"You know what's remarkable about you, General Hux?" The orange-haired man stiffened, obviously expecting an insult to follow. Kylo didn't have one, even if Hux's angry tirade called for it. "Your courage."
Hux blinked several times in surprise. His lips started to move, but then stilled. He had not been asked for comment, so he gave none. He was probably rethinking the wisdom of so loudly and pointedly denigrating Kylo's opinion on the latest communication from the Resistance.
"You continue to confront me, confound me, resist me, and offend me, directly to my face." Kylo rose and prowled forward in that unsteady, almost lurching manner that most upset people when he was dealing with them. Hux subtly leaned away from him. "You might think I'm about to do something about that," Kylo said, glaring at him, "but I'm not." He turned and paced away in a more normal stride. "We're going to discuss a few ground rules instead. Are you listening?"
"Yes, Supreme Leader."
Kylo glanced back. It sounded both authentic and attentive. It looked to be as well. He took the moment to reach out with the Force. Hux was no more a weak-minded, rabid cur than Kylo was an immature child in a mask, but he could still get a sense of the man's mind. The compliment, the threat, and the offer, had combined to create the first sense of receptivity he'd felt from the man.
Kylo said softly, "You will not insult me, ever again." Hux gave a tiny nod as it sank in that some of the things he'd just said would have been killing offenses to Snoke. Kylo did not yet have the man's respect. It was something he needed badly. In a more normal tone, Kylo said, "You may question me in private. If it is urgent and privacy is not possible, you may question me publicly but do so in a respectful manner. You will not contradict me. You will not rescind my orders. You will not oppose me. You will act to carry out my will and best interests. If these conflict, you will do as I have told you and not what you imagine I want. Is this all clear?"
"Yes, Supreme Leader." He was staring straight forward. His attention had obviously wandered at some point in Kylo's recitation.
"Do I bore you?'
"No, Supreme Leader." But there had been a half-breath of hesitation.
"That should have been a simple answer, without a pause to think of what to say. Tell me, honestly, what you wanted to say before your training provided you with a rote response."
He had Hux's wary attention again because most people would not have noticed the pause. Then there was obviously the question of how to answer. Carefully, Hux said, "Supreme Leader, with all respect, I know how to serve and follow orders. I understand loyalty … and you have mine." He swallowed as though the last words were difficult to say.
"That sounds honest."
"I would never lie to you."
He'd left off 'Supreme Leader'. Kylo was beginning to find the title tedious anyway, so he didn't address it. He thought about how he'd killed Snoke, tricking him with the truth and what the Sith had lusted to see. "There are ways to speak deceitfully, to conceal your motives, without ever lying. We both served Snoke. I'm sure you know what I mean." Hux gave him another wary look, then dropped his eyes to the floor briefly before going back to the regulation, eyes-forward pose.
Kylo said, "I don't want that to be the way we speak to one another." He took his usual seat at his workstation. He didn't know how Snoke managed to run things out of the Spartan throne room. Kylo had found he needed screens, communication channels, and desk space, along with assistants. "Sit."
Kylo waited until Hux uncomfortably lowered himself into the chair usually occupied by Kylo's primary aide. Then he continued, "Your father was an officer of the Empire. You are an officer of the First Order. You know loyalty … better than I do. I understand your loyalties are to the First Order and the principles behind it rather than to myself."
"You are the supreme leader!" Hux began to babble, "I would never-"
Kylo's raised hand cut him off through no use of the Force. Hux had merely stopped speaking the instant it went up. Softly, Kylo said, "Your defensiveness betrays you." He looked at Hux for nearly a minute, watching the man, waiting for him to break. He did not, nor did he squirm, although he did sweat. That much, Hux could not control. In a normal tone, Kylo said, "Loyalty to the First Order is admirable. It is the source of your willingness to confront me and I find that useful. Your passion and your identity are all bound up in avenging the loss of the Empire of old and helping create a new empire, a fit successor to the glory that came before."
"I have said that, yes," Hux replied. Kylo had that sense of Hux's receptivity again. This sort of monitoring was something he'd learned at Snoke's side, observing how he spoke with people and turned them to him. It was no more than a Force-enabled reading of tells.
Kylo nodded. "Yes. In your public speeches. I was listening. You advanced to your current position due largely to your devotion to the cause. You wear your heart on your sleeve, so to speak. There's no decent reason why Snoke didn't give you the title of the Grand Marshall. That can be rectified."
"What I have I done to deserve such flattery?"
Kylo smirked at Hux's nervousness. "It serves my purposes more than insults. And it is true. You have strengths I wish to call upon. In my meditations," Kylo said, slowing his words as he chose them with even more care than normal, "the Force has told me that I can only truly rule myself and remain … human." He had Hux's full attention again, like a flashlight trained on him in the darkness. "The only way I can be the Emperor as you knew him, or even Snoke, would be to give myself over to the dark side entirely, to let it consume me, twist my body and my mind, and become the monster on the outside that you already imagine me to be on the inside."
Hux's eyes widened. He held his breath, glanced down, then back up at Kylo. "Why do you tell me these secrets? That's why they looked as they did?"
It was a child's curiosity, innocent and charming in a way. Kylo made a small smirk. "I tell you, because I want you to understand why I do not wish to become the supreme leader that you expect me to be. I tell you, because I need to call on your ability as a leader of men, on your determination to see the empire reborn, and your unceasing willingness to do whatever is needed, at whatever personal cost. I will not be another Snoke. I will not be … Darth Vader. Or Emperor Palpatine." Hux was staring at him, boggled. Kylo Ren's obsession with his grandfather was well-known. For him to announce he was not following his ancestor's path was a serious change of course.
"I will not embrace the dark side so whole-heartedly. But despite that," Kylo said, "I want the empire to return. Or something like it. Perhaps we should consider reinstituting the Senate since there is no emperor to consolidate power." Hux straightened and blinked. Kylo cut him off, "I see you already objecting. That's what I need from you. You will tell me to my face when you think I'm wrong, no matter what. But right now is too soon." Kylo gave him enough of a glare that Hux changed his mind about making an outburst, but he genuinely seemed to be thinking.
Kylo said, "These are ideas. I will have others. I welcome yours, after you have had an opportunity to think on them. I am not set on the details of our course, but we are in agreement on the ultimate destination. Tomorrow, I want to hear your ideas and your objections to mine. Together, and perhaps with others – something we will also discuss – we can decide how to turn what's left of our military force into the peaceful, glorious empire we both want to see."
Hux's voice was hesitant and obviously amazed. "I … see. Supreme Leader." This time, the title was more respectful than Kylo had ever heard it be. "I am … honored … to be in your counsel." He looked a little confused by the development, having effectively been promoted from a military general to a cabinet member and all for having the arrogance to disagree when it was called for. Most of the time, that behavior got people killed around Force users.
"Good," Kylo said, rising. "I'm not going to do this alone." He gestured to the door. "I still think the Resistance's diplomatic overture to us is real, but your point is excellent – our forces are in no condition to risk a trap, and we have little incentive to parley. Give them silence for now. We can respond better tomorrow, after you and I have worked out our strategy. You are dismissed."