"Absolutely not!"
"Are you out of your mind?!"
I rolled my eyes at Poe and Ezra's reactions, expecting as much. I had gathered them and Leia to go over my plan of stepping down as the Resistance's lead doctor and falling into a fighter position. At least for the time being.
"You guys didn't even give one second to think on it."
Poe ran a hand through his hair, pacing away from me in frustration. "I don't need a second, Sienna. Like hell I'm going to let you get out there with all of this. Now is not the time to be learning how to pilot."
"I know how to pilot, Dameron, and I'm pretty damn good at it as you know. We are down to eleven people who can fly right now. It seems like you need all of the help that you can get." I turned to Ezra who was looking out into the cave. "Ezra, I want to give you my position. With our team being so... small, now, you will be more than capable of running the ship on your own. And it isn't like I'm gone or anything. I'll still be here as backup if needed."
He turned to me with a contemplative look. "You said that you are being called to do this. You're sure it's outweighing the call you had to join the med field? Because you're about to be doing something significantly more dangerous, and I just want to make sure you've thought this through..."
"I've never been more sure of anything. I feel in my heart that I was put on a path to make this decision. To lean on my heritage in a time when it is so desperately needed. It isn't like it has to be forever. I can always pick the med field back up down the road." I turned to the General, who had been sitting quiet throughout the entire thing. "Leia, I will do whatever you think is right, without question. However I believe that you have known I would face this decision. What do you want me to do?"
Leia smiled at me as she placed a hand on my cheek. "Ever so perceptive, my dear, but you are right. You have proven to us all that you can handle any challenges put in front of you. I want you to do whatever your heart is telling you. If that means fighting on the battlefield, then that is what you should do. You have my support." I gave her a wide smile, soaking up the look of maternal love that she was giving me.
"You have mine as well, Si," Ezra came to place a hand on my shoulder. I nodded to him before turning to the pilot, who was fuming.
His jaw was clenched so hard that I worried for his teeth cracking. I approached him, speaking in a quiet voice. "Poe, please."
He ran a hand over his face. "Sienna I can't support you in doing this. It is going against everything within me to not stand by you, but I can't let you put yourself in danger like this."
I closed my eyes, reigning in the quick anger that I felt towards him. I knew he was just scared of what could happen. "Poe, I put myself in danger the moment I decided to join the Resistance. I've done all I can to help behind the scenes here. I need to be out there, fighting for the cause alongside you and the others." I stepped closer to him, looking up into his brown eyes. "I will do this without your blessing, but I don't want to. I need your guidance out there."
He looked up over me to Leia. "So you're just going to let her do this then?"
"Her decision has already been made, Poe. I think you can see that."
His eyes snapped back to mine. "Yeah well mine has, too," he said before taking off further into the cavern. I watched him until he disappeared behind an old ship. With a sigh, I turned back to the other two.
Leia had a knowing smile. "He will come around."
Once day broke, everyone started to get into the groove of survival. Everyone had been given blasters from the old artillery cabinet at the base. We knew there wasn't much time before the Order showed up on Crait, and we had to be ready. Leia was up at the opening of the base keeping lookout.
Ezra and I had told our team of four about him now being the lead doctor. Tash's wide eyes met mine with a fury as I explained my new position in this fight. "What the fuck, Sienna?"
I grabbed the bridge of my nose. "I know, Tash. I'm sorry I didn't speak to you about it, but the decision just kind of came to me and I had to roll with it. Trust me on this, okay? I'll be alright."
She huffed at me with an eye roll. "Well I know you'll be alright, you bad ass." She wrapped her arms around my neck. "You better be safe out there, Dreis. I can't take losing my best friend. And I want to be able to say that my gal is a kick-ass doctor and fighter. I mean, how cool right?"
I laughed, always appreciative of her supportive words."You won't lose me, love. Someone needs to keep you in line." I gave her a wink as she lightly punched my arm.
Leia's voice came over my radio. "They're coming. Shut the door." I took a quick glance over my shoulder before turning back to the crew.
"Those of you comfortable enough to fight, come up front with your blasters. If not, stay in the back under cover." I gave Tash's hand a squeeze before running up towards the shutting door. A large portion of us were watching as the Order ships headed straight for the opening. The ship in the lead looked like it had no plans of pulling up.
"Shit," I whispered under my breath. "Everyone get back! Get back!"
We all scrambled backwards as the lead ship cleared the door, crashing into the opening of the cave. Everyone hid behind various crates, shooting at the ship as it came to rest. Poe and I stepped out from behind our cover with continued fire until two pairs of hands shot out from the front of the ship.
Poe held his hand up. "Hold your fire. Hold your fire!"
Leia joined us at the front, gasping when Finn and Rose showed their faces.
"Rose! Finn! You're not dead! Where's my droid?" Just as Poe asked, the ramp on the ship came down and revealed our round friend who was beeping enthusiastically as he sped to Poe's feet. The pilot dropped down to his knees as he greeted him. "Buddy! I'm so glad to see you!" I kneeled down by him as BB-8 turned to me.
"You had us worried sick!" BB-8 beeped his apologies as I kissed the top of his metal head, meeting Poe's eyes. He looked back to the droid, still not wanting to speak to me.
I turned my attention to the two fighters coming down the ramp, wrapping my arms around them in a quick embrace. "Welcome back."
"This is all that's left?" Rose asked in a sad voice. I stepped back, giving her a sad smile.
"It is. They took out the majority of our transport ships," Leia said as she greeted the two. She looked back at Ezra who was coming up with a med bag. "Let's get you two cleaned up, then we will come up with a plan." She turned to me. "Poe, take the others and start up the command center. We need to get our message out so we can get some reinforcements."
"You got it, General."
So it turned out that the base wasn't as bad off as I had originally thought it'd be. We were able to get the distress signal to the Outer Rims, and just in time.
"Rose, what do you got?" Poe asked as the woman entered the room.
She looked annoyed. "Rotted munitions, rusted artillery, and some half-gutted skim speeders."
"Well let's just pray that big-ass door holds long enough for us to get some help." Just as Poe finished his statement, the ground shook and pieces of the cave floated down from above. I shared a look with the pilot as Finn looked out to see what was going on.
"A battering ram cannon."
"Come again?" I asked, never hearing that term before.
He turned and gave me a serious look. "Miniaturized death star tech. It'll crack that door open like an egg."
I grabbed Rose's arm. "You said there are skim speeders?"
"Yeah, but they are in pretty bad shape."
I looked back to Poe who had a curious look. "I have an idea, but we have to get those speeders fixed. They don't have much of a complicated build to them, so I think we could get them working pretty quickly. Rose, BB-8, will you help me gather the mechanics so we can get started on it?"
"And how exactly do you know how to repair skim speeders, Dreis?" Poe asked as he ran a hand through his dark curls.
I shrugged. "I took one out without my father's permission once, but it was too cold and froze up the joints on the mono-ski and I had a pretty big wipe-out. Had to fix it in the middle of a blizzard to get the damn thing back before he found out." I didn't take too long looking at everyone's shocked reactions before grabbing Rose's hand and heading towards the old ships.
After borrowing some parts from other ships and digging around for tools, we got started on getting the speeders in working condition. Poe had joined us, making sure that the guns were all functional. We'd definitely be needing them. I wiped my hands on my pants as he checked over the last ship, giving it a passing inspection.
He nodded as he turned to me. "We need to get going. Good thinking on this, doc." He had an oil smudge on his cheek, reminding me of the first time I had seen him. The memory brought a smile to my face as I reached up and wiped the mark away. He grabbed my wrist as I pulled away, running his thumb over his mother's ring. Before he could speak there was another quake, breaking us out of our moment and scrambling to the ships.
Our plan was soon set in motion. With the small amount of fighters we had left, the majority would provide ground support while fourteen of us took out the speeders.
"Ground forces incoming," a fighter's voice came into my ear through the headset.
"Copy that, on our way."
I looked over to Poe, who was already looking at me. I gave him a thumbs-up, causing him to chuckle over the radio. "I love you," he mouthed to me.
"I know," I mouthed back with a wink before taking off across the salt flat, leaving a blood-red trail behind me. Poe easily caught up, coming into place on my left.
"All right, listen up," he started over the headset. "I don't like these rust buckets, and I don't like our odds- what the hell- just keep it tight and don't get drawn in too close 'til they roll that cannon up front. Ground forces, lay down some fire!"
Blaster shots flew between our rusty ships, trying to create a dent in the Order's line. The sight before us felt as if it were supposed to be in a storybook. Or a horror tale. The cannon looked as formidable as the Death Star, and it didn't help knowing that Kylo Ren was somewhere along the taller ships that flanked it. The feeling of static was deep within the back of my mind, and I wondered if Poe could feel it too.
A large group of fighters came over their ground ships. I stared with wide eyes, suddenly agreeing with Poe about not liking our bad odds.
"Fighters, break off!" The Order suddenly began firing at us from the TIE fighters above. I narrowly missed being taken out, having to lean heavy to the left on my ski to avoid it. Clouds of red mineral dust surrounded us, making it somewhat difficult to see. However, I was able to see a shot from one of their ships headed for the speeder in front of me.
"No!" I yelled as the speeder went up in flames. I turned right, creating a new trail of red as the far side of the speeder ran along the ground. Righting it, I swung back around to the left, dodging shots as they continued to rain down.
"Come on! We gotta hold them until they pull up that cannon!"
The race to the cannon continued as we all struggled to keep steady. I spared a glance over, seeing Rose tailed by the fighters.
Finn yelled over the radio, "Rose you got three right behind you!"
The young girl continued to weave through the plumes of red, trying to get them off of her tail. "I can't lose them!" her panicked voice filled my ears.
Just as she said it, the three fighters were blown out of the sky. I looked up to see the Millennium Falcon as Finn's cheering came over. The quick ship was decimating the small fighters, finally giving those of us on the ground some relief. The fighters chased it as it pulled further into the sky.
"She drew them off! All of them!"
"Oh they hate that ship!"
Lining back up, the threat of the cannon became real as it opened, emitting a bright glow from within. Their ground ships started firing, creating another obstacle for the small handful of us left.
"Alright, the cannon is in position," I said as I lined up between Finn and Poe.
"That is a big gun," Rose said in awe.
Finn answered. "It's heavily armored. Our only shot is right down the throat." I watched as it continued to open. The light from within seemingly stronger than the sun above. "The cannon's open, this is our chance."
The Order turned their fire power on us, again sending us scrambling to avoid being hit. Poe almost took my ship out as he steered to the right to avoid a critical shot. I slammed on my break falling back behind him, being covered in red.
"Shit!" I said as I pulled around to where he had originally been on the left. Coming out of the red, there was such a small number of our speeders left. They were slaughtering us.
"They're picking us all off. We're not gonna make it-" Poe began as Finn cut in.
"Alright, making my final approach." I whipped my head over, seeing Finn headed straight towards the mouth of the cannon. "Target in sight, guns are hot."
"Finn, no! Poe we can't do this. We need to retreat, now!" I yelled over the headset, dodging yet another blast.
"Pull off!"
"What?!"
"The cannon is fully charged. It's a suicide run! All craft, pull away!" Poe and I fell off to the left, circling back on ourselves until we were headed back towards the base.
"No! I'm almost there!"
Poe's frustrated voice came through, "Retreat, Finn! That's an order!" As I approached the trenches, I threw on the speeder breaks, not so gracefully skidding to a stop. I hopped out of the cockpit as it slid the last few feet, breaking into a run towards Poe's ship.
Looking out, I could see Finn still headed towards the cannon. Rose was pleading with him over the headset, but there was no sound from Finn's radio as he continued on. I met with Poe just as Rose's ship turned, headed right in Finn's path.
"Rose no!" I screamed into the headset. My plea was ignored as the two ships collided, spinning and breaking off to the side. Poe grabbed my arm, pulling me away from the sight and into the trench.
"Move! Go, go, quick!" He advised us all as we went into the tunnel, retreating into the base. I threw off the headset as I addressed the others.
"Everyone head towards the back of the cavern. Find cover!" Poe and I ran behind a crate of supplies, catching our breath as we sank to the ground just as the cannon blew into the large door. It rocked the entire cave, causing rocks to rain down on us. I looked over as Poe grabbed my hand.
"I'm sorry for doubting you, doc. You held your own out there."
I gave him a sad smile. "I wish I had more time to prove to you that I'd be just as good a pilot as I am a doctor."
"I already believe that. Like I always say, you're full of surprises."
A low murmuring began around us as we gave each other questioning looks. Standing from behind our cover, I was speechless as I saw a man walking slowly out into the salt flat. The energy radiating off of him was monumentous. "Luke," I whispered as I grabbed Poe's arm. "He came."
Walking out towards the opening, Leia and the others met us as we watched the man confront the First Order on his own. Their guns fired upon him continuously, obviously trying to make a point in attempting to kill him so violently. The red dust swirled into the air as the blasts met the ground. It began to clear away as Finn's voice echoed throughout the space.
"Med pack! I need a med pack!" I ran to the opening as he pulled Rose in on his jacket. She was bleeding, but not too heavily. Ezra and the other medics met me as he threw me some wrap.
"Get the bleeding stopped while I check vitals." He said, falling right into his new role as the leader. I gave him a quick smile and nod as I began wrapping her smaller wounds and the others worked on stopping the more major bleeding.
I looked up to see Finn throwing his gaze between us and Poe. "Finn, we have her. Go."
Her vitals were stressed, but stable as we secured her to a mobile stretcher. The blood covering our hands matched the red mineral from outside. I did my best to wipe it off on my pants, but the stain from the liquid remained.
"Si, thank you. We got her stable if you want to go back over to them." Ezra was wiping his hands on an old rag as he looked over to me.
I nodded to him. "Okay. Let me know if you need anything else." I walked over to Poe and Finn who were talking as 3PO was analyzing..
"... The odds of finding an exit are 15,428-"
"Shh, hush. Shut up!" Poe said over the droid.
"... to one." The droid finished as Poe looked deeper into the cave.
"Listen."
"My audio sensors no longer detect-"
"Exactly." Poe turned, looking at all of us. I walked forward, straining my ears to pick up on the familiar sounds of the vulptex.
Finn stood behind Poe. "Where'd the crystal critters go?"
One last vulptex ran to the opening at the back of the base, whining as it turned to escape. I looked to Poe, meeting his eyes with a firm nod. He turned to the others. "Follow me."
The group slowly turned to Leia as she stood in the back. The look on her face brought a smile to mine as she shrugged. "What are you looking at me for? Follow him."
We made our way through the winding caves, listening for the light sounds of crystal bouncing off of the stone walls. My flashlight glimmered off the Vulptex's tail as I turned a corner. "It went this way! Come on!" Poe and Finn passed me as I made sure our group was together.
"This way," I heard Poe say as I caught up to them. We ran forward, only to see the Vulptex squeeze through a small hole in a pile of rocks. "No, no, no, no!" Poe yelled as he went to the rocks, looking into the hole.
I walked back to Leia, looking down at her hand as the light beacon glittered with different colors. It would only be that strong if its other half was close by. Poe was trying to dig out the rocks, grunting in anger as he went. I walked behind him, placing my hand on his arm. "Dameron, listen..." He turned to me, about to argue before I held a finger up to his lips. "Shh."
I could faintly hear the sound of rocks scraping against each other from outside. I walked back, taking Poe with me as we stood with Finn. "Rey is here."
It didn't take long before sunlight filtered through into the cave. I looked to the two men as we crawled up to the mouth of the opening. Rey was standing in the salt, levitating rocks high into the air. It was an amazing sight, and you could feel the Force coming off of her in waves, much like with Luke earlier. Finn ran to his friend, embracing her as the rocks fell to the ground.
Poe slung an arm around my shoulders, pulling me in to kiss the side of my head. I looked up to him with a bright smile. "I love you."
He smirked at me as he backed away into the tunnel. "I know. Now let's help the others." I rolled my eyes, following him into the cave to get the others out. The Falcon was brought down, bringing a huge sense of comfort to everyone as they boarded the legendary ship. It wasn't until everyone was on board that I let the relief sink in. We had made it out.
I was braced on a window ledge as Chewy went into lightspeed, taking in the bluish hue.
"I swear, if I stuck my head out of the window right now, you wouldn't be able to tell where my hair ended." Tash threw her arms around me from behind, placing her chin on my shoulder while I laughed at her ridiculous statement.
"May I recommend not doing that, crazy woman." She snorted as she let go of me and stood at my side.
"Well, you didn't die on your first mission as a fighter, so I guess you have my permission to continue on with your bad-ass self." She turned to me with a more serious look. "I really am going to miss working with you, Dr. Dreis."
I grabbed her hand and smiled. "I appreciate that, Tash, but it isn't like this is forever. I'm sure I'll be back eventually. Maybe once this war has finally ended."
"Yeah but until then I have to actually listen to what Ezra tells me to do." She stuck her tongue out with a gag face. Ezra had been walking up behind her, but I didn't feel like telling her that.
"Glad to know what you think of my promotion," Ezra said in a humorous tone. Tash's dark brows shot up into her bangs as she realized he had heard her. Ezra and I both laughed at her shocked expression before her eyes were trained on me.
"Sienna, you bitch, you knew he was there! I am no longer speaking to you until this hunk of metal lands on the ground, traitor." With that, the vixen spun on her heel and "stomped" off into the halls of the ship.
I was grateful that she always remained the same, regardless of the situation.
"You are gonna have your hands full with her, Dr. Fannin."
"What else is new," he replied, shaking his head. We both turned to the window, letting a comfortable silence settle between us. I could hear the others laughing and talking to one another, and it brought a small smile to my face. Our numbers were low, but we made up for it with spirit and dedication to our united cause.
"Si, I wanted to speak with you about Dameron." I turned to him with a raised brow, about to speak before he cut me off. "Just listen." He hesitantly grabbed my hand with the ring, looking down at it. "I want you to know that I've come to respect the pilot and his feelings for you. On Crait, he was protective of you without suffocating you. I believe he will continue to help you test and prove yourself, regardless of if he 'likes' it or not. Something I obviously couldn't give you as a significant other, but I'm hoping to give you as a friend if you'll let me."
I had no words for Ezra as I wrapped my arms around him. This is what I had been wanting with him since getting over our messy breakup, and it felt so good to have it reciprocated. "Thank you."
"We've always made a good team." He said as he stepped back, placing his hands on my shoulders. I nodded in agreement.
"We have. I'm happy we can get back to that." I felt something hit my leg, and I looked down to see my favorite round droid. I kneeled down, rubbing the side of the orb. He beeped at me in a cheery tone, causing me to laugh. "I'm happy, too, buddy. Don't tell Poe, but I think next time we ride out you should ride with me instead of him." The droid let out a high-pitch, rolling a circle around me.
"Those are fighting words, Dreis." I looked up to see Poe waking over to us with a raised brow, but his signature grin. BB-8 replied to him, sticking by my side.
"Don't worry, he will give in eventually." I placed a kiss on his head before he sped off, purposely bumping the pilot on his way out, causing Poe to let out a string of curses under his breath. Ezra and I both laughed as I stood up.
Ezra stepped forward towards the pilot, extending his hand. "You're a lucky man, Dameron. I'm glad she has you." Poe grasped his hand tightly and grabbed his arm with his other hand, smiling at Ezra before directing it over to me.
"Don't I know it."
Ezra turned to me with a nod and small wave. "I'll see you both on land, yeah?"
"Of course," I replied as Poe walked to my side. Ezra walked down the hall, leaving me alone with the pilot.
He wrapped his arms around me, holding me to his chest. His usual scent was mixed with dirt and salt, but it still brought me comfort as I listened to his heart beat beneath his shirt. I counted them, out of habit, and knew we had been standing there for some time.
He stroked small circles on my back while resting his cheek on the top of my head. He took a deep breath, holding it for a second before speaking. "Marry me," he said so softly I thought I had imagined it until I pulled away and saw the seriousness on his face.
"I- wai- what?" I stumbled over my words, my mouth not quite catching up with the rapid-fire thoughts in my mind. My emotions immediately frayed, creating the familiar pressure of tears behind my eyes once his words registered.
He chuckled before reaching up and tracing his thumb over my bottom lip. "I don't have a ring yet, and I know this isn't the most romantic way to ask, but I'm not letting another battle come between us before I let you know my intentions." He stepped back, looking out of the window as he ran a hand across his stubbled jaw. I don't think I had ever seen him look nervous before.
"You are the most amazing woman I have ever met," he started while grabbing my hands. "and it is still beyond me why you have chosen me as your partner. But I will constantly work to challenge and love you, like you do to me. I want to be able to witness your passion, dedication, strength and determination for the rest of my life." He reached up, wiping away the tear that had fallen down my cheek. "I want to watch you become one of the best Resistance fighters in our ranks, watch you continue to heal and help others. I want to watch you walk down the aisle, watch you give birth to our children-" His voice caught with emotion on the word before taking another deep breath and grabbing my face with his large hands. "Sienna Dreis, will you marry me?"
A small sob escaped me as I took my quivering bottom lip between my teeth, only able to nod my answer to him. His smile in that moment was everything as he pulled my mouth to his. I laughed against his lips in pure joy. "I love you so much."
He pressed his lips against my forehead. "And I love you." We pulled apart, just staring at each other and grinning like fools. "I can't wait to tell Leia," he said, making my heart soar at his excitement to share the news with her.
"Tell me what?" Leia's voice floated across the room. We turned to her, the knowing smile on her face matched her twinkling eyes as she looked between the two of us.
The joy from our news wound its way through the underlying sadness in the ship, inducing an odd guilt over my heart. However, I knew that our lost comrades would want us to continue on. To continue fighting, and finding reasons to fight for.
"Ajan Kloss will give us those opportunities," I thought as I felt the rock of the ship landing, the green jungle out of the window reflecting my green eyes back to me.
***
Hi everyone! First of all, I want to thank each and every one of you who has been reading CONSTELLATIONS, and especially those of you who comment. Also, yay for reaching #1 in thelastjedi rankings! I love reading your reactions and it keeps me motivated to continue on with Sienna and Poe's story.
That being said, I originally was going to wrap this story up by the end of TLJ storyline, but that is obviously not the case. I want to see Sienna's story through to the end since I feel she has more to tell. I hope y'all don't mind :)
As always, I hope you are all happy and healthy!