"Poe!" you exclaimed, seeing the shots of blue soar across the ebony world around you.

"I see 'em!" He flipped a switch. "Finn! One's coming toward you. My right, your left. See it?"

"Hold on --- I see him!" He fired lasers back and one of them bust, exploding in a shock of white. 

"Nice shot!" Poe praised. He circled back around and then turned toward a sandy planet. Your eyebrows furrowed. 

"Where are you going?" Finn asked. 

"We're going back to Jakku, that's where."

"No, we can't go back to Jakku!" Finn said. "We gotta get out of this system."

"I gotta get my droid before the First Order does," Poe said, shaking his head. 

"What --- a droid?" 

"That's right," Poe said. "He's a BB unit, orange and white. One of a kind."

"I don't care what color he is! No droid can be that important."

"This one is, pal."

"We gotta get as far away from the First Order as we can!" Finn exclaimed. "We go back to Jakku, we die." 

"The droid has a map," you said to Finn. "If we don't get that droid, the First Order can find Luke Skywalker. You know what happens then."

Poe glanced up at you. "She's right."

"Oh, you gotta be kidding me. I don't---"

All of a sudden, there was a burst of white, and you were thrown forward towards the wall. You yelped and felt a hand grab you, right on your arm. Your body collided with the floor and you glanced up to see Poe's arms had circled around your shoulders as you spun out of control through space and towards the sandy planet below.

* * *

"FN-2187 reported to my division, was evaluated, and sent to reconditioning."

Hux stared ahead at the screens as Captain Phasma spoke to him. "No prior signs of nonconformity?"

"This was his first offense," she said.

Hux's eyes fell. It was his first offense, and it was yours. And suddenly Hux could feel your absence on the ship. He was betrayed. He was hurt. He was angry.

"General." His head turned. "They've been hit." 

His heart dropped. "Destroyed?"

"Disabled," she said. "They were headed back to Jakku. The fighter is projected to crash in the Goazon badlands."

"They were going back for the droid," he said. "Send a squad to the wreckage." 

* * *

When you woke up, you were choking. You turned over, expecting it to be on smoke, but instead it was sand that you were choking on.

Stars, it was hot.

Your head lifted slowly, and you felt your hands dig into the soft orange warmth. It was gritty against your palms. You pulled your hands out of it and sat up slowly, feeling a sharp pain in your side. 

"___ --- hey..."

You turned. "Poe!" 

The pilot was strapped to his seat which had ejected itself in the midst of the crash. He had a cut across his forehead and streak of black across his jawline.

"Get me out of this, would you?" he hissed. 

"Of course," you said. 

You played with the straps until the released him, and he slid out of his seat and onto his side in the sand. He grunted and blinked hard. You put your arms around his shoulders and helped him sit up on his knees.

While he focused on catching his breath and taking note of every wound that he had, you looked around you. There was literally nothing except for sand --- and in the far right, a beam of black smoke that was growing larger and larger.

"The ship's all the way over there," you said. 

"The ejection threw us pretty hard," he replied. "Great. My jacket's gone."

"That's the biggest problem for you right now?" you asked. 

"It's a problem, that's for sure." He struggled to stand up. You tightened your right arm around his shoulders and he flung one arm around your waist.

"You think Finn made it?" you asked. 

"I hope so," he said. "I really hope so." 

* * *

"Supreme Leader Snoke was explicit. Capture the droid if we can, but destroy it if we must."

"How capable are your soldiers, General?" Kylo Ren asked, walking alongside the general. 

"I won't have you question my methods," he replied. 

"They're obviously skilled at committing high treason," he snarked. "Perhaps Leader Snoke should consider using a clone army."

Hux walked around Kylo and stopped in front of him. "My men are exceptionally trained. Programmed from birth."

"Then they should have no problem retrieving the droid. Unharmed."

"Careful, Ren. That your personal interests not interfere with orders from Leader Snoke," Hux warmed. 

"You speak boldly. I am surprised. Did you or did you not know that your fiancee was planning on betraying the Order?" Kylo Ren stepped closer to him. "I want that map. For your sake, I suggest you get it."

Hux stared ahead as Commander Ren walked away. 

* * *

The sun was finally beginning to set, and you were so relieved to be free of the hot rays of sun burning your skin. 

The journey had been long. You had abandoned your hat, your uniform blazer, and your gloves. You no longer looked like a member of the Order in your black tank top and black pants.

Despite this, you were overheated, dehydrated, and exhausted. Your legs were shaking as you ascended up yet another slope made of soft sand. Your feet sank into it, which only made it harder to step. You felt like you had an added twenty pounds with each step.

Finally, you collapsed. Right on your stomach.

"Hey, hey," Poe said, his hands on your back. "C'mon, get up."

"I need water," you gasped. 

"I do, too." He swallowed hard. The walls of his throat stuck together. "I'll find us some water."

"Where?" you said, lifting your head weakly. "We are in the middle of the desert, Poe. The sun is setting. Soon, it will be freezing. We won't survive tonight."

He looked at you. "We can't give up hope. Now come on, I'm not telling you again."

You sighed and shook your head. His hands were on your arms and you stood up slowly --- leaning against Poe for support as your legs struggled to hold all of your weight again.

"Why don't you leave me behind?" you asked. 

"No way," he said. "Not my style. You got this."

Your head rolled back. "What if we---"

"Who goes there?!" a deep voiced creature spoke.

You jumped and you were suddenly alert. In the rich maroon lighting from the setting sun, you saw the small alien with a wrinkled face and a large nose. It wore robes of tan with a pair of black gloves and a black hood. 

"I'm... I'm Poe Dameron, a Resistance pilot. And this is ___... my friend."

"A Resistance pilot, eh?" the thing said, waddling forward, down the slope of sand you faced. "Believable story."

"It is the truth," Poe said. 

"Your friend looks like she is dying," it said. 

"She needs water," Poe explained. "We both do." 

"Hm. What are you doing here without a ship, Resistance pilot?" it asked. 

"I was captured by the First Order. We escaped with one other friend in a stolen TIE-Fighter. Our friend didn't make it, but... but we---"

"You fit three people in a single TIE-Fighter? And stole it successfully?" He looked you both up and down. "Or somewhat successfully."

"Will you please help us?" Poe asked tiredly. "I need a ship. I have to get back to base." 

The creature paused, as if thinking, and then nodded. "I will take the two of you to town to find a ship. Yes. But only if I hear more of these stories, my friend."

"Thank you," Poe said, grinning wide. "Thank you so much, pal. I owe you one." 

"My pod is this way. I'm a pod racer, you know. Oh --- don't get too comfortable with me," it said. "I'm a scavenger. I may just scavenge the both of you."

Your eyebrows furrowed and your lip curled. "What a weird thing to say," you said.

Poe put his arm tight around you and smiled at what you said. "We've got just a little while longer 'til we're on a pod and actually getting somewhere. Once we get there, I can go back home."

You shook your head. "I don't care where we go. I just want water."

"Me and you both," he said. He helped you forward. "C'mon, I got you."