The entire Resistance gathered together, ready to hear what Finn, Poe, and Alinah had planned. Now that they had a way to get to Exegol, it was time for them to make their move. The Sith Fleet had already been launched and caused damage to Kijimi. While they knew this fight was coming, the Resistance members were unsure of their chances. Finn, Poe, and Alinah, however, knew that they had a chance this time.
"As long as those Star Destroyers are on Exegol, we can hit them," Finn said, referring to the fleet.
"Hit them how?" Beaumont asked, raising an eyebrow.
"They can't activate their shields until they leave the atmosphere," Rose explained.
"Which isn't easy on Exegol," Poe added. "Ships that size need help taking off. Nav can't tell which way's up out there."
"So, how do the ships take off?" Wrobie Tyce asked.
"They get a signal from a navigation tower," Alinah said, showing a holo of one. "Similar to this one."
"Except they won't," Finn said. "Air team's going to find the tower, ground team's going to blast it."
"Ground team?" Someone questioned.
Alinah looked over at Jannah, who nodded at her. "Finn, Jannah, and I got that covered," she replied.
"Once the tower's down, the fleet will be stuck in atmo," Poe explained. "For just minutes, with no shields, and no way out."
"We think hitting the cannons might ignite the main reactors," Rose explained.
"That's our chance," Lando added with a shrug of his hands.
"We need to pull some Holdo maneuvers," Beaumont said. "Do some real damage."
Finn gave him a look. "Come on, that move is one in a million," he told him. "Fighters and freighters can take out the cannons if there are enough."
"There aren't enough of us!" Nien Nunb said, worried.
Kaydel nodded at him. "He's right," she agreed. "We'd be no more than bugs to them."
Alinah gave her friend a reassuring look. "That's where Lando and Chewie come in," she said, motioning over to the General and the Wookiee. "They'll fly the Falcon to the Core Systems and send out a signal. If anyone's listening, they'll answer and come to our aid."
"We've got friends out there," Poe added. "They'll come if they know there's hope."
Everyone looked unsure with that statement. They all remembered the Battle of Crait, where they tried to reach out to their allies. No one answered because they didn't have any hope. There wouldn't be any difference this time because this was the Sith they were fighting. It wasn't just the First Order anymore.
But Finn, Alinah, and Poe remembered Crait differently. They remembered Luke Skywalker showing up as a projection, giving them a chance to escape. He gave them hope through his legend. They needed to keep his sacrifice going by fighting against the Sith Fleet and trying to reach out to allies again. They couldn't give up, not now. Not when the galaxy was at stake.
"They will," Poe reassured them. He then remembered what Zorii had told him back on Kijimi. When he had felt just as hopeless. "The First Order wins by making us think we're alone. We're not alone. Good people will fight if we lead them."
"Leia never gave up," Finn added. "And neither will we. We're going to show them we're not afraid."
"We know you guys are scared that we'll lose, but you can't let that keep us from trying," Alinah said. "The Rebellion was able to defeat the Empire, and they had nothing but hope. Many heroes died in that war so we could keep the peace. This is how we honor their sacrifices."
"What our mothers and fathers fought for... we will not let die," Poe said. "Not today. Today, we make our last stand. For the galaxy. For Leia. For the Jedi. For everyone we've lost."
"They've taken enough of us," Finn said. "Now we take the war to them."
Everyone nodded and got ready for the battle of the galaxy. The pilots loaded up their ships, getting their droids ready and fueling up. The soldiers grabbed their blasters and other various weapons. Others said their goodbyes to those that they wouldn't see during the battle. The soldiers went into transport ships while the pilots took off in their X-Wings, A-Wings, Y-Wings, the Tantive IV, the Millennium Falcon, and other various ships.
The Resistance took off from Ajan Kloss and made the jump to lightspeed, going to Exegol. The Falcon went to the Core Systems, hoping to reach their allies.
...
Rey, meanwhile, had already arrived to Exegol. Chills ran up her spine as she looked at the massive fleet in front of her. None of the Star Destroyers shot her down, instead letting her pass. She had a feeling that Palpatine told them that he would deal with her. They would deal with her friends instead.
She landed the X-Wing in front of the Sith Temple and took off her pilot helmet. Rey grabbed her lightsabers and attached them to her belt. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out of the ship. She calmed her senses and put up mental shields as she entered the temple.
...
"I know it's a rough ride, but stay locked on Rey's course," Poe ordered R2-D2, who beeped in response.
Once they travelled through one spot, the Resistance made the jump to lightspeed to their next course.
...
The Sith Fleet noticed the Resistance coming their way. Alarms started blaring as they contacted the head ship, which Allegiant General Pryde was on. A holo of Pryde appeared to them as the officers got ready for the attack.
"Use ion cannons," Pryde ordered.
...
The Resistance arrived on Exegol soon enough. Once they arrived, lightning flashed in the sky to reveal the Sith Fleet. Everyone grew nervous, but they didn't lose hope. This was their chance and they needed to take it.
"Look at that fleet," Poe breathed out. As soon as he said this, the Star Destroyers began to fire at them. "Dammit! Welcome to Exegol!"
The ships dodged the laser fire as best as they could. Some already got hit, but that didn't stop the others from getting close. They needed to find the navigation tower fast. It was their only way of succeeding in the fight.
"Get to their altitude!" Poe ordered. "They can't fire on us without hitting each other! Don't give up! Help is coming!"
Finn was on one of the transports, looking through his macrobinoculars to see the tower. He quickly found it on the ground below the ships. "There it is," he said. He then lifted up his wrist comm to call Poe. "Poe, I see it. I've got a visual on the tower."
The transports then began to make their way to the tower.
...
Rey took in the familiar surroundings of the Sith Temple. She felt more afraid now than she did before. When she first came, she had Finn with her and she just thought it was a weapon. Now, she was alone and knew that it wasn't just a weapon. It was a person, who happened to be her grandfather and the most powerful being in the galaxy.
She walked past the familiar lab, where she saw Snoke's cloned body. No one was there, but she could sense many presences inside. Rey kept moving forward, blocking out her fear.
...
"Incoming TIEs," Snap warned.
"I see them!" Poe replied, flying his X-Wing to take down the fighters. "I got you, Finn."
Finn looked over at Jannah and Alinah, who came from the back of the ship. "You guys ready?" He asked them.
"Never been readier," Jannah replied.
...
"They're targeting the navigation tower," an officer reported to Pryde. "So the fleet can't deploy."
Pryde smirked at the report, knowing exactly what to do. "Then we won't use that tower. Switch over the source of navigation signal to this ship," he ordered. "We'll guide the fleet out ourselves."
...
The Resistance ships flew down towards the navigation tower. All of a sudden, it deactivated and the lights turned off. The pilots all looked confused, not knowing what was going on.
"What the hell?" Alinah said, furrowing her eyebrows. "The tower deactivated!"
"Those ships need that signal," Snap said. "It's got to be coming from somewhere."
"They figured out what we're doing," Poe realized. "Pull off the ground invasion!"
Finn looked out at the fleet, sensing something from above. Alinah sensed it too, giving Finn a knowing look. They knew exactly where the signal went. Both of them knew that this was done on purpose, as Pryde had something up his sleeve for them. He was beckoning them to come to him, which they knew they had to do.
"Wait," Finn said through his comm. "The nav signal's coming from that command ship. That's our drop zone."
Jannah gave him a look of confusion. "How do you know?" She asked.
Finn looked over at her. "A feeling," he simply said.
"You want to launch a ground invasion on a Star Destroyer?" Wrobie Tyce asked from her ship, stunned at the idea.
"I don't want to, but we can't take out that ship's nav system from the air," Finn explained. "Give us cover. We got to keep that fleet there until help arrives."
"We hope," Rose added, walking past him.
"We hope," Finn repeated with a nod.
"You heard the General," Poe ordered, having faith in Finn and Alinah's plan. "All Wings, cover that lander!"
...
"They've landed a troop carrier," an officer reported, looking at a screen.
"Jam their speeders," Pryde ordered.
"I can't," another officer replied.
Pryde furrowed his eyebrows. "Why not?" He asked, wondering what the Resistance could possibly have that couldn't be jammed.
"They're not using speeders," the officer said.
...
The transport doors opened up as the Resistance soldiers ran out. Some rode on top of Orbaks while others ran on foot, making their way on top of the command ship. Finn, Jannah, and Alinah led the squad on Orbaks, blasters and lightsabers out.
"Not bad for one lesson!" Finn shouted.
Jannah chuckled at him. "You had a good teacher!"
As they kept going forward, Final Order transports landed in front of them. Out came Sith Troopers, dressed in red Stormtrooper armor. The Resistance shot at them, but they didn't go down. Instead, they kept shooting at the troops, unfazed by their blasters. Finn and Alinah exchanged worried looks while BB-8 beeped nervously beside them.
"You're doing great, buddy!" Finn reassured the droid. "We just have to get through these troops somehow! The tower is just up ahead!"
"Whatever those things are, they're not human," Alinah said as she dismounted her Orbak, referring to the Sith Troopers. "I'm not sensing any presence from them."
Finn then realized what exactly the Sith Troopers were. "They're droids," he said. "We need more help against these things. We have to do it now. We need to get inside the Destroyer."
Alinah and Jannah both nodded at him. Alinah then looked over at Rose, Kaydel, and Beaumont, who were right beside them. "Guys, you need to lead the assault for now," she ordered. "Finn, Jannah, and I have something we need to do first."
"What do you need to do?" Rose asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
"Something that should've been done a long time ago," Alinah replied. "We'll be as quick as we possibly can."
Kaydel nodded at her. "Then go," she said. "We'll take it from here."
Alinah smiled at them and ran off behind Finn and Jannah. Finn took out his lightsaber and cut a hole through the window of the Star Destroyer. The three of them jumped in, ready to do what needed to be done. Alinah carried the tablet Hux had given them in her bag.
With the information on the tablet, they would start a rebellion of their own.
...
Rey continued through the darkness of the Sith temple. She had finally made it to the throne room, where she had once stood before. She slowly walked up to the throne, chills going up her spine as she stared at it. No matter what happened, Rey would never sit on that throne. She couldn't, not after everything that happened.
Behind her, Sith Cultists chanted once they noticed her arrival. Rey turned to see the hooded figures standing on a platform nearby. She glared at them, knowing exactly what they wanted her for. A hand rested on her lightsaber, ready for anything that could attack.
"Long have I waited," the disturbing voice of the Emperor said.
Rey turned around, seeing her grandfather face to face once more. She stared at his soulless face, not letting her guard down one bit. She stepped back as he came closer to her on his machine. He had a smirk on his face, ready for anything.
"For my granddaughter to come back home," Palpatine continued with an evil smile. "I never wanted you dead. I wanted you here... Empress Palpatine."
He motioned over to the throne behind him as lightning flashed. "You will take the throne," he told her as Rey backed up. "It is your birthright to rule... here. You have trained for this day for years. It is in your blood. Our blood."
Rey shook her head, continuing to step back. "I have not come to lead the Sith," she refused, but there was a shake in her voice. "I've come to end them."
"As a Jedi?" Palpatine questioned.
"Yes..." Rey breathed out.
Palpatine smirked at her. "No. Your hatred, your anger," he said, the machine getting closer to Rey. "You want to kill me? That is what I want. Kill me, and my spirit will pass into you, as all the Sith live in me. You will be Empress... we will be one."
It was the same offer he had given to her before. Rey knew all along that he never wanted Kylo Ren to kill her. It was just a way to test him since Rey had refused the first time. But now she was back, and the offer was the same. She knew she couldn't do it. Her friends were all up there, fighting for their lives.
Rey wouldn't let the darkness tempt her again.