42. That was her number. Now with the resistance, 42 must cover her past life which proves difficult when she cannot tell her true name. And that Dameron guy . . . He needs to stop asking questions.
Follows The Rise of Skywalker
"I've never seen anything like this," Rey smiled at the crowd of Aki-Aki dancing in synchronicity.
"I've never seen so few Wayfinders," Poe said, pushing past her.
Rey waited until he was out of earshot. "He's just upset with himself for what he said. Although I don't think he'll apologize."
I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.
"He might," I finally said.
"There's always random First Order patrols in crowds like these," said Finn.
"Keep your heads down—Chewy," said Poe. "Let's split up, see what the locals know."
Twenty minutes later, Rey came sprinting back to the group. She looked panicked.
"We have to go, back to the Falcon, now," she said hurriedly.
"Why?" asked Finn.
"It's Ren."
I had no idea who "Ren" was, but it made everybody book it across the desert.
I already didn't like him.
A stormtrooper suddenly blocked out path. "Halt! I've located the Resistance fugitives," he shouted into his intercom. "All units—" an arrow sprouted from his helmet, knocking him backward.
We turned to see who'd shot him.
"Follow me," said the stranger.
Just feet away was a rolling ship with its wares tied to the outside. It crawled across the sand at a low speed amongst the crowd.
We lifted the curtain and stepped in after the stranger.
"Leia sent me a transmission," the man said.
"How'd you find us?" Finn asked.
He removed his helmet to reveal his face. He was an older gentleman with dark graying hair and traces of a mustache. His face was kind unlike so many I'd met.
"Wookies stand out in a crowd!" he laughed.
Chewbacca stepped forward and hugged him.
"Good to see you too, old buddy," said the man.
"This is General Lando Calrissian," C3-PO announced.
"General Calrissian, we're looking for Exegol," said Poe.
"Of course you are . . ."
He pulled up a hologram of a Wayfinder. The blue pyramid floated above his wrist in an eerie light.
"Only two remain," said Calrissian.
I had been correct on that part.
"The Sith Wayfinder. Luke Skywalker came here to find one," Rey recalled.
"I know," Calrissian chuckled. "I was with him. Luke and I were tailing an old Jedi hunter, by the name of Ochi."
Rey turned to Finn in astonishment.
"He was carrying a clue that could lead to a Wayfinder," Calrissian explained. "We followed the ship halfway across the galaxy, here. When we got to his ship, it was abandoned. No clue. No Wayfinder."
"Is the ship still here?" Rey asked.
"It's out in the desert where he left it."
I looked to Rey. "We need to get to that ship; search it again," I decided.
The sound of a faint whirring began across the desert. It grew louder, louder, louder. The lot of us looked out of the window instinctually.
Six TIE fighters were barreling down into the planet's atmosphere.
"I got a bad feeling about this," Calrissian mumbled. "The ship is out past Lurch's Canyon, go!"
"Thank you, General," Poe said as he exited the hut.
Rey stopped, thinking. "Leia, needs pilots, General," she said.
"My flying days are long gone," said Calrissian. "But do me a favor . . . Give Leia my love."
"You should give it to her yourself." Rey smiled. "Thank you."
I exited after her.
When Rey and I had caught up with the group, Poe was already underneath a speeder, hotwiring it.
"How do you know how to do that?" Finn asked suspiciously.
I began hotwiring a second speeder.
Angry locals came running after us. They were probably shouting profanities.
"We gotta go!" Poe said, getting his speeder up and running.
I had already finished wiring my speeder before Poe had even slid out from beneath his.
As Dameron mounted the craft, he smirked sourly at my record time. "Show off," he mumbled.
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