Hunger of the Pine ➢ Kylux

Another End to Another Beginning

It had seemed like ages since they last parted ways, but Hux knew that not to be true. Instead of dwelling on their departure, however, Hux pulled his sniper from his side and took aim. While it was him who had already taken down an abundance of Resistance fighters, it came to Hux's attention that the real threat was coming from the sky. X-wings had made their descent into the atmosphere only moments prior and already they were making significant damage to the battleground in their favour.

Hux growled deep within his throat and took his first target, what seemed to be the squadron's leader. Clearly not expecting the attack, the plane's engine ignited into flames and came crashing down to the center of the clearing, erupting in an angry cloud of grey smoke. To Hux's annoyance, a pilot came clawing his way out the cockpit, coughing violently instead of succumbing to his demise. Hux quickly reloaded his gun, but it had seemed as though the pilot had already been expecting the general's goal. He ducked for cover as soon as he was free from his safety restraints and with that, Hux broke from his position and came stealthily over to the burning structure, gun at the ready.

From behind the wing, burst the orange clad pilot, hands reaching for Hux's rifle and throwing it to the side. Hux fell to his hands and spun to find himself face to face with a familiar set of eyes. It was the pilot of which Ren had taken prisoner on Jakku, Poe Dameron. "Where is Finn?" The man spat, forcing the entirety of his body weight atop Hux to ensure he couldn't escape.

"Finn?" Hux asked, truly confused, then he recalled exactly how the man had escaped his grasp all that time ago. "Ah, you mean, FN-2187, your boy toy?" he snickered. In reply, Poe let his fists fly, landing squarely on Hux's jaw with a crack.

The general began to chuckle despite the pain and then unexpectedly brought his legs up to drag Dameron back onto the ground. Finally free, Hux hopped to his feet, but not before Poe did so as well, recovering quickly. "Come on, General. Fight me like the fearsome war commander so many claim you to be."

Hux smirked, "So be it." He charged, and from there and blows were sent one by one at the other's bodies. The two were almost equally matched, Hux clearly showing a great textbook understanding of combat, though lacking the practice, where Poe excelled. Because of this, Dameron's hand came clasped around Hux's neck and he was brought close to his own face where a devilish smirk was present.

In a last ditch attempt to free himself, Hux propelled his head forward and embedded his incisors into the soft skin of Poe's left ear. The other man screamed and released Hux, stumbling backwards. Blood had begun to trickle down the side of his face and leak onto the grass. At the sight, the general laughed savagely after discarding the prize won from the grueling duel. Although, his opponent's cries had alerted nearby resistance fighters and Hux was forced to retreat after grabbing hold of his sniper once again, crimson still dripping down his own chin.

He escaped to an outcrop of sturdy boulders as gunshots where sounding all around them, encasing him and his squadron in an inescapable circle of fire. Just then, a trooper fell to his knees beside the General, causing him to stir from his thoughts. Upon first extinct, Hux assumed him dead. His hand darted out to push aside the body, only to have it grabbed by another. Hux tore away his gaze from the scope of his blaster to peer down at the man below him. His canvas-like armour was painted red in the blood of his enemies or maybe even comrades, there was no way to tell which. However, the trooper himself seemed otherwise unscathed. Quickly, he ducked underneath the boulder Hux had hidden himself within and pulled his head free from the helmet resting atop his shoulders.

"What do you think you're doing, soldier? Can't you see we're in the middle of a war here?" Hux barked.

The trooper glanced upwards; face bathed in sweat and quite possibly tears. He was young, as most storm troopers were, with wide brown eyes and freckled skin. "I'm sorry, sir." He quickly shot back. "My whole team...they're... they're gone."