The Patron Saint of Lost Causes
Chapter 15
Rose was awake before the rest of them. For a moment, she was disoriented, unsure of why she felt so upended, so anxious, but then the memory of what was happening, what had happened, settled into her like a rattling worry in her chest. All of a sudden, she was wide awake at once.
Slipping off her cot, she took the greatcoat with her, wrapping it around herself like a robe in the dark.
Rey was asleep on the cot adjacent to hers in the galley, snoring softly.
Having her back was a comfort in and of itself. Rose had always thought Rey was so powerful, so daringly optimistic. She'd mailed herself to the First Order and had escaped with her life and a man's heart in her hands. A true force of nature.
Still, she slept like the dead; Rey didn't wake when Rose prepped hot water for her instant caf, and kept on snoring still as Rose let herself out into the main hall of the ship.
Padding her way to the cockpit, Rose peered down the hallway. Poe was asleep, wrapped in a blanket, body slung across the curved sofa beside the dejarik table. Finn snored in the bunk above, in the little alcove between the inner part of the ship and the freight doors. Chewy must have taken the relief pilot's bunk in the back.
Sipping her caf and trying to calm her jumping nerves, Rose pulled her feet up onto the pilot's chair, slinging Hux's coat over her legs to wrap herself tight. Through the old and slightly dusty viewport, she watched the blue-grey fog begin to burn off as the morning dawned, revealing more and more of the Liran landscape; clover and cloud stretching on until the mountains in the distance, vaulting high into the remaining clouds.
Rose tried to steel herself, running through what the day would bring, calculating her choices. Every word, every detail, changing the equation. Dozens of permutations. Which outcome would win out? She knew what she hoped for.
Hux, free from a death sentence, and Rose wouldn't waste any more time after that.
She loved him.
She wanted him.
She wanted…
She wanted to be with him. To wake up every day and trade sly, playful barbs over engine schematics. She wanted him to hand her the right tool without even having to ask.
She wanted his heart all for herself, and she was willing to fight for it. It was a selfish, covetous feeling usually so foreign to her, but not in this.
There was, admittedly, a part of her that still warred within herself. He'd taken the lives of so many people, there was no denying that, but he'd known nothing of kindness, of mercy, and she could see the flickers of good in him; good he could do if only given the chance.
Too soon, her caf had chilled, and the entire ship rustled awake, raring to go. Rose slipped back into the galley to finish getting ready, and all gathered at the bottom of the Falcon's ramp in sporadic numbers, ready to head out.
Rose surveyed the view before her. Adjoined to their landing pad was the New Republican military base with its stark ancillary buildings and barracks, neat little two-level buildings with windows facing the wider, breathtaking scenery.
Beyond the adjacent town of Oran lay those untamed, dense-looking forests they'd seen upon entry, and further away, those scraggly, snow-tipped mountains. The wild part of her heart had already been taken in by the mossy, emerald landscape; it's begging for exploration.
The little town woke around them: shops began to push out their collapsible overhangs and the smell of fresh bread and flowery scents wafted out of newly-opened windows.
The hodgepodge of buildings was fascinating to see. Some of the oldest structures were made of hewn stone and thick mortar by the earlier colonists, but as the New Republic had put down roots, more synthetic building materials had been used. It seemed the town of Oran was a quaint mesh of old and new, all strung together by overhead lighting, which zigzagged down the small, cobblestone streets.
Rose wished she could have enjoyed the scenery a bit more; usually she would have been beside herself with wonder, peering into the shops and taverns, but she was unable to take in the true beauty of their surroundings, what with the tightly-coiled bundle of worry rooted deep in the pit of her stomach. It made her nauseous, the breakfast of ration bars churning uncomfortably in her stomach, even as she told herself to stay strong.
"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Finn tugged at Poe's jacket, as the other man had ground to a halt outside a shop with dried, cured meats hanging behind a wide window.
"The Council building should be up ahead," Rey explained, "in the town square."
Rose took a side-long glance at the other woman, drawing strength from the Jedi's proximity. Rey still had her staff, although her clothes had changed a little since Rose had seen her last, and her hair was down again.
She seemed serene. Well, maybe not quite that placid, but Rose did feel as if Rey's wild, chaotic nature had been tempered a degree or two. Rose wasn't sure why she got that impression; it could have been the light, easy smile gracing the woman's face.
"Are you okay?" Rey must have caught her staring.
Rose nodded mutely, her expression pinched, and she shook her head.
"I… I don't know what's going to happen… part of me wants to believe the New Republic will be merciful, end the cycle of violence this war has created, but the other part…"
It would be so easy for the Council to err on the side of vengeance.
"Don't lose hope, Rose," Rey took Rose's hand, squeezing. "Leia would be so proud of you. I know I am."
Rose laughed, a little self-pityingly.
"What, for falling in love with a man like Hux?" Even when she said it, even as the thought of loving him filled her with an incandescent joy, there was still that darkness, that guilt, curling around the edges.
Rey swung their joined hands a bit as they walked. "For believing in something, even after everything you've been through, yeah."
She chuckled then, nodding her chin forward. "Look at them."
Finn and Poe kept on ahead of them, shoulder to shoulder, Poe's hand alighting on the other man's back or arm every time he wanted to point out something sizzling on a street cart.
Rose watched as the back of their hands brushed and smiled warmly at the sight. "When this is finished, you'll have to tell me all about where you've been. Did you ever find Ben?"
Rey blushed at that. "He's with me even now."
"Oh!" Rose was surprised, but pleased. That's wonderful!"
"He comes and goes," Rey clarified. "Actually... If he tries very hard, I can see him, touch him, but he's gone for a long time after that. I think he has to rebuild his strength. It's odd, but… even like this I think he's happier. For now, anyway. He's very stubborn."
Rey gave her a small smile. "I think that's why Ben and General Hux always butted heads so often."
"Did you ask him? About Hux?" Rose bit the inside of her lip.
Rey grew a little pensive. "It's not his favorite subject, but... I think he feels bad about what he's done."
Rose sighed, troubled. "That's more than I can say for Hux sometimes."
"Everyone's healing is different."
Rose nodded in accent.
Well, what Rey said was true, but it certainly would be easier if Hux felt sorry now. His unwillingness to denounce all he'd done gnawed at her nerves, pulling her towards dread.
Rose's free hand clasped at her pendant, drawing on any hope she had as they turned the last corner and into the central town square.
"Wow," Rey's hand slid away from their shared grasp as the woman's face took on a wondrous, childlike quality.
"Yeah," Rose agreed. "This place is beautiful…"
Shops with apartments above, ringed the center square, in the middle of which stood a little fountain, vendors beginning to set up shop here and there. Some of the hover carts were quite elaborate; it looked like a few had even traveled from outside the town and the surrounding forests and foothills.
It was obvious which building was the municipal one, for it was by far the newest, most advanced structure, wide with steps leading up to an elaborately arched entry, flanked by a security detail.
Rose took a deep breath as they gathered at the bottom of the steps.
"You guys don't have to come with us if you don't want to," she said to Poe and Finn, especially to Poe. "I know how you feel about Hux. I won't hold it against you."
Finn frowned, his brow furrowed, but Poe spoke first.
"You're right," he said, folding his arms and planting his hip. "It's no secret that he's not my favorite person. Frankly I'm even against what the New Republic is trying to do here. Not the execution bit," he added sharply, as Rey opened her mouth to tell him off, looking furious.
"Killing him won't solve anything; they're just out for blood. It would be better if he was forced to live with the consequences of his actions. He's not the only one of us who's taken a life…," Poe trailed off and glowered out across the square, a slightly haunted look flickering across his features.
Rose felt her heart constrict. Paige's death wasn't his fault, her sister would have sacrificed herself for the Resistance at a moment's notice and done so gladly, but that didn't mean that Poe didn't feel guilty.
She wanted to tell him this, but held her tongue. Perhaps they could talk at a better time.
"We're here for you," Finn said, nodding resolutely. "And that's something we don't need the Force for, no matter what happens in there." He shared a smile with Rey.
"And," he added, as they ascended the steps, "for some reason you seem to like him."
He wrinkled his nose at the two women. "The both of you. Seriously questionable taste."
"Oi, not all of us can nab us a war-hero pilot," Rey needled, jabbing him playfully in the shoulder with her staff. Poe had the decency to look a little bit embarrassed, failing to keep his otherwise pleased expression in check.
The Peacekeepers did not stop them as they entered the tall building through its wide, double-doored vestibule, nor as they moved down a narrow foyer and into a central rotunda, an informal lobby which various hallways and doors spoked out from.
Sitting there upon one of the overly large, velvety poufs, under the rotundas' transparisteel dome, was the lanky alien Councilwoman.
"Ah, so you did come," she said, standing slowly, looking a bit like an unfurling spider as she did so. She watched Rose with keen, wide eyes. "I had a feeling you would not give up so easily."
Rose nodded, her expression determined. "That's right."
The Councilwoman shook her head slightly. "I am not your enemy, child."
"No," Rose agreed, voice careful. "But you are the one we have to convince."
"Not just myself," the woman swept her arm out, indicating that they should follow her to the large open doors on the other side of the rotunda and into their meeting hall. "You see, in the past you would have taken your appeal up with the Chancellor, separate from the Galactic Senate and the Republican Tribunal. However, and I'm sure you'll forgive us, but after Hosnian Prime was destroyed by General Hux, there are not enough of us to fill up one branch, let alone three."
Rose swallowed hard as they entered into the Council's meeting hall, revealing a raised dais along the back wall, behind which sat five high-backed chairs at a table. The other Council Members had already arrived: two were obviously human, an older man and woman, and two others were not, one of the species Mon Calamari, the other a wizened looking Caphex.
Five. That was it. Just five.
Across from the curved dais were little pew-like rows of seating. Councilwoman Zeena seemed to guide them toward it, pausing and turning slowly on them, addressing Poe/the other council people.
"General Poe Dameron of the Resistance," Councilwoman Zeena announced as they all crowded into the room.
"And his subordinates," she continued. "General Finn, and Lieutenant General Rose Tico, and…"
A slightly puzzled look came over the woman's face as she turned back around, leveling her wide-eyes on Rey. "My apologies. I do not believe we have met. You are?"
"Rey. Just Rey. I… I trained with Master Skywalker. Sort of," she added wryly, eyes darting away.
The council alighted with a buzz.
"A Jedi?" One of them asked breathlessly.
Rey straightened up, holding herself with thrown-back shoulders as she gripped her staff.
"Surprising," Councilwoman Zeena muttered.
"I would have you all sit," she said, long fingers pointing towards the public seating, "while we begin our meeting."
Hux tried to get some sleep that night, but with the overhead lights in the cell block's hallway kept on throughout the night, casting thin beams of light through the thick bars of the cell, it was near impossible.
He dozed fitfully and without relief. Eventually, many hours later, the door to Hux's cell swung open, and there was the same older Peacekeeper, blaster in his hand.
"Council wants to see you," the man grumbled.
"Whatever is the point of that?" Hux countered from his seated position on his metal pallet. "I was under the impression that the Republic, in all their infinite wisdom, had already decided on my guilt."
"Guilt yes, but punishment?" The Peacekeeper grinned toothily. "I hope it's a nice long sentence. Now, get up."
He motioned with his blaster.
Hux stood, lip curling slightly, stepping out into the bright hallway.
They marched him down the opposite direction he had first entered, to a turbolift at the back wall, where another guard stood silently.
Hux narrowed his eyes, trying to orient himself. The underground cell block must have been connected to one of the government buildings on the surface.
The turbolift ride started as a silent one, Hux flanked on either side by a peacekeeper guard.
They'd kept him shackled for the duration of his stay so far, even now in the turbolift, cramped as it was.
Did they really think him foolish enough to try and escape? It was almost insulting.
Such perceived disrespect did not improve his mood, coupled with the fact that he was exhausted from lack of sleep.
The younger of the two guards made a noise of distaste, reading something on the curved datapad along his wrist cuff.
"Looks like your friends got off easy," the man muttered darkly.
For a moment, Hux was unaware that he was being spoken to.
"Pardon?"
"Your Captain and Lieutenant," the older Peacekeeper grumbled, checking his own data feed. "The Council struck a deal with 'em."
"They should execute everyone one of those monsters," the young guard spat. "Seems foolish to allow them even an ounce of clemency."
The older man made a noise of dissent in the back of his throat. "If they can fight for the Order they can fight for the New Republic, I say. Waste of perfectly warm bodies if we killed 'em all."
Hux swallowed.
The New Republic had conscripted even the highest-ranking Officers in lieu of corporal punishment.
That was it then, they only wanted him. He'd be the one they'd make an example of; satisfy those all around the galaxy calling for his head.
The lift slowed to a stop after a surprisingly lengthy ride. Hux's ears had popped on their way up.
So, they'd been deep below the surface of the planet, had they? The kind of place so tucked away from the rest of the galaxy, whatever was put down there was bound to be forgotten eventually.
"Look alive, General." The old Peacekeeper grabbed hold of Hux's upper arm, half pushing, half pulling him out of the turbolifts and into a hallway.
A municipal building. Hux would recognize its kind anywhere; stark, but richly decorated.
Must have been where the New Republic was holding court.
The sunlight streaming in from the ceiling did little to improve Hux's tension headache, but—
"Hux!"
He looked up sharply as he was guided through open double doors, gaze zeroing in on the woman who had said his name.
Rose.
She was standing along one of the rows of bench seating, along with Finn, Poe, and—
Hux nearly did a doubletake.
The scavenger?
What the hell was she doing here?
"Ah," the Councilwoman said, standing from her chair, "the devil himself. Please," she made a motion, "do come stand before us. We have just finished with introductions."
Hux gave her a carefully controlled look of vague dislike, keeping his posture as ridged as possible as he took the few steps to place himself before the dais. He caught Rose's eye before he turned his back.
Her brows were furrowed in worry, biting at her lip, looking like she wanted to run to him.
He tried to stay her recklessness with a steady gaze, but the ice in his heart melted as soon as their eyes met. He couldn't keep all the longing from his expression, no matter how hard he tried.
Hux always considered himself patient; a survivor, but practical, too. There was no path that he could see where he'd escape what reckoning the New Republic was about to bring down upon him. And yet, for a moment, he wished he could take Rose's hand and just walk away, from all of it.
It was a childish thought, foolishly hopeful, a knee-jerk reaction he thought he'd strangled away a very long time ago.
But seeing her, feeling the need for her, welled back up inside him until he tore his eyes away, unable to hold her gaze before he broke any more of his composure.
Rose stored that little look of his deep inside her heart. Nothing would make her forget it, no matter what happened. Nothing.
"General Hux," Councilwoman Zeema began, her eyes glittering. "it is good to see you again. Although, you do not look quite so well-rested as you appeared yesterday."
"Not for lack of trying," he drawled out, gaze darting around the five members of the Council, noting each one in turn and how they were all glaring at him.
The human male on the Council cleared his throat. "If I may speak, Councilwoman Zeena."
The alien woman nodded slowly with her elongated neck. "You may, Councilman Arbo. The floor is open to all members who wish to make a statement."
"We have already ratified our judgement against you, General Hux," the man said, scrolling through a data pad as he spoke. "All that is left is to pass down our sentencing. I believe my suggestion was execution by firing squad, was it not?" The man asked the rest of the council.
Rose clenched her fists, rage gathering in the upward pull of her shoulders.
The human woman on the Council held up her hand. "Before we move to a vote on method, we have been informed that there are those who wish to make statements on the General's behalf."
"Yes, a truly troubling thing," the Mon Calamari carped, cutting in, "to see ranking members of the Resistance, war heroes, among those who would patron such evil."
"Hey, hey, hey, let's not be hasty here, okay?" Poe's voice cut through the Council's chatter.
"Let's get one thing straight, I'm not championing Hux," he huffed with an incredulous laugh. "I'm only here to report on what… ah… good? Deeds? He's done?"
Finn rolled his eyes. "Way to sell it."
"I'm trying," Poe countered, exasperated.
Hux closed his eyes, trying not to sigh.
"Good deeds, you say," the wizened Caphex mused, voice like the rustling of leaves. "Enlighten us."
Poe put his hands on his hips. "Yeah, well… Hux gave the Resistance coordinates to the First Order's weapons factories and stockpiles. We were able to lead a number of missions to eliminate those targets. Without the insider information Hux provided, remnants of the First Order would still have access to shipyards and munitions depots."
"General Dameron," Councilwoman Zeena said slowly, "General Hux is responsible for killing a number of your comrades. You do not feel anger over this?"
"Of course I'm angry," Poe said sharply, voice slightly strangled with emotion. "We were at war, and the First Order decided to try and slaughter its way to power, but… the war is over."
He took a sharp breath before continuing. "The killing needs to stop. We don't prove we're better than them by killing them."
There was a muttering around the Council.
Hux flexed his hands inside his cuffs, hearing Dameron's words from over his shoulder.
Yes, it was war. Just killing. Nothing personal.
Wasn't it?
"Not only that," Finn added, "but he helped plan our most recent mission. He helped destroy the last Dreadnought, and he put his life on the line for those cadets. Just kids." Finn paused, and took a deep breath.
The man's words conjured a strange memory in Hux's mind. Comforting a child on some transport. Phasma had been there.
I was once very little and took a ride on a ship like this, and now look how big I am.
"This man brainwashed you," the man called Arbo exclaimed, incredulous. "He orchestrated the systematic slaughter of thousands of men and women just like yourself." He looked at Finn, "and yet you call for a stay in execution?"
Finn crossed his arms. "Look, he's the reason I was taken away from my family. He's the reason I became a stormtrooper; a slave to the First Order. But killing Hux won't bring my family back to me."
Finn gave Rose a side-long glance, smiling slightly. "I just want others to have the chance at something I never did."
A fluttering in Rose's breast nearly knocked the wind out of her.
"Finn," she said softly, expression breaking.
The other man took her hand, squeezing with a small nod.
The Mon Calamari spluttered. "Surely one former Stormtrooper cannot speak for the entirety!"
Councilwoman Zeena blinked her long, billowy lashes in Finn's direction. "It cannot be ignored that you have killed Stormtroopers yourself, yes?"
Finn shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, I have, but I don't feel good about it."
"Ahha," Zeena held up an elongated finger, stilling the very air in the room. "Guilt. Tell me, General Hux, what guilt have you for the lives you have taken?"
Rose's heart froze.
No, she thought desperately. Don't ask him that, please. Over time he could come to understand, to mourn, to grieve, for the lives he'd taken, but not now. Not so soon. He needed time.
Hux looked defiantly up at the Council, jaw working.
The Councilwoman splayed her hand, palm to the heavens. "General?"
"People suffered needlessly," he allowed through gritted teeth.
Because the Order had lost.
But if they hadn't…?
"A lot of people have suffered," Rey spoke up, cutting them both off. "And many more would have suffered, and died, had Palpatine got his way. Hux was the reason we knew he'd returned in the first place. He's the reason we knew Exogol existed at all. Without Hux, the Sith Fleet would be hundreds of Destroyers strong by now. And Palpatine would still be alive."
"And Kylo Ren," the human woman interjected.
Rey gripped her staff a little tighter. "And Kylo Ren."
The Councilwoman snorted. "There is still a Sith ship on the loose, is there not? Harboring enough firepower to destroy planets. A flying Starkiller. Who is to say they are not in league with General Hux and are simply lying in wait?"
"The Sith have nothing to do with the Order," Hux bit out, unable to stop himself.
"If you want to stop a weapon like Starkiller, who better to advise you than the man who created it?" Rose let go of Finn's hand, taking a step towards Hux; towards the council. "He's a brilliant engineer. He can help the Republic prepare, defend itself against the Sith."
"Your judgement is clouded by your feelings for this man," the Councilwoman said, swiftly and plainly, words thrown like a javelin into Rose's heart.
Rose jerked back before she reeled forward again.
"So what," she hissed. "This war's taken everything I've ever cared about; I'm not letting it tell me who I can or can't love. You… hypocrite."
A hush settled over the room as Hux's stomach very nearly sank through the floor.
He bowed his head, trying to reign in the despair that welled inside, heart pounding up into his throat, threatening to choke him.
The Councilwoman blinked her large eyes, drawing up in her chair, exacting her full, unnerving height.
Rose wasn't intimidated.
"If you wanted to change this galaxy for the better, you'd let him make amends. But you—" her voice broke "— you just want to punish him. Make an example of him. You just want someone to take the blame for all the men and women who created the Empire, and the Order."
"Hmm," the Caphex mused, raspy. "But Brendol Hux was the one… who started the stormtrooper program. Built up the Empire's army for the Order. His son continued that legacy."
Rose rounded on him. "You're going to add his father's crimes to his own, now? How is that fair?! He's not Brendol!"
Hux froze.
Not Brendol.
Suddenly, and like a swiftly rising tide, Hux knew he needed to hear it from her again. And again. Forever.
No longer did he care if the New Republic wanted him dead, or that the Resistance thought him a devil. No longer did he lament the loss of his life's work or his coveted power. What they thought of him, any of them, including the ones who lived on only in memory, in his own self-doubt, they didn't matter anymore.
They could call him a bastard for the rest of his days.
But to Rose, he was not his father.
To the council, Hux must have looked the very picture of shock; his gazing vacantly forward, his lips slightly parted, his naked astonishment.
The Council exchanged glances.
Eventually, Councilwoman Zeena sighed tiredly, rubbing her temples.
"Is that all?" She asked evenly.
Rose swallowed, slightly taken aback. "I-I…"
Rey reached out; touched her arm.
"Yeah," Rose said, deflating a bit.
Hux longed to turn around and take Rose into his arms, but…
"Good," the Councilwoman said with punctuated finality. "Now, have you anything to say before we level our judgement, General? Do you wish to extoll your own virtues to this council?"
It was meant to be a barb. As if he had any virtues.
Hux said nothing. These people who had spoken for him, even after everything he'd done to them and their ilk; they'd stood before the New Republic and bid for mercy. There was nothing else to say.
He stared up at the Council with a resolute expression.
"No."
"Excellent," the alien woman said, sliding her datapad toward her, typing out a few words. After a moment, she looked back up. "All in favor of execution by firing squad?"
All five council members raised their hands aloft.
Poe swore.
Rose cried out, "No! Please! You can't!"
"The motion is passed. You may take the prisoner back to his cell," the Councilwoman said to the two Peacekeepers keeping watch by the door. The pair moved forward towards where Hux stood.
Finn scoffed. "Seriously?!"
"Don't do this!" Rose was pleading, nearly drowning out the woman's words, clutching onto the row of seats in front of her. "Be better than they were! Please!"
Hux did turn then, before the Peacekeepers were upon him. He didn't have much time.
"Rose," he said firmly, trying to catch her eye. "Rose, listen."
She was crying now, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I won't let them do this! I won't!"
Poe threw up his hands. "So our words mean nothing, is that it?!"
"Rose, listen to me," Hux said again in a calm, even voice, finally drawing her attention as the Peacekeepers grabbed a hold of his upper arm.
"Rose, I love you." Hux tilted his chin down a fraction, needing her to understand. He loved her more than all the power and rank and blood-soaked ambition he could amass in a hundred galaxies in a hundred lifetimes.
Even as the room roiled in uproar, everyone shouting, everyone yelling around them, he could still hear her tiny, startled gasp.
She looked at him with a pained longing.
"Hux…"
The soldiers took hold of him then, dragging him back.
Rose yelped. "No!"
"Take him!" The Councilwoman bellowed.
Rey's voice rang out like a bell. "Stop!"
Rose could feel it, that bright swell of power, like the pressure in the room had suddenly changed; like the ceiling had cracked open and all the swirling, brilliant lights of the galaxy had siphoned down into the palm of her hand.
Everyone looked over at Rey, hypnotized by the woman whose hand was held out towards the dais.
Finn blanched. "Rey…" he said with trepidation, "Rey, what are you doing?"
But Rey wasn't listening, concentrating very hard instead on the members of the New Republican council.
"You don't want to execute this man," she said calmly.
Councilwoman Zeena slouched slightly in her seat, an odd wave of calm coming over each of the council members in turn.
"We don't want to execute this man," the human male muttered.
"He's worth more to you alive."
Finn gave a start. "Rey!"
"He's worth more to us alive," the human woman said to the others.
A look of horror, followed by intense, teeth-grinding anger, twisted Hux's features as he realized just what she was doing.
"You," he seethed.
Rey ignored him. "You will find a way he can live and be useful to the New Republic."
"We will find a way he can live, and be useful to the New Republic," said the Mon Calamari.
Hux would be damned if he was going to let this scavenger and her party tricks be the reason he clung to his miserable life. He wouldn't have it.
Hux started forward, ready to rip the woman's hand off if he had to, but something held him back. A strange, familiar feeling, one he was quite used to wrapping around his throat in anger, only here, it had him rooted to the spot, unable to move.
"You don't want revenge," Rey said, her own eyes shining with tears.
"We… don't want revenge," the old Caphex repeated, smacking his lips as if he were supremely satisfied with the quality of his decision.
Hux snarled at Rey, the scavenger, but then… his eyes drifted toward Rose, who was standing at her side. Her tear-streaked face looked at him like she'd awoken from some wondrous dream, only to find the thing she'd been hoping for, when there had been no hope left, had actually come true.
Living this life; what had been done to him, what he'd done to others… it was painful. So much pain. He could hardly bear it all without screaming, raging, hurting to alleviate his own agony.
But… if he lived, Rose would be happy, wouldn't she?
This war's taken everything I've ever cared about…
No. There was no way he could do this, live like this; on a gift of borrowed time.
But… if he lived, and Rose loved him, anything was possible. He knew that now.
Hux's brows pulled in with a look of defeat, the anger draining from him as he slumped in the guards' now frozen grip, as they too were caught in the eddy of Rey's power.
Rey smiled a little then. "The New Republic will be better."
"The New Republic will be better," Councilwoman Zeena said, as if her words were law, noting her decision down on her datapad, changing the Council's edict right then and there.
Slowly, as if a cork had been pulled from a drain, the dizzying feeling of pure energy, pure power, swirled away.
"Whoa," Poe muttered, sinking into one of the chairs, looking quite thrown.
"We look forward to working with you, General," the Councilwoman said down to Hux, smiling as he turned to look at her, his expression twisted. "We shall discuss in what ways you will be useful to the Republic. For tonight, remain in your cell while we draw up the terms of your release. We appreciate your patience in this matter. If you please…"
She motioned and the Peacekeepers began to gently usher him back out into the hall, remarkably more hospitable in their movements.
Hux's jaw was clenched tight as he threw a hard glare in Rey's direction. Rey held his gaze, but revealed nothing in her expression.
"Hux?"
He turned his head to Rose, seeing the joy and the triumph in her face, but quickly had to look away.
He was ashamed.
Rose covered her mouth as he was led away, tears beginning to form again.
"Give him time," Rey said softly, rubbing the other woman's shoulder. "He needs time to understand."
Rose's chin quivered as she looked toward the Jedi with awe. "Rey…"
"If you will all excuse us," the Councilwoman said, the five members. "We must discuss in private and formulate our next course of action. Good day to you."
Once they'd filed out of the chambers, Finn surged forward, rounding on Rey.
"What did you do?!" He shrieked in a hoarse whisper. "You used the Force on them!"
Rey nodded, planting her feet. "I did."
Finn's mouth flapped open and closed. "You… you can't do that!"
"Well, she obviously just did," Poe said with a bemused laugh.
Finn groaned, exasperated and besides himself. "Rey! That's— it's unethical."
Rey took a moment to collect herself before she spoke.
"I gave up my life to the Force, to kill Palpatine," she uttered, soft and calm. "I survived, on my own, for so long, and I fought and I killed and I watched my friends die and I—"
She broke off, swallowing tight. "I gave up the person I loved most. What's the point of it all if I can't do this one, right thing?"
Finn deflated, shoulders going slack. "Rey..."
Rose suddenly doubled over, hands on her knees as she gasped for breath. "Oh! Oh! He's alive. He's alive!"
Rey crouched down next to her, rubbing her back. "We should head back to the Falcon; come back tomorrow. We'll know more then. He's safe, Rose. You did it."
"Me?" Rose looked up at the other woman as she rubbed her face, flush with emotion. "It was you, Rey."
Rey shook her head. "The Force is created by all living things. It moves through and around all of us, binding the galaxy together. I could feel it, here, in this very room. The pain, the agony, the hope, the love. It was you, and it was me. It was all of us."
Rose let the words settle into her, heart and soul. She beamed. "Thank you."
Hux was furious.
As soon as they closed the door to his cell, he let out a long, loud growl of frustration and pain, hands reaching up into his hair to grasp at the strands, pulling hard. That bitch!
All his life he'd hated the Force. Hated those who used it. Hated that it caused chaos and disorder to rip across the galaxy. Hated that he had to fight tooth and nail against the fucking thing, stealing every breath Ren had allowed him through unseen fingers.
And he couldn't even be mad at her without feeling guilty because she'd saved his miserable fucking life!
He turned in his cell, around and around, but all he saw was red.
He hated the Force when it threw him across the room, into console panels and ship's terminals.
He hated it when it caused the Order to slip from between his fingers, Pryde and Palpatine corrupting the only thing he'd ever given a single damn about.
And in the end it had saved him!
A frenzied roar of madness tore from his lungs, blinding rage driving Hux painfully to his knees upon the floor of his cell. He collapsed forward upon his elbows.
The stinging whip of a backhanded blow, the taste of blood, fingers constricting around his windpipe—
Hux gasped for breath, a pained, high-pitch sound as he curled in upon himself, hot tears of frustration gathering in his eyes.
How much longer could he fight?
The only thing that had ever been easy was standing on Starkiller and commanding his men to fire.
"You don't get a blaster bolt to the brain so you don't have to live with all the terror and anguish you've unleashed upon this galaxy."
She'd wrapped those words around his heart, lashing herself to him with firm castigation. He could still see her; Rose, looming over him as he reeled in the knowledge of the Order's impotence and his own sudden uselessness, pitched against the side of the escape pod back on Ajan Kloss.
All this time… and he'd become more, because she'd willed it to be so. He'd surrendered to her long ago, before he even realized she had him.
The despair inside curled against his guilt and his pain and the one flicker of joy buried deep, deep down, unfurling further into his chest as he thought of her.
Brendol, Snoke, Ren, Starkiller, his own lust for power: Weak-willed, they said. A rabid cur. A nuisance to be thrown about the room when mad.
Pathetic.
"You're not pathetic. I don't think you are."
Rose.
Her face, soft and surprised and pleased when he uttered those three words to her—
I love you.
The Force had nearly killed him, and now, it had given him mercy, when he'd scarcely deserved it.
Everything he'd done, all of the blood on his hands. Still, it had given him one more chance.
For her.
A/n- As always, thanks to Dan and Brit for being amazing editors. Only two installments left! We're in the home stretch! Please note the next two chapters will have adult/mature themes.
Please visit izam_w & gutlesswunder on twitter and check out their amazing art inspired by this story!
