Ben – Age 12
Sooner or later Poe's "adopted status" had to invite disaster. These were the Solos after all; a wanted smuggler on one end, and the former princess of Alderaan on the other. Ben was a valuable asset.
Which meant that – inevitably – Poe was somehow involved.
A capable and upstart pilot was no target to the larger part of the galaxy. Poe had been socked for winning a few races, and thrown across a counter over the accusation of cheating in sabacc, but the quarrels were petty and were usually settled with a few well designated punches from his buddies (not bodyguards, no matter what Leia or Han said).
For that reason, Poe had no reason to suspect that anyone would spike a fizzy soda in a respectable diner. (It was supposed to go to Ben. Ben was late. The soda was therefore contraband.) He remembered punching awkwardly as one Adnerem's long-nailed fingers closed over his arm, and then rolling on the floor as three more Adnerems blurred into six and then four. The ceiling rolled and greyed, and he heard one Adnerem comment "I thought he would be smaller", before ….
He woke to the sear of knotted muscle in his shoulder. Grunting, Poe twisted to stretch. His hands moved as one and metal buzzed in warning. Cuffs? Panicking momentarily, Poe forced himself to rationalize.Ben. That little krayt dragon.
"Ben!" Poe called. His voice broke mid-syllable and he cleared his throat. "If this is one of your tricks, I'll tell your mother to forfeit your holovid rights for the next month." Painting the Imperialist symbol on Poe's X-wing was a prank. Sneaking up on him during an intense conversation with Jessika and making smooching noises was underhanded. This was reprehensible.
"Just because you're bored when I'm gone doesn't give you sanction to tie me up." Because this was ludicrous. How had he not noticed an eleven-year-old drugging his food?
Strike that theory; this is too smart for Ben. Poe sighed. Couldn't be Nor – the Givin was too occupied bullying a Twi'lek twice his size. Ech'ban, then. Only one cadet was mischievous enough to prank Poe today of all days.
"Ech'ban!" Yep, the cuffs were tight enough, and the blindfold had to be a personal touch. "I was supposed to meet a friend an hour ago!" He hoped he hadn't lost more than an couple hours of his day. "If the kid persuaded you to play 'Imperial Interrogation', tell him there was a spy among the troops and the prisoner escaped. Come on, Ech'ban! I can't be late for this one!"
"The boy is awake," a pinched voice said.
Poe clapped his mouth shut. That definitely isn't Nor. The sour remnant of sugary fizzy soda tainted his tongue and he remembered. Oh, kriff. Have I been kidnapped?
"This is taking too long," a similar voice spoke up as footsteps approached. "I told you to drug the boy; not incapacitate him. I want to prove to his father that we mean business."
Swallowing, Poe clenched his fists. Kes Dameron is dead. The only proof you'll give him is if you drop my body at his tombstone. He waited, tensed to strike.
"He was speaking," the pinched voice said. "He called for an 'Ek-ben'."
"Brutal pronunciation," Poe muttered. He stiffened when long nails latched onto his arm, and kicked out instinctively. His boots thudded into flesh and he relished the cry of pain, before more hands yanked him down and cold metal ground into his jaw.
"Struggle again and I will remove your fingers," the slithering voice warned. The blaster trailed down to Poe's hands and he flinched. "I require only your life. I do not care if I deliver a bloodied hull to your father."
The Adnerem. Poe breathed fast and shallow, speaking without thought. "What would you want with me? Honestly, I scored badly on my last flight test. If you're looking for a better pilot, you should ask for Nor – he's a great mechanic."
"Silence!" The Adnerem clacked its fingernails and Poe was hauled upright, legs sliding across the floor. "Contact Solo."
"Solo?" Poe swore in Corellian. "Wait – I think there's been a mistake." He was getting that horrible sense of 'Do anything you want just don't tell my mom!', and he thought he'd lost that fear when he was seven. Directed to General Solo, Poe envisioned his next report. I was kidnapped by at least four Adnerems because I drugged myself on a fizzy soda which is supposed to be ninety percent sugar. I have the vaguest impression that someone is after Ben, which might explain the unusual dosage in a kid's drink, and it's possible they mistook me for your son.
Which was ridiculous. He had at least two feet on the kid.
"Solo!" the leader heralded as Poe was hauled to his knees. The blindfold was yanked free – rather theatrically, in Poe's opinion - and he blinked hazily at the hologram transmission.
"Uh… Hey…." Poe cringed. Kriff and Sith, he was dead. Han Solo looked furious. Poe bit his lip in embarrassment. "I … probably should have told them I wasn't actually – "
"Shut up, Ben."
Poe clapped his mouth shut. Okay, I'm a Solo. This is normal for Ben's family, I guess.
"You heard my terms," Han addressed the Adnerem. "Release the boy."
"After we receive our imbursement," the leader said smoothly. His blaster trailed uncomfortably along Poe's ear, then shifted to rest against the side of his nose. "You do want him returned in one piece, I trust."
The twitch in Han's jaw was so well played that for an instant Poe could have believed he was Ben Solo. Play it cool, he reminded himself. It wasn't all that hard - General Solo seemed to be in control of the matter - but he really didn't want a hideous scar. Maybe across the eyebrow. Just leave the nose alone, deal?
"Your payment will be transferred," Han said. A shift in his expression and the unease was replaced with casual control. Poe was impressed. This was Han Solo the former smuggler; and he knew how to bargain. "I sent a freighter with the cargo," Han continued, slouching back and looping one leg over the armrest of his chair. "My envoy should meet you presently."
"You said nothing about a courier!" the Adnerem hissed. Poe crossed his eyes as the blaster shifted to the tip of his nose.
Haplessly Han spread his hands. "I had to send someone. He's just a farm kid with a walking carpet; no threats; no problems."
"If this is a trick, I will return your messengers' entrails as payment." The Adnerem clicked its nails in warning.
How does he grip a blaster without a thumb? Poe wondered.
"Ben," Han emphasized slowly. "How are you holding up?"
Besides wondering when I started using the kid's name? "Just fine," Poe said breezily. "Nothing better than an impromptu nap to clear my head."
Han rolled his eyes. "I can see why the little guy complains that you sleep too much."
"I have early shift," Poe excused half-heartedly. And Jessika whupped me in sabacc the other night.
"You humanoids," the leader growled. "You have no respect for death." His hand blurred in movement.
"Whoah, I respect it!" Poe corrected as the blaster jabbed behind his left shoulder. He had a very healthy respect for death. Nearly losing his face to a tree branch had emphasized the importance of not dyingfor as long as possible.
Unfortunately, his respect and his tongue held two different angles. "I had the impression you were trying to keep me alive," Poe rattled heedlessly. "Threatening my hands; my face. If you blast my shoulder it could collapse my lung. I would drown. In my own blood." He had learned that in third year academy. Half the class was conveniently sick afterwards.
Han groaned and clapped a hand over his face. "Shut up, kid."
"You are all fools!" the Adnerem leader bellowed. He shoved Poe against his minions and seized the pilot's jaw. "I will cut out your tongue first."
"Wait!" Han shouted, all composure foregone.
Stupid, stupid! Poe screamed at himself as his jaw was forced apart. Long nails dug into his shoulders, buckling him down as a knife slid between his teeth. Han bellowed his name.
The Adnerem faltered.
"Poh?" he repeated in disbelief.
The knife slid free and Poe closed his eyes in relief. Poe Dameron, you'll lose worse than your life one of these days.
"You lied," the leader accused, turning to face Han. "You said this was your son."
Han flustered, hesitated, and then shrugged. "Same hair?"
"Pfassk!" Flinging the knife into the wall, the Adneren slammed a fist into the console. "Blaggard! Kcho-tung!" He smashed his arm into one of his guards and sent him sprawling.
Ben must be Adneren, Poe mused.
The next fifteen minutes were… disappointingly anticlimactic. The Adneren leader continued to rave in multiple dialects as he trashed the room. The hologram transmitter was the first to disintegrate, and a security droid quickly followed. I could almost believe I never left the base, Poe surmised as he watched another control hub sizzle. Ben would appreciate the Adneren's ingenuity. Who knew a service droid could be spliced into three compartments with one crunch to the dome?
When Luke Skywalker eventually forced the door aside, Chewbacca looming behind him, Poe was almost sorry to leave. (Almost. He did appreciate keeping all his fingers intact. It was just fun witnessing the Adneren leader's screeching fit when he realized General Solo's "courier" was a Jedi.)
He was greeted by the Master of Tantrums himself when they returned. Ben slammed into Poe from the side, squeezing his waist and yammering, "I couldn't sense you! You were gone! I thought you were dead but Dad said you weren't and he sent Uncle Luke to check and we found out you were alive but they wouldn't let me listen in on the transmission and Mom made me stay in the other room even though Itold her – "
"Ben!" Poe rasped. "Pilot's gotta breathe!"
Sucking in rapid breaths, Ben released him and hovered. "I can't feel you still!" Frantically he turned to Luke. "What's happening to him?"
"Force inhibitor, probably," Han supplied as he ducked under the freighter. Leia slipped past him, sharp eyes already flitting over Poe. "They probably thought he was a Jedi."
"They thought he was me," Ben guessed. He looked back at Poe and the pilot nearly stepped back.
Self-note, Poe cautioned himself. Don't ever make the kid mad.
"Thank you for protecting my son," Leia whispered, already sensing the minor wounds versus injured pride. Her thumb ghosted over Poe's bruised cheek and she cringed in sympathy. "The confusion stalled them long enough for Luke to arrive. You were very brave."
He was newly eighteen and too old for superfluous compliments, but Poe flushed all the same.
"Do you need a medical droid, or would you rather patch yourself up?" Leia offered.
Ben's outrage shattered Poe's remaining calm. "You knew he was my replacement!" Furiously the child swiveled between Luke and Han. "Why didn't you rescue him sooner? He's that expendable to you, isn't he?"
"Ben, that's enough!" Han shouted.
Ben faltered for an instant, then glanced at his mother. Lividly he stepped between her and Poe. "You don't have a right to touch him! You would have let him die if I hadn't begged you to help him sooner. I hate you both! You never – "
"Ben!" Fluidly Poe crouched and spun the boy around. His head pounding from the commotion and his pulse charged with infuriation at a child's insolence, Poe grated between shuddering breaths, "Don't ever speak to your mother like that again."
He saw the change in Ben's shattered eyes, as friendship morphed into authority. Slowly Ben's mouth closed. His expression shuttered.
Han spoke first. "Room. Now," he barked, jabbing in the direction of the hangar doors. Leia hugged herself as her son slumped away.
Luke slowly exhaled. "We need to discuss his training."
Groaning, Leia pressed a hand against her brow. "Luke, it can wait. I can fix this. Just give me another year with him."
"Leia – "
"Han?" Leia beseeched.
Caught between two bickering Force-sensitives, Han glanced between them and shrugged. "One more year. What can go wrong?" He thrust his hands into his pockets and scuffed away, kicking a duracrete chunk. "Sure, what can possibly go wrong," Poe heard him mutter. "Kid needs a good dose of self-discipline."
"Luke, give him time," Leia urged. "He's not like his grandfather."
"That's what worries me, Leia," Luke stressed. "He can't control himself."
"I'll fix this," Leia promised. "He isn't unredeemable."
"I never said…."
Both siblings glanced at Poe, suddenly remembering his presence. Clearing his throat, Luke nodded at Chewbacca.
"Chewie, will you take Poe to the medcenter? See to it that he has a full examination."
Poe raised one hand. "I'm fine, really – "
"No arguments," the twins ordered unanimously.
"Rest," Leia insisted. "You've done enough for today."
Sighing, Poe wearily saluted and followed Chewbacca. What a day. What an awful, kriffing bad day.
He was supposed to have met Ben at the diner. He'd been promised a full day to himself; a chance to reestablish his friendship with Ben; treat the kid to the zoo.
Poe kicked the door frame as he passed by.
Birthdays aren't worth the fuss, anyways.
Thank you to Space Opera Singer, Begoogled, AKLNxStories, FreelyBeYourself, CatWingsAthena, ZeDancingHobbit, Elleth of Mossflower, Real1Swear, Agent ERA, La Vik, TheEarthSong, CrazedFangirl13, and guests Corrine and Guest for reviewing!
This chapter was prompted by Agent ERA, who thought up a few "kidnapped Poe" scenarios.