"Gods damn it, Dameron, I thought you had more sense than that!" sighed Inspector Falkus into his comm unit. "I distinctly remember telling you to observe and follow."

"It seemed like a good idea at the time, Inspector," Poe replied contritely. He and Finn had woken up in the pub when one of the servers nudged Finn and told them they needed the seating and the two could sleep in a proper bed instead of in a puddle of ale.

"It was definitely General Hux, Inspector," confirmed Finn. "I recognized him from my time on the Finalizer."

"Honestly sir, Hux was so busy kissing his girlfriend I thought he would be easy to apprehend," added Poe.

"Girlfriend?" asked Falkus. "Do you mean Phasma, the Stormtrooper Captain?"

"No sir," clarified Poe, "This was a pretty, dark-haired girl. About 170 cm and maybe 61 kg. I think she was a local, sir."

"The report I had placed him in the company of Dr. Aurelia Galen," speculated the Inspector.

"This woman was quite a bit younger, Inspector," said Finn.

"What else happened?"

"Well, it's kind of fuzzy, sir," responded Poe abashedly. "They walked toward us and I told Hux he was under arrest. The next thing I know a pub server is waking me up. Sir, what is a fandan?

"Why do you ask, Dameron?"

"It's what the girl called me when I told Hux he was under arrest."

"It's nothing important," replied the Inspector, though he was tempted to call Dameron a 'pretentious idiot' also. "Go by the meditation center again on the off chance that Hux went back there. If he did then call me and observe only."

"How long do you want us to watch it, sir?" asked Poe.

"Give it about an hour. If he's not back by then he's not coming back. Come back here when you are finished."

"Yes, Inspector Falkus. Dameron out."

Falkus closed the connection on his comm and stared thoughtfully at it. His instincts told him that Aurelia was wrapped up in this sorry mess of a case. And she could have very well been the young lady Dameron saw with Hux. He didn't know a lot about her Force powers, but he did remember that she had shown him some sort of illusion she could wear when she thought she needed it.

"Dammit Lia, I hope I'm wrong," he muttered to himself. He didn't want to arrest her for aiding and abetting a fugitive.

**TaBa**

"Hurry up Alasdair," chivvied Aurelia as she hurried him along a deserted sidewalk. "We need to get out of Both Chèi before those two wake up." She turned into the car park and headed to their transport. She opened the trunk and began pulling out their travel bags.

"You know, I could have quietly disposed of those two idiots," grumbled Hux. "It's not intelligent to leave adversaries alive. They tend to show up again at the most inopportune moments."

"Those two are close friends of Rey Skywalker," replied Aurelia as she closed the trunk. "I really don't want to have one of the most powerful Force users in the known galaxy upset with us. For that matter, I don't want the other most powerful Force user in the known galaxy angry because we upset his girlfriend."

"Fair enough," he agreed reluctantly. "I just hope it doesn't come back to bite us in the ass."

"You can be remarkably crude when you want to be Alasdair," frowned Aurelia as she handed him his travel bag.

Hux ignored her jab as he pulled the belt with his blaster and holder out of his bag and fastened it around his waist. "So are we aren't taking the prehistoric pedal car?"

"No," she replied. "It's registered to the Grey Order. Too easy to trace. And we can't go back to the Bungalow, either. We need to disappear for now."

She hoisted her bag on her shoulder and started walking away from the transport. "Both Chèi has a train station. We can catch the late evening run to Dùn Èideann if we don't dawdle."

"So you want us to drop out of sight, Aurelia?" asked Hux as they exited the car park.

"I would have thought that was an obvious conclusion," she answered with a bit of irritation.

"Let me see your comm unit," he demanded.

"Why?"

"Just hand it to me."

"Fine," she huffed as she pulled it out of her pocket and gave it to him.

He looked it over.

"This is a standard United New Republic model. Does it have enhanced security? Encryption?" asked Hux.

"Not that I know of. It's just a comm unit."

"Alright. Stand back a bit."

With that, he dropped the comm on the ground and stomped on it until it was a small pile of plastic, metal, and wires.

"What the blue bloody hell are you doing?" shrieked Aurelia, staring at the remains of her former comm unit.

"You can be remarkably crude when you want to be, Aurelia," smirked Hux.

"Why. Did. You. Destroy. My. Comm." she seethed.

"The United New Republic loads off-the-shelf comm units with trackers and spyware. Not to mention they are easy to hack. If we are going to go off the grid your comm unit had to go." he explained.

He gave her an arched look. "What, did you think the UNR wouldn't spy on people?"

"We aren't done with this," she said coldly. "But we need to hurry if we are going to make the train."

"Be a love and float this pile over to the bin in the alley ahead of us," grinned Hux. "You haven't taught me levitation yet."

**TaBa**

Seneschal MacSheumais was sitting at his desk reading reports when there was a gentle knock at the door of his office. He reached out briefly with the Force and ascertained the identity of his visitors.

"Enter," he called out. A moment later the door opened to admit Kylo and Rey.

"Welcome Master Ren, Master Skywalker. Thank you for coming here so swiftly," greeted the Seneschal cordially.

"Your messenger said that you had some news for us, Master MacSheumais," answered Kylo.

"Yes. Please, sit. May I offer you refreshments?"

"Coffee, if you have it," replied Kylo.

"Just tea for me, thanks," responded Rey.

The Seneschal's assistant arrived shortly with the refreshments, and they took a few minutes to settle in with their beverage of choice and a selection of biscuits, shortbread, and digestives.

"So what is the news you have for us, Master MacSheumais?" inquired Kylo.

"Several items, Master Ren," the Seneschal replied.

He smiled thinly and picked up a datapad from his desk.

"To employ a rather worn old cliche, I have good news and I have bad news." He paused for a moment to gather his thoughts.

"Well?" Kylo pressed irritably. Rey put her hand on his forearm and squeezed gently.

"So impatient, Master Ren," murmured Master MacSheumais.

"We appreciate all that you have done for us, Master MacSheumais," acknowledged Rey. "The psychic attacks have been wearing on me and Kylo."

"Yes," agreed Kylo, "though happily, we have been free of them while we've been at your Charterhouse."

Placated, the Seneschal picked up his datapad and scanned it. "I imagine you would first like a progress report on the entity or entities who have been attacking you and Master Skywalker, so I'll begin with that.

"My counterparts in the other Charterhouses and I have searched the Force for clues to the group or groups that have been attacking the two of you. We discounted the possibility of an individual. Darth Sidious could have, but you two were responsible for destroying his clone body at Exegol. The Grey Council searched extensively afterward and were satisfied that he no longer existed on the material plane.

"However," he continued, "the elimination of Darth Sidious does not mean there are no devotees to the Chaos expression of the Force. There's a splinter group on Dromund Kaas that's trying to revive the Prophets of the Dark side. Additionally, there are some newly raised Sith Masters on Kesh who want to restore the Lost Tribe of Sith. Finally, there are several Dark side devotees who have returned to Exegol and are attempting to revive the Church of the Dark Side."

"I take it that's the bad news you alluded to." surmised Kylo.

"Actually," smiled the Seneschal, "that's the good news. Chaos Force users, or Dark Side Force users as they are conventionally known, are prone to terminal infighting. Currently, all three groups are engaged in internecine conflicts. We are fully confident that the various groups will either self-destruct or turn on each other."

"So do we need to worry about more attacks?" asked Rey.

"Not now or in the near future. We will continue to monitor the situation and its effect on the overall balance of the Force."

"Pity," smirked Kylo. "I haven't had a good battle in a while."

{{Kylo!}}

[[I haven't, Rey. You know it's what I do best.]]

{{I don't want you facing off in a battle royale with a bunch of Darksiders!}}

[[Ok, but I'm getting rusty. And a bit bored]]

The Seneschal set his datapad down and looked at Kylo.

"Well Master Ren, if you are bored with our bucolic lifestyle the bad news I have to impart may pique your interest. Inspector Falkus is awaiting a courier with a warrant for your arrest, along with an extradition request and a new Force suppression drug that goes by the name Neurostrin."

As Kylo and Rey stared at Master MacSheumais in consternation he added, "And on a side note, we have lost track of Aurelia Galen and Armitage Hux."

Author's Notes: Poe and Finn report to Inspector Falkus. Hux and Aurelia need to get out of Both Chèi. Master MacSheumais meets with Kylo and Rey to impart some good news and some bad news.

Sorry this chapter is a bit late. I was having trouble getting it right. And IRL was a bit busy for a while.