The chip looked overall solid and well kept, but the small crackles at the top right corner were seriously reducing any possibility of testing it without causing some major electric disruption.
Even a fully integer one would probably not be enough for the realization of a counter-device, let alone one almost hit with a blaster shot, all the magnetic domains of its main memory polarized force knows how.
Those had been her thoughts for the last half an hour at least, and Poe was starting to feel both amused and frustrated. Hana had almost not blinked for the entire time, eyes fixed on the small plastic device she was keeping in front of her face with some rubber-coated tweezers, totally oblivious of her guest. Also, after the enthusiastic hug she had welcomed him with the night before, he couldn't help but feel a little neglected.
"So, what's the prognosis, doctor?"
The young woman jumped at that, almost loosing her hold on the chip, and shooting him a warning glare.
"I'll need more than three of these. As I told you yesterday, the best option is still to stole a fully functional descrambler from somebody, at least if you want to stay in that ridiculous time slot."
"What? Weren't you the top specialist in enemy's comm systems?"
She chuckled, setting everything back down on her work bench.
"If by that you mean that I'm the only one, then yes. Yes of course."
He fell down on the chair beside her, sighing.
"It's not that easy. What should we do, start a war, then run around the battlefield and loot stormtrooper for helmets? Fondle them a bit and squeeze their pockets?"
She closed the screened box in which she had promptly moved all the enemy devices, just in case in the last few months somebody had actually realized what the Resistance was doing and added a clever tracking system to some key-pieces.
She still couldn't believe at the naivety and amateurism of their previous employee, obviously guilty of lack of common sense and technical skills at the same time: connecting a stolen communication device to a enemy mainframe is the kind of error that may very well be your last one.
"That's your job, not mine. I can add these three scramblers to your comlinks even now, but then they will work both ways: you'll hear them and they will hear you. The moment you switch it on, they'll know you're there."
He closed his mouth with an audible click.
The possibility was unsettling enough to kill the conversation, so they just sat in amicable silence for a few minutes, looking at the landing field burning up under the red light of the dusk, where the shadows of the few ships parked out there were lengthening slowly on the newly tarred surface.
D'Qar was a luscious, beautiful planet, even after being subject to the First Order's carpet bombing that wiped out forests and buildings and left it with wide, angry gashes. They had known it was coming and nobody had actually been there at the time: still cheerful for the destruction of the Starkiller base, the had flew away to avoid the obvious counterattack that annihilated all the Resistance structures remaining on the planet. Everybody had come back, later, for the adage says that the lightning never strikes the same place twice.
On her part, Hana was pretty sure that elementary physics states otherwise but she wasn't going to put a damper on everybody's serenity: she was still adapting to a life where the free thinking was an inalienable right and the happiness provided by liberty helped her relate with the rest of the Resistance crew.
She had gone away, of course: not on her native planet -it was, after all, the most obvious choice if somebody was sent to find her- but a similar one, where the bright sunlight had been able to erase all her negative feelings.
Now, seven months after her rescue from the Finalizer, she was back on the eye of the storm: the night before, curled-up in the bunker bed placed temporarily next to Poe, she had felt a freezing uneasiness when dark dreams of violence and fear had crept up on her, and she had woken up with a shout and in a cold sweat.
Poe must have followed her train of thoughts, since he grimaced, asked "Want me to sleep with you again tonight?" and then ducked quickly to avoid a quite heavy-looking electrical coil thrown in his general direction.
"I'm not a baby anymore, I can sleep alone. I'm used to that kind of nightmare, anyway," She lied.
"Allright, then I'll go report to General Organa about your progresses. Just try not to forget dinner, as I know you did yesterday"
He took one's live of her, walking out of the laboratory.
Hana sighed, resigned, going back to her fruitless tasks.
General Organa was sitting in a large, comfy, stuffed chair, trying desperately to stay awake through the never ending line of reports about unsuccessful recon missions. The chair was a new thing, and while her back was immensely grateful, it did more harm than good since her concentration seemed to start wavering more often now that she wasn't forced to stand all day long.
There had been a lot of small changes in the last months. People tiptoed around certain topics when she was present, which in her opinion was understandable, yes, but still annoying.
Patricide is an unpleasant subject, but the possibility that conceivably important informations are kept secret just to spare some grief is even more dreadful, in her mind.
When Poe Dameron entered the room, the croaking buzz that was admiral Ackbar speech ended abruptly, all the attention monopolized by the revered pilot.
"I just got back from the research centre. Hana says she needs more samples, if we don't want to jeopardize the backup plan," He stated.
A young, blonde official snorted ungracefully. "That is not a backup plan, it's a suicide mission. We have already discussed it and it's ridiculous. Can't she just try it out and see what happens? Maybe we'll be lucky."
"That is your strategy? Being lucky?"
"We have no time to waste! If the informations we gathered are true…", Started Nunb, being quickly interrupted by Ackbar.
"What if they're not? What if it's a trap?"
"A trap - yes, that's a good point. We shouldn't forget that your golden girl is a First Order deserter. Maybe she's trying to fool us too! Acting by her terms on the basis of that signal..." The blond insisted, moving forward as he tried to impose on his opinion by physically imposing himself.
Leia sighed, rising from her seat and setting her face to a scowl. "Stop it. That is classified information and you will not divulge it now," The general snapped with a brusqueness meant to remind everybody of the hot blooded princess she once had been. Leia brushed a stray hair away from her face, looking pointedly at the group of low rank pilots from the just-returned blue squad, whom were overly excited by the idea of gaining such an insight on their superior's plans. "Is it possible to provide the girl the required technology?" She asked simply.
Poe shrugged, uncertainty written all over his face. "We can try the black market. There's always hordes of scavengers and raiders after a battle, maybe something is still around."
Organa nodded, dismissing the subject with a wave. "Then I'll see about it. Now, if you will excuse me..." She promptly left the room.
Seven months. That was the last time they sighted one of the First Order's leaders, right after the destruction of the Finalizer and the massive counter attack that razed their decoy planet, and then occurred many long days of nothing. Not a rumour spread in the ether about their location or activity, despite the grid search on all the imaginable frequencies, and even with the insights about their systems of communication, not a word was heard.
Somebody was starting to talk about how the Order was mortally wounded by their attacks, the few survivors going into hiding like rats. Hope was blooming in everybody's hearts, a treacherous flower bringing the seed of destruction within itself.
Letting their guard down was foolish. Kylo Ren and his even more dangerous master were still somewhere - she could feel it in her bones, them gathering their forces to strike down the new, budding attempt to rebuilt the Parliament for the third time in a row.
That had to be avoided at all costs, even if the price to pay was taking the risk of following some nebulous vision provided by the trainee of an almost dead and forgotten Order.
And, force, was she willing to pay it, even with her own life, just to have a remote chance to…
The door of the parlour opened automatically in front of her, bathing the woman in much more flattering natural light after the yellow lamps of the corridors.
If only she could have Han or Luke with her, she was still thinking, unsure.
"Leia!" Came the feminine voice from the inside.
Rey had grown a lot in the time spent on Ahch-To, even if just mentally. She still looked like the little, dirty scavenger girl from Jakku, while at the same time exuding quietness and self-confidence in warm waves.
Her desert clothes had been dismissed in favour of a more traditional Jedi attire, comprised of a long, hooded robe and a high belt from which the old Anakin's lightsaber was hanging in its leather straps.
Leia moved forward quickly, clasping the girl's hands in an affectionate welcome. "Rey... It's good to see you," She smiled, "And it's been a long time. How are you and my brother doing?"
"We're doing just fine. He is very good at hiding all the headaches I'm causing him," Rey laughed, disentangling herself from the woman. Still a bit shy to be touched, it looked like.
"Then why has he not come here with you? We were all surprised by it."
Despite the attempt to hide it, the girl must have sensed the General's apprehension, for she looked inquiringly in her eyes before knitting her eyebrows together. Rey took a long moment before answering, as if searching for the correct words.
"I understand why you would have preferred to have him here. But your message, last month, caused serious concerns for so many reasons. Luke and I talked a lot after that... Deciding on the action plan." she explained, walking slowly towards the window.
Leia followed her, ignoring the sight of the sunset in favour of keeping her attention on the young padawan.
"There were... Visions," Rey continued, subconsciously worrying the handle of her lightsaber, "When I was sleeping - sometimes even when I was meditating. We thought I was making up stuff, or picking up thoughts and images from people in other places - I'm very good at that, after all. Then we received your communication, and it was just like something I saw few weeks earlier."
The General arched one eyebrow, her lips stretched to a thin, incredulous line. "You're trying to tell me that you see the future?"
"I don't know - we don't know what I saw," Rey rebuked, "But Master Luke thinks it's some sort of trial, made specifically for me. Like the Force is trying to tell me to act, to change things... It's all so mysterious, sometimes!"
Leia flinched at the open frustration in the girl's words, all her maternal instincts in ferment. It's not like there's someone better to act upon them. "I'm so sorry, Rey. I really want to help you if I can," She soothed, gently.
"Actually, you can," It was an unexpectedly direct answer, "But first, I need to explain you in more detail. What about sitting down for a bit to chat? I'm afraid it will be a lengthy discussion."
Leia couldn't explain why she felt like falling down in the rabbit hole.
Hana was sitting in the mess hall, fiddling with a rather thick and unsavoury stew.
Soldier's slop was the same everywhere, and she felt surprisingly like being on the Finalizer again. Only, this time the cacophony was extended to the colors too - no black and white uniforms in sight, but a bunch of people dressed in all the possible shades of the rainbow.
Finn and Poe had found her a few minutes before and were now sitting in front of her, looking quite amused from how she had just shredded a totally innocent plastic knife that had the bad luck to end up in her hands while she was frustrated.
"Jeez, you should calm down. I'm sure the cutlery didn't do anything to deserve that," Joked Finn, somehow able to talk around the humongous piece of bread he had stuffed in his mouth.
"Yeah, well, everyone in this room is looking at me like I'm some kind of savage or a weird animal. It's not exactly conducive to a pleasant dinner," She answered, trying to gulp down the stew.
"You do look like a savage. I'm wondering myself what happened to that cute girl I brought back here. She didn't had hands suitable for smashing plastic," Intervened Poe, glancing at a young blond man who was moving the chair next to him to sit down.
"Well, I had my manicure done twice a week, before."
"What? That's a lot!" The pilot laughed.
She just shrugged, a smirk on her lips. "Yeah, but you know... The beautician was a really cute guy with the most gorgeous smile and dimples. And girls have to work hard to get what they want! I needed almost two months to have him following me in the locker room..."
"Wha..? You naughty-"
"Then Hux comes out, no shirt on, and I realize pretty boy is as gay as it gets. He was drooling like an hungry Rancor!" She finished, deliberately ignoring the interruption.
Poe almost suffocated in his glass of water while Finn sputtered.
The girl next to her - Hana was pretty sure her name was Jessica - looked up, half amused. "Guess that's a good reason to stop seeing him."
"What? Are you crazy?" She feigned shock, "I never stopped. He still made me have the smoothest hands on the whole starship."
The three of them roared with laughter while Hana, a smug expression on her face, finished the insipid dinner. Only the blond guy was still looking at her.
"I'm sure that's important when your main job is to handle dicks," He finally commented.
And in the few seconds after that, hell broke loose.
Both blondie and Poe jumped on their feet, chairs overturned and trays falling on the floor. Finn was shocked into silence and Jessica yanked Hana behind her. The whole room fell silent, anticipation making the air heavy. There was a predatory gleam in most people's eyes, like beasts smelling blood. Hana didn't need mind reading skills to understand whose side most of the rebels were. Traitor once, traitor all along, it seemed. She sighed, aware that the situation had been building since her arrival on D'Qar.
"What's happening here?" Leia Organa was standing at the doorstep, looking quite angry.
"Did I just walked into you two having a fight? Again?" She asked, stomping towards them, "Poe? Jonah?" She pressed, her gaze shifting from the pilot to the blond idiot.
They had the good grace to look vaguely ashamed, like kids caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
"I'm sorry, ma'am." "I apologize, sir," They mumbled simultaneously, heads bowed down making them unable to see what initially made Finn squeal like a girl just a few seconds after.
"Rey!"
That must have been the young woman at the entrance of the mess hall, Hana assumed, with the brown hair tied in a bun and heavy robes that looked like nothing she had seen before on the base. It was her appearance, more than the presence of the General, that changed the mood of the whole room.
It was an extremely curious reaction. Half of the people cautiously left - looking quite afraid of her and even leaving their trays on the tables - while the other half moved forward to greet her.
Well, as soon as Finn would release her from the hug he had trapped her in, that is.
"But when did you..."
"Last month! I couldn't believe that you were..."
"I know. Oh, Finn, I was afraid that you.."
"Oh, don't be ridiculous! I was so happy to hear of what you did..."
"It would have never happened without you!"
It was the weirdest conversation Hana ever listened to.
"That's Rey. Looks like she's back from Luke Skywalker's planet," Jess provided the missing information.
Hana was stunned. Her gaze moved from the pretty face to the girl's side, where a lightsaber handle was glinting in the artificial light, and then frowned. "You mean.. She's a Jedi Knight?" she asked, sheepishly.
"More like padawan, I think. A trainee. But she's pretty good... I heard she fought against Ren on the Starkiller."
"Wha..?! She's the one that scarred him?" Her voice was becoming decidedly high-pitched, making Poe chuckle.
"Of course. What's that, Hana? You look starstruck," He teased.
Rey choose that particular moment to stop shaking hands and looked directly towards the only woman in the room that she had never seen before. Her dazzling smile was enough to make Hana feel like a beetle pinned on a wall.
"...I think I have a girl crush," She announced, and even Leia couldn't help but ungracefully suffocate a laugh.
Author's notes:
Next chapter, the First Order is back. I love the Resistance just like everybody else but.. c'mon! Space nazis!
All my love goes to my wonderful beta loserless.