Bonded

Chapter 28: Sovereign

"And he has us rebuilding half the damn galaxy." Meric sits back. "Don't forget that."

"At this rate—"

"Where's Voigt?" Kas demands abruptly.

Hux stiffens, annoyed at the interruption.

"You know he's always late." Meric waves a hand dismissively.

Kas sighs, sitting back in his chair.

"Ren's running us into the ground with this nonsense," Hux resumes without skipping a beat. "We're a glorified mining and construction outfit now. He's cut our military spending in half. Soon, we'll barely have an army left."

"But..." Foss hesitates. "Doesn't that make sense? Now that the war's over—"

"War is never over." Hux shoots forward, eyes cutting.

Foss shrinks.

"Most of the Outer Rim is overrun by gangs, the Resistance is growing every day—"

"Not that the Supreme Leader's doing anything about it," Meric adds.

"Exactly." Hux points at him. "They're a ticking time bomb, and while they're growing stronger, we're growing weaker, expending resources on foolishness, negotiating with scum..."

"Speaking of which, can you believe he let that little shit sit in on a Generals' meeting?" Meric smirks.

"Don't remind me." Hux throws himself back in his chair. "It's unconscionable, giving a lower ranked twit high security clearance, making him privy to top secret information. Half the time he's here, he follows Ren like a dog."

"The Supreme Leader's pet," Meric mimics. "I heard he went down to visit the boy's old unit, all the way to the loading decks."

"Oh, that's not the half of it." Hux fumes. "He's visiting the lower ranks regularly now, our esteemed sovereign, descending to the slums, consorting with engineers and technicians and supply workers."

"Supply workers?" Foss gapes.

"Can you imagine Snoke meeting with supply workers?" Meric snorts.

"Snoke never would've debased himself in such a manner." Hux slices the air with a hand. "He respected his position, understood that he represented our supremacy, our power, our authority." His nostrils flare. "The comparison is enough to raise the question, isn't it? If Ren is truly fit—"

"ENOUGH!"

Kas slams a fist on the table, and the three men jump.

The older general leans in. "Firstly..." Kas fixes on Hux. "You really should refer to him as the Supreme Leader."

Hux opens his mouth, but Kas cuts him off. "Secondly, the First Order is more powerful now than it has ever been. Thanks to wise leadership, planets are lining up to negotiate with us for resources. We're tightening our grip over the galaxy's economy by the day, and if we've recently had to make a show of benevolence, it's only been to repair the damage that you did to our negotiating power after Garos."

Hux's face turns red.

"And that lower-ranked twit, as you call him, is smarter than half the men at this table." Kas raises a mocking eyebrow. "Careful Armitage... If you keep talking like this, someone might suspect you of attempting to organize a mutiny."

The room falls silent.

Foss and Meric freeze, too terrified to speak. Only Hux keeps his head up, maintaining a defiant gaze.