Huh. Finn blinks down at the floor before taking a sip of water and setting the glass aside. He turns to mirror Poe, facing him, then 'takes it from the top.'
"I was taken from my family, if I had a family, when I was very young. Too young to remember, obviously. That's how they get troops except for the ones that enlist. Those guys are- were different from the rest of us. Understood the outside more and things like that. They knew the stakes and the rest of us just knew the Order. Indoctrination, conditioning, marches, the whole thing.
"For a long time, I believed them. After I left, for a while, I was pretty ashamed about it, but there wasn't any other frame of reference. Of course, I believed them. There was nothing else to believe. But it started with little things, I guess. Basically, the supposed enemies of the First Order turned out to be enslaved miners who just wanted enough food to go around or people who's villages were burned to the ground looking for a spy or- Well, you know. There was all that, but they also didn't give a damn about us. I was-" Poe probably didn't want to know about his squadron or the whole life story. Finn paused, swallowed, and tried to summarize it a little. Besides, it sometimes still hurt to talk about.
"I was in a four-man squad. The only one that didn't hate me was FN-2003. We called him Slip because he was slipping up all the time, and Captain Phasma was really wanting to recondition him. I was stayed back to help him. As squad leader, I felt it right, but Phasma ordered me to start leaving him behind. And I did. It was only simulations or sanitation duty, but that's when I started letting him slip. On our first real mission, he was killed in battle. And, uh- Well, we captured a guy that was apparently the best pilot in the Resistance and... you know the rest." Finn shrugged, trying to make Slip's death still seem just as distant as it probably was to everyone else.
"Let's see, uh- When I got here. When I got here, you'd already been living on Earth for over a year, I think. You were dating 622 and told me about the truce, which pissed me and scared the hell out of me, but we made it work. Honestly, the relationship you had with 622 at the time helped a lot, but that's not why you two were together... You should meet him, actually. He'd want to see you."
But anyway, Finn rubbed at his face. "What I do now? I work at the local aquarium." He smiles at Poe like it's a big secret and also the best thing in the world. A funny joke, even. "I like it a lot. But I also work with Aegis. They're a group of people brought here like us that works with the government to keep everyone safe when stupid stuff happens. It's more like an on-call position, but I like it, too...
"When I arrived, you showed me Base One, and I've lived here ever since. The unit next door, actually." He points, like Poe wouldn't know. "When we were together, I-... Well, I sort of moved into here, but I'll go back. It's not a big deal and a lot of my stuff is still there, anyway... I, uh-..." He looks up at Poe, looking a little lost since he more or less answered those questions. "What else?"
no subject
"I was taken from my family, if I had a family, when I was very young. Too young to remember, obviously. That's how they get troops except for the ones that enlist. Those guys are- were different from the rest of us. Understood the outside more and things like that. They knew the stakes and the rest of us just knew the Order. Indoctrination, conditioning, marches, the whole thing.
"For a long time, I believed them. After I left, for a while, I was pretty ashamed about it, but there wasn't any other frame of reference. Of course, I believed them. There was nothing else to believe. But it started with little things, I guess. Basically, the supposed enemies of the First Order turned out to be enslaved miners who just wanted enough food to go around or people who's villages were burned to the ground looking for a spy or- Well, you know. There was all that, but they also didn't give a damn about us. I was-" Poe probably didn't want to know about his squadron or the whole life story. Finn paused, swallowed, and tried to summarize it a little. Besides, it sometimes still hurt to talk about.
"I was in a four-man squad. The only one that didn't hate me was FN-2003. We called him Slip because he was slipping up all the time, and Captain Phasma was really wanting to recondition him. I was stayed back to help him. As squad leader, I felt it right, but Phasma ordered me to start leaving him behind. And I did. It was only simulations or sanitation duty, but that's when I started letting him slip. On our first real mission, he was killed in battle. And, uh- Well, we captured a guy that was apparently the best pilot in the Resistance and... you know the rest." Finn shrugged, trying to make Slip's death still seem just as distant as it probably was to everyone else.
"Let's see, uh- When I got here. When I got here, you'd already been living on Earth for over a year, I think. You were dating 622 and told me about the truce, which pissed me and scared the hell out of me, but we made it work. Honestly, the relationship you had with 622 at the time helped a lot, but that's not why you two were together... You should meet him, actually. He'd want to see you."
But anyway, Finn rubbed at his face. "What I do now? I work at the local aquarium." He smiles at Poe like it's a big secret and also the best thing in the world. A funny joke, even. "I like it a lot. But I also work with Aegis. They're a group of people brought here like us that works with the government to keep everyone safe when stupid stuff happens. It's more like an on-call position, but I like it, too...
"When I arrived, you showed me Base One, and I've lived here ever since. The unit next door, actually." He points, like Poe wouldn't know. "When we were together, I-... Well, I sort of moved into here, but I'll go back. It's not a big deal and a lot of my stuff is still there, anyway... I, uh-..." He looks up at Poe, looking a little lost since he more or less answered those questions. "What else?"