Charisma~ Poe Dameron

Not everyone makes it out alive

A dull, deep rooted ache embedded into Aria's thigh. Each step on the uneven surface drove the pain deeper. Sweat accumulated at the base of her neck and slowly trickled down her spine, but she still didn't complain. If she did she knew every single person in the tunnels with her would try to help. She also knew they were just as exhausted as she saw, so she kept quiet.

Poe lead the way, using the same small flashlight Aria made fun of him for to light the way. He heard Aria's bated breath behind him and used it to ensure him that she was still there. He found a comfort in it, but with each passing minute he knew they were less likely to celebrate once they left the caves, and more likely to pass out from exhaustion.

"What's that?" Poe's attention pulled as something flashed under his light's beam. He walked down a sub tunnel to take a closer look. Aria followed after him without much thought. Truth be told it was hard for her to think of anything other than her leg.

Finn lifted his light to shine it over Aria's shoulder to get a better look at the thing obscuring their walkway. Rey, who was holding up the back with Chewie, tried to look around Finn and Aria to see what they saw. "What?"

Poe and Aria closed in on the speeder first, but as Aria stopped, Poe traveled further into the tunnel to see if anything else littered the walls.

Finn stopped just behind Aria's shoulder and looked at the weathered machine. "Is that a speeder?" He didn't know who he asked.

"An old one." Aria decided as she ran her hand over the front. When she pulled it away her fingertips were layered with dust. The spot she just cleared off was rusted through, turning the silver metal a burnt orange.

"Hopefully we will find the driver." C-3PO pleaded as he moved in to examine the remnant of the speeder.

Aria gave a dry huff as she looked over her shoulder at Finn. A single look passed between them. BB-8 gave a less than enthusiastic beep at the odds of finding the driver of the old speeder.

"Yup BB-8, I think that too." Poe agreed with his droid.

Aria wiped the dust from her hand on her pants as she watched C-3PO lean towards the ornament, look at it, then lean back up. "What is it?" She asked as she stepped over a rock to get closer to the golden droid.

"Oh my... A hex charm." He told her.

Aria's eyebrows skyrocketed at the semi-familiar term. Her father warned her about them back in their smuggling days. He told her whenever she saw one, stay far away.

The others weren't familiar with the term, however, as they moved to take a closer look. Both of the boys flashed their lights on the ornament to look at the indented, dagger-styled star.

"A what?" Poe hovered just by Aria to look at the ornament.

"A common emblem of Sith loyalists." C-3PO explained as he looked to Poe. Aria lifted her gaze form the ornament to catch the surprise on Poe's face. Then she looked back to Rey to see the same concern.

Finn backed up as Rey lowered her saber and moved to look at the emblem. "Siths..." She whispered as she looked up Aria.

"This was Hochi's?" Finn looked between the two girls.

"Luke must've sensed it." Aria began to put the pieces together. Her and Rey's brain worked in the exact same way as they looked back down at the speeder. If the speeder was still in the tunnel-

"Hochi never left this place." Rey knew the words were true as she said them.

Aria nodded. She felt it too. She couldn't explain it out loud, but in her gut and heart she knew part of him was still with them.