Ben entered the pavilion, his eyes flicking back and forth between the three of them, still standing around the holotable. Rey offered a small smile, and the other two nodded in acknowledgement of his arrival. Silently, he approached them and took up a place between Rey and Finn.
"What do you need?" he asked.
"How familiar are you with where First Order troops and Destroyers are stationed in the galaxy?" Poe asked, leaning forward on the holotable and looking Ben full in the face.
Ben's eyes flicked over to Rey before returning to Poe's steady gaze. "Are you planning to attack them first?" he asked.
"Yes," Finn replied, exchanging a glance with Poe. "Before they get to us."
Ben dropped his gaze to the holotable, and Rey could see his jaw working. A tense silence fell, broken only by the distant sound of voices from the rest of the camp. At last, Ben looked up again, at each of them in turn.
"I'll help," he said.
"And then there's an outpost here on Demir," Ben said, pointing to its approximate location on the planet's surface. "Those are all the major First Order presences I know of."
Poe nodded slowly, his gaze fixed on the map, now zoomed out to show each of the red dots Ben had marked. There were so many of them.
"Do you have any idea which ones of those might still be active and which ones have been deserted or destroyed?" Finn asked.
"A few of them, like this one on Zakuul, faced a lot of resistance from the local people. They can probably take out those bases on their own," Ben replied, using his finger to snuff out a few red dots. "A few others in less essential locations were led by generals with questionable loyalties, so they've probably been deserted by now." He snuffed out a few more.
"That leaves…" Rey counted under her breath. "Twenty-seven." She looked at Ben with irritation.
He shrugged apologetically. "We were bent on taking over the galaxy, what did you expect?"
"Honestly, I expected there to be more," Poe replied. "You didn't have nearly as strong of a hold on the galaxy as you led us to believe."
Ben nodded. "Even with our massive forces, it was hard to keep a hold on the systems we captured. Some rebelled and left when I replaced Snoke as Supreme Leader. Others secretly began working against the First Order, like Hux. And Snoke always had a skill for propaganda and manipulation."
"Still, we have to narrow it down further," Rey replied. "We have to prioritize our targets. There's no way we could strike all twenty-seven targets at once. Our forces would be spread too thin."
"Can you pick, say, four locations that pose the greatest threat to us?" Poe asked.
Ben leaned over the map again, studying it closely with a frown. "Here, here," he began, pointing. "Here...and here." Selecting each planet, Poe separated them from the rest of the map so that they hovered, rotating gently, at eye level. Mygeeto, Ord Mantell, Taris, and Yavin. "Those are the most heavily fortified bases in our area," he said. "If I had to make a guess, I would say we would be most likely to get attacked by one of them."
"Fantastic," Poe replied. "Finn, I want you to select four team leaders to lead the attacks. Ben, you go with him and brief each one on everything you know about these bases." Finn nodded and turned to leave the pavilion, Ben following closely behind. "Rey, take Zorii and run recon on these bases while we get organized."
With a crisp nod, Rey jogged out of the pavilion to find Zorii. Alone, Poe eyed the planets rotating placidly in front of him. A wave of exhaustion swept over him, and he bowed his head, rubbing his forehead with one hand. I just wish this battle was over and we could all go home.
Ben and Finn walked back to the camp in silence, Finn's expression set in a forbidding frown. As they entered the shadowy main hangar where most of the rebels had gathered, Finn stopped and studied them thoughtfully. A team of engineers hurried past, led by Rose, who pointedly ignored Finn.
"Poe's a given," Finn muttered under his breath. "So is Rey." His eyes continued to study the rebels as he walked slowly around the perimeter of the hangar. So many of the Resistance's strongest leaders had died. Then a blonde woman studying a green holomap and surrounded by three or four of her subordinates caught his eye. Koo Millham. Ground Logistics Division. The team she led was fiercely loyal to her, and he had no doubt she was capable of commanding an attack on a First Order base.
He continued to survey the room, searching for the final team leader. A tall, sandy-haired man-Salaka Kuchimba-caught his eye, and then a shorter, brunette woman: Cova Nell. Both were dedicated fighters who had proven themselves in their respective roles, but it was hard to know if they had what it took to lead. Frowning, he turned and exited the hangar, heading back to the pavilion to consult Poe.
Rey found Zorii sitting against the rocky hangar wall, cleaning her guns, her helmet resting on the grass next to her. Zorii looked up as she approached, eyeing her steadily. "What is it?" she asked.
Rey knelt by her and lowered her voice to avoid being overheard. "Poe's organizing an attack on several First Order bases," she said. "He wants us to run reconnaissance while he and Finn prep the teams."
"Hm," Zorii replied, smirking. "I'm surprised General Dameron trusts me enough for such an important mission." Holstering her gun and hefting her helmet, she got to her feet. "Guess we better get going, then."
The pair headed into the hangar. Rey selected an X-wing in honor of Luke's old one, now wrecked on Dantooine, and located an astromech to accompany her, an R6. Zorii went for a neighboring Y-wing. Both climbed into their cockpits and donned their helmets, giving each other a final nod before igniting their engines and taking off.
Finn re-entered the pavilion, Ben awkwardly trailing behind him, feeling more superfluous than ever. He stood back as Finn approached his co-general and spoke with him in hushed tones.
"Well why don't you lead the last one?" he heard Poe ask.
Finn was totally taken aback by that question. "There's no way," he said. "I don't lead, not like that."
Poe arched a brow. "Says one of the generals of the Resistance."
"That only works because I've got you with me," Finn replied, panic audible in his voice. "I'm not cut out for this."
Poe placed a hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. "Give yourself a little more credit, Finn," he said. "You can do this, I know you can."
Finn's brow furrowed again as he nodded, visibly swallowing his fear. His gaze returned to Poe's, and his chin lifted. "I'll make team assignments then."
"Let's start with Mygeeto and work our way around to Yavin," Zorii heard Rey say through her headset.
"Works for me," she replied.
Even from space, Rey could tell Mygeeto was cold. The surface was obscured by swirling clouds, and she could only imagine how miserable the climate was underneath.
"Those clouds are going to make it hard to find anything from up here," Zorii said.
"If we can get below the cloud cover without being seen, we might be able to find something," Rey replied.
"It's risky, but I think we can manage it. How detailed of a map do we have of the surface?"
There was a moment of silence broken only by static as they both pulled the map up on their holocomputers.
"Let's land on the far side of that hill from the base," Rey said. "Do you see it?"
"Yes, I see it. If we're lucky, it's cloudy enough down there that we'll be covered on our way down."
"Only one way to find out," Rey said, and began her descent through the atmosphere, Zorii right behind her.
They dropped into the clouds, and everything went grey. They pulled their holocomputers forward to see where they were going as a wave of turbulence shook their ships. Furrowing her brow in concentration, Rey tilted the nose down as they approached the hill, fighting the wind that buffeted her. A gust of wind struck the underside of Zorii's right wing and pushed her ship off-course. She righted it as the left wing snapped through a series of tree branches.
They slowed as the hill appeared through the fog and began descending, still fighting the wind. Their ships hit the frozen ground with a bump, one right after the other. Rey sat in her cockpit for a moment, listening to the wind whistle through her landing gear as she took a deep breath. She looked over to see Zorii stepping out of her cockpit, and followed suit. They came face-to-face between the two ships, and nodded. Rey turned and set off up the hill, and Zorii put her helmet on and followed.
By the time they crested the hill, goosebumps peppered Rey's arms and legs, and her teeth were chattering, but she gritted them tight. They took the last few feet of the hill on their stomachs, and Zorii pulled out a pair of electrobinoculars.
A single snowflake drifted from the sky and landed on Rey's nose. Her eyes crossed as she watched it melt. She looked up to see more snowflakes drifting down, eyes wide.
"Take a look," Zorii said, nudging her arm with the electrobinoculars. Rey accepted them absentmindedly, her eyes still fixed on the sky. Zorii glanced over at her, followed her gaze up, then said, "Haven't you seen snow before?"
"I grew up on a desert planet," Rey said. "I think the only other time I've seen it was on Kijimi."
A soft smile crossed Zorii's lips. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is," Rey replied. "But also cold."
They laughed quietly, their breath puffing from their mouths. Then Rey raised the electrobinoculars to her eyes and lowered her head to look through them. The smile slowly faded from her mouth.
"It looks...abandoned," she said.
"Exactly," Zorii responded.
Rey scanned over the complex. She saw walls and huts and pavilions, but it was all silent and empty. "Either they're all dead..."
"Doubtful considering the peaceful nature of the native population."
"They all left..."
"Also doubtful."
"Or it's a trap." Rey let the electrobinoculars fall from her eyes, and the two women gazed at the complex with furrowed brows.
"Finn and Poe need to know about this," Zorii said.
"Shouldn't we get a closer look?" Rey replied, not taking her eyes off the complex. "We don't even know for certain if they're still here."
"And if they are, we'd be walking right into their trap."
Rey turned to look at Zorii. "Then so be it. We can handle ourselves against a bunch of stormtroopers."
"Don't move," a tinny voice said from behind. Rey felt the cold tip of a blaster rifle touch the center of her back. Her eyes locked with Zorii's and she saw a rifle aimed at her head. "Get up slowly and keep your hands above your head."
They obeyed, both taking a look around. There were the two stormtroopers directly behind them, and then another one standing between them. Beyond that, they were surrounded by stormtroopers, each with a weapon aimed at them. There was even a tank with its cannon poking through the bare branches.
"We know who you are, Jedi," the leader said.
Zorii and Rey glanced at each other. The leader gestured with his blaster, and one of the troopers from the outer circle stepped forward, followed by another. The first went to Rey and reached for the saber at her hip as the other went to Zorii to take her blasters. The two women exchanged another glance and allowed the stormtroopers to take their weapons. Rey gritted her teeth as she watched the stormtrooper handle her saber.
"Take your helmet off." Zorii removed it slowly and handed it over to the stormtrooper with her blasters. The leader gestured again with his blaster, and two more stepped forward, taking binders from their hips. The circle of troopers closed around them. "Turn around and put your hands behind your backs," the leader said.
They obeyed, Rey's eyes fixed on Zorii's. The steps of the stormtroopers crunched on the frozen mud. Rey's heart thudded in her chest. Her body thrummed with the Force. Just as she felt the cold metal of the binders brush her wrist, she launched herself into the air, somersaulting over the trooper behind her and throwing him to the ground. Zorii elbowed her stormtrooper in the gut and nailed a roundhouse kick in the same spot, knocking him down. The rest of the stormtroopers opened fire, and Zorii hunched underneath the body of the stormtrooper.
Rey stretched out her hands, and her saber slipped from the belt of the stormtrooper and slipped into her grip as Zorii's blasters clattered to the ground beside her. Rey ignited her saber and twirled it around, deflecting blaster bolts and nailing one trooper in the chest, sending him flying.
Zorii snatched up her blasters and started firing on the troopers, taking out three within her first few shots. Rey maneuvered herself to stand by Zorii to protect her from the blaster bolts. She heard the cannon swivel to follow her, and she glanced over, staring down the barrel of it.
"No! We need her alive!" the leader shouted.
Rey's eyes darted back over to him. A blaster bolt struck her in the thigh, and she fell to one knee. She felt Zorii's back against hers, nudging her to stand. She raised her lightsaber again, then lifted her hand and shoved the nearest three stormtroopers away. She rose to her feet, weight on one foot.
Zorii cried out as a blaster bolt struck her in the shoulder.
"We have to get out of here," Rey said over her shoulder, her lightsaber whizzing around her head.
"Agreed," Zorii said through gritted teeth.
Rey turned and used the Force to push the stormtroopers nearest to Zorii off their feet.
"Go!" she shouted.
Zorii rose to her feet and sprinted to the nearest tree, shoving one blaster in her belt as she grabbed the lowest branch and pulled herself up into the tree. Rey followed her, limping as she deflected blaster bolts.
With all the fire concentrated on her, Rey could feel her focus wavering, her arm aching. One shot snuck through and hit her in the left shoulder, knocking her back. Zorii came to a crouch in her tree and started firing again. Rey could feel her breath rasping in and out of her throat, her injuries on fire. She pushed forward into the stormtroopers as they continued to close in on them. One stormtrooper, then another, fell under Zorii's fire, but there were still so many. She somersaulted into the midst of them and swept her lightsaber in a circle, cutting three down at once. She landed in a crouch, but her leg gave out, and she fell to her elbow.
"Surrender or she dies," she heard from behind her. She turned her head to see the blasters aimed at Zorii. They locked eyes, both breathing hard. After a moment, Rey sheathed her saber and sat up, raising her hands above her head. Zorii dropped out of the tree and let her blasters fall. Two stormtroopers immediately grabbed her by the upper arms and cuffed her wrists. Rey stood up slowly, keeping her arms above her head.
"Stay down," the leader commanded, turning his blaster on her. Rey returned to kneeling, keeping her weight on her good knee. She glared at him as he approached her.
He took the lightsaber from her hand and clipped it to his belt. Then he gripped his blaster, pulled it back, and smashed the butt of it into her temple.