The next few chapters are set a week earlier than the first - it'll all become clear eventually. As a result, they are named chapter 2.0, 2.1, etc. Thank you for reading and please leave reviews so I know what you guys like and want more of :) As always I update every weekend.

Chapter 2.0

One Week Earlier

With the Falcon on its way to the Outer Rim, still fearing the chase of the First Order, there had been little time to mourn the death of Luke Skywalker. To many people on board, Skywalker was a myth, a legend, or at best, a vision that had fought off the enemy long enough to allow them to escape the death plains of Crait. Yet General Organa had lost her brother and was determined to return to Ahch-To in order to locate and bury his remains.

Upon hearing about the secret voyage of their General from C3PO, Rey recalled the barren island in her mind and doubted that Luke would have left much behind. She headed to Cargo Hold 3, which had been cleared for activities and training; the other two holds being used as dormitories.

Finn was already training when she arrived. His white base layer was clinging to his torso as he sparred with a hologram disc. Rey was shocked and slightly impressed at the speed and fury that accompanied each collision, the quarterstaff hardly perceptible in the air.

Hit after hit, the disc tallied his frustration.

He had believed the lies of that thief hacker. Hit.

He had failed to stop the First Order cannon. Hit.

He had hurt Rose. Hit.

He had left Rey in danger. Hit. He had left her in the clutch of Kylo-Ren. Hit. He couldn't protect her. Hit. Hit. Hit.

Panting and seething, he terminated the training hologram and pushed the beads of sweat from his eyes.

'Starting without me?' Rey was watching with her arms crossed by the weapons rack.

Finn, wondering how long she had been standing there, shifted awkwardly on his feet. 'I'm not the one who is late.'

She laughed to herself and grabbed another training mat to lay on the floor.

Lord he had missed that laugh. It was a rare and cautious sound, like one of those tiny birds he had heard a lifetime ago in the Akiva jungle – one of the few beautiful planets that the First Order had not completely decimated when they had arrived.

'I got caught up. Besides, it looks like you've had a chance to warm up. Now you'll be ready to drill me.'

He blushed and turned away to move his own mat next to hers. She really had no clue.

Keeping his voice and face as calm as possible, he faced her squarely. 'Why do you even need to train? Surely you can use the force. You shouldn't be putting yourself into close combat situations.'

Anger flashed in her eyes and all mirth disappeared as quickly as it came on.

'I cannot always rely on the force, especially now that my lightsabre is broken. I need to learn how my enemies fight, and who better to teach me than a trooper.' She instantly regretted her last words as she saw Finn's pained expression. She had accepted her past. Her life or lack thereof had amounted to very little. She was alone. She had accepted that. But Finn was ashamed of his past. Any mention of the crimes committed by the First Order somehow seemed to weigh down upon him, as though he had given the orders.

'I'm sorry,' she said.

'Forget about it.' He dusted his hands and met her face on. 'Are you ready?'


'Argh.'

'Too slow.'

'Ugh!'

'You're not concentrating.' Finn looked down at Rey spread out below him. He reached out his hand to pull her up.

'I am!' she returned, ignoring his hand and leaping to her feet. She was leaning to one side, her left leg buckling somewhat under her slight weight. 'You're like an anchor. I can't even push you back.'

Pink, red lips; flushed cheeks; brown eyes with a constellation of green… inches away from his face.

Finn took a step back. 'Then you need to attack before I'm in position, Rey. You need to outsmart your opponent. You're small - yes - but you're also quick. Use that.'

Rey reigned down upon Finn once again with a flurry of attacks from her own quarterstaff. Each one blocked with a precision that only came from a lifetime of training. Her left knee bowed catching her off guard, and the butt of Finn's staff slammed against her side.

With sweat pooling in her palms, Rey's hands slipped on the mat as she tried to gain balance and her head crashed against the floor. She felt blood creeping across her tongue and winced inwardly at the pain in her head.

Furrowed brown eyes suddenly struck her vision. Surprise gave way to concern. The compassion stark against the scar cutting across the left eye. She forced these eyes away.

'Right, that's it. No more. We can practise again another time.' Finn's distant voice broke her out of the darkness. He had crouched down beside her with eyes shades darker than the previous ones she had seen. He took her arm and started to help her to her feet, but he was forced backwards to the floor as Rey's legs kicked out from underneath her body and slammed squarely into him.

Rey grabbed the fallen quarterstaff, shot to her feet and thrust it against Finn's throat.

He gulped.

The staff quivered.

Rey's eyes flamed with anger at herself. Anger at her weakness. That was no way to win.

The walk back to the main hold was quiet. Finn had tried to congratulate her on using her head and insisted that he was at fault for letting his guard down, but she couldn't extinguish the fear that had enveloped her after the so-called victory. She had not planned the manoeuvre; she had not planned to reject Finn's offer of mercy. She had only wanted to be strong. Letting others help you to your feet did not endorse strength.

Rey's training had not gone as she had hoped.

Finn quickened his pace to walk alongside her and they entered the quarters at the same time. Life continued: people milled about chatting, or watched holograph creatures strategically decapitate one another at the table. Everyone was ready to fight and die in order to resist the First Order, but only a few of these rebels had actually came face to face with the enemy. Most of them didn't know any better and that was why they were still alive.

In the corner, Rose was sitting up and playing a solitary game of cards. She hadn't seemed to notice them come in; keeping her head down and eyes focused on the hand before her. Rey observed however that she hadn't touched the cards since they had entered.

Finn was already habitually heading towards Rose, and Rey prepared herself for the oncoming expanse of empty silence.

'Hey Rose! How are you feeling?' Finn leaned over the petite, young woman to see her cards. 'That card can go there.' He pointed at the red stack on the table.

'Oh… yes. Of course.' Rose's eyes darted up towards Rey, who was standing further back from the table. Rose moved the card to the stack as a blush crept across her face.

'Should you be up this early? Are you sure you're not more comfortable lying down? Is there anything that I can get you?' The flood of questions and concerns exploded from Finn's mouth.

Rey stood there. She looked at Finn. She looked at Rose. She looked back at her feet.

Rose finally looked up from her cards, 'I'm fine. I promise.' She met Finn's eyes and quickly looked back down. 'It's so boring being confined to my room, at least here I can feel a bit like my old self.'

Ever since the accident on Crait, Finn had been nearly inseparable from Rose, to the point that the medic had formally instructed him to only visit during designated visiting hours. Rey still wasn't clear on how the ski speeders had crashed into one another, and whenever she had asked Finn about it over the last two days, he had mumbled some nonsense and hastily changed the topic. Regardless of this, she had quickly realised that Finn felt responsible for Rose's injuries as though it was his fault.

Laughter.

Rey snapped out of her thoughts to the sound of light giggles as Finn attempted to do Force tricks with the cards, waving his hand over the pack and making the Mistress card appear.

'That's not how the Force works.'

Rose's giggle broke into a short cough and Finn stopped wiggling his fingers in the air.

The silence stretched out.

Why did I say that? They were just having fun.

'That's not how the Force works, you know,' Rey repeated.

'Well you never talk about it, so how am I supposed to know how it works!' Finn added a small laugh at the end. He hadn't meant to offend her. 'Look why don't we join Rose for a game of Sabacc; we can play for the extra rations at dinner?'

Finn reached up into a cupboard to brandish another deck of cards. 'We can practice something a little less exerting that hopefully won't leave me with so many bruises.' He smiled his half a smile and lifted his eyebrows, handing the deck to Rey.

She took them, turned the pack over in hand and then put them down upon the side. She was struggling to even form a reply, let alone utter the energy play a whole game with Finn and Rose. She was no good at this. Rey mumbled something about needing to report to General Organa and left Finn standing there. In many ways, life in solitary on Jakku had been a lot easier than this.

Rey found Leia in the main corridor and volunteered to accompany the General to Ahch-To.