Chapter Three

"What's this?" Finn had seen plenty of tools in his life. He knew what they were for. "You said you were going to teach me to fly."

"I am. My mother was a pilot, one of the best ever. The first thing she ever taught me was that if you take care of your ship, your ship will take care of you." Poe rested his hand against the side of the X-Wing. "Before anything else, you're going to learn how to take one of these beauties apart and put one back together. If you get to do this without being shot at, so much the better."

He turned and removed a panel from the side. Finn got in closer to take a look. "I'm not much of a technician."

"You don't have to be. I think of half these parts as 'the L-shaped thing' and 'the sharp bit.' See. The L-shaped thing is getting dirty. Clean it off, and your air flow will be more efficient." He demonstrated, showing Finn which tool to use to pry it loose.

He saw another piece under the L-shaped thing. "There's something under there. Kind of dirty, too. Is it a filter or a manifold or something?"

"Circle filter. It looks like a circle, right?" Poe let Finn remove the filter. "Good eye. That can rinse off in some water. Bucket's over there."

They did not completely strip down the X-Wing. They did remove filters, gaskets, and half a dozen other pieces Finn tried to memorize by shape and Poe's increasingly funny descriptions. "The bell dong," he said ominously, passing over a large metal piece.

"I don't see it."

Poe held the piece by one corner and tapped the sheet. Finn heard a low "donnnnnng" and indeed, it looked a little like a bell.

"You know, I had to memorize the official names of every piece of equipment I maintained, the requisition numbers, and at least two potential replacement pieces. I don't think I can go to the supply depot and ask for a dong."

"You could, but you're not the supply depot head's type."

He threw the soapy sponge at Poe and missed. "I can't believe you made that joke." Finn shook his head. "I have made it vanish. That joke is gone forever."

"Harsh but fair."

Finn saw Poe straighten up instantly before he heard the slight throat-clearing behind him. He spun, aware that he'd just thrown a sponge at someone who was probably his superior officer. So stand Commander Dameron and so-new-he-didn't-have-a-rank yet Finn.

The General stood there, eyes taking in the two of them. "If you two aren't occupied, I've got a task for you."

"Just showing our new recruit the basics of maintenance and upkeep of his X-Wing, ma'am. We're ready for whatever you need."

She didn't look like she believed him, and the mess at their feet agreed with her. "Has Commander Dameron shown you the M thingy yet?"

"Not yet, ma'am," said Poe.

"Next lesson, then. Get this bird back together then come to my office. I just received a signal from the Millennium Falcon. Chewie says they're on their way back. We're going to rendezvous away from the base."

"Why?" asked Finn.

"Right on it, ma'am," said Poe, grabbed Finn's arm. "And this is how you put her back when you're in a hurry." As soon as the General had left, he hissed, "You don't ask your superior officers why they decided to do something."

"Sorry. I was raised not to ask questions. I thought. I don't know. I thought things were different here."

"They are. You can't. Half the people here still think you might be a First Order spy."

Finn's face went hot. He hadn't even thought about that, not since his first arrival. He thought back over his last few days out of the infirmary. Poe had been with him most of the time. Finn had thought he was being friendly, even a little flirtatious. Finn hadn't much experience with flirting but he was pretty sure the gentle teasing and smiles counted. But none of that was true. "You've been escorting me everywhere. You don't trust me, either."

"I trust you. I was there when you defected. You went through hell to bring BB-8 to the Resistance. I know you're not a spy."

"Does General Organa?"

"I think so. It helped that Captain Solo vouched for you."

"But I talked him into going onto Starkiller Base. I got him killed." She must hate him.

Poe quickly fitted the last pieces into place and shut the panel. "You didn't. He knew what he was walking into. That situation went bad when you were still in baby Stormtrooper diapers." He patted Finn's arm. "The General knows that. She's not blaming you or your friend Rey."

That reminded him. "Rey's on her way back. Did you get a chance to meet her when she was here?" The tight clench in his chest relaxed a little. Half the D'Qar base might think he was a potential spy but Rey would be happy to see him. Very happy.

"Briefly." Poe watched his face. "You really do like her, don't you?"

"You met her. She's beautiful, she's smart, and she saved my life. She's amazing."

"Then I can't wait for you to introduce us properly." The smile came, but it was a second too late.

Rey set the Falcon to autopilot. "Are you sure about those coordinates?"

Chewie said he was positive, and the General had spoken with him personally.

"It's odd. Why wouldn't she want him back at the base?"

"Leia doesn't trust me," Luke said from behind them. "She's not sure what I've been up to all this time, why I didn't come back when she needed my help."

Rey had her own opinions on that matter. She was sure things would have worked out differently and better if Luke had been here to fight instead of working on some mad quest to save someone who didn't want to be saved. She kept her tongue, and her mind, to herself.

He said, "It's an intelligent move. For all she knows, I've gone full-on Dark Side, too. Better to bring me somewhere away from the people she wants to protect in case she has to kill me."

"You haven't gone Dark Side. She wouldn't kill you."

"You think not? You haven't spent much time with her, then." Luke tilted his head and led Rey back into the anteroom. "If Leia thinks it's necessary, she'll kill her own son. The fact that he's still alive tells me she believes she can change his mind."

Another argument Rey didn't intend to have. She doubted General Organa or her brother the Jedi would be capable of putting down Kylo Ren. Rey herself was certain she could, given another opportunity. She'd nearly taken the killing blow the last time. She'd felt the anger and the power surging inside herself, and if that was a little bit Dark Side, she didn't see why she couldn't harness it for the greater good.

"Everyone thinks they're working for the greater good. Don't be tempted. And use your shields."

Rey grumbled, raising her mental walls again. "Why don't they stay in place?"

"When you're trained, they will, even when you don't try. You're good at keeping people out when you want to. We'll have to work on making that part of your natural flow, like breathing."

"Stop talking like you're still going to train me. We traded. I got my information and you got to be a teacher for a while. You're about to become very busy with the Resistance, and I hear they need pilots."

"Defend," he said, and suddenly he was everywhere. The little old man became a powerful dynamo, landing pulled blows all over her. Rey belatedly fell into her defensive stance, blocking him as he whizzed through the air past her, behind her, still striking through her movements. She stopped more of his punches, then slid to the floor, tripping him. Luke fell beside her.

"That wasn't nice," she hissed, kicking him gently. He'd landed punches on her ribs, and her legs would be bruised for a while even though he'd intentionally held back.

"Your enemies won't tell you to defend yourself. They'll come after you without warning. You told me Ben can read your mind, and that he didn't kill you. He wanted to train you instead. That makes you a very interesting target. If you don't learn to protect yourself in every way available to you, he will get through and he will complete the slaughter he began when you were little."

Rey breathed heavily. This wasn't fair. "All I did was not let a little droid be taken by scavengers. That's all I meant to do."

"Really. We bought our droids from Jawas to help with my uncle's moisture farm, and the next day my family was dead. Droids will get you into trouble every time." He got to his feet first, and helped her up. He wasn't winded, and although the few blows she'd landed had been much stronger, he didn't seem at all injured.

"He's going to kill me."

"He's going to try."

"You can teach me how to stop him."

"Yes."

"Fine. We have five days until we meet General Organa. What's the next lesson?"

He lit a green blade. "I think we'll have to accelerate the lessons."

"They're not coming." He said the words out loud, although there was no one to hear him. He'd hoped for the ghost of his grandfather to join him as the ghosts of others had joined his uncle. Kylo had never seen the spirits of the departed. His old classmates at the Jedi school had claimed to, eventually, driven insane by his uncle's bizarre training.

"You don't think you're worthy. All that time, all that ego, and you never thought you were good enough to see the ghosts."

"Be still."

He ignored the constant presence in his head, as familiar as toothache. His mother and his uncle were too well-protected to reach with a mental probe. They'd learned the mental tricks when he'd been too small to know what fascinating secrets could be uncovered. His miserable father had no such ability, allowing Kylo access to any thoughts he'd desired to read, and to his dismay, many he didn't.

Rey's mind was shielded again. She'd had powerful blocks when he'd tried to interrogate her while menacing her with threats spoken and considered. Her regular thoughts lay open except when she remembered to raise walls against entry. She forgot often. He sensed her while she dreamt of oceans and home and sharp steel. He could even sense her in hyperspace.

There.

Rey was a pinprick of thought amidst the lonely stars, shadowing through the extra dimensions of space that allowed interstellar travel. She would drop from hyperspace soon enough, and he would find her perfect homing beacon.

"Unless she's setting a trap for you. She's a master at traps."

His inner voice would have no means of knowing such a thing, and was working to make him paranoid. Still, now he wondered. He was meant to capture her and the ship and his quarry. But if she'd told his uncle about their connection, Luke Skywalker would be canny enough to set his own snare.

He must be cautious. He raised his own mental shields, and waited.

They did a long-range scan of the moon's surface. Three systems away from D'Qar, this barely habitable moon circled a gas giant whose name Finn had already forgotten. He'd been permitted to come along as co-pilot. "The only way he's going to learn is to get him out there," Poe had said to the General.

"Why am I really here?" he'd asked, when she was safely back in the passenger area working. He loved the starfield before him, and he tried to follow the movements Poe made as he called out switches and dials. Anyone else would have made a better choice.

"You need the practice."

"I'm not getting any."

"True." He flipped another switch. "The controls are now with you." Poe got up from his seat and stretched. Finn wasn't going to panic. He wasn't going to crash the General's shuttle and kill them all. He was going to sit here and point the ship's nose ahead of him and freak out on his own time later.

"If you grip that any tighter, we'll have to install a new one. Calm down."

"I'm calm. I'm super calm. I'm Jedi calm." He breathed in and out. This wasn't so bad.

"You know, a lot of my previously-held opinions about Stormtroopers are starting to slide."

Finn risked a glance away to see his friend smirk. Another tease. "Another fact you didn't know about us: we're all excellent dancers. Captain Phasma insisted." Poe's laugh calmed him in a way hurtling through space did not.

"Then you'll be the hit at the next all-Resistance dance."

"Only if they do ballet."

"What's all this noise up here?" said the General, coming into the cockpit. "You are both aware we're here on a mission and not on a comedy tour. I thought I explained that during the briefing."

"Just teaching Finn here to fly. He's also apparently an excellent dancer. Ballet, for preference."

The General smirked. "Good for you, Finn. I never could get past the shoes. What's our ETA?"

"Half an hour, including the security sweep. Finn, you've had about enough flying. Can you go into the back and get my flight log? I left it in the passenger area."

Finn nodded, watching Poe flip the controls back to the pilot's seat and slip in smoothly. He recognized a 'go away for a minute' when he heard one. He was smart enough not to cock an ear to listen in behind the closed door. They were probably discussing important Resistance stuff. He'd be privy to that sort of thing once he proved himself.

The flight log was stuck on the table with the General's data pads. He wasn't about to risk a look. This was her private shuttle, the only one in the fleet without any tracking devices. Poe had clearly flown her many times before, although he said the General was a good pilot herself. "It helps her think," he'd said, that same expression of mad adoration on his face he always got when speaking about his boss when she wasn't around. Finn bet himself one meal's ration that his new best friend had a small picture of the General somewhere at his bunk.

He spent a little more time holding the flight log to allow them time to speak privately. When he'd gauged they'd been able to talk, he let himself back into the cockpit. "Here you go."

"Thanks."

She said, "Let me know when they're in range. I don't want to transmit our coordinates until we're ready to land." She went back out and closed the door.

"Did you get a good look at the table?"

"I wasn't looking."

"Not what I asked. On the table where she was working, did you notice how many cigarra butts were left in the tray."

Finn thought back, but his memory had been trained for this sort of test. "Three. One was half-smoked."

"Thanks."

"Why?"

"I just like to keep tabs on how she's doing. Better than I thought, really."

Crazy about her, and keeping track of her smoking habit. Finn kept his smile to himself. "Good talk?"

"We went over the landing plans. I'm tempted to leave you here on the shuttle, but I know you'll only sneak out to see your friend."

"True."

"I don't understand where you come from sometimes. You weren't just a soldier, you were a Stormtrooper. You were raised to serve and fight and die in a unit without question. I can't even expect you to stay on board a shuttle when you're told to. Were you the worst Stormtrooper of all time?"

"I don't know." He'd wondered about that, in the little time he'd had to think about anything during that first mad rush to escape. "We were taken as little kids, and we were taught everything the First Order wanted us to know. I guess it didn't take with me."

"I guess." Poe watched him carefully. "Don't get me wrong, but why you? I'm glad you're with us. I'm very glad you helped me escape when you did. I don't think for a second that you're a spy. You're honest and you're kind, and you're braver than you think. I don't understand why."

"I don't understand why, either. Maybe the programming was faulty." He didn't like remembering his training, not now, not knowing for sure his old team was dead. They hadn't been friends, not exactly, but he'd liked them. Something inside him wouldn't let him stay there with him. He wouldn't regret his decision. If he hadn't defected when he did, his new friend here would have been executed. Rey wouldn't have known to get BB-8 to the Resistance. Billions had died either way. There were no good answers.

The console beeped. Poe said, "There's the proximity alert. I'll do a quick sweep and touch us down. Unless you want to try landing?"

"I'll watch."

She touched down to the moon's surface with barely a wobble, setting down close by the other ship. The Falcon's controls were already second nature to her. Rey wondered how long she would be allowed to fly this ship before the extended loan came to an end. For that matter, she wasn't sure to whom she'd be returning it. Plutt had stolen it from a chain of owners who'd stolen it from Han, who'd won her in a card game. He'd left behind a not-quite-ex wife and a devastated partner, and she supposed either or both might technically own the ship now. Neither would mind if she stayed.

"We're here. How do we announce ourselves?"

"We go outside," said Luke. "Come on. It's safe for now. Try to sense it."

"I'm not a Jedi." She closed her eyes anyway. Nothing she could sense seemed harmful. She could feel the edges of other minds here, familiar. Finn. "It feels clear."

"See?" He let Chewie lower the gangplank and followed him outside. Rey hurried behind them. She stopped when they did, opposite the open hatch of the shuttle. The General waited for them outside, arms folded. Rey was relieved to see Finn with her, along with his friend.

"Chewie," said the General, voice sharp. "All clear?"

He replied that things were fine.

"You're sure?" She wasn't asking about the ship security, Rey understood. Luke was right. His sister wasn't sure he hadn't also gone dark. She'd sent her surviving best friend to find out.

Said best friend said Luke was still crazy, so nothing new there.

"Excuse me," said Luke, mildly offended. "Can't a guy be a hermit for fourteen years without people calling him crazy?"

"No," said Rey, moving past him. She'd waited too long to see Finn upright and alive. "General," she said, nodding politely as she went past her to hug her friend.

"Good to see you," she said quietly. Part of her ached, remembering the last time she'd hugged him. "Taking good care of you, are they?"

"I'm learning how to fly. I'll be a pilot before you know it."

"That's wonderful. How's it going?" She looked between them. Finn smiled positively. His friend shrugged.

"It's going," he said very quietly, and indicated the two people still staring at each other from between the ships. Rey had assumed they'd already reunited, but no.

"You got old." The General's face wore the saddest smile Rey had ever seen. From anyone else, the statement would have been the height of rudeness. But they were twins.

"You didn't. You look just the same as the day we met."

"Your eyesight is going, too."

"I know what I see."

Finally they approached each other, hands finding one another, and foreheads touching. They stood like that for some time.

"I thought they'd talk," Finn said quietly.

"They are talking," said Poe. He took an arm each from Finn and Rey. Rey tried to shrug him off and found his grip stronger than she expected. "Come on, kids. This isn't for us." He tugged them over to stand beside the Falcon. "Why don't you give me the grand tour? I've never been aboard this beauty. Heard all the stories." His eyes were warm, gazing at the classic lines.

Rey looked at Luke and Leia, but they stood still, resting against each other. Chewbacca kept an eye on them. "All right. Just a quick tour."

"Everything hurts."

"I know."

"You weren't there. You should have been there."

"I'm sorry."

"I felt it. I felt him die. Like I was cut in half, and they were both ripped away from me in a second. I keep looking down and expect to see my gut bleeding out."

"I know. I felt it, too."

"You shouldn't have left."

"I had to try. I found the manuscript. I've almost completed what I need. I came back to finish."

"It doesn't matter now."

"It matters to me. We can still save him."

"There is nothing of Ben left to save. I can see what you're planning. I know what it will cost you. Don't."

"I chose this path a long time ago. I chose it the moment I first saw you asking Obi-Wan for help, and I choose it again now. You have been bleeding since the day he vanished."

"If I lose you too, I'll never stop."

Their heads lifted, eyes still locked. Chewie asked if they were okay. Leia could feel the stupid tears ready to come again. She really wanted another cigarra. "We're fine," she said. "Just saying hello."

He wasn't sure what to make of her. Poe had met Rey briefly in the aftermath of the battle, but her focus had been on Finn's condition and her own new mission. They'd barely spoken. He was positive she didn't remember meeting him, the way she nodded blankly in his direction before returning her attention to Finn.

"I missed you. I've already learned so much from him."

Finn's smile seemed genuine. "That's good news. You didn't even know you had those powers?"

She shook her head. "I've always been lucky and good in a fight. I thought it was just how I had to live."

"Maybe it was," Poe said, edging into the conversation. "Maybe the Jedi part helped." He had her attention for a moment, and smiled his brightest gleam. Another blank look.

"Maybe." She pointed at a control panel. "You'll like this. Chewbacca says it dampens scanners, when it's working. You can fly without being seen."

With a touch more defensiveness than necessary, Poe said, "General Organa has a cloak on her shuttle. Hers always works."

Finn looked between them, then wandered over to the panel. "Same design."

That made sense. This was Han Solo's ship. If the General had new technology, perhaps she'd shared. He met eyes with Rey again. She'd come to the same conclusion. Poe made a decision.

"You said the two of you met on Jakku? I guess that means Finn here managed to imprint on both of us like a baby fluffken."

Finn sputtered. "I did not imprint on you like a baby fluffken." He shouldered up the jacket.

Rey smirked. "A bit. You did name him. He followed us both home."

"Either of you talk about messing on the floor, and there will be trouble."

Poe shut his mouth. A quick and uncomfortable examination of the last few minutes did feel like he was marking his territory. Whatever he said just rolled off her, though, and what was he fighting her for? They were both friends with Finn. Yes, he'd missed Rey during her absence but now she was back, he'd hardly run off with her.

An explosion shook the ship. The three of them froze for less than a second before Rey grabbed Finn's hand and dashed off the ship.

Poe had enough time to blink before he ran after them.

Not three seconds later, Chewbacca crashed into him, and when a Wookiee in a hurry crashed into someone, they stayed crashed. Poe fell to the floor. "What the - "

Another explosion came, much closer.

As he scrambled back up, General Organa boarded the Falcon with her brother. Finn and Rey were right behind them. "Chewie! Get us out of here!"

He was sure he was behind events, but followed Rey to the cockpit where Chewbacca had already started the engines. Rey slid into the co-pilot's seat. "Hang on!"

Poe ran back into the passenger area where the General was strapping on a restraint. She didn't look injured. "What about your shuttle?"

"Gone." Beside her, Luke and Finn managed to get their restraints on just as the ship lurched into flight. Poe fell again.

General Organa looked at her brother. "Are you positive it's him?"

"Reach out. You tell me."

She closed her eyes. Whether she meant to take Luke's hand or not, they clasped fingers. A familiar line of pain moved over her face, the one that always came over her when her greatest failure reared his head. "How did he find us?"

The ship rocked. A near miss. Poe half-crawled over to the open panel. Finn had been right. It was the same technology that shielded Organa's shuttle. The cloak was malfunctioning. "How do I get this working?"

Finn unbuckled and joined him at the panel. He wasn't a technician. Rey had a good grasp of things like this but she was flying the ship. Poe hurried to the cockpit. "Trade places! Get that cloak working!"

Chewbacca growled something, but Poe had never understood anything he said. Rey jumped out of the pilot's chair. The Wookiee slid into it and let Poe find the co-pilot controls. He didn't have to be the best right now. The best kicked them into a roll then engaged the hyperdrive just as the ship gave the same shudder Poe knew from engaging the General's cloak.

They shot into the starfield, untraceable.

Poe breathed out.

From the passenger area, he heard a tired and somewhat amused Luke Skywalker say, "Shields."

TBC

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