Force Destiny

Bridges Fall

"Ben!" her voice over the comlink startled him. "We did it! Well, Finn did it. He turned the stormtroopers against Phasma. She's dead."

If Finn had indeed instigated an uprising, it could create the chaos they needed to complete the mission. Hux had been so sure his army would remain loyal. But Finn had done it—succeeding against Phasma, no less. Ben chuckled to himself.

"Way to go, Finn," he whispered to the room. Multiple weapons and defense systems, as well as the Force Destiny control panels glowed red from the damage his lightsaber had done. The Knights were on their way; he couldn't leave anything to chance.

He pulled a datachip from the main computer and shoved it beside the other one in his boot. "That's...great, Rey. I need you to press the emergency shutoff; you can release it once you leave. You need to find the defense systems and deactivate the shield generators for the entire fleet. Once you have lowered the shields, contact your general on comms, and they will launch the attack. Then head to the Falcon."

There was panic in her beautiful voice, and it hurt to realize these were the last moments he had with her. "Is everything okay?" she asked anxiously. "What happened?" He wanted to tell her it didn't matter. He wanted to tell her he loved her and he was sorry. But then she would know, and she would never leave. With practiced control, he hid the resignation in his voice to calm her.

"Hux is here. I had to destroy the systems control panel. It turns out all of my practice destroying other control panels was actually useful." There was no way to secure the other bridge without one of them staying behind, but he hoped that, with the uprising, the shields would be down long enough for Dameron and his squadron to do enough damage. It required the Resistance to attack sooner than he had hoped, but it likely wouldn't have mattered anyway. If the others triggered the emergency shutdown, the alert would draw attention to the Command Bridge. With the destruction of the system controls, there was no reason for him to stay on the bridge except to serve as a distraction.

Hopefully, it would give the squadron enough time. Hux was as good as dead, the officers would divert their attention to the uprising, the Knights would focus on him. It could be enough to win. An escape was not in the cards, but he would make do with what he had. As he walked across the bridge, Hux slid to the floor, staring at the blade in his chest. Ben stepped over him to reach the communications control.

"This is Ben Solo," he said into the comms mic, "the bridges have fallen. Coordinate the allied forces across the galaxy. When the shields go down, you know what to do."

"Copy that."

"And General?"

"Yes," answered Poe Dameron.

"Make sure the Millennium Falcon gets out of here before you blow her up. I will stay and help in whatever way I can up here, but make sure Rey gets off this ship."

"You're staying behind." It was a statement, not a question. The Resistance general understood what it would take to win. He didn't argue with him. They both knew he would do the same thing if he was in Ben's position.

Hux gasped for breath behind him. He could have pitied him, put him out of his misery. But he had warned Hux what he would do if he hurt her. Ben decided to let him suffer. He wanted the man to see how his mistakes culminated in the destruction of the First Order.

Ben watched at the head of the bridge, the large viewport curving around him, as the battle for the galaxy unfolded in front of him. This was the same position he had taken when he watched Hux destroy the Hosnian system. He had argued against the idea of destroying the New Republic. He had wanted to overthrow the Senate and dismantle the New Republic, not kill them all. He thought they would be a better use to control through force, not eliminate completely. The act created more chaos, not order. But his master and Hux ignored him, and he watched and listened as millions of voices were suddenly silenced. He felt every death through the Force. It was the single most painful moment in the Force he had ever experienced. He had helplessly watched from the sidelines as they destroyed it all, and he had done nothing to stop it.

Now his view encompassed the beginning of the destruction of the war machine he'd helped create. He smiled. This view would be the last he would see beyond this ship. It was oddly peaceful and beautiful in its destruction. He ignored the crackling of the lightsaber slowly cutting a hole through the heavy blaster door behind him. He knew the Knights of Ren were waiting for him on the other side. He could feel the weakness returning. His time was up.

It was irony, he supposed, that he had never cared much for his own life; he had even wanted to die, but now he had something to live for. Someone. And all he wanted to do was live for her. There was an impending doom he'd felt returning to the Finalizer, as if he knew how it would end, but he'd still had hope. The sound of plasma melting durasteel behind him reminded him that he wouldn't be making it off that ship alive. She would hate him, but at least she would be safe. He tried to draw in the strength for one last fight, to hold them off long enough to seal the fate of his empire.

Ben turned, taking in the sickly pallor of his former general. There was something in him that felt the smallest bit of regret that it ended the way it had. Ben's fate could easily have been similar to the man struggling for breath. Hux had made terrible choices, but his family had failed him as well. He had also been manipulated and molded by Sidious. Unfortunately, he hadn't been given the chance to see the light. If Ben hadn't been given that chance, he could have been dying across from the man at the hands of the Resistance.

"You fool, there are seventy-five thousand personnel on this destroyer. Did you think you would just walk off this ship?" the general sneered weakly behind him.

"That was never the plan, Hux," he sighed.