Luke looked up from his elderly patient on the carpet to the thirty other passengers gathered around. "Silence. We're going to turn off the lights and pretend no one is in here. Cordé, hide Sabé in the pantry. Everyone else, prepare for the group headed our way."

Pointing his finger at Luke, the Korrunai said, "I'm tired of listening to you give us orders. Besides, you don't know what you're talking about." He puffed out his chest. "I have more experience in my pinky than some young hot-shot like yourself. That's right. I served in the Republic Army. Seen my fair share of action. On Jakku, among other planets. These pirates have no discipline. They're just scruffy hooligans."

Luke shook his head, wishing he were in uniform and armed. What did that guy think I did earlier? Wish that those pirates would give him their guns and then die? "Fine, what do you think we should do, General?"

"Well," the Korrunai said as his eyes grew bigger. "Perhaps barricade the doors and guard them? Turn the lights off. Stay quiet."

"Those sound great. Glad you thought—"

Loud talk interrupted from the other side of the door. A vibroblade stabbed through the hatch but slowed when it reached the lock, muffling the voices.

Luke was pleased to see his shooters maintaining their ground, aiming at the door. The Jedi Master stood to the side of the door behind a cabinet, ready to use the Force when the pirates broke through. His reflection caused him to jump. He still couldn't get used to the way he looked with spiked, blue hair and a full beard. 

Heavy footsteps stomped through the passageway. The crew outside the door stopped cutting and turned their attention to the entity that Luke sensed suddenly arriving. Heavy footsteps stomped down the corridor followed by a barrage of blaster fire.

Luke smiled. It was Naluma. He nodded with pride when he heard two lightsabers ignite and deflect the blaster fire from the pirates.

When the hatch opened, Luke's team raised their blasters. "Stand down. Don't shoot. It's not them." He raced between the door and the guns.

Naluma stepped through the door with both lightsabers in her hands and carnage around her. A pirate from the other end of the corridor fired at the her, but Naluma turned in a split second, deflecting the blasts with the dual lightsabers, killing the man.

"I love you."

Naluma grinned as she deactivated the lightsabers. "I know."

Luke grinned. "What took you so long?" He grabbed the blasters from the corpses littered around the door.

"Ran into some old friends." She winked as she entered the room. She turned her hand and shut the door again with the Force. "That door isn't worth much. Hey, you! Yeah, the Korrunai. Grab that table and barricade the door with it."

"First this guy and now you. Who do you think you are? I'm in charge of this war party," the Korrunai said.

Naluma raised her eyebrows at Luke and handed him the pack. Go change while I give a quick blaster lesson.

As Luke left, Naluma turned to a few of the other passengers. "Anyone who can lift three kilograms, get over here." 

A few of the women approached and a couple of the men. Naluma handed over the blasters she had collected on her travels to the room. 

"See this, it's an E-11 blaster. You aim and shoot. Safety is here. Short bursts will conserve your power and prevent it from overheating. Gauge is here. E‑11's pull to the left a bit. Aim a smidge to your right to off-set that. Now practice on that china."

As he reentered, dressed in his Jedi blacks, Luke asked, "What's the plan, Naluma?"

"Take back the ship, but we'll need a squad."

Are you up for this?

Naluma nodded, luxuriating in the peace the Force brought with it. Yes. Yes, I am. 

She removed his belt from her hips and handed it to him, lightsaber swinging gently from it. "So, Master Skywalker, where do you suggest we start our takeover?"

A few of the passengers gasped when they heard that name. Luke's name was heard around the galaxy on the holovids weekly, but none had recognized him out of uniform.

"You tell me, Master Fau," Luke said with a slight bow. "This is your mission."

"Rescue passengers first, taking out troopers as we reach them."

One of the women said, "Those aren't troopers. They're pirates."

"They're troopers. First Order. Look at the blaster you're holding. It was issued to GX-8923. That's a stormtrooper classification. They don't have names. They have codes. Besides, they're carrying E-11's—standard stormtrooper weapon." Naluma pointed out the issue ID on the weapon.

"Oh," the woman said.

Even the rambunctious combat veteran's eyes widened at the news. He stepped forward and saluted. "Infantry Evin K. Michaels, at your service." He stomped his sandaled feet on the floor and straightened to attention.

"At ease, soldier, and pay attention." Naluma shrugged. "We're going to head to the gym and free the ones that are held there. After that, we'll hit the dining room, the casino, and the theater. We may run into squads on the way. You will encounter bodies. They've killed most of the crew, as well as the elderly. It won't be pretty." She watched as the passengers absorbed that information.

"They tend to stand in the open corridor. Hug the walls, use the alcoves, and move one at a time. Watch for hand motions." She demonstrated the ones for stop and go. "Now, who's with us?"

Six vaulted forward. "Okay, the rest of you stay back and protect this base. We'll exit through the kitchens and use the service corridors to access the rest of the ship. Move out."

Jedi Master Naluma Fau opened the hatch to the purser's office half-way down the corridor. Then she scuttled across to the room, using it for cover. She motioned for the squad to follow one at a time as she maintained cover. Luke brought up the rear.

She looked down the hallway and raced to the main hatch to the gymnasium. She hugged the wall beside the hatch, motioning for her squad to surround the door.

When Luke arrived, he waved his hand over the control panel to open the hatch. After a few seconds, he was able to work out the right combination, and the door flew open.

Naluma jumped inside the room with a man named Joppa beside her. Troopers fired immediately on her and her partner. Luke pushed in as both deflected the bolts with their lightsabers. They advanced slowly across the large room, closing the gap between the troopers and themselves.

Joppa shadowed Naluma, using her for cover as he aimed at their opponents. He shot one of the troopers in the chest, but he hit a passenger by mistake on his next round.

Pulling in the Force to shield her from the death, Naluma yelled, "Focus on the next hit. Friendly fire sometimes happens. Just get the next one."

While the rest of the squad took up positions by the door, Luke covered the corridor. Calix, the woman mirroring Luke, hit her targets every shot. She aimed and fired a burst at three troopers, dropping each one with no collateral damage. But Calix didn't stop there.

She dropped to a knee and fired a volley of laser fire at the pirate-clad troopers approaching from the other direction. Each shot found its prey. One fell flat on his face, and the other spun when hit and slammed against the wall before crumpling over on himself.

Calix rose and turned on her heels. She charged into the gym, E-11 at the ready. Target after target fell, never giving the chance to return fire. She spotted a unfriendly that had taken up position behind a stack of weights. When the trooper-pirate fired, she ducked and rolled to the ground.

From on her belly, she trained her blaster on the trooper, and fired. The shot hit right between the eyes, and the man fell over onto the weights.

The gymnasium fell silent.

The entire group, including Luke and Naluma, looked at Calix with bugged-out eyes. 

"What?" She shrugged. "Growing up with five older brothers, a girl learns a thing or two about self-defense."

When the last trooper fell to the deck, Naluma said, "Grab their weapons. Joppa, verify they're dead. We don't want them coming back to haunt us."

Joppa and another passenger-turned-commando secured the weapons. One of the troopers stirred after Joppa nudged him. Joppa rested the muzzle of his blaster against the man's forehead and fired.

A few of the others shrank back at the brutality, but the Jedi Masters nodded their approval knowing well and good that a dead enemy is the only safe enemy.

One of the gym users crawled out from behind a weight bench. "Why'd you do that? The man was still alive."

With her hands on her hips and her legs spread out, Naluma said, "Exactly. You don't leave the enemy in your wake, unless you want to be his next target." She took a calming breath. "You're safe now. Come on out. Ship's been attacked by the First Order, not pirates. If they succeed, they will enslave you to work in their factories or on their farms. If you want to do something about it, join us."

The passengers broke out in babble.

Naluma said with her hands outstretched against the multitude, "Silence. If you're with us, step forward. If not, hide."

Of the two dozen men and women in the gym, twenty two stepped forward. The other two looked left and right, before joining them.

"Good. You twelve are with Master Skywalker. The rest are with me. Form up. Follow our leads." Master Fau concluded her instructions as Joppa and Calix distributed the blasters.

They continued in the same manner, for the next few hours, taking one gathering spot after another. The hardest part for the civilians was finding the bodies. Hundreds of crew members and elderly passengers had met their demise—killed instantly upon meeting the intruders. Bodies littered some corridors. In other areas, the bodies were piled in the main rooms. However, no one else complained about killing the troopers without mercy.

Did you know . . .

● The E-11 blaster rifle normally held 100 shots per cartridge.

● A special plasma cartridge was available with 500 shots.

● Three settings for the E-11:  lethal, stun, and sting.

Tell me what you think . . .

● Does Naluma's militaristic choices of taking no prisoners violate the Jedi Code of compassion?