026. DANCING WITH THE ENEMY

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Things had gone haywire much sooner than Hux had expected. The red lights representing an emergency flashed overhead while a siren blared from the speaker system.

"What did you do?" Dangir glared.

"Me?!" he asked aghast, "Why do you assume that I did something?"

"Because I certainly didn't do anything," she said before grabbing his wrist and pulling him aside before he was trampled by a group of resistance scum heading toward the hangar.

They passed by the pair none the wiser; however, it probably helped since they had changed out of uniform into some more casual apparel that they had "found". Hux wasn't too fond of the idea, but he was unable to protest when Dangir thrust a jacket in his face belonging to one of the posted guards that she had knocked unconscious. He was also unable to voice his opinion when they snuck aboard the pirates' ship. He had suggested that they follow at a distance, but she had insisted that there wasn't any time.

"Did you activate your beacon?!" she asked him, incredulous.

"I had no choice—" he tried to explain.

She groaned.

"—You would not listen to reason," he continued, "Not to mention that we should have immediately reported our findings as soon as we stumbled onto the resistance base."

"The Supreme Leader didn't care about the resistance," she retorted, "He only cared about us bringing back the girl. This was supposed to be a covert operation."

"If that were true," he rolled his eyes, "then why were we sent instead of a specialized team of agents?!"

She smacked his arm, much to his disdain, "It was a test, you idiot!"

"Well we'll certainly pass once the First Order infiltrates the base."

"They already have," she snarled and added with a gesture to themselves, "But since they're in disguise, how is the First Order supposed to tell them apart from all the other scum in the building?"

Hux could feel the color fade from his face, "Well, ah—"

"Do you want to be shot?" she ignored his attempt to defend himself, "Because if you had a death wish you could have told me before we left. I'm sure the Supreme Leader could have arranged something!"

"I—" he tried to protest.

"Come on," she interrupted again, "Let's find the girl, she's our best chance of making it out of this alive since the Supreme Leader doesn't want her dead."

Hux frowned but followed silently knowing that if he tried to speak, he'd surely be interrupted. He hadn't expected the First Order to start bombing the complex; however, once they did he realized that perhaps he had acted before thinking things ahead.

"Why are they shooting at us? Don't they know that we're still inside?!"

"Do you think you're irreplaceable?" Dangir raised an eyebrow and gave him an estranged look, "The Supreme Leader doesn't care if we make it out alive. You heard him, he only cares about the results."

Hux gulped. The other Supreme Leaders that he had worked beneath didn't accept failure as an option either, but at least they had hidden if they had seen him as invaluable. He was starting to see why Dangir herself seemed so irritated by the system of the First Order. No one was safe unless they were the first in command. But even that wasn't true as he recognized that Seth was the third Supreme Leader that they had received in the last few months.

The base shook as another series of bombs landed.

"There she is!" Dangir pointed to where a girl with white hair disappeared around the corner with a droid at her heels.

"Quickly then," Hux urged her forward.

"Hey!"

Hux didn't think he had been addressed until a hand grabbed his shoulder. He jumped in surprise as he turned to face an unfamiliar face.

"Why did you stop—" Dangir turned confused, but stopped once she realized that a member of the resistance had grabbed Hux.

"You must be new recruits," the resistance male said, "Do either of you have flying experience?"

"Pardon?" Hux asked, raising an eyebrow as he had forgotten that they were in disguise.

"We're short a few pilots who'd been sent out to gather supplies from another system," the resistance male explained, "So do either of you know how to fly?"

"I can," Hux was shocked to hear Dangir volunteer herself.

"Great," he nodded, "Follow me to the hangar, I'll set you up with a flight crew who can get you some equipment."

"What are you doing?" Hux hissed.

"Getting us a flight out of here," she replied, "We'll steal the ship and rendezvous with the First Order. Hopefully they'll be too concentrated on getting the girl to make us a target."

"You two got names?" the resistance rebel asked.

"Koria," she replied way too quickly for him not to be annoyed that she was giving away information.

"I'm Ric."

Hux noticed that they were both looking at him expectantly. He certainly couldn't introduce himself by a title or his surname. Both would be far too recognizable.

"Armitage."

Koria snorted and did a horrible job at hiding it. Ric seemed to crack a grin as well, but said nothing until they arrived in the hangar.

"You got any piloting experience, Armitage?"

"I—no," he shook his head, caught off guard that someone had used his first name even though that was how he had introduced himself.

"He could just ride with me," Koria quickly suggested.

Ric shook his head, "Unfortunately, the ships that we have left don't have that kind of space, but I'm sure we could find somewhere else to stick you."

Hux frowned as Ric turned his back to them and whispered harshly in sarcasm, "Great idea, Koria. I'm sure this was your plan all along to leave me behind."

"Cool your jets, Armpit," Dangir retorted unamused, "I'll figure something out to get us back. Stop worrying already."

"I'm sorry, what did you just call me?" Hux looked at her incredulous.

"You heard me," she stated under her breath.

"I'll set you up at the mechanics station with my sister, Armitage," Ric addressed them once more, "Whether she admits it or not, she could use the help."

"And where will you be?" Hux raised an eyebrow.

"My atin vod here thinks he belongs up there in the skies," one of the nearby mechanics walked over and slung an arm around Ric's neck; however, since she was much shorter, he was forced to bend over.

"Ey, hokaanir bic dayn, Jia!" Ric exclaimed as he tried to free himself.

"Only once you promise to stop being such a di'kut," she replied.

"This is Jia," Ric's voice was strained as he fought against her, "My sister. I brought you some help."

She let go of him with a gentle shove, "You know I can handle myself."

"There's a lot of repairs to be made though—"

Koria cleared her throat, "Shouldn't we be going."

Ric nodded his head and started to walk away, "Jia this is Armitage, just show him what he needs to do."

"Ric, you son of a hutt, get back here!"

"Hey!" he exclaimed with mock offense to be heard over the blaring speakers, "Don't insult our mother like that!"

"That di'kut is going to get himself killed one of these days," Jia muttered under her breath before turning to face Hux with a sigh, "You want to help? Fine. Start by moving those crates there over here, but carefully. I think some of them contain explosives."

"What?" his eyes widened in alarm.

"Great, another utreekov," she rolled her eyes, "It'll be fine just grab a crate."

Hux muttered a few complaints under his breath before he actually went over to lift a crate. The box was much heavier than it looked.

"You've got to activate the hovering feature," Jia instructed before muttering a string of words under her breath in another language.

It took Hux a solid minute to figure out which controls actually allowed him to access such capabilities. He wasn't entirely helpless, but normally management dealt with all of the manual labor compared to the divisions that he was in charge of looking over.

"C'mon BB-8, we've got to go!"

Hux immediately dropped to the ground. The pilot who had caused quite a bit of trouble for the First Order passed by; however, he was stopped just inches away from the crate that Hux hid behind. He knew that if he was seen his cover was over.

"I don't think so, flyboy. You're still suspended."

"But the fleet needs me, General!"

"Oryll says he's found a pilot to replace you for the time being."

"Well what do you expect me to do then?"

"Find a way to blockade the entry points. We don't need the First Order breaking down the doors."

The pilot huffed as the other individual speaking to him left.

"Taken out the action again, Dameron?" Jia spoke up from her workstation to address the pilot.

"No, no," the pilot disagreed as if trying to keep his cool, "I just thought that you needed some help."

"Not if you were the last person available, nerve burner," Jia shook his head, "Ric provides enough trouble, I don't have time for you too."

"Seriously, what can I do to help?"

Jia sighed and looked around, "It looks like the help Ric dropped off bailed, you could move some of those crates over here. Carefully."

"Careful is my middle name."

The droid chirped.

"Hey, what did we say about telling people my actual middle name?"

"Your middle name is—," Jia had stifled her laughter as she was interrupted by Dameron.

"I'll just get to work now."

Unfortunately, Hux hadn't noticed that Dameron had intended to move the crate that he was hiding behind. He fell forward on his face as the crate was pulled away. Dameron looked down at him surprised and started to apologize.

"Hey, buddy," he offered him a hand, "Sorry about that, I didn't realize—"

Hux winced as he knew that he had instantly been recognized.

"Hugs?"

Hux quickly stood up and tried to run off, but the droid had rolled into his path and tripped him. He scattered to the ground and scrambled to find his feet, but several other resistance members had been alerted to his presence. Each of his arms were grabbed by a different person and he was hoisted to his feet. He made an attempt to wriggle free, but he was restrained and held firm. Now where was Dangir when he needed her.

"What's going on, Poe," ah the traitor made an appearance as well, "General Hux?! What is he doing here?"

"I don't know," Poe shook his head and crossed his arms, "But I'm sure we'll have an explanation sooner or later."

Hux frowned. He was seriously beginning to regret turning his tracking beacon on in the first place. However, he was exhausted, covered in grime, and surrounded by chaos that he could not control. He stopped fighting and simply allowed his captors to drag him to a containment cell or what passed for a containment cell on the resistance base that lacked the necessary tools and supplies. Oh how had everything gone so horrendously wrong in just a couple of days?

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• author's notes •

mando'a translations:
- atin : stubborn
- vod : brother
- hokaanir bic dayn : cut it out
- di'kut : idiot
- utreekov : fool, idiot (lit. emptyhead)

• fin •