Spark of the Resistance Page 8

  “We do not beat them by becoming them,” Rey said, anger plain on her features. “Any machine that can make someone do whatever someone else wants, that’s not a good thing. That’s something evil.” She turned to Poe. “You remember what it was like when Kylo Ren took away your ability to fight? Just sitting there, waiting for someone to let you move?” She shook her head. “When I fought Supreme Leader Snoke he stopped me, just stopped me from being able to control my arms, my legs. It was the worst thing I’ve ever experienced. Why would you want to do that to anyone else?”

  “But doesn’t it matter how the tool is being used?” Rose asked. “We use blasters just like the stormtroopers use blasters, but we use them to fight for the Resistance, and they use them to build a new empire. And what about the Force? Kylo Ren and Supreme Leader Snoke used the Force to make you both feel helpless, but that doesn’t mean the Force is a bad thing. It just depends on how people use it.”

  Poe stroked his chin as he considered the conversation. “That’s true, but I think there are some weapons that no matter how useful they might be, General Organa would never use.”

  “Like the Starkiller,” Rey said.

  “Exactly,” Poe said. “I think we should figure out what this weapon is first. We have no idea what the Empire was doing all the way out here, and until we do, we should remember our goal: fix the Falcon and stop the First Order.”

  “That’s something we can agree on,” Rey said. “We can wait until we find out what this weapon is before we decide what to do with it. But for now, I think we should get some rest. It’s going to be a busy day tomorrow.”

  Rose nodded, even though her expression was still thoughtful. But there was no point arguing about it until they knew just what this weapon could do.

  And with that final thought, Poe snuggled into the strange purple chair-bed and promptly fell asleep.

  COMMANDER SPIFTZ was just finishing up his breakfast of nutrient paste when the yelling started. He at first chose to ignore it. Any mishaps could be handled by his subordinates, even if they were all bordering on incompetent. He still had his morning routines to attend to.

  But when something tore through the roof of his command tent, revealing pink sky above, and a ferocious scream nearly rattled his bones, he very quickly decided intervention was the better course of action.

  Commander Spiftz stormed out of his tent to absolute chaos. Stormtroopers fired into the sky, flamethrowers and blasters filling the air with smoke. Junior officers ran this way and that, shouting orders no one obeyed. For a moment, Commander Spiftz thought maybe the Resistance had launched a preemptive attack, coming for the First Order before he could strike at them.

  A creature the size of a TIE fighter swooped past, forcing Commander Spiftz to his knees to avoid razor-sharp talons. The creature missed him but managed to snag a junior officer whom it carried away while the man screamed. Spiftz watched in a mixture of horror and dismay, barely noting the double sets of wings in black and white and the shriek as the thing flew off into the sky.

  “What in blazes is happening?” Commander Spiftz yelled.

  “It appears we’ve been sighted by the mekle, Branwayne.” Glenna Kip approached, her expedition suit flashing gold and silver as she moved. One of the creatures—the mekle she’d called them—dove at her but then swerved to avoid her at the last possible moment. Commander Spiftz got the impression of feathers and speed before the monster was gone.

  “They seem to have an aversion to you,” he said, afraid to stand up straight in case another of the mekle came for him.

  “The reflective action of my suit discourages their predatory behavior. And honestly, these are juveniles. Full-grown mekle are much, much larger. This swarm will abate once they’ve gotten their fill.” As though to illustrate her point, a nearby stormtrooper was carried off, and then another.

  “They are eating my already sparse forces,” Commander Spiftz said, watching in dismay as at least a dozen stormtroopers were taken by the mekle, most likely for breakfast.

  “None of the useful ones, I hope,” Glenna Kip said. Commander Spiftz narrowed his eyes and tried to ascertain whether or not the woman was joking. She did not appear to be.

  “Once they’ve gone we can establish a perimeter of flashing lights. That will discourage them from attacking again,” Glenna said, watching dispassionately as a mekle carried off yet another stormtrooper.

  Commander Spiftz tilted his head so he could better study Glenna Kip’s expressionless face. “And how is it you come by this knowledge, Madame Kip?”

  “As a professor, my research reveals much of the lost knowledge of the galaxy,” she said smoothly, completely unruffled by his sudden inquiry. “If you would like, I can send you some of the documents I’ve been perusing. The analysis of the plant life in this sector is simply thrilling.”

  Spiftz suppressed a shudder. Reading was a waste of his time. He much preferred to have someone just tell him the information. It was much quicker.

  “No, thank you, I shall pass. Although, I would appreciate you keeping me company until this . . . swarm, you said?”

  Glenna gave a slight smile, almost too slight for Commander Spiftz to even notice it. “Indeed.”

  “Yes, please keep me company until this swarm abates.”

  “As you wish, Branwayne.”

  With Glenna by his side, the hunting beasts avoided the area of the command tent, and after another few minutes they were gone.

  The early morning quiet was eerie after the turmoil of the attack, and Spiftz’s people slowly came out of their various hiding places to look in amazement at the sky.

  “Stop gawking at the sunrise and prepare a defensive perimeter!” Commander Spiftz shouted, startling a few nearby officers. “Flashing lights placed at five-meter intervals to repel the creatures. And I want to know who was in charge of the patrols.”

  “Lieutenant Glick was, sir,” someone called.

  “And where is he?”

  “Gone,” someone else answered, gesturing up at the sky.

  Glenna Kip coughed, the sound suspiciously close to a laugh, but when Commander Spiftz looked at her face, it bore no sign of amusement. Not that he’d know how that even appeared in her kind.

  “Branwayne, was there some matter you wanted to discuss? Someone left a summons from you in my quarters.”

  Commander Spiftz gave a quick nod and turned back to his waiting officers and stormtroopers. “Clean this place up, set up a perimeter, and get some heavy cannons prepped in case those things come back.”

  People scurried off and Commander Spiftz spun on his heel and strode back to the ruin of his command tent. The place was barely serviceable, and he had to push aside a large swath of material that had just moments before the mekle attack been the top of the tent. He offered Glenna Kip a chair, which she politely declined. Commander Spiftz didn’t quite know what to do with himself, so he settled for standing a meter or two away from her with his hands folded. After a moment he cleared his throat.

  “Last night, one of our patrols ran afoul of the Resistance,” Commander Spiftz said. “And it occurred to me that they might also be looking for these lost Imperial laboratories. It is common knowledge that the Resistance is without resources at this point, and discovering a cache of high-tech weapons would help their foolish cause.”

  “Yes, it had occurred to me that we might not be the only ones looking for this place,” Glenna said. “Which is why I took your Lieutenant Nivers with me last night and the two of us found the labs.”

  Commander Spiftz stared wide-eyed at the woman for a long moment before saying, “You found them?”

  “The entrance at least. Neither Nivers nor I could figure out a way in. Branwayne, I sent you all this in my report. Did you not receive it?”

  The slight chastising tone of her words made the First Order officer flush. “I have not yet had a chance to go through my correspondence.”

  “Well, surely Nivers came to tell you herself?”<
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  Commander Spiftz tried to keep his expression bland, to hide the sudden fear that made his pulse thrum in double time. Nivers had withheld the information. He’d never gotten any kind of sense that the girl was ambitious, but if she’d found the labs and hadn’t shared the information, well then—perhaps he needed to be a bit more firm with his junior officers. He wasn’t about to be outmaneuvered by a lieutenant.

  The labs, and the recognition, would be his. He’d worked too hard to let that slip through his fingers.

  Glenna Kip, fortunately, seemed unaware of Spiftz’s sudden panic. “Well, my suggestion is we call back the teams you sent to find the Corellian freighter—if they’re even still alive, one would’ve thought they’d have returned by now—and turn our efforts towards taking the labs.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Commander Spiftz said. He wasn’t quite sure what was happening. He’d awoken that morning firmly in control of an operation, and now it felt like everything was slipping through his fingers. Half his stormtroopers had either gone missing or been taken by monsters, he had no idea which junior officers were assigned to which tasks or whom he could trust, and Glenna Kip had suddenly become more assertive than ever.

  He had to take back command.

  Spiftz straightened and gave a short nod. “Upload the coordinates to every last person in camp. We’re going to take those laboratories and use whatever weapons are there to destroy everyone else on this planet. We leave in an hour.” He would make sure he won, one way or another.

  Glenna Kip nodded and left the tent without a word.

  Commander Spiftz was certain he had only imagined the disapproval in her expression.

  REY STRETCHED AND STIFLED a yawn. For the most part she’d slept well, but their conversation

  before bed had stuck with her, bringing her restless dreams of battle. As she, Rose, Poe, and BB-8 waited for the Zixon to finish gathering, she was transported once more to the conversation from the night before.

  She couldn’t help considering Rose’s question about what they would find at the labs. If there was some kind of legendary weapon that could help the Resistance stop the First Order, should they take it? Even if it was something very, very dangerous?

  Before bed, Rey would’ve said no. But after thinking about it, she didn’t really know what the right answer was. She knew she had to prevent the First Order from getting the contents of those laboratories, but what about after that? What if something in those labs really could help the Resistance?

  What then?

  “Are we ready?” Lim called finally. Rey pulled her attention back to the task before them. The plan was to head to the area of the tunnels that the Zixon called the Forbidden Lands. Rey wasn’t sure how far these dangerous tunnels were from the laboratories, but she hoped it wasn’t too great a distance. Lim had warned them as they’d eaten breakfast that the way would be perilous, but they didn’t have any other option. The only place they could possibly find a compressor housing to repair the Millennium Falcon was the labs, and if they had to pass through these Forbidden Lands to get there, then so be it.

  The way was so dangerous that Jem was staying behind. “I have to prepare my people for war with the First Order,” he’d said when asked if he was coming along. “Soon we will not be able to hide down here from the stormtroopers, and we must prepare for the inevitable.” Rey was sad not to have the wise old Zixon by their side. Very few of the Zixon knew Basic, and Rey had enjoyed the elder’s company.

  But he had a good point, and his decision to stay reminded Rey that there were much bigger things at risk. Not that saving the Zixon wasn’t important enough, but the whole galaxy depended on just the tiny spark of the Resistance that was left. It was up to them to ignite the flames of rebellion, calling on the entire galaxy to fight to stop the First Order. And although Rey wasn’t scared to fight, it was a lot to think about.

  As their group moved forward—about twenty Zixon accompanying them, all wearing the same strange bandoliers Lim did—Rose made her way to Rey’s side.

  “Are you okay?” she asked as they walked, the light of the city dimming the farther they went from the sun tube. “You look worried.”

  “I’ve been thinking about what you said, about this weapon that the Zixon told us about. And I’m wondering if maybe we should try to take it back to General Organa and let her decide whether it’s something we need or not.”

  “We don’t even know what the weapon does,” Rose said. “So it might not matter.”

  “I feel like everything matters, more and more,” Rey said. “Something about this place, something about the work we’re doing here, it feels important. Like a turning point.”

  Rose nodded. “I feel that way, too. It’s because we know how bad the First Order is, and how important it is that it’s stopped.”

  “Yes, but it’s going to take everything we have and then some,” Rey said. “They have so many troops and TIE fighters and ships. We just have us and the Falcon, and that needs repairs. We can’t even call for assistance! Any advantage we can take, well, we’re going to need it with these odds.”

  Rose pursed her lips and set a hand on Rey’s arm. “We will win, because the Zixon need us to. Besides, you’re already a hero, Rey! You flying the Falcon is worth at least ten TIE fighters.”

  “Hey, Rose is right,” Poe said. “We’ve got this.”

  Rose nodded. “I have to believe that things will work out for the better. And I know they will.”

  “Of course they will,” Poe said, BB-8 beeping in agreement. “We just have to take it one step at a time. That’s all you can do when things start to feel impossible. Take it one step at a time and make the best decisions you can.”

  BB-8 gave a series of happy beeps, and Poe laughed. “Yes, Beebee-Ate, you did teach me that. Thanks for pointing it out.”

  They fell silent as they entered the tunnels. The Zixon arranged themselves in a formation known only to them, taking the front and rear of the group and putting the rebels in the middle. BB-8 rolled around, weaving around the Zixon, who swatted at him and chirped in annoyance.

  “Beebee-Ate, I think you’re distracting them,” Rey said, unable to hide her smile. BB-8 let out a series of mournful beeps, and Rey shook her head. “Those were children you were playing with last night. These are warriors. They have work to do.”

  They moved through the tunnels quietly after that. The tunnels turned and twisted, and the more they walked the more a sense of foreboding fell over Rey. The tiny hairs on the back of her neck rose, and she pulled her staff from its holster. Rose and Poe pulled out their blasters, as well.

  “You feel it, too?” Rey asked, voice low.

  Poe nodded. “It feels like we’re being watched.”

  “These are grobel tunnels,” Lim said. “We must be very careful.”

  They walked a little farther, and the sensation of being watched grew so strong that Rey wanted to scream. She was just about to ask what these grobel looked like when a roar echoed through the tunnel, shaking the ground and rattling her bones.

  “Grobel!” Lim shouted, and the Zixon readied their weapons. A thumping noise came from farther down the way, and when the creature was within a few meters Rey finally saw why the Zixon feared them so.

  The grobel filled the tunnel, and Rey figured these things, not the Zixon, must’ve made the tunnels. The grobel had a long body that seemed to be covered in gemstones and a round mouth that was nothing but teeth, each one longer than Rey’s arm. As it pulled itself through the tunnel with two small appendages, the stones on its body ground against the tunnel walls, chipping away any rocks that got in the way. On Jakku, Rey had once polished a bit of metal until it shone like a mirror, and she figured the stones on the grobel’s body did something similar to the tunnels. Rey had no idea how the thing knew where it was going, though. The creature had no eyes.

  “Quickly, this way,” Lim said, and they ran down a side tunnel that Rey hadn’t seen until Lim pointed it out.
A few of the Zixon launched bags of a sparkling powder at the beast, which made it roar in agony and back up a small bit. As it did, a stormtrooper’s helmet fell from between the creature’s teeth.

  “I think Sparkles there already had dinner!” Poe yelled.

  “Then let’s not be dessert,” Rey called back.

  “Can’t we just blast it?” Poe asked, running along beside Rey.

  “Blasters do not work on the grobel,” Lim said, managing to keep pace with the much taller humans. “The beams are reflected back. Shooting at the grobel is a very bad idea. Only the xinda flower dust can keep them away.”

  They ran until Rey’s side hurt and she was afraid they’d be lost forever. The plants that lit the way changed from orange to blue to green to purple, and still they ran. Rey glanced over her shoulder, looking for the grobel, but as far as she could tell, the way was clear.

  Finally, Lim signaled a halt. Poe, Rose, and Rey all bent double, gasping for air. Of the twenty or so Zixon who had begun the trip, fewer than ten remained. BB-8 beeped mournfully, and Rey nodded.

  “Beebee has a good point. Where’d everyone else go?”

  “They’re leading the grobel away so we can finish our trip,” Lim said. “Do not worry about the warriors. We have fought the grobel many times. They are vicious but easily tricked.” Her whiskers twitched with pride. “My warriors will return to our side when it is safe. Come, let us not waste any more time. We are nearly there.”

  Rey tried to put her worry aside, but she was only partly successful. She still worried about the other Zixon, even if they were experienced fighters. The grobel had been terrifying, and she wouldn’t want to have to face down such a massive beast. The creature reminded Rey of the rathtars she and Finn had once run from, only with fewer arms. Just as many teeth, though. She hoped their new friends were safe.

  The tunnel turned, and suddenly their group stood before a giant metal door. A few of the Zixon froze, even going so far as to take half a step back. Lim turned and chirruped at them, but they would not be moved.