When darkness turns to light
It ends tonight,
It ends tonight.
Just a little insight won't make this right
It's too late to fight
It ends tonight,
It ends tonight.
It Ends Tonight- All American Rejects
Ajan Kloss was a mass of roiling uneasy energy as former enemies worked side-by-side to prep for the invasion of Exegol. The air was constantly filled with the hum and scream of various engines as First Order, Naboo, Hapan, and Resistance forces flew practice formations. On the ground, stormtroopers ran drills alongside their Resistance brethren. More than one scuffle broke out as one side took offense to something the other said but was quickly broken up by cooler heads.
Above it all, a fleet of 75 capital ships floated in orbit as though observing the preparations with a cool indifference. Of them, five were Resistance craft, five were Nabooan, and the other 65 were almost evenly split between the First Order and Hapes. The two largest by far were Kylo Ren's Equinox and Isolder's Song of War.
Deep inside the Equinox a large group of leaders surveyed a hologram of a foreign planet surrounded by asteroids, all deep in thought. Despite the chaos on the ground below, the leadership was collected, even the Supreme Leader's famous temper doused with the severity of the situation. They all knew the stakes.
Succeed or be destroyed.
"They'll need a guidance tower to leave the atmosphere, the ships are too large to navigate without one," General Entonon of the First Order said to the collected group.
"General Entonon, where are Grand Admiral Denos and Allegiant General Pryde?" Kylo Ren asked his subordinate with no trace of his usual menace but with a deep suspicion.
"My Lord, they, the Steadfast, hasn't responded to any of our calls. They've gone completely dark," the general replied, unsure if he should be relieved or terrified of his leader's calm, cool tone.
The Supreme Leader swore loudly, cursing out his two highest ranking officers as traitors, causing Entonon to shrink backwards. Then, the most amazing thing happened. The Princess placed her hand lightly on Ren's shoulder and the cursing ceased, the calm restored. He met her hazel eyes, only for a second before looking away lest the Supreme Leader notice.
"We have to find that tower and destroy it. The fleet will be trapped there," said Finn.
"Good idea Finn," Rey replied.
"The same asteroid field that makes their ships difficult to get out of atmosphere make it difficult for us to get ours in," Admiral Tenshin of the First Order said. "We can use that to our advantage.
Prince Isolder turned to look at the woman in her dark navy uniform. "Are you proposing a blockade?"
"Yes," she nodded. "We can pick out any ships that manage to escape from the planet."
"A sound strategy," agreed General Organa-Solo.
"In the meantime, how are we going to destroy 25,000 Star Destroyers?" asked Commander Poe Dameron with none of his usual sarcasm.
"I, uh, actually have an idea about that," Rose Tico timidly raised her hand.
"Go ahead, Rose." Rey gave a small smile of encouragement.
Taking control of the holotable, Rose brought up two holograms side-by-side, one of an old Imperial-class Star Destroyer and one of the new Xyston-class Destroyers that made up the Sith Eternal Fleet.
"I've been analyzing the data we collected about that new type of ship. We actually managed to get some pretty decent scans during the battle. It's built like an old Imperial ship, but look at the main underbelly cannon." She zoomed in. "I couldn't figure out why they didn't fire it, a cannon that size could easily have knocked the Fulcrum out of the sky."
YOU ARE READING
Confronting Fear
Fanfiction"When I offer you my hand again, you'll take it." What if Kylo Ren had been right? What if Rey had taken Kylo Ren's hand when he offered it the second time, deciding her best chance at defeating Palpatine and saving the galaxy was with him? But can...
