Most of the crew were standing in the control room. Fragments of a dead star appeared on the radar a few moment earlier, directly in the path of the Raddus. They could easily avoid it otherwise, but if they deviated from a straight course at any level, they would not only lose time, but distance from Snoke's ship. This had to be solved. And had to be solved quickly.

They didn't really need anything but this - Holdo thought, staring through the window at the massive darkness that would once reveal the obstacle ahead. Her men would solve it, she was a hundred percent sure of it. But the distance between the Raddus and the Imperial ship afterwards was something that made every nerve in her body twitch. If the Supremacy could catch up, the Raddus might even go into the middle of the star. A similar fate awaited them moments later either way.

The admiral ran her fingers through her curls nervously and sighed.

We need to slow down.

No - she inhaled sharply and stopped herself before she could instruct the crew. To slow down…

The direction is not sustainable.

She rubbed her temples.

"D'Acy report, what have you got?"

The woman looked at the display with wide eyes. Her hand trembled slightly.

"I think," she began hesitantly, "with the changed coordinates, we're still out of range"

Amilyn nodded and closed her eyes in relief.

X43576-R32544?

"No, it's X436-" she stopped in shock. D'Acy's eyebrows rose high on her forehead. Holdo froze. She didn't know how to ask.

"Commander... would you repeat what you just asked?"

"I didn't say a word, Admiral," she groaned, uncomprehending. "Vice Admiral, are you all right?"

Amilyn nodded quickly and hurried out of the room. The corridor was crowded, the pilots just returned from a briefing on the upper floor. She hurried past them, stepped into the elevator and didn't stop until reached one of the lower floors, where long-unused control panels and other unused equipment were lined up, as far as the eye could see. The lights was off. To save energy, they had already been turned off on the floors where no work was being done. The room was dimly lit by the stars, however.

Amilyn got dizzy. She grabbed the edge of a table and sat down. She couldn't believe what had just happened. She couldn't believe how close she'd gotten to accidentally... to just let it all slip out. She closed her eyes. Fear had been slowly replaced by anger.

Ever since she stepped onto the Raddus, they have been racing against death. Half their time has passed and they still have only the faintest hope, nothing sure. And then... She looked around. There was no any movement in the dark room. She was all alone.

"Who are you?" she said out loud. Her voice was slightly trembling with anger.

What are the correct coordinates, Admiral?

"Would you like to know, huh?" she asked, the corner of her mouth pulling into a grimace. "Of course you would"

The coordinates, Admiral, so we can go forward.

"I assure you, we can still go forward," Amilyn said firmly. "And while you're rummaging in my head like a vile worm, we're getting closer and closer to getting out of this mouse trap. And you can also give up now, if you ask me. Because there's nothing you can do about it"

We'll see - said the voice very slowly. Amilyn shivered.

"Now that you managed to listen-"

Suddenly she felt a pain that had never felt before. She clung to the edge of the table with both hands to steady herself. A scream escaped her mouth before she could stop herself. She gasped and squeezed the next words out between her teeth.

"Do whatever you want, you fool... It doesn't matter... The Resistance is still alive in our hearts and will remain there. As long as it beats. And don't think even for a moment I'm afraid to die. I have very specific plans for it, if you're interested... And you should know that... I'll... I'll separate my head from my neck before you get a word out of my mind. You son of a bitch!"

Suddenly everything went silent. Amilyn felt the pressure release her. She sat surprised. There was no more sound. No pain. She took a deep breath finally and straightened up. She hardly dared move lest this state pass. Would it really end?

That's when she started to feel it. A small, smoldering, barely perceptible anger. It came from deep inside, she didn't know where, but it wasn't hers. It was much bigger than her. Destructive and murderous. Even if from a distant, hidden space, it grew in her cells with every second, like an icy numbness.

No, it wasn't over - panic ran through her. It was only now when she really made it furious.

.

Poe was grateful deep inside, that Holdo had only thrown him off the bridge and not locked him in a cell. So he could go down to the hangar and keep pounding on the damn pod, hoping it would come back to life. It didn't make any sense in the eyes of the Imperial ship, but somehow he felt that as long as he didn't stop, he was still alive. He thought of what had happened on the bridge of course again and again and pulled harder on the rusty bolts. It was her fault. He told her things like that because she was… secretive. And why should they trust her anyway? The crew of the Ninka may know her, but the others don't. Who knows if she hasn't sold out the Resistance to the Empire and it's all a game, nothing more. So when they get caught, she goes on with her life, probably quite richly. Until then all she has to do is wait and let nothing happen. Exactly what she was doing now.

Of course, deep down Poe didn't believe this. But if Holdo was not a traitor - he welded two discs together - she was a coward. Or stupid. Stupid because she couldn't figure out a single plan, and coward because she didn't dare admit it.

Of course, Poe didn't think that was likely either. Holdo's brain worked like a computer. Her eyes were sharp and open. Every answer she gave to him felt like a slap on Poe's face… like the one he'd received for insulting her on the corridor. No. Holdo was neither stupid nor a coward. But then what was she?

He wiped his hands and started back to the others. He didn't understand why, but hadn't been able to explain his actions for rotations. It had been so long since he'd had anything to do with rationality that if he wanted to be honest, he'd let it go for now.

"D'Acy, dear," he addressed the older woman, who made a face as if she had been addressed in Hutt. It crossed Poe's mind that this was a little too casual indeed. "Can you tell me where I can find the Vice Admiral?"

"No" she replied coldly.

"With all due respect, Commander, I just wanted to apologize to her"

"I'm not stupid, Dameron," she looked at him dubiously, but then Connix stepped up and asked her about the Sector D7. D'Acy reached up to her forehead and tried to answer, worriedly. Meanwhile, she pressed two buttons on a small holopad and pushed it into Poe's hand, not even looking at him. Thankfully, she decided she couldn't deal with that problem – Poe himself - any longer.

Poe looked at the display. "V.A. AMILYN HOLDO" wrote the little machine. The yellow sign flickered on a lower floor, seemingly in place. Poe nodded and was in the elevator already. He had no idea why he was going there. Why he was following her, if he wanted to be honest. He saw his reflection in the smooth surface in front of him. For a moment, he tried to wear a smile, just to see how it looked like, for he forgot it long ago. Then sighed. He was ridiculous.

When he stepped out on Minus 5, he was surprised to find it dark and cold. What the hell is Holdo doing here?

As he carefully walked between the old computers and panels, he ran over a hundred variations in his mind. But then suddenly, he caught a glimpse of her.