FIVE YEARS AGO, I was sent on a mission that would change my life forever. Little did I know, it would end it as well...
As a Trainee in the Aviation program, Poe Dameron comes from a broken family. His mother died when he was Eight, his Father brok...
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• p. dameron •
I GOT THE AWARDS OF VALOR, Honor, and Zeal today at the Graduation ceremony. I still have no idea if you're here or not. I sure hope you are to see this. I wish Mom were here too. I'm sure she'd be proud of me. Are you? I hope so. — Poe Dameron
The audience walks down the flights of stairs onto the field to come and see their family or friends. Marlene and Piper spring towards me, laughing.
"Poe! Congratulations! We're so proud of you!" Marlene says.
I laugh, nodding. They each hug me again. Marlene pokes the medals on my jacket.
"Wow, this is awesome. Three awards in one day. Han has never done that. You've really made an impact on him." She says.
A tan hand taps her shoulder, causing her to turn around.
"Mind if I step in and congratulate this fine young man on his accomplishments?" They ask.
She nods, a smile on her lips. She back away, allowing me to see who it is.
"Poe, you've made me so proud. Come here, Son." My father says.
Tears come to my eyes as I spot him. It's been months since I've seen him.
"Dad!" I exclaim, running into his arms, hugging him tighter than ever.
His arms wrap around me tightly, holding me close to him. When mom died, it seemed as if the affectionate part of him died with her. He seemed terrified to get attached for fear that he'd lose me too. This is the first big hug I've gotten from him in years. I bury my face in his shoulder to hide the tears in my eyes.
"Your mother would be so proud of you too, Son. I'm so proud of you." He says.
I step away from him, wiping my eyes. He reaches into his jacket pocket and returns with a pile of white envelopes with my name on them.
"My letters," I say, taking one in my hand. "You got them?"
He nods, smiling as he picks up the first letter I wrote him.
"Han called me and told me about how he couldn't send the letters for the first phase of training. So, he read them to me every day for the first phase of training." He says.
My stomach finds it's way to my throat and I'm suddenly very nauseous.
"Oh?" Is all I can muster up, cringing internally at the thought of my boss reading my letters to my father.
"Well, it looks like you won't be able to come home for a visit because of that Special Operations mission. But, I'm very proud of you." He says.
I smile, hugging him again. I hug him tighter than ever before, knowing this will probably be my last hug for a while.
"I love you, Dad," I say quietly, words shared between just him and I.
"I love you too, Son." He replies, hugging me tightly again.
* * * * *
Pounding sounds at my door, waking me from probably the best night's sleep I've gotten in fifteen weeks. Each initiates was assigned their own starter apartment. If they want to purchase a bigger one, they can. But, for now, we start with starter apartments. The pounding echoes again.
"Lieutenant! You're wanted on the bridge." The voice behind the pounding says.
I look at the clock on my night-stand. 3:17am. Too early in the morning for this.
"Right now?" I ask, squinting slightly, almost falling back asleep in the process.
"The General said to report to the mechanics bay before reporting to the bridge. At the mechanics bay, you'll get to select your droid." The voice says.
I nod, sighing out sharply. I pull the blankets back, walking to my closet.
"Let me change and then I'll be down there as soon as possible." I say.
I can hear them walk away, their boots clicking on the ground as they walk away. I walk into my closet, changing into a pair of black jeans, a white long sleeve button down shirt with my leather jacket over top. I pull on my boots and grab my watch. I leave my apartment, clasping my watch onto my wrist as I walk to the mechanic's bay. A man with black greasy hands greets me.
"Sorry, this isn't really my greatest presentation but I wasn't really expecting you this early in the morning." He says.
I shrug. I don't blame him. I'm still half-asleep as I stand before him.
"I understand, man. I am not someone to judge this early in the day." I say.
He laughs, pulling open the door to the droids range.
"Well, go ahead and take your pick. The General said any droid you want is yours. She'll pay for it and everything." He says.
I nod, smiling. I step into the pod, looking at the droids. There are multiple R-Series droids. Some, very similar to Luke Skywalker's personal droid, R2-D2. I don't think I want an R-Series droid. I walk further, spotting a C-Series droid. I shake my head walking beyond them as well. I walk past the A-LT droids, stopping when I spot a BB-Unit. A small, spherical droid with white and orange details.
"Can I look at this one? Can you power it on?" I ask.
The mechanic nods, yawning as he approaches the small droid. He crouched down and unplugs it from the wall. He presses multiple buttons, starting the power up sequence.
"Take your time. I'll be just around the corner if you need me." He says, walking away.
I nod, watching him leave. The droid powers on, beeping and whirring as it starts. The droid rolls for a few seconds back and forth on it's spherical body, then raises its head and looks at me. It beeps twice, asking who I am. I crouch down, smiling at it.
"Hi there, I'm Poe. Poe Dameron. What's your name?" I ask.
'BB-8,'
The small droid it quite enticing, causing me to smile happily as it rolls around.
"I'm about to go on a very important mission. Would you like to accompany me?" I ask.
He beeps excitedly, rolling back and forth quickly.
"I would love for you to accompany me. Follow me." I say.
We walk out of the pod, spotting the Mechanic sitting at a computer.
"I'll take the BB-Unit." I say, smiling down at BB-8.
The mechanic hands me a bag full of spare parts I may need for him.
"You come back to me if you need any assistance." He says.
I nod, thanking him. I look down at BB-8, waving him to follow.
"You've never met the General. She's a very kind, beautiful, intelligent leader. She'll love you." I say.
He beeps as we walk down the hallway towards the Bridge. I enter the Bridge, stopping at the door when I spot Han and Leia with red puffy eyes. Marlene and Piper hug each other in the corner, crying.
"We have your Mission orders. We didn't mean for this to be so sudden, but we need your help immediately." Leia says, her voice breaking.
