Jianna Sivron was just twenty years old the first time she was elected Senator of Coruscant. The incumbent had quickly become unpopular when his office's misuse of public funds made the evening newscycle. Jianna was everything he wasn't. He was a career politician born into the wealth of the city with ties to the old Empire. She was a young woman born on one of the lowest habitable levels of the city and at the time was attending university on a merit scholarship. But despite the man's sudden unpopularity, Jianna had won the election with only fifty-one percent of the vote. Now eight later, Senator Sivron was entering her third and final term.
At twenty-two, Senator Sivron met General Armitage Hux for the first time. She had been a member of the Peace Delegation that met with the First Order to discuss rumors of their militarization. The summit was a farce, she soon discovered. Led by Erudo Ro-Kiintor, their meetings with the First Order commanders were short and all answers provided went uninvestigated. Decorum had barred Jianna from openly expressing her concerns, but still she had learned much from that parley, little of it about the First Order's activities in the Unknown Regions. Jianna had learned that the fear of the mere possibility war was a strong motivator that crippled common sense and necessary political action. She learned that Ro-Kiintor was most likely in the pocket of First Order. Most importantly, she had learned about General Hux.
Six years later, the General hadn't changed much. Tall, red hair perfectly combed and standing with his back so straight one would think he was a statue made of steel. Jianna herself had changed much. Childbirth and years of a comfortable lifestyle had put a bit of weight on her otherwise boney frame. She had let her hair grow out and its natural brown was hidden under black dye. Jianna had married since she first met Hux. She had also become a widow.
She hadn't seen Hux or any First Order personnel since that Peace Delegation. And now, suddenly, her personal star cruiser was being detained by what she could only assume to be a First Order Star Destroyer. Jianna knew she should have been more concerned but she was too annoyed for fear at the moment. It had been two weeks since she interred her husband's body on his home planet of Naboo, and she had spent those weeks fussing over legal papers and settling her husband's estate. Jianna was in the middle of her journey back to Hosnian Prime and the Senate when her small starship was pulled out of hyperspace by the superior vessel. If she was a better pilot, she may have been able to get away but flying wasn't her forte and she didn't even have a co-pilot to consulate. She was alone.
With the ship's controls overridden, there was nothing for Jianna to do but wait. Leaving the cockpit behind, she retrieved her high heels from where she had kicked them off hours earlier. The senator was dressed in a white silk suit with close fitting pants and a thin blazer with sleeves that stop just below her elbows. It was her favorite suit, having been bought by her husband. The heels, also white with pointed toes, were only three inches high, making her slightly taller than the average woman. The top portion of her black hair was pulled back out of her face; the rest was allowed to fall freely, reaching just past her shoulder blades.
With a frown on her face, Jianna watched out the small window as her ship was pulled from space and into a large interior hanger of the Star Destroyer. Fear started to trickle in when she saw row after row of stormtroopers, standing in formation dressed in their notable white armor. The rumors were true; the First Order had been militarizing, and to great lengths it appeared. Jianna cursed Erudo Ro-Kiintor and the Senate, herself included. They should have listened to the Organa woman, instead they had been so willingly blind. With a small shudder, the ship landed. Jianna walked to the entrance ramp and forced her face into a display of passive annoyance. With a deep breath, she pushed the control open to lower the ramp, hoping that a squad of Stormtroopers weren't on the other side, waiting to shoot her.
Instead, she saw him. Feet wide, spine straight, hands behind his back. General Armitage Hux wore a long black coat to combat the colder temperature of the hanger and much of his red hair was hidden beneath a matching black cap. His face was cold, disinterested. Behind him stood a row of stormtroopers, blasters in hand but fortunately none were pointed at her. Not yet at least. Her eyes soon drifted to the figure who stood off to the side, observing the scene from a distance. He was tall, same as Hux, and clad in heavy black robes. But what caught her attention was the mask he wore. It was black, like everything else, but strips of metal around the eyes caught the light, reflecting oddly. Fortunately, Jianna had never met Kylo Ren but she was certain this masked figure was the First Order's mysterious Force user.
General Hux's voice pulled her eyes from the masked man and back to him. "Senator Jianna Sivron. Welcome to the Finalizer." His thin lips stated her name with painful indifference as his nearly transparent blue eyes threatened to nail Jianna to the spot at the top of the short ramp.
Jianna wrinkled her nose at his use of her name. Pushing whatever fear she had into the back of her mind, she started down the ramp, her heels clicking against the metal. "General Hux," she said, coming to a stop a few feet away from him with her hands planted on her hips. "I don't know what the meaning of this is, but I can assure you it's illegal." The existence of this Star Destroyer is illegal, she thought to herself.
The general didn't flinch. "Illegal by your standards, Senator."
Jianna dared to take another step closer and attempted to make her tone threatening. "You are in Republic territory, so it is my standards that matter here, General." Her tone was sharp and her brow furrowed as she continued. "What is the meaning of this?"
Still, the general appeared unphased by her tone. "We have business to discuss, Senator."
Jianna shook her head. "No, we don't. I have no business with you."
The general took a step forward; his long stride coming dangerously close to entering her personal space. "Business regarding your late husband, Vidar Leshon. And your future."
Jianna allowed herself to be escorted out of the hanger and into the inner corridors of the Star Destroyer. The stormtroopers and their blasters stayed behind, leaving her in the company of General Hux, leading the way, and the masked man she presumed to be Kylo Ren, following closely behind her. No one spoke; the only sound being their footsteps against the hard floor, muffled thumps from the men's leather boots and rhythmic clicking of her heels. There had once been a time Jianna would have broken her ankle, marching in stick-thin heels, but that was a long time ago and she was a different person then.
They led her to small conference room. Jianna paused in the doorway, fearing a trap, but there was nothing in the room but a long table with matching metal chairs placed around it. A window on the far end showed the blackness of space. The door whooshed shut behind them, and Jianna wondered if she had just been locked in a room with the enemies of the Republic. She stopped halfway into the room, crossing her arms across her chest as she watched General Hux remove his cap, somehow without ruffling his perfectly parted hair and tossed the black hat on the table without a thought. Kylo Ren stayed by the door.
"What is this about?" Her anxiety was starting to grow.
The general turned towards her, sliding her gloves off. "How much do you know about your husband's trading business?"
Not bothering to hide her exasperation, Jianna rolled her eyes. "I know enough." Vidar, her late husband, had inherited the company from his father. Then, operations were limited to the Core Worlds but by the time of their marriage the company had expanded all the way to the Outer Rim. Her husband liked to say that his business had a presence in every star system that mattered. Until recently, Jianna was ignorant of the full scope and inner workings of the company. All she knew was that the whole organization turned a profit. A large profit.
Finally some emotion appeared on General Hux's face in the form of a sneer. Jianna didn't like it. "Are you sure about that?" His tone was a mocking one.
Jianna shook her head in annoyance. "Are you going to get to a point or not?"
With the sneer still present, Hux continued. "Senator Sivron, are you aware that your husband had authorized the First Order to use his trading company to transport our arms?"
The silence that occupied the room soon disappeared when Jianna burst out in laughter, causing Hux's smirk to falter slightly. "I never took you for a risible man, General." Jianna turned and headed for the door. "But whatever game you're playing, I'll not take part in it." She had intended to leave and head back to her ship, but her path was blocked by the still silent Kylo Ren.
Before she could demand the Force-user to move out of her way, Hux found his voice again. "This is the truth, Anna. And -"
Jianna snapped her head towards the red headed man. "You have no right to call me that, sir." Only a handful of people called her Anna and she refused to allow him to join them.
Hux continued, ignoring her outburst. "I have the documents to prove to it." He pulled a datapad from inside his jacket and held it out for her to take.
Doubt appeared in the pit of her stomach. Vidar's family had done business with the Empire, this she knew. But her husband was not political, save for when it interfered with his pocketbook. Jianna couldn't recall him ever voicing an opinion in regards to the First Order or the Resistance. If her husband had allowed the First Order to use his company to smuggle arms, he did it for the money and not for political beliefs. Jianna wasn't sure which was worse.
Jianna shook her head, refusing to take the datapad. "It's not true. And if it is, it doesn't matter. Because my husband is dead and I lead the company now."
"Which is why you're here." Hux took a step forward. "We'd like you to continue your husband's agreement."
The senator scoffed. "Now you must be joking, General, because I know you're not that stupid."
He took another step forward. "I'm not joking, Jianna. You will see to it that our business together continues."
It was Jianna's turn to step forward. Her voice low, she spoke without breaking eye contact. "No, I'll burn the company to the ground before I'll allow this activity continue. You'll have to find someone else to transport your weapons. Not that it'll last long, considering I plan take this issue up with the Senate the minute I return." She turned again for the door.
"If you return."
"Is that a threat?" Looking back at him, Jianna saw the general raise an eyebrow but he did not answer. "What? You're going to kill me?" She looked to Kylo Ren who still stood by the door. Never moving and never speaking. She wondered if he had the ability to speak. "You're going to have him kill me? I'm not afraid of death, General." That wasn't a lie. "The Senate is expecting my return today. It won't take them long to figure out what happened. They are a timid bunch but they're not wholly stupid."
"Senator, - "
The longer she was in the room the faster the annoyance Jianna felt was replaced by anger to the point she was practically yelling. "How did you think this was going to go, Armitage? I have spent my entire political career complaining about the permissive manner in which the Republic deals with your organization. And you thought what? I would knowingly help you violate the peace treaty? That I would be brought and bullied so easily?" She was in his face now, looking up at his emotionless facade from her shorter vantage point. "Now, either you're going to let me leave this ship or you're going to kill me. Make a decision and get on with it."
Hux kept his voice calm, unlike Jianna. "You said you're not afraid of death. I believe that. But what about the death of your son? What's his name? Lonnie?" Before he could continue, Jianna slapped the general across the face, knocking his head to the side and causing his hair to fall out of place. "He looks very much like you. Same eyes and nose. It would be a shame for him to die because his mother -" Again he was stopped short when Jianna raised her hand but before she could any cause further harm, Hux grabbed her forearm.
"If you ever lay a hand on my son, I will kill you. I swear to -" Abandoning any remaining respect for personal space, Hux used his other hand to grab Jianna roughly by the chain, silencing her threat. His grip was tight as he held her head still, forcing eye contact. Jianna tried to push him away, but it was like pushing a wall.
"I am not asking much of you, Jianna." His voice was low. "There's no reason for you or your son to get hurt. You just need to sign a few documents." His hold on her face loosened until it would have been easy to mistake as a caress.
The First Order wanted her signature. Armitage Hux wanted more. He always wanted more. The exact nature of that more, Jianna wasn't certain. "Can I at least read what I'm signing before I do so?" A ghost of a smile appeared on Hux's mouth as he slowly released her face and took a step back.
"Of course, senator."