Shield You // Poe Dameron // SW FF

Chapter V: close quarters

"Where is the grease jockey" My back straightened in surprise as Guard entered the common space. I was so engrossed in the news that I didn't even hear his door open.

"Asleep... I don't think really got the chance until now." I turned so I could face Guard easily. "Maybe you two can go a whole hour without fighting now." I laughed.

"I don't know... he could talk in his sleep" Guard said. At first, I laughed at the joke, but quickly realized he was not joking.

"How is the soup?" I said, trying to keep the conversation light.

"Better than the rations." He replied as he put his dish in the sink.

I smirked and watched him clean the dish. He was tall and had one of those large frames that made you grateful he was on your side. The more I watched him the more I realized I knew nothing about him. Just that he didn't take his helmet off. "Can I ask you something?"

"I hate that question... just ask what you are going to ask." Nothing about his tone changed, I could ask.

"Fair enough" I paused, deciding the best way to ask. "Are you a mando?"

He turned slowly and leaned against the counter. "No... I just don't want to risk anything. Easier when no one knows what you look like"

I paused thinking about it "Guess that makes sense."

"Are you disappointed?" He asked.

"Honestly no, but I always wanted to meet one... face to face" I shrugged. "I always wondered what they were like our Chief used to be one... but she doesn't act like what you see in the holovids"

"So you were a fan?"

I smiled to myself. "It's funny, I really am. I don't know when I read about the Jedi... I just didn't agree with it all. Mandos though... were real."

Guard turned back to the sink and finished scrubbing his dish. "I only met one... he wasn't everything the stories said he was."

I nodded "Aren't all our heroes?" Then I turned back to the news story I was watching. The carnage in Athulla was not as bad as I thought it was going to be, there also wasn't anything about-

"They haven't posted anything about you yet," Guard interjected.

I tried not to show any emotion, but my eyes flew to Guard instantly. "What do you mean?" Did he know what I did? How?

"Athulla's government has mentioned what happened... but your name isn't in any reports." Guard walked closer to me. "When I found out your identity the first thing I did was look you up. Curiosity aside I wanted to know how far the first order would go for you." Guard sat down next to me. "It wasn't easy, had to ask a contact to get the whole story... and see the vid"

I turned to him with wide eyes. "There is a vid?"

"Hey" Guard's tone was flat. "It's not going around, from what I understand is they want to keep a lid on it. Not sure why the first order is taking it so seriously though."

I looked down at my hands, my eyes glanced to the door that led to Poe's room. I prayed he wouldn't wake up, not now. "Good to know they haven't thrown me to the public yet."

"Why would they?" Guard said. "If they did release the footage, you would become a hero."

Hero. The word felt like a slap in the face. I wonder what Princely would say if he heard that.

"Sure" I rolled my eyes at the idea. The thought that I could be a hero because of that... it was almost a joke. "Look let's stop talking about it." My eyes drifted to Poe's room again. "It's the past, and I would like to leave it on Athulla."