003. PLAN Z

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"You've let this get out of hand!" Finn screamed as Poe evaded the heavy set of blaster fire that they received from the oncoming group of TIE fighters.

"I've got everything under control," Poe replied nonchalantly, "This is just a minor setback."

"Say that one more time and I'll actually knock you out this time," Finn threatened.

"You should really be more cautious," Poe simply replied, "You could have seriously hurt me."

"How was I supposed to know it was you beneath that trooper's helmet?!"

"Careful observation."

"Like that would have made a difference."

"Could you quiet down? I'm trying to fly here."

Finn groaned in irritation as he focused on shooting down the pursuing TIE fighters. Their assignment had been a simple reconnaissance mission to observe the supplies that the First Order had been acquiring; however, ever since he was promoted to acting general, Poe had grown cocky—more cocky than usual—and had started taking things into his own hands without thinking about the consequences. In other words, not much had changed but it had seriously started to affect his own life expectancy.

"Tell me you at least have a plan," Finn sighed.

"I have a plan," Poe paused, "Well... part of one anyway."

Finn quickly turned around in his chair to look at Poe, "Don't tell me that! I don't want to hear that you have part of a plan."

"I mean it's only about twelve percent of a plan, but I'm still working on it," Poe muttered under his breath before speaking up, "So don't worry about it. We're going to be fine."

"Twelve percent?!" Finn's voice rose, "That's not a plan! That's a suicide attempt!"

"I've had to adapt a lot but that's what all great leaders do."

"No, no, no. You have not adapted," Finn shook his head, "You've turned a crazy situation into an even crazier one."

"If you'll listen, I have a plan."

"Really?" Finn looked at Poe with disbelief, "because from my viewpoint everything has gone to mustafar!"

"Look, I've sent a message to BB-8 to meet up at the rendezvous point. We'll send this ship into hyperspace, but hijack one of the escape pods and make our way back to Jedha so we can meet back up with the fleet and act like this whole thing never happened."

Finn stared at him blankly before responding hysterically, "That is not a plan!"

"Calm down, I've got everything under control."

In that exact moment, one of the TIE fighter's laser bolts made contact with the stolen cargo freight. Finn looked at Poe unamused who simply formed a small sheepish grin in return. The pair quickly made their way to the escape pods and scrambled to flee the freight that had caught fire.

"Where are you even taking this thing?" Finn referred to the pod that seemed to spin out of control.

"We'll land a few kilometres from the city so that we can avoid the First Order troopers and meet with BB-8 to leave the planet."

"You make it sound so easy," Finn muttered, "but it never actually is."

The pod landed much closer to the city than either Finn or Poe could have anticipated. After orienting himself after the rough crash, Finn stood and helped Poe unlock the hatch that had become stuck after their landing.

"I'd sarcastically compliment you for that landing but my brain is too jostled to come up with anything that would be worthwhile," Finn huffed as he forced the hatch open.

"Hey, it's not my worst landing, I mean I've-" Poe immediately stopped speaking as he exited the pod.

"Really?" Finn asked with sarcasm as he emerged from the pod, "Because the time we crashed on Jakku was sooo much better than this!"

Finn froze as he noticed the squad of troopers surrounding the pod, "Put your hands up and exit the pod slowly."

While doing as instructed, Finn glared at Poe and muttered under his breath, "Everything will be fine he says. We'll be gone before they notice he says..."

Poe frowned, "That was the plan... until now. But if it reassures you any I've sent BB-8 back to the fleet with a distress signal so we can bust out later."

"Maybe the first thing you've done right all day," Finn muttered, "Although I'm not sure whose hands I'd rather die by: The First Order's or the general's."

"Hey, nobody's going to die..." Poe then frowned, "And I've done more than one thing right today."

The pair continued to squabble as they were led aboard a starship and then flown to The Supremacy. They were then led off the starship in handcuffs and nudged toward the prison cells. However, they were briefly intercepted by one of the TIE fighter pilots who presumably had been shooting at them earlier.

"Why do you let the rabble squabble?" the pilot crossed their arms while addressing the troopers standing guard.

"Who are you calling rabble?" Poe asked before retorting, "I'm sure this trooper would rather listen to us than whoever you claim to be."

"Quiet scum," the pilot replied venomously, "I don't tolerate insolence. They've been instructed to be taken to sector A-17."

It seemed something finally clicked in Finn's head, "You're TF-3617."

The pilot took off her helmet and allowed a smirk to form on her face as she herself realized who stood before her, "FN-2187. So they finally caught the little traitor... and his pet."

"Now hang on a moment," Poe interjected, "I'm nobody's pet! If anybody here is kept on a leash, you should take a good look around the organization that's actually just your cage."

The pilot stared daggers, matching Poe's expression. She had moved closer and now stood inches from his face before sharply driving her knee up underneath his rib cage while thrusting him in a downward motion after grasping him by the shoulders. Poe immediately gasped as all air dissipated from his diaphragm. Finn allowed a small smirk to form on his face as Poe certainly received a brief moment of karma; however, the expression was quickly replaced as the pilot's fist connected with Finn's jaw. He stumbled back as he hadn't expected the blow to come. The next few moments were spent in silence as the pair were led to their cell. Once they had been shoved inside and searched for weapons, the pilot decided to leave with some parting words.

"You best hope we never meet again, traitor."

Finn simply retorted with a touch of sarcasm, "Good to see you too, 36."

As the cell door closed, the pilot could be heard speaking to the troopers standing guard, "I'm sure the Supreme Leader will be pleased to discover that these thieves are also resistance spies..."

Once the door had closed, cutting off the pilot's conversation, Poe released a pained laugh, "She was lovely."

Finn muttered in pain as he touched his jaw, "Do you ever shut up?"

Poe shook his head, "But don't worry because I have a plan."

Finn looked over at him incredulously, "No. No. No. No more plans!"

"What?" Poe feigned being hurt, "It's a good one this time."

"You didn't even have a full plan last time."

"Twelve percent is better than zero percent."

"Once again, twelve percent is not a plan!" Finn argued, "That's the start of a plan. Meaning you still need the middle and the end of the plan."

"I'm about seventy percent sure this plan will work."

"No more plans, Poe."

"But if you'll just—"

"No."