I do not own Star Wars or its characters. It will be updated with its sister story 'Lonely Dyad'. Please enjoy and leave a review.
Chapter Three
Poe didn't believe in miracles. He'd seen and done too many things to believe them possible, but he was beginning to believe this might be one. Just after he failed his mission and given up hope of making it out alive, a stormtrooper appears and offers to help him escape. Poe did not want to get his hopes up until they were off the destroyer, but it was hard not to. This was his chance to redeem himself, and stop the First Order in its tracks.
"Okay stay calm, stay calm." The trooper whispers.
"I am calm." Poe retorts reassuringly.
"I'm talking to myself." The trooper clarifies.
Poe takes a quick side glance at the trooper. Hard to believe this is the same guy who just broke him out of prison only minutes ago. Perhaps Poe was better off waiting for execution. Passing by group after group of troopers, Poe could feel his anxiety rising. He could see columns of TIE-fighters from the corner of his eyes. If he made a run for them, he could make it before being shot.
"Not yet. Now, go!" The trooper quietly announced, shoving Poe towards the fighters.
Poe didn't hesitate to sprint towards a column of fighters. As he climbed up the ladder, he was slightly amazed that no one was trying to stop him. Dropping into the cockpit Poe shakes off his jacket, feeling a thrill of excitement. As he preps the fighter, Poe heard someone drop in behind him. Looking over his shoulder, Poe saw his new stormtrooper pal dropping his helmet and blaster onto the floor.
"Can you shoot?" Poe asks.
"Blasters I can." The trooper replies.
"It's the same principle. Use the toggle on the left to switch between missiles, cannons, and mag pulses. Use the sight on the right to aim. Trigger is to fire." Poe quickly informs him.
With the engines on and running, Poe pulls on the control rod. They slowly start to lift and turn to exit. As Poe is about to push the rod down, something jerks them back. No no no no no. Poe quickly tries every button and switch he didn't think was important, hoping one will unhook the cable. He cringes at the sounds of explosions coming from behind. Hopefully, that means they can't send fighters after us. Poe flicks a switch and suddenly they were flying! With a slight nudge they were turned around fast.
"Listen up! We gotta take out as many of these cannons as we can, or we're not gonna make it very far." Poe tells the trooper.
As Poe slides the fighter between cannon blasts, his new partner destroys cannon after cannon. Poe hears the trooper whooping at each successful hit. Confidence surges within his chest. For someone who just learned to shoot he's not half bad.
"My name's Poe, Poe Dameron by the way!" Poe yells.
"FN-2187!" The trooper yells back.
"F-what?" Poe exclaims.
"That's the only name they ever gave me." The trooper replies.
"That's not a name, that's a designation! A name is like . . ." Poe quickly wracks his brain. "Finn! How about Finn?"
"Finn. Yeah, I like it!" Finn answers.
Poe chuckles at Finn's excitement over his name. Then again, it wasn't everyday that someone wakes up from their conditioning and immediately defects. Now all that's left is to back down to Jakku and pick up BB-8. Hang on buddy, I'm coming. As Finn takes out the last cannon, Poe turns the fighter towards the planet.
"Where are we going?" Finn asks in a concerned tone.
"Back to Jakku, I've got to pick up my droid." Poe answers.
"What? A droid? No, we have got to get out of this system as fast as possible!" Finn screams.
"I'm not leaving this system without that droid, alright? He's a one of kind BB unit, orange and white, and he's got map to Skywalker inside of him!" Poe argues.
"What?" Finn shrieks. Poe opens his mouth to calm Finn down but sees missiles streaming towards them.
"Hang on! It's about to get rough."
Armitage Hux prides himself on being the man he is today. Despite all the assurances from his youth, Hux worked hard to reach his position of general. Especially after Kylo Ren showed up. Hux didn't think much of Ren when he first heard of him fourteen years ago, but then Ren proved himself to be quite ambitious. Soon enough, the two of them were equal in rank. Which made Hux seethe with hate. Despite his grievances on the matter, Hux held his tongue. After all, it was Snoke's preference to have a force-sensitive successor. And perhaps things will change with time.
For now, Hux had to figure out why a stormtrooper with no history of non-conformity would suddenly defect. When Kylo Ren identified which trooper was the one who defected, Hux knew Ren wouldn't reveal anymore unless Hux begged him. Hux himself would rather defect then ask Kylo Ren for anything, much less help. Which is why he's getting his report on FN-2187 from Captain Phasma herself. Unfortunately, Phasma's report did not reveal much. Prior to the raid on Tuanul village, FN-2187 was assigned to sanitation. Many troopers that are transferred to active combat from a menial position have difficulty adjusting and accept reconditioning with little resistance. FN-2187's record was perfect with no inclination to defect, so why did he defect in such a dramatic way? Ren probably knows the answer to that question.
"Sir! They've been a hit!" Screams a technician.
"Destroyed?" He asks approaching the terminal.
"Negative, only disabled. They were headed back to Jakku and our fighters have projected a crash in the Goazon Badlands." The technician replies.
"They were going back for the droid. Send a squad to the wreckage!" Kylo Ren demands, stalking his way up the bridge. Hux quickly follows after him.
"Supreme leader Snoke was explicit!" Hux screams in a hushed tone. "Capture the if we can, but destroy it if we must!"
"Well, how capable are your soldiers, General? They're certainly capable enough to commit treason." Ren insinuates.
"I won't have you questioning my methods! My men are exceptionally trained, programmed from birth!" Hux retaliates.
"Then they should have no problem retrieving the droid unharmed!" Ren snaps.
Hux can't help but smirk at Ren's lack of composure. Not many people knew the truth about Ren's past. Where he came from, or who his family was? Hux is one of the few that know the truth about Ren's past and where he came from. More specifically who he came from. It's laughable how hard Ren tries to emulate Darth Vader, and prove to Snoke how much he eschews all things Jedi. Even now, ever since they learned that the resistance found the last piece of the map to Skywalker, Ren almost acts as though his position in the First Order is at risk. Hux withheld making the insinuation before, perhaps now is the time to stop.
"Careful Ren." Hux coyly croons. "That your personal interest doesn't interfere with orders from Supreme Leader Snoke."
"I want. That. Map. For your sake, I hope you get it." Ren concludes, storming away from Hux.
Hux let out a small scoff. The man was making this far too personal. If Ren keeps up with this obsession, he's going to make plenty of mistakes. When that happens, Snoke will realize his misplaced trust in Ren and find someone more suitable to take his place. Yes, it's only a matter of time, all I need to do is keep my composure and be patient.
Walking through the various stands, Dancer noticed five separate individuals took notice of BB-8. Two of them immediately ran off. She was tempted to rest her hand on her blaster, but doing that would alert others to the fact that she's armed. In any given situation, especially when going to a meeting, she would rather have an unseen advantage in case things went south. From what she's heard about Unkar Plutt, the Falcon's current owner, his preferred method of business is to cheat out of a profit then possibly send his goons to beat you up and take whatever you have left. Reaching Unkar's concession stand, she saw the crolute behind the counter nod to someone off to the side before finishing his transaction.
"Keep close, alright?" She murmurs to BB-8.
The droid gives an approving beep before practically rolling into her legs. The crolute slams down the window gate of his stand and exits from the back. She follows after him towards a pair of benches, BB-8 right at her heels. Plutt sits down on one bench then offers the other bench to her. As she sits down, she notices some one handing him a smoking pipe.
"Unkar Plutt. I've heard you want to do business with me." He introduces.
"Yes, I'm here on behalf of my client. They've commissioned me to procure a starship you have in your possession. Specifically, the Corellian YT model freighter." Dancer explains.
"Ah! Yes, that one is quite special. I would be hard-pressed to willingly give it up." Plutt answers.
"Precisely, how much would it take for you to relinquish it?" Dancer inquires.
"That's quite the droid you have there." Plutt remarks after a breath, gesturing at BB-8.
"He's part of a separate transaction. You haven't answered my question." Dancer admonishes.
"Money is a useless currency in these parts. You'd find yourself in more progressive negotiations if you offered something more useful like . . . a droid for instance." Plutt suggests.
"I see. Well then, I will take your suggestion into consideration and come back when I have something more substantial to offer." Dancer announces, standing up.
She took a brief second to observe Plutt's face before walking away. His face remained impassive, but she knew he was annoyed about Dancer refusing to hand over BB-8. She sped up her pace, almost running away from the concession stand. BB-8 was having a hard keeping pace with her, he beeps loudly for her to slow down. She quickly ducks behind the curtain of an empty stand and BB-8 rolls to a stop right in front of her.
"Brrroo-ba-ba-beep-beep-bo?"
"What? No!" Dancer screams in a quiet voice. "I would never hand over a droid to a parts ripper like him! Where would you get an idea that I would do such a thing?"
"Breee-ba-bo-beep?"
"Oh that's easy! We just come up with a plan to steal it from him." Dancer answers, smiling at BB-8's little dance of excitement.
