These comics are Star Wars: Poe Dameron #2-4. I know you've probably gotten used to large time jumps, but this takes place immediately after the previous chapter.

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32 ABY

Poe had hidden his X-wing and was hiding with BB-8 thanks to the Crèche. He had also had BB-8 contact the squadron on the surface, though they didn't particularly like his vague orders. He had also found his personal comlink, still working, though that was a small happiness.

"Leverage?" Jess repeated as they flew. "That was really all Poe said, Snap? That was the entire order? 'Get me some leverage?'"

"Yeah, but what was he supposed to say, Jess?" Snap retorted. "He doesn't know the tactical situation up here."

"He trusts us to figure it out," L'ulo said. "Better that than give us bad orders. Mark of a good commander, and trust me, I've had my share of bad ones."

"Fair enough, L'ulo," Karé chimed in. "That's the real order. 'Figure it out.' Okay. Let's run through it. The First Order has control of the entrance to the cavern where Poe's stuck, and they just sent a stormtrooper squad down there, including some special weapons troops. We could blow it up, but we aren't allowed to engage with First Order forces unless they shoot first."

"We need that platform, Karé," Snap said. "There's nowhere to land on this planet. It's all mountains and ravines. If we stay here too long, we'll run out of fuel. But if we can get it, we'll have a landing spot, a chance to refuel, and control over the only way in and out of that cave. Leverage."

"Know what I think, Snap?" Jess said. "If we can get rid of those TIEs, we can do this. The ground troops on the platform would surrender right away. They can't fight starships. We need to get the TIEs to attack us. Somehow."

"Good idea, Jess," Karé praised. "But TIEs are faster and more maneuverable than X-wings. Especially those new special forces models. On a planet like this, with these canyons. . . could be tricky."

"Good thing we're not all flying X-wings, then, isn't it?" L'ulo said with a smirk. "Leave it to me." L'ulo did a quick flyby of the landing platform, dipping low and speeding past.

One of the troopers turned to the one next to him and asked, "Should we respond?"

The trooper shrugged and waved it off. "Eh."

After a few moments, it was clear they weren't responding. "Blast, it didn't work," L'ulo said. "Looks like they have the same orders we do. They won't shoot first either."

"It's alright, L'ulo," Karé assured. "We'll figure out something else."

"Let me try another pass." L'ulo began to descend towards the platform again.

"Another pass? If it didn't work the first time, what makes you think-"

L'ulo fired on the platform, making sure to not hit anyone or anything but the surface of the platform.

"L'ulo!" Karé exclaimed. "What did you do?"

"Finger slipped," L'ulo remarked nonchalantly. "But hey, good news. It worked."

TIE fighters lifted off the platform, following L'ulo's A-wing.

Meanwhile underground, the Crèche were being threatened by First Order troops, the leader of whom was an older man with a thin mustache and a tattoo on his left temple named Terex.

"So, troopers," Agent Terex addressed with his hands folded behind his back. "I'm not sure polite inquiry is providing the results I'm looking for. What do you say we see what's inside this big old egg of theirs?"

"No, please!" the leader of the Crèche exclaimed desperately. "Don't! You have no idea how crucial this egg's contents are. It is salvation itself!"

"Salvation itself, eh?" Terex repeated, staring up at the blue egg. "In that case, I'll leave it alone. Wouldn't want to ruin everyone's salvation. Probably. Where's Poe Dameron?"

"He's. . . he's. . ."

"I'm here!" Poe yelled, coming out from his hiding spot with his hands up. "I'm right here." He sauntered towards the First Order troops. "Stop torturing these poor people. I'm sure we can work everything out. Don't be hasty."

"Oh? Why not?" Terex asked.

Poe's frown deepened as he stopped in front of the older man and lowered his hands. "Excuse me?"

"You just said, 'Don't be hasty.' I'm curious to know why you think you can tell me to do anything at all. Seems like I've got all the leverage here, my new friend."

"Ah." Poe smirked. "Funny you should mention that. I didn't come here alone. I've got a squadron up on the surface. Pretty much the best starfighter pilots in the galaxy. And just before I walked down here, I gave them an order. I asked them to get me some leverage. So, you might think 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."

On the surface, Snap smiled at the empty platform and the destroyed TIEs. "Good job everyone," he said through the comms. "We need to land on that platform and get word to Poe. L'ulo, you go first. We'll cover you from up h-"

An explosion cut him off.

"Huh," L'ulo said, looking at the platform and seeing some smoke rising from it. "Must have hit it harder than I thought."

"Looks like we've got a stalemate here, pal," Poe told Terex, unaware of the new situation topside.

"That's not all," L'ulo continued, watching the exploding platform teetering downward. "Look at the trajectory. It's going down right over the cave entrance."

"But that's the only way in or out," Jess said. "Poe will be trapped down there! This can't be what he wanted us to do!" The landing platform exploded again as it hit the cavern.

"The First Order's trapped down there, too," Snap reminded. "If I know Poe. . . that'll be all he needs."

Jess wasn't too happy about that. "You think so, Snap? Really?"

"I. . . I hope so."

Terex and Poe looked up to see the fire from the explosion billowing in through the tunnel. Terex smirked. "Stalemate?" Terex repeated, drawing Poe's attention again. "Oh, I don't know about that." He gestured to the flametroopers near him. "Gentlemen, if you please. . ."

The nearest flametrooper nodded and said, "Of course, sir."

The leader of the Crèche gasped, her eyes widening at the egg being set on fire by the flamethrowers. "No," she muttered, staring at the fire.

"Now, you're going to tell me everything I want to know, Dameron," Terex said as his troopers burned the egg. "That will happen in any case. The only decision you have in front of you is how quickly you tell me."

"Sing to the savior unborn!" the Crèche leader ordered her people. "Soothe its pain!"

Terex glanced at the Crèche then back at Poe. "You seem to care about these fools, for some 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 omelet. 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 alone either. In fact, I came here aboard the Ravenous, a Maxima-A class heavy cruiser which carries an extremely impressive complement of fighters and troopers." Poe didn't need to be Karena and know the exact capacity of the cruiser to know things weren't looking good for him. "It's in orbit above the planet as we speak. So, I'm afraid that whatever you think you've accomplished. . . whatever leverage you think you hold. . . you aren't seeing the bigger picture. So, Poe Dameron, let's talk."

The egg started to crack above them.

"What do you want, Terex?" Poe asked.

"It's Agent Terex if you please," Terex requested. "Titles matter. I am a ranking officer in the First Order Security Bureau. My job, in short, is to know things. You, of course, are Poe Dameron, pilot for the New Republic Navy, and more recently for Leia Organa's silly Resistance. But that's your name, not a title. Your title should be thief. Bandit. Crook. Scoundrel. You stole First Order property, data we bought and paid for, and I am here to get it back. That's what I want."

Poe's eyebrows furrowed. He had so many questions. First was how they even knew he was involved in the information Boba Fett had stolen from the First Order. The second was why they weren't going after Fett for it, but then Poe figured they either didn't know it was Fett or they didn't want to tangle with the galaxy's best bounty hunter. Third, how important was the information? It couldn't just be Lor San Tekka, could it?

"We all want things, pal," Poe said. "But until you tell your TIEs to call off their attack on my squadron, and ease up with the flamethrowers on that egg, we have nothing to talk about."

One thing Terex hated was people not giving him what he wanted. "You should be more worried about yourself, Poe. After all, your colleagues are flying starfighters. I'm sure they're just fine."

They were not 'just fine.'

On the surface, Black Squadron was being attacked. "Evasive action!" Snap ordered. "Keep your S-foils closed or we'll never out-fly these things."

"Where did they all come from, Snap?" Jess asked while dodging fire from a TIE behind her.

"The First Order must have a ship in orbit. Guess they didn't like us blowing up their landing platform."

"It doesn't matter why they're here," Jess argued. "We have to get out of their line of fire. They've got us five to one!"

"Agreed, Jess," L'ulo said. "We won't win this fight head-to-head. We need to buy time for Poe. Maybe he can figure out something down in the cavern."

"Okay, down to the canyons," Snap ordered. "Split up, try to stay ahead of them. If you can take one out, do it. Maybe we can even the odds a little."

"Do you think that will actually work, Snap?" Karé asked.

"I don't know, but it's all I've got."

Terex stared Poe down. "Now, you are clearly a criminal. I could arrest you and bring you up on charges in either a New Republic court or a First Order tribunal. But that would take so long, and I'm not the most patient man. In situations like this, I prefer more direct solutions. I turn up the heat, if you w-"

The egg cracked loudly that time, drawing everyone's attention. The flametroopers lowered their flamethrowers.

"Hmm." Terex stared up at the egg curiously.

"Huh," Poe said. "How about that. You actually can stop talking."

"Uh, sir, should we-" one of the troopers started to ask, but he was cut off.

"The savior unborn!" the leader of the Crèche preached. "It comes at last! Our long vigil is ended. We will be redeemed!" Everyone took a few steps back at the eggshell breaking, the pieces hitting the ground beneath it. A large, glowing blue figure landed on the ground, having sprung from the egg. It stood multiple stories tall, towering like a giant over the humans. "We welcome you, oh savior unborn! We are the Crèche, your loyal servants and protectors these many generations!"

Poe pulled out his comlink while everyone was focused on the giant blue creature. "This could be our shot," he said into it, talking to BB-8 who was still hiding. "If you see an opening, you take it."

"Please," the Crèche leader said to the creature. "Lead us. Show us how to save this sinner's world."

The creature screeched, spreading its wings, then it swiped at the natives, knocking them away.

Terex huffed, watching the natives hit the ground. "So much for saviors." Poe tried to attack the agent, which Terex sidestepped and threw him to the ground. "A sucker punch, eh? Well, you aren't the first to try it, and I suppose you won't be the last." Terex kicked Poe in the back. "But you should know, when it comes to dirty tricks, I am absolutely filthy." Terex adjusted his gloves. "You probably ought to stick to playing hero in your X-wing. . ." Terex trailed off as he reached for his blaster only to find it wasn't there.

"That wasn't a sucker punch, Terex," Poe said, standing up and turning around, holding Terex's blaster that BB-8 had handed to him. "It was a distraction."

"Black Three, report!" Snap ordered.

"I've got three of these blasted things on me," Jess said. "The terrain's helping and the booster mods I installed are keeping me ahead of them for now. They can't get a clear shot. But they're gaining ground on me with every turn. Gonna try something, see if I can't push 'em back a little."

"Roger that. Good luck, Jess."

Jess looked at a rocky overpass ahead of her. "Alright, this better be some Jedi business right here," she mumbled. She blasted the archway right before passing underneath. The overpass exploded, sending rocks down and destroying the TIEs behind her. "Boom! Take that you-" Two more TIEs appeared in front of her, shooting at her.

"Black Three! Acknowledge! You alright?" Snap asked through the comm.

"I'm hit!" Jess reported, smoke coming from her wing and astromech. "My astromech's fried. Two more of them came out of nowhere. I'm losing power. Not sure how long I can hold on down here, Snap."

"This was a bad idea," Snap said. "All fighters, pull up. We need to get back out into the open air." He narrowly dodged a rock formation and TIE blaster fire.

"How will that be better?" L'ulo asked. "We're still outnumbered, Snap!"

"I'm not saying we can win, L'ulo. But right now, we're each on our own. Up there, at least we'll be fighting together."

L'ulo nodded to himself. "Ah, I see. Order acknowledged, Black Two. See you up there."

"Karé, in case I don't get a chance to say this back at the base," Snap said as he began flying out of the rocky terrain, "what we've had over the last few months. . ."

Karé cut in during his pause. "You're gonna tell me back at base, Wexley," she said harshly. Black Squadron formed up over the surface, staring down the TIE fighters in front of them. "You're gonna tell me back at the base."

Down below, the First Order troopers were firing at the giant, winged, blue, glowing creature with no progress and narrowly avoiding being hit by the thing, and Poe and Terex were staring each other down with Poe pointing a blaster at Terex.

"It's over, Terex," Poe said. "Tell your fighters to pull back to orbit, and call off the attack down here."

"I think you're misreading the situation, Poe," Terex replied. "My troopers aren't attacking. They're defending." He gestured to the creature that his men were firing upon. "I'm not sure these Crèche idiots had any idea what was inside that egg all this time. My troopers are the only thing keeping any of us alive."

"Why are you doing this?" the Crèche leader asked the creature, stepping towards it ahead of her people. "How have we angered you? Please, tell us where we have gone wr-" The creature grabbed her lifting her up towards its mouth. "Please, no!"

Right before the creature could place her in its mouth, another giant creature came out of nowhere, punching it, forcing it to drop the Crèche leader. The new creature was black with red glowing eyes and a red glowing mouth as opposed to the first one's glowing white eyes and mouth and bright blue skin.

Poe's attention was torn away from Terex by the creatures beginning to fight each other. "Whoa." BB-8 beeped next to Poe. "I know, buddy. Kind of makes you think." The agent then attacked the pilot, capitalizing on the distraction and grappling for the blaster, much to Poe's exasperation. "Would you just give it up?"

"Never. That is my blaster, Dameron. And once I have it back I will kill you." Terex kicked BB-8 away. "And your idiot droid, too. You may wonder why I would kill you, as you still haven't given me the information you stole from the First Order."

"I didn't even steal it! And I'm mostly wondering how to get you to shut up."

"I've been trying to understand why you're fighting so hard to save these fools, and I think I finally see. You're not fighting to protect them. You're fighting to protect something they have, something they haven't given to you yet. That's why you were still here when I arrived. Whatever you want, they still have it, and that means I can get it from them." Terex twisted Poe's arm, forcing him to drop the blaster then elbowed him in the face, knocking him down. "And so really, Mr. Thief, I don't need you alive at all."

Poe rubbed his jaw. "Well, great. Real glad you worked all that out." He'd much rather be kicked around by a certain attractive blonde instead of the First Order agent.

"Take cover!" one of the troopers yelled.

The fighting creatures lifted off into the air with their wings and hit the ceiling of the chamber. Boulders fell from the ceiling where the creatures had hit a hole through. Terex watched his troopers get crushed by rocks.

"No!"

BB-8 zapped Terex from behind.

"Getting low on fuel, Black Two," Karé said, avoiding being shot down from a TIE.

"We all are, Black Four," Snap responded. "Just keep flying!"

"Black Squadron!" Poe's voice cut in through the comms. "This is Black Leader, come in Black Squadron!"

Before they could respond, the fighting creatures from down below broke through the surface.

Snap's eyes widened at the sight of a giant demonic creature fighting a giant blue copy of itself. "What in the name of-" Snap shook his head, missing being hit by rubble.

"Uh. . ." Poe drew out. "If you can hear me, heads up. Something's headed your way. It's. . . it's a little hard to describe."

Too little too late, Poe.

"Black Squadron, on me!" Snap ordered. The creatures continued to fly into the air, their wings taking out many of the TIE fighters. Snap led the squadron under the fighting creatures. "Looks like those things made us a way out."

"Way in," Karé corrected.

"Whatever. Let's just get down there and land."

Black Squadron flew into the cavern using the hole the creatures made, letting the creatures continue dighting each other.

After the natives and the Resistance pilots rounded up what was left of Terex's squad, Poe started talking to the Crèche leader again.

"And what will you do now, Dameron?" Terex asked from where he stood with his troops. Crèche members were pointing blasters at them, keeping them corralled. Poe turned away from the Crèche leader to look at Terex. "You won't kill me. You would have done it already. And you can't take me prisoner. If you did, you would give the First Order clear justification to launch an attack on the New Republic. You haven't won. You've simply lost in a somewhat creative fashion."

Poe smirked at the older man. "You know what, man? You're sort of a drag." He turned away, looking back at the Crèche leader, L'ulo, and Snap.

"This problem is easily solved," L'ulo suggested. "Terex can't have many TIEs left. Once we refuel, we can fly up and take out his cruiser in orbit on our way home. Let the Crèche decide what to do with him."

"It's no good," Poe said. "The First Order would send another ship, maybe even a Star Destroyer. They'd burn this whole planet looking for him."

"So, what. . . we just let him go?" Snap asked.

"Yes," the Crèche leader said, looking up into the hole. "We will let him go. He can't hurt us anymore." From the hole, a single giant creature flew down, landing on one of the terraces in the cavern. It looked like a morphed version of the two that were fighting. Blue skin with glowing red veins and eyes. The Crèche leader gestured to it. "The savior. . . born. It will carry us far from here, to wherever our new life will begin." Crèche members began climbing the creature.

Poe was still confused about the whole thing. A giant, winged, blue creature fighting a giant, winged, black creature and then somehow morphing together? He wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. He wondered if Karena would call him crazy when he recounted the tale to her.

"Can I ask you something?" Poe wondered.

"Of course, Poe Dameron," the Crèche leader said. "You fought for us. You worked to save us when it would have been easier to save yourself. Ask me anything."

Poe glanced at the creature the people were climbing. "Well, I do have the one big question, but before that, tell me, all this time, all those generations down here, did you guys have any idea what was actually in that egg?"

"No. But that was never the point." Faith was the point. Hope was the point. Believing in something greater than yourself was the point.

Before leaving the pilots, the Crèche leader answered Poe's original question: the one that led him to the planet in the first place. Where Lor San Tekka had gone after leaving.

The creature lifted into the air, carrying the Crèche on its back.

Poe and the rest of Black Squadron faced Terex and the three remaining troopers. "Okay," he began. "Here's how we're gonna do this: I get out of here with my guys, and you get to stay down here for the time being. On our way out, we'll radio your cruiser to come pick you up. Everybody goes home, and we forget this ever happened."

Terex glared at the commander. "Oh, I doubt I will ever forget this happened, Poe Dameron."

Poe turned around with a wave. "Uh, huh. See you around, Agent Terex."

Black Squadron left the planet, radioed the cruiser, and got ready to enter hyperspace. BB-8 beeped a question from his nook in Poe's X-wing.

"Yeah, Bee," Poe answered. "She told me where Lor San Tekka went when he left this planet. Looks like we're going to prison."

After returning to D'Qar, reporting to Leia, filling out their reports on the mission, and stripping off their equipment or changing into civilian attire, Black Squadron met in the galley and filled their cups with well-earned alcohol. They could all use a celebratory drink after the mess of a day they had.

Poe raised his cup. "Here's to Black Squadron! Here's to you!" he announced to his squad.

"Hear hear!" the rest of the squad chorused, raising their cups, too. Together, they took a drink and broke off into pairs.

"Yeah, that's the good stuff," L'ulo said into his cup. He lowered it, looking at Poe. "By the Force, I needed that Poe."

Poe grinned at the man who helped raise him. "You and me both. All of us. We barely made it through that egg business. Time to blow off a little steam."

"And to celebrate," L'ulo added. "We showed the First Order who we are."

"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about, L'ulo." Kriff, Poe hated having to step up and be the authority sometimes. They were under strict orders to not fire first unless told otherwise, and while Poe hated that order, he had to follow it and he had to enforce it. "I reviewed the after-action reports. You escalated the situation. You completely blew off the rules of engagement. You fired first. You gave the First Order an excuse to attack us."

"Absolutely, and I'd do it again." The older Duros had been fighting since before Poe was even born. He would absolutely own up to firing first, regardless of the consequences. "We both know that's where things are headed. Every TIE fighter we destroy now is one less that can attack us when things get really hot. We have to fight them every chance we get."

"What do you think this is, L'ulo?" Poe gestured to the other members of the squadron. Karé was smiling at Snap and Jess was conversing with Oddy. He then pointed at himself. "I'm the best." He pointed at L'ulo. "And you're the best, too. We're all the best, one on one. No First Order pilot can come close to us. Bang bang, boom boom, we win. But the thing is, if we give them a reason to attack us before we're ready, it won't be one on one. It'll be a hundred to one. A thousand. That's why General Organa had me put Black Squadron together. It's our job to find the things we'll need to beat them when things do go hot, and to help the New Republic understand that they're a real threat. Because you're right, L'ulo, it is just a matter of time. The clock is ticking."

Poe set a hand on L'ulo's shoulder, looking earnestly up at him. "Let's not speed it up, eh?" L'ulo slowly nodded. Poe gestured with his head towards the other pilots. "Go celebrate a job well done, alright?" L'ulo gave Poe a small smile, proud of the man the young boy had grown into, patted him on the shoulder, and walked towards Snap and Karé who were finishing up a serious conversation.

Poe looked over his squadron, his soft smile slowly shifting into a frown.

"Who thought you'd be the adult, huh?"

Poe quickly turned around at the sound of the melodic voice he had missed while away. He smiled at Karena who leaned against the frame of the doorway into the room. With a smirk and her arms crossed over her chest, she tilted her head, looking over the hotshot pilot.

Poe took long strides over to her. "Miss me, sweetheart?" he asked.

"I actually enjoyed the quiet." Poe chuckled, not taking her words to heart, and held out his cup to her, silently offering. She shook her head. "Nah, I think I've learned not to drink with you."

He shrugged, lifting his cup to his lips. "Suit yourself."

"Heard the report from Leia. A giant egg and a flying glowing creature?" Karena raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"I wouldn't believe it either," he said. "If the rest of them hadn't seen it too, I'd probably think I hit my head and hallucinated it. Or, you know what, maybe I did hit my head and I need someone to help nurse me back to health?" He grinned at her as he took another sip of his drink.

"I can escort you to the med-center if you'd like?" Karena asked with a teasing grin.

Poe pouted. "Oh, come on."

"Celebrate with your squadron, Poe," she said, her expression softening. "I came to tell you I'm heading out. I'll see you when I get back, okay?"

"Be careful."

"You too."

Poe watched her walk away.

Snap, Karé, and L'ulo had watched their exchange, and when Karena left Poe there, Snap sighed and shook his head. "They just need to kiss already."

Karé nodded quickly, in complete agreement. "Tell me about it."

L'ulo eyed Poe's back. "You know, I still haven't figured out why she looks so kriffing familiar."

Snap decided not to inform him.

Sorry for the lack of Karena or Kelin in this chapter, I just thought it might be relevant/interesting to show how Black Squadron went about finding Lor San Tekka and what the situation with the First Order was like before The Force Awakens.