Taking Command Book 1 (Kylux) (#Wattys2016)

Chapter Forty Nine: Assurance

Hux PoV

I was waiting for Snoke to be done with Kylo. He walked about ten minutes after I had. He looked alright outwardly, but I could tell he was upset. The meeting did not seem to have gone so well.

"Kylo?" I asked, walking next to him. I did not even know where we were going.

He ignored me, his shoulders slumping. He was upset, I could tell. I almost default blamed the Supreme Leader. I walked closer to him and put my hand on his shoulder.
"What's wrong?" I asked again.

"I've failed in so many ways. I have disgraced my family legacy, the First Order, and my master. I've ruined things and failed my objectives repeatedly." He did not even look at me. "If not for you, I would be dead twice over. That is an embarrassment. I should not need help."

It hurt to hear Kylo so upset at himself. I did not know what to do to help him. He wanted to just rip himself to shreds in self anger. I could not let him do that. "Kylo, we all mess up. We all make mistakes. To be honest, we all need help. We all have people who help us achieve our goals. You and I? We work together. That means we help each other." I took a hold of his hand. "Trust me on this."

Kylo looked at me. He looked like he was bracing himself to say something, but instead he just stalked off.

Maybe I needed to give him some space, some time to cool down. He could go and train or meditate, perhaps. I wanted to go meet with TK-2187. He had done a superb job with this mission.

I walked into the trooper barracks and requested his name, and he came to meet me. He saluted smartly and stood at attention.

"At ease, TK-2187. I would like to congratulate you on a job well done. I'm very impressed with the skill you demonstrated on the recovery mission."

"It was an honor, General." TK-2187 seemed nervous. I could not blame him.

"That is all. Dismissed." I turned on my heel and left. I wondered where Kylo Ren was. I walked down the corridor to where his room was and noticed the door was locked. I could hear yelling and screaming from inside and the sound of things being destroyed.

I winced. Sounded like Ren was in full rage mode. I knocked on the door hesitantly and waited. After about thirty seconds, Kylo came to answer the door. He was sweating, it looked like he had been crying, and he was shirtless.

"Are you ok?" I asked him, coming into the ruins of his bedroom. His desk and his wardrobe had been smashed, as had his table by his bed. There were glass shards all over the floor as well.

I sat on his bed, and he sat down beside me and leaned his head on my shoulder. I let him. He needed this time to be vulnerable.

"I'm worthless." He said quietly. "I couldn't be a good Jedi, and I can't be a good Sith. I'm being set up to fail." I did not even know if he was talking to me or himself, but I replied nonetheless.

"You're not worthless." I hugged him a little. "You have messed up, but you will be stronger. You left the Jedi to bring order, but you can't just bring order. There has to be planning and all of the actions that build up to it, and it is natural you fail, but you get back up."

"Can I? Supreme Leader Snoke saw potential in me, but to him, now I'm just a failure."

That was what was getting to him. Snoke had been harsh with him and obliterated his sense of worth. I wondered why Snoke's approval meant so much to him. Kylo seemed like a child looking for his father's approval.

"Why does it matter what Snoke thinks? He's just your mentor. He's not the end all be all, he's not your father."

My words had an interesting effect. Kylo looked at me in the eyes and said coolly,"Do you want to know about my real father? Do you want to know of my past."

"Yes. I do." I said. "I want to know all that I can about you."

"Then I'll tell you. My father is Han Solo. My mother is Princess Leia Organa Solo. I was raised to be a Jedi and sent to learn from Luke Skywalker, but I did not want to go. Perhaps it was because of this, that Snoke influenced me, he gave me the ideas of remaking the world in my grandfather's image and finishing what he started. I turned against the Jedi and slaughtered them, except for Luke. He survived. I came under Snoke's apprenticeship. After being trained for years, he sent me here, to help command Starkiller Base." He finished and looked at me. "My given name was Ben. Ben Solo."

I looked at him. It all made sense now, especially why he held Snoke in such high esteem. Kylo undoubtedly had problems regarding familial relationships. He had not wanted to go learn the Jedi way, and when forced, he had been happy to turn on them. He was much more vengeful and angry than I thought, but it made more sense now.

"You have made me respect you all the more. You were willing to sacrifice everything to help being the galaxy to the right path. I assure you that it will happen. You are not a disgrace or a failure. We will succeed, together." I wanted to give him assurance. I wanted him to have faith.

"Thank you," he murmured before leaning in to kiss me. I surrendered to him immediately and we lay on his bed, entwined with each other. Ruling the galaxy was fine, but for now, Kylo needed love and passion and the assurance that I would always love and have faith in him.