Above the desert planet Jakku, a First Order Star Destroyer slowly floats through space as it deployed seven troop transports to land on the planet below.

Inside the transports, the disorienting flickering of the lights is not the only thing that the troopers will have to endure on the trip down. It is also the claustrophobic organization of the troopers as they are all huddled together in neat lines, holding their blasters in unnerving silence. They can do nothing else as they uncomfortably stand in place and wait out the bumpy ride.

***

BB-8 scans the sky, its sensors picking up the incoming transports. In a panic, it uses its sphere-shaped body to roll towards the location of its master.

Inside the tent, Lor San Tekka held out the small pouch containing the item he was sent here to find.

"This will help you begin to make things right." Lor San's voice was coarse and rough, but his tone was nothing but kind. Poe eagerly but carefully took the pouch from him and opened it, revealing the small, rectangular chip inside that hopefully had the key to stopping the First Order's plan. Poe let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you! With this, we... we might actually have a chance at stopping the First Order..."

"Please... take good care of it. I lost a very dear friend of mine trying to get that map." Lor San said with a frown as he began to gaze at the ground.

Poe felt a twinge of guilt from those words, especially seeing the man's face. Only now could he notice the pain in his eyes. Poe could only wonder how much pain this man had to go through in his life. He could only wonder...

"If the First Order is allowed to exist, many will suffer and there will be no balance in the Force." Lor San continued.

Poe gives him a thin smile. "Because of you... you and your friend, we'll be able to save those lives. The Chancellor will be grateful."

Lor San chuckles. "Chancellor? To me, she's more than a politician. To me, she's royalty."

Poe nods, remembering how he believed that statement when he first joined the Republic. "That she is."

Before their conversation could continue, BB-8 came rolling into the tent, releasing a series of panic beeps that only Poe could understand. When the droid finishes, Poe looked on in worry as he can hear the sound of engines rumbling. He ran outside and spotted the transports. Lor San follows him outside, looking just as concerned, but also prepared for whatever happens next. "You have to hide..."

"You have to leave." Lor San responded.

Poe turned to him, agreeing with him on the urgency of his own departure, but he was also concerned for his safety. There was not a doubt in Poe's mind that the First Order was here for him, or more accurately, the map he had in his pocket. He wished he could stay and defend the villagers, but there was no time to spare.

"Go!" Lor San said, urgently. Poe could finally bring himself to run back to the X-wing that was waiting for him.

"BB-8! Fire up the engines! We're leaving!" Poe ordered to his droid companion.

BB-8 released a series of concerned beeps.

"I want to help the villagers too, but they instructed me to get this map back to Coruscant, so that's what we're gonna do! We need to leave now!"

BB-8 starts up the engines after that, even though the small droid was tremendously worried about the friendly villagers who were just trying to live peaceful lives on this sandy wasteland of a planet. It turned its head to watch the villagers retrieve weapons from their huts, whether they were blasters or other tools, they were just as determined to fight.

The transports landed just outside the village, wasting no time in opening the doors, allowing the white-armored troopers inside to run out and open fire without hesitation.

Poe flicked switches and pressed buttons as fast as he could and was nearly ready to take off when he briefly saw the fight outside. The villagers stood no chance, he was smart enough to know that, but for now, he had to harden his heart and focus on the mission.

The alerts that were suddenly appearing on his screen took him by surprise. He could hear the engines starting to die down.

"DAMMIT! BB-8! What's going on back there?!"

BB-8 then warned Poe of the incoming stormtroopers that were shooting at the X-wing. Poe groaned in frustration as he moved the small cannon on the X-wing to fire at the troopers. For the most part, he was successful, but when he tried to get the engines back online, it was all in vain as they continued to fail him. He pounded on the console in frustration. completely surrounded and out of options, he had already failed. He wasn't prepared for this attack and is now paying the price for it.

Unless... he looked back at BB-8 who was beeping in concern, and he had an idea. He already knew there was no getting out of this. He had no time to escape into the desert and he wouldn't last long if he fought them head-on. But, if he could buy BB-8 some time, at least he would be able to get away. He could give him the map so that he could keep it hidden for a while. The Republic would eventually figure out what's happened here and send backup, maybe even a Jedi. They would find BB-8 with the map and the mission would still be a success. That was still a bold move. If they catch Poe, they'll know he won't have it and send troops back down to the planet and search every grain of sand on it until they find him.

No, he couldn't think like that. Not now, not when there was no time to think. He called for BB-8 and hopped out of the cockpit to meet him. When BB-8 joined him outside, Poe took the map out of his pocket and knelt down.

"Buddy, listen to me... you take this, and you get as far away from here as you can!" Poe said, desperately, inserting the map into a confused BB-8. It took a second for him to understand what was happening. His beeps suddenly became more distressed, hoping his master wouldn't leave him alone.

"I'll come back for you! Now go! Go now!" BB-8 shook his head no, extremely hesitant on abandoning his master.

"GO! GET OUT OF HERE!" Poe's angry and desperate shouting scared BB-8 enough to roll away, quickly descending the hill.

Poe sighed, feeling guilty for yelling at BB-8 like that, but he had to get him away from this place somehow. He climbed back up into his cockpit and reached for his blaster rifle. After checking to see if it was primed, he ran back towards the village and took cover behind a sand mound.

END OF CHAPTER 1