"Get off of him now!" Jaina shouted at Reveth.

"Not until he tells the truth! So... who are you really? Huh? I know you're not some Republic Trooper! Who are you?!" Reveth exclaimed at Finn.

"Look, j-just get off of me, and I promise I'll explain everything!" Finn stuttered out, holding his hands out in front of himself defensively.

"Reveth! Stop!" Kix shouted as he ran over. "We talked about this!"

"Yeah, I didn't really listen." Reveth admitted.

"Get... off." Jaina ordered, clenching her fists.

"I will! But only after he tells me who he is! We can't afford having spies around! He could be from the Black Sun! You from the Black Sun, 'Finn' if that's even you're real name?!" Reveth intensely interrogated him.

"No! No, no, I'm-"

"Get off!" Jaina shouted as she outstretched her hand and pushed Reveth off, sending her flying right into Kix's arms.

"Reveth! Are you alright?" Kix asked, but Reveth wrestled herself out of his grip.

"You seriously trust him, padawan?! Open your eyes! He's lying to you!" Reveth shouted at Jaina.

"That's what I was just figuring out! I was just about to talk to him! If you hadn't gotten in the way, then we wouldn't even be having this conversation!" Jaina argued.

"Oh, well sorry for worrying about having a criminal on board! One who could report back to his superiors and reveal our location at any time! How long have you known him exactly?!" Reveth shouted.

"I think we all need to just calm down and talk this out rationally. Clearly, fighting is getting us nowhere, so how about we all go inside, and-"

"Look at him! If he really was from the Republic, he wouldn't be sniveling like some coward!" Reveth continued.

Kix facepalmed and sighed. "And here we go again..."

"Well, it shouldn't matter to you! We were gonna leave once we contacted my friends! You would never have to worry about us again!" Jaina argued back.

"ENOUGH!" Finn shouted, silencing both sides. He stood up, brushing himself off and glared at Reveth.

"You're right, okay?! You're right! I'm not with the Republic! I'm not a hero... but I'm not a thief... or a spy... or whatever you think I am... look... I'm not trying to put your crew in danger. I just want to get away from the First Order." Finn's tone got quieter as he then walked past Jaina and back towards the castle.

"Now... I was just on my way to get my ticket away from the First Order." He walked back inside, leaving a shocked Jaina who stared after him. She knew it was too good to be true for him to actually be with the Republic at this point, but to actually hear it... maybe, she just wanted to pretend for his sake... maybe, if she'd talked to him, she could've convinced him to come back with her. They could've been friends... but that was a childish thought and she knew it. Still, she knew that it wasn't too late to at least try and help him. The both of them can still figure things out. She just needed to understand him. It felt wrong to get into someone's business, but she knew she wouldn't get another chance.

So, she walked back inside, leaving Reveth and Kix with only each other. Reveth turned around to see a disappointed Kix.

"You went too far again." He said.

"Well, it's not my fault! Besides, you heard him! He admitted he wasn't gonna rat us out, so I'm satisfied." Reveth responded.

"No! This isn't over." Kix said, sternly.

"Yeah, it is." Reveth replied.

"You need to apologize to both of them." Kix said.

Reveth groaned. "But Kix!"

"No buts." Kix said.

"But I hate apologizing! It's so... pathetic and ego destroying!" Reveth said.

"That doesn't make it right to not apologize at all. We talked about this, Reveth. You can't keep pointing fingers at people without knowing all the details." Kix lectured.

Reveth rolled her eyes. "But I was right!"

Kix raised an eyebrow. "You need me to hold your hand through it again?"

"I hate you."

Kix sighed. "Come on. Let's see if we can find them."

***

It was easy to spot Finn amongst the crowd. He was sitting at a table with two people. She recognized one as a weequay and the other as a rodian.

"I was told you trade work for transportation. I need to get to the Outer Rim." Finn spoke.

"Finn! We need to talk." Jaina said as she walked over.

"Jaina, please..." Finn said.

"Finn... I'm not going anywhere until you give me answers." Jaina said, crossing her arms.

Finn shook his head and sighed, finally conceding. "Don't leave without me." He said to the two people before getting up and following Jaina.

"What do you mean you're not with the Republic?" Jaina asked.

Finn sighed. He hated having to tell her like this, but he knew he had to at some point. Why did he have to lie to her on Jakku? Was he expecting that to make things better? No, it only made things worse. It made her have high expectations of him and he ended up letting her down at every turn. It was better to tell her now than to have her find out the hard way. Of course, she already did find out the hard way, so it was better to rip off the bandaid now.

"I'm a Stormtrooper." He finally said. Jaina's eyes widened, but she stayed quiet. Finn paused before continuing. "Like all of them, I was taken from a family I'll never know. I was raised to do one thing... to fight. I was supposed to fight for the glory of the First Order, in the name of the Supreme Leader. But... but after my first battle... I made a choice. I chose to do the right thing and help Poe... and I ran... I ran right into you." Finn said as Jaina looked into his eyes.

"You... you looked at me like no one ever had... like I actually meant something." Finn continued.

"You do mean something! Finn, you don't understand: you are a hero! I needed you to get off of Jakku just as much as you needed me! If you come with me, I can help you! The Republic can help you start over!" Jaina said with conviction. Finn looked at her with heartbreak in his eyes. She really did still care even after he told her the truth... that made his next words so much harder to say.

"I can't, Jaina. I'm ashamed of who I was... who I still am. I don't think I could even if I tried. I'm sorry... take care of yourself." Finn said, slowly turning away from her and walking back to the aliens who were now making their way out of the castle.

Jaina watched him go, frozen in place. Even though they just met, they already felt so close, and seeing him leave hurt her. To Jaina, bonds with other people came easily, and they would always hurt her every time they were broken. She wished she could convince him to come with her, but that was ultimately his choice to make, and she had to respect that. And so, she stood, trying to ignore the pain.

Suddenly, her hairs stood on end as she heard echoes of screams coming from behind her. She turned and saw nothing, but she could still hear them. The cries sounded anguished. Was someone in trouble? As her body automatically moved towards the noise, her senses were on fire. The force was telling her to follow it, but her body was refusing. Taking a deep breath and calming her nerves, she walked towards the spiraling staircase ahead of her, sensing that the noise is coming from there.

END OF CHAPTER 28