Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Rose checked her datapad, taking careful note of the slowly increasing numbers in the top corner. Supplies were steadily being unloaded from the transport carriers, but it was taking a long time. Worse, no one would let her pitch in. Apparently she wasn’t allowed to get her hands dirty, solely because she was the supervisor of the project. And the rest of her crew was annoyingly adamant about this. Not that she didn’t love them all like a second family, but seriously.

“Are you guys sure I can’t pitch in?”

“We’ve got this, Major Tico,” her second-in-command called back, a wide grin spread across her face. A former stormtrooper, the woman had been ecstatic when Rose had first given her the position. Back when the Resistance-First Order treaty was still new, many soldiers had been reluctant to trust members of the opposite side.

Rose Tico had absolutely no time for that kind of bantha dung, and she’d made a point to be vocal about it. It was probably the only reason her requests for missions like this one had been approved- most of the new government officials weren’t sure whether to be grateful to her or terrified of her.

At first, her team had been one of the only truly mixed squadrons, but she’d learned during the war that stormtroopers weren’t monsters- they had been trained to be ruthless killers, but under each black-and-white helmet was a human being. Her second-in-command, Feyre (the name she’d chosen for herself), was living proof of this- she’d stuck by Rose through thick and thin, and the two were as close as sisters.

However, Rose had forgotten one thing about having a sister- Feyre was as protective of her as Paige had been. That was kind of their thing; she and Feyre were each other's protectors. But sometimes Feyre acted as if she owed Rose a debt, and it made her guilty. She had chosen Feyre for her team because she was kind, empathetic, and honest. Feyre owed her nothing, despite the woman’s insistence. It was definitely one of the more frustrating parts of working with former stormtroopers.

A loud buzz drew her out of her thoughts, back to the dusty worksite that would soon become a shelter for those displaced by the war. Her datapad displayed a bright notification: someone had sent her a message.

Who would be messaging her during a mission? Not Poe and Finn, they already checked in with her during their nightly holocalls. Not Armitage either, they’d already chatted earlier. She tapped the notification and stumbled back a step. What?

“Everything okay, Major?” Feyre, observant as ever, had noticed her shock. Sometimes she knew Rose a little too well. When she didn’t answer immediately, the former trooper pressed further, dropping the formality. “Rose? You alright?”

“I...I’m fine.” She stared at the message again. From Kaydel Ko Connix. Kay. I almost forgot about her...her last name isn’t even Connix anymore, isn’t it? “I just need to sit down for a minute.”

“Go ahead. We’re not going anywhere.” Feyre shot a glance to the rest of the team; everyone offered nods and salutes and confirmations that they’d still be unloading cargo when she returned.

“Thanks Feyre- and I will be helping you guys when I get back.”

“You wish!” Feyre called after her, and Rose stifled a smile.

The ship she and her crew currently called home was stationed only a few minutes away from the worksite, and she made sure to close the ramp behind her, despite the fact that she had no idea why she felt she should be secretive.

A video from Kaydel Ko Connix. Lieutenant Connix, a woman she hadn’t seen in years. She didn’t even know what Kaydel was doing with her life, now that the war was over. The two of them had been so close during the war...but life had led them in separate directions as the new government rose.

Well, there was no harm in watching the video. If Kaydel was contacting her after ten years- at least two or three of which had been spent without seeing each other once -she could at least see what it was about.

A shaky hand points the camera at a gray blanket. After a few seconds, a voice mutters ‘oops’, and the camera flips to reveal the face of Lieutenant Kaydel Connix.

“Hey Rose, if you’re seeing this, it’s officially been ten years since I took this video. Anyway...this is just a little something I put together.”

She covers the camera with her hand. The video ends, before transitioning smoothly to a new setting. Kaydel removes her hand from the camera. The camera is pointed at Kaydel and a grease-stained, younger, Rose.

“So with me, I have Rose Tico, but I guess you know that,” Kaydel says, grinning.

Rose looks over at her, confused. “Who knows me?”

“I’m sending this to you. In ten years, give or take a couple months.”

“So what am I supposed to do?”

“Anything, I guess. You’re actually the first person I’m filming, so I’m not exactly sure how this’ll go, but no redoing it. It has to be genuine.”

“And how many people are you videoing?”

“I don’t know yet. Maybe ten?”

“So ten years, ten people?”g

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Interesting. So do I talk about...myself? I mean if you’re sending it to me, I’m probably going to know everything already.”

“Just talk about the war. And after it. What you want to do. Just so you can remember what it’s like.”

“Remember what it’s like during a galactic war?” She attempts a smile, but it quickly dissolves. “I don’t think I could forget this if I tried.”

“Same...but you should remember the fun stuff, too. Sooooo…” she draws out the word until Rose rolls her eyes and laughs. “Tell me. What do you want to do after the war? Government work?”

“No. No way .” Rose stifles a laugh. “That sounds terrible .”

“So what sounds...not terrible?”

“Maybe working as a mechanic. It’s fun, but it took a while to get the others to respect me. So maybe not. Somewhere I still get to build things, definitely. But also something that’ll help the galaxy. Maybe animal rescue centers? Paige used to talk about those all the time, I know she’d love it if I started one. Maybe a rescue center on Canto Bight, to help the fathiers?”

“The racing animals you and Finn met? Back when you were searching for the codebreaker?”

Rose winces. “Yeah, the codebreaker. I really regret that. Not trusting Admiral Holdo. I really don’t know how I got caught up in a mutiny like that...we were just looking for a way to turn off the tracker, and then...everything happened.”

“Yeah.” Kaydel’s face falls. “I miss them. Everyone we lost.”

“Same here. Every single day.”

The two women share a moment of silence together, lost in thought. Finally, Rose speaks up again.

“No one else is gonna see this, right? You won’t show anybody ?”

“Just you and me. And maybe a few porgs, cause they’ve taken over my bunk.” The attempt at humor falls flat- both of them know why she’s being so secretive. “So...feel free to say whatever you want.”

Rose takes a deep breath before she begins, arranging her thoughts. “I think I’d like to figure out where Arm and I want to go.”

“Armitage?”

“Yeah. I’d like to figure out where our relationship is gonna go, and if we want to actually...well, actually tell other people outside our friend group. As in, telling the galaxy. I’m sure the gossip holos would have a field day. General Hux and a Resistance mechanic. In a relationship. I mean, even being friends with someone on the other side would be big news.”

“I’m sure it wouldn’t be that bad…” Kaydel winces. “Yeah, you’re right. They’d have a field day. There’s no good way to say it.”

“Yeah...and that’s if we can reach a truce.”

“You mean if one side wins?”

Rose nods. “I just hope the galaxy can find a truce. If the First Order defeats us, or we beat them...either way...I mean, one of us would end up dead, Kay.”

“Yeah.” Kaydel winces again. “Well let’s just say, for the sake of hope and this video, which is supposed to have some happiness along with the sadness, that we reach a truce. And you two reveal your relationship status to the galaxy, which goes just fine, and everyone’s okay with it. What next?”

“Is this a way for you to get me to admit I want to have kids? Because yes, one day, I would like to start a family. It just...right now, getting married, having children, all that doesn’t even sound real. It’s something that could only happen in a different universe entirely, not here. Not to us.” She smiles wistfully. “But maybe someday. When we’re not enemies.”

“Thank you, Rose.” For once, Kaydel is completely serious. She nods toward the camera. “Anything else you want to say?”

“I think I’m good. Thank you. For letting me talk about this. And...and for reminding me why we’re fighting.”

“Save what we love, right?” The two women share one last smile, before Kaydel reaches towards the camera.

A hand covers the camera. After a few seconds, the video ends, the screen going completely dark.

Rose stared at the screen. Oh . She could hardly recognize her younger self, despite the fact that she looked the same in the video as she did now. She’d really wanted to be a mechanic? Rose could understand the appeal- she still loved machines with all her heart, it was just that now there were other things in her heart. Other people. Like Feyre, and the rest of her team. She couldn’t imagine her life without them, just like she couldn’t imagine not building shelters and working with her unit. But if she’d made a different choice...she could easily be working as a mechanic. She could easily be working to start an animal rescue center- her current job wasn’t far off from that, really, she was building centers, but for humans, not animals. Amazing how such a small detail could change the course of a life.

Her former self’s concern for the secrecy of their relationship was still too relatable. Even after years with the treaty in place- how many years was it now? Four? Six? -First Order/Resistance relationships were uncommon. Friendships were thankfully plentiful, but even the handful who had managed to find love across the lines were afraid to make any relationship even remotely official. She and Armitage were lucky that Poe and Ben had spoken for them after they’d announced to the galaxy that they were in love.

And thank the force for the treaty, because the video had reminded her of one thing in particular: their relationship could have just as easily gone in far worse directions, ending with the two of them spurned by the majority of the galaxy, or even with one (or both) of them dead.

Rose looked up. In the distance, she could spot her team working, trading jokes and light jabs. And even farther away, on another planet, the love of her life waited for her to come home.

In the ten years that had passed since the video was filmed, she’d made so much progress. And in the years to come, she hoped to help shape the galaxy into a place no longer ravaged by war or separated by labels of stormtrooper or rebel , but bound by the Force, and the harmony she’d managed to find in her own life.