Finn was not so caught up in rigging the nav bunker to explode that he did not notice how, one by one, the Star Destroyer thrusters began to glow bright blue.
"Those thrusters are hot!" said Poe over the comm. "Finn, how we doin'?"
Finn gave Jannah the signal, and they both ducked, hands over their heads, as Finn triggered the explosion.
Boom! His ears rang with the blast, and pressure hit his back. Lights across the surface of the Destroyer went dark.
—
"Navigation beacon's shut down," a technician yelled. "Repeat, navigation beacon down. Final Order fleet, hold position. No deployment! Resetting all systems!"
Now Pryde was angry. These gnats were proving unexpectedly vexing. The Star Destroyers all powered back down to standby mode. They were vulnerable now, but only for a few minutes. Their hulls were strong; the gnats' mission was futile. The Steadfast would have to reset its nav systems to regain comms, but it wouldn't take long. The gnats had bought themselves so little time, he couldn't see why they'd bothered.
Allegiant General Pryde was going to enjoy destroying the last remnant of the Resistance.
—
R2-D2 beeped in celebration as engine lights dimmed all across the fleet.
"Nav beacon's down!" Poe yelled. "They did it!" He swooped toward the Steadfast, catching a glimpse of Finn and Jannah racing toward their orbak mounts, BB-8 at their heels.
"You got three minutes," Finn said, "until the command ship resets the nav and the fleet can escape."
"Still no Falcon or backup," came Snap Wexley's voice.
R2 beeped a question to Poe. Off comm, he answered, "I don't know, Artoo. Maybe they didn't find any allies. Maybe nobody's coming."
He stared out at the fleet, his own words echoing in his head. Maybe nobody's coming… What would Leia do?
He turned his comm back on and said, "We gotta hit them ourselves."
"What can we do against those things?" Tyce asked.
"Whatever we can! Be fast, be precise, hit those cannons. You with me?"
"We're with you," Tyce responded without hesitation.
"Right behind you, General," said Snap.
Poe started flicking switches. "All wings, arm torpedoes! Attack formation!" He paused. Took a deep breath. "May the Force be with us."
Led by Poe, their tiny squadron phalanxed toward a stalled Destroyer, firing on its vulnerable underbelly cannons. The hull lit up with explosions.
—
Finn, Jannah, and BB-8 raced after the orbak company toward the lander. Blasterfire erupted all around them. But Finn came to a halt, realizing that every shot aimed at them was coming from a blaster. The deck cannons had gone silent with the reset.
BB-8 kept rolling after the orbaks, but Jannah turned. "Finn! Let's go!"
"The surface cannons stopped," he said. "They're resetting their systems."
"So?" She looked toward the lander, back at Finn.
"So before they do…" Finn stared at the cannon. This had to be the worst idea he'd ever had. "Maybe we can do some more damage." Yep, definitely the worst. He turned back to Jannah and said, "Jannah, go. I gotta do something."
"No. I'm staying with you."
Finn nodded his thanks, and together they sprinted for the cannon.
—
Framed by the Steadfast's viewport window, the designated advance Destroyer Derriphan turned into a ball of fire as a trio of A-wings swooped out of range of the blast they'd created.
Hux grimaced. There were bound to be casualties, and the Derriphan had been commanded by a mediocre captain with no real potential—that ship had been designated expendable after all. But he hated for the gnats to claim any sort of victory.
"How much longer?" Hux demanded.
"Ships coming back online in just a few seconds," said a technician.
"Then reset the navigation signal!" Hux commanded. "I want the fleet deployed!"
—
Finn and Jannah arrived at the cannon, began circling cautiously, like it was a wounded animal, ready to attack.
"This is the command ship," Jannah said. "We take it out now, the whole nav system goes down for good."
"Every Star Destroyer in this fleet!" Finn said.
"All of them without shields! This could end them."
"Finn!" came Rose's voice on comm just as he began climbing up the cannon.
"Rose!" he said. He hoped she and the rest of the ground team were safely back on the lander.
"Lander's leaving," Rose said. "Where are you? What are you doing?"
He reached the massive gun barrel. Finn said, "I'm saving what I love."
A long pause. Jannah whipped up her bow to take out a jet trooper winging their way, then pivoted quickly and did the same to a ground trooper.
"Go without us," Finn urged. "We're taking this whole ship down."
Rose finally found her voice. "…What? How?"
"You'll see from the lander. Rose, please. Go. And…take care of yourself."
—
"The ritual begins!" Abeloth cried out, and the mass of followers surrounding them responded with a ceremonial chant so loud and deep it shook the very ground. "She will strike me down, and pledge herself as a Sith."
The lightning in the cavernous cathedral intensified, reflected against Abeloth's milky eyes. She took one step forward. Another.
Thoughts shielded from Abeloth, she sent out her awareness, searching. There!
She just had to stall a little bit longer.
—
The robed figures had not bothered Ben at all when he was here last, but this time they launched themselves at him with fury. He blasted them easily, one shot for every kill. Not long ago, he would have taken pleasure in this, but now he had only one consuming desire: Help Rey.
He reached the end of the Sith monoliths and rounded a corner. Familiar figures manifested in the flashing dark. The Knights of Ren. They formed a wide circle around him, their armor gleaming in the sickly light. Ap'lek, Vicrul, Trudgen, Cardo, Ushar, and Kuruk—all standing in silence, their faceless helmets fixed on him.
It was Ap'lek who spoke first, his voice cold and accusing, distorted by his mask. "You promised us unlimited power."
"Before you became weak," Vicrul spat, stepping forward with his scythe in hand, the blade glowing faintly in the dim light. His hatred was palpable, a bitter thing that twisted in the Force like venom. "We followed you because you were strong. Now, you're nothing."
Ben didn't respond. The silence between them deepened, heavy with the tension of what was about to unfold. The flashing red and black of the temple's lights seemed to pulse in time with the anger boiling just beneath the surface.
Ap'lek took a step forward, the leader now. His skull-like mask tilted slightly as if studying Ben. "You've forgotten what you are," Ap'lek said, his words dripped with disgust. "The Sith Eternal offers us what you could not."
Vicrul gripped his scythe tighter, the blade vibrating with his raw fury. "You don't deserve to lead us. You don't even deserve to live."
Ben tensed, his body preparing for the inevitable clash. He didn't stand a chance against all of them at once, not armed with just a blaster. Maybe it had been premature to throw his lightsaber into the sea.
An image lit up his mind, another lightsaber, flashing blue. It was a message from Rey.
—
"She will draw her weapon," Abeloth intoned.
Rey made her face blank. She unhooked Leia's lightsaber and ignited it.
"She will come to me!" he said, and the crowd responded with a collective yell.
—
Ben blasted one attacker, thrusted away another with the Force, spun to face a third…
…as something cracked the back of his skull, sending him to his knees.
Another blow crushed his abdomen, robbing him of air, and he bent over gasping.
The Knights, in their supreme arrogance, backed away, allowed Ben to gain his feet. He seemed defenseless to them. They must have never really respected him, or even his abilities, to give him ground now.
Ben sucked in air as they circled for another attack.
—
"She will take her revenge," Abeloth boomed.
Rey continued to approach. The creature's power was intoxicating. She found herself raising her weapon, almost against her will. If not for the other presence in her mind, bright and shining with light, she would not have been able to resist her.
"And with the stroke of her saber, the Sith are reborn! The Jedi are dead!"
Rey lifted the saber as if to strike—
—and reached for the connection she shared with Ben. Showed him.
He acknowledged her, and Rey's lips parted in surprise. It felt different now. The connection was…right. Good. Like coming home.
Ben was similarly stunned, and together, they wasted a precious moment reveling in this new sharing. This is how it should have been all along. A true dyad.
"Do it!" Abeloth screamed.
Rey lowered the lightsaber behind her back, as if readying for a massive blow. She reached for the Force. The effort made tears sting in her eyes.
Abeloth leaned forward with gleeful anticipation.
She raised her hand…which was now empty. She had projected her weapon away.
Rey watched the creature's dawning horror as she finally realized her mistake, allowing Rey and Ben to come together. Their bond—refined in the fire of mutual searching, shared grief, rage and hate, but also of compassion and empathy—was the one thing she had not foreseen.
—
The moment Ben felt the grip of his mother's lightsaber in his palm, he knew it belonged to him, an extension of his very own self. He raised it slowly, relishing the feel of it.
The Knights startled backward a few steps.
Surprise, he imagined his father saying.
He attacked.
Rey grabbed her own lightsaber from where she had hooked it to her belt, behind her back. Ignited it.
Suddenly, she was surrounded by the crimson-clad guards. They raised their blasters and fired. She deflected one blast with her hand, sent it careening into the abdomen of one of the guards, while whipping her lightsaber around to block the rest.
She drew on Ben's strength, and he drew on hers, and just like before, they were separate but also together, Rey battling guards, Ben battling the Knights.
Vicrul's scythe came down in a deadly arc, and Ben spun just in time to block it, his saber flashing as it connected with the vibro-blade. He barely had time to react before Cardo's massive blaster fired, sending red bolts of energy screaming toward him. Ben deflected them with practiced precision, his lightsaber a blur of blue light as he spun and dodged.
Behind you, she warned, and he brought up his saber to block his back, whirled, impaled Trudgen, flipped over his falling body, spun, and did the same to Ushar.
He stared at the bodies of his fallen former comrades. Then he sprinted for the throne room—
—as Rey used the Force to collapse a guard under his own weight, and then throw him back into the darkness. She deflected another blaster bolt, dodged another. She spun to face the final guard, but Ben got there first and tossed him aside like a piece of garbage.
They stood facing each other for the space of one breath, two…together at last. Ben was different. Relaxed. Unguarded. How had Rey not noticed before that he had the long face and posture of his father, the warm brown eyes of his mother?
As one, they turned to face Abeloth, dropped into fighting stances, raised their lightsabers.
The creature snarled. "Stand together, die together," she said. Then she raised her arms and Force lightning burst from her hands.
—
"This is it!" Snap Wexley called from inside his X-wing. He fired, and felt a surge of exultation when the belly cannon lit up like a fireworks display. He'd gotten pretty good at this. All those lessons with his stepfather, Wedge, had paid off.
Snap's console beeped.
"Fleet's locking onto a navigation signal," he warned anyone who was listening. "They're gonna split!"
"Watch your starboard, Wexley," yelled Vanik.
He looked over. "Yeah, I see 'em."
But he didn't see the other TIE, the one that came out of nowhere.
"Snap!" Poe yelled. "Snap, Snap!"
A blast rocked his cockpit, and he heard Poe yell, "No!"
He had just enough time to reach down for the tiny holo he kept on his dash, whisper, "Karé," before everything exploded with unbearable light.
—
Poe stared in despair as the wreckage of Wexley's ship peppered down against the Destroyer's hull.
Cries of terror and despair were lighting up his comm. They were getting torn apart.
"General!" Tyce called. "Do we retreat?"
"What now?" Someone called.
"What's our next move?"
His people—his friends—were dying all around him. "My friends," Poe said, his voice tremulous. "I'm sorry. I felt we had…a shot…There's just too many of them." He'd learned nothing from Crait. Instead, he'd just gotten people killed ag—
A familiar voice broke through on comms: "But there are more of us, Poe. There are more of us." It was Lando. He was back! But had he brought anyone with him?
Poe's heart leapt in his chest as he flipped his fighter around, swooped over the hull of a Destroyer to get a visual on the atmosphere above.
He gasped. Ships were popping into sight all over the place. Freighters, fighters, medical frigates, long haulers, from every sector of the galaxy, from every era Poe had ever heard of. Hundreds. No, thousands. A fleet of fleets.
"Look at this!" Poe hollered, "Look at this!" as Lando laughed and laughed.
"The allies," Aftab Ackbar said. "They're here!"
"The whole galaxy's here!" Poe exclaimed.
"Lando, you did it," Finn yelled. "You did it!"
Poe switched to the open channel and the comms erupted, as ship after ship began calling in. Thousands of resolved voices, crying out, refusing to be silenced.
"Millennium Falcon, standing by for orders," said Lando.
"Mon Calamari fleet, standing by," came another voice.
"Phantom Squadron, standing by."
"Ghost, standing by."
"Anodyne Two, standing by."
As everyone called in, one after another after another, liquid pooled in Poe's eyes. They had done it. The spark of the Resistance had become a fire.
"Alphabet Two, standing by."
"Inferno Squadron, standing by. Look at all these ships!"
"Fireball, here. Hi, everyone!"
"Alright!" Poe yelled. "Hit those underbelly cannons with all you've got. Every one we knock out is a world saved."
Lando whooped as he and Chewie charged ahead, and a thousand fighters, frigates, and even well-armed freighters swooped after them.
Within seconds, the Millennium Falcon had taken out a cannon. That ship made everything look easy.
"Nice flying, Lando," came Wedge Antilles's voice, and Poe realized the old Rebellion captain, and his former flight instructor, was operating one of the Falcon's turret stations.
He wished Leia could be here to see this.
—
Finn threw his fist into the air. I knew Lando would do it. I knew it!"
Jannah was gaping at the sky, forgetting for a moment that she was supposed to be laying cover fire.
"Finger to trigger, Chewie," came Lando's voice on the comm.
People had come from everywhere to help them. The whole galaxy was here. Finn watched as they swooped among the Destroyers, laying waste to the hapless ships.
He shook off the moment of triumph with effort.
Jannah resumed firing, while Finn got back to work on his shifty stuff.
—
For this, Hux had no plan.
"Where did they get all these fighter craft?" General Hux demanded. "They have no navy."
Admiral Griss was gaping. The light had gone out of his eyes. "It's not a navy, sir," the admiral said, and his voice shook a little. "It's just…people."
—
The tide was turning. Poe's patchwork navy pummeled the defenseless fleet. One Destroyer listed sideways, smoke rising from its hull. It collided with another, and both dropped to the surface, helpless in Exegol's gravity. Another dropped after a pair of proton torpedoes hit it in the gut. Soon Destroyers were falling away all over the place.
But the TIEs remained viciously relentless, and they were still targeting Poe specifically.
One threatened him head-on, but he was hemmed in between hulls. He gunned the accelerator, firing. Poe wasn't sure if he'd destroy it in time, or if he should wing away…
A Y-wing slipped into the assist position beside him—a precision move. Together they gunned the TIE, which exploded into a satisfying fireball.
"So long, sky trash!" came a familiar female voice.
He turned in his cockpit as the Y-wing screamed past. "Who's that pilot?" he muttered.
"Take a guess, spice runner."
It was Zorii!
Poe's relief was so huge he almost choked on it. "Zorii, you made it!"
Someone warbled at him in Anzellan, then added, "Hey, heyyyyy!"
"Babu?" Poe said, disbelieving.
This day just kept getting better and better.