Jodar's hands sweated as he checked and rechecked the course he had hastily plotted. He had sent Amelea to placate the questions of the crew as he needed to send out a discrete signal to the Resistance that one of their X-wings was in trouble. He tied his silvery hair into a ponytail as he examined the call sign again. The signal had been weak, it was chance that he had been close enough to receive it. It was unlikely any other ship who could properly read and respond to the signal was nearby.
A panel by the base of the navigation console sprang open after he tapped it with his foot twice. Underneath was a small, but powerful blaster that he hooked into his belt as the desert planet of Jakku sprang into view.
They had arrived.
Kylo Ren examined the prisoner strapped to the chair in front of him. The First Order's torturers had barely gotten anything out of the pilot that Kylo couldn't discern from just looking at him.
The prisoner, Poe Dameron, sweated openly, his black hair plastering itself to his head, and his tan skin whitened with strain as Kylo stretched out a hand. He could feel the man's mind in his reach. His defenses were strong, and Kylo could feel the touch of her presence as the pilot feebly resisted opening his mind. His untrained defences were nothing to the brute strength Kylo possessed though, and the secrets the man held were revealed. A series of images flashed through Kylo's mind, each one discarded as soon as Kylo saw no use in them. A house, a smiling woman and man, a first kiss, medals being received. The pilot grunted as Kylo pushed those images away and pried further. An expanse of stars across the sky, ships streaming along a river system, a droid - small, orange and white. The old man. A small data key.
Kylo grinned smugly, his face hidden beneath the mask he wore, as he informed his subordinate, General Armitage Hux. "It's in a droid, a BB unit."
FN-2187 marched resolutely towards the interrogation cell. He was slated for a retraining stint before the day was over. A droplet of sweat dripped down his forehead at the thought, and he stiffened, determined to keep his demeanor.
"Ren wants the prisoner," he said with a monotone as the door slid open. The two stormtrooper guards nodded and the shackles opened. The pilot was shaky on his feet, and it seemed he would only stand with FN-2187's firm grip on his arm but his pace matched the stormtrooper's eventually. "Turn here," FN-2187 said harshly and shoved the pilot into an alcove. "Listen carefully, you do exactly as I say, I can get you out of here" he began to tell the pilot.
"What?" the pilot said, and FN-2187 pulled off his helmet.
The pilot seemed confused, understandably, and kept asking FN-2187 if he was part of the Resistance, but eventually understood the plan of escape.
FN-2187 replaced his helmet and opened the shackles on the prisoner's wrist, but left the openings hidden against the pilot's jacket. He pressed the barrel of his blaster against the pilot's arm and they made their way to the docking station.
Ashe pressed herself against the window of the Bishop, straining to see the desert planet beneath them. She had never seen a planet so bare of any greenery. The Bishop flew smoothly and entered the atmosphere of Jakku. Amelea had given them that information at least.
The co-pilot had been elusive in her answers. Ashe was bothered by it, as was Gavin, another crew member. Taka and Inadra seemed unbothered by the co-pilot's secrecy. Or… Ashe mulled the thought as she watched them discreetly arm themselves with additional blasters, they knew what to expect.
Ashe locked eyes with Amelea as the co-pilot drummed on the glass.
The woman looked strained, her short black hair was freshly pinned back and her green-brown eyes seemed to take in every detail. "Have you ever been to a desert planet before?" she asked idly.
"No," Ashe replied, and her hand tapped nervously against the blaster strapped to her leg as the planet looked closer. She rechecked that her arm bracers were on tight, and knelt to tighten the laces on her boots.
It was early morning on Jakku, but the day began hot.
"No lifeforms," Amelea announced, a scanner in one hand. The other held a blaster. Ashe and Jodar followed her down the Bishop's loading ramp. Taka and Inadra took up the near. Gavin lingered at the top of the ramp.
Smoking ruins of a small settlement crumbled before them. Most of the fires that had burned all night had gone out. The sun peeked over the horizon and made Ashe squint in the unrelenting brightness while the heat beat into her pale skin .
Amelea and Ashe made their way towards the ruins. Ashe glanced back to see Jodar edge cautiously towards a heap of twisted metal.
"What's a freighter crew like us doing here?" Ashe asked Amelea, eyeing their small crew. "Since when do we answer distress signals?"
"When we deem it necessary," Amelea said grimly, her mouth flattening into a straight line.
"We?" Ashe asked. Amelea didn't answer.
Jodar's voice rang out across the land. "Here!"
Ashe panted lightly as she and Amelea ran over to Jodar. He was by the metal heap, nudging a partially destroyed panel with his blaster. He and Amelea murmured to each other.
"Was this a ship?" Ashe asked, walking around the heap. A faint breeze blew into her face, along with a sprinkling of sand. Ashe shook her head, feeling the grit enter her mouth. Her pale blonde hair was neatly braided back, but she was certain she'd find sand in her bed tonight from it.
A metal scrap skittered across the sand at her feet and she watched it bounce past. The wind would soon smother the fire and ruins if she knew anything. Ashe tilted her head at the sand, watching the grains dance. The pattern was faint, nearly hidden by the morning wind.
"I found a trail," she called out.
General Armitage Hux stood at the bridge of the Finalizer, a Star Destroyer class ship as it idled above the planet Jakku. His black leather gloves creaked as he clenched and unclenched his hands into fists. An officer stood near him, nervously eyeing him. The man swallowed nervously as Hux turned his head slightly to eye him.
"What do you mean he escaped?"
The officer shrank back, and Hux narrowed his eyes at him. "Ah, the Resistance Pilot escaped, uh, via a fighter. He was … not alone."
"Track the fighter," Hux barked at the officer who turned tail and jogged away. "Engage the turbo lasers," he snapped at an officer at a console. He nodded and turned to his screen.
Hux stood at the forefront of the bridge. The stolen fighter was flying below the Finalizer, as per typical Resistance strategy, likely trying to disable whatever weaponry they could before flying off.
"Turbo lasers are down," the officer reported. Hux's mouth contorted into a scowl and he looked down, willing to see through the layers of metal to see the rogue pilot and stormtrooper. "Use the ventral cannons," he barked.
"Is it the Resistance pilot?" Kylo asked brusquely, striding into view.
Hux stiffened at his presence on the bridge. It was a nasty habit of Kylo Ren to takeover command of Hux's position in the bridge, overruling any commands he made. "Yes, and he had help from one of our own," Hux said shortly. It was painful to admit one of his stormtroopers would do that. "We're searching the databases to find out exactly who-"
"The one from the village," Kylo interrupted. Hux frowned slightly and made note to ensure Captain Phasma gave him a detailed report of the village attack.
"-We can't go back to Jakku! We've gotta get out of this star system!" The newly named Finn shouted at his pilot behind him.
"I gotta get my droid before the First Order does," the pilot said firmly.
"A droid?" he said in disbelief. He and Poe Dameron argued back and forth until Poe mentioned the droid's contents. Finn wanted to argue further. He had tasted freedom and didn't want to stay in the eye of the First Order any longer than he had to. He grunted as an object slammed into the side of the fighter and sent them spinning towards the planet. He lost consciousness as the side of the planet loomed closer until their landing.
"Look!" Gavin pointed past the windshield of the Bishop, drawing everyone's eye to the falling object in the sky. The Bishop flew slowly at a low altitude as Jodar piloted the craft along the faint trail Ashe had found in the sand.
A small ship was careening towards a far off point in the distance. Fire streamed from a partially destroyed side, Ashe noted, narrating what she could see to the others. Jodar nodded, and angled the Bishop towards the ship. A piece of cloth fluttered away from the side of the ship, swelling into a parachute with a lone chair hanging from it.
"That's a First Order fighter," Gavin hissed, tugging at Jodar's shoulder. "Don't go near it!"
"They may need assistance," Jodar said neutrally. Gavin and Ashe looked at him with twin looks of incredulity. Jodar was notorious for his hatred of the First Order. He ignored them as he steered towards the parachute. The damaged fighter had crashed and soon exploded.
"Since when do we help the First Order?" Ashe asked.
Amelea's eyes flicked up to the black specks in the sky. Two more fighters. "Since when do First Order ships fire on themselves?" The Bishop made way to land.
"Stay here," Jodar ordered the crew before lowering the ramp.
Ashe ignored him, and edged towards the side of the ramp, watching Jodar and Amelea move cautiously towards the landed parachute and chair. The body in the chair remained prone, held in only by the chair's straps.
The sun was high in the sky as Ashe exited the Bishop and followed the other two.
"I told you to stay," Jodar said, but made no move to force her back. Amelea ignored her.
Ashe unhooked her blaster. "I thought you were training me to be your number two?" she asked.
The trio stayed silent as they arrived at the chair and it's contents.
"Shit!" Jodar knelt to unbuckle the strapping.
Ashe knelt to help him with the body. "He's alive," she said incredulously. Jodar fumbled at the man's neck for a pulse, then he nodded.
"We need to get him inside."
"Quickly, they've spotted us." Amelea ushered them back to the Bishop. She and Ashe tumbled the unconscious man into the tiny medical bay the Bishop possessed as Jodar ran to the pilot's seat. Amelea left to assist with takeoff.
Ashe fumbled with the bandages as the Bishop jolted into takeoff. Taka shouted from down the hall about the shields failing. The man's breathing was stronger now, now that he was out of the desert heat and the chair straps weren't half choking him. She peeked at the man's dog tags that hung around his neck as she pull off the remaining scraps of his shirts to see more scrapes.
Poe Dameron. The name wasn't familiar to her. She eyed him as the Bishop slid around. He had dark hair and tanned skin, and his eyes, dark brown, responded well to light. It wasn't likely a head wound that was ailing him, she decided. Just the effect from falling from space and crashing landing had knocked the oxygen from him temporarily. He'd likely wake up soon in panic mode. Preemptively, she strapped him down. Half to protect herself if he woke up, and to make sure he didn't fall out of the bunk as the Bishop flew.
"My droid!" Ashe fell back as Poe Dameron thrashed in his restraints. "Where am I? Who are you?" he asked rapidly. Amelea skidded into the room as Ashe pounded on the intercom for help.
"Where is he?" she asked urgently, and Poe murmured in her ear, his energy spent. "Ashe, help Jodar," Amelea ordered and began to loosen the straps. "Tell him we can't leave."
Her hair half escaped her braid as Ashe slid to the cockpit, and she felt the grains of sand hiding in it trickle down her back.
"We can't jump to hyperspace," Jodar informed her as he steered. "Where's Amelea? I need to her here. Get Gavin to do what he has to to that hyperdrive!" He fired off several rapid orders.
"Amelea says we need to stay," Ashe said, sliding into the co-pilot seat. A quick glance at the console told her the shields were out of commision, and the hyperdrive was failing, and fuel was low. "That's what our new friend told her," she said, side eyeing Jodar.
Jodar slammed on the intercom, speaking lowly but harshly into it. Amelea's voice crackled over the speaker, "The map's here, Jodar."
