Program 2187

II

There were programs for undertakings such as these. Protocols. It was things like this, rash and angry decisions, ignoring the rules, taking revenge like a child, that drove Hux mad.

Revenge was best served cold, and if Kylo Ren had ever heard that saying he was simply to angry to remember it now. General Hux stood by, sneering at his colleague's rage, but keeping quiet as Ren made his plea to Snoke. He fumed when Ren was given full permission to chase after his petty revenge.

"My face is ruined," He mocked his associate as he left the impromptu meeting room. They were currently traveling to meet with Snoke and, in Hux's opinion, they hardly had room to be holding prisoners. "Like he was particularly attractive before." Hux scoffed. "That prisoner is taking up space we don't have, and just because Ren wants his damn-" Rounding the corner, Hux remembered himself and quieted his rant. Despite the fact that none of his Troopers would dare to turn him into Ren or Snoke for his treasonous talk, he did not need them seeing him talking to himself.

Regardless of Kylo Ren's idiotic endeavors, Hux had a ship to run. And, after losing so many men with Starkiller Base, he was driving himself crazy trying to keep the ship running and keep up with Ren's shenanigans.

All he knew, and perhaps all he needed to know, was that the traitor, formerly known as FN-2187, was going to have a terribly painful stay aboard the transporter ship.

× × ×

The cockpit of the Millennium Falcon was silent, and Poe Dameron could not stand it.

"How sure are we he's on this ship?" He asked, poking at the console. He was bored. Rey had taken the controls, because it was 'her ship'. When Poe had begged to take his X-wing she had reasoned that two people couldn't fit in it if they tried, and arriving on this mission together was imperative.

"You've asked that six times." His travel partner responded through gritted teeth. "General Organa got this information from a trustworthy source." She paused, shooting an aggravated look at his hands, playing with buttons that he had only guessed weren't important. "Can you go back to the back and get Chewy? I need my co-pilot while leaving lightspeed."

Poe let out a heavy sigh, but unbuckled himself and headed toward the back. BB-8 met him in the corridor.

"Hey buddy." He said quietly as the droid followed him. "Chewy, the captain needs you." Poe threw himself in the booth and watched the Wookie roar and make his way toward the cockpit.

The ship they were tracking was made for transportation purposes, but it was still much too large to go fast. It was this lack of speed that Rey and Poe had to thank for the fact that it was still in space, and not docked wherever it was going, and the ease of their docking on the larger ship.

The Millennium Falcon halted suddenly, leaving lightspeed, and began drifting. Poe found himself tempted to run to one of the gunner seats, just to be able to see what exactly they were approaching. He knew better, not only because Rey was already fed up with him, but because he knew the only reason he had energy to want to do anything was thanks to nerves. Despite the fact that the General had ordered him to stay a night on base, catching up on sleep, he did not feel well rested. His one night of sleep had come with more than its fair share of tossing, turning, and nightmares.

BB-8 sat at Poe's feet, swiveling his head nervously. The little droid was amazing at sensing and replicating emotions and had grown more and more antsy along with Poe as they approached the ship. Poe gave him an attempt at a smile, and BB-8 responded with noises that roughly translated to nervous words of encouragement.

The Millennium Falcon had gone largely unchanged since the death of Han Solo, a tragedy Poe had only felt the repercussions of. He hadn't known Solo well, except for what he could gather from stories (but truth and myth were already muddled in many of them). He had mostly felt the sorrow secondhand, through consoling Rey and seeing the General fall apart. He knew that this mission to find Finn, and the hope that he was still alive, was keeping many if those who had know Solo personally held together. He knew that was the case for Rey.

There was a loud sound of metal snapping against metal, and the ship stopped. Poe stood, his stomach writhing with nerves, and waited near the door for Rey.

"We've got to get off here before they decide to search it." She frowned, trying to come up with any sort of plan.

"Then we wing it." Poe grinned, that was his specialty. And, if there was anything he had learned about Rey, it was that she was the type of person who liked to have a plan.

"That's a horrible plan, we-" Poe held up a finger.

"You're completely missing what makes it so beautiful." He said. Now, in the midst of all the danger, he was becoming more himself again. "It isn't a plan."

Rey opened her mouth, then closed it, letting out a heavy breath. Without another word she opened the Millennium Falcon's doors and the pair exited the ship.

The loading dock was actually pretty small. The Falcon looked cramped sitting among the smaller ships and maintenance droids.

Adrenalin pumped through the pair of stowaways as they made their way out of the bay. They were followed by BB-8, but Chewy had decided it was best if he just stowed himself in the Falcon.

Rey, who had taken the lead, took a left and continued down a long, metal hallway. There were still no stormtroopers in sight, and eventually Rey pulled Poe and BB-8 aside. The trio sat in what appeared to be a broom closet.

"Where are all the guards?" She hissed, keeping her voice low. It was obvious she was nervous.

"Who cares?" Poe responded, doing his best to seem calm. "If we have a clear shot to Finn that's all that matters."

"Yeah, but," Rey paused. She was chewing on her lip almost violently. "We don't even know where they're keeping him, if," she stopped herself, but not soon enough. The implied message was still left hanging in the air. If they did keep him.

"What part of wing it is so confusing to you?"Poe muttered. "Look, we're just gonna have to- we'll wing it."

BB-8 made a small noise, extending his metal arm. Poe shot him an impatient look and continued to argue quietly with Rey. It was minutes before they paused long enough to realize that BB-8 had left.

"BB-8?" Poe whispered as loud as he dared to. He stuck his head into the hallway, Rey right behind him. The droid in question was sitting ten feet down the corridor, his arm plugged into a port on the wall.

He beeped a friendly, and possibly slightly facetious, greeting.

"Okay, bud, guess I should have paid you some attention." Poe laughed. Rey didn't seem as relieved. But, before she could voice any of her worries, BB-8 was pulling his arm back into its compartment and giving directions to follow him.

Poe took a moment to give Ret a reassuring look. She shook her head, signaling that he should ignore her nervousness, and the two if them took off after the tiny droid.

The ship was fairly uniform, and it was hard to keep the corridors from blending together in a blur of running. But, Poe was almost certain they had turned left, then right, then gone up a flight of stairs then taken another two lefts. There still had been no sign of life, including anyone roaming the halls.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Rey said as they slowed near a door that BB-8 seemed to be indicating was where Finn was being kept. "This has got to be a trap."

Poe opened his mouth to agree, but then closed it. He took a moment to consider their options. "Does it matter?" He asked.

"Wha- Yes." Rey looked at him as though he had lost his mind.

"We're already here." He reasoned, "besides, even if we knew before we came, we can't just leave Finn here."

"You know, Poe Dameron," Rey said, standing and getting ready to open the door. "I ask myself all the time if you're brave, or if you're just really stupid."

Poe smiled, "You should tell me of you ever come up with an answer."