Chapter 3

As it turned out the planet Olara wasn't half bad. It was a medium sized planet covered in lush greenery, tropical fruit, and strange animals that neither Rey nor Finn had ever seen. It was hot and beyond humid so that it was like walking and trying to breathe underwater.

For Rey it wasn't so bad. She was used to extreme heat, though this new type of heat was definitely something she would have to get used to. For the thousandth time she wiped sweat out of her eyes as they moved through the dense jungle. She wished a breeze would blow through the leafy plants to provide some relief but had pretty much given up on it happening after 5 hours of walking.

She heard a thud and turned to find Finn sitting heavily on the ground. Sweat beaded on his chocolate skin and his shirt was almost soaked through. Rey eyed him warily. He'd been the one who had volunteered the two of them and yet he'd complained the whole time, constantly wanted to stop and take a water break and would suddenly just stop and sit on the ground like he was doing now.

Rey dimly wondered if this would have been faster with just her and BB-8. After all the little round droid was having no issues with the heat and was helping to map their progress not only so that they could get back to the ship but so that they would know a safe route back to the base once they retrieved the others.

"If you would keep moving we could make it there before it gets dark," she called back. "Heat stroke and exhaustion will kill you, you know," he said leaning back on a log. "So will some of the creatures in this jungle if we stay stationary too long." "Well can't you like use the force to make sure nothing too big and carnivorous comes our way?"

Rey frowned back at him. She could but she'd been avoiding using the force for fear that Kylo Ren would appear at this inopportune time. Of course she couldn't tell Finn that.

"Or we could keep moving. It wouldn't have taken us 5 hours to make it this far if you hadn't needed to stop every 300 meters," Rey said. "I am sorry that I am not used to these insane temperatures," he grumbled back. "So what did you do when the order sent you to such planets as this," Rey asked. "Our uniforms and helmets were temperature controlled. I didn't experience real heat for the first time until I was on Jakku," Finn replied, taking long strides to catch up to her and the droid. "What about before the order?" "I don't remember. My earliest memories are of being a part of the younglings training to become whatever the First Order required of us."

Rey was shocked. She knew Stormtroopers were snatched from their families young she just didn't know how young. The three of them were silent for a few moments as they moved through the jungle.

Thoughts and emotions fought for dominance at the front of her brain. Sadness, anger, sympathy dueled with wanting to go back and kill Snoke herself instead of letting Kylo do it, wondering if Finn's parents ever thought about their little boy and knowing what it's like to have nothing and no one.

"Sorry to hear that, Finn," Rey said. "Don't be. My parents willingly gave me up for whatever credits the Order was paying for future Stormtroopers at the time. I can't imagine a life other than this," he said. "I suppose if you would have stayed with your family we never would have met the same way if my parents had never abandoned me we would have never met," Rey said with a sad smile.

Her, Finn and Kylo were three peas in a pod. Rey wondered if their parents knew what path they were sending their kids on. Rey could have asked General Leia but that seemed way too personal and Rey didn't feel that she had the right to question what Leia had thought was the best for her child, even if he did become the Supreme Leader of the First Order because of it.

Rey physically shook her head, trying to keep the thoughts of the handsome monster from opening the bond. BB-8 beeped a question at her asking if she was alright.

"Yeah, just thinking too hard as usual," she said using the same excuse she always did. "I didn't mean to bring the mood down," Finn said sounding sincere. "You didn't. I was just wondering if our parents knew they were sending us down this path when they made the choices they did," she admitted. "Honestly, I don't think parents ever truly think about their children's futures at least not in this galaxy. We are all just trying to survive," he said thoughtfully. "If I ever have children I will make it my mission to ensure that they are safe, happy and free in the future," Rey vowed.

That brought a smile to Finn's handsome face.

"I think you'll make a great parent one day, Rey."

BB-8 beeped and chirped frantically up at the top of a hill where he was waiting for Rey and Finn to reach him. The two of them raced up the hill and were more than thrilled as a giant clearing came into view. In the very center of the clearing was a building twice the size of the base on Crait. It looked like the perfect place to rebuild the Resistance.

BB-8 chirped happily as he, Rey and Finn raced down the hill to the gate that was surrounding the base. From the rusty iron of the gate Rey could tell that no one had been here in a long time. She reached out with the force trying to detect anything even remotely dangerous before placing her hand on the surprisingly cool metal of the opening.

When she was sure it was safe she pushed the gate and it swung inward easily. Rey found that odd when the rest of the gate and fence was rusty and yet the hinges seemed to have been oiled recently. She glanced at Finn who had the same suspicious look on his face.

She didn't have to say it for him to pull out his barrowed blaster. Rey took her quarterstaff in her hands sent tendrils of the force forward to seek out if there were any life forms.

"You stay behind us BB-8," Finn whispered as he and Rey began to inch forward.

Rey's face was screwed up in concentration as the tall wild grass all but hid the building from view now that they were inside the gate. She couldn't feel anyone but then again the planet itself emitted what could only be compared to a cloaking frequency. It wasn't too farfetched that someone made the technology that created the frequency and that that someone was still here on the planet, possibly in the base.

"You picking up anything," Finn asked. "Yeah, the animals in the jungle. There doesn't seem to be anything resembling a person within the entire vicinity of the base and nothing at all from inside the base," Rey said. "So, do you think it's safe," he asked. "I don't know but we won't find out unless we keep going."

They came to the door of the base rather quickly and Rey punched in the universal Resistance code and the huge metal doors slid apart with a whoosh. Rey and Finn both stepped back as hot stale air blew out at them. BB-8 moved forward clearly not bothered. Rey was the brave one and moved after the droid quickly. As soon as she stepped beyond the doors the lights came on.

"Welcome Rebel fighters," an automated voice exclaimed.

Finn came running with his blaster pointed but Rey could only stare. Before them stood a droid that looked suspiciously like C3-P0 except he was done in a bluish steel gray. The droid was staring at the two of them expectantly.

"Excuse me, are you a protocol droid," Rey asked finally. "Why yes. Are you two rebel fighters," the droid asked. "Yes we are. Is this base habitable," Finn asked. "Yes sir. It has been my job for the last 30 years to take care of this place in case the Resistance should ever have need of it again," the droid exclaimed.

BB-8 rolled over to the droid and let out a series of chirps, whistles and beeps. Finn looked at Rey expectantly.

"BB-8 is asking him who he belongs to and if any humans have been here recently," she translated. "Oh," Finn said. "I am called BQ-21and served several members of the Resistance," he said. "And who sent you here to take care of this base," Rey asked. "Mr. Lando Calrissian sent me here along with 5 maintenance droids. There were humans here at one point but when it became clear that the officials of the Resistance weren't planning on coming here they left to join with the others," the droid known as BQ-21 explained.

Rey thought about it for a minute. She had never seen a droid like this. She would have loved to take the thing a part just to see how it ticked. It must have showed in the way she was looking at the thing because it took a step back from her.

"That explains the well-oiled hinges. BQ, can you show us around the base. I want to make sure we have everything we will need to survive here for a while," Rey said.

The droid nodded and the four of them headed down the long hall connected to the front door. Along the way they came across sleeping quarters, more than enough for what was left of the Resistance, a giant kitchen, a large workout area, a med bay with a life time supply of bacta, a communications hub complete with the controls for the force field and laser canons that acted as the defense of the place, a war room with a table large enough for 50 people easy, a landing dock where they could stash the Falcon without worry with a hanger that contained several x-wings and last but not least there was a cache of weapons including several kaber crystals, hilts and tools used for making, maintaining and fixing lightsabers. It turned out that this base was actually perfect. Now all they had to do was get everyone else here.

"This place is perfect," Finn said stealing the words right out of Rey's mouth. "Why, thank you, Master Finn," BQ said. "We really should go get the others. BB-8 why don't you see if you can get full power restored to the base. Me and Finn will go get the others," Rey said.

BB-8 chirped happily. While Rey and Finn made their way back through the thick jungle to where the others were waiting, BB-8 and BQ-21 got the base ready for human habitation. This time Finn didn't need to take a break every 30 minutes and they made it to where the others were waiting in a little over 3 hours instead of the 6 it took before.

Leia and the others seemed more than pleased as Finn and Rey told them all about the base and everything it held. Rey could almost see the excitement radiating off of Poe as she described the X-wings that all appeared to be in working order. Leia and Kaydel couldn't wait to get to the communications hub so they could start trying to rally allies to come to their aid. Chewie wanted to get to the hanger so he could perform much needed maintenance on the Falcon. Finn couldn't wait to get Rose to the med bay so that the Bacta could start healing her wounds and Rey just wanted to sleep somewhere that wasn't overly crowded and noisy.

In the Falcon the journey back to the base took less than 30 minutes. It actually took longer to unload everyone and everything they had managed to take from the base on Crait. While Poe was helping Finn get Rose settled in the med bay, Rey went in search of a room for herself. After wandering around for almost a hour she couldn't decide on a room and took to wandering the grounds around the base.

She discovered fruit trees and a well-tended garden not too far from the back door of the base. There was also a large lake and a fresh-water well. Even though they'd only been there a short time, Rey got the impression that this was home and it felt right.