conflictedheart | The Hunter and the Hunted

They were both equally horrible.

The taste of failure was sour in his mouth, especially on the heels of such glorious triumph. He'd been at the top of the chain, could feel the heat of the star flaring across his face, the warmth of glory striking him to the bone. Now, even with the Hosnian System destroyed, his own is falling apart. Years of work, of struggle, what was supposed to be a crowning achievement is going up in smoke. Crumbling underfoot, collapsing inward like his own pride.

In a fit of twisted loyalty, he wanted to go down with his base, like a captain and his ship. Instead, he has his orders. Retrieve Kylo Ren and go back to the Supreme Leader, hopefully all in one piece.

His losses weigh on him enough to be numbing as he flags down two troopers, snapping at them to follow him on board a small craft. Once on, he punches in coordinates to where they'll find the stubborn, destructive idiot, tracking system still online even with the destruction around them. Hux manages to keep the troopers from panicking by sheer force of will, his own expression stony and closed off. Quicker than anticipated, he arrives at his destination and through the viewport of the ship, he can tell this won't be pretty. Sharply, he commands the pilot to land, already heading for the exit dock near the side.

"UT-804, with me. I'll need assistance getting Lord Ren onboard." Hux is relatively strong, but not enough to lift a possibly dead weight. Cold air blasts across his face as soon as the door opens and his steps are heavy in the snow. He stops abruptly at the mess named Kylo Ren, brow creasing at the sprawl of his limbs, the dark blood oozing stark against his pale face. Pulling a glove off as he kneels, he checks for a pulse, finding one weak and fluttering under his fingertips. Reaching over, he picks up the damnable lightsaber hilt, setting it atop Ren's chest. With a quick nod, he and the trooper manage to extract the Force user as gently as possible from the snow, hastily ensuring he's set on the regulation medical cot installed at the back of the ship. The ground is starting to quake apart as Hux goes to the door, palm connecting with the button to pull up the landing plank and shut the doors.

"To the Finalizer, TR-418. Radio the ship to let them know of our imminent arrival." Command is followed, he's sure of it as he hears the communication line open with a scratch. Shooing UT-804 to the secondary pilot post, Hux takes over what little first aid he can perform in the cramped space.

"What a pathetic mess."

What a pathetic mess. What a glorious statement to return to consciousness on.

His senses slowly came back to him and unpleasantly, that was the first thing he heard past the static filling his ears. Where his eyes open? He wasn't able to discern as all he saw was darkness, but the voice was one he knew. Trusted, to some small degree, though perhaps trusted might have been too strong a word. He had no strength left to fight or even move, so hearing Hux's voice was a minuscule comfort. The First Order had found him, not the Resistance.

He had killed his father. He had failed to keep or bring back the girl. His breath rattled in his throat on those twin thoughts, ache spreading in his chest that had nothing to do with his injuries. Ah- there was the beginning of the light. A spreading white that crawled across his vision second by second. He tried to tell the General to bugger off, to leave him without the realization that without Hux he was likely to die.

What came out of his house was a vague sound that was more of a moan or a mumble that decidedly weren't words.

He's partway through draping a shock blanket over Ren's shoulders when he hears his breathing pick up. There's more of a tension running in the other man's body, indicating he was surfacing into some kind of consciousness. Hux waits, wary. Who knew what Ren would think upon waking. Maybe he'd be disoriented, confused to the point of inciting violence.

When no strike comes, he relaxes by a small measure. The other man's brow is creasing, mouth turning down, eyelids fluttering.

And then there's a low sound, which he guesses were supposed to be words. Hm.

"Don't waste your energy." It's embarrassing. "We'll be onboard the Finalizer soon. Medical staff will be there to hand you off."

Hux realizes he might be talking to someone who could barely understand him. That cut on his forehead is looking worse and worse. Moreover, the blood leaking from his side has him worried.

Thankfully, the journey to the star destroyer is uneventful and quick. Just as mentioned, there's a small contingent of staff from medbay, ready with painkillers and sedatives and a stretcher.

By the time they arrive back to the Finalizer, Kylo Ren's consciousness had returned, but it was an ugly one. Not so much the burn slicing across that young face of his, but that the rage he tended to take out on unsuspecting people and more so, innocent tech that happened to be in his vicinity at the time his rage built.

This time, Hux would eventually get a comlink message from medical. General, there is a... situation is medical. That slight pause only indicating how serious it was, on top of being serious enough to message the General.

It started with his refusing the painkillers, startling medical personal when they started to put the dark warrior under to begin to deal with the worst of the wounds. When one got the courage to try again, he ended up pinned to a wall, listening to Kylo Ren's growl. He had long since learned to deal with pain, to convert it to power that he could use and keep going. No Knight could be titled as such without learning that lesson long ago through their intensive training. The Darkness wouldn't allow it to become a weakness, even as the nature of his body fought back against the logic of his training.

He would finally let them go at the wound on his side, eyes half lidded as he fought within himself not to flinch with any pain that flared up, but the medical team did not look happy about any of this. They were used to troops who knew their place and did as told by medical.

Hux has no reservations about handing Kylo Ren off to the medical team when they disembark. He has minimal training, the barest to get by if need be. The Jedi Killer needed something more serious, else he was going to bleed out or his wound become infected. As soon as the aggravating man has been placed in the med team's care, he sweeps off towards the bridge, to command the ship to their next coordinates. Starkiller is in shambles, ready to implode at any moment now. Not waiting until he gets to his post, a chain of orders are given through the commlink directly.

They're to head towards the Supreme Leader. It will be some time, even making a hyperspace jump.

There's a fluttering of dread in the pit of his stomach as he even thinks about meeting Snoke. This was a failure. He was a failure, on some level. Ren, of course, was the worst off of them all, though that does not give him as much joy as it might've in the past.

Grimacing, he steps onto the command bridge, ensuring everything is proceeding with the minimal amount of chaos possible. And in the aftermath of his life's work being destroyed, he's doing quite well. Dimly, he's aware that he's exhausted, a humming pain of a headache settling behind his eyes. No rest for those who seek glory. Or safety, as it were. Hux is beginning to feel like things are handled, maybe even a sliver of normal when he gets a message from the medical staff.

A situation. Of course.

He leaves Captain Yrin in charge, giving strict orders to stay on course. Furiously, he heads towards where Kylo Ren is likely pitching some kind of fit. Which indeed, on his arrival to medbay, seems to be the case. His anger has only grown and by the time the doors to the Jedi Killer's room slide open, he's ready to murder with a look.

"Lord Ren, would you care to explain why I'm having off-duty medical staff come attend to the on-duty shift?"

Dark, dark eyes turn on Hux as he spoke, unafraid of the anger in the General's voice. No longer that very youthful face that needed a mask to keep that mysterious dark warrior aura focused around him, the wound across was an ugly thing that had barely missed his eye and gave him a look that more matched the darkness he tried to allude to in his every action. The new wound and the anger simmering in those eyes both helped.

"Because your on-duty shift refused to listen to their patient," Ren all but growled; he was in no mood to deal with the General or anyone else for that matter. His mood was as low as it could have been, as low as any had seen it which had left the medical crew in even more of an anxious state. No one wanted to be killed.

Still, with his upper chest bare, Hux would see that he had been wounded at the shoulder, side, and face along with a surprising amount of older scars - the thin white lines of blade slices, the gnarled white flesh of burns, the ragged lines of questionable origin. A warrior's body, and now one weakened by its injuries.

That's the crux of the situation, isn't it? Neither one of them is afraid of the other. Ideal on many fronts but in this case, something that's only been hurting them in the long run. A healthy dose of fear or at least some more respect would probably help the both of them.

Unfortunately that's not the case. Hux is furious with the—in his very important opinion—idiot sitting up in the medical bed. Why does he have to deal with someone who doesn't even want to be attended to? Resisting the urge to roll his eyes (or break something), he stands up a little straighter at the sweeping glare from Kylo Ren.

"On duty staff was following my direct orders." He starts in, expression starting to darken and return gaze particularly icy. "I can see that even in your compromised state you still refuse to, so I'll repeat myself for this occasion: I don't care what your obsession with pain is, let medical do their job or I'll have them knock you out for the duration of our trip."

For just a moment, there was the faintest widening of Ren's eyes as he stared at Hux and the fact that the man had dared to threaten him, far more than the typical that he had grown used to in their time forced to serve together on the Finalizer. That surprise that might have been a score for the General turned into rage only after a heartbeat or two. A rage that flared up in his eyes as they narrowed, the jerk of his hand as power lashed out, licking around Hux's throat.

"No matter my injuries, how dare you threaten me!" Without the mask, the voice was so very different in its promised threaten in kind, but unlike the calm that Ren liked to try and convey that made his threats so much more likely to stick, this was full of anger as unstable and red as his destroyed lightsaber.

He didn't stand, but his hand did tighten as his breathing picked up.

He'll dare to do whatever he wants. The Finalizer is still his ship, he's still the General, even in the face of everything else having collapsed around him. Maybe this is just his way of holding onto his title, his power. To keep control from being wrested from him.

Briefly, so briefly, the shocked look on Ren's face is absolutely worth it. There's a strange thrill of triumph. It doesn't last long though and he can feel the beginning of the Force pressing against his throat. A threat if there ever was one.

"If you'd allowed medical to do their jobs to begin with, Lord Ren, I wouldn't need to." The last of his words are strangled, the pressure closing in. Hux can feel the beginnings of panic set in and it's difficult to fight against what his body naturally wants to do.

"Do not presume to give me orders," Ren snapped, then with a final snort like a raging bull, released his grip on Hux and allowed his hand to drop. He would show no signs of his weakness, nor of the fact that it had cost him to even perform that single act with the uncertainty of his control. He needed time to meditate, to refocus his will, his understanding, and his goals.

Killing Solo had not removed that feeling of the Light within him, and it confused him as much as it enraged him. On top of that, what should have been his greatest triumph had become his greatest failure, and in turn, had been compounded by being defeated by two untrained fools.

Hux had failed as well. Heard through the murmurings of the medical staff, through what he had been able to glean before, the Resistance had won. They had managed to destroy the great weapon of the First Order, but not before it had been fired. It had brought huge destruction to the New Republic, but Ren still thought it a foolish notion all together. They would come together again, angry and ready to fight, instead of merely the Resistance. The two feuding sides might see a more common enemy than each other.

Snoke would not be happy with either of them.

He takes too deep of a breath when he's released, oxygen rushing in and causing him to cough, almost choking again on the sensation of being able to breathe. There will be no fingerprints, but he feels like they're there all the same. A phantom pain. One gloved hand comes up to his throat, rubbing where he'd felt the most pressure. The eyes of the medical staff are on him, frightened around the edges and waiting to see what he does.

Clearing his throat, he resumes his imperious stare at Kylo Ren, not willing to be intimidated even in the face of being choked on his own ship.

"Then stop getting to a point where I need to." This is ridiculous. It should be common sense. Cooperate with medical and be on your way. Except that seems to be such a difficult task– he wants to scream. Hux already has enough stress to deal with in the face of Starkiller being destroyed. He's spent what little time he's had to think about his words to Snoke. To consider the best course of action.

He's even gone so far as to think about the repercussions the Force user will be met with. It doesn't seem like either of them will be let off easy. Though, he's mostly concerned with getting out alive. Ren seems to be too valuable to be disposable and it's a fact that grates on his nerves.

In the back of his mind, he can feel their fear, the tremble on the air as the medical staff wonders who might be next if even their General isn't feared and no, he doesn't. He doesn't fear any of Hux's threats or anything the man could do, no, not when they would have to report to someone who can truly hurt both of them. He took a slow breath, wanting nothing more than to be alone right now and deal with the pain in his own way rather than the painkillers and sedatives that he knew the medical staff wanted to pump into his veins. His head needed to be clear; he needed to replay and understand what happened. How he had failed. How he would go before Snoke to explain any of this.

"Tell your staff to go." The voice is nothing more than a growl, edged with exhaustion and tight with pain. "You're not helping, either." Their snarking had always been a form of entertainment while waiting for news on Skywalker or the few Jedi that might remain, but right now everything felt like it was grating on his own last, raw nerve.

"Out." Hux wastes no time on getting the medical staff to leave. At least, for now. They go happily, rushing past him, off to their other assignments. Relieved to be out of the same room as Kylo Ren, no doubt about it. However, he won't bend to the other man's will so easily. Glancing back, he taps the control panel, hearing the satisfactory swish as the door closes.

"Just because you want to suffer tragically does not give you permission to terrorize my staff, Lord Ren." He takes several steps closer to the man, stopping just short of the one side.

"I'm not expecting thanks for dragging you off the collapsing planet when I could've left you there to die, but I would appreciate your cooperation."

So that was how he ended up here. Ren's teeth grit as he thought about it, knowing Hux would hold it over his head for some time, just as he was doing now. Of all people to see him at his lowest, Hux rated near the top for the most frustrating and most embarrassing. Damn.

"I'm somewhat surprised you would make the effort," Ren said tightly, though it occurred to him that if Hux had left him to die, Snoke would well know quickly enough and been everything less than pleased. He wouldn't let that comment about suffering get under his skin, he wouldn't-

"It has nothing to do with being tragic!" Too late. "I want my head clear, not muddied up with painkillers." At least he kept it from being a snarl as he watched the red haired General closely.

It's underhanded, he knows, to throw such a fact in Ren's face. Watching the other man's reaction gives him no pleasure. Nothing about this situation does. In fact, his anger simmers, boils, reaching a breaking point.

For someone who has never been an actual battle, Hux moves quickly, his hand whipping out and curling into the front of Kylo Ren's medical-issue smock. Leather from his gloves creak with the pressure and he leans in, every line in his expression etched with a cold fury.

"Let me make this perfectly clear. I do not care what you want, Lord Ren. Supreme Leader has given me strict orders to bring you to him alive and I will do everything in my power to ensure you're in one piece when you stand before him."

Another point to Hux when his breaking anger took Ren by surprise, leaving the dark warrior momentarily stunned while listening to the distinct threat being snapped against him, eyes wide in the fact that any man would dare to touch him in this fashion, would have the gall to speak to him as such. Given though that if any man would, it would be Hux, but he wasn't going to take that for a moment. His surprise was burned away in the face of his however momentary indignity, the anger that always simmered just beneath the surface.

Pale fingers came up and wrapped brutally tight around the wrist of the hand holding him, holding nothing back as his thumb dug into the soft veins and tight tendons of the underside of the wrist. His words in return matched in tone to the General's, but there was nothing about Kylo Ren that was cold. His anger was always fiery hot, meant to sear and scald and burn in its path. "I have no such orders to make sure you do the same," he said in threat, staring Hux in the eye. His nerves thrummed with the rush of anger-adrenaline, Hux close enough he could make out every detail of his face, smell him as he leaned in to bring their faces closer together.

The cocky little cardinal that had dared to insult him before the Supreme Leader. He would make Hux pay for the loss of face many times over.

There's something deeply satisfying about surprising the Force user. It's, he thinks, in the fact that Ren can literally read his mind. Has probably done so on multiple occasions. So to hold something over the other man is a gift in itself. Though, the shock melts, expression darkening and Hux knows it's anger. Knows there's going to be a retaliation of some kind.

This is who they are. Two men vying for power and a similar goal but disagreeing on the method. Fingers curl around his wrist (he's certain it will bruise) and they dig into flesh, bone. Even if he wanted he can't pull away and he's faced with the scorching fury from Ren.

"Try it and see where it gets you, Lord Ren." They've failed together and if Ren decides he's going to maim or murder him, well, he supposes he'd be spared the disappointment of Snoke. It's fatalistic, he knows– with the destruction of Starkiller, it's difficult to keep his head up.

In the beginning, he had. He had skimmed over the mind of the prim and proper General who had aggravated him and dared to try and order him around like a common trooper and quickly discovered two things: one that for someone without the Force, Hux had a surprisingly tight, closed off mind and two that his surface thoughts were so strict and exactly what he expected that for the most part, they were boring. Only on occasion, when Hux started himself into one of his more fevered pitches, did anything of interest come up. Then there was a seething rage, a burning pride, a rankled ego that were much more fun to turn around on the man.

Yet he had never gone deeper. He wouldn't think of himself with any kind of respect for Hux, no.

"Every man and woman on this ship could rise up in your defense, little General, and that still would be no threat." There was absolute certainty in Ren's threat, one that allowed him to make it without blinking or hesitation. His thumb dug in harder, and his order was as precise as anything Hux had given his troops. "Let. Go." If Hux released his garment, he would release the wrist under his fingers.

"You think not?" His arrogance, Hux is finding, has become taxing. Coldly, he glares into Ren's face, lip curling with the insinuation that Kylo Ren would destroy his troops. Fine then. If this is how he was going to be.

Slowly, he releases the other man, fingers uncurling from the fabric. The dig in his wrist is more noticeable now and he's sure it's going to leave a deep bruise. Figures, can't even get through a conversation with the Force-user without him flying off the handle. This is how he's repaid.

"I suppose if you want to be a masochist about it all. Don't blame anyone but yourself if the pain drives you mad."

[ooc: Oh my god I just noticed your 'name' beside your icon. /cracking up]

Matching Hux in speed, Ren's fingers release Hux's wrist, feeling the flex of tendons as he does so against his fingers until he drops his hand back into his lap. His tone changes as he does, leaning back against the wall and giving Hux a look that burns under dark curls. "If you think this pain is enough to drive me mad, you are sorely mistaken." No, he has suffered worse in the past, but trying to explain the details to Hux is both fruitless and unwelcomed.

"Have you come to berate me for my lack of pain killers, or is there a reason?" His eyes clearly slide up and down Hux's body, checking the General for any signs of damage. Seems like most likely, the other survived the destruction with minimal issue except for the wound to his pride. Doesn't even sound like a loss of confidence; Ren wonders if his men that remain feel the same.

[ ehehehe it's 2 true ]

Stupid, he's decided.

Kylo Ren is an idiot. A masochistic one at that. If this is something he's supposed to suffer through for his training, Hux finds it to be lacking. He doesn't understand the Force or the Dark Side or all this mystical nonsense. It's precisely that to him: nonsense. As it is, he barely sleeps– he doesn't have time for this.

Some part of him wonders if it's Snoke who demands this of Ren or if the other man has twisted it in a way. Or maybe it's entirely his own way. If it comes from Snoke, he lets the indiscretion slide even less. In order to hone a weapon, one doesn't continually push it to the breaking point. Sharpening a tool takes time and care and effort. There shouldn't be a reason for this.

But then, that's his failing here, isn't it? He's a creature of logic and none of this conforms.

"You were terrorizing my crew, in case you'd forgotten in the last span of minutes. Whatever issues you have, you can take them up with me first. Is that clear?" He has a damn ship to run and re-hiring competent staff is difficult.

"Moreover, I won't have Leader Snoke blaming me for your pain or your possible death from a wound like that."

He knew his training as much as Hux knew what he had been raised on. Every Knight took care of their own wounds unless absolutely unable to do otherwise, and each learned early on how to survive and concentrate on the pain that might torture a lesser man. They were to rise above it, to use the natural reactions of the body to clear their mind and focus on what was more important. Use the adrenaline to fuel a fight, as a natural pain killer, to fuel their anger. He could count on one hand the amount of times that he had been to a state where he had to be patched up by someone other than his own hand, and each time left him with anger and a shattered ego that he rebuilt. Even with his wound, he should have been able to handle the traitor and the scavenger. As far as he knew, the traitor was dead, as he should be, but her. How was she capable of such things with no training? Who was she?! It infuriated him and had been the subject of his looping thoughts... along with what would come as a price for his failure to keep her.

Ren snorted rudely, hardly cared. "He will hardly blame you for my pain." No, the blame would solely be on himself. A part of the price of his pathetic failure. "Your medical staff has handled the wound enough. I won't die from it." His head shifted, just enough to run his gaze over Hux again. "Be careful, General. It almost sounds like you were worried."

Isn't that too bad, he thinks a bit viciously at his medical staff being good at their jobs and fixing Ren up. It's somewhat childish, but the thought only lasts for a moment before he brushes it off for being anger-driven and useless. Though, it does seem like Kylo Ren once again fails to see the big picture. Once again is being some overdramatic Sith in training.

Hux resists the urge to shake him.

"The Supreme Leader tasked me with retrieving and bringing you to him, Lord Ren. As you've probably noticed, he doesn't take well to failures." He doesn't mention that he also doesn't allow himself to fail either. Even if most of him wanted to leave Ren in the snow, he's duty bound enough that he never would.

"I'd much rather not swap places and walk in your shoes, in that regard." After all, he's worried about pretty much one thing and that's keeping himself on top of his game. One day, he'll hold more power. One day, he won't have to think about this, won't have to keep checking to make sure Ren hasn't chewed his leash straight through.

(But maybe, maybe he was concerned about the welfare of this person who tries and tries and tries despite the odds being stacked against him).

That was new information. A dark brow rose at learning it, debating on the idea. If Snoke was beyond angry with him, he very well could have left him to perish on the collapsing planet-turned-weapon, but perhaps it equally meant their Great Leader wanted to punish him himself. The latter seemed more likely. Perhaps losing the girl meant less to him than his success with Solo. Not that losing to the traitor and the girl would go unpunished, but just maybe things could be handled.

"You've retrieved me and are bringing me to him, I presume, so you've followed your commands." Like a dog on a leash, forever bound by the restraints of the First Order and his own pride. Hux was often incredibly predictable in how he would respond to a situation, though he did occasionally manage to catch him off-guard. Maybe that was part of why he enjoyed returning the favor ten-fold.

Still, he watched Hux carefully, then snorted again. "I would be more worried about your own hide." But even the fact that Hux had been sent to collect him was an interesting one, leaving him again with two different possibilities. Either the General's failure had been taken in stride (he imagined still would be punished severely for) or Master Snoke wished to punish him in person. So, cautiously, Ren relented a step. "Neither of us have a place to be envied when we arrive."

This is true. Neither of them are to be envied. Hux has taken great care to think about it. To try and suss out what punishment may await him when they come to Snoke. He isn't a particularly imaginative person, but having dealt in strategy so long means he understands how to inflict pain. How to belittle someone. How to cut them down with only words and nothing more. Leader Snoke has more than that at his disposal, and he shudders at the thought.

Normal people shouldn't be caught in the pull of the Force. It's not right.

"You even less so." That much was probably true. The scar that runs across Ren's face is proof enough of this, he thinks. "I did what I set out to do. It was a failing of holding back certain members of the Resistance that caused Starkiller to crumble."

His words are delivered near-monotone, no inflection even if he feels the failure sit heavy on his shoulders. But to betray that would mean weakness.

"There is something I managed to accomplish that you would never understand, something that was long over due, regardless of the remainder of the situation." He still felt it, the moment when his blade erupted from the hilt where he and his father both touched, the faint hum as it went up his arm, the heat and glow of the crimson energy that went through and finally delivered to his father as much pain as had been given to him.

Beyond the bandage across his face, trying to keep the wounded flesh healing as smooth as possible despite the burn, Ren studied Hux for a time before giving a rude snort. "Really? Is that the line you plan to deliver to the Great Leader? I'm sure he'll take to that concept fantastically well."

"I see." He doesn't. Because while Ren is saying he accomplished something, Hux has his doubts. The other man looks worse for wear and not just from the grievous wound or the gash running across his face. Paler, maybe. More fragile, though he would never say as much. Ren's problems are (mostly) his own.

Staring at him flatly, he doesn't even deign to raise an eyebrow for the question.

"Of course not. I don't take issue with being straightforward with all of the reasons, including any that may have come from my oversight." In other words: he takes his responsibility very seriously.

He knew Hux didn't and ignored the 'I see' all together as the bantha fodder it was, taking a slow, deep breath and feeling everything down his side ache in complaint. They said it would take time for the bones themselves to heal up and they might never be quite right again, the scar would be an ugly one even with everything they had done to keep it from being so. He had listened, then snarled for them to get out. He didn't want or need their pity. Scars were that of a battle fought and survived; any warrior would, and should, carry them. Yet he had to look upon his own face and know how badly the damage there had been done.

"Mm." A flat sound, watching the General for a long moment before looking away. "He may call us apart or separately. Privacy or humiliation." The snort that followed said much because he knew it had an almost equal chance to be both as much as either.

They're both sidestepping that topic. Kylo Ren, he can tell, is dismissing it entirely– well, it only makes sense. Hux would never understand the ins and outs of such things. So there's no further point in discussing it.

As the other man speaks up, he tries to hold his gaze, to see if there's something he can find there. Some kind of answer. Normally, he's not a very nervous person, but with the veritable blade hanging above their heads, he can't help it.

"Judging from how poor both of our results were. Are. I have doubts he'll be willing to grant us peace through a private session." Humiliation is a driving factor in how much they compete with each other. Suffer enough shame and it roots itself in a strange sort of ambition. Do better than the other, always. Don't go through that all over again. Too bad they're both on the chopping block here.

(He has no illusions that he'll be the one kept, if it comes to eliminating the "weaker link").

"We'll be facing his wrath together, most likely."

Funny, because Ren thought very much the same. Clearly he would be the one kept if something should happen to need to push the other to that new height. He was Snoke's pupil and even though Hux so obviously dismissed it, there had been an accomplishment that day. Then again, he thought to himself as he watched the other and their eyes met, eliminating the home of the New Republic had done much the same.

"Unfortunately," Ren murmured with a displeased agreement in his tone, "you're probably correct." Neither would be given that dignity and it would hurt them that much more, drive spikes deep into already wounded egos, even as much as it would give them another push forward... if either of them survived. "Yet..." He hesitated, brows knitting as he became momentarily more thoughtful. "He could have told you to remain and sink with your ship, or left me behind. He chose for us to come to him."

There had to be a reason he wanted them still alive beyond his own dark pleasure in killing them, Ren was certain of it.

General Hux paced about in his private quarters, he did not like the failure that the First Order had suffered from. It was a big blow to his pride and at the same time he had lost a lot of his men. Many were unable to escape. It was going to take a while for the First Order to rebuild and gain more support. He felt no sympathy for the five planets he had destroyed, but for his own men he did.

He also knew he was no longer held in high regards by their Supreme Leader and needed to work fast to regain his favor. This had been his project and one he was so ready to use. He had never guessed that the damnable Resistance would find a way to destroy it and blamed a lot of it on the traitor, the storm trooper that went rogue.

He would have had them --the traitor and the girl, but the Supreme Leader had stressed that he only retrieve Kylo. Perhaps, he should have ignored such orders and gotten them as well. Then he could have regained some favor.

Hux walked over to his own desk and looked at his computer screens, studying the new strategies and possible weapons to use. In the end, he deleted everything finding them not worthy. The hours spent on them were wasted.

He decided instead to go pay a visit to Kylo and see how the young man was doing. It hadn't been too long since he had retrieved him and he knew those wounds would take some time to heal. Hux knew that the young man was probably taking the defeat harder then he was and wondered briefly what their Supreme Leader had in store for him.

Hux reluctantly admitted that he got a thrill every time he got the young man riled up knowing that he wouldn't meet the opposite end of the saber. At the same time, he felt that Kylo was the only one who matched his intelligence and wit. He never knew what to expect with their conversations. Was he ever going to openly admit it? No. Instead, he sat down next to the beside where the brooding young man was resting and knew that eventually he would be acknowledged.

On entering the area, as soon as Hux passed through the doors, he would feel it - the tension that hovered in the air, thick enough to be cut. It arced between the medical staff, lines of tension in their bodies, all with glances towards a specific room and it's closed door. The closer he got towards the separate room, usually reserved for officers, the more the tension built. From the corner of his eye, he might even catch a pause or two in staff, looking towards the General and his intended direction. All of their faces bore signs of concern.

Kylo Ren didn't react when Hux first walked in. He was nude from the waist up, with a bacta patch across his shoulder, a long, thin one across his face, and bandages wound around his middle. The normally pale dark warrior was almost grey, but given that he had been as white as the snow around him when Hux had found him, it was an improvement. Without his mask or frayed robes, there was something less impressive about the Knight, but his body still bore the muscles and the vivid scars of a man who had spent many years in training.

The silence grew heavy, becoming a silent contest of who would break it first.

Concern flickered across General Hux's face and quickly disappeared behind an impassive expression. Those watching him would know that the general was concerned even if he was trying to hide it. Hux couldn't hep but notice how vulnerable the Knight looked and how he was nothing what he used to be. Hesitantly, he reached out and placed a gloved hand around the pale hand wondering if Kylo would acknowledge at all.

After battling the silence for a while, Hux gave in and released his hold on Kylo's hand. "You can choose to hide or or do something about it. The man I knew wasn't afraid and could strike terror in anyone's hearts. What I'm seeing now is an empty shell of that person. You can't give up now. We got too much to do. This is just a minor set back."

As he spoke he studied the man before him, hoping to see some kind of signs of life. He wasn't great with being supportive, but he was being straight forward in trying to push him to do something.

He listened to the General's ridiculous little speech, but it did get the warrior to look at Hux with narrowed eyes. His gaze flicked up and down the man before he snorted rudely. "Who are you and what have you done with Hux?" His voice was rough. Snarling at the staff? Something from the fight he must have been in? "I'm not afraid. That damn Wookie and his lucky shot." Even as a part of him rebeled at insulting said Wookie at all; he ignored it completely.

"When did things become 'we'? You have your own goals, pathetically self indulgent ones, and I have my own." Normally, he enjoyed a bit of banter with Hux, but his rage and self-pity was currently boiling just beneath the surface.

About time. General Hux couldn't help but smirk. "I'm right here wasting my precious time trying to get your pathetic self up back to working. Did you think I was going to let you sit there and lay in bed all day long?" He rolled his eyes at the Knight's excuses.

Self indulgent ones?! They were all for the First Order. "What caused part of the minor set back is the fact tat we aren't working together. We're too busy worried about our own goals." Hux curtly replied.

"I'm surprised it escaped your notice I'm waiting long enough for these," a vague gesture towards the bacta patches, "to finish before I leave and stop terrorizing your frustrating medical staff. Who, if they threaten me with sedatives again, I will hold no responsibility for killing." That was the only warning you were getting, Hux.

Oh yes 'Emperor', completely for the First Order. Hrmp. "Our goals are not the same." A snap in his voice, as if Hux hadn't been there for many of his sessions with the Supreme Leader. Already this conversation was starting to vex him. What was Hux getting on about? The fact that they had both failed was miserable. Lost the traitor and the girl, lost Starkiller Base and a large amount of troops.

The only small victory was in the destruction of his foolish father. He would never admit it kept haunting his sleep.

The constant whining that came from Kylo. It was so like Kylo to turn everything on to himself. This, Hux did not miss. His concern for the young man was quickly disappearing. He held his hand up in annoyance.

"I expect you out of here by the end of this week. If you don't listen to what they have to say I will personally supervise what's going on. I will be more then happy to sedate you, if necessary, and it won't be pleasant." Hux warned and continued to speak in a brisk manner.

"No more wallowing in self pity. I will have new strategies and plans set up by then and they will involve us working together whether or not the Supreme Leader agrees."

Oh get over yourself. A whole four years older. However, that threat sent a flare of heat that turned his boiling rage into a white-hit fury. It all but shone in his eyes as he turned his gaze hard on the General. "I'd like to see you try." Promises, promises in that tone of voice. Promises of violence. So not in the mood. "I might be hurt but I will have no issue in making sure you crawl the length of this ship in nothing but that stupid hat."

He did, however, raise a brow. "Has losing your impressive little toy made you lose all of your senses? That would explain you coming to threaten me and why you'd let your tongue suggest such a thing as going against /his/ choices."

He simply waved off the threat not phased at all by it. "I will do what it takes to regain Order," Hux replied.

Loosing his weapon had been a major blow to his ego and he was desperate to try and find control again. He knew that immediately as he uttered those words it would come back to their Leader and he would be reprimanded.

Reprimanded? He fully believed that given the failure of Starkiller, that Hux would never survive the next meeting with Snoke. He had no real idea yet of what had happened to save him from the surface, that Hux had been sent there by Snoke himself, but statements like that definitely lead down a darker path as far as he was concerned. "Of course you will." His statement was as dry as possible, wanting to go back into his meditative state that had been keeping the pain to a minimum. His eyes closed, though all of his senses remained on the General. "You should return to that."

The Hunter and the Hunted

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My phone tag didn't go through >.< Sorry! Was wondering why there was no response... gdi.

it happens to the best of us smh phone behave pls

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gomen this week has been something else

No worries <3

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Sorry for the confusion

Works for me!

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