Force Destiny

Manipulation

"Phasma," Finn choked. "Impossible. You're dead." Ten stormtroopers formed a line in front of the trio, weapons raised threateningly. Ben's voice echoed through the comlink.

"Rey, are you there?"

"Ben," she whispered, relieved to hear his voice. She lowered herself behind one of the control systems, preparing for a fight. She had known what would happen if they were caught; they had no choice but to fight. They were severely outnumbered. She closed her eyes as tears fell onto the comlink in her hand. She wished he was there to fight with her.

"Change of plan." He sounded as if he was struggling with something, perhaps a heavy object in his path. It was the familiar crackle of his weapon that brought her attention away from the weapons in the front of the room. "I've got company."

She dried her tears before replying. "So do we."

"How?" There was a distant string of curses before she heard his voice closer, panicked. "Who?"

"I'm so sorry. We stormed the bridge. We killed everyone. But there was another clone. I killed him, but Phasma's here." There was another curse and then silence, not even the sound of the lightsaber. "Ben, what happened to you?"

"Ben?" He didn't respond, but she knew. He had changed the plan; something terrible had happened. Her fear for Ben was cast aside for a moment as she realized the consequences.

We failed.

Her heart sank into the same hopeless despair that it had in the throne room. The failure still stung as if it were yesterday. Ben had saved her, killed their enemy, and they had defeated the Praetorian guard together. It was over, she thought they had won, she thought her friends would be safe. Then she realized Ben had not turned as she had anticipated, and all hope had instantly been lost.

This time had been different. The stakes were even higher. Ben had done it, he had turned. Her friends were safe. The Resistance had a chance. Victory had been in their grasp; the galaxy had almost been saved. They could have ended it. There was so much hope, but here they were again. They had all failed. Even if it wasn't this moment or this day, they would die. The First Order had won. Why? Why would the Force intend for our destinies to end in failure?! The feminine voice at the front of the room broke through her thoughts.

"You insubordinate, traitorous scum," Phasma sneered. Rey peeked from behind her hiding place. The chrome armored stormtrooper raised her weapon at Finn. Rey activated her lightsaber, but Finn waved his hand to signal her to stand down. She did, because she trusted him, but she couldn't help wonder. What is your plan?

"Oh, I am traitorous scum?" Finn asked derisively. His eyes and weapon remained fixed on Phasma, but his other hand was sliding discreetly along a control panel. His finger flipped a switch. "Because the evidence might have burned up on Starkiller, but we both know the truth, Phasma. When you had my blaster to your head, you lowered the shield at Starkiller. You chose to save your own neck, rather than the thousands of stormtroopers who died when that base exploded. Yes, I'm a traitor. I left the First Order because I didn't believe in killing innocent civilians. I didn't want to be beaten down and controlled anymore! I didn't need a master to tell me what to do or how to think! But what about you? What would happen if your troops discovered the truth? What would happen if they knew that you were the greatest traitor of us all?"

Phasma's voice sounded impassive through the helmet, but Rey could almost hear the hint of fear underneath. "And why would anyone believe a lie like that?"

"Because they're not as stupid as you think. The shields were lowered. No one in the Resistance had the ability to lower those shields. Who else could have done it? And, more importantly, why would I lie?" Rey scanned the room in hope. Several stormtroopers lowered their weapons and looked at each other suspiciously.

Phasma would not be defeated that easily, however. Before any of the stormtroopers had a chance, she had fired her blaster a dozen times, felling every single trooper where they stood.

"You killed them!" Finn shouted. "You killed your own men! That's treason!"

"Yes, and I will kill as many as it takes to maintain order." Phasma pointed her weapon directly at Finn. "Any last words?"

"If I had a chance to reach every stormtrooper on this destroyer, I would tell them they are more than a number. I'm more than FN-2187. I am Finn, and they are someone too. I was taken from my family, I was trained to be a slave, but I am not a mindless clone. I would tell them that they are being controlled and manipulated by the First Order. I would tell them that the First Order does not appreciate the power and intelligence behind the army they treat as expendable. I would tell them that this ship is under attack, and they still have a choice. I would tell them to rise up. Rebel against the officers who control you! Find escape pods and shuttles and escape to the planet's surface. The Resistance will spare the defectors' lives! You don't have to go down with the First Order! There is nothing left for you here with captains like Phasma! There are more of us than there will ever be of them, and they have trained us to be warriors! That is what I would tell them all." He finished his speech and smiled.

"And as I said, disobedient scum, who would ever believe you?" He kept his blaster trained on her and moved to the control panel, overriding the emergency switch and opening the blast door.

"They will," he asserted.

"Finn, no!" Rose screamed. The door opened to stormtroopers with their weapons raised.

Rey lifted her weapon into a defensive stance. "What are you doing!?"

"Kill them," Phasma commanded the troopers. They moved forward into the room but trained their weapons on Phasma instead. "No!" she shouted. "Traitors!" The stormtroopers forced her onto her knees. Judicial troopers marched into the room. "He's a traitor! He's a liar!" she sneered.

"That's not what it sounded like to us," one of the stormtroopers argued. Immediately, Rey understood. She moved forward to the control panel. The main stormtrooper comm override switch has been flipped on. They had heard everything. And Finn had trusted them enough to open the blast doors to them. They removed Phasma's helmet and lowered her to her knees. The Judicial stormtrooper aimed a blaster at her head.

"No!" Finn shouted, and Phasma's piercing blue eyes found his. "Execution by blaster is too good for her."

"May I?" he asked the judicial trooper, who obligingly handed him the laser ax. As the other troopers held her shoulders, he knelt down and whispered something only she could hear. They lowered her to the floor. "Any last words?" he echoed.

"You will always be scum," she spat.

"Rebel scum," he smiled and heaved the ax down upon her neck.