Chapter Text
***
As Hux helps Dameron and FN-2187 escape to the rusted excuse of a smuggler ship they call the Millennium Falcon, it hits him all at once.
He’s going to have to leave with them.
With the Resistance.
The thought almost makes him stop in his tracks.
He doesn’t want to betray the First Order, but Ren has left him no choice. Since Snoke’s death, Ren had taken the First Order and had warped it, mangled it into something that was becoming increasingly unrecognisable. Not to mention Snoke’s death itself. Despite what Ren had said, there was no way that the girl had the power to kill Snoke alone. At best, Ren had helped the girl kill their Supreme Leader.
At worst, Ren did it all himself.
All of this was coupled with the fact that Ren had demoted him, removed him from the Finalizer, and rejected his advice and counsel just on principle, all of which had become too grating to continue to ignore.
Ren had taken the First Order from him, everything he’d given his mind, body, and soul to achieve. And for that, Ren had to lose.
And for Ren to lose, it meant helping the Resistance.
And now, that meant leaving with them.
A cold feeling of dread washes over him. Surely, there must be another way. Perhaps he could get the former stormtrooper to shoot him, and just say that he’d been overpowered by the escaping Resistance fighters? No, that alibi is too weak. Pryde has always been dismissive of him, but as of late he’s been suspicious as well. The Allegiant General is arrogant, but not stupid, and Hux isn’t completely sure how much longer he could continue bluffing him.
More to the point, he knows all too well what happens to people who betray the First Order. He would be killed for it, and it would not be quick or merciful. Death or defection, that is his choice right now. It’s a difficult choice, but not an impossible one.
They reach the turbolift down to the landing bay, and he follows them in.
“What are you doing?” FN-2187 asks.
“What does it look like?” Hux replies, as the turbolift begins to descend. From the silent look he’s getting from the former stormtrooper, he can only assume that he doesn’t have a clue. “I’m defecting.”
The words feel strange as he says them, and his heartbeat speeds up.
This is only temporary, he thinks, trying to centre himself. Yes, this is just a minor setback. He’ll escape with the Resistance now, and find his way back to the Order later.
“You?” FN-2187 says, his tone a mix of surprise and disbelief. “Defecting? From the First Order?”
The doors of the turbolift open as they reach the correct floor. Two stormtroopers are unfortunately waiting for them.
“Yes!” Hux says, his patience thinning as he shoots the stormtroopers down. “What else would I be defecting from?”
FN-2187 stops in his tracks, which is frustrating, because Hux knows how long it will take for reinforcements to arrive, and they really do not have time for this.
“Why?” he asks.
Why is he defecting from the First Order, the organisation he’d spent his whole life working for? It’s almost a paradox. He believes in it so much, that he cannot stand by and watch while Kylo Ren runs it into the ground. That, in a calculated but still desperate move, he’s sold out a part of it in an attempt to save all of it, somewhere down the line.
He would be a liar if he said that bitterness isn’t an aspect of it too. He wants to see Ren’s world burn around him, to see for himself the look in the man’s eyes when he realises that he’s lost everything. He wants Ren to know he’s the one responsible for it, too. That, in the end, he managed to defeat him, on his wits alone.
But these answers won’t appeal to the virtuous and naïve ideals of the Resistance.
“I can help you defeat Kylo Ren, and the Final Order.” Hux says, instead. It’s not a whole truth, but it’s enough of the truth that it’s not a complete lie either. “I have insider information you need.”
After all, he doesn’t care who wins this battle so long as Ren loses it. Right now, the Resistance represents the best chance of that happening.
The former stormtrooper looks to Dameron for guidance, who stares at him for a moment before speaking.
“You’re serious? About defecting from the Order?” Dameron asks.
“Yes!” Hux snaps, getting frustrated about how many times they’re making him say it. “I am defecting from the First Order and joining the Resistance!”
There’s a moment of tense silence where Hux thinks that they might actually leave him behind, Resistance ideals be damned, before Dameron begins to cackle.
“First a stormtrooper, now a general!” Dameron hollers. “I’m on a roll!”
Hux elects to ignore that comment, and follows them onto the ship.
***
The girl doesn’t notice him at first.
It’s not until they’ve been in hyperspeed for close to twenty minutes that she notices that the Falcon has an extra passenger. It’s not completely her fault. He’s been sitting there, completely silent, for the journey so far.
“What’s he doing here?” She asks, a quizzical look on her face.
“I defected,” Hux says, and fuck, it’s surreal at this point. It’s just starting to sink in, exactly what he’s done, and what he will probably have to do from this point on.
He tries to ignore the way his hands shake.
“Is that true?” The girl asks, not to him, but to her companions.
“Yeah, he helped us escape.” FN-2187 answers.
“Huh,” the girl says, but doesn’t elaborate. Instead, she takes the seat across from him.
So here she is, the girl that Ren has been hunting down for over a year. The girl who supposedly killed Snoke, and overpowered both the Praetorian guards and Ren himself.
She doesn’t look capable of it, Hux thinks. Another strike against Ren, then.
But, looks are so often deceiving. Hux has only met a handful of force users in his lifetime; Snoke, Ren, and his knights, to be specific. He knows how cruel they can be. The girl is likely no different, when it comes down to it.
She’s watching him, her gaze inquisitive. It shows her youth.
“Can I help you?” Hux says, his tone withering. He almost tacks scavenger on the end but holds his tongue. Now is not the time or place to be antagonising potentially dangerous people.
“You helped them escape. You.” The girl says. “General Hux, the Starkiller.”
Hux shrugs. He can’t quite believe what he’s done, either.
“Why?” the girl presses. She’s staring intently at him, head tilted just slightly to one side. It’s like she’s studying him, and suddenly, Hux knows exactly what she’s doing.
“Stay out of my head!” Hux hisses. She’s obviously trying to find a way into his mind, like Snoke used to.
“I’m not--” the scavenger starts, but Hux won’t hear it. Before she can say or do anything else, he stands, and moves to the back of the ship.
***
Hux is woken from his fitful sleep rather suddenly when he’s thrown from his seat into the wall opposite. He braces for another impact, but none comes.
The ship must have had a rough landing. He hastily makes his way to the cockpit.
“What was that?!” Hux demands to know. He’s probably going to have bruises.
“The landing struts were damaged,” Dameron replies, shrugging. Hux looks past him, through the viewport. The landscape of the planet is rough and ragged. There is no visible infrastructure.
“This is the Resistance base?” Hux asks, because it’s certainly not what he expected.
“No, this is Kef Bir,” Dameron replies, standing up out of the pilot’s seat.
Hux freezes. What were they doing on the moon that housed the wreckage of the second Deathstar? What if they run into Ren? “Why are we here?”
“Rey says we need to find some kind of sith artefact,” Dameron explains, as he moves towards the exit. “A wayfinder, or something. Come on, let’s check the damage.”
Hux sighs, but follows after. It’s going to be a long day.
***
“You’re not too bad at this.” Dameron says, as they work on repairing the Falcon. Despite the rough landing, the ship is mostly intact, if in need of critical repairs. They’re being helped by a group of First Order defectors, the traitorous Company 77. Their leader, a young woman who now goes by the name of Jannah, had not been thrilled at his presence, so he helps Dameron instead.
“I have some experience, from the Academy,” Hux admits, as he works on repairing a console. He’s actually a fully qualified engineer, and had personally designed both Starkiller and the Finalizer, among other things. Not that Dameron needs to know any of that.
“Well, aren’t you full of surprises,” Dameron says, as he cleans his hands with a rag.
Hux shrugs, and keeps trying to fix the console he’s working on. He finds he doesn’t mind the task. It keeps him busy, and keeps his mind off the fact that he’s defected from the Order, and stranded with the Resistance on some outer-rim moon.
He manages to reconnect the plasma converter, and pulls his arms out of the console. His uniform sleeves are covered in grease.
“These are for you, by the way,” Dameron says, throwing a bag towards him. Inside is a change of clothing. “You don’t want to turn up to the Resistance dressed like that.”
Dameron probably has a point. Still, it still takes him a minute to force himself onto his feet. He grabs the offered clothing and moves into one of the siderooms to change.
The clothing is simple. It consists of black pants, a white shirt, and a grey jacket with a hood. All of the items are just slightly too large, and the fabric is rougher than what he’s used to. He keeps his Order standard boots and dogtags, but discards everything else.
He considers keeping his greatcoat too, but makes himself leave it behind as well, and then chides himself for the sentimentality. This is just temporary, he reminds himself. Someday, he’ll get back to the Order. But right now, his priority is to convince the Resistance that his defection is genuine.
Hux sighs, and runs his hand through his hair. The gel is starting to wear out. As he walks out, he checks his appearance in a panel of particularly reflective transparisteel.
He barely recognises himself.
***
By the time they make it to the Resistance base on Ajan Kloss, they’ve lost the girl.
To make matters worse, it’s there that they receive the news that General Organa is dead. It’s a pity. Part of him had wanted to meet the woman. She had his begrudging respect for being able to take a collection of second-rate spacecrafts and turn it into a fleet capable of destroying Starkiller.
Understandably, the base is somber.
Hux keeps the hood of his jacket up, and trails Dameron. Nobody has noticed him yet, and at the moment, that’s probably for the best. He follows him into the central war room of the Resistance base. Even compared to the Finalizer, it’s small, and most of the command panels seem outdated.
Dameron makes his way over to a woman who’s going over attack plans. She’s short, with blonde hair fashioned into duty braids similar to those worn by Organa. He recognises her from Order reconnaissance information. Lieutenant Connix, chief operations controller of the Resistance.
Her eyes widen when she notices Hux. It’s clear she’s been crying recently.
“Is that--” Lieutenant Connix says, keeping her voice low.
“Yep,” Dameron replies. “He defected, helped us escape from the Steadfast.”
“So you brought him back here?” Connix presses. “He should be in a shuttle, heading straight to the High Courts of the Republic.”
“I’ve got it worked out.” Dameron insists.
Connix sighs.
“I really hope you do, Poe,” Connix says, her voice tired and tense. She turns towards Hux, and hisses. “Watch yourself, Starkiller.”
***
Hux sits on the edge of the airfield, watching as the Resistance base turns itself into one huge victory party, celebrating the fall of the First and Final Order.
He’s just trying to keep out of it. The decision to spare him has not been a popular one, after the Hosnian System and what not. And while he isn’t the type to dwell on his failures, there’s also no denying that he’s feeling a sense of melancholy. The First Order had lost, its survivors now scattered across star systems. Everything he had once worked for is gone.
But Kylo Ren is dead, so everything was all worth it.
It had to be.
If Hux was being honest though, he hadn’t always hated the force user.
Hux stands in the landing bay of the Finalizer, watching as the exit ramp of the newly arrived shuttle descends.
He’s been waiting for this moment since Supreme Leader Snoke first announced that he’d be sending his apprentice to the Finalizer. He’d be a liar if he said he was thrilled at the prospect of sharing his command of the Finalizer. He’s worked his whole life to get to this point, to finally have power that is his alone.
But, patience is his virtue. He’s suffered worse for less, and he has some hope for this partnership. Snoke has spoken highly of his apprentice’s skills with the Force. In particular, he praised his raw strength and skill in battle. This, coupled with Hux’s own sharp intellect, would make them a formidable match to their enemies.
Hux hopes, at the very least, that they can get along as colleagues, if not something more companionable.
A figure steps out of the shuttle.
So this is Kylo Ren. He’s dressed in heavy black robes with a hood, and a mask. He and Hux are of a similar height, although Ren is broader, and better built for combat. Hanging from his belt is a lightsaber. Altogether, it cuts an imposing, almost intimidating figure.
Instantly, his mind begins to run with questions, since Snoke had offered very little information about his apprentice. Where had he come from? What was beneath the mask? How old was he? Is he even human?
Ren saunters down the ramp, stopping a few steps in front of Hux.
“Lord Kylo Ren,” Hux says, stepping forward. “Welcome to the Finalizer. I’m General Hux, commander of this ship.”
Kylo Ren stares at him for a moment, or maybe he doesn’t. It’s hard to be sure, with the mask.
“So this is my ship,” Ren says, his voice distorted by a vocoder. Hux bristles at his words.
“Our ship,” Hux corrects, trying to keep his tone even. No matter what happens, the Finalizer will always be his ship. “The Finalizer represents the most advanced battlecruiser design to date. She is the pride of the First Order fleet.”
Ren turns towards him. Suddenly, there’s a pressure against his mind, like a building migraine. Just like when Snoke goes probing through his memories. Ren must be doing the same. Indignation and fury courses through him. He might have to suffer this sort of treatment from Snoke, but he will not tolerate it from his apprentice.
“I would appreciate it if you refrained from rifling through my mind, Lord Ren,” Hux hisses, resisting the urge to flinch as Ren presses more. He should have known force users were all the same.
A few moments later, the pressure eases from his mind.
“I’ve seen all I needed to see, General.” Ren states. Even through the mask and vocoder, Hux can tell Ren’s mood has changed for the worse. Across the hangar, the windows of several tie fighters shatter.
Their relationship, unsurprisingly, had only quickly deteriorated from there.
Ren had despised him from virtually the moment he stepped foot on the Finalizer. It was a sentiment that Hux quickly returned. While there was no doubting Ren’s pure power, there was also no doubting that he was capricious, prone to fits of extreme rage, difficult to work with at the best of times, frequently impatient, and far more likely to trust in mystical visions than logic or fact.
Still though, there’s a part of him that does wonder what could have been. Only days after Snoke’s demise, Hux had cornered Ren, offering to put aside whatever differences they had, to work together for the good of the order.
The crushing pressure around his throat had been all the answer he’d needed.
Now, none of that matters. It was all over, all potential gone. Ren is dead, killed on Exegol with the majority of the Final Order, along with everything Hux had given his life thus far for. It made no small amount of anger course through him.
Hux pulls the hood of his jacket down lower. He would retreat to his quarters, if he could. There, at least, he could grieve in peace. But he hadn’t been assigned anywhere yet, so he’s stuck outside, nursing a glass of some kind of gods-awful whiskey that someone had offered him.
His attention is caught by a spacecraft, landing in the bay. Dameron and FN-2187 sprint towards it.
Must be the scavenger girl, then.
Sure enough, as the landing hatch opens, the girl rushes out, quickly embracing both the pilot and the stormtrooper. Trailing out behind her, is--
No.
It couldn’t be.
The powers that be must have cursed him, because standing next to the scavenger girl is Kylo Ren.
Hux is immediately filled with rage.
He threw in everything he had, betrayed the Order he had given his life to help build, to finally be free of Ren. And yet, there he stands, across the airfield from him, very much alive.
Hux throws his cup to the side and storms towards him.
FN-2187 is the first to notice.
“Oh, here we go.” The former stormtrooper says. Hux just pushes past him, straight up to Ren.
“You!” Hux says, loud enough that it could probably be heard across the airfield.
Ren turns at the sound of his voice. He looks different without all the robes and mask, somehow less intimidating, but he’s still unmistakably Ren.
At first, Ren’s stunned. Then he’s furious. “What are you doing here?!”
“What am I doing here? What are you doing here?!” Hux screeches back. On any other day, he’d loathe himself for losing his composure like this, but it has been a long day and Kylo Ren is alive . “You’re supposed to be dead!”
“I asked you first!”
“Oh, real mature, Ren!”
Before Kylo can respond, they’re both pushed back as Dameron steps between them.
“Alright, you're both pretty. Now, let's all just calm down a little, okay?”
Ren shoves Dameron back, and takes another step forward into Hux’s space. They’re almost toe to toe now. He knows he’s behaving just like Ren right now, but he cannot bring himself to care.
“I was the spy!” Hux hisses, as he feels the pressure of the force begin to weave its way around his throat. He still has his monomolecular blade, its familiar weight against his arm. It’s just a matter of getting close enough to use it. “I was the spy for the Resistance!”
The pressure around Hux’s throat grows tighter, and it’s suddenly difficult to move. He should have struck when he had the chance, should have shot him the second he saw Snoke’s corpse.
Ren, meanwhile, is ready to strike him down, right there in the middle of the Resistance base. But before Ren can use the Force to choke him or snap his neck, the girl intervenes. She steps forward and puts her hand to Ren’s chest.
“Ben.” She says, and Ren suddenly deflates. The pressure around Hux’s throat disappears, and the force-user takes a step back, leaning into the girl’s touch.
And Hux gets it now. He understands why Ren is so fixated on the girl. Really, he should have guessed sooner that it was less about wanting to train her, and more about just wanting her, in the baser sense.
With the looks that FN-2187 and Dameron are throwing her way, they’ve just realised it too.
“Come on,” the girl says, turning to leave.
“I fucking hate him.” Hux says, as the girl leads Ren away. If Hux feels a sudden, irrational stab of something like jealousy, he puts it down to the incredibly long day he’s had.
“That’s a relatable feeling.” Dameron agrees.
Hux rounds on Dameron.
“Did you know?” He asks, demanding an answer. How long had the Resistance known that Ren had survived? Were they always planning on bringing him in?
“Not until about a minute ago,” Dameron replies. He doesn’t seem particularly happy about the revelation either. He turns back to Hux. “Come on. Let’s find you a room.”
Hux is so full of rage and fury he can’t even bring himself to say anything more, he just follows after Dameron.