"For leaning, crying, you name it, I'm pretty sure my shoulders can do it."
Soon enough, the transport had made it back to the Resistance base. In this time, Finn and I had exchanged stories. I told him about how Poe and I escaped from Jakku with Jessika and made it to the Resistance where they are very interesting in hearing everything insider about the First Order. While he told me about how he escaped from Jakku with a girl named Rey only to be intercepted by Han Solo and eventually taken to Takodona, where that entire battle just took place.
It appeared that he had finished his story just when we landed back on the base so I grabbed his arm and said, "Come on, lets go find Poe."
To be completely honest, I didn't know where Poe was on the base, but I did know that if I were to run around enough I would find him eventually, or someone who knew where he was, Like Jessika, or he would find me, considering that he always does, somehow.
Eventually we both come to a stop, seeing a certain pilot climbing out of his black x-wing. I could tell by the mess of hair on his head, not to mention the certain x-wing, that it was Poe Dameron. From somewhere behind us, BB-8 comes zooming right through Finn's legs, almost knocking him down in the process of getting to Poe.
When the droid came up to the pilot, it was clear that Jessika was right when she told me that BB-8 and Poe were nearly inseparable. The look of joy that came across Poe's face was something I had never seen before.
This is when Finn finally starts to realize who it was. He starts walking towards him, soon enough breaking into a jog, I wasn't to far behind him. "Poe?" He says, like he doesn't believe his eyes.
"Oh, no." Poe doesn't believe it either it appears, though if e're being honest, I didn't believe it when I saw Finn either.
"Poe Dameron, you're really alive?"
"Did you not believe me?" I ask, only to be ignored by the two men.
"Buddy!" The two embrace. "So are you."
"What happened to you?" Finn asks, as if I didn't just tell him.
"What happened? What happened, is Della and I," He turns and notices me standing next to the two of them, "Oh, hey Della. Anyway, we tried to use the second parachute but I don;t know how well that worked. Obviously we got thrown far from the crash, woke up in the middle of the night, nothing but a terrible parachute and Della. I was so banged up I couldn't go anywhere. Della did you tell him any of this on the way back?"
"I tried but obviously failed," I reply.
BB-8 interrupts our banter, beeping something about the situation.
"BB-8 says you saved him," Poe says.
Finn tries to add, "No, no, no. It wasn't just me-"
"You completed my mission, Finn-" Poe finally looks down to see what Finn was wearing. "That's my jacket."
Finn realizes this and starts to take the jacket off, apologising. That is before Poe protests this.
"No, no. Keep it, it suits you." Poe bites his lip, the realization of all the past twenty four hours have brought him setting in. "You're a good man, Finn."
Finn looks at Poe, then to me. "Okay, I need your help."
------
The three of us speed walk to a nearby enclosure, which happens to be a meeting room containing The General and various other officials who were also at the meeting we had earlier that day. We walk straight to Leia so Finn can retell his story to her, and hopefully persuade her to help find his lost friend.
"General Organa." Poe starts the conversation. "Sorry to interrupt, this is Finn, he needs to talk to you-"
"And I need to talk to him." The woman takes Finn's hand in her own. "That was incredibly brave what you did, along with Della here, renouncing the First Order, saving this man's life-"
This time it was Finn who was interrupting. "Thank you, ma'am. But a friend of my was taken prisoner-"
"Han told me about the girl, I'm sorry." The way the General says these words, it visibly makes Finn sadder. It's almost like Leia already know the girls fate, and it isn't good.
It makes me wonder how much of an impact this girl could have had on Finn in such a short amount of time. Then I think that I would probably react similarly if she had said that in relation to Poe and not this girl that I didn't know, which is odd because we haven't known each other much longer than Finn and this other girl had. Maybe that's evidence of a possible attachment issue I have, kind of like a little duckling imprinting on the first thing it sees to then think that whatever it is, is actually it's mother. Only for me, its with possible friends. I suddenly remember where I am and jump out of my min and back into the conversation.
"Finn's familiar with the weapon that destroyed the Hosnian System. I know a little bit, but he definitely knows more than me." I add.
"We're desperate for anything you can tell us," Leia says, which is definitely true seeing as I was not the most reliable source when it comes to these things.
"That's where my friend was taken! I've got to get there, fast." Finn pauses to think for a second, "Did Della not tell you any of it?" All eyes turn to me.
"Look," I start, knowing this is will quickly become a rant, "I did not want to be with the First Order, okay? It completely ruined my mental health and any chance I got, I stopped paying attention to everything there. Honestly, it's a wonder I didn't get thrown out of the First Order before I defected. Now if you want information you have a wonderful source that happens to be standing right next to me. I've already told you everything I know, but trust me, Finn knows more. So if you want my advice, you listen to him."
This leaves everyone in a stunned silence.
"Well alright then," Leia breaks the silence, "Tell us everything you know and we'll help you find your friend."
And with that we all make out way over to a station that appeared to be made for battle strategies. But I wait behind and call out to Poe. He turns to look at me and waits for what I have to say, his eyebrows rising with curiosity.
"I just wanted to say that I'm glad you're okay." I start. One glance over at the strategies table would tell me that they were ready to start, and wouldn't wait for us. "And I wanted to tell you something else but I guess that's going to have to wait."
We walk over to the table just as C-3PO returns, with BB-8, Threepio was holding some rectangle that he plugged into the side of the table. A projection was then cast out from the table as he talks.
"General, I regret to inform you that this map recovered from BB-8 is only partially complete." He robotic voice rings through the room. I look to Poe, his face was falling. This was his mission, to find the map that would lead to Luke Skywalker, and that mission went wrong in more ways than we initially thought. "And even worse, it matches no charted system on record. We simply do not have enough information to locate Master Luke."
Leia sighs, tearing her eyes away from the map, "I can't believe I was so soolish to believe I could just find Luke and bring him home."
"Leia," The older man, Han, attempts to start talking before Leia stops him.
"Don't do that," Leia says.It was interesting the chemistry between these two. They were obviously very close friends, maybe even more than that at one point. What had happened to end that?
"Do what?" Han asks, raising his hands in an attempt to showcase his innocence.
Leia starts to walk off to another table, "Anything."
Han looks around the table and his eyes land on C-3PO, which makes sense. The two of them appear to have a history, along with Genral Leia.
"Princesses," If Threepio could shrug his shoulders, it appeared he would. After this Han walks off. Threepio follows suit just a few seconds later, probably due to the fact that he can't walk too fast.
That leaves Poe, Finn, and I. I decide to break the silence. "I think she's pretty cool."
"And that would make you correct," Poe says. "What was it you wanted to talk about earlier?"
"Oh," I suddenly feel a little shy, but continue on with what I was going to tell him. "Uh, do you remember what I told you about my family?"
Poe nods his head and I can see Finn's confusion. i quickly recap my story, a very condensed version of my story, for Finn.
"Anyway, when the First Order took me away, they left my sister on whatever planet we were on. That was the day that it felt like a piece of me went missing. It was kind of there when my parent left, but it was stronger when I was without my sister." I pause.
"Why didn't you mention this earlier?" Poe asks.
"I don't know." I admit. "I kind of got used to the feeling over time. It was always in the back of my mind, but I never thought I would have the strength to leave the First Order and possibly see any of my family again."
"And?" It's Finn's turn to ask a question. "Why tell us now?"
I take a breath composing my thoughts. "Because that missing piece was filled when we went to Takodona. We entered the atmosphere and I felt that missing piece disappear, only slightly though, Maybe we weren't close enough? But then the First Order left and the feeling left with them, and I know for a fact that she can't be with the First Order because i would've felt her at least once over all these years and I didn't so the only other option is-"
I stopped. Yes, I had thought the words that were supposed to come out of my mouth next, but I didn't really want to speak them into existence. Speaking them made them more real, and I didn't want to think that the only family I possibly could have had, the main reason I had escaped from the First Order, was gone.
"Della," It was Poe. He looks into my misty eyes and I can see his empathy pouring out. He had forgotten all about his supposedly failed mission and focused on me, something that I don't remember anyone ever doing for me. Putting away whatever is happening in their life to help me go through whatever it is that I have going on. Yeah, you could say empathy is hard to come by in the First Order.
Poe pulls me into a hug and I rest my head on his shoulder trying to hold back my tears. I figured it would be kind of rude to soak his shirt, I mean just the empathy was more than enough, now a hug? talk about things that I haven't had in a while. It takes me a few seconds to remember to hug him back.
Finn pats my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Della. Maybe she's still out there, maybe she just ran away?" He suggests.
I pull away from Poe, but he keeps a hand on my back, along with Finn's on my shoulder. I wipe the single tear that managed to break through and go to say something before I'm interrupted by someone calling out to gather so we can go over what inside information we have on the First Order, and plan to get Finn's friend back.
Finn stands and starts to walk away, Poe and I follow him.
I turn to Poe and say, "Thank you, I know it must be hard to help other when you may need some empathy to, I'm-"
"Don't even try to say you're sorry." Poe interrupts me. We had stopped a little ways away from where we were supposed to meet up. "Losing a family member is a lot more important than a failed mission. You should be able to grieve as much as you want. And remember that I will always be nearby to offer you a shoulder. For leaning, crying, you name it, I'm pretty sure my shoulders can do it."
I offer him a small smile at his attempt of a joke and we continue on to the meeting.
Btw there was a lot of deleting and republishing in which chapter one was deleted and then I had to recover the entire thing so if you want you can go back to the first chapter and give it a little read and/or vote, only if you want to tho.