Chapter Text
"Give us the controls. NOW,” he said."We can still do this the easy way.”
Assuming this trap holds together that long.
No reply.
Damn it!
BB8 was able to fix an ear on the hull. He could make out a voice now..
[……I can’t....]
That was presumably whichever maniac was passing as a pilot, the dark haired figure he’d glimpsed through the cockpit window
[...can’t do it … we have to….either New Republic or Resistance..]
second voice […………………………………..]
[…no…please…..what if they're the enemy?]
[unintelligible]
first voice […..fuck, fuck, fuck...no If they were we'd be dead by now….ea…brace yourselves!]
[………………]
BB8 gave him a green light.
“Pilot” had unlocked the controls at the last near last second before the little ship dropped too low to save.
Linked to their nav Poe wrestled the broken thing down onto the farthest end of the farthest secured landing field, bringing his X-wing in parallel, 50 meters downwind.
As he cracked his own cockpit and climbed out, Poe could see the speeders coming in with the security teams. Leaving BB to roll himself out he ran across the strip toward the little shuttle.
Ground security was fully in place before the rickety hatch opened. Guns were trained and Dannie barked out orders to whoever was inside to get out with hands empty and in sight.
Three people came out through the back with arms over their heads.
Two looked Human. One with short or pinned-back dark hair…female maybe?… young but older than the other...waist-long black braids and dark blue ink designs or tattooing on their arms. The third person was small, non-Human with light brown fur.
Sargent Tella was ordering them all to kneel.
“Dameron! Check the ship!” he shouted.
Poe dashed back to the heap and got in through a rear hatch.
The thing had no cabin or rear bay to speak of.
Sienar D-frame maybe?....basically just a box with a patchwork FTL-worthy drive. He climbed up into what passed for a cockpit.
Bare bones was too generous…bare ass was more like it.
No droid integration. The nav computer wasn’t even inside a real console, just a case welded to the floor. Torn bolts on decking showed where a proper co-pilots seat might have been once but a mismatched bucket had been rigC-clamped onto the rails in its place.
He had a weird feeling that if he looked he’d find out the gravitational controls were just big box mags welded to a jacked hopper engine.
Poe lifted the windscreen hatch easily...too easily... and peered out.
The “crew” were below, on their knees now still holding hands
Tella’s team had weapons up, ringing them, shouting for them to let go and lay their hands flat on the tarmac.
Kids. They were all just kids.
That explained the demented flying.
"It's alright," the dark haired girl was saying. She seemed to be trying to comfort her two companions, who looked utterly terrified. The smaller one was in tears.
"It's alright,” the girl kept repeating, “It’s alright. They won’t hurt us. Do what they say."
Dan's people circled round, guns trained on them. It seemed like overkill but after Ferro Prime, with the General on base…paranoia was ratcheted high.
The girl looked straight up at Dannie, who had moved in close, blaster in hand, “Stop! You’re frightening them.”
B.B. was rolling in the empty back of the shuttle, cheerfully naming off all the types and models the various parts came from.
"Dannie," Poe called down through the windscreen and over his comm, "I don't think they came in hot because they meant to."
"I'm Sergeant Dan Tella of the Resistance. Who are you?"
Girl-who-was-clearly-in-charge reached over and squeezed the hand of the tattooed teen-ager, who was visibly trembling.
“Quién diablos te crees que eres?” she snarled.
As Pop used to say, Que demonios?
Sullest? Anaria?
Dramatic way to enlist from the other end of the Outer Rim, amiga.
"Keep your hands in sight,” Tella repeated.
“We came to you! If you’re really the Resistance stop being assholes and let us talk to somebody!”
Poe worked his way out through the back hatch, tapping BB-8 as he passed, “Come on.”
*this is interesting!*
“Too interesting,” Dameron said.
*this ship should have/probability likelihood of +57% exploded. why did it not explode?*
The Force, the pilot thought.
They had the three young misfits on their feet. His squad was still on alert but Dannie had lowered his gun and was slipping zip-tie restraints on them all….not as tightly as regulation would have demanded.
“Identify yourselves and tell us how you found this base.”
The other two were flat-out looking at dark-haired girl. Clearly neither of them was going to speak before she did.
She shook her head.
“I can’t.”
She was looking straight up at Dannie, “Lives depend on me. There are four people here I’m allowed report to..take me to one of them.”
~~~~~~~
Dameron was brought in an hour later to report to her directly.
General Organa was looking at a data pad which she passed to him then leaned back in her chair, a little further than seemed quite safe.
“Do you consider yourself a student of history, Commander?”
Coming from the General, he was pretty sure this was a trick question.
“These are the four people your young wild woman says she will talk to. What do they have In common?”
Names hovered above the screen:
Stordan Tonc
Davits Draven
Bodhi Rook
Mon Mothma
Mon Mothma, he knew, of course, heroine and leader in the Civil War, first Chancellor of the New Republic.
Bodhi Rook….if this was the same Commander Rook...had arrived a few days ago. An AARR combat veteran he was currently training pilots on Base Nine. Poe had seen him there. Terrific guy, could fix anything, fly almost anything.
The other two he had never heard of.
Ma’am, the pilot thought, is this going to be another one of your “teachable moments?”
When he didn’t answer quickly enough the General shook her head.
“Mon's health is very fragile. It’s possible she has already passed.”
Leia Organa sighed deeply and went on, ”Even if she hasn’t there could be no question of bringing her here. Lt. Stordan Tonc was Pathfinders…he served with your father…killed at Jakku. General Davits Draven sent me a package that may or may not have been a last will and testament some months ago. He's likely still alive but retired and unconnected. We are trying to track him down now. A speeder has been sent t bring Commander Rook from Training Base One. He should arrive within the hour."
Leia Organa turned off the pad, slid it aside and stood stiffly stretching her arms.
“You are a fine pilot, Dameron,” she said, “One of the best I’ve ever known and an intelligent, honorable and dedicated soldier but sometimes you bring me to tears. I’ll ask you another question...knowing full well what you are going to say. What do you know about Rogue One?”
Damned little, Poe Dameron had to admit.
“Only what I learned in History books.“
If the General slapped him, it would hardly be the first time.
She didn’t but was clearly thinking about it.
“Accompany me to Detention, Commander Dameron.”
~~~~~~~~
None of them had spoken. Once they were scanned the General ordered them un-restrained and allowed to stay together. All three seemed shell-shocked although the Leader, as Dameron thought of the dark-haired girl, seemed the most hyper-vigilant.
He couldn’t make himself call her the Pilot, because that was the most shit-awful flying he had ever seen that did not actually result in a crash with fatalities
Tellon and Commander Jerra were absolutely against allowing the General to talk to them unaccompanied.
“Bullshit,” Organa said, “I’ve got Dameron here and….” she looked down at BB8, “What’s your name again. sweetheart?”
“BB8,” Poe said.
*bb8* BB8 said *poe fights well. i will defend the general with my life. i have a flame thrower upgrade*
Through the glass they could see a cot against the back wall and all three of the…for lack of a better word, detainees… sitting on it. The young Human with the blue-black tattoos was lying with their head on the furred person’s lap and they in turn were leaning against the dark-haired Leader.
The General entered the room and sat down at the small table.“Do you know who I am?” she asked.
The Leader answered, “You are Leia Organa.”
Organa nodded, “But you still won’t tell us who you are, what you want or how you found us here?”
The girl whispered, “Take care of him” to the furred person and got off the cot, crossing the room to sit in the chair across from Leia.
Poe remained in place beside the General but BB rolled over to the cot and tilted his head inquiringly.
The furred person reached out a small hand, skimmed it over BB8 and seemed to smile through great nervousness.
Looking up they asked Poe, “Did you make it?” Their voice was no more than a whisper in slightly accented Basic.
*no* BB-8 said.
“I made a few small upgrades,” Poe said.
*no* BB-8 repeated.
“I’m very sorry,” Leader-girl was saying, “I mean no disrespect ma’am but I can’t break protocol. I can’t take that kind of risk.”
Kid, you flew in here on a barely-shielded packing crate 40 seconds from implosion. What do you consider risk?
Leia nodded wearily.
There were voices behind and Jerra appeared with Commander Rook.
“Bodhi,” Leia said turning with a smile.
It was her regal smile, the one you saw in the vids.
“Forgive me. I’ve meant to come see you so many times.”
The Jedhan was still in grease stained cover-alls. They must have pulled him right off of the repair bays on 9 and speeded him straight here.
“Princess…” he said, bowing slightly in an old-fashioned way.
Then he caught sight of the girl and Dameron got the feeling he forgot the rest of them were even in the room.
“This young person flew a damaged ship directly onto our training base today,” Leia said. “Evading all shields and warning scanners…she says she will only speak to you.” She stood, holding out the chair so Rook could take her place.
The older man’s eyes were wide in either recognition or surprise but the girl’s face was a revelation. All that suspicion and steel vanished in an instant and she looked both frightened and young... 19 at best if he had to guess.....and as if she were about to cry.
“Sir,” she said, “Bodhi Rook.”
“Hello.” the Commander sat down across from her and reached out to cover her hands with his own scraped and oil-stained ones, “Please dear, tell me your name.”
“My name is Kaylyra Andor,” the girl said, “My father is Cassian Andor.” She reached into a pocket in the seam of her shirt….
Jerra made a reflective motion but Organa lifted a hand to wave her off.
….and laid a scrap of brown cloth on the table. Attached to it were two small green-silver circles.
Poe recognized the rank pips from an old Alliance uniform.
Captain...not regular Service red though...Inteligence. The starbird patch would have been sewn above.
“My mother…,” the girl began.
“I know, dear," Rook said, “Your mother is Jyn Erso.”
The girl lowered her head into her hands and began to cry as if unnerved with relief.
Rook crossed to the other side of the table and put his arms around her.
“I am so glad to meet you Kaylyra.” he said.