The Rebel Queen - Poe Dameron

Chapter X: Metal Boneyard

Calista

"We're comin' up on the coordinates. Planet seems quiet accordin' to radar," Odhen steadied their decent with one hand while the other pointed to a towering structure obscured by dark thunder clouds. "There's our mark."

Calista and Paige leaned closer to the windshield to get a better view. Poe was preoccupied with looking over all the flashing lights on the dashboard.

The inside of the Somnambulist rattled and shook as the ship lowered onto a clearing next to a magnificent and unsightly metal construction.

The tower had all 12 bomber ships hitched onto its sides like prongs on a spiked mace. It looked like a relic of the past; covered in rust, faded paint and white saline patches from years of being exposed to stormy weather conditions. Around it, the landscape of Telos was equally devastated and muted.

Odhen narrowed his eyes as he looked through the windshield. After a pause, he snapped his fingers to get his new co-pilot's attention, "Poe, send out the survey drones, let's make sure we have no surprises waitin' for us."

Poe complied and punched in a few buttons on his side of the cockpit. The sound of something breaking off the Somnambulist's hull reverberated through the grated floor and one of the overhead screens showed four panels displaying live camera feeds. One of the drones closed in on a row of 3 bomber ships clamped down to the tower. The clamps were caked with rust-stained salt piles, they looked like they were fused to the ships.

Doubt hung over Paige's features as she spoke bluntly, "I've seen prettier looking ships in a salvage yard."

"It's a good thing we don't judge a ships merits by what it looks like," Poe noted lightly as he glanced around the Somnambulist's interior.

Ton-Ton waddled back into the cockpit and prattled on in an alarmed tone as he read the meteorological statistics of the planet over a datapad.

"Well, ain't that a peach!" Odhen grumbled in exasperation.

"What is it?" Paige asked as she tried to read over Ton-Ton's screen.

"Atmosphere's corrosive. See that paint damage on the tower and surrounding debris?—" Odhen pointed at the camera feeds of the drones circling the perimeter. "That's not ordinary weatherin' neither. That's from acid rain. There's also scorch marks along the rod of the tower. We don't want to be anywhere near that thing when the weather turns, it's basically a giant lightnin' rod."

Poe ran his hand over his scruff, "We knew Telos wasn't going to be a destination vacation spot."

Ton-Ton brought up some new readings that seemed to alarm him even more.

Odhen was about to translate Ton-Ton's words but Calista interjected after noticing Mokk-Toh's fixed gaze on something dark looming in the distance, "Let me guess, there's a storm coming?"

"This just gets better and better," Poe said bitterly. "I'm gonna tell the other crew members to get prepped and put on protective gear. Odhen, hail the refueller and let them know our timetables shifted. If a storm is coming, I don't want to be on the ground when it hits."

Odhen put on his headset and hailed the other ship. Calista quietly departed from the cockpit and made her way to the crew quarters to get changed into gear more suitable for Telos's unfriendly climate.

Calista noticed Telos looked identical to the hologram in Leia's office. The crew was met by a barren landscape with patches of arid desert bordered by pale, undergrown grasslands and a large body of water branching off into smaller streams like a bleeding wound the colour of red clay.