Fandom Fight for Control [closed]

[Lucyfer]

Thenn settled herself as Kylo tended to the wounds around the front of his neck. It was painful to watch. ‘You didn’t need to do that.’ Of course, Thenn couldn’t tell Nyx that. She couldn’t ask her why she’d done that.

Well, she knew.

Kylo was defending Reveille, but…this still seemed unnecessary. “That doesn’t sound too bad,” Thenn said. She could sense that Kylo wasn’t entirely pleased with it. “A safe, neutral spot, should be what we want, right?”

In theory. Of course, she had little idea of how that could connect to people Kylo didn’t want to see – or the fact Reveille was hoping to connect with the Resistance on Takodana.

~***~

Karn could tell Lavinia’s attention could not linger on Alisa and the woman in blue. She was enwrapped in a conversation with the men who were around her, so Karn didn’t waste time trying to listen to both conversations.

He focused on the one about a banking clan, something that Armitage would want to know more about, too.

Ryla nodded, “They’re here to meet with the Ghis family,” she answered. It was the family notably not in attendance, invitation or otherwise. Plenty without invitations had shown up, after all, so such wasn’t a true barrier to attendance. “I am not certain of the business itself, or what they’re hoping to do, but I know they are hosting the banking clan tonight.”

They had a very good excuse to not be present.

 

[cleopat]

Kylo could sense Thenn’s emotions while she watched him apply the bandages. She wanted to know why Nyx would do that. Because Nyx isn’t who you thought she was. She wasn’t who I thought. Even if the signs were all there, he stupidly played into her manipulations by sweet offers of power and becoming better than Darth Vader.

He merely shrugged at her question. “There are many people angry at me, all over the galaxy. If I’m seen there, they may not care what soil they stand on.” They would shoot without hesitation, without thought of what Takodana meant.

Maz Kanata would probably wave it off. Even if she did believe in redemption, Kylo didn’t exactly leave her castle unscathed last time he had been on Takodana.

On second thought, maybe I should stay on the ship.

~~

Ailsa cocked an eyebrow with the news. “The Ghis family?” No, she certainly hadn’t seen a single member of that family at the party. While not the most hated by the Madines, there were some animosity, and the news of the banking clan riled suspicion for her.

“No doubt trying to do what they can to usurp us. I always knew that entire family still held a grudge over us, and this is just proof.” The woman scoffed. “And they thought their home would be an appropriate location to meet with them.” She had assumed that was where the meeting would happen.

“We’ll just have to get our own meeting and ensure their little deal doesn’t go through. We can’t have that around here, can we?” She wanted to maintain her little status quo. Or rather, keep her family on top, while the Ghis were reminded of their own place.



A light smirk flickered across Alistair’s face. “That may be, but he had been considering rallying the police force to conduct raids on those urchins.”

That bit of news concerned Lavinia. “Surely that’s not just a waste? There’s no way they’re actually a threat, are they?”

“Maybe so, maybe not,” he shrugged. “Either way, they’ve started to become a bit of a nuisance, like a bug. And bugs are easy to squash.”

Lavinia easily chuckled to his little ‘joke,’ even as her stomach turned with nerves. If these raids did indeed happen, they would need a plan for them without alerting every police sector to what their insurgent cell was up to.

 

[Lucyfer]

Thenn bit her bottom lip as Kylo explained the potential problem. That people might not care. That he’d made enough enemies. She couldn’t really argue that. Not after what she’d seen. Perhaps she didn’t understand, but she could still feel the animosity from Reveille, in spite of what he’d done to save her.

She didn’t know what sort of things could fuel that kind of anger.

She didn’t think she wanted to know, either. “Is there anywhere you could go?”

‘I’m taking him there.’ Reveille didn’t say that. No need to mention her stop after Takodana was the Resistance. Kylo should be able to guess. She’d been with the Resistance when he found her, after all. When he kidnapped her.

She still wouldn’t stop him leaving if he decided he was too afraid to go home, though.

~***~

‘Oh my stars, you’re all pettier than Armitage and Reveille combined.’ The thought couldn’t be stopped as it entered Karn’s head, while he listened to this talk about the Ghis, and some assumption that they were there to usurp power. Then again, the bith banking clans were useful. Karn doubted Armitage would be able to get a loan, but if the Ghis were?

Those credits could be intercepted.

He just had to know a little more about it, and if they were over at the Ghis’s place that night, he’d have to get into it. Or send a droid over.

Thankfully, no one paid attention to him, and he tuned out the conversation of Alisa and Ryla, as Ryla easily agreed with Alisa.

He moved on. ‘No point telling Lavinia I’m leaving.’ Perhaps he was a bit petty, too, but he made his way towards the servant’s door to the kitchen, passing by one droid on his way out and nudging it with his foot to get it to follow him.

There were enough here at the party.

He could slip out to check on the Ghis situation.

 

[cleopat]

Kylo only knew of one place he could go, but only one person would be willing to accept him with open arms among a sea of those who wish him dead. There could be the small chance that the Scavenger, Rey, could accept him. After what he had done though? There was doubt.

Maybe he could start a new life on a farm, on some isolated planet that received plentiful rain. Train Thenn on their quiet piece of land.

Kylo finished up what he could with the bandages in the small box. Most of the burns were covered, and would have to do until he had access to better medical equipment. “I don’t know,” he ultimately answered. And for all he knew, it was the truth.

He didn’t know if there was somewhere he could go without someone attempting to kill him. “But I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

~~

The party lasted too long for Lavinia’s comfort. Eventually, she had to feign her exhaustion in order to get away. Mathius had translated that as her wanting to get away with him, but she assured him they would talk more later.

That placated him. If her job in the Uppercity were to continue, then she would need to keep up communication with him. I would rather jump in a sarlacc pit. At least he’s pretty to look at. But not much else there.

She didn’t know how late it was when she arrived back in the Lowercity. If it was only midnight or after 2am, Lavinia had a feeling Armitage would still be awake, working on whatever it was he was fixated on. And then there was the issue she didn’t want to talk with him.

She didn’t want to hear anymore of his cruel words.

She arrived near his office, still fully garbed in her party dress, and the guard stood there, like always. “I need to see him,” she simply stated.

 

[Lucyfer]

Thenn didn’t like his answer, however honest it was. Of course, she didn’t know how to question it, or how to find a place for them. She hadn’t realized the extent of hatred the galaxy had for Kylo. She wanted to ask, but she didn’t think that was a good topic for right then, so she fell silent.

Eventually, the craft would come out of lightspeed once again, this time over Takodana, and Reveille would guide it down into the familiar hangar, seeking ships, seeking faces, she might know immediately. There was nothing she recognized right off, and so once she had landed, she got to her feet and stepped out of the cockpit, back to where they were.

“I’m going to the castle,” she said, and Thenn’s eyes lit up at the word ‘castle’. “You can stay here. It may be better if you did,” she was mostly speaking to Kylo.

“But there’s a castle!” Then sounded only too excited to see an actual castle.

~***~

Karn had gotten to Armitage first, after finding his way into the Ghis household with the droid, and picking up what he could about the Bith. That seemed significantly more important; if Hux had the funds, they could really ramp up this war. They’d be able to buy the supplies they needed. A couple of destroyers would have been immensely useful.

“You know, you could reach out to the Resistance and your sister. She could hack this. Or Stella.” Karn was saying, with Hux not at all looking pleased with those options, with people he wasn’t prepared to deal with right then.

Reveille could come to him.

Kos’tel’lanni was good at spying – he didn’t think it translated to stealing.

It was before Hux could offer a response, that he was disturbed on the comm, informing him that Lavinia had arrived. He was tempted to send her away, or tell the guard she could file a written report.

It was Karn who said, “Oh yeah, we should find out if she learned anything interesting – that might affect our plans for the heist, huh?”

Armitage sighed, but relented, “Very well. Let her in.”

 

[cleopat]

Kylo sighed and leaned against the nearest wall. He wanted to go as well, but Reveille was right. This was Takodana. He was Kylo Ren. Many people knew him here, and they didn’t need to attract any attention.

“Alright, I will, but if you’re not back within an hour, I’ll assume the worst and come looking for you.” He could also just leave, but Thenn seemed to want to go a well.

She looked too excited. Kylo couldn’t deny her.

“You can go with her.” Reveille wouldn’t hurt the child. She already had plenty of opportunities for it, before Kylo came back for Thenn, and she even protected the child. “Just be careful out there.” He wouldn’t ask Reveille if she wanted the young child to come along.

Thenn wanted to see the castle, and so Thenn will see the castle.

~~

The guard waited for a response, and then waved her in. Lavinia deflated a bit, but nodded at him and continued on towards Armitage’s office.

Maybe I should’ve just messaged him my findings. But what if someone intercepted it?

She sighed. This would be better. Walking in, there was some relief when she spotted Karn in there. “I see you survive them,” she said with a hint of a smile.

Then she looked to Armitage, the barest smile now gone. “They know that there is some organizing effort going on with the insurgents. There were talks of beginning police raids very soon. A regular occurrence, though I do not know how long they plan on conducting them for.”

 

[Lucyfer]

Reveille wouldn’t bother to stop Kylo, or suggest it could take a while longer. It could, but none of them knew that. She would likely be fine. There were people who wanted to kill her, but Takodana had always been safe for her. She wasn’t as reviled as Kylo.

She wasn’t pleased with the thought of bringing Thenn along with her, in spite of the obvious excitement that spilled forth from her.

She sighed, “Fine.” And before she had a say in the matter, Thenn had grabbed her hand. Well, that was probably for the best – she wouldn’t get lost that way. “I’ll try to come back before an hour’s passed.”

She made no promises, though, and she would take Thenn with her. “Bye, Kylo! We’ll be back soon!” But not too soon. She had to see the castle.

And as soon as she got out of the hangar and saw the steps, with all the flags, she stared in awe, moving towards the stairs as Reveille did. “What are all these flags?” She asked. Some, she recognized – Imperial, Nightsister, Sith, Jedi, First Order, Rebel Alliance – these were symbols she knew, but there were so many that she didn’t.

“Flags from places and groups across the galaxy,” Reveille answered, “Even of those places that no longer exist, or groups that have died out.”

“Ooooooo…..”

“Maz has lived over a thousand years,” Reveille added, “She’s seen a lot, and she encourages all to be welcome here.”

“Then why can’t Kylo…?”

“Maz encourages it…but not all of her patrons follow all the rules.”

“Oh.”

They stepped into the castle doors, to music, and plentiful species and scents. Thenn looked around, wide-eyed and awed by it all immediately. She’d never been in a place so busy! So lively!

~***~

Armitage’s gaze fell on Lavinia. She appeared to have come straight from the party given her attire, and while in another life he may have been startled by her appearance, he wasn’t then.

There was no once-over for the green dress.

Karn just laughed at her statement, "Please, the people I've dealt with? They'd eat the Uppercity nobles for breakfast. Insulting behind backs and petty scheming. At least we knew how to hurt people to their face and ruin their whole lives, eh, Hux?"

Hux just arched a brow at that, not sure how to respond...so he didn't. He responded to Lavinia instead.

“Well I would hope they’d know after the factories I’ve blown up,” Hux huffed. In truth, he’d been rather surprised that curfews weren’t more harshly enforced yet, or police seen closer to the area or roaming about more often. He wasn’t that concerned about the police, though admittedly, he did not know what capabilities they had.

To him, they were likely bribed citizens.

Karn had much the same thought, “Are the police in the pockets of the Uppercity? Could we just bribe them to, you know, overlook our activity?” Once they had those sweet, sweet stolen credits, life would be easier for them to get away with much.

“Where did you hear this from?” Armitage asked. Source would be useful to know, as well, to ascertain how serious a threat this could be.

 

[cleopat]

Poe, foolishly, had come alone to Takodana. Even though Finn insisted to come alone, he managed to convince he wouldn’t be gone long, and he would be somewhere safe. Somewhere neutral.

He still wondered who it was who sent him that message, but his guesses had been narrowed down, and none of them made him feel any better than he came alone. He didn’t even know how long he would suppose to wait. But he kept a look out for anyone who seemed familiar.

And it was as he was taking a sip of his drink that he spotted the familiar pink hair. Poe choked on his drink when he recognized Reveille, looking a bit lost, and her hand held onto...a child?? Okay, this is the weirdest thing I’ll see all week.

Heaving a huge sigh, Poe stood up and walked over to the two. Their entire situation, the Resistance and her faction of the First Order, was still….weird to him. So fucking weird. But he knew in that moment he was there to help her. “So we meet again,” he said with a quirk of his lips.

~~

Lavinia merely frowned at Karn’s words. He spoke the truth, for she had certainly experienced some of those words before. Though, she had to wonder what else he could do with mere words? Lavinia didn’t want to find out.

She shook her head at Karn’s question, but moved on to answer Armitage first. “From Alistair Nadine. His father pretty much owns the police force. His father wasn’t at the party tonight because he was planning out these raids.”

They didn’t seem particularly worried about this possibility. Was this something that they even needed to worry about? Or was she just providing useless information?

“As far as where the police are, they’re stationed all over the planet, though I believe the largest concentration of them fall in the Middlecity, as it provides them the easiest location to get anywhere they need to.” There may be a shift to move them to the Lowercity, if these suspicions on the inhabitants continue, and if they start enforcing the rules placed, such as the curfews and the raids, more strictly.

 

[Lucyfer]

Poe.

Of course it was Poe Dameron. Reveille almost laughed when she saw him, apparently without backup, “I don’t know what Terex told you to convince you to show up, but I suppose I’m glad you heeded it.” She had a feeling that Poe didn’t know it was Terex. Or that Terex was still slightly obsessed with him.

More than slightly.

“Hiiiii!” Thenn greeted the stranger.

“Thenn, this is Poe Dameron. Poe, Thenn. Kylo Ren is back in my ship, and we need to get out of here before Snoke 2.0 realizes we’re here.” There was no real need to mince words with Dameron.

Thenn knit her brows together at the term for Nyx, but didn’t comment on it. “He’s hurt,” Thenn said to Poe, as if Poe would care. “His neck was burned and he’s hurt. He needs more help than what was in our ship, too.”

~***~

The police couldn’t be bought. ‘Shame.’ Did they hold some special loyalty to the Nadine family? Was it the name that went far? “It seems we’ll have to begin to leak some plans,” Armitage said, looking to Karn as he said it. “Traps will need to be set. We’ll whittle their forces down.”

Karn smirked at that. “I can do that. Just tell me when and where.”

“We’ll have to start tomorrow,” he understood he had to stay ahead of the raids, and give them a quick target, “There’s the spaceport in the Middlecity, quadrant 7. Make sure it gets spread.”

Karn gave a thumbs up. With the influx of funds on the agenda, wasting some of their hard-earned explosives now wouldn’t be a terrible loss. And, really, explosives were cheap. “Weren’t we going to steal some of those ships, though?”

Hux shrugged, “Now we’ll destroy them. If our plan with the Bith goes well, they’ll be entirely unnecessary as it is.”

 

[cleopat]

Between the mention of Terex, the appearance of the little girl, and literally everything Reveille just spewed from her mouth, Poe couldn’t help the wide-eyed perplexed expression on his face. He did not know how to proceed from there, or where he should start.

“Um...” he lamely started, glancing back down at the little girl who seemed way to perky to be with someone like Reveille. Poe knew he should’ve been more concerned with the fact that Kylo Ren was there, but the name Snoke stuck out in his head.

“Wait wait wait. What do you mean another Snoke?” he asked after stumbling over his thoughts for a few seconds, shaking his head out of his momentary stupor. Everything just got a whole lot more confusing for him, especially once he remembered that they had mentioned Kylo Ren was in her ship. And injured.

He sighed, bringing one hand up to rub at his temple. “I feel like I may need a little more information.”

~~

As the two began to plan in front of her, Lavinia wondered to herself if she was needed anymore that evening, and if she should just go off back to the barracks. There was a brief pause, and she frowned. Destroy the ships? Weren’t you wanting to find the first one you can?

The plans concerning the Bith were new to her. She arrived after Karn had discussed the issue concerning them, and she hadn’t heard any of that conversation at the party. “What plans with the Bith?”

As far as she knew, they had little to no connection to anyone on the planet, but that seemed to be changing. And with that, someone is bound to get a large payday very soon. Was that what they were referencing to? Lavinia looked between Karn and armitage, brows furrowed as she awaited to hear their plans.

 

[Lucyfer]

Reveille couldn’t even blame Poe for being disoriented by the information, “Welcome to my day,” she couldn’t stop herself from commenting, “Darth Nyx is Snoke 2.0,” she clarified, certain he’d put that together shortly after.

He was Leia’s commander, after all. “We left her behind, jumped to Ando Prime, and jumped from there to here, and now we need to rejoin Leia Organa. Or my ship. I don’t care which, I just don’t know where they are.”

“And Kylo needs help!”

Reveille managed not to smirk before adding, “And Kylo’s daughter thinks that Kylo needs help. I disagree but,” she shrugged. That was obvious why she disagreed and didn’t need to be said out loud in front of a child who stupidly adored him. “Do you really want Leia to blame you for delaying and not bringing her son, and granddaughter, home?” Maybe that would spur Poe to shake off his stupor and move.

“I have a grandma?!” More excitement. Reveille managed a short nod to that question.

He could ask all his questions on the way.

~***~

Armitage debated if he wanted Lavinia to know anything in regards to the Bith. That she didn’t, indicated she hadn’t spent much time with the Ghis, or heard many rumors about them. It could be useful. “Why, do you intend to tell your friends about it?”

Karn was the one to roll his eyes, and fill in, “The Bith and the Ghis are working on a transaction. The Ghis want to take a loan out from the Bith, so they’re hashing out the details. I’m thinking we can interrupt that transaction and funnel the funds to ourselves. You know, if we had an account to begin with.”

Armitage didn’t so much as flinch under that look.

All of Armitage’s accounts had been tied up the Order. He wasn’t exactly able to open another so easily, and he didn’t trust anyone on Taris enough to ask for access to their account, or entrust them with the funds in the first place.

Karn hadn’t opened one for himself, or Minka.

 

[cleopat]

Poe’s mouth gaped open. Snoke 2.0? He felt the beginning of a migraine pound in his head, and he let out a loud groan, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Oh, and there was the fact that Kylo apparently now had a daughter. That he didn’t even want to start thinking about.

“Oh shit, Leia is going to kill me,” he murmured, heaving a great sigh as he looked down at the little girl who was just so damn excited about everything. And who created more questions for Poe. “I am so going to regret this,” he muttered to himself.

“Okay, okay, fine. Do you need a lift? Or is your ship good enough to travel in?” He inwardly pled for the latter, as the former would mean he had to travel Kylo fucking Ren to his mother. Wouldn’t that just be the best thing in the entire galaxy? “If so, I’ll just give you the coordinates for the new base, as I have no idea where the ship is at that moment.” He hadn’t heard from Rey or Valo in several hours, so he assumed they were still in lightspeed travel, looking to establish a new base for the ship.

~~

Lavinia crossed her arms, brows furrowing at Armitage’s off-hand comment. Why does it matter if Borran or Tanis know about this? She didn’t consider if he was simply being petty and mentioning someone else, as she was distracted immediately by Karn, who actually did answer her question.

“That doesn’t surprise me with the Ghis.” Not with how petty every family proved to continue to be, with how they always fought to be richer and more powerful than the others. “Surprised someone in that family was actually smart enough to contact the Bith.”

And they had a planned, but encountered the frustrating barrier of not having an account to transfer funds into. Lavinia sighed dramatically. “Oh, if only you knew someone who had an account. Where could you possibly find someone with one?”

She imagined that Armitage would refuse any help from her in that capacity, but, oddly enough, Karn proved to be some voice of reason between them. If Hux refused, maybe Karn could convince him that they needed her help with the funds.

 

[Lucyfer]

“Whiskey fixes most regrets. For a bit,” Reveille shrugged, and Thenn canted her head.

“I don’t think it does….”

“You’ll never have enough regrets to learn,” Reveille said, and honestly hoped that would be true, even if she had apparently taken Kylo Ren for a father. She might end up with enough regrets from that. Well, no matter.

Reveille nodded, “Yes, this ship should suffice.” Perhaps when they got back to the base, Leia could call to her ship and she could rejoin it and help them sort things out. Leave Kylo with his mother. And Poe. Poor Poe. “Let’s get back to the ships so you can transmit the coordinates to me.”

“What’s Leia like?” Thenn asked then, thinking she could learn a bit from Poe on the way back, since he clearly knew Leia. “Why isn’t she going to be happy?” Poe had mentioned Leia would kill him.

~***~

“There’s actually plenty of them,” Armitage answered Lavinia’s dramatic statement flatly. He was more than aware of what she was trying to get at, to suggest herself, but he hardly planned to offer her access to such a large amount of credits. “Karn, figure it out.”

He pointed to Lavinia.

“Another way.”

Karn rolled his eyes, “So, hypothetically, how difficult is it to add someone else to your account? Like, do we have to go to the actual bank and bullshit it, or can you just give me the information so I can change the password and access codes so it all comes to me, even though it’s in your name?”

Armitage’s brows raised at what Karn was asking – to basically take over Lavinia’s account in all but name. He wouldn’t believe that she would be willing to trust him that far. “We can hand it back after this business is done,” Karn added.

 

[cleopat]

Poe wanted to agree with Reveille. Whiskey does fix most regrets for a time, but he reconsidered when he remembered a small child was with them. No need to ruin her innocence just yet, even if she was Kylo Ren’s fucking daughter.

He still didn’t know how to wrap that around his mind.

So he just sighed and nodded. “Okay, yeah, let’s do that,” and he added with a mumble, “and please don’t make me regret this.” Even if they had all gone through shit together, Poe still couldn’t get over the fact that this was Reveille Hux, former Admiral and subsequent Grand Marshall of the First Order, sister of Armitage Hux.

And she had Kylo Ren and his fucking daughter with her.

Who loved to ask questions.

He sighed, and looked down at her with a tired smile. “She’s our general and probably the kindest and most patient person we’ll ever meet.” Someone who turned into somewhat of a mother figure and mentor for him. “And I can guarantee that she’ll immediately love you.” He made a mental note to send Leia a message soon that Kylo Ren is headed her way, along with her new granddaughter.

~~

Lavinia threw a look in Armitage’s direction, and again, Karn proved to actually be a voice of reason in the moment. She bit her lip, thinking on the situation for a moment as he offered a suggestion.

“I can give you all of the information needed to access the account, that’s not a problem, but if the Ghis and the Bith ask the bank to investigate why their money didn’t transfer, they may notice a sudden increase in funds into my account, at the same amount of credits that just went missing.” And while her name wasn’t tied to the account, but rather an alias, it could still pose a problem for them.

“But if there was somewhere else you could immediately transfer those funds to, then it shouldn’t be a problem. I won’t be able to keep the account, but,” she shrugged, “it’s not a big deal.” A new bank account, if she needed it, wouldn’t be hard to create. “I didn’t have many credits in there to begin with.”

 

[Lucyfer]

‘I don’t plan to.’ Reveille didn’t add that. She didn’t think she would be the one making anyone regret this. That would be on Kylo. With some luck, Thenn might make that easier.

They descended the steps, Reveille shifting Thenn’s hand to her opposite one so she could walk between Reveille and Poe, looking up at him as he spoke of ‘her grandmother’. ‘Stars….’ Well at least Poe was being nice. Best she not speak of Leia. Let Poe do all the talking.

Thenn’s smile widened as Poe noted that Leia would love her immediately, “I can’t wait to meet her!” Of course she couldn’t. “Do I have a grandpa?”

‘No, because Kylo murdered him.’ Reveille did not say that. Nor did she suggest that Thenn ask Kylo about it, tempting as it was. She remained morbidly curious how people were going to try and preserve Thenn’s innocence.

~***~

“I figured we’d just liquidate it immediately,” Karn noted, “They can’t get it back if it’s already out of the account. Or you can go make a new account beforehand. I’m sure you’d be able to get away with that now that you’re back here and everything.”

Just walk into a bank, offer her ID, and set things up. Then they could transfer it there, and also liquidate it quickly, in case it was too hard to liquidate the funds from her current bank account. He didn’t really know how these things worked.

The Order had provided.

“There, does that sound all right?” He asked Hux, who grudgingly sighed, but nodded. That would work. They’d have an account to funnel the funds to, and then liquidate it.

"You'll take full responsibility if it goes wrong, however," Armitage warned Karn. He saw the way Karn's smile seemed to freeze, the way fear touched his expression.

'Good.' So he didn't trust Lavinia as much as he pretended - but he was too arrogant to take it all back.

 

[cleopat]

Thenn’s excitement and pure innocence at the prospect of meeting Leia brought a smile to Poe’s face. He knew Leia would immediately fall in love with the child, regardless of who she belong to.

But then, she just had to ask about a grandfather. His smile flickered away, and Poe’s eyes flittered to Reveille before he focused back down at the child. “No, no you don’t.”

Of course he could tell her why she didn’t have a grandfather. He didn’t have it in him to tell her Kylo was the reason Han Solo was dead. That Kylo killed his own father. He imagined it would break her heart. “He died not that long ago. I would suggest not mentioning him in front of Leia though, alright?” Leia didn’t need the rollercoaster of emotions.

~~

Lavinia shrugged. “I can worry about a new account later. This one isn’t in my name, so that will be simple enough.” She may need another one if she planned on continuing to engage with the elites, or simply intend to stay on the planet for a length of time.

A frown touched her lips with the reaction. A tinge of annoyance twitched in her mind, and she sighed. “Well then, we will just have to make sure nothing goes wrong, won’t we?” Lavinia knew the hesitation and slight fear rested on how neither trusted her, and she tried to ignore that.

Even if it practically slapped her in her face.

Even if the urge to be petty and tell them to find someone else was great.

“And nothing will go wrong. We’ll intercept that transfer, place it into my account, and then liquidate them. Simple enough,” she plainly stated, as if it was a task she had done a hundred times before.

 

[Lucyfer]

‘You’re all no fun.’ Of course, Reveille wouldn’t say that aloud as Poe hid the truth of it. He didn’t lie, of course. No, he told her that the grandfather was dead, and not to mention it in front of Leia.

Reveille added, “It was recent.”

“Oh.” Thenn said, “But…then wouldn’t she want to talk about him? I…I only wanted to talk about my mother when she died,” but people avoided the topic. Except Nyx. Nyx who was no longer with her. Nyx who Kylo did not trust. Her shoulders sagged. “I guess others might be different. I won’t mention him.”

“What about your father?” It struck Reveille, then, that Thenn hadn’t mentioned a loss of him. Or stayed with him.

“I never knew him. My mom never mentioned him,” she said, “It’s not abnormal, really. I was brought up around only other women.” And then taken in with Nyx, where it remained mostly that way. “I didn’t really think of it much.”

‘But you thought of a grandfather so easily?’ Reveille didn’t believe that. Just accepted that Thenn had, at some point, given up on trying to learn.

“Well, you’ll meet Leia soon.” They were back at the hangar, and Reveille pointed to her ship so Poe knew. “I’ll send out a hailing signal so you can transfer the coordinates over.”

~***~

Apparently, it would be easy enough to just liquidate it. Karn let out a sigh of relief at that. It wasn’t even tied to Lavinia’s name, so that made it easier, albeit added to that layer of suspicion, “Great, now we just need to figure out how to actually do it!” He chimed, “Like maybe you could actually talk to Stella or—”

“I’m exploring my options,” Armitage snapped, “We just received this information today.”

“And you know the transfer will be done in a day or two.” Karn reminded. “It’s easier to intercept, then to steal it outright from a bank account.” Banks had tight security. It was possible, but there were moments – however few – where the funds were moving through waves.

Those waves were easier to redirect and put into accounts. Not that Karn knew how to do it, but that’s why he wasn’t volunteering himself.

 

[cleopat]

Poe frowned at the conversation between Reveille and Thenn. What kind of upbringing did the child had? It had also stuck out at Poe that she would easily ask about a grandfather, but not once think about her own, whom she apparently never knew.

It wasn’t his place to question her about that though. Even if he had his own questions he wanted to ask. Maybe if she truly did stay with Leia, then Poe would get to talk more with Thenn. Of course, all that also relied on Kylo Ren and what the fuck was going on with him.

Okay, yes, definitely need to message Leia as soon as possible.

Poe looked over at Reveille’s ship, and lightly snickered at the old ship. “Looks like you need an upgrade. But okay, yeah, I’m not that far away. I’ll transfer them, and we’ll meet up at the base.”

He would send one more glance at Thenn before he headed to his own ship to await her hailing signal and send the coordinates over, and after which, Poe immediately sent a quick message to Leia. I hope I didn’t accidentally inhale any spice somewhere and this is some weird hallucination.

~~

Lavinia couldn’t help but to roll her eyes. Why are men so damned obtuse? Karn, less so. But Armitage? She wanted to bang his head against a desk until some of that stubbornness and pettiness disappeared.

“Oh if only you knew a code breaker,” she sighed as her arms swung at her side. She suspected he had already considered her, but immediately took her off the list due to those damned trust issues.

Really, if she wanted to do something against him, she would’ve done it while reprogramming those droids.

Lavinia shrugged. “Oh well, I guess you’ll just have to keep looking around in the time limit you have, which is what? Maybe a day? Maybe two?” Did he really have the time to continue to be so damn stubborn?

 

[Lucyfer]

“It wasn’t my first choice,” Reveille was no more a fan of the ship than Poe, but it got the job done. Either way, she’d leave off from Poe’s side and walk back to her ship, the ramp lowering with a press of a button.

Thenn hurried up the ramp first to look for Kylo, spilling the whole plan entirely, “Kylo, Kylo! We met a friend of your mom! Uh…Poe!” Reveille just smiled as she walked to the cockpit and sent out the hailing signal, intending to move as soon as she had the coordinates and get to the base of the Resistance.

All while Thenn babbled away, “He says your mom is really nice. I can’t wait to meet her! And I’m sorry about your dad…I heard you lost him recently.” They hadn’t told her not to mention it in front of Kylo. “If you ever want to talk about him…I’ll listen. I promise.”

~***~

Much as Armitage had dismissed Lavinia for her account, he dismissed her for any ability to intercept the funds. “Indeed, I will,” he responded to her commentary, “You’re both dismissed,” he said this before Karn could interrupt. “I’ll call you when I have information on how we are proceeding with the Ghis and Bith situation.”

Karn gave a sharp nod, and would turn to leave, understanding that he’d done what he could for fixing one part of the equation. They had an account. Now they just had to work out the means of getting it into the account.

Armitage would break. His pragmatism would always push aside his pride, but Karn wouldn’t press too far. The pragmatism might win out – but not in ways any of them would like if they tried to push him.

Armitage might just decide to straight up kill an entire family and take everything of value to fund his war. That solved the money issue just as effectively, and he didn’t need any of them for that.

 

[cleopat]

Kylo was still sitting on the floor when the two came back onto the ship. He heard Thenn’s voice before he was actually aware they were back onboard. It was no surprise that he just stared at her, wide-eyed, an expression similar to Poe’s when all of the information was just spilled onto him.

He continued to stare at the little girl as she trailed off, finishing on the subject of his own father. No, I don’t think we’ll be talking about him anytime soon. The guilt still weighed heavily on his mind, especially as the Force had wanted to remind him of a childhood memory of them together.

“Wait, we’re going to Leia?” The words in his question progressively got louder until he was certain Reveille heard him. The news didn’t exactly come as a surprise to him, but he still didn’t want to go there. He didn’t want to go to the Resistance base, face everyone there, and face his mother.

Kylo knew he was more afraid of her potential rejection than anything else.

~~

Lavinia clenched her jaw and swallowed any response she wanted to give him in the heat of the moment. Karn had left without another word, and she knew she needed to take that as her cue to leave as well without further inciting Armitage’s ire. So we have to continue to tip-toe around him, but he can be as callous as he wants?

She had followed behind Karn, but took a brief pause at the door. Her head looking back over one shoulder, Lavinia hissed, “You need to swallow your damn pride before it proves to be your downfall.” She may regret the words later, but in the moment, she had to say them.

And Lavinia continued without waiting for a response from Armitage.

Outside, she wasn’t sure where to go next. She entertained the thought in following Karn, but would he seek sleep after their long night? She knew she was too wired to get any sleep for some time herself. “I guess I’ll see you later,” she called out to Karn. "You deserve some rest."