War, particularly ones involving multiple planets, were rarely resolved as quickly as one was made to believe upon recruitment. Propaganda posters and battle stories, drunkenly crowed in corner cantinas, triumphantly understated the tedious, time consuming drudgery that was war.

After three long years of endless stalemate with the relentless, and frankly better funded First Order, General Poe Dameron was starting to understand the machine of war and was beginning to wilt under the enormous weight of it all.

He looked around at the worn walls of the haphazardly built command center. Once again they were burrowed in the hollow shell of an old Rebellion post. The old abandoned bones of the first wave of freedom fighters had kept them safe over the years. It was an unintentional legacy left by those that came before. They had never intended their fight to continue so far into the future, yet here they were, still battling the same relentless darkness. General Dameron was interrupted from his thoughts by an inquisitive little chirp. He glanced down at the weathered but still sturdy BB-8 unit whirling next to him. The little droid was chattering away analysis data in little swirls and clicks of Binary. The news wasn't good. Over half of the equipment from their latest duel with the Imperial leftovers was toast. Unsalvageable in their current state. The best they could hope for was to sell it for scrap and replace it.

That seemed to always be the problem. Resources were scarce and no matter how hard they fought or how loyal his troops were, it was never enough in the face of the limitless budget of the First Order. They just didn't have the resources to end the war. General Dameron sighed and gave the little BB unit a pat on the processor. It was moments like these that he missed his old mentor. General Leia could always make the best out of nothing. She had gotten them through countless scraps seemingly through her sheer force of will back when he had been a young hot shot commander. He fidgeted with the gold cuff bangle on his wrist. It had been the General's, one of her many pieces of jewelry. She had specified her possessions to be sold upon her death to fund the Resistance but Poe had held on to the simple slender cuff. It helped to have something to remember her by. The General had been as close as he had to family and the loss of her had been a hard one for him to bear. He missed her dearly. She was twice the leader he would ever be.

He looked down at the holopad lying in his lap. Scrawled across the screen were the names and faces of arms dealers. Equipment had to be replaced one way or another. He grimaced. He disliked having to deal with outsiders. There were always risks involved. The problem with dealers, was that they were a shady bunch. You needed the right kind of leverage to get a good deal out of them. Especially since they often could shake the First Order for a higher payout. It was a dangerous balancing act, getting what you needed without compromising yourself.

Most of the names on his list had been dealt with but one was still proving tricky. The guy was a complete mystery. No name, no data, not even a blurred candid photograph. The only intel they had on the guy was an anecdotal tale from one of the comm techs when he had first made contact. He had used a male voice in that exchange but since then any correspondence had been strictly text based. It was a real feat in that line of work to remain anonymous. Most dealers were well known. It was almost impossible to hide from both the First Order and the Resistance. Most by now had fallen into step under the pressure of the First Order. Those that could remain neutral or leaned with the Resistance were only able to do so due to their considerable regional influence or they were remarkably skilled. For an unknown to still be free was unheard of and yet there he was. New to the scene and the stuff he supplied was a veritable mix mash. Also unusual. He dealt in a little of everything, ammo, encryption chips, the occasional second hand fighter. He was practically a one man pawn shop...or a thief General Dameron thought dryly to himself. The thing was- the stuff was good. Top notch. The kind of stuff that gave you an advantage. If they could pin this guy down for the Resistance then it would be a size-able step in their favor.

The question now was how. All they had to go on was a thin lead sniffed out by, his Chief of Communications, Commander Connix. The spritely and sharp officer had ingeniously tracked the link during their last exchange with the mystery man. The lone dealer had encrypted it well but Commander Connix was an artist with a com unit. She had been able to track the link back to the planet of Cantonica. It wasn't much of a lead. Cantonica was a popular hot spot for many of the galaxies underground- but it was a start.

General Dameron paused for a minute before reaching over and pressing a worn com button on the adjacent wall panel. A little prick of static shock he received in return was a small price to pay for a working system. The person he was paging had been instrumental in bringing it back online and considering the location of this lead, he hoped she would be just as useful now.

"Hey Rose, its Poe." He called through the static.

"Oh General, Hi!" The petite engineer called back. She always sounded surprised even though, as his chief engineer, she had long become one of the first people he contacted.

He stifled a chuckle. "Come on down to command. I need your help with something."

He could hear her confusion crackle over the static. "Okay…I'll be right down."

With a click he let his hand fall from the com button. He turned towards the little droid beside him.

"BB- bring up whatever we've got on Cantonica." He grinned. "I want to see it all."