Bound to the Stars
There is a moment in every pilot's head when he gets his ship into space and stares out at the vast expanse of nothingness around him, and feels calm.
He is at peace with himself and the galaxy, everything is dark and quiet and collected.
This was not that moment for Commander Poe Dameron.
Swerving in and out of flying space rock, he barely had time to acknowledge the darkness around him as he checked his radar, hoping his tail was lost in the asteroid shower he'd flown directly into.
A dangerous move for any pilot, the Commander had let his pride grab hold of his controls for a brief moment, steering the ship straight into the flying chunks of rock and making his droid scream with panic behind him.
"Relax Beebee-Ate," he said, typing something into the controls and looking for any sign of the TIE fighter that he'd bumped into on his way back to the Rebel base, thus alerting a whole fleet to follow him. As he said it, he wasn't sure who he was trying to calm down more: the droid or himself.
Looping his X-Wing up and over a large asteroid, he used the brief moment to check his screen for nearby systems.
He couldn't stay hidden in the asteroid field forever; the odds of being shot down by the New Order lackey or crushed by a spinning piece of asteroid rose every second he stayed here. Eventually, he'd have to land his X-Wing somewhere more permanent to hide, and the sooner the better.
Because the chase had taken him all the way out to the outer rim, odds were not in his favor for finding a decent planet to make his hideout. He'd be lucky to find an inhabited planet, let alone one with ties to the Rebellion. Knowing that limited his choices to zero, Poe sighed and flipped through the readings. BB-8 beeped with relief when his screen reported life readings on a planet was within distance.
"I know, that's where we're headed. Prepare to land," Poe said, switching his X-Wing to auto so the droid could control it. As the little droid whirred in agreement, Poe turned his focus on the guns, preparing for a final defense if needed.
However, despite his radar lighting up with scattered New Order TIE's, none appeared in his visual. The asteroid belt had confused them all, something he considered very lucky.
Turning his attention back to the ship's screens, he did a quick read of the description of the planet in front of him.
"Mostly farmers Beebee-Ate, and definitely no one friendly with the New Order," he read more and raised his eyebrows with a shrug to say his thoughts had been correct. "Of course, no one friendly with the Rebellion either. Roughly 20,000 inhabitants, and a very high internal trade rate, interesting. Of course, dealings like that tend to result in unfriendly feelings towards strangers. Looks like you better cross your antenna Beebee-Ate. We may be in for a rough adventure."
The droid beeped his disapproval.
As his ship descended the atmosphere of Lothal, Poe grabbed his blaster, ready for anything.
Hey everybody! I hope you enjoy my new story! I know this chapter's short, but I hope it gets you excited for what's to come!