Rey frowns at the hologram map of the galaxy as Finn, Poe and Kaydel argue over different courses of actions. Ever since Finn received a tip that morning from other stormtroopers wanting to desert, the whole base has been a hive of noise and disunity. Nobody disagrees that freeing unwilling soldiers is the right thing to do, or that the information and reinforcements they could provide would be useful. The issue is that few people want to risk their own lives for people who might have fired blasters at them weeks or even days before – especially when they'll have no way of knowing if the defectors are playing them until after any traps are sprung.

To Rey, the solution is obvious. If they can free even one person from being forced to fight in a war they hate, they should. Any strategic benefit is just a bonus.

But it was easier to take strong moral stances when she wasn't one of the people making the final decision.

If only Leia were here to make the choice for them. The general always knew what to do.

'This isn't the kind of mission we should just order somebody to do!' Kaydel exclaims, pacing behind the hologram.

Arms crossed, Finn watches the room with a steely gaze. This is personal to him, more than almost anything they've done before. 'We don't have to order anybody. I'll go alone if I have to.'

'No, not alone,' Poe says. 'I'll go with you.'

'You can't both go.' Rey sighs as all their attention turns to her and she's hit with the weight of Finn's disapproval and Poe's surprise. Kaydel's the only one whose expression eases with relief, but even then, a hint of guilt plagues her dark eyes. Rey knows she doesn't relish the idea of leaving people to suffer, but as someone who has been part of the Resistance far longer than the other three, Kaydel often struggles more with the burden of precedent. Quickly, Rey adds, 'I'm not saying we don't send anyone. But there's only a slim chance of this working out. If we send both of you and you don't return…'

Finn shrugs. 'I already said I'm willing to go alone.'

'I'm the better pilot,' Poe points out. 'I have more chance of getting away if things go south. And some of the other pilots will probably go too – since we moved to this new base, they've been itching to fly somewhere.'

Even though she was the one to suggest it, Rey hates the idea of either of them going alone. But they're not just members of the Resistance now; they're the leaders, and they have to think beyond themselves.

'Trust me.' Poe holds his hand out. His voice is calm and assured, his eyes earnest, and his fingers calloused from a lifetime of flying and working on engines. Every part of him radiates certainty and capability. He's the oddest mixture of foolhardiness and steadiness she's ever seen. 'I can do this.'

In that second, Rey understands with full clarity why the fighter pilots in the Resistance are so willing to follow him into battle even when they're outnumbered a thousand to one. Half of his ideas are so crazy and harebrained that she's convinced he gets off on the danger, but somehow, he always survives. He's never pushed himself that step too far, instead finding the limit to possibility and stopping there. So maybe there's calculation beneath the folly after all.

Besides, can she really judge him for gravitating towards danger when she does too?

Rey downloads the coordinates onto a data drive and passes it to him. Deep down, something – the Force, or her gut, or just a feeling – tells her that this is the right decision. That they want to be the side that values choice and fights against suffering, that doesn't turn a blind eye when pleas for help are too inconvenient.

That Poe and his pilots can pull this off.

A/N: Prompt: 'Sometimes a feeling is all we humans have to go on.' from Star Trek: TOS 1x23