I See You

Rey has been with the Resistance for months now, but she still feels like an outsider. She tries her best for the struggling Resistance, but her efforts seem to be in vain as she feels even more alone than when she was on Jakku. However, attention from a certain irrepressible pilot may change her attitude.

Rey twisted her wrist, causing the hydrospanner in her hand to reposition to where she wanted it. She tightened the bolt firmly, using just a little more force than she probably needed to. Taking a deep breath, she pulled back a bit and looked carefully over the wiring that surrounded the area on the landing gear, making sure there was no fraying or visible wear. None of these new-to-the-Resistance ships had been in great condition when they had gotten them, but with a lot of patience and hard work most were ready for what lay ahead.

Of course, this particular X-Wing had already seen combat. Three of their pilots had encountered a surprise First Order convoy in the Iego System the day before. The pilots had been there to scout out a proposed site for their base, as their current location of Chasse was not ideal and only temporary. The battle that had ensued had been heavily one-sided, but fortunately their three pilots had come back unhurt and with only minimal damage to their ships. It had taken a day for them to get back, as they had to ensure the First Order could not track them, but everyone was greatly relieved with their safe return.

Though the idea for a base in Iego was off the table, Poe, Snap, and Jess had managed to procure a great deal of rations, including some Tapasi Taffy, a sweet treat Resistance members rarely got to partake in these days.

Because the mission was successful on the food front, and the fact that all the pilots made it back alive (and with another story to add to their already bountiful supply), Leia had decided to allow a small party this evening. A few hours to simply relax and not work or worry for a while. Everyone other than a skeleton crew that would be rotated out midway through the evening was partaking in the get-together.

Except Rey.

She had decided she would take the time to do the repairs on the X-Wings that had just seen combat now rather than later. The few mechanics they had were overwhelmed, and poor Rose, who was now in charge of them all, looked like she was half-asleep on her feet whenever Rey saw her. Though Rey was in no way required to do any maintenance work, she had started helping out on her own, usually at night when she couldn’t sleep and no one else was around. She was aware a lot of the mechanics whispered about a magical pit droid who went around while they were asleep and fixed things they hadn’t had time for during the day. Rey knew someone had probably figured out she was doing all the repairs, but she was fine with most not knowing.

She was doing it to be helpful, after all. She was devoted to the Resistance, to these people. She didn’t need the attention. She had already gotten enough looks of awe and even fear from a lot of them thanks to her Force powers, back in the first few weeks. Now she was just pretty much ignored.

That thought caused her chest to ache a bit and she took a deep breath. It wasn’t necessarily that she was being ignored so much, just that people seemed to think her an anomaly, and not really a part of the Resistance. She was the Jedi. The future hope for all who wished to fight the tyranny of the First Order and Supreme Leader Kylo Ren. She didn’t really belong.

She was almost as invisible here as she had been on Jakku. The only difference was that she had wanted to be invisible on Jakku.

Rey took a deep breath and blinked away the tears that had formed at her thoughts, trying to remember the positives. Finn and Chewie still made her feel welcome, but Finn was off training so much, now, and Chewie was always on the move, using the Falcon to run recon missions, collect ship parts and rations, and transport new recruits. Finn was also spending a lot of time with Rose. He ate with Rey most evenings, but more often than not she could tell his mind was on other things, and she couldn’t be mad at him for any of it. He had thrown himself head-first into this Resistance, intent on not only proving himself loyal after his years of servitude to the First Order, but using his experience with the enemy to help the rebels learn their procedures and training methods, which would hopefully give the freedom fighters an edge in future battles.

Leia had also been wonderfully welcoming to Rey. The older woman was physically weak after her experience during the evacuation of D’Qar, but her mind was as sharp as ever, and after informing Rey that she had indeed completed her own training with Luke years before, she was determined to do her best to train Rey in the ways of the Force. Rey had felt a connection with the leader of the Resistance from the moment they met, and that bond had only grown in the past few weeks, but like Finn, Leia was incredibly busy, and other than the couple of hours of training they had together every day they rarely even saw each other.

Rey sat back onto her bum, ignoring the small rocks on the hard ground digging into her. She glanced up at the X-Wing she was working on, reminding herself that she wasn’t here to make friends. She was here to defeat Kylo Ren and the First Order. She was here because she believed she could help defeat the evil that was currently trying to take over the galaxy. Everything in her believed this truth. She didn’t need some party with people who refused to acknowledge her skills and strengths outside of the ‘magical’ Force. After all, no one had invited her to come. No one was out here looking to see where she was even now.

She didn’t need friends or family. She had purpose, and that was enough. Right?

Then why did it hurt so much, this feeling of invisibility?

A movement off to her right startled her, and she turned her head to see a familiar orange and white ball droid rolling her way. The droid matched the ship she was currently working on, and normally she’d be okay with him coming to visit her, but she had a feeling BB-8 hadn’t come alone. She sighed, looking up at the ship again, soon recognizing the familiar and powerful Force presence of the ship’s pilot as he followed his droid.

BB-8 reached her and beeped an inquiry.

She looked over at him again, glancing up at Poe Dameron as he casually sauntered along behind his droid.

“Yes, I’m finished,” Rey answered BB-8, quickly putting her tools back into the tool box next to her. She carefully rose to her feet, making sure she didn’t bump her head on the wing of the craft she had been working on, and stepped out from underneath it.

“So, you’re the magical ‘pit droid’ everyone’s been talking about,” Poe said with a wry smile on his lips. He tilted his head at her, his hands in the pockets of his cargo pants, his expression lackadaisical.

She frowned at him and shrugged. “I’m just trying to help.”

“Well, thank you,” Poe told her, his expression more serious now. “But you really don’t need to sneak around, you know. I’m sure you need as much sleep as the rest of us.”

Rey shrugged again. “Sometimes I can’t sleep.”

Poe took a deep breath. “Yeah,” he said, his eyes downcast now. “I know how that goes.” He looked back up at her. “Still, I don’t want you doing any more work without letting Rose know what you’re doing.”

Rey was startled. “You don’t trust me? I would never…”

“No!” Poe brought up a hand to stop her. “I trust you implicitly,” he affirmed. “I just don’t want you to keep working your ass off and not getting any credit!” He licked his lips and shifted on his feet. “Rey, you are a part of this team, and you need to be treated with as much respect and given the same recognition as everyone else.”

Rey stood silent, looking down, unable to meet his eyes.

“Rose has known what you’ve been doing, but she’s been staying silent because that’s what she thought you wanted. But that’s not what I want. And I’m the Commander, so what I say goes.”

Rey looked at him then, a small smile on her face. Leia had only recently reinstated his rank.

He cleared his throat, suddenly looking a little bashful. “And I know Leia will back me up on this,” he added.

BB-8 beeped another question, his dome swiveling back and forth between his two favorite people.

“Yeah,” Poe added to his droid’s query. “Why aren’t you at the party?”

Rey looked down again, shrugging in embarrassment. “I didn’t think anyone would miss me,” she said softly. Geez, she was pathetic, she thought to herself. She didn’t want to appear as if she was looking for pity, or begging for validation.

“Well, I did,” Poe said gently in return. “And so did BB-8. And Finn, Leia, Chewie. And I’m sure a lot of others,” he expanded. He reached out his hand to her.

“I see you.”

Rey breathed in sharply, looking up to meet his kind brown eyes. How had he known? How had he known what she was thinking?

“I see you, Rey,” he said again and she carefully took his hand. He squeezed her fingers gently. “And I’m going to make sure everyone else does, too. You deserve to have your hard work and your devotion recognized. We can’t do this without you.” He paused. “I can’t do this without you.”

She squeezed his fingers back, biting her lip to keep the tears that were forming again from falling. She was afraid to speak, so she simply nodded. He smiled in return.

“Now, have you ever had Tapasi Taffy?” he asked as he led her back toward the residential area, where the party was still going strong. At the shake of her head, he grinned. “You are going to love it!” Rey couldn’t help but smile back.

BB-8 followed, happily chirping to himself. This was taking longer than anticipated, but the more he could get these two stubborn humans of his together, the faster it would go. And seeing how his Poe could make his Rey smile made him that much more certain that in the end, when this war was over, they could have a happily ever after.

THE END