Work Text:
The air was freezing, a type of cold that Finn had never experienced, and never wanted to again. He’d thought Jakku was the worst place in the galaxy, but he was beginning to think that maybe Hoth was.
It was a simple stop-over on an old, abandoned Rebel base, while he and Poe were on their way to track down more potential allies. They had split up to see what, if any, tools or materials were salvageable. In a war like the one they were in, every single thing counted. It should have been a boring way to spend a few hours. However, Finn had no such luck and had ended up trapped in a corridor with a large, furry monster of some sort. Perfect.
It was a massive beast, covered in thick white fur, and it staggered around the small corridor. The monster had massive paws and had almost immediately knocked Finn’s blaster out of his hands. Finn darted quickly, weaving around the monster, trying to guess its next move in order to avoid it. If only the damn thing would stay still for one second, he thought desperately. Stay still, he muttered angrily to himself. And just when he was in the process of calculating whether or not to start running, when something very strange happened.
Suddenly, the monster stopped dead, its eyes darted around and it grunted in anger. Finn didn’t waste any time, he grabbed his blaster and shot it. It fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
“Nice shot.” A voice complimented him, echoing in the emptiness of the corridor.
He turned slowly, to see a man, no…a figure, who definitely had not been there a moment ago. It was an older man, wearing long robes.
“Thanks.” He mumbled in surprise, unsure of who this person was and where they had come from. He supposed he should feel scared, but he didn’t.
“Are you alright?” The man asked, concerned.
“Uh-huh.” Finn found himself lost for words. There was a transparency and a blue glow to the figure, as if they weren’t entirely real. For a moment, Finn wondered if he was having some sort of hallucination.
“Nasty.” The man nodded towards the body of the monster. “Had my own share of trouble with one. But that was a while ago.”
“Yeah? Never seen anything like it myself.” Finn replied, as if having a conversation with a ghost was entirely normal. But he’d learned that, sometimes, strange things happen and you just had to go with it. “Do you….live here?”
“No, I’m just visiting.”
That was vague, Finn thought, but it didn’t seem untrue. For some reason he sensed this man was friendly, so he decided not to ask further questions, despite the fact he was curious.
“Mind if I light a fire?” Finn asked, pulling out a small, portable fire from his backpack.
“Makes no difference to me.” The man said with a smile, seemingly acknowledging that he was not there in the corridor in the same way Finn was.
Finn lit the fire and sat down in the snow, holding his gloved hands out over the flames to warm them. The man stood a few metres away, close, but not overly so.
“This was a rebel base, wasn’t it?” He knew for a fact it had been, but he was curious to see if this person did too.
“Yes.” The man answered simply.
Finn got the impression that this place brought back memories that perhaps this man? Ghost? Vision? Whoever or whatever he was, didn’t want to remember.
“Y’know, I wasn’t sure if you’d be able to see me or not.”
“Well I can.” Finn replied, gazing intently at the figure in front of him. “Are you a ghost?”
“Sort of.”
“Is there something you want?”
“To talk to you. If things had been different, we may have met before now. And I’m sorry we didn’t.”
Finn was about to ask how things could of been different. However, the man took a step closer and changed the topic.
“Why do you think it stopped?”
“What?” For a second, he had forgotten about the monster. “That thing? I…don’t know.” Thinking back, he hadn’t thought about it, there hadn’t been time, he had just reacted. Why had it stopped? “Because it saw you? Maybe it was frightened of ghosts.” He joked but the man didn’t laugh.
“I think you know why it stopped. How it stopped.” He said, his voice serious.
For a few moments, Finn said nothing. But he knew the answer, deep down, he knew. If he took the time to think about it, this wouldn’t be the first time. There had been many, many other moments where he had tapped into something he hadn’t yet understood.
“I did it.” He breathed. “I stopped it.”
“Yes. With the Force.”
Then everything clicked into place. “You’re Luke Skywalker, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
“I’m-”
“Finn.” He smiled at him. “I know who you are. That’s why I’m here. I wanted to meet you, to make sure you know that you are Force-sensitive.”
“That’s-” Finn shook his head. “It doesn’t seem real. But I…believe it.” He paused for a moment, and looked away from Luke, taking time to consider the enormity of this revelation. “What do I do?”
“You can learn how to use it. I can teach you. You can even work with Rey, if you like. But you have a natural ability. Everything you need, is right there inside of you.”
In the distance, Poe shouted for Finn. Luke smiled kindly at him again, “You’re needed. You should go. And when you need me, just call my name.”
“I will. Thank you.” Finn knew he had to leave, but he didn’t want Luke to go, he had so many questions.
“Take care of yourself. And remember, trust your instincts and your power Finn.”
Finn nodded, and within moments Luke had faded away, leaving him alone in the icy corridor, as if it had all been a dream. Finn headed towards Poe, filled with a new confidence.