Rey Skywalker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thatwaslucky) wrote2020-06-16 03:23 pm
thatwaslucky) wrote2020-06-16 03:23 pm
Minfar- Tuesday evening/night
Trying to find the people they were supposed to help was easier said than done. Rey couldn't seem to find them in the Force, and Poe and Rose didn't quite seem to get it wasn't something she could turn on and off. In the end they ended up following BB-8, who was probably rolling around through the jungle too fast. Rey held up the rear, almost losing them once or twice thanks to the huge leaves hanging down that could block her view of them.
"Hey, can we slow down?" she called, using her staff to knock aside a leaf. Running through a dense jungle seemed like a terrible idea. They'd had to fight off the First Order just to get here, there was no telling who else was hiding in here.
"Rey's right, Beebee," Poe said. "Maybe you should- woah!"
Rey stopped when she saw the others vanish from sight. She proceeded forward, calling for her friends, and she was so busy looking up that she didn't look down. One moment the ground was there, the next Rey was sliding down a very long, dark tunnel, clutching her staff closely so it didn't become a projectile and torn between trying to sit up more to slow her descent and leaning back so she didn't scrape her head against the low ceiling.
When she got to the bottom she leapt to her feet, staff at the ready.
"Rey, it's okay!" Rose said quickly. Dirt smudged her cheeks and bits of leaves clung to her ponytail, but she was smiling. "I think we were supposed to find this tunnel. That's why BB-8 led us this way."
Rey lowered her staff and looked around. They were in a chamber, filled with spiky plants growing from the walls and ceiling that gave everything an eerie, beautiful blue glow.
"Do you think someone built this?" Poe asked.
"The rock is so smooth," Rey said, reaching out to touch the wall. "Only water could have done this naturally. At least it looks like there's only one way to go." She nodded towards the far right edge of the cavern and the tunnel that led into darkness.
Poe drew his blaster. "Okay, let's be careful. Not so fast this time, Beebee. We don't know what else could be down here. The last thing we want is any unwelcome surprises."
BB-8 led the way, using his searchlight to illuminate the path ahead. Rey still went last, on guard, yet still noticing how the plants changed from blue to yellow the farther they walked. And as they turned a corner Rey got a whiff of something spicy. "Do you guys smell food?"
"Starting to wish we'd eaten before leaving Fermic," Poe said.
The scent got stronger the closer they got, and Rey realized just how long it'd been since they'd eaten when her stomach started growling. It made the walk seem even longer, too, at least until it ended suddenly when it ended on a narrow ledge.
"Woah!" Poe said, waving Rey and Rose back. BB-8 beeped in annoyance, and Poe shook his head. "I think you might have a circuit crossed, buddy. There's no bridge here. Just a bottomless pit."
Rey peered around Poe's shoulder. The rock continued a little way past the opening onto an outcropping with just enough room for Poe and BB-8. Beyond that, nothing. If they'd rushed in, one of them could have fallen to their death.
"It seems like there should have been some sort of pathway here," Rose said, peeking out from behind Poe's other shoulder. She was pointing to the soft green light emanating from an opening on the other side of the cavern.
BB-8 beeped again, something about humans and their lack of scanners, before rolling forward like it was nothing. Poe yelled, and Rose covered her mouth with her hand, but the little droid just rolled back and forth as if suspended in air, chirping encouragement for everyone to follow him.
Rey snuck past Poe, finding that there was indeed room for her to stand there. She used her staff to feel around the walkway that she couldn't see, and the metal on the staff clanked against the same black rock as the tunnel. So for as nervewracking as this was, she started walking across the path, reminding herself not to look down, and Poe and Rose followed, carefully. The path also wasn't that wide. Rey was used to walking across less in training, but she could see that.
BB-8 was already on the other side, beeping excitedly to urge them along. Like a brat.
Rey exhaled in relief once her feet were safely on what she knew was ground. "Okay, less of that, maybe."
"Definitely less of that," Poe said, looking a little shaken.
"Are you here to provide assistance?" someone chirped.
All three drew their weapons. From the dark, a small figure emerged. She came up to Rey's shoulder, and a good bit of that height was from the tall ears. Short, dense green fair covered her body, and she wore a purple tunic and a bandolier weighed down with explosives, blasters, and other weapons. People in Fandom probably would have taken one look at her and called her a murder bunny.
"You are Rey," she said, pointing at her.
She nodded, but frowned. "How did you know?"
"The leaves sing your name," she said, with an expression that was almost a smile but was really just a shifting of whiskers. "I am Lim. Are you hungry?"
She brought them to a small antechamber, where small, squat chairs made of black rock surrounded a fire pit that warmed the room. Hanging over the fire pit was a pot, filled with whatever they'd been smelling on the way here.
Rey tilted her head. "You made us food?"
"Yes! You are honored guests," Lim said. "You have come to help us defeat the First Order's soldiers before they destroy Minfar. The last I can do is feed you before you risk your lives to save us."
*****
Once they'd eaten, Lim told them it was time to find Jem. And finding Jem apparently involved walking until Rey's feet ached. They had to walk up a steep path up to the surface, where Lim said they had fought the First Order the first time. Then it was through the jungle into an area that had been camouflaged by foliage, where they had to crouch to reach another tunnel.
Before they reached the tunnel, a crashing sound came through the trees. Everyone froze, blasters ready as the noise got closer.
"Approaching coordinates now. Will advise when on location."
Poe peered up over one of the giant leaves to see what Rey could sense: six stormtroopers coming right towards them. There was no way to get into the tunnel without being see.
"On the count of three," Poe said softly but he didn't even get a chance to count. Lim stood, chirrupping something loud and terrifying, and threw some sort of ball thing from her bandolier at the stormtroopers. The ball had a string attached and his one stormtrooper, then the next, then the next. This gave the humans in the group a chance to stun the other three.
"Wow," Poe said. "That was amazing."
"I know," Lim said easily. "We have to get going before they wake up."
They ran for the tunnel, sliding down in that terrifying fall that Rey hadn't liked earlier, either, and it wasn't till she'd hit the ground and stood that she looked around at her companions. "Where's Poe?"
"Not here," Rose said, worried.
He came down the tunnel a minute later, Rey offering a hand to help him up as Rose said, "Thank goodness you're okay!"
"Yeah," I'm fine," he said. "I was spotted by stormtroopers, though. They recognized me."
"Oh, that's bad," Rey said. She remembered the list they'd gotten a hold of, people the First Order had targeted to be disappeared. He'd been on it. "What happened with the entrance?"
"One of the stormtroopers hit a tree, and it fell over and covered the hole," Poe explained. "I don't think they saw me go down the tunnel. But even if they did try and follow us, it should take them a while to clear the way."
"We must hurry then," Lim said. "We still have far to go, and if the stormtroopers get into the tunnels we will need to be ready."
They hurried. It was around sunset when they reached the city, and it was beautiful. They were still underground, but the open ceiling let the sun in. The houses were small, arranged in what looked like random configurations, sometimes stacked on top of one another. It was green and lush, using every part of the environment the best they could, with green-furred figures walking the streets or tending the farms.
"This place is incredible," Poe said admiringly.
"It took the elders a hundred years to build Ghikjil," said one of the green beings, dressed similarly to Lim except for the tiny star-shaped plant dangling from his neck. "You are the Resistance."
"Yes," Poe nodded.
"You called us for help," Rose said. "I'm Rose Tico."
"Poe Dameon," he smiled.
"And I'm Rey. Uh, just Rey," she said, putting her staff away. She'd never minded not having a last name before, but at times like this it tended to feel… off.
"Very nice to meet you, Rose, Poe and Rey. Oh, and BB-8 as well. I am Jem, the leader of the Zixon. This is Lim. She was sent out to greet you."
Lim inclined her head.
"I am glad you were able to make it past the grobel unharmed."
"Grobel?" Poe asked.
"A massive beast that devours everything in its path," Jem explained. "It is supposed by our scholars that once upon a time the grobel ruled these underground passages, but then the Zixon came to this place and made it something different. There have been fewer and fewer grobel of late, which means there are more and more Zixon."
Rey would guess that was the thing they'd hit when they first arrived. "Do the grobel… eat you?" she asked, horrified by the thought.
"Only if they can catch us," Jem said. "They stalk the tunnels but will only attack if they have a clear advantage. We have many tricks to keep them away."
"The cavern with the invisible bridge," Poe said, understanding. Which also meant that there was a very good chance one of those things had been watching them through all of that.
"Yes. The Zixon's enemies are numerous, but we are very good at defending ourselves."
He led them through the town, to an area where the buildings got larger, maybe serving as their downtown area. They walked into a large gathering hall, where a few heavily armed Zixon were already waiting. They were instructed to sit in the first row of seats in a circle, around something that looked like the fire pit from earlier. Instead of food, it housed a communications module.
"This equipment doesn't seem to match the rest of their city," Rose murmured.
"This is where we called out for assistance," Jem said. "This unit was given to us by a friend, who said to use it should there ever be trouble here on Minfar, especially should the stormtroopers return. They showed us the channel and programmed it for us. And here you are. Thank you for answering the call."
"Who is this friend of yours? Do they have a name?" Poe wondered.
"We only know them as our friend."
"Wait, so this was given to you by your friend," Rose said. "You don't have any other stuff like this?"
"The Forbidden Lands have plenty of technology," Lim answered. "But we forbid all from going there. It is a place of much sorrow."
"Maybe you could explain what you mean?" Poe asked slowly.
Jem nodded. "Long ago, just as now, a group of others came to Minfar. They taught us Basic and gave us gifts. But the gifts were just a ploy to distract us."
"They built a weapon and they tested it on us," Lim said, her voice low. "When it was turned on, we were hopelessly pulled to their land and unable to do anything but obey."
"A mind-control device?" Rey said.
"No, our minds were our own," Jem said firmly. "We were powerless to leave their land, however. And the people controlling us were not afraid to hurt us if we resisted their commands. It was more like we'd heard a delightful song we could not resist, even though we tried. It was like sleeping while awake."
"I tried fighting it," Lim said. "But the more I fought it, the more I began to… lose myself. And so I, we all, learned to listen and wait instead."
"That's horrible," Rose said, her expression making clear how horrible she thought it was.
"How did you get free?" Poe asked.
Jem's whiskers twitched. "Our friend liberated us by stopping the machine, and then they taught us how to use the communication unit to call for assistance should the others return."
"But the machine is still there? That's why the First Order is here," Poe said, looking to his companions. "They're probably looking for the weapon the Empire built."
"We have to stop them," Rose said. "And we have to find a compressor housing to fix our ship before we can fight. We're better with a ship. At least we have better odds of winning."
"We do not use ships," Jem said. "So I do not think we can help you."
"But there are many things that might be useful in the Forbidden Lands," Lim said. "We could lead an expedition there for you to look." It was clear that was the last thing that she wanted to do, but she'd do it anyway.
"Okay," Rey said, "so it looks like we have a plan. First, repair the Falcon. And after that, find a way to get the First Order off of Minfar."
Poe grinned at her. "All in a day's work for the Resistance, huh?"
The Zixon threw them a party at night. Rey loved it. She loved the Zixon, and she loved this place. They gave the Resistance food and invited them to dance and she mostly watched, smiling, as nearby Rose quizzed any Zixon who would answer on their technology. It made Rey more determined to protect this, to make sure these people never had to suffer like they had before.
At the end of the night, Jem led them to a slightly larger house, more suited to humans. The only furniture were some purple things that may have been chairs? Maybe beds? There wasn't anywhere to plug anything in, so Rey was going to have to deal with a dead phone and BB-8 would hopefully hold up until they got back to the Falcon. Jem explained that this had been where their friend stayed, and how this friend had done everything possible to keep them safe. Once he'd left, Rose and Poe had settled on the purple things to try and figure out what to do with them, but Rey found herself pacing a bit.
"Do you think this weapon is what brought the First Order here?" she wondered.
"Maybe," Rose said, clearly not deciding either way. "Maybe we should try to find this weapon before the First Order does. We could use it."
Poe sat up again. "Wait, you think we should take and use the weapon that enslaved the Zixon?"
"No! I mean, not enslave anyone," Rose said quickly. "But maybe there are other uses for it. We need an edge against the First Order. Maybe this weapon could be it."
"We do not beat them by becoming them," Rey said. If that was how this worked, she'd have joined Kylo Ren when he'd offered her the chance. "Any machine that can make someone do whatever someone else wants, that's not a good thing. That's something evil." She looked to Poe. "You remember what it was like when Kylo Ren took away your ability to fight? Just sitting there, waiting for someone to let you move? When I fought Snoke he stopped me. It was the worst thing I've ever experienced. Why would you want to do that to anyone else?"
"But doesn't it matter how the tool is being used?" Rose argued. "We use blasters just like the stormtroopers use blasters, but we use them to fight for the Resistance, and they use them to build a new empire. And what about the Force? Kylo Ren and Snoke used the Force to make you both feel helpless, but that doesn't mean the Force is a bad thing. It just depends on how people use it."
Poe bobbed his head from side to side, considering it. "That's true, but I think there are some weapons that no matter how useful they might be, General Organa would never use."
"Like the Starkiller," Rey said. Leia didn't even want them to do anything too illegal if they could avoid it. Probably for the exact reasons Rey was arguing.
"Exactly. I think we should figure out what this weapon is first. We have no idea what the Empire was doing all the way out here, and until we do, we should remember our goal: fix the Falcon and stop the First Order."
Rey nodded her agreement. "For now we should get some rest. It's going to be a busy day tomorrow."
Rose nodded, still looking thoughtful, and Rey retreated to one of the purple chair things to try and figure out how the hell it worked.
[Taken from Spark of the Resistance by Justina Ireland. NFB, NFI, etc]
"Hey, can we slow down?" she called, using her staff to knock aside a leaf. Running through a dense jungle seemed like a terrible idea. They'd had to fight off the First Order just to get here, there was no telling who else was hiding in here.
"Rey's right, Beebee," Poe said. "Maybe you should- woah!"
Rey stopped when she saw the others vanish from sight. She proceeded forward, calling for her friends, and she was so busy looking up that she didn't look down. One moment the ground was there, the next Rey was sliding down a very long, dark tunnel, clutching her staff closely so it didn't become a projectile and torn between trying to sit up more to slow her descent and leaning back so she didn't scrape her head against the low ceiling.
When she got to the bottom she leapt to her feet, staff at the ready.
"Rey, it's okay!" Rose said quickly. Dirt smudged her cheeks and bits of leaves clung to her ponytail, but she was smiling. "I think we were supposed to find this tunnel. That's why BB-8 led us this way."
Rey lowered her staff and looked around. They were in a chamber, filled with spiky plants growing from the walls and ceiling that gave everything an eerie, beautiful blue glow.
"Do you think someone built this?" Poe asked.
"The rock is so smooth," Rey said, reaching out to touch the wall. "Only water could have done this naturally. At least it looks like there's only one way to go." She nodded towards the far right edge of the cavern and the tunnel that led into darkness.
Poe drew his blaster. "Okay, let's be careful. Not so fast this time, Beebee. We don't know what else could be down here. The last thing we want is any unwelcome surprises."
BB-8 led the way, using his searchlight to illuminate the path ahead. Rey still went last, on guard, yet still noticing how the plants changed from blue to yellow the farther they walked. And as they turned a corner Rey got a whiff of something spicy. "Do you guys smell food?"
"Starting to wish we'd eaten before leaving Fermic," Poe said.
The scent got stronger the closer they got, and Rey realized just how long it'd been since they'd eaten when her stomach started growling. It made the walk seem even longer, too, at least until it ended suddenly when it ended on a narrow ledge.
"Woah!" Poe said, waving Rey and Rose back. BB-8 beeped in annoyance, and Poe shook his head. "I think you might have a circuit crossed, buddy. There's no bridge here. Just a bottomless pit."
Rey peered around Poe's shoulder. The rock continued a little way past the opening onto an outcropping with just enough room for Poe and BB-8. Beyond that, nothing. If they'd rushed in, one of them could have fallen to their death.
"It seems like there should have been some sort of pathway here," Rose said, peeking out from behind Poe's other shoulder. She was pointing to the soft green light emanating from an opening on the other side of the cavern.
BB-8 beeped again, something about humans and their lack of scanners, before rolling forward like it was nothing. Poe yelled, and Rose covered her mouth with her hand, but the little droid just rolled back and forth as if suspended in air, chirping encouragement for everyone to follow him.
Rey snuck past Poe, finding that there was indeed room for her to stand there. She used her staff to feel around the walkway that she couldn't see, and the metal on the staff clanked against the same black rock as the tunnel. So for as nervewracking as this was, she started walking across the path, reminding herself not to look down, and Poe and Rose followed, carefully. The path also wasn't that wide. Rey was used to walking across less in training, but she could see that.
BB-8 was already on the other side, beeping excitedly to urge them along. Like a brat.
Rey exhaled in relief once her feet were safely on what she knew was ground. "Okay, less of that, maybe."
"Definitely less of that," Poe said, looking a little shaken.
"Are you here to provide assistance?" someone chirped.
All three drew their weapons. From the dark, a small figure emerged. She came up to Rey's shoulder, and a good bit of that height was from the tall ears. Short, dense green fair covered her body, and she wore a purple tunic and a bandolier weighed down with explosives, blasters, and other weapons. People in Fandom probably would have taken one look at her and called her a murder bunny.
"You are Rey," she said, pointing at her.
She nodded, but frowned. "How did you know?"
"The leaves sing your name," she said, with an expression that was almost a smile but was really just a shifting of whiskers. "I am Lim. Are you hungry?"
She brought them to a small antechamber, where small, squat chairs made of black rock surrounded a fire pit that warmed the room. Hanging over the fire pit was a pot, filled with whatever they'd been smelling on the way here.
Rey tilted her head. "You made us food?"
"Yes! You are honored guests," Lim said. "You have come to help us defeat the First Order's soldiers before they destroy Minfar. The last I can do is feed you before you risk your lives to save us."
*****
Once they'd eaten, Lim told them it was time to find Jem. And finding Jem apparently involved walking until Rey's feet ached. They had to walk up a steep path up to the surface, where Lim said they had fought the First Order the first time. Then it was through the jungle into an area that had been camouflaged by foliage, where they had to crouch to reach another tunnel.
Before they reached the tunnel, a crashing sound came through the trees. Everyone froze, blasters ready as the noise got closer.
"Approaching coordinates now. Will advise when on location."
Poe peered up over one of the giant leaves to see what Rey could sense: six stormtroopers coming right towards them. There was no way to get into the tunnel without being see.
"On the count of three," Poe said softly but he didn't even get a chance to count. Lim stood, chirrupping something loud and terrifying, and threw some sort of ball thing from her bandolier at the stormtroopers. The ball had a string attached and his one stormtrooper, then the next, then the next. This gave the humans in the group a chance to stun the other three.
"Wow," Poe said. "That was amazing."
"I know," Lim said easily. "We have to get going before they wake up."
They ran for the tunnel, sliding down in that terrifying fall that Rey hadn't liked earlier, either, and it wasn't till she'd hit the ground and stood that she looked around at her companions. "Where's Poe?"
"Not here," Rose said, worried.
He came down the tunnel a minute later, Rey offering a hand to help him up as Rose said, "Thank goodness you're okay!"
"Yeah," I'm fine," he said. "I was spotted by stormtroopers, though. They recognized me."
"Oh, that's bad," Rey said. She remembered the list they'd gotten a hold of, people the First Order had targeted to be disappeared. He'd been on it. "What happened with the entrance?"
"One of the stormtroopers hit a tree, and it fell over and covered the hole," Poe explained. "I don't think they saw me go down the tunnel. But even if they did try and follow us, it should take them a while to clear the way."
"We must hurry then," Lim said. "We still have far to go, and if the stormtroopers get into the tunnels we will need to be ready."
They hurried. It was around sunset when they reached the city, and it was beautiful. They were still underground, but the open ceiling let the sun in. The houses were small, arranged in what looked like random configurations, sometimes stacked on top of one another. It was green and lush, using every part of the environment the best they could, with green-furred figures walking the streets or tending the farms.
"This place is incredible," Poe said admiringly.
"It took the elders a hundred years to build Ghikjil," said one of the green beings, dressed similarly to Lim except for the tiny star-shaped plant dangling from his neck. "You are the Resistance."
"Yes," Poe nodded.
"You called us for help," Rose said. "I'm Rose Tico."
"Poe Dameon," he smiled.
"And I'm Rey. Uh, just Rey," she said, putting her staff away. She'd never minded not having a last name before, but at times like this it tended to feel… off.
"Very nice to meet you, Rose, Poe and Rey. Oh, and BB-8 as well. I am Jem, the leader of the Zixon. This is Lim. She was sent out to greet you."
Lim inclined her head.
"I am glad you were able to make it past the grobel unharmed."
"Grobel?" Poe asked.
"A massive beast that devours everything in its path," Jem explained. "It is supposed by our scholars that once upon a time the grobel ruled these underground passages, but then the Zixon came to this place and made it something different. There have been fewer and fewer grobel of late, which means there are more and more Zixon."
Rey would guess that was the thing they'd hit when they first arrived. "Do the grobel… eat you?" she asked, horrified by the thought.
"Only if they can catch us," Jem said. "They stalk the tunnels but will only attack if they have a clear advantage. We have many tricks to keep them away."
"The cavern with the invisible bridge," Poe said, understanding. Which also meant that there was a very good chance one of those things had been watching them through all of that.
"Yes. The Zixon's enemies are numerous, but we are very good at defending ourselves."
He led them through the town, to an area where the buildings got larger, maybe serving as their downtown area. They walked into a large gathering hall, where a few heavily armed Zixon were already waiting. They were instructed to sit in the first row of seats in a circle, around something that looked like the fire pit from earlier. Instead of food, it housed a communications module.
"This equipment doesn't seem to match the rest of their city," Rose murmured.
"This is where we called out for assistance," Jem said. "This unit was given to us by a friend, who said to use it should there ever be trouble here on Minfar, especially should the stormtroopers return. They showed us the channel and programmed it for us. And here you are. Thank you for answering the call."
"Who is this friend of yours? Do they have a name?" Poe wondered.
"We only know them as our friend."
"Wait, so this was given to you by your friend," Rose said. "You don't have any other stuff like this?"
"The Forbidden Lands have plenty of technology," Lim answered. "But we forbid all from going there. It is a place of much sorrow."
"Maybe you could explain what you mean?" Poe asked slowly.
Jem nodded. "Long ago, just as now, a group of others came to Minfar. They taught us Basic and gave us gifts. But the gifts were just a ploy to distract us."
"They built a weapon and they tested it on us," Lim said, her voice low. "When it was turned on, we were hopelessly pulled to their land and unable to do anything but obey."
"A mind-control device?" Rey said.
"No, our minds were our own," Jem said firmly. "We were powerless to leave their land, however. And the people controlling us were not afraid to hurt us if we resisted their commands. It was more like we'd heard a delightful song we could not resist, even though we tried. It was like sleeping while awake."
"I tried fighting it," Lim said. "But the more I fought it, the more I began to… lose myself. And so I, we all, learned to listen and wait instead."
"That's horrible," Rose said, her expression making clear how horrible she thought it was.
"How did you get free?" Poe asked.
Jem's whiskers twitched. "Our friend liberated us by stopping the machine, and then they taught us how to use the communication unit to call for assistance should the others return."
"But the machine is still there? That's why the First Order is here," Poe said, looking to his companions. "They're probably looking for the weapon the Empire built."
"We have to stop them," Rose said. "And we have to find a compressor housing to fix our ship before we can fight. We're better with a ship. At least we have better odds of winning."
"We do not use ships," Jem said. "So I do not think we can help you."
"But there are many things that might be useful in the Forbidden Lands," Lim said. "We could lead an expedition there for you to look." It was clear that was the last thing that she wanted to do, but she'd do it anyway.
"Okay," Rey said, "so it looks like we have a plan. First, repair the Falcon. And after that, find a way to get the First Order off of Minfar."
Poe grinned at her. "All in a day's work for the Resistance, huh?"
The Zixon threw them a party at night. Rey loved it. She loved the Zixon, and she loved this place. They gave the Resistance food and invited them to dance and she mostly watched, smiling, as nearby Rose quizzed any Zixon who would answer on their technology. It made Rey more determined to protect this, to make sure these people never had to suffer like they had before.
At the end of the night, Jem led them to a slightly larger house, more suited to humans. The only furniture were some purple things that may have been chairs? Maybe beds? There wasn't anywhere to plug anything in, so Rey was going to have to deal with a dead phone and BB-8 would hopefully hold up until they got back to the Falcon. Jem explained that this had been where their friend stayed, and how this friend had done everything possible to keep them safe. Once he'd left, Rose and Poe had settled on the purple things to try and figure out what to do with them, but Rey found herself pacing a bit.
"Do you think this weapon is what brought the First Order here?" she wondered.
"Maybe," Rose said, clearly not deciding either way. "Maybe we should try to find this weapon before the First Order does. We could use it."
Poe sat up again. "Wait, you think we should take and use the weapon that enslaved the Zixon?"
"No! I mean, not enslave anyone," Rose said quickly. "But maybe there are other uses for it. We need an edge against the First Order. Maybe this weapon could be it."
"We do not beat them by becoming them," Rey said. If that was how this worked, she'd have joined Kylo Ren when he'd offered her the chance. "Any machine that can make someone do whatever someone else wants, that's not a good thing. That's something evil." She looked to Poe. "You remember what it was like when Kylo Ren took away your ability to fight? Just sitting there, waiting for someone to let you move? When I fought Snoke he stopped me. It was the worst thing I've ever experienced. Why would you want to do that to anyone else?"
"But doesn't it matter how the tool is being used?" Rose argued. "We use blasters just like the stormtroopers use blasters, but we use them to fight for the Resistance, and they use them to build a new empire. And what about the Force? Kylo Ren and Snoke used the Force to make you both feel helpless, but that doesn't mean the Force is a bad thing. It just depends on how people use it."
Poe bobbed his head from side to side, considering it. "That's true, but I think there are some weapons that no matter how useful they might be, General Organa would never use."
"Like the Starkiller," Rey said. Leia didn't even want them to do anything too illegal if they could avoid it. Probably for the exact reasons Rey was arguing.
"Exactly. I think we should figure out what this weapon is first. We have no idea what the Empire was doing all the way out here, and until we do, we should remember our goal: fix the Falcon and stop the First Order."
Rey nodded her agreement. "For now we should get some rest. It's going to be a busy day tomorrow."
Rose nodded, still looking thoughtful, and Rey retreated to one of the purple chair things to try and figure out how the hell it worked.
[Taken from Spark of the Resistance by Justina Ireland. NFB, NFI, etc]