Author's note: I hope everyone is staying sane during all this madness! Please stay healthy! Since we all have more time on our hands, I have an update! Woot! Enjoy! (Also, see if you can spot the reference to Galaxy's Edge!)

Disclaimer: Sadly, no.

Chapter 11

"We have to go."

The beautiful dark haired woman looked pleadingly at the man who'd spoken. "I don't think I can do this."

"We can't stay, we've been over this. What have to protect her."

Rey clung to the woman's skirt, confused and afraid. She watched as a tear slid down her mother's cheek. Her parents woke her abruptly one night—how long ago she couldn't remember—and dragged her onto a ship. They'd been hopping from ship to ship, spaceport to spaceport, for days now. Her mother's hair had gone from a sunshine yellow to dark brown. Her father was constantly looking over his shoulder, shushing Rey if she drew too much attention. At first, it had been exciting, but Rey was so tired! She just wanted to stay in one place!

"We'll be back for her," her father said, though he didn't sound convinced. "We just have to throw him off the scent."

Her mother clutched Rey tighter, so tight it almost hurt. "You don't believe that. How can we leave her?"

"Because if we don't, my father…" He trailed off, balling his fist. "You don't know what he'll do to her."

"This is our child."

"The more time we spend arguing, the closer he becomes. This is the only way."

After a long beat, her mother nodded. Rey still didn't understand what was happening; her mother knelt in front of her and hugged her tight. "We're coming back for you, my darling," she whispered. "I promise."

Her father hugged them both, sniffling. "Be good for Unkar," he said. "He'll take care of you."

Rey's chin wobbled; she looked from one to the other. "Where are we going? Why can't we stay?"

"You are staying, darling. Papa and I have to go, but we'll be back." Her mother nodded to someone; a wet slimy hand wrapped around Rey's arm.

Rey instantly started to struggle. "No. NO! Come back!" she screamed, tears streaming down her cheeks. "COME BACK!" But it was no use; her parents turned and hurried away. The strange alien kept a firm grip even as Rey fought and kicked with all her might. Her parents were leaving without her! She had to get to them! She felt something build inside her; she gave the slimy alien an almighty kick. He released her in a howl of pain; Rey dashed off like a shot. The crowd was thick; she couldn't see! She darted between people and aliens, desperate for some glimpse of her parents. She could hear the alien who'd tried to take her yelling, but she ignored him. She was almost to the edge of the outpost, near the ships. That had to be where they were going!

Rey hurried through the market; she was almost there! She left a trail of people and aliens grumbling in her wake, but she didn't care. All that mattered was getting to her parents before they left without her. "Mama! Papa!" she screamed. "Don't leave me!"

When she got to the edge of the crowd, she froze. She looked around frantically; they had to be here somewhere! Yes! There! She spotted her mother's scarf; Rey dashed after her.

She was about to leap out when something stopped her. She didn't understand what it was; it was like she was frozen. She hovered near the edge of a crate; her mother turned her head, locking eyes with her only daughter. Rey saw her mother shake her head, just a fraction. Her eyes widened as she realized her parents were being held at blaster point.

"Where's the girl?" a different alien demanded. This one was a pale yellow, almost green, with small beady black eyes. He radiated menace; Rey could feel it from here. "He wants the girl!"

"She's not on Jakku," her mother spat. "She's gone."

"Then you're useless to me." The alien took out a dagger and stabbed her father in the stomach. Her mother screamed; Rey fought desperately against the strange force holding her, but she was stuck. She couldn't even scream, as she watched her parents die before her eyes.


Poe woke with a start, his heart hammering. He was shaking like a leaf, terror and anguish coursing through him. What the hell? Someone whimpered next to him; it sounded like some caged animal. Rey. Nightmare. The things he felt belonged to her. It was still semi-dark in the room; dawn began to creep into their room. He rolled toward her and shook her shoulder. "Rey. Rey, it's Poe, wake up, sweetheart."

It took another minute, but she finally woke with a gasp. "Poe?"

He leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Right here, Sunshine. You had another nightmare."

She sagged into the bed, a mixture of relief and sadness coursing through her. "Did I wake you?"

"Uh huh. But it's okay." Poe reached for her; she melted into his warm embrace. "It felt bad."

She breathed deeply, focusing on his steady heartbeat. It soothed her. "Yeah." She'd seen her parents again, heard their voices, just like the day they'd left her on Jakku. But something was different. Ochi. In reality, he'd murdered them on his ship, not in the Niima Outpost marketplace. Rey hadn't seen them die, not until the vision Kylo Ren showed her.

"I'm sorry, mi amor."

"It was my parents," she whispered. Poe kissed the top of her head; she was grateful for his support. "I got to hear their voices again, Poe. It was…it was the day they left me on Jakku."

"They left you there to protect you."

"I know, but…this dream, it was different. Ochi…" Poe stiffened, recalling all too well the Jedi hunter they'd tracked to Pasaana. "He was there. I watched them die."

"Oh sweetheart, I'm sorry."

"But I wasn't there. It didn't happen like that. Why would I dream about it?"

"I'm not sure. But it was just a nightmare, Rey. A horrible nightmare."

"I chased them," she confided. "Something…something kept me safe. It felt like the Force."

Poe ran his fingers through her hair. He didn't understand how the Force worked, but she clearly thought it was important. "Maybe the Force is trying to tell you something."

She sighed. "You're probably right. I just wish I knew what it was."

"I think we both need a few more hours of sleep, Sunshine," he said, muffling a yawn.

She was still wired; thinking about the previous night was what led to her nightmare in the first place. "Would you sing to me?" The last time she had a nightmare, he'd come to her room and sang her to sleep.

"Sure." He hummed the opening bars of a Yavinese lullaby his mother used to sing to him. He only half remembered the song, but when he got to the refrain, the words were soft and clear. He felt Rey relax the longer he sang, by the second chorus, she was fast asleep. "Sleep well, my darling," he whispered, before drifting off himself.


"I'm going check in with Connix back at the base," Poe said, as they finished up breakfast. They'd been surprised by an invitation from Reva for a late breakfast. It seemed that given the late night, everyone had slept in. Even Beph. The ambassador sat a few seats down from Poe, talking to Finn. It was almost shocking; the man had done a complete about face. If Poe hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it.

"Are you expecting trouble, Poe?" Reva asked.

"No, but that's usually when it happens."

"I'll talk to Rose," Rey added. "See if she's found anything."

"Good idea." They needed something, a lead. If they could find out where Armas's orders were coming from, then they could track the bastards down and end this. They didn't need nameless assassins trying to disrupt the already fragile balance of power in the galaxy.

"I've alerted the leaders of all the major systems," Beph announced. "I've also asked them to review their security and be in their guard, General."

"Thank you, Amabassador. If they find anything unusual, I'd like it routed directly here." This started with Rey; he was determined that they would end it. The sooner, the better. Before they all went their separate ways, Poe squeezed Rey's hand. "See you soon, okay?"

"Say hi to Connix for me. Oh, and could you see if Beaumont could send me scans of some of his Jedi lore?"

"Sure, any particular reason?"

"Just a feeling."

Poe had learned to trust her feelings. "You got it, Sunshine." He turned left toward his office; Rey turned right toward the hangar, BB-8 on her heels. They'd been on Naboo longer than he'd expected; if they found a lead, he wasn't sure how long they would be gone from Ajan Kloss. He checked in almost every day, overseeing things, but it wasn't the same. For so long the Resistance was just a rag tag bunch of folks cobbled together. Now they were flung all across the galaxy, trying to keep the peace and root out the last of the First Order.

When he told Rey that he sometimes wondered if the fight would ever truly be over, it was the first time he really expressed his doubts out loud. Say they did manage to root out the broken husk of tyranny. What then? The galaxy needed some form of government, preferably one that represented as many people as possible. Democracy wasn't perfect, but it was better than a dictatorship or martial law. Poe believed that. His parents had fought for it. So did he. Where did that leave someone like him? Being a fighter pilot, a soldier, was all he knew how to be. His father seemed content as a farmer, but Poe knew deep down that wasn't his path.

They—Beph and the others—would offer him command of whatever armed forces the new government created. He was under no illusions about that. Yet Poe wasn't sure that was what he wanted either. The only thing he was certain about was Rey. He wanted to marry her, build a home with her. A little spot to call their own; he didn't think that was too much to ask.

When he got to his office, he flipped on his holo. It took Connix several minutes to answer; he tried not to get worried. She was probably just busy. "General!" she cried, slightly out of breath.

"Commander, is anything wrong? Anything I should know about?"

"No, sir. Just a minor explosion."

"Explosion? Where? What exploded? Any casualties?"

"A few bumps and bruises, bot nothing major. Kalonia's on it."

"You still haven't answered my first question."

"The engine on one of the Y-wings finally gave out, sir. A spark got to some leaking fuel, but it's under control."

"Was just one ship affected?"

She nodded. "Yes. But Halcyon Squadron is down a ship."

Poe sighed. They could ill afford to lose any more ships. "I'll mention it to the Ambassador here; we're supposed to be getting some help from the big wigs finally." If their latest adventure had one silver lining, it was that. The politicians were finally starting to take them seriously. An assassination attempt on the last Jedi certainly got their attention. Which was ironic, considering so many still considered the Jedi to be a myth. The Empire had done its job almost too well.

Poe knew better. Rey was always surprising him with the things she could do. That wasn't some parlor trick. It was real. Even this far away, he could sense her. That was real. Their connection was real.

Connix seemed surprised. "What changed?"

He explained the events of the last few days. "I need you to put out the word to all the squadrons about this Operation Python. Maybe see if any of the troopers know anything too." Poe sighed. He didn't want to ask Zorii for help, but with her connections to the less than savory parts of the galaxy, she might be useful. He didn't even know where she was now, probably long gone. Which was probably for the best when it came to his relationship. While he found a jealous Rey to be cute, he knew firsthand that it wasn't a fun emotion. He'd spare her that, if he could.

"On it, sir." He saw her type something into her datapad. "We have a progress report from General Syndulla on Lothal."

Poe smiled; Hera would not like that. She'd given up the general life a long time ago. Still, Poe was grateful for her continued assistance. "Alright, let's hear it."

He spent over an hour talking to his second in command. It was a big galaxy; they just didn't have enough resources to police it all. He rearranged some squadrons, trying not to think about how he was sending friends into harm's way. Someone needed to do this job; for some reason, Leia chose him. He made a note to talk to Finn about the search for the families of the former stormtroopers. There were plenty who wanted to return to their loved ones, but they had no idea where they came from. Rodia and Naboo wouldn't be the last to have unwanted ex-stormtroopers in their midst.

When he finally switched off the holo, Poe scrubbed his hand over his face. He hated this job. How did Leia do it all those years? And she did it twice! Rey said that Leia was proud of him, but he didn't see how. It had been weeks since the battle of Exegol and the galaxy only felt a little safer. At least no one could blow up a planet on a whim. That was something. But pockets of the First Order remained to terrorize innocent people. Now someone was trying to further destabilize things.

And he didn't have the first clue how to stop it.

His holo started to flash; Poe switched it on. To his surprise, Kes Dameron was on the other end. "Papa?"

"Mijo! Is everything alright? How's Rey?"

"She's fine. We're both fine."

"I heard about the assassin from Karé, Poe. Why am I hearing this from her and not my son?"

Poe sighed. "We didn't want to worry you, Papa. Wait, how did Karé know?"

"Your friend Rose, I think, but that's not the point. How long have you known? When were you going to tell me my future daughter in law is being tracked by an assassin?"

"To be fair, he's not a very good assassin."

"I'm not laughing, mijo."

"Sorry, sorry." He held up his hands in surrender. "We were flying, a joyride, really. There was a drone. It tried to take Rey out, but we stopped it. And we caught the guy who did it, Papa. She's safe."

"That's a relief." Kes studied his son's face through the connection. Poe looked tired and more worried than he wanted to let on. "But you don't think she's completely out of danger, do you?"

Reluctantly, Poe shook his head. He told his dad all about Operation Python and his suspicions about it being the First Order's last resort. If they created a big enough power vacuum, the smoking remnants could step in and restore order. Or, at least, their version of it. "I know Rey can take care of herself. She's a kriffing Jedi! Papa, the things she can do…"

Kes smiled. "I knew a Jedi once too, mijo. You don't have to convince me. But when it's someone you love, letting them walk into danger is hard."

Poe instinctively reached for his necklace, but it wasn't there. Rey had it. He missed the comforting weight around his neck. "What did you do?"

"The only thing I could do. Pray. Trust in the Force to bring your mother back to me. It always did."

"Yeah, I'm having trouble with that part."

"Just remember that it's just as difficult for her. But if you're going to build a life together, you need to stay true to yourselves. Don't smother her, mijo."

"She's been through so much, Papa. Things I can't even fully understand. I just want to protect her."

"Ah, but you can't," Kes admonished. "Rey is a strong woman; she doesn't need you to protect her or coddle her. You're a better man than that."

Poe chuckled. "Yeah, she reminded me of that last night." While she made his lesson pleasant, it was a lesson all the same. He had to trust in the Force. It brought them together for a reason.

"Good girl. I told her not to let you get away with anything."

"My own father's against me. Great."

"Not against you, Poe. Just making sure you don't ruin the best thing in your life." Kes wished he could offer his son better advice and promise that everything would be okay. But he couldn't. His childrencx had to live their own lives.

"She is pretty amazing."

"What will you do now?"

"Well, we're trying to find a lead on Operation Python. Once we do, we'll find it and shut it down."

"It might be a while until you come visit then."

"Yeah, I'm sorry, Papa. We were looking forward to it. Finn's dying to meet you."

"It's alright. This place isn't going anywhere."

Poe thought about home. The ranch where he grew up, the Massassi temples, the jungle, his mother's A-wing, the Force tree. It was Rey's favorite spot; he recalled fondly the evenings they spent under its branches. His father suggested they get married there. Poe couldn't think of anything better than that. So why wait? "Papa? Do you think you could do something for me?"


"This is amazing, Rose!" Rey said into her comm.

Rose's laugh was a bit tinny over the connection. "Well, don't thank me yet. It might be a dead end."

Rey didn't want to think about that. She was already punching the coordinates into the Falcon's computer. She wished they'd brought Threepio with them! He was filled with all kinds of arcane knowledge. Surely, that would be helpful? When the results came up, Rey frowned. "That doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't?"

"The nav computer says there's nothing there." She zoomed in on the display; the coordinates were right, not far from their old base on Batuu. They hadn't been there very long before the First Order found them and they had to evacuate, so they hadn't mapped the whole system. Black Spire Outpost wasn't the best kept secret in the galaxy, it turned out. Still, the signal Rose tracked led to somewhere. Why was she looking at empty space?

"Whoa, that doesn't make sense."

"Tell me about it."

She heard Rose fiddle with some buttons and switches in the background. "Yeah, there's nothing on our maps either. Weird."

"Maybe it's a place no one's discovered yet?"

"Or a place someone wanted to hide. Like when Luke hid on Ahch-To!"

Rey groaned. "Not another wild bantha chase!"

"What's a wild bantha chase?"

Rey turned in her seat; Finn stood at the entrance to the Falcon's cockpit. "Rose got some coordinates off the communications you sent."

"That's fantastic! I honestly thought it was a long shot."

"Hey!" Rose cried.

"Sorry, Rose." He turned back to Rey. "So, what's the problem?"

"The problem is according to the computer, there's nothing there. No habitable planets, no star, no nothing."

"That's impossible."

"Obviously, but it's not just the Falcon. It's not on the Resistance maps either."

Finn stepped inside, peering at the computer display. "There has to be something. Armas wasn't sending communications into wild space!"

"I know!"

"Poe's going to love this. And by love this, I mean, hate it."

Rey sighed. "I know, but what else is there? It's the only lead we've got!"

"Maybe not. We can still interrogate Armas. He might give us something."

"I won't use the Force on him, Finn. It's wrong."

"No one's asking you to, Rey." He laid a hand on her shoulder. "We'll find another way."

She didn't point out that they were always finding another way. Just like their search for the Sith wayfinder, they seemed to hit roadblock after roadblock. Thankfully, they weren't on a sixteen hour countdown, but still. It was frustrating.

She, Finn and Rose poured through the all the maps and histories they could find on the holonet. There was nothing. Finn decided to go back and let Reva know what they found; Rey chose to stay behind. When she was frustrated like this, she liked to tinker. She probably should mediate, but she needed to do something with her hands. After fetching her tools from storage, she stretched out on the metal floor of the cockpit, between the pilot seats, and pulled off one of the access panels to the flight deck. The Falcon was an old ship; she probably needed to be completely rewired. Rey didn't have the time or supplies for that, but she could fix the most necessary things. As she worked her mind wandered.

She loved this ship. Even in the short time she'd been aboard, so much had happened. She left Jakku for the first time. She met legends, like Han Solo and Luke Skywalker. She rescued Leia and the rest of the Resistance on Crait. The ship became their home for weeks until a more permanent base could be found. She met Poe not far from this very spot; she smiled at the memory. He'd just been through something terrible, but he greeted her with a warm smile and a handshake.

She didn't realize it then, but he'd already started working his way into her heart.

She remembered him just a few hours ago, sitting in the co-pilot's seat, sleeves rolled up, his jaw set. Rey squirmed a little; he really was too attractive for his own good. Free from the anxiety of the night before, her mind took her memory in a different direction entirely. She pictured him in that seat, in that uniform, his curls a mess from her fingers. She was in his lap, bare from the waist down, her mouth on his as she rode him with the star whipping past them.

Rey squirmed; where had that come from? She'd never really let herself fantasize about her lover before, at least not consciously. She'd had a few very nice dreams about him, especially before they'd become intimate. She never told him about those dreams, lest he make fun of her. Which was silly, because the man she knew wouldn't do that. Sure, he'd tease her a little, but then he'd only want to replay her dream in the real world. Early in their relationship that would have scared her, but now she was a very enthusiastic participant, even instigator.

She was hot all over; she bit her lip. Maybe she needed to mediate after all.

Rey finished the last wire she was working on, then she replaced the access panel. She pointedly did not look at the seat in question as she left the cockpit; it felt like something was crawling under her skin. Not in an unpleasant way, but definitely not what she should be feeling. She passed the chess table on her way to the storage area and groaned. She could recall vividly what they'd done on that table.

"Meditation, Rey. Get it together."

Of course, her overactive imagination meant that the Captain's quarters were out too. The problem was memories of Poe were all over the ship. Maybe not those kind, but they'd spent a lot of time together. A metallic rolling sound got her attention. "Oh, hi, Beebee." It trilled a question. "No, I'm alright. I just miss Poe." She could go find him, but she needed to get a grip on herself first. Before she could say something else, BB-8 beeped and rolled away.

Rey chuckled. That droid was such an odd duck, no wonder she loved it so much.

A little meditation and she would be fine. Then she could find Poe and Finn and they could decide what to do next.


"Wait, Rose found coordinates?" Poe asked, hope blooming in his chest. Could this be the lead they needed?

"She did," Finn confirmed, "but there's a problem."

"Define problem."

"According to all the maps we can find, those coordinates lead nowhere. It's empty space."

"That…doesn't make sense."

"Exactly. Our best guess is its some sort of undiscovered sector or…"

"Someone's trying to hide."

Finn nodded. "Yeah. We'll keep searching."

"Or we could just go there."

"Can we talk about all the ways that's not a good idea?"

"Why not?"

Finn gave his friend a look. "Poe, we can't just head to some random part of space without at least some intel. How do we know the planets—if there are any—are habitable? Air breathable for humans? Any alien species? You can't just blast your way through life."

"I haven't done too bad," Poe said, but the realist in him saw Finn's point. They could be walking into a trap for all they knew. As much as he wanted to end this, they needed to be smart. "Okay. We'll try to find details. But going in guns blazing is Plan B."

"Plan B. I'm impressed with your restraint."

"Why do you think I made you a general for?" Poe said with a grin.

"Because you're secretly jealous of my good looks?"

"Definitely the reason." It wasn't exactly what Poe had been hoping for, but it was better than nothing. It gave them something to work from. Naboo security forces had already gone through Armas's quarters and personal affects. They hadn't interrogated him, yet. Now they didn't have much of a choice.

Finn headed out to find Jannah, but Poe headed in the opposite direction. He hadn't seen Rey since breakfast; he missed her. He felt her frustration through their connection; he had something that might cheer her up. Why not deliver it in person?

BB-8 rolled down the hallway; Poe smiled down at his friend. "Hey buddy. How's Rey?" The droid's answer made him smile. "Yeah, I missed her too. She still on the Falcon?" BB-8 responded in the affirmative. "Great. I'm gonna go see her. Don't get into any trouble, okay?"

Flight personnel nodded as he passed through the hanger toward to Falcon. The gangway was still down, but he didn't hear anything as he climbed it. Poe knew that when she was frustrated and needed to clear her head, she liked to work with her hands. Even in the short time they'd been together, she'd acquired a small cache of seemingly unusable things that she liked to tinker with. "Rey?" he called.

Poe frowned when he received no response. He checked the cockpit, the loading area, the captain's quarters, no Rey. Maybe she was down in engineering? He didn't think anything major was wrong—they'd just fixed and recalibrated the hyperdrive, for Force sake—the Falcon would always be a work in progress. Poe knew that Rey liked it that way. It gave the ship character, in Poe's opinion. Prior to Crait, he never expected to be onboard, let alone fly the legendary ship. Yet here he was.

The engineering bays were in the rear of the ship; Poe headed back that way. There, floating just above a crate, was Rey. "There you are."

Rey's eyes snapped open. "What are you doing here?"

"I can't visit my fiancé on her own ship?"

Rey hopped down, brushing a few tendrils of hair out of her face. She looked a bit out of sorts—not in a bad way, but he knew her too well. "No, I just wasn't expecting you."

"That's why they call it a surprise, sweetheart." He closed the space between them and kissed her chastely. "Now why are…" He never got the rest of his question out because she grabbed his shirt and hauled him back to her, kissing him fervently. Any and all coherent thoughts flew from his mind as he kissed her back, his arms sliding around her small waist. They were both panting when the kiss broke. "Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?"

"Can't I miss my fiancé?" she whispered, a pleased grin playing at her lips.

Poe smiled back. "I do like that word on your lips, Sunshine." Their lips met in another kiss, lazier this time, but no less passionate. Poe shuffled them a few steps until Rey's behind hit the storage crate; she hummed as he trapped her there with his hips. "How much did you miss me?" he murmured, ducking to kiss down the side of her delicate throat.

Rey wet her lips, gripping his biceps for support as he found the spot that made her weak in the knees. His lips on her skin were exactly what she needed; warmth flowed through her. She'd been mediating—or at least, trying to meditate. It was hard to calm her mind when all she could think of was the man holding her. Poe deftly unbound her hair, letting it fall down in soft waves. "I'm going to have to fix that," she murmured, as Poe ran his fingers through the soft tresses.

"Don't care," he replied, kissing her again. He groaned as she slid her fingers into his collar, scratching lightly. "Rey."

Her name on his lips sent shivers down her spine. "Problem, flyboy?"

His eyes found hers; oh, she was being cheeky! He certainly wasn't going to complain. "You kissed me, remember?"

"How could I forget?" She fused her mouth to his, coaxing him to open for her. Poe did so eagerly, stooping slightly to drag her legs around his waist.

"Don't start something you don't intend to finish," he growled, rocking against her core. Even through her pants, he could feel the heat of her. She gasped, her fingers tugging on his hair. "Kriff."

She didn't care that it was the middle of the day, or that there were a hundred other things they should be doing. She needed this. "Need you," she breathed, her hips rolling against him. "Right now."

"Kriffing hell." He didn't know where this vixen had come from, but he wasn't going to deny her. Besides, he needed her too. "Here?"

She nodded. "Yes."

He didn't want to let go, but there were too many obstacles in their way. He dropped her on her feet. "Pants, boots, now," he ordered.

Rey shivered with pleasure; she'd only heard him use that tone with her once. It was the same one he used when he was giving orders around the Resistance base, his General voice as she once called it. She liked it. She moved hastily to obey, bending over to yank off her boots and shove her leggings off. Meanwhile, Poe did the same with his pants until they bunched at his ankles. Gods, it had been so long since he'd done anything like this! The moment Rey straightened, he picked her up and pinned her to the bulkhead. A breathless giggle tumbled from her lips as she hooked her legs around his hips once more.

"We'll need to be quick," he murmured in her ear, biting back a moan as she ground against him. "Force, Rey."

She nodded absently, dragging him back for another kiss. It broke with a gasp, Rey gripping his shoulders tight as he slammed home. "Poe…gods," she breathed, her head falling back against the bulkhead.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked, rocking in and out of her shallowly.

"No, I just…gods, you feel so good."

Poe kissed her hard. "Hang on to me, love," he said, sliding his hands under her ass. She tightened her legs around him; Poe captured her lips once more. They kissed fervently as he took her with short hard strokes, her legs keeping him inside her. Skin smacked together, moans filled the room, Rey's lower back bounced against the cold metal of the bulkhead. They were all the way at the back of the ship, but sound carried. Probably not all the way to the hangar, but if anyone got too close to the open gangway or tried to board, they would know exactly what Poe and Rey were doing. That only made it more intense; Poe wanted her scream of pleasure to echo down the halls of the old freighter.

Pressure built higher and higher at the apex of her thighs; Rey threaded her fingers into his hair. "Poe, don't stop," she pleaded. "Gods, please don't stop."

"Rey…" Her walls were already so tight around him; he knew he wouldn't last long. Not when she felt this kriffing incredible. "Come for me, sweetheart. Wanna feel you."

She reached between them with one hand, seeking the place where they were joined. Poe felt so good inside her; she loved the way he filled her. She needed just a little more to fly over the edge. Poe groaned as he watched her finger her clit; she wasn't shy anymore about her desire. Her walls started to flutter almost immediately; Poe groaned. He hitched her legs higher, forcing himself deeper. Rey cried out, as he finally hit the perfect spot inside her. A handful of strokes later she climaxed, his name a hoarse cry on her lips. Poe didn't stop or slow down, riding her through it until her body swallowed his own high. His whole body shuddered as he emptied himself within her; it was one of the most intense orgasms of his life.

Rey clung to him as they panted for air. She could feel him trembling; endorphins still rushed through her system. Poe pressed his forehead to hers. "Damn."

She smiled guiltily. "Good?"

He smiled back. "Yeah." Gently, he set her on her feet; Rey leaned against the bulkhead for support. Her legs were in no position to hold her up. "Unexpected though."

She glanced away. "Um…" She didn't want to tell him about the fantasy she had, how it put her in such a state.

He kissed her lips. "No need to get shy on me now, sweetheart."

She found his eyes; his love for her seemed bottomless in the warm brown irises. "I just, um..."

He didn't know what she was so coy about, but it was okay. All of this was still pretty new to her; he was her first (and only) lover. They hadn't even been together all that long and she was young. He loved the dichotomy in her; she was utterly fascinating to him. "I love you," he said simply. "Everything about you."

She smiled in relief. "I love you too." She blushed. "I should, um, get cleaned up."

He chuckled softly. "You should. Meet me in the common area?"

Rey's flush deepened as she nodded and bent to scoop up her clothes. She dashed off to the fresher, with Poe smiling in her wake. No, he would never tire of being with her. He fixed his own pants quickly enough, then headed for the common area. He sat at the chess table, recalling fondly their first intimate moment on the Falcon. She instigated that too; he was helpless to resist her.

Poe was only slightly disappointed when she returned, her hair and clothes much more presentable. "The Jedi returns."

She slid in next to him, rolling her eyes. "I don't stop being a Jedi when we're…together," she said.

"I know." He kissed her temple. "I just have to share you with everyone else like this. That Rey back there? She's only mine."

Rey leaned into his side. "She missed you," she murmured.

"I missed you too, mi amor." After a pause, he spoke again. "I got a holo from my dad today."

"Is everything okay?" Rey adored Kes; she couldn't wait to see him again.

"Yeah, yeah, he's fine. Though he was kinda upset I didn't tell him about the assassin."

"How did he even know?" Due to the sensitive nature of recent events, they were trying to keep it off things like the holonet. It wouldn't last long, but it might give them an advantage against whoever was hunting her.

"Rose mentioned it to Karé, who told Papa. He was worried about you."

She hadn't considered that. "I should holo him later."

"I'm sure he'd rather talk to you anyway. You've usurped me, Sunshine." Even through his tough rebellious teen years, his father's love never wavered. Kes welcomed Poe back home with open arms after he left the Crew, giving him a place to figure out what he really wanted. Kes wasn't at all surprised that Shara's son would join the New Republic Defense Force, then the Resistance.

"Sorry?"

Poe grinned. "I'm just teasing. Even our droids love you more than me."

"It's not droids I worry about," she mumbled.

Poe smothered another grin. "What was that? I didn't quite catch it."

"Nothing."

He squeezed her waist and kisses the crown of her head. "Why would I want anything else when I have everything right here?" He spoke lightly, but he wasn't making fun of her. Their relationship had moved very fast, at least from where they'd started. Once he decided to take Kes' advice and trust that Rey knew what she wanted, things just accelerated. He was happy; he could feel she was too. But that didn't change facts. Rey was still young, and this was her first real relationship. Given her past, she was allowed to be a little insecure every once in a while.

Hell, there were plenty of days he didn't think he was worthy of her.

Rey's fingers curled around the ring that hung from her neck. Poe might joke sometimes, but she knew he wouldn't have given her something so precious if he wasn't serious. Yet, she knew that there would be others who coveted what she had. "Everything?" she whispered.

Poe smiled into her hair. "Well, maybe my old X-wing. I loved that ship."

"What's wrong with the new one?"

"Nothing. It just doesn't feel like mine."

"It was very distinctive."

Poe's brow creased. "When did you see Black One?"

"On Takadona. Just a moment, really. I was a bit busy running for my life. Then again on D'Qar before I left to find Luke."

Poe's stomach dropped. "Was that when…"

She nodded. "Yeah."

She didn't need to elaborate; he knew how having Kylo Ren in your head felt. "How didn't we meet before you left though? That's I still don't get. Everyone was talking about you."

Rey chuckled. "No idea. I'd been hearing about you for days from Beebee-Ate!"

"And? How did I measure up?"

Rey raised her head, unable to keep the smile off her face. Poe's heart fluttered; it was almost exactly the same smile she gave him when they met, not far from this very spot. "Let's just say I wasn't disappointed."

Poe sighed as she kissed him, twisting in his arms until she was in his lap once more. She was wedged between him and the chess table, but she didn't complain in the slightest. Rey cradled his face in her hands, his stubble rough on her palms. Everything seemed to fade away; Poe held her like she was the only person in his world.

"I did…come out here…for a reason," Poe murmured between kisses. Kissing Rey was certainly never a thing he could complain about. For someone who'd spent the majority of her life alone and lonely, she was very affectionate. Or perhaps, that was why she was so affectionate? Either way, he loved it. He loved her.

"What was it?"

Poe fumbled for his pocket, extracting the small data card. "I have a present for you, Sunshine."

Rey sat up reluctantly, a pout on her kiss swollen lips; Poe hid a smirk. "What's on there?"

"The lore you asked for. Beaumont sent you everything he'd managed to scan since we settled on Ajan Kloss."

Rey's eyes lit up and she snatched the chip out of his hand. "Poe, thank you!" She didn't think she'd get the information she asked for so quickly; she was grateful. She kissed him again, just because she could.

"Hmm, maybe I should bring you presents more often."

"Maybe you should. Then I get to thank you."

"I think you already did, sweetheart." She'd surprised him down in the engineering bay, but it was the good kind. Who was he to resist a beautiful woman? "Though I wouldn't complain if you thanked me again." He kissed the corner of her lips. "Later." His lips brushed her jawline. "When." Lips pressed to her throat. "We're." The spot behind her ear. "Alone."

Rey clutched the precious data chip in her hand as all other thoughts flew from her head. He was driving her crazy on purpose! "We're alone now," she murmured, sliding her free hand behind his head so she could drag his mouth back to hers. This time she kissed him with intent, the spark lit in her belly.

God, she was going to be the death of him! "Someone's looking for us," he replied, groaning as her tongue slid into his mouth.

"You don't know that."

He nipped at her lips, running his hands over her lithe form. "I'm the general," he breathed, as her mouth latched onto his throat, "and you're the Jedi. Of course, someone's looking for us." There were a lot of responsibilities and decisions waiting for them out there. It didn't matter that all he wanted to do was take her to bed and make her scream his name over and over.

"And what if I didn't care," she replied, tucking her present into a pouch on her belt.

"One of us should be practical," he argued weakly.

"Mmhmm," she agreed, tugging his shirt from his pants. Her small hands stroked his abdominals, making him groan. "We can be practical."

Kriffing hell, he'd just had her less than an hour ago, but he was ready for her again! He squeezed her ass as she rocked against him; she moaned softly. "The hell with it," he growled. Poe held her against him as he slid them out from behind the chess table. Rey wrapped her arms and legs around him as he marched them back to the captain's quarters, all while she used the Force to engage the hydraulics for the gangway. She definitely didn't want them being interrupted.


Poe struggled to keep the smile off his face as they walked hand in hand back to the palace. They'd been gone far longer than he intended when he left his office earlier. It was late afternoon now; the sun was turning the sky orange and purple. Yet, he didn't regret a damn thing. How could he when he got to be with someone as amazing as Rey?

For a few blissful hours, they'd managed to shut out everything around them. The joy that Rey felt when Poe first asked her to marry him was back, warm and hopeful in her chest. It might not have been exactly what Leia meant when she said that Rey needed to keep the ones she loved close, but Poe was a special case. He was more than just her friend, or even her partner. Her love for him only seemed to grow, which was both scary and exciting.

"You're grinning like an idiot," she whispered as they got into the lift.

"So are you," he pointed out, nodding toward their reflection in the shiny steel. "Not very Jedi like, if you ask me."

"No one asked you, General." She kissed his cheek. "Besides, as the last Jedi, I get to decide what kind to be."

"Thank the Maker for that." He didn't know a lot about the old Jedi Order, but he knew that relationships like theirs would have been a huge no-no. Poe thought it was a bunch of outdated nonsense; being with Rey didn't make her any less powerful. She wasn't a droid, devoid of emotion. Rey cared deeply about the people around her; her compassion gave her strength. Why would anyone want to suppress the things that made her unique?

"Do you think anyone missed us?"

"I'm sure they did. Maybe we should come up with a cover story."

"A cover story?"

Poe arched a brow at her. "I mean, unless you want the entire palace to know the sound you make when I…" She cut him off with a kiss. "That a no then, Sunshine?"

She tried to glare at him, but she failed completely. Instead, she shoved at his arm. "Poe."

"What? I tried to be good, but you seduced me, sweetheart. Twice."

"Because you have no self-control," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"When it comes to my beautiful wife to be? Not really," he agreed with a grin.

Despite herself, Rey laughed. "You know, you should be more careful. You're an old man, Dameron."

"Funny, I didn't hear you complaining earlier." In all honesty, he thought about their age difference less and less the longer they were together. She just made him happy and that was enough.

Rey suppressed a shiver. No, she definitely didn't have any complaints. Not only was Poe very attentive and attuned to what she needed, but he genuinely enjoying giving her pleasure. He made her feel things she'd never thought were possible, not in her wildest dreams. Their connection was unlike anything she'd ever felt before, certainly nothing like the dyad. She chose this, chose to be with Poe, every single day. She wouldn't change it for the world.

The lift stopped; Poe led them out. He was about to lead them to his office so Rey could start going through the lore Beaumont had sent when a young man in a Naboo uniform came running up. "General Dameron! Master Skywalker! I've been sent to find you!"

"Slow down, soldier," Poe said. "Anything wrong?"

"We tried to reach you on comms, sir, but there was no answer. General Finn was getting concerned."

Rey flushed. Finn couldn't get them on comms because they'd shut them off. Oops. Poe felt her discomfort; this was why he wanted a cover story. Finn would probably see right through it, but he was their friend. "Well, this place isn't on lockdown, so it doesn't seem too serious."

The soldier nodded. "Oh no, sir. He merely wanted to advise you of some news from the Resistance base."

"News, what news?" Poe mentally kicked himself; if it was something important, did that make him the worst general ever?

"I don't know, he wouldn't say."

Poe shared a look with Rey; she squeezed his hand. While Poe spoke to the soldier, she reached out with the Force, trying to sense Finn. Surely, if the news involved some sort of emergency, she would have felt it. She didn't sense anything dire; the mood of the palace was much like it had been that morning. "I'm sure it's not bad," she whispered as they followed the soldier to wherever Finn was.

"Did you sense anything?"

She shook her head. "Which is why I don't think you should be beating yourself up, flyboy."

Poe was grateful for her; she didn't think he was an utter screw up. Granted, she hadn't been around for some of his more epic faux pas. He couldn't hide his worries and fears from her, even if he wanted to. He didn't want to; she was one of the few people he didn't have to be strong for all the time. Having watched Leia all those years, he knew those few close confidants kept a person sane. Rey was definitely one of those people for him.

She squeezed his hand. If anything, she was to blame for them being late for whatever Finn needed to tell them. The events of the last couple of days had been intense; they needed some quality time alone.

"Rey! Poe!" Finn called as they entered the library, of all places. "Where have you been?"

"Um, out working on the Falcon," Rey said. It wasn't—strictly speaking—a lie. Just an expansion of the truth.

Finn didn't look convinced; he crossed his arms over his chest. "Uh huh. Whatever you say." His tone implied that he did not want to know what they had been up to. "Did you get a chance to go over that stuff from Beaumont?"

"No, we were actually going to do that right now."

"Well, we might have found something." He pointed toward another table, where Jannah was bent over a thick book. "There's this old history of the Clone Wars…"

"What does the Clone Wars have to do with anything?" Poe asked.

"I'm getting there, Mr. I-Can't-Turn-On-My-Comm."

Against his will, Poe felt his face and neck warm. He knew he should feel bad about absconding with his fiancé for a few hours when they were in the middle of investigating who tried to kill her, but he couldn't bring himself to feel bad. The last few years were nothing but fighting and spying and trying to stay alive. The most incredible woman in the galaxy loved him; he was going to take every second he could get with her.

He'd earned that much.

Plus, when they were together, he knew she was safe.

Beside him, Rey's ears turned slightly red. She was better at hiding than he was, but he knew she felt the same way. He could feel her. It was something he was still getting used to, that faint awareness at the back of his mind. Not intrusive or unwanted, just there.

He was so focused on Rey that he missed whatever Finn was saying. "Sorry, what?"

Finn glared. "Really?" He looked between the two lovers and sighed. "Whatever. As I was saying, this history was written after the Empire fell. Or rewritten, to be more precise."

"Palpatine engineered the Clone Wars," Rey said. "Does it mention that?" She learned that from spending hours with Leia. When she was a child on Jakku, she didn't get much of an education. Her mother had taught her Galactic Basic. It came in handy when she was scavenging Imperial wrecks. She taught herself other languages, with some help from a datapad that she'd scavenged. Things like history were beyond the scope of her limited life.

All that changed when Han told her the stories about Luke and the Force were real. It was why she stole the Jedi texts. If Luke wasn't going to teach her, then she needed to find things out for herself. Leia lived so much of the history Rey was curious about; they spent long hours together.

"It does now," Finn confirmed. "Like I said, it seemed to have been revised after Palpatine was gone. Or disappeared."

"What about the Clone Wars helps us?" Poe asked. He'd heard stories from some of the old veterans, but history had never been his strong suit.

Jannah spoke up. "We were looking into those coordinates, the ones that lead nowhere."

"Yeah?"

"Well, it turns out that this isn't the first time someone tried to cover their tracks by making a system 'disappear.'"

Rey blinked. "Who was it? Where? When? What happened?"

Finn grinned. "This is where it gets interesting. It was a Jedi."

"What?"

Poe frowned. "Why would a Jedi do that?"

"His name was Sifo-Dias. He was the Jedi that contracted the clone army on Kamino."

Everyone looked at Rey, but the name didn't sound familiar. She had a whole host of dead Jedi speak to her on Exegol, but whoever this Sifo-Dias was, he wasn't one of them. "But how did they find Kamino if Dias removed it from the maps?"

"A Jedi named Obi-Wan Kenobi figured it out."

Rey's eyes widened. She knew that name. She could still hear his soft accented voice in her head. These are your first steps. "I know him."

Poe could feel her myriad of emotions as if they were his own. He gently rubbed her lower back, just to let her know that he was there. "Was he…?"

"One of the Jedi that spoke to me? Yeah."

Jannah looked confused. "Wait, a dead Jedi spoke to you? What the hell?"

Rey didn't have time or the inclination to explain. She would leave that to Finn. "Does it say how he did it?"

For the first time, Finn shook his head, looking disappointed. "No, but this Kenobi guy gets mentioned a lot. Apparently, he was a personal friend of Padme Amidala."

"He was also Anakin Skywalker's master," Rey added. "He was right at the heart of everything."

"How do you know?"

"Leia told me. Obi-Wan was there when she and Luke were born. He sent her to Alderaan to protect her from her father."

Poe sighed. He thought he knew Leia pretty well, but even now, he was still learning things about his mentor. Sometimes he wondered if he knew her at all. Rey felt his frustration; she squeezed his hand. "So how does this help us? Because I'm still not seeing it."

Rey slipped her free hand into her belt extracting the data chip. "I had a feeling I would need this."

"What's that?" Finn asked.

"Jedi lore that Beaumont's been gathering." She picked up another datapad and slipped the chip into it. Her friends watched as her fingers flew over the pad, her eyes scanning the information contained within. The old Jedi Order had a repository of information and artifacts, millennia of knowledge. How did they store it all? There had to be more than the texts Luke had with him on Ahch-To. Her grandfather kept the most sacred Sith texts with him; the Jedi texts had been lost until Luke managed to uncover them.

Given his hatred of the Jedi, it stood to reason that Palpatine would have destroyed everything Jedi he could get his hands on. But what if he didn't? What if he kept it as a trophy for his triumph over the Sith's rival in the Force? It seemed to be a Dark Side trait. Kylo Ren kept Darth Vader's helmet with him. She'd asked Leia once what happened to the Temple on Coruscant. After the Clone Wars, it was transformed into the Imperial Palace, her grandfather's seat of power. After the Empire fell, Luke decided against returning the building to its former use, opting to rebuild the Order elsewhere. As far as Rey knew, it was still abandoned.

"The Jedi have been gathering knowledge about the galaxy for thousands of years," Rey said as she searched Beaumont's notes. "Almost everything we know comes from their Archives."

"Okay…" Poe said. "But you said this Sifo guy fooled even his fellow Jedi."

"But not forever. I bet the Temple has some of the oldest maps in the galaxy. Ones that haven't been tampered with."

Finn nodded, enthusiastically. "And if we can figure out what system it is, we can find out everything else. I, for one, would like to know if my insides are going to melt the moment we step off the ship."

Poe rolled his eyes at his friend. They were talking about going all the way to Coruscant; that seemed like a waste of time. "Why don't we just go there? We can go to the coordinates, scan the place and get out if it's a bust," he argued.

"That's because you'd rather blow stuff up than do recon first," Finn snarked.

"That is recon, Finn! Just because I want to catch the bastards who ordered a hit on Rey…"

"Like I don't?"

Rey was absorbed in her reading; when she looked up, Finn and Poe looked like they were about to come to blows. "Hey!" she cried. "Stop it, both of you!" She moved between them, holding out her hands. The Force tingled along her fingertips, but she didn't want it to come to that. "We're not going to accomplish anything arguing amongst ourselves."

"My plan is simpler," Poe said. "Those coordinates aren't that far from here. We could have this solved in a couple of days."

"Poe," Finn said, breathing deeply to control his frustration, "we talked to Rose. She studied the space around those coordinates. There should be something there, according to all the gravity readings. It could be a star and planets…"

"See?" Poe cried. "We can just go!"

"Or it could be a black hole! Do you want to get sucked into one of those? Because I don't!"

"All the more reason to see for ourselves! It's better than sitting around here!"

"And what if there's trouble?" Finn demanded. "We only have the Falcon, Poe! And she's only got the two guns! There could be an entire squadron of ships out there!"

"I'm sure the Naboo would be more than willing to help."

"Poe," Rey said. She was trying to keep her voice even; she knew he was so riled up because he was scared for her. It was sweet, but they needed to be logical about this. "I'm sure you're right, but we can't ask them to do that. Besides, a bunch of fighters would only draw attention. Whoever's behind this doesn't know that we've got the little information we have. We can't afford to spook them before we're ready to end this." This was a clandestine operation they were dealing with; they needed information before they acted. They had no idea what they could be walking into. Her instincts told her that a more measured approach was best.

How did she convince her cocky flyboy of that?

Poe ran through the map in his head. Just that morning, he's rearranged their already limited resources; it would take time to get even a single Resistance squadron to this sector, at least a week. Poe suspected that Reva would be willing to help, but she had her people to consider. It was a big ask to go from patrolling their sector of space to attacking an unknown patch of space based on the little intel they had. They could interrogate Armas, but deep down, Poe knew that would get them nothing.

"Can we at least do a fly by?" he said finally. "We can use the Falcon's long range sensors, confirm there's something out there to investigate?"

Rey offered him a smile and nodded. "I'm fine with that."

"Me too," Finn said.

"Or I could borrow a ship and go alone, while you guys go to Coruscant." It nearly gutted him to say it, but he offered anyway. Anything to make Rey safe as quickly as possible.

"No." Rey's voice was clear and firm. They wouldn't let her go to Pasaana alone; she wasn't letting Poe risk his life unnecessarily. "Together."

As much as Poe wanted to end this, he was relieved. He wanted nothing more than to stay with her, especially if she was going to visit another piece of her past. "Okay. You guys win."

Rey and Jannah left to start prepping the Falcon for departure, leaving Finn and Poe alone. "You made me a general for a reason, Poe," Finn said after an awkward silence. The two friends didn't fight often; he didn't like it.

Poe nodded. "I know. And I get it. Doing recon is the smart play, especially with an enemy we know next to nothing about."

"Jannah and I checked the First Order maps and the archives for anything about Operation Python, but there wasn't anything to find. Even when we were troopers, it almost felt like a myth."

"Wouldn't be a clandestine murder operation if they had a roster and a handbook," Poe joked.

"Exactly."

"I just want this to end. It's exhausting."

"We both want Rey safe," Finn said, gripping his friend's shoulder. "But I think this time we should do it her way. She's earned that."

Poe leaned against the heavy table. "I know. Ever since…" He sighed. "Ever since we got together, I've been having these nightmares."

"You've had nightmares as long as I've known you."

"Yeah, but these are different. Now it's Rey being hurt and tortured and killed. Not me. I'm there and I can never stop it."

"Have you told Rey?"

"Yeah. We've even talked about it. And it's not all the time. Most of the time, my dreams are pretty nice." He smiled to himself; the good dreams were far more frequent than the nightmares these days. He hoped Rey dreamed about him as often as he did her. "But when it's bad…it's bad. And it seems to go both ways because, we wake each other up when it happens."

"That sounds…intense."

Poe stared at the door Rey exited from. "It is." He chuckled dryly. "This is going to sound ridiculous, but loving her is the most alive I've ever felt."

Finn could see the change in his friend. Rey had been teaching him about auras and how Jedi can see other beings' Force signatures. Poe's was bright, almost incandescent when Rey was near. Poe could still be impulsive and headstrong, but these days he was more likely to listen to reason. He was becoming the leader Leia always knew he could be, without even realizing it.

"I wouldn't change it for the world. I wouldn't change her."

"That's good considering you asked her to marry you."

"Buddy, you don't know the half of it." He wanted to tell Finn all about his plan for their next visit to Yavin, but he didn't want to spoil the surprise.

As they left, Finn clapped Poe on the shoulder. "Look at it this way. If Coruscant's a dead end, you'll get to say, 'I told you so.'"

Poe laughed. "Not if I want to keep sleeping in my bed, Finn. Even I'm not that crazy."