Steady On.

Chapter 10.

"And who are you to judge my handling of anything?"

Kylo took a single, slow step towards Hux, his eyes still on the man as he ignored the pain that still spread within his chest. Hux did his best not to falter his stance, though the force around him told Kylo all he needed to know.

Hux began to stammer though a response. "I have been General of the First Order for nearly-"

"Yes, you've been the General for some time now. And in an instant, you can become nothing."

There was no need to raise a voice. No need to question if Hux understood. The threat was loud and clear, and it was all that needed to be said before General Hux bit his tongue and finally broke his glare from Kylo's.

That didn't stop Kylo though. His gaze still bore into the man, his force still clung around the air that the General breathed.

Unblinkingly, Kylo hissed. "Now, get out of my sight." He repeated his earlier command.

Without another word, or any other hesitation, Hux did as ordered.

Relieved, Kylo clutch a hand to his chest as he focused hard on regaining his breath, inhaling deeply as he explored the force for answers.

Cursing to himself as he turned and strode to his chambers, he wondered if the girl had anything to do with this, if maybe she'd somehow found herself in trouble...

He wondered though, if he felt her pain so vividly, so abruptly, was she alright?

Biting down on the inside of his own cheek, he let a slew of curses fill his mind, directing it all towards himself.

He shouldn't care if she was alright, he told himself. In fact, if he was so hell bent on ruling this galaxy, and ending the Resistance, he should go and order the attack...

Kylo gave himself a moment to think of the words Hux left him with.

They knew. They knew his was willingly withholding the attack, and he couldn't trust Hux not to act on that information soon.

In his chambers now, Kylo threw himself into the chair at his desk, shutting his eyes tight and letting the force guide him into a chaotic world of meditation within his rage and confusion, trying to focus on the scavenger. In order to get there, he let his anger fall for a moment, his breathing evening out. Slowly, his mind cleared, and he focused on her face, on her light.

He could feel her there, sense her right on the other side of the wall she built to block him out, just as he had done to her. This time though, hers was stronger.

His brow furrowed, and inhaling, he tried again.

Static.

She was blocking him, without even trying.

Kylo felt a surge of power fulfill him, a sense of accomplishment. Whatever she was doing, he felt that she had won. The corner of his mouth quivered slightly, the start of a smirk.

For a moment, he felt proud, unsure why. He could feel how happy she was with herself, and it was quickly replaced with a feeling of worry and apprehension on her side of the wall.

The pain he had experienced earlier was gone, now forming into a slight ache of soreness within his bones.

His eyes slowly opened and he glanced around his empty, dark room before he stood, moving to the large window that exposed a small part of the galaxy to him.

In the silence that swallowed him, in the confines of his lonely room, he thought of her, of where they might be had she stayed with him after they defeated Snoke in the throne room.