Chapter 3 – The Escape

FN -2187 POV

"Not yet. Okay, go. This way."

FN-2187 walks quickly toward the far wall with his blaster rifle still aimed (incorrectly and lazily) at Poe as he moves them across the hanger past the flight crews and pilots performing maintenance on their own aircraft.

He also had to steer them away from the stormtrooper platoon's that kept marching through the hanger as they completed their assigned routes and began to move through the hanger to their next assignment.

He makes a bee line for the nearest line of TIE/sf space superiority fighters. These TIE/sf were reserved for members of the First Order's elite Special Forces. They were the result of three decades of work by Imperial and later First Order scientists and mechanics. They were also the brainchild of their very helpful allies in Sienar-Jaemus Fleet Systems.

The fighters boasted weapons far more powerful than a standard TIE, combining laser cannons with a heavy weapons turret armed and warhead launcher, giving the fighter a 360-degree field of fire and ability to deliver special ordnance. Although the pilot had the ability to fire all weapons, the turret was ideally controlled by the rear-facing gunner. The TIE also had enhanced deflector shields and high-yield cells that provided additional power to onboard systems.

But most importantly, the fighter was equipped with a hyperdrive to enable the fighter to go on long range missions far from a base or carrier ship.

That was what was going to get him and the Resistance pilot away from the Finalizer and hopefully away from the entire First Order. Without a hyperdrive they were finished. FN-2187 did not care how good the Resistance pilot claimed to be. If they did not get out of the system as fast as they could they would either get shot down by other TIE's or blasted by the Star Destroyers.

Even as he walked to the base of the boarding staircase, he looked out of the hanger's shielded entrance to take in the image of the Reclaimer hanging in orbit just a few miles away from the Finalizer.

It was just his typical luck that on the day he decided to make a run for it and desert the First Order, another Star Destroyer is there to try and shoot at him.

And not just any Star Destroyer will do, oh no.

He gets to try his appalling luck against the Reclaimer itself. One of the most advanced ships in the First Order fleet. Filled to the brim with an experienced and capable crew. And commanded by the acting Grand Admiral of the entire First Order.

As if Kylo Ren and Phasma were not enough. He got the entire ruling triumvirate.

He knew of Admiral Kuvira. Hell, everyone in the Order new about Admiral Kuvira.

The children on the Absolution or the other training ships or bases looked up to her as a role-model. They were constantly reminded that she started out like them. An unwanted orphan in a cesspool of a world. But through the 'mercy and kindnesses of the First Order, she worked her way up to commanding a fleet of hundreds of capital ships and millions of troops.

And now her authority was second only the Supreme Leader himself.

Soldiers on the frontlines, hoped that they would get posted to her command. They knew that under her they had the best chance of making it threw the battles alive and with a victory at the end.

Pilots wanted to be posted to the Reclaimer as it was well known that during skirmishes that she could leave to her subordinates, she would take her personal TIE fighter into battle. The aspiring young pilots yearned to fly beside and learn from the one who had been one of the youngest flight commanders in the history of the galaxy.

Even the old guard. Imperial commanders and soldiers who had been at the head of the mass exodus of Imperial fleets and loyalists into the Unknown Regions wanted to meet her. From what he had heard, it was partially to see if she lived up to the rumours. Other times it was to try and bring down the young 'upstart' as they had once called her when they thought none could hear them.

However, those Imperial veterans had returned to their own individual commands with no such victory. They had either been forced into grudging acceptance that the young woman's tactical skill and battle strategies were very impressive. Or they had returned with nothing but admiration for their much younger commander.

In fact, rumour was that someone had once referred to her as "Admiral Thrawn with tits."

What had happened to the person who first said that derogatory phase, was one of the other most discussed stories about the Admiral.

And now, the person that inspired all those stories, all that devotion and respect. Would be doing her utmost to blast him to his component atoms.

He had to admit that what Admiral Kuvira had done at the village on Jakku had greatly relieved him. He had been dreading the order to execute the entire village. Admittedly he would not have minded shooting the villagers that had been firing at him. But even then, he would have preferred it to be in battle. As naïve as he knew it sounded, he wanted it to be fair.

He knew if Phasma heard him say such a think she would have him spaced…..if he was lucky.

But executing men, women and children who were beaten, who had surrendered. He did not have the ruthlessness in him to carry out that task. Although he knew Phasma would call it strength.

When the Admiral had stepped in and convinced the villagers to bend their knees and except the rule of the First Order he had a look of pure relief on his smiling face beneath his helmet. He had been delighted he had not been called on to kill the villagers.

But when the three stubborn defenders had refused to kneel he had been worried once again, that he would be called to execute them.

But then the Admiral had drawn her pistol and killed the three men before they could even react. He was in shock and for a few seconds wondered if he had imagined it. But then the Admiral turned around and he looked into her emerald eyes.

What he had seen there had been the final thing to drive him to desert and caused him to begin to think of a way to leave the First Order.

The eyes of the admiral had shone clear and resolute, even though she had just killed three people personally. They showed not a shred of regret or any sign that they were affected by what had just happened. They showed a resolve and ruthlessness that made it clear that she would do whatever was necessary to complete her mission. She would brook no failure, suffer no enemies, and allow no amount of collateral damage to deter her from what had to be done.

It was clear that she preferred to keep the bloodshed to a minimum by her actions in saving the rest of the village, and her missions elsewhere in the galaxy. But that was not out of concern for the lives of the people involved and it was defiantly not related to any principles regarding right and wrong.

It was simply a matter of efficiency. To ensure that the First Order benefited the most by increased reputation, citizenry, work force and propaganda. That was what it came down too. And if it would have benefitted the First Order to turn the entire village into a glass crater. He had no doubt she would have given that order with no hesitation.

In that moment he knew the one word to describe Admiral Kuvira; Pragmatic.

While it was better then serving under a vicious psychopath like Hux, it was still beyond what FN-2187 was willing to knowingly serve under.

And so, he found himself climbing the steps into this TIE fighter right now.

FN-2187 and Poe (wincing and still sore) dropped into the back-to-back cockpit. FN-2187 pulls off his helmet as Poe removes his cuffs and jacket, fires up the ship with excitement. "I always wanted to fly one of these things. Can you shoot?"

FN-2187 turns around to respond. "Blasters, I can!"

Poe nods. It was not ideal, but beggars couldn't be choosers. "Okay, same principal! Use the toggle on the left to switch between missiles, cannons, and mag pulse. Use the site on the right to aim, triggers to fire!"

FN-2187 turns back to look at the control console in front of him. He knows that to an experienced pilot it would make perfect sense. But all he sees is a mess of switches, buttons and flashing lights that he has no clue what to do with. He suddenly wishes he had tried to be placed in the pilot training program rather than the Stormtrooper core.

"This is very complicated."

Poe ignored that comment and tried to act as if this was just a routine flight or mission from D'qar. And not a situation that was looking more and more like lunacy. With a final check on the flight controls and the power levels, he began the ignition and eased the fighter out of the supports.

FWOOOOOOM! The TIE fighter lurches forward and moved out of the landing bay. Poe made every effort and whispered every prayer, that his flight looked casual and not out of place at all. He watched as the flight crews and other hanger personal moved about the hanger. None of them were looking at him and he hoped that nothing looked out of place.

He slowly turned the fighter toward the hanger entrance and began to move forward. Suddenly he felt the entire fighter bucked and jerked violently to a halt. Quickly inspecting his instruments, he cursed himself as an idiot.

He had been so focused on getting away as fast as possible. He had not even noticed that one of the maintenance hoses was still attached to the fighter. He felt like smacking himself, even a drunk rookie pilot Gamorreon with half a brain would not make such a stupid mistake!

"I can fix this." He said, partly to the Stormtrooper, partly to himself.

Reacting as fast as he could he began smashing at the controls trying to get the hose to detach. But no matter what he tried the damn thing wouldn't budge. And as the fighter kept getting jerked around on, the inevitable happened.

The hanger crewed would have to be blind, deaf and dumb not to notice that something was wrong and from the corner of his eye he saw them gesturing and beginning to run either towards or away from them.

He even saw that the stormtroopers were already setting up a portable battery cannon that was aimed directly at their fighter. He then heard the unmistakeable sound of blaster fire and the faint sounds of the bolts impacting against the fighter's armour. Thankfully, the fighter's armour was more than enough make their efforts useless.

In mounting desperation, he pounded the controls and urged the fighter forward at full speed, determined to break the kriffing cable. At the same time FN-2187 took hold of the weapons controls and fired.

Green laser blasts slammed into the ground and sent the troops flying, either in one piece or several, depending on how lucky they were. One blast even hit the hanger control room and caused an explosion to erupt from the chamber.

Poe urged the fighter forward with all his might and finally the cable detached and the TIE went zooming forward into the ether of space. Poe was thrown back into his seat amazed and more than a bit giddy at the power of the TIE fighter. But he admitted that might be a lingering effect of the drugs.

"Woooahhh! This thing really moves." He quickly turned the fighter around and headed for the underbelly of the Finalizer. "All right, we gotta take out as many cannons as we can or we're not gonna get very far!"

FN-2187 quickly got his head back in the game. "All right!"

"I'm gonna get us in position, just stay sharp! Poe flew toward the cannons that were already preparing to blast the two of them into dust. "Up ahead! Up ahead! You see it? I've got us dead centered. It's a clean shot."

FN-2187 nods as he quickly listened to the instructions that Poe was rattling off, aimed and fired.

Bridge of the Finalizer

On the bridge of the Finalizer Admiral Kuvira strode down the main walkway as the bridge crew milled about and consulted their instruments for the needed data.

Lieutenant Mitaka then calls up from the crew pit as he watches the monitor. "Ma'am, they've taken out our turbolasers."

Kuvira considered for less then a second before she voiced her commands. "Use the ventral cannons.". The lieutenant nodded "Yes, ma'am. Bringing them online."

As he turned back to his command console and began delegating the required orders to his subordinates, Kylo Ren entered the command bridge. He had briefly returned to his quarters to 'consider matters'. Apparently he had been roused by the increasing situation.

"Admiral Kuvira. Is it the Resistance pilot?" he demanded as he came to a stop in front of the Admiral. Kuvira turned to face him, her face as stoic as though it was carved from stone.

"Yes, and he had help. From one of our own". While her face remained icy, her voice allowed some of the vexed indignation to emerge. She turned away and made her way to the face the command console "We're checking the registers now to identify which Stormtrooper it was."

Kylo Ren didn't need to turn to inspect the console. Even without the force he would have known who the trooper was responsible. The look and stance of that particular soldier in the village could not have shouted his feelings any clearer. In hindsight he should have ordered that soldier to be detained and sent to reconditioning. At the time, he had considered it beneath him. He was the apprentice to the Supreme Leader, heir apparent to Darth Vader. He had no time to consider the issues of a random trooper!

An act of simple vanity, and one he was certain his grandfather would never have made. He admonished himself. But there was nothing to be done about it now, except do his utmost to resolve the issue.

"The one from the village. FN2187." He said, his voice almost a whisper.

Kuvira turned back to study him, her eye brow slightly raised in a silent question. She considered asking for confirmation on his information but decided against it. Mainly because there was no time. That stolen fighter was still fleeing at that moment, and every second was precious. In the end she chalked it up to his power in the Force. Still he once again acknowledges its usefulness and gestured to the Lieutenant, silently commanding him to stop the search and research that particular trooper.

"Ma'am. Ventral cannons hot." Lieutenant Mitaka proclaimed.

She nodded "Fire."

Captain Pandey came up to her from his previous position by the bridge windows. "Admiral, we can tractor the fighter back into the hanger once we get a lock with the beam. We run the risk of losing valuable information with the prisoner's death."

Kuvira turned to face him. "We have confirmation that the information we need is contained within a droid on the planet. The resistance pilot is therefore useless to us, and the traitor even more so. Destroy them both." Her tone of vice left no room for argument.

Mitaka nodded his understanding. "Firing now!"

TIE Fighter Cockpit

"One's coming towards you. My right, your left. Do you see it?" Poe said hurriedly.

"Hold on! I see it!" The newly named Finn said, much in the same tone.

Finn blasted away with the fighter's cannons and after a few seconds one of the warheads was exploding into ash. However, the other missiles were still out there, chasing them like a Hutt chases profit. Poe suddenly veered away and shot down into Jakku's atmosphere. At first Finn thought it was an evasion tactic. But it soon became clear that it was not.

"Where are you going?" He demanded.

"We're going back to Jakku. That's where." Poe answered with the air of someone commenting on the weather.

Finn tuned (as much as the cockpit allowed him) to stare at Poe. He looked as though he could hardly credit his ears. "No no no! We can't go back to Jakku! We need to get outta this system!" He almost screamed.

This was not what he had signed up for. The unofficial deal was that he frees him and then they both get the hell out of here and vanish into the galaxy. Going back to the newly annexed dust ball, with an entire FO army on it was not part of the deal! All the while the fighter weaves and dodges near-miss laser blasts as Poe pilots aggressively.

"I got to get to my droid before the First Order does!" Poe explained.

"A droid!" Finn repeated incredulously. Clearly finding the explanation not good enough.

"That's right. He's a BB unit! Orange and white: one of a kind." Poe continued.

"I don't care what colour he is! No droid can be that important!" Finn responded.

"This one is, pal."

"We need to get as far away from the First Order as we can! We go back to Jakku, we die!"

"That droid's got a map that leads straight to Luke Skywalker!"

Finn could not believe his luck was this bad. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me! I….".

Apparently he luck could somehow get even worse. In the argument going on between the two unlikely allies, Poe had neglected his steering and Finn had let go of the weapon controls. They had been hit. Instantly the tie fighter sparks and smokes, spiralling out of control toward the surface of Jakku!

Bridge of the Finalizer

Captain Phasma and Admiral Kuvira stand before a holographic projection detailing FN-2187's service records.

"FN-2187 reported to my division, was evaluated and sent to Reconditioning." Phasma stated in her usual calm monotonous tone of voice. The details of the service record and childhood of FN-2187 continued to display in front of the pair. Every facet of the trooper's life was on detailed and perfectly consistent record.

Admiral Kuvira studied the image of the traitor. Looking both at his current image, and the image of him as a child when he had first been brought into the Order. "No prior signs of non-conformity?" she asked.

Phasma's response was instant. "This was his first offense."

Kuvira's eyes narrowed for a faction of a second when she heard that. That answer had come too fast and with far too much conviction then it should have. Even if it hadn't, she had noticed the slight discrepancy in Phasma's voice pattern. Regardless it was clear that Phasma was not telling the truth, or at least not the full truth.

She considered the matter. It was likely that Phasma had noticed something in FN-2187's behaviour but had failed to mention it in the proper channels. Or this was not the first offense and she had failed to mention that properly. She had likely not considered the matter of great importance, or possibly had not wanted to appear that she could not control her soldiers.

Either way it was clear her negligence had almost cost the First Order dearly. It was only sheer fortune that the information they needed was in the droid, not with the pilot. If the situation had been different, she might have ordered Phasma to be questioned and disciplined as necessary.

However, such an action now would be counterproductive. The situation was more or less in hand, and it would not serve the First Order to create tension between her and her most competent Captain. Besides, while she might outrank Phasma, her popularity with the Stormtrooper core made punishing her on nothing but speculation, problematic.

"Admiral. They've been hit." The technician reported. Kuvira turned to face him.

"Destroyed?" She asked. The technician glanced down at the details on her datapad.

"Disabled. They were headed back to Jakku, the fighter's projected to crash in the Goazon badlands." He recited.

Kuvira understood instantly. "They were going back for the droid, send a squad to the wreckage. And I want a squadron in the air surveying the area around the crash site. If they find them, strafe them. And send troops to all the transport hubs and 'spaceports ports' on this hemisphere. If the traitor or the Resistance pilot are spotted, they are to report it and kill with them. The droid is the priority. It must be captured if at all possible. Or destroyed if necessary.

With the orders given Kuvira moved to stare out of the viewport of the Finalizer's bridge. She observed Jakku, and considered if it was chance, fate or the Force that such an otherwise insignificant world continually played a key part in galaxy shaping events. She observed the Reclaimer and despite herself, she briefly wished she was back aboard, patrolling the frontiers of their territory or battling border threats in the Unknown Regions.

But that was not where she was needed. The peace with the New Republic was breaking down and the Resistance were doubling their efforts to push the Senate to open war. While war was naturally the plan for the First Order to take back the galaxy. Kuvira sometimes wondered if they were over reaching too early.

The First Order had spent 30 years building up their strength, resources and territory. Meanwhile the New Republic had engaged in the bare minimum of military spending. The gap between the two forces was almost equal. And in terms of technological prowess, the First Order held a major advantage. They could afford to wait a little longer to build up their strength while the Republic atrophied.

Besides it was entirely possible that the New Republic would collapse within a few more years. The divide and squabbling between the Centrists, Populists and other various parties (the Core and Rim Factions) had deadlocked the Senate to the point that almost no laws or petitions were passed on Hosnian Prime these days. The economic situation was equally bad, with the New Republic being much smaller then the Empire or the Old Republic, they didn't have access to the resources or trading power that they had been. The divide in the senate also led to each side increasing tariffs against each other to the point that all trade was being chocked off.

All these problems were bleeding the New Republic dry, both in power and in prestige. In a couple of years its power would be impotent, and its patriotic reserves would be exhausted. Even the former leaders of the Rebel Alliance were losing faith in the Republic system they had fought to restore. The fact that they felt the need to form an independent force like the Resistance, separate from the New Republic proved that fact.

It might have been possible for the First Order to conquer the galaxy without much bloodshed in the wake of then New Republic's implosion. As, despite what the rebels had endlessly claimed, people wanted to be told what to do. They naturally craved order, and certainty, and desperately wanted someone else to take charge of the galaxy while they peacefully followed in their wake.

But with the possible return of Luke Skywalker to the Resistance and the Republic. The slow and carefully thought out strategy wasn't viable anymore. Now they had to act. And she must have faith that the Supreme Leader would choose the wisest course.

After all the whole reason that the First Order still existed was due to the Supreme Leader. When the Imperial remnant fleets had arrived in the Unknown Regions, they had nearly meet with destruction. Despite the best efforts of leaders like Grand Admiral Sloane (a great idol of Kuvira's) they had simply not been prepared for the task.

It was the Supreme Leader that had saved them. And it was under his leadership that the First Order had not only survived but thrived.

They had survived because they trusted him to know best and choose the wisest course. And now she would trust him again.

If he ordered her to lead their fleet to war, then so be it.

She felt the presence of Kylo Ren behind her and she turned away from her private musing and walked with him down the main bridge walkway. It didn't take long for Ren to make his opinion on her orders clear. But she was ready with her own statement.

"Supreme Leader Snoke was explicit. Capture the droid if we can but destroy it if we must." She stated simply.

Kylo didn't address that but asked another expected question. "How capable are your soldiers, Admiral?"

She did not turn her head to face him as she answered, instead staring straight forward. "As capable as they need to be to complete the mission Lord Ren." Her unusually formality which she used for his name was noticeable. Kylo ignored the warning.

"They're obviously skilled at committing high treason. Perhaps Leader Snoke should consider using a clone army." He stated in a mocking jest. While he and Kuvira had a good relationship, he needed the serenity of this desertion to be understood.

However, the Admiral suddenly stopped and shot out her left arm to block his path. She turned to face him and spoke in a hushed tone. (After all it would not do to have two of the highest commanding leaders be seen in a full argument on the bridge).

"I will not have you insulting my soldiers in my presence Lord Ren. The traitor will be dealt with but the rest of them have served the First Order with all their soul for their entire lives. And many of them have given their lives in its service, so don't you dare ever question their loyalty!" She snarled.

Kylo Ren was momentarily taken aback. He knew that Kuvira was not careless with the lives of her troops, and that she had done a lot for their improved live, such as extended leisure time between shifts, improved meals and even limited vacation leave at First Order R&R facilities. But he seemed to have underestimated the extent of that loyalty and devotion.

However instead of being angry at his authority and opinions being dismissed and being partially threatened. He found instead that his respect for the Admiral continued to grow. It was something that the commanders Darth Vader had served with would never have done. It was also a gesture that Vader would also have respected.

"Then they should have no problem retrieving the droid. Unharmed." He said. This time however his tone was not mocking

In turn Kuvira reduced her tone to simply factual. "I will endeavour to capture the droid intact, Ren. But I will not place your "personal interests" over the direct orders from Leader Snoke."

Ren considered for a second, then nodded his acceptance. "I want that map. I will trust you to use every opportunity to acquire it Admiral.

With that Ren turned and walked away, leaving Kuvira to consider the situation for a second, before she activated her personal comm. "Alert my shuttle to prepare for launch back to the Reclaimer immediately." She ordered.

Jakku - Goazon Badlands

On the burning desert sands of Jakku, Finn woke with a start. He goes from unconscious to terrified, fast, as he remembers the pain and the fear he felt as he fell from the heavens. He sits up and after shielding his eyes from the intense glare of the sun, looks around.

He sat in the middle of an epic desert with sand dunes stretching as far as he could see in every direction. A black emergency chute blows in the wind behind him. The scattered debris of his part of the stolen TIE fighter lie strewn all about him, a lot of it smoking.

Then he sees over distant dunes, rising black smoke. He scrambled to his feet and quickly began moving toward it, calling out: "Poe, POE!" with increasing desperation.

Finn scrambled over the massive dune towards the tie fighter's final resting place. Smoke and fire burn and smoulder everywhere around the small crater made in the soft sand. Small debris once again lies scattered around it. Suddenly he thought he saw Poe's arm sticking out of the sand beneath the wreckage. Leaping forward with more speed and urgency then he ever had done before, he pulls on it, but it's just Poe's jacket. He threw it off and tries to find a way in to the shattered remains of the cockpit or even just a way to look inside, but the smoke and heat make it impossible.

Suddenly the ship begins to sink, like it's being consumed into quicksand or possibly a sarlacc pit. Before Finn can question which scenario would be worse he realises that he is slipping in too.

It becomes clear fast that if Finn doesn't get away, he's gonna get sucked in too! After a moment of hesitating, Finn decides that there is nothing he can do for Poe anymore and so Finn scampers away from the TIE fighter as it sinks into the sand.

As Finn turns away from the remains of the TIE and what he can only assume is Poe's eternal resting place. He suddenly takes stock of his own situation. In front of him are endless sand dunes. Behind him are more sand dunes. To the left and the right, in every conceivable direction there is nothing but endless, burning, life choking sand.

He tries to decide which direction has the best chance of leading to some form of civilisation. He knows he is nowhere near the new First Order outpost that used to be Tekka's village. And even if he had been, he would have only had a blaster bolt to the head to expect in that place.

Eventually deciding that each direction looked equally hopeless, Finn simply chose one at random, and started walking.