RESISTANCE RADIO
The lights streamed by, long strips whipping at incredible speeds gliding along the windshield. The glow of the dashboard was the only thing keeping the inside of the car from turning into a strange light show. A low hum vibrated in the dash, it was a great choice for a late drive tune Finn thinks. The beat slowly fades out, Finn reaches out hoping to find another channel. He enjoys the background noise but overnight hosts usually just make him cringe. He knows everyone's got to start somewhere but that doesn't mean breaks with fifteen seconds of stuttering are enjoyable.
"Papa was a Rolling Stone by The Temptations. Originally released as a single in 1979… before we start the 2nd part of the Temptations retrospective…" The voice that came out of the speakers was young but it was strong, confident and there wasn't a hint of hesitation or awkwardness, not even a stutter. He realized there was a slight pause, he wondered if she'd lost her train of thought. "Mmmmm, okay so between the two I'm gonna give my recommendation to the peppermint blend. A special thanks to the Outpost for the tea and the sponsorship. As always I'll be there after the show if you wanna come talk." Something about her was drawing him in: her pacing was amazing, she was obviously open with her audience and seemed involved with the community; all good signs.
"Heh, okay we've got a call from Marshal. If you don't remember, Marshal is the head of the Jakku community arts department. What's on your mind Marshal?" A younger sounding man's voice comes across, shaking a bit.
"Hey Rey… sorry I haven't called in a while; I've been dealing with some things." There's a slight pause, he hears the click of a play button and the light tones of some instrumental soul song starts playing. Masking any uncomfortable silences and potentially awkward moments.
"What's wrong Marshal?"
Finn had pulled over by into the parking lot of a gas station but he wasn't about to miss out on this. The conversation between the two went on for five straight minutes. At a certain point he realizes that the host wasn't even trying to interview the guy or get a good clip out of him. She just talked to him, heard him out; listened to his worries about the future and his doubts about his own faith. As the conversation continued, he noticed a change in Rey's tone. She's not simply comforting him, she was starting to ask questions and pushing. The man just seems upset, why was she pushing so hard?
"Marshal, something has happened that scared you, you need to admit it and then seek forgiveness and help"
"I don't know wh- "
"Marshal when did you try?" Finn's breath gets caught in his chest.
"…three weeks ago…"
"Marshal come down to The Outpost. I'm gonna call a friend of mine. She'll help okay?"
"Ya Rey… Okay"
She breathes as the phone line disconnects "All right time's almost up. Which means I get the honour of playing one last song for you. Since we just got through a pretty intense talk let's leave on a lighter note. I'll just let Reverend Green take us out with Let's Stay Together. My name is Rey, you've been listening to Jakku Community Radio. Goodnight" Finn finally gets out of the car, starts to gas up and then quickly pulls out his phone and opens google maps.
The lights of the café were warm and yellow. He could already see a small group of people huddled around a table to the side. The door opened with a ring, he attempted to act nonchalan; walking up to the counter he pretended to study the menu carefully, but the words were just fuzzes. His focus was on listening the conversation behind him.
The group was having what seemed like a half dozen different talks between the five of them. But he couldn't pick out the slightly accented tone of this "Rey". All of a sudden he became aware of a weird pressure on his shoulder, he turned about to give whoever was invading her personal space a piece of his mind. But stopped short when he realized the girl was also saying "excuse me" with a slight accent. He quickly stepped back and tried to come up with a good excuse. "Sorry, I was just looking at the menu"
She flashed a quick grin back "Oh no problem at all! Have you ever been here?"
"No, I'm just passing through town"
"Well in that case let me whip you up something special" She turned around so quick, she didn't notice the look of confusion snap across his face. He finally took a look at her proper. She was wearing a warm beige sweater with some nice khaki pants and an apron wrapped around her mid-section. She stepped deftly behind the counter and pulled out a couple of small jars filled with multi coloured leaves. She began pulling out small handfuls of each and putting them into a filter. After setting a fresh kettle on, she hopped onto the counter and looked back to Finn. He extended his hand and she shook it in return.
"My name's Finn."
"Nice to meet you Finn, my name's R- "
"Rey. Ya I know, I heard you're show when I was driving into town. That's actually the reason I stopped in here."
She seemed slightly surprised at this, but her smile only widened. "Annnnd, what did you think? You must have liked it to come all the way down here."
Finn takes a sip from the cup she placed in front of him. He never was much of a tea drinker though so it's more of a polite gesture than anything el- He immeditaley began coughing.
Rey leaned forward, "Are you okay? Was the tea too hot?"
"No-cough-No it was fine, I was just surprised at how good it was!" He looked up and noticed a very different type of grin, her face had hints of embarrassment in it. A slight tilt of her head and her eyes were looking down at the counter. "Rey…I was wondering… please tell me if this is too forward"
Suddenly that embarrassment turned into very real fear. "Look Finn, you seem really nice and all but we just met."
The alarm clock in Finn's head suddenly rang. "Oh Force, no" He began to chuckle and that chuckle turned into a deep laugh. The conversations at the table behind him suddenly quieted. He forced himself to stop, returning his attention to Rey, he saw the confusion in her eyes. "Let me re-introduce myself. I'm Finn Trooper, I'm a copywriter for Resistance Radio"
With just the mention of Resistance, it was Rey's turn to choke on her tea. After some napkins and clean up Rey just stares at Finn with disbelief. "You mean THE Resistance Radio? The one Leia Organa manages, with Poe Dameron on mornings? Wow that's amazing. It's an honour you listened to my show."
Finn just grinned, finally feeling comfortable enough to cut to the real reason he's here. "Rey, do you have a demo I could take back to the city with me?"
He expected excited cheers, or maybe false modesty. Complete silence and the death stare caught him off guard. "Finn, you need to be straight with me, you cannot lie to me about this. Do you honestly want my demo?"
He returned the serious look and tone. "Yes, Rey I think you have potential."
Finn opened the door to the building with his butt. More precisely he had to jump a bit to get his key card in his wallet to touch the swipe panel. The trays of coffee in his hands were still hot. He hummed along to the elevator tune, the doors dinged and he stepped out. The familiar silence this early in the morning always comforted him. He opened the door to their office, stepping in and hitting the light switch with his elbow. The Resistance Radio office was a really unique place. A cobbling together of what was left from the old Rebellion FM stations. When the Imperial Broadcasting Corporation collapsed almost all of its investors and government backers immediately put their support behind reforming The New Republic Radio Network.
The front desk was an old mahagony, it looked like some dentist's front desk from the 80's. Behind the front was another office. Then down the hallway to the right the kitchen lights were on. He could smell the toaster from here, that meant Poe was in. From the very first day Finn started at the office, he learned that Poe Dameron started every day with a glass of milk, a cup of coffee and a piece of toast. Finn set the trays down on the counter and grabbed the large double double with the Large "P" written on the side. He walked through the kitchen and into the rest of the station. Immediately to his right was the jock lounge door, then on his left was the hallway that led to the offices, studios and on-air booths. There was one in particular with a large insignia wood burned into the door. The warning light above the door was a salvaged traffic light. It switched off and the door opened.
A chair rolled out, sitting there in a wife beater with a pair of black jeans. A lush swath of hair, tanned skin and a cigarette hanging from between his lips. "Hello Finn! Good morning, good morning, it's wonderful to see you this morning." Poe sang in his signature sing songy voice; he was always a morning person. Able to be just as awake at 4 in the morning as at 4 in the afternoon. Finn hands the man his coffee.
"You know, Miss. Organa will kill you if she finds out you're smoking in the booth again."
"Oh please Trooper, The General will never know; unless you tell her of course"
He flashed that grin and rolled back into the booth. Finn just gave a shrug and returned to the kitchen. Grabbing his coffee, he then went on to the jock lounge. He grabbed a favourite from the music shelf, Billy Paul. He put the record on and slowly let the chords of Me and Mrs. Jones put his mind at ease. He opened up his office and sat down. Making sure to put the usb stick on his desk labelled Rey somewhere he wouldn't forget it.
"My name is Rey, you've been listening to Jakku Community Radio. Goodnight" Rey hit the play button and sat back in her chair. The phone on the desk lit up. She reached over, taking one last sip of her tea. Unknow Number flashed across the phone display. "Hello, you've reached Rey"
A softer, woman's voice spoke. "Hello Rey, first of all, I have to commend you on a great show. I did a couple spit takes while you were telling that ski trip story."
"Ooh well thank you, I'm glad you liked it. I don't want to be rude, but can I ask who's speaking?"
"Forgive me, I'm Leia Organa, I'm told you've already met our friend Finn"
Rey's phone has a lot of scratches and cracks, it's seen quite a bit of wear and tear usually from Rey's frequent outdoor time and clumsiness. She wasn't exactly surprised when it hit the floor, Leia sure was. "Rey…Rey! Are you okay?"
She snapped out of it and grabbed the phone. "Yes Miss Organa I'm fine. Just got startled"
"Well don't have a heart attack yet dear, I haven't even told you why I called." Rey's feet were tapping the floor furiously; she was thankful the studio had carpet or else it'd probably sound like a tap dance performance. "Rey, I listened to your demo. How familiar are you with Resistance Radio?"
Rey wasn't sure how to respond. Rey was never good with situations that required tact or strategy. It's one of the reason she had a bad track record with job interviews. The debate now was whether to admit that her laptop had several Resistance and Republic radio stickers, that her iPod was filled with episodes of the original Seat of the Senate and Jedi Archive podcasts. That may be a bit too much, she didn't want to sound obsessed. "Yes, I listen a lot. I used to listen to Skywalker Talk sometimes when I was in High school" The custom Luke Skywalker stencil sprayed onto her car begged to differ.
"Good to hear. I was wondering if you'd like to come up to D'Qar and visit the station?"
Silently her phone fell and only felt the familiar sting of the floor, a sensation it had come to know well. To be honest it wasn't surprised when it slipped from her grip. By this point it was too jaded to care, the shock of having a cracked screen now just a healed scar, a weekly occurrence with Rey. It calmly accepted its fate as it met the ground, the familiar song of the wind rushing by.