Taking Command Book 1 (Kylux) (#Wattys2016)

Chapter Forty: Reactions

Kylo PoV

"He's gone?" I asked. I had been looking for Hux all day and I had finally been informed that General Hux had departed for Seveda.

"Yes." Phasma looked up at me from where she sat, reading some reports from the special ops troops she and Hux had mobilized a few weeks earlier. "He wanted to deal with an incident personally. A Resistance pilot is within a single star system of us. Our forces found him and tipped me off immediately. The Resistance has been looking for us for a while but-"

"They've come too close." I finished her sentence. "This could be a problem. It's good that someone is on it. It's bad that Hux went. He is completely unsuited for this."

"I agree. But I do not question the General. That is a strict violation of military procedure." Phasma's manner stiffened noticeably. She did not like my questioning her judgment.

"He could get himself blown up out there!" I snapped at her, my temper flaring in a fit of anxiety. He could be shot down before I tell him how I feel, how I only do this to keep him safe from Snoke. "He won't last against Poe Dameron in a dogfight! And you know that that is what this will be!" I drew my saber and slashed at a wall on my side. I was furious; I lost myself in a manner of speaking. I let go to rage for a couple seconds, then turned to see Phasma watching me.

"Hux believed that he could subdue Dameron, preferably permanently, on the planet. He seemed confident in his capabilities as a sniper. If you cannot restrain yourself in my personal area of duty, I will have to ask you to leave." Phasma stood up and glared at me, or I got the perception of that sort. "Hux might outrank me, but you have no rank. To me, you are no more than an overly glorified private. Let that sink in for you, Kylo Ren."

I seethed with rage, but I did not seek to alienate Phasma as an ally, and if I angered her, she had the assets to end me, Force sensitive or not. "My apologies, Captain. I was just... Angered and concerned on behalf of the General who seems to be getting in over his head in certain matters."

"Are you quite done, Kylo?" Her voice was full of ice and daggers. "I have things to do."

"Yes." I spat the word out bitterly then stalked out of the room. I wanted to go and seek out Hux and help him, bring back the nostalgia of the times we had worked together, but he would not appreciate it. I went back to my personal quarters and tried to meditate and empty myself of the stress that was overtaking me. It was to no avail. I was more emotionally unbalanced than normal.

"GAHHH!!" I yelled in anger as I Force threw a desk chair across the room to smash a mirror. "Why?!" I screamed as I collapsed to the ground. This mission was a death sentence. Hux was almost certainly going to die, and I could do nothing about it. If I went after him, I could ruin his cover, definitely offend him, and potentially endanger him.

I could not baby the General. He was a capable fighter. He did not deserve my doubt, yet I feared for his fate flying against a man who might well be one of the greatest fighters in the galaxy.

I had heard of Poe Dameron. A couple of the Knights of Ren had given reports of his entry into the Resistance and his status as a rising star. He was a flashy and skilled pilot with a good reputation. Many people spoke highly of his talent, even those on the opposite side of his. This was Hux's opponent, and the General despised dog fights and battle in flight.

What was he trying to prove? That our relationship would not harm the First Order? As soon as I thought of that, I simultaneously wanted it and despaired of it. On one hand, if that was his motive, I meant that he cared a lot about us. On the other hand, it meant he was willing to die for us, a martyr like trait that would endanger the First Order. I did not know what to do. I could only wait and hope he would come back.

I wondered if he had left to get away from me. Perhaps he had been trying to avoid and evade me. I could not exactly blame him. I had been purposefully and calculatedly horrible to him. I hoped that my actions had not triggered a reaction that would cause him his life.