• p. dameron •
THIS MISSION HAS A BIGGER UNDERLYING STORY THAN I THOUGHT. Elyse, the girl I was sent here to find, is the General's daughter. I only know this because of Piper's picture. Plus, a speeder was flipped on top of her, and she was pinned there. Something happened here. She was running to something, or away from something.
— Poe Dameron
Elyse passes out, her breathing becoming shallow. I begin to panic. I tear the sleeve of my white shirt off, using it as a makeshift pressure padding until I can get her to a doctor. I remove my jacket, wrapping it around Elyse. I lift her up off of the ground, carrying her back to my ship. BB-8 beeps with concern.
"Yeah, this does look bad, doesn't it?" I ask, trying to stay calm.
I think back on Leia's orders. Go to Yavin 4, Get her back, Bring her back here. Do they mean in a body bag? If I don't get her some medical attention fast, she'll bleed out before I get her even remotely close to the base.
"No, we're not going back to the Base." I say, laying her against my chest in the craft.
BB-8 beeps his binary code angrily, demanding I follow my instructions.
"BB-8, buddy, I will take her to the base. Just after I get her to a Doctor. She's bleeding pretty badly. If I fly her straight to base from here, she'll die way before we get to there. General Organa and Sergeant Solo can demote me and fire me for all I care. I'm just trying to get their daughter back to them alive." I say.
He beeps with acceptance, getting off my ass for a couple minutes. I lift off of the ground, flying to a familiar town. A small, quaint village filled with happy, smiling people. A world far away from the war, yet, so obviously affected by it. I land, climbing out of the cockpit of the ship, letting BB-8 down out of the ship. I grab Elyse, carrying her bridal style towards a small tan hutch with a fabric curtain as a door. The townspeople stare at us, whispering. I pull the cloth back, peering into the hutch. A man with tan skin and graying curly locks sits at a makeshift desk, reading through an old journal. He turns around, spotting me.
"Poe? What are you doing here? You told you you couldn't come visit because of your mission." He says.
I nod, stepping into the hutch with Elyse. I sigh, laying her on a rug.
"This is my mission. She's a Pilot and she's hurt, Dad. She needs your help." I say, pulling the makeshift padding off of her wound.
His eyes grow wide and he looks up at me. He knows what he needs to do to help her.
"Grab the gauze and a suture kit. You and I are going to have to find the bleeder and close the wound." He says.
I nod. He grabs his glasses off of the desk, pulling them onto his face. He lifts her shirt to expose the wound, pausing.
"Poe," He says, calmly, his tone smooth and easy to read.
I look down, spotting a weapon on her hip. A lightsaber. I look back up at him, an eyebrow raised.
"A pilot, huh?" He asks, grabbing the weapon off of her hip.
I take it into my hands, looking down at the shiny metal detailing.
"She told her friends she was training to be a pilot. Told them she wanted to be Medic Pilot. But, instead, she was training to be a Jedi. With Luke. And Ben." I say. "She hid it for a reason. Why? Why would she hide this?"
He shakes his head, taking the pile of gauze from my hand, using it to soak up the blood.
"Well, whatever happened to her, this is completely different from this wound." He says, pointing at a different wound on her stomach. "That is a burn, this is a laceration. This one was done with something entirely different."
I set the saber down beside BB-8, looking down at him.
"You mustn't say anything about this to anyone. This is our secret, understand?" I ask.
He beeps in compliance, agreeing to my request.
"I won't say anything if you don't, Poe." My father says, looking up at me from his work.
I nod, staying quiet as we work. He hands me the suture kit.
"You've always done a better job at stitching than I have. Do a simple continuous blanket suture and close the wound. Then, we let her rest." He says.
I nod, closing the wound on her stomach with the suture kit before putting a thin layer of aloe Vera on her burn. I wrap her abdomen in a thin layer of white bandage wrap. I sigh, looking up at my father as he covers her with a blanket.
"Do you have a spare shirt I could borrow?" I ask, pointing to my torn shirt.
He nods, smiling. He points to the back of the hutch where he lives. I step into the back of the hutch, spotting a picture of my mother on his nightstand. I smile, walking to his closet. I grab a simple blue button down, changing out of my white one.
"I'm going to step out to the watering hole to wash off my hands." I say.
He nods, staying with her. I look down at my small droid, a smile on my face.
"Want to come, buddy?" I ask, waving him to follow.
He beeps excitedly and follows me outside. I walk to the watering hole, taking a small pail of water to wash the blood off of my hands.
"Poe!" A small voice says from not far off. "Poe's back!"
I dry my hands off, spotting a group of children running at me.
"Dezi!" I exclaim, opening my arms to the small boy and his friends.
They pile on top of me, causing me to fall onto my rear-end. They all laugh, cheering of my return.
"You're back!" Dezi exclaims, a wide grin from ear to ear on his face. "What about the Resistance? Did you make it?"
I smile, nodding at him and the other children from before.
"I made it—First in my class. I'm a Lieutenant now, one of the Pilots with the Resistance." I say.
They smile, clapping excitedly. It's not often that you become friends with a Resistance Pilot. But, I'm kind of friends with everyone except the First order. BB-8 beeps beside me, tilting his head.
"Oh, everyone, I'd like you to meet my droid, BB-8. Best BB-unit the Resistance offers." I smile at him.
The children crowd around him, poking and prodding at him. Suddenly, BB-8 releases his torch.
"Woah!" I exclaim, covering BB-8. "BB-8, buddy, they were just taking a look. Don't hurt them, they're just children."
He beeps quietly, putting his torch away. I sigh, looking back at the hutch. My father pokes his head out, looking at me.
"Guys, I've gotta go, but I'll see you tomorrow, alright?" I ask, waving goodbye as I walk into the hutch.
"Your Com-link is going nuts. It's Leia," He says. "She wants to know the status on Elyse."
I grab the com-link out of the pocket of my jacket, sighing out sharply.
"This is Lieutenant Poe Dameron reporting in about Elyse Organa-Solo. I have her." I say.