MONOCHROMATIC [A POE DAMERON X READER STORY]

part 1; chapter six

You stood behind Han Solo as he piloted the Falcon. You watched the whirl of the galaxy in front of you; a swirled tunnel of bright blue against deep black. It hurt your eyes; it made you dizzy. But you couldn't look away from it. You'd never traveled very far before, and suddenly you felt as if you could go anywhere in the universe. 

But first, you had a job to do. You just hoped you could survive it. 

"How are we getting in?" Finn asked. 

"Their shields have a fractional refresh rate," Han explained. "Keeps anything traveling slower than lightspeed from getting through."

"We're making our landing approach at lightspeed?" Finn asked in disbelief. 

Chewie growled and nodded. 

"All right, Chewie, get ready," Han said. 

You reached over and touched Finn's shoulder. He glanced at you and then you both fell back in your seats. You tightened your restraints and gripped the arm rests of the seat. 

"And... now!"

The thrusters fired, and you felt your body rise up into the air. You pressed against your restraints, then fell back down. The ship was diving towards a cliffside of snowy rock.

"Han!" you yelled.

Chewie roared. 

"I am pulling up!" Han shouted. 

The ship tilted upward, reacting slow to the commands that the pilots were giving it. You barely scraped by the rocks and then dove straight into the pine trees. You felt each and every impact of them.

Chewie was roaring again, yelling at his friend to go higher. 

"If I go any higher, they'll see us!" he said. 

You finally burst through the trees and into a clearing. You held in a scream as the ship fell, hit the snow, and bounced off of it. You landed hard for the last time, skidding to a stop on the edge of a cliff.

Breathless, with your hair all around your face, you stared straight ahead. Your fingers slowly released the arm rests; they were tingling from how hard you'd been gripping your seat.

Han turned around. "Pretty smooth landing, eh?" 

You blew your hair out of your face. "Actually, it's been the smoothest one I've been through today."

* * *

It was snowing hard as you ran with your group to the important part of the base. You regretted not stealing a jacket or something; it was far below freezing, and every gust of wind bit into your bare arms.

"The flooding tunnel is over that ridge," Finn said. "We'll get in that way." 

"What was your job when you were based here?" Han asked. 

"Sanitation," Finn said. 

Han's face reflected disbelief. You wrapped your arms around yourself and shivered. 

He grabbed the back of Finn's jacket and pulled him so he could see him. "Sanitation? Then how do you know how to disable the shields?" 

"I don't," Finn said. "I'm just here to get Rey."

"People are counting on us! The galaxy is counting on us!" 

"Solo, we'll figure it out," he said reassuringly. "We'll --- we'll use the Force!" 

"That's not how the Force works!" 

"Okay," you said, piping in. "In case you guys forgot, I am here. And I know how to disable the shields. Now please, let's get a move on before I freeze to death."