True to Dara's word, General Organa summoned Poe to give him the mission of taking Dara to her uncle. She revealed to him the location of the planet he had been holed up on for years and gave him the co-ordinates. He had authorisation to take their best passenger vessel. It was large enough to carry about ten people, with a nice passenger hold and beds. He supposed they'd need them. Their journey was going to be several days long. Finn had been over the moon to find out he was finally going to re-join Rey and had packed what little clothes he had (a lot of it given to him by Poe) and had rushed to the passenger ship. Dara had shown up with little to no possessions, dressed practically with her hair tied back tightly as it always was these days. BB-8 was with its master as always and was waiting eagerly to take off and see Rey again. Finn, bless him, was making pleasant conversation with Dara. She was responding shyly, but kindly at least. He was glad his two friends could play nicely together.
It was the night of the second day of their journey to the distant planet where Luke Skywalker was located. Poe sat up in the cockpit, his feet resting up on the console, his arms crossed, as he sat back and stared out at the stars whilst the others slept. Watching the stars fly past him so fast had become a comforting sight. He hadn't slept at all whilst on this journey. He knew he'd have to eventually, but he was aware he was the only actual pilot on this ship. If something went wrong he needed to be able to react and take care of it. It didn't stop him from dozing off now though. He was dog-tired. He closed his eyes, just for a second, just to give them a break. BB-8 would let him know if anything needed his attention. Before long he was out like a light snoozing in his chair. Sleep did not take him to a peaceful place. He was strapped onto a cold metal table. His head hurt and he thought he could feel dried blood on his forehead. The masked monster Kylo Ren paced in front of him. Poe stared forward defiantly, not willing to give up the information without a fight. Then he felt the assault on his mind. The sheer pain of it made him scream in agony. He could feel Kylo Ren clawing at his mind, tearing asunder his thoughts and memories, searching for the information he wanted.
He awoke with a start, and almost fell from the chair. Dara sat beside him, looking worried.
"Are you okay? You were talking in your sleep…" Poe's heart was racing. The dream had felt so real. It had felt as though he was back there on Star Killer Base.
"I hope I didn't say anything incriminating." he joked, but his heart wasn't in it. She looked no less concerned. "I'm fine. I promise."
"You haven't slept since we left, Poe. I think you should get some rest." He took his first proper look at her. Her long white hair was down around her shoulders again, and she had a pillow mark on her left cheek. She was bare-footed and wearing a long flowing top with dark comfy looking pants. She looked perfect. He couldn't help but smile a little bit. It was a reminder to him that she was still human despite her being a jedi.
"Did I wake you?" She gave a small nod, and avoided his gaze. She curled her feet up on the chair and hugged one of her knees.
"Don't worry, Finn is still sleeping. I think he's a heavy sleeper."
"I'm sorry. Just… a funny dream is all. I'm okay."
"You're not. I can sense your distress." He had a sharp comeback in mind for that comment, but he bit his tongue. It wouldn't do to be rude. And he wouldn't mean it.
"It's just a bad dream, Dara. Nothing to worry about." She looked sceptical and looked as though she was about to push him to tell her. A tactical retreat sounded like a better plan than going through his torment step by step with Dara, whose father had been slaughtered by the same man who had tortured Poe. "I think I'll take your advice. Get some sleep. BB-8. Wake me if anything happens."
He beat a hasty retreat to the room Finn was sleeping in. His gentle snores were endearing. Poe shed his jacket and kicked off his boots. He climbed into the bed across from Finn and pulled the blanket high up around his face. This had been a good idea. It didn't take long for Poe to drift off to sleep. Not particularly peaceful, however. He was haunted at every turn by a dark character in a hood with the power to make his brain bleed. But there were less harrowing dreams too. He dreamt of Dara, her long hair blowing in a breeze. He dreamt of her being happy and laughing. He dreamt of Finn. He dreamt of Finn being happy and in love. Just not with Rey. Things got a little bit hazy when Dara popped into that dream too. Suffice to say, that after a time, he had an excellent night's sleep.