Force Destiny

Hux's Plan

Rey awoke to find her arms and legs bound to a machine, and the panic immediately set in. The machine was made of some sort of metallic substance, and it seemed to be electrified as it created a loud buzzing hum. She was shackled to the center platform, her feet immersed in a dark, viscous liquid. There were two circular metal arms lined with Kyber crystals that crossed in front of her. She had seen this machine before, though not from this point of view. It was the Force Destiny. She pulled desperately at the shackles binding her to the center platform when a voice cut through the silence behind her.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Where am I?" she called out, half to the voice, half to herself. She tried to reach out into the Force to find Kylo. Her head was pounding and it was difficult to focus. All she could feel was the overwhelming Force energy of the crystals.

A red-headed man circled in front of her. "You are aboard my ship, the Finalizer. You are attached to a machine called Force Destiny,"

"Hux."

"Ah, I see my reputation precedes me," he said with a tight smile. "It is Supreme Leader Hux now, thanks to you killing Ren's clone."

The events of Ilum came back to her with full force. She was a prisoner of the First Order. Where were her friends? The poison. Where was Kylo? Was he alive? Had the Knights left him on that frozen world to die? Or had they taken him too. She knew with the toxin in his system he was likely unconscious, and therefore, a worthless prisoner. If they had gone back for him, it wasn't with the intention of keeping him alive. She could only hope they left him there in the snow. If she could escape this machine, she could find her friends and they could go back for him. With Kylo on their side, they could better prepare for a battle against the First Order.

The only problem was she had to escape first. Rey stared up at her bound hands. There would be no one to come to her rescue. It was a circumstance she had faced and overcome alone throughout her life. After Finn came back for her on Starkiller, and Kylo killed his master to save her on the Supremacy, she had hoped when she faced her mortality again, she wouldn't be alone. But she was alone, even the Force had abandoned her in this place, and they were all depending on her. If they were even alive. What if she was the only one left against the soon-to-be reincarnated Sidious and his Dark Army? "You won't be Supreme Leader for long if you bring back Snoke," she reminded him.

Hux chuckled dryly. "Oh, I have no intention of bringing back that creature."

If he doesn't want to bring back Sidious, then what does he want?

The confusion on her face only served to deepen his discomforting laughter. "I should actually thank you for whatever spell you put Ren under to break his allegiance to Snoke," he said, "With Snoke in power, I would have never had a chance to recognize my true calling as a leader. He was too powerful. Then he brought in Ren and gave him free rein within my military. Without that Force power that they possessed, I was incapable of matching their strength as leaders. I deserved to be more than general. I wanted the control and domination they had over the rest of the First Order, including me. And now...you and your Jedi powers will give it to me. I will be the most powerful Supreme Leader that ever lived."

She stared at him, fear trickling into her awareness as she understood his plan. "Me? Why me?"

"Because I saw the way both Snoke and Ren were terrified of your raw power," he sneered. "I knew I had to have it, but I never thought all the pieces would practically fall into place for me. Snoke is dead, and he left behind the blueprints for the design of this little machine for me. Ren is dead, because he was stupid enough to commit treason for you. With both out of the way, which I must admit was disappointingly easy, then the Knights of Ren are no longer of use to me. I will have them dispatched as soon as I crush the rest of your little Resistance, which is happening as we speak. All that remains is you. It all came together perfectly. We have spent years developing the crystals into instruments of destruction, when the real power was in what they can create. With this machine, I can take the life force from you and transfer it to me. With your Force power, and no other Force users left, I will be unstoppable. The galaxy will be mine."

"You're a monster!"

His hand shot forward and he gripped her roughly by her chin. "No, I'm far from the animal your boyfriend is... was," he corrected with a grin. "I have no plans of killing you myself, girl, this machine will do it for me. Wars have never been won through the brute strength of monsters; it requires intellect. And patience. What has Ren done? Torn apart mere villages with the benefit of Snoke's lies and my armies? I killed billions with the press of a button, it's far more efficient. Not to mention civilized." Rey pulled her chin away and attempted to bite him, but he ripped his hand away.

Hux adjusted his glove casually and cleared his throat. "You are as rabid as Ren and your unruly friends were. This is why the anarchists must be dealt with like the beasts they are. And there will be no one left to mourn you, scavenger girl. Don't fear, I'm sure you'll find them all again in whatever afterlife awaits you. I will try to make this as quick as possible; though I can't promise painless, I have heard that death by electrocution can be quite excruciating. Either way, you will die. Then the Kyber crystals will absorb your life force, I will reverse the reactor, and that life force will be transferred... to me. With your death will come the end to the Jedi and the Sith and history holobooks will herald me for giving the galaxy back to mortal men. They will all bow at my feet. I will live in infamy, and you will die in insignificance, just like the others."

Rey tried desperately to reach for a small sliver of hope in the darkness, but it dimmed as the faces of the people she loved flashed through her mind. She was facing her own mortality, but all she could focus on was the fate of her family. Were they even alive? For a moment, she wondered if it was better to die, so that she wouldn't be the one left behind again. She tried to convince herself they would all be okay, but her voice was lost in the thunderous silence of the Force.

Ben, where are you?