Close to Me {Poe Dameron}

thirty-one

"We still need to be alert. Don't let your guard down." Finn said before he started off after the troopers.

Blaster fire once more filled the room and the hallway as the remaining First Order commanding officers of the base tried to protect it. Shouts mixed in with the sounds of blasters going off, especially as the Resistance members were finally able to surround the First Order officers.

"Jess and Artoo, go ahead and start on those computers. Gather all intel you can. Finn and Jannah, speak to the ones who helped us and see what more you can find out. The rest of us, let's move these bodies. Those injured try to stop the bleeding before we carry them to the transport." Poe ordered.

A chorus of 'yes, sir' met his ears and he let out a relieved sigh. None of his people were injured. Despite their initial setbacks things seemed to be going their way now. He knew things weren't going to be Dantooine easy but he hoped that what awaited them would at least be calmer than the fight at this base was. He was actually ready to set down his blaster for a while, fly just to fly, spend an actual evening together with Kat that didn't have a threat of interruption clouding their time together. If anything this firefight just showed him how ready he was for things to finally and truly be over.

✧☆✧

"If we leave directly after this meeting, we'll be able to keep on track," Connix said as she walked alongside Kat.

"While that sounds great. We don't really have a timeline. How we wrote things out was wishful thinking at best. Is the other team moving along pretty fast?" Kat asked, knowing their plans were truly wishful thinking in trying to create moments that they could work together on the same planet so that they weren't separated for too long. It all depended on what each planet needed, however, especially for Kat and her team.

"They just sent their second transport although it apparently wasn't the easiest stop. Everyone is fine though despite a few firefights."

Kat nodded. "I hope they don't run into too many of those." As they approached the small group they were meeting she then leaned closer to Connix. "If they don't need our help after we go over things, we can definitely leave after the meeting, if not, we'll stay behind for as long as they need us."

Ultimately only Kat, Norra, C-3PO, and those who Norra chose to be the best for taking charge were welcomed into the conference room they chose to meet in. Kare and Connix helped to send those who were allegiant to the First Order back to Ajan Kloss while Rose sat out in the hallway with the others of Norra's crew, the two other droids, and Beaumont.

"Do you think they'll all be like this?" Beaumont asked.

Rose shrugged. "I don't know. I think it depends on where everyone's at. Since they've got Norra, they're probably farther along than others. Besides, Kat's got more of a background in all of this out of everyone. She'll make sure everything's okay before we leave."

"Yeah, I don't doubt that. Just thought I'd be doing a little more."

Rose rolled her eyes a bit before looking over at him. "This is only our first planet and trust me, Kat's gonna put ya to work."

And put people to work she did. After the meeting on Akiva, they felt more than confident they could carry out Kat's plan on their own so with an exchange of comm numbers, Kat and her team set off for their next destination. On their way to each new planet, they all discussed what they knew of the planet's history and what had been communicated to them about their current needs. With Lothal they didn't have to spend too much extra time there but with Garel, it put them behind a little bit.

Garel still needed to be truly liberated. The rocky, mountainous planet hadn't known true freedom since the Empire. Kat's team went in expecting a fight and a fight they got. Since there wasn't a true base on the planet, Kat had taken it as a part of her journey through the galaxy. There wasn't a true First Order presence either. It was mainly sympathizers and smugglers.