"A map... leading to the First Order's ultimate weapon?" Maz repeated the information BB-8 told her which earned her nods of acknowledgement from Jaina and Finn.

She chuckled at Sidon and his crew. "You've found yourselves right back in the mess it looks like!"

"These kids have to borrow your transmitter so that their friends from the Republic can pick them up." Quiggold said.

Maz sat there, seeming to think about the decision. "A transmission like that... might attract attention... attention from the wrong people... bringing the fight here."

"Please, Ma'am, we have to get this droid back to Coruscant before it's too late! I've seen what the First Order is willing to do to get BB, I've heard stories... they won't stop until they get what they want, and if that weapon isn't destroyed... so many people will suffer. I know you don't want that." Jaina reasoned.

Maz sighed and nodded your head. "You're right, child. This is not the first time the fight against the dark side has arrived on my doorstep." She then adopted a forlorn look on her face. "Through the ages... I have seen evil take many forms... the Sith... the Empire... today, it is the First Order. The people of this Galaxy have seen too much evil in their lives. At least this castle has offered them all a moment of peace. Sadly... nothing good can last forever. If the First Order gains control of the Galaxy... then, I fear for all who stand in their way. We must face them... fight them... all of us..."

Finn couldn't believe what he was hearing. Fight the First Order? He thought. That's impossible. I've seen what they're capable of... they're not going to give up. They'll never stop until we're all dead... He believed Maz didn't know what she was talking about. How could she? She hasn't seen the things he'd seen. She hasn't endured what he had to go through. This woman had no right to ask them to fight an impossible battle.

Finn leaned in to speak, shaking his head. "There's no fighting the First Order... not one we can win." At that, everyone at the table turned to look at him in confusion. He looked at all of them before continuing. "Look around. There's no chance we haven't been recognized already. We've been wasting our time here for too long, and I bet you the First Order's already on their way. The more time's wasted, the more danger we're all in." As Finn spoke, a clicking sound caught his attention. Looking in front of him, he saw Maz adjusting her goggles to magnify her eyes. "What's this?" Finn asked in concern. She scowled at him and leaned in close. Maz started to get out of her chair and grab onto the table.

"What are you doing?" Finn asked as Maz began to climb onto the table, knocking over the bowl of fruit and spilling it on a furious BB-8.

"Quiggold! What is she doing?" Finn asked, Nervously. "I don't know, but it ain't good." Quiggold said.

Maz was now face to face with Finn, staring intensely into his eyes. "If you live long enough..." She started as she examined him. "You see the same eyes in different people." Finn grew nervous. He didn't know where she was going with this, but it was giving him a bad feeling.

"I'm looking into the eyes of a man... who wants to run." Maz finally answered. Finn clenched his fists. She was trying to call him a coward. That's not what he was. He's smart for wanting to run from the First Order. He told himself that he wanted to change. The only way he could do that was if he ran far away from the First Order, far away from the Republic. He would be safe. Yeah, he just had to keep telling himself that.

Finn leaned in close, giving Maz a glare. "You don't know a thing about me... where I'm from... what I've seen... you don't know the First Order like I do. They'll slaughter us. We all need to run." As Maz gave him a hum of consideration, Finn couldn't help but glance at Jaina for just a split second. It was only a moment, but he could see her face perfectly. She was absolutely bewildered. This was it. Now, she'd seen the real Finn. Finn the terrorist, the traitor, the coward. A part of him could somehow feel her confusion, her utter shock. She truly believed he was a hero. Finn sighed deeply. If he wanted to tell everyone who he really was, then now was the time.

Maz sat back down and made herself comfortable. "I believe I can help you out with that. I might know a few crews who can trade work for transportation to the Outer Rim. There, you can disappear."

"Alright." Finn stated. "Finn!" Jaina said. Finn looked at her and saw the betrayal in her face. "What are you doing?! We're not done yet! We have to get BB back to Coruscant!" Jaina said in disbelief. Finn looked down at BB-8 and saw him shake his head and let out several sad beeps. Finn knew that BB had already figured it out.

"What? BB, what are you..." Jaina started, but was stopped when Finn put a hand on her shoulder and looked apologetically into her eyes. "I'm sorry... I can't." He stood up and reached for the blaster Quiggold gave to him, offering it back to him.

"Keep it, kid." He said with a quiet tone in his voice. Quiggold had to admit that he figured out Finn was lying from the start, but he hated to think that Jaina would find out like this. She seemed like a nice kid, and it hurt seeing her look so heartbroken. Why'd he have to be such a big softie? Maybe Pru was right: he should stop watching those stupid soaps.

Jaina watched Finn walk away and looked around the table at everyone else. None of them moved to stop him. What are you doing? Why are you all just sitting there? She thought. She stood up and walked after him. Fine... guess I'm doing this... She had no idea what Finn was thinking. How could he think about abandoning the Republic like that? What did BB-8 mean when he said that Finn had something to say? Maybe, she should've listened to her gut. She shouldn't have trusted him.

But, he didn't seem to be malicious about leaving. Now that Jaina thought about it, it wasn't like he was trying to defect to the First Order. When he admitted all of that to Maz, Jaina could sense fear coming from him. Fear from the First Order? What did they do to him? What did he go through? She had to talk to him. Maybe, he was just scared and needed comfort. She had to know. She had to get to the bottom of this. She had to...

As Jaina walked away, Maz adjusted her goggles back to their normal setting and looked over at Sidon. "Who's the girl?"

***

Jaina followed Finn outside, only to watch him get punched in the face by Reveth who then knocked him to the ground.

"Hey! What the?!" Finn spat out.

"What are you doing?!" Jaina shouted.

"This little conduit worm is not who he says he is! And, I'm gonna make him admit it!"

END OF CHAPTER 27