Force Destiny

Supreme Leader

The Finalizer lurched as it exited hyperspace outside of Ilum. This was it. He didn't know how he would do it, but he was about to betray the throne and commit treason. The consequences were more bearable when he reminded himself of who it was for. He hoped he could make it to the surface, help her escape to the Unknown Regions, and make it back to destroy Force Destiny before Hux became suspicious. It was a tall order but not entirely out of the realm of possibility.

Kylo had just finished wrapping his cloak around his shoulders, staring out at the planet through the viewport, when the battle alarms sounded.

No. It can't be.

His lightsaber flew to his hand as he sprinted for the door. Blue stayed hot on his heels as he raced down the corridor to the bridge. Blue questioned what the sounds meant, but Kylo couldn't admit it; he refused—it had to be a mistake.

"Hux, what is that?" Kylo demanded as he stormed onto the bridge. The general faced away from him, standing over the shoulder of an officer as they monitored something on a screen.

"Cannons are primed at eighty percent," the officer announced.

"Excellent," the general said, turning to face him. "Ah, Ren, how... fortunate you could join us."

"Cannons?" He knew. He had heard the priming alarms before, but never on the Finalizer. He knew what these cannons would be, but he still didn't want to accept it. He wouldn't be able to avoid the choice he had thus far been unwilling to make.

"Orbital Autocannons," Hux confirmed. "My latest creation from Weapons Development. If you had attended more of the meetings, you would have been privy to its progress...."

Kylo didn't miss the knowing smile that crossed the general's face. This was a holochess game, and Hux had him backed into a corner. They both knew it. "The cannons are primed and ready," the officer relayed.

"Good. Fire at will. They will rip apart this planet as they did to D'Qar, snuffing out the Resistance once and for all."

"No!" Kylo ordered with more desperation than he had intended. "Do not presume to command my ship."

Hux's smile only grew wider. "What is your order then, Supreme Leader?"

The other officers turned to stare at him. "I am going down to the surface to capture the anarchists alive. You will hold fire until I return." Some of the officers nodded in deference, others turned toward Hux for confirmation. The weight of their missing stares was heavy. He was losing the bridge; the pieces were falling exactly how Hux wanted them to.

"You are the Supreme Leader, Ren! It's not just a title and power. It's time you start acting like one. These men are looking to you to command them. What if this ship were to be attacked while you take unnecessary risks going down to the surface? Your weakness is a liability to us all. You want stability? The First Order needs a stable leader, not a love-struck, tantruming child who runs off to fulfill his personal agenda at a moment's whim!" Hux shouted.

I don't care anymore! I don't care about the power, or the title, or the Order! I only care about her!

"I'm going down to the surface." His hand was raised in threat, but Hux's defiance didn't waiver.

"Not as our Supreme Leader."

"Fine. I relinquish the throne to anyone but you," he said with the twitch of a smile on his face. "Now I'm going down to the surface, and you can't do anything to stop me."

Kylo knew the struggle over power his abdication would create, giving him time to reach Rey and her friends. He had to try. Without another word, he turned to leave the bridge, curious why the general had not argued further. Blue was at his heels, beeping in excitement. The blastdoors opened, and he nearly ran into an officer on the other side.

No, not an officer.

A Knight.

"Ah, there he is. Meet our new Supreme Leader, Ren," Hux said cheerfully behind him. The other man was tall, dressed in all black, a cloak fastened at his shoulders. Kylo focused in terror first on the ribbed tunic, then the arm guards, then up to the mask. It was a terrifyingly familiar mask, though this one looked brand new. Kylo staggered back into the room as the other man removed the mask with a mechanical hiss. His eyes were so fixated on the face he loathed more than any other that he didn't notice the other man raise a blaster until it was too late. He didn't kill them all, was his last thought before he was blinded by a bright blue light, and then the floor rose up to meet him.

"Fire at will," the new Supreme Leader commanded as he stepped over Kylo to join General Hux on the bridge.