The mineral planet Crait was oddly beautiful in a lonely and ghostlike way.
The desolate salt plains were a sight to behold. Miles and miles of bright white stretching out as far as the eye could see, framed by tall and rigid mountain ranges.
The air was thick, the smell of the substance covering the ground clinging to everything in a near suffocating manner. Unlike the smell that could be found on planets covered by oceans, the scent on Crait was of the dry variety.
The temperature was neither warm nor cold.
There were no civilisations to be seen. It did not look like anyone had been there for decades. The only signs of the world being touched at all was the great door built into the mountains – rusting with age. It came from a time before the Rebel Alliance – a hideout for a smaller rebel cell, like those from Lothal or the Atrivis Sector.
Behind the door, the mountain was hollowed out. The vast space, populated sparsely with technology that looked to have been dated even when it was in use three decades prior, felt cold and empty. Nothing of real value remained, not even ghosts of memories.
The base had been a well-kept secret of the Rebellion. Kept off any record handed over to the New Republic upon its formation at the conclusion of the Galactic Civil War. The Alliance leadership had thought it best, just in case.
Nova supposed their circumstances qualified as a 'just in case'.
The remaining few troops were disembarking from the final transport when the proximity alarm started to drone.
They had known it would only be a matter of time before the First Order had fighters pursuing them on the surface. The hit their fleet had taken had been more than substantial, but they had surviving forces to spare and to scramble at the drop of a credit.
Leia stood at the entrance, surveying the skies and salt plains over her collar. She could see them – three small crafts closing in on their location. She pulled her gaze away, retrieving her commlink with a grave voice. "They're coming. Shut the door."
The door groaned as its mechanisms strained to drag it closed, far slower than was desirable. And with the grating came an eerie tinkling – the origin of which was something quite strange but fascinating.
A skulk of vulptices; canine-like beings, covered in shimmering crystalline coats, with long bodies, pointed ears and snouts, and bushy tails. It looked as though they could have been made of the very minerals of the planet's surface. The bristles brushed against each other as the creatures moved – the light bouncing off them making them look like crystal chandeliers. They were unbothered by the Resistance presence, instead seeming rather baffled by them, ghosting their steps as they went about their hurried business.
The enemy ships drew closer at a rapid pace – a shuttle flanked by two TIE fighters.
The shuttle showed no signs of slowing or breaking its course as it got closer, hitting the ground and sliding under the door as it continued to close. The top wing was clipped in two as it struck the blast door, the rest of the ship sliding under in one piece, kicking up dirt and sparks.
The door shut with a deep boom, and the shuttle ground to a halt, scattering Resistance fighters and sending them running for cover.
Nova found herself crouched behind a stack of crates with BB-6, freeing her blaster from its place on her thigh.
Leia too picked up a rifle, beginning the assault on the front of the shuttle and shattering the viewport. Others followed her lead, with Poe and Nova pushing to the front to stand beside their General.
Two sets of hands quickly emerged, shaking as they frantically signalled for surrender and a ceasefire. Two voices accompanied them – panicked but familiar.
"Hold your fire!" Poe ordered over the din of blaster bolts, holding up his hand to signal to those further back. The command was quickly obeyed, though everyone kept a firm hold of their weapons.
Nova felt a weight lift off her chest as Finn and Rose emerged from the ship, both dressed in First Order uniforms and looking, understandably, rather shaken.
The Resistance seemed to collectively relax with its leadership as they lowered their weapons, looking on in a mix of surprise and relief and the sight of their comrades.
"Finn, Rose! You're not dead!" Poe called. "Where's my droid?"
The ship's ramp dropped, revealing the orange and white droid. He rolled towards his master, beeping and whistling enthusiastically, running off events in binary faster than anyone could hope to keep up with.
Poe met him halfway, dropping to his knees to embrace and show his droid some affection, pressing his forehead to the droid's dome of a head. He could barely manage to catch fragments of what her was recounting, but in the moment he did not much care.
BB-6 rolled from behind Nova's ankles to join the reunion with their fellow droid. They too were whirring off events faster than most people could process, giving Poe and Nova a few side glances in reference to them at various points.
The recount concluded, BB-8 turned his attention back to Poe, pausing before firmly pushing himself into his shins. It was enough to sting and knock the pilot back a step so as to keep his balance, but it got the point across. The droid was less than impressed by his master's behaviour.
The BB units circled back to rest beside Nova's ankles, looking up at her like two proud yet mischievous children. The Commander crouched down to their level, placing her hand on BB-8's head as her own greeting to him, while turning a chiding expression to her own droid.
"Bee, I would have expected better from you," she gently scolded, no real venom behind her words.
They whistled back a defence.
"It's okay," Poe said, offering Nova a sheepish half-smile. "I deserved it."
Nova returned the smile, holding his gaze for a second or two. It was a return to the familiar – or at least the first steps in that direction. Neither of them wanted to remain hostile to each other, it simply was not worth it. But finding where to go next was a minefield that would take care to navigate.
Rose glanced around the Resistance, her face dropping and voice becoming grave as she noticed their depleted numbers – what had been four hundred whittled down to barely fifty.
"Is this all that's left?"
Poe sighed. "You know which end of a hydrospanner is which, that makes you our engineering department. Follow me, we need you."
---
Gaining access to the base's control room allowed the Resistance to begin establishing themselves. Monitors and systems were unpacked and setup. Old controls dusted off, spliced, and given new batteries for a fresh burst of life.
"Alright," Poe said. "Shields are up so they can't hit us from orbit. Use whatever power we have to broadcast a distress signal to the Outer Rim."
"Use my personal code," Leia said. "If there are any allies to the Resistance, it's now or never."
Rose entered, exhaustion creeping into her expression and the way she carried herself. The mission and return to so many losses had taken a toll on her, both physically and emotionally.
Nova entered after her, wiping her hands on her already dirtied green trousers.
"What have we got?" Poe asked, though her could guess from the women's expressions that the answer would be disappointing.
"Rotted munitions, rusted artillery, and some half-gutted ski speeders," the mechanic listed off somewhat bitterly.
"Well," the pilot shook his head. "Let's just pray that big-ass door holds long enough for us to get help."
As if in response, a loud boom shook the room, shaking loose a layer of red dust from the ceiling. The vulptices squeaked to one another at the new and at that moment unknown threat to their hideout and home. Another boom followed soon after – undoubtably the First Order was responsible. It had only been a matter of time.
And it would only be a matter of time until they broke through to the Resistance within. The base was hardly a fortress. And the enemy would crack the very planet in two to get to them.