MAGNEZ

Magnez looked up to the rooftops on either side of the narrow street, but couldn't see the men who were up there. Rain fell onto his face and he held up a hand to protect his eyes. The robots had moved into place and he gave the signal. A moment later a giant sheet of metal come crashing down towards the ground. Magnez jumped out of the way at the last minute, the heavy piece of metal landing a little off center of the road, but still hitting its mark. It crushed the battle droids below, knocking them down. Their blasters shot off to the side or up towards the sky as they tried to get back up. Some had managed to curl into metal balls before the sheet landed on them, some kind of self-defense mechanism it seemed. They were ugly robots, crawling on pointed feet. Magnez had never seen anything like these robots before.

The Rebels in place along the street opened fire on the new group of droids now entering through the gates. But their small guns had no effect on the robots. The men on the rooftops threw down large rocks, knocking the robots off balance, but they just got right back up. Magnez watched two of his men get shot, repeatedly until they stopped moving. He got up and threw a rock at the lead robot with an angry cry. It turned to face him and the rock lodged into its face, disorienting the robot. Shots were fired in his direction and he ducked again. They were no match for this army. They were doomed.

A loud boom erupted from the sky, which lit up with weapons fire, beams streaking through the wet leaves of the trees above and raining down onto the robots below. Stone and mud shot upward from the ground as the fighter planes fired onto the streets. Robot arms and legs and small heads flew through the air. Magnez looked up and caught a glimpse of the planes through a gap in the trees. It wasn't the Resistance, as he'd expected. Their rescuers were the First Order.

HUX

Hux had never been happier to hear the sound of the ship's engines come on line. Phasma stood at his side, her metal armor now dented with laser fire and burn marks, but her stance was no less confident than usual. She'd saved them at the last moment with the group of Stormtroopers she'd brought with her, recently released from Battle Recovery. They were some of the bravest and best, injured in battle when Snoke's ship was destroyed, and now finally released for service. There were over a thousand of them. And the First Order had other troops too, patrolling different sectors of space. They would gather them all to defeat this disorderly robot army.

Hux set his shoulders back and looked down at the planet Cantonica in the viewport. Even from this distance he could see the signs of battle below. His new bridge crew finally got settled in their positions and he could give the command to jump to hyperspace. Then they could round up their stormtroopers from all the different sectors and become a great army again. Not as big as they had once been, before the dreadnaught was destroyed and the battles that followed, but still big enough to rule once again. Once they crushed this robot army, all the inhabitants on all the planets would revere them as the saviors of the Galaxy. And they would be the one and only Supreme Order.

"Sir," the Communications Officer said. "There's an incoming transmission from the flight crew."

"What flight crew?" Hux asked. Phasma and the BB-9 droid had managed to do a ship systems factory-reset, bringing the system online again, but Hux was certain there would be glitches. This had to be one. He hadn't ordered a flight crew to mobilize.

"They're First Order ships," the Tactical Officer replied.

Hux looked at the small approaching dots on one of the monitors. "Put them through."

The Communications Officer nodded and the transmission came through.

"Requesting permission to board," a voice yelled through the speakers. The pilot sounded familiar, yet didn't use the common First Order transmission protocol. Hux frowned. Why were they requesting permission to board, rather than just asking for the bay doors to be opened for them? Yet there was no time to board a fleet of ships anyway. They had to jump to hyperspace right away, before another ship of battle droids arrived and tried to take this ship again.

"We are still under threat of attack," Hux said, speaking loudly and clearly so the pilot would hear. "We need to go to hyperspace." He hesitated. "How many ships need to dock?"

"Five vessels with wounded troops," came the reply. "The other TIE fighters can dock later and meet up at your co-ordinates, after you've gone to hyperspace."

Hux turned to his Tactical Officer. "How soon until the next enemy battleship arrives?"

"Twelve minutes, Sir."

Hux nodded to the Communications Officer to resume their transmission. "You have ten minutes to dock," he told the pilot on the comm port. "Then we go to hyperspace."

"Understood!"

The comm unit went quiet.

Hux hurried off the bridge, heading to the launch bay when he suddenly remembered where he'd heard that voice before. It was the Resistance pilot's voice. The one who'd led the fleet which destroyed the First Order dreadnaught.

***

Pilots and troops piled out onto the launch bay area, emerging from the docked ships. Rough looking men in peasant clothing, some women and children, some Resistance fighters and pilots. Hux watched it all in confusion. What was he going to do now? They were just about to go to hyperspace and leave this sector. Where was the Supreme Leader? He was not going to like this one bit. Phasma stepped up beside Hux, but said nothing.

"You're a lot taller than I imagined," a raspy female voice said. Hux turned to see the General of the Resistance, the Supreme Leader's mother, General Organa, standing before him. He opened his mouth to reply, but then found he had nothing to say.

"Am I right in assuming you lost a lot of Stormtroopers today?" the General continued. "And that the First Order could use all the man power it can get?"

"We have all the troops we need," Hux replied.

General Organa waved a hand to indicate those still exiting the planes behind her. "We're all in this together now, General Hux."

Hux tilted his chin up and looked down at her. Was this an offering of their allegiance to the First Order? Or did she believe the First Order would become one of them?

"Now where's my son?" she said, ignoring his glare. "And where has he been keeping that poor Force-sensitive child?"

***

REY

I grab the nearest counter to steady myself as the ship jumps to hyperspace. Pain shoots up into my arm at the bend of my wrist. I bite back a yelp. My wounds reopened sometime during the hours of the battle on Cantonica. I hadn't even noticed, while I co-piloted a fighter plane with a very skilled First Order pilot. The ship itself was also very impressive. The battle seems to be over, for now, and everything in my body hurts, especially the throbbing in my wrists. I shut my eyes tight for a moment. The noise and commotion in the launch bay is overwhelming, as injured Rebels and other Resistance crew exit their docked ships.

I set my hand to my chest, suddenly remembering my dice necklace and beacon. They're both still tucked beneath my shirt and I sigh in relief. The beacon is our only link to Finn and Rose, if they don't make it back for some reason. We've escaped this battle unharmed and are safe here for now, at least I'm assuming we are, but Finn and Rose took the Falcon to Hays Minor in response to the distress signal, heading into that battle all on their own.

I look around for Poe, desperate to see a familiar face in the crowd. I spot his orange flight suit across the launch bay area and watch as he helps lift an injured Rebel fighter onto an infirmary cot.

I frown, glancing down at my hands. The pinkish stain on my wrist bandages has grown and is turning a darker red. I won't be much help around here. And I certainly don't want to run into Kylo Ren. Two First Order army medics rush by and one stops when she sees my bandages.

"Come with me," she says.

***

The infirmary is no less hectic than the launch bay. My pulse races at the closeness of everyone crammed into the small space as I wait for the medic to get supplies. I close my eyes and think of Jakku, picturing the view from my AT-AT; endless desert and open spaces.

"Miss?"

I open my eyes. The medic has returned with an emergency bin. She's young but has an edge of authority to her voice, like someone used to giving commands.

"Take this for the pain." She hands me two small pills and I pop them in my mouth before she's finished what she's saying. "Take one for pain relief and two if you want to sleep."

"Oh." I frown, already having swallowed two of the tiny pills. Great. Now I'll fall asleep here, on some cot in this overcrowded infirmary. I can't see above the crowd to check if there are beds in the room, but the place doesn't look like it was built to treat more than maybe half a dozen patients at one time.

"I'll re-dress your bandages, then go see if I can find out if they're assigning quarters."

"Okay, thank you." I try to smile at her but can't help being a bit nervous at how openly the First Order has taken us in; all of us, the Rebels, me and Poe, the Resistance fighters who were rescued from our new cruiser, which was overtaken as well. And the General, Kylo Ren's mother. We all came in separate planes and I haven't even talked to any of them yet.

The medic opens a metal bin, filled with various medical aids. She takes out a pair of scissors and begins to cut off my stained wrapping sleeves. I watch her silently, feeling the medicine taking effect already and making my eyelids heavy. Why don't I sense Kylo Ren? Even when we were planets apart and connected with the Force, in that strange communication connection, I sensed him clearly and immediately. I would definitely be able to tell if we were on the same ship. But now I have no sense of him. Is he not on board? I think of Temiri and then realize that I do sense the young boy, faintly but definitely present on board.

A wave of dizziness hits me unexpectedly and the room spins.

"Easy now," the medic says, helping me take a seat on top of a box of medical supplies. "Let's finish this quick so you can lie down."

I nod, my vision becoming blurry. "Can you wrap the bandages all the way up to my elbows, the way they were before?" I ask.

"Alright," the medic says. It's the last thing I hear before a haze of tiredness confuses my thoughts and I fall into an unwanted sleep.

----

Author's Note: Alright guys, I moved through the battles pretty quickly here, so that I could get Rey and Kylo onto the same ship as quickly as possible. Don't worry, Kylo's on board! Rey just can't sense his Force at the moment. Now that they're on the same ship, I will hopefully get to some Reylo before the end of the week, like I promised! We'll see where she ends up tomorrow ^_^ when she wakes up! See you then :)