The New Recruit - Part 1

Poe Dameron heads to the planet Jakku with the intent to recruit a former member of the Rebellion to the Resistance. While there, he learns of another talented pilot that may just be a perfect fit for his squad. Unbeknownst to him, the young scavenger Rey is far more than just a good pilot.

A re-imagining of the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy. This story begins about a year before the events of The Force Awakens and was inspired by one of the dream sequences in my story Planet X. Rated PG (but the rating will go up as the story progresses).

Commander Poe Dameron wiped the sweat from his brow as he glanced around the cantina. While he had grown up on a warm planet, Jakku was a whole different environment, and he had a great deal of respect for the beings that lived here. Of course, looking around him, he wondered just how many of them would jump at the chance to leave if given the opportunity.

He, Snap, and Jess had come here this morning with the intent to find and recruit Jenkins Petty, a former pilot with the Rebel Alliance that General Organa had known years ago. According to her, the human male, who was originally from Corellia, had been an amazing pilot. He had served with the New Republic fleet for a short time after the war ended, but ended up leaving when the ‘politics got a little too much’ for him. “The same reason we both left, Poe,” Leia had grinned. “Only he figured it out a lot sooner than I did.”

For some strange reason, the man had settled here on Jakku, marrying and raising a passel of kids. He had the means to leave with his family if he wanted, but they seemed content here at Niima Outpost, where he worked as a mechanic and trader. By all accounts, he was fair in his dealings, and Unkar Plutt, the being in charge of most of the outpost who was not so fair, pretty much left Petty and his family alone.

When Poe and the others had found Petty and conveyed Leia’s request for help to him, he had regretfully declined. “I’m old,” he had told Poe. “My reflexes are not nearly what they used to be.”

“While we need pilots,” Poe had argued. “We need leaders more.”

But the man had refused to budge. He and his wife had invited the Resistance members to stay for breakfast, but could do nothing more than that.

While sharing the meal, Poe learned that the reason Petty had ended up on Jakku was because of his wife, Cara, who was a native. “Her parents were farmers, believe it or not,” he said. “After the battle all those years ago, my squadron and I landed to check for survivors. She and her family were already searching through the crashed ships. I joke that they were the first scavengers of Jakku.” He laughed. “Cara was only sixteen, but I fell for her so fast. I left, of course, but never forgot her, and when I finally left the New Republic, I came back to find her. Just my luck, she had never forgotten about me, either. The rest is history.” He gestured at the half dozen children around the table with them.

Towards the end of the meal, Petty had given Poe a bit of hope that this trip hadn’t been wasted. “If you’re looking for pilots, I’ve heard about a scavenger in the area that has shown more than a bit of talent. It’s a human girl, no family that I know of, and I have no clue where she lives, but you might catch her trading in the Outpost if you’re lucky.”

“What’s her name?” Poe had asked.

“Rey.” Petty shrugged, “I don’t think she has any other name. She’s one of Plutt’s, practically a slave, so I’m sure she’d be thrilled to get the hell off this planet.”

So, Poe and the others had wandered back to the little village made of tents and sandstone buildings. They had asked a couple of vendors about the scavenger pilot named Rey and gotten distrustful looks and no answers. They had stopped at the one cantina, but the bartender there had no clue. Poe guessed this particular scavenger probably didn’t frequent this business much, if at all.

The three of them had gotten drinks and sat for a while in the shade of the cantina’s canvas tent.

“Wanna keep looking?” Snap asked.

Poe sighed. They weren’t due back on D’Qar for a while, yet. “Let’s ask around a bit more. Most of the scavengers don’t come in to trade until evening, anyway. We might as well hang on until then.”

After their beverages were drunk, they set out again, trying to find the friendliest faces to ask. Finally, as the sun was low in the sky, they found someone who knew something. A vendor named Floy immediately perked up when they asked about a ‘scavenger who was a good pilot.’ “Rey!” he said. “You’re looking for Rey!”

“You know her?” Poe asked.

“Yeah, she’s one of the best scavengers out here. Keeps to herself. Doesn’t hang with a crew like some do. A lot of the people here are protective of her, which is why you probably haven’t been getting any answers, but if you are looking for pilots, maybe you’ll get her the hell out of here.” He cocked his head. “She deserves more than this place has to offer, that’s for sure.”

“Do you know where we can find Rey?” Snap asked.

Floy shrugged. “Nobody knows where she holes up, but she comes into Niima most days to trade.” He looked around, his sun-wrinkled eyes scanning the people around him. Suddenly, they widened. “There she is!” He pointed.

Poe turned to see a young woman with dark hair pulled back tightly watching them from a few meters away. She was dressed in clothing that matched the desert around them and carried a staff that was taller than her. She looked very young, her face smooth and freckled, and while she was skinny Poe could see a wiry strength about her. Her eyes widened when she realized they were looking at her, and she turned to quickly walk the other way.

Poe nodded and smiled at Floy. “Thank you,” he said. Then he turned toward the girl, Snap and Jess following. He looked at them. “Keep on her,” he told them, then he ducked around one of the other vendors, moving quickly to pass the girl, who he could see was still focused on Snap and Jess following her, and coming around in front of her.

She stopped suddenly, panic in her expression as she realized he was blocking her path, and she brought her staff forward to grab it with both hands.

Poe raised his own hands in a placating gesture. “Hey, it’s okay.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “We just want to ask you a question.”

He saw her relax a bit, but wariness remained on her face as she glanced at Snap and Jess coming up slowly behind her.

Poe offered her his hand. “I’m Poe. Poe Dameron.”

She looked down at his hand, then looked back up at him, confusion taking over the wariness in her eyes. She let go of her staff with one hand and reached out to take his. Her hand was calloused and her handshake firm. Now that he was closer to her, he realized she was older than he first thought. She was almost as tall as him, as well. Best not get her mad, he thought. She could take him out in a heartbeat with that staff.

“Rey,” she said softly, her voice deeper than he expected.

“I know,” he smiled gently, letting go of her hand. Her expression softened at his words. He motioned to the people behind her. “This is Snap and Jess,” he told her, watching as she glanced back at his companions.

When she focused on him again, he continued. “We’re here looking for pilots to recruit into the Resistance. More than one person pointed you out as the best pilot in Niima, maybe even all of Jakku.” He gave her a half grin. “Do you have any interest in learning to fly combat spacecraft?”

The young woman’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open a bit. “Fly combat? Like an X-Wing?”

“Yep,” Poe smiled bigger this time, recognizing her growing excitement. “X-Wings. A-Wings. Bombers. Whatever your talent fits with best.”

“That would be wonderful!” she exclaimed, but almost immediately her face fell.

He felt his own excitement drop. “What’s wrong?”

She licked her lips and took a deep breath. “I’m flattered by your offer, but I… I can’t leave Jakku.”

“Seriously?” Poe felt an abnormal amount of disappointment flood him. “Why can’t you leave this dustball?”

She hesitated for a moment. “I’m waiting for someone.”

“That’s too bad,” Poe said. Not only would he have loved bringing back a new recruit, but he would have liked to get to know this woman better, too. “We really need good pilots. Whoever you’re waiting for is very fortunate to have someone so loyal on their side.”

She blushed. This desert-tough scavenger who he felt could very much take care of herself in the worst of situations actually blushed.

He held out his hand once more, and this time she took it without hesitation. “If you change your mind, look me up. Jenkins Petty, the mechanic, will know how to reach me.” She nodded sadly. He squeezed her hand, keeping hold of it longer than he really needed to, and she didn’t seem to mind. Finally, he let go with a sad nod of his own, and turned away, heading back toward the landing zone on the far side of Niima where Black One awaited him. He heard Jess and Snap follow.

Once they reached their ships, he turned back to look at the outpost.

“Well, that was a bust,” Snap moaned. “Should we just head back?”

Poe folded his arms and leaned his shoulder against Black One’s wing. He glanced up at the astromech in the droid socket, suddenly missing BB-8 who had stayed on base for routine maintenance. Then he looked at Snap.

“Let’s hang out here for a while,” he said slowly. “Just until dusk.”

Something, he’s not sure what, told him he needed to wait just a little longer.

******

Rey wandered back toward her speeder at a slow pace after her encounter with the X-Wing pilot, not really paying attention to her surroundings. Poe, she thought. Poe Dameron. The name had a certain heroic sound to it. Which only made sense, as he was an X-Wing pilot in the Resistance. And he had offered her a chance to be one, too.

She shook her head sharply, chasing away the ache that filled her as best she could. She couldn’t leave, not when her parents were coming back. How could they find her if she left? She reached her speeder and slowly pulled herself up, swinging her leg over the saddle, thinking back to her arrival in Niima not even an hour ago. She had noticed the X-Wings almost immediately as she made her way to Plutt’s tent. Though she had seen plenty of that model of fighter before, they had always been either old junkers barely able to fly or in pieces on the desert sands of Jakku. These three ships, though obviously not brand-new, were well taken care of and ready for action. Two were painted generically, but one had been an intense black with orange highlights. She assumed it was as deadly as it looked.

After trading for one measly ration, which had been one more than she had gotten yesterday, she had wandered through the outpost, looking for the occasional vendor that might be willing to trade with her for more food; she often found things other than ship salvage when she was out in the desert. Just last week she had found a beautiful Cartney bloodstone, it’s dark pink color startling against the sand. Floy had traded with her that day: the bloodstone for a loaf of real bread.

As she looked toward Floy’s stand, she noticed him talking to three strangers, two men and a woman. Though they were dressed casually, she instinctively knew they were the pilots of the X-Wings. The tall bearded man and the young dark-haired woman were standing back a bit as the third man talked to Floy. Though shorter than Floy, he was fit and carried himself with a confidence Rey envied. She was pretty sure she was looking at the pilot of the black X-Wing.

When she had realized they were talking about her, she had left as quickly as she could. Though she had had good dealings with Floy, she trusted no one in Niima, and she instinctively wanted to escape any notice by strangers. Unfortunately, the dark-haired pilot had gotten ahead of her.

Her distrust had turned into excitement during their short conversation, but the hope that had dared to surface was quickly shoved back down when she remembered she couldn’t leave. The man’s obvious disappointment hadn’t helped, and she had left the trio feeling more depressed than she had been in a long time.

She sat quietly on her speeder, looking off in the direction of the X-Wings, as the sun began to set. She felt tears well in her eyes and she angrily wiped them away before they fell. Why? The question rang in her head. Why couldn’t she do what she wanted to do? Why was she living this life she hated? She closed her eyes, trying to envision her mother. She couldn’t see her face, but she could feel her love and the sense of belonging her memory gave her. But it had been so very long since she had gone away. She would have come back for Rey by now if she was able. Rey opened her eyes. If she were able.

She was never coming back.

Rey gasped out loud. It was an almost blasphemous thought, but it felt true. Honest. Real.

With a sudden spurt of energy, Rey threw herself off the speeder. She grabbed her staff and ran toward where she had seen the X-Wings. She began to panic. What if she was too late? What if they took off before she got there? She ran faster.

She heard the engines roaring as she ducked around the last tent and raced toward the fighters. No! She was too late! But the man in the black X-Wing looked right at her. She saw a smile light up his face, and she could tell he was talking in the comm attached to his helmet. The other two X-Wings began lifting off, but his powered down. The canopy opened and he pushed himself out, pulling off his helmet.

Panting, Rey stopped at the X-Wing, putting a hand on the smooth metal and looking up at the pilot, who was now sitting on the frame of the cockpit.

“Change your mind?” he asked, grinning down at her.

She nodded.

“Snap and Jess are heading back, but there’s a shuttle already on the way for you. Unless you have a ship?” He tilted his head at her.

She huffed a laugh. “No.”

“Didn’t think so.” He jumped down from the cockpit, thumbing a remote to close up the canopy. “Let’s go get your stuff while we wait,” he told her.

She shook her head. “I don’t really have anything worth bringing,” she told him.

He frowned. “No holos? No mementos?”

She thought back to the little X-Wing pilot doll she had made, and the tiny Tuanulberry bush she had been carefully cultivating for the last year. She shrugged. “Nothing I can’t live without,” she mumbled.

He looked at her for a long while, a slight tilt to his head, and she had the fanciful idea that he could see inside her soul.

“We have the time,” he finally said. “Let’s go get your stuff.”

Rey suddenly didn’t want this man to see where she lived. “I can go by myself,” she said, her voice a bit desperate sounding.

He grinned and shook his head. “Nah, I don’t think so.”

“You don’t trust me to come back, do you?”

“How long did you debate with yourself before you came this time?” he argued.

She took a deep breath and looked away, embarrassed.

“If it bothers you that much, I promise I won’t go inside,” he told her, his voice soft. Soothing.

Rey looked back at him for a moment, then finally nodded. “My speeder is over there,” she said, nodding back toward Niima.

“Let’s go!”

Rey led him back into the outpost. Most of the vendors had packed up for the day, but other businesses had opened for the night, their lights bright and gaudy. Rey rarely found herself still in Niima after nightfall, preferring the dangers of the desert night to the dangers of the outpost’s nightlife. Beings selling alcohol, spice, and sex tended to be far more treacherous and threatening than the Jakku wildlife. But as she walked along next to this man she had just met, she felt unusually safe. Maybe it was the blaster he wore at his hip, or maybe it was the casual yet vigilant way he watched his surroundings. While they walked along, matching strides, she imagined they looked like a formidable pair.

They reached her speeder and Rey immediately tucked her staff into the netting on the side and mounted the machine. Poe pulled himself up behind her, and Rey realized for the first time she had never had a passenger before. She hadn’t given a thought to how close they would have to be. She sat up as far as she could, but there was still barely room for the both of them in the saddle. As she started the engine and it sputtered and turned over, she was very aware of every inch of his body that touched hers. And yet, as she turned on her headlight and pulled out of Niima, she found that she wasn’t at all uncomfortable with his closeness. That maybe she even liked it.

It was a good ten-minute ride to her home from Niima in daylight, and even longer at night as she had to go slower to avoid the rocky outcroppings and crashed ships, but Rey soon slipped over the last large dune that essentially hid the Imperial Walker from most who traveled in this part of the desert. She pulled up to the fallen war machine and turned off her engine.

“Wow,” Poe said softly.

“Welcome to Hellhound Two,” she told him as he slid off the speeder. He grinned at her as she followed him down. She paused a moment, watching as he pulled a glowstick off of his belt and turned it on. “You can come in if you want,” she said softly. “This won’t take long.”

She walked into her home for the last several years, turning on the lantern she kept right inside the door. It was her only light source, other than the occasional fire she burned outside on chilly nights. Quickly, she set out to grab the few items she felt a connection to, snatching up the doll first, before he could see it, and putting it in her sling bag. A couple of data cards that held some audiobooks and music she had found during her scavenging, and her plant. She managed to wrap some flimsy around the top so she could place it in the bag, protecting it somewhat. She reached for the helmet, but realized that if she was to become a pilot, she would soon have her own. Best leave it here as a remembrance of the pilot that once wore it.

When she was done, she looked for Poe. He was standing at the far wall, his glowstick pointing at the hundreds of marks she had placed there through the years. She felt her face heat. She watched him swallow, then he turned to look at her. She couldn’t see his eyes clearly in the dim light, but the emotion in them was powerful. Without saying a word, he nodded and headed for the door. She followed.

There were no words between them on the ride back to Niima, where the Resistance shuttle was waiting for them, ready to take Rey to her new life.

******

Poe landed Black One with an unconscious grace that had caused more than a few pilots to curse him during his time with the New Republic. His almost instinctive ability wasn’t completely natural; he had worked his ass off at the Academy to get to the level he was at. However, many of his instructors back in the day had often wondered if he was gifted with more than just quick reflexes and the ability to control his fear. Either way, his experience helped him today, as his craft touched down lightly on the tarmac of the Resistance base on D’Qar while he watched to make sure the shuttle carrying their new recruit landed safely opposite him.

He kept his eye on the shuttle as members of the ground crew ran up with a ladder and he quickly climbed down, distractedly handing one of them his helmet as his attention was still on the shuttle. The hatch had opened and Mav, the purple-skinned pilot, was standing at the entrance, looking back inside where he knew Tallie and Rey were. Soon, the two women also appeared, walking down the ramp, Tallie talking, Rey looking around her in awe. Poe started walking their way.

An orange and white ball droid rolled up to him, catching his attention with his excited beeping. “Hey, buddy,” Poe said as he looked down at his droid. He smiled, but kept walking. “How did the check-up go?”

BB-8 proceeded to complain about the unnecessary testing he had had to undergo, explaining how he was in perfect shape and there were plenty of other droids around, including the computer in Black One, that needed a lot more help than him. Poe laughed as he walked, enjoying his droid’s bellyaching as they moved along together toward the shuttle. Rey had caught sight of him now, and her attention, which had been more on the planet than the people walking next to her, turned to him.

She grinned, her eyes bright. “I didn’t know there was this much green in the whole galaxy!” she exclaimed as he stopped before her.

Poe put his hands on his hips. “You think this is green?” he asked with a responding smile. “You should see where I come from.” He looked at Tallie and Mav. “I got it from here, guys,” he told them.

Tallie snorted. “Of course, you do,” she said as she rolled her eyes, then she and the Theelan walked away.

Rey didn’t seem to notice their departure. “Where do you come from?”

“I was raised on the fourth moon of the planet Yavin,” he told her. “Almost all jungle and forest, a few open plains and small oceans. Lots and lots of green.”

Rey’s grin grew even bigger. “I’d love to see it.”

Poe shrugged. “We make you a pilot and you can go yourself someday,” he said. BB-8 squealed at his feet, and Poe looked down, startled.

“Or Poe could show me?” Rey asked, tilting her head. She was repeating what BB-8 had said. “And who is this?”

Poe looked back and forth between the scavenger and the droid a couple of times, caught off guard once more by this young woman. “You can understand binary?”

She shrugged. “I have more fascinating conversations with droids than people more often than not,” she told him.

Poe grinned again, liking this woman more and more. “This is BB-8,” he said, motioning toward the droid.

“And it’s yours?” she asked.

“As much as I’m his,” Poe said, using the pronoun BB-8 preferred.

Rey gave a soft laugh, and Poe was once more struck by how pretty she was. Yes, she was dressed shabbily, her hair pulled back obscenely tight, no make-up on her freckled face, and far too young for him. But with her big, unusually colored eyes and her extraordinary smile, she was indeed a beauty. And he was quite sure she had no clue how attractive she was, which made her even more alluring.

He gave himself a mental shake. Too young, he reminded himself. She’s just a kid. “Let me take you to meet the General,” he told her.

She gave him a slightly nervous nod, then followed him as he and BB turned toward the Command Center, which was situated in one of the many underground structures the Resistance called home. Poe led her into the main doorway, then down a long flight of steps. The room was quiet for once, with nothing major going on that the Resistance needed to be paying attention to, but the equipment and staff were ready for action at a moment’s notice. The First Order was becoming more and more of a threat, and they needed to be prepared.

Poe didn’t see Leia immediately, which told him she was most likely in her office. Knowing he was on his way back with a new recruit, she wouldn’t have left the Command Center; she rarely did during the day. He wouldn’t call her a control freak, but she did want to be active and involved in everything at all times. He glanced back at Rey, who was once more looking around her in awe, then walked up to the open door of Leia’s office and knocked on the frame.

“Come in, Commander.” Poe smiled slightly. Knowing as he did that his General had at one time trained to be a Jedi, he could easily assume she had felt his presence and known it was him, but in reality, he knew she had a monitor on her desk that allowed her to see the whole room outside her office. He stepped in, then turned to usher Rey in past him.

Leia stood from her seat behind the desk. She was in fatigues today, he noticed, her hair braided loosely at her nape. Occasionally, she wore robes or gowns, reminiscent of her past as not only a senator, but a princess. However today she was all business. “Rey, this is General Leia Organa.”

Rey stared at the woman, and he could tell by her expression that she recognized the name. “From Alderaan,” she whispered.

Leia gave her a soft, sad smile. “Yes.” She tilted her head curiously. “Most people don’t associate me with Alderaan anymore,” she said softly.

“It was a story I never forgot,” Rey answered.

Poe watched the byplay between the two women silently, then quietly continued his introductions. “General, this is Rey of Jakku.”

Leia nodded. “Our new pilot. Or so I’ve been told.”

“Petty recommended her, General,” Poe reminded her. “And others in Niima concurred.”

“If Petty says you are a good pilot, then I believe it.” Leia sat back down in her chair and clasped her hands in front of her on the desk. “I have a few questions for you, Rey.”

“Yes, ma’am?” Rey looked nervous again.

“What do you know about the Resistance?”

Rey took a deep breath. “I’ve heard that they are a militia that are not associated with the Republic, but support them. I overheard a trader call them – you – a watchdog group.”

Leia nodded. “That’s a fair description,” she said. “What do you know of the First Order?”

“Most people in Niima think they are no different than the Empire,” Rey answered. “I don’t have many memories of my mother, but I do remember that she was very afraid of the Empire.”

Leia frowned, and Poe understood her confusion. The Empire had been destroyed long before this young woman had been born. Why had her mother still been afraid of them?

“Did the Commander explain that we wish to train you for combat?” Leia continued.

“Yes,” Rey answered softly.

“And you are prepared for all that may entail?”

“Yes,” she responded firmly.

“Will you swear allegiance to the Resistance and the New Republic?”

“I will.”

“Do you have any family left? Anyone that you care about or that might be worrying about you?

Rey shook her head, her face expressionless. Poe would have to tell Leia what he had seen when he visited the place this young woman had called home.

Leia stared at her for a moment, and Poe now knew that she was indeed using that something special she had to ‘read’ the young scavenger. Then she nodded. “You do now.” She smiled. “I think we’ll let you settle in today, get your bearings. We’ll introduce you to the flight simulator tomorrow.” She looked at Poe. “Do you have time to show her to the dorms and where the mess hall is, Commander?”

“Yes, ma’am” he nodded.

“I think Zenda and the Tico sisters have an empty bunk in their room,” Leia told them.

Poe smiled. “They’ll make sure Rey’s comfortable.” He knew Paige very well, having dated the young gunner not so long ago. She and her little sister Rose were good people with hearts of gold who had suffered a great deal of loss in their lives. He didn’t know Zenda as well, but the Tico’s got along with the blue-skinned Pantoran, and that was enough for Poe.

Leia stood once more and walked around the desk. She held out her hand and Rey took it. Leia brought her other hand up to cover Rey’s.

“Welcome to the Resistance, Rey.”

******

She was a Resistance fighter.

More than two weeks after her arrival to D’Qar, Rey still had a hard time believing it. She had been escorted by Poe to her new quarters, stopping at the mess along the way so she knew where it was, and met two of her three new roommates right away, Zenda and Rose Tico. Both worked as mechanics. Rose immediately took Rey under her wing, escorting her to the commissary to find her some new clothing and footwear, then giving her a tour of the base. That night, she met Rose’s sister, Paige, who wasn’t a pilot but spent most of her time with them. She was much quieter than her little sister, but seemed friendly enough.

Rey slept in a real bed for the first time in years that night.

The next morning, Poe showed up to take her for her ‘test flight’ in the simulator. It was very similar to the one Rey had learned on, though much nicer looking. Poe put her through the ringer, sending her every challenge the simulator would allow, and Rey handled it all with only a little trouble. When she stepped out, Leia was waiting.

“Looks like Poe was throwing the whole might of the First Order your way,” she said with a smile.

“And she never got shot down once!” Poe said with a grin.

“I have to warn you, I’ve never actually flown out of atmosphere.”

Poe shrugged. “If you can fly well in atmo, open space is a piece of cake.”

Leia nodded. “You’ll do.” Then she walked away, heading back to the command center.

Poe led Rey up to a dark-haired human-looking male with unusual eyes. “This is Lieutenant Iolo Arana,” Poe introduced them. “He’s going to be your instructor for the next few weeks, until we’re sure you’ll be comfortable in a squad.”

Rey shook the man’s hand, feeling more than a little disappointed that Poe would not be the one training her. But seriously, he was the Commander, the leader of all the pilots. He wouldn’t have time to train the lowliest new pilot. She gave Arana a small smile. “Hello.”

“Hello, Rey,” he smiled back, and his eyes seemed to glow. Definitely not human. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Confused, Rey looked at Poe, who wouldn’t meet her gaze. He cleared his throat. “Iolo, why don’t you get her started in the Headhunter. Get her comfortable out away from the planet, drill into her all the safety measures, and make sure she learns the area star charts.” He finally looked at Rey. “The Z-95 is a lot slower and less maneuverable than more modern fighters,” he told her. “But it’s a great ship to test your mettle on. It will let us know what ship your flying style will be better suited to.”

Rey nodded as Iolo chuckled. “Admit it Dameron, you want her in an X-Wing.”

Once more, Poe looked flustered. “They’re the best fighters out there, they deserve the best pilots.” He looked at Rey. “I’m a little biased.”

“Who knows, maybe she’ll like the A-Wing better?” Iolo smirked.

Poe stared at Rey for a long moment, his dark eyes intense. “I don’t think I’d mind that, either,” he said softly. Then he seemed to pull himself together. He nodded at Iolo. “She’s all yours.”

Nodding back, the Lieutenant turned and started walking along the tarmac, heading for her assigned ship, she assumed. All the ships were spaced out around the base, covered in camouflage netting; Rose had explained that there were no hangers or central landing area here on D’Qar. Rey began to follow, but then looked back at Poe, wondering when she would see him again.

He must have read her expression. “When I’m on base, I try to have my evening meal around 1800. You can find me in the mess.”

And so began two of the most intense weeks of Rey’s life. She was up before the sun every morning, ate a minimal breakfast (there was so much food!), then met Iolo at the Headhunter. Either he would take her to one of the meeting rooms for instruction, or he would send her up, following in his X-Wing. She found him to be a tough teacher, who was very hard to impress, but he wasn’t mean and had far more patience than she did with her mistakes. They usually took a break for a couple of hours mid-day, and she would find herself bagging up her lunch and walking out among the heather and wild grasses that surrounded the base, exploring this new and beautiful world while she ate. In the evening, she made sure to be at the mess by 1800. Most nights, Poe was either already there or showed up shortly after, and every time he was there, he sat with her, asking her about her day and telling her about his. BB-8 was always with him and often interjected with a comment of his own to either embellish Poe’s stories or dispute them.

The few nights Poe wasn’t there someone, usually Rose, would let her know he was either taking a turn patrolling or was on a mission. He was gone three nights in a row at one point, and she couldn’t help but fear for his safety. But on the fourth night, he was back, as happy and upbeat as normal, though she sensed something darker underneath. She knew, from Rose again, that his ship had damage, too. He had been in a firefight without a doubt, but he didn’t talk to her about it.

Rey began to spend more and more of her extra time with Rose, oftentimes helping her with her maintenance chores. Rey had yet to meet anyone on this base that she didn’t like, but she was also very aware of the looks some of the members, especially the pilots that Poe worked closely with, gave her. They watched her with a combination of amusement and wonder. When she had asked Rose about it, the young woman had blushed. “They’re curious about you and Poe,” she said. “He’s never spent so much time with a new member before.”

Rey shrugged it off. “He feels responsible for me.”

It was a little more than two standard weeks after Rey’s arrival, when she had been waiting for Poe to grab his tray of food in the mess, that the reality of her new life came into sharp focus. Poe sat down beside her, depositing a bowl of bright red berries in front of her.

“What are these?” she asked.

“Loloberries,” he told her, his eyes sparkling. “You’ll love them.”

She did love them, but as she ate them, trying to go slow and enjoy them, she noticed that his smirk still had not disappeared. “Okay, what is it?” she finally asked.

He smiled fully this time. “Iolo has decided that you’re ready for your own ship,” he said. “I’m giving you an X-Wing.”

Rey felt her heart speed up with excitement.

“I want you to stop by the droid pool tomorrow morning and pick an astromech,” he continued. “Remember that those droids have their memories wiped every standard month, but after you choose one, it’s up to you when to have that done.”

Rey glanced at BB-8. “How often do you do BB?”

“Never.” He gave his droid a smile. “They get more personality that way.” He looked back at Rey. “Get it in the X-Wing right away so it has time to connect fully with the ship. The longer you fly with it, the better it will be able to help you fly. They don’t just become your in-flight mechanic, they become your co-pilot.” He gave BB-8 a fond glance as he said this. “Iolo will give you some time to get familiar with the ship and the droid, then he’ll send you up.”

Rey nodded, excitement thrumming through her veins.

That night, as she was preparing for bed, Paige gave her a mischievous smile. “Congratulations, Rey!” she said. “I envy you.”

Rey looked at her, confused. “Because I got an X-Wing?” She didn’t know Paige had any interest in becoming a pilot.

Paige laughed softly. “No, for catching the uncatchable Poe Dameron.”

Rey frowned and looked at Rose for an explanation, but both she and Zenda were grinning, too.

“I don’t understand.”

“I was fortunate enough to be the focus of Poe Dameron’s attentions for a short while,” Paige continued. “He was a wonderful companion and a generous lover, but he never once looked at me the way he looks at you, nor did he spend any and all of his extra time with me. Most here believe he will never commit, that the ring around his neck will stay there. But now…” she shrugged.

Rey shook her head, feeling her face heat. “He just feels-“

Rose interrupted her. “If you say ‘responsible’ one more time!” She glared at Rey. “He feels a lot of things for you, Rey, but responsible is not one of them!”

Eventually, lights went out and Rey settled under her covers, but she didn’t sleep easily, and when she did, it was to the image of Poe Dameron’s beautiful brown eyes looking at her with affection... and maybe something more?

******

If he thought long enough about it, Poe knew he was in too deep.

But it was easy to lie to himself, to tell himself he was mentoring Rey, that he looked on her as he would a little sister. To ignore the grins and the elbow nudges from Snap and Iolo, to pretend he didn’t know the rest of the squad talked about how he had finally fallen. He watched Leia warily, hoping upon hope that she didn’t believe anything improper or unprofessional was going on between him and his new star pilot; if there was any person whose opinion he cared about, it was hers. And he protected Rey the best he could, too, knowing she was probably getting an earful of stories every night from her roommates. At least he had broken things off with Paige without any drama and was still friends with her, so anything they told Rey shouldn’t be bad. Right?

And he himself tried his best to keep things professional and straightforward with Rey. She was so young, and still learning not only how to be a fighter pilot, but how to live in a social setting without becoming overwhelmed. He wasn’t going to make her think he expected anything from her but her faithful service to the Resistance.

He had watched from the sidelines as she chose her new astromech droid, a well-used tan and white R3 unit that she called ‘Sandy.’ He paid close attention to her first flight in her new X-Wing, feeling a surge of gratification as she took off with more competence than many experienced pilots did. It took less than two weeks for Iolo to inform him she was more than ready to be included in the regular training rotation with the other pilots. In less than a month, she was going out on patrols.

Poe made sure he was the other half of the team on her first few runs, but eventually he had to let her ‘off the leash,’ as Jess called it, giving her the freedom to not only learn from her own experiences and decision making, but allowing her to bond with the other pilots, learning their habits and individual strengths and weaknesses. Even after she had settled in as one of the squad, he still did his best to meet her for the evening meal, as had become routine since her first week on base. One night she didn’t show, and since he knew the schedule and knew she wasn’t on patrol, he worried, only to learn later that Jess, Tallie, and Paige had taken their new young comrade out for a ‘girls only’ dinner elsewhere. He had tried his best to be unconcerned; it was good for her to spend time with other young human women, he told himself. But he eventually acknowledged, to himself at least, that he was jealous and protective. He knew Jess and Tallie were not only occasional lovers, but that they sometimes shared their bed with others, male and female. The idea of Rey being initiated into that kind of ‘play’ made him nervous. He had no idea what her sexual experience was, but he imagined her to be relatively innocent. He had to continually remind himself that she was an adult woman and in charge of her own life.

He would not admit to himself that he wanted to be the one to introduce her to any physical intimacies.

It was about three months after Rey arrived at D’Qar when she faced her first dogfight.

He had started sending her out with the recon teams a couple of weeks before, and twice she and her fellow pilots had gone into situations that could have put them in the crosshairs of First Order TIEs, but they had come out without running into any hostiles. Both of those times, Jess mentioned that Rey had insisted they leave the area earlier than they had originally planned; they got the info they needed, so why stick around and tempt fate? This time, Rey once more suggested they leave the moon they had been surveying, only Fordie wasn’t done with the atmospheric readings. Jess informed Poe later that Rey had become agitated. “We need to leave. Now.”

Recognizing Rey’s distress, Jess, who had command of the four-pilot team, pushed Fordie to hurry. “All right, all right!” the young Arkanian had replied. “I think I got it.” They had pulled up, heading out of atmo, when a Star Destroyer appeared from hyperspace. “Sithspawn!”

The four X-Wings had taken evasive action, hoping upon hope the Destroyer hadn’t spotted them, but they were too late. Eight TIEs emerged from the giant ship, heading right for them. They managed to make it out of the moon’s atmosphere before the TIEs reached them, but not soon enough to make the jump to lightspeed. Without any encouragement from Jess, all four pilots turned to face the enemy. In less than a minute, all the TIEs were obliterated.

Not only had Poe recognized the pride in Jess’ voice when she told them Rey had taken out four of the eight TIES herself, but he also recognized the contemplative look on Leia’s face as she listened to Pava’s report. When the pilot had left Leia’s office, leaving Poe alone with his General, he had turned to her. “Rey knew they were coming.” It wasn’t a question.

Leia looked at him. “Maybe,” she responded. “Or maybe it’s just coincidence.” She bit her lip, her expression thoughtful. “Keep an eye on her, Commander,” she said softly. Then she smiled wryly. “Not that you aren’t already doing so.”

Poe stood straight. “General…”

“It’s alright, Poe,” Leia interrupted him. “I know you would never do anything improper. You’re hardly the type of man to take advantage of an innocent. But I also know the two of you are very close, and the potential for more than friendship is there.”

He shook his head. “I’m too old for her,” he argued, using the same old rationalization he always used when anyone hinted there might be more between Rey and himself.

Leia scoffed. “Han tried using that excuse with me, once,” she said with a glare. “But he recognized that I was far older than him in many ways. I see an old soul in Rey’s eyes, too.”

Knowing his commanding officer wasn’t opposed to his connection to Rey helped ease his mind a bit, and the weeks that followed found him spending more and more of his free time with the former scavenger from Jakku, taking long hikes around the perimeter of the base and spending time in the common room watching old holo films or listening to music, all of which was new to Rey.

She had bloomed during her months with the Resistance. Regular meals caused her to physically change. Her narrow face became fuller, and her tall, skinny frame started developing healthy weight. The gentle curves that appeared did not go unnoticed by Poe, and he wasn’t the only one. Often on their long walks together, Rey would ask him about someone who was giving her extra attention. He or she would ask her to eat with them, or take a walk with them, or a couple of times they had outright asked if she wanted to have sex with them. Poe would do his best to give her his honest opinion about the person she was asking about. “He’s a great mechanic, but I wouldn’t trust him to be faithful.” “She may act like she knows it all, but she’s all bluff.” “He’s a good guy. You could do worse.” No matter how he answered, good or bad, she would shrug and say, “I’m not interested.” He wondered what she would say if he was the one asking her to share his bed.

He never did.

******

“How do you know when you’re in love?”

Rey had been wanting to ask someone that question for a long time, but she had not known who to ask or how. She wanted to be discrete, so asking any of her roommates was out of the question. Rose might keep it a secret, unless Paige pushed her to say something, and then everyone would know. Same went with Jess and Suralinda. Besides, she had a feeling none of them would even know the answer. Snap and Karè were in love, but she wasn’t sure she could trust Snap to keep his mouth shut, either, and Karè was the only one of the pilots she hadn’t really gotten to know well. While she had never been mean to Rey, Karè seemed cool and distant with her, almost as if she didn’t trust her. Asking either of her superiors was out of the question, the General because Rey didn’t know her well enough to ask her something so personal, and the Commander for obvious reasons.

But after a particularly stressful mission, where she, Karè, Jess, and Suralinda had barely made the jump to lightspeed after a nasty encounter with several new TIE Interceptors the First Order had just begun using, Rey found herself sitting alone with Karè in the mess. They had just finished their report to the General, and while Jess and Suralinda had decided to go get drunk rather than eat, Karè and Rey were more interested in food and quiet.

They sat together in companionable silence after they finished their meals, and for the first time Rey felt comfortable with the older woman. So comfortable, she had dared to ask the question that had been plaguing her for weeks now.

Karè didn’t look at her after Rey uttered the words, but she tilted her head and looked thoughtful for a moment. Finally, she looked at Rey. “That’s a tough question,” she said softly. “I think for everyone, it’s different.” She tilted her head. “Are you involved with this person sexually?”

Rey felt her face heat, and she glanced away, but then met Karè’s gaze once more. “No,” she said, shaking her head slowly. “I’ve never been sexually involved with anyone.”

“Really?” Karè didn’t look surprised, just curious. “Have you ever wanted to be?”

Rey had been offered sex more than once in her life. On Jakku, it had been with the promise of an exchange of food or credits. Since she had arrived on D’Qar, it had been with the promise of fun and relaxation. She had refused all offers. The idea of sex had always been unpleasant to her. Until…

“Not until recently,” she told Karè.

“The person you think you might be in love with?”

Rey nodded. “I’ve always felt comfortable with him,” she said softly, not looking at the other woman, afraid she would know right away who she was talking about. “Safe. Trusting. Wanting to spend time with him.” She took a deep breath. “The longer I’m here, the more I want to be with him. To hear his voice. To feel his touch. To make him laugh.” She shrugged. “Recently, I’ve been thinking about him doing… things to me. Things I used to find distasteful. But now… now, I want it. But only from him.”

“What things?” Karè asked softly.

Rey glanced at her, already worried she had said too much, but the other woman’s expression was patient and kind.

She took a deep breath. “I feel a heat between my legs. A heaviness in my breasts. My heart gets faster, as does my breathing. I’ve… touched myself, imagining it’s him touching me.” She felt another blush rise and she stopped and shook her head. “It’s probably not love, then, right? It’s just… lust?”

“Rey, it sounds like you’re the kind of person who can only feel desire for someone she already loves,” Karè said. “That’s not a bad thing, although it can be hard if the person you love doesn’t want you back.” She shifted in her seat but kept her focus on Rey. “Do you think he feels the same about you?”

“I… I don’t know,” Rey whispered. “I know he cares about me. I know he likes to spend time with me. But-“ She lifted her eyes and looked at Karè, pleading without words.

“It’s Poe, isn’t it?”

Rey breathed out, not even realizing she had been holding her breath. She nodded. “Not only is he my superior, but he could have anyone on this base.” She frowned. “But Paige is convinced he… wants me.”

Karè smiled suddenly. She reached out to take Rey’s hand, the gesture surprising Rey but also making her feel comforted. “He does,” she said softly. “Snap and I both know he’s fallen madly in love with you.” Rey felt her eyes widen. “But you’re right in that he’s your commanding officer, and he was trained formally in the New Republic, so while we are a bit less restrictive here, he still has his own personal hang-ups.” She sighed and her expression became serious. “Considering your age and inexperience, I would normally recommend that you just be patient and wait for him to come around. Because he will, eventually. I’m sure of it. But…”

“But?”

“But we’re at war. Or close to it. And I have a feeling it’s only going to get worse. After that skirmish today…” she grimaced. “There’s a part of me that says don’t wait. You never know what tomorrow will bring.”

Almost as soon as she finished speaking, two men walked into the mess. Poe and Snap. Karè looked over at them and smiled, then she turned back to Rey, squeezing her hand gently. “Whatever you decide to do, wait or not, don’t let him go,” she said softly. “Make sure he knows you want to be a part of his life, and vice versa. He’s as loyal as anyone I’ve ever known, and he won’t let you down.” She gave Rey’s hand another squeeze, then she stood and headed toward the two men who still stood in the doorway.

Rey watched as Karè smiled and grabbed Snap’s arm, then leaned up to give him a kiss. Then she looked at Poe and said something to him. Rey saw Poe’s eyes dart in her direction and she looked away, uncertain what Karè had said to him and hoping it hadn’t been anything to do with what they had just been talking about. She glanced up again to see Snap and Karè turn to leave the mess, most likely going to their shared quarters, and Poe was walking toward her.

He had been in the room during her briefing with Leia, his expression hard, his brows furrowed the whole time. She knew he had been worried; it had been a close call and all the ships had come back to base with some kind of damage. But their pilots and droids were all okay, and after the adrenaline had faded, Rey was able to tell herself she had done a good job, not only in defending herself and her fellow pilots, but in listening to her feelings. She had felt something wasn’t right just before the ships had appeared; her warning to her comrades had prepared them, and while the fighters had still been a surprise, they had not been caught completely off guard. At the end of the briefing, the General had told Rey softly to keep listening to those feelings.

When she had left the room, she had felt Poe’s intense gaze follow her out. That same gaze was on her now as he made his way across the empty mess to stand before her as she sat at the table. He glanced at the tray in front of her. “Finished?” he asked.

Rey blinked at him, then nodded.

“Good,” he said, his voice sharper than it usually was. “Let’s go get a drink.”

“I don’t drink,” Rey reminded him.

He offered her his hand. “Well, then you can watch me get drunk,” he told her, his usually jovial expression still serious.

She cocked her head at him. “Why do you want to get drunk?” she asked.

“Because you’re gonna give me a heart-attack one of these days,” he told her, the first sign of a smile appearing as he lifted the corner of his mouth. “So, I might as well live life to the fullest now.”

She looked at him silently for a moment, then took his hand. As she stood, she said, “Well, now you know how I feel when it’s you getting shot at up there.”

The surprised look on his face made her grin.

He looked at her warily as they walked toward the door together, then he said softly, “Then maybe you should have a drink, too.”

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “Maybe I will.”

******

Buffett’s Cantina wasn’t really a cantina. It was just an extra room that was attached to the commissary that Lieutenant Buffett was in charge of. It had a few old tables and chairs, an even older musician droid called Twizzler, and of course a bar, with its top made of wood from the local Gwavana trees.

Buffett had gotten permission from the General shortly after they had established themselves on D’Qar to open the Cantina, and Leia, knowing more than a few species would benefit from a place to ‘let loose’ from time to time, agreed. It was open most evenings after Buffett was finished with his shift in the commissary, and was usually full of Resistance volunteers who weren’t on duty for the few hours he served drinks. And Buffett knew his drinks. He knew how to mix the most innocuous ingredients to create the most profound beverages, with as much or as little alcohol as you wanted, and he knew a great deal about how alcohol could affect different species, warning them off of certain drinks or 86ing them if need be.

Poe wasn’t a big drinker. In fact, he could count on one hand the number of times he’d truly been drunk. But he spent a lot of time in Buffett’s with his pilots, especially after missions that had gone bad or had created an extra amount of adrenaline. After spending the last several hours in the Command Center with Leia, trying his best to keep his cool as he listened to Rey and the others come under attack by superior fighters, he really needed something to take the edge off. It didn’t help that Leia had lectured him after they knew all their pilots had safely jumped to lightspeed, reminding him that getting personally involved with someone under his command was risky and that if he was going to fall in love that he best learn how to keep his emotions under control when that person was under fire.

“What if you had been up there with her?” Leia had asked him. “What if you became so focused on her safety that you ignored your own? Or that of the other pilots?” Leia had sighed. “I’m not telling you to not start a relationship with her, but you need to make sure your feelings aren’t compromising your position as leader of my flight squadron.”

Poe had kept his mouth shut. He knew that telling Leia he wasn’t falling for Rey – again – would not make any difference. It was a lie, and Leia knew it. But he also knew she was right. He had to let Rey become her own person, and if he got too protective of her, not only would it be detrimental to the success of the Resistance, but harmful for Rey’s growth as a person. She was still so young and still finding herself after so many years trapped on Jakku. He couldn’t obstruct her in any way.

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t spend time with her after her experience. Not only did he need the settle his nerves, but he wanted to make sure Rey knew how to wind down after such an event. He didn’t expect her to get drunk, obviously, but if he could show her how to loosen up and maybe talk about her experience to him, she would be able to keep mentally healthy. Alcohol might help her or it might hinder her. There was only one way to find out.

Buffett’s was packed wall to wall and was standing room only. Almost every pilot in the Resistance fleet was there, trading stories with Jess and Suralinda, and the crowd noise was so loud you couldn’t even hear Twizzler over it. Poe looked at Rey. “How about we grab something to drink and go someplace quieter?” He had to shout for her to hear him.

“Where?” Rey yelled back.

“I know a place,” he told her, then shouldered his way toward the bar, Rey staying close, one hand on his back. Buffett, who didn’t seem at all perturbed by the madness around him, smiled and came right to him. Having a higher rank than anyone else in the room meant Poe would get served first.

“What can I get you, Commander?”

“A Starfire ‘skee for me and a Loloberry Surf for Rey.” He glanced at her. “You’ll love it.” He turned back to Buffett. “And a bottle of Sunberry Wine.”

Buffett nodded at Poe, winked at Rey, and moved to fulfill the request. Rey pushed her shoulder into Poe’s arm. “That’s an awful lot,” she said.

“We don’t have to drink the wine. I can take it back to my quarters for later if we don’t.” He smiled at her. “But I think you’ll like it.”

Buffett came back quickly with their drinks and the bottle of wine, then immediately began helping someone else.

“Let’s go,” he told Rey, ignoring the calculating looks they were getting from some of the others in the crowd. He pushed toward the door, Rey again right behind him, and finally they were back out into the soft D’Qar evening. Glancing at her once more, he headed toward the edge of the base, slipping between a mech shed and the base laundromat, and following the path that led up the hill behind it. It was dusk and there was still enough light for them to see by, but full night was coming. Poe wasn’t worried, as he had his glowstick with him, but he also knew both moons would be rising soon, providing enough light for them, especially as he knew for a fact that Rey’s night vision was almost as good as his own.

They reached the top of the hill and Poe turned to look back down from where they had come. Rey also turned, and he watched as one of her rare, amazing smiles appeared on her face.

“This is wonderful!” she said, her voice a bit breathy. “You can almost see the whole base from here!” She looked at Poe, her eyes bright in the fading twilight.

Poe smiled back, then sat down on the soft grass, careful not to spill his drink. As he set the bottle of wine next to him, Rey sat down cross-legged on his other side. “I’m surprised you haven’t found your way up here before now,” he told her, taking a sip of his drink. “You seem to go out on walk-abouts by yourself quite frequently.”

She glanced at him, then looked away with a slightly embarrassed expression. “I overheard that this place was for… well, intimate rendezvous.”

Poe frowned. He had never heard that. “Whose intimate rendezvous?”

Rey glanced at him again. “Well, more than one person, but your name was included.”

He started laughing and Rey focused on him, a small smile on her face. He shook his head. “I don’t know what you overheard, but I’ve never rendezvoused with anyone up here, and I don’t know of anyone else who has, but I guess anything is possible.” He looked around as he took another drink. “It’s kind of rocky. I wouldn’t think it would be comfortable.”

Rey giggled, and when he looked at her again, he thought that maybe there was a bit of relief in her smile. He nodded toward her drink. “Try it. But go slow. You won’t taste the alcohol, but it’s in there. Drink too fast and you’ll regret it.”

She nodded, then took a sip. Her eyes widened in surprise, and she took another one. Licking her lips, she looked at Poe. “It tastes just like sweetened loloberries.”

Poe shifted, trying not to focus too much on her lips. Or how they would taste with Loloberry Surf on them.

“Tell me about Yavin IV,” Rey said suddenly, taking another sip of her Surf.

Poe looked at her, surprised. “Are you sure you want to get me started?” He loved nothing more than talking about Yavin, but no one in his acquaintance had ever been interested.

She smiled. “Yes, I do.”

And so, he told her about his home. The little house he grew up in, learning to fly with his mother in her A-Wing, learning about wilderness survival and self-defense from his father, and learning about love from several unrequited crushes through his teenage years. He talked about the Uneti Tree and woolamanders and how during the rainy season it was so humid you never felt dry. He told her about anything that came to mind, spurred on by a question here and there from her, while the smaller of D’Qar’s moons rose.

They finished their mixed drinks and without thought Poe opened the bottle of wine and filled their now empty glasses, and as the second moon rose, he told Rey it was her turn, and she told him stories of her years scavenging, about the ships she had become so familiar with, and the people she had met, their languages and customs all so different and fascinating. She may have lived most of her life alone in a demanding environment, but she had learned far more than Poe had given her credit for. No wonder she had adapted so easily.

They were well into the bottle of wine when he found himself staring at her face, his eyes tracing the smooth, graceful lines that were currently being highlighted by the two glowing moons. She was staring at those moons, her eyes huge and luminous.

“Beautiful,” she whispered.

“Yes,” Poe replied, not looking away from her.

She blinked, then turned to look at him. She was so close, her lips just centimeters away. He wouldn’t have to move hardly at all to…

Before he could even finish the thought, her lips were on his, soft and sweet, just as he had imagined earlier. He leaned in, adding pressure to the kiss, then carefully opened his mouth, letting his tongue taste her gently. Slowly. With a sigh, she opened her own mouth, and soon their tongues were tangling in an erotic dance that made Poe’s blood sing. Force, it was even better than he had ever imagined.

Suddenly, Rey moved, getting up on her knees and straddling his lap, her hands gripping his shoulders firmly. He reacted without thought, wrapping his arms tight around her, pulling her closer. He groaned as her center settled down over his crotch and his growing erection. She wiggled her hips, a soft moan emanating from her mouth, and his tongue dived deep once more, tasting a hint of loloberry underneath the wine.

The wine.

Thinking about the wine made his fuzzy head clear a bit. What the hell was he doing?

He pulled back. “Rey?” he gasped as she tried to follow him. He grasped her shoulders gently. “Rey, stop.”

She did so, pulling back and looking at him with a confused expression. “Why?” she whispered harshly.

“You’re drunk,” he said. “I’m drunk.” He took a deep breath and let it out. “This isn’t the time or place for this. You’re…”

“I’m what?” Her voice was a bit more steady now.

“You’re not thinking straight. You’re…” he licked his lips. “You’re not ready.”

She stared at him for a long time, then her eyes shifted away from his and she pushed herself off of him. “You don’t want me.” There was no expression in her voice.

He huffed a laugh. “Yeah, that’s not it.” He ran a hand over his face, trying to get his body under control. “You’re under my command and you’re drunk and you’re inexperienced… and this just isn’t right.”

She wasn’t looking at him. She was staring down at the base, her eyes blinking rapidly. “You don’t want me.”

How could she believe that? “Rey…”

“It’s okay,” she interrupted him. She pushed herself up onto her feet a bit unsteadily, and he was once more assured he had been right in stopping. “I understand,” she told him, looking down at him, but not meeting his eyes. “I’m young and inexperienced, as you said. That’s not your thing.” She nodded and licked her lips nervously. “I’m so sorry to make you uncomfortable, Commander. It won’t happen again.” With that, she turned and began walking down the hill.

“Rey!” Poe scrambled to his feet, grabbing up their glasses and the mostly empty wine bottle as he did so, and began to follow her. The moons were indeed bright enough to light their path, but it was still dark and he was still intoxicated, so he walked carefully, keeping her in sight but not trying to talk to her. As she reached the bottom of the hill and slipped back between the two buildings, she turned toward the pilot’s quarters. Poe had a private room in the same building, so he silently followed her. The base was shockingly quiet, and though he didn’t know the time, Poe figured it was well after midnight.

They reached the residence and Rey glanced back at him before entering the building. He continued to follow her to the door to her quarters and she stopped before pressing the entry pad. They were both silent for a long while.

“Goodnight, Commander Dameron,” she said softly. Though she used his formal title, the tone of her voice was intimate. “Thank you. I enjoyed tonight.” She finally looked at him, and he could see the sincerity in her eyes.

“I did, too,” he told her. He wanted to say more. To apologize. To try and explain that while he did want to make love to her, he just… couldn’t. But he was really having a hard time believing his excuses himself, so why would she believe him? “Rey, please know that I am your friend as well as your commanding officer, and that you can tell me anything. You can trust me.”

She smiled, but it was a sad smile. “I know.” She took a deep breath and looked down. “I’m sorry I… expected more.” She looked back up, her expression almost lost. “Goodnight.” She pressed the door pad and it slid open. Without another word, she slipped inside and the door closed behind her.

Poe stood there for a long time before he headed to his quarters, wondering if he had just made the biggest mistake of his life.

******

Rey felt the shift in her relationship with Poe after that night as if it was a physical thing. By all outward appearances, nothing had changed. Poe still talked to her like he used to, he still teased her during briefings and still offered up protective comments and reminders over the comm when she was on patrol. He still called her Rey rather than by her new commissioned rank of Ensign.

But he didn’t join her for meals anymore. He didn’t touch her shoulder or arm or the small of her back when they walked somewhere together. He never let themselves be alone, always leaving the room in a rush when he realized that was about to happen. And when he looked at her, there was an emptiness in his eyes that matched the emptiness in her heart.

She had ruined their friendship by kissing him that night. It was all her fault. Karè had been wrong. Poe had no interest in her romantically. He was not in love with her.

Rey tried her best to keep busy. When she wasn’t flying, she was working on the ships with Rose, or learning about other operations on the base. She befriended Beaumont Kin, a new volunteer, who had a penchant for Jedi history, and found the things he told her fascinating. She had heard stories about Luke Skywalker and the Jedi her whole life, of course, just as she had heard stories about the Empire and Darth Vader, but knowing most of those stories were true had been mind-blowing.

And when she learned their General, the creator and leader of this militia she had joined, was a daughter of Darth Vader, and sister to the mythical Luke Skywalker…

It was just a little more than a month since the ‘incident on the hill,’ as Rey had taken to calling it in her head, when Leia sent half of Poe’s squadron to Patrona. The First Order had decided they hadn’t wanted to pay for the specialized bacta the small Outer Rim planet was known for and had razed the village they had acquired it from instead. Those that had survived where planning on heading to Hosnian Prime to speak to the Senate, most of which was still denying the First Order was anything to fear. Leia wanted to make sure the group made it to the Hosnian System without any problem. Once there, friends of Leia’s, who supported her Resistance, would take over their protection. Poe was ordered to protect them until they made it to hyperspace, just in case the First Order had heard of their decision to speak to the Senate and tried to prevent them from leaving Patrona.

Rey was on tenterhooks the whole flight to Patrona, but she honestly wasn’t sure if it was her foresight coming into play, or her nerves about actually flying with Poe for the first time since her early days with the Resistance. She focused on her breathing, trying to calm herself, not wanting to give any warnings unless she was sure the threat was real. As they arrived at Patrona, she felt herself calm and she did not feel any urge to run, so she assumed it was just her nerves about flying with Poe.

Poe and Snap flew down to the surface to meet with the survivors while the others kept up a patrol route in orbit, and soon the transport appeared, flanked by the two X-Wings. The rest of the squadron followed suit, following the transport until the hyperspace coordinates were set. Poe talked to the pilot of the transport continually, his voice soothing and confident, and when the heartfelt “thank you” came from the pilot just before they made the jump, Rey felt her heart rate slow to a normal pace.

Mission accomplished.

Suddenly, Rey felt that calm that had enveloped her shatter.

“Poe!” she called out, disregarding propriety by not using his rank. “They’re coming!”

Without any hesitation, Poe’s voice came over the comm, no longer soothing. “Heads up and eyes sharp!” He swooped around to face the planet again. “Form up!” The five ships moved into formation behind his X-Wing. “Stay with your wingman and make the jump to the rendezvous point as soon as I give the word.” More quietly, she heard him say, “I wanna see what they sent for this.”

What they sent was an Arauitens-class Command Ship, a relic from the Imperial Navy that had obviously been refitted and updated.

“Aw, Kriff!” Poe’s exclamation was echoed by a couple more curses from his pilots. “Break off!” he called as several TIE fighters appeared from the Command ship’s hanger bay. “Make the jump as soon as you’re clear!”

Rey followed Jess as she peeled off, but her eyes followed Poe as he and Snap swooped up and away. She focused on her own ship and Jess’, and within moments the TIE’s were on them. Shouts and warnings flew over the comm as they engaged the TIEs. Rey had taken out two and Jess had destroyed one when she heard Karè’s steady voice over the comm. “Jumping now.”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the flash of two fighters entering hyperspace. “Poe?” she heard Snap ask.

“Go!” was Poe’s response, and Rey barely registered another X-Wing jumping. Two more TIEs were dogging her and Jess, but then suddenly Poe appeared above and to their right. One of the TIEs blew apart and the other broke off. With a growl, Rey moved her ship up with the intent to circle around after the remaining TIE. “Stay with your wingman, Ensign!” Poe’s voice demanded.

With a huff, Rey obeyed.

“There’s another squad coming,” Poe said, his voice steady. “Let’s get out of here.”

Rey keyed in the coordinates for the rendezvous point, a spot in the middle of nowhere where the pilots could converge and make sure they weren’t followed before they made the final jump to the base.

“Jumping!” Jess called, and Rey watched her ship slide into hyperspace as she pulled her own lever, looking over her shoulder at the last second at Poe’s ship. He better damn well be following, she thought. Then she was in hyperspace, the crazy kaleidoscope surrounding her almost tranquilizing in its familiarity. She closed her eyes and started taking deep breaths.

Poe should have jumped with Snap. He was supposed to jump with his wingman. Instead, he had come back to help her and Jess. Because that’s what he did, without fail. Help anyone in need when he could, even if it was two of his best pilots during a dogfight. Force, she hated him as much as she loved him.

The alert sounded that told her she was near her coordinates, and she cued the ship to pull out of lightspeed. Snap, Karè, Tallie and Jess were already there. She looked over her right shoulder, the seconds taking forever. Finally, Black One was next to her.

“Whew!” Poe exclaimed. “That was a rush!”

“Feck off, Dameron!” Snap complained, but Rey could hear the smile in his voice. “Freaking adrenaline addict!”

“Aren’t we all?” Karè asked, and Rey couldn’t miss the affection in her voice.

They sat quietly for a few minutes, checking for any damage to their ships that hadn’t been noted before the jump, then when they were sure no one had predicted their route and followed them, they jumped to base.

The six of them all met in the ready room where they made their official report to Leia. After asking a few pointed questions, Leia reassured everyone by telling them the Patrona survivors had made it safely to Hosnian Prime. “Looks like the First Order was just a little too slow this time,” she said softly. “You’re dismissed.”

Everyone began to shuffle out of the room, looking forward to showers, food, sleep, alcohol, or a combination of. Rey glanced at Poe, who was watching her with an unreadable expression, then stopped when Leia called her name.

“Can I have a word with you, please?”

Rey nodded and turned back toward her General. Though she wasn’t looking at him, she could feel Poe’s gaze still on her. He was the last one to leave the room, closing the door behind him.

Rey stopped in front of Leia. “Sit down,” the older woman told her, motioning to one of the chairs that sat around the long, worn table. “I have a couple of personal questions for you.”

Swallowing nervously, Rey sat.

“First, what’s going on with you and Poe? He won’t tell me anything.”

Rey took a deep breath. “It’s my fault,” she said in a rush. “I made advances on him when we were both drunk and now, he’s uncomfortable around me. He probably thinks I think he encouraged me, but he didn’t! It’s all my fault and I’ve ruined our friendship and he won’t even let himself be alone in the same room with me and I miss our friendship and it’s all my fault.” She ran out of breath.

“Are you finished?” Leia had a smirk on her face.

Rey felt her face heat as she nodded.

“First of all, it’s not your fault, Rey. Poe does care for you, I know this for a fact, but he thinks he’s protecting you by not becoming involved with you.”

“Protecting me? From what?”

Leia laughed softly. “Himself?” She shook her head and sighed. “He’s being stubborn and single-minded and I have faith he will eventually come around. Don’t give up on him, Rey.”

Rey grimaced but stayed silent. She didn’t want to give up on Poe, but why continue to focus on a man that didn’t want you?

“In the meantime, you’ve become good friends with Beau, haven’t you?”

Rey nodded.

“Maybe that’s a good thing.”

Rey frowned. “Oh, I don’t feel even a fraction of that attraction for Beau,” she argued.

“Yeah, but Poe doesn’t know that.” Leia’s grin was downright naughty.

Rey couldn’t help but giggle.

“Next question,” Leia continued. “I know you were on Jakku by yourself and you’ve called yourself an orphan, but what do you know of your parents? Do you remember them?”

Rey was a bit surprised by the change in subject, but she took a deep breath, more comfortable with this question than the last. “I don’t remember my father at all. I barely remember my mother. I was maybe five when she left me in the care of so-called friends. I’m not sure if they got word my mother wasn’t coming back or if they just got tired of waiting, but it was less than a year later when they sold me to Unkar Plutt.”

Leia frowned and folded her arms in front of her.

“She told me she would come back for me, and that she would bring my father with her, but…” Rey trailed off, shrugging.

“And that’s who you were waiting for when Poe found you.” It wasn’t a question.

Rey nodded. “Why are you asking about them?

“Your foresight, Rey. It’s an extension of your natural control of the Force, and it’s powerful. Have you always had it?”

Rey nodded slowly. “I once ignored the feeling of something being wrong when I was searching through the wreck of a Star Destroyer. My line broke and I fell almost fifty feet. I could have died, but I landed on a pile of old hoses. I was still pretty beat up.” She paused. “You think I can use the Force? Like a Jedi?”

Leia nodded. “I know you can. And in my experience, strength like yours is usually hereditary, which is why I was asking about your parents.” She paused. “I’d like to train you.”

Rey stared at her. “You mean you’re a Jedi, like your brother?”

Leia smiled. “No, but I did train with him. I knew my path was meant to be different, so I didn’t complete my training, but I know enough to teach you the basics.” She tilted her head, giving Rey a small smile. “If you trust the daughter of a Sith Lord and the mother of the Master Ren.”

Rey’s shock continued. “Kylo Ren..?” she whispered.

“Is my son, Ben Solo.” Leia’s expression turned mournful for a moment, but then she stood tall. “It’s a long story, and I’ll tell it to you some day, but for now, let’s concentrate on you. If I can get you started on your training, then when we finally find Luke, he can complete it.” She held out her hand toward Rey. “What do you say?”

Biting her lower lip, Rey took Leia’s hand. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

******

The next few months were so busy and full that Poe felt they went by as fast as the legendary Millenium Falcon at lightspeed.

While he remained Commander of all the fighter squads in the Resistance, Leia put Snap in direct command of them, which allowed Poe the freedom to do more than your average fighter pilot. Namely, he took command of the Resistance’s Intelligence division, a small but very dedicated group of people and droids. He helped establish a spy droid network with Threepio in control. Though the golden protocol droid still told anyone who would listen that he was not programed for espionage, he had proven time and time again that he was good at it.

It was Threepio that found out about the possible location of Luke Skywalker, and the existence of the map that showed the way to the mysterious planet Luke had apparently found and was now hiding on.

Poe found himself off-world more often than not during those crazy months, watching as the First Order seemed to gain more and more of a foothold in the oblivious galaxy. Leia still had close friends in the senate who kept her updated on the activities in the government, and Korr Sella, one of Leia’s most trusted Commanders, made sure Leia was appraised of anything the government either wasn’t aware of or tried to ignore, like more and more Centrist support of the First Order. Poe checked in with Korrie on a regular basis, making sure she still felt safe in her position. After all, she was not spying; everyone on Hosnian Prime knew who she worked for.

The few times Poe had a chance to spend time on D’Qar, always at Leia’s insistence (“Rest, recuperate. I can’t afford to have you drop from exhaustion, Commander”), he spent half of his time with his pilots, and the other half with Rey. Or at least watching Rey.

She was in training to be a Jedi now, and while she still flew missions with his team, she spent at least an hour or two every day with the General, learning how to use those special abilities of hers. Levitating objects, ‘calling’ them to her from distances, jumping and climbing with more power than a human naturally had… Poe found it fascinating to see how much Rey could do. He had always known that Leia had the ability to use the Force, but had never seen her do so. But now he was awed by not only his General’s ease with this mysterious power, but by his new pilot’s quick study of it. He shouldn’t be surprised, of course. Rey had learned how to be a fighter pilot in record time, too.

Because he was gone so much, Rey always seemed extraordinarily happy to see him when he was on-world, and it was a feeling that Poe reciprocated. The uneasiness that had developed between them after their drunken make-out session was eased, and the friendship that had been there from day one strengthened once more. Of course, that didn’t mean there wasn’t any tension between them. Oh, no! Poe still desired her with an intensity that scared him, but because he didn’t want to scare her, he kept it in check. He often suspected that, though she was always so happy to see him when he was there, her feelings for him had finally changed. That she no longer saw him as anything other than her friend and commanding officer.

But then there were the times he would catch her staring at him, her countenance much more serious than normal, a fire in her gaze that sent a pleasant chill up his spine. Then she would blink and seem to become aware she was staring. Her expression would turn embarrassed as she looked away, glancing at him once more with a look of yearning so strong it humbled him. As much as he loved his team, as much as he loved and respected Leia, it was Rey he missed the most when he was gone.

It was the day that Leia called Poe into her office to ask him to go back to Jakku that Poe knew something big was about to happen. Of course, he couldn’t have imagined just how big at the time.

Lor San Tekka was an old acquaintance of Leia’s, and rumor had it he had the map that would lead to the mysterious planet Luke resided on. Poe was tasked with finding Tekka and bringing that map back to the Resistance. His last known location just happened to be on Jakku, though the village he lived in was a long way from Niima.

Poe was getting his belongings together in his quarters when Rey appeared, softly knocking on the frame of his open door.

“Hey,” he said, but the smile he had ready for her quickly faded when he recognized her troubled expression. “What’s wrong?”

She took a deep breath. “You’re going on another mission for Leia?” she asked softly.

He nodded. “Yeah. We may have a lead on Luke’s whereabouts.”

She seemed startled by his words, but then she frowned. “I wish…”

He tilted his head. “You wish what?”

She swallowed nervously. “I have a bad feeling about it, but I can’t tell you why and I wish I could.” She shrugged. “I don’t want you to be distracted wondering why I’m worried, but I couldn’t let you leave without saying something.” She looked miserable.

“Hey!” he said, stepping toward her and grasping her shoulders gently. “I’ll be extra careful, I promise.” He gave her a soft smile and a gentle squeeze. “You’ll be interested to know I’m going back to a place you’re very familiar with,” he continued, determined to change the subject.

She frowned, tilting her head at him. “Jakku?”

He nodded. “Of course, I won’t be anywhere near Niima, but I can probably stop by if you want me to pick up anything.”

She scoffed and smiled at his sarcasm. “Yeah, I don’t think so. Just bring yourself back safely.”

“I will,” he said firmly, focusing on her beautiful eyes. “I’ve got too much waiting for me here.” He paused and pursed his lips. “Do you worry about Beau as much when he goes off-world?” he teased, trying to hide the jealousy he felt.

She rolled her eyes. “First of all, when Beau goes off-world, he’s not going into danger. And second, we’re just friends.” Poe had known she was spending more time with Leia’s glorified secretary, and he also knew the young man was very attracted to Rey. However, Rey never seemed as invested in Beau as he was in her. Hearing Rey say it out loud made him feel better. However…

“You could do a lot worse, Rey,” he said, becoming serious.

Her lips tightened. “He’s handsome, he’s smart, he’s funny, but I could never look at him that way,” she said. “Not when you look at me the way you’re looking at me right now.”

“Rey,” he started, but she stepped forward, bringing her lips to his, silencing him.

He let himself sink into her kiss, the first they had shared since that night on the hillside. Yes, she was still too young for him, and yes, he was still her Commanding Officer, but he was so tired of fighting his feelings for her. And it was pretty obvious now that she still had those same feelings for him.

He took his time kissing her, letting his tongue tangle with hers as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. After a long time, she pulled back, only to wrap her arms tight around his middle and lay her head on his shoulder, hugging him close. “May the Force be with you, Poe,” she whispered.

“It is,” he told her confidently. “As long as you’re on my side, the Force will be with both of us.”

******

The next several days were probably the most nerve-wracking that Rey had ever experienced.

Every day before she started her training with Leia she asked about Poe. Every day Leia would answer, “Nothing yet. It’s still early.” But after the 4th day, Rey could feel the change in her mentor; Leia was beginning to worry.

On day five, the rumor that the First Order had captured a ‘rebel pilot’ was spreading. No other information was available, but Rey was convinced it was indeed Poe. When Leia asked her if she was sensing anything, knowing her feelings for the Commander, Rey admitted that she had felt that something bad was going to happen even before he left D’Qar. The night before, she had dreamt of horrendous pain, and though she hadn’t seen or felt Poe distinctly in the dream, she was sure it was coming from him.

“At least that means he’s still alive, right?” she asked.

Leia shrugged, her expression weary. “I’ve experienced Imperial torture,” she said softly. “If the First Order is continuing with those techniques, Poe may be wishing he was dead.”

That night, Rey attempted to do something she had never tried before. She tried to search for Poe in the Force. She already knew his Force presence was strong, and she knew her connection to him was also strong, but all she felt were intense feelings of pain.

The next day, Rey was prepared to jump in her X-Wing and head back to a planet she never thought she would set foot on again, but Leia refused to let her go. “There’s nothing you can do, Rey, if you could even find out where he is. Have faith in his strength and determination. Don’t give up on him, yet!”

On day seven, Rey was just leaving her quarters after another mostly sleepless night when she felt a surge of excitement from Leia. Almost immediately, her commlink chirped. She grabbed it up. “Yes?”

“Come to Command, right away,” Leia told her. “I have a mission for you.”

Rey ran all the way, ignoring the startled and curious looks of the other Resistance members as she passed them. She ran down the stairs into the bunker, found Leia, and walked swiftly over to her. She couldn’t hide the hope she was feeling, and Leia’s soft smile only made it grow.

“Ensign, I want you and Sargent Rosetta to take a shuttle to Jakku, a settlement called Glacken. Are you familiar with it?”

Rey nodded. “I’ve heard of it.”

Leia smiled again. “Commander Dameron is waiting there for pickup.”

Rey couldn’t stop the cry of relief.

“He escaped with the help of a defecting stormtrooper. They were shot down and he ejected his companion, but managed to ‘sort of land’ the TIE they stole. His words. Fortunately, he was found fairly quickly by, of course, a scavenger.”

“Of course,” Rey laughed.

“Go get him,” Leia told her with another smile.

Rey nodded and turned to head out, smiling at Riva Rosetta as the tech moved to follow her, and she heard Leia continue talking to other members of her staff behind her.

“Get everyone in our network on the lookout for BB-8. Poe said he put the map in his droid and sent him away before he was captured. We need to find him.”

Rey and Riva headed up the stairs and out of the bunker. Leia’s overheard words ran through Rey’s head. Without a doubt once they got Poe back safe, he would be volunteering to help look for his droid, no matter what his physical condition might be. Not only did they all know how important that map was, but Poe loved BB-8.

Rey turned in the direction of the one ship she knew was ready to go. The Aeolian was a plain looking shuttle of unknown age or origin. It was the perfect ship to visit a backwater (or would it be backdesert?) world such as Jakku to pick up a spy. Nobody would notice it. Once aboard, Rey ran the pre-flight check while Riva asked flight control for permission to take off. Permission was granted immediately, so as soon as the engines were at full power, off they went.

The hyperspace trip to Jakku was a little over three hours. Rey and Riva used that time to change into civilian clothing, and then spent an hour or so playing a half-hearted game of sabacc. After that, Rey began to pace in the small space while Riva tried to nap in the copilot’s seat. When the alert sounded informing them they were coming up on their destination and Rey rushed to the pilot’s seat, Riva smiled at her.

“Anxious to see Jakku again?”

Rey hadn’t even given a thought to the fact that she was going back to the planet that Poe had found her on almost a year earlier. She looked Riva in the eye. “Anxious to see Poe.”

She could tell by the tilt of her lips that Riva was about to say something sarcastic, but then her eyes narrowed and she cocked her head at Rey. She opened her mouth to ask something, but then shut it and simply nodded. Rey knew rumors about she and Poe had circulated around the base for months, but since the only time they had ever been alone together had been that night on the hillside, and she was pretty sure nobody had seen them, the rumors remained just rumors.

After today, Rey was quite okay with everyone in the Resistance knowing her true feelings for Commander Poe Dameron.

She hoped Poe was okay with it, too.

The Aeolian dropped out of hyperspace and the bright yellow orb of Jakku was in front of them. Rey quickly got to work on the ship’s computer, inputting the coordinates to Glacken, which she had determined at the beginning of their trip, and then sent the ship in the direction the computer told them to go. There was no need to contact planetary control for permission to land here; there was none.

Soon, they were swooping low over the barren desert, the small village of Glacken a barely-there dark spot on the glowing sands. She landed a couple of hundred yards away, knowing the residents probably wouldn’t want any extra sand kicked up on their shelters. Her heart racing now, Rey quickly ran through the shut-down procedures, her fingers flying over the controls. She glanced at Riva, who gave her another solemn nod, then got up and rushed to the hatch.

As the ramp dropped down, she could see him standing by one of the tents, his hands on his hips, his head held high. He was wearing the same civilian clothing he had left in, sans the jacket, and she couldn’t tell for sure but he looked unhurt. She skipped down the ramp and walked swiftly toward him, and as she did so she saw his eyes close and his arms drop to his side. His body seemed to droop in relief, but then he opened his eyes and began walking toward her.

As she got closer, she could see the evidence of the torture she had dreamt about. His shirt was a wrinkled mess with sweat stains under his arms. His hair was windblown and chaotic. A fresh cut was visible on his right cheek, another on his lower lip, and his left temple was bruised. There were dark circles under his eyes and he looked exhausted. He moved with a certain amount of caution, as if he was in pain, but as he got closer, that familiar and beloved smile lit up his drained face, the laugh lines around his eyes deepening.

Rey couldn’t stop a soft cry from escaping, not sure if it was a laugh or a sob, and she broke into a run the last few feet. He opened his arms and caught her, hugging her close, burying his face in her neck.

“Fancy meeting you here,” he mumbled against her skin.

She laughed, bringing her fingers up to run them through his hair. “You know I’ll always come for you, right?”

He pulled back, his grin taking on a wry twist. “Oh, I hope so, Sunshine. I hope so.”

Rey felt her face heat as she repeated her words in her head, but then she didn’t think at all as he brought his lips to hers.

******

There was no shower on the shuttle, but there was a large quantity of fresh water, which was more than the scavengers who had found him wandering the desert had. While he had managed to wipe off most of the dried blood before rescue had arrived, it wasn’t until they had settled into hyperspace that Rey was able to take out the medpack and clean up his face. His whole body ached and his head felt as if it was about to explode, most likely due to the combination of dehydration and whatever Ren had done to him. He shuddered as he remembered the insidious feeling of something foreign crawling through his brain.

Rey noticed his unconscious tremor. “Are you okay?”

Her voice was soft and concerned. He opened his eyes and tried to smile. “I need some sleep,” he told her. “I don’t know how long I was unconscious, but it wasn’t restful.” He winked.

She scoffed and shook her head. “I don’t imagine it was.”

“What day is it?” he asked her, suddenly realizing he had no clue how long he had been a prisoner, either.

Rey told him the standard date. Not as long as he had feared, but still too long, he thought. “I don’t suppose you know if they’ve heard anything about BB-8?”

Rey shook her head. “They haven’t messaged us, but Leia’s got everyone on the lookout.”

“I’m sure the First Order does as well,” he mumbled, grimacing. “I… I did my best to not let them know what I did with the map, but…” He closed his eyes again, the pain in his head intensifying once more.

“It looks like they did a number on you,” Rey said softly. “Leia said… it’s bad. What they do.”

He swallowed and looked at her. “Yeah, but that wasn’t the worst. I handled that. It was Ren that finished me.”

Rey tilted her head at him. “What do you mean? What did he do?”

He focused on her. “He got in my head,” he whispered. “Using the Force.”

Rey drew back, horror on her face. “How?”

“I don’t know.” He blinked rapidly. “He focused on the map, and knew right away what I had done with it. But then he…” He took a deep breath. “He knows about you. He knows you’re training with Leia to become a Jedi.” Poe remembered seeing shock on the man’s face as he drew back, the intense pain easing. He had almost collapsed with relief, but he was still aware of Ren’s muttered, “I’ll have to arrange a meeting with this Jedi.”

“Once he gets that map, he’ll come after you.”

Rey looked unsettled for a moment, but then she reached forward, carefully brushing his hair away from the sore on his temple. “Well, I wish him luck,” she said softly. “We’ve still got more than two hours. Why don’t you sleep?”

And he did.

Rey woke him as they were entering D’Qar’s atmosphere, and Poe was up quickly, shaking off the pain and fatigue that had been alleviated only slightly by his nap. Rey watched him with concerned eyes, but didn’t say anything as she sat back in the pilot’s seat and took over the landing procedure from Riva.

Leia was waiting for them on the tarmac, and Poe could tell from the expression on her face that she had news, but when he stepped off the ramp, instead of saying anything, she walked over to him and grabbed his shoulders lightly. She looked up at him, her eyes huge and full of relief. He closed his eyes and lowered his head, resting his forehead against hers, and she squeezed his shoulders gently, her own eyes closed. Finally, she took a deep breath, rubbed her hands along his arms briskly and pulled back.

“You look like hell, Dameron,” she said wryly, blinking rapidly. “Get to the infirmary and have them look you over.”

He nodded, but then asked, “Any word on BB-8?”

“You get looked at first, and if they give you the go-ahead, get back to Command.”

“General…”

She interrupted. “And they will let me know if they’ve given you the go-ahead,” she warned. “Go.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

She turned to Rey as Poe made his way toward the infirmary. His whole being told him to rest, to recover, to sleep. But he couldn’t. Not yet. Kalonia better give him the go-ahead.

Thirty-minutes later, with both a pain injection and a stimulant injection on board, as well as a strict verbal warning from the doc, Poe had the go-ahead, and he hurried as quickly as his tired legs would let him. When he made his way down the stairs to Command, he noticed Snap, Brance, and Ematt already there, as was Rey. They watched him as he entered the room, but though he gave Rey a glance, his focus was on Leia.

She frowned at him, but he simply raised his chin in response. She sighed heavily, then looked around the room at her officers. “One of Threepio’s spy droids spotted a droid fitting BB-8’s description on Takodana.”

Poe looked around and saw more than a few confused expressions. “Takodana? Isn’t that where Maz Kanata has her place?” He had met Maz a couple of times. Though the old pirate had refused to give her full allegiance to the Resistance, she had been the source of more than a few helpful bits of information for them in the past. “How did he get there?”

“Good question. Let’s go get him so we can ask him.” Leia nodded. “Let’s go in prepared for a fight. If we know he’s there, I’m sure the First Order does, too.” With one last nod, Leia sent them out. “Poe, a word.”

Both Rey and Snap slowed down, looking back as they left, worried expressions on their faces.

Poe stood still and waited until he and Leia were alone, then he looked her in the eye. “I’m fine, General. I’m alert and my thinking is clear and I want my droid back.” His voice was soft but firm.

“I know, Commander,” Leia answered. “And I’m not going to stop you. I just want to be sure you know that finding BB-8 and that map isn’t going to be the end. That this is far from over, and you’re going to drop at some point if you don’t make yourself rest.”

He nodded. “I promise, I will-“

One of the technicians suddenly rushed in, a panicked expression on his face. “General! We just got word!”

“What is it, Tilo?”

The man took a deep breath. “The Hosnian System has been destroyed.”

******

Rey watched as Poe entered the pilot’s locker room. He glanced at her briefly, then headed for the sonic shower. She was already in her flight suit, so she called to him, “I’ll get a droid to prep Black One.”

He stopped, “I don’t need…”

“Yes, you do,” she cut him off. “Go shower, I’ll make sure your ship is ready.” She left the room and headed for the droid pool, not waiting for a response. “Sandy,” she called as she entered the room. R3-B3 disengaged from the charging port and rolled forward immediately, chirping happily. “Go get the ship ready,” she told him. “I’ll be there in a bit.” As her droid rolled out, she glanced around at the other droids. Most of the pilots had already come to retrieve their preferred astromech, so she knew she could choose from those that remained.

Her eye focused on the red and black droid towards the back of the room. “R0-H2, right?” she asked, and the droid beeped an affirmative. “You match the ship, so why don’t you go with Commander Dameron on this trip?”

Instantly, the droid started squealing in protest.

“What?” Rey exclaimed, surprised at the droid’s defiance. “What do you mean you’re not flying that ship?” Several of the other droids began chirping, all of them saying similar things. Rey closed her eyes and shook her head. “All right! All right! Settle down!”

She squatted down and motioned R0 over to her. “Roz,” she said, remembering the nickname one of the other pilots had given this droid. “We just got word that something very bad has happened. We need to find BB-8 and get the map that he is carrying, and Poe needs to be able to use his fighter. He can’t fly her alone.” She took a deep breath. “Now, I know you all seem to think Black One is…” she paused. “Insane. But you’ll be with Poe and he’ll keep you safe. For BB-8?”

Roz seemed to consider her words, then with a slight tremor, he rolled past her and headed for Black One.

With a sigh of her own, she turned away from the rest of the droids and headed for her own ship. Within minutes, she was in the cockpit and running through the pre-flight sequence. Sandy had run a diagnostic and the ship was ready to go. Suddenly, Poe’s voice came over her headset.

“Okay, everyone. You all got the news. We need to be on our toes out there. Coordinates for Takodana should be in your nav systems.” He paused and Rey called up the coordinates. “Our priority is BB-8 and the map, but someone helped him get to Takodana, and we’ve got to assume they’re friendlies and that’s why they took him to Maz, so we need to do our best to protect them, too.”

Several voices responded to his orders with affirmations, and then it was time for lift off. Once in the air and heading toward the stars, Rey keyed in Poe’s private comm. “So, when was the last time you wiped the memory of the computer on Black One?”

There was a pause. “It’s been a while,” Poe finally responded.

“The droids in the droid pool are terrified of her,” Rey said. “She’s not a droid that develops a personality if you don’t wipe her memory, Poe. She just becomes a pain in the ass to work with.”

Immediately, Poe became defensive. “You’ve seen how she flies!”

“I see how you fly her,” Rey corrected. “You can fly any ship like that. What you don’t need is your astromech spending half of its time fixing overburdened systems because you can’t be bothered to give your ship the appropriate maintenance.”

“Ouch!” Poe responded with a smile in his voice. “All right. As soon as we get a chance, I’ll have them do a wipe. But if she slows down or doesn’t maneuver like she should afterwards, I’m blaming you.” There was a click as he connected his comm to an open channel. “Okay, everyone, jump on my mark. See you on the flip side!”

They came out of hyperspace with some distance between them and the planet, wary of the First Order, and their caution was warranted.

“Star Destroyer,” Rey mumbled as they swooped toward the planet, making sure it was between them and the First Order ships already in orbit.

“Okay,” Poe said as they neared atmo. “Maz’ castle is on the water. I’m plotting us a route that will bring us in from the north. If we stay low over the lake, we should be able to stay off their sensors long enough for us to get an advantage. Expect TIEs as well as ground troops.”

“Do you think they have whatever weapon they used to destroy the Hosnian System with them?” Snap asked.

“Kriff, I hope not,” Poe muttered.

Soon the green forest they had been flying over changed to the smooth open expanse of a large lake. Rey’s sensors picked up several enemy fighters up ahead, and they could see flames coming from what they had already destroyed. “They must really want that map,” Rey said.

It was a rhetorical statement, but she heard Poe react with a soft, “Yeah.” Then his voice got louder. “But we want it, too.”

They were close enough to see what was left of Maz’ castle now, and the dozen or so TIEs that were still swooping around it.

“Go straight ahead and don’t let these dogs scare you!”

“Copy that!” Jess responded.

“We’re with you, Poe!” Snap added, and then there was no more talking as they engaged the TIEs.

Rey could see several stormtroopers on the ground, as well as several civilians who looked to be prisoners. She instinctively headed for them, and Poe shadowed her. Between the two of them, the stormtroopers standing guard were dispatched, and the civilians rushed for the fallen weapons. She concentrated on the TIEs, but got slightly distracted when Iolo shouted over the comm.

“Is that the Millennium Falcon?”

The Millennium Falcon? She’d heard of that ship.

“Well, that explains why BB-8 is here,” Poe said, a laugh in his voice. “The General is gonna be pissed.”

“Or maybe not,” Karè interjected. “It’s always been one way or the other with those two.”

Rey had no clue what they were all talking about. If memory served, the Millenium Falcon had achieved fame thanks to the smuggler turned rebel Han Solo. Which meant the General probably knew him. Or more?

Suddenly, a rather ominous looking Upsilon class shuttle rose from the surface behind the castle, flanked by several TIEs.

“Ren!” Poe said, venom in his voice.

“Should we go after him?” Snap asked.

“Negative!” Poe responded. “I just got a transmission from BB-8. He’s in the forest hiding, and the surviving civilians are safe. We’ve done our job. For now.” Rey could tell from the sound of his voice he would love nothing better than to blast that ship out of the sky, but it wouldn’t be an easy thing to do, and it wasn’t worth the effort right now.

“Transport Nakino preparing to land,” a new voice sounded over their coms. The General’s transport. “Commander, the General requests that your squad continue to patrol the area while she collects your droid and any survivors that want to come with us.” Violent attacks like this often brought about new members to the Resistance. If the destruction of Hosnia Prime didn’t scare them off.

“Copy that,” Poe answered. His voice sounded strange, but Rey didn’t get a sense that it was in reaction to his orders.

She switched to the private channel again. “Poe, what’s wrong?”

She heard him take a deep breath. “I thought I saw the trooper that rescued me down there on the surface. It surprised me, but it makes sense. He knew why I was going back for BB-8 before we crashed. He must be the reason BB-8 is safe.”

“That’s amazing,” Rey said. “Sounds like he’ll be a perfect fit for the Resistance.” She paused. “What’s the thing about the Falcon?” she asked.

A soft, humorless chuckle sounded in her ear. “Han Solo is the General’s husband, Rey. They’ve been separated for almost five years, now. It wasn’t a kind parting, but Force knows they could never be apart forever.”

“So, he’s Ren’s father?” Rey asked softly.

“Yeah,” Poe affirmed. “Ben and what he became is the reason they split.” There was definite sadness in Poe’s voice now, and Rey felt an almost overwhelming grief of her own at his words.

It looked like things were going to get very interesting in the days ahead.

******

It wasn’t too long of a wait before the command to head back to base was given, and Poe watched as both the Nakina and the Falcon soared up from the planet beneath them. He eyed the famous freighter, not for the first time wishing he could fly her; he’d had the same thoughts the few times he had seen her as a child. Some things you never grew out of.

Within minutes they were all jumping to hyperspace, heading back to D’Qar, and Poe began to work on his initial report of the brief but intense battle over Takodana. He had begun this habit all the way back in his New Republic days, because he hated doing reports and procrastinated doing them after he got back to base. Starting them while he wasn’t doing anything else in hyperspace, and while the situation he was reporting on was still fresh in his brain, kept him from delaying the final report. By the time they came out of hyperspace, the report was almost complete. He would just need to check the statistics and it would be final. He smiled slightly with the knowledge that there had been no casualties on the Resistance side of this battle.

As he flew Black One down to her normal docking space, his eyes scanned the area, focusing on Rey’s X-Wing as she also settled into her usual spot. He looked just past her and could see the Falcon had already landed, as had Leia’s shuttle. He proceeded to shut down the fighter, complimenting Roz as he did so, and couldn’t help but grin as he remembered Rey chiding him for not wiping the ship’s computer. BB-8 was always complaining about Black One, too. He should probably get around to doing that sooner rather than later.

He climbed down the ladder one of the techs, Eltoni, had put up against his ship and started removing his gloves and helmet, handing them to the young man. As he did so, he recognized the beautiful and much missed sounds of his droid. He turned to see BB-8 racing towards him, his happy beeps almost frenzied.

“BB-8, my buddy!” He kneeled down, making contact with his droid. “You made it! How did you do it?”

*Captain Solo and Chewbacca and Petty but mostly Finn* the droid sang. *Finn found me and stayed with me and kept me safe*

“Finn!” Poe smiled. So, it had been the young trooper he had seen on the Takodana surface. And Jenkins Petty had somehow gotten involved, too. He was probably the reason Han Solo and the Falcon were here; he and Solo had been friends during the war. “Where is Finn?” he asked his droid.

BB-8 looked toward the direction he had come, and Poe turned to see Finn already making his way toward them, shock evident on his face.

“Oh, kriff!” Poe exclaimed, standing and making his way toward the man who had saved his life.

“Poe?” Finn was saying. “Poe Dameron? You’re alive?”

They rushed toward each other and embraced. “So are you!” Poe exclaimed.

Finn pulled back, disbelief still on his face. “What happened to you?”

“What happened?” Poe started laughing. “I got thrown from the crash. I woke up at night. No you, no ship, nothing.” BB-8, who had followed Poe, twittered at them. Poe glanced at him, noticing Rey walking up to them slowly as he did so. He faced Finn. “BB-8 says that you saved him.”

Finn shook his head. “No, no, no, it wasn’t just me…”

“You completed my mission, Finn…” He was about to turn to look at Rey, who was almost upon them, when his brain registered the fact that Finn was wearing something very familiar. “That’s my jacket.”

Immediately, Finn started to remove the Runyip leather jacket. “Oh, here.”

Poe stopped him. “No, no, no. Keep it. It suits you.” Poe smiled again, amazed once more that both of them had somehow managed to survive the escape from the Finalizer. He glanced at Rey as she stopped next to them, her eyes curious, a small smile on her face. Poe smacked Finn’s shoulder good naturedly. “You’re a good man, Finn.”

“Finn?” Rey said. “You’re the one who saved Poe?”

The young man looked at her and suddenly became flustered. “Uh, no more than he saved me,” Finn said, and Poe grinned again, understanding Finn’s reaction. She could be dressed in a flimsy bag and she’d still be stunning with her unique eyes and bright smile.

Of course, he could be a bit biased.

“This is Rey, one of our best pilots and our resident Jedi-in-training.” He smiled again as Finn’s eyes widened almost comically, the awe on his face growing as he focused on Rey again. “Come on, I want to introduce you to the General.” He directed Finn toward the Command bunker, Rey and BB-8 following.

The Command Center was in chaos as those who had gone to Takodana returned to their on-site posts. Leia was talking animatedly to Snap, but when her gaze caught Poe’s, she motioned him over.

“We need to find out as much as we can about the weapon that destroyed the Hosnian System,” she was saying. “Immediately.”

Poe glanced at Finn, who looked excited. “I can help,” he said, but his voice was a bit uncertain.

“General, this is Finn,” Poe introduced him. “He can help.”

Leia focused on the young trooper. “Finn,” she nodded. “That was incredibly brave, what you did. Renouncing the First Order, saving this man’s life.” She reached forward and grasped Poe’s arm, squeezing it lightly.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Finn replied. “I used to work on Starkiller Base. That’s the weapon you’re looking for.”

“Starkiller?” Snap echoed. “Appropriate.”

“Can you tell us where it’s at?” Leia asked. “So, we can send in a reconnaissance?”

Finn nodded. “I’ll tell you as much as I can about it.”

Leia looked at him, her eyes grateful. “Thank you.” She turned to look behind her. “Admiral?” She looked back at Finn as Statura came up to them. “Finn, this is Admiral Statura. Can you tell him all you know?”

Finn nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” He looked at Poe and Poe smiled at him, clapping him on the back of the shoulder.

“Welcome home, buddy.”

Finn smiled at his words, then turned to follow Statura to Leia’s office, which was much quieter. Leia turned back toward the console and Poe realized a holo had appeared above it. While they had been talking to Leia, BB-8 had given the datachip Poe had given him on Jakku to Threepio, and the droid was analyzing it. Poe could tell immediately that the map was not complete. His heart sank.

He turned away as Threepio explained to the General that it was only a partial map and they would need the whole thing to find out how to get to the planet indicated. The planet that Luke Skywalker was supposedly on.

He looked at Rey who was staring at the holo in dismay. Poe could hear Leia talking, her voice despondent. “I can’t believe I was so foolish to think I could just find Luke and bring him home.”

He heard Han Solo’s voice reply. “Leia…” Poe hadn’t even realized the man was in the room. He turned to watch as Leia stalked away from her husband.

“Don’t do that.”

“Do what?” Han asked as he followed her, his expression exasperated.

“Anything!” Leia huffed as she moved to the other side of the room.

Han glanced back at Threepio who just shrugged, “Princesses,” then he followed Leia. Poe watched as they continued their conversation in the far corner, Leia facing her husband with a stubborn look on her face.

Poe turned away to allow them their privacy. At least they weren’t yelling at each other; he had witnessed a couple of rousing arguments between them in the past, though he would always remember what his father had told him after one of those. “Two people as stubborn and strong-willed as those two are bound to have some vigorous disagreements,” Kes had said. “But fortunately, their making up is just as vigorous.” He had winked at Poe, who at the time was just old enough to get what his father was telling him. And that had always been the case between Leia Organa and Han Solo. They would fight, and they would make up, and they would carry on.

Until Ben had fallen.

Han’s leaving and not coming back had been a shock to everyone who had known them. While Leia had been focused on the Resistance before the break, she had turned her complete attention to it afterward. Poe, who was still with the Navy at the time, recognized the change in her when she had made her first offer to him to resign his commission and join her Resistance. He had refused that first time.

But then Muran had died and everything started to fall apart. His distrust of his superiors and his anger toward the government he had sworn to protect sent him packing, and Leia had been his first – and last – stop. The Resistance had been his home ever since.

He looked at Rey, who was still watching Leia and Han with worried eyes.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, glancing over at the older couple.

“So much pain,” she said softly. “But so much love as well.”

Poe stared at her. “You can feel that?”

Rey nodded. “Leia’s not hiding much right now.” She looked at Poe. “You should get some sleep, Commander. You may not have another chance for a while.”

Poe felt exhaustion hit him hard at her words. He knew she was right. There wasn’t much to do right now until a recon of this Starkiller Base could be done. Finn would be given accommodations after his debrief, as would Jenkins Petty, and he knew they didn’t need him at the moment. He nodded and focused on Rey again. “Yeah, I think you’re right.” But still he hesitated.

She gave him a soft smile. “I’ll wake you myself as soon as we know more, Poe. I promise.”

Rey’s smile and the affection in her eyes were still on his mind as he finally drifted off to sleep fifteen minutes later.

******

Rey watched as Poe disappeared inside the pilot barracks, hoping he would finally get some decent sleep, then she turned back toward the doorway of the Command bunker. She had not been commed, so she assumed the General had already chosen someone else to do the recon on this Starkiller Base, and while she would have been happy to do it, a nap of her own sounded lovely. BB-8 rolled out the doorway as she watched, followed closely by Jenkins Petty.

“Jenkins!” she called out, smiling. The older man grinned and headed her way, BB-8 on his heels. Rey smiled down at the droid. “BB-8, Poe is finally resting, so why don’t you go to maintenance and get yourself an oil bath before you charge?”

BB-8 chirped a pleased response and quickly set off to do as she suggested. Jenkins watched him go, then looked back at Rey, shaking his head. “What’s this I hear about you training as a Jedi? I thought Dameron was just looking for a pilot when he came to Jakku last year.”

Rey shrugged, not sure she wanted to go into detail about her Jedi potential. “As I recall, you turned down his offer to join the Resistance that day. And yet, here you are.”

He huffed. “I happened to be in Niima Outpost when I saw a young stranger and a droid that looked suspiciously like the one the First Order had just sent out a search order for accosted by several of Plutt’s people,” Jenkins said with a smile. “I couldn’t very well ignore that.”

“How did Han Solo become involved?” Rey asked.

Jenkins laughed. “You don’t recognize the Falcon? I’m not surprised. I didn’t either.”

Rey cocked her head in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“The ship docked next to Plutt’s shop,” Jenkins continued.

Rey felt surprise fill her. “That was the Falcon?”

Jenkins nodded. “When we realized the First Order was already in Niima, Finn and I stole it to get off the planet. Apparently, when we reached space, a beacon that Solo installed years ago turned on. They were only a couple of systems away, so they high-tailed it in our direction.”

“Why didn’t he just bring BB-8 here to D’Qar?”

Jenkins grimaced. “I’m guessing it was because he didn’t want to run into his wife.”

Rey thought about the couple and remembered the high emotion she had felt coming from Leia. “I suppose you want to head back home, now, huh?”

“I already sent a message to Cara,” he said, speaking of his wife. “I let her know I’m going to stick around here for a bit.” He frowned, shaking his head. “After what happened to the Hosnian System, I’m going to do what I can to help you guys.”

“Thank you,” Rey told him, her gratitude sincere.

“Lieutenant Petty?” Commander D’Acy was standing by the entrance to the bunker with the young stormtrooper Finn. “I have a room where you two can freshen up and rest until the recon comes back,” she said.

Jenkins nodded at Rey. “I’ll see you later.” Then he headed after Larma.

Finn looked a little unsure as he turned to follow them, glancing at Rey. She nodded and gave him a smile. She wasn’t sure what the defector had decided about his future, but she was sure Leia had given him several options, including helping them in the coming fight. Rey wanted to make sure he felt welcome in the meantime. Her gratitude toward the man for saving Poe was strong, and she would do what she could to ensure Finn was comfortable. He gave her a soft smile in return, then followed the others toward the barracks.

Rey turned to find the General; she wanted to make sure she wasn’t needed before she got some rest herself. Snap stepped out of the bunker doorway and focused on her.

“Hey!” he said. “Poe getting some sleep, I hope?”

“Well, he went to his quarters, so we can both hope.”

Snap gave her a tired smile. “Well, we can, too. General’s orders. She wants us well rested and ready for whatever’s coming.”

Rey nodded. “I like that idea.” Together, they turned toward the barracks. Rey could already feel the pillow under her head.

Less than three hours later, her comm chirped, notifying her that the recon was back and all command personnel were required at a planning session in thirty minutes. Rey knew she was included; though she wasn’t part of command, her status as an almost-Jedi gave her access to the ‘important stuff.’ She quickly cleaned up and pulled on her flight suit. As she left her quarters, her eyes drifted down the hall to Poe’s doorway. She decided she better make sure the general comm had woken him.

She knocked on the door, watching as several other pilots headed out of the barracks and toward command. When there was no answer, she knocked again and called out softly, “Poe?” Nothing. Maybe he was already awake and waiting at the command center. She was about to leave when BB-8 rolled into the barracks. He chirped an inquiry. “No, I haven’t seen him. He’s not in Command?”

Negative.

“Do you have the code to his door?” she asked.

Affirmative. He beeped out the code without hesitation and the door slid open.

Rey stepped into the room, which was a bit larger than her own, but still tiny. The one window had a black-out shade covering it, but with the light from the hall helping her already efficient night-vision, Rey was easily able to see Poe, still heavily asleep in the bed. His comm was blinking on his nightstand, quiet at the moment.

Rey moved over to the bed and sat on the edge, selfishly taking her time to observe the man sleeping so soundly. He was laying on his left side, his mouth slightly open, his normally perfect hair a mess. The cut on his cheek was still visible even in the darkness, but it looked as if the swelling that had been evident around it earlier had gone down.

His comm chirped. He didn’t move.

“Poe?” she said, her voice quiet but not a whisper. She lay a hand on his bare shoulder, which was partially covered by his blanket. She squeezed softly. “Poe, wake up.”

His eyes fluttered open and he closed his mouth, swallowing harshly. She felt bad, knowing he could probably have used a good ten hours of sleep right now. But they needed him.

“Poe?” she said again, her voice firm.

His eyes opened wider and he focused on her. A soft smile began to tease those beautiful lips of his. “Hmmmmm…” he hummed. “Hi.”

Rey smiled. “Hi.”

BB-8 rolled up to the bed and started chattering at his master. Poe’s eyes focused on his droid and he frowned, then he looked back at Rey. “Damn, I thought I was having a really good dream.”

“You dream about me a lot, do you Dameron?” Rey asked teasingly.

“Yep,” he responded without hesitation.

Rey felt her face heat. Focus, she thought. “Command wants us. The recon came back.”

Taking a deep breath, Poe pushed himself up into a sitting position. Rey felt her face heat even more as the blanket fell down, exposing his bare chest. He nodded, his expression serious. “I’ll be there.”

Rey nodded back and stood, turning back toward the door.

“Rey?” he called out softly.

She turned back to face him.

He looked at her, his expression unreadable. He bit his lip, wincing as he was reminded of the cut on it, then shook his head. “Never mind. I’ll see you in Command.”

Rey nodded and left, her heart racing for some unknown reason. What had he been about to say? She hoped that whatever it was, he would find the courage to say it when today was over.

If they both survived.

******

Starkiller.

What a name. Not exactly original. He wondered who had been the one to suggest that name and if it was Snoke himself that had approved it. As he and the rest of the high-ranking officers studied the hologram depicting the planet-turned-weapon, with Finn offering tips with his inside knowledge, Poe couldn’t help but feel his normally positive mindset struggling. How in the blazes were they going to win this?

Fortunately, he was surrounded by people who were not going to give up easily, and before long a plan was formed. Han and Chewbacca volunteered to get Finn to Starkiller, where the three of them would infiltrate the base and turn off the planetary shield, which would allow Poe and his squadron to attack the thermal oscillator and de-stabilize the planet core.

It was a long shot, but it was all they had. The fact that Starkiller had managed to find out where their base was, and was currently targeting it, only made it more imperative that they do something. Now.

“So,” Poe concluded. “We disable the shields, take out the oscillator, and we blow up their big gun.” He looked at everyone around the room, making eye contact with Rey at one point. She looked troubled. “All right! Let’s go!”

As everyone began to disperse to prepare for the coming fight, Poe watched as Rey walked over to Han. She touched the man’s arm to get his attention, seeming to ask him if they could talk, and after Han gave a sharp nod, they moved to the corner where Rey began to talk to the former General in earnest. Poe stopped near the door and waited, noticing that Leia was also watching her husband and protégé curiously. Finally, after Rey stopped speaking, Han took a deep breath and nodded seriously. Rey gave him a small smile, and the two turned together, heading toward Poe.

“Commander,” Han acknowledged Poe as he passed, slapping him on the shoulder in approval, then moved on past. Having known and respected Solo since he was a child, the man’s obvious support bolstered Poe’s confidence. Rey stopped and looked at him.

“What was that about?” Poe couldn’t help but ask.

“I… had a vision earlier. Involving Captain Solo.” She winced, glancing at Leia. “I didn’t want to worry Leia, but I thought I should at least warn Han.”

Poe nodded, then took a deep breath. “You ready for this?” he asked as he turned to head up the bunker stairs, Rey at his side.

“Do I have a choice?” There was laughter in her voice.

“Bet you’re regretting ever changing your mind and running to catch me on Jakku all those months ago,” he said as they reached the door and exited the building.

Rey stopped suddenly and he followed suit, turning to look at her.

“No,” she said softly, her eyes huge, the jeweled depths drawing him in as always. “Not one bit.”

“Kriff, I want to kiss you,” he whispered.

She smiled slightly. “Probably not a good idea here,” she said. “But I will welcome it when we get back.”

Poe nodded solemnly. “When we get back.” He stepped forward suddenly, leaning in not to kiss her, but to gently touch his forehead to hers. Then he stepped back. “Let’s do this.”

The Falcon was airborne within twenty minutes. Poe’s squadron followed shortly after. They would jump to the Hearn System, which was just a few short light-years away from where Starkiller Base had settled, and wait for the go-ahead from Command as soon as the shield was down. If it ever came down. Poe had to admit, the odds were so far against them, it wasn’t even funny. If Han, Finn, and Chewie didn’t succeed…

He wasn’t even going to go there. He couldn’t and stay sane.

The wait seemed interminable, but finally the call came. A few short minutes later, they were coming out of hyperspace at Starkiller.

Poe felt a moment of fearful awe at the sight. They could see what looked like a tremendous beam of red/orange light travelling between the stark white planet and the sun it was slowly consuming. Grimacing, Poe focused on the planet in front of him, his positioning system already keyed onto the oscillator. He led his squadron toward it.

“Almost in range,” he announced, more for Command than his pilots. “Hit the target dead center, as many runs as we can get!”

The X-Wings swooped down toward the hexagonal shaped facility. It was huge, and despite the dozens of powerful blasts from the fighters, it appeared unaffected.

“Direct hit!” Bastian crowed.

“But no damage,” Asty groused.

“Yeah, we gotta keep hitting it! Another bombing run!” Poe told them. “Remember, when the sun is gone, the weapon will be ready to fire. But as long as there’s light, we got a chance!”

BB-8 suddenly squealed from his socket behind Poe. He looked to his right and felt his already racing heart freeze for a brief moment. “Guys, we got a lot of company!” TIE fighters, dozens of them.

And so it went. The X-Wings regrouped to make another run on the oscillator, while fending off the attacking fighters at the same time. Poe kept most of his attention on what he was doing, but a large part of it was, he admitted, always aware of Rey’s voice over the comm. She was holding her own, brilliantly dodging the TIEs so that she could focus on their target, but taking one or two out when she had to. The oscillator remained stubbornly intact.

And they were losing the sun.

“Furillo’s been hit!” Jess shouted.

Poe noticed the heavy cannon immediately. Kriff. As if they didn’t have enough to deal with.

“Watch out for ground fire!” Snap called out.

Suddenly, Poe heard Rey shout out a curse, then she yelled “No!”

“Rey, what’s wrong?” Poe demanded. He could see her, on his port side, not too far from him. Her ship looked fine.

He could hear her take a deep, shuddering breath. “Nothing,” she gasped. “It’s okay.” He could hear the obvious relief in her voice, and he realized that whatever was going on, it wasn’t something that was happening around her. She was feeling something through the Force.

Another X-Wing was taken out. Jennison gone. Another. Whalari gone.

“We’re overwhelmed!” Jess cried. “It isn’t working! What do we do?”

Poe could almost feel her despair internally. Or maybe that was his.

Ziff’s excited voice came over the comm. “Black Leader, there’s a brand-new hole in that oscillator! Looks like our friends got in!”

Immediately, Poe focused on it, knowing what he had to do. “Red four, red six, cover us!”

He dived for the section of the oscillator that had a gaping, burning hole in it. BB-8 immediately began taking readings and beeped them out to Poe. He would barely fit. He had to fit.

“Everybody else, hit the target hard! Give it everything you got!”

He angled for the hole, seeing Rey’s X-Wing in his peripheral just off to his right. “All teams, I’m going in. Pull up and cover me!”

As the rest of his team shouted out ‘good luck,’ Rey’s voice came through almost like a whisper through is headset. “The Force is with you, Poe. Don’t fight it.” Then her X-Wing peeled off to rejoin the battle.

Taking a deep breath, Poe felt his heartrate slow. He maneuvered Black One onto its side, not as easy a thing to do in atmo as it was in space, and he closed the S Foils, making the ship as small as possible. It wouldn’t do to lose his weapons before he had a chance to use them. Then he slipped through the crack in the oscillator, not really sure what he would find on the other side. A TIE trying to follow him turned brilliantly orange as it hit the side of the hole.

The interior of the oscillator was dim but not dark, and the dozens of generators that controlled the flow of energy that was coming from the almost dead star were easily visible. Without thinking twice, Poe aimed for as many as he could, firing torpedo after torpedo into the walls of the giant cavern, knowing it could collapse on top of him at any moment. He circled the structure, coming around completely to face the hole he had entered through.

Closing his S Foils again, he turned to slip through, barely getting into position in time. He thought he heard the screech of metal on metal, but BB-8’s high-pitched tootle covered it. Finally, he was free. He directed Black One upward, back into the fray.

Only the battle was already ending. The TIEs were scattering, many rushing back toward the hangers they had come from, but some heading for space. The oscillator was already in flames, and while he watched it imploded. Some of his squad had directed their attack on what they assumed was the Command Center, but from the looks of things it wasn’t necessary.

“All teams, get a safe distance from the planet. If you see any evacuating First Order ships, take ‘em out.” His voice was as hard as his words.

“And let’s hope Snoke is on one of ‘em!” shouted Ziff.

“I doubt he was down there,” Jess argued.

“He wasn’t,” Rey confirmed. “But Ren is.”

Poe felt his skin prickle at the sound of that name. “Does he know you’re here?” he asked her.

“Yes, that’s what…” she took a deep breath. “I could sense him about to do something horrible to his father, but then he felt me. And stopped. Han got away.”

Poe felt both fear and relief at her words. “Keep your eyes open for the Falcon,” he directed the others. Then he and the others watched in awe as Starkiller Base, formerly the planet Ilum, began to disintegrate.

Poe thought he saw a familiar shape against the flares of red and he dived down to circle behind it. The glow from the conflagration beneath him helped him confirm his original identification. “All teams! I got eyes on them!”

He followed the Falcon away from the planet as his squad cheered. He heard Rey laugh, and it filled him with joy.

“Our job’s done here. Let’s go home.”

******

End of Part 1

Part 2 Begins Here