Kylo Ren sat on his bunk with his head buried in his hands.
What have I done?
It wasn't the first time - nor would it be the last - that he had thought those words. Slowly, Ren tapped the ends of his fingers together as he looked up over his hands. His piercing brown eyes stared at the metal wall as his thoughts swarmed together. His capture of the girl, the scavenger Rey, on Takodana. His failed interrogation of her. The childish argument he had had with the imbecile General Hux.
The killing of his father, Han Solo.
And, perhaps even most of all, the duel with the traitor Finn and Rey herself. Yes, Finn had been able to score a lucky shot to Ren's shoulder, but the master of the Knights of Ren made sure not to let that stop him from torching the Resistance fighter's chest with one of his smaller blades, and ultimately slicing his spine with his main blade.
But the one-on-one fight with the girl was embarrassing. She had been able to defeat him easily. A stab to the shoulder, a slice across the face, and a fatal blow to his crossguard lightsaber, which now was a simple pile of scrap floating amidst the ruin of Starkiller Base. Yet all of this seemed to not bother the Supreme Leader.
Something else was tugging at the leader of the entire First Order. Ren knew it. Snoke needed him. Why else would he have sent Hux to rescue him from the exploding planet? Ren figured that Snoke would've let him die there for his failure.
Ren ruffled his long black hair with his hands as he looked down to the floor. Soon enough he would learn his master's plans. And then he would not fail him.
Finn felt a shaking jolt that woke him swiftly. Blinking his dark eyes open, the former stormtrooper leaned up, rubbing his eyes. His gaze soon settled upon the calm, pretty face of the Jakku scavenger.
"Rey."
The young woman smiled joyfully, leaping forward. She threw her arms around Finn's neck as the two new friends embraced. They had formed a bond together over the short time they had known one another.
Rey pulled back, stepping away from Finn's bunk. Standing at the foot of Finn's bed was the Resistance ace pilot, Poe Dameron. Both he and Finn smiled once they saw one another and Poe clapped a hand on Finn's shoulder. "That hit you took from Ren was one heckuva slash. I didn't think that anyone could make it from that creature's lightsaber." He gazed longingly into space, images of the old Lor San Tekka coming to mind. "I've seen it firsthand."
Finn nodded. "Yeah. I'm lucky." Rey and Poe looked to one another, and then Rey cleared her throat. "Finn...erm...General Organa has asked Poe and I to go on a mission for her to the planet Dantooine. The First Order knows that D'Qar is our base, so we must find somewhere else that can be used as a new location for our base. She thinks that may be Dantooine."
Finn looked to both of his friends. "Wait - you mean you're going without me?!" Poe gulped. "Well...yes. Chewbacca, Snap, Jess, Bastian, and BB-8 are going with us, too. The General, Artoo, Threepio, Admiral Ackbar, and Nien Nunb have all went to find Luke Skywalker."
The ex-stormtrooper jumped from his bunk. He had been confined to his bunk for nearly a week, so his back injury was healing. "What? No. I'm coming too!" Poe turned to Rey, and the teenage girl looked to the ground. "Well..." She turned and looked at Poe. "Poe?" The Resistance commander shrugged. "I guess it's fine." He smirked slightly. "I guess we just have to make sure you don't do something stupid and hurt yourself again." Finn smiled. "Thanks. I owe you guys."
Rey held up her fingers. "This is the second time." Poe shrugged. "I guess we're square. Finn broke me out of the Finalizer back when Ren had me captured." Finn simply shook his head, turning to the desk beside his bunk, grabbing the flight jacket of Poe Dameron. He turned to Poe and held it out. Poe waved to him. "Nah, forget it. You keep it." Finn nodded, pulling the jacket on. "Well, what're you waiting for? Let's get going."
Here's the prologue to Unlikely Alliances! I hope you enjoyed it. Please rate and review; I love any feedback I get. Thanks for reading!