Review Responses~
sarahmichellegellarfan1: Thanks for the review!
heroherondaletotheresue: Yeah... spoiler... hehe.
Also.
You bet I named a chapter Squad Goals!
Sorry, not sorry.
~TheObsessory
To The Stars and Back
Chapter 14; Squad Goals
A Fanfiction written by TheObsessory
Poe and I had been lucky enough to be part of the same Squadron during our last six months of training in the New Republic Starfleet.
At twenty three, it had been nearly two years since Poe and I had flown side by side, but hardly anything had changed. We were wiser, of course, having done countless missions in our time apart. Together we flourished, a well oiled machine. Three others had been with us, two that had worked with Poe once before and one that I had been in a squadron with since the beginning. The two Poe knew were Karé Kun, a beautiful black skinned human with countless braids atop her head and a sarcasm meter off the charts, and Muran, a short, silent man with narrowed eyes and short black hair. The only non-human who was part of our group was Iolo Arana, a Keshian with large, brightly colored eyes that could see far beyond any other humans, caramel skin a little darker than Poe's and a brave heart. He and Karé were nearly as inseparable as Poe and I.
Toward the end of our six months together, I got a bit melancholy. I had enjoyed my time with this group, far more than any before it. Against what I had promised I would not do, I became attached to this squadron.
The day before we were moved into our final squadron, in which we would be working closely, we all got together and raised a toast to our friendship and countless hours together.
"It's been an honor to work with each and every one of you. I hope all our paths cross once more. To the future." Poe raised his drink and we all followed suit, the cups and glasses in our hands clinking in the center.
"So," Karé started once she had downed her first glass, "Start the bets: Who gets Commander tomorrow, Poe or Sidra?"
Surprisingly enough, none of them had been in on our own little bet at the beginning of our training. They all, however, noted that while Poe had been in charge of this squadron officially, he leaned heavily on me for backup and answers.
"Don't make us pick favorites." Muran mumbled off to the side, inspecting his drink.
"Well my vote goes to Sid." Poe blabbered, already a little tipsy from his drinking.
"I second that." Karé raised another glass.
"I'm flattered, but I think Poe has my vote." I grinned at a mildly intoxicated Poe.
"As much as I love you, Sidra, it'd just be weird hearing orders from you." Iolo stated next, making everyone but Muran laugh.
"Come on, Muran, you're the tie breaker!" Karé called down the table to him.
He glanced between both Poe and I, his narrowed eyes searching.
"I'll take both." He said with a small smile.
"You're no fun." Karé grumbled.
Little did we know, Muran was more correct than we could have guess
"And lastly," The head of the New Republic Starfleet stood at a podium up on a bare stage, all the other squadrons having been called but this last one. None of our previous squadron had been added to a new one and it filled me with an ice cold fear. Had one of us not been chosen?
"As commander of Rapier Squadron, having graduated from the Pilot Training Center on Kolaador with flying colors," The audience chuckled at his joke, "and trained here for the last two years, Poe Dameron."
I felt a wide smile lift my cheeks as I saw Poe stand and make his way toward the stage with the audience applauding around him. But through my joy, I also worried. Official squadrons like Rapier only had four members. At least one of us was not going to be joining him.
"Joining Mr. Dameron on Rapier Squad will be Iolo Arana, Muran and Karé Kun."
All three of them got up rather slowly, looking mildly confused.
The moment my name was not uttered, my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. What had I done wrong? Everything was going so well-
"Hold your applause, please." He held up a hand, silencing not only the crowd, but my fears as well.
I glanced at Poe; although he looked ecstatic, I could see a hint of anger growing behind his eyes. He knew I had not been placed anywhere.
"Having followed this squadron for the last six months personally, I believe it is not yet finished."
Questioning murmurs went up through the crowd. I strained to find my father and sister but was unable to see them in the mass. Were they questioning what was happening just as much as I was?
"One knows when an exceptional bond and team has been made, and Rapier Squadron would not be finished without Sidra Van as co-commander beside Mr. Dameron."
I closed my eyes in a momentary prayer before opening them and striding toward the stage, mildly embarrassed at special occasion. We all stood together as the audience applauded, finally finding my father and Cerys in the crowd next to Kes. Seeing them only made my smile wider.
When we exited to the back of the stage, I felt like I could breathe again.
"Seems like Muran was right." Karé said begrudgingly, clapping me on the shoulder.
"I still can't believe that happened." I said with a small laugh, my hands still cold from the anticipation.
"None of us can, trust me." Iolo added in as we all stood together in a circle.
"We're the only squadron that wasn't split up." Karé added, "How strange is that?"
"They know a good team when they see one." Poe put his hand around my shoulder, giving me a sideways hug.
"Guess that 'epic' speech was for nothing." I chuckled, putting a little extra emphasis on "epic".
"Are you saying my speech-?" Poe was cut off as he was almost flung forward into the center of the ground, my sister clinging to his back. We hadn't noticed that the event had officially finished and family members had been allowed to the back of the stage to see their children and friends.
"Oh, so Poe gets a hug first-" I began with my arms crossed, feigning an annoyance.
At that, Cerys jumped at me, her arms wrapping around my neck.
"Gosh, I missed you two so much!" At fifteen years old, Cerys was nearly a full grown woman. We shared the same height and bodily proportions, but, as mentioned before, her colors were a little darker than my own. It was terrifying how much she resembled mother now.
I hugged her back tightly, sad that I had missed out on so much growth.
"Sidra, if you ever pull a stunt like that again, I think your father's going to have a heart attack." I heard Kes's voice and pulled away from Cerys, flashing a bright smile to where he stood next to Poe.
"Trust me, if something like that happens again, I'm the one who's going to be having the heart attack." I hugged my father next, holding him tightly.
"So what happens next?" Cerys asked, a glint of hope in her dark eyes.
"We start working right away, Cer. Not coming home this time." I said softly, a tight smile on my face.
She rolled her eyes.
"All you guys do is work. No wonder you guys only have each other, you don't have time to make friends."
Normally I would have fought back and told her I did, in fact, have friends, but we all just laughed instead.
It was bittersweet, seeing my family for only a few hours before we were sent off to the next section of our lives. We were told we were off to Mirrin to be stationed under Major Lonno Deso.
We had two hours to pack what little possessions we brought with us and prepare ourselves and our droids for the quick trip to our new home.
I was almost finished packing, roughly thirty minutes into our allotted two hours, when 88-5 rolled into my room, his bright beeps questioning.
"Ah, that's right, you weren't present for the ceremony, were you?" I sat on my bed, taking a momentary break to tell the white and gray droid what our future held.
"-and the best part?" He beeped expectedly at me, "We're in the same Squadron. You get to stay with BB-8, R4-T7, R5-D4 and BB-2."
BB-5 let out a "whir" of excitement, his beeps questioning further.
"Yeah, I don't know why this happened, but it did, so don't question it."
All of our droids were rather happy with each others company. All of the BB Units were a bit more friendly than the R Units (they tended to be a little more sarcastic in nature and kept to themselves, typically) but they usually put up with the frantic beeps and whirs of the BB Units.
I loved my little droid as much as the next person, but wasn't entirely happy with his color palette. He really was the most dull of all them. Poe got an orange BB-8 (of which I was most jealous), Muran a green BB-2, Karé's R4-T7 was red with gold highlights and Iolo's R5-D4 flaunted a teal.
Maybe next time BB-5 needed a touch up, I'd find better paints.
With a few more beeps and clicks of happiness, BB-5 was off, his little domed head leading him forward.
Having grown up around R Units for the most part, it still amazed me how much expression BB Units possessed. As they were a bit more new, their programming was much more advanced, which made for a more friendly droid. But there were always exceptions; Karé's R4 have been a faithful droid for many years, and was very close to her.
"What's it say when I'm done packing faster than you?"
I glanced over my shoulder to find Poe standing there, his one bag slung over his shoulder with BB-8 and BB-5 at his feet.
"Does it have to say anything?" I questioned, zipping my own black bag up, glancing over the room once more to make sure I wasn't leaving anything behind.
"You ready?" A child like grin was plastered on his face. Hard to believe it was finally time to go.
"Of course."
"Welcome to Mirrin Prime. I am Major Lonno Deso. Everything you do, you will report to me. Every mission. Every time you take your ship out." Major Deso was an extremely short man with many wrinkles, a balding head and pale green eyes. Yet his age didn't seem to stop him. He was very commanding in his stature, and had a strong voice, "Your job will include scouting, finding ships sending out distress signals, stopping pirates, etcetera. Do any of you have any questions for me?"
Deso had gotten straight to the point.
"Good. From what I hear, all five of you are exceptionally skilled pilots, but lack some fundamental listening skills." His gaze stopped on Poe, "I believe all of you will succeed, however, should there be any problems with the rankings and following of orders, there doesn't need to be five of you to Rapier Squadron." He paused, sweeping us over with the green eyes once more, "That will be all."
Once he had left, I felt the tension die.
"I'll be on my best behavior. Promise." Poe had obviously seen the look Deso gave him.
"You better be." Karé punched Poe lightly in the shoulder as we began our trek to our new rooms, our droids conversing behind us, "Can't imagine having a squadron without you."
"Ah, just you wait. We'll be making history before you even know it."
Pulled one on ya.
A bit cliche? Maybe. But hey, if "special treatment" wasn't given to half the hero's/heroine's we see, there wouldn't be a story.
Besides, for those of you who have read Before The Awakening, you already know Rapier Squadron isn't going to be five strong forever.
Also, probably should have mentioned this... oh... thirteen chapters ago?
Sidra = sid-ruh
Cerys = sair-is
For anyone curious...
Coming up in Chapter Fifteen: Poe and Sidra's very first run in with the First Order!
~TheObsessory