Chapter Text
An alarm blared annoyingly in your ear. You sat up, half blind from sleep. The alarm was familiar, but you weren’t sure why. The alarm you used to wake up was far more pleasing to hear, and as it was dark, you assumed that it was the same night you had fallen asleep. Still, without fully thinking, you pulled on some shoes and stumbled out into the hallway and followed your roommates out into the bitter cold of the Starkiller base.
While it was snowing, there was little wind, so standing outside wasn’t turning into an issue yet. Whispers of a fire drill were passed between officers. You relaxed a little. At least there wasn’t an actual problem. Nevertheless, you wished that you had nabbed a blanket or something. Your pajama pants and tank top weren’t doing much to keep you warm. Some of your fellow officers weren't fairing much better as far as clothing went. One person was even in a towel. You hoped that whatever reason you were outside was worth almost freezing to death.
“Who thought a fire drill at three in the morning was a good idea?” someone complained. You were inclined to agree. You had only gotten to your room around midnight, tumbled into bed at one, and two hours of sleep weren’t going to do you much good in the morning. The notion of simply laying down in the snow and napping was tempting -dumb, but tempting.
Someone to your right spoke up. “Couldn’t they have waited until it was warmer out?”
“It doesn’t get warmer out on the base, it just snows less sometimes,” you remarked dryly, loud enough for the others to hear and let out laughs in response.
Captain Phasma walked by, observing the troops. After a few minutes, she signaled that all was clear and everyone could return to what they were doing. You were grateful to get back to where it was warm. Hopefully you would be able to fall back asleep quickly to make up for the lost time. Once you stepped foot inside, you rubbed your bare arms briskly, standing against the wall to let the other officers pass you. Out of the corner of your eye, you noticed someone considerably taller than you standing close.
You turned to see General Hux watching you. While it was strange he hadn't announced his presence, you supposed that it was your duty as a rising officer to sometimes take initiative.
“General,” you saluted, slightly flippant, but still respectful enough not to warrant a reprimand. “Uh, is there something I can help you with, sir?”
His gaze flickered over you briefly. “Perhaps.”
Wow, so much detail he was willing to share. You refrained from rolling your eyes. “Should I… er…,” you trailed off. Honestly, you weren’t sure what you were supposed to do here. Between sleep deprivation and being underdressed in front of your general, your brain wasn’t fully up to functioning properly.
“Should you what, lieutenant?” he inquired coolly, raising an eyebrow. “Finish your sentences or don’t speak at all.”
You held back a sigh. “Yes, general.”
“As it happens, I do require your help with something,” he continued. “Be at the meeting room in ten minutes to discuss our next move.” Although you knew better than to talk back, you couldn’t hold back the brief pained look on your face.
“Yes, sir,” you answered, taking your leave. Ten minutes didn’t leave you enough time to change into something more appropriate, so instead you went to the nearest bathroom to try and splash some water on your face. You glanced at your reflection. Even you could tell you were dead tired. How you were supposed to advise the general in this state of mind was beyond you, but being tired was better than being jobless.
By the time you arrived at the meeting room, General Hux was already there, a map of the nearest solar system displayed around him. The darkened room did little to quench the desire of falling asleep on the nearest flat surface, yet the beauty of the holographic images in front of you kept you from doing just that.
General Hux acknowledged you by beckoning you over. He pointed to the third planet of the solar system. "Intelligence has informed us that this is the most likely location of the Resistance at this point in time," he began. "What do you think?"
Yikes, you thought, definitely not up to this right now. "Uh, with all due respect, sir, I doubt anyone would choose this system for a base," you answered.
He arched an eyebrow and clasped his hands behind his back. "Interesting. Why?"
You took a step forward, now right by his side. The planet he was looking at was a dark red, orbited by three moons, all a lesser shade of red.
"Because the atmosphere of these planets aren't capable of supporting carbon-based lifeforms, sir. They wouldn't risk losing a member of their group to the elements," you reasoned.
"Which makes it slightly more likely that they have chosen this system," he countered.
You closed your eyes for a moment. "Perhaps," you conceded. "But, sir, running in circles with 'what if's isn't helping our cause."
He quickly rounded on you. You leaned back to keep the distance between the two of you, unable to help the anxiety that rippled in your stomach. "You should consider if it's worth checking out, lieutenant," he griped. "If you don't think like your enemy, then you will never best them."
It took some willpower not to roll your eyes. This was a conversation the two of you had every few weeks. In the end, no one really ever won. Eventually, one of you would get mad or tired enough to go to bed. This time you swore that it wouldn't be you who quit early. Butting heads with someone who also needed to have the last word was grating on your nerves.
"Yes, sir, I understand. But what if the information is false? We can't just waste resources on something as trivial as a 'maybe'," you argued. "And what if it's a trap? Soldiers could die!"
Hux’s lip curled. “If my soldiers are killed on the field, then it is an honor! This is what fighting a war means!”
For a moment, you considered cooling your temper, but before you could, you were speaking again. “I am your top strategist on this base! Why keep me around if you aren't going to listen to me? Without me, you’d be stuck with people who don’t know what they’re doing!” you snapped. “If you keep this up, you won’t have an army to command, general! Is that how you want to be remembered? As the man who let everyone die?”
He went deathly quiet, and you knew that if you valued your life, you shouldn’t speak anymore. Your pulse thudded in your ears as you waited for his response. Had you gone too far? You were valuable to the First Order, but you weren’t irreplaceable. If you got to be more trouble than you were worth, he could easily have you executed for treason or worse. Your hands shook as the seconds ticked past.
“I do hope -for your sake- this little outburst is due to a lack of rest and not because this is what you truly think,” he hissed quietly. “I think you need some time to reflect on your words. Dismissed, lieutenant!”
Guilt sank into your shoulders. “Sir, I-”
“I said dismissed!” he growled, slamming his fist onto the top of the table. The holographs flickered out of existence. You nodded quickly and practically ran out of the room. Behind you, you could hear a few crashing sounds. If you didn't know better, you'd say it was Kylo Ren, but the reality was worse.
Honestly, you hadn't meant to imply that he wasn't a good general. Because he was. Hux was the best of the best. You just had a different opinion from his and now you were miserable and he was pissed off. Why had he even wanted to have a meeting in the dead of night, anyways?
Tonight definitely wasn’t a good night. When you reached your dorm, you sighed and scrubbed your hand over your face. Maybe you were actually sleeping and this was all some bad dream. What did he mean by 'dismissed' besides the obvious get out of here now? Were you fired? Panic gripped at you, but you squashed it down before it got to be too bad.
You checked the time, swore under your breath, and climbed into bed. Sleep would solve everything.