Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. I only own my own OC's.
Chapter 3: Chewie… we're home
On the bridge of the Star Destroyer Finalizer, General Hux was being confronted by Kylo Ren, as she was doubting about the capability of the First Order Stormtroopers, now that it was clear that after Finn's (formally FN-2187) recent desertion they can not only just betray the First Order, but most likely to her, also defile orders.
Hux walked along with her, telling that his other troopers won't go against their orders "My orders to my men were explicit. Capture the droid if we can, only destroy it if we must."
"How capable are your soldiers, General?" Kylo Ren asked in a way that she now barely could trust any of Hux's methods.
Hux was not happy of how Kylo Ren confronted him "I won't have you question my methods."
"Well, they are obviously skilled at committing high treason. Perhaps I should contact my master and tell him that he should consider using a clone army instead of these men you call soldiers."
Hux immediately faced Kylo Ren as they stopped, telling her how well capable his men are "My men are exceptionally trained. Programmed from birth."
"Then they should have no problem retrieving the droid! In one piece." Kylo Ren fired back.
Hux then told her very serious "Careful, Ren, that your personal interest not interfere with orders from Leader Snoke."
Kylo Ren did not liked Hux's tone and looked at him very fierce, despite it was not to be seen because of her mask, but still made General Hux very nervous "My master wants that map, General. So for your sake, I suggest you get it. And trust me, my master… has a very thin temper when it comes to failure. And so do I."
Kylo Ren left, leaving General Hux, who was still very nervous and then went to a few of his officers to be sure that their men will get the droid.
On Jakku, at Niima Outpost (some time before Finn and Poe arrived)
Ben arrived at the entrance of Niima Outpost, with BB-8 inside one of the nets at the side of his speeder. He and the droid had been searching for a while at the Starship Graveyard for parts. Ben had been searching for some 'special parts' that he heard from Trina were now worth a lot at Unkar Plott's shop.
BB-8 had been worried about his owner, Poe wouldn't come back for him, even though he didn't say his name to Ben as it was still classified.
Ben tried to ensure the droid that the person BB-8 is waiting for will show up, as he carefully dropped BB-8 on the ground "Don't give up hope. He still might show up. Whoever it is you're waiting for. Classified." he took the bag over his shoulder as he stopped for a moment and confessed "Trust me, I know all about waiting…"
BB-8 beeped, asking Ben as they walked into Niima Outpost.
"Honestly… I don't know." Ben answered.
This didn't made much sense to BB-8, so he beeped asking "You don't know? What do you mean you don't know who you're waiting for?"
Ben sighed deep as he stopped and looked at BB-8, explaining "Look, to make a long story short… I can't remember anything before 3 years ago. And I'm not joking. I don't know how the hell I got on Jakku, who I was and where I came from. All I remember is my name."
"You mean… amnesia?" BB-8 asked while beeping.
Ben nodded "Yeah. Amnesia. But, sometimes I remember… small stuff, that don't make much sense…. But I'll figure it out. One day." he said as he was sure that one day he'll figure out who he really was and why he got stranded on Jakku "Come on." Ben said to BB-8 to come with him. BB-8 followed Ben, to Unkar Plott's shop.
The line wasn't that long, as it was only midday. When it was Ben's turn, he presented the parts he had collected and placed them on the counter for Unkar Plott to check. The 'blobfish' examined the parts and said "These 5 pieces are worth…. Let me see here…. One half portion." he coldly said and placed only a half portion on the counter.
Ben couldn't believe he was only get a half portion from Unkar, so he said with a bit of angry in his voice "Hold on a second! Yesterday these parts were worth a half portion each."
"What about the droid?" Unkar asked as he noticed the astromech droid, BB-8. Ben raised an eyebrow as he looked at BB-8, and the droid looked back at Ben
"What about him?" Ben asked.
Unkar then said as he took a lot of portions out of his stack "I'll pay for him..." as he put them all on the counter, what were dozens he said "… Sixty portions!" all the other scavengers behind Ben in the line gasped and stared with wide eyes as he was get so much portions from Unkar for the droid.
Even though it was a lot of food, it didn't felt right to Ben. He looked down at BB-8 for a moment, and then back at Unkar with a serious look on his face as Ben only took the half portion for the parts "The droid is not for sale." he left while signaling BB-8 to follow him.
All the other scavengers just stared at Ben, surprised as how he just simply declined such a huge offer from Unkar.
The 'blobfish' became angry that Ben refused to sell the advanced astromech droid to him. As he threw the portions back in his stack, he took a communicator out of his pocket, contacting one of his goons "Follow the 'stranger' and get that droid."
A few minutes later…
Poe and Finn ran into Niima outpost, desperately looking for water "Water. Water." Finn asked a few around, but all shook their heads.
"No water." one said.
While Poe searched a different section, Finn ran to other way while keep asking for water, what started to annoy some salesmen "Hey, watch where you're going!"
Finn stopped for a moment to catch his breath. But then heard something like water. He turned around and saw a big animal drinking water from a small pool. Without a second thought, Finn ran to the pool and drank of the water. It tasted awful because it was only for animals, but he didn't care as he was nearly dehydrated.
At that same time, Ben walked with BB-8 back to his speeder, but was stopped by another scavenger, telling how he admired his droid. But before Ben could say something, he saw another scavenger trying to grab BB-8 with a bag "Hey! Let go of him!" and kicked the scavenger away, while the other grabbed Ben from behind. Ben headbutted him backwards while swinging with his quarterstaff, hitting the scavenger in his face.
Finn was pushed back by the animal to get away from his drinking pool, but then heard some fighting going on. He looked and saw a black haired man fighting two other scavengers off with his quarterstaff. Finn realized that he was being robbed and tried to come to his aid "Hey!"
But before he could get to them, Ben knocked the 2 scavengers out with a few more hits from his fists or his quarterstaff. Finn stopped, as his rescue attempt wasn't needed.
But then as Ben pulled the bag away from BB-8, Finn recognized the droid as it had the same orange and white color as Poe told him looked like.
As Ben explained to BB-8 that those scavengers who tried to grab him were goons, working for Unkar, Finn approached a bit closer to be sure if it was the same droid that Poe talked about.
When BB-8 saw Poe, he saw that he was wearing Poe's jacket and beeped to Ben that that guy had his master's jacket "Who?" Ben asked.
BB-8 looked at where Finn stood "That guy! He stole my master's jacket!"
"Him?"
"Yes!" BB-8 beeped.
Ben ran to Finn to get some answers out of him. Finn, realizing that that guy was after him ran away, while pushing some people out of the way.
Poe, who had found some clean water, noticed that Finn was running away from someone. He was not going to let anything happen to Finn after he'd risked his life to free him. He draw a stun gun that he found in the TIE-Fighter before he and Finn crashed and pursued.
Finn kept running till he was in some market place. He looked back while thinking he lost him, but was met by a fierce uppercut from Ben's quarter staff and was knocked to the ground! Ben pointed his staff to Finn's face, making sure he won't try to run "What's your hurry, thief?"
Finn grunted in pain but then asked "What? Thief?" BB-8 joined Ben and shocked Finn in his leg, hurting him "Ouch! Hey, what?!"
"The jacket. This droid says you stole it-"
But then Ben heard a charging gun behind his head. It was Poe who aimed at him saying very serious "Let go of my friend or there gonna be problems."
BB-8 recognized that voice. He looked at was beeping cheering as he saw it was Poe.
Poe looked and saw BB-8 "BB-8? BB-8!" Poe overjoyed as he hugged his droid "Old buddy! I can't believe you're here!" BB-8 was also overjoyed to see his master/friend again.
Ben raised an eyebrow and asked while lowering his quarter staff "He belongs to you?"
Poe nodded "You sure he is! Me and BB-8 have been through a lot together, didn't we pall?!"
Ben then looked at Finn and offered his hand to helm him back up "Sorry, I thought you stole that jacket."
Finn took Ben's hand and stood up, while whipping away sand of his back while he shook his head "It's alright."
Then Poe heard from BB-8 that Ben had been helping him since yesterday. Poe was glad that someone had saved his droid and wanted to thank him "BB-8 says you helped him?"
Ben nodded "Yes. Some scavengers on this planet really don't have a heart." Ben then asked them "So, you both are with the Resistance?"
Poe looked around him before he answered "Yes. We are." he looked at Finn, who glanced first with a questioning look. But then nodded.
"Obviously. Yes. I am. We're with the Resistance, yeah." but then Finn whispered as he didn't want to caught any attention "We are with the Resistance."
Ben nodded with a small smile "I always wanted to meet people from the Resistance."
Finn shrugged "Well, this is what we look like. Some of us. Others look different."
Poe cleared his throat as Finn had said enough. Finn nodded.
BB-8 then beeped, asking Poe "Who's this guy whoes wearing your jacket, Poe?"
Poe smiled at his droid and stated "This is Finn. He helped me to escape." BB-8 understood.
Then Poe asked Ben "Do you know if there are any ships around here? We need to bring my droid back to our base."
Finn accidently added "Apparently he has a map that leads to Luke Skywalker…"
Poe cleared his throat again to Finn. The deserted Stormtrooper realized that he shouldn't have opened his mouth.
Ben was surprised that BB-8 has a map that leads to the legendary Luke Skywalker "To Luke Skywalker? I thought he was a myth?"
Before Poe tried to come with an excuse as he and Finn hadn't time for this, BB-8 beeped loudly "Guys! We got company!"
Both Ben and Poe checked and saw 2 Stormtroopers, asking a local if he'd seen an orange-white colored astromech droid. The man nodded and pointed to where he saw the droid. The Stormtroopers loaded their blasters and ran to where Poe, Finn, Ben and BB-8 stood.
Poe fired with his stun gun but missed, making the Stormtroopers fire back!
They all ran away "Let's get out of here!" Finn yelled.
"Come on, BB-8!" Poe said to his droid friend. Ben went with them too, with blaster shots fired at them, sending the locals to run away in panic.
Poe fired back a few times, hitting one Stormtrooper. Ben ran forward to help them "This way!"
As the other Stormtrooper helped his comrade who was stunned, he used his communicator to warn his superiors "Sir! Fugitives are armed and dangerous! We need an air strike, now!"
When Ben lead Finn, Poe and BB-8 into a tent to hide, he tried to catch his breath "They were shooting on me as well."
Poe nodded as he checked his stun gun "Yeah. They saw you with us. You're marked."
Ben rolled his eyes "Well, thanks for that."
Finn, who was searching for a blaster said frustrated "Hey, I'm not the one who chased you down with a stick!" he then looked at Poe and asked "Do you have another blaster, Poe!?"
Poe shook his head "This is the only one I have!"
Finn continued searching for a weapon "Does anyone have blasters around here?!"
Poe checked on BB-8 "You okay, buddy?"
BB-8 beeped that he was okay.
But then, Poe heard something "Shhh! Do you hear that?" as all four listened carefully, they heard the sounds of TIE-Fighers coming in!
Ben was feeling something, that they need to get out, NOW! "Come on!" he dragged Poe and Finn out of the tent, just in time before a TIE-fighter destroyed the tent, sending all three, including BB-8 far back cause of the shock!
Ben and Poe raised themselves, as BB-8 rolled over to Poe. But both saw that Finn lied on the ground motionless. Poe went to him and shacked him "Hey! Finn!" Finn opened his eyes and sat straight as he couched "You okay, Finn?" Poe asked. Finn nodded.
Ben knew that they had to get out of here "Come on. I can bring you guys to a ship!" both nodded as Poe helped Finn getting back up.
"This way! Follow me!" Ben yelled as all four tried to escape Niima outpost, as explosions went off around them as the two TIE-Fighters destroyed everything that moved! They went through the exit, running to a quad-jumper, with BB-8 rolling fast behind them. Ben pointed to where he leaded them "There! We might outrun them in that quad-jumper! Is one of you a pilot? 'Cause I need a co-pilot!"
"I'm the best pilot in the Resistance!" Poe said.
Ben nodded "Okay, then we'll make it."
Finn looked to their left and saw an old freighter and asked quickly if they could take that one instead "What about that ship?"
Ben shook his head that that ship wouldn't help them "That one's garbage!"
But as they were about to get close to the quad-jumper, a TIE-Fighter destroyed it!
All four stopped. Seeing no other option, Ben said that they had no choice but to use the old freighter "The garbage will do."
They all ran to the freighter, with BB-8 behind them.
When they entered it through the ramp, Ben pointed to where the gunner position was "Gunner position is down there!"
Finn nodded and went down to the gunner position, while Ben and Poe ran to the cockpit. Finn asked Ben before he went down "You ever fly this thing?!"
"No! This ship hasn't flown in years!"
Poe didn't mind as he was capable to fly anything "It'll have to do! Let's get out of here." he said as he was about to start the ship.
Ben sat at the pilot seat, putting on some controls as he said under his breath "I can do this. I can do this."
This made Poe wander if this guy was capable to fly "Hey! You sure you can fly?"
Ben instantly nodded "I can! In simulations at least…"
Poe was unsure if he was able to fly, but as they had no time left, they took off.
Ben accidently bounced with the freighter up and down a few times, but then slowly regained controls over it.
Unkar ran outside, seeing one of his ships leaving. He angrily yelled to whoever was stealing it "HEY! THAT'S MINE!"
As the freighter gained altitude, Finn contacted them using his headset "Wait! Stay low, stay low!"
"What?" Ben asked
"You gotta stay low! Trust me, it confuses their tracking!"
Ben nodded as Poe said to BB-8 at the back "BB-8, hold on!"
BB-8 beeped that he will, while Ben was about to go low "Hang on! I'm going low!"
With the controls in his hands, he performed a somersault with amazing speed and then a barrel roll, to avoid the TIE-Fighters from hitting them. Poe had not expect that this 'garbage freighter' could do such maneuvers "Whoa… this old baby can really move!"
The TIE-Fighters went on the pursuit and fired at the freighter many times, hitting them a few times. Poe called back to Finn as he activated the shields "Finn! You gotta fire back at them, or we are not gonna get very far!"
"I'm working on it!"
Finn tried to activated the blasters, while he was trying to get a hang of it in the gunner position as it was moving really fast. But soon was able to, and aimed at the Fighters, firing back!
As they were not gonna lose the two TIE-Fighters any time soon, Poe said to Ben "We need cover, quick!"
Ben nodded as they were heading to the Starship graveyard "Okay, we're about to get some! I hope…" the last words came under his breath, hoping that the crashed Starships would provide some cover for them.
Ben tried really hard to stay low from the TIE-Fighters, while maneuvering fast around the crashed Starships. After being hit a few times, Ben tried something different, by flying to the left very fast, losing one TIE-Fighter but still with the other behind them.
Finn grew frustrated as he wasn't able to hit that fighter "Come on, come on!" he fired and shot the TIE-Fighter down, sending it crashing in the desert sands!
"Nice shot, Finn!" Poe called to him.
Finn grew a little smile at that point, feeling more confident "I'm getting pretty good at this."
With the other TIE-Fighter closing in, Finn tried all he can to shoot it, while Ben tried all he could to lose him. Then with a few shots, the TIE-Fighter shot Poe's cannon, making it stuck, unable to move into any position "The cannon's stuck in forward position. I can't move it. You gotta lose him!" Finn said to Ben and Poe.
Poe looked at Ben, who had to think of something fast. Ben looked at another crashed Imperial Star Destroyer and knew what he had to do and said to Poe and Finn "Get ready!"
"Okay, for what?" Finn asked.
"Trust me on this!" Ben said as he made a sharp turn and went into the Star Destroyer's engine, with the TIE-Fighter following them and kept shooting at them.
Poe thought that the scavenger was crazy "Are you insane?! Are we really doing this?!"
Ben didn't listen as he flew right along some debris, hoping to let it hit the TIE-Fighter, but was as maneuverable as the freighter and avoided all the debris while keeping shooting at them. Just as the TIE-Fighter had a clear shot to finish them, Ben quickly made a sharp right and got out of the Star Destroyer. Ben then made another summersault while turning off the engines, making for Finn a clear shot. He took it and destroyed the last TIE-Fighter! Ben quickly activated the engines and flew away.
Finn cheered in victory "Wow!"
As their ship left Jakku's orbit, Poe patted on Ben's shoulder "Those were some awesome moves right there. Nice work."
Ben nodded "Thanks…" but felt more relieved that that was finally over.
Finn joined them in the cockpit "Now that was some flying!"
Poe agreed "You bet it was. How did you do that?" Poe asked Ben.
Ben just shook his head "I don't know."
"And no one trained you?" Finn asked with amaze.
Ben answered honestly "I flew some simulations, but I never flew… at least, I think I had."
"We'll you're a naturel!" Poe said to Ben and then to Finn "That also some great shots out there, Finn! You got him with one blast!"
"If it wasn't for him." Finn said meaning Benn who he patted on the shoulder.
As they all calmed down, Poe went to BB-8 to see if he was okay "You okay, buddy?"
BB-8 beeped, saying "Yeah, I've been worse."
Poe smiled and rubbed BB-8's head as he then stood up and then introduced himself to Ben "Sorry, I didn't introduce myself yet. I'm Poe. Poe Dameron. What's yours?"
"I'm Ben." Both man shake hands. Then Ben asked Finn "Finn, was it?" he nodded.
Just as Finn wanted to ask Ben something, all heard some noise coming from behind. All saw smoke coming from the floor. Ben knew what to do and ran to open the floor hatch "Help me with this. Quick!"
Finn and Poe helped him to open the hatch as Finn asked "What's going on?"
"A leak! I can fix that." Ben said as he went down below to fix it.
On the Star Destroyer Finalizer, at that same moment…
Word had reached the command center that their soldiers were unsuccessful to capture BB-8. The few officers that had received the message all exchanged looks at each other. One of them had to report this to Kylo Ren. All were scared as they knew how Kylo Ren reacted towards failure and would unleash a terrible rage towards all who failed her. After sharing some looks, Lieutenant Mitaka volunteered to tell the news to Kylo Ren.
He walked to her, who was watching something on a screen. Fear was starting to overwhelm Mitaka as he was sure to be killed instantly before he would be able to finish the report, but with the little courage that he gathered he gulped and removed his hat as he told the news "Ma'am, we were unable to acquire the droid on Jakku."
Kylo Ren slowly turned her face to the Lieutenant, as her anger build up inside her. Mitaka tried to keep himself together, as he explained how BB-8 was able to avoid capture "It… escaped capture aboard a stolen Corellian YT model freighter."
This raised some questions for Kylo Ren. With the little control that she still had, she asked "The droid… stole a freighter?"
Mitaka shook his head "Not exactly, ma'am. It had help" The anger almost reached a peaking point in Kylo Ren as the Lieutenant kept explaining "We have no confirmation… but… we believe that Poe Dameron and FN-2187 may have helped in the escape."
The walls started to crack and the devices around them squashed under their own weight, as Kylo Ren released her anger using her powers by only grip with one hand. Mitaka was frightened, that this was only the start of unleashing her fury.
Kylo Ren breathed heavily through her nostrils cause of her anger. But after some time, she released her grip and lowered her hand "Anything else?" she asked calmly.
Lieutenant Mitaka then spoke that there was indeed something more "The three were… accompanied by a man."
Instantly, Kylo Ren force gripped him in the air and pulled him to her, holding the Lieutenant tight by the throat as her anger rose! She demanded to know what man he was talking about "What man?"
Back with Ben, Finn, Poe and BB-8…
Ben checked what was causing the leak while a small alarm went off. He looked closely and knew what the problem was. His head peaked out of the hatch and said "It's the motivator." he then pointed to a box that was next to Finn "Grab me a Harris wrench, check in there."
Finn searched the box fast as Poe asked "Well, how bad is it, Ben?"
"If we wanna live, not good." Ben answered.
While Finn still looked for the Harris wrench, he said that they need to get the hell out of this system, for the First Order is hunting for them "They're hunting for us now. We gotta get out of this system!"
Ben peaked his head out again and said "Well, if you guys want me to take you to your base, I need to know the location!"
Poe ensured Ben that that won't be a problem "Don't worry, I know the location of our base."
Finn felt relieved as he grabbed a wrench and showed it to Ben "This?" he nodded. Finn quickly gave it to Ben, who went back into the hatch to fix the leak.
Poe then asked Finn if he could help the Resistance in any way, but silently so that Ben won't hear them "Finn, I know this is too much to ask since you saved my life, but when get to our base, you need to tell us anything useful that we can use against the First Order."
However, Finn immediately shook his head while also silently speaking "Look Poe, I'm just trying to get away from the First Order, not to join the Resistance. Besides, I'm no good to you guys."
"Are you kidding me, Finn?! You were a Stormtrooper. And we can use all the help we can get, including yours!"
BB-8 was shocked to hear that Finn was a Stormtrooper and beeped asking to Poe "He's a Stormtrooper?!"
Poe hushed BB-8 that he should be quite so that Ben won't hear it "Shhh! Finn was a Stormtrooper, but he helped me escape. Don't worry, BB-8, we can trust him."
Just then Ben head peaked out "Pilex driver, hurry." Finn nodded and looked for it while Ben asked Poe "So where's your base?"
Finn and BB-8 looked at Poe waiting to answer his question. Even though Poe could trust Finn, he wasn't sure they could trust Ben yet as they just met. But seeing that he too risked his life to safe them, he answerd "Oh! Uhh… the Ileenium system."
"The Ileenium system?" Ben asked surprised that their base was there.
Finn just went along with it and nodded "Yes, the Ileenium system! That's the one. Get us there as fast as you can." Finn said while tossing over the Pilex driver, that Ben caught and used it for the leak.
Then Finn looked at Poe and asked while whispering "Your base is at Ileenium?!" Poe gave a nod but placed his index finger on his mouth "Not a word to anyone else, okay?" Finn gave nod in understanding.
Poe then told Ben "Just drop us at Panima Terminal, we can get a ship there to Ileenium."
"Why?" Ben asked as he peaked out of the hatch again.
Poe explained why "Look, the First Order is hunting us. They know that we are on this ship. So if you take us to Ileenium, they know where our base is!"
Ben thought about that and knew that Poe had a point "That makes sense." and went back into the hatch, but then peaked back and asked "I need the bonding tape, hurry!"
Finn looked for it as Poe asked Ben "What about you, Ben? Why don't you come with us?"
Ben wasn't sure firsf "I… I don't know, maybe but-" he stopped as Finn held something that wasn't a bonding tape "It's not that one, Finn."
Finn took something else "No. The one I'm pointing tooz" Ben said as he pointed his finger to it.
Poe helped searching and held something "No."
Then Finn held something else "No!"
Ben was starting to get irritated "C'mon guys, if we don't patch it up, the propulsion tank will overflow and flood the ship with poisonous gas!"
BB-8 found it and pointed with his head to it. Poe was thankful and held the tape up "This?"
"Yes!" Poe tossed it to Ben, caught it and used it to fix the leak.
Not long after, the leak was sealed. Ben climbed out of the hatch and closed it "Right. That should do it."
But then, all the power all of the sudden went off. All four were surprised and got a bad feeling about this "That can't be good." Finn said.
Ben agreed and went with Poe to the cockpit "No, it can't be." Finn and BB-8 followed them.
Ben quickly checked the systems and saw what was wrong, making him worried "Someone's locked on to us. All controls are overridden."
Just then, they heard something large being opened above them. Finn climbed a bit up to check what it was. They saw some bright red light, like they were slowly moved into something "See anything?" Poe asked.
Finn's eyes went wide as he realized they were pulled into a larger freighter's hanger "Oh no." he sat down as he started to panic "It's the First Order."
Now Poe was became worried too "What do we do? There's got to be something-" then he realized that Ben said something about poisonous gas and asked Ben "You said poisonous gas."
Ben nodded "Yeah, but I fixed that."
"Can you unfix it?"
Ben and Finn glanced at each other for a moment, knowing what Poe had in mind as they all left the cockpit with some gas masks and headed to the same hatch to hide.
Finn went in first as Poe called BB-8 to go in too "Come on, BB-8."
Finn held BB-8 to put him down in the hatch, but he slipped and fell with his back in the hatch with BB-8 on top of him "You okay, Finn?" Poe asked as he went inside the hatch
"Yeah… I'm okay." Ben went in last, just as all the lights went on again. Ben quickly closed the hatch, while Finn tried to push BB-8 off of him "BB-8, get off of me!."
After closing the hatch, Ben went to 'unfix' the leak "Do you think this will work on the Stormtroopers?"
Poe nodded, same as Finn who said "Yeah. Their masks filter only smoke, not toxins."
Ben understood and went on with unfixing the leak.
Poe and Finn peaked out with their heads, to see anyone coming. Both heard the ramp being opened from the outside and heard some loud footsteps, as whoever was out there, were trying to open the blast door of the freighter.
"Hurry!" Finn said to Ben.
"I'm hurrying."
Then when Poe and Finn heard that the blast door was unlocked, both headed back in the hatch, closing it, at the exact moment the blast door opened.
But out of the airlock didn't came any Stormtroopers. What came inside the freighter, was a middle aged old man, a Wookiee and a blue skin colored female Togruta with white-purple headtails. All three entered while armed with blasters.
While the Togruta lady still looked around for anyone that was inside the freighter, the middle aged old man was feeling glad to be back inside his own ship "Chewie… we're home."
"Ggrrraaaw!" the Wookiee growled happy.
"So, this is your ship, Han? The same one that was stolen from you?" the Togruta asked.
The man named Han nodded "It sure is."
While Han checked some discharged batteries, the Wookiee took his time to look around. The Togruta women then came in, as Han asked "Kala. Anything?"
The Togruta named, Kala pointed with her blaster to the closed hatch. Han and the Wookiee nodded.
The Wookiee opened the hatch whole Han and Kala pointed their blasters, aiming at Ben, Finn and Poe, who were shocked that they had found them, but also surprised that they weren't Stormtroopers "Where are the others? Where's the pilot?" Han asked to all three of them.
Ben answered "I'm the pilot."
The man looked at Ben, but then his eyes went wide as he realized who it was "Ben? Is that you?!"
Ben raised an eyebrow as he didn't know where this man knew him from. Both Poe and Finn were confused too. Kala couldn't believe that it was Ben.
The Wookiee growled loudly that it is Ben.
"Yes, we can see that." Kala said to the Wookiee, nicknamed Chewie
"Hold on, who are you people?" Ben asked.
But then Finn asked to Kala and Han that they could understand the Wookiee "You can understand that thing?"
"And 'that thing' can understand you too, so watch it." Han warned him not to insult his friend "Come on out of there." he said to all three of them.
When Ben climbed out first, the man went straight to him and hugged him tight with a wide smile "Ben! It is really you! I thought that you-"
Ben broke the hug instantly "Whoa whoa, hold on! Who are you?!"
This shocked Han, as he didn't recognized him. But then thought it was a joke "What? Is this some kind of a joke, or something? I'm your father!"
Both Poe and Finn were shocked as they exchanged looks. They were now even more confused.
But before Ben could say anything, Chewbacca went to him and hugged him too as he growled happy that Ben was back "GRAAAW! Graawwahh!"
Ben had no idea what was going on and tried to get loose of the Wookiee's grip. Once he did, Ben said very serious "Okay, look… I don't know who the hell you guys are but this is not funny, alright!"
Han knew that Ben wasn't joking and really didn't recognized him or Chewie "Ben…. It's me…" he then pointed to Chewie "…and this is Chewbacca. Surely you recognize Chewie?" seeing that he didn't, what saddened Han but grew some suspicion in Chewbacca, Han instead asked "Where'd you even get this ship?"
Poe answered that question "Niima Outpost."
"Jakku? That junkjard?" Han then looked back at Ben again "You were on Jakku this whole time?!"
Ben shrugged that he was.
Han frowned at Chewie "Told you we should have double-checked the Western Reaches!"
Chewie growled in a way he said 'How was I suppose to know that Ben was there!?'
Then Han asked how had his ship "Who had it? Ducain?"
Ben confessed "We… stole it. From Unkar Plut. He stole it from the Irving Boys, who stole it from Ducain."
"Who stole it from me!" Han said in a way that this freighter was really his. He then said proudly "Well, you can tell Unkar Plott that your father, Han Solo just stole back the Millennium Falcon for good."
That was where that name, Han Solo came familiar to Ben "Han Solo…?" he asked himself just as Poe asked totally surprised
"This is the Millennium Falcon?! Then… you're Han Solo! THE Han Solo?!" Poe asked while being overwhelmed by these revelations.
Han went to the cockpit as he said "I used to be."
"Han Solo, the Rebellion general?" Finn asked.
Poe shook his head "No, the smuggler."
Finn then asked Kala confused "Wasn't he a war hero?"
Kala shrugged "He used to be, but doesn't really talk about it."
Poe couldn't believe that they were on board the Millennium Falcon this whole time "We flew on the millennium falcon…! We freaking flew on the Millennium Falcon! This is the very ship that made the Kessel Run in less than fourteen parsecs!"
"TWELVE!" Han corrected Poe from the cockpit, as Han also rolled his eyes that someone even thought that his ship was doing the Kessel Run in fourteen parsecs "Tsk! Fourteen."
Poe then went to Ben and asked "Why didn't you told us that you're the son of Han Solo?! Who was missing for three years?!"
"Three years?" Ben asked confused, as Poe knew something about him. That Ben being stuck on Jakku for three years matched with that of Poe's and Han Solo's story. Was he really the son of Han Solo?
Finn wanted to have some clear answers from Ben of why he never told them that he was the son of Han Solo and now acts like he doesn't know him "Ben, what is going on here? Why didn't you told us anything and why don't you recognize Han Solo, your father?"
Ben was not in the mood to tell, but then BB-8 used his hooks to get out of the hatch and beeped, explaining "He's suffering from amnesia."
"Amnesia?" Poe asked confused.
BB-8 beeped on as rolled close to Poe "Yes, he explained it to me back on Niima Outpost. He told me that he was stuck on it for three years, not remembering anything, only his name."
Ben sighed deep, admitting that what BB-8 said is true "It's true. I don't remember anything what happened before three years ago."
Kala took a better look at Ben, seeing if he even recognized her. Ben asked confused "And you are?"
Seeing that he didn't remember her, she properly introduced herself "Kala Zyr. I've been working with your father for almost two years." she then went to check on Han in the cockpit, who just came out of it. Kala talked with Han along the way "Han. Your son isn't fooling around. He's suffering from amnesia."
Han looked at her determent "Well he's got to remember something." He then asked to all "I saw that some moof-milker put a compressor on the ignition line."
"Unkar Plutt did." Ben stated "I thought it was a mistake, too. Puts too much…"
"stress on the hyperdrive" Han said at the same moment as Ben.
Hen then said to Chewie "Chewie, throw these two and their droid in a pod. We'll drop them at the nearest inhabited planet, while I try to figure out what is causing my son having amnesia." Chewie roared that he was going to do it, while Kala thought it was not such a good idea to drop Finn, Poe and BB-8 on a nearby inhabited planet.
Poe immediately said to Han that they need his help "Wait, no. We need your help"
This surprised Han "My help?"
Poe nodded "My droid need to get back to my base as soon as possible!"
Han didn't seem to care about that, till Finn said "He's caring a map to Luke Skywalker."
Han stopped as soon he heard that name. Ben joined them and said "And I'm not gonna stand by while you drop them on some sort of wasteland far in outer space. I don't know if you're my father or not, but if you want me to help to remember, fine! But then help my friends to get back to their base."
Han turned himself, glancing at the others. He then looked at Ben, seeing that same seriousness that he knew from him before. He smiled as he nodded "Okay kid. I'll help them."
But then the all heard some loud sound from somewhere on the larger freighter, making Han worried "Don't tell me a Rathtar's gotten loose."
Kala went out of the Millennium Falcon fast to check out what was causing that noise "I'll go and check!"
With the others following her, Finn couldn't believe his hears that Han said that they had Rathtars "Wait, did you just say Rathtars?" Poe knew what those things were and was as much as worried as Finn and asked as they exited the Millennium Falcon and ran through the larger freighter hanger "You're not hauling Rathtars on this freighter, are you?"
Kala turned on a screen and said before Han could say "Yep. We're hauling Rathtars." She then saw on the screen what was really causing that noise. She saw a ship docking onto the freighter, a ship that she all knew too well who it belonged too "Oh no. It's the Guavian Death Gang. They must have tracked us from Nantoon." Han was not in the mood for a sweep talk with the Guavian Death Gang and signaled everyone to follow him.
While they walked through some hallways, Ben asked "What's a Rathtar?"
"They're big and they're dangerous." Han explained.
Then Finn asked Ben "You ever heard of the Trillia Massacre?"
"No." Ben answered.
"Good."
Poe just nodded as he'd heard about the Trillia Massacre.
"I got three of them going to King Prana" Han said as he'd captured three Rathtars for King Prana.
This raised some questions of how the hell they were able to put three Rathtars on board the freighter "You got three? How'd you get them on board?" Finn asked worriedly.
Kala sighed deep and confessed "Well… we used to have a bigger crew."
"Groaw.. grow…" Chewie groaned concerning, confirming what Kala said.
Han then opens a hatch to the floor "Get below deck and stay there until I say so and don't even think about taking the Falcon."
"What about BB-8?" Poe asked.
Kala ensured him that he will be safe with them "He stays with us, until we get rid of the gang then you can have him back. I promise."
But still, Finn was wandering where Han was keeping the Rathtars "What about the Rathtars… where are you keeping them?"
Just then, a large bam was heard behind Finn and Ben, shocking them, with both seeing a giant tongue slamming into the cargo container window!
"There's one." Han said as the beast that was slamming his tongue on the cargo container window was a Rathtar.
As Finn and Poe went into the hatch, Ben asked Han, who he still doubt was his father "What are you gonna do?"
Han smiled a bit to his son "Same thing I always do, son. Talk my way out of it."
"Graaw Gruaw.." Chewie groaned in a moaning way.
Han pointed his finger at Chewie "Yes, I do. Every time." Kala then gave Han a serious look, meaning that he 'doesn't' always talks his way out of trouble. Han did not liked that from Kala "Don't give me that look. I'm not paying you to do that."
Just as she wanted to say something back, they heard a portal being opened from the other hallway. Han quickly closed the hatch as he was gonna meet their 'visitors' together with Chewie, Kala and BB-8.
From the portal, five security soldiers in black-red uniforms with round-face helmets entered. They stopped and moved out of the way for their boss to walk in. The man stopped and looked very pissed at Han "Han Solo! You are a dead man."
Han smiled innocently and friendly "Bala-Tik. What's the problem?" Han asks, while BB-8 nervously rolls behind Kala.
The boss of Guavian Death Gang, Bala-Tik said, still very angry at Han Solo "The problem is we loaned you and your crew 50,000 for this job."
Meanwhile, below the floor, Finn was trying to see if he saw anything about the Guavian Death Gang "Can you see them?" Ben asked while whispering.
Finn shook his head "No."
"Let's check it out." Poe suggested and crawled further to have a better look.
Then, Bala-Tik said "I heard you also borrowed 50,000 from Kanjiklub."
Han just shrugged as he doesn't know anything about it "You know you can't trust those little freaks! How long we've known each other?"
Ben, Finn and Poe then arrived under the gang. Finn looked at them and said worriedly "They have blasters…"
Poe nodded as he could see that too "A lot of them."
"How long we've known each other?" Bala-Tik asked before he shook his head "Not long. We want our money back now!"
"You think hunting Rathtars is cheap? I spend that money." Han explained what he used all that money that he borrowed from the Guavian Death Gang.
"Kanjiklub wants their investment back, too" Bala-Tik added .
Han denied at that moment "I never made a deal with Kanjiklub!
"Tell that to Kanjiklub." Bala-Tik finished, just as another portal opened at the other side of the hallway, behind Han and his crew. From that portal, stepped out five Kanjiklub members, dressing in medieval bandito style.
Han smiles uncomfortably as he sees the Kanjiklub members, including their leader, Tasu Leech, out front. Han just tries to play it off, but Kala felt that this was gonna end bad "Tasu Leech. Good to see you."
Tasu-Leech was just as pissed off at Han as Bala-Tik and said in his alien language "Wrong again, Solo. It's over for you."
Ben, Finn and Poe heard the sounds of the other gang and start crawling back the other way to see them.
Han still tried to remain friendly and innocent "Boys! You're both gonna get what I promised! Have I ever not delivered for you before?"
"Yeah." Bala-Tik said.
"Twice!" Tasu Leech said also.
Han looked at Chewie and Kala, both nodded that Han hadn't delivered what he'd promised before.
Han realizes that both Bala-Tik and Tasu Leech were right, but tried to play along as if he couldn't remember "What was the second time?"
Both gangs had enough of this old play, so Bala-Tik said "Your game is old. There's no one in the galaxy left for you to swindle."
Tasu Leech nodded "Nowhere left for you to hide."
Then, Bala-Tik recognized BB-8 as it was the same droid that the First Order is looking for "That BB unit… the First Order is looking for one just like it. And three fugitives."
Ben, Finn and Poe suddenly stopped crawling, realizing that these two gangs knew that they were on board and hunted for them for a fair pay from the First Order.
Kala frowned at both gangs and slowly moved her hand to her blaster at her pocket.
Han was not going to let his own son falling in the hands of these gangs, or his friends. So pretended that he didn't knew anything about it "First I've heard of it."
The two gangs didn't buy it. The man next to Tasu Leech said to his gang members "Search the freighter!" all nodded and went further down the corridor, aiming a flashlight down below, searching for Ben, Finn and Poe.
The three man crawled off fast. Then Ben sees a junction box and got an idea "Wait wait wait. If we close the blast doors in that corridor, we can trap both gangs!"
"Close the blast doors from here?" Finn asked.
Ben nodded as he checked the controls "Resetting the fuses should do it." Poe looks hopeful, same as Finn as Ben reset a few fuses. But it did not close the blast doors. Changing the fuses caused some large containers to be open, letting the Rathtars escape!
The lights begin to go off one by one, making the gang to look around as all heard a fierce screech throughout the freighter. Han's and Kala's eyes went wide as they knew what that sound meant, and it wasn't good "… I got a bad feeling about this…" Han said quietly.
Ben looks paled as he knew what he did wrong "Oh no…"
"Oh no, what?" Poe asked
Ben looked scared at his "Wrong fuses."
Bala-Tik felt that Han was trying to trick them and called his men to kill him and his crew "Kill them! And take the droid!" his and the other gang aim their weapons, just as two Rathtars appear behind them!
One Rathtar immediately grabbed two Guavian Death gang members and eat them whole, making the others scream and run, with blasters firing at the Rathtars, but didn't had any effect! The other Rathtar grabbed one of the Kanjiklub members and eat him whole!
Han's eyes went wide as one Rathtar came for them. Kala dragged Han by his jacket "RUN!" with Chewie and BB-8 running after them.
They raced down the hall. A Kanjuklub member came around the corner. Han wasted no time and punches him knock-out with one blow and throws him toward the Rathter, who eat him whole.
Below the floor, Ben, Finn and Poe crawled hurriedly away, to get out of the space below "This was a mistake!" Finn called.
Ben agreed "Huge mistake!"
Tasu Leech sees another Rathtar down the corrider that he was in, as it eat his gang members, he tried to shoot it with his blaster, but the Rathtar was unable to get killed. He then runs off in fear, leaving his companions and coworking gang.
Ben opens a floor hatch and climbed out of it, with Finn and Poe joining him quickly. All three ran through several corridors, while Ben asked "What do these Rathtars look like?" as they passed another corner, all were shocked to see a Rathtar, battling some gang members before devouring them!
"They look like that!" Poe said while dragging Ben with him and Finn to escape these beasts.
As they raced through another few corridors, a Rathtar grabs Finn by his leg and pulls him away "FINN!" Poe screamed as he tried to help his friend, but couldn't as he could get grabbed as well. Ben followed him "Finn, hold on!"
"GET OFF! GET OFF OF ME!" Finn screamed as he struggled to get loose, while being dragged away by the Rathtar. Both tried to help him, but disappeared out of sight
"Finn!" Ben called around.
"FINN!" Poe called too as they heard him screaming. Just then, Ben was having another flashback.
Ben saw himself as a six year old boy, frightened as he covered his ears while Han Solo fired on some bounty hunters "Stay low, Ben!"
Young Ben nearly cried "Dad…" But then, Han got shot in the arm, making him fall down in front of Ben "DAD!" Five bounty hunters then appeared, ready to kill him and Han Solo. Young Ben then grew furious and then yelled with his arms stretched to them "AAAAAAAAAAAH!" sending all the bounty hunters flying away with his powers.
When the flashback stopped, Ben fell on the floor, feeling an enormous pain in his head "AAAAAAARGH!"
Poe was shocked and ran back to Ben to help him up "Ben? Ben, are you alright?! What's wrong?"
But before Ben could tell, they heard Finn's voice coming from a bank of video monitors just next to them "GET OFF OF ME! BEN! POE!"
Ben and Poe went to it and saw on the images how Finn was being dragged away by the Rathtar, while he kept struggling to get him off of him. But then Ben saw that the Rathtar crawled through an open blast door. Ben hold his hand on a button, he waits… and then slams the button, making the blast door closed on one of the Rathtar's tentacles, releasing Finn!
Finn scrambles up, desperately shaking the sticky tentacle off his leg "Get off! Get off!"
Ben and Poe arrive, both glad to see him alive "Finn!" Poe called.
While the adrenaline still rushed through his body, Finn panted by saying "It had me! But the door-!"
"You can thank Ben for that." Poe told.
Finn looked at Ben, thanking him for saving his life.
Ben nodded but then called that they should keep going "Come on! We need to get out of here!"
While they ran, Ben tried to make sense of that flashback that he just got a moment ago. His eyes went wide as why he saw a younger version of himself and Han Solo, calling him 'Dad'
He IS the son of Han Solo!
Han, Chewie, Kala and BB-8 take cover while Han and Kala were exchanging blaster fire with the remaining gang members at the other end of the hallway. They got to the door, leading to the hanger and the Millennium Falcon "I got the door. Cover me!" Han called to Chewie and Kala to cover him while he opens the door. Chewie groaned as he fires down the hallway with his bowcaster, and Kala shooting dozens of blaster shots at the gang members.
Just as Han worked on the controls, Chewie shot a gang member dead, but got shot in the shoulder by another! He goes down with a loud roar. Kala helped him "Chewie! You okay?" Kala then shoots the last gang member dead.
Han took a look at Chewie too. As he could see no other way to open the door, he grabs Chewie's bowcaster and shoots at the door controls, making the door open. Han was somehow impressed with the power of that bowcaster "Wow."
Kala holds the wounded chewie with one arm over her shoulder as they ran to the Falcon, meeting with Ben, Finn and Poe. Making Han relieved that his son made it out, as he was almost about to go back for him.
While BB-8 went quickly inside the Falcon, Han called to Poe "You, close the door behind us!" then he called to Finn "You help Kala to take care of Chewie!" Poe nodded and helped Chewie by caring him with his other arm over his shoulder and took him inside the ship, while Ben ran inside the ship. When everyone was inside, Poe closed the ramp and the blast door.
Han started to hitting some switches on in the cockpit. Ben entered it and sat at the co-pilot seat "Hold on! Unkar Plutt installed a fuel pump, too. If we don't prime that, we're not going anywhere."
Han was getting annoyed of what Unkar Plott did to HIS ship "I hate that guy." Just as Han was about to sit at the pilot seat, Poe entered the cockpit and sat in the pilot seat before Han could "Hey?! What do you think you're doing?!"
Poe pressed some buttons while saying "I'm the best pilot in the Resistance. I can fly anything." but he actually didn't want to miss his chance to fly the Millennium Falcon himself.
Han got angry and grabbed Poe by the collar and dragged him off the co-pilot seat "Not on my watch, Resistance-guy! My ship, my rules."
Poe held his hands up as he didn't meant to try making Han Solo angry at him "Okay okay…. Sorry."
Han sat at the pilot seat while instructing Poe "If you want to make yourself useful, sit back and bugle up."
Chewie meanwhile roared in pain, while Kala tried to calm him "GRRAAAUW Grraaaw!"
"It's okay, Chewie. We're gonna help you." Kala said. Finn nodded while searching for medical supplies, but was feeling nervous as he never did this before.
Back in the cockpit, Han pressed some buttons before take-off and said to Ben "Watch the thrust. We're going out of here at lightspeed."
This shocked both Ben and Poe "From inside the hanger? Is that even possible?" Ben asked.
"I never ask that question until after I've done it."
But then, a Rarhtar jumps onto the windshield of the cockpit chewing at the glass, making Ben and Poe scream out of shock. This made Han really annoyed "This is not how I thought this day was gonna go. Angle the shields." he told his son, Ben nodded and pressed a switch to turn on the shields. Then Han called back where Finn, Chewie and Kala were "Hang on back there!"
"No problem!" Finn called back while going through a first aid kit and Kala hanged on to something.
Just then, three gang members ran into the hanger and started shooting at the Falcon, hitting the fuel lines!
Han had to hurry! As he moved the ship into position he was about to jump into hyperspace "Come one baby, don't let me down!" he then hits the switch to jump into lightspeed… but nothing happened "What?!" Han asked shocked.
"Compressor." Ben corrected his father that Unkar Plutt put that thing in it. So Han pressed the switch again, firing the hyperdrive and made the Falcon jumping into lightspeed, while the Rathtar rips away cause of the enormous speed!
The blast made all the gang members flying backwards.
Bala-Tik then arrived at the hanger, seeing Han Solo fleeing on the Millennium Falcon. He grabs his communicator to make a call "Inform the First Order that Han Solo has the droid they want. And it's aboard the Millennium Falcon." When he broke contact, Bala-Tik furiously said in his mind 'Han Solo, when I get my hands on you I'll tear you to pieces!'
A little while later, on 'Starkiller Base' (formally the planet Ilum)…
General Hux and Kylo Ren were addressing Supreme Leader Snoke in a large dark assembly room, using a holographic communicator. Snoke towered over the General and his apprentice, while sitting on a throne, making him look all powerful and imitating. The humanoid man looked old, fragile and wounded. But nothing was what it seems, for the dark side of the Force is extremely powerful within him.
Hux had to explain their failure to his supreme commander, making him very disappointed and angry.
"The droid will soon be delivered to the Resistance…. Leading them to the last Jedi. If Skywalker returns, the new Jedi will rise." Snoke said while looking down to his minion, with a very angry face.
Hux was scared, but tried to ease the tension by taking full responsibility for their mistakes "Supreme Leader, I take full responsibility for th-"
"GENERAL!" Snoke yelled, making Hux quiet, fearing what Snoke was about to do to him. But lucky for him, Snoke now knew that their strategy must adapt "Our strategy must now change."
General Hux saw in this his change to use the massive weapon of Starkiller Base on their enemies "The weapon. It is ready. I believe the time has come to use it. We shall destroy the government that supports the Resistance, the Republic. Without their friends to protect them, the Resistance will be vulnerable and we will stop them before they reach Skywalker."
Snoke considered this for a moment, but then nodded "Go. Oversee preparations." the Supreme Leader ordered to prepare the weapon for use.
Hux proudly gave a nod "Yes, Supreme Leader."
Both him and Kylo Ren share a look on each other, with Hux smiling arrogantly to her while leaving, making Kylo Ren despise him 'Just you wait, General Hux. Your arrogance will one day be your downfall.' she mentally said as she wishes him dead already for failing her and her master so many times, while taking all the credit that others had done.
As she and her master were now alone, Snoke sat down back on his throne "There's been an awakening. Have you felt it, my apprentice?" he asked his apprentice, as he felt a disturbance in the Force.
Kylo Ren had felt it too and answered "Yes… my master."
"The droid we seek is aboard the Millennium Falcon. In the hands of Han Solo."
Kylo Ren ensured her master that it won't be long before they will get their hands on the droid, BB-8, holding the map to Luke Skywalker "It won't be long, master. Sooner or later we will claim the droid, and find Skywalker… and destroy him…"
Snoke felt pleased that his apprentice was eager to kill the last Jedi, but then said that there is something more that he'd sensed. Something that Kylo Ren had overlooked "There's something more. Among Han Solo's crew, there is someone from your past, Kylo Ren… Someone that was close to you… during your training under Skywalker. Kala Zyr."
Kylo Ren felt surprised that Kala Zyr, who was her best friend when she was still a Jedi, was still alive. But Kylo Ren remained subtle and said coldly "She means nothing to me."
Snoke was not so sure if his apprentice really meant that "Even you, master of the Knights of Ren, have never faced such a test. Even though you are… a Palpatine."
Kylo Ren faced her master, telling that she won't fail him in when she'll confront Kala Zyr "By the grace of your training, I will not be seduced back to the light!"
Snoke was not convinced and looked very serious to his apprentice before breaking contact "We shall see."
And that's all there is for the third chapter of 'Light and Darkness, bonded forever'!
I hope you guys enjoyed this one and that I did fine with the fighting and flying with the Millennium Falcon? It was a bit hard to see how Han Solo would react to see his son again after so long and is suffering from amnesia, but don't worry, as the story progresses, Ben will remember more. As for Kala Zyr, she's a character that my good friend, Wolvehulk thought off and is going to play a major role later in the story.
Anyway, like and review and I'll see you soon in the next chapter. And as always, may the Force be with you.