"One bed? Again?"

"It was the last room they had open."

Hux looked around the room with distaste. The lodgings weren't necessarily seedy, though they did have the air of decaying gentrification, like a dowager swathed in a moth-eaten silk shawl. Worn carpet, worn bed coverings, ancient lighting, two uncomfortable chairs next to a low table, and as noted earlier, just one bed. At least it had a private fresher.

"This is a big city. Couldn't you have found something a little better? With perhaps two beds? Or a bed and a fold-out couch?"

"This place is far enough from the train station, in a decent, but shabby neighborhood and we can afford it with the cash credits I have left," explained Aurelia. "And before you suggest it, we don't need to give the Inspector a paper trail to follow by using a credit stick."

Hux hummed noncommittally. "Fine. I can put up with it for one night."

He moved over to one of the spindly chairs, sat down, and glared at her. "I still don't know whether I can trust you or not."

Aurelia sat down in the other chair and met his glare calmly. "I can give you access to all my memories of working with Inspector Falkus. Would that reassure you, Alasdair?"

"Depends on what I see," Hux conceded. "But if I'm not satisfied with what I see then we part ways."

"You haven't finished your training yet," Aurelia interjected.

"Aurelia, if I can't trust you regarding the UNR Inspector I can't trust you with my Force training." countered Hux.

"Then we may as well do this now," she said, holding her hand out to him.

Hux reached out and took her hand in his.

**TaBa**

Inspector Falkus rubbed his tired eyes and tried to stifle a yawn. Agent MacBheatha had commandeered a ground floor conference room at the Travelers Rest and had set up a holomap of Dùn Èideann. The Damerons had just arrived from Both Chèi.

Poe yawned so widely he could practically wrap his upper lip over his forehead. "Sir, can this wait until morning? Finn and I are exhausted."

"You can sleep after we've caught Armitage Hux," retorted the Inspector.

Finn patted his husband's shoulder.

"I'll go get you some strong coffee, love," he said and walked over to a sideboard along one wall.

Falkus looked over to MacBheatha. "Mìcheal, we need to flood the area around the main Dùn Èideann train station with agents."

"Tonight sir?" asked MacBheatha skeptically.

"Yes, tonight!" snapped Falkus. "According to the published schedules, there are no more trains departing this evening from either the main station or the auxiliary one. The most likely scenario is that Hux and his companion have gone to ground somewhere in the vicinity of the main train station."

"What do you need them to do?" asked Poe as he blew on his coffee to cool it to drinkable levels.

"I want them to check anywhere someone can rent a room for the night." replied the Inspector as he looked over the map. "Start with the seedier establishments and work up from there."

He looked up at Poe. "Dameron, talk to Agent MacBheatha and make sure the field agents are sent a holopicture of Hux along with a description of the girl he's with. Someone is bound to remember a late-night arrival. And make sure they ask if the room was paid for with cash credits."

"Right away sir," Poe replied, striding across the room to where MacBheatha was getting more coffee.

Falkus looked over at Finn. "What about you?" he asked.

Finn was confused. "What about me, sir?"

"Any insights from the Force that you care to share?"

"Not really sir," responded Finn uneasily. His system felt off and he wasn't sure if it was the Force, too much coffee, or that last haggis sandwich he ate.

"You and your husband were subdued this evening by a Force user."

"That's true Inspector." agreed Finn.

"Do you remember which one used the Force? Was it the girl?"

"I honestly don't remember, sir. I don't think Poe does either," answered Finn.

"While you were stationed on the Finalizer were there any rumors that Hux might be a Force-sensitive?"

"Not hardly, Inspector," Finn laughed. 'Kylo Ren mocked him a few times in front of the crew about being as Force-sensitive as a rock."

"Anything else you remember from serving on the Finalizer?"

Finn frowned. "Well, Hux is a strategic and tactical genius. He probably has a plan in place for getting off the planet. The girl with him - she may be a hostage. I doubt there's any other reason he still has her with him."

"Let's hope not," muttered Falkus. Was Aurelia helping Hux? he thought uncomfortably.

**TaBa**

Aurelia took a deep breath and opened her eyes. She waited until Hux opened his eyes before she removed her hand from his.

"Well?" she asked. "Are you satisfied?"

Hux sat back in his chair and looked at her speculatively. "There's more to you than meets the eye, Dr. Galen. But yes, I am satisfied that you are not working with Inspector Falkus."

Aurelia smiled. "I am happy to hear that, Alasdair."

Hux raised a hand. "You're not off the hook, Aurelia. But anything else can wait until we've shaken the UNR agents. So what's your plan?"

Aurelia frowned. "I don't have anything specific beyond the fact that Dùn Èideann is a fairly large city and we can continue to dodge Peter and his agents until we can secure transportation off-planet."

"That's not much of a plan, Aurelia," objected Hux. "That sounds like one of Ren's half-assed plans where his strategy is to bash everyone and everything with his lightsaber."

"Well what would you suggest?" huffed Aurelia.

"I think we both need to get some sleep," answered Hux. "In the morning we can find a cantina or a pub, get something to eat, and comm Phasma for a pick-up. We can also comm Ren and the scav… his girlfriend and see if they have left the planet yet."

"That sounds like a good idea," she agreed. "We should both have something to sleep in," she added, nodding at the travel bags. "I packed up everything we had brought to the Bungalow. I had a strong feeling that we shouldn't leave anything behind."

Hux stood up and walked across the room to his travel bag. "I'm doing this under protest, Aurelia."

"Of course, Alasdair. Why don't you take a turn at the fresher first?" She ventured a small smile. "I promise I'll stay on my side of the bed."

**TaBa**

"Falkus," the Inspector barked into his comm unit. He listened a moment and said "Hold on a minute," then keyed the unit to 'hold.' He looked around the bustling crowd in the conference room and spotted Poe.

"Dameron!" he shouted over the noise.

"Yes sir?" two voices answered simultaneously.

Falkus rolled his eyes. It was like working with the Weasley twins. "Get over here, Poe," he said emphatically.

Poe trotted over to the Inspector, with Finn following close on his heels.

"Dameron, take charge and keep this cluster going in the right direction," he advised. "I'm stepping out into the lobby to take this comm call,"

"Yes sir!" replied Poe enthusiastically. "Let's go, Finn."

Falkus watched him wade into the crowd of agents, yelling at the top of his voice, and wondered how much coffee Poe had consumed.

Shaking his head, he walked out into the relative quiet of the hotel lobby.

"Ok, I can hear you now. Report." he spoke into the comm after keying it off 'hold.'

He listened a few minutes, acknowledged the message, and ended the call. Stepping back into the conference room, he looked around for Agent MacBheatha and waved him over. MacBheatha threaded his way through the crowd.

"Yes Inspector?" he asked.

"Let's step out into the lobby where it's quieter," responded Falkus.

As the door between the conference room and lobby closed the Inspector turned to MacBheatha.

"Mìcheal, the courier I told you was coming from the UNR will arrive in a couple of hours with the arrest warrant for Kylo Ren. I need you to set up a stakeout on his ship at the Sruighlea Aerodrome."

"Yes sir, I can arrange that," answered MacBheatha. "However …"

"Yes, Mìcheal?"

"What do you propose my men do when Kylo Ren returns to his ship?" protested MacBheatha. "My men are highly trained, loyal, and competent. They are not Force users, though. I'm not going to send them out to be slaughtered by some sort of dark wizard."

"Would you have access to capture guns?" asked Falkus.

"Do you mean like the tranquilizer guns used to subdue large animals?"

"Something like that," agreed the Inspector.

"I'm sure we can equip the team with capture guns," MacBheatha acknowledged. "I'm not confident the tranquilizers we have access to would work on someone like Kylo Ren.

"He's a human like the rest of us, Mìcheal. Besides, the courier is bringing something designed to stop Force users." He closed his eyes momentarily, fighting off exhaustion.

"You get a team in position with capture guns, Mìcheal. I'll make sure they have the Force suppression serum."

"Does this Force suppression serum have a name, sir?"

"Yes, It's called Neurostrin."

Author's Notes: Hux and Aurelia secure overnight lodgings in Dùn Èideann. Hux has trust issues, Aurelia lets him look at her memories. Inspector Falkus thinks he knows where Hux and Aurelia have gone to ground. He also gets good news from the United New Republic.

I wanted to get this out earlier but there were several distractions IRL.

So who do you think is going to get a dose of Neurostrin?

Has the Inspector figured out that Hux is Force-sensitive?

What's up with Phasma and Kateria?

All good questions that will be answered soon.