Dorn: A Star Wars Story

29. Monster

Almost before I even managed to disembark the transport, Horran and Farthen were practically on top of me. "You are kriffed, my friend," Farthen sucked on his teeth as he and Horran began filling me in on exactly what we were now dealing with. "Do you have any idea how karking mad Hux is right now? He's screaming up a storm."

"Gotta hand it to Admiral Ahuff," Horran whistled as I ducked into the nearby locker room and quickly changed into my General Blacks for whatever dress down I was going to be dealing with the moment I stepped into the primary briefing room, "he has been handling Hux. Handily, might I add. Man's got a spine of steel."

"Literally and figuratively," Farthen quipped as he crossed his arms over his chest as I reappeared, draping our standard issue long coat over my shoulders and adjusting my cap. "Admiral Kaine tried his best to keep it civil, but as soon as it started getting uncivil, in came Thesh like a durasteel retaining wall. Stars, I love the Navy. Barmy bastards never balk at anything. Don't make 'em that way anymore."

"Your whole team is up there, including the First Special Forces Infantry boys. They're all getting screamed at."

That made me mad. It must have shown on my face as I stormed off across the hallway and jammed my finger into the button for the lift because I heard Farthen whistled, "Oh, yeah, now he's steamed."

I made it to the briefing room floor and caught sight of Hux and a few of his entourage that followed him everywhere and heard the faint sound of the man of the hour shouting. There before the rest of them stood Thesh with this look on his face, leaning forward in the table, unflinching, as a slightly nervous Sevens stood behind him watching the spectacle like Thesh was a madman. I had never seen Thesh look so irritated yet under control as before, and from time to time I would see his mouth move through the glass before Hux would start up again. I could see all of my men lined up along the back wall as I approached and felt something like rage start to build in my chest as I walked to the door. It took a second to open, and when I wasn't satisfied with it, I grabbed ahold of the crack in between the sliding door and the frame and flung it open, prompting everyone in the room to go quiet for a heartbeat and look over at me. I caught Nyra's face brighten when she saw that I was back in one piece, and I saw Sevens look like he was relieved and ready to give up the second I stormed into the room and placed myself firmly beside Thesh.

"You better have a karking good reason for sitting here screaming at my men, sir," I kept my voice level, but I saw how the men behind Hux squirmed a bit even beneath their confident little smirks that they still wore.

Hux was absolutely incandescent. His rage had colored his entire face, which wasn't hard considering how pasty the kid was, and he stepped up to me like he stood any chance of intimidating me, of all people. "You have a lot of nerve coming in here and making comments about my conduct when it seems that I have, as of late, had quite the time getting you to follow any conduct codes at all, General Ruana."

"If this is about my return mission to Yavin, then you should be aware that I successfully retrieved Montferrat without any disruption to Special Forces operations at all, sir." I was used to officers like him, only I wasn't afraid of them anymore. Back when I was a trooper, I had at least some sense of expendability. That changed. 

"You disobeyed a direct order-!"

"You have given Special Forces autonomy, sir," Thesh cut in, his voice hard and factual with a slight edge to it that I was a bit surprised to hear. "That autonomy must be respected when it involves interior affairs. We cannot operate effectively without it."

"But when I give an order, I demand that it be respected," Hux was almost speaking through clenched teeth, his eyes locked directly onto mine. I saw him unholster his blaster and still felt nothing, and I caught sight of his men's eyes widen when they saw what I heard: all of my soldiers unholstering their own blasters at the same time. That made him pause, and I saw desperation come onto his face as he raised the blaster and levelled it with me. "If I cannot control you, then I should simply remove the problem at the source."