Rey Skywalker (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thatwaslucky) wrote2020-06-16 08:12 am
thatwaslucky) wrote2020-06-16 08:12 am
Fermic to Minfar- Tuesday morning
When Rey had been called back, leaving Liam to help out on base, she'd expected that she'd be working with Finn and Chewie, probably, except they'd been sent on their own mission. This left Rey assigned to work with Poe and Rose, which wasn't a pairing she'd worked with before, and she hadn't been sure how it would go.
She needn't have worried, they worked together great. They'd left last night for the Outer Rim in the Falcon, gathering supplies while avoiding the First Order the best they could. It wasn't easy, but it hadn't been bad, because they all knew what they were doing separately and they worked well as a team.
"Hey, how many more are there?" she called, strapping down another set of crates in the hold.
"That's the last of them," Rose called back from the bottom of the boarding ramp.
"So, should I fly?" Poe asked, smiling at Rey. If he'd been trying to get behind the controls of the Falcon before, it was an entirely different story while on an actual mission with him. It'd been a question every day.
"No, but you can sit in the copilot seat if you want," Rey said sweetly. "I'm always happy to have someone so capable navigate." But seeing his expression, she added, "I like flying, but if I need your help I will most definitely ask."
"I like flying, too," Poe grumbled, but he didn't argue.
BB-8 beeped at him, and Poe looked offended. "It's not my fault the First Order blew up my ship! It's just one of those things that keeps happening. Seriously, I wasn't even in my ship the last time it got blown up. It's just rotten luck."
It was a familiar argument. Rey suspected BB-8 kept bringing up Poe's blasted ships as a way of having a little fun at his expense, and she thought it was rather funny. Poe didn't.
BB-8 beeped back and rolled past Poe into the Falcon.
"I wasn't saying she isn't a good pilot," Poe said, following his droid on board, "I was offering to fly in case she was tired."
Rose closed the hatch, shooing some of the porgs inside so they wouldn't be left behind on the planet, and asked, "Do you think we'll have any trouble on the way back?"
Rey shrugged a little. "It seems like the First Order hasn't made it to this part of the galaxy just yet. We'll clear the atmosphere and jump to hyperspace as soon as possible. That should help us avoid any trouble."
"Good. Trouble is definitely something we don't need. I wish Finn and Chewie were here. Not that you aren't- great, that is. But Finn and Chewie would also be great, and… well, you know what I mean?"
Rey actually kind of loved Rose. "I miss Finn and Chewie, too," she said.
Rose looked like she was going to protest, though a porg landing on her hand kept her from having to get into that. "Not now, Dita," she told the porg. "I'll give you snacks later."
Rey raised an eyebrow and watched the porg land on the deck and start chewing at Rose's pant leg. "Dita?"
"Yes! I've named them all. Dita, Tessalie, Jord…" When she looked up and saw Rey looking at her, Rose only blushed. "So about Finn and Chewie. You think they're back from delivering that bacta Poe and Finn got from Tevel yet?"
"I don't know," Rey shrugged. "I hope so. The sooner everyone is back, the sooner we can get started. Supplies are important, but there are other things to do."
"Agreed. But it's hard to fight when you're hungry and you only have an old Corellian freighter."
"Hey, that's my ship you're talking about," Rey teased.
She still thought of it as Han's ship, or Chewie's ship. But other people had taken to calling the Falcon Rey's. She wasn't even in this galaxy most of the time, but thanks to the time difference, she was the one doing the vast majority of the flying, taking it out for supply runs and shuttling members of the Resistance around, often without Chewie. So… sometimes it did feel like hers.
"It's a good ship," Rose told her, patting the wall of the Falcon, which sent a couple porgs scurrying deeper into the hold. "Anyway, I'm sure General Organa has it under control. I'll finish strapping down the rest of the crates if you want to head up to the cockpit. Before Poe steals your seat."
"He wouldn't dare," Rey laughed, but she left Rose to finish up while she headed to the cockpit. She did want to get back. She was anxious to get back; maybe all they had to do was drop off supplies and then she and Liam would head back to Fandom, but maybe they'd have something else to do by the time they got there.
Poe was in the copilot's seat, frowning hard as he flipped some switches, muttering to himself. He looked so utterly perplexed that Rey couldn't help but grin.
"Having trouble figuring out which switch starts the engines?" she teased, picking up a fledgling porg from her seat and carefully setting it down on the floor.
Poe startled and frowned deeper. "What? No, of course not," he said, then glanced over and caught Rey's smile. "Oh, ha, very funny. You and BB-8 should start a comedy routine."
BB-8 whistled his agreement.
"Seriously, though," she said, more seriously, "what's going on?"
"I'm not quite sure," he answered. "I was going to send a quick message to let them know we're on our way back, and there seems to be someone already trying to send a message on the channel."
Rey sank into the pilot's seat. "Do you know who it is?"
"No, but this is a secret Resistance channel. No one should be able to hear it except for Resistance members."
He flipped the switch so she could hear, and the cockpit was filled with a scratching and chittering noise, nothing like Rey had ever heard before, but there were lots of different kinds of people in the galaxy. It could very well be from somewhere she'd never been, which was most everywhere?"
"What is that?" Rose asked, sitting in one of the jump seats after entering.
"That's what we were trying to figure out," Rey said, frowning. "That sounds like, I don't know, some kind of language."
"Not Basic, though," Poe said. "And most Resistance communications are broadcast in Basic."
"And encoded. I'm guessing this one isn't?" Rey asked.
Poe shook his head.
"Maybe they don't know that," Rose said. "Why not respond to them and see if they answer?"
"If it's missing the latest scramble code it could be a trap," Poe said.
"But what if they just haven't gotten the most updated code?" Rose insisted. "They could be in trouble and desperate. We should still see who it is."
Poe looked to Rey, who shrugged. "Seems like as good a plan as any. It really could be someone in trouble." And she didn't get a bad feeling about it. And if this turned out to be someone to avoid, they were in a good position to leave altogether…
Poe keyed up the microphone and spoke into it. "Hello? Is anyone there?" He left off his name or anything that would give away who they were.
They waited for several long moments with no response. Just when Rey was ready to give up on it, a voice cut across the static.
"Yes! Yes! Hello! This is Jem Arafoot, from Minfar. The First Order is attempting to set up a base here. We request immediate assistance from the Resistance. We need-"
The message cut off abruptly, and once again the cockpit was silent.
Rey looked to Rose, and then Poe. Neither of them spoke, and neither looked very convinced of the next step. From the corridor, BB-8 beeped.
"You're right, BB-8," Rey nodded. "We do need to help them. But we have no idea how to do that."
"By getting these supplies back to the main Resistance force and then checking out this distress call with help," Poe said.
"What if we don't have that kind of time?" Rey pressed. "If they find a way to embed themselves on this planet, it'll be nearly impossible to shake them loose."
"Maybe. But how many First Order personnel are there? A hundred? A thousand? If there are too many, we could end up landing smack-dab in the middle of a losing battle."
Rey blew out a breath. She felt like they should go. Was that the Force telling her? Or was this just being herself and wanting to help people? Sometimes it was so easy to tell the difference, and times like this she really didn't know.
So she looked to Rose. "What do you think?"
Rose fiddled with the medallion around her neck and sighed. "I don't know. These supplies need to get back to the Resistance as soon as possible. But I know what it's like to have the First Order destroy your planet. I hate ignoring any kind of call for help."
"But what if it's a trap?"
"We won't know until we check it out," Poe said, running his hand through his hair. "That's kind of the trouble with an ambush. You never know it's coming until you're in the middle of it."
"But that distress call said they needed help fighting off the First Order soldiers. Fighting. This could be a chance to find some new allies," Rey pointed out, and turned to BB-8. "What do you think?"
BB-8 rolled back and forth quietly for a moment while he considered it, then beeped a long, solemn note.
"He's right," Rey said decisively. "The right thing to do is offer them help. If it's a trap, we'll deal with it. But I don't think it is."
"So we help them," Poe nodded, even if he might not be thrilled about it. "And hope that it isn't a trap."
*****
They came out of hyperspace at Minfar and ran directly into the First Order. Rey sent Rose and Poe to the turrets, blocking out the sounds of the worried porgs in the cockpit as she dodged blasts.
"Rey, can you take them on a bit of a chase?" Poe called through the headset. "I don't have a clear shot."
"Yep. There's an ice ring a little ways away," she said. "Looks like there's some decent cover in there. I don't know if they'll follow."
"Oh, they'll follow. If there's one thing the First Order likes, it's a fight."
"Why do you sound so happy about this?" Rose asked.
"Because every day we get to hurt them every day is a good day," he said.
Rey tilted the Falcon to the right and began a zigzagging approach to the ice ring. The TIEs followed, their turns faster but not more controlled than hers. One tried to overcompensate, and a shot from the Falcon took the TIE out quickly.
"Got him!" Rey said approvingly, as the Falcon shuddered and shook.
"Looks like one of us got them as well," Rose said dryly.
That was okay for the moment. Their shields weren't failing yet and they just had to get to the ice ring. From elsewhere in the ship Rey heard Rose yell, "Yeah! I got one! You're getting rusty, Poe."
"What?" he said, insulted.
"Come on, Poe, you can do it," Rey said, grinning, because teasing him was one of her very favorite pastimes.
She could hear him muttering through the comms.
They took another shot. And then another, just in time for them to reach the ice field, and that unlucky timing sent them into a chunk of ice that had the ship rocking again. Immediately the board started lighting up with alarms and bells, and Rey took a second to check what was happening. They were slowing down, and bumping into ice was causing them to spin, with her trying to keep as steady as possible.
"What are we doing, Rey?" Poe called, sounding worried.
"I just lost power to four of the engines. I'm trying to get out of this ice field, but we're slowing," she answered.
She took a deep breath, and focused. The ship was doing what it wanted to do right now, and she was trying to lean into that, steering as well as she could with their current momentum instead of causing more chaos by fighting it. She was also keeping them clear of the two TIEs left somehow, and she wasn't going to question how right now. Just keep going.
"Rey, can you double back around and give me one clear shot?" Poe asked.
Rey made an unsure face that she was very glad he couldn't see. "Doing my best!" she said, tilting the ship suddenly as the TIEs began to close in, giving Poe the perfect angle to lock onto one. It exploded a second later.
"You got one more," Rey said. "I'm going to kill the engines. Make them think we're done."
She did. The last TIE screamed past, once, twice, a third time, waiting to see if they were going to make a move or not. On the third try, the TIE slowed enough to give Poe the perfect chance to pick it off.
"Great shooting!" Rey said, grinning. It was partly relief, partly that just being pretty cool. "I'm going to get us out of this ice ring."
She was still being very careful as she maneuvered them clear of the ice and towards the planet, which would be tricky on its own. This wasn't good. They'd come to the outer regions of the galaxy to help people, and the engines had gone out midflight. They'd also taken other damage that she hadn't even begun to assess yet. Maybe this had been a bad idea. Maybe they should have just gotten the supplies to Anoat and sent someone else.
A porg landed on the control console and cooed at her, and even for as stressed as she was, Rey smiled tightly. "Now, are you Erci or Mady?" she checked.
The porg trilled in response.
Poe reached the cockpit and dropped into the seat next to Rey, strapping himself in. He was a pilot, he knew how messy this could be. "Are you okay?" he asked her.
"Great. Just trying to get us to the planet without any further disaster."
He nodded. "That was some really great flying back there. I'm sorry I doubted you."
There was a moment where Rey had to question whether she'd just heard what she thought she heard, and then she turned to him as much as the restraints would allow, without taking her hand of the yoke. "What do you mean, you doubted me? You didn't think I was a good enough pilot to outrun a few TIE fighters?"
Poe's expression turned contrite. "Yes, I know you're an okay pilot, but you even said yourself that you haven't been flying that long, just since you left Jakku. I kind of figured I was better at it than you, and now that I'm saying it out loud I realize how much that makes me sound like a jerk," he said, sighing. "I know you're a great pilot, okay? I just sometimes forge that I'm not the only great pilot. And don't say a word about the First Order destroying my ships, BB-8."
Rey pressed her lips together and turned back to the viewport, angrily focusing on the task at hand again. She and Poe hadn't really figured out their relationship yet. He wanted to get to know her, but she knew it was because she and Finn were close. Somewhere along the line, yeah, possibly she'd started wanting to get to know him better, too. So this stung more than she wanted to admit. Especially since flying was the one thing she'd always, unquestioningly felt she did well, every time.
"Are you mad at me?" he asked after a moment.
"No. I just didn't think you thought I was good at this."
"Why did you think I kept asking to fly?" Poe asked.
"I thought you just wanted to fly!" Rey said, incredulous. "You are a little bit of a control freak."
"What? I am not!"
BB-8 beeped, agreeing with Rey.
"Okay, maybe a little bit," Poe said, scowling. "Either way, I was apologizing."
"And I appreciate your apology," Rey said tersely.
A dozen sensors began beeping, and she was grateful for the interruption, if not the reasoning. The Falcon wasn't happy about anything right now, and it wouldn't be any happier as they were entering atmosphere. Rey was just going to have to hope they could find a good place to land before the remaining engines went out.
When they broke atmosphere, it was with a bump, which was strange. A moment later a dark shadow swooped last, and Rey had to bank sharply to the left to avoid whatever it was.
"Did you see that?" Poe asked, leaning forward in his seat to look out the viewport.
"Yes. What was it?" she asked.
The shadow came back, and this time Rey was able to get a good look at it. A giant flying beast swooped past, letting out a primordial scream. It had two sets of wings, one black and one white, with interlocking black and white scales giving its giant body a patterned look. It was at least twice the size of the Falcon.
"Uh, Rey, does that thing look angry to you?"
The creature flew directly at them, and Rey banked the Falcon out of its way.
"Rey, get us out of here!"
"I'm trying!"
She didn't have much time to think. A heavy canopy of trees stood not far off, and she steered the ship in that direction.
"Where are you going?" Poe asked, gaze focused on the monster that was chasing them.
"Let's see how it does in the jungle," Rey said.
Poe leaned back in his chair and gave Rey a slightly panicked look. "I said I was sorry I doubted you were a great pilot. That doesn't mean you have to prove me wrong."
Rey grinned. "Hold on."
She had more experience flying in atmosphere than in space anyway. She tilted the ship hard, hearing BB-8 rolling back and forth as he tried to account for the rapid change in directions. The Falcon was still slower than she would have liked, but she could still maneuver them through the trees better than the creature could.
"Um, guys, what's happening up there?" Rose asked through the comms.
"We're trying to avoid being eaten, Rose," Poe said.
"Oh. Well. Good to know. But if you keep pushing the engines like this we're going to-"
As she said that, one of the of the remaining engines went out, and Rey yelled at them to hold on as she tried to steer. She had no idea how they managed not to hit any trees. When she saw an open spot ahead, she turned the ship to try and land, and it was not her best landing. The ship creaked as it slid to a stop, yanking Rey forward in the restraints and then throwing her back again.
There was a moment of quiet as everyone got their bearings, and Rey called, "Is everyone okay?"
BB-8 chirped a yes, and Poe groaned, "Great crash."
"That was not a crash," Rey insisted. "It was a rough landing."
"Well, bright side," he said, unstrapping himself. "We did not get eaten."
Rey undid her restraints, and then went to the engine room to find Rose, who was standing looking despairingly at the sunlight engines with her hands on her hips.
"Are you okay?" Rey asked her.
Rose nodded, brushing that off. "I'm fine, but our engines are shot. We pushed them too hard, and now the compressor housing is completely broken. We're going to have to find a new one."
Rey sighed. "Let's hope our new friends can help. Otherwise we're going to be here for a very, very long time."
[Taken from Spark of the Resistance by Justina Ireland. NFB, NFI, OOC okay, especially if you want to talk to me for an hour about how many Han/Leia parallels Poe and Rey get in the ST.]
She needn't have worried, they worked together great. They'd left last night for the Outer Rim in the Falcon, gathering supplies while avoiding the First Order the best they could. It wasn't easy, but it hadn't been bad, because they all knew what they were doing separately and they worked well as a team.
"Hey, how many more are there?" she called, strapping down another set of crates in the hold.
"That's the last of them," Rose called back from the bottom of the boarding ramp.
"So, should I fly?" Poe asked, smiling at Rey. If he'd been trying to get behind the controls of the Falcon before, it was an entirely different story while on an actual mission with him. It'd been a question every day.
"No, but you can sit in the copilot seat if you want," Rey said sweetly. "I'm always happy to have someone so capable navigate." But seeing his expression, she added, "I like flying, but if I need your help I will most definitely ask."
"I like flying, too," Poe grumbled, but he didn't argue.
BB-8 beeped at him, and Poe looked offended. "It's not my fault the First Order blew up my ship! It's just one of those things that keeps happening. Seriously, I wasn't even in my ship the last time it got blown up. It's just rotten luck."
It was a familiar argument. Rey suspected BB-8 kept bringing up Poe's blasted ships as a way of having a little fun at his expense, and she thought it was rather funny. Poe didn't.
BB-8 beeped back and rolled past Poe into the Falcon.
"I wasn't saying she isn't a good pilot," Poe said, following his droid on board, "I was offering to fly in case she was tired."
Rose closed the hatch, shooing some of the porgs inside so they wouldn't be left behind on the planet, and asked, "Do you think we'll have any trouble on the way back?"
Rey shrugged a little. "It seems like the First Order hasn't made it to this part of the galaxy just yet. We'll clear the atmosphere and jump to hyperspace as soon as possible. That should help us avoid any trouble."
"Good. Trouble is definitely something we don't need. I wish Finn and Chewie were here. Not that you aren't- great, that is. But Finn and Chewie would also be great, and… well, you know what I mean?"
Rey actually kind of loved Rose. "I miss Finn and Chewie, too," she said.
Rose looked like she was going to protest, though a porg landing on her hand kept her from having to get into that. "Not now, Dita," she told the porg. "I'll give you snacks later."
Rey raised an eyebrow and watched the porg land on the deck and start chewing at Rose's pant leg. "Dita?"
"Yes! I've named them all. Dita, Tessalie, Jord…" When she looked up and saw Rey looking at her, Rose only blushed. "So about Finn and Chewie. You think they're back from delivering that bacta Poe and Finn got from Tevel yet?"
"I don't know," Rey shrugged. "I hope so. The sooner everyone is back, the sooner we can get started. Supplies are important, but there are other things to do."
"Agreed. But it's hard to fight when you're hungry and you only have an old Corellian freighter."
"Hey, that's my ship you're talking about," Rey teased.
She still thought of it as Han's ship, or Chewie's ship. But other people had taken to calling the Falcon Rey's. She wasn't even in this galaxy most of the time, but thanks to the time difference, she was the one doing the vast majority of the flying, taking it out for supply runs and shuttling members of the Resistance around, often without Chewie. So… sometimes it did feel like hers.
"It's a good ship," Rose told her, patting the wall of the Falcon, which sent a couple porgs scurrying deeper into the hold. "Anyway, I'm sure General Organa has it under control. I'll finish strapping down the rest of the crates if you want to head up to the cockpit. Before Poe steals your seat."
"He wouldn't dare," Rey laughed, but she left Rose to finish up while she headed to the cockpit. She did want to get back. She was anxious to get back; maybe all they had to do was drop off supplies and then she and Liam would head back to Fandom, but maybe they'd have something else to do by the time they got there.
Poe was in the copilot's seat, frowning hard as he flipped some switches, muttering to himself. He looked so utterly perplexed that Rey couldn't help but grin.
"Having trouble figuring out which switch starts the engines?" she teased, picking up a fledgling porg from her seat and carefully setting it down on the floor.
Poe startled and frowned deeper. "What? No, of course not," he said, then glanced over and caught Rey's smile. "Oh, ha, very funny. You and BB-8 should start a comedy routine."
BB-8 whistled his agreement.
"Seriously, though," she said, more seriously, "what's going on?"
"I'm not quite sure," he answered. "I was going to send a quick message to let them know we're on our way back, and there seems to be someone already trying to send a message on the channel."
Rey sank into the pilot's seat. "Do you know who it is?"
"No, but this is a secret Resistance channel. No one should be able to hear it except for Resistance members."
He flipped the switch so she could hear, and the cockpit was filled with a scratching and chittering noise, nothing like Rey had ever heard before, but there were lots of different kinds of people in the galaxy. It could very well be from somewhere she'd never been, which was most everywhere?"
"What is that?" Rose asked, sitting in one of the jump seats after entering.
"That's what we were trying to figure out," Rey said, frowning. "That sounds like, I don't know, some kind of language."
"Not Basic, though," Poe said. "And most Resistance communications are broadcast in Basic."
"And encoded. I'm guessing this one isn't?" Rey asked.
Poe shook his head.
"Maybe they don't know that," Rose said. "Why not respond to them and see if they answer?"
"If it's missing the latest scramble code it could be a trap," Poe said.
"But what if they just haven't gotten the most updated code?" Rose insisted. "They could be in trouble and desperate. We should still see who it is."
Poe looked to Rey, who shrugged. "Seems like as good a plan as any. It really could be someone in trouble." And she didn't get a bad feeling about it. And if this turned out to be someone to avoid, they were in a good position to leave altogether…
Poe keyed up the microphone and spoke into it. "Hello? Is anyone there?" He left off his name or anything that would give away who they were.
They waited for several long moments with no response. Just when Rey was ready to give up on it, a voice cut across the static.
"Yes! Yes! Hello! This is Jem Arafoot, from Minfar. The First Order is attempting to set up a base here. We request immediate assistance from the Resistance. We need-"
The message cut off abruptly, and once again the cockpit was silent.
Rey looked to Rose, and then Poe. Neither of them spoke, and neither looked very convinced of the next step. From the corridor, BB-8 beeped.
"You're right, BB-8," Rey nodded. "We do need to help them. But we have no idea how to do that."
"By getting these supplies back to the main Resistance force and then checking out this distress call with help," Poe said.
"What if we don't have that kind of time?" Rey pressed. "If they find a way to embed themselves on this planet, it'll be nearly impossible to shake them loose."
"Maybe. But how many First Order personnel are there? A hundred? A thousand? If there are too many, we could end up landing smack-dab in the middle of a losing battle."
Rey blew out a breath. She felt like they should go. Was that the Force telling her? Or was this just being herself and wanting to help people? Sometimes it was so easy to tell the difference, and times like this she really didn't know.
So she looked to Rose. "What do you think?"
Rose fiddled with the medallion around her neck and sighed. "I don't know. These supplies need to get back to the Resistance as soon as possible. But I know what it's like to have the First Order destroy your planet. I hate ignoring any kind of call for help."
"But what if it's a trap?"
"We won't know until we check it out," Poe said, running his hand through his hair. "That's kind of the trouble with an ambush. You never know it's coming until you're in the middle of it."
"But that distress call said they needed help fighting off the First Order soldiers. Fighting. This could be a chance to find some new allies," Rey pointed out, and turned to BB-8. "What do you think?"
BB-8 rolled back and forth quietly for a moment while he considered it, then beeped a long, solemn note.
"He's right," Rey said decisively. "The right thing to do is offer them help. If it's a trap, we'll deal with it. But I don't think it is."
"So we help them," Poe nodded, even if he might not be thrilled about it. "And hope that it isn't a trap."
*****
They came out of hyperspace at Minfar and ran directly into the First Order. Rey sent Rose and Poe to the turrets, blocking out the sounds of the worried porgs in the cockpit as she dodged blasts.
"Rey, can you take them on a bit of a chase?" Poe called through the headset. "I don't have a clear shot."
"Yep. There's an ice ring a little ways away," she said. "Looks like there's some decent cover in there. I don't know if they'll follow."
"Oh, they'll follow. If there's one thing the First Order likes, it's a fight."
"Why do you sound so happy about this?" Rose asked.
"Because every day we get to hurt them every day is a good day," he said.
Rey tilted the Falcon to the right and began a zigzagging approach to the ice ring. The TIEs followed, their turns faster but not more controlled than hers. One tried to overcompensate, and a shot from the Falcon took the TIE out quickly.
"Got him!" Rey said approvingly, as the Falcon shuddered and shook.
"Looks like one of us got them as well," Rose said dryly.
That was okay for the moment. Their shields weren't failing yet and they just had to get to the ice ring. From elsewhere in the ship Rey heard Rose yell, "Yeah! I got one! You're getting rusty, Poe."
"What?" he said, insulted.
"Come on, Poe, you can do it," Rey said, grinning, because teasing him was one of her very favorite pastimes.
She could hear him muttering through the comms.
They took another shot. And then another, just in time for them to reach the ice field, and that unlucky timing sent them into a chunk of ice that had the ship rocking again. Immediately the board started lighting up with alarms and bells, and Rey took a second to check what was happening. They were slowing down, and bumping into ice was causing them to spin, with her trying to keep as steady as possible.
"What are we doing, Rey?" Poe called, sounding worried.
"I just lost power to four of the engines. I'm trying to get out of this ice field, but we're slowing," she answered.
She took a deep breath, and focused. The ship was doing what it wanted to do right now, and she was trying to lean into that, steering as well as she could with their current momentum instead of causing more chaos by fighting it. She was also keeping them clear of the two TIEs left somehow, and she wasn't going to question how right now. Just keep going.
"Rey, can you double back around and give me one clear shot?" Poe asked.
Rey made an unsure face that she was very glad he couldn't see. "Doing my best!" she said, tilting the ship suddenly as the TIEs began to close in, giving Poe the perfect angle to lock onto one. It exploded a second later.
"You got one more," Rey said. "I'm going to kill the engines. Make them think we're done."
She did. The last TIE screamed past, once, twice, a third time, waiting to see if they were going to make a move or not. On the third try, the TIE slowed enough to give Poe the perfect chance to pick it off.
"Great shooting!" Rey said, grinning. It was partly relief, partly that just being pretty cool. "I'm going to get us out of this ice ring."
She was still being very careful as she maneuvered them clear of the ice and towards the planet, which would be tricky on its own. This wasn't good. They'd come to the outer regions of the galaxy to help people, and the engines had gone out midflight. They'd also taken other damage that she hadn't even begun to assess yet. Maybe this had been a bad idea. Maybe they should have just gotten the supplies to Anoat and sent someone else.
A porg landed on the control console and cooed at her, and even for as stressed as she was, Rey smiled tightly. "Now, are you Erci or Mady?" she checked.
The porg trilled in response.
Poe reached the cockpit and dropped into the seat next to Rey, strapping himself in. He was a pilot, he knew how messy this could be. "Are you okay?" he asked her.
"Great. Just trying to get us to the planet without any further disaster."
He nodded. "That was some really great flying back there. I'm sorry I doubted you."
There was a moment where Rey had to question whether she'd just heard what she thought she heard, and then she turned to him as much as the restraints would allow, without taking her hand of the yoke. "What do you mean, you doubted me? You didn't think I was a good enough pilot to outrun a few TIE fighters?"
Poe's expression turned contrite. "Yes, I know you're an okay pilot, but you even said yourself that you haven't been flying that long, just since you left Jakku. I kind of figured I was better at it than you, and now that I'm saying it out loud I realize how much that makes me sound like a jerk," he said, sighing. "I know you're a great pilot, okay? I just sometimes forge that I'm not the only great pilot. And don't say a word about the First Order destroying my ships, BB-8."
Rey pressed her lips together and turned back to the viewport, angrily focusing on the task at hand again. She and Poe hadn't really figured out their relationship yet. He wanted to get to know her, but she knew it was because she and Finn were close. Somewhere along the line, yeah, possibly she'd started wanting to get to know him better, too. So this stung more than she wanted to admit. Especially since flying was the one thing she'd always, unquestioningly felt she did well, every time.
"Are you mad at me?" he asked after a moment.
"No. I just didn't think you thought I was good at this."
"Why did you think I kept asking to fly?" Poe asked.
"I thought you just wanted to fly!" Rey said, incredulous. "You are a little bit of a control freak."
"What? I am not!"
BB-8 beeped, agreeing with Rey.
"Okay, maybe a little bit," Poe said, scowling. "Either way, I was apologizing."
"And I appreciate your apology," Rey said tersely.
A dozen sensors began beeping, and she was grateful for the interruption, if not the reasoning. The Falcon wasn't happy about anything right now, and it wouldn't be any happier as they were entering atmosphere. Rey was just going to have to hope they could find a good place to land before the remaining engines went out.
When they broke atmosphere, it was with a bump, which was strange. A moment later a dark shadow swooped last, and Rey had to bank sharply to the left to avoid whatever it was.
"Did you see that?" Poe asked, leaning forward in his seat to look out the viewport.
"Yes. What was it?" she asked.
The shadow came back, and this time Rey was able to get a good look at it. A giant flying beast swooped past, letting out a primordial scream. It had two sets of wings, one black and one white, with interlocking black and white scales giving its giant body a patterned look. It was at least twice the size of the Falcon.
"Uh, Rey, does that thing look angry to you?"
The creature flew directly at them, and Rey banked the Falcon out of its way.
"Rey, get us out of here!"
"I'm trying!"
She didn't have much time to think. A heavy canopy of trees stood not far off, and she steered the ship in that direction.
"Where are you going?" Poe asked, gaze focused on the monster that was chasing them.
"Let's see how it does in the jungle," Rey said.
Poe leaned back in his chair and gave Rey a slightly panicked look. "I said I was sorry I doubted you were a great pilot. That doesn't mean you have to prove me wrong."
Rey grinned. "Hold on."
She had more experience flying in atmosphere than in space anyway. She tilted the ship hard, hearing BB-8 rolling back and forth as he tried to account for the rapid change in directions. The Falcon was still slower than she would have liked, but she could still maneuver them through the trees better than the creature could.
"Um, guys, what's happening up there?" Rose asked through the comms.
"We're trying to avoid being eaten, Rose," Poe said.
"Oh. Well. Good to know. But if you keep pushing the engines like this we're going to-"
As she said that, one of the of the remaining engines went out, and Rey yelled at them to hold on as she tried to steer. She had no idea how they managed not to hit any trees. When she saw an open spot ahead, she turned the ship to try and land, and it was not her best landing. The ship creaked as it slid to a stop, yanking Rey forward in the restraints and then throwing her back again.
There was a moment of quiet as everyone got their bearings, and Rey called, "Is everyone okay?"
BB-8 chirped a yes, and Poe groaned, "Great crash."
"That was not a crash," Rey insisted. "It was a rough landing."
"Well, bright side," he said, unstrapping himself. "We did not get eaten."
Rey undid her restraints, and then went to the engine room to find Rose, who was standing looking despairingly at the sunlight engines with her hands on her hips.
"Are you okay?" Rey asked her.
Rose nodded, brushing that off. "I'm fine, but our engines are shot. We pushed them too hard, and now the compressor housing is completely broken. We're going to have to find a new one."
Rey sighed. "Let's hope our new friends can help. Otherwise we're going to be here for a very, very long time."
[Taken from Spark of the Resistance by Justina Ireland. NFB, NFI, OOC okay, especially if you want to talk to me for an hour about how many Han/Leia parallels Poe and Rey get in the ST.]