𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙋𝙏𝙀𝙍 𝙊𝙉𝙀
—𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘦𝘥—

     THE RECRUIT BASE was bigger than Bexley expected, even after seeing it from the outside. Poe had personally shown them around, pointing out every training room, including the library and a space where flight schooling would take place. There weren't too many recruits, she noticed, as they passed by small groups of others.

"This is the control room," Poe stops near a doorway, turning to them before he continues. "It's not real, of course, but it simulates situations you might run into while piloting a ship. Your job is to learn how to use the controls in specific conditions, in order to pass as a real pilot."

The commander leads them into the room, Bexley entering last. She moves around the boys to get a better look of the control pannels. The girl had saw them many times before from the academy, but she had yet to use any of them. Despite attending for nearly a year, she had only studied how to use them, and had yet to actually try.

"Even if you're not interested in flight school, you might want to try it. At some point in your missions, you may have to pilot a ship," Poe finishes.

"When do classes start?" Bexley speaks up, grabbing the attention of both the commander and the other recruits.

"Early tommorow morning," he replies smoothly, looking down to the blonde. "You'll be separated into groups from there, and will be handed over to the proper teacher."

Bexley nods, studying the man for a few longer moments. He didn't seem too much older than her— around three years at the most. How had he earned the title of a commander so quickly? From what she had heard, it took dedication, pure talent, and time. Surely she wouldn't be able to accomplish that in such a short amount of time.

He was definitely handsome, in a ruggish way. His hair was soft with brown waves, messy from the long day. His chocolate brown eyes were stern, but gentle. Poe had seen things, Bexley realized. Things that had— without a doubt— changed him to the person he is today.

"When do we start training?" The boy beside Bexley asks. She notices his stance; the way he held his weight suggested that he was confident. Too confident.

Bexley rolls her eyes, looking back to Poe— only to find an understanding grin on his face.

"As soon as you'd like," Poe states, his eyes still on Bexley as she tilts her head with a grin of her own. "Although it would be suitable to find a partner to spar with."

"How about you, Bexley?" The tall boy questions, crossing his arms over his chest as he looks over at her. "You're supposed to be an assassin, right? Be my partner."

Bexley's eyes widen as she turns to him. Poe looks pleasantly surprised too, as well as the other recruits that glance questioningly at the two.

"How the hell do you know my name?" Bexley furrows her eyebrows.

"Who doesn't?" He shrugs. "Your family is really high class, being assassins and all. So how about it?"

Bexley glances to Poe, raising an eyebrow. He nods once, only for the girl to heave out a long sigh.

"Yeah, I guess," Bexley says, still a bit hesitant.

"I'm Heath," he says, holding out his hand. "Heath Taelyn."

"Nice to meet you," she responds, placing her hand in his.

"And it's as easy as that," Poe chuckles, returning to their previous topic. "Now, how about I show you to your rooms?"

---

"Are there any other girls on base?" Bexley questions as Poe leads her to the girls' dorm. "I haven't saw any lately, and it's starting to stress me out."

"Of course there are," Poe chuckles, turning down a long hallway. "But I have no doubt that you'd do great without them, anyway."

The two had just delivered the other recruits to the boys' dorm, and left them to choose their own rooms and meet the rest of the future assasins and pilots. Bexley, on the other hand, had to venture across the base with Poe to find her assigned room. Poe towered over the girl as they walked, and he had to make the effort of glancing down every so often as he talked to her.

"You're full of it," Bexley rolls her eyes. "You don't know me if you think I can handle being by myself. I prefer to have people around me, that way I'm not too independant when it comes to things."

"Teamwork can be great at some points," he proceeds, taking a second to look over at her. "But you shouldn't depend on it. It's better to be separate, that way you're prepared when you're assigned to a mission."

"You're wise," Bexley chuckles, "does that mean you're secretly old?"

"No," Poe smiles, stopping to face her when he reaches a white sliding door. "I should be, considering my position. Normally a head commander in flight has more experience, but I guess General Organa saw something in me."

"I'll have to see you in flight sometime," the girl comments. "I'm training to be an assasin, but I'd love to fly someday. General Organa promised—"

"To continue your family line by coming here to train as a Resistance assasin," Poe finishes, leaning on the wall beside her. "I know, I suggested it."

"How did you . . . ?" Bexley trails off, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion as she looks into his brown eyes. "How did you know about my family line, and that I wanted to continue it."

"The Resistance always gets information when they need it," he shrugs. "And your last name? Terris definitely rung a bell, your ancestors were well-known fighters for the Republic."

"Nice to know someone recognized it," she nods. "It's not often that someone memorizes the name. After the collapse of the Republic, and the coming of the First Order, my father had nowhere to stand. I guess I just want to prove to him that the generations of dedication weren't for nothing."

"Not just anyone has the courage and strength to continue something dangerous like that." Poe states, sincerety lacing both his voice and his eyes. "I'm sure he'll be proud to see you succeed."

"If I succeed," Bexley corrects, pointing a finger at him. "Lets not get our hopes up too quick, alright? The possibility of failing is too large to count out just yet."

"We'll see," Poe smiles.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Poe," Bexley says, opening the door before she turns back to him.

"So you shall," He nods once, turning to leave. "Goodbye, Bexley."

"Goodbye, Poe," Bexley waves slightly, leaning on the door frame as she watches him disappear down the brightly lit hallway. She can't help but smile, seeing how she had already become friends with a head pilot of the Resistance.

She turns to enter her new room, her eyes grazing over everything around her. She takes in the large bed at the center of the room, white drapes hanging from the canopy. Everything was white— from the carpeting, to the walls, to the silky sheets on the bed, and the dresser that held a holocron for communication purposes. A window is next to the bed, overlooking a landing strip and the night sky outside. And, of course, it had white drapes.

There was a bathroom connected by a door to her right, and a mirror placed on the wall beside the door. It was perfect.

Bexley grins, happy with the appearance of her new room. It was far better than what she had in Takodana, days ago when she had lived with her father; Brentley Terris. Even so, though, they had one of the richest homes in the neighborhood. And since Brentley had gotten laid off after the fall of the Empire and the Resistance, he had still managed to make enough money to provide enough for himself an his daughter.

But his daughter's life would've shaped better if his wife, Nova Terris, had been there to help.

Unfortunately enough, Nova had passed when Bexley was only fourteen, due to an explosion in a nuclear power plant where she had worked at the time. It was an accident, Bexley recalled. One of her mother's colleagues hadn't properly closed the radiation tanks, leading to the explosion that shook everything within forty miles of the building. Radiation leaked into the air, killing out every animal in the strike zone.

Bexley felt the ground shake that day, and had wondered what had caused it. And it was only a few hours later that her father had reported the incident to his teenage daughter, in tears and barely able to get out the words he found necessary to say. Since then, the two had been on their own. Brentley and the family name helped open oppurtunities for the girl, landing her a spot in a small Takodana flight academy, and supporting her in her wishes to become an assasin when the time came.

Bexley definitely hadn't expected a letter from General Organa, requesting her help in the Resistance. In fact, she had hesitated to even respond. The flight academy was so close to her home— could she really leave her education and her father behind? But of course Leia hadn't given up easily on her, and furthered her request to a greeting at her own home. Brentley, by far, had encouraged Bexley to further her education and training by joining the Resistance.

And with a formal goodbye to her father and a few family friends, including Maz Kanata, she had left her planet to join the other recruits in training.

Bexley opens one of the drawers to the dresser, glad to find that she had an all new wardrobe from her previous one. It consisted of several black training outfits, regular clothing, and the Resistance uniform for when she would attend missions. Undergarments and sleepwear were in the next drawer, and three different pairs of shoes were placed in front of the dresser.

She closes the drawer, moving to the bed to run her fingers over the silk sheets. Slipping off her shoes, she proceeds to lay down on the bed, far too tired to set an alarm for when she should awake in the morning, or to even change into nightwear.She pulls the band from her hair, and leaves her blonde waves to fall down her back as she relaxes into the soft sheets.

Bexley decided that she would meet the other recruits in the morning- introducing herself immediately wasn't that important.

Instead, she dozed off, finding nothing but comfort at the new base and, so far, the people in it.

_______