Poe and Finn reached the edge of the swamp. For some time, the pools of stagnant water had become less deep and the ground not as muddy. The number of trees had also thinned to the point where the bright sun shown clearly through the gaps in the canopy.

"What is it?" Finn asked when Poe halted beside one of the last trees of the swamp.

"This could be bad," Poe answered with a sweeping gesture toward the open fields of grass.

"It looks clear to me," Finn said.

"That's the problem," Poe pointed out. "There's nowhere to hide. A TIE fighter could spot us miles away."

"Oh," Finn replied seriously.

"We don't really have a choice," Poe explained. "This is the shortest way to the settlement I saw on the way down. It shouldn't be much further, perhaps another ten minutes."

"I hope they have some water," Finn said, wiping his forehead with the sleeve of his borrowed jacket without really thinking about it.

"Let's find out," Poe suggested.

Leaving the sheltering confines of the swamp, the pair continued onward across the plains of grass.

***

Restricted Scene Summary –

Kylo and Hux have a discussion on the bridge of their Star Destroyer about the possibility of getting BB-8 back with the module intact versus destroying it to prevent the enemy from getting the information first. The only addition to the scene was when Hux questioned if Kylo was letting his personal mission get in the way of orders from Snoke, and Kylo steps forward, closing the distance between them to mere inches. In a voice only the two of them could hear, Kylo warns Hux to not question his orders in front of the crew again.

Back to the new version.

***

Finn and Poe approached the settlement surrounding the starport. Traders, equipment dealers, salvage merchants, and suppliers of all manner of goods lined the streets in shops or portable kiosks. Lacking any planetary currency, Finn was at a disadvantage, but Poe had been to Jakku before his encounter with the First Order and had enough money to purchase a canteen for each of them.

Finn gratefully accepted his container of water, drinking nearly half of it instantly. Poe had finished several large gulps as well when a commotion nearby caught his attention. Finn shook his head in an indication not to get involved, but Poe headed in a brisk jog toward the chaotic sounds anyway. Finn sighed heavily and reluctantly followed.

The noise was being made by a substantial fight. Two men were unconscious on the ground, but the remaining five were either wrapped around Rey in an attempt to keep her immobilized or they were in the process of trying to drag away an orange and white bundle snared in a cargo net.

"BB-8!" Poe shouted and was answered by an enthusiastic chirping from inside the cargo net. Poe threw himself at the men trying to abscond with his droid, tackling two of them.

The three fighting with Rey were slightly distracted by Poe's unexpected entrance into the confrontation, and they were even more put off when Finn joined in and punched one of them in the face. The diversion was all Rey needed to get her staff into the fight, swinging it up to catch one of her opponents under the chin; as he staggered back it freed her enough to put even more momentum into her next attack, sending the last scrap thief over onto his back.

With the fight turning against them, the scrap thieves still able to stand fled as fast as they could manage.

Poe tore the net away from BB-8, and the little droid rolled back and forth, bumping into Poe while chittering away in its electronic dialect.

"I take it you know this droid?" Rey assumed.

"Yes," Poe confirmed. "He's BB-8, and he's mine."

"I don't suppose there's a finder's fee offered for him," Rey hinted.

"Not really," Poe denied as he stood up. "However, if I can get him back to a Republic base, I could arrange one."

"Do you have a ship?" Rey asked.

"Crashed," Poe admitted. "I'll need a new one."

"I have one," Rey offered. "But, it'll add to the finder's fee."

"Sure," Poe chuckled. "I think we can agree to that. I'm Poe."

"Rey," she answered. Looking toward Finn, she asked, "Who's your friend?"

"His name's Finn," Poe introduced. "What was this scuffle about?"

"I recovered that droid from some scrap thieves," Rey explained. "I was taking it here to a junkyard owner named Unkar so he could tell me what the droid's been chirping about, but Unkar didn't want to translate. He wanted to own and wasn't about to pay, and that's where you two came in."

"We haven't made too many friends since we've been here," Poe said with an easy smile. "The sooner we can be on our way the better."

"I have a speeder, but it wasn't made for passengers," Rey explained. "If you don't mind riding on the side, I can give you a lift."

"It's better than walking," Poe agreed. "Come on, BB-8."

Chirping excitedly, the droid rolled along behind them as they headed for Rey's speeder.

BB-8 was strapped to the left hand side of the main engine covering where Rey carried most of the scrap she salvaged. Poe climbed into the affixed cargo net beside the droid while Finn got situated on the opposing side.

"I don't think this is safe," Finn complained.

"I didn't say it was," Rey pointed out. "But, it is faster than walking."

Powering up the engine, Rey sped away from the starport with a droid and two new companions, but none of them saw the stormtrooper standing just outside the settlement. The soldier did take note of them, touching an index finger against the side of his helmet near the ear as he called in a report.