The Jakku Outpost is a dump. Quite literally a dump, Finn noted quickly. Old, battered ships littered the outskirts and served as the only distinguishable landmarks in the area. The young man's nose bunched in disgust as a foul smell fought for entry into his nostrils: the place is filthy, the musky, dry air amplifying the smell. The locals are no better, too. They're staring at the pilot and him as if they were reasoning out how much they were worth if they could manage to capture and sell them.
"Well, Dameron," Finn sighed, peeling his eyes away from some creature who had been staring at him a little too long. "Here is where we part. I can manage from here."
A skeptical look on Poe's part preceded the burst of laughter. "Finn, whatever it is that protected you on the Finalizer is definitely not here. These people'll shoot you without a second thought if you even look at them funny."
Finn looked around to see an assortment of eyes staring at the inconspicuously human pair. Poe was right...he wasn't here. "Well, you do have a responsibility for getting me back home. What do you suggest?"
"If I can get us a ship, then I can take you to a neutral planet -- a better one than this -- and you can contact whoever it is you need to contact," Poe thought for a moment. "Or you could go somewhere else. The First Order must think you're dead because of the crash. You don't need --" Poe stopped as he noticed the color drain from his companion's face. Finn was trembling as if he were cold. It's well over comfortably hot even in the shade and, beyond the vague panic in the younger man's eyes, that was enough to make Poe worry. "Finn? What's wrong?"
"Dead?" he quivered, looking up fully at Poe.
"Yeah, well, uh," Poe bit nervously at his inner lip. Poe definitely liked the Finn that was lively and hated him more than the Finn that is looking at him like he'd punched him in the gut. "Surviving the crash would have been a miracle from their point of view. Even if they searched the site, the ship was taken in by a sand pit. Anyone would have thought we died on impact or unconscious in the sand pits. I thought you, well, maybe had planned it that way."
Finn shook his head slowly. The wild look in his eyes honed in on Poe as he grabbed the older man's arms tightly on either side. "You have to get me back! Now, Dameron!"
"Woah, Finn!" Poe exclaimed, startled. In the most calming tone he could muster, "I'll get you there, don't worry."
"I mean immediately! I have to get back to him ---"
Out of nowhere, Finn shouted out in pain. Loudly. His whole body was shaking before he hit the ground and a young flash of flesh jumped onto Finn's limp body as soon as it hit the ground. The flash -- a young woman -- deftly pressed a bo-staff to the younger man's neck, eliciting a gargled noise from Finn as he flailed beneath her. Poe reached for his blaster before realizing that -- kriff! He'd need to pull her off. She looked strong -- stronger than her petite form would let on -- but Poe figured that the adrenaline pulsing through his body would give him enough strength to pull her off Finn, despite the ache throughout his body. The older man was ready to leapt at her until tiny, excited chirps began to break through the musk of urgency that clouded all of Poe's senses.
A smile broke out on his face as he leaned down to receive the small ball rolling eagerly toward him. "BB-8! Buddy!"
BB-8 chirped at the woman happily, This is my Poe! The droid's head spun quickly back to Poe. Was this man attacking you, Poe!?
"No, no!" Poe snapped back to the situation at hand. He turned to the young woman, "Please, let him go!"
The woman hesitated until BB-8 made an ashamed and defeated noise, realizing his mistake. "All right," she said slowly, climbing off Finn in the process. "BB-8 saw him with your jacket and his arms on you. We thought he was attacking you."
"I wasn't," Finn snarled, rubbing his neck. Poe noticed there were small imprints from the staff in his throat. "Do you normally go around attacking random..." Finn trailed off when he looked the woman fully in the face. His features softened significantly in surprise as he took a step closer to her (a step she returned in the opposite direction). When he finally finished his question, it had lost all meaning. The edge in his voice had also completely disappeared. "Random people?"
The pilot looked between the two of them. Under Finn's intense gaze, the woman shrunk into herself. She touched her face in a moment of embarrassment. After a beat however, the woman regained her composure. "What are you staring at?"
"What's your name?" Finn asked (in what Poe could swear was awe) instead of answering.
The girl looked at Poe in confusion then back at Finn. "Rey," she responded cautiously.
"Rey," Finn repeated the name with a faint smile. "Pleased to meet you, Rey. I'm Finn."
Rey shrugged, lowering her staff from it's defensive position in the process. "You, too, Finn. And I'm sorry for the attack."
"Don't be," There was a tenderness to his voice and in the new smile on his face. "You were acting on what you thought was right. I can't fault you for that..."
Finn's words faded into the background as Poe's eyes finally stopped darting between the two people. Oh...oh, stars. Poe gets it. It's not like Finn hides it very well: he's clearly enamored. Love at first sight, head over heels, swept off his feet. It all adds up that way at least. For one, he's never been this nice to Poe (even though he and Poe have had some wonderfully memorable bonding experiences in their short time together). Two, she attacked him and yet he's pleased to meet her. Even making explanations on why it was perfectly fine, Rey, I'm not injured really. Three, and most importantly, he's staring at her like she's an oasis, sun on a cloudy day, rain after a drought. Poe's never been good at math but he knows an affectionate gaze when he sees one.
But wait a second. What had Finn been saying before this all started? It was something that Poe latched onto, his mind already trained to memorize every bit of information that passed through the younger man's lips. I have to get back to him... That's definitely what he had said. Him. Someone who would care about Finn being dead. Someone who Finn doesn't want to think he's dead. Someone he wants to get back to -- reassure -- immediately. There's only a few types of people Poe could imagine that would make a person act like their world was crumbling. A parent. No, it couldn't be. A close friend, maybe? Possibly. But there was such an intimacy to Finn's panic, the kind usually reserved for...A lover.
Poe's gasp was louder than he thought as both people and the droid turn their attentions to him. Finn's eyebrow rose, clearly upset that Poe had ruined his conversation with Rey. And kriff, they're actually waiting for him to speak.
The pilot flashes a smile, more nervously than he expected. "Uh, Rey, thank you for taking care of BB-8. He'd be scrap metal by now if it wasn't for you," BB-8 chirped angrily at the assumption as Poe laughed at his small friend's reaction. "Finn and I are in a hurry to get off this planet. I have an important mission and Finn needs to get back home. Do you know where we can get a ship?"
"Mission?" She sounded excited. The volume of her voice went down to a hush quickly as she leaned in towards the pair. "Are you with the Resistance then? BB-8 said it was all top-secret."
Poe stared hard at her. He could trust her -- his gut, never wrong, told him he could -- but he wasn't exactly supposed to go around announcing things like that. You never know who is listening and Jakku was filled with people who would sell you out to the highest bidder. However, before the older man could even decide what answer to give, Finn stepped forward. "Yes, we are."
"We?" Poe wasn't angry. Rather, he had whispered in amusement, close enough to Finn's ear that the younger woman couldn't hear. Finn shot him a quick and dirty look.
Rey's smiling now and Poe couldn't help but return it. Whether or not Finn liked her more than he did his mystery lover on the Finalizer, Poe could see the appeal of the young woman. She exuded a wholly magnetic charm that Poe might have fallen for himself if he were interested in women.
"There's a junkyard nearby. Lots of ships, they don't all work but I can fix them up as best as I can. It'll get you off-world, probably a planet or two away to somewhere you could contact the Resistance. Would that help?"
"That would be perfect," Poe breathed out, looking at Finn in relief. Then he smirked playfully at the younger man, "We're going back to the base, Finn. Did you hear that?"
"Come with us, Rey," Finn said to his new friend rather than responding to Poe. "Whoever abandoned you here," Abandoned? Maybe Poe had missed something when he ignored their conversation before. "They'll have to come search for you now. This place isn't where you should be."
She shook her head, a seriousness to her features beyond her age. "I have to wait, Finn. They'll be back and I have to be here."
"I understand," Finn's face twisted in concern. Poe almost made a noise at the sight of the expression: it's like Finn was a completely different person. "Where is the junkyard?"
Rey nodded. "This way..."
An explosion and the sound of cries caught her attention as she trailed off. Looming overheard were a a dozen TIE fighters, approaching quickly. Poe cursed. Kriff, not again! Finn looked at him urgently. "Why are they here? You were right, they would have definitely assumed that we died in the crash. Hux wouldn't bother if he thought we --"
Another explosion cut him off. Hux. Poe shook his head and the thought from his head. Now is not the time. "They must not be here for us."
Rey grabbed Finn's hand and yelled at Poe to follow. They ran quickly, dodging the debris and pedestrians in their way. BB-8 rolled beside Poe, zig-zagging to avoid all the hazards it couldn't jump over like it's human friends could. The older man's head almost snapped as he turned to Finn as the answer came to him. "BB-8! They must have tracked him down!"
"The dealer!" Rey shouted, "He was willing to pay a week's worth of finds just for the droid. He must have called the First Order if he knew they were searching for BB-8!" They ran, explosions and screams peppering the distance. Rey pointed to a wide empty space with several large masses and a variety of metallic objects. "There!"
"We don't have any time to pick the newest," Poe said, catching his breath as they enter the heart of the junkyard. "Rey, do you know which of these work?"
She shook her head. "Not exactly. I can tell you which ones are really junk though."
"This one."
Finn's voice seemed to creep above the noise around them even as he spoke in a whisper. He's standing in front of an white, derelict ship.
"That one was is junk, Finn," Rey replied urgently as she stared at the the approaching violence.
Poe's eyes fixed themselves on the ship and a wide grin formed on his face. He whistled loudly, an almost crippling joy bubbling in him. No way, it can't be...but it is and he and Finn say it nearly at the same time: "The Millennium Falcon."
Rey's eyes darted between them and she bit her lip nervously. She finally relented. "All right, it will have to do. Let's get in quickly!"
Poe jumped in excitement and rubbed his hands together. "You don't have to tell me twice!"
The three of them manage to get abroad the ship with relative ease. Poe took a moment to appreciate the control panel of the legendary ship. The Millennium kriffing Falcon. His joy at being in the pilot's seat overshadowed every other emotion and sense. Finn had a good eye -- all that reading on ships did him well. Anyone who knew anything about starships would know that the Millennium Falcon was one of the best in the galaxy. And it proved that as they weaved through the Jakku landscape, avoiding TIE fighter blasts at every turn. Finn had gone to man the ship's blaster and Poe is blown away -- and not by a TIE fighter because the younger man is precise and deadly manning the machine. Rey and Poe angle the ship in ways it hasn't been angled in years and Finn would shoot, always on the mark. Poe hollered as the last enemy ship goes down and he could hear Rey's silent cheer. They made a good team -- the three of them.
A happy sigh escaped the head pilot as they exited atmosphere and entered again into the calm space, this time at warp speed. There were no TIE fighters following them, no trackers and no alarms. He knows he shouldn't but he sets a course for the Resistance base -- he has to, he rationalizes, he can't afford anything else happening to BB-8.
Poe feels guilty as he looked over at Rey, who was breathing heavily to settle herself down from the previous rush of energy. She would want him to turn back and return her to Jakku after a while. This wasn't so bad: he could get her back to Jakku eventually, maybe after he dropped BB-8 off and completed his mission. His guilt is mostly for Finn, who was walking through the doors of the cockpit, grinning for the first time since they met.
Finn wouldn't be going back home. It would be too compromising: Finn couldn't go back to the First Order once Poe brought him to D'Qar.
FILL (3)
"Well, Dameron," Finn sighed, peeling his eyes away from some creature who had been staring at him a little too long. "Here is where we part. I can manage from here."
A skeptical look on Poe's part preceded the burst of laughter. "Finn, whatever it is that protected you on the Finalizer is definitely not here. These people'll shoot you without a second thought if you even look at them funny."
Finn looked around to see an assortment of eyes staring at the inconspicuously human pair. Poe was right...he wasn't here. "Well, you do have a responsibility for getting me back home. What do you suggest?"
"If I can get us a ship, then I can take you to a neutral planet -- a better one than this -- and you can contact whoever it is you need to contact," Poe thought for a moment. "Or you could go somewhere else. The First Order must think you're dead because of the crash. You don't need --" Poe stopped as he noticed the color drain from his companion's face. Finn was trembling as if he were cold. It's well over comfortably hot even in the shade and, beyond the vague panic in the younger man's eyes, that was enough to make Poe worry. "Finn? What's wrong?"
"Dead?" he quivered, looking up fully at Poe.
"Yeah, well, uh," Poe bit nervously at his inner lip. Poe definitely liked the Finn that was lively and hated him more than the Finn that is looking at him like he'd punched him in the gut. "Surviving the crash would have been a miracle from their point of view. Even if they searched the site, the ship was taken in by a sand pit. Anyone would have thought we died on impact or unconscious in the sand pits. I thought you, well, maybe had planned it that way."
Finn shook his head slowly. The wild look in his eyes honed in on Poe as he grabbed the older man's arms tightly on either side. "You have to get me back! Now, Dameron!"
"Woah, Finn!" Poe exclaimed, startled. In the most calming tone he could muster, "I'll get you there, don't worry."
"I mean immediately! I have to get back to him ---"
Out of nowhere, Finn shouted out in pain. Loudly. His whole body was shaking before he hit the ground and a young flash of flesh jumped onto Finn's limp body as soon as it hit the ground. The flash -- a young woman -- deftly pressed a bo-staff to the younger man's neck, eliciting a gargled noise from Finn as he flailed beneath her. Poe reached for his blaster before realizing that -- kriff! He'd need to pull her off. She looked strong -- stronger than her petite form would let on -- but Poe figured that the adrenaline pulsing through his body would give him enough strength to pull her off Finn, despite the ache throughout his body. The older man was ready to leapt at her until tiny, excited chirps began to break through the musk of urgency that clouded all of Poe's senses.
A smile broke out on his face as he leaned down to receive the small ball rolling eagerly toward him. "BB-8! Buddy!"
BB-8 chirped at the woman happily, This is my Poe! The droid's head spun quickly back to Poe. Was this man attacking you, Poe!?
"No, no!" Poe snapped back to the situation at hand. He turned to the young woman, "Please, let him go!"
The woman hesitated until BB-8 made an ashamed and defeated noise, realizing his mistake. "All right," she said slowly, climbing off Finn in the process. "BB-8 saw him with your jacket and his arms on you. We thought he was attacking you."
"I wasn't," Finn snarled, rubbing his neck. Poe noticed there were small imprints from the staff in his throat. "Do you normally go around attacking random..." Finn trailed off when he looked the woman fully in the face. His features softened significantly in surprise as he took a step closer to her (a step she returned in the opposite direction). When he finally finished his question, it had lost all meaning. The edge in his voice had also completely disappeared. "Random people?"
The pilot looked between the two of them. Under Finn's intense gaze, the woman shrunk into herself. She touched her face in a moment of embarrassment. After a beat however, the woman regained her composure. "What are you staring at?"
"What's your name?" Finn asked (in what Poe could swear was awe) instead of answering.
The girl looked at Poe in confusion then back at Finn. "Rey," she responded cautiously.
"Rey," Finn repeated the name with a faint smile. "Pleased to meet you, Rey. I'm Finn."
Rey shrugged, lowering her staff from it's defensive position in the process. "You, too, Finn. And I'm sorry for the attack."
"Don't be," There was a tenderness to his voice and in the new smile on his face. "You were acting on what you thought was right. I can't fault you for that..."
Finn's words faded into the background as Poe's eyes finally stopped darting between the two people. Oh...oh, stars. Poe gets it. It's not like Finn hides it very well: he's clearly enamored. Love at first sight, head over heels, swept off his feet. It all adds up that way at least. For one, he's never been this nice to Poe (even though he and Poe have had some wonderfully memorable bonding experiences in their short time together). Two, she attacked him and yet he's pleased to meet her. Even making explanations on why it was perfectly fine, Rey, I'm not injured really. Three, and most importantly, he's staring at her like she's an oasis, sun on a cloudy day, rain after a drought. Poe's never been good at math but he knows an affectionate gaze when he sees one.
But wait a second. What had Finn been saying before this all started? It was something that Poe latched onto, his mind already trained to memorize every bit of information that passed through the younger man's lips. I have to get back to him... That's definitely what he had said. Him. Someone who would care about Finn being dead. Someone who Finn doesn't want to think he's dead. Someone he wants to get back to -- reassure -- immediately. There's only a few types of people Poe could imagine that would make a person act like their world was crumbling. A parent. No, it couldn't be. A close friend, maybe? Possibly. But there was such an intimacy to Finn's panic, the kind usually reserved for...A lover.
Poe's gasp was louder than he thought as both people and the droid turn their attentions to him. Finn's eyebrow rose, clearly upset that Poe had ruined his conversation with Rey. And kriff, they're actually waiting for him to speak.
The pilot flashes a smile, more nervously than he expected. "Uh, Rey, thank you for taking care of BB-8. He'd be scrap metal by now if it wasn't for you," BB-8 chirped angrily at the assumption as Poe laughed at his small friend's reaction. "Finn and I are in a hurry to get off this planet. I have an important mission and Finn needs to get back home. Do you know where we can get a ship?"
"Mission?" She sounded excited. The volume of her voice went down to a hush quickly as she leaned in towards the pair. "Are you with the Resistance then? BB-8 said it was all top-secret."
Poe stared hard at her. He could trust her -- his gut, never wrong, told him he could -- but he wasn't exactly supposed to go around announcing things like that. You never know who is listening and Jakku was filled with people who would sell you out to the highest bidder. However, before the older man could even decide what answer to give, Finn stepped forward. "Yes, we are."
"We?" Poe wasn't angry. Rather, he had whispered in amusement, close enough to Finn's ear that the younger woman couldn't hear. Finn shot him a quick and dirty look.
Rey's smiling now and Poe couldn't help but return it. Whether or not Finn liked her more than he did his mystery lover on the Finalizer, Poe could see the appeal of the young woman. She exuded a wholly magnetic charm that Poe might have fallen for himself if he were interested in women.
"There's a junkyard nearby. Lots of ships, they don't all work but I can fix them up as best as I can. It'll get you off-world, probably a planet or two away to somewhere you could contact the Resistance. Would that help?"
"That would be perfect," Poe breathed out, looking at Finn in relief. Then he smirked playfully at the younger man, "We're going back to the base, Finn. Did you hear that?"
"Come with us, Rey," Finn said to his new friend rather than responding to Poe. "Whoever abandoned you here," Abandoned? Maybe Poe had missed something when he ignored their conversation before. "They'll have to come search for you now. This place isn't where you should be."
She shook her head, a seriousness to her features beyond her age. "I have to wait, Finn. They'll be back and I have to be here."
"I understand," Finn's face twisted in concern. Poe almost made a noise at the sight of the expression: it's like Finn was a completely different person. "Where is the junkyard?"
Rey nodded. "This way..."
An explosion and the sound of cries caught her attention as she trailed off. Looming overheard were a a dozen TIE fighters, approaching quickly. Poe cursed. Kriff, not again! Finn looked at him urgently. "Why are they here? You were right, they would have definitely assumed that we died in the crash. Hux wouldn't bother if he thought we --"
Another explosion cut him off. Hux. Poe shook his head and the thought from his head. Now is not the time. "They must not be here for us."
Rey grabbed Finn's hand and yelled at Poe to follow. They ran quickly, dodging the debris and pedestrians in their way. BB-8 rolled beside Poe, zig-zagging to avoid all the hazards it couldn't jump over like it's human friends could. The older man's head almost snapped as he turned to Finn as the answer came to him. "BB-8! They must have tracked him down!"
"The dealer!" Rey shouted, "He was willing to pay a week's worth of finds just for the droid. He must have called the First Order if he knew they were searching for BB-8!" They ran, explosions and screams peppering the distance. Rey pointed to a wide empty space with several large masses and a variety of metallic objects. "There!"
"We don't have any time to pick the newest," Poe said, catching his breath as they enter the heart of the junkyard. "Rey, do you know which of these work?"
She shook her head. "Not exactly. I can tell you which ones are really junk though."
"This one."
Finn's voice seemed to creep above the noise around them even as he spoke in a whisper. He's standing in front of an white, derelict ship.
"That one was is junk, Finn," Rey replied urgently as she stared at the the approaching violence.
Poe's eyes fixed themselves on the ship and a wide grin formed on his face. He whistled loudly, an almost crippling joy bubbling in him. No way, it can't be...but it is and he and Finn say it nearly at the same time: "The Millennium Falcon."
Rey's eyes darted between them and she bit her lip nervously. She finally relented. "All right, it will have to do. Let's get in quickly!"
Poe jumped in excitement and rubbed his hands together. "You don't have to tell me twice!"
The three of them manage to get abroad the ship with relative ease. Poe took a moment to appreciate the control panel of the legendary ship. The Millennium kriffing Falcon. His joy at being in the pilot's seat overshadowed every other emotion and sense. Finn had a good eye -- all that reading on ships did him well. Anyone who knew anything about starships would know that the Millennium Falcon was one of the best in the galaxy. And it proved that as they weaved through the Jakku landscape, avoiding TIE fighter blasts at every turn. Finn had gone to man the ship's blaster and Poe is blown away -- and not by a TIE fighter because the younger man is precise and deadly manning the machine. Rey and Poe angle the ship in ways it hasn't been angled in years and Finn would shoot, always on the mark. Poe hollered as the last enemy ship goes down and he could hear Rey's silent cheer. They made a good team -- the three of them.
A happy sigh escaped the head pilot as they exited atmosphere and entered again into the calm space, this time at warp speed. There were no TIE fighters following them, no trackers and no alarms. He knows he shouldn't but he sets a course for the Resistance base -- he has to, he rationalizes, he can't afford anything else happening to BB-8.
Poe feels guilty as he looked over at Rey, who was breathing heavily to settle herself down from the previous rush of energy. She would want him to turn back and return her to Jakku after a while. This wasn't so bad: he could get her back to Jakku eventually, maybe after he dropped BB-8 off and completed his mission. His guilt is mostly for Finn, who was walking through the doors of the cockpit, grinning for the first time since they met.
Finn wouldn't be going back home. It would be too compromising: Finn couldn't go back to the First Order once Poe brought him to D'Qar.