Will of the Many~ Poe Dameron

Waged Wars

"Exegol?" The name sounded wrong coming from Poe's lips. He spoke poetry, love, rebellion. He couldn't say such dark words. "That's-"

Serena turned to him with fresh tears. "That's where Snoke wanted Kylo Ren and me to venture together. He said it had everything needed to destroy any free world."

"Any?" Finn asked. 

"All," she corrected herself. "It has everything Kylo Ren needs to destroy all free worlds." She looked to Finn with desperation brewing in her eyes. Her gaze slipped over to Poe who had gone ghostly pale. "The Darkness I felt earlier, it must have come from Exegol. That place harbors pure horrors, and now-"

Chewie cut her off with a small grumble. He pointed at something else in the text. They all turned to see what he had picked up on that they missed. 

Poe stepped up to Serena's side to take a closer look. "Palpatine?" He spoke another forbidden word. It was like a string of syllables mashing together. They didn't make any sort of sense coming from him, but she knew the name well. "This says that Palpatine has returned."

Serena found herself holding her breath as she read the entirety of the text. "Palpatine has been alive this whole time..." She lifted her hand to cover her mouth. "He's been behind the scenes, guiding Snoke, guiding Kylo Ren and me... He's been planning this for centuries." Her eyes moved down the text. "He has a fleet... he wants to start a war-"

"No," Finn corrected her. "He wants to end the war."

The room stilled as they understood the gravity of the situation. They sat in it for a single moment before they all stepped into action. 

"We have to get back to base."

"Chewie," Serena called out to the Wookie as she followed after Poe and Finn. "Stay and read the rest. Update us with anything else important." He growled his understanding as he stayed in the hub with R2. 

She turned and sprinted through the halls with the other two. Claude, a mechanic who had been repairing the ship tried to stop Poe. He said something in a language Serena didn't understand. 

"The sub-alternators are shot," Poe translated as he didn't stop running. "Do what you can, Claude. We have to get back to base stat." 

The moment they entered the cockpit Poe and Finn slid into their seats. Finn took up Chewie's seat to cover his slack. 

"I need to contact Leia," Serena told them as she took Poe's headset. She settled it over her head before she called back to base. "Base one, this is Serena. Leia, are you there?" She pressed the earpiece harder against her to hear through the crackling static. 

"Serena, this is Base One." It wasn't Leia's voice she heard, but she could recognize that tone anywhere. 

"Kaydel," she breathed out in relief. "Kaydel, I need you to listen very closely to me. We have the intel from the First Order's spy. You need to find Leia and tell her to gather everyone from the Resistance. They have to hear this."

"Serena-"

"We should be there in-" she turned to Poe expectantly. 

"Ten minutes."

She looked back at the wall and pressed on the earpiece. "Ten minutes. You have to have everyone ready."

There was static through the earpiece. She wasn't sure why, but soon Kaydel's voice came through strong as she said, "We'll have everyone gathered. Just get back to us, Serena."

"I'll see you soon."

She took the headset off and set it on its stand before she fled the cockpit without another word. She jogged through the halls and jumped over a panel Claude had set on the floor. She didn't stop until she was back in the hub with Chewie. "Anything else?"