Rebel

Chapter 8

    The bustling bar is full of many different creatures, a band is playing, and an unknown animal cooks over a fire. "Han Solo!" A voice rings out, as the music stops. We look across the room, a small orange woman with large goggles stands, looking at Han, I was surprised that someone of her stature could be so loud. A glass shatters and everyone looks at us.
    "Oh boy." Han says to himself softly, "Hey Maz." He says louder, raising a hand in greeting. BB-8 and I look at Han, as Maz comes over to us. The music and chatter resume.
    "Where's my boyfriend?" Maz questions Han.
    "Chewie's working on the Falcon." Han says, I laugh to myself as Finn looks at Han questionly. While Rey gives a small grin, looking at me, she winks.
    "I like that Wookie." Maz says, looking at Rey and I, "I assume you need something." She says, looking back at Han, "Desperately," she looks slightly annoyed with Han, it must not have been the first time Han had come here. "Let's get to it." She says, waving for us to follow her, as she walks away, Finn, Rey, and I look at each other before following, Maz leads us to a table, bursting with food, we sit down, Rey and I after confirming it with Maz, help ourselves to the food. BB-8 chirps at Maz, "A map. To Skywalker himself?" She laughs, "You are right back in the mess."
    "Maz, I need you to get this droid to Leia." Han says, almost pleadingly.
    "Hmm..." she says, "No." Rey and I look up from where we were quietly sharing food with each other. I had just given Rey a half of an apple filled with something, it was amazing. Finn looks at Maz. Rey and I look at each other, then back at Maz and Han, something was about to happen. "You've been running away from this fight for too long." Han blinks slowly, "Han. Naqi na go a da," She says, "go home." Han looks down, then back up at Maz.
    "Leia doesn't wanna see me." Han says shaking his head.
    "Please, we came here for your help." Finn interrupts. Rey looks at Maz from where she and I were still munching on the apple halves.
    "What fight?" Rey asks, Maz looks at her, and then me.
    "The only fight. Against the dark side. Through the ages, I've seen evil take many forms. The Sith. The Empire. Today, it is the First Order." I look over at Finn, and see his sweating, his breathing pick up, something wasn't right. He was nervous. "Their shadow is spreading across the galaxy. We must face them. Fight them. All of us." Maz says, looking at Finn.
    "There is no fight against the First Order." Finn says learning forward, he shakes his head quickly, "Not one we can win." Rey looks at Finn, I can see the hurt and confusion in her eyes, "Look around. There's no chance we haven't been recognized already." Rey looks nervous, I grasp her hand under the table, giving it a squeeze, she squeezes back. "I bet you the First Order is no thier way right-" Finn cuts off as Maz adjusts her goggles looking intently at Finn. "What's this?" He questions, Maz's eyes seem to get bigger as the goggles magnify her vision, "What are you doing?" Finn asks, as Maz climbs onto the table knocking things off, I grab an apple thing and put it in my pocket, before it falls off, "Solo, what is she doing?" Finn asks, looking more worried.
    "I don't know. But it ain't good." Han says, shaking his head, he is still relaxed in his chair.
    "If you live long enough, you see the same eyes in different people." Maz says, studying Finn, "I'm looking at the eyes of a man who wants to run." Finn suddenly leans forward on the table.
    "You don't know a thing about me. Where I'm from. What I've seen. You don't know the First Order like I do. They'll slaughter us." He says fear is evident in his voice no matter how he tries to mask it, "We all need to run."
    "Hmm." Maz says, tilting her head as she makes her way back to her seat, Rey looks at Finn eyebrows furrowed in confusion, I realized then that he had told her that he was with the Resistance, recalling the information from when I had comforted BB. But he wasn't. "You see those two?" She points to two aliens on the other side of the room, "They'll trade work for transportation to the Outer Rim. There, you can disappear."
    "Finn?" Rey questions, hurt evident in her voice.
    "Come with me," Finn says.
    "What about BB-8?" She says guestering to the droid, "We're not done yet. We have to get him back to your base." BB-8 chirps, shaking his head.
    "I can't." He says, and stands, offering the blaster back to Han.
    "Keep it, kid." Han says, Rey looks at Finn, tears in her eyes. Finn walks away towards the men Maz said would take him. Rey looks at BB-8 then at me, and abruptly stands up, walking back towards Finn, I nod at Maz and she gives me a sad smile. Rey makes her way across the room with me following close behind. She reaches the table.
    "What are you doing?" She says.
    "Don't leave without me." Finn says, standing Rey, Finn, and I walks to a quieter place.
    "You can't just go. I won't let you."
    "I'm not who you think I am."
    "Finn, what are you talking about?"
    "I'm not Resistance." He says, "I'm not a hero." Guilt in his eyes, "I'm a stormtrooper. Like all of them, I was taken from a family I'll never know. And raised to do one thing." His eyes searched her for some understanding, Rey's face now remained impassive, a mask, Finn lied to her. "But, my first battle, I made a choice. I wasn't gonna kill for them. So I ran. Right into you." Tears shone in Finn's eyes, "And you looked at me like no one ever had. I was ashamed of what I was. Dust I'm done with the First Order. I'm never going back. Rey, come with me."
    "Don't go." Rey says firmly, her lip trembled, Finn reminded her of her family.
    "Take care of yourself. Please." Rey's mask was gone, tears in her eyes, she took my hand and gripped it tightly, I squeezed back as if to say I'm not going anywhere. Finn walks out the doors with the mercenaries. Rey lets go of my hand and turns, heading away.
    "Rey?" I say, she doesn't turn, and continues walking, stopping in front of a dark staircase. "Rey?" I call as she walks down the staircase, I follow her into the darkness. I walk down the hallway, the lights in the ceiling not shedding much light, Rey stops in front of a door, it unlocks and Rey walks inside, I hesidently follow, into some sort of storage room, boxes and vases are strewn about haphazardly, Rey stops in front of a small box, she kneels down and opens it, and lightsaber is revealed inside. She reaches forward to grab it, her hand closing over the hilt.
    "Rey, no!" I shout, reaching forward, and grab her shoulder, and the world turns black.
——
    The world lights up into the sand dunes of Jakku. I see a figure walking up a dune, a speeder parked at the base of the dune, I recognize the speeder, it is Rey's. I step forward and fall, the scene changes, Rey scavenging in a Star Destroyer, Rey getting food from Unklar, barely enough to get by, suddenly I see from her eyes, I'm looking at the crashed AT-AT she calls home, I- well Rey walks into the AT-AT, and lies down on the small bed, looking at the ceiling, hunger gnaws at her stomach as she closes her eyes, a feeling of desperation washes over me, she didn't fall asleep easily, when she did it was restless and plagued with nightmares. The time she did manage to go without nightmares, she dreamed of an island, it was rocky but full of life.
"No!" A young girl's voice shouted, Rey spun and suddenly we were back on Jakku, I recognized the girl as a younger version of Rey, "Come back!" Young Rey yelled, a meaty hand gripping her arm tightly.
"Quiet, girl." The unmistakable voice of Unklar Plutt said, to no avail.
"No!" Young Rey screamed, Rey spun around as she looked at the ship flying away. My parents Rey's voice echoes inside my head, the ship flies as I feel myself falling as the world fades to black.
——