"And if your men happen to cross paths with the Jedi?" Kylo Ren questioned.

"Supreme Leader Snoke was explicit! Capture the droid if we can, but destroy it if we must!" Hux reminded Kylo Ren as they walked away from the viewing port on the bridge. After just receiving their orders from Snoke, they were both at odds with how to handle the droid now that three Jedi were involved in their mission.

"How capable are your troopers when it comes to handling Jedi, General?" Kylo Ren asked.

"I will not have you question my methods!" Hux argued.

"They're capable of committing high treason. Perhaps, Leader Snoke should consider using a clone army." Kylo Ren refuted.

At that, Hux snapped and stood in front of Kylo Ren face to face. He would not allow himself or his men to be questioned by this mystic.

"My men are exceptionally trained! Programmed from birth! If the Jedi prove to be a nuisance, the droid will simply have to be destroyed!"

"And that is why I sent my Ravagers to hunt the Jedi for you. That way, you..." Kylo Ren pokes his finger into Hux's chest, which made the general's face turn red for a moment. "Can handle the droid. If your men are as exceptional as you claim they are, then they should have no problem retrieving it... unharmed." Kylo Ren said, emphasizing that last word.

Hux gave the dark warrior in front of him a look of warning. The man may be more powerful than Hux, but that didn't mean Hux knew how to keep him in line for the time being.

"Careful, Ren... that your personal interests not interfere with Leader Snoke." Hux warned.

"That droid could have information stored in its memory banks that is vital to learning the best way to destroy the Republic. I WANT THAT DROID. For your sake... General... I suggest you find it... and return it to me... UNHARMED." With that, Kylo Ren pushed past Hux and stormed off.

Hux used every fiber in his being to restrain himself. He may have been royally pissed at Kylo Ren, but he was no fool. One wrong move, and he would be gutted without a second thought. The only thing keeping him alive was being in Snoke's good graces. Even so, it would be wise not to mess with the rabid Gundark in this case, lest he wants to get torn apart.

***

"What's the plan?" Jaina asked.

"Well, knowing these knights, they'd want to go after me the most since I'm a master. Some of them like the challenge of killing powerful Jedi. That's why I'm gonna try my best to draw them away. Once I draw the knight away, that'll give you enough time to find both the pilot and the one who helped him." Mara said.

"Well, what if they're separated?" Anakin asked.

"If they are separated, then you two will just have to split up. Finding them should be your top priority. No matter what you sense, DO NOT come back to try and save me." Mara said in a warning tone. "I mean that. Don't try and be a hero. Getting Poe back to the Republic is your only priority. No matter what happens, protect him at all costs. We can't afford to lose the map or the pilot." Mara instructed.

Jaina and Anakin looked at each other with uncertainty as Mara explained the mission. They wanted her to come with them, but someone had to stay behind and watch the ship so that scavengers don't rip it apart. What better person than the most powerful one among them? Jaina should be the one to stay. She thought she would be pretty good with the ship in the event something did happen, but as much as the pilot in her wanted to stay, it was wiser for Mara to lead the knight away.

"Okay. Yeah, okay, Aunt Mara." Jaina conceded.

"We'll find them. Don't worry. I promise we won't let anything happen to them." Anakin said.

"Good." Mara smiled. "Go now, my padawans... and may the Force be with you."

The two siblings nodded and started walking away into the desert.

***

Finn's eyes shot open as he gasped for air. When he got his bearings, he noticed he was still trapped to his seat. The seats must've ejected before they crashed. Seats... that's right! POE! Finn thought, ripping the seatbelt off of himself. He stood up and started to stumble, feeling exhausted after everything he had just gone through. How long had he been out? It couldn't have been too long.

Turning around, he saw the crashed remains of the TIE fighter going up in flames. Fire... so, it couldn't have been that long ago that we crashed... right?

"POE!" Finn shouted in the direction of the fighter, hoping for a response. He shouted his name again before deducing that he must've still been out cold inside the fighter. Finn couldn't just stand there and let him burn! He tried his best to run to the fighter with what little energy he had. He crouched in front of the window to get a better view inside, only to hear a noise coming from the ground. It sounded like something was... sinking?

He looked down and saw the TIE beginning to sink under the sand. Finn could've helped, he should've helped, but self preservation kicked in and all he could do was back away and look on in helplessness as the fighter had been completely submerged under the sand. Finn looked down in grief and clutched tightly in his hand the only thing he was able to save from the wreckage: Poe's jacket.

He flinched and turned around as he watched a mountain of sand erupt into the air as the TIE exploded under ground. That certainly sealed Poe's fate. All because Finn was too much of a coward to act.

Now, here he was, alone in the middle of nowhere and with no one to keep him company. What could he do now?

The droid! Finn realized. There was still time to find Poe's droid. It wasn't like he could do anything else at this point. He kept a hold of Poe's jacket. He figured it would be nice to have something to remember his friend by.

Friend...

Finn didn't know how long he'd been wandering the dunes, but he didn't care. He was sweating bullets, shedding all his armor and leaving it in the sand behind him, leaving only the undersuit. What was the point of keeping the armor if he wasn't with the First Order anymore anyway? He used the jacket as a means of shade for when the sun was just too hot for him to bear.

After what felt like another eternity dealing with the scorching sun and harsh winds that scraped his skin from time to time, he had finally found salvation.

He looked over a dune and spotted what appeared to be a large outpost in the middle of a flat area of the desert. Finn stumbled down the hill, nearly tripping, his thirst getting to him.

His plan was simple: get some water to last him a while, and try to find the droid.

It was that simple... right?

END OF CHAPTER 9