Three days after Poe departed for Bespin, The Bespin fleet arrived at the planet D'Qar. They made contact with the orbital force surrounding the planet and maneuvered their fleet into position with the other allied fleets orbiting the planet per given instruction. Once the fleet was settled, they began landing their personnel, including a certain command shuttle that was heading for the planet below.
When the shuttle landed, the ramp immediately descended, and out came strolling a very dapperly dressed Lando Calrissian. And the people to meet him were two landing personnel, one technician, and General Leia Organa herself. Lando's posture immediately relaxed, and he smiled wide. Leia put her hand on her hip. "Glad you could make it, 'Cal." She greeted. Lando half bowed. "For you, Princess, I'd move the stars themselves." He said in an exaggerated tone. Leia rolled her eyes. "That's General to you, Baron." She said in annoyance, as she turned and began to walk away. Lando laughed and walked right with her. "It feels good to be back into the swing of things!" he exclaimed. They soon exited the hangars and walked out into the open area. Lando looked around at the busy folks bustling with supplies. He whistled. "Quite the party you're throwing here, 'General.' Have you got room for a few more?" he asked. Leia kept her eyes forward. "Well, given the circumstances, we aren't exactly eager to turn away a few helping hands. How many'd you bring?" she asked him. Lando continued to take in the scenery. "Two frigates, a couple of corvettes, and two to three squadrons of fighters." He said, then quickly added on: "You'll forgive us, we're not the most militant of planets." He finished. Leia sighed. "We'll take what we can get at this point. We've had several major planetary forces reject our call for aid already, and we're still waiting to hear back from a few more." She explained. Lando nodded. "Facing overwhelming odds, with no guarantee for aid, with an already rather small force. Sounds familiar. Although, I'm not as spry as I used to be, I hope you've got some talented, youthful pilots." He warned. Leia raised her eyebrow and chuckled as they headed for the command center.
The command center was bustling with conversations, but all came to a close as soon as Leia and Lando entered. Lando eyed Poe out of the crowd and gave him a knowing nod before taking a seat. Leia ordered the lights dimmed before activating the holoprojector. "All right everyone. We now have an exact ETA for when to expect The First Order fleet." She started. She pressed a button on the projector, showing a holographic map with red dots heading towards D'Qar. "At their current speed, the fleet will arrive within two to three days. Their arsenal includes half a dozen Star Destroyers, seven Dreadnought-Class starships, and rumors of a Star-System-Class Dreadnought Flagship." She detailed. A quiet hush fell over the entire room. Leia looked around at the subtle fear that was spreading through the crowd. "The good news is, we possess the element of surprise. Thanks to our spies, we've also learned their plan of attack. They mean to drop out of hyperspace right on top of us, aiming to catch us off guard and leave us little time to garner a response. We can use that to our advantage." She explained. She pressed a series of buttons again and a closeup of the planet D'Qar came into view. "If we arrange our combined fleet into a defensive blockade around the planet, we can eliminate a decent amount of their forces before they even know what hit them." she instructed. The hologram shifted to models of The First Order and Resistance fleets. "While they're in the middle of regrouping, we hit them hard, we hit them fast, eliminating the majority of their lower-class vessels. Next, we send our larger starships to draw the attention of the bulkier section of their armada from the front. Simultaneously, we position our smaller vessels and fighter squadrons to flank them to inflict the real damage upon them." She finished. Leia took one last look around the room. "And if the rumors about the Flagship are true, we'll deal with it in a single, coordinated strike. Any questions?" she asked. The entire room was silent. Lando was smiling, while Poe was staring with a sense of awe. Then, one hand shot up from the crowd. Leia pointed at them, and they stood up. "Excuse me General, has there been any news about the other aid requisitions?" they asked. Leia took a breath. "We have yet to hear from the three remaining operators, but we're expecting updates soon. General Chewbacca should be-" she started to say but was interrupted by a frantic C-3P0 entering the building. "Excuse me, General! General! I have terribly wonderful news! It's the Millennium Falcon! Chewbacca has returned with Master Luke!" he wailed. Everyone shot up from their seats and made a mad dash for the door, with 3P0 leading the way. Leia and Lando exchanged looks. "Speak of the devil…" she muttered.
As The Falcon began its landing sequence, Luke looked out of the cockpit to the vast crowd that was forming at the landing zone. He took a deep breath to try and ease his nerves. Although Rey was excited to be back, she noticed his mood change. "Are you nervous?" she asked. He looked at her and lightly smiled. "Not everyone down there is going to be happy to see me." He explained. He looked back out the window. "I know one or two faces that I'll have a lot of explaining to do." He said as The Falcon landed. Chewie barked optimistically and reached over and ruffled Luke's head. Rey smiled at him as he chuckled from the Wookie head pats. "Well, he seems awfully confident." She jested. Luke put up his hood. "All right, let's not keep them waiting." He conceded.
Chewbacca headed down first. He was greeted by cheering and applause as he repeatedly fist pumped the air. He was patted on the back by a few of his own men, as well as some of the Wookie soldiers and generals. One general approached Chewie, and each of them wrapped one hand around to the back of the other's head, then pressed their foreheads together. A sign of respect, of more than simple brotherhood. R2 was next. He played a victory jingle, which was followed by laughter and more cheering. He disappeared into the crowd to seek out 3P0. Then Rey descended. The fanfare was there, but not as much as the previous two. Rey didn't mind, crowds had never been her strong suit. And lastly, then came Luke, and everyone turned dead silent. Not one soul made a sound as the hooded figure descended from the platform. All eyes were starstruck by this legendary figure as he slowly made his way through the path in the crowd. All, save for one set that made Luke stop in his tracks. At the entrance of the crowd towered General Leia with her arms crossed. The crowd looked back from her to Luke, unsure of what to do. It was only when Leia lifted her arm, and made a simple gesture with her hand, that the crowd dispersed and returned to their posts, with a few watching from afar. The tension was as thick as smog in the air, both parties staring each other down. "Luke" she said coldly. "Leia" he responded carefully. The standoff could've possibly lasted hours, if not for one interloper: "Master Luke! Master Luke! You have returned!" 3P0 wailed, waddling as fast as his mechanical legs would carry him. "I just knew it! You've always come back for us! Everyone had voiced their doubts, but not I! No! I always knew that you would- Oh my heavens, what's happened to your face?! Why, it looks like the underside of a Wampa's furry arse!" he fretted. Luke lowered his head and let out a laugh, stroking his beard. "As always, it's good to see you 3P0." He said, pulling back his hood, smiling. Even Leia stifled a laugh. 3P0, however, wasn't quite done. "Master Luke, you look absolutely dreadful! Whatever groomer that's been taking care of you has done an utmost terrible job! Who are they?! Why, I ought to give them a piece of my mind! I-" he looked Luke up and down once more, then made a robotic sigh. "Oh, It is so good to see you again, sir." he said, voice-box full of emotion. Luke stepped forward to embrace him, patting him on the back. "You too, pal." He whispered. Leia came walking forward. "Well… I suppose it is good to see you. But you've got a lot of explaining to do." she said demandingly. Luke looked at her and nodded. "Of course, and I think you'll find my answers to be satisfactory." he said confidently. Leia motioned for them to follow her. "They better be. After that incident on Tython, I trust Goldilocks more with reliable intel." She recalled. Luke threw up his hands. "Hey, come on now! I said I was sorry for that!" he said defensively. Leia kept her eyes forward. "It seems sorry's all you're good for." she said coldly. Luke leaned in close. "Hey, now that's no way to talk to your big brother." He said teasingly. Leia gave out an exasperated look. "Oh please, you're only older than me by thirty-four seconds, get over yourself!" she exclaimed. Luke laughed out hard.
Rey didn't realize how tired she was until she found that her old quarters were occupied by someone else. She breathed out a sigh and made her way to the Administrative building. She entered to find the staff at the front desk helping out the last of their visitors for the day. She nervously gripped the strap of her staff as she waited in line. A man in a leather jacket started to help people in line in order to speed up the process. Eventually, he came over to her. "Excuse me, miss with the polearm, I can help you over here. What do you need?" he asked. Rey was unused to being called on, so she struggled to stammer out a response. "I… uh, I just… uh, I need… uh, I mean, I would like… erm." She stuttered nervously. She stamped her feet in frustration, "Quarters! I-I need quarters." she said sheepishly. The man smiled. "No problem. If you'll just follow me…" he said as he led her over to the desk. He accessed some files on a monitor and began reading what was available. "C-32-B. Right this way." He said.
She followed him across the courtyard. He turned to look back at her. "I think you'll like these. It has some decent space, plus it's reasonably away from any other occupied rooms, so you'll be able to get some peace and quiet." He told her. The idea of peace and quiet seemed almost like it was too good to be true. They arrived at the room, Rey entered and looked around. Reasonably dim lights, with an average sized living space, and a compact but not outright claustrophobic bed next to the wall. The man leaned against the doorframe. "What's the verdict?" he asked. Rey set down her staff and her bags, sat down on the bed, and looked around again. She slowly nodded. "I like them." She nearly whispered. The man smiled and subtly fist pumped. "Alright! I knew I had a gift for reading people. So, breakfast is at 0600 hours and ends at 0800, lunch is at 1200 and ends at 1400, supper is at 1900 and ends at 2100. You have a bathroom in your room, so no wait times. After all the complaints from last time…" he detailed. He shook his head. "Uh… sorry, sidetracked. Do you need anything else?" he asked her. Rey racked her brain; her mind was a fog from everything that's happened today. All she wanted to do was go to sleep. But then she remembered, and she mentally chided herself for nearly forgetting. "Yes, actually. Um… I have a friend that was injured the last time I was here. His name is Finn, do you know anything about his condition?" she asked. The man regarded her for a moment, and then proceeded to rub his temple while laughing to himself. Rey was taken aback, what precisely did he find amusing about that? The man brought his hand down. "I am so sorry, it has been such a long day, I didn't even recognize you. You must be Rey." He explained. He approached her and held out his hand. "I'm Poe. Poe Dameron." He stated. She nodded as she took his hand. "Right, right! You were there when we put the map together." She recalled. Poe nodded. "Right, right. Sorry we never got properly introduced, things have gotten real hectic around here. I've heard a lot about you, mostly from Finn." He said. Rey blinked. "Really?" she asked, rather bewildered. Poe smiled. "Yeah, hah! Y'know sometimes, the guy can't shut up about you." He joked. Rey laughed awkwardly. He talked about her? At length? Poe patted his leg anxiously. "Anyways, yeah, he's doing well. So well, in fact, that he decided that he wants to undergo some operation that'll let him join the fight." He said. Rey's posture shot up in attention. "What? It's been only a week; shouldn't he still be resting?" she asked with concern. Poe scratched the back of his head. "Well, the bacta treatments he's been getting have more or less completely healed his upper body, the operation is so he can use his legs. The doc said he'll be fine. And besides…" he said, pointing to his pilot badge while flashing a grin. "I'm one of the best pilots in the fleet, and we've managed to put together one beast of a fighter that's meant for two. I'll keep him safe and sound." He bragged. Rey's composure relaxed a little. She nodded her head. "I see." She looked up at him. "Thank you, Poe. Finn is lucky to have a friend like you looking after him." she said solemnly. Poe smiled and nodded. "Good thing now you're here, cause now he's got two." He said. Rey nodded reluctantly. Poe regarded her for a moment. "Alright, I oughta let you get some sleep. It has been way too long a day." He said. Rey smiled and nodded as Poe turned and left. After the door closed, she lied down on her side, and thought about how the people she cared about might view her now.