The mood had changed at the new Resistance Base.
Being a military installation and one of the sole remaining outposts of the Republic's strength, there always was a kind of frenetic energy about the place. Pilots racing to get to their ships, droids scurrying about with orders from command, soldiers whispering rumors of the First Order's next move. That sort of thing was commonplace.
This was different though. Different entirely.
Finn ducked past a loader droid as he made his way through the base, trying to figure out exactly was going on. About half the personnel seemed missing. Soldiers, pilots, technicians all just seemed to be gone. And for those that remained there was the usual hustle and bustle but instead of looks of grim determination, his fellow Resistance members wore smiles, or looks of anticipation for... something. Beyond that, very few seemed to actually be in uniform. He'd been with the Resistance every since he'd woken up a few weeks ago but he'd never seen them like this.
After crossing the hanger Finn finally came into the main control room, only to find it mostly empty. As the hub and nerve center of the base it was usually the busiest of all. Now, save for a few technicians it appeared all but abandoned. Scratching the back of his head Finn started to leave only to trip and topple on top of a pesky sphere that had a knack of getting in his way.
"BeeBee!" he said through his teeth as he cradled his shin, meanwhile the droid babbled angrily with its beeps and boops. "Watch where you..."
Finn stopped when he finally got a look at the droid. For the most part it was the same old BB-8. Same paint job, same optical sensor, all ordinary except for the fact that someone had placed a ribbon of some kind on the droid's head.
"Wait BeeBee... do you know what's going on? Where is everybody? I just got back from Manaan but something's different."
BB-8's head drifted to the side of his body for a moment as if regarding Finn's question with a strange curiosity. As the droid stared the former stormtrooper had to remind himself not to get self conscious, a droid had no business giving him judgy looks like that!
"Okay, can you at least take me to someone that knows what's going on?"
The droid beeped affirmative and rolled away, leaving Finn scrambling to his feet to keep up. Once outside the control room the droid picked up speed, merrily beeping some sort of tune to itself as it went. Finn just shook his head and moved a little faster, not willing to let the droid get out of sight.
He paused only once when he noticed BB-8 leading them out of the main encampment and into the surrounding wilderness. Had the droid broken something when Finn tripped over it? Or maybe it finally had blown its last circuits. Poe swore the droid was fine but Finn couldn't help but wonder when it last had its logic motivators checked.
Finally they came to the mouth of a large cave. The droid stopped just short of going in before swiveling its head back to make sure Finn knew to enter. The little ball sat there waiting expectantly as Finn neared, seeming oblivious to how much weirder the already strange situation had become.
"What's in there?" Finn said.
BB-8 merely nodded the direction of the cave.
Resigned, Finn let out a sigh and entered the cave. As he proceeded his hand drifted to where he normally kept his blaster holstered, only to find it empty. Of course it was, he didn't carry the blasted thing at the home base. That was the point of a home base! Now he just had to hope that BB-8 didn't just feed him to a gundark or something equally as vicious.
Even as Finn debated going back or not, he caught sight of a light up ahead. Buoyed by this discover, he pressed forward until he came to a large central chamber carved out of the ancient rock. His eyes widened as he took in the interior of the chamber. Not a gundark or a rancor, in fact, quite the opposite.
This was no gloomy cave, but a gathering hall for a party. Streamers hung from the walls, wreathes with little lights sparkled at various entry points. Tables stood off to the side and scattered throughout the room, some bearing so much food that Finn worried they might collapse from the weight. And in the middle of it all was a massive tree, trimmed with more lights and decorations than he could even count.
His fellow Resistance members also filled the room. Most of them no longer wore their flight suits or military uniforms but instead dressed in whatever civilian clothes they had that were clean. Most had a drink in their hands as they chatted with each other, all thought of the war with the First Order seemingly forgotten.
Finn felt himself wandering aimlessly into the chamber, his earlier confusion slowly washing away in the sea of well wishes, decorations, and heady aromas from the food. The Resistance never had parties like this, usually all they managed was some drinks and a hot meal after a victory. With one foot idly placing itself in front of the other, and his eyes darting about for each new wonder, he didn't even notice Chewbacca until he ran right into him.
And yet this too brought a surprise, because instead of getting a face full of fur, Finn's entire field of vision was swallowed by the large scarlet robe the wookiee wore. Chewie barked in amusement and helped steady the former stormtrooper before he could stumble back.
"Chewie... what's going on here? When did you get back from Ach-Two?" Finn almost asked the question on the tip of his tongue and he even glanced around, hoping that he might see... her... but instead the red armed, golden droid that belonged to General Organa popped out.
"Oh! Yes I can answer that yes!" C-3P0 said. "You see Master Finn, this is a Life Day Celebration!"
"Life Day?" Finn popped a brow. "This is a Resistance thing?"
"In a manner of speaking," Threepio said. "Life Day is a Wookiee holiday, but it was adopted by the Rebel Alliance sometime after the Battle of Yavin."
"When the first Death Star was destroyed?" Finn said looking around. "That would explain why we never heard of it in the First Order."
"No, I imagine not," the droid said. "But with everything that's happened Princess... I mean General Leia wished to have a special Life Day Celebration this year."
"And Chewie came back for it," Finn nodded. "But what about Re-"
"There he is!" a familiar voice piped up behind him. Finn turned around just as Poe approached wearing what Finn could only assume was a Life Day hat. "Glad you found your way here! We've just been so busy lately I haven't been able to fill you in on the details of this little get together! Welcome to Life Day buddy!"
"Yeah!" Finn said, clapping his friend on the shoulder. "Merry Life Day... wait, is it Merry or Happy? This is so weird."
"Don't worry Finn," Poe chuckled. "You'll get into the spirit of things soon enough."
And sure enough, Poe was right. Once Finn got past the fact that Rey had not returned with Chewbacca he let himself relax a bit and enjoy the celebration. A few more wookiees came to join Chewbacca in leading the traditional ceremonies around the Life Day Tree, gifts were exchanged, drinks were imbibed, and food devoured. Finn did find himself having to duck a few advances from Jessika Pava, something about traditional kissing for the celebration or something.
In the end they all wound up singing songs around the tree. Songs, which Finn had never learned, but did his best to follow everybody else's lead. It was only after that, that Finn noticed something else peculiar. General Organa wasn't there.
He spent a few minutes wandering around the chambers looking but there was no sign of her. No one seemed particularly concerned with this, even though she was the one that had apparently organized the celebration to begin with. Shouldn't she have been there too?
In the midst of all this searching, Finn stumbled into BB-8 yet again, though thankfully this time, it wasn't literal. The droid had been using its holo-projector to flash Life Day Lights for all to see but the show was nearly over and Finn waited off to the side until it finished.
"BeeBee..." he called before the droid could roll away. "... hey little buddy, sorry about earlier. Got a question, any idea where General Organa is?"
Finn expected the droid to immediately lead the way just as it had in chauffeuring him to the Life Day party. Instead the droid let out a mournful 'dwooo' and hung its head a bit in sadness. Finn wrinkled his brow and got down on his knees to get closer to eye level with the little droid.
"Hey what's wrong? Is she okay? She's not in trouble is she?"
BB-8 quickly raised its head and let out a few beeps to indicate there was no trouble. But something about it all still seemed to agitate the droid. Finn had been around it long enough to tell the difference between its excited mode and its worried mode.
"But she's here on the base? Why don't you take me to her so I can just check up?"
At this the droid brightened up a bit and soon the pair were exiting the cave and running back into the base proper. They stopped only briefly when a few stragglers to the party asked for directions and then continued on their way past the central control room and into the base's main hanger bay. Finn paused briefly when he saw where BB-8 was leading him. Chewbacca's ride back here for the celebration.
The Millenium Falcon.
Seeing it sitting there in the docking bay instantly called Finn's mind back to his first great adventure in the ship. Meeting Rey and Han Solo. All he had been able to think about at the time was how scared he was of the First Order, he'd barely had time to process what a famous ship he had been in. That ship destroyed the second Death Star and made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs. Han Solo's ship.
Solo and Organa had been married of course, but why was she here on that ship instead of at the party?
BB-8 paused at the loading ramp, apparently nervous to enter. Finn empathized with the droid, not just because he wasn't entirely sure what waited for him up there, but also because he knew that if he went in, there would be no other place he might find Rey. It would mean she really hadn't returned with Chewbacca.
Still, he'd asked BB-8 to take him there and his curiosity always did get the better of him. So after taking a deep breath he stepped forward and climbed the ramp.
The ship looked the same as ever, nothing really changed in spite of Chewie and R2 likely living on the ship over the last few weeks. Finn stepped into the first corridor and listened for a moment before moving on into the main hold, calling out while he did.
"Hello? General Organa?"
She didn't answer back but he found her just the same, sitting at the dejarik table with a bottle of Tarisian Ale and a cup her only company. She didn't seem to notice him at all, staring off into space, her eyes red and puffy through tears. Upon seeing her, Finn came to an abrupt stop. He'd never seen her like this.
General Organa was one of the most capable and no nonsense leaders he'd ever served under. She didn't suffer fools and she rarely showed anything but determination and an overarching belief in their eventual victory.
Seeing her with such emotion, all curiosity and desire to bring her to the party vanished. This was obviously a very personal moment for her and he didn't feel like he knew her well enough to interrupt her.
Finn stepped one foot back behind the other, careful to place each step as softly as he could to not make noise against the hard durasteel floor. He even found himself holding his breath to keep from even letting out the sound of exhaling. It looked as though she hadn't noticed him and he slowly began rotating on his heels so he could turn around.
Yet as soon as he got his back turned, the General called out to him as though she'd had another way to sense he was there.
"Oh I'm sorry Finn," she said and he glanced over his shoulder to see her straightening up a bit. "What can I do for you?"
"N... nothing General," he said, clearing his throat. "I... I just got lost."
"You're a terrible liar Finn," she shook her head and a half smile appeared on her lips. "Come on in."
"No, it's okay," he turned fully around but didn't enter the hold. "You're having a moment and I... don't..."
"Finn," she said and a bit of the authority he'd come to know from her came to her voice. "Stop standing in the entry and come in. I've wallowed by myself in here long enough. I could use some company. You too BeeBee."
Finn hadn't even noticed that the droid had come in until it rolled past him and settled itself next to her. Warbling something that sounded like concern. She patted its head before looking back to Finn, waiting for him to come in.
Reluctantly he walked in, pausing as she motioned for him to have a seat next to her. His mind flashed back to the last woman of authority he'd ever known. Captain Phasma would never have made such a gesture. And even though Finn knew the General was nothing like his former commander, he couldn't help but worry that she would be looking for the tiniest weakness just like Phasma constantly did.
"I'm not going to bite you Finn," Organa said. "Take a seat!"
The former stormtrooper did as he was told and plunked down at the edge of the seat, sitting straight up and rigid. The General regarded him with something of a bemused look, like he was some kid scared of his own shadow. She was a powerful woman and likely used to things like that though.
Finn's nervousness faded into an uneasy awkwardness as the seconds ticked by and neither one of them spoke to each other. BB-8 even seemed to notice, letting out a few chirps as if trying to coax out a conversation from them.
"So I'm guessing there are a few people wondering why I'm not at my party right now huh?" Organa said.
"A few General," Finn said.
"Leia, it's Life Day, Finn, you can call me Leia."
"Yes Ma'am... I mean sir... I mean... Leia."
She smiled again and a couple of moments passed and Finn realized they were in danger of drifting into another uncomfortable silence again. Unacceptable!
"But it's a very good party and you should go! Chewie is wearing a robe and will probably be missing you!"
"You're probably right," she sighed. "I just needed a bit to myself. Chewie just got in this morning and this is the first time I've had a chance to really take in the Falcon since it... since... she came back to us."
"It's... it's quite the ship."
"She is," Leia said. "I just wasn't prepared for all the memories being here would bring back."
"Yeah..."
"Han and I practically met on this ship, it was where we had our first real conversation."
"That must have been good."
"It wasn't," Leia chuckled. "I thought he was little more than a pirate that only cared about himself."
"Really?" Finn said. "But he was one of the greatest generals in the Rebel Alliance?"
"Not then," Leia said. "But there was always more to Han than met the eye. Once the Alliance started celebrating Life Day he acted like he didn't care for that either but he always got me something. A new blaster cartridge, a holo-recorder, he even tried to give me some sapphire he found on Ziff once."
"Isn't Ziff one of the most radioactive planets in the Galaxy?"
"Yeah, he had been told it was clean... he almost got arrested for it," Leia chuckled to herself. "And not by the Empire, the Alliance almost thought he was an Imperial spy trying to assassinate me."
"That's crazy," Finn said, having a hard time even imagining Solo being suspected of trying to kill someone with Jewelry.
"That's Life Day," Leia shrugged. "Never quite like you think it will be. Our first Life Day ever was an unmitigated disaster. No one really knew what was going on, there were some really bizarre shenanigans with Chewie's family and I was asked to sing at the main celebration."
"Really?" Finn looked at the General with new eyes. "I would have liked to have seen that... Ma'am."
"I've done my best to try and destroy every historical recording of the event," Leia said. "It's really painful to watch. But it's somewhere out there on the Holonet. Nothing out there ever truly goes away.
"But Life Day has always been like that. It was Luke's first time celebrating it too. He looked awful for some reason but he loved it. In fact he told me that rain or shine, he would celebrate it every year. And whoever he celebrated it with, would be his family. And it really was like that, with Luke, and with Han. In fact Ben's first Life Day... was... was..."
Leia paused, her face flushing with emotion and Finn felt two feet tall. The pain of losing Han... and how she lost him was all too apparent and he had no business talking to her and making her relive some of those memories. He had to find something to make it better.
"You know..." Finn said. "Solo almost marooned Rey and me when we first met. But more than anything he was just excited to be back on this ship, even with a blaster pointed at my face all he could really do was look at this place with some sort of excitement."
"I'm so glad he found her," Leia said, a smile coming back to her face. "Glad he got to be here one last time."
Finn worried she was about to break up again but the general took a deep breath and her smile only grew.
"Well I think that's enough of that," she said. "I organized this party and people will talk if I don't show. Life Day is about celebrating with the people we care about and there's no one I care about more than my troops."
"Solo would have liked that," Finn nodded.
"Or he would have taken off to Nar Shadda after loading some of the alcohol into the cargo hold," Leia said.
"We can do that if you want," Finn said. "Everyone is celebrating a little too hard to notice."
"Maybe next year Finn," Leia said. "For now we should get back to the party and make sure that Chewie doesn't accidentally set fire to the tree."
"That happened?"
"Twice," Leia said, getting up and moving toward the door. "I'm going to go freshen up. I'll see you there."
"Yes Gen... yes Leia," Finn stood up as well.
"And Finn three more things..." she said, stopping at the entry. "... First, you don't need to tell anybody about this little meeting. Gotta keep up the stern face."
"Understood Ma'am," Finn nodded.
"Second," Leia said and smiled at him warmly. "Thank you for sitting with an old woman for a bit."
"You're not old you-"
"And third... there's a holo-messege for you in the Falcon's computer. You should watch it."
She left before Finn could even react. The news left him a bit flabbergasted. A message for him? Here on the Falcon? Did Solo record something before he died? No... they barely knew each other. Solo wouldn't have done something like only really left...
Without wasting a moment, Finn jumped out of his seat and went to the comm station. After accessing the computer... and strangely getting cursed at by it... he found a file recorded just a couple days before with his name written on it. His hands tremored slightly as he queued it up and activated the recording over the holo projector.
There was a distortion of light for a moment but within a couple of seconds a dazzling image of Rey appeared. Finn's eyes widned at seeing her. He'd only ever seen her in the rags she wore on Jakku, but she looked amazing in an outfit the Resistance had likely provided for her.
"Hello Finn," she said and her smile seemed to light up the entire hold. "I just wanted to take a moment to wish you a Happy Life Day. Chewie told me all about it before he left. We of course never had anything like it on Jakku. It sounds amazing!"
"It is..." Finn muttered, not even aware he was talking to himself.
"I wish I could be there with you," she went on. "But I've got to convince Master Skywalker to train me. He's stubborn and really doesn't want anything to do with it but I won't give up! When we next meet I will be a Jedi, I promise."
"You bet you will!"
"Chewie said that Life Day is a time for family. I've never really had one, not since I was very little. And you never really did either, but everything's different now. Even though we're lightyears apart, I just wanted you to know that you're my family Finn. You and BeeBee-Eight and Chewie! And who knows, maybe if I can finally convince Luke to train me I can be back there next year to celebrate it with you! Anyway, I've been away from Luke's hovel long enough. I have a feeling we're going to be getting into one of our staring contests today. At least I know when this one will end. He told me we're going to have something of a Life Day celebration in a few days. I hope this message finds you well and above all that you have yourself a Happy Life Day!"
The message ended and the holo flickered out. Finn remained where he sat for a few minutes, just replaying the message in his mind and enjoying the new memories of seeing Rey's amazing face and hearing her voice. She'd made it to Luke and maybe he was giving her some trouble but he knew Rey well enough to know that nothing would stop her. Luke would cave and Rey would be a Jedi just like she said.
And maybe... maybe he could help.
After saving the recording for himself, Finn set up the Holo-receiver and sat in front of it. A few awkward moments passed as he repositioned himself in front of it several times, trying to figure out what view he looked best at before he finally just relaxed and looked straight on and pretended he was talking to her directly.
"Hey Rey," he said, looking right at the receiver. "Happy Life Day! It's the first time I've ever celebrated it. I just spoke with General Organa and... well... let me tell you about something Luke said on his very first Life Day..."
Happy Life Day to my own Rey of Sunshine!