The Force alerted Rey to his presence the moment she entered the fighter bay. She could sense him in the far starboard corner of the spacious chamber. She recognized him by the blazing confidence he radiated into the Force. This morning, she could sense a methodical, rote attentiveness. She knew without searching that he was working on his X-wing.
She clenched her fists in frustration. Poe was the last person she wanted to talk to right now. Rey couldn't see or sense anyone else in the bay. All she needed to do was avoid Poe. Hopefully she could prep her own X-wing for flight and be on her way before he even noticed.
Nine x-wings filled the bay, each bearing the star bird symbol of the New Rebellion. Hers sat in the far portside corner. She wound her way through the sleek spacecraft, barely allowing her sturdy boots to make a sound on the floor. The whirr of a bolt driver echoed from beneath Poe's X-wing. Good, he was still busy working.
Then a familiar electronic warble joined the bolt driver's whirr, and Rey sighed in frustration.
BB8 rolled over to her on his spherical body, chirping a cheerful morning greeting.
"Good morning to you too, BB8," she said wearily, smiling.
On the other side of the chamber, she saw Poe crawl out from under his starfighter and glance her direction. Even from this distance she could see his wide smile.
"Well, if it isn't Rey of Sunshine," he called. She grimaced in wry amusement. He'd started using the nickname after she joined his squadron and began racking up kills faster than anyone else, besides Poe himself. "Didn't expect to see you here so early."
"Just wanted to get a flight in before breakfast," she called back to him.
He wiped the grease from his hands on a cloth and tossed it aside before striding over to her.
"Another training run?" he asked. "You've already flown three of those in the past forty-eight hours. I think you can ease up on the throttle a little."
When he stepped directly in front of her, she felt her pulse quicken. She gritted her teeth and did her best not to allow his handsome face to unbalance her. She hadn't spend fifteen years fighting for survival on Jakku, followed by a several-day crash course in the ways of the Jedi, and then another month learning to fly an X-wing for real (instead of a simulation), only to be pathetically smitten by the first pretty face to show up.
But her new awareness of the Force didn't make things any easier. She was still getting used to the emotions and auras she could sometimes sense from other people. Poe exuded a confidence thicker than quicksand. Sometimes she felt like she would sink inside it and never emerge again.
"I need to keep up with the rest of you flyboys and flygirls," she replied.
The assumption that her flight was a training one came from Poe, but she recognized she hadn't corrected him, and the deception bothered her.
"Oh, I think you're doing a fine job at that, Rey of Sunshine," he said. He clapped her on the shoulder, and a jolt of excitement coursed through her. "But I understand. You've got a reputation to maintain." He raised an eyebrow. "Am I right? Huh? Huh?" He elbowed her playfully.
"At least I'm practicing, instead of spending all my time babying my ship," she teased, shoving his elbow.
He shrugged. "Some call it babying, others call it double-checking the important stuff so I don't wind up as a floating piece of debris."
The mood in the room became suddenly grim. Rey looked away, thinking of all the people they'd lost since the Battle of Crait.
"Anyway," Poe said, sounding uncomfortable, "if you're set on going on a training run right now, why don't I come with you?"
Normally Rey delighted in flying with Poe. She told herself her enjoyment came from the chance to hone her skills under the tutelage of the best pilot this side of Corellia. But today she had no time for training.
"I'll be fine, but thanks," she said.
BB8 beeped out his concerns.
"Yes, I promise I'll let BB10-2 know if I notice anything unusual on my scanners," she replied, referring to her BB unit who sat waiting for her in her X-wing along the wall.
"Actually, I was planning on doing some target practice of my own later today," Poe said. "I'll come with you, give you some healthy competition."
She smiled tightly. "I'm going solo for this one, Poe."
His dark eyes studied her with a glint of suspicion. "You've never minded me tagging along before."
"I just need to blow off some steam on my own today, all right?"
She turned and started walking toward her fighter craft.
BB8 beeped plaintively after her. She glanced at him over her shoulder. At first she wanted to be annoyed at his overprotectiveness, but warmth soon blossomed inside her. In the New Rebellion, she'd found the friendship and belonging she lived for years without. She gave Poe's droid her combo beckoning headshake and eye roll.
"Sure, you can help BB10-2 check my X-wing's diagnostics before I leave. Come on."
He chirped in smug satisfaction and rolled over to join her. Behind him, she couldn't help noticing Poe's intense stare.
...
He watched Rey walk across the bay to her X-wing. Like plotting a well-worn hyperspace route, his gaze traveled over her athletic frame beneath her flight suit. Powerful feelings ignited inside him, but like usual, he stifled them immediately. The leader of the New Rebellion's main fighter squadron couldn't afford the risk of crushing on a subordinate.
Subordinate. He chuckled to himself as he fished his datapad out of his flight suit pocket and switched it on. Fiery, independent, capable Rey could only be considered his subordinate when it came to piloting an X-wing, and lately that status was no longer so black and white thanks to the Jedi-in-training's rapidly increasing flight skills.
He told himself his protectiveness of Rey was no different than how he treated the other members of his squadron. Rey refused to let him accompany her today, but that didn't mean he couldn't double-check her training itinerary to rule out any dangers from the First Order.
To access the training logs, he had to navigate through the mission assignments for the day. He frowned when he saw Rey's name at the top of the list of items requesting his approval. His eyebrows rose when he saw the details of the mission.
He jogged across the room as Rey climbed into the cockpit of her fighter. His droid and hers continued their beeping conversation as he held the datapad in front of her.
"You sure about this training flight?" he asked. "Looks like you might have the details a little mixed up."
She bit her lip. "I was hoping you wouldn't notice until after I took off."
"Yeah, I bet you were," he said. "Because you know I'd never sign off on this."
Her expression hardened. "General Leia already gave her approval."
"Yeah, but in case things have changed a whole lot around here in the last couple hours, all missions involving deployment of New Rebellion fighters and bombers require my approval too."
"This is Jedi business, not New Rebellion."
He saw her continue her pre-flight procedure, and his annoyed concern began simmering into anger.
"Funny, doesn't look like a Jedi symbol plastered on the side of your ship," he snapped. He leaned in close, and for a moment his anger gave way to an acute awareness of how soft her skin looked. He visibly shook off the distraction with a jerk of his head. "When you asked to join my squadron, we agreed that New Rebellion concerns would take priority over Jedi training."
She glared at him. "I volunteered to join. And Jedi training is the New Rebellion's concern. They're part of the same thing."
The two BB units finished their conversation and swiveled their domes to regard the debate between their owners.
"Listen, I've allowed you plenty of shore leave to continue your training on your sacred island with the ghost of Skywalker." Wow, he couldn't believe how mentally deranged those words sounded. "But I am not letting you visit the wreckage of Starkiller Base. Not this soon."
She leaned in closer to him, and his heartrate increased. "In case you haven't noticed, I don't have a lightsaber. My last one split in half. Kyber crystals power the sabers, but they're almost impossible to find these days. Starkiller base was carved out of the carcass of llum, a planet held sacred by the Jedi during the Clone Wars because of all its kyber crystals. If I have any chance of finding a crystal for my new saber, it will be in the planet's debris."
She gave him a pleading look. "Poe, if I'm too stand any chance at defeating Kylo Ren when the time comes, I need a lightsaber. I've waited long enough. I need to do this."
He stepped back and folded his arms, fighting the desire to empathize. Feeling empathy could get you killed if you did it at the wrong time.
"How about a compromise?" he heard himself say, and a part of him listened eagerly to find out the rest. "You can go ahead with this, but I'm coming along as escort."
"I don't need an escort," she said. "I can handle myself."
"Kylo may be expecting you to do exactly what you're doing right now! The First Order could be waiting for you to show up. If you're going through with this, I'm coming along. End of discussion."
BB8 and his counterpart chirruped their opinions.
Poe grinned smugly. "See? They both agree with me."
Rey spouted a half sigh, half growl. "Fine. But I'm leaving in ten."
"I'll be ready in half," he assured her. He shook his head sardonically. "You're a real livewire sometimes, you know that, right?"
She smiled reservedly. "Look who's talking."
...
A short time later, two X-wings flew out of the New Rebellion's flagship and streaked into hyperspace.