Kyber Heart - Poe Dameron

Chapter 7

Rey, Finn, Nova and BB-8 bolted up the ramp, finding themselves in the curved hallway of the Falcon. The walls were almost the same colour as the desert outside, and a few sections were open, leaving wires and circuitry exposed. Years of lacklustre care on show.

She truly was a hunk of junk.

"Gunner position's down there!" Rey said, pointing to the ladder that led to the top and bottom gun turrets. "Nova, with me."

Nova nodded, leaving Finn to take the guns while she and Rey headed for the cockpit.

"Y'ever fly this thing?" he yelled to them.

"No! This ship hasn't flown in years!"

Nova was happy to let Rey take the lead, jumping into the co-pilot's chair with ease. Her being at the helm of a such a familiar ship at such short notice and in her pained and panicked haze was not a good idea. She would assist, not lead.

The engines came to life with a gentle hum, the controls lighting up beneath the girls' fingers. A few hiccups here and there, but that was to be expected of the old ship.

Nova gave one of the panels a whack with her fist as it grumbled – a technique she had learned at a young age and had yet to catastrophically fail her.

Rey muttered words of self-encouragement, nervously wrapping her hands around the steering instruments. Pre-flight procedures completed, she coaxed the ship to rise.

It was an uneven take off. The starboard side failed to rise, dragging along the ground.

Rey wrestled with the controls, managing to level the ship in time to break through the arch that marked the entrance to Niima Outpost – incidentally the most permanent-looking part. She exhaled carefully as they broke for the open air. "Remind me why you're the co-pilot here?"

Nova's grip on her seat tightened, trying and failing to come up with a convincing excuse. "Too late to switch now. Just get us away from the TIEs and off this blasted planet!"

The scavenger nodded, continuing the ascent.

"Woah! Hey!" Finn jumbled out from the gunner. "Stay low! Stay low!"

"What?"

"Stay low! It confuses their tracking!"

Rey shot Nova a sceptical look; one the pilot responded to with decisive nod.

"Beebee-Ate, hold on!" she ordered – an order that was met with a hesitant beep from the droid, who would much rather Nova was in control. He knew what to expect from her piloting, but Rey was new and did not have the luxury of experience evading enemy fighters.

"I'm going low!" Rey confirmed, swinging the Falcon around and back down low to the dunes. They passed through canyons created not by sand and rock, but debris of Star Destroyers from a war long since won.

The TIEs were still hot on their tail, landing multiple hits that uncomfortably rocked the ship.

"What are you doing back there?" Rey protested. "Are you ever gonna fire back?"

"I'm working on it!" Finn defended indignantly. "Are the shields up?"

"Working on it!" Nova returned, punching the panel when the shields failed to come online when requested. A moment and a murmured curse later, they came online. But it would not be enough to protect them for long.

"We need cover!" Finn yelled.

"We're about to get some!" Rey said, adding an anxious "I hope".