TOY SOLDIER [IX] ▸ Poe Dameron

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT [XXVIII]

IF THERE WAS EVER A MOMENT THAT DESERVED A RECORD-SCRATCH FREEZE FRAME LIKE THEY SHOWED IN THE HOLOS, IT WAS DEFINITELY NOW.

There we were, my lovely sweet Princess and I, dragging Sabik in with handcuffs, bickering as we always were, attempting to infiltrate the biggest bullshit bounty hunter bash of the year.

"Nice mask." I commented as the three of us tried to weave through the increasingly growing mass of drunks and sleazeballs alike. They had cultivated at the entrance to the massive palace, stockpiled at the gates to check identification. Yeah, god forbid the Bounty Hunters let a commoner in, god forbid they actually provided them with food. Can't let them eat and drink from the lavish feast that they had access too.

Alya's laugh was hot upon her tongue as the headstrong young girl merely crooned at me. "We both know that's bullshit, Dameron. You miss seeing my face."

"Maybe if you ever washed it." I retorted. "Half the time it's covered in grime."

"I told you, there's more important things to worry about than the way I look. Clearly you wouldn't know, those curls probably take hours 'till you deem perfection."

I clicked my tongue incriminatingly. "It's basic hygiene, sweetheart!"

"Don't 'sweetheart' me!" hissed Alya as she shot me a look. She disappeared into the crowd without another word. I rolled my eyes, tugging Sabik further.

"Ouch, stars!" Sabik grumbled in his chains. "Easy, easy, watch it! These things fucking hurt!"

I sighed, feeling slightly bad and letting him catch up. "Look, I know, kid, they hurt, but unfortunately it's not my first time playing the 'transport-the-prisoner' game. And unfortunately if you join the Resistance, it probably won't be your last either. You'd think we'd be more inventive with our strategies."

"Actually, I think it's more like transport-the-sacrifice right now."

So, record-scratch freeze frame. Allow me to explain.

You might be asking why Sabik was in handcuffs, why Alya was darting away from me like a fox, and why we were, if I was being completely honest, walking into the light at the end of the tunnel that we would soon discover was really the headlight of the oncoming train.

Well, two of those things were normalities by now at this point in my life. That being the train and the whole Alya-being-constantly-pissed-at-me thing.

As for our decoy prisoner Sabik, we had decided upon that back at Uma's comfy home. While the ever-warm and gracious Uma was telling us about the ten-day long Bounty Hunter drinking party, she realized it may be difficult for us to get in, as our bounty hunter aliases were only newbies. We had encountered enough trouble as it was just trying to get into the city. So she saw it fit, in her experience, that we should offer a prisoner to make the transition easier.