“What do they look like?” Rey panted as they turned another corner and skidded to a stop.
A screaming gang member was in full retreat from a hissing rathtar, which was using its tentacles to fling itself down the hall.
Rey’s hand flew to her mouth in horror.
“They look like that!” Finn said as he took Rey’s arm and began to run. The pustule-covered body of the rathtar followed close behind, reaching its twelve long tentacles toward them.
“This way,” Finn shouted, hoping against hope that the landing bay would be right around the corner.
“Are you sure?” Rey asked.
Finn only answered her with a scream.
One of the rathtar’s tentacles had wrapped around him, and it was now pulling him away from her down corridor after corridor.
Finn heard Rey screaming his name, but there was nothing he could do except scream her name back. The rathtar had him, and any moment it was going to swallow him in one gulp.
But as quickly as the nightmare had started, it was over. A set of heavy doors clamped together, severing several of the rathtar’s tentacles. Finn was free!
He stood up in a panic, shaking the severed limbs to the floor, amazed that he was still alive and not missing any limbs of his own.
Around the corner dashed Rey.
He looked wild-eyed at her. “It had me! But the door—”
She interrupted him. “That was lucky!”
Rey and Finn managed to find the landing bay. Han, BB-8, and an injured Chewie were waiting for them by the Falcon, and they all dashed up the entry ramp. Han took command and began issuing orders.
“You”—he pointed at Rey—“close the door behind us.”
“You,” he said to Finn, shoving Chewie toward him and running toward the cockpit, “take care of Chewie.”
Finn dragged the pained Wookiee inside the ship and got him to lie down. His fur was singed from a blast on the shoulder. Finn needed to find some gauze.
“Hang on back there!” Han called.
“No problem!” Finn yelled back, tossing aside odd objects until he found the materials he needed.
But there was a problem. He had to bandage up a rather angry Wookiee.
“Chewie, come on!” Finn urged him. But Chewie made it clear that he didn’t want to be bandaged.
“I need help with this giant hairy thing!” Finn yelled toward the cockpit.
“You hurt Chewie, you’re going to deal with me,” Han shouted back.
“Hurt him?” Finn exclaimed. “He almost killed me six times!”
Chewie grabbed hold of Finn’s neck and pulled him close so Finn could get a good look at the Wookiee’s fangs. “Which is fine,” Finn added.
Lesson learned.
ONCE HAN WAS SURE they were on the right trajectory at lightspeed, he left the cockpit.
“Move, ball,” he said to BB-8 as he made his way through the ship to check on Chewie.
The Wookiee was clearly disappointed with himself over the gang fight.
Han reassured his friend. “No, don’t say that. You did great. Just rest.”
Then the pilot turned to Finn. “Good job, kid,” he said sincerely. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome,” Finn replied as he leaned forward on a strange table. The table lit up when Finn touched it, and odd holographic figures appeared and started fighting one another. Chewie perked up from the corner of the room.
“So…fugitives, huh?” Han asked.
Finn decided it might be best to turn off the game for then.
Rey had joined them. “The First Order wants the map,” she explained. “Finn is in the Resistance. I’m just a scavenger.”
The lie haunted Finn. He was thankful that Han changed the subject by asking to see BB-8’s map.
The little droid rolled to the center of the ship and projected the map for them to see.
“This map is not complete. It’s just a piece,” Han explained, bathed in the blue light of the hologram. “Ever since Luke disappeared, people have been looking for him.”
“Why did he leave?” asked Rey.
“He was training a new generation of Jedi,” Han replied. “One boy, an apprentice, turned against him and destroyed it all. Luke felt responsible. He just walked away from everything.”
“Do you know what happened to him?” Finn asked.
“A lot of rumors. Stories. People that knew him best think he went looking for the first Jedi Temple.”
“The Jedi were real,” Rey said, her eyes widening.
“I used to wonder about that myself,” Han admitted. “Thought it was a bunch of mumbo jumbo. A magical power holding together good and evil, the dark side and the light? Crazy thing is, it’s true. The Force. The Jedi. All of it. It’s all true.”
Finn and Rey were spellbound by Han’s words.
“You want my help? You’re getting it,” said the smuggler. “Gonna see an old friend, she’ll get your droid home. This is our stop.”
The Millennium Falcon came out of lightspeed over a beautiful blue-and-green planet dotted with white clouds.
As they soared over the lush world, Rey gaped out the window. “I didn’t know there was this much green in the whole galaxy.”
Finn was too worried about his own predicament to appreciate the scenic view. What would the real Resistance fighters say when they figured out he was a fraud? What if the First Order was waiting for them wherever Han was landing the ship?
The Falcon touched down near an ancient castle overlooking a lake. Rey left the ship immediately to take in the beauty, but Finn hung back when he noticed that Han was arming himself.
“Hey, Solo,” Finn started, putting on his most Resistance-y voice, “I’m not sure what we’re getting into here….”
Han stopped and turned around to glare at Finn. “Did you just call me ‘Solo’?”
“Sorry, Han…Mr. Solo,” Finn continued. “You should know, I’m a big deal in the Resistance, which puts a real target on my back. Are there any conspirators here? Like First Order sympathizers?”
“Listen, ‘Big Deal,’ you’ve got another problem,” Han replied. “Women always figure out the truth. Always.”
He shoved a blaster into Finn’s hands and headed down the ramp to talk to Rey.
How did Han know he was lying?
Finn hated lying to Rey.
He wouldn’t be able to face her when she found out the truth about him. Maybe it would be better if they just went their separate ways….
A short hike later, Han, Finn, Rey, and BB-8 were approaching the gigantic stone castle.
“Solo, why are we here, again?” Finn asked.
“To get your droid on a clean ship,” Han replied.
“Clean?” Rey didn’t understand what he meant.
“You think it was luck that Chewie and I found the Falcon?” Han retorted. “If we can find it on our scanners, the First Order is not far behind.”
A gigantic stone statue of a female alien loomed over the group as they made their way through the castle courtyard.
“Wanna get Beebee-Ate to the Resistance? Maz Kanata is our best bet,” Han said.
“We can trust her, right?” Finn was still apprehensive about the pit stop.
“Relax, kid,” said Han, brushing aside Finn’s concern. “She’s run this watering hole for a thousand years.”
As they approached the door, Han turned around and gave Finn and Rey some advice. “Maz is a bit of an acquired taste, so let me do the talking, and whatever you do, don’t stare.”
“At what?” Finn and Rey asked in unison.
“Any of it…” Han warned.
Finn couldn’t believe his eyes as they stepped into the dimly lit cantina. Aliens and humanoids of all shapes and sizes milled about the stone room. Music filled the hall, and the scent of food hung thick in the air. During all the excitement, Finn hadn’t realized just how hungry he had become.
Across the room, a short alien wearing large goggles, bang
les, and beads swiveled around on the spot. “Han Solo!” she bellowed above the crowd, as though she had sensed rather than seen his arrival.
The music stopped, a glass shattered, and all eyes turned toward the new party.
“Oh, boy,” Han grumbled to himself. Then, much louder, he called out, “Hey, Maz.”
Maz approached them with a serious look in her eyes. “Where’s my boyfriend?”
Rey and Finn exchanged looks of confusion.
“Chewie’s working on the Falcon,” Han explained.
“I like that Wookiee,” said Maz. “I assume you need something. Desperately,” the alien continued. “Let’s get to it.”
MAZ TREATED FINN, REY, AND HAN to a great feast. In return, they informed her about BB-8’s precious cargo.
“A map!” Maz exclaimed. “To Skywalker himself?” She laughed and then pointed at Han. “You’re right back in the mess!”
“Maz, I need you to get this droid to Leia.”
The alien seemed to consider the idea for only a second before firmly saying no. “You’ve been running away from this fight for too long,” Maz urged him.
Then Maz spoke Han’s name and something in a language Finn couldn’t understand before finally telling Han that he needed to go home.
“Leia doesn’t want to see me,” said Han.
“Please,” Finn interjected, trying to get things back on track, “we came here for your help.”
“What fight?” Rey asked Maz earnestly.
“The only fight, against the dark side.” Maz explained, “Through the ages, I’ve seen evil take many forms. The Sith. The Empire. Today, it is the First Order. Their shadow spreading across the galaxy. We must face them. Fight them. All of us.”
Finn had heard enough. He was the only person there who knew the terrible destructive power of the First Order.
“There is no fight against the First Order—not one we can win,” Finn stated. “Look around! There’s no chance we haven’t been recognized already. I bet you the First Order is on their way right—”
Finn stopped midsentence, distracted by Maz, who was adjusting her goggles and staring intently into his eyes.
“What’s this?” Finn asked. “What are you doing?”
Then Maz climbed up on the table and started crawling toward him. Brushing aside the plates of food, she kept her eyes locked on Finn. BB-8 was startled when a cup bounced off his head.
Finn was startled, too. “Solo, what is she doing?”
“I don’t know,” Han answered. “But it ain’t good.”
“If you live long enough, you see the same eyes in different people,” Maz observed. “I’m looking at the eyes of a man who wants to run.”
Finn couldn’t believe it. Who was this lady to try to tell him who he was? “You don’t know a thing about me. Where I’m from, what I’ve seen. You don’t know the First Order like I do. They’ll slaughter us. We all need to run.”
Maz crawled back to her seat.
“You see those two?” Maz pointed to some pirates in a far corner. “They’ll trade work for transportation to the Outer Rim. There, you can disappear.”
“Finn!” Rey interjected.
Finn looked at Rey. He didn’t want to leave her. But he really didn’t want to face the First Order.
“Come with me,” Finn pleaded.
“What about Beebee-Ate? We’re not done yet,” she said. “We have to get him back to your base.”
The lie.
He couldn’t avoid it.
Finn looked Rey in the eyes and said, “I can’t.”
He stood up, gingerly offering the blaster to Han, though he hoped the man wouldn’t need it back.
“Keep it, kid,” Han said, as if reading Finn’s thoughts.
Finn looked at Rey one last time and walked away.
He managed to keep himself under control as he made his way across the cantina. He sat down at the table Maz had directed him to and a few moments later had negotiated passage to the Outer Rim. He would soon board a modified freighter called the Meson Martinet to work in the service of Captain Sidon Ithano and his peg-legged first mate, Quiggold. But Rey walked up, looking somehow even more upset than she had back on Jakku when she thought he was a thief. Finn was glad she didn’t have her staff.
“What are you doing?” Rey spat.
“Don’t leave without me,” Finn urged the pirates before following Rey to a quieter part of the hall.
“You can’t just go,” said Rey. “I won’t let you.”
“I’m not who you think I am,” Finn replied. He really didn’t want to tell her his secret. She would never be able to look at him the same way.
“Finn, what are you talking about?” Rey clearly wouldn’t let him off easy.
“I’m not Resistance,” Finn confessed. “I’m not a hero. I’m a stormtrooper.”
Her betrayed look cut him to his core, but she had wanted the truth, so he was going to tell her the whole truth.
“Like all of them, I was taken from a family I’ll never know,” he said, “and raised to do one thing.”
The weight of the past few days rushed back on him, from the death of Slip to his escape with Poe. He took a deep breath and continued speaking.
“But my first battle? I made a choice. I wasn’t going to kill for them. So I ran. Right into you. And you looked at me like no one ever had. I was ashamed of what I was. But I’m done with the First Order. I’m never going back.”
Suddenly, he found it hard to swallow, much less to speak. “Rey, come with me.”
She held his gaze. “Don’t go.”
And that was that. She wouldn’t go. He couldn’t stay. There was only one thing left to say. “Take care of yourself. Please.”
Finn turned and headed back to the two pirates. With quiet resignation, he followed Captain Sidon Ithano and First Mate Quiggold to the door and stepped outside.
FINN WAS HAULING the last of his new ship’s supplies on board when he heard screams coming from the castle. He looked up and saw a bright red vein cutting across the blue sky. He stopped dead in his tracks.
Finn knew exactly what that red streak was. It was a blast coming from the First Order’s deadliest weapon: the Starkiller. The Starkiller had the power to incinerate planets, and the blast in the sky indicated that the First Order had decided to put it to use.
Finn ran to find his friends. They were all in danger. He needed to help them.
A crowd had gathered outside the castle, including Han and Chewie.
“The First Order. They’ve done it,” said Finn.
He scanned the crowd, but he couldn’t find the one person he wanted more than anything to be safe. “Where’s Rey?”
Han didn’t know where she was. Finn was about to run into the forest to find her, but Maz grabbed his hand before he could sprint off.
Maz dragged Finn, Han, and Chewie back to her castle. She led them down a long corridor to a room containing a small wooden box.
“I’ve had this for ages,” Maz said. “Kept it locked away.”
She lifted the lid of the box and pulled out a sleek silver object.
Han seemed shocked. “Where did you get that?”
“A good question,” Maz replied, “for another time.”
Then she held out the object to Finn. The alien urged him. “Take it! Find your friend!”
Finn accepted the gift just as blasts rocked the castle walls around them. He could hear the screams of First Order TIE fighters.
“Those beasts!” Maz cried. “They’re here!”
Finn, Han, Chewie, and Maz ran through the crumbling castle, dodging falling debris as they made their way outside. Utter chaos awaited them.
TIE fighters leveled the castle with just a few blasts. Stormtroopers were flocking to the wreckage. Han and Chewie wasted little time before they began to trade shots with the troopers.
Maz looked at Finn. “Rey and Beebee-Ate, they need you. Now go,” she yelled above the explosions.
&n
bsp; But Finn no longer had the blaster Han had given him.
“I need a weapon,” he shouted back.
Maz pulled his wrist up in the air and placed it in front of his face, his hand still gripping the strange gift she had given him. “You have one!”
She pointed to a stud on the object, and when Finn touched it, a bright blue electric blade flared to life.
Wading into the invading stormtroopers, Finn found that their armor was no match for his lightsaber. There was nothing out there that could stop him, Finn thought as he defeated trooper after trooper, but then he stopped short.
Standing in front of him was a stormtrooper carrying a riot control baton. Even though the stormtroopers’ armor made them indistinguishable, Finn knew it was Nines the moment he saw him.
“Traitor!” Nines snarled as he swung his baton at Finn’s unprotected head. Sparks flew as Finn blocked it with his lightsaber and took a step back. Nines slammed his baton into Finn’s lightsaber again and again.
Finn didn’t want to fight his old friend. But he had no choice. Nines stood for everything Finn hated about the First Order. The pair fought, dealing each other blow after blow. They were evenly matched until Nines was able to land a hit with his baton. Finn flew backward, knocked clean off his feet.
Nines walked toward Finn. He was panting heavily and there was zero trace of compassion in his swagger. Finn looked up at his former friend as FN-2199 raised his weapon for a death blow.
But it never came.
Instead, Nines had been blasted backward himself. Rolling over, Finn saw Han running toward him, Chewbacca’s bowcaster in hand and the Wookiee trailing not far behind.
“You okay, Big Deal?” Han hauled him to his feet.
“Thanks,” Finn managed to say.
“Don’t move!” crackled a voice behind them.
With no way out, Finn, Han, and Chewbacca were forced to surrender their weapons.
As the stormtroopers marched them toward a transport, a roar rose over the nearby lake. It was a fleet of X-wings!
“It’s the Resistance!” Han shouted.
Led by a black-and-orange X-wing, the Resistance pilots quickly took care of the TIE fighters buzzing above where Maz’s castle had once stood, and soon turned to picking off stormtroopers on the ground.
Finn's Story Page 4