspace and away from that monster?!" He demanded.
Yeager answered that one. "The hyperdrive is out of fuel and we need more qulaxium to getting it running again. Without that we cannot jump anywhere."
Kragan looked at Yeagar and then back at the First Order dreadnaught for a long moment. Then he turned around began to walk out of the command deck.
Yeager was clearly surprised by the pirate's sudden and seemingly calm exit. "Where are you going?" He asked while trying to keep the suspicion out of his tone.
The Quarren did not even turn around as he continued walking. "I am heading to the hanger to get my ship and my crew out of here before that ship blows this whole station to atoms." He replied with no care whatsoever in his voice.
Kaz stared at him in shock. "You're just going to abandon the Colossus!" He asked as though he had been personally betrayed. "What about all the people on board?!" He demanded.
Kragan stopped and turned to look at the young Resistance spy. "What about them? This alliance was to escape from the First Order on Castillon and to punish them for their betrayal of us. Now that we are away from Castillon this joint venture is over. The Colossus and its people are your problem now." He said as he began typing commands into his comlink. No doubt instructing his crew to prep their ships for departure.
Kaz was not finished. "So you're just going to let the First Order kill us all. You don't think they will kill you too after the battle on Castillon. We need to stick together if we are going to have any chance against them!" He pointed out, hoping to get the pirate chief to see sense. It was not that he had any liking for the pirates (except Synara) but the Resistance needed all the help it could get and so did the Colossus. If they left they would find it much harder to defend the ship.
But it was clear Kragan could not care less. "I have a feeling that the First Order is going to be much more interested in taking or destroying the Colossus then they will be in attacking my small pirate fleet. It was after all the fact that they wanted control of your station that they came to Castillon. Well as far as I am concerned they can have it. I have lost too much money and too many men to this cursed venture already. I wash my hands of it." He said as he made it to the door.
Kaz now was losing his temper. "We helped your get off Castillon. We gave you a place to stay, we shared are food and supplies with you. Even after all the hell you put us through with your attacks. Now you're going to abandon us, when you said you would help us against the First Order!" He shouted.
Kragan did not have lips like humans or near humans did. But when he looked back, Kaz was confident that he was smirking. "Pirates promise….I lied." He chuckled before he left the room. Clearly heading for his ship.
Kaz was so angry he was almost about to chase after the backstabbing bastard. But Yeager placed a hand on his shoulder to restrain him. "Let him go Kaz. He and his pirates were never on our side. They just went along with us because it suited them. False friends are more dangerous then enemies. We are better off with them being far away from us." Yeager explained firmly.
Kaz was still seething but he nodded after a moment. "I know. I just felt that he might have had some gratitude for all we have done." He said bitterly.
Yeagar shook his head. "Pirates are only out for themselves Kaz. As long as they get what they want the rest of the galaxy can burn for all they care." He said with contempt in his voice.
Doza broke in. "The pirates are not our main concern. That star destroyer is going to be within range any moment. We need a plan!" He ordered.
They all turned back to the Star destroyer dreadnaught which was closing fast. They knew that they needed to get a plan and fast.
Kaz spoke up. "We can't get the Colossus into Hyperspace. But could we try to out run them in real space?" He asked.
Yeager and Doza both shook their heads. "The Colossus is designed as a mobile space station. It could never outrun a warship. Even if it could the dreadnaught would just send fighters to destroy us." Doza said bitterly.
Yeager turned to Neeku. "Neeku, is there nothing else we can use to get the Hyperdrive working. Anything at all we can use to provide power?!" He asked, his voice betraying his urgency as the dreadnaught was almost in range.
Neeku wrung his hands nervously, which did not raise their hopes. "I am afraid not. The Hyperdrive is a complicated piece of machinery. And the one on the Colossus is over thirty years old. It cannot be powered by just anything. Without qulaxium we are not getting into hyperspace. That is the end of it." The Nikto said hesitantly.
Doza cursed. "If we only had time we could have dispatched our ships to find qulaxium in the debris field, the planet or in a nearby system. But we have no time now." He slammed his hand into the console top to vent his feelings the only way he could.
"Captain Doza. What should we do?" Kaz asked with desperation. Befoire Doza could answer, the alarms suddenly changed pitch.
The Dreadnaught was now in range.
Authors Note
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Sorry it took a while. I have just moved house and I had to get settled among other real life issues.
Anyway I plan to do another two interlude chapters to get an idea of what is happening in the galaxy. If anyone would like to have the POV for a specific character, please let me know.