Taking Command Book 1 (Kylux) (#Wattys2016)

Chapter Seventeen: Impressive

Hux PoV

This was going to be much more of an intense mission than the last two had been. We would have to stake out the Temple and plan how we would sneak into the ruins to steal the chip. Not only that, we would have to spend multiple nights most likely scouring the archives trying to find where the chip was. We would be away for at least two weeks.

We would be most likely living in very close quarters and more intimately than Ren would like. One thing I had become aware of was that Ren was not overly fond of the company of other people in general.

I also had to figure out how to get him to blend into the public. He was not that much of a sore thumb, given his status as a baseline human, but his outfit left much to be desired.

From what he had said, his wardrobe consisted mainly of voluminous cloaks and all black regalia in large amounts of layers. Not only that, but as the First Order was already achieving a stage of infamy, Ren was already a minor icon of terror. While I doubted that many would recognize him mask less, I did not want to take that chance.

The problem was that I knew virtually nothing about what he would be willing to tolerate. I opted for the idea of being more simple in attire. I would get it shipped to where we were staying so he could don it upon arrival.

Before I bought clothing, however, I rented an apartment in Coruscant's Upper Level. It was expensive, but worth it. I then bought clothing for Ren and hoped it would fit him well and had it shipped there. The powers of technology made missions like this a lot more simple.

Now that housing and Kylo were taken care of, I could begin packing for the trip. I shoved various articles of clothing into a bag and planned to buy
some while in Coruscant. It would be a unique change from Starkiller Base where I wore the same uniform everyday. Now, I would dress in style, as befitting someone living in the upper levels of Coruscant.

Now that that all was taken care of, I summoned Captain Phasma to my quarters. She arrived quickly and promptly, as was her manner.

"You summoned me, General?" She stood at attention despite the late hour.

"Yes. I presume that all my instructions were followed while I was on Kamino?" I asked her, already knowing the answer from reading the reports and statistics.

"Yes, General. Do you have more orders?" Of course she had gotten them done. That was completely unsurprising. Captain Phasma was efficient and concise and never failed to complete whatever I commissioned of her.

"Yes, I do. I will have the orders sent to you by morning tomorrow. I will be gone for a few weeks, on a mission with Kylo Ren. You are in charge of all trooper training." Due to her aforementioned traits, I had no qualms about putting her in command.

"Very good, General. I await more detailed instructions. Permission to leave?"

"Yes." I said. She was always true to form and custom and etiquette. She was the opposite of unorthodox, fiery, Kylo Ren. She was all cool efficiency and professional detachment. I watched her walk out before returning to issuing specific goals and commands for the trooper training squads.

After a few hours of that, I was finally done. It was a strenuous job, but it was worth it. Planning ahead was what success came from. Now, my only task was to alert Kylo to the new plans. If I wanted this to succeed, Kylo would need to work with me, and he would not do that unless he trusted me. That meant that he had to trust me, and due to his ability or read my thoughts, he would know if I was hiding things.

I walked over to his room and knocked on the door. He answered it wearing a black robe over his bare chest and tight fitting black pants. His hair was disheveled and he looked as if though I had woken him up from a long nap.

"What do you want?" He asked, grumpily, yawning. "I'll see you tomorrow at 1000 when we leave." He went to shut the door but I stuck my foot in between the wall and door.

"I need to tell you about the arrangements that have been made for this mission. We are staying at an apartment in the Upper Levels and I've already procured you clothing."

"That's great, but how would you know my size?" He raised an eyebrow at me.

"I guessed. You're only a little bigger than me." I felt sort of stupid in hindsight. I should have just asked.

"Whatever. It's impressive that you got all of this done, though. Can I sleep now?" He looked down at me, and I let him shut the door.

Laying in my bed, I was pleased. He thought that I was impressive. That was not something I thought he would ever admit. Perhaps he was coming around.