Chapter 19

Mesumi, Core Systems

Hux walked through the Supreme Leader's Suite, admiring as a curator guided an installation crew bearing two, new, art pieces onto the walls of the living quarters. Veela liked bright art pieces, though Hux preferred well drawn schematics framed and displayed. The price of companionship, he sighed, eyeing them as he walked passed.

He moved through the living quarters to the designated conference room, shifting the leather protective cover of his personal holopad and mentally reminding himself of whom was first on the agenda. The door slid open and he stepped from soft carpet to stone tiles, a subtle shift from comfort to business, even in these weeks of respite. Immediately, two generals snapped to attention.

"Good morning, gentlemen," Hux sneered, barely looking at them as he set down his holopad and opened it, taking first a cup of biritku and sipping deeply to better awaken his senses.

"Supreme Leader," They said in unison.

Hux took a seat and looked at the first man, a portly general who had no connections to Ren and so was promoted to Hux's privy counsel with immediate effect. "Tell me." Hux commanded.

General Boro melted from his severe stance and picked up an info chip from the conference table (really a card table but Hux saw no reason for a big, fancy table for his private residence) and held it out to him. "This comes from the former Captain Frees's office, I think the contents will disturb you."

Hux immediately jammed the info stick into his holopad, frowning as small dots began forming on an obscure background.

"Damn thing," General Boro hissed, staring at it. "It should come up later, sir. But, we have seen these dots form several ships built in the Unknown Regions. The likes of which, if I may, sir?" He gestured with his hand to the holopad, which Hux surrendered freely. General Boro touched it twice, then handed it back to him, "These sixteen ships were commissioned last year under your predecessor, sir. Formidable ships, all with the same idea as former Supreme Leader Snoke's capitol the Supremacy, built with the intent of flight for years at a time. All unique in their construction, as well, sir."

"These are ours?" Hux asked, eyes widening at the sight of such beautiful blueprints. He would certainly commission one of them to be hung in his new home as soon as possible.

"Yes, sir, though we," He rotated towards the Colonel behind him, "Must bring grave news along with these blueprints."

"What is it?" Hux demanded, looking around General Boro to the other, slightly thinner, but still stocky officer.

"Colonel Cutter, sir," He began. "We received a distress transmission from one of our ships roughly a week ago, sir and immediately sent a recovery vessel to it. We found a squadron of Stormtroopers tasked with protecting one of these ships, the Ikher Ikher, a conjunction ship, without resources and most importantly, not on that ship. They were to be sent to one of our dreadnoughts for recuperative rest but found themselves after coming out of an abrupt hyperspace without a pilot and without fuel." He shifted at Hux's look of disgust, "We can only assume that former Supreme Leader Ren has the same list and is currently on a path to intercept them."

Hux inhaled, taking a deep sip of biritku before asking, "What was the manifest?"

General Boro stepped forward, "A small but significant arsenal of weaponry, supplied for short travel to a supplies system where it could be stocked to it's fullest. Two herds of juvenile beasts for meat, a full garden, the standard number of escape pods, and a handful of fighter jets, again for defense in movement."

"But Ren has them?"

Silence echoed in the room before Colonel Cutter answered, "We believe so, yes, sir."

"How can you 'believe' it, Colonel?" Hux spat, glaring at him.

"We never saw him, sir." Colonel Cutter answered, struggling to keep the venom from his voice. "Our holo streams picked up a small transport ship docking to pick up the Stormtroopers, then the two officers walked away with the ship's engineer, after that, nothing-"

"So, someone with intimate knowledge of our ships?"

"Yes, sir."

Hux paused, thinking. Then asked, "Was it the traitor? The one who killed Captain Phasma?"

Colonel Cutter opened his mouth but was cut off by General Boro, "We have reason to believe that it was Ren, sir."

"And Ren working with the enemy of my enemy is out of the question, is that it, General?"

General Boro opened and closed his mouth before Colonel Cutter stepped around him. "We believe that it was indeed the traitor, sir. Him as well as the Haysian woman disguised as officers."

"Flash their faces across the First Order ships," Hux commanded, "I want everyone to know who they are except for the civilians. Let them come to us." He turned to the blueprints in front of him, "As for these new developments, let it serve as a cautionary tale between the three of us. If it was Ren, then this ship here," He pointed to a half-developed ship, a sleek destroyer-type thing built for rapid transport with a delivery date of six weeks, "That will be the next ship they will take. It will also serve as an alert for the First Order. Ren and the Resistance have a list of our ships in production and they will have to be moved or defended with full force."

"Yes, sir." The men said in unison.

"And find the girl," Hux commanded, "You know which one, so wipe that stupid look off your faces. Find her and follow her, use whatever resources are necessary. Where she is, Ren and the Traitor will be."

"Yes, sir!"

SWSWSW

Hux watched as Veela moved through the dining room, dressed in a… it wasn't pink, what was the word? Oh hang it, a soft pink gown that began as a robe with wide sleeves but fell away into a cape and short skirt. Far too opulent for her simple tastes, but she did look lovely. Far lovelier than in her captain's uniform. She flitted from one of the two place settings to the other, commanding and fixing the servants to prepare the settings just so, a worried wrinkle set upon her forehead. For just the two of them, they ate and dressed rather splendidly, meaning that she was still too timid of him and wanted to impress.

He took a step from around the corner, making a small noise at the back of his throat to catch her attention. At once, she turned and made eye contact with him, letting out a small gasp that froze the other servants. "Armitage!" She cried, a smile slapping onto her features. "I didn't realize you were standing there."

"I only just arrived, Veela. My apologies for disturbing you."

"No, no, no! Not a disturbance, just a… shock."

By her anxiety, it felt very much like a disturbance, but he ignored that and let her direct him through her sanctum.

"The cook has made your favorite for this evening," She smiled, guiding him to sit with a lovely view of the terrace overlooking a splendid marble fountain that changed colors, and the door because he couldn't stand to sit with his back to it.

"Oh, how lovely," Hux grimaced, looking over the tall floral arrangement jittered with two caged songbirds. "Duck cooked in the Sparrock fashion?"

"Only the best for our Supreme Leader," Veela grinned a little too widely.

"Good," Hux smiled, noting how far she sat when she assumed her seat. "There's not many who like it."

"Oh hush, that's how we first met, remember?"

This time, the smile wasn't forced. "How can I forget? One of my inferiors daring to join me at the table with my favorite food? And one so lovely as yourself, too."

She grinned, possibly the first genuine smile he had seen from her since that time. Her grin faded and he could see her shift through her thoughts for an appropriate topic of conversation.

He took his wine goblet and asked, "How are you finding Mesumi?"

She hesitated, "It is… different, than the Finalizer."

Hux sipped his wine, a robust fragrant liquid that fit him perfectly. "You mean there isn't nearly as much danger and excitement among the gardens and villas of this lovely system than a tired, old ship?"

"The Finalizer was neither tired or old, Armitage. It was… life. Exciting," Her eyes began to glitter as she spoke. "It was feeling the contribution to the First Order each day, even if I was shuffling files or seeing you. Calming you as I did…" She flashed scandalous eyes at him with a modest simper, the way she used to across a room in quiet moments. "I miss that."

Hux set his goblet down, "I prefer to have you here, Veela. Safe, and away from First Order politics. I don't like to taint things."

"But I am already tainted, Armitage," She persisted, only lowering her voice as she looked at him. "I know what you know up until three months ago. I know how to react to your needs. I could be your wife and your partner."

Hux set his jaw, sending her immediately to cower into her chair. If she only knew! If she only knew how close the Resistance had cut them, and came uncomfortably close to hurting him in the process. He grabbed his napkin off his plate and set the decorative gold ring aside.

"I shall think on it."

SWSWSW

Veela quivered on the bed beside him, her naked body shivering in the cool breeze wafting in from the window. She said nothing, only looked at him almost as if waiting for her dismissal, but he did not grant it. He only stroked a line from her chin through her breasts to her naval, then back again. He sighed taking in such beauty. No one could have determined it from the thick, concealing uniforms of the First Order, but now that he could touch her, she was the most magnificent woman in the galaxy.

She swallowed, the movement disrupting his strokes, and whispered, "What is it, Armitage?"

He had instructed her not to speak. He had told her before each time they made love not to say a word. He liked to see the agony grow in her until she burst forth in absolute disobedience. Now, her words cooed to him like the welcoming breeze.

"I want a legacy," He whispered back, moving to stroke her tender breasts with his fingers in mindless sweeps. "I want something my children can look upon with awe in their eyes. Something they can strive to preserve, and expand."

He hesitated, head turned towards their legs, though he couldn't see them from where he was looking. "My father, was an Imperial General. He would look upon me with a sneer, and demand what my actions could do to further the cause. How could playing with other children help me become an officer?" He scoffed in the dim, "He never gave up hope that the Empire would rise again from the ashes. He waited, diligently, for his time to return once again. He had my mother make him uniforms each time one became too worn, or too snug. I wore a type of uniform, myself, under his direction. As did my sisters, but they were directed to marry the sons of 'reputable' men. Men my father used to serve with.

"My father died four years ago, pleased that I had fulfilled his dream. But, it's not nearly enough." He huffed and looked at Veela, moving to stroke her cheek with his thumb. "The First Order must know me, must… must fear me!"

"Like Ren?" Veela asked, touching his hand, her body turned slightly to him in absolute study. "How his family bears such legacies as the Skywalkers and the Organas?"

Silence crept into the bedroom as Hux stared down at her, his face frozen in thought. Slowly, he moved his hand to her neck, and cupped it.

"Is that what you think about when I touch you?" He asked, his voice calm. "You think of Ren instead of me?"

Her mouth opened to rebuke him, but her words refused to come as he slowly added muscle to his grip.

"Hmm?" He asked, "I can't hear you!"

He flipped over, kicking his leg over her side so that his waist rested on hers and both hands weighted her neck. He smiled, watching her panic and writhe beneath him though his pressure was nothing like that used to torture captives. "You think of him, don't you? You were assigned to his floor with Snoke, then promoted when he became Supreme Leader. He took you into his bed, didn't he?"

"No!" She choked, digging her nails into his forearms. "No! Armi… He – he wanted… the girl! Only… only her! I – I wa… nted… you!"

Hux held on for a moment more, before leaning back, dragging his hands over her chest as she sputtered, sitting up to catch her breath. With a gentle hand, Hux reached up and grabbed a handful of her hair, wrenching her head back to peer at him, his other hand moving to caress her lips.

"Don't, ever, mention Ren's name, again. Do you hear me?"

She hesitated, looking from his chest to locking into his eyes. In an instant, her eyes smoldered, and her breathing continued to heave, though he suspected for a different person, and a different thought than what he had in mind.

"Yes, sir," She breathed.

Please Review!