This drabble contains spoilers for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
There’s something to be said about dying wishes–that final thought punctuated by a final breath. The last beat of a person’s heart as it rides one last emotional wave. It turns a mindless soldier into an older brother for the last half a second of FN-2003’s life.
Three swipes of blood across a helmet. One desperate, crushing grip. Fingertips pressing into gloves and armor–skin contact denied even at the end.
But the Force is in everything, even dying, newly awakened storm troopers. All Slip needs is a spark to bring his brother to the Light.
—
In chaos of battle, Finn kills multiples storm troopers. It’s nothing personal, on either side–they have their orders and Finn is trying to survive. He is too busy wishing for a blaster and avoiding attacks and marveling at the light saber in his hand to think beyond that. It’s something he learned wearing the helmet–there is no time for feelings and regrets.
Until, suddenly, there is.
“Traitor!” shouts a voice Finn recognizes, as intimately as anything could be considered such when you serve the First Order. “Traitor!” calls out FN-2199, and maybe in a kinder world Finn would have called him friend, but that is not the world they live in.
But there is space for rage, because Nines doesn’t attack Finn with a blaster but with a Z6 riot control baton. A much closer choice, far more personal.
Finn falters, whatever had been guiding his hand lets go under the assault of Nines’ indignation, or at least the pain that comes from a perceived betrayal. Finn, caught up in the unexpected flurry, can’t hold onto the light saber, much less respond.
Can a person be a traitor to something they never chose? Can a storm trooper truly defect if they are brainwashed into believing?
FN-2199 does not answer him, because suddenly he is dead before Finn can ask.
—
Phasma knows her time is limited; it has been since the mission on Jakku failed to retrieve the map. It’s a slow descent, the General and Kylo Ren’s constant bickering and oneupmanship buys her some time, but she knows it’s coming.
FN-2187 is one of hers, the way even runts of the litter belong, and while she would never describe herself as maternal she will admit to being possessive. And the most disgusting part is, FN-2187 was an exemplary soldier. She could trust him to survive even the most difficult of simulations, to not only complete a mission but lead his fellow troopers to success. A fine soldier, even officer corps material.
When he was loyal, of course. Now he is aiding and abetting fugitives, an active enemy combatant, and finally, a spy holding her at blaster-point.
She brings down the shields–she’s a captain not a trooper, she has a sense of self preservation–and looks down at her stray pup.
The other human intruder–an old man, Han Solo–asks about garbage chutes and trash compactors, perhaps in relation to FN-2187’s sanitation duties. She wonders if the old man understands what that means; if FN-2187 bothered to explain the euphemism, or if he even knows that it is a euphemism.
She lets the wookie put her down the garbage chute, no matter how ignoble. It’s an escape route and, considering what she just did, a much needed one. Regardless of who wins this impending battle, she will not be in their good graces.
Her time is limited, but FN-2187 is one of hers; she taught him everything he knows–she can survive anything, too.
~
A/N: Finn is the apple of my eye, the darling of my heart. What a sweetie. 🙂 I just want everything to go well for him.
The last section with Phasma had to be rewritten once I checked out Finn’s wookieepedia page and found out that apparently he consistently scored top marks as a cadet in the pre-movie novel. So I was trying to figure out why one of the top cadets would be in charge of sanitation duties, until I realized… sanitation could be a euphemism for clearing out the native people/animals of the planet that First Order took over for the Starkiller Base. O_O
… anyway. Hella enjoyed the movie. There were many points which could have been handled better but I’ve already screamed about that with my BFF so no need to rehash. Although, who knows, maybe some of that will prompt me to write some more drabbles. For knows this was the one that I really wanted to get off my chest before delving into some reading of my own 😀
JackSGreyson Says 