He had waited a long time for this. It felt surreal now how easily the mantle of power fell into his hands. And to add to that: without a smidgen of blood.
Armitage Hux, Supreme Leader of the First Order, heir superior to the Galactic Empire, spread his crimson red robes slightly behind him before he sank down onto the cast-iron curule chair he had personally ordered to be his throne. Its cushioned seat was a shade of red that matched his robes. To mark the reign of a new Supreme Leader, he had carefully selected Ren's quarters to be re-purposed. Once Ren's pesky belongings were disposed of, his men made all the necessary adjustments for the conversion of the space into his throne room.
He wished the room was as spacious as Snoke's had been on board the Supremacy. But what it lacked in space, it compensated with design. Hux hated the aesthetics in Snoke's throne room - everything was just too garish. A complete nightmare, much like the man himself. The red curtains enveloping the room was too overbearing, and then those Praetorian Guards in their ugly uniforms. Snoke too complemented his room's interior with some gaudy outfits of his own. Every time Hux rode the turbolift to meet his former Supreme Leader and the lift doors opened, his eyes hurt at the tackiness that greeted him.
And then that idiot Ren refused to have a throne room on board the Finalizer. Hux could never understand. Where else was he to receive not only his men to be berated, but potential guests - representatives of those worlds who would eventually submit to the First Order? Instead he was satisfied with just holding meetings in the officers' meeting rooms. When he needed to inspect their troops, he requested them to assemble at the bay closer to their quarters. Not that Ren was vigilant about keeping an eye on their men anyway. Throughout his reign, he much preferred to let the military officers handle their own affairs.
It seemed that Ren had forgotten what the position and person of Supreme Leader meant. The Supreme Leader was meant to be the head of the First Order. He was to inspire awe and fear. He was to command authority. He must project himself as such. As the new Supreme Leader, Hux had every intention to restore to that title the respect it deserved.
For his throne room, Hux had opted for black and silver walls, layered side by side to play up the colour motifs of the First Order military uniform. His throne was more modest in size, but it only served to direct attention to him. He himself would be authoritative enough; he didn't need tall chairs to augment it. Like Snoke, he planned to be flanked by Praetorian Guards, but they would adopt a more refined version of the Stormtroopers suit. For now, however, his Guards continued to wear their officers uniform and they stood to his side, with the First Order banner hanging behind them.
"Supreme Leader, you called for me?" a familiar voice pierced his thoughts.
Hux smiled slightly as he gestured to Captain Peavey to come forward. As a reward for galvanizing the entire First Order military and navy to transfer their loyalty to him, Hux had promoted Peavey to the rank of General. They had reverted to the old order of things on board the Finalizer before Ren took over: Hux in charge, and Peavey his acting officer. It felt good to have some semblance of normalcy.
"General, how is the dissemination of the holovid footage?" Hux asked, leaning back in his throne. "I understand you planned to disclose it to the various networks in First Order space."
"It's going well, I believe," Peavey replied. "We're making sure to use proxy points so they don't immediately trace it back to us."
"Good, good. We just need to focus on rallying these worlds against Ren, especially their governments."
Peavey pulled out a datapad. "We have also received another message from Arkanis." Hux raised an eyebrow at the mention of his home planet; Peavey took it as a sign to continue. "Senator Sindian extends her congratulations on your appointment. She expresses her delight at seeing a fellow Arkanisian ascend to the Supreme Leadership."
From the First Order's early days, Carise Sindian had been desperate to gain entry into the inner circles of its leadership. No doubt this was a renewed attempt to ingratiate herself with the Order. Hux had never met the senator, but she was attention-seeking enough to be known about. Personally, he thought of her as frivolous, but Arkanis as a planet was a long-time ally, and an enormous help to the Order even before they broke away from the New Republic. It wouldn't hurt to send out a civil response to her. Perhaps she could use her position to speed up the process of consolidating their new empire.
He was about to request for a holocam when one of his guards leaned in and whispered, "Supreme Leader, a group who call themselves the Knights of Ren are here to see you."
"Ah, the Knights. Send them in. I will see them."
Peavey detected the slightest tremor in Hux's voice, but said nothing. Instead, he watched on passively as the new Supreme Leader adjusted himself on his throne to welcome an ominous group of six figures as they stepped out of the turbo lift.
They were all masked, similar to what Ren used to wear before he smashed his in an angry fit. Peavey was the one who had to authorize finances for the repair of the turbolift back then. Definitely an expensive anger management strategy. Still, it was better than letting it out on his officers like Vader did. Ren was notorious on board for being emotionally unstable, but at least none of their troops had to fear the prospect of dying at his hands for no reason.
The six Knights stopped about a foot or two away from where Hux was seated. All of them bowed their heads to him as a mark of respect and obedience. One of them came forward, a tall figure with a self-assured presence. There was no doubt he was the leader. He called himself Ceth Ren, Master of the Knights of Ren.
Hux looked beyond pleased. He had only ensured that his loyalists sent the security holotapes footage on to the Knights. He didn't expect them to cast Ren aside too. As Ceth introduced the other members of the Knighthood, Hux paid closer attention to those identified as Shadow Assassins. They used to be Snoke's. Ren had rendered them redundant. But now, they would receive a new lease for action under his rule. Hux almost felt proud of himself.
Even so, Hux thought that two other Knights appeared reluctant to be in his presence. It was rather hard to tell, since both of their faces remained hidden behind a mask underneath their hood. But he kept his comment to be shared afterwards with Peavey, after the Knights had taken their leave. "I thought some of them weren't too keen to be here. What do you think, General?"
"I must say they are a rather curious assembly of men, Supreme Leader," Peavey remarked casually as he watched the turbolift doors close behind the Knights. "I don't trust them."
"Neither do I, but they might prove useful," Hux mused, fingering the edges of his throne, a content smile playing on his lips.
They had agreed on the departure arrangement even before landing in the Finalizer. All the Knights were to set course for Mandalore, which Ceth had claimed as his homeworld, and then jump into hyperspace in quick succession according to their ranks. The Amber Hawk was the last craft to leave. But it heeded only one of those instructions: the hyperspace jump. Meanwhile its pilots had punched in the coordinates to...
Wherever. It didn't matter. They just needed to buy time and get away from it all.
The moment she stepped into the ship, Caerra had tossed her mask and her blade aside. As Caedus prepared for take-off, she frantically tried to set up their most secure communication channels which was connected to only one other ship. She got through, but there was no answer. Where was he?
She could feel Caedus's questioning gaze. She turned to her twin brother and shook her head in exasperation. His face fell slightly.
"I'll leave him a message, you make sure the other Knights cannot trace our passage," Caerra told him firmly. She returned her attention to the holocam and prepared to send a message. She only hoped he received it in time, wherever he might be.
Once she was done, she walked up to the controls to see where Caedus had charted their course for. She had to look at the screen twice to be sure. "Jakku? I know it's in the middle of nowhere, Caedus, but hardly a place the Knights won't think about going to hunt us."
Temporarily, Caedus's eyes told her. We head there, modify the Amber, buy new identification codes...
"And where do you plan we go after that?"
Caedus's only response was that faraway, longing look in his eyes. It was a look Caerra knew all too well. For the siblings, it could only refer to one place. A place which was otherwise prominent in the galaxy, and yet, under their present circumstances, the perfect option to hide in. With the exception of a particular person, no one else would associate the planet with them. Not even their Knights. The realization was so absurd that Caerra had to laugh.
It came out with a tinge of sadness. Caerra slumped in the seat next to her brother with a small smile. He reached out a hand to give hers a squeeze.
"We haven't been there since we were two," she reminded him.
Another squeeze of her hand.
"Our house was probably sold off a long time ago," she added with a bitter smile. She gestured around at their surroundings. "In any case, if we are to blend in Naboo, we shouldn't forget about her too."
Caedus grinned shyly. It wasn't as if the Amber Hawk was falling apart. In fact, for a remodeled shuttle from the days of the Empire, it was functioning very well. Kylo had quietly purchased and refitted it for them a couple of years ago, when they first joined Snoke. Since then, the twins made sure to take very good care of it. Even so, the Amber Hawk was very... well, plain. Not to mention a bit worn down with all the flying in and out of planets in the Outer Rim, and the stray scratches it earned during altercations with a starfighter squadron or two. Compared to the sleek ships of Naboo, the Amber would look like it was on its way to the scrapyard.
There was still some time until their ship entered Jakku's orbit. Caerra went over to their communication channel, to see if the signal on the end had been restored. Still offline. She had sent the previous message marked with the highest priority. Usually he would respond to such messages immediately. Caerra decided to send another message.
And another. And another.
The closer the Amber Hawk got to Jakku, the more urgent her messages.
By now, the Knights would have realized she and Caedus had turned their backs on the Knighthood. It also meant that they had turned away form the Order. It would only be a matter of time before the hunt for the three of them began.
But where was he?
From the corner of her eyes, she saw Caedus signaling to her that they would soon be leaving hyperspace. Jakku's network was too volatile to keep doing this.
Caerra hinged her odds on a final, desperate message, and logged off.
Usually the Chandrila Senatorial Gala was held within the compound of the Senate House itself, or in one of the nearby hotels. But this time round, motivated by the planet's better economic performances and an unwillingness to hold a party within the pessimistic corridors of the Senate offices, they had taken it outdoors to the Eleutherian Plaza. Plus, the changing seasons meant that the air was fresher, making it a much more invigorating experience to dine and mingle under the stars.
Even though the change of location for the gala was only announced three days ago, the planning committee did up the Plaza beautifully. It had turned into a massive open-air ballroom. A tentage stretched across almost half of the plaza's grounds, housing several round tables with designated seats. The space was illuminated with hanging lanterns running along the sides. The ceiling was kept transparent, allowing the guests to admire the night sky. Server droids were constantly on the move, carrying trays of drinks and hors d'oeuvre. The main courses were all prepared in advance, of course, and catered to each guest's preferences and restrictions.
The gala was technically by-invite only, but the planning committee had set up a standing cocktail area within the tentage for the staffers, as well as unannounced guests of the senators. Thanks to some smooth talking by Sallaros and Mon Mothma's aides, the Resistance managed to sneak in as fellow gala attendees. Commander D'Acy had managed to make contact with senators who were sympathetic to their cause. Rather than raising suspicions by having the Resistance visit them at their residences and offices... Well, why not "accidentally" meet at the party instead? Things were bound to be rambunctious, and many senators planning to run for the upcoming elections would be too eager to preen to even pay attention.
Nevertheless, Sallaros and Mothma's aides made it a point to have the Resistance fitted out in clothes appropriate for the occasion. For the first time throughout his entire years of service with the Resistance, Poe saw Commander D'Acy in a dress with her hair and makeup done, and he had laughed. That earned him an order to stay out of sight during the gala, much to his dismay. Out of Commander D'Acy's earshot, Sallaros had consoled him by saying something along the lines of how Poe was the most recognizable face of the Resistance; keeping him away was a strategic consideration.
So it came to be that Poe kept to the shadows in the balcony as he watched Sallaros, Commander D'Acy and Lieutenant Connix in fine (borrowed) clothes, enjoying fancy finger food and sipping wine. Maybe the ladies were right - they hardly dressed up, no one would notice them. It didn't seem as if anyone in the cocktail area recognized them.
Even Rose, Finn and Rey managed to be part of the party. Finn was really taken by the teal jacket and trousers in the clothing trunk Sallaros brought back for them from Mothma's aides. He wore them now, buttoned up to suit the formality of the event. Rose had selected a dress in an earthy tone, a very simple but comfortable cut. Rey would have preferred something more grey, but there was none in the trunk collection. So she opted for a midnight blue gown with caped sleeves.
Poe looked on as Rey excused herself and headed for the other end of the balcony, a glass of tea in hand. The poor girl must be feeling out of place amidst all this lavishness, Poe grimaced as he walked towards her. He glanced around to see that Commander D'Arcy and Lieutenant Connix had gone, presumably to meet with the Resistance's senatorial allies. It wouldn't hurt to be of some company to Rey now.
He was about to call out her name when he saw that she wasn't alone. There was a tall man who had appeared next to her. Judging by the way Rey and the man regarded each other, it didn't look like he was a stranger to her.
Poe frowned. Maybe Rey secretly had a lover? Now that he thought about it, she never quite divulged about herself to the rest of the Resistance. He had always assumed that they were Rey's only companions, but maybe he was wrong.
He crept closer towards the couple. They weren't exactly standing close to one another, but there was a certain intimacy around them that suggested... Well, that gave credence to his suspicions. At the same time, he couldn't shake off the nagging feeling that the man's silhouette was very familiar.
It was only when the man turned slightly and the light from the hanging lanterns illuminated his face that Poe saw the scar running down the right cheek. Even the combed back hair couldn't disguise who he was.
All the anger that he had kept hidden all this while - at the death of his comrades, at Leia's passing, at the near-destruction of the Resistance - suddenly burst to the surface. Without thinking, Poe pointed his blaster at the man and shouted, "Kylo!"
He saw the two of them turn towards him, Rey in horror and Kylo Ren in anger. He thought he heard Rey shout something, and everything froze.