Sera screamed like ravenous flames still chased her through the crumbling halls of Starkiller as she awoke. She buried her quaking hands in her hair, ripping and tugging until soft ringlets ensnared her fingers, confirming she wasn't stuck in a monstrous nightmare. Instead, it confirmed her gruesome reality, wrought with rupturing planets and sizzling smoke seeping into her lungs, burning her inside out. Sera gasped like her chest still drowned in chalky soot. Acrid smoke and decay tinged her nose. She could feel, smell, and taste the gritty flames that nearly engulfed herself and the General.
A draft ran chills up her bare arms making her clutch the thin blanket closer to herself; Desperately close like its soft thread would soothe the painful memories.
Sera realized her frazzled thoughts and ricocheting temperature must be due to a budding fever. The sticky sweat adhering her skin to the bed was a good indication of her theory. Either she'd contracted something or nursed an unpleasant infection from a wound she'd yet to identify.
Turning over to examine her condition further caused a pinch in her leg. Sera yelped and ripped the covers off her shaking form. A blistering, purple cut stretched from knee to hip. A murky mixture of pus, decaying skin and disintegrated adhesive bandaging decorated her leg. Poking it, Sera hissed and shook her hand out like the contact singed her. The cut sunk down into her skin and slowly filled out again when the pressure subsided. It would need cleaning soon if they hadn't done so already. The wound was so parasitic, it consumed the dressing the medics must have administered. Sera shivered and recovered her lower half with the luxurious blanket.
Sera stretched her arms out before her, feeling the cracks and creaks in her joints. Bits of hair had been scorched from her arms, leaving odd lines of hairless skin. Small burns circled the hairless spots like the blazing rays of a summer sun.
After assessing her injuries, Sera examined her new surroundings, attempting to piece together her location bit by bit. There were no personal items or anything indicating whose room she occupied. It looked like the standard grade officer quarters.
A scan of the room proved no further information. A few doors led to other rooms and an oversized desk sat in the farthest corner. A desk, a closet, a bathroom, and a bed with slightly higher quality linens than normal gave her little insight. Though what she couldn't fathom was why she was in a downy soft bed when she ought to be in a stiff, disinfected medical room. Surely this wasn't the ideal place for her at the moment.
Voices drifted in from the hall and Sera fumbled for a blaster at her waist. Her usual holster was absent. It must have slipped from her side upon evacuation of the base or been confiscated after she lost consciousness. She shivered at the memory of the collapsing planet and her suddenly weaponless form. She was currently in no state to fight without a weapon. For all she knew, her leg wouldn't hold her steady if she attempted to stand.
Logically, there was nothing to fear. She recalled General Hux dragging her through the halls of Starkiller and pushing her on his ship. But everything past his shove on board was a foggy soup of interlocking but seemingly unrelated memories. Clearly, her logic dissipated in moments adrenaline took command; As demonstrated by her idiotic stunt to save the General.
The door slid open and a tall, imposing figure stepped inside.
Sera covered herself further as the General closed the door behind him. He looked like he did every day; Immaculately put together and in control. The way his eyes scanned her made Sera fear he examined the deepest recesses of her mind with nothing but a look.
"Officer," Hux gave her a slight nod and paced slowly towards the desk on the far side of the room.
Sera's discerning eyes traced his every move. Hux maneuvered exactly like the predator she knew he was. Each movement was intentional and controlled. Step after step was identical and methodical.
But there was something somber lingering there too. Dark circles laid waste to the skin under his eyes. His face had paled and veins protruded out from his temple. It told a story of calamity but his uniform did not. He's controlling everything possible, Sera rationalized. Hux could press his uniform and shine his shoes, but nothing could be done for the gaunt, sallow state of his face.
Sleep deprivation and extreme stress was crushing him. But after everything he'd lost, he'd soldiered forward. The cost looked grievous.
"General," Sera ground her teeth, sending shooting pain through her jaw. Her shaking, feverish hands wrapped around herself upon noticing their current physical states. She'd never let a commanding officer see her in so little clothing. The downy cotton shirt and shorts were far less than even her training uniform. Medical necessity seemed an inadequate excuse to put her in such a compromising position. Her pale legs were barely covered and her top was concealed only by a loose fitting shirt that slipped from her shoulders with the smallest provocation. "How do you not look like Hell?"
"I'm well acquainted with Hell," Hux tossed the desk chair to Sera's bedside. He shifted his weight beside it, noticing her attire, and sat stiffly with feet planted on the floor. "Rumor has it there's a throne there just for me."
Sera gawked and Hux merely raised an eyebrow and pulled a datapad from his side. He dragged through profiles, eyes flicking back and forth until he found hers.
"It's been two days," Hux said matter of factly. "You've slept through quite a bit."
"Two days?" Sera gaped. "Why did no one wake me? I can help, do something, do anything!"
"I forbade it," The finality in Hux's tone indicated the acceptance of no further questions.
With Sera in his bed, Hux had spent the past nights in an office made for him on the Supremacy. The couch in the office sufficed because what little sleep he'd gotten was fitful and shallow. There was little time for sleep, food or anything else consuming precious minutes. That's why Hux came undone at the seams upon his research and realization of who Officer Sera Landal really was. He had no time left for anything else, but he couldn't toss away the knowledge now spreading through the ship about Landal's stunt and previously masked heritage. It needed to be quelled before it became larger than it truly was.
"Officer Seraphina Landal," Hux examined her extensive profile detailing her family history, education, and military accomplishments as if he'd never seen it before. "Child of General Landal of the Empire and a wealthy kings' gold-digging daughter. You're royalty. I was not aware."
Pain in Sera's chest struck like a gun had gone off as Hux detailed her fractured familial ties. Her superior officer outlining the depressing details of her life before the First Order slowed her mind and numbed her limbs.
"That was never in my file, I made sure of it," Sera eyed Hux suspiciously. His gaze remained trained on the datapad but his watchful stare searched for any movement out of the corner of his eye. "How did you get this information?"
"I've studied military history since the moment I could read," Hux looked up from the datapad, enjoying the discomfort he administered. "I recognized your surname immediately. How could I not? What I did not expect to find was your mother's surname."
"Of course," Sera shoved her palms into her eyes. Her scorched lids ached from smoke damage they incurred. "You ran my name through the identification system and found pictures of me with my family. They're older, but I don't look all that different. Nobody thought to do it for five years."
Sera swallowed hard, containing the anger and fear of her discovery. She'd hidden in the open for so long but she at least found solace in the fact that it took an obliterated planet and a stupid, high profile stunt to out her.
"I did," Hux smirked, overly pleased with himself at his fascinating discovery. She'd hidden under his nose for years, but not any longer. "Lyra also discovered this in your uniform." Hux flipped a sparkling name badge between his fingers, holding it up to the light. Sera grabbed his wrist and pulled the tag from him.
"It survived the base!" Sera clutched the sparkling tag to her chest. The cool metal was chilly against her warm skin.
"It was your fathers?"
"Yes," Sera pulled the badge from herself, running a thumb over her father's name. Value was relative to a girl running from home. The badge was the only thing of consequence she brought with her when she fled.
"I recognized the uniform badge and General Landal's name," Hux said. "Quite the coincidence, Princess."
Sera merely nodded, lost in her own mind. She placed the pin on the bedside table like it would disappear if left out of site. Only half hearing her previous title from Hux, she blinked away the small bout of anger rising from it.
"I started looking deeper and found every detail and dirty secret I would ever want to know about you," Hux continued, goading her. "First of seven children and previously engaged before joining the military in your early twenties. I didn't take you for a deserter."
Hux looked up casually from his datapad and saw the grimace of a woman discovered. Landal's face contorted and she dug her hands into his sheets like she wished it was his neck.
"Absolved of your domestic and political duties upon your desertion, your younger sister married your previously betrothed in your place. Yet, I find no information indicating you abdicated."
"Hux, stop," Sera heaved the blanket covering herself off the bed. She tossed her legs over the side and hissed as pain rippled through her injured thigh. Hux gazed up at her with interest as she read his datapad upside down. Sera's uncovered knees grazed his and he pulled into the chair slightly, avoiding any contact. It rattled him as much now as it had in his burning office.
Landal appeared so similar and so different outside the confines of Starkiller. She was smaller than he imagined and less domineering. Though the tension in her body and alertness in her eyes pleased him. Even in a state of duress and fever, she was aware and fighting back.
"You have no context," Sera gripped the edge of the bed, turning her knuckles white, digging creases into her palm. Nothing Hux could say would bring her any pleasure. There would be nothing admirable in anything he found about her time with her family. Every article, picture, and personal anecdote would tell the same story: The Princess is odd and uncommitted. A noblewoman with a penchant for war and no desire to fulfill her duty. A deserter.
Sera cocked her head, loathing the General's practiced demeanor from under her searing lids. His back was so still and face so contorted, Sera knew that he was anything but relaxed. A ticking time bomb had a longer fuse than the General dissecting her life in front of her.
"Of course I do," General Hux looked her up and down in return before turning again at the datapad. "It says it all right here." Shivers raced through Sera at the dry intonation in Hux's voice. She ran her hand unconsciously over the affected areas.
"Does it?" Sera reached a careful finger over the datapad. Hux ripped his hand away from her as Sera flipped to the next page.
A picture of herself and her father dominated the screen. It was a photo Sera had never seen and hadn't known was taken. It was at least a decade old guessing from the length of her hair and the absence of the cane her father now used daily.
"I'm very fascinated by you," Hux pushed the back of his hand against Sera's, shoving her finger out of the way, resuming his search of her file.
Sera opened her mouth to speak but the coarseness of her throat stalled her. Instead, she stared at Hux, hoping he'd elaborate.
"An engineer by trade," Hux flicked his finger through page after page of her profile. Pictures of her training, performance evaluations, and general notes passed by her vision. "You have a strong proficiency in hand-to-hand combat. Excellent exam scores and no previous transgressions. You're also wealthier than possibly anybody else on this ship. Why you have reason to be here, I can only assume relates to your broken engagement. But more importantly, you're a woman on the brink of savior who risked her life to save her commanding officer, with whom she'd never once interacted, knowing she would most likely die in the process."
He crossed his legs and tossed the datapad onto the bed, grimacing at her with distrust in his eyes. It felt like a physical burn to Sera. She'd been with the First Order almost half a decade and the general now questioned her loyalty over familial ties she severed years ago.
"Why?" Hux's hands clasped in his lap like he was utterly fascinated with whatever answer she would soon give.
Everything he'd said had been posturing, Sera realized. What he really wanted to know was why she decided to find him on Starkiller. He didn't care a lick about her background. Hux thought she wanted something from him.
Sera deflated. Her bruised shoulders sank forward in shame but she looked at him with poignant disgust she reserved only for her previous fiance.
Sera's returned look of suspicion wasn't missed by Hux. Watching the curl of Sera's lips, he readjusted in his seat. He hadn't associated with many women in his life. And this one was barely clothed and watching him in a way nobody else would; Like she saw exactly who he was and had no qualms about expressing it.
"I don't know, Sir," Sera met his challenge eye for eye, willing him to understand she harbored no premeditated scheme or expectations of him. Her mouth twitched and nose wrinkled as she strained to maintain a neutral stare.
"You do," Hux growled, tired of being evaded. "Tell me." He demanded with a force that shouldn't have taken her by surprise.
Sera shook her head. Hux spoke to everybody the way he did to her now. The shattered but honest man from Starkiller had disappeared. It was the only Hux Sera knew and she wasn't fond of his current blatant intimidation tactics. Such antics were sullied by the image of him from Starkiller in her mind's eye. This may be the man to everybody around them; The pions guarding the ship, officers running tests, medics recovering wounded and dead. But this could never be the man she knew. Sera wouldn't let it be.
After a contemplative moment, Hux leaned in so close Sera felt his warm, rhythmic breath on her face. The closer he came, the weaker she grew. As if her body comprised solely of muscle and lead, dragging her down into the ocean like an anchor cast at sea. Her eyes flicked between his and she saw something there that made her retreat. She leaned back enough that his breath couldn't touch her reddening skin.
"I realized you were trying to kill yourself," Sera looked right into his eyes for confirmation of her claim. She found it. Hux's face transitioned between multiple looks of disgust. "I've heard you say it before."
Hux stood so suddenly the chair tipped back onto the ground. It landed with a crash that echoed through the spacious room. Beats passed in silence with only harsh breaths and an unidentifiable electricity to fill it.
The shockwaves in the air sobered Sera. Looking up at Hux once again, she remembered exactly who and where they were. Everything about their situation was inappropriate and it emboldened her.
Weak knees held Sera as she pushed herself from the bed. Her ankles quaked but adequately supported her weight. At least enough to move to the General's side.
"Heard what, exactly, Officer?" Hux reverted to titles as she gazed up at him keenly like she was reliving something in her head. He looked down at her and frowned, hands clasped behind his back.
"You said you'd rather die than fail," Sera whispered. "I never believed it was an exaggeration. I couldn't let you throw it all away."
Hux brought a hand to her face and shoved a finger under her chin. Forcing her stare, he examined her angled face. It wasn't common he had a woman in his quarters and even less common that she looked back at him like that. Landal was clearly proud and gritty. It shone brightly in the set of her jaw and defiant stare. She wasn't giving in and she wouldn't back down. Breaking her crossed his mind, but their current location and her state of undress were throwing him more than he'd comfortably admit. Her shirt had slipped when she stood and Hux implored himself to focus solely on her face.
"You listen in on my conversations, Officer?" Hux smirked down at her, dragged his leather-clad thumb slowly over her chin.
"Only when they're interesting," She offered conversationally like they were talking about the weather. "Most of your conversations are so boring I want to impale myself with Ren's stupid death stick."
"Stupid," Hux enunciated the word, mulling it over. "Death stick."
He suddenly clenched her jaw with his hand and her eyes widened. He'd successfully flustered her. Forcing Sera's head to the side he looked from ear to neck to bare shoulders. He probably would have continued if she hadn't smacked his hand away.
Hux seemed wholly unaffected by her sudden movement and simply replaced his hand behind his back.
Sera shuddered under his gaze and stepped away. Her face tingled as she stormed to the door, desperate to get away. She slammed her hand against the exit button and found herself face to face with Kylo Ren.
She leaped back, landing hard on her injured leg. His sleek lightsaber hilt gleamed in the harsh hall lighting, making it come alive. It felt dangerous standing so close to the weapon.
Ren's face was no longer obstructed by the glistening mask Sera had come to anticipate. A brilliant, fresh cut burned through the length of his youthful face. It was patched expertly by webbed material, closing the wound. But it looked serious coursing down his face and onto his shoulders.
Ren was young, probably not far off in age from herself. He stood tall and proud but the look in his eye showed a story of hurt and anger. No intimidating helmet or well constructed robe could hide what lay in front of her.
A sudden pain bubbled in her head. Sera grabbed the back of her skull and flinched away from Ren's imposing figure. Images of herself, her family, and her time in the military flashed by. Each shot hurt more than the last until they landed on the most painful memory of all; Sera staring desperately at General Hux on the floor of his collapsing office.
"Get out of her head, Ren," General Hux was at Sera's side before Kylo could do something irreparably stupid. He grabbed her arm and stepped ever so slightly in front of her, blocking her from Ren.
The connection shattered and Sera's knees quaked from exhaustion. A throbbing head could now be added to her laundry list of sudden ailments. Clearly, she'd cheated death and the galaxy yearned to punish her.
"What do you want, Ren?" Hux stepped fully in front of Sera. "Come to throw another tantrum? If you are, kindly do so outside my quarters."
"I came to talk to your - friend," Ren leaned over Hux's shoulder to look down knowingly at Sera. Her chest heaved between the contact with Hux and the stare of the recently mutilated Ren. Hux had a hand wrapped around her wrist, holding her in place or she would have stepped back farther. Fury and hatred emanated from Ren. She was unsure of whom it was directed but she had no interest in learning.
"As much as it pains me to deny you anything," Hux stepped close to Ren. Their comparable heights lent well to the ominous and strained nature of their conversation. "No."
Sera watched in fascination. She couldn't recall seeing the two interact so informally and it was incredibly informative. Also, destructive rampages were a sizzling topic of gossip and a sick part of Sera hoped she would see one with her own eyes. She doubted real harm would come to her with Hux present. But the blistering pain in Ren's eyes made her heart race with anticipation. A sort of emptiness filled his gaze like he had nothing left to lose. Exactly the type of person to tear apart the ship she was currently on.
"Forget it," Ren took a step back from Hux but maintained a careful focus. "Leader Snoke's requested us in a quarter hour."
Sera bent down to slip past Ren out of the room, believing this was her chance to escape. Leaving while Hux spoke with the elusive Supreme Leader Snoke that so few had ever seen was perfect. Her plan collapsed when an arm shot out and pulled her back inside.
Hux.
"I will meet you in a moment to speak with Lead-"
"He wants her to join us," Ren pointed a gloved finger at Sera's face.
"To what end?" Hux swallowed and again stepped in front of Sera. He couldn't remember such a low ranking official entering Leader Snoke's throne room. Never before had Supreme Leader made such an odd request. Snoke already knew of his transgressions on Starkiller and had handled them. Landal was inconsequential; A side issue that Snoke certainly need not concern himself with.
Ren only smirked and Hux slammed his hand on the door lock in protest. The entrance sealed in Ren's face with a hiss and thud. Hux pulled Sera towards the bed and pointed. "Sit."
"Sir," Sera said warily. Her shoulders slacked and she dragged her feet towards the bed. Ren in her head left a fractured and foggy feeling. Like the room was a mirage. "Please don't say this is regarding what happened on Starkiller."
"I see no other possibility," Hux pulled the discarded chair from the floor and sat before Landal. Her legs were crossed, revealing the extent of her thigh injury. He sat and leaned in close to ensure she understood every word. "You can hide nothing from him. Do not attempt to. It will not end favorably for you."
"You're telling me I have to explain it to him?"
"In a sense, yes," Hux agreed.
