Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Regency AU)

I

Poe Dameron, Pirate

I landed on Jakku late in the evening.  Fortunately, the General was correct in her assumptions.

Lor San Tekka, a seemingly harmless old geezer, was waiting.

I'd done my reading, well, what little I could do, and found out all about the man.  He'd been a pirate in his younger days, not under the employment of a King, or General in my case, but back and forth, switching allegiances as it suited him.

And now he had acquired a piece of the map to Luke Skywalker.

I followed the geezer into his little home. A little girl ran out, and returned with a small bag, which he took from her.

She looked up at me. "Can I pet him?"

I glanced down at BB, then back at her. "If you'd like to."

She reached out a tentative hand and stroked my orange cat. He purred.

"I believe he likes you," I said with a smile.

"Really?" Her face split in a toothy grin.

"He doesn't purr at just anybody," I told her. She played with the little golden tag on his collar.

Tekka cleared his throat. "Fannie, dear, why don't you go see what Johnny is doing."

Fannie glanced at the retired pirate, and nodded. She waved to BB. "Bye-bye, kitty."

After she was gone, Tekka turned back to me. "My granddaughter, Francis."

I nodded. "I gathered such."

"Will you sit?"

I declined the chair, preferring to stand. He shrugged and sat in a wooden chair.

"Lovely weather, don't you think?" Tekka asked. "It's usually very dry here, but this moist air from the south is doing wonders for the soil. I haven't seen this much green since Endor."

I hadn't seen much green at all, just desert all around. It was a wonder why the huge island was so dry, surrounded entirely by water.

But I wasn't there to discuss the abnormal weather. "Tekka, I don't have much time. I suspect that the First Order knows I'm here, and the faster we get this over with, the less will die."

He nodded and slowly reached for the bag Fannie had brought. He paused. "How is Princess Leia?"

"That's General now," I said, focused on the bag in his hand.

"She'll always be the princess to me. Again, how is she?"

"She is fine. Eager to see her brother," I said, shortly.

I watched as his hand continued along on its trajectory, into the bag.

He pulled out a small, unremarkable roll of aging parchment and handed it to me. "This will begin to make things right."

I took it and unrolled the frail parchment carefully. Nothing recognizable.

I stood. "Thank you, Tekka. Your contribution is greatly appreciated with the Resistance."