#Unkar the Unfortunate | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

whatudottu · 7 months

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If I thought the Transformers (Aligned) timeline was convoluted, god the Trollhunters timeline is fucked beyond all hell, and worse of all because they use Merlin - bloody MERLIN - as a character that created the amulet there's an upper limit of time Trollhunters have existed before, heck even Myrddin Wyllt his welsh name (and canonical alternate name in the show), Merlin stops being the Merlin from human myth and starts becoming Merlin a similarly named folkloric character in troll myth-

I wonder if I, a fan coming in at minimum 2023, am arriving to this a little late but- if this isn't going to be a timeline rewrite then let me complain about how specific canonical details contradict with one another, including the glaringly obvious issue of Wizard's addition to the timeline, making Deya the Deliverer the first Trollhunter and thus practically erasing most of the historical Trollhunters or conforming to fit them all in a timeline of 900ish years.

I'll address the elephant in the room when we get to it, but let's set up the basics, both for me and any viewer not already in the know (given that my audience is mostly from transformers and ben 10, I'd say it's a lot of you).

Trolls and humans got off to a bad start, humans living on the surface and trolls having originated from a realm called the Darklands, accessible from a bridge (a gateway) Kilahead bridge. Like with any civilisation there are good and bad trolls, the baddest being Orlagk the Oppressor, leader of the Gumm-Gumms. Having been introduced to the surface, trolls fought with the humans who already lived on it creating the War for the Surface Lands, and their fighting lead the first Heartstone (a gigantic magical gem that serves as the centre of troll caverns, healing them and providing power) to corrupt and birth Gunmar. This war lasted for millennia, Gunmar taking over leadership of the Gumm-Gumms after slaying Orlagk at some vague point, up until the Battle of Kilahead Bridge where the Gumm-Gumms were sealed away in the Darklands again thanks to the Trollhunter Deya the Deliverer.

Okay, sure, that doesn't sound very bad at first, up until you realise that the Battle of Kilahead Bridge was 900 years prior to the series (2016 was it's release date) and thus in the year 1116 AD give or take; the legend of Merlin as a magician, a wizard, was in the 12th century which would've been instead at minimum 1300 AD that's 200 years of difference. Not to mention Angor Rot - a character and antagonist in the show - came begging for magic to stop Gunmar's armies from destroying more and more independant troll tribes, like his own, in 1200 AD at least. Why in the fucking hell would Angor Rot bother to risk his own soul asking for magic, from a sorcerer known as (among many things) the Eldritch Queen, if Gunmar and his Gumm-Gumms were already kept within the Darklands. Gunmar's son Bular, the one Gumm-Gumm to not be banished, is surely not that much of a threat to not one but multiple villages it would send someone to the doorstep of the Pale Lady. In addition, Angor Rot was responsible for killing at least a few Trollhunters, one known and named being Voltar the Voracious, who was the only Trollhunter given an exact year of choosing in 1578. And the fucker is listed BEFORE Deya on the wiki but that alone doesn't mean anything, however she does die in 1620 to Bular, 396 years before the show.

Alright then, so you look at Merlin's mythological existence and go 'now what about the whole thing about millenia' because 12th century doesn't allow the War for the Surface Lands to have a Trollhunter, even with 11 named Trollhunters that come presumably before Deya (Unkar the Unfortunate, despite being trained by Blinky who in human standards - assuming his human body tells us his age - is probably about middle age give or take, fought in the time Gumm-Gumms were still around even if slain by Bular). Given that Trollhunters itself references Merlin's original Welsh name Myrddin (and his in show last name is Ambrosius, which would be Emyrs in the original Welsh, as opposed to Wyllt for 'of the wild), I thought that potentially looking into when Myrddin first came around I would be able to get a better timeline; Myrddin Wyllt was said to have been born - and not just the legend - in 540 AD, which gives between that and 2016 1476 years to work with, allowing the 400ish years ago that Deya died (and the 438 years from when Voltar had the amulet) and the millenia's worth of war the War for the Surface Lands took.

Done deal, right?

Well guess what, some fucker named Spar the Spiteful (not even the first Trollhunter like Deya so proclaims to be) died 5200 years before Jim, our protagonist and first HUMAN Trollhunter, ever picked up the mantle. 5200 years before 2016 is the bloody fucking 4th millenium BC. This period included the beginnings of the Bronze Age, and was the bloody time WRITING was invented! And in Spar's time, there was no DOMESTIC HORSES! HORSE RIDING DIDN'T BLOODY EXIST WHEN SPAR DIED HOW FUCKED IT THAT!?

God FUCKING DAMN IT!

Fine, I can work with this.

Merlin in the show is all the old man we think of him as in myth, but he's also still old when we go back in time to when the Battle of Kilahead Bridge takes place, albeit it without a full head of grey hairs (how does the old man age more than his teen/young adult apprentice) potentially as a young sorcerer/wizard/whatever they use these terms interchangeably, Merlin or Myrddin created the Amulet of Daylight. You could even give more wriggle room between whenever trolls came to the surface and when Merlin made the amulet, because although Orlagk was a figure explicitly older than Gunmar, there is no mention of an amulet without Gunmar simply a time when he was still not a leader. In fact, given that Merlin's original name - Myrddin - came from a riddle designed with the intent to kill Gunmar, a piece informing the Trollhunter teams how to kill Gunmar rather than Orlagk the original leader, perhaps it's befitting to make Myrddin technically younger than the trolls; given that the original purpose of the Amulet of Daylight was not to kill Gunmar but to protect trolls, seeing as how one of the keys to Gunmar's destruction is a Triumbric Stone (one of 3) that resulted in the death of Orlagk, the amulet can date to before Gunmar and have been made after the Gumm-Gumms took out their rage on other trolls instead of humans alone.

The Trollhunter after Spar the Spiteful was Boraz the Bold, named that specifically for taking on 1000 Gumm-Gumms, was killed by Bular who was - as I said - Gunmar's son. While that does not mean that Spar the previous Trollhunter existed before Bular did, it does mean that by the time Boraz was selected after Spar's position Bular was competent enough to slay a Trollhunter, especially one as 'Bold' as Boraz who felled a thousand Gumm-Gumms before falling to 1001. It would mean that his father Gunmar would be much older, potentially tracking further and further back in time and putting Orlagk's death deeper and deeper into the War for the Surface Lands, potentially even aligned Orlagk's death and the Triumbric Stone's creation to a period humans heard of Myrddin, the death of Orlagk potentially landing in 540 AD, perhaps even in 573 AD where an actual battle took place, the Battle of Arfderydd; this details a Riderch Hael, King of Alt Clut (Stratclyde, a Brittonic kingdom in northern... well... Britain, which got annexed in the 11th century AKA 1000 AD to become part of the emerging Kingdom of Scotland) slaughtering the forces of a Gwenddoleu ap Ceidio, Myrddin having gone mad watching that defeat.

The remaining named Trollhunters, ones that weren't explicitly dated and timed, are in a bullshit order on the Wiki that I just have to piece together what is being said to put together a timeline.

Maddrux the Many, he/him in the show and she/her in the comics, was canonically an active Trollhunter before another, Araknak the Agile, was either born or an actual functioning adult; Araknak is the ancestor of the previously mentioned (and assumed to be) middle aged Blinkous Galadrigal and his brother (an older brother or twin depending on who you quote) Dictatious Maximus Galadrigal, the pair being present for the Battle of Kilahead Bridge and still alive by 2016 and idk about Tatious but Blinky appears in 2017 or at least whenever RoTT takes place. To use the term ancestor instead of grandparent or even parent, which technically ancestor can be used on either anyway, means that the exact family history is undetermined. However, we can place Maddrux at the very least on the timeline where Orlagk was still active in, seeing as that was her major enemy in the comics.

At the end of her service instead of going directly to Araknak, a Trollhunter preceded him in Magmar the Molten, the only known mountain troll to be a wielder of Daylight. Interesting to note, Araknak learnt from Magmar a certain combat move so, even before his selection by the amulet Araknak was already preferring the lifestyle of a warrior in comparison to his scholar parents; a trait that outlasted the warrior spirit and descended to the Galadrigals however many years later. Mentioned specifically as preceding not only Araknak but Tellad-Urr, we have another date to place as Tellad-Urr the Triumphant - very soon to be Tellad-Urr the Terrible - was active until 501 CE where Orlagk was still alive; how convientient. It helps that Gogun the Gentle - his immediate successor - would be the only Trollhunter to die of old age, potentially because Gunmar was too busy killing Orlagk and Orlagk too busy being dead for either of them to do anything.

Hopefully Gogun was already an old fart because the oldest recorded troll Chokeenamaga lived to 5352 years and I have no idea if that's slightly above average, notably old, or specific to a troll type (like for example, mountain trolls may have the longest average lifespan of all trollkin), and it's not like I can look at the show for any reference because Draal the Deadly, son of Kanjigar the Couragous and the previous Trollhunter did not age between 900 years yet there are no troll whelps in modern Trollmarket, let alone the fact that the Battle of Kilahead Bridge according to our established Trollhunters could not have happened before 1578 but must have happened between then and 1620. And Draal is an adult in modern day but is rather impulsive and I do not know if that is simply a troll trait or the trait of a twenty something year old that should've had a different design in the past but couldn't because of the limitations of 3D show animation (Prime fans would know or at least see visually that you can't just design a cybertronian version of a bot's root mode without things getting expensive, it's why Skyquake couldn't fly despite looking the same before and after alt mode acquisition).

Speaking of age, this is also the time where Aaarrrgghh!!! was a teenager, which either means that Blinky is actually much younger than Aaarrrgghh!!! or there is another Trollhunter or few between Araknak the Agile and Tellad-Urr the Terrible; 5200 years is a lot of grounds to cover, especially with a Trollhunter dying of age between it. Tellad-Urr has an appearance similar to Kanjigar, and given that it's a book cover rather than a 3D model there may be grounds for him being of the same tribe as Kanjigar if not an ancestor like Araknak to Blinky. It could work give or take, especially since 'ancestor' is less of an official word and more of a footnote for someone's opinion, but it isn't word of god nor anything found in any media.

And keeping with age (last one I promise) Gorgus the Gorgeous, referenced in terms used by modern trolls 'By Gorgus' or 'Great Gorgus', was one of the youngest Trollhunters to be chosen. Whether he was younger than Jim Lake Jr, 16 years old at his time of getting the amulet, depends on what the hell the age of 24 fucking means to a troll. Is it the equivalent of 24 years in troll years? If so then why the hell does he begin training 32 troll years later at age 56 if he wasn't chosen to have the amulet at 24 human years old. What is 24 human years to a troll. NotEnrique, a changeling (troll whelp cursed to change into a human, can do so at will) is canonically a few centuries old, and he is fresh from the Darklands after replacing a human baby Enrique. He at a few centuries old is able to throw and host a troll party at his age, and maybe changeling's age differently and a changeling hosting a troll party would be very new because haha discrimination, but no troll flinches at the concept. And a few centuries could be considered more than 2 (being a few it's already more than 1) so the more centuries you tack on to this college type frat party host the more and more Gorgus' age becomes terrifyingly young like exorbitantly so.

If a few centuries means 'ability to host a party where full grown trolls do keg stands' then 24 probably means whelp, baby, a fucking toddler by troll standards, assuming changelings follow troll aging standards against their human mimicking physical development standards. If a 24 year old Trollhunter is only ONE OF the youngest Trollhunters, who was the youngest? Predestined at bloody birth!? Gorgus started training at age 56, presumably when he was old enough to wield a sword, being trained by none other than Kanjigar himself; Gorgus died during training when a group of Gumm-Gumms attacked, an arrow hitting him in the head. If NotEnrique was an adult, or at the very least on the cusp of it, at a few centuries old - more than 1, probably more than 2 - then what of someone at age 56, less than a few centuries, less than one. Whether Kanjigar was a father at the time or not, loosing a kid under his guidance - to death no less - would've stuck with anyone. Why was this child sentenced to death, and so young too. One can argue all the Trollhunters to failed to live up to legacy, who became their own version of Unkar the Unfortunate, were sentenced to death and fated to die young. Gogun may have defied fate and beat the ticking clock, but Gorgus the Gorgeous - a gorgeous child, a son to parents that will never see their little boy again - proved that there is no outrunning the clock for the bells toll for thee.

If Unkar was before Gorgus, then it is to be presumed that by dying on his first night - after 6 hours of training - that Gorgus the Gorgeous was failed by Blinkous in the same way Unkar had been. The next Trollhunter in line was summoned too soon, so because of Blinky's failure the trolls against Gumm-Gumms were without a defender, potentially reducing the remaining candidates for better trainers by slaughtering them before the Trollhunter was of age. If Unkar was after Gorgus, then Kanjigar needed to step away from training, even as it was his task given to the aging elder Rundle, potentially a younger but very busy Vendel, an elder by proxy of everyone else dying on the edges of Gumm-Gumm blades. He couldn't sacrifice another child to death, and as the amulet falls onto the arrogant overconfident Unkar, Kanjigar could not bare to have stone dust on his hands again. Blinkous Galadrigal (there is no mention of Dictatious despite the presence of Gumm-Gumms in Unkar's time) is tasked to train Unkar, to teach him the tennants of Trollhunter and put to good use his scholarly teachings and pray that the soul of his Trollhunter ancestor guides him. Unfortunately - as Unkar will be enshrined in by title - you cannot let a scholar do a warrior's duty.

However way it plays out, Blinky was young (or at least younger), and his failure marked his reputation for centuries.

There is a Grimbald the Grave, trained with Kanjigar AND Deya, which would definitely place that before 1620 and potentially before 1578; Voltar wasn't mentioned to have been trained by either, but given that he was the last Trollhunter before Deya (at the very least in close proximity), Grimbald most likely came before. Now this seems like a non-issue, if you consider Grimbald against our timeline nothing seems to be wrong, potentially Kanjigar's age since he's been around for a while but his son's an adult in the modern day so he could potentially be older than Blinky who knows. But I have an elephant to address and since it's been so long since I brought it up it's been drinking tea this whole time.

Wizards, the third installment of the Tales of Arcadia series, sequel to Trollhunters, introduces to audiences that Deya the Deliverer was originally Callista the Calamity, a troll who's tribe had been wiped out by humans and had been living in human custody since she was a whelp (or of an age that she had forgotten her name). Deya makes the timeline such a mess, because her first appearance in the comics, she was of an age where Rundle - Vendel's father - was the elder of Glastonbury Tor Trollmarket at the time of Deya, the Trollmarket before Dwoza which is the Trollmarket before Arcadia. Rundle was around in 501 AD, but it was his father Kilfred who was the elder and his son Vendel was of age enough to help in consulting, however old that is. In Wizards however, Vendel was the elder of Dwoza before Deya was Deya and when Callista was still an outcast, and even then he was only the elder by proxy, signs of his father Rundle or of Kilfred missing. Of course however Rundle could have been elder of Dwoza, as his father before him was elder of Glastonbury Tor, simply that he was potentially slain potentially died of old age and that Vendel being one of the few older than most of the Dwozan trolls took over in his father's stead.

The issue with Deya is that I really like the Callista part of her backstory, of being an outsider, an outcast, in the world of trolls that still hated humanity but held a deeper fear of the Gumm-Gumms. Diaspora for trolls, Callista the Calamity is seen as a human pet despite her wanting to find her way home, a home she can never go back to because it had been destroyed long ago; the one place that she could be accepted don't because they see her as too human, a far cry to being called a monster by humans but certainly not relieving. But she had become Deya, and found her footing as the Deliverer, by turning the Trollhunter from a single force to fighting alone to rallying a bunch of... gravellors? (Whatever, I like to think of Dwoza as essentially a refugee tribe given it's diversity in comparison to the Krubera tribe who are only krubera and the Quagawump tribe who are only - save for the generic troll king Angor killed - quagawumps) to fight one last fight against the Gumm-Gumms and ending the War for the Surface Lands.

...SO... that probably means that Grimbald was trained exclusively by Kanjigar after the whole Unkar and/or Gorgus ordeal and eventually got the Trollhunter's amulet himself when Deya was slain, her sacrifice delivering the migrating trolls of Dwoza a chance to get to the New World (or the Americas). Oh and their migration was after Vendel and some king wrote a truce called 'The Pact', which - I mean - it's described as a feeble truce and with a name like that I don't blame it, where they promise to stop eating humans and limited their diet to cats and used clothes which well- they might've broke on the journey to the New World because hiding in the cramped ballast of a 1600s era boat isn't fun nor is it fast. But regardless-

I think for a sense of cohesion, let me pull out an almost timeline for this post.

Trolls who had previously been in the Darklands somehow get to the surface

Tensions between trolls and the already present humans grows beginning the War for the Surface Lands

The intensity of the war corrupts the first Heartstone, giving birth to Gunmar

A young wizard Myrddin creates the Amulet of Daylight and gifts it to the good trolls

Spar the Spiteful gets the amulet. He dies 5200 years ago

Boraz the Bold gets the amulet. He dies to Bular, Gunmar's son.

Maddrux the Many gets the amulet

Magmar the Molten, the first mountain troll Trollhunter, gets the amulet

Araknak the Agile, ancestor to Blinkous and Dictatious Galadrigal, gets the amulet

Tellad-Urr the Triumphant, turned Tellad-Urr the Terrible, gets the amulet. He is killed in 501 AD

Gogun the Gentle gets the amulet.

Orlagk the Oppressor is slain by Gunmar. Gunmar loses an eye

Gogun dies of old age.

Angor Rot makes a pact with the Pale Lady, trading his soul for her magic

Unkar the Unfortunate gets the amulet. He dies 6 hours later

Gorgus the Gorgeous, one of the youngest Trollhunters, gets the amulet. He dies at age 56

Grimbald gets the amulet

Voltar the Voracious, born of two minds, gets the amulet in 1578. He dies to Angor Rot and his soul is stolen

Deya the Deliverer, previously Callista the Calamity, gets the amulet

The Battle of Kilahead Bridge is fought. Gunmar is defeated and the Gumm-Gumms (+ Dictatious Galadrigal) are trapped in the Darklands

Deya dies against Bular, last remaining Gumm-Gumm on the surface, in 1620

Kanjigar the Couragous, trainer of many Trollhunters, gets the amulet. He dies to Bular in 2016

James Lake Junior gets the amulet, and the events of the series take place

So, members of the Trollhunter fandom, how'd I do? If you stuck around this long, welcome to my gimmick, long posts :)

Hoo boy how should I tag this?

#trollhunters #toa #rambling #headcanon #idk this is a timeline rewrite but not a rewrite yaknow #like i'm interested in what the book timeline might have to offer #but idk #this took me several hours to write #give or take 4 hours maybe #not every trollhunter in the history of trollhunting is named because not every trollhunter has been listed #and kanjigar is only noted as the trainer of trollhunters because he's the one trollhunter to have experience with trollhunting i suppose #also- its one thing to have longevity as a species (i come from the transformers fandom those robots are fucking old)#it's another to have fathers and ancestors and dying of old age without considering how that shit works #like the oldest lived troll is in the 5 thousands right? is it the equivalent of 100 years old for humans?#like is the typical age of an elder troll 4000? is it just as likely they might cark it at 3000?#that's 80 and 60 in human terms- maybe the common age of an elder troll is 3500 at a human 70 equivalent #24 years in comparison to 5000 years is like a 6 month old human baby #56 compared to 5000 is 1 year old but surely that is not the case #trolls are apparently born egg-like... as egg-like taking a piece of each other literally and putting them together as one object #that eventually hatches into a troll whelp is egg-like... the parts i mean are heartstones which i think are hearts #draal is described to have hatched this way with ballustra and kanjigar splitting their heartstones #what the hell are gronknuts then meta answer kicking people between the legs is integral to kid comedy #okay i'm going to stop looking at my screen i don't have a mirror but my eyes feel like they're red

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stargazer-liz · 2 months

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Serendipity (Poe Dameron x Original Female Character) Chapter I: Stranded on Jakku

Chapter I: Stranded on Jakku

Masterlist

The planet Jakku, Inner Rim, 34 ABY

"One quarter portion?! You can't be serious."

Sora's face was consorted in anger, her eyebrows raised in disbelief. Brown eyes glaring him into the ground, she stared at Unkar Plutt, the unspoken ruler of the Niima Outpost. She had only known the merchant for two years and each time she saw him, the young woman had a hard time trying to stop herself from punching him in his face.

If it wasn't for Rey, her personified voice of reason, she probably would have done so already.

"Does it look like I am joking to you, sweetheart?"

All but snarling at the Crolute, Sora felt her blood boil in her veins. "Listen here you dipshi-"

Once more, the scavenger quickly came to her aid, not wanting for them to get on Unkar's bad side. They needed food and every portion was valuable, no matter the size. "What she meant to say was thank you. We'll take it."

Rey took the small package of dried meat and stuffed it into her bag. Her other hand quickly grabbed Sora's arm to pull her away from Unkar's hut. She knew her friend would try to negotiate (or well, what her definition of negotiating was) and they couldn't take the risk.

Sora huffed but followed Rey wordlessly, sending Unkar one last angry glare before she turned around and left the junk boss behind her. She could feel his smug smile which instantly made her want to slap it off his ugly face.

As if she could read her thoughts, Rey put her arm around Sora's shoulder. "Come on Sora, I'm starving." It was both a friendly gesture and a way to stop the young woman from doing something that would come back to bite them in the ass later.

Sighing softly, Sora let her shoulders relax. She knew her scavenger friend was right and she was thankful for her intervention. Unfortunately, their survival on Jakku was tied closely to Unkar. They relied on him to avoid starving to death, like everyone else in this damned desert. Moreover, without a way off this planet it was better to not make any enemies here. She had enough of those scattered around the galaxies already, even though she supposed word about her "death" would have gotten around by now. Still , there was no need to risk anything, at least for the time being.

Pushing Unkar into the back of her mind, Sora's mood lifted instantly. Somehow, Rey's presence alone had a way of calming her down and lifting her spirits.

With a smile on her face, she bumped her hips into Rey's, causing the latter to stumble slightly. "First to get back home has to wash the dishes."

Rey didn't even have time to comprehend the sentence before Sora ran off laughing, the sand swirling around her feet. The hood of her dark brown jacket flew off her head, leaving her unprotected from the relentless sun which glared down at her pale skin.

"Hey, that's not fair," Rey scolded her friend, yet she couldn't help but laugh at Sora's quick change of mood and her playful antics. The scavenger wasted no time and broke into a run. She knew both of them would regret the race later, when their bodies would be drenched in sweat, the sand clinging to their skin and clothes.

Yet, carefree moments like these were rare and very much needed. Jakku was a lawless, ruthless place. Despite of the blazing sun illuminating the planet, darkness, hunger and thirst kept it on a tight reign. It was not a place anyone would willingly call home.

But they had each other. And that was more than enough for them.

*******

Night was slowly approaching as Sora and Rey sat in the shadows of the remnants of a spaceship. It had become a habit for them to spend their dinner time there, with Sora telling Rey stories of her life as a smuggler and of all the planets she had visited.

Rey herself had never left Jakku and was always fascinated by the smugglers tales and adventures. It made it easier for Sora to forget about the slight stab to her heart whenever she thought about her past. She missed her old life, her freedom. She often found herself thinking about Elijah, her former co-pilot, partner in crime and trusted friend. The last time she had seen him, he had been hurt and she had been on the brink of death. In fact, she would have died if it wasn't for the mysterious stranger who had healed her wounds as best as they could and had somehow brought her to Jakku.

It was Rey who had found her broken but healing body laying in an escape pod in the middle of the desert. She had nursed Sora back to full health, had given her a new home and stuck to her ever since.

She knew Elijah was somewhere out there, alive and probably mourning her. Revan had likely reunited with Nyra and her best friend had gotten the credits to repair the Phoenix, their ship. Maybe he was continuing their smuggle business on his own. Maybe he had settled down and gotten a normal job.

She would never know.

Despite the fact that she was very much alive, her old life was gone and she had no hope of ever returning to it.

Swallowing the last crumbs of her bread, Sora absently played with a strand of long black hair that had escaped her braid.

"Ready to go?" Rey's voice broke the silence.

Letting go of the lone strand of hair, Sora locked eyes with her friend. Rey was brushing off sand from her clothes, getting ready to head back to their small hut to call it a night.

Though, like almost every other night, Sora shook her head and shared a soft smile with the scavenger. "I think I'll stay here a little longer. Don't wait for me."

"Okay." Rey whispered, not questioning her. She knew Sora needed solitude every once in a while. It brought some peace to her mind. "Be careful out here." There was a gentle warning in her eyes. Danger lurked everywhere on Jakku, especially at night. She didn't want anything to happen to her friend.

"Of course." Sora rolled her eyes jokingly. Warmth spread through her body at the knowledge that she still had someone who deeply cared about her. "You know no one would stand a chance against me."

Which was only partly true and they both knew it. Although Rey had never actually seen Sora fight, her former job as a smuggler ensured that she had developed certain skills. But without a blaster, she was only half as good as she used to be.

But Sora wasn't afraid. Jakku was basically harmless compared to some of the planets she had visited before.

"Good night, Rey."

"Good night, Sora." Sending her one last smile, Rey broke into a jog and left the young woman behind.

Sora watched her go until she disappeared behind a dune. The sun had already set and the temperature significantly dropped. Shivering, she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back. The metal from one of the ships parts was still warm underneath her body.

Above her, stars littered the night sky of Jakku. In her head, she named the constellations and thought back to the times she had visited some of them with the Phoenix.

Sora sighed sadly. Her desire to have her ship back weighed her down heavily. She would love to take Rey for a flight to show her a world beyond the sandy surface of Jakku. To look for Elijah together.

One day she would.

It was a promise she had made months ago. She would steal one of Unkar's precious spaceships and leave this planet behind.

As soon as Rey was ready to let go of the thought of her parents ever coming back. Then, they would leave. She didn't want to leave her behind, not after everything the scavenger had done for her.

One day.

A sudden beeping noise alerted Sora's attention. Hastily, she sprang to her feet, eyes moving in every direction. It was hard to see anything in the dark. Thankfully, the natural light of the stars cast a subtle glow across the sand.

Nothing. Maybe she was just tired and imaging things.

Just as she was about to sit back down, another beep echoed in the desert. Only this time, it seemed to be much closer than before.

Instantly, her heartbeat found a slow, steady rhythm again.

Sora was fluent in Binary and would recognize it anywhere.

Taking a deep breath, she slowly walked around the remnants of the spaceship, carefully navigating past rubbles of metal to avoid scaring the little droid with any sudden loud noises.

"I won't hurt you. You can come out now." Her voice was soft, trying to coax the astromech out of its hiding spot. She was both curious and cautious. It was unlikely that the droid was alone, its master probably not being too far behind.

Sure enough, a tiny dome head peeked out from behind an old crate right in front of Sora. It kept a single curious eye on her as it slowly rolled towards her. Instead of using legs to move around, the bulk of its body was made up of a ball. Orange and silver elements decorated its mostly white surface.

With its tiny antenna slightly bend at the top of his head, Sora couldn't help but to coo softly. "Awe, what a cute little droid you are." Kneeling down in front of the astromech droid, she slowly raised her hand to fix its antenna. "There you go."

She received happy chirps in return as the droid spun around her a couple of times. Letting out a laugh, the smuggler decided she already adored the little guy. "What are you doing out here alone?"

Sora had a hard time trying to follow his fast blabbering. Her eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she listened intently. "You were on a mission with your master but unfortunately lost him. Now you have to finish the mission alone."

A wave of sadness swept across her body. Apparently, the First Order had interrupted their very important mission. His master had given the droid vital information before he had sacrificed himself. It sounded vaguely familiar.

"I'm sorry buddy. This must have been terrible," She tried to console it, gently patting its head. The droid leant into her touch, thanking her with a few quiet beeps. "I wish I could have helped your master. What's your name?"

Beebee-Ate.

"Hello Beebee-Ate, I'm Sora." A giggle escaped her when the droid happily rolled around her in circles once again. She couldn't help it, it was simply too adorable. Before she knew it, she had already made up her mind. "You know what, maybe I couldn't help you then, but I can now. I suppose someone is waiting for the data you have. Where is your home?"

At her question, Beebee-Ate only hesitated for a second, letting his eye wander all over her as if in deep thoughts. Then, without further ado, he deemed her trustworthy. "So you're part of the Resistance, huh? And you need to get to the Ileenium System. I've never actually met someone from the Resistance, you know? At least not that I know."

Sora knew she was about to get involved in something very dangerous. The Resistance was fighting a never ending war against the First Order, the same people that had nearly cost her her life. The same General who would no doubt recognize her should he ever see her again. She had stolen from them and hurt Hux in the process. This could end very badly for her, once again.

Still, excitement tingled inside her belly, reminding her of her old job. Only this time, it would all be for a good cause.

Her brown eyes shone under the lights of a thousand stars as she smiled at Beebee-Ate in mischief. "What do you think about stealing a ship?"

*****

When Sora awoke, it was already past noon. Still half asleep, she yawned and rubbed her eyes. In search for her friend, she looked around the small hut she had grown used to call home. The bed next to her was empty, just like the tiny table next to the door. It wasn't unusual for her to sleep longer than Rey, seeing as she often stayed up well past midnight. The scavenger didn't have it in her heart to wake her up and disturb her dreams. Instead, she would often use the time to scout out possible places to scavenge. After all, they had a job to do if they wanted to fill their bellies.

"Beebee-Ate? Are you here?" She received no answer, leading her to believe Rey must have taken their new friend with her.

When Sora had closed the door behind her and the little droid just a couple of hours earlier that day, a very surprised Rey had been waiting for them. With the help of Beebee-Ate, it hadn't taken her long to explain her plan to the scavenger.

In the evening, when there were less people out in the Niima Outpost, they would steal one of Unkar's ship and fly Beebee-Ate to his home where his General was waiting for the map to Luke Skywalker.

The new information Beebee-Ate had shared with Sora without any second thoughts still shocked her. Obviously, she had heard that name before. The last living Jedi who was supposed to be nothing but a myth. However, now she understood why this map was so important, not only to the Rebellion but the First Order as well.

If anything, that made her even more determined to help the droid.

Rey had been hesitant to agree at first, but she too was curious and awestruck by the news of Luke Skywalker being somewhere out there, alive and well.

In the end, she had agreed under one condition: They would fly back to Jakku right after they succeeded in fulfilling Beebee-Ate's mission.

Sora had felt her excitement lessen as soon as the words had left Rey's mouth. She didn't want to return to Jakku. She also didn't have it in her heart to tell Rey that Unkar would never allow them to walk on his ground after stealing from him.

Especially not if they stole the Millennium Falcon.

Sora wasn't dumb. She knew one of the spaceships the junk boss harbored was Han Solo's beloved spacecraft. As a fellow smuggler, she had obviously seen it before; had even met its rightful owners. She didn't know how it had come into Unkar's possession but she would happily steal it from him.

After putting on her tight but comfortable dark beige trousers, a black top and her jacket, Sora stuffed some of their leftover bread in her mouth. Her eyes found a note on the table which she picked up eagerly.

Big boss has an urgent job for me. Decided to take the little droid with me. Didn't want to wake you up. We'll be back by the evening. Prepare for take-off.

"Stay safe, Rey." She mumbled to herself, throwing the note into the bin. Quickly putting her hair up into a bun so they wouldn't stick to the sweat on her neck, Sora grabbed her small bag and tied it around her waist. She needed to fill their water supplies for the long journey ahead of them.

Water was a rare resource on Jakku. With it being a desert planet, it never rained and most inhabitants had to grab their water from various wells. Most of the time, they were further out in the dunes, like small oases.

Once a week, it was her job to fill up the tanks of their home. It would take her about two hours to reach the well using the old speeder they had and two hours back. Sora knew she had to hurry now if she wanted to be back home by the evening.

The scorching sun greeted her warmly as soon as the smuggler stepped outside. No matter how long she had been staying on this planet, she would never get used to the unbearable heat. Pulling the hood of her jacket over her head, she made a beeline towards the old, rusty speeder in their backyard.

They only used it whenever absolutely necessary, out of pure fear it would otherwise fall apart too soon. Rey had build it from scratch herself and it had taken many months to find all the necessary parts.

It took a few times until the engine roared to life and Sora was zooming through the desert, leaving a trail of sand whirling behind her. The wind caressed her face gently, causing her hood to fly off her head once again. This was no comparison to the feeling of sitting in a cockpit, yet it was the closest she would get.

At least until tonight.

Sora couldn't wait to be up in the air again. To see the stars up close. To feel one with the galaxies again.

And most importantly, she couldn't wait to see the look on Unkar's face when she would steal his spaceship from right unter his fat nose. The thought alone made her smile.

She was nearly at her destination when she saw it.

There, on a dune in front of her, was what looked to be a deployed parachute.

At first, Sora thought her eyes were betraying her. But the closer she got, the more details she could make out. It's wasn't just a parachute. There was an ejection seat attached to it and the smuggler had no doubt someone was still strapped into it. Clearly, there had to have been a crash but a ship wreckage was nowhere in sight.

She couldn't just drive by and act like she hadn't seen it. There was a chance whoever had been unfortunate enough to strand on Jakku was still alive, just like her.

With a newly found determination and a healthy dose of curiosity, Sora approached the scene in front of her. When she was close enough, she turned off the speeder's engine and quickly jumped into the sand.

She didn't waste any time and crossed the remaining distance as fast as possible.

It was a man.

Clearly unconscious and still strapped into the ejected seat of his ship, dried blood coated his right temple and cheek. He must have hit his head on the way down. Filled with both curiosity and concern for the stranger, Sora crouched down beside him to take a good look at him. He seemed to be a few years older than her, probably in his early to mid thirties. Black curls stuck to the sweat and blood on his forehead. Specks of grime and sand were smudged to the visible stubble on his undoubtedly handsome face. His beige shirt and dark brown trousers were coated in sand but there were no other visible injuries.

Gently, she raised two fingers against the soft skin of his neck. A steady thrum beat against her fingers, causing Sora to exhale in relief. He was alive.

Before she had time to process what was happening, a strong hand wrapped around her fingers, keeping them locked in a tight hold. Although it wasn't painful, she flinched in surprise, her body recoiling from the sudden sensation.

"What do you think you're doing?" His voice was raspy, likely from having been unconscious for a while. A pair of brown eyes stared at her, watching her expectantly. He looked tired and confused but Sora could detect that he was on high alert.

She knew exactly how he was feeling at the moment as flashes from her own crash-landing resurfaced in her mind. "Hey, I'm not trying to hurt you, okay," she tried calming him down, raising her free hand in surrender. "I was just checking to see whether you were alive."

His brows knitted in confusion. "Well, am I?" The grip on her hand loosened as he let his eyes wander over her, as if he was just now truly seeing her.

Sora suppressed a chuckle. "I'm 99% sure that you are."

"Good." His gaze still fixed on her, he nodded. "That's good."

"You might have a concussion though," she said, freeing her fingers from his warm touch. Sora pointed at his temple, "You must have hit your head during the crash."

Her words seemed to snap him out of his daze as he blinked a couple of times. "Crash?" Then his eyes widened in realisation. "Crash! Finn? Where is he?"

Sora was barely able to jump to her feet and take a step back before the stranger had freed himself from the restraints of his seatbelt and was on his feet again. Like a reflex, her hand went to her belt, the absence of a blaster hitting her once again.

His legs wobbled a bit as he turned around, frantically searching his surrounding. "Finn! Finn!"

Obviously, he was looking for someone, probably his companion. Sora felt bad that she had to be the bearer of bad news. "Look, I hate to tell you this but you were alone when I found you. No ship, no other human being. Whoever you are looking for is not here." As the stranger turned back towards her with slumped shoulders, she quickly added "I'm sorry."

There was a flash of sadness in his eyes but it was quickly replaced with acceptance. Clearly, this hadn't been his first loss. "Great. This is just great." Sighing, he ran a calloused hand over his face wincing when it came in contact with the small cut on his temple. Then, he composed himself. "You don't happen to have a ship I could borrow?"

"Do you really think I would be here if I had one?" Wanting to prove her point, Sora pointed at the never ending dunes of sands around them with a sad smile. Everything was beige, apart from the glowing sun and the blue sky. "In case you haven't noticed it yet, we are on Jakku."

The stranger winced once again. "Yeah, thanks for the reminder. I really needed that one."

"You're very welcome," the smuggler responded dryly, having recognised the sarcasm in his voice.

A small smile formed on his lips. Once again, his eyes roamed over her face and Sora wasn't sure what to make of it. Although it didn't make her feel uncomfortable, it did make the atmosphere between them a bit awkward. Something which the stranger seemed to notice as well.

Cautiously stepping closer to her, he stuck out a hand for her to shake. She found herself accepting it faster than she liked. "I'm Poe. Poe Dameron." His hand was warm in hers. Whilst many callouses littered the skin, it was incredibly soft. Sora almost didn't want to let go.

It didn't help that he was very attractive.

But she didn't know this man and this was definitely not the time nor the place for such thoughts.

"Sora Park." Letting go of his hand immediately after their introduction, Sora took an almost unnoticeable step back. A habit caused be her old job.

Poe didn't seem offended by her act of caution. If anything, the smile on his face only grew. "Sora, huh? What is a woman doing out here in the desert all alone?"

The smuggler raised her brows and huffed jokingly. "I guess I could ask you the same."

"You could but I asked first." Poe was grinning now.

To Sora, it almost seemed as if any worries about his former companion or his space ship had been forgotten already. However, she knew better than that. His eyes and body language portrayed a healthy dose of determination. There was no doubt in her that he was already planning how to leave this planet and do whatever he had to do to get them back. It was like she was looking in the mirror and seeing herself from two years ago.

"Touché." Sora rolled her eyes, feigning annoyance. "Unfortunately, I happen to live in this desert. You are just lucky that you landed next to my closest source of water which I was just about to collect."

Peeking at the speeder behind her, Poe whistled lowly. "I guess we were both lucky then because that thing looks like it should not be driving anymore at all."

"Well, now you are hurting me," she joked, pressing a hand against her chest. "This speeder may look like a pile of junk to you but it is my pile of junk. Only I get to talk bad about it."

Raising his hands in mock surrender, Poe let out a small laugh. "You have my deepest apologies, princess."

Sora decided to ignore the nickname and wrote it off as meaningless flirting. "Apologies accepted."

She wanted to help this man. No, she needed to help him in any way she could. She remembered that what had just happened to him here had happened to her not long ago as well. Rey had helped her too even though she had been nothing but a stranded stranger back then. Sora felt obliged to do the same. "Listen, my friend and I plan on temporarily leaving Jakku tonight. If you want to, we can drop you off somewhere on our route."

At her words, Poe perked up, straightening his posture. "Leaving? I thought you didn't have a ship?"

Sora smiled innocently. "Technically no, but we will burrow one."

Poe raised his eyebrows, grinning widely at her. "Borrowing, huh?"

"Well, do you want to leave this planet or not?" Shrugging her shoulders, the smuggler only motioned towards her speeder. She turned around and made her way back to the vehicle, not bothering to wait for him. She was sure he would follow her immediately anyways.

"You don't have to ask me again," Poe mumbled barely audible. "Hey, have you seen a brown leather jacket laying around?" He questioned from next to her, easily keeping up with her pace.

His arm brushed against hers and Sora resisted the urge to put some distance between them. After all, they would cling to each other on the speeder anyways. "No, I haven't. It's probably with what's left of your space ship. If there is anything left, that is. Wherever that may be."

"Wow, you really know how to brighten someone's mood, don't you?"

"It's what Jakku teaches you."

Poe only nodded, the smile never leaving his face. "Yeah, I don't like it here either."

They stopped in front of Rey's speeder. Sora could see Poe judging the vehicle, his eyes inspecting every part of it. "Are you sure this is safe to drive, princess? This looks like it's going to fall apart any minute." He couldn't help asking with both humor and a hint of doubt in his voice.

Sora tilted her head to the side, looking at him with an obviously annoyed smile. "Safe? Probably not but I am still alive and not injured, so you will be just fine, your majesty."

Poe whistled lowly, leaning against the speeder with crossed arms. "Your majesty, huh?" Letting his gaze wander from her toes to her head, Poe grinned smugly. "I like the sound of that. So, does that make me your prince or something?"

Sora could feel her cheeks growing hot under his stare. Annoyance rose within her, threatening to rise to the surface. She had only just met this man and he was already getting under her skin. "You know, I can still leave you out here to fend for yourself. For your sake, I'd advise you to keep your mouth shut until we're on board of that ship."

Zipping his mouth shut with his finger, Peo only nodded, his seemingly omnipresent grin shining brightly.

Sora rolled her eyes, yet she couldn't prevent letting a small chuckle escape her mouth. She couldn't deny that she liked talking to him. Conversing with him was surprisingly easy. "Good. Now, I'm just gonna fill this small tank with some water and then we will be on our way. Wait here and don't move, okay?"

Not giving him time to respond, she grabbed their small water tank and was already jogging across the dune ahead of them to do her job.

It didn't take her long to collect the water from the well. Just a few minutes later, she found herself in front of her speeder again. Having patiently waited for her, Poe greeted her with his bright smile, showing her his white teeth. "I could have helped you, you know?"

Strapping the now filled water tank back onto the speeder, Sora shook her head and locked eyes with him again. "It was a one person job anyways." Swinging her leg over one side of the speeder, Sora made herself as comfortable as possible on the seat. Then, she patted the space behind her, looking at Poe expectantly. "Hop on, we need to hurry. We have to be back by evening."

The handsome pilot didn't waste any time. Suddenly, his warm chest pressed against her back as two strong arms wrapped around her waist. Her breath hitched at the sudden feeling of his hands on the thin material covering her stomach, his warm breath hitting her neck with each exhale. Goosebumps traveled all over her body.

It wasn't everyday that Sora was in proximity of such a beautiful man. Therefore, she allowed herself to enjoy the feeling for one second before reminding herself that he was still just a stranger and merely another mission to complete. "Hold on tight."

"Oh, I definitely will, princess," Poe said, unintentionally (or was it?) leaning into her even more as the speeder surged forward.

The drive back to Rey's and Sora's hut was uneventful. Poe and her had spent it in silence, enjoying the peace and quiet of Jakku's desert. Just before sunset, Sora stopped the speeder in front of Rey's home and killed the engine. "We're here. You can let go now." Turning her head to lock eyes with him, the smuggler pointed at his arms which were still wrapped around her body.

Almost teasingly, Poe slowly let go of her, letting his arms fall to his sides before he stood up and stretched his body. "You know, this was a much more comfortable ride than I anticipated. This speeder isn't so bad." Yawning, he covered his mouth with one hand. "I almost fell asleep against your back."

"I'm glad that at least one of us had fun."

Sora jumped from the vehicle, dusting off sand from her clothes, feeling Poe's eyes on her the whole time. "Follow me. Rey and BeeBee-Ate should be waiting for us inside."

At the mention of the droids name, Poe's eyes widened as he quickly stepped closer to her. "BeeBee-Ate," putting his hands on her shoulders, Poe's hard gaze locked with hers. "Did you just say BeeBee-Ate is here?"

Oh. Suddenly, it clicked in Sora's brain. It was indeed a weird coincidence that both a droid who had lost his master and a pilot without a ship had stranded on the same planet within a timespan of just a couple of hours. "Wait, are you his master, the Resistance member? The one who had been captured by the First Order?"

Poe's entire face lit up like the sun. He laughed in triumph. "Yes, I knew he would make it!"

Sora didn't have time to prepare herself for the attack. Two strong arms pulled her into his hard chest. One hand was buried in her hair, another one pressed against her lower back to keep her as close as possible. She could hear his excited heartbeat pounding against her ear. Her whole body shook as he chuckled wholeheartedly. "Oh, I could kiss you right now, princess. But I do want to live, so..."

Gently pushing her back, the hug ended before Sora even had the chance to process what had just happened. "What in the Maker's name...," she mumbled but Poe had already stormed past her straight into her home. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

Quickly following him, the young woman entered Rey's hut to see Poe searching the place. "BeeBee-Ate! Where are you?" But the cute droid was nowhere to be found.

"They should have been back by now," Sora voiced, eyebrows raised in question. Sunset was close and it was extremely unusual for Rey to stay outside this late. Especially now that they had a plan to execute in mere hours.

Poe whirled around, desperation in his voice. "What? Who?"

"My friend Rey took your droid with her on a job," she explained deep in thoughts. "Rey never takes this long though. I have a bad feeling about this."

Poe exhaled harshly, running a hand though the mess of black curls on his head. "We need to look for them. I need to bring BeeBee-ate back to the Resistance as soon as possible. The First Order can't find him first."

Sora nodded, pushing her worry for Rey into the back of her mind. She knew her friend could take care of both herself and the little droid. However, the smuggler had first-hand experiences with the ruthlessness of the First Order. Rey and BeeBee-Ate alone wouldn't stand a chance against hordes of stormtroopers and possibly Kylo Ren himself.

Then, anger rose to the surfaces, directed at only one person. "I know exactly where to start looking," she scowled, clenching her jaw.

******

"Open the damn door, Unkar."

Arms crossed over her chest, Sora stood in front of Unkar Plutt's home. Poe kept close to her, his arm brushing hers once again. It was dark and quiet outside, the majority of Jakku's population had retreated for the night already. Only a couple of Unkar's loyal lapdogs were guarding the perimeter, watching them closely.

"Who is that guy again?" Poe whispered in her ear, his warm breath hitting her cheek.

"Big, ugly fella who thinks he owns the planet," Sora responded just as quietly, sighing softly. "Unfortunately for all of us, he kind of actually does. If anyone knows where Rey and your droid are, it's him."

Poe didn't have time to respond. Loud and angry footsteps echoed from inside the house. The door in front of them opened and a very angry Unkar Plutt stared down at Sora. "Well, well, well. Are you here to pay me back the thousands of credits your friend owns me? You're very brave to even show your face to me again."

Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see his guards stepping closer, hands on the blasters strapped to their belts. Poe must have noticed as well, for he too minimised the distance between them. His chest basically pressed against her back, his body being on high alert. She had a feeling he would have her back in whatever was about to happen. "I don't know what you're talking about," she answered honestly.

Unkar laughed bitterly. " Oh, I'm sure you don't. Let me help you then. Your friend stole my ship."

Shock traveled through Sora's body. "What!?"

"Yes. She took off with an astromech and another man in my ship." Realisation flashed in Unkar's eyes. "Oh you really had no idea. Well, sweetheart. She left you, now deal with it."

Rey had left. Without her.

Sora almost couldn't believe it. It didn't sound like something her friend would do at all. She was sure there was more to the story than Unkar had let on. The scavenger probably had no other choice but to leave. Whatever had actually happened, Sora trusted Rey. She trusted her judgement.

Poe wrapped his fingers around her arm, squeezing it gently in reassurance. He must have sensed her inner turmoil.

Taking slow, threatening steps closer to the duo, Unkar send them a glare full of hatred. "You're either going to pay me back the credits for the ship or I am going to kill you and your new friend."

Quickly using the hand that was still grasping her arm, Poe pulled Sora back, shielding her body with his. "Whoa buddy, I'm sure there is another way to solve this predicament. Why don't we discuss this with a nice drink, huh? Just the three of us. No guards, no weapons."

But the young woman knew Unkar was not the type to sit down and have a chat. No, his threats were never empty. Luckily for them, Sora had a knack for getting out of situations like these. She had lost count of how many times she had to come up with stupid but ultimately successful plans (well, at least most of the time) on the spot.

Subtly moving her eyes to scan their surroundings, it took her mere seconds to notice that Unkar's four lapdogs, who were now uncomfortably standing close, were concentrating on Poe, obviously (and stupidly) completely overlooking her. They were underestimating her because she was a woman which caused her to let out a barely noticeable scoff.

A visible object in Unkar's backyard caught her attention next. The Millennium Falcon was nowhere to be seen, meaning Ray had stolen it. However, relief flooded her at the sight of another spaceship. An old Gauntlet Starfighter. Admittedly, it looked to be in very bad shape, even from far away. If Rey's speeder was a pile of junk, this ship was a whole junkyard. Hell, she wasn't even sure it was still functioning. However, it was a chance they would need to take and make do with.

Slowly, Sora let her fingers brush against Poe's before she took his hand in hers, giving it a quick squeeze. She prayed to the Maker he understood the meaning behind her gesture.

The squeeze she received back let her known that he was at least aware of her having formed any kind of plan. And that he was ready to go along with it.

"Who do you think I am," Unkar hissed, eyes fully focused now on the pilot as well. "Do you think I am a fool or-"

Sora didn't waste anymore time. Letting go of Poe's hand, she used the element of surprise to kick the guard closest to her where it hurts the most. With a grunt, he fell down to his knees, holding his groin. It gave her enough time to grab the blaster from his belt and shoot him in his chest.

Quickly whirling around, blaster raised in front of her, she saw Poe had already taken out the second guard. Just as she had anticipated, both the third and fourth guard were now pointing the blasters at the pilot, completely ignoring her. It made her slightly frustrated but she didn't have to time to dwell on it.

Sora knew (or desperately hoped) that Poe could take care of the guards on his own. Therefore, she opted to focus on Unkar, pointing the blaster straight at his face. It hadn't gone unnoticed by her that the junk boss himself was not carrying his own weapon. A stupid mistake.

"I have waited two years for this moment," the smuggler said, the corners of her mouth curving into a mischievous smile.

Keeping the blaster in her left hand, still pointing at Unkar, she drew her right arm back as far as it could go. Putting the strength of her whole body into it, she threw her fist forward. It collided against his jaw with a sickening crunch, causing his head to jerk to the side. He stumbled backwards into his house, his legs hitting some part of furniture. As a result, he fell onto bis back, his head hitting a table. The junk boss was out cold immediately.

Sora cradled her right arm against her chest. Her knuckles were pulsing in pain but thankfully, nothing seemed to be broken. "This went much better than I could have wished for," she mumbled, staring at Unkar's unconscious body, a grin forming on her lips. "So much better actually."

"That was...impressive, princess."

Poe's voice brought her back to the present. Turning towards where he was now standing next to her, the rest of the guards already felt with, she found him staring at her in wonder. Mouth slightly agape, his eyes wandered from her, to where she cradled her fist, to where the junk boss laid on the ground and back. "No wait. That was hot. I definitely never want to get on your bad side." Smiling widely, he raised his hand to praisingly squeeze her shoulder once.

Sora rolled her eyes, ignoring the warmth she felt spreading across her cheeks. "Thanks. That asshole had it coming a long time ago. If I had known it was this easy to knock him out I would have done so months ago."

"Oh, I can see that." Letting his hand fall back to his side, he strapped his blaster on his belt. "Since you obviously have a plan which has worked more than fine for us so far: What do we do next?"

Putting her own blaster away, Sora motioned for the pilot to follow her. "We get the hell away from this planet before more of his lapdogs arrive or big boss wakes up again."

Jogging past Unkar's home alongside her, the pilot nodded. "Right, but how do we-"

The words got stuck in his throat when they came to a stop in front of the old Starfighter. "You're kidding me right?" Stemming his hands against his hips, Poe groaned. "This looks even worse than that speeder of yours. Which is saying a lot, by the way."

He was right. The ship looked like it had crashed multiple times and was never repaired. Some parts were obviously missing, others barely hanging on. It didn't look safe at all. Sighing, Sora shrugged her shoulders. "I know. But we don't really have a choice," she admitted, her feet carrying her towards the already lowered ramp.

"Right," Poe mumbled, reluctantly following her.

The inside of the Starfighter was bigger than it looked from the outside. The hull of the spaceship contained a tiny refresher next to a small sleeping cabin with a bunk bed. There was a small table in the main area in front of the cockpit. The latter only consisted of two seats, one for the pilot and one for the co-pilot. Lots of sand littered the whole space but it still felt quite clean and was in much better shape than the outside.

"This is actually not bad," Poe said, using his hands to swipe some sand from the consoles in the cockpit. "Let's hope this thing works." Sitting in the pilot seat, Poe fastened his seatbelts, excitement obvious in each movement. "You might want to sit down for this, princess. I doubt it will be smooth flight."

Oh no, this would not do. Who did he think he was?

Sora furrowed her eyebrows, arms crossing over her chest. Confused, she stood right next to Poe, staring down at him with blazing brown eyes. "Who told you that you would be the one flying the ship?"

Fingers hovering over various buttons on the console, Poe stilled, tilting his head upwards to lock eyes with her. He chuckled softly. "You're looking at the best pilot in the Resistance. I think that definitely gives me the right to fly us out of here."

Sora scoffed. "And without me, you would still be stranded in the desert," she pointed out, unwilling to miss the opportunity to finally sit in the pilot's seat again. "Besides, I have years of experience in that seat as well. I'm probably even better than you."

"You have?" Clearly, Poe was surprised by the revelation, the argument forgotten for the moment. "What are you doing on Jakku then?"

"Long story. And totally not the point right now."

Poe raised his brow, staring at her wordlessly for a minute. Then, he sighed, expression softening. "Look, I don't doubt you're a good pilot. But do you know the exact location of the Resistance's base?"

Sora's arms went slack, falling limply against her side. Damn it. He had a point. "Well, no. Beebee-Ate just told me it was in the Ileenium System."

Once again, Poe watched her in surprise. "He told you that? He must really like you then." The pilot almost seemed offended, as if the thought alone made zero sense to him.

"Your droid is easily likable. Wish I could say the same about you."

"Dito," Poe retorted halfheartedly.

The two equally stubborn individuals were locked in a stare down, each unwilling to give up. Sora was leaning against the cockpit's console, her head and upper body tilted towards where Poe was sitting directly in front of her. There was barely any distance between them, both of their breaths hitting each others face, yet neither dared to move away.

Coming to her senses, the smuggler felt her resolve fading. This was not the time for childish disputes. They had an important mission which could not wait. Plus, although she hated to admit it, Poe was right. It was the better choice to let him be the pilot.

Straightening her shoulders, Sora exhaled loudly. "Okay, you've won." Rolling her eyes as Poe smiled smugly at her, the young woman moved to take a seat in the co-pilots chair, strapping herself in tightly. "What are you waiting for? Get us away from this damn planet, pilot."

Poe had the audacity to wink at her. "Your wish is my command, princess." Ignoring her annoyed groan, he quickly began to work, fingers pushing the various buttons with expertise. By some miracle, the engine roared to life, causing Poe to cheer. "Oh yes, baby," looking over his shoulder at Sora, he smiled happily. "Next stop: D'Qar."

The Starfighter rose above the ground slowly, rattling from side to side unsteadily. Sora held on tight to the arms of her seat and watched as the desert grew smaller and smaller underneath them, until all that she could see were the stars around them. The sight took her breath away instantly. It had been too long since she had last experienced it.

As they entered hyperspace, a deep longing within her rose to the surface; A longing for her past life, from before she had stranded on Jakku. Up in the stars, she felt free again. Free to go wherever she wanted to. Free to do whatever she wanted to.

Maybe once this mission was done, she could be herself again.

*****

Hope you liked the first chapter! There are quite some similarities between Poe's and Sora's story. I don't know about you, but I think this will make bonding a little easier:)

#Poe Dameron #poe dameron fanfiction #Star Wars #Star Wars fanfiction #Poe Dameron x Original Female character #Luke Skywalker #Leia Organa #rey skywalker #Kylo Ren #Finn #Han Solo #fanfiction #oscar isaac

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