Dorn: A Star Wars Story

46. Fate

"He wants to take the fleet out of Exegol," Thesh muttered as he paced before our cadre of officers aboard the Apalis. He had called an emergency meeting to prepare for the inevitable arrival of the Resistance, and frankly, I was happy we decided to have our own quiet strategy meeting before everything The more prepared we were, the better everything would be in the long run. All of the Command teams had been present for it, and they were busy running calculations, taking notes, and strategizing amongst themselves. Sevens had joined us and was watching everything with a rather grim look on his face. I think in that moment that all of us realized how dire the entire situation was.

"Can't say I particularly like the idea of letting loose a fleet of planet killers," Sevens muttered, and all I could do was nod. Honestly, if the Resistance managed to destroy this fleet, I didn't think I would be upset.

"Sir!" Freis and Randd burst into the meeting room where Thesh, Sevens, and I were meeting with our command officers. "Reports just came in. The Resistance appears to be gearing up for a full scale assault on Exegol!"

"How?" Sevens snapped his head to me. "They shouldn't have even been able to locate this place!"

"Reports say that the scavenger that Ren was obsessed with responsible for the destruction of Starkiller Base and the death of Supreme Leader Snoke managed to get the wayfinder from Ren. She's given the coordinates and path to the Resistance," Randd supplied as she turned to me, "What are your orders, sir?"

This wasn't a good situation in the slightest. "Get the entire team ready and at battle stations. Contact my battalion commanders. I want all of our TIEs ready to launch the second that they come out of hyperspace. Make one order very clear: when I give a retreat order, they are to go and find a place where they are safe and wait for further instructions if possible. If they hear nothing from me in forty-eight hours, they are to disband and consider the war lost. I am not giving them to Pryde and Sidious. Am I clear?"

"Crystal, sir," Freis nodded and left with Randd as I turned back to Sevens and Thesh.

"Does anyone else think that this is an incredibly risky move on their part?" I asked, looking around the room.

"They're apparently coming to us," Sevens frowned. "It's suicide."

Thesh froze at the console he had gone to in order to begin sending transmissions, "Shenna..."

"Thesh, I need you here and focused," I walked over and clapped his shoulder, making him begrudgingly nod. "What are they even expecting to happen here? Who are they expecting? The New Republic won't help them."

"What choice do they have?" Sevens asked as he began passing off datapads that some of his officers were handing him. "This new fleet is equipped with mobile Death Stars. We're forcing this fight."

"Damn you, Enric," Thesh snarled as he spun from the console, hands clasped behind his back. "The man I knew from the Alsakan academy was ambitious, but never stupid! Palpatine got his claws into him deep."

"Is there any chance you can talk him out of this fight, Thesh?"

"I've tried! He's obsessed with pleasing Sidious, but what he doesn't understand - or perhaps doesn't care about - is that Sidious views every last one of us as disposable pawns! What does it matter is ten thousand men die here so long as the Sith survive?"

"We'll make it through this. All of us!" I turned to the room full of nervous officers. I knew a lot of their faces from the Empire - good men and women who had followed us because they trusted us. I wasn't going to let them down.  "No matter what else happens, we stick together. We do our jobs and have one another's backs. The Resistance can't stop us so long as we are together. You have two of the best Admirals in this fleet," I turned to Thesh and Sevens, "so let's make every ship count."