Kylo closed his eyes as he sat alone in the medbay, floating in a state between consciousnesses and oblivion. There was a med-droid hovered beside him, silent as she stabbed another injector into his wounded side. At least the droid didn't question how he had reopened the wound. There was another flash of pain as the droid cauterized the wound, but he was too distracted by reanalyzing the fight with Rey to focus on it.
It didn't make sense. He wasn't angry with her for what she had done, but he was more concerned with the darkness he had sensed in her. Was it him? Was it their bond? Had he done this to her? Or, was it something else? Was it Luke twisting her thoughts? He had sensed the height of her darkness on Starkiller, but that was nothing like he felt in her as she contemplated killing him moments prior. How was that possible? How could someone so good have a darkness that rivaled even Sidious? It shouldn't have surprised him, he conceded. Luke had always said, "powerful light, powerful darkness." She was strong and powerful in ways he had never witnessed before, her light purer than anything he had ever felt. Certainly, her darkness would be as well.
This darkness was what he had wanted from the moment they had first met, when she immediately tried to kill him. Wasn't it? Her strength of light and moments of darkness intrigued him, and he only wished for her to stop lying to herself and embrace it. She was in every way his equal, she could challenge him in ways no one else could. But this? This was different, and he couldn't determine why – not until he read that text and witnessed that vision. The Force had warned him, and the historical text had shown him what would happen if she fell. It wasn't the fantasy he'd had of her joining him.
Kylo saw the truth of it already; she was not Rey like that. Since Crait, he had seen brief moments of Rey, of her forgiveness, compassion, and hope, but then the darkness dragged her under its control again. She could fall; could become him. He found he didn't want that. No matter how far he had fallen, no matter how profoundly he still wished she had joined him, he knew what the darkness would do to her. With the threat of Sidious's return, it only bolstered his resolve. It was too late for him, but he couldn't allow what he had endured at the hands of Sidious to happen to her as well.
"Ren!" his general's harsh voice sliced through the silence. The clicking of boots echoed down the corridor toward him. Blue shuddered in fear at the anger in his voice, rolling away to hide in the corner. Kylo groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. He reluctantly opened his eyes, forcing himself back to reality as Hux burst into the room in his typical melodramatic style. Kylo's hand shifted to his belt instinctively as he noticed the bright red hue of his general's face. "What have you done!"
"Isn't that the question of the day," he answered dryly, too exhausted to be offended by Hux's boldness. The general vibrated in fury, his bright blue eyes alight with an intensity that bordered on homicidal. If Hux was Force-sensitive, Kylo had no doubt the Force would be tightening around his throat. "I am assuming this is concerning your failure on Concordia? They lied about the location."
"Concor... What? Yes...No," he spat. "Arkanis!"
Ah, yes. The weapons test has been successful, then.
Kylo had gone into battle on no sleep, fought in said battle, probed a man's mind, been shot, survived, and endured a fight with Rey. Kylo didn't know if he had the strength to weather anything else, especially from a man that made him consider murder every time he entered the same room.
Who cares about your useless planet when Rey...
No, he wouldn't allow her to dominate his thoughts, even as the agitation grew. Nothing made sense anymore. He wanted to unleash the anger built inside him, scream, destroy, tear the room apart. Perhaps a game of wills with Hux was the perfect distraction. "Did it fail?"
Hux could only stutter and huff in response. "What!"
"Did... it... fail," he sighed. "Pay attention, General. I can repeat the words, but I can't understand them for you."
"The entire planet has been reduced to ash!"
"I don't understand," he said with feigned ignorance. "It was merely a very, very thorough weapons test on an abandoned Imperial Academy. If it was a success, then why are you here?" He lit the fuse and waited, curious about what would happen when Hux exploded. To his general's credit, he had much greater restraint than Kylo. The next few words were mostly incoherent sputters and curse words in several languages, some of which were surprisingly creative. Kylo cleared his throat to suppress a chuckle. His general interpreted it as disapproval and composed himself, his disciplined calm quickly returning, before he noticed the flash of amusement in Kylo's eyes. The redness returned as his temper flared.
"Are you an idiot or just insane?" his general screamed, regaining his ability to articulate words. Hux vibrated with rage, hands clenched tightly in fists at his side. Kylo felt a slight twitch of a smirk on the corner of his lips as the other man realized what he had asked him. Hux rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Don't answer that; it would be an insult to both idiots and the insane."
"Your hostility is unbecoming, General," Kylo warned, his voice wavering with a laugh that threatened to break through his defenses. "It was abandoned, correct? You wouldn't have begun operations again against my orders, would you?" He attempted to harden his increasingly amused expression into impassivity – a task more difficult than he was accustomed to without the aid of his mask. The mask, however, was across the room, any access was blocked by his general.
The man before him desperately struggled to temper his fury, shaking furiously. Kylo hummed thoughtfully. He appreciated the unusual role reversal. "We had to relocate the training facilities from the Supremacy until the reconstruction was finished!"
"Did you? Fascinating. As Supreme Leader, I presumed –wrongly– that I would have been made aware of such decisions. If only I had known..." He spoke slowly, channeling his best imitation of Snoke while holding Hux's glare imperiously. The Force pulsed around him in power and control. "I must be going insane," he chuckled darkly. "Because I was under the impression I had made it clear that the stormtrooper training program was to be terminated." His stomach rolled, bile creeping up his throat as he realized just how much he sounded like his former master. He hated it.
The general snorted derisively. "In favor of what? Clones?"
"If it was?"
His general was, if nothing else, perceptive. "I knew you agreed to that diplomatic Kamino trip too readily. You solicited their Clone technologies." It was not a question.
"If I did?"
"Pray tell, Supreme Leader, who would you clone to create an entire army? Yourself? Me?" Kylo shuddered at the thought of millions of Hux clones terrorizing him. It would be his own personal Hell. "Sidious? Or maybe the Jedi girl; she's powerful enough to defeat you, after all."
"Enough."
"What do you plan to do for the next ten years while the clones are developed?" Hux had reassumed his haughty and condescending tone, stepping closer to Kylo in confidence. With only a little more than a meter between the two men, Kylo stood. When he was seated for the droid's medical treatment, the closer proximity would have forced him to tilt his head up to meet the general's stare. He would have none of that.
"Technology has advanced greatly since the Clone Wars, General. They have developed the ability to splice DNA of non-human species into the clone DNA, resulting in non-human life cycles. These clones reach adult size and mental capacity within weeks rather than years. And clones no longer require extensive training. Due to new clone development procedures, they can be 'programmed', if you will, subconsciously with all the propaganda and training you waste years on with your recruits. It only takes weeks for them to develop muscle memory with physical training. It is more efficient in every way."
"You destroyed my father's legacy. For clones..."
"If his legacy was that important to you, perhaps you shouldn't have killed him," Kylo replied flatly.
Hux's eyes grew wide before he stammered. "How did you..."
"You may be resistant to persuasion, but your thoughts are loud," Kylo said, allowing Hux to insinuate what he would. "Regardless, I did you a favor. If it wasn't us, it would have been the Resistance. This is why Snoke believed in a mega-class dreadnaught instead of a planet as our headquarters. The moment we take permanent residence on a planet, we open the First Order to attack. The Resistance does not need the morale boost this bombing would have provided them. It had to be done."
With that, he pushed past his general, grabbed his helmet and stepped out into the corridor. "Blue!" he shouted, and the droid skidded around the corner to follow him.
He felt... more stable after his discussion with Hux. After what he witnessed on Concordia and the resulting fight with Rey, it was a relief to have some control again.
"Ren, this conversation is not over," Hux began but Kylo would have none of his insubordination.
"Isn't it?" His tone was curt as he turned to stare down the general until he lowered his eyes submissively. Both men knew Kylo would use the Force if necessary, so the general reluctantly surrendered. "Your stormtrooper program has been terminated in favor of a clone army. End of discussion. Have your men prepare my ship."
"Where are you going, now?" Hux shouted as he stormed down the corridor.
"Taris."
Hux apparently lacked self-preservation instincts, because he was stomping after him. "What is on Taris?"
Kylo sighed, disappointed to hear his general still on his heels. "Did you not specify that we lost contact with a freighter outside Taris?"
"We haven't even talked about Concordia; are you certain they had the wrong location?" he panted breathlessly, falling into stride next to him. Kylo cursed that Hux was also tall; it made it easier for the irritating man to keep pace with him. When Kylo ignored him, he continued, "I have men who will handle the issue on Taris, Supreme Leader, as they did on Mandalore and Felucia."
He focused on his breathing to avoid Force-shoving Hux into a wall. "And I told you I will handle Taris."
"You are the Supreme Leader!"
"You have a remarkable grasp of the obvious, General."
"It is not your role to fight," Hux seethed. "You are needed here. As the head of the First Order, it is
your duty to – "
Kylo stepped in front of him, turning to block the general with his solid frame. He gradually increased pressure through the Force around Hux's throat as a threat. "Are you allergic to common sense, General?"
"Curious assertion, coming from you," he rasped.
"Compliance, then?" Kylo placed the helmet over his head as Hux's nose wrinkled with disgust. "Let me make this clear. I say when the discussion is over. I do not appreciate insubordination." The weight of the helmet and the medication made him lightheaded for a moment, but he refused to show such weakness before his general. Grasping onto the Force, he used the power of the darkness to regain his strength. "Prepare my ship. End of discussion."
Still Hux persisted. "If the rebels of the galaxy discovered the Supreme Leader was fighting without the protection of a Star Destroyer, it would be the perfect opportunity to ambush you. It is the opportunity the Resistance has no doubt been waiting for. And what would the First Order do in the wake of your death in an unnecessary battle?"
"If I am killed," Kylo said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "The throne will be bequeathed to the next highest-ranking official."
"You have no admiral! You refuse to promote..." Hux paused, sputtering as he realized what Kylo had insinuated. "But that would be – "
He pushed past him toward the hangar. " – you," Kylo finished for him, taking full advantage of the general's shock.
"I would like to go on record stating that the Supreme Leader engaging in an irrelevant battle is a foolish decision!" Hux shouted after him.
"Noted," Kylo growled back without breaking his stride.