I do as Starla recommended and head down to the military compound.
People come and leave the compound and I look around the auditorium and debriefing centre. It is a mess: broken equipment and blood stains are splattered on the concrete but people are too busy to pay attention. Wires are severed and sparks crackle, there's smoke and a lone, beeping alarm which has its power cut when I start to walk in. Papers are scattered and holograms are pixelated and flicker.
The troopers mustn't have liked when I shut down the power, the consoles are destroyed, bullet holes puncture the controls and laser scotch marks have damaged the connections.
The General sits alone and sorts through some holofiles at the back of the room, so I limp through the commotion to approach her. I am unaware if I am out of line interrupting, so I awkwardly stand near her.
I shift my weight and she notices me from the corner of her eye and she glances up to me before looking at the files again.
"Sorry, General?" I drag the words in a questioning manner.
"That's the matter, Finn, everything okay?" She's distracted but her tone is pleasantly concerned.
"Yes everything is fine," my honest answer would be longer, but it wouldn't be appropriate to express it to her. "Starla said I should come and help, I'm just not sure what I could do,"
"Sanitation?" She asks
"Pardon ma'am?"
"On Starkiller Base, your job was sanitation, correct?" She continues to direct her focus on the files, not paying attention to the way I begin to fret. How did she know? Does she know I also jeopardised the entire resistance mission by lying and saying I would disable the shields without possessing any capabilities.
"Yes, General," I answer quietly, and she keys in a few details into a holofile.
"Take a breath, Finn," she laughs and I can't seem to do follow her order. "Now why don't you go help clean up the mess? Be careful, and leave the electrical side of things to the tech-team," I nod and do as she says. I feel her eyes on me as I walk away.
I help clean the best I can; lifting and moving the broken equipment I can manage with my bad leg. I help a few women by holding the door for them as they each carry broken console panels into the halls. A few men sweep the dust and broken glass into a corner where I then begin to collect it and put it into a garbage droid.
A few hours pass and we are given some rations for lunch, majority of what food is left has been given to the infirmary so they can feed the hundreds of injured patients.
I then resume assisting to make the compound as safe and clean as possible. I grovel under the main console centre and begin to collect any large pieces of broken metal and plastic on the floor. I burn my fingers and get a shock when I accidently grab hold of a large exposed wire, I flinch and hit my head on the top of the keyboard as I try to evacuate. "What did I tell you?" I see a pair of shoes standing close to me. I shuffle out from under the console and glance up to see the General. She rolls her eyes and shakes her head, a smile laced with mockery dances on her lips.
"Not to touch the controls," I grumble as I assess my red fingers.
"Well yes, but I also said be careful,"
"Sorry, General Organa," I say as I shakily stand to my feet.
"Come with me," she does not await my response, so I obey and follow her into one of the small conference rooms. It is very similar to the one that she and Luke spoke to me in after who happened with Kylo Ren.
I stand in the door as she takes a seat in the middle of the long table. "Sit down," she pats the table beside her so I sit next to her.
"To begin with I need to thank you again for shutting down our missiles, if it wasn't for you we could have well lost our inter fleet,"
"You're welcome, I didn't want to see anyone else go down like Poe had," the General nods and takes a deep breath. She cares for him, it is obvious in her the way she shifts her weight.
"I'm sure you've been wondering what exactly happened here last night,"
"I can't say I have put much thought into it, General, it hasn't been on my mind,"
"You deserve a debriefing just like everyone else has received. I told Rey earlier today, and believe you should know as well. That way I can answer any questions you may have thought of," I nod along with her words.
"Thank you."
"Hux assumed we had brought Ben here," I do not correct her, and I wonder if she realised what name she chose to say. "He invested in the help of an old Clone army to seize the barracks and find and return Kylo Ren. When they were unsuccessful they sent for reinforcements – that was around the time you arrived – they were sent and they began to look through the databases for any records. They are too foolish to think we would keep such files. The Knights knew Rey and Luke would be a threat, so they tried to dispose of them. However, you seemed to be able to assess their plans and counteract them," I stay silent absorbing the information.
"I just wanted to help…"
"You succeeded, and I know it came at a great cost for you personally,"
"We all made our own choices last night, everyone has been affected," I feel as though the General is about to say something, but she purses her lips and waits for a moment.
"You have a kind heart; I hope you decide to stay with us,"
"I know where I belong now. It took too long for me to figure it out. My place is with Rey,"
"There is no one I trust more to protect her,"
"I'm sorry I let you down," General Organa retracts slightly as if stuck by the words and she quickly shakes her head.
"No you did not, there is a lot more than our enemies that she needs protecting from,"
"What do you mean?" I search her face but her expression gives no clues. Like brother like sister.
"She needs to be protected from herself, shown that there is more to life than loneliness. I know you have already accomplished that," I look down at my hands and smile. "Luke may think strength comes from withdrawing from emotions, but Rey needs it. Rey needs you, to remind her there is something worth fighting for,"
"I think your right," I'd agree with anyone who approved of us. "I hope I don't let you down, General," I meet her eye again and notice how her eyes shine.
"I don't foresee it," I smile a small smile. "Go get those burns looked at, you've done enough for today,"
"Yes ma'am, thank you for your time." I stand and exit the room.
I get some burn ointment from a droid before I return to Rey and Poe's shared room in the early evening.
I push open the door and am hit with the warmth. I see Rey's bed tilting her into a forward position. I wish I had an adjustable bed when I was stuck in here for weeks.
Rey seems to be asleep so I quietly walk over and stand near Poe. For the first time, fully taking in his condition and his bruised face, my heart aches as I relive the way I watched him fall from the sky. I brush a few locks of his raven hair from his forehead, his face has a dark shadow of a beard. I touch my smooth jawline and wonder why the First Order modified us to never grow facial hair. I sigh as I lightly grip onto his shoulder, like he would always do to me. I don't know if I do it to reassure him or to reassure myself.
"I thought you'd left again," Rey's groggy laugh makes me jump slightly. I have a feeling there is some honesty in her sarcasm.
I shake my head and smile softly, "Nope, I'm still limping around,"
I huff in exasperation as I sit on the edge of the spare bed, "Busy day?" She asks after watching my every move.
I take my shoes off, "Yeah definitely, I think I'll sleep for a week," I laugh and Rey's smile is small. I apply the creamy balm to my finger tips and then put the container on the bed.
"How did you cope stuck in a room like this?"
"I thought of you, it made me work a bit harder," her eyes shine in the dull light. "How's Poe?" I ask, and she shrugs.
"A few nurses came in to adjust his medication and monitor him for a while but there's no news," I hang my head a bit, "Sorry," she adds and I shrug.
"Thank you," I can't look at him for very long before having to avert my eyes.
How am I supposed to tell Rey what the Generals has planned for our living conditions? Do I just say it? I'm extremely nervous about it for some reason. I put my head in hand hands and rub my tired eyes.
"Is everything okay?" I look up, sniff and nod.
"Yeah, just tired," she doesn't seem convinced, I'm not either.