AN: Hello again, as always thanks for reading. Hope y'all enjoy the chapter and don't forget that the next one will be up on Monday
.***.***.***.***.
Dantooine was a green planet. Rolling fields of tall grass and the occasional slow river stretched on for as far as Lori could see. The city also seemed to spread far and wide, rather than up. Even after touching down on the landing pad, the view went on for miles around.
"See, safe and sound. You didn't need to watch my every move on the way down," Lex complained from the pilot's seat.
Lori had been less concerned with crashing, and more desperate to gain any insight into the planet that she could, but she played along. "I thought it was touch and go for a minute."
Lex didn't appreciate the snarky comment, and rolled his eyes before coming back with one of his own, "You're one of those people that think Dantooine is just as rough as Tatooine, aren't you? Just try and keep a low profile."
"I know how to keep my head down. I'm just not so sure that you do." She retorted as she strode out of the cockpit.
She didn't catch another comment from Lex as she went. A glance into the cargo hold found Dak gathering up a bundle of materials. Further on, she was greeted by Brixie in the sleeping quarters.
"How's your arm?" the medic asked.
Lori crossed the room while she said, "Good enough to carry Ardis."
The medic was about to protest, before deciding that telling the mother that she shouldn't be the one carrying her baby would be a losing battle. "Ok, but if you need any help, I'm here."
"Thanks, but I should be fine." Despite the strong words, it took a moment for Lori to get a good hold on Ardis and her blanket.
The medic noticed, but simply nodded along.
The two of them stepped back into the hallway, this time finding Lex with Dak in the cargo hold. There was little chatter as Lex lowered the loading ramp. The few words that did get shared mostly came from Dak, who was halfheartedly boasting about a job that had brought him to Dantooine several years ago. Lori remembered that particular mission; it had ended with him locked in a local jail for a week, but she decided to let him have his moment.
By the time he finished his tale, they had skirted the edge of town and arrived at a modest villa.
The building was a smooth tan, with a front yard that was enclosed by a waist-high wall of the same material and color. In the grassy yard was a water fountain. Cool water bubbled up from a bulb that was the same onion domed shape as the roof of the main house.
Beyond the fountain sat Hugo, the elderly demolitions expert with white hair and wild eyes. He was tinkering with some machine that Lori hoped wouldn't explode if he crossed the wrong wire.
Lex had a similar thought, and called out while the group was still on the far side of the yard, "Hey, Hugo! You're not planning on blowing us up again, right?"
The old man looked up, a toothy grin blooming over his features, "Again?"
"Don't play dumb," Lex replied as he made his way closer to the demo man.
As he did, he found that Hugo was messing with a broken mouse droid, and that he had been worried about nothing at all. Upon seeing Lex take a calm breath, the rest of the group followed closely behind.
While Lex and Hugo were busy with their own conversation, Brixie, Lori, and Dak stepped into the house.
It was a cozy place. The living room floor was covered by overlapping layers of brightly colored rugs. Several potted plants hung from the ceiling, their long vines lazily draped over the side of their pots to dangle scarce feet away from the floor. The afternoon sun drifted in through the slit like and high set windows, diffusing softly through the leaves.
The kitchen wasn't visible from the front door, but a spicy, savory scent drifted from one of the halls that led deeper into the house.
Brixie had wasted no time in sitting on one of the many cushioned couches, and she very quickly beckoned Lori over. She didn't need to be told twice, and hastily took a seat next to the medic.
"I know you said you didn't have many friends on the planet, but this place is pretty nice." Lori pried for information.
"Well, I'm not sure the owner is our friend."
Just as Lori was about to ask about the strange emphasis on Brixie's last word, a series of shouts echoed from down the hall.
At first unintelligible, they quickly grew in volume and proximity. In only a second, two women came from the hall. Ivey, the dark haired woman that served as the mercenaries' professional thief and hacker, had stormed into the room. Beside her was an identical woman of the same age. They bickered over some family issue that had too many jumps in topic for even Lori to keep up with.
Dak tried to step in, "Ladies, ladies! Please!"
Both of them immediately turned to the side. Their combined look said in no uncertain terms that they would have shot him if either were armed.
Immediately gulping in fear, Dak squeaked an apology before hurrying across the room.
After skimming the room, the woman that was not Ivey broke the silence, "And when the bounty hunters show up, you're on your own!"
Without waiting for a rebuttal, she stomped off down the hall that she hadn't just come down. Ivey didn't follow after her twin, instead turning to face the new arrivals.
"Welcome to Dantooine." She began with a heavy sigh, before nearly shouting, "That was Valli, the sister that never left home!"
The echo of a slamming door came from down the hall.
"We're you two in the middle of something?" Brixie timidly asked.
"No more than we usually are," the thief answered before sparing a quick glance at Lori, "Actually, I'm afraid there's some bad news."
A small pang of worry threaded its way through Lori, but she was careful not to show it. Reassuring herself that there was no way they could have learned about her First Order loyalties, she asked, "What is it?"
"Bounty hunters. I don't know what you did, but you've got a massive bounty out on your head."
Unease picked at Lori, "When and who from?"
Ivey crossed the room to plop down in a plush chair, "A few days ago, but we just saw it. The poster tried to go anonymous."
"Tried?"
The thief and hacker leaned back, casting a careful eye over Lori, "Tried. But that didn't stop me from tracing the post back to a First Order computer."
Dak looked at her with a question and a comment at the ready.
Lori was quick to cut him off, "Am I wanted dead or alive?"
"Alive," Ivey answered,
"There's a silver lining."
"Assuming they don't have something worse in mind," Ivey kicked her feet into a low set table, "The kid got mentioned too, I'd keep a low profile if I were you."
Lori cradled Ardis, who had begun to awaken from a nap. Hours had passed since she last ate, and Lori knew it was only a matter of time before the little girl let out a sharp cry to remind her of the fact. "Thanks for the heads up."
"Anytime," Ivey crossed her legs at the ankle, deliberating on whether or not Lori's response had been the one she expected, "You're welcome to stay here."
Lori saw where this was going, "Won't that get on your sisters nerves?"
A wry smile traced its way across Ivey's lips, "Absolutely."
.***.***.***.***.
The dining hall was nearly abandoned.
Quin rankled at the realization. She had wanted to give Mitaka something to think about other than his near death experience, but she didn't want the conversation to stray back to Lori.
She did feel bad for hoping that Mitaka was too traumatized to talk about anything work related, and offered to fetch a cup of caf in attempt to atone for her imagined slight.
Mitaka had just gotten his breath back. Just as he was about to turn down her offer, Quin turned around and hurried across the room. Taken aback slightly, but ultimately happy that he didn't need to talk just yet, Mitaka took a seat at one of the smaller tables away from the few other officers that were there.
Things could be worse, Mitaka thought to himself, this is at least better than crawling back to my quarters and sobbing in the fresher.
He watched as Quin returned with two steaming cups of caf.
"Thank you." He told her as he wrapped a slightly shaking hand around the warm cup.
"You're welcome."
A short silence settled over the table. So flustered from his near death experience, Mitaka didn't consider prying for information about the mystery major that Quin seemed to know so much about. Quin, on the other hand, shuffled nervously in her seat, almost dreading an awkward silence as much as she did accidentally telling her secret.
"So," she began, desperately searching for something to talk about that wasn't work, "How have you been?"
Mitaka looked up from his caf, confusion clear on his features.
"Other than… you know." She awkwardly gestured at her neck, hoping that that would get her point across.
"I-I'm fine?" Mitaka was so unsure of the conversation that his answer came out as a question in its own right. Unfortunately, he was in no place to make the conversation any less stilted, "How are you?"
"Good," Quin chided herself for being off guard against the most obvious question Mitaka could have asked in return. When the single word answer felt dismissive, she babbled on, "Well, as good as I can be, what with the bridge being a mess."
Quin had gone stiff at what she was saying before the last few words left her mouth. There had to be a thousand other things she could bring up besides work, but she had been so intently focused on not talking about it, it became the only thing she could think about.
Her comment rang more true for Mitaka than Quin could imagine, "It certainly is, isn't it? Kylo Ren and General Hux both have gone mad, haven't they?"
Quin squirmed in her seat and barely managed to respond with a terse, "Mm-Hmm"
Being caught up in his own thoughts, Mitaka barely noticed, "I have no right to be surprised by Kylo Ren's behavior, but General Hux…"
Desperate to avoid bringing the general up, Quin tried in vain to change the subject, "Yep. Sure is crazy. Have you tried the caf yet? It's a new roast, it's has hints of caramel."
The other lieutenant shook his head with a far off look in his eyes.
"I don't know what's going on with him anymore," Mitaka rubbed a hand against his face, as if that would do something to soothe his rough thoughts, "The general has been on the verge of ordering executions one moment, and then the next he's the happiest I've ever seen him."
The end of Mitaka's comment caught Quin off guard just enough to pique her curiosity, "How do you mean?"
Mitaka let out a confused and heavy sigh, "I reported to Hux before speaking with Ren. You saw how he reacted, but the general didn't even bat an eye."
There was a chime from Mitaka's comm. His stomach sank with the thought of what terrible message might be waiting for him.
Fully expecting some sort of reprimand from Ren, he looked down to the small device. Instead, he found a direct message from General Hux. The lieutenant was to reduce is updates on the northern war front. There was a change in tactics, and Hux was now interested in pushing as far east as possible rather than liberating the Fels.
Exasperated, he handed the machine to Quin, "See? This is what I'm talking about. He changes his mind on a whim, I think he's suffering from a mental break."
Quin read and reread the order. Coupled with her fears about Lori's fate, the sudden change in plans brought the worst possibility to the front of her mind.
"I…" she looked around the mess hall, to make sure the nearest people were out of earshot. Even entertaining the idea that her commander had lost his mind might be treasonous, and with the sudden episode with the traitorous stormtrooper everyone was especially on edge. "I think your right."
Mitaka heard a heavy sorrow on Quin's words. She hadn't begun to cry, but the edge of her words waivered slightly and immediately put Mitaka on guard.
"You know what's behind this, don't you?" He tried to make the realization sound less like and accusation.
Quin looked back up to Mitaka, the edge of her eyes slightly reddened. She considered denying his claim, but she had never had a talent for lies. She had never wanted to be a secret keeper either, and for a moment she wondered if it even still counted as a secret if Lori was dead.
The words were stuck in her throat, and even if they weren't she wouldn't dare say them aloud in public. Instead, she nodded and muttered, "but I can't say it here."
Mitaka looked around the room. It was still largely empty, though a few new people had wandered in.
Some even passed the table as Mitaka asked, "Very well, my suite or yours?"
Quin thought about it, once again second guessing herself, before finally answering, "Mine."
.***.***.***.***.
Two full days had come and gone on Dantooine, and Lori still hadn't had a chance to slip away from her unwitting captors.
No true chance, at least. Once or twice she had an opportunity where no one was watching, but she hadn't had Ardis in her arms, and leaving the infant behind simply wasn't an option. Even now, she was left in the living room with Anderphan.
The leader of the mercenaries studied a star chart. A north west section of the galaxy had been colored red to reflect the latest news of the First Order's invasion into the outer rim. Lori appreciated the speed of the advancement, but didn't dare say anything for it. Instead, she had busied herself with teasing details about the rest of the resistance out of the group.
She had managed to gather a few tidbits here and there, but her main focus had always been on escape.
"Any news about Poe?" She asked the older man.
The captured pilot had been the subject of a flurry of conversation and speculation that Lori had been half-heartedly following.
A tired grin fought its way through the rest of Anderphan's dour features, "There is, actually. The crazy bastard made it out, hopped a TIE and crash landed on Jakku."
Lori could only imagine the chaos such a thing would have caused on the Finalizer, "Really? Any idea how he managed that?"
Anderphan shrugged, "Last I heard he was taking a bath in a bacta tank, before that he crawled back muttering something about a helpful stormtrooper."
"Did we have someone on the inside?" She asked with genuine shock. She'd been gone for half a year, but Lori liked to imagine that she hadn't been the only thing standing between the First Order and a torrent of traitors.
"Not that I know of." He had stopped being purposefully vague with Lori, though the habit annoyingly clung to his words.
With the exception of Dak and Brixie, the mercenaries had been overly guarded during the time she spent with them on Bastion. Lori wasn't sure if they felt more at ease in New Republic territory or if her efforts at gaining their trust had finally paid off, but they all talked slightly more freely around her.
Much to her delight, she had even overheard the location of the Resistance's main base. Predictably, it was a no-name little planet on the south side of the outer rim. D'Qar was a forgotten place, with no sentient species that claimed it as a home planet, and no permanent settlements to speak of. It had proved to be so completely and utterly useless that no one had bothered to mine it, to farm on it, to visit it as a wildlife preserve, or even use it as a rest stop between more interesting destinations.
Without pausing to betray her thoughts, Lori replied, "That's too bad. Sure would be useful to know that's going on in there."
Anderphan peered back at the map, "That would be the day. So far I've only counted one First Order fleet in the north." His voice faded to near silence, more wayward thoughts of an old soldier than purposeful input into the conversation, "They have to have more than that, I just can't place them…"
They did have more than one fleet. Twelve, to be precise. It was no coincidence that the First Order had a navy organized to the same number as the Empire, Lori had listened to Hux bragging about it dozens of times. She had also listened to him explain the finer functions of each of the ships in each of the fleets, and she could name and place each flagship to its home territory in the unknown regions.
The First Order, and by extension Lori herself, had worked very hard to keep all of that a secret, and it gave her some small relief to see that they had been effective.
She did nothing to betray that relief. She would have continued to see what the mercenaries did and didn't know, but Ardis had begun to kick and squirm on her arms. A quick glance to the chrono found that it had been a couple of hour since the newborn last ate.
Taking her leave, Lori left the living room. She had waited two full days on the green planet. After seeing the map, she hoped that it might only be a few more until the First Order came to her.