IV.
The moment they left Jakku's atmosphere Rey let out a breath of air. She took a moment to stare, wide eyed, at the stars twinkling in the inky expanse of space. It was breath taking. Beautiful.
"Huh?"
For a moment she forgot she wasn't alone. Beside her Shwaz had a grin on his face. There was something about it that was blinding. Almost like a beam of light. An unnamed emotion swelled within her. She had to turn away a bit.
"That was incredible." Rey's heart was still racing from the exhilaration of the chase. "You were fantastic!"
"So were you. Where did you learn to fly like that?" His eyebrows furrowed a bit in question.
Rey gave him a cheeky smile. "Wouldn't you like to know."
She rose to her feet and left the cockpit of the ship where she bumped into their Resistance tag-along. He was grinning from ear to ear.
"That was amazing!"
"What's your name?" Rey asked.
"I'm Finn. And you two?"
Before she could speak, Shwaz appeared. "I'm Shwaz. This is Rey. And that," he pointed to the droid. "Is BB-8."
BB-8 beeped up at Finn.
"So Finn," Rey looked up at him. "Are you with the Resistance, too?"
He blinked at her for a moment before straightening slightly. "Yes. Yes I am. I'm with the Resistance."
She took in Finn's appearance. Rey had never met a real Resistance fighter before. Shwaz didn't count, since he technically hadn't joined. Not yet. Finn was tall, fit, and she winced at just how sweaty he was. It seemed he wasn't used to hot, desert planets. He looked like he took a dive in a pool.
"He's lying."
Shwaz glared at Finn. His muscles were tense and the look on his face was fierce. Her heart started picking up speed. The last thing she wanted or needed was a serious fight while they were trying to make their getaway. She glanced at Finn. He shifted his weight back and forth and turned his head slightly. There was a nervous energy about him.
Finn huffed. "Yeah? What are you, psychic?" He let out a small laugh.
"Why are you lying?" Shwaz took a step forward. Everything about the act was threatening. "Tell me who you are."
"Shwaz!" Rey suddenly wished she hadn't left her quarterstaff in the cockpit. She looked between the two. "Why do you think he's lying?"
"I don't think he's lying - I know it." Shwaz turned his stormy eyes on Rey, questioning. "Can't you feel it?"
"I-what?" Rey froze. "I don't know what you're talking about." She stepped backward, fear rising within her. Her heart was pounding against the wall of her chest. Rey tore her eyes away from him, but not before seeing a disappointed look cross his face.
"You're lying, too."
Finn took one step toward her. Shwaz turned and pointed a finger at him, and Finn stopped in his tracks. "You," his voice was low. Rey felt something shift around them. The air became suffocating. "You're with the First Order."
No, that couldn't be true. But Shwaz was so confident. A feeling of disappointment washed over Rey as Finn's eyes widened in shock. He stood completely still. Finn didn't deny it.
"How did you know, hmm?" There was a slight tremble in his voice. "How could you know that!" Finn's voice rose to a shout.
"How I know is beside the point. What matters here is why we," Shwaz motioned toward Rey and BB-8, "should trust you?"
Finn's eyes hardened. Rey was surprised to see him step toward Shwaz. "Because I hate the First Order, and I want nothing to do with them." He paused. "Do you feel that? It's the truth."
The two men glared at one another for a long moment. Shwaz dropped his hand to his side.
"Very well." Shwaz turned his head and met Rey's eyes. "I believe he is telling the truth."
Her eyes darted between the two of them. Finn was glaring at the back of Shwaz's head like he wanted it to explode. Those two did not like each other one bit. Their animosity was the last thing they needed on their journey.
"Alright." Rey frowned at Finn. "Where do you want us to drop you off?"
"Drop me off?" His brown eyes grew uncertain. "What do you mean?"
Shwaz snorted. "I think the meaning is pretty clear."
Finn opened his mouth to retort but Rey interrupted.
"Finn, you're not Resistance." Her eyebrows furrowed. She didn't like being deceived. "You can't come with us."
He looked at her in confusion. "Wait, are you joining the Resistance?"
"Yes." Rey said in her most confident voice. Deep down, a small voice protested, telling her she had to go back to Jakku. She tried to squash that tiny part of her away. "I am."
"No." Finn shook his head.
Her eyebrows shot upward. "Excuse me?"
"No, you shouldn't." He continued. There was a flicker of fear in his eyes. "If you join the Resistance, you're doomed. The First Order will crush you."
"Are you telling me I should just - what? Run away?" Rey scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest.
Finn's eyes hardened. "You know what? Fine. Don't take my advice." He frowned and turned away from them. "Drop me off at the nearest system." He said as he walked away.
Once he was gone, Rey knelt down before the round droid. "BB-8. We need to know the location of the Resistance base if we're to help you with your mission. Could you tell us?"
The droid nodded and let out a series of beeps and boops. Rey didn't quite catch all of it and looked up at Shwaz. There was understanding on his face. He nodded.
"Got it. Thanks, bud." Shwaz knelt down and patted the droid. "We'll get you there as soon as we can, alright?"
BB-8 blooped and Shwaz chuckled. He looked up at Rey. "Ready to go?"
"Yes."
They entered the cockpit and Shwaz shut the door behind them. "The base is on D'qar." He sat in the pilot's seat. "I didn't want to say out there in case somebody was listening in."
"You really don't trust him, do you?" Rey said as she looked over the ship's controls.
"He lied once. He'll lie again. We don't need someone like that overhearing sensitive information. Especially former members of the First Order." He paused and swore.
Rey turned her head toward him. "What is it?"
"We don't have enough fuel to get us to D'qar." He tapped a finger on the fuel gauge. "And I'm not sure I have enough credits to get us the fuel the, ahem, legal way."
She gave him a flat look. "Are you telling me we need to steal fuel?"
"If we want to get to the Resistance base, then yes."
"Lovely." Rey sighed. "How far can we go until we're nearly out?"
"We can go as far as Takodana before getting dangerously close to empty."
Rey nodded. "Full speed to Takodana, then."
Shwaz entered the coordinates and they entered lightspeed. Rey watched as the pinprick of stars stretched until they were bright white lines lighting up the darkness of space.