Having made the permanent decision, Armitage lifted the blue powder up to his mouth and prepared his mind to welcome the excruciating pain that was about to befall him when he ingested the entire container dry and without the dilution that his father had enjoyed.
"Armitage Hux!"
A voice had exploded from behind. Just as the cold glass of death had kissed his lips, the boy felt every hair stand up on end. It was a deep gravely voice filled with dangerous potential and though it was surely coming from outside, it sounded as if it were somehow inside his own head as well.
He felt a tightening shiver weaving its way around his spine as he lowered the poison vial and turned to meet the terrifying entity that had spoken his name. His blackened heart froze, and an uncontrollable look of shocking disgust latched onto his features.
Hovering just above the guard's control panel as a wavering blue hologram, the intimidating voice had bellowed out of the wrinkled mouth of a truly terrifying being. This maniacal alien was anthropoid in form, but surely, far from human. The pallor of his skin gave him a sickly look, but the strength in his voice preached otherwise. His head was hairless and covered in scars. A gaping hole served as what once was the alien's left cheek, and a long cavernous slash ran from between his two eyes and over the crest of his forehead.
Armitage could feel the prickling fear clawing at his mind and begging him to avert his gaze, but he stubbornly fought it off with every fiber of his hardened will.
"Armitage Hux." The hideous alien repeated the name, sounding as if he were trying make it out to mean more than a curse word.
"Y-Yes." The redhead straightened his aching shoulders and swallowed a nervous flutter.
"Said to be the sensation of Arkanis Academy. Son of Lieutenant Commander Brendol Hux of the Galactic Empire." The hologram's giant peering eyes shifted to the poisonous item clenched in the young man's fist. "You disappoint me, I came to you expecting to discover a man of logic and brains. But here I find a pathetic child yearning for a way out."
Armitage unconsciously moved his arm to hide the vial behind his back and gulped as the alien's deformed brow darkened.
"Perhaps I was mistaken."
"Wh-Who are you?" The ginger managed to ask.
"Surely you have heard my name spoken of. I am Snoke. Master of the Dark Side of the Force and Supreme Leader of the new First Order."
"First Order?"
Suddenly, a surging flash brightened the room, and the transparent image of the frightening alien vanished.
"Must have picked up some wild frequency."
Armitage glanced around in a frantic state of confusion as one of the prison guards tampered with the control dials.
"How did that… that ugly thing… know who you were, kid? Spooky." The man chuckled and shut down the computer's ability to display holographic messages.
Not a moment later, the three men felt an unnatural rumble vibrating through their boots.
Armitage backed away from the walls and braced himself for the coming quake. The suspension chains attached to his metal bed rattled and quivered with the powerful drone.
Suddenly, A blue flare of electric energy sparked across the top of the control panel and the entire instrument began to shake.
"Turn it off!" The armed guard screamed at his partner with terrified concern.
"It is off!"
The man had barely had time to burble out his answer before a sudden shot of blue lightning emanating from the overridden computer plunged into his body. Entering at the feet and burning up through to his brain; killing him instantly.
Armitage's eyes widened, and he bit down on his tongue as he watched the dead guard flop to the floor with a thud. His charred flesh sizzled and smoking while the other screaming officer met a similar demise.
With the two prison sentries dead, the horrible tremor ceased and the holographic portrait of Snoke reappeared.
The redhead felt his stomach drop and his pulse quickened as he stared directly into the eyes of that monster.
"Allow me to continue."
His voice grated across the young man's ears striking every nerve of warning against listening to it, but he purged these feelings and masked them with fraudulent confidence; knowing now that the alien would not be denied.
"Please." The word came out as a hoarse whisper and Armitage swallowed a dry gulp of air.
"As I have said, I have been watching you. Your determination and skill along with the strategic knowledge of war have provided you with exceptional traits. It has made me very interested in your potential usefulness."
His face remained hard. Though the introduction of praise for his efforts teased his starving ego, the darkness within his heart did not allow his elated emotion to surface. His green eyes only narrowed in response.
"But of course, many of the other soldiers in your company possess the same abilities." A wheezing laugh followed the moment of breaking silence that ensued. "Your mind is a chaotic storm of emotion. Soon, you will learn to harness that energy and rein it in under your control." His eyes darkened. "You are wondering why I have sought you out this day? Is there a particular reason?"
Armitage blinked. How did he know his every thought? His mother had never mentioned mind reading as a trait of Force-users.
"There is certain darkness in you. I can sense it. My loyal apprentice has taken years to finally give in to the path to the Dark Side. But you, you have completed the journey within one day. It is nothing if not…impressive. The Empire has fallen, chaos now fills our skies and the galaxy is in dire need of order. The force of evil within you will drive you on to obtain that order and win victory over the destructive Republic and their Jedi allies."
Armitage's fear flew away at the mention of the mystical being and was replaced by an attitude of pure disbelief. "With all due respect, sir."
"You shall call me 'Supreme Leader'!" Snoke cut off the young man's complaint with a resounding growl.
Not caring enough to include the haughty correction, Armitage blinked in hesitant defiance. "With all due respect, the ways of the Jedi, the Force, the Sith, Dark Side, Light Side… none of it matters anymore. It was all just an active religious cult practiced by the ancients and revived back during the Clone Wars to ensure victory over the Separatist movement." He could hear the words of his father bellowing out of his mouth and he cringed upon the thought of agreeing with the man. His knowledge of the Force had been presented to him as childhood entertainment and as a result, his understanding of it was extremely limited. However, he continued to blatantly deny the purpose and efficiency of such a ridiculous folly.
Suddenly, as he took another breath to continue his sermon, he stopped as he felt his tongue involuntarily fuse with the roof of his mouth. A crushing energy wormed its way through his body compacting every muscle and stripping away his ability to move. He grunted and groaned as he felt a compressing hand wholly engulf him and paralyze him.
"Your ignorance is very unbecoming."
Sheer panic rushed through his constricted veins as his own bodily control was ripped away from him. Slowly the low rumble met his ears again, but this time it was inside, racking his brain and torturing his mind. He let out an undignified whimper as his boots left the floor and he was suspended in the air with nothing to support him.
"Nothing matters without the Force, and the ways of the dark opens up its full potential."
Armitage slid his wide eyes to the left side and watched as his stolen poison vial was pried from his grip with ease, the cork reinstalled, and then returned to his chest pocket with a frightening smoothness. He struggled to fill his lungs with a deep breath, but it seemed that even they were under the complete control of another.
"It can twist chaos…"
With the alien's lecture, the room came alive. Metal shards peeled from the walls with a horrible screech and flew into a frenzy of anarchic debris. The beaming Ray Shields fluctuated and zapped in and out of use as the room became as a roaring tornado.
Armitage clenched his teeth barely holding in a scream and squeezed his eyes shut. The dangerous whirlwind swirling around his head came indefinitely closer with every rotation and he tried to brace himself for the painful death that was soon to come. The fear that was gripping his heart was clear and he could tell that the Supreme Leader Force-User was enjoying his moment of torment.
"…back into order."
Suddenly, everything dropped to the floor. Armitage felt the crushing hands bring his body to the window and harshly crank his head to look outside.
The rain had stopped. Not as if the weather had cleared, no, every single drop stuck in its individual path; unmoving and solid. A streak of lightning had frozen in the black clouds up above.
His mind exploded with this revelation. A strange sort of admiration mixed with sheer dread took root and he molded his opinion of the mystical aspects of the galaxy anew.
Without warning, he was released and fell to the hard floor, just the same as the evening raindrops. The feeling of his muscles being allowed to relax overwhelmed his senses and he trembled from the terrible experience. Looking up at the awe-inspiring hologram, he nodded his head and let the red hair fall into his eyes as he whispered. "Teach me."
Snoke scoffed. "I have other purposes for you to fulfill, Hux."
Staggering to his feet, he frantically brushed back his disturbed locks. "Yes, Supreme Leader. What is it that you would have me do?"
The holoprojector floated with ease into the cell, bringing the giant blue head with it.
"There is to be an attack on your planet. The New Republic has been destroying the Empire's training facilities, taking prisoners and scavenging for the strong soldiers that they hope to mold into their way of thinking. Their Rebel fleets have already desolated The Royal Imperial Academy of Coruscant, The Academy of Mandalore, all of the flight institutes, and now they have their sights set on Arkanis."
Armitage gave a shaky sigh and glanced over his shoulder out of the rain beaten window. "How much time do we have?"
Snoke sighed a long and frustrated breath. "It will not be long. According to my sources they have been in hyperspace for three days now and are bound to arrive in your sector before morning dawns."
He could feel a rush of fearful excitement tremble through his core. "Shall I warn the Commandant and let him prepare his officers for the siege?"
"No!" A terrible explosion of lightning erupted with the alien's rage and surged angrily across the chamber walls. "Your life belongs to me now! No longer do you answer to the pathetic whims of that man. Your father has trained you well, but now the time has come for the student to overthrow his master. Etch this into your mind and keep it well: Armitage Hux is dead. Under my rule you shall receive a new name and erase the past. I grant you the rank of Colonel -effective immediately. This type of insignia will become your formal address now that you have been inducted into the First Order, and as you reach each promotion, you will gladly adhere to their titles."
The young man nodded in deep respect, his eyes glinted with the sudden thrill of power and he fought back an exuberant grin. "Thank you, Supreme Leader."
Thunder crashed violently above, acting as if it were delighted to add an element of drama to the conversation.
"Now, I have sent out a rescue battalion to counter the Republic's ambush on your Academy; they are currently in route to your position and will arrive within a few hours. Meanwhile, I am assigning you to the duty of gathering together only the highly elite members and bringing them to me."
"What of the left-over cadets?" He stupidly questioned the Supreme Leader's command.
"I have no interest in sparing any other lives than what I have already deemed necessary, Colonel! Let them fend for themselves!"
Hux lowered his head and gave the Supreme Leader an apologetic gesture.
Suddenly a datapad, that had belonged to one of the late prison guards, rose from its dormancy and drifted into the young Colonel's hands.
"Make a record of this list and do not veer from its specifics." Snoke's huge vindictive eyes peered over the red-haired man with warning.
Colonel Hux typed in the select names of his fellow officers and cadets accordingly as dictated: LtCdr. Brendol Hux. The young man's hardened eyes twitched at the thought of his father being the Supreme Leader's first choice. Next, Capt. Peavey, JO. Tritt Opan…etc.
He had come away with quite a lengthy register by the time Snoke had finished his quote. The ever-storming sky outside had delved deep into the night.
"Now you are ready." The wavering blue head of the deformed alien flickered. "They are getting close. Go now and prove to me your worth."
"Yes, Supreme Leader." Hux bowed and turned to take swift confident steps toward the cell's entrance. With a sudden jerking motion, he was forced to stop dead in his tracks as the lethal Ray shield snapped back on. He quickly swallowed the nervous lump in his throat and glanced back to Snoke's holographic form.
"Take care not to fail me, Colonel. You will be begging on your knees to be put back under the command of your father, I promise you."
With a desperate sting of arrogant spite, the ginger Colonel set his jaw and straightened his neck to face the pulsating Ray shields. "I will not fail you."
Without another word of conversation, the electric forcefield crackled off, the hovering holoprojector dropped out of the air -smashing to the floor with a damaging crack, and an empty silence displaced the lingering ominous presence.
Colonel Hux stepped out into the corridor and made his way to exit the brig. On passing by a reflective blast door, he saw himself and noticed that his entire form was still incased with his mother's dried blood. Somehow, he had forgotten about her completely. A pang of sorrow threatened to squeeze its way into his broken heart but was instantly seized and destroyed by his overprotective darkness.
He glared at the image, giving the painful reminder an obstinate sneer. There was no time now to wallow in piteous memory and regret. What Snoke had said was true: Armitage Hux was dead. That sniveling, emotionally weak child had been killed, alongside his mother, and his remains incinerated by the boiling inferno that was the Dark Side.
Now, he was known solely by the title of his current and privileged position; Colonel. With nothing but stern duty in his mind, the young man left the brig and was immediately met by the rage of Arkanis' vengeful storms.