Murky light slowly filtered into the Millennium Falcon as the ramp lowered and finally hit the ground with a thump. Poe held his gun at ready. He walked down the ramp by himself to investigate the area. All that could be heard was Poe's feet hitting the metal ramp. Rey and the Resistance fighters held their breath.

Poe's voice rang out. "General, come see this, will you?"

"Rey, Finn, Chewie, Lieutenant Connix, please accompany me," said Leia.

General Organa and her entourage filed out of the Falcon and stepped down onto the rocky ground of Gorem. BB-8 trailed behind. They were standing on an outcrop of the mountain. Poe stood in front of them. "Poe, what is it?"

"What is this place?" breathed Poe. Rey squinted to look ahead, since there was still bits of fog, which made it harder to see. She saw what looked like a large opening in the side of the mountain.

"This...this thing must have either been hidden by fog or hard to see from the air," Rey observed.

"It looks like a base of some sort, a hangar maybe?" Connix piped up.

"Let's get closer!" said Poe eagerly.

Rey, Finn, Chewie and Connix all turned towards Leia. "Well, go on. You can trust Poe on this one," Leia said smiling.

Poe led the way carefully, pistol drawn. "It looks deserted," he said. "Empty."

As they got closer, several large guns loomed into sight. They were stationed on either side of a hanger that was set into the side of the mountain. "This place looks so old," said Rey quietly. Rocks and dirt covered the once spotless grey tile, and vines grew along the sides of the hangar. Poe stopped at the edge of the mouth of the hangar. 

"This is an Imperial base," said Finn, "Trust me, it is. Just a really old, abandoned one."

Still standing at the edge of the hangar, Leia pointed something out. "There's even some old ships in here. Look." 

She held up a finger and pointed. Several ancient-looking freight ships were parked in a corner, along with a few primitive models of TIE fighters. 

"Interesting," said Lieutenant Connix.

Poe was excited. "Let's go check them out!"

"Not yet, Poe. Out top priority is to find somewhere to hide from the First Order to make plans. We need shelter. The rest of the base must be connected to the hangar." Leia stopped talking and stepped into the hangar.

"The best strategy would be to walk around the edge of the hangar. Although it's pretty dim in here," said Leia.

"Beep, boop." Suddenly a bright light lit up part of the hangar. 

"BB-8! Nice going buddy!" Poe was always happy when BB-8 came in handy. BB-8's flashlight led the way as everyone followed behind. 

The group started on the right side of the hangar. Their feet left footprints in the dust and dirt coating the floor. Rey traced her hand along the wall, wiping something black off the old walls of the hangar and onto her hand.

"This is amazing. A hangar built so high up on a mountain, bigger than the one at Crait," Finn said.

"It truly is," said Leia. "I'm surprised we haven't seen any sign of an entrance to the actual headquarters of the base.

"Rrruuuaaaghr," Chewie said. Chewie had wandered ahead and turned left, walking along the main wall. Rey jogged ahead.

"The entrance! BB-8, over here!" Rey called out.

BB-8 rolled faster as the rest of the group picked up the pace. His flashlight illuminated a half-open doorway containing two huge metal sliding doors. "Chewie, would you do the honors?" Leia asked.

"Hrraaauuuughhhr," Chewie cried as he ripped open the doors.

"Look!" Commander Connix pointed at the destructed doors. A mangled Imperial insignia was still visible. "This base must be from the time of the Empire. The time of Vader."

Ben. Seeing the symbol reminded Rey of Ben. He had started the First Order, modeled after the Empire. Rey felt a great sorrow fall over her. She looked over at Leia, and knew she was thinking the same thing.

Leia finally spoke. "Well, I'm glad this place is abandoned now."

"Abandoned?" A voice echoed from inside the base. Leia, Poe, Finn, Rey, Chewie and Connix all gasped. "Who said anything about abandoned?"

Poe drew his pistol and Chewie had his bowcaster ready. A human form stepped out from the darkness onto a pile of rubble. BB-8 immediately shone his light on the mysterious person.

It revealed a man on the older side, with grey hair and blue eyes, wearing an old Imperial uniform. He waved his hands in front of himself. "No, no, I'm ok. Don't shoot."

"Let him speak, Poe. Chewie." Leia ordered. Poe and Chewie lowered their weapons.

"Allow me to introduce myself. Call me Kornin. I'm a local. Been living in this base for years now. Alone. It was once an important hangar during the days of the Empire. This planet, Gorem, was used as a source for metals and ores needed for Imperial projects. Everything mined was brought to this hangar and transported off-world. It was the most important source of metals in the entire galaxy at one point. The operation was closed decades ago, though. So yeah. What brings you here? You seem to be in charge." Gorem directed his words toward Leia.

Leia hesitated, not knowing whether she could trust this man. She looked at Rey for guidance. Rey spoke up. "How do we know we can trust you?"

Kornin smiled. "I'm just an old man living by myself. I can help you."

Still not completely satisified, Leia again hesitated. "We're desperate," Connix whispered in her ear. Leia decided to speak.

"We need shelter. There aren't many of us. Just a small group." 

"Alright, it's fine if you don't tell me exactly why you're here. There's enough food and shelter here for everyone. How many you got?" Kornin asked.

"Just a handful in our ship out there," Leia responded.

"I'll make some preparations, and you all can go get the others," said Kornin.

BB-8 led the group back through the hangar. Rey looked around. What an awful place this must have been. Full of evil people and stormtroopers. She shivered. This turned her thoughts to Ben. He must be so mad at me. For helping the Resistance escape and not joining him. He's going to use that anger. He is going to try to find us. To find me. And kill us all.

As Rey was thinking these thoughts, Kornin went to a room in the base and turned on a radio transmitter. "Get me through to General Hux," he said. A few seconds later he continued speaking. "This is a contact from Gorem, an old member of the Empire. I received your message earlier that was sent to your allies. I found the Resistance. I'm pretty sure it's them. They fit the descriptions. I have them on Gorem."