4

"No!" an anguished cry from Connix brought Poe and everyone else's heads in the comm tent up. When he approached, Kaydel wordlessly pointed at the map display for the vicinity of Ajan Kloss. In orbit, almost right on top of them, was the unmistakable shape of a First Order Star Destroyer. Shouts from outside told Poe this was not a computer glitch.

"Run!" he ordered. "They might not bother blasting the whole forest."

"Uhm-General," Connix, still wide-eyed, rapidly worked switches in her comm gear. "They want to speak to us."

"What?"

"They're asking for Finn and Jannah, actually. Where are they, anyway?"

"Right here," Finn interrupted from behind. He looked very tired, and next to him, Rose radiated concern. "Yeah," he said upon a glance at the display. "The Hundredth Talon."

"Don't ask," Rose said.

"May I?"

Connix nodded. "Hundredth Talon, this is Finn. Is everything alright?"

"Well, our attempt to convince others didn't work. Every transmission from us to the First Order is being jammed."

"Give it time."

"So it's just us, unfortunately. But we wish to join."

Poe stared between Finn and the comm unit. "What is going on?"

"We-Ben, Jannah, and I-"

"Ben? You mean-"

Finn nodded, but raised his hand. "We used the Force to break their conditioning. It's exhausting, but it works-at least in this case. Nice work."

"I picked a name, by the way," the woman formerly called FR-6081 said.

"What is it?"

"Freya. Took the letters, like you. I think it fits."

"Then, Freya, welcome to the Resistance. In fact, I think we have a perfect use for your ship."

"Infiltration? Won't do," Freya said glumly. "Fleetwide order went out almost the moment we jumped to lightspeed. We're traitors, to be killed on sight."

"No, I expected that. Your tractor beams in good order?"

"They are," Freya assured him.

"Excellent."

"Excuse me, but who's this?"

"General Poe Dameron," Poe introduced himself.

"General, I'll be blunt. I don't know you, and given what we just got out of, it's hard to trust. Neither running nor fighting by ourselves seemed good ideas, but this doesn't mean we'll be just doing everything you say."

"Understood perfectly. We don't have much to give you right now-"

"We want Finn."

"What?"

"He and Jannah freed us. We trust them. We'll accept Resistance orders through him. Jannah, I understand, isn't actually one of you."

"Let's leave the pedantry to the First Order."

Freya laughed.

Poe frowned. "I don't like this much. You by yourself-"

"Not by myself," Rose declared. "I'm going with you."

Finn shook his head. "Not that I wouldn't like your company, but I have another idea, and you'd be better there. Don't worry. It'll all come together on Exegol."

"Exegol?" Freya asked.

"That's right. We learned where it is, and how to get there. So we're taking out the heart of Sith power."

"Wow," Freya said. "And I thought seizing a Destroyer was ambitious."

"I'll join you," Finn told her. "On one condition."

"What?"

"Ben Solo," Finn said.

"Kylo Ren, you mean."

"If you're interested, debate it with him yourself. Even if we wanted to, we can't spare the guards. I'm sure he'll find a way to get to Exegol by himself, and the Force tells me he needs to be there. He'd helped you get the Talon."

"We'd manage ourselves."

"Some wouldn't have made it."

There was a long pause. "Very well," Freya finally said. "I'll send a shuttle down-for both of you. You have to win this."

"Wrong, Captain Freya," Finn said.

"What?"

"We have to win this. You know the First Order. If we lose, no one will care if we joined five years or five minutes ago."

Allegiant General Enric Pryde had gotten to where he was now by treating every moment of his life as if he was on duty. He hadn't been more than five minutes away from being fully uniformed since his cadet days, and never more than a minute when not formally on leave. So when the Steadfast's comm officer woke him up, it did not disconcert him, only tickled his curiosity. Things were running smoothly, preparations to launch the Sith Fleet from Exegol almost complete.

He straightened the uniform and knelt on the holotransmission pad. The expanded bluish transparent form of Palpatine loomed over him.

"How may I serve you, my Emperor?" he said.

"Kylo Ren has proven himself unreliable. You are now Supreme Leader of the First Order, Allegiant General Pryde."

"Thank you, your Majesty. Do you wish me to hunt him down, like I did with Hux?"

"No. He is still dangerous, and I will deal with him in time myself. Continue the preparations. The forces will merge and once again enforce the rule of the Galactic Empire. And you will command this forces-unless you fail me."

"Yes, my Emperor."

"I am entrusting you with another task, General. An encoded file has been sent, sealed with your personal code. Inside are coordinates to a warehouse world, and what I want you to retrieve from there and bring to Exegol with all possible speed.

"Once you have it, destroy the planet and all records that it ever existed."

Pryde heard the datapad chime. "Of course, your Majesty."

"Report when it is done and you are on your way with the item. Do not fail me, General Pryde." And with that, the hologram vanished.

Pryde rose and picked up the datapad. The arrived file was not indicated to be special in any way, and was named with a meaningless string of letters. He drew his rank cylinder from the uniform's breast pocket and took off his glove to give it a biometric reading. A series of numbers lit up on the cylinder's side, providing a temporary decryption key. Pryde tapped it into the datapad, and the file opened.

"Kriff," he said. He never liked the Emperor's dabbling in mysticism, and though he respected Lord Vader as a combat pilot who'd done the impossible on behalf of the Empire, he always wished-though never foolishly enough for someone to overhear and have it get back to Vader-that the fearsome black-clad figure was in the official military structure. This was absolutely one of those times. He was certain the Empror knew about his dislike, though what Palpatine thought about it was a mystery. He wasn't going to voice his opinion now. The Republic, Rebellion, and Resistance wallowed in far more dangerous mysticism, which killed two of the three already, and Pryde would be the architect of destruction for the third. There were already rumors that former Senator Leia Organa, Darth Vader's daughter, was dead. He would wait for proof before celebrating, but the thought cheered him up.

So, the Emperor wanted to continue his research, and ordered Pryde to bring it to him. There was only one thing to do. Obey.

"This is a hare-brained idea," Freya declared. They hadn't had time to repair the viewports on the main bridge; operating from the secondary command center deep within the ship only added to the claustrophobia.

Artoo-Detoo rolled up and whistled a little.

"That's not a contradiction," Finn told the droid.

"What did he say?"

"It's Poe's idea," Ben Solo told her.

"Did you know him, sir-er-I mean-"

Finn wasn't sure how-or even if-he could diffuse the awkwardness. Other liberated stormtroopers tended to either be angry at the former Supreme Leader, or still afraid of him. Freya did neither.

"From before I had gone over? Not really. And we were both kids. But when you fight someone for a year, even indirectly, you get a feel for him."

"That works both ways."

"Never said it didn't."

The Sith Fleet was waiting in Exegol's thick, misty atmosphere that hid it, that required all the delicate launch procedures. And that allowed the Talon, having dropped out of lightspeed and instantly cut off all power, to lower itself even deeper and crawl its way around the planet to get underneath the great armada.

An attack from above was expected and constantly watched for. An attack from below...

"Mine complex five complete."

"Understood. Proceed to location six." Poe wanted to use the Talon as the trump card if the rest of the plan failed as well as an augmentation to secure a better victory if it succeeded. If these mines detonated just right, the resulting eruptions from the planet would not just cripple, but wreck the Sith fleet.

But there would always be some scanning done downwards. And a Star Destroyer wasn't designed for atmospheric-or any other-stealth mode. Freya was in her stormtrooper uniform sans helmet, with a broad orange stripe across each arm. Finn thought she'd put it on just for the gloves, to remove the temptation to bite her nails.

Then something tingled in his head. He glanced around, but there was no change in anyone-except the suddenly smiling Ben.

"What is it?"

"Rey. She's here."

"She would be. It's how we know the coordinates. Why didn't we feel here before?"

"We need to go."

"What?"

"To help her."

"She can take care of herself."

"It's Palpatine," Ben said. "I will-"

"I can't let you do that."

"What?"

"We're tying to hide," Freya declared. "A launch will be detected-"

"So what am I supposed to do? You won't give me a weapon-"

"I won't give you a ship, for the same reason."

"Then not until you've detonated the mines and openly joined the battle?"

That brought consideration. "We'll be launching fighters anyway."

"It's too late. I'm going down, not up. Things fall all the time."

"You need power to land," she said.

Ben grinned. "We're in atmosphere," he said. "Give me a glider trooper suit."

"They were discontinued as too dangerous!" Finn exclaimed.

"Every ship still has a prototype of every piece of equipment used-just in case. Or did that policy change the moment I left? I don't think Hux had the time."

Freya growled. "We have one," she said. "I knew people killed in training with it."

He laughed, then lifted one finger. "The most powerful fleet ever assembled," he said and pointed up. "Resurrected Emperor and his Sith cult," he raised another finger and pointed down. A third finger. "Giant mines that'll reshape the planet, and we'll have to set off whether or not we have time to get away." A fourth finger. "The First Order we'll have to fight through to get our sabotage in. And you're concerned about equipment malfunction?"

Freya parried the outburst. "I can do something about it. The others..."

"I need to go."

"So do I-"

"No."

Now Ben and Finn both glared at her. "I can order you-"

"It's not symbolic. We need to coordinate with the Resistance. You need to stay. As for you, Mr. Solo, can the Force really do the things it is said to do?"

"Well, I don't know what people are saying, and there are exaggerations. But-" and with a thrust, he extended his arm and Freya's pistol flew out of her holster and into his hand. he tossed it up and made it do several spins in mid-air above his head, then took it back, switched to a lower setting, and fired into the floor. The bolt hung frozen, brightly lit, stuck a downward angle.

"Three. Two. One," Ben flexed his fingers and the bolt proceeded, impacting with a bang and leaving a scorch mark on the deck.

"No more demos, Captain. Yes, or no?"

"Captain? But-"

"The Talon is your ship," Ben declared "Actual rank-who cares. You're the captain."

"Captain... I like it. Alright. You can have the glider. I will drop you the moment the battle up there starts."

"Better hurry, Captain," Finn informed her.

"I don't see anything," she inspected the IFF screen carefully.

"Yet. I feel it. I can't show off like him, but I also have the Force."

"Understood."

"Ben," Finn called as the other man left the command center.

"What?"

"May the Force be with you."

The orbaks scattered from the tongue of fire. "Flamethrower!" Jannah shouted.

"I see it!" Rose replied, pulling the reins of her mount to get away from the blast. "Aim for the fuel tanks!"

Jannah raised her bow and fired. There was a flash, but the large turret turned and spat more flame.

"Shielded!" she said. "No good."

"Fall back!"

Rose didn't answer, but drew her comlink. "Poe, we're pinned down. We need to get to that transmitter!"

"A little busy up here!"

"We'll try to hold out, but I can't last long. Just destroy the flame cannon!"

"Incoming!" Jannah yelled.

"Where?"

"Above!"

Rose looked and her face turned to horror. Four First Order Heavy Lifter transports were descending straight towards them, and she knew how fast they could drop their cargo-and come back for more. The core of the vehicle was a long, narrow hull brimming with powerful engines, and two cross-beams embedded into it at bow and stern. Cargo would be mounted at the ends of each cross-beam, and could be anything the mission commander wanted. Right now, each carried an AT-AT, legs flexed and ready for deployment. Sixteen walkers altogether. A full battalion.

"Run!"

The Star Destroyer vibrated as the transports impacted the surface and released their load. Orbaks bleated in terror, some riders getting thrown off, unable to control the beasts. The leading rank of walkers took their first steps, leveled their heads, and opened fire.

The heavy blasters tore through the shields on the flame cannon, and when the fuel tank exploded, it engulfed the rest of the Sith line. "Come on!" Rose rode through her band, rallying them.

Jannah questioningly stared at the AT-ATs when the viewport on one of them opened to reveal Finn.

"Rose!"

"Finn! You made it! Is the rest-"

"Freya has the ship." He tossed a coil of cable from the walker's cockpit and slid down it, joining Rose on orbakback. "We're still working on the mines. Thought I'd give you a hand here."

"But didn't you say you're traitors now? How'd you not get shot down?"

Finn laughed, but before explaining, glanced back up to the walker and gave the driver a thumbs up. The viewport closed, and the combined group of First Order defectors and Resistance cavalry turned to advance again.

"What's funny?" Jannah asked as she rosde up.

"Something we found when we dug into the specifics of the order banishing us as traitors. Because we took over the Talon, that's what it referred to. Thus, it came down Navy channels."

"So?" Rose asked.

"People don't wear multiple hats the way they do in the Resistance there. The Talon and our TIES, when they join, will be identified as enemies by the First Order. That's navy." He pointed at the walkers. "These are Army. The order failed to mention them."

"They'll correct that mistake when they see you shooting at them."

"Probably," Finn said cheerfully. "As long as the surprise works, why not use it?"

Something dark flashed up in the periphery of her vision. In the next instant, a bolt whizzed by her head, and Rose turned to fire back. With the aid of Finn's walkers, the Sith defense line broke, and they rushed up the hull of the Star Destroyer.

"Can't you shoot it out?" she asked, pointing at the AT-ATs and then the comm tower.

"Shields," Jannah and Finn said in chorus.

"Turbolaser rated," FInn added. "Have to do it from the inside."

A strange vibration came through her orbak's feet, and Finn's comlink simultaneously erupted in shouts.

"What was that?"

They turned behind to see one of the walkers lying on its side, emitting smoke. Next to it was...

"Monster!" shouter went from Jannah's riders, Resistance fighters, and Hundredth Talon's troopers alike.

A stream of lightning erupted off the planet. It was unnatural, flowing up and seeking out vehicles to disable as if hit by ion blasts. The tendrils hit two walkers; one stood ungracefully on three legs, the other toppled over and must have it something, since its neck exploded.

Even the monster seemed distracted for a moment, though it quickly turned and rushed straight at them.

The thing was an enormous, scaled bronze-green serpent with three pairs of wings spaced evenly along its thirty-meter body, and which it now used to greatly increase its speed. Electricity pulsed on the tip of its tail, and on two tentacle-like appendages on the crown of its head. Occasionally, it spat gobs of liquid that produced spots of corrosion on metal and killed people and orbaks.

"What the hell is that?" Finn shouted.

Jannah raised her bow and fired two bolts in rapid succession. THe first uselessly deflected off the monster's scaled flank, the second caused it to reel up, as it cracked one of its poison spitting teeth. When it lowered its head again, the woman from Kef Bir released a steady well-aimed third shot, which went right in the monster's eye.

But the creature's momentum was too great to stop before it reached them, and it looked to be in the throes of a new frenzy. Rose yanked the reins, making her orbak rise on its hind legs and leap out of the way, Finn having to grab onto her to hold on. But Jannah, whom the monster snake seemed to target directly, fared worse. She managed to swing her left leg over to avoid getting bit when it chomped its jaws on her orbak's flank, but her right was still in the stirrup at the moment. So when the creature yanked its head up to swallow, Jannah got hurled away with all the power of the monster's neck muscles. She slid helplessly across the hull of the Star Destroyer and fell over the edge down towards the planet.

"Jannah!" Finn shouted in terror, and leapt off the orbak to grab onto the snake's scales. Rose instinctively dodged in the next second when the monster's tail stabbed at her and electrocuted her mount, killing it instantly and leaving Rose in pain from the current transmitted through the orbak's body. To even greater horror, the snake sprung forward, expanding all three pairs of wings to fly off the ship after Jannah, apparently not noticing that Finn was on its back. They plunged out of view.

Tears, sweat, and blood mixed on Rose's face. Still stiff from the jolt of electricity, she got to her feet and picked up a blaster rifle.

People stared at her. Stormtroopers with hastily painted orange stripes on their arms, Kef Bir riders, a few Resistance soldiers. Only with the last group did she have any legitimacy of leadership. The others had been following Finn and Jannah, who-

She squeezed tears out of her eyes with a tight clench of eyelids and put rage on her face. It was not hard to summon.

"See that?" she lifted the blaster and actually fired. "If we don't destroy the transmitter, Finn and Jannah died for nothing!" She grabbed the reins of a spare orbak and hurled herself into the saddle. "Do you want that?! NO?! Then follow me!"

She flipped the blaster to rapid fire and unleashed a stream of bolts as she galloped forward towards the Sith line. She didn't look back to see if anyone followed her.