Title: The Empire's Finest
Summary: One look into the eyes of a broken child tells Mitth'raw'nuruodo everything he needs to know about the future of the First Order. A stand-alone fic set in Canon. Gen. Written for Thrawn Appreciation Week, Jan. 13 Prompt: Never again.
The journey through the maze of gravitational anomalies in the Unknown Regions took months. Armitage Hux spent most of the time playing with the other children who had taken him into their fold after Counselor Rax's bold declaration. On one hand, he felt grateful to the old man; on the other hand, he felt ashamed that it took the late Counselor to the Empire to order the orphans to stop bullying him.
That he could not find the courage in him to face the bullies himself.
Armitage shook his head as he was being led through the wide, suspiciously empty corridors of the massive Star Dreadnaught called Eclipse. Just who was the secretive commander of the giant space vessel?
Apparently, not an ally that Grand Admiral Sloane or his father had hoped to find, judging from their apprehensive stances when the door to the command room opened. It revealed the said two in a heated discussion with a tall, blue skinned alien with glowing red eyes, dressed in a pristine white uniform not so dissimilar to the one Grand Admiral Sloane wore.
Armitage did not know the significance of the burgundy red striping or the insignia, but it definitely wasn't standard-issue material.
But more importantly, Armitage did not know why he had been called in to take part in the discussion with the adults. It made no sense. Why would the mysterious alien want to see him?
"It's time to start over. To begin again. And to get it right this time." He could hear Grand Admiral Sloane speaking.
The stormtrooper guards left, presumably assuming standard position at the other side of the door. Armitage took a deep breath and ventured deeper into the dimly lit room, his eyes on the unknown artifacts that decorated the walls, wondering whether he should remain where he stood until addressed (which would give him an excuse to study the artifacts) or whether he should come forward and join the adults. In the end he decided for the latter, coming to stand between the dark-skinned woman and his father.
"And we have learned from that particular mistake, too," Father added resolutely. Unfortunately, Armitage had no idea what mistake or mistakes they had been discussing.
"There will neither be an over-priced clone army nor conscripts with questionable loyalties. The foot soldiers of the First Order will be trained from early childhood, resulting in a diverse and highly dedicated regiment—the most dedicated in the entire galaxy. They will not have strength through obedience drilled into their heads. They will truly live the ideals of the Galactic Empire."
The alien lowered his gaze, looking directly into his eyes.
Armitage swallowed.
To him, the alien looked like a demon from the fantastic tales that had been read to him before sleep, the one who stole disobedient children from their parents and jettisoned them into the sun, burning them to ashes.
The alien's pale blue complexion reminded him of the dead Imperial soldiers he had seen on the run; the crimson red eyes reminded him of the puddle of blood he had slipped on during his escape from Arkanis; the ruby irises gave out a dim glow of their own, reminding him of the eyes of a fire-breathing Krayt dragon he had seen in a holomovie. Later he found out that a Krayt dragon could not in fact breathe fire, but it was still the most fearsome creature he had ever seen.
Armitage took an involuntary step back, closer to Grand Admiral Sloane. Not to his father. His father would have struck him for such an open display of weakness.
Correction.
His father will strike him.
Later, in private. Not in front of Grand Admiral Sloane. For a reason unbeknownst to Armitage, in the past months Father behaved kindly to him, going as far as praising him in front of her.
The alien raised a pale blue hand towards him and Armitage took another step back, hiding behind the dark skinned woman. She would not let the demon touch him. His father would, but Grand Admiral Sloane wouldn't.
The pale blue hand froze in midair, the glowing eyes slightly narrowed.
"I see."
Armitage risked a brief glance at his father. He was seething with rage, his fists clenched in anger. Definitely there would be a thorough beating later, and it wouldn't stop until Armitage passed out from the pain. Crying wouldn't help. It would only make the things worse.
Or perhaps there wouldn't be a beating, Armitage thought with a spark of hope. Grand Admiral Sloane promised him that she would protect him from his father. There hadn't been beating since.
"Armitage is a weak-willed boy," Father said in an explanatory tone. "Thin as a slip of paper and just as useless. But I'll teach him. I'll raise him into a man. A general of the First Order. Just as the Counselor to the Empire had foreseen."
The ghastly features seemed unimpressed.
The demon then focused his attention back on Grand Admiral Sloane, and Armitage released the breath he had no idea he had been holding.
"Grand Admiral Sloane, I will see to it that Assistant Syndic Vanto provides you with a list of safe havens across the Unknown Regions, worlds rich in natural resources necessary to rebuild the fleet. However, this is where my association with the First Order ends. I will pass on your message, but I strongly doubt the human warriors under my command would abandon the Phalanx for the First Order. There are more pressing matters at hand, and at any rate, only time will tell whether or not you have truly learned from the Galactic Empire's past mistakes."
The nightmarish eyes shifted to his father, the angular features hardening. At this very moment, the alien looked like a statue carved from pale blue marble. Cold. Harsh. Menacing.
Father swallowed.
"Go. And stay away from the Chiss realm."
THE END
Sarcasm is strong with this title...
In the past months, there has been a spike of First Order Thrawn art/fics. However, I simply can't imagine Thrawn being associated with the First Order in any official and/or unofficial manner. It's just… It's like a broken child's caricature of the Galactic Empire, taking its worst elements, dialed up to ridiculous levels. Instead, I decided to write a short drabble about Sloane and Hux Sr., finding Thrawn in the Unknown Regions who tells them GTFO.
Sadly, this is all what we know about the canonical Eclipse:
(Src: Wookieepedia) The Eclipse was an Imperial Executor-class Star Dreadnought that served as the flagship of Emperor Sheev Palpatine during the Age of the Empire. It was believed to have been destroyed by the year 5 ABY. However, following the New Republic's decisive victory over the Empire on the planet Jakku, former Grand Admiral Rae Sloane discovered the Eclipse in the Unknown Regions of the galaxy. Together with Commandant Brendol Hux and his son, Sloane intended to board the warship and rebuild the Empire.
And this is an excerpt from Chuck Wendig's Aftermath: Empire's End: (no copyright infringement intended)
The oaf made a mistake, then: he came at her. His hands reached for her throat. Even beaten and bruised as she was, it took her no time to hyperextend his knee with a hard kick. As he doubled over, mewling, she grabbed a hank of his messy hair, and she began to beat him. She hit him, punching and kicking the man until he was on the floor, on his knees, whimpering. Sloane told him: "If you ever cross me, I will visit this same violence upon you a hundredfold. Whatever waits for us out here, you're with me. You will not betray me. You will not question me. Do you understand?"
He nodded. Smiling through tears. Blubbering that he was her man.
Then she added, "Your son. Armitage. I know you don't like him. I suspect you hurt him-psychologically or physically, I don't know, and I don't care. You will leave him alone. And you will teach the boy everything that you know. Are we clear?"
More blubbering, more nodding.
That solved that problem.
OMG. I don't like Rae Sloane but Brendol Hux is such a worthless piece of nerfshit. I'm pretty sure most of you know that Armitage is an illegitimate son of Brendol with a kitchen woman, however, it's not so common knowledge that Counselor Rax ordered only Brendol's and Armitage's retrieval from Arkanis, leaving both the wife and Armitage's mother to their fates.
It would make an interesting plot twist if Armitage's mother survived the liberation of Arkanis and joined the New Republic/Resistance, wouldn't it? Is there a fic like that? If so, link me to it, please.