The council room was the largest room on the station and easily fit a hundred people. It was part of the large center station and consisted of a central holographic projector surrounded by benches angling up and away from the center so that anyone present had an unobstructed view. At this time, it was filled almost to capacity with ranks from the Grand Admiral Ackbar down to squadron leaders.
Leia stood grim and stern in the middle, beside the holo-projector. Seated in the front row behind her, sat Boba, Sabine, and Zeb. Boba had his right foot rested on his knee and his arm draped over the chair behind Sabine, an insolent air surrounding him. Sabine, however, leaned forward, resting her chin on folded hands, concern and chagrin descending heavily on her. Across from them sat Chewbacca, Luke, Rey, Finn, and Poe. To each side of Leia, a few generals, admirals, and the Grand Admiral Ackbar sat.
Leia waited until everyone was present before she began.
"Fellow Resistance fighters, today will be a day to direct the trajectory of the future of this galaxy. We are about to embark on the most important mission to date."
She motioned for Boba, Sabine, and Zeb to stand up.
"We have received a coded transmission giving us the opportunity to strike the heads of the First Order at a moment when they are the most vulnerable. These friends of the Resistance, Boba Fett, Sabine Wren, and Garazeb Orrelios, have provided for us this valuable data, I am sure at quite a cost to them." Leia made sure to hide her sarcasm, but the intent was not lost on Sabine and Zeb. However, Leia was not about to let them off so easily. "This battle may still be a difficult one, and some of you may not be coming home. But I am proud of each and every one of you who fights with me. You know what it is that we fight for." She turned to Boba, Sabine, and Zeb. "We could use all the help we can. Can we count on you to join us?" There it was. Leia, although she had been bested in the negotiation with Boba, was not about to let Boba, Sabine, and Zeb get away without showing everyone who they really were. They may have clean records, but she was not going to let them have a clean reputation as well.
The hall remained silent for what seemed like twenty minutes to Sabine and Zeb, but was really only a few seconds. Sabine shifted her weight uncomfortably and Zeb stared at the floor. All eyes were on them.
Boba broke the silence, "I regret to say that we already have plans."
"I'm sure you do," Leia said sternly.
Boba smiled with a cocky air, that made Leia's blood boil.
"Then I must ask you to leave the council room, as we will be discussing plans that do not pertain to you. Thank you."
With that Leia looked to the holo-projector and waited for them to leave. Boba, Sabine, and Zeb exited; a confident man, followed by the other two, obviously embarrassed.
Once they had left and the door had shut behind them she began again as if continuing without the pause. "Our analysis has verified the transmission, and outside communications we have show the contents to be true. The star destroyer Finalizer will be stationed in the Outer Rim system of Lybeya."
The holo-projector illumined a large orange planet, elliptical in shape, floating next to an impressive asteroid belt.
"The Finalizer will be harboring the three heads of the First Order: Snoke, General Hux, and Kylo Ren."
The council room began to murmur, but the murmuring ceased as they had noticed that Leia waiting for their attention.
"This report shows that only the star destroyer will be stationed here," she said. "The exact details as to why they are here, we don't know. We have many speculations, but no certainties. For this reason, our mission must be swift. As to the details of the operation, I will leave that to Admiral Ackbar to explain."
She moved to make way for the Mon Calamari and sat by Luke.
Grand Admiral Ackbar started. "Our mission goals are to incapacitate the Finalizer quickly and to negotiate their surrender. If no surrender is possible, then we will destroy her. This planet of the Lybeya system is an uninhabitable gas giant. You will notice it's highly oval shape."
He pointed to the planet, as it enlarged in the projection.
"This is due to the high speed of its revolutions, creating an incredible vortex that will rip any ship entering it to shreds. The gravitational pull of this planet is also immense and is stronger than an Insurgent-class tractor beam. There is no other suitable planet nearby that can sustain life, so there is no place for any escape pods to land if the First Order leadership tries to escape. On the other side of the system, lies the Vergesso asteroid field. Small fighters can manage the asteroid field, but capital ships cannot. Which brings us to our mission."
The holo-projector displayed an image of the Finalizer near the asteroid field, with three Resistance star cruisers on the other side: two Mon Calamari star cruisers, and Recusant-class light destroyer, re-engineered so as not to need a droid brain to control it.
"The plan is to station our capital ships here, keeping the Finalizer up against the asteroid field, preventing their escape. The cruisers will maintain heavy laser fire on the Finalizer weakening its deflector shields, while the B-Wing squadrons will protect the cruisers from TIE attacks. Another group of Naboo fighters will attempt to first take out the communications array, then turbolasers and ion cannons."
The holo-projector showed the movements of all ships performing their designated patterns, ending with a defenseless star destroyer, surrounded.
"Once completed, the Finalizer will be helpless, with no weapons and no means of communicating for help. All remaining fighters will eliminate any droids sent to repair the damage. At this point, one of our commanders will board and negotiate a surrender. Any questions?" A commander raised his hand. "Yes, Commander Tek." Ackbar said.
"Admiral, wouldn't it be faster and safer just to hit it hard with everything we have and finish it off, rather than attempting to incapacitate it?"
Leia stood up to interject. "The way of the First Order is to destroy anything in its way. That is not our way. We will not kill needlessly without giving our enemy an appropriate opportunity for surrender. It just may be that we may save many more lives than we anticipate." Leia looked at Luke. Luke nodded, understanding what she meant.
Ackbar began again, "We are scheduled to leave in eight hours. All individual assignments have been given to the officers. Please report to your command officers and prepare for deployment. You are dismissed, good luck."
The council room emptied, but Leia kept Luke, Rey, Finn, Chewbacca, and Poe behind.
Once everyone had exited and the door lock closed, Leia disclosed further plans.
"The five of you have a special mission and will be leaving before the rest."
Each knew about a secret mission; but this would be the first time they were informed of the details, so they listened intently.
"If the Finalizer is allowed to escape, we will have lost our only chance. That can't be allowed. You will have to infiltrate the Finalizer and destroy the magnetic turbines and the acceleration compensator. That will deactivate the engines and prevent a hyperspace jump," she said as she pulled up schematics for Finalizer. "These are not complete; but, Finn, you know this ship. You know how to get to the engines, do you not?"
"Yes, I do, General," he replied.
"Good, the rest of you are under Captain Finn's command."
"We will have to dock in the side flight bays, which are nearest to the hyperdrive reactor. Could we not just set explosives on that?" Finn asked.
"Not unless you want the whole ship to blow up," she answered, "And besides, you will not be able to move enough explosives to accomplish that."
"That raises the question, how will we even get into the flight bays? The First Order will see us coming." Poe asked.
"We have fitted a cloaking device on the Millennium Falcon to help you approach the star destroyer undetected," Leia informed them.
"A cloaking device on a ship that small?" Finn questioned.
Poe rubbed his hands together, hardly able to contain his excitement.
"It's not unheard of," said Rey, "I would scavenge them off ships about the same size on Jakku. But they were rare."
"So we can just waltz in and out?" Finn questioned.
"Not exactly," Poe said. "Cloaking devices are useful to hide when no one is searching for us. But if we blow the turbines they will be on to us and looking for a rogue ship. In that case, they could find us. If we remember our history from the Galactic Civil War, Moff Tarkin lost his corvette, the Carrion Spike, to rebels; and it was destroyed in spite of having a cloaking device."
"That's the reason you are on this mission, Poe" Leia added. "You will need to be on your game for your escape, as you will be discovered."
"And if we cannot get off the ship?" Luke asked.
"In that case, I hope they opt for surrender," Leia answered.
"If they don't," Luke returned, "You must be ready to do what you must."
Everyone was quiet for a moment taking in that portentous thought.
"We all know the risks," she said with pensive reluctance. "That is all. Are there any more questions?"
No one had any query or comment to add. She nodded to dismiss them, looking with hidden trepidation at Luke.
They stood up to go, but before she left, she was sure to say, "May the Force be with you."
….
The Finalizer rested in the blackness of space, the Vergesso asteroid belt positioned to its starboard side. The gas planet loomed large in the distance to the port side, its orange glow reflecting off the ship. A small pursuit craft exited hyperspace and advanced to a lateral dock toward the front of the star destroyer. Its side engines mounted on the thick stabilizers, pivoted back and forth to direct its approach.
The small craft passed through the shield into a docking bay loaded to each side with TIEs. It came to rest in between the rows, its cockpit facing the interior of the destroyer. Once it had come to rest, a forward bay door angled down from beneath the cockpit, hissing as it descended. The knight, Tanut, was the first to descend, his hooded helmet with a visor covering his eyes. Kiam followed, his hands on the dark cargo. His electro-staff was strapped to his back over his cloak.
A large, armored, black box descended down the ramp, floating a few inches above the ground. A blue light emitted from beneath it and lit the dark, pristine floor. It stood upright, fifteen feet tall and five feet on each side. The front of it was a heavily clasped door with a small control panel glowing to its right.
Standing in front of the pursuit craft stood two figures waiting. One was a hateful and slender man, in a dark officer's uniform, an officer's small cap fitted to his brow: General Hux. The other was Kylo Ren, his mask in place, and his hands clasped behind him.
Kiam angled the large, quadrate object toward them and parked it a few yards away. Tanut and Kiam approached the general and Kylo Ren without any concern for the military convention and no fear of the two men.
"Did you have any difficulty obtaining her?" Kylo Ren questioned.
"None that we couldn't handle," Tanut replied patting his sidearm.
"The Stygeon guards made chase, but I out piloted them," Kiam added.
"Excellent, take her to the master communication room," he ordered.
"Yes, Kylo Ren," Tanut replied. Both maneuvered the black crate away and toward an open bay door.
"She must be powerful if you have to go to that extreme to contain her," General Hux commented.
"It is necessary, but not because of any strength she has, General," Kylo Ren said.
"And do you really think that having her here will lure the Jedi to you?" Hux asked.
"Listen, General, I do not question the outcome of your plan to bait the Resistance. Do not question my plan to bait the Jedi," Kylo Ren said with a low growl.
"Then let us wait and see, which trap will catch its intended prey." Hux sneered.
Kylo Ren had had enough. He turned to leave and said, "Just see to it that you do your part."
"Oh, I will." General Hux replied under his breath.