"What are you two up to?" Poe asked, looking under the small transport ship BB-8 was beeping frantically next to. The blonde woman who was laying under it had a dreamy quality about her as always. Her amber eyes were far away as she looked up at the bottom of the ship. Usually Poe or Jess ran interference when she started rewiring Nien's x-wing or any other mischief she was capable of on her good days, but BB-8 had caught her this time. General Organa was mum as to why she allowed the woman to live on the base, Poe suspected they were related but could never find any proof.

Today, Maia didn't seem to be doing anything potentially dangerous, just laying under the transport like it was a shady tree. He wormed his way under and laid next to her, BB-8 beeping in slight disapproval. "What color is the sky today Dameron?" She asked.

"Just about as blue as the oceans on Traxam."

Her fingers trailed on the bottom of the ship, drawing shapes in the dirt that coated the outside, "Hm, I've never heard of that planet. Do they have ever-flying birds that can never land because the planet is all ocean, so they must lay their eggs by dropping them into the sea and praying?"

"They could build big sea nests."

"But without land, what are the nests made of?" This was a game they played occasionally, Maia preferred imaginary worlds to this one. On Traxam, Maia explained, the ever-flying birds dropped their eggs into the ocean, that were then eaten by sea-dwelling fish people, which fed the birds when they died, completing the circle of life for this ocean world.

"If I didn't have to land-" Poe started to say but was cut off by his communicator beeping. He was being paged to the command center by General Organa. " I have to go, I will see you later Maia." He pulled himself out from under the shuttle.

"I'll come with you." She followed him out. BB-8 rolled around them, glad they were finally out from under the ship. He produced a small brush and dusted off Poe's boots and calves

Poe dusted the rest of himself off and shook the pebbles out of his hair, "You don't have to, this is probably boring Resistance stuff." Maia had never cared about what was going on in the Resistance before this, or at least not that Poe had noticed. He wondered why she was suddenly interested in going to the command center.

"Life can't always be ever flying birds and merpeople. Boring stuff must exist too."

Maia often harped on a theme, all of her imaginary worlds had to have balance and she always claimed her capricious actions were just 'keeping the balance.' Poe failed to see how reorganizing storage rooms or repainting his X-Wing fit into that category, but he had learned to just shake his head and go along with it.

He couldn't say no to her so he offered her is arm and escorted her to his briefing. General Organa didn't comment on her presence in the command center, but a few of the other Resistance leaders threw her dirty or confused looks as she moved around the room. Poe wondered what everyone knew that he didn't. He had gotten snippets of her story over the last few years; she was from some poor trading station on the edge of the outer rim, she had nightmares that caused her to wander the base at night, she whispered a long list of names he didn't know. But beyond those few facts and several abstract concepts, Poe was at a loss on her.

Maia didn't pay attention to what he was being told, she wandered around the command center and eventually ended up talking with Lt. Connix about what she was doing. Now this was the most interest in the Resistance he had ever seen her take before. What had gotten into her?

General Organa detailed his mission to Jakku, finally they had a solid lead on where Luke Skywalker had disappeared to nearly ten years ago. He had visited Lor San Tekka before disappearing and the man said he had a map to the Jedi master.

"He's a ghost." Maia finally spoke up, looking away from Lt. Connix's work. "He's been a ghost for many years now."

General Organa turned, "Are you saying Luke's dead?"

"No, not at all." She held the General's gaze for a moment.

"Any, hints you could give us Maia?" The older woman prompted her.

"I hear the sky is as blue as the oceans on Traxam." Maia smiled sweetly

Poe grinned, but hid it as soon as General Organa turned back around to him, "You leave in the morning Commander Dameron." She dismissed him and went over to Maia, who had returned to pestering Lt. Connix. "Maia, come with me." She led the younger woman out of the command center and into her personal office.

Maia had been in Leia's care for the last ten years. She had spent five years on New Alderaan, supervised by caretakers who could keep her under control. With the rise of the First Order, Leia had feared for her safety and brought her to the Resistance base. It had been rough for Maia at first, but she had adjusted. Although her continuing erratic behavior often put her at odds with many members of the Resistance. Luckily, the Black Squadron had adopted her as one of their own and made sure she kept out of trouble when they were on base.

Leia wished she knew more about what haunted the woman, but Maia never spoke of it and her memories seemed to be under lock and key in her mind. All she had was a general idea of what had happened to her from Luke, and even that was bare bones information. "You know you shouldn't be in the command center."

She shrugged, "It wasn't my decision to make."

Leia held her head in her hand for just a moment, "No, I don't suppose it was."

"Something is coming. On the edges, I feel it. The song is changing again."

"Is it Luke?"

Maia shrugged again, "I'm not sure. It could be a mermaid for all I know."

"Well, let's hope not." Leia picked up her datapad, "You're free to go, that's all I wanted to talk about." Maia paused and then threw her arms around the older woman's shoulders. "What is this about?"

"The creature in your chest was about to escape. His tapestry of your tears was about to run out."

Leia took a deep breath and smiled, Maia tried and that's what counted. She patted Maia on the back, "Go make sure Dameron is doing work instead of messing around with that droid of his."

"Yes ma'am." She saluted Leia and bounced out the door, Leia's chuckling following her.

In the last few weeks, Maia had noticed the shadows retreating. This wasn't unusual as the darkness ebbed and flowed constantly, but it felt different. She was almost convinced that everyone around her wasn't illusion created by the dark to drive her crazy, they were all probably real.

There was no way the dark could have invented someone like Poe Dameron. He was definitely real.

But she wouldn't tell him that. There was no need for him to think he was even more special than he already thought.

Leia was real too, but in a different way. She was part of the music that surrounded everything, but so quiet Maia strained to hear her. Her melody had been mournful for a long time and it only added to the horrid symphony that had played in her head.

For a long time, the song in Maia's head had been discordant, all clashing brass and sliding scales, enough to make her want to scream and never stop. But something was growing, underneath the cacophony, something that was changing the song back into what she had known as a child. Harmony and peace was returning to the galaxy, and within herself, at last.