Hey guys! So this is easily the LONGEST chapter I've written for this story, but unfortunately there is no Mara in it. Also, this scene and the dialogue come from the POE DAMERON COMIC SERIES, so please not that I don't have the rights to the lines and characters used in this scene. As well as the rest of this story pretty much except for Mara and her family. Lolz. I did add my own lines, of course, so you're not just reading the comic book haha.

ENJOY AND PLEASE DON'T HATE ME FOR THOSE LAST TWO CLIFFIES

AND MAYBE THIS CLIFFY

~Mistro~

~.~.~.~.~

Poe and the Black Squadron were already leaving the base when BB-8 had a realization. Over the headset, he tapped into Poe's ear with the thought that was on his mind. Where was Mara this morning?

Poe sat up a bit straighter in his seat. Suddenly the X-Wing felt uncomfortable, as if he were trapped in a glass case without the ability to avoid any questions hurtled at him. "She's alright, buddy. Don't worry."

BB-8 paused to consider Poe's answer. It wasn't like him not to be straightforward. Once again, he asked, Where was Mara this morning?

Poe let a long sigh fall from his lips. His vision of the stars was tinted orange from the cover on his helmet, making him wonder if he was really in space or still stuck in a dream. "She got mixed up in a bad situation." BB-8 made a sound of worry. "I know, buddy, I know. I'm worried about her too." Poe shifted in his seat after the confession, still unable to get her swollen eyes out of his mind. She had been crying and he was unable to fix it. "She's a tough girl. She can handle things until we get back."

He was suddenly reminded of his conversation with the crew just before they had left the base that morning. Leia had already reminded him of the importance of finding Tekka, not to mention her brother in the grand scheme of things. He had to force a smile the entire time, trying not to remind himself that Mara was innocently dripping sweat behind bars.

Earlier that morning…

"Alright, alright!" Poe spoke cheerfully as his teammates, dressed in their orange uniforms, stared blankly back at him. "Look at you guys! Looking good. Looking tough." He turned to his most trusted mechanic. "Are the ships fuelled up and ready, Oddy?"

"Yeah, Poe." Oddy cast a worried look over his face. Poe knew what was coming next. "And don't worry… I double checked them for any complications."

Poe sucked in a sharp breath, unsure of how to react to his statement. He didn't blame him for being suspicious about Mara. People didn't know her as well as Poe did, and there was still anger in peoples' hearts at the loss of their friends. "Great, Oddy," Poe finally said. "Thanks for doing that."

"I wish I were going with you, though."

Poe placed a promising hand on his friend's shoulder. It was a conversation they had already had many times over, and would certainly have again. "You'll get your shot, buddy. Little more training and you'll be right up there with us. One thing the Resistance needs is pilots."

Jessika joined them, the sarcasm in her voice still present despite the early time on the clock. "If you keep training Mara Crescent, I'm sure we'll have another member on the team in no time." Oddy shot Poe a look of annoyance, but neither of them could say anything before Jessika spoke again. "Where exactly are we going, anyway? I was working on my engines. I had an idea to get my power converter efficiency up by fifteen percent. And then you called us for this…" She scoffed with annoyance. "Whatever this is. I had to put the whole thing back together before I was finished."

Poe could sense the aggression between his two comrades. He suspected that it was because of Mara, but he couldn't change the way he felt about her innocence. All he could do was apologize. "I'm sorry, Jess. It's classified." Leia had warned him that morning not to discuss the details with the others. "At least for now."

"Classified?" Oddy rolled his eyes. "I've been fighting with Leia for decades. I was at Endor. You think that'd earn me a little trust."

Kare and Snap both joined the others, jumping in at the chance to have a good old fashioned morning rant. "Snap fought at Jakku, don't forget," Kare backed up her lover. "You're lucky they let wither one of you old-timers anywhere near a fighter these days." She winked over at Snap to show her lack of sincerity. "Don't complain."

"Come on, Kare!" Snap chuckled despite his blushed cheeks. "I was only sixteen at Jakku."

Poe had already blown off the conversation. They didn't have time to waste, nor did he have the energy to have the others suspect him of being favorited by Leia. Again. Despite them all being adults, they certainly recalled how to act like children. "You're my team. You're my friends." Poe shouted out to them as he flipped on his ship. "We're the Black Squadron, and it's an honor to fight together. That's what we should remember."

Back on the unknown planet…

Poe and BB-8 had already left the others at their waiting base. He was going to head into the large clay caves by himself in order not to put his friends at risk. Well, him and BB-8. He didn't know exactly what he was about find inside, but if he was lucky, it would be the religious tribe Leia had told him about. If they were there, they would certainly know about Tekka's whereabouts.

Poe could spot the entrance of the cave growing closer as he picked up the speed on his ship. Turning his head back to BB-8, he said with a smile, "Watch this."

BB-8 made out the large hole in the rocks, seeing a glowing red beam coming from far down the rocky edges. With a hint of fear, BB-8 asked what his next move was going to be. After all, the pilot was well protected while BB-8 was entirely uncovered on the roof.

"You'll see!" Poe shouted.

They entered the hole quickly and smoothly, hearing the large metal doors close behind them. BB-8 shouted something that Poe barely managed to pick up against the sound of the wind. "You're picking up a signal?" Poe called back to his partner. "Listen, BB-8, I think we've got some more immediate problems, okay? See if you can send out a bounce pulse. Get a map going. Maybe let me see some of these turns ahead of the-"

Just as Poe turned a corner of the dark cave, the side of his ship caught on the tightened edges of the hole. The horrible noise reverberated, almost causing Poe to lose hold of the steering wheel and clutch his ears in surprise.

"Any time now, buddy!" He cried back in desperation.

BB-8 was already ahead of him. He had already sent his scanners out to receive the rest of the cave's layouts. When it was ready, he sent the information to Poe's main screen.

"I can see it." Poe looked at the tunnels scattered about his map. "The cavern opens up a bit ahead. That might give us room to move!"

Adrenaline. Pure adrenaline. That was what was pumping into his veins, feeding his ego and his energy like nothing else in the world. He sank back into his seat slightly, reminding himself that this was why he had joined the Resistance in the first place. It was a feeling he believed that everyone should know, whether they got it from falling in love, dancing, singing, or maybe even repairing ships.

BB-8's question distracted Poe from his thoughts. "No!" Poe laughed in response. "We can't turn around, BB. We've got to choice but to follow through, pal. This is the only way in and I don't feel like flying home and telling General Organa that we couldn't complete the mission because we got scared of a cave!" He laughed again, trying to put his friend at ease. "Besides, don't you want to see what's down there? I know I do."

Another sharp corner carried them into a wider room with only stalagmites and stalagmites lining their way. "That's much better. Looks like we're through the worst of it, BB-8." He let himself release a heavy sigh, one that he had been holding in since he had left Mara that morning. "That was some maze. Let's slow it down. Maybe catch our breath here for a second?"

Suddenly from behind, the familiar sound of crackling fire and tumbling rocks startled them out of their desires. Poe could see in the reflection of his glass window the burst of flames and spitting of pebbles that propelled his jet forward. They had clearly set off some kind of alarm and only just missed the explosive set for intruders.

"Great." Poe couldn't think of much else to say. "Proximity mines in the ceiling? Really? How old fashioned of them… Looks like people haven't been down here for quite some time." Poe's voice was calm, but his fingers flew across the dashboard to keep control of his ship. One by one, the rocks were crashing down around them along with flames larger than the walls. "The whole thing's coming down on us! This is practically a kill box. We've got to get out of here, pal! Find me an exit!"

Once again, BB-8 was on the scout. He could feel his metal getting warmer with the explosions, but was more concerned about the safety of his owner. BB-8 quickly found a small entrance just ahead of them and relayed the information to Poe's main screen.

"I've got it!" Poe laughed happily. "Nice one, BB-8! Hold tight!" He aimed for the small entrance, which just so happened to be secured by another large door. The only issue was that the door had started to close, threatening the entrance of their ship. "Yes, BB-8. I can see that the door is closing!" BB-8 whizzed another concern. "Yes, BB-8! I know that we won't fit!" Though he said the words, he chose not to believe them. Instead, he aimed his ship straight for its possible doom. "Come on… Divert all power to engines!" BB-8 did as he was told, kicking the X-Wing into a final thrust. "We can do this!" Poe bobbed his head around as the thought crossed his mind. "Probably!"

And just like the mystery of a cat finding itself somewhere that it shouldn't, Poe and his X-Wing made their way through the tiny crack without so much as a scratch. He immediately slowed his ship down when it entered the next room, which was indeed more like a room than the rest of the cave. He couldn't help but gasp in surprise at the nature of things.

Before him, a hollowed and deep room stood in circular shape. There were no bodies to be seen, but instead multiple machines hooked around the circular rim of the area. All of them were pumping out wires, which connected to something in the heart of the open space. It was a large, blue orb and though it seemed peaceful at first, Poe couldn't help but get a sick feeling in his stomach.

He landed his plane gently on the ground, trying not to give any onlookers an unnecessary worry. He wasn't there to harm them, only to talk.

When he and BB-8 climbed out of the ship, they took a single glance at one another. "No," Poe raised a brow in response. "Not what I was expecting either. I'm going to check in with the others. We should let them know that we made it."

Poe went to grab his communicator from his pocket. Its touch reminded him of when Mara had sent him a message during his last mission. He could remember how her voice only came halfway through. Of course, he hadn't told her that at the base to taunt her, but truthfully he hadn't heard everything she had said. But he had heard enough.

"I have nobody else to speak to..."

"... pursued a career in art ..."

"I don't know if you can hear me..."

"... when you kissed me."

"When we had those terrible drinks on Tatooine, and you told me about your interests, I felt lucky to get to know you."

"... scar hidden somewhere you can't see."

"I have to go."

That was all he had heard. He hadn't forgotten a single thing she had uttered that night, but his mind could only make up the rest. Poe pushed the thought away, for the moment at least, to ring in his team members. "Black Two, come in."

"I read you, Black Leader." Snap answered. "Did you make it through all right?"

"Yeah." Poe couldn't take his eyes off of the glowing orb as he spoke. "A little dicey, but I'm in."

"What's down there?"

Poe turned his head to get a better look at the thing. In very basic terms, it was an egg. He hoped that it wasn't, otherwise he wouldn't have the slightest clue about what creature it held inside. "It's hard to say. It looks like a settlement, but it's deserted as far as I can tell. There's a pretty big egg, though."

"An egg…? What are you…?" Snap rolled his eyes. Poe liked to play games and he wasn't going to be falling for it this time. "Listen, is there anywhere we can land? The scanners don't see a flat surface anywhere near here bigger than a Gundark."

"The cave's a tricky flight. I almost didn't make it through. You guys should be good on fuel for a bit. Why don't you let me look around first and I'll see if I-"

The familiar sensation of a bullet hitting his hand caused Poe to fling his communicator on the ground. Without even looking up to face his enemy, Poe clutched his hand weakly. "You shot the comlink right out of my hand!" Poe lifted his eyes to see a group of people, their foreheads marked with a large blue dot, staring back at him. As strange as they were, he couldn't help but continue his complaint. "There's no need for violence." BB-8 made a sound of agreement, causing the strange civilians to redirect their guns towards the droid. Poe immediately stepped in front, his heart pounding in his chest at the thought of losing BB-8. "Take it easy, everyone. Just calm down. I'm sure we can all be pals." They stared back at him, continuing to say nothing. "Eventually."

"Who are you?" It was a woman who spoke first, her aged voice making her seem wise. Poe wondered if she had once been close to Tekka.

"My name is Poe Dameron," he said truthfully. His hands were still raised in innocence. Clearly these people had been hiding underground a lot longer than Leia predicted. "The droid is BB-8. We aren't here for trouble. See?" He took his blaster from his belt and set it on the dusty ground. "I'm putting down my blaster. We're here because we're looking for someone."

BB-8 brought up a hologram of Lor San Tekka, causing the civilians to move closer. The elderly woman pointed at him with caution. "That's the explorer."

"You've got it." Poe offered a smile to warm the atmosphere. "He was here, unless there's another Giant Egg shrine around here. I just need to talk to him and then I'll be out of your hair. I promise." As much as Poe wanted adventure, he hoped that Lor San Tekka was simply in the restroom or taking a nap. "Where is he?"

"Gone." The woman's frail voice confirmed Poe's fear. "He left long ago."

"Do you know where he went?"

"Even if I did, why would I tell you?" She took a step closer to Poe. He suddenly realized that her wide eyes were entirely black, but that she was a human. She seemed wise beyond her years, but Poe could sense that her years hadn't all been kind. "I know the explorer," she continued. "I trust him. You, on the other hand…" She turned her back to leave. "I do not know at all."

"Hey! Give me a chance!"

She paused in her footsteps. When she turned back, it was towards the egg instead of the pilot. "We are known as the Creche. This egg is our charge, our purpose and our salvation. We protect and nurture it and in return we bathe in its radiance. Its presence guides our lives." Poe wasn't entirely following along, but if it meant gaining her trust, he would try his best to hold her attention. "The egg holds salvation itself. Inside is the savior unborn. Someday the egg will hatch and we, or our descendants, shall receive our reward for keeping it safe these many generations. We will not allow anyone…" She narrowed her eyes at Poe with an unspoken threat. "Anyone to prevent that from happening."

Poe, a man easy to get along with, wasn't used to being called out by strangers. It irked him, and his inner child slipped out despite his wishes to remain calm. "What's with the tone? I'm not here to hurt your egg!" He glanced up at the ball, noticing for the first time that it seemed to shine. "In fact, I like your egg."

"The explorer spent two full seasons with us, learning our ways and communing with the savior unborn. He became our brother and in return we shared our secrets with him. Are you willing to do the same, Poe Dameron?"

Poe bit his lip. "I'm sort of on a deadline here."

"As I thought." She curled her upper lip in a smile, her long plaited hair looking more menacing than attractive. "I will tell you nothing."

"I really need to know where the explorer went. This may be a little hard to believe, but the fate of the galaxy is at stake."

The woman was already making her way back up the steps, her followers surrounding Poe with their guns at the ready. "We completely agree. That is why we have given up everything for our lives here. No matter what turbulent events shape the universe outside this place, as long as we protect the egg, all will be well in the end."

Poe was imagining every battle he had been in. So many of his friends had died. So many innocent lives lost. And for what? The real battle hadn't even begun. "And if billions of people die in the meantime?" He asked defensively. "There has to be a way that I can convince you that I'm one of the good guys." Nobody uttered a word. Poe could feel his annoyance flying off the handle again, and he shouted out with anger. "This is ridiculous!" At the sound of his voice echoing around the large room, everyone rose their guns to his face. Like a gut reaction, his hands flew up in innocence. "Okay, you're right. I got carried away. We're all good now. Nice and relaxed."

BB-8 suddenly whirled over to Poe with a warning signal that had been detected. Poe quickly took the device from him, its menacing, red button reminding him that they may not have been alone on that planet. "Oh, no," he couldn't help but breathe out. Things were looking worse than when he had almost gotten sucked into the black hole two weeks before. He turned to the others, whose faces were laced with confusion. "You need to listen to me! Right now!" He held up the warning signal, putting them all in defence mode.

"He's got a detonator!" Someone shouted, spotting the strange control. "He's threatening the egg!"

The elderly woman was no longer forgiving. "Take him down!"

Poe shouted out. "Let's not be hasty! This isn't a det-" Despite his pleas, the small group of people began shooting. Poe quickly dodged their beams, rolling his way over to where he had landed his ship. He managed to avoid the blue lasers until he grabbed his blaster. He retook his stance, causing everyone to once again stop in their tracks. He wasn't going to play nice anymore. He could save that for the base. "Are we not going to listen to one another anymore?"

"Please!" The older woman shouted, her pitch black eyes filling with tears that resembled thick tar. He hoped her heart wasn't quite so black. "Don't shoot the egg! You can't!"

"Do you know what this is?" Poe lifted up the device once more, keeping his blaster closely at his side. "This is a tracker. My droid just found it on my ship. It's been signalling my location ever since I arrived on this planet."

"I don't understand. Who has been tracking you?"

"The kind of people who'd boil up that egg and eat it for breakfast. People who are nothing like me." Poe let the blaster fall back to the ground, trying to reiterate his loyalty. "I've got a team outside on the surface. They've got ships and weapons. If you let me get a word to them, we can protect you. I promise."

The woman was seeming to consider his offer. Her black eyes relaxed slightly, the wrinkles in her face almost disappearing if it weren't for her aged neck. Poe outstretched his hand to her, as he had when he asked Mara to join him on the dance floor. He cursed himself for not being able to get her out of his head, even in the most trying of times. If he made it out alive, he was going to kiss Mara Crescent until the sun came up.

Well, she had to make it out alive as well.

"Come on," Poe urged the woman to take his hand. "What do you say? Pals?"

Up on the surface...

Snap was still waiting to get reconnected with his leader. Poe had suddenly been cut off without explanation, and the team was starting to suspect the worse.

"This is Black Leader. Anyone read?"

"Poe!" Snap cheered, tapping on his headset. "Thank goodness!"

"I was about a second away from flying down into that cavern and looking for you, son." L'ulo had a twinge of softness in his voice as he spoke, unusual for his Duros nature.

"Listen. All of you. We've been made. There was a tracker on my ship. The First Order is probably already on its way."

"You got that wrong Poe," Kare tuned in.

"I'm not wrong, Kare. I'm looking at the tracker right now."

"Not about the tracker. About the First Order." Everyone in their ships, including Poe down below, held their breath. "They aren't on their way," Kare's voice began to fail her. "They're already here."

Agent Terex and his men had arrived on the strange, rocky planet only shortly after the Black Squadron. Terex, who was often out to gain recognition, was not going to enter quietly. Once he knew that he had found his target, he wasn't going to sneak up on him. He was a carnivore out for his prey, and he wanted nothing more than to strike fear in its heart.

His storm troopers, accompanying him via jetpack, continued to pick up the tracker they had managed to stick to Poe's ship. Terex was surprised by how easy it had been, particularly as he had heard many rumours about Poe Dameron and his talent. If he had any talent for being clever, Terex hadn't found it yet.

"We're coming for you, my friend!" Terex shouted gleefully as they dodged their way around the fallen rocks, once again caused by Poe's stupidity. They were too fast for the Black Squadron to shoot at, and too far out of range. They could only watch. "Don't worry, you won't be waiting too long!" Terex turned to the storm trooper closest to him, leaning back casually on his speeder bike. "Nothing like an old fashioned hunt, am I right?"

Always remaining polite, the storm trooper replied, "Yes, sir."

The main door to the hidden society was tightly sealed. It was the door that had nearly cut off Poe and BB-8, but had definitely cut off the incoming First Order members. Terex wasn't slighted, but his annoyance was reaching its ultimate peak. "An obstacle," he sighed. "Trooper, have I ever mentioned that I used to be one of you?"

The trooper paused, trying to hide the irritation in his voice. "Yes, sir. Many times."

"It was a long time ago, but things haven't changed that much. I still remember what it's like inside that helmet. Ambition is forbidden. Conformity is everything. That's the job." He couldn't help but smile when he realized the man he was trying to find had the complete opposite motives. "You're still people under there. Don't you remember that? That's why it's so hard to teach you. So trust me when I say this, trooper. Obstacles are for little people."

He gestured towards the back of his speeder. All of the white heads turned to look at what their leader had brought, unsurprised to see that it was a large detonator. If the egg worshippers had been worried about Poe's tracker, they were certainly in for a surprise now.

Poe was still inside of the hall, wondering about his next move. His team members were already busy fighting off incoming ships, but there was little he could do at that moment except save the backs that were around him. Before he could suggest an escape plan, the noise of explosion had them all turning their heads to the main door. Sure enough, smoke and rubble were flooding inside, making way for an army of First Order members.

There was also a man that Poe did not recognize. He was dressed from head to toe in thick, black armour. His domed helmet was similar to that of Darth Vader's, but the toothy grin he wore on his face was entirely dissimilar.

"Onward!" He heard the man shout. "Onward to…" He halted his speeder just before the large blue egg, which remained unmoving despite the chaos. Poe wondered inwardly if the creature living inside could hear the commotion. Would it wake him up? "That's unexpected," Terex said, eyeing the egg.

"How dare you blast your way into this sacred chamber!" The tribe leader was unafraid of the soldiers entering her base. "That door was sealed for a reason! You must leave, interloper, before your presence pollutes the sacred energies of this chamber. Do not force us to destroy you."

Poe almost laughed at the thought of a nomadic tribe taking out a group of Storm Troopers. Even the Resistance had trouble doing it.

"My, my!" Terex said smoothly. "Look at all of these guns you're pointing at me." He gestured back to him as the last of the storm troopers came flying into the open space. "I'm glad that I brought some too!" He watched the faces of the followers drop. Their fight was a lost cause. "I truly am sorry about the door. Perhaps I should have just knocked?" He was brushing rubble from his shoulder as he spoke. "We'll fix it, I promise." Nobody said a word as he removed his helmet. Poe caught sight of a strange marking on his forehead, with metallic-like rectangles embedded into his skin. A long scar ran down his other eyebrow. It was a scar Poe had heard about only once before, but if it was the same man that he knew of, he and his team were certainly in for trouble. "My name is Agent Terex of the First Order. I'm very pleased to meet you all. What's going on with that egg, by the way? That thing is just fabulous."

Poe let a loose sigh fall from his lips. It was exactly the man he had heard of. The infamous bounty hunter. He had no hidden soft spot like Han Solo did, and was instead rough and unafraid of killing the one thing that would make him piles of money, if that thing pissed him off.

"It is our charge," the woman explained slowly. "We are the Creche. The egg nurtures the savior unborn, who will save us all on the day of its emergence. Why have you come here? What do you want?"

"Well, that's simple. Poe Dameron, of course."

Poe looked over the ledge of his hide-out. After his tracker was found, the Creche had helped to hide him. There was no explanation as to what convinced him that he would caused no harm, but now he was grateful for it. He was tucked away in the shadows, but realizing that these people would suffer on account of his absence, Poe knew that he would not be there for long.

"Poe Dameron?" The woman's voice was firm. "Who is that?"

Poe quickly turned to BB-8 upon the realization that the situation was about to head south. "BB, get in touch with Snap and the rest of the Black Squadron. This is about to get ugly. I can feel it. We have to try to help these people."

BB-8 rolled back to a quieter corner of the alcove, hoping that his beeping wouldn't echo off of the towering walls.

"He's a pilot with the Republic. Human." Poe could heard Terex describing him in less than complimentary detail. "He usually flies a black and orange starfighter."

"How would we know him? The Creche has been alone in this cavern for years, safeguarding the savior unborn. As you saw, the entrance was sealed."

Poe could feel his stomach twisting. Terex wasn't an idiot, though he hated to admit it. He was seeing right through this woman, who had probably never experienced battle in her 60 odd years. The thought of a disaster striking made Poe instinctively look at his broken comlink.

Mara.

What was she doing? Was she safe? Was she out of her cell? He couldn't help but imagine her being released, clearing her name, and running to Leo with apologies. If Leo saw even the slightest trust fill her heart again, Poe knew that he would jump on it. He would try and take Mara back, because she was simply not the kind of woman you let go.

He knew that what he was doing was foolish. With First Order guards just outside of the cave, his signal to D'Qar could have been intercepted. With his comlink being partially damaged, he was at an even greater risk because his signals would roam free. He could only hope that he was in the proper range to get the message through without it being detected through the thick rock walls. Poe let his fingers punch in the four number digits carefully, waiting for the flashing of a small red light, just like the image of his steady heart.

"Mara, it's Dameron. Some nomads shot my comlink and I'm not even sure if you're able to get this message. I just wanted to say... you're an absolute idiot if you don't fight your way out of that cell." He could hear his voice shaking in an attempt to whisper. Or was he shaking because of the words he was forcing back? "Don't get me wrong, you're one of the most intelligent mechanic I've ever met, but sometimes you can really be an idiot. You don't see the things that are right in front of you."

Him.

He was talking about himself, and in that moment, it was all he wanted her to know.

"Things here are turning sour and I don't know when or if we're going to make it out of here. So do me a favour, will you? Get yourself out first. Use that big head of yours to find a solution." He partially regretted his next words. "And don't go running off to Leo afterwards with an apology. I'm not sure that he deserves one."

Poe quickly switched off his message, returning back to the scene before him. He could see Terex whispering with a trooper. BB-8 was already off sending the message to Wexley, and Poe could only wait for his opportune moment.

"We picked up the tracker's signal, sir." A storm-trooper spoke up loudly. "It's a bit degraded. Looks like they tried to destroy it, but the device is just hardened. It can survive about anything. Dameron was here. In fact, he probably still is."

"Great," Poe sighed.

"Oh, wow!" Terex lifted his black brows. "Did you hear that? I guess you guys are just a bunch of liars! I'm not sure polite inquiry is providing the results I'm looking for. What do you say we see what's inside of this big old egg?"

"No!" The woman screamed, unafraid to admit to her lies and fears. "Please! You have no idea how crucial this egg's contents are! It is salvation itself!"

"Salvation?" Terex mocked her. "I wish I was in need of that, but unfortunately for my wife, I'm not. In that case, I'll leave it alone. I wouldn't want to ruin everyone's salvation." He bobbed his head back and forth to consider his words. "Well, probably. Now tell me. Where's Poe Dameron?"

Poe knew the woman would continue lying. He didn't know why she trusted him, but he wasn't about to let her down. He wasn't going to let these people die purely because his General had given him an order. Was that treason? Raising his hands above his head, Poe stepped out from the hidden alcove above. "I'm here!" He shouted downwards, drawing everyone's attention. "I'm right here. Now you can stop torturing these poor people." He made his way down the stairs and directly in front of Terex. "I'm sure we can work everything out. Don't be hasty."

"Oh? Why not?" Terex said, unsurprised that he had given himself up.

"Excuse me?"

"You just told me not to be hasty. I'm curious to know why you think that you can tell me to do anything at all. It seems that I've got all the leverage here, my new friend."

"Ah," Poe smiled from the corner of his mouth. "Funny you should mention that. You see, I didn't come here alone either. You were mistaken in thinking that I'm as arrogant as the rumours say. I'm perfectly aware that I need back up."

Terex's mouth twisted into a grimace. He didn't like where this was going.

"I've got a squadron up on the surface," Poe explained slowly. "Pretty much the best starfighter pilots in the galaxy. And just before I walked down here, I gave them an order." Terex was entirely displeased now, his wrinkles protruding as his face tensed. "I asked them to get me some… leverage."

Up above, the X-Wings were taking out TIE-fighters left and right. The troopers that had been protecting their makeshift air base had already found their eternal home as their bodies blended in with the flames and explosions. The Black Squadron was winning thanks to BB-8's distress signal, and Poe didn't need to personally witness it to understand that his men had the upper hand.

"So," Poe continued. "You might think that you've got it all under control. That you've got the upper hand. And maybe you do… down here. But, I'll tell you this right now. You aren't seeing the bigger picture." Terex's cogs were turning in his head as Poe spoke, but he wasn't about to show it. "It looks like we've got a stalemate here, pal."

"A stalemate?" Terex chuckled lowly in his throat. "Oh, I don't know about that." He kept his eyes on Poe, but outstretched his hand to his troopers, who were now wielding flame shooters. "Gentlemen, if you please…"

One moment of victory was not enough for Poe Dameron. He soon realized that he would need another to cover up what Terex was about to do. He watched, along with the others, in horror as Terex's men aimed their guns at the egg. Towering pillars of flame rose up from the small metal nozzles of the guns, their wrath an act of nature rather than choice. The flames did not dance off of the egg, but rather began to melt it. Its cool, blue exterior was changing with each passing second. Poe could hear the shouts and cries of the nomads, their tears unable to save their beloved savior. If he managed to survive, the creature would likely be angry. Poe watched as they prostrated themselves in prayer, hoping that their words could save them over the guns they wielded.

"Now," Terex said softly. "You're going to tell me everything that I want to know, Poe Dameron. That will happen in any case. The only decision you have in front of you is how quickly you tell me." Poe said nothing. He could only watch the innocent hearts around him break. "You seem to care about these fools, for whatever reason. If you talk now, maybe I can see about saving their savior. If not, my men will get to enjoy the galaxy's largest omelette." Poe didn't offer a single sign of emotion. He knew men like Terex liked to talk, and that sometimes their talking gave them away. He was going to let him say every last word on his mind. "See, here's the thing. Maybe you did pull something off up there. Perhaps, up there, you have the upper hand. But as you said, we're down here. And I didn't come here alone either. In fact, I came here aboard the Ravenous. Maybe you've heard of it?"

"The names of ships don't scare me. Sorry to disappoint you."

"Oh, it's a shame you can't see it then!" Terex clasped his hands together like a child opening presents. "It's a Maxima-A class heavy cruiser which carries an extremely impressive complement of fighters and troops. It's in orbit above the planet as we speak, actually."

Poe thought back to what he knew about mechanics. He thought about things that Mara had told him, things he couldn't comprehend about ships and signals. If they were in orbit, outside of the atmosphere, an emergency signal wouldn't reach them quickly if Terex had decided to send one.

"I'm afraid that whatever you think you've accomplished… Whatever leverage you think you hold… You aren't seeing the bigger picture."

The cracking of the egg was now ripping through Poe's eardrums. He heard the massive shell breaking around him as the flames refused to let up.

"So, Poe Dameron." Terex placed a warm hand on his shoulder. "Let's talk."

~.~.~.~.~

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