The howls of descending ships surrounded Moira as she sat, curled up in her X-Wing. The freshly cut engine continued to hum as it worked it's way to a slumber on the platform of the Resistance base. Her cabin rattled along with it, slammed by the thick rain of the planet Levi.
She could hear the triumphant whoops and yells of other pilots around her, as they jumped from their own ships to embrace and celebrate with one another despite the weather. Their mission had been successful despite the utterly narrow odds. Though, if it weren't for her, there would have been no odds at all. Moira was trying her best to ignore them; to just focus one one thing: breathing. In through the nose, out through the mouth, she repeated diligently. With each breath, she saw the shaking in her hands dissipate, and the darkness fringing in on her vision fade away. Though she had come out better than expected for the magnitude of her actions, she still did not feel readily inclined to climb out of the cockpit and into the bustling rebel base.
But then two loud raps came on the side of her ship - a call that she couldn't decline. With a final deep breath, she unlatched her restraint and pulled off her helmet. She allowed herself a moment to clutch it, to recenter herself staring into the abyss of chipped, black paint that so often graced her head. But like most moments, it quickly passed. Heavy handedly, she opened the hatch and began a clumsy descent to the ground. That's where she found Poe, standing with his own helmet under his arm, looking at her with his eyes wide.
Thick locks of hair stuck to his face, rain having already thoroughly drenched him. Unable to conjure anything meaningful to say in that moment, she just took several dragging steps towards him. Luckily, it seemed he already had an objective. Without hesitation, he met her more than half way, embracing her in his arms. As wet and cold as he was, the comfort it brought was more than welcome.
"That was amazing." he whispered. "I didn't know you could do that."
"Me neither," she muttered back, as he released her. "Oh."
"Oh?" Poe asked, turning to follow her dazed look. Behind him stood a slew of other pilots, all heartily taking a beating in the rain. Most stood with wide smiles on their faces, while others boasted the same look of awe Poe had. He couldn't help but chuckle. "This what happens when you work a miracle."
"Lieutenant Moira Dehaan?"
The pair turned to see Admiral Statura marching towards them, rather out of breath and donning a thick, yet official looking raincoat.
Moira stepped towards him. "Yes, Admiral?"
"The General would like to see you," he breathed. "Immediately."
She looked back at Poe cautiously. He gave her a small smile and a nod, though it did little to calm her suddenly anxious nerves.
"Of course, Admiral," she asserted, clearing her throat. As Moira walked with him, past the pilots, a small cluster of applause broke out among the them. Several even shouted her name as she walked past or clapped her on the back. And, despite the ball of anxiety that had amassed within her, a smile snuck onto her lips as she followed Statura through the rain.
"Lieutenant, thank you for coming." General Organa began, standing as Moira entered the meeting room with the Admiral.
The room was small, with glass panels reflecting into the outer command center. In the corners were built up piles of papers and various trinkets that gave her the notion that the room was more often used as a storage space than a meeting place.
Moira nodded at Organa, eyes momentarily shifting to the man standing behind her who boasted a rather stern demeanor. He stared back at her acutely, dark brown eyes penetrating the casual look she had given him. She swallowed nervously, looking anywhere but at him.
"Please don't think you're in any sort of trouble, my dear," the General said, crossing to Moira and grasping her hands after seeing the terrified expression on her face. "Above all else, I simply wanted to thank you for your brave actions today. You very well saved the lives of at least half of our fleet, at the risk of your own."
Moira looked down, flattered but abashed. "Thank you, General. But I was just doing my duty as a member of the Resistance."
Organa smiled up at the girl, releasing her hands. "You're a good soldier. And humbler than most. Please," she motioned to the table before Moira. "Have a seat. I'd just like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind. I'll be quick. I'm sure you're a bit tired from all the commotion of today."
"Whatever you need, General," she replied, sitting down across from Statura.
"Thank you." Organa resumed her position at the head of the table, quickly tinkering with a small device in front of her. "Before we begin, I'd like to introduce you to Captain Cassian Andor, of Resistance intelligence," Organa motioned to the dark haired man behind her. "He'll be sitting in on this meeting."
Cassian nodded at Moira, crossing his arms. Out of habit, she flashed a smile at him, this time holding a bit better under his stare.
"Now, Lieutenant," Organa began. "You've been with the Resistance for how long?"
Adjacent to her, Statura pulled out a holopad, suddenly rather diligent.
"A couple months," she replied.
"And before that?"
"I served the New Republic as a member of their elite starfighter fleet for almost two years with the standard four years of Academy training leading up to it before Poe - er, Commander Dameron, recruited me."
"And based on your training reports, besides your expertise as a pilot, your next highest proficiencies are in reconnaissance and combat engagement?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Have you ever had any interest in serving a different wing of the cause?"
Moira opened her mouth for a split second before stopping to formulate a different answer. "Well, I suppose I'd fight wherever the Resistance needed me."
"That's appreciated." The General exchanged a glance with Statura before continuing onward. "And lieutenant, you were born on Yavin 4, is that correct?"
Moira blinked, a bit taken aback by the change of subject. "Uh, yes that's right."
"And would you say you're still familiar with the terrain?"
Moira nodded. "Yes, General. I'm there at least a couple times per year."
"Good. Then tomorrow I'd like you to accompany Captain Andor on a recon mission to Yavin 4."
The captain coughed rather suddenly behind Organa.
"Wait, what?" Moira asked, furrowing her brow. "A reconnaissance mission on Yavin?
"Yes. Unfortunately, we've had reports pointing towards the First Order attempting to establish some kind of presence there. We think they may be attempting to data mine the leftovers of our old Alliance base."
"Isn't that base more than 30 years abandoned?"
Organa nodded. "It's a desperate move, certainly. What do you think?"
Moira shrugged. "If… if that's where you need me, General, I'll go."
Organa smiled. "Good. We'd like to send you out as soon as possible, but we're still working on finding you a secure position to run surveillance from."
"Oh. I uh… I know a place we can use." Moira stuttered sheepishly.
"Fantastic. Then you two will leave first thing in the morning. For now, I'll let you go get some rest."
"So, that's all then?" Moira asked, tepidly rising to her feet.
"Yes, my dear. Unless you had something else you wished to discuss."
"Oh, no. I just thought you'd wanna talk about, uh," she scanned the room to find only impertinent expressions looking back at her. "Never mind, actually."
"Have a good night, Lieutenant." The General said, standing to shake her hand. "Get some sleep."
"I'll try," Moira replied. She quickly flashed a smile to the room before exiting, possibly more confused than when she had first entered.
As the automated door closed behind her, Captain Andor advanced to the table, rather disgruntled. "You're sending her with me?"
Organa eyed him from her chair. "Yes. As important as the intelligence is on this mission, I also need someone I can trust to get an unbiased read on her and her abilities. With the circumstances and everything that's happened today, I can't think of a better opportunity.
"But, the girl, she doesn't have actual experience with this type of mission. If you were to just send me alone to Yavin, I could-"
"You need the companionship." The General interrupted.
Andor squinted at her. "What?"
Organa stood, crossing past him to look out one of the panels of the command center. She watched as the sea of technicians and officers ran about the area, convening and talking and joking with one another. "Captain, you've been on mission for the past three months in what I can most kindly describe as solitude. And it seems that in that time you've become even more unwelcome to the help of others. Lest you not forget the Resistance is a group effort."
"I was not that alone," Cassian argued. "I had Kay with me."
The General chuckled at him, turning back. "I think we both know that the company of a droid is not quite the same as that of another organic being. She's going with you. If the Admiral is okay temporarily releasing her from his fleet, that is."
Statura looked up at them from his holopad, as if suddenly removed from deep thought. "Unfortunately, she's one of my better pilots and I hate to lose her. But based on the evidence we have; based on the sheer power she demonstrated with the Force today… she could very well be the child we think she is. And that is more than worth investigation."
"Then it's decided," the General said, "Tomorrow, the Lieutenant will accompany you to Yavin 4, Captain Andor."
Cassian let out an exasperated sigh. "As you wish, General."