Chapter Text
Order prisons were worse than Rebel ones. Hux tried not to shiver under the sparse lighting as he was led down a hallway lined with barred door cells.
It was probably a good thing they’d separated Hux and Ren, because Hux was certain he’d have reached through and strangled the dethroned Supreme Leader by now.
“I can hear every murderous thought you’re having right now.” Ren called.
“Good.” Hux replied bitterly. “It’s not treason to have them now, I intend to make full advantage of that.”
“Gra-” Ren started to argue, then cut himself off. Hux’s fist clenched.
‘Stripped of all titles’ That was impossible. The angry bearded man that had almost killed him was NOT part of the Order, he COULD NOT remove Hux’s titles like that.
He was practically shaking with rage. The man’s hair had been a dark ginger, a near perfect match to his father’s hair color. As uncommon as red hair was, there was no way Hux could be related to him, but the first sight of his face had sent a cold spike of adrenaline down Hux’s spine. An innate reaction he thought had been lost over the years.
“Halar. His name is Halar.”
“Get out of my head!” He yelled back at Ren. His voice bounced off the walls around him, before he spoke again, quieter and more bitter. “Conversations are usually what people use to communicate. Try that sometime. At least once before you die.” He spat the last word, despite having no emotion behind it.
“You haven’t said a word this entire time!”
“Maybe because I don’t want to talk to you because you got me ARRESTED! ‘Aiding and abetting’? I was only arrested because we were in the same room! You dragged me into this mess by inviting all your wizard ‘friends’ to run a military they know NOTHING ABOUT! What do you think Halar will do? None of the sponsors or High Council will accept him, the Order is finished! And it’s your fault! For replacing me with them, for letting them get out of control, and first and foremost allowing that Rebel to kill Snoke!”
“I killed Snoke!” Ren’s yell interrupted him. “I killed Snoke because I-”
“You couldn’t kill the Rebel girl.” Hux finished, allowing a humorless laugh to pass his lips. “Pathetic. You threw everything I- we- worked for away just because of some little girl with a stolen laser sword. Always controlled by emotion. You’re nothing better than a child.”
“Like you’re any better! You can’t even take proper care of yourself, refuse to take proper care of yourself, and your daddy issues run deeper than your issues with authority.”
“I don’t have ‘issues with authority’.” Hux sneered. “I have issues with being forced to work under an immature, moody-”
A crash from Ren’s cell seemed to affirm his point and he fell silent.
“You’ve had at least a dozen chances to kill me and seize power for yourself. Why haven’t you?”
Hux froze and grasped for words only for them to fail him. Not that he had no answer, but the answer seemed hard to put into cohesive thought.
Starkiller, it had been the three of them. The trio that upheld the Order. That’s how it had been, that’s how it was supposed to continue. It was functional, if a little strange. Until Kylo Ren, the youngest and most unstable of them, had fallen out of line and tried to rise. And it had crumbled beneath him.
“Holy depths of hell overtake me.” Hux muttered in Arkanian. “I pray for my weaning souls release.”
“Basic please!” Ren yelled to him. “I don’t understand your prehistoric murmuring.”
“We were succeeding under Snoke! It was working fine as the two of us! Three, counting Phasma. It was FINE, we were making progress! We could have won!”
“Tell me Hux, how many times a day did Snoke try to kill you?” Ren’s tone darkened. “Snoke was not a good leader. He’s dead, you can stop pretending.”
“It was not my place to speak out. It didn’t matter as long as we succeeded.” It wasn’t like he was unused to tyrannical and abusive superiors.
Silence fell, as if Ren expected more out of him.
“I hated him.” Hux finally muttered, and it felt like a ghost had been released.
“Can’t hear you!”
“I hated him.” Hux repeated it louder, nails digging into his palm. “I hated him but he was necessary! Necessary for the goal!”
“The goal died with Snoke. We don’t even know the extent of Snoke’s own goals.” Ren’s tone uncharacteristically held no trace of anger or emotion.
“No-” Hux wanted to protest, but the sinking hole in his stomach agreed with the other man.
The troopers guarding the end of the hall clamored, interrupting them. A fierce, defiant yell that Hux knew could only be his Millie sounded.
“Don’t kill her-” He was pressed to the door within seconds. The bars of the cell door were cold in his hands. “Please don’t kill her.” He continued repeating the phrase.
“Don’t kill her.” One of the troopers parroted, and Hux jumped while Ren laughed.
Millicent ran to his door, and he dropped to the ground to reach her.
“Will Halar or the others try to kill her?” He asked Ren, managing to fit a hand through the slats between the bars for her to rub against.
“Not if they can’t find her.” A voice that wasn’t Ren’s spoke from down the hall, and Hux retracted his hand back into the cell in surprise.
“Novik?” Kylo stood as the younger man unlocked his cell door. “What’s going on?”
“Halar is even more unfit than you are to command an empire, and Zara is too spineless to do anything.” He said simply, handing Kylo his lightsaber. It had been taken from him in the struggle to take him into custody. “So I’m getting you out, and,” He sucked in a breath. “I’m taking you to Elire. At her request.”
“Elire?” Kylo’s grip on the lightsaber tightened. He hadn’t heard that name in-
“We don’t have time. Halar is probably aware of me already.” Novik pulled a hood over his head, turning to leave.
“Wait!” Kylo froze at Hux’s cry.
Both men turned to him.
“Kylo- please, take her.” Hux gestured to Millicent. “I don’t care what happens to me just get her out of harm’s way.”
Novik glanced between the two of them, and Kylo sighed deeply. The lock on Hux’s cell cracked open and clanged against the tiles. Hux’s face and mind flashed confusion, and grey eyes locked with Kylo’s.
‘If it’s supposed to be the two of us-’
“Can you take both of us?” He continued staring at Hux.
“Yes but hurry!” Novik rolled his eyes, and Hux scrambled to his feet to follow them. Millicent kept pace as the three of them walked past stormtroopers lying dead from bullet wounds.
“Novik was always a fairly good sniper.” Kylo murmured to the ginger in explanation.
It was dawn on Deltira 2 when Novik led them up a back stairway of the compound into the outside. As soon as Millicent’s paws hit the grass Hux picked her up.
They walked to the cliffs overlooking the still unfinished Dreadnought. Another failure of Hux’s.
Wind reminded Hux how messy his hair was, but he couldn’t fix it with an armful of increasingly fidgety feline.
“You look fine.” Kylo murmured in amusement, and Hux shot him a glare.
Eventually they were greeted by two fighters and a run down transport ship, flanked by men that were not Order.
Hux stood closer to Kylo than he meant to, Millicent’s claws digging through his sleeves.
“Sir, you’re out of your mind.” The tallest one stepped forward.
“We can have this argument later. Get out of here before Halar blows us out of the sky.” Novik seemed tired as he waved the men away to their respective fighters with choruses of “yes sir”.
Hux stared back at the compound, the sun bathing it in a deep red. Fitting, for all the bloodshed that would no doubt ensue from here out.
“All hope is not lost.” Kylo murmured over his shoulder, startling him. “From every ruin another empire can rise. There will be support.”
Millicent squirmed again, and Hux was forced to release her in the ship. But he hesitated a moment, eyes still locked on the compound.
“Don’t say anything.” He cut off whatever Kylo was going to say. “I know there’s nothing here for us.”
“Then get in the ship Hux.”
“Armitage. My name’s Armitage.” Their shoulders collided as Hux turned to board.