Chapter Text
The ground underneath him trembled and surged. General Hux vacated the looming holo-communication room with long, firmly placed strides in order not to stumble despite the shaking surroundings. Everywhere around him were fleeing troopers and other frantic personnel crowding the otherwise bleak hallways. Minutes ago he had talked to Supreme Leader Snoke about what should be done in face of the ineffable destruction of Starkiller Base. Now he was more concerned with not rushing into addled people, who were chaotically running about.
I failed. Was the sole thought which burned through Hux' mind, fueling his pace.
He had been in command of this majestic and unbeatable weapon. A weapon made to bring an end to the impertinent Resistance who refused to see that it was the First Order who should reign over the galaxy. It had been his fault, that the X-Wing pilots were not disabled earlier, so that Starkiller Base could form its final strike against the rebels.
As it became clear, that the weapon was about to blow up, he contacted Supreme Leader Snoke, who told him to abandon the weapon and to take Kylo Ren with him. Ren, who had been beaten by that girl he seemed so fanatically enamored with.
Hux pulled a face not only because of the effort the running cost him, but also at the thought of that vain and uncontrolled Master of the Knights of Ren he had to work with. Where Hux was organized, Ren was pure chaos. Hux hated chaos.
After jogging down another nondescript but luckily vacated hallway, he rounded a corner and stood before a broad durasteel door. Quickly he located the command-panel and entered his access-code with a gloved hand. The doors slid aside like huge lumbering beasts and opened to the private hangar of Hux' starship.
The black ship sat there like a dark moth waiting for the next ray of light to guide its course. With efficient movement Hux readied the ship and shot out of the hangar into the by now raging snow storm outside.
***
The slow disintegration of the planet resulted in huge cracks, which burst open uncontrollably, sucking in air and making a small starship like Hux' hard to fly. Trying to find Ren in the debris surrounding the visible part of Starkiller Base was not hard, since his comlink was still intact and easy to locate. But finding a place to land the ship, preferably in one piece, was a daunting task.
Ren lay next to a huge gully, splitting apart the surrounding wood in which he must have fought. Slowly the crack grew bigger and bigger, all the while huge pieces of stone broke away and fell down the fathomless depth.
A burning curse erupted Hux' grim composure as he tried to bring the starship down carefully but was prevented by a strong gust of wind. It surged through the gully, pushing the machine into the swaying trees. There was a terrible groan, as the ship took down a large area of trees in its descent before hitting the ground.
Sliding out of the lopsided ship through the hold door, Hux landed on the snow covered ground, sinking in by several inches. Instantly the sharp wind whipped his long black cloak around him and drove snow into his squinting eyes.
All for that ungrateful knight. Hux thought bitterly.
Due to the wind he had landed a good distance away from Ren, but also because it wouldn’t do to crush the knight with a landing starship. Snoke would not be amused. Hux might have been.
A deep rumbling, sounding like the dying sigh of the planet, accompanied by a shudder nearly forced Hux to the ground, before he started to jog towards the wounded man. There was not much time now.
Kylo Ren lay sprawled on his back, the dark robes flooded around him like a pool of spilled ink. His black clad figure was a stark contrast to the startling white snow surrounding him, giving him an otherworldly look. Underlining that fact was the ragged and bloody cut across his face, which luckily seemed to have stopped the worst of its bleeding.
Kneeling before Ren Hux grabbed for the unignited lightsaber and pocketed it. Then he made an attempt to pull the other man off the ground and throw him over his shoulder but then stopped. Near Ren's chest a bright red stain was creeping through the snow, growing bigger.
Fresh blood.
Hux' stomach recoiled. He hated blood. It wasn't that he hadn't seen his fair share of blood being spilled but it still made him want to throw up. It wasn't normal for a human body to be open in that way. To spill parts of itself on its surroundings. And worst of all: It was messy.
Biting back his urge to vomit, he placed his hands underneath Ren's arms, heaving the slightly larger man onto his shoulder, before deliberately pushing himself into a position, that vaguely resembled standing.
Another shiver from the planet's core sent Hux into motion. He stumbled through the heavy snow and the biting wind back into the red illuminated starship, all the while suppressing his disgust at the thought that Ren might actually bleed on him. After the hull door closed behind the two men, the fierce howling became just a dull thrumming.
Without much grace or composure Hux let his knees buckle under him and freed himself of Ren's weight. He rolled the wounded man on his back, before searching for straps to bind him fast. That chest wound looked like an upright position might do the knight no good and since this spaceship wasn't build for longer trips, it had no bunk. After all, it would only be for take off, because that was going to be rough.
Having secured Ren for his satisfaction, Hux entered the cockpit and flopped down in the pilot seat. His hair was disheveled and starting to get wet from the melting snowflakes caught in it. With a absentminded flick, he brushed some stray strands aside and started the machine.
The gushing wind made the take off extremely difficult. The starship's wings offered enough surface for the gales to get a hold and push it back on the ground. After two failed take offs Hux had enough. He might not look it, but he was an excellent pilot, albeit a very impatient one. Preparing the engine for maximum acceleration he waited for a slight uplift caused by the wind, then he let the engines flare.
In an uncontrolled bow the ship shot off the ground, veered harshly to its right, running the risk of being sucked into the growing gully, but then freed itself of the pull and sped towards outer space.
***
As soon as the spaceship left the atmosphere of Starkiller Base behind and entered the outer space, silence filled the room before a harsh shrill of the console ripped through it. It was a frantically flashing warning signal concerning the hyperdrive. The take-off with maximum acceleration had exhausted the engine, which seemed to have been damaged during the forceful landing. Having no equipment and no incline to see to the machine himself, Hux set the starship on autopilot traveling below light speed. That would have to do.
Heaving a sigh, he leaned back in the seat and massaged his eyes and temples. Today nothing had went well. First the embarrassing defeat against the Resistance, the destruction of Starkiller Base, of his pride, and now a damaged spaceship in which it would take them hours to return to the First Order Fleet.
His head was one painful throb and his whole body just felt like trembling. But he still had some of his pride and would not submit to trembling. Not yet anyway. And with a jolt he sat upright. He still had the wounded Ren on board with him! Muttering under his breath he pushed himself off the seat and went into the small space beyond the cockpit.
The knight luckily hadn't shifted in the turbulent take-off, although his head had rolled to the side, slightly bleeding on the durasteel floor, dark hair sticking to the cut across his face. Wrinkling his nose in disgust Hux opened the binders and examined Ren's condition.
Obviously the wounded man was unconscious, but that only due to a knock on the head or something similar, the wounds didn't seemed too deep, although the one in his chest emitted a steady flow of blood. If they kept traveling at that speed, the bleeding might actually become threatening for the other man. And if anything happened to Ren that Hux could have prevented but didn’t … Snoke would make sure that he payed for it.
Hux got up and rummaged through the different compartments until he found a medical kit. Spreading its content systematically on the ground he quickly found what he was looking for: A hemostatic spray, bacta gel, water, pads and sticking plaster.
As his gaze returned to Ren his heart gave a lurch. He had to undress the knight, before being able to tend to the wounds. His lips twitched at that prospect, not sure what to make of his accelerated pulse.
Pushing his feelings aside, he unbuckled the heavy belt, circling Ren's waist and then worked on the ripped and bloodied robe. Below the robe was a close fitting leather jacket, made from several overlaying straps. When that was finally peeled away only a thin pale grey tunic remained that was thoroughly soaked in blood.
At least I am wearing gloves. Was all Hux thought as his gaze fled over Ren’s upper body.
Since the fabric was ruined anyway, he just ripped it open and gently pulled it away from the finely muscled chest, revealing a messy wound, surrounded by bruising flesh. Hux’ breath caught for a moment as he beheld the fair skin that was criss-crossed by old, fading scars. Despite those markings, Ren’s body was appealing to behold. A warm feeling bloomed in Hux’ stomach and crept up his chest, gripping his heart with fiery fingers.
The stench of fresh blood hit his nose and broke his reverie. Hux needed to stop that bleeding for Ren’s sake as much as for his own benefit. Somewhat blindly he grabbed for the clear bottle of water in order to rinse the wound.
Bloodied liquid ran down Ren’s chest, staining it even more, before pooling on the floor beneath him. With forcefully calmed hands Hux started wiping away the water and congealed blood to dry the wound.
It felt strange, letting his hands travel over Ren’s exposed body like that. Although they had worked together quite some time now, proximity never really seemed to exist between them. No matter how near they stood, how much they talked, there always was an invisible barrier keeping them apart, freezing every attempt of getting closer.
Not that I want to be close.
Having cleaned and dried the wound as far as it was possible, Hux applied the hemostatic spray, that settled over the chest like frost, stilling the remaining flow of blood.
For some heartbeats Hux just sat on the floor next to Ren, eyeing the wound. In his head the events of the day, his failures, marched on and on, stifling every other thought he might have had. With the destruction of Starkiller Base his reputation as successful and efficient general would soon start to crumble. He lost everything he had worked for.
An ominous crack made him look up. Caught in his dark thoughts he hadn’t noticed that he gripped the spray-can rather forcefully and had dented it. Cursing under his breath he put it away and looked at the other man’s wound. The spray had done its work and the white layer had been completely absorbed by Ren’s body, stopping the bleeding of the underlaying blood vessels.
Absentmindedly Hux rubbed at his still pounding temple, smearing blood across it. Realizing what he had done he stiffened and gagged. Cleaning that up would have to wait until he had finished tending to Ren, that was more important. Now with openly trembling hands he applied a generous amount of bacta gel onto the wound, covered it with a pad and fastened it with sticking plaster. Now for the face.
His gloved hand grabbed Ren’s chin carefully, turning it towards Hux. The angular, always brooding face displayed a shocking calm, as if dead. Ignoring his queasiness Hux wetted another pad and gently pulled it across cheeks, temples and brow, nearly caressing.
After the application of bacta gel onto the facial wound Hux hastily got up. The floor beneath him seemed to shift with his movement, nearly knocking him off his feet. Stumbling towards the cockpit he checked the console: They still had some time before they got to the First Order Fleet. Annoyed by that prospect Hux rummaged wildly through a compartment above the cockpit, retrieving a rough blanket.
Head still swimming, he returned to the hold and eyed the unconscious form of the knight. Despite his looming height the other man seemed so very small and vulnerable right now. Hux knelt beside Ren and carefully covered him with the blanket. Then, submitting to an unexplainable urge, he combed through the black, now slightly wet hair, easing it away from the wounded brow.
Forgetting his blood smeared temple, Hux laid down on the unyielding durasteel floor, shutting his eyes. The headache was too much, his whole body felt ill and weak. Gradually a dark and heavy sleep claimed him, dragging him down to its depths. Today nothing had went well.