"So what's the deal, man?" Wexley asked Poe, point-blank. "You got it bad for the mechanic or what?"

Not at all surprised by the question, Poe still made an effort to pretend as though he was anyway. "Who? Shay?"

"Yes, Shay."

The pair had gone down to a nearby stream to refill their water stores; Poe leading the way with Wexley tagging behind. Poe turned halfway around on the trail and made a face. "Is she a mechanic? Damn, this whole time I thought she flew with us."

Wexley rolled his eyes, knowing his friend's shtick all too well. "C'mon, you're not fooling anyone here. You were in her tent last night."

"So?"

Wexley threw his hands in the air and shook his head. "What is a guy like you doing in a chick like that's tent, after drinking one too many by the fire?"

"Excuse me." Poe halted mid-step and faced Wexley. He lifted a finger in defense. "First of all, I had exactly two drinks. Secondly…a guy like me?"

"You know what I mean." He motioned for Poe to keep walking. They continued on their way, stepping over and through the thick brush that overcrowded their path. "This isn't the first time I've been on a mission and I've seen you work your magic on a woman."

My magic. Poe could have snorted. "It wasn't like that."

"Oh it wasn't, was it?"

He hated to admit that Wexley wasn't exactly lying, but this also wasn't just another one of those times, and it wasn't just another woman. "Honestly" Poe said, "I was just checking in on her - like you were checking in on me when you saw us together."

"And you mean to tell me nothing happened?"

Poe hesitated, wincing a little in the face. "Define nothing…." He felt Wexley shove him from behind as the laughter began.

"I knew it! You can't lie to me and pretend it was any different than the others—"

Again, Poe stopped and faced his friend, but this time his expression showed no sign of humor. "Seriously, Wex. She's nothing like those other ones." He glanced away, avoiding the judgy look on Wexley's face. "She's not just some fling, alright?"

"Alright, alright! I get it" said Wexley, accepting defeat. "Jeeze, you must like her to get that defensive…"

Wex didn't see it, but Poe rolled his eyes after he turned back around. He assumed years of sleeping around on various missions didn't bode well for his track record, but it wasn't like Poe didn't try to make it work with some of the better ones either. He just didn't share that part with anyone on the squad, not even Wexley.

They came to a small clearing and the sound of bubbling water could finally be heard. Both men filled the canteens they brought with them, then washed the dirt and sweat of the previous day off themselves as best they could.

On the walk back, they remained mostly silent. Each carried a backpack full of the canteens, which now weighed quite a bit. Halfway back to camp, Wexley tapped Poe on the shoulder.

"Sorry about earlier" he told him. "If you like her, go for it. I wouldn't pass it up, if it were me."

Poe's eyebrows rose. "Because — hmmm, what'd you say — Pantorans are way hotter than 'those Twi-leks everyone gets hard for'?"

Wexley ate his own words without even attempting to argue. "Yeah, yeah, alright - but that's not what I mean." He came up so that he and Poe were shoulder-to-shoulder as they walked. "I mean it. If she makes you happy, and it's obvious she does, then I'd just go for it. It'd be nice to see you worry about someone other than the General and the orders she gives you."

Wex's words did not fall on deaf ears. In fact, his bit of good-natured advice was something Poe didn't expect, but also didn't take for granted. Wexley's words weighed heavy on his mind for the rest of their hike back to camp, and for quite some time after as well.

Very little in the way of talk came from the Resistance for much of the afternoon. After a long night of staying up drinking by the fire, many of the squadron members found themselves napping beneath the shade of their ship's wings. If they weren't napping outside, they were napping in their tents. They knew it was a commodity to catch some shut-eye while they could, especially on a mission that could turn active at the drop of a hat.

Despite how tired Poe was, he forwent the chance at a nap and found himself sitting with Shay inside his tent seeking shade from the heat of the afternoon and solace in her company. Shay sat upright and cross-legged, telling animated stories from her time growing up on Pandora as Poe lay on his back, watching her with growing affection. He noticed how alive she became when she spoke of her homeland. He'd flown to Pandora enough times to know the people and the landscape, but until now he never gave it a second glance. He found himself wanting to visit again, with Shay by his side.

Shay took just as much interest in Poe's stories of Yavin 4. He told her all about how he trained with his mother, and the stories she told him growing up of a younger General Organa and the Rebel alliance she formed and commanded.

"I remember hearing about so much of this when I was younger" Shay told him, her mind disappearing back into her childhood. "I barely remember the details, but the stories about Luke Skywalker are what I remember most clearly."

"That's why we're here right now." Poe's gaze connected with hers. "At least, that's what my gut tells me."

"Skywalker?"

He nodded. "Everything the General does these days - it's to find her brother. I suspect Grannion has information on his whereabouts."

"Have you ever met him?" Shay asked.

"No, but I'd love to." He shifted onto his side so he faced Shay, propping his head up with one hand. "I'd love to meet any Jedi, let alone Luke."

"I'd love to have powers like they do." She felt guilty saying that, but at times she wished it were true. "Seems like it would come in handy, but it also seems like such a lonely life."

"Not any lonelier than ours, I bet."

Shay was surprised by Poe's statement. She looked into his large eyes and felt that familiar pull she felt the night before whenever he looked at her. She settled down onto her side, mimicking his position. Now that they were lying opposite of one another, she felt like she could level with him. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"Are you lonely?"

Poe's gaze never faltered. "More than I like to admit." The corner of his mouth lifted bashfully. "Are you?"

"More than I like to admit."

"Would a light saber change that?"

She laughed softly. "No, I don't believe it would."

"So why do you carry a blaster on your tool belt?" Poe asked. There was no chiding in his question; just general curiosity. "Not that I noticed that in the hangar or anything..."

"Oh no, of course not" she teased back. "I carry it because my brothers taught me to always carry one. I guess it was their protective side coming out, but I've never been afraid to carry one." One of her brows rose as she eyed him. "Or use one."

Poe chuckled. "I believe that." He meant it, and with great respect.

With a sigh, Shay rolled onto her back and closed her eyes. "How are you not sleepy right now?" she asked, half-jokingly.

Poe was yawning as she posed the question, which made him almost laugh. "I could nap right now, that's for sure. But I need to stay awake. What if General Organa tries to contact us and I miss it?"

"You won't miss it." Shay took a chance then, and pushed herself over to Poe, closing the distance between them. His arms opened to her, as she hoped they would. "I'll be here to wake you up if you do."

Poe hugged her protectively against his chest, his hands sinking into the softness of her hair. It was more of an intimate moment that he'd prepared himself for, but he found he relaxed almost immediately the second he held her in his arms. "You promise?"

"Mmm hmm..." She could already sense sleep overtaking her as she settled into the protective warmth of Poe's arms. The compact hardness of his build was obvious beneath his clothes, but his touch was tender and inviting. She gave into it willingly, even as she heard the soft rumble of Poe's laughter emanate from his chest.

"If you say so" he replied, smiling against the top of Shay's head as he rest against it. In time, Poe also shut his eyes and allowed sleep to take him, feeling more at ease than he had in a long, long time.

As the afternoon waned into early evening, they finally heard from General Organa. The group reassembled, sitting in a circle around the handheld holoprojector as they did the day before. They sat listening to the information the General was able to gather about Phasma intercepting communications between the Resistance and Brok Grannion, the leader with whom Black Squadron was meant to meet with. She confirmed that Brok and the rest of his small colony of Lahsbee were now being held as hostages at a temporary holding location on the planet that had been established by the First Order.

"You must retrieve Grannion and the others by any means necessary" Leia spoke to the group. "Brok has information that is essential to the success of the Resistance. It is likely the First Order is doing their damndest right this very minute to get that same information from him."

"We'll do whatever we can to save him and his people." Poe's voice was solid and determined. His eyes passed over the rest of his team sitting around him. "We'll iron out a plan here and let you know when we're on the move."

"Please do. In the meantime, we've decided communication might be safer if we're on the ground. The decision has been made to head back to the base" Leia told them. "We'll be going into hyperspace as soon as we're done talking."

"Good idea." He agreed with her plan, knowing she and the rest of the Resistance would be a lot safer on D'Qar, as would the details of their mission.

"Remember," Leia said, her blue holo-figure pointing at Poe, "you are not to use your ships for communication with us, only with one another. Even after we reach the base. Until then: good luck."

The image of Leia disappeared and Poe glanced around at the others, but his eyes settled on Shay. The idea he formulated late in the night when he couldn't sleep now came to the forefront of his mind. "Shay, you recently worked on the comms system in my ship." It came out as a statement with only a hint of question laced in it.

"I did." Shay knew Poe knew this, so when she saw the subtle twinkle in his eyes, she knew he had a plan. "Why? What are you thinking?"

"Do you know if it's at all possible to scramble communications between our ships?"

She thought for a minute, running through the possibilities. "It could be..."

"What about scrambling it with those on D'Qar?"

He was smiling with his eyes when he looked at her, and Shay gathered where he was going with this. She began to nod slowly. "Yeah...if I can scramble it between the ships first-"

"-Then you'll be able to set a scramble beyond, doesn't matter the source" he finished. They were clearly on the same page, their mechanical minds working in tandem.

"Give me three hours" she told him and the others.

"I can help" Poe said. "You only have to show me once and I can do it. We'll knock this out in half the time."

The others that sat around them began to look at one another in wonder. Shay and Poe were clearly on a similar wavelength, judging by the way they looked at one another and spoke to one another. It was if they were the only two seated there.

Wexley, now very privy to Poe's feelings towards Shay, watched them even more closely than he had before. He was smiling inside, seeing his Commader jive so well with someone. He hated to interrupt their little planning session, but he had to…so he raised a hand politely. "Umm…guys?"

Shay and Poe turned their heads in unison and looked at him.

"Should we be doing something? You know...in the meantime?"

Poe considered this. "Our new goal is to get to those hostages out of there as fast as possible. We have the coordinates of where they're being held, but we know nothing about what it looks like." He felt himself becoming angry when he thought of those First Order fucks harming innocent beings. "Wexley, Kun: do a fly-over near their holding point and see what we'll be working with. Keep communications between your ships at a minimum, in case they're anticipating us."

"Do we fire at them, if they threaten us?" Karé Kun asked.

"No. Stay as far as you can from there operations as you can while still getting a decent look at the situation" Poe instructed. "The rest of us will ready the ships and work on scrambling the comm lines while you're gone."

The group split up, with Wexley and Kun heading to their X-wings while Poe, Shay, and the others worked together on the ships that stayed behind. Thanks to Shay's early morning work on cleaning each ship of the planet's abundant pollen, there was little time wasted getting Wexley and Kun off and running.

As Shay and Poe hauled the necessary equipment over to the ships, Poe was admiring the assurance she carried herself with as they walked together. "Didn't mean to put you on the spot back there."

"I know." She gave him a reassuring smile. "It was a good idea."

"I hope so." Poe wanted to tell her he'd thought of it last night, but held off. He felt stupid for staying awake most of the night second-guessing her feelings, especially after the nap they'd taken earlier. He wasn't sure the depth of what he and Shay were doing together, but he swore he wouldn't worry about it any longer.

When they arrived at the ships, Shay got to work inside the cockpit of Poe's ship. She reworked the wiring, testing it over and over until she had the results she wanted. Poe sat in an adjacent ship, helping her test the lines as they spoke back and forth to one another. After only 20 minutes and a handful of adjustments, Shay had successfully scrambled correspondence between each ship.

When Poe realized she'd done it, he stood up from the cockpit chair. "IT WORKED!" he shouted, his face alive with excitement.

Shay leaned back against her seat and exhaled, feeling a great deal of satisfaction come over her. Maybe I'm useful on this mission after all, she thought.

Now that they succeeded in Step 1, it was on to Step 2. Poe listened attentively, watching as Shay showed him exactly what she'd done to his ship to cause the scramble. It went just as Poe told her: she showed him what to do only once, and he was able to replicate it perfectly. In just over an hour's time, they had each ship's communication lines scrambled and ready to go.

"Now, how to do the same thing...but between us and D'Qar" Shay thought out loud, partly to herself but with Poe listening nearby. She rested her chin on her hand as she stood contemplating how she might rig the ships to do so. A few ideas came to her, but nothing she felt sure would work.

"What do you need from me?" Poe asked her. "Want me to get the General on the line? We can test it out with her the same way you and I just did."

Poe's willingness to help made Shay want to kiss him again. She wanted to kiss him a lot now that she'd had a taste of him, and a taste was enough to know she wanted more. If he could kiss as well as he did everything else...

She smiled in response to her own thoughts, but disguised it as best she could. "Aren't we technically doing this off-the-cuff without her knowing?"

"It's my preferred method of action" he answered without hesitation.

She could clearly see why. "We'll have to find another way to test it here without her, then."

Poe snapped his fingers. "I got it."

"Yeah?"

"BB-8."

Her eyes went wide with realization. "YES."

It was becoming increasingly clear to both Poe and Shay that they made a good team. Their minds worked in much the same manner, and their technical background wasn't just the only way.

As Poe fetched his droid and explained what he needed from him, he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Shay began to roll the top half of her boiler suit down to her hips where she tied the sleeves. This revealed a tight white tank top beneath, not all that unlike the blue one she had. His eyes were drawn down the length of her body, appreciating every curve that was now visible.

She wrapped her hair up into a messy ponytail, her eyes catching Poe's as she turned to face him. She read the look in his eyes, feeling flattered all over again. He didn't bother to hide the fact he'd been staring, nor did Shay hide the fact that she liked it.

"We're, uh…." He cleared his throat. "We're ready when you are."

As if on cue, BB-8 rolled forward, chirping in agreement.

And so they began their work, with BB-8 standing in as a faux off-world transmission unit on which their scrambled communications could be tested. Shay encountered more issues than she did before, but she remained resolute and kept working in attempt to get some positive results.

As she and BB-8 tested communications between each other, Poe heard the familiar rumble of starfighter engines approaching. His gaze turned skyward, watching as Wexley and Kun returned from their fly-over. With a wave of his hand, Poe motioned to Shay he was going to greet them. She gave a thumbs-up from within the cockpit, her headset preventing her from hearing anything other than BB-8.

As he hurried off towards the two ships, he felt the hot exhaust from the ship billowing out beneath as they lowered to the ground. Pollen and dust blew in every direction. Poe wiped his hair back from his face, waiting anxiously to hear what his crew members had discovered. Behind him, the other members of Black Squadron gathered around. Both Wexley and Kun powered down their ships, then leapt to the ground.

"Well - what's the verdict?" Poe asked as the pair walked towards him.

Kun's eyes didn't lie. It wasn't good. "They didn't see us - but there isn't much cover whatsoever."

"They're set up in an open ravine near a river" Wexley added. "The depth of the canyon itself has to be at least 3000 meters."

Poe swore under his breath. "So no matter how we go in, we'll be seen?" Wexley and Kun both nodded, and Poe felt his frustration mounting. He chewed on his bottom lip and began to pace, eyes staring at the ground as he thought about their next move.

"Did you see any colonists?" Pava asked them.

Kun shook her head. "Not a single one. There's a large enough encampment set up there that could be holding them, but it was hard to tell from the distance we maintained."

Poe listened as he paced."Any cruisers?" he asked.

"A few fighters and a single AAL on the ground, from the looks of it" Wexley replied. "Probably for the bucket heads."

That was at least some good news. So they don't have plans to take them anywhere, Poe thought. No Cruiser or Destroyer means no Ren. Not so bad, really, when you think of it.

"What do you make of it, Commander?" Kun questioned. "Think we have a chance of getting in there?"

"We might not..." Poe looked at each one of them calmly, the corner of his mouth rising. "But I might."

They gave him the look they always gave him. Wexley was already shaking his head. "You're not actually thinking of going in there yourself?"

Poe was hurt his friend expected any less. "Of course I am."

Pava glanced sideways at Wexley. "Of course he is."

"I'll be the one to fly in to the encampment and rescue the Lahsbee" Poe continued. "All of you will be my diversion. We need whatever fighters on the ground to get in the air. Make them think we want an air strike when really we'll invade from the ground." He saw those standing before him begin to nod their head, liking the plan. The only one who showed any disdain was Wexley.

"So how the hell do you plan rescuing all of the colonists by yourself without any backup?" Wexley demanded.

Poe turned his head and saw that Shay was walking towards the group. She had a massive smile on her face, and her eyes told him everything he needed to know about how it went with BB-8.

She did it, he thought, his grin growing tenfold.

Poe turned to Wexley again, pride in his stance as he faced him. "You wanna know about backup?" He nodded his chin in Shay's direction. "You're looking at her."

Poe led Shay into his tent with little room for questioning until they were out of earshot of the others. Once inside, he laid his plan out to her in full.

Shay stared at him, debating whether or not he was actually crazy. "Are you crazy, Poe Dameron? Or am I just not used to this kind of bravado?"

"Ehhh...a little of both, I'd like to think." He seemed pleased as he said this, as though Shay was the lucky winner of all sides of him. Perhaps she was.

She stood across from him, debating what he'd just asked her to commit to. "So let me get this straight..." Her brow bent, but only slightly. "You want me to fly into the encampment-"

"-No, no, no, I'll fly. You shoot."

"Oh, right, yes...you fly."

"I always fly" Poe added, his signature grin accompanying his sass. "Plus - I've seen your aim. I know we can do this. It's the perfect set-up."

"Wouldn't you feel better...I don't know...taking one of your people with you?" She searched his gaze for some sort of verification that he'd made a mistake in asking her to join him. Of course, there was none.

"Look, just hear me out." He lowered his voice now, his eyes shifting toward the tent opening in case someone showed up. "You control the comms and man the guns. I'll get us in and out of there as fast as possible. Your Y-wing has torpedoes. You know how to use 'em?"

"Well yeah, but..."

"Ah-ah, no buts!" He squared up to her and looked directly into her eyes; the eyes he was finding it harder and harder to not fall totally in love with. His hands came to rest on either side of her neck, his thumbs poised against her cheeks. "We can do this, Shay. Together."

Shay didn't see how she could say no, but apprehension was sitting heavy in the pit of her stomach. "What if something happens? What if it's not as easy as you say it will be?"

"It normally isn't" he answered truthfully. "So we'll take it step by step."

She stared at him, her emotions a constant tug-of-war between admiration and disbelief when it came to him. "Are you always so sure of yourself?"

"Most of the time." He shrugged one shoulder. "Though it helps when I'm trying to impress a woman." When he saw the expression Shay made in response, he couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't you dare do anything stupid because you're trying to impress me" she said, shoving him. "You don't need to impress me."

"Whether I do or don't, I'm not exactly the type of guy who just stops trying." Poe gave her a half-smile. "And for the record - that goes for anything."

"Oh anything, huh?"

"That's what I said."

Shay folded her arms over her chest. She let go of the heaviness she felt in her stomach and conceded. "Alright, I'll go - but under one condition."

"Fire away" said Poe.

"If something happens to me and it jeopardizes the mission: you'll leave me behind."

The happiness that was in Poe's face fell away. "What?!" He shook his head, chuffing. "No. No WAY. I can't agree to that. I won't agree to that."

"Poe..."

"Nope." He opened his hands up to her, rapidly shaking his head. "No. I wouldn't leave any of my crew behind, and I sure as hell won't leave you."

"Poe, you can't—"

"—I can, because I'm the leader of this damn mission" he exclaimed, cutting her off.

Shay recoiled slightly. Poe stared at her with heat in his eyes, the vein in his neck pulsing in response to how upset he was. His hands had been balled into tight fists, but now he slowly released them.

"Shay" he said, his voice now barely a whisper. "I'm not leaving you. I don't care what happens, under any circumstance, I will not leave you." He reached into his shirt and lifted out the chain that bore his mother's ring. He tugged it from around his neck and held it before her. "I want you to wear this."

Shay glanced between the ring and Poe. "I don't understand…"

"It's my mother's." Pain filled his eyes as his jaw tightened. "I wear it every day, because I made a promise to her before she died. It's my reminder of that promise." He took a step towards Shay, his open palm outstretched. "I want you to wear it on this mission. If we're separated for any reason, I'll still be with you. Consider it my promise to you that I'm never going to leave you."

It never occurred to Shay that it was possible for someone to steal the heart from her very chest, but Poe Dameron had done just that. Even as he placed the chain about her neck and kissed her to seal the promise did she think it was possible, but it was. She clutched at the ring that rested near her heart, her fingers wrapping tightly about the band and the significance of what it stood for. Whatever happened, whether it be on Lahsbane or elsewhere, Shay realized that Poe wasn't going anywhere….and he meant it.