Jyn, handcuffed, is led by the trooper through the facility. Finn leads her to the turbolift that leads directly to it. Finn explains the situation with the prisoner, and convinces the considerable guard detachment to let them up.
The topmost floor has a large chamber with a window that looks like a spider web, and of course, the Imperial throne.
“Ah, I’ve been expecting you, Jedi”, a voice croaks.
Jyn uses the Force to remove her restraints. As the chair slowly turns around, Jyn ignites her lightsaber, ready to defend herself from any lightning attacks. The two of them cautiously approach the throne.
Jyn notices something isn’t right almost immediately. Palpatine, one of the most powerful force users of all time, has no Force presence at all.
“You will see, your feeble skills are no match for my brilliant plans.”
“Feeble they may be, but they are more than a match for your even feebler skills. You’re not Palpatine. ”
“Palpatine” begins to panic. He starts begging and whimpering for his life in an entirely different voice. A voice Jyn and Finn recognize at once.
“Rhubarb Crudspawn?!” Jyn exclaims, annoyed. “So this is what became of you. You know, I thought your last few holofilms weren’t that good anyway. And then you started going on these irritating tirades about Republic politics. Then, you disappeared. Now it all makes sense.”
The trooper is even more annoyed.
“Do you know how many times I followed ‘Palpatine’s’ orders, fearful of what might happen to me if I didn’t? Every time I was summoned up here, I was terrified. And now I know he was a joke, a fraud, nothing more than a faded actor looking for one last gig.” He is furious, but with a sympathetic look, Jyn quiets him.
Jyn pulls out her datapad to explain to Luke what she’s learned. She can’t reach him on the voice or text channels. The holonet wasn’t working, either.
“Great, looks like we’re having some communication difficulties,” she says to Finn, frustrated.
Rhubarb chimes in with an obnoxious smile: “Do you know what we Imperials have been working on over the last 30 years?”
“Let me guess, another Death Star for some hotshot pilot to blow up? Might be fun to take one of those down in an A-wing for a change,” she pauses. “Or maybe a B-wing. I know a guy.”
“Nope,” He pauses for dramatic effect, spreading obnoxious, weasly grin. “Jamming technology. Across the whole galaxy. Unless you have access to the extremely secure Imperial channels, of course.”
“Oh, and I didn’t even mention the massive Imperial fleet headed for your [slips into Palpatine voice] precious Jedi temple even now. [/slips out] I would imagine it’s rather understaffed there at the moment.”
“Bullshit”, Jyn says, furious. She ignites her lightsaber and advances toward him. Rhubarb faints in terror. Jyn stands back, ashamed of herself, and turns off her lightsaber.
“He’s telling the truth, Jyn. A few months ago I was assigned to provide security and assistance for the resupply of a massive Imperial fleet. When I was on board one of the star destroyers, I heard the troopers on board constantly mention how excited they were for a chance to finally take on those Jedi scum and hit them where it hurt. “
“How many ships were there?”
“A lot.”
“A lot?!” Jyn replies, irritated.
“A lot. Look, at the time I was mostly worried about not getting another disciplinary infraction for not polishing my rifle enough that morning. My body can’t keep up with all the clock adjustment they put us through out of loyalty to the old Imperial calender.”
“Sorry. I just can’t believe that the whole thing was a diversion. Why didn’t I see it? Something about it never sat right with me. Why couldn’t I put it together? I think in order to make it through this, I need to get in touch with a liaison with the Republic fleet. Also,” she sighed. “We need to figure out what to do with Rhubarb —”
Jyn is cut off by klaxons.
This imperial base has a “deadman’s switch” system where they go into red alert if they don’t hear from stormtrooper commanding officers every hour.
“Well, I guess there’s no time for that now. They know we’re here. Let’s go visit another planet, shall we?”
“Where?”
“I have a place in mind”
“Do you like being vague like this?”
“I do. How did you know?”
“The force,” Finn says sarcastically.
“That’s a topic for another time. Right now, we need to find some way out of here. I used the Force to quicken my limbs to get here. That won’t work for both of us. I take it you know hangars where we can find some swamp craft?”
“Yup. But we’ll have to fight our way there.”
“I figured as much. Well, let’s get to it,” Jyn sighs for the umpteenth time this day.
Jyn and Finn fight their way through the base to reach the hangar. Jyn uses a Soresu approach (a defensive type of lightsaber combat relying on deflection when facing blaster-wielding troops), working to protect her new companion, as well as herself. Finn is firing off shots but is conflicted about going against his former comrades.
They find a vehicle that is like a futuristic fan boat, and power it on. Finn makes sure to shoot the controls for the blast door when leaving, so that the Imperials cannot use the hangar to follow them. But there is still the local wildlife to contend with.
“So, I’ve done quite a few patrols in these. One thing you should know is that you don’t need to worry that much about those guys most of the time.” Finn points to a gigantic alligator-like creature 10 times the size of an earth alligator.
“You need to worry about those. Their tongues are extremely long and powerful” he points at a giant, fat toad-like creature twice the size of a human.
After avoiding all the tongues and space gator maws, they reach the A-wing. They stop to catch their breaths and Jyn says:
“You know, you can probably take that off now.”
“I forget I’m even wearing it. We’re required to wear them at all times outside of our living quarters. But, good point!”
He removes his helmet, revealing a dark-skinned man in his late twenties.
“Wait, how do you eat though?”
“In our quarters. We have a tiny table and everything. It’s the good life.”
As they climb in:
“How do you have a two-seater A-wing?”
“Useful for dignitaries, prisoners, potentials, and others. I don’t take on apprentices, but I do everything I can to make sure potentials I encounter reach the Jedi temple. Oh, and you and Elroy should be introduced.”
“Elroy?”
“Yes”, replies a voice emanating from the cockpit.
“I’m Finn.”
“As you may have already surmised, I’m Elroy, and I’m ready to leave this planet as well. I can feel things growing on me and I don’t enjoy it. ”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Elroy.”
“Likewise.”
The ship blasts off and speeds into the eternal night of space, leaving Rexolotl behind.
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