Taking Command Book 1 (Kylux) (#Wattys2016)

Chapter Fifty Nine: Plans

Hux PoV

Around the end of the day, Kylo commed me and informed me that he had managed to recruit his hunters. That was good. Sadly, I was having substantially less luck than he was. I was still on the first hunter. The Kiffar pilot was charging me double the original price. When he had heard that I wanted someone to help me find Luke Skywalker he had demanded a higher fee. I could not blame him. Skywalker was a legend.

"If I pay you double will you do it?" I asked him, running gradually out of patience.

"I can do it. Who's gonna fly with me? You mentioned needing me to house other people." The Kiffar stared at me as he leaned against his ship.

"Yeah. You'll take three other hunters with you. More details only if you join this group." I let my hand drop to my blaster, resting it on the butt of the gun.

"Are you threatening me?" The Kiffar noticed the gesture. He put his hand on his own gun.

"No. I am saying that now that you know our goals, you either join us or die." This was a necessary evil. We could not leave any loose ends for the Supreme Leader to find. Anyone who knew and declined to join had to die.

"Fine. It pays well anyhow. So when and where will I get more information about this crazy scheme?"

"Come to this location tomorrow at noon. You'll meet your other teammates, and we will discuss the next move." I handed him a scrap of paper with the address on it.

"Fine with me. You better follow through, and this better be well planned. If you get us killed..." He pulled a finger across his throat.

I walked away wondering exactly how you killed someone after you were already dead. No matter. I still had to find my fighter. Her name was Kira Monroe, and she had fifty confirmed kills. She also was skilled in lightsaber combat. If anyone could help us hunt Skywalker, it was her.

I found that she frequented a spaceport in the middle sector of Coruscant, looking for people who wanted a bounty eliminated. She apparently only did death missions.

"Here's hoping professionalism hasn't made her expensive." I muttered as I walked down to her most frequented place. I saw her, or someone who looked like her. She was skinny and tall with two blasters and a lightsaber hanging from her belt.

I walked up to her, feigning casualness. "Are you Kira Monroe?" I asked her, putting my hands in my pockets.

"Who wants to know, handsome?" She smiled coyly at me, patting my face and winking.

I was very uncomfortable and wished Kylo was here. "My name's Jacen Crise and I need some help with a particularly difficult job." I stepped out of arm's reach of her and shoved my hands deeper into my pockets.

"Oh, all business now, are we?
Bor-ing." She rolled her eyes and sighed. "What do you want? And just so you know, I don't do dead or alive. Only dead." She smirked at me.

"I need help killing someone. I'll pay ten thousand credits." The task sounded less daunting if I said it like that.

"Who do you wanna kill? And what do you mean 'need help'? Is this a team thing?" She looked at me somewhat more seriously. "That'll be extra. I don't like other people."

"Fine. I need assistance killing Luke Skywalker. I have two snipers and myself and my companion, Ben. It's a big job. We also have a tracker and a pilot. It's no small operation."

"Who's hiring you? People don't just up and go after legends." She looked suspicious. It showed she was smart enough to be wary.

"The First Order. Ben and I are some of their top agents. They gave us the means to hire a small team to find Skywalker and end him. Do this, and you'll go down in history as one of the people who killed Luke Skywalker."

"I've already killed Jedi. See this?" She held up a lightsaber. "I found this in the ruins of the New Jedi Order. Apparently it belonged to the apprentice of Skywalker himself. I've killed three Jedi apprentices with this."

I wondered if it was Kylo's. Now I really wanted this girl to join the team. "Then you're qualified. Join us. I'll pay twenty thousand for the job."

She cocked her head, considering it. "It's a deal. So what next?"

"We are meeting in the home of myself and my partner to discuss details tomorrow at noon. Here's the address. Don't be late and don't be conspicuous."

"Yes sir, Mr. Bossy." She winked at me then kissed me on the cheek before I walked away.

That had been... something. We had all of our team now. Now we had to see if we could make it work. Plans were moving along just fine. Hopefully, the team would work well together. Skywalker would fall, and Kylo and I would rule. Our plans would come to fruition, and the galaxy would bow before our strength.

These thoughts ran through my head as I headed home to meet Kylo and tell him of my progress. Things were looking up.