“Worse than expected,” he admitted. “I don’t think the Resistance is going to find support here.”
“After we saved them?”
Poe shrugged, a wave of resignation rolling over him. “Not everyone sees it that way.”
“They’re scared,” Karé said, “of the First Order.”
“We’re all scared,” Snap said, softly. “But we fight anyway.”
Poe pressed his palms together, suddenly feeling anxious. He knew he had to tell Snap, Karé, and the rest of Black Squadron what had happened on Crait, what was left of the Resistance, and the part he had played in it all, but he wasn’t looking forward to it.
“There’s something we need to tell you, Poe,” Snap said before Poe could speak. He glanced at his wife, Karé, who gave him an encouraging nod. “It didn’t go so well back on Pastoria, that first planet in our mission brief. I don’t want to say we were duped into doing the dirty work for some unscrupulous jerk, but…” He spread his hands, a gesture of helplessness.
“We thought we were doing the right thing.” Karé rested a hand on her husband’s knee, her voice gentle.
“Yeah,” Poe said, “Jess sent a transmission out when she and Suralinda were trying to restore the planetary defense system here. She was afraid she wouldn’t make it and she wanted someone to know what had happened, just in case.”
Snap’s shoulders tensed. “We were lied to, sure, but that doesn’t change the fact that we picked the wrong side in a civil war. Hell, we shouldn’t have been picking sides to begin with.”
“We thought we were protecting the government, but instead we only helped take out the opposition party,” Karé further explained. “It was a disaster.”
“It was a screwup of epic proportions,” Snap agreed.
“Trust me, I’ve got my own screwup to tell you about that makes yours look reasonable.” He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He looked each of his friends in the eye, not sure how they were going to take the news, but knowing it was more important than ever that they understood what they were up against. What they were all up against.
“You know who Vice Admiral Holdo is, right? Well—”
A screech that rattled the walls pulled him up short. The three turned to see Suralinda front and center on a raised dais that functioned as a stage. The prime minister had given a reasonably laudatory speech about Black Squadron’s rescue of Grail City from the dais when they’d first arrived and then ceded the spot to a three-piece band. They’d been playing some kind of innocuous background party music all night, until now. A deep thumping bass emanated from a flat drumlike instrument that the musician stomped with a foot, and a sonorous wind instrument of some kind joined in, lacing the melody around the heavy beat. And then…Suralinda.
“What in the world is that noise?” Snap asked.
Karé had instinctively clapped her hands over her ears. “I-I think she’s…singing?”
They listened a bit longer and sure enough, Poe could make out words in between the shrill trills and warbles. Poe had visited a lot of worlds and seen a lot of unsavory things, even done a few himself, but seeing Suralinda belting out a tune had to rank up there with the worst.
“Is she drunk?” he asked anyone who was listening. “I mean, she has to be drunk.”
Karé shook her head. “No, I think that’s just her singing voice. Squamatans aren’t known for their musicality.”
Suralinda raised her hands over her head and kicked out a long leg. She swayed her hips to one side and then the next and then came up on her toes.
“Or their dancing,” Karé added drily.
“And that’s our cue.” Poe stood up. “Time for Black Squadron to make our exit. We’ve got another mission, and it doesn’t involve attending this party or, mercifully, Suralinda singing and dancing. You both ready to get out of here?”
Snap and Karé were on their feet immediately.
“Seriously, Poe,” Snap said. “I thought you’d never ask.”
* * *
—
They waited until Suralinda had finished her mercifully short rendition of whatever song she was crooning to leave. Black Squadron departed to a round of surprisingly enthusiastic applause, for their heroism or for removing Suralinda from the stage, Poe wasn’t sure, but he took a deep and refreshing breath of fresh air once they were out of the palace.
“Not your scene?” Snap asked, standing next to his commanding officer.
Poe shivered. It was colder out here in the rocky mountains after the sun set. Beyond them was a wide expanse of starry sky. Somewhere out there was Leia and what was left of the Resistance, and they were counting on him.
“I love a party,” Poe said, slapping Snap on the shoulder, “but we’ve got work to do. Let’s get back to Jess and the ships and I’ll fill everyone in.”
Snap nodded and they all retraced their steps down the winding mountain path to their ships. Suralinda was in a fine mood and kept the chatter up with Karé, who seemed to be taking the whole night in stride. Around them Grail City was celebrating, and music and laughter filled the night. Colorful lights spilled from windows, and the smell of roasting meats wafted down to make their mouths water.
“It’s a nice place,” Snap said quietly. “I’m glad we could help them out.”
“Yeah,” Poe said, but he wondered how long Grail City would remain a nice place and how long it would take the First Order to try again. And if they did, whether Grail City would fight them or welcome them in. He thought about pressing his case, even trying to force Grist’s hand for the sake of her city. But he knew where that path probably led, and he wouldn’t do that again. He shivered involuntarily. Well, it was Prime Minister Grist’s problem now. He just hoped she was up to the challenge.
The X-wings, Suralinda’s A-wing, and Poe’s loaner from Grakkus the Hutt huddled together on the open landing strip, shadowy masses in the growing darkness. Poe’s keen eyes scanned the area, looking for Jess. He caught sight of her, apparently napping between the boxes of food rations and fuel cells that Grist’s people had already delivered. Well, at least Ikkrukk kept their word about that, he thought, and quickly. Grist really did want them gone.
“Hey, Jess,” he called, as he approached.
No answer, and he tapped a nearby box with a toe. “Wake up, Pava, we got a mission brief.”
Jess’s eyes popped open and for a moment, she looked terrified. Poe stepped back, surprised. “You okay?”
“Oh.” She sat up, shaking off what was left of her sleep. “Yeah, bad dreams is all. I-I thought for a minute I was back on…well, never mind.”
Poe squatted down beside her. “You having nightmares? Something I should know about?”
“What? No.” She flushed and rubbed self-consciously at her neck. “I mean, no more than usual.”
“Right.” Poe held out a hand and helped her to her feet. “I’d tell you to report to medbay for an eval, but…”
She grimaced. “Kind of impossible. Besides, I’m fine.”
“I need you whole and healthy, Pava. Truth is, it’s only going to get harder from here.”
She frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Come on. Let’s gather the others.”
He motioned the rest of Black Squadron over, and they gathered by their ships under the stretch of the night sky. And he told them. Everything. Of the D’Qar evacuation and his decisions that led to the loss of the Resistance bomber squadron, of the slow chase across space, of Rose Tico and Finn’s mission to Canto Bight, of his own insubordination and demotion, and, finally, of the Battle of Crait and all they had lost. And what little they had left.
“I don’t understand,” Jess said, her voice an octave too high. “They’re gone? The fleet is gone?”
“They can’t be all gone,” Karé countered. “Can they, Poe?”
“I’m sorry,” he said, head lowered.
“Oh…” she covered her mouth with her hands and turned away. Snap gathered her to his chest. Poe could see tears in his eyes.
“The people, too?” Jess asked. “Are you sure?”
“Jess,” Poe said gently. “I was there. The Resistance…” He spread his hands. “It’s pretty much the Falcon, and us.”
Silence, as Poe let it sink in. Just how bad it all was, just how desperate they were. And how much of their situation was his fault.
“I understand if you want to leave. I mean, if you want to leave without me. Black Squadron seemed to be doing fine without my presence. But if you stay and allow me to lead you, I will do everything in my power to make it up to you. That, I promise.”
He closed his mouth and waited. For their confusion, for their judgment, for their disavowals. When all he got was silence, he looked up.
Snap was the first to speak. “That’s some heavy stuff, Poe,” he said, voice serious. “And I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bother me.”
“I underst—”
“But,” Snap continued before he could finish. “Didn’t I just tell you about our massive disaster on Pastoria? People died because we let ourselves get played. We have to live with that, too.”
“The droids call me the Great Destroyer,” Jess added. “Still. I mean, it’s not like I’m trying to get them killed, but they end up scrap all the same.”
“Well—”
“And I’m pretty sure my middle name is Insubordination,” Suralinda added, “but that’s because I’m misunderstood.”
“I’m not making excuses for—”
“You’re going to have to face your mistakes, Poe,” Karé said, “and make amends where you can. But you’ll do it with Black Squadron at your side. You’re not getting rid of us that easily. Besides, it sounds like all we’ve got is one another, screwups and all.”
The heaviness that Poe had been carrying lifted a bit. They weren’t saying what he did was okay, but they weren’t going to abandon him, either. “I’ll work to make it better,” he said, quietly, head down, shame heavy on his shoulders. “I swear it.”
And then there were arms around him and faces too close and steady words of encouragement. Poe soaked it all in like a dying man given an impossible reprieve. He had hoped that Black Squadron would forgive him, if only enough to let him stay on as their leader, but he had never dared to dream they might actually understand him. After the group hug broke up and the camaraderie settled, Poe took a step back, raising a hand.
“Now it’s time to talk about what’s next.”
“Revenge?” Jess asked, voice rough with emotion. Poe knew that she had been friends with many of the people lost when the First Order shot down their escape pods over Crait.
“Eventually,” Poe said, “but not quite yet. Leia has given us a mission. Well, a continuation of the mission she first assigned Black Squadron. The Resistance needs not just allies, but leaders. So we’re to narrow our search to specific people—strategists, thinkers, elders—that we think can help us rebuild and quickly.”
“Makes sense,” Karé said, thoughtfully. “Any ideas where we start?”
“Yeah, and Snap, you might not like this one.”
Snap frowned, thick arms crossing his chest. “Why is that?”
“I want you and Karé to go talk to Wedge Antilles.”
Snap’s eyes widened almost theatrically. He shook his head, one sharp no. “Negatory, Poe. Wedge is retired. Settled down with my mother on Akiva. The last thing they need is me showing up and dragging them back into a war. They earned their rest.”
“I know,” Poe said, sympathetically. “And I wouldn’t ask if we weren’t desperate.”
“No way Mom is going to want him to go.”
“I know that, too. And I’m counting on it. I want Norra to join us, too.”
Snap Wexley made a deep guttural sound in his broad chest. “My mom? She’s nuts, you know that, right?”
“She’s a damn good pilot.”
“She’s great! But she’s also nuts.”
“All the best pilots are,” Suralinda murmured, loud enough for everyone to hear.
“You don’t get it,” he pressed. “She has no self-preservation instinct. Did you know she once jettisoned herself in an escape pod over Jakku, all to chase an Imperial admiral through a blockade?”
Poe held back a grin. It wasn’t that crazy. “We need her, Snap.”
“She’s going to get herself killed!”
Karé rested a hand on Snap’s arm. “She’s survived this long. And Wedge will be by her side. He’ll keep her grounded. They could be a real asset to the Resistance.”
Snap looked helplessly at his wife. “They’re the only family I’ve got.”
“You’ve got me,” his wife said, soothingly.
“You’ve got all of us,” Poe added. “We’re in this together. Isn’t that what you said to me?”
Snap closed his eyes, exhaling. He dropped his head back, face tilted to the stars. “Okay. Karé and I will go to Akiva and talk to them. Let them know what’s going on with the Resistance. But I’m not going to force them. They’re old…”
No older than Leia, Poe thought, but he kept his opinion to himself. No need to push Snap any harder than he already was.
“What about me?” Jess asked. “I don’t have any notorious rebel leaders in my family.”
Poe spread his hands. “I’m open to ideas.”
“Actually, I think I have a lead,” Suralinda offered, “but it’s kind of weird.”
“Go on,” Poe said.
“Back at the party, I heard Grist and some others talking—well, complaining—about rumors coming out of Rattatak that some old Imperial had claimed power over one of the warlord factions there. They were thinking someone should put an end to that, but that’s because they lack vision.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“I’m saying that this old Imperial, whoever they are, has the leadership skills to unite a war clan. I mean, Rattatak’s no joke, right? You have to be willing to do violence, sure, but you also have to be smart.”
“Okay.”
“So, doesn’t that sound like someone who could be an asset to the Resistance?”
“They’re an Imperial,” Jess protested.
“Former Imperial,” Suralinda countered. “And you know a lot of those have no love for the upstart First Order. Maybe we can make them an offer.”
“We’re not bribing people to—”
“No, no.” Suralinda cut him off. “I’m talking about a good story. A chance at redemption, to make up for the evils the Empire committed.”
“They’re likely a sympathizer,” Jess complained, but her voice had softened a bit.
“Or it’s just as likely they’re horrified by what happened to the Hosnian system and worried about anyone having something like Starkiller Base at their disposal ever again. Some of these Imperials were just caught up in the machinery, you know. They’re not all evil.”
Jess rolled her eyes. “Are you kidding me?”
“Jess,” Poe said, gently. “Suralinda might have a point. Not that these people aren’t responsible for their crimes, but they might have something to offer the Resistance, and something the Resistance can offer them in turn.” Even as he said it, the words struck close to home. Was he talking about former Imperials, or was he talking about himself?
“Redemption?” she said, eyes cutting to Suralinda. “As if they deserve it.”
“Not redemption,” Poe said. “Penance.”
Jess quieted. They all did, likely wondering what it would take to atone for crimes as dark and horrifying as those the Empire had committed, wondering if they could judge when none of them had spotless hands.
“Well,�
� Suralinda said brightly, breaking the silence, “you never know until you ask. So let me go ask.”
“You can go to Rattatak,” Poe said, and Suralinda beamed, “but you have to take Jess with you.”
“What?” both women said at the same time.
“Makes sense,” Snap said, grinning.
The two women started to protest, but Poe held up a hand and they fell silent. “It’s the only way I’m saying yes. It’s too dangerous to send only one of you. You go as a pair, or you don’t go at all.”
Suralinda pursed her lips, considering. It was Jess who held out her hand first. “I’m in. Are we going to do this?”
Suralinda, never one to hold a bad mood, broke. She shook Jess’s hand. “You bet.”
“Good,” Poe said, relieved. He wasn’t sure if the two of them would go for it, but it hadn’t been so difficult. Despite their differences, their success at Grail City showed that the two women made good partners, and if there was something positive to find at Rattatak, they would uncover it. And hopefully keep each other alive along the way.
“So we know where we’re headed,” Snap said. “Where are you going, Poe? It’s not too late for you to go see Wedge yourself. He trained you at the academy, after all.”
“Can’t, Snap. BB-8 and I are going to find an old friend and ask a favor.”
POE DROPPED OUT OF lightspeed above the planet Ephemera and marveled. BB-8, secured behind him, beeped and hummed.
“It is beautiful,” Poe agreed.
BB-8 asked a question.
“No, I’ve never been here,” Poe answered. In fact, he couldn’t recall visiting any gas worlds that weren’t already giants. He half remembered some lesson from the academy, now gone vague, about required size and distance from any system’s primary sun for a gas planet to form, but Ephemera didn’t quite fit the description. It was an anomaly, something in part occurring naturally, but also something aggressively engineered by its inhabitants, if what he had heard was accurate.
The droid beeped and Poe replied. “It was once a mining planet, like Bespin. You know Bespin, right? But here they mined the tibanna gas to extinction. After it was all gone, the Empire abandoned its colonies and most of the settlers ran with them. Good riddance, from what I hear. It left the planet back in the hands of its original inhabitants and a few holdouts who weren’t there just to cash in but had grown to love the place. And then, surprise, they discovered tuusah.”
Resistance Reborn (Star Wars) Page 3
