Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars, obviously.

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Chapter 2: The First Day

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A brand new Star Destroyer "Deterioration" orbited the planet, accompanied by two cruisers. The ship was the First Order's most recent addition to the fleet and, as such, it had been placed in charge of the recently promoted officer, Commander Hux. The best vessel imaginable, full crew and a fairly easy first mission would sound like a dream for any career man, but the reality was less than rosy.

Hux paced in the hangar bay nervously, combing his red hair with his fingers. He tried standing still for a moment, but he kept tapping with his foot. The start of his commanding career was marked by an utterly botched mission. This failure would be noted in his file for certain. "I can't believe this," he murmured under his breath, before Kylo Ren's shuttle arrived.

The small craft flew into the hangar far too fast, crooked at that, scraping the floor with the left side of its bottom. On its way, it hit one of the TIE-fighters, smashing it and delivering a hard blow into the "Deterioration's" budget. Then, the shuttle continued its path of destruction. Somehow, its pilot managed to turned the small ship ninety degrees and having its prow rub against the pristine walls of the hangar. A number of stormtroopers ran for their lives, scattering like frightened insects.

Hux observed the desolation of his ship with terror reflecting in his blue eyes. Just when he thought things couldn't go worse, they did. To calm himself down, he inhaled slowly and massaged his temples. He felt a massive headache approaching.

The shuttle stopped at last and only two people left it – Lieutenant Phasma and Kylo Ren. Snoke's young apprentice seemed particularly distraught. He kept touching his lightsaber, as though constantly checking if it was still by his side. His clenched hands trembled a little, and all his anxiety reflected on his face, making him an open book. Hux noted to himself to have him wear some sort of a mask to cover his boyish face. A galactic empire in the making couldn't afford having someone so unintimidating around.

Hux stalked toward Kylo Ren and Phasma, inspecting the damaged shuttle. "Where are the stormtroopers?" he demanded.

"Dead, sir," Phasma said in a dry, soldier voice, before adding quietly, "Mostly."

Hux glared at her furiously. If she weren't so damn tall and robust, he'd punch her! Keeping his composure, he looked away, focusing his gaze on the wrecked TIE-fighters; it didn't help manage his anger. Hux said to Phasma, "According to the mission control, three of the stormtroopers lived when you left the planet without them!"

"They're certainly dead now," she rebutted.

"That's beside the point!" Hux looked at her sharply, clenching his hands into fists. "Lieutenant, you were responsible for these troopers and you left them to die. How will you explain that?" He stared at her expectantly.

Phasma shifted her weight from one foot to the other and turned her head to the side. "With all due respect, sir, but they're just stormtroopers. They're expendable."

Hux sighed lightly, releasing air from his lungs with a whizz. This supposedly amazing assignment would turn out into a penalty, if he was to work with people like Phasma. "Lieutenant Phasma, I'm beginning to have my doubts about your assignment to my ship. Maybe, it was a mistake," he said to her.

Obstinately, she kept looking somewhere to his right. "It was," she muttered barely audibly.

"Excuse me?" Hux cocked his head.

Phasma turned her bucket-like helmet to stare back at Hux. "It's nothing, sir," she said hastily and saluted. "Requesting a permission to leave, sir!"

Hux rolled his eyes, feeling relief, actually, for he was fed up with her and her attitude. "Granted." He dismissed Phasma and shifted his attention to Kylo Ren. "Have you found the boy?"

"I have," he said quickly… too quickly.

Hux furrowed his brows, surveying Snoke's apprentice. The way he was staring at his own shoes, the twitchy movements of his palms… It was painfully obvious that there was more to the story. Hux crossed his arms on his chest. "And..."

"He's dead," Kylo Ren answered.

Hux closed his eyes and sighed with relief. The mission wasn't a complete failure after all. "Thankfully," he muttered, before adding: "Is there anything else I should know?"

Kylo Ren whirled on his heel, dramatically swishing his black cape – a gesture, which earned Hux's dismayed moan. Before stalking away, he told the young commander, "You might want to send some proton torpedoes to the planet."

Hux blinked. "What?" he asked himself, for Kylo Ren was gone already. Slightly lost, he gawked at the trashed hangar bay, reminding himself that six stormtroopers died and how utterly incompetent his subordinates were. Truly, it was a fantastic start of his command of "Deterioration." He could feel his career utterly deteriorating. Thinking of which, he tapped his intercom. "Sergeant Tarkin, I require your presence in the conference room immediately."

The conference room was but an elevator trip away and Hux managed to get there before the sergeant. Usually used for senior staff's meetings, the chamber was now empty, its newness nearly glimmering. The white, shiny surface of the floor and walls was unspoiled, as well as the wooden table, which had been manufactured out of a rare species of a tree found only in the Dagobah system.

Hux traced his fingers along the smooth piece of furniture and stared out the enormous window at the starry space ahead. So many planetary systems were in this galaxy… some of them had been reclaimed by the First Order already, others had been stolen by the so-called New Republic or were abandoned, forgotten. The young commander smiled with hope, remembering how he vowed to unite them all under the aegis of the First Order. He was a naïve cadet then, but Hux's dream lived on in his heart. Even faced with failure and obstacles such as today, he still saw his glorious goal clearly. The mission was on and Supreme Leader Snoke trusted him with it.

He turned as the door to the conference room opened and a slender woman entered. She was in her twenties, just like Hux, although she ranked significantly lower. A rumor had it that she was a granddaughter of the late Grand Moff's Tarkin, and Hux had no doubt that it was true. Indeed, the Tarkin genes were strong in her – from the thin face with prominent, high cheekbones, blue eyes and to the skeleton-like silhouette with long fingers and bony knees. To be honest, she had a bit of a horse face. Her lips were so thin that she gave an impression that she was constantly pouting. She wore her auburn hair slicked back and gathered in a bun at the base of her neck, which made her eyes bulge when she tied it too tight.

"Commander Hux," sergeant Tarkin spoke unsurely; her voice was quiet and betrayed her lack of confidence. She swallowed a lump in her throat and stared at Hux like a tauntaun in headlights.

The young commander barely refrained himself from slapping his face with his hand. For crying out loud, Tarkin was his senior intelligence officer! Couldn't she, at least, hide her nervousness better? Her demeanor wasn't competent, but maybe she was a hard worker. "Have you located Lor San Tekka?" he asked.

Tarkin wriggled her fingers as she locked her gaze on her feet. "Well… He's been quite elusive, covering his tracks…" She drew a shaky breath.

Hux groaned as his patience wore thin. "Have you found him or not?" he raised his voice. "If I hear that you didn't-"

"I did!" Tarkin exclaimed and looked at Hux; she had utter desperation in her eyes. "He's in…" she paused for a moment, as though she was thinking hard about it. "He's in the Ahakista system."

Hux scratched his hairless chin thoughtfully. "It makes sense," he noted. Ahakista was home to the famous Daystar Casino, as well as a den of smugglers, thieves and dregs of society in general. It would be plausible for Lor San Tekka to hide out there, where he could blend in among other scum. Hux smiled at Tarkin, glad that at least one of his subordinates was half-competent. "Thank you for your good work, sergeant. Keep it up and I see a bright future lay ahead of you."

Tarkin opened her mouth, as if she was to say something, but then, she reconsidered. Clasping her thin lips shut, she saluted stiffly. "All in a day's work, sir," she recited very fast and dashed for the door. After glancing over her shoulder, she tapped repeatedly at the panel before her way out wasn't blocked anymore. Afterward, she fled, as though being in one room with Hux was her greatest nightmare.

Hux shook his head, disbelieving that such individuals had been assigned to his ship. The hope wasn't lost yet; perhaps, he'd be able to turn this day around. He turned his com link on and addressed the bridge, "Head to the Ahakista system, full speed."

With a slightly better mood, Hux headed to the elevator, which would take him to the bridge. Thankfully, these things were working far efficiently on Deterioration than on the older Star Destroyers. He crammed himself into the small space together with two stormtroopers, who patrolled the decks, and was about to dial his destination, when another passenger arrived.

"Wait!" a plump officer jogged for the elevator. His standard uniform barely fit his belly; his cap was missing, revealing a mass of brown curls, that resembled a nest. Once he made it to the elevator, he bent in half, panting from the effort. His freckled face was now brightly red as he gawked up at Hux. "Thanks for holding the elevator, commander."

"Anytime, doctor Calway." Hux noted to himself to recommend Calway some much needed exercise. It was somewhat embarrassing to have the chief medical doctor look the least healthy out of the entire crew. If he got a heart attack, Hux would die of shame before Supreme Leader Snoke and the fellow commanders. He cleared his throat and asked out of sheer curiosity, "Sergeant Calway, why exactly are you heading to the bridge?"

"I'm escaping," the doctor said straightforwardly. When the elevator beeped and its door opened, he peeked outside carefully, before leaving. "Kylo Ren was having a tantrum near the medical bay, wrecking the equipment with his lightsaber. I'm not quite fond of being anywhere around when that happens."

"No one is." Hux could relate to the doctor. "Nevertheless, Sergeant Calway, you shouldn't leave your post at a whim."

"But that's self-preservation!" Calway protested, clenching his plump hands and staring the commander solemnly in the eye. Confidently, he leaned toward Hux, whispering, "My grandma used to tell me stories of those folks with swishing capes and red lightsabers. She told me, stay away from those bullies, Eldon, they will choke you with their magic!" The doctor made a strangling gesture with his palms. "Mind my word, commander, this Kylo Ren is trouble. No normal man would dress up in such ridiculous robes, that's what my grandma would say. A wise woman, she was…"

Hux realized that he was standing in front of the elevator and listening to Calway for a while, instead of going about his duties. He shook his head, mentally berating himself for the slip of the discipline. "It was very interesting, Sergeant Calway, but I need to be on the bridge."

"Of course, commander," the doctor said, reaching out and patting Hux on the shoulder amiably. "It's always a pleasure to talk to a sensible man such as yourself."

Hux brushed past him and marched toward the bridge, only to discover that Calway was trotting right behind him. The doctor bore a wide, oblivious grin on his round face. The commander huffed from irritation and was about to reprimand his foolish subordinate, when the floor violently rocked under his feet. "What the hell?" he breathed out and ran for the bridge.

"Talk to me!" he yelled, as he stormed into the bridge.

The flight officers didn't even bother to look at him, for they were busy fighting with the machinery. As Hux stared out the window, he understood why – the Star Destroyer just dropped out of the hyperspace onto Ahakista's orbit right into an intense firefight. It was hard to make out what was going on, with a multitude of fighters swirling about, accompanied by half of a fleet. "The resistance," he whispered, noticing the insignia and X-Wings dashing right outside the window, taking a fly-bys and assaulting all vital systems. The Star Destroyer shook again, this time even more.

"Shields down to sixty percent!" one of the techs cried.

Another pointed at his screen dramatically. "Commander, we just lost the hyperdrive!"

Hux bit his lower lip, witnessing his brand new ship fall apart, on the very first day of his command. "Have all TIE fighters engage the enemy!" he ordered. "Divert all auxiliary power to the shields and fire with everything we've got. And-" he paused, realizing that he was unable to do this alone. "Send a distress signal, now!"

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Author's note:

Lor San Tekka is a character, who dies at the beginning of "The Force Awakens." He's portrayed by Max von Sydow.

Great thanks to Gibbous1992, my awesome beta-reader. You're the best!

Reviews would be greatly appreciated, even tiny, one-line comments. Come on, guys, let me know if you'd like to read more.