"So, what do you want me to do with… that." Poe asked, barely masking his disgust.
General Organa lifted in eyebrow- in amusement or rebuke, Poe wasn't sure. "I want you to take it to Dagobah. To Luke and Rey and Finn. Isn't that where the woman in Finn's vision told you to look?"
"Yes." Poe tried to not sound like a sulking teenager.
"Then you will look there first. Once you deliver the Crystal to them, I need you to return here and ramp up for a rescue mission."
"A rescue mission?"
"Yes. Intel has gathered reports of certain beings being kidnapped from their home worlds- and we suspect the First Order is behind it. A young boy disappeared from his dormitory on Sullust around the time a First Order flighter left the system. A Twi'lek woman was also seen in a market fighting a confirmed Order sympathizer before never showing up to her flight check in with her employer. Not to mention countless other kidnappings happening all over the galaxy that may or not be related. We think the captives are being held on a prison ship floating in subspace somewhere in the outer rim."
Poe nodded- this was a mission he was looking forward too much more that Death Rock Delivery. "Any coordinates or motive?" He asked.
"No. but my- Kylo Ren is on that ship."
Morodè dreamed of her Aunt Angulen. This was not unusual, as the prisoners had little to do other than eat the two meals provided a day, and sleep. Sometimes one or two would be sent to work or clean the kitchens. Antu sometimes sang, or complained loudly to the guards. Sometimes she made up funny commentary of the guard's "Inner thoughts" as she called them to Loken, who laughed a bit. Then the guard would yell at them, and they would be quiet for a while.
Morodè's aunt was a Vodan through and through and she was the one who had taught Morodè and Care all they knew. Angulen had told Morode's mother that though she was a very nice woman, and one with a love for Vodandish fashion, she didn't have the skills to teach the girls traditional tailoring. Thankfully, her mother had laughed and agreed.
In her dream, she was helping her aunt alter a ball gown. It was for one of her Naboon customers- one of the many reasons Aunt Angulen liked her sister in law was the expanded customers she brought her- the girl needed it hemmed for her cities Promenade.
"Ack! Who designed this?" Angulen complained as she lifted the skirt to look at the petticoat. Morodè smiled as she held the fabric up.
"A well-intending Naboon, I'm sure."
"Well-intentioned or not, this slip skirt should have either been given twice as many pleats or not been in here at all. Look! Its clumping all the tulling!"
"I thought you liked tulle!" Care laughed behind them.
"Alone!" their aunt protested. "Not mixed with neosatin or silka!"
"You are wearing it with neosatin right now!" the girls laughed. It was true- Lindtide fashion meant knee length skirts that poofed out a bit, made with pastel neosatins over tulle.
"How do you know I'm wearing tulling?" Angulen asked. "You can't see what's under my neosatin. It could be a durasteel hoop for all you know. Care, could you grab the small pins?"
"Sure."
"You see the ending of this tulling?" Morodè looked to where her aunt pointed, and nodded. "This is flimsitule, they just starched the ends to give it a ring effect. I am wearing Vodand tulling, which is completely starched."
"Ah. The neosatin won't catch the starched end if you cut it, but if you shorten the tulling it will be too soft."
"Exactly. Why would silka be better for skirt then?"
Morodè thought. "Um, its lighter, and the tulle will lift it even if it isn't starched?"
"Exellent- it won't lift it completely, but there will be some volume. I just have to figure out how to keep this dress's volume without stretching it all. Hand me a pin."
Rey looked around in wonder at the planet- it reminded her of Takodana, but this was slightly different. It was darker, for one, and the forest seemed muddier. But it was green and had a warm, wet atmosphere.
"It is humid." Finn agreed ad he walked onto the ramp. Master Skywalker had insisted he land the ship- and Finn could see why. One had to know the dense swamp pretty well to know where to land safely.
Rey touched the ground with her toe, her head tilted in thought. "Is it.. mud?" there were some puddles of it on Takodana and D'Qar, but this mud seamed to cover the entire sphere.
"Yes." Master Skywalker said as he glided down the ramp with R2. He held a pocket torch. "Come along."
Rey and Finn followed, the ramp rising behind them. "I can't believe how well you landed." Rey said respectfully.
"we could have landed anywhere." The Jedi shrugged. "I just wasn't sure if the Falcon could survive being force lifted out of anywhere else."
"Good old hunk of junk." Rey agreed, looking at the ship fondly. Finn smiled- he didn't think she was thinking about the ship.
"Ah ha!" Master Skywalker exclaimed, pointing his torch at a small dome of clay they could just see through the trees. Finn squinted, realizing it was some sort of dwelling.
"This was where Master Yoda lived." The older man explained. "And where I trained."
Morodè hummed along to Antu's singing as she felt the tulle of her underskirt. In Endtide fashion, it was covered by a muted cotton and dark lace over skirt.
"…not so tough just because I'm in love with a Core world girl" Antu sang.
Loken giggled. It almost sounded like Care's.
It was getting warm on the ship- Morodè had abandoned her thick over vest and draped her thin shawl over her shoulders instead.
"…And now she's looking for a mid rim man, that's what I am." Antu continued.
Morodè wondered if it was even still Endtide on Vod- how long had she been gone again?
"Oh, sing another song!" Loken clapped.
It might be Lindtide now, Morodè mused. She wondered if she would miss the entire season- would she see Midtide? And the beautiful brightly colored silka skirts that came with it? Maybe by the time she got back they would all be wearing black lace again.
"Hey! Mo!" Antu said, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"Yeah?"
"You have a song you want to sing? My voice is getting tired."
"I'm a rubbish singer."
"Yeah right, but think: you might be the second-best singer here, so we'd still appreciate you."
Morodè had to smile at that logic, so much like Varatel Lokin's humor. Then she remembered that the First Order had pretended to be related to him to lure her out.
"Oh, could you sing 'Keep on Believing'?" Loken asked.
Morodè plastered a big smile on her face, even if the little boy couldn't see her. "Of course. Let me see, ok. Just a Lothal girl, living on her lonely world…"
Poe sat in the seat of the cargo ship, Dagobah was too far for a one man X-wing to get to without detection, going through the final checklist.
2 weeks of supplies? Check.
Blaster with spare power cartridge? Check.
BB-8? Check
The Second Rock Of Death, safely stored in a small pouch? Check.
All ready to go then.
"Black X, you are cleared for Flight. Black X, you are cleared for flight."
"Copy that."
Poe initiated the takeoff sequence, then left Scarif behind. Setting the computer to autopilot, he stood and stretched. It would take four days to get to Dagobah, he might as well get some sleep- he had been prepping for this mission since after the morning meeting with General Organa, and it was nearly 11 at night, galactic central time. He sighed. All inter-system travel tried to take off and land during the night. It was a bit safer, but giving that planetary times never synched up, it didn't quite sound worth the hassle.
But first…
"BB-8?" he said, turning toward the droid, taking out the pouch with the Death Rock.
Beep-ep beep?
"I want you to hold on to this." He handed it to the droid for storage.
Bee-eep.
"No, it's not because I'm afraid of it!"
One flat, disbelieving beep.
"Fine, whatever. Go plug yourself in, I'm going to bed."
Beep-ee, beep-ee.
"Love you too."
"You can't be afraid." The old woman croaked, looking into Morodè's cell. The tailor looked up in surprise. She thought the others where all asleep now.
"What?'
"Fear, it is an emotion of the dark side. That is what they"- the old woman gestured around them-"need. Power attuned to the dark side, they want us to despair. Don't do it." She sounded earnest, but her voice was gravely and soft.
"But how can we do that, no one's come for us and-"
"Not yet, but I suspect that if Kylo Ren stays with us longer, we will attract attention soon enough."
Morodè sighed. "Maybe." She supposed the entire ship being shot up from resistance fighters would be a better way to go than being a FC or whatever for the Knights of Ren.
"Just listen to yourself, and that other lovely girl in here."
"How's that?"
"Keep on believing."
AN: SO, how do you get around copy right music on this site? make it so all the songs are actually parodies set in universe. cookies for the first people who can guess the 'real' version of the songs.
love yall lots, see ya next time!