Chapter Text
The crystals lying in front of him shimmered softly in the dim morning light. He preferred staring at them and their rough edges than at the person projected in front of him. Of course that was where his father was placed in the holo call. Opposite him. Cleary this had been done on purpose. Not necessarily to embarrass him, or his father, but simply meant as a pinprick. Just a reminder that the other was there. So they could not escape each other. Not in the long run.
Armitage Hux dragged his eyes away from the glittering crystals in front of him and forced himself to look at his father. The man who had given him his name, but never his respect. The man who hadn’t even had the decency to drag him off Arkanis himself, but who had ordered his men to do it. To pull him away not only from his home, but from his mother’s corpse as well. Not to give him a better life, but to provide a dying Empire with soldiers. That was all his father had ever expected of him.
Not that Hux had ever been willing to give more than that. Not to the Empire anyway.
“The new recruits will be ready to start training on Starkiller Base within the month,” Brendol was saying, finishing his report.
There was that familiar rush of adrenaline. The one he hated. The one that always came when he had to speak to his father, whether it be in public or in private. The one that was nothing but a remnant of years past when he hadn’t had a choice but be in his father’s demanding presence. When he had been unable to live up to impossible expectations. His fingers curled around the crystals, feeling its warmth through the leather glove, relieved that only Mitaka could see it. “The new barracks are ready for one thousand. As discussed the others will serve on the Finalizer and Captain Phasma tells me the next batch of cadets is ready for full service.” None of this was new to either him or his father. They hardly ever spoke in person these days, not since Hux’s promotion the previous year. Their conversations were limited to the exchange of reports and these weekly meetings.
He saw his father’s eyebrow twitch and his fist closed tighter around the crystal in his hand, feeling the sharp edges digging into his skin even through the thin layer of leather covering it.
“I was under the impression the new Stormtroopers would be sent to me,” General Enric Pryde said.
“Since nobody knows where you are hiding with your secret project that hasn’t come up.” Parandee actually smiled at Pryde. She was younger than Pryde, younger than Hux’s father, but still old enough to be among the seniors within this tight knit circle that made up the leadership of the First Order. She had arrived at what had then been the Imperial fleet years after the battle of Jakku in a ship she had stolen after her escape from a rebel prison. A true feat. One that had been rewarded in due time. Not by Snoke. Back then nobody had known about Snoke holding the reins.
There was a brief cough. A sound that sounded worse through the slight distortions of the holo call. Domaric Quinn had only recently ascended to a position in High Command to take over commanding the ground troops. Clearly it would take him a while to get used to these meetings. To how little they were true strategy meetings and more thinly veiled bickering of old Imperials. “There is no need for that, I am sure,” Quinn said and Hux barely kept from rolling his eyes.
“General Hux,” Parandee addressed him now, “since the building of the barracks are complete now, it should be no problem to send the workers to General Pryde’s collection point. He can send them back when you need them more urgently.”
Hux nodded, his jaw clenched. “I will look into it.” No promises. None. He would give nothing to either Pryde or his father. Not unless Snoke ordered him to, and that in itself was highly unlikely. Snoke hardly ever reacted to bickering amongst his generals.
When Pryde nodded, Hux knew that his intentions were clear. That Pryde would either file a complaint or plan his revenge in another way. Well, let him. Hux was the most powerful of Snoke’s generals, even if none of the old guard was willing to see that. Hux was the commander of this vast machine the First Order had built. It had been forced upon him. There was little use apart from impressing their enemies in it. But it was the most prestigious project the Order had, and Snoke had given it to him. Not only because of his skills in engineering, but also, maybe even mostly, because Snoke had felt like pushing it in Brendol’s face.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Mitaka shift slightly, eyes focused on his datapad. There was a twitch on his lips, visible only for a moment, but it was there.
“That is all on the agenda for today.” Parandee leaned back in her chair. “The Supreme Leader has hinted at news about expanding our territory into Known Space soon, and I believe we will hear about it before long.” Just what Hux had been waiting for. Parandee hinting at her special connection to Snoke. So far she had refrained from mentioning it. Of course she had to mention it at least once. What a disappointment.
He forced himself to lean back, ignoring his father’s stares and Pryde’s grim expression, and let out a long breath. How was the Order supposed to grow, not just in size, but in purpose, if this persisted? There was nothing new in the way they talked, in the way things were handled. Not since the days of the Empire.
“Lieutenant, why were you smiling?” Hux asked when the holo was finally off.
“General Pryde issued a request for the workers a few minutes ago, Sir. General Hux is requesting a meeting for tomorrow to discuss Captain Phasma’s new training strategy..”
For a moment he was silent. He was working with Phasma. He was working with Cardinal. Their training facilities were spread all over the fleet’s Star Destroyers, but most were here on Starkiller Base. Hux knew what they were doing. He was checking in with them more often than his father, who was responsible for them. He knew everything. There was nothing to discuss. If anything, there were things to report. “Resend the memos we have already sent him.”
“Of course, Sir.” Mitaka looked at him briefly, then returned his gaze to his datapad while Hux got up and turned to look down at the vast icy landscape below. The kyber crystals, harvested from within the vast depths of this planet clicked together like dice in a sabacc game.
Once this place had harboured an ancient Jedi temple. The command center of their current base was located directly on top of it, eliminating all but a few traces of what used to be a sacred place to a dying religion. Now it was occupied by the First Order. Now the Jedi were truly defeated, and it would not be long until the Empire was purged from memory as well. The Order could and would be so much more. Once the old men and women who were still in charge had made way.
“General Pryde just sent a message demanding to arrange negotiations over the workers.”
Hux let out a low huff and let the crystals slide into the pocket of his jodhpurs. They clicked together again. “Let him demand,” he said quietly. “We’ll ignore him unless the Supreme Leader orders something else.” The fact of the matter was that Pryde had no right to demand a thing! Neither did his father. They simply assumed that Hux would bow to their will, simply because they were older than him. Because they had fought the rebels. Because they had already served under Palpatine.
“What have we heard from the Security Bureau?”
“They sent the update during the meeting, yes. General Hux is apparently investigating Crustai with help from General Pryde.”
“That is near the Phalax Trade Route?”
“Yes, General.”
“And fairly close to us.”
“Yes, General.”
Moreover, it was Ascendancy territory if he was not mistaken. Not unless the Chiss had left that place well behind. If so, Brendol Hux should have made that known. He scowled out at the icy vastness beyond the window and nodded. “What is there on that planet? To our latest knowledge?”
“A few settlements, Chiss and human, but mostly Chiss. Several plains with well tended farmland inhabited by the few humans there.”
“Why did the humans go there. Do we know?”
There was a brief pause during which Hux turned to look at his right-hand man. Mitaka was always on top of things. Always quick to find and pass on information Hux needed. He had been among those his father had found for the Order early on. Dopheld Mitaka held promise. He was loyal to the Order, but most importantly, as far as Hux could tell, he was loyal to him. So far he had not made Hux think otherwise.
“Refugees from the Clone Wars gathered there years before the Empire was formed. They were Separatists according to our archives.”
Pursing his lips Hux moved past the table. “We should send a team to investigate.” If his father was snooping around there, then Hux should be too. He threw a look at his chrono. He was already running late for his upcoming duties. Curse High Command for their nonsensical gatherings. “Well, I suppose this meeting could have been a memo…”, he muttered. “I believe it is time to move on to the new communications centre?”
Mitaka nodded briefly, then he stood to the side to let Hux pass.