The command center of the rebel base was abuzz with quiet urgency as Kai and Leia stepped inside. Maps flickered across holoprojectors, lines of strategy crisscrossing over the looming image of the Death Star. Commanders and technicians stood around the table, tense but focused, all eyes turning as General Dodonna raised a hand for silence.
"Now that we're all here," he began, his voice gravelly but steady, "let's get to it."
Leia moved to stand beside the general, nodding to Kai as she did. Luke was already there, eyes still red but focused, seated near R2-D2 and C-3PO.
"Our spies retrieved critical information from the Death Star plans," Dodonna continued. "Thanks to the courage of those aboard the Falcon, we now know its weakness."
The hologram shifted, zooming in on a trench that ran the length of the Death Star.
"There is a small thermal exhaust port, just below the main port. Only two meters wide. A precise hit with proton torpedoes will start a chain reaction that will destroy the station."
A murmur rippled through the room.
Kai leaned forward, frowning. "That's barely the size of a womp rat."
Luke managed a thin smile. "Back home, I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16. They're not much bigger."
General Dodonna nodded. "It won't be easy. Their defenses are tight. Turbolasers, TIE fighter patrols, and surface cannons. But it can be done. The attack team will need to fly fast, low, and stay in formation."
He tapped a control and the hologram dissolved into a mission layout.
"Red and Gold Squadrons will lead the assault. Kai and Luke, we'll need you both in the hangar for coordination with the pilots. Your experience in the station may give us insight."
Kai nodded slowly, still feeling the hum of the Force from earlier. "I'll do whatever's needed."
Leia stepped forward. "The Empire doesn't know we have the plans yet. That gives us one chance, and one chance only. We have to move before they track us here."
The gravity of it all pressed down on them like the jungle heat outside—this was it. The moment they would either cripple the Empire's might, or be extinguished entirely.
Dodonna looked around the room. "Brief your teams. Prep your fighters. We launch at first light. May the Force be with us all."
As the commanders began dispersing to relay orders, Kai lingered by the table, his gaze drawn back to the trench rendered in pale blue light. Somewhere out there, among the stars, the obelisk's whisper echoed faintly.
The Force was with him. But so was something else. Something older.
He clenched his jaw and turned away, heading toward the hangar. There was work to be done.
Outside the command center, the base shifted into high gear. Technicians scrambled between X-wings, running final diagnostics. Pilots double-checked gear and communed quietly with astromechs.
Kai walked alongside Luke, both of them heading for the hangar briefing zone. The tension in the air was tangible, but beneath it ran a current of determination. This was more than a battle—it was a statement to the galaxy.
"You ever flown in something like this before?" Luke asked.
Kai gave a short laugh. "Nope. I was hoping to keep my feet on the ground a bit longer. But I guess the galaxy had other plans."
Luke gave him a knowing look. "Funny how that keeps happening."
In the hangar, Wedge Antilles waved them over. "We've been running simulations based on the trench layout. The targeting's going to be tight, but with the Force on our side... maybe we've got a shot."
Kai looked to the sky beyond the hangar's open blast doors. Somewhere, far above, the Death Star loomed.
He didn't know if he would survive the coming day. But he did know this: whatever power he'd felt on Yavin, whatever whisper lingered in his bones from the obelisk—it wouldn't define him.
He would choose his path.
He turned back to Luke and Wedge. "Let's make it count."
The sun had barely crested over the jungle horizon when the call came to launch.
Pilots sprinted to their ships, helmets in hand. The roar of engines filled the cavernous hangar as flight crews cleared the deck.
Kai stood beside Luke near Red Five, both of them suited up and ready. Leia approached, her expression tight but composed.
"Luke, Kai," she said, touching each of them lightly on the arm. "Good luck. Both of you."
Luke nodded. "We'll come back."
Kai met her gaze, sensing the storm of emotion she kept carefully in check. "You take care of things down here. We'll handle the sky."
Leia gave a faint smile. "May the Force be with you."
They climbed into their ships, canopy hissing shut. R2 beeped encouragement from behind Luke's seat, while Kai's own astromech, a battered but loyal unit named T9, clicked into place.
The hangar lights flashed green.
One by one, the X-wings lifted off and soared into the dawn sky, banking sharply as they shot upward.
The Battle of Yavin had begun.