AN: Hello again, sorry for the delay. I'm glad to see that some of y'all have come back to the fic, and I hope everything is going well for y'all in general. From this point going on, updates will be posted on Thursdays.
.***.***.***.***.
After yet another bacta treatment, Lori was largely back in one piece. Most of the day had slipped by, and the sun only just peaked above the horizon.
The hospital halls had been a constant buzz of activity that Lori had mostly ignored in favor of resting or tending to Ardis. The infant had spent most of her day asleep, occasionally waking up to cry for food or attention.
At the moment Ardis was asleep, and Lori was left with a moment's peace. From her place siting on the edge of the bed, she glanced to the chrono on the wall.
2000. Armitage should have been back half an hour ago.
Lori's leg bounced up and down from impatience and worry both. Ardis twisted a little in her blankets, the restless motion almost enough to wake her. Catching herself, Lori took a calming breath and, in search of a distraction, thought over the things she had waiting back at home.
She had a permanent crib set up, and there were hover cribs for sale nearby. A tub of formula sat in the cabinets at the house, just in case. The bottles she had bought were clean and waiting.
Ardis stirred, reaching a hand up before uncoordinatedly trying to lay it back down.
Lori hummed while continuing down the mental list. Baby cloths, check. Blankets, check. Simple toys, check. Pacifiers, check.
Her data pad had been left behind, sitting on the table by the couch. It picked at Lori not to have some way to check on the outside world. Her private room didn't have a holoprojector in it, and the only one she had seen had been in a waiting room well in view of the other patients and hospital staff. She wasn't necessarily in hiding, but she had a mind to keep a low profile.
Biding her time, Lori looked down to the infant in her arms.
She was tiny, her little face still pudgy and more pink than anything else. Ardis hadn't a trace of hair on her head, and Lori couldn't help but wonder if it would be the same bright red as her father's or a muted brown like hers. A few fleeting moments had come and gone where the baby had opened her eyes, revealing a light blue that might fade to a darker hue or turn colors all together.
"You're a little mystery, aren't you?" Lori cooed to Ardis.
The infant twisted slightly.
Lori was about to make another comment, but a whoosh from the door caught her attention.
Hux stood on the threshold. Dressed in the same regular cloths he had with him the day before, he looked tired and even more worn than he had that morning.
"You're here," Even Lori heard the relief on her voice, "I was starting to get worried."
"It was a long day," Hux answered simply before stepping more fully into the room.
"Long and eventful, from the look of you."
He came to take a seat in the flimsy chair next to the bed, "Much more eventful that I thought it would be, at any rate."
Lori was about to ask over the details, but Hux's pause didn't last long.
He spoke before she did, "But that's a conversation best saved for somewhere private."
The room was technically private, but obviously not enough for whatever news Armitage had with him. Lori would have liked to know what was dogging Armitage at that moment, but she knew that he would tell her now if it was urgent.
Shifting her hold on Ardis while she stood, Lori gave a simple response, "Sounds like a perfect reason to get out of here."
Dipping his head in understanding, Armitage left his chair and reached for the bag they had brought, "Yes, let's."
.***.***.***.***.
Captain Phasma came to a halt in front of General Hux's suite.
The day had been long, with the Fels asking increasingly specific questions about the First Order and Kylo Rens place within it. More than once she had placed her hand over the hilt of her blaster, instincts telling her that fighting might break out at any moment. Each time she did, tensions would subside and she would drift back to her role as a silent guard.
No one had told her outright, but the general's comments left her to guess that many of the Fels had abilities comparable to Kylo Ren's. She had never bothered to learn what the knight was capable of outside of his fighting ability. Phasma was a warrior, and as far as she was concerned, anything that didn't pose a threat to her or her status wasn't her problem.
It was one of these potential problems that found her in front of Hux's door well after his last meeting for the day.
The sun had dropped below the horizon an hour ago, but she couldn't imagine that he would already be asleep. Phasma also doubted that he was in his room at all.
A single knock echoed against the door. When the sound faded away and no one had come to answer, she didn't delay in unlocking the door and stepping inside.
Empty, just as it had been the night before.
Going through the same search she had put the room through the other day, Phasma found nothing out of place. Uniforms in the closet, dresser empty of any spare clothes. She glared at the room, face hidden behind her unexpressive helmet.
Phasma had been wrong the other night. She still thought it would be a trivial matter to turn the Fel Empire to little more than dust, but apparently the general wasn't planning on inventing a reason for a hostile invasion.
She knew better than to think that the general might be conspiring with the Fels. If his fanatical support of the First Order had somehow been compromised, then his deep-seated hatred of force sensitives would at least keep him from turning to the Fels.
He couldn't be conspiring with rebels, for largely the same reasons. Phasma doubted that the man had any personal relations on the planet either. Try as she might, she couldn't name a single person that the general tolerated, let alone someone that he would risk ruining an entire operation just to see.
Though, he had been oddly insistent that they not invade or bombard Bastion.
Theories with no proof tugged at Phasma as she left the room. She wouldn't confront him about his late-night disappearances, not until she had a real reason to worry. But, she would be back early in the morning.
.***.***.***.***.
The sun sat well below the horizon by the time the family made it home from the medcenter. Ardis lay in a hovercrib, set to drift closely beside Lori. Armitage carried the bag they had brought with them. Upon entering the house, he began making quick work of putting things away.
Lori took a seat on the couch and quickly checked over her data pad which had been sitting nearby. When she found no messages waiting for her, she was hit by a wave of both relief and annoyance. As nice as it was to have nothing to distract her from Armitage and Ardis, Lori was itching for information.
Huffing slightly, she went on to other things. In the days before the mercenaries moved in, Lori had relied on take out from local restaurants for food. Clicking through her data pad, she placed an order from her favorite diner.
She had just gotten a notification that their food would be there in half an hour when Armitage came to sit next to her. He peered into the hovercrib, a tentative hand half reaching towards the baby.
Lori couldn't help but let a half-grin twist her lips. She knew that Armitage hated being at a loss for words, and he hated it even more when he wasn't sure of himself. Seeing him act the overly concerned father was so far from the persona he wore as a general, Lori was sure that no one in the galaxy besides her would believe it.
"Go on," she offered.
Armitage glanced at Lori, trying to think of a comment but finding nothing that captured the roiling thoughts in his head. As reassured as he could be, he turned back to the crib and carefully lifted the child from it.
She was warm to the touch. Overly aware of the incredibly fragile life in his arms, Armitage shifted so that he propped Ardis's head up. Not quite satisfied that he was holding her right, he moved a little more, still being careful not to bump her head. When he wasn't sure that was correct either, he slowly tried shifting his hold again.
"You were fine the first time, Armie." Lori told him gently.
Knowing that he would never really be satisfied, Hux stopped to simply let Ardis rest in his lap. He was still overly conscious of letting her head droop, but when he saw that she had opened her eyes to blink at him he felt a couple of his worries melt away.
"Hello," he spoke to the infant in his arms.
Ardis kicked and shuffled from beneath her blanket before closing her eyes once again.
Lori took the que and reached over to loosen the tightly wrapped bundle.
"Is it too hot in here?" Hux was quick to ask despite having already made up his mind.
Lori answered with an amused smile, "If she gets too uncomfortable, I'm sure she'll let us know."
Deciding that Lori was right, Hux resigned himself to holding Ardis in her loose blankets, occasionally bouncing his leg to rock her to sleep.
As lovely as the moment was, Lori couldn't shake their earlier conversation.
"I hate to ruin the moment," she began, "but how was work? Last time I checked you only ever looked that rough after spending an afternoon dealing with Ren."
"You don't know how appropriate that comparison is," he took another glance to Ardis before looking to Lori, "Long story short, I believe I've talked the Fel Empire into becoming a vassal state to the First Order."
Lori wasn't sure how he managed that, "That's good."
"But there's also the possibility of a civil war."
"Well, that's less good."
Hux hunched his shoulders in agreement before going on, "Although, the faction that's likely to win such a fight is pro-First Order."
Knowing that this would go on for a while, Lori scooted closer to Armitage, sitting up straight so that she could wrap an arm around his shoulders, "How about you just tell me everything."
"Very well. The Fels definitely need our help, they're hopeless against the Alignment without us. But there is a catch, a sizable minority of the high command has an affinity for the Force."
Lori was about to comment, but then caught herself.
"Yes, exactly like Kylo Ren," Hux knew what she had meant to say, "Or, almost exactly. Ren is an idiot who's far too easy to anger, but he has his uses. Force sensitives are little more than a cult, and they're all hopelessly desperate for a leader."
"You can't be thinking that Ren will win over hearts and minds." Lori had heard a lot of fringe ideas from the general, but they had always been somewhat grounded.
"Absolutely not. Not once they meet him at least, but his family name is quite powerful and we can exploit that."
Lori saw where this was going and she wasn't sure she liked it, "Now I have a sneaking suspicion the Fels aren't interested in a Solo, or an Organa."
"They aren't," he answered quickly before diverting his gaze back to Ardis, who was whining slightly.
Taking the hint, Lori lowered her voice, "That's what I figured. Are you sure it's a good idea to promise these people another Vader and then hand them Kylo Ren?"
Hux bounced his knee until the baby quieted back down, "I don't question their impossible logic, I'm just here to exploit it in our favor."
"Fair enough, I guess. So, this maybe civil war will be the Force users that want to join up under Ren, versus the people that want to keep the Fels independent?"
"With a third faction that is pro alliance, but against being absorbed," Hux added on.
Already thinking of ways to twist public opinion one way or the other, Lori said, "Alright, I can work with that."
"Lori…" Armitage spoke her name in warning.
Hearing the worry on Hux's words, she reassured him, "I won't do anything too far out of line. A few anonyms holonet posts here, planting a few rumors around the market there, simple stuff."
He wasn't convinced, "I would spend more time searching for a planet to flee too."
She didn't think it would go that far, but she understood what he meant, "I'll do that too."
Not entirely satisfied, but glad that she had at least acknowledged him, Hux was kept from pressing the issue when Ardis fidgeted again. This time she let out a small cry, and then a second larger cry. Armitage tried gently bouncing his leg, and when that didn't work, he took to slowly rocking back and forth
Ardis squirmed, little arms reaching into the air and then pulling back in towards her chest. All the while she whined and gave an occasional prolonged shriek.
Wincing against one of the sharp sounds Lori gestured for Armitage to lift the infant.
"Try picking her up." She fished for something that had worked earlier that day.
Armitage moved to cradle the infant in his arms rather than let her lay his lap. When that did nothing, he tried holding her against his shoulder.
"Hold her closer." Lori added when she could see Armitage worry over pressing against the infant too hard.
He did exactly that, keeping her head propped up with one hand while he supported her with the other. When that didn't calm the infant, he took to rocking back and forth. The movement didn't come naturally to him and he couldn't shake the sense that he might be doing something wrong.
Lori watched him fumble with his actions. She would have thought it endearing to see him try despite his obvious distress, but Ardis had begun screaming. The sound filled the room and made focusing on anything else an impossible task.
"I think she needs her mother," he didn't yell despite the now deafening cries of the infant.
More than ready to put a stop to the shrieking Lori turned so that she could lift Ardis from Armitage's shoulder, "I know, I know. It's time for dinner. Come here," she spoke to the infant in hopes that it would do something to quell the crying.
She held Ardis closely, quickly readjusting herself to care for the baby. Hux sat next to her, ready to lend a hand.
He hadn't the chance before a knock came from the door.
Lori had just gotten into position, "And, of course, there's out dinner."
"I've got it." Without being asked, Hux was on his way across the room.
.***.***.***.***.
Lieutenant Mitaka wondered down a narrow hall. He hadn't been told to stop speaking with the palace servants, and last night had secured valuable information. If he were lucky, tonight might prove just as fruitful.
Turning a blind corner he stopped short before running in head first into another person.
The woman coming the other way didn't notice in time, and walked headlong into the lieutenant.
Thoroughly surprised, the servant took a step back. "I'm sorry! I didn't see you. Are you lost?"
"Oh, no not at all… I was just taking a walk." Mitaka didn't recognize the woman, not that he expected to. There must have been a thousand workers in the building, and he had only spoken to a dozen the day before.
Likewise, the woman didn't recognize Mitaka either, though she was far less ready to dismiss a strange man wondering the back halls, "…are you sure? Pardon me, but I'm not sure I've seen you around here before."
"Where are my manners? My name is Dopheld Mitaka. Lieutenant Mitaka, actually. What did you say your name was?" The bit of surprise from the start of the encounter was starting to wash off. Mitaka wasn't the most persuasive man on the planet, but he found that he muttered and stuttered just enough for most people to assume he wouldn't be a threat.
"It's Mila," the servant answered back, taking a quick glance of Mitaka's uniform, "Pardon my asking, but my brother it a lieutenant, and I don't recognize your clothes."
"Right, I'm actually visiting from off-world."
"Oh!" a sudden realization washed over her features, "Was it you that was making a commotion in the dining hall? I'll have you know that the moffs are very upset."
Mitaka scratched at the back of his neck, not sure how much would be wise to say, "Er… I wouldn't say I caused anything. Really, it's all very boring. Just… oh… politics. You know how it is."
Mila had an earnest look about her that said -in no uncertain terms- that she did not, "No? Does the military play a part in politics? The moffs aren't military. And if you weren't causing the ruckus with the moffs, who was?"
Answering what he thought to be the least dangerous question, Mitaka said, "Oh, my boss made a point I'm not sure they liked very much. H-he can be a difficult man. But never mind that, I'm sure it will all work out for the better."
"You're boss? Who would that be? I've been cleaning the basement for the last week, so I've not heard much of what's going on in the main house."
The lieutenant knew what it was like to be stuck away in a boring job, not being privilege to any real information. "General Hux. Tall, bright red hair, he's hard to miss."
"General?" she repeated the word in a curious tone, "more military?"
He heard the worried edge to Mila's last question. Immediately feeling guilty for it, Mitaka said, "Yes, but rest assured we're only here to request an alliance. Bastion could be a valuable ally, and… well, friends are worth having. Yes?"
"They are, aren't they? Where did you say you were from? Off world, yes. But where exactly?"
Mitaka considered his options before he decided that there was no real harm in speaking, "The First Order. We're a little ways off, to the galactic west."
Mila seemed to be deep in thought before saying, "I'm not sure I've heard of the First Order. Are you followers of the Empire too?"
"Of course!" Years of being drilled to answer that particular question enthusiastically, left the lieutenant to speak more quickly and louder than he had meant to. Realizing that he had almost shouted left him red with embarrassment and stuttering an apology, "I-I mean... yes. Yes. After the Battle of Ja-Jakku the Fi-first Order f-formed and moved west."
The servant looked at him with some pity, but didn't interrupt. The gesture wasn't much but it helped put the lieutenant at ease.
He coughed to clear his throat and take a breath, "Once there, well, we just kept being the Empire. Under a different name and leader, of course. But we hold to the same ideas, namely that a strong military is the best way ensure safety."
"Hm… When you put it like that, I guess you do sound like the old empire."
"Yes, yes we do. How about the Fels? What is it like here, as you see it?" Reasonably sure that that would be the end of her asking about the First Order, Mitaka tried to turn the conversation around. He had started the night in search of more information on the Fels, and he fully intended to do his job.
Mila answered back, mostly with innocuous little details that were of no real substance. The conversation drifted on. Each time Mitaka tried to leave, Mila would suddenly have another seemingly innocent question. Sometimes about the lieutenant, sometimes about his short tempered boss, and sometimes about the First Order at large.
.***.***.***.***.
A shrill cry cut through the darkened bedroom.
Awakening with a jolt, the new parents quickly realized that it was nothing more than Ardis demanding a mid-night meal.
Lori didn't roll over, but she lulled her head to face Armitage through the gloom, "Armie, please. I got the last one."
The adrenaline that woke him quickly faded, leaving the man groggy, "I have work in the morning."
"But after you're gone, I'm going to have to get up every time." Lori offered, fatigue drenching each word.
He knew it was necessary, but he dreaded leaving again, "Fine, but you're getting up next time she cries."
"Deal." He could already hear her drifting back to sleep.
Tired as he was, Armitage sat up and left the bed. They had deactivated the hover crib before retiring, and he didn't intend on fumbling through the dark room in search of it. Instead, Hux went to the solid crib, carefully picked up the shrieking infant, and held her closely before slowly picking his way out of the bedroom.
Coming to the kitchen, he tried turning on the light by bumping his elbow on the control panel. It took a few attempts, but eventually the bright lights snapped on, and he was left blinking against the sudden glow.
Ardis' cries had gone on long enough to temporarily fade to a whimper. Armitage leaned back awkwardly so that she was still supported while he rummaged through a cabinet in search of the baby formula.
Not having a hand to pat against Ardis's back to calm her down, Armitage tried tiredly talking to the infant instead.
"Now, now. Just one moment, Ardis. Milk is on its way."
He found the tub and set it on the counter. After skimming the instructions he went off in search of a bottle.
"I know I'm taking too long, but you'll have to learn to be patient."
The slight rumble of Armitage's chest as he talked did something to calm the infant, but she still mewled for want of a bottle.
Realizing that his voice was doing something to keep the child under control, Hux looked for something to talk about. When he realized that he couldn't come up with anything reassuring to say, he simply took to reciting the instructions he'd just read on the formula tub.
"Garbrix baby formula is designed for human infants. Simply combine 60 milliliters of water with one scoop of Garbrix baby formula."
Armitage awkwardly worked to follow the instructions as he repeated them aloud. Ardis clenched a hand around a fistful of his shirt and then released it, but she had stopped screaming altogether.
"Place water and formula into bottle. Shake until combined. Heat mixture to just below body temperature. Test temperature by splashing drops of mixture onto wrist."
The last bit of the instructions were difficult to follow, since his second hand was preoccupied with propping Ardis up. But, Hux managed well enough, and by the time the bottle was ready Ardis was just about to start with a fresh bout of crying.
The baby took to the bottle without hesitation. Armitage was left to lean against the counter, struggling slightly to prop Ardis into an acceptable position while keeping hold of the bottle.
Despite the bright lights and the commotion, he stifled a yawn. A glance at the chrono found that it was well past midnight. In less than eight hours he would be back at the palace, talking what could be final terms for an alliance. Or he might be officially declaring the First Order's support of a rogue faction, plunging the planet into a civil war.
He very much hoped for the former.
Ardis squirmed in his arms, uncoordinated hands batting against the bottle in a failed attempt to cling to it. Armitage had never thought he would be crawling out of bed to attend to an infant. If anyone had gone so far as to tell him that he would enjoy such a thing, he would have called them a liar and a fool.
But, he looked down at his daughter and her half-finished bottle, and he knew that somethings were worth fighting for.
He knew some things were worth the whole galaxy.