[Sidious]
They'd gone far past what was necessary to subdue the star destroyer. Engines had been taken out first, weapons were nonfunctional, shields were gone, and life support itself had to have been out in many sections by now. At this point, they were simply bombarding the hulk because Sidious had yet to tell them to stop. The destruction was deeply pleasing to him.
He reveled in it, cackling as he felt people crying out in terror, experiencing pain and confusion, and having their lives snuffed out. He fed off it, drank from it, and was drunk on it. He probably should have been paying more attention to the reason why he was here – Armitage Hux – but there seemed no need for it. Sidious knew what would happen next, so he might as well be entertained in the meantime.
More people died. Escape pods were jettisoning from the ship before him. He didn't give any specific orders for them to be targeted, but the gunners aboard the Allegiance (the ship he was on) did so automatically as an extension of his will. The other ships in his nascent fleet were more reticent. He made note of that, though he hadn't decided what he would do about it.
He had this nagging feeling something important was happening with Hux. There were so many other lives in disarray that even at the short range, all he could easily tell was that Hux was alive and present. Previously, it had seemed enough, but there had been no offer of surrender or attempt at negotiation. The man was supposedly clever. Sidious bent his mind in Hux's direction and then chuckled as he sensed Hux's intent.
"Escape?" he sniggered. "There is no esc-" Hux's mind winked out of existence. Sidious froze in place. The gunners stopped without him giving the order. A moment later, he whirled to General Pryde, already feeling a strain that could only be explained by Hux's death or absence. Neither was acceptable. The last thing he'd sensed was Hux losing consciousness, which made death the more likely of the two. But that wasn't possible. Was it? "Search the ship! Find General Hux and bring him to me. Alive!"
Feeling his tenuous grasp on reality beginning to inevitably unravel, he added with a snarl, "Return the Allegiance to the Hosnian system immediately and have the others conduct the search."