CONSTELLATIONS | Poe Dameron

CHAPTER XXII

Poe

I had been up for a while. My dreams were filled with replaying the moment Leia told me Sienna's transmission had been lost. That feeling of my heart dropping was something I could never forget. Honestly, I didn't want to forget it because it made me that much happier that she was still with us.

I turned my body to the side and looked over at the sleeping woman, gently sweeping her long hair from her face with my fingers. She made a soft hum in her throat, but didn't stir. I traced her freckles with my eyes, much like I always did the stars on a dark night. It brought me comfort, much like the weight of her head on my chest. I hadn't meant to spend the night with her, but her soft breathing worked as a metronome, and I had passed out not long after her.

It felt like years had gone by since our meeting in the hall. Even our time on Devaron felt so far away. This woman continued to impress, challenge and indulge me with her ambition and knowledge. The fact that she even gave me the time of day was beyond me, and I hoped that I could continue to do whatever it was that kept bringing her back.

I reached up, subconsciously feeling the ring that laid beneath my shirt.

I quietly slipped out of the bed, careful not to wake her. I left her asleep as I went to my room to change. I then headed to the meeting room, where a handful of command was already there. Leia was leaning against a table, head hanging low. I doubt she even slept after learning about her son and Solo.

Leia was the strongest woman I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. To see her looking so helpless was heart breaking. Before I could go to her, C-3PO, BB-8 and... R2D2 surrounded her.

"General? Excuse me, General?" The gold droid said as it approached her, R2D2 expressing a string of beeps. Leia turned to face them, and the sad look on her face constricted my heart as I made my way to over.

"R2D2 may contain some much needed good news."

"Tell me," the woman commanded.

The older droid went to an open area of the room, and projected a large map into the air. I stood behind Leia as a group gathered around to see what the map contained. I looked around, seeing Chewie, Snap, Rey and others interested in what news we were about to receive. There was a portion of the map missing, but before anyone could ask about it, BB-8 rolled over to inspect it before turning back to me. I leaned down, listening to my droid as he told me he needed the map that we had taken from Jakku.

"Yeah. Alright buddy, hold on." I spun around and extracted the piece of equipment that had the image, handing it over to the smaller droid. I stood back up, staring in amazement as BB-8 projected the lost portion of the map. The portion that we had all thought would lead us to Skywalker before.

BB-8 spun the image before placing it into the missing portion of R2D2's larger map, completing it.

"Look at that. It is complete," 3PO said.

"Luke," Leia exclaimed, the sound of relief clearly evident in her tone.

Everyone in the room started to cautiously celebrate. We finally had the map to Luke Skywalker. After all of this time, we now knew where to find the elusive jedi.

I took a step forward and wrapped my arm around the General's shoulders, squeezing her affectionately. "We got him, General."

She turned her head to face me, a real smile gracing her features. "We got him, Poe." She then looked over and I followed her gaze to land on Rey, who was standing near the map, taking in the path laid out before her. The path not only led to the jedi, but to her future.

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Hi y'all. I hope everyone is doing well and is safe. I wanted to get this part out there quickly for everyone as a thank you for reading! I know it's short, but the next chapter should make up for it. 🍋