𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍 – 𝐏𝐎𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐑𝐄𝐏𝐔𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐂. by virtue of being the child of parents who fought in the last war, poe understands and respects the necessity of the new republic. in the beginning, he saw it as the pinnacle of unity post-empire, that those who had fought were striving to build a better world for themselves. it was, of course, a deceptively naive notion that didn’t last for very long once he joined the new republic navy. there were still missions to be run and worlds to be helped, and he did his job successfully and with pride. his mother had been a rebellion war hero, and he was her son through and through.
but the more he flew, the more he learned that people were simply – people – in the end. people ruled by the same emotions as those generations before – fear, greed, love, pain, and desire. he watched the political machinations run, watched ideas get buried under bureaucracy and red tape, and things that would benefit the whole thrown aside for personal power. perhaps he simply did not know the nuance of political maneuvers, but he would’ve not had the patience of it. he was frustrated, but it wasn’t until he discovered senators who were sweeping the potential threats of the first order under the rug for their own monetary gain that he got furious.
furious that they could have known what came before and decided to not only look away but in some cases actually assist, sending supplies and resources to the first order and letting them creep in from the outer rim. he saw what they were doing as an act of betrayal – to the senate and the people that they served – all of it for money, power, and greed. it allowed the first order to grow and spread unchecked despite the countless intelligence reports that came in, the very same ones poe and his superiors had read.
by the time he had stumbled across them in person, it had been too late. after one interaction with them, through which he had lost one skilled pilot, he knew with certainty that the idea that the first order was some fickle remnant of the empire was an illusion. they had attack ships and star destroyers and operated with brutal military efficiency, all in clear violation of the galactic concordance. they were already in.
despite mounting evidence to the otherwise and his and his team’s personal account, the senate intelligence committee still believed that the first order existed as a poorly equipped force. but he was told – made – to drop his investigation into the matter, or he would be brought upon charges and lose his commission. he didn’t lose faith in the new republic, but he certainly lost a degree of faith for the people guiding it.
“So we do nothing? That’s the solution? An emerging threat, and we do nothing?”
“That’s correct.”
“That is insane,” Poe said.
when he joined the republic, he swore an oath to help protect it, though that oath to protect seemed particularly hollow after the destruction of hosnian prime. he believed that it could’ve been prevented had the new republic not disregarded what he and his team had seen nor all the reports of the same. for some reason, they couldn’t see the physical threat until it stood with bared teeth and blasters right in front of them. perhaps it was resistance to enter another war so soon after the last one, perhaps it was arrogance – it was hard to know which was the truth.
at that point, soon after the loss of one of his teammates, he found it hard to deny the present threat and compelled to do something about it. so when general organa extended an invitation to him to join the resistance, it was one he accepted without hesitation.
“You can go back to leading Rapier Squadron and having your hands tied by Command, by Major Desolations, by politicians who don’t recognise what’s happening right in front of their eyes. I can make it all go away, Poe.”
She leaned forward.
“Or you can join the Resistance and help us stop the First Order before it’s too late.”
“Where do I sign up?” Poe asked.
yet the destruction still occurred, and the resistance, for all its brave and strong members, and finn – the man who found within him a spark of defiance to stand against the first order – was unable to prevent. for a brief, singular moment, he wondered if the resistance was worth it. but that thought passed as quickly as it came –– for as long as he could find a way to fight, he wasn’t willing to give up.
he started out believing in the new republic because he knew from stories how bleak the galaxy was when it didn’t exist. though at the heart of it, poe was a person who believed in justice, not turning a blind eye to pain or suffering, and was unable to stand idly by while the threat was looming on the horizon, which was why he joined the resistance.
at the end of the war, he will help the senate rebuild, and he will watch its celebrations and its elections, and perhaps he will finally decide to get involved in politics. yet there will be a question echoing in the back of his mind because the galaxy is big and dark and cold and memories are short and people will infallibly be people. it's the same question that his father wondered aloud when he was a kid – what if it was all for nothing?
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