AN: May the Forth be with you! Happy Star Wars day! What better way than to celebrate with a new chapter. I swear I'm trying to get back to my usual schedule but for now I hope you enjoy this latest chapter!

Did Finn give as much as he got? Absolutely. But even he couldn't pick on Poe for being excited to see Kat again after a month of separation. He was just as excited to see Rose. So he didn't pick on Poe, but Rey certainly did and she teased him as well.

He hadn't been expecting Rose. He really hadn't been expecting all that had happened to him after he left the First Order. Falling in love with someone, let alone how quickly they had, was unfathomable and he had two rumors circulate the base about him and who he was with. First, it had been Poe and then with Rey. Both he easily saw why but they were the first people that saw him for him. Hell, Poe had given him an actual name instead of a number. He would always have a deep love in his heart for both of them.

Rose, however, showed up like a spark and then kindled a flame in him that he didn't know he had. She showed him just how far the war reached and how looking out for one another would ultimately help them win. She showed him what the Resistance was really all about.

He didn't have much time to process her kiss or even telling him in some roundabout way that she loved him before worry ate him up. She passed out on him and the First Order was attacking. Then she woke up, spoke with Kat and they decided to get to know each other. He was a little disappointed but it was for the better.

A few weeks later, he got to speak with Kat himself and after that, he sought her out, told her how he felt. Their friends were thrilled for them, Kat even gave him a thinly veiled threat of "remember what I said" when she hugged him, and from then on it was him and Rose. He honestly couldn't have asked for a better partner.

The moment they landed on Batuu, Poe shot off the Falcon to go look for Kat. Finn and Rey laughed at their friend until Rose came into view and then off went Finn. The two ran towards each other, colliding in the middle as they wrapped their arms around each other. Finn picked Rose up when they regained their balance, swaying a little. Both had large grins on their faces before sealing their reunion with a kiss.

"I've missed you," Finn whispered as he set Rose back down.

"I've missed you, too." She said, pulling him along to their room.

"How've things been?" He asked as they walked hand in hand down the hallway.

Rose gave a small shrug. "Overall, not so bad. The people we've met with seem to crave any semblance of the Republic we have to offer. Connix and I have been rotating, it seems, with being Kat's soundboard as she works through everything. I honestly feel like we've gotten further along in plans than she thinks but Kat isn't satisfied until every last detail possible is planned out." She said with a small laugh.

"Yeah, from the recordings Bee has sent us it sounds like you guys have a lot ready to go when we really get this going."

She nodded. "I think she's wanting to talk to you and Jannah about some things and I know for a fact she's wanting to talk to Poe."

Finn laughed. "Well, I don't think there will be much talking with those two initially."

Rose laughed along and nodded. "I mean are we really surprised?"

"Not really, no." He chuckled. "I'm just glad that everyone's okay. When we heard about Garel, I got worried."

"That was kriffing crazy." Rose shook her head with a small laugh. "We knew ahead of time that we were going to have to fight but I don't think any of us were prepared. I mean it took us days to finally get to a cease-fire and to sit down with everyone who wasn't First Order. We were all debating, it wasn't just Kat negotiating with some input from us. We were all talking over each other until Kat stepped in and then somehow trade negotiations started happening and all was well."

"That's not what BeeBee-Ate relayed."

Rose waved his teasing off. "You know they're just as dramatic as their dad."

Finn laughed. "Oh, okay. So Kat didn't have to pull you back from the table?"

She scoffed. "No." Yes, she did. They had to bring each other back from going over the table multiple times before Kat pulled out the family connection seemingly from nowhere that finally got them to proper discussions.

"Okay, whatever you say, darlin'."

"Kat told me about my home world." She said to change the subject as they came upon their room.

Sighing, Finn brought Rose in for a hug. "When are you guys headed there?"

"It's our final stop in the Outer Rim so the one after our next stop."

"I'm so sorry Rose."

She sniffled a bit, holding him tighter. "I knew it would be bad. But for some reason, I didn't think it would be that bad. At this point, I don't even know how to save it, bring it back to the planet that I knew growing up."

"If anyone can it'll be you. They're looking forward to meeting with you all. We got them started at least but they'll be in even better shape once you get there to help." He kissed the top of her head.

She squeezed his waist, burying her head into his chest as she soaked up all of his warmth and comfort. "I really missed you." She whispered.

"I really missed you too." He bent down to capture her lips in a sweet kiss.

Once they were settled, they made their way back out to the main area of the base. Everyone seemed to be waiting there. Some had plates of food, others cups full of steaming caf. Finn chuckled as he and Rose walked in, his arm draped around her shoulders. "Let me guess, we're still waiting for the other two generals."

"It might be a while based on how I caught them in the hallway," Rey said as others just nodded.

"I don't even want to know," Rose said, shaking her head with a laugh.

"Do you think they'll ever be…less?" Rey asked, causing her friends to laugh.

"Those two have too much lost time to make up for." Rose chuckled.

"And you know, Poe doesn't do anything subtly." Finn pointed out.

"Oh yeah, most of their fights, in the beginning, were about how he didn't know the definition of reconnaissance. Besides, Kat's an all-in kinda girl too." Rose said.

"Alright, so that is a definite no." Rey laughed before turning to Finn. "Did you show Rose what you can do now?"

Rose looked to her boyfriend with an arched eyebrow. Finn grinned, sitting up straight and making a show of getting ready as he pulled up his sleeves. "Watch the cup." He said before concentrating on Rey's small cup of tea.

Soon the cup lifted off the table and Rose let out a small gasp which made him lose his concentration causing the cup to return to the table a little roughly, some of her drink splashing out. Rey rolled her eyes lightly, a small smile on her face as she cleaned up the small spill. "You gotta still work on that concentration thing." She teased him.

"Well, you put things on pause," Finn said with a shrug.

"Doesn't mean you should stop working on what I've already shown you." She said with another roll of her eyes.

They had started his lessons again after they paused them due to things picking up once again. This time it wasn't a natural pause of things, Rey had stopped them. She heard the Jedi still, Luke and Leia especially, but now that she knew her heritage, knew what anger could do to her powers, she wanted to make sure she had control over the part of her that was connected to the dark side before she taught anyone else. She didn't want to lead Finn down a wrong path. Of course, she hadn't exactly told Finn that.

"You can lift things now!" Rose exclaimed, smiling proudly at Finn, wanting to ease some of the tension between her friends.

"I can lift things now!" Finn beamed at Rose.

"Did we miss the new Jedi showing off?" Kat asked with a smirk as she and Poe entered the room, hand in hand.

"He lifted Rey's cup a few feet off the table," Rose answered, turning to look at Kat, smirking when she noticed that her braid from earlier had turned into a hasty bun on the top of her head.

Kat smiled as she sat down. "Impressive."

Everyone gave her a bit of an odd look which caused her to roll her eyes. "Oh, c'mon. Just because I lived with two of them and seen it a million times doesn't mean that Finn's latest development isn't impressive." She then focused on Finn. "I look forward to seeing how your connection develops. All walks of life are rebuilding and I'm glad that I get a front row to a great Jedi and a great Jedi in the making figuring out where things fit in a new galaxy."

"You are such a politician." Poe teased her which earned him a slap to his stomach.

"Shut up." She glared at him but he just grinned, holding onto her hand before bringing it up to place a kiss on her knuckles.

"Well, I for one appreciate your words, Kat." Finn smiled.

"You're welcome." She turned back to return his smile.

"You are gonna make a good politician though." He then smirked causing Kat to groan as she laid back on the ground hands covering her face.

The group of friends started laughing.

It wasn't that Kat wasn't looking forward to her political career, she had been working towards it practically all her life. But with every planet and every rotation she got closer to actually leaving her General title behind and taking on either Senator or Chancellor, the scrutiny she would once again have to work through made her dread it a little bit.

Poe placed a firm, comforting hand on her thigh, his thumb caressing softly. A silent way to let her know that he's there for her. She lowered her hands slowly after a moment, opening her eyes to find him smiling down at her.

She grew confused when she felt something bump into her shoulder, causing Poe to chuckle as she maneuvered to see who had given her a soft nudge. Orange and white took over her vision as she came face to metal with BB-8. The droid lowered his dome to get a better look at her before he let out a worried beep.

Kat raised a hand to rub at the astromech. "I'm okay, buddy. You wanna finally head out since we were stopped earlier?"

The droid let out a string of excited beeps, asking Poe if he would be joining them.

Chuckling, Poe nodded. "Yeah, of course. And maybe back up a little bit so Kat can sit up?"

When BB-8 rolled back, Poe held out his hand to help Kat up. "Thank you." She said to them both.

"Where are you guys going?" Rey asked.

"For a family outing, clearly." Finn teased.

Rose raised an eyebrow towards Kat, who had reached for the ring hidden under her shirt. "Finally gonna get that tour, huh?"

At her best friend's look, she lowered her hand and nodded. "Yup. Just gotta go find Vi. We won't do anything until tomorrow so relax and enjoy your time together." She smiled as she stood.

"Did you make sure you had time to rest?" Poe asked as he stood.

"You can stay if you want."

He rolled his eyes. "Not what I asked, but since you're set on it, let's go." He gave her ass a soft tap to get her moving.

"The way you're gonna win this outpost over is by getting on the good sides of the two that unofficially run this place. Then again with your relation to Solo, you should be able to do just that." Vi said as she lead them down the main strip of the outpost.

Kat grimaced. "Yeah, let's maybe not mention that I'm Han's daughter. He didn't exactly make a whole lot of friends as a smuggler. I'd rather not fight against that too."

"No one will make the connection between your names?" Vi asked.

Poe shook his head to emphasize Kat's answer. He knew the connection and even he had forgotten it once or twice.

"I highly doubt it. It's rare for people to know the Metonae name and it's been a while since I've been on the holonet. Looked a little different then too."

Vi nodded at Kat's answer. It was good enough for her. "Well then, welcome to smuggler's alley." She said with a bit of a flourish.

Kat groaned, leaning into Poe's side. She had her fair share of dealing with the criminal underworld on Garel.

"Want me to take lead on this one?" Poe asked. He wasn't sure how patient she would be since she already had to deal with an entire group of criminal leaders.

"Maybe." She answered before thinking it over. "On second thought, no, I've got it." She straightened back out to her full height so she could look at him. "You'd get us into more trouble than I potentially could." She teased him.

"Oh, c'mon. You know I've gotten better at this part of things." Poe playfully argued back.

BB-8 then chimed in, listing all the times that Poe had a meeting that turned into something more which caused Kat to laugh.

"Whose side are you on?" He asked the droid. "Most of those were because Terrex came in anyway and you know it." He then gave a pointed look to Kat.

"Yeah, no. I think I'll still take lead." She said through her laughter.

"Are you two always like this?" Vi asked, amused.

BB-8 let out an affirmative beep causing Vi to laugh. "Well, that settles that then." She then focused back on the couple. "We'll head to Dok-Ondar's place first. It's getting close to the dinner rush and we don't want to bother Oga then." She told them as she led them to a shop.

Kat nodded and motioned for Vi to lead the way. She made Poe go in next and just before she stepped in, she did one last glance over. At the glint of something shiny nearby, she turned to see a gold helmet shining in the evening sun. Her eyes narrowed as she reached for her batons. Just as she was about to fully investigate, BB-8 chirped at her. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." She smiled down at the droid, relaxing as much as she could before following the droid inside.

"Everything okay?" Poe whispered, wrapping an arm around her, and pressing a kiss to her temple.

"Yeah. Thought I saw something, but it was just something hanging from a stall." She smiled, not wanting to worry him.

Dok-Ondar's den was truly just an open room with shelves lining the rounded walls. A stair case led to a platform where helmets, weapons, and taxidermied creature heads were on display. A counter was at the far end of the room where the Ithorian stood, going through the sales of the day so far. When he saw Vi he let out a series of clicks, welcoming her in and asking if she needed anything.

"No, I don't need anything but I wanted to introduce you to some people who will be helping us finally kick the First Order to the curb and let us get back to living our lives," Vi said, motioning to the couple behind her. "This is Generals Katerina Metonae and Poe Dameron of the Resistance. Kat will be taking care of the people while Poe will be taking care of the First Order."

"Well, I'd like to think we're both taking care of the First Order. Just in different ways." Kat said with a small smile as she stepped forward. "I hear you're the man to talk to, to get things done around here."

The Ithorian replied in a series of clicks and sounds, asking what their plan was and why they should be trusted.

Kat let out a silent sigh of relief when Dok-Ondar didn't make the connection. She was pretty sure she had heard stories from both Han and Chewbacca about Batuu from their smuggler days and she did not want to deal with any unforeseen consequences.

"We should be trusted because we've both been with the Resistance practically since the beginning," Poe answered.

"The galaxy is currently scrambling to rebuild after the First Order destroyed everything, starting with the Hosnian System and honestly even before that. We are here in order to provide guidance and some structure so that life can go back to being lived peacefully. General Dameron and his team will be going to arrest leftover members of the First Order while my team and I will be working with you and other leaders of the community so that everyone can move forward." Kat answered.

Okay, so maybe he had lost his touch in these types of discussions. BB-8 certainly said as much. Kat said she'd take the lead anyway. So he'd sit back and watch her work.

Dok-Ondar clicked once again which made Kat chuckle.

"Yes, I understand that not the most upstanding citizens live here but if we could turn the Black Spire Outpost back into a true trading post within the Outer Rim…"

She let out a sigh when the Ithorian interrupted her. "I won't be compromising laws, no. My number one priority is the safety of all citizens."

"Yes, I know that there will always be criminals but if we can help provide safer alternatives then you might not have to worry about anyone trying to steal from you." She motioned around his shop, taking things in, trying to find something that she knew would be of high value that wasn't locked away with him when she noticed the kyber crystals.

"I'm actually surprised you have these out in the open," Kat said as she made her way over to the small wire basket they were laying in. "Surely a collector such as yourself knows how rare these are now especially after Ilum was gutted during the Empire and then destroyed under the First Order. Now you've got them out in the open for anyone to take. Seems pretty dicey to me." She picked one up before tossing it in the air and catching it.

Vi looked at her like she had grown three heads. She couldn't believe the other woman was provoking the Ithorian. Sure Dok-Ondar was a nice guy but once threatened, or he felt like he was being tricked, the niceties went away. He knew people in the criminal world and if he deemed Kat not okay, she would probably no longer be around to help move the galaxy forward.

Poe watched on in awe. He had been nervous with how clipped her tone got, preparing himself to step in before she got herself into trouble. Now, though, he knew she was toeing a very dangerous line but now he understood completely how she was able to get Garel to agree. Was it bad if he was turned on a little bit? Was this how Kat did things before she joined the Resistance? If so, meetings were about to get a lot harder to pay attention to.

Dok-Ondar finally answered and Kat returned the crystal into the basket. "I'm not offering protection in the way you're thinking. The Galactic Union won't be an over-militarized or even police state. Before you interrupted me I was telling you about how I wanted to turn this back into a trading post." She said as she walked back to the counter. "This will create safer routes of income for those who would try to steal from you and you might not even have to deal with smugglers potentially double-crossing you to gain the items you or a client of yours might be seeking. Less of a hassle, more money in your pocket. Win for everyone." She gave a small shrug. "But I'm not looking for an answer right now. I'll give you some time to think. I'll stop by in a day or two and then we can really start negotiating?"

The Ithorian clicked a few times and Kat smiled. "I'm glad I could open your eyes to the new possibilities."

She ushered everyone out, stepping out last as she called over her shoulder for Dok-Ondar to have a good day. Vi turned on her first. Poe still was at a loss for words.

"Is that how you always do things?"

Kat shrugged. "No, it depends on the person and their response honestly. I've done a lot worse to people who interrupt and think lowly of me."

She then turned to Poe to gauge his reaction to her little performance. She was met with a smirk as he took her hand to tug her forward. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she stumbled forward into his arms. "What?"

"I knew you kicked ass but what the hell was that in there? I've never seen that side of you before."

"I've still got a few tricks up my sleeve."

"Is it bad that I'm a little turned on right now?" He whispered as he kissed along her jaw.

"Poe…" She warned despite her fingers fisting in his shirt.

"Hmm?"

"We have someone else with us."

He let out a sigh and moved his head to rest against her shoulder. "Have I mentioned that I can't wait until we have some true alone time?"

"Pretty sure it was after I did that thing with my tongue." She smirked, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck.

"You are not helping." He groaned.

"I know." She giggled, kissing his head.

Vi rolled her eyes. This is what she got for working with a newly reunited couple she guessed. "Are you two done? We do have Oga's to get to."

Poe smirked as he pulled away from Kat, keeping her hand in his.

"Don't go getting any ideas." She poked him in the shoulder, giving him a pointed glare before they followed Vi to Oga's cantina.