The rebel alliance is getting stronger since the destruction of the First Orders weapon. There is unrest within the ranks of The First Order's Stormtroopers. Although the rebellion struggles to fight off the strong armies, they are succeeding in capturing and exploiting the storm troopers and turning them against The First Order.
Finn and Poe Dameron are leading a squad disguised as tie fighters of The First Order on a mission to find a new base of Stormtroopers in hopes of destroying the army from the inside out. With the help of Rey and the droid, BB-8, they have discovered plans of the enemy to move a small order of troops near the planet Jakku.
General Hux has begun to suspect the actions of the rebels; however, Finn and Poe Dameron are still succeeding and are quickly becoming an unstoppable force within the Galaxy.
"Sir, ten more troopers didn't report for duty. We've already lost 100 just this week to the rebel forces, but these ten weren't deployed in a battle. The rebels must be getting to them somehow without alerting the rest of our forces. I think this requires more of our attention, th-"
"No. Let them come. Let them try; we will just make more clones tomorrow. Let them try to destroy us! I will kill EVERY LAST ONE OF THEM!" His arm swung in a large arc, snatching the lightsaber and slashing into the nearest soldier. He turned toward General Hux as the remaining soldiers stumbled back from the red saber. Kylo Ren took one step forward, none of the troopers dared to breathe and the room fell silent except for the harsh breathing through his mask.
The saber crackled inches from the General's body, Kylo pushed his face closer and the general arched back away from him. His voice was harsh, "Find them. Bring them to me. No one touches them. I WANT THEM ALIVE TO SLAUGHTER WITH MY BARE HANDS!" Kylo Ren screamed and swung his cloak behind him to march out of the command room. Two troopers followed behind, they only made it two steps before Kylo swung the saber again. "No one follows."
Back in the command room, General Hux pulled the two soldiers below him in command aside. He stood facing the glass pane that viewed the galaxy with both hands held calmly behind his back, even though he burned with anger. The two soldiers stood calmly awaiting orders. The General turned his head slightly, but not to fully look at them. "Send a squad of troops to Jakku. Don't let them return without discovering the whereabouts of the girl and her friends. Find them and alert me immediately. We cannot lose more soldiers to them."
"But, Sir, Kylo Ren must be informed of the search," one of the soldiers replied, much more easily in front of the General than Kylo Ren.
"No," his reply was sharp and unrelenting, "he is powerful but not rational. He does not need to know what we plan to find. With this little storm trooper issue behind us, he will be grateful."
"Very well." Both soldiers replied in unison and marched out of the command room.
"On your left, Finn!" Poe yelled, turning the stolen TIE-fighter quickly to avoid enemy fire and fly under the closest destroyer. An enemy fighter quickly flew into view from the right and Poe spun the craft quickly to the other side.
The blaster fired toward the newest fighter and it exploded in a blast of flame and spun toward the planet Jakku directly below them. "Got it!"
"I said left!" Poe directed the fire to another enemy fighter now out of sight behind them, but continuing to fire on their ship.
"I got it!"
"Not that one, Finn," he yelled again with a quick turn and flew past the glass pane of the largest star destroyer of the fleet. Three fighters appeared next to them all sending blaster fire towards them. "Left! Left! Left!"
"I said I got it, Poe!" Finn turned his blaster back onto the three fighters and blew them into the nearest star destroyer. Sweat brewed on his forehead, but he let a grin come across his face as Poe turned in his seat and offering a solid hi-5. They both slapped hands together and in unison let out the excess adrenaline in a breathless yell. "YES! They don't stand a chance against us, Poe!"
"Okay, where to now. You know these ships better than I do," Poe replied decelerating the TIE-fighter and turned around to face Finn again. He bit his lip under the fighter helmet and locked eyes with Finn.
Finn stared back to him, but quickly flung his eyes toward their destination, "Left. That star destroyer. It should be in there, but the base may have moved."
Poe slid back to face front again and look out the small window. He gripped the controls again as Finn mirrored his actions and stared, not out the window and in range of his blaster, but watched the back of Poe's neck. It looked tense. "Stay calm...stay calm."
"I am calm, Finn," he said as he turned the fighter to the left towards the destroyer. Finn patted him hard on the shoulder and fell back comfortably in his seat.
"I said right!" Finn yelled startling the pilot in front of him.
"You said left!"
"Now I'm saying right! Watch that fighter, Poe," He yelled again and they struck a banter as he flew the other way towards another star destroyer, the biggest of the fleet.
"Leave the flying to me. Just keep shooting…" Poe paused and then turned back around to Finn. He saw him about to speak, probably to yell at him for turning around to look at him this much while flying. He met eyes with him again and smiled a too wide, sarcastic grin almost like a kid sticking their tongue out, "Fighters on your left," Poe laughed.
They flew easily towards the ship and shot down any remaining enemy fighters as they approached. Quickly, the side of the ship loomed above them until all they could see was the flashing lights of the entry loading dock. Finn spun his blaster to knock out the power to the defense shield and allow them to fly through to enter the ship.
"Let's go get 'em," Poe said as they flew past the edges of the ship and left the rest of the galaxy behind them.
In the hangar, they landed the ship in an open space. No one fired as they got out of the ship. Far off on the opposite side of the hangar, a group of ten Stormtroopers stood guard, but obviously not expecting any attack. Rightly so, they were not there to attack, hopefully Poe could avoid that, he didn't want Finn having to fight the troopers. Poe nudged Finn with his shoulder and nodded silently in the direction of the troopers.
"How long do you think we can keep this up?" Finn asked.
"Let's just get these troops. We'll be fine Finn..." he tried to reassure him, but didn't feel it. He took a deep breath and looked at the jacket Finn was wearing. It would do nothing to block the blaster fire, but he did like it on Finn. Ok Poe. You can do this. "Plus, I'm a damn good pilot and you're a damn good shooter we can get out of this if we need to."
Finn nodded. Poe nodded again with him. Let's do this.
And that's how it began. Poe and Finn. The unstoppable ex-Stormtrooper and pilot walked shoulder to shoulder up the side of the hangar hoping to avoid alerting the guard's attention. Now it seemed ridiculous that they ever succeeded in turning any of the troopers to the rebellion, but they had.
The mission had started totally as Finn's idea just after they found each other again. Just after the briefing and discovery of the final pieces of Luke's map, Rey went off to follow the trail to him.
"Don't go, Finn. Stay here with me and we can figure the rest of this out. The First Order isn't going anywhere just because we find Luke right, buddy?" Just please. Stay. Poe couldn't let him go off again, even if he barely spent any time with Finn, all that time that he spent wondering if he survived caused a bond that he couldn't get rid of. Maybe they didn't infinite amounts of friendship like Han and Chewy, but maybe they could get some of it.
"I have to go...sh-Rey, she can't go alone. It's too dangerous," Finn said with the map to Luke still shimmering behind Poe and reflected in his dark eyes.
"Stay here; I need someone to operate my blaster. What good is a pilot without his blaster?" He said, punching Finn on the shoulder lightly and looking up into his eyes. They weren't paying attention and instead followed the path through the galaxies to Luke.
For a moment, Finn faltered and fidgeted in the brown jacket that Poe had given him. Mine. His eyes were no longer reflecting the map, but he wasn't looking at Poe either. Poe thought he almost looked frozen in command, waiting for the next order. Stay. That would be the order Poe would give, but he couldn't. He couldn't knowing that Finn sat on the edge of being a Stormtrooper and an actual free ally of the rebellion, he had to let him make these choices on his own or Poe would be Captain Phasma.
"Look, Finn, I'm not going to tell you what to do, but I'll tell you what I want. I want you to stay. Here. With me. I want my buddy back in that TIE-fighter freakin' destroying The First Order. You're not a Stormtrooper anymore, you're with me now and I don't want to wonder if you're alive or not...I just want to kick some enemy butt!" Poe had an arm gripped on Finn's shoulder at this point; feeling the familiar texture of the jacket that he once wore.
Finn mimicked the motion and gently slammed both hands onto the other's shoulders. Eyes locked. A grin spread over Finn's face causing an even wider one on Poe, so genuine that there was no denying what Finn's choice was. "I'm with you, man! Let's. Kick. That. Blaster. Butt!" Finn laughed and with each word his voice grew louder and more excited. Each word tightening the grip on Poe.
"Hell yeah!" Poe said and they released each other. Another hi-five followed. Perfectly placed and Poe continued through, landing a hard slap to Finn's butt. He didn't think anything strange of it, just began walking towards the center of the base, where they could talk next steps of the rebellion. "Let's do this!" he yelled brining his arm in for a gesture that said 'Yes!' giving a perfect view of his excitement.
Finn stood with a confused grin on his face; rubbing the spot on his ass where there was surely a handprint and watching Poe shake out his right hand. "Damn." he whispered and followed into the center of the base.
Back in the hangar, Poe crouched under one of the enemy ships. He could see directly across the room towards the door that led further into the star destroyer, yet there was still ten Stormtroopers waiting for any action. Finn crept up slowly along the wall, his face now beaded with sweat as Poe put up a hand to signal him to stop. Too busy staring at the Stormtroopers, Finn walked right into Poe and stumbled, while quietly mumbling his words of apology.
"Finn. You alright?" he asked.
Finn nodded, swallowing hard still keeping his gaze on the Stormtroopers and one hand on the wall to steady him while crouching. "That's them." Finn said nervously and pointed in the direction of the troops. "Poe. What do we do?"
"We got this. Best duo in the galaxy remember," he replied with a fist bump and a smile at Finn, who nodded in reply, still gleaming with sweat.
"FN-2000," Finn said, shaking his head now. He stared, frozen. A soldier again.
"You're not one of them anymore," Poe tried to reassure him, keeping up the genuine grin and wiping the hair back behind his face. The helmet he had worn during their flight her was now perched on his hip, held by his arm. "We're not here to kill. You can do this, Finn. I'm counting on you."
Poe could imagine what he was thinking. Flashes of the squads of Stormtroopers appeared in his mind. All white, all in unison, marching to the orders of Commander Phasma. Somehow he could see Finn doing all his, even though he never knew him before, he never knew what the Stormtroopers did inside here. He could only imagine what he felt from Finn, but then again Finn was different from the other troopers.
To the left would be FN-2003 then to the right another soldier he never had much contact with. Directly in front could be FN-2000. March forward. Shoot. Obey orders. At least that's what Poe imagined when he thought of Finn as a Stormtrooper but of course he could never know. Not until Finn told him and so far this moment was as close as he'd gotten to understanding something about his past.
"I knew him," Finn said then continued, "In my squad, there were thousands of us. You didn't get much time to talk, but maybe with a few. It wasn't exactly a friendship, but I didn't know anything else."
"Tell me about it one day. Tell me when we're safe; tell me when this war is over, okay? Promise."
"When it's just you and I in the cockpit, when we can fly wherever we want without blasters, then I'll tell you," Finn laughed but Poe hoped that day would be sometime soon.
They sat for a moment longer, not staring at the troops, but each other. Just for a second, before Poe stood up, giving a hand to Finn and pulling him to his feet. Poe began walking first, silently, but with purpose, occasionally stealing a glance to make sure Finn didn't freeze up again, to make sure he was still with him and not with the troopers.
They stopped about halfway through the hangar where two large doors ready to slide open waited. The doors weren't the main entrance to the rest of the ship, at least they could tell that much, but they allowed a large enough entrance that it seemed a common use for the troops. Neither of the duo wanted to cross in front, too risky. On the door, two huge windows would allow anyone inside to see them perfectly, even if the crouched they would still be visible.
Poe turned around to face Finn, "What now?"
Finn didn't falter, but instead let a huge smile form on his face without saying anything.
"What is it?" Poe whispered, now returning the smile without any thought.
"I think I know another way. Just follow me, pilot."
Poe let him go ahead and slowly mouthed the words 'pilot.' It felt natural to hear them come out of Finn's mouth, but strange in the tone he used. Commanding, but so much thought behind it.
Finn led them to the left, away from the wall, but still hidden in view from the Stormtroopers blocking the main entrance to the ship. He stopped underneath one of the nearest ships where the ladder to climb up hung down. Finn placed one foot on the first rung and began to climb. Instead of entering the ship, he stepped firmly onto the highest rung and flipped himself up onto the wing of the ship.
In a harsh whisper, Poe tried to get his attention, "Are you out of your mind?! They'll see you!" Before, Finn got a chance to utter a reply Poe had already begun climbing as well. He thought rationally, but didn't act it and proceeded to mirror Finn and found himself on the last rung wondering how he maneuvered up there.
Finn's head poked out from above the wing of the plane smiling, "Come on, pilot. Shouldn't you know how to get around these things? I thought you could fly anything." Finn said it as he stuck a hand out to help pull him up onto the wing.
He clambered up and fell onto his back with a huff of breath. Then, getting to his feet, at first onto one knee and then standing, he brushed off his pilot's jumpsuit. "I can fly it. In space. At high speeds. Not fling myself off the side of its wings, that's for BB-8," he said.
Finn continued to the edge of the wing and peered over the side to look down at the ground below them, as if contemplating how bad the fall would be. Finn's gaze shifted to another ship that seemed dangerously far away to Poe. Finn began backing up and charging his stance for a running start.
Poe flung his arm out to the side and held it as a barrier in front of Finn. "Woah there, buddy. Do troopers have some secret ability to fly that I don't know about?" Poe said with partial concern in his voice, but a hint of thrill. I like this guy. He thought, before pushing Finn back behind him slightly and taking up the same stance. This has to be crazy.
"How else are we going to get across the hangar, pilot?" Finn asked.
Poe shrugged and cocked his head, "Good point." Poe started to laugh and started into a run. "One thing you need to know about me, Finn…" he said, looking back at Finn and pulling his helmet onto his head, "Pilots…love….to fly!" he yelled with a final leap off the edge of the wing and rolled onto the ship next to it and landed on his back.
Finn broke into a run next and within seconds rolled next to Poe with a lot less graceful of a landing. Finn fell onto his back and laughed as Poe patted his shoulder and they both stood up. Luckily, the Stormtroopers were far enough off that they didn't hear the commotion and banging from the metal of the ships.
Finn held Poe back, but they were both still jittery with adrenaline. Still, they got back into a crouch to avoid being in view of the storm troopers and faced each other. Their faces were closer now; almost close enough to feel the heavy breathing. Poe worried that Finn could even hear his heart beating out of his chest. While catching his breath, Finn put a hand onto Poe's shoulder that Poe automatically reciprocated. It was becoming natural now to stand like this. Both hands on each other's shoulders, both to steady each other and to create a bond, a connection.
"Dude, why do you bother questioning me, if you're going to do it anyway?" Finn asked, still out of breath.
Poe shrugged again and laughed, "I have to show some responsibility, buddy." Seconds later, Poe broke the contact and began running for the next ship making the jump perfectly, followed by Finn moments later. They continued through the hangar, jumping from ship to ship completely out of view from the guards, until they landed on the ship almost directly next to the troopers.
Above them on the wall, a small opening for an air duct was situated too high to reach by jumping or standing on one another. There was no way to reach it without alerting the Stormtroopers, but it definitely led off to another section of the ship or would at least allow them to bypass the guards and the security system of the ship. Poe looked at Finn, but he was frantically looking around the ship they were standing on, maybe for something to help. He didn't dare ask, the guards being too close and would hear him.
In a small hatch under one of the wings Finn pulled out a grappling hook that attached to the ship and extended with plenty of room to reach the air duct. Just as he started pulling out the hook, the doors that they avoided in the first place slid open with the sound of pressure releasing. Ten more troopers entered following another man. They marched directly towards the other troops in perfect unison. This must have been more of Finn's squad.
General Hux approached one of the troopers holding a large baton that crackled with electricity. He threw up a fist to signal the rest of the troops to stop marching behind him and they did so with a final click of their boots on the metal floor. Finn and Poe crept slowly up the edge of the wing to get a better glimpse, General Hux still busy with giving orders.
"Send half of your troops to Jakku. We have evidence that the traitor may have been stopping there on mission from the rebellion. Find him and the Pilot. Bring them here alive to me. Do not alert Kylo Ren of your mission, you follow my orders," General Hux announced and the soldiers nodded.
One of the troops to the right of the other holding the electric baton hesitated in nodding his approval and the baton struck out giving him a slight shock before he began nodding in submission. "Consider the mission completed, General," the trooper replied while sending a harsh look at the other who hesitated.
With the orders given, General Hux proceeded through the main doors that slid into the walls to allow him entry. Moments later, they closed behind him leaving the remaining troops ready to disembark for the mission.
"You," the trooper said with a motion of his hand to signal the newly arrived troops, "send off to Jakku. You heard the General," he continued in a harsh voice.
A group of ten Stormtroopers jogged off to a ship on the opposite side of the hangar. Quickly and with obvious training and skill, the ship departed from the hangar leaving the shield momentarily down. The wings extended and the ship accelerated away leaving only a swell of dust left. The leading trooper turned back to the remaining troops, "The rest of you, keep watch. Report anything out of the ordinary. 2002, 2005, I want you with me to patrol for signs of the rebel base," he said motioning to two other troops, both completely indistinguishable from the others.
Poe realized it first.
They were headed towards their ship. He grabbed Finn and pulled him back to stay hidden, but they still would have to expose themselves to get off the ship before they took off. Finn quickly pulled the hook farther out of the hatch and handed a section of the rope to Poe. Their actions urgent and rushed, they both fumbled with the line hoping to somehow get out of this without a fight.
Once fully extended, Finn grabbed the rope and began swinging it over his head in a perfect circle. One shot. That's all they could spare or else they would be fighting their way out of her. Stay calm, Finn. Poe thought, focusing only on Finn, willing him to make a perfect throw to the air duct.
Twenty more seconds and the storm troopers would be inside the ship ready to take off. Finn took a deep breath with Poe watching from his crouched position behind the wing. You're the best in the galaxy. If anyone can make this, you can. He thought and Finn released the line.
It soared silently through the air and caught on the lip of the air duct. Finn tugged hard on the line and for a moment Poe saw the hook budge from its hold, but it only slid more snug into place. This would hold. Finn turned back to Poe, grinning. "Thanks, Pilot. You're the best in the galaxy, too," he said.
Poe returned the smile, but faltered. Had he said that any of his thoughts out loud? He must have, but he quickly dismissed it, glad that Finn succeeded in securing the grappling line. Finn waved a beckoning gesture to Poe, urging him to hold onto him as he grabbed onto the line.
Poe put both his arms around Finn and held on as tight as he could. The leader of the FN unit of Stormtroopers, the trooper Finn pointed out as FN-2000, entered the ship. Poe knew they were close to take off.
Just as he thought it, the ship began to shudder, almost throwing them off balance and careening onto the floor. Finn held strong. Whirring of the engines began to fill the hangar, loud enough now to block out any shouting that they would probably do with what was coming next. They began to lift off the ground, hovering a couple feet of the ground making the drop even more significant. Just as the ship started to move forward, Poe tightened his grip around Finn's waist and they both jumped.
The grappling line held, but with the ship now being too high for the line to be taught and not close enough to the wall, they both swung down in an arc towards the wall. Finn screamed along with Poe, but both had a hint of excitement in them again, just like jumping from ship to ship. They slammed into the wall and the breath knocked out from both of them as Poe struggled to hold onto Finn, who struggled to keep his grip on the line.
Now halfway down the hangar, Poe saw the door to the ship begin to close. Standing in the doorway was FN-2000 glaring directly at Finn. "He saw us!" Finn gasped, but the ship didn't falter and the trooper simply averted his gaze and turned back to enter the ship, the door sealing them inside. Finn began to ask why FN-2000 would let them go before the troopers below them realized the two dangling men.
"Hey!" One of the troopers yelled as they twisted around on the rope trying to climb the rest of the way to the air duct. Blaster fire exploded next to them leaving a scorch mark on the wall. "NO! Don't kill. Leave them for General Hux!" he continued yelling.
Poe, now holding the rope slightly below Finn's feet, stopped climbing to avoid slamming into the bottom of his boots. Finn couldn't take his eyes of the troopers that ceased fire below him. "Come on! Shoot me! I'm a traitor!" Finn screamed with every part of himself at the rest of his squad. "I knew you! I betrayed you! So kill ME!"
"No." One of the troopers dropped his weapon, "FN-2187. Return to us."
The rope was shaking now, struggling to support both of their weight. Poe looked up to meet the eyes of Finn, but he couldn't let the fear out of his eyes and he knew Finn saw it too. "Remember what Leia said, Finn. You're with me. Me!" Poe yelled and pushed up on the bottom of his feet. Finn climbed the rest of the way up to the air duct and pulled the line the rest of the way in and Poe with it.
Down below them the remaining troopers were in a commotion. "We have to sound the alarm," one of them stated then followed but a different whisper, barely audible, "Only because we must…I'm sorry, FN-2187." The remaining troops picked up their blasters and pulled the lever just outside the doors to the rest of the ship.
The alarm sounded. It blared through the air duct where Poe was shaking Finn by the shoulders. Finn was burning up and sweating, his eyes almost rolling back into his head. "Finn! Finn, come on! FINN!" Poe yelled trying to bring him back to consciousness, but this wasn't a physical injury. "Remember what Leia said, Finn," Poe whispered again as he gently cradled his head and laid Finn gently onto the base of the cold metal air duct. Finn reached out his hand for Poe's arm, struggling to get in words, but barely grazed the edge of his arm before he was unconscious.
"Remember what Leia said," Poe said breathlessly.