Chapter 11

Yavin 4

After an extremely restless few hours Amara found herself awoken by a loud rap on her door. Before she sat all the way up the metal door opened and in walked a tall slender woman with tanned skin and short blonde hair. "Oh, good you're up," the unknown woman remarked.

Before Amara could respond, another woman rushed in behind her. "Jesus Kare, you can't just barge into someone's room," the new woman choked out. The new woman looked at Amara apologetically before hitting the blonde woman on the arm. "What if she was naked?"

Kare rolled her eyes. "Does she look naked to you, Jess?" she replied with a tone of mild annoyance.

"That's beside the point!"

While the women argued Amara sat up from her cot groggily. She rubbed her eyes and squinted around the room. How long had she been asleep? "What time is it?" she croaked, her voice still groggy from sleep. "Have we landed on Yavin already?" There were no windows in her room, so she was unable to see if they were still sailing through the galaxy or if they had landed.

Kare shook her head and snorted. "Do you honestly think we would take the ship all the way to Yavin?" she asked with a hint of disgust in her tone.

"I don't know anything about you nor what you would do," Amara stated honestly as she swiveled her body to place her feet on the floor. "And in all honesty, I really don't care what you're doing as long as we get to where we are supposed to go."

Kare's mouth lifted slightly at one corner. Amara wasn't sure if that was a sneer or the hint of a smile. The woman standing in front of her didn't look like the person you would volunteer as a member of any welcoming committee. She stood straight, arms folded across her chest, as she looked down at Amara, her judging gaze assessing her from head to toe. Amara continued to stare right back at her with indifference.

This wasn't anything new to her. This whole intimidation tactic was wasted on her. What this woman in front of her didn't know was that Amara grew up with those stares. Too long had she spent standing at attention while every inch of her was assessed and judged by her superiors. She had endured being run to the ground in order to test her stamina and then had her head ground into the mud for not making some unknown goal set for her.

It had never mattered that she always outlasted her other peers. She had always gone harder, faster, and further than everyone before her but she was never good enough in their eyes. She was used to being verbally degraded for all of her shortcomings and suffering far worse punishments when she came up short. This woman in front of her was nothing compared to what she had grown up with.

Kare tilted her head slightly, as if she was coming to a decision about her. Whatever conclusion she came up with was unreadable in her expression but after a few moments the woman seemed to relax slightly. "We still have about a couple hours left," Kare finally acknowledged.

Amara stretched, sighing as she felt her back crack. While the cot was not worse than her bed back on Hosinian Prime, she was still on edge from the events of the last few days. She could feel a knot beginning to form between her shoulder blades and she winced. She eyed the women in front of her and saw that they were still standing and staring at her. "So," Amara began. "I don't mean to be rude, but why are you in my room then if we haven't arrived?"

"You got a lot of questions for a stowaway," Kare said in a dry tone.

Amara rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh. Enough of this. "Look… I already went through this interrogation with Poe, who I am assuming is your commander?"

Kare crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes. "And what makes you think he is our 'commander'?"

"Well… besides his cocky as shit flyboy attitude?" Amara retorted.

Jess let out a loud snort before clasping her hand over her mouth, her eyes widening in surprise at the outburst. Kare maintained eye contact with Amara. Amara prepared herself for Kare's retort but was surprised when Kare's mouth officially curved into a small smile.

"He is pretty cocky… I'll give you that."

There was a knock at the door. Amara looked up and saw a man standing at the door, his hands braced on the sides as his large frame took up the entire doorway. The man was looking at Kare. "We're loading into the pods now."

The man looked from Kare and then to Jess before landing on Amara. She could see the man's jaw clench as he eyed her. There was no warmth in his gaze and Amara felt the hair on her skin begin to stand on end. She wondered if Poe told this man about what he had found out about her, how she was with the first order. She hoped that when he looked at her that he saw a woman that was desperate to be free.

But when his eyes seemed to widen slightly before narrowing, she felt her stomach drop as she wondered what else Poe might have said to him. The man leaned forward and went to open his mouth but was cut off by the sound of Poe's voice on the intercom.

"Time's a ticking everyone. I understand if you have grown attached to this rust bucket but personally, I wouldn't want to be here when the First Order catches up with this ship."

Jess shuddered. "I can't wait to get off this ship and take a much-needed shower." Amara watched as Jess turned and walked out of the room.

Kare nodded to Amara. "Well… I guess the inquisition is over."

Amara stood. "Did I pass whatever test this was?"

Kare chuckled as she followed Jess out the door. "At least for now," she said as she rounded the corner and out of view. The man at the door stayed in the doorway as he continued to stare at Amara, not even breaking his gaze when the two women left the room.

Amara bent over and picked up her bag and shrugged it over her head, adjusting the strap so that it crossed over her chest. She walked towards the door to leave when the man stepped in front of her, blocking the exit.

On instinct she stepped away from him, so that he was out of reach. She instantly heard Sloane's voice in her head.

Duck under the punch and prepare the counter attack.
He is bigger than you so the best move would be to use his own force against him.
Lean away from the attack, grab him by the arm as they are attacking and pull him towards you and use your leg to trip him to the ground.

The man at the door seemed to notice her eyeing him and he took a step backwards away from her, eyes narrowing as he held his hands up slowly. He turned his head to look down the hall before looking towards her once again. "Why are you really here?" he said with such a quiet directness that Amara felt her heart thump slightly.

Amara sighed and shook her head. "What is up with you guys? Does everyone need to question me? After you is that droid going to sling his twenty questions at me too?"

"Cut the shit!" the man snapped. He must have thought he had spoken too loudly as he nervously looked down the hallway once more. "Cut the shit," he repeated to her, this time in a quiet but clipped tone.

"I am just looking for safe passage. Once the pod lands on Yavin you will never see me again." This man obviously had issues with her, and she was unsure as to what kind of reaction he would have. She had only seen him briefly, so she hadn't been given the chance to observe him and take note. She made the effort to sound reassuring.

The man looked unconvinced. "You know that Poe will not let that happen."

Amara laughed. That was completely ridiculous. "He has no reason to keep me around. I am nothing to the resistance and I am nothing to the first order. I am no one."

The man braced his hands on the door frame once more and leaned forward towards her slightly with his head tilted as if in question. "He doesn't know… does he?"

Amara furrowed her brow. "He doesn't know what?"

"Who you really are."

Poe watched Amara step onto the small escape pod and take a seat on the bench next to Jess. Jess smiled to her as she moved over slightly to provide more room. Snap followed in close behind her and took a seat across from her next to Kare. Snap was eyeing Amara as he sat down on the bench and Poe did not miss the tension on the man's face.

Poe cleared his throat and Snap looked up to him. They locked eyes for a brief moment before Snap's eyes quickly darted away.

"What was that about?" Poe thought to himself. He made a mental note to check in with Snap once they had a moment alone.

Poe was at the front of the escape pod when BB-8 wheeled into the room with a high-pitched whirl. Poe flipped a few buttons and closed the door to the pod. After pressing a few more buttons he felt the pod move as it disconnected from the ship.

The pod floated away from the ship. They watched as the light freighter continued its journey, while they made their way in the escape pod to their final destination. Once autopilot was engaged Poe released the controls and took a seat on the empty space on the bench next to Amara.

"By the time they catch up with the ship we will be long gone," he said and flashed a smile. "And by the time they calculate all possible destinations that this escape pod could have traveled we will be long gone from Yavin." Poe took a quick glance at Amara before clearing his throat. "Well… some of us at least." He leaned back against the wall behind him and as he moved, he felt his arm press against hers.

He felt her body stiffen next to him. Before he could adjust himself, she moved slightly away from him so that they were no longer touching. It took every instinct of his to not chase after her so that he could feel her warmth against him again.

God you're pathetic Dameron. You haven't even known this woman for more than 2 days and already she has your balls on a string.

"Are you nervous?"

Poe looked to Kare, semi thankful for the interruption to his thoughts. He knew why she was asking him this question, but he wasn't quite sure how to answer. He wanted to tell her that he wasn't nervous, that he looked forward to being back home. He could tell her that he was thankful to have a break and that he missed his home on Yavin. He was pretty confident that he could say it without it being a complete lie.

There were some things he definitely missed. He missed climbing the various ruins near his home and cliff diving into one of the many lakes. He missed the home cooked meals and the peace being home brought. He missed the feeling of his feet as they sunk into the soft earth. He missed the way his lungs felt as he took in a deep breath of the sultry jungle air. It was always a little too hot and a little too humid, but to him it was home. All those things were plenty enough of a reason for him to be excited to be back home.

Seeming to know what he was thinking, Kare cut off his incoming bullshit. "I was talking about Kes. What do you think he is going to say when he sees you?"

Kes Dameron.
His father.

Poe hadn't seen his father in a year and honestly, Poe did not understand what the big deal was. As an infant, he rarely saw his parents due to his parent's service with the Alliance to Restore the Republic. If anyone would understand the lack of contact, it would be his father. He knew what service to the alliance meant and he knew what kind of commitment Poe had signed up for when he enlisted.

Poe ran a hand up the back of his neck and ran his fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck. He chuckled nervously. "I can think of a few things he might want to say to me…" he began slowly.

Poe wasn't worried that his father was going to say something about his work with the Rebels. His father understood that there was still a war to fight.

"People were hurting. People were suffering. Your father and I couldn't sit and do nothing."

Poe heard the voice of his mother and he felt himself wince.

Poe was close with his mother and when she died their entire world changed. His father became a recluse and had shut himself in his room for a week after she passed. Poe remembers his grandfather walking into the house, fixing him a meal and then making an extra plate.

Once Poe was settled at the kitchen table with his food, he watched his grandfather carry the second plate it into the room where his father was and shut the door behind him. After a few minutes Poe tip toed to the door of his father's room and pressed his ear to the door. He didn't hear any speaking, but instead he heard the soft cries of his father. He remembered silently walking back to the table and focusing on finishing his meal, allowing his father to grieve in peace.

His father spent too much time in mourning that in addition to his grandfather being nearby, his mother's fellow Rebel pilot, L'ulo L'ampar, stepped in and helped raised him and frankly helped shape him into the man he was today.

As a result, Poe and his father were never what you would call close, but that was normal right? Kes Dameron loved his wife Shara Bey so much that when she died it was as if a piece of him died with him. Poe knew exactly what his father felt because he felt the same when his mother died. Poe felt grief… sorrow… numbness… shock. Their entire world changed. Both of them had died when Shara took her last breath.

Thinking of his mother always resulted in his chest tightening and he took a sharp intake of breath. But with the sudden breath he let out a sigh as his nose was flooded with the smell of fresh lavender with hints of vanilla and clove. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Amara had turned her head towards him. Her smell was sweet and delicious and absolutely intoxicating. For a fleeting moment he had forgotten the pain in his chest from thoughts of his mother but instead felt his chest begin to fill with warmth. He made a valiant effort to not turn towards her to get a better scent.

Focus on Kare. Kare is the one talking to you. Kare is where you should be focusing.

"Could those words possibly be, 'Fuck' and 'you'?" Jess' voice cut through to him and instinctively he turned towards her and cursed as he remembered that she was on the opposite side of Amara. He turned towards Jess, but his eyes locked with Amara's. She met his eyes and they immediately widened before she turned to look down. She bit her lip slightly and he could see that her cheeks reddened slightly. Poe wanted to take that lip into his own mouth.

Yep. Poe Dameron. You. Are. Pathetic.

"It is a possibility…" he began as he forced himself to look at Jess. He smiled.

"I guess a punch to the gut," Snap interjected before adding, "followed by hug."

"I think he'll probably cry when he see's him," Kare said as she leaned towards Snap and smiled slightly.

"Should we bet on it?" Snap said as he looked to Kare.

"Are you guys serious—"

"BRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEET DEET WREE OOO."

Snap chuckled. "You bet he'll do all three?"

The BB unit rolled back and forth in place, his version of a nod.

"5 credits?" Jess said as she raised an eyebrow. She leaned forward and balled her hand into a fist and held her fist aloft in front of her.

"Deal."
"Deal."
"WEEO."

Snap, Kare, and BB-8 said in unison. Both Kare and Snap mirrored her movement and placed their fist against hers. BB-8's mechanical tool shot out of his center console and touched theirs.

Poe rolled his eyes as he stretched out his legs and scooted himself so that he was leaning back against the wall. "Alright well while you guys settle everything, I will just try to get a bit of shuteye before we land." He crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes. "Goodnight, you jerks."

Time on the pod ticked by slowly as they floated through the motionless stars of the galaxy. It didn't take long before the rest of the crew followed suit and joined Poe in taking a quick nap. Looking around the pod she could see the slow rise and fall of their chests as both Kare and Jess dozed peacefully. Amara looked at Snap and saw that his breathing wasn't as soft and rhythmical as the others, and she concluded that he most likely was not asleep, but instead resting his eyes.

After his confrontation on the ship she would not be surprised if he kept a close watch on her. She hadn't responded to his question back in her room. He probably would have pressed the issue if that droid hadn't zoomed into the room and whistled for them to hurry up.

Saved by the BB unit.

She looked in the direction they were soaring, and she started to see a large moon in the distance. As they approached, she could begin see the plush green flora that covered the moon's surface.

Yavin.

From what she had learned during her studies, she knew that Yavin was covered by dense jungles and rainforests. Because of the climate and the role Yavin played during the war, the moon was not somewhere people routinely traveled. She never would have landed on the moon if it wasn't for her running into Poe Dameron.

She looked to Poe, who was sleeping silently next to her. When he originally sat on the bench next to her she was struck by how warm he felt. Instinctively she felt her body wanting to lean against him, but when she looked up and her eyes met with Snap's she immediately retreated away from Poe.

She didn't understand why but she had felt herself being undeniably drawn to him. In sleep his brow was relaxed, and his head was tilted towards her. With everyone asleep around her, she allowed herself to stare at him directly.

His face was definitely created for sin... the brooding mouth, the angular jaw, his closed eyes shaded by long straight lashes. His hair needed cutting, the heavy black locks curling slightly over the back of his collar. His mouth was slightly parted as he breathed deeply. Amara's gaze paused when they reached his lips and she felt her throat cinch around a quick breath.

She had been reliving their kiss at the Red Veil, asking herself what had gotten into her. What in the world possessed her to do that? And stars… why in the hell did she suddenly have the urge to lean forward and touch her lips against his again.

Yep. Amara. You. Are. Pathetic.

Thankfully the sound of beeps filled the room, alerting them of their approach of Yavin. As his eyes fluttered open Amara quickly averted her gaze and closed her eyes, feigning sleep. She felt him stretch beside her before standing and walking towards the pilot console.

Jess stirred beside her and after a few moments Amara opened her eyes and yawned, hoping that no one had noticed that she was staring at him.

Poe pressed the comm-button and spoke. "This is Commander Poe Dameron requesting permission to land."

After a few moments of silence Poe pressed the button again. "This is Commander Poe Dameron, General Leia Organa should have notified you of our arrival. Requesting permission to land."

Silence continued to fill the pod and Amara looked towards Jess, who shrugged beside her and continued to look at Poe with her brow furrowed. "Do you think he isn't there?" Jess offered.

Amara could see Poe's jaw clench as he stared down at the speaker. He sighed deeply and closed his eyes, his hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose. He pressed the button again, his finger going white from the pressure. "Damnit old man… if you don't answer me, I swear…"

"Permission granted."

The deep garbled voice boomed through the speaker and Poe rolled his eyes and muttered something inaudible under his breath. Poe pressed a few more buttons and then took control of the pod.

As they approached, the dense canopy of the forest came more into view and Amara leaned forward so that she could get a better view. Poe expertly guided the pod over the trees until they reached an opening in the canopy. Poe maneuvered the pod and slowly descended the vehicle down towards the ground. Amara could feel her mouth open slightly as the pod descended into the greenery and they were soon surrounded by lush trees.

When the pod landed on the ground Poe pressed a few more buttons and the doors opened. No longer was the pod silent. The sounds of the jungle flooded the pod, its voice was the sudden screech of a parrot and the whooping of a monkey.

Behind her, Jess, Kare and Snap stepped off the pod, with BB-8 whirling quickly behind them. Amara turned and walked up towards the exit ramp and looked around.

Her breath left her for she had never seen anything so beautiful. The trees were as tall as the large senate buildings she was familiar with. Between the canopy of large leaves, a green light shimmered though that felt almost ethereal to her.

She felt Poe step up from behind her and place a hand gently on her shoulder. She felt his breath against her neck as his voice whispered against her ear. "Welcome to Yavin, tusk cat." He stepped in front of her and smiling before he turned and stepped off the pod and walked towards his friends.

After a few moments of taking in the sounds around her she tentatively took a step off the pod.

The jungle was an assault on her senses.

The first thing that Amara noticed upon stepping foot on Yavin was that the ground was soft beneath her feet. The sounds of the insects, the birds, and the larger animals harmonized together and was a symphony to her ears. The air smelled divine, like wet bark and old leaves.

She followed the group and saw that they were walking towards two people that were walking towards them in the distance. As she approached, she saw that it was a man and a woman approaching. The woman stood out to her immediately with her long and wavy red hair that seemed as wild as the jungle around them. The man walking next to her had dark brown hair that was greying at the temples. As she got closer, she could see the warm smile on the woman's face, but the man's brow was furrowed as his gaze was narrowed at Poe.

Poe walked up to the man while the rest of the group stayed behind to watch the exchange. Amara made her way to stand beside Jess. At this distance she could see the details in the man's face. The angular jaw, the dark hair that curled at the ends, that piercing stare. There was no doubt who this man was.

Poe held out his arms in greeting towards the man. "Dad… long time…"

Poe was unable to finish his sentence because the older man sucker-punched Poe right in the stomach, causing Poe to double over in pain. Amara gasped and felt herself take a step towards them, but Jess held out her arm and stopped her. Amara looked at Jess and she just shook her head, silently letting her know that they needed to stay out of whatever was happening.

The red headed woman ran up to the man and grabbed him by the shoulder hard. "Kes! Stop it!"

Poe grunted as he stumbled backwards holding onto his stomach. "Guess…I…deserved…that," he choked out between breaths.

"Fuck you," the man said harshly as he pointed his finger at his son, ignoring the woman beside him.

Poe nodded as he continued to breath deeply. "I…deserve…that…too…" Poe said quietly. Poe raised his head and looked at his father. "I'm sorry for what I said," his head turned and looked to the red headed woman. "To both of you."

The red headed woman smiled sadly to Poe as she took a step back. After a moment she released Kes' arm and crossed her arms over her chest.

The two men stood silently as they watched each other. Kes' sharp and angry gaze trained on his son, Poe's head slightly bowed as he continued to cradle his stomach. When it started to seem like they were going to stand there all day, Kes cursed. Then quickly, he reached out, and pulled Poe into a tight hug. Poe slowly wrapped an arm around his father and gripped the back of the man's jacket, hugging him back fiercly.

The red headed woman watched them sadly as she wrapped her arms around herself, taking a step back to allow the two men to have a moment.

"BEE-DOO."

Beside them, BB-8 chimed as a drawer opened from his center console. Jess, Snap, and Kare groaned and shook their heads as they each reached into their pockets and pulled out their five credits and placed them in the compartment.

A Message from the Author:

Soooooooo sorry for the delay! Definitely hit a bit of a writer's block, although I hate to call it writers block but instead I feel like I should probably call it what it was - depression.

I'm talking about depression that creeps over you when you've been working long hours on a project and you've been glued to the screen for weeks. Everything seems pointless. Your body feels like dead weight. I was soon drained of all motivation and lost all creativity. Ever since the birth of my son I've been struggling with ups and downs from Postpartum Depression.. With the holidays and my birthday I definitely got in a funk and just didn't want to do much of anything.

But thankfully I am back on an up again and hopefully I'll be back to updating regularly. Thank you to those who stuck around for an update 3 It really made me happy seeing all the favorites and comments. Hope you enjoyed the update!