A.H A Star Wars story (English version)©

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝒆𝓻 𝟐𝟒

28 years after the Battle of Yavin

- This is General Brendol Hux of the First Order. My ship crashed on the planet Parnasos. We managed to repair the communicator and the emergency beacon. I request emergency extraction.

The General's distress call had been broadcast on the main deck of the cruiser. Armitage had heard it, and from then on, all eyes had turned to him. It had been more than a week since the First Order had heard from him and his soldiers. Damn Brendol, he thought, couldn't he stay gone forever? Clearly his time had not yet come. The young man was even more annoyed when his superior ordered him to go to Parnasos immediately. Old Hux was tenacious. His son saw in this mission the opportunity to end it once and for all... if the opportunity presented itself. To finally get revenge on the father who had caused him so much suffering. However, after thinking it over, he realized that this idea did not hold water. He would undoubtedly be the number one suspect, and making up a murder was no easy task. No, it wasn't... He had to wait, again.

He remembered the wise words of Gallius Rax: One day will come, not so far away I fear, your father will die. And you will take over.

He'd waited so many years. That phrase had been etched in a corner of his memory. He'd never forgotten it. And would never forget everything he had endured. Patience and cunning would be his best allies in fulfilling his dark destiny.

He left the officer's deck, accompanied by two stormtroopers forming his close guard, and headed for the huge hangar. A shuttle had been prepared to retrieve the General. The pilot was already waiting inside the cockpit while mechanic droids were busy checking the aircraft's operation.

Armitage climbed aboard the shuttle, followed by his close guard and a stormtrooper squad as reinforcements. The young man knew nothing about the planet he was about to venture onto, so caution was called for. He settled into his private cabin so that he could be quiet and consult his datapad. He consulted the database of the First Order, any information on Parnasos would be useful to him. But after long minutes of searching he had to face the fact that no one had ever explored this place before. He was heading for unknown territory.

After long hours of flying, the transport shuttle finally landed on the sand of Parnasos. The ramp was lowered, allowing the setting sun to enter the cabin. Armitage was the first to set foot on the planet. He looked at the horizon for a brief moment, sand as far as the eye could see, black mountains with sharp stones a little further away. The warm wind whipped his face and the sand carried by the breeze tickled his skin. The sensation was unpleasant, he didn't let it show.

He took a few steps towards his father and the group of people who accompanied him. Two women and a little girl, probably natives of this region. The little girl was standing next to a thin woman, she looked sick, and shook his hand. The other woman was standing upright next to Brendol. She was carrying a Stormtrooper blaster gun. As well as full armour, but ill-fitting, too big for her. For indeed, it exceeded the young man in size. She had a strange appearance, far from the rigour imposed by the First Order.

- The First Order is glad you survived, Father. he announced in his strong imperial accent...

- Thanks to Phasma. Phasma, this is my son, Armitage.

The young man looked at Phasma, his eyebrows furrowed. He didn't trust her. Not yet.

- The First Order thanks you, Phasma.

- She's going to join us aboard the Finalizer, along with the child. Brendol turned and reached out his hand to the girl. Come on, now.

The woman with the little girl squeezed it a little tighter.

- Let her go Siv, ordered Phasma to the other woman, come on Frey.

- It's only Phasma... Reassured Siv, weakly, go with her.

- What about this one? Asked Armitage with disdain while observing the so-called Siv

- She's doomed, replied Brendol, and too weak for us.

- Phasma? Implored the young woman with the sickly complexion.

- When I asked you to kill our enemy, what did you do? Asked the huge woman in ragged armor coldly.

- What I thought was right. I showed mercy.

- You disobeyed a direct order. This is intolerable. Phasma replied in a harsh voice.

- The First Order will suit you, Phasma. Brendol agreed with a smile.

Armitage didn't know what had happened here, and in all honesty he didn't care. All he understood was that Phasma and young Frey were going into space with them. This discussion had no reason to go on forever.

- Are we ready to go then? The Supreme Leader is waiting for you, Father, you have a lot to talk about. Concludes Armitage, bored, turning his back on the setting sun.

He went back on board, accompanied by his father, his close guard and his stormtroop squad. Phasma was behind them, but he heard him exchange a few words with Siv before he left. It was none of his concern. His father had decided his fate. He wouldn't interfere.

Aboard the shuttle Armitage watched the woman in front of him with some suspicion. She was still wearing her stormtrooper helmet, damaged by the elements, just like the rest of her armour, which had turned greyish. Silence reigned aboard the ship, disturbed only by the noise of the engine consuming fuel for take-off. It was then that little Frey's voice was heard:

- Ouch! Why are you squeezing so hard? What's the matter? What's happening? asked the child.

Phasma lowered her head but didn't say a word. Armitage stared at her and then bent her legs to get up to the child's height.

- We're going into space, he explained. To become good soldiers of the First Order. When I was a child, I travelled in a ship like this one. Look how big I am now!

He smiled at the girl, then cast a suspicious glance at Phasma, as if he doubted her loyalty. After all, he didn't know what this woman's intentions were. He would have to watch her carefully.

- Phasma, I'd like you to see this. Brendol intervened, intimidating him to approach her.

He was in the cockpit, large enough to accommodate several people. In front of them, through the bay window, the vastness of space stretched as far as the eye could see. And in the middle of it all, the planet Parnasos.

- It's beautiful from above. she commented soberly.

And indeed, the planet was beautiful from space. A mixture of green plains, dark blue ocean and black mountains. Seen from here, the planet seemed peaceful, as if out of time.

- That's not what I wanted to show you. Take a good look.

Brendol piano-pointed on the dashboard to trigger the ship's ventral cannons. The powerful red laser shots were bursting on the surface of his home planet. Aimed at random locations. With Phasma's apparent lack of response, Brendol took the floor:

- Do you now understand the power of the First Order? The way we treat the mighty? Or even the simple nuisances?

- Powerful, indeed, she let go as soon as she regained her composure.

(Much of this chapter is taken from the novel Phasma, written by Delilah S Dawson. I rewrote some passages, added others).