The Millennium Falcon tore through the blue and undulating hyperspace. Finn, Poe and BB-8 manned the cockpit, reclining, trying to take in the last few moments of peace. But no matter how they made small talk or kicked up their feet, they failed to soothe their systemic trepidation, the anticipation of their mission running through their veins.
Rey entered and took a seat.
"Seems Luke wants to talk to Chewie alone." She said shrugging her shoulders. "What's going on here?"
"Just a few minutes before we exit hyperspace," Poe replied and sat up a little straighter.
"Are we ready?" Rey asked.
"Cloaking device is operational. We'll turn it on when we exit hyperspace. That baby will drain our power reserves in no time," Finn answered.
"That means no shields when it's on," Poe added.
"So your flying better be on point then," Rey said.
"Do you doubt that?" Poe retorted. "That's the one thing that I'm comfortable with in this mission."
Just then Chewbacca could be heard from the passenger bay crying out loudly; a loud mournful cry, followed by a crash.
"What the . . ." Finn got up to go back and look.
Rey stopped him. "I think they are working something out."
"What?" Finn asked.
"I don't know," Rey followed, "but I don't think we need to get involved. Trust me. You don't want to get near a Wookiee when he's upset."
Finn reluctantly agreed and sat down.
The Falcon came out of hyperspace forthwith. The oval planet was in view with the asteroid belt nearby. Floating inauspiciously in front of the belt, the Finalizer loomed largely. Occasionally a stray laser blast could be seen ending the life of an asteroid.
"Activating cloak," Poe said and flipped a few switches.
"Okay, time to get to work," Finn said.
As they approached the destroyer, its size growing and growing, the true perspective of its size dawning on Rey for the first time, as the face of its port side filled the view screen.
"We'll enter one of the side bays," Finn said. "Those are the flight bays for TIEs. There should be some empty bays, and we'll enter one of those."
However, to their dismay, it did not work out that way. They flew by each bay on the port side, and again and again they were filled with TIE fighters.
"That's odd," Rey said.
"Not unless they were planning for a battle," Finn said.
"They knew we were coming?" Poe asked, frustrated as he realized the First Order's plan.
"We have to assume that," Finn replied.
"What do we do?" Poe inquired.
Finn thought a moment. They flew passed another full bay.
"Continue with the mission. Fly under the ship to the loading bay. With all this preparation, that bay should be empty."
"Got it, Captain," Poe said.
As Finn had predicted, the bay was mostly empty except for a half dozen freighter ships and a few guards and workmen at each door.
The Falcon hovered up into the bay, its cloaking device still on. If anyone had been on alert, they would have seen it. Its translucence was not perfect and would have looked like heat waves to any observer. The light bent unnaturally around the ship, but it was adequate enough to hide suspicion.
"Park there in between those freighters," Finn ordered.
Poe landed easily, but the clangorous sound of the support arms coming to rest on the bay floor made him wince. A few First Order personnel looked up but did not see anything obvious and went back to their work.
"We will need to turn the cloak off," Finn said.
"Then they'll see it," Rey pointed out.
"If they happen to notice it partially visible, then we're done," Finn said. "At least this way they may assume that it's supposed to be here."
Luke entered the cockpit.
"I see we have arrived," he commented.
"It's time to go," Finn said. "Let's move."
They all attached packs to their backs, filled with explosives for the mission. As the bay door opened, the five of them exited, followed by the astromech droid.
Poe turned to BB-8. "Sorry buddy, you need to guard the ship. Got it?" he said to the droid.
BB-8 seemed to nod, a robotic arm ejecting and offering a small salute. He beeped and returned to the inside of the Falcon.
The rest hurried along behind the freighters and approached the exit. Two guards stood at attention. Finn and the rest stopped, crouching behind a cargo pad.
The guards turned their heads abruptly and looked away.
"Did you hear that?" one said.
"Yeah," said the second. "Let's check it out."
They readied their weapons and walked off away from Finn and the others. Finn looked to Rey.
"Did you do that?" he asked.
She smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
Finn returned the smile. "Alright, let's go."
They ran out the door into the corridor with cautious speed.
"We can't sneak around corridors all the way to the engine room. We're bound to get caught. We need to go to the TIE fighter storage deck. It runs the length of the ship, and there is hardly any personnel monitoring it. Follow me," commanded Finn.
They moved through sparsely occupied corridors, but for a few soldiers and lesser crew members that were easily distracted with Jedi mind tricks.
"Why don't we just let them do their mind control on everybody in the corridors," Poe asked, referring to Luke and Rey, "instead of going to the TIE deck?"
"For a few soldiers it is okay," Luke responded, "but what if we run into a squad? Or droids?"
"Good point," Poe agreed.
In short order, they found the entrance to the TIE storage deck. It was a long corridor at least a thousand meters in length and filled with TIE fighters hanging from large reinforced supports both on the walls and ceilings, as well as a complete set sitting on the ground. Huge mechanical arms were moving TIEs from the top and transporting them to the flight bays to be ready for battle.
"There must be hundreds of them in here," Rey commented.
"There are," Finn confirmed. "We need to run down at least twenty exit ports before we are close to the engine room. That's about eight hundred meters. We need to hurry."
They all started to run, toward the back of the ship.
They did get farther than two exit ports before Rey stopped in her tracks. Her eyes were wide, expressing a hint of terror.
"Did you hear that?" she asked everyone.
"Hear what?" Poe asked.
"That voice . . . It called me." Rey answered.
"I didn't hear anything," Finn said. "We need to keep moving."
"It sounded like it came from out there." She pointed out the exit port; her hand trembled.
"There's nothing out there but the transport to the officer's quarters and council halls," Finn informed her. "You don't want to go that way. You probably are just nervous and hearing things."
"No!" Rey protested. "I didn't just hear it. It was real!"
Luke looked concerned. "Did you recognize the voice, Rey?"
"It sounded like my mother. Didn't you hear it?"
Luke shook his head reticently.
"I need to go that way!" Rey was acting desperate.
Finn softened and looked at her directly. "Do you really need to go?"
"Yes," she nodded.
"Then go. But you must be careful. I can't lose you," he said gravely.
"I know; the mission."
"No. You don't understand. I can't lose you," he reiterated.
She looked at him, not sure what to say.
"Luke," Finn said. "Go with Rey, and both of you give us your packs."
He nodded. Both of them handed over their explosives to Chewbacca and Finn. Luke pulled out Anakin's lightsaber. He had intentionally brought his father's lightsaber instead of his own. They then exited out the door. Finn and Rey looked at each other until they were no longer in view.
"Alright," Finn refocused. "Let's get going."
….
Sabine hurried to load the jamming signal into the console. It was taking longer than expected. Zeb and Boba were getting uncomfortable standing to each side of the door.
"Almost there," Sabine said through her helmet. A few moments later, "Got it."
"Alright," Boba said. "Now we get back to the Phantom. But we'll have to get to it from the neighboring bay since they will be swarming to clean up the mess where we came from."
"That's a bit of a space flight for our masks to handle," Zeb said. "Don't you think?"
"It's our only chance," Boba countered. "Just check your packs to make sure you got enough juice to make the flight."
The door then opened. Standing in the entrance stood Jax who had been ordered by General Hux to diagnose the communication problem. He noticed Sabine at the console and drew his blaster, firing two instantaneous shots at her. One glanced off the side of Sabine's helmet. She fell in an eruption of purple smoke. Her helmet started to squeal with feedback, as the shot had affected the radio; but she could not take it off now that she had detonated her smoke bomb.
"Still playing the same hide and seek game, huh?" Jax said. He could hear the feedback from her helmet.
He aimed toward the noise, smugly confident.
Zeb, who had quickly strapped on his mask, grabbed him from the side, causing the blaster fire to veer to off target and ricochet off a console. Zeb saw a flash of light as Jax's boxed him in the ear. He fell back, and then he looked up to see Jax lighting up his red lightsaber as it blazed in the purple haze.
Sabine fired a shot, now that she could see the lightsaber in the fog. Jax deflected it into the wall and fired toward the sound.
Zeb leaped up to wrench the lightsaber arm and twisted it, trying to keep the blaster arm away. Zeb's strength as a Lasat was more than Jax could manage. The lightsaber dropped and extinguished, disappearing in the fog; but Jax managed to get his blaster under him and aimed it up at Zeb's torso.
A blast went off. Jax dropped. Boba Fett, holding a smoking blaster, was standing beside him. He had shot Jax in the side of the neck.
Zeb sighed in relief rubbing his ear. "Well, glad that's over."
"If they sent him, they are already on to us," said Sabine. "We need to get out of here, and we can't go back the way we came. They will likely be watching the transports back to our parking spot. We'll have to go some other way."
"The TIE storage," Boba commented.
"Good idea. Let's get going," Sabine said.
"Not until I get this suit," Boba said looking at the fallen knight clad in Mandalorian armor.
Zeb sighed now in resignation, "Fine, I'll close the door."