ani does writing ── ❅ ❅

[danheng]

"never forget this.
you are one part of a family. a machine. a squadron. without you the squad falls. without the squad, you fall. stick together and watch each other's flanks. out there, in zero grav, depending on each other is the most important thing you can do. trust in one another. communicate. work. we are the first in and the last out. we shoot straight and kill fast and we die knowing that we are a part of a war far bigger than any one of us.
keep your eyes up, strikers."

--

llweyn's speech still lingered in her mind as she pushed forward into light speed. the ship lurched for a moment before their path evened out, the tunnel of hyperspace swirling by all around them.

"on my mark, beevee." val spoke only moments before another voice cut through the squad commlink.

"command to strike- how're you doing, darlings?" llewyn chimed, earning a little chuckle from abey- val only smirked.

"fine, dear." val's tone was mocking, but playful. "stop worrying. I'll be home before dinner."

"alright, well," llewyn let out a little sigh. they both knew he would much rather be here flying this mission than at d'qar, having to track them through their ships and the holo-map in the command center. "I hope you get shot." quickly the joking tone returned to his voice.

"you too."

suddenly, they left the tunnel, and now were facing down a fleet of interceptors. perfect- just as llewyn had planned. the r7 astromech's long, singing beep alerted her to the status of the weapons charging on her hud. "great, great. all according to plan." reaching forward, val flicked several switches to prime her torpedoes. the telltale whirr of the weapons below clicking into place sent a low rumble through the t-70. "on me, strike 5!" and with that, she pushed onward in a straight, sure line ahead.


the interceptor fleet noticed immediately. just as they predicted, the border patrol team was only stopping through. from this point, they would not be able to call for backup or flee- the perfect distance away from their base and the next checkpoint. and right where val wanted them.

as soon as the hostiles open fired, val turned her ship's nose sharply up so she soared overhead, pushing down to flip underneath and effectively upside down from her previous positions. the interceptors hadn't had the time to spin around as strike 5 covered heavy fire- leaving the interceptor fleet wide open from behind. "now, beeve!" val tilted up to her ship was tilted perpendicular and heading straight up toward the fleet. just then, her torpedoes were shot out with a brief pop of energy and in seconds began to spiral toward the interceptors who scattered instantly.

val turned sharply to the left, circling around with increasing speed to glide above strike 5's ship. "wait until the drop, strike 5." she told him. the pair were moving steadily forward, only giving the minimum cover fire as the torpedoes weaved between the hostiles.

"there it goes, strike 2!" abey's voice cheered through comms as both of the torpedoes exploded in a disc of blue- quickly disappearing into the vacuum.

"great run. pull back," she glanced at her hud. sure enough, both trackers had safely attached themselves to an interceptor- and most likely unnoticed. the twin t-70s twirled around- and in minutes had burst off back to the path to safety.

"strike to command, success. heading home."

a little 'whoo' sounded through the commlink.

"proud of you, vally!"

"hey, I helped too." abey interjected, and val let out a little chuckle.

"yeah- sure, you did well too."

and with that, the three of them broke into a bought of laughter. honest, joyful, and pure.

[danheng]

sometimes, when it'd just been a really tough day, all the pilots, the ground crew, tech, officers- they'd all gather around in hangar one, set up a little holo of a campfire and share around some popcorn or sodas, and just live.
sometimes they'd complain, or just talk, share in that day's adventures. trade stories or jokes or strange things the general had told them that day.
and they lived.

then, the entire group would fall into a hush as poe set his guitar across his lap, strum a few chords as he set the capo or tuned. he would sing, then. sometimes just a couple songs, but finn always liked to persuade him to play a few more. always soft, slow-paced folk songs. and everyone loved them. it was like all the war, all the fear, it all stopped and left only this peaceful warm feeling.

so when they sat around this one night, it was quiet. and everything felt off. felt uneasy.

finally, someone spoke up.

it was jess. she was sitting cross-legged on the nose of black one, a bit higher than some of the others sitting on the floor, but just as a part of the group.

"when I first met him, he asked me if I wanted to help him carry a dozen kilos of proton bombs to the next base over." she spoke with a slight chuckle, chin resting in the palm of one hand. "he told me it would be dangerous, that I could quite possibly die if we ran into any trouble at all. if any remotely went wrong, he said, we would both be toast."

all attention on her.

"so I said hell yeah. and that's how I met him. poe. we almost got blown up, and he still talked to me after." the gentle blue flickering of the holo fire, the soft synthetic crackling.

"he made me charge a star destroyer, once." Iolo noted, from across the circle. he was perched on a pile of supply boxes, right next to ello and finch. "karé, you remember that, right?" his bright, oddly colored eyes looked over to the girl leaning against snap, the couple completely pressed together in affection.

"let's not forget when he lead the kylian run." tallie interjected. she was in a rare state of tiredness, her hair down and tumbling over her shoulders- an oversized sweater engulfing her body- likely given to her or stolen from finch. the lieutenant was a hard worker- sometimes she just let herself go, and slept in for hours on end and just yelled at her pilots the whole day. and nobody bothered her. they all knew she deserved it. but this mention brought a bought of laughter to several pilots, others cracking little grins.

"boy, that was a run to remember." niv reminisced quietly, and beside him joph nodded drearily.

"never trust that man with a bomber ever again. lesson learned." tallie continued, shifting so she was laying back on the box of tools behind her. "unless you want bits of y-wing scattered across the entire system."

another round of laughter, but it died down quickly, and they were left in dejected silence again.

"how is he, finn?" joph piped up, his voice inquisitive and concerned.

the man perked up. he'd been sitting with some tech officers- a pretty maintenance worker called rose, and a ground crew officer by the name of alec. "uh..." he trailed off, obviously caught off guard by the question, and not used to being put on the spot. "he's... not awake yet." finn said after a moment.

"such a poe thing to do." jess rolled her eyes, but there was only affection and concern laced in her tone. "get himself so hurt. we otta give him some kind of safety presentation, huh?"

tallie giggled, and karé snorted. "yeah, he'll learn something from that." she remarked with a roll of sarcasm.

"he'll be alright." jess mumbled. "we know he will."

[danheng]

he woke up crying out a name.

in minutes finn was in the room, their hands clasped together, gentle, comforting words softly filling the silence that previously was only occupied by the steady beep of the heartbeat monitor and the hum of the life support.

as soon as poe's breaths had slowed and he was no longer panicked and fearful, finn held him close, letting the other man lean against him with one arm around his shoulders, his other hand laced in the pilot's.

as long as poe needed him, finn would be there.

besides- it was an incredible relief to see him awake, and alive, for that matter.

"jess, snap..." poe breathed, his head barely moving from finn's shoulder. "are they okay?"

"yeah." the ex-trooper murmured. "they're okay. they'd love to see you-"

"I- I need to see them." poe interjected, immediately attempting to slide from the edge of the cot, but was quickly steadied by a hand on his shoulder.

"slow down," finn said with a light smile, standing to help the unsteady poe back onto his feet. "you're not ready to run around again." finn was genuinely worried about poe- he didn't want the pilot to go and reopen his wounds after he recovered. "general's orders, poe take it easy." though, leia's orders for poe were always to take it easy. in battle and off, he never failed to maintain quite a headstrong and brash behavior.

--

the pilot was leaning against finn the whole time, but neither of them minded. finn's jacket was draped over poe's shoulders, bringing a warmth to the man, along with the steady support he provided. "we've all missed you." he spoke softly as the pair made their way to the hangar. the sun was just beginning to set, casting a beautiful array of warm colors across the sky. though most of the base was underground or inside, the glimpses poe caught of the rainbowed sky caught his attention. warm rays that reflected off of finn's face every time they passed a window- it reminded him of the way starlight caught the glare in his helmet when he flew.

it was beautiful.

--

"just so you know, it wasn't the same without you."

it felt just like home. surrounded by his family, the resistance he called home. each face illuminated by the holo flames as they flickered and sparked.

"I'm glad to be back, tallie." poe grinned, resting his hand on finn's knee as the man sat cross legged beside him, right beneath the nose of black one.

"will you sing tonight?" jess broke in, quickly cut off by karé who was, tonight, sitting beside her squad mate.

"cut it out, pava!" she hissed quietly, before looking back to poe. "no one will blame you if you're too tired, poe, I apologize on jess's behalf." this earned a light punch from the younger girl, an irritated but playful glare on her face.

"honestly, that's the only thing I want to do right now."

--

his fingers strummed against the strings with a familiar stroke. each chord sweeter and softer than the last.

and he sang.

and they listened.

and all was well.

[danheng]

"hey, hey, look at me. eyes on me. It's gonna be okay. it's gonna be okay." lua's voice barely made a sound over jess's panicked sobs as she leaned forward as best she could. "we're fine, see, we're okay. I'm right here." all she wanted to do was reach out and hug the girl close, wrap her arms tight and keep her safe from everything beyond that door.
"th-they- they-" jess sputtered, words split by wheezing coughs followed by gentle sobs. "I want momma!"
"I know, baby, I know." lua cooed gently as jess's cries softened to a quiet weeping. "it's gonna be okay."

through the dark of the dank cell, lua could see nothing beyond the crack of light slipping under the door. no windows or shelves- just darkness, and jessika's trembling shape. pushing to her feet with a moment of difficulty, lua stumbled to the wall to lean her shoulder against the metal. she could feel the buzz of the ship, hear the hum of the internal workings when she pressed her ear to the wall.

they were going to take off soon. not that jess needed to know that.

"we'll be home soon, alright?" still with some of her weight against the wall, lua turned to look back at jessika, who had sat up and was sniffling, long bangs falling over her eyes.

a wave of confidence overrode her fear, her worry. she would do everything she could to bring her sister home.

anything she could.


"... jess...? jess!"

the pilot's eyes snapped up, spinning around to face whoever had been calling her name. her stare was blank, mouth slightly agape as if she'd been lost in a daze. "y-yeah, what?" giving a brief shake of her head, jess started forward. "did you need something?"

"need you to check out snap's vents before we start our run... are you alright?" there was no lying to poe. he had this way of knowing when someone was upset, always seeking to make them feel better. especially with his squadron mates- those he'd known for so long and had become adept to picking up on small changes in their person.

"fine. why?" jess gave him a smiling frown, titling her head slightly.

blink. he didn't believe her. she was just as bad a liar as he was. "you seemed a little disconnected there." the pilot hesitated, hands settling across his chest as he stepped forward. "you know I'm always here, if you want to talk?" poe's voice dropped to a quieter, more concerned tone that made anxious chills run up jess's spine. no. she did not want to talk.

"of course I do. stop worrying yourself, poe, you've got work to do." placing as best of a bright grin as she could across her face, she reached forward to punch his shoulder playfully. "see you after that run, flyboy."

and then she was off.

the smile slipped from her expression, and a heaving sigh found it's way off of her chest.

another day went by.

[danheng]

tallie blue one
yolo blue two
rana blue three
iolo blue four
kit blue five
derron blue six
hailey blue seven

jinx red leader
joph red two
nien red three
bastian red four
dai red five
ello red six

poe black leader
snap black two
jess black three
kare black four

finch hammer pilot
paige hammer gunner
nix hammer crew
spennie hammer crew

yasmin green leader
ollie green two
izaak green three
axler green four
saoirse green five

ari gold leader
kay gold two
jory gold three

j-squadron
marri commander
leuca cadet
tripp cadet
zet cadet
hanna cadet
iane cadet

striker squadron
llewyn strike leader
val strike two
tysie strike three
paxton strike four
abey strike five
jj strike six

[danheng]

as it turned out, more often than not, bb-8 was right.

and more often than not, poe disregarded her warnings, and assured her everything would be fine.

today was one of those days.

this should have been the first sign all was not well.

the astromech let out an uneasy burble, but the commander was far too focused on his console than her. "happy beeps here, buddy, c'mon," he muttered, reaching forward to flick a couple of switches and instantly his deflector shields flickered to life around the fighter. "we've pulled crazier stunts than this," yet there was unease hidden underneath false confidence.

that was, arguably, what kept poe alive. improvising, and hope, and pretending everything would be fine.

a warm voice cut through the open comm line, the tone of a chiding mother that made poe want to apologize profusely and never do anything wrong ever again. "just for the record, commander, I'm with the droid on this one." and in moments the adrenaline of the moment obliterated any logical and grounded thoughts.

"thank you, for your support, general." there was a respectful amount of sarcasm there. not enough to get him demoted, but just enough to get the point across that he didn't appreciate her pessimism about his plan.

pushing forward, the ship continued its path right toward an enormous star destroyer than occupied most of the stars ahead, the narrowing nose pointing directly at him- almost like a big arrow that said "look! a tiny fighter literally incomparable to your weapons! opportunity!" yet poe knew they would not shoot him down without hearing whatever it was he had to hear.

whatever it was.

haha.

that earned a dry chuckle from poe, which bb-8 inquired about, but he brushed her off with a little hum.

"happy beeps..."

black one pulled to a stop, and without a stroke more of hesitation, poe flicked open the radio wave with a single push of a button.

"attention. this is commander poe dameron of the republic fleet, I have an urgent communique for general hux." a sharp intake of breath as soon as the name left his mouth.

this was no time to get flustered- he reminded himself sharply- and blinked a couple of times before a voice came back- and it filled him with such an indescribable feeling.

not only was there a tinge of warmth upon hearing the familiar tone but what felt like an icy slap at the sharpness of the words it delivered.

"this is general hux of the first order,"

of course it was. no way poe could forget that voice.

"the republic is no more. your fleet are rebel scum and war criminals."

it always gave him a little flutter of joy when he heard hux speak his name. 'rebel scum' and 'war criminal' felt wrong. very, very wrong.

"tell your precious princess," hesitance. there was a little bit of a falter there. not inherently obvious, but every little change was evident to poe. any inflexion, any stumble over words. "there will be little mercy. surrender now and your people will be spared."

well, at least he tried. it was darling, hearing hux attempt to sway his mind. real cute.

a sly smirk crossed poe's features. beat.

"hi, I'm holding for uh, general hugs?"

"this is hux."

again, "cute".

"oookay, I'll hold." even across ships, it was like poe could feel hux's fiery gaze burning into him in frustration.

"cut the games, dameron."

"aw, hugs, you're breaking my heart here." sparing a glance at his hud, poe noted he did not have much longer to speak with the general. too bad. "I really thought we had something special!"

he'd apologize later.

there was a really long pause there, and for a moment poe considered the chances he'd pushed a little too hard and his boyfriend was finally going to blast him out of the sky, but a rapid beeping from his hud quickly put a grin on his face.

"bb-8, punch it!"

the force was intense. as soon as the booster pod kicked into action, poe felt himself get thrown against the back of his seat as the space around him nearly warped into light-speed with the rate everything was flying by.

"woah, wooh," poe breathed quickly as the dreadnought straight ahead got closer and closer. as soon as he cut onto the ship's surface,
the booster cut short and he grabbed the stick to regain control. "alright, takin' out the cannons now!" he nearly screamed over comms as he pushed off.

bb-8 let out a string of excited beeps.

"let's do this, buddy."


part 1? of ?

[danheng]

thanks! I hate it!

[danheng]

the cannons proved to be little to no difficulty to take out. with lightning reflexes and a hot trigger finger, poe was basically flying in debris. one explosion after the other blazed his path along the nose of the dreadnaught, a trail of metal and flame signifying his success.

for a moment, he considered taking a little flyby near the star destroyer, show off in front of the bridge and get a little flip or something in. and under any other circumstances, he would've. but the resistance's life was on the line, so poe kept himself in check.

for now.

it'd only been a week earlier when he had begun analyzing the plans for this great ship. according to the general, they had come by the plans from several brave rebels.

he cut to starboard side, a jerking turn as the ship spun around on her axis and flared full speed ahead. squeezing the trigger with a white-knuckle grip, poe decided this shot was dedicated to those rebels. they'd given so much for this victory. the whole resistance had.

"you did it poe, now get your squad back here."

no-no-no-no.

he was so close.

not now.

in the heat of the battle, in what felt like the peak of the fight- everything nearly shut down. the drone of the pilots yelling over comms or the beeping of his astromech behind him, became one solid line of white noise.

sometimes he wasn't even aware of his own actions.

so when the general's frustrated voice simply ceased, likely as the result of a 'manual radio malfunction', he didn't question it and kept flying.

suddenly, there were no more surface cannons. through some kind of subconscious miracle, poe's pure adrenaline rush carried him through and now, this ship was going down.

"I've taken out the surface cannons," he realized he was shouting, but didn't attempt to stop. "tallie, start your approach!" that's when the focus on his face shifted into a grin as he fell into formation against the blue and red squadrons.

then the sound of tie-in engines filled the vacuum, and blaster shots rained overall.

part 2 of ?

[danheng]

enter username
>> 'saf'
enter passkey
>> 3397
access -- granted
>> ex. notepad


datapad entry #01

my name is saf. s-a-f. it isn't short for anything, and it isn't a nickname, it is me. I am saf.

It has taken a while to get used to that being me. I would not respond to my own name for a long while, and I would become confused and overwhelmed when people tried to 'teach' me to react to that name. saf.

s-a-f.

but now, I am not afraid of being called by my name and I swell with joy every time it is said to me. I am saf. everybody knows it and that is what they call me.

everyone here has a different name, and it is a little hard to keep track of it all. I have never heard many of these names. I am used to a more... algebraic system of things and having to remember individual tags is a little bit hard, when it is much easier to address a unit or a division.

but I suppose the cost of individuality is accepting that you are not the only individual. that is something my superiors did not understand.

my friends do. we used to call each other things. when not in the presence of others, it would be 'how are you doing, threes?' or 'are you feeling alright, double?'. but really, when you lined us all up shoulder to shoulder- nobody was unique and everyone was the same stark shade of white, the same replica of an army that once was- reborn into the lives of thousands of men and women who knew no life other than that of the order.

I am glad to be individual. I want to fight for a cause bigger than myself but I want to appreciate that I, myself, too exist. that is why I am here. here, they recognize that. we are all apart of something far more than one person but each and every life is one step closer to that cause. each person is a purpose.

not one of a unit.

I am only afraid of losing myself. I want to forge a new person in me- someone that did not identify as a number. as a weapon. and I have that chance here. I can change myself, if I want, I can be a new person. that all started when I told them my name.

saf.

s-a-f.

I like how it sounds because nobody else has it. it is small and sweet and isn't a nickname for anything and isn't short for anything and is who I am.

I'm not a number. one of many.

I'm me.

and I'm fighting for something so much bigger.

[danheng]

enter username
>> 'kas'
enter passkey
>> nirov
access -- granted
>> ex. notepad


datapad entry #01

have you ever seen the deserts here? they're so bright. they're like rainbows- but only one color, split into tens of thousands of shades in every single grain of sand and crystal and dust. I can see the sunsets in the dunes and the sunbeams in the hills and they shine with such a brilliant warm color that almost makes me want to look away- but I can't.

I truly love the spectrum of life I can see now.

I do not like the color white. It reminds me of conformity and simplicity and I think life is too short for those kinds of things. there are so many different shades in the galaxy, I refuse to settle for one.

I want to see every color in the universe. I've looked up old history texts and vids- there is a whole system made of green! trees and plants and vines and not even a single bipedal-created structure! there's even a planet where it's always raining and everything is cold colors like blue and grey and purple at night.

I've read about snow, which of course I have never touched, but would not like to at all. some of the pictures I see of snow planets are so bleak and painful looking, and I can't imagine what I would do if I was stuck somewhere like that. I think I'd probably die.

I don't want to live in a world without color. once you get a taste of something, you start to wonder how you ever did it before you had that thing. It's childish- but I'm okay with that, for once. hell, I don't even care!

saf is right. this is a chance for something new and my first step is colors and my next step is something new and bright and just as great.

kriff the rules- this is way better.