Chapter 2: Mutual Defiance

Down one floor below, Poe had seated himself in a rocking chair on the front stoop of the jailhouse, a book cracked open on his lap by the light of the lamp, now affixed with the lantern.

The night was quiet and still, broken only by the natural sounds of the jungle. Before long, footfalls could be heard, as a person emerged from the shadows with a grin.

"Hey, you." Poe glanced up and smiled at his best friend, Finn. "He giving you any trouble?"

"Nah. Not tonight, he won't." For a moment, Poe debated whether to tell Finn of Rey visiting Ben, then figured it was probably best that he didn't. He knew damn well what the couple was likely doing up there, and didn't mind it; Rey was a grown woman who was certainly aware of the careful considerations one must make when making love. If Finn knew that she was almost certainly having sex with her forbidden lover... well, he likely would not take it so easily. The former Stormtrooper didn't trust Solo, and was fiercely protective of Rey as a big brother would be to a sister.

Just then, in the distance, both men could hear the hum of approaching land speeders, mixed in with the powering whine of blasters coming to life. Headlights pierced the night as the transports came into view, slowing to a stop in front of the jailhouse.

Finn's eyes narrowed at the sight. "Uh-oh. I smell trouble..."

Poe calmly folded the book across his knees, waiting almost expectantly as a posse of armed Resistance men emerged from their transports. At their head was the whiskered face of Beaumont Kin, a scholar of Force history and lore. Finn moved to stand at Poe's side, eyes narrowing at the arrivals suspiciously, warily. "What's all this, then?"

Poe laid a gentle hand on his friend's arm, then turned to face the mob. "Evening, Beaumont. Pleasant night for a stroll, isn't it?"

Beaumont didn't answer, opting instead to point his loaded blaster up towards the barred second-story window. "He in there?"

"He is indeed," Poe grinned good-naturedly. "He's asleep. Don't wake him up."

The posse moved in closer, forming a ring in a clear attempt at intimidation. "You know what he want," Beaumont hissed, eyes resolved and voice desperate as his face appeared ghoulish by the light of the lantern. "Get aside from the door, General Dameron."

Poe just smiled again, almost serenely. "You can turn right around and go home again, Beaumont. Wedge Antilles is around here somewhere."

"The kriff he is!" an Abednedo by the name of C'ai Threnalli spat. "Wedge and his boys are so deep in the jungle bush, they won't get out till morning!"

"Is that right?" Poe asked conversationally, almost disinterestedly, even as Finn started to squirm next to him.

"We sent them on a wild bantha chase for some deserters so this here jail'd be free and clear tonight!" a Bothan called Tyridius sneered triumphantly. "Did ya ever think of that, General Dameron?"

"By the Force, there will be blood tonight," Beaumont snarled. "And it's gonna be his."

Poe just chuckled. "Do you really think so?" Just out of sight, his trigger finger drifted dangerously towards the blaster holstered at his side.

Standing just inside the shadowed doorway of the jail cell, heart in her mouth, Rey heard Poe ask the question, sensed the tone in his voice, and knew what that meant. It meant someone's man was about to get jumped. Terrifying as the tableau was, what these goons meant to do to her Ben, this was too good to miss, so she bravely rushed from the jailhouse and into the light, calling loudly:

"HE-EY, Poe!"

Poe leapt from his rocking chair and wheeled around, the posse behind him staggering a step back, their mouths open in shock. Finn staggered on unsteady feet into the brick wall beside him, looking in danger of toppling over in disbelief.

Before them, Rey was quite a sight. Her hair was mussed up. Her clothes rumpled and ill-fitting on her form. She smelled of sex. There was little left to the imagination of why she was here and what she had been doing...with him.

For his part, Poe appeared the most shaken and scared that he had ever been all evening. But he tried to maintain his composure as he turned to Finn and instructed, "Finn, take Rey home."

Now, being of equal rank, Finn technically did not have to follow the order. But he usually did, and Poe conversely, when one was asked to obey a command by the other. This time, however, Finn stayed right where he was. Rey glanced to her friend, her expression almost beseeching, and Poe's eyes narrowed.

"Go on, go home, I said."

Finn just placed his hands on his hips. "No, sir, I ain't going." Rey smiled weakly. She knew that as long as Finn stayed here, let her stay here, he was letting her know that although he might not approve of her romantic relationship, he would support it as long as it made her happy. He would protect her, and by extension Ben, to ensure her happiness. All of this compelled Finn to remain on the jailhouse steps, standing in the way of the bloodthirsty mob. All of this compelled Finn to, for the second time in his life, defy a military officer's orders.

This tug-of-war between the pilot and former trooper went on for a couple of minutes, Poe vacillating from ordering, to cajoling, to finally pleading, "Please, Finn, take her home."

"I'll send him home!" A particularly hulking Weequay suddenly seized Finn by the scruff of the neck and nearly lifted the former Stormtrooper off his feet. A chorus of approving voices went up. There was a shriek, then a scuffle, followed by a howl as Finn dropped to the ground and the assailant fell backward; it looked as though Rey had rushed forward and kicked the Weequay in the shins.

Poe dragged the Jedi back and talked her down as he would a child. "Rey, we don't kick people... No -" He detained her as she made to strike the alien again.

"Ain't nobody gonna do Finn that way..."

"All right, Dameron, get 'em out of here!" C'ai growled. "You got five parsecs to get 'em out of here!"

They were at an impasse on the steps of that jailhouse: the three heroes of the Resistance against most of their men, armed and ready to storm the cell by force, if need be, to string Ben Solo up by a rope. Rey's eyes searched the crowd fretfully, desperate for some sympathy. She would protect Ben with her last breath if she had to, but she fiercely wished not to kill her comrades to do it. Then she spotted a familiar face.

"Hey, Beaumont."

Everyone's eyes snapped to the ginger-whiskered man, who now found it quite difficult to look Rey in the eye.

"You helped me study the Jedi texts. You really knew a lot of the translations. Aren't you living with Kaydel now?" She was rambling, nearly talking nonsense, Rey knew it, but anything was better than arguing over whether or not Ben should be subjected to vigilante justice.

Rey thought she saw Beaumont nod.

"She's a nice girl. Won't you say hi to her for me?"

No answer. No one moved. No one even dared to breathe. Rey was just turning back to Poe to ask him what they should do when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Swerving back, she found herself staring into Beaumont's eyes.

"I'll tell her you said hey, little lady."

And then, just like that, Beaumont waved to the crowd. "Let's go, boys. Let's clear out." The posse trudged back to their land speeders, firing them up and puttering one by one back out into the night, leaving the clearing in silence.

Finn finally cleared his throat, causing his friends to turn back to him. "Come on, Rey, let me escort you back."

Rey nodded, turning back towards the barred window above and blowing a goodnight kiss to it. Looping her arm through Finn's, the pair of friends ambled back across the base, Finn murmuring to her, "I don't want to know what you were doing in there with him, so please don't share. I love you, but please don't. I don't want to know..."

Poe watched them go until they disappeared into the darkness. Releasing a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, he sank back into the rocking chair. After a moment or two of stillness, he heard a voice whisper:

"General Dameron? They gone?"

Poe glanced up to the barred window. "They've gone. Go to sleep, Ben. They won't bother you anymore."

"You're damn, motherkirffing tootin' they won't," a second voice hissed into the night air. "Had you covered all the time, Poe." Lando Calrissian and a double-barreled blaster shotgun hung out of a second-story window next door.

Shaking his head with a chuckle, Poe cracked open his book, adjusted the lampshade and lantern, and once again began to read...