Star Wars: A Resistance Story. Book 3

Chapter 20: Message from Beyond the Grave.

Few days ago, on Batuu:

"We're under attack! Protect the Supreme Leader!"

He knew they were coming. As soon as he had stepped on the planet, Ben knew they were here, waiting for them. After a quick glance at Ly'ra, the young man stepped inside the First Order Outpost. He had to take the message before the Resistance. Knowing that his apprentice would be perfectly capable of handling the attack, and even maybe have a contact with Leïa to warn her, he stepped further into the building, followed closely by Hux.

"My Lord, shouldn't we send some backups for your men outside?"

Ben tried his best to hold back an amused smile but he didn't slow down either. Without even looking back at the military, he went down the stairs and let out:

"My men as you say, can perfectly handle the situation. You shouldn't worry for them."

The young General glared at the Supreme Leader as he was stepping inside the Communication Room. He hesitated a moment, glanced behind him at the entrance of the Outpost, having a quick glimpse at Ly'ra as she was fighting back and swore between his teeth. The following second, he followed his superior inside the room as he was ordering:

"Give me the message!"

The Officers hurried as they were passing the mysterious message they accidently found few days ago. A voice, right from the grave, echoed into the room. Acting discreetly behind his back, Armitage Hux recorded the message on his personal communication device before hiding it in his uniform's pocket. After a quick glance, making sure no one had seen him, he turned towards the Supreme Leader.

"The Great Error is corrected. The day of victory is at hand. The day of revenge. The day of the Sith."

A heavy silence fell onto the room. The young Solo didn't move for several seconds, until an explosion could be heard next to the entrance door. The building shook violently. Ben understood that the Resistants were coming dangerously closer and knowing that they would reach the room in any second, he recorded the message quickly before facing Hux.

"Where did it come from?"

The General seemed to hesitate, but after having taken a deep breath, which highly annoyed his superior who was losing all this patience, he gave him the coordinates.

"We tried to trace the exact source, but it seems it was coming from an unmapped planet, in the Unknown Regions."

Ben frowned before nodding quickly. An idea had just popped in his mind and he quickly grabbed the coordinates from the General.

"Very well. Take your men and follow me."

"We're leaving Batuu my Lord? But... The Resistants?"

Leïa's son turned to face Hux and groaned:

"This planet is not a strategic point for us General! You and your men will join the General Allegiant Pryde on the Steadfast. I'll personally take care of Sheev Palpatine."

Hux tried to hold back an annoyed sigh and he nodded. The young man had a serious problem with Enric Pryde. Of course he respected the man for his work among the First Order and before that, among the Galactic Empire, but the Officer had always had a superior behavior towards all the other militaries. And since he was back in the headquarter of the Supreme Leader, Hux could feel that things were getting out of control. He then gestured to his men to leave the Outpost and followed Kylo Ren outside, discreetly making sure that his comlink was still in his pocket.

Once out of the building, Ben looked back. All the North part of the stone tower had been destroyed and several Stormtroopers were dead. He frowned slightly and tried to locate Ly'ra or even Switch, but none of them could be seen. He held back a swear and turned on his heels, followed by a squad of Stormtroopers and by all the Officers who were on Black Spire. The young Supreme Leader quickly joined the tarmac and jumped in a TIE Fighter while his men were gathering inside a shuttle. He knew exactly where he had to go. The coordinates given by Hux were those of a lost planet, and only one name came to his mind: Exegol. He also knew he would need a wayfinder Sith to locate it precisely and even more, to reach it. Thus, he left Batuu and headed towards Mustafar with a squad of Stormtroopers, where he knew his grandfather had kept an artefact that would help him a lot for the next part of his mission.

*******

Ben Solo had just time to land with his convoy that a group of soldiers blocked his way. The young man quickly grabbed his lightsaber and didn't lose time to start his attack. The Alazmec of Winsit was a group of fanatic religious. They honored Darth Vader's memory and their worship was really dark. Even if Ben was his heir, they still tried to kill him. Luckily for him, his determination and his anger overwhelmed his opponents who didn't stand a chance.

"Place is clear Sir."

The Supreme Leader headed quickly towards the ruins of Vader's palace. Without hesitating, he crossed several rooms before finding what he came for. A high stone ark was still in place, in the middle of another room. As if he was guided by an invisible hand, Ben broke it with his saber and moved the remains aside with a flick of his hand. There, right in front of him was a box with the symbol of the Eternal Sith.

"Got you..."

The young Solo grabbed the wayfinder he came for and a small satisfied smile appeared on his face.

"My Lord?"

His eyes still fixed on the artefact, Ben ordered:

"Join the General Pryde on the Steadfast. This is a mission I have to do alone."

"Yes Sir."

With this said, the Supreme Leader left his men behind and quickly joined his ship. With a father as Han Solo, modifying his Fighter so it can accept the wayfinder's technology, only took few minutes for him. Before jumping into his Whisper TIE, the young man closed his eyes and tried to locate Ly'ra to warn her about the progress of their mission. Unfortunately, he couldn't. Which wasn't good news for his apprentice. He was only hoping that she survived the explosion on Batuu.

With a rageous sigh, he jumped into his ship and took off. He couldn't lose more time as Exegol was at the other side of the Galaxy and his instinct was screaming that time was now counted.