Chapter Text
“General”
Hux’s lips formed into a sharp, slim line. Pulled from his thoughts as he gazed out at the stars, he turned slowly, leather gloves clasped tightly behind his back.
“Pardon the interruption sir, we have an arrival in bay 7.” Stormtrooper LF4537 extended a datapad out towards him.
The glare of the lights reflected back at him as he looked the trooper over, before taking the datapad with a nod.
“Ah yes, see to it that they are brought to the arrival lounge. I won’t be long.”
“Yes sir” came the modified voice through the helmet. The General watched as the trooper turned, his boots squeaking on the polished floors as he marched away.
With a sigh, he turned back to the hanger window. Drawing his attention to his reflection, he adjusted his hair and collar before staring further out into the vastness of space.
It was not long before the trooper reached his destination, hastily approaching the newly parked ship. It wasn’t much bigger than a command shuttle, but somehow managed to house a much larger crew. Evidence of this became clear as LF4537 watched a small crowd beginning to disembark. As he approached, he identified the likely leader of the group, with a few minions hovering around them.
Joining the other stormtroopers, LF4537 passed on the General’s order of their trajectory towards the arrival lounge. Before the troopers could respond, LF4537 turned to the visitors.
He wasn’t quite sure of the different species among the new arrivals, but there were a handful of humans and twi’leks. The rest he had never seen in person before.
“Welcome.” He announced, and the eyes of those before him turned in curiosity. “We will guide you to the lounge where you will receive a formal greeting by our lead General. Please follow us.” The eyes stared back blankly, before turning one by one to a human towards the back of the herd. She was whispering into the ear of the supposed leader, who nodded and spoke in a language LF4537 didn’t recognise.
“Many thanks” came the answer from the girl. Her voice was loud and clear, echoing through the large space as she spoke. “We will follow.” The eyes returned to him.
LF4537 gestured towards the other troopers, who were watching with curiosity at the scene. Seeing that they were now needed, they snapped into action and began marching the newcomers towards the direction of the lounge. LF4537 followed behind as the group was led forward.
Tapping his foot slightly in frustration, the General waited impatiently in the arrival lounge. He hadn’t wasted time in preparing for his guests, but their delay was beginning to become tiresome.
Two troopers entered his field of vision, and soon the rest of the group followed.
Finally.
“Dear guests” Hux stated, watching them approach and stand before him as he delivered his speech. “I hope you have had a pleasant journey, we are delighted to welcome you to our dreadnought,” his eyes remained bitterly cold as he continued. “Please make yourselves comfortable here. All necessities are provided for your stay.”
LF4537 watched as the leader of the group walked forward. They nodded in acknowledgement at the General, and joined him in facing the crowd, bringing along three minions as they did. One, the human from before, began speaking to the group, and LF4537 guessed that she was translating the General’s message.
As the crowd dispersed, mulling about the plates of food and offerings of drink, the leader turned to Hux. Another minion revealed a machine resembling a datapad, and placed it in the hands of the leader, who, in turn, passed it on to the General. LF4537 noticed the General’s slight change in demeanour. Intrigued, he watched as the General gestured towards a room at the back of the lounge, and the leader followed, the minions tagging along hastily.
As the door behind them closed the General attempted to relieve some of his stress by turning to the drinks stand. “Can I offer you something, Admiral?”. The leader took a seat, shaking their head in response. One of the minions, a species similar to an ewok, took a seat to the left of the Admiral. The other two, a human and a trandoshan, remained standing behind them.
The General nodded, pouring himself a short whisky.
Normally he would never find himself doing such a thing, but this was not uncommon when receiving such high a profile visitor. Besides, this was a rare occasion that he indeed needed something to take the edge off.
Hux turned, pulling out a seat at the other side of the table, opposite his guests. “I’m grateful that you came to me with this,” Hux began, placing the datapad on the table between them. “But I must inquire, where did you locate it?”
The human spoke to the admiral, who smiled, and muttered back to her. She straightened, looking back to the General. “It was given to the Admiral personally. However, the finder reported discovering the pad in a brothel.”
Hux scoffed slightly, taking a sip.
“This was on your planet?” He asked, studying the Admiral before him, who held his gaze just as coldly.
“Yes, General,” came the reply.
Hux nodded, “tell me, what is your price?”
The human bent down to her leader and spoke quietly. Admiral smiled as they gave her the response, their eyes never leaving Hux’s.
After a short while, the girl stood back up and addressed Hux once more. “We are asking for 1,500,000 credits and an agreement between the First Order and Lothal regarding the trade of vessels and dark energy conductors. This must not be a public arrangement.”
The General took another, longer sip before nodding back at the group before him. “Very well. I can transfer you the credits by the end of the day, however an agreement will take time. We can arrange for this to be discussed within the following days, but I cannot guarantee this.”
The Admiral cocked their head slightly as the girl spoke the General’s words. They muttered softly, and the ewok lurched forward and snapped the datapad away from Hux, who raised his brows in surprise.
“We will wait, then,” the girl said, watching Hux. “The Admiral is tired and requires rest. We thank you for your hospitality and hope to continue this discussion later on.”
“A moment.” Hux muttered as those seated began to rise. “You, translator, are you the sole one here or is there another?”
The girl looked back in surprise at being addressed, but spoke calmly. “No, General, but I am directly appointed to the Admiral.”
The Admiral stared at the girl and she turned to them, repeating the conversation.
“If it is convenient for the Admiral, I can have them seen to their room. But I request a moment to speak with you.”
She spoke quietly with her leader, who nodded in response, dismissing the girl with a wave of their fin.
“They agree.” She said, watching the General with both confusion and intrigue.
Her colleagues stood swiftly, and left without hesitation. The door shut behind them with a hiss.
“Please, take a seat.” Hux gestured, and the translator obliged cautiously. “I apologise for this rather rash way of initiating an interview, however I wish to offer you a position.”
Surprise washed across the girl’s face, but she was quick to respond. “I am very honoured General, however I have a current contract with the Admiral which cannot be amended. I must decline.”
“Am I correct in assuming you’re from Arkanis?”
A little hesitant, the girl nodded in response. “Yes, General. That’s correct.”
“You have interpreted this incorrectly. This will be a temporary position. It is a part of the deal with the Admiral to widen your language abilities. But, do not be mistaken, this is something you will find most agreeable. The role will be for a month, and we will offer you more than five times your current salary and a catered living space.”
Her eyes widened slightly in shock, but still, she remained unsure. “This is a very generous offer, General, but I recommend discussing this with the Admiral. I am not sure-”
“Actually, they have already agreed.” He turned to his right, and pulled out a file. “This is your new contract. Temporary. With the First Order. The Admiral has already signed off for you here.” He gestured to the bottom of the page, and the girl struggled to process it all as she skimmed the information presented to her.
“I understand this is a rather unexpected change, however I expect you to be available for assignment from tomorrow morning. You will have guidance for the first day, after that, you will be expected to work independently. If there are any issues you may raise them with me, or another commanding Officer. Do you understand?”
Still trying to understand the situation she was now in, the girl simply nodded, trying to mask her worry. “Yes, General.”
“Excellent,” he said, rising and moving over to her side of the table. Before she could react, he extended a hand. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Efa.”
A bit unsure how to respond, she simply nodded, avoiding his gaze as she took his hand. She got up slowly, trying to ignore the heat spreading across her features. The General stepped back a bit, before gesturing to the doorway.
As the door opened, LF4537 stepped back slowly, trying not to draw attention to himself as he watched the General turn right to him.
“LF4537, see to it that the new translator is shown to her quarters.”
“Yes, General.” He replied, nodding once at the girl. As he exited the lounge and began down one of the spacious corridors, he could hear the quiet footsteps of the girl trailing behind him. He could sense her unease, and she was right to have it, but he kept quiet and continued to lead her onwards. The stars gleamed down on them through the wide windows as they continued, he hoped they brought her some comfort. She would not find much of it here.
Turning down the final stretch of corridor brought them to a line of sleek black doorways, each about four metres wide with small control panels next to them.
“This one is yours.” He stated simply as they stopped infront of the second door to the left. "The pin isn’t set, so simply enter and follow the instructions on your datapad to secure your quarters. All the information you need about how to navigate the ship’s services is also provided there. To call for assistance, press the red button on the desk. If you require the attention of a senior Officer, you must ask for them by name. This will not however guarantee you an audience. Do you have any questions?”
The girl had been listening with a thoughtful, but tired look.
“I don’t. Thank you for your service, I will retire now.” She said, pressing a button on the control pad to slide open the doors.
LF4537 nodded in response and watched as she disappeared behind the black panels.