Force Destiny

After the last stormtrooper exited the bridge, Finn flipped the emergency shutdown switch on the control panel.

"Do you think that will work?" Rey asked excitedly. "Do you think all of the stormtroopers will choose to rebel?"

"It's in their hands now. I think they at least have a chance, which is more than they had before," Finn replied hopefully. "What's the plan?"

"We lower the shields, alert the Resistance to begin the attack, then get out of here. If Ben hasn't made it out of the Command Bridge, I'll go help him there."

Finn's eyes narrowed in confusion. "How do we keep the shields lowered if we leave the bridge?"

"There must be a lock or something. We'll figure that out once we lower the shields," Rose said brightly, wrapping her arms around her fiancé.

"I can do it." There was a groan in the far corner of the room. One of the officers was still alive. Rey made her way to him, raising her weapon to end his suffering. "Please," he said, his hands raised. "I want to help." The Force whispered to listen, to trust him. Blue sat by his side, his soft whimpers pleading with her to have mercy. Did they know each other?

"Ben says that somewhere in here are controls for the defense system. We have to disable the deflector shield generators for all of the ships in the fleet, then contact the Resistance. Where are they?"

"The defensive system controls are over there," he pointed with red-tinged, trembling fingers. "And the outside comms are there. Please, please don't kill me."

"I can do this!" Rose shouted. She began to study the network of controls for what they needed in the direction the officer had pointed. Blue joined her, docking with the computer to help her navigate. Rey turned back to the man in question.

"What's your name?" she asked softly.

"Mitaka. Dopheld Mitaka."

"Mitaka," she repeated. She had never seen the man before, but there seemed to be a recognition in his eyes. "You must understand why we can't leave you in here alive once we lower the shields."

"You have to," he insisted. "The room won't lock from the outside. If you abandon it, another officer could raise the shields again. The system could reset or fail to lower all the remaining shields in the fleet if you try to destroy the panel when you leave. The only way to keep those shields lowered is for someone to press the emergency shut down switch from the inside, then sit here and guard these controls until the fleet is destroyed." Something Mitaka had said set off a warning alarm in her mind. Something else the Force wanted her to pay attention to. She skimmed his mind and found only the sharp edge of truth.

Finn shook his head. "No way we're leaving an officer of the First Order alone in here."

"He's telling the truth; I can feel it." She turned to Mitaka. "If you stay, then you'll die."

He grinned through crimson-stained lips. "This isn't what I signed up for. What your friend said about the stormtroopers is true for many of the officers, too. They never cared about us, they just used us. I'm dying; better to help burn this all down before I go." He groaned again as he held his side tightly, a dark, wet spot growing on his uniform under his hand.

"Thank you," she whispered, squeezing his hand gently before pulling him to a stand. It wasn't until she had stood and helped him cross the room to the Emergency Shut Down switch that she realized the significance of what the officer had said. If the system had been set up as the Mitaka had described, what had been Ben's plan?

Rey reached out across the bond to find Ben. She didn't sense fear, but she couldn't shake the feeling of dread creeping in the back of her mind.

How is Hux still alive?