Star Wars IX- Balance Of The Force

Chapter 4 - Colonel Poe Dameron

Colonel Poe Dameron sat in the base's main room of operations on Ealor. The place is dark as there are few windows due to the station being hunkered low into the earth. There are lights above, though they only give off a dim yellow glow. The primary source of light comes from the computers and screens scattered around where a few Resistance officers sit quietly sending and receiving messages, checking stock and backing up systems.
Poe sits with his elbows on the main round, holo table his head resting in his hands as he scratches at his head. Commander D'Arcy has just given him new intelligence that has come in from their source on the Supremacy- Kira. Supreme Leader Kylo Ren had left the ship with his Knights for Fondor. There was a long ongoing conflict on Fondor, which was causing issues for the First Order in terms of restocking weapons and equipment. The Resistance was using the fray to restock theirs. Poe was pondering over the intelligence he'd received. Could this be an opportunity worth taking, and if it was, how would they take it?

Poe was positive that the removal of Supreme Leader Kylo Ren would not magically make the war end. The removal of the last Supreme Leader had not affected the First Orders' directive; there were too many other high-ranking officers who wanted a similar outcome. General Hux, in particular, was far too invested and, if anything, the predominant threat. He may not be the formidable Force wielder or head of the First Order that Kylo Ren was, but he was a strategist and still had the entire First Order at his command. Unlike Kylo, Hux would never personally put himself in a position of conflict. He was not a fighter; he was a coward who valued his life too much, but that made him dangerous. Hux had reportedly brought about his own father's demise and had been responsible for the idea of Starkiller base and the destruction of the New Republic. Sources said he was intelligent, insane and power-hungry — a psychotic coward with an army behind him. Poe sighed. The enemy seemed to be never-ending. Snoke was gone, but the First Order remained. How were they to defeat them? Thankfully, dealing with the First Order and Kylo Ren wasn't Poe's responsibility alone. Others within the Republic and Resistance would make those decisions with him- Leia, Calrissian, Nunb, Statura, Ematt, Finn and others. Poe would carry out their wishes.

The thought and even mention of Kylo Ren made Poe shudder, a consequence of his capture. Poe's memories of Kylo's power, the mental pain he'd caused, and what Kylo had learnt as he had callously rifled through Poe's mind. Poe knew Kylo had found more than just information useful to the downfall of the Resistance. Poe's secrets, sacred family memories and most profound fears had all flitted across his mind's eye as Kylo had rummaged around indiscriminately. However, Poe had to remind himself as the new leader of the Resistance, he could not make this personal. Leia trusted him. He'd learnt from his mistakes to be better than the pilot she'd taken under her wing. She'd groomed him for command, and he would not let her, the Republic or the Resistance down. It was a heavy burden. He now understood Leia's actions in slapping him and demoting him. Being in charge meant making the tough decisions, not being the hero, and it was hard. Jumping in an X-Wing and blowing something up wasn't. It was easy in comparison, and he missed it.

The sound of light footsteps approaching interrupted Poe's thoughts. He raised his head, looked toward the noise, and saw Rey. His mood instantly lightened. He liked her. He had hoped on finally spending some time with her following the rescue on Crait that there might be more, that they could be more. Finn had never shut up about her once he'd recovered from his injuries on Starkiller Base, and Leia obviously thought highly of her as she'd sent her to bring her brother back from hiding. She was slight but surprisingly robust, and he was impressed by her Force sensitivity and loyalty. They had only spoken in passing before she'd gone to Ahch-To about Finn mostly. Despite knowing her so little, he'd noticed she was different since Ahch-To, distant somehow. They'd still talked a lot since Crait, even trained together, both on the ground and in the sky. She was a good pilot, a decent shot with a blaster and lethal with that staff of hers. Poe had a few bruises to show for it, but he'd long since given up attempting to train with her. She was too skilled, he didn't challenge her sufficiently, and he'd become increasingly busy with his official duties. Since their reunion on Crait, she'd also managed to engineer her own lightsaber. In keeping with her natural fighting style, Rae had created it in a long-handled staff form. He'd wanted to go with her to Ilum to get the kyber crystal she needed; the lightsaber she had been using had split, and the crystal shattered. She wouldn't say how. To see such a place of history and legend was a thing of dreams, but with Leia rebuilding the Republic and Resistance, he'd had to step up, so he couldn't go with her. She'd come back with what she needed and had sat for weeks pouring over these old books with Chewie and Rose, taking the old lightsaber apart, analysing it and then recreating it in a new way- into her staff saber. It was cool he didn't mind admitting brilliant purple light from both ends of the handle, creating a dual-blade weapon. Watching her spinning it about was like seeing the stories his parents had told him as a kid come to life. Who'd have thought I'd know a Jedi? See one train, train with one. It was a privilege. However, as she'd enhanced herself, whatever hopes he had for them had dwindled. Her disassociation with others was not out of choice but of nature. Who she was becoming was so different from everyone around her, and it made her distant somehow, remote and reserved. This morning, she looked burdened; the circles around her eyes had been getting darker over the last few weeks. She looked tired, and she carried herself differently, like something invisible was weighing her down.

"Morning," he offered, trying to sound cheerful. He had come to some sort of decision regarding the Intel he'd received, and he would need her help.

She smiled at him. It was an enchanting smile in a lovely face, he thought to himself, and she meant it genuinely. Even burdened, she was still understatedly beautiful, and due to her natural disposition, she was always so easy to smile, but it didn't quite reach her eyes anymore. Unlike the Jedi of old, these detached religious knights, aloof to be admired from afar, Rey had attachments and friends. Compassion was part of who she was, but whatever was troubling her, she was keeping it to herself.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Just tired," she said with an attempt at a reassuring smile as she sat next to him. She liked Poe; he was roguishly good-looking- dark wavy hair and a handsome face. Incredibly charming with an easy devilish smirk of a smile and boundless energy or he had until leading the Resistance had been passed to him. He reminded her of Han a lot. He was a talker, confident and often cocky, but then he was older than her, Finn and Rose. Maybe that was why he possessed such qualities. He was experienced within the Resistance as a pilot and fighter, but also in his life experiences. The places he'd been, the people he'd met and the things he'd seen. If Leia hadn't known his parents as a child, she wondered if he would've ended up where he was- a Resistance leader. She could easily imagine him as a smuggler or a bounty hunter, swindling people the way Han had with that smooth-talking mouth of his that could wrangle its way out of any situation or at least try to. Maybe that was why Leia liked him so much.

He looked at her quizzically, clearly concerned by what he saw. She knew she looked tired. The dreams were relentless, and she had to do something about it. She felt unbalanced, agitated, like she needed to run. The Force wanted her to do something, but it wasn't talking to Poe. She needed to speak to Ben, to see Ben. She'd attempted to reopen their connection over the last few weeks when the dream had become regular but had got nothing, just a sense of him, nothing more. He was maintaining a closed mind to her, but his dark presence was causing peaks in the Force that she could feel, and she knew that meant something.

Poe decided not to push her. If she wanted to talk to him, she would.

"Me too. Look, I'm glad you're here, we've had some Intel, and I think you might help resolve it if you're up for it?"

A chance to do something, be useful. Maybe fight, maybe fly. She didn't care as long as it meant a change to the current situation of training here on Ealor and not sleeping.

"Yeah. What's the Intel?" she asked eagerly.

Poe took a breath. He knew how Rey didn't like to talk about Kylo Ren. She always went silent, staring at the floor whenever Kylo Ren came up. He knew they had very different ideas about him. According to Rey, Kylo Ren had killed Snoke himself, and Rey insisted, despite everything, that he had never hurt her. If only Poe could say the same; he couldn't see Kylo Ren the same way Rey did, so he had become a mute topic of conversation.

"Supreme Leader Kylo Ren is reportedly flying to Fondor with just his Knights to deal with the conflict there. Whether the conflict continues isn't the issue, but this could be a real opportunity for us."

Rey took a moment. Not alone, but not with an army. She knew very little about the Knights of Ren, no more than anyone else did. The Knights were Force-sensitive, not as naturally predisposed to the Force as Ben or herself. Padawans from Master Luke's training temple, who'd gone with Ben after he'd destroyed it. A dozen had gone, but she wasn't sure if that many still existed.

"What do you want me to do?" she said, looking directly at Poe.

"Go to Fondor. There are Resistance members there, native inhabitants who rose up against the First Order. Help them. You'll go alone in an X-Wing. I don't want to risk any fighters or pilots unnecessarily. Stop Kylo."

Poe had deliberately not said to kill him. He wasn't sure how well that would go down with anyone, actually. The Supreme Leader was Leia's son, after all. Leia and Rey insisted there was still good in him, light, and he knew Leia, in particular, wanted her son home.

"Capture him if you can. If you do, there are shuttles on the planet you can come back in. Take R2. If you capture him, R2 can return the X-Wing without you," he added.

Rey knew this wouldn't be easy, but this was what she'd wanted, what the Force seemed to be willing her to do, a chance to see him in person. She had questions, and she needed answers, and there was no one else to ask, and with his mind closed to her in person was her only option. This was her only option.

"Okay," she said firmly. "When do I leave?