Chapter 6 - An Unusual Alliance (2/2)
- ”Yeah!”- shouted 2187 in cheer due to the nervousness- ”did you see that? did you see that?”
- I saw it!- said Poe enjoying the happiness of this rookie who was so happy for just two good shots but he understood him and this gave him the breather he needed to plan the next step. He evaded the other cannon shot using the distance the boy had created.
- ”Hey, what's your name?”-asked Poe realizing he hadn't asked before.
- ”FN-2187”- replied the stormtrooper while wondering if it was a good idea to have such idle chat in such moment..
- ”F... what?”- asked Poe thinking that he had heard badly.
- ”That's the only name they ever gave me.”- said 2187 feeling weird.
- ”Well, I ain't using it. F-N, huh? Finn. I'm gonna call you Finn. Is that all right?”- said Poe thinking in the first name that crossed his mind.
- ”Finn. Yeah. Finn, I like that. I like that.”- replied Finn and he felt a strange emotion when he heard that name, as if something had born inside him. A feeling of ownership and freedom.
Poe was talking but he was not relaxing at all and continued evading the enemy shots. He really liked the speed of these imperial fighters.
- ”I'm Poe. Poe Dameron.”- he said and Finn smiled when he finally heard the name of his accomplice.
- ”Good to meet you, Poe.”- Finn said feeling a strange connecion with the man.
- ”Good to meet you too, Finn.”- said Poe very grateful that he could have escaped.
-...-
- ”Sir, they've taken out our turbo lasers.”- informed an officer in the command center of the Finalizer Star Destroyer.
- ”Use the ventral cannons.”- said Hux knowing very well the speed and maneuverability of the TIE fighters, especially in the hands of a veteran like Dameron.
- ”Yes, sir. Bringing them online.”- said the officer activating the program.
Hux noticed Kylo Ren entering the bridge with a quick pace which informed him of his displeasure and he knew he should be very careful with his words.
- ”General Hux”- said Kylo Ren without beating around the bushes- ”is it the Resistance pilot?”
- ”Yes, and he had help...”- said Hux after deciding to tell this piece of information since it could be blamed on him- ”from one of our own. We're checking the registers now... to identify which stormtrooper it was.”
Kylo Ren turned in the direction of the TIE fighter and he focused. Kylo Ren could sense the familiar presence that he had noticed previously and said the number that had been in his mind more than once.
- ”The one from the village”- he said remembering the talented cadet who had called his attention and who had refused to comply with his orders in Tuanul- ”FN-2187.”
Hux wondered how he could have guessed the exact number and he thought that maybe they had a connection prior to this event and doubted if it was a good idea to attack this stormtrooper.
- ”Sir, ventral cannons hot.”- informed the officer to Hux.
- ”Fire.”- ordered Hux seeing that Kylo had not given any order to spare 2187.
The cannons which had the form of an ”X” activated and turned in the direction of the TIE fighter and locked on them and shot guided missiles that followed the TIE fighter wherever it went. Poe evaded as well as he could but he knew they had to be destroyed by Finn.
- ”One's coming toward you!- Poe informed Finn- ”My right. Your left. Do you see it?”
- ”Hold on”- said Finn and soon he saw the blue projectiles dashing to them- ”I see him!”
He aimed and after a few shots he managed to destroy one of the targets which gave him time to pass to the next part of his plan.
- ”Nice shot!”- said Poe and he maneuvered the TIE fighter in the direction of the desert planet.
- ”Where are we going?”- asked Finn realizing the course he was taking.
- ”We're going back to Jakku. That's where.”- said Poe as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
- ”No, no! We can't go back to Jakku! We need to get out of this system!”- said Finn knowing that the First Order would easily find them in Jakku.
Once they landed in the planet, they would be done for. Poe should know this given his experience as a fighter of the Resistance so why was this dude going back?
- ”I gotta get my droid before the First Order does.”- Poe explained with the same ”it-is-obvious” voice.
- ”What, a droid?”- Finn could not believe he had really said that. They were going to return to a mortal trap in order to get his toy back. Was this guy for real?
- ”That's right. He's a BB unit, orange and white. One of a kind.”- said Poe praying that his little companion had managed to survive and keep the information safe.
- ”I don't care what color he is! No droid can be that important!”- shouted Finn in desperation when he heard his words. Could this man have lost his mind?
Finn thought that maybe the interrogation he had suffered, had broken the mind and now he was crazy. Finn started to think in any way to take the controls... maybe he could manage to fly this thing far enough to escape.
- ”This one is, pal!”- ȧssured Poe who seemed to be absolute decided to followe his suicidal plan.
- ”We gotta get as far away from the First Order as we can! We go back to Jakku, we die.”- said Finn trying to put some sense into this man who would just end up killing the both of them.
- ”That droid has vital information about Luke Skywalker”- said Poe trying to explain but Finn didn't listen and just sweared.
- ”Oh, you gotta be kidding me!”- said Finn thinking about how to convince this guy when he felt the impact of those missiles in the TIE fighter.
The impact was extremely violent and soon after they were falling into the atmosphere of the planet.
-...-
Meanwhile in the Finalizer, Hux was checking Finn's information and receiving the inform of Captain Phasma who was in charge of the FN Corps and was his direct superior.
- ”2187 reported to my division...- she said after retelling the last mission in Tuanul- he was evaluated, and sent to reconditioning.”
- ”No prior signs of nonconformity?”- asked Hux who knew that such behaviours could not be spontaneous and without warning.
- ”This was his first offense”- said Phasma who had hidden 2187's first disobedience since it would have brought her problems and tarnished her impeccable record.
- ”General! They've been hit.”- informed an officer making Hux look away from Finn's records.
- ”Destroyed?”- he asked officer.
- ”Disabled. They were headed back to Jakku”- replied the officer- ”The fighter is projected to crash in the Goazon badlands.”
Hux could not help praise the skill of the pilot who managed to survive even after being impacted by such a powerful projectile. He wished he could have such person under his command, but he new that it was something he could not have.
- ”They were going back for the droid. Send a squad to the wreckage.”- ordered Hux thinking that maybe they would find the droid for them. Since they wanted to guide him to the information, he would not be impolite and reject them.
-...-
Finn woke up feeling terrible. He just remembered ejecting himself from the TIE fighter once they entered the planet's atmosphere and getting a safe height. After that, he just fainted and once he woke up he was in the sand. He checked himself and he was relieved to confirm that he was fine. He then remembered Poe and looked around until he saw smoke not very far from his position.
- Poe! Poe!- he ran in that direction and saw the crashed fighter where Poe was and tried to get closer in order to help his new friend.
Finn noticed that the ground under the fighter was inestable and recognized quicksands. He realized he gravity of the situation and jumped into the ċȯċkpit trying to get any reaction from inside.
- ”Poe! Poe! I got you. Poe!”- he tried to get into the ċȯċkpit to save Poe but he only managed to grab poe's jacket before the quicksands started to drag the TIE fighter inside. Finn could only jumped back and see in horror how the ship with the pilot of the Resistance dissapeared in the sand.
He felt sad and horrified. Poe had been the first person that he had really respected and the one that had caused a huge impression on him. He not only had helped him escape from the First Order but he had also given him a proper name that marked him as an individual and not only another number at the service of others. He may have been crazy to return to Jakku but that was also a show o this deep commitment to his cause and even if Finn disagreed, deep inside he could only recognize Poe's loyalty and sense of duty. He sighed and thought that maybe he had already died in the crash since he didnt see any reaction from the ċȯċkpit when he was trying to help. He knew he couldnt stay there. Poe was already gone and he would follow if he stayed here.
BOOM!
Finn almost fall down when the TIE fighter exploded under the sand behind him. If Poe was somehow still alive, that would have definitely finish him off.
- ”Rest in peace, my friend”- he said in prayer- ”and thank you for helping me.”
After this, he returned to the seat where he had landed and checked the container in the rear. He found a GPS system that was about to run off in energy and used it to see his coordinates.
- ”Goazon Badlands coordinates 278,980.00976”-read Finn and then saw that the machine marked the North but some moments later it stopped working due to lack of energy.
He observed the Sun position. According to the data they received for the attack of Tuanul. The nearest village was Niima Post which was some kilometers West from his position but he did not know the exact location so he did not know how much he would have to walk.
- ”Ok”- he said while switching the program of his armor into survival mode- ”let's go.”
His armor had some specific vital aid systems. He would receive fresh oxygen and temperature for a time and would decrease the sweat he would have for a time. The First Order could not track him since the tracking systems were in the helmet so he was safe for now, but he knew that they would come as soon as possible so he had to hurry and get out of the planet quickly. He did not want to be hunted by Phasma or Ren. He observed the Sun again and then he went to the West praying that the post was not so far away.