Predator and Prey

Chapter 14

Zheth staggered out of the ship once it landed before grabbing the closest shoulder she could find to hold herself up. Her throat was still oozing blood but most of it had stopped by now. She felt her body being shifted and blinked a bit as she tried to focus.

"Do you have the information?" Hux's voice questioned her.

She gave a short laugh. "Yes, and I'm fine by the way."

"Good." He loosened his grip slightly, probably trying to pretend he was about to drop her. "Let's go tell Ren, shall we?"

Zheth took a few more steps before her legs gave out, causing General Hux to trip and fall ungracefully as well. She winced as he fell on her back, though he got off quickly with a sound of indignity. "I knew you'd fall for me Ginger... but did you have to land on me?"

"Shut up!" He snapped and brushed off invisible dust.

She gave a laugh that was interrupted by a cough before speaking again. "Is that a blush or did Phasma convince you to wear make up and give me a nickname?"

"You're delusional, I'm dropping you off at the medical bay before bringing the information to Lord Ren."

"No." Zheth growled, glaring at him. "I will take the information to him, I said I would."

"Stubborn-" He was cut off by her look and he scowled back. "Don't blame me if you fall over dead then."

"I'm not that hurt." She grinned and stopped her limp, though her back and throat actually did hurt. "I just did all that to annoy you."

"You little bastard." He growled at her.

"Orphaned little bastard." Zheth smirked back. "You missed a word there, Ginger."

"I could have you executed for your remarks." Hux snapped before giving a heavy sigh. "But you don't care, do you?"

"Nope!" Her voice gave a cheerful tone and she snickered as he ran a hand through his hair, messing up the pristine look a bit. "If you didn't like your hair you could've just asked me to fix it."

Hux gave a small shriek as she messed it up even more. "Predator... touch my hair again and you'll be on the endangered animal list!"

"Ooh really?" She pretended to stop and think about it for a moment. "Exciting..."

"That wasn't a compliment." Hux didn't bother to fix his hair as he picked up the pace. "Come on!"

"Stop being such a whiny perfectionist, seriously, after hearing you squeal like that and then start barking orders... Makes me feel like I should give you less respect and a bit more torture. Do you think Phasma would help me?" Zheth kept pace with him until he came to a stop as Kylo Ren came into sight... obviously not happy. "Uh, Yeah... You said you'd give him the data right? Well, I'm just going to let you handle him then while I go hide in the medical bay!"

A hand grabbed the back of her shirt as she tried to leave and Zheth twisted her head around as Hux pulled her back. "I am not dealing with him alone because one of us probably won't make it out alive at this point, now give him the information."

"So I'm your human shield, wow, thanks!" Zheth rolled her eyes and didn't fight his grip.

"About time you arrived." Kylo snarled, the anger pulsing off of him in waves. "That scavenger scum won't say a word!"

"Have you tried not calling her scum?" Zheth flinched, as he got nearer, would he take out his anger on her and General Hux? Surely he was loyal enough not to attack the First Order's allies... right?

"I never said I called her scum to her face." The darkly clothed man snapped. "Now where is the data you promised?"

Zheth handed it over. "This nearly killed me so don't ruin these chips!"

Kylo just glowered down at her for a second more before storming off. Behind her Hux gave an irritated sigh. "Now how many control panels will have to be replaced? If he had just taken the droid like Supreme Leader Snoke told him, this wouldn't be happening!"

"You can let me go now unless you want something else broken... something you can't replace." She glanced down and saw him shift his body a bit to the side as he let her go. "Now, where is my helmet?"

"Phasma has been keeping it with the spare Storm Trooper armor." Hux informed her stiffly.

"Would it kill you to relax?" She muttered before walking off to get her helmet, hopefully it wasn't in bad condition.

A few hours later and Zheth was finally able to relax in a soft bed. Her wounds had been treated once more, after receiving a sharp tongue-lashing from the droid about worsening her wounds, but at least they weren't too life threatening. A knock at her door stopped her from drifting off again and she groaned before getting up and walking over to the door, opening it to reveal Kylo Ren's tall figure. She backed up slightly, unsure if he knew the information was- No she couldn't think of that, he could be in her head.

"We are about to launch an attack on the Republic. General Hux wishes everyone to be at the announcement." Kylo said; his voice still slightly aggravated under his undistorted voice.

"One second." Zheth muttered before grabbing her helmet and putting it on. "Lead the way Knight of Ren."

She gave a sarcastic bow, which surprisingly earned a small flash of a smile and laugh from the man, before walking quickly after him. The cold air hit her as they walked outside and she glanced around swiftly to see all the Storm Troopers gathered below... how would the Resistance ever stand against these odds? Kylo tugged her after him and placed her by Phasma and some other important looking figure before taking his own place elsewhere, his helmet once again hiding his face.

Hux's voice rang out loudly over those gathered and Zheth was glad her helmet masked her shocked expression. He didn't seem like the type to speak this loudly, though she could see how this could annoy Phasma if this was the volume he used when arguing with Ren. The speech dragged on, everyone completely motionless and silent as General Hux passionately spoke of the First Order's goals... his passion and persuasion was actually starting to affect her thoughts. The Storm Troopers below gave a salute as soon as the end of his speech faded into the cold air before they were dismissed to go back to their stations.

Zheth turned to face Phasma. "Why did you guys assemble everyone here just to say you're blowing up some planets?"

Phasma shrugged. "It wasn't my choice. I just command the troops and make sure they're trained to be loyal from birth to our cause... It was probably just so General Hux over there could let out his excitement in an orderly way."

"I heard that." Hux spoke as he walked past them. "Make sure your teams are ready... Predator, I need to speak with you."

"I have a bad feeling about this..." She mumbled under her breath before walking after him.