gravity → POE DAMERON ✓

t h i r t e e n

𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙏𝙃𝙄𝙍𝙏𝙀𝙀𝙉
—𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘥—

     POE DIDN'T WANT to be emotional as he arrived back on base, trying to keep his expression neutral. No one around the pilot quarters asked questions as he asked to see General Organa, and Spencer decided it would be best to just follow behind him. There wasn't anything either of them could have done; if the two of them had stayed back to help with the blonde girl's ship . . . they, too, would have suffered the consequences.

"Gener‒ Leia," Poe pauses, swallowing back his urges to yell. "We just arrived back from our mission, and there's a problem."

"Oh, what is it?" Leia turns from her previous conversation from a pilot, scanning over the two. "And where is Bexley?"

"She didn't turn around, Leia," Poe's voice is no longer strong, and the cracks are clear as he closes his eyes. "They shot her ship down, and we had to get out."

The general was clearly surprised, her expression turning into one of a mourning parent. Leia places her hand on the wall next to them for support, her frame shaking as she runs her free hand down her face.

"Poe, where exactly was she shot down?"

"Somewhere over the plains," he shakes his head, his voice breaking as he looks to the ceiling to hide the stinging in his eyes. "And I'm here to ask permission to go back and find her‒ alone."

"Oh, honey," the general says in sympathy, moving from the wall to place her hands on his shoulders. "I don't think she's . . . You can't go back there, Poe. It's too dangerous, and I won't lose another pilot."

"No, no, you have to," he insists, finally looking into her eyes, "because you don't understand‒ I can't lose her, Leia. She's all I have left."

"I'm so sorry," Leia drops her hands, letting out a loud sigh. "We'll call off missions for the next few days, and the two of you can have a break for a bit."

Spencer only looked to Poe, hoping that he would try again with his begging. They couldn't just leave Bexley there, could they? No pilot was to be left behind, especially if they were so important to the people around them.

"I don't need a fucking break, I need Bexley," Poe clenches his teeth, not bothering to wipe away the stray tear that fell from his eye. "I'm sorry General, but she means more to me than life itself. And I'm not about to just let her go."

He gives the General one last glance, before he turns and disappears into a bigger ship. Spencer was ready to go after him‒ he wanted to go, too. But Leia only shook her head as she placed a gentle grip on his forearm.