Rey ran through the base, wildly searching for any sign of Finn. He was nowhere to be seen and she found herself growing frantic. What if they didn't find him? Then again, maybe it didn't matter at all. The way things were looking, they were all going to die anyway. There were enemies everywhere, there was no way out.
Entering what appeared to be some sort of bunk house, she scanned the room for her friend. Nothing. She sprinted into the identical building next door, again finding nothing. Groaning in frustration, Rey ran back outside. She found herself caught in the middle of a skirmish, with resistance fighters on one side and Stormtroopers on the other. A group of troopers swarmed her, surrounding her from all sides. Rey barely managed to fend them off with her saber.
"The General is waiting over by the storage barracks!" Rey yelled to the soldiers. "We need everyone to gather there!" She turned to run in the opposite direction.
"What about you?" one of the soldiers asked.
"There's something I've got to do first," she replied.
"Rey!" Kylo called out. Balancing the injured Poe in his arms, he was struggling to keep up with his panic-stricken girlfriend. "Hang on a minute!" He stopped to catch his breath. "We have to go back."
"There's no time!" Rey cried. "Kylo, I don't know what I'll do if we can't find him."
"Listen, Rey," Poe said. "Finn is my friend too. You know that. But he wouldn't want us to abandon our mission."
Kylo nodded sadly. "We have to gather survivors and get to the meeting point. I'm sorry Rey but we have no choice."
"What was it you were just saying? That it would be crazy to leave Poe behind? And now you're telling me we should just abandon Finn? No way in hell."
"That was different, Rey," Kylo insisted. "If Finn was here, in front of us, that would be one thing. But we don't even know where he is." Kylo lowered his voice. "He could already be dead."
Rey was horrified. "How could you say that? You said we would find him! You promised me!"
"I'm sorry but you know it's the truth. Please, we have to save whoever we can. We have to fight, one last time. We can't abandon everyone else."
"He's right, Rey," Poe chimed in. "I'm sorry."
Rey knew they were right, though she could already feel her heart breaking. "Alright then. Let's go."
They made their way back to the rendezvous point, joining the mob of soldiers gathered there. Rey was dismayed to see the small size of the group. Were they really going to be able to make a difference. Kylo seemed to be able to read her mind.
"We'll do what we can, Rey. Isn't that what you told me?"
Despite the hopelessness of their situation, Rey smiled. She turned to look at Leia, who stood on a crate to address the group.
"Our goal is to take the landing area," she announced. "We'll attack from both sides, one group from the left, the other from the right. Take out as many troopers as you can. On the way there, try to look like you don't know where you're going. We want them to think there's no plan, that this is just pure chaos." She sighed. "I'm going to be honest with you. Our chances are slim. But we have to try. If we take even one ship, if even one of us gets out of here, then I'll take that as a victory."
The General stopped again, finding her son in the crowd. If Rey hadn't known any better, she'd have thought Leia was fighting tears. She cleared her throat and addressed the group one last time. "And I just wanted all of you to know, it's been a pleasure serving with you."