Star Wars IX- Balance Of The Force

Chapter 24 - Leaders of Old come Together

Outside the atmosphere of Ruusan, upon the bridge of one of three Dreadnoughts, stood Vice Admiral Deltan. He was deep in thought while surveying the empty space; he was very concerned. Supreme Leader Hux had ordered himself, Admiral Skalick and Vice Admiral Renor to load the Dreadnoughts and prepare to find the Resistance and take his war to them. Deltan had followed his orders like a dutiful member of the First Order, but he increasingly disliked the decisions of those in charge.

He was a veteran of the First Order and, like Skalick, Renor and Targo, the Galatic Empire before that. Unlike Hux, Deltan did not have the same extremely skewed version of history, which had no doubt been fed to Hux by his father, Brendol. Deltan was aware of the lies and the truths that had brought about the Galactic Empire. Hux genuinely believed that the Jedi had rebelled against the Senate and its appointed leader. That, of course, was a lie. Like Snoke, Senator Palpatine had been a long-planned deception, and Order 66 was a massacre of the Jedi. There had been no rebellion; it was all to dissolve the Senate and end democracy in the galaxy.
The subsequent rise of the First Order from the remnants of the Empire had been a chance for Deltan, who believed in order. On joining the ranks, however, yet another mythical Force wielder was pulling all the strings, the strings of the entire galaxy, like a malevolent puppeteer. Deltan had wanted to bring order to the outer rims and abolish slavery. He'd been idealistic about what could be achieved- idealistic and foolish. Hoping the First Order would fix injustice and provide security to the galaxy. He'd thought of leaving the First Order more than once, but defecting wasn't an option once you were in the First Order. Only death could you release you from that contract.

Hux had always exhibited the attitude of one who had climbed far and fast and by methods questionable if examined carefully. Hux certainly possessed twisted genius, but that element was becoming increasingly sadistic. The creation of Starkiller Base, the destruction of three planets loyal to the Republic, the slow, deliberate decimation of the Resistance on their small ships, and then the trial of Kylo Ren and that girl. It had been perfectly clear to Deltan that some severe torture had occurred on board Vice Admiral Renor's ship. Kylo Ren had been unable to stand straight, and the way he had cried out when the female humanoid Chromia had struck him. Deltan had seen Kylo Ren fight in enough conflicts to know the man did not merely fall down hollering in pain over the hit from a staff. Worst of all, of course, was the recent execution. Deltan sighed to himself at the memory of the beheading of that poor girl. She had been steadfast, brave, and so young, too young. She was a member of the Resistance, yes, but not one deserving of a public death via electroguillotine; no one deserved that fate. It was beastly and unbecoming of the civil-military prowess and hard work that the First Order had accomplished, that he had accomplished. Deltan had voted against execution along with two other high-ranking officers- General Targo, he knew, felt as he did as did Colonel Kramer. That had been three against four, five including Supreme Leader Hux, so they'd been outvoted. He knew General Kail and General Valax had no backbone and would happily follow whoever could guarantee their survival; currently, that was Hux.

"Admiral Deltan, Sir, we're being hailed."

Deltan turned to his head communications officer, pulled out of his deliberations, "By whom?"

"Unknown ship, Sir."

Deltan's eyebrows arched in surprise. Who could be hailing them? He scanned the space through the viewing windows on the deck. He couldn't see anything.

On seeing the Admiral peering into the empty space, the officer spoke again, "I believe the ship may be cloaked, Admiral."

Deltan considered for a moment, "Very well. I'll take it in my quarters." 

Admiral Deltan left the deck promptly and headed for his quarters to receive the hail. An unknown, cloaked ship was hailing him, and he didn't want his officers to hear; one could never be too careful. On arriving at his quarters, he pressed his holo by his desk. The blue image of a man in a cloak flickered into view.