Hello!
First, I need to let my regular readers know that this is NOT part of my post-TRoS series. No worries, I will continue on with that universe in the future, but for now I needed a break. So, here is my very first Star Wars AU!
The truth is, this story has been knocking around my head for literally years! I've been wanting to get it out for a very long time, but I was just never motivated enough. About a year ago (about the time TRoS came out), I started envisioning Oscar Isaac as my hero in this story as they are both Latino, but it wasn't until I was chatting with the girls at the Damerey Discord that it hit me: why not make Rey the heroine? Some name changes to characters and places and voilá! I had a Modern AU! I was suddenly motivated to get this story out! And oh, what fun it was!
Just a note: Like Rey in my story, I only took a couple of years of Spanish in High School, so I tried to keep any Spanish in the story to a minimum, but there are a few places I felt an actual Spanish phrase was warranted. I did the best I could in translating, but any mistakes are mine and mine alone.
On that note, because this isn't my 'normal' Poe and Rey, you can expect the smut to be… well… more. It will probably be more explicit than anything I've written in the last 15 years, so if that's not your thing, you may want to stop here before you get invested in the characters. I will give warnings on the chapters that are particularly smutty.
Now, I am so excited to introduce you all to El Halcón!
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El Halcón
When Rey Skywalker had agreed to come on this mission trip to Ajan Kloss with her friend Finn and his father, she had hoped the change in scenery would lead to a bit of an adventure. However, as she sat on the hard wooden floor of the schoolhouse, her back against the wall, two small children huddled up next to her on either side, watching seven heavily armed men pace around the room in front of her, she decided this was far too much adventure for her.
She glanced over at Finn and his dad, Lando Calrissian, one of the deacons in her church, and winced as she took note of Finn's swollen eye. He had tried to be brave and had talked back to one of the men; Rey felt happy that a black eye was all he had gotten out of the confrontation. She looked at the man who had popped Finn in the eye with his rifle butt, but immediately looked away as the giant brute glanced her way. He was paying far too much attention to her, and though she wanted to be strong and brave like Finn, she knew making eye contact with the man would only make him more likely to attack her. She worked with wildlife; she knew how predators acted.
She looked over to the other side of the room where the two nuns that ran the school sat with more of the children. The older one, Sister Clara, was arguing in fluent Spanish with one of the younger men, who couldn't have been much older than sixteen. Rey once more cursed the fact that she had quit Spanish in High School after only two years. Though she had picked up quite a few phrases in the three days she'd been here in Ajan Kloss, there was no way she could keep up with the conversation. She did catch Clara calling her Sister Realyn more than once; Rey was not a nun, but she wasn't going to point that out. She knew Clara was trying to protect her. Though these outlaws were far from angels, many were still deeply religious, and letting them think Rey was a nun would hopefully help protect her from rape or murder.
She glanced once more at the big brute staring at her from near the doorway. Except him, she thought. She sensed that he would rape anyone he wanted, nun or not.
She looked over at the window next to the chalkboard and the man standing there. He was the only one of the seven that had yet to speak. Armed to the teeth just like the others, he seemed abnormally calm and watched the room cautiously with a scowl on his face, occasionally glancing out the window. Though shorter and slighter than the brute, his grey-flecked hair and beard indicated more maturity than the others, and it was easy to see how the others deferred to him. He was very obviously the leader, and she felt he was probably the most dangerous man in the room. As she watched him, his eyes suddenly met hers. For a moment, she was frozen, unable to look away as his intense gaze focused on her, assessing her. She tore her eyes away and looked down, her heart thudding hard in her chest. The fear she felt was real, but it was different than the fear she felt toward the brute and the others. She couldn't explain it. Stockholm Syndrome, she wondered? After only three hours? She doubted it. She cautiously looked up again, and was dismayed to realize he was still staring at her, his expression unreadable.
The arguing between Clara and the boy was getting louder. Rey recognized the name Dominguez and she felt a sharp jab of panic. They had been told on their arrival that the Dominguez Cartel, the largest and most powerful in the country, would leave the missionary teams from the United States alone. But as she watched Clara talk, she realized that these men were not only from the Dominguez Cartel, but that the quiet man staring at her, the leader, was apparently José Dominguez himself, the son and heir apparent to the 'throne.' El Halcón, the locals called him. The Falcon.
Remembering the intensity of his gaze, she understood why they called him that.
She felt a poke on her arm and looked down at Paulo, the boy pressed up to her right side. "Puedo ir al baño?" he whispered. Rey had been working with these children long enough to understand that bit of Spanish. She looked over toward Sister Clara and Sister Edna, trying to catch their eye, but they were both focused on the men, still trying to argue their way out of being hostages.
Finally, with poor Paulo still poking her insistently, she spoke up. "Excuse me!" she called out, her voice barely loud enough to be heard over the heated discussion. She felt almost all the eyes in the room fall on her. "Excuse me, but it's well past the children's bathroom break," she said, her eyes scanning the room. "The children need the restroom." Her eyes clashed for a moment with Dominguez', and she felt her face heat. The last thing she wanted was to draw attention to herself, but she guessed it was too late for that anyway.
There was silence for a moment, and she wondered if any of the men spoke English. She looked at Sister Clara in exasperation. The nun seemed to pull herself out of her momentary shock and repeated what Rey had said in Spanish. Rey grimaced as she noticed all but Dominguez look toward the nun; he continued to stare at her.
Then he spoke for the first time. Gesturing with the hand that wasn't holding on to the butt of his holstered Glock, he spoke to the men around him. Quickly, one of the men moved toward her and motioned for her to get up. "You'll help us," he told her in English. At least she knew one of them could understand her.
Soon, all the children were lined up and moving out the back door toward the restroom. It wasn't an 'outhouse,' per say; they did have indoor plumbing, but the building itself was separate from the schoolhouse, and it was only one bathroom, so the children would have to go one by one. It took time as Rey stood outside the door, guiding the kids in at their turn. Two of the men stood guard over them, hands on their weapons, eyes dark as they watched over the line of children. Another stood at the door of the schoolhouse, making sure the children went back in after they were done using the facilities. They were almost through the line when Rey saw the brute coming out. He said something to the other men and they nodded and headed back inside. Only Pedro was left to use the restroom and once the little girl before him was done, the man at the back door also disappeared inside.
Rey watched the brute warily as she waited for Pedro. He was staring at her with a smirk on his face. Rey felt her heartrate increase significantly and worried it would thud right out of her chest. Finally, Pedro exited and Rey grabbed the child's shoulders gently and guided him back toward the schoolhouse. As they passed the brute, he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back violently. She jerked away from him as hard as she could but he was too strong. She looked at Pedro with panic. "Run, Pedro!" she screamed as the brute forcefully dragged her into the jungle behind the restroom. "Run!"
To her relief, not only did the boy run, but he ran past the schoolhouse and toward the main part of the village. He would get help for the others, she thought. They would be okay!
Now she had to worry about herself. She knew exactly what the brute intended, and she was going to do her damnedest to make sure he didn't succeed. She scratched and kicked and tried every self-defense trick she had ever been taught, but she had no leverage and the brute was just too strong. She managed one good swipe at his cheek, clawing him viciously. He bellowed angrily and brought his right arm up, backhanding her across her face. The impact was so forceful, Rey literally saw stars and she would have fallen to the ground if he hadn't had a hold of her arm. But then she did hit the ground as he threw her down.
With a horrifying expression on his face, he fell upon her, bringing her arms up above her head and pinning them to the ground with one meaty hand. With the other, he began to pull up her skirt. Rey shook her head, trying to focus again, and was soon kicking at him fiercely, trying her best to aim at his privates. If she could make him hurt enough for him to let go…
Suddenly, his weight was gone, and she realized he had been pulled off of her with great force. She sat up and scooted back on her butt, staring at the scene in front of her.
José Dominguez stood in front of her, facing the man he had just pulled off of her, speaking in a low but dangerous sounding voice. The brute shouted back, and though Rey didn't understand the words, she knew they were meant to insult. Dominguez lifted his chin, and she could see the challenge on his face. Though shorter than the brute, he was heavily muscled and lean; it was like watching a cougar face off with a grizzly. She had no clue who would win.
The brute suddenly pulled a gigantic looking knife from a sheath at his hip. With a smirk, Dominguez did the same.
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Sorry, not sorry! See you Monday!