A/N: This is mainly Finn-centric with a grab bag of canon EU characters as his team feelings. FinnPoe is heavily implied and foreshadowed.
I've drawn from numerous other sources, but the major jumping-off points are Resistance Reborn, the Phasma novel, Finn's Before the Awakening story, and Force Collector. I tried to make this accessible for those unfamiliar.
This purposefully diverges from some Disney EU elements, but it's mostly compliant with the films.
Finn heard it before anyone else did: the hum of the modified speeders. He put his datapad in his satchel and jostled his way through the facility, murmuring short apologies to any Resistance member or droid he hurried past.
Eventually, he stopped in front of the entrance. Red headlights shone through the reinforced transparisteel windows.
It was raining again, acid and acrid. Pacara was an old Imperial industrial planet, and its skies were giving back to the earth what had been put into it.
Rose emerged from the rain first, wearing the hazard-suit she had spray-painted bright blue; then, behind her, someone else. Even though Finn couldn't see his face well, he recognized that he was a stranger, someone new to the Resistance.
The stranger held a durasteel umbrella over his head. The umbrella was yet another one of Rose's creations made to deal with life on Pacara, its canopy patterned like a Chelidae shell, singeing rain sizzling against it.
As the stranger walked out of the speeder's customized deflector shield range and closer toward the base, Finn got a closer look at him.
Brown-haired, brown-eyed, light skinned, robe-clad - he had black gloves on his hands and his mouth was set in a weary line. He was probably only a couple years younger than Finn, perhaps around twenty standard years of age or so.
Finn keyed in the gate code, doing it quickly so that none of the rain went in. "What happened-?"
Rose was stepping out of her hazard-suit. "Something urgent came up. I ran into this guy and I returned early by myself. He wants to talk to the general." She turned to him. "Remember what I said?"
"I remember," the stranger said, closing the umbrella. "I promise this is important and it can't wait."
"Are you a new recruit?" Finn asked.
"Something like that," the stranger said. "I can help you guys get your hands on valuable data from the First Order Security Bureau."
The acidic storms of Pacara drove the Resistance members to become endlessly inventive indoors. Collaborating with the engineering corps, Major Angon had set up a greenhouse where he grew the Resistance's supply of fresh fruit and vegetables.
And of course, there was the common room. It was a room next to the hangar and the control room. Caf machine in the corner; sofas and chairs to lounge on; tables for pazaak and sabacc.
That was where Poe found Finn and Rose: they were sitting on a sofa, while Rose recounted the mission to Finn. The stranger had requested a private audience with General Organa, and he was still talking to her behind closed doors.
"That guy's making big promises," Finn was saying to Rose.
"I told him that I'll leave him out in the acid rain if this is a First Order trap," Rose replied with grim cheer. But she added, "It sounds like this is really personal to him."
Finn waved Poe over to join them, and Poe tipped his head in return, shuffling toward the caf machine and pouring the pot.
"Doing alright?" Finn said, eyebrows raised, as his cup almost overflowed. "How are the others?"
Last night, Poe and several Resistance members had gotten back from a diplomatic mission on Chandrila. They had all looked like hell: Jessika Pava was limping; Ransolm Casterfo had been holding a shattered vibro-staff; BB-8 needed some repairs; and Poe looked plain exhausted.
It didn't even need to be said that they had run into some First Order troopers.
Finn had felt a sharp pang of guilt, muttering, Kark, I should have gone, but Poe had tugged his arms around him, and said, I'm alive, aren't I? Don't worry, you've been doing great, coordinating strategy with the general. He was right, Leia had even said she wanted Finn to stay, even though truth be told, Finn was getting bored brainstorming new outpost locations, ideal transport routes, First Order vulnerabilities...
Still, orders were orders and Finn knew he was doing important work. Poe and his team had survived, after all, and after Poe had pulled away from the hug, he had disappeared into his commander's quarters for a long rest.
There always seemed to be something missing, Finn thought, in-between his and Poe's routine 'I'm glad you're alive' hugs, but he didn't know what it was.
Poe yawned. "I'm fine. Bee's almost done getting fixed up and Jess will be shipshape in a week or two thanks to our med-droids. I didn't know that Team Falcon was back already."
"We're not," Rose said, sighing. "The rest are still on Lerct trying to free Beaumont's imprisoned journalist friends. I was sent back here to make a delivery."
Karr Ravel - that was the name of the stranger. For several years, Beaumont Kin had been keeping in touch with him, discussing Jedi artifacts and legends via holomail. When Ravel found out that Beaumont would be on Lerct again, he'd arranged to meet up with him. So, while Rey and Suralinda Javos were preoccupied scoping out a First Order detention center's security systems, Rose and Beaumont met Ravel in Lerct's open-air market, where he was at a corner stall, selling scarves and hats…
It turned out that he was more than a traveling tailor with a passion for Jedi history on the side. He had time-sensitive key intel about the First Order and insisted on going to the Resistance base in-person.
Rose relayed the story to Poe. Finn listened to it again, trying to make sense of it.
"I don't feel great about leaving Rey and Sura and Beaumont behind," Rose admitted. "But they can pull it off. I mean, it's Rey leading the mission, right? And someone had to bring Ravel back. I couldn't just tell him the location of our base and let him go by himself."
"It sounds like Kin trusts him," Poe said, thoughtful.
"Knowing a billion languages doesn't make you smart in everything," Finn reminded him.
Poe cracked a grin. "Don't say that in front of Threepio."
Rose made a noise of exasperation, while Finn huffed a laugh and sipped his own cup of caf. He nudged his elbow against Poe's side. "You want to play a game of dejarik? I've been missing our matches."
The rebels who remained on base these days preferred sabacc or pazaak. The usual dejarik players were busy: Chewbacca was dealing with the clean-up over the failed First Order invasion of Kashyyyk; Snap Wexley was off on yet another recruiting mission; Vi Moradi was running the outpost on Batuu; Shriv Suurgav was out on a top secret Inferno Squad mission with Zay Versio. (Finn was sort of relieved about the latter. Shriv would not shut up during their games.)
"Sure," Poe said. "We can do the three player version, if you want to join in, Rose…?"
"It's okay," she said, getting up. "Now that I'm back, I should probably make sure the engineering corps hasn't burned anything down. I have some armory work to oversee."
They both wished her luck as she left, while Poe pulled up the holo-display in the room, selecting recreational mode.
It was easy. Familiar. Moving glowing creatures forward across the board and watching them attack. He and Poe had played near constantly on the Millenium Falcon when they had the downtime, often against each other or Chewbacca.
In a strange way, holochess reminded Finn of the simulations he had taken part of as a young cadet. His instructor Captain Cardinal had come up with intricate scenarios for the troopers-in-training to participate in.
Spoiled children in the New Republic play grav-ball, Cardinal had told them. You're different. You're intended for greater things in service of the First Order.
This was no battle simulation. It was just a game, and it was just Poe, catching up about recent missions and recent responsibilities, chatting about mutual friends and allies. Finn liked watching Poe's face as he decided his next move - sometimes he would be quick and reckless, gesturing a piece forward, eyes bright; other times, he would stop, his brow furrowed, considering.
They were interrupted when the door to the control room opened. It was Leia, with the boy Rose had brought back from Lerct behind her.
"Finn," she said. "Just the person I'm looking for. I know you've been feeling restless on-base. I'm giving you a team and a mission. You're leading it."
Finn blinked, but immediately snapped to attention. "Yes, sir… wait, me?" He hadn't properly been put in command of a team in the Resistance yet. Either he was partnered with Poe or someone else, authority being shared and informal.
"Yes, you," Leia said, her mouth an amused line. "I've sent the full orders to you and your team and you'll leave at 2100 tonight. May the Force be with you."
Finn returned: "May the Force be with you."
To his surprise, he heard Karr Ravel echo it to Leia, too - "May the Force be with you," - his head raised, his open mouth revealing a chipped front tooth, an unfathomable expression in his eyes as he looked at Leia.
"Am I-?" Poe started.
"You'll be taking over Finn's analyst role on base for now," Leia informed him. "And Commander Zibsara could use some help training the new pilot recruits. I need you here, Poe."
Poe looked like he wanted to object, but he didn't. "I understand, General."
Leia gave him a small smile, and she slipped back into the control room, leaving the three of them alone in the common room.
Finn felt a pang - he wished that Poe would be coming along as well - but Leia had her reasons. He turned to Ravel. "So, you're tagging along? I'm Finn. Leader of… I don't think we have a name yet."
"You'll think of one eventually," Poe said.
Ravel only nodded. "I have to get back to the ship. I need to move it into your base's hangar and have my droid charged." Then, abruptly, he left.
Well, he was a mysterious one, wasn't he? Finn grimaced. He dearly hoped that the rest of the team Leia had given him would be easy enough to work with. Finn was used to missions with Rey, Poe, Rose, or Chewbacca by his side, and this was certainly a change of pace.
Poe seemed to note the doubt on Finn's face. "You'll do fine." He set his hand on Finn's shoulders. "Leia knows what she's doing. You're a tough rebel, Finn. I'm sure you and your team will be amazing out there."
Finn's datapad pinged. He projected the mission details in front of him. He and Poe peered at the list of names:
COMMANDER FINN
LIEUTENANT TEZA NASZ
PACER AGOYO - PHANTOM SQUADRON
ENSIGN YAMA DEX
KARR RAVEL
Poe's eyes were wide. "Wow. Interesting choices. Best of luck, buddy."
This was Finn's team. The mysterious stranger - two teenage kids - and an ex-warlord that one of the aformentioned teenage kids wanted to murder.
"I thought it was an unofficial Resistance policy to never put Agoyo and Nasz on the same mission," Finn said. He could feel a headache coming on.
"General Organa's orders are official Resistance policy."
"Poe, if they send me back in a bodybag with Nasz's vibro-ax embedded in my back, bury me in the greenhouses so the jogan fruits get fertilizer."
"... That's not funny, man."
"You don't think my body has the right nutrients? The First Order invested two decades into training and developing this." Finn pointed to himself.
"Really, really not funny," Poe said, but his eyes were sweeping Finn up and down - suddenly, involuntarily, intensely. It wasn't the first time Poe had stared at him like this. It was a gaze that burned like the acid rain of Pacara, like the sun of Jakku, like the bolt of a blaster.
Finn let him look.
Eventually, Poe cleared his throat and looked away. "Let's read over your mission assignment. The general gave me the day off to recover from Chandrila - but I'd rather be of use helping you plan this out, Team Leader."
So, they brought two trays of food from the mess hall. Over lunch in Poe's quarters, they pored over the information, holo-displays lit up around them, multiple multicolored screens of text and charts and maps.
They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Pacer Agoyo and Yama Dex. Finn took the opportunity to examine the youngest members of his team as they entered the room.
Pacer wore his flightsuit, goggles pushed up to his head; they were the type of custom-made goggles that helped the Resistance pilots see through the planet's toxic clouds. He was around sixteen, seventeen standard years of age, a dark-haired, dark-eyed human recruited from Nuja by Wedge Antilles. He must have just gotten back from training exercises after receiving Leia's message.
Yama was dressed in an unassuming Resistance support staff uniform - collared blue shirt, brown vest zipped over it - while her bright red hair was styled into a braid, the tail of it tied by a neon purple ribbon. She was younger than Pacer, fifteen standard years of age, a human who had fled the First Order's employ on Corellia. She usually worked in the control room, doing datawork and essential tech tasks.
"Sir," Yama said, snapping her heels together and saluting. "I was looking for you. You weren't in your quarters or the control room or the commons. Pacer suggested that we, er, try Commander Dameron's quarters and it looked like he was right."
Poe coughed. Finn said, "You okay?"
"It's nothing," Poe said, pushing his tray away from in front of him. One of the Mon Calamari squads had made lunch out of a native Pacaran bird. "I'm not a fan of Mon Calamarian cooking. They season everything like it's fish, even if it's not fish." Finn shrugged, bemused; he liked lunch alright.
Pacer had a smirk on his face. It disappeared once his attention turned to the hovering screens. "Is this our mission? Me and Dex haven't looked over the details yet."
"It is."
Yama scrutinized one of the holos: the image of a blue planet. "That's Rakata Prime," she said, in surprise. "There's a First Order outpost over there."
Finn added, "There's also a backup communications tower where the First Order Security Bureau stores their data. Our mission is to steal the data."
That was the new piece of intel that Karr Ravel had brought. The Resistance already knew that there was an outpost on Rakata Prime due to the early recon work of Commander Doza. However, sometime after the Hosnian cataclysm, the First Order had constructed the tower and buffed up security. As a remote location in the Unknown Regions, the planet was the ideal place to transmit and hoard top secret information, in case of a loss of a base or a Star Destroyer…
The First Order Security Bureau was the intelligence arm of the First Order. If the Resistance got their hands on the FOSB data, they could identify First Order spies and collaborators. They could get a sense of the First Order's more covert operations, as well as any information the Order had gathered.
"So, how are we getting in?" Pacer asked.
"The only way we can," Finn said. He drew the holo of Rakata Prime toward him, spinning the blue orb between his palms. "We join the First Order."
The armory was always loud. Tools clinked and clanked. Power tools whirred. Machines hummed. Music blared - it was a rollicking jatz tune this time, while a porg perched on a console whistled along. Finn, Poe, Pacer, and Yama descended upon the chaos.
Rose stopped fiddling with the cannon contraption in front of her, pulled up her safety goggles, and grinned in greeting. She said something-
But they couldn't hear her. Finn tapped his finger to his ear.
Rose visibly sighed in exasperation. She cupped her hands around her mouth and bellowed: "At ease!"
It was like a switch had flipped. Immediately, the technician droids stopped in their tracks and the music muted. The human quartermaster - Lieutenant Aarton Chireen - quit rummaging through racks of equipment and straightened. The Talpiddian weapons specialist - Huper Tenrecs - shut down his buzzing saw, his grey fur standing on end.
"Got any big weapons orders, General?" Tenrecs said, squinting, at Yama.
"Um," Yama said.
"Not the general this time, either," Rose said in amusement, putting her hand on Tenrecs' shoulder.
"Aw, stang," Tenrecs grumbled. "You humans are hard to tell apart. Well, I'm bound to get it right eventually. What are you here for?"
"Mission assignment to Lehon," Finn said. "We're here to get outfitted."
"Oh, right," Tenrecs said. "That was Nasz who came by earlier."
"We made some modifications to Nasz's double-bladed vibro-axe and checked that her vibro-knives are functional," Rose explained. "Now there's a connoisseur who knows her vibro-weapons."
Finn raised his eyebrow at Poe.
"She's not going to stab you, Finn," Poe said. "If anything-" He jerked his thumb to the side.
Pacer had started arguing with the quartermaster in the corner of the room. "I'm not wearing this," he said, appalled.
Chireen said, patiently, "It's an undercover mission, kid."
"We're supposed to be new recruits, aren't we? Can't we wear civilian clothes or generic flightsuits?"
"What's the problem, Agoyo?" Finn said. He put on his best 'team leader' voice. Because he was in charge.
Pacer tilted his head toward the uniform that Chireen was holding out. Finn recognized it immediately - it was what he used to wear as a First Order cadet. Bland grey uniform shirt with a First Order patch on the sleeves, grey shoulderpads, black pants, black belt, black boots.
"Our cover won't work unless we're all in uniform," Finn told him.
"It's never been my style, either," Yama said. "But we've got to do what we have to."
Pacer sneered. "Easy for you two to say. I'm guessing Nasz was happy to accept an officer uniform for herself, too. It's easy to fall back on old habits."
Finn bristled, while Yama looked taken aback.
"Agoyo!" Poe said, striding up to the kid. "Care to repeat that again? You're on a new team now, and Finn's your leader. I thought you've learned to work with us. I've been hearing good things from Dove about your flight skills during recon missions."
"With all due respect, Commander," Pacer said, "I'm a pilot. I'm not a spy. I understand that the Resistance needs anyone who can contribute. But I'm not thrilled to be the odd rebel out on this squadron of ex-Imperial, ex-First Order, and… whoever that shady Ravel guy is."
"This isn't a game of grav-ball where you're the captain choosing your best friends," Finn said, the retort coming out sharp and short. "General Organa hand-picked us and she trusts us to pull this off. This is an infiltration mission during wartime, and we're all rebels here."
Pacer snatched the cadet uniform and tucked it over his arm. "Fine. Whatever you say, sir." He stormed off toward Rose and Tenrecs, muttering something about getting a better weapon than a vibro-ax, while Finn and Poe traded glances. This was a problem.
"I don't think he means what he said," Yama volunteered quietly. "Not to me or you, Finn, sir. It upset him to see Nasz on the team list, that's all."
"I hope you're right," Finn said, running his fingers through his hair. It was starting to grow, since he was no longer adhering to First Order regulation. He might have to cut it now. "Let's not throw anyone in the brig before our mission even starts."
"That's the spirit," Poe said.
"Acid Squad. Sunbeam Squad. Sarlacc Squad. Spark Squad. Porg Squad."
"No, no, no, maybe, definitely not," Finn said, unimpressed. "You're bantha shit at picking names."
"I'm bad at names? Okay, Kade Genti, Master of Section Nine-"
"Kade is cool," Finn said. He loved those comics: epic adventures about a space adventurer who wielded a vibro-sword, slaying krayt-dragons and outwitting pirates. It was the best kind of contraband that he had gotten access to in the First Order - he wasn't a fan of the soapy holodramas or racing tournaments that the other troopers vividly followed - and Finn wanted to use the hero as a cover name every chance he got.
Hell, if Poe hadn't suggested 'Finn,' Finn likely would've named himself Kade if he found some other way to escape the First Order. Maybe his last name would have been Cometbright or Nobleblade after the other fictional heroes he had liked.
"Oh, stars," Poe said, and Finn flushed - he hadn't realized he was defending himself out loud. "You're amazing. You really are."
Finn's cheeks were burning, but he felt a rueful smile twitch at the corners of his mouth. "It's probably a good thing I met you and you called me 'Finn.' Your life wasn't the only thing that needed saving. My dignity was at stake."
"We saved each other," Poe agreed, and his dark eyes were warm, flickering. "It's alright. Your team name isn't important. I'm surprised that the general didn't pick one, but this is a last-minute undercover operation. I'm used to squad names being a thing because we pilots get custom uniforms, logos, colors."
Finn bumped his shoulders against Poe's. "I like it. More creative than the boring letters and numbers that we used in the First Order."
"Right?" Poe said, nudging him back. "Stay safe out there. I wish we could've had more time to catch up, now that I'm finally back from Chandrila." His mouth was downturned in a soft frown of disappointment.
"Me, too," Finn murmured. He wanted to tell Rey about his mission, too, but she wasn't responding to his holocalls. Still busy breaking into a First Order jail on Lerct with Beaumont Kin and Suralinda Javos, he wagered.
Finn looked up at the stars. The acid storm of Pacara had abated. He and Poe were in the transparisteel greenhouse, checking on the koyo seeds that Poe had planted sometime before he left for Chandrila. It wasn't much, merely little shoots of green in the composted soil.
In time, Poe had said, these will grow into saplings with fan-shaped leaves, and later, there will be koyo fruit, too. Sweeter than meiloorun, sweeter than sunfruit - it reminds me of home, of Yavin IV.
Finn still hadn't found his home yet - he still hadn't found his final place to unpack - but here, in the Resistance, it was the closest thing he had at the moment. Even though he had been feeling on edge stuck on-base, even though Pacara was a polluted planet and they were living in an abandoned Imperial factory, for stars' sake… he was going to miss this.
His routine as a Resistance strategist hadn't been bad, not really, but it was time to go, time to plot a course to the Unknown Regions and take up the uniform of the First Order once again.
They were sitting side-by-side on a bench in the greenhouse gardens, shoulders touching, knees brushing, and Poe looked at him again, looked and looked and looked, but whatever he could have said was caught at the back of his throat, dead before he could even start, as if he didn't know what to say.
That was okay, Finn thought. He didn't know what to say, either. It was enough to count the wheeling stars in the dark skies of Pacara. It was enough of a goodbye to sit companionably in silence, waiting until it was time for him to leave.