Tremors beneath his feet made him stagger; when the red beam finally erupted from the ground, the forest started to collapse. Hux stood on the stage, unable to move as the chasm moved closer to him. Just when he was about to fall, he was was startled. His eyes snapped open when he felt something touch his back. He pulled his hidden monomolecular blade halfway out of his left sleeve when he realised where he was and that it was Lil who was settling down behind him.

He tucked the blade back in its scabbard and glanced over his shoulder. "Lieutenant Lil, what is the meaning of this?"

"I had a bad dream," she said.

He wiped over his sweat-covered face. "You can't leave your squad. Go ba-"

Before he could finish the sentence he noticed movement from the other side, Chenia and the Private shuffled over to him and settled next to him.

"You can't all have bad dreams," he sighed.

The children didn't answer, they just crawled up to him. The close contact made him uncomfortable; he wasn't used to this proximity. As he lay there, surrounded by smelly, mud-covered children he had to think about he had wasted his greatcoat for nothing. Just before he could make up his mind if he should get it, he fell again asleep.

His chrono beeped as always at six o'clock, Hux was drowsy as he turned it off. The cadets were still fast asleep when he slowly got up and went over to his greatcoat. He patted it down and put it back on.

His throat was parched and with some reluctance he pulled the water bottle out of his pocket, wiped it's opening and took a gulp. Then he took a small bite out of the ration bar, he was feeling slightly sick, probably because he hadn't eaten for quite a while now. Stars, he would give his right arm for a cup of Tarine tea. He took another bite and stepped away from the children, activating his holo.

Sergeant Tico picked up surprisingly quickly. "Did something happen?"

He shook his head. "Of course not, I just wanted to hear your progress report."

She was obviously walking as her small blue figure moved and flickered. "I haven't found the exit yet. But the draught is getting stronger, I must be near it."

"What about the altitude difference?"

"I found a lift, the thing was ancient but I made it work, but it got stuck halfway up so I guess I'm still below surface." She yawned. "I got lost once but now I'm back on track. If I find something, I'll comm you."

"How in the galaxy could you get lost? I thought all you had to do-"

"I've been awake for more than 24 hours, okay? My brain isn't what it used to be. I will keep going for as long as I can but I will have to rest eventually." She stopped and seemed to crouch down. "I'll just catch my breath and be on my way. Tico out."

"Understood, Sergeant. Hux out."

He put the holo away and returned to the children. "Get up, soldiers. We need to move out." He shook them as they covered their eyes when the light of the flashlight blinded them. The Private started to fuss and whine when he woke up, pulling at his pants.

Only now Hux realised that the boy was probably still wearing diapers. Diapers nobody had changed. He pulled the corners of his mouth down. Of all the indignity he had to endure since Ren became Supreme Leader, this was the last straw. "Captain, do you know how to change diapers?"

Chenia rubbed her eyes. "No."

"Hold the flashlight," Hux sighed as he knelt down.

The boy wriggled and cried as he pulled his pants down; the diaper he was wearing was apparently full. Hux wasn't bothered by the smell or the very sight as he opened the diaper. On the battlefield he had seen much, much worse. The smell of blood, piss and shit from dying soldiers was so intense that everything paled before this, especially if the person before him didn't have his guts spilling out.

He threw the diaper away and pulled a custom made handkerchief out of his breast pocket, he wiped the boy clean as good as he was able and then he took off his greatcoat and his jacket, handing them both to Lil before taking off the regulatory black t-shirt he was wearing underneath his uniform.

If the children noticed the scabbard of his blade that was strapped to his left forearm, they didn't say anything. Perhaps they didn't understand what it was for. He put his jacket back on and when the topmost button was closed again he started to cut the t-shirt in three large pieces.

He used one of the pieces as makeshift diaper and when he had finished the boy had calmed down. He was just staring at Hux with big eyes, sucking on his thumb.

Hux didn't know much about children but he thought it was odd how quiet the toddler was. He had thought that he would make more noise, instead he was just quiet and passive.

Well, it was certainly easier that way. He got up and put on his greatcoat before picking up the boy. "Let's go."

"... and when I get home I will visit Munyn. She is my best friend, she is a pilot and has a Dwarf Blurrg. It's name is Avo," said Chenia as she walked next to him.

Hux didn't reply, instead he focused on the way ahead of them.

"I got a friend too!" said Lil loudly from the other side. "Her name is Leia, she is old but she gives me sweets sometimes. When I get home I'll eat biscuits and have a hot chocolate! Do you have a friend at home?"

Hux scoffed. "No, I haven't."

"Why?"

Stars, he should just have lied! They were talking at him for the past half hour and didn't show any signs of getting tired. "Adults don't have friends."

"Why?"

"I don't know, perhaps it's because we work a lot." He had to say something to distract them. "What about the Private? Does he have friends?"

"I don't know," replied Chenia.

"Me, neither."

"Why not?"

"Because we don't know him," said Lil. "We don't even know his name."

"Ah, so there are a lot of cadets with the Rebels?" asked Hux, for the first time interested. He hadn't known that the Rebels were copying the Order's new blood programme.

"What's a cadet?" asked Chenia.

"Uh, children - are there a lot of children with the Rebels?"

"No, just us I guess. And the Private."

So they weren't Rebel cadets? How odd. "I take it that your parents are with the Rebels then?"

Chenia nodded. "My dad is! He is the best repairman there is! He is big and strong, the strongest there is."

"You don't say," replied Hux dryly.

"My mum is dead though," she continued. "I can't remember her but my dad told me about her. She was a cook, I bet she made the best cakes!"

Hux was tempted to point out that a baker was making cakes but it felt like a moot observation. With the mother out of the picture, the father was probably trying to recruit her into his cause.

"I'm living with my aunt and her wife," chimed Lil in, tugging at his coat to get his attention. "They are both technicians! They fix stuff too."

"Are your parents dead?" asked Chenia bluntly.

"Yes, they died during the war. But Auntie Niv took me in."

Chenia seemed to muse over something. "Are your parents alive, General?"

"No, they are not."

"Who do you celebrate Lifeday with then?"

"Adults don't celebrate Lifeday," he curtly replied.

"Rose says that she loves Lifeday," retorted Chenia. "She is an adult and celebrates it."

A biting remark was on the tip of his tongue, instead he just hummed and continued his way.

Hux thought that they made good progress as they reached the fourth crossroad after a few hours and a couple of breaks. In the late afternoon the children took a nap on his greatcoat while Hux rested. He tried to raise his First Order contacts but like the last few times it didn't work.

From far away he could hear a loud rumble and a slight tremor made him tense up, but it was over quickly. So far they had been lucky with the earthquakes or, rather, the stability of the tunnels.

His holo started to beep, he activated it and a dishevelled Tico appeared. "That tremor just now-"

"It was far away."

She relaxed visibly and sat down. "By the Force, I need a break."

"We haven't found the lift yet, but if we do… perhaps I can reach one of our ships. The signal might be strong enough to get through the sediments."

"That's not exactly an exciting prospect for the children and me," she didn't sound annoyed, just tired.

"The children would be safe," he said in a quiet voice. "Safer than being with Rebels on the run."

"You really believe that, don't you? That them becoming Stormtroopers would be safe?"

"Well, yes. If they're shown the right skill they can become officers."

"Then tell me this: Do you feel safe in the Order?"

The unexpected question made him hesitate. Safe? Yes… no, not with Ren- not with the other-

"You don't, otherwise you would have said 'yes'."

He scowled. "You just surprised me, I feel safe." It sounded weak. Snivelling idiot boy. "Besides, a little hardship strengthens the character."

"Yeah, nothing like murder and mindless drills to form a boy's character, right?"

"I won't be lectured by a woman who clings to worthless celebrations like Lifeday!" snapped Hux. "I know you and your ilk! You think the galaxy consists of gentle thoughts and kindness but I have seen it! It's dirty, messy and brutal."

"That was oddly specific," she replied casually, not the slightest impressed by his outburst. "How do you know about me celebrating Lifeday?"

Damn it! He should just stayed calm, calm and professional. "The children mentioned it," he pressed out. "They are offering all kinds of unsolicited information."

She got up and stretched. "Stars, I'm beat." She started to walk, her tiny figure moving in the holo. "Unsolicited information, huh? You mean they behave like normal, sociable people - oh no," she said in mocking astonishment.

He pressed his lips together. Of course she was making fun of him. "Jeer all you want, I don't care-"

"Gotta say, for a stiff uniform you are quite easy to rile up."

She was seeing right through him; how could she not? Judging from her fighting spirit and her determination she was strong, and the strong always sniffed out the weak so that they could crush them. "I don't know what you are talking about," he said, but even he could hear the strain in his voice.

"Really?" she scoffed. "So when Poe made that lame yo-mama-joke you-"

Before he could stop himself, he ended the call. He stared at the now dark holo; his heart was hammering against his chest. She even knew that he was nothing but a lowly bastard. He noticed that his hand trembled and he wiped over his face. Stupid, silly boy!

He shouldn't have ended the call, now she knew that she had gotten under his skin. But then again she already knew that he was weak and soft.

Well, he would show her! Once he had caught up to her, he would show her what it meant to mock him! He grit his teeth. Let's see if she was still laughing at him when she was strapped to an interrogation-

A noise from the direction of the children interrupted his thoughts. He straightened himself, first things first. He had his duty to fulfill.

Lil was awake and blinked when she looked into his flashlight. She was hugging her knees, looking at him with big teary eyes.

"What is it?" asked Hux. "Are you hungry?"

"I thought you left us," she said in a throaty voice. Before he had time to react she got up and threw her arms around him.

Hux gulped, looking down on the girl, insecure what had brought it on. He cleared his throat. "I'm your commanding officer, Lieutenant. I won't desert you."

"Promise that you won't go on a mission," her voice was muffled due to his greatcoat.

He awkwardly patted her back. "What are you talking about? Why would I go on a mission?"

"Mum and dad always went on missions, I had to promise them to be a big girl…" She looked up to him, tears forming in her eyes. "I hate missions, they are stupid!"

He took her arms and gently pried them off his waist. Then he crouched down, to have a better look at her. She looked miserable, scared and alone. "Military regulation forbids that Generals go on missions," he began haltingly. "Paragraph 458b clearly states that a commanding officer's place is with his troops." He didn't mention that abandoning one's post was punishable by death.

She sniffed. "You won't leave?"

He smiled at her. "That would be a dereliction of duty. Of course I wouldn't."

She played with the hem of her dress. "Okay."

"Come on, let's wake the others. We need to walk for a bit before we can rest again."

She nodded and went over to Chenia to wake her. Hux was about to wake the Private when he noticed that he was already awake, staring at him while sucking his thumb. Again it was striking how quiet he was. Or were children his age so quiet? He didn't know for sure but it seemed unlikely.

They were walking down the tunnel when Hux decided to inquire about the Private. "Captain Chenia, you said that you don't know much about the Private… but even so, are children his age so… mute?"

Chenia shrugged. "I don't know. But my cousin was certainly louder, he always annoyed me with his stupid ball games. Also, he was chewing with his mouth open! It was so gross!"

"Ah," replied Hux.

"There were a few refugees at the last base," Chenia continued. "They were strange, some of them hoarded food in their rooms. They didn't even say hello when I greeted them. They just stared at me like I was a ghost or something."

"Refugees? From where?"

"From a planet that starts with… On… something like that."

"Onderon?"

"Yes," she beamed at him. "Onderon!"

Hux felt an iron grip around his heart. The First Order had occupied Onderon for years, they had many treasures of the soil needed for Starkiller. The Onderionians were proud, stubborn people - there had been frequent uprisings that had to be crushed. Some Rebels had gone in hiding, lurking in the sewers of the capital of the planets. Quiet and invisible like shadows. Hux had read the reports, General Sagk had hunted them down with vengeance. Slaughtering civilians when needed.

Was this why the boy was so quiet? Because he had been hiding underground with his parents? Had they taught him to be still lest they wouldn't be discovered? Hux could feel a lump forming in his throat.

It was odd, feeling the boy clinging to him, knowing that he was his enemy, having forced him underground. Making him literally mute. He gulped. The medics at the academy would notice his lack of communication, perhaps suspecting mental deficits.

He grabbed him a bit firmer. The Private wouldn't make it to the Stormtrooper programme, he would be sold to the hutts. All because the Private's parents had been too stubborn to bow to the First Order.

No, no… this was conjecture. Perhaps he was just shy. Perhaps he just needed mental stimulation...

At the next halt, he gave Chenia two pieces of the ration bar. "I'll take care of the Private myself," he said and sat down next to the boy.

Now what? He dimly remembered that he had seen on some of the occupied planets that parents had been playing with their children, lifting them up in the air, making them shriek from pleasure.

'What are you waiting for? Stop bothering me and go to bed.'

He himself had wished for acknowledgement, even after years he had still hoped that his step-mother would come by just once, tell him a bedtime story like the orderly sometimes did when his father was away.

What had happened to Sergeant Collhey? He couldn't remember. Come to think of it… he could barely remember his face. But his voice… he still remembered his voice. Deep and with a hint of Core World accent.

Hux gave the Private the morsel of food and watched him chew on it. "Do you like the taste?" he asked.

The Private turned his head into his direction and stared at him, still chewing.

"I assume you speak Basic," Hux continued. "Can you tell me your name?" He pointed at himself. "General Hux." Then he pointed at the boy.

The Private frowned and reached out, grabbing Hux's finger with his tiny hand. Then he looked expectantly at him.

Hux smiled. "You are right of course, it's impolite to point at people."

The boy let go of his finger and sat down on the ground, examining the muddy floor and various rocks lying around. He took a small rock and showed it to Hux.

"Ah, so you are interested in Geology? That's sensible, there are many uses for that profession." He took the stone. Stupid, snivelling brat. He forced himself to smile again. "Thank you, what an excellent example of the local sediments."

The boys eyes went wide and he quickly picked up another stone he handed to Hux.

Hux lifted the stone up and shone his flashlight on it. "Hm, a gneissic rock. Another good example." He leaned down and pointed at the brighter bands on the grey stone. "Look, you can clearly see the sediments here and here."

The toddler made an undefined sound, it sounded like a hum.

"I think there is a hint of garnet and mica present, wouldn't you agree, Private?"

The boy took the stone out of Hux's open hand and looked at it with a deep frown.

"I concur, further examination is warranted. I suspect that there are traces of gold in it."

He checked his chronometer and got up again. It was time to move on.

About two hours later they finally reached the lift shaft Sergeant Tico had told him about. Chenia and Lil became excited and jumped up and down. "We are getting out! We are going home!"

Hux checked the controls. The buttons weren't glowing as they should, perhaps a short-circuit? He used his blade to peel the control box open and examined the cables. Everything seemed in order, he could see where Tico had fixed it before. She certainly knew what she was doing judging from the way she had hot-wired the sub-processor of the remote control with the primary circuit.

He lit up the shaft above him and saw the lift stuck halfway to the upper level. Just as Tico had said.

"I'm afraid the lift isn't working," he said and returned to the girls.

"Can't we climb up?" asked Chenia with a pout.

"Indeed, Captain. We will have to, there is no other way," he said, straightening his back. "We will pitch our camp here and will climb up first thing in the morning."

Lil was unusually quiet, she was always eager to make suggestions of her own. Perhaps it had to do with the 'mission' she mentioned? Or perhaps she was scared of the climb… and she was right. Even from a short glance he could see that the walls were slippery, laced with small rocks but it was near impossible for the children to climb all the way on their own.

He had little doubt that Chenia would make it way up but climbing in a dark shaft was tricky and required more body strength that she could possibly have. So did Lil. And of course, there was the Private to consider.

Sergeant Tico couldn't help, she was probably far away now, still looking for an exit. No, he had to come up with something.