A/N: And I'm back! Thank you to all those you kept adding this story and favouriting it, it really makes me feel like a genuine writer! XD Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars or any of its characters. I only own my OCs Cas Andé, Tani Kenobi, Niobé Skywalker and Sehr, as well as the plot surrounding them.

4. Evacuation

Two weeks and five days later, Cas was sitting on her bed, meditating. Leia had told her that there really wasn't any good position for it, but that sitting crossed-legged helped. So far, Cas had managed to feel every living thing on D'Qar, and feel a couple Force-sensitives – although on a weaker level than them both – on neighbouring planets.

Today, she wanted desperately to reach her mother. She knew that, if Luke had gone back to Ahch-To, they'd have arrived by then, and Tani would be waiting for her 'call'.

It was hard, straining, and Cas felt herself tremble, head spinning even if she had her eyes closed. She could not, she would not.

"Cas!"

She gasped, almost losing the connection as soon as it manifested. But someone else – her mother – caught the link and strengthened it, making it impossible for Cas to slip out unconsciously.

"Ma?" she asked tentatively. "I did it?"

She felt Tani's rush of affection, and something akin to laughter. "No, darling, not quite. We both did it. I was reaching for you too and caught you halfway." No doubt she could feel Cas' disappointment, for she added "But you are doing much better than I anticipated. How many lessons have Leia given you so far?"

Cas chuckled. "In twenty days? Twenty-five."

"Really?"

"To be fair, I was quite eager in the beginning. She asked me to stop asking for two lessons per day when I started waking her up at night…"

"Cas…" Tani was chastising, but it also was said in good humour. "Have you had any visions recently?"

"One very small. I don't think it was of any consequence. I just saw a planet from afar. It was fleeting."

"Every vision you have is of consequence. Even if right now, you don't understand its significance."

Cas didn't answer right away, and then she asked, soft as a breeze, "How is life over there?"

Tani sighed. "Not as bad as I thought. Luke has built a routine here, and apart from the rainstorms once a day, it's not so bad. It's an old Jedi Temple, and the Force is strong here. Rey will learn much from this place."

"She has arrived?" The arrow of surprise flew off of Cas. The tiny scavenger had been quick!

"I can sense her near, but no, she hasn't arrived yet. Niobé knows to expect her, though. She's already prepared a hut for her." Tani sent a clear image of stone-built huts to Cas, who was content for her comfortable beddings right then.

There was a silence, but both women just basked in the feeling of being linked for the first time in weeks.

And then Tani said, "I have to leave you for now. Maintaining this link is tiring, and I don't want to exhaust myself. Continue to practice. Soon we'll be on even energy consumption." She paused, and Cas felt the ghost of a caress on her cheek. "I love you my darling."

Cas smiled. "Bye Ma."

She only had time to shake herself off the connection when she noticed there was a loud sound blaring through the room. And every room of the base, for that matter.

An alarm, she soon realised.

Her door slid open at the same moment as she was jumping off her bed to see what it was about. Poe entered the room without ceremony, his droid BB-8 in tow. "Cas, we have to evacuate!"

Her purple eyes widened. "Why?"

"The First Order, they're coming after us. We only have an hour tops. We need to get everyone on transports and out of here!"

She nodded quickly and turned to gather her things. Thankfully, they consisted in material things that all fit in one bag. Once she was done, Poe flung the thing over his shoulder, and they both exited the room to hurry towards the com room.

Leia was already giving orders to everyone present, Connix was communicating with their transports and with the ships that'd take them on once off-planet, and Ematt was pulling Brance and D'Acy out with him, no doubt to supervise the evacuation.

"Leia!" Cas exclaimed, before catching herself, "I mean, General! What would you have me do?"

Leia looked at Poe first. "We need a distraction in case the First Order sends destroyers here." Then at Cas. "See him off and get a transport to the Raddus. Until I get there, make sure all our fighters are on the ready and transports correctly docked."

Both Cas and Poe nodded at her orders, and hurried out of the room and towards the transports. Poe's X-Wing was still on-site, of course, but he quickly conversed with a couple of pilots whose fighters were on-board the Raddus before turning back to her.

"Breathe. You can do it."

How he knew she was petrified with fear, she did not know, but the fact remained that she was. She was to take responsibility for real lives that day, and she was not sure that she was ready.

"Cas." She looked at him, and he was so close, so inviting… "You'll be fine. See you soon. Come on, buddy!" He hailed his droid, and with one last glance at Cas, he started towards his black fighter.

Cas let out a breath, and boarded the transport supposed to take her to the Mon Calamari ship.

"Padawan Andé, are you alright?" asked Major Brance not for the first time.

She nodded frantically, eyeing the screen that told her all fighters were ready for her orders. She could also see Poe's X-Wing standing by under their belly, and hoped that he wouldn't need to be the distraction that Leia has sensed.

Leia herself had arrived on deck, and was again taking charge of the whole fleet, for which Cas was thankful. Not that she had done badly, every pilot obeying her orders without any difficulty – even Jessika Pava, although they had met in less than hierarchic circumstances – but it had been far too stressful to see all these people look up at her and wait for her orders.

She also was grateful for Admirals Ematt and Akbar who both knew what to do and took charge when it was obvious she had no idea what to do. Major Brance had been the one to show her to the screens, and all in all, every person holding power in the Resistance was helping her adjust.

"Oh no…" she heard then, and the unmistakeable sound of a ship getting out of hyperspace echoed around the room. Or maybe it was because several First Order destroyers had suddenly appeared not far, looming over D'Qar like cats over a prey.

She clicked her com and switched it on. "Poe, we need that distraction I think."

"No worries." She heard him steer his ship forward, and he cut the connection off, no doubt to connect with the leading enemy ship.

Cas eyed the screen and set her jaw, watching the last transports being boarded far too slowly to her taste. She spurred Connix forward, knowing the Lieutenant to be the last to leave the planet's grounds. "Come on," she kept breathing.

Poe was doing great, as usual, as his hailing to the destroyer permitted the fleet of bombers and fighters to prepare for an attack they maybe wouldn't need. The Dreadnought was far too threatening; Cas didn't like the look of it one bit. But at least, the lack of Force-shift told her that Kylo Ren, the brat, was not present.

On an impulse, and when she witnessed Poe's fighter springing towards the Dreadnought, Cas hurried to a command pod and sat in the seat, pushing three buttons that allowed her to plug herself to Poe's front camera. She wanted to see what he was seeing.

The man was too talented for words. He was single-handedly taking care of all the ship's surface canons, clearing the way for the bombers if Leia ever chose to launch the attack. Cas was watching his piloting as if he'd been a Jedi practicing with a lightsabre. She had watched her mother whirl around with her blue blade in hand, on Yavin IV, and this was almost the same. The awe was there, and the admiration as well.

If Cas hadn't known better, she'd have said that she was in love with the handsome Commander.

"Padawan Andé," Leia said as they watched Poe working his magic on the enemy's ship, "go to the hangar, and see to it that Finn is correctly helped to med-bay."

Cas wanted to question the order, to say that she'd rather watch the best pilot in the galaxy piss the First Order off, but the look in Leia's eyes told her that she had a very good reason for sending her away, and that it had something to do with Poe's current questioning of orders to come back to the Raddus.

She nodded, and hurried out of the deck room at the same time as Leia shouted an order through the com. She had never heard her so angry before.

The hangar was dangerously empty when Cas arrived. The transports remained, of course, but all the fighters and bombers had suddenly vanished, despite what she had thought Leia's orders had been.

Could it be that Poe had defied direct orders from his General?

"Padawan Andé!" came the call of Kaydel Ko Connix a second after she wondered if she couldn't get a hold of another holo-screen.

She turned to see the Lieutenant surrounded by what looked like medics, and a stretcher on which lay Finn, still wrapped in his bacta-suit. She smiled down at the dark-skinned boy, although he could not see her. "Let's move him somewhere more comfortable."

She was following the medics when Kaydel stopped her with a hand on her arm. "What's happening out there?"

They could both hear the unmistakeable sounds of explosions, of doom, of death, without being able to know if it was their own doom and death they were hearing, or the First Order's. "I fear I don't know, Lieutenant. Go over to the deck and you'll know."

Connix nodded, and hurried off while Cas sighed and followed Finn's body towards med-bay.

The former Stormtrooper looked as peaceful as he had those past few weeks, but Cas was still a bit worried about him. His body was entirely mended, had been for at least ten days by then, and still he had not stirred. She thought of Rey, of the girl's obvious affection for Finn, and hoped that she would not have got bad news to tell her next she saw her.

Suddenly, there was a jerk in the whole ship, and looking through the room's sole window, Cas saw that they had jumped to lightspeed. The fighters were back.

She looked one last time at Finn and ran out of the room. She didn't notice the sharp intake of breath behind her as she pushed through a maze of personnel towards the hangar.

Only a few ships were present, telling her all she had to know. They had sustained heavy losses. She felt saddened to see the small numbers of pilots who had returned, but selfishly looked around until she noticed Poe's black X-Wing. She let out a breath of relief, and hurried forward until she reached the bottom of the ladder placed there to help him down.

Poe opened his ship's cockpit and congratulated BB-8, who bleeped in answer. This made Poe turn and notice her. Apparently the droid had told his master that she was standing there. With a wide smile, the handsome roguish pilot slid down the ladder.

He was covered in soot and smelt like smoke, but Cas couldn't help herself.

Just like the day they had met, she grabbed his face and kissed him with all she had.

Unlike the day they had met though, Poe actually kissed her back. Quite eagerly as well. His arms slid around Cas at the same time as her tongue slid out seeking for his, and their embrace became more and more heated as the seconds ticked by. No doubt that it was quite embarrassing for anyone having to witness it, but neither cared, and soon, Poe found himself crowded against his own ship's ladder, Cas pressing herself against him as if she was drowning.

When finally they drew apart and sucked a deep breath, still standing too close to be proper, Poe grinned. "What was that for?"

Cas grinned back, touching her nose to his playfully. "Nice piloting, Commander."

He chuckled and pecked her lips one last time. "Is that our thing then? You kissing me when I've flown nicely?"

She tilted her head to the side. "Maybe. I'd like for it to be."

He was about to answer when BB-8's alarmed bleeps interrupted them. Poe's brow furrowed and he looked at his droid, repeating "What d'you mean 'Finn, naked, leaking bag'?"

Cas turned around and entangled herself from the pilot, and indeed they both saw Finn walking around, obviously distressed, his bacta-suit leaking all over the corridor. No one seemed to want to help him though.

Poe left her there and hurried to their friend's side, for which she was grateful. She followed just as Poe was offering the lad to go and change into some clothes, guessing he'd have many questions.

His first was "Where's Rey?" and that had Cas' heart constrict in her chest. The poor man had surely expected his friend to be there when he woke up, or maybe he had realised the Falcon was no longer there and understood it meant she was gone.

Anyway, she gently took his arm as Poe took the other one, and sighed "It's complicated" before they led him to a quieter room.

A/N2: I don't know about you readers, but I can't help myself. Poe is far too gorgeous. He needs a good snogging from time to time... XD