VIII.
They had gotten very little sleep after the nightmare incident. Shwaz had taken to brooding in one corner of the ship. Rey had promptly gone to the refresher and cleaned the dried blood from her face. It had dripped from her nose, past her lips, and down her chin. Afterwards she had gone back to her bedroom where she rested her aching body.
Her brain had refused to shut down, so instead of sleeping, Rey had stared up at the ceiling in between tossing and turning. Once it became clear that she would get no rest, Rey had spent her time with BB-8. Conversing with the little droid was difficult. She didn't understand binary one hundred percent, so she often didn't understand or misunderstood what BB-8 said. At some point he had gone so far to bow his head and roll away from her when Rey failed to comprehend a particular series of beeps.
The journey to D'Qar had been long, lonely, and boring.
Rey welcomed the end of their travel with great enthusiasm. Shwaz had reappeared from wherever he had gone looking like the incident had never happened. He smiled warmly at her and Rey automatically returned the look. When he was in a good mood, it was truly infectious. She felt her heart lighten.
Minutes later they were together in the cockpit. They exited hyperspace. Rey leaned forward in her seat. The world before them was lush with less water than Takodana seemed to have. She grinned as excitement grew within her.
Shwaz took the controls and flew the ship into the planet's atmosphere. Below the clouds were rolling hills, green meadows, and sparse forests of spindly trees. They easily spotted a settlement that had to be the Resistance Base. Shwaz donned the headset before him and reached out to the rebels.
"This is Shwaz Ekilib, requesting permission to land." A cocky look formed on his face. "I believe we have a droid you've lost."
"Captain to pilot Ekilib, please inform us of the model number of the droid you have in possession."
"It's a BB-8 unit. I've been told he carries an important map you've been searching for."
"Captain to pilot Ekilib, you've been granted permission to land."
After landing the ship on base they looked at each other. This was the end of their mission, and the beginning of many more to come. She smiled at Shwaz.
"Well, that was quite the adventure."
"Yeah, it was." He paused. "Are you really going to join the Resistance?"
She looked at him in surprise. "Of course I am."
And just like that he seemed to radiate light. His ocean eyes were bright and crinkled at the corners. In moments like these he was truly stunning.
"Well then, shall we?"
Together they left the cockpit. BB-8 rolled over to them, beeping erratically. Shwaz lowered the ramp and for a moment Rey's eyes were blinded by the light outdoors. BB-8 rolled on out at a ridiculous speed before stopping at the knees of a Resistance pilot in the distance. A group of Resistance members stood before their ship at a distance.
Their leader stood in front of them, short yet radiating authority. For a brief moment she seemed surprised, although Rey wasn't sure what about either of them could elicit such a look. The woman stepped forward and glared hard at them.
"Who are you? And how did you come about the droid?" She stared at Shwaz, fire in her eyes.
Rey could feel his confusion. He looked slightly offended, mouth downturned. She, too, didn't understand why she was being so aggressive toward him. Shouldn't she be happier that they found the droid instead of the First Order? Behind the woman Rey could see BB-8 rolling toward them, a pilot alongside him.
"I've already told your people my name," Shwaz retorted. "And for your information, BB-8 found me, not the other way around."
His response seemed to fuel her anger. Rey tried to diffuse the situation. "What my companion means to say," she said loudly, drawing their attention. "Is that he and BB-8 met on the desert of Jakku, our home planet. It was after the First Order's invasion of Tuanul."
"Is that so?" She looked at her in interest.
There was a loud series of beeps. They all looked to see BB-8 roll up next to the Resistance leader.
"General Organa," said the pilot. "BB-8 says she's telling the truth. They went out of their way to save him and were attacked by the First Order."
The general looked at Rey. "Is that true?"
"Yes, General."
She nodded. "Very well. I apologize for being antagonistic, but you must understand we're at war." Her back straightened. "I am General Leia Organa, Leader of the Resistance. What is your name?"
"Rey," she said.
"On behalf of the Resistance, I thank you both for returning the droid." She stepped forward. "We would be more than happy to offer you food and shelter before your journey home."
Rey and Shwaz looked at each other before turning back to General Organa.
"We're not going back to Jakku." Shwaz said.
"We were hoping to join the Resistance." Rey added.
General Organa's eyebrow twitched. She approached Rey and looked her up and down. Rey's fingers curled at her right side where the lightsaber hung, hidden from sight. Then the general turned her gaze to Shwaz. They stared each other down. Rey saw the general's eyes narrow slightly.
She turned to face away from them both. She motioned toward two of her men. "Show the girl to the rest area, and take the man to my office. I wish to speak with him in private."
Two officers stepped forward and led Shwaz away from their ship and toward the bunker while the pilot with BB-8 approached Rey. He had expressive brown eyes and the beginnings of a beard growing. Behind him General Organa walked away, Shwaz and the officers following right after her. Rey watched him go. She thought that Shwaz would have protested such treatment, but it seemed Rey didn't know him as well as she thought she did.
"I don't understand." She frowned.
"General Organa knows what she's doing." The pilot said, getting her attention. "I'm Captain Dameron, by the way. Thanks for rescuing BB-8. Now, I bet you're hungry."
With that he placed a hand on her shoulder and gently led her forward. Rey frowned at the contact and would have shrugged him off if something hadn't clicked in her mind. She interrupted him mid-word. "Dameron? As in Poe Dameron?"
His dark eyebrows furrowed. "Yeah, how did you-"
"Finn." She watched as something lit up his eyes.
"Finn? He survived?" He exclaimed, seeming delighted by the news.
"Yes. We met him on Jakku and, well, he thought you were dead. He was wearing your jacket." Rey glanced at BB-8. "I would've thought you'd have told your Master this already, BB-8."
Poe's smile slowly vanished. "Where is he?" His concern was almost palpable.
"We parted ways on Takodana." Rey said.
"Takodana? What were you guys doin' there?"
Before Rey could respond, Poe interrupted. "You know what? You can tell me once we get some food in your belly."
Their walk into the bunker was a quiet one. Rey found her eyes drifting toward the bright orange uniforms of the Resistance pilots. The base was a confusing maze of identical looking halls and corridors. It would be laughably easy to get lost, so Rey made sure to stay close to the Captain.
BB-8 rolled away from them with a pointed series of beeps directed at Poe. He only laughed and told the droid they'd see him later and to do what he had to do.
Before she knew it she was sat at a cafeteria table with a tray of the most appetizing food she'd seen in a while. Poe was sat across from her with a similar tray, smiling and eyes coaxing her into telling him her story. It was a look that was awfully difficult to resist. The next thing she knew, Rey was telling Poe of her journey from Jakku to D'Qar. She left out the personal parts regarding Shwaz, of course. There was no reason for Poe to know about his troubles.
"So Finn's made a new life for himself. That's great. I'm glad for him, I really am." Despite the smile on his face his eyes seemed a little sad.
"Did he really save you from the First Order?" Rey said, curiosity piqued.
"He sure did." Poe said. "Said he needed a pilot. Luckily for him, he found himself one of the best pilots in the Resistance. We stole an x-wing from the star destroyer and got the hell out of there."
"Didn't you also crash said x-wing?" She raised an eyebrow at the words 'best pilot'.
He shrugged. "Yeah. That's nothing new."
Rey stared at him for a moment and shook her head down at her tray. How could he act as if that were no big deal? From what she'd seen of the Resistance base it didn't seem to be very well funded. If that were the case, Poe acting cavalier about crashing ships was just... off-putting.
Their conversation died off after that, and they ate in relative silence. Rey savored the different flavors and textures of her food. Back on Jakku they didn't have the luxury of variety when it came to their rations. She rolled the savory meat over her tongue and hummed happily. If this is what they served, Rey thought she could get used to being part of the Resistance.
Her thoughts drifted to Shwaz. Why had the general wanted to speak to him in her office? She had looked so offended by his presence. It was weird. They were hiding something, those two. And whatever it is, Rey had a feeling it was Big and Important. She chewed thoughtfully on her roll of bread.
She would have to get to the bottom of it.
That was the last chapter I wrote back in 1/2018. I may continue it at some point if there's any interest in it haha. I just wanted to post it for fun. TBC possibly.