The Force Awakens

Chapter 38

The ground tilted. The empty desert disappeared, and I was back at the festival, Aki-Aki whirling around me. A tall male approached, a yoke around his neck that branched out into a magnificent display of wares, grain jewelry, colorful fans, candies. My fingers drifted to my neck, to the empty space where the necklace should have been. My nape still smarted.

It had been our most powerful Force connection yet. Even when I had been in the hut on Ahch-To and our hands had met, it had been nothing like this, so vivid, so dangerously palpable. This time, we'd been in each other's spaces.

While I had been occupied with Kylo, the crowd had pushed in around me, separating me from my friends.

I dodged the merchant, searching for the droids. When I found them, I waved at them to follow as I hurried off in the direction I'd last seen Poe, Finn, Rey, and Chewie. I had to reach them now. I had to get my friends to safety.

I spotted Chewie first; even slouching he was at least a head taller than anyone else in the crowd. He stood with Poe, Finn, and Rey just outside a tent, talking to one of the locals. I wasted no time.

"We have to go," I said, interrupting their conversation. "Back to the Falcon, now."

"Where were you?" Rey asked.

But Poe read my face and said, "What's wrong? What happened?"

"Ren," I replied. "He knows we're here." Or at least he would soon enough.

They did not question or hesitate. Taking off around the tent, heading in the general direction of the parked Falcon. BB-8 rolled along with us as C-3PO struggled to catch up. We would find another way to investigate the Forbidden Valley.

Then, we almost collided with a stormtrooper, who whipped up his blaster.

"Hold it right there!" he said.

We froze. I began reaching for the Force.
Over his comlink, he added, "I've located the Resistance fugitives. All units report to—"

Suddenly there was a resounding crack. The stormtrooper's head jerked backward, an arrow shaft sticking out of his left eye lens. He toppled into the sand, where he twitched once, then went completely still.

We whirled, seeking the source of the arrow. A tall helmeted figure stood just inside the tent, holding back the flap with a walking stick. In the other hand was a scoped dart shooter that looked like a smaller, lighter version of Chewie's bowcaster.

"Follow me," came a distinctly male voice. "Hurry."

I exchanged quick glances with my friends, who all nodded, and we set off after the helmeted figure. He hurried in the opposite direction, away from the Falcon, but he'd just saved us a lot of trouble so no one protested.

That had been an amazing shot, which meant we were in dangerous company. It had happened fast enough that the stormtrooper had been unable to relay our exact location. So I hoped we were doing the right thing by trusting the stranger.

We passed C-3PO, who was still hurrying to catch up to us. "Oh, slow down!" the droid protested to our backs. "What sort of friends are you?"

The helmeted figure weaved through the crowd, leading us to one of the giant treadable vehicles. The entirety of the vehicle sheltered within its massive treads, the huge drum wheels, the cabin, the entrance portal. It sparked with familiarity; the propulsion system, the drive shaft, even the hanging cargo nets all reminded me of the speeder Rey had cobbled together on Jakku, even though this vehicle was ten times the size and lacked any repulsorlift.

The helmeted figure hurried them through the entrance into the hot, claustrophobic cabin. Supplies and trinkets dangled from the ceiling, and the drive shaft ran right through the center, barely allowing enough headroom. C-3PO was the last to board.