Supreme Leader Hux had taken his position back on the throne as he watched his prisoners depart the throne room. A malevolent smile spread across his face; he allowed his position to alter slightly, settling down into the metal throne and allowing himself to be embraced. It was all coming together; next would be the execution, then the war. The elevator doors closed with that usual quiet hiss, and the elevator descended.
"General Kail," the woman came from her chair to his side and stood in front of him. "Have we had a confirmed location for the Resistance? Are they on Ealor?"
"They were Supreme Leader, the base has been abandoned, and we are currently attempting to find....."
General Kail was cut off mid-sentence by sudden blaring alarms and lights. Moments later, the elevator reappeared, and the door opened to reveal a single figure slumped against the wall: a figure dressed in chrome with yellow skin and bright red hair. Hux rose furiously from the throne and began marching towards the elevator. As he did so, out of the corner of his eye, he could see something, lots of something, exiting the ship. He halted and turned to look out of the viewing window; an incensed astonishment came over him as he realised what was happening- the escape pods all over the ship were launching.
Hux turned on his heel, "Someone remove her from the elevator and take her to my quarters." As Hux reached the throne, he touched the holo that allowed him to speak to the bridge. "Captain Peavey, what is happening?"
Captain Peavey stood to attention in the holo, "Supreme Leader, we appear to be experiencing a massive maintenance fault."
"I can see and hear that, Captain. Why are the escape pods launching?"
"We think we're being sliced, Supreme Leader; we're attempting to find the source."
A wave of realisation hit Hux.
"Captain, this is an escape plan by the prisoners Kylo Ren and that girl. Find the source of the hacking. Send troops to search for the prisoners. Traitors in our midst are likely aiding them."
That was the only conceivable way Hux could think of for Chromia to have been tricked and subsequently rendered unconscious.
"Yes, Supreme Leader."
The holo ended. Hux could see two of the leaders had taken Chromia's form, as requested, out of the throne room. Hux turned to face his throne; behind it, the Knights of Ren stood like statues, the current alarming situation appearing to be of little concern to them. Hux fumed; this is what happened when you allowed such free-minded individuals into the ranks. No care for their betters or duty.
"Well! Your former leader is escaping. Are you going to do something about it?"
One of the dark Knights moved forward. Helmeted, dressed head to toe in black, they were ominous, with no faces, just masks, a dark, deadly presence.
"We follow the one named Chromia, not you. She is of the darkness; you are not."
Hux lost his temper; this trial and subsequent execution was an accumulation of months of planning to have his war clear the galaxy of disorder once and for all. He reached inside his coat for his hidden blaster, the one he always carried. He blasted one at random without taking his eyes off the Knight that had just spoken. The Knight fell to the floor dead.
"Chromia serves me, which means you serve me." He now pointed his blaster at the Knight that had stepped forward, "Go find Kylo Ren."
The Knight stepped forward, no acknowledgement given, but the four remaining Knights followed him to the elevator, appearing to be unfazed by their dead comrade.
Hux then turned to the leaders still sitting around the throne room. How were they all still sitting there?
"Well! Do your jobs! Find the Resistance, find that so-called Princess! Find my prisoners and prepare for war. I may not get my execution, but we will have a war to end all wars!" Hux was shouting intensely; he could see the nervous faces of a few leaders. Some, Grand Admiral Skalick and Vice Admiral Renor maintained their calm despite the alarms, lights and murder; they even managed a curt 'Supreme Leader' as they walked purposefully towards the elevator with the other leaders.
Hux didn't watch them leave; instead, he headed straight to his quarters. Chromia had some answering to do.
-X-
Chromia awoke in a familiar room, but not where she recalled being before waking. What was she doing here in Hux's quarters? She struggled to think and tried to sit up from where she'd been lying on the Supreme Leader's bed and felt a pang as her head rushed. She felt up with her hand and could feel a lump on the top of her forehead. She'd been in the throne room at the trial. Kylo Ren had started to lash out, and she'd taken charge. She remembered the interchange with Kylo Ren in the elevator, how she'd gloatingly admitted to being of the darkside and touched his chest, feeling the Force raging within him. Chromia had grown to admire him, and as humans went, he was not unpleasant to look at so tall and powerful. Surprisingly, he'd taken the torture she had inflicted on him, withstanding more than she thought any human could have. His darkness and power were intriguing to her, and when she had been that close to him in the elevator, she could feel it, but that shouldn't have been possible, not with the vials of Senflax she'd been injecting them with. She remembered how the girl, Rey, said something and, to her utter surprise, had harnessed the Force to throw her into the opposite wall. How had the injections stopped working? From her position on the elevator floor, the last thing she saw was a trooper wielding his blaster and bringing the butt down hard on her skull; she must've been knocked unconscious. She growled again, enraged, as she got to her feet. They'd escaped, and they'd had help. Shooting pain in her head caused a momentary imbalance. The stormtroopers who'd been present in the elevator had helped them. Were there traitors in the First Order? Hux needed to be informed of that. She could only imagine his fury; he'd wanted that public execution to rally the troops and bring about the final solution, a war to end it all and seize control of the galaxy.
At that moment, Hux stormed into the room, red-faced and fuming, hands clenched at his sides and jaw tight. Chromia stood without moving, following his movements solely with her eyes. He stood directly in front of her, nose flaring as he breathed hard. She didn't see it coming, but he struck her hard across the face with the back of his arm and hand, catching her high across her cheekbone. Her head jolted to the side, but her feet stood firm. She turned her head and stared back at him. She'd had far worse in her lifetime; Hux couldn't hurt her no matter how hard he might try. She was annoyed at herself that she'd disappointed him. As she stared back at him stoically, she noticed his breathing become shallower and the colour in his face reduced he appreciated her unemotional response to his outburst.
"What happened?" He demanded through clenched teeth, his words spoken clearly and concisely.
"I got distracted, Supreme Leader. I apologise. I wasn't aware that the Senflax had stopped working, but I should have realised. The girl, Rey, threw me using the Force and Supreme Leader. More concerning, Kylo Ren and the girl had help. The stormtroopers in the elevator were with them, helping them; one knocked me unconscious."
"How did the Senflax stop working? You guaranteed me results."
"I don't know, Supreme Leader; it has always been effective in the past. I've never seen it stop working this quickly before, and I have used extra dosages to be sure. They must be even stronger than we imagined. I should've realised."
"Ah yes, your trophies, you appear to be short a few." Hux was looking down at her belt. Chromia looked down, and only her own saber was there; Kylo Ren's and the girl's sabers were missing.
She snarled, at which Hux smirked. He stepped forward and seized her jaw hard.
"What are you going to do about your failure?"
It was difficult for her to talk because he had such a grip on her face. She pondered for a moment, then hissed through her teeth.
"Have your execution on Russan as intended, rally the troops and have your war."
He inched his face closer, the red rising again to fill his face. "I can't have the execution without the prisoners!" As he spoke, he got louder until the last word prisoners was a shout through a clenched jaw and gritted teeth.
She didn't even blink but inched her face closer to him, allowing her sharp teeth to show through a cruel smile as she whispered her meaning.
"No one knows what the girl looks like, but your leaders, choose another girl, any girl. Any other traitors amongst the First Order execute them too."
Hux searched her flame-like eyes; the ruthless ambition she could see in his eyes she knew matched her own. He loosened his grip on her face and sneered. He approved of her plan.
"How do we find the traitors in our midst?"
"Question the troops. Start with the guard on duty at the cell 47; he must have seen something or know something."
Hux contemplated for a moment, "PR 2357." He looked up; the main lights had flickered back on, and the alarms had mercifully ceased.
"Find trooper PR 2357, question him, do what you need to, and report to me immediately once you have something tangible".
Hux stormed out of the quarters and back to the throne room, heading immediately to the throne and engaging the holo; instantly, a blue holo version of Captain Peavey appeared, standing to attention.
"Supreme Leader, We've managed to stop the slice on our maintenance system. It appears a freighter was docked in the maintenance hangar. Our troops engaged the prisoners, and the two troopers aiding them as they entered the hangar. They've reported that one of the prisoners was injured, but all four assailants escaped on the ship."
"Were you able to track it, Captain Peavey?"
"No Supreme Leader, as we were unaware of it being on board or when it departed, we have been unable to track it. It wasn't a standard ship of the Resistance; from all accounts, it looked like a cargo ship."
Hux recalled a cargo ship that had infuriated Ren on Crait, and that had been on Starkiller Base, a piece of junk by all accounts.
"Captain Peavey, get information out that the First Order is looking for a ship of that description, a cargo ship acquainted with the Resistance, and track a course for Ruusan."
"Yes, Supreme Leader."