-Wayland- N-7 Quadrant, Ojoster Sector - Outer Rim Territories

With the help of BB8, Finn slowed the Out System Scout Vessel as it approached the small First Order blockade spread out above the atmosphere of the planet. Much like Takodana, Wayland was a lush world, covered mostly in forest-covered continents with rivers and lakes dotting the surface in between. In all the time he'd spent as a stormtrooper or in sanitation, his access never extended to this world. Until he'd spoken with Maz, he wasn't aware it existed. Looking at the open display to communicate with BB-8 he asked, "If these codes don't work how fast can you get us out of here?"

He heard the beeps and whistles of the droid behind him and on the shuttle display it read, "Are you saying the codes will be wrong?"

"I'm not saying they will, I'm asking what happens if they are?"

"They are not wrong. Why would I use wrong codes?"

Finn rolled his eyes. "Forget it," he switched on the com and said in his best monotone, "Wayland IL-5 this is Outland System Scout Vessel RS-0823 requesting a landing pad."

"Scout vessel RS-0823, this is Wayland IL-5, our databases indicate we have no record of your departure or arrival schedule…" silence passes. "...or any information on your ship. What business do you have on Wayland?"

He muted the com, swallowed and then unmuted it once more. "Wayland IL-5, ship records will be unavailable." he paused, holding this breathe to see if they would fire on him. When nothing happened, he continued. "I have been tasked with transporting gathered Resistance intel to the Old Imperial Archive. Transmitting clearance codes now."

Finn's fingers hovered over the switches controlling the sublight engines and main drive in the event BB8 wasn't as smart as he believed he was.

"Out System Scout Vessel RS-0823? You are cleared for entry and landing. Please proceed to coordinates 150641." static sounded and the com went silent.

Finn breathed out a sigh of relief; at the same time he heard the droid beep multiple times and another message appeared on his forward display causing him to shake his head.

"No, I do not need help landing! I've seen Poe do it, it didn't look that hard."

The droid made several sounds after his remark, sounds which Finn could only interpret as hysterical laughter.

To prevent any suspicion, (and because landing required finesse beyond his capabilities) Finn allowed BB8 to land their ship. Once grounded, he put on his helmet and took several deep breaths. With his focus in place, he turned and examined his co-pilot's disguise one last time.

    Before departing the Raddus, Finn suggested changing out most the plating on BB8 as the droid's fame had grown exponentially since their meeting on Jakku. Poe and Leia agreed with him (though after relaying the plan to the astromech, it took several members of the Resistance to apprehend him) and BB8's orange panels were replaced with a dark blue.

FN-2187 opened the door of his ship and walked down the ramp with the droid rolling behind, ignoring the beautiful green trees and vibrant blue skies of the world around him. Instead, he remained focused on his task, repeating the memorized route, schedule, commanding officer, clearance and access codes in his mind over and over in order to recite them verbatim when asked.

At the bottom of the ramp he stopped, waiting to be approached by an officer or a patrol of guards. When no one paid him any heed—even those passing by on duty—both relief and disappointment passed through him. He looked down at BB8, who stared at him in confusion, and said "Guess things are a little more lax this deep in First Order territory."   

The droid whistled low and made a crackling buzz sound.

    "I'm not disappointed," he started walking forward. "What makes you think I want to tell anyone? I don't want to get caught."

BB8 giggled and hummed three tones.

"It took me a long time to memorize all that stuff! And why are you beside me? You're supposed to know where you're going! Up front!" he tried to nudge the astromech in front of him with a kick, but BB8 glided out of the way with a chuckle, and rolled quickly to his place in the lead. The two took their time making their way to the Old Imperial Library, now taking a moment to admire the landscaped lawns and forests of the beautiful planet. Finn didn't know how to absorb the quiet and peace displayed on everyone walking by. No one flinched or avoided him, very little concern showed on their faces at all. The experience felt strange, he'd never been so far from the battlefront; never did he think a place free of intimidation and fear existed in the known galaxy.

Especially in a region controlled by the First Order.

Eventually they arrived at their destination, Finn only had to ask once for the building's location and was answered with detailed directions and smiles. He was grateful for the aid, as the Old Imperial Library was an unmarked structure sitting nestled in an arrangement of tall trees. Without the help from the locals, he would have dismissed it as a massive storage unit or ship hangar.

He circled around almost the entire building before spotting a door. A holoprojector and comlink embedded into a pillar next to it appeared to be the only way of communicating to those employed inside. Finn pushed the only button located on the device and the head of a male Cerean appeared, the top half of his elongated skull taking up most of the projection.

In a slight Old Imperial accent, the Cerean said, "Welcome to the Old Imperial Library. I am Metari Bomod, head librarian, historian and archivist on Wayland. How may I help you?"

Finn looked at BB8 before answering. "My task involves research delivery and retrieval. I've come directly from the Supremacy carrying classified information on the Resistance and likely known base locations."

The Cerean's thick eyebrows formed into a V shape as he stared at a datapad on the edge of his screen. In a suspicious tone he asked,"The First Order sent a stormtrooper here on a classified research assignment?"

Finn cocked his head to the side. "What's that sup—"

BB8 bumped into the side of his leg. When Finn looked down, the droid buzzed and beeped four times.

    Finn almost kicked the astromech. "I'm the droid's armed escort. The BB8 unit accompanying me will be performing the data down and uploads."

The old Cerean smiled. "Ah, of course!" he pressed a few buttons and the door to the Library slid open. "I can't imagine where we'd be without our mechanical friends! Please come in. I'll meet you momentarily to show you where the records are kept."

A door slid open and the two went inside.

Rows of data banks created dimly-lit aisles in the massive building. Library droids floated up and down the area, gathering and organizing information as it was received. The steady hum of electricity filled the quiet halls, giving the building a feel similar to a starship instead of a library.

And like everything the First Order owned (and the Galactic Empire before them) the Old Imperial

Archive was immaculate.

Finn went slightly rigid upon seeing the Cerean accompanied by a heavily armed stormtrooper.

"My apologies for the wait," Metari said with a smile. "We don't get a lot of company in this part of the galaxy. If you would follow me and please, stay close. The vault below can be a bit of a maze to newcomers."

Finn and BB8 exchanged a brief glance before following the head librarian to the lower levels of the Archives. The stormtrooper accompanying the old Cerean asked, "How are things on the front lines?" a woman's voice.

    As Finn was thinking how to respond in something other than memorized intel, she continued, "What I mean to say is, I can't imagine the Supreme Leader was pleased to have Starkiller Base destroyed. Has there been any word on who's responsible?"

Finn swallowed. In his most trooper-like voice he said, "Nothing substantial. There are suspects, but no determinations have been made."

    "Okay," the female stormtrooper said with a hint of a chuckle. "Buddy, you can lighten up. We're not on the Supremacy and unless your droid is recording our conversation no one's going to report you for a little news from the Inner Rim."

Finn studied the shorter Trooper for a second before offering a name. "I wasn't there, but I've heard Phasma may be responsible," then with a bit more confidence said, "Definitely Phasma."

The helmeted head of the other stormtrooper jerked back. "You're not serious?"

"Rumors. No one could find her during the evacuation and somehow she survived. All of it is very peculiar to the investigation. Things aren't looking good for the Captain."

She shook her head. "There must be a mistake. Phasma is loyal, to an unhealthy degree." And then she let slip a small laugh as she thought about it. "Good riddance, she never liked me anyway."

The tall head of the Cerean turned around and he put a finger to his lips. "Quiet, if you please." He stopped before another door, entered a lengthy numerical sequence on a datapad to open them and then continued to the lower levels after the code was accepted. It was darker down below, BB8 hummed suspiciously as they descended a ramp leading into the vault chambers.

The small droid made it to the end of the sloping floor first and immediately whistled in astonishment.

    Finn stopped in the middle of the walkway upon seeing the size of the Imperial Archive out of both awe and despair. Row upon row of three story shelves filled with holos, datadisks and old bound books extended so far in front of him and to his sides he couldn't see an end. It was known the Emperor was a purveyor of knowledge; but he never could have imagined the extensive collection before him. It would take him and the droid months, if not years to go through all of the material standing before them.  

All of the sudden he exhaled, not realizing his breathing stopped when entering the room. He nearly jumped upon hearing the woman's voice next to him. "It's a lot to take in, right? Bet your happy the droid's doing the heavy lifting." she paused. "I'm FN-2096 by the way."

Finn blinked several times underneath his helmet. "What?"

Up ahead, the Cerean stopped eight rows down and turned left with BB8 right behind him.

"Blasted droid," Finn said under his breath. To the stormtrooper he said, "Sorry, I'm not supposed to let him out of my sight," a second after he took off into a jog to follow the astromech, he stopped and turned around. "Wait, FN-2096?" he cocked his head to the side. "As in, Nix—Ninety-Six?"

The female stormtrooper looked both ways before approaching him, her hands going to unshoulder the long blaster rifle she wore. "How do you know that name?" she demanded.

Finn stepped back, holding up his hands. "Whoa, whoa—easy," and then momentarily forgetting he was a traitor to the First Order at hearing a familiar name he said, "It's Eight-Seven. From the Academy."

Slowly, the woman lowered her weapon. "You kriffing muckrat, When were you assigned to special assignments? Last I heard you were in sanitation."

He swallowed. "After Starkiller Base. A lot of us were moved up or reassigned."

She shook her head and started toward the aisle where Metari and BB8 went.

Finn hurried to catch up. "Everything alright?"

FN-2096 responded with silence.

"Well what about you? I thought you'd be on secret missions with the Elite or teaching cadets. Were you re-assigned as well?"

"I suppose you could say that," she said looking straight ahead.

"Why would they station you here though? Weren't you top marksman with the DL-19D long rifle?"

The sigh she emitted was loud enough to be heard through her helmet. "I'd rather not discuss it sir," she changed the pitch in her voice; no longer did it produce emotion. Coming to a halt she asked, "Permission to return to my post, sir?"

Finn ignored her request. "I'm not your commanding officer and I don't outrank you."

She answered with a stiff salute. "Sir." A second later, her comlink beeped. Removing it from her belt she answered, "Yes Master Bomod, what is it?"

"Might I trouble you in taking a look at the hoverpad? I think the repulsor coil is acting up again," his tone denoted he was already examining it himself.

"I'll be right there. Please don't touch anything Master Bomod." returning the comlink to her belt, she continued down the aisle of texts, datapads and holovids. Her walk turned into a stiff march when she sensed Finn following her. Their steps echoed through the vast chamber as they made their way to where the Cerean and astromech were. After too many lefts and rights to be counted,

Finn gave up trying to keep track of where he was going.

They turned the last corner and BB8 gave the two only a glance as they approached. The droid continued working on the hoverpad even after the female stormtrooper tried to shoo him away. BB8 made a low droning hum, equivalent to a growl.

"Sir, please order your droid to cease operating on the hoverpad." she said flatly.

BB8 stopped to glare at Finn.

Finn sighed. "BB, continue your work."

"What is your problem?" FN-2096 demanded. "This facility is my responsibility! Don't you have an important assignment to fulfill? Shouldn't your droid be getting to work so you can get back to the front lines? Isn't the Supreme Leader waiting on your return?" The grip on her blaster strap tightened.

The Cerean cleared his throat, but looked down at his feet the moment the two snapped their helmeted heads in his direction.

Finn looked back to her. "Nix, it isn't what you think."

"Really?" she asked. "What about Zeroes, Slip and Nines? Were they promoted too?" her breathing grew more rapid. "How many innocents were you required to slaughter before you received your promotion? How many villages and cities did you burn before you became their most trusted soldiers?" she shook her head. "I know who the enemy is we were trained to eliminate; none of them included innocent farmers and settlers. I don't know how you or the others live with yourselves."    

Finn remained silent for several moments, recalling the deaths of his former FN unit. The image of Slip reaching out to him with a bloody hand on Jakku. Of Nines calling him a traitor before being shot down by Han Solo on Takodana.   

"The others are dead."

The sound of tiny sparks coming from BB8's tools working on the hoverpad sounded over the quiet suddenly filling the area.

"Eight-Seven..I didn't know." she said. "I'm sorry, sir."

Finn opened his mouth to respond, but couldn't say anything. He knew those chosen by Ren and Phasma were sent to do unspeakable things in order to locate Skywalker; it didn't occur to him other units stationed in other locations were required to do the same.

    All at once it dawned on him why his former squadmate was acting the way she was.

    Like him, she refused to take part in the massacres of the First Order.

A loud whirring came from the hoverpad, which eventually transitioned into a low hum. The platform rose a few inches off the ground before levitating in place.

Once again, the Cerean cleared his throat. "I take it the two of you know each other?"

"We do," FN-2096 said, her voice now void of the anger from before. "Served together in the same brigade and was supporting marksman for his FN Corps. FN-2187 is one of the First Order's finest."

Metari Bomod's expression changed to one of concern, his eyebrows descending into a V shape. His gaze turned to Finn. "What did you say your operating number was, trooper?"

BB8 droned, 'uh oh…'

Ninety-Six answered for him. "FN-2187. From sanitation to the Supremacy." she stated without emotion. "One can only imagine what he was required to do in order to advance."

Finn hated not knowing what kind of facial expression she (or when any stormtrooper for that matter) wore when she answered like that.  

The Cerean gave a weak smile blended with a look of panic. "Excuse me." he stepped on the hoverpad and levitated to the upper shelves.

BB8 blipped five times and whistled, emitted a whine and loud beep.  

"No I shouldn't have used my operating number, but at least I didn't fix his hoverpad now did I?" Finn asked.

The droid sighed, exasperated.

"What's going on?" Nix asked. She started to raise her rifle, but was out maneuvered.

Finn leveled his blaster at his former fellow trooper. "Weapon. Now." she paused for a moment, he could tell she was debating whether or not to fight him.

After a quick assessment on how much she valued her life in comparison to the Cerean, she tossed Finn her rifle.

Finn caught it and set it down. "The Librarian is trying to contact the First Order if he hasn't done so already. While my droid jams his signal you're going to help me find some information on the Supreme Leader."