"Finn," Poe said, knocking on his door. There was no reply. "Maybe he's asleep."

"I doubt it," Rey replied, tapping her staff and foot on the floor in rhythm. "If he was, he isn't anymore. He sleeps pretty lightly."

"Well, what are we gunna do?" Poe asked. BB-8 beeped confusingly.

"Stand back," Rey said, taking a deep and sharp breath before raising her leg. She bashed her foot against the door with a BANG, sending it flying inwards on its hinges. BB-8 and Poe looked at her in silence, a look of wonder, awesomeness, and horror washed across Poe's face.

"Alright," Poe mumbled under his breath. "That was awesome." He began to laugh. Rey didn't know what he was taking about. She was used to having to stuff like that.

They headed into Finn's room, only to find him passed out, facedown on his bed, fast asleep. They both sighed disappointingly. Rey and Poe went to either side of his bed and knelt down. Gingerly, Rey put her hand on Finn's arm. She gently shook him in attempts to wake him up.

"Finn," she whispered. "Finn, wake up."

Slowly, Finn began to stir. He lifted his face from his pillow and groggily opened his eyes. They were bloodshot. His face damp and sticky. Had he been crying?

"Hey, bud," Poe said softly. BB-8 beeped quietly. "You alright?"

Finn groaned and flopped back down onto his bed, burrying his face back into his pillow shamefully. "I'm fine," he moaned. But he wasn't, and both Rey and Poe knew it.

"No you're not," Rey demanded. "Finn, look at me."

Finn refused. He grumbled incoherently and pushed Rey away. She recoiled and stood up, stomping her foot poutingly. She looked at Poe as if to say "did you see that?!", but he gave her no pity.

"Be gentle," he said to her. "You're going too fast."

Rey rolled her eyes with a huff but kneeled back down again.

"Finn," Poe tried. "You wanna talk?"

"No," said he through the pillow.

"Trick question," said Poe. "You have to talk." Finn gave a forced laugh. Silently, he rolled to face Poe and looked up at him. He looked terrible, only to put it nicely.

"What's wrong?" Rey asked, calmer this time.

"Nothing," said Finn, sniffling.

"You're a terrible liar," Poe mused. Finn sighed and finally sat up. He down looked at his hands. He was really struggling not to cry.

"Talk to us," said Poe. "We're here for you."

"You've always been here for us," Rey added. But Finn wouldn't talk. Couldn't talk. He was so on the verge of crying that he couldn't speak without his voice cracking. He cleared his throat a couple of times but still couldn't utter a word.

"Take your time," Poe coaxed.

"Is- is this about FN-2191?" Rey asked warily. Slowly, Finn nodded. They both couldn't describe the sorrow they felt for Finn when he couldn't hold back his tears anymore. They rolled down his cheeks like a river with a single blink. Rey was quick to grab his hand. This time, Finn didn't refuse. He took advantage of her comfort unlike he had before. He took his other hand and held it up to his eyes, scrunching up his sleeve and wiping away some tears while stifling a sob.

"Do you want to see him?" Rey continued. Finn shook his head violently. FN was the last person he wanted to see at the moment. FN reminded Finn of who he really was- who he used to be. Though he was no longer a stormtrooper, he had been for most of his life, up until a month ago. Not much existed from that previous life; most of his most cherished memories took place under the iron Resistance umbrella.

But he did have some memories from the First Order. He had to. Most of those memories took place while he was in the company of Nines and FN-2191- Red. They got into some crazy situations, most of which Finn's critical thinking for them out of. But his First Order experiences weren't all fun and games. Training had taken a toll on everyone. Though not common, some stormtroopers were prone to violent or emotional outburst. Finn included. Luckily, he hadn't had one recently. He had Rey and Poe to keep him sane. Except for this one moment.

"I'm sorry," Finn managed to eek. "I'm sorry."

Poe laughed. "Don't apologize, buddy. It's not like this is the first time this happened."

Finn wiped away more tears. "It's not?" He said through sniffles.

"Remember me?" Asked Rey. "I was a wreck."

Finn couldn't help but scoff at that. He remembered when Rey broke down during her recovery. She wasn't used to being confined to a bed, reliant on others for everything. It had managed to bring her down so much that she began to hurt herself: constantly hitting, scratching and grabbing her arms, wringing them tightly in anger. She had marks on her arms for days. She needed someone to be there to tell her that she was alright, which she did. Finn and Poe were constantly at her bedside, calming her down and telling stories to take her mind off of her condition.

Funny how Finn always felt sorry for her. Now he was in her position, only he was restrained in a different way. He was emotionally restricted. He couldn't think about anything without the First Order popping back into his head. His past actions were causing him grief.

"What's up about FN-2191?" Poe asked.

Finn took a deep breath and thought about what he should say; how he should explain how he felt. He didn't want to be misunderstood, because that so often happened. He closed his eyes as he spoke.

"He..." Finn began. "He was my friend. One of my closest."

Rey and Poe nodded and listened tentatively. "Go on," said Poe. Finn cleared his throat as it caught again and again.

"I thought I left all of that behind, though," Finn admitted. Tears sprung to his eyes again. Not wanting to faulter once more, he quickly pawed them away with his sleeve. "I'm not a stormtrooper. I'm not a stormtrooper."

"You're not a stormtrooper," Rey repeated. "We know that."

"I'm not a stormtrooper!" Finn exclaimed, flinging himself onto Rey and Poe, hanging onto them for dear life. Sobs wracked his body. Tears poured from his eyes and splotched Poe and Rey's clothes. Their hearts broke as they listened to their best friend fall apart with each heave he gave. Just listening to him made them tear up aswell. All they could do was pat him on the back as he clung to them.

Was this what Finn had come to? Had he been holding this in the whole time? How come he felt the need to hold this in? Bottling stuff up was not a good method, Poe knew. He had seen the outcomes of untreated anxiety and depression, and he didn't want to watch another friend go through that ever again.

"It's alright," Poe soothed. "You're fine. You're Finn,"

"Not FN-2187," Rey finished. "You're a Resistance fighter."

Finn sighed heavily, tears ceasing to fall. He sniffled and raised his head.

"I know," he whispered. His voice was hoarse. "I'm sorry," said he again.

"Stop apologizing," said Poe. "It's good to get it out."

"Better than keeping it inside," Rey added. "What about FN-2191 don't you like?"

"It's not that I don't like him," Finn began. "It's what he brings. He brings back memories. I just want to leave it all behind."

"You have," said Rey. "As soon as you helped Poe escape you left it all behind."

"I'm sure that's only what FN-2191 wants too," said Poe. "You can make new memories and leave the old ones behind."

"Just don't forget us," Rey reputed comically. Finn laughed.

"I couldn't if I tried," he replied. Holding Rey's hand in one and grabbing Poe's in the other, he squeezed them both tightly. "Thank you."

Rey and Poe smiled. "Glad we could help," Rey voiced.

"We don't like to see you so sad," Poe added. "Don't do this again," said he with a laugh.

"Should I go talk to 2191?" Finn asked.

"Up to you," said Rey.

"Actually," Poe interrupted. "We're packing. You need a job."

"Packing?" Finn questioned. "For what?"

"We've found a new base. We're moving today."

Everyone around the base was doing their part to make the move go as smooth and quiet as possible. Officers took boxes of papers and documents, droids pushed trolleys of tools, pilots loaded crates of parts onto shipping freights. Chewbacca was instrumental when it came to loading stuff onto the Millennium Falcon, because he was so strong. He could carry three full boxes at once! All most important documents were transported on the Millenium Falcon.

With Rey and Chewbacca at the helm, they would lead the way. Leia and Luke would show them where to go. R2, C-3PO, Finn and FN were there because they had to be.

Luke was a little wary of the trip. He knew he would have to at least talk to Rey at some point. Would he finally get the guts to tell her of her past, or would he crumble and fall back like he did before? Finn felt the same way about FN. He knew he meant well and all, but it had been too much for Finn at the time. But after his talk with Rey and Poe, being able to get it all off his chest, he felt better. He knew bottling it up was bad for himself, and talking about it to them made a world of difference. He knew he could muster up the courage to talk to him.

But everyone was busy at the moment. The relocation was well underway.

Poe and Red Squadron had set out early to do some recon and find the perfect spot to start construction. Though that was the planet they wanted to use, they did need a place to have a base. They couldn't just show up and have a base already there.

After getting himself cleaned up, Finn did his part and started loading up some boxes of tools onto the Falcon too. He was picking up another one when he caught a glimpse of FN-2191 for the first time in two days. He was headed onto the Falcon, aswell. Finn grew worried. Would they be traveling together? Would he be mad at Finn for being rude to him last time?

But then he was gone. FN took his load onto the Falcon and left to get another. Finn was a little too slow. He sighed disappointingly, but continued with his job. He was doing his job well, and didn't want to head.

But FN hadn't disappeared inside the Falcon or the base, he snuck up behind Finn. Finn was startled by a tap on his shoulder.

"Uh!" He exclaimed, quickly turning around in an instinctive position, hand stuck out infront if him, ready to fight off an attacker. FN put his hands up defensively.

"Just me, Shooter," he said calmly but worriedly. Finn and FN both lowered their hands. FN smiled.

"I'm glad to see you out," he began. "I was worried about you, cause I hadn't seen you in so long."

Finn sighed. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine." He hesitated.

"Look, Red, I'm sorry," he started. "For how rude I was. The other day."

FN smiled. He shrugged. "That's alright, I'm sure I wasn't the person you were expecting to find.

"Yeah, but that's no excuse..." Finn stopped. He took a deep breath. He was finally going to talk about it.

"I just want to forget the past," he blurted. "We're both done with the First Order, right?"

FN froze. No, he was not done with the First Order. The reason he was there was because of the First Order. He was on a secret mission, anyway! But what was he to say?

"Yeah, of course," he stuttered. "Screw the First Order."

Play it cool, keep your cover.

Finn sighed a great sigh of relief. "Great, because that's been bugging me. We used to be friends and all, but when I left I thought I left all that behind. I was planning on starting a new life, which I have, really. But I never expected to ever see one of you again. Not that I never wanted to see you ever again, it's just-"

FN laughed. "Cool it, Shooter," said he. "That's fine. I didn't expect to ever see you again either, really. But a happy surprise."

Finn smiled. "Can we be friends again?"

FN nodded. "Of course. As long as you don't mind me calling you Shooter!"

"As long as you don't mind me calling you Red," Finn replied. They both smiled at eachother. Finn held out his hand. Apprehensively, FN- Red, reached his out aswell. They shook hands- a truce. An alliance. An agreement.

"Forget the past," said Finn.

"Forget the past," Red repeated.

Finn couldnt describe how relieved he was. Red couldn't either. But they were both relieved for different reasons.

Finn was relieved and happy that their friendship had been rekindled, but that they were able to avoid the past and look to the future instead. Even though he was moving on, it was nice to have a long-time friend as a crutch.

For Red, he was relieved to have a way of means to get secure and trustworthy information. Though he appreciated Finn as a friend, his mission came first. He had a responsibility. He couldn't and wouldn't let Finn get in the way.

Once again, General Hux and Kylo Ren strode powerfully in front of columns of fighter pilots, suited up and ready for their last briefing.

Infront of Hux were 18 squadron and 652 squadron. Each squadron had about ten pilots in each. In their rows, they stood rigid, as though they had pickets stuck up their spines. Their intimidating black uniforms reflected the blindingly bright lights on the hangar ceiling.

"Our mission takes place tomorrow," Hux began. "The order of plans is to only be discussed in this room."

They all nodded.

"Phase one of the plan is to make it to the planet. Whilst doing so, you must make sure that there are no enemy aircraft present in the skies. They make our mission so much harder," said Hux, grumbling.

They nodded once again and listened contently.

"Phase two," Kylo announced. "Find exactly where they're constructing their base. The planet is no longer inhabited since the Empire ruled, so don't worry about civilians."

"Phase three," Hux finished. "Eradication. Once you locate the base, destroy it. And with it, all the Resistance scum that you can see. They are in the middle of construction, so they are vulnerable."

They nodded lastly.

"Do you have any questions?" Kylo asked. No one said anything, so he took that as a no. "Dismissed," he said with a gesture of his hand. They all marched out of the hangar and to their individual duties. Kylo turned to Hux.

"What are we going to do about our Resistance spy?" He asked.

Hux hadn't forgotten about FN-2191- Red. He had plans for Red. Hux had no idea what kind of stuff Red had gotten into at the Resistance base, besides what he had been told. He had no idea whether or not he had leaked First Order info to them, but Hux was not prepared to take risks. His plan for Red involved torture and heavy reconditioning. If all else failed, execution.

If needed.

The First Order would not withstand another full-scale attack from the Resistance if one were to take place. They really needed to take them out soon if they were to survive another raid- the Resistance could only grow since their victory. Their triumph would spread, and of course, everyone would want to join them instead. The winning side. The First Order ranks had substancially dropped (and not just because of the Starkiller Base disaster), aswell as their enrolment numbers. They were shrinking, unless they could up their appeal. They were still an unstoppable force, but without new soldiers, they would grow weak over time. Their strategies would play old. Their tactics would shed their edginess. The First Order would fall.

Hux wouldn't let that happen. And that's why Red couldn't be let back into the First Order without all Resistance brainwashing overrided.

But nonetheless, Hux and Kylo had a mission to plan. Though most of it was already set up, something was bound to go wrong. Something always does! Hux was prepared for some bumps along the way, but he was determined for this to work. The last bit of planning had to do with the actual destruction of the base.

Their pilots had been told to bomb it ruthlessly, and that's what they would do. But strategically, there were specific things that needed to be destroyed. The Millenium Falcon, their shipping freights, and their documents were of special importance.

Kylo Ren's stomach churned at the thought of the Falcon behind destroyed. His childhood, though mostly unpleasant and full of empty memories, took place on that ship. He also got weak at the thought of his mother being killed. His cherished mother? The only bringer of light whom he had growing up?

That would not happen.

As a little tradition, Kylo Ren spoke to the helmet of his late grandfather the night before every mission. That night was no exception. As he knelt, he removed his helmet, feeling as though it opened himself up to his grandfather even more. Thus their half-mute conversation began.

"Grandfather," Kylo announced in his rough voice. "I want you to look after mother."

Nothing.

"I know the raid has many outcomes, none of which I can foresee. She needs to be safe."

Silence.

"I love her, I don't want her to die. My mother is still dear to me. She could be in real danger, so please, just watch over her."

He sat awaiting his responce of deafening silence. Sighing, he reached for his mask. The Darth Vader helmet yielded no responce once again. Placing his helmet over his head, he turned and got up.

No, someone echoed. It hadn't come from the hallway, it hadn't come from a comlink. It had come from Kylo Ren's head. The same voice he had heard before was once again reaching out to him. The young, sad-sounding man. Jumping upon the chance to talk to him, whoever he was, Kylo Ren asked him a question immediately.

"Who are you?" He asked, pulling his helmet back off.

She has pushed me away, he said solemnly, his voice tinged with sadness. His tone had not changed.

"Who? Who pushed you away?" Kylo asked, rushed.

She won't accept my offer. I can't get through to her anymore.

"Who?!" Kylo repeated, getting agitated at the voice for not answering him. But the voice was no more. He had once again disappeared into the bottomless, soundproof gorge of the Force.

Kylo Ren remained rattled at the appearance of the voice again. Should he tell Snoke, as he had been told, or should he take care of this himself? It all depended on what Snoke had planned for that situation.

He chose to keep the voice his little secret. He didn't need Snoke butting in on his personal life more than he was already.

Leia took one last longing look at the now desolate Resistance base on D'Qar. The bare tarmac, the empty hangars and halways. Empty but full of memories.

Leia was hopeful for the future. A move would be good for them, and refreshing. Though she hated leaving the beautiful planet, she knew she would come to love the new one as well, as she always did. Her least favourite base was Hoth, because it was so cold. Luckily, they weren't there for very long. She heard about how pretty this new planet was, with its tall mountains and giant, lush valleys with rivers running through them. She knew she wasn't the only person who would enjoy the Barnush moon.

Rey and Finn were especially excited. There were so many new things for them to explore on D'Qar, and although they hadn't seen everything, they were looking forward to what else they could find on the moon. They scampered up the ramp of the Falcon, where Red, Luke, Chewbacca and the droids were already waiting. Saying one last goodbye, Leia followed them up. She turned and waved as the ramp closed beneath her.

In the cockpit sat Luke, Chewbacca, Rey, and shortly, Leia. The two pilots started the ship up and slowly, they lifted off the ground. Finn hurried into the cockpit to take one last look at the base and, in doing so, affectionately placed his hand on Rey's shoulder. She looked at it curiously but decided to not fight him about it. She left it there, and it made her happy. She couldn't deny that Finn always made her feel better, no matter how sad or happy she already was.

Luke wasn't so cheerful. He was sitting in the presence of Rey, whom he hadn't seen in weeks. He had been avoiding her on purpose. He needed to organize his thoughts and find out how to properly approached her about her past- which she knew nothing about. He was unsure of how to react if she were to bring it up.

They had left the atmosphere of D'Qar when Leia beckoned Luke out into the corridor. She lead him away from the crew quarters where Finn, Red, R2-D2, and C-3P0 patiently waited. She took him to the secluded maintenance bay. Stationing herself infront of her brother, she took an authoritative stance. But instead of striking up a conversation, she gleaned at him. Unable to handle the diseasing silence any more, Luke was the first one to speak.

"What is this about?" He asked. Leia chuckled but didn't answer his question. Luke sighed. "Is this about Rey?"

Leia nodded. "You need to talk to her, Luke. You can't keep avoiding your problems."

Well I've been avoiding them for fifteen years, Luke thought brashly.

"I know you've been avoiding her on purpose," Leia admitted. Luke scoffed.

"Well, how am I supposed to bring up something so... Heavy as her past?" He rebutted.

"She's more approachable than you think," Leia quipped, raising her eyebrows.

"I'll think about it," said Luke. He turned and started to leave.

"You know she has the Force, right?" Leia called. Luke froze, shoulders slouched. That's right. Oh, he had forgetten about Rey's Force abilities. Were they still active? Had they depleted? She did say something about fighting Kylo Ren- and winning. But in Luke's eyes, she was no longer Kira Kenobi, one of his most promising students, able to take a jug of water and pour it into a glass, using the Force seamlessly. She was now Rey, the dismal scavenger from Jakku, who could fight like a boss but no longer had the Force wrapped around her finger.

"She needs to be trained."

Luke was extremely hesitant when it came to training new a Jedi- even if she was already partially taught. He couldn't go through what he did with Ben again with Rey.

"I can't, Leia," Luke murmured.

Leia fathomed the thought of Rey going untaught. Though Leia was untrained in the Force, she still held its abilities- and she could sense all of Rey's potential. It would be a shame to let it go to waste.

"Whatever," Leia scoffed. They both left the bay.

It wasn't until they were well into the halfday-long trip that Rey finally left the cockpit to stretch her legs. She chatted with Finn, where she was finally introduced to Red for the first time. She gave Finn a look of accomplishment, which to he replied:

"You and Poe were right." Rey smiled. Of course we were.

She continued on her way to wherever Luke was. She was determined to find him and talk to him. She wanted to be trained in the Force. She walked around before she found him, once again, in the crew quarters, only this time, he wasn't asleep. He sat on the bed, reading an old pamphlet about the Rebel Alliance. Rey knew little about the Rebels, but she knew they had a conflict on Jakku once. How else would so many of their ships have ended up there? Rey cleared her throat to get Luke's attention. He turned, somewhat startled, to look at Rey.

"Oh," he said, somewhat disappointed. He never intended on actually taking Leia's advice and talking to Rey. If he could, he planned on avoiding Rey for as long as he could. Well, that didn't go as planned. "Hello, Rey."

"Hello, sir," she returned. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

Like sighed. "Did Leia tell you to come see me?"

Rey got confused. "No," she answered. "Should she have?"

Luke shook his head. "Never mind. What did you want to talk about?" He asked warily.

"I want to be trained."

Luke's mind halted. Great, just what he didn't want to hear. He couldn't trust any new learners. Not after the turmoil with Ben.

But it was Rey, and she already was somewhat fluent in the Force. She sure could wield a light saber, and could successfully pull off a mind trick. Not even Luke could do that well! Everywhere she was, every time she walked into a room, you could feel her power. She could be a powerful Jedi, if only she were trained. Luke couldn't bring himself say no. Really, her future lied in his hands.

So did her past.

Luke sighed heavily. "Yes," he announced. "I'll train you."

Rey's face lit up. Her happiness was indescribable.

"Thank you," she exclaimed. "Thank you, sir!"

Now all Luke needed to do was remember how to train, if he would go through with it at all. Luke couldn't afford to have another pupil turn to the Dark side.

Starting up their fighters, 18 and 652 squadron prepared for take off. The 20 TIE fighters would be their means of travel to the Barnush moon, a whole days trip across the galaxy. They were so far as to not be noticed or picked up by any Resistance scanners. The giant Star Destroyers were more likely to be noticed than the tiny black fighters and one First Order transport shuttle which housed General Hux and Kylo Ren. They were not going to be left out of this.

Given the command to leave, 18 squadron took flight. They left the hangar, followed by the shuttle, and 652 took up the rear. The shuttle was sandwiched between so it would have the most protection.

Inside the shuttle, Hux and Kylo talked about everything. Their strategies, their plan, individual jurisdictions. They had no idea how much they would have constructed, but no matter what, everything in sight was to be bombed. If it looked like a structure, crate, person or thing, it was a target.

"We should get there around mid-day, Bespin time zone," Hux stated, rubbing his hands together.

"This better go well," said Kylo. Hux smirked.

"Don't worry," he replied. "I have a good feeling about this. We'll get to solid land, and kill off any remaining Resistance scum."

Resistance scum, like Kylo's mother, perhaps? Chewbacca, the walking carpet of playfulness? The rest of the respected officers whom Kylo remembered from his childhood- though he never admired them so much-? Under his mask, he squinted his eyes in anguish. His hands balled into fists underneath the instrument panels. His mother was to go untouched, or so help him, Kylo Ren would go berserk.

Watch over her, he said to his grandfather. Of course, he got no reply.

Thus began their day long journey to bitter destruction.

Alright, this is the longest chapter I've written, and I really like it, so I hope you do too! Remember, feel free to comment and/or review! It's appreciated! I still have the entire next chapter planned out, so expect that soon too!

~MEH