There ain't no load that I can't hold
The roads are rough, this I know
I'll be there when the light comes in
Tell 'em we're survivors
- Life is a Highway by Tom Cochrane
The communicator in the cockpit of the Ghost crackled as the voice of the Meimeal of the Grey Order growled.
"Really Lia? You're bringing the two most dangerous men n the galaxy here? Why not some rathtars as well? They'd be marginally less trouble."
Aurelia winced. Daibhidh Mac Dhomhnuill was obviously not amused. "Master Mac Dhomhnuill," she started, addressing him formally, "I understand your unease but -"
"No you don't lass, or you wouldn't be on your way here with two wanted war criminals." interrupted the Meimeal. His voice hardened, "What. Were. You. Thinking?"
"I was thinking that I was faced with two complex Force-related situations that needed the wisdom and experience of the Meimeal of the Òrdugh Liath." she retorted.
"You're a fully trained Adept, Lia. There shouldn't be much you can't handle." countered the Meimeal.
"I don't want to go into details over an open comm, Master Daibhidh. Suffice to say these may well be situations that will challenge your experience," answered Aurelia.
The Meimeal chuckled. "Are they now? You've captured my interest, lass."
Aurelia smiled. She had him hooked. "We'll be landing at the Sruighlea Areodome in about 8 hours. Could you have transport to the Charterhouse waiting? And is the guest house available?"
"Are you bringing a crowd, Lia?"
"Six total, myself and 5 others."
"Details?"
"As I stated earlier, I am traveling with Kylo Ren, former Supreme Leader of the First Order and Master of the Knights of Ren, and Armitage Hux, former General of the First Order. I also have with me Rey, the Last Jedi, Brienne Phasma, former Captain of Stormtroopers for the First Order, and Kateria Ren, the last living Knight of Ren. I would like to keep them segregated from the rest of the Òrdugh liath until I can discuss their situations with you."
The Meimeal harrumphed, "Of course you're bringing a basket of trouble. I'll ask the Seneschal to have the guest house aired and readied for your arrival."
"Mòran taing (Thank you very much) Master Daibhidh," replied Aurelia gratefully. "This started as a favor for Peter Falkus and, well, grew inexorably."
"Lass," the Meimeal chuckled, "one day you will learn how to walk away instead of jumping in with both feet."
"Nuair a bhios mucan ag itealaich (When pigs fly)," sighed Aurelia ruefully as she signed off. She lifted her arms above her head and stretched the stiffness out of her back, then leaned back in the copilot seat. "Thank you for setting up the call Rey." she said to the young woman in the pilot seat.
"No problem," Rey replied. "Wasn't there another comm call you wanted to make before we go into hyperspace?"
"I intended to ask Inspector Falkus when he was going to send the information on Neurostrin but I think that call can wait until after we arrive at the Charterhouse. I suspect the Meimeal will have some questions he will want to ask," answered Aurelia as she stood up to go back and check on Hux.
"Could you send Kylo up here when you see him? I could use the company." Rey said with a smile.
"I'll send him up when I go to check on General Hux." she acknowledged.
As she passed through the lounge she indicated to Kylo that his other half wanted his presence in the cockpit. A few more steps on her part brought her to the door of the cabin where they had left Hux. As she stepped in she noted with relief that the Force stun hadn't worn off yet. She sat down next to the bed and watched him as he slept.
The first thing she noticed was how very young he looked. In repose his face smoothed out, the hard look gentled with somnolence. She would have thought that a person with the high rank he held in the First Order would have been an older man, someone who by virtue of age carried an air of maturity and long years of experience. Alasdair appeared to be younger than Aurelia. Perhaps she would ask Kylo discretely.
He was also what her mother would have called a 'long drink of water.' Stretched out on the cot she could see how tall he was, probably as tall as Kylo. And thin. No, that's not the right word. Slender was better. But not weak. The form-fitting black leather he was dressed in gave the lie to weakness. His was a wiry build, with strength like a coiled spring. And he had lovely red hair - rare in the galaxy at large but more common on Comraich. It looked as if it would be soft to the touch.
No, stop it, Aurelia, she told herself. It doesn't matter that his appearance pushes all your buttons. Not to mention how appealing his obvious intelligence was. Armitage Hux (don't think of him as Alasdair, girl) was a war criminal. A destroyer of worlds. And most likely too young for you.
Aurelia stood and stepped away from the cot. Alasdair was fine and would not stir before they landed in Sruighlea in a few hours. She needed to meditate, to get some distance from her reactions and some clarity to her thoughts.
She was perilously close to being in over her head.
+TaBa+TaBa+TaBa+
Back in the cockpit, Kylo had just dropped the Ghost into hyperspace.
"Confirm successful insertion to hyperspace," verified Rey. "Estimated 6 hour transit time before we drop into normal space, with an additional two hours to destination."
"So what do you think, Rey?" asked Kylo.
"About what, love?"
"Do you think this Grey Council is going to be any help?"
"I doubt they will hurt, love," noted Rey.
"I just hate this feeling of not being in control," Kylo fretted. "It makes me angry."
Rey stretched her hand over the controls and set the autopilot. "We have plenty of time before we drop out of hyperspace." She smiled seductively. "Why don't I help you meditate?"
"Meditate?" asked Kylo, a smile growing on his lips.
"Or something." she grinned.
"Or something sounds good to me." agreed Kylo.
+TaBa+TaBa+TaBa+
Pulling back to the omniscient narrator point of view (or the Force's POV, or even the Gods of Narrative Necessity POV, your choice) one sees a YV-100 light freighter, the Wanderer, belonging to one Armitage Hux (aka "Alasdair Sinclair" when an alias is required) following closely behind the Ghost prior to it's transition to hyperspace.
Brienne Phasma had just entered the sequence for their hyperspace jump into the navigation computer. "Are you strapped in Red?" she called over to Kateria. "I'm getting ready to drop her into hyperspace."
"Yup," responded Kateria. "What's our transit time?"
"We have 6 hours in hyperspace and 2 hours in normal space before we reach our destination."
"Brutal," commented Kateria. "Hey Blondie, do you know anything about this Comraich planet?"
"Not really." replied Phasma, "The First Order never had a reason to deal with them. It's in the Mid Rim and used to be part of the New Republic. That's all I know."
"So any idea why the lady doctor is taking us there? asked Kateria.
"Not a clue," admitted Phasma. "But I'm sure Armie knows what's going on. He's good at gathering intel."
"So Blondie, what are we going to do for 6 hours in hyperspace?" asked Kateria.
Phasma set the autopilot. "You wanna spar in the empty cargo hold Red?"
"Sure," replied Kateria. "With benefits later on?"
Phasma grinned wickedly. "Of course."
+TaBa+TaBa+TaBa+
Six hours later, the Ghost and the Wanderer both dropped out of hyperspace.
Armitage Hux woke up, opened his eyes, and looked around the cabin.
He's not sure where he is. He doesn't know how long he has been out. He's not positive who put him in this position.
What he does know is that somebody has a lot of explaining to do.
And he's willing to bet that somebody is that bastard Kylo Ren.
Author's notes: I'm using +TaBa+TaBa+TaBa+ as a scene separator. I hope that makes the transitions less confusing.
This chapter was a bear to finish. I know where I want to go in general, but it's going to take some creative thought to get there in a satisfactory manner.
I'm leaning toward making this the first work in a 3 part series. I admit I wasn't planning to write more than about 1000 words and now this behemoth will probably end up somewhere over 100k words. Phew!