Star Wars: A Resistance Story. Book 1.

Chapter 4: Agreement.

Surprised by Leïa's revelations, the Commander Dameron walked back towards the main air-shed, lost in his thoughts.

"Eh Poe!"

The pilot looked up to see Tubbs arriving. Dameron nodded softly.

"Jaycris..."

"Tell me there's something going on or is it just the paranoid me? You just had a secret meeting with the General and I just saw the new group gathering in the air-shed... And you're obviously going there too..."

Poe arched a brow, amused by his friend's comments. Jaycris Tubbs was like him, always looking for adventures and actions. He was always the first to fight the First Order. Once arrived at the main entrance of the air-shed, Poe studied Ly'ra and her mercenaries. She had gathered her men around her and he thought she was explaining Leïa's plan of action. This woman was brave for sure. He didn't know her past but he knew that to be where she was today, she was probably strong-willed. And bold. Very bold.

"She's pretty..."

"Stop that. Now."

"What?"

"Just forget. Last time you tried to find me a girlfriend, it ended up in fight and she left the base! So thanks, but no thank you. And I don't trust that kind of person anyway." 

"Okay... But there's something going on?"

Poe let out a laugh before looking back at his friend.

"I need a small group of pilots for a mission on Affavan. You go and gather some people and I'm gonna see with Miss-I-Don't-Give-A-Shit-About-Orders what she needs. You have five minutes so go. Oh eh! Jay... Out of uniform!"

Jaycris let out a small victory cry and started running in the corridor. Dameron watched him leave, laughing, before looking back at Ly'ra and her men. His smile disappeared suddenly and he walked into the air-shed reluctantly.

"Affavan? Seriously? Last time we went there, we lost half of our freight, and I'm not even talking about the human loss!" 

Ly'ra was in the center of the circle formed by her men, her arms crossed. She was frowning which wasn't a good sign. The young woman was letting the mercenaries ranted about their various reasons to not go on this planet, until one of her men, the eldest of the group, whistled suddenly, giving her a death silence. 

"Thank you. Look guys, I know this won't be an easy task. But what you need to know is that I don't need all of you. We'll only be a small group and Leïa wants Dameron and some of his pilots to come with us. So I just need three volunteers, with one staying behind in the shuttle to freight the Stygium."

The young pilot fell silent and watched her group. She noticed Poe who was walking in the air-shed, frowning. Obviously his choice wasn't made as he was alone.

"I'm in Cap'..."

Ly'ra turned to face her first volunteer. Without any surprise, it was Dante Verano, her eldest and most faithful friend. Leïa introduced him to the young woman after the "accident" and he taught her everything, from the steering to the fight. Everything she knew now was thanks to him. He was her mentor. The young woman offered him a smile before looking back at the other mercenaries. Her men seemed to be hesitating, but Switch and Bango finally volunteered as well. The others seemed obviously relieved and Ly'ra thanked them with a nod. At this moment, a group of pilots came in the shed and the young woman saw Poe walking towards them.

"Go and gather your stuff. We're leaving in an hour."

Without a word, her men walked back to their ships while Ly'ra and Dante came closer to Poe and his group.

"I just need three volunteers. Okay two now, thanks Jay... Jessika? Awesome. Thank you. And... Nodin, perfect... Okay so... What?"

Dameron looked back at Ly'ra and understood, right away, seeing her face that she didn't like something in his choice.

"What is it?"

"Nothing..."

"What?"

The young woman bit her lower lip before taking a deep breath and stepping forward. She then pointed her finger at Jessika and sighed.

"Not a good idea..."

"Wh-Why? Jess is one of my best pilot and..."

"Oh but I'm sure she is a brilliant pilot... Just like I'm sure she's faithful to Leïa and the Resistance, but she can't come with us..."

The Commander Dameron was starting to lose all his patience and crossed his arms on his chest, turning to face her.

"Why that? You're going, aren't you?"

The young woman let out a sarcastic laugh and arched a brow.

"I didn't know you were the misogynist kind Dameron... But it's not that. Your little princess over there... She can be killed, and it would be the best for her, or being kidnapped in an alley and sold as a slave or being eaten. Literally. And I just gave you the most likely possibilities that are waiting for her. Besides flying a ship, she obviously never did that kind of missions, I can see it in her eyes and I don't wanna babysit her. We'll already have much more to handle."

Obviously confused, Poe frowned, his brown eyes going from Ly'ra, then Jessika to the rest of his men. The young mercenary went on:

"Alright, this is why Leïa asked to the both of us to go. Okay so little lecture about Affavan. Besides the Hutts, we are more likely to meet First Order's spies, maybe the First Order itself, Blood Carvers, T'Surrs, Togorians also... And I'm just saying the more popular ones... So I hope I don't need to explain everything about those species... Seeing your faces, I don't think it'll be necessary. So you choose someone else, you gather your stuff and we go... We have to reach the Outer Rim, and it'll take us at least two days of flight."

With this said, Ly'ra turned on her heels, BB8 still close to her, and they walked towards her X-Wing to take some stuff and even more weapons. Poe watched her leave, still silent, split between anger and admiration. He then felt a friendly slap on his back, Jay was following his gaze, obviously amused by the situation.

"Niv is taking Jess' place. I see... She is a short tempered kind. Are you sure you don't want to..."

"Absolutely sure. Now go and prepare yourself. I'll see you at the shuttle in less than ten minutes..."

Just a little word to say that I'm sorry if there's any mistakes. English is not my first language, but I wanted to share my story with everyone and not only the French speaking people. I hope you'll enjoy it! Please share it, comment and vote if you do. :)