Copper for the Charlatan

Under the Eclipse

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Officers unwittingly share their thoughts on Ichara's new station in the First Order. Uncertainty twists Kylo's arm, and Hux finds himself again pushed to the edge of his limits. The three are struggling with rapidly blurring lines; what is real and what is contrived is getting harder and harder to tell apart.
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Hux was already fairly irritable, which was of course exacerbated by the "Supreme Leader" and his ridiculous requests. He'd demanded his monthly leadership meeting take place a week early with less than a day's notice. Schedules had to be swapped, others called in to cover different departments, not to mention that the meeting of multiple ships in one location had to be done a ways off the grid of standard transport. Of course, Kylo Ren was completely free of the frustration and burden in coordinating all this; it fell squarely on the General's shoulders. As always, though, he managed to pull it off. While the Supreme Leader might look at him with disdain, everyone in his military would ask "how high" if his demeanor even suggested he wanted them to jump.

With no surprise, I come through without failure. That black lump couldn't run anything without me. He almost managed a self-satisfactory smile, but didn't have the heart to even allow himself that- he was absolutely dreading the man's presence. Ichara had given him comfort when she was at his side, and he found himself missing her for more reasons than he cared to list. He stared mournfully back at his reflection in the transparisteel rather than the stars beyond.
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Yet again, Kylo Ren took issue with what she was wearing. Refusing to wear something as useless as just cloth, she'd dug through her equipment to find low-profile under armor. Meant to be worn under proper armor, it was thin, but still better than nothing. It set well underneath the robes and the additional bulk was barely noticeable. To her disappointment though it didn't slip past him. He waited till they were on the lift to address it.

"I told you specifically that you weren't to wear that filthy mercenary trash anymore."

She sighed. "It's a light under armor, barely noticeable. These robes serve little to no protection."

He looked down at her, frowning. "Tell me, do you cling to that armor as you do your helmet? Out of fear? Do you doubt your abilities so deeply that you need something to hide behind? Perhaps you are a waste of my effort after all."

His words sparked a fire of anger in her chest. "Common sense isn't fear, Supreme Leader."

He spun around and snatched her by the throat, massive hand crushing her windpipe shut. "So many excuses for weakness. If you are to be worth my while, I will cure you of this first." he shoved her into the wall when he released her, coughing as air sucked back into her lungs. The sudden aggression made her curious above all else. Surely he wasn't that upset with something so small.

Hux closed his eyes at the sound of familiar boot steps echoing across the bridge. For once Kylo Ren was early, and he lamented that he didn't have a few more moments of peace. He braced himself, and spun on heel to greet the man he detested.

"Supreme Leader, you're early, I-I, ah, yes, ah" He was completely floored by Ichara's new appearance. Her hair fell freely across her shoulders, deep maroon lipstick accentuated the frown of her lips, and blackened shadow served to make her eyes look almost yellow as opposed to their usual amber hue.

"Are you quite alright, General Hux?" Her question lacked any air of actual concern.

Rather than continue stuttering he clasped his hands in front of him and nodded curtly to Kylo, making a point to ignore her snide remark.