The Last Jedi: The Spark of Rebellion

(New Chapter) Mutiny

ROSE

Rose cursed under her breath, then grimaced. "Sorry Paige," she whispered, knowing her sister always hated it when she used bad language.

She kept her head bowed as she made her way down the halls of the dreadnaught ship. She had no clue where to find General Leia.

The grey walls and rounded doors felt bare and unfriendly compared to her home village, where they'd just come from. The new ship smell reminded her of a job she'd done installing brand new escape pods on a vessel once. This ship must have been pretty new when they got it. And Rose highly doubted the First Order had acquired it through honest means.

She felt exposed walking around the dreadnaught ship on her own, a First Order vessel. Last time her and Finn had snuck onto Snoke's ship, they'd almost been executed. This time she didn't even have a disguise and Finn wasn't with her. He'd gone to find Rey, following the beacon tracker to the other ship on planet. Rose's mission was to find General Leia.

Two First Order Officers headed towards her in the hall and she quickly pulled back behind a pillar to hide. When they passed by they gave her a curious look then kept going.

Rose let out a breath she'd been holding. Right, she didn't need to hide. They were working together now. And yet she just couldn't get used to the idea.

"Excuse me," she said to them before they could get too far. The Officers stopped, looking bothered by the interruption. Suddenly Rose became worried they'd recognize her somehow, from the time she was captured on Snoke's ship. But they didn't pull out any weapons or sound an alarm. No stormtroopers came around the corner to seize her.

"I'm looking for General Leia," Rose said, her guard still up, ready for any sudden movement.

The Officers exchanged a glance.

"Or General Hux," Rose added. That name, they seemed to recognize.

"At the Command Center," the taller officer said, pointing his thumb behind him.

Rose nodded but couldn't bring herself to thank them. They were the enemy. Paige had died in an attempt to stop them. To stop Hux. There was no way Rose was going to exchange pleasantries with the enemy.

But they were already gone and Rose hurried down the hall too, in the direction the officer had pointed. She needed to get to the bottom of what was going on, before it was too late. Poe had offered little in explanation, simply saying that they were all on the "same side" now, before running off to his plane.

Rose got her bearings, now that the officer had sent her in the right direction. She was unfamiliar with the layout of dreadnaughts, but most ships had a logical design and she found her way to the Command Center.

When she entered, her anxiety escalated. Ten Commanding Officers were standing around the control room console, in the middle of the Command Center, staring at a hologram projected at the center. It showed a small scale map with various space stations and red dots making their way toward them, likely the fighter planes going to battle.

Rose's palms began to sweat. She wasn't used to being on the top level of ships, but on the lower levels, in the maintenance wing working on fixing things, alone, without a direct supervisor breathing down her neck. She'd never liked the Commanding Officer types.

General Leia stood at the front, so much shorter than the other officers that Rose wouldn't have seen her, had she not been wearing a high bun on her head. 

Hux noticed her first, as though he'd sensed her approach. His poised concentration on what General Leia was saying faltered for a moment and he looked ready to pounce when he saw her. He probably remembered the last time they'd come face to face on Snoke's ship, when Rose had bit his hand and he'd ordered her to be executed.