Malastare loomed ahead, its greenish tint giving it a strangely sickly appearance. From what he knew of it, pod racers enjoyed crashing their expensive machines in its varied environments. There was a hefty dose of seedy dealings, of course, that the First Order tended to ignore so that its wealthy benefactors might enjoy their gambling in peace.
So why am I here? He wondered, as he had often over the past week, whether Hux had sent him out here as a diversion, to remove him from the real action. But no. Snoke wouldn't have cut himself off from his right hand so thoroughly.
He did let you stay on Jakku for weeks without sending a ship to collect you, he reminded himself, which was a sobering thought. He had to push away the icy fear that clawed into his belly at the notion that maybe he no longer held that powerful position within the First Order. It was almost reassuring that Phasma had been sent on this mission too. There had to be some good reason for Snoke to want two of his highest-ranking leaders out here.
He glanced down at the comms panel, but no new message had arrived now that they were clear of hyperspace. He had, at the moment, no orders.
Fine. If Snoke wanted to play this particular game, then Kylo Ren wouldn't just sit like a droid abandoned by its master. The ship needed fuel, and so he'd have time to disappear for a bit without his absence being noticed.
He worked his way at a leisurely pace through the ship, his Force senses alert to any life forms around him. He surreptitiously avoided any of those, making his way deeper and deeper into the ship, until at last he had reached the familiar door in a particularly dark corner of the hold. He'd reconfigured the security pad so that it would admit him and him alone, and now he pressed his bare palm to it and, after one more glance around, he stepped inside.
The room held a few shelves of cleaning supplies: boring and utilitarian enough to deter suspicion. He closed the door behind him and triggered the mechanism for the hidden compartment, from which he withdrew a small, innocuous-looking computer pad. However, this particular computer pad had been purchased with unaffiliated credits at an exceedingly high price. This he'd willingly paid, since it used an undetectable and untraceable connection signal.
He logged in for the first time in a week and conducted his usual search somewhat aimlessly to start, studying the readouts of First Order acquisitions of equipment and reallocations of resources with an eye more for overall patterns than exact details. There were some that were mildly interesting, which he flagged for later perusal. However, he paused over one number in particular, frowning at it. The quartermaster had been busy over the past few months, ordering a large number of training uniform parts. That in itself was innocuous enough. It was the small detail in the billing statement, however, that made Kylo Ren lean forward. The shipping address. Why was the quartermaster sending so many uniform components to Garel?
As far as Kylo Ren knew, there weren't any training facilities there, though there was a token First Order base, much like the one on Jakku. Surely the personnel there didn't require—he peered back down at the numbers—one hundred and thirty-two training shirts.
He felt his heart beat a tiny bit faster, the Force pinging a muted alarm in his head. Yes, this was important. He hadn't noticed it earlier because the orders had been much smaller. It was only in the last month or so that the order had grown.
What was Hux up to?
Kylo Ren dedicated a moment to wishing he had just swept through the other man's head and taken the information he desired, no matter how Snoke would punish him for it after. However, his current standing with the Supreme Leader was less than ideal. If he wanted this information, he'd have to win back Snoke's trust. Either that or find someone lower on the totem pole to interrogate.
A message pinged onto the screen. As he opened it, Kylo Ren noted that it had been sent days ago. It merely read, "Ach-To." Interesting. He deleted the message through a special program that would virtually obliterate every trace of it being sent or received before he shut down the computer pad. He'd be missed if he spent much longer down here, and besides, his back had started to complain about him poring over the low table for so long.
He rose and, after replacing the pad back into its hidden compartment, emerged from the room and headed back towards the bridge. He was still deep in thought about the unusual information he'd gleaned when he turned a corner and nearly crashed headlong into Phasma. They both halted, Kylo Ren struggling to regain his composure and Phasma merely staring at him, the flat black of her helmet visor revealing nothing of her own surprise. If she was surprised.
"What are you doing here?" Kylo Ren asked, donning his usual air of superiority in lieu of his mask.
"I was investigating an unauthorized visit to the hold," Phasma replied evenly. "I was unaware that it was you."
"It is unfortunate that you took it upon yourself to investigate in person, then," Kylo Ren said snappishly. "You wasted a trip."
"I wouldn't say it was a waste. After all, I came down here to ascertain what the unauthorized person was doing down here. Speaking of which, what exactly were you doing?"
"I am authorized, given that I was placed in charge of this ship," Kylo Ren replied, fighting back the flash of anger currently coursing through his veins. "In fact, of the two of us, you are the one who lacks the authority to be down here, given that your clearly-defined responsibilities do not include monitoring corridor sensors. So I suggest you return to the upper levels of the ship."
"How interesting," Phasma said, choosing not to elaborate. Kylo Ren felt his stomach tighten. He had little doubt at this point that his recently diminished standing in Snoke's confidence had something to do with the chromed asshole standing before him.
"Go along now," Kylo Ren said, forcing a look of patronizing amusement on his face. "I'm sure you have very important messages to send. It's been a whole week since you've been able to submit your reports on me to Snoke."
"I do my duty, sir," Phasma replied evenly, though there was a bit too much emphasis on sir not to be sarcasm. "Perhaps you might try doing yours." Without further discussion, she performed an impeccable about-face and strode back towards the upper levels of the ship, leaving Kylo Ren glowering at her retreating cape.
He hated to admit it to himself, but she had him shaken. His standing in the First Order was at stake. Kylo Ren remembered the single message he had received from the informant. Ach-To. He wished he had just looked it up on the computer pad while he had a chance, instead of assuming he'd be able to easily access it. Phasma had access to the corridor sensors…that was good to know. He'd have to establish a habit of taking lengthy walks around the hold of the ship now, to throw her off. In the meantime, he'd do some investigating and make sure there were no cameras he had been previously unaware of.
He hoped that he would receive orders sooner rather than later so that he could finish whatever business Snoke had at the ass end of the galaxy and get back to where important things were happening without him. Ach-To. A most interesting message.
And he wasn't the only one who would find it interesting.