Finn had been complaining and grumbling for the last hour now. Poe, very kindly, bit his tongue and didn't snap at him, or tell him to shut up. He simply placated him, and agreed with him, crooning in with "You're so right." or "I know, right?!" every now and then. Finn was a bit of a sassy guy, Poe had come to find. Whenever he had disagreed with Finn about the planet, he would get sassed something fierce. So now Poe was only giving platitudes.
"Why would Dara come here…" Poe asked, as the sandy wastelands came into view. He had meant to be a rhetorical question.
"There was an awakening of the Force here." Finn said, staring blankly out at the desert. Poe glanced over briefly at the man, but instead concentrated on setting down just outside Niima Outpost. Nobody was going to steal the piece of crap that Poe was flying.
"Where did that come out of?" Finn shifted uncomfortably in his seat, glaring out at the sand. It was barely visible in the darkness, but Poe supposed he knew it was there, and that's what made him glare.
"I dunno. Sounds like something old Luke Skywalker would say… Rey lived here." The pilot supposed his friend was right. The Force had had a presence here through its vessel, Rey. There had been an awakening of the Force here, as Finn had said. Poe was starting to wonder if that was what Dara was chasing. The Force. She had taken part of a Force Tree. She had come to the place where Rey's story as a Jedi had started. Where would she go next? What would she do here?
"So… Where do we start?" Finn asked, voicing Poe's thoughts perfectly. Poe was stumped. He gazed out at the still night. What was he meant to do now? How could he pick up her trail on this forsaken planet? BB-8 chimed to get its master's attention.
"What is it buddy?" The droid beeped and twittered frantically telling Poe that it knew where Rey lived. That it could take them there. Poe grinned from ear to ear at his little astromech. Finn looked between Poe and the droid.
"What? What did he say?"
"Whoa whoa whoa. Don't go gendering my droid! And BB-8 says they can take us to where Rey used to live. I'm certain we'll find something." Poe had a very good feeling about this. He felt like they were on the right track. Dara had been here, and he thought for certain she had gone to the place where Rey had lived. Finn looked hesitant. Poe understood. They were about to encroach on the personal space of Rey, Finn's girlfriend, and one of Poe's friends and former lovers. The wind went out of Poe's sails a little.
"We have to do it, don't we?" Finn said, in a small voice. Poe nodded.
"Maybe we can pick up some of the things that seem important. I'm sure she misses her stuff." Poe suggested, hoping to ease the feelings of wrongdoing they were both experiencing. Finn looked down at the little droid to give himself time to think. Encroaching on her personal space was probably crossing the line. But they had to find Dara. That was their mission. And she was in trouble. He hoped that one day he could earn Rey's forgiveness for having to do this.
"BB-8. Take us there." The little astromech bleeped then started to roll towards the door. Poe and Finn followed on, heading out into the chilly night. The small droid rolled over to a bulky land speeder that had no seat and had been hammered together out of scrap. The little droid said that this speeder had been Rey's. They would have to use it to get to her home. Poe hoisted himself up, and offered a hand down to Finn.
"Make sure you hold on. This thing looks like It has a kick."
Making their way across the desert on a speeder without a seat and with Finn clinging to him tightly, was perhaps a little bit uncomfortable and awkward. Having his arms around his waist, holding him tight. It made something squirm in Poe's stomach. BB-8 kept beeping directions at him. When they had finally arrived. Dread and fear filled Poe. An old abandoned AT-AT lay upon its side, partially covered in sand, slowly eroding away. It was a relic of terrifying age of oppression.
"She lived here?!" Finn's voice was just a little bit higher than normal, cracking from dryness. Poe knew immediately, looking at the ruin, that she had. BB-8 wouldn't lie. But there was more. Poe just knew. He could feel Rey here. He could see her sitting outside this wreck, staring up at the sky. Waiting. He closed his eyes for a second, and tried to focus.
"Come on." Poe took the first step and plunged into the gaping chasm of the long abandoned weapon. Rey had carved out a home for herself in the belly of the beast. Small bits and pieces salvaged from other downed ships and vehicles were clattered together to make all sorts of ornaments, tools, odds and ends. Poe's heart leapt up into his mouth when he saw an old Rebel Alliance helmet beneath a small, orange, woollen doll that Rey had obviously made herself. A layer of dust and sand coated the top of the helmet.
"BB-8, can you light things up for us buddy?" The little droid shone a bright light around the small abode. The small space was cluttered with all sorts of scrap that she may have been saving to make into something else. Poe didn't know how he felt snooping around in Rey's home, seeing how she lived. He was getting a very personal glimpse into her life.
"Do you think maybe we should take her back some of her stuff?" Poe suggested. He looked over his shoulder to see a very uncomfortable Finn. His eyes were taking in all the details. He stood stock still.
"Uh… Yeah. Rey would love to get this stuff back."
He left Finn to pick out the things he would like to give back to Rey. Poe searched around a little, wondering if there would be any indication, any clue of what Dara had been after. Where was she now? Was she still on Jakku? Poe pushed through the dusty objects of Rey's home, feeling incredibly sad for her. How had he managed to come into contact with two exceptionally unfortunate orphans this way? How had he become so embroiled? Something caught Poe's eye in the furthest reaches of the room. Something out of place. One single plant was growing, where the others were now simply corpses. A small plant in a pot completely free of sand and dust stood before a wall in which words had been scratched hastily.
"The Order is coming. The Knights want what I have, want me. Leave now and go back. They can't find the Temple. They can't hurt you again. Leave."
Poe's breath caught in his throat.
"FINN!" he called. The man came clambering over objects to get to Poe.
"What?!" Poe pointed at the wall. He took a couple of takes to read it. "So that's it? Game over?" Poe stared at the wall and read over it again. Poe walked back through the collapsed AT-AT. He plucked up the small orange doll of a Rebel pilot. He considered it for a moment, holding it like a worry doll. Where would Dara go and how would she get there? He looked down at the small doll, and imagined Rey as a small child making this to comfort herself. He looked over at the helmet. Clearly Rey idolised the Rebel Alliance pilots. He wondered for a moment if that was what had drawn her to him? Now wasn't the time to be thinking about himself.
"We have a lead. This Temple. Luke would know about it, wouldn't he? We need to ask him."
"So we're going back to Coruscant?" Poe nodded, and squeezed the soft wool doll in his hand.
"Here take these. They meant a lot to her."
"How do you know?"
"I just do."