Cosmic || Poe Dameron

Chapter One

Five years had passed since Vera became part of the Resistance, and now at 22, she was the proud commander of Alpha Unit; the greatest tactical team the Resistance had ever seen. After the death of her family, Vera had struggled to adjust to her new life... but to be a Torreto was to be a fighter, and she was no different. Instead, she channeled her destructive energy into more productive streams, her skills and sharp mind progressing her through the Resistance's ranks at a pace no one could match.

Vera had also grown over the years, both in body and in spirit, and her feisty and compassionate nature slowly returned to her. Her once short russet hair was now long and wavy, and her slight figure had become more womanly, soft curves in all the right places. To her great frustration, Vera was still shorter than most her age, only gaining a mere inch or two over the years.

She jogged towards the Resistance base as the morning sun began to rise, bathing the world in a pale peach glow. A slight breeze cooled her hot skin as her feet hit the tarmac, playing with loose strands of her auburn hair as she ran passed the first line of sleeping X-wings.

Vera had slipped out of the base in the early hours of the morning, running through the misty hillsides to ease her troubled mind. It was a week before the anniversary of her family's massacre, and each year without fail, nightmares plagued her sleep in the days leading up to it.

She weaved through another cluster of X-wings, her breath slightly labored from her run, small bits of hair sticking to her sweaty forehead. Vera ducked under the body of the final X-wing and gasped as she collided with something solid and warm. The man gave a shout of surprise and she instinctively reached for him as they both began to lose balance. She grabbed his arms and used both their body weights to stabilise them, preventing them from tumbling to the concrete ground.

"God, I'm sorry! I didn't think anyone else would be out so early," Vera exclaimed as she looked up to meet the dark eyes of the man in front of her, letting his arms go. He was at least a head taller than her and three or four years her senior, but damn was he attractive. His dark hair was windswept and curly, feathering his forehead in messy waves that suited him perfectly. His jawline was sharp and matched the glint in his kind eyes, the muscular curves of his body hidden beneath his orange pilot suit.

Vera had no doubt the young women of the Resistance swooned over this man.

"It's alright," he said with a chuckle and a cheeky grin, brushing the hair out of his eyes. "No harm done." Vera felt herself returning his smile, offering him a small laugh as she caught her breath.

Poe Dameron watched the young woman in front of him. Her face radiated a spirited glow and he found himself intrigued by it, wanting to know more. He hadn't seen her around before, but to be fair, he had only just joined the Resistance two months prior, leaving behind his days as a commander in the New Republic's defense fleet.

"Are you alright?" he asked her. She seemed startled by his question, but a sweet smile quickly spread across her face.

"Yeah of course. As you said, no harm done right?" Vera answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

"You're a pilot, I see," she commented, nodding at his orange jumpsuit as she placed her hands on her hips.

"Only the very best," he responded with a goofy smile, casually leaning against the body of the X-wing behind him, arms crossed over his broad chest. Vera chuckled at his confidence, enjoying his light company.

"Oh I'm sure," she replied with slight exaggeration, her eyebrow raised in amusement and a wide smile on her face. Poe was about to respond when Vera's comlink began to beep, signaling an incoming transmission. She pulled the device from her pocket and held it up so he could see it, the little red light flashing.