He had a name
“What’s your name?” He asked, voice breathless with adrenaline, left hand flitting like a restless moth over the switches and buttons around the centre console.
“FN-2187,” He responded reflexively, his heart thudding hard in exhilaration and something else, hands slightly slick with sweat against the gun controls.
“F…what?”
“That’s the only name they ever gave me,” FN-2187 winced a little. He’d never really understood the difference between names and titles and serial numbers. It was all just stuff you yelled across a room to get someone’s attention, it didn’t really matter. At least, that’s what he told himself, what he repeated constantly to himself when some of the others gave each other nicknames, becoming slip and zeroes…and he remained FN-2187. He’d never allowed himself to care about it much but, suddenly, it was the most important thing in the world. This man…he was whole. He probably had parents and things, and a name to go along with it. He was brave and witty and…brilliant. He had everything, and FN-2187 had nothing, not even a name.
“Well, I ain’t using it!” The pilot said, devilish and rebellious “FN, huh? Finn, that’s what I’m gonna call you. Finn,”
FN-2187…Finn could barely contain his joy, his face breaking into a delighted, dazed grin. “Yeah! Finn…” he tried it out, rolling the word around his mouth, taking ownership of it. It was extraordinary, having a name, especially a name as good as Finn. “I like that! I like that,” The word, the name, repeated itself in his head – finn, finn, finn – with different inflections. He hoped he would live up to his name.
“I’m Poe. Poe Dameron,” The Pilot grinned over his shoulder. “Nice to meet you, Poe Dameron,”
“Nice to meet you too, Finn,” Finn. He liked his name a lot, but he liked it best when Poe Dameron said it.