The Young Hux
Hux gave a sigh and rubbed his forehead at the completion of his work. He wanted the new FN stormtrooper corps to be the best within the Order. It was the only reason why he had spent a while looking through each captured new born. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, having not taken his rest the last night before looking at the door when Trihorn came in, looking traumatized. However, Hux didn't care and gave a grumble, still furious about the argument they had the day before.
"Are you finally done?" Trihorn asked, much to Armitage's annoyance.
"Leave me."
Trihorn gave a sigh while taking a seat on the sofa. "I'm afraid not. Did you forget that today is a special day?"
"Hm?" That caught Armitage's attention causing him to look at the calendar. "Oh, I nearly forgot. The opening of the new Resurgent-class battlecruiser."
"Yep." Trihorn nodded, popping the 'p'. "Get yourself cleaned up. High command expects us to be there in ten minutes."
"Us?" Armitage queried, going into the showers to take a quick one.
"Yes, us." Trihorn scoffed, slightly offended by the query. "They were impressed by my TIE fighter design and wanted my opinion on the new battlecruiser."
"Alright, I suppose that's a valid reason." Armitage mused, coming out of the showers fully dressed two minutes later. "How do I look?"
"Ravishing." Trihorn smirked at the red head's displeased look.
Nonetheless, they walked out of their room, locking it behind them and went to the hangar. When they arrived, high command was already waiting for them so the two boys joined them behind the door. Armitage was anxious because the men surrounding him had powerful positions within the Order. Some were the Senates of the New Republic that supported them which made him feel even more scared. Luckily for him, Trihorn stood beside him at all times, speaking when spoken to like a true follower.
'At least he still has manners.' He thought jokingly.
"Gentlemen, sorry for the delay." The Engineer entered, holding the door slightly open, "We had a last-minute issue that needed to be fixed."
"And have you fixed it?" Armitage looked around at the familiar voice to see his father and Admiral Sloane to his right.
"Yes, sir. It is safe to enter now." The Engineer moved aside, allowing them to enter and Armitage immediately weaved past everyone to get to his father.
He tapped his father's hand when he made it beside him and Brendol only gave him a glance, showing that he acknowledged his presence. After making sure Trihorn was beside him, the young Hux stood in awe when they finally received the full view of the battlecruiser that had been in the works for… Three years? It was something he had been anticipating for a long while, seeing as the old Imperial-class Star Destroyers could no longer meet his expectation. Actually, the vessel was not yet completed. There were still missing pieces and some enhancements that could be made but was not implemented yet. Armitage looked at Trihorn when the boy took out his holopad, writing something down while the schematics was being projected on the wall beside them. Armitage watched as Trihorn kept looking up from his holopad to glance at the battlecruiser and schematics then typed something into his holopad.
"If you would please follow me, we can take a tour of the inside." The Engineer started walking down the other hallway towards the battlecruiser and while everyone else followed said engineer, Armitage stayed behind with Trihorn.
"What are you finding?" He asked the blue haired boy who was still busy with his holopad.
"There's something wrong but I can't seem to place it properly." Trihorn replied, using his thumb to measure reality against the schematics.
"Hey guys. I didn't expect the both of you to be here." Armitage twirled around at the unexpected entry of Lynx and a trooper he wasn't too familiar with.
Although, Trihorn became a mumbling idiot.
"H-H-Hi?" The blue haired boy said stiffly.
"Who is she?" Armitage asked, rolling his eyes at Trihorn's idiotic look.
"This is Lieutenant Phasma. She is to be my partner throughout my whole journey in training." Lynx introduced and Phasma gave a salute to the young Hux.
"Greetings, sir." Phasma said and Armitage gave a nod before narrowing his eyes at Lynx.
"What are the both of you doing here?"
"We had nothing on our agenda for the rest of the day. Therefore, we thought it would be beneficial if we took a look at the new vessel. In case we get assigned to be on board." Lynx explained.
"I see." Armitage elbowed Trihorn on the stomach before adding, "Well, we just begun the tour of the vessel. Unfortunately, our group went ahead so if you would like to accompany us?"
"It would be an honor, sir." Phasma agreed and Armitage started to like her.
"Sure." Lynx shrugged, about to take the lead when Armitage grabbed her shoulder.
"I'm taking the lead." He muttered, walking forward before Lynx too, grabbed his shoulder.
"Do you know where we're going?" Lynx queried and Armitage stopped in his tracks in thought before letting out a grumble.
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
"Are you questioning me?" Armitage growled warningly causing Lynx to shrug.
"Okay, you're the boss." She smirked, ignoring the young boy's warning as she was two years older than him.
The four of them then started walking through the battlecruiser with Armitage in the lead. Well, it was predictable that he didn't know where he was going but the group just followed as they were willing to explore the ship. If they got lost, that's just a part of exploration. Halfway through, Trihorn tapped Lynx's shoulder, telling her that he wanted a private conversation while Phasma continued walking, slightly behind Armitage. The young Hux narrowed his eyes at the two cautiously before looking at Phasma.
"Are you the girl whom my father keeps bragging about?" He questioned and Phasma tilted her head slightly.
"If by bragging, you mean meeting past his expectations then yes. I am the first girl to be successful in his trainings." She replied, voice steady so that her pride didn't get in the way.
"How do you feel about training a stormtrooper corps on your own?" He said and saw her pacing slowed before it resumed speed.
"A formidable task that will be conquered." She answered determinedly and Armitage gave a smile, already planning to put her in a good position.
The Survivor
"Lynx, you worked as a bounty hunter, right?"
"I'm really curious as to how you got that information." Lynx queried and Trihorn opened a picture on his holopad.
"I just found this floating on the Net." It was a picture of Lynx's first ever bounty hunting mission and she remembered it well.
A massacre. It was a total massacre which her parents had sent her off to with the sole reason of learning. It was her first traumatic experience that she hid within herself, burying the guilt and fear under a layer of happiness and ignorance.
'A hunter doesn't feel emotions. They kill those who need to be killed or those who get in the way without hesitation.' Her father had said with her mother supporting him.
"What about it?" She finally said, returning to the first question.
"There's a gathering on Tatooine which should sell some of the parts I require to build a test TIE. Do you think you can get me there?" He gave a smile while she glanced at Armitage who was talking to Phasma.
"The General is already going there. I assume he would want to bring you along for the journey." She answered, placing both of her hands in her pockets.
"Oh, interesting." He nodded, the same smile still staying on his face. "Is there someone I should expect to be there?"
"Han Solo." Lynx muttered and Trihorn stopped in his tracks.
"You're joking."
"Nope."
"He's going to be there?!" He yelled but also made sure the other two couldn't hear them.
"Indeed." She gave a smile before it turned into a frown and leaned in closer to him. "Did you know that an alien is among us?"
"Wait, what?" Trihorn gave a quizzical look, his eyes darting left and right. "Where did you hear that?"
"I saw it, with my own eyes." Lynx hissed, voice going deadly. "I have a very bad feeling about the alien."
"Are you sure it's not someone disguising as one?" Trihorn queried and Lynx gave him a look.
"Who in the universe would do such a thing?" She hissed before shouting at Armitage, "Can you find the bridge?!"
"Are you questioning me again!" Armitage shouted back and Lynx gave a chuckle before looking at Trihorn.
"I don't know." Trihorn chuckled before his eyes went distant. "I don't-. I don't believe it."
"Well, I do. I'm betting he will show up in the future but 'when' is the question." Lynx muttered, feeling unnerved by the conversation all of a sudden.
"Hey, are you okay?" Trihorn asked, concern washing over his face.
"I'm fine. I just-… It's nothing." Lynx muttered before they looked up when arriving at the bridge of the new vessel.
"Found it." Armitage grinned while Trihorn was already looking at the different computers.
The room was still dark so they had to use their own flashlights to move around. Lynx was impressed with how everything looked and her memories of driving fighter ships were still fresh in her mind. This looked more like a battle station than anything and just as she was about to explore on her own, Trihorn let out a yelp.
"Too close!" He shouted, pushing the broken wires back in to fix the computer he was on. "I'd tell ya, we should leave after this."
"We haven't completely explored the ship." Armitage protested.
"I have other work to do, Taj." Trihorn said and Lynx raised an eyebrow at the name.
"Don't call me that, Tri."
"Hey, if you get to call me that. I get to call you Taj."
"I'm older than you."
"And I'm smarter!" Trihorn retorted, standing up from his seat.
"Boys! Shut it!" Lynx growled, annoyed by the echo. "We're older than the both of you so you listen to us!"
"Yet I am superior." Armitage shot back before looking at Phasma who stepped forward.
"With all due respect, we are both of the same rank but I am older which would make me the superior officer." She said and everyone seemed to settle down at that.
"So, until I receive the next rank… You are in-charge of this little group." Armitage relented, grumbling slightly.
"It would seem so." Phasma agreed, glancing between them. "Trihorn, what have you found?"
"Cameras." He smiled, showing them the tour group walking down the halls. "I've pretty much hacked into all of it."
"I didn't know hacking was in your skill set." Armitage muttered and the other boy let out a chuckle.
"Hey, I'm a tech nerd." He shrugged, changing the camera on the holopad. "It looks like they're entering a room. If we go now, we might be able to make it."
"We're staying here. We weren't invited on the tour." Lynx muttered, looking outside the windows to see the stars as the vessel was facing the exit of the hangar.
"We'll meet here once the meeting is over." Armitage said, grabbing the holopad from Trihorn and gave it to Phasma. "Use this to keep track of our current location. I doubt we'll be entering the bridge."
"Got it." Phasma nodded, joining Lynx while Trihorn whined.
"That was my favourite!"
The Older Hux
'Where are they?' Brendol thought while scanning the halls.
He realized that the duo was nothing but trouble and that was something he would have to think about. He was the only one who waited outside and as soon as he saw his son with Trihorn, a frown was etched on his face. The both of them were running down the hall, after an expedition of their own, he assumed. Punishment would have to wait for there are other important matters to attend to. He waited for Armitage and Trihorn to catch their breath before allowing them to enter the room first, then he did and closed the door.
The showcase had already started and Admiral Sloane was prompting the engineers with questions seeing as he was a little busy. While Trihorn had free roam around the room, Armitage was forced to stay by his side and listen to the questions being put forth by the senators. Politics was never one of his strong suit but a little threat and you can prove to be the top of the command chain. The various questions being put forth were interesting to say the least with the Order still at its weakest and it would take a while before they could rise. He doubted he would still be alive when it occurs.
"Your… Little engineer over there has provided a very foolproof blueprint." The head engineer, Senior Victor, pointed at Trihorn who stopped in his tracks. "The only problem with this is that some materials are not achievable even with the Senate's help."
"We know." Brendol muttered before nudging Armitage, "I believe my son has come up with a good answer."
Armitage gulped when all eyes turned to him before he pushed down the fear and straightened his posture, "Yes. We will use smugglers for the… Hard to reach equipment."
"Are you certain?" One of the Senators spoke up. "I heard that the Smugglers are getting more destructive with the New Republic still in turmoil."
"We've heard it as well but those are rumors. We cannot be certain that they are causing destruction."
"What about Han Solo? If he finds out-."
"Han Solo is going back to his old smuggling ways." Sloane intervened. "He doesn't care about the increase in smuggling activities, he enjoys it."
"We can profit from this if we play it well." Brendol added. "We also have to be very careful of double crossers. We are dealing with smugglers which is why every precaution will be taken when we enter Tatooine."
The senators murmured to each other while Brendol watched Trihorn return with a notepad in his hands instead of his holopad. It caused Brendol to raise an eyebrow but he still looked through the scribbles when they boy gave it to him. A small sentence at the side of the paper caused him to narrow his eyes and look up at the crowd, clearing his throat to cease the conversation.
"Gentlemen." He passed the notepad to Sloane for her to look through. "It's come to my attention that one of you is a spy."
"Don't be ridiculous." The lead senator scoffed. "No one here would do such a thing."
"No one?" Brendol raised an eyebrow while Armitage shot a hidden camera on one of the senator's belt.
The Senator stumbled back, surprised by the attack before two troopers who had followed them on the tour held him down. The senator fought back but it was a futile effort as the two troopers were larger and heavier than him. The traitor was a male Rodian with teal skin and dark blue eyes that looked like a starry night.
"Who are you?" Brendol questioned as he had never seen the Rodian before.
"No one you should care about." The Rodian spat before getting punched in the gut.
"Put him in a cell." Brendol ordered the two troopers before turning towards the others whom Sloane addressed.
"Senator Hopfs. You were close to him and yet you did not know he was a traitor or are you one as well?" Sloane questioned the other Rodian who stuttered.
"I assure you that I'm innocent! I didn't know he was a traitor!" Hopfs said and Sloane narrowed her eyes, glancing at Armitage and Trihorn for confirmation.
"Political power plays." Trihorn muttered with a shrug. "He's innocent but if you want to be sure, you could waste time and interrogate him."
"You're all free to go." Sloane said, gesturing for the senators to leave before she turned to Armitage and Trihorn. "Where have the both of you been?"
"You're on your own." Trihorn tapped Armitage on the back before taking a step back.
The older boy glared at him before answering, "We explored the vessel by ourselves, managing to enter the bridge which was half completed."
"And where is your holopad, Trihorn?" Brendol questioned the other boy who was staring elsewhere.
"Oh, I uh-…" Trihorn gulped as he tried to come up with an excuse. "I left it in class."
"You shouldn't lie to a superior officer, boy." Brendol growled and Trihorn gulped again before relenting.
"It's with Phasma and Lynx who are in the bridge."
"What are they doing here?" Sloane queried, raising an eyebrow.
"They had nothing to do and wanted to look at the vessel." Trihorn explained, scratching the back of his head. "Sir, I must know, are you going to Tatooine in two months?"
"How do you know that?" Brendol frowned, glancing at Sloane who returned the gesture.
"The HoloNet." Trihorn shrugged before taking a small step back when the General glared at him warningly. "I- I mean I talked to Lynx and she told me about it… You are going to invite me, right?"
"With this revelation, I'll think on it." Brendol said before looking at Armitage who took a step forward.
"Father, you need him on the planet. He is the only one who created the blueprint and knows that parts required for it."
"Like I said, Armitage, I'll think on it." Brendol said in a tone that meant it was not up for debate.
The younger Hux only saluted before leaving the room with Trihorn in tow. Brendol narrowed his eyes at them before looking at Sloane who was still holding onto the notepad Trihorn gave. An image caught their attention as they kept staring at it, trying to make out the figure that Trihorn had drawn. It was rather rough and dark, as if he had just woken up from a nightmare to write it all down.
"This is Snoke." Sloane murmured, moving her fingers away to read the word.
'SUPREME'
"Is there a date for this?" Brendol asked and Sloane shook her head.
"There is none but it appears to be recent." She replied, flipping between the previous and after page. "It seems that he was influenced to draw that image as his other works does not seem to be related."
Brendol snatched the notepad from her to flip to other previous pages, hoping to find a similar drawing but none showed up. "This is the first time…"
"And it won't be the last."
The Young Hux
Armitage didn't understand Trihorn at all. In fact, he thought the young boy would be disappointed that he wasn't going to Tatooine but judging from his chipper attitude currently, that doesn't seem to be the case. It would seem that Trihorn had a plan in mind and as much as Armitage wanted to squeeze it out of him, he decided to play the long game.
"You're back." Phasma spoke, breaking Armitage out of his thoughts.
"What did you find?" He asked them, seeing as Trihorn suddenly went quiet and was hiding behind him slightly.
"Vital information hasn't been fully transferred into the vessel but I can confirm that there has been a list set up to troopers who are going to be stationed here." Lynx said, giving the holopad back to Trihorn. "It appears that Phasma and I are in that list so once the vessel is completed, we won't be aboard the Eclipse no longer."
"I hope by then, I will be old enough to command this beauty." Armitage muttered, putting a hand on the computer beside him.
"It's time we head back." Lynx said, walking past them to the exit. "Are you coming?"
There only collective nods before the four of them started walking out of the room and down the hall. The whole battlecruiser was quiet, something they were not accustomed to and it almost made them want to stay on board the vessel much longer than needed. However, the vessel was still in the process of being built and it wouldn't do good if they got caught inside it. Even if it wasn't completed, they felt a sense of belonging and definitely wanted to be stationed there when they got older.
"Hey, Taj." Trihorn called and Armitage snarled at the name.
"Stop calling me that."
"Not why I called but could you get me to a control room in the Eclipse?"
Armitage raised an eyebrow at the request, "Why do you want to do so?"
"Camera hack." Trihorn grinned at the thought in his mind. "I believe if I manage to get in, we can spy on everyone and see if we have a mole aboard this vessel… It is also to find out if Lynx told the truth of an alien being aboard."
"An alien?" Armitage nearly yelled but managed not to do so. "There's an alien living among us?"
"Hey, I know. I don't believe it either but Lynx saw him with her own two eyes so I'm guessing that alien is somewhere on board right now. All I need to do is get the cameras and we can try to find him. We can also listen to meetings for the future of the Order… Your future." Trihorn poked Armitage on the chest at the last sentence and Armitage frowned, looking away.
Spying was considered treason within the Order because some secrets are best left unknown. However, with an alien in the mix, there's something about it that Armitage didn't seem to enjoy. Especially when his father seemed to not know about it and his father was Xenophobic. Other than that, Trihorn's last point did make sense. The Order was going to be his and whatever his father or the Admiral planned, he had to know so it didn't help that in some meetings, he wasn't allowed to be in it.
'Probably a meeting with the alien.' Armitage thought then looked at Trihorn with a nod. "I'll try to find an empty one by next week."
"Perfect." Trihorn smiled, draping an arm around Armitage's shoulders. "I'm turning eleven tomorrow. What about you?"
"I'm turning twelve tomorrow…" Armitage said, the both of them moving back in surprise at the revelation.
"You're joking." Trihorn muttered while Armitage gave him a look.
"I don't joke about this."
"That's incredible!" Trihorn laughed, punching Armitage on the arm. "We're practically twins with only a year of age difference!"
"Interesting." Lynx said with a smirk causing the both of them to stop. "Now I know when to throw surprise parties."
"You better not." Armitage scowled, the group beginning to walk again. "I prefer being inconspicuous."
"Right." Lynx drawled and Armitage let out a sigh, planning to lock his room tomorrow. "What's on the agenda till Smuggler week?"
"Training and lessons." Phasma replied and Armitage looked at Trihorn who nodded.
"We have the same." Trihorn answered the unspoken question while they finally left the battlecruiser.
Lynx gave a salute before walking down the other hall with Phasma, "Well, see you in that week."
A.N. You can guess who's appearing in the next chapter. ;)
