Ren was not in his usual spot on the bridge as Tamara scanned the scene while walking to her office. She vaguely remembered a conversation between herself and the General about Ren's schedule for the next month. He was out on missions in the field for the next few weeks. She was not about to complain. If anything, it was a welcome relief for her. The last thing she needed was Ren breathing down her neck, ensuring she remained quiet. There was no part of her that wanted to say anything – it would achieve nothing for her if she decided to rat out the First Order's favourite Force user. However, Ren was not trusting.
She stepped into her office to see a familiar red-haired man awaiting her.
"General," she acknowledged. "Is something wrong?"
Hux folded his arms in front of him, eyeing her. Tamara was not one to be intimidated by him, and she raised her chin. "Nothing is wrong, Miss Vess," he said. "I wanted to inform you that Ren will be away for a week on a mission, and that you will not have to worry about him."
"Good news, then," she said with a nod. "Thank you, General."
Hux tilted his head. "I would've thought you'd be more excited over this news," he said.
Tamara shrugged. "The man saved my life, I guess I'm grateful to some extent," she said.
"Miss Vess," Hux said, clearly irritated. "You're fabricating something."
Tamara glanced down and let out a breath. "I'm not fabricating anything, General, I'm simply leaving out the boring things," she responded. It was a risk to take, speaking to him in such a way, but it was one she was willing to take. Hux was predictable in some capacity, much more than Ren. He was much more levelheaded, not that it was a high threshold to cross. However, they way he stared her down made her feel some pang of regret.
"Boring things?" he questioned.
"We talked, General," Tamara said. "What do you want me to say?"
"Watch your tone, Miss Vess," he warned, approaching her in an attempt to intimidate her. She raised her chin higher. "You can deny it all you want, but it's obvious that something has happened. Your dynamic is different."
"If I may, why does it matter?" she asked, her voice unwavering.
"If I am to have any dissent in my ranks, I will be the first to know about it."
Tamara knew that she would have to say something. Her attempts to bluff her way through had proven to be unsuccessful, and now she needed to switch her approach quickly. Hux was not going to back down, not until she gave him something convincing.
"What do you think happened, General? You have an idea, do you not?"
"I have an idea," he admitted after a pause. "This might be one of the few times where I hope I'm incorrect."
"He took his mask off."
Hux blinked, processing her words. They were so simple, yet she could tell that they held weight. No one knew what Ren looked like under the mask. She didn't even know if Hux knew. Surely, the General would know Ren's true identity. However, she felt a need to protect Ren in case he didn't. He had warned her about Hux, and that he was not forthcoming. She didn't know how much weight to put on Ren's statements considering the two of them were going at each other's throats on a daily basis. He glanced down at her. "That was not my idea."
"I think I know what your idea was. I did not sleep with him. We had a couple drinks, but I slept on the couch. There was nothing that happened. It was a strange day to say the least, and I think we both needed to unwind. Does that sound boring to you, General?"
Her attitude was grating, but Hux couldn't fault her for being snappy at him. There would be more opportunities where he could go after her for disrespecting him, but this was not one that was particularly offensive to him. He had to pick his battles if he was going to win the longterm battle.
"In fact, it does," he said, and stepped away from her, allowing her access to her desk. "Carry on, Miss Vess."
He left her office, and she stood rooted to the spot, processing everything. Someone had raised suspicions on her. Surely it couldn't be Ren. He had a stake in this as well. She was careful with what she said, and she knew that it was dangerous to give out as much as she had. Anything that she did could be possible fuel if someone decided to lodge an attack against her. They could throw her own words back at her. If the General was planning on doing that, she needed to tread carefully. Ren was violent, but Hux was calculating. His game was longterm. However, she knew how to play his game. Whether or not he could beat him was another aspect altogether, but she needed to figure out his angle first. If Ren was right and there was something else from her that Hux wanted, her window was closing. She needed to find out his endgame plans, and she needed to do it fast.
Slowly, Tamara walked to her desk and settled down in her chair, staring out at the bridge. Ren's spot was vacant, and she hoped that it would stay that way. Even if the two of them had a slightly less tumultuous relationship now, her wariness would never disappear. Not having the threat of being watched by a man whose temper swung at a moment's notice was much more relaxing. She could focus on other things, such as figuring out what exactly she needed to do to stay ahead. Her productivity would suffer for it, but she knew that if she was going to have any chance at finding out what the future might have in store for her, she needed to start now.
Tamara's contacts had proved to be valuable. Jaymiya could not stay hidden for long with the many eyes they had out for her, and she had been intercepted as she had attempted to flee the planet, under the impression that the First Order had left. However, she failed to realize the reach the First Order had. It had been far too easy for Ren and Phasma to trail her. The stormtrooper unit was dispatching her troops, making short work of them. They were prepared this time, no mistakes. Ren waited in his command shuttle, ready to stride out when the time would come.
The sound of Phasma's armour clunking as she walked up the ramp to his shuttle snapped him out of his thoughts.
"Her forces don't stand a chance, they will be down momentarily, sir," she said.
"Excellent," Ren said. "Miss Vess finally proved her worth. I will be down there shortly – ensure no mistakes. Whatever she has planned ends here."
"Yessir," Phasma said, and turned once again to command her own troops. Once again alone, Ren found his thoughts trailing back to the woman he had shown his face to just days before. Something about her stuck with him, and he couldn't shake the sentiment that was starting to muster for her. Perhaps it was just because she recognized him. While he wanted to destroy that part of his life more than anything, threads of it still clung to him, unwilling to release. A tiny, dormant part of him wondered what would've happened if he had not turned. The First Order had been on the rise long before he rose to power, but would it be as fierce? Hux had no teeth. Phasma was only one in a line of commanding officers, and she could be replaced by any stormtrooper ready to prove his or her worth. If he had not turned, would he be happier?
Those thoughts had been buried over the last six years He had fought to keep them at bay, out of sight from anyone who might seek to exploit him. However, Tamara Vess was an enigma. Rank-wise, she was nothing to him, just another one of Hux's pets that he did not concern himself with. He needed to destroy the sentiment in his heart. He could not show any weakness. Everyone was watching for one.
He glanced up as the commotion outside settled, taking his cue. He let out a slow breath, allowing his persona to take over. All sentiment was gone. Instead, it was replaced with rage, directed at the woman who had attempted to assassinate him and a fellow officer.
Confidently, he strode out of his ship, two stormtrooper officers standing on either side of the lowered ramp. Twenty feet away, Jaymiya stood, staring him down with the same defiant glint in her eye he had witnessed right before her troops had opened fire on them in her previous base of operations. Her face was bloodied and her pristine presentation was damaged through the rips in her cloak. She had fought as hard as she could, but had been overwhelmed in the end. Her troops lay scattered around her, the remains of her hideout broken and smoking. However, she was not afraid. She had already accepted her fate. When she had seen the First Order ships come into view, she knew her time was over. Ren would be with them, and he was not going to leave her alive. How they had found her, she had no idea. She had tried her damndest to keep her operation under wraps. Whoever it was that blabbed was likely dead now. It didn't matter. While her time was drawing to a close, she knew that she had inflicted her own damage, some of which had yet to be realized. Ren approached her, his long legs taking shorter and shorter steps in an almost casual way. He was toying with her.
"What you pulled off is something the First Order does not take kindly to," he warned, stopping in front of her.
She smirked, nodding her head. "If you're expecting some sort of apology or a beg for mercy, you're wasting your time," she snapped back. "I'm not just going to roll over because you decided to show up."
Ren clenched his fists. Her attitude had grated him the entire meeting days ago, and it hadn't changed. She was going to fight him right to the bitter end. In a sense there was something admirable about it. However, all respect had been lost when she had given the orders to have a blaster fired at him. "How easy you make this decision for me," he said sarcastically. "I really appreciate it. For someone who tried to kill me and a senior officer, I expected more of a fight."
"You have a fight," she said. "But I'm not the one you need to worry about. There are others, just like me, who vow to bring you and your government down. You will never rule us. Godspeed, rebels!"
Jaymiya knew what was coming, but the last cry of the Resistance escaped her lips. Ren's lightsaber flew into his palm, igniting just as fast, and came down across her as the last of the chant echoed around them. Her body fell to the ground, lifeless. However, her point was made. Even in death, her glassy eyes held that defiant look about them. Ren retracted the crackling red blade and looked over to Phasma.
"Burn the rest of this place, destroy the ships," he commanded. "Leave no trace of her."
Without waiting for a response, he stormed back to his shuttle, ready to go back to the Finalizer. His fingers inched to destroy something more. He could feel himself getting more and more powerful, but the energy was wasted unless he could use it somewhere. He was not foolish enough to destroy his ship. An empty room somewhere in the Finalizer corridors would likely receive the brunt of his coming assault.