"Belief is not a matter of choice, but of conviction."

A storm was coming, so much so that you could smell it in the air. That musty sensation that greets your nose, the feeling of dampness that coats your skin. That is how every person within the Crait base felt. They could feel the final wave of the storm that was approaching. The pent-up fear and anticipation, the buzzing of electricity within their chests said it was so. While the first crack of rolling thunder is what announces the presence of the storm, still looming in the near distance, in this instance, it was the crack of Crait's atmosphere being torn open by the Supremacy. By Snoke.

The Resistance was waiting for them. Leia had seen the blip come up on their radar only a mere hour ago, knowing that this was their fate. Knowing that these people will fight till their last breath.

To ease her mind- Leia tried to imagine a miracle, the sudden arrival of a flotilla of reinforcement starships ready for battle, or an accidental gas leak on the Supremacy that set the whole thing to spontaneously combust into stardust. But the ship remained, and the fleet was still depleted and the people depressed.

Poe, unable to stand it, ran from her side to join the small number of pilots in the hanger. By the time he had got there, TIE-fighters had been deployed with haste, exiting by twos and threes from the belly of the beast that roared up in the sky.

Some soldiers simply stood and stared at the ships that screamed towards the base, and others didn't waste any time to load up all the weapons they could carry. Yells and shouts carried up into the air as the moaning and groaning of ancient rusted metal cranked and lowered the colossal blast door to the salted ground to give them cover.

"Poe!" Finn shouted from a small ways away as hurried breaths rushed out his nose, his chest pumping. He slid to a stop as did Poe, to meet him.

"What do we have to get those fighters outa' the sky and into the ground?" He asked, his eyes burning with pent-up determination and fury that was just begging to be given a chance. This Resistance was his new Order, and the old one was knockin' on his door askin' for a good fight, he was ready and willing to give em' one.

"We've got about thirteen one manned ski speeders but they're old and've been stripped down to their barest components. They wouldn't last long out on the flats." Poe sighed through his teeth, running a stressed hand through his hair.

"But they'd last long enough, we could-" Finn protested before Poe interjected, laying his palm out toward him as if swiping his idea from the air.

"No it's too risky, it'd just be a shooting range for them. Our best bet is to stay held up in here for as long as we can. I've got men searching the old mining routes for a new way out as we speak-"

The ground rattled and quaked as the blast door was pumped full of heavy laser shots before the roar of a TIE- fighter sailed overhead and dissipated to a faint whisper. Salt shook from the ceiling to flutter to the floor and the planets crystal critters, that took shelter in the base, yipped and yowled in fright as they cowered on old ruby sand deposits and in dark corners behind rusted drills, eyes shining.

"If I may be the sole voice of reason, captain Dameron," C-3PO finally had managed to follow Poe all the way from the communications room to the hanger thinking he would be useful. "Artoo has scanned this entire base, there is only one way in and one way out." He swiveled his shiny, golden torso to direct his mechanical arms toward the giant armored door that was currently saving all of their lives.

"Well your scans are about to be proven wrong, Cee, cause we're gonna find another way outa here even if we have to drill our way out."

"They were not my scans, captain Dameron, they were Artoo-Dee-Twos-"

"Let's get moving people! C'mon!" Poe yelled over the protocol droids banter as he began to walk past him and gesturing Finn to follow.

"Where's Rey?" Poe asked hurriedly, as they briskly walked farther into the base, trying not to trip as the ground shook once more.

"I'm not sure, I haven't seen her," Finn replied, his worry for her resurfacing causing his brows to furrow and his lower lip to push outward. 'Hopefully, she was nearby,' he thought before peeling away from Poe and headed towards the communications room.

Rey stood tall, arms crossed over her chest and stared doubtfully at the monitor that showed them their odds. Multiple blips of red zipped about the central blue icon that was the base, and they weren't letting up.

Ben and Leia stood on either side of her. Leia fiddling with a few buttons and notches on one of the control panels while her son stood stoically, one arm wrapped around his torso while the other elbow was perched on top of it holding his chin in his hand. He still missed his coal-quilted garb but was glad he had changed. His eyes darted all over the vibrantly colored panels and then momentarily closing to try and think clearly while other officers wildly buzzed around him. This was utterly different from the way The Order dealt with an attack, the Resistance's way seemed so. . . messy. He stole a quick glance in Rey's direction to see her focusing on the display rig, her mind was alight with positive energy even if her face showed she might've been less than hopeful. She had a plan.

"Rey!"

A voice spoke out loudly from behind them. Rey's head whipped around to the sound her name from a familiar person's lips, her eyes landed on a flustered Finn jogging across the room. No one else in the room seemed to be affected by his presence accept another but a shorter woman, wearing a flight suit, who was talking with a nearby droid.

"Hey, Rose," Finn greeted her quietly with a smile as she joined him in his pursuit towards Rey. She accepted his greeting with a similar warm smile.

"Whats the plan?" He asked as they reached her by the control panel. His eyes scanned the large window, darting about as a TIE -fighter whizzed by, laying out heavy fire against the base. The floor trembled for what felt like the hundredth time in the past ten minutes.

Rey took a deep and stressed breath, closing her eyes before opening them to look at her friend. He was ready.

"I've gotten word that Poe's men have found another way out but its blocked with rock-fall and-"

"They're trying to clear it out as we speak," Leia finished for her as she came up by her side. She looked worn and ragged but somehow regal and as always, beautiful at the same time. Finn smirked in her direction which she reciprocated.

"Finn," Rey brought his attention back to her, "I'm going to have to ask you and Poe to lead the teams of the Resistance soldiers we have left to the two ships that still have fuel and evacuate the base." She said, her eyes showing a steely resolve as well as her frown. He stood there shocked.

"N- no way, we're fighting this fight together. I refuse to get separated again, Rey, I can't. Not while I have the chance to help this time!"

"I think the Resistance has had enough moving around," Rose added, her thin gaze pointed in Rey's direction almost skeptically.

"Finn-"

"No! We're a team and we don't leave people behind. There are soldiers out there preparing for a fight and I say we give it to em'. None of this crap about running away." His ushered breathes exaggerated his point, as well as the burning in his heart that Rey could feel vividly through the Force.

"This is war," Rose agreed, landing her hands on her hips with a determined smirk on her face. She knew Paige would support her decision to be stubborn and stay, fighting for what was right was what her sister did best after all.

Ben ground his teeth, working his jaw in irritation. This was a war they were going to lose, the only chance they had to leave was now and that window was closing quickly. Snoke would soon deploy stormtroopers and maybe even flame-troopers to smoke them out once they blast that door down. His heart rate quickened, sending a spike of fear into the Force. Snoke knows how the Resistance operated by now, he'll be expecting every move they make across the sabacc board, they couldn't possibly win. This could only end in disaster and death and that sent a churning sensation through Ben's stomach.

"Ben?" Rey turned to him as his back was still to them. She must have felt his anxiety since so much of it came barreling at him at once, he wasn't surprised. Dreading turning around he put one foot in front of the other, coming face to face with her and the rest of the crew. Finn's face was a curious one before a realization took hold, sending his eyes widely wide before reaching for his blaster against his thigh.

"You bastard!" He bellowed before Rey stepped in, holding her hands up in a defensive position.

"Finn! No-" Shoving her aside with a rough hand, Finn didn't really remember balling up his fist to launch it forward but he was suddenly incredibly surprised at the pain that blazed up his arm as his fist connected with Ben's jaw. It sent him jolting back, landing on his elbows against the control panel backing him up. Artoo's head swiveled quickly in the direction briefly violent scene just as quick as everyone else's. The officers and workmen halted a step with wide eyes before continuing with what they were previously rushing to do after Leia looked around the room and gave the commanding wave of her hand.

Ben's jaw burned and his nose suddenly felt cold but it was nothing compared to the abuse he was usually accustomed to, and besides, he deserved it. Yet that didn't stop him from getting angry.

As Rose pulled at Finn, trying to get him to back down, Ben sent out a quick pulse around him targeted at Finn. The shuffling of his feet was the loudest thing in the room as he was sent to the floor, his back slapping against the steel. It took almost everything Ben had not march over and pick him off the floor only to send his own fist cracking against Finn's face. Rey tried telling them both to calm down, but her voice grew quieter as Ben took a step back, showing that he was done with the confrontation.

Finn got to his feet after the shock left his brain numb for a moment, he straightened his jacket before spitting more questions. "What- how? What is he doing here!" He asked, his index finger in Ben's direction.

"He's here to help," She explained, "He can get us inside information."

"So can I!" He retorted, snorting like an angry hog. His shoulders hunched and fingers clawed at his sides, his lower lip jutted out. There was no question that he was furious.

"Not," Rey stepped in front of Ben as he rubbed his jaw, "like he could. You've given Leia a lot of information but Ben was Snoke's right hand, therefore, more answers." Rey's eyes were even and level, concentrating on his own to try and calm him down.

"Kylo Ren, not Ben. . . that monster doesn't deserve a proper name," He said. All Finn wanted to do was storm off but then he knew he would look like a child that just threw a tantrum. He already felt like he just lost some of his dignity, he didn't need the depression and disgrace of losing all of it. When he defected from the First Order he got side glances and heard murmurs around every corner. Sure some praised him for being valiant or brave but for a while, all he could think of was himself as a coward. That he just couldn't take the heat as a trooper, so was he just mocking up this newfound morality of not killing the innocence as some act to make him feel better about deserting? But finally he felt like he found his place in the Resistance and this snake thinks he can just take that away, get in and accepted so instantly and take his best friend so easily. This wasn't fair. He earned his name. He was aware of how childish that sounded but still, it irked him.

After a few even breaths, Finn's gaze bounced from face to face, even Kylo Ren's, causing them to end up rolling in disgust. After muttering a few curses under his breath, he ground out the same words that he entered with, "what's the plan?"

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Heylo! Sorry for the lack of uploads, I've been thinking hard of how I want this story to end and I've finally finished the premise. Sorry not much happened in this chapter but its the means to a  hopefully greater end!