A/N: Using the dark side of the Force to open hyperspace tunnels is a Legends/non-canon ability. But I don't have any misgivings about assigning such a talent to Snoke.
Cheskar presents as gender ambiguous.
This chapter is set a couple months after the preceding one.
"That's it?" Hux leaned forward, looking at the wire-form projection of the planet he'd been 'given'.
Veska nodded. They were in Snoke's audience chamber, but the leader himself was absent, off on some other work or perhaps it was off-cycle for him. Hux assumed Snoke slept and ate like anyone else. He'd been called here to receive the latest information – Admiral Nayta's explorations had revealed the planet Snoke was having her look for, which would be turned over to the megaweapon project for their use.
Hux stood and circled the table, crossing behind Cheskar, the other team member he'd brought with him. Cheskar was rapidly becoming the chief engineer rather than the adjunct they'd been hired as, with Hux finding himself pulled too many ways to consider himself the primary even on something as critical as how everything was going to come together.
"Look at all the kyber," Cheskar said in amazement, reading the text that hovered just above the table.
"Where is it?" Hux asked.
"It doesn't say, but probably deep," Cheskar answered.
"I don't mean the kyber. I mean the planet." He turned to Veska. "Where is it?"
"The coordinates-" she started.
"I don't care about the coordinates. Zoom out. I care about where it is in relation to everything else."
She tapped a few buttons. The view shifted. The planet reduced to a small, bright circle surrounded by hundreds of faint specks.
Hux looked at the various nearby stars, trying to find a landmark or something to give it context. Cheskar was still reading the geological properties under the planet. Hux said, "Zoom out again." She complied and Hux finally saw a few labeled systems he recognized. He leaned his hands on the table. "This? This is where he wants us to build the weapon? It's out in the middle of nowhere!"
At Hux's ending near-shout, Cheskar finally looked up at the multitude of stars and markings floating overhead. "It should be easy to keep it a secret then."
"Of course it will be easy to keep it a secret!" Hux said, shoving away from the table and pacing as he ranted. "It's already been kept a secret! You don't have that much kyber lying around unknown and unharvested on any planet within striking distance of a hyperlane! But how long does it take to get there? This could ruin the whole project!"
"All that kyber has to be worth something," Cheskar said reasonably.
"Blast the kyber!" Hux yelled at them. He turned to Veska. "What's the transit time?"
She looked suitably taken aback by his outburst. "Um … um, it took Nayta, ah, three months to …"
"Three months?" Hux yelled at her, then turned to Cheskar. "Three months? In a destroyer? A star destroyer? Probably one of the new Resurgents! Three! Months!" Cheskar looked confused. Hux put a hand on the table and leaned toward him. "Do you know how long it will take a freighter to get there? With all our supplies? The cargo ships with construction droids? The struts and prefab units we have to attach engines to and fly out like they're ships? Do you know how long it takes them to get there? More than three months! I did not build this sort of transit time into the timeline!"
Cheskar blinked and looked back at the projection. "Oh."
"Oh? Yes! 'Oh.'" Hux mocked him. "It won't work. I don't want his useless planet! Even the Downworlds have an iceball in far orbit that would be a better choice."
"But the kyber-" Cheskar started.
"I don't care about the kyber! Why are you so obsessed with that? They're just rocks!"
Cheskar finally raised their voice. "The weapon won't work without them!"
"Yes, fine," Hux said with airy sarcasm. "So we send a mining expedition to this planet Leader Snoke has so kindly informed us of. We mine the kyber and come back, leaving that insignificant dirtball out in the middle of nowhere where it belongs!"
"We could put engines on it and fly it here," Cheskar said. Hux stared at them like they were daft. Cheskar said, "We were planning to put engines on it anyway. We have to unless it's in a multi-star system and we're fine with never taking more than two or three shots with it."
"Cheskar, I know that! But how would we get the engines out there and built and affixed to a superstructure such that the whole planet won't crumble into dust as soon as we activate them, without the sort of full-scale engineering process that's inhibited by the blasted thing's location in the first place?"
Cheskar folded their arms over their chest and frowned, but their tone was reasonable when they said, "Good point. It probably wouldn't move very fast anyway." That was part of what Hux liked about Cheskar – they were rational and willing to weather Hux's emotional volatility instead of reacting to it.
"We find another planet-" Hux started.
"Has to have a ferrous core," Cheskar said.
"That's not rare. But yes, it puts out the iceball. There are plenty of other options. We pick one near transit lanes. We have this thing mined," Hux pointed at the holo, "and we can make the schedule. There's no way to do it using that as our candidate. We're still going to have to rearrange things and hope the mining turns up crystals of the configurations we need, and not just a bunch of shards or trace."
In a quiet voice, Veska said, "This is the planet Snoke said you were to use."
"Oh, sure!" Hux said with a bitter laugh. "Give me another five years on the timeline and maybe, maybe! I can do it. Without that, there's no point."
"We're going to use it anyway," Cheskar said to Veska. "We'll use the kyber. That's 'using' it. We'll just build the weapon part somewhere else."
The look Veska gave him was like Cheskar had calmly suggested testing a blaster's battery pack by pointing it at their head and pulling the trigger. Hux had his own experiences with attempting to re-interpret Snoke's orders. He wasn't about to try to get that past him. Hux said, "I have to brief him on any significant changes to the project anyway and this will be significant. I'll tell him."
"You should probably wait until we find another candidate world, so he can approve that at the same time," Cheskar said.
"No. Sooner the better," Hux said. He crossed his arms over his chest and hugged himself, staring at the pulsing marker for the planet Snoke had sent out most of the fleet to find. "Today."
"Leader Snoke. Thank you for your time on such short notice. I was shown the planet you designated for use in the megaweapon project. The characteristics," he swallowed nervously before continuing. "It's too far away from any transportation routes to be of use beyond mining it for kyber. I believe that-" He couldn't speak. His throat had seized.
Snoke leaned forward, the fingers of his right hand moving in a slight pincer motion next to him. "Perhaps my agent was not clear. That is the planet you will use."
"Awb, eck." The pressure released. Hux coughed, cleared his throat, and stared at the table in front of him for a few moments before raising his eyes. He was sure his expression was resentful.
Snoke said, "You think I would devote the resources spent on finding this world on a foolish whim? Your insolence is an insult. Your lack of faith is a deliberate provocation. Out of all the planets in the galaxy, my sight found this one and you will use it!"
"If I use that planet, the project will fail to meet schedule!" He didn't mention the budget, because Cheskar had a point – that much kyber would catapult the Order into being the richest organization in the galaxy if they played their cards right. "If the project fails to meet schedule, then the Order fails. That's what you told me! You will kill me if this doesn't work!" He was yelling at his superior officer. It was … well … not wise.
Snoke rose to his feet. Hux rose higher, by virtue of some telekinetic grip on his throat that lofted him off the floor. His body was not designed to be supported like this. His spine felt weird. His tongue and the soft tissues of his throat crowded into his mouth. Snoke said, "You will do the job that has been set before you and you will understand that the performance of that task is my will. Whether it includes your death or not is for me to decide, not you!" Snoke threw him aside like he was a doll.
Hux rolled and flopped in an ungraceful, undignified manner. He dry heaved, swallowed bile, and brought himself to hands and knees. He focused on breathing. And then cringing, as Snoke stalked over to loom above him. Snoke snarled, "You demand this treatment from me as though you enjoy it. You are inured to anything less after your father's failed efforts to bring you to heel."
Hux felt a hate for Snoke that knew no bounds. He rocked back on his haunches and raised his head defiantly. For that moment, it was like the entire galaxy made sense. He knew his place in it. He felt the ebb and flow of everything. It was a power within himself – a power he could use, somehow. If only he had any idea of how to get a grip on it.
Snoke raised his brows. "Your passion," Snoke paused, leaning down to peer at him as Hux tried not to tremble at Snoke's direct attention. He could feel that presence in his mind, but it wasn't painful this time. It was just there. "For this project," Snoke continued slowly, turning his head, "is laudable."
Their eyes met. The fear left Hux. He stared up into intelligent, piercing blue eyes that should have filled him with terror, but instead he felt nothing at all. Even the hate had fled, like it had been suctioned out of him. In that emptiness, his intellect remained. This mortal creature was close enough for him to eviscerate. But he needed Snoke. Even void of emotion, he wouldn't give up. People, children, the Order itself – depended on him faithfully fulfilling his duty.
Snoke half-stifled a snort of derision and moved out of reach. "Treacherous beast. Even as a husk, you would be a thorn. You are an idealist and a fanatic."
Hux felt a slow shock as emotions flowed back through him with Snoke's departure. He could feel himself shaking inside. He assumed he'd just been the target of yet another Force power. A truly dark part of himself wondered if he could ask Snoke to do that again, more permanently, and spare him the hell of feeling. But no – he was too much of a 'fanatic' for that.
Snoke chortled as he shuffled further away. "Ah, you are weak. Without me, you are a laughingstock – a dangerous sport of your father's that the others would do away with faster than I would. Why do you think your talents were being squandered on Lanson Down?"
Hux had no answer for that. Years had passed there – years of doing nothing, accomplishing nothing – it seemed. They had been years of indolence, of not having anyone like Snoke or Brendol driving him on, of seeing the rejects of the Republic find a new home, to grow and flourish in a prosperity Hux had never known as a child. Years of research and coming up with this weapon, as well, so something useful had come out of it from Snoke's point of view, he supposed.
"The weapon is nothing but an empty boast without me," Snoke said. "Your legacy, your destiny, is reached through serving me. You will do as I have commanded. I give you no other choice."
The air left Hux. He let his eyes drop to the floor. It was depressing. Words like 'legacy' and 'destiny' meant nothing if the planet was so far away that it took half a year to get supplies to it, much less back from it. This was a direct contradiction of his mission. He could not continue blithely toward failure, but he didn't know what else to do – as Snoke said, he had no other choice. His duty was in conflict.
Before Hux could contemplate finding another way, Snoke went on, "I will not be stopped by mere distance. I will create a hyperspace wormhole to link our shipyards directly to this world. Your project will continue as planned."
Hux looked up at him, blinking. Snoke was some steps away, a third of the generously-sized room, and facing the table as though addressing it instead of Hux. Maybe he hadn't heard Snoke correctly. What he had heard made as much sense as if Snoke had claimed to be able to magically teleport the whole planet into orbit over Coruscant. One did not just 'create' a wormhole when convenient. That such a feat might be within Snoke's powers was both humbling and terrifying.
"What? Sir?" Was he allowed to ask that? He wasn't sure, but the words were already out of his mouth. He was still crouched on the floor, so hopefully his groveling posture would save him from punishment.
"It will be done tomorrow. Now leave me. I must prepare myself."