Star Wars VIII: Stand of the Republic

24: Taking the Ship

The blasters firing outside slowly diminished until all became silent. The small room where Poe waited was nothing more than a storage closet for repair parts. No other exits were available, so he had no choice but to wait. Poe's gun hand was shaking slightly, so he wrapped both hands around the blaster's grip to steady his aim.

The door vanished into the ceiling as Poe's finger started to tighten on the trigger. Poe managed to keep from firing and lowered his weapon when he saw into the hangar bay. Scattered across the ground was the dead boarding party of the First Order. The only person standing carried a humming blue lightsaber.

"General Solo," Poe breathed in relief. BB-8 beeped happily as Poe forced himself off the floor and back into a standing position.

"What's going on?" Leia questioned as she switched off her lightsaber. "When I woke up in the med bay, there were stormtroopers all over my ship."

"We've been boarded," Poe explained. "I just got back from a jump to a nearby system to call for reinforcements. They're on the way. We only have to survive until they get here."

"What are you talking about?" Leia pressed. She took a medpack from a wall mounted emergency kit and began treating the blaster wound on Poe's arm. "What are you doing flying missions? Didn't I revoke your flight status?"

"You did," Poe confirmed. "However, the fleet was in danger, so I took the fighter without permission. It was the only way."

"What danger?" Leia inquired. "We were making a straight run toward the edge of the interdictor's range."

"Vice Admiral Holdo changed the plan," Poe told her. "She wanted to offload everyone in transports onto the planet Crait and hope the First Order didn't notice. They'd destroy our ships and think us gone."

"And if the First Order didn't fall for it," Leia concluded, "we'd be trapped on a planet with no way to get our people or prisoners to safety. The First Order could pick us off at their leisure. I think I need to have a talk with Holdo."

"Last I saw, she was in the new control center on deck five," Poe informed her.

"Let's go," Leia directed, taking the lead toward corridor. Poe fell in step beside her with BB-8 rolling along at a matching speed.

"I did see multiple boarding ships on the way in," Poe cautioned. "There are probably more enemies onboard."

"I wouldn't worry," Leia said with a confident smile. She held up her lightsaber. "We can handle them."

The corridor leading to the primary lift system was filled with stormtroopers by the time Leia and Poe arrived. The First Order was cutting through the blast doors at the end of the hallway with a tripod mounted cutting torch. Leia switched on her lightsaber with a crack of energy that became a constant hum in the air. Helmets and blasters turned toward her.

"I'll give you one chance to surrender," Leia offered, raising her lightsaber into a fighting position. "Cease fighting the Republic and live in peace. I doubt the First Order would spare your lives if you returned in failure."

One of the stormtroopers fired at her, but Leia spun her lightsaber around and deflected the shot right back at him. The trooper kicked over backward and lay still.

"How about it?" Leia prompted. "Live in peace, die here, or die at the hands of your masters for failure. What will it be?"

A blaster clattered to the floor, followed a moment later by three more, then the corridor was filled with the noise of dropping weapons. When the final blaster landed on the decking, Leia gestured with her free hand, and the guns slid away from them and toward her like metal shavings to a magnet.

"A wise decision," Leia praised. She walked toward the troopers, and they stood aside for her and her humming blade.

Poe stood between her and the boarding party as she entered her passcodes to unlock the door. Dozens of blasters pointed in her direction, and a few fired on the troopers when their distinctive white armor was seen. Leia's lightsaber flashed as it lanced forward and intercepted the shots, preventing any harm to the unarmed troopers.

"They've surrendered," Leia announced. "Secure them for the time being."

"Yes, General," a nervous Lieutenant accepted. He motioned to his security teams who rushed out to collect the captives.

With no one to hinder them, Leia and Poe continued to the secondary control center.

"What's the situation?" Leia asked Captain Varnel as she walked into the room and assumed command once more.

"We've managed to secure the engine room, life support, and navigation," the Captain related to her. "However, the armory has been completely cleared out, and the Imperial forces are making a concentrated push toward the shield generators."

"Imperials?" Leia questioned. "Did the boarding parties breach the prison level?"

"No," Varnel denied. "Vice Admiral Holdo did. It was her access codes used to unlock the armory."

Poe's eyes went wide while Leia's jaw tightened.

"Status on the other boarding parties," Leia requested.

"Contained or defeated," Varnel replied. "We've taken some casualties, but other than what is held by the Imperials, the ship is ours."

"Well done," Leia commended. "Are we still on course to jump to light speed?"

"Yes, General," Varnel confirmed. "We should clear the gravity field in less than eight minutes."

"Maintain," Leia instructed. "I'm going to the shield generator."

Leia turned and headed toward the exit. She paused when she noticed Poe.

"You did good," Leia said loudly enough for everyone to hear. "Your flight status is reinstated."

Without waiting for a reply or acknowledgement, Leia entered the lift and descended to the power generator level. Before the doors opened, she switched on her lightsaber. The Imperials had been given their chance to live at peace with the Republic; they'd rejected it, and she had only one way to deal with them now.

A hail of blaster fire greeted her as the lift arrived, but Leia closed her eyes and called upon the Force. Its energy flowed through her arms and legs, granting her swiftness and precision. She glided one way and the other, lightsaber spinning around her to deflect or redirect every shot aimed in her direction. Blaster bolts struck the walls and floor around her in eruptions of white sparks. Unharmed, she swept toward her foes and cut them down in passing without even slowing her pace. Imperials wilted to the floor like grain before a harvester's blade until only Holdo remained.

Leia's lightsaber cut Holdo's blaster in half, leaving the purple haired woman defenseless. The glowing, humming blade moved to hover beneath the Vice Admiral's throat.

"It's time we had a talk," Leia told her former friend.