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Hux and I kneel before the throne aboard the Finalizer, where Ren reclines in that heavy seat. He's joined by a holographic image of Palpatine's face, which hovers from the port resting on the arm of the throne.
The Emperor mutters to himself, or speaks to figures we cannot see. Ren tilts his head, still masked. He has not taken it off since that meeting with the Commanders.
"Allegiant General Enric Pryde was the mole in the First Order..?" Ren finally speaks, propping his hand against the side of his head. "What made him switch?"
"He spoke to me... before he tried to kill me." Hux says softly. "He said that it wasn't fair that he had served Darth Vader so faithfully, only for Kylo Ren to be the master of the First Order." He swallows, tilting his head down.
Ren considers this.
"Pryde..?" Palpatine says, voice creaking. "He was an officer. When the Empire fell, he fled like a coward to the Outer Rim."
"Would it not have been more prudent to keep him alive for interrogation?" Ren finally says.
"With the fate of the only General in the First Order in danger, I acted solely out of protection. The error is mine alone." I say, fighting so none of my beast-form signatures show. Palpatine doesn't know... he doesn't know about me...
"I want to know what makes the girl so special." Ren turns towards the holographic Emperor. "I want to know now."
Palpatine sizes up the Supreme Leader, his face crinkling as he smiles darkly.
"The scavenger... she is my descendant." He says, and I look up in surprise. "The last of a line of Palpatines."
The mask hides Ren's face, though I expect he is just as shocked as I am.
"As I am a descendant of Lord Vader, so she is a descendant of you." He finally says.
"Yesss..." Palpatine hisses. "The Force works in many mysterious ways."
Ren considers this for a long time.
"I want her dead... young Ren." The Emperor continues. "The longer she trains as a Jedi, the more of a threat she becomes. I want nothing to stand in the way of galaxial domination."
"It will not be an issue. She is hunting for a Wayfinder, hoping to find the location of Exegol."
"The Wayfinders... such powerful devices." Palpatine hums, and Hux shifts in his knee, fingers trembling slightly behind his back. "There was one aboard the Death Star when it fell."
"Kef Bir." Ren murmurs.
"It calls to you and you alone. She will have to search. Find it, and destroy it, and then destroy her." Palpatine commands.
"I will, Emperor." Ren says, and there is no hesitation in his voice. The hologram flickers out, and I duck my head away from his stare as he angles to face forward.
"I will go to Kef Bir and bring her head back." Ren says, and stands. His cape ripples as he moves forward, stalking past us. "You are not to follow. Lead the fleet to Exegol, and prepare for battle."
"Yes, Supreme Leader." Hux says quietly.
"And..." Ren pauses before the doorway. "The Emperor's Destroyers orbit Kijimi. Tell them to destroy it."
"Of course." Hux tilts his head down, and squeezes his eyes shut. He looses an unsteady breath as Ren leaves.
"What are we going to do?" He says softly. "When we get to Exegol?"
"The Rebellion has to have a plan." I say to him. "They came to the Finalizer for a reason. They're headed to Exegol as well."
"Do you think it will be enough? You said there were hundreds of Star Destroyers there."
"Thousands." I correct weakly. For a moment I see them, stretching endlessly into the sky like a great grid, the sound of all their engines combined like a roar. Hux swallows again, still staring at the floor.
"We have to comply." I say softly. "If we do not, the Emperor will hunt us down and it all will have been for nought."
"I hate to be the one on the trigger." Hux says. "The one holding the key."
"I will do it." I tell him, and he glances over at me, his eyes dark. "I will give the command."
I stand up and he stares up at me. I offer my hands and pull him up, and he sways a little from the gravity of what we must do.
"I can do it." I say again. If only to protect him from the horror of it. I know the destruction of the Hosnian System still weighs heavily on his mind.
Hux nods slowly as if not trusting himself to speak. He turns, and we walk to the bridge.
No one has touched Pryde's broken body. I summon my wings and stretch them nonchalantly, blocking it from Hux's view. He must still see, but appreciates the sentiment, because he gives me the tiniest smile, and that alone is enough.
Hux brings up the map of the planet, and drags the communication info from the three Destroyers hovering silently above the surface. He sends a ping to the three, and they respond immediately, like they were waiting for it.
Holograms appear, and every being pictured is the same. Heavy robes cover them from head to toe, and the area where there should be a face is nothing but darkness.
I take a breath in.
"The Supreme Leader has ordered Kijimi to be destroyed." I tell them. "He has bestowed the honor onto you. The Finalizer is going to travel to Exegol and organize the First Order for battle."
The three bow, not saying a word, and sign off as quickly as they came. From the hulls of the Destroyers above, great cannons emerge from massive bay doors, glowing red.
"Get us to Exegol." Hux tells the navigation technicians nearby, who have been watching silently with terrified eyes. "I will hail the others."
I watch the cannons fire, thick beams of light crashing down onto the surface of Kijimi. The dark cities erupt in flame, massive cracks spreading across the surface. Magma erupts, and as the Finalizer pulls away, I watch the planet explode into dust.
