Across the Stars

Parte 1

Hux marched through the corridors of Starkiller Base with Supreme Leader Snoke's last words replaying over and over in his brain.

"This is the moment. Give the order, General. The weapon is ready. The fate of the Republic is sealed. We will destroy them at once and for all."

Destroy them all. Fire on Hosnian Prime and the rest of the planets of that miserable system. Annihilate the Republic's fleet and cripple the corrupted Senate. The attack would be so powerful and devastating that their surrender would be certain. Hux swallowed, his throat suddenly dry. There was a big, uncomfortable lump in his chest that squeezed his heart with every breath he took.

Stars. They were going to do it. They were going to fire the weapon.

Hux knew he should be cheering. His quick rise through the First Order ranks had been because the StarKiller was his pet project. His design. His vision. He should be laughing, smiling, getting ready for the achievement of all his goals in one single shot.

But he wasn't. He was anxious, sweating, trembling, and in distress.

Ben.

Through Hux's mind passed the makeup-covered face of Ben Amidala, Senator of Naboo, a creature of beauty and luxury, from an age long gone, when Queen Amidala fought for the Old Republic and the Jedi Order was more than a children's tale.

Hux had first met the insufferable, pompous, spoiled brat after he graduated from the Academy. General Tarkin had been in charge of communications with the New Republic, and Hux had been his assistant.

Senator Indris and his young protégé, Ben Organa-Solo, had been the representatives of the Republic in their business with the First Order. Organa was the son of Princess Leia of the lost Alderaan and poster boy of the New Republic. That had been years ago. Now the boy was grown, and the man had adopted the name of his grandmother. Ben Amidala was a cunning politician, who dressed to impress, wore his elaborate makeup as others would wear war paint, using his toned body and flattering outfits to bring his enemies to their knees.

Many times while negotiating a treaty or a ceasefire Hux was distracted by a gown with a neckline that was far too low to be decent, or an outfit that covered the Senator from head to toe, but was made from a material thin as air, and transparent to the point where Hux could see perfectly the ornate breeches Ben wore under it. On one memorable occasion, Ben hadn't worn anything at all under his gown. The cloth had gone opportunely opaque when it reached his hips, effectively killing all of Hux's superior brain functions.

Hux wore armor of his own. His appearance was always flawless: clean shaven, with his hair perfectly combed, his hat, gloves and greatcoat in place, and his uniform properly buttoned up and pressed. He would never show how affected he was by Senator Amidala.
Snoke's words sounded again in his mind.

The end of the New Republic.

The destruction of the Senate.

If Hux fired the Starkiller, Ben would die. If Hux fired the Starkiller, his dreams of order in the galaxy would come true in a matter of days. Could Hux do it? After all, he had never met Ben Amidala in person. It had always been holocalls: about treaties, about a quarrel in this or that planet, about a run in with the Resistance.

They would make calls at night, where they would talk about their days, the minions of the Finalizer, the boring bureaucrats, about Ben's droids and Millicent . They would have conversations about their lives and interests.

Sometimes Ben would call Hux when things in the Senate were boring him to tears, and sometimes Hux would call Ben when sleep eluded him.

Hux would call Ben... a friend. Neither of them would betray his beliefs for the other, so friends was as far as they could get.