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Keeping Rae with the Supreme Leader was far from ideal; Kylo had a temper, and not everyone that came to an audience with him was inclined to peacefully settling whatever disputes the First Order had either been accused of, or actually carried out. As he and Hux had come to some agreement over how they would handle their business in front of Rae, keeping her in close proximity with potential victims of Kylo Ren's rage wasn't really the best course of action. She would probably see, or maybe already had seen, violence and death in her life, and no matter what either of them did to protect her, it would most definitely be earlier then either of them could control, but they themselves would not be the cause of it. Not until she was mentally able to handle it, which they'd agreed would be sometime after her graduating the Academy.
So as both of them were powerful and busy persons, and Rae was so far too small to be left alone most of the time during busy cycles, she spent time with Hux on the bridge. It was rarely an inconvenience; the officers and personell knew their orders and kept to their given assignments, and as long as there wasn't an active firefight, she was in no risk of being hurt or scared.
Especially since most of the personell on the bridge had come to enjoy her presence; Hux had noticed that while Rae sometimes distracted the officers under his charge with her childish behaviour, it never made the work they did any less flawless. At some times, he had even noticed a slight increase in productivity while she was present on the bridge; that was the reason why he let the officers interact with her, as long as they didn't overdo it. Rae herself was free to roam the bridge, as long as she didn't touch anything important.
It seemed to suit every concerned party quite well.
~*~
Dopheld Mitaka wasn't the one to question the orders or choices of the Grand Marshal, and it was probably one of the reasons why he'd been allowed to tag along while Hux rose to the ranks in the First Order. Mitaka was loyal, and kept his head down, and carried out his assignments with impeccable accuracy. While he maintained a pretty high status in the First Order, he still wasn't in the ruling elite, and he was quite content with it.
He knew he wasn't cut out to be a General or the like, making decisions that would affect millions of lives through the history of time. But he was more then content with serving those that had that power; such as Grand Marshal Hux. Just being close by when decision where made, and to carry on the news and orders that would change the lives of thousands, without ever being forced to make those decisions; it was more then enough.
Though throughout his career and training, he'd never had to learn how to interact with civilians properly. There'd been courses and some simulations on how to handle civilians during firefight, or during peacekeeping missions, but it was at most 'try to keep them alive'. There wasn't any real course in how to interact with them.
Especially not with children, and especially not if the child in question was under the protection of the Grand Marshal himself.
Most of the time when Rae was present, she would either play with some choice toys, or sneak about the bridge, playing at being a spy or carrying out pretend orders. A few times per cycle she'd come to Hux, either demanding to be carried or be given sweets, but then Mitaka could distance himself while Hux handled the situation. It was a perfect distance from direct interaction, and he was more then happy to keep it like that.
It seemed Rae didn't have the same opinion about events this cycle, though. Mitaka felt something pull his jacket, and looked down to see a smiling and giggling little Rae sprint away to hide under the console of a nearby officer. He straightened out his jacket, and turned his attention back to the Grand Marshal, who was in a discussion about the delays that had occurred during the last shipment of rations to the Stormtroopers. Mitaka himself didn't have much direct involvement in the discussion at hand, but he had been ordered to keep a close eye on the situation, and was therefore obliged to be present during all and every development.
He felt another tug at the hem of his jacket, and looked down to see the same little face smile up at him, then run away on quiet little feet.
He felt a little bit uncomfortable, but didn't do anything about it. What could you do, when the daughter of the Grand Marshal was tugging your jacket? If there was a decent answer, Mitaka didn't know it, and chose to not act on it.
Rae didn't seem to think that his lack of reaction was any less entertaining, though, and the next time Mitaka felt something tug at his uniform, he looked down with a confused expression, seeing Rae pull her little hand out of his pocket and run away. He looked up at Hux and the commanders he was talking to, but neither or them seemed to notice anything, and Rae was quiet as could be for a child.
Mitaka reached down his pocket, and felt something odd. He pulled it out, confused creases appearing between his eyebrows, and he heard a soft giggle just some distance away as he realised what it was; a little toy animal. Mitaka looked up, met Rae's overly entertained expression and big smile, and didn't know how to handle the situation.
He put the toy back in his pocket, and turned back to the conversation. He couldn't just let the toy just fall to the ground, as it would be most definitely the a hindrance to other officers, and littering was a serious break of regulation. Not that he knew what to do with a little plastic animal. It wasn't even any kind he knew the name of; it seemed to have fur and several legs, but he had no real idea which planet, or even system if would hail from.
He put the toy from his mind, and tried to focus back on the conversation. The commanders was trying to figure out how to incorporate another round of controls and still maintain the same schedule as they now had, and Hux was listening intensely. Mitaka tried to re-focus on the issue, and almost succeeded, when he felt something else slide into his pocket.
He tried to ignore it fully, this time, thinking that maybe she'd grow bored if there was no response from him at all. This thing was heavier then the last one; maybe a bigger toy, or something different? Maybe she'd managed to steal another officers supplies?
He tried to shake the thoughts of whatever was weighing down his pocket from his mind, which was harder then he wanted. He wasn't used to keeping anything in his pockets; it ruined the lines of his uniform, and there was barely any need either way, as long as he had his holopad and his credentials with him. He just couldn't think of the sharp and weird ways the toy dug into the fabric on his pants, and how the heavier object must ruin the perfect lines of his uniform.
Then he felt something else. Another little toy sliding into his pockets, on the other side of his uniform, and little fingers closing it up after they where done.
Mitaka tried to not sigh, or look down. If he did nothing, she would surely grow bored and continue on to harass someone else, or find something else to entertain her. He had no intention of being the one to scold the daughter of the Supreme Leader in front of the Grand Marshal, or anything that could be interpreted in such a way. He did value his life.
It didn't work out that way though. Mitaka completely ignored the little one, which only mad her giggle more as she put another toy down his pockets, surely ruining his lining beyond repair. He tried to keep his attention on the subject he was assigned to survey, but it was getting harder; as his pant-pockets filled up over the brim, Rae disappeared, and while Mitaka was far from amused by the weight pulling him down, he felt a little bit of relief.
Until she came back, apparently carrying her whole arrangement of toy animals and other things with her, and she sat down by the side of his leg, and began to prop toy after toy down his pockets of his jacket.
Mitaka did his best to keep a straight face, but he was completely lost in the conversation now; they'd said something about Tie fighters, and he had no idea how that had anything to do with the delayed shipment of rations, but the commanders and Hux just continued on talking, and Rae was in the middle of pressing another big toy down his back pocket.
Mitaka was getting really exasperated at the loss of things to do; he couldn't well turn the Grand Marshal away from his work, but he could even less try and tell Rae off himself.
"Mitaka, what do you think... Rae, what are you doing?"
Mitaka almost jumped out of his skin, and felt his face grow hot as the Grand Marshal had turned to face him; and then quickly looked down at the little one by his side.
"Sir, it's nothing, sir, truly nothing of importance..." Mitaka tried to blurt out, afraid that he'd done something unforgivable, even though he had no idea what that might be, and stretching the fabric around his pockets was nothing, really, he could always have a new uniform made.
"Mitaka, I'm so sorry. Rae, what have I said out vexing my officers?" Hux got down in a squat, getting to eye-level with Rae, who had stopped with her mission of filling Mitaka's pockets, and now stood by his side, giggling. Mitaka took a step away, and a few toys fell down on the floor, and he wasn't sure if he was supposed to pick them up or not.
"Rae. You know what I've said. No disturbing my officers if you're gonna be on the bridge."
"I wasn't doin' that..." the little one responded, hands over her mouth, not meeting Hux's eyes.
"Yes you where. Hiding toys in Mitakas pockets is definitely disturbing him. You can't do that, okey?"
Hux was looking intently at her, but Mitaka saw that a smile was threatening to spread on his face. Rae didn't meet his eyes, but she'd gone from smiling widely to looking down at the floor, still smiling, but a little less.
"Didn't do that..." the little one said, in a very low voice. Mitaka saw Hux reach over to her, and stroke her hair.
"Rae, you can't put things down other persons pockets while they're working. It's not a nice thing to do."
Rae squirmed a little at the spot, and now her smile seemed to be completely gone. Not that Mitaka could see, as she was still holding her clasped hands in front of her face.
"What you need to do now, is apologise to Mitaka, and then take back your toys to your desk. Can you do that?"
Mitaka felt himself shy away at that; it wasn't such a big deal, really, he didn't need an apology at all. But he wasn't going to question the Grand Marshal to his face, in front of his kid, so he just stod his ground, even though he was quite unsure as to what was going to happen.
Then he saw Rae nod towards Hux, and he smiled at her, and turned her to face Mitaka.
She was so much shorter then Mitaka was comfortable with, but she looked up at him, and mumbled something behind her hands.
Hux reached out, pulled her hands down, and told her to say it again.
"Sorry."
Mitaka didn't really know what regulations demanded at this point, as there was no precedence to this situation that he was aware of. "Apology accepted" he said, his eyes momentarily drifting towards Hux, who was smiling at the little kid.
"Good girl. Now, Mitaka, could you please empty your pockets of anything Rae may have forced upon you, and give them back to her?"
Hux looked up at Mitaka, who nodded and felt a little bit more at ease now that he was back to carrying out orders given by his superior. "Yes sir, absolutely."
~*~
Hux was standing again, and oversaw Mitaka emptying his pockets of way too many little toys and other things that Rae had forced down there. He felt the need to smile, both at the completely adorable way Rae had carried out her mission, and the way Mitaka had looked when he turned to face him. He'd been completely out of his depth, and desperation was clearly written in his eyes, as he did his best to ignore the little demon by his side.
Now he was handing back everything to Rae, who took it and put it into her little basket, and then carried them back to the empty desk that had become hers, on the days she was stuck on the bridge. Mitaka then turned towards Hux, and straightened his somewhat rumpled uniform, still a bit red on his cheeks.
Hux suppressed the urge to smile at him, and looked so that Rae had done as he asked; she was indeed by her desk, playing make-believe with the toys she'd gotten back. Hux sighed internally, knowing that affection could be seen on his face, but then again, everyone on the bridge was fiercely loyal to the First Order, and therefore himself.
He steeled his face back to his regular indifferent but forceful expression, and turned back to continue the discussion with the commanders.
Though he put in a mental note to give Mitaka a raise, before he completely let the subject drop.