Leia had a bad feeling about this. Watching the trial of General Hux should have brought her some measure of satisfaction but instead all she could feel was dread. This was the work of her son. She knew it in her bones. There was no way that so much sensitive First Order information could have come from anywhere but the very top. Information that always conveniently excluded any mention or even hint of Kylo Ren.

The chief prosecutor on the trial had a flare for the dramatics, hammering in every daming detail with great aplomb. No grisly detail had been omitted from any of the witness testimony or evidence files. The sins of the First Order were laid bare for all to see.

At least that was what they wanted everyone to think. A narrative was emerging that the disgraced General Hux had gone rogue and was operating a splinter faction within the First Order that was responsible for much of the war crimes. Footage of Hux giving an impassioned speech before ordering the destruction of the New Republic had been so explosive that the judge had to call a recess until the next day. The baliffs could not guarantee Hux's safety after the courtroom witnessed Hux personally give the order for genocide.

After that, the judge had ordered a closed court. Members of the media were still permitted to film the proceedings but no other audience was permitted inside the courtroom. The footage ran continuously on the new outlets with various reporters and political pundits waying in on the day's testimony.

That was the other source of Leia's dread. More and more, the general opinion of the First Order was changing. You could see it in the reporting. Experts, government officials, and reporters were quick to correct any guest who labeled the First Order as wholly bad. Instead they furthered the narrative that a few bad actors were responsible and that people should not discredit all of the extraordinary assistance that the First Order was providing to systems in need. B-roll footage showing First Order soldiers distributing food and medical supplies ran continuously. It was enough to make Leia sick.

It didn't help that Poe was still stuck in a jail cell. Many of the top legal advisors who she had counted as friends had refused to take the case. No one wanted to be associated with someone accused of causing the deaths of so many. She was unwilling to lose hope that they would be able to save Poe but it was going to take a lot longer than anyone wanted. Her least of all.

She cared about the reckless flyboy. It seemed that even after so many years, she still had a soft spot for cocky pilots with a reckless swagger. She didn't want to lose Poe like she had lost Han. Poe would get through this. They would clear his name and shout it from the rooftops. And when they did clear his name, Leia had no doubt that they would be able to prove that the First Order was behind everything. The deaths and the frame job.

Hopefully, that would be enough to get everyone to see through the lies.

…

Finn's palms were sweating despite how well the jail break was going. They had successfully entered the prison and had made their way up to the cell block where Poe was being held. It wouldn't do to get cocky, a lot could still go wrong.

The next step was particularly nerve wracking. They were standing outside of the entrance to the cell block waiting to be buzzed in. If the guard they were blackmailing decided to turn on them, he could lock down the elevator, effectively trapping them in the hallway. Finn and Rose would be sitting ducks for any guards that came to arrest them. They would have no choice but to try and shoot their way out. Finn really hoped that it would not come to that.

"Come on, come on," he muttered under his breath.

"Relax," Rose replied. "He will open the door."

Rose was cool as a cucumber this entire time. Granted she wasn't laughing like she had when they escaped on fathiers but it was still a little unsettling that she was so calm with all of this.

After what felt like an eternity the cell block door opened. They had to pass directly by the guard station before heading to Poe's cell. Rose met the guard they were blackmailing outside the door and wordlessly held out her palm. He handed the key card to Rose and she in turn handed it to him.

"We are square right?"

The guard was clearly nervous. He kept wringing his hands and his eyes darted everywhere but them.

"Almost. Relax, Marcus. You are doing great. Soon we will be out of here and you can forget about everything."

"And you promise to wipe out my debt with the gambling guild?"

"A deal is a deal," Rose replied.

The guard was a little too twitchy for Finn. Rose's calm demeanor and easy tone seemed to help but the sooner they got out of here the better.

As if on cue, the second maintenance worker arrived. Finn followed the worker to Poe's cell while Rose stayed with the guard. See would keep an eye on him and ensure that he would not betray them.

"No turn down service tonight my dear Frederick."

The sound of Poe's irreverent voice brought a wide smile to Finn's face. It was good to see that the circumstances had not broken Poe's spirit. The fighter pilot seemed to be his usual cheeky self.

"Sorry sir, but I have to inform you that your payment card has been declined. You will need to vacate the room immediately."

At Finn's voice Poe jumped up and exclaimed "Finn is that you?!"

"Quiet would you? We don't need to alert the entire cell block." Finn unlocked the door as quickly as he could. Pushing it wide open to reveal a very happy Poe.

"My old buddy, I knew you would let me down." Poe practically jumped into Finn's arms.

"Yeah, yeah flyboy. We are not out of the woods yet. I am going to need you to get into the maintenance trolley. We are doing this old school."

Poe scrunched up his nose at the implications but made no complaint as he got in the trolley. It was a tight fit but he managed. They met back up with Rose, who was just finishing up with the guard. Rose had made sure that all the footage of them entering the jail was wiped.

"I don't have to remind you what will happen if you betray us do I Marcus?" Rose's tone was deceptively soft. However, there was no mistaking the threat in her voice. Marcus visibly gulped before responding.

"No, not at all," he stuttered.

"Good," Rose chirped.

With that they followed the maintenance worker to the lower level. It was clear sailing the entire way. No one crossed their path during the journey to the sub basement. Poe even managed to stay completely silent their entire trip.

When they reached the access to the sewer system, they let Poe out of the maintenance trolley. The smell already reaching them was horrific, but there was no other choice. The maintenance worker left their little party without a word. Clearly glad to be rid of them.

"Okay kids, this won't smell great but is our only way out of this clean," said Rose.

Wrinkling his nose, Poe responded "You and I have very different definitions of clean."

"Ha, ha," replied Rose. "For that you get to go first."

"Don't I outrank you?" Poe was clearly in a jovial mood, despite the smell.

"Didn't I just break you out of jail?" Retorted Rose.

"Okay guys, we can bicker back at the Falcon. We need to get out of here before our luck runs out." With that Finn entered the sewage tunnels.

The smell was beyond horrific, but if it meant they could get out safely, Finn would gladly suffer as long as it took. The sewage came up to his waist and Finn tried not to think about what was in the water. His skin felt cold and clammy and Finn vowed that the first thing he would do when he reached the Falcon was bath for several hours. He decided that it was best to just throw out his clothes. There was no salvaging the uniform, not with it being soaked clean through with raw sewage.

The group traveled in silence. No one wanted to open their mouth out of fear that some of the sludge would land in it. Hell, they barely wanted to breathe in this mess. Every now and again, Finn would look behind him to make sure that Rose and Poe were following close behind. Both resistance fighters wore equal expressions of disgust at their surroundings. It was going to take a lot to finally feel clean again.

Just when Finn was thinking that they were going to pull this off without a hitch he heard something. Raising his fist in the air, he motioned for the others to stop. There was nowhere to go in the tunnels.

"What is it?"

Poe was right beside him.

"I heard something," replied Finn.

The noise came again. This time they all heard it. With no time to spare, they all flattened against the nearest wall. It was the best that they could do under the circumstances. Who in their right mind would be entering these wretched tunnels?

A figure appeared in the distance. It was hard to make anything out in the dark, but the figure was clearly female. The skintight suit she wore clearly defined her full breasts. The woman's head was completely shrouded in a chrome helm.

As she came closer, Poe peeled himself off of the wall before Finn or Rose could stop him.

"Zorii?!"