Let It Burn

Will You Fight Or Will You Walk Away?

Finn frowned heavily, trying to get a better view. Frustrated, he glanced at Chewie, who was next to him, and held out a hand for the binoculars he had been using. The Wookie handed them over immediately and he scanned slowly along the First Order ranks. They were moving – the ranks were undulating – but not forward. He didn't understand what they were doing and tried to figure out what kind of trap they might be setting up.

The ranks of X-wings, A-wings, and others held their position, waiting for the First Order to make the first move. Instead, the TIE-fighters hung motionless in front of them as though they were empty. But Poe Dameron could see the pilots in some of them, and couldn't make sense of what they were doing. He waited, clenching his jaw, to see what they might do, and reported in to the General. If anyone had information, it would be her.

"What are they waiting for?" Leia asked, frowning at the viewscreens in front of her. The First Order was in position, but no one was moving. Attacking first was what she had expected, and she wondered if perhaps their scanning equipment had malfunctioned.

"General Dameron's report corroborates what we are seeing, General," one of her advisors relayed.

"General Finn is asking for orders, ma'am," another put in, sounding worried.

Running her hand across her face, Leia tried to calculate the First Order's tactic here. If it was meant to put everyone on edge, it was working.

Rey sat on the duracrete outside of the base, facing the sun. Her eyes were closed and she was concentrating very, very hard.

Leia Organa had been the scourge of the Empire for years before its destruction, though none of the generals of the Imperial Remnant currently in the room had met her personally. When her son revealed himself to them, they were stunned into silence – broken by the door opening and young General Hux coming into the room.

"Our troops are not responding!" he cried, then came to an abrupt stop as he took in Kylo Ren's weakened state and the governors' expressions, which ranged from shock to outrage.

"No," Kylo Ren agreed. "They're listening to someone else. Someone more powerful than any of us," he explained, sounding pleased.

The younger Hux's eyes narrowed as he looked from Kylo Ren to Skywalker and back. The old Jedi's eyes were wide so this seemed to be as much news to him as anyone else. "It's that girl, isn't it?" Hux snarled. "What a pity she didn't kill you when she carved up your face!"

Meeting his former rival's gaze, Kylo Ren smiled in that way that reminded Hux of something feral. "Yes, because then you and Snoke would have surely conquered the galaxy by now. How long would it have been before your father made you kill our leader? And how long before these other... complications found themselves meeting a similar fate?"

That was enough to incite them, and blasters were drawn all around the table, most pointed at one of the Hux family. Kylo Ren made a slight gesture, though it caused him to sink, exhausted, into the chair he'd claimed before, and the binders fell from Luke Skywalker's wrists. After an intent look at his nephew, he held up a hand and froze the whole assembly. The heads of the First Order twitched against his control but were powerless, and he smiled.

"Let's go home, Ben. I think your mother will be very glad to see us."

The TIE-fighters were still motionless and a warning shot did nothing to provoke them. "BB-8, what can you tell me?" Poe asked, frowning. The droid gave what readouts it could but nothing explained the odd behavior. Without orders from the General, he had no intention of attacking. Their enemy was virtually defenseless – they didn't even have their shields up.