juno; poe dameron

ii

"Just breathe"

The apprentice mechanic's fingers trembled as she held a pair of pliers next to the torn wire. I rested my hand on her shoulder as she backed away from the training droid, inhaling deeply and exhaling slowly. When she went back in, the tremor had seceded and she had successfully cauterized the wire and placed it back on the main circuit.

"Nice, keep workin' on him and I'll check back later" I patted her shoulder before standing up and doing one last scan around the room. Each and every one of these students' faces were twisted in concentration as sparks lit up their masks and aprons, cauterizing and splitting different wires. When they take their final exam and graduate to licensed droid mechanics, there is no doubt in my mind that they will be the best group of mechanics the Rebellion has ever seen.

It was half-past four when I sat down at my desk, watching the clock closely for the hand to strike five. While my elbow rested on the desk my jaw rested on my knuckles, my eyelids slowly becoming heavier and heavier by the second until I realized I was drifting in and out of sleep. That was until the sound of shouting jolted me awake and stand up from my desk, it was loud enough to echo throughout the entire room. I scanned the room before realizing the source of this and I jogged towards the student and kneeled down to assess the situation. A bad shock from a cauterizer had burned all the way from the tips of his fingers to the middle of his forearm. The student was writhing in pain, holding his hand close to his chest as I called for medical. Everyone in the room had stopped what they were doing just to watch the entire situation go down. A team of medics had arrived before you could say wookie.

My teeth were chewing away at my cuticles as I watched the boy wince in pain while being hauled to the medical center. When I was finally able to gain some composure, I turned around to face the worried students.

"You are all dismissed. I will see you all at 6 A.M sharp tomorrow morning"

As the students began to pack up their things, I went back to my desk and saw that I had just gotten a new message from one of the Commanders themselves, ordering that I'd see General Organa immediately. My stomach dropped to the floor as I swallowed the lump in my throat.The only thought running through my mind was that General Organa, Leader of the Resistance is about to personally demote me herself. My heart was beating at a million miles an hour as I walked towards the main floor, tears threatening to spill from my eyes as I entered the room.

General Organa and some members of her counsel stood in the middle of the room, each with the same disappointed and angry look on their faces. It took every nerve in my body not to break down in front of them, but I stood tall in front of the highest ranks of the Rebellion.

"Commander Juno Loring, we have gotten word of your incident. Would you like to explain?"

"I took a look around to assess my students before making the decision that they were doing fine on their own. It was a mistake and now I must pay the price for it"

"If it were only that simple, Commander. You were seen sleeping at your desk, which is an offense to your position"

"I closed my eyes for a secon-"

"You will receive a disciplinary warning, Commander" General Organa spoke. The council looked at her with a look of utter disbelief as she gave me a subtle smile.

"You are, without a doubt, the best Droid Mechanic on this planet, Commander. And I don't want anyone else but you working on our most important droids"

I could only bow my head in thanks and forgiveness before looking back up at General Organa, who dismissed me from the room. My heart was still going a million miles an hour, but for a different reason now. As the fuzziness in my brain began to fade away, I realized I was back in the workroom. Before I started packing up my things, I leaned against the doorframe and pinched my nose between the tip of my thumb and index finger. My eyes squeezed shut as I attempted to get the image of that boy's fried arm out of my head, tried to get his screams of pain to stop echoing.

Shutting off the lights, I locked the door and placed the keycard back in its designated pocket. My heart rate had slowed down at this point and I started to feel the effects of one of the worst anxiety attacks of my entire life. With my toolbox held in one hand and the key to my room in the other, just the thought of my bed made me tired.

Just as I was about to make the turn to my dormitory hall, the sound of running footsteps echoed from far away, becoming louder and louder with every second until they were directly behind me. My hand rested on the blaster holstered around my thigh, entire body froze as I was ready to pull the trigger.

Nothing could have prepared me for what- or who I saw when I turned around.