Red Opus

Chapter 4: Progress

Three days had passed since you had the galaxy's shortest sparring match with the knight of ren. For three days you had meditated, coming to terms with your new reality. Not much had changed in 19 years, but when you thought about it, you never had any experience of a life outside of the First Order.

On the second day of meditation you heard screaming. It was raw in your ear, tightening the muscles in your chest and causing a lump to swell in your throat. The screams filtered slowly through your thoughts, and you accepted them, allowing them to settle amongst the rest of your memories. The white noise of it in the background provided you with focus and allowed you to use the force energy that it produced to create power.

You rose from your meditation at the end of the sleep cycle on the third day, the artificial lighting in your bed chamber lower than normal. You hadn't realised three days had passed until you checked the data pad by your cot. To you, it had passed in a few moments. Internally swearing, you checked for messages on the holopad by your cot. Nothing from Snoke. One message from Kylo Ren. You closed the screen down without reading it, composed your thoughts and resumed sitting at the foot of your cot.

Your time meditating had made one thing about your future very clear; you needed to find out what you needed from Ren, and what he in return needed from you. His emotional instability made you anxious; you could never hope to work well with somebody who could accidently force push you off the bridge because you looked at him wrong. The emotional turmoil expressed by Ren suggested that Snoke had not pushed him to his breaking point yet.

You found yourself wondering exactly what stage in his training the knight was. From what Snoke had explained to you, the man had not yet completed his final test. Whatever it was, you thought, the quicker he became his true dark self, the easier a job you would have forming a partnership with him. When push came to shove, your first loyalty was to Snoke, and if Ren failed in his mission then his fate was no longer your concern.

You felt the dark side energy swirling around you at the path your thoughts were leading you down. Expelling air through your mouth, energy crackled from your fingertips. The loose objects in the room gently settled back on the ground as you were pulled from your trance by someone requesting entry to your room. Reaching across to put your helmet on, it slid into place, looking ridiculous with your black jumpsuit before you reached the door to push the access button.

The pale general from before stood in the entrance, looking down at you with a grim mix of fear and unsupported self-confidence. It made his aura pulse a delicious shade.
You eyed him warily and stepped to the side, allowing him access into the entrance hall. Your body instinctively placed itself between him and the closed door, an unconscious move to allow yourself an escape route. The general however, must have seen it as a threat, as he turned to you and paled even more.

"I did not properly introduce myself before. I am General Hux, commander of the Finalizer and superior member of the high council of the first order." He tilted his chin up with authority at the introduction and waited for you to return the pleasantries. You did not.

After a pause, Hux filled the silence. "Supreme Leader is wise to have you train with Ren. I have been informed of your previous training; a very impressive track record."
Hux bristled with annoyance as you failed to respond to his compliment. You weren't sure what kind of person he thought he was dealing with, but you simply didn't have the emotional capability to empathise with his uncomfortable demeanour.

"Nobody on this ship besides Snoke has heard you speak yet. There are rumours that Snoke has removed your tongue", he puzzled, inclining his head as he took a step closer, almost within touching distance.