Finn and Rey while navigating the Millennium Falcon, had been sighted by a larger ship. At first, they'd though it was the First Order and prepared to fumigate the freighter with poisonous gas. Their 'captors' had turned out to be none other than Han Solo, the Rebel smuggler, and his faithful partner Chewbacca the Wookie! Han was glad to have his old ship back.

Finn learned to his dismay that while he'd left the Resistance, the old war hero was smuggling rathtars! Soon they were invaded by two ruthless gangs that Han had swindled. Rey, hoping to cause a distraction, had accidentally set the rathtars loose by messing with the wrong fuses! She'd barely saved Finn from being devoured by one. They all escaped on the Falcon, but Chewie had been shot in the arm and poor Finn struggled to tend him while Rey helped Han fly the ship. They'd nearly lost their power till Rey bypassed the compressor. If Han was impressed by her skills, he didn't show it!

As the Falcon descended onto the planet of Takodona, Rey was enthralled by the beautiful sights she saw. "I didn't know there was this much green in the entire galaxy." She murmured breathlessly. Han stared at her pityingly.

Finn told Han he was a big deal to the First Order, that he needed to get as far away from them as possible. Han knew what it was like to have crime bosses breathing down his neck. So he gave Finn a firearm but also hinted that he ought to tell Rey who he really was, otherwise? He'd be sorry.

Han had brought them to a pirate ally of his, Maz Kanata, a small alien with sharp wits. Han asked her to take BB-8 to Leia, but she refused, saying it was time for him to do it himself...for him to go home. Maz reminded him that they were still fighting the Dark Side. Finn insisted they all needed to flee and hide before they were massacred. Maz implied that he was running from something.

"You don't know anything about me. You don't know the First Order like I do. What they're capable of." Finn corrected her coldly.

Maz didn't argue but just sighed. He pointed out two strange creatures in the corner, and told him they could get him to the Outer Rim if he'd work for them.

"Finn!" Rey gasped in disbelief. Finn hated the look on her face: her beautiful brown eyes so glistening with disappointment. She looked as if she'd just lost her best friend. He had to make it right. He couldn't just leave her!

"Come with me." He told her.

"What about BB-8?" Rey reminded him, looking down at the droid. "We're not done yet. We have to get him back to your base." BB-8 shook his head.

Finn shook his head. "I can't." He said regretfully. He stood up and offered the gun back to Han.

"Keep it, kid." Han patted his arm sadly. Rey gaped at him and Maz. Weren't they going to try to stop him? The two of them just sat there! Rey got up from her seat and hurried after Finn, with BB-8 following.

"Who's the girl?" Maz narrowed her eyes at Han.

Finn was talking to the two traders. "What are you doing?" Rey asked, very upset.

"Don't leave without me." Finn told the guys.

"You can't just go, I won't let you." Rey warned him.

"I'm not who you think I am." Finn hung his head.

"Finn, what are you talking about?" Rey asked longingly.

"I'm not Resistance. I'm not a hero." Finn told her plainly. He gulped before saying his next statement. "I'm a stormtrooper." Rey didn't shrink back, or gasp, or shove him away. She just stood there, staring at him. "When I was young, I was taken from a family I'll never know. And raised to do one thing...On my first battle, I made a choice. I wasn't going to kill for them! So I ran...right into you. And you looked at me like no one ever had. I was ashamed of who I was. But I am done with the First Order. I am never going back!" Finn declared firmly.

He gripped Rey's hands. "Rey, come with me." He pleaded.

"Don't go." Rey begged, tears filling her eyes. Save BB-8, Finn was the first real friend she'd ever had in her life. Why did everyone she loved leave her?

Finn's chest constricted. She was his best friend, the first real friend he'd ever had besides Poe Dameron. Why was it everyone he cared about, he lost? "Take care of yourself. Please." He whispered.

As Finn had departed, Rey had begun hearing something in her mind. It was strange, and awful. She heard a child's voice, wailing. She heard terrified voices, crying in despair and pleas. She slowly, curiously followed it. BB-8 rolled after her. Rey stepped down in the cellar beneath Maz's castle til she came to a door. It opened for her!

Rey walked inside and saw a chest. Whatever pulse was beckoning her, it was coming from that box. She tentatively opened it and peeked inside. It was a lightsaber. A real lightsaber! She'd only ever heard of them, in legends and stories about the brave Jedi who wielded them.

She picked it up.

The second she touched it, everything became lucid and confusing. She had vision after vision of devastation, loss of life, destruction, a mechanical hand sorrowfully touching a droid, and a figure in a mask carrying a red cross-shaped lightsaber, with mirrored men behind him attired similarly. When the masked man saw her, he marched at her. Rey could hear screams in her head, screams of abandonment, fear, agony, and despair. She saw herself as a child watching a ship fly far away and her begging her parents to come back.

Rey collapsed on her back, mortified by what she'd seen and heard. But when she looked around, she saw that she was back on the cobblestone floor of Maz's castle. Rey's heart was thudding in her chest and she felt dizzy. She saw Maz hurrying toward her.

"What was that?" She asked, shuddering. She scrambled to her feet, panting. "I should never have gone in there!"

"That lightsaber was Luke's." Maz explained. "And his father's before him, and now? It calls out to you!"

"I have to get back to Jakku."

"Han told me." Maz nodded quietly, removing her goggles. She reached out her small hand and Rey stooped before her. Maz squeezed her trembling hand. "Dear child, I see your eyes: you already know the truth. Whoever you are waiting for on Jakku, they are never coming back." Rey winced, hot tears spilling out of her eyes. She knew. But it hurt so much, like she'd been pierced with a javelin! Why was she alone? Why did her parents leave her? What had she done? What had happened to them? Why?

"But, there is still someone who can."

"Luke?"

"The belonging you seek is not behind you, it is ahead." Maz said calmly. "I am no Jedi. But I know the Force. It moves through and surrounds every living thing. Close your eyes, feel it, the Light. It's always been there, it will guide you. The saber, take it."

Rey suddenly backed away, as if she'd been burnt. "I am never touching that thing again!" She declared, fear lacing every syllable she breathed. "I don't want any part of this!" And with that, she fled.

Several angered, anxious voices were yelling outside the castle. Han, Maz, Chewie and everyone else ran out to see what was wrong. They looked up into the sky to see a giant red laser trail targeting a single planet in the sky. In mere seconds, the galaxy of the Hosnian System was completely destroyed, a tiny red fireball from the view on the ground.

Han glowered. General Hux had fired on the Capitol of the Republic, with no provocation, no chance of surrender, no warning. He'd done this monstrosity to show the world that the First Order could do anything they wanted, just because they could. All those poor billions of people, wiped out in three seconds, with no chance to save themselves!

Finn had seen it and he came running back. "It was the Republic! The First Order, they've done it!" He told Han who looked at him grievously. Finn glanced around, worried. "Where's Rey?"

Rey ran anxiously through the humid jungle on Takodona. She finally had to catch her breath. She heard a familiar beeping behind her. "What are you doing?" She huffed at BB-8."You have to go back." The droid warbled lowly. "I'm leaving!" BB-8 beeped insistently. "BB-8, no. You have to go back. You're too important. They'll help you." Rey told him.

Overhead, the screeching of TIE fighters zoomed against the skyline. The First Order was here!

"I've had this for ages. Kept it locked away." Maz told Han, Chewie, and Finn as they raced inside her cellar. She pulled out Luke's lightsaber.

"Where did you get that?" Han asked, stunned.

"A good question, for another time. Take it! Find your friend." Maz held it out for Finn. He gripped it tightly. A loud rumble and the castle shook. "Those beasts!" Maz hissed. "They're here."

The First Order was blasting away Maz's ancient structure, and the island was swarming with stormtroopers. Kylo Ren calmly waltzed around the ruins, searching. "Sir, the droid was spotted in the forest with a girl." A trooper told him.

Rey and BB-8 were rushing through the jungle. She turned to him. "You have to keep going. Stay out of sight! I'll try to fight them off." BB-8 chirped that he hoped they'd meet again. "I hope so too."

Han and Chewie climbed out of the rubble, drawing their weapons. "Come on, Chewie!" They ran, shooting in several different directions.

"Rey and BB-8, they need you. Now go!" Maz urged Finn.

"I need a weapon!" Finn replied.

"You have one!" Maz rolled her eyes. Finn switched on the saber, staring wide-eyed at it. The only one he'd ever seen up close was Kylo Ren's. It was truly cool. He had to find Rey! He ran toward the forest but was stopped by stormtroopers.

"Traitor!" They all called him. He fought them off pretty easily with the laser sword, until one of them came at him with a laser ax. Finn managed to hold his own, til he was hit in the shoulder. He tried to get up but the trooper stood over him, raising his ax. He was blasted away from a gun shot. Finn looked up and saw his friends.

"You okay, big deal?" Han asked, helping him up.

"Thanks!"

"Don't move!" Troopers barked. Finn, Han, and Chewie raised their hands behind their heads. As they were walked toward the ship, someone shouted,

"We have incoming at two point six!" On the horizon, where the ocean's line met the mountains, a huge spray of water was coming toward the island.

Han rested his hands at his sides. "It's the Resistance." He smiled.

Poe Dameron and his squadron sailed straight toward their targets. Poe was thankful the battleground was a small one for once. "Go straight at 'em. Don't let these thugs scare you." He told his fellow pilots.

"Copy that!" They answered.

"We're with you, Poe!" Melda answered. Poe had insisted she stay and let her arm heal, but she'd taken painkillers and had refused to stay behind, after what the First Order had done to her, and her friend Tania. The X-wing fighters wailed in on the stormtroopers and their transports. Poe dove in circles, easily demolishing every TIE fighter or other First Order piece of scrap that was in his path, all the while doing crazy loopy-loops and nose-dives, and barrel rolling.

Even in the midst of all this chaos, Finn was blown away by the guy's piloting skills. It was so cool to watch, and especially knowing the fighter was on his side! "Whoo! Yeah! That's one h- of a pilot!" He cheered.

Rey had been shooting stormtroopers as they came after her with the blaster Han had given her. But as she hid in a small, mossy alcove, she didn't hear anything or anybody. It was deafeningly quiet. And yet...she could sense something, something menacing and sinister nearby. She whirled her head around but still saw nothing. Her heart raced frantically. She felt a dark energy hovering the air, like the insatiable breath of some great beast breathing in the face of his prey. What was it?

Then she saw him! The black hooded, masked man from her vision. Rey shrieked in panic and fired at him but he flicked back every blast with his flickering lightsaber. Rey ran and tried to hide til he caught up to her and suddenly, she couldn't move! She trembled all over, but at the same time, she was paralyzed. She tried to wriggle out of this, this powerful phenomenon that wouldn't even let her have control over her own body, but it was futile.

The hooded figure slowly approached her. "The girl I've heard so much about." He said quietly. He circled her like a steel-pecker and she couldn't get away! "The droid...where is it?" He ignited his lightsaber and held it only three inches from her face! She could feel the heat from its flame hitting her face. Rey didn't answer the creep, but only whimpered. Kylo Ren slinked around in front of her again. This time, he reached out his hand toward her face. Rey winced from the pounding in her head.

"The map. You've seen it!" Kylo Ren realized. This was even better than finding the droid! He could extract the information from this girl, from this...scavenger!

"Sir! Resistance fighters. We need more troops." A trooper called to him.

"Pull the division out." Kylo commanded him. "Forget the droid." He flung his hand down in a wave, and Rey began to fall back, unconscious. "We have what we need." The dark lord said coldly as he whisked her away in his arms.

Han, Finn, and Chewie were doing their best to fight their way through the rest of the troops. Han gazed toward Kylo Ren's ship. What he saw made his heart sink. Kylo had found the girl. And he was taking her captive! Han glared sadly and his chest ached. He knew who that guy in the mask was, which made it all the more bitter to swallow. He hoped he would not use Rey as he had his other unfortunate prisoners! The poor girl didn't deserve that!

Finn per chance saw Kylo marching into his ship, and his eyes fell on the bundle of rags and long limbs and beautiful dark hair he was carrying in his arms! Finn had only ever felt this scared once, when he and Poe were escaping the First Order."NO!" Finn shouted, frantically racing toward the vehicle. "No, no, no, no! Nooo!" But he was too late. Rey was on Kylo Ren's ship, and it was lifting off into the sky. "REEEYYY!" He watched helplessly as The First Order fighters sailed away and off of Takodona.

Finn had to get help! He found Han and Chewie. "He took her. Did you see that? He took her!" He panted.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Han sighed defeatedly as he met the Resistance cruiser landing in front of him. The hatch opened and fighters walked out. But Han had eyes for only one person as she stepped out.

There she was! Leia met his eyes and threw him a small smile. She was older now, like him, and had filled out more than what used to be a very willowy figure. There were visible crinkles around her eyes. Her thick hair was no longer a chestnut brown, but gray, the many aftermaths of the trials that come with older age and raising a child. Ohh, but she was still beautiful! Still so vibrant, and she hadn't lost that fire in her deep brown eyes.

The two were so lost in the moment until they were interrupted by a too familiar voice. "Goodness! Han Solo." The protocol droid gasped, right in Han's face. "It is I, C-3PO! You probably don't recognize me because of the red arm." He turned to let Leia know. She grinned and shrugged at how obvious it was that she'd seen her husband. "Look who it is! Did you see who...oh. Uh...oh. Excuse me, Prin-general. Sorry. Come along, BB-8. Quickly." C-3PO sighed as he and the little droid left the two leaders alone.

"You changed your hair." Han said, feeling awkward.

"Same jacket." Leia snorted.

"No! New jacket." Han argued, stroking the fine leather. Chewie appeared and hugged Leia warmly. She beamed as they embraced. It had been so long! Chewie insisted she talk things over with Han. "I saw him. Leia, I saw our son. He was here." Han said regretfully.

"I know." Leia murmured, her agelessly bright eyes became saddened.

After discussing the demolishing remains of Maz's castle and the nature of the attack, Finn was transported with the rest of the Resistance to the planet D'Qar, where the Rebel base was stationed. Once they arrived, he wandered the landing strip, watching Resistance fighters run to and fro, greeting each other, hurrying to repair their ships, bringing the wounded to medical attention, and others awaiting orders.

Finn glanced around, taking it all in. So, this was the Resistance he'd heard so much about! They were such a small army compared to the First Order. But they were certainly brave. Something metal bumped his ankle. "Hey." He grunted and watched BB-8 excitedly roll through the maze of people to a specific pilot. The pilot removed his helmet and his eyes instantly lit up.

"BB-8! My buddy!" Poe cried with joy.

Finn stared intently. Where his eyes playing tricks on him? Poe was dead! He didn't make it. But wait...what about that Resistance pilot he'd been blown away by with his navigating talents? It had to be him! Poe was talking to BB-8 then his eyes fell on Finn. He ran to him with all his might. "Poe? Poe Dameron, you're alive?" Finn sputtered.

"Finn! Buddy! So are you." Poe clapped him in a hard hug.

"What happened to you?"

"What happened? I got thrown from the crash. Woke up at night. No you, no ship, nothing. BB-8 says that you saved him!"

"No, no. It wasn't just me." Finn tried to explain.

"You completed my mission, Finn. I-that's my jacket." Poe stated.

"Oh, sorry. Here..." Finn began to remove the pilot's signature jacket from his own shoulders.

"No, no, no. Keep it, it suits you. You're a good man, Finn." Poe said proudly.

"Poe, I need your help." Finn told him seriously.

"Anything, bud. You know that."

"Poe, I met a girl. She had found BB-8 on Jakku. Her name is Rey. She's a good pilot. We stole the Millennium Falcon just as the First Order came down on us at Niimma Outpost. Han Solo and Chewie found us. But Kylo Ren found her and took her away with him at Takodona! She's the one who really completed your mission, Poe. We gotta get her back!"

"Come with me." Poe said. "I know someone who can help." He skittered inside the basement of the base with Finn and BB-8 on his heels."General Organa? Sorry to interrupt. This is Finn, he needs to talk to you." Poe said to Leia.

Leia smiled softly. "And I need to talk to him." She remarked. "That was an incredibly brave thing you did, renouncing the First Order, saving this man's life..."

"Thank you, ma'am. But a friend of mine was taken prisoner." Finn spoke gravely.

"Han told me about the girl. I'm so sorry."

"Finn's familiar with the weapon that destroyed the Hosnian System. He worked on the base." Poe added.

"We're desperate for anything you can tell us.

"That's where my friend was taken. I need to get there fast." Finn insisted.

"And I will do everything I can to help. But first, you must tell us all you know."

Doctor Kalonia was scanning Chewie's injured arm as he filled her in on how he'd come by his war wound. "That sounds very scary! You must be so brave." She told him, wide-eyed.

C-3PO tapped Leia's shoulder and began speaking. "General, I regret to inform you that this map recovered from BB-8 is only partially complete. And even worse, it matches no charted system on record. We simply do not have enough information to locate Master Luke." Everyone stared up at the hologram of the map. Their hearts sank.

"Can't believe I was foolish enough to think I could find Luke and bring him home." Leia said dejectedly.

"Leia," Han tried to console her.

"Don't do that." She snapped in annoyance, brushing passed him.

"Do what?

"Anything.

"Princesses." C-3PO muttered. Then he noticed BB-8 remove a heavy blanket off of R2-D2 and try to get his pal's attention. But R2 remained as silent as a windless desert. He looked old, dusty, depressed, and useless. "BB-8, you're wasting your time. It is very doubtful that R2 would have the rest of the map in his backup data." BB-8 chirped questioningly. "I am afraid not. R2-D2 has been in low power mode ever since Master Luke went away. Sadly, he may never be his old self again." C-3PO shook his head and so did BB-8, saddened by this news.

"Poe." Finn gripped his friend's arm. "I meant to ask you. Did you ever find your sister?" BB-8 looked up at his master eagerly. Poe's face fell.

"Yeah. Come with me." He said lowly. Finn and BB-8 followed him quickly into the infirmary. Finn was solemn as Poe led him to Tania's hospital bed. BB-8 rolled up to the edge of the bed, looking up, trying to see over the side. He nudged the bed, beeping excitedly, trying to talk to Tania, to let her know he was glad to see her alive, that he'd missed her.

"She can't hear you, buddy." Poe told the droid gravely. BB-8 glanced up in dismay at Poe, then back to Tania. He hung his head with a small, mechanical whimper.

"What happened to her?" Finn asked. Poe stood there with his hands on his hips, biting his lip.

"She got captured by the First Order." Poe explained, trying to keep his voice steady. "She saw them take me, but I don't know how she got in there! Her ship was shot down. I thought...I thought she was dead. She...was trying to save me and the map to Skywalker. Kylo Ren...he tortured her." Poe seethed, his eyes welling up as he squeezed Tania's hand.

Finn glared as he observed the horrible burns on Tania's body. They looked excruciating. G-, he was glad more than ever now that he'd left the d- First Order! And now those monsters had Rey! If they were thinking of giving her the same treatment they gave the sister of his best friend…

"We must have just missed her when we escaped." He said. Poe grunted.

"When I found her, she was almost dead." He said angrily. BB-8 beeped anxiously when he heard that.

"Is she gonna be alright?" Finn asked hopefully. Poe looked at him defeatedly.

"The doctors say she will. But I don't know." He shook his head. "It's only by a miracle she survived the ride back here. I...I just hate seeing her like this, and there's not a d- thing I can do about it!"

"Yes, you can!" Finn told him. "You can help me take down the First Order, and save more lives." Poe stared at him thoughtfully.

"Yeah." He agreed. Finn gripped his shoulder.

"She's a Dameron. If she's anything like her bull-headed brother, she'll make it." He said encouragingly.

"I really hope so. I'll be right there."

Finn nodded. "Hey, man. I'm really sorry." He said.

"I know." Poe nodded. Finn shuffled out to meet Han and Chewie. Poe looked back down at Tania. He knelt down next to her. BB-8 bleeped lowly. "I know, BB-8." Poe moaned. He kissed Tania's hand.

Han had followed Leia despite her protesting. He truly wanted to help his wife, after their separation and failure to protect their only child from the Dark Side. "Leia, there's nothing more we could've done. There's too much Vader in him." Han sighed.

"That's why I wanted him to train with Luke. I...I just never should've sent him away. That's when I lost him. When I lost you both." Leia said softly.

"We both had to deal with it in our own way. I went back to the only thing I was ever good at."

"We both did."

"We lost our son, forever." Han declared defeatedly. The hopeless, pained look in his eyes tore at Leia's heart and made him appear to have aged in seconds, like he'd completely given up all hope.

"No! It was Snoke. He seduced our son to the Dark Side. But we can still save him."

"If Luke couldn't reach him, how can I?"

"Luke is a Jedi. But you're his father. There is still Light in him! I know it!" Leia insisted.

The Resistance was grimly discussing the Starkiller Base, trying to formulate some kind of plan to destroy the massive planet annihilator. Finn filled them in as best he could about the operations of the cannon. Leia sighed heavily. "The First Order, they're charging the weapon again now. Our system is the next target."

"Oh my! Without a Republic fleet, we're doomed!" C-3PO hung his head.

"So. How do we blow it up? There's always a way to do that." Han spoke up. Finn pointed out where the oscillator on the planet was, and everyone agreed that it was the perfect target to weaken the cannon. Admiral Ackbar pointed out that the Starkiller's shields were near invincible. Han simply stated that they would disable them and Finn offered to help, but insisted he had to be there himself to do it. Han and Chewie said they would take him. Leia had a sinking feeling about this. Sure, there'd been many times that they'd pulled crazy stunts. But this one would be different, she could feel it.

"So, we disable the shields, we blow up the oscillator, we blow up their big gun." Poe stated. Chewie roared excitedly, and everyone nodded. "Alright. Let's go!"

Poe quickly ran to the med bay to say goodbye to his sister. He patted her head but she didn't so much as stir. "Hey, sis. We got BB-8 back! And...you'll never guess how." He cleared his throat. "But, I don't have time to explain it all right now. Gotta go smoke out some First Order b-s. You...you keep fighting, okay?"

BB-8 rolled over and leaned his small dome head against Poe's leg. Poe rubbed the back of his head. "I know, buddy. I'm sad too. But she's gonna be okay. We just need her to wake up." Poe stood up and stooped closely, stroking her hair then kissed her face. "We'll talk when I get back." He gave Tania's hand one last squeeze, then forced himself to march out of the med-bay. BB-8 lingered, moaning and whimpering, trying to get a response from his mistress but she didn't stir. BB-8 sadly shook his head and rolled out.

The base was a scatter of battle prep. Poe gave Finn a thumb's up as they passed each other while Finn climbed inside the Millennium Falcon. Chewie and Han were making final checks on the mechanics of the ship. Chewie marched inside as Leia approached from behind. "You know? No matter how much we've fought, I've always hated watching you leave." She murmured.

"That's why I did it. So you'd miss me." Han replied cheekily.

"I did miss you." Leia smiled. Han hugged her closely. Leia bit her lip as she rested her head on his chest. She didn't want him to go. Some voice deep inside her told her that he wouldn't be back, this time. She knew that voice too well. It was the same one years ago that had told her to accept the finality that her home planet of Alderaan, her people, her friends, her home, her family was gone. She'd heard it too many times over the years to ignore it. She just breathed calmly, savoring every moment passing between her and Han before he would have to pull away.

"If you see our son, bring him home." She whispered.