Flying Through the Flames || Poe Dameron [The Force Awakens + the Last Jedi]

The Lieutenant

A/N: Oof, this is one of my favourite chapters of this whole book! I hope everyone loves it as much as I do! 

Let me know what you think!

Also, I 10/10 would recommend listening to Mumford and Son's Thistle & Weeds while reading this chapter. I like to think of it as a good representation of what Nyssa is feeling in this scene. 

- TAAF_

Strorm's POV

I was counting down the minutes until my shift monitoring the scanner of the Resistance Headquarters was over. Every sanctioned vehicle and schedule was programmed into the computer and it was my job to watch it in case someone showed up who wasn't cleared.

Ever since Lieutenant Tanager and Commander Dameron vanished without a word, General Organa had us trainees doing scut work to pass the time. What pissed me off the most was no one thought to tell us what happened to them, the officers who spent hours upon hours training us, people I and the rest of the trainees respected.

Of course there were rumours. With Tanager gone first, everyone assumed she had gone on some secret mission. She definitely seemed like the type to do General Organa's work. The Lieutenant was terrifying and everyone knew it. Some said she used to be a bounty hunter for hire before the Resistance was officially formed. I had no trouble believing that.

When Commander Dameron disappeared a week after, that's when people started getting suspicious. Why would General Organa take away both our commanding officers when we badly needed training? Even though Organa had attempted a replacement, Jess Pava wasn't the same. I liked her and all, but it just wasn't the same leaving her to teach us everything.

One of the rumours about our missing officers was the Lieutenant had left the Resistance with no warning and when she didn't come back, Organa sent the Commander after her. I hoped to hell that wasn't true. As terrifying as she was, the Lieutenant was an amazing teacher and an obviously very valuable resource in the Resistance. She saved my life. She stopped bullets shot at me /midair/ with the Force, and I didn't know anyone in the Resistance who could do that. I dreamt about how close I'd come to death almost every night since she saved me.

When it came to the rumours, I kept to myself what I saw Lieutenant Tanager do with the Force. I knew it was a serious matter and I would be on the wrong side of a very powerful person if I let it out to the trainees. I didn't imagine the Commander would be too pleased, either. If the Lieutenant had a best friend, I'd wager it was him. I doubted he would be happy if I told the whole Resistance that she had a secret.

Commander Dameron had only been gone a day or so, so I figured there was still hope for them to return. I thought maybe the Lieutenant had run into some trouble and the Commander was sent to help her. A few of the other trainees shared my beliefs. We all just hoped they would be back soon.

The monitor that scanned the tarmac for the various landings that took place outside base camp had been unmoving for the last three hours that I'd sat at the desk inside HQ and I was exhausted. I had no idea sitting and staring could be so exhausting.

I unscrewed the cap on my water bottle, tipping it back for a sip before I remembered it was empty. I glanced outside, where rain was hammering the tarmac, and sighed. I knew something bad would happen to me if I abandoned the stupid screen for even a moment to get water.

I jumped, my water bottle clanging to the floor, as an incessant squawking of the monitor's alarm rang. I narrowed my eyes.

Unsanctioned landing.

Maybe tonight would be more interesting than I anticipated.

*

Everyone on duty that night seemed to know the protocol better than I did as I announced there was an unsanctioned landing near the back of the tarmac. People burst into a flurry of movement, snatching blasters and the like before heading outside to brave the storm.

I cursed myself for ending up on monitor duty the one night something interesting was happening because my protocol was very clear about me having to stay at the desk and make sure no more intruders attempted to get in. Every inch of me was dying to see what was going on as officers raced out to see who was trespassing.

The entrance to HQ was a convenient distance from the desk, and with all the commotion, I doubted anyone would care. Maybe I was too tired to consider the consequences of my actions but I scampered for the doorway. Where I stood, my attention was torn between that blasted screen and whatever was happening outside. I squinted into the night, watching as a crowd formed around whoever I assumed had gotten out of the rust bucket of a ship they came in.

If whoever they were had planned a heist or invasion, I couldn't help but silently criticize their choice of vehicle. And that trying to undermine the Resistance was a terrible idea indeed.

The horde of people was shifting closer to HQ, and I narrowed my eyes. People were running toward them, guns blazing, but once they got to a certain distance, they powered down their blasters. Strange. Was the person no threat?

I squinted as the throng of officers and trainees alike drew closer still. I couldn't figure out why the crowd would be following if the person wasn't a threat.

"It's Lieutenant Tanager!" someone shouted. "Someone get a gurney!"

My heart jolted. Had I heard them right? Where was the Commander if not with her? Was Lieutenant Tanager in the middle of the crowd? If she could walk, why did they need a gurney?

The group of people was finally close enough for me to make out details. I caught a glimpse of messily braided orange hair in the fluorescent light of HQ. The Lieutenant always had some kind of braid in. People were noisily following, offering to "Take him." I still couldn't see properly. It had to be her. Then someone was pushed away from her by some unseen force, and my mouth fell open at what I saw.

It was Lieutenant Tanager, and someone thrown over her shoulder. Commander Dameron.

Confusion and even more curiosity erupted in my mind. The Commander was unconscious from what I could see, and I started walking after them. I hoped he was unconscious and not something worse.

The Lieutenant was not looking good. Her face was so gaunt compared to when I last saw her, her cheekbones jutting out and her skin was so pale. Pale save for the dirt that covered her head to toe and the redness in her cheeks. Her eyes held a ferocity that made me want to run and hide, had I not been so curious.

People were offering to take Poe from her, but she ignored them and kept walking. Toward the medical bay, I realized. I could see, and better yet, feel why no one had tried to stop her and physically take Poe from her to give her a break. She had such fire in her eyes anyone who crossed her would regret it, and we all knew it.

What the hell had happened to them?

Another person called for the doctor, and I stopped walking at the edge of the medical bay where the crowd was dispersing slightly, at least backing away from the two to give space.

When the Lieutenant reached the nearest gurney, she sort of ran into it, like she couldn't stop herself on her own, and stuck out a hand to brace herself. As she lowered the Commander, her face revealed the most pain I'd ever seen her in. The most emotion I'd seen on a face could barely remember smiling.

She let out this strangled noise, standing straighter and looking around. She still held a hand next to where the Commander was lying as the doctor came up behind her.

"Nyssa!" General Organa called, who made her way hurriedly towards her two prized pilots.

Lieutenant Tanager's head tilted, and that's when I noticed she was trembling. Vibrating like an engine. Something was wrong with her, not just Dameron. She moved to step towards Organa when she dropped to the floor like a stone.

Organa lurched to catch her, but didn't make it in time, the Lieutenant landing on her side with her face resting on the floor. I watched, eyes wide, as Organa took her face in her hands, but immediately winced as though she'd touched something hot.

"Doctor Kalonia!" Organa snapped, looking up at the doctor trying to tend to the Commander. "Someone get an ice bath."