[Hux]

Given a choice of where to stand, Hux took up a position at Poe's shoulder, bracing himself against the chair. Ren slid into the other seat. Dameron said, "Engines are in good shape. Hyperdrive's functional. We're missing a wing and maneuvering thrusters on that side. Not flyable at this point. Shields overloaded. One of the weapons systems isn't reporting. Long-range sensors are down. Short range are glitching. Main computer's fine. Communications seem to be working, the indicators say so, but I'm not picking up anything. Isn't the comm system stored in the wings with the sensors?"

Ren nodded. "We may be off-grid."

"You don't pick up anything at all?" Hux asked. "Not even natives?"

Poe splayed his hands out palm up. "Nothing. But! Good news, the air is breathable. Life forms are close enough to us to be compatible. I mean," he gestured out the viewport, "you can tell that by looking at them."

Hux sighed. "I want to get outside and get an eye's-on evaluation of the damage."

"Agreed," Poe said, getting to his feet.

Given the way the ship was pitched, the ramp didn't extend to the ground. It was a side-opening ship – Upsilon-class shuttles varied in design and Hux had simply chosen the nearest one that looked fast, well-shielded, and big enough for the people he had with him. It was better than the troop carriers and TIE fighters that had been their other choices.

"Let the troopers go first," Hux told him as Poe went down the ramp before it was even fully extended.

Blaster in hand, he looked around. "Nah," Poe said. "I won't make anyone do something I wouldn't." He jumped to the ground below. "But then again, I'm willing to do just about anything. If I have to." His voice trailed off as he skulked out of sight.

Hux sighed. His head hurt – though whether from being concussed or the situation, he couldn't tell. Probably both. He was torn between a desire to follow protocol and a desire not to look like a coward. Nothing had killed the pilot so far. Hux went second, leaving his hands free in case he needed to catch himself. The four troopers behind him provided overwatch and came down in pairs after he'd moved out of the way.

Poe glanced up at them after the first set of two jumped off the ramp. "And here I thought we were going to have a little alone time."

Hux hesitated, pursing his lips at the pilot's wistful tone, same as he'd given on the Finalizer when Hux had thought he was babbling. It sounded so kriffing sincere, but Finn had ignored it like it was de rigor. "You'd like that?" Hux said when Poe finally looked over to him for a response.

"I wouldn't mind it. I can tell you that much."

"Forgive me for remaining concerned that being alone with Resistance members wouldn't be good for my health." He took a few steps to the side, ostensibly to better view the ship's hull but he was watching Poe's reaction instead.

Poe shrugged a little. "That's smart, but … I'm not going to do anything. At least not like that."

"Then what would you do?"

Poe waggled his brows, shot his eyes briefly in the direction of the four stormtroopers who currently stood back to back to cover all directions, and shrugged one shoulder in a twitch. "We can talk about that later." He waved the blaster upward, pointing with it at the most damaged part of the shuttle. It was a weird way to point at things (dangerous and stupid), but it was the same gesture Poe had used on the Finalizer. Maybe he'd just picked up bad habits somewhere. "Based on that," Poe said, "we're going to be here a while."

Poe lifted his comm and narrated for the benefit of those inside. "Right wing is missing. Looks like a combination of blasted and sheared. I'm not sure how that happened, because I didn't feel it go during descent."

Ren's voice over the comm said, "It happened as soon as we hit the surface."

"Hm, okay. Must have been damaged to start with." Ren made no answer to that. Hux was left to assume they'd taken damage after launch. He moved closer to get a better look. Poe went on. "Anyway, the maneuvering jets on this side are shot."

"Literally," Hux said, stripping his glove and touching the bare hull with his hand for a better feel. "Whatever we were hit with during or before the jump to hyperspace was concentrated here. It did enough damage to the superstructure that the impact finished the separation. You can see how the metal is rippled and feel the surface irregularities. Maybe an out of phase turbo laser?" It was preposterously lucky that they'd been hit with a malfunctioning weapon. Under other circumstances, this would be a fascinating case study. He put his glove back on. This was not the time for such frivolity.

Poe continued, "We're up on a couple trees in the aft. I think we'd do better if one of you got down here with a lightsaber and cut those down so we were level. Might put down the landing gear first, but it won't reach. The ground seems pretty stable. Little punky, but stable. And raise the ramp after you get down, so we don't jam it or buckle it when we settle. That should get all the damaged areas down where we can work on them. It won't fly without the maneuvering jets. We're just an unbalanced rocket right now with only the main thrusters working."

The woman in the colonel's outfit hopped off the ramp, but it stayed lowered. Hux moved where he could see her as Poe went to the other side of the ship to see the intact wing. Hux pointed at two stormtroopers, then after Poe. The pair peeled off to cover him. Poe's narration stopped for a long moment as the troopers joined him ("Hey guys. How you doing?" No answer from the troopers), then continued.