(Edite 1/29/2015)
Hux was chuckling behind him, that horrible, pompous chuckle of his. Damn that laugh. Damn the man. The sound was awful and too childish for a man of his station. Kylo Ren wanted to put a hand over his mouth to shut him up. He talked too much. Hux inhaled suddenly and sharply, "Don't make me laugh, Kylo Ren." Don't make him laugh. What a stupid thing to say. He was obviously enjoying this, and Kylo Ren would have preferred that he didn't laugh at all. Hux had always treated him as a child, though he'd proven time and time again that he was anything but.
"As for you General Hux," Kylo appreciated the admonishing tone in Snoke's voice but his gratitude was short lived, "How long until you arrive at our base?"
Snoke almost definitely wouldn't have asked the question if they weren't close. He and Rey needed to move faster. Progress was being made towards escaping, but he still needed to get her into the pod dock so that they could disconnect one of the ships ahead of time. Since Rey's storm trooper friend's escape the pod locks had been reinforced and could not be released without an override code from the bay control. Kylo Ren had been lurking around the control room a lot recently trying to find a way around the code. There was none, and he couldn't simply order that a pod be unlocked either. Only Hux had authority over the pods so they'd need to rely on Rey's technical expertise to bypass the locking mechanism.
The general had been doing mental calculation. Their route had been less direct that Snoke had hoped, and that was complicating the math for Hux. After the destruction of the base, multiple planets had experienced uprisings because of the First Order's casual display of power. They'd already stopped twice to dispatch troops before the new protesters could reach out to the Resistance, and now Seswenna and Geonosis were both rioting as well. "After we stop at Seswenna? Or before?"
The giant's gray face remained blank, but Kylo Ren could feel the distaste radiating off of him. He allowed himself a smirk. It served him right. Hux could have answered either way, but he was an overthinker and despite his best intentions could not keep that to himself, so he had given the Supreme Leader no answer at all. Snoke's eyes narrowed as he waited.
"Right," Hux never stammered, but he was definitely felt nervous now, "If all goes well we will be on our way to you in ten days or so."
Or so...Snoke dealt in the exact, not in the approximate. Kylo Ren bit back a snort. The Supreme Leader turned his focus to the knight.
"Kylo Ren," he swung his helmeted head up to meet Snoke's gaze once more, "I am sending two of your knights to Geonosis. They will meet you there, and aid in quieting these riots. Hux will continue to Seswenna with the remaining storm troopers, and return to retrieve you."
"Yes, Supreme Leader."
The giant waved his hand even as the hologram faded, "You are both dismissed."
They answered in unison with one another, "Yes, Supreme Leader."
Hux began to walk out of the room, but it was not his usual impressive and determined stride. He looked dejected...hopeless. Despite every logical bone in his body's loud protests, Kylo knew he had to reach out to him. It was an annoying compulsion, but the two had operated together for so long that they could not simply ignore each other. For better or for worse.
He caught the general just as he was about to leave the massive projection room. The ship's was obviously much smaller than Star Killer's, but its lighting was just as eerie. Hux's pale face glowed a ghastly blue when he turned to face Kylo Ren who had instinctively put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. The light was so dim that Hux's normaly piercing eyes were almost lost. Almost. He did not look pleased.
Kylo quickly removed his helmet and cleared his throat. He wanted Hux to know he was being sincere. "Do you not agree with the Supreme Leader's plan?"
Hux turned and sniffed sniffed before brushing the heavy, gloved hand away. "I absolutely agree with it. As long as you and those barbaric knights perform the task that's been given to you, everything should be fine."
Kylo Ren chose not to take offense to the jab directed at his order, but he felt the need to press. After all, this might be one of the last times he and has colleague ever talked...once again, for better or for worse. "Then what is wrong?"
He rolled his eyes in an impressive, albeit over-dramatic, gesture of his impatience. Honestly, for all of the "teenager angst" jabs Hux threw at him he could be just as over the top. "You honestly don't know." Kylo Ren said nothing, did nothing. "For maker's sake...We failed! He's obviously got some sort of punishment in store for us back at base. Failure does not go unpunished by the Supreme Leader."
The knight furrowed his brow. Could that be true?
He was certainly Snoke's favorite of the two commanders, and with the capture of Rey and her supposed conversion he had some real victories to his name too. At least more than Hux did. Star Killer's success had been his responsibility, and the general had tried but he had failed. But Kylo Ren had become distracted, which could be seen as even worse. He had not caught his father and Chewbacca before they had set the explosives. He hadn't kept Rey captive in the first place, so he'd spent his time scrambling after them. He had been injured gravely twice...And then the more frightening realization set in. Hux surely didn't know, but it was entirely possible that Snoke could sense his intent to betray him. Snoke was very in touch with the force, it wasn't entirely impossible. But no...that could not be. What reason would he have to suspect anything?
The general sneered, "Nothing to say to that? Snoke's little pet's first big fuck up." That stung, but could not let Hux know that the blow had landed. "Not so perfect are you now, little Ben?"
Kylo Ren snapped. "I have something to show for my efforts at the base. You? You have nothing." He drew out the last word. The anger pushed him to speak rapidly. He wouldn't. The anger pushed him to shout. He would not. He was in control, and he knew Hux hated the way he over-enunciated words with hard syllables. Once upon a time, the general had complimented him on it as a subtle intimidation technique, so different from his own. Things were different now. "Your project is gone," Kylo continued, "Space dust, and the one time we did use it it only caused more problems for us."
Hux said nothing for a moment. He bit his lip, and his blue eyes searched the faint light above him as if expecting support from the skies. Kylo knew he'd gone too far then, but something inside of him urged him to dig deeper, to lunge for the kill. Hux was not weak, but in certain ways he could be very delicate and Kylo Ren knew how to push his buttons. He should stop, but he couldn't. He felt no more human than an Anooba on the hunt, and his prey was on its last leg.
"So you say 'we' failed. But that's not true, is it? 'We' didn't do anything. There is no 'we' anymore, you said that. I have something to show the Supreme Leader, a padawan squire of my very own, the death of m-" he caught himself before he said his father, hoping his stutter would go unnoticed, "-Han Solo."
Hux almost turned around. Kylo Ren could see the slight swivel of his shoulders, but the man changed his mind and stood his ground instead. A new thing for the general. "A padawan squire? I don't need to be a Jedi or a Knight of Ren to know that's nonsense, an oxymoron. She cannot be both. YOU cannot be both." It was a weak rebuttal, the term was suited for Rey no matter what Hux said because she wouldn't be one or the other. He was on terrain that he had little knowledge of, and his argument had suffered for it, a strategist such as him should have known better, but Hux was preparing for another strike. "And what's more, do you think Supreme Leader Snoke will be grateful for this new pet? You're dragging her across the galaxy like some child with a Loth Cat, begging mummy to keep the damned thing. She's feral, and you're as idiotic as ever."
The remarks only served to make his anger swell. His fists clenched, and unclenched. Of course, he would never use the force or a weapon on Hux. Still, the urge to strike him was strong. How had he ever tolerated this pathetic, short-sighted man before? He could not fathom it.
A smirk spread across Hux's face, he must have sensed Ren's anger and taken it as a victory. "She has claws, Ren. She's just waiting to strike. Only a complete dunce wouldn't see that." And with that the general slammed his palm on the activation pad, opening the door. He paused before stepping into the hallway, and looked casually over his shoulder, "Oh, and put that blasted helmet back on. You actually need it now."
The light from the ship's hall blinded him momentarily and then he was left in the darkness once again.
(A/N: Poor babies. I love them both so much too bad they can't be trusted to play nice. Sorry there was no Rey in this chapter, but not really. I love Hux and Kylo's interactions so this was fun/heartbreaking to write.
ANYWAYS, I made myself a tumblr so follow me if you like! It's bluebirdstories.
ALSO, thanks to all of those that have reviewed. Writing is hard, dirty work and you guys have kept me going.
AND ON THAT NOTE, review please! Reviews are my life blood.)