Resistance Base, same time…
Poe was getting impatient. It was obvious. And he already had a plan; he had come up with one with Finn. But he was waiting for the right time. He believed that letter was from Luke Skywalker himself, and he trusted Luke knew what he was talking about. He considered somehow sending a message back with a long list of questions, but that would come off as rude.
Other people were trying to help. General Organa sent him on missions to keep him busy, Finn kept him company, BB-8 kept doing its thing, which cheered Poe up some. BB-8 was like a pet to him, and like a pet, one couldn't help but smile when BB-8 did something cute. It was hard, though. He missed Ellie a lot.
One day, he got sent on a minor mission to a small First Order outpost. Simple mission: destroy it. Leave. He had two others with him. There was not supposed to be very many troops at the outpost; Poe didn't know what happened.
"Black leader preparing for hyperdrive," Poe reported through the comms. Red One and Red Two did the same. They went into hyperdrive synchronously, arriving at their chosen location at the same time.
"Alright, we go in, give 'em hell, then we leave. Got it?" Poe asked.
"Roger that Black Leader," they both replied.
"Alright, Red One, cover us."
"Copy that Black Leader."
"Red Two, you and I hit 'em hard with all we got."
"Copy that Black Leader."
"Let's go."
At first, everything went as planned. They were fighting with all they had, until First Order sent reinforcements.
"Black Leader, there are too many!" Red One said.
"We have to retreat," Poe decided. He didn't like doing that, but he wanted to stay alive for Ellie, so before anyone could do anything else, he turned away and went into hyperspace.
"Black Leader, we're still being attacked!" Red Two shouted.
"I've been hit!"
"Retreat!" Poe shouted, as if it were obvious.
"Retreating!"
"Retreating!"
Poe was already out of hyperspace when they decided to retreat. They weren't far behind, but Poe left way too early. When they landed back on the Resistance base, Poe got out to see his very angry partners.
"You ditched us, Poe!" Red One said.
"How could you? We could have died!" Red Two continued. They both bickered at Poe, who just stood there and took it, not replying a peep.
"What's going on here?" General Organa asked, shouting above the bickering pilots.
"Poe ditched us! We were fighting and Poe retreated way before the rest of us!" Red One explained, still upset.
"We could have died, but he was too busy leaving-" Red Two continued.
"Okay that's enough. Poe, tell me your side," General Organa requested calmly.
"Everything was going as planned, then they sent reinforcements and it got too heavy so I finished off the ship I was attacking, then I left. I should have waited for you, I apologize," Poe said calmly, addressing his partners. They grumbled their forgiveness and walked off. Poe turned to General Organa.
"Poe, this is getting to be an issue. I know how your situation feels, but you're letting it distract you from our goal: shutting down the First Order. But we gotta do it as a team. Poe, as of now, you are temporarily grounded until the time comes to rescue your sister," General Organa decided with a sigh.
Poe nodded, accepting his fate. "Yes ma'am."
"Now, go to your bunker until you get some orders."
"Yes ma'am. Come on, BB-8," Poe beckoned his trusty droid, as they went off to his sleeping quarters.
Later on, Finn and Poe sat on opposite sides of each other, talking about the earlier events.
N "Look, Poe," Finn was saying, "she's doing this for everyone's good. And it doesn't mean you got kicked out-"
"-but flying is the thing I'm best at!"
"You are one hell of a pilot, but you're fast, you can fire a blaster, you're strong…" Finn trailed.
"What are you saying?" Poe asked.
"I'm saying you're not useless."
Poe smiled.
"I wonder what she's going to make you do in the meantime…" Finn mused.
"I dunno...mop?"
"Is that first on your list?" Finn teased.
"No, but I think that's what she would specifically choose me to do after the crap I pulled today."
There was a pounding on the door. Finn got up and opened it. The guy there gave him a paper and said it was for Poe.
Finn closed the door and whistled long and low. "Dang, you already have orders." He handed Poe the letter:
Poe,
We are getting a new batch of recruits in a few days, and I am tasking you with training them. You're a good soldier, with great skill and a good heart. This is a very important job, and I trust that you will teach them well.
~General Leia Organa
"She's got me training soldiers," Poe said.
"What?!" Finn exclaimed.
"She wants me to train a new batch of recruits."
"Better get ready," Finn said with a grin. "Back when I was a stormtrooper, people always complained about training people."
"I'm sure it's not that bad," Poe said, putting the last nail on the coffin. "Let me go talk to Snap. He'll know what to do."
"Good luck, man," Finn said. "You're gonna need it."