Force Destiny

Clones

The ominous clouds thundered overhead, bright flashes of purple filling the sky. The rain was thick, obscuring his vision as Poe slinked along the edge of the raised platforms. His eyes drifted to the waves several stories below him. He couldn't see them, but he knew they were there. He heard them crashing, waiting for an easy misstep. He had never been to Kamino, and he wouldn't care if he never returned. Not that he cared if he returned to any planet. Moving to a new planet every year as his parents followed the Republic Capitol ensured that he found a home in people, rather than places; becoming a pilot had ensured his heart would forever belong to the stars.

The rain poured as he approached the building intel had suggested was the Cloning facility. Poe hated rain; it reminded him of the day his mother died. She had given everything to the rebellion, and, in turn, the Republic. It was her legacy. He would be damned if he allowed anyone to destroy that legacy, especially the likes of Kylo Ren. The former prodigal son of two of the greatest heroes of the rebellion had been given everything. Ben Solo had wanted for nothing. He was blessed to be raised by legends and even train under one with his uncle. Then one night he went crazy, killed all his fellow students, and left to join the very evil his family had fought against. He'd thrown it all away for power, no different than his criminal grandfather. Kylo was proof that some people were just born evil. He was everything that was wrong with the galaxy, and Poe would destroy him, just as his parents and the other brave fighters of the rebellion destroyed his grandfather.

After Starkiller, it had seemed that the Resistance finally had the advantage in the fierce orphan named Rey. She had defeated Kylo, nearly killed him, and all seemed to be falling into place as she left to bring Luke back to the fight. Then Kylo used the Force to get into her head. He was turning their greatest weapon against them, but they would hit him back where it hurt. Somewhere along the way, Kylo had developed feelings for her. It would be laughable if it wasn't so nauseating. Regardless of how sick and twisted it was, Rey was the Supreme Leader's weakness. If Kylo believed she betrayed him, it could lead him to do something... stupid. Poe would make sure he was there to use it to his advantage. He patted his jacket pocket that contained the vial and, he hoped, the advantage they needed.

With one hand on his blaster, he crouched as he rounded the building. He stopped short as he noticed a ship docked out front. It was late enough in the night cycle – or early enough in the day cycle, depending upon the perspective – that there shouldn't have been anyone awake. There most definitely shouldn't have been off-worlders visiting, especially at the Cloning facility, unless it was an inspection from the First Order. The ship was not a regulation First Order vessel, though. From the looks of it, Poe estimated that it likely belonged to a bounty hunter.

"What are you doing here?" he wondered aloud.

As if in answer, the door to the facility opened, and four cloaked figures slipped out into the night. He couldn't discern much in the downpour, but from what he could see, none of them were Kaminoan. Keeping his eyes on the figures, he moved with the shadows along the building wall and slipped inside the open door. The one leading was drastically shorter than the rest, and he suspected that one was the bounty hunter, possibly Ubese or Rodian. By the gait of the others, they were likely human. They were much larger in stature than Poe, but not nearly tall enough to be Kaminoan. Perhaps they were stormtroopers.

They all boarded the ship without a word; the humans did not seem to be the common bounty he'd witnessed boarding those ships; there was no evidence to suggest they were anything but willing passengers. In seconds the ship was racing skyward, and Poe stood alone in the darkness.

Poe turned to find every light inside the facility off. Whoever the other visitors were, they had not been expected, either. He followed the white, ribbed, cylindrical corridor that, in the darkness, seemed more like the throat of a monster than a building. The immense walls on either side of him contained no doors. They were lined with two rows of large, round lights that would have sufficiently illuminated the corridor had they been on.