Finn has learned that falling asleep in a crowded lorry is not that difficult to accomplish. At first, he was still wary of the men sitting in the drivers' seats, pressing buttons, and casually chatting with each other. Solo switched to auto-pilot not long after they had taken off in Arlington, making himself comfortable in his seat while his companion kept an eye on the controls. Bebe is now asleep on a blanket thrown carelessly under the seats.
Rey, too, dozed off a while back, but not after bugging Solo with her constant questions as she could not help herself asking in excitement. The man was patient with her for the first five minutes. After five more he growled at her to get some rest and the girl did as she was told. It took some time to convince her that she would get the answers as soon as they got to his friend's place. Eventually, Rey settled down with a pleased smile, probably thinking about all the things she is going to inquire Han about once again.
While this was happening, Finn was observing the change in landscape. The ugly sandy terrain of Arizona was slowly disappearing, smoothly zooming past them. One by one, birches were transforming into small bushes, canyons into hills, yellow sand into grass, carcasses into blooming flowers; it is quite amazing how land can change in a span of an hour.
Finn has spent almost all of his life in training facilities and barracks. Jakku was the first place he had visited if he can even call it that way. The young man does not have any memories of his childhood and he is not sure as to why. Was he too young to create any? Did he repress every image he acquired as a child? What was his hometown like? Was it luscious and green, barren and desolate, or maybe neither of those? Maybe it was full of snowy hills and frozen lakes, its people busy to provide for themselves.
Finn imagines a small, dimly lit room. A basket and a fishing net lying near a fireplace. A man with dark skin and stern features is sitting on the stone cold floor, carving a figurine out of a block of wood. A girl wearing a washed out dress and thick wool socks is stitching a hole in a flimsy fabric. Further to the side there is a woman chopping vegetables. Her curly hair falls softly onto her face, concealing her expression. It is only when she raises her head to look at the toddler bundled in blankets, that he sees her bright smile.
Finn wakes up to a full fledged argument going on between the passengers. Rey is awake and gesturing wildly with her arms, almost hitting him in the face.
"Kill it, Chewie!"
The truck stops and the engine noise dies. Solo and his hairy friend then begin to frantically check diodes and switching levels. The dashboard lights flicker a couple of times, making Han curse loudly.
Suddenly, Rey reaches out her arm towards one of the panels, but flinches away immediately because Han slaps her hand away. She yelps in pain and cradles her palm. Finn sits up abruptly and tries to comfort his companion while shooting daggers at the old man with his eyes.
"Just let me-"
"You stay away from my-"
Chewbacca lets out a grunt that silences everyone until Rey decides to speak up. "Plutt, put on the compressor so nobody would think of stealing it," she sighs, her statement sounding obvious to her.
The friends sitting in the front look confused as they subtly exchange glances.
"The hell you talking about, kid?" Han growls out.
The young scavenger once again stretches out her arm to reach the dashboard. Her fingers grasp a gray cubic object lodged in a socket and pull. It comes off easily and Rey smiles smugly as she presents Han the small piece of plastic. Next, the girl presses a series of buttons near the area where the compressor was put in. After that, she instructs Chewie to ignite the engine. Everything seems to work flawlessly.
The young woman shifts in discomfort because of the not so subtle, almost comical staring of her companions. They all look very impressed with her knowledge and skills, especially Finn. It irks her a little bit - the idea that a woman cannot know her way around a car is preposterous. However, this whole attention makes her flustered, too. Back in Jakku she knew her worth and needed nobody to remind her of it, but right now Rey lets herself sink in this sweet feeling of pride that she has never experienced before.
Feeling happy, she hands Han the compressor who chucks it out of the window right away before turning to the console. "If only I could put my hands on that moof milker..." he trails off gruffly.
Soon, they cross the state border, but the young couple still has no idea where they are heading. Having been on the road for hours now, Han has not told them anything about that friend of his. He or she is supposedly able to help Finn get back to the Illenium system.
Rey turns her gaze to the young man sitting next to her, feeling sentimental all of a sudden. She will have to say goodbye and she is not sure she wants to. Even though they have known each other for less than a week, the girl feels strangely attached to him. He is, quite honestly, her only friend. Or the closest thing to a friend. Rey shall miss him and these landscapes.
Jakku seems so bleak and hollow compared to what she is able to see in this moment. All of the colours and shapes are like daydreams. Rey has never seen so much green in her entire life. Not so up close, anyway. Books lying in the abandoned huts have shown her pictures, sketches of flora and fauna that appears in the far corners of the world. Those drawings with their washed up inking did not prepare her for the sights her eyes would be blessed with.
Her heart swells with overwhelming sadness. Such beauty being hidden from her seems so unfair.
The sad thoughts leave the young scavenger when the Falcon comes to a stop in a forest clearing, making her gasp in awe. Han informs the girl and her companion they have arrived to Takodana.
It is a piece of land seemingly owned by nobody, buried away from unwanted visitors. There are mountains with snowy peaks that tower over the rest of the scenery, tall trees closely huddled together with bushes at their base as they colour the terrain with vibrant green, and a freshwater lake glowing softly in the sunbeams. And in this wilderness, there is a castle.
Having exited the lorry, Rey stands in front of the lake shore, drinking this gorgeous view in with tears in her eyes. The building is so massive the girl has to crane her neck to see it in its entirety. How was this even built, she wonders.
Han interrupts her musings when he stands next to her. He, too, appears to be in awe of this place.
The man pokes her in the arm and she takes the gun he is offering her. It is warm to touch and feels heavy. Acting on instinct, the young woman curls her long fingers around the grip. It fits perfectly in her grasp.
"You know how to use it?," Solo asks suddenly, as if he regretted ever giving her the pistol in the first place.
She shrugs. "You pull the trigger?"
He ignores her rather silly answer and scans her body with a stern expression. "So, you know your way around machines, eh?"
"Yeah, more or less," Rey replies proudly, then thinks of countless hours of scrubbing parts until she could see the outline of her reflection in their shiny surfaces, and her smile fades.
"Later, after we take care of business, I'd like to take up some of your time."
Rey cocks her head to the side and blushes when she notices the old man's knowing face. She did hot-wire his car.
"We'll see if you're such a good mechanic as they say," he murmurs to himself.
Once Finn jogs up to them with Bebe at his side, they take off towards the castle. "Why are we here again?" the young man asks.
"To have a delicious dinner in this fine establishment," Han's answer is sour and Finn grimaces. "We're gonna get you a clean transport, whaddaya think?"
Not surprisingly, the castle looks even more impressive up close. It looks as if the walls have been trying to reach the light blue skies in vain. In the yard near the entrance there is a statue of a female wearing a flowy cape almost as tall as the towers. It could have been made out of bronze, but Rey is not sure. What catches her attention next is the amount of flags – dozens of them – swaying in the breeze. Each one has different insignia printed on colourful fabrics.
"Don't stare," Han says once they reach the door.
"At what?"
"Just stay close."
The young couple follows the old man inside after exchanging worried looks. As soon as they step into the building, silence falls over the place and every head turns sharply to gawk at the newcomers. All kinds of individuals are holed up here - scruffy-looking outlaws, washed up pleasure workers, gang members conspiringly whispering to each other and ordinary patrons just enjoying their meal or drink.
Among them was Maz Kanata, a tiny frail woman who emits a field of strange force. Rey senses that a lot of people have underestimated her in the past and regretted it. She strides towards Han and the rest of the group, pushing away anyone standing in her way.
"Han Solo," she mutters under her breath, in a disappointed tone, and just like that everyone gets back to what they were doing before. "Where's my boyfriend?"
Finn raises his eyebrows at the question so Han rolls his eyes. "Hello to you, too. Chewie's outside."
The woman nods, briefly satisfied with the answer and motions her guests to follow her. They are led away from the curious stares to an empty table. Maz shuffles out to the kitchen. "You kids are prolly hungry, huh?"
Both Finn and Rey nod vigorously, too tongue-tied to speak up even though she cannot see that. Seconds later they hear a loud clunk and noises of pans hitting the floor. Then, there is a moment of silence and Maz bursts out of the kitchen, holding plates full of food. A cook brings in a jug and glasses.
Rey has no idea what has just been given to her, but quite frankly she does not care. Her stomach twists painfully at the smell of meat. Having been eating military rations for over a decade, the mere thought of organic food fills her with joy. The moment Maz fills the girl's cup with warm liquid, she is already stuffing the sandwiches into her mouth.
Meanwhile, Han fills Maz in with everything that has happened so far. She tuts, shaking her head. "How is it possible you've pulled yourself into this mess again?"
"I just need you to bring this boy to Leia."
The woman props her chin on her wrinkled palm and frowns as if she was considering his request. "Nope!" she finally chirps out. "I'm not doing your dirty job for you."
Solo's hand hit his thighs with a loud clap, his face incredulous. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You can't honestly expect me to help you," she replies with an annoyed tone.
The young scavenger stops chewing to take a few big gulps of whatever is in her cup. The liquid is sweet with a slight bitter undertone. It is so refreshing she pours herself some more. While doing so, the girl catches Finn sneak a piece of bread under the table and give it to Bebe. She smiles softly and being distracted jumps up when Han stands up abruptly. The man looks very angry.
"Listen, Maz," he grits out. "I ain't here to listen to your moral lessons. I'm asking for a simple thing. You either say yes or no."
Maz raises her eyebrows, looking unimpressed. He tells the young couple to enjoy the rest of their meal and storms off, bumping into other patrons.
"Stubborn bastard," the old woman mumbles.
Rey swallows her food and glances at Finn who looks just as uncomfortable. She does not know what happened that made the relationship between Han and Maz go south, but the situation does not look good. If the conflict escalates, it will take longer to bring Finn to the Resistance officials. That means Rey will be away from home for at least a few more days, which she cannot accept. It has already been too long.
'Is that what Han Solo would have done,' she thinks bitterly, and having made up her mind, she starts to get up. Someone has to speak to the smuggler, make him throw his pride away. But just as she is getting ready to stand on her feet, Maz lifts her hand.
"Now, now, you two," she points at the young friends, wearing a frown, "Stay here while I go after that moron. And these plates better be clean when I'm back!"
Finn gulps in fear because of her threatening voice.