THE APPRENTICE ➛ Kylo Ren

⁽ ⁴ ⁾ ❝ ᴛ ᴀ ᴋ ᴏ ᴅᴀ ɴ ᴀ ❞

     From that moment out, everything was a haywire mess. Han's "charms" as he had called them, weren't nearly strong enough to squeeze him out of his smuggling jam. Another group had shown up at the same time, also calling for a refund on their shipments. Rey and Finn had accidentally released two of the vicious Rathtars, which began rampaging through the ship, tearing apart any living thing that got in their way. Finn had almost been killed by one, but Rey came to the rescue just in time.

    All this while, Han, Chewie, Jana and BB-8 were racing around trying to avoid both the creatures and the upset clients. Han had, somewhere in the chaos, given Jana a blaster, and occasional rounds had been fired at any enemies. BB-8 ran into a few walls, Jana fell over her own feet, Han stepped on Chewie and vis-versa plenty of times in the wild scramble, and Chewie even received a shoulder wound, but eventually they made it back to the docking bay, where they quite luckily found Rey and Finn waiting for them, the ramp of the Falcon down and inviting them in to safety.

     The four humans, one droid, and one Wookie never hesitated. Han charged straight onto the ship and into the cockpit much faster than Jana had seen any man his age go before. Jana grabbed Rey's hand as she reached the ship, tugging her inside. After Finn boarded, the ramp closed, and in a matter of seconds Han had the ship up and going.

    "Ugh!" Rey and Jana exclaimed simultaneously, sliding down the wall to the floor. Finn too looked physically spent as he bent over with his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.

     "We should probably — get to — Han —" Jana panted. Rey nodded, wiping her brow with her sleeve. "You're right," she replied. "We have to get BB-8 to the Resistance."

    With a pained expression, she pushed off the floor and made her way to the cockpit. Jana remained, running her hands through her hair.

     "I can't believe this," she said to Finn. "What?" He asked, sitting next to her. "That we just escaped from those things and made it out alive?" He grinned. Jana's lips quirked up. "Well, yeah," she responded. "But I also can't believe the rest of it. I mean...I had a perfectly boring and normal life on Jakku. And literally in five minutes it was just...gone. Now I'm running for my life, I'm on a critical mission to get BB-8 to the Resistance, a force that I've only heard stories about. I'm rubbing shoulders with legends like Han Solo, and..." She paused, looking up at the padded roof of the ship. "It's just a lot to take in."

    Finn watched her the entire time she talked. "Yeah," he said when she was finished. "I guess it is."

     Then both fell silent. Han called them to the cockpit to discuss their next destination. He said that he knew of someone who might be able to help, and after everyone was in agreement with the plan of action, a course was set for the planet called Takodana.

✧ ✦ ✧

     Jana stood on the edge of a eight-foot-tall cliff, looking out over the rippling waters. The lush green that surrounded her on all sides mesmerized her, and she thought that she'd never seen a more azure sky in all her life. Rey stood beside her, also reveling in the warm air.
It wasn't like the harsh temps of Jakku. It was a soft, springy heat, accented by humidity and the scent of plant life all around. Jana never wanted to leave this moment. She never knew there was this much green in the whole galaxy.

    "Here."

     A blaster was shoved in front of her nose. "What's this for?" She questioned, taking the offered weapon from Han. "It's to make sure no one shoots me in the back. You think you can keep an eye out for me?"