Review Responses~

sarahmichellegellarfan1: Soon. Very soon. They're going to hit some more rocky bottoms first.

Two Guests + Delaria: Thanks you guys! And the necklaces makes another appearance, don't worry!

ShigureAyameHatoriFanclub: You betcha!

JunJunyil: Oh my gosh, I was laughing so hard. My email was blowing up with your reviews. Also. Yes, I recommend you start with chapter 1! That's usually what people do lol! And as for your question about the Rapiers, I considered it, but cannon wise, Rapiers 2-4 were the other three, so I thought I'd just add her on as five.

Sorry this is a day late! I went over to a friends house expecting to come back... and ended up not doing so...

~TheObsessory


To The Stars and Back

Chapter 16; General Organa

A Fanfiction written by TheObsessory

"Rapier Two, Rapier Three and Rapier Five," The lack of Muran's 'Rapier Four' was still foreign to our ears. We had just gotten beyond the edge of the system, well out of Mirrin Prime, when Poe spoke, "Comlink your astromechs to Rapier One and upload all telemetry from the Suraz engagement to BB-8, please."

I shook my head, BB-5 at once doing what he was commanded.

"I can't believe…" I grumbled aloud. It was a bit of a lie. I could believe Poe would do this. He was headstrong, sometimes irrationally so, and when he wanted answers, he got them one way or another.

"Oh, you are slick, Poe." Karé commented with a laugh.

"We're doing this?" Iolo followed, a hint of worry hidden in his voice.

"I'm doing this." Poe said, "Not going to let you three flush your careers on a disobedience charge. If someone is going to take the fall for this, let it be me. I'm not planning to be gone long anyway. This is just recon. Everything goes well, I'll be back before Deso knows we ever split up."

"Poe-" I started, my heart beating anxiously

"I'm going, Sid. Muran deserves this."

I let the words sink in, the two sides in me still at war.

"Then I'm going too." I decided.

"Sid, I can't let you do that."

"Too bad. BB-8, send the trajectory on the Yissira Zyde's hyperspace jump over to BB-5. I know you've found it already."

BB-8 beeped softly, confused on whether he should or shouldn't.

I heard Poe take a deep breath, both Karé and Iolo silent.

"Fine. But at the first sign of trouble, we're leaving." Poe relented.

"Oh yes, I'm sure." I chuckled as I listened to BB-5's happy blips.

"We're already down one good pilot." Iolo finally spoke, "And I don't think Karé and I are particularly looking for field promotions."

"Copy that." Karé agreed, "Be smart, both of you, and hurry back, okay?"

"I'll make sure he's not doing anything too stupid." I confided in Karé, Poe huffing indignantly over the line.

"Oh, and may the force be with you."

It wasn't until the third stop in the direction of the Yissira Zyde that we found what we were looking for.

We came out of hyperspace at OR-Kappa-2722, greeted promptly by the screams of both our droids.

"Well at least it's not a whole fleet." Poe said lightly as we surveyed our surroundings in shock.

From what I saw, I counted three Star Destroyers, four frigates, two Maxima-A heavy cruisers and one Dissident-class light cruiser. Plus who knows how many small vessels around the fleet, everything from droids to TIEs.

"Not yet." Poe answered BB-8, a question I had missed, "Can you find the Yissira Zyde? You too, Sid."

I scanned the fleet thoroughly a second time, but saw nothing.

"Well, we've come all this way. I think we ought to leave with something."

"Poe, we came here for the Yissira Zyde. If it's not here, we need to leave before they see us." I argued back, ready to send the order to BB-5 to ready us for another jump into hyperspace.

"A little late for that."

Poe was right. Already the nearest Star Destroyer, a heavy cruiser and two, maybe two and a half, dozen TIE fighters had swung in our direction.

"Go, Sid!"

We shot forward, charging toward the oncoming First Order ships.

"I hope you know what you're doing, Poe." I yelled back, BB-5 chirping in worry.

"Yeah, I think boosting the front deflectors is a good idea too." Poe ignored me, and instead was speaking with BB-8. Despite my terror for the upcoming situation Poe was putting us in, I listened to what he was saying, replaying the same information to BB-5, "And power down the weapons, divert to engines."

"Poe-" I started, my fingers growing cold on the controls. I didn't realize how hard I was gripping it.

"Just until we find it," He interrupted, "Just until we have proof."

I followed Poe closely, listening when he told me to do a tight turn or dive. TIEs were falling left and right, thanks to the friendly fire. The explosions rattled our X-Wings, but so far, so good.

I could hear Poe having a conversation with BB-8 off and on, but focused solely on maneuvering through this mess. While I trusted Poe, and knew he was good at what he did, I was still going to punch him for being so reckless

"BB-8 found it."

I felt like I could breathe again, cork screwing away from a couple of TIEs. Poe and I were not nearly as close to one another as we had been, and I worked my way back toward him, a few more TIEs exploding in the process.

I watched as Poe was flanked by TIEs, and considered firing my weapons back up to assist him.

Before I could, however, I saw him shoot straight up in the air, the TIEs trying desperately to follow suit.

"Power."

Our droids put power into our weapons again and we fired a few shots on the unsuspecting TIEs before we both leveled off and shot into hyperspace.

"That was a waste of time." I grumbled once we came out of lightspeed at the edge of the Mirrin system, the sweat on my forehead dripping down my temples.

"Not entirely." Poe answered, "BB-8 and I reviewed the flight data, and the freighter was on board of the second Star Destroyer."

"We already assumed they'd taken in, Poe. We know as little about why they wanted it as we did in the first place." I came off a little cross, and maybe I shouldn't have followed Poe, but sometimes his big head needed to think a little more.

Our argument was cut off by Mirrin Control over our headsets.

"Rapier One and Rapier Five, this is Mirrin Flight, respond."

"Rapier One-" "-and Rapier Five."

"Approach landing bay twenty-two, you are cleared for landing."

My heart gave a flutter.

"Mirrin Flight, Rapier Squadron berths bay seven, confirm please."

I hoped, prayed, that it had just been a mistake on his part.

"Commanders Poe Dameron and Sidra Van?"

"Correct."

"You are directed to bay twenty-two. Do not deviate your approach. Mirrin Flight out."

The moment the comm. went silent, I muttered every curse word I knew.

"Yeah." Poe sighed back, "We're in trouble."

Bay twenty-two was startlingly empty when we landed, which did nothing for my nerves. I knew following Poe would lead me to some situation like this eventually. I tried to be the voice of reason for him, but he was just so stubborn.

Even after we had left our X-Wings and released BB-8 and BB-5, the bay remained empty.

After a few moments of silence, boots could be heard coming toward the hanger.

Three figures entered, heading straight for us. I gulped, watching the middle one in a Republic military uniform look Poe and I up and down. Three people to transport two pilots? We may have disobeyed one command, but we weren't convicts.

"Commanders Dameron and Van?" The large man stopped before us, still examining us like we were to be his next meal.

"You are?"

"Major Ematt. You'll come with us, please."

"We've got a report to file with Major Deso." I said quickly with a tight smile.

"We located the Yissira Zyde."

"Major Deso is occupied." And with that, they turned toe and headed back for the door they had come from.

Poe and I sent worried glances to one another, but followed nonetheless.

In a few moments, we arrived at a speeder that sat waiting for us just outside the bay doors. One of the two shore police drove with Major Ematt in the seat next to him, with the other shore police officer, this one looked to be Devaonian, sat in the back with me, Poe, BB-8 and BB-5.

"Are we under arrest?" Poe asked once the speeder started.

"Do you want to be?" He shot back.

"Where's the rest of Rapier Squadron? Lieutenant Kun and Lieutenant Arana?" I questioned, anxious to know what had happened and what they had told him.

"They're being dealt with."

I shot Poe a worried glance, BB-5 booping quietly near my feet. To calm my nerves, I watched the scenery go by, counting buildings, numbers, anything to keep myself from jumping out of the moving vehicle. What would father say? The thought of failure glazed my eyes over with tears, try as I might to distract myself.

By the time we had stopped, just outside of a collection of new prefabs on the North side of the base, the weather had worsened. Cold rain was falling from the gray clouds above us, doing nothing for my already poor mood. I hated rain almost as much as I hated wearing soaked clothes.

And soaked we were by the time we followed Major Ematt over to a far off hut, pressing his palm to the security plate on the door.

"Go on it." Ematt instructed us as the door opened, "Your droids and I will wait out here."

I was loath to leave 88-5 out in the rain, and would have felt much more comforted if the droid followed with. I gave him a small nod before following Poe into the building with a shiver.

The room was bigger than I had originally thought it would be. What had once been a briefing room now had a small cot and trunk, although most of the room was filled with chairs and a desk. A holoprojector glowed in one of the corners, projecting some of the Republic newsfeed, despite it being muted.

And lastly, there was a woman at the desk, working diligently on a datapad, either ignoring our entrance, or unaware. I wasn't entirely sure.

In a matter of moments after I thought that, however, she stood and turned to us. She was not very tall, but I would not call her short, nor was she very young. The gray hair tied up in brains and pinned down to her head attested to that. She wore an unfamiliar uniform, but despite the military esque of it, she seemed quite regal.

"Commanders Dameron and Van," She spoke, her voice filling the whole room easily, "Do you know who I am?"

While Poe nodded, I stood there blank faced. How should I know who she was? My nerves were frayed by this unusual circumstance and I still had not entirely recovered from our maneuvers with the First Order.

"General Organa." Poe snapped a salute, and after a few moments of processing I did the same, my breath catching in my throat.

Leia Organa, a living legend, stood before me. I felt my mind go blank in shock.

"At ease, and have a seat, both of you. I'm going to call you Poe and Sidra, if that's all right."

"Whatever you like, General." Poe answered for us both.

Leia took a seat behind the desk and gestured for us to take the ones on the other side.

"You should see your faces." She smiled brightly, "I'm not that frightening, surely."

"No ma'am." Poe snapped quickly.

"It's just unbelievable…" I breathed, taking a seat besides Poe.

"The problem with a reputation is that it can become a legend." Leia said with a shrug, "Don't be deceived. I'm not a legend."

We glanced at each other, both having grown up with the stories of this so called 'not legend', and smiled.

"You're not sitting where I'm sitting." I chuckled.

"I'm a soldier, just like the both of you. A soldier with a rank and experience, too much experience, perhaps. But just another soldier."

"If you say so ma'am." Poe said lightly.

"I do, and stop calling me ma'am."

"Yes General."

"Oh it's going to be like that, is it?" We all laughed, and I felt all the anxiety that had been building before disappear, "All right, Commander Dameron. Do you know why the both of you are here?"

We shook our heads, my own mind going a million miles per hour, contemplating the question.

"Tell me about the Yisira Zyde. Everything."

And then it began to add up. Poe had always been the speaker whenever we reported back to Deso, so I allowed him to take the lead, adding in a detail or two if he missed one and I deemed it necessary.

Leia listened intently to his story, and rose to check her maps when coordinates and places were mentioned.

I watched Poe while he spoke, looking at him, truly looking at him, for the first time in many months. He looked tired, as we all did, but not exhausted. He had stopped growing his hair out, thank the Gods, and wore a clean shaven face. He had grown so much, yet there was the seven year old who greeted me and introduced himself as the next greatest pilot in history.

And there was so much good in him, behind the words he spoke, behind every smile and frown. It was in that moment he reminded me of his mother. Of her honesty and sincerity. I reminded myself to tell him that one day when he needed it.

"That was exceptionally foolish you." Leia spoke to Poe, having heard my part of telling him not to go off chasing the First Order, "You barely got out of there with your life."

"In my defense, General, there's no way I could know I'd find a First Order staging point."

"But you hoped you would. Or something like it."

"Yes." He admitted after a moment.

"The need to do what's right," Leia looked to me, and then back to Poe for, "And maybe find a little adventure along the way… You remind me of my brother. Fly like him, too, apparently." She paused here, "But what would I expect from Shara Bey and Kes Dameron's son?"

We both looked at her in mild shock. Of course she would have known the both of them. Why wouldn't she? The best in their fields, and they both spoke so highly of Luke and Han, Leia was bound to be around as well.

"Have you heard of the Resistance?" She asked us, taking our silence as a means to continue.

"Rumors, mostly." I mumbled, as Poe was still in shock from the mention of his parents.

"Such as?"

"Such as there's a splinter of the Republic military that… that feels the Republic isn't taking certain threats as seriously as they maybe ought to be taking them. Specifically the threat posed by the First Order." Poe said carefully, not wanted to say anything too offensive.

"That's a very diplomatic way to put it, but not an entirely inaccurate one." Leia sat back in her chair, a light smile on her face as she looked between the two of us, "You've made some people very angry, you know that? The both of you. Not letting matters drop when you were told to, disobeying direct orders. Technically, one could argue that you stole a Republic X-Wing for personal use."

Adrenaline pumped through my veins as she spoke, the severity of our actions sitting before us like an elephant in the room.

"I'm a Republic officer, General." Poe was ever the fighter, "I swore an oath to protect the Republic."

"Poe, we're in enough trouble, arguing isn't going to-" I started, placing my hand on his upper arm. I truly liked General Organa, and did not want to see her upset with him.

"No, you both misunderstand. I like it, the both of you. Together. I can see why the two of you weren't separated when you were positioned here. Poe, it was rash of you, as I said, it was foolish. And Sidra, ever the constant reminder that you're not immortal." She flashed me a knowing smile, "And both so passionate to do what's right. Foolish and passionate are often confused, and passion is something we desperately need."

I felt my jaw fall open a bit. What I had expected to be a rough talking to about our stupid mistakes ended up being a praise of our actions.

"I can whitewash your little trip out to OR-Kappa-2722 for you. I can sweep it under the rug if you like. You can go back to leading Rapier Squadron and having your hands tied by Command, by Major Deso, by politicians who don't recognize what's happening right before their eyes. I can make it all go away, for the both of you." Leia leaned forward, "Or you can join the Resistance and help us stop the First Order before it's too late."

"Where do I sign up?" Poe took no time agreeing to General Organa's proposal. I, on the other hand, was a little more hesitant.

"I can see you thinking, Sidra." I blinked, my mind still racing. Leia was looking very intently at me. So much so, it seemed like she was looking at my very thoughts, "You're unsure?"

"I'm just worried, General Organa." I found it difficult to say exactly what I was thinking, "I want to do what's right. I was there with Poe and the others when Muran died, and I want the Republic to do something about it, even though I know they won't, but at the same time…" I trailed off, organizing my thoughts, "Going against the Republic?"

"Sid, we aren't going against them per se-"

"But we're going behind their backs." I looked to Poe, "It just feels… sneaky."

"I'll take whatever answer you give me, Sidra." Leia was quietly, her gaze understanding.

My gaze returned to Poe, our eyes locked. And there, deep and hidden in those brown eyes of his, was that little fifteen year old boy. Innocent. And so full of love. A love that had turned me away many years ago, and a love I was willing to follow.

"I can't leave Poe." I decided, not entirely resolute in my words, but knowing I didn't, no, I couldn't, stay behind and watch him leave, "I want to give Muran the justice he deserves, and the galaxy too."

"I was hoping to not split the two of you up." Leia winked at me, "We leave immediately."


Once again, sorry about the delay! At least it was only a day amirite?

Coming up in Chapter Seventeen: Settling into the Resistance, a look into Poe and Nusa's relationship and some Joke Yoda.

MmmmmmmmmmMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmm funnnnneeeeee joke.

~TheObsessory