8

The Abduction

Kento watched Finn with Luke Skywalker's lightsaber as he shot down another Stormtrooper, finger resting on the trigger as he picked them off the best he could. Finn surprised him. He was untrained, yet athletic, brave, impressive.

Seeing a flicker of white from the corner of his eye, Kento spun, a blue blast from the shotgun ending the life of the Stormtrooper who was aiming at Finn, when he saw him. The trooper, while he was still standing, had blocked his view, but now Kento had full vision of the black masked man who strode steadily towards the forest.

Towards Rey.

Although a vision of her frightened face and streaming tears appeared in his mind, he couldn't find the courage to move, his boots stuck to the ground like tar. Kento's grip became slack, the blaster slipped from his fingers. Sweat beaded his upper lip as he swayed. His lips shook as he tried to search for the words that wouldn't come out.

"Ben," he croaked.

The man stopped suddenly, and turned slowly, as if he had heard Kento's voice, blaster shots reflecting off of his mask's silver guard. For a moment, it seemed like the world had stopped. All Kento heard was his own breathing, and all he saw was the mask of the man.

Then, as suddenly as it had started, the moment broke.

The man stretched out his hand and Kento realized it all too late -until he heard a metallic shout from under the mask.

"No!" Kylo Ren barked as he watched a white and black helmet aim its gun at the exposed back of Kento Marek.

It was too late.

Kento jerked in alarm as he heard the blast of the stormtrooper's gun. The red beam barely missed its target as Kento had moved, but it still grazed his side. Hissing between his teeth, he felt himself falling as his side burned.

Kylo Ren clenched his black gloved hand into a fist and force pushed the stormtrooper in anger. The unfortunate trooper was blown into an explosion while Kento, caught into the mix of his anger, flew into the debris of Maz's castle. His head hit the rocks hard, and he rolled to the ground, unconscious. Stormtroopers rushed to his body as Kylo Ren approached. R9 was huddled behind a pillar as he silently watched his master's body being pushed over and inspected, his gun being roughly taken away from him.

"What should we do with him, sir?" a trooper asked Kylo Ren as two others handcuffed him and brought him to an upright kneeling position.

Kylo Ren stared down hard at Kento Marek's face as blood ran down the young man's forehead. He had changed. He had grown much over the years and was very different from the young teen he knew well. Seeing him again brought a pang of loneliness and longing, but that feeling vanished as he remembered what that boy had done. That traitorous wretch who had abandoned his brethren and his true calling. The anger and the hate that flowed from him overwhelmed the stormtroopers; some staggered back in fear.

"Bring him onto the ship after I return," Kylo growled. "And then leave him to me"

Finn, oblivious to Kento's capture, was having problems of his own. A stormtrooper holding a shield caught sight of him and threw his shield and blaster to the side, revealing an electric riot baton at his side.

Whipping the weapon around, the trooper took an athletic stance, engaging Finn. "Traitor!"

Finn blinked, and raised up the saber. Running towards the former Stormtrooper, the trooper swung his weapon viciously towards the man. Finn felt a fury behind his blows, and struggled to block them, always on the defense. The trooper drove him back as Finn tripped over rocks, and took the opportunity to bring down the baton, hard.

He brought up the saber quickly and blocked, pushing back as he tried to regain the advantage. Hearing a buzzing sound as the Stormtrooper pushed back also, putting pressure on the baton, Finn's eyes grew wide as he grew afraid that the baton would explode. Taking Finn's fear as a chance, the trooper spun the baton around, knocking Finn off balance and then quickly jabbed him in the chest.

His breath whooshed out of him as he felt himself fly through the air and hit the ground with a loud grunt. As he slowly tried to sit up, the trooper faced him with the crackling electric baton. Finn's eyes grew wide as the trooper raised it. He was going to die right here and right now-

There was a boom, and the trooper was blasted back by a red blaster beam. Finn felt a hand on his jacket pull him up, and he looked up into the grizzled, concerned face of Han Solo.

"You okay 'big deal'?"

"Thanks," Finn said genuinely, and turned to go to the forest when a blaster barrel pointing in his back made him stop.

"Don't move," a Stormtrooper ordered. "TK-338, we have targets in custody."

There was no way out. Troopers surrounded them from all sides. The three were pushed around roughly as the lightsaber was stripped from Finn's grasp, and Chewie's bowcaster was taken away as he roared threateningly. Han's mind raced as a squadron of troopers appeared behind them and forced them to place their hands behind their heads and march towards a transport. Han looked around nervously. There really was no exit for them. Even he couldn't come up with an escape route. He noticed that Kento wasn't with them but figured the kid had gotten away somehow. He just couldn't take them all on himself. It would take a miracle for them to be saved now.

As soon as Han began to lose hope, a familiar roar rippled across the lake. Coming towards them, over the water, in a blur of white waves were X-Wings, and a Resistance spacecraft. They swooped into attack position and maintained contact with the little strip of land that had distinct, white Stormtrooper helmets strewn across.

"We have incoming at two-eight-point-six!" a trooper said frantically. "Move! Dispatch! Move! Scramble all squads! Repeat, all squads! Anti-air cover en route to our position!"

Han slowly lowered his raised hands as troopers surged forward behind them. "It's the Resistance."

One X-Wing in particular, marked in black, swooped down and began to pick off flying TIE-Fighters and troopers alike. The daring pilot grinned inside his cockpit.

"Go straight ahead and don't let these dogs scare you!" Poe Dameron said into his comm.

"Copy that!" Jessika Pava smiled.

"You got that right!" another female pilot, Bree Dane smirked.

"We're with you Poe!" Temmin 'Snap' Wexley called out.

"Major Dane!" Poe's face changed as he drew up close to Bree's blue and black X-Wing. "What're you doing here out in the field? I thought General Organa had-"

"Shh," she looked over at his confused face from inside the cockpit and placed a gloved finger to her lips. "It's not every day you get to rescue a few fugitives and I gotta stretch out this baby's wings somehow."

"Not my fault if and when you get suspended again, Bree," Poe sighed, swooping down.

Neither had realized their comms were still set to public, so that the entire squadron could hear them. Jess snorted. Those two were like two peas in a pod. Poe would do the same if he was in the Major's position, his pride was just too large to admit it.

"I'm not planning on blaming you again," Bree replied as she closed her wings, preparing to dive, leading her squadron of female pilots down.

The stormtroopers around Finn, Han and Chewie scattered as they were tossed up by the explosions caused by Bree Dane and her squad. Their gear dropped from the grasps of the stormtrooper and Han rushed towards it, tossing Chewie his bowcaster. "Quick!"

Finn scrambled to the saber and ducked as Poe's black X-Wing zoomed over him, shooting a TIE-Fighter to bits, and then the pilot flipped again, chasing off another First Order aircraft. Finn stared up at the X-Wing in awe, unbeknownst to him that it was Poe's, whom he had believed to be dead.

"Whoo!" he cried. "That's one helluva pilot!"

"Woohoo!" Poe yelled, exhilarated.

Bree suppressed a smile as she quickly shot down a fighter that was tailing one of her girls. That dumb pilot was going to get himself killed one day.

XXX

In the darkened woods, Rey, terrified, kept her blaster at bay, safety off. Her eyes darted around for her pursuer. All was quiet, only the sound of her ragged breath filled her ears.

And then she heard it. The unique sound of Kylo Ren's rasping lightsaber coming to life. A sound she was very familiar with and had heard before in the force flashback. Rey's heart skipped a beat as she adjusted her grip on the blaster, palms soaked in sweat.

A flicker of black cape, and Kylo Ren appeared from behind a tree, red crackling light from the saber illuminating his masked face. She gave a small cry and fired, her finger stuck on the trigger as she fell back, fleeing as Ren moved towards her, using his lightsaber to deflect every blast.

Tripping over sticks, she scrambled over a large boulder as Kylo Ren swung dangerously close to her. Her feet felt like weights as walked backwards, continuously shooting at him, her face losing hope as she realized what was going to happen to her.

In a wave of impatience, Kylo Ren swung his lightsaber, deflecting the last shot from her blaster and reached for her with his hand. Rey suddenly stopped, unable to move.

Ren stowed away his saber, walking slowly around Rey like a tiger walked around its prey. "The girl I've heard so much about."

Rey gritted her teeth and struggled against the hold of Kylo. She would not let herself cry in front of him.

"The droid." He walked behind her, pausing for a scary beat. Hearing the ignition of his saber again, Rey struggled, frightened that he was going to kill her. He whipped the lightsaber up to her neck, illuminating her terrified face. "Where is it?"

Rey didn't speak, only fearfully looking down at the beam of crackling red. Realizing that threatening her wasn't going to work, Kylo turned it off and walked in front of her, watching her. He reached up towards Rey's face as the girl shut her eyes with the pain and shock that came from the gloved hand. She strained in agony.

After a moment, Kylo removed his hand, surprised at what he found. Rey opened her eyes, relieved, but still, very afraid.

"The map," he said. "You've seen it."

Rey was horrified as she realized he had probed her mind. Kylo was interrupted mid-interrogation as an explosion shook the forest.

"Sir, Resistance fighters!" a Stormtrooper walked into the fray breathlessly. "We need more troops."

Kylo Ren turned back to his prisoner, thinking. "Pull the division out. Forget the droid. We have what we need."

He waved his hand in front of Rey's face and she fell, unconscious.

XXX

"Pull back the tree line!" a Stormtrooper waved his arm, calling back the troops.

Han and Chewie dodged debris as they shot firing and taking out troopers heroically.

Finn grabbed a fallen Stormtroopers blaster and took out two troopers deftly with the gun. He was much better with the blaster than the saber, Finn decided. Out of breath, Finn turned to see Kylo Ren emerging out of the forest, an unconscious Rey in his arms, followed by two sergeant troopers dragging the handcuffed and bloody Kento by his elbows into his shuttle. Finn's world stopped as he saw his friends captured.

Han stopped, watching the boy's shock and turned, seeing Kylo Ren entering the spacecraft. Han felt like he took a blow to the stomach as he watched the masked man.

"No!" Finn yelled. "Rey! Kento!"

Heroically, Finn ran toward the shuttle through laser blasts and explosions, but the shuttle took off. Finn irrationally chased it, screaming desperately. "No, no, no, no! KENTO! REY!"

In crazed frustration, Finn stopped running, watching the receding First Order ships, Rey and Kento their captives.

In the forest, BB-8 moved fast, then stopped and looked up as the First Order ships retreated, off planet. He considered the group in the sky for a second and headed back to the castle.

Finn sprinted towards Han as the Resistance ships landed. He was staring nervously at the transport ship preparing to land while Finn still had his mind on the First Order ships.

"He took them!" Finn exclaimed. "Did you see that? He took them, they're gone!"

"Yeah, yeah I know..." Han's voice trailed off as he walked past with Chewie.

Han moved toward the Resistance transport landing in the debris. BB-8 and R9 rolled up beside him, in wait for whomever was coming out of the spacecraft.

The look Han's face was grim, nervous, expectant. He knew what was about to take place. Finally, the transport doors opened.

Standing there was Leia.

She surveyed the scene, a look of steely resolve on her face when her eyes fell upon the man standing in front of her. She sees Han and is stunned. Husband and wife were reunited for the first time in years. In the smoke and embers, no one said a word.

And then there was a bright, shining, gold droid separating the two. Han blinked.

"Goodness!" the droid exclaimed. "Han Solo! It is I, See-Threepio!" He gestured towards his left arm. "You probably don't recognize me because of the left arm-" he turned, and saw Leia, the moment becoming increasingly more awkward.

"Look who it is!" he exclaimed, now addressing Leia. "Did you see who-?" He realized too late as Leia gave a suppressed smile that he had interrupted a moment. "Oh. Excuse me Prin- er, General. Come along BeeBee Ate, Arnine, quickly."

"Bee ooo," BB-8 commented.

"Yes, I must get my proper arm reinstalled," 3PO agreed.

He hurried off with the little circular droid, and the astromech, leaving Han and Leia alone again.

"You changed your hair," Han said, trying to break the ice.

"Same jacket," Leia smirked softly.

"No," Han shook his head, picking up the collar, showing her. "New jacket."

Chewie, glad to see Leia after being apart for so long, moaned and walked over to her, extending his arms out for a hug. Han gave the Wookie a look as Leia gave his friend a broad smile and returned the gesture. The fuzzball was going to hear about this later. How could Chewie, his best friend, hug his wife so easily and Han himself felt the prickles of her disappointment prick him whenever he tried to get near to her. Chewie moaned a few words while looking at Han, and then broke away from Leia, walking onto the transport.

Leia turned back to look at Han as he tried to muster the little courage he had left in front of her as he knew what he had to say. It was complicated, loving, and painful.

"I saw him," he finally said. "Leia, I saw our son."