Force Destiny

Stormtrooper

"FN 2187." Finn dejectedly raised his head to stare at the stormtrooper and droid who had entered his detention cell. He recognized the droid as the one who had found him on the Supremacy. Just his luck, he supposed.

"Finn," he replied quietly.

"Sorry, Finn, old habit," the trooper responded as he threw his blaster to the side and approached him. The stormtrooper pulled a lightsaber from his belt and ignited it. Finn knew intimately who it belonged to, the humming sound dragging his memories back to a snow-covered planet. Those vents were burned into his memory... and nightmares. Finn threw his arms up to protect himself. The trooper used the bright red blade to cut the binders from Finn's wrists. Finn felt the shackles fall away and studied the stormtrooper in confusion.

"What?" the trooper asked.

Finn stared at him suspiciously. "What are you doing?"

"Well, unless you wanted to stick around for your execution, I was getting you out of here...." the stormtrooper replied slowly.

Finn remained seated, staring at the lightsaber-wielding stormtrooper. "Who are you, and why would you help me? And why do you have Kylo Ren's lightsaber?"

"Oh...." The trooper took off his helmet, raven hair falling to his shoulders. "I forgot I was still wearing the helmet. This toxin is messing with my head."

"Kylo?"

"Well, Ben...now...again..." Finn stared at him with an odd expression on his face. Ben took a half step back, fearing that he was intimidating the other man. "The shift change is in fifteen minutes, and then we're getting you out of here."

Ben was floundering, paralyzed as Finn jumped up and opened his arms to embrace him. When Ben leaned away, Finn slapped him awkwardly on the back instead. "You're okay!"

"Okay, save the galaxy now; uh, hug...later?"

"What is with your family and hugs?" Finn stepped away from him, but the smile did not fade from his face. "Where's Rey? Does she know you're here? She thought...we all thought you were dead." Ben shook his head, chewing his lip so he wouldn't burden Finn with the knowledge that he was as good as dead if they didn't take down the First Order before Ben could make it to a medbay. Instead, Ben moved to the corners of the room and removed caps from the ceiling and their corresponding bases on the floor.

"What are you going to do with a Force cage?" Finn asked, recognizing the device from his time on the ship. Ben didn't answer. If Finn knew his plan, then Rey would know, and Rey would not leave the ship if she knew his plan. Finn shifted uncomfortably on his feet as Ben began methodically removing the stormtrooper armor. Finn's eyes grew distrustful as he noticed the droid waiting quietly in the corner. "Is that the droid that—"

"Not anymore," Ben said with a tone that brokered no room for argument.

As Ben pried the armor from his throat, Finn's eyes widened. "What's with your neck?" By the look of horror on Finn's face, the spread of the toxin had gotten much worse. Ben was running out of time. "Is that the glitter stuff they injected you with?"

"Glitterstim? Ah, it makes sense now. I didn't know they could put the powder in an injector. They must have mixed it with something; it's not usually black, but telepathy is a side effect. That must be why I could hear Rey, even though I can't access the Force...."

Finn's eyes were wide. "I'm sorry, I must be hallucinating, because I swear you said you can't access the Force."

Ben sighed, accepting that he would have to enlighten Finn to more than he had planned. "It's the toxin. I have to do all of this without the use of the Force." Finn studied him quietly for a moment, the realization of how precarious the situation truly was settling on his concerned features. Ben didn't have to say it. The odds were stacked against him, and if he did not succeed, they would all die.