The Resistance base's center of operations was in the largest building on Q'Tar. Two long hallways led to the maintenance and hangar bays, and quarters were accessible through a breezeway to the south. The control room was the center of it all, the clay-colored floor sloping gently into a shallow bowl full of technical readouts, maps, and backlit displays stood out in the dim light.

Finn felt strange training at a comms station at ground level. All others communication tech he'd seen had been lowered into the deep, square pits assigned to First Order officers – boxy, black cages full of white lights, hard seating, and a shiny black ladder that rose up from the plated floor at shift changes. Even if an imperial officer decided to leave their station, there was no way to do so.

And that was the biggest difference, Finn decided, between the First Order and the Resistance. The issue of choice. While the Resistance base itself felt more relaxed and friendly, the inhabitants were fiercely dedicated to their cause. The First Order could arrange and organize and calculate the minutiae of any given battle plan, but they were no match for true conviction. Everyone in the Resistance felt the galaxy's need for their service, and offered their lives freely for the freedom of others.

With the possible exception of Finn's assigned trainer.

His name was Lexevan. Finn was fairly certain the boy was human, but he suspected the presence of an inter-species grandparent, judging by the slit pupils and tufts of fur on his elbows. Bothan maybe? That would be the only explanation for the scraggly goatee the teen was attempting to grow. He was probably three or four years younger than Finn, but everyone at the station insisted that Lex was the go-to guy for trainees and new recruits. Lex knew everything about the Resistance comm system, the rest of ground control had informed him. Finn had a sneaking suspicion they were right, but were also trying to pawn him off one someone else for a few days.

Today was a simple supply run with a few of the Resistance cargo ships. Two x-wings flew support, with Poe flying reconnaissance. With no immediate threat, most of the ground crew had taken a long lunch. Finn was using the opportunity to go over procedures again, learning everything he could about Resistance communication, eager to help in any way he could.

Lex's overdramatic sigh snapped Finn back to attention. "Look, proc says imprint, claim to register, and relay the OBP to the flight leader, got it?" Finn was doing his best to keep up, but Lexevan was throwing out terms he'd never heard – slang, technical jargon, and words he was sure were made up on the spot. Finn remembered the standard comm practices for the First Order, but he didn't remember learning them. Thinking back, he didn't remember learning anything in particular. He just knew.

"Okay," Finn nodded, trying to reconcile First Order standard operating procedure with what he thought was Lexevan's instructions. "Log in with the ID." Fin put his thumb up to the scanner by the screen. After a quick flash of light, it turned green. "Then voice confirmation, yeah?"

"Yeah, that's what I just said," Lex scoffed, chewing one of his nails. "Weren't you listening?"

Finn took a deep breath. The boy's nasal tone and rising inflection was starting to grate. "No," he replied honestly. He was going to get this right as quickly as possible. No more Lex, no more trainee babysitter, just work and time to think.

"Focus, man!" Lex snapped, clicking his fingers in front of Finn's face. "We're being attacked! There's a battle going on; pilots are going to die!"

"What? Now?" Finn scrabbled for the flimsiplast that held the day's briefing. A mission to a neighboring planet for a supply run. Something terrible must have happened. An ambush? He scanned his thumb again, hands shaking at the thought of the First Order swooping down on an unsuspecting fleet. On Poe.

He steadied his hand and the panel turned green again. With perfect timing, he stated clearly into the attached boom "Finn logging in as Base 3."

"COMMAND INCOMPLETE" the grainy vocoder beeped at him.

"Lex, what's wrong, what did I do?" Finn was all nerves. His feet twitched, making his knees bounce, and his hands drummed the table.

"First and Last name, hutthead," came the response. Lex had the gall to roll his eyes. Finn wanted to rip the screen off of the control panel and throw it at him.

"I don't HAVE ONE. My friends are in danger; WHAT DO I DO?"

Lex shrugged, "Make one up?"

Finn gritted his teeth and scanned his thumb a third time. Voice steady, he said into his mic "Finn Dameron logging in as Base 3."

"LOGIN ACCEPTED, COMMUNICATION ESTABLISHED WITH BLACK LEADER."

Poe's call sign. Finn felt the knots in his stomach loosen slightly. At least his x-wing hadn't been destroyed. Yet.

Finn shouted into his boom mic. "Poe, what's happening, are you ok?"

A yell of pain came from the speaker, stuttering with the distance of the transmission.

"What's going on, BB-8, are you there? Can you hear me? Where's Poe? Uh…." Finn glanced at his trainer. Why wasn't he going for help? Did he want Finn to do this on his own? "Mission report?" Finn saw Lex confirm the phrasing with a nod and his gut sank into his boots. He'd been duped.

"I'm fine, everything's fine!" Poe's voice crackled through the speakers again. "Aside from the hearing loss, anyway. Who is this?"

Finn was livid. His cheeks flushed hot with anger and adrenaline, but his mind was clear. He knew what to do in this situation. "Base 3 to Black Leader, we've had a miscommunication at ground."

"Sounds like one hell of a mix-up. Lex getting somebody riled up again?"

Poe wasn't sticking to comm procedure, but Finn didn't care. Hearing his voice was enough. "Base 3 to Black Leader, affirmative." Finn slipped out of military mode, his fear draining away. "I'm glad you're ok. Come back safe."

Silence from the other end of the line.

"Poe?"

Poe spoke again, but not to Finn. "Computer, display current login for Base 3."

"BASE 3 CURRENT REGISTER: FINN DAMERON"

Finn went pale. He saw Lexevan bite his lip so hard his eyes began to water.

He swore he heard a chuckle on the other end of the line. Probably more static. Poe's concluding transmission came through fuzzy, barely audible. "Coming home to you, baby. Keep the light on. Black Leader out."

Finn felt everything. Mostly fear, relief, embarrassment, and a strong desire to kick the shit out of the scrawny kid next to him. This last emotion was exacerbated by Lex's next remark.

"Did he call you 'baby'?"

"'Buddy', that's what he calls everyone," Finn insisted. His heart fluttered. He'd heard it, too, but the connection had been lousy.

"Yeah, but 'leave the light on'?"

"Maybe they're gonna land at night, huh?" Finn spat back. Anger was fast becoming his most prevalent emotion. He took a deep breath to calm himself. Secure, if nothing else, in his knowledge that his comm procedures were flawless in a crunch.

Lex slapped his hands on his knees, pushing himself up out of his chair. "Tell you what, you forget to mention to anyone that I made it sound like we were under attack, and I won't tell anyone that the Commander's crush isn't as one-sided as people think."

"Fine," Finn agreed. Anything to make him leave.

Lex nodded and waved over his shoulder as he left the station, pushing past the first few crewmembers returning from lunch.

Finn shook his head, still reeling from his rapid-change emotional venture. The fleet was ok. Poe was ok. Everything was fine. He thought back to Lexevan's parting words.

Wait.

The Commander's what!?