Poe Dameron: Free Fall

Poe Dameron: Free Fall is a canon young-adult novel written by Alex Segura that focuses on Poe Dameron during his time with the Spice Runners of Kijimi. It was first published in hardcover by Disney–Lucasfilm Press on August 4, 2020.

Publisher's summary[]

Poe Dameron has always wanted to fly. His mother, Shara Bey, who was an A-wing pilot for the Rebellion against the Empire, was more than happy to show her son everything she knew about flying. But she died an untimely death, and Poe was left alone with his father, Kes Dameron, who struggles with grief and a desire to keep his son safe.

Now sixteen, Poe wants nothing more than to leave his home on the quiet moon Yavin 4 to find adventure in the wider galaxy, while his father wants nothing more than for him to stay put. So when a group of smugglers offers Poe a job piloting them off-world, it feels like an opportunity he can't refuse. And by the time he finds out the smugglers are actually part of the fearsome criminal enterprise called the Spice Runners of Kijimi, Poe is already in deep. His burgeoning friendship—and perhaps more—with one young Spice Runner, Zorii, is even more incentive for Poe to stick around. But is this the life he's meant to have, is it even the life he wants? With danger closing in, Poe will have to figure out where he stands—and what he stands for.

Plot summary[]

Crashing the A-wing[]

Poe Dameron flew his mother's A-wing in space above his homeworld of Yavin 4. The planet's Civillian Defense Force caught up to him and warned him to land. Poe didn't listen and flew around more, but then was shot out of orbit and crash-landed into a lake.

Kes Dameron stood outside his home reminiscing about his late wife and Poe's mother Shara Bey. He lamented to himself about how he and Poe had grown apart and that one day, Poe would leave Yavin 4 with or without his permission. Then two officers from the Civilian Defense Force approached him and told him to come down to the station.

Poe woke up in a jail cell at the Civilian Defense headquarters. He was distraught to learn that he had destroyed his mother's A-wing beyond repair. The CDF officer Elia Litte escorted Poe to the vestibule where his father was waiting. Litte told Poe he was lucky to have a father who was loyal to him. Poe limped out of the station, his father rushing after him.

Kes caught up to Poe, and they got into another argument. Poe lashed out at his father by mentioning his mother, but then quickly apologized, but then hobbled off. Kes struggled whether or not to go after him.

L'ulo caught up to Poe in his landspeeder on the way to the docking bay. He let Poe vent about his father not letting him go out and have adventures. Poe understood that he was all his father had and that he didn't want him to die alone in space like his mother did. L'ulo talked about the Battle of Endor, then Poe's parents wanting to be there for him. Shara once told L'ulo that she will always be flying. L'ulo struggled with whether or not he should encourage Poe to fly off on adventures like Shara did. Poe felt overwhelmed and ran off.

Gully's Tavern[]

At the local cantina, the Devarronian bartender Fontis observed the patrons in his crowded cantina. He saw a group of people he's never seen before and hoped they wouldn't bring trouble into his tavern. He overheard them talking about needing a pilot to get off-world since their previous one died. Just then, Poe walked in and Fontis yelled for the whole cantina to hear that Poe Dameron, the best pilot on Yavin 4 just arrived.

Meanwhile, New Republic Security Bureau Officer Sela Trune had just arrived at the Civilian Defence Force station. She received intelligence that the Spice Runners of Kijimi, whom Trune had a personal vendetta against, were on Yavin 4.

Poe sits at the bar and vents to Fontis about the night he had. Fontis is hesitant to serve Poe a drink, since he's a “sprout”. He gives in and serves him Jawa Juice. Poe notices a human girl and a Twi'lek dancing to music. He asks who they are. Fontis warns him that he's never seen them before, so they must be trouble. Poe introduces himself anyway. The human girl introduces herself to Poe as Zorii Wynn. Poe flirts a little and offers to give Zorii and her friends a tour of Yavin 4 if they're sticking around. Zorii tells him they are not staying, they're trying to find a way off Yavin 4. Poe jumps at the opportunity and offers to fly them off-world. Zorii is skeptical, and Poe tells her he can fly anything. Zorii introduces Poe to her crew: Vigilch, a Klatooinian male in charge of the group; Gen Tri, a non-binary Pau'aun, and Marinda Gan, a Twi'lek female. Zorii tells them that Poe offered to fly them off-world. The group is skeptical, and Poe defends himself and assures them he can get them where they need to go. Zorii admits that they are smugglers, but Poe doesn't care. He agrees anyway.

A few hours later, Kes and L'ulo barge into Gully's looking for Poe. Fontis stonewalls them and Kes grabs him and demands to know where Poe is. Fontis swears he doesn't know and bans them both from the tavern. Sela Trune walks in and informs the two men that the Spice Runners of Kijimi were on Yavin 4, and Poe got dragged into it.

Escape From Yavin 4[]

The Spice Runners lead Poe to their Corelian freighter, the Ragged Claw. Vigilch tells Poe to get them off-world or his tenure with the Spice Runners of Kijimi will be a short one. Poe freezes in horror as he realized he just accidentally joined the most dangerous spice running gang in the galaxy. He launches the ship as officers from the NRSB showed up and started shooting at them. Once they were in the air, orbital jumpers started tailing them. Marinda shot them down as a New Republic Hammerhead class cruiser showed up and demanded they lower their defenses and prepare to be boarded. Poe urges Zorii to use him as a hostage to get them to let them pass. It works, and Poe pilots the Ragged Claw into space.

Sorgan[]

Poe flew the Ragged Claw to the swamp planet of Sorgan, which was a hideout for spice runners. Poe asks if they were going to Kijimi after this, and they just laughed. Zorii tells Poe that he wouldn't last ten seconds on Kijimi without Spice Runner protection.

Poe and Zorii have a heart-to-heart about their families and leaving home. Poe longed for someone to connect with. He and Zorii lay in sleepsacks and held hands as they fell asleep.

Incident On Quintil[]

The Spice Runners head to the cold, mountain planet of Quintil. Vigilch assigns Poe and Zorii to finding a ship that crashed somewhere on the planet. The two set off, and Zorii is horrified to see that the ship was completely wrecked. She frantically tries to communicate with the ship to no avail. They were then shot at and Zorii pulled out her blaster and threatened whoever the shooter was.

The shooter turned out to be Tomasso. And old spice runner and second-in-command to the leader of the Spice Runners of Kijimi Zeva Bliss, and father figure to Zorii. Zorii embraced him and introduced him to Poe. Zorii assumes that it was the Zualjinn Syndicate that shot that ship down. Tomasso confirms it and asks Zorii if she was able to get in touch with the rest of their crew. Zorii said no, and Tomasso worried that it would be too late.

Sure enough, the rest of their crew were cornered by the Zualjinn Syndicate. Poe and Zorii distract them by Poe using Zorii as a hostage to get them out of there while Tomasso reclaims the Ragged Claw. They soon realize that Tomasso had been captured by the Zualjinns and they then capture Poe and Zorii.

The group was put in a small cell. They complained abut Poe's foolish plan. Zorii defends Poe and tells them yes, it was foolish, but at least they were alive. An explosion went off destroying the cell and knocking everyone off their feet. They made their escape on the Ragged Claw but were pursued by the Zualjinns. It turned out that Tomasso had sent out a distress signal before getting captured. Poe frantically asks Tomasso what the plan was and Tomasso teaches Poe how to lightspeed-skip. Poe lightspeed-skipped the Claw to different planets while Marinda dismantles the tracker. Once it was dismantled, Poe made one final jump to Sorgan, and was officially welcomed into the Spice Runners of Kijimi by Vigilch.

Return to Sorgan[]

While their ship was being repaired, Zorii and Poe were assigned thankless tasks such as cooking and cleaning. Poe was getting homesick and irritated that this is what Spice Runners do.

Poe and Zorii decide to take a joyride on the Ragged Claw. Poe taught Zorii how to fly until Tomasso caught them.

Shocking Truths[]

Back on Yavin 4, Sela Trune is still working on tracking down the Spice Runners of Kijimi. It is revealed that soon after Trune joined the NRSB, the Spice Runners of Kijimi killed her family while trying to escape her home planet. Since then, Trune started a revenge campaign on them.

Kes comes into Trune's office looking weary and gaunt. He asks if there's news about Poe. Trune hesitates at first, then tells him that according to her sources, Poe's kidnapping was faked and Poe joined the Spice Runners of Kijimi. Kes is shocked to hear this.

Heist on the Moraysian Cruiser[]

The Spice Runners' next mission was to steal something another spice runner called Ledesmar stole from them. Poe pilots the Claw to the Moraysian Cruiser whose hangar doors were closed. They were soon surrounded by droid ships. Poe tricks the droids into running into the hangar bay doors causing them to explode a hole large enough for the Claw to land inside.

Once they disembarked, they were surrounded by security droids. They defeated the droids and Zorii and Poe headed off to find Ledesmar. They ran into an EV class droid called EV-6B6, who told them Ledesmar is dangerous. Zorii tells EV-6B6 to take them to Ledesmar. The droid explains to the teens that she belonged to members of the Pyke Syndicate, but Ledesmar stole the cruiser. The droid lead Poe and Zorii into a trap and apologized for leading them there. They were surrounded by more droids and Ledesmar, who seemed to recognize Zorii. Zorii demands Ledesmar return what belonged to the Spice Runners of Kijimi, but Ledesmar stonewalls. An explosion went off on the bridge sending everyone back. Vigilch, Gen Tri, and Marinda appeared. Ledesmar angrily kills Vigilch with her weapon and runs off. Poe shoots Ledesmar in the leg and she tumbles down the stairs. She hurries back up and attacks both Poe and Zorii. Ledesmar slashes Poe's side with her weapon sending him to the ground. Zorii screams angrily and attacks Ledesmar again. Ledesmar knocks Zorii to the ground and Poe kicks Ledesmar's weapon towards her. Zorii grabs the weapon and murders Ledesmar.

Poe regains consciousness on the main bridge. EV-6B6 patched him up and assures the spice runners that despite her betrayal, she wants to help them. The New Republic showed up and Marinda fired on them. Sela Trune told them to prepare to be boarded.

Marinda shoved something into Poe's hands and told him to get the item and Zorii off the cruiser. He, Zorii, and EV-6B6 headed to the hangar which had Y-wings parked. Soon, the New Republic had them cornered. They each hid in different spots. Trune spotted Dameron and taunted him about his friends being dead and to turn himself in since he doesn't want to disappoint his dad any more than he has already. Zorii sneaks up on Trune and kicks her in the head knocking her unconscious. Poe tells Zorii to leave without him because he wanted to check and see if Gen Tri and Marinda were really dead. Zorii agrees and she and EV-6B6 escape in a Y-wing. Trune regains consciousness and faces Poe.

Trune and Poe have a stand-off. Trune mocks Poe for falling by the wayside and joining the Spice Runners, abandoning everything his Rebel parents instilled in him. Poe attacks Trune out of anger, and Trune fights back. Poe eventually hits Trune in the back of her head with his blaster. He dragged her to her co-officers and told them to get her off the cruiser. The officers thanked him and asked him to come with them- they could say Poe saved Officer Trune- but Poe declined. Poe found the Ragged Claw in another hangar and took off. He decided he couldn't to back to Yavin 4 since he was a fugitive, and instead headed to Sorgan.

A Traitor Among Us[]

Poe, Zorii, and Tomasso go to the planet Elkeenar. They hike to the peak of a mountain where Tomasso and Poe have a chat about his role in the Spice Runners of Kijimi. Tomasso praised Poe on the work he's done and that their leader has taken a special interest in their little branch. He then reveals there's a traitor among them. Someone told the New Republic about their heist on the Moraysian cruiser. Tomasso worries if the double-cross already happened, or if it's still coming.

Caught In A Trap[]

Their next mission was a shipment deal with a Fiumarian smuggler named Alfris Sotin. Poe, Zorii, and EV-6B6 headed to Ankot Station, which is owned by Sotin. Poe and Zorii have a tender moment before continuing on. They met with Sotin, who leads them into a trap for the Guavian Death Gang.

Zorii shot the ceiling, causing debris to fall on the Guavians and Sotin, and got herself, Poe, and EV-6B6 out of there. They ran around the station trapping the Guavians, then headed to Sotins ship. They discover that Sotin is a slaver and had imprisoned dozens of sentients on his ship. Zorii freed the would-be slaves, and Poe angrily declares that they should bring Sotin to justice. Zorii argues that the Spice Runners need Sotin to smuggle stuff for them. Zorii gets the would be slaves out of the ship while Poe prepares to steal it.

The Legendary Star Maps[]

Eight months have passed since Poe left Yavin 4. Since the Ragged Claw was now easily recognizable as the Spice Runners of Kijimi's ship, they had to abandon it and fly Sotin's ship the Vondel. After Sotin's betrayal, they kept moving from place to place and didn't stay for very long. Their next mission was to steal a legendary star map called The Letters to Where and When which carved out secret smuggler routes from a warlord called Smaatku on the planet Guat'a. Poe flew through the Torce Nebula mulling over the last eight months since he joined the Spice Runners of Kijimi.

Once Poe and Zorii were on Guata, they disguised themselves with colorful scarves. Smaatku's base of operations was in a run-down dive cantina. They attacked the guards, snuck into Smaatku's office, stole the maps, and ran out of there yelling “It's a raid!” as a distraction. They stole a speeder but were soon pursued by Smaatku's guards. Suddenly, Tomasso flew the Vondel over them and shot the guards, saving Poe and Zorii. Poe was shocked Tomasso would resort to murder and that Zorii was okay with it.

Poe handed the star map to Tomasso, who tried to decipher it. He discovered the Llanic spice run was nearby as well as the planet Llan. Pirates and a Moraysian cruiser started pursuing and shooting at them. They received a transmission to land if they want to live. Tomasso told Poe their only choice was to land and find out what they were up against. Poe landed the ship on a small planet called Judakann. EV-6B6 told them that planet is infested with lurkers- amphibious creatures with a poisonous bite. Once they landed, Poe called out to their potential threat. Two figures appeared and Poe immediately recognized them as none other than his father and L'ulo.

A Not So Happy Reunion[]

Kes Dameron had called in every favor in order to track down Poe. He knew Sela Trune wanted nothing more than to toss Poe in a jail cell and squeeze every bit of information on the Spice Runners, so he and L'ulo followed their own leads.

It is revealed that Trune had arrested Marinda Gan, who is very much alive. Gan told Trune she's willing to tell her anything if it means she goes free. Trune asks her about the upcoming Kijimi Summit.

Poe hugged his father and cried happy tears. L'ulo squeezed Poe's shoulder. He asked how they found him, and Kes told him nothing could keep him away from Poe. Their happy reunion was interrupted by Zorii shoving Poe aside and acting entitled and controlling over Poe, pretty much telling Kes he had no right to take his teenage son home away from the dangerous Spice Runners. Tomasso also jumped in also acting entitled telling Kes that Poe is not a boy or a piece of property and that they don't simply surrender their people just because relatives come calling. L'ulo immediately recognized Tomasso as the deadliest spice runner in the galaxy and pulled his blaster on him. He told him they're not asking, they're telling them they are taking Poe with them.

Suddenly, they were surrounded by lurkers. The lurkers attacked the group who fought back. Zorii yells at Poe for considering leaving the Spice Runners (even though he gave no hint that he was going to). Poe counters that this was not the time to discuss this. They heard a scream and Zorii threatened to kill Poe if he left the Spice Runners of Kijimi. Poe rushed over to Kes, who had been bitten by a lurker. L'ulo hides his panic and tells Poe they need to leave now.

Kes tells Poe he does not want to lose him after he lost his mother. Poe tells him he needs to do what is best for himself. Kes reluctantly agrees and L'ulo tells Poe he needs to be true to himself and to not let other people change who he is. Then a strange shuttle appears. Tomasso tells them it's one of theirs and for Kes and L'ulo to get off the planet unless they want to face the full wrath of the Spice Runners of Kijimi.

Poe tells L'ulo to get his father off the planet. He'll never forgive them, but it's their only option. Kes once again pleads for Poe to come with them. Poe promises them he'll find his way back to them. L'ulo tells Poe not to make his promise a lie as he dragged Kes to the shuttle.

The other shuttle lands and out comes Zeva Bliss flanked by guards. Tomasso is happy to see her, but Zorii was frozen in fear. Poe wonders who that is. Tomasso tells him with admiration that it's Zeva Bliss the leader of the Spice Runners of Kijimi. Zorii admits Zeva is her mother.

Tomasso happily greets his old friend who greets him back, coolly. She turns to Zorii and Poe and tells them they will be welcomed on Kijimi as full members of the Spice Runners of Kijimi. She needs them for an important mission coming up. Tomasso eagerly asks Zeva what his services will be. In response, Zeva stabbed Tomasso in the stomach hilt-deep much to Poe's and Zorii's extreme horror. Zeva reveals that she believes Tomasso was the traitor. She started heading back to her ship when she noticed EV-6B6 tending to Tomasso. She asks Poe and Zorii where they got her, and Poe, still shell-shocked admitted they found EV-6B6 on the Moraysian Cruiser. Zeva realizes they found the droid in the hands of her competitor and had her guard shoot EV-6B6 in the back, destroying her. Zorii wordlessly stormed onto Zeva's ship. Poe followed in a daze.

Fallout[]

Poe asks Zorii why she never told him Zeva Bliss was her mother. Zorii throws it back at him by accusing him of knowing his father was tracking them down. Poe argues back that he didn't know, and it was a completely different situation. Zorii tells him it never came up and she didn't want special treatment. She asks Poe what exactly is it that he wanted and tells him that the Spice Runners of Kijimi were her life. Poe tells her that at first he just wanted to get away from Yavin 4, but he stayed for her. Zorii tells him she wants someone who actually believes in their cause, who will be with them forever. Poe asks if she wants someone like Tomasso, and Zorii punched him in the face and stormed off.

A while later, Zeva walked in and tells Poe Zorii has a temper. Zeva tells him she'd been watching them the whole time and that the case Ledesmar stole from her held her helmet. She also said she doesn't forgive traitors and that she hoped Poe will stand by her or he'd be dealt with. Poe tells her he'll stand by Zorii and asks what's next. Zeva tells Poe he and Zorii will be reborn as full members of the Spice Runners of Kijimi.

Zorii, having returned to Kijimi with Poe and Zeva visited Babu Frik at his workshop. Babu gives Zorii sound advice and asks her questions that made her think about her future with her mother and Poe. Zorii then goes to meet with her mother who attacks her with her spear to teach her a lesson about being ready for an attack. She then tells her that she saw evidence that Tomasso had been passing along information to the New Republic. Zorii silently refuses to believe it. Zeva tells her daughter she needs a new second-in-command – her. She turned away considering the offer and saw Poe listening to the whole conversation.

A few weeks later, Zorii leads Poe to Babu's shop so Babu could repair EV-6B6. Poe thanks Zorii with a kiss.

The Kijimi Summit[]

Zorii led Poe and EV-6B6 to a monastery where Zeva had sent them for an important mission that Zorii said Zeva had been working on for a long time. Zeva had invited a wide selection of spice runners, traders, smugglers, slavers, and warlords for a summit. Poe grew suspicious and wondered why they were sneaking into their own meeting.

Zeva had gathered all her enemies into a war room and invited them to work together to rule the galaxy since the New Republic is failing, stretched thin, and doesn't care that much about them. Everyone started arguing, and Zeva smiled and snuck out of the room, satisfied her plan worked.

Meanwhile, Poe and EV-6B6 were led into a small room with a computer terminal in the middle. EV-6B6 commented that it looked like a surveillance computer. Poe put two and two together and says in horror that it was a trap for Zeva's enemies and he and Zorii were the ones who are pulling the trigger.

Meanwhile, at the New Republic Security Bureau office, Tolo Mandah tells Sela Trune over a holofeed that they were done with the Spice Runners of Kijimi. They want to focus on other things, and they were stretched thin. Trune tries to persuade Mandah to continue, since she has intel of a huge event happening that directly implicates the Spice Runners of Kijimi, but Mandah is adamant. She tells Trune to drop the obsession she has with the Kijimi spice runners and tells her to write a report on how they were going to reallocate resources. Trune begrudgingly agrees…then secretly plans to carry out her revenge anyway.

One Last Betrayal[]

Poe had visions of himself fighting the Empire, running through the forests of Endor and then Yavin 4, his mother humming a lullaby, his father crying over a picture of Shara Bey, and L'ulo driving Poe in a landspeeder.

In the present, Poe realized that Zeva was gathering all her enemies to kill them. Zorii was surprised it took him this long to figure out. Poe insists that it's murder. He grabs Zorii and tells her he won't let her do this. Zorii then snapped and punched Poe in the face. Poe kicked her back a few paces and tells her he won't fight her. Zorii kicks Poe in the head, knocking him to the ground and started beating him up. Poe pushed Zorii off him and they felt a rumble. Zorii said that her mother's plan was starting.

Poe ran for the exit, but Zorii caught his legs and threw him to the ground. Zorii stood over him and aimed her blaster at him. EV-6B6 distracted Zorii by telling her there's a guard coming, then shocked her unconscious. She tells Poe she had gained access to Zeva's plan. Poe stole Zorii's blaster and he and EV-6B6 ran out of there. He asks the droid what Zeva's plan was. The droid said that Zeva's plan was to gather all her enemies and allies to a coliseum-like structure to kill them.

Poe and EV-6B6 watched as Zeva had her prisoners escorted towards the coliseum. Zeva made a speech about how no one will fear or underestimate the Spice Runners of Kijimi again. Just then, Sela Trune showed up to face Zeva. Poe was relieved to see the New Republic show up, but then was disappointed when he heard Trune showed up alone. The two women attacked each other.

Trune managed to knock Zeva to the ground. She reveals that she framed Tomasso for passing along intel to her. Zeva was horrified to learn it was Marinda Gan who traded information for her freedom. After taunting her further, Zeva secretly brandished a dagger and stabbed Trune in the stomach and sat up.

While Trune carried out her revenge, Poe quickly formed a plan to foil Zeva's. Poe headed back to the monastery where the prisoners were being held and told the guard they're low on weapons. The guard ran off to get a cache of weapons and another guard came up to Poe telling him they need to help their leader. He ran off as the first guard came back with the weapons. Poe praised him and pushed the cache inside. He told the guards holding the prisoners at gunpoint that he brought meal packets for the prisoners. The guards believed him and let Poe give the cache of weapons to the prisoners who grabbed guns and started shooting the guards and each other. Poe turned to thank EV-6B6 only to find she's been destroyed beyond repair. Poe stared horror and a Chagrian guard called Gezlar appeared aiming his blaster at Poe. Gezlar admitted he sensed something off about Poe when he came to Kijimi. He's no spice runner. Gezlar grabbed Poe by the neck and started strangling him. Poe tried to shoot him, but Gezlar grabbed his wrist preventing him from using his blaster. Gezlar was then distracted by Zeva stabbing Trune long enough for Poe to kill him in self-defense. Poe recovered from being strangled and made a beeline for Trune and Zeva.

Poe shot Zeva in the shoulder, then shot at her a few more times, knocking her over. Poe rushed to Trune's side. Trune used her last breath to tell Poe she wanted revenge on the Spice Runners of Kijimi for killing her family and that she didn't want them to destroy his, too. Trune died in Poe's arms, and he stood up to face Zeva. Zeva told Poe she knew he didn't have the heart to be a Spice Runner and sliced her sword across his chest, then knocked him backwards. Poe tried to shoot her with his blaster, but Zeva sliced his shoulder. Poe turned on his side before Zeva could stab him in the stomach and caught it in his ribcage. Zeva was about to strike again when she was shoved away by Zorii wielding a knife.

Zorii fought her mother and eventually knocked her out. She tossed a blaster to Poe and told him they could run away together. Poe hears his mother's voice telling him to make his own choices and do the right thing. He drops his blaster and rejects Zorii's offer. Zorii screams at him to run and never return.

On the Run[]

Poe ran into Tarand Crowe, one of the prisoners Poe freed. Crowe gave him cover until they could get to his ship. Crowe gave Poe a name and a key. Poe headed to a Von Tante, who gave him shelter and medical help. After four days, Poe left and continued hiding from the spice runners until he got intel of a ship going off-world. He went to Babu Frik for help. Babu told Poe he can't help because he'd be in trouble with the Spice Runners of Kijimi, but then set a holographic disguise matrix on the counter and left the shop allowing Poe to steal it.

Poe sat eating a sandwich at a cantina. He saw Senator Leia Organa on a holofeed giving a speech to the senate about continuing to fight evil which gives Poe resolve. A smuggler called Zade Kalliday approaches Poe and asks if he's the one that needs a ride off-planet. Poe answers yes and he knows where he wants to go now.