The next couple of days were quite busy for Rose. She and Hux were absorbed by countless repairs as well as finalizing their project so that they could finally present it to Leia.
Rose checked her notes one last time before she grabbed her pad and headed to her office. They decided that Hux should stay back, seeing as this wasn't an unproblematic project in itself.
Leia smiled at her when she awkwardly knocked at the door frame to her office.
"Rose! Please come in."
"Gen- uh, Leia, thank you for seeing me." She stepped inside the office, holding her pad in a tight grip.
"Of course, tea?"
"No, thank you." She gulped and sat down on the chair right in front of Leia's desk. "I'm a bit nervous and I would like to talk about our idea first. That's - that's why I'm here after all."
Leia's smile faded a little. "'Our' idea? I take it that you and General Hux came up with something? I'm a bit surprised that he isn't here."
"We thought it'd be better if I talked to you first." Rose cleared her throat. She just had to make her pitch before Leia could object. She put a portable holo on her desk.
"This," she activated the holo, "is a boarding device. It will attack the bridge of any First Order vessel, cut through the durasteel with a high-powered laser and release plasma bombs to incinerate the command center. According to Hux there's bound to be confusion if the bridge crew is killed in a first-wave attack. Enough for us to flee from any encounter or maybe even counterattack their weak points."
Leia's smile was now completely gone. "What kind of high-powered laser would be able to cut through all these layers of steel?"
She could feel herself pale. "Uh, well… if we used a kyber crystal based laser it would be strong enough. It's like a lightsaber and will melt through anything given enough time."
"Now I see why General Hux isn't presenting this himself. It was his idea, wasn't it?"
"We worked on it together, but the initial idea was actually mine."
Leia sighed. "It's a difficult moral dilemma you're putting me in. We're at war, and we're at a disadvantage. But should we really capitalize on that technology? That's Starkiller tech, isn't it?"
"Yes." She licked her lips. "Its power is undeniable, it's not good or bad per se, it's just a means to an end."
Leia's smile returned. "Just like General Hux himself."
"That's not what I-"
"You're right of course. For all my grand speeches I asked his advice on tactical matters, I invited him to work alongside you to bring down the Order. I thought about this a great deal since he arrived here. Am I a hypocrite for using his talents for our gain?"
Rose wasn't sure if it was a rhetorical question so she remained quiet.
"I honestly don't know," continued Leia. "We all know that he is a weapons engineer, so what else but weapons is he supposed to build for us? It would be reckless not to employ all our means to win the fight against evil, but where do we draw the line?" She leaned back in her chair. "I'm sorry, I'm rambling. That's my job, isn't it? To make the hard decisions."
Leia was right, it was a tough call. But she didn't have to shoulder the responsibility alone, did she? "What about a vote?"
Leia crooked an eyebrow. "A vote?"
"Yes, who said that you have to make all the decisions alone? Why not ask everybody and make it a majority vote? I mean, I get that we're a military unit and that we need somebody to be in charge, but then again… we're not the First Order. We should trust our people to make the right decisions."
"You make an excellent point, Rose." Leia chuckled. "Perhaps I'm getting too comfortable being in command."
Rose put the holo out. "One last thing: if we were to build the boarding droid we would need kyber crystals. Perhaps we would have to return to Starkiller base to get some."
"I'm aware, Rose. But first I need to think about it - and whether to put this to vote like you suggested."
Rose cleared her throat. "Well, I-"
"Is there anything else you want to ask me?"
What an odd way to phrase the question. But then again she was Force sensitive, she must have caught on her feelings, her uncertainty. It was tempting to ask for her advice, to tell her what she and Hux had decided. "I-" she broke off. No, not now. "No, that's all. Thank you for your time, Leia."
The next day Leia announced a speech and asked all members of the Resistance to attend. Rose realised that it was going to be about the vote the moment Leia asked her and Hux to join her.
They all met in one of the hangars, Poe helped Leia on a crate so that everybody could see her. Rose and Hux were standing beside her.
"My dear friends and comrades," began Leia. "I address you today not to bore you with a speech about the importance of our fight - we all know what's at stake. We all have sacrificed so much to get where we are today. We all know that the First Order and Kylo Ren need to be stopped." She made a pause. "Today I stand before you not because of the battle ahead of us but because this is a fight about our hearts as well."
Rose could feel the palms of her hands got sweaty. She rubbed them on her trousers.
Leia smiled. "Today I require your advice about the course of our actions. Rose, please."
Quiet murmuring rang through the hangar when Leia stepped down, again aided by Poe and Rose stepped on the crate. She activated her holo and enlarged the picture of the boarding droid.
"Hux and I developed a new weapon," she said and the murmuring became a little louder. She inhaled and continued with her explanations. The room was deadly silent, when she offered her closing remarks: "As you can see the question we need to think about is if we should utilize Starkiller technology or not."
She jumped down and had to suppress the urge to look at Hux. Stars, she really wished she could take his hand now!
"I decided that we hold a vote tomorrow, same place and same time. Are there any questions you want to ask?"
A few hands went up in the air.
Leia nodded. "Captain Espri, please."
"Uh, thank you. Is there any way to use the boarding droids without Starkiller technology?"
"Maybe, but so far we haven't come up with anything. My personal take is that with our meager resources we can only use them with this tech," replied Rose in a loud voice.
A few questions followed concerning the tech itself and then it was Mircah's turn to pose a question.
Rose could feel her hackles rise. There was little doubt in her mind that he would address Hux.
"Why hasn't Hux said anything? It's his idea, so why doesn't he talk? Why don't you stand on that crate and tell us about the 'fierce machine' you built?" he said in an angry voice.
Hux glanced at her before he stepped on the crate. Whispers swept through the room. Rose could feel herself getting nervous, how was Hux supposed to answer that?
"The reason why I didn't speak is simple: I don't have your trust - and why should I? It's as you said, I built Starkiller, I was its architect. But the question is not if you want to trust me, the question is if you want to capitalize on my knowledge or not."
His crisp Imperial accent echoed through the room, he was obviously used to talking to people. Rose pressed her lips together, the irony that he would once again stand on a platform and advocate a laser weapon was not lost on her.
Hux stepped down and clasped his hands behind his back, posture stiff.
Leia spoke once again, "An addendum: I would like two people presenting pros and cons of using Starkiller tech tomorrow before the vote. Who wants to participate?"
Mircah lifted his hand. "I would like to participate."
Leia smiled and nodded. "Very good, which side do you want to argue for?"
Why did she even ask? It was pretty clear that he was against-
"I would like to argue the pros."
What? She narrowed her eyes. She had not seen that one coming.
Espri lifted her hand. "Then I will take the cons."
"Excellent," said Leia. You can both present your case tomorrow. You can come and ask questions of either of us if it helps your case. Thank you all for coming!"
.
-o-
.
People dispersed and Rose headed for Captain Mircah. Judging from her expression earlier she wanted to talk to him about his decision to argue for the weapon. It had been surprising, it seemed that he was a lot more reasonable than they had thought.
"Mircah, can I talk to you for a sec?"
He pulled his nose up. "Yeah, sure."
Rose cleared her throat. "I- uh, I was surprised to hear that you wanted to do the pros. I thought that you wouldn't want to use Hux's expertise to-"
"I don't approve of him being here, but I'm a realist, Rose. Back on Crait we were with our backs to the wall - literally - nobody came to save us. We can't rely on the rest of the galaxy. We can only rely on us to get the job done."
He glanced at Hux and pulled the corners of his mouth down. "We can't get squeamish now, we're already using the cannons you guys updated. So where's the difference to some boarding drone? The decision was made the moment we utilized Hux."
He nodded at them and left.
Hux watched him leave and then directed his attention to Rose. She looked worried. "What is it?"
She exhaled. "He's right of course. It just feels odd that he would agree with us."
"Do you think they will vote to use it?"
"I think so. I mean we've been transparent and we all know that we need the weapon. In a perfect galaxy we wouldn't have to do it… but in the real world it would be reckless not to use it."
He agreed, but it was still odd to think that the Resistance would accept Starkiller technology.
Hux sat outside on the snow covered tree trunk and watched Millie devour her food. It started to snow and he pulled the hood of his parka up. He heard steps coming towards him, it wasn't Rose of course - he would recognize her gait.
He turned around and saw Captain Ebrima coming closer. She slowed her steps a bit when she realised that he was looking at her.
She scanned the vicinity and discovered the Loth-cat. She frowned a bit and sat down on a trunk across from him. "I have questions, Hux."
"Is it about the boarding droid, Captain Ebrima?"
"In a way." She paused. "Do you think we can win the war without them?"
He crooked his eyebrow. "Theoretically, yes. It's just one tool among others. However… it's certainly going to help if it works."
She looked down on Millicent, but it was as if she was not really seeing the animal. "It's important to Rose, isn't it?"
He frowned. "I don't follow."
"I'm not sure how to put this - but she is going around in the base and tries to convince people to vote her way. She seems so- so intense." She looked up. "I've never seen her like this. And I kind of thought-" she broke off.
"You thought I'm behind it," he said. Millie had finished eating and jumped on his lap. He petted her and she started to purr.
She scoffed. "I hoped you were behind it. But truth to be told… you're so different from the guy I saw in the holos that I already knew that you're not masterminding this."
"Rose is too pig-headed to be manipulated anyway, don't you think?"
She exhaled, a cloud of breath formed in front of her mouth. "She is."
The holos and his speeches had really made a lasting impact it seemed. Even though it was a rather plump propagandistic instrument.
"She just wants the war to end," said Hux. "I don't think that you have to worry about her."
"With all due respect, but you don't get it. We all want the war to end but Rose, she seems almost desperate now. And we need to be patient, we can't just win a war of his magnitude in a matter of months." She sighed. "You of all people know that."
He frowned. "Shouldn't you talk about this to Rose? Why tell me?"
"Because she is - as already stated - too damn pig-headed. I tried to tell her but she was too busy. And I think you're one of the few people who she actually listens to."
Millie nudged his hand, he had forgotten to pet her. He quickly continued to scratch her behind her ears. "I don't think-"
"Ugh, I don't know what to do, okay? But you're there, you work with her every day. So, just make sure she knows when to stop." She exhaled. "And yes, I'm aware of the irony that I'm asking you. But you care about her, don't you?"
This again! Well, he was prepared. "Uh, yes. I admire her skills and I like working with her," he said in a calm measured voice.
She stared blankly at him. "You're into her. Stars, it's so obvious the way you look at her during lunch."
Blood rushed up his cheeks and he stuttered. "No, that's- that's not true."
"No worries, your secret is safe with me," she continued as if he hadn't spoken. "All I'm asking is that you keep an eye out so that she doesn't burn out."
"Burn out?" he asked flabbergasted.
"Yeah, well - you know, that she doesn't work herself to death. She needs to relax from time to time. She's too intense"
Hux had no idea what Ebrima was going on about. "But work is important and she has a fantastic work ethic… why should I stop her from being productive?"
Ebrima pinched the back of her nose. "Kriff, don't tell me that you're one of those workaholics too?"
"Are you referring to work-free time?" he asked with a furrowed brow.
She threw her hand in the air. "Stars, this is going nowhere." She got up from the trunk. The sudden movement startled Millie and she bolted back into the forest. "Just talk to her, okay? Try to figure out why she's so obsessed with the boarding droid."
Ebrima marched away, the freshing fallen snow crunching under her boots.
Later that evening he found Rose in the lab, working on one of her side projects - a way to recycle heat more efficiently. When she saw him she beamed at him. "Hi! I hoped you would show up - I could need some help with the calibrations."
"Of course." He joined her at the workbench and started his scans. "I heard that you were talking to people about the vote tomorrow."
She looked up from the power converter with a surprised expression on her face. "Well, I think it's pretty important. Don't you?"
"Of course, but I assume that the logic speaks for itself."
She put her hand on his arm and gave it a firm squeeze. "It's too important to leave it to chance. If they turn it down they will question our next project too."
"I'm aware but it's complicated because of Starkill-"
"People are dying because of the war! We need to end it as fast as possible," she said forcefully. "The sooner we get rid of Kylo Ren the better! We're already fighting the war without Canto Blight, we need this!" She let go of his arm and ran her hand through her hair. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you. I'm a bit nervous about the vote tomorrow."
Was this what Captain Ebrima had been talking about? "I understand, but even if they vote against it, there will be other opportunities."
"I know. But it isn't supposed to be so hard. I want it to be easy, just this once."
He took her hand and rubbed it with his thumb. "Your friends are worried about you."
She sniffled. "What has this to do with anything?"
"Captain Ebrima thinks that you're overworking yourself," he said slowly, insecure of how to proceed. It was certainly best to just tell the truth. "She asked me if I, well, if I had anything to do with you being so focussed on tomorrow's vote."
Rose groaned. "Why the kriff does everybody think that this is some sinister plan? We were as transparent as possible."
"I didn't quite get why she was worried at all," Hux said. "You're not tired, are you?"
"No, otherwise I wouldn't be here, right?" She shrugged. "Besides, we're not really working. This is only small stuff," she gestured towards the power converter.
"It is, and it's only 21:15, it's not even that late."
She put her hands on her hips. "Yeah! We can work at least two hours more."
He smiled at her. "Of course." Ebrima had been worried for nothing, it seemed. Light work right before going to sleep was relaxing after all.