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“Hey flyboy, are you sure you know where you’re going?” Rey teased.
Poe stopped to look at Rey, smirk firmly on his face. Those two really need to do something about the tension, it’s almost ridiculous. “I’ll have you know, following the random critters worked last time,” he replied.
“Only after I saved you!” she laughed. “And your critters are getting away!”
“Details,” he said with a shrug.
They probably would have kept going if she hadn’t stopped and said the exact same thing. They both turned to look at her, she must have looked like she had seen a ghost. Sure the situation was tense enough, but she had held up fine under the circumstances so far. She wasn’t that old.
“Oh gods, it really was true,” she whispered. “I just thought, maybe it was ...”
Finn nudged his blaster into General Hux, making their prisoner step forward. “What was true?”
*****
“Stop pushing me!” she hissed.
“Stop being in the way, your royalness!” Han replied angrily.
“Stop being children!” Kes huffed.
She tilted her head up to look at the current largest annoyance in her life. She had never been bothered by her petite stature until she had met the stupid smuggler. She had been happy to get away from Hoth until she had been told who her escort would be. “I’m in charge of this mission, so stop questioning my orders,” she stated with as much authority as she could. “If I’m going slower than you like, maybe it’s because I don’t want us walking into a trap! Or did your puny brain never consider that possibility!”
“Consider it? Try counting on it!” Han smirked.
Kes had apparently had enough, pushing in between them to continue on. “If it will shut you both up, I’ll go first,” he declared as he went. “It’s not like I don’t have a wife and kid I ever want to see again.”
They followed the sergeant much more quietly this time, the dim cavern just narrow enough now for them to walk in single file. She was sure it was useless, the information from this contact was almost always good but this time seemed like a bust. The cavern eventually gave way, opening up into a more spacious one, the ceiling so high she couldn’t even see it, it was so dark. The men looked around the perimeter, calling out that there were no exits. She turned her light up brighter, she had no intention of making this trip again, they had to be thorough. Dameron must have had the same idea, taking another pass around the room. She knew instantly she had made a mistake, she never should have taken her eyes off Han. Of course the nerfherder would just go and pick it up.
“It’s stuck!” Han growled, the object they had come for firmly in his grasp.
Chewbacca said something, she only caught a few words. “Well of course I tried to let go!” Han replied.
Kes walked over to his commanding officer, shaking his head. “Let me try, sir.”
He pulled for a moment, seemingly nothing happened. “Um ... we might have a problem,” he said hesitantly. “Now I’m stuck.”
The Wookiee was by far the strongest one here but even he found himself stuck to the object, leading to a strange three way tug-a-war. Of course she would be the one who needed to save things, she was the only woman here. She walked over to the group, trying to get them to settle down long enough to appraise the situation. She avoided touching it, the square made out of some type of stone she hadn’t seen before. Four rough handles had been carved into it, the remaining one almost felt like it was calling to her to reach out.
“Well, that was incredibly stupid,” she said with as much dignity as she could muster in their current situation. “There’s no way we can get back through the cavern with you three stuck together.”
“Well I see a real simple solution there princess, grab the other handle,” Han replied.
“And have all four of us trapped?” she replied caustically. “Genius idea, we can all die here.”
Kes cleared his throat. “Actually, he might be right,” Kes added. “If this thing wanted to kill us, wouldn’t there be bones everywhere. Maybe you should try, it’s obviously meant for four.”
Han looked smug. “I am a genius after all.”
“Or maybe it would just be easier for me to go back to the ship and call for help,” she replied, equally smug.
Han leaned forward. “We’re your protection, you have to stay with us.”
She smiled sweetly. “You’ve got a funny idea about what protection means.”
They continued bickering, it was something they could never not manage to do. She didn’t know what it was about that man that annoyed her so much, she had been trained in diplomacy all her life, she knew how to act properly. Unlike him.
She wasn’t entirely sure how it happened, they always seemed to be right in each other’s faces when they fought but one moment she was poking him in the chest, the next she was gripping the last handle and the world shifted.
They hadn’t moved. Or it felt like they hadn’t but the large cavern was gone, replaced with somewhere else. It was another dark place, the halls were wider though. The tunnel didn’t look natural, the rock walls too smooth. The real problem was the other group in front of them. Han and Kes reached for their blasters, Chewy pushing her behind himself. The other group didn’t react, continuing on like they hadn’t seen them.
Chewy let out a growl, loud enough for it to echo off the walls. “Don’t challenge him!” Han hissed.
She stepped from behind the Wookiee’s enormous frame, finally seeing what was wrong. The other group was larger. And had a Wookiee of their own. Whatever challenge he had uttered had to have been heard but none of the other group had even seemed to notice. Kes pulled the entire group off balance to reach for the wall. He leaned back, confused look on his face.
“I tried to touch the wall but I couldn’t,” he said to the group. “I don’t think we’re really here.”
Han frowned. And then did the stupidest thing imaginable. He fired.
She braced herself. For the ceiling to collapse, for the other group to turn and attack. For anything really. But there was no reaction but Han’s ‘huh’.
“What the hell were you thinking!” she screamed at him. “You could have gotten us all killed!”
He simply shrugged. “I was trying a theory,” he replied simply. “We aren’t here. Hell, we might be dead already for all I know.”
“So trying time get us more dead seemed like a good plan?” she asked incredulously.
“You’re the one not telling us anything!”
“It’s classified!”
Kes let out a shrill whistle. “We’re here, they can’t see us,” he said angrily. “Let’s just follow them, maybe there’s a way to fix this.”
She nodded in agreement, not wanting to tell the others that her mission was. She’d been told she’d find something, something that would give her future knowledge. Command had hoped it would lead them to victory. The contact hadn’t exactly been specific. All she could do was hope whoever these people were, they had the information she needed or she didn’t have any idea what had happened to them.
They followed the hushed voices, finally getting back in range to hear the individual words.
“I’ll have you know, following the random critters worked last time,” a man’s voice said distinctly.
“Only after I saved you!” a woman’s voice replied with a laugh. “And your critters are getting away!”
“Details,” multiple voices replied.
She lost tract of the conversation, close enough to see the members of the group clearly now. To say she was shocked was an understatement.
“Uh, am I crazy or is that you?” Han asked.
She looked at the older woman before her, confused by the similarity. “How can that be me?” she asked. “She’s too ... old!”
“Kes stepped forward. “It can’t be her! I’m there too but I look almost the same age.”
“You aged better,” Han suggested rudely. “I mean this is the future, right? Or is that your mo....”
Han trailed off, realizing his stupidity too late. “I was adopted, anyways,” she replied.
He wisely kept his mouth shut at that. She moved closer, wanting a better view, reluctantly pulling the others along. It was definitely her, the older version looking in their direction as if she knew they were there. She must have known if that really was an older her. Chewbacca growled, she wasn’t the only one present twice.
Their Wookiee had to be Chewbacca, she wasn’t sure how much time had passed but the familiarity was uncanny. One of the men did look like Dameron but not exactly. She would bet her life they were related. The other two men were strangers, the red head in a uniform that sparked a feeling of revulsion. But the young woman was the one she was drawn to.
More specifically, the lightsaber on her belt. One that looked very familiar. She shushed her team, wanting to hear what was going on. “What was true?” the man with the blaster said.
She watched herself shake her head. “It’s not important Finn, General Hux’s information is,” she replied.
Their prisoner sneered. “I said I was betraying the First Order, I really don’t see why all this,” he gestured to their whereabouts, hands bound together, “is necessary.”
“Because you’re the last person we would have expected to betray your cause,” the one named Finn replied angrily.
The general smirked. “Says the fellow traitor.”
“I ...”
Finn was cut off, Kes’ double stepping in. “He’s not a stormtrooper anymore! He can’t be a traitor if he never agreed to fight in the first place, Hugs.”
Hux’s face reddened. “It was you!” he shouted.
Her older self placed a hand on the general’s shoulder. “Not the time,” she said calmly. “Poe Dameron excels at angering us too, ignore him.”
“What?” Kes shouted. “That’s my kid! He’s just a baby!”
Kes’ son huffed but continue walking, making her pull her companions along. She didn’t know why they had been brought to this place but she knew she needed to pay attention to everything. She watched the group closely, hushing her team whenever they tried to speak. They were being shown this for a reason, she just didn’t know what that reason was.
The group finally exited the tunnel. She had no idea what planet they were on but the large foliage didn’t look at all familiar. She couldn’t see people or any technology, just the small clearing, hidden mostly by the large trees. The other her called them to a halt, the group forming a rough circle.
“All right General, why did you want to meet with me?”
The red haired man straightened himself out, his impressive height towering over everyone but Chewy. “After your defeat, I would have thought any help would have been welcomed. I suppose I could have been wrong. You do have one of my stormtroopers though.”
Finn jabbed the blaster into the prisoner. “I’d watch what you say.”
She looked the man over, she was sure he was lying. Her other self agreed. “You were completely loyal to the former Supreme Leader. Your father was an Imperial officer. If this isn’t a trap, you had to have a reason for contacting us,” she said calmly. “I need to know what it is or I’ll let Finn shoot you. I’d say he deserves it considering what the First Order put him through.”
The man scowled, looking back at the smiling Finn. “Fine,” he spat. “I hate your son. He’s destroying everything I’ve worked for. I had respect, my own command ... now I’m treated like an incompetent buffoon. If it means getting rid of him, I’d help anyone. Including you.”
He was either a great liar or just petty. Her credits were on the latter. She wanted to know more. Especially about the son she didn’t know she had. Or would eventually have, she supposed. “Then give us details.”
“I still have underlings that are loyal,” Hux replied. “We set up a method of communication, I’ll have them send you everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the First Order.”
She knew this would take a while, they would have to negotiate. The man wanted out of here alive, he wanted some kind of revenge against the child she was supposed to have. Finn and Chewbacca we’re keeping a close watch but she noticed Kes watching his child. He and the Jedi had moved off to the side, heads together in conversation.
The other her didn’t seem concerned about the Empire, this First Order seemed to be a bigger threat to her. She’d never heard of it, for all she knew it didn’t even exist yet considering how much she had aged. It did give her a spark of hope, maybe they would win the war after all. She kept half an ear out but watched the other two, curious about why they weren’t involved.
She guessed she wasn’t the only one. Kes was leaning forward, like he would somehow be able to pull the other three along with him. He gave her a helpless look. “That might be my son,” he pleaded.
She rolled her eyes but nodded. Han looked annoyed but finally relented, Chewy following. She had to admit she was curious as well, wondering what she was doing with the man’s son, a potential Jedi, a stormtrooper and a Wookiee. They walked to the edge of the clearing, trying to hear their conversation.
“Do you think it’s a trap?”
Poe shrugged. “Always a possibility,” he replied.
“I should be training not being dragged along just in case Kylo shows up.”
“It sucks, definitely,” Poe answered. He reached for her hand, holding it tightly in his own. “But considering this is the first time in weeks we’ve been in the same planet, I’m not going to complain about having to babysit Hugs.”
She pulled her hand away, flushed and embarrassed. “We can’t!” she hissed. “That whole forbidden thing, remember?”
“You weren’t complaining about forbidden when we flying here Rey,” he smirked. “Or before I left for Naboo. Or before you left for ...” The Jedi slapped her hand over Poe’s mouth.
“Oh gods,” Kes moaned.
“Your kid’s banging a Jedi!” Han laughed.
“My kid is with his grandfather!” Kes wailed. “There will be no talk about banging!”
It was a lost cause, whatever hesitation the woman had been feeling must have disappeared as she looked around quickly before sneaking a kiss. “You’re terrible, flyboy.”
“But you love me anyways,” he smiled.
“I know,” she said fondly before returning to the others.
She watched her walk back to the group, noticing herself nod at Hux. The agreement was struck and she’d missed it. She felt a moment of disorientation, and she just knew their time was up. She watched her older self, trying to memorize what she saw. Chewbacca would be part of her life, the Wookiee almost protective of her, like he seemed with Han. Who was strangely absent. They were never apart. This would take place in a future where Kes’ son was a grown adult, probably 30 years from now if she had to guess. And he apparently in love with a Jedi. But she must trust him and the Jedi, not to mention a stormtrooper. And she definitely needed to remember, the First Order.
Then they were back.
*****
She instructed Chewy and Finn to escort Hux to his ship, he had some details to work out if their agreement held up. It was odd that the old memory seemed clearer now. She had waited decades, details becoming less clear as time went on. She had doubted herself often, but the strange memory had persisted. It was the reason she had sent Ben away, hoping to stop whatever evil would befall him. It was the reason she had started the Resistance, she had already known the First Order would be a threat. It was the reason she knew to recruit Poe. How she had trusted Finn and Rey on sight. But now, it was the reason she needed to have a chat with her lead pilot and Jedi.
They didn’t need to hide their relationship, she didn’t care less about the old rules but they better not have had sex in the Falcon’s cockpit last night. That spot held too many good memories.