The Bird and the Flame -- Poe Dameron

I

"So you... take the bunging tape and..." Rusk motioned around the pipe as if he were to cover it all over until it was to suffocate.

Glancing up at him to make sure he was joking, Tatoni sighs when she finds him looking genuinely confused.

"No Rusk..." she picked up the wrench and placed it around the pipe puffing out smoke and twisted the second sealing closed. "This model has a second door-like seal..."

Rusk took a deep sigh and stood up from his crouch. "I-I'm sorry boss. I swear I'm trying to learn about these... things." he groaned as he placed his hand on the cool metal of the ship.

"I know Rusk. You'll learn better once you get more practice." Tatoni said as she wiped her hands on her handkerchief hanging out of her back pocket. He nodded his head while looking at the ground contently.

A small group of pilots passing by called him out. "Hey Jam's, having fun blowing up more engines." they snickered and Tatoni stood up and looked at them. They quickly stopped their snickers and walked away briskly.

She grew to have that effect on people. It wasn't that she was a mean person, she just didn't like it when people would cause distractions and slow down some of the many tasks she had to get done within the day.

"Look, Rusk just take rounds at looking at the ships that just came in today," she said as she went back to working on the ship in front of her.

"Of course,"

With that, she was left alone to her work and she adjusted the pipe. She had finished working on three ships when Tallie and Paige came calling her name.

"Tat!" they called in unison as they skipped over to her station.

"What is it," Tatoni mumbled as she flipped through the papers that were askew on her desk.

"We're taking you to the canteen," Paige said as she picked up a screw and played with it in her hands.

Tatoni briefly looked up at the two, Tallie was looking around at the people passing by with a small smile and Paige was looking at Tatoni with the face of someone who wouldn't give up.

"And you can't say no," Paige added with a smirk.

"You know I have a lot of work." Tatoni sighed as she went back to her paperwork.

"We also know you can take a break." Tallie pointed out as she quickly took hold of Tatoni's papers and set them on the desk in a neat pile.

"Guy's, I-"

"Nope," Paige said as she wrapped her arm around Tatoni's and began walking.

"But I-"

"But you're coming to eat with us," Tallie said, grabbing onto her other arm "You know, your friends who care deeply about your well being."

Tatoni quickly realized there was no way out of being forced away from her job and the next second she was walking into the canteen full of fellow resistance workers. She went through the line and grabbed herself a portion and water before taking a seat at one of the tables near the middle.

"That's all you're eating?" Tallie said as she sat down with a plate full of food. Paige next to her.

"What's wrong with my food?" Tatoni said as she poured some water in the bowl and placed the portion within it.

"It's barely a meal!" Tallie said as she quickly put some meat in Tatoni's bowl. "You need to eat with all the work you do."

Tatoni sighed as she took a bite of her now portion bread as Paige began talking about her sister, Rose.

"Speaking of Rose, where is she?" Tallie asked through her chewing.

"Uh... Last I checked she was at her station. I don't know why she's not here now." Paige sighed into her meal and they all jumped slightly as an eruption of laughter burst from the table nearby.

"I see Poe's back," Tallie said with a smile, as Tatoni rolled her eyes.

"He was probably part of the mission that returned this morning," Tatoni grunted.

"What's your problem with Poe Dameron?" Paige asked looking up from her bowl.

"He's always giving Jamie a hard time with his x-wing. Returning with scratches and a bust engine. Always something different."

"He is one of the best pilots," Paige nodded.

"He is the best pilot in the resistance," Tallie coughed on her food.

"Take it easy Tallie." Tatoni said with a smile, "Plus, I thought you'd think you're the best pilot."

"I could only wish to be as good as Poe." Tallie clarified

"He can't be that good if he's constantly coming back with a busted up x-wing." Tatoni doubted as she poked at her bread.

"Well, you've clearly never seen him fly." Paige gulped down her drink and set it on the table "You should come out and watch the pilots take off one day."

"Haha, yeah no." Tatoni quickly said as she chuckled, "I don't do flying or watching others fly."

"You literally specialize in ships!" Tallie exclaimed with a laugh.

"That doesn't mean I've ever flown before."

"Then how did you get from planet to planet?" Tallie asked.

"Well, I've been in a ship as its flown, but never in the cockpit. I'm always working in the back." Tatoni took a big bite of her bread as Paige and Tallie looked at each other with quizzical looks on their faces before they both concurred to drop the subject, knowing it would only end in Tatoni having a rush of bad memories.

The two both knew Tatoni had been through an experience she refused to speak of and that it had something to do with a ship, but they also knew if they were to dig deeper she wouldn't be very appreciative, to say the least.

"Hey, guys." A voice erupted from beside Tatoni as Rose sat down at the table with a plate full of food.

"What took you so long?" Paige asked as she looked to her sister.

Rose simply shook her head and dug into her food.

"You know you need to check-in. I don't want you getting into trouble Rose." Paige insisted leaning closer.

"I didn't mean to be late, I-" Rose insisted.

"Can't the girl have some fun?" Tallie asked with a smile as she nudged Paige.

"Ohhh maybe it was a boy." Tatoni chuckled as Rose's face went bright red.

"O-of course not." Rose spluttered as she looked around the table.

"You better not be seeing any boys," Paige said chewing on her food.

"I'm not!" Rose insisted as Tallie and Tatoni laughed in harmony.

"Tatoni Dajia." A robotic voice pitched from behind her and she turned around to see a golden protocol droid that was often seen by General Organa's side.

"Oh, uh... Yes?" Tatoni asked sitting up in her seat.

"Leia Organa has requested your presence," he responded and extended his red arm slightly.

"Oh, okay." Tatoni said and looked back at her friends, "I'll be back." they all looked confused as to why the general would want to see a mechanic but nodded her goodbye, as Tatoni followed the droid through the canteen.

"I am C-3PO."

"I am Tatoni Dajia... But you already knew that" she said as they walked side by side.

"Indeed."

"Indeed..." she repeated after the droid as she looked around the people they were passing.

Did she do something wrong on one of the ships? Did a ship blow up under her supervision? Did something go wrong when she was in the canteen missing out on her work?