✦✦✦✦ Permission Granted✦✦✦✦

"I really need your help, Leia," Sar'ika mutters to herself, she rests her hands on her knees, nervously rubbing them on her thighs every now and again, "Everyone one is looking to me and- I don't know what to do."

"I'm not a leader, I can't lead these people I'm twenty odd years old, I have nowhere near as much knowledge of the galaxy as you, Mum, dad... Dameron."

She tugs on the hair that isn't in a small bun and closes her eyes, "Sar'ika."

She jumps, looking at Poe over her shoulder as he leans against the wall behind her, he sits beside her on the small box, barley fitting beside her.

"Look at me, Djarin."

She does just that, her eyes flickering up to his, so close to him she can feel his breath on her face.

"I need your help."

"What?"

"I need you in Command with me," She says, her eyes searching his own, "I can't do this without you."

He smiles, his hand pushing a lock of hair behind her ear, "And Finn, Dad, Rey, Bumble, Dimples, Ar-three..."

He nods rolling his eyes, "All right, Djarin, I get it."

He watches her eye flicker to her hands that fidget in her lap, "You are the person for this job, all right?"

"Face it, Dameron, I have no idea what I'm doing."

"At least you look good doing it."

Her head snaps back towards him, he wears a small smirk, his eyes flickering down to her lips, its fast, but she catches it, "Gonna admit you're in love with me again?"

He sucks in a harsh breath and she wears the same smirk as him, raising a brow, moving closer to her as his hand moves to her jaw she tilts his head, "Okay now, Dja-"

"Poe, Sar'ika. I gotta talk to you about something." Finn announces walking in.

D-O rolls in after him, "Friend." He rolls to Sar'ika's side who smiles patting his head as Poe sighs, hand on his hip and head hanging low.

"This droid has a ton of information about Exegol." Finn says pointing to D-O.

"Dimples." The droid says making Sar'ika smiles again.

"Wait, what? Cone face?"

"I am D-O, to you."

Sar'ika chuckles, patting the droid on the head, "You tell him, Dimples."

"Sorry, D-O." Poe sighs.

"He was going to Exegol with Ochi of Bestoon." Finn continues.

Sar'ika stands now, joining in their conversation, "Why was Ochi going there?"

She gives Poe a 'really' look, "Why was the Sith sympathizer going to see the Sith? Hmm, I wonder..."

Poe nudges her with his elbow, telling her to shut up, "To bring the little girl he was supposed to take form Jakku to the Emperor. He wanted her alive."

"Rey?"

"Rey." He nods.

"We have to-"

Poe grabs her by the shoulders forcing her to look at him, "You don't have to do anything yet, you need to lead these people, to lead us," He moves his hands to cup her cheeks, as Finn and D-O slowly move away, "These people need you, just like Mandalore needed Kit Kenobi."

"I need you, Poe." She says quietly, "I can't do this without you."

"You won't, I promise."

~~~~~

After receiving the transmission form Luke's old X-Wing and figuring out how to get there along with an air strike done by Poe and Finn, it is now time for Sar'ika to do her duty as acting General and speak to the Resistance.

And let's just say, the Resistance weren't happy about the few of them that are left going to Exegol.

Poe squeezes Sar'ika's shoulder in encouragement, she looks over at him taking in a shaky breath and he nods his head.

Stepping forward she clears her throat, successfully silencing the entire resistance that stands before her, "Wow, there's a lot of people." She mutters shakily.

Her eyes flicker across every person standing before her, the pilots, doctors, mechanics, even just the kitchen staff, all of them gathered before her, watching her as she stands before them.

"We-"

Sighing she shakes her head, "Look, I'm not a leader," She shrugs chuckling nervously, "I have no idea how Leia did this, but I know she did it well, and she did it proud, so I'm gonna try to do that. I know we're losing hope, losing faith that we're going to win this-"

"Djarin." Poe mutters raising a brow.

"And we should be, they have more fire power, more ships, more soldiers, more people, fighting for them, than we do. But what we have is so much, more greater, we have hope," The murmurs began to silence now, "And we have each other. We can't do this without each and every one of you here."

Chewing down on her lips she closes her eyes for a brief second, Leia smiling appearing behind her eyes causing her to open them, "Someone once told me, 'If you run from everything, they'll soon start to catch up'. We've run for too long, the Emperor is catching up, so it's time that we stop running, we stay put, standing tall, proud, strong... together, and we fight back."

"For the people who have already lost their lives in this war, for the peoples whose lives are going to be effected in the future. For our brothers, sisters, friends, fathers, cousins, wives, husbands, lovers... mothers."

"But we," She gestures to herself, Poe, Finn and Rose, "Can't do this without you."

It's silent for a moment, everyone staring at where she stands before them, Poe smiles over to her and Finn nudges him with his elbow as he watches, then its chaos, everyone moving to be closer, to listen to the plan, people congratulating her.

Now the planning continues.

"As long as the Star Destroyers are on Exegol, we can hit them."

"Hit them how?"

Sar'ika looks to Rose who is standing behind her and nods, "They can't activate their shields until they leave the atmosphere."

"Which isn't easy on Exegol. Ships that size need taking off. Nav can't tell which way's up out there." Poe explains.

"So, how do the ships take off?"

"They use a signal from a navigation tower, like this one."

A hologram flickers on showing the tower "Except they won't," Finn cuts in, "Air teams gonna find the tower, ground teams gonna blast it."

"Ground team?"

"We have an idea for that." The trio turn to look at the member behind them in sync before looking back at the hologram as if they're one person moving together.

"Once the towers down, the fleet will be stuck in atmo," Sar'ika starts again, "For just minutes, no shield, and no way out."

"We think hitting the cannons might ignite the main reactors." Rose finishes.

Lando smiles at them, "That's our chance."

"We need to pull some Holdo manoeuvres. Do some real damage."

Finn sighs, "Come on, that move is one in a million. Fighters and freighters can take out there cannons if there are enough of us."

A members speaks up in an alien language and Sar'ika sighs when she hears what he says, Connix sighs as she glances at them, "He's right. We'd be no more than bugs to them."

"That's where Lando, Mando and Chewie come in. They'll take the Falcon to the Core Systems. Send out a call for help to anybody listening."

"We've got friends out there, they'll come if they know there's hope."

Poe sighs as everyone murmurs, "They will," Sar'ika yells over their voices, "The First Order wins by making us feel like we are alone, they single us out, pin us against each other, because even they aren't together. That's the difference, we're a team, a family, they're a platoon following orders."

"Good people will fight," Poe continues for her, grabbing her hand in his own behind their backs and squeezing it, "If we lead them."

"Leia never gave up, and neither will we. We're gonna show them we're not afraid."

"What our mothers and fathers fought for, we will not let die." Poe continues on for Finn.

Sar'ika takes over, squeezing Poe's hand slightly, "Not today, today we make our last stand. For the Galaxy. For Leia. For everyone we've lost."

"They've taken enough of us. Now we take the war to them."

"When we get there, I need a big enough distraction to sneak down to the surface."

"What?" Finn and Poe exclaims.

Sar'ika ignores them, "If I can't get down there..." She trials off and then signals for everyone to get ready.

The resistance members run around, shouting their goodbyes as they prepare to leave.

Poe turns to quickly to face her, "Down to the surface?"

"Rey is down there, she is facing Palpatine alone, if I leave her down there, if she- I'm not letting her fight this battle along, Poe, she doesn't have to."

Poe sighs nodding his head knowing this is something he won't win, instead, he takes a deep breath and looks up at her.

"Permission to jump in an X-Wing and blow something up?"

"Permission granted."