He was a good time. She hadn't expected that when she located her target. The days passed in a bright and shiny blur: he took her to the races, taught her how to gamble, held her close in the cantina, draped her in jewels and lush dresses to better show off his new prize. And she smiled and laughed, and all the while felt empty.

Noticing her was a mistake. He followed the length of that white dress to find she had lovely lilac skin; a color he'd never seen. He was a fool to trust her smile without considering the lie that hid behind it. After many luxurious days he finally sent his guards away and swept her lithe body into a reserved room. He had plans to declare his love for this violet woman and her infectious smile, he'd weave poetry around his proposal enticing her to follow him across the stars – it was a speech he'd given to many women before her, and he'd give it to the next girl once he grew bored of this one.

Only she wasn't smiling anymore, and she wasn't half as pretty as when she smiled. He was a handsome man with a big laugh and needy hands. But she didn't like his eyes they were too blue, she preferred them warm and brown.

"What's the matter baby?" she asked removing the silver band from her wrist. "I thought you liked me?"

He could see it now, what lay behind her pretty smile. And he reached for his blaster as she stepped forward.

.^.

A long slender figure stood on a shadowed window ledge looking at the busy lighted street below charting her escape. Sooner rather than later the guards would come back for the disgustingly wealthy man in the room behind her, and they'd be none too pleased at finding him dead.

With the bracelet she used to strangle him Eris detached the cuff into two smaller circular pieces and hung one on a jutting statue before jumping from the ledge. The wire that ran between the two metal cuffs whined as it unraveled bearing her weight.

She landed light on her feet still cloaked in shadow and pushed the small button activating the magnet that pulled the two cuffs to each other. They snapped together in her hand and she returned the bracelet to her wrist. Smoothing her braided hair and fixing her askew dress she then crept to the edge of the cantina watching the people leave, looking for the right time to step out unnoticed.

A very round red faced man stumbled outside with a much thinner and prettier prize clutched tightly in his thick-fingered grip. Using his girth she quickly moved behind him and followed him down the stairs, giving a small nod to the guard who offered his hand to help her down the last step.

She was in the clear and she breathed a little easier seeing her transport being brought around for her. Less than five minutes and she'd be on her way to the small ship she'd stowed in a cave by the shore. It was almost too easy.

A series of panicked yet indignant beeps and whirs sounded from the doors of the lush cantina before the round orange and white droid was tossed down the stairs. Its body clanged on every step as it tumbled, hit the bottom, and continued rolling out of control. It struck a sturdy immovable object and rolled its head around seeing a knee high boot had caught it. Tucked in the side of the boot was the hilt of a small dagger.
Almost timidly the droid followed the long stretch of fabric to find a familiar face with hard curious eyes. BB-8 whirred excitedly speaking in beeps and whines as it circled her.

Returning to the front of her BB-8 rolled back a step and looked up at her waiting. Its head followed her as she knelt beside it, a lilac elbow on her knee.

"Of all the places for you to be," Eris mused wondering what was going on. "Why are you here?"

BB-8 hesitated analyzing her face. BB-8 asked Poe about her after she left, had asked why she left - his smile was amused and a little sad. The little droid rolled toward her and began explaining.

The Resistance had been forced onto one cruiser after the First Order destroyed D'Qar, and now were trapped as the First Order waited until their fuel was depleted and their shields were lowered.

"Son of a bitch," Eris muttered realizing why she'd been given this assignment. It took several days, weeks even she didn't know how long she'd been there, stripping away at her target until he finally trusted her enough to send his guards out of the room so she could kill him. Because Kylo wanted her far away from the Resistance when he destroyed them. "Where is he?" she asked turning to find BB-8, having not realized she was pacing.

The droid gave a low sorrowful whine ducking its head.

Eris rolled her eyes. "Of course he's still on the ship, why can't anything ever be easy." She shoved the valet when he tried to hand her the key and stalked over the grass disappearing into the shadows where the cantina lights didn't shine.

BB-8 was quick to follow still trying to explain what was going on and that Finn and Rose had been arrested.

"Why'd he have to send the stormtrooper and some random girl? Huh? Why couldn't he come?"

With her long legs BB-8 was rushing to keep up jostling over the uneven ground as it continued explaining, though its tone was beginning to thin into irritation.

Eris huffed pulling at the high slit in the turquoise dress so that the skirt fluttered behind her while she walked instead of wrapping around her legs. "Of course he has to be a hero."

BB-8 rolled to a stop when she suddenly halted and watched her grab the sealed grate and rip it from the opening before carelessly tossing it in the grass.
"Will you fit?"

It looked from her to the hole then up to her again, then back down at the hole and then at her increasingly unhappy face. BB-8 gave her an earful not appreciating what she said about its master or her attitude, or the look of the dark hole in the ground.

"It's a sim-" she was cut off by BB-8's beeping. "Just ans-" the droid continued on not listening. "Yes or no," she growled quieting it.

BB-8 looked up at her without moving for several impatient seconds before it lowered and raised its head in a nod. With a long heavy look Eris knelt by the hole with a hand on either side of its edge and let herself fall. BB-8 heard the thud of her boots as they hit the ground, and it waited in the grass knowing it was supposed to go next. Poe told BB-8 the plan, she wasn't part of the plan – she'd make him smile but BB-8 didn't know if she was helping or not.

Finally reaching a decision BB-8 rolled into the hole and fell through the dark tunnel hearing a quiet grunt as two strong, straining, arms wrapped around it's lower body catching it. Setting the droid on the stone she raised a finger to her lips and inched forward down the long hall.

BB-8 rolled after her trying to be quiet, looking up when it thought it was too loud and met her now angry face. BB-8 heard a hushed whisper realizing she wanted to be quiet because she heard guards ahead, who were now running toward them. The droid gave an apologetic whir, a sad little sound, but she didn't tell BB-8 that it was okay like Poe did.
Instead the droid rolled forward watching as she ran to the end of the hall and slid on the rough stone catching one guard behind his knee so he fell, grabbing the dagger in her boot, and stabbed the other in the throat. When she turned around to kill the first guard she saw BB-8 extending an arc welder to the now convulsing man.

Eris kicked the man seeing he was knocked out cold and she bent to grab her knife. "Not bad," she told the droid who lowered its head as though to blush. "You need to be quieter."

The droid quickly agreed before rolling down the hall where the guards had come from, realizing she'd broken them into the prison. She was helping, it made the droid happy – now Poe really would smile.

With a sigh she followed the droid knowing it was still too loud, its body making little clings as it rolled over jutting stones. But beneath that she heard the sound of a few people, at least four different voices and too many pairs of feet. She tried to grab the droid but BB-8 rolled out of her reach and around the corner.

She ran planning to throw herself around the corner blaster ready and shoot at anything that moved, but she heard a deep grunt and groan and then a cry that cut out and the sparking sizzle of the arc welder. With the blaster held at her side she peeked around the corner and smiled as BB-8 rolled back and began shooting coins at a guard knocking him out. "Not bad," she mumbled to herself, a little grin on her face.

Hearing footsteps her hand tightened around the blaster aiming at the man who stumbled around the corner. He looked at the unconscious guards and the droid who sat seeming proud of itself trying to make out what happened. "What's your story roundy?"

BB-8 considered the shifty man a moment before answering, falsely. The man seemed to pick up on that and shrugged. "You're gonna have to do b-b-better than that," he told the droid.
He caught a shadow moving and he looked up watching a tall woman emerge from the dark. The light was dim but he saw the long slit of her dress up to her thigh, a tinge of purple, the faint yellow glow of her eyes. A smile snuck onto his face. "Now that's b-b-better."

BB-8 rolled between them whirring unhappily up at the still grinning man. "Alright," he said with his hands raised in mock surrender, "lady's off limits."

With a few more choice words BB-8 rolled back to Eris, who was still watching the raggedy man in his worn socks and tattered jacket, his boots tied around his shoulders, his funny little hat.

He caught the glint of the blaster in her hand and his smile grew. "Will you tell me w-w-what's going on?" he asked, though it wasn't a request to know but rather to hear her speak.

She motioned to the droid at her feet. "It's his show." BB-8 gave a beep in agreement before rolling down the hall looking for Finn and Rose.
Eris looked up from the retreating droid finding the man still staring. "Follow the droid," she told him, firm but not unkind.

"Can I h-h-have your name?" he stuttered.

She didn't like his manner of speech, something was off about him. This raggedy man, his watchful eyes. "No. Follow the droid."

Now she was being unkind and he lowered his head as though to bow. "Yes ma'am."

She watched him go after BB-8 and wondered where Finn was, where Poe was, where Rey was. Hell, even Kylo. Everyone was somewhere else and Eris found herself once again in the middle of it all.