"You know this guy too?" Poe asked, right by my ear.
"I don't think so," I murmured as I stared at the newcomer, trying to find something familiar about him.
"You don't remember me, Hope?" He smirked down at me, his eyebrows drawing together in mock offense. "That almost hurts my feelings."
"What, all two of them?" I quipped back.
"Hey," Poe warned me. "He doesn't look like he's here to ask you on a date, do us a favor and don't tick him off."
I had forgotten I wasn't alone and had to think about defending Poe too. When it was just me it was so much easier, I only had to use the force to protect myself. Now I was outnumbered 3 to 1 and I wasn't liking those odds.
"It's kind of like a date," the giant shrugged. "If you want to call it that you can. Maybe it'll give you the illusion you had a choice in going."
"I don't have a choice?" I repeated, brows raised. "Why do you think that?"
"Because..." he took a step closer and the end of his staff didn't just rest harmlessly on the ground as anyone would expect, but landed right on Poe's ankle, the latter hollering in pain. "I just poisoned your friend here and you have to come with me to get the antidote."
I was stunned, just staring at Poe writhing in pain on the ground beneath me.
"You couldn't see that coming?!" He complained. "You didn't even try!"
"I didn't," I admitted as I just stared absently at his ankle, a few red puncture marks visible.
I don't know how I missed that, I hadn't seen it coming at all. What was wrong with me? Things just seemed to go wrong whenever Poe was around, this was the second time the force seemed to just not work.
"Well," I said, slapping my thighs as I stood up. "Ok then, where we headed?"
Poe was cursing me out in another language.
I heard voices coming up behind the new guy, which he responded to by twirling his staff around and smashing the control panel beside the door, causing it to close.
"That way," he pointed behind us with the staff now.
I helped Poe up and we followed Lucious and the giant. After passing through a few rooms we stopped in front of a blank wall that was the outer hull of the ship. To the best of my knowledge the forest was right beyond it. Poe limped beside me with a seemingly permanent scowl. I was pretty sure he was going to hate me forever now.
The giant glanced at me, a hint of mischief lighting his eyes. He reached a hand out to me and wagged his fingers in a 'give it' way. I gave him a 'what?' arched brow. His eyes glanced at my hip where my saber was. I frowned at him and handed it over begrudgingly.
To my surprise, he took it and twisted the bottom of the hilt igniting, not the purple crystal, but the white. He thrust it through the wall and started cutting out a doorway.
"White?" Poe questioned beside me, the scowl replaced with confusion. "Why is it white?"
"You don't know anything, do you?" The giant scoffed, nearly done with his task.
"Excuse me?" Poe challenged, squaring his shoulders.
The man stood and powered down the saber, tossing me the hilt. Both men were looking at me now and I didn't say a word.
"Are you gonna tell him or should I?" He asked me before kicking the wall down with a loud bang.
"The less he knows, the better off he'll be," I said as I followed Lucious and his master out into the forest, Poe following behind me, still wincing about his ankle.
"Cut the mystic Jedi crap, alright?" Poe complained.
"It's not Jedi, that's the point," The man grinned at him. "Green and blue sabers are associated with the Jedi order and red with the Sith."
"I knew that much," Poe muttered.
We came up to an odd, yet familiar vehicle. It sat six wheels on the ground, a rare thing to see compared to every hover vehicle. And it told me exactly what I'd just gotten into.
"Hope isn't with either of them," the tall man clarified.
When he said my name I finally remembered him. He'd looked much much different back then for sure. Before I could say anything about it though, Poe swayed beside me and passed out, tipping over my direction. I tried to catch him but the sturdy little guy took me down with him and I landed on my back with the wind knocked out of me. Tarrin, that was his name, came over and easily picked Poe up off of me and set him in the vehicle.
"So, Tarrin," I sighed as I propped myself up on my elbows. "You grew up nicely."
"Thanks for noticing," he smiled as he extended a hand to help me up.
"Gonna try and make me queen again?"
"Something like that."
Poe: New Perspectives
I woke up to a throbbing in my head and a gently nudging to my chest. After a moment I heard her voice calling my name. It was like coming up for air after being under water too long. Gasping, I bolted upright, everything looking blurry and out of focus. But somehow I felt calm and my breathing soon stabilized, a warmth spreading from the two hands pressed to my chest. A sharp electric popping filled my ears and when my vision stopped being doubled I saw Hope right in front of my face.
Her brows were drawn slightly, putting a hint of concern on her face, and I saw a shock collar around her neck. My eyes trailed to her hands on my chest, just pulling away now, and they were bound with shock cuffs as well.
"You ok?" She asked me, that huge guy from earlier standing behind her.
I took a second to notice we were in a tent and I wasn't bound in any way, only she was. The crackling had stopped which made me assume she'd done something to set it off when she touched me.
"Yeah," I groaned, rubbing my eyes. "I thought I was a goner there."
"Don't worry, you were never gonna die," Hope said with a hint of irritation but it wasn't directed at me. "It wasn't deadly poison, just something that puts you in a type of coma until you get the antidote."
"That's comforting, I was definitely not willing to die for you," as soon as the words left my mouth a huge hand seized my throat.
"You watch your mouth," the guy warned me with a fire in his eyes as Hope grabbed his arm and began pleading for him to let go.
"Tarrin! Let go!" Hope asserted and the electric crackling came back until she winced.
That made him let go of me and I coughed.
"Why are you defending your prisoners honor?" I asked confused as I rubbed my throat.
"She's not my prisoner, she willing put on the shackles as an act of good faith that she wouldn't escape after we woke you up. And, if you weren't such a clueless idiot, you wouldn't disrespect a hero like her," the guy, Tarrin I'm guessing, jabbed me in the chest a few times to make his points. It hurt like a punch each time.
She rolled her eyes as she caught her own breath from the electric shock she'd just received.
"That's enough," she tried to say, but he spoke over her.
"She's the Star Tripper," he clarified.
My eyes widened as I looked back at her with her head hung low, hands braced on her knees, as if ashamed of being the most talked about vigilante in the galaxy.
"She's the Star Tripper?" I asked Tarrin as I pointed at her. "The one who steals from the arms dealers and rebuilds the towns and villages destroyed by the first order? That's her?"
"You really don't know anything do you?" Tarrin narrowed his eyes at me then. "It's not just the first order, the resistance leaves wreckage in its wake as well."
I had nothing to say to that. Luckily Hope spoke up.
"That's enough. We made a deal, you got me and he goes free," she said, standing upright again. "So release him."
"Gladly," Tarrin consented and opened the flap in the tent, gesturing for me to leave.
I glanced at Hope without making a move. She stared back at me and finally made a motion with her eyes toward the opening.
'Get out of here!' Her eyes said.
"What are you gonna do with her?" I asked, swinging my legs over the side of the cot but not getting up. I could feel her roll her eyes.
"It's none of your business, but we're going to make her our leader," Tarrin said before pointing again for me to get out.
"You have to kidnap your leaders?" I asked, confused. "What, you guys suck that bad at what you do?"
"Poe!" Hope snapped. "For force sake, just go while he still allows it. Go back to the rebels and Leia and BB-8."
There was a pleading in her eyes that begged me to go, but there was a feeling growing into a resolve within me.
"I don't just leave people behind. Sorry pal, you a two-fer," I said as I crossed my ankles and got comfy.
"Oh you insufferable little-" Hope groaned before grabbing me by my flight suit and trying to forcefully drag me out.
She got me to the opening despite my best efforts to resist her, but then she crumpled under the electric current again. I caught her and threw her over my shoulder, stepping out of the tent into the bright light. As my eyes adjusted I saw I was vastly outnumbered.
"Listen," I said to Tarrin in the most diplomatic tone I could muster. "She was a prisoner of the Resistance first, but... I owe her a life debt."
"You don't owe me anything, put me d- ow! Hey!" She hollered when I smacked the back of her thigh to shut her up.
"I just want to make sure I'm leaving her in good hands, alright?" I tried to stall.
"He could kill you, like, so easily, it's not even funny. You need to just go- ow! Stop that!" She tried to escape me but the electricity buzzed again and she slumped back down. It must measure exertion.
Tarrin smirked humorlessly at me.
"Alright, you can stay for the celebration," he acquiesced, crossing his thick arms. "And if you survive it we'll let you leave afterward. Just because she seems to really want you to."
With a nod to him I set Hope back on her feet, my hands landing on her waist to steady her. Tarrin yelled something for everyone to hear which made them all cheer and scurry off busily.
"Dameron, I was trying to help you, jeez," Her face was red as she scolded me, pushing my hands away.
"And I'm trying to help you," I told her. "We'll get out of here together and you're coming back to the resistance with me."
"It would be easier for me to escape without you! They've tried this a few times before and they never learn, I'd be free by dawn," she explained.
"If it's that easy then we'll both be free by dawn. I'm not letting you out of my sight till I know if I can trust you," I told her, only realizing as the words came out that I wanted a reason to trust her, I was hoping for it.
She stared at me like she was resigning herself to this fate.
"Follow my lead and don't, absolutely do not drink anything they give you," she said after heaving a big sigh.