It was supposed to be normal mission like always, just another day protecting ships from piracy. So how she had ended up in the halls of a First Order ship with a blaster in hand, standing only a few feet away from the man who had ruined her family was beyond her.

Cassie didn't even bother trying to comprehend how she got where she was, her thoughts too focused on the fact that right around the corner was Kylo Ren, the man she was going to kill.

Her breathing came out in ragged breaths while sweat rolled down the back of her neck. Her finger came to rest on the trigger of her blaster as she carefully listened to the approaching footsteps. She knew it was Kylo Ren. She had seen him yelling at some stormtroopers and had hidden when he looked her way.

He hadn't spotted her and Cassie thanked her lucky stars that he hadn't. The surprise of it all would only make killing him that much more fun. Just when Kylo was about to come into view so she could attack, he suddenly changed directions and his footsteps began to grow further and further away.

Cassie furrowed her eyebrows and quickly peaked her head around the corner, frowning when she saw him walking in the other direction. She shook her head and readied her blaster as she prepared herself to go after him. Never had she been able to get this close to him and she knew she wasn't going to get another chance like this. She had to act now if she wanted to get this done.

Taking a deep breath, Cassie held her blaster up by her side before taking a few steps out. She looked down the hallway, her eyes set on the dark figure that was Kylo Ren. It was as if everything seemed to move in slow motion as she brought her hand up. Her own breathing was all she could hear as she let out a breath, her finger moving to the trigger of her blaster.

She was going to do it. She was going to kill the man that had ruined her life.

A calm expression washed over Cassie's face and her finger twitched, but just when she was about to pull the trigger and end his life, someone had grabbed ahold of her arm and pulled her back into the hallway she had been in moments before.

A hand flew over her mouth to keep her quiet and all she could see were a set of big brown eyes staring back at her. "What are you doing? You can't be here. We need to go," the person said.

Cassie blinked in surprise, her eyes momentarily flickering over the tan man in front of her as she recognized him as one of the Resistance pilots that had been assigned to this mission as well.

She didn't remember his name. Then again, she never bothered learning names because learning names meant becoming friends with someone and becoming friends with someone meant caring about that person and she couldn't afford that. . .not after what had happened.

She mentally cursed herself once she realized that she must've not been as sneaky as she thought when she had left during the middle of the fighting to board the ship. Those thoughts were quickly pushed aside as she scowled at the man. Cassie shoved his hold off and quickly ran back over to the corner, holding the blaster up.

"No," the man whisper yelled as he pulled her back. "Do you realize what you are doing? You're going to get yourself killed!"

"Let me go!" Cassie exclaimed in a hushed whisper. "I need to stop him. I need to get to him!"

"You can't," the man insisted. "You're risking not only your life but the lives of everyone else assigned to this mission. Let it go."

"You don't understand," Cassie said between gritted teeth as she shoved the man away. She quickly looked around the corner as he went to grab for her, but froze once she realized that Kylo was gone.

He had escaped.

"He's gone," Cassie whispered in disbelief, a numbness washing over her body as she realized that she had just lost her only chance she would ever have at getting to kill Kylo Ren. "He's gone. . ." She then seemed to register what had just happened and she quickly snapped her head in the man's direction, throwing a glare in his direction that was so intense that he found himself raising his hands up in surrender.

"You," Cassie practically hissed. "You did this."

"I saved your life," the man defended.

"My life didn't need saving. All you did was save the life of the very man you signed up to fight against. Congratulations, you just saved Kylo Ren," Cassie spat before storming past the man.

She was silently fuming as she made her way back to her X-wing which she had somehow been able to hide in one of the docks of the ship when TIE fighters had been exiting. Cassie tried to ignore the fact that the Kylo saver was following her, but it was hard when she could feel him staring into the back of her head the whole way there.

Cassie eventually reached her X-wing which was beside another X-wing which she assumed belonged to the Kylo saver. She didn't even bother making sure he got in and was safe before she took off. All she could see was red as she flew past all the fighting, taking down TIE fighters as she went.

Kylo Ren had been right there just within her grasp and that idiot had stopped her from killing him! That alone was enough to keep Cassie in a bad mood for the rest of the mission and then some. She couldn't stop thinking about it for days and it was only when she was on a call with her brother Leo a few days later that she let all of her frustration out.

"He was right there, Leo! I could see him! I was about to pull the trigger and end his life and that stupid Kylo saver had to get in the way!" Cassie practically yelled as she angrily tightened some of the screws on her X-wing.

The small hologram version of Leo let out a small sigh as he ran a hand over his face before scratching the small beginning of the beard that he had. "I know how frustrated and upset you are, Cass. Believe me, I know. But maybe it's time to let it go. It's been three years," Leo muttered.

Cassie froze before slowly sitting up to look at the hologram of her brother in disbelief. "You're kidding, right? Please tell me you're kidding," she pleaded.

"Cass," Leo sighed.

"No, you know what, I don't want to hear it. I can't believe you would say something like that to me. I'm not like you and Aries where I'm able to lose myself in my work to hide the pain. I'm not like Castor where, to get through it all, I'm able to just pack up my things and leave. And I'm definitely not like Dad who spends so much time working that he doesn't even have time to handle his feelings. I can't forget what happened, Leo, and I sure as hell will never forgive Kylo Ren for what he did. He's the reason our family isn't together anymore and he's the reason my life has been a living hellhole since the day Nova. . ." Cassie broke off, her voice quivering as her eyes began to fill with tears.

"Cass," Leo sighed. "You know that's not what I meant. Aries and I, we're just worried for you. We don't want you to spend your whole life trying to track down this guy. He will get what he deserves one day, but I don't want you wasting away your life trying to make that day sooner rather than later. She wouldn't want that either."

Cassie hardened at that last statement and quickly wiped away her tears, not wanting anyone to see her cry. "Yeah, yeah. Listen, I've got to go," she muttered.

Leo frowned and Cassie had to look away so that she wouldn't break under her brother's gaze. She always had had a better relationship with Leo than the others, Aries being a close second. Cassie believed it had to do with the fact that the three were triplets and they were able to sense how she really felt, but that just meant that she opened up more when it came to them and she couldn't allow it. Not now when she needed to be more focused than ever.

"Okay. Hey, I love you, Cassie. Be careful and most of all, don't be stupid," Leo said as he offered a small smile.

Cassie nodded. "I love you too. Talk to you same time next week, right?" She asked.

"I can't. I've got a mission near the Albarrio sector that I leave for in a few days and they don't expect us to be back for about two weeks. But I'll be sure to call you as soon as I get back, okay? In the meantime, take the time to call Aries a second time or maybe even call Dad. I'm sure they would both love to hear from you," Leo told her.

"Yeah, I'll think about it," Cassie muttered, knowing then and there that she would be calling Aries and not her father.

Leo must've known too, but he didn't say anything about it, instead smiling softly and saying, "Bye, Cassie."

The transmission ended before Cassie could respond and she watched as the blue hologram disappeared before whispering softly to herself, "Bye."

"Bye? But I've only just gotten here," a smug voice said making Cassie tense up immediately. She quickly spun around in her chair, her signature scowl appearing on her face at the sight of the Kylo saver standing in front of her. The man's smile faded and a look of nervousness washed across his face. "Sorry. That. . .that wasn't as cool as it sounded in my head."

Cassie rolled her eyes and went back to working on her X-wing. "What do you want?" She asked harshly as she racked her brain for reasons why the man could be here.

"I wanted to apologize."

Now that got her attention.

The brunette sat up and let her eyes flicker over to the man who seemed to have lost all of his nervousness. "I'm sorry for what happened and for making you upset. I didn't realize how much it meant to you," the man said.

Cassie blinked in surprise, her scowl disappearing as her shoulders relaxed, instead giving the man a blank face which he took as an improvement. "Oh. . .well, thanks. I don't forgive you, but thanks for apologizing," she said.

The man bit his lip as he tried to decide whether to say more and Cassie didn't even realize she was staring at his lips until he stopped biting his lip and began to speak again. "It was a suicide mission, you know," he said and Cassie's face reddened slightly.

Whether the red came from her own embarrassment for having stared at the man's lips or her own anger, Cassie didn't know. She would like to think it was because of the latter.

"You think I don't know that?" Cassie asked, her signature scowl making an appearance once again. "Sorry, I should've asked a better question. Does it look like I care?"

"Why does it matter so much?" the man asked. "You don't have to kill him."

"Yes, I do," Cassie replied, her voice stern.

"Why?" He questioned making Cassie grit her teeth.

"He killed my sister," Cassie admitted, her eyes staring at the man as if she could see into his soul. "He murdered her in cold blood without so much as batting an eye and was the reason my family split up, why I never see my brothers anymore, and why I never talk to my father. He ruined my life and I will not stop until he is dead like my sister is."

There was no remorse in her voice, no beat of hesitation. This was what she wanted and the man could see why. "I'm sorry," he whispered making Cassie's gaze fall to the ground.

"Don't apologize," she told him. "You didn't do it."

There was a long silence while the man took the time to study the girl. After a while, he straightened himself up and said, "I'm Poe. Poe Dameron."

Cassie let her eyes flicker back up to the man as she took a good look at him. He was actually pretty attractive when she wasn't too blinded by her own rage to be able to notice him. She watched as one of his tan hands brushed some of his brown hair out of his face, those same brown eyes that had stared at her when they had been in the presence of the First Order staring at her right now as he awaited a response.

For the first time since her sister's passing, Cassie didn't care that she was learning someone's name. In fact, she was actually excited. . .nervous even which was unusual for her.

"Cassiopeia Shae, but everyone calls me Cassie," she finally replied making Poe smile so wide that she swore his white teeth sparkled under the artificial lighting of the room.

"Well, Cassie, will you let me make it up to you by taking you out for a drink?" Poe asked, a smile on his face despite the nervousness and small amount of fear hidden in his eyes.

"No."

Poe blinked in surprise, not expecting to have such a quick and blunt response. He looked over at the girl, but she was quick to look away as she went back to working on her X-wing.

"But," Cassie began, "I'll get a drink with you because we both want to, not because you're trying to make it up to me. That is, if you would still want to get a drink with me under those conditions."

Cassie made sure not to look up from her work, keeping her face hidden from view as she busied herself with fixing a few broken wires. She nervously bit her lip as she waited for an answer, but because she hid her face, she didn't get to see the huge grin on Poe's face as he suddenly stood up straighter than before.

"I don't know how you managed to flip this situation around so that you were the one asking me out instead of the other way around, but I've got to give you credit. Well played, Shae, well played," Dameron said as he let out a small laugh. "I'd love to have that drink."

Cassie shot up so fast that she hit her head on the bottom of the X-wing. The brunette let out a groan while Poe's eyes widened in alarm. "Are you okay?" He asked, his voice laced in concern.

"Yeah. . .I'm fine. Did you just say that you wanted to get that drink or did I hit my head hard enough that I imagined that?" Cassie asked.

Poe chuckled, his eyes flickering over the girl's face as he watched her in amusement. "I said yes," he assured her.

Cassie blinked in surprise. "Really?" She asked, not able to believe that the man she had been so rude to, the man who was most definitely out of her league, was actually agreeing to getting a drink with her. Not as a way to 'make it up to her' but as possibly something more.

Poe smiled and titled his head slightly, intrigued with the way that the girl went from being fierce one second to being nervous the next. "Yes, really," He said with a small nod.

And for the first time in a really long time, Cassie smiled.