Chapter Eight – Rey and Finn
Rey walked straight from the bridge to the hangar bay. Once there she took a long look at the ships until a crew member walked up and said, "Can I help you…mist…master…sir?"
"I need a ship," Rey said.
"You normally fly on the Falcon right…ma'am?" the nervous crewman said.
"It's just Rey. And I can't take the Falcon. Just give me something with hyperdrive," Rey said.
"Um, I mean, I need authorization to give you a ship…Rey," the crewman said while looking around for anyone else to deal with his newfound problem for him.
Rey waved her hand in front of the crewman saying, "You will give me a ship." While she felt obligated to leave the Falcon here, she did not feel obligated to jump through bureaucratic hoops to do was Poe had told her she had to.
"I will give you a ship," the crewman said blankly.
"Is there anything that we don't normally use?" she asked. "I need hyperdrive. Maybe some blasters? Armor would be nice."
"Anything with all those features would be a ship we normally use," the crewman said.
"That makes sense," Rey said, uncertain of how to proceed.
Rey looked around the hangar while the crewman, no longer under the influence of her mind trick grew increasingly nervous from being in her presence. Then the doors to the hanger opened behind Rey and Finn came running through them, followed by R2-D2 and C-3PO, and shouted, "Rey!"
Rey turned around to look at Finn with a worried expression on her face and called out, "I'm not changing my mind Finn."
"Well, for one thing, you absolutely should change your mind," he said snippily. "But that's not why I am here. I didn't want us…not like that. Besides you shouldn't try whatever you are trying to do alone."
Rey smiled a bit and asked, "Are you saying you want to come with me?"
"Are you going to try to save him?" Finn asked.
"I can end it Finn. I know none of you believe me. But I believe he can change, that he will change. I think Leia believed it too," Rey said.
"I can't…I can't turn my back on these people," Finn replied. "Not for him."
"I'm not turning my back on these people for him. I am saving these people, by saving him. I know we will win the last battle, but people will still die in it. On both sides. If I can stop it, I have to try," Rey explained. More than anyone else, she wanted Finn to understand.
"Is that why you are doing this? To save the lives of soldiers who will die in battle?" Finn asked. The two of them stared at each other for a moment, each unwilling to put into words what Finn was really asking about, to speak what had been unspoken for so long. It was easy, during war, to find reasons to delay a discussion about love and friendship. As the war wound down, it became harder.
After waiting for an answer that would not come, Finn finally said, "I can't go with you Rey. But like I said, I don't want you going alone."
"Mistress Rey, R2 and I would be honored to accompany on your quest," C-3PO said.
"They're Skywalker droids after all. With Leia gone I thought, a mission to save the last of them is where they belong," Finn said.
"Thank you, Finn," Rey said, smiling. The two of them then step towards each other and embraced.
After letting go Finn said, "Well, you'll need a ship. I actually have one in mind. I thought it would be fitting for the funeral, but Poe overruled me."
Rey turned to see an elevator bringing a ship to the hangar deck. It was a Naboo star skiff, sleek and shining in the hangar lights, an elegant ship from a more peaceful age.
"Now it's got no guns, but from the sound of things you aren't going to be attacking any First Order starships," Finn said. "It will get you where you need to go."
"Is that…is this the ship that belong to Luke and Leia's mother?" Rey asked.
Finn looked surprised when he answered. "I don't know. It could be, I guess, but I don't know how that ship would have ended up here. One of the Mon Calamari said it was being used as a refugee ship years back. Probably from the catastrophe on Naboo. Anyway, the Mon Calamari accepted the refugees, that's how they came by this ship. But I figure that this is the closest you could get these days."
In response to R2-D2 squeaking and beeping, C-3PO said. unheard by Rey or Finn, "I have never been on a ship of this kind before R2, I don't know what you are talking about," as the two of them rolled up the ramp into the ship.
As Rey prepared to do the same, she look at Finn and said, "I will be back Finn, I promise."
As the ramp closed behind her, Finn said, "Goodbye Rey." He stood to watch as the ship took off and exited the hangar, wondering whether she would be able to keep her promise.