juno; poe dameron

v

"You know he was sent out by the General on some secret mission" Kasei popped another grape into her mouth, side-eyeing the pilot as the three of us sat at the round lunch table.

"For what?" Colbie questioned, trying not to turn over to the pilot, who was fiddling with the new antennae on his BB Unit.

"To find the map that leads to Luke Skywalker" Kasei's voice was low and secretive as she leaned in to give us more information- she was the General's secretary after all.

My stomach dropped at the mention of his name. Luke Skywalker- Jedi Master, a legend among men- among the entire Rebel Alliance. He disappeared years ago, to some remote island to die alone.

"The First Order is working on a weapon more than twice the size of the Death Star that uses the sun's energy as its resource of power" Kasei explained as if it were our first time hearing it, hence the nonchalant, "We know" from Colbie and me. 

"And you guys aren't freaking out?"

"Kasei, I'm a droid mechanic there's really not much that I can do" There was a tone of annoyance in my voice, only because it was true. All I can really do is rewire a few circuit boards and configure some hard drives and hope for the best. When my job is done, I can only sit back and pray that everyone comes home. Especially Black Leader.

As lunch hour was coming to a close and I walked towards the trash can to throw out my fourth cup of coffee, I felt my shin hit something hard and round that was made of metal. Before I could cuss, the sound of apologetic beeping came from beneath me. I looked down to be greeted by an orange and white BB Unit, BB-8 to be exact.

"Buddy!" The familiar sound of both the fabric of an orange jumpsuit rustling together and the pilot's voice caused my cheeks to start burning up instantly. Both BB-8 and I turned around to face the pilot, who also had an apologetic look on his face. These two are a real dynamic duo.

"Hey! Sorry about my droid, he keeps tryin' to follow you around since last night" Poe gave a small kick to the unit, which didn't make him too happy. BB-8's tempered boops and beeps erupted from his small, round body as Poe looked down at the droid with a stern glare.

"It's fine. He's pretty cute, actually" I smiled and looked over at the droid, who was hiding behind its owner's legs and back up at the pilot, who was dressed for a mission.

"Where are you off to now?" I crossed my arms over my chest, scanning the pilot's orange suit.

"Why don't you follow me and I'll show ya" Flirt.

My stomach filled with butterflies as the warmth from my cheeks had now traveled up to the tips of my ears. "Or do your friends wanna keep you?" He added. I looked back at Colbie and Kaesi, whose jaws were both down to the floor while they used their hands to signal that I should go. Poe nudged his head in the direction of the Hangar, which was all the way across the base. I followed.

"So, uh, how long have you been working with droids?" He attempted to make small talk as we made our way to the Hangar.

"As long as I can remember, my dad let me experiment with scrap pieces all the time as a kid. I guess it never really went away" My arms were still crossed over my chest in an attempt to stay warm as we got closer to the Hangar. They kept that damn door open all day, and the wind has been blowing strong this week, so it's freezing in the Hangar during the day.

The sound of metal being smelted and hammered echoed throughout the large, barren room. It smelled of concrete and gasoline, the same exact smell of my father's old garage. Nostalgia came over me as I found myself taking abnormally deep breaths in order to take in as much of this familiar smell as possible.

Still following Poe, he lead me to the center of the Hangar, where a large, black and orange X-Wing stood. You could tell it was Dameron's from miles away, especially with the distinct scratches and patterns. Just like his droid, he never lets anyone touch his X-Wing.

"Why are you showing me this?" My arms still crossed over my chest as my head tilted up to view the entire aircraft.

"Let's go for a ride"