Rey sat cross legged on her bed, tending to her burnt hand.
Diligently, she took strips of fabric and soaked them in a bowl of water. Removing the fabric strips, she wrung them out thoroughly and wrapped them around her fingers and palm. She carefully bound the bandages, then proceeded to take more dry fabric and layer that over top tightly. By the end of it, she could barely move her hand, but she knew that this method worked- because it had worked hundreds of times before on Jakku.
Cleaning up the drops of water that she had spilt, Rey was interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Hello?" She called.
"Hey!" Someone called back. She was met with a smiling but slightly worried-looking Poe, followed by BB-8, naturally. He must have gotten back from his mission earlier than expected, yet that was probably a good thing.
"Have you seen Finn?" Poe asked.
Rey shook her head. "No," she answered solemnly. "I think he's mad at me."
Poe smirked. "I don't think so," he said reassuringly. "How long since you last seen him?"
"Yesterday in the mess," she replied. "He got flustered and went to his room. Haven't seen him since."
"Have you been to his room to check on him?"
Rey shrugged. "What for?"
"I dunno," Poe ambled. "Incase something happens to him. He's prone to accidents," Poe whispered. Rey chuckled, smiling once again.
"Maybe he just wants to be alone for a while," Rey suggested. "He'll come out when he's ready."
Poe nodded. "You wanna go get something to eat with me? I haven't eaten a meal for a whole day."
A whole a day, Rey thought sarcastically. Though she wasn't very hungry, she didn't want to be rude, and she wasn't about to turn down free food. Now she knew what it was like to not eat an actual meal for a day- or a week, but she planned on never being hungry for that long ever again.
"Sure," she ambled. "I should get used to eating more than one meal a day." Staff and BB-8 in tow, they headed out towards the mess, getting caught in the breakfast rush of pilots and crew.
Leia sat in front of Luke in his new room. In between them sat an uncomfortable silence, for Luke was deep in meditation. But Leia didn't mind much. She was used to (not-so-patiently) waiting. She seemed to have been doing a lot of it lately. For Luke, for Rey, Finn, and Poe. For her son. But this she didn't mind so much. Leia was just so delighted to be in the presence of her brother once again.
After a few more silent minutes, Luke calmly opened his eyes, not startled to find his sister sitting in front of him. Luke smiled tiredly.
"Hello Leia," he said quietly. Leia smirked.
"You knew I was here," she guessed.
"Yes I did," Luke replied, nodding and chuckling. "Have you brought news?"
"Yes," she began. "We have a location for a new base."
"Oh really?" Luke questioned, raising an eyebrow. "Where is said location?"
"One of our pilots found it on the recon mission yesterday," Leia began. "Jessika Pava in Red Squad. It's an abandoned moon near Besbin."
"Oh," Luke started. "The Barnush moon?"
"Yes," Leia said. "How did you know?"
"I did a mission there years ago with Lando. The moon is very nice in terms of scenery. Lots of mountains. Very secretive."
"A base there would be hard to find," Leia stated.
"Yes, very," Luke added.
Leia smiled. "Sounds perfect, then."
"When do you plan on transferring everything?" Luke asked. "I can help."
"We need to tell everyone first," Leia said. "We had someone new join us yesterday. A stormtrooper, like Finn."
Luke smiled. "I like that Finn."
Leia smiled back. "So do I. He's been an asset. But we don't know much about him. Well, he doesn't know much about himself, either."
Luke nodded knowingly. "I was once like that. I thought I knew everything about myself, but deep down, I knew nothing." He paused, deep in thought. "Isolation helped with that."
Leia frowned. Luke's isolation had not helped her. Not in the least. Luke left during a pivotal and important part in reshaping the galaxy after the destruction of the Empire and the construction of the New Republic. Though the Empire was no more, the dictatorship of a certain Ameraeus Snoke was taking shape. He was the ruler of a far off planet which Leia didn't know the name of. She only met Snoke when he wound up on Hosnian Prime, during one of her newly formed New Republic meetings.
His stance at the time was a polite alien species. But as time progressed, his wrath flourished. He disagreed markedly with every peaceful idea they thought up. Sometimes, he grew violent. He also drew a liking to little Ben Solo, who, at the time, only visited briefly. He was off training to be a Jedi. Snoke felt something inside if him that no one else could feel. He saw potential where others saw fault.
"Your isolation did not help me."
Luke bowed his head in shame. Yes, even though he had been so far away from his sister, he felt Leia's anguish. He felt her anger. He felt her sadness and hatred for the men in their family. All of them- her father, her brother, her husband, her son- all gone. They left her to deal with the unraveling galaxy on her own. Resilient and self reliant as she was, Leia did just that. She didn't need the help of men. She was a general, after all. She lead an army. She lead a planet. She lead a galaxy full of people who were at their wit's end with the shenanigans of the destructive First Order. She was able to unite a group of people who were brave enough to fight back against the evilness that was foreshadowing their fate. And she did it well.
Luke raised his head and opened his mouth to speak, but Leia put her hand out in protest.
"Save it, fly boy, I've gotten over it. Forgive and forget."
Luke sighed a sigh of relief. He didn't want the wrath of his sister weighing down on him, or the strength of the Resistance breathing down his neck.
Although Kylo Ren was at ease physically, his mind was constantly racing from one thought to another. More so lately, his thoughts focused on the voice he'd heard.
Han Solo was always good at jokes.
The voice was that of a young man. His voice was deep and mellow, as though he had no worries. He sounded calm, but sad. Maybe although he had no worries anymore, he had before. Everyone has that one thing that they can never forget or live down. For Kylo Ren, there were plenty. Many of which he'd gotten over, with the help and influence of Snoke. But one thing kept troubling him. It still clouded his every thought. He saw it when he looked at himself in the mirror. He felt it when his side suddenly stabbed him with pain. He was reminded of that fateful night at the now non-existent Starkiller Base. The night he killed Han Solo. The night he fought against (and almost killed) Finn. The night he fought against (and was almost killed by) Rey. The night the lives of every one of those people changed forever.
He sought deliverance in Snoke. Then, as he sat in Snoke's chambers, he awaited the relieving sense of accomplishment, which never came.
"You are troubled," Snoke announced.
"Yes, Supreme Leader," Kylo answered. "I don't know why."
"Your past actions are causing you grief," Snoke said.
Kylo nodded. "They are."
"Soon, we will have a plan to thwart the Resistance," Snoke assured Kylo. "And with the end of the Resistance comes the end of your worries. Embrace your anger. It yields power."
Kylo wasn't so sure. He had been embracing his anger for years now. It helped him at first, he'd become the leader of the Knights of Ren, though his Force powers might have helped with that. His anger is what allowed him to become such an authoritative figure. A noble and respected- feared- person. Snoke helped Kylo Ren embrace that anger, and helped him complete his only partially completed Force training. Anger was a large part of that. Anger was a driving force. Kylo's fighting style was brash and vicious- as taught by Snoke.
"I hear voices," Kylo said, relieved to get it off his chest.
"Are they sentient? Demonic?" Snoke asked.
"No," Kylo said. He couldn't describe the voice other than sounding of a young man.
"Well, that's a very broad spectrum of people," Snoke said. "Next time it happens, tell me."
"Yes Supreme Leader."
"This could be a sign," Snoke began. "A sign that your training is near completion."
Kylo Ren liked that idea. He had been training for so long and had learned so much, but there was still so much more he wanted to do. He was power-hungry.
Selfishness: an element of the Dark side. Embrace it, Kylo Ren.
"This could also be a sign of the Light side... Calling..."
"Attention pilots, technicians, ground crew, officers, droids, and respected individuals," an officer announced over the intercom and throughout the entire Resistance base. "Please meet on the south tarmac in ten minutes, under orders of General Organa."
As the people began to flock, Leia stood behind a small podium, squinting in the sunlight. Close by, Luke and Jessika Pava sat next to her.
Jessika looked at Luke in wonder and amazement. She couldn't believe who she was sitting next to. Was it really Luke Skywalker? The Luke Skywalker? Rebel pilot, famous for blowing up the Death Star and destroying the Empire? Jessika leaned closer to Luke.
"Are- are you Luke Skywalker?" She whispered.
Luke sighed and chuckled. "Everyone seems to be asking that." He turned to Jessika with a smile. "Yes, yes I am." He held his hand out to shake hers. Jessika gladly grabbed his hand and shook it wickedly, beaming from ear to ear.
"And who are you?" Luke asked.
"Jessika Pava," she said. "My friends call me 'Testor'."
"Pleased to meet you, Miss Pava. Congratulations on finding that planet," Luke praised.
Jessika couldn't stop smiling. Luke Skywalker is actually talking to me, she thought. Someone pinch me!
The people gathered. They seemed to separate themselves into groups of pilots, technicians, and ground crew, and groups of officers, droids, and said respected individuals- Finn, Rey, and FN-2191. Except Finn didn't show up.
"Good afternoon, Resistance," Leia called, her body tense and rigid. The people quieted quickly and looked at her with interest. All at once, every one of them came to attention.
"Good afternoon, general!" They shouted back.
"At ease," Leia commanded, standing more relaxed. They all stood easily again, but continued to give her the much garnered attention she had earned.
"As some of you know, we have been looking for a location for a new base," Leia began. The wing nodded and "hmm"-ed in reply to the news. Leia smiled. She looked at Jessika and at Luke, nodding. They nodded back. The grounds were dead silent. You could hear the leaves rustling in the warm breeze. Leia took a deep breath, preparing herself for what she was about to say.
"Well, I am pleased to announce that we have found a habitable planet!"
The entire Resistance roared! Everyone threw their hands into the air. Pilots tossed their helmets up, officers threw their folders into the sky, sending papers everywhere. But they didn't care. No one did! The entire planet seemed to be in a combined state of complete euphoria.
"I would like to call upon pilot Jessika Pava," Leia said. "If it were not for her valiant bravery and brilliant recon skills, we might still be looking for a planet. Who knows how long we might have been looking for," Leia paused as everyone clapped for Jessika. "For that, I would like to present miss Pava with a medal of bravery."
Jessika stood and walked over to the podium. Coming to attention in front of Leia, she saluted. Leia saluted back. Both smiling brightly, Leia shook Jessika's hand and presented her with the medal in the other. Once again, the croud cheered.
"Congratulations, Jessika," Leia said.
"Thank you, General," Jessika replied. They both turned to face the croud as someone ran up and snapped a photo.
"Yeah, Testor!" Someone shouted from the back. Jumping up and down and pumping their firsts were Poe Dameron, Snap Wexley, and the rest of both Red and Blue Squadron. Jessika couldn't help but laugh at her quirky crew.
Meanwhile, Rey was looking around anxiously for her best friend- who was nowhere to be found. She could see Poe, who was standing not far from her. She could just barely see Leia at the front. She could definitely see Chewbacca, because he was so tall. Not many others she recognized.
She felt sort of lost without Finn.
She did recognize their newest member. FN-2191 stood not far from her, and he looked lost as well. He cocked his head curiously as Leia spoke, as though he was listening very closely. He even took notes! His head was still bound in bandages, but his face was clean of blood. He looked around contently, taking in his surroundings and the new people. Rey stared at him suspiciously. He seemed very confident for being so new. As the meeting went on, he didn't just stand there looking lost and confused as Rey and Finn once did when they were new. He didn't try to become one with the shadows.
"Reorganization and transportation of base will begin tomorrow morning," Leia said. "Squadron commanders and officers will assign certain duties to certain people. This relocation needs to be small and quiet; we don't need the First Order finding out about this."
FN smirked slyly. "Don't worry," he whispered under his breath dramatically.
As the meeting disbanded, he hurried back to his room, trying not to look at anyone as to not attract attention- though he was probably getting stares by not looking at anyone. The Resistance base was a place full of aliens of different origins and pasts, of different species and races. Scars and deformities weren't scarce, either. Everyone was used to the stares they got, and wasn't bothered when someone did. FN fit right in with his bandaged head.
Locking the door behind him, he sat down at his desk in front of the communication device. He set his pad and pen down next to it. New base: Barnush- Tomorrow- it read. Flipping the switch, he groped for the mic.
"Come in General Hux," he whispered. He could hear people walking around out in the hallway, and he definitely didn't want them to hear him.
"General," he repeated. The line crackled and hummed. Anxiously, FN waited for a reply.
"FN-2191," Hux finally answered. "I gather you have new information?"
FN smiled, though he knew Hux couldn't see him. "Oh, yes, General."
"Well then?"
"They're moving. To the Barnush moon, just off Bespin," FN relayed.
"When is this taking place?"
"Tomorrow."
The line went quiet, and FN grew worried. Hux was a well spoken man. He usually paused before talking or giving an answer, for he didn't want to come off as a simple-minded fool. "General, are you there?"
"Excellent," Hux finally said. "Exellent news, FN-2191. Your work is greatly appreciated."
"Thank you," FN replied. "What's your plan, General?"
"Our plan?" Hux questioned. "Our plan is to stop them."
General Hux dashed through the corridors to Snoke's chambers. Pushing open the doors, he found Snoke sitting idly as usual. Instead this time, he held a staff. A great metal staff with a sphere at either end. Great for butting people over the head with.
"Supreme Leader," Hux said, bowing to one knee.
"General Hux," Snoke relayed. "Have you any news?"
Hux stood again, mouth edging a smile. He slowly nodded.
"Yes, Supreme Leader," Hux began. "The Resistance is moving. They're transporting everything tomorrow."
Snoke cackled menacingly. "Good! Perfect timing."
"How so?" Hux asked.
"The fleet had recovered with a brand new level of pilots and bombers," Snoke stated. "With their advanced training, there's no way we can fail."
Hux nodded in agreement. "What is the plan?"
"Well, what do you suggest, General? Planning is your area of expertise."
Hux thought. There were plenty of ways to sabotage the Resistance. First, they could attack as soon as possible, before they have a chance to leave D'Qar. Second, they could attack them en route to the Barnush moon, but there was a great chance that some could get away. Third, they could get to the moon ahead of them and capture them all, but they had the greatest chance of being detected that way. Lastly, they could wait an extra day and attack them while they were reorganizing- this idea harboured the least side effects. Hux pondered and weighed each idea in his mind. Each one had their downside, but which one would be most effective? Their losses didn't matter in the end, so long as the Resistance come out severely damaged, if not completely destroyed. Hux told Snoke of his plans.
"Hmm," Snoke mumbled. "I like all of those, but the one that makes the most sense would be to wait a day. That gives us time to plan even more and to organize an attack squadron."
Hux nodded in agreement. He was proud hat he could help. He wanted this to be a success as much as anyone else. He wanted to prove his worth. This could actually work, with more thorough planning and precise details, it could be a real success.
Sorry for the long wait. I've had problems coming up with a story line, and I've been away for the past five days and just got back. But I have the next two chapters all planned out! Expect them soon! They plan on being intense.
~MEH