Fandom Fight for Control [closed]

[cleopat]

Kylo carefully considered on how he would question Jinah. Normally he could just get what he wanted through force or intimidation, but either tactic wouldn’t work on the miraluka. He wasn’t entirely sure of the full capabilities of Jinah, and he didn’t wish to test them out right then.

He nearly scoffed at Jinah’s predicament, but he stopped himself. This could very well be an opportunity to talk to the miraluka and uncover what he could about the most recent nuisance in his life.

She may have gained an upper hand on him, but he will be sure to return the favor.

“It was probably intentional on his part.” Although he barely knew Schaeffer, he didn’t hold a high opinion on the man, but there were very few he did. “Though you’ve wondered far from the hangar. I can show you the way back.”

~~

She had figured that there had to be some animosity between the higher ranks, but to receive verbal confirmation was better. Not something she could play with right then, but she tucked the information aside for a later date. Especially with Sienar, a name that she had heard in passing, but knew nothing about the man.

Lavinia wasn’t able to further interject before the trio were distracted by the arrival of the general and admiral. She initially remained sitting, but after they made their way over and Armitage asked his question, Lavinia stood up. Armitage’s short answer on the meeting resulted in her wishing to question him further. Surely, a meeting with Kylo Ren had to result in something of note to happen, but she resisted the urge. If he wanted to provide details, then he will, otherwise she would have to be content.

“Yes, I’ve finished.” Already she pictured herself craving more food in the middle of her sleep cycle, and although she truly couldn’t finish the salad, she also couldn’t imagine Armitage standing impatiently by her side as she finished. “These two have been most helpful in showing me around.” She motioned towards Rani and Mitaka as she made her statement.

 

[Lucyfer]

It was probably intentional, but Jinah would not give Kylo that sort of information. He just allowed a smile to touch his lips and a shrug, “I would appreciate the assistance, Supreme Leader, if you have the time.”

He knew that Kylo must, to be offering it.

He was aware enough to be certain there was also another part to this. Kylo had no reputation for being nice, and plenty in his aura suggested a certain caution that Kylo Ren wouldn’t exhibit under other circumstances. He wanted something. “Did the meeting go well, Supreme Leader?” He chanced asking as he moved away from the wall to follow Kylo Ren’s lead.

~***~

“Good. I need to begin research for a replacement for Phasma. We need to retrieve all of Phasma’s logs from her quarters.” Armitage stated, already prepared to begin this task. He knew he wouldn’t get far before they reunited with the rest of their forces in the Core, but a start would be something.

Any acknowledgment of Mitaka or Rani for assisting was ignored, though Reveille looked to Rani, “Jinah?”

“Not with me,” Rani answered, shaking her head, “Probably with Schaeffer.”

Reveille nodded. She had an idea of where Schaeffer would be at this time; she wasn’t going to tip him off, of course. “I’ll follow you a bit of the ways, General.” She told Armitage, who just shrugged. He didn’t care much, his concern had been seeing them both out of there.

He would take the lead out in any case, letting Mitaka and Rani stay behind as he made his way towards the barracks and Phasma’s quarters.

 

[cleopat]

Kylo had nothing else of importance at the moment, even if there was something that he should be doing. But could he bring himself to care? No. Everything was still running, and the First Order was making progress towards their end goal.

He had time for whatever he wished for.

A huff of air escaped his mouth as Jinah’s question made him recall the events of the meeting. “It reminded me of the incompetencies of some of our higher ranked officers.” Sienar may just not make it to the next meeting, a loss that no one would mourn.

“Is Admiral Hux always so…” Stubborn? Insubordinate? Antagonistic? “...tenacious?” He dipped his toes in the water to see whether or not Jinah would open up more about the woman in question. And if he didn’t answer to his satisfaction, Kylo wouldn’t hesitate to lead the miraluka further into the ship and leave him.

~~

Lavinia nodded and moved to quickly throw away the remainder of her food. She heard of Phasma, though never met her, yet the officers who had met the captain often spoke of her in the same way they would of Kylo Ren or General Hux. Complete intimidation and someone you did not want to piss off.

The First Order wasn’t in short supply of ruthless leaders, though. How long could finding a suitable replacement take? Nevertheless, she realized the opportunity she had at having access to Phasma’s files. Could she somehow persuade Armitage to let her take some of the files with her back to her quarters, under the guise of note-taking and reducing his own workload? It was part of her new position.

She withheld a groan when Reveille announced that she would follow them for a ways. First impression was not a positive experience, and something about the woman made Lavinia stay on her guard. More so than she already was as a constant state. Or maybe it was the idea of being alone with two Huxes that intimidated her.

Her pace kept up with Armitage, only falling directly behind him in her role as his assistant. “Are we hoping that her notes would give us some clue as to whom she felt was a suitable replacement?”

 

[Lucyfer]

It was no surprise to Jinah that the meeting was dissatisfactory. He had been around long enough to assume most meetings ended that way, unless they were small, and with inferiors only. Kos’tel’lanni and Reveille dealt better with things when they’d hashed out the details beforehand, and called the meeting to mostly give orders.

They weren’t really in favor of brainstorming too much in meetings. They preferred to keep the groups smaller for that to avoid unnecessary bickering from parties who didn’t know what was going on. A meeting of this scale? The entirety of the high council? There was no way that could go well.

“Yes,” Jinah answered Kylo’s query. He saw no reason not to. It certainly gave him his answer; Kylo was fishing for information on Reveille.

Should he say more?

Probably. “I believe the idea is that if you cannot stand firmly by your ideas, you are not fit to lead. If she were easy to push around, I do not believe she would hold her position. I apologize if it has caused you grief, but I know that she has the interests of the First Order at heart.” Jinah did not often clash with her himself, but he also wasn’t vying for position.

He didn’t need to, nor did he desire to put himself in a position to be assassinated. He was comfortable with the position he already held, the official and unofficial aspects of it.

~***~

Before Armitage could answer, Reveille did, “No, we’re obviously hoping that her notes will do not such thing, which is why we’re going to pick them up while in search of a replacement for Phasma. We think they’ll have a good recipe for an energy drink for all that trouble.”

“Admiral…,” Armitage’s tone held a note of warning, even if he may have done the same thing to another subordinate. Althea was still coming into this position.

“What?” Reveille shot right back, following behind, rather than along with the other two, “It was a stupid question. Are we rewarding stupid questions now? I know you didn’t pick her for your aide, but….” But that didn’t mean she had to be coddled for also not picking to be there.

Armitage supposed this fell back to Reveille not being a fan of her, “She came from data analysis,” he said instead, “she will soon learn how to read data in conversations and not on sheets.”

That was more than Reveille had before, and she remade her note to look into Althea later. “Why did Kylo Ren assign you to the General, Lieutenant?”

Armitage wanted to say no reason had been given, that Kylo was just being, well, Kylo. Irritating. However, he would let Althea speak for herself. Sooner or later, Reveille would accept it as nothing. It would be easier if he just let her look into it as she pleased. Trying to get in the way was likely only to make it worse.

 

[cleopat]

Kylo wasn’t satisfied with Jinah’s one word answer. He supposed it was inevitable, but he wanted more, and he was about to vocalize his desire before the miraluka continued on, further describing the aforementioned admiral.

He doubted the sentimentality behind the words. Most of the higher officers were only concerned about themselves and climbing the ranks, so that they themselves could hold more power. More wealth. And he hardly believed that a Hux was any different.

“Would she withhold information from a superior officer if she felt it was better for the First Order?” Did he have exact reason to believe she was hiding something? No, but his pettiness thought otherwise.

“Does her ideas align completely with the First Order’s goals?” With her earlier confrontation, it was obviously she was willing to go against him and potentially oust him from his position.

He would see her dead before that happened.


~~

Lavinia felt her cheeks flush at Reveille’s mockery. One fist clenched before being released with an exhale of her breath. Exactly how much longer would she have to deal with this repugnant woman? Another word from the admiral’s mouth and Lavinia may just start having dreams of placing a blaster bolt between her eyes. And one day she just might.

She bit her tongue and deigned to remain silent after the verbal embarrassment. Already she missed the company of Mitaka and Rani, who were worlds different than her current company. Please tell me she is leaving soon.

“I figured an admiral such as yourself would’ve already figured it out.” There was no hesitation in the delivery of her biting retort, though immediately she wished she had just kept silent and answer like the good lieutenant she is. Despite her regrets, she made no mention of her previous statement before continuing. “I was simply in the right place at the right time.” Wrong place, wrong time.

 

[Lucyfer]

‘Yes, and yes.’ Jinah did not answer that question precisely, though, “I am not sure,” he said, “I have never known her to be in a position where it was necessary. There are not many who outrank her any longer. General Hux is her equal, which leaves only you as her superior officer.”

Jinah was already more than aware of the things she was hiding that would be detrimental to Kylo. He played a hand in it, letting her contact on Serenno become more familiar with the Force in order to work on his projects.

“I do believe her goals align with the First Order’s, but you would need to question her for an in-depth analysis of her philosophy. I know that she has differed often with the engineers and weapons team in regards to how to take over the galaxy.” He heard more than one complaint about the obsession of single weapons, over many weapons, “but I do not think that means her ideology is off.”

Her war strategy may be different from those around her, but she still wanted the same things, in the end. “Then again, she has differed with many. The First Order still lacks in non-humans, but our goals are for the entire galaxy, are they not?” That all should, and all could, live by their principals – but the xenophobia was still strong.

~***~

The tone may have been biting, but Admiral Hux just lifted a single eyebrow at the statement, before the bitter answer came. The aide was entirely unfit, and this just proved it further. She would find a way to see to it that this unfit woman was removed, even if she had enough audacity to try and insult her superior officer.

“You are right, it may be a waste of my time to bother asking you anything at all,” Reveille answered, “I can find the answer out simply enough through the cams, and I meant to look into it earlier.” She took her datapad into hand, bringing up Kos’tel’lanni and Garmuth in a joint message.

Well, she wouldn’t be forgetting now, “How is your name spelled, Lieutenant? I meant to have your records pulled earlier as it was. I appreciate the reminder, though.”

“Do you honestly have time to waste on that?” Armitage rolled his own eyes. Of course Althea would bite back. Of course she would just dig her hole even deeper. Hopefully there weren’t any marks on her record or it was all downhill from here.

“On the way to Tarkin, I believe I should have some time for leisurely reading and cam skimming.” On the way to anywhere was usually when she did most of her investigations, on anyone or anything, after subordinates had retrieved what she needed.

 

[cleopat]

Would she be willing to stab her brother in the back? The subject of their relationship may be a potential topic of query that he would be sure to bring back up. They hardly seemed the types to hold such sentimental feelings. Such emotions would only serve as a weakness.

The differing thought regarding their weapons team did not come as a shock to Kylo. Not after her comments in the meeting regarding Starkiller Base. That, he already knew, and it served no purpose to him.

But he wasn’t quite getting the information he wanted. Jinah seemed to be picking phrases that would side-step any possible incrimination of the admiral. Kylo wasn’t sure if he was just paranoid, or if he was hiding something.

“As she ever done anything to defy me?” He stopped in his tracks and turned around to face Jinah, stopping him in his path. “To challenge my leadership?” Anger seeped into his words as he demanded to know the truth. Who was she to dare bring up proof of what happened in the throne room?

~~

This time, both fists clenched as Reveille’s further comments riled her. Having her records pulled though didn’t bother her. She was confident at how secure they were in creating her fictional past.

“And here I just thought you said it was a waste of your time to ask me anything at all.” Her statement was more a mumble, uttered after Reveille demanded the spelling of her name. Surely someone of your rank can spell.

Her search will result in nothing incriminating against Althea Storax, of that she was certain. Lavinia let out a scoff at the absurdity over what she figured came out to pettiness. The admiral didn’t like her from the moment she laid eyes on her, so why should she herself be nice?

She almost commented further on Reveille’s supposed leisure time on her trip soon, but for once she withheld the urge. She didn’t need to give them a reason to throw her out of an airlock for mouthing off.

 

[Lucyfer]

Jinah had to stop when Kylo stepped into his path, the anger pulsing out of him. He tilted his head up, understanding Kylo was a bit taller than him. Better to try and look him in the face, even if he couldn’t actually see the man’s features at all.

The questions were far more pointed.

Reveille Hux had clearly made an enemy of Kylo. He had recognized it that day when he used the Force against her, but she came out relatively unscathed all the same. Apparently, Kylo wasn’t quite done, though. He needed something to lash out against her. Something to justify taking an action.

Jinah did not intend to give him that, “As I said…I have never known her to be in a position where it was necessary,” he reiterated his previous words, “I have never known her to need to betray or harm anyone above her.” Would Kylo actually believe it?

Did he know much about the Cadets?

About Brendol?

Not that Reveille was behind it, but her brother’s actions spoke of her own. “I believe she would only challenge you in the standard fashion – to challenge a decision with words and to try to understand it, or make others see why it is a bad decision. I do not believe she would do anything else, Supreme Leader.” He had to hope to be convincing. His own energy, his own emotions, he knew, were at least outwardly steady. He doubted Ren was looking any further than that.

Though, he was, admittedly, watching how Kylo was using the Force – if at all.

~***~

‘You’re trying to get murdered, aren’t you?’ Reveille, of course, didn’t say that. However the thought of giving Schaeffer a name and the usual order of ‘don’t get caught’ did cross her mind. It would effectively solve the problem.

Instead, she just smiled. She could figure out a multiplicity of spellings for her name, and went with the one that seemed most likely, but made the note that it may be incorrect – Garmuth would know. ‘I want everything you can find on her.’

“Well, this wasn’t amusing at all, but at least you’ve given me something to do, Lieutenant. I hope your records are spotless, for your sake.” And that every cam of her was just as spotless, from every ship she’d ever been on, or every store she could find her in from before the First Order. If it took tearing apart the galaxy to find something incriminating, well – Reveille had the time and the resources for the petulant woman who didn’t know how to pick her enemies.

She was already an ally of Kylo Ren. That certainly didn’t win her any points. Reveille didn’t need Kylo having a spy on her brother for longer than necessary. “Try to do some actual work,” Armitage didn’t let her leave without that.

Reveille’s lips quirked, just a moment, as she fought back her own response to that which would have embarrassed her brother in front of his aide. She couldn’t be doing that, though. She just gave a slight nod, and turned off, down the hall that was likely to take her to one of the areas where the remaining Cadets tended to lounge.

When she’d gone off, intention quite clear to Armitage, he did give Althea a dull stare, “You do understand it would have been a better idea not to answer her venom with venom, correct?” She could at least be rational after the fact, perhaps, if not during.

 

[cleopat]

Kylo regarded Jinah’s words with silence for a moment. Very few within the Order didn’t use illicit means for their own benefit and promotion, and he doubted that Admiral Hux was any different.

Most of the time, Kylo did not care. If it didn’t interfere with his own goals, then why should he intervene? But now as Supreme Leader, he had more to worry about, including those who even held the thought of undermining his authority.

And so he did not believe what Jinah told him. He could simply try and pull what he wanted from the man, but he wished to hear what he had to say about Reveille first. To see how deep his loyalties lie.

“You say that, yet I believe the truth is far different. Tell me, what is she hiding?” His words grew rougher, angrier, and if he did not hear what he wanted, then he wasn’t above using the force to coax the answer out of Jinah.

~~

And I would love to hear an apology when you end up finding nothing. She didn’t say it, but oh how she wanted to with every fiber of her being. She offered her own smile instead, and did end up adding, “Please let me know when you find nothing. I eagerly await the results.”

She was a bit curious, and nervous, about what exactly would turn up. As far as she knew, her files looked like any other officer’s files, and not once did a superior officer complained about her performance during her time in the First Order. But even though she and several other Resistance members went over her file several times to double check for gaps, it only took one tiny error to unravel everything.

Lavinia released the tension built up from her spat with Reveille with a soft sigh, her fists unclenching. Light regret filtered over her face as Armitage spoke to her. “I do understand that, sir.” She was normally better at controlling her emotions, but somehow Admiral Hux managed to push the right buttons. “I just don’t like anyone questioning my capabilities.”

She hoped never to be left alone with that woman. “It won’t happen again.”

 

[Lucyfer]

Jinah could sense too easily he wasn’t going to get out of this easily. Kylo Ren seemed almost immune to his earlier attempts to redirect, and now he just didn’t believe him. “If she is hiding anything, she doesn’t tell me. I’m not one of the Cadets.” It was a last ditch effort to shove blame off onto someone she actually didn’t tell so much to – the Cadets.

Schaeffer, in particular, who was unlikely to know too much.

“I still doubt she has any intentions to act against you, beyond what she has already shown, that seems to have upset you,” Jinah could easily see that Kylo was furious from their last encounter, from whatever Reveille had done to get her in a position where Kylo Ren had decided to choke her. “What did she do?”

Perhaps if he broadcasted his own ignorance of what happened, it would help Kylo to believe he knew none of her secrets? Worth a shot, anyway.

~***~

Armitage had to resist the urge to hit his own forehead as Althea called out. She had no idea what she was doing. Even if there wasn’t a mark on her record, “Insubordination to a superior officer such as Admiral Hux is sufficient grounds to have you demoted. You may not be removed from my side, but your pay and personal leave would suffer. Presuming, of course, Admiral Hux has not decided to plant something to see you ruined, now.”

Armitage would mention to her not to do that, if only to spare them both the grief of dealing with Kylo Ren. He wondered if Althea had even considered such a thing. Likely not.

If she had anything at all to hide, Armitage was fairly certain that between Reveille and her team, it would be found. It’d be interesting if she did have to plant anything just to get rid of a nuisance, but it wasn’t above her.

Not that he could argue with the reasoning. No one liked to have their capabilities questioned.

He took a turn that led to an area of the ship with more Stormtroopers, but he ignored them as they paused while he walked by, standing at attention until he had passed them. “Next time, I do suggest just proving your capability, or answering the questions in as few details as possible.”

~***~

It was an unspoken rule that the lounge one floor below the bridge, was the Cadet lounge.

There weren’t many of them left, not there had ever been many to start with. There was no room like this on the Exigency; most of the Cadets had ended up on the Finalizer, but they all seemed to make their way by this lounge.

Reveille stepped in to find Schaeffer was, indeed, present, with a couple others. He was the only one in white, signaling where his position left him, while the other two were in black. “Admiral,” Schaeffer addressed.

“Revy!” That was another in the room, who was always too familiar. When he wasn’t using nicknames, he was using insults, like ‘bastard’. How he lived this long was a simple miracle. He’d been on Reveille’s hitlist a while now.

“Where’s Jinah?” Reveille asked Schaeffer, who settled back in his seat after rising.

He shook his head, “Lost him somewhere after lunch, when I met up with them,” he thumbed towards the other two, “we came here.” Already, Reveille was moving to one of the consoles in the lounge, and starting to bring up the camera system for the Finalizer. “I’m sure he’s fine. He can take care of himself.”

“Jinah’s the miraluka, right?” Nicknaming idiot asked.

“Mm.” Reveille was skimming the halls, knowing Jinah would stand out like a sore thumb in his robes. “Ah…,” and there he was, on the screen. She quickly brought it up to show him with Kylo Ren. She didn’t know where that was off-hand, “Schaeffer, with me.” But she could see a number on the wall and knew she could find it.

“Well, it was nice catching up,” Schaeffer pushed himself back to his feet and shot a lazy salute to the others, which they returned.

 

[cleopat]

Kylo did not believe Jinah’s act of playing ignorance. “And why wouldn’t she tell anything to someone who played the role of her guard?” And to tell something of such value as her plot against the Supreme Leader to the Cadets? Laughable.

He let out a bitter laugh at Jinah’s continued ignorance. “I’m sure you already know what she did.” Kylo extended one arm in front of him as he willed the force into the miraluka’s mind in the search for truth. And he would simultaneously test out Jinah’s own force ability. Could he fight against Kylo’s own force strength?

“And you also probably know what she has planned.” He sought out the answer, curiously wondering if the answer will be easy to obtain, much like it was with that damned insufferable Resistance pilot, or if the miraluka will prove to be troublesome, just like with the scavenger.

“So tell me what exactly you’re trying to hide.”

~***~

A pay cut didn’t bother her, nor did shortened personal leaves, but the overall idea of a demotion was humiliating. Lavinia didn’t wish to see the smug face of Reveille if that did happen, or something worse just may happen. But she didn’t even consider that the First Order admiral would be conniving enough to plant something incriminating on her.

Of course she would.

If she managed to survive this hiccup, she would have to do better in the future of holding her tongue. Be the obeying wallflower that many of the lower-ranked officers were, especially around Reveille, and not let her damned pride get in the way again.

“I understand, sir.” Next time she encountered the admiral, she would just have to do her best to bite her tongue, even if it filled her mouth with blood. “I realize now that you must have quite the negative first impression of me.”

 

[Lucyfer]

Jinah saw it before he felt it, the way the Force moved at Kylo’s will, and the way it concentrated to try and push aside his own energies, to break through it. Jinah did not have the kind of control or skill someone like Kylo did, but he could see what happened.

He could brace.

And he could rely on the training with interrogation droids that Reveille had made mandatory for certain individuals like himself, to prepare for such an invasion of the mind. If it had worked for Leia Organa in having her resist even Vader, then it would work for them.

And Jinah immediately grit his teeth as his own Force recoiled and drew back, drew closer to the surface in a sense, to make a stronger shield against his own mind. Perhaps it was incriminating to resist, but he wasn’t about to be broken easily. “I don’t—KNOW anything,” his volume briefly increased from the pain, and he stepped back.

‘No…no, this won’t….’

He couldn’t do much – but he could run, for the moment, and hope Kylo couldn’t multi-task Force skills. So, he turned, and he ran.

Right into Schaeffer, who had been as quick as Reveille when she indicated that Jinah was with Kylo. Even he could see how that would be bad all around. “Hey, easy Jinah, I thought you could see people?” The tease was light, though he noted the way Reveille’s hand had dropped to her blaster. ‘Can we not all get murdered in this hall?’

That was probably too much to ask for.

“There you are,” Reveille spoke to Jinah, before Kylo, even if she’d seen enough to know what he’d started, “Thank you for finding him, Supreme Leader.” ‘I will rip you to pieces if you ever touch him again.’ “Schaeffer show him back to the ship, would you?”

“Yup.” Any excuse to get the hell out of there.

~***~

Althea claimed to understand, but Armitage wondered if she actually did, or if for some reason she decided not to argue with him. She hadn’t shown too much of an argumentative side with him, but he had seen it come out a bit around Garmuth, and now Reveille. As far as first impressions? “Her assessment wasn’t wrong.”

It had been…fairly obvious what he sought in Phasma’s logs from context clues, “I suppose they teach you not to assume things in the lower ranks, but it is a skill that is useful the higher you go,” in order to stay ahead, and stay alive. Armitage needed it often. “It may be a risk in some instances, but it is better to show a certain initiative and understanding. It is not a bad impression, persay, given where you have come from, but it is one that needs to be improved.”

Mitaka had learned a bit about when and how to ask questions to avoid showing too much initiative, to seem painfully lacking in ambition, while competent. Armitage sometimes wondered if it was intentional, or actually how he was.

It was hard to read Mitaka. “I do find it interesting you do not seem so argumentative in my presence, and I doubt you were so around the Supreme Leader,” given, he hadn’t truly seen much of her yet, he still got the sense that, occasionally, she knew when to pick her battles. Not when it came to Reveille, but there were plenty who didn’t know when not to pick that fight, as the entire engineering team knew.

His turns took them into quieter halls, until they eventually came to a non-descript, numbered door, and Armitage removed one glove to place his hand to the scanner alongside it.

 

[cleopat]

He knew there was something there worth finding. He could feel it. The way Jinah tried to fight against Kylo’s power spurred him on even more, gave him reason to believe that there was something worth hiding.

Kylo grit his teeth in frustration when Jinah turned to run. He almost had the slimmest inklings of a thought. He knew Jinah lied, and he was hellbent on finding that truth. Before he could stop the miraluka, Schaeffer stepped in the way. Right next to the woman in question.

If he won’t give me what I want to hear, then I guess I’ll just have to take it straight from the source.

He stared at Reveille, dark gaze boring into her very soul. He wondered if she would willingly confess what she’s planning, or if he would have to try and take it from her the very same way he attempted from Jinah.

Kylo ignored the other two as they made their exit. “We had a very...interesting chat.”

~***~

Lavinia said nothing on the assessment. Instead, she made a note of what the Huxes expected out of their officers, which was a bit different than those she worked with on the Supremacy. “You’re right. It’s almost second nature now to make sure of an assignment.”

But it seemed that Armitage didn’t hold the some disdain for her as his sister did. “Duly noted, sir.” Of course she knew exactly what they were searching for, and if she ever made a future error based on assumptions, well, she would remind them of this very moment.

“Do you wish for me to change that?” The corners of her mouth quirked up to indicate her joking tone. So far, Armitage hadn’t given her reason to argue against him, but she also didn’t wish to get into any sort of spat with the man. Not when they were to work side by side. Not when she wanted to try and win his trust.

“Also, I doubt many are argumentative against the Supreme Leader.” Not that she barely even had time to say a single word to that man, but she also wished to not have a giant target painted on her back for that man. “And to be frank, he can be terrifying.”

 

[Lucyfer]

Schaeffer and Jinah were allowed to leave, and as they did, Reveille did not let her gaze break from Kylo. Never mind that the heat of his anger was almost literally burning; she was already too angry to be scalded.

Angry from the meeting.

Angry from Armitage’s aide.

And angry to find Kylo Ren trying to violate Jinah’s mind. “I do not appreciate your attempt to play coy, Supreme Leader.” She snapped at his words, once she knew Schaeffer and Jinah had rounded the corner and were likely well on their way to safety. “Jinah has a difficult enough time being in the First Order without you harming him. The next time you try to harm one of my subordinates, I suggest you have a very good reason.”

The direct threat was left out, but too heavily implied to go unnoticed. Reveille did regret it, but she was not used to having to deal with a superior threatening her subordinates. She was used to stupid flyboys, or officers, she could knock down several pegs without so much as blinking.

Kylo was different. He could get away with it, but she wanted to remind him it was a very bad idea. She remained ever protective of those non-humans who had trusted her enough. Rani and Kos’tel’lanni could defend themselves, and to some degree, so could Jinah…but Jinah certainly did not have the presence, or force of personality, to consider it when confronted by Kylo Ren.

Whereas Rani would still probably attempt to punch him in the face. Stars bless Rani – but she was a horrible influence. “So why were you doing it?”

~***~

It was an irritating feature of many of the lesser officers, but one Armitage was accustomed to dealing with. Reveille should be as accustomed to it, although he had a feeling she made Kos’tel’lanni deal with those officers and petty things more often than she handled it herself. That, or dealing with Intelligence Officers had more perks than Hux realized and few of them were as inclined to ask stupid questions.

At her joke, though, Armitage still allowed a slight groan, “I argue enough with other officers,” although perhaps this was something to be noted, “though I would appreciate it if you saw a glaring flaw in some plan, or needed to better understand something, that you did comment. However I would prefer it not argumentative, and not in front of others.”

He also was embarrassed enough in front of others. Snoke had loved doing it. Kylo wasn’t any better. He would rather be spared additional humiliation.

The door opened, and Armitage walked into the minimalist room that had been Phasma’s. No hint of character. Less than even Armitage’s room. Everything was put away. There wasn’t so much as a spare credit chip on top of Phasma’s desk, which was where Armitage walked, opening up the drawer to pull out the meticulously organized datapads she had for all of the Stormtrooper Corps, divided by unit.

He did roll his eyes at her comment, “Yes, the Supreme Leader is listened to because he is intimidating,” he couldn’t say anything else good about him. He could keep people in line…some people. Armitage knew he would still argue with him, and he knew Reveille would, just as well.

Someone had to or the entire First Order would go under. “It’s better to say as little as possible with him, as well.” He figured it was good advice for both Reveille and Kylo. Avoid unnecessary confrontation. She was meant to be his aide, not someone in the upper echelons who would need to fight to defend her views.

Leave that for the officers who signed up for it and fought for their positions.

 

[cleopat]

“If you don’t wish for any of your subordinates to be harmed, then I suggest you stop hiding from me.” How dare she feel anger towards him? If only she weren’t going behind his back, doing who knows what, then he wouldn’t have to resort to such measures to ensure that she wouldn’t undermine him at the first opportunity. “It was nothing personal on him.”

He decided to play with her for a little bit at first. He wanted to see if he could make her squirm, see if he could make her confess to what he knew just had to be true. And for what? Pretty revenge for earlier? To regain the upper hand? To validate his hatred for the Hux name?

None of that mattered.

“He told me exactly what you are planning.” He wanted to see if she would spill her secrets on her own, or if he would have to further coax them out of her. “And I must say, I am very disappointed in your, admiral.”

~~

With the same slight smile, Lavinia nodded and added, “Duly noted.” Now that she had verbal confirmation, she would be sure to speak up more should the situation called for it, though that also highly depended on what the situation was exactly.

The barrenness of Phasma’s room reminded Lavinia of her own. Minimalist and simple with only the essentials. Nothing hinted at her personality or her personal life, if she had one. No doubt every moment of her life was dedicated to furthering the First Order. Loyal until the very end.

“And intimidation will only get you so far.” The comment was more so to herself as she briefly wondered, while most feared him, who were truly loyal to the Supreme Leader? Not many actually spoke highly of him, not in the same way they spoke of higher officers they admired.

She held out a hand to relieve Armitage of some of the datapads. She wanted to question further about what exactly to keep an eye out for concerning a replacement, but with the earlier incident, she decided against it.

 

[Lucyfer]

Kylo Ren put the blame at her feet, though he hadn’t quite accused her of hiding anything. Perhaps a bit – but not to this degree. What had happened to convince him of it? Was it the way Tarkin was brought up, and that Kos’tel’lanni informed him arrangements were already in the works? Reveille wasn’t certain.

She was certain of one thing, though: Kylo’s attempt to use the oldest trick in the book was laughable.

“Yes, it usually is disappointing to find that someone you want to get rid of has nothing to hide, isn’t it?” Reveille wouldn’t take the bait that easily, she didn’t even flinch. She knew Jinah better than that, knew this trick, and knew she’d seen Kylo trying to rip information from Jinah. Jinah hadn’t said a word, or else he wouldn’t have been in that position.

“If you have concerns I’m hiding anything, come to me, Supreme Leader. If I were going to hide anything from you, however, do you honestly believe I would have drawn a target on my back by coming to you earlier, and not simply using the information I had?” Her tone increased just a bit, just enough, in the hopes that it would remind him of what she knew.

That she could raise her voice enough to draw suspicion, or speak of his treason so others would hear.

They were in a hallway, after all. Plenty of cameras, too. She knew that too well by finding Jinah through them.

~***~

The files were added up, one after the other, each datapad full of plenty of information. Armitage had been impressed by it, before. Now he was grateful for it. Whenever he had a question of any individual Stormtrooper, Phasma had the information logged, the examples noted, evidence cited – it was honestly amazing how much work Phasma had gotten done.

Whoever stepped into her shoes had a lot of catch-up to do.

He still was attentive enough to hum his agreement about intimidation, even if he also knew how far it could get one. The attack on the Hosnian System had, after all, been used to cow the other systems into subordination. It was working, to some degree, even with Starkiller lost. Reveille was finding it easier to bring in the Core worlds.

Armitage was noting each datapad by the two-letter labels, and knew when he’d reached the last one. “That will be all. We’ll need to take them to my own quarters so I can begin to look them over. Have you been shown where that is yet?”

He presumed it would be part of Mitaka’s tour, given that she was meant to be his aide. She would need to know where his quarters were.

Regardless, Armitage did begin to walk to leave Phasma’s room, expecting Althea would follow and carry along the datapads.

 

[cleopat]

He scowled at her perpetual stubbornness, and any witness to the scene would easily see that Kylo was not happy. Not. At. All. Reveille reacted in ways he was not quite used to; not even Armitage stood down like she did. How quickly would he get over her death?

He couldn’t care less about the cameras in the hall. Aside from her and the general, very few would approach him on what was currently going on in the hallway. “I believe you have much to hide.” His right hand raised a bit, and with the slight motion of his fingers, he froze the woman before him.

In just a few long strides, his body was directly in front of hers. “This is me, coming to you.” His voice was softer as he spoke, nearly threateningly so. Kyo raised his hand again, and it hovered near the side of her face as he contemplated his next move.

“And I do believe you are hiding something from me. The miraluka’s thoughts confirmed that. Now I just need to know what it is.” His words devolved into a sharp hiss as he forced his way into her mind, into her thoughts, into whatever plans she had.

~~

As the files stacked up, Lavinia silently wondered how long it will take for them to sort through them all. She secretly hoped that Phasma made it obvious in her notes of whom she wanted to take her place, but she never knew the woman, so she had no guesses as to how she organized her notes.

“Yes, sir.” She shifted the datapads in her arms to sit more comfortably. She couldn’t imagine the humiliation if she were to accidentally drop one. “Mitaka showed me that general area.” But could she get back there on her own? Unlikely.

So she was quick to follow after Hux, the idea of having to send him a message or ask for help should she get left behind motivating her to keep up. “How soon are you hoping to have a replacement picked out?” The obvious answer would probably be as soon as possible, but she wondered if there was a specific deadline he wanted to make.

 

[Lucyfer]

Frozen.

Reveille knew what that meant, and already started to go through the processes she knew to lock up her mind to the IT-O droids. She thought of an annoying popish song. She started to draw up horrible graphics and images into her mind, memories and dreams that would help deflect, before Kylo’s hand was at the side of her head, and the piercing sensation seemed to shoot right through her.

How long could she last, really, if Kylo wasn’t deflected by the horrible visuals and annoying song? How long could Kylo probe? These were untested things – much as dealing with an actual Force sensitive.

But all too soon she felt her focus fading. The song was more like static. The images were less focused as Kylo’s own desires overrode it. She couldn’t move to run away, voids, she couldn’t even fall from the pain that was truly wrecking her focus, though she at least kept her mouth shut for a while.

Until she couldn’t. Until the dam broke and that first thought slipped – the experiments in Serenno, the plans to find ways to hinder the Force, artifacts of lore like the Void Stone – all things originally planned to deal with Snoke, turned towards thoughts of dealing with Kylo if it became necessary. She had only that tidbit to those treasonous thoughts – if it became necessary. Because approaching Kylo about Snoke had been to test that.

But she still cried out as the walls fell and she could witness those thoughts being pulled forward, could still feel the hot tears, and the rush of violent anger at Kylo for his damnable powers. The damnable powers she wanted to destroy. To see him this weak.

~***~

Armitage could only sigh at the fact Mitaka hadn’t actually shown her to his room. Perhaps Mitaka considered it wasn’t knowledge he should share, but he imagined instead his lieutenant had been distracted. Rani wasn’t exactly the most dutiful. He understood the twi’lek was good in a TIE and could lead people that way, but beyond that…well, he had doubts.

So he would make sure she knew which door was his own. “You will have to show me which room is yours, so I know where it is,” Mitaka had figured out her placement, which he presumed was near. “As for these, as soon as possible. Phasma had many important jobs, although I feel I may have to divide them between multiple people, rather than one,” obviously one would lead them.

He just doubted anyone could handle as much as Phasma did. Certainly, not immediately. Even Phasma hadn’t come into her roles in one day. She had taken much from Cardinal, and others.

“Phasma’s notes should indicate the standouts in each division, listed first, and I can go from there,” he’d consider each of those ones. She listed them in ranking order, and he would keep in mind those ranks and why they had them, as he compared them across the board. She had once listed them by number, but no longer.

He was thankful for that. The numbers were irrelevant.

They passed by plenty of Troopers on the way out of the barracks, and back into the more familiar halls of officer’s quarters. “Have you had to deal much with individual Stormtroopers?”

 

[cleopat]

Kylo had to commend Reveille on her attempts at blocking him from her mind. It was obvious she prepared herself in the past for any sort of mind probing, but as someone who didn’t hold any Force capabilities, or trained in them, she had no chance against Kylo.

He easily slipped past the false images and sounds she conjured up to deter him. Slipped through like knife to butter. The small fight she put up nearly impressed him. Her will was strong, but he was stronger.

And there is was.

Her first screams were like music to his ears. The subsequent images he found elated him, as they only confirmed his suspicions about the admiral. He brought his face closer despite her tears, despite her cries. Yes, he was angry. Livid. But his face remained stoic as he ripped these thoughts from her mind without a care of the pain she felt.

And why should he?

Without a single word, he stopped the probing, but he didn’t step away just yet. Reveille remained frozen in her spot. One gloved finger from the hand that hovered next to her face reached out to wipe away a tear that trailed down her cheek in the midst of her anguish. “It would’ve been so much easier if you had just cooperated from the beginning.”

He dropped his hand and took a step back, but still not relinquishing Reveille from his hold. “I could end your pitiful life right here with good cause.”

~***~

She wondered, would General Hux make unannounced visits to her room? Or is he more courteous than that, and will at least send her a warning via datapad? If he was the type to drop by unexpectedly, then she would need to be very careful at what she did in her private time. “Of course, sir. I can show you after we drop these off in your quarters, or later if you prefer?”

If General Hux had doubts that any one person could do the job that Phasma did, then her loss was indeed great for the First Order. Exactly how many would be needed to fill in her empty space?

Lavinia only nodded at his next few words. The job sounded easy enough, and later that evening, she would be sure to write the names of the top picks somewhere as information to send to the Resistance. Wherever they may be.

Someone can do the homework.

Her gaze flickered to the passing Troopers as Hux asked his question. “On occasion, but it was rare. I dealt more with numbers, logistics, and coding.” A job she was adamant about putting herself into, because rarely did she have to talk to people.

But luck wasn’t on her side.

 

[Lucyfer]

The touch was, by far, the most offensive thing that Kylo Ren had done. Reveille would never be one to be fooled by such things or to take comfort in false care. She had learned long ago to mistrust any gentle gesture. It only made her want to rip Kylo’s throat out. If she could move…but she couldn’t. She could glare, and she could imagine her teeth at his throat, but she couldn’t move to act on it.

She composed herself, what little she could. Her face was still red, her anger not at all masked, as Kylo explained the situation to her. As if she was ever unaware of Kylo Ren’s power.

He was smart enough not to let her go from his hold, but still stupid enough to threaten her. The throbbing pain left by the probing was not helping Reveille in the least, so far as responding went. The words were unfiltered; filtering would take more energy than she cared to invest in it. And probably make the headache worse.

“Go ahead and do it, then, or get to the fucking point.” Reveille snapped back. She wasn’t cowed by the pain, by the knowledge. She already knew Kylo was a capable killer. It was all he was good at. “You know what happens if you kill me. You know the chain reaction that follows with everyone who knows YOU KILLED SNOKE, and how quickly you’d lose the Order you never had in the first place,” there was no lowering her voice there, she wanted it heard, “You’re no more innocent than me, except I haven’t done anything.” She prepared.

But that wasn’t action. That was nothing treasonous at this point, either. Luke had ever been an enemy of the First Order, and Kos’tel’lanni would see to it that when Kylo Ren’s head was on a spike, that counter-argument was ready. Reveille’s legacy would be the one defended. She had only been preparing to deal with Force-sensitive enemies.

“But you know that, or you wouldn’t be standing there making threats, so what do you want?”

~***~

“After we drop these off,” Armitage answered. It wouldn’t be hard to backtrack from there, and it would be better to know where her room was before he got too engaged in his work and then forgot he needed to learn where it was for future contacts. Even if he could just send her a message to have her come up to his room or meet him somewhere.

It seemed that Althea herself had limited engagement with the Troopers. In truth, Hux didn’t, either. Beyond giving commands, he did not know them, not in the way that Phasma had, which was why he had to defer to her judgment more than anything else.

Frustrating, in some regards. Perhaps he should have gotten to know them better, but he had only dealt with those of rank. He had others to do that sort of business for him…and, he supposed, it was good he did think he could trust them.

It had kept the Order running efficiently.

This bit of information meant that Althea would likely not know much, but all the same, “If you notice anything in Phasma’s files, or know anything about any individual that is noteworthy, you will inform me,” he said as they came to his room.

The hall he was in, was empty, save for his door. It made it fairly obvious that someone important resided in this hall, and that his room spanned the stretch of that wall on the side of his door. He paused at his own door and slipped off his gloves again to press his hand to the pad, letting it scan his hand for entry, before the door slid open.

For all its size, his room was…bare. The only notable thing was the icy blue couch pushed against another wall. Beyond that, everything was orderly, and barren. Silver or black in hue, and set up as if it might be a hotel. The first space they entered was likely meant to be a living space with the couch there, and the holoprojector built into the glass coffee table, but there was no life to it.

The cushions barely looked as if they’d been sat in.

The table was pristine; not so much as a ring of a cup marring its surface.

There was no rug to soften the silver metal floor. No slippers near the door to slip into. Not even a coat rack near the door to suggest Armitage would ever leave even his coat in some wrong place, or place other than his closet.

His own room’s door was shut, as was every door – the one to his more personal office, the bathroom, the kitchen attachment, there was nothing to be seen but the living space, but Armitage didn’t stop there. He did walk to one of those closed doors and opened it, to reveal an office of a black metal desk and sorted files relating to the First Order, all neatly put up on shelves and organized by his own logic. There were no labels to reveal that organization, just markers of where one section ended and another began in the form of metal dividers.

Armitage gestured to the desk, “Just set them there for now,” he would return to them soon enough. There were a couple other datapads on his desk, reports he’d been dealing with from earlier.

 

[cleopat]

Kylo was well aware of the anger and pure hatred Reveille directed towards him. He almost wanted to laugh, for what could she do to him? Any lunge, any kick, any physical attack aimed in his direction would be deflected without a thought. Imagining her attempted to fight him was such an entertaining thought.

Her mouth was going to get her into a lot of trouble, though. His eyes narrowed as he practically snarled, “And how many exactly know that? Would you like it if I made a little visit to your friends?” It was obvious he was referencing Rani, Kos’tel’lanni, and Jinah with those words. “Your ideas, your threats are considered treason, which is enough to convict you.”

What he wanted was to wrap his fingers around her skinny neck, so he could feel her pulse slowing as she took her last breath. But the last thing he needed was for further uproar in the First Order and for General Hux to badger him even more than he already did.

“How about I offer a compromise.” Would her stubbornness and hatred refuse such a thing, he wondered. “I will forget about your foolish plans and experiments on Serenno, as well as leave your friends alone, if you abandon that quest and also delete any footage concerning what happened in the throne room.”

If she didn’t comply, well, he would simply have to find a way to convince her.

~***~

Lavinia hummed her response to indicate she heard his response. Her own room was quite bare, since she had only relocated to it earlier with nothing but her datapad and her current uniform. Had someone been able to place some spare clothes in her room yet?

The only noteworthy thing she knew about any particular Stormtrooper was the incident surrounding Finn’s defection, and she knew how he created paranoia within the First Order at the possibility of other Stormtroopers following suit.

General Hux probably didn’t want to hear about that though.

“Understood, sir.” She watched him as he utilized the biometrics scanner in order to access his room. “Will I gain access to your room, or only when called upon?” She’d imagined someone as important as Armitage may be too hesitant to offer just any access to something as private as his quarters. Secrets could be stolen, traps could be set.

Lavinia was mostly unsurprised at how barren his own room was. Someone should introduce flowers or decorative vases to the First Order officers. The icy blue couch did serve as a stark contrast, one that shocked her. It was...odd. Out of place. She simply raised one eyebrow, but made no comment on it for now. Everything looked as if it belonged in a museum with their pristine condition. Does he even live here, or does he sleep on the Bridge.

The office was just as meticulous as she imagined. If she did have access while he wasn’t in the room, she would be very content to shift through all of the files. Lavinia carefully placed the datapads on his desk, ensuring that none clattered to the floor or messed up the other datapads already on his desk.

“My room isn’t far from here.” She hadn’t forgotten about his earlier request, and so she turned around to lead the way out of her quarters.

 

[Lucyfer]

“By now, I imagine quite a few know.” Reveille snapped back, “There’s audio in this hall, on the security footage, and I left a group of cadets watching this.” Reveille still had no desire to censor herself. She had no desire to be helpful in the least, really, to herself or to Kylo Ren. If it sunk him, she was willing to sink herself. “If you want to kill people for ideas, you’d have to kill the entire First Order. The same with threats, if you don’t imagine others are thinking them or plotting them behind your back. Fear won’t keep them in line. It didn’t do so well with Snoke, did it?” It only made him resent and hate Snoke all the more.

Kylo likely had never met that level of petty. Armitage wouldn’t stoop that low.

Leia Organa might have been close to it, if some rumors were true.

“I won’t delete that footage, but I can give up Serenno.” There was enough there for him to work without her, or perhaps she could talk Tarkin into it. An exchange. Help. He was upset about them using his information. ‘But he already knows….’ Right. Something Kos’tel’lanni had hinted at.

Then it would continue, no matter. She could get her hands on the finished product. “You made your decision, Ren. You made it poorly. You have to live with that.” He could have done a better job at killing Snoke and making it seem like it was Rey. Perhaps if he had killed Rey, it would have been more convincing, rather than try to beg her to his side.

~***~

“You will not gain such access,” Phasma and Reveille were the only others he willingly allowed, not that he could have kept Reveille out if he tried. Kylo likely had access anywhere now by virtue of being the Supreme Leader, though he’d never seen reason to have it tested, or remind Kylo Ren it might be something he wanted to arrange.

Why would he give him that advantage?

Althea at least was careful in setting the datapads on the desk, not getting them mixed up with all the other files already occupying space. He’d come back to those later. Finding a replacement for Phasma was more important, it seemed. He couldn’t argue that, he just wanted to see other things done.

He started to follow Althea out as she recalled the next step without the reminder. His own datapad buzzed, and he noted it was Schaeffer. ‘Why?’ Pain in the ass…no matter, he opened the message, keeping Althea in his sights as he shut the door to his room.

Your sister has gotten in trouble with Ren.

Nothing new. That Schaeffer knew of it, and felt the need to send him a message on it, was interesting. He held no loyalty to any of them. He considered sending back a message of why it concerned him; it did, but his sister was usually capable on her. Before he could send such a message, another came through.

Kylo killed Snoke? Why aren’t we ending him?

Good question. Why did Schaeffer know this? “Hold on a moment.” He paused in the hall and decided to just send a call through to Schaeffer, “It seems there’s a situation.”

 

[cleopat]

“That may be so, but so few are bold enough to actually go forward with a plan against me.” Fear is all he had. It’s all he knew. Fear had been used against him, and now it’s the only way he knew of how to control others. And he wasn’t about to start asking for help on how to control others without it.

“But maybe they could all witness an example of what happens when you try and go against me.” He imagined her on her knees, hands bound behind her, as his lightsaber pressed against her neck with many of the officers and Stormtroopers witnessing the public execution.

He wasn’t sure if even Armitage invoked the same amount of rage in him, but the general also knew when to back down. This woman did not, and only continued to test his fury. “You will give it all up. You will completely abandon your little pet project, or you will forfeit your life.”

Kylo still had no regrets over killing Supreme Leader Snoke, even if what happened immediately after was against his plans. He could live with that decision and deal with those who challenged his actions. “And it seem that you, too, have made some poor decisions. But will you finally wise up?”
Almost as a cruel gesture of compromise, he let her go, but his guard remained up.

~~

Lavinia wasn’t surprised by Armitage’s decision. A man as private as he is probably didn’t allow anyone inside his quarters without him there, and although possessing such a privilege would’ve been beneficial for her, she could live without it. There were other things she could work with.

She made her way to her room without another word. What more was there to say to the general? She couldn’t picture him indulging in small talk either. Aren’t we just having lovely weather in the middle of space.

Hux did speak up next, although it wasn’t quite what she was expecting. Her steps paused at his command, and she swiveled around on her heel as his vague words had her curious. “What kind of situation?”

Briefly, Lavinia’s thoughts flashed to the threats Reveille made against her earlier. Did they somehow find out something about her so soon? No, that was impossible.

 

[Lucyfer]

‘Few are so bold, yet.’ Or they were all plotting behind Kylo’s back, as she had been doing. She still felt that desire to shirk the command, and let him try to give the others an example. Better than being an example of being brought low by the fear. ‘Or….’ Or find other ways. Kylo wasn’t doing himself any favors.

He was making more enemies with every breath.

When she felt control over her limbs return, she did stagger forward a moment, earlier, frozen momentum trying to press through. She didn’t fall, catching herself soon enough as she bent her knees. She straightened up again, and the thought did occur to her to just try and attack him anyway.

To no avail. She knew it wouldn’t work, that was why she had the project on Serenno anyway. ‘Garmuth would save a file, wouldn’t he? Kos’tel’lanni?’ If she had any idea what Schaeffer was doing, she might have actually considered promoting him. Or thanking him. Perhaps it was for the best she had no idea, though.

“What guarantee do I have you won’t kill me anyway when those files are gone?” The files were all she had. He was guaranteeing her death if she didn’t; perhaps there was no guarantee, just his own safety.

It’s something she would do. She couldn’t really fault him for it. It was certainly why she questioned any sort of compromise.

~***~

Schaeffer appeared standing on the pad, looking annoyed to have been called rather than have a message sent, “I am busy, General.”

“Not busy enough. What precisely is going on, Schaeffer?”

“Are you alone?”

Strange question. Armitage’s glance up was enough of an answer, before he would verbalize it. “Not. Well. The Supreme Leader seems to have determined that something within your sister's possession is not good for her to have. Certain footage she possesses. You may want to consider retaining it, I do not believe she is going to be able to do so, along with certain plans on a certain planet that may or may not have home to a former Sith Lord.”

The words said nothing specific, but they were enough for Armitage to put some pieces together, and understand why they were being offered at all. “Why are you telling me?”

“We have some things in common, General,” one of them being a certain dislike of Kylo Ren in power and a desire to remove him. “You have more capabilities than I do. I trust you’ll use the information. Oh – and hallway 4-F.” The network of cadets weren’t precisely loyal to each other, but they did, generally speaking, agree that they were all better suited to lead the First Order than Snoke had been, or Kylo Ren.

“Thank you.” It felt strange to say it, but he did, and let Schaeffer leave. He debated going right to that hall. If he intervened, the information he had could be forfeit. “Wait here a moment, Lieutenant.” He went back towards his room.

He needed the footage before it was lost.

He needed to put in a call to Kos’tel’lanni, as well.

 

[cleopat]

He entertained the thought of knocking Reveille down while she still attempted to regain her bearings, just to emphasize what he could easily do to her if he so chose to do so. It wouldn’t add anything extra to his threats, though. The admiral already knew what he was capable of, before they had met, it seems, and she already had a plan in motion on rectifying that.

Kylo didn’t answer her question at first. Contrary to what many believed, he didn’t enjoy killing just for the sake of it. He had reasons for each of the lives extinguished by his hands, and though loathed to admit it, the admiral served her own purpose in the First Order. Already they had to find a replacement for Phasma, which would prove to be a challenge. But to also have to find one for an admiral? Even more of a headache.

A headache someone else would get stuck with.

“You have no guarantee. You have no reason to believe that I won’t decide one day to end your life, but it is something you’ll just have to put your faith in.” Maybe Armitage Hux was the wrong Hux to stick an aide to. Maybe he should’ve put that lieutenant on Admiral Hux. “Unless shaking on it would make you feel better.” A light jest, but one he would consider if she actually agreed to it.

Laughable.

~~

It was almost impossible for Lavinia to keep up with all the new faces she met that day. She would have to see if she could look into who this Schaeffer was later on.

The cryptic message nearly left her frustrated. Something very interesting was going on behind the scenes, but naturally the lieutenant wasn’t trusted with such fragile information. And oh did she want to know what the hell was going on.

Her umber hues focused diligently on Schaeffer’s hologram, but the man left out just enough clues for her to remain confused by what the two were talking about. Would Armitage bother telling her later?

“What’s going on?” she questioned nearly simultaneously as his command for her to wait right there for his return. She lightly huffed and couldn’t help but to briefly compare herself to some trained dog, loyally waiting for its master to return. How humiliating.

If she wanted to find out exactly what was happening, then perhaps she would just need to break out her persuasion skills.