From in the hall Poe stood on the other side of the glass watching Eris shake her head looking particularly irritable as Leia spoke calmly with a patience that was beginning to wane. Cal sat on the bed between them for the most part watching Eris the same way Poe did. She was keeping her distance, not wanting to claim him, and she was arguing now. But Leia raised a hand and Eris' mouth snapped shut in infuriated understanding.
Poe stepped back as Leia came out and she offered a small smile knowing it wasn't enough. This would be difficult for them both, but she knew how deep their bond ran. "Good luck with her," Leia told him as she turned away, "she won't make this easy for anyone."
As if she made anything easy, Poe thought as he looked back to where Eris stood on the other side of the room glaring at Cal suspiciously. He for his part wore a faint smirk as though finding her amusing. They both turned at Poe wrapping his knuckles on the window.
"I'm gonna talk to him, don't move."
Cal traced the long line of her back. "I wouldn't mind meeting your handsome new friend," he said almost teasing, but he really he just wanted out of this room. He wanted to get his bearings, have an escape plan, breathe fresh air. But she'd already threatened to shoot him once.
"I am not ready to deal with you yet," Eris hissed as she threw herself out of the room. Her hand lashed out hitting the button to close the door and the screen cracked. "Cocky little womp rat," she grumbled pulling Poe around the corner to get away from his eyes.
He looked up at her severely irritated face and told her, "you know you can't shoot him." She rolled her eyes but it did what he wanted, it got her to breathe. She just needed to calm down, she couldn't be rational like this. "It's on the pamphlet we give out when you become a good guy." He met her eye when she looked at him and he grinned at the glimmer of a smile he saw.
She shook her head trying to shake herself out of it. She couldn't do this with him, not yet. Not ever maybe. "I'm not ready to find you charming yet."
"So you find me charming?" he retorted with ease. Because sometimes she was easy. But he watched her expression fall apart before she pulled herself together, he could almost feel her pulling away. "I should've backed off the day you found him," he admitted standing with his shoulder against hers as they leaned against the wall. He heard her sigh and he nodded having known this was coming, it was stupid to hope it wouldn't. And he'd let them both get hurt. "It's not your fault, I know I'm irresistible." She snorted and he chuckled as he knocked her shoulder with his.
She wasn't good at these things, didn't know how to relate to people, and what he thought wasn't entirely what she wanted. But she didn't know what she wanted only that she didn't want to lose him - so what she said, in a soft almost unsure voice, was; "thank you." For being here, for making her laugh. For existing.
Everything in him told him to run, cut ties, get out before this imploded because he could feel it was going that way and he had good instincts. And as much as he wanted to blame Rey for Eris being here, Eris hadn't come to get Rey off that ship. There was no wiping his hands of her, she was his girl. "I take it you're staying then," he said staring at the wall in front him.
"Leia said I had to."
Eris was a lot of things, obedient she was not. "You're scared of her."
She scoffed turning to his shining eyes, and that stupid smirk. "She made a good point," she told him and his face split wide with his smile. "Shut up." Running a hand through her hair she sighed leaning heavily against the wall, settling more against his side. "I'm the only thing he knows and he barely knows me. It'd be unkind to leave him."
Poe nodded as though he understood, as if any part of this was something he could ever be okay with. But he scratched his brow feeling his jaw tighten. And it was selfish. "Then I'll see you when I get back." He stepped away and reached an arm awkwardly to hers before dropping it to his side, and tucking his hand in his pocket as he left.
She watched him go with a faint frown, her eyes shining dimly as though her unhappiness was too great to not bleed through. Her frown had turned to a scowl as she returned to Cal to find him dressed. He wore an off-white shirt tucked in dark trousers; the Carbonite had kept his muscle, he was almost exactly as she remembered him.
He watched her unpleasant disposition slip into something close to pain, and he honestly regretted that. There was an entire lifetime missing from his mind, but his reflexes were sharp, how quick he'd destroyed the poor med bot told him he'd been a fighter. Muscle memory. So the ache in his arms to hold her, the overwhelming need to make her smile, to kiss the place where her forehead met her hairline, it was muscle memory. The only thing he knew about her for certain, is that he must've loved the hell out of her. "I'm sick of this room," he told her as he stepped to the door. "You can come with me or I can get lost without you."
With a growled sighed she stepped ahead of him as though to lead him, as though she had to. And he followed grinning at her stubborn refusal to admit she wanted anything to do with him.
Their base was as scattered as they were, their firepower was still minimal, their growing numbers still few. But there was hope. Eris, tall and distant, didn't fit their cause. But they greeted her with muted caution as a friend. Cal observed this with a distance of his own. He didn't belong here, these weren't his people, this wasn't his cause. But it could be. They greeted him as one of their own, their eyes alright with purpose. The only home he remembered was the Imperial base he'd been raised on, enslaved and abused. Every so often he met Eris' strangely colored eyes as she looked for him over her shoulder, making sure he was still with her. He didn't remember home, but this one could be good.
"Hey, Eris, there you are."
Eris stopped at the casual greeting and turned to a man she wasn't familiar enough with to consider a friend. But her eyes cut to Cal briefly before turning back to Snap's round face as he reached her. "Finn sent back a message for you to be ready when they get back, the base is bigger than we thought."
She nodded having already planned on going with them when they stormed the compound, but her thoughts were still turning as she looked to Cal. He waited with waning patience, having figured out they were planning some kind of attack. And he'd never been one to sit back. "This is Snap," she said suddenly surprising both men. "He's a pilot and a pretty good shot, talk about that." She waved a hand uselessly as though to enunciate her point as she stepped away.
But a hand shot out grabbing her wrist. It should've been familiar, the memory of him refusing to let her walk away like an old friend. But he felt like a stranger. So she whirled on him bringing her leg up to drive a swift kick to his middle to get him off her, but he was faster. His hands encircled the back of her knee and he jerked her into him making her lose her balance. Instead of going for his head as he thought she might, he felt her tuck into herself as her shoulder rammed into his sternum sending him back. As he fell he got his arms around her shoulders and locked his ankles around her legs so she couldn't kick herself loose. He held her tight as she bucked against him, getting a leg free that she used to kick whatever part of him she happened to hit before he rolled so she was on her stomach and he was on her back. If she'd been trying to hurt him he knew he'd be hurting, he'd probably be dead. But he knew her tricks, they were his tricks.
"Are you done?" she demanded lying on her belly with her cheek against the ground.
His brows shot up. "You started this," he reminded her. He would've had a nasty bruise on his chest from how hard she'd been aiming to kick him. "Now while I've got you here, how bout you tell me what's going on?"
"Why don't you tell me what's going on?"
They both raised their heads to a very unhappy Poe, who was already irritated because Rey had taken the pilot's chair again. Only this time Chewy had been there so Poe hadn't even been allowed on the bridge. And now, after only a few hours, he'd come back to this.
"Your girl started fighting," Cal told him seeing the way his expression cracked. "Figured I'd sit on her til she stopped."
Poe nodded hearing Eris' grumbled curse. "So that's how you do it," was his quiet, not quite okay, reply. It was clear now they still weren't getting along, or rather Eris still wasn't making an effort to because Cal actually seemed pretty okay. Like someone Poe could see himself being friends with, and he wished it didn't turn his stomach as much as it did.
Eris used the distraction to jam her elbow in the center of his chest, and while Cal was focused on her arms she rammed a knee into a terribly unkind spot that had him rolling off her as he curled in on himself. "Womp rat," she muttered taking Poe's hand as he helped her up.
He looked at her irritated face seeing the hurt she was hiding, the familiarity of how quick Cal had gotten her off her feet. And he wished there was time for this to be easier. But the Resistance needed the information on this base, they needed these weapons, and they had to take out the soldiers without getting the slaves killed. Fire from an x wing had too much risk, they'd be taking this from the ground and they didn't have enough fighters for that. "We could use the help."
Eris met Poe's sympathetic but determined stare and she deflated. "Do we really need him?" she asked ready to just leave with Poe, and the fact that she was made Poe smile gently as he nodded. With a dramatically heavy sigh she bent grabbing the back of Cal's shirt and dragged him to his feet. "We're taking out an Imperial compound that's using slave labor to manufacture a high number of weapons. And yes," she added as Cal opened his mouth already knowing the words his tongue was curling around, "we already took out the one you were raised in, so no this is not it."
Cal looked down at her face, that he was rather quickly becoming familiar with, having to remind himself she knew him. How well she did was a surprise, because she opened her mouth to give him the answer to his next question and he watched her blink before her expression fell apart. He watched her wilt in front of him, not stubborn or arrogant, just sad. "He die getting me out or when I went back for him?" he asked not taking his eyes off hers even though she looked away.
"When we went back," she answered in a tone that was almost kind. She heard the breath he took, remembering how hard losing his brother had been the first time. And she reached a hand to his arm and held it there, comforting him. Again. "We got him to the ship," she told him, meeting his dark pained gaze. "He saw the stars."
It was all he'd wanted. Their world had been too small to know how to dream so they dreamed of seeing the stars. "He died free," he said standing straighter, swallowing the lump in his throat.
"Yeah," she breathed seeing that fire in his eyes, the will to break the galaxy open and make it better than it ever was for him. For the first time in months it felt like him. She blinked taking a breath as she patted his arm and stepped back. "Come on, we need to find Finn so we can fit you in the plan."
He looked down at her lilac face seeing some part of her had softened toward him, faint and almost unnoticeable, but he could see it. Her remembering how to do this again, how to be a wife. "I take it I'm with you," he stated not needing to ask. She wouldn't trust him on his own.
"I've known your dumb ass for fifteen years," she retorted with her face screwed up as they walked inside. "You made me reckless."
With a grin he followed her giving a quiet reply that had her turning and smacking his chest, but for a moment she smiled. Her eyes alight with familiar mischief. Poe watched them go with heat rising in his face, selfishly, but he saw the moment Eris turned back. Looking for him. And she paused studying his unreadable expression, not liking how cold the space between them felt, before she turned away.
…
Out of breath their backs hit the wall of the stairwell as they checked their ammo and themselves, when they came out from the hallway they weren't gonna have a lot of time. Guards littered the floor of the room beneath them waiting to be found, an alarm waiting to be rung. A soft voice crackled in her ear. Sharing a weighted look Eris took a slow deep breath and nodded.
Cal turned bursting into the main room a blaster in either hand, he took out one solider followed quickly by another. The ones on the other side of the long walkway had just drawn aim when Eris lunged from behind him and sent a sweeping shot of plasma beams dropping the five of them.
From the right side of the compound Poe and Finn came, from the left Rose and Connix, both groups followed by a small team, while Rey ravaged the floor beneath them leading her own charge. The collared slaves ducked lest they be mistaken for a target as the Resistance swarmed the base.
Clearing their side Eris launched herself off the platform, her arm raised high where Cal grabbed her hand swinging her inward and let her go. Her feet hit the metal grating of the walkway beneath him, and still caught in her momentum she tucked in and rolled before catching herself in time to shoot the man she'd landed near.
"I had him," Rey said pulling her to her feet as she ran past.
"Don't I know it," Eris grinned watching Rey throw another guard into the wall. She really was something to behold.
The center of the base was their main operation, surrounded by thick walls and heavily armed walkways the Resistance were currently clearing while the two girls charged through. They made quick work of the few guards still in the hall, a last means of defense before they stopped outside of the thick steels doors that could only be opened by a button on the console inside. There was always a man stationed there, in charge of receiving and delivering messages to First Order stations, in charge of their most guarded secrets. Eris stuck a timed explosive to the door and she and Rey tucked themselves around the corner feeling the ground tremble beneath their feet as it blew.
Eris moved first. She'd be the target should any hostiles be inside, Rey was close behind her ready to take them out before they could even think of shooting Eris. But they stopped in the shattered doorway, eyes darting around the empty room before landing on the pair of legs stretched behind the console. Eris lowered her rifle as Rey moved to check him, both already knowing in their own way he'd killed himself. Eris instead moved to the control panel seeing a small rectangular stick hooked in and she sighed.
"What is it?" Rey asked watching her pull it out. Whatever it was the console was dark, dead.
Gritting her teeth at this colossal waste of time and energy she tucked it in her pocket not knowing if it'd be useful later. "A scrambler. Any data this thing had stored is gone, and he would've sent a message to the next base that this one was overrun."
So this was all for nothing because they were no closer to figuring out what the First Order was building these weapons for or even where they were. This had been their best lead. But Rey stood reaching for Eris' hand. "We've got weapons of our own now," she told her. "And we gave good people their lives back. That counts for something." Losing this base probably wasn't much more than a small annoyance to the First Order, but there was still good to be done with this. Another fire set, and fire was catching. The Resistance was going to win.
Eris looked at her bright eyes and beside herself smiled. No one had ever made her believe in hope the way this girl had, and Eris could see Rey's was fading. "Yeah it does," Eris agreed squeezing her hand. "I mean this is why we do it, isn't it?"
She could see Eris was trying, but she still wasn't one for causes. The good she did was done carelessly. "Maybe let's work on your delivery," Rey said pulling her into the hall. "I might be new at this too, but I don't think we should sound put out when we save people." She watched Eris' show of rolling her eyes, catching the faint curl to the corners of her mouth. "Maybe you could try smiling?" she offered knowing Eris at first glance always looked like she was about to shoot someone.
Which Eris usually was, and she certainly was now that this had been for nothing. Or almost nothing. But she turned to Rey and carved a wide toothy smile on her face, her eyes still burning with irritation making her look a hair short of deranged, and they fell against each other bubbling with tired laughter. They left the hall and found Poe and Finn surrounded by a very grateful newly freed group while the rest of their numbers scoured the base taking note of everything were bringing with them: desperately needed weapons, parts for ships, food. There were smiles and hugging, there was hope. Failure wasn't supposed to look this victorious.
Her coloring in the corner of his eye caught Poe's attention, and he turned to where Eris stood looking around her. Her normally hardened face open with awe as she blinked slowly taking it all in, as she finally saw what they were fighting for. Just behind him Cal stood seeing the warmth in the other man's eyes as he looked at her, seeing that same warmth in her own eyes when they found Poe, and he smiled.
.^.
Their days existed much the same, following leads scattered around the galaxy as they pieced together what the First Order was planning. The more pieces they found the more impossible this seemed. Now they were chasing the name of a man long thought dead, that needed to stay dead. But this wasn't the first time they'd heard it, whispered, like uttering it would summon him upon them.
They were flying to Nero, a rather small planet made up mostly of water with small islands spread about. It was a good place to hide information, especially given the seas were filled with an array of terribly vicious life forms. The only sentient beings known to inhabit it were on the largest island in a particularly nasty joint where the worst people in the galaxy came to hide.
Rey and Eris were piloting them, or rather Rey was flying and Eris was keeping her company. This wasn't a mission that required Rey to be there, who'd been staying behind more and more to continue training. Until they first heard Palpatine's name, that's when Eris stopped pretending she didn't know Rey was keeping something from them.
The four boys sat around a holotable playing Djarik. Chewy was showing Cal how to play again while Finn and Poe studied closely not knowing how Chewy always won. "You're going cross eyed," Cal told Poe, who sat back and rubbed his eyes.
He really thought they'd have a chance this time, but their guys weren't looking good. "You have to be cheating."
Cal shrugged not believing Chewy when he said him and Han had always teamed up on Eris and Chewy, he couldn't fathom enjoying this game. "Wouldn't know how, can't say I care to." Their eyes met and they shared a not quite comfortable laugh that was really just the passing of air from their lungs.
From behind them they heard a soft voice. "You're going about it the wrong way." Eris moved behind Finn and Poe and reached a hand to activate one of their guys. But Poe raised an arm blocking her.
"We can lose on our own," he said without looking at her. He didn't need to see her face to know he'd pissed her off, he could feel those eyes burning the back of his head.
Finn opened his mouth to tell her he wouldn't mind the help but she turned on her heel and stalked to the far end of the ship to get ready, and probably break something to keep from breaking him. "Do you want to drive her away?" he asked knowing the answer was no. But Poe was scowling refusing to look at him now.
"She doesn't seem like the kind of person to give second chances." Cal met Poe's hard stare and raised a shoulder. "Look," he told him as he stood and climbed over the side of the bench, "I know I'm the reason the thing between you's weird, but maybe don't get along with her ex-husband more than you get along with her."
Finn nodded as Cal went after her, finding it annoying but amusing that Poe was now acting as distant and cantankerous as Eris. Leaving Eris to fill Poe's shoes, and she wasn't nice enough for that. Chewy voiced his own loud agreement that had Poe sighing irritably at them all ganging up on him about this, again. "Death did not do them part," Poe told Chewy. "And she wanted me to back off."
It was surprising how well Cal fit in their little group: Poe liked his charm, Rey his drive to fight, and Finn liked his heart. The only ones not getting along were Poe and Eris, and it wasn't for lack of her trying. "You sure about that?" Finn asked him, meeting his unsure eye when he turned to him. Because everyone could see it but him.
Cal found her fiddling with her mask, having added infrared that only partially worked. Her hands needed to do something when she was upset. "Do you think by standing there loudly breathing you're not still interrupting me?"
Chuckling lightly Cal pushed off the doorway and stepped inside. "I was breathing normally," he replied sitting on the edge of the table beside her. She gave him a hard look and he grinned. "Yeah, I was trying to annoy you." He wouldn't do it as much if she didn't make it so easy, especially when she was on edge as she was now. "It might help if you had an honest conversation with him."
She glared at the wires she was messing with watching the screen go in and out of focus. "In case you haven't noticed I'm not much of a conversationalist." The optics were aimed at the wall and she caught a vague glimpse of the heat signatures she was after, for a second she'd seen the general shape of Poe as he sat at the table arguing with Finn.
He nodded having seen that for himself. She wasn't as openly hostile but she wasn't making much of an effort to be anything else. There were still so many questions he had and Chewy only knew so much because it'd been just her and him for a while, but she got mean when he tried to talk. "Look at me," he said placing a hand over hers to stop her fidgeting, and when her eyes were on his he continued. "I still don't know you, but I don't think you've really ever been easy to like." Her breath of a laugh was all the agreement he needed. "You can't get hurt if you never cared, I get that. But is your plan to keep me from falling for you by acting like you did when I first fell for you?" he asked seeing her visibly pause as she realized his point. "I bet you threatened to kill me several times then too."
"Are you done?"
He licked his lips trying not to smile. "I got one more: because every guy's dream girl is one that scares him."
Her eyes rolled to the ceiling before coming back to his grinning face. "You should've stopped while you were ahead," she told him sounding almost bored.
With a short laugh he nodded. "Yeah that last one was weak," he admitted seeing the breath she took before she smiled. It'd been weeks and he still couldn't see himself loving her, there were glimpses here and there but they didn't add up to love. What he could see was that they'd been friends. "What I'm trying to say is, I don't think I'm ever gonna remember you," he watched her lean back as though he'd struck her and he felt the same need to make it better. "And I'm so sorry for how much that hurts you, Eris, but it's been almost seven years. You wouldn't be the woman I married anymore than I'm the man you've been mourning."
She looked up at his gentle, kind, face and she felt a flood behind her eyes she refused to let anywhere near the surface. It consumed her, the way she'd loved him. "I don't wanna love you like that again," she finally admitted on a trembling breath.
He took her hand and held it in both of his, his thumb running along her knuckles. "I think that's okay," he told her, seeing the relief floor her. He felt it too, the weight of this finally lifting. He was never going to be what she wanted. "Maybe we can start over?" he offered raising a shoulder. "From what I've seen, you're a great friend." Unable to speak she nodded, and he reached a hand to her chin feeling her lean into him.
This was the sight Poe saw when he was sent to get them, her looking at Cal with the sweetest look he thought he'd ever seen. "We're here," he said getting it over with. He stood with his hands on his hips as they turned to him, and he pursed his lips not looking at either of them. "Sorry to," break up whatever was going on, had been going on, was going on long before he himself ever met her. But instead of saying anything he gave up and walked away.
Eris looked at the empty doorway with an irritable frown. "He is such an idiot," she grumbled retracting the mask and hooking either metal piece behind the curve of her ear.
"I'd say go easy on him, but you make it obvious."
She turned with wide eyes at hearing her own thoughts. "Right?" she exclaimed not appreciating the way Cal chuckled.
"We'll get him there," he told her clapping her shoulder as he pushed her out of the room so they could meet the others.
There wasn't much of a plan to be made, their source was inside and they had to find him. Did they know if they could trust him, did they even know what he looked like – it didn't sit well with any of them that the answer to both questions was no. Eris charged down the ramp and pushed open the weathered wooden door hearing a pause in their normal cadence at the sudden visitors. People either came here looking for someone or wanting to disappear, and with the four at her back it was clear what their intentions were. Eyes narrowed, hands hovered over their blasters, suspicion rolled over them in suffocating waves.
Poe held an arm out nudging Rey further behind him. "Stay close," he told her as he turned to Eris. He watched her eyes flick to a corner before she turned to him and he nodded letting her know he saw. They needed to approach this cautiously, try to avoid getting shot at.
Eris and Cal went one way while Poe, Rey, and Finn went the other. The three would meet their friend while the two would provide cover if needed. He still wasn't comfortable but if anyone had his back he'd want it to be Eris.
"What is she doing?"
At Finn's hiss Poe stopped and turned catching a flash of her hair before she disappeared down the back hall. Cal stood against the wall and shook his head, which was supposed to mean it was fine. But Eris wouldn't leave them vulnerable like this unless it was something important, Rey knew there was only one other person she cared about enough that wasn't in this room.
So they got what they came for, information that what they didn't want to be true was true. And when they stood to leave Eris was beside Cal, her mouth by his ear. Rey could feel it, the surge of her blood, the itch to be somewhere else, to leave. She let Poe fly them out, that Rey didn't argue about letting him take lead was cause enough for suspicion. But coupled with Eris and Poe was on edge, something was happening and he'd been stupid to keep her at arm's length. She wasn't going to come to him. He brought them back to base and he left the bridge to see Eris cupping Rey's face, their forehead's together and he knew it was goodbye.
After he briefed Leia on what they'd found - that Palpatine was back, that Ren was probably with him, that with Luke gone Rey was all they had – he went to find Eris. Partly because he knew what was coming but mostly because hope seemed impossible and it didn't feel as much when she was there. But he found her shoving what little she had, which was mostly his clothes, into a pack. "Were you even gonna say goodbye?" he asked seeing the way she froze.
There was a distinct burning in her chest that she swallowed, preferring to deal with this later because there was shit to do now. "I didn't think you cared," she muttered cinching the top of the bag.
"Of course I care, Eris," exploded out of him with such fury it had her turning to him surprised. And before he could really think about what he was saying he continued, "I lo," he swallowed the sudden flood of saliva in his mouth as he ran a hand over his hair. This was not the right time for that, and he honestly didn't know if there would be a right time and maybe that was the whole problem. Because he couldn't do this with her. "I was trying to give you space," he told her in a quieter voice, though it was still close to a yell.
She looked at his suddenly open face and she sighed. "I never asked for that," she said seeing him blink as he finally understood. This wasn't supposed to be on her, she wasn't good enough at this for her to ever be the one accountable. But she sighed letting her tense shoulders drop. "I didn't want space, I wanted you." He gaped at her with clear surprise, and she looked at him with a terrible weakness for him. "I want you."
His mouth opened before he had any words to give her, to tell her he wanted her too. Her eyes fell from his, having not really been ready to say that. His hand was gentle as it took hers, and she looked at his warm eyes as unsure as she felt. "There were things I was waiting to tell him," she said softly, feeling his breathing curl against her neck. "I didn't want that to be something I was waiting to tell you."
How he could've been this blind, his own wants getting in the way of what he could see now was so clear. Taking a breath he snuck his arms around her waist and held her close, feeling her own arms around his shoulder, her cheek against his. "Just come back, alright," he said a little too close to her ear, tickling the hairs so she almost shivered. He pulled back wanting to see her. "Cause I need you there," he told her, not wanting her to ever doubt that.
"Then I'll be there," she said feeling his nose brush hers. It was a little too warm, they were a little too close, the air felt raw with too much emotion. And just barely, imperceptibly, she leaned into him and he could've sworn he felt the ghost of her lips against his.
"Ready?"
She jerked back. "Yup," she said snatching the bag off the bed and all but running away.
Poe turned with his arms raised and his eyes widened with disappointed annoyance as he turned with her. "No," he replied seeing Cal in the doorway grinning.
Cal looked down at his stupidly handsome face and shook his head. "You're welcome for that, by the way," he told him before he followed Eris to the hangar.
She'd gotten enough of a hold on herself she could breathe when she reached Rey, who was staring at her forlorn. Feeling her own regret Eris reached a hand to her cheek and bent to kiss her forehead, and she held her there a moment as they both breathed this in before she let her go. Then she turned to where Finn stood beside them and he gave a small smile as he raised his arms. "No," she told him bluntly and he scoffed a laugh as he lowered his arms, having expecting that. But Eris sighed taking his hand in hers and holding it tight. He was a good kid, probably one of the best people she knew.
Letting him go she stepped through them and made her way to the plane Cal was waiting at, and he gave a small salute to the three that stood watching their girl leave. "You gonna tell me what we're doing?" he asked looked down at her.
The medallion in her pocket felt heavy, her old calling card, it felt like a lifetime ago. She looked to where Rey and Finn, and where Poe now stood. Leaving wasn't supposed to be this hard. "The right thing," she told him no longer questioning whether it was. The renegade had finally found her cause.
This chapter wasn't what I wanted it to be, but it set a lot of ground work for Eris' role in the movie. Next chapter will start with what Eris was doing, what she and Rey said on the ship, and then I'm gonna jump into the movie. And there's really only 3 or 4 more chapters til this story's over.