hyperspace! → star wars ✓

iii. the escape

⋆☆.* ✧✰ .✦⋆*☆

NOVA WAS BEYOND NERVOUS, to say the least. Something about walking around a First Order Star Destroyer in a Stormtrooper uniform brought her a great deal of unease, and that wasn't even the worst part. They were about to make an escape attempt in the main hangar, and they didn't exactly have a solid plan. How did one exactly operate a TIE Fighter? What if it was harder to figure out than originally estimated? What if there were security measures in place to stop unsanctioned takeoffs? What if—

She stopped herself there as they turned into the hangar, not only to keep her focus on the mission, but also to avoid making herself even more nervous. One of Nova's strong suits was that she was incredibly cool under pressure, and that she could work well in high-stress situations—it was what made her such a good fighter. It wasn't that she was worried she'd mess up if she was too nervous, because she wouldn't, but she had enough to worry about as it was, she didn't want to add even more things to that list.

"Okay," murmured the Trooper from beside her as they walked briskly through the hangar.
"Stay calm, stay calm."

"I am calm," Poe replied quietly.

"Yeah, me too," Nova added.

"I was talking to myself." Nova smirked to herself at that; as strange as it sounded, his nervousness was comforting to her. It told her that he was serious, and that he knew what he was getting himself into.

"Where are we going?" she whispered.
"There's the TIEs right over there."

"Not yet," the Trooper said. They walked for a moment more.
"Okay, go, this way." They turned to the left, quickening their pace as they neared the Fighters.

"Never thought I'd be grateful to see these," commented Nova as they climbed the stairs.

"Go in this one." The Trooper gestured to the second Fighter up the ladder, and as she boarded it, they boarded the one above it. Nova lowered herself into the seat (wincing a great deal as she did so), then immediately removed her helmet.

"Finally," she sighed.
"How the hell does anyone ever see outta these helmets, anyway?" She heard Poe laugh from the other end of the comlink—which they had retrieved from the guard Trooper, who had apparently been holding those as well as Nova's weapons. The pair had decided to keep the channel open as they flew in separate units.

"I always wanted to fly one of these things," he said, mostly to himself. Then, to the Trooper:
"Can ya shoot?"

"Blasters, I can!" Nova heard him call to the pilot. She fired up the ship and began to get a feel for the controls as Poe talked his gunner through the process of using the onboard firing system.
"This is very complicated," he murmured, and Nova—now grinning with excitement and the rush of adrenaline—chuckled.

"You ready, Dameron?" she called through the comlink.

"Hell yeah I am." And with that, his TIE shot off, hers following closely behind...but there was a problem. Each of their ships had a cable attached to it.

"Shit!"

"I can fix this!"

"When ya find out, let me know!" There was silence over the com channel as they both struggled to release their Fighters. Their Trooper fired frantically, though it seemed to do some proper damage. Then, almost in unison, both pilots managed to figure out how to release their Fighters.