Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Regency AU)

VI

Finn, Runaway

Han opened the door to the huge castle-like building.

Inside was a general menagerie of people, of all sizes and shapes and colors, even abstract painted ones.

I tried not to stare, but there was so much to look at. A very short woman was hunched over the bar. She turned around, and yelled, "Han Solo!"

Han sighed. "Hey, Maz."

Minutes later, we were sitting at a round table, all four of us.

"Where's my boyfriend?"

I looked at Han, confused.

"He's at the Falcon."

"I like that man."

"Yes, Maz, but see, we need a clean ship for these two here to get to--" Han stopped.

Maz narrowed her eyes at me contemplatively, then began to crawl up on the table.

"What's she doing?" I asked, panicked.  Perhaps she'd been working with the First Order, perhaps she recognized me.

"I don't know," Han said nonchalantly.

Maz removed her strange goggles and looked into my eyes.  "When you live as long as I have, you begin to see the same eyes in different people.  I see the eyes of a man who wants to run."

"Well of course I want to run!" I stuttered out.  "Wouldn't you if the entire First Order were after you?"

Maz sat back in her seat.  "Those men over there will get you to the Outer Sea for work.  You can disappear somewhere out there."

"Thanks."  I stood and walked towards them, not wanting to look back at Rey, who's protesting adamantly.  Then I turned back and offered Han his gun back.

"Keep it," he waved me off without looking.

I walked over to the two men.  We arranged for my passage to the Outer Sea.  I'd just have to work.  But I could do that.  The First Order did many things, but one of them was keeping each of us fit.

"Finn?"

It's Rey.  I walked over to her.

"What are you doing?"

"Rey, I'm sorry."  Time to come clean.  "I'm not from the Resistance."

"What do you mean?"

"I meant to tell you, but...you looked at me like no one else had before, and I didn't want that to change."

The two men stood and called to me.  I looked back one last time, grabbed my gun, and left.

I stopped one last time at the door, to look back at her, but she was gone.  The door closed.

The ship was a large three-masted craft.  Sixteen cannons, probably would take three weeks to reach their destination.

I started to load the freight that the men had gathered during their stop.

A cannon shot rang out.  I jerked to see what it was from.

A large black ship had just arrived in the harbor.

"It's the First Order," I yelled over the blast of another cannon, destroyed the statue on the fort.

People streamed out.  I recognized Han.

"Where's Rey?"

"I don't know."