So here is the next chapter that I promised. Enjoy reading it.
Big thanks to Darksidefan5 for being a patient Beta. You're the best.
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars, but George Lucas and Disney do. I just like to play in their sandbox.
Dash leads Poe and Rey to the main bridge where Leia and Booster are waiting for them. Walking through the halls of the reconfigured Star Destroyer, Rey lets out a gasp of surprise at all the changes she is seeing. Once they reach the main elevators, Rey looks out at the several areas of the main luxury levels of the ship through the glass windows on the elevator.
Noticing that Rey was constantly looking around, Dash begins to explain the changes that Booster had done to the large starship.
"As you had seen during our trip to the elevator, beneath us was the main hanger bay. Booster wanted the floor on that level to be see through." Dash tells the pair in his best smooth-talking voice.
"Why?" Poe asks, leaning his shoulder against the glass as he also looks out the large window.
"That way his visitor's ships are visible at all times. Call it a preventative measure to keep some of Booster's more questionable clientele from stealing other people's ships. There are three repair shops which are located on the same level as the hanger bay. They carry whatever parts they have traded to them, or have a smuggler bring them. Mind you, most of the parts they sell are actually made out of whatever Booster had lying around after the Errant Venture had its modification done. This level is mostly consisting of cafés, clothing shops, spas, bars, eateries, those kinds of things. Then you have all the exercise areas, swimming pools, a shooting range, gambling halls and casinos. Several levels above those are used as rental suites for those who wish for a place to sleep."
"Where does the crew sleep?" Rey asks, taking in all the information that Dash has given them.
"The crew are assigned housing wherever they wish, so long as it doesn't take away from the operational areas which are essential to the ship. That means, the engine rooms, areas where there are gun turrets, and levels one through ten which is located in the same area as the bridge. The rooms that reside between level five and ten are reserved for the bridge crew and their families."
Reaching the main bridge level, Dash escorts them to a room, which is located only a few feet from the bridge doors on the left. Rey and Poe notice that this room is more of a conference room than anything else. Seated at the far end the large table is Leia, Booster, and a projected image of a seated Talon Karrde.
"Here as requested." Dash announces as he stays standing near the door.
"Poe. Rey. Come join us down here." Leia says to them, gesturing to the two empty seats on her left.
Slowly, Rey and Poe make their way over and cautiously sit down in the oversized swivel chairs. Once they are seated, Talon's image looks over at the pair with a critical eye. Then he turns to look back at Leia.
"Are you sure they will be up to the task?" the older man asks Leia and Booster. "They look a little green to me."
"I'm sure they will be fine, Karrde." Booster says, rolling his eyes at his leader's lack of trust towards Leia's choice. "Dameron is fully capable of flying the cargo ship, and the little miss is a Jedi-in-training. One of Skywalker's last apprentices."
The information concerning Rey takes Talon Karrde by surprise. "You mean someone actually survived the slaughter all those years ago?"
"More like she stumbled into the Resistance." Leia admits with a sigh. "Literally."
Talon takes a moment to think things over before letting Booster know of his decision. "Very well. Booster, brief the two of them. And don't forget, the Queen Mother doesn't appreciate a late shipment. She is more paranoid than my own mother was in her old age."
Without saying anything else, Talon Karrde's image disappears from the seat. Letting out a sigh, Booster turns his chair slightly to look at Leia and the two people she chose from the Resistance.
"So," Booster says carefully, looking at Poe and Rey while speaking. "now that my own boss has given his blessing to this crazy idea, let me fill you two in on what is going to happen. I have a shipment of bacta and other supplies that need to be taken to the Hapes Consortium. Rendar is the one who oversees all of our shipments to that system. However, I don't have two crew-members to spare to go with him. Add to it that your Resistance is in desperate need of allies. Now Leia has volunteered you both to accompany Rendar on this run to Hapes. I'm going to warn you now, that you must be vigilant at all times. Their system is neutral to the whole conflict between the Resistance and the First Order. Nevertheless, their Queen Mother is a wily old woman who will use whatever means are necessary to advance herself and her system. This means selling the two of you out to the First Order if she thinks that'll put her in a better position. Rumor is that she killed her own daughter-in-law to retake power. Keep that in mind while you are guests on her home planet."
Leia turns her chair so that she can look at the pair as well before addressing them. "I wouldn't be asking this of you both if I didn't think you couldn't do it. We need more allies, and we need a place where we can have a base to draw in new recruits."
Poe keeps quiet as he thinks about this new mission that Leia is trusting him with. He isn't sure if he really wants to be part of it. His part in the Resistance is that of a pilot and at one point commander of a squadron of fellow pilots. Yet, if he doesn't agree to go on the mission, that means the old smuggler may try something stupid towards Rey. Not knowing if Leia would assign anyone else to go with Rey, should he refuse, Poe makes his decision. Before he can agree to the mission, Rey is quick to voice her decision.
"Of course, I'll do it." Rey sincerely tells Leia.
"Count me in, General." Poe answers, hoping that he won't regret his decision.
"Good." Leia states before gesturing for Dash to bring over two data-pads for the pair to take. "Everything you need to know about Hapes is already on these pads. System history, culture, government, and etiquette will be found on there. Now I'm going to warn you both, right now, that you must be very respectful of their traditions. I don't want to have to break the two of you out of prison."
Noticing that Leia is giving Poe a very stern and pointed look, Rey can't help but let out a soft giggle.
"It was one time." Poe complains, not wanting to relive that particular situation from his youth. Then he glances over at Rey with a scowl on his face.
She gives him a grin before whispering to him. "You'll have to tell me about it sometime."
"Oh, you'll get plenty of time aboard the cargo ship to swap tales." Dash says, one of his eyebrows raised in curiosity.
"Where will you be, if I may ask?" Poe asks as he turns to look at Dash, who has moved to stand just behind Booster's chair at the head of the table.
"I'll be flying my ship, Outrider." Dash replies, puffing out his chest in pride of his ship.
"Outrider is used as a blocker for the cargo ship. If you run into trouble, he'll keep the way clear for you to escape." Booster states at the confused looking young ones.
"Right." Poe says skeptically at the information.
"The two of you will be expected in Booster's private hanger bay in an hour." Leia tells the pair as she gets up from her chair. "Now I expect you two to keep this mission to yourselves. Don't worry about Finn. I've assigned him to medical to help with Rose's recovery. She's suffering from some type of brain trauma which has affected her short-term memory. Hopefully, once the neural pathways have been repaired completely, maybe Rose's short-term memory will return."
Leia heads out of the conference room, and the pair are quick to follow after the General. The older woman slows down so that they may catch up to her in the hallway which leads towards the elevators. They don't have to wait long for an elevator to arrive, and the three of them board it. Once its doors are closed, Leia begins to talk to them again.
"Chewbacca will be on board the Falcon during the extent of your mission." Leia then hands Rey the other pair of the mated cloaked binary beacon. "Keep this with you at all times. Chewie will be monitoring the communication channels in case you run into trouble while on your way to Hapes."
"Of course." Rey promises as she takes possession of the item yet again.
Leia then gives Poe a serious look. "You are not to cause trouble, Dameron. The Hapes Consortium is a neutral party and we need allies. Under no uncertain terms are you to cause trouble that would have them join the First Order. Is that understood?"
Poe gives Leia a salute and he agrees with her. "Yes ma'am."
"Good. I'll see you both in the private hanger within the hour."
The elevator comes to a stop on level 10 and Leia disembarks from it without saying another word. This leaves Rey and Poe standing inside of it. The doors close and the elevator continues moving to the next destination.
Nearly an hour after being given the mission, Rey and Poe have changed their clothes. Wearing a pair of fitted-dark brown trousers, black military boots, a cream-colored shirt, and a black leather jacket, Poe steps out into the hanger bay with a large bag slung over his shoulder. Both of his blasters are in their holsters, one on each thigh. The rifle is slung on the same shoulder as his bag. The baton is tucked inside of a special pocket on the inside of his jacket.
"You sure look the part of being one of Booster's crew members." Dash Rendar says as he comes out from behind the smuggling starship that Poe and Rey are to be flying.
"Isn't the first time I've had to fly while under cover for the Resistance." Poe states as he comes to a stop near the ramp of the ship. It is twice the size of the Falcon, but the same width which makes it look more rectangular in shape.
"Then I suggest you teach your partner, Dameron. Because I don't think people are going to believe that she is a smuggler while dressed like that." Dash states with a wide smile on his face as he looks past Poe's right shoulder.
Poe turns around and finds himself out of breath at what is coming towards him. Rey is marching over toward them with a scowl upon her face. Brown hair has been left free from any constraints as it shapes Rey's face. The outfit she is wearing is a tight fitting, scoop neck, black tank top with a thick forest green button-down blouse being held over it by a black belt. Her form-fitting trousers are also the same forest green color as the blouse, and her black boots. She also has a large bag slung over a shoulder with her quarterstaff as well.
"Don't you look gorgeous. You definitely don't belong among us smugglers. Perhaps you're an assassin, because you could kill me right here and I'd die a happy man." Dash Rendar flirts as he holds a hand out to take the bag from Rey.
"I'll take care of my own stuff, thanks." Rey replies, holding tighter to the bag's handle on her shoulder. She starts to shrink in on herself, shoulders slouching as Rendar keeps looking at her.
Seeing Rey's discomfort of being the center of the old smuggler's attention and flirting, Poe calls out to her. "Rey. Let's go and start the pre-flight checks."
He walks over to her side and gently places a hand upon her lower back. Even though he feels Rey flinch at his touch, Poe keeps his hand there till they reach the ramp.
"Sorry, but I don't like how he's looking at you. Like you are some prize that he needs to take possession of. I'll remove my hand once we've reached the ramp." Poe whispers to Rey as they walk towards the ramp of the converted starship.
They reach the ramp of the converted starship and Poe removes his hand from Rey's back. He allows Rey to walk up the ramp first, and then looks over his shoulder to give the old smuggler a glare.
"Poe, are you coming?" Rey calls out from inside the ship.
"Yeah."
Poe heads up the ramp and makes his way down the corridor. He watches as Rey enters one of the two crew cabins on the ship. Seeing as she took the one on the left side, Poe heads over to the door on the right and enters only far enough to toss his large bag to the floor. Then he exits the room and makes his way further down the corridor that leads to the small bridge. Settling himself in one of the six chairs, Poe begins starting up the computers to start the pre-flight sequence for the engines.
The sound of the bridge's door opening causes Poe to swing his chair around. His eyes go a bit big at seeing Leia step inside.
"I can't believe this old hunk of junk is still serviceable." Leia muses. Then her brown eyes find Poe and she begins to speak again. "This is an Old Republic corvette of Coruscanti make. Not many survived between the Clone Wars and the Rebellion. Even before the Clone Wars, there weren't that many of these ships around. Karrde must have spent a lot of credits on purchasing this ship. Possibly even more credits on getting her overhauled and repaired."
"Did you need something, General?"
"Yes, I do."
Poe gets up from his chair and makes his way over to where Leia is standing. "What do you need?"
Leia places a hand on Poe's upper arm and takes a deep breath before she speaks. "You must promise me to keep an eye on Rey and to keep her safe if necessary."
"I think she can take care of herself, General. She can use the Force. Kriff, she's practically a Jedi."
"And that is why I am asking you to do this. Ta'a Chume has assumed the throne as Queen Mother after her son's wife died. She is not to be underestimated, Poe. If she believes something is to her advantage, she will do whatever it takes to possess it. If it is a threat, she will permanently destroy it."
Seeing Poe's confusion, Leia continues on with her explanation.
"Ta'a Chume was the Queen Mother when her son was trying to court me. She was hell-bent on making the match between us. So much so that she tried to have Han killed when she realized that her son had competition. She will no doubt try something while you and Rey are there. You must be cautious, Poe. Not just for your sake, but for Rey's as well."
"We'll return. You have my word." Poe vows while hoping that nothing happens to him or Rey.
"Very well, Commander Dameron." Leia says with a cheeky grin before leaving the bridge.
Poe goes still for a moment before his mind catches up with what Leia had just told him. With a grin on his face, he heads back to his chair and begins checking that all systems are up and running. A high-pitched trill of a droid pulls Poe's attention away from the console. Turing his chair, Poe sees Rey enter the bridge with BB-8 following right behind her.
"I'm surprised the General is letting him come along." Rey says with a smile as she takes a seat in the chair next to the one Poe is occupying.
"She's probably assigned him as our chaperone for this trip."
Rey gives Poe a blank stare as she asks, "What's a chaperone?"
BB-8 gives Poe several irritating beeps and trills as if trying to tell him that General Organa asked no such thing from him. Before anyone can say or do anything else, the comm starts to beep with an incoming message.
Rey reaches out to press the button that turns on the comm.
"Outrider to Demise. You two kids ready to depart?" the voice of Dash Rendar echoes throughout the bridge.
"Acknowledged, Outrider." Rey replies as both her and Poe begin to strap in to their seats.
"I'll disembark first, then you follow. Copy that Demise?"
"Acknowledged. We'll wait for your signal." Poe answers back as Rey twists her chair to reach another switch further down the console.
"Buddy, you may want to find a safe place to station during lift off." Poe suggests to his droid before gently lifting the ship up so that the landing gears may retract.
The droid rolls towards the corner of the bridge and sends out several of his grappling cables to secure himself in the corner.
Upon receiving the go ahead from Outrider to disembark, Poe guides the smuggling starship out of the docking bay hanger without incident. From there, Poe has the ship follow Outrider till they are clear of Errant Venture. With one last 'Good Luck' from Booster and Leia, the two ships begin the jump to lightspeed. Outrider will ahead of Demise during the jumps, that way Dash can inform the pair if it is safe to leave hyperspace at certain parts of their journey.
Once they are safely in hyperspace, there isn't much for the pair to do but wait till their first destination, which they won't be arriving at till several hours later.
"Why don't you get some rest?" Poe suggests to Rey after noticing her trying to hide a yawn.
Rey looks over at Poe before suggesting he do the same. "What about you? You haven't had any sleep for a long time now."
"Oh, I plan on it. But I want to sit here a while and make sure that BB-8 can keep an eye on the ship while we get some sleep. Go on, have first dibs on the 'fresher before I get in there." Poe tells Rey before calling his droid over to his side.
"Alright." Rey replies softly and removes her restraints.
Getting up out of her chair, she makes her way out of the bridge. Once she is cleaned up and dressed for bed, Rey heads back to her room.
Entering the relatively large room, Rey is still amazed at its sheer size. The bed is large enough to fit two people and is up against the outer wall. A desk sits along the wall, next to the door. Then there is the storage locker, which has most of Rey's clothes hanging up inside of it already. Then she wrinkles her nose up in disgust at the memory of finding several dresses that were also in the locker.
Heading over to the bed, Rey hesitates a moment before allowing herself to sit in the middle of the bed. With several deep breaths, Rey begins her evening meditation ritual that Luke had taught her. Halfway through her meditation, Rey's body slumps and falls over since she has fallen asleep.
~~~SW~~~
After having taught BB-8 what the droid needed to know about their flight plans, Poe had left the bridge. He went to his room and had begun putting his clothes into one of the storage lockers that is inside his room. When he has first come aboard, Poe hadn't realized that he had found himself sleeping in more of a bunk style room. This meant there were multiple single bunks on one side of the room and storage lockers on the other.
Once most of his clothes are put away, Poe grabs a pair of black sleep pants and a pale blue muscle shirt. Letting out a sigh, Poe makes his way towards the 'fresher and is relieved that Rey has already been there and left. He takes his time getting cleaned up and after spending nearly an hour there, leaves to go back to his room. He chooses the bunk that is close to the door, and falls asleep immediately.
He isn't sure how long he has been asleep, but at the feeling of something brushing against his mind, Poe wakes up out of a dead sleep. Poe sits up quickly and slaps the light panel controls that is near him. His eyes dart around the room for a moment, searching for any physical signs of danger. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, Poe lets out a sigh before lying back down in his bunk. Just as he reaches over to turn the lights out, a sense of foreboding sweeps over him. Almost as if in warning that there is danger nearby. The feeling causes Poe leap out of his bunk, and rush out into the corridor.
Looking down towards the door that leads to the bridge, Poe doesn't see anything that would cause him to feel like he is in danger. He turns his head to look the other way, and just sees the softly lit cargo hold with all the cargo boxes of supplies. He lets out a sigh and turns to head back into his room.
A sudden scream from Rey's room causes Poe to spin around and run to her door. Slapping his hand on the door's control panel, Poe rushes into the dark room. He can barely make out where Rey may be in the dark room, so he turns on the lights.
"Rey!" Poe shouts as he sees Rey flailing her arms and legs about as if she is fighting off someone.
Rushing towards the bed, Poe quickly gets up on the bed. As he makes his way over to Rey's side, the air around him turns so cold that Poe can see tiny amounts of his breath. Not sure what to make of it, Poe reaches out to gently shake Rey's shoulders. However, as Poe touches her shoulders a familiar sensation prickles at his mind which causes Poe to jump back in shock.
"What the kriff is going on?" Poe mumbles to himself before reaching out to wake Rey. "Rey! Rey! Wake up! Rey!"
It takes several more shouts of her name before Rey wakes from her nightmare. As her eyes fly open, one of her hands collides with the side of Poe's worried face.
"Oww, kriff." Poe shouts in surprise as his head jolts to the side from the force of impact and he lets go of her shoulders. Recovering quickly from the hit, he turns to look back at Rey and sees that she still looks afraid. "You alright? Rey?"
Rey, who had scuttled away from Poe, takes a several breaths as she tries to calm herself. As she hears Poe say her name again, she looks up at him and tries to push back the tears that want to build in her eyes.
"It was just a nightmare." Rey softly says before looking down at the messed-up sheets on the bed.
"A nightmare? Rey, the air around you was cold enough that I saw my breath. And when I touched your shoulders I could have sworn I felt…" Poe hesitates to finish his sentence and he watches as this captures Rey's attention.
"Felt what?" Rey shouts, frustrated that Poe hasn't left her room yet.
Poe doesn't reply but just stares blankly at a spot on the wall. He isn't sure how he should phrase what he wants to say, or even if he should say it. Yet he does it anyway.
"How much did Finn tell you of our escape from the First Order after he and I first met?"
"That you were taken prisoner and were tortured for information."
"When Kylo Ren… forced his way into my mind… it was like," ice, he wanted to say. Ice and fear and darkness. He shook his head as if to clear it from his mind. "I could have sworn I felt the same thing just now with you."
Rey says nothing, but Poe can see a silent debate in her eyes. It takes him by surprise when she suddenly huffs, "You must be imagining things Poe. I'm fine now, so you can go on back to bed."
Rey wraps herself in the sheets and flops down on the bed with her back facing Poe.
"If you say so." Poe lets out in a grumpy voice.
After turning off the lights off, Poe mumbles out a goodnight before leaving and heads back to his room to catch a few more hours of sleep.
With Poe's departure from her room, Rey closes her eyes and tries to even out her breathing as she senses someone trying to reach out to her through the force.
"Go away." Rey sternly, but softly, calls out into her room.
Throughout their eight-day trip to Hapes, Poe and Rey's companionship is strained more than normal thanks to their short tempers from the lack of sleep. Both of them having been plagued by nightmares the entire time. Neither of them are sharing with the other about what the dreams are about.
Now, on their last day of traveling to the Hapian System, the strain is showing heavily.
Rey is seated in one of the chairs on the bridge, waiting for the signal from Outrider to dropout of hyperdrive. Off to her left, BB-8 is making some minor repairs to some circuitry that had caught fire the day before. She keeps a smile on her face as the droid tells her about some of the adventures he's been on with Poe.
Poe. An anomaly that Rey isn't sure how to deal with, let alone confront. Even his habit of having BB-8 override the locks to gain access to her room has left Rey confused and frustrated. Thought it was for the noble cause of waking her from her nightmares.
"We almost ready to leave hyperspace?" Poe asks from out of nowhere.
Rey startles for a moment and turns her head to see Poe settling himself into the main pilot's chair next to hers.
"Not yet. Though I can't image that it'll be much longer." Rey replies, refocusing on the controls on her side.
Not even a minute later, Outrider sends them the signal that it is safe to leave hyperspace.
"On my count. One, two, three." Poe says as he takes control of the ship. He holds the ship steady as Rey gently pulls the levers which brings the ship out of hyperspace.
The comm begins to flash again, showing that someone is trying to hail them. With Poe still flying the ship, Rey reaches over and opens the channel.
"Glad to see you kids are still following." Dash's voice comes through, feigning happiness. "If you'll follow me, I'll bring us towards the home planet. Should only take about an hour to reach Hapes. I suggest you two are dressed appropriately for our landing. The Hapian people aren't very appreciative of people not being punctual, or dressed incorrectly, when it comes to being greeted on a landing pad."
"If I read the information correctly," Rey begins to reply back over the comm. "the Hapian people have a history of being space pirates and smugglers themselves. Why would they care on how we are dressed?"
A sigh, from Dash Rendar, comes back over the comm. "Did you even finish reading the information Leia gave you both?"
"It's because their society is run by a head matriarch, and pending on what kind of personality she has, she is the one to put rules in place. Which, if the rest of the higher officials from society agree to them, it makes her rules the law." Poe states as he begins fiddling with the nav-computer for the auto-pilot controls to take over flying.
"Well at least someone remembered to read the information." Dash replies back with a chuckle. "If either of you haven't already changed, now would be the time. Use the auto-pilot if you need to."
"Already done." Poe replies back and then reaches over to turn off the comm. Getting up out of his chair, he looks over at BB-8. "Hey buddy, keep an eye on the controls for me, will you? Rey and I need to change clothes."
The little droid gives an affirmative beep and continues on with his work.
Rey, too, heads out of the small bridge and heads towards her room. Once inside, she opens the storage locker and begins to look at the assorted styles of dresses that are hanging inside. She notices that most of them, however, are very fitted in the body. Not sure as to how to go about putting one of the dresses on, Rey heads over in-the-wall shelves that is near the large bed. Taking hold of the data pad, Rey begins to scroll through the information that Leia had given them till she comes across one that talks about the traditional clothes. Rey lets out a sigh when she reads that women must wear dresses at all times while on the home world, and that certain colors represent certain things.
Letting out a sigh, Rey trudges back over to the locker and begins to inspect each dress one-at-a-time before making her choice. The one she does pick is of a bronze orange color with a deep grey edging on the long-corseted bodice of the dress. Carrying the dress to the end of her bed, Rey tosses it on the end and begins to undress. After changing her under-garments, Rey begins to put on the dress. It takes her a bit to figure it out and once she does, she cringes at the sight.
In the mirror, Rey can now see the dress in full and her cheeks go crimson at the sight. The bronze orange dress has a sweep-length train on its billowing skirt. The long, corseted bodice starts at the mid-hip, goes up to her neck, and has no sleeves. However, the front of the bodice has a plunging V-cut that dips half-way between her bust and her belly-button. This means she won't be able to wear her chest bindings while wearing the dress.
With a sigh, Rey quickly slides the top part of her dress down and takes off her chest bindings. With that task completed, she pulls the top part of her dress back up and tries to reach behind her back to zip it up. She gets halfway up her back before struggling to get the zipper to go further.
At this moment a knock comes from the door followed by Poe's voice. "Rey, you almost done?"
"Give me… A few..." Rey calls out as she keeps struggling to get the zipper to climb up. "Sithspit! Why won't this zipper move!"
Having changed faster than Rey, Poe had been waiting for her to come out of her room for over fifteen minutes before deciding to check on her. Now Poe can hear the frustration in Rey's voice and decides to enter her room. He stops dead in his tracks at what he sees before him.
Clearing his throat immediately, Poe asks cautiously, "You need any assistance?"
"I think I can manage on my own thanks." Rey huffs out as she is still trying to get the zipper to move. However, with as skin tight as the bodice is and Rey having more upper back and shoulder muscles, the zipper refuses to budge.
"Allow me." Poe suggests as he approaches Rey. He pulls her hands away from the zipper and uses one hand to bring the fabric closer together so that the zipper can move up. He tries to keep his eyes from wandering over the curves that the bodice is showing. Once the zipper is fully closed, Poe takes a step back so that Rey doesn't feel any more uncomfortable than she already is. However, as she turns to face Poe, he tries his hardest to keep his body's reaction in check. Even as his eyes roam over the whole dress.
After turning to be able to thank Poe for his assistance, Rey finds it hard to breath at seeing him in his ensemble. He has on black trousers which are tight in the legs but are less tight everywhere else. The vest top he is wearing looks similar in style to her bodice, except that it starts just above the waist. There is a small amount of skin showing between the top of the trousers and the vest top, and a small smattering of dark hair can be seen. The top itself is of a dark red copper color, has no sleeves, and has a smaller version of a V-neck to it which only is a finger length. At the very point of the V-cut, there is more smatterings of dark hair. His mid-calf length boots are the same dark red copper color as his shirt.
"I think I was given too small of an outfit." Poe says with a light blush as he notices that Rey's eyes are wandering over him as his had done the same to her outfit. "At least your dress looks nice on you."
"Thanks." Rey acknowledges after having to swallow down a lump that had managed to build in her throat.
"Are you going to be needing any help with your hair?" Poe asks, gesturing to Rey's hair which is pulled back in a half-ponytail.
"What's wrong with leaving it like it is?" Rey retorts, with a light blush on her cheeks. She does not want to have any more help from Poe. Especially since the sight of him in the Hapian outfit is causing her thoughts to become less focused.
"Well, you can't leave it like that. You'll need to style it in some other fashion. Or at least, that's what the information on the data-pad states. Look, I can be an extra set of hands to help. Unless you want me to send BB-8 to help you?"
"Fine, you can help me." Rey replies back, annoyed with all the fuss she has to go through for this mission.
She walks over to her bed and begins removing the half-ponytail once she is sitting on the edge of her bed. With her hair free from its confines, Rey shakes her head and runs her fingers through it twice. Then she looks at Poe, who hasn't moved from his spot.
"Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to help?" Rey huffs out in annoyance that Poe offered to help, but hasn't actually moved to help.
Poe gives his head a shake before answering Rey's question. "Yeah." He quickly heads over to the bed and asks her how they should style her hair.
"I don't know. What did the information from the data-pad tell you?"
Poe reaches for Rey's data-pad and quickly begins scanning for the necessary information. Finding what he was searching for, Poe reads the information carefully.
"I'd suggest doing a few braids, some pulled back while others are left loose." Poe tells her, turning off the data-pad and tossing it onto her bed before giving her a chance to look at what he had read.
"That's easy enough." Rey starts working on braiding sections of her hair while leaving the rest alone.
Once she is done braiding two plaits on one side of her head, she moves to the other side. Poe, meanwhile, takes hold of the two finished plaits and begin to twist them together and bringing them towards the back of her head. He holds them there till Rey finishes the other two braided plaits on the other side. Poe has Rey hold the twisted pair at the back of her head as he twists the other two plaits together and brings them back to meet with the other two. With the four plaits, Poe works the pieces together into a single thick braided braid. Rey uses the force to bring over the box of hair accessories to the bed and picks out a deep grey hair band. Handing it to Poe, she waits for him to tie the band into her hair while she looks through the other accessories.
"All done. No need to dress the style up since it isn't a fancy occasion." Poe states as he gets up off the bed and makes his way to the door. "I'm headed to the bridge."
Rey turns and watches Poe make a hastily retreat out of her bedroom, confused as to why he is in a hurry to leave. However, she doesn't think too long on it as she gets up from the edge of the bed in search of a pair of shoes to go with outfit. Inside the locker, Rey finds a pair of matching six-inch high heels to go with the dress.
'How is anyone supposed to walk in these things?' Rey thinks to herself as she tries to put on the shoes.
With the shoes on, Rey stumbles her way to the bridge. On wobbly legs, Rey tries to make her way to the co-pilot chair next to Poe's chair. She reaches her destination and sits just as her wobbly legs were about to fail her. Situated in her chair, Rey notices that Poe is trying hard not to look at her.
Feeling a little self-conscious about her attire, Rey decides to try and make some kind of small talk. However, what comes out of her mouth isn't what she was planning on saying to the pilot.
"They aren't nightmares. At least I don't think they are."
She looks over at Poe and sees that even though he is flying, he is listening to her. Knowing that he is listening, Rey tries again to make small talk, yet the next set of words that come out betray her more than the previous ones did.
"Snoke created a force-bond between Kylo Ren and myself."
Having heard what Rey has just told him, Poe twists his head to look right at Rey. "Wait, what?"
"A force-bond."
"What's a force-bond? And how does it work?" Poe turns his head back to pay attention to his flying, though he really wants to see Rey's face as she answers his questions.
"I don't know how it works exactly, but a force-bond is like a connection between force users. It was created by Snoke and is something that I'd like to get rid of."
"So, you aren't having nightmares but several of these connection moments? With Kylo Ren?" Poe asks, carefully trying hard not to anger or upset the woman next to him.
"Yes." Rey softly replies, not knowing if Poe is going to judge her for the connection between herself and Kylo Ren.
"Well, I'm not about to judge you for this force-bond since it is something you didn't want. But you do realize that this makes you a liability for the Resistance. I mean, what happens if he's able to use your connection to spy on us. Kriff, does General Organa even know about this?!" Poe angrily states, not realizing that he has begun to yell at her.
"She knows about it!" Rey shouts in retaliation at him. "She also knows that it is something that I can't control and that I want to destroy this connection. I just don't know how to do that just yet!"
Realizing that he's just made the young Jedi-in-training angry at him, Poe knows that he should apologize for losing his temper with her. Yet he can't help but feel betrayed by what Rey has just told him.
'Kid, never make a woman mad. It may be the last thing you ever do.'
Hearing his father's advice, from so long ago, fill his mind, Poe lets out a sigh. Swallowing his anger and his pride, Poe knows what he needs to do to make amends.
"Look, I apologize for losing my temper with you. It's been a long couple of days, and nights, for us both. Let's just get through this mission and hopefully gain some useful allies with the Hapian people. Once we get back to the Resistance, let me know if there is anything I can do to help you break this connection. I'll be more than happy to help you do it."
"Thank you." Rey mumbles softly before being cut off by the comm signaling an incoming transmission.
Reaching over to the comm switch, Rey turns it on and Dash's voice echoes inside of the bridge.
"We have permission to land on Platform 9. Follow me in."
"Copy that." Poe replies back before Rey turns off the comm.
As Poe follows Dash's ship towards the green and turquoise planet, he decides to say something to Rey about her outfit.
"Hey, Rey."
"Yeah."
"You may want to be mindful of how you move while wearing the Hapian styled clothes." Poe says as he maneuvers the ship into the atmosphere.
"Why?"
"Just now, when you reached over to turn on the comm, you just about fell out." Poe says with a blush while using one hand to gesture towards his own upper chest.
Rey, with her face turning dark red in embarrassment, quickly sits up straight and checks her dress. Seeing that nothing has popped out, Rey looks up out of the large, single window before speaking.
"I'll keep that in mind."
Upon hearing his master speak to Rey about a possible wardrobe malfunction, BB-8 rolls towards the pair. He starts to scan Rey and once it is complete, he gives Rey and Poe his findings. Apparently, he didn't think there was anything wrong with Rey's dress.
Chuckling at his droid's beeps, Poe found himself quietly agreeing. There wasn't anything wrong with her dress at all in his opinion.
A big thank you to my single reviewer from chapter 1, wildflowery. I appreciate it, and am pleased that you like the story so far.
Reviews are welcomed, loved, and cherished.
Selene