Poe led the attack run while his squadron guarded his flank, allowing him to focus on the boarding ships, easily destroying them. As he flew across The Raddus, he decided to check in on his droid friend. "How're you holding up, pal?" he asked. BB-8 let out an exhaustive but optimistic beep. "Atta boy. Just a little longer, you'll be back home in your recharge station." He reassured. BB-8 produced a relieved string of beeps. Just then, Poe's comm received an incoming call. He switched it on to be met with the sound of Finn's voice. "How's it going out there?" he asked through static. Poe glanced at his squadron behind him, still all clear. "So far so good, I've been able to clear most of the boarding ships from the outer hull. How about you?" he asked back. There was a moment of silence before he received a response. "We're pretty banged up. One of them got close and tried to take our VIP guest out, I took care of them." he said. Poe allowed himself a grin. "Good work. How's everyone else?" he asked. "I'm not sure, we haven't heard anything. We set up a perimeter around the cell block in case any stragglers get through." Finn said sternly. Poe laughed. "Wow, listen to you! General Finn takes no chances!" he joked. He heard some laughter in the background. "Yeah, okay flyboy. Try not to get shot fooling around out there." he said. "Sir yes sir!" Poe mocked before Finn hung up. He cocked his head to the side in amusement as he continued his patrol.
"Status report!" Hux bellowed. "Sir! The strike force has been routed!" one private reported. "With The Finalizer destroyed, the main fleet is struggling under heavy enemy assault!" another private reported. "We're taking heavy casualties on all sides!" a bridge crew member reported. Hux's fists were clenched tightly, he was running out of time and options. He glared out of the bridge screen and took a breath: Hux considered his next course of action. "We've destroyed only a handful of their starships while they've taken out our ambush fleet, almost all of our dreadnoughts, and our main fleet is in danger. Phasma has been captured, and Ren and his knights are nowhere to be seen..." he went over. He swallowed his pride and accepted what must be done. He turned to the bridge crew. "It's time to cut our losses, we retreat back to Korriban!" he ordered. Everyone on the bridge stared at him in disbelief. He stared them all down. "You heard me, issue the order!" he snarled. Everyone then rushed to the communications equipment, informing the rest of the fleet of their new orders, as well as programming in a course back to Korriban.
What was left of The First Order fleet disengaged from the battle. Fighters raced to return to their hangars as their host ships turned around. One by one they retreated from the battlefield in a blazing wreckage. The entire Resistance sat in shock. Leia leaned forward in her chair with suspicion, Admiral Ackbar gazed out into the now emptiness of space in wonder, General Bellator folded his arms and looked out approvingly, and Lando had a grin growing across his face. The eruption spread across the entire fleet. Celebratory cheers went up as news of their victory spread. Their cries rang out even in the void of space.
The Resistance fighters all filed into the hangar bay one by one. A crowd of personnel poured into the hangar to provide the pilots a hero's welcome, with Finn among them. Pilot after pilot came out of their cockpit grinning and laughing, some even cannonballing into the crowd. Poe rose out of his and began fist pumping. He eventually spotted Finn in the crowd. He leaned forward and pointed at him, in which Finn returned the favor. The engineers made their way through the crowd to inspect the fighters. The droids along with BB-8 were offloaded and the pilots were practically carried to the mess hall, Poe included.
In the mess hall, the heroes of the hour were given a feast and all the booze they could wish for, all expenses paid of course. Poe had his arm around Finn and was swaying back and forth while singing, drink in his hand. Finn didn't sing but was smiling all the same. Before the celebration could continue, Poe received a call on his holocom. He excused himself to the entrance of the mess hall. He answered to find General Leia standing with her hands behind her back. "Commander. I trust you're enjoying your victory?" she asked. Poe was all smiles. "Aye aye, General!" Poe shouted. Leia smirked slightly. "Glad to hear it. If I may be so rude as to tear you and Finn away from your day of debauchery, I'd like for you two to meet me down in the cell block. It's time we had a chat with our special guest." She explained. Poe's smile died down and nodded. "We'll be there soon." He said. Leia nodded and hung up. Poe went to retrieve Finn form the mess hall. He touched him on the shoulder and leaned into his ear to explain the situation. He took a breath, then rose to follow Poe. As soon as they were out of the mess hall, Poe turned to him. "You gonna be okay?" he asked him. Finn kept his eyes forward. "I candle handle this, I can handle anything." He stated. Poe grinned. "That's what I like to hear." He said encouragingly. Finn cracked his knuckles and his neck. "Let's see what chrome dome has to say." he quipped. Poe glared at him in concern. "Chrome dome? That's the best you've got, really? Oh, buddy, we gotta work on your material..."
They arrived at the entrance to the cell block, recently cleaned up from the destruction of battle. Leia and two security guards were waiting for them. "Gentleman." she greeted. "General." Poe returned. Leia gestured for them to step inside. They all walked down the cell line until they arrived at Phasma's. She was hunched over until she heard them arrive, she looked up at her visitors with a wary expression. Leia regarded her for a moment, then walked over to the control panel and deactivated the force field. Finn became concerned but kept his reservations to himself. Leia approached the prisoner. "Stand" she commanded. Phasma obeyed. Leia looked her dead in the eye and went to remove her restraints. Finn and Poe both lurched forward. "General?!" Poe asked, taken aback. Finn was more aggressive. "Are you out of your mind?!" he shouted. Leia turned to look at the both of them. "Will you relax? Honestly, the two of you are just so excitable." Leia turned back to Phasma. "It's good to have you back, Genwynn." she said. Phasma, now Genwynn, produced a weak smile. "Good to be back General." she responded. Poe's eyes widened and Finn's brow furrowed, both were speechless. Leia noticed the dumbfounded expressions they wore. "You boys do share a brain between the two of you, right? How do you think we knew The First Order's plans? How we knew about their whereabouts on Korriban? Or how we acquired the plans to Starkiller Base? How we were informed about their attack, when they were coming, how many there were, every move they made?" she pointed back to Genwynn. "An extremely talented undercover agent!" she explained.
Finn took a few steps back, still uncertain on how to process this new revelation. Poe folded his arms. "Wow… all this time…" he squinted. "Wait, didn't General Solo throw you down a trash compactor?" he asked. Genwynn tilted her head. "Very few members of The Resistance knew of my assignment, General Solo was one of those privileged few." she explained. Finn's breathing grew heavy. "You... all of those years, you... the conditioning, the relentless discipline… all of those children!" he exclaimed. Genwynn solemnly looked down, the weight of her assignment was apparent. "I..." she tried to find the right words. Finn stared her down before storming out shortly after. Poe started to follow, but Leia stopped him. "Let him go, this is something he needs to work out by himself." she said. Poe looked from Leia back towards the cell block entrance and sighed, feeling helpless. Leia turned to Genwynn. "Those rags have served their purpose; you're in the clear. We'll get you debriefed and into something more comfortable." she said. Genwynn nodded and smiled, but there was pain behind it.
Leia arrived back on the bridge, exhausted, but unwilling to show it. "Alright people, I see no reason for us to remain here. Let's move on home." She said. The pilots inputted the route back to D'Qar and transmitted the route to the rest of the fleet. One by one, both large and small, the fleet turned around and jumped into hyperspace. "Status report." Leia announced. One of the bridge crew turned from his post. "General, you have an incoming transmission coming from Lieutenant Rose." He said. Leia took a seat in her command chair. "Put it through," she commanded. He nodded and redirected the line to Leia's personal holocom. "Lieutenant Rose, how good to hear from you. I was afraid we might've lost you in the ensuing chaos, what can I do for you?" she asked. Rose saluted. "Thank you, General. We hurried to the escape pods of The Altair as soon as enemy contact was made, at the behest of Master Skywalker, of course." She recounted. Leia smiled dryly. "Of course." She repeated. Rose continued on. "We took refuge on a nearby starship and continued the battle from there, we only recently returned to The Altair." She further detailed. Leia smiled and nodded. "Your resourcefulness continues to serve you well, Lieutenant. You might just see yourself promoted before long. If there's nothing else…" she trailed off. Rose perked up. "Oh, I do have a message for you, General, from Master Skywalker. He's indisposed at the moment, but he said it was urgent that I deliver it to you." She detailed. Leia shifted and leaned forward, curious. "What would that be, Lieutenant?" she asked. Rose's hologram flickered. "He said to tell you, "I've got him. He's safe, and he's coming home."" She recited. Leia's face softened and she slowly sat back in her seat, lost in the moment as she was trying to process the news. The weight accumulated over the years just seemed to roll off her shoulders. She blinked a few times. "That's... why, that's marvelous news. Thank you, Lieutenant." she said. Rose nodded and the transmission ended. Leia took a breath and held the side of her head, her face lit up by the hue of hyperspace.