Wexley nodded slowly. “We’re not sure how to describe a weapon of this scale. Our people have come up with some ideas regarding the rapid overheating and subsequent implosion of a planetary core, but the mechanism to induce that so far escapes them.”
One of the oldest officers in the room gestured sharply, a look of horror on his face. “It’s another Death Star!”
Poe’s expression tightened. “I wish that were the case, Major Ematt. But in analyzing everything Finn has told us and coupling that with the information we have been able to gather, this is what we are facing.” He waved a hand over a nearby control. An image of the Death Star appeared beside that of the frozen world.
“This was the Death Star,” the pilot observed. Another control and the image shrank, down to near nothing, until it was a small sphere beside the cold planet. “This is what Finn tells us is called Starkiller Base.”
Leia stared at the invidious imagery. If not for the harsh fact that tens of millions of deaths were involved, the side-by-side comparisons would have been laughable. Once more, memories of the destruction of Alderaan flooded back and once more she had to force them aside.
“How can they power a weapon of such magnitude?” she asked.
Poe and Ackbar looked to Finn. Unsure of himself, he hesitated. He was no scientist, no engineer, not even a technician. Yes, he had overheard a number of related conversations, but given what was riding on what up until now had been only hearsay to him, he was reluctant to share them.
Sensing his hesitation, Leia was quick to prompt him. “Finn, please speak up.”
He looked across at her. “I’m not sure of the authenticity of what I’ve heard or been told.”
“Whatever it is, it’s volumes more than anything we know,” she assured him. “Tell us, and let our technical people be the judge of your words.”
Taking a deep breath, he gestured at the image of the base. “As you already know, I was assigned there. In the course of performing my duties, I was rotated to multiple locations around the planet. One is on the side opposite from where the weapon is discharged.”
An incredulous Statura cut him off. “The weapon system is situated on both sides of the planet?”
Finn looked at the admiral. “Not only is it located on both sides, the system actually runs through the planetary core.”
Murmurs of disbelief rose from those gathered around the projection console.
“As near as I understand it,” Finn continued, “enormous arrays of specially designed collectors use the power of a sun to attract and send dark energy to a containment unit at the core of the planet, where it is held and built up inside that containment unit until the weapon is ready to fire.”
“Impossible,” Ackbar insisted. “Although we know there is more dark energy in the universe than anything else, and that it exists everywhere around us, it is so diffuse that it can barely be detected. Let alone concentrated.”
Finn persisted, despite the discomfort he felt at disagreeing with someone of Ackbar’s rank and experience. “It can be, and it is,” he responded with certainty.
Statura, at least, seemed ready to believe. “If the engineering could be worked out,” he observed, “one would have access to an almost literally infinite source of energy.”
Finn nodded. “General Hux told us it’s the most powerful weapon ever built. He said that it can reach halfway across the galaxy.” Fresh murmurs of disbelief greeted this latest assertion. “And in real time. Because it doesn’t reach across the galaxy; it reaches through it.” He shook his head, which was starting to hurt from the effort of trying to explain what he had overheard but did not understand.
Han Solo understood, all right. Understood what had to be done.
“Okay, so it’s impossible, and it’s big. How do we blow it up?” The attention in the room shifted to him. His expression was knowing. “I don’t care how big it is; there’s always a way to do that.”
Having cut through the science, he waited for suggestions. None were forthcoming.
“We have to wait until the technical staff have run their detailed analysis,” Wexley said. “Then, once they’ve done that—”
Leia cut him off. Han grinned, but not so she could see it. She was good at cutting people off, he knew.
“We don’t have time to wait on analyses and scientific hypotheses. Han’s right. We have to act, and act now.” He eyed her in surprise—and concealed that reaction, too.
“This is the moment that counts,” she continued. “Everything we’ve ever fought for is at stake. We can’t wait on theories. We need something, anything, so we can fight back!” She straightened. “We have to take this weapon down before it can be used again.”
It was not surprising to her that it was Statura, the most senior officer in the room with an actual scientific background, who finally put forth a notion.
“I can’t prove this, but for this amount of power to be restrained until such time as it is released, or fired, there has to be some new, advanced kind of containment field.” He nodded toward Finn. “Our friend here confirms as much. The question is: What kind of field?”
“I heard that it involved the planet’s own magnetic field,” Finn told him, “and something more.”
“Yes, yes.” Statura was deep in thought. “A planetary magnetic field, even a strong one, would not be enough to contain the amount of energy that we have seen deployed. Also as you say, Finn, there is more involved. I am thinking some kind of oscillating field. If it oscillates rapidly enough, much less energy would be required to sustain it than if it was maintained at a steady state.”
“I don’t know about stuff like that.” Finn leaned into the holographic map and enlarged a section of planetary surface until a massive hexagonal structure came into view. “But this is where the containment and oscillation field control system is located.”
Statura was most pleased. “Excellent, Mr. Finn!” The admiral’s gaze traveled around the circle of colleagues. “But disabling this, while a relatively straightforward proposition, would not necessarily destroy the weapon—only render it temporarily unusable until the control system could be rebuilt.”
“We’d likely get only one shot at it,” Poe put in. “What Admiral Ackbar said about keeping it secret would only work as long as its location remains unknown. Once the First Order realizes that we know where it is, they’d throw everything they’ve got into defending it with ships, mobile stations, and long-range detectors. We might never get close to it again.”
Leia nodded agreement. “Then our first attack must succeed.” She looked across at Statura. “What do you recommend, Admiral?”
“Assuming for the moment that my hurried supposition is reasonably correct, the weapon would be at its most vulnerable when, as it were, it is fully loaded.” Once again he regarded the others. “If the containment field oscillator were somehow destroyed at that moment, it would release the accumulated energy not in a line of fire, but throughout the planetary core where it is being held. If it did not result in the complete destruction of the base, at the very least it would permanently cripple the weapon.”
His flare of white hair and beard giving him the look of a prophet, Major Ematt spoke up. “Maybe even the entire planet on which it’s based.”
As the discussion continued, an officer appeared and handed Leia a readout. She studied it intently as the debate swirled around her.
“None of this is possible,” a downcast Ackbar postulated. “While the planet in question may at present be deliberately underdefended, the instant we move forces out of hiding and in its direction, the First Order will realize that we know the location of the weapon. They will mobilize everything in the vicinity to protect it. Their fleet is too large for us to fight our way through. Additionally, despite what Poe theorizes, I would wager they must already have at least a minimal planetary shield in place. Plain
ly, they can access the energy to support such a defense.” He looked at Finn, whose reply was not encouraging.
“Yes, such a shield does exist.”
“The situation could not be worse,” C-3PO murmured.
Raising a hand for attention, Leia held up the readout. “According to this, we don’t have time to study the situation even if we decided to do so. Our team has detected an enormous quantity of dark energy surging toward the world Finn has identified for us. That can only mean one thing.” She paused for emphasis. “They’re loading the weapon again. I think we can all take a good guess as to what their next target will be.”
C-3PO lowered his golden head. “I was wrong. It can be worse.”
Seeing the downcast expressions of those around him, Poe reached out and indicated the containment control structure. “They may raise their shields, but if we can find a way past them, we can and will hit that oscillator with everything we’ve got.”
Han grinned broadly. “I like this guy.”
Ackbar remained pessimistic. “Any plan is pointless as long as their shields are in place. A proper planetary defense system, as this one is sure to have, will not allow for ‘a way past them.’ ”
Han was not so easily discouraged. “Okay, so first we disable the shields.” He turned to Finn. “Kid, you worked there. Whatcha got?”
Finn’s eyes slowly widened as he thought back. “I can do it. Shut down their shields. I—” He was nodding vigorously, as much to himself as to the others. “I know where the relevant controls are located.” Realization dampened some of his initial enthusiasm. “But I need to be there, of course. On the planet, with access to the location.”
“I’ll get you there.”
Gazing at Han, Leia saw something that had been absent from her life for a long, long time: Solo bravado. “Han, how?”
He grinned broadly at her. She had missed that, too, she realized.
“If I told you, you wouldn’t like it.”
An energized Poe took over. “All right, so we disable their shields, take out the containment oscillation controls, and destroy their big gun. Even if it can fire halfway across the galaxy and it’s too big for us to destroy, we can make sure it blows itself to pieces. Sounds like a plan. Let’s move!”
XV
IN THE VAST, darkened assembly chamber of Starkiller Base were only two figures: one tall and uncertain, the other looming and imperious. For all their isolation, they seemed to somehow fill the room.
There was as much curiosity in Supreme Leader Snoke’s voice as there was disappointment. “This scavenger—this girl—resisted you?”
“That’s all she is, yes. A scavenger from that inconsequential Jakku. Completely untrained, but strong with the Force. Stronger than she knows.” His mask off, Ren replied with what seemed to be his usual assurance. No one else would have sensed a difference. Snoke did.
The Supreme Leader’s voice was flat. “You have compassion for her.”
“No—never. Compassion? For an enemy of the Order?”
“I perceive the problem,” Snoke intoned. “It isn’t her strength that is making you fail. It’s your weakness.” The rebuke hurt, but Ren didn’t show it. “Where is the droid?”
Smooth and unctuous, the voice of General Hux rang out in the assembly hall before Ren could respond. “Ren believed it was no longer of value to us.” Turning, the quietly livid younger man followed the approach of the increasingly confident officer.
“He believed that the girl was all we need. That he could obtain from her everything necessary. As a result, although we cannot be certain, it is likely that the droid has been returned to the hands of the enemy.”
Though visibly angry, Snoke’s tone remained unchanged. “Have we located the main Resistance base?”
Hux was clearly gratified to be the bearer of good news. “We were able to track their reconnaissance ship back to the Ileenium system. We are coordinating with our own reconnaissance craft in the area in order to lock down the specific location of their base.”
Snoke replied with cold satisfaction. “We do not need it. Prepare the weapon. Destroy their system.”
Collected and composed as he was, Hux was not immune to surprise. “The system? Supreme Leader, according to the most recent galographics, at least two and possibly three habitable worlds circle Ileenium. Following the destruction of the Hosnian worlds, would it not be worthwhile simply to destroy their base and claim the remainder for the Order? We will have the location of the base within a matter of hours and—”
Snoke cut him off. “We cannot wait. Not even for hours. Hours that may permit as little as one ship to depart with the information that will allow them to find Skywalker. That would be one ship too many. The more time we give them, the more likely the chance, however slight, that they will find Skywalker and convince him to return to challenge our power. As soon as the weapon is fully charged, I want the entire Ileenium system destroyed.”
Daring to disagree, Ren took a step forward. “No—Supreme Leader, I can get the map from the girl, and that will be the end of it. I just need your guidance.”
“And you promised me when it came to destroying the Resistance you wouldn’t fail me.” The threatening figure of Snoke leaned toward Ren. “Who knows if copies of the map have already been made and sent out of the system, to other, minor Resistance outposts? But those who are most aware of its significance will all likely be gathered at their main base. Destroy that, destroy them, and we may at least feel a little more confident that the way to Skywalker is eradicated. Even if copies have been made and exported, the annihilation of their leadership will give pause to any survivors who might dare to contemplate further resistance to us.” He sat back. “For that reason alone I would order the destruction of the system, even if there was no assurance it would also put an end to this accursed map.” He turned to Hux.
“General, prepare the weapon. With the same efficiency you have already demonstrated.”
“Yes, Supreme Leader!”
Buoyed by the praise, Hux turned and strode quickly out of the hall. That left Snoke to fix his eyes on its sole remaining occupant.
“Kylo Ren. It appears that a reminder is in order. So I will show you the dark side. Bring the girl to me.”
—
Slightly apart from the rush of activity that filled the Resistance base, an unlikely pair was going through the stages of performing a final checkout on an old but deceptively fast freighter. Chewbacca and Finn moved quickly to comply with Han’s orders.
“Chewie, check the horizontal booster.” A growling response provoked an equally terse one from the Millennium Falcon’s owner. “I don’t care what the onboard readouts say: There’s no substitute for a final visual inspection. You know that. Finn, careful with those dentons. They’re explosives.”
Halting, Finn gaped at the load he was carrying. “They are?” He faltered. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Didn’t want to make you nervous,” Han replied. “When you’ve finished loading those, go talk to some of those X-wing techs and see if you can scare us up a backup thermal regulator.”
The voice that joined in was one that had always been able to bring him to a stop whatever he happened to be doing. He turned to see Leia approaching.
“No matter how much we fought,” she said, “I always hated watching you leave.”
He grinned. “That’s why I left. To make you miss me.”
For the first time in quite a while, she laughed freely. It was infectious, happy, and, these days, all too rare. “Well, thank you for that, anyway.”
He turned reflective. “It wasn’t all bad, was it? I know we argued a lot.” He smiled affectionately. “Maybe it’s because we both have such shy, retiring personalities. Of course, if you’d only done what I said…”
“And you’d only done what I asked,” she riposted,
still smiling.
He chuckled softly. “I mean, some of it was—good.”
“Pretty good,” she agreed, nodding.
“Some things never change.”
“Yep.” She glanced downward, remembering, then met his gaze once more. “You still drive me crazy.”
“Crazy as in crazy good, or crazy as in borderline insane?”
“Probably a little of both,” she admitted.
He put his hands on her shoulders, and thirty years fell away in an instant. “Leia, there’s something I’ve been wanting to say to you for a long time.”
Fighting to hold back tears, she put a finger to his lips. “Tell me when you get back.”
He started to object, caught himself. There’d been too much arguing over the years, he knew. This time he really might not come back; the last thing he wanted was to part on even a semblance of a spat. Instead, he took her into his arms, which really was much better than arguing, or even talking. They stood like that for a long moment, holding tightly to each other.
“If you see our son,” Leia whispered, “bring him home.”
He nodded without speaking. If nothing else, in thirty years he had learned when to be quiet.
—
What had happened?
Shackled and unable to move, Rey lay on the inclined platform in her restraints, pondering the encounter with Kylo Ren. At first there had been the same pain and fear she had felt in the forest on Takodana. It had intensified as he had probed deeper and she had fought to resist. Then—she had resisted. More than that, it was as if her resistance had somehow turned the probing back on him. For a brief instant, she had been in his mind. She could remember clearly his shock, then concern, and finally a retreat. He had pulled away from her, and out of her mind, with a suddenness that bespoke—not fright; something else. Apprehension, she decided. Whatever she had done had thrown him badly off balance. He had withdrawn: no doubt not only to consider what had taken place, but also to decide how to proceed with her. That meant, most likely, he would be back. She would do anything to avoid that.
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