Two Sides

Choices

I put the helmet back on. I need it to hide my face for what comes next. Command is buzzing with activity. I enter, allowing my heavy footfalls to announce my presence. The conversations fade to whispers, and then fizzle completely. I approach Hux, standing at his usual position at the fore.

"Dismiss them," I say.

He glares at me. "We fire in nine minutes. We need every one of them." 

I lift my hand, and he flinches. "I won't ask you again, General." My voice sounds metallic, even to my own ears. 

"Everyone out," shouts Hux. He's paled a little, and his fear brings me great pleasure. I can't get enough of seeing him squirm. 

"Update me." 

"We detected a ship leaving the targeted planet several minutes ago," he says. "It jumped into hyperspace before we could target it." 

Hux turns and points to the planet orbiting closest to the sun. I turn and look back out the window. A bright green and blue orb sits directly in our line of sight. I'm thankful my mask hides my facial expressions. That infuriating Jedi is still on the planet. She sent her people to safety and stayed behind. 

I cannot understand her. She knew the risk, and yet she chose to stay. She doesn't seem deluded or to have taken leave of her senses. I considers reaching out to her again, but time is up. 

"Are the weapons ready, General?" 

Hux smiles his weasel-faced smile and nods. 

I can't breathe. I can't do this. I can't hurt this woman, no matter how foolish or deserving of this end she is.  

"General Hux, you will exit Command and find your way to the nearest airlock. There, you will release yourself into space." 

I've never been overly fond of the Jedi mind tricks. They seem like cheating. I'd take a good fight any day over twisting people in this way. But it's effective, and I cannot have this schmarmy bastard around any longer. A glaze settles over Hux's face. He nods, turns, and follows my directions. I hear his troops attempt to intervene, but he won't be deterred from his directive, no matter what they do. 

His leftenant approaches me and waits to be acknowledged. I give him ample time to let his nerves overtake his senses before I motion for him to speak. 

"Sir. General Hux just killed himself." The man is trying hard not to shake. 

"Come now, Leftenant, do you really believe he did?"

The leftenant looks around, confused, as if the answer is somewhere around my head. 

"Do you?" It has always pleased me that these men cower in fear. I don't have to hide the disgust from my voice. 

He looks down. "No, sir. I believe he had it coming. If you sent him out, he deserved to die."

"Why do you suppose I did it?"

"He was disrespecting you, I expect," says the man. 

I almost smile. At least this man has some survival instinct. "Tell the others they will be releasing themselves out of the airlock if they so much as blink when I give an order. I am your Supreme Leader. I expect to be obeyed. Am I understood?" 

The man salutes in response. 

"Send the pilots back in here and disable this weapon. We're landing on that planet."

I don't even know what I'm doing. I can't stay the course I'm on anymore. I don't know what she'll do with me. Maybe she'll kill me. If she tries, I'll let her. She's not the only one done with being forced to respond over and over to the choices of others and never getting to make her own. 

The crew doesn't react to me. They're too afraid. They disable the weapon, which takes several hours to release the energy it drew. I stand stalk still at the fore, right where Hux used to stand. Everything I do makes a statement. I'm oddly calm for the first time in years. I made a decision without coercion. Hux meant to rule me. I will be ruled by no one. 

The pilots fly the ship through the planet's atmosphere. I direct them. We've approached the planet from the opposite side as the rebel base. I'm solely using the draw I feel to her. She's probably got every weapon their base has to offer trained on us, but our shields are down. If she chooses to kill me this way, so be it. 

We pass over the compound. There are no signs of movement. I search now with the sensors, scanning for life. One tiny red dot appears to our west, and I direct them to set the ship down. 

"Put me on the com," I say. 

A soldier steps away from the speaker to the channel he's opened. I've never tried to compel more than a few people at a time, and I don't suspect it will work all that well over the com. So I settle for threats, which have never failed me in the past. 

"Attention. You will all report to your living quarters and shut yourselves in. You will not leave until I give you the word. Anyone who disobeys will be forced to tear out their own heart. You have five minutes." 

The crew in Command scrambles to obey. I am alone on the big ship within less than half the time I gave them. I release the ramp, and it depressurizes with a hiss.