Waiting for people to show to the briefing, Poe and I stood side by side at the massive circular table. Some part of him touched my skin, whether it was his fingers on my skin, his cheek against my forehead, or his leg against my own. He didn't let me step farther than a foot away from him.

Missing me wasn't it, it was the simple fact that he didn't want me to slip out of his fingers again. Being in a safe place, where we weren't going to be split by chance, he kept me near, close.

I didn't mind. I was entranced in his presence, content in his touch. My mind felt at peace. The inner battle I had lived with for the past few days was forgotten of. Poe brought me to a peaceful mind with only a touch of his hand. Staying near for hours on end brought me to a level of serenity I hadn't felt since I was a teenager on Yavin with him. I never wanted to leave it.

Caught in each other, we hadn't noticed others joining us at the table. A being bumped into my back, shoving me farther into Poe. I turned my head, then fully, my attention on the man standing beside me. I tapped Poe's hands from my waist. I poked the Admiral's shoulder.

"Excuse me, sir, are you Admiral Akbar?" I asked.

Akbar spun his great big eyes to meet mine. "That would be me," he said, offering a smile.

"Oh, have I heard some stories about you, sir," I said.

"I was quite the legend," chuckled Akbar.

"Enna," whined Poe. "Hush, I'm about to make my speech."

"Oh, bite me," I teased.

"Tempting," whispered Poe. He then asked the massive table to quiet down. "So, the scan data from Snap's reconnaissance flight confirms Finn's report," he announced.

Snap, one of the pilot's, spoke to the table. "They've somehow created a hyper-light speed weapon built within the planet itself."

"A laser cannon?" asked another pilot.

"We're not sure how to describe a weapon of this scale," admitted Snap.

"It's another Death Star?" asked Major Ematt.

"I wish that were the case, Major. This was the Death Star. This is Starkiller base."

Exclaims broke out across the room when Poe displayed the hologram. There was a sizable difference between the two. It ignited fear.

Han rolled his eyes. "So, it's big," he said flatly.

"How is it possible to power a weapon of that size?" asked Akbar.

"It uses the power of the sun. As the weapon is charged, the sun's drained until it disappears," explained Finn.

"Ma'am," interrupted a woman. She handed the General a note.

"The First Order is charging the weapon again now," sighed the General. She cleared her throat. "Our system is the next target."

"Oh, my," gasped C-3PO, "Without the Republic Fleet, we're doomed."

"Okay. How do we blow it up? There's always a way to do that," assured Han.

"Han's right," said the General. She looked to Finn hopefully.

"In order for that amount of power to be contained, that base has to have some kind of thermal oscillator," mused Statura.

"Precinct forty-seven,"said Finn, pointing.

"If we can destroy that oscillator, it might destabilize the core and cripple the weapon," said Statura.

"Maybe the planet," offered Major Ematt.

"We'll go in there, we'll hit that oscillator with everything we've got," planned Poe.

"They have defensive shields that our ships cannot penetrate," warned Akbar.

"We disable the shields, then," said Han. He nudged Finn's arm. "Kid, you worked there. What do you got?"

"I can do it," agreed Finn.

"I like this guy."

"I can disable the shields, but I have to be there. On the planet," said Finn.

"We'll get you there," assured Han.

"Han, how?" asked the General.

He smirked. "If I told you, you wouldn't like it."

"So, we disable the shields, take out the oscillator, and blow up their big gun," reviewed Poe.

A roar from Chewbacca assured we were in agreement.

"All right, let's go."

Everyone gathered in the small quarter passed by. They filed out. I stayed walking closely behind Poe, my fingers hooked on his orange uniform so I didn't lose him in the crowd. I didn't get the chance to speak with him. He was animatedly speaking with Snap about the course they were going to take. At long last, the two split when they reached the planes.

"Poe, listen," I started, tugging on his arm. I wanted him to pause, for a second, let things slow before they sped up again.

He cupped my face in his hands. "This isn't goodbye."

"I'm not saying it is," I agreed. "Listen, in the event that we don't win this, I'll be killed here. And I want you to--"

"Enna, you're coming with me," he interrupted.

My lips opened, then closed. My brow furrowed profusely. I shook my head. "No, Poe, I am not," I refused.

"You're not staying here," he protested.

"I--"

"I'm not losing you again. I'm not losing you for forever. Get in a ship."

"I haven't flown in years," I said.

"Tough. I'm not leaving you here."

I frowned. "Did General Organa sign off on letting me go?"

"Not exactly," said Poe. He smirked. "But if we save the galaxy, she can't really complain, can she?"

I sighed, fumbling with the zipper on his suit. "You're reckless," I said. I looked at him from under my eyelashes. "You know that?"

"And yet you still stick around," whispered Poe, kissing my nose, "Now, come on."

He led me to his plane.

"I'm not wearing the outfit," I said at once.

"At least wear the helmet," he begged.

"That I can do," I agreed, "Fly safe. Fly smart."

"That I can do," he mocked, smiling, "Enna, I should tell you--"

"Poe Dameron, you said this wasn't goodbye," I said mockingly.

"In case it is," he continued.

"Then you make sure it's not," I interrupted. I kissed his chin. "I'll see you in the sky."

I ran to an empty plane and climbed in. I took a few seconds, familiarizing myself with the knobs, then applied the helmet on my head.

"Poe?" I asked.

"It's rather nice to hear your voice."

"I would say the same, but in all honestly, I think it's going to be quite the distraction when I'm trying to remember how to fly a plane," I said.

Poe laughed. "It's just like riding a bike."

"You should pray for my aim in this thing," I mumbled, adjusting my hands to the controls.

"Don't panic. If you feel like a trigger's close to being pulled, you have to get out of there."

"Does this thing have a parachute?" I asked.

"The uniform does."

"What a shame."

"You can do this, En. You're helping to save the galaxy. Keep that in mind throughout all of this."

"Right. I'll add that to the list of things to remember. So far, we've got: don't panic, remember the controls, how to aim and shoot, how to fly a plane in battle mode, don't channel the force, and..."

"Don't die," he finished.

"Ah, yes, the most important one," I said sarcastically.

I took my wheels from the ground. I flew behind the squad into space. Instantly out of the atmosphere, they all hit light speed. I panicked and hit my own, terrified about being left alone in space.

"Ouch," I cursed.

"Didn't keep your head back when you hit light speed?" asked Poe, "You always forgot that when we were younger."

"Leave me alone," I chuckled.

"Red squad, Blue squad, take my lead," ordered Poe.

"There's squad's?" I squeaked, "What squad am I on?"

"Uh, pick one," he said.

"This is terribly planned, Poe Dameron!" I reprimanded.

"Dropping out of light speed!"

I did as everyone else was doing. Utter chaos was exposed to us. Immediately, I was forced to jerk my controls down, avoiding a series of hits from awaiting TIE fighters.

"Hit the target dead center! As many runs as we can get!" yelled Poe.

"Approaching target!"

"Let's light it up!"

A massive hexagon was being fired at by the squads. I targeted it as well. I flew low to the planet's ground, twirling, shooting TIE fighters, and swooping in different routes to fire at the thermal oscillator.

"Direct hit!" yelled Snap.

"But no damage," I noticed.

"Yes, we gotta keep on hitting it! Another bombing run. Remember, when the sun is gone, that weapon will be ready to fire," said Poe.

"Another thing to remember," I sighed.

"As long as there's light, we've got a chance," said Poe optimistically.

"Incoming TIE fighters!" shouted Snap.

"Their piloting system is not bad," said Poe.

"And you would know..." I paused, "You know what, don't tell me. Reckless."

"Concentrate, En," he laughed.

"Right, right, I can do that. Staying calm. Breathing. Dodging. Firing," I remembered.

"Talking inside your head..." said one of the pilots.

"I can also do that."