Hux put his head down on his desk and sighed. Who the blue bloody hells thought another super weapon was a good idea? Oh right, that was him.
What sounded like an excellent idea when he was 22 years old looked a bit unreasonable at age 34. To be fair, 22-year-old 2nd Lieutenant Armitage Hux, sporting a brand new commission in the First Order army and pots full of ambition didn't have a really clear idea how the 'real world' operated outside the purview of the Academy.
He lifted his head and glared at his datapad. The Starkiller financial report was still on the screen, mocking him with its dismal numbers. What was particularly insulting was the fact that little to no attempt was made to hide the graft. There was so much red ink in the columns his screen should be dripping bloody streaks. He shook his head at the thought and shuddered, dreading his next interview with Supreme Leader Snoke.
As he gloomily contemplated how many injuries he was likely to sustain and how long he would have to spend in the Supremacy Medical Center he heard a sharp rapping on his office door.
"Enter," he called out.
After a few moments, a tall Stormtrooper in shiny chrome armor strolled in. They removed their helmet, revealing the attractive face and white-blond hair of Captain Phasma.
"General Hux," she said politely.
"Captain Phasma," he acknowledged, nodding his head slightly. "Have a seat."
She ignored the indicated seat and stood at attention. "Do you want the bad news or the worse news first?" she asked.
"Just give me the report," he growled. "And for God's sake Brienne, stand at ease."
Phasma relaxed marginally and lowered herself into the chair. She folded her arms over her chest and bit her lip, obviously uncomfortable with being the bearer of bad news.
"You're familiar with the phrase 'up shit creek without a paddle' aren't you, Armitage?" asked Phasma.
Hux nodded impatiently and made a 'go on' hand motion.
"Well, as far as Starkiller is concerned, you're up shit creek without a paddle and a hole in the bottom of your boat."
Hux groaned and covered his face with his right hand. After a moment he pulled his hand down to his chin.
"Details, Brienne. What the hell is going on?"
"The IT department on Starkiller is crap. There have been multiple holo network attacks, including DDoS, MITM, several cases of Unauthorized Access, and at least one SQL injection. I wouldn't say data hasn't been lost or compromised but I can't guarantee that it hasn't."
"Well, have them scheduled for reconditioning," snapped Hux.
"It's really not that easy, Armitage," replied Phasma. "Lieutenant Techie and his team are doing their best but it's not 're are undermanned, underfunded, and don't have all the tools they need to prevent more sophisticated attacks on their holo network."
Hux picked up his datapad, scrolling through the report on his screen to the applicable section.
"The latest finance report shows IT received additional funding just 7 standard weeks ago," he muttered.
"You're being undermined, Armitage," stated Phasma firmly. "The only questions are who and what you a going to do about it."
**KS**
Armitage Hux was not happy. Nope, not anything close to happy. He leaned forward on his desk and glared at the black-swathed figure sprawled on his office couch.
"Ren, remove your helmet," he growled. "I refuse to talk to you until you do."
"It's part of my uniform," Kylo replied, the helmet vocoder rendering his voice harsh and mechanical. "You do understand what it means to wear a uniform, don't you General?"
"Do not mock me, Ren. Either remove that damned bucket or I will take it off with a can opener!"
Kylo stared at him for a long moment. At least, Hux thought he was staring. It was hard to tell what the Force user was thinking behind that blank, black faceplate. Hux was momentarily tempted to pull out a marker and draw a face on it.
Fortunately, the dark Knight reached up to the helmet latches before Hux could indulge in a bit of potentially fatal whimsy.
As Kylo slowly removed his helmet Hux couldn't help but stare at his face.
"Stars Ren, you look awful."
"No shit," drawled Kylo wryly.
The Knight's face sported a variety of scrapes, cuts, and bruises. It was particularly noticeable around his left eye, where the contusions had turned interesting shades of yellow and purple. Hux winched in sympathy.
"I was going to ask you why you came back with only a half squad of Stormtroopers when I sent you out with two full squads but I think your face is a partial answer."
"Funny, Hux." sneered Kylo.
"So what happened, Ren?"
Kylo sighed. "The whole thing was an absolute shitshow. There was no clear space to land the shuttle at the Eedit Temple so we had to land at Tikaroo. The Eedit Road was totally overgrown. We had to chop our way through a steaming jungle to reach the temple."
He grimaced. "When we finally reached the temple ruins I was nearly incapacitated. The temple was built on a Force vergence."
"A vergence?" interrupted Hux. "What is that?"
"It's a natural concentration of Force energy. Some are balanced between Light and Dark but most lean one way or another," explained Kylo. "The vergence at Eedit Temple is really strong in The Light side of the Force.
"And that was unpleasant for you I take it," Hux suggested.
Kylo snorted. "The further we went into the temple the worse it got. I was getting physically ill. We finally got to the center courtyard. I felt the map piece in the Force. It was in a dry fountain sitting in the middle. When I stepped into the courtyard the pull of the Light was making me nauseous to the point that I had to stop and take my helmet off."
"What happened next?" asked Hux, drawn into the narrative.
"Boom," stated Kylo solemnly.
"Boom? What do you mean, boom?"
"The map piece was boobytrapped. Most of the Stormtroopers had spread out to reconnoiter the courtyard. When I tried to examine it with the Force it exploded. Destroyed most of the courtyard and killed the troopers that were still in there. If I hadn't stopped at the entrance I would have had more than some facial abrasions. After that, I gathered up everyone who was left and we made our way back to the shuttle."
"I didn't expect Skywalker to be so underhanded," Hux mused. "Or so clever."
"He's a coward," maintained Kylo. "He strikes from the shadows against defenseless foes. I hate him."
"Regardless, you need to get checked out by the med bay," suggested Hux.
"I'll go after I make my report to Supreme Leader," demurred Kylo. "Might as well get everything treated in one trip."
Author's note: Summary - Things are getting a bit interesting at Starkiller Base. Phasma reports back to Hux. Kylo returns from his mission to obtain a fragment of the map to Skywalker.
Finally had some time to sit down and get a chapter banged out. Sorry it took so long. I haven't decided how many more chapters this fic will have yet.
