Aria stood in front of the full length mirror as she looked herself over in her white capris and light gray tunic. She turned to the side and pulled her shirt up to see her belly softly protrude out. She didn't know what to expect after only a few months, but she was slowly losing sight of the toned muscles she had grown accustomed to seeing. Now she looked like she had over indulged in the desert table after skipping a few days- or weeks- of cardio. But she didn't mind the extra cushion, not when it meant she was growing a little, tiny human inside of her.
"Hello, beautiful wife." Poe snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist as he rested his chin on her shoulder. He looked the two of them over in the mirror. "Hello, sweet baby of ours." His hands carefully palmed her belly. "You made your mom get up to pee twice last night." He teased her belly lightly.
Aria smiled and leaned her head back to rest against him. "It's not the baby's fault, everything is so cramped down there. My bladder should not be right next to my womb. It's an anatomical flaw."
Poe gave a husky chuckle as he turned his head to kiss the curve of her neck. Aria's eyes fluttered closed as her skin flushed under his lips. Her heart picked up as she leaned more heavily into him.
"Poe," She moaned his name as he trailed another kiss up the side of her neck. "These pregnancy hormones are making me very sensitive." She warned him as she lifted a hand to tangle her fingers in his hair.
Poe hummed into her skin as he gave another kiss.
Aria panted as she moved her head so he could continue his trail of kisses. Her knees started to weaken as she lost herself under his touch.
"No, no, no, we don't have time for this-" Aria slipped out from his embrace and turned to hold up her hands to stop him from attacking her again. "I have a meeting with the Chancellor and you have a meeting with the Flight team." She took a small step back as Poe began to advance on her.
"We have time." Poe's voice was mildly convincing as he followed her out of the large bathroom. Aria shook her head as she looked behind her to make sure she wasn't going to run into the bed.
"We don't have time!" She looked back at him when she was sure she wasn't going to trip over anything. "There is a reason they gave us this nice room in this nice palace- it's because they know we are always late for these things." She backed up into a wall and gulped as she realized he had her cornered.
A silky, devious smile pulled on Poe's lips as he stood just in front of her. He placed a hand on either side of her head so she had nowhere to go.
"It's not my fault that I find you-" He let his eyes rack over her body slowly. "Glowing."
Aria gulped again as she tried to keep her emotions in check. "That's what you have said every morning for the past three months." She pressed her hands into his chest to push him away from her. She took a step forward as he let her do it. "I'm starting to think you have a pregnant woman kink." She joked as she dropped her hands from his chest to grab her shoes from the foot of the unmade bed.
"I have a kink for you." Poe's attempt to seduce Aria made her giggle as she tied her shoes. She turned to laugh at him over her shoulder.
"That was horrible." She told him. "That killed the mood for me, and I-" She stood up and turned to look at him fully. "Am always in the mood." She patted his shoulder as she made her way towards the door. R-8 followed behind her happily, giving Poe a goodbye chirp along the way.
As Aria let R-8 lead her to the Chancellor's office, she took her time to admire the beautiful palace. The halls accentuated the enormously tall ceilings that carried through each room. The ceiling was so tall there were long marble white pillars staggered along the walkway to support the weight. Between the pillars were grand windows with stained glass that refracted bright hues or purple and yellow throughout the hall. Those colors were specifically colored to honor her and Rey- their sacrifice for the cause was symbolized all over the palace, as were all the other lives that were lost. Hondo had her own strategizing room with low lights and purple curtains. Leia was immortalized in most rooms with an etching of an inspiring quote she had once said.
The palace was meant to remind all Senators and advisors of what they lost, as well as teach any newcomers that what they fought for wasn't free or easy.
R-8 chirped to signal they had arrived, and turned on his round body to look up at her.
"Of course you can come in." Aria scoffed at his hesitance. "Since when have you ever cared about the rules?" She bent over to give his head a loving pat before she leaned up to push the giant double doors in. The doors were wooden and engraved with the old Republics Constitution. It was a nice touch, maybe a bit dramatic for Aria's taste.
"Aria!"
"Chancellor." Aria paused to give a respectful half bow before she walked the rest of the way into the massive oval room.
Lando gave a laugh as he stood from his desk and moved around it towards her.
Aria smiled and walked towards his extended hug. She gave a grateful hug and leaned her chin on his shoulder. The hug was brief, but just long enough for Aria to smell the spice that clung to him like cologne.
"How's the pregnancy?" He asked as he kept his hands on her shoulders.
"A blessing, honestly." Aria rested her hands on her stomach. "Barely any morning sickness, only when Chewie brought back this- this piece of raw meat-" Aria's stomach churned just at the thought of it. She shook her head and moved past him to sit in the chair on the opposite side of his desk.
Lando laughed as he followed her. But instead of sitting back in his chair, he leaned against the desk right in front of her.
"And how's Poe handling it all?" He rested his hands on his lap as he looked down at her lovingly.
"Brilliantly." She gave a shrug as she leaned back in the chair. "It's like he's been waiting his whole life to be a father- or at least that's what it feels like sometimes." She laughed as she thought of all the times he jumped through hoops for her and their unborn child. "Whenever I have a craving he goes to get it. Two nights ago I wanted this fruit from the Bessmer system, he dropped everything and flew us there... we were in the Tatoo system so... it was a long flight." She laughed at Poe's determination. "He's great." She admitted as a lovesick smile took over her face. "I think we were both wanting this for so long that we're looking at it with rose-colored glasses. All the bad is outshined by the good."
Lando nodded understandably.
Aria watched as his smile slowly started to fall. "What is it? You didn't set up a meeting just to check up on me... did you?" She quirked an eyebrow as she folded her arms defensively over her chest.
Lando sighed and pushed off his desk. He slowly made his way around it and pressed a button by his monitor.
A small, green hologram shined up from the middle of his desk. Aria leaned up and rested her elbows on her knees as she looked the hologram over. It was a mugshot of someone she didn't recognize, but she didn't need to recognize them. They had a very distinct blue tattoo over their left eyebrow.
"Who is this?" Her voice took on a hollow, hostile tone as she kept a steel gaze on the image.
"We aren't sure." Lando admitted. "But whoever they are... did this." He pressed another button to switch the mugshot to a video clip one of their astromech's captured. It was a short video of the tattooed man taking down an entire squadron of the Republic's coast team. He did so with ease, using nothing more than two laser pistols and some carefully crafted moves.
Aria clenched her jaw as she watched the slaughter unfold.
Lando paused the video just as the tattooed man lifted a hand to wipe some blood from his chin.
"That tattoo... he's a First Order assassin." Aria rubbed a hand over her mouth. "Poe and I had trouble with one a while back. They're merciless and persistent. The First Order had a squadron of Storm Troopers who enjoyed the killing sprees a little too much, they decided to upgrade them and give them freedom in exchange for massacres." Aria shook her head slowly. "Apparently some of them are still active despite the First Order's downfall."
Lando rubbed a hand on his cheek as he looked from Aria to the still hologram of the assassin. "I would say your team needs to track him down, but-"
"We'll do it." Aria stood from her seat.
Lando stopped with his mouth still open as he looked her over. His eyes paused on her stomach that was just starting to push out against the loose shirt. "Aria..." He shook his head.
"I'm not out of commission, Lando. I can still fight."
"I know you can, but the question is should you?" Lando asked as he raised his eyes to hers. "You and Poe were trying for a year to have this baby. I don't want to be the reason something happens-"
Aria lifted her hand to stop him from talking. As he closed his mouth, she lowered her hand. "Nothing is going to happen to this baby." Her rose-colored glasses were on again as she dumbly believed she and her baby were invincible. "But I'm not about to bring a child into the world when people like him-" She nodded towards the still image. "Are still free."
"But Poe-"
"I'll talk to Poe." Aria cut off her Chancellor. "Do we know anything else about this man?" She folded her arms over her chest as she looked him over for any indication of where he could be hiding.
"Unfortunately, this is all we have on him... his fighting style, the fighter he arrived and left in... other than that, he's a ghost."
Aria hummed as she got an idea. "I might know a way to get more info about him." She dropped her arms and knocked twice on his desk. "Thanks Chancellor, try not to get too bored in this-" She looked around the room. "Cage." She decided as she gave him a smirk.
Lando laughed at her mild insult. "It beats hiding in a desert." He admitted.
Aria's smirk turned into a genuine smile. "I bet. Send that photo and video to my watch will you? I'm going to need it." She motioned towards his desk which still had the hologram pulled up.
"Will do, and... be careful, will ya? Your parents would never forgive me if something were to happen to you-" His eyes dropped to her stomach again. "Either of you."
Aria gave a firm nod. "I will be. Thanks." She waved at R-8 to follow her along as she left Lando to handle his Chancellor duties. "R-8, you scanned the layout of this place, right?" She asked as she walked aimlessly through the halls.
R-8 gave a confirming chirp.
"Great, then can you take me to the hangar? Poe should still be with the pilots." She requested.
R-8 gave a nod as he zoomed ahead of her. When he took up the lead he slowed so she didn't have to walk any faster than she currently was.
The hangar was on the other side of the palace, so it took the two a long, leisurely stroll through the magnificent halls.
When they arrived at the vast hangar they found it filled with X-wings, A-wings, and the pilots with their astromechs stationed in front of their fighters. Pacing between them was Poe as he slowly looked over their uniforms to make sure they were attached properly.
"He looks good in a pilot's uniform, doesn't he?" Aria asked R-8 as they slowly approached the flight crew. "Or maybe it's just my hormones... but damn, I don't think so." She gave a breathy laugh as she looked Poe over with his orange uniform and white vest.
"It is vital that you know how to properly harness yourself in to your fighter. Without the proper hookup, you will be essentially flying blind and deaf." Poe's voice traveled through the hangar with ease. "If you cannot hear your fellow pilots, you're dead in the water. You have to make sure you can hear them properly so they can warn you of fighters approaching your blind spots or give advice. If you accidently switch two simple tubes-" Poe stopped to fix something on one of the pilot's vests. "You won't have your oxygen flow. You'll think you're fine at first... but the longer you're trapped in the pressurized cockpit out there-" He pointed towards the large hangar door. "You'll start to feel light headed, your senses will dull until you pass out." He assured them. "All it takes is one small mistake..." He continued to pace between the pilots to check their tubes and vests. "One small mistake will cost you your life-"
"General Solo!" One of Aria's old students saw her walking towards them. Her excitement was so profound she forgot about all etiquette as she interrupted Poe to acknowledge her old teacher.
Aria smiled as all of her old students turned towards her with pure excitement. Even Poe turned towards Aria with the same sizzling excitement.
"Actually," Poe corrected her student as he started to walk over towards his wife. "It's Solo-Dameron now."
"And Senator." Aria wiggled her eyebrows as she met Poe half way. "Hi," she whispered as he wrapped his arms around her waist without a care for all the spectators.
"Hi," he leaned forward to give her a short, loving kiss. When he pulled away he gave her a bright smile. "How'd the meeting with the Chancellor go?"
Aria tilted her head as she thought of how to respond. "We'll talk about it later, okay?" She gave a smile to try and convince him to leave it alone in front of everyone.
Poe's brows furrowed as he looked from her smile to her eyes. "Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"
"Poe," She gave him a warning as several of her students walked up. "Hey guys-" She pushed Poe away to give them her attention. "Look at you-" She laughed as she looked at each student in their official pilot's uniform. "I told you that you would all amount to something... I am so proud of you." Tears began to build in her eyes as she looked at her young students. "Damn hormones-" She turned away from them as she lifted a hand to wipe the tears away. "Stop making me so emotional," Aria dropped her head to talk directly to her stomach.
Poe chuckled as he rubbed her back soothingly. "Alright guys-" He looked at the flight squadron. "I want you to spend the rest of your shift learning your gear. Take it off and put it back on as many times as you can as fast as you can. Check each other's work each time. You're reliable for making sure your team is safe and efficient."
All the pilots broke up as they returned to their stations. As they did, Poe turned back to Aria and slung his arm over her shoulder.
"Now lets get my baby some food." He pulled her against him as he led the way out of the hangar.
"I'm not hungry." She told him as she let him lead.
"You're eating for two now, Aria. You're always hungry."
Just as he said it, Aria's stomach let out a loud, animalistic growl. The inhumane noise made both Aria and Poe laugh.
Aria patted her belly as she cooed at it. "Okay, okay, food it is." She appeased her growing baby.
"So... now can you tell me what Lando wanted?" Poe kept his arm around her as he looked down at her.
Aria sighed as she licked her lips to try and stall. "He... has a new mission." She decided to drop the first load lightly.
But Poe didn't take it lightly as he stopped in the hallway. With his arm around Aria she stopped too and turned to look at him. He pulled his arm from around her and looked at every inch of her face to try and see if she was serious.
She was.
"He didn't actually suggest that you take this mission, did he?"
"No." Aria shook her head quickly to rid the thought from his brain. "But... once he told me more about it... I agreed."
"Aria!" Poe's voice rose to a shout as his eyes widened.
"What?" While her voice stayed the same level, it was more pitchy and defensive. "You need to see the video he sent to my watch, Poe-" Aria lifted her watch to play back the video she asked Lando to send her. "Once you see, you'll change your mind-" She played the video of the First Order assassin taking out one of their fleets single handedly. Aria watched Poe's face closely as the video played out. The moment the man's tattoo became visible, all wrinkles of frustration smoothed out along Poe's brow. "See?" She turned off the video midway through the slaughter. "Do you understand why I had to take the mission?"
Poe shook his head as he tried to process everything. "You... you just signed yourself up for a mission to track down an assassin while pregnant with our child!"
Aria flinched as Poe's shout bounced off the tall ceilings. She blinked as she thought of what he just said. "I-" Her dry throat caused her voice to crack. She tried to ease the tension by swallowing but it gave little comfort. "We can't let this-this man stay out there." She shook her head as she looked into Poe's frustrated eyes. "He slaughtered our own people, Poe. The whole reason we started this task force was so stop people like him."
"That was before you got pregnant." Poe pointed to the floor to emphasis his point. "There are extenuating circumstances now. The Republic will understand if you step back from this task force."
Aria's jaw dropped at what he suggested. "I am not some- some frail, wounded woman just because I am with child-"
"No, but that child- our child- depends on you to stay healthy." Poe cut her off as a blush crept onto his cheeks. The divot between his brows deepened angrily as he pointed to her stomach. "You may not be frail, but our baby is, Aria. You can't just think about yourself-"
"I'm not!" Aria's voice exploded throughout the hall. Her chest heaved with heavy breaths as she tried to reign her temper in. "I'm thinking of what will happen TO THE ENTIRE GALAXY if we let this man go on any longer." She brought them back to the topic at hand- the skilled assassin who was slowly taking out their ranks. "He needs to be dealt with." She told Poe sternly. "Or do you want to wait until he kills more of us? Will that justify going after him?"
Her question made him stiffen and the firm set of her brows only added to the appalled feeling in his stomach. "You... you honestly think I don't care that this monster is still out there?" Poe's shoulders sagged at the horrible thought she had of him. "Aria... I want nothing more than to clean the galaxy up for our child, but if that means jeopardizing you and our child... I don't know if I can do that."
It was Aria's turn to slouch as she realized what she just accused him of. "You're right, I know. I'm sorry." She closed her eyes as she wiped a hand over her forehead. After, she set her hands on her hips and opened her eyes as she gave a dramatic sigh. "It's just... ever since people have found out we're expecting they only talk about the baby, and how excited we are to be parents- and while I am over the moon about it all- I feel like the pregnancy is over shadowing... me." She gave a sad shrug of her shoulders. She was too ashamed to meet Poe's eyes, so instead she looked down at the white vest he wore over the orange jumpsuit. She knew he probably should have changed out of it before he left the hangar, but she distracted him.
"Aria-" Poe lifted her chin with a gentle touch. As her eyes met his he gave a loving smile. "Nothing can outshine you, not even our gorgeous, amazing baby." He assured her.
She returned the smile, though she did it half-heartedly. "Am I selfish?"
Poe gave an unsure shrug. "I think we're all selfish." He admitted to her. Her hands dropped from her hips at the unwanted answer. "But, you're being selfish for a selfless reason. You want to rid the galaxy of a disease that kills without thought or need." He lifted his hands to support her face. "I just wish there was an easy answer here."
"Me too."
They stayed in the corridor for a full minute doing nothing but staring into one another's eyes. They weren't fighting, weren't swooning. They were trying to figure out a happy compromise, a way to honor Aria's abilities without sacrificing the safety of their child.
"What if-"
"Yeah?" Aria perked up at his first suggestion.
Poe thought it over carefully as his eyes flicked between her vibrant, hopeful ones. "What if this next mission is a trial run. We go, you stay behind me at all costs, and if it goes smoothly, we consider the possibility of you going on more missions with us, until, of course, you blow up like a beautiful balloon and can't move without wobbling." Aria swatted him at his unkind words. He chuckled as he caringly stroked his thumbs along the apples of her cheeks. "How does that sound?" He asked. "You won't face combat, let us that do. But you will still be there to make the plays and execute the orders. You just won't get your hands dirty."
"I'll be a glorified coach." She said it for what it was.
"You'll be our leader." Poe corrected her. "When Leia knew she couldn't fight anymore she still went to war, just stayed back and gave the orders." Poe reminded her.
She chewed on her cheek as she considered it. It wasn't the best option. She was happiest when she was holding her saber to a thug's throat, but this compromise was for her child.
"Okay." She decided the offer was the best it was ever going to get. "Then we should rally the others. I know what we have to do first." She left his soft embrace as she turned to head back to the Falcon.
"Food!" Poe shouted after her as she made it halfway down the hall.
She quickly turned on her heels to head towards the cafeteria. "We'll rally the others after we eat." She decided as her stomach let out another growl.
"Explain to me one more time why we're so hellbent on finding this one specific guy?" Finn followed Poe and Aria into the lounge of their ship. "I mean he's one guy." Finn gave a confused laugh as he paused in the doorway while the two moved towards their table of weapons.
As soon as Aria grabbed for her blaster, Poe smacked her hand away.
"Hey-" Aria scolded him.
"If you hold a weapon you'll feel more inclined to use it." He didn't even look at her as he spoke. Instead he reached over for the thick nylon and steel vest to protect against laser blasts and knife wounds. "Actually, this will suit you much better." He turned towards her and pulled the vest over her head before she had time to stop him.
"Poe!" She gasped as he quickly velcroid the sides in place.
Poe gave an accomplished smile as he fixed the Velcro straps on each shoulder so it raised to cover more of her chest. "There." He admired his work. "Now you're protected."
"Thanks." Aria deadpanned. "Last time we were here you refused to let me go in without zipping my jacket all the way up." She looked down at the vest. "I think this is worse."
"Oh, that reminds me." Poe snapped his fingers as he bend over the table to grab her leather jacket from the seat. When he turned back towards her he held it out for her. "Here, it will cover the vest up."
Aria gave a distasteful groan as she accepted the jacket and slipped it over her extra bulky shoulders. As she worked on zipping it up to cover the vest, Poe turned back to Finn.
"And to answer you question-"
Finn lifted his hands as he would finally gave an answer.
"The man we're chasing down was one of Terex Guevia's soldiers." Finn's eyes widened at Poe's explanation. Poe nodded as the reality set in. "We don't know anything about this man other than he belonged to Terex's team- that makes him extremely dangerous. He's already proven to be a viable threat."
"Yeah, he took down an entire squad of ours- by himself." Aria added in as she zipped the jacket up to her neck.
Poe nodded and gave her a look over his shoulder. When he turned back to Finn Aria quickly grabbed her weapons belt and clipped it around her waist, then grabbed her lightsaber to clip onto her right hip. She felt slightly more like herself with the weapons, despite the humiliating protective vest that added ten pounds to her torso.
"We've been cleared to unload." Rey walked in to the lounge to tell them. "I gotta say, whoever the Warden of this prison is, he's not very accomadating."
Aria snorted at the accurate description of the unkind warden.
Chewie entered from his back bedroom fully equipped with her crossbrow and several smoke grenades.
Aria's eyes widened at his full arsenal, but with what happened last time- she didn't say anything about it.
"Good, let's go." Aria rubbed her hands together as she started for the ramp.
Warden Luta met the squadron right at the bottom of their ramp. Aria was first, so she caught the exact second he recognized her and Poe. As he did, his face fell as all of his annoyance surfaced.
"Oh... it's you." He said with a heavy sigh.
Aria gave a chipper smile as she set her fists on her hips. Rey stood on her left side while Poe took up her right.
"Yeah, it's us, and it's fantastic to see you too, Warden Luta." Poe's voice dripped with so much sarcasm it could have only come from being married to Aria.
"Look, can't we just put all of that stuff in the past?" Luta lifted his hands to wave theatrically through the air. "Let bygones be bygones."
"Oh.. you mean when you locked us in the prison then released all the prisoners just because Terex paid you too?" Aria blinked excessively as she kept the same overly enthusiastic smile. "You want us to forget about that?"
"What?" Finn's voice took on a shrill tone as he looked from Aria, to Poe, then finally to the Warden. "And we're trusting this guy?" He asked as he looked Luta up and down.
"No." Poe answered Finn's question as he kept his steely gaze on Luta. "Which is why we're going into the prison block with our weapons this time, and the Warden here won't have a problem with that. Will you?" Poe's right brow twitched up as he practically pleaded with Luta to try and tell them no.
The Warden lifted his chin and gave Poe and Aria a distasteful look. "No problem." He shrugged. "And my guards will be more alert this time-" he motioned back towards his guards who were stationed at the door leading into the bottom cell block.
"Oh joy." Aria's voice was void of all emotion as she looked to the guards. "Let's get this over with." She started for the door as she lifted a hand to pull the constricting vest from the front of her neck. "I feel like I'm twice my size in this thing." Aria grumbled to Rey as they took up the front.
"Hey, hey, hey," Poe grabbed Aria's arm to pull her behind him. "Remember our deal." He whispered in her ear as he took to walking in front of her.
Aria frowned as she followed behind Poe and Rey. She kept up the back with Finn and Chewie and grumbled the entire time until they made it to the bottom cell block.
She had forgotten how loud and disgusting the prison was. All of the noise from each level funneled down to the bottom until all she heard was a modge podge of shouts and screams. There was no discernable voice or word, it was all just rambling nonsense of locked up men who had nothing better to do than scream until their lungs gave out.
Warden Luta lead them up three rows of cells, then walked down the long lane of plexiglass cell walls. Aria tried not to look into each cell, but her curiosity got the best of her and she watched as the deranged prisoners threw themselves against the doors as they passed by.
"Repulsive beasts." She sneered knowing no one would be able to hear her.
"What!?" Finn yelled in her ear as he saw her lips move.
She simply shook her head at him and watched the prisoners in a quiet disdain.
"Here!" Warden Luta motioned towards the cell at the end of the block. Rey and Poe stepped forward to look into the cell. Rey's face remained emotionless, but by the way Poe's lips pressed together, Aria figured they found the right man.
She passed by Finn, Chewie and Luta to see into the cell. As she stood behind Rey and Poe, she looked through the thick glass to see Xav Guevia standing just on the other side with his bright eyes glaring directly at her.
"Hello, Solo. It's been a while." His overly dry lips cracked as they pulled back into a sinister smirk.
Aria raised her chin as she clenched her fists by her side. "Not long enough for me, if I'm honest." She told him coldly.
"You got fat." He noted as he looked along her frame.
"How's prison?" She raised her voice before any of the others could come to her defense. "I bet they like you around here... a small, weak man with pretty eyes. If I were a betting woman, I'd say they eat you up like candy around here."
Xav's façade cracked just a bit- enough for Aria to tell that she was right.
"What do you want?" He took a step closer to the glass so his every breath fogged up the glass.
Aria stepped up to the door and pressed the button on her watch to show the mugshot of the man. "We need to know everything we can on this man." She held her arm up so the image was eyelevel with Xav.
Xav's eyes flickered down to the image. Aria saw the recognition in his eyes, it was like he saw an old friend- someone so far in his past he had momentarily forgotten he existed.
"You do know him." Aria's eyes flickered all over his face. "Who is he? Where would he hide? What are his weaknesses?"
Xav backed away from the glass to put some distance between him and the image. Aria's brows pinched together at the confusing reaction.
"Tell me!" She shouted so he heard her deeper in the cell.
Xav lifted his gaze to Aria as he shook his head. "No."
"Why you-"
Poe grabbed Aria's forearm as she raised it to beat on the glass. She looked behind her at Poe's determined face.
"Let me." He told her. Despite her confusion, she gave a nod and backed up so Poe could take the lead. He approached the door with his shoulders pulled back and a dark look in his eyes. "You like your cell, Xav?" He asked as he looked around the small room. "It's pretty cushiony up here on the fourth floor with the spice runners and smugglers."
Aria's eyes narrowed as she tried to figure out where he was going with it all.
"It'd be a shame if you were docked and had to be moved down a few levels- say... with the murderers and rapists." Poe shook his head as set his hands on his hips disarmingly. "Wonder what your free time would look like then."
Xav's eyes widened as he took a step back towards the door. "You- you can't do that."
They all looked to Warden Luta.
"I have a feeling he can be bought." Poe said as he looked back at Xav. "But if you give us the intel we need, which is everything you have, then you can rot away in here where it's... relatively safe."
Xav stayed quiet as he contemplated the offer, though Aria figured it wasn't much of an offer. Poe was blackmailing him. She was impressed by how efficient it was without having to use brute force.
Xav seemed to come to his decision as he took another step towards the glass. "His name is Markel Guevia. He and I were recruited into the First Order together as kids. We were in the same squadron under Terex-" Xav looked over at the woman who killed his leader. "Markel had a... special skill for murder. While the rest of us had to warm up to the idea of killing, he fell into the habit with ease.
"He always met his quota of lasers fired in a raid. He had top numbers of villagers killed, and when we were all upgraded, he took on the role of silent assassin with grace." Xav spoke of his teammate as if he was someone to be celebrated, and it made Aria's stomach clench with disgust. "When Terex was killed, he went underground, but if you want to find him... getting the word out that you have the person who murdered Terex with you... I'd bet he'd make an appearance to kill her-" He kept his eyes locked on Aria.
"No-" Poe turned towards Aria before she got any ideas.
"Poe-" Aria looked at him with a look of determination.
"I am not going to wave my pregnant wife around as bait." Poe lowered his voice so Xav wouldn't overhear. "We'll find another way."
"How?"
"Say it was me." Finn offered as he looked between the two bickering Senators.
It wasn't just Poe and Aria who turned towards Finn, but Rey as well. They all looked at Finn with varying levels of confusion and admiration.
"Finn, I can't ask you to do that." Aria shook her head, though she had a grateful smile. "It's my burden to carry. What if something were to go wrong and you got hurt or-" She didn't finish the sentence.
"Better me than you." He motioned towards her belly.
Aria's hand instinctively went to her stomach. Even through the vest she imaged her tiny, plum-sized baby sleeping inside of her.
"No." Poe pointed a finger at Finn. "We're not jeopardizing any of us." He turned back to Xav with more determination than ever. "How else could we draw him out?"
Xav tilted his head as he thought it through. "Well..." He dangled a new plan in front of them.
"What?" Poe growled through clenched teeth.
"Like I said, Markel and I were close. If he thought I was released and somewhere... maybe he'd pay me a visit."
"There-" Aria stepped up to Poe's side and pointed towards Xav. "We pose as him and send a broadcast out to the outer rim. Ask for Markel directly. It's a long shot-"
"But it's better than the alternative." Poe turned to her. "Let's do it."
Aria nodded and looked back at the smug ex-storm trooper. "Give me the code word." She demanded.
All of Xav's smugness faded. "What?"
"The word you two came up with in case things went south. The word that I know you have because I have one with Poe." Aria ticked her head at her husband. "Tell me or your ass is going down to gen pop."
Xav's weak jaw clenched as he glared unwittingly at Aria. He tried to hold off, to try and fool her into thinking he didn't have a code word. But there was some unwavering force within her that told him she somehow knew. "Tribulation."
Aria nodded and turned to walk away from his cell. The others joined her and headed back to the Falcon with all the new information.
In order to have their broadcast reach the outer rim, they had to travel to the outer rim. As soon as they were close enough, Poe deepened his voice and sent out a broadcast.
"Markel... it's Xav. I've escaped... I can't give the details, but I need help.... Things got bad, and I- I don't think I can do this without you... the times of tribulation are just beginning, brother."
Aria squirmed uncomfortably at how accurate his imitation was. When he lowered the commlink she gave a shiver and pulled the device from his hand. "Never do that again." She scolded him as she threw the communication device on the table.
He gave a hearty chuckle as he nodded without debate.
"So, now we just wait?" Finn asked.
Aria shrugged. She was just winging their whole plan, but it seemed to work for them so far.
"Sit, get your ass beat in some chess against Chewie." Poe motioned towards the empty board game.
Finn hummed as he slowly moved to the seat. Chewie joined him eagerly and turned the table on to start their game.
"Hey, I've been thinking about something." Finn kept his eyes on the board as he talked towards Poe and Aria.
"Oh boy." Aria teased him as she leaned back into Poe's arms. She rested her head against him as she watched Chewie make the first move.
"You said you two have a word in case things go south... what is it?" After his move he looked over towards the happy couple.
Aria let her head fall back as she looked up at Poe. She mostly saw his strong jaw and the slight stubble that had began to grow.
"Should we tell him?" She whispered up to him. "What if he's a spy and he's trying to figure out our deepest secrets?" She raised her voice at the end to take on a theatric, conspirator tone.
Poe's chest rumbled as he gave a laugh, but he wasn't the only one who found her amusing. Rey, who sat on the opposite side of the table from them, laughed as she carefully cleaned D-O's cone head.
"Come on," Finn lifted a hand towards them. "Maybe it can be all of our word." He suggested.
Aria's nose crinkled up at the idea. "No. This is special. Just me and Poe." She craned her neck to look over at Finn. "You'd just ruin it."
Finn's face fell as he gave her an unimpressed glare. She raised her shoulders in an unapologetic shrug.
Poe laughed again as he dropped his arm and wrapped it around Aria's chest. She lifted her hands to hold on to his hairy forearm.
"You really wanna know?" Poe asked as he looked at Finn. While Finn nodded, Poe also saw Chewie and Rey giving slight nods. "Charisma." He told him.
Finn's eyes narrowed at the random word.
"Why?"
"It means an attraction so strong it creates a devotion to another person." Poe explained. "It's..." He trailed off as he found himself embarrassed by the true answer.
"The moment Poe looked into my eyes he decided to devote his life to me." Aria teased as she looked up at her husband. She raised a hand to scratch at his growing facial hair. "Ever since then it was like an invisible force pulling us together, almost magnetic. No matter how much I wanted to dislike him, I couldn't."
"Man," Finn tisked as he turned back to his game with Chewie. "Of course you two would have some sexy ass word like that. Why can't you be normal people and have a word like pineapple or- or Ordak." Aria laughed at Finn's sour mood.
"You and Chewie can have your own word." Aria encouraged him. "I vote for Ordak. I think that's beautiful." She teased as she gave Finn a shit-eating grin.
"Xav? Xav are you there?"
Aria straightened up as they already received an answer from Markel. She turned to look at Poe who seemed just as surprised as she was.
"Xav, I can help, but I need to know where you are."
Aria pulled herself from Poe's arms to grab the commlink. She scooted away from him and handed the device to him to use.
"What do I say? We never decided on a place." Poe looked to Aria.
She stood from the table and moved across the lounge to the table read tucked in the corner.
"Tell him to meet you on.... Guven, a small village by the name of..." Aria zoomed in on the planet to try and find a desolate village. "Hiatus."
"Original." Finn snorted.
Aria turned and lifted her finger to silence Finn as she looked to Poe. She didn't say anything, instead she gave him a nod for him to respond.
Poe cleared his throat and gave a small test sound. When his pitch matched Xav, he lifted the commlink and turned it on. "Markel... praise the stars... I'm on Guven in the Gone system. There's a village here, not much people so it's good cover."
They all held their breath as they waited for him to take the bait. If Poe gave away too much too soon, it would plainly spell out a trap. But if Markel worked for it-
"What village?"
Poe raised a clenched fist at their small victory. He waited a second and calmed himself down so he didn't sound too eager. "Get this, it's called... Hiatus."
"Of course it is." The humor in Markel's voice made Aria smirk. They had him. "I'll be there soon. Don't worry, brother."
Poe decided not to respond and opted to shut the commlink off to end the conversation there.
"Great!" Finn gave an enthusiastic clap. "Let's get to Guven and set up for this trap."
Aria nodded as she moved from the table read to head towards the cockpit. She and Poe decided to take the role of pilot while the other three strategized and armed themselves in the lounge.
Aria took co-pilot while Poe took up the pilot's chair.
"You know, I don't want to be that person-" Aria said it in a voice that told Poe she loved being that person. "But you were pilot last time while I was co-pilot. Per our agreement, I should be pilot this time." She tilted her head in a way that made all her hair fall off her shoulder and accentuate her neck.
Poe rose an amused brow as he looked from her pursed lips, shining eyes, and appetizing neckline.
"Fine." He stood from his chair and took a step back to allow her room. But as she started for the pilot's chair, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her violently towards him. The movement was so fast and unexpected she gave a soft gasp as she flew into his chest. Poe chuckled at the cute sound she made.
"You're evil."
"Theo."
"Excuse me?" Aria's brows pinched together as she looked from his quirked mouth to his playful eyes.
"For a boy's name." He explained.
Aria's eyes skyrocketed as her mouth slightly opened to form an 'o'. "Oh... well..." Aria gave the name some thought. "Theo, Theo, Theo, THEO-" She tested it out in every capacity she could think of. "Theo Han Dameron." She tried the full name. All put together she liked the ring of it all. "Woah."
"Yeah?" Poe's forehead wrinkled as he watched the slow apprecation sink into her face. "You like it?"
"It's better than Lyle." She brought up his last suggestion.
"Hey-" He tugged her more into him.
Aria laughed as she raised a hand to cup his cheek. "Theo is a contender, now we have to pilot this ship or Chewie is going to boot us from the cockpit." She patted his cheek lovingly before she sat in the pilot's chair and started the power back up. She barely waited for Poe to find his seat before she navigated them towards Guven.
When they were in Guven's atmo, she slowed down as they looked for Hiatus.
"Park far away. This ship isn't the most anonymous vessel in the galaxy." Poe gave her a look as he readied the landing gear.
Aria agreed silently as she moved away from the village towards a belt of rocks. She moved behind them and slowly lowered the ship until the landing gear gently touched the rocky terrain.
Poe and Aria set to work shutting the Falcon down completely to save time and energy. When everything shut off, they met up with the others to get their weapons.
"No-" Poe grabbed her blaster and exchanged it for the vest.
"Poe, this is ridiculous." She told him as she looked at the vest. "It's one man. There's five of us." She motioned towards the others.
"We had a deal." He told her as he clipped his own weapon's belt. He bent over to clip his thigh holster as he nodded towards the vest.
Aria held in a sigh as she lifted the vest over her head and slipped it on. She had to tuck the vest under her chin just so see the side straps properly. When she was done, she looked up to see Finn and Rey trying to hold in their laughter.
"You think this is funny?" She motioned towards her vest. "This is not funny." She scolded them.
Rey turned in to Finn's shoulder as she tried to quiet her laughter. As Rey lost it, Finn stopped trying to hold his laughter back. Together they laughed at her ridiculous outfit.
Aria turned to Poe with flushed cheeks and raised her hands towards the giggling baffoons. He simply shrugged and handed her her lightsaber. "Here, use this as your last defense."
She snagged her lightsaber from him and clipped it on the side strap of her vest. "You're so considerate." Her every letter was laced with sarcasm.
"I just do it because I love you." He leaned forward to give her a quick kiss. She returned it but didn't even bother to close her eyes. "And-" He bent down to look at her stomach. "you-" He pecked the vest just over her stomach.
The cute move was enough to lift her mood until she barely even remembered what she was angry about.
BB-8 wheeled in the room and broke up Poe talking to their baby as he gave a long series of beeps and whistles.
"He's here already?" Rey asked as she grabbed her lightsaber and clipped it to her belt. "He must've been close by." She suggested as she headed for the door.
No one said anything as they followed after Rey. Aria grabbed her leather jacket and slipped it on as she sprinted after Poe.
The rocky terrain carried their heavy footsteps as they all sprinted to the village. Though the distance made them less noticable, it also gave them quite a jog.
Aria looked ahead of them as Markle landed on the opposite side of Hiatus. When they reached the town, they moved through the stone buildings to reach the other side before Markle unloaded from his vessel.
However, when they got to the edge of the village, his ramp was already lowered.
"Wait, wait, wait," Poe held up a hand to stop everyone from running. "BB-8, do a thermal scan of the vessel."
"He won't need to."
They all turned around to see Markel standing behind them with two laser pistols raised at them.
Aria, who was in front of the turned group, reached for her lightsaber.
"Ah, ah, ah, I am not against shooting a pretty girl in the face." He raised his blaster to line it up with her face. "Wait-" He paused as he noticed her different colored eyes. "You're Solo's daughter." He lowered his blaster towards her midsection so he could get a clear look at her eyes, her very distinct eyes.
"Technically I'm the only Solo left." She corrected him, but then clamped her mouth shut when she realized she just proved him right.
Markel's remarkably youthful face expanded into a wide, childish grin. "Damn, it must be my lucky year." He shook his head but kept his blasters steady. "I've had the time of my life killing all of you disgusting rats trying to rebuild the Republic, and now? Now I stumble across the woman who killed my boss." Markel's smile fell as he glowered at Aria.
She tried to think of something to say, but her mind was overcome with too many emotions to come up with a single coherent sentence.
"I'm not stupid," He spat as he noticed their shocked expressions. "Terex was tracking down two Resistance officers: Poe Dameron and Ariavanna Solo. Of those two the most likely to lose their temper and kill out of spite..." He shrugged, which momentarily lifted his guns, but it wasn't enough time for them to do anything. "The sister of Kylo Ren seemed like the right choice, and the look on every one of your faces..." He tisked as he looked between each of them. "I'm a lucky, lucky man."
"No-" Finn raised his blaster, but Markel was much faster, and fired both of his blasters at once.
Aria stumbled back, but she ran into Chewie and had nowhere else to go. She watched in pure horror as the red laser cut through the air towards her. She raised her hand to try and stop it, but her moves were sluggish in comparison to the quick laser. It landed its mark on Aria's left side, just by the straps of the vest. The hit had so much power behind it she tumbled off to the side and landed roughly on the rocky ground. She barely caught herself before she fell on her stomach, and instead she pushed herself off to fall on her unhurt side.
"ARIA!" Poe shouted as he forgot all about Markel and fell beside her.
Markel sprinted away from the group as they were distracted by Aria's fall.
"Go!" She shouted at the others. "I'm fine, go!" She waved them to follow after Markel.
The three gave her a nod before they ran to chase down Markel.
Aria took in a rigid breath as she let Poe roll her onto her back. She looked up towards the storm clouds up ahead as she tried to assess her pain.
"Aria, baby, look at me-" Poe palmed her cheek to turn her attention towards him.
"Check- I-" Aria grabbed the zipper line of her jacket and pulled it to the side so he would check to see if the laser made it through the vest. "Please, Poe- I can't see-" Tears built up in her eyes, but it wasn't from pain. Undiluted worry seeped through her. Her own horrible selfish tendencies drove her to agree to the mission. It was all her fault she was put in this position. It was all her fault she just jeopardized their baby's life. "Poe?" Her voice cracked when he didn't answer her.
"Um- hold on-" Poe used the butt of his palm to wipe tears from his eyes so he could see clearly. When he could, he loosened the strap on the side of her hip and lifted it up to see under it. He wiggled his hand between the vest and her stomach to feel for blood or any sort of heat. "Oh thank the heavens-" Poe breathed out as he closed his eyes. He bent over until his forehead rested on Aria's stomach.
"I'm okay? Our- our baby is okay?" Aria tried to decipher Poe's reaction but she was too distraught to think clearly.
Poe lifted himself up just enough to palm Aria's cheek and move his forehead to hers. "You're okay." He told her. "I'm going to call Samuel and tell him to prep all the machines. I want him to check everything right away."
Aria nodded as she lifted a trembling hand to wipe one of Poe's tears away.
"No more missions." She decided then and there. "No more putting ourselves in danger. This is bigger than just you and me." She looked between his eyes. He was so close to her she was seeing double. "We have another life to think about."
Poe nodded without complaint.
"I want our child to have two healthy parents." She went on, though now she was just talking to herself more than Poe. "I want to see my child grow old and fall in love like I fell in love with you." She wiped another one of Poe's tears away. "No more. We're done. Both of us, okay?"
"Yes." He agreed without thought.
"From now on, until I pop this beautiful child of ours out, we're strictly Senators."
"We're going to focus on building the Republic and building our own lives." Poe added.
Aria nodded and gulped to try and stop the tears from building again in her eyes. "No more risking our lives. Our child needs us."
Poe grabbed onto Aria's wrist and turned his head to kiss her sweaty palm.
"No more." He agreed with ease. "We're done. We're done."
Aria closed her eyes as she realized how close she had just come to losing everything they had worked so hard for.
She laid flat back on the rocky terrain and looked up at the storm clouds again.
Lucky, lucky woman.
She closed her eyes and started to cry just as the rain fell.