The Call of the Light (COMPLETE)

CHAPTER 17

Base Haven-Planet Arbra- Outer Rim:

"Poe! What happened? Where are Leman Drill and the rest of the people of Naboo?" the general asked.

The pilot had just burst into the command room, his face grave, followed by Chewbacca and BB-8. He rubbed his forehead before speaking to convince himself that this was not all just a terrible nightmare.

"They're dead," he gasped as he dropped into one of the chairs next to Leia's.

All the rebels in the room froze in horror.

"What?" the princess gasped.

Chewie confirmed Poe's words with a mournful tone.

"But I don't understand!" she stammered. "Maz's men ..."

"They're dead too."

Leia's heart skipped a beat. Oh Maker, she would not survive long if she had to constantly hear such news. The pilot seemed to pull himself together and recounted his story.

He and Chewie had landed on Derra near Maz's checkpoint to find only a field of ruins. Everything had been ransacked and corpses littered the ground. Mercenaries and Naboo civilians had been massacred without mercy. After inspecting the bodies, they found no survivors, and no trace of the small orange-skinned woman. On the other hand, they had discovered the body of Leman Drill in one of the rooms of the complex. He was dead too, his face swollen and purplish. Chewie had recognized the effects of a very powerful poison extracted from an animal called a Gorm-worm. He had leaned over to inspect the emissary, and had noticed that he was still wearing Megarana's ring.

Dameron pulled the piece of jewelry from one of his pockets and handed it to Leia. The general, on the verge of tears, looked at him for a long time, then rose from her seat, leaning heavily on her cane. She then pressed one of the small stones mounted on the side of the ring before depositing it on the surface of the holocom in front of her.

An image of the camp appeared on one of the screens fixed on the wall, facing them. Poe then realized that the ring was equipped with a micro-camera, and that Leman Drill had recorded everything that had happened on Derra.

The First Order troops had landed shortly after their return from M'haeli and had started executing everyone. Leman was hidden near one of the windows of the main building. Maz's men had resisted at first, but they had soon been overwhelmed. The scene now showed the tall figure of a man in a long black coat with a lightsaber who forced Maz to kneel in the middle of the yard and commanded her to tell everything she knew about the Resistance, or she would see her men shot one by one. He was one of the Knights of Ren, and when the camera zoomed in on the stranger's face, everyone had a clear glimpse of his red skin streaked with black patterns and the spiky horns on his head. Maz's companions were executed but the little woman remained standing there silently, eyes closed, waiting for her turn to come. When there were no more men standing, the Zabrak ordered that the prisoner be seized and lead to a transport shuttle. Then Maz had been escorted away by a quartet of stormtroopers.

"She may still be alive," Larma D'Acy whispered.

"They will not kill her right away. They took her to try to make her talk, make her give up information about us. They'll torture her for that," the general explained, her voice broken.

The video continued and the resigned face of Leman Drill appeared suddenly on the screen. The emissary addressed them directly.

"Leia, I am deeply sorry! I think they followed us when we escaped from Naboo. This is all my fault. There, Theed fell as well as Otoh Gunga. The First Order launched a whole battery of missiles at the lake. King Miggi Tan, his emissary Beccar Dugg and a good part of the Gungan people were able to flee before the arrival of the troops, and took refuge not far from the capital city. We must count on them now. They are safe and undetectable because of their shield, but if they try to contact you, they will be discovered. Hux probably thinks they're dead."