╔════ 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐗𝐓𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄
'𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐛' ═══════╝
three. months. later.
━━ -ˋˏ★ˎˊ- ━━
. . . DAGGER II, KESSEL
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐎𝐃 beneath her fingernails was a permanent stain.
In her mind, she imagined it to be spray paint. Crimson red that wouldn't wash out in the sink. As if she had just been in Eleni's shop for the last few hours painting another droid, limbs aching from leaning over a table.
But the only ache in her body was from the strain of running until her legs almost gave out. All that red was only ever just blood.
This was an in-between day, something akin to a break. Lyra and Nascha were between jobs, sitting in a vaguely-safe shipyard that belonged to some now-dead crime lord on Kessel. Nascha's SS-54 gunship blended in well. Manufactured by Botajef shipyards, it was a prime pick for mercs and bounty hunters.
A whistle of music echoed down the short halls of the Dagger II. Nascha's footsteps followed, and soon enough the woman was standing in the doorway with a pleased smirk lifting her lips.
"What's with the good mood?" Lyra asked, barely glancing up from her sketchbook. She was studying the lines on the page, still trying to decoper her dim connection to the white haired Jedi. Countless pages of her sketchbook were filled with the scribbled over lines of her imagination. If she drew the place enough times, enough ways, there might be a way to find it.
"You'll be in one too once you hear what I just found out. I just got word about another job."
"That's hardly exciting."
"Okay, let's try that again," Nascha rolled her eyes. "I got word about an unaffiliated job, more of an under the table task, if you will. My contact finally got back to me about the clearance codes to get into Naboo airspace."
Her heart echoed against her throat. Fire surged in her veins, looking for something to set ablaze. It happened now whenever she got too excited. "Naboo?"
"It isn't gonna be easy, but it might be fun," Nascha sang.
Lyra's frown deepened as the graphite smudged under her finger. "Where's the job?"
Her lean figure pressed into the doorway. "Corellia. Coronet City, if I had to guess."
"Guess?"
"Haven't you learned by now that these things aren't really definite?" Nascha drawled, unstopping a bottle of brown liquor. "Let me handle the big stuff. You're good for the details."
Annoyed, Lyra let her sketchbook fall shut. "Just because my assignments are connected to yours doesn't put you in any position to tell me what to do."
"The once-great Commander Skywalker has no power here," Nascha boomed in a deep tone before dissolving into a laugh. "Resistance scum and all that."
Her fist clenched. "Enough. I'm not Resistance."
The words rang less hollow than they had three months ago. By this point, Lyra had nearly convinced herself it was the truth. That and the slowly-accumulating ghosts of her assignments.
"Listen," Nascha said, "This is good, yeah? We're finally getting somewhere, a lead that's gonna help out both of us. As soon as we get those clearance codes, we're home free for Naboo."
"It's taken us three months, you said it would only be one. Tops," Lyra reminded her.
"Can't rush art, Skygirl."
"Stop calling me that."
"Stop being ungrateful," Nascha turned up her nose, offended. "You destroyed my last assignment before I cut all ties to the Guild! I have no more trails to follow, they all went cold and the galaxy led me to you. You're the only thing I have left at my disposal."
"When you put it like that, it really makes me want to agree to this," Lyra spat.
"I'm putting it like it is. I'm not going to sugar coat it, and I know you realize I'm not lying. We both need something from each other, and this is how you make a deal."
"I'm not making a deal until you tell me what the damn plan is! I'm not getting involved in a Corellian prison heist, I don't do that shit anymore!"
"I do," Nascha answered, scraping at the grit under her nails. "That's why we'll leave that part to me. All I need you to do is to help me find the location of where they're being held captive. You get your codes, I get my sister."
The elusive sister. Nascha had brought it up in one of the first conversations they shared after agreeing to work together to make a living. Like Lyra, Nascha had to fight to learn the story of her family. Her parents were of next to no importance, but there was a sister out there that Nascha was desperate to find.
Unlike Lyra, Nascha had no means of learning about her past life. For her, it was all still completely blank.
Lyra settled into the chair. Outside the window, hyperspace blurred by. "I'm listening," Lyra said, keeping her voice steady and calm.
Nascha pressed a switch, and a holo of a glittering city appeared. "Have you ever heard of the Collective?"
"You mean Crimson Dawn?" Lyra narrowed her eyes. That was too much trouble, even for her.
"They go by the Collective now, homage to their days as the Shadow Collective," Nascha waved a dismissive hand. "Anyway, I've been keeping track of their activity for a few weeks, and they've been busy on Corellia," she gestured to the flashing image of the city.
"Corellia is a haven for First Order, I'm not surprised."
"You shouldn't be. The Collective is targeting the activity surrounding this lady's birthday party. Her name is Nifera Shu, and she and her husband think they're flying under the radar in Coronet City. Reality is that it's a time bomb ready to explode. She's having an auction to celebrate, and one of the items is a huge list of political prisoners being held on or near Corellia."
Nascha moved her hand with a flourish. The screen changed, now showing an image of a locked vault. "Nifera has an access code to a remote First Order vault on the other side of the planet. How do you think she got the list in the first place?"
"You think that the vault has a location on your sister?"
"I know it does. I've tracked the name Imani Dosela galaxy-wide. This is my last lead. Nifera Shu has access to the vault, and I intend to take it from her. Out-thief a thief, if you will. And, my contact has confirmed the vault also holds a clearance code that can take us into First Order airspace. Naboo airspace."
Lyra leaned back, taking the idea into consideration. "Where does the First Order come into this? You said it's a time bomb."
"Oh, it is," Nascha grinned deviously. "They want that list back, and they want Nifera Shu dead. They'll let the party run its course long enough that they can find the code for the list, and then they'll blow the place to hell. Happy birthday to her."
Lyra gave a look of reproach. "That's lovely, Nascha. But have you considered how we get into the party? This is Coronet City high society, and you look like you just crawled out of a Corellian back alley."
Lyra hadn't looked in a mirror in a while, but she knew she didn't look much better. The roots of her brown hair had started growing in underneath the black, and her skin was caked with grime.
"I have contacts on Corellia like you wouldn't believe. Not in the upper echelons of society, of course, but down below in the businesses that produce things for them. Outfits aren't a problem, and invitations are practically taken care of. Six degrees of separation and all that, and we've got ourselves a heist."
"Deal."
Veins of starlight appeared as they dropped out of hyperspace, and the blank expanse stared back at her in expectation. The yellow fluorescent speck in the distance sat waiting, and soon they would arrive in Corellian airspace.
This was the price she paid for cutting all ties, she supposed. Without a ship, there was little she could do. On Corellia, even if the plan soured, there would be plenty of ships available for her to steal. With or without Nascha, she would have a way to get to Naboo.
And as she watched Nascha pilot the ship with that complacent, hopeful look on her face, Lyra knew it wasn't just her logical mind talking. She wanted to help Nascha find her sister. It was something so basic that everyone deserved, she knew she couldn't deny her that closure.
The problem was if Nascha was actually trying to find her sister, or taking advantage of Lyra's empathy.
"Say I agree to this. What's my guarantee that you won't ditch me on the roof of some rich socialite's penthouse?"
Nascha gave a wide, genuine smile. She schooled her expression a little and told her, "Why would I ever do that? If I do anything, it'll be turning you in for that bounty."
Lyra stared straight ahead of her. It wasn't much, but that was as close to a promise as she was going to get.
-ˋˏ★ˎˊ-
. . . RYLOTH, OUTER RIM
HERA SYNDULLA sat at the command desk of a spacious room that was once a library. Deep within the RDA base, the Resistance had completely taken over the Twi'lek command center. The floor was red as a garnet, swept clean and tidy by unseen hands. It was their war room. On a glowing holo, all of their supplies were laid out in a tiny, concise list. Barely any ships to their name and enough munitions and food to make them look hardly better than a starving band of thieves.
Leia was running on fumes. Even with her brother there to pick up some of the emotional weight she was carrying, her form was more stooped than usual. She only stood up when she needed to, and most days Connix was the one running around on her behalf. Right then, Leia was sitting in a chair with her arms folded across her chest, focused on Hera as she spoke.
"You have to understand that we want to help. I think the last three months have shown that well," Hera said, placing her hands delicately on the table in front of her. The wood was the only thing in the room that was scarred and stained. "But the First Order has come to Ryloth."
Poe glanced around the room. Officers only, but that really didn't mean much anymore. Still, he felt out of place. He and Suralinda were the only commanders below the age of thirty, and Rey was sticking so closely to the shadows she might as well have stayed out in the fresh air with Finn. Luke was pacing behind Hera, and Mione and Lando were gathered with Norra and Wedge. The Twi'leks in attendance only sat in to listen to what Hera had to say, and, of course, her son Jacen stood at the head of the room, right next to Chopper.
Closed meeting my ass, Poe thought. They had told him to check his droid at the door, and yet they let the rusted piece of C-10 scrap sit in the room without question.
"I'm sorry," Norra said in response to Hera's statement. "Was that supposed to be a secret?"
Hera gave a wry smile. Her age hardly showed on the green skin of her face, and she looked ready to hop in a ship and fly with the rest of them. Poe had spent a considerable amount of time pestering her with questions about fighting with the original Rebels.
"No secrets here, Norra. It isn't any surprise they want to tax our shipping lanes to rebuild the fleet they lost to your Resistance. We refuse as always, but with you here, it does put a damper on the situation." Hera's eyes roamed the room as she clocked each reaction to her words.
Luke cleared his throat. "Well, we better act fast."
"Thank you for that word of advice," Leia said, voice clipped. She shot a sharp glare at her brother. "I'm most concerned with rebuilding our forces at the current time. I want to give us a good foundation. I hoped for more time to find leadership, but now, ideas might be what we need."
That stung. Even if she hadn't meant it to, it hurt. She needed someone to rely on, and he was going to be that person no matter how much it took. A leader.
"Alright, let's start with the easy stuff. We need ships," Poe said, pointing at the holo screen. "Is this information the latest?"
"Yes," Rey said so suddenly, Poe almost jumped. "Rose gave the information to Connix this morning."
He nodded. "I see a handful of starfighters, a few transports, the freighter. It's not a fleet, and we can't fight much less expect to win any kind of battle against the First Order with equipment like this. We need ships."
"I agree. How do you suggest we get these ships?" Luke asked nonchalantly. Still, Poe heard the message loud and clear. Just like Holdo, all he saw was another flyboy.
Poe wanted to lash out. The words were always so close to leaping from his tongue. What really happened on Ahch-to, mighty Jedi Master? Why were you not even strong enough to save your daughter?
"The First Order is actively building ships as we speak," Hera stepped in, taking the attention off of Poe. "The Corellian shipyards are working overtime to meet quotas."
"Then we go to Corellia," Poe said. Too impulsively, maybe. "Send me in with a handful of pilots and I'll get what we need."
"We can't risk the few pilots we have to liberate a few ships," Leia sighed. "We need a better strategy than flying in on a whim and a dream."
Poe held his tongue, keeping the argument at bay. He wanted to say that Corellia was their best option, but he let the words simmer below the surface. Leia seemed impressed, which was interesting. Maybe he hadn't noticed it before, but every order he received was more of a litmus test of his leadership skills. He was complying, though, to every single one he received. There wasn't much arrogant hot-shot left in him.
Connix, out of breath and wide-eyed, ran into the room. For a second, it seemed like she was coming to deliver their death sentence and say that the First Order was flying in for a bombing run. But no, the look on her face was too confused to be about something so clear-cut.
"A message for you just came through the Falcon," she said to Leia. "From Maz Kanata. I wouldn't have interrupted, but she's persistent. Apparently, she needs you to hear what she has to say. Immediately."
Jacen set to work without even being told, booting up the datapad that was sitting on the table in front of him. Hera rapped her fingers on the desk impatiently as they waited for the screen to whir to life.
Suralinda leaned closer to Poe in an effort to not be heard by the others. As standing commander of the Green Squadron, she had been invited inside the meeting, too. "What do you think it is?"
"Can't be anything good if it's Maz," Poe muttered. Blue light danced in his eyes as the computer screen shifted. "She said she didn't want to get involved with our affairs."
"Personally, I don't want to either," Suralinda answered, flicking her hair over her shoulder.
"And yet, here you stand."
"Greetings, Leia," Maz said as her short form flickered to life on the holo. "I see you're doing well collecting allies."
No one answered her. The Twi'leks were barely their allies, and it was hard to tell if Maz was patronizing them or not.
"I hear you have news for us, Maz," Leia said, keeping her voice calm and even.
"Yes, yes!" Maz clapped her hands excitedly. "Have you heard word about the list?"
Leia stood up from her chair with a purposeful look on her face. This list, whatever it was, was something Leia had not yet decided to share with them.
"A rumored list of First Order political prisoners and dissidents," Leia clarified, standing directly in front of the holo.
"It's not just a rumor anymore, I've seen it. Well, parts of it."
"How did you see it?" Leia asked before the room could fall into an uproar.
"A rule I live my life by: If you have anything worth stealing, someone will eventually steal it. Fortunately, the thief who acquired it is an old friend of mine."
Poe snorted. That wasn't surprising.
"Will they give it to us?" Luke spoke.
Maz studied him intently. This was the first time she had seen him in years, but for someone who was 800 years old, that meant nothing. "Hard to tell, Master Jedi. Certainly not to you, but perhaps to someone in disguise. Nifera can be mercurial, she likes games."
"Well, I don't like games." Luke narrowed his eyes, but Maz was undisturbed by his stare.
"She's holding an auction at her birthday party. Invitation-only to the party, and the auction will happen sometime during the event. List goes to the highest bidder. You know how thieves are. The party will be held on Corellia, in Coronet City. As for when, you'll just have to be ready to move quickly when the information comes in. I should know soon."
Poe grinned. Just another excuse for them to fly into Corellia. Taking the opportunity, he said, "As long as we're on Corellia, we might as well pick up some ships."
Leia gave an indignant hm. "Maz, you said invitation only--?"
"I've already taken care of it. Two invitations secured. One for a handsome but unscrupulous profiteer from Canto Bight and his junior business partner, and one for the ambassador of Ryloth and guest. It's the best I could do under the circumstances. You'll have to improvise."
"Who's the profiteer?" Poe asked. "There's no one like that with the Resistance."
Maz just looked at him. "Well, of course not, Dameron. I made him up. Pick someone, whoever you like. But, I was thinking of you when I said he was handsome." She winked.
Suralinda immediately broke into quiet laughter. Poe opened his mouth to answer, but then he realized there was no good way to respond to that. So he shut his mouth.
"Thank you, Maz," Leia said, saving him from further awkward silence. "We accept the invitations."
"Hold on," Suralinda said, holding up her hand. "How do we even know this list is real? If it's coming out of Corellia, it could just be a political stunt."
"Who said that?" Maz asked, leaning forward and adjusting her spectacles.
Suralinda took this as a threat. Her blue-skinned cheeks took on a red tinge as she leaned forward. "I said it, lady. How do you plan on proving to us that it is real?" she asked, annunciating the words like she was talking to a toddler.
Maz didn't like her tone. "It's real because I confirmed it's real. Didn't you hear me? I've seen it."
"You said you saw a partial list. Just for fun, let's say it's real. How do we know it's useful to us?"
Poe stepped in lest Suralinda bare her fangs at Maz. "It doesn't have to be useful. Those are people being unjustly held. People willing to speak out for what's right. It's our duty to free them."
"They could be our friends and family," Norra added, and Wedge nodded in agreement. "Poe's right, we should help them"
"You'll have to pay the reserve to be allowed into the auction," Maz said. "After that, it's up to you. But if you get caught with your hand in the biscuit bin, there won't be a nice trial and punishment, you know. These people will kill you."
"Your friend sounds charming," Leia said. She was troubled by this turn of events, and looking for a base was still a high priority. Wasting time on an auction was not.
"Meh," Maz said. "Rich, yes. Charm? Charm was never her strong point. Here, I will send you what I have to prove you doubters wrong. It will come over encrypted--"a noise echoed in the background with a metallic clang "--I have to go. Hope I see you in Coronet City. Especially you, Dameron. And wear something nice. This Canto Bight fellow is quite dapper. I hear."
When she was gone, Poe leaned forward and said, "I think I'm gonna be sick."
Suralinda let out a high pitched laugh. "She likes you, flyboy."
Thankfully, a distraction came in the form of more skepticism. "Leia," Wedge began. "I know Maz thinks Poe should go after the list, but I think I should lead the team to Corellia."
"I'm listening," Leia nodded.
"No offense, Dameron, but I was born there. I know Coronet City, I can get that list for you," Wedge said with a wry smile.
Around them, everyone had split off into different conversations as they waited for the encrypted list. Connix leaned over the computer with Jacen at her side, typing hastily at the glowing screen.
Sneaking around in a disguise wasn't really Poe's style, anyway. He wanted a battle, to fly a ship right into the fray and get shit done. The undercover stuff? That was better left to the Phoenix Squadron.
Unfortunately, there wasn't much left of it.
Leia gave a halting laugh at Wedge's enthusiasm. "Slow down, Wedge. I'm not convinced this is the best use of our resources, yet. Let's see the list before we start making plans to—"
"It's here!" Connix said, voice flooded with relief.
There were a lot of people who had lost family members to the First Order, and even more still of the rest of their troops outside. This would be huge for them. The Inferno Squadron had begun rounding up a rag-tag group of insurgents and when they regrouped on their new base, this might just be the push they would need for unity.
After the graphic of the First Order flashed on the screen, Poe began to skim through the list. It was first initials only, which didn't narrow it down by much. But under SUBVERSIVES, there was a P and a D with a bunch of scrambled looking blobs after it. The only thing that gave away that it was him was the last known location, which was still listed as Yavin 4. That was good, he supposed.
His eyes skimmed down the alphabetized line in hot pursuit of one name and one name only. There was an L and an E-S, which could have only been one person. The location still said Crait. It meant she hadn't been found by the Order, but it also meant there were no new leads as to where Lyra Skywalker was.
"Three months," Poe muttered under his breath, talking to no one but himself. "Where the hell did you go, Ly?"
His thoughts were undercut by more chatter.
"It's an assassination list," Norra announced, her voice heavy. "This is why we can't find our allies, they've been picking us off one by one."
For Norra, this might have been news. But they didn't have the luxury she had of shutting themselves away on the lush world of Akiva. They had been living this reality for a while now, and this was a chance to stop the First Order in their tracks.
It was chilling to know that the First Order knew them by name. But the question of what they would do about it still remained.
Lower on this list was a flashing label. CURRENTLY DETAINED rose up above a list of more scrambles names, but this one had the label CURRENT LOCATION instead of just last known. Titles sprawled out next to them, and then there was a list of crimes. Loitering, called Supreme Leader an explicative, disobeyed a direct order. The list went on, but Poe stopped reading. He had seen enough to know that this was the real deal.
"It's smart," Wedge said. "The auction list, I mean. Offer enough information to make people think that someone they know is on the list but with no guarantees."
"It could all be false hope," Mione said, always quick to play the devil's advocate. "Foolish people and foolish dreams, these people might not even be alive. Hope has a funny way of ruining us."
"It isn't the hope that ruins us," Rey said, finally stepping towards the center of the room. She held out a hand as if to touch the holo. "If we start saying that now, the lack of hope would ruin us."
For a second, Poe couldn't place where he had heard those words before. But then it hit him like a wave. It was Lyra.
Hope and optimism are different things. That was her argument. It seemed she had said the same thing to Rey, and the girl had taken her words to heart. Rey looked up to Lyra, and it was very clear that she had closed herself off since Lyra had left. With Luke back, she was better, but still not the same.
Rey's comment blurred into the din of conversation. Not to Poe, though. He heard it loud and clear.
"C. H. Athlete. Do you think that's Cutar Har, the grav-ball champion?"
"Isn't that guy a senator?"
"I don't buy this for a second."
And on and on. Poe turned his attention to Leia, waiting to hear what she would say. She was conferring with Luke and Wedge, but when she looked up and gave him a short nod, Poe knew it was go time.
"Okay!" Poe said loudly, spurred on by his annoyance. "We're gonna go after this, and we're gonna do it right. Two teams, one to get the list, and a second to break out the prisoners being held in Coronet City."
"I've got the prison break," Wedge announced, stepping forward and clearing his throat.
Norra set her jaw. She didn't like this, but she wasn't going to let her husband go in without her. "I'm with you."
"Good," Poe nodded. "Select the rest of your team and we'll be ready to leave on my word."
Was he overstepping? Maybe. But Leia only gave him a bemused smile. Luke placed a hand on his sister's shoulder, and Poe realized that a weight had been lifted off of him. After they had almost lost Leia on the Raddus, he had been taking special care to watch out for her. With Luke back and Lando and Mione standing not close behind, he felt able to start doing stupid, dangerous stuff again. Not anything too crazy, but it would be good to get a win.
"Are you sure you're up for this?" Suralinda asked him as the room dispersed. She stood with her hands on her hips giving her that signature Squamatan look of reproach.
"Of course I am." He frowned, adjusting the collar of his leather jacket. "Why would I not be?"
"You've been kinda sulky lately. You noticed that?" She tilted her head to the side, waiting.
"I haven't noticed," Poe said, his voice clipped. He had a sinking suspicion that Suralinda was going to be joining them on the mission. It was her scene, anyway. In her time as a journalist, she had certainly been to a hundred parties. "We do this mission, and we move on. I'm sick of this planet."
Time to let go.
━━ -ˋˏ★ˎˊ- ━━
a/n woo I feel so sneaky as a write this haha.
I am not back from hiatus, and the next installment of this story probably won't come for any regular interval of time. I'm a junior in college and I'm hanging on for dear life when it comes to my schedule. I do really want to finish this story eventually and it works as a nice outlet/escape. Anyway, I hope you're all doing well. I have no clue who still reads this story, but I hope there's at least one person out there still interested haha. This chapter is a lot of information dumping but I think it's all pretty important as a build up to the big reunion that takes place v soon ;)
catch ya later,
nat