Photophobia

The Plan

Hux started to feel hungry and thirsty but he decided to wait until he took another gulp of his canteen. Slowly the shadows grew longer and he realised that the sun would soon set.

"Into the shuttle," he said in a coarse voice. At least he wouldn't have to worry about predators of the forest inside.

The rebel just got up and followed his instructions; he wasn't the one getting tired it seemed. They sat down in the back of the vessel where he had a clean view on her despite the rising darkness.

There was not much to do beside stare at each other. She checked him out from head to toe. There was no real emotion visible on her face but Hux imagined that she was appalled.

He tried his best to give her a dismissive sneer now and then but he couldn't manage it. He was simply too exhausted and he wasn't in the mood to deploy his usual methods when dealing with the resistance. He could mock and sneer at her when he was feeling better.

After a couple of hours she moved and his grip around the blaster became firmer.

"I'm just getting a ration bar," she said when she slid her hand into one of her pockets. His eyes widened. So she had food?

Indeed she produced a wrapped bar and proceeded to pry the wrapping open. She took a bite and chewed slowly, closing her eyes for a moment. It seemed that the bar tasted good, Hux thought, annoyed. His stomach felt hollow.

He reached for the canteen and took a gulp of water so he wouldn't feel too hungry. She leaned back and looked as if she wanted to sleep. Hux frowned a little. Why wasn't she scared of him? There was another problem of course – he too had to sleep eventually. He could only hope that the rescue would arrive in the next couple of hours. Too bad that he didn't have some kind of restraints ...

In this moment his stomach growled. Hux felt himself blushing and pressed his left hand on it as if he could muffle the sound somehow. He noticed of course that she had cracked an eye open. He felt uneasy and reached again for the canteen.

She cleared her throat and he froze. Now she would mock him, make fun of his weak-

"Care for a trade?" she asked and slowly reached into one of the overalls pockets. The wrapping of the ration bar rustled a little and glittered in the dim light as she pulled it out.

Hux looked from his canteen to the bar, considering his options. He could of course force her to give him the bar ... but what was the point? There was enough water left and he needed her to be cooperative. He nodded and they traded.

He watched her drink the water: Apparently she had been thirsty for quite some time. He quickly unwrapped the bar and devoured it. It didn't taste as good as he had expected but it made the hollow feeling go away.

She screwed the canteen shut and handed it back. Hux almost flinched when their fingers met. To his amazement she leaned back against the wall, closed her eyes and fell asleep in a matter of minutes.

Listening to her deep, steady breaths made him even more tired. He tried to keep his eyes open, but soon he dozed off.

Hux dreamt about Starkiller base. He was running through the innards of the gigantic base, looking for something, without knowing what. The troopers he encountered ignored him. He yelled at them and ordered them to salute him but they just stared at him if he weren't even there.

A loud noise startled him and he sat straight up. For a short moment he was confused but he quickly realised where he was and his eyes darted to the woman across from him. A loud crow could be heard from outside; it reminded him of Arkanian corbies. Bahk. Hux wiped across his face, there was nothing he could do now.