Something clearly disturbed Oni to the core – she was distant and quiet the rest of the day after the questioning. He concluded that it must be a multitude of issues that have built up over the past few weeks – her newfound freedom, the pressure of the interview, whatever was happening between the two of them, and the little yellow creature that must have scared her. Though that whole incident was odd beyond Hux's understanding. Hux wanted to take her back to his quarters, to hold her and tell her that everything would be okay, that he would see to it that she was taken care of. Unfortunately, he was certain they were being watched very closely at this point. It was far too much of a risk.
Sebbie watched after her as she made her way back to the spare room he'd provided her, her feet dragging. "That bad?"
He dropped his voice, "I don't entirely know what's wrong with her at the moment. I think she's just overwhelmed. She had something of a meltdown right after the meeting adjourned…"
"Hm…" He looked at the door to his spare room, where she was staying. "Did you want to… maybe take her to your place for a few hours?"
Hux looked at him. Sebbie knew. Of course he knew. And Hux was certain he could trust the man to be discrete with what he knew. But they'd never discussed the matter. Some things were best never spoken of.
"No."
Sebbie shook his head quickly. "Of course, of course. My apologies."
Hux scratched his nose, "I am certain they are watching her very closely. We can't be seen… We have to be cautious."
"Right. I understand. I have tomorrow off, so I can keep an eye on her."
Hux nodded. "Thank you. I'll be by tomorrow to check on her."
He finished his work late the next evening and went straight to Sebbie's quarters. Sebbie opened the door and motioned Hux in, closing the door quickly. He looked at Hux with raised eyebrows.
"Is she okay?" His expression made Hux nervous.
Sebbie inhaled deeply. "She's in the room. She's been there all day."
"Has she said much?"
"Barely anything. She needs… you need…" He shook his head, "Look, I have some errands to run…" He looked at Hux hard, "I'm going to be gone for a few hours. You should stay and watch her." He nodded. "Yes?"
Hux was grateful for the thought, "Yes that seems like a good idea."
Sebastian checked the time, "I'll be back in… two hours."
He nodded, making his way back to her room, "Thank you."
She was sitting on the bed, her back resting against the headboard with her knees to her chest.
"Sebastian tells me you've been quiet all day."
"Oh. Hello. Yes." She turned her face, resting her cheekbone on her knees. "I am okay. I just… I have a lot to think about."
"You were very shaken yesterday. What happened?"
"Hm. I'm sorry about my… misbehavior. I was quite overwhelmed by everything that has happened."
"Well I certainly can't criticize you for being overwhelmed… You've been through a lot in the past few weeks." He paused. "Can I sit with you?"
"You do not need to ask. Of course."
He took a seat next to her and kissed the edge of her mouth, "I'm concerned about you."
"I am okay."
"If I can be frank, you don't seem okay."
"I will be okay."
"Was it Brendol? I knew he would be hard on you… I should have given you better warning…"
"No. No. It was interesting to meet your father though. He knows what we have been doing."
"He… has heard the rumors."
"And he knows them to be true."
Hux frowned a little. "He… is very much an old Imperial. A strong conformist. Very concerned with appearances."
"Yes, I could tell he is not fond of my looks. It is a pity he feels that would affect my ability to perform well."
"I think he's far more concerned with how I appear by associating myself with you, and by extension how that makes him appear."
"Hm. I suppose he would much rather see you with somebody that has military or political connections."
"I'm sure that's more what he had in mind for me. Not that it matters." He added the last part quickly.
"He means well by it. His high standards for you have clearly served you well."
He wanted to point out that his father's "standards" had never done anything other than leave him with bruises, but that was a discussion for another time. "It is a bit of a pity to me… I do honestly think you could serve as a great help to the Order. I think that if they gave you a chance, you would prove yourself a tremendous addition to the organization. He's just… unwilling to look past what he sees now."
"Mm. You think I would be a suitable mate in the future then?"
"By his standards, I think he'd champion the idea if he understood." He paused. "I do hope you understand that is very strictly his opinion. I do not share it."
"I should hope not." She smirked a little, raising an eyebrow. "This whole thing would have been terribly awkward if you viewed me as unsuitable."
He was happy to see something of a smile on her face. He pressed his lips to her temple, "Shall I run through the list of reasons I'm terribly attracted to you once more?"
"Mm. No. I think you've gone over it enough. For now, at least." She nuzzled closer to him.
"I'm sorry I didn't get to mention Grand Admiral Thrawn's presence to you earlier… I was surprised when we entered the room and he was there. He was the one with that creature that crawled onto you…"
"Oh?"
"He wasn't supposed to be there. He's not even associated with the Order; he's an old Grand Admiral for the Empire, but has taken a different path after the fall of the Empire. I'd only just met him the day prior – he stopped into Brendol's office while I was visiting. We spoke briefly about the mission – he must have gotten access to my report and decided to be present during the interview. I'm not entirely sure why, but the man is something of a character. Carts one of those little reptilian creatures around on his shoulders most of the time. He actually had it with him for the entirety of the interview. I almost couldn't believe it."
"He was in the room for the entire interview?"
"Yes. Sat in the center back. It was a bit comical, actually. I think his presence was entirely unannounced. Kylo Ren was not at all happy about him being there with the creature. They're supposed to negate Force using abilities – evidently it interfered with his ability to read your mind properly."
She was quiet for a moment. "Oh."
"I thought it was odd he didn't even bother to introduce himself, much less ask any questions. But I think his presence may work in your favor."
"What makes you think that?"
"Thrawn is… well, like I said, he's something of a character. He has a sort of unique appreciation for creative thought in the people that serve under him, and you've demonstrated an ample capacity for that. And he… he is less judgmental than most of the leadership in regard to conformity. He was one of the very few non-human officers in the Imperial Navy."
"Oh."
"The man is bright blue, actually. With red eyes. I suppose I've never spent much time around non-humans, but it caught me quite off guard when I first met him." Hux shook his head, "The point is, he happens to have a decent deal of influence. I plan on speaking with him tomorrow regarding the matter – if he were to champion your cause you'd have a real chance."
She pursed her lips, "I do not think that is necessary."
He paused, looking at her. "Wha… Why? Thrawn interfering would be the best thing for you…"
"If I made a strong enough impression, he will make his opinion known. There is no need to make this political."
He hated to point this out to her, but the entire thing was political. "I'm afraid I don't entirely understand your view on this matter…"
"I would prefer to keep this as straightforward as possible. I have made my case. If that is not good enough to convince them, I have no desire to join this organization."
He blinked at her a few times. This was entirely unexpected, "Okay. If that is what you want, then okay. This… this is not how I would handle the situation, but it is your case and if that is how you want to handle it, I will honor that."
"Thank you."
He kissed her temple again, feeling more concerned than ever for her case. His only hope was that Thrawn would interfere on his own.
"Commander!" Winig called for him from his office as he passes the following day. "Come here for a moment!"
He went into the office to find Winnig was not alone – Brendol was present as well.
Winig smiled at him, "I was about to send for you, we were just having a quick meeting regarding Miss Sabai's case and I thought you should be present."
"Oh. Thank you, sir."
"We are, of course, all still considering our positions on the ordeal. However, after some discussion between Admiral Hux and myself, along with the others, we came to the conclusion that the interview wasn't quite as sufficient as we had hoped."
"Oh? Would you like to speak with her again? I'm sure she would be more than willing…"
Winig waved a hand, "We all agree that the largest concern with her is that we want to ensure that her motivations are correct, and that she is, of course, mentally stable." He looked at Hux apologetically. "I do hope you understand that's not meant in any offensive manner. Considering the circumstances she's been subjected to for so long, I think it is a reasonable thing for us to want to investigate further."
He nodded. "Of course, no offense was taken. It's a very understandable position."
"Given the… circumstances of the last interview, the four of us agreed there were grounds for Kylo Ren to interrogate her further, using his abilities."
Hux's jaw dropped open as he struggled to form a sentence, "You… want Ren to interrogate her? Privately?" Ren's interrogation tactics were notorious.
"Yes. We've actually already arranged it – it should be taking place as we speak."
"Wha… What? Ren? Now?" His head spun. He hadn't stopped by Sebbie's to see her this morning. When did they pick her up? And why would they allow Ren to privately interrogate someone they were considering using for their cognitive abilities? He – and most all of the other officers, including the four present for her questioning – had seen the state of Ren's prey after an interrogation. They were destroyed, subjected to terrible pain and quite frequently we're left shells of their former selves. "Are you… are you completely mad?!" He could hear himself losing control of his tone, though he really didn't mind. With any luck, it would help get his point across, "You've all seen the state of people he interrogates. She'll be of no use to anyone after that!"
"The pain aspect really only comes into play when they resist his abilities." Brendol said calmly, looking at him with an eyebrow raised. "She should be fine as long as she has nothing to hide."
Hux was already out the door, sprinting for Ren's interrogation room. He rounded a corner a little too quickly and crashed right into the Chiss himself, and Sloane.
Thrawn looked surprised; Sloane looked concerned, like Hux might have lost his mind. "Commander… Are you okay? What is the hurry…"
He straightened up as quickly as he could, "I'm sorry… Terribly sorry sir." This is one for the records. How about that time I nearly knocked Grand Admiral Thrawn on his ass running around the base like a madman? Haha.
"Hux… what is the issue here? What's wrong?" She looked like she was about to snap at him.
"They… I'm sorry. Did you know? They took her? Sent her to Ren for further interrogation."
The two were very silent. Sloane's expression confirmed that his father had lied - she didn't know. Thrawn's expression didn't confirm or deny anything. He wondered if Chiss lacked the same facial musculature to be as expressive as humans. More likely he was just very well controlled.
"No. I didn't know that."
Behind, he heard Winig and Brendol approach.
Sloane flashed them both a severe look, "Is this true? You sent that poor woman to Ren?"
"We've all agreed that she needed a proper vetting, if we are truly to consider letting her into our organization."
"So you gave her to Ren?"
Winig looked like he was quickly coming to the realization he messed up. Brendol looked sour.
Thrawn, he noticed, was walking away from them all. He paused and glanced over his shoulder. Hux realized, very quickly, that Chiss did in fact have the musculature for expressions. Thrawn had this sort of legendary reputation for being a very logical, stoic man, but that clearly was not the case at the moment. His eyes seemed to be glowing red. "This strikes me as needlessly cruel. I will be putting this to a stop, now."
With that, he left.
Hux could feel his hands shaking with rage. "You couldn't have even given me time to speak to her before hand? She didn't even know what the Force is… she'll have no idea what to expect…"
Brendol frowned at him, "You're letting your emotions get in the way of your judgment here, Armitage."
Hux blinked at him a few times, feeling like his eyes might be able to sear holes into the elder Hux. "No. You are the one letting your emotions interfere all out of some misguided fear that my… association with her will adversely affect you." He turned on his heel and hurried after Thrawn.
Thrawn was headed in the entirely wrong direction. It made sense – the man would have no idea where Ren's interrogation chamber was.
"Ren's chamber is on the lower level…" Hux just managed to catch up with him.
Thrawn glanced at him. "Go. I will get my ysalamir. That boy is more trouble than he's worth."
Hux nodded and turned, rushing to the lower level. He was almost to the door when he noticed the little yellow creature scurrying along the floor next to him.
The chamber was built with two parts – the first door lead to a sort of entry area, with a glass viewing panel into the second portion of the chamber. He quickly entered his code into the first door and rushed in, running into Ren with enough force to nearly fall over as he did.
"Ren…" He straightened up quickly, glowering at the man.
"Hux?" Ren looked as though he may have been in as much of a hurry to get out as Hux was to get in. He quickly regained his composure, though the ridiculous mask he always wore made it difficult to tell what he was thinking. "What are you doing here?"
On the floor, the ysalamir hissed at him. Ren looked down and made a disgusted noise, amplified by the mask. He lifted his foot to stomp the creature, but it scurried away quickly, into the second chamber.
"What have you done with her?"
"I would care to know that as well." Thrawn's deep voice seemed to echo in the room. He was standing in the doorway, blocking the exit Ren was so desperate to reach moments earlier.
Ren's mask turned from Thrawn to Hux.
"I can't decide which of you I'm more disgusted with."
Thrawn stepped through the doorway, and as he did Hux could see he had a second ysalamir perched on his shoulders. In a smooth, powerful movement, he grabbed the front of Ren's mask, hooking his middle and index fingers into the viewing area, and shoved him back into the wall hard enough that the helmet cracked loudly against the metal.
"Watch yourself, boy. I am not afraid of you. You are not half the man your grandfather was, and that's saying something because I wasn't particularly fond of him either."
Hux's jaw dropped at the comment. Ren's lineage was known among most of the officers – to disparage the name of such a siginificant figure to the Empire… Clearly Thrawn just didn't give a shit.
The creature on his shoulders hissed and snapped at Ren, who squirmed under the force of Thrawn's grip, "She's fine. For fuck's sake let me go, she's just fine. Go look."
Hux stepped into the inner most room, the actual interrogation chamber, and saw her sitting on the board Ren generally strapped his victims to. She sat with her legs crossed, the first ysalamir planted in her lap with its eyes fixed on the doorway, waiting for Ren.
She stroked the little yellow creature, a sad, longing look on her face.
"Oni…" He went to her side quickly. She muttered something he couldn't quite make out and the reptile scurried off her lap and out the door. He ignored it, far more concerned with her. "Are you okay?" He couldn't help himself – he put a hand on the side of her face and turned her to look at him directly. Every single one of Ren's victims he'd seen had been left with bloodied noses from the strain of Ren's tactics, some even bled from the eyes.
She wasn't bleeding at all. Rather, she gave a small smile, "I am okay."
Something about the smile and her tone made him feel as though a very heavy weight was lifted from his shoulders. He heaved a sigh of relief and drew her into his arms, hugging her closely. It was entirely inappropriate, but he didn't care much. They were essentially alone, save Ren and Thrawn who were preoccupied bickering with one another. He expected to find a catatonic puddle of a human being who just happened to have her body. This couldn't be a much bigger relief.
He buried his nose in her hair, "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"
"Um… Hux?" She wiggled a little in his arms, "Should you maybe…"
He snuck a kiss onto her forehead and let her go, though not entirely. He kept one hand holding her wrist. He needed to keep that for a few more moments, to remind himself she was okay. "You're sure you're okay? I'm sorry Oni… I'm so sorry…"
She looked confused. "Um… why?"
"I had no idea they were going to have Ren interrogate you. I would have stopped it had I known. I'm so sorry… I at least should have been given the opportunity to warn you of what to expect."
She blinked a few times. "Well you did tell me he could read minds."
"Yes, but… are you really not hurt?"
She sniffed a little, scratching her nose, "No. Not really. I have a bit of a headache. We haven't been here long. Maybe 15 minutes."
"I…" Hux now felt like he was the confused one. "I have seen him ruin people using that tactic in less than ten minutes."
"Oh? It's an odd thing. You can feel it when he's in there. I asked him about it – how it works. He's not the friendliest person, but he did give me a little information."
Hux almost laughed. Not the friendliest? He'd seen the man choke out an officer simply for delivering information he didn't like.
"Have you seen him interrogate someone before?"
"No… No. I've only seen the aftermath."
"He asks questions when he does it. I suppose a mind is a very complicated thing to have to root through. So he asks questions so the information he needs is pushed to the forefront… so it's easier for him to locate."
"Oh? Were you able to… block him out or something?"
"Well I tried that, but it gave me a bit of a headache, so I did the exact opposite."
"You… what?"
"I do think I scared him a bit. He left rather quickly." She grinned at him. "I thought, in great detail, about all sorts of things he probably never wanted to know."
