BLOCK 4 — THE RESISTANCE BASE IS ATTACKED

GENERAL HUX stands on the bridge of the DREADNAUGHT, a massive warship, currently flying through hyperspace. Hux communicates with Snoke through hologram. Hux says his forces are almost there, Snoke replies that he should only provide backup and eliminate escapees until Kylo Ren has finished his assault. Hux swallows his pride.

IN the resistance base, alarms go off. Energy ships are inbound. Poe finds Finn and says he has to get everybody out of the system. He then joins the other pilots who are scrambling to get airborne. Just then, Kylo Ren’s TIE SILENCER, flanked by 7 other CUSTOM TIE-INTERCEPTERS, swoop down through the atmosphere and commence a bombing run.

CUT to the control room. Leia and the leadership initiate an evacuation. Kylo Ren identifies the control room on his sensors.. He is about to shoot his missiles but hesitates — but the other knights do not..

..in the last possible instant, Leia grabs Admiral Akbar who is closest by, and as the room goes infernal, the two of them are blown to the wall, guarded by a force field.

Leia is strong in the force, that’s fine, but her flying through space was just one of those decent ideas that couldn’t quite make it through execution. Her activating a force field would serve the same purpose, without invoking as many musicals.

The Knights of Ren eject from their fighters and slaughter the Resistance as they make their way through the base. A deadly game of cat and mouse in an underground maze.

In the hangar, the evacuation begins. We get the following scene:

EXT. RESISTANCE BASE ANGLE ON the first few escape shuttles as they lift off and accelerate towards the upper atmosphere. Linger on them as they recede into tiny specs.. and then THUUUM — — The gargantuan DREADNAUGHT comes out of hyperspace, lighting up the escape ships in a FLURRY OF LASERS. The dreadnaught begins descending through the atmosphere, SCORCHING as it does; setting fire to the air.

The chaos continues. Finn finds Leia and Akbar in the control room, and leads them to the shuttles. Poe calls in asking for permission to blow up the Dreadnaught. Leia declines. Poe dismisses her, and turns off his intercom.

WE THEN INTERCUT BETWEEN:

POE, who engages the Dreadnaught, trailed by his bombers (since we’re now in gravity, falling bombs make sense). However, due to being severely outgunned, all the bombers blow up and the ATTACK FAILS.

KYLO and his knights, as they ambush Resistance fighters within the underground maze, and as he clears out the navigation room looking for clues on Rey.

FINN, who is evacuating with Leia and Akbar. The blast doors open and in pours STORMTROOPERS, led by CAPTAIN PHASMA. A desperate fire-fight ensues. Finn sends off the leadership in a shuttle, and then faces off against Phasma, her combat skills and deflective armour on full display.

THE SEQUENCE ENDS WITH:

Leia’s shuttle, guarded by the last Resistance fighters, escapes through hyperspace. Finn, awaiting execution by Phasma, is saved by Poe as he daringly flies into the hangar in his X-wing. Before being blasted, Phasma attaches a TRACKING DEVICE to Finn (who doesn’t notice). Finn and Poe escape. Kylo arrives in the hangar with his knights..