The Amiral Rae Sloane had just boarded the ship, the same one in which the Hux family was located: the Imperialis. She was not injured, but blood mixed with dust covered her immaculate tunic.
The Empire had surrendered today. After the failure of the peace agreements on Chandrilla, a compromise was finally reached. The Amiral had been informed of this as soon as he arrived on the star destroyer.
The holonet had officially disseminated the information. Peace agreements had been signed between the Republic and the Galactic Empire, between Chancellor Mon Motma and Councillor Mas Ammeda, the official figure of the Empire.
However, as she walked the immense cold corridors of the Imperialis, she could see that the battle of Jakku was far from over. His glorious Empire will never cease to fight, even if there were now only a handful of brave men and women left to face the eternal enemy.
From today on, she was in charge of the Empire. Gallius Rax was dead. She had shot him in cold blood for her own survival, but also out of conviction. It was because of him that the Chandrila agreements had not been concluded a few weeks earlier. Indeed, while Sloane was on the planet to try to negotiate a return to calm, Rax had taken the opportunity to attack the planet...
Sabotaging the whole operation, destroying the trust the Admiral had in him. And worse still, the attack had been fomented to kill her at the same time as their enemies. Rax was smart. She was convinced of it.
She had destroyed it's only obstacle to power on the planet Jakku, the very planet that had seen Gallius born many years earlier.
She pushed the cockpit door. Immersed his hand in his pocket to take out an electronic card. She slipped it into the slot and a long series of small beeps were heard. While waiting for the on-board computer to calculate the trajectory, it fixed the horizon through the central window. Through the holocommunicator she heard voices. Some were desperate:
- We're going to crash to the surface, our escape pods are down! If anyone hears us, come and help us!
Others, panicked:
- Help me, please, don't let us die!
And others, faced death with dignity:
- I would sink with my ship. It was an honor to serve the Empire.
The Admiral could not remain marbled in the face of such a massacre. She saw in front of her the steel monsters burning, the steel battleships tearing themselves apart and finally diving into the atmosphere of the sandy planet; taking with them the unfortunate soldiers and officers. The ones Rax didn't think were useful for the future. And Sloane couldn't do anything... If she wanted the remains of the Empire to survive, she had to follow her rival's plan.
No one could see her. No one would ever know that the great admiral Rae Sloane was crying. Salty tears drew trenches on his cheeks. She could not take her eyes off this abominable macabre sight, and the cries for help, the cries of pain tore her heart out. It was his Empire that would die before his eyes, in excruciating suffering.
An audible signal indicated that the calculation of the jump into hyperspace had been completed. Sloane closed her eyes, then sighed deeply to calm herself. She was going to have to give the order to flee, to abandon the imperials. This idea was unbearable to her. When her eyelids opened, she saw two U-Wing bombers heading straight for them. Then, she ordered in a loud voice, doing the best she could to hide her panic:
- We're going into hyperspace. Now!
A whirlwind of stars then surrounded the ship, which rushed through the galaxy at full speed. Towards unknown regions. Rae Sloane vanished from the cockpit to reach her new quarters. Once alone she undressed, threw her blood-covered outfit into the laundry tub and collapsed on her bed.
......
At the other end of the cruiser, Armitage had witnessed the same nightmare show as Sloane. Through the window of his new cabin he had seen the rebel ships heading straight for the star destroyers and spraying them. He had heard the voice of the imperials through the holocommunicators installed everywhere. He had been terrified by this battle, by the consequences it had... By officers begging for help, by cries of terror, cries of agony.
He felt like he was in a nightmare that was too realistic. As the screams resounded throughout the cruiser he had rushed under his duvet to hide, a natural reflex for a frightened child. He hid and cried when he called his mother. She wouldn't come, he knew she was dead... But he kept calling her between two heart-rending tears. He felt so alone, abandoned by his mother, by his father... Only Millicent was there to keep her company, although she too was hardly reassured in all this turmoil.
Gradually his body stopped shaking, his breathing became calmer and his throat irritated from screaming no longer produced any sound. Only a few sniffs and squeaks were still ringing through the walls of his room. Millicent was now sitting on the little boy's thighs. The presence of his cat did him a lot of good, he could only count on her after all. No one had come to make sure he was okay. No one.
He was getting used to it, but sometimes it came back to him and made him suffer horribly. He curled up in a ball under the duvet, leaned his little red cheek against the pillow. He tried to stop thinking about anything, to enjoy this moment of tranquility.
In the ship there were no more terrified voices, panic had given way to calm. The blue light from the outside was reflected against the walls of his cabin. This color was soothing and Armitage was exhausted from crying so much. Rocked by the purr of his little furry companion and the distant sound of the cruiser's engine, he fell asleep.
The next morning the little boy woke up to the shrieking sound of waking up. A small feature of this system, it did not go out until the person was standing. There's no way to escape it. The little boy growled as he buried his head in the pillow to hide the horrible noise. Somehow or other we were going to have to get out of bed. He then took his courage with both hands, rested his pillow on his side and sat at the edge of his bed. He rubbed his tired and surrounded little eyes and then stood up, stopping the awakening at that very moment.
- I hate this thing... Grumbling Armitage by taking off her grey pajamas and running off in the shower.
Being the son of one of the Empire's most important members gave privileges. Thus he was entitled to his own room, his own small bathroom and private sanitary facilities. As he passed by the airlock for the dirty laundry, he dropped his nightclothes and went to the shower.
A regular shower took five minutes, all this was timed so that each person (or at least each officer) could enjoy hot water. The lucky soldiers took a lukewarm shower, the ones who last washed themselves with iced water.
But Armitage Hux didn't have to worry about the water temperature. He washed the whole of his child's body with great care. Not forgetting any nooks and crannies, no folds and no areas. He rubbed his body so hard that his skin turned red. Only in this way did he feel fully clean. He rinsed his body and then rubbed his red mane with a little more care.
He quickly noticed that his fingers massaging his skull was something very pleasant, so he never deprived himself to take the time to massage himself a little... A minute of relaxation. He had no idea what the day had in store for him. No one had told him anything. He was wondering if his father would come and visit him to explain things to him.
At the end of the five minutes, the water stopped flowing suddenly. He then got out of the shower, wrapped himself in a towel too big for him and dried his body and hair carefully and gently. He grabbed his toothbrush and for three minutes rubbed the brush on his baby teeth. In fact, he felt one move when he brushed it. It was new. He frowned and examined this little tooth that was moving when he put his index finger on it.
He wondered if all this was normal. No one had explained to him that the phenomenon was completely natural. He began to panic when he noticed that she was moving more and more. He decided not to touch it again, even though the feeling in his mouth was not pleasant at all.
He grabbed a comb and gently brushed his hair backwards as he had been taught to do. He then got dressed. A small imperial uniform in grey and dark grey tones. He then sat on his bed, he had no idea what to do. Or even where to eat breakfast, her belly had just rumbled. He had not eaten last night, it was quite urgent to remedy this situation.
It was then that several knocks were knocked on the door. The young boy got up to know the person's identity and when he looked at the small screen he immediately recognized the Great Admiral Rae Sloane. He then opened the sliding door of his cabin and gave him a discreet smile:
- Good morning, Madam.
- Hello, Armitage. Can I come in?
The little man nodded his head for permission. He then moved away to let Sloane into his quarters. She looked at her room and said in a soft voice:
- It's really clean and organized at your place, big guy. I congratulate you.
- Thank you, Madam.
- When we are in private you have the right to call me by my first name, as I do with you. So we're equals, you know?
Sloane then crouched down to meet the young boy. She delicately took her little hand in hers, you would have thought she was going to ask her for something very important, or give her bad news.
As she was about to speak, she saw Milicent's little red and tousled head, who had just woken up. She had a sweet little smile:
- I see Millie is never far from her owner. She's grown up well since last time. But that wasn't the reason I came.
She took a deep breath before continuing her sentence:
- I need to talk to you about something very important. But before that, I need you to tell me about your father.
- Why, do you want me to talk to you about father?
- I want to know.... Knowing if he's ever hurt you before, Armitage. The night I arrived just in time to save Millicent, I saw how your father was behaving with you. I've seen how you act when he's not far away... It goes far beyond simple respect.... I have good reason to believe that your father is abusing you.
- Yes.... Yes, Madam, you're right. Admits the little boy, his body shaken by a sob.
- Do you want this to stop? Did she ask in a soft and comforting voice
He nodded after wiping his eyes.
- I saw you were in charge of this little group of soldiers. They obey you, don't they?
Armitage nodded again.
- I wish you would stop them from hurting me. They are young but still unstable, dangerous... I'm not the most wanted on this ship, I fear for my life. That's why I'm asking you this favor. In exchange, I promise you that your father will never lay a hand on you again. Deal?
- Deal! exclaimed the boy as he shook Sloane's hand.