Chapter 9
Alone in the dunes of Jakku
Arya reaches the bridge of the Finalizer, at a rather slow pace. Once there, she gives General Hux a hard stare before turning to her master. Kylo Ren looks silently in the direction of the planet, probably with a pensive expression on his face. Arya takes a step closer to him.
"Master?" she says in an almost childlike voice, not daring to disturb him more than that."
The master of the Knights of Ren turns around, looking at her through his helmet.
"I hope your men recover the map, General. I'd hate to have to deal with something as trivial as chasing a droid."
Without even looking at Armitage Hux, Kylo Ren leaves the bridge. Arya decides to follow him. She manages to sneak into the elevator just before leaving the bridge. The door closes and she looks at her master standing with his back to her. She can feel that something is wrong, he's cold. Many would say it's nothing new about Kylo Ren, but she knows he's different with her.
"Tell me, Arya."
His voice breaks the heavy silence, like a thunderstorm in the middle of a calm night.
"What's so hard about capturing a droid?" he says, turning to her.
Arya looks up at him, trying to guess his expression behind the helmet.
"Nothing, master. Especially if I were to do it myself."
Kylo Ren shakes his head.
"It's not up to you to do it, we're above such tasks. I've trained you to know the way of the force as I understand it, and to surpass yourself in whatever you need to fight alone or by my side."
The young apprentice looks at her master with a rather stunned expression at his words. She doesn't really know how to respond to that.
"Thank you for... your teaching, master." she simply says.
"Don't thank me, I couldn't have dreamt of a better apprentice."
Hearing these words echoes in Arya's head. Few people have ever said something like that to her, a sincere compliment. In fact, apart from her mother, she can't really think of anyone.
On Jakku, the search for the BB unit continues as the few stormtroopers comb the Niima outpost. Residents are questioned, shops are searched... nothing is left to chance. In the midst of all this mayhem, the young scavenger manages to get closer and closer to her speeder, closely followed by BB-8. Once near her means of transport, a red speeder made of scratch but rather fast and strong, the scavenger attaches the droid on the side of it. She uses a net to hold BB-8 in place before mounting the speeder. But when she starts it up, the noise immediately catches FN-1602's attention.
"There, the droid! Someone's trying to grab it." he says pointing at the speeder.
But it's too late: the scavenger manages to escape with the droid towards the desert. The sergeant contacts the star destroyer.
"The droid has been located. It's in the possession of a resident who fled in a speeder, model unknown, probably custom-built. I'm sending you a potential itinerary."
On board the huge ship, Nastia Unamo, chief petty officer, receives the transmission from the ground.
"General Hux, we have news from the intervention team." she says looking at her superior.
"Great, I hope they're good."
"Not really... the droid got away."
Hux turns to look at Unamo.
"What? How can a simple droid elude our soldiers?" the general says in a bewildered tone.
"The BB unit was helped by someone, and the two fled in a speeder."
"Well, go after them! Do something but I want to see that droid and that person on my bridge!"
Nastia Unamo replies with a nod. She passes on the message to the troops on the ground.
Meanwhile, in his cell, Poe is slowly recovering from the mental torture inflicted by Kylo Ren. The pilot realizes that his bonds are still very tight, and notices a lot of bruising on his wrists.
"Not my lucky day…"
He begins to rub his right ear against his shoulder in a meticulous manner. That's how Poe manages to pull a needle out from behind his ear, making it slide delicately along his sleeve so that it doesn't fall to the ground. He manages to get it to reach his hand.
"Got you!"
The pilot then uses the needle to hook the mechanism of the interrogation chair. By dint of perseverance, he managed to free his right arm from the embrace. Poe then activates the button to free his left arm and legs and finally stands up, taking a step forward.
"A truly deplorable welcome. That's no way to treat a guest."
He steps up to the door and takes a deep breath, hoping there's no one behind it watching the entrance. He presses the control panel with a quick tap and the door opens, revealing an empty corridor. Poe shrugs his shoulders and lets out a sigh of relative satisfaction.
The Resistance pilot makes his way through the corridors of the Finalizer, dodging as best he can any stormtrooper or maintenance worker he may encounter. His progress goes smoothly until he comes face to face with a stormtrooper, visibly alone. Poe quickly reaches for the soldier's F-11D blaster rifle, his only chance of survival... or death. The stormtrooper doesn't give in, but the pilot still manages to grab the blaster, switches it to stun mode, and fires. The soldier in white armor collapses unconscious, stunned by the shot, before he could warn anyone.
Poe was about to walk away, keeping the blaster, but as he looked back at the stormtrooper, an idea occurs to him. He drags the soldier into a passageway and begins stripping him of his armor to wear it. Once he removes the helmet, he has a moment of shock. The stormtrooper's face is so young, the poor boy can't be more than twenty.
"Sorry kiddo." the thirty-two-year-old pilot says.
He uses the stormtrooper's hand to activate the helmet's optical systems. He then wears the last piece of his disguise to improve his chances of going undercover.
"That's a pretty tight suit of armor. I haven't put on weight, right? Anyway, how do you find a ship here?" he says to himself before moving away.
The scavenger eventually reaches the AT-AT wreckage that serves as her home. She detaches the droid from her speeder.
"I know it's not ideal, but it's all I've got." she says to the droid, looking at the wreckage.
The droid emits a beep of curiosity.
"By the way, I'm Rey." she tells the little droid.
BB-8 responds with a playful beep, followed by a little movement.
"BB-8? Noted, I'll keep that in mind."
But their presentation will soon come to an end. A few dunes away, furious engines shatter the desert calm. These are two 125-Z treadspeeder bikes, sent by the First Order to catch up with Rey. Advancing at over 200 kilometers per hour, they got closer and closer to the droid's position.
Rey finally hears them in the distance and turns to BB-8.
"We have to go!"
She rushes to her speeder, but it's too late. The two speeders emerge from the dune above the AT-AT. Each pilot catapults the two jet troopers standing at the rear of their respective speeders. Overlooking the helpless scavenger, the two flying soldiers fire with the three outer barrels of their G125 projectile launcher to blast the red speeder with powerful explosive rounds.
"My speeder!" Rey shouts.
The two jet troopers descend to apprehend Rey, who is unable to defend herself. At the same time, one of the stormtroopers, acting as pilot, manages to launch a restraining bolt to paralyze BB-8. As his colleague handcuffs the young woman, the other jet trooper reaches for his comlink.
"Droid and fugitive apprehended."
"Got it, we're nearby." FN-1602 replies.
Seconds later, an Atmospheric Assault Lander arrives near the small group. As the ship lands, the ramp lowers and the dozen stormtroopers in Niima's outpost, along with FN-1602 and the other sergeant, emerge.
"Good work, let's get that scum on board."
The two jet troopers push Rey inside the troop transport as the young woman tries to free herself from the handcuffs.
"Let me go!"
She gets slapped in the face as the ramp closes.
"Silence! You're an enemy of the Order, having helped a droid containing vital information to escape." a jet trooper reply.
On the Finalizer, Kylo Ren is in the middle of a training session with Arya. The young apprentice does her best to please her master, who keeps a close eye on her every move.
"That's good, don't be a slave to your emotions. You have to control them to be strong, use their raw power."
Arya concentrates and lets out a scream before cutting up the various training dummies. Her strikes are precise, very precise in fact. This shows that they weren't done out of pure anger, but rather in a controlled manner. As she turns off her orange-bladed lightsaber, Kylo Ren approaches.
"You're making great progress and applying my advice to perfection. At this rate, I'll soon have nothing left to teach you. Whatever is left for you to learn, you'll find out for yourself on the battlefield, improvising as you go." Kylo explains her.
"With all due respect, I think you still have a lot to teach me. I'm still a long way from matching you."
Kylo Ren puts a hand on his apprentice's shoulder.
"You're a lot closer than you think."
As she flashes a slight smile, Arya and her master are interrupted by an officer entering the room.
"Sir, I've been looking for you. They found the droid."
Kylo Ren straightens up, determined.
"Where is it?" he simply says through his helmet.
"The transport is on its way, and they have a fugitive."
Even Arya seems surprised by the information.
"A fugitive? What kind of fugitive?" Kylo Ren says.
As Poe, still wearing the stormtrooper armor he stole, reaches the hangar, the AAL-1971/9.1 Troop Transport erupts and lands near him. He watches the transport until the ramp lowers and two soldiers kick a droid he recognizes into moving forward.
"BB-8..." he whispers to himself.
And then, just after, a prisoner comes out.
"Who is this girl?" Poe says to himself again on a low tone.
He sees that the two seem to be headed for the same place, so he decides to follow them. Rey and BB-8 are taken to the bridge of the destroyer, as requested by General Hux. Two stormtroopers escort the scavenger out of the elevator, while a third soldier deals with the droid.
"Ah, good. There's our droid and its fugitive friend." Hux says looking at the two.
Rey is pushed onto her knees by the two troopers. Hux looks down at her, hands behind his back.
"What a deplorable look... This planet really is a dump, just like the people who live here."
"I won't allow you to- "
As she tries to get up towards Hux, Rey is hit by a stormtrooper's rifle butt behind her.
"Pitiful..." Hux says with a disgusted look on his face.
Just then, Kylo Ren and Arya exit the elevator together. The two force users advance onto the bridge, the stormtroopers clearing the way by stepping aside.
"General Hux, I see your men have finally made it."
"I warned you, Ren. My soldiers are programmed for success." replies Armitage.
Kylo looks at the scavenger.
"And who is this... girl?"
"We don't know her name, but that's of little importance. She'll pay for helping the droid."
The stormtrooper standing by the still incapacitated droid eventually manually opened the data slot and extracted the precious map.
"General, this is certainly the map we've been looking for."
He steps forward to hand it to Hux, but Kylo Ren seizes the precious object with the force.
"The map to Skywalker…"
Rey stares at the mysterious black-clad warrior, her eyes filled with an emotion unknown to her.
"Skywalker? I thought it was a… legend."
"Quiet, scum!" a stormtrooper says slapping her face.
As for Hux, he looks darkly at Kylo Ren
"This map doesn't belong to you, Ren. It's the property of our Supreme Leader and nothing else."
"That's where you're wrong, the map to Skywalker is mine long before you ever knew it existed."
He closes his fist around the data fragment, turning back.
"Destroy the droid and do what you want with the girl. We don't need them anymore. Arya, with me." Kylo says looking at his apprentice.
The young woman follows him to the elevator, and just as the door closes, the door to a second one, opposite, opens. A single stormtrooper emerges. It's obviously Poe who made it to the bridge.
"You, Kylo Ren ordered to destroy the droid. Take care of that and get it to the dismantler."
"Yes... the droid, correct. The BB unit... at your command!" Poe says in an unconventional way which questions the stormtrooper.
He quickly grabs BB-8 and leaves as quickly as he arrived in the elevator, before the soldier can ask too many questions. Once inside, he removes the restraining bolt and reactivates his droid. BB-8 beeps furiously and runs into the leg of Poe, whom he thinks is a stormtrooper.
"Ouch! Calm down buddy, it's me!" Poe says removing the helmet on his head.
The little droid seems surprised, but soon begins to express joy as it rolls around Poe.
"Yeah, me too buddy, but we got to get out of here. You still have the map?"
BB-8 opens his data compartment, but it's obviously empty.
"They've already taken it... we have to get it back!"
But the droid reassures the pilot with a series of beeps.
"You copied it? You really are the best."
The elevator arrives safely and the two get out, heading for the hangar. Their progress goes smoothly, as Poe pretends to force the droid forward. Once there, the pilot scans the TIE fighters, looking for one he can use to escape. After a while, he notices a pilot heading towards one, so he nods to BB-8.
Poe Dameron discreetly sneaks up behind the pilot and manages to stunt him with his blaster. He then enters the TIE/sf space superiority fighter, used by special forces, with BB-8.
"Okay, here we go. I'm gonna need you as a gunner, BB-8."
The droid nods with a beep and moves into the back seat if shooting becomes necessary. Poe removes his helmet.
"It'll be better to pilot one of these machines, especially for a first-timer."
BB-8 beeps with suspicion.
"Don't worry, I know how to fly everything. Even a TIE fighter."
He activates the repulsors and, as planned, manages to leave the hangar without difficulty. As this ship is equipped with a hyperdrive, he wastes no time in activating it before anyone notices the deception.
"D'Qar, here we come. Notify the base that we're arriving on a stolen ship, I don't want to get shot down after all this." Poe says as the TIE fighter enters lightspeed.