Learning to Fly - A Star Wars Fanfiction - Part One of the "Balance" Trilogy

Jay

Jay found Morgan walking out of the forest, acting like she hadn't just disappeared.
"What's up?" she asked.
"What's - What's up?" he asked bluntly. "Where have you been?"
"Around," she said, frowning. "It's not like I didn't leave early for the briefing. Or am I late?" She raised an eyebrow, almost seeming to challenge him. He glanced at his watch.
"No, you're not late," he sighed. "Okay, whatever. Poe and the General are waiting. Let's go."

"To put it simply, we have little time and a lot of obstacles," Poe told them. The three sat alongside General Organa in one of the open rooms. "Asher Lynx is a defecting First Order officer with information concerning a missing soldier."
"Who?" Morgan asked, leaning forward.
"Information will be distributed on a need-to-know basis," the General told her after a slight hesitation. Morgan raised both eyebrows, looking at her. "That won't be a problem, will it?"
"No, ma'am," Morgan crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair. The General glanced at her, expression cold. "General. Miss. Leia." Poe opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it off the General's look. But Jay understood. Morgan shouldn't have known the General's name. So how did she?
"Back to the matter at hand," the General sighed, looking away from Morgan. "This is a simple extraction," she glanced at Poe, expression begging him not to comment. "You fly in at nightfall. Morgan, Poe, you'll be manning the T-70s, drawing fire while Jay infiltrates the barracks on Level Four. Next -"
"Hold up," Morgan frowned. "I know the layout of this ship. Shouldn't I be the one to go in?"
"They know your face," the General told her. "And the First Order knows Poe all too well. Jay is the best option." Jay cleared his throat.
"Uh," he swallowed. "With all due respect, General, I think I might be better off in the cockpit for this mission. Given recent history." He closed his eyes, trying to calm the still raging memory. A fiery blast. Piercing pain. Blind, afraid, suffocating -
"Jay," the General's voice cut through the darkness. He nodded, wincing. She looked at him in concern.
"Sorry," he mumbled. "But, yeah, I think Morgan should be the one to go in." The General sighed, looking down, rubbing her temples.
"Fine," she relented. "Morgan, you assume Jay's role. Jay, you're in the cockpit. Happy?" Nods around the table. "Good. Morgan, we have the stolen TIE you brought us. You need to fly it back in."
"Hang on," Jay frowned. "Wouldn't the First Order have identified it by now? They'll recognize it."
"Scrambler," Poe slid a silver device onto the table. "Got it off the black market. Thought it might work for us."
"Scrambler?" Morgan asked.
"Signal recalibration. They won't know the stolen ship from Kylo freakin' Ren's TIE itself," Jay smiled. "This could work."
"Who am I looking for, then?" Morgan asked. The General handed her a folder. Morgan took it gingerly, waiting.
"Everything we have on Asher," she explained. "You go in and you bring him back to us alive. In and out. No side-missions, clear?" Morgan nodded, opening the folder.
"Crystal," she said quietly, but Jay saw her brow furrow in surprise as she looked inside. She then shut the folder quickly, putting it on her lap. He glanced at the others. He seemed to be the only one that had noticed her alarm.
"All set, then?" the General asked them. They nodded. "I expect you all in the hangar by sunset."