CHAPTER TWO
The Finalizer
“Why are we letting them get away?”
General Hux seethed as he stared out the viewport of his Star Destroyer, watching as the fleeing Resistance ships jumped into hyperspace one by one. It was already infuriating enough that they had been deliberately delayed by Kylo Ren in commencing their assault on the base upon arrival, giving the Resistance time to prepare a hasty evacuation. But now they were being allowed to escape without so much as a scratch on their ships. Were he the one in charge, he would be having each one of them picked off by their turbolasers. But their so-called “Executor” had insisted that they focus on destroying the base itself rather than any of their personnel.
“They have nowhere to run to,” Kylo Ren had transmitted to him and the other commanders. “The Galactic Alliance has already been turned against them. Without support, without a home, they will be no more dangerous than fleas on the back of a spamel.”
While Hux understood and even agreed with the logic, he still saw no reason as to why they couldn’t just destroy them now and be done with it. While the First Order had scored a major victory with the ascension of Senator Tyron Valrisa, solidifying their grip on the Alliance, there was still much work to be done and the Resistance, regardless of their size or scale, would simply be an annoying distraction. There would have been no harm in dealing with them now rather than saving them for later. In fact, it would have been far more pragmatic. But Kylo Ren was anything but pragmatic. Why the Supreme Leader had entrusted him with the position of Executor—or, frankly, any high-ranking position at all—was anyone’s guess.
He was tempted to go around the Executor and order his forces to target the Resistance ships. He wondered if General Pryde and the rest of the Supreme Council would support this move and stand with him against Kylo Ren… or if they would all simply suffer his wrath.
Still, the idea was tempting. So tempting that he nearly gave the order. But instead, he simply kept his mouth shut.
If Kylo Ren had a reason for letting the enemy go, then it had better be a good one. One that he couldn’t wait to hear about after this was all over. If the Executor’s reasoning was sound, then he would not question any further orders from him.
If it wasn’t, then Hux would not think twice about going against him next time.
The Raddus
“The Vigil and Ninka have successfully made the jump to hyperspace,” Lieutenant Kaydel Ko Connix reported from her station, standing over the shoulder of controller Vober Dand. “They’re on their way to the rendezvous point.”
Leia acknowledged the report with a nod. Ever since establishing the Resistance base on D’Qar, she had been prepared for a scenario in which they would be forced to evacuate. Fortunately, she happened to know of a secret hyperspace route, one that was known only to senior Rebel officers from during the Galactic Civil War, that led straight from D’Qar to the Grumani sector. A number of planets within the sector had been the sites of Rebel bases during the Civil War, and were about to be used again after nearly forty years because history was so keen on repeating itself lately. Once they all reached the rendezvous point, they would then split out and disperse to these various locations, which would force the First Order to divide their forces as well. Today would be a severe defeat for the Resistance, yes… but it was not going to be an easy victory for the First Order.
In fact, it could have been a lot easier for them than it actually was. When the First Order ships had dropped out of hyperspace, it had caught them all unawares. And yet they had enough time to get as many supplies and personnel as they could on the transports before the enemy had commenced its assault. Even then, the Star Destroyers were targeting the base and attacking Resistance fighters rather than focusing on the fleeing ships themselves. It was almost as if they wanted them to escape. Was this all a trap? Or was there something more?
Leia closed her eyes and reached out. She knew her son was out there, leading the First Order’s forces. Since killing Supreme Leader Snoke, he had taken command and was no doubt in control of the entire operation. If the Star Destroyers weren’t firing on them, it was because he wished it. He wanted them—wanted her—to live.
Perhaps there was still good in him. Or maybe it was all just wishful thinking.
“The Anodyne is away.” Kaydel’s voice brought Leia back to the present moment. She sounded so much like her mother—Leia’s adoptive sister and lifelong friend Winter—it wasn’t even funny. And of course she inherited her determined nature from her father, who still served with the Alliance along with the likes of Nek Bwua’tu, Cha Niathal; even Gavin Darklighter, whose daughter also now flew out there with Poe Dameron and his team of Rogues. She knew it was not her business, but she could not help but wonder what Kaydel and Selena’s relationships with their respective families were like now that they had joined the Resistance. Had Leia torn families apart due to her insistence on fighting this fight? Would she face resentment from those she had once considered to be her closest friends? She knew her family was still together (Ben notwithstanding), as was Ackbar’s. But that did not account for everyone else following her.
Her father had once told her that families were often the greatest casualty of war. After four decades of leading a rebellion, a new Republic, and a resistance, she fully understood what he had meant.
Turning to another bridge officer, Leia asked, “How is the Errant Venture holding out?”
“They seemed to have diverted the attention of the TIE fighters,” the Pantoran officer replied. “Their shields seem to be taking a beating though. Not sure how much longer they can hold out.”
“Hopefully long enough for us to make the jump to hyperspace.” Leia glanced out the viewport, watching the massive Mega Star Destroyer observing the battle from a distance. Soon, the Raddus would be within its line of sight and targeting range. Was that what the First Order was waiting for? Were they simply toying with them, playing the waiting game?
For a brief instant, she felt a chill come over her. She had sensed it before when her son had briefly passed by in his TIE fighter… but this time it felt closer. As if the source of it was in the same room as her.
She looked around the bridge, her eyes roving from Kaydel and Vober, to Ackbar and Helricks, before finally landing on Rey and Finn.
Then the sensation vanished. Just like that, as quickly as it had appeared.
Masking a frown, Leia returned her attention to the viewport and watched as the next two freighters ahead of the Raddus made the jump to lightspeed. Due to her priorities and focus on the Resistance, she had not been able to keep up on her Jedi training as much as she would have liked. As such, she wasn’t sure if what she had felt was merely her own dread getting the best of her or something more. Right now, she was too distracted by everything around her to figure that out.
She held her breath as the Raddus reached the marked jump point. The Supremacy was in clear view, and Leia was certain that it went both ways. If the Mega Star Destroyer wanted to fire on the Star Cruiser and destroy it, it could; they could not have been in a clearer position.
But the massive vessel remained stationary and did not fire any of its weapons. Meanwhile, the TIE fighters continued to swarm around the Errant Venture, battling Resistance fighters and not once breaking off to prevent their escape. The other three Star Destroyers continued firing on the D’Qar base, not paying the Resistance ships any heed.
This had to be deliberate. It had to be a trick. But to fulfill what end?
Leia could feel that her apprehension was shared by everyone else on the bridge. Nonetheless, Kaydel kept a calm composure as she spoke.
“General, we’re ready to make the jump to lightspeed.”
Leia kept her eyes on the Supremacy as she gave the order. “Do it.”
The distinct hum of the hyperdrive engaging filled the bridge as the stars began to elongate into thin white lines. Leia closed her eyes as the Raddus lurched forward into hyperspace, leaving the battle behind.
* * *
“They did it! The fleet is away!”
“Great,” Poe replied over his comm. “Time that we do the same.” He banked hard to the right to avoid an incoming TIE fighter, which Lensi then flew in to obliterate. So far the Rogues had managed to hold it all together despite their differences, although some of the other squadrons had lost some fighters to the onslaught of TIEs.
Switching comms to the Errant Venture, Poe said, “Booster, General Organa and her fleet are away. We need to get out of here before those Star Destroyers get bored with firing on the base.”
“Easier said than done,” the old smuggler replied. “Those Destroyers are blocking our path and we can’t get our systems stabilized enough to make a jump. Our best hope now is that the Wild Karrde makes it here to buy us some time.”
Poe frowned as he turned his attention to the scene unfolding before him. Looking past the TIEs, he saw that the Star Destroyers were slowing their bombardment. By this point, there couldn’t have been much of a base left for them to destroy. With the base gone and the fleet having escaped, there would be nothing left to target but the Errant Venture and the fighters protecting it. With the state that the older, crimson-painted Star Destroyer was in now, it would stand no chance against three Resurgent-classes and a Mega-class. Not unless something was done about them….
Switching comms again, Poe said, “Rogue Leader to Gold Leader. Do you copy?”
“I copy, Rogue Leader,” responded Aftab Ackbar. “What is it?”
“Can you and your bombers perform a run on one of those Star Destroyers before they turn their attention to us?”
Hesitation preceded the young Mon Calamari’s response. “Maybe. It would be pretty risky though, especially if the other two start targeting us in response.”
“Don’t worry, we can provide cover fire. We just need to draw these TIEs away from the Errant Venture so it can make the jump to lightspeed.”
“Hmm.” Aftab audibly considered the idea. “We might be able to pull that off. Blue Leader, any thoughts?”
Poe chewed on his lip in mild frustration. Among the pilots in the Resistance, even during his days in the New Republic Starfighter Corps, he had always been seen as something of a maverick, and his plans always treated as if they were the words of a madman. Despite his impressive record and experience as a pilot, his ideas were always treated with caution and doubt; even from younger pilots like Aftab, who tended to stick closer to the rules and regulations. It was something he should have been used to by this point but it still frustrated him to no end.
To his relief, Tallie’s voice crackled through and said, “It’s a good a plan as any. Let’s do it before they remember we’re here.”
“Copy that,” said Aftab. “Bombers, form up on me.”
Poe watched as the squadron of Y-wing bombers broke off and headed in the direction of one of the Star Destroyers, prompting some of the TIE fighters to take pursuit. At his command, the Rogues formed up and followed the pursuing TIEs, followed shortly by Blue Squadron. The TIEs that had been swarming around the Errant Venture quickly picked up on what they were doing and started to go after them.
Over his comm, Poe heard Booster growl into his ear. “I hope you know what you’re doing, Dameron.”
“Yeah,” Poe replied. “So do I.”
The Errant Venture
Not long after Poe and his fighters had broken off to attack the Star Destroyers, space briefly warped as an old brown Action VI transport dropped out of hyperspace near the Errant Venture’s position.
“About damn time you guys got here,” Booster growled into the comm as the Wild Karrde moved to defend the older model Star Destroyer from its newer counterparts. “Always have to make a dramatic entrance at the last minute.”
“Booster, I’d love to banter with you,” Talon Karrde responded dryly. “But we’ve gotta make this quick. We’ve got a situation brewing in the Mandalore sector.”
Toah sensed some nearby disquiet and he glanced at Kyla Kishanti. He knew that two of her Renegades were Mandalorians, but had noticed that neither of them had been present when the other Renegades had rescued him from the Galactic Alliance Guard. He hadn’t thought to inquire about their presence, and he wasn’t sure if it would be appropriate to do so right at this moment.
Booster grimaced but did not press Karrde on the matter, instead shouting out orders at his crew to prepare the hyperdrive. As the crew got to work, Toah glanced in Kyla’s direction and caught the Mirialan’s blue eyes. Resigning himself to a line of questioning he probably shouldn’t have been pursuing, he decided to speak, keeping his tone hushed so that Booster did not overhear.
“Where are your two Mandalorian crew members? They weren’t with you when you rescued me.”
Kyla held his gaze evenly. “Why do you want to know?”
“They went to Mandalore, didn’t they?” Toah went on. “I’ve heard that the First Order has been encroaching on the sector.”
Kyla sighed as she looked away. “Kadar ran into his father-in-law, and he and Vessin decided to go with him to Mandalore to check on the situation. They left after informing us that Booster had a spy on his ship. Kadar told me that they would be rendezvousing with us at Natalon, but… obviously, that wasn’t the case.”
“Have you tried contacting them since then?”
Kyla shook her head. “Haven’t had the chance.”
Toah nodded in understanding before turning his attention back to the rest of the bridge. At that moment, the Togruta comms officer spoke up from his station.
“Captain, we’ve got an unidentified shuttle approaching us. Appears to be a Xi-class light shuttle originating from… from the Supremacy.”
“Either ignore it or shoot it down,” Booster growled.
“But, sir, it’s hailing us.”
“I don’t care. Just shoot it—”
Without warning, almost as if it had a mind of its own, the overhead viewscreen lit up and Toah instantly felt a cold chill again, this one stronger than the other two he had felt earlier.
Displayed on the screen was the face of a weary young man, brown hair tousled over dark foreboding eyes. In the background was a woman with short dark hair, and in her arms was a child no older than five or six.
It did not take Toah long to deduce that the two adults were Varon Sendor and Lysira Naris. Both of them had once been Sith Lords no more than a year ago, and were essentially the root cause of everything the galaxy was dealing with now.
And yet, the chill he felt came from neither of them.
It came from their child.
The child’s eyes looked past his parents, through the viewscreen, and past everyone on the bridge of the Errant Venture, before finally reaching the eyes of Toah Jarsan.
Then, the child smiled.
As Toah felt his heart catch in his throat, the man on the viewscreen said, “I presume I am speaking to Captain Booster Terrik of the Errant Venture?”
Booster narrowed his eyes as he crossed his arms. “You are. What do you want?”
“My name is Varon Sendor. But you might know me better as Darth Taral.”
Murmurs broke out among the bridge crew but Booster quickly waved them silent. “Go on,” he said warily.
“I am surrendering myself to the Resistance to answer for my crimes. Any fate you have in store for me, even if it is death, is sure to be light-years better than whatever fate awaited us in the hands of the First Order.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Booster grunted. “Normally I would give this more time to deliberate, but given the circumstances… fine. I’ll have your shuttle pulled into our hangar. As soon as you’ve docked, we’ll be making the jump to lightspeed. If you pull anything funny—”
“You’ll atomize us.” Varon nodded. “I understand.”
“Sure you do.”
Toah opened his mouth to protest but the words died in his throat as Booster pressed the switch to end the call. The last thing he saw was the child still smiling at him, the boy’s eyes burned into his memory.
* * *
Even before the Resistance fighters had started their bombing run on one of the Star Destroyers, Kylo Ren had already been ready to give the order to withdraw from the system.
The objective had been accomplished. The Resistance Base was destroyed. The fleet had already fled, or were in the process of it. There was nothing left to be done; they had delivered the message they had intended to send.
At least, that’s what he told himself. That was how he had justified it to General Hux. That was the only justification he needed.
Or so he told himself.
Mere moments after the Y-wing bombers had begun to unload their payload on the Finalizer, Kylo Ren gave his order. “All forces, withdraw to the rendezvous point. We are done here.”
“But, sir, the Resistance fighters—” General Hux’s voice crackled through his comm.
“I said we are done here, General. That is an order.”
“Executor,” Hux spoke the word with thinly-veiled disdain, “I must object. We have an opportunity to annihilate their starfighter squadrons. Our shields are at full capacity and their bombers won’t stand a chance against—”
“I GAVE YOU AN ORDER, GENERAL, AND I EXPECT YOU TO FOLLOW IT!”
Even in space, the stars seemed to have been silenced by Kylo Ren’s outburst. After a long moment, he heard Hux draw in a deep breath before responding.
“As you command. Executor.”
Satisfied that he had gotten through to the general, Kylo Ren relayed the order to his fighters before flying his TIE silencer back to the Supremacy. None of the Resistance fighters pursued him, no doubt caught off-guard by the sudden retreat, and they flew around in disarray as the Star Destroyers began to turn and reorient themselves to make the jump to hyperspace.
In the time it took for Kylo to land his fighter, disembark, and make his way to the bridge, the Supremacy had already jumped to hyperspace ahead of the rest of the fleet. Waiting for them there was Captain Yago, who turned to face the Executor with a grave expression on his face.
“Sir, I tried to contact you, but—” Yago started to say.
“What is it?” Kylo snapped.
“The prisoners. They… they escaped. Stole a Xi-class light shuttle from our hangar. I’m not sure how they managed it—”
Kylo stepped closer to the other man, the Force tightening around them. “What prisoners?” he growled.
Yago swallowed hard. “The man and the woman. And their child.”
“And you didn’t stop them?” Kylo spoke the words quietly, but they came out like a thunderous storm to the captain’s ears.
Yago swallowed again, his throat constricting slightly as the veins in his temples became more prominent. “We didn’t detect them, sir. Well, we did, but only after they had—”
Kylo Ren didn’t remember activating his lightsaber. He didn’t remember swinging it at Captain Yago. He didn’t remember watching the man’s lifeless body falling to the deck. Nor did he question its presence as he stepped over it and departed swiftly from the bridge. He ignored the eyes that trailed him as he left, focusing only on the whirlwind that was raging in his mind and heart.
My chains are broken, he told himself. Vorath was gone. Snoke was supposed to be gone. He was supposed to be in control.
And yet, even as he ascended the turbolift to the throne room that now belonged to him, he felt anything but free.
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