In this week's issue, an exclusive interview with the Resistance's poster boy, Commander Poe Dameron!

He discusses the war, Leia Organa, the Jedi Order, and—most intriguing to us—his love life…

At twelve noon sharp, Commander Dameron walks in to Coruscant's fashionable Mosaic Restaurant, not far from the Museum of Multispecies Sciences. His punctuality and crisp fashion sense undercut my image of him; I expected him to be scruffier. He's supposed to be a down-and-dirty, insubordinate X-wing pilot. Instead, he comes across as courteous, affable, gracious—even when he gets riled up. He orders light, healthy food, which is probably why he's fit enough to turn the heads of half the restaurant's clientele. He smiles charmingly at the waitress. He repeatedly calls me "ma'am," making me feel much older than I am. In short: an excellent ambassador for the Republic's military. Halfway through lunch with Poe Dameron, I'm almost ready to volunteer for the Resistance myself.

Let's start with your background. Did you always want to be a fighter pilot?

Well, I've always loved to fly. My mother used to take me up in her A-wing; my earliest memory is being in that cockpit, sitting on her lap at the controls. As a teenager, my goal became admittance to the Republic's Starfleet. I didn't expect to make an entire lifelong career out of it, but I wanted to serve.

Your mother was a pilot in the Rebel Alliance, wasn't she?

Yes, ma'am, both my parents fought for the Rebellion. That's where they met.

So rebelling against the government seems to run in your family. Is that what attracted you to the Resistance movement?

No, I…The New Republic is my government, and I'm totally committed to it. But leadership of the Republic military frustrated me a little, 'cause they often seemed to, you know, underestimate the danger posed by groups like the First Order.

You don't believe in the Republic's emphasis on peace and cooperation?

Yes, of course I do. It's just that the First Order doesn't. They're expansionist; they're not going to stay in their little corner of the galaxy for long. So I recommended to my commanders that we take a more, uh, proactive role. They said no. Naturally, I obeyed my superiors—they're great people and very devoted to our democracy—but as the danger from Snoke's gang built up, I felt I could better serve the Republic by fighting for them head-on.

And so you joined Senator Organa's little band.

So I joined the Resistance. And I think we all agree now that the Resistance was right all along about the First Order, even though we were heavily criticized in the press at the beginning. It's just tragic that it took the destruction of Hosnian Prime to convince our politicians of the truth. And in light of that tragedy, and the all-out war we're engaged in now, it would be…irresponsible of me not to fight. People are hurting, suffering; I can't just sit by and do nothing. That's how my mother explained joining the Rebellion, and her reasoning still resonates with me.

You seem so earnest in your idealism. But are there other reasons you're in the Resistance? Selfish reasons?

Selfish? (He smirks.) Living like we do, in cramped little quarters, constantly under attack, it's the exact opposite of selfishness. The people I work with, they're the most giving, selfless people I've ever met. Some are idealists, some are angry, some are seeking revenge, but we all work together for a common goal: preserving our freedom, our way of life. Our parents suffered for twenty years under the Empire, and my generation sure as hell ain't going back to that.

And I suppose I'm good at what I do. I'm a great pilot, and I think I'm a pretty good commander of the squadron. If you're competent at something, why wouldn't you stay at it?

Rumor has it, you've grown very close to Leia Organa and her family. Is she ready to adopt you?

Uh, no, nothing like that. She's known me for a long time. In fact, she handpicked most of the officers in the Resistance movement, based on our service records and recommendations. She trusts us all and builds close relationships with everyone. She knows every single person on base by name.

She personally plucked you out of the Republic's Starfleet, didn't she?

Yes, ma'am.

So do you call her Leia nowadays?

Oh, no! I call her General. She's my CO.

Not even 'Princess Leia'?

The only people who ever refer to her as a princess are those who knew her back in the Alliance days—Admiral Ackbar, for example—and the two Alderaanian members of the Resistance. This is a military organization, and we refer to her, to everyone, by their rank.

Her announcement last week [that the Jedi apprentice known just as 'Rey' is in fact her long-lost daughter Breha Solo] certainly was a shock to the public. Did you know that announcement was coming?

Yeah, I knew.

When did you find out that Rey was in fact a Solo?

Um, a while ago. Rey told me. It was General Organa who decided when to make it public.

So you are in the General's inner circle, then.

I don't know about that. But I'm a good friend of Rey.

Just friends? You know the rumors about the two of you being romantically linked are all over the Holonet.

I really don't have time to read that kind of stuff.

That's not exactly a denial, Poe. Are you and Breha Solo an item?

I'm not sure my love life is, uh, a topic the readers want to know about.

Actually, we can't really predict what the readers want to know. You just used the word "love." How serious is it between you two?

(He's blushing madly at this point.) It's…I mean, Rey is…well, she's an amazing woman. Exceptional. She's incredibly strong inside, but also gentle and sweet. Let's just say I'm…smitten with her.

Smitten? Is this a one-way 'smitten-ness,' or does she like you too?

(That disarming smile is back on his face.) I'd say it's definitely mutual.

So the rumors about you two are true, then. You're a couple.

Okay. Yes, we're a couple.

See, that wasn't so hard, was it? You know she's got some family baggage, though. Jedi masters, pirates, princesses, slaves, senators, and of course Darth Vader. That must give you pause.

No, actually it doesn't. What family doesn't have a colorful history?

But Darth Vader is not in anyone else's family tree. That's not colorful, it's genocidal. You know, most of the galaxy concurs that Vader's family doesn't belong in politics.

Well, I guess I just don't belong to that part of the galaxy. Luke Skywalker had a huge role in defeating the Empire. If not for him, we might all still be living under Palpatine's rule. I don't see how we would possibly be better off without him.

So you're pro-Jedi?

Of course I am. I'm not sure how closely the Jedi Order should be connected to the government, but I'll tell you, I feel privileged every time I'm in Master Skywalker's presence. He's unique.

But you're not sure he belongs in the Republic's government. And his sister?

Forcing Senator Organa out of the government was a disastrous decision. If she'd become First Senator years ago when she ran for the position, the Republic would have built up their military more, spreading out the fleet rather than concentrating it all around Hosnian Prime. Different decisions might have saved the planet.

You don't have a problem with then-Senator Organa lying to everyone about her family history?

When did she lie?

She let people address her as princess, never contradicting them—

(Interrupting) She really is a crown princess, though. That's no lie.

You know what I mean. She knew that the truth about her family tree would hurt her politically, so she hid it.

There's a difference between lying and being completely forthcoming. Being a politician doesn't mean you have to be open about every single aspect of your life. General Organa's allowed a private family life, just like everyone else. Hacking into her personal correspondence in order to find 'what else she's hiding,' that was just irresponsible journalism.

Our magazine did that.

(Unsurprised) Oh.

So you don't mind taking orders from Darth Vader's daughter, despite her history of deception and half-truths. You trust her.

With. My. Life. She's an incredibly effective commander, and a great diplomat. She can convince anyone of anything. And she's never let the Resistance—or the Republican Senate before that, or even the Rebel Alliance—down.

But she sent her own husband on a suicide mission to Starkiller Base. That seems incredibly cold and calculating, like she cares more about being right, and winning the war, than her husband.

What?! That's completely unfair, and it ain't exactly balanced journalism! (Dameron now reins in his temper, which had suddenly spiked.) Anyway, that's not at all what happened. General Solo volunteered for that mission. I was at that meeting. His only daughter was being held prisoner on Starkiller. The General—Organa, I mean—couldn't have kept him from going if she'd tried. But you're implying she didn't love him, which is just ridiculous. Nobody thought of it as a suicide mission. The rest of his team made it back safely.

Do you know how General Solo died? The details were never released to the public.

I…wasn't there. I was flying, trying to blow up the base from above.

So it's possible one of your missiles killed Han Solo?

No, ma'am. Our ground team had already left the base by the time I fired on it.

So the team on the ground saw his death? Like Rey?

(He pauses, trying to come up with an answer.) I'm…not sure. But I do know Han Solo was an extraordinary man, a true hero, with tremendous strength of character. He was funny, too. And one of the best pilots of our century.

You're "not sure" (in air quotes) whether your girlfriend witnessed her own father's death?

Well, I'm "sure" that I'm not going to tell you what she saw.

But you can understand why that kind of secrecy might appear, to the public, as if the Organa-Solo family is hiding important information from us. Again.

Yes, ma'am, I can see how it might look that way. But, with respect, you're trying to find a conspiracy where there's none. Han Solo fell in battle while setting up explosives on Starkiller Base. He got killed in combat. That's what happens sometimes when you risk your life for a cause you believe in. If he hadn't set those explosives, the First Order would have destroyed the planet with our Resistance headquarters, ending our galaxy's only chance of stopping Snoke and his thugs. And probably even more importantly for Han Solo, the Starkiller weapon would've killed his wife. So he gambled his life on that mission, and he lost.

Would you say most of the Resistance members agree with that perspective? Are most of them willing to die for the cause?

I wouldn't say 'most.' I'd say 'all.' All of us. As Mon Mothma said during the war between the Empire and the Alliance, "The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just." I keep that quote in my X-wing.

Just in case you forget why you're fighting.

(He smirks.) Yeah, just in case.

That quote at the end was actually said by Abraham Lincoln. Mon Mothma apparently plagiarized it.