Star Wars Episode IX: Duel of the Fates

Chapter 8: You Are Not Alone

"Okay so here's the plan." Poe began to tell General Organa, Rose, and Finn. "Me and Finn go to get back the Falcon and the wayfinder. I'll go after the ship and Finn will go after the wayfinder." Rose quirked a brow as he spoke. "How will you guys know where the wayfinder is? Or the ship for that matter? The spy said they were both on Kylo Ren's main ship. There's no way you'd be able to get in undetected and find both things." Poe smirked at the same time Finn did and their eyes connected knowingly. "I'll know where to find it." Finn said confidently. Something as powerful in the Dark Side would be easy enough to detect, even on a ship full of darkness. Rose looked confused, but she rolled her eyes and decided not to press them further. "Okay, let's say you do find it. That still doesn't answer the question as to how you're even going to get in."

"I was getting to that." Poe said excitedly, walking away for a moment to go to one of the storage bins that were set inside the cave the Resistance had overtaken to serve as their base. When he returned, his arms were full with pieces of white armor and a helmet. "Finn is going to dress in this." Poe set the armor and the Stormtrooper helmet down on the table in front of them. "Once he wears this, I'll be his prisoner and he can get easy access to any part of the ship. Once we're out of sight from any guards, I'll hide until Finn can locate the Falcon. Then I go steal the ship back and Finn gets the wayfinder. Then we meet up and hyperspace out of there and boom! We're done!" Poe opened his arms as he finished speaking in a grand gesture as a smile graced his lips. Finn cocked a brow up as an amused smirk formed on his lips and Leia nodded approvingly. "There is still a lot that could go wrong in this plan." She warned, leaning back in her chair as she thought it through. "But we don't have a lot of options. We need that wayfinder and we need that ship. Rose, did the spy give us any clue as to whom they may be?" The general asked. Rose shook her head. "No, they didn't. But they did say that Kylo Ren and... and Rey were not on the ship." Her tone turned somber much like the rest of them as she was mentioned.

The Resistance were shocked when they heard the news about Rey. It was so unexpected for them, but to those close to her it was much more a disappointment than a surprise. They believed she was stronger than that, that she was strong enough to not be seduced by Kylo Ren and the Dark Side. They thought Luke would have taught her to fight against revenge and seek peace both in herself and with others, but it seemed she had her eyes on another path. Pair that with the news of Chewbacca's death and the Resistance had seemed to lose hope until Leia mentioned how Finn would train in her place and was growing stronger everyday and they have stood behind him ever since. They were in high spirits especially after hearing the news about the wayfinder, even though it took weeks for them to form the plan to go and get it.

"It's better that they aren't there, especially Rey. That would only complicate things." Finn stated, earning him nods from all three of the people around him. After planning on what vehicle they were going to take to actually get on the ship, settling for an old TIE fighter they had stolen after they left Takodana, Finn began to suit up in his armor. There was something about putting the Stormtrooper armor back on that felt so familiar. Even after all of this time it seemed almost second nature, yet at the same time so foreign. He felt like his life as a Stormtrooper all those years ago was almost a different life all together. FN-2187 was a different person than Finn was, both in name and in morals. Finn wanted to forget everything he had done in that life and for the most part he did. He knew he was different now, he knew he wasn't a bad person. And now he was fighting against the cruelty of the First Order and preventing other kids from being ripped from their families and turned into a weapon.

Finn approached the TIE fighter where Poe was already setting up the ship for their departure. Finn carried his helmet under his arm as he placed his free hand along Poe's shoulders which caught him slightly off guard. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked, causing Poe to turn and flash a smile. "You know I've always had a thing for men in uniform." Poe teased, making Finn smile and chuckle. Poe's grin faded slightly into a softer one. "I'm ready for this. Are you?" Poe asked in return. Finn nodded and wrapped his arms around Poe. "Let's go get that way finder."