The newest chapter to my Reylo fanfic (rated T). If you want to check out the previous chapters, here’s the link to AO3!
Heads up: This is a “no Rey”
chapter. Think of it as Kylo’s version of chapter 19. I don’t plan on doing
this often, but I need to set up some First Order plot and character
development that will be important later in the story. Thank you for reading!
“So,
how bad is it this time?”
General
Meric casts a cool glance to the colonel next to him.
The
portly man sighs as he leans over the meeting table, hollow-eyed and exhausted.
“It could
be worse,” Foss answers. “A third of the explosives malfunctioned, so the mines
aren’t entirely destroyed. Just…” He
grunts. “Mostly.” He sighs again, covering his eyes with a palm.
“Tsk.
Tsk.” The young general shakes his head in feigned commiseration. “How
terrible.” His tone is sympathetic but there’s a glint in his eye. He can
barely contain a smirk as he glances at General Hux seated across from them.
“Yes, it
really is quite a shame.” Hux sits back in his chair, relaxed and impassive, an
arm draped over his lap. “Especially when it could have so easily been
avoided.”
Foss
instantly drops his hand, incredulous.
“How?” He demands petulantly. “What could
we possibly do to stop this insanity?
After Apatros, half the Outer Rim scum are prepared to self-destruct. The moment we show up at their doorstep—”
BAM!
He
slams his fist on the table.
“We
can’t do a damn thing.” He huffs,
exasperated.
“Not now.”
Meric raises an eyebrow. “But it could have been avoided in the first place.”
Foss turns to the general but Meric just nods to Hux across the table.
“I spoke
to Ren about this months ago.” Hux sits up now, a little fire in his eyes. “I told him this was a possibility, that
the gangs would start to catch on, try to slow us down. I suggested we invade
more systems at once, snuff them out before such a thing occurred to them. But…” He shakes his head ruefully.
Foss
looks down, toying with this alternative in his mind.
“Yes… That
would have better,” he mutters. “But it’s too late for that. All we can do now
is grit our teeth and clean up the mess.” His sighs, defeated, his shoulders
drooping.
“Do
you have a team there yet?” Meric looks over at him.
“No.” Foss crosses his arms, disgruntled.
“I’ve got one coming in from Aeneid, but it won’t arrive for another two days.”
Hux
knits his eyebrows, his narrow face pinched in confusion.
“Surely,
there’s something that can be done in
the meantime.” He leans into the table. “What’s the infantry doing? Twiddling
their thumbs?”
“No.” Foss
shakes his head. “The Supreme Leader has them building an operational camp for
the slaves.”
Both
generals immediately scoff, rolling their eyes.
“Again?” Meric snorts in disbelief. “What
are we now? A damn charity organization?”
“What a waste,” Hux spits in contempt. “Housing
gutter rats when we could already be digging out the tunnels.”
Suddenly,
the door whirs open and General Kas strides swiftly into the room. He pulls out
a chair, a to-do list written across his face, and wordlessly takes a seat. He
doesn’t acknowledge the others but glares down with furrowed eyebrows, consumed
in thought.
The three
men barely acknowledge the middle-aged man, continuing with their conversation
as though he weren’t there.
“What
is this?” Meric blusters. “The fifth
time he has our troops taking care of riffraff?”
“The
fourth,” Foss supplies eagerly.
“It’s a waste
of our manpower,” Hux growls. “It’s a waste of our time. It’s a waste of our resources.”
“Added to
the fact that he has us rebuilding half the damn galaxy.” Meric sits back in
his chair, his cropped blonde hair gleaming in the light. “Don’t forget that.”
Hux sneers at the reminder.
“At
this rate—”
“Where’s
Voigt?” Kas demands abruptly. Hux twitches, annoyed at the interruption.
“You
know he’s always late.” Meric waves a hand dismissively. Kas sighs, looking
back down.
“Ren’s
running us into the ground with this nonsense,” Hux fumes. “We’re a glorified
mining and construction outfit now. He’s cut our military spending in half. Soon, we’ll barely have an army
left.”
“Well…”
Foss starts tentatively. “That makes sense, doesn’t it? Now that the war’s
over—”
“War is never over.” Hux shoots forward in his
chair, blue eyes cutting. Foss shrinks a bit. “Most of the Outer Rim is still
overrun by gangs, the Resistance is growing more and more every day—”
“Not
that the Supreme Leader’s doing anything about it,” Meric adds caustically.
“Exactly.” Hux points at the general.
“They’re a ticking time bomb, and while they’re growing stronger, we’re growing weaker.
Expending resources on foolishness, negotiating with scum…”
“Speaking
of which,” Meric smirks. “Can you believe he let that twitchy little shit sit
in on a Generals’ meeting?”
“Don’t remind me.” Hux covers his eyes
with a palm. “It’s unconscionable,”
he spits. “Giving a lower ranked twit high security clearance, letting him be privy
to top secret information. Half the time he’s here, he follows at Ren’s heels
like a dog.”
“The
Supreme Leader’s pet,” Meric mimics sarcastically. “I heard he went down to
visit the boy’s old unit, all the way to the loading decks.”
“Oh,
that’s not the half of it.” Hux practically cuts him off. “He’s added visits to
the lower ranks to his rounds. Our esteemed sovereign, descending to the slums,
consorting with engineers and technicians and supply workers.”
“Supply workers?” Foss gapes in
disbelief.
“Can
you imagine if Snoke had done such a thing?” Meric smirks.
“Snoke
would have never even considered
debasing himself in such a manner.” Hux gestures emphatically. “He actually respected
his position, understood that he represented our supremacy, our power, our
authority.” Hux grows angrier with
every word, his nostrils flaring. “The comparison is enough to raise the
question, isn’t it? If Ren is truly fit—”
“ENOUGH!”
Kas
abruptly slams his fist on the table, and the three men jump, startled. The
older general leans in, eyes fixed on Hux.
“Firstly…”
He cocks his head. “You really should refer to him as the Supreme Leader.” Hux opens his mouth to speak, but Kas cuts him
off.
“Secondly…” The general bites. “The First
Order is more powerful now than it
has ever been. Thanks to wise leadership, planets are lining up to negotiate
with us for their resources. We’re tightening our grip over the galaxy’s
economy by the day, and if we’ve recently
had to make a show of benevolence, it’s only been to repair the damage that you did to our negotiating power after
Garos.” At this, Hux’s face turns as red as his hair.
“And that
lower-ranked twit, as you call him, is smarter than half the men at this
table.” Kas raises a mocking eyebrow as Hux seethes.
“Careful
Armitage…” The general continues in a foreboding tone. “If you keep talking
like this, someone might suspect you of attempting to organize a mutiny.”
The
room instantly falls silent.
Foss and
Meric freeze in their seats, too terrified to speak. Only Hux keeps his head
up, maintaining a defiant gaze, his upper lip twitching as Kas stares at him coldly.
Read the rest on Ao3.
Vespaer's Dark Side 