Chapter Text
There was a tree in Poe’s backyard back home on Yavin IV. When he was a kid, he used to sit under its shade with his dad while he told stories. His mom would watch him climb, sometimes sitting on the first few branches while he scaled it. He’d fallen out of it plenty of times, even broke his arm one time, but he’d never blamed the Tree.
When friends of his parents would come by, stocked with adventures that Poe would listen to with the wide eyes of awe, he’d go to the Tree and tell the stories back to it. He’d fly his toy ship around its wide trunk, and the world would fall away, leaving only the Tree and the stars as he soared. Once, while Poe was informing the Tree of one of his mother’s escapades involving Princess Leia, he was interrupted as his mother scooped him up in her arms and twirled him. He giggled with delight before frowning.
“The best part was coming up mom! The Tree was excited!”
“Was it?” Shara gave an apologetic smile before kissing his forehead. “Sorry about that, but I think you’ll like this even better.”
Poe huffed. “I don’t think so.”
“I don’t know either, if it’s one of Shara’s stories you were telling the tree.” Poe looked over at the man who had come out from the house. He wore a black robe that blended with the dark clothes beneath, a sharp contrast with the light mop of hair on his head.
“Poe,” Shara said as she set him on his feet, “this is Luke Skywalker.”
The wide eyes of awe returned, looking up at the jedi. “Are you really?”
“Nice to meet you, Poe,” Luke said as he squatted down to Poe’s level and offered a hand. Poe stared at the hand before eagerly accepting it. Luke smiled. “Gonna be as strong as your mom with a grip like that.”
“Wow,” Poe whispered. He looked up at his mom before back to Luke. “Do you want to meet the Tree?”
Luke nodded. “It would be an honor.”
Poe led Luke over, who shared a brief glance with Shara before following Poe. Sitting down only a foot away from the Tree, Poe looked over his shoulder at Luke. “You gotta sit if you wanna talk to the Tree. Like dinner.”
“Dinner?”
Poe nodded fiercely. “Like dinner.”
“Like dinner it is then.” Luke plopped down next to Poe. He tilted his head back, looking up at the looming branches. “It’s taken really well here. I didn’t expect it to grow this fast.”
“The Tree’s really strong.” Poe said. “And sometimes it gets thirsty.”
“You take care of the Tree?” Luke asked.
Poe shook his head. “The Tree is my friend. But the Tree doesn’t need help anymore. Not since you and mom saved it.”
“Is that so?”
“Yup. The Tree says thanks for saving it too.”
“No problem at all. Do you talk to the Tree a lot, Poe?”
Poe nodded. “The Tree talks a lot too. But it uses all these funny big words, kind of reminds me of my other friend’s grandpa.”
“That’s because the Tree is very old, in a sense.” Luke looked Poe over before looking back at the Tree. “I’m glad to see it has made a friend in you and you have made a friend in it, Poe. That’s a very special connection.”
“The Tree knows I’m gonna fly someday, just like mom.” Poe smiled. “She’s already taken me up in her A-wing. I got to steer.”
“How about that,” Luke said, the corner of his lip turned up in a knowing smile that Poe couldn’t possibly understand at the time. As the jedi stood up, Luke looked down at Poe, kindness in his eyes. “It was nice to meet you, Poe. May the Force be with you.”
Poe looked up at Luke, the stories his mother told him racing through his head, and he grinned at the older man. “May the Force be with you.” Poe glanced quickly at the tree. “The Tree says bye.”
Luke gave a small wave to the tree before turning back towards Shara. Sitting beside the tree, Poe watched as Luke and Shara spoke to each other out of ear. The Tree reached out, and Poe returned his attention to his friend.
“He’s cool, isn’t he?” Poe asked in a hush tone.
The Tree agreed that Luke Skywalker was indeed, rather cool.
Poe looked over at the two adults, and frowned when he saw neither of them. Instead, a figure in a black cloak took their place. His gloved hands were fists at his side, the dark mask staring blankly at Poe.
Suddenly Poe’s throat became strained, pain beginning to spawn across his body. He groaned, falling to his hands and knees. He doesn’t remember when he was no longer that small child, or when he had started screaming.
“Where is it?” The voice did not seem to come from the figure, but rather the world itself. Beating against Poe, who cupped his hands over his ears.
Heat lashed at his back and inside his skull, and Poe twisted his head to see the Tree in flames. The Tree screeched, a horrible sound of pain that cracked Poe’s chest, causing him to scream with it. In the delirium of the chaos, Poe snapped towards the figure.
“Where’s the map?” Kylo Ren asked as the memory burned away around them.
“No,” Poe huffed, yelling again at the claws digging through his head.
“Where is it?” Each word enunciated with a vicious precision.
The Tree crackled in the fire and groaned as the roots began to pull away from the earth.
“You,” Poe struggled to his feet as the Tree roared behind him, “you can’t have it.”
“I will.”
A crack. Not the sight of it, Poe couldn’t see it. But he heard the echoes, the fearful snap of a crack that has cut deep through a once solid form. Poe dropped back to his knees, the pain that ran up from his toes to his head rattling him on a level Poe had never felt before. It was as if the crack he could not see had torn him in half, and parts of him spilled out that he couldn’t catch because he couldn’t see them.
“A BB-unit,” Ren murmured. “Back on Jakku.”
Poe yelled, and on shaking legs he charged at Kylo Ren. He was less than a few yards away when the Force user struck his hand out, intending to freeze Poe in his place. But, in that moment, as if its roots had wrapped around his limbs and guided them like a puppet on strings, Poe’s hand lashed out to counter.
He felt the jarring impact before both were cast aside, tossed out of the memory. It was as if Poe was swimming in the space found with closed eyes, darkness sprinkled with speckles of vibrant stars.
His right eyelid cracked open, the other swollen shut from General Hux’s earlier efforts. The first thing that caught Poe’s eye as he focused back on the room was the crumpled pile of black clothes against the wall, the second thing completely missing him as he leaned forward and fell out of the interrogation chair.
Poe threw his hands out to catch himself, groaning as the impact ran up his arms and jolted the fresh wounds he had garnered. A harsh throbbing took hold of his skull. Grimacing, Poe reached for the chair and pulled himself up to his feet. He eyed the black mass warily, a sick realization pooling in his stomach that it was not just discarded articles 0f clothing.
“How in the-” Poe muttered to himself, stopping short as the door suddenly opened.
“Kylo Ren wants the priso-”
The stormtrooper froze at the sight of Poe, who stood still beside the chair for a moment before throwing himself at them.
“Hey no wait-” the stormtrooper was cutoff as Poe tackled him to the ground, but that was all the momentum the element of surprise provided. They wrestled for a few moments before the trooper had Poe pinned. “Cut it out!” he hissed as the rebel pilot continued to struggle in his grasp, “this is a rescue, I’m here to help you escape.”
Poe stopped. “What?”
The trooper removed his helmet, revealing a young man with dark skin and short hair. Poe blinked at the sight. It was odd seeing the people beneath the armor.
“Can you fly a TIE fighter?”
Poe frowned at the stormtrooper. “Are you with the Resistance?”
“What? No no no, I’m here to get you out. Can you fly a TIE fighter?”
“I can fly anything,” Poe said with a tinge of indignance. A laugh came out of the trooper and Poe nearly smiled at the sound of it. Their growing joy passed at the sound of shuffling movement on the other side of the room.
“We need to go,” Poe whispered urgently. The trooper stumbled to his feet and pulled Poe up to his. The man paused as his eyes landed on Kylo Ren. He pointed a finger at the Force user, giving Poe a raised eyebrow.
“Did you do that?”
Poe’s face was stiff as stone. “We need to go,” he repeated. “Put the cuffs on.”
The trooper looked at Kylo Ren a moment longer before turning to Poe and securing his hands in front of him. He put his helmet back on and guided Poe out of the room, both of them walking faster. A speck of tension escaped Poe’s shoulders as the door closed behind them, another when they left the corridor.
Their escape was a blur. Poe remembered the sound of their boots hurrying along the polished floors of the Star Destroyer. The grand hangar where stormtroopers and First Order officers did not bat an eye at the trooper- Finn- as he had led Poe towards the TIE fighters. Getting stuck, getting unstuck. Finn cheering, the sound still faintly ringing in Poe’s ears. The crash.
The crash. Poe surged up before he was jerked back by the chair’s straps. The restraint sent Poe into flight mode and he pulled and twisted at the safety belts before he found the clasp and freed himself. He scrambled off of the chair, fumbling as pain shot up his leg and sent him back to his hands and knees.
Hot sand burned his palms as he put more distance between him and the chair. Collapsing, Poe twisted around and eyed the chair. His chest ached at the expansion of his ribs as he took large breaths, working to calm himself. Kylo Ren was nowhere to be seen, the pilot seat not the interrogation chair sitting in the back of Poe’s head. He ran a sand-covered hand through his hair, a settling breath forcing himself to calm down.
“Finn,” Poe’s head snapped up. He grunted as he got to his feet but he stood firm, head twisting to look around for the stormtrooper.
“Finn!” Poe cupped his hands around his mouth. “Finn!” He couldn’t find a hint of the wreckage, no smoke trails in the distance. No Finn.
“Kriffin Force,” Poe muttered as he squatted to his knees, balled hands pressed against his forehead. There was a bad lump building in his throat. Poe sniffed, taking a few quick breaths before he released a larger one.
“Okay, okay, okay,” Poe said, scanning the horizon. “No ship, no Beebee-Ate, no Finn, but I can do this.” Poe swallowed the lump in his throat. “I can do this.”
The deserts of Jakku were speckled with villages and markets, Poe knew this. It was a planet of scavengers, searching through the scraps left behind in the middle of nowhere. If he stuck to one direction, he could find a place with resources, find a ship. Or he would wander the desert until he died. Poe wasn’t anxious to see what would happen first.
Dune after dune he slowly scaled, the pain in his leg from earlier aching with each passing moment. His tongue grew thick in his mouth and the sunlight had already burned his skin at the back of his neck. He eventually shed his shirt and had it draped over his head and neck, barely reaching parts of his shoulders.
Poe remembered his dad telling him about the Battle of Jakku. How it had been one of the most pivotal turning points against the fight with the Empire. An odd overwhelming emotion had passed through him when he had arrived to receive the map from Lor San Tekka. That Jakku would again be connected to the end of another Empire, holding the key to Luke Skywalker.
When the sunlight began to dwindle, Poe slipped his sweat-riddled shirt off of his head and back onto his sun-burnt body. He had kind of assumed if he were to die it would be in the heat, but as the cool air began to pass over the sands, Poe got a different idea. It was soothing at first against his skin stained with sweat and burns. But the cold dug deeper than the heat, and Poe felt it in his bones.
Stopping for a moment, Poe dropped onto the sand and stretched his right leg out. He rolled the pant leg up, wincing at the bruising along his calf and up to his knee. A brief test above the knee proved to be more fruitful, if not still tender. It must have been wrenched and battered around the TIE fighter before he was ejected. The left leg was better off, though there was still some discoloration. But the coloring was fainter, and Poe was thankful for that.
As the stars began to bleed out from the night, Poe looked up at them. The memory of flying his toy starship, holding it in his small hands as he danced around the Tree, came back to him and Poe felt a strong ache. He wanted to be up there.
Looking back at Jakku, Poe glanced between where he had come and where he was going. It was as endless as the oceans of Mon Cala.
“Alright Poe, back to it,” he muttered. Groaning, Poe made it back to his feet and continued walking forward. The cold nipped at his skin, a slight chatter trying to take over his teeth.
What felt like miles passed beneath his feet until he couldn’t move anymore. It was pain. It was exhaustion. It was dehydration. It was the cold. Each of them battered at Poe until he was curled up against the cold grains of sand pressing against his cheek. The aches in his side slowly edged Poe over until he was lying on his back, and looking back up at the stars.
“Leia,” Poe muttered on cracked lips, “I’m sorry.”
“Poe.” His name bounced around in his head and against his ear in her voice as if the General was beside him.
Blinking lights twinkled beside the stars. Poe frowned, knowing that most stars weren’t red. Then his eyes widened.
“Hey!” Poe tried to shout, though the word barely came out of his throat. He struggled to his feet and ripped his shirt off, waving it desperately above him. “Hey!”
The red lights of the starship grew closer, and Poe might’ve started crying if he had anything left inside of him. Winds hit him as the ship descended, a platform sliding out while the door began to open. Poe’s nerves began to build in his gut, bunching up the shirt tight in his hand.
Two people stood in the doorway of the ship. It was hard to make out in the darkness, but to Poe it seemed as if the ship had been hastily put together and running on spare parts. One of them turned on a light, the brightness blinding Poe as they focused it on him.
“You stranded out here, man?” Poe held up a hand against it, squinting as he tried to focus on the two strangers.
“You have no idea, pal.” Poe said. “Me and a friend were going to check out a TIE fighter that crashed further out that way,” Poe pointed, swallowing at the dry lump in his throat. “But my speeder went down and we both got thrown. Haven’t seen either of them. If you could just get me to the nearest outpost I can pay you back and I’ll be out of your hair.”
There was an uncomfortable silence that curled Poe’s toes. Then a strange voice, different from the first one, spoke up.
“I do not believe you,” he said before firing his blaster. Poe leapt out of the way, muffling a groan as he rolled off of his back and tried to run.
“Kriffin hell,” Poe muttered at the sound of the ship’s engine firing up. He considered for a brief second the idea of burying himself in the sand, but his tired, injured legs gave out beneath him before the absurdity could even process as a good idea. Poe was fresh out of any ideas.
“Really?” The first voice said as the ship settled a few yards from Poe. The pilot got to his feet. “You made us start the ship up and fly a few more yards? What was the point of that?”
“Fuck off,” Poe said. Stars, he was so tired.
There was no return. The blaster fired and Poe collapsed.