@meghanlightle replied to your post âHonestly I think one of the biggest problems w/r/t Poeâs...â
I just wonder if his reaction would be the same with a male vice admiral. I hate the idea of Poe valuing a man over a woman and it didn't seem *gendered* but I just can't picture him talking to a dude boss the same way he talked to Holdo so idk. It bugged me a lot that he committed mutiny but taking in all the other factors I kind of get it? But I still don't like it.
An interesting question! Before the Awakening provides something of an answer:
âItâs unfortunate,â Major Lonno Deso said. âItâs never easy to lose one of your squadron, Commander. But Iâve reviewed the flight data, Iâve reviewed the entire engagement up to and including the astromech telemetry, and thereâs nothing you could have done. Lieutenant Muranâs death is tragic, but itâs my considered opinion it was unavoidable.âÂ
âI disagree,â said Poe.Â
âYou canât blame yourself.â The sympathy in Desoâs voice and expression were unmistakable, so much so that Poe felt a sharp, almost hot spur of anger in his breast. He clenched his fists, unclenched them, then looked past Deso at the wall of the briefing room behind him. A display showed the galaxy, color overlays marking realms of political influence. Their position at the Republic base in Mirrin Prime was marked by a gently pulsing gold dot at sea in the royal blue that represented the New Republicâs sphere of influence. It stretched far and wide, from the Inner Core to great swaths of the Outer Rim. A gray band designated the neutral region of the Borderland, and beyond that was a pocket of crimson, First Order territory. For the first time, Poe saw the map and thought it was lying
âI donât blame myself,â Poe said. He looked at Major Deso pointedly. âIâm blaming the First Order.âÂ
âCommander.â Deso sighed. âWe are not having this discussion again.â [emphasis added]
âThis isnât another isolated incident, Lonno. Iâm seeing the same intelligence reports that you are.âÂ
âThe Senate Intelligence Committee has reviewed the reports and has found them inconclusive, at best grossly overstated, Poe. This is a non-issue. Itâs a big galaxy. The First Order is a remnant born of a war thirty years gone. Yes, they persist, yes, they continue, but by all accounts they do so barely. They are, at best, an ill-organized, poorly equipped, and badly funded group of loyalists who use propaganda and fear to inflate their strength and their importance.âÂ
âTheyâre flying state-of-the-art TIEs, theyâre using commando boarding parties and latest-generation attack shuttles in clear violation of the Galactic Concordance.âÂ
Poe leaned forward, pressing his index finger into the table. Deso raised an eyebrow, looking at the offending digit, then at Poe. Poe went on. âTheyâre training troops and pilots. We interrupted a military operation, Lonno, not some snatch and grab. They wanted the Yissira Zyde and they got it. They wanted it badly enough they paid for it with eight TIEs, those pilots, and however many people were aboard the shuttle that Muran and Iolo shot down. Thatâs not a poorly organized force. Thatâs not a poorly motivated force. Thatâs a real threat.âÂ
âAn emerging threat, then, Commander Dameron.âÂ
Poe straightened, returning his hand to his side. âGive it to the Resistance.âÂ
Deso scowled, as if Poe had just offered him a particularly bitter piece of fruit. âDonât be absurd. The Resistance is as overstated as the First Order.âÂ
âTheyâre at least doing something about them!â
âRumored to be doing something about them,â Deso said.Â
âWe have to act.â
Major Deso cleared his throat. âIâll pass along your concerns to Command.â
âThatâs not enough. We need to know what the Yissira Zyde was hauling. We need to know why they took it and, more importantly, where. Iâd like permission to take the Rapiers out, try to track the trajectory, see if we canât find the freighter.âÂ
âDenied.âÂ
âThere are questionsââÂ
âI said denied, Commander. Rapier is assigned Mirrin sector patrol, thatâs all. Your orders are to continue as before. Nothing more, and nothing less.â Deso cocked his head as if trying to watch the words enter Poeâs ears.Â
âAm I clear?â
Poe tried again. âItâs going to happen again, you realize that, donât you?âÂ
âIf it does, itâll be dealt with then.âÂ
âSo we do nothing? Thatâs the solution? An emerging threat, and we do nothing?âÂ
âThat is correct.âÂ
âThat is insane,â Poe said. Deso opened his mouth, then thought better of what he was about to say. He sighed and went around the table to stand by Poeâs side. When he spoke next, his tone was much more subdued. âI donât like it, either, but this is the order from Republic Command, do you understand? We donât engage the First Order, we donât provoke the First Order. I donât like it any more than you do, but those are orders, Commander. You break them, youâll be up on charges. Youâll lose your commission.âÂ
âItâs going to happen again,â Poe repeated.Â
âThen weâll respond when the time comes.âÂ
Poe shook his head.
I would argue that Poe is even more strident with a male superior officer than he was with Holdo -- thereâs an implication that heâs brought this up repeatedly with Deso, to the point heâs tired of it and implying if Poe keeps at it w/ the âletâs go after the First Orderâ thing heâs going to get demoted.Â
And then Poe goes off and does something about it anyway, b/c yâknow, thatâs Poe, and when he comes back:
Bay twenty-two was empty when Poe brought the X-wing in to land, shutting down the repulsors as the fighter settled on its landing gear. He powered down the shipâs systems, considered letting the engines remain on low-power standby for a moment, and then decided there wasnât any point. If he was about to be arrested, if he was looking at a court-martial, he wasnât going to try to run. Heâd face the consequences of his actions, and heâd defend them as the right ones.












