[open] so don't stop me now

[volitaunt]

who: Poe Dameron (and by extension BB-8) + YOU
what: Catchall log
when: The remainder of November
where: Multiple locations
warnings: None at the moment, will edit as needed.



i. perimeter guard: aerial survey & exploration

[ Poe is making out with getting to know the Intrepid. At the moment he's underneath the ship on a rolling dolly, keeping up a steady stream of commentary to BB-8 while he roots around in an open panel.

BB-8 is next to him, projecting a hologram of the inner workings of the ship. ]

--deflectors aren't bad, but this baby has nothing on an X-wing. No offense. [ That last bit is directed at the ship, which he pats before going back into its insides. ] I'm thinking we can squeeze a little more speed out of these thrusters if we modify the thermal vents. What do you think, buddy?

[ BB-8 chirrups his support for the idea as Poe emerges again, hair sticking up from sweat and face marked with grease. ] Need to clear it with Jim first. Man, if Jess were here, she'd go to town on this thing.

ii. also... perimeter.... guard..........

[ Poe isn't really the weight lifting type. It's boring, for one thing. A static exercise. If he can't be in the air, he'd rather be in motion.

Which is why he's in the Perimeter Guard's fitness area whaling away on a few of the standing targets instead. Kicks, punches, all relatively basic moves executed at high speed. He knows enough to get by in a hand-to-hand combat scenario, but he's no advanced martial artist. The moves he knows are enough to get him a full-body workout, and that's good enough for him. His accuracy isn't great, not when his muscles protest this particularly vigorous abuse, not with the numbness in his arms and legs that gives way to tingling pain somewhere close to the surface of his skin. It makes him grateful the First Order didn't go after his hands. He can deal with the time it takes for the rest to heal.

--Also, he's talking to BB-8 the whole time he moves, conversation punctuated with grunts and the sounds of impact. ] --can't let ourselves get comfortable, you know? We-- need to be ready to-- move at a moment's notice.

[ He pauses, and BB-8 rolls over to the edge of the practice mat with a towel held in one maintenance grip and a water bottle in another. Poe takes both, taking a drink and wiping his face, speaking while his face is in the towel. ] Need to figure out a high-speed way to get a hold of Rey and Finn, so if they line the portal up or whatever it is they need to do we can hit it together. A kind of emergency signal.

iii. a park

[ He's jogging, focused on the motion of legs and arms, entirely absorbed in the rhythm. BB-8 rolls along in his wake, the droid more interested in their surroundings and the things in them than keeping up. At least since they're in public he's not rambling at his droid this time??

But you can bet if BB-8 sees something interesting or someone familiar, he'll detour away from his owner. ]

iv. a bar!

[ Poe doesn't drink much, and he doesn't let his pilots drink either. It's too much of a risk when they need to be ready to move the second intel or orders come in. Still, he likes people watching, and bars are a pretty good place to do it. (BB-8 elected to stay at the communal housing building.)

He is definitely not trying to avoid sleeping, because he's definitely not getting more tense with every day that goes past. Old habits, though. He's nursing a tonic with lime, since it's what the bar tender suggested for someone who doesn't want alcohol. ]

v. wildcard

[ Something else? Hit me! ]

Comments

iv

[paged]

[ The first few nights were a mixture of restless and passing out eventually from exhaustion. It was only after she found the bar/club strip that she started entertaining the idea of going there if she couldn't sleep. Wasn't something she enjoyed doing but sometimes just getting out and walking around helped. Anything but stay in her room and feel like she's trapped in there with her own nightmares.

It's why she comes in and, after a look around, she heads for the bar. She orders some whiskey, straight. She doesn't want to get hammered. But a buzz was always nice. ]

[volitaunt]

[ The thing about people watching is that one tends to notice when someone familiar walks in. Poe signals the bar tender once the woman is done filling Karen's drink. ] I'll get that.

[ He doesn't move, not wanting to crowd Karen if she wants to be alone. To her, he says: ] If that's okay with you, anyway.

[paged]

[ She looks over at the familiar voice and the smile is almost instant through her surprise. She gives a nod, ]

Sure. Just this once.

[volitaunt]

Next time it's on you.

[ He's teasing, of course he is, but he's also not quite smiling this time. Maybe he's too tired, or maybe she looks too tired. ] Can't sleep?

iv

[talentedscavenger]

[Rey was concerned about Poe. The fact that he had been here before, and then had left only to come back. It was...it was a whirlwind of emotion. Sure, they had that meeting between the three of them, but she was still concerned. Or maybe she couldn't get her mind to wind down enough for her to go to bed...

Regardless of the reasons why she was still up, she went out looking for Poe and managed to find him at a bar. The staff isn't slung over her shoulder, but the small pack that contains the lightsaber is. She doesn't go anywhere without it.

Even if she wasn't old enough to drink, or maybe she was, she walked in and saw him there. Without saying a word, she moved to sit next to him, and quietly asked for a glass of water.]

[volitaunt]

[ Poe smiles at her in welcome, nodding to the bartender as the woman gets Rey her water. ] We'll take one of those appetizer mix things.

[ To Rey, he says: ] Before you protest me paying for it, it's only polite to get some food when you're having drinks like ours in a place like this.

[talentedscavenger]

[Actually, Rey was going to protest that she wasn't hungry, but Poe already has her beat to it.]

You don't have to be polite, you know. [Well, she wouldn't consider it rude or polite either way. The bartender nods and gives Rey her iced water.] I will be paying either way. [No if's or but's about it.

She gives him a small smile in return though, turning a little to face him better.]

How long have you been sitting here?

v. a wildcard for these functioning human beings

[bythehand]

[ Boot camp is an easy rhythm for Finn to fall into, when all's said and done.

The First Order can burn down around itself for all he cares, and he's never looking back, but this-- endurance, marksmanship, assessments, the tight routine-- this is the part of his life he's always excelled in. And in a lot of ways, signing on for something he knows he understands, the only kind of thing he really knows how to do, has been an unexpected gift. Finn is sharp and focused, here. He retains what he needs to retain and pushes himself when he thinks he needs to. One might dare say he borders on being calm and relaxed, as much as any boot camp can allow.

And after a while, he's leaned into that truth well enough to avoid retreading any dodgy mental ground he might have crossed at first over what it says about him. Finn's thoughts settle. Or he learns how to avoid unsettling them, which he's pretty sure is the exact same thing.

Poe, however, doesn't quite seem to be where he should be. Poe gets slow sometimes, a little bit off, a little unfocused, and it's hard to parse exactly why. He's quick to reel himself back in, but not always quick enough to escape Finn's notice. That's enough to set Finn to worrying. So when they're set up on laps and he happens to glance back to see what the situation is... well, maybe Finn backtracks in order to keep pace alongside. ]

Poe, you're slowing down on me.

[ Is his opener, in the same matter-of-fact tone he used to use when he'd say it to Slip. Sort of an unspoken reassurance that they'll figure out a way to pass muster on this if it turns out to be important. He's probably used that tone once or twice already since they first reported in. Old habits are hard to kill. ]

Pretty sure you can't get kicked out for needing a breather.

[ And even if he did, Poe could probably talk his way right the hell back in if he really wanted. ]

how very dare

[volitaunt]

[ Poe remembers boot camp. Granted, he's practically been living in a ragtag version of boot camp since he joined the Resistance, but this is different. This is rigid and unforgiving, with no gratitude for the people showing up who just want to make some kind of difference while they're here. It annoys him to think he's gotten soft, somehow, or that he's not up for the kind of training required for a temporary position on a foreign moon. He's not old. He's in good shape. It shouldn't be this hard.

(The beat of his march falls in time to the mantra I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine.)

There's a headache creeping in along his neck and up to his temples. It's one of those world-goes-white-around-the-edges headaches he's gotten since the First Order turned his head into a neuroshock playground. They'll fade over time, just like the rest of it, but that doesn't make them fun. He hadn't even realized he was slowing down until Finn dropped back to keep him company.

Poe grits his teeth, angry at himself for struggling so much with something as easy as running in a circle around a track. Angry at himself for struggling enough that Finn has taken notice. His body's turned traitor, and for someone who's always been in good physical condition--for someone who has to be in good physical condition--it's a betrayal he hasn't dealt with well.

His body turning traitor means what happened was real. ]

I'm fine. [ He pushes, picking up the pace again, stretching his stride and ignoring the way it hurts. ] I'm good.

[bythehand]

[ He gets what he's looking for, technically, if with the exact kind of reassurance he tends to give when he's lying, trying to make himself believe it. Poe gets back up to speed. With it comes an indescribable lurch that Finn hasn't fielded in a while: the sense that whatever he just did or agreed to or let happen wasn't the right option. He actually stays back at the slower pace for a few seconds afterwards, has a firm frown on his face when he catches back up.

Finn's watched cadets push themselves so hard that they get ill or injured. Not because an instructor was breathing down their neck with a blaster at the ready, but because they didn't want to hear that what they were doing wasn't enough. There were expectations they all had for themselves, that they knew the First Order had for them, and sometimes that made pushing themselves mingle dangerously with pushing until they couldn't anymore. Sometimes it meant going down hard in a spar and getting back in line until they didn't sit back up on their own.

They'd have that look. A little wild-eyed. Tense and short. Poe has that look. Finn kind of wishes there was something he could punch in the face to fix it, but that's just not realistic.

Poe is on his team. Here and now. It's not stand or fall alone on his team. Not while he has the luxury to follow any instinct that Phasma once told him was holding him back. ]

Is that a "stay calm" fine or a "promised to do your best careful" fine?

ii

[verflair]

[ X’rhun isn’t one to slack on his training, and so far, the facilities at the Perimeter Guard HQ have proven very useful for practicing both magic and swordplay. Today he’s here for the latter, having traded in his usual flashy Duelist attire for something a little more loose-fitting and casual, though his ornate rapier and crystal focus still hang from his hips as he steps into the room.

It’s not unusual to find others here, but this is a new face, and he offers Poe a smile and a slight nod. ]

I’m not intruding, am I?

[volitaunt]

[ Poe scrubs his face and hangs the towel around his neck, giving the newcomer a curious once-over. Yeah, it's impossible to miss that rapier and crystal combo. At least by now Poe has seen much stranger things on this little moon. ]

Nah, it's not my gym. [ A one-shouldered shrug, while he Very Much Ignores the tweak of pain that runs down his back. ] You're Perimeter Guard too?

[verflair]

[ In X'rhun's experience in the Quarantine, it's ether his ears and tail that are garnering strange looks, or it's his sword. Either way, he's not too bothered. ]

Aye, that I am.

[ He bends at the waist in a small bow. ]

X'rhun Tia. I'm with Search and Rescue, and Orientation. I don't believe you were one of my newbies, though.

i. she's not perimeter guard but shhh....shh

[dancingmd]

[Beverly's life here has becomes unexpectedly... domestic. Oh she's flown the Intrepid around a few times with Jim and has the license and everything but that's not exactly exploring. Now, though, she's coming out to inspect it, see if it might work for her foray to the old hospital with Cisco.

She's surprised - and yet not - to find Poe tinkering underneath the ship. She'd known he'd gone and come back, but hadn't had a chance to talk with him yet. This time, she sees, he has a new friend - from his own world or this one, she's not sure, but the little robot sure is cute either way. Even if she can't speak binary, she has quite the soft spot for robots.]

Careful - don't want to scuff up Jim's baby too much!

[ insert not the perimeter guard you are looking for joke here ]

[volitaunt]

[ Poe sits up enough to spot the speaker, smiling in welcome. He doesn't recognize her, but if she knows Jim, hey. That's good enough for him. ]

Wouldn't dream of it. This thing is worth its weight in kelsh. [ Worth a lot more than that, really. Poe rolls out from under the ship and sits up entirely, BB-8 rolling out alongside him. ] Poe Dameron. I don't think we've met.

[dancingmd]

[Her face falls. Did he leave? He must have...how did she not notice? When was the last time they talked. A pang of guilt runs through her as she takes his hand to shake.]

Beverly Crusher.

[Her smile is apologetic.]

I'm sorry, I know you don't remember now, but we have actually met before.

iv

[spellslots]

[This is an old trick: challenge someone to a few games of pool, slowly get progressively more "drunk" and sloppy at the game while ramping up the bets until he sees the right opportunity to fucking wreck them. The two women at the pool table have the suspicion they've been played but no real proof, which is why Taako is quick to take his money and look for an out.

When he emerges from the dark little corner where the pool table was and spots Poe at the bar, Taako is immediately pleased. He ambles over easily, slinging an arm around Poe's shoulders.]

Hello, darling, can we pretend to be real buddy-buddy so those lovely ladies don't try to get their money back that I definitely earned fair and square?

[Poe isn't like.... Magnus sized, but he cuts a more intimidating figure than Taako by a lot, and this puts their numbers even, which will hopefully discourage his new friends from starting shit.]

[volitaunt]

[ Taa...ko.....

Poe blinks at the sudden arm around his shoulders, and then hides a smile behind his hand at the request. He signals the bartender, raising his voice just enough to carry. ] Get my friend whatever he wants that isn’t more than eighty proof.

[ Quieter: ] Fair and square, huh?

[spellslots]

My hero.

[Taako plants a kiss on Poe's cheek, then releases him to claim a bar stool, making a show of struggling with it a little just in case he's still being watched.

To the barman:]

Just a g-and-t, thanks.

[To Poe:]

There was no magic involved, so like, super fair, super square.

[That's his own metric of cheating. A hustle is just a hustle, if someone is dumb enough to fall for it that's their own problem.]

first week of december; closed to karen

[volitaunt]

[ Poe has flowers. They're something local, with long purple stems and tubelike petals that grade from dark blue at the bottom to almost white at the top. He has flowers, he's standing outside Karen's door, and he's hoping this goes a quarter as well as his apology to Taako did.

He is not sure that it will.

Poe hits the little button next to the door and hears the chime inside, the expression on his face somewhere between a man going to the gallows and a dog waiting for the rolled-up newspaper to descend. ]

;_;

[paged]

[ After the whole... discussion of what had happened to Poe, and allowing time to temper her own emotions better, Karen had preferred to keep to herself after the whole incident. She maintained her concerns were valid but she felt like an ass for how she had gone about it.

So, seeing Poe through the crack as she opened the door surprised her. She doesn't open it wide enough to invite him in, however. ]

Hey.

[volitaunt]

Hi.

[ The greeting itself is unsure, as unsure as he was about getting the flowers in the first place. He almost says something, but it comes out as an exhaled syllable. Then: ]

Can we talk?

closed to rey; after birbgate

[volitaunt]

[ He gives it a little time, before he goes looking for Rey. A little time for her to cool down, a little time for him to cool down and stop kicking himself. He tries a few places before he finds her, out in the Perimeter Guard's training grounds, and he makes his approach within her line of sight so she can decide right up front whether or not she wants to punch him when he gets close. ]

I'm going to start with an apology, if you'll let me.

[talentedscavenger]

[Rey made herself scarce, trying to avoid Poe. She was distancing herself from him, still upset over what happened. Upset and hurt. They could still be friends but she wouldn’t care for him, if that’s what he wanted. If he needed her for something, she would be there but if he no longer wanted her to care about whether he was fine, lived or died, she could do that too.

Or maybe she was taking things too personally. Maybe she was blowing everything out of proportion. Though, Alec even said he’d be mad too if he was in her position. She didn’t speak about their argument to Finn, not wanting to drag him into the fight either. So what does a Force sensitive girl do? She makes herself more at home in the training center. Better to take out her anger on a dummy than a person.

She was finishing up an exercise, toying with the idea of heading out to the abandoned city to try and train with Luke’s lightsaber, when Poe entered her line of vision. Rey stiffened for a moment, debating between hearing him out or walking away. ]

If you want to, fine. [ Rey said cooly. She wasn’t his keeper, as he reminded her. Poe could do what he wanted. ]

[volitaunt]

[ Yep, still mad. He didn't expect otherwise, but still.

Poe crosses his arms and leans back on his heels, debating how to go about this. ]

I have techs your age. A couple of gunners. Some of them have had lives I can't imagine, and I get the feeling you'd be in good company if you met them. When I said you were a kid, Rey, I wasn't trying to insult you. You're smart, you're capable, you've made it this far and from what I hear, you've done it pretty much on your own. But how many people have died in front of you? Before Starkiller, how many battles did you fight?