The Other Solo - Part II A Shadow of Hope

Chapter 10

Raddus

Poe leads Finn and Rose to his quarters.

"What about Jaina?" Finn asks nervously.

"She'll go straight back to Leia." Poe answers evenly. He locks the door just in case.

Rose tries to hide her inner fangirl as she takes in the living space. Not only is she in the presence of heroes but she's actually in their private sanctum.

"All right." Poe's voice pulls her from her reverie. "You guys shut down that tracker. I'll be here to jump us to lightspeed."

He flicks a few switches at his holocomputer. "The question is how do we sneak the two of you onto Snoke's Destroyer?"

"We steal clearance codes." Rose postures.

Finn shakes his head. "No, they're bio-hexacrypt and rescrambled every hour. We can't get through their security shields undetected. Nobody can."

A thought comes into Poe's head. He points at Finn hoping he has the same thought. Finn's face lights up.

Within seconds they are communicating with an old friend, Maz Kanata.

"Could I do it?" She asks in the shadows. "Of course I could. But I can't do it." She blasts at an unseen assailant." I'm a little tied down right now."

C3PO gasps and BB-8 rolls back.

"Maz!" Finn yells. "What is happening?"

"Union dispute. You do not want to hear about it." Maz replies casually.

A blasts hits near her head, she continues unfazed. "But, lucky for you there's exactly one guy I trust who can crack that kind of security."

The three watch the small elderly creature tumble and evade fire at ease.

"He's a master codebreaker," She rapidly reloads her blaster. "...an ace pilot, a poet with a blaster." She deflects an electrofied boomarang.

"Oh my it sounds like this codebreaker fellow can do everything." C3PO chimes in.

"Oh yes he can." Maz suggests sensually. Finn and Rose exchange confused, grossed out looks. "You'll find him with a red plom bloom on his lapel rolling at a high stakes table in the casino on Canto Bight."

"Canto Bight? No, no. That's..." Poe argues. "Maz, is there any way that we can take care of this ourselves?"

She adjusts her goggles surveying around her. "Sorry, kiddo. This is rarefied cracking. You wanna get on that Destroyer, I only know one option. Find the Master Codebreaker!"

Her transmission cuts as she zooms upward in a jet pack. Blasts could be heard after her.

The three consider their options. Poe exhales a frustrated sigh as Finn thrusts the beacon toward him. Rose watches the exchange curiously. Finn practically pleads for him to take it. Poe knows the weight of this. Hesitantly, he takes the beacon.

_____________________________

"You wanted to see me Admiral?" Jaina announces as she enters the bridge. She's still a bit shaken up about the encounter she just experienced but tries to portray confidence.

"Ah Commander Solo, yes." Amilyn greets warmly. She leads Jaina away from prying ears to the grand window of the bridge. She senses something is amiss. "How is your mother?"

"She's doing well. I mean she's alive but still unconscious."

Holdo smiles comfortingly, "Thank the Force. I'm sure it will be very soon she wakes up."