Kyber Heart - Poe Dameron

Chapter 56

The loud crash that followed Nova's impact with the floor alerted the rest of the crew to any sort of disturbance. They came running, finding Nova on her side, unconscious, face partially obscured by her hair. Beneath it she looked restless – eyes twitching under their hoods, eyebrows drawn into a frown. Far from peaceful.

Poe was the first by her side, gathering her into his lap. A flash of relief ran through him when he felt her breath against his hand, and the steady rise and fall of her chest was apparent. Her pulse raced under his fingers. "She's alive."

That was all they could establish for certain, but it was enough for the moment.

Chewie groaned softly. 

The pilot sighed. "We need to cut our loses. Find Finn and Rey and get out of here."

The Wookiee agreed and departed for the cockpit, trailed by C-3PO muttering his usual stream of "Oh dear, oh dear".

Poe remained holding Nova, too afraid to shift them from the middle of the floor. He brushed her hair from her face, pulling it free from the already slipping ponytail, leaving it a mess of tangled brown waves. Taking her gloved hand, he wove their fingers together, squeezing softly. "Come on, sweetheart, talk to me..."

The Falcon's engines hummed to life, and the ship set off carefully towards the vast expanse of wreckage.

BB-8 rolled to sit beside Poe, emitting a subdued beep. The dome of his head shifted to examine Nova, and his body rocked into her arm softly, trying to get her to stir. When she did not, his head hung low with a sad whir of circuitry.

Poe pressed a hand to his head. "Me too, buddy."

The collar of Nova's already loose shirt had slipped, revealing a hint of the scarring. It ran clean down her torso; a river of reddish-pink running from her right shoulder to her left ribs. Easy enough to cover with the right clothes. Too deep and too old to be reduced by bacta. It was a part of her – an eternal reminder of where she had come from.

Poe had seen it in full. On nights alone together in bed, bathed in shadow and moonlight. He had been allowed to trace it while she laid against him, letting the slow and gentle movements relax them. Drifting somewhere between waking and sleeping.

They considered times like those a luxury. Ever since Crait, their reduced numbers and the pressure of all-out war meant everyone ran double shifts – and people like Nova had a habit of not using their rest days. The aftermath of a particularly exciting undercover mission to Corellia was the last time they were at ease; and that was almost a year ago.

Poe's mind wandered back through the memories, finding himself settling on their first mission after Crait. Ikkruk – the Battle of Grail City.

Despite its nature, it had been a refreshing mission for the pair, reconnecting them with Black Squadron and earning another victory for the Resistance. Though not without a fair share of scrapes and complications.

Nova had walked, or rather staggered away with some sizeable burns on her thighs after her ship – a beat-up RZ-1 A-Wing on loan from the Hutts – had taken one too many hits to its faulty shielding. As a result of this, she had spent an hour post-battle with her legs soaking in bacta. She had grimaced through the whole ordeal. She was stubborn about receiving treatment on the best of days, but also was among those who found the healing substance's viscosity displeasing. But it did the job, leaving only a hint that any injury may have been there.

Poe had sat with her through the process, providing what support he could and a distraction from the feeling of the bacta. He had felt like he had been able to help her in some way.