Star Wars VIII: Stand of the Republic

21: Arrested

Poe's tactical scanner sounded its alarm in a series of rapid pulses to let him know a targeting computer had locked onto his fighter. BB-8 began beeping and whistling, but Poe didn't have time to listen. Because power was required for thrusters to compensate for high speed turns, Poe cut his engines by half to allow tighter and faster maneuvers. Poe threw the controls hard over and dropped the left wing as he spun while turning to the side.

Red lasers flashed through the space his ship had been occupying a moment before. BB-8 was beeping frantically nonstop.

"I know, buddy!" Poe called out, trying to calm the stressed droid while putting the ship into another spin in a direction he hoped the Republic gunners wouldn't anticipate. "It looks like someone doesn't want us to leave. Well, that's just too bad."

Poe dived and weaved, his modified x-wing being even more maneuverable than the standard fighter. The Republic cruiser had weapons designed for shooting larger, slower moving capital ships, but Poe was simply too agile for the cruiser to land a hit.

As Poe continued his spatial acrobatics, he started to enjoy himself, laughing and pointing out to BB-8 to watch his next one. He put the fighter in a barrel roll and caused the canopy to pass directly over the bright red lasers fired toward him.

BB-8 whistled sharply at him, and the smile fell from Poe's face.

"Right," Poe agreed, all mirth draining away. "We're on a mission. Sorry."

Splitting his attention between the tactical scanner and the display showing the interdictor's gravity field, Poe used his maneuvers to extend the distance between himself and the Republic fleet. Eventually, his speed let him escape their effective weapon's range. Not needing to dodge incoming fire, Poe set a straight course and returned the throttle to maximum.

"Get the hyperdrive ready," he told BB-8. "I want a course set for the next system over, doesn't matter which one, just make sure we can send a transmission for reinforcements when we get there."

BB-8 acknowledged with a trio of short bleeps as the x-wing raced toward the edge of the interdictor's gravity field.

In the control room of the cruiser, Finn and Rose had been holding their breath while Poe had been under attack. They relaxed when they saw him escape the fleet, but it was temporary as Holdo turned on them.

"You have doomed us all!" she shouted, turning her blaster to aim at Finn. "At least we can eliminate two spies."

"I don't think so, Vice Admiral," Captain Varnel denied. Stepping forward to stand beside Finn, the Captain had his blaster out and pointed at Holdo. A graying beard covered the lower half of his face, and his green eyes stared resolutely at the Vice Admiral. "Poe didn't defect to the First Order fleet as you accused, nor did the First Order to do anything to retrieve what you claimed was their 'valuable agent.' Your accusations have been proven false, and these people are guilty of nothing more than trying to save Republic lives."

"They've endangered all of us," Holdo's aide protested, shifting to stand near the Vice Admiral. "We can't allow people to violate the chain of command just because they feel like it."

Several more stepped forward, either supporting Finn and Rose or declaring their backing of Holdo. It didn't take long until more than a dozen blasters were aimed at opposing Republic forces.

"This is not the time for fighting among ourselves!" Rose shouted. "The First Order, who wants to kill all of us, is still chasing us. They won't care about any of this, and if we want to stay alive, we've got to stop fighting each other."

"Quite right," Varnel agreed. "Guards! Arrest all three of them and put them in confinement until we reach base and the courts can sort things out then. Right now, we're escaping the First Order, and I command my ship."

The four guards looked at each other before agreeing with a collection of slight nods of their helmets. As the crew put away their blasters, some more reluctantly than others, the guards escorted Finn, Rose, and Holdo from the room, taking the Vice Admiral's weapon in the process.

"Helm!" the Captain commanded. "Continue at best possible speed toward the edge of the interdictor field. I want the hyperspace route plotted and in the navicomputer before we get there. Is that clear?"

"Aye, Captain," came the swift response.

Finn, Rose, and Holdo were escorted down to the brig. Not a word passed between them, but Holdo was looking at Finn and Rose as if wishing her stare could reduce them both to ashes. When the lift arrived at the brig, Finn was put into the first cell, and Rose was allotted the second.

"I'll take it from here," one of the guards offered. Having already delivered their prisoners, the other guards nodded and departed.

The single guard left alone with Holdo took out the blaster he'd confiscated from the Vice Admiral and returned it to her.

"Forgive me, Vice Admiral," the guard apologized. "The situation was getting out of hand, and I had to get you out of there before anyone started shooting. There are those still loyal to the Republic who respect the chain of command."

"Good work, soldier," Holdo praised as she took the weapon from his outstretched hand. "The Republic was founded by rebels who fought against authority. It's not surprising some of that tendency still lingers on in their people."

"At least, the First Order spies are contained," the guard pointed out.

"Small comfort," Holdo grumbled. "Most of the crew has served with the Captain for years and will follow him blindly. If we're going to have any chance of saving this fleet, we need to act quickly to retake this ship."

Holdo paced momentarily before she snapped her fingers.

"I've got it," she declared in a soft voice to avoid being overheard by anyone in the hallway. "Come with me."

Knowing there were soldiers outside the door, Holdo and her escorting guard opened a maintenance access hatch and left the brig by a less direct route to begin enacting her plan.