A/N: Well, better late than never I suppose haha...

Sorry for the delay folks, I was out of town last week and didn't have access to the internet. That being said- here's chapter 11! It's a little shorter, but I hope you all enjoy it anyway.

"General."

"Supreme Leader."

There was a tense silence before the general turned to a holographic display of a star system.

"Recognize this?"

"Of course," he said. "That's Crait. If I knew you needed help with navigation I would have brought you a star map."

Hux's face went red and Kylo wondered if the man might actually blow a blood vessel. He seemed to struggle with himself for a second before the color drained out of his cheeks and his expression settled into one of unamused calm.

"It is Crait," he said.

"So, if we both know it's Crait, why are you wasting my time? I'm a busy man."

Hux glanced at him from the corner of his eyes.

"Busy with your new apprentice, perhaps?" he said, one corner of his mouth quirked up in the smallest of smirks.

It was Kylo's turn to go red. He knew Hux was trying to needle him into a reaction, but he couldn't help the anger that crept into his chest. It took everything in him to give his general a civil response.

"She is learning," he said. "It is fascinating to watch her growing in her abilities."

"Is that all?"

"Yes," he said, teeth clenched to keep his tongue from coming loose and telling the man what he really thought about his insinuations. "Now, I presume you called me here for more than a session of verbal sparring, so I suggest you get on with it before I lose my temper."

Hux smoothed the already pristine front of his uniform and nodded.

"Very well," he said. "The Resistance vanished from the system only a few hours ago. We picked up their ships just before they made the jump to hyperspace."

"They left a few hours ago, and you only think to tell me now?" Kylo shouted, his temper finally getting the better of him.

"With all due respect, sir," Hux muttered, "you haven't exactly made yourself available for any kind of discussion on the matter."

"You didn't even try to seek me out until half an hour ago. By your own admission, they've been gone for hours."

"I can't tell you anything when you're with your apprentice. I don't trust her."

"Well, I do," spat Kylo. "She wouldn't betray me."

"You can't know that."

"I can, and I do," he said. "You know how I feel about this Hux. From now on you contact me whether I'm with her or not.

Hux folded his arms and glowered. Kylo scowled back, angry with the man, but angrier with himself for butting heads. He let out a breath and rolled his neck until he was looking toward the ceiling.

"Look, Hux, just tell me why you commed me."

"I've already told you."

"But there's something else, isn't there?"

Hux didn't speak for a long minute.

"When we track them down, I want to set up a meeting," he finally said. "to negotiate a surrender."

"Not ours I hope," Kylo said, letting his sarcasm flow easily.

"Of course it won't be ours," snapped Hux.

"I thought you wanted them wiped from the galaxy."

"I've given it some thought and I feel a surrender would be…mutually beneficial," the general said after a slight pause.

"So what do you want me to do? You're the general. You're the negotiator, not me."

"But you have what they want."

Confused, Kylo opened his mouth, about to ask what he meant when realization hit him.

"Rey?"

"Exactly. You take her with you. If you're right that she's so important to them, she'll aid your efforts."

"Why? And why me? I don't negotiate treaties. Military does."

"You do now," said Hux, face set in stone.

"You seek to dictate me?"

"Only in this. For the good of the First Order, I humbly request that you be the one to negotiate the surrender."

Kylo let out his frustration in a growl. Everything in him screamed to reject the offer. Every instinct said Hux was setting a trap. But what could he do? His eyes drifted to Phasma where she stood guarding the door. If he refused, what would Hux do? If he played along, how long would it be before he was caught in the snare? Would Rey be caught with him?

Who was he fooling? If Hux had it out for him, Rey would be the next to fall. She needed his protection until she could stretch out with her own power and fight for herself. She was growing strong, but her abilities were not yet at their zenith. Even he was weaker than he had once thought. The holocron had revealed as much.

He threw a quick glance around the room, marking each man and woman. Perhaps he could take down Hux and Phasma, but then what? He couldn't destroy Hux's entire army and if Hux were killed, they would not deal kindly with either him or his apprentice. There were enough rabid dogs in the chain of command for one to quickly rise to take Hux's place. Kylo had thought that killing Snoke would solve the worst of his problems, but he now saw that it had only put him in place to become a puppet. Already he felt the strings tightening around his neck.

"Very well, Hux," he said. "We'll go."

The general gave him a thin smile, and Kylo felt a chill run down his spine. When had he become so afraid of this man? His fingers flexed instinctively, and he fought the urge to access the Force. It wasn't just his life at stake now. Rey's hung in the balance as well.

When had that become so important?

As he left the bridge, Kylo could feel the eyes of Hux and Phasma on him. The hair on the back of his neck stood straight until he was well down the hall and out of their line of sight. He ducked into a supply closet and shut the door behind him, breathing a sigh of relief as he shut out the chaos. The close, dark space was a comfort, even if it did smell like cleaning chemicals. He slumped against the wall and rested his head in his hands.

What was he trying to accomplish anyway? He didn't know the first thing about running a government. Sure, he'd watched his mother performing her duties for the Senate, but how much could a child really absorb? Already he was tangled in Hux's net. He hadn't even made it a month.

"Kylo? You alright?"

The voice broke the silence before he realized the bond had opened. Rey sat across from him, her knees nearly touching his.

"I'm fine," he said.

"You're lying," she said. "Where are you?"

"A supply closet."

She eyed him skeptically and he felt her probing into his mind, searching his thoughts.

"Get out, Rey," he said, warning her with his tone.

Her expression didn't change, but he sensed her frustration.

"I'm only trying to help," she said.

"I know."

"How's Hux?" she asked.

She was trying to get him to talk and they both knew it.

"His usual irritating self."

"Oh, come on Ren, you've got to give me more than that."

"Not right now," he said. "Someone could be listening."

Rey studied him.

"That bad?"

"Probably."

"Fine," she said, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her chin on them.

She looked so small, curled in on herself as she was. So small and so alone, but he could read her emotions and, for the first time since she'd arrived, he sensed happiness and a deep contentment running through her. It had even managed to eclipse the sorrow that still clung doggedly to her mind.

"You seem… happy," he tried.

He was rewarded with a small smile.

"I am."

"Enjoying looking around the TIE?"

Rey's face broke into a grin.

"Oh yeah," she said. "She's beautiful! I've only gotten a quick look at the stealth gear, but it's like nothing I've ever seen."

"They've been developing it for years. She's the first craft to have one installed."

"Does it work?"

Kylo smirked.

"You're kidding," he said, "I managed to pilot out from under the hyperspace tracker on the Supremacy with that system."

Rey gaped.

"Stars!" she whispered. "What the Resistance would've given for something like that."

Kylo felt the sting of her words, though she hadn't meant them to hurt. She had simply been stating a truth that brought him pain. He could no more blame her for that than he could blame her for the contempt he held for the light side, or the fear so ingrained that he could only see his world through its warped lens. He could only blame himself for that. And he did blame himself.

Daily.

"Kylo?"

Her hand was reaching for him, fingers almost resting against his. But she held herself back. She was just close enough to bring a measure of comfort, but she came no closer. She was waiting for him to meet her; leaving the decision to reveal his mind to her with him alone. It shamed him to remember how he'd pushed her to let him into her thoughts, but he still didn't make a move to touch her. He didn't want her in his head.

She'd already seen his memory of the day his father died. She'd already felt his pain. He wasn't about to saddle her with any more of the burdens he carried on shoulders weighed down by the galaxy. He would have to tell her about Hux, but he'd rather do that when she was really before him, not merely an illusion.

"I'm fine," he said. "I just don't feel like talking."

Rey withdrew her hands and gave him a small nod. Her eyes fixed on his face and did not flinch away. He shifted uncomfortably as they seemed to drill into him. They were utterly still, staring at one another. Kylo sighed and ran his hands across his face, effectively breaking the moment. When he looked up again, Rey was gone.

He let out another long sigh and stood up, opened the door and ducked out of the supply closet. Mind otherwise occupied, his feet found their own way back to the lift and, after a short rest, out into the hangar. He only snapped out of his musings when he saw the Silencer. Parts lay scattered across the floor, and he could make out a gaping hole in the back of the craft where one of the thruster arrays had been removed. He froze.

Rey.

"I'm going to kill her for sure this time," he snarled.