When they landed the ship, Rey caught Natasha's arm before she could walk away.

"Natalie, I want you to come with me," she said.

"Why?"

"General Leia wants to meet you." Not mollified in the least, Natasha followed behind Rey as they walked through the Resistance base. She had no idea who General Leia was, but she was obviously very important. Best to see where this goes, Natasha thought.

The base was very beautiful, in a military sort of way. The buildings were surrounded by lush forest, and underneath the roar of the engines she could pick out the sounds of birds and leaves. It was a beautiful planet. The buildings, too, were special. There wasn't much above ground, only simplistic low-build structures, but underneath the elevators opened up into vast hangars and spacious hallways. Everything had a sleek, futuristic edge to it - droids and ships and even the walls. Not for the first time, Natasha felt out of her depth. Just like she had told Steve all those years ago - she only acted like she knew everything, and this world, no, universe, was certainly beyond the range of her knowledge. But then again, Natasha was a very good actor.

Eventually Rey lead her to a door, which slid away in front of them to reveal a round room - a meeting room. There was a crowd of people already in it, of all species, and when the two entered the room they all turned to look at them.

"Thank you, Rey," spoke a woman in the front. She was older, with greying hair, but her presence was still sharp and commanding. The woman turned to Natasha.

"You must be Natalie," the woman said. "I'm General Leia. It's a pleasure to meet you. From what Rey has told me, we have much to discuss."

She smiled. "Have a seat."

Natasha smiled thinly in return. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're a very interesting person," Leia continued, still with that faint smile on her face. "We were very surprised when Rey told us about you… and about the pirates."

Of course Rey had radioed ahead. It was what Natasha would have done, too. "And what of the pirates?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

Natasha sighed and looked at her hands. "Look… I don't want to talk about it."

"Well, you have to!" burst out a dark-haired man who had been watching before. Confidently, he strode towards where Natasha was standing. "Look, you're really suspicious. A woman, from the middle of nowhere, who suddenly busts out some insane fighting skills - who are you? Are you -"

Leia cut him off. "That's enough, Poe." She turned to Natasha and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, but he's right. The Resistance has been in a lot of danger lately; taken a lot of hits. We need to know who or what you are before we trust you. And I want to trust you. You seem like a good kid; the Resistance could use you. But we need to know."

Natasha sighed again. "I was in my home planet's military. That's all."

"That's all," burst the man Poe again. "That's not enough! People, children, are dying because of what the First Order is doing. They're destroying the galaxy and we are the only people standing in the way! We need all the help we can get. Rey obviously," he gestured to the woman, "thinks you're useful, or she wouldn't have brought you here. We need you. Just tell us!"

"Look," Natasha began. "I don't know much about the First Order. My homeworld was pretty secluded, to say the least. But…" She broke off. Natasha really didn't want to say yes. She had enough on her plate. She had fought and actually literally died. But Poe's words had rung a bell in her. She had spent so much of her life running and hiding, only looking out for herself. It was only in these latest years with the Avengers that Natasha had learned how to love, and it was those years that she valued the most.

Natasha sighed. "Alright. I'm an intelligence agent for my homeworld. I was on Vormir for a mission, then got stranded. Happy?"

"Intelligence?" Poe circled around where Natasha was sitting. "You're a spy. Are you just here to gain information on us?"

"No!" she burst. "No. Like I said, I don't know much about the war."

"What mission were you sent to Vormir for?" asked the General.

She bit off a nasty retort. "Look- "

"What mission," repeated Poe.

"Retrieval of an object- look can I go? The mission doesn't even matter anymore. I retrieved the object, sent it along, but my ship broke so I couldn't follow. It's done. I just want to go home."

Leia looked at Natasha for a while, and then sighed. "I know you're not telling us everything, but. I think we can trust you. I hope we can trust you." She gestured back to Poe. "Poe will show you where you can stay for the moment until we can figure everything out."

He smiled at her thinly.

"Rey - " the General looked toward the girl standing in the corner of the room. "I need to speak with you for a few moments after this. The rest of you," she turned toward everyone else, "can go. And Natalie - "

Natasha stopped where she had been about to leave with Poe. "Yes?"

"Trust goes both ways. I'm willing to trust you, and I hope you can do the same." Natasha nodded wordlessly in response.

Together, she and Poe walked towards another section of the base. Neither of them spoke - the silence stretched uncomfortably.

Eventually, they reached a series of smaller corridors, and the man led her in front of one of a series of doors, which slid away upon their entrance.

Inside was a small bunk room - a simple bed, footlocker, and lamp. Another door led to the what Natasha presumed was the bathroom. The colors were similar to the rest of the base as well - muted browns and army greens. Natasha's mind wandered, cataloguing the room. Approximately ten feet by ten feet, the room had an okay layout - the bed was in direct view of the door, and the room had no windows. She would have to inspect the bathroom and set up potential security measures later.

She was about to set her bag down on the bed when Poe cleared his throat. She turned to him.

"I don't trust you like Leia does, not yet," he started bluntly. "I don't think it's smart. But I trust Leia, and she trusts you, so. Don't mess this up. Dinner is at eight." The man then turned on his heel and strode out of the room, the door closing automatically behind him.

Finn fell into stride with Poe as he walked back toward the main hangar.

"So…" he said. "What did you think?"

"What did I think of what?" Poe snapped.

"You know - Natalie. Her. The strange, mysterious, new girl who you escorted around. What did you think of her?"

Poe continued walking, "She's fine."

"But you don't like her."

"I like her fine!"

Finn grabbed Poe's arm and forced them to a stop. "So I guess you're acting all angry for no reason. Something's up. Talk to me!"

Poe sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know! It's just - " he broke off, "she shows up in the middle of nowhere, and she's immediately brought to the base and given a spot. We don't know her. I don't think we should be in the habit of trusting complete strangers with valuable secrets."

Finn laughed. "We escaped from a star destroyer together five minutes after meeting me. I think that you just don't like the General disagreeing with you."

"No!" exclaimed Poe, walking again. "I'm just in a bad mood that's all."

"I think it's the superiority complex," Finn whispered teasingly.

"It is not! And it's not like you're one to talk, Mr. I'm-with-the-resistance"

Finn's mouth hung open, "Shut up! How do you know about that? Did Rey tell you? I swear - "

Poe's laughter echoed as the two continued walking.

"I'm with the Resistance..."

"Shuh!"

Got some art for this fic! it's here: /ddr0218

Check it out if you want, if you don't that's ok