Chapter Text
11
When Finn eventually found time to take a look at the little mental file he created for himself he’d come to realise one thing: expect the unexpected. He found through that nauseatingly simple sentiment most of his life could be explained. Escaping the First Order had been unexpected; meeting Rey had been unexpected; finding and subsequently falling for Poe had been unexpected.
So when, in their hour of need, the Star Destroyer’s shield flickered into nothing and the Millenium Falcon crashed through like a Rancor scorned, a small part of him was unfazed.
The other part started screaming.
The blue shields were still down and the impact of the Falcon had sent the Stormtroopers scrambling or flung across the hangar. In a split second Poe recovered from the initial shock and lunged at one of the ones guarding him while Finn started blasting at those that came too close. The metallic buzz of blaster fire thrummed in the air around them as they backed their way towards the ramp. The red plasma pinged off of the ship leaving carbon scoring streaking across the side and belly of the vehicle. The ramp made a long and low hissing sound and Rey materialised on the other end, screaming something at them while simultaneously wielding a lightsaber. She deflected several blaster shots and the alarms and shouts reached near breaking point. He didn’t have time to turn around and check that his companions had followed him as she disappeared once more and he leaped onto the deck at full force.
He didn’t have time to feel relieved as there was a shout from the cockpit and he scrambled to the gunnar station, sliding into the seat like a second home. He watched as another fifty Stormtroopers ran into the hangar and higher ranking officials screamed over the comms to apprehend them. He took aim and watched as they lifted from the landing bay, the white uniforms got farther and farther away and the glaring red lights gave way to the inky blackness of space. There was no time to breathe as they entered the outer territory of the Star Destroyer as the trademark screech of TIE fighters followed hot on their tail. He could hear Poe’s voice amalgamating with Rey’s and Chewie’s as they put on a burst of speed in order to get out of range. The hyperdrive would need a good few minutes to recharge and they were running out of time.
He spun the chair and revelled in the motion as a soundless bang echoed through the remnants of the TIE he’d taken out. Silent screams still ringing. There were four TIEs still on their tail, three covered their left flank and one was dead set- he locked in the target and watched as it blasted shrapnel in all directions.
“How are we looking?!” He yelled back- there was a yelp and Chewie screamed back. “Alrighty then.”
Finn hissed out a sigh of relief as they entered hyperspace, sliding out of the chair and jogging up to the cockpit with the last of his energy. He was cut short however, as he was tackled into a hug by the ship’s pilot.
“FINN!” Rey’s excitement was barely contained as she wrapped her arms around him. Chewie was next and Finn gagged as he was enveloped by brown fur.
“How? When?” His smile was wide, Rey looked wonderful. Her hair was different, now hanging loosely around her shoulders- and she had Jedi clothes! Well, she had tan coloured tunics and cropped trousers with white tabards across her front- he assumed that’s what Jedi usually wore.
“I got a transmission from Leia- she said she felt something off with your mission, she just asked me to try and get in contact with you but uhh…”
“You hacked into a First Order Star Destroyer and crashed into the middle of the Hangar bay in a daring rescue?” Poe asked, eyes wide, Rey nodded sheepishly.
“That’s so reckless,” he said with a hint of pride, “i love it.”
The group of them made their way to the galley, Finn guessed they would be on their way back to D’Qar- or maybe even Orvax IV to grab their shuttle- but he didn’t really have time to think about all of that, not when he had his friends joshing around him, finally happy to be in each other’s company after so long. He felt good, better than he had felt earlier… but his mind kept coming back to those plans, the firewall, the flashes of feelings he got and the cold, growing terror from the monster in his gut. As they ate what rations Rey and Chewie had left, and they talked about the base and D’Qar; Finn couldn’t shake the foreboding feeling of a darkness on his back, one that clung to him… One that he didn’t think was entirely alien.
One thing he did know: He had to talk to Rey.
“What was Luke Skywalker like?” Poe asked, anyone could tell that he wanted to know with a child-like giddiness about him and Finn wasn't really sure if he was even trying to hide it at this point. Rey flashed him a smile,
“He’s so weird.” She said, Finn threw his head back and laughed, “Honestly- the guy’s whole energy is just-” she imitated Luke Skywalker, who Finn had never met, and by the way his best friend was squinting her eyes and frowning so deeply she might pull a muscle he figured that meeting him would have to be an experience.
“Did he tell you any stories?” Finn asked, he’d always heard the stories from Poe, the ones that he had gotten from his family after the battle of Endor- but to hear something from a real Jedi must be… he didn’t know how to describe it.
“Not many, he didn’t want to talk much about his past, and when we told him about Han…” she cast a sympathetic look to Chewie, who growled back softly. They all became quiet at the mention of Han. A mutual, simmering hatred for the man that killed him burned between them all.
“How about your training?” Finn asked, steering the conversation towards a lighter topic, Rey nodded to him in thanks- she had become so attached to the old smuggler in the little time they’d known each other. Poe shifted next to him, taking a long sip of the caf that he’d practically attacked when they’d finally gotten settled enough on board.
“It’s going well- when I got Leia’s message I knew something was up and Skywalker said that when I’m done helping you guys out I can go back and finish my training!”
Finn thought about the growing cold in the pit of his stomach and thumbed the datatape in his hand. He didn’t like the way it felt so heavy in his hand- like there was more to it that they didn’t understand yet. His apprehension seemed to show on his face because he felt Poe’s hand on his shoulder; warm, comforting and grounding, pulling him back from the thoughts that he knew were never going to let him sleep tonight.
“You okay buddy?” He said softly, Finn leaned into the touch, allowing himself some comfort before nodding slightly,
“I’ll be alright, yeah, just tired.” He tried to keep his heart from beating too loudly in case Poe heard it. They were side-by-side on the bench, their knees touching underneath the table. He caught Rey’s eye and she gave him a knowing look to which he forced down the blush that was fighting like a rabid Rancor. He needed to talk to Rey, about so much.
“Alright, if you’re sure,” Poe replied softly, but didn’t move his hand which Finn would both be grateful for for his calming demeanor but also hate with a burning passion because Rey looked like she was going to combust holding back a teasing comment. He glared at her, a silent don’t you fucking dare.
She pursed her lips and scrunched her nose, Poe’s eyes narrowed as he looked between them before quickly retracting his hand and putting some more space between him and Finn. Rey raised an eyebrow and Finn shot her a look, Poe continued to feel uncomfortable as the two of them had a full blown conversation without saying a word. He shook his head and looked at Chewie, who just shrugged.
After a few moments Finn cleared his throat, eyes darting from Rey to Poe then back again, “Rey- can i talk to you for a second- uh- alone?”
She followed him out of the galley and back to the cockpit, sitting in the pilot’s chair across from him. She looked as pensive as Finn felt, her hands twisting in her lap. He knew what he wanted to say, he knew that his lips wanted to move and for the words to fall out but he just couldn’t make them move. They clung to the insides of his mouth like film; he pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth trying to force the feeling away and wishing that he could just show Rey what was going on with him. But he couldn’t do that. He had to find the words.
“Somethings… amiss, isn’t it?” She breathed, “it’s-“
“Foreboding-“ they said in unison.
Finn looked down at his hands. That horrible little thing living in his stomach twisted and coiled around his organs, sending sharp shocks of cold through him. “I don’t know what it is… it’s-“
“A feeling.” Rey finished, her expression unreadable. Finn nodded mutely. “We should talk about that when we get back to base, Leia can help.”
Finn felt another twist in his gut. He still couldn’t shake the feeling that had plagued him since Orvax IV- it was driving him crazy, it made his skin crawl and his hackles raise and he didn’t even know why. Rey put a hand on his shoulder, a small and secretive smile playing on her lips,
“It’s going to be okay.”
He didn’t return her smile straight away, but eventually, when she’d poked him on the cheek he’d felt his resolve crumble. She grinned at him and clapped her hands excitedly.
“so.”
“Oh kriff here it comes.”
“Poe and you? You and Poe? together?” her voice got higher with every word, eventually coming out a loud squeak. Finn ran his tongue over his teeth,
“nothing has happened between us-“
“yet!”
he sighed, “yet.”
“I can’t wait to get back to base,” she said, casting a wistful look out of the viewport and into the streaking light of hyperspace “I’ve missed everyone so much!”
It was now Finn’s turn to smirk, “Rose has been insufferable since you left,”
Rey’s head whipped to him, a blush rising to her face, “yeah?”
“Ask her out, coward.” Finn wiggled his eyebrows, Rey punched him in the shoulder in retaliation.
“I’ll ask her when you ask Poe.” She scrunched up her nose in defiance and rose from her seat, Finn followed suit and they enveloped each other in a hug. She hummed happily, and Finn could still feel that energy around her, blue and yellow and sparkling. He knew the Force was happy, even if he couldn’t understand how he did. He just knew.
“I’ve missed you,” she mumbled, “and that cranky old pilot you love.”
“hey you like him- you’re both gear heads,”
“that’s true,” she pulled away, “-speaking of which- POE DAMERON”
her shriek reverberated through the Falcon, in the distance there was a loud crash, a yelp and several curse words in both Wookiee and Yavini.
Rey huffed our a laugh before continuing in the same tone: “WHERE IS MY BABY? WHERE IS BB-8?”
Finn threw his head back and laughed, loud and bright; sure he couldn’t get rid of the uneasy pain in his gut- but he could repress it for now. His family was back together. They had time.
__
Finn was glad to know that Leia had sent a few troops to pick up the 1250 on Orvax IV and get it back to the base- mainly because he would be reunited with the comics he hadn’t had time to finish. Chewie and Poe were sitting across from each other at the holochess table, glaring silently. He didn’t know why Poe challenged him every time- nobody could beat the Wookiee. It was impossible.
Rey was lounging on the chair opposite to them, head back and eyes closed in meditation. They weren’t far from D’Qar and Finn felt himself becoming anxious. He thumbed the datatape that hadn’t left his person since they had escaped the Star Destroyer, he desperately wanted to see what was on there, wanted to know why it had sung to him in such a way. In a way that was so familiar yet so alien he didn’t know what to do with himself. He absentmindedly rubbed the top of BB-8’s dome, who gave a little discombobulated mrrp! In surprise. He smiled, losing himself in his thoughts once more.
“Do you know what’s on that ‘tape?” Rey asked, opening her eyes and swinging the chair to face him. Poe made a grunt of frustration as Chewie (inevitably) beat him; he turned off the game and stuck his tongue out, not caring how childish it looked.
Finn snorted, “It’s a list of names- targets that the First Order are going after illegally. Some high-ups or other, we don’t know who they are. It can’t be anyone from the Republic though… the Hosnian system was destroyed.”
He paused for a moment, debating on whether to hold back the new information until they reached D’Qar, but she shook that thought away dismissively- if anyone knew what to do about it, it’d be Poe and Rey.
“There were also these blueprints- I didn’t get a good look at them, but they seemed important enough.” He bit the inside of his cheek and looked at his friends- they both leaned forward, “It was protected with a firewall encryption- I managed to bypass it long enough to get something from it. It’s not much but we’ll know something, maybe enough to find out what they’re planning this time around.”
“What could be worse than Star Killer Base?” Poe asked, “that thing was fifty times the size of the Death Star.”
“Weapons don’t need to be big to be dangerous.” Rey said, Poe ran his tongue over his teeth and tensed, maybe he could feel it too? Maybe he could feel the gnawing anxiety in the air around them. Oh Finn hated this- he hated not knowing and being in the dark. If this was something that could possibly be a threat to the Resistance then they had to know what was on here. He looked at the insignificant little ‘tape again. It was plain, and dull and had no true significance to it except the information it carried.
“It’s been a long day,” he said at last, “I’ll turn in first.”
He didn’t wait for a reply and went silently to the bunks. He took the unoccupied bottom bunk to the left, pulling off his jacket and sitting down. It was cramped and the coldness of space ran bone-deep no matter how good the heating system. Finn still held onto the ‘tape, not because he wanted to but because he had the feeling that if it left him he would never see it again; so he held on, passing it from hand to hand and running his fingers over it before finally let it rest inside his shirt pocket.
Rest. Stars that’s what he needed. The dreams he’d been having had left him weary and tired beyond his years the past few weeks. He leaned back onto the wall and let his eyes close for a moment, allowing him to perform a poor mockery of the meditation that came to Rey as easy as breathing when the door hissed open.
“I know you’re tired…” Poe said quietly, stepping inside and letting the door close behind him, “but I didn’t think you’d want to be alone?” His voice lilted up at the end in question, Finn cracked one eye open and let a small smile escape him, shuffling over on the bed as Poe got comfy next to him.
Even in the low light Finn could see that he was tired, the dark circles under his eyes proved that much. It might have been the exhaustion from their second narrow escape from the First Order, or the exhaustion from his own damn paranoia, but he didn’t stop himself from letting his head drop onto Poe’s shoulder. The man beneath him tensed for a second before relaxing into the touch, maneuvering them closer to get more comfortable. There was nothing suggestive in their actions, but it was just as intimate. Poe was warm, like always, and he smelled like soap and sweat and machine oil, like always. Poe was so familiar, and so comfortable Finn could have closed his eyes very happily and gone right to sleep. To hell with feelings.
“Thanks,” Finn mumbled, looking up at the other man. He felt Poe’s smile, small and private,
“No problem, buddy,” he whispered.
Finn knocked his nose up, hitting Poe in the jaw before settling back onto his shoulder. He mentally scolded himself for doing something so close to a kiss. He waved the thought away. He was too tired to get bog down in that, he could be embarrassed later. (And he definitely would be). He didn’t hear Poe’s breath hitch, nor did he see the blush that reached the very tips of his ears. He did hear a muffled goodnight, and the floaty sinking feeling one gets before they fall into a dreamless sleep.
And sleep they did.
__
Rey found them, Finn curled up next to Poe, head on his chest and Poe’s arm around Finn. They looked restful, at peace. Content. She knew from the moment she saw them together that they had this connection… something about them just worked. She was so happy for Finn, for the both of them. Her best friend, her surrogate brother, it made her shine to know that there was someone that loved him just as much as she did. It ticked her off to no end how much he didn’t believe it though. Poe was as discreet as a bantha, and yet Finn still seemed oblivious to the way he looked at him.
She pulled off a blanket from one of the spare bunks and threw it over the two of them, stifling a chuckle as they both snuggled into one another. These idiots were so in love and didn’t even know it, it was going to be a paaaiiiinnnful few weeks back on base watching those two dance around each other; it was worth it though, they were family, all of them. She couldn’t wait to see Leia and Jess and Snap and… Rose. She couldn’t wait to see Rose, they’d quite literally fallen into each other when she’d been rummaging around the scrap heap looking for a part for the Falcon when Rose had crashed into her.
Finn had screamed into his pillow for a full five minutes when she told him.
She worried about Finn lately, she could feel something shifting in the Force. Not tht she was really in any place to give a reliable answer, she was still just training herself but… she could feel something around Finn, like the Force around him was changing and shifting and molding into something new. When she closed her eyes and tried to look into the future all she was met with were flashes of white and blue and a heavy feeling in her chest. It was unsettling to say the least. Her friend was caught in the tide, leading him into something, but she didn’t know what.
A silver glint in the dim light of the cabin caught her eye and she stopped, yanked out of thought at the sight of it. It was the datatape they had used to retrieve the information they needed. Names… and something else that Finn had found. Rey worried her bottom lip, silently debating whether or not to do something. With a frustrated huff she carefully extracted it from Finn’s grasp. Slinking out of the cabin and back to the galley.
Chewie was in the cockpit and she hurriedly picked up her datapad, slotting in the ‘tape with shaky hands- kriff why did she feel like she was a thief? Why did her anxiety spike at the thought of looking into this without her friends? She had every right to be curious- maybe even more so than anyone else with the way she was feeling the paths around her shift and change erratically, as if they couldn’t decide where to go. There was something with Finn, something she felt herself wanting more than anything to be true, she could feel it in him, dormant, suppressed, but awakening.
With that in mind she resolved herself and opened the files.
Names. Three. None of which she recognised in being at all a part of the resistance.
What the actual kriffing fuck fuck shit Sith’s hells did this mean?! These names were meaningless. She wasn’t even completely sure they even existed. She scrubbed her hands over her face in frustration. If this was a set up by the First Order then they had wasted so much time. She wanted to scream. She set the datapad down a little harsher than necessary, she tried to push her frustrations out into the Force so she could think about this logically and not with all the grace of a feral gundark. She scrunched up her face and took a deep breath, these names would clearly mean something to someone, hopefully Leia would recognise them and be able to shed some light on what the First Order wanted with these people. They had to be important- maybe they had something to do with the secret funding they were receiving? Or maybe they were neutral systems that had now sided with the resistance. It was hard to say, after the destruction of the Hosnian system and the fall of the New Republic the political world had been nothing more than the dark cloud of the First Order, swallowing up the galaxy like a sand storm swallowed up the settlements back on Jakku.
She closed down the file with the list of names and brought up the other file that Finn had downloaded. They didn’t seem like much, nothing like what Star Killer Base had been. But it sent a deep, sharp coldness through her hands. The plans weren’t much, blueprints of some kind- she could make out little bits, it was for something small, with a flat dial and a twisting mechanism- but the rest of it didn’t make any sense- there was no rhyme or reason to the literature. The images made things a little better, but all it showed was a wrist chrono. There was nothing of any significance there.
This time she really did scream.
It was quiet, and muffled by her hands over her mouth so that Chewie didn’t think she was killing anyone… or trying to fix the hyperdrive unit again. She closed down the file with a sigh and removed the datatape, sneaking back into the cabin and biting back a snort. Poe and Finn had somehow ended up laying flat, Poe’s head on Finn’s chest and the blanket tucked haphazardly over them, probably pulled over their bodies in a haze of exhaustion. She slipped the datatape into Finn’s jacket pocket, studying them for a moment longer before turning back to go and join Chewie in the cockpit. She smiled to herself. For now, the Force was content.
Let’s hope it stays that way, a voice in the back of her head whispered.
12
Poe tried to rub the sleep from his eyes, but found his arm had been trapped by something large and heavy. It perplexed him for a few moments, his sleep-addled brain not cooperating with reason and coming to the conclusion that he was most definitely being snuggled to death by something. Or he was dead. That would make more sense to why he was so comfortable. He was reluctant to actually open his eyes and inevitably be faced with a wampa or ewok staring back at him, so instead he buried his face into the fabric beneath him, letting out a content sigh.
Wait.
Fabric.
Fabric that made a shirt.
Fabric that made up a shirt that was being worn by a body.
Poe froze.
He slowly opened one eye… blinking against the light of the cabin before a blue shirt came into focus.
Don’t move don’t move don’t move don’t move don’t move don’t move don’t move don’t mo-
“Poe?” Finn rasped,
FUCK.
“He- heyy buddy,” He wanted to die. He wanted to crawl into an airlock and die.
Neither of them moved, Poe took in their situation now that his brain had decided to wake up. His head was on Finn’s chest and the man’s hand was draped over the small of his back, echoes of the night before and a whispered stay floated in his mind. This was fine. He just had to disentangle himself from his friend without fully freaking out. He could do this.
Then Poe lifted his head and they made eye contact.
Poe, decidedly, could most definitely not do this.
Finn had a pillow mark on his cheek and he stared back at the pilot blearily. Poe silently cursed himself as he scanned the other man’s face and allowed himself a dangerous glance down to his lips.
He was both infuriated and so kriffing relieved when Rey barged into the room with all the grace of a bantha.
“We’re here!” she cried happily as the two of them scrambled off the bed, stumbling over each other and standing at attention. She eyed the two of them with a sly smirk, “You guys want some rations?”
“Dear stars yes.” Poe said, thankful for the easy out from a conversation he didn’t know if he was ready to have. Finn nodded mutely and followed the two of them into the galley.
Poe shakily sat in the copilot chair, Rey was smirking at him through the corner of his eye and he pointedly ignored it. They had everything they needed and then some. They were safe and they even had a head start over the First Order.
“Home safe and sound!” Finn said cheerily, which is met with a loud growl from Chewie and Poe can’t keep the smile from his face. For now at least, they were home, and they were safe. He turned his head slightly, trying to be subtle as he looked at Finn- which clearly wasn’t enough as the man caught his eye, his smile widening… yeah… this was good, they were okay. For now.
__
Their ship landed and Finn blinked against the onslaught of bright light that met them as they exited. Poe was at his side and bumped their hands, a silent comfort. Leia met them as they stepped off the ramp, hands clasped together and lips set in a hard line. Rey stepped forward and hugged her, mumbling a few words that Finn didn’t listen to, not wanting to intrude on what he assumed to be a private moment. Though he smiled, letting it reach his eyes and bumped Poe’s shoulder to let him know that his message was received loud and clear.
The events of that morning hadn’t put a damper on his mood, surprisingly. He’d woken to Poe in his arms which to be completely honest was a joy unto itself. He had guiltily imagined what Poe would be like in the mornings after ten months of sharing a bunk but to see Poe’s bleary eyes and confused face had sent him right off the deep end. He was almost offended how cute someone could look with scruffy bed hair. Then he’d caught Poe looking at his lips and his brain had henceforth stopped working. Finn.2187 had stopped responding to any coherent thought at that moment in time and he’d had to have several minutes to recompute before he could speak again. Maybe he should go to C3PO for advice on what to do when that happens- the thought made him laugh.
His hand instinctively went to the datatape in his pocket- not really remembering when he’d actually put it in there but he wasn’t worried about it. They had the information- that’s all that mattered right now. Leia stepped towards him with a knowing smirk,
“You followed your instincts, huh?”
Finn inclined his head, not knowing how someone so upfront could be so cryptic at the same time. No wonder Leia was a legend.
“I did,” he replied, proud to know that he was telling the truth. He’d take any lesson he could from the General.
She then turned to Poe, “What about you, Flyboy? You stay out of trouble?”
Finn was about to interject when Poe clapped a hand over his mouth, sending a charming smile over to his surrogate mother- “I was an angel, like always.”
When he released Finn he sent her a look that said I’ll tell you later. Leia chuckled and gave her boys a smile, she led them through the winding halls of the base and to her office, asking about the mission. When the door finally shut a look passed between the four of them, Finn bit the inside of his cheek and took the datatape out of his pocket, the weight of it in his hands filling him with trepidation. This little thing held such important information.
“We got everything we needed. And more.” He plugged the ‘tape into the port on the side of the table, several holos of information flickered to life. The names came up on screen clear as day,
[Name One] A-C-B-X-129-496-596-8
[Name Two] N-G-L-O-132-657-987-4
[Name Three] E-C-X-B-143-463-867-9
“Do you have any idea who they are, general?” Poe asked, “I’ve never heard of them before.” Leia hadn’t taken her eyes off the screen, something in her expression was haunting- like the look of someone who had lost everything, and was being reminded of it in the worst way.
“The first name- it- it was an alias my father went by.” She said, Finn noticed the quiver in her voice,
“Darth Vader?” Rey asked with a confused look, Leia shook her head,
“Bail Organa- my adoptive father. He had many names during his work with the original rebellion, things he’d go by to be able to move across the galaxy without the Senate knowing.” Her gaze hardened, “Vader killed him- in the destruction of Alderaan.”
The room went quiet- and the monster in Finn’s stomach began to writhe and curl in his stomach, sickening glee bleeding out and feasting on his anxiety. If Bail Organa was dead- surely that was a good thing? Surely that meant the First Order intel had been wrong?
“What about the other names?” Poe asked, Finn moved forward and did a few quick searches through the database that held all their contacts,
“Don’t bother.” Leia said, “I know them too. They all died in the first Rebellion.”
“Then what the kriff does any of this mean?” Rey scowled, Finn’s hands stilled where they had been typing. The other blueprints he had pulled- He quickly brought the plans up- several different pages of information, all of them with dozens of notes typed and scribbled into the margins.
“I also found this- it looks like it could be some sort of… I dunno… weapon?”
Leia leaned forward, pointing to a diagram in the top corner, it was of a wormhole, and the notes beside it talked about going through them- and containing them. Finn’s head spun- none of that was meant to be possible- what it was talking about was-
“Time travel.” Leia said.
“These disks-” Rey said, pointing to another diagram on the page- it was more cohesive this time, a light coloured durasteel disk with mandible-like protrusions either side. “-what are they for?”
“To contain it.” Finn said, he zoomed in on the print, pointing to several calculations next to the diagram, “they’re going to try and contain a wormhole into one of these disks- it looks like they're trying to find a way to send someone back in time.”
“That’s why all those names mean nothing now-” Poe said, “they aren’t for now. They’re planning on sending an assassin back to these places-”
“They’re going to make sure the Empire never falls.” Leia’s voice was dark, silencing them all. Finn clenched his jaw. They couldn’t let this happen- not after everything they worked for- not after everything that had happened in such a long time. If the Empire had not fallen then countless more planets would be doomed. He looked at Poe, who’s hair was still a little messy from sleep- his parents would never have met, and he would not have existed. Then Rey, who without the resistance would still be on Jakku, not knowing her true power and potential. And him, he would have probably still been taken by the Empire.
“We aren’t going to let that happen.” Finn said determinedly, “If we can stop them creating this thing- if we can destroy it- we can stop them.” He looked at them all, watching their resolve strengthen.
“We need to find out where they’re going to use it- and who is going to use it- Poe- what do we have on First Order assassins?”
Poe cocked his head slightly and stepped to the table, “these are all the files we have-” about three dozen lists came up,
“Wait!” Rey said quickly, pointing to one name “-that one- pull that one up,”
“Markus Idolta? Do we know a lot about him?” Poe asked, Finn blinked,
“I’ve heard of him- Hux mentioned him several times, he was an ex-trooper, chosen by Phasma for a program that would make them into the First Order’s own personal assassins- but… that program failed- the training was too much for them, when they failed Ren killed some of them.”
“It doesn’t look like it was too much for this guy-” Poe said, “we don’t have much on him because he’d so elusive but he’s been suspected to be responsible for the untimely deaths of several Senate officials before the destruction of the Hosnian System.”
“He’s our best bet- someone this close to high-ranking officials like the ginger prick would be the perfect choice to go for this.” Rey sneered at the mention of Hux and Ren.
“Where could they be building this? Surely not on one of their ships?” Poe asked, looking to Leia, her brows knit, staring at the screen,
“The Death Star plans were held on Scarif- before it was destroyed- if they’re using a secret base like they did them It’d most likely be somewhere difficult to get to- but with a hyperspace lane hidden from the eyes of the resistance- try looking at the outer-rim, old smuggling planets and safe havens-”
Finn quickly brought up a map of the galaxy- all smugglers' havens lit up in bright orange. There were thousands. Finn groaned, scrubbing a hand over his face. They had no chance of finding anything with this many planets.
“Try narrowing it down to ones that have no direct hyperspace lanes,” Leia said, a few orange dots disappeared, but there were still too many.
“Wait-” Finn said, bringing up the blueprints of the disks again- there was a detail on the face of it- a series of circles and lines all intertwining with each other- he turned the print this way and that and, slowly, something bgan to take shape; “Poe enter these numbers in exactly as I say-”
The group threw him a look but he focused on the disk, he spun the image wildly, watching as the lines moved and morphed into something- “Four-zero-nine-two-eight-three-five-six-two-seven-seven-one.” The words fell from his mouth, eyes still zeroed in on the spinning print.
“It’s a planet- in wild space. Mortavi. No settlements, tropical climate, mostly ocean- but there are several islands to the north.” Poe looked up at Finn in disbelief, “how the fuck did you know how to do that?!”
“Language, Dameron.” Leia chided, Poe threw up his hands enthusiastically, giving Finn a wide eyed look as Rey clapped him on the shoulder, “Mortavi is our best bet- if we can start there and find something- anything that can help us destroy this threat, it’ll be worth it.”
She nodded to each of them, “I’m asking the three of you to go on this mission- Chewie will go with you.”
“What about you general?” Finn asked, she smirked at him,
“I’m going to go and get my lazer-brain of a brother.”