Love and Vengeance by BynWho

Chapter 1 - Date Night

Disclaimer: Star Wars belongs to LucasFilm, Limited and Disney. Anything you recognize belongs to them. The rest is mine.

[A.N. Spoilers for TFA, TLJ, and some of the Poe Dameron comics. Please read and review]

Summary:

Poe stepped back and ran his hand through his hair, frustrated. "For kriff's sake, Abby. You get into my head. I can't eat. I can't sleep. I can't even fly without thinking about you. It drives me crazy because I know I can't ever have you. That's why I came here, halfway across the damn galaxy. I needed to get away. To forget. And here you are."

Major Tabitha Nemec is set on the dark path of vengeance. Her ship breaks and she's stranded out in space. All alone, memories and regrets flood her thoughts as she tries to save herself from a certain death. Will Poe Dameron get to her in time to save her from dying alone? Can he save her from herself? Poe/OC

Abby dropped out of hyperspace somewhere in the Unknown Regions. She was assigned to recon work in this sector. The First Order were no longer the threat they used to be, but the New Republic had learned its lesson. From now on, any threats, regardless of how small, would be dealt with immediately. Abby's VCX-100, the Endeavor, was an older ship, but it was in top condition. It had been heavily modified with top-of-the-line scanners, laser cannons and proton torpedo launchers, as well as a cloaking device, so it was perfect for this sort of work. That's why she was surprised when her scanners didn't pick up the two First Order ships nearby. One was a fuel tanker and the other was a command shuttle. Abby couldn't fathom why either would be out here in the middle of nowhere.

The command shuttle started firing on her. Abby maneuvered the ship around to try to get away from the blaster fire, but it was no use. The First Order kept up their barrage. She turned the ship around to face the shuttle so she could return fire. The laser turrets were useless with no crew. The Endeavor only had front blaster cannons that Abby used to fire back on the shuttle. She called out to her droid, DB-6, "See if you can bolster the front deflector shield!" The ball droid rolled over to the console and hooked in to the ship's socket. A series of loud beeps from the droid told her that the shield was down to 25% of its power.

"My blasters aren't strong enough to penetrate their armor, DB. I guess I'll have to try something else, then!" Abby saw the fuel tanker and formulated a plan. "DB, input some jump coordinates into the hyperdrive. We need to be ready to go at any second!" she commanded the rollie. DB-6 beeped an affirmative. The Endeavor baited the command shuttle and flew toward the tanker. The shuttle chased them and when both were close to the tanker, Abby fired a proton torpedo at the fuel tank. As the tanker exploded, taking the command shuttle with it, Abby flipped the hyperspace controls and the Endeavor went to light speed. DB-6 squealed at Abby. "What do you mean you weren't done? Kriff, DB! Where the hell are we gonna end up?"

The ship exited hyperspace, but neither Abby nor DB-6 recognized their location. She got up to check the star map on the ship's computer. It confirmed her fear, they were lost. They were in uncharted space in the Unknown Regions. As she turned to her droid the ship jolted, knocking her to the floor. DB-6 squealed in fear, they were being hit by small asteroids. Abby stood to take a look, when she saw a larger group of asteroids hurdling toward the ship. They needed to get out of there fast. After a particularly hard hit, the Endeavor's shield went completely down and the ship violently shook. Abby tried to steady herself, but ended up crashing onto the floor and hitting her head. The last thing she saw before the world went black was DB-6 being thrown around the cockpit.

Five years ago. Republic City, Hosnian Prime.

It had been a long day at the hospital on Hosnian Prime. Abby was in her last year of residency before becoming a full-fledged doctor. This was certainly a turn in her life that she never would have expected. She had always thought she would go into politics, like her parents. Her mentor, Dr. Kalonia, had recruited her several years ago. The doctor knew Abby's parents and saw the potential the young girl had for the medical sciences.

Abby turned down an alley and went in the second door she came to. The Rusted Flagon was a small tavern that was frequented by medical and academy students, as well as a few New Republic officers. She sat down in a booth toward the back and ordered a Sullustan whiskey. The warm liquid burned the back of her throat as she sipped. She looked around the smoky tavern for a familiar face, but found none. Relieved and thankful for the solitude, she pulled out a book she had been trying to read and removed the paper place-marker. It was a Bothan murder mystery a friend had recommended. So far, she was only halfway through, but she was dead set on finishing this week.

She had only gotten halfway through the page when she felt eyes on her. She scanned the tavern when a blond man at the bar caught her eye and winked. Abby smiled politely, and then looked back at her book. She was not interested in mundane conversation, especially with someone who looked like he would lose a rock throwing competition to a bantha. Tonight she was determined to find out who murdered the Bothan ambassador and any other twists in her book. However, the blond man took Abby's smile as an invitation and sauntered over to her booth to sit across from her.

"You must be a bounty hunter," the man purred. She looked up from the pages of her mystery. He smiled and looked Abby up and down like he was trying to memorize every curve of her body.

Abby shuddered in disgust. "You have me confused with someone else," she replied and went back to reading, hoping this moof milker would take the hint.

"Because, baby, you've captured my heart," the man ignored her protest.

Abby replaced the small paper she was using to hold her place and slammed the book shut. "Does that actually work on other women?" she asked skeptically.

The man leaned in closer and wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Is it working now?" His breath reeked of stale ale. Abby stared the man down.

"I'll take your silence as a 'no'. Let's start over. My name is Adrian Cress. I'm a pilot. The galaxy's best pilot. I'm sure you've heard of me." Abby gave a sharp humorless laugh. He didn't look like he could make paper fly, much less operate complicated machinery. "So," he continued, "what's a beautiful place doing in a woman like this?"

"Look, Adrian," his name slid off her tongue like rancor slime. He reached forward, scooted her book to the side, and grabbed her hand. His fingers were warm and sweaty. Abby made a face of disgust, but continued, "I'm waiting on my husband, so you're wasting your time," she lied. "I'm going back to my book now, mmkay?" Abby forcefully pulled her hand from his grip and wiped it on her pants.

"Right," he drawled, "Husband. You don't have a husband. You're just a lonely woman looking for a good time. You hide behind this book, but really, you're looking for someone to rock your galaxy. I know, baby, it's fun to play hard to get, but you don't have to play with me. Unless you want to," he grinned suggestively. "We can go back to my place, have a few drinks, lose the uncomfortable uniforms, and I'll rub all over your-" But he never got to finish that thought.

"Hey, sweetheart!" a tanned, dark haired man planted a kiss on Abby's cheek and sat next to her. She jumped in surprise, but recovered quickly. "Sorry I'm late. Oh, I see you've made a new friend?"

Confused, Abby looked at the newcomer. His eyes widened slightly, urging her to play along. He was certainly nice to look at, but she didn't think she could deal with another creep right now. Although, he was saving her from the sleemo across the table. And he wasn't exactly hitting on her. Maybe he wasn't a creep after all. She shook her thoughts away and replied, "Hello, love. This is Adrian. He's... the best pilot in the galaxy," she replied with contempt.

"The best, huh? Well, well. Tell me, Adrian, in your experience as the best pilot in the galaxy, what do you think of the new T-85s? Think they're worth the upgrade?" the man mocked. "I mean, sure, you get an extra 100 megalight per hour, but is that really worth the price?"

"I-I don't... I was just leaving," Adrian stuttered as he got up from his seat and walked away, muttering something about "waste of time" and "loose women." Abby and her rescuer chuckled at the sleemo's quick exit.

"Poe Dameron," the dark haired man extended his hand to Abby and she took it.

"Tabitha Nemec. Look, I've had a pretty rough week. We aren't really married, are we?"

Poe chuckled, "Not that I'm aware of. Sorry, I was just at the bar over there and heard that guy coming on to you. Can't take a hint, can he?"

Abby laughed along with him. Her laugh was like a song to Poe's ears. "Well, thanks for the rescue, Poe." He got up to leave, but Abby found herself reaching for his arm. "Hey, you wanna stay? I really have had a tough week and would love some good company." Her book could wait. She'd rather have the company if it meant she could have at least one intelligent conversation today.

Poe looked at her hand on his arm and made up his mind. It had been a tough week for him as well. "Why not?" he grinned at her. Instead of sitting back down next to her, he went to the opposite side of the table. "So, Tabitha," he started as he signaled for the barkeep to make another drink for him. "What do you do here in Republic City?"

She wrinkled her nose, she hated her formal name. "You can call me Abby. I'm a medical resident. I'll finish up this year," she answered while taking a sip of her whiskey. "What about you?"

"A pilot," he replied. Abby's eyes widened.

Poe, concerned she'd think he was also coming on to her, quickly added, "No, it's not a pick-up line. I swear! I really am a pilot. In the New Republic Defense Force, out of Mirrin Prime." He chuckled nervously.

Abby started to laugh. It was small at first, but gradually she dissolved into loud fits of laughter, making her grab at her sides. This man was a far cry from Adrian, the sleaze. Poe joined in her mirth earnestly, happy she found the humor in the situation. Soon, they fell into an easy conversation. They talked about everything and nothing all at once. Before they realized how late it was, the barkeep called for last orders.

"Oh!" Abby was startled, "I didn't realize the time. I've got rounds early in the morning."

"Yeah, I had better head home too. Walk you out?" Abby stood with Poe and wound her arm through his. He left enough credits on the table to pay for their drinks and they left the tavern, still talking and laughing. At the end of the alley, Abby dropped her arm from his.

"I'm this way," she pointed east.

"And I'm this way," Poe pointed west. "It was nice to meet you, Abby Nemec."

"I was nice to meet you too, Poe Dameron," she chuckled. "I hope to see you again sometime."

"Yeah, me too, Abby. Me too."