Chapter 33
There were small tactical windows at the base of the blast door, too small to fit anyone through if they were broken, just big enough to see what was happening outside, and what was happening was scaring Leia. Several enormous transport ships had landed and were disembarking over a thousand soldier. But what really scared her was what had just been dropped off, a Superlaser Siege Cannon, a smaller version of the Death Star's Mk I Superlaser which would act as a battering ram to the mine's blast door.
Worried, Leia let out an anxious sigh than walked over to Connix who was one of the crew members working the communication equipment.
"Status report."
"Not good, only one squadron has reported in, and its with bad news. Kazuda Xiono and the entirety of team Colossus has had their cover blown, and on a separate note are currently lost in space with a malfunctioning navigational computer and hyperdrive."
Poe spoke up.
"The whole operation is practically run by kids, so they are lucky to be alive right now instead of ending up like the Hosnian System."
"We can't give up hope yet Captain."
Not to far away, Phasma had pulled Finn aside.
"Finn is a nice name for you, did you come up with it?"
"No, Poe did."
"That must make him quite special to you."
Finn simply smiled.
"Yah, he really is. This isn't why you pulled me over here though, is it?"
"It's not, I just fear that my time may now be short, and I wanted to know you are happy."
"Are you sick?"
"No, but there is going to be a fight, and every stormtrooper is going to be aiming at me. The odds are not that great."
"I'm sure Threepio would say there like a million to one."
"So because of that I need to know everything is in order. There is something I need to tell you, and something I need to ask."
"What?"
"When General Brendol Hux first brought me to the Supremacy, he gave me a simple job to preform while I got caught up on First Order training. The job was to observe all the newborns and recent infant recruits and euthanize the small ones or ones with any mental or physical defects."
"That's horrible."
"I know that now, but I grew up on a planet where if a single clan member was weak or sick, we could all die, and because of the radiation most children died before coming to term so I was used to dead infants. I only had this job for a week when you were born."
"I think I see where you are going with this, growing up Captain Cardinal once told me I was so scrawny that I was lucky you let me live, I spent two years bulking up. Why did you save me?"
"I almost didn't, you were healthy enough, you had no mental delays or respiratory issues, but you were born a month early, and therefor small and incredibly underweight. I had the needle in my hand, and was about to inject the dose when you opened your eyes for the first time, and when I looked into them, I saw something-"
"Like a dream?"
"I wasn't sure at the time but now I believe it was a precognitive vision. I saw a village in flames, and all the townspeople rounded up and surrounded by trooper, the rebels separate from the civilians. I than gave the order for them all to be executed, every trooper except one fired, killing everyone. I immediately ask the trooper why he didn't fire, and he responds with not knowing why. I shoot him dead. I did not want to be that chromium wearing Captain that I saw I would become, but I couldn't just walk away either."
"And you did become that soldier, you ordered everyone killed."
"I'm not a good person Finn, small improvements, and painfully setting up the First Order's demise was the only good I could do. I did not euthanize you, right before General Hux's death I made him right a contract that I would rise in rank, lead some ground assaults, and take over training soldiers from age fifteen to twenty five, as well as keeping my original job of inspecting the newborns. I did all of this for you, not for me."
"You spent twenty-five years of your life to insure that I would not die in Tuanul?"
"And I built you an army inside of there army for you to confront them with. Finn, you are the future of freedom of the galaxy."
Finn had to let this sink in. He thought he defied the First Order, making him special, but instead he was programmed from birth to defect. He now knew that there were others like him, but it was only because Phasma had played god with her troopers. But what Finn thought about the most was without Phasma's actions he would be dead twice over, or even if he wasn't killed at birth, he would still be executing the First Order's orders.
Phasma clearly saw Finn's confliction. She changed the subject.
"Your destiny and decisions are your own, whatever you decide I will be happy for you, but there is something I must ask of you."
"What is it?"
Phasma opened a larger compartment that was attached to her belt and pulled out a small mask made from organic materials such as wood, small pebbles, dried sea plants, and feathers.
"My people made masks for themselves when they had proven themselves to be a warrior, children do not have masks. My brother and I weren't raised by our people however, and I learned that he planned to break their tradition. He had a daughter, the first child in our clan to live to the age of five years, she was dear to us all, I found this mask on my brother after I... after he was killed. I believe he was going to give it to her despite her age. Frey is my niece's name, and she was recruited alongside of me. Fifteen years ago, when she herself was fifteen, I faked her death and managed to smuggle her on a drop ship, where after myself and my troops were deployed, she escaped. I don't know if she lived or died. I want you to try and find her, and if she is alive, I want you too give this too her, and remind her of how much the Scyre, and how much her father loved her."
Finn took the mask and held it in his hands.
"What planet did you drop her off on, and if she was with the First Order for ten years, she might not remember her actual name."
"Her designation was UV-8855, and her fellow cadets called her Warcry. The planet was Castilon in the Tashtor sector, but I specifically left her on the mobile supertanker fuel depot which has since left the planet, and last I heard it was orbiting Nordis Prime."
"You left her all alone on a planet being invaded by your trooper, do you think she wants any of this contact from you?"
Phasma remained stoic as always, but looking up Finn could see some sadness, and perhaps guilt in her cold blue eyes.
"I-"
The entire mine shock, it shook so violently that along with other small crystalline debris, a whole stalactite fell to the ground. Finn nearly fell, and looking around he could see that several crew members weren't as lucky. The shaking did not stop, and a great amount of heat was now coming off of the blast door. Leia managed to grab a com and set it to transmit to everyone.
"Everyone move away from the door, and stay to the sides of the walls, then I want every non-combatant Resistance member to follow me to the back exit, then all the soldiers."
Everyone immediately did as she said, the more technical or tactical members of the Resistance ran after the General, and Finn started to head off to find Poe when he realized Phasma, although staying along the wall, was heading towards the blast door instead of away from it.
"Phasma?"
"Someone needs to hold them off, kill as many as possible so that your men have a chance at defeating them, and escaping."
"Phasma-"
She turned her head as she strapped four blasters to her hip and charged the two she held.
"You will be remembered as a hero."
She nodded, and Finn than went after Poe. The superlaser was melting through the blast door quickly, and it wouldn't be long until the hole it forms would cool enough for the stormtroopers to enter the mine base.
Leia led them to the dead end. She knew it was there, but from the now rising panic among her crew she wished she had told them before now. As horrible as it was her plan was to sacrifice her soldiers to by time until someone, anyone came to there rescue, but deep down she knew no one was coming, and that she just pinned the defenceless portion of her Resistance between the unmovable rocks and their deaths. The only good news was that Rosita Thorn was still unconscious and tied up, the two guards securing her were the best in Leia's army, and from here she could watch her every move.
Suddenly a high frequency yelp, and than a lot of surprised noises coming from different crew members closer, and closer to the boulders where Leia stood. Suddenly a medium sized creature emerged from the crowd, it walked on four paws, it had a long tail, was quite thin and agile, had yellow eyes and very pointy ears. In fact, every inch of it was pointy because at least it's fur, but quite possibly it's entire body, was made of crystal. Its fur was made up of thin crystals that were translucent with a silvery hue.
"Hello there, how did you get trapped with us?"
The crystal creature calmly walked past Leia, jumped on one of the boulders, flattened its ears and fur to the rest of its body, and than disappeared among the boulders. One of the crewmen pointed and shouted.
"It escaped!"
Indeed it had, and this filled Leia with hope and determination. She lifted one hand from her cane and concentrated, she was out of practice, but knew that the size of an object did not matter when trying to lift it with the force. Slowly the biggest boulder rose, and moved away from the others, and towards herself and her Resistance, finally she put it down.
The whole cavern finally stopped shaking, but that was not a good sign, they were running out of time. Despite all this Connix cheered the former princess on.
"You can do it Leia!"
Leia wasn't sure if she could though, she had the power, but she was still physically weakened by her self-rescue in space. She handed the cane to Connix, and with both hands outstretched tried to move as many as she could before she collapsed. First the smaller ones jamming all the others in, this caused her to feel faint. Next she pulled away medium ones from the top, this caused her vision to be hazy, but she didn't need to see to use the force. Finally with the last of her strength she cast aside several large boulders, causing her to fall. Thankfully a strong crew member caught her, but even with hazy vision Leia could see a big problem.
"There are still too many-"
In the distance everyone could hear faint blaster fire.
"I'm sorry, I failed you-"
"No, I did!"