𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 | 𝘱. 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘯

• 𝘹𝘭𝘪 - 𝘦𝘭𝘺𝘴𝘦

LAYING AGAINST THIS BED, listening to the former noises within this room, the conversations once held here feels wrong. Though, now that I think about it, it truly is the last time I will hear his voice. Sure, I have the recording stored within BB-8's hard-drive, some small piece of footage I will be sure to cherish, as well as any others he may have left of his previous owner. I never realized just how much I wanted to say to Poe until I didn't have the chance to anymore. I wish I could've seen it all happening, coming to an end before I ever had the chance to save him.
— Elyse Organa-Solo

It feels wrong to listen in, to hear some of the last things he ever said before he escaped, only to flee for his death. I wonder what it is that Ben would have done with Poe had he not escaped. Would he have been forced to work in the Spice Mines of Kessel? Would Ben have utilized Poe's excellent flying skills and pinned him against the forces he so whole-heartedly adored? Or would he have been killed anyway, in a much worse way than any premonition or vision could have depicted? Was his death now just another of multiple outcomes I could not have foreseen? Was Poe destined to die then, in one way or another? Was this when his timeline of life stopped, a place where no outcome beyond then resulted in life? Maybe so.

"I can sense your infatuation, Poe." Ben had whispered amongst these walls before. "I can sense your admiration and desire. Don't think that you, you, a mere pilot could hide that from me."

"You don't know what you're sensing. The only thing I feel towards you is hatred." Poe replied, his voice a faint echoing whisper amongst the metal walls. "You are a coward. Everyone can see that."

"Careful, Poe Dameron. Lest you want to see how cowardly I really am." Ben had said. "You have no right to call me a coward. Not when I can see through you so plainly now and sense everything you've ever wanted to say."

I can hear the faint, sharp inhalation, the sound of skin thrashing against the leather cuffs, the same that hold me down now. A small struggle here, just days before now.

"Every word you've ever desired to tell her," Ben stated. "Everything you've ever thought about her."

What was happening? What did Ben sense? Who were they talking about? Every time I talked with Poe, it was like he was a blank wall. Something solid was keeping me from his mind, keeping me from seeing through him like Ben is stating. Was I really that much weaker than him? Weak enough that I couldn't see through Poe?  No. I resisted Ben. I was strong enough to keep the Map from him. Maybe there's something about Poe. No need to look into his mind. I feel like I know enough about him to have no desire to expose him.

"Where is it?" Ben asked firmly, an audible tension filling the void like a ringing in my ear.

A scream echoes off the metal, bouncing back and forth, surrounding me like a flood, filling my ears, flooding my head, drowning me in audible pain. Poe screams still, his pain sending an emotion over me, an emotion I'm not entirely sure I remember. It's familiar, like a call from five years prior, a sensation I remember but don't want to. Suddenly, the noise is gone and I'm leaning forward, my hair hanging in my face, tears dripping from my eyes, blood spilling from the split in my lip, and dripping from my nose. I exhale sharply, leaning back in my seat, listening back in on the former surroundings.

"Ren wants the Prisoner." Another voice says, muffled by what sounds like a Helmet or a face covering.

Finn. Of course. FN-2187, like the premonition from inside Maz's cellar. The Stormtrooper who helped Poe escape. The room is silent, and the sense of Poe's previous presence is gone. I'm all alone again, staring at the wall, wondering when Ben will come back and what he plans to do. Does he plan to kill me? Finish the job from five years prior? Or does he plan to train me to be like him and continue in our Grandfather's footsteps?

I can hear the radio static behind me, a Stormtrooper guarding the door. I exhale sharply, thinking quickly about what a true Jedi would do in this situation to escape. I remember hearing about Uncle Luke's mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and how he convinced two stormtroopers that the droids they most definitely were looking for weren't the droids they were looking for. Can I do the same now to save my neck? I exhale slowly, clenching my fists tightly before relaxing. The anxiety builds in my chest and a shaky breath passes my lips. I lick my bottom lip and prepare to speak.

"You will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open," I state though it is much quieter than I had intended and weak.

The radio static in the Stormtrooper's helmet is quiet now and I can hear the shuffling noise as he turns to face me.

"What was that?" He asks.

I turn my head so it's angled more towards him and exhale again.

"You will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open," I repeat, though this time, my voice is louder and more confident.

I can hear his boots clicking against the tile with every step towards me. He approaches from my right and stands before me so I can see him.

"I'll tighten those restraints, Rebel Scum." He says. "Even your precious princess can't save you now."

"Princess," Poe had called me by his wonderful nickname, a nickname only he had used on me, mocking my 'royal' heritage. "There's an ocean of stars beyond our reach, an ocean I wish to explore with you."

To him, I was the daughter of two superiors he trusted like family. To him, I was the daughter of a Princess he had been worshipping since his birth. To him, I was the newly named Princess of the Rebellion, destined to take over for my Mother and Father when the day comes. I exhale sharply and lift my eyes back to the Stormtrooper before me. 

"You will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open," I say, my voice perfectly smooth and unfaltering.

I watch as my persuasion takes him over, his posture relaxing, his head relaxing momentarily as he processes the request.

"I will remove these restraints and leave this cell with the door open." He repeats, nodding.

He reaches down and removes my restraints, turning to exit the cell. 

"And you'll drop your weapon!" I exclaim, hoping it will carry in with the previous request.

I can hear him stop at the door, processing the words that have just left my mouth.

"And I'll drop my weapon," He states, his blaster hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

The cell door opens and he leaves, allowing me to collect the weapon and run for some mere, desperate attempt at freedom.