"I believe a congratulations is in order," Kat said, smiling out at the Resistance. Cheers greeted her as the group erupted in applause.
"We certainly have plenty to celebrate. We defied the impossible and won the war. I am not the only one who will thank you for your hard work and dedication to the light. The galaxy will as well." She placed a hand over her heart as she silently thanked all those before her.
"Just because the war is done does not mean the fight is over. We have First Order bases to shut down, planets to help rebuild, and a Republic to restore. I'm not asking you all to stay but if you feel inclined to see this all the way through I," she motioned to Poe and Finn standing on either side of her, "we would be eternally grateful. For those who wish to rest, please do. Go back home, rest, see where you can help there and if you need our help, do let us know and we will be there."
"What are you planning on doing with Kylo Ren?" Someone shouted.
Kat knew it was coming. The one question she was dreading. Her answer could determine how many actually stayed behind to help them finish out their fight. She took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders, getting ready for whatever happened next. "Ben Solo took on the name Kylo Ren after Snoke and ultimately Palpatine manipulated him to the point where he thought he could not leave, leading -"
"He killed Han Solo and countless others!" Another person shouted, interrupting her.
She whirled in the direction the shout came from, anger flashing in her eyes as her protective streak shot through her. "I am well aware of his crimes!"
Murmurs began to circulate as Kat tried to reign herself in once more to address the crowd. Some of the murmurs were questioning the young woman while others were defending. Poe could see the disappointment in herself after her small outburst. They may be fighting but he knew if the roles were reversed, she would still support him. So he took her hand in his and brought it up to kiss the back of it.
Her eyes softened the moment she felt the contact. She turned to face him, giving him a small smile. As he lowered her hand back down, she gave it a small squeeze, fully expecting him to let go but he never did. It gave her the strength she needed to continue.
She turned back to face the crowd, her usual stoic expression back in place. "Han and Leia," she paused, shaking her head. If she was to win people over, she couldn't remain an arm's length away from this. She took a deep breath and opened her heart for all to see.
"My parents died trying to get their son, my brother back from the dark side, from the First Order, from Palpatine's and Snoke's grasp. As Kylo Ren, I know he committed some awful crimes. But if our parents were willing to give up their lives in order to bring Ben Solo back, then I'm not going to let their deaths be in vain. Ben Solo will be punished. Have no doubt about that. Just because he is my brother, does not mean that I have forgiven him for all that he has done or that I will be lenient with him. He will be placed under house arrest with no privileges. Through a series of bi-monthly assessments, they will determine when he gets those privileges back."
The crowd once more talked amongst themselves before someone called out. "What do the other generals think?"
Finn stepped up to stand more at Kat's side. "The level of detail that General Metonae has put into this plan of punishment is just as much detail of any plan of attack she has created against the First Order. These assessments that Solo will be assigned will be modeled after the assessments any Stormtrooper who now shows their desire to defect from the First Order will be given. These assessments are meant to detail their growth and to make sure that they truly denounce First Order ways. I believe this is the best punishment based on the circumstances General Metonae has previously stated."
"We would have not let General Metonae present this idea to you if we did not agree with it beforehand. Leia once told me: you don't have to agree with every detail but you have to trust that every detail was thought through and that the plan presented is the best option. If there is no trust in your leader, we will never move forward. The quicker you learn that the better off you will be, trust me." Poe said, turning to smirk at Kat a little.
Kat smiled at him, giving his hand a squeeze. "Thank you," she then turned to Finn, "both of you."
Finn gave Kat's shoulder a squeeze as he smiled back at her. "We have your back." He then turned back to the group. "For those who still wish to continue the fight, we'll reconvene here in thirty. For those who wish to go back home, we wish you safe travels, and may the force be with you."
"So we need to pull up the map and then add the data that D'Acy pulled before splitting up the group that has decided to stay between those who will be going to the First Order bases and then those who will be helping rebuild governments," Kat said once the group dispersed.
"I'll get that going then," Finn said, figuring he would leave the couple to possibly discuss things.
They didn't get a chance to, for Wes called out Kat's name just as Poe opened his mouth to speak. Kat turned back around to face Poe from where she had looked to see who had called her and gave him an apologetic look before kissing his temple.
Poe watched as she hurried over and then immediately got caught up in whatever Wes was telling her. Whatever she was reading on the datapad made her excited. She bounced, actually bounced on the balls of her feet. He would have laughed, as Wes currently was if it had been him to make her that excited. He wondered what she had Wes work on for her.
"You know, green's not really your color," Zorii commented as she approached Poe from behind.
"I don't know what you're talking about." He said, looking over at her.
She just laughed, shaking her head. "Whatever you say, Dameron."
"You heading out?" He asked, changing the subject, definitely not wanting to talk about things between him and Kat with Zorii.
She nodded. "This isn't really my scene. Figured I'd leave all the fighting to you."
"Well, thank you for coming to fight on Exegol. I'm glad you and Babu Frik made it out alive. I'm sorry about the others."
Zorii shrugged. "I'll see you around I guess."
"May the force be with you, Zorii."
"Yeah, you too, Dameron." She said as she walked off.
✧☆✧
"Kat!" Wes called, coming over, datapad in hand just as Poe was about to tell her something.
She knew that it was Wes but still looked over her shoulder to confirm her suspicions. Seeing that he had the datapad with him, she knew that he either had questions or wanted to let her know his thoughts. Kat turned back to face Poe, apologetic for being pulled away but then again if he was going to try to talk to her about earlier then she was grateful for the distraction. She gave his hand one last squeeze and kissed his temple before going to meet Wes halfway.
"So I have good news and bad news," Wes said as he handed over the datapad.
"Tell me the good news first."
"I think I can go ahead and help you get started with the Galactic Courts. There's a building on Naboo that I can get cleaned up. It was used as a court before but it's been a little forgotten about but I think it could work."
Kat thought it over before smiling at him, bouncing on the balls of her feet at the thought. "Yes, that could work perfectly. You could maybe even help pass the word along that we're looking for some new judges. I'm thinking fifteen."
Wes chuckled, nodding his head. "I can do that. Now I'm wishing I had given you the bad news first."
She deflated a little, preparing herself for what he was about to say.
"You have a lot of work to do." He said, giving her the datapad back.
She rolled her eyes as she took. "No shit. I was fully aware of that."
"Kat, I'm serious. This is huge. I like where you're headed but there's still plenty of work to be done."
She sighed, looking over to where she left Poe only to see him speaking with someone she didn't know. She stiffened a little as she watched how they interacted with a mixture of familiarity and distance.
"Who is that?" Wes asked, breaking her from her thoughts.
She turned to look back at her friend, trying to keep her expression neutral. "I'm not sure exactly." She then brought the datapad up to start looking through their notes. "Are there any questions you had that I can maybe answer now?"
He shook his head. "I actually need to leave soon, Kat."
Her face fell as she looked back up at him. "What?"
"I knew you missed me." He smirked at her, earning him a small shove on his shoulder. "The senate's calling me back. I'll get to work on the courthouse and when you start working through things, you can still call me. I want to help out however I can."
She gave a small sigh and nodded before wrapping him in an embrace.
"Hey, look at that I don't have to steal one this time." He continued to joke with her, referencing their goodbye before Kat left to join the Resistance.
"Be careful and I'll talk to you soon. Maybe I'll even stop by for a visit." She said as she pulled back.
"I won't say no to seeing you or even your pilot over there." He sent a wink Poe's way over Kat's shoulder.
"Will you stop it?" Kat shook her head. "You're gonna make a not-great situation worse."
"Yeah, what's up with that? You gonna make it better?"
"There's a lot going on right now but eventually, yeah. But didn't you say you were being called back? You're not in a very big rush if you were."
Wes laughed and pulled her in for another hug. "Bye, love. I'll see you soon and may the force be with you."
Kat rolled her eyes and hugged him once more. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Now get outta here, you pain in my ass."
Wes grinned as he walked backwards from her. "You love my ass."
"Goodbye, Wes!" She shook her head with a laugh, turning to head back to the main part of the command center.
Finn led most of the next meeting. The three generals were surrounded by at least half of who all fought in the Battle of Exegol and it certainly was a little more than Kat had expected. She watched as Poe and Finn discussed taking down each of the First Order bases and the path they would take as they went around the galaxy. Every time she and Poe would lock eyes, however, he would quickly divert his gaze and continue his part of the briefing. There was something else going on because the tension she now felt didn't compare to earlier.
With their portion of the plan over, Kat stepped up and pulled up a different layer to the map they were using. "As Generals Finn and Dameron previously stated we'll be splitting off into two different sections. Those who will be following me will also be working with Commander Tico. When we were leaving Exegol, we began to get word of multiple uprisings throughout the galaxy. Mine and Commander Tico's section will be going to these various planets and helping them with rebuilding their government, giving them democracy back while also recruiting them to join the latest version of the Republic. I can't give you many details on what that looks like right now as I'm still working those out. Once I know more, I will share it with all of you. Please sign up with Lieutenant Connix for which section you would like to work with. Do so by the end of the day because we start at 0900 tomorrow. And thank you for being willing to continue the fight."
She turned the map off before making her way to her room. She wanted to read over Wes's notes and start really getting into the details of her side of the rebuilding efforts. She should really thank Finn for separating things because she had started preparing herself for all three of the plans they had discussed with the remaining members of the Resistance.
Poe followed her. She knew he had. She could feel him boring a hole in her back but she certainly wasn't going to say anything until he did.
Rose came up next to Finn, watching as their friends headed towards the barracks of the base. "Do you know what's going on with those two?" She asked him.
Finn chuckled. "Poe apparently asked Kat to move in with him and she ran off."
Rose shook her head. "I'll talk with her because that," she motioned towards where Poe and Kat had stopped to argue in the middle of the path, "will probably not be productive."
"Yeah, you're probably right. Should I expect to be sleeping alone tonight then?"
She let out a small sigh. "Maybe."
"Then here's to hoping they figure it out." He said, making them both laugh.
✧☆✧
"So who exactly is Wes to you?" Poe finally asked after he realized she wasn't going to say anything.
Kat let out a groan and turned to face him. "Don't start this." She warned him, hoping he would actually listen. She knew this would happen eventually but she really didn't want to have this conversation either, especially when he had nothing to worry about when it came to Wes.
"Start what? He calls you love, Kat. What am I supposed to think?" He clearly wasn't going to listen.
"You were called spice runner and then looked pretty friendly with a person wearing a gold helmet. What am I supposed to think about that?" She countered just as someone walked through the small space in between them.
When he didn't immediately respond, she just rolled her eyes and continued on her way. Poe groaned in frustration before hurrying after her. "That was Zorii. My contact from Kijimi. She called me spice runner because that's what she knew me as. I went undercover for the New Republic Defense Fleet before joining the Resistance." He explained causing her to stop once more to look at him.
She watched his face closely and when she determined that he was telling her the truth, she let out a small sigh. "Wes is the only other real friend I have outside of those I've made here besides Darby. He's my contact from Naboo. He saved me in more ways than one while I was there and he's the most annoying person you will ever meet but he's someone you want on your team every single time."
"He saved you?" He still didn't know how to feel about their closeness. The only thing she really questioned was him being called spice runner. But how she talked about Wes and how they were at odds with each other throughout the entire day made him worried.
She nodded. "Got me out of a POW camp, watched my six while we fought in the riots, stopped unwanted advances when I was a little too drunk, made sure I got home okay when we went out." She gave a small shrug. She knew she hadn't exactly shared a whole lot about her time on Naboo. Those four years she deemed the dark years and didn't like talking about them much. She was a complete mess and Wes had been the only one who had stuck around after everything.
"You were a POW?"
Kat grimaced, looking down at her feet, and nodded. "I'm not ready to really talk about that yet." She took a deep breath before looking back up at Poe. "I swear you don't have to worry about him."
Poe nodded, looking down at his feet this time, licking at his bottom lip. "Can I ask you one last question?"
This was it. She was sure of it. He was going to finally ask her about this morning and she honestly wasn't sure how she was going to answer him. "Yes."
"What are we doing?" He asked, looking up at her.
The question threw her a bit. It wasn't exactly what she was expecting. "We're working towards rebuilding the Republic."
He shook his head. "I meant us, Kat. What are we doing?"
Tears started pooling in her eyes, knowing that this would probably be their last conversation until they finished with the First Order. "I don't know if I can give you the answer you're looking for but what I can tell you is that I want this. I want us."
"Then why did you run this morning?"
"Because I'm scared, Poe. You only know me as a member of the Resistance. You could decide that you actually don't like me once I step into a more political role. I mean we're about to be a part for who knows how long. You could decide then that you didn't know what you were thinking and leave me."
He brought his hands up to cup her face, swiping his thumbs across her cheeks to wipe away her tears. "Kat, I fell in love with you even after all of the arguing we did in the beginning. Nothing is going to change that."
Poe's eyes widened when he realized what he just told her. He was sure his expression mirrored her own shocked look but the fact that she hadn't tried to run away from him this time felt like something he should celebrate over.
"You love me?" She asked, voice barely above a whisper.
"I do. I love you so much, Kat."
A blinding smile stretched across her features and he hoped that he would be able to see that smile more often. "I love you, too."
Soon a matching smile of his own lit up his features before he pulled her into a kiss. They would figure out the other thing later. For now, they just wanted to bask in their love for each other before they would be separated for an unforeseen amount of time.