My One Small Rewrite to The Force Awakens: “Phasma Attacks.”
The air on Takodana no longer smelled of the lush green of the surrounding forrest, but rather the harsh stench of burning flesh. Finn looked about the rubble that just moments before was Maz Kanata’s ancient castle, as the owner scurried away from him to find shelter. In his hands was an ancient weapon. The silver shaft was heavy in his hand, and surprisingly cool despite the meter-long beam of energy forming a blade. Finn thought back to the melee training he had gone through as a Stormtrooper for the First Order. “OK, I can do this,” he told himself.
In front of him suddenly one of his armored former allies shot down one of the hapless patrons of Maz’s indulgence. As the man fell, Finn knew he could no longer sit idly by. He attacked.
In a heartbeat, Finn had run the blade through the Trooper. The armor did not slow the blade at all, and the murderous “soldier” fell before Finn. He glanced for a moment; he was just like this man or woman not very long before. No; he was not. A soldier does not murder, a soldier kills only in battle as a duty against another combatant. These were thugs in uniform. Finn would be different. He turned to find another foe, and who he found brought him up short.
It was not another set of white armor standing before him now. The armor glinted shiny and chrome, and a woman’s voice in a thick Coruscant accent snarled beneath the mask. “FN-2187; traitor!” With relish, Captain Phasma dropped her blaster, and with a quick move pulled a riot baton from beneath her cape. In a smooth motion, she snapped the twin charged shafts into place and attacked.
For one so tall, so armored, she moved like lightning. Finn barely had time to pull the lightsaber into place. He was immediately on the defensive as Phasma swung the riot baton as if it was an extension of herself. Blow after blow drove Finn backwards. The First Order Officer was unrelenting. Finn was losing, he had to disengage…
The tip of the Z6 caught him in the stomach. His body convulsed as the force of the blow coupled with the electric charge threw him through the air. Landing on his back, the saber shut off, and Finn lay stunned in the dirt. Somehow, he maintained consciousness and saw Phasma managing to move in such away to seem to be slowly striding, yet covering the ground between them in only a second. “Now, FN-2187; let us discuss the nature of your reconditioning.” She raised the baton above her head.
There was a sudden burst of energy, and a beam caught her in the chest, throwing her head over heels at least five meters. She hit the dirt hard. At once, Finn saw Han Solo handing Chewbacca’s bowcaster back to the Wookie as he looked down at Finn.
As Finn started to rise, they were at once surrounded by Stormtroopers, too many even for the three of them to defend against.
That was not the worst of it though. With a growl, Phasma pulled herself to her knees, and then her feet. The chrome armor, though scorched, had not allowed the bowcaster bolt to penetrate. She retrieved her blaster and came to the encircled trio.
“Well, it looks like we will have much more time to work on your sense of loyalty, FN-2187. Take them to my dropship.”
Disarmed, hands on their heads, Han, Chewie, and Finn were escorted away.