A long time ago...

In a galaxy far, far away...

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"Let's name him… Poe. Our sweet, beautiful Poe. How blessed you are to live in this new world, my son. How blessed you are to be free."

~.~.~.~.~.~

34 ABY.

Times were supposed to have changed. Things were supposed to be different. That was what was promised when the Battle of Yavin had shed its last drop of blood. Peace, happiness, freedom, and all that came with it were to be granted to persons across the star systems.

And yet that couldn't have been further from the truth. Only one Jedi was said to remain in the galaxy, and it was very possible that Luke Skywalker was already dead. Or perhaps he was a myth. General Organa was the only person that made anyone certain of his existence; that he truly was as powerful as the legends told.

Threats flooded in from far corners, their spokespeople the precise sort of reptilian creatures you would expect to be saying such things. Some of them were humans, others were not. The worst of them was Kylo Ren and the men of the First Order. The power that they wielded came with only one outcome: destruction.

For what purpose?

Mara let the question sink into her skin as her body sunk her further into the passenger seat. Alok Lokesh, a former Alliance pilot, was staring at her from behind the wheel with nothing but concern in his eyes. It made her miss the concern of her parents.

"Keep your eyes on the road," she said flatly.

"Keep the emotion out of your face. It's obvious when you're miserable."

Mara rolled her head sideways, shooting him daggers from the small cockpit. "My parents have been taken by a General of the First Order, a friend of mine is possibly being tortured as we speak, and you still haven't given me a solid layout of our plan. Half of me wonders if you're not a viable cause of this entire mess. Why shouldn't I be miserable?"

"Because you've been miserable for two years too long, Mara Crescent." He had replaced his hands on the wheel, but not without taking his eyes off her. The change in her position proved that his words had struck home. "That's right, kid. Your parents told me everything. Even if they hadn't, you're as easy to read as a picture book."

Mara shook her head once. "Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don't go there."

Alok could hear the harshness of Hari in her words. He wouldn't press the situation of Mara's child loss on her, having already known what it had done to the poor girl's mind. Without much certainty, but with a sliver of hope, it seemed that the Resistance had some effect in changing that.

"Requesting permission to land. Standing by." Alok kept his focus on the small moon ahead of them. If things were to operate successfully within the next few hours, keeping his mouth shut was key. Perhaps Mara had something on him in that sense.

"What's your call number, pilot?" A scratchy voice rang out from the side speakers.

Alok shot Mara a look of uncertainty.

"8945," she sighed.

"8945!" Alok grinned against the words. "Bringing nothing but smiles on this beautiful day."

A chipper laugh rang out on the other end. "If I had to guess, that would be the voice of Alok Lokesh."

"The one and only." Alok winked despite being hundreds of miles away from the surface. Mara could feel the corners of her mouth pulling up despite her desire to sulk. "Might I take a wild guess that this is Kes I'm speaking to?"

"You always catch me on my work days, Lokesh." The voice got gradually clearer as the ship prepared for landing. "I promise I have fun. Once a year."

Alok turned to Mara, who was now staring at him with raised brows. 'Who is that?' she mouthed. Alok could only smile in response.

"Well, Kes… You're going to have some fun today!" Alok brought his hands together, rubbing them as if he were in charge of a diabolical plan.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" The ship hit the ground with a smooth thud. Mara sat upright in her seat to take in the forest views, the warmth of the planet already hitting her through the glass. "Who is that with you, Alok? Don't tell me you brought back another broad."

"No, but your son did."

Reaching her hand out like a venomous snake, Mara slammed her fist on the call button, cutting all communication with the tower. Alok looked at her with disapproval, his lips pouted in some kind of mocking frown. "Who was that?"

"Someone who was going to help us, but now I'm not so sure. We can thank your manners for that."

"Who was that?"

"Kes Dameron." The name bounced off Alok's lips as if they were old buddies. Mara knew that was unlikely, as Alok had never met Poe the day he had flown with her to D'Qar. "Former sergeant of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, Rebel pilot, member of the Pathfinders, beloved husband of Shara Bey and father to your friend, Poe Dameron."

Mara released the hatch, the heat of Yavin 4 a distant reminder of her second home. "You planned this."

"How could I?" Alok innocently outstretched his arms as Mara began to crawl onto solid ground. "Just what goes on inside your head? Why don't you learn to open up a bit? Kes Dameron works at the landing strip on the weekends; it has nothing to do with me! I didn't even know about your little fluff with Dameron until two hours ago, and now you're accusing me of having some plan, a plan that you can't even figure out yourself-"

"Alright!" Mara raised her hands in defeat. "It's all a coincidence. I believe you. Will you just…" She laughed despite herself. "...stop talking for five seconds?"

Alok had already made his way out of the ship, and when he crossed to the other side, he met her with one of his familiar taunting smiles. He walked breezily and fit his hands around the steep curve of her shoulders. "We're going to have a good time together, Mara Crescent. And we're going to save your parents. You can count on that. But first thing's first; we need some help from Kes Dameron. Are you able to trust me?"

Mara took a deep breath. It was difficult to remember all the promises she had made now that her parents and Poe were likely being held hostage, but keeping a level head was the only way to win. She had been losing for far too long. "I trust you."

"I don't." The voice came from behind. "Who's this, Alok?"

The man, Kes Dameron, was not entirely a spitting image of his son. Mara suspected that Poe received most of his traits from his mother when she gazed on the older gentleman, but the dark hair and stubble were enough to give their relationship validity. Kes had smaller eyes with a fiercer brow. Poe's features, although striking, were not as sharp as his father's. Mara felt nervous at the thought of meeting Shara Bey, but tried to calm herself for a future that may very well not have occurred.

"This is Mara Crescent." Alok gestured towards her, but she was a step ahead of him. Her hand was outstretched with dignity, her shake firm and steady. Kes received it with a curious smile, the name sounding distantly familiar. "She's a mechanic with the Resistance, formerly of Coco Town."

"I know your son." Mara spread the rest of her cards onto the table.

"How so?" Kes folded his thick arms over his chest. There was still so much strength to him; he towered over Mara with his height and build, and yet there was no intimidation in his gold eyes.

Mara understood the indirect question. "He's my mentor, my teacher, and more importantly my friend. He believed in my from the moment I landed on D'Qar. Challenged me to a bet that would cost me my membership in the Resistance, but he always knew that I would win."

"That definitely sounds like my Poe," Kes laughed. "Now that I think about it, he might have mentioned you. We spoke only a few days ago." The silence that rolled over them was not unfamiliar to the former Alliance pilot. "What's happened? What are you here for, Alok?"

Alok's face fell back to its normal state of dissatisfaction. "Unfortunately we're going to have to keep the explanations and chit-chat to a minimum, but we need your help. Big time."

"I'm assuming you don't mean my services."

Alok placed his hands on his hips, broadening his chest. "We need your ships."

Mara carefully watched the interaction. As confused by Alok's request as she was, she had promised to trust him.

Kes Dameron had returned his vision back to Mara, but she was too busy seizing up Alok to be aware of his curious look. The girl was beautiful, albeit somewhat quiet. Kes had always imagined someone different for his son, perhaps someone with a quicker mouth and prouder stance, but the mechanic had a fierceness about her that recalled that of his own wife's. If the two were as close as she had stated, perhaps there was more to the story. Kes liked her without reason, and if she was a friend of Poe's, he would take the initiative to trust her words.

"You know that I have plenty of ships, Alok. I've never once been hesitant to let you borrow one." Kes matched his friend's stance. "What type of ship are you in need of?"

"That's the tricky part." Alok took a step closer. "We need two First Order ships."

Mara sighed heavily. "I don't like where this is going."

"Neither do I," Kes mumbled. "What do you need it for?"

Alok waited until several pilots passed along. "Mara's parents have been taken. The First Order gave us coordinates to their base in order for her to come and fetch them. They're likely using her as bait, but they don't know about me. If we can manage to get her into the base, I can wait in the hangar. When she brings her parents out as prisoners, I'll fly them to safety and she'll follow me here." Kes's shaking head picked up speed the more Alok spoke. "If we don't act now, they could reel her in without keeping her parents alive. You know how the First Order works."

Kes let loose a heavy sigh, his eyes befalling Mara. "Can you do it, kid?"

Kid.

Mara's mind spun back to the first time Poe had used that word, and how it had made her both angry and pleased at the same time.

"I'll do anything to save my parents."

"There's just one thing I'm confused about. Don't get me wrong, Lokesh. You're more than welcome to use my ships, but why would they want Crescent as bait? Bait for who?" Kes's eyes shined like amber in the Yavin sun. "Bait for what?"

Alok hesitated against the words. If they told Kes Dameron about their suspicions of Poe being held hostage, the former pilot himself would get involved in the scheme and put the whole plan at risk. On the other hand, if they didn't tell him, they were putting his son in danger of possible loss of protection. The words had to be chosen carefully if they were to get through to the pilot.

"They have someone important to me." Mara's voice was soft, the emotion flooding through every syllable. She refused to let go of Kes's stare. "That person has information that they want, and he's not giving it to them. Not if I know him as well as I think I do. If I go... if they torture me, he would do anything to stop it. He would tell them what they want, because he's as good a man as any. He's the kind of person that we should all strive to be, and I can't sit by and let him take it." Mara could feel the words forming a lump in her throat, her own voice jaded by the image of Poe being tortured. "He means too much to me."

Redirecting all the pain towards her friend not only moved Kes's empathy, but it put him out of the mindset that it might be his son she was speaking of. With a single wave of his hand, Kes ordered them to follow his heavy steps.

If they were really going into enemy waters, they would need to look the part.

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Mara was staring at a hazy Kes Dameron. "This feels… unusual."

"It's bound to for a little while, but you'll get used to the platforms. Luckily you're only a few inches shorter than the regulations for a Trooper, otherwise this whole plan would have to be dumped to the Sarlaccs."

Mara glanced around the room from behind her warm helmet. Her mouth hung open slightly in order to breathe, the small space trapping in any air she had left. "I can't breathe."

"No, you probably can't." Kes replied from underneath a ship. He was adding final checks to make certain it would pass through security. "I think that's the point of it all - instilling fear into the hearts of their enemies and the men that work for them."

"Monstrous."

Kes laughed, his nose dotted with grease. "That's one word for them."

Alok was adjusting the lapels of his uniform in a nearby mirror. The wide belt laced around his waist like a lock, his grey body now akin to the stiff posture of a regimented officer. It was unfitting for a man who barely wore anything other than a raggedy leather jacket and jeans, but he certainly cleaned up well enough to pass. "The only thing that will make them suspicious is that-"

"You're not actually a part of the First Order?" Mara chuckled.

"My skin. When have you ever seen a First Order officer with skin as dark as mine?"

"If you act proud, people won't question you." Kes winked. "Let them feel intimidated. I know you're capable of that, Lokesh."

Ignoring the playfulness of the scene, Alok glanced at his watch. Time was ticking by all too quickly; it had already been two hours since he had found Mara on Coruscant. A lot could happen in two hours. "How are those ships looking, Dameron? Are we ready to move out?"

"Absolutely. Just state the registry number on the ships and don't worry about getting duped by them being unregistered. I only got my hands on them a couple of weeks ago; the First Order won't have realized that the pilots aren't coming back."

"A couple of weeks ago?" Mara brought her brows together in shock. "They won't have worried about the pilots?"

A dark look glossed over Kes's face. "Unfortunately, First Order members are hiding in plain sight. They'll be on planets, dressed as civilians, for weeks to months on end. I was lucky enough to find these two unexpectedly, and after overhearing their conversations, I was able to…" He shrugged. "Repossess their ships, you could say."

Mara thought back to Poe's friend: the one he had said betrayed him. Who was she? How could she live a life lacing lie after lie together until she had a whole dress? The possibility of it made Mara shiver. It made her fear the few people in her own little world. Her eyes inadvertently glanced back to Alok, who was so fixated on his uniform being straight that she was certain he was not a secret member of the First Order.

"Crescent. Do you know how to fly a TIE fighter?"

She snapped her vision back to Kes. "I studied the ones from the war thoroughly, but I've never stepped foot inside. They're pretty hard to come by when you do small maintenance jobs."

"That would have been fine, but these aren't like the old fighters. This is a TIE/sf space superiority fighter."

Mara sucked in a breath. "Those are only for elite pilots."

"You are an elite pilot, remember?"

Mara nodded weakly. "I can figure it out. Ships are like puzzles… They're all the same and can be solved, some just have more pieces than others."

Alok had rejoined them, rolling up his sleeves to prepare for piloting an Upsilon-class command shuttle. Mara secretly wished she was could be back in the passenger seat beside him, not quite ready to take the helm herself. "That's funny, because normally it takes me about a year to finish a puzzle."

Kes rolled his eyes. "Why does it not surprise me that you do puzzles?"

"A man's got to relax somehow."

Mara took a wobbly step towards the fighter, the Stormtrooper boots still unfamiliar. They're just boots, Mara. You wear them everyday. If she was going to pull this off, she would need the collection of General Organa and the confidence of Poe Dameron flickering in the back of her memory. Luckily, she had spent enough time with both of them to know exactly how to mimic their strength. Although Lokesh and Dameron couldn't read her expression beneath the mask's thick exterior, Mara smiled.

"FN-2188 reporting for duty."

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Welcome back, everyone! I'm thrilled to start this new chapter with a bang - and hopefully it does so - so for those of you who have no idea what's going on, let me redirect you to the FIRST BOOK of this series entitled 'Ab Aeterno'. You can find it on my fanfiction main page!

Please leave your comments below and let me know what you think is going to happen in this story! I can promise much more action, romance, danger and adventure to follow...

And as always...

May the Force be with you.

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