**WARNING: This is definitely an 'M'-rated story. If you are not into this sort of thing, I strongly advise you not to proceed.
A motionless body half-covered by a thin surgical sheet was atop an exam table. The patient had been stripped of his helmet; a blood-soaked bandage in its place covering half of his face. The man's chest was exposed and there was blood beginning to seep from the blaster hole on his side. If it weren't for the frequent beep of the heart rate monitor, one would presume Kylo Ren to be dead.
If only they were both so lucky.
General Hux observed his rival lie unconscious in the medical wing. He was meditating on all that had gone wrong in the last 72 hours
It would be easy for him to put the full blame of what had happened on Ren's shoulders; but, Hux knew that he was also at fault. If only he had destroyed the Rebel's base before allowing Ren the chance to catch that junk girl from Jakku. Hux had been too blind in his eagerness to appease the Supreme Leader, to extinguish the Rebels, to see the ultimate flaws in their defenses. If they had all taken a moment to think; not acted upon impulse. The First Order would still have the Starkiller Base and infinite opportunity at galactic takeover.
After the destruction of their superweapon, Snoke had demanded an immediate withdraw to the Unknown Regions. It had been chaos on those last minutes aboard the Starkiller Base. Fire and death had reigned down upon them signaling their imminent defeat. Those Rebel scum had pulled off a victory – a group of renegade pilots and miscreants led by a former princess.
He felt laughter bubble up in his chest at the comical nature of it.
In the midst of the turmoil, the Supreme Leader had ordered him to fetch Ren at the last minute. Ren wouldn't be alive it had not been Hux's quick maneuvering. They had located him on some cliff side lying half-dead in the snow. He had lost several valuable Troopers during the rescue mission. The Finalizer had almost succumbed to the vacuum created by the Starkiller's disintegration. All of them had been at risk just to save the life of one man.
"Kylo Ren holds the key to the last Jedi's destruction. Only with the death of Luke Skywalker can we have complete control of the entire galaxy."
The General remembered Snoke saying this to him the day he had been promoted to General. Hux had inquired about Ren's importance to their cause. It was common knowledge that Snoke valued Ren's wellbeing over all others. They were master and pupil. In the depths of his heart, Hux knew that Snoke would never look upon him as he did Ren.
A fit of anger overtook him and he slammed his hands down on the exam table ignoring the sting of the metal on his skin. His actions did not cause Ren to stir. The fallen Jedi remained eerily still.
Disgusted with the display, he would not become Kylo Ren, the General composed himself. He could not, however, will away the dark thoughts that clouded his mind.
Nothing good could be salvaged from this defeat: Phasma was missing, his army was scattered, and he was losing his control. Last night was a perfect example of the latter problem. Instead of concentrating his efforts on regrouping his troops, Hux had spent the night with Nadya. There was something about the slave that drew him in. At the academy, he had been taught to put duty before all else. He had voluntarily forgone food, water, and all other necessities during his training. He had self-inflicted pain upon his own body for the good of the First Order. But, he could not see himself giving up Nadya.
It was incomprehensible. It was wrong.
Standing above Ren, Hux remembered a conversation he had with his rival years beforehand. The subject had been about the necessity of emotion control. The fallen Jedi had instructed Hux that emotion was seen by those of the light as something that needed to be contained. A true Jedi stifled his own feelings to encompass the ways of the Force; peace, serenity, and knowledge. Whereas, Ren had been taught by the Supreme Leader to embrace his rage and aggression; he used his feelings to center himself, to harness his full strength.
It all sounded like a load of absurdity. Hux had to admit that when he was around Nadya, he felt calm – she stabilized him.
They were moving out of Dandoran by nightfall; leaving the slave behind seemed like an erroneous mistake. If Nadya were to accompany him to the Unknown Regions, he could find a way to wean off her influence. Until that moment came, he would be able to think rationally. Half of his attention would not be drawn to the slave's whereabouts on this filth planet.
The General watched Kylo Ren for a second more, a smirk slowly spreading across his face. Snoke would see his true leadership abilities. Hux would make sure of that. Whether or not the Supreme Leader valued them was beside the point.
Hux would not let the First Order fall further into ruin. He'd rather die than let his hard work end up for naught.
With a new purpose, he left the exam room intent on informing Nadya of his plans. It was not as if he needed the woman's permission, she was a commodity to be bought and sold by those with money. He imagined she wouldn't be upset with the idea of leaving Dandoran. She appeared to care for him if her concern for his wellbeing last night was any indication.
It was still early in the morning, an hour or two past dawn. No doubt, the woman was probably still asleep in his bed. Most of the soldiers on the base had been ordered to sleep, as well. He would need them well-rested and capable for the day's work. Morale among the surviving regiment was unsurprisingly low. With Phasma gone, the Storm Troopers were at a loss of what to do. Rumors had begun of replacing the Captain with another; a natural reordering of the hierarchy. Hux liked Phasma. He approved of her diligence, and she most-often sided with him against Ren. The Storm Troopers would be hard-pressed to find a worthy replacement.
The door to his room opened as he punched in his code. The lights were still dimmed implying that the room's sole occupant was still slumbering.
As he stepped into his quarters, an immediate sense of relief lifted from the man's shoulders at the sight of Nadya's body atop his sheets. Her form was outlined by the room's dim glow, her blonde hair messily creating a halo around her head. It was a troubling picture, and Hux ran his gloved fingers through the woman's curls doing away with the effect. Her eyes fluttered open, disoriented at first, before they settled on him. She gave the impression of being surprised at his presence, but a smile tugged at her lips. While she stretched, he enjoyed the sight of her naked breasts bobbing with the movement. A pleasurable stir settled in his gut, but he remembered his purpose for being here; to inform the slave of her next job.
"Is it near sunrise yet?" Nadya asked while sitting up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
Hux checked the clock, shaking his head, "No, there is an hour left until sunrise."
"I have to be back at Sidd's Tavern by sunrise. Master Sidd doesn't like it when slaves are late; he blew up one girl for oversleeping when she was ill. He threatened me last night that he would activate my microchip if I didn't arrive back by sunrise."
Despite the gravity of the threat, the young woman chattered in a nonchalant manner.
Slaves were commonly implanted with microchips to track their whereabouts. Some sadistic slavers even embedding their cargo with microchips that let out poison to slowly kill runaways or even a chip that combusted at the push of a button. It was unsurprising that Nadya's owner would employ such a device. Master Sidd was a notorious vagrant who was quickly growing on Hux's last nerve. Private Xue had informed him earlier this morning that Sidd was demanding double the price for a single night on top of the wages Hux had already paid to have Nadya for the month.
Nadya slid from the bed, pushing past him and beginning to gather her clothes scattered on the floor. She was comfortable in her nudity, something he would no doubt appreciate under different circumstances. Grinding his teeth, a tick he had developed as a child, Hux thought of the best way to tell her of his plan. He couldn't fathom why he was nervous, he was the authority here; his word was law.
"You are not returning to Master Sidd."
The woman paused in her dressing, her body going momentarily still. Hux waited for a response, but she continued putting her clothes on. He continued, "We are departing this base by nightfall, possibly sooner. I don't know how long it will be before I return to Dandoran. Therefore, I will be purchasing your rights. You will be traveling with me for the foreseeable future."
It was all he needed to say. Hux did not owe her an explanation beyond this. Nadya, for her part, kept dressing; securing the gold belt she had worn the night before at her hip. He could not view her face, and he itched to see her reaction. Was she upset? Pleased? Despite not needing her approval, he knew this would all go smoother if she were happy. He wouldn't drag someone along forcefully kicking and screaming, though he had done it before.
Finally, the slave turned around with an impassive look on her face. Her blue eyes momentarily flashed with some imperceptible emotion as she spoke, "I need to retrieve some of my belongings from the Tavern. Is that okay?"
If he was flabbergasted by her tranquility, Hux did not let it show. Instead he took on a more dispassionate stance waving his hand at her flippantly, "I'll send for Private Xue to escort you. You will also need to have your microchip deactivated. It'll have to be surgically removed once we get to the next base."
Nadya nodded her head in comprehension then crossed the room to the lavatory. He heard the sink turn on indicating that their talk had indeed come to an end.
The General left Nadya to wait for Private Xue alone, overcome by a sudden urge to take a walk through Base 3. His squadron would be waking soon and he would need to instruct them on their assigned duties. The young woman's nonchalance perturbed him, but the fact that she would be joining him was soothing. He was at once closer to the normal military commander. With every step he took, he rose up in height several inches embodying the man he had been before the Starkiller's destruction.
My yearly bout of bronchitis happened last week, hence the lack of updates. Damn that Boston cold! I'm trying to crank out the next chapter, but it's my turn to sweep the sidewalks of my triplex which may lead to a relapse. When will winter end? When will General Hux stop being a d*ckhead? When will Nadya wear clothes? All these answers and more in the next few chapters!