Strength (Book Two of the Into The Fray series)

Chapter Three

General Hux was getting very tired of being tired. He stood on the bridge, staring blankly out the window, fighting the urge to literally fall asleep on his feet. Another boring day. Another day where he didn't know what to do and no one gave him orders. Another day of wasted time.

"General Hux."

He turned to his pit crew, looking at the female officer who spoke. "I have General Griffbul on a secured line. He wishes to speak with you."

Finally, he thought in exasperation. It had been a week since he had spoken to him last.

"I'll take it in my chamber."

Hux quickly made his way to his office which sat to the right of the bridge. He entered, sitting down, and flipped on his holo projector. After a moment the machine flickered to life, and upper half of the General was before him.

"Good day, General," Hux greeted.

"I see you haven't slept."

Hux frowned. For a moment he was simply going to ask what the man needed. Instead, in a moment of weakness, Hux sighed heavily and slouched in his chair. He briefly rubbed his eyes.

"Is it really that apparent?"

The hologram laughed. "The bags under your eyes makes it look like you went toe to toe with a Wookie and lost."

Hux's frown deepened.

"My lad," the General continued a little more seriously, "I think I know what's bothering you, but I want to hear it in your own words."

"Kylo Ren," Hux spat immediately, acid dripping from the name. "I haven't seen the blasted fool in half a year. He was a prick in my side when he was here, and now that he's gone he still bothers me." Hux clenched his hand. "How is that even possible?" he added, more to himself than his superior.

"Armitage," the other General said, "no one faults you for what happened. You were kidnapped, battered. It's a good thing that you got out of it alive. And it's a miracle that you were able to over power him and crash the ship."

Hux looked off to the side, trying to hide the guilt from his face. So he had fudged the story a little. So what?

"It's not just that," Hux admitted. "Snoke..."

The General waved a dismissive hand. "Also not your fault. Put your pride aside--not all of our failures fall directly on your shoulders, Armitage. Besides, I'm beginning to think that dragging the Dark Side into our forces again was a mistake. They're so... Fickle. Always changing sides. Perhaps we never should have relied on them."

Hux looked at his superior out of the corner of his eye. He kept his face neutral, but he was surprised. Admitting a mistake wasn't something First Order officers did, much less one who held such high of rank. He was confiding in Hux. Hux looked at the ground.

"I'm just half expecting a demotion..."

"Armitage," the General said strictly, causing Hux to lift his head. "It's bad, but it's not that bad. Your list of commendable actions far outweigh the bad ones." His tone softened. "We've all had a string of misfortune. You're being too hard on yourself."

Hux looked away again.

"And it's that very reason that I've decided to grant you a leave of absence. One week."

Hux's head shot up. Before he could compose himself he spoke. "What?"

"Get some sleep. Go to some planets red light district. Go to a canteena and get hammered. I don't care what you do, but fix yourself." The General cast him a long sidelong look. "You're too valuable of an asset to have you moping around like this. Despite whatever you think of yourself."