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chapter twenty-two: starkiller
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WITHIN THE COURSE of an hour, Indira hears the telltale sounds of beeping from the nav computer as the ship makes its approach on the drop coordinates for Starkiller base. The four occupants of the ship had spent their brief flight coming up with some semblance of a plan for when they arrived on the base. The end result was something like this: find and disable the shields, find Indira's mother and Rey, and get the hell off the planet before the Resistance starfighters hit the oscillator and blew them all to hell.

"How are we getting in?" Finn asks Han as he preps the ship for its descent from hyperspace.

Han glances over at him. "Their shields have a fractional refresh rate," he says and Indira frowns. "Keeps anything slower than lightspeed from getting through."

Finn looks at her with a horrified expression as they both come to the same conclusion. "Wait," Indira says, filled with dread. "You don't mean that —"

"We're gonna make our landing approach at lightspeed?!" Finn demands, cutting her off before she can speak.

Chewbacca roars in affirmation and Indira fights the urge to panic. Landing on a foreign, enemy planet at lightspeed was perhaps the single worst plan she had ever heard of in her entire life. "You didn't think to mention that sooner?" She hisses at the pilot, reaching over to where EV-1 is hovering nearby to snatch the droid from the air and hold it secure in her lap.

"Would it have changed anything?" Han shoots back before focusing on the nav screen."Alright, Chewie, get ready," he instructs his copilot before punching a lever on the dash. "And now!"

Chewie flips one of the switches at the same time as Han and the ship makes a violent drop out of hyperspace that Indira feels in the pit of her stomach. Somewhat queasy, she lets out a sharp exhale as she watches the base materialize around them. Outside of the ship's windows, the terrain is covered in powdery white snow, large boulders, and endless miles of thick forest.

Filled with alarm as the ship approaches the ground at a rapid pace, Chewbacca groans at Han in distress. "I am pulling up!" Han shouts back at him, equally agitated.

Trapped in its downward spiral, the Millennium Falcon goes crashing through miles of forest filled with tall, sturdy trees. Chewbacca hollers at Han and Han yells back at him angrily while Indira watches with a horrified expression, squeezing EV tighter in her arms.

"I can't get any higher; they'll see us!" Han exclaims as the ship is roughly jostled by tree after tree, setting various alarms off within the cabin. EV-1 lets out a distressed series of beeps and Indira has to agree with the droid. This is not going to end well!

As the ship breaks through the clearing, it instantly goes crashing down onto a bank of hardened snow with an unpleasant thump before continuing to slide towards the edge of a cliff. "Oh my gods!" Indira screams as the ship continues to pick up momentum at an alarming pace, barreling towards the edge. "We're going to die." She looks over at Finn with a horrified expression. "We're all going to die!"

Finn doesn't have time to respond before the ship makes contact with something hard, halting its downward slide towards the drop-off. For a moment there is nothing but silence as the various members of the team assess the damage. Slowly, Indira lets go of her death-grip on her droid, allowing it to flutter around in the air anxiously.

"Hey, we're not dead," Finn says brightly; the first person to speak in the aftermath of the crash. "Good work, team."

Han — though visibly shaken from the rough landing — stands quickly from his seat. "Come on," he says gruffly. "We don't have time to wait around."

Indira, Finn, and Chewie quickly follow the former general off the ship and take their first steps on the enemy base. Immediately, Indira notices is that it is cold and she bites back a complaint as the frigid air licks at her skin, tearing through the flimsy material of her ill-chosen clothing. She definitely had not dressed for snow and subzero temperatures of all things.

Shivering, she hunkers down as they trudge across the embankment that the Falcon had landed on, making their way towards the large military complex in the distance. Indira's teeth chatter with every step she takes, but she does her best to not complain; nose running and eyes streaming against the bitter cold.

"The flooding tunnels are over that ridge," Finn points out as they duck for cover behind an abandoned watchtower. "We'll get in that way."

"Alright," Han says, panting heavily from their endurance. "What was your job when you were based here?"

Finn pointedly keeps his eyes on the horizon without looking at any of them. "Sanitation."

Indira's brow wrinkles slightly at that before Han grabs Finn by the back of his collar. "Sanitation?" He demands angrily. "Then how do you know anything about disabling the shields?"

Finn's expression turns guilty as he glances over at Indira. "I don't," he admits. "I'm just here to get Rey."

Han's expression contorts even further. "People are counting on us!" He hisses. "The galaxy is counting on us!"

"Solo, we'll figure it out!" Finn replies confidently. "We'll use the Force."

A vein throbs in Han's neck. "That's not how the Force works!"

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Indira shakes her head in disbelief. "Oh," she says as the gravity of the situation sinks in, "I am going to die surrounded by the biggest idiots in the galaxy."

Behind her, Chewbacca lets out a distressed yell and Han whirls on him. "Oh, really?" He demands. "You're cold?"

"We don't have time for this!" Indira interrupts, silencing all of them. Her eyes drift up to the bleeding sun above the base that is growing dimmer and dimmer. With each passing second, the weapon they stand upon grows closer and closer to being able to fire on D'Qar or the Resistance fleet.

"She's right," Finn agrees, taking off at a run down the snowy embankment towards the tunnels in the distance. "Come on!"

It takes several minutes to get there, but when the group finally reaches the complex, Finn takes the lead and guides them into the heart of the building through the tunnels. It's extremely dark inside of them, so EV-1 shines a small spotlight to help combat the darkness. Indira is still cold, but the inside of the base is blessedly warm compared to the sub-zero temperatures outdoors. She rubs her hands together in an attempt to work some feeling back into her frozen fingers, mindful of the blaster at her hip in case she should need to reach for it.

"Okay," Finn warns them as they approach a set of doors at the end of the tunnel. "I can try entering the code for this door, but if it doesn't work then we might have some company."

"Just do it," Han replies tersely. "We haven't got time to waste — and Chewie and I can handle a shootout."

Obediently, Finn types the code into the door before it slides open, allowing them access to the main tunnel. When he determines that the coast is clear, he gives Indira an excited grin as they walk down the hallway. "I honestly didn't think that would work," he whispers as they step into an elevator, the doors falling shut behind them. "But I'm glad it did."

"Yeah, me too, Big Deal," Han replies sarcastically as the elevator carries them up to the main floor of the building.

Without warning, the transport comes to a stop and the doors go flying open, revealing a masked stormtrooper on the other side. "Hey!" The trooper exclaims before Chewie fires his crossbow, gunning the man down immediately.

Indira pulls her own blaster out from its holster on her belt, clutching the weapon tightly as she steps around the fallen soldier's body and they enter the corridor just outside of the elevator. Chewie drags the man's body out of sight while the rest of them take a look around and EV runs a small scan to help track the locations of other troopers on the base.

"The longer we're here, the less luck we're going to have," Han warns them. "And what about those shields? We still need the clearance codes, remember?"

"I have an idea about that," Finn says, leading them down an empty corridor while motioning for them to be quiet. "Chewie, I'm gonna need you to grab someone for me. The rest of you, stay out of sight until I say it's clear."

Indira frowns, but listens to Finn's instructions. She, Han, and EV-1 keep hidden around the edge of the corridor while Finn and Chewie peek out from the entrance. From her position, Indira can't see what's happening, but she can hear faint whispers coming from Finn.

"See her?" He asks the Wookiee. "Yeah, she's impossible to miss. Grab her for me and we should be golden."

Chewie lets out a small noise of affirmation before falling silent as heavy footsteps grow closer to their hiding spot. When the footsteps are nearly upon them, Chewbacca gives a throaty cry and Indira hears the sounds of a scuffle before someone is dragged into the abandoned hallway corridor.

Stepping out of her hiding spot, Indira wrinkles her nose at the sight of the largest stormtrooper she has ever seen being held at gunpoint by Chewbacca. The trooper is nearly as tall as the Wookiee, wearing chrome-colored armor and a black cape. Han unleashes his blaster quickly and steps forward, thrusting the barrel of the gun under the trooper's throat while Finn steps forward.

"You remember me?" He demands from the trooper, doing his very best to make himself look intimidating.

The stormtrooper looks down at him through the eye slits in their mask and somehow manages to make their expression appear disdainful while keeping their face fully concealed. "FN-2187," a woman's cold voice responds.

"Not anymore," Finn replies aggressively. "The name's Finn and I'm in charge. I'm in charge, Phasma — I'm in charge!"

Han interrupts him subtly. "Bring it down, bring it down," he mutters to the former stormtrooper and he nods quickly.

"Okay," Finn says before straightening up and glaring at the woman. "Now, take us to the shields!"

Phasma glares back. "And why would I do that?"

A hushed argument breaks out between Finn and the captain, littered with numerous threats and usages of profanity before the trooper finally agrees to take them to the shields. Indira isn't sure why, exactly, the woman agrees to help them, but she figures that the captain's inclination towards her own self-preservation must have trumped whatever loyalty she had to the First Order.

"Do it," Finn instructs the woman once they make their way into the control center, pushing her towards the workstation that controls to the base's defense shields. "Do you want me to blast that bucket off your head? Enter the clearance codes."

Phasma glares at him through her helmet. "You're making a big mistake," she warns Finn, who simply adjusts the gun that he has pointed at her head.

"Do it."

Reluctantly, the captain enters the officer clearance codes before Finn pulls her to the side, allowing Indira to have full access to the defensive shields. The First Order technology isn't strictly familiar to her, but the coding on the programming system is fairly basic, so it only takes her a few minutes to access the controls on the defensive shields. Behind her, Han and Finn are talking in low whispers, but she tunes them out as she works. On the display before her, she watches as the disabling protocol initiates and the model of Starkiller base fades from blue to red, letting her know that it has successfully been disarmed.

"Got it!" She announces, turning to look at Han and Finn as soon as she's done. "The shields are down."

"Good job, kid," Han tells her, offering her a rare smile and compliment.

"You can't be so stupid as to think this will be easy," Captain Phasma interrupts, sneering at them from underneath her helmet. "My troops will storm this block and kill you all."

"Well, I disagree," Finn counters, shoving his gun into her back before glancing over at Han. "What do we do with her?"

Han's face lights up with a boyish sort of glee. "Is there a garbage chute?" He asks, raising his eyebrows. "Trash compactor?"

Finn grins back at him. "Yeah, there is ..."

Before they can get too caught up in their plan, Indira holds her hands up. "Wait!" She shouts, making them all freeze. "There's still one last thing she can do for us."

Without hesitation she steps towards the towering stormtrooper. Clenching her jaw tightly and narrowing her eyes to slits, Indira stands directly before the woman and glares up at the mask on her face.

"Tell me where my mother is."

THE CELL BLOCK CORRIDOR is freezing cold. Indira can't help but shiver as she takes her first few steps towards it, clutching her blaster tightly. She doesn't know if she's shaking from cold or fear or anticipation, but she knows that she can't let it get the best of her right now; not when there's so much at stake. Beside her, EV-1 beeps reassuringly and the familiar sound gives her enough courage to press onward.

Finn and Han had stayed behind to dispose of Phasma in one of the garbage chutes, but Indira had elected to go on with Chewie for the sake of time. They still have to find Rey after rescuing her mother and Indira knows that time is not on their side now that the shields are down. Poe and the rest of the Resistance fleet were most likely already preparing to launch their air assault on the base. Getting caught in the crossfire could prove deadly for the group on the ground.

"Cell block forty-seven," she mutters under her breath as she hurries down the empty corridor, repeating the number Phasma had given her. "Cell block forty-seven, cell block forty-seven."

Thankfully, they had yet to run into any more troopers since most of the soldiers had been called away to deal with the incoming assault on the base. Still, Indira is far too cynical to let herself think that things will be easy — and she's right to think so. The second she and Chewie turn down the hallway at the end of the corridor, they're met by a squadron of stormtroopers.

Without hesitation, Chewie opens fire on them with his crossbow and Indira follows suit without thinking, raising her weapon and blasting the nearest trooper before ducking back behind the corner as she watches them fall to the ground. She tries not to think about how she probably just killed someone for the first time; someone like Finn, who'd been kidnapped and brainwashed and forced to kill for the First Order without having a choice. It's something she can't afford to think about.

As she and Chewie continue to exchange fire with the troopers, Indira hears the sounds of footsteps approaching from behind. She spins around quickly, gun raised and fully prepared to shoot whoever is approaching before she realizes that it's just Han and Finn.

"Go, kid!" Han shouts at her, waving her off. "There's more of 'em headed this way; we've gotta get out of here!"

Indira nods quickly before glancing up at Chewie. "Cover for me?" She asks the Wookiee and he nods, letting out a throaty growl in confirmation before charging into the room and drawing the fire from the remaining troopers. Indira slips behind them and sprints down the final corridor of cell doors.

"Forty-seven, forty-seven, forty-seven," she repeats as her feet carry her to the end of the hall. EV-1 is close behind her, whirring loudly as the sounds of the fire-fight grow more distant.

At the final row of cells, she spots a door with the same serial number that Phasma had given her and she exhales sharply before running full speed towards it. With trembling hands, she reaches towards the keypad and punches the control to open the cell door, unable to soothe the knot of anxious tension that is building inside her stomach.

"Come on, come on, come on," she hisses, punching the button over and over again, but the door doesn't budge.

Tugging at her hair in agitation, Indira resists the urge to scream in frustration as the screen flashes a message at her: OFFICER CLEARANCE LEVEL CODES REQUIRED. ACCESS DENIED! Swearing loudly, Indira turns away from the cell door in frustration. "Fuck!" She shouts, smashing her hand against the wall. For a moment, she rests her head against the wall and closes her eyes as she tries to think. One blaster wouldn't be enough to shoot the door down and it could be potentially dangerous for her mother on the other side. Finding another officer with clearance codes would take too much time and there's no guarantee that they would be as cooperative as Phasma.

"Come on, Indira, think," she scolds herself, thumping her head against the wall for emphasis.

In her distracted state, she doesn't notice EV-1 drifting towards the computer terminal located just above the keypad. The little droid extends its computer arm towards the socket, inserting the device into the portal. Within a few moments, the doors to the cell go sliding open and Indira jerks back quickly in surprise. Her eyes find the little droid and a watery smile creeps across her lips.

"Evie, you're incredible," she tells the droid, reaching up to tweak its antenna affectionately before turning back towards the open doors.

Her heart pounds wildly in her chest as she ducks her head inside the cell, reminding herself to breathe as she enters. The room is poorly lit, making it difficult for her to see, but Indira can make out the faint outline of a person curled in on themselves lying on the floor of the cell; face turned in the opposite direction.

On trembling legs, Indira takes a step closer, then another, and another until she's standing a mere few inches away. She doesn't dare believe what she's seeing as she crouches to the ground, reaching out with shaking hands to roll the figure onto their back. A woman's face turns towards her; bloodied and bruised, paled and hollowed from years of isolation and abuse, but there is no mistaking who she is. Indira would know her mother's face anywhere.

"Who's there?" Her mother asks hoarsely, eyes shut tight.

Indira's lower lip trembles as she reaches out to brush some of the hair from her mother's face. "Mama," she whispers tremulously before her voice breaks. "Mama, it's Indira. I'm here."

"Indira?" A harsh breath escapes her mother's lips as she reaches out to touch her daughter's face, tracing the curves and ridges of her brow, nose, and lips. "Is that really you?"

She nods tremulously. "It's me."

     Her mother lets out a small sob before pulling her close. Tears burn hot as they roll down Indira's cheeks, running down her face as she clutches her mother back and they both begin to weep. "I thought you were dead," Indira cries as her mother strokes her hair, pressing a kiss to the side of her face. "I thought I would never see you again!"

A million other questions run through her mind. Why did they take you? What did they do to you? Why did you keep so much hidden from me? Eventually, Indira will do her best to find the answers to all of these things, but she knows that now is not the right time to ask them; not when there's still so much at stake.

"How are you here?" Her mother asks in disbelief, pulling back to clutch at the collar of Indira's jacket. "It's not safe for you!"

"I'm here with Han Solo," she replies, squeezing her hands gently. "General Organa sent us —"

Her mother straightens up at that. "Han is here with you?" She asks in disbelief. "Leia sent you?"

Indira nods quickly. "The Resistance is going to destroy the base," she says. "But someone needed to disable the shields — I'll tell you more about it some other time, but we need to leave. Can you stand?"

"I — yes," her mother says, but makes no move to leave. "But I can't," her voice falters. "I can't see, Indira. They did something to me and now I can't —"

The words feel like a blow to her stomach. Aghast, Indira takes in the sight of her mother's eyes as she squints against the poor lighting of the cell. A gasp escapes her lips as she realizes that her mother's eyes — always warm and dark and sturdy — have faded to a murky, clouded brown color. It makes her blood boil before Indira forces herself to set her rage aside. Whoever had done this to her mother would pay, but their survival was more important than revenge.

"It's okay," Indira replies, forcing her voice to stay steady. "We'll figure it out, but I'm not leaving without you."

Her mother shakes her head. "No, Indira. I'll only slow you down —"

"I'm not," Indira interrupts firmly, "leaving without you. So either we both go or we both stay. Do you hear me?"

A shuddering breath leaves her lips before her mother nods with determination, allowing Indira to help her stand from the ground of her cell. She's filled with both sadness and rage when she sees just how gaunt her mother's figure is; all fragile skin and bones. The woman's legs shake beneath her just from the mere the effort of standing and she leans heavily against Indira, but she is determined to keep herself from falling.

As they slowly make their way out of the cell, Indira nearly runs into Han, Finn, and Chewie as they hurry towards her direction. She sees the look of surprise on Han's face before it transforms into a grimace as he takes in her mother's haggard appearance.

"Is she alright?" Han asks, nodding his head in the direction of her mother.

Indira shrugs helplessly. "She can't see," is all she says.

Han's face grows taut with anger. "What —"

A frown crosses her mother's lips as her brow furrows. "Han, is that you?"

"Yeah, Jana, it's me," he confirms after heaving a heavy sigh.

"What are you doing here?" Her mother demands.

"Oh, you know the usual," Han says with an offhand wave. "Being a hero, saving the galaxy. Some things never change."

"Oh, gods," her mother mutters with a fond sort of annoyance. "You're absolutely right. Some things don't ever change."

Chewbacca lets out a broken string of sounds that reminds Indira of laughter. Her mother's face brightens and she opens her arms to Chewie, who steps forward to give her a hug. "I missed you, too," Jana replies after the Wookiee mutters something to her in muffled Shyriiwook.

"Solo," Finn mutters quietly, tugging on Han's sleeve. "We still need to find Rey."

Han nods quickly. "Yeah, kid, I know," he replies. "Jana, can you walk?"

Indira shakes her head before her mother can answer. "Not well," she says. "Very, very slowly."

"Can you hold onto something?" Han asks her mother and she nods with determination. Han glances over at Chewbacca, nodding his head in her direction. "Chewie?"

The Wookiee makes an agreeable sound before turning his back to her mother and crouching down. "Hop on," Han instructs. "And whatever you do, don't let go."

Indira helps guide her mother forward before she wraps her arms around Chewie's neck, holding on tightly as he lifts her off the ground with ease. The group then makes their way out of the cell bay towards the main corridor of the base. Indira winces slightly when they pass the room full of stormtroopers lying motionless on the ground; dead at the hands of herself and her comrades. When they finally reach the junction area of the base, alarms are blaring all around them and squadrons of troopers seem to be located around each corner. The rebels tread slowly and carefully as they make their way towards the center of the base, knowing that they can't afford to be spotted now.

"Okay," Finn says, guiding them towards an empty corridor located just beside a set of doors that are sealed shut. "We'll use the charges to blow that blast door. I'll go in and draw fire, but I'm gonna need cover."

Han's brow furrows. "You sure you're up for this?"

"Hell no," Finn replies, but he doesn't waver. "I'll go in and try to find Rey. The troopers will be on our tail, There's an access tunnel that leads —"

Han's gaze drifts from Finn to the window behind him and he juts his chin in the opposite direction, gesturing towards something past the younger man. Indira frowns before turning her head and gasping at the sight just outside of the porthole.

"Why are you doing that?" Finn asks Han, imitating his nods. "Why are you doing this? I'm trying to come up with a plan —"

Indira yanks his sleeve, causing him to turn around and catch sight of the small, lithe figure scaling the wall opposite their side of the base. Indira watches in awe as a girl with dark hair easily grips the surface of the wall, gracefully pulling herself up from the pit towards the main level. Finn lets out a grateful, almost hysterical laugh and Chewie murmurs something under his breath. It's Han, though, who seems the most relieved to see the young woman. His shoulders sag, as if a heavy burden has been lifted from them, and he watches her climb with a wondrous expression.

"What is it?" Indira's mother asks, her voice hushed as she tries to determine what they others are seeing. "What's happening?"

Finn's voice is almost reverent when he speaks. "It's her," he says, completely awestruck. "It's Rey."

EDITED ON:
10.12.18