52. Chapter 52

After the twelfth or thirteenth meeting, Kylo can’t keep track anymore, the plan starts to seem like it might work.  There are still dozens of variables that can’t be predicted, but that doesn’t seem to bother the leaders as much as it bothers him.  Ackbar makes a comment about the half-planned missions his father and his uncle went on ‘back in the day,’ and the pain of it is less than Kylo expected.

Coyle frowns at everything presented as they work out the bait plan. They discuss the best ways to needle Hux out of hiding, how to make their armada seem big enough to pose a reasonable threat to Arkanis. They plan the fake mission with the attention to detail they would use for a real attack, and when he is satisfied that he’ll have enough falsified information to start spreading, Coyle turns his frown on Kylo.

“You better be right about this guy’s filial piety, Ren. If you’re wrong, a lot of good people are going to die when the First Order realizes they’re getting yanked around.”

Kylo, Finn, and Rey spend hours pouring over the blueprints of Finalizer with the Exes who once manned the ship, memorizing access points and security clearances.  They work with Kess and the Leaders to split their people up into teams. Kess will hang back with the majority of their forces to lead them in the assault on Snoke once his location is discovered. A small team will infiltrate Finalizer , a tactical squad focused on avoiding suspicion rather than an aggressive boarding party. Finn and some of the Firsties are responsible for taking out the entirety of Finalizer ’s communications, a daunting task that Kylo is glad to pass on. Kylo and Rey, with Gun and a selection of the Groundies, will confront Hux.

“Once Hux knows we’re on board, he’ll alert Snoke immediately, so we need to neutralize him before he raises the alarm.” Kylo runs a hand over his face, rubbing hard at the scar across his cheek.

Scratching his beard, Gun leans back in his chair. “Can’t you use some of that mind trick mumbo jumbo on him?” He waves his hand in a passable imitation of Kylo’s Force gestures. “‘ Tell us where Snoke is and then space yourself ’ type of thing?”

“The man’s got a will like iron. I’ve never been able to Force him to do so much as drop a stylus, though stars know I’ve tried.” It’s grating, admitting that aloud. Hux is a formidable mental opponent, despite his lack of Force sensitivity. “I should be able to knock him out, but we need to work fast to get the location first.”

Rey rests her hip against the table between them. “What if we work together? Could we overpower him that way?”

The conversation circles after that. They don’t have enough information to be certain, and that makes Kylo nervous. There are many more meetings after that and Kylo is present for almost all of them. The Leaders do their damndest to flesh the skeleton plan into something that they might be able to pull off. His favorite meeting is with Dameron and the other pilots, as they discuss possible attack strategies and alternative escape routes, should anything go wrong. Kess notes that the Finalizer is too valuable an asset to scuttle or destroy, stating that if it can be captured, they will be unable to operate it at it’s full capacity, and asks for suggestions from the gathered pilots.

A wide smile spreads across Finn’s face as he turns to Poe. “You can fly just about anything, right?”

Poe blinks back at him, a tiny grin hiding at the corner of his mouth. “Just about.”

“How’d you like to try Finalizer on for size?”

The grin grows, and Kylo can feel the excitement radiating out of the pilot as he takes Finn’s hand. “I love you.” They gaze into each other’s eyes for a moment before Kess clears her throat and the spell is broken.

When they aren’t planning, they are training, but all that training requires a schedule.  Kess brings him, Finn, and Gun in for evening sessions to plan the training rosters, trying to anticipate different combat scenarios. They create new drills, try new workouts, stage mock battles, and the Exes and the Resistance fighters take to them with a fanatical fervor. Everyone listens to him and to Finn as they explain the purpose of each new method, each new move, and it feels good to be respected, trusted, and believed. He wonders if he’ll ever get used to that.

Rey spends her days with Yali and Master Skywalker, who, according to her daily updates, snip at each other like an old married couple. They refuse to see eye to eye on anything, be it proper Makashi footwork to meditation breathing techniques. The one thing they agree on is that Rey needs to improve her battle meditation to have a chance at combatting the control shown by Ajani on Capza. Rey trains without rest, working with progressively larger groups of soldiers and pilots until she can comfortably hold the threads of a hundred of minds at once. It’s progress, and Kylo is proud of her, but she can’t adequately defend herself while enmeshed in the meditative trance, and that thought keeps him up at night.

They work like that for two weeks, and every day more reports of attacks on allies come in. Some days it’s just a transport ship being hassled by First Order patrols, other days it’s death and devastation.  Maz Kanata is up and about again but most of the Resistance’s friends aren’t so lucky.

Then news arrives from Coyle’s contacts inside the First Order. The information about the staged attack on Arkanis has been accepted, and all signs indicate that General Hux has taken the bait. Training is canceled the next morning for debriefing with the leaders, first for the squads leading the army against Snoke, then for the teams assigned to board the Finalizer .

Kylo and Finn are on the edge of their seats the whole day. They take pages upon pages of notes, jotting down exactly where everyone will be at each moment. There’s still so much up in the air that perfect synchronization is impossible, but they agreed when the mission was approved to be the best leaders they could. After a full day of meetings, they’re dismissed to their quarters. Kylo and Rey sleep curled in her nest and he’s grateful for the dreams she brings, all softness and warmth, gentle breezes and starlight.

At first light, the whole team rallies in the armory and the quartermasters begin to distribute salvaged, stolen or cast off First Order armaments.  Finn grumbles, carrying a bundle of heavy plastoid armor over to a bench. “I thought I was done with this stuff!” Rey laughs at his good-natured protests as she accepts the neat square of black cloth and polished boots.

“Ooh!  I’m an officer!” She perches the black cap atop her head and the sight of her in a First Order uniform shouldn’t turn Kylo on, but it does.

He frowns, just a little, when he is issued an assortment of white plastene armor and black bodysuit. “I’m going to be a Stormtrooper?” He raises an eyebrow at the attendant who had handed him the bundle.

Gun claps him on the shoulder and grins, laughing as he steers Kylo into the space beside Rey. “Don’t sound so disappointed. You get to be me!” He taps the etching on the breastplate: GN-513. “Your face is too recognizable without a helmet, especially with that scar. You even get to be a Lieutenant!” Gun holds up the pauldron and passes it over with reverence like it’s the best gift in the world. “I, however,” the huge man holds up a pile of cloth, “am stuck pretending to be a security officer. I had to shave and everything.” Sighing, he rubs at his bare jaw before pulling out a standard sized blaster pistol, dwarfed by his massive paws. “What am I supposed to do with this tiny thing?”

Kylo snorts at that and strips off his boots and pants. “The same thing you always do, Gun. You shoot people.” He pulls the stretchy material of the bodysuit up over his hips before discarding his shirt and slipping his arms into the sleeves. It clings, snug everywhere, more like underwear than actual clothing. He feels Rey’s gaze on him, hot and heavy like her thoughts; he catches her eye and grins. She raises her eyebrows in appreciation, a gentle blush creeping up her neck as she pulls on the jacket. Fascism looks good on you, Rey.

I’ll keep this uniform if you keep the body suit.  The tips of her ears are almost as red as his lightsaber as Rey gives up on the tiny buttons marching up the front of her jacket and jams her feet into a pair of polished boots, tugging on the laces. Kylo bites down a smile as he begins sorting through the plastene armor pieces.

“Boots first,” Gun grunts when he reaches for the long abdominal plates. “You can’t bend very far once you put that piece on.”

Kylo grimaces and nods, following the Lieutenant’s instructions as he slots the armor on over the bodysuit. It’s lighter than he expected and doesn’t seem to inhibit too much movement. Finn comes over “to supervise,” handing Kylo the last pieces in their proper order, his own armor donned and the helmet tucked under his arm.

“This is weirding me out,” Finn declares when Kylo tries on Gun’s helmet. Dameron is also dressed in a bodysuit though the armor is all tucked into a bag ‘for later.’

“He looks good,” Gun nods his approval. “Blends right in if you ignore the freakish height.” He tugs the helmet off Kylo’s head, rubbing at it with the cuff of his uniform jacket. “Being tall never did me no harm, though. People keep out of your way, which can only be a good thing on this mission.”

Kylo snorts, wedging his saber into one of the loops on the utility belt.

“That, though,” Gun points at the hilt, “will get some attention.”

Kess, kitted out in a battle suit with her twin blasters strapped to her hips, comes up from making the rounds with the squads as blasters are disbursed. “You’re cleared to go in an hour. We’ll be waiting for your call.” She grasps Kylo’s arm and he takes hers in return. “Force go with you guys.”

“Don’t go soft on me now, Kess.” Kylo grins and grips her arm more tightly.

“I’ll show you soft.” Kess snaps her teeth, canines glinting. She gives him a parting squeeze and waves him away as they fall into a mismatched line, leading the two squads down to the hangar where the Upsilon waits.

Rey pulls Finn off for a quiet conversation and a fierce hug. Through their connection, Kylo senses her heart-thudding worry, and when she hugs Finn tight, he adds his strength, his affection, his hopes for Finn’s safety to hers.  When they return, Finn meets his eyes for a second before reaching up to enfold Kylo in a quick hug. Startled, Kylo staggers back a step before wrapping his arms around the man he’s come to admire and respect. Then Finn pulls away and turns to herd their crews up into the transport.

Rey leans her cheek against Kylo’s plastene breastplate and watches the soldiers file into the fearsome craft. He plays with the hair at the back of her neck, armored fingers dancing along the shell of her ear. Emotions bubble through the calm she tries to keep close to her heart, and he doesn’t try to hide his own tension and anxiety from her. There’s a touch of excitement, of hope, of fear, and together, for just a few heartbeats, they slip back into their space beneath the stars. Then the engines on the shuttles hum to life and Dameron salutes them through the windshield of his ‘new baby,’ smiling like a lunatic, and they board together.

The flight is tense and the hours pass like days. Kylo visits Poe in the cockpit once to hear the pilot babble to Finn about how beautiful the ship is, but he spends most of the time wedged between Rey and Gun among the rest of the boarding crew. They go over the plan once more, and Kylo wants to run it a second time but Bate, a Groundie who worked as a techie on the Finalizer , puts a hand up.

“Boss, we’ve got it. We can do this. Trust us like we trust you and we’ll all be fine.” Kylo swallows the lump in his throat and nods. Rey meditates with the crew, focusing them and honing their minds, sharpening their defenses. Kylo can’t imagine that there would be any Knights on the Finalizer - Hux always hated them - but the extra defenses can’t hurt, so he lends her, and, in turn, his crew, what strength he can until they drop out of hyperspace and they all withdraw into their own separate minds.

“We have visual on a target transport,” Dameron’s voice comes on over the comm and Rey touches his cheek before slipping up to the cockpit to hail their target. Kylo pulls his helmet on and follows, settling himself beside the copilot. It’s Jax, the mouthy one from Capza who had named the Ground Crew. Jax gives Kylo a thumbs up as Arkanis glints silver through the viewport and Kylo returns the gesture.

Rey draws her chin up, pulls the Force around her for calm, and takes a deep breath. This is their first big hurdle. She punches at the control for the comms, opening a channel. “Transport 10134, this is Lieutenant Madree, confirmation code 74AZ3.” She recites the code given to them by their highest ranked defectors, the one that should assuage any suspicions the transport might have about their provenance. “You are hereby ordered to execute in Protocol 947 and prepare for boarding. Please confirm.” Rey’s voice is calm, smooth, and tinged with the Force. She projects the confidence of an officer, bored and professional, as though this is a routine request.

Kylo touches her mind, soft and reassuring. Perfect.

The display flickers and a helmeted pilot with an orange pauldron appears, saluting. “Transport 10134 reporting, Lieutenant. We read you loud and clear. Confirmation code accepted. We are complying.”

“Very good, captain. Madree over and out.” The comm channel dies and Rey lets out a sigh, looking down at Dameron in the pilot’s chair. “Do you think they bought it?”

There’s a pause, then Dameron nods. “They’ve changed their trajectory and are approaching.” He glances at the shining readouts on the control panels. “Their shields are down. I think we’re okay.”

The tension in the cockpit eases and Kylo returns to the seating area, wedging his helmet under his arm. Jax keeps a running commentary as the transport draws near and begins docking procedures.

He heads the squad with Rey at is side, lightsabers at the ready as mechanical sounds fill the silent cabin and the ramp lowers. They ignite their sabers as the ‘Troopers standing to attention come into view and the effect is immediate. With a curse, the ‘Troopers, led by their Captain throw down their blasters and raise their hands.

Rey smiles. “Good choice. Keep your hands up and board one at a time.”

The Captain leads by example. Kylo can appreciate that. In addition to the blaster, the officer drops his electrostick before placing his hands on his helmet and climbing the ramp.

Kylo and Rey stand by the door, sabers at the ready as Finn tugs the captive’s arms behind his back and secures his wrists with several loops of fibercord knotted securely. Then he pulls off the prisoner’s helmet, shutting off the comms before pushing  the prisoner down onto the bench.

The process is repeated for each of the dozen captives, and Jax  comes out of the cockpit to watch as they finish tying up the crew. “We’ll take good care of these guys for you, sir.”

Kylo nods back at the pilot and advances into the First Order transport, checking for any remaining crew with his eyes and with the Force. It’s empty, and shortly thereafter Poe, now armored, Rey, Finn, and their team disembark from the Upsilon, setting a course for the Finalizer.

The starship looms large as they come around the planet, going through the procedures for confirming identities and docking without raising any alarms. Kylo laces his fingers through Rey’s, taking comfort from the contact even if he can’t feel her skin through the armor, and she smiles up at him, warm and strong and brave.

We can do this. S he believes it, and he believes her. Kylo leans down and kisses her before settling the helmet back on. She releases him, moves up to head the squad with Gun, and Kylo grips his blaster awkwardly as he moves into formation behind her.

As the door of the transport lowers, Poe nudges Finn, plastoid armor against plastoid armor. “This reminds me of our first date.” Finn snorts, the moment of mirth fading as the ramp clangs down.

The hangar is quiet when they exit, maintenance droids rolling up as they disembark. Kylo focuses on keeping in line with the Groundie at his side. He’s practiced walking as part of a ‘Trooper unit, but it’s  tedious and slow, at odds with the tension he’s trying to suppress. He keeps his eyes fixed straight ahead and sweeps out with the Force, trying to feel for any oncoming conflicts. As they pass the entrance to a corridor, Finn and his squad break off to head for the communication center, following a stolid-looking Ex dressed as a comms officer. Kylo’s heart leaps as Finn looks back over his shoulder, nodding almost imperceptibly when he catches Rey’s eye.

They pass two squads who give them nothing more than a cursory glance. Even though his heart seems to have taken up permanent residence in his throat, Rey keeps her icy facade steady and leads them onwards. With Gun at her side, she radiates an air of perfect disinterest. He wonders who else helped train her for this role. Coyle? The General? Her hauteur and bearing are perfect, her walk is precise, and her gestures are clipped and Academy sharp until a harried blonde man in an orange technician’s jumpsuit barrels into her as she rounds a corner.

“Oh, I’m sorry!” The technician garbles, frazzled and grabbing at his glasses as Rey adjusts the sleeve of her uniform. Gun looms over the man who hunches and takes a measured step back.

A wave of uncertain anxiety ripples through their connection, but Rey’s face remains impassive. “As you were.” Rey nods a dismissal, but the man doesn’t move.

“I’m new, and I’m supposed to report to Service Room 8460.” Rey doesn’t respond and he presses, “Do you know where that is?”

She doesn’t, of course. The Finalizer is huge, and they memorized only the areas around their planned route and escape access points. Even Kylo, who spent weeks on the ship, doesn’t know where that specific room is. He can feel Rey gather her strength to execute a mind trick when Bate, the Groundie most familiar with the Finalizer, speaks from behind her.

“Eighth floor, east side. Blue door.”

The technician nods, his curls bouncing into his eyes. “Thanks!” He hurries off, the sound of his clanking toolkit disappearing into the distance.

“And… yep. He’s going the wrong way,” Bate sighs in dry disbelief before falling quiet as they pass another squad and make it to the elevator banks.

It’s a tight fit to load everyone onto the lift, but they squeeze in, quiet and tense, during the long ascent. As elevator beeps and they pile out on the highest floor of the Finalizer , the comm in Kylo’s helmet pings and Finn’s voice fills his ears.

“We did it! Interstellar transmissions and all ship-to-ship communications are down. You’re good to go.”

“Great job. We’re about to find Hux.”

“May the Force be with you.” The comms ping again as Finn disengages.

Sweeping his gaze across the area outside the main bridge, Kylo is unsurprised to find it deserted. He knows this area, has prowled these halls. In his time aboard the ship, no one came here unless summoned.

“Remember, there will be two guards outside and another two inside.” Kylo murmurs and Rey nods. Power coalesces around her as they turn the last corner and Kylo taps into it, feeding into and feeding off of her strength.

He reaches out with the Force, snapping the right ‘Trooper’s neck with a twist of his will. Rey matches his movements, his power. The ‘Troopers die upright, and two Exes sprint forward to lower the bodies to the floor. Then they wait, adjust their grips on the blasters, and Gun taps the button beside the door and it slides open.

With a coordinated jerk, Rey snaps the necks of both ‘Troopers guarding the other side of the door. As they clatter to the floor, falling too quickly to be lowered, Kylo steps forward, raising a hand to the caped back before him. He ensnares Phasma with the strongest Force binding he can manage, freezing her in place before she can turn. Without a word, Gun steps up behind the Captain and flips the helmet off her head, pressing the barrel of his pistol to her skull, just below the tiny blonde tail holding back the longer hair atop her close-shorn head. The helmet falls and Hux turns, one hand in the pocket of his jacket, to face the intruders.

The General is stunned for the span of a heartbeat before he settles back into a studied calm. His eyes flicker up and down, taking in the scene in one breath as he pulls his hand from his pocket. They linger on Phasma before lighting on the pauldron at Kylo's shoulder. Hux  grimaces, lips twisting into a mocking smile. "A lieutenant?  Bit of a step down, Ren."

Before Kylo can freeze the General’s arm, he tosses two bright yellow tablets into his mouth and swallows them. Phasma’s eyes widen, and the Captain struggles desperately against Kylo’s hold, her mind twisting in his grasp and her muscles spasming beneath her skin. Hux holds up his hands to the officers around the room when they reach for their blasters. "Stand down. Drop your weapons.” The officers hesitate, then obey, tossing their blasters to the ground. Hux doesn’t take his eyes from Kylo’s helmet. “I'd rather this not get any bloodier than necessary."

Hux strides forward, heedless of the blasters pointed at him by the Exes around Kylo and Rey. "I’ve just poisoned myself. Unless I get the antidote in,” he glances at the chrono on his wrist, “let’s say fifteen minutes, I will die, and the information you’re obviously here for will die with me.” Kylo grits his teeth as the General continues speaking. “I require clemency for myself and my people, Phasma first and foremost." Hux speaks casually, but his posture is rigid, fury radiating off him. His left hand trembles, and Kylo knows from experience that the tremor is not from fear.

Is he serious? Rey’s thoughts are in his mind, fluttering over the General’s words.

I wouldn’t put it past him. He’s always been vindictive. The only thing he’d love more than to spite me would be to save his own life.

Coming up beside him, Rey ignites her saber, speaking aloud in a voice that sounds too much like Organa’s for Kylo’s liking. "You are responsible for the destruction of the Hosnian system and for the deaths of billions. Such acts are beyond even the forgiveness of the Republic you so despise. Your death is inevitable."

Hux's eyebrows raise by a fraction of an inch. "You're the girl he made such a fuss over. How sweet." He looks back to Kylo. "Do call your mother, won't you? " When no one responds, Hux rolls his eyes. Kylo would almost believe his nonchalance if he hadn't spent so many unpleasant years in his company. The veins in Hux’s neck stand out under his skin, tense and quivering. "You want to kill the Supreme Leader. I'm the only person you could reliably trust to have his location. You and your Resistance friends have staged a fake attack on Arkanis to lure me here, boarded my ship, cut my communications, and are now using my Captain as a hostage. Well played. You're right, by the way. I do know where Snoke is." The man swallows hard, his casual tone slipping. "But I won't say a word until I'm sure I've got a guarantee of safety. I know your methods, Ren, they aren’t quick. I’ll die before you can wrest the information from my mind, and I promise that you’ll never find him without me. Now, get someone on a communicator who can negotiate my exoneration. I'd prefer Organa, but I'll take Statura in a pinch."

Five tense minutes later, his crew is binding and gagging the officers in the room, sitting them on the floor facing the walls as the Generals speak via Rey’s communicator. Kylo’s removed his helmet and has, with Rey’s help, tried to prise any information he can out of Hux’s head from afar, but the man has a mind like steel. He’s right. He will die before they can get the information that way. He looks awful, his face shiny with sweat and his skin pasty. Phasma hasn’t said a word, but from the way her mind batters at his control, Kylo doubts it’s because she’s pleased with the situation.

“Yes, a full pardon. I’d much rather end my life foaming at the mouth than spend the rest of it wasting away in whatever hovel you’d call a prison cell.”

“I don’t have the authority to-” General Organa begins again, trying once more to talk Hux down.

The muscles in Hux’s neck bulge as he barks, “Then get the authority . Let’s hurry this up, Organa. I’ve only got a few minutes left before my heart gives out and your hope at a restored Republic is lost for good. You will never get this close to Snoke again.”

There’s a pause in which Hux gags, almost vomiting as he sags into a chair, and Phasma pushes harder still at Kylo’s control, but then the communicator hisses. “Exile. That’s the most we’re willing to give. Life in exile in Wild Space and the Unknown Regions only. Surrender yourself to the Resistance while we verify the information you provide, and then we will transport you to the edge of Wild Space. If you return to any other part of the galactic disk, you will be killed on sight. ”

Hux’s eyes flick up to where Gun’s blaster still rests against the back of Phasma’s head. “The same for my Captain.”

“Granted.”

He swallows hard, squeezes his eyes shut as if the words pain him more than the poison in his veins. “Fine then.” Hux doubles over, clutching at his stomach. With his other hand, he gestures to Rey, who looks up to Kylo. Together they approach the groaning man. “How do we do this?” Hux asks between gasps. “Do I just tell you and you believe me?”

Stepping in front of Rey, Kylo stands between her and the hunched man, reaching out with a gloved hand. “Let us into your mind. We’ll know if you’re lying.”

Hux looks up at Kylo with bloodshot eyes in an almost snow-white face, hatred dripping from every word as he slaps Kylo’s hand away. “I’m not letting you anywhere near my mind, you complete ass. I kept you out for years , and I’m not about to break that streak. Not after those abominable holos, not after you stole my Stormtroopers by the hundreds.” He jerks his head at Rey, groaning. “She’ll do it alone or we’ll all sit here while I die.”

I can do it , Rey sooths him through their bond.   Just cover me in case he does anything else stupid . Without hesitating, Rey pulls off Hux’s glove and takes his bare hand in hers. Kylo can feel the sweat on his palm, the trembling tension throughout his body. He holds her fingers in a crushing grip, and the contact helps speed the process as he drops his mental defenses. His heart is racing, thudding as it pushes too-thick blood through constricting veins.

“Ebra. Snoke’s ship is at Ebra.” He isn’t lying. Hux has let Rey into his tidy, organized mind and is laying out everything he knows of Snoke’s ship, its charted course, Snoke’s current whereabouts, and his battle plans. There’s nothing in his thoughts that tries to deceive them or keep information back. Hux’s green eyes burn into Kylo’s, hatred and rage and resentment swirling through his palm into Rey, through Rey into Kylo’s heart. “Try to kill him properly this time. All our lives depend on you now.”

The General spasms, coughing. Because Rey knows, Kylo knows that Hux is dying. He has only moments left before the damage to his stomach is irreversible and his heart seizes up. “Now,” Hux gasps as he releases Rey’s hand, falling forward so his head dangles between his knees, “let Phasma go so she can give me the fucking antidote.”

At a nod from Kylo, Gun removes the blaster from Phasma’s head as Kylo releases his hold on the Captain. She surges forward, scrabbling at her belt as she barrels across the bridge to Hux, cape flowing behind her. With a tug, she frees a syringe from one of the capsules at her waist. Uncapping it one handed, she grabs Hux by the hair, lifts his torso up without effort, and jabs it into the bulging vein at his throat. Her voice is almost light without the distortion of her helmet, the Core accent crisp, soft when she speaks. “You utter, utter idiot, Hux.”

The effect is instantaneous. Color returns to the General’s face, his breathing evens, and as Phasma releases his hair and smooths it back into place, he is able to sit up on his own. His hands shake as he straightens his uniform, but he doesn’t stand. Gun’s crew has their blasters all leveled at the heads of the two First Order officers. Hux’s lips twitch up as he looks at Phasma’s bare face, lifting a palm to cup to her cheek. “The peripheral vision on those helmets really is shit.”

Phasma smiles back, opening her mouth to speak again, and Kylo takes advantage of their distraction to knock them both unconscious with the Force.

Gun drops his blaster to his side, gesturing between the sprawled forms of the Captain and the General with his free hand. “What the fuck was that about?”

Kylo ignores him, snatching up Rey’s comm. “Did you hear that, General? Ebra. Snoke is on Ebra. Mass the fleet on the Finalizer . We’ll make the jump together.”