Stormtroopers poured in from the other end of the bridge, and out from the side rooms. For a brief moment Luna considered putting up a fight. They were a good thirty feet away, and she had Hoshi and Mara, not to mention Vix and Twitch. It was a small window, but a window nonetheless.
She lowered her blaster. The other Nexu saw her capitulation and followed suit. In a few seconds the stormtroopers were on them, shoving them roughly to the floor, disarming them, shoving blasters in their faces to keep them compliant, though they needn't have bothered. They had won this round, and they all knew it.
'That's quite enough,' said a soft, deep voice, and the armoured legs and blasters disappeared from her vision, to be replaced by just two ligs and to boots so polished that Luna could almost perfectly see her reflection. At some point, she saw, she had received a graze on her left cheek. She hadn't even felt it. She craned her neck to see the major standing above them. He gestured to the stormtroopers, and she and the other Nexu were dragged to their feet. She stood to her full height and looked down upon the major. He looked so young. She couldn't believe how young. 'Welcome, Tane. Commander Loran will be so pleased to see you,' his words were a taunt, a clear provocation, though his face remained studiously passive. She tried to think of a comeback, something to spoil that placid look, but her mind was busy calculating. Always calculating. She looked around her, at D'Morr, at the stormtroopers, at the officers and technicians still busy at their consoles. 'Where's Face?' she said instead. Play for information. Always play for information. An opportunity for freedom hadn't presented itself yet, so best to gain as much information as possible.
'Oh you'll see him soon enough,' he replied coolly. 'He's waiting for you,' he turned to the stormtroopers surrounding Mara. 'Take her to the holding cells. She will await Supreme Leader Ren's arrival.'
'Wait,' Luna said urgently, feeling her alarm rise. 'Keep her here, just for the moment. I want to talk. Commander to commander.'
'You're commander of nothing,' he gestured to the other Nexu beside her. 'I have you. I have your people. You're a commander of nothing.'
Luna turned to the others behind her, thinking, willing them to be quiet. He thinks this is everyone, she thought. Then he didn't find the others in the shuttle. Good. She may have thrown a spanner in her own plan, but not everything was lost.
'I just want to talk,' she repeated, but was interrupted by a comm technician.
'Sir,' he said. 'Sirs. We're receiving a signal,' she recognised the voice of the same comm technician that Ro'vena had spoken to on their approach.
'What is it?' D'Morr barked.
'Unclear, sir,' he said. 'It appears to be a distress signal.'
'Where is it coming from?'
'Is this important?' the major interrupted sharply. His lip twitched, just for a moment, but Luna spotted the irritation peaking out from under the surface. This was ruining his moment.
'No, please, captain,' Luna spoke up mockingly, staring at the major. 'What's the issue? Surely you can't ignore a distress signal.'
'She's right, Shayde,' said D'Morr. 'Scum as she is, you don't ignore that sort of thing.'
Shayde gritted his teeth. 'Alert the Vengeance. They can deal with it.'
'You do not give orders to my crew, Shayde,' D'Morr said belligerently.
Shayde turned to the captain. 'While you are under the command of the Security Bureau you are under my command. Do you understand?'
D'Morr silently seethed, then turned to the comm technician. 'Send a message to the Vengeance.'
'Sir,' the technician said. 'I can't raise them. Wait! I'm receiving another distress signal. I don't understand?'
'What exactly do you not understand, lieutenant?' D'Morr barked, taking their anger out on the one person he could safely take their anger out on.
The lieutenant paled. 'It's coming from us, sir. We're sending a distress signal.'
'What are you talking about?'
The technician was saved from stammering his reply as another officer spoke up from further in the trench. 'Sir!' she said. 'Incoming vessels, dead ahead!'
Seemingly as one, First Order and Nexu alike, they all turned to look out the window. Three star destroyers appeared in a flicker of pseudomotion in front of them, the lead bearing down on them rapidly. Beneath their feet, the floor of the star destroyer shook.
'We're under fire!' said another officer.
'Shields!'
'What is happening?' D'Morr yelled as sirens wailed, and about them voices started yelling information, orders, and out of fear. Luna continued to look out the window, watching as the lead star destroyer trained its lasercannons on them, and fired.
The Terror shuddered beneath them again and again under the barrage. D'Morr turned to the comm technician. 'Tell them to stop!' they yelled. 'What is the meaning of this?'
The comm technician swallowed, and then said in a quiet voice. 'It's the distress signal, sir. It says we've been compromised, taking over by the Resistance. It says to enact the Scorched Earth protocol. It says to destroy us.'
Luna felt eyes on the back of her head, and she slowly, casually turned to face D'Morr, and then to Shayde. She couldn't resist a smirk as she said, 'Oops.'
