The Millennium Falcon:

The Falcon leaves Kijimi and jumps to hyperspace. All our heroes gather in the lounge of the ship. Zorii is with them.

Poe is not pleased. "Alright, out with it!"

"Why?" Rose asks. "Why did you kill Artham?!"

Rey is furious. "You said we needed you. I hope for your sake that we do."

Chewie roars at Lando. "Alright, everyone" Lando says. "Calm down. Chewie, trust me. Calm down." Lando sits down and takes a brief pause before explaining. "I know what the First Order was buying from Tentac, and I know why. But Artham attacked me. Interfered in my business. I required your help to sort him out. Now that that's done, I am willing to share with you what I know."

Finn frowns. "Well, that's mighty thoughtful of you."

"Saved your life, didnt it, kid?" Lando replies to Finn.

Chewie growls and slams his fist into the wall right next to Lando and gives Lando a proper scare.

"Chewie's right" Poe says. "What do you know?"

"I know that the quarren provided the First Order with detailed information on your eight largest shipyards. Defenses, patrols, shield-strength, orbital platforms. Everything the First Order needs to attack them in force."

Finn chuckles. "So what? The First Order doesnt have a strong enough fleet to attack us that deep within Republic space. Their ships are needed along the front."

"I agree" Poe says. "They dont have the numbers."

Lando nods. "True. However, I also know that the First Order plan to assault these locations with troops. To be more precise... Clones."

"Clones?" Rose says. "The First Order has created a Clone Army? Impossible, we would have known."

Rey folds her arms. "How do you know all this?"

Lando smiles. "I have many contacts, all over the galaxy. When I engage in a business-deal, I like to find out all I can about it. Helps with the finances. A hard earned leasson."

The last line earns a slight growl from Chewie.

Rose is skeptical. "A clone-trooper requires atleast five years to gestate to reach combat fitness. Add atleast a year to train it to become a soldier. Do you know when the First Order intends to go through with this?"

"Sooner than you think" Lando says. "Much sooner."

Rey looks at the others. "We must inform the Republic. As soon as possible."

Chewie growls and Poe nods in agreement. "We'll reach Pasaana in a day or two. While we refuel and resupply, we'll have time to inform Republic high command."

"Pasaana?" Zorii says, having listened only so far. "What a dump."

Kylo Rens Flagship:

Grand Admiral Armitage enters a large room, a court of sorts, and walks across to the far side. Two dozen Sith Troopers stand on guard here and various advisors discuss matters. At the far end, Kylo sits on a throne, flanked by four Sith Troopers.

"My lord" Armitage says as he approaches Kylo Ren. "We are ready to proceed as planned. Everything is ready. All pieces are in place. Except... We do not know if the Republic has received the information."

"They will" Kylo Ren says. "I have forseen it. We go ahead according to plan, grand admiral."

"As you wish, my lord."

"And what of the girl?" Kylo then asks.

"We have a confirmed sighting of the Millennium Falcon in the Kijimi system, sire" Armitage says. "According to our sources, the Falcon left Kijimi along a trajectory that offers six potential destinations. I have decided to focus our efforts on the system they are least likely to visit. I have found that competent advesaries rarely behave as one might expect of them."

"Indeed, grand admiral" Kylo says. "Bring me the girl. Kill the others."

"As you wish, mylord" Armitage says, turns and leaves.

As Armitage leaves the court, Kylo Ren gets out of the throne and leaves aswell through another door. In this room, he walks up to a podium that holds a Sith Holocron that he has brought with him from Korriban. Kylo studies it for a moment, when the ghost of Sidious appears behind him.

"Look deep within" Sidious says. "What is your greatest weakness?"

Kylo gives it a moments thought. "My family" he then says.

"And what must we do with weakness?"

"Destroy it" Kylo answers.

"Yes" Sidious says and then laughs menacingly.

Pasaana:

The Falcon exits hyperspace and flies towards the planet with Poe and Chewie in the cockpit, Rose behind them by the engineers console.

"Take us in, Chewie" Poe says and gets out of his seat. "I'll contact high command."

Poe leaves the cockpit, walks through the Falcon, Rey and Finn and BB-8 are in the lounge, Poe walks past them and enters a small room where he activates a communications device.

Planet of Baramon, Republic Capitol:

Poe is a hologram in Chancellor Holdo's office. Holdo is joined by Maz Kanata and a couple of high ranking officers.

"Commander" Holdo says, happy to see Poe. "What news do you have for us?"

"We identified the spy, chancellor" Poe says. "It was Representative Tentac. Your attaché and advisor." The news shocks everyone in Holdo's office. "Im afraid the traitor died as we tried to apprehend him and bring him back. However, we managed to secure the information that he sold to the First Order."

Maz is next to speak. "Please, commander. What have you found out?"

"According to our source, the First Order plans to lock our fleet in numerous engagements across the galaxy and then launch surprise attacks against our shipyards, deep within Republic held territory" Poe tells them. "The First Order hopes this will cripple our ability to wage war."

"Impossible" Sky Marshall Yorrick says. "Their fleet is not strong enough."

Poe nods. "True, but according to our source, the First Order has secretly built a clone-army. They will overwhelm our defenses and do as much damage as they possibly can."

Holdo is concerned. "Why would Tentac know such details?"

"The information does not come from Representative Tentac, chancellor" Poe explains. "It comes from the man who set up the meeting between Tentac and the First Order."

Holdo turns to Sky Marshall Yorrick. "If this is true, what are we looking at?"

Yorrick sighs. "If it's true, our fleet will be engaged by the enemy and locked down in battle. Then, our shipyards will be without support as cloned cannon-fodder swarms them and destroys them. If we move our ships back to protect our shipyards, we invite the First Order to invade and destroy what ships we have left at the front."

Maz shakes her head. "No. This is too convenient. Out of nowhere, the First Order has the ships and troops to turn this war around? No, I don't believe in it."

"Ignore this" Yorrick says, "and we risk losing a great portion of our fleet. Ignore this and we might lose the war."

"I'm with Sky Marshall Yorrick" Poe says. "We can't ignore this until we have confirmation this is false information."

Holdo nods. "Good work, commander. Be careful." The transmission with Poe is ended. Holdo turns to the people in the room. "If this is true, Sky Marshall, what do we do to prevent it?"

"A preemptive strike" Yorrick says with a stern face. "We attack the First Order fleet before it is ready to attack us and ruin their plans in the process. And, with a little luck, we will bring our victory that much closer to reality." Yorrick looks almost proud when he says, "An end to the war."

"A dangerous risk" Maz says. "But… perhaps this is an opportunity we can not afford to miss."

Holdo nods and sighs. "Draw up a strategy, Sky Marshall. I give you two days to give me an option to end this threat before it becomes a reality."

"As you wish, chancellor" Yorrick says.

Pasaana:

The Falcon flies in over a town and lands at a dockingbay. Upon landing, a young woman watches them, looking like a qualified mechanic; her name is Jannah. Our heroes exit the Falcon and walk up to Jannah who is followed by her droid sidekick, D-0.

"Took you long enough" Jannah says.

"We got a little sidetracked" Poe says in turn. "I trust the deal is still on?"

Jannah nods. "Sure. As long as the Republic pays for my services, you'll get the fuel and supplies you want. You'll be out of here in two hours and I will forget ever seeing you around."

"Appreciate it" Finn says.

"Come on" Poe says. "Let's see what this rock has to offer. We got two hours to kill."

They all move on. Lando and Zorii stay behind for a moment.

"What do you think?" Lando asks.

Zorii looks around. "Its Pasaana" she says. "It's neutral. Anything can happen."

Lando smiles. "Hutts, Trade Federation and the Syndicate have operations here. Pasaana is a shady place."

"Which is why I suspect the Republic spies came here in the first place" Zorii replies. "It's not Tatooine, but it is remote, and few people ask questions."

"Well" Lando says, "if it isnt Tatooine, I suppose we should be safe."

"As safe as one can be in a shady place" Zorii adds.

The gang of heroes walk through a large market and buy food and drink to bring on their journey back to the Republic. They sit down at a place to have a meal.

"This is nice" Rose says. "Makes you forget about the war, doesnt it."

Poe nods. "Yeah... It makes the war feel like a bad dream."

"It reminds me of home" Rey says. "Of Jakku... Tell the truth, I'd rather be back with the fleet."

"What?" Finn says. "You cant mean that. Fresh air, the smell of food cooking, children laughing. You'd trade that for army-rations, stiff officers and recycled air?"

"Come on, Rey" Rose says. "You have to admit, this place is pretty nice."

Rey looks around and spots people being mistreated, clearly servants or slaves. People begging for money, stealing food and making a run for it.

Rey shakes her head. "No... No, I would rather be back in the war. At least the people there are doing what they are doing out of their own free will."

Zorii is next to speak. "You really know how to cheer up a crowd, dont you?"

"What about it?" Rey snaps. "You dont know me, what I've been through. What I've done just to get a cup of water. You don't know anything."

Rey gets up and walks away. Chewie calls out after her.

"Let her go, Chewie" Poe says. "Just leave her alone."

Rey is walking on her own through the market, looking at various things being traded. Finn eventually finds her.

"The ship will be ready in half an hour or so" Finn tells Rey as he joins her. "Time to get back to the dockingbay."

"I'll be right there" Rey says.

"Look" Finn says and catches Reys attention, "I know a thing or two about being stuck in a horrible place, forced to do horrible things just to stay alive. Growing up as a stormtrooper prospect wasnt a walk in the park. And I know that life on Jakku wasnt any easier. We both grew up without our parents, grew up with pain and anger. So much anger... But we walked away from it. You and me, we left all of that behind. Once this war is over, all the death and suffering, I intend to leave that behind aswell and start a new life. How and where, I dont know. But I do know, that I have no intention of letting all the darkness I've seen, that I've done, bring me down. I just wont let it."

Rey sighs. "The only family I've ever known, are you lot. My only friends are in the Republic navy, in the army. The only thing that has brought me freedom, is fighting this war. Everywhere else, I see servitude, I see slavery, I see people struggling to find food for their children. I see children accepting horrible offers, simply to survive. The only place where I dont see that, is in the military. I see people fighting, because they chose to fight. They sacrifice everything, because they want to. Without this war... I wouldnt be free at all."

Finn places a hand on Rey's shoulder. "The war is not what makes you free, Rey. You dont owe this war anything. Please dont feel that way."

"How am I supposed to feel?" Rey asks. "I try to subdue my anger... my hate. But it's so hard. It's so difficult. How can you fight a war and not feel anger? Not feel hatred?"

"I dont know" Finn says. "Im not even sure you're supposed to not have those feeelings. It is ok, Rey. You are allowed to be angry. You are allowed to hate the enemy that kills your friends. That tries to rob you of your freedom. You are allowed to hate them. Being angry is... natural." They smile and hug. "Come on" Finn says. "Let's get back to the ship."

They only walk a few steps when Jannah drives up to them in a speeder. "Get in!" Jannah orders them.

"What's going on?" Finn asks.

"I'll explain on the way!" Jannah tells them.

Rey and Finn hurry onto the speeder and Jannah drives through the town.

Lando is sipping tea in the market, looking at all the dealings going on, all the gambling. He spots Rose, Poe and Chewie across the market. Then he spots something else; a small group of heavily armed mercenaries moving slowy through the market, eyes focused on Landos friends. He watches the mercenaries move closer. He puts the tea down and is about to make a move, when Zorii steps infront of him and blocks his path.

Rose, Poe and Chewie are inspecting some apparatus for sale, when they notice how the crowd is dispersing around them. They turn around and notice the mercenaries lined up behind them.

Poe inspects the mercs. "Let me guess... bountyhunters? Apart from that guy" he says and points. "He's clearly a nerfherder by the looks of it."

The leader of the mercs takes a step forward. "Where's the Jedi?"

"The what-nye?" Poe asks.

"The girl!" the merc leader growls. "Where is she?!"

"You could argue that I'm right here" Rose says.

The mercenaries are getting upset by now, hands resting on their guns.

"Last chance" the merc leader says. "Tell us where she is."

Tension mounts, a shootout is unavoidable. Out of nowhere, Jannah slams into the mercenaries with her speeder and runs them over and skids to a halt.

"Come on!" Rey calls to the others. "Get in!"

They all get in and Jannah drives through the town.

Poe is watching so nobody follows. "Whatta hell is going on?!"

"First Order trackers" Finn explains. "They've somehow found us."

"They are looking for Rey" Rose says. "It's Rey they're after."

Poe shakes his head. "Get us back to the Falcon."

"No can do" Jannah says while driving. "They got people guarding it. I managed to sneak away just before they secured my dockingbay."

Chewie growls and snarls. Poe translates. "Chewie isnt too happy you abandoned his ship. And neither am I."

"Dont worry" Jannah reassures them. "I left it in good hands."

Outside the Falcon, mercenaries are guarding it. BB-8 and D-0 peek out of the Falcon at the badguys before they get back into cover.

Jannah drives out of the town and into the wilderness.

"Where are we going?" Finn wonders. "Where are you taking us?"

"Im taking you away from the bountyhunters" Jannah replies. "I know of a good spot to lay low for a while."

Chewie growls and Poe nods. "Im with Chewie on this one. We dont have time to hide right now. We have to get back there and find Lando."

"Why?" Rose wonders. "We already know what the First Order intends to do. We dont need Lando to tell that to high command."

"She has a point" Finn says.

Rey is looking back behind them. "That discussion will have to wait... Here they come!"

Behind them, several speeders are chasing them, filled with mercenaries. Within moments, blastershots are exchanged between our heroes and the mercenaries in pursuit.

At the Falcon, two of the mercenaries are about to get onboard, walking up the ramp. The two droids speak in binary with each other, nervously. BB-8 hooks up to a droid-socket and with it shuts the airlock... Right ontop of the first badguy! The other badguy falls back down the ramp, horrified at the sight of his friend getting smashed, his legs visiable on the ramp. The two droids look at the body on their end; D-0 turns to BB-8 who slowly rolls away.

In the wilderness, the chase continues, as does the gunfight. Poe gets wounded in the arm and falls over. Two of the mercenaries carry jetpacks and shoots off into the air, following and attacking our heroes from above. Rose gets shot in the leg and falls over. Chewie manages to gun down one of the flying enemies. Jannah drives into the middle of a farm/ranch, filled with Space Horses ( the kind they ride at the end of Rise of Skywalker ). Our heroes climb out of the speeder and shoot at the mercenaries while they run for cover. A Zygerrian farmer/rancher exits one of the buildings, armed with a blaster, and joins in on the fighting, shooting at the mercenaries, soon after his Zygerrian wife does the same. Our heroes enters the building together with the Zygerrians; once inside, the farmer pulls a lever and the building is transformed into a fortress as all doors and windows have blastshields that closes and secures the building. The mercenaries shoot at the building for a while, until they realise its no use. The still flying badguy lands next to his comrades.

"Sieze fire!" the mercenary leader calls out. "It's no use! They've got the building locked down. Spread out, surround them. Dont give them any chance to escape."

Inside the building, our heroes are catching their breath and having their wounds tended to by the Zygerrian female.

The Zygerrian male turns to Jannah. "Alright... Explain this to me."

"I'm so sorry, Boolio" Jannah says, catching her breath. "I didnt know where else to go."

Boolio sneers. "How about not here?"

"Boolio!" his wife snaps while helping Rose. "That's enough. Jannah is our friend and she needs our help."

"She might be" Boolio says and looks at the others. "But the rest of them? Who are you? And why are bountyhunters trying to gun you down?"

Finn gets on his feet. "We're Republic soldiers. The people outside are on the payroll of the First Order. We came to Pasaana to resupply our ship when they intercepted us."

Rey is next to speak. "We're so sorry to bring you into the middle of this. But... if there is any way you could help us, we would appreciate it. Im sure the Republic will compensate you for any damages done."

"The Republic" Boolio frowns. "I couldn't care less about the Republic. Under the Empire, Pasaana was a thriving hub for trade and commerce. Now, smugglers and pirates do as they please here. Crimelords are in control now. Say what you will about the Empire, but they maintained law and order."

"Not this again" Boolio's wife, Aalia, says and shakes her head. "Boolio, shut up." She then turns to our heroes. "The past is the past. What we all can agree upon is that none of us are allies of the First Order."

"Is there a way out of here?" Rey wonders.

Aalia walks guides them all down into the basement and there she pushes a button that opens a hatch in the floor. "My husband complains about outlaws, and for good reason. That is why we built our home into a bunker. And why we made sure we had a means of escape."

Poe grins. "Where does it lead?"

"A mile north" Aalia explains. "Into the storm canyons."

Boolio walks past them. "From there its a couple of hours walk back to town" he says and climbs down the hatch. "Come on. What are you waiting for?"

They all climb down the hatch and move through the tunnel, Boolio and Aalia holding a glow-torch each.

Back at the Falcon, the mercenaries are gathered around the airlock.

"Come on out!" one of the mercs shout. "We know you're in there!"

Inside, the two droids are nervous and unsure what to do. The mercenaries are getting impantient.

"If you dont come out, we're coming in! And we're coming in with out guns blasting!"

All of a sudden, the mercenaries are all gunned down in a hail of blasterbolts and are killed. Lando and Zorii walk up to the corpses with blasters drawn.

"Any ideas of to get inside?" Zorii asks.

"Please" Lando says. "This old hunk of junk used to be mine."

The airlock opens and the two droids run off to hide. As they peek towards the airlock, Lando and Zorii step inside, clearly stepping over something that disgusts Lando.

Lando turns to the droids. "You two are going to clean that up."

To be continued...