Comic used is Star Wars: Poe Dameron #1. I know I said I hadn't read any of the comics lol, but I specifically looked this one up to use it. Also, the person Boba mentions in this chapter is from Legends, not canon at all.

Reviews:

DCDGojira: Thanks!

Love Fiction 2020: I'm glad you like it!

Zikashigaku: Sadly, Boba won't be sticking around. But no, that does not mean I'm killing him off lol, just thought I'd make that clear.

Thanks for the reviews! Much appreciated! Hope you like this chapter!

32 ABY

After Boba Fett handed off the disk to Leia, she immediately began pouring over the information with Fett and Kelin. Meanwhile, Poe hung back by the corner of the office, unsure of what to do since he hadn't been dismissed by Leia yet, and it would be completely unprofessional to leave without being dismissed by his superior officer. Karena could sense his minor discomfort through the Force and joined him. She wasn't much for strategy and analysis like her brother anyway.

"Thanks for helping him," Karena said quietly, sidling up next to Poe and eyeing her family crowded around the holoterminal on Leia's desk looking at projections.

Poe shrugged and shifted his weight. "I mean, I was ordered to," he tried to play off. All he did was shoot some TIEs, make emergency repairs, and escort a bounty hunter to the D'Qar base. He'd done more noteworthy things.

Karena smiled up at him. "Just take the gratitude."

Poe ducked his head down, grinning then glanced over at the imposing bounty hunter who stood far taller than the two people he stood next to. "Is he, uh, family?" Poe asked hesitantly. He didn't know what he was expecting or even hoping to hear. Her actual answer surprised him.

"Yeah." Poe looked at her, shocked at the simple word. She frowned at him. "What?"

"I don't know what I was expecting to hear, but a real answer wasn't it." He gave her a teasing grin, subtly leaning closer.

Karena rolled her eyes and gently pushed him away. "Oh, switch off."

Kelin rolled his eyes and huffed at watching the pair, unbeknownst to Poe and Karena, but Leia and Fett noticed it plain as day, and they had to agree with Kelin's assessment and exasperation toward them. Kelin and Leia had watched Poe and Karena grow closer and closer with each passing day. Fett, on the other hand, had just arrived and already felt the same agitation the other two felt. He just knew she'd act like her mother.

"Commander Dameron," Leia's voice called sharply through the room.

Poe immediately snapped his head towards Leia and stood at attention, much to Karena's silent amusement. "Yes, General?" Poe said, his hands behind his back.

"I have a mission for you," Leia told him. She motioned for him to come closer, so he did, stopping in the center of the room. "With Fett's information, it is clear the First Order is getting close in their search for my brother."

Poe's shoulders tensed. Everyone in the Resistance knew exactly who her brother was. "Luke Skywalker."

Both Kelin and Karena tried not to be annoyed at the hint of reverence in the pilot's voice, but they knew the public perception of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, Hero of the Rebellion, was not the one they had grown up with as their father, considering either before the fall of the new Order or after. And it didn't shock Karena in the slightest to learn the First Order was closing in on their search for the missing Jedi Master.

Leia slowly nodded. "Yes. We cannot allow them to find him. We cannot."

"Do you know where he is?" Poe asked.

"No. We have to find him and bring him here."

Poe's lips downturned. "But if you don't know where he is. . ."

"I don't," Leia quickly said, but then she blew up the hologram so he could see it from where he stood. Karena's eyebrows lifted as she recognized the man in the hologram. Lor San Tekka knelt under what looked like a giant orb of some kind. Leia gestured to San Tekka. "But he might."

Poe peered closer, studying the man's face. "Who is that?"

"Lor San Tekka," Kelina answered, leaning on the desk beside his aunt. "An explorer. He's been all over the galaxy. There's not a sacred site or Jedi ruin he hasn't seen. He's supposed to be dead, but this holovid Boba recovered shows him alive, and older than the last time we saw him."

"He could still be out there," Leia said, "and if he is, he's our best hope for finding Luke." Leia turned off the hologram, the room losing the temporary blue glow. "We know Lor San Tekka is alive. The First Order knows too, but I don't think they know the location in the holovid. This is a huge opportunity for us to get ahead of them, but we have to act on it now before they learn the truth. The site's location is in our records. I need you to go there and ask Lor San Tekka for help."

"And if he's not there?" Poe asked.

Leia's eyes narrowed slightly as she smirked at him. "You know why you're getting this assignment, Poe? Because you don't need to be told every little thing. Just get it done."

Poe curtly nodded. "Yes, General. I'll leave right away."

Leia lifted her hand. "Not yet. I've authorized you to select a small squadron. Four more pilots and a technician. It's unlikely that you'll run into trouble; this planet is at the back end of the galaxy. Still, you never know."

"Right. Better safe than sorry. I'll pick good people," he assured.

"You better. I've been on my share of missions like this. Things can fall apart quickly, sometimes before you realize what's happening. Whomever you choose, make sure they're people you can trust."

"Will do, General."

"You're dismissed."

Those were the words he had been waiting for since he had first walked into the office. He nodded at Leia and Kelin then turned around. He winked at Karena before leaving the office.

Karena shoved down her smile at the wink when she faced her aunt, brother, and surrogate-grandfather. "Why not send me?" she asked. She had to ask. Lor San Tekka knew her. He had spent a good portion of time around the twins, around Ben, around her parents. He would trust her before trusting a random pilot and his squadron. So why wasn't Leia sending someone he already knew and trusted?

Leia gave Karena her standard sad gaze whenever she thought about Luke running away and Kal dying and Ben turning to the Dark Side. "Because I don't need you running into the First Order all alone."

Karena gritted her teeth and nodded before turning on her heel and leaving the office. The door slid closed behind her.

Fett turned to Leia. "She's too much like her mother."

Leia eyed the closed door. "I know."

Kelin crossed his arms over his chest. "She used to get angry," he said. "Believe it or not, this is an improvement."

"Because of the commander?" Fett asked.

Kelin nodded. "Because of the commander."

"And to think, you hated the idea of them paired for a mission," Leia said with a small chuckle.

Considering they're sleeping together, I still do, Kelin thought to himself then said aloud, "To be fair, they did piss each other off for a while. And she did kick his ass in the workout facility, so I wasn't completely wrong about her wanting to attack him."

It took Poe less than an hour to gather the pilots and the technician that he wanted for the newly-formed Black Squadron. He couldn't tell them everything, but they were each glad to be chosen by Poe to make a new squadron, even if they each gave him crap from pulling them away from their previous squadrons. While the new members of Black Squadron readied their ships, donned their flight suits, and gathered on the tarmac, Karena intercepted Poe on his way.

Karena tugged on the sleeve of his flight suit to stop him on his way to the tarmac. Poe turned and immediately grinned at the sight of her. He hadn't expected to see her before leaving, so it was a pleasant surprise.

"Did I forget something, sweetheart?" Poe asked with a cheeky grin.

Her eyes narrowed briefly, wanting to say something teasing back, but she couldn't, not with where he was about to go and try to do. She took in a slow breath and said, "Uh, good luck."

He raked his eyes over her. Poe wasn't used to sincerity or discomfort coming from her. But when it did show through her stoic, uncaring façade, he knew to avoid showing concern and to only tease in return. For some reason, it tended to relax her.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're worried about me."

There was the slightest uptick in the corners of her mouth. "Switch off," she said with a small glare.

Poe sent her a wink. "Don't miss me too much, sweetheart. I'll be back before you know it." He mock-saluted then turned and walked away.

Karena watched him as he went, a bubbling pit of worry in her stomach. The worry had no basis in any Force premonition, so she didn't fully understand why she felt it. Was she worried about finding Lor San Tekka? Was she worried about the First Order finding her father first? Or was she worried about Poe? She had an inkling feeling it was the last one, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that.

Boba drew her out of her thoughts when he walked up next to her. He had seen the interaction between her and the commander. "How long has that been going on?" he asked, watching Poe greet his fellow pilots out on the tarmac.

Karena tore her eyes away from Poe and the newly-formed Black Squadron and looked up at Boba. "What do you mean?"

"You and the flyboy." He jutted his head towards the pilots. "You had the same look on your face that your mom had when talking to your dad. A look that says you know how stupid they are, but you can't help but love them anyway."

Her jaw tightened at his words. That's why she was worried about Poe kriffing Dameron, she had feelings for him, something she told him they wouldn't have. She wanted to groan. She wanted to curse. She wanted to pull her hair out. But none of that would change what she knew for certain.

"About a year," she begrudgingly answered, knowing Boba was still waiting for one.

Boba turned to face the young woman. Her face looked so much like Kaleena's, along with her expression and stance and attire, but her eyes were all Luke. No matter how much she tried to be like her mother, she still had a dash of her father. Hopefully, the part of her that was Luke would accept some advice because the Force knew Kaleena avoided taking most advice no matter what she went through.

"Take some advice from someone who didn't go after who he loved," Boba told Karena. "Don't wait. You'll only regret it when it's too late."

"What was her name?"

"Sintas." Boba smiled sadly beneath his helmet. He hadn't ever talked to anyone about it. He hadn't ever felt the need to since his whole life had changed when he met Kaleena and took her in. "I loved her, but I didn't know how to be part of a family, so I let her go. I don't have a lot of regrets in my life, but not letting myself love someone is one of them. Although, it isn't so bad since it did lead me to meet your mother years later."

While he had regrets, they were all outweighed by the people who had changed his life for the better. He would never regret meeting Kaleena, and, by association, Karena and Kelin, so he could forgive and forget all the mistakes he made before that day on Coruscant since making them led him to that moment.

Karena looked away from Boba, gazing out at the tarmac where Poe was climbing into his cockpit and closing it. She could see the grin on his face from where she stood, wanting to never see anything other than his smile. "Funny how the Force works."

Poe had run over to where his new squadron was readying themselves after he left Karena. The worry in her eyes had been plain as day to him, and the image was burned into his mind. He would never forget it. His chest felt tight thinking of her looking at him like that. It made him not want to leave her side for even a moment, but he had a job to do, and he had to go do it.

"All right, all right!" Poe greeted with a large grin, momentarily putting his thoughts of Karena on the back burner as he looked over the members of Black Squadron. He had chosen the people he trusted the most on the base: Captain Karé Kun, Captain Snap Wexley, Lieutenant Jessika Pava, Lieutenant L'ulo L'ampar, and Technician Oddy Muva. "Look at you guys. Looking good. Looking tough. All the ships fueled up and ready, Oddy?"

Oddy Muva, a male Abednedo, had been appointed as a technician when he joined the Resistance. He hadn't been in the Resistance for too long, but Poe had liked him from the moment they met and enjoyed hearing stories about him and his wife Sowa Chuan, though Poe kept that tidbit on the down-low. He couldn't have the whole base knowing he was a romantic at heart.

"Yeah, Poe," Oddy said. "I wish I were going with you, though." Oddy had been training to become a pilot, but he still had quite a bit to learn before he would be allowed to hop in an X-wing or one of the other ships. They also needed more ships anyway before they could appoint new pilots to full squadrons. There were a few too many standbys with the lack of ships.

Poe patted him on the shoulder. "You'll get your shot, buddy," Poe reassured. "Little more training and you'll be right up there with us. One thing the Resistance needs, it's pilots." And ships so the pilots could actually be of use.

"Where are we going, anyway?" Jess asked, holding her helmet at her side and looking mildly annoyed at her commander. "I was working on my engines, had an idea to get my power converter efficiency up by like fifteen percent. And then you called us up for whatever this is. Had to put the whole thing back together before I was finished."

"I'm sorry, Jess. It's classified, at least for now." Poe hoped it wouldn't stay classified. While he could keep his mouth shut easily, he sucked at lying, and he wanted to trust his squadron with everything.

L'ulo scoffed in his green flight suit. "Classified, pfff." The Duros rolled his eyes; although, they couldn't really tell because of the red eyes, only the accompanying head movement. "I've been fighting with Leia for decades. I was at Endor. You'd think that'd earn me a little trust."

"And Snap fought at Jakku," Karé retorted. "You're lucky they let either one of you old-timers anywhere near a fighter these days. Don't complain."

One thing Karé would never pass up is the chance to poke fun at Snap's age, especially since they were seeing each other, but that information wasn't something everyone in the Resistance was privy to. Only a select few people knew, such as Poe, Karena, and Kelin, who were close with Snap and Karé, and Leia, who had to know because with the workplace relationship they had to inform their superior officers and even fill out a form.

"Come on, Karé," Snap groaned. "I was like sixteen at Jakku."

Poe climbed the ladder on the side of his ship, smiling at the comradery. He turned to face the rest of them. "You are my team, you are my friends. We are Black Squadron, and it's an honor." Poe climbed up the rest of the ladder and into the cockpit.

"Where's Vornskr to knock him off his high horse when you need her?" Jess asked the others, not bothering to be quiet about it.

"I heard that!" Poe called out, shooting a playful glare at the Lieutenant. She shot him an amused grin and raised her hands while turning to go to her own ship. Poe shook his head and closed the cockpit.

When Black Squadron was ready for takeoff, they lifted off and flew into the sky, and Karena watched them as they went. She had never wanted anything more than to go with them. With him.

After flying through a maze, setting off proximity mines, and barely making it through closing blast doors, Poe made it to the exact location of the holovid depicting Lor San Tekka. He didn't know what he was expecting, but a giant, glowing, blue egg in the center of a circular chamber wasn't it. With the rest of Black Squadron on the surface of the planet, Poe landed his ship in the large chamber and climbed out with BB-8.

The small droid beeped a question.

"No," Poe answered while looking up at the egg. "Not what I was expecting either." He looked away, readying his comm. "I'm gonna check in with the others, let them know we made it." BB-8 beeped some more. "Sure, go for it. Track down that signal you were so worried about." BB-8 rolled towards the X-wing while Poe activated his comm. "Black Two, come in."

"I read you, Black Leader," Snap replied. "You make it through all right?"

"Yeah. Got a little dicey, but I'm in."

"What's down there?" Snap asked.

Poe looked at his surroundings. The chamber was lined with terraces with buildings on them. "Hard to say. Looks like a settlement maybe. Deserted, far as I can tell. There is a pretty big egg, though."

"Egg?" Snap repeated. Sometimes he questioned Poe's sanity. "What are you. . ." He shoved away his questioning and moved on. "Listen, is there anywhere we can land? Scanners don't see a flat surface anywhere near here bigger than a gundark."

"The cave's a tricky flight, Snap" Poe explained, watching BB-8 scan his ship. "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 a little, see if I-" The transmission cut out.

"You there, Black Leader?" Snap asked. "Poe! Come in!"

Poe silently cursed to himself, holding his hand in pain. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Shot my comlink right out of my hand." Poe turned around to see a group of people, some of whom were pointing blasters at him. "There's no need for that!" BB-8 rolled up next to him, brandishing his arc welder at the natives. "Easy! Easy, now. Everyone just calm down." BB-8 turned his head and beeped at Poe. "Yes, that means you too, BB-8. I'm sure we can all be pals. Eventually."

BB-8 begrudgingly put away his arc welder and Poe slowly unsheathed his blaster, holding it up non-threateningly. "My name is Poe Dameron, and the droid is BB-8," he introduced to the native group still pointing blasters at him. "We aren't here for trouble, see? Putting down my blaster." Poe lowered himself to the ground, setting down the blaster. "We're here because we're looking for someone. Show 'em, BB."

BB-8 used his holoprojector to show the paused holovid of Lor San Tekka kneeling beneath the blue egg suspended in the chamber they all stood in. What seemed to be the leader, a woman with pale skin, white hair, and the shape of an egg on her forehead, stepped forward, looking at the projection.

"That's. . . that's the explorer," she said, pointing at San Tekka.

"You got it," Poe said, standing up straight. "He was here unless there's another giant egg shrine around somewhere. I just need to talk to him, and then I'm out of your hair, I promise. Where is he?"

"Gone," the leader answered. "He left long ago."

That was exactly what Poe didn't want to hear. "Blast. Do you know where he went?"

"Even if we did, why would I tell you?" the leader asked. "I know the explorer. I trust him. You. . ." She turned and waved her hand, starting to walk away. "I do not know at all."

"Hey, come on," Poe pleaded as BB-8 turned off the holoprojector. "Give me a chance, lady."

The leader turned and gestured to the giant blue egg that cast a faint blue glow on them. "We are the Crèche," she explained to Poe. "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. It holds salvation itself, 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, anyone to prevent that from happening."

"What's with the tone?" Poe asked, not liking the harshness in her voice when he hadn't even done anything. "I'm not here to hurt your egg. I like your egg!"

The leader stepped toward Poe, unamused. "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." She stepped close to Poe, eyeing him closely and standing a few inches taller. "Are you willing to do the same, Poe Dameron?"

Poe took a moment. Even if he had the time, he doubted he'd be willing to spend two full seasons sitting in front of a giant glowing egg. He didn't have that kind of patience or focus or discipline. Though it did sound like something Colonel Aput could do as it was well-known throughout the Resistance base on D'Qar that he spent every morning meditating. But the 'communing with the savior unborn' part of the leader's speech reminded Poe of the stories he heard about the Jedi from his parents.

"I'm sort of on a deadline," Poe finally said.

The leader didn't seem surprised. "As I thought. I will tell you nothing."

BB-8 beeped at Poe. "What?" Poe looked down at the droid. "Sure, go ahead. Keep looking for that signal. I'm gonna see if I can figure this whole thing out." BB-8 rolled away, going back to the X-wing. Poe turned back to the leader who was starting to walk away again. "Look, I really need to know where Lor. . . uh, the explorer went. This may be a little hard to believe, but the fate of the galaxy is at stake."

The leader looked back at Poe. "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."

"And if billions of people die in the meantime?" Poe asked. "Come on, there has to be some way I can convince you I'm one of the good guys. This is ridiculous!" One of the natives pointed his blaster at Poe again, and Poe quickly raised his hands again. "Okay, okay, you're right, I got a little upset there. I'm good now. We're all good. Nice and relaxed." Poe typically prided himself on his ability to talk himself out of any situation, but he wasn't the best at staying level-headed.

BB-8 whistled loudly and rolled back to Poe, holding up a tracker. "Wait. . . what?" Poe asked at BB-8's beeps and whistles. He knelt next to his droid and grabbed the device from him. "Oh, no." Poe stood up, holding up the tracker. "You need to listen to me! Right now!"

"He's got a detonator!" the leader yelled. "He's threatening the egg! Take him down!"

Kriff. "Hey, hey, let's not be hasty. This isn't a deton-" Poe dodged a blast, hitting the ground and dropping the tracker. He kicked the nearest native, a Trandoshan of all species, and grabbed the blaster. Poe stood, wielding the blaster. "Okay then." BB-8 brandished his arc welder again at the fallen Trandoshan. "Okay then!"

The leader rushed forward, waving her hands. "Please! Don't shoot the egg! Yo-you can't!"

Poe grabbed the tracker again and held it up. "You know what this is? A tracker," he explained now that they were all actually listening to him. "My droid just found it on my ship. It's been signaling my location ever since I arrived on this planet."

"I don't understand," the leader said. "Who. . . who has been tracking you?"

"The kind of people who'd boil up that egg and eat it for breakfast." Poe dropped the blaster, letting it hit the ground even as they still pointed blasters at him. He was taking a risk, and that's what he was best at. "People who are nothing like me. I've got people outside up on the surface. They've got ships, weapons. You let me get word to them and we can protect you. I promise."

Poe walked forward towards the leader and held out his hand. "Come on. What do you say?" he asked with a small smile. "Pals?" The leader slowly nodded and shook Poe's hand. Poe full-blown grinned, relieved to have defused the situation, but there was another one coming.

He went back to his ship, climbing inside to use the comms since his personal comlink had been shot and landed somewhere he didn't see. Turning it on, he said, "This is Black Leader. Anyone read?"

"Poe!" Snap exclaimed as the squadron flew over the planet surface. "Thank goodness." He thought Karena might kill him if he hadn't brought Poe back alive.

"I was about a second away from flying down into that cavern and looking for you, son," L'ulo said in his A-wing.

"I'm fine, L'ulo," Poe assured. "Listen, all of you, we've been made. There was a tracker on my ship. We're gonna have company, I think. The First Order's probably already on its way."

"You got a little wrong, Poe," Karé said.

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

A floating platform hovered about the entrance to the cavern on the planet surface with TIE fighters, troop transports, and First Order personnel.

"Not about the tracker. About the First Order. They aren't on their way. They're already here."