-Corellia- M-11 Quadrant, Inner Rim

"General we're coming up on the communications relay," Poe descended until they were just inches above the clouds. "Once I signal Klax to go dark, we won't be able to stop the chaos we'll unleash." He looked to his right and shook his head at Leia's hastily-dressed wound. "If anything happens to you, they're gonna kill me."

   Leia focused on her breathing as she said, "Poe, something did already happen to me."

    "Saying I'm dead either way isn't exactly inspiring,"

Leia sighed. "I do hope you'll take things more seriously when you're in charge."

Poe's half-smile faded as he turned his attention towards the communications tower. "General...as soon as we get this intel, we'll pick up some ships and go home. You're seeing this through to the end."

"I wouldn't have come with you if I thought otherwise, Commander."

Poe nodded. Switching on the radio, he leaned into the com and said "Just about there. Going dark in twenty seconds,"

"Copy that. T-minus twenty seconds and counting," Klax's deep voice replied. "Twenty, nineteen, eighteen, seven—"

The vessel rocked slightly to the left and then the engine, monitors and all the lights inside shut off.

"Well this could certainly end poorly," Poe said taking a firm grip of the steering control. They tipped forward and dropped through the clouds, rushing toward the transmission tower which had also gone dark. The pilot flipped switches, pressed buttons and pushed and pulled levers, but the ship remained unresponsive as it plummeted toward the tower.

"Can you land it?" Leia called out as she worked frantically to get her seat harness on.

"Uh...Yes," Poe looked to the left and right of the tower and ground his teeth seeing nothing but water. "It will however, be unpleasant." the shuttle began to rattle as they picked up speed. "On the bright side we do have wings on this ship. I almost took one of the boxy light freighters to look less intimidating, boy would that have ended badly."

"You don't think this is bad??" Leia shouted. "How does having wings help our situation?!"

"I can steer this...to some extent..." he growled as he tried to angle the ship to hit the landing pad and not crash headfirst into the water surrounding the platform. "Come ON!" Poe shouted as the ship slammed into and then skidded across the raised dock. A couple stormtroopers shouted as they passed by; but the metal grinding from the underbelly of their vessel drown out any sound within earshot.

After several seconds, they finally came to a screeching halt just inches away from the center structure. Poe sprung out of his seat and unfastened the straps holding Leia in place. Blood could be seen seeping through her jacket from the wound she'd received earlier, in spite of her attempts to try and hide it. "General, you're bleeding."

"It's fine," she replied through clenched teeth. "Help me up, we don't have a lot of time."

The moment he wrapped her good arm around his neck to help her to her feet, the doors behind him hissed open. "Don't move," the stormtrooper called out from behind him. His voice sounded muffled, meaning the speaker in his helmet malfunctioned in the blast as well. "Civilians are not to land in this location without strict authorization,"

Leia made the slightest of gestures with her finger and said, "It was not our intention to land here,"

The stormtrooper paused for a moment. "It was not your intention to land here."

The General continued. "You will take us to the medbay at once and report the status of your command post is clear."

"I will take you to the medbay at once and report my status is clear," the soldier turned and then continued talking as he led the way. "The medical droids are currently in stasis due to the power outage. Weapons, scanners, holos...everything's gone dark. Troopers are to report to their stations immediately and remain there until contact with the Retribution is re-established."

"How long will that be?" she asked.

"No more than ten minutes. Once the transceiver is online we can call in for power cells, mechanics and even backup reinforcements," he turned to give her a little salute. "Not to worry mam, the safety of the Corellian people is the First Order's primary objective."

Poe rolled his eyes. "Somehow I doubt that."

The soldier did not hesitate leading them into the interior of the tower, punching in codes and holding doors open for the two members of the Resistance to walk through. Yet the two of them knew their luck was about to expire upon entering the inner halls, where the number of soldiers increased significantly. More than a few Troopers stared at them as they walked by, yet most made the deduction of seeing the injured General heading in the direction of the Infirmary was as it appeared; and didn't question an injured civilian seeking medical treatment.

"According to Klax's plan," Poe whispered, "There should be an R-7 unit hidden in a closet next to the mess hall. If I studied the schematics right, we're going in the wrong direction."

Leia nodded in understanding. "When I tell you to run, make your way to where you need to go and don't stop. For anything."

Poe looked confused. "What about—"

"For anything." Leia repeated. After looking at the dozens of soldiers around them, she stepped away from the pilot, grabbed onto the railing and closed her eyes. "Go!"

Poe stopped, but didn't run.

Leia opened her eyes long enough to throw him an angry glare.

He started walking back from where they came.

To his surprise, no one made any move to stop him. All the soldiers continued whatever they were doing, whether it was patrolling or rushing tools and components various places to get the power restored. Even when he entered into a different section of the compound, the stormtroopers continued about their business as though he wasn't there.

Poe almost passed up the astromech in the second closet he came across once he reached the mess hall. The droid had been covered in a metallic sheet, most likely to guard it against the electromagnetic pulse. After removing the cover, he powered the droid on and after a few seconds the lights on the R-7 unit lit up.

It beeped several times upon spotting Poe.

"Darvin Klax sent me buddy. He said you could find a transmission I'm looking for if we restored minimal power to the command center. You ready?"

The droid whistled and rolled out of the closet.   

Poe followed the astromech to an elevator, not a single white-clad trooper looked at him or his R-7 slicer as they traveled the lift up four floors. When the doors opened, the hall leading to the control room was empty. Poe froze in place upon seeing the vacant corridor. Something about the quiet unsettled him, putting him on edge. He unfastened the strap holding his blaster down in its holster and made sure the weapon was clear to draw. Pressing himself against the wall, he moved as quietly as he could behind the droid. Less than a minute later, they went through the door into the room where the transmission was said to be located.

Five stormtroopers stood with glow rods around the consoles, attempting various fixes to restore communications to the tower. Behind them an especially large soldier in black armor oversaw their progress, holding a blaster rifle at the ready.

The astromech went straight to the nearest open port, plugged in and started slicing.

Poe sighed in relief. Leaning against the wall he said out loud, "Am I glad I'm not you guys,"

All of the Storm Troopers stopped what they were doing and turned toward the Resistance pilot.

Poe didn't give them time to react or for the one in black to give an order. He drew his blaster and fired.

Leia's eyes snapped open, the overhead alarm startling her into consciousness. Pain shot through her torso the moment she tried to move; her breath came out raspy and weak. She surveyed the room and felt some relief spotting only a single medic. From the bare, white walls, storage cabinets and bacta containers; she concluded someone carried her to the Infirmary after she blacked out.

Stifling the urge to groan in pain, she sat up and waited for the medic to turn around.

The medic finally did so; but did not notice the General sitting up as his attention was consumed by the information on his holopad. He began walking toward her, muttering to himself as he scrolled through the text on the screen.

    "Already got a holopad working?" Leia asked.

The man's eyes grew to the size of two small moons as he staggered back away from the only patient in the room. He steadied himself, putting a hand over his heart. "My apologies, I didn't hear you wake," he approached her, set down the holopad and lifted one of her arms, checking it for any injury lurking underneath the surface. Once satisfied, he moved on to the next arm. He motioned to the holopad. "Most of the holopads are down. This one and a few others happened to be in a container resistant from electronic storms and flashes." Leaning forward, he studied the injury near her shoulder. "This is bad. Did one of our soldiers hit you? If so I will need to file a report. I'm running your blood work now to ensure infection hasn't set in,"

Leia glanced down at the holopad and noticed the scrolls of text stopped and were replaced with a rotating image of her headshot.

The medic saw her looking down, and he turned his head to follow suit.

As soon as he made the connection he turned to sound the alarm near the door. He made it two steps before being flung into the wall with enough force to leave an imprint where he smashed into it. When the doctor hit the ground, two guards from outside rushed in. Leia ripped the blasters from their grip using the Force, pulling them toward herself. She caught one of the weapons and fired twice, downing the two soldiers.

Running over to the door, she leaned out and looked down each hall to check for any other troopers patrolling. Upon seeing none she returned inside, took the holopad sitting at the table and a comlink off one of the stormtroopers and headed out into the corridor.  

Rather than getting behind cover, one of the stormtroopers instinctively turned toward the closest console and smashed his fist into a single red button on the wall. No alarm sounded because of the lack of power, and the soldier stared at it a second too long in confusion. Poe took advantage of the moment and shot the white-armored soldier through the chest.

The Trooper in black armor reacted before the others, but it still wasn't fast enough to stop the Resistance pilot from downing two of his men before he fired his own blaster. Everyone in the room dropped behind cover, peeking over or around consoles for a second at a time to fire off their rifles.

Poe's first instinct was to run to the door and use the turbolift before any of the First Order could get to him. Even with two down, the four remaining Troopers could surround him with relative ease.

His time to retrieve the transmission and get back to Coronet City went from limited to none. "R-7," he said between shots. The droid turned its domed head while its utility arm in the port continued to slice. "Think you could kill the backup lights on my mark?"

The astromech beeped rapidly and then sputtered.

"You can't turn them off, not even for a second?"

The droid droned a long, low trill.

"Fine," Poe said, irritated. He missed BB8. "How much longer? Once the power is restored, we can forget about leaving this place in one piece."

The R-7 unit warbled in confusion.

    "You aided a member of the Resistance in obtaining secret information; I doubt they'll slap a restraining bolt on you and call it good," He leaned out and fired to his left, hitting a stormtrooper who attempted to sneak up on him from his side. "Buddy if we don't get out of here, it's straight to the furnace for the both of us."  

The astromech whistled and beeped frantically, the utility arm started working twice as fast as before. A few seconds later it droned in a series of low tones.

"I haven't thought that far ahead. The ship we came in on was hit by the electro-pulse before I had a chance to shut the main systems down. If worse comes to worse, you'll have to transmit the data to Klax once power is restored. I'll hold them off for as long as I can."

The R-7 unit made several grunting sounds as it shook its head.

Poe glowered at the droid, knowing an astromech laugh when he heard one. "If there's something you know I don't about getting off this base, please share. I..." he turned his head, certain he heard what he thought he heard. "Hold on a sec."

Dropping to his belly, Poe wriggled over to and out the door they came in. Sitting up, he backed against the wall and did his best to hold his breath. A second later he heard metal clinking against the floor rolling near him behind the wall he was against. Once the clinking stopped, the explosion from a stun grenade shook the floor.

Less than a moment later, he heard the stormtroopers rush the console he'd been hiding behind for cover. At the same time they charged in, he spun on his foot into the doorway and fired off several more bolts, hitting two of them in the back. Before getting the chance to congratulate himself, he dove out of the way to avoid a swing from the tall Death trooper who had moved up on him from the right. Immediately he rolled out of the way to avoid a heavy boot aimed at his skull. From his back he fired three shots before the power cell ran dry.

The black-clad death trooper avoided the first two but was clipped by the third in the shoulder. It didn't appear to phase him however, he continued forward as though he hadn't been shot. When the soldier tried to stomp Poe's leg (for the power cells in his blaster were depleted as well) the

Resistance pilot backed away, narrowly avoiding the blow. Yet by dodging the attack he put his back to a wall inside the console room.

With nowhere to go, the death trooper grabbed Poe by his neck and lifted him off the ground.

In a wheezing voice Poe asked, "What is it with you guys and the choking?"He grabbed at the hand around his windpipe and used the other to swing his empty weapon at the death trooper's helmet.

The attack hit, but lacked the strength needed to affect the skull beneath the armor. He writhed and kicked in the soldier's grip, but it did nothing to stop the stranglehold on his neck.

Just as his vision started to blur around the edges, sparks erupted from the side of the death trooper's helmet and the two of them dropped to the ground. Poe gasped several times, rocking left and right as he grabbed at his neck. Spotting a silhouette in the doorway, he turned his attention on it and squinted. Upon recognizing the figure, he offered a weak smile and waved silently to the General.

"I thought you would have been finished and looking for a ship to escape in by now." Leia walked slowly over to where he lay and knelt down next to him. Placing a palm at the top of his forehead, she channeled the Force to quicken his recovery.

Poe visibly relaxed and sat up with her help. "Thank you, General," he coughed, clearing his throat. "As I was explaining to the droid, I'm working that part out."

The R-7 unit rolled up just then, whirring and beeping as it shook.

"It appears he's retrieved the transmission," Poe said. "And found a ship. I'm impressed."

The astromech beeped and droned before rolling quickly out the door.  

Leia looked at Poe accusingly. "What was it saying about being thrown in a furnace?"

Poe shrugged with a look of complete bewilderment on his face.

******************************

"This is not the type of ship I had in mind," Poe whispered, staring at the hatch of the underwater vessel. He helped the General climb down the ladder before heading down himself. The R-7 unit entered last, using its boosters to levitate into the hull. Above them, a stormtrooper shouted out and then blaster fire started raining down around them. Poe pulled away from the small dock and submerged the moment the hatch closed.   

From her chair, Leia reached out to the radio; but her arm was suddenly too heavy to hold up. When she saw Poe staring at her, she shook her head. Through slow, labored breaths after a minute of concentration she said, "Try...to reach Klax,"

Poe flipped the comlink switch, found the correct channel and called for half-giant Corellian. He tried two more times before turning his attention back to the open sea in front of him. "Unresponsive General."

Leia nodded. Turning to the astromech, she said, "R-7, play all transmissions of Supreme Leader Snoke, if decrypted."    

The lights on the droid's domed top flashed and after a few seconds, a holorecording of Snoke with his back turned appeared.

"Tell your men to begin the evacuation of troops in one week's time. Corellia is no longer under our protection and therefore, the occupants have abandoned their choice to surrender and will now serve me. Our enemies must realize the implications of defying the First Order."

A nervous voice responded, "Yes Supreme Leader. Do these same instructions apply to all other worlds in support of the Resistance?"

"But of course Captain. Now. Do not contact me until this task is done."

"Understood my Lord."

Static echoed across the empty chamber as communication between the Supreme leader and his officer was terminated. Snoke turned toward a glass case, but his back obscured what was inside.

"Yes I am aware," he said in frustration. "Skywalker will come for my apprentice. When he does, we will be ready."

The holoprojection disappeared.

Poe stared at the spot where the projection was. "Why would he evacuate his forces if he means for the Corellians to serve him?"

Leia swallowed, though it did nothing to take away how dry her mouth felt. "Like Alderaan, their deaths can serve as an example."

Poe ran a hand through his hair. "How could they possibly have another weapon capable of wiping out a planet?"

Leia shook her head. "I don't know. Either way, Snoke knows Luke will come for him. He knows Corellia is on the edge of an insurrection...we have to get word to the Resistance and Klax to be ready for battle when the Supremacy arrives."

Poe chewed the inside of his mouth. "How much time do you think we have?"

Though her body was exhausted, her eyes told him she was far from finished. "Not enough. But that's hardly going to stop us, now is it?"