Let It Burn

Never Thought That You'd Deceive Me

The biggest difference between her old staff and her new one was that this one could burn her if she wasn't careful. She had to be mindful of that, and of how easily it would be to burn someone else. Otherwise, it was a fairly easy transition to using the lightstaff she'd made, and Luke seemed impressed by her progress. That was a delight – though he always seemed impressed. So maybe that was just how he was.

There was the unspoken assumption that she was training to be able to defeat Kylo Ren, so most of her practice time was spent against Luke and his lightsaber. Neither of them mentioned why she had to learn to block this particular style of fighting, nor how such a fight would have to end. It was a relief when she was able to train against other weapons instead, because then Luke was much less close-lipped and worried. She was excelling against the riot control baton that Stormtroopers often carried – it was a familiar fighting style – and doing better against blasters. Blocking them with her staff, anyway.

In her youth, she'd fought hand to hand to protect herself and her belongings. Scavengers tended to back off quickly when presented with a real threat, though, so these fights had never lasted long. She knew the basics but was unprepared to go up against trained soldiers. But now that they were officially at war, she had to be ready. Sparring took up most of her time these days, and sometimes Finn joined her.

He had spent his entire life learning to fight, so was a valuable teacher. When Leia could spare him, he'd come down and give her pointers on how to go up against a Stormtrooper – which was particularly helpful. Luke also taught him some of the basics of using a lightsaber, and that gave her another opponent against whom to practice. Even if it was difficult for either of them to commit to an action that might hurt the other.

On rare occasion, Poe would also come visit her and Luke. She supposed that someone (maybe Luke but probably Leia) limited how many interruptions they might experience, but she was glad to see her friends. Poe was always so positive and supportive. Mostly she only saw him in the evenings, when she was done for the day.

Her trips to the hangar were increasingly limited until she was feeling restless. Even though she was making progress in her Force-training, and doing well enough in weapons training, it would sure be nice to do something she already knew how to do. Something at which she was already good enough. But she knew the importance of what she was doing and did her best to stay focused.

Finn's life was continuing to take surprising turns. He didn't remember his childhood, but he did remember growing up in the First Order. That had been monotonous though not particularly unpleasant. They were kept in prime physical condition and learned enough to do their jobs well. Droid armies were replaced for a reason, and the First Order needed soldiers who could think on their feet, not just follow orders. Particularly in the early days.

It hadn't been an easy decision to leave, to run from what he perceived to be the greatest power in the galaxy. But after he saw what it was really like, what they were really doing in the field, he couldn't stay. He hadn't expected to join the other side, of course – flight had been his only concern when he'd taken Poe Dameron from his cell. None of the events for the next few days could have been predicted and he sometimes felt like maybe all of that was a dream. It certainly had a dreamlike quality to it.

Until he remembered when they took Rey. Getting attached was strongly discouraged in the Stormtrooper corps, though he'd had a few he'd considered friends. But they weren't like her, and he couldn't bear the thought of her being subjected to what he knew could happen to First Order prisoners, especially when it was his fault. But, somehow, she'd escaped and continued to impress him with her abilities to overcome what he'd always considered insurmountable.