Hux stood outside of the interrogation chamber and even through the thick wall he could hear the resistance pilot scream. A shiver ran down his spine - what by the seven gates of chaos was Ren doing in there? Should he go in and make sure that he didn't kill the prisoner until they had found all necessary intel?

Just before he could make up his mind, Ren emerged from the room. "He got the map to Skywalker and gave it to a droid - an orange-white BB unit. It's still on the planet."

Hux crooked an eyebrow. "Then we'll scour the planet until we find it. Jakku only has a few settlements in that vicinity. Without doubt the droid is programmed to get off the planet as soon as possible."

He activated his holo and called Captain Phasma. "We're looking for a BB-series astromech droid, orange-white. It's on Jakku and needs to be found as fast a possible."

"Yes sir!"

He ended the holocall and looked at Ren, or rather his mask. He briefly wondered what expression he wore under that silly thing. "What did you do to the prisoner?"

"I used the Force on him," said Ren. "I can look into people's minds if I focus."

"I gather it's not exactly pleasant."

Ren tilted his head a bit. "Sometimes it damages the mind, but since we're on a time-sensitive mission I had to act."

"Of course." Why Ren even bothered to defend his action to him was beyond him.

"I need to report to my master," Ren said and left.

Hux lingered in front of the interrogation room. He had to admit that he was curious in what condition the prisoner was. He approached the door and punched his command codes in. The door slid open and revealed a dark-haired human man on an interrogation rack, his head was hanging down, it appeared that he was unconscious.

Hux stared at him from a distance. He didn't know what he had expected, blood perhaps? He stepped back and left the room.

-o-

He went to the bridge to oversee the search from the command console. If the intel was good they could finally find Skywalker and deal with that nuisance. Then they could finally focus on their true goal - uniting the Galaxy under the banner of the First Order.

About two hours later he was reviewing the reportings of the search parties when the alarm went off. A few quick steps brought him to the nearest holo display of the hangar bay. A TIE-fighter was trying to take off while shooting everything in sight.

"What the-"

"It's the resistance pilot, sir! He escaped and is trying to flee! Reports indicate that he was freed by a Stormtrooper!" said the officer supervising the holo display.

Before Hux would reply the TIE-fighter had flown out of the hangar. Kriff! "Shoot it down, we have all the intel we need," he ordered in a calm voice. There was no way that the pilot would escape.

It only took a few moments before the ventral cannons hit the fighter. It finally crashed on Jakku. Only now he had time to think about the most disconcerting fact: That one of his Stormtroopers had aided the rebel.

How was this possible? They were loyal! They were raised from birth to follow orders, those who did not comply were reconditioned. Kriff! He contained his anger and called Phasma. "Captain, we need go through the traitorous Stormtroopers file," he said evenly. There was no point in lashing out, even if this was a huge problem for him. Pryde would certainly whisper in Snoke's ear about his alleged incompetence.

"I'm on my way, sir."

They ended the call and Hux pulled up FN-2187's file. Even before Phasma arrived he knew that there was nothing on file that could explain his treason. He had been an exemplary soldier in the academy, high marks in almost all disciplines. He had experienced some difficulties in his first missions - not uncommon.

He had been sent to reconditioning as per usual. It seemed that it hadn't worked. He rubbed his temple, how was he supposed to spin this?

-o-

Hux was relieved when Ren visited him that night. He wasn't in the mood for sex but he craved someone he could rage at.

As soon as Ren had taken the helmet off, he said, "You're in a bad mood."

"That's an understatement," Hux scoffed. "My rivals will have a field day! A trooper under my command defected! That's unheard of! They will lay the blame at my feet… it's not unreasonable of course. In the end it's always the commanding officer who is responsible for all wins and losses. But I checked! Everything in his file checked out, I have no idea what made him free that bloody pilot!"

Ren ran his hand through his hair. "Was he participating on the raid in the settlement in Jakku?"

Hux froze. "Yes, yes he did. He was with you on the planet - in the village where we captured the pilot."

Ren chewed on his lip. Then he sat on Hux's desk. "There was something odd… I felt it in the Force."

"What does the Force got to do with a Stormtrooper?" asked Hux with a frown.

Ren looked at him. There was something in his gaze Hux wouldn't place, it was almost as if he was looking for something. Then Ren got up and went to the kitchenette. Hux followed him and watched him making a tea.

"What? What is it?"

Ren spoke without turning to face him: "It's not easy, you know to talk about this topic. It feels like a chafing wound, but perhaps… perhaps it would help to-" he broke off. "There has been an awakening in the Force."

Hux waited for him to continue. It seemed that he was about to learn something of significant value.

"When I was in Jakku I felt something tugging at the edge of my mind, for a moment I thought that I felt someone with a connection to the Force. They were close, so I turned to look but all I saw was a Stormtrooper in the distance, staring at me. The feeling was gone as quickly as it had appeared."

Hux crossed his arms. "Are you telling me that FN-2187 may be Force-sensitive?"

Ren turned around and gave Hux the tea he had prepared. "I didn't bother to check the Stormtrooper's number. But it's an odd coincidence."

Hux took the offered tea and nodded. "It is." He exhaled. "I will be taking a lot of fire for this."

"You're too smart to let this get to you," said Ren and gave him a peck on his cheek.

Hux flinched a little at the unexpected caress. "You- you aren't supposed to tell me about this, are you?" There was an odd sensation in his stomach when he looked at Ren.

Ren shrugged. "I honestly don't know. Snoke never forbade it but I don't think this information is meant for anyone except Force-users. Either way it makes sense to tell you, right? You have to know all the facts to efficiently lead your troops."

Hux licked his lips. "Indeed… but would you have told this to anyone else?"

Ren chuckled. "Probably not." He blushed a little. "It's just… I know that I'm kind of wasting your time by turning up every single night. So I thought that you would indulge me a bit longer when I'm proving to be the source of information you probably hope I would be."

Hux could feel his throat lace up. Ren was right of course, he was hoping to gain an advantage by keeping him close. The thought gave him a stab in the heart. No... it wasn't like that anymore. Not really. He actually liked Ren, liked talking to him, liked laying next to him, feeling his fingers on his body like- like he wasn't disgusting… weak and thin like a slip of paper.

He cleared his throat. "That is indeed useful information."

Ren smiled at him with such an openness that it hurt. He was actually relieved that he was useful. How could he be satisfied with that? How could Ren look at him with this warmth in his eyes when he could barely stand the reflection in the mirror in the morning? All he could see was a thinner, paler version of his Father.

Hux wanted to tell him that he liked him, that he was actually looking forward to his visits, to his companionship. He blinked and took a gulp of tea before he could blurt out these silly, dangerous words.