16 days after the Battle of Crait-New Rebel Base-Planet Arbra:
Finn was sitting on a chair near Rey's bed while Mirzin was taking her pulse. The nurse then went to check Leia.
"Her vital signs are good," she announced.
The young man nodded and Mirzin gave him a reassuring smile before leaving the room.
There was nothing to do except wait. Their stock of bacta was nonexistent and they did not have a pod like the one in which he had been treated on D'Qar.
It had been twenty-four hours since the two women had lost consciousness and Finn was trying to hide his anxiety as best he could.
Rose and he had managed to get back to the base safely after the departure of the droids. Poe had given them both a sermon they would not soon forget.
Now decisions had to be made quickly. The meeting with the Naboo ambassador could not be postponed. Luckily, Leia had the foresight to leave specific instructions : if anything were to happen to her, Poe would take command of the base. He was respected by all, and no one, including the older rebels, had contested the general's choice.
Dameron had therefore appointed Commander Larma d'Acy as leader during his absence, because he planned to go to Endor. Rose had volunteered to accompany him and the pilot, initially reluctant, had admitted that an extra pair of hands to handle communications would be more than useful.
Finn was already worried about health of Rey and Leia, and now he felt anxious for Rose and Poe. He let out a sigh of weariness before returning his attention to the scavenger's sleeping silhouette.
"Hey, Rey, can you hear me?" he asked softly for the hundredth time, sliding his hand into hers. The young woman was breathing slowly. His features were relaxed but her face was still very pale.
This time, he felt Rey's fingers move. Her eyelids quivered before fluttering and opening for good, her big round eyes staring at Finn's face leaning over her.
"Finn ... you ... you're here …" she stammered, trying to get up.
"Easy, Rey. You're in the infirmary, you need to rest."
"Where is Leia?"
Her head was spinning. Her vision was still struggling to adjust and she felt like if a TB-TT had just trampled on her. But it seemed like the Force was with them because, in the next bed, Leia opened her eyes in turn.
Mirzin, who was just coming back carrying bandages, hurried to check on the princess.
"It's OK, General. You are safe here."
"Is everyone okay?"
"Yes, the droids have left the planet. Thanks to you, the shield held. But you and Rey have been unconscious for a long time. We were so worried about the two of you."
"Rey! Where is she?" Leia panicked.
"I'm here." The scavenger managed to get up to reach the older woman's bed and sit down beside her.
Leia took Rey's hands in hers.
" You did it," she whispered, on the verge of tears.
Rey nodded.
"No Leia, WE did it."
They stared at each other for several seconds before the rebel leader added in a broken voice, "I felt him, Rey. As soon as I put my hands on you, I felt his presence. He was there with us."
Finn and Mirzin exchanged a wary look. Who were they talking about?
Rey's heart started to beat wildly and her throat clenched. She nibbled her lower lip before answering.
"I felt him too, Leia."
OooooO
On board the Finalizer:
What if he tried to meditate? It had been an eternity since he had abandoned this practice. He now thought it was a waste of time. When he was still Luke's padawan, he was forced to close his eyes, sit cross-legged and concentrate on the Force at least twice a day, morning and evening. Most often, his uncle meditated by his side and told him endlessly to keep quiet and to focus his whole being on the Light.
At first, whenever he had tried to do it, he felt a sense of serenity from voluntarily communing with the Force. His anxieties dwindled — his feelings of abandonment, too. He experienced something bigger than himself, bigger than everything, that sublimated his self and elevated him into spheres he never thought he could reach. The more he practiced, the more he sharpened his consciousness, connected with the entire Universe, and the Force showed him that he was not alone, that he was well and truly part of it all. And then, insidiously, the sessions were polluted, too, by the voice of Snoke.
Damn it…
It was impossible for him to concentrate right now. He was going in and out of his room, his forehead wrinkled and his stomach knotted. He could not get the scene out of his mind: Rey and his mother collapsing together on the floor and lying there, unmoving.
They were not dead. He would have felt it.
But not knowing what had happened was gnawing at him. Yet he should have been satisfied. Wasn't it was what he wanted? To eradicate the Resistance once and for all? He heard himself again clearly telling Luke on Crait that he would destroy them all, that he would destroy Rey ...
He stopped in the middle of the room and clenched his fists, closing his eyes. Who did he think he was fooling?
He felt rage rising inside of him.
Let the past die... Let the past die ...
He rehashed his mantra again and again and tried to focus on the briefing he'd had with his subordinates, two hours ago.
In the meeting room, Hux had been sitting right in front of him. His knights had all been present too and had listened to the military declare that the hyperspace tracker was not yet operational. Putting the technology used on the Supremacy into service and adapting it to the Finalizer would take longer than expected. One or two days at most. Sylla had made her report too: the interview with the directors of the various banks of Coruscant had been a success. All credits had been released and construction work on new weapons could begin.
While she was talking, Kylo had not deigned to give her the slightest look. So he had not noticed the coldness of her features when she had announced the good news. The amazon's face, usually adorned with a charming little smile each time she spoke to him, had appeared closed and tense. Viri and Yehnu had also been rather quiet.
Hux had spoken again and announced that the surveillance of Naboo was continuing. Their main communications networks had been tapped and if the inhabitants tried anything to help the Resistance again, the First Order would be immediately informed. A spy had also been introduced into the palace.
Kylo had signified his approval with a simple nod.
Then Elias had proposed new locations for the establishment of a permanent headquarters: Malachor, Dromund Kaas ...
"Outer Rim planets with Sith temples," Ren sighed.
"These are the safest places, firmly under the thumb of the First Order," Elias said calmly.
Kylo had not flinched, trying to hide his annoyance, but had declared in a dry tone, "We would be too far from the main star systems. We must establish ourselves more in the Core, at worst in the Middle Rim. We do not have to hide anymore now. We will reign from the center of the galaxy."
Nobody had found fault with that. Everyone had been cooperative today, their faces lowered and strangely devoid of expression. Only Bram had shown a little enthusiasm. But Kylo hadn't been in the mood to analyze everyone's reactions.
"Hux, I want a full report on Cal-Seti and Corulag. They seem to me more appropriate planets. Elias and Yéhnu, you will deal with this project. Sylla, Bram and Viri, contact Nag Ubdur and try to get an agreement for the extraction of zersium. Go there if you have to. We must begin building new Death Stars as soon as possible."
Then he had got up and had left.
Now he was stomping about in front of his panoramic window, unable to find any sort of peace of mind. The vision of Rey and his mother, lying on the floor, imposed itself on him again. He was devoured by curiosity. He had to know what had happened and the only way was to try to establish contact with the scavenger girl once again. He had been shocked to find that the connection he had shared with her had not disappeared despite Snoke's death. He had to put forth a superhuman effort during the meeting to repress his feelings and erect an impassable wall around his mind so that his knights did not feel his disquiet.
Now, his frustration was over. He took a deep breath and finally made his decision. He got rid of his cloak and headed for the training room. The whipping one-handed droid was removed and only the almost imperceptible buzz of the ship's engines echoed through the room. He sat cross-legged on the floor and closed his eyes.
After a few minutes, he managed to calm his breathing and his heartbeat. His gloved hands resting flat on his lap, he threw his mind into the abyss of the Force in search of Rey's light.
OOOOOOOOOOO
Outer Rim - Moon of Endor:
BB-8 made several beeps before bursting into the shuttle cockpit.
"I know BB-8, we'll land in a few minutes. The area is clear and we're receiving the signal from the people of Naboo."
Poe switched to manual flying and descended over the woodlands on the Endor moon's northern continent.
"Here." Rose pointed to a small glade in front of them.
The ship landed and the ramp lowered. The little droid rolled down the bridge, immediately followed by the pilot and the young technician. Blaster in hand, they cautiously advanced a few meters in the tall grass, while keeping the edge of the forest in their line of sight. Everything was calm and peaceful, and a gentle sun lit up the surroundings. The singing of birds and the sound of a river flowing nearby reached their ears. Rose and Poe remained silent, marveling at the tranquility of this place. Arbra was a beautiful planet, but a strange serenity emanated from this Endorian country landscape. This little moon had been the site of one of the biggest battles in the galaxy. By destroying the facilities that the Empire had established here, the Resistance, led by Leia Organa, Han Solo, General Ackbar and Luke Skywalker, had caused the destruction of the second Death Star and the end of Sheev Palpatine, aka Darth Sidious.
Poe remembered every bedtime story his mother had told him when he was a child, and in his dreams, he flew alongside Lando Calrissian, fought against the Empire's hunters, and feasted around gigantic campfires with the Ewoks.
And now he was there, on this mythical planet.
Suddenly, the surrounding bushes began to move and small creatures covered with fur and clad in tanned skins burst in front of them, equipped with axes and spears directly pointed at their chests. The trio was quickly surrounded. Rose and Poe raised their hands.
The pilot could not hide his excitement. He was five years old again.
"Ewoks," he said to Rose, much less reassured than him.
"Nice," she replied, not taking her eyes off the menacing little creatures.
One of them approached and stopped in front of BB-8. He tapped the droid's head several times with his spear, growling a few incomprehensible words, which did not really please the robot, who waved his head in displeasure.
"Be quiet BB-8, they won't hurt us."
The droid hissed and blinked again.
"We are part of the Resistance. The Ambassador, Leman Drill, is waiting for us."
The Ewok surveyed him from head to toe, did the same with Rose, and with a wave of the hand, finally invited them to follow him towards the forest.
oooooooo
The old bunker looked strangely similar to the one on Base Haven, though much smaller. In the old unused command post, Leman Drill was sitting on the other side of the large table in the center of the room. Several other unknown faces participated in the meeting.
The Naboo made the introductions.
Menkel Jas was the leader of a group of First Order opponents who had emerged on Coruscant shortly after the destruction of Hosnian Prime. His small organization now consisted of about a hundred partisans.
Girden A'Min belonged to the Calamari people. The death of his very good friend, Admiral Ackbar, touched him deeply. About fifty of his fellows had fled to an isolated planet in the Outer Rim to escape a vigilante droid raid on Mon Calamari a week earlier.
There was also Becar Dugg, a member of the Gungan clan, who came with Leman Drill, as well as emissaries of Bothawui, Ryloth, Corellia, Raydonia and Ord Mantell.
Poe was casting suspicious glances all around him and suddenly, the whispers and confabs ceased when the Naboo dignitary rose to speak.
"All the people in this room have one thing in common. We are ready to fight relentlessly against the First Order. We managed to make contact with each other in order to rebuild a counterforce and to resume the fight against oppression. I speak in the name of Queen Megarana and in the name of my people when I say that we are not going to endure the establishment of a new Empire without doing anything."
Several members of the assembly nodded their heads in assent.
"You know that Kylo Ren took over the reins of the First Order after the death of Snoke. Hux has deployed his troops throughout the galaxy to take control of all the main systems from the Core to the Outer Rim. Now that the New Republic has been destroyed and almost all its senators murdered, they have complete freedom to try to annex our planets and bend us under the yoke of military force. I have no doubt that weapons suppliers and major industrial conglomerates are pleased to provide them with new firepower."
"One of my informants told me that they intended to invade Nag Ubdur," Menkel Jas said.
A confused hubbub arose all over the room, only to calm down again when Leman Drill raised his hand to demand silence.
"Captain Dameron, please," the emissary asked the pilot to speak.
Poe cleared his throat before getting up. He narrated the latest events to the assembly, from the speed chase with the Supremacy until the recent intrusion of the lookout droids around Haven. Of course, he didn't mention the name of their latest refuge. Nobody should know that they were now on Arbra.
"The Jedi Order is not totally extinguished!" Girden A'Min uttered these words with a kind of relief in his voice.
Poe then met Rose's gaze. Leia was right. The mere mention of the sacred Order's name had revived a spark of hope in the eyes of all the occupants of the room. Rey embodied this hope now. She had spent time with the great Luke Skywalker before he left them. She had defeated Kylo Ren. She had participated in the fall of Snoke. She had saved the last survivors on Crait and was now in the Resistance. Then the spark could grow and become a fire that would set valiant hearts ablaze to fight once more for freedom in the galaxy. The memory of past victories returned to everyone's minds. Leia, the rebel princess, was an icon. A new generation of fighters was ready to raise their heads and all they needed to do was organize themselves again.
"We're going to rebuild everything," Poe said, displaying a confident smile. "We must have faith in our cause, and unite."
A brief silence followed his words. Everyone's hearts were vibrant with excitement, and the air of the room had suddenly charged with an almost palpable emotion.
"Long live the Resistance! We will win this time! For democracy! For freedom and peace !" shouted the purple-skinned Twi'lek on Poe's right.
His fist raised above his head, he was immediately copied by all the members of the assembly.
OooooO
Base Haven-Planet Arbra:
"General Organa! We are receiving an audio signal with Captain Dameron's transmission code."
Leia, sitting in a large armchair in the back of the command room, struggled to get up to join Kaydel. C-3PO began to gesticulate beside her.
"Be careful, Princess! You are still recovering!"
The chirps of R2-D2 punctuated the protocol droid's recommendations.
Immediately, Chewbacca's powerful arms grabbed and lift her. Like a bridegroom, taking his wife across the threshold of their new home, he carried her to the vacant seat near Connix.
"Chewie! Come on! I can still walk by myself," the general protested as the wookie growled and gently put her down in front of the communication station.
This was the moment chosen by Rey and Finn to burst into the room and rush to the console too.
"Some news from Poe and Rose?" Finn asked with a worried face.
"You came back at the right time! We have a connection with them."
Rey frowned at the sight of the rebel leader's tired face..
"Leia, you shouldn't be here, you should be resting in the infirmary."
"Damn it!" the general retorted, punching the console. "Are all of you ever going to stop mothering me like I'm a little fragile thing? I am not yet incapacitated, much less dying! I'm fine and now I want to know how the Endor interview went! Understood?"
Finn raised his hands as a sign of surrender, R2-D2 beeped in an offended tone, Chewie groaned again, Rey rolled her eyes and everybody shut their mouths. Leia then turned on the transmission control knob.
"Scrap dealer 48 to the base, scrap dealer 48 to the base, do you copy?"
"Yes, scrap dealer 48, foundry 125 here, we are listening. What's the news?" the general asked.
"Thank the Maker, Leia, you're awake!" Poe exclaimed with undisguised joy.
"Force, Dameron! What's the point of using code names if you ruin all our efforts?"
"Don't worry, I contacted you via the encrypted communicator you gave me. Rose checked. We can talk freely."
The pilot reassured them about how the meeting went, and they were finally relieved to know that several groups of rebels still existed in all corners of the galaxy. Their allies were indeed ready to help them. New portable communications systems would be used to coordinate future actions. Naboo's emissary had come to Endor aboard a light cargo ship laden with food and medical supplies. The bunkers also contained weapons, and Leman Drill provided them with enough galactic credits to meet their needs in the months to come. The construction of new cruisers and X-wings had been relaunched in a secret resort belonging to the former Republic on Daa Soocha. Three bases on the Outer Rim planets were going to be commissioned to accommodate the new recruits.
"Did you find something to repair our accumulators?" Leia asked.
"No I didn't," Poe sighed.
"It's already a lot, Dameron. Send my most sincere thanks to all the emissaries on Endor. What are your feelings about the meeting?"
"Rose, BB-8 and I remain vigilant. You never know with the First Order. But I must admit that everyone here has made a good impression on me. We still have a lot to talk about so we won't return to the base with Leman's cargo ship until tomorrow."
"Perfect, Captain."
Finn couldn't wait anymore.
"Hey Poe! It's Finn. Is Rose with you?"
"Hi Finn. Yes, she's next to me."
Rey, Leia and Kaydel exchanged glances and began to smile as the red rose slightly on the cheeks of the former stormtrooper. Finn tried to take a detached tone before continuing.
"Hey Rose, uh…..is everything going well? Poe hasn't harassed you too much during the trip?"
The cheerful little voice of the technician was heard through the intercom.
"I'm fine, Finn. We'll be back soon."
"Be careful on the way back, OK? And make sure that Poe and BB-8 don't do something stupid."
They all heard the protests from the pilot in the background while Rose giggled.
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them! Oh, by the way, Finn, I have something to ask you. Can you go and check that the naztak babies are fine, please? Their mother is dead and they are all alone now …"
"Rose," the rebel interrupted her, "I already contacted the Hoojibs. They'll take care of them."
A silence then settled for a few seconds while Finn waited for Rose's reply.
"Thanks… And Finn, I just wanted to tell you …"
The former stormtrooper swallowed hard. His heart was racing in his chest. He would have given anything to be alone with Rose here and now. But alas, a dozen people were standing around them, listening to every word exchanged. He was sure Poe was smirking on the other end of the communication channel at this precise moment. He also felt the weight of the tender gazes of the three women standing behind him, and his face took on an even more scarlet hue. Maybe because he stopped breathing too.
"…May the force be with you. May the Force be with all of you," Rose said with what he imagined a bright smile on her round, pretty face.
He finally inhaled and answered.
"May the Force be with you too."
OoooooO
Poe's message had brought some relief to all the occupants of the base. Leia tapped her fingertips on the big table in the command room, while Rey faced her with her arms crossed and a determined look .
"What are we going to do now, Leia? We must repair the accumulators. The Haysian ore that Maz provided us with is not enough."
"I know," the general sighed. "I have an idea but it could be dangerous."
"Dangerous how?" Finn asked.
The leader of the rebels raised her big black eyes towards them.
"We might be able to find everything we need for these repairs in an old Resistance base, abandoned for several decades now. But if the Empire's troops did not ransack it, we could still find material. The base had a secret annex not far from the main complex."
"An old base?" The scavenger was intrigued now. The Resistance still seemed to have unexpected resources.
"You were right, it's risky," Finn sighed.
"We must go!" Rey exclaimed with conviction.
The young man pursed his lips. He was sure that his friend would like to jump in with both feet.
"With all due respect, General, I'm not sure it's a good idea. As you say, if this base was discovered in the time of the Empire, there must be nothing left inside. At worst, the First Order has installed troops there. In addition, our fuel reserves are at their lowest. Not to mention that it would be foolish to take out the Millennium Falcon."
"This base is not far away from here," Leia retorted.
"Finn, we can travel at sub-light speed. No need to use the hyperdrive. It will take a little more time but anyway, we can stop on Cygna to refuel. Maz said one of her men was in charge of the station. And the Falcon is the only fast and well-armed ship that we currently have to make the journey."
"Rey …"
"Finn, we have no choice."
Finn met the compassionate gaze of Luke's sister and capitulated.
"Where is this base?" he finally asked.
"On the planet Hoth," Leia answered.
"I'm going to tell Chewbacca. The ship should be ready to take off in two hours," Rey announced before turning to leave the command room in the direction of the hangar.
OoooooO