"Is it Rey? Is she here?" Finn peers over Poe Dameron's shoulder, scrutinizing the Resistance's radar. A small dot, representing a ship of who knows what size, plummets towards the surface of D'Qar.

"Don't know," Poe says, even though his own heart thumps with hope. It's been well over two months since Rey vanished, and despite the Resistance's best attempts to locate her, they always seem to arrive minutes too late.

A tall man in black dragged her away… Finn screaming…

"Do you think she got away? From the First Order? From—" Finn lowers his voice. "Him?"

"It's possible." Poe leaps up, cringing as he remembers his leg isn't quite healed yet. "General? General!"

General Organa strides into the room. All eyes immediately turn to her, waiting for her command. "I've heard. Dameron, you and Finn: go and meet that ship."

BB-8 blips indignantly.

"Oh, hush, General's orders!" chastises a golden droid.

"Of course, you can go too, BB-8," the General adds.

"Well, really," grumbles C-3PO.

"Don't you think they might need back-up?" interjects Admiral Ackbar. "In case it's hostile? And Dameron, is your leg even—"

"Dr. Katonia's lasers have worked miracles," Poe interjects. "I'm fine."

General Organa purses her lips. "I can't really see the First Order invading us. More likely, they're hard at work on a second Starkiller, or fourth Death Star, or something or other to blow us into the next system."

"They've landed," Finn reports, eyes glued to the monitor. "Bit of a rough one, though. Seven miles from here." He doesn't say it, but Poe knows what he's thinking: Rey would never land that roughly.

Unless she's injured, Poe thinks. Or weakened. He recalls his own moments of torture at the hands of Kylo Ren all too well. And after the past months of disappointment, after getting so close and seeing Kylo Ren dragging her away—he has to hope. Even if it doesn't make sense.

"We'll leave right away," Poe says. "Let's go, BB-8."

Finn grabs his jacket, the one that used to be Poe's. Poe smiles, because the only time he's ever seen Finn without it was when they made their escape to Jakku on that TIE fighter.

Poe can't use the Force, and frankly barely understands how it's supposed to work, but he doesn't need it to tell that there's one word, one name, repeating itself in Finn's mind: Rey. Rey. Rey.

Poe's heart twinges as he wonders just what Finn's feelings for Rey are. Stop it, he orders himself. Every cell within his mind hopes it's Rey, too.

You may be the best pilot in the Resistance, but she's a Jedi.

Poe shakes off those thoughts. Selfishness has no place in his life. Climbing into the cockpit of a starfighter, he inhales. "Let's get her back, buddy."

"You really think it's her?" Finn looks at him, desperate for Poe to reinforce his hope.

"I don't see who else it could be." Still, something niggles at the back of Poe's mind. Fear. It's just fear. Natural after months of crushed expectations.

Finn sighs. "We need her back, Poe. We need the Force."

"I know." Poe flies though the night. The stars flash above them, as if sounding out some sort of silent message.

BB-8 whirs as they approach the landing site. Er, crash site.

Even in the darkness, Poe can make out smoke. "We're gonna have to land right here," he tells Finn, gliding gracefully to the ground a hundred meters from the crashed ship, in a clearing. Coniferous trees rise all around the crash, and a path of stumps tell Poe that the pilot doesn't know the planet terribly well. Or is too injured to care.

BB-8 rolls out of the ship before Poe can even unbuckle his seatbelt, rushing towards a figure crawling out of the ship, visible behind the curling smoke.

"Rey?" Finn calls. "Rey!"

Poe dashes after his droid, Finn hot on his heels, until BB-8 shrieks and rolls backwards, ducking behind Poe's legs and tripping Finn. "Hey—what the—"

B-8 blips and bleeps.

"Enemy?" Poe turns towards the smoke, expecting to see the bright blue flash of a blaster shot. Instead, a towering man, a man Poe knows all so well from the nightmares he's ashamed he has, staggers towards them with his hands up.

"Kylo Ren!" Finn shouts.

Poe aims his blaster. "Take one more step and I'll kill you!"

Kylo Ren stops. Finn slips to the side, darting around the ship.

"What are you doing here? Are there others?" Poe yells, stepping forward with the blaster still aimed, though he knows full well that Ren can stop a shot with the Force.

Finn reappears on the other side of the ship, blaster also aimed at Ren. Can he stop two shots at once? If Finn stays hidden, maybe not.

"It's just me," Ren answers.

"Where's Rey?" Finn shouts.

Dammit, Finn, way to blow your cover.

Ren's voice shakes. "That's why I'm here."

"Why? With some crazy ransom or—"

Ren stumbles. "No! That's not—look, I'm here, I'm surrendering, I won't fight you. I need to talk to Luke Skywalker."

"Yeah, that's not a new request coming from you, is it?" Poe retorts. A balmy breeze flutters through the air, sending smoke crashing into Poe's nostrils. He gags.

Ren's voice cracks. "He's the only one that can help her."

Poe's not buying this. Not at all. "Get on your knees," he orders. "Finn?"

His friend approaches Kylo Ren from behind as the man kneels down.

"Hands on your head," Poe adds sharply, gesturing with the blaster.

Ren obeys. Poe approaches and notices that he's trembling. Soot is smeared across his face, and there's a jagged scar that Poe's never seen before. From Rey, if Poe remembers the story right. He smirks.

Poe snaps manacles on Ren's wrists. "Search him," he tells Finn, who grimaces but slides his hands up and down Kylo Ren's body.

"This." Finn pulls out the unmistakable hilt of a lightsaber and stuffs it in his own waistband. "I'll be keeping this." He pulls out another one. Rey's. This time he doesn't say anything, but looks at Ren in revulsion. Poe can only imagine what it means that Kylo Ren has Rey's lightsaber. Did he kill her?

When Finn assures Poe that there are no other weapons, Poe grabs Ren by his upper arm and drags him towards the starfighter, BB-8 still huddling behind Poe's legs. Ren doesn't resist. Instead of the proud monster in a mask, his almost boyish face looks fearful—eyes wide, lips pressing and pressing against each other, sweat saturating the black strands of his long hair.

Poe's stomach twists. What game is he playing?

"Get in, you patricidal monster," Finn snarls, shoving Ren inside. He leans against the side of the starfighter.

"Sorry, BB-8, looks like you'll have to huddle," Poe says to the droid, who bleeps a few unprintable words as it is deposited next to Kylo Ren.

"You injured? In the crash?" Poe demands as he fiddles with his radio.

Ren shakes his head. "You have to contact Luke Skywalker—Rey—"

"We saw you take her!" Finn shouts. "So don't pretend—"

"General Organa, this is Dameron and Finn. We've retrieved a subject. It is a hostile, but he appears to be alone."

Ren's face contorts as he hears his mother's voice echo through. For the first time in how many years? Poe wonders.

What if he wants to hurt the General? What if he's playing us like he played his father? Poe's heard the story, countless times, from Finn. He won't let Ren hurt the General. He won't.

"The First Order?"

"Yeah. Yeah. Uh—" Poe swallows. "It's Kylo Ren."

"Did you kill her?" Finn finally barks out.

"No! She's alive—she's with Snoke—I need to talk to Luke!"

"Why do you have her lightsaber?"

Kylo presses his lips together.

"Fine then. Bastard," Finn mutters.

When they arrive at the base, General Organa is waiting with a look that terrifies Poe, and he's done nothing. BB-8 races directly to C-3PO, away from both the General and her depraved son.

Poe and Finn drag Ren out from the starfighter, Hunched over, Ren avoids looking at his mother.

Coward.

"Take him to a cell," the General orders. There's a softness to her voice that rankles Poe. This monster doesn't deserve any kindness.

Silent, they escort Ren past rows of Resistance fighters all craning to get a look of the adversary they've heard so much about. Poe glances at Ren and notices his eyes are squeezed shut, his face lowered.

Poe shoves him into a cell none-too-ceremoniously. Ren gasps as he hits the floor.

"Comfortable?" Poe mocks.

Ren looks up at him, eyes pleading. "Please. You need to get Luke Skywalker—it's Rey's only chance!"

"Forgive us if we're not to eager to believe you," Finn says coldly. "I still remember what you did to Han on that bridge."

Ren presses his face against the floor. "I need to talk to Luke."

"I'm not going to risk you killing anyone else," Finn informs him.

Ren is silent. Poe storms away, Finn behind him.

"What kind of game is he playing?" Poe asks, disquieted.

Finn shakes his head. "I have no idea."