Chapter 4

Poe Dameron

The Resistance pilot, Poe Dameron, sighed as he checked and double checked to make sure that they were heading in the right direction. They were. The man rubbed his head tiredly as he leaned back in his chair. The resistance was on its last leg, as most of the ships were destroyed and they were basically on the run. The First Order had destroyed most of the Resistance's fleet, with the only ship left being the Millennium Falcon. General Organa managed to find a secret base that the Resistance could use before Poe, Finn, Rey and Rose left to find the only remaining Jedi left in the galaxy.

A Jedi Grand Master named Madame Moraes.

General Organa said that she might help, but that was a very big maybe. According to the former princess of Alderaan, Moraes was a veteran of the Clone Wars and a very strict Grand Master. Leia hadn't heard anything from the woman since the news of the massacre on Yavin IV. Which was why the General of the Resistance had sent her best pilot out to find her. The General and the higher-ups had assumed she was dead, but Leia wasn't giving up hope.

"How much longer, Poe?" Finn asked. The dark-haired pilot turned to his droid, BB-8, who beeped a reply as he connected with the ship's mainframe. It took a little bit, but he managed to give Poe an estimate.

"Surprisingly, not that much longer. We should be there in a couple of hours."

"I feel like I've been cooped up in here for days." Rey groaned. Beside her, Rose Tico, a maintenance worker for the Resistance, giggled a little bit.

"We have," She stated, pointing at the chronometer on the wall. "We've been pushing it really hard, in order to reach Earth."

"It's a good thing we used the Hyperspace lanes and smugglers' routes. Otherwise, it would take forever to get here." Poe commented. Silence returned to the Millennium Falcon as Poe all but pushed the throttle down harder when the ship's navicomputer signaled that they had entered the Milky Way Galaxy. The only sounds were BB-8's occasionally beeping, and the ship's engines until Finn spoke.

"So, what's the plan?"

"Well, I was thinking we kind of wing it this time around." Poe heard Rey answer. He cocked an eyebrow.

"Oh? And, uh, pray tell, why?"

"Think about it." The scavenger proposed. "No matter what we plan, we always end up improvising anyway. Besides, we don't want to go rush into things, with guns a-blazing. Master Skywalker said that Madame Moraes is very protective of her city, and if there is even an ounce of suspicion that we might be dangerous, we won't stand a chance."

The other three were silent, different thoughts running through their mind. Poe tried, despite Rey's belief, to come up with a backup plan, just in case that they ran into trouble. It was a big possibility that they would run into trouble, as trouble always seemed to find them. Rose was worried that something like the incident on the First Order Star Destroyer would happen, only much worse, seeing how they were going in there blind. It was a fear that pushed through the mechanic, but she worked on some important things to help keep her mind off of that fear. Finn, in all honesty, agreed with his Jedi friend. There was a strange coalition between them making plans and then those plans going to all heck. So, the First Order defector agreed.

Finally, after another moment of tense silence, BB-8 announced that the planet Earth was approaching. Poe nodded, took the ship off of auto-pilot and directed the clunky ship towards the coordinates that were getting closer and closer. However, there was a major problem that had the four of them staring and gasping in shock. Destroyed First Order ships floated around the planet's atmosphere. Large chunks of the destroyer floated off here or there, but mostly, the ships were intact. As they drew closer, everyone inside the Millennium Falcon saw several bodies floating amongst the debris. It caused a shiver to involuntarily run-down Poe's spine. The pilot glanced over at Finn, who was looking at the scene with a hard expression.

The pilot managed to snap out of his shock before directing the ship forward. They passed the atmosphere and was approaching land. The space port was coming in closer. Poe was preparing for landing, when BB-8 told him that there was an incoming transmission.

"Unknown ship, you have no clearance to land. Identify yourself."

Figuring it was best to give them an alias, Poe gave his response, "My name is Petrich Dominick. I wish to land and refuel."

"How many on board?"

"Including myself and my droid? I'd say six."

"Copy that. Landing party has been deployed. Do not divert from your course or raise your shields. If you show any signs of hostility, the landing party will not hesitate to shoot you down. Understood?"

"Understood, sir."

"Standby."

"I wonder why they have security so beefed up." Rey wondered.

"Probably has something to do with the First Order ships in orbit." Finn suspected in a monotoned voice. Poe couldn't listen to the rest of the conversation as the landing party made its appearance. He was guided to a decently maintained space port, that had very little activity. As the pilot and BB-8 were shutting the ship down, there was a knock on the landing ramp. Poe stood and made his way towards the landing ramp, pressing a button that lowered it. A human male with grey clothes and hair scowled at him.

"Please stay with your ship at all times. If you choose to go to the city, here are your papers." The man handed Poe five official documentation, identifying his group as off-worlders. "And here is the identification for your droid. If you or anyone need help, just show the authorities your papers and they will direct you."

"Thank you, sir." Poe answered. "And don't worry, my group won't cause any trouble."

"See to it that they don't." He turned on his heels and left. Poe felt his face turn into a scowl as he turned back into the ship. Rey was strapping her staff onto her back, while Finn placed a blaster on their belts.

"Everyone ready?" He asked. Everyone nodded in agreement. "Okay then. Let's get going." He took a step forward, only to stop and turn around. "I guess someone needs to stay with the ship."

"I'll stay." Rose volunteered. Finn looked like he wanted to protest, but the mechanic interrupted, "I'm not really skilled at all in fighting. Besides, someone has to make sure our only ride isn't stolen. BB-8 can help me with some repairs."

The droid said something really vulgar but Poe didn't really hear it. He was thinking about the options. Finally, he sighed. "Okay. BB-8, you and Rose stay here and make sure that the ship is safe." BB-8, again, said something really vulgar, which caused Poe to scowl. "What did I say about using that type of language. And I don't want you to cause any trouble. So, you'll help Rose, and if she says you were a big help, then I'll give you an oil bath."

BB-8's top part spun in excitement and agreement. After the five of them synced their communications with each other and a quick estimate of when they would return, Poe, Finn and Rey exited the ship. Rey glanced around the empty hanger with suspicion. She remembered the brief stories that Master Luke Skywalker told her before her official training began. He said that the Parisian Space Port was the busiest space port on Earth. However, from what she could see, the only ship in the port was theirs.

"Come on." Finn ordered gently. The former scavenger smiled softly before following the other two males. When they exited the space port, they were shocked at the primitiveness of the city, but also its beauty. They walked a little further. Many of the people they came into contact with gave them wary looks or wide berths. Poe wondered why they were doing that. He glanced down at his civilian clothing, before glancing at Rey and Finn in theirs. None of the Resistance members wore anything that would point them to the Resistance.

But everyone gave them a wide berth.

"Should we ask for directions?" Finn whispered. Poe nodded and walked up to what he believed was a local.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" The young girl looked up from her device. "Could you point me in the direction of the Jedi Temple of Paris?"

For some reason, the young girl just looked uncomfortable. "Sure. But I'm afraid that you won't be able to get inside. The Grand Master has closed down the Temple, but don't ask me why. Only Jedi can enter it now."

Poe unconsciously glanced over at Rey, who nodded when she caught his eyes. Trying to look a little down, the pilot said to the girl, "That's okay. We're meeting a friend there."

"Oh, okay." The girl placed her device in her pocket and pointed down the street. "When you get to the end of the street, turn left. It shouldn't be hard to miss."

"Thanks." Poe turned away from the girl and turned towards his friends. They nodded and quickly started to walk, using the directions the girl gave them. However, instead of a temple they came to an abandoned building. This made the pilot…. thoroughly confused.

"I mean, it doesn't look like a temple." Finn commented as they approached the building. Poe did the same thing, however, the two males stopped when they realized that Rey wasn't behind them. Instead, she had her head bowed and her eyes closed.

"What is it, Rey?" Poe asked, feeling on edge. "Is there danger?"

"No." The former scavenger whispered. "There's something else, here. This building," she opened her eyes, "there's more to it than meets the eye. I think this is part of the Temple."

"I'm not following." Finn stated slowly. Poe nodded in silent agreement.

"I can't really explain it. I can just sense that this might be part of the temple."

"So, we're going to break into a temple, that is guarded by hundreds of mystic warriors that could kill us with a flick of their wrists?" Finn asked.

"Pretty much." Rey agreed. The First Order defector sighed as he rubbed his forehead, muttering about wondering how he always got stuck on dangerous assignments. The three of them quickly entered the building after that, following Rey as she was the only one that could sense the Force. They were led deeper and deeper into the building, eventually ending up in a cavern of some sort, filled to the brim with bones. Poe gave a little shiver as they continued to walk.

Eventually, the dirty, bone-filled cavern ended and a well-kept and beautifully decorated tunnel began. The three kept their eyes opened, in case there was an ambush waiting for them. At an intersection, Rey stopped. Poe stopped too, though he turned around when he thought he heard someone coming their way. But as he turned his head, he didn't see anyone.

"Any second now, Rey." Poe prompted.

"I can't…." Her eyes snapped open. In a blink of an eye, she had her quarterstaff out in a flash. "There's someone coming!"

Only as soon as those words left her mouth, masked warriors appeared out of nowhere, practically melting out of the shadows. Poe and Fin couldn't draw their weapons fast enough before the warriors pulled their weapons out of their hands and tossing the blasters away. Rey was the only one with her weapon, but an unspoken threat from the supposed leader had her dropping her quarterstaff. The leader removed the mask and hood, revealing a twenty-six-year-old blonde-haired woman with startling blue eyes. Poe felt a little upset that such a young-looking woman ambushed them.

"Hand over your papers and bag." She ordered. The three of them complied, though Rey was a little hesitant to hand over her bag. A thought suddenly occurred to Poe, remembering that Rey placed the broken lightsaber of Luke Skywalker in her bag. The woman suddenly turned towards the pilot with those hard-blue eyes and a scowl. Her eyes darted back to the bag she now held in her hands. "What's the matter, Petrich Dominick? Smuggling something from our temple?"

Poe chose to glare at her. Instead of wilting away in fear, the woman just smirked a little evilly.

"I think we should take them to the Grand Master. Find out, just exactly, why they're here."

Before he could even open his mouth to protest, his sight was plunged into darkness when a bag or sack of some sort was thrown over his eyes. His balance thrown off, Poe allowed himself to have his wrists tied behind his back, and all but dragged forward. The sounds of scuffling next to him had him praying to whatever deity he could think of that Finn and Rey were going quietly. The woman that had captured them had said something about the Grand Master.

Minutes later (or hours, it was really hard to tell when you have a bag over your face), Poe and presumably the other two were forced to kneel. Suddenly, the bag was removed. Even though they appeared to be in a dimly lit cavern, Poe was still thrown off guard by the sudden removal of the bag and shut his eyes until his eyes adjusted. Once they were, the pilot glanced to his left, glad to see that his friends weren't in any worse for wear. When he directed his eyes forward, he saw that he was in front of an old woman with long, stark white hair. The woman's back was to them but she lifted her head when she heard his grunt.

"What is the meaning of this interruption?" The woman demanded.

The younger blonde woman knelt in front of the group, kneeling with her head lowered. "We caught these three in the Catacombs, Master. I believe they were trying to break in and steal something."

Poe swallowed hard when the woman stood and turned. Though old and frail-looking, the woman looked like she could pound them all into the dirt with very little thought. Her wrinkled face that might've been flawless was wrinkled up in a scowl of disgust. The woman's coffee brown eyes scanned them. Using a cane, the woman moved forward until she was right in front of the group. Her eyes landed on Poe, and a moment later, a shriveled hand came out and hovered.

Suddenly, the pilot grunted in pain as the woman tried to Force read his mind. It wasn't a pleasant experience the first time it happened, and, surprisingly, it wasn't a pleasant experience now. His mental shields were stronger now, so only information about him being a Resistance pilot slipped. He sighed in relief when the woman moved on to Finn, and eventually Rey. Rey was the only one of the group that didn't cry out in pain. Probably because she had training. The woman hummed, stroking her chin in thought.

"You are an interesting group, aren't you?" The woman hummed as she started to walk back to her original place. "A pilot for the Galactic Resistance under the tutelage of Leia Organa, a First Order defect, and a scavenger from Jakku. How interesting."

The blonde woman handed the older woman the Rey's bag. Instantly, she pulled out the broken lightsaber of Luke Skywalker. Her face became the epitome of fury as she turned to the group.

"Where did you get this?" She demanded.

"It was given to me by Luke Skywalker himself." Rey answered with a flat tone. She glared at the woman who stared down at her with pure rage.

"Not only did you trespass on sacred ground, you defile it by bringing a weapon used for darkness!"

Okay, it's official, Poe thought, this woman is definitely scarier than Kylo Ren.

"Please, we need Madame Moraes's help." Finn stated. "The Resistance is in trouble."

"That is not my problem."

Poe's eyes widened as realization hit him. "You're Madeline Moraes."

"That's Madame Moraes to you rebel." The blonde woman corrected harshly.

"Adeline." Madame Moraes stated softly. "That is enough. Release them, at once."

"But, Master-"

"Do as I say."

The blonde woman, Adeline, bowed her head in submission. "As you wish, Master."

Poe sighed as the restraints around his wrists were broken. He glared at the woman as he rubbed his raw wrists.

"I will give you twenty-four hours, then you must leave." Madame Moraes stated.

"But the Resistance-"

"Can and will succeed without me." The old woman stood on shaky legs, aided by her cane and Adeline. She shrugged the blonde woman off, and stood as straight as she could, glaring down at the three of them. "This planet has seen enough suffering at the hands of the Empire and the First Order, and I will not put these people through any more trouble. Adeline will show you to your rooms. You need to leave at first light."

Poe sighed as he and the others were pulled to their feet and pushed out the door. The walk was very slow and long, and eventually they were all shoved into different rooms. The pilot sighed as he paced the room. The room wasn't anything special. Just a bed, a desk, chair and a separate room with the bathroom. The crème colored wall was unadorned, and it was similar to prison cell, but it looked relatively comfortable.

There wasn't anything Poe could do, except continue to pace. He could plan though. They took his blaster, but they couldn't find his communicator, as he had stuffed it in his boots. Taking his boot off, the pilot overturned it. The slim piece of metal clattered to the floor. Right as he reached for it, it went off. Poe sighed as he answered it.

"Finn? Rey?"

"I'm here." Rey answered.

"Same." Finn's voice same. "They separated us."

"Probably for good reason." Rey stated. "They might be afraid that we may turn out to be a part of the First Order."

"Rey, do you think you could escape and talk to Madame Moraes?" The Jedi was quiet, probably as she started to think of a plan of some sort. Just when he thought that the communications were cut off accidentally, the woman spoke.

"I think I could technically get out and make my way, but that's only in theory. I've never had to sneak around an actual Jedi Temple filled with Jedi."

"Okay." Poe muttered. He sighed. "Just be careful. Finn, you just stay in your room."

"Way ahead of you." Finn muttered.

"I'll contact Rose and tell her the plan."

Neither Rose nor BB-8 were too happy about having to keep each other company for another day or so, but with some threats and promises Poe didn't know if he would be able to keep, the two agreed to stay put. Once that was over, Poe decided it would be best to get some sleep. A glance at the chronometer told him it was only three-thirty, but there wasn't anything else to do, unless he wanted to get in trouble with the Grand Master. So, he flopped on his bed. The ceiling was the same unadorned, bland color as the rest of the room, but after a few minutes of staring at it, his eyes started to drift shut. After another ten minutes, Poe Dameron was asleep.

However, something pulled him from his peaceful rest. He rubbed his eyes as he sat up, trying to see through the piercing darkness. The chronometer informed him that it was one minute away from midnight. The room was quiet, and Poe was pretty much a heavy sleeper when he actually got to sleep (aside from quick naps of course), so he had no idea what woke him.

That is, until he saw a figure moving around in the darkness. Slowly, as to not inform the intruder that he was awake and aware of his/her presence, Poe reached for the nearest heaviest object he could find. The pilot had no idea what he grabbed, but it was heavy enough to leave a dent in someone's skull if he swung it hard enough. And believe me, he would. Slowly, the pilot stood up, careful to do as silently as possible. Plans started to form in his mind, and efficiently and quickly as he could, Poe started to go through them.

If he remembered the layout of the room correctly, there was a light switch just a couple of steps away. If he could reach it without his attacker noticing, then he could disorient the intruder long enough to tackle him or her to the ground. It wasn't the best plan and it had its flaws but it was the only thing that he could come up with. Shifting his makeshift weapon in his hand, Poe launched forward. As soon as his hand made contact with wall, and in short, the light switch, the pilot didn't hesitate to flip it on. Poe had his weapon pulled back, ready to swing, only to stop short.

His attacker was a young girl with coffee-brown hair and eyes. She wore Jedi robes and had a braid that fell over her shoulder. The girl looked to be no older than sixteen. Poe and the unknown girl stared at each other, unable to make a move in case the other turned out to be hostile. Finally, the young girl's fearful face dropped and she cocked her hip out, crossed her arms and had a look of complete and utter annoyance.

"You scared the heck out of me!" she shouted.

"Well, you shouldn't have snuck into my room!" Poe shouted back. He dropped his fear and weapon in slight relief that there wasn't an assassin coming to kill him. However, that begged the question: why was this person here? The girl wore clothes that marked her as a Jedi, probably as a Padawan if the braid that fell over her shoulder was any indication of her rank in the Temple. How did she get in here, also? Poe distinctly remembered hearing the lock to the door click when Adeline threw him in here.

"Whatever." The girl said. She strode over to the desk and sat on top of the empty surface. Poe kept studying her closely. "You're Poe Dameron, right?"

The pilot froze and immediately went on the defensive. "How do you know that?"

The girl shrugged as her response. "You're Shara Bey and Kes Dameron's son, aren't you?"

"What's it to you?"

"Look," the girl started, an irritated note in her voice. "A…. relative of mine fought in the Battle of Yavin. And when I talked to him, spoke of your parents. They were really good, especially your mother. And you apparently."

Poe swallowed the sadness and anger that followed the girl's little speech. He knew what she was talking about. His mother told him stories about the Jedi star pilot that came before Luke Skywalker, who managed to help gain an advantage before the Death Star was destroyed. The pilot couldn't remember the name of the man at the moment and it was really starting to bug him. But he wasn't sure why. Maybe he could figure out who the girl was. However, as he looked up, Poe was surprised to see that the girl was gone. The door wasn't even open. He checked the rest of the room but found nothing.

Drowsiness suddenly overtook him. Finally, Poe gave up his search and laid down on his bed, entering a deep sleep.