Kylo exhaled when the door shut behind him. Then he activated the holocom station in the middle of the room and took a knee.

"Apprentice…" hissed Snoke as soon as his figure materialised.

The tone alone almost made Kylo flinch. He knew what was expected of him and he took his helmet off. A Force pull so fast and powerful that he hadn't even felt it coming smacked him face down on the floor.

"Just because I let you off the leash doesn't mean that I will tolerate tardiness!"

"Yes, master," said Kylo muffled against the floor.

"I should've punished you like the rabid cur on the bridge," Snoke continued, "but I felt generous."

"Thank you, master." His thoughts returned to Hux and he felt uneasy but he didn't know why. There was something about him that made it hard to look away…

"What is this? Don't you like when I call him a dog?" Snoke's voice droned.

"I don't care, master," replied Kylo obediently.

The silence that followed was almost unbearable, when Snoke finally spoke again it was a relief. "It's time for your training, apprentice."

Kylo closed his eyes. This is nothing, he told himself, just another step to reach his goal.

When Snoke finished the training session, Kylo was panting, sweat and blood running down his naked torso. The smell of burnt flesh hung heavy in the air. He winced when he limped to the refresher and smeared kolto on the burn marks on his arms and legs.

After a couple of minutes he stripped the remains of his clothes and stepped into the shower. He let the ice cold water patter on his head before he turned the water a little warmer. He put a generous amount of shampoo in his hands and started to wash himself.

His thoughts returned to the incident on the bridge. For a moment he had been tempted to say something to spare the General the indignity. Good thing that he had resisted… this… this tug to the Light Side.

The picture of Hux wiping the dark red blood from his pale skin came to mind. How strange that a man who wielded so much power seemed so delicate. He had been surprisingly polite towards him, not something he had expected. His own responses had been clumsy at best. He had felt like a nerf-herder, unrefined, featherbrained almost.

Perhaps that was why Snoke had sent him here in the first place, so he could learn tactical finesse from Hux? From what he had heard he was a brilliant strategist. He briefly wondered why Snoke had called Hux a rabid cur.

He stepped out of the shower and dried himself before wrapping the towel around his head so that his hair could dry. He started to brush his teeth.

Kylo returned into the room and let himself fall on his bed. It was quite soft, the sheets were made of shimmersilk. He liked their cool feeling against his bare skin.

He picked up a datapad and checked his schedule for the next day. There were meetings with the senior staff at 8:00. Kylo wasn't sure why he had been invited to these gatherings, perhaps this would help him with his tactical studies?

-o-

The next morning he got up early and meditated. He arrived at exactly 8:01 in the conference room. To his surprise he registered that the meeting had already begun. He frowned under his mask, the meetings wasn't supposed to start until 8 o'clock.

Hux, who had been talking, fell silent as he entered and followed him with his eyes as he casually walked to a free chair right next to Hux and sat down.

"Lord Ren, how good of you to join us," said Hux in a neutral voice. "As I was saying … the monthly development report was satisfactory. We're mostly on time and budget." Hux activated a chart on the holoprojector and continued to speak about technical details Ren didn't understand.

So this wasn't a tactical meeting? Why in the galaxy had it been on his schedule? Ren made an effort to listen to the heads of the individual departments as they discussed logistical issues, but after a while his mind began to wander.

From the corner of his eye he watched Hux taking notes, he looked alert and interested. There was something about him… Kylo reached out with the Force. Hux's Force signature was tense and wound up, as if he was on edge. But judging from the look on his face he was rather relaxed, even in a good mood it seemed, when talking about technical specifications. Curious.

He was so lost in his musings that he was caught by surprise when everybody got up and strode out of the room. Hux straightened his uniform as he stood, then he took his datapad. There was a hard line around his mouth.

"Lord Ren, I would appreciate it if you were on time for meetings."

Kylo felt that he blushed, it annoyed him. He was on time! Well... almost. He got up slowly. "So it bothers you, huh?" It was childish, but he couldn't help himself.

Hux gave him a cold glare. "It's what I said, wasn't it?"

By the stars, what would he give for a witty comeback. But he couldn't think of anything to say… but he had to – something, anything. In the end he remained silent.

Hux raised an eyebrow and brushed past him.

Kylo stayed in the conference room, feeling silly. He chewed on his lower lip. Anger started to boil up in his chest. This wasn't supposed to happen – he was Snoke's apprentice and as such he commanded respect!

He reached out with the Force and hurled a chair against the wall. He stood there panting, his hands clenched into fists. He wasn't a weak Padawan! He was Darth Vader's heir! The thought of Vader calmed him down. Every holo he'd seen of him indicated that he had a commanding presence, calm like a sea before a storm.

He exhaled. He wouldn't command respect if he threw chairs against walls. He briskly walked over and picked the chair up, he put it back at the table.

Kylo decided to train to get rid of this simmering anger in his chest. As he stomped down the corridor he tried to figure out why he had acted out. He had never been the most patient student but even during the most tedious trainings with Lu- with Skywalker he never felt such a rage.

If he didn't knew better he would've guessed that his temperament became more unbalanced since Snoke was his master. The famed Sith from the Old Empire fed on anger and fear, but he couldn't imagine that they were prone to tantrums… it was too undignified.

-o-

When he reached the training room marked on his pad he noticed with satisfaction that it was empty. He quickly shed his helmet and his upper robes and started to bench press. After a while he added more weight, it felt good to train until all the surplus energy was gone.

Sweat ran down his temples but he didn't stop. He had to become stronger, he had to find the strength to sever ties with his past.

To reach his goal he still needed to learn a lot. Anakin Skywalker had been a war veteran, a skilled General before he had become Darth Vader. He was still lacking in this department. Snoke had never revealed why he had sent him here, but Kylo suspected that he could learn.

His thoughts returned to Hux and he stopped working out. He sat up and wiped the sweat from his face. He needed Hux to cooperate. He got up and went over to the treadmill.

As he started running he continued thinking about the best way to approach Hux. Kylo almost scoffed. Well, they haven't been off to a good start. It was clear that Hux couldn't be intimidated, he had felt no fear when Snoke punished him, only cold anger and something akin to indignity. Strange, why wasn't he afraid of Snoke?

Kylo brushed the question aside. It didn't matter right now, he had to get on the General's good side. Perhaps he could go on a mission and show him his battle prowess? But it could take a while until an actual combat mission came up… perhaps if he found another way to conciliate Hux? He could appeal to his vanity. Hux had been exceptionally interested in the technical details of the projects they had discussed.

Kylo turned the speed up. After 15 minutes he stopped and put his clothes back on – he could shower in his own quarters. On his way to his quarters he realised that the next meeting was already due in half an hour. Kriff.