Chapter Text
“Shoot me in the arm,” Hux ordered.
“Why?” Finn asked. Typical. Questioning orders. He should expect nothing less from the stormtrooper.
“So it looks like I tried to stop you.” He shouldn’t even have to explain it. Finn started to raise his blaster and Hux prepared for the pain of being shot. But Dameron put his hand on top of the blaster, pushing it back down towards the floor.
“Wait,” Dameron said. “I got a better idea. Why don’t you come with us?”
“If I go with you, I can’t provide further information,” Hux said. “Now hurry and shoot me before we’re caught.”
“Nah,” Dameron said. “You’d still be plenty useful. You know more about the Order than anyone else. Besides, you can’t send new information if you’re dead.”
“I am a general of the First Order. They’re not going to kill me.” At least, that might have been true at one point. With Ren obsessing over Palpatine and putting Pryde in charge, Hux wan’t entirely confident.
“After letting some high value targets escape?” Finn shook his head. “Obviously you’re not in charge or you wouldn’t be helping us. Whoever your superior is won’t care. They just might kill you.”
“It’s not a risk we want to take, Hugs,” Dameron said. He grabbed him by the arm. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
“Let go of me, you rebel scum!” Hux spat as he very weakly tried to push him off. But really, he knew it was for the best. Pryde was only looking for an excuse to get rid of him. It was for the best he went with the Resistance. He’d thought about going to them before, but he hadn’t thought they’d take him. Looked like they would now.
He was taken on board the piece of junk they called a ship and as they took off, it made a sound that made Hux wonder if it was really capable of flight. He followed Dameron and the Wookie to the cockpit and expected that they would take off and immediately make the jump to lightspeed, but instead, they were flying around the ship.
“What are you doing?” Hux asked.
The Wookie growled something, but Hux had no idea what he said. Fortunately, Dameron did. Or maybe he was just answering on his own. “We gotta pick up Rey,” he said. “We’re not leaving without her!”
“The scavenger girl?” He’d heard Ren talk about her often enough. He wanted to suggest leaving her and maybe she’d take care of Ren, but he knew the Resistance would never agree to it. Instead, they were going to waste time to pick someone up who could surely make her way out on her own.
At least it didn’t take long and soon they were in lightspeed. Rey and Finn joined them in the cockpit. The girl looked at him and frowned.
“What’s he doing here?” she asked.
“He’s the mole,” Finn said. “We’re taking him with us.”
“We need to go to Endor. He can’t come with us.”
“Yeah, we’re not taking him,” Dameron said. “We’re dropping him off at base first. I know, I know. We need to hurry, but I’m not traveling with him any longer than I have to.”
Fortunately there was no argument. Hux also didn’t want to be with them longer than he had to. Of course, it occurred to him that he might never escape them. He doubted they’d let him walk away but maybe they would let their guard down and he could escape. Spending the rest of his life with the Resistance was a fate worse than death.
At least he knew that he was doing all he could to bring Kylo Ren down.
***
Kylo had no idea how he was going to get off the Death Star wreckage. Rey had taken his ship. The Falcon had already left the planet. He was all alone with no way off. He could probably use the Force to carry himself over the water, but the effort really didn’t seem worth it. He didn’t want to go back to the First Order. He didn’t care about Palpatine. He wanted to be done with it all.
And he was. He’d thrown his lightsaber away. He was done being the Supreme Leader, Master of the Knights of Ren. Who he was, he didn’t know. Maybe he’d figure it out while he wasted away on the wreckage of the Death Star. His grandfather had died there. Kylo could accept that he would too.
He didn’t know how long he spent inside the wreckage. If he was going to die, he didn’t want to do it cold and wet. He knew at least one day had passed. Possibly two or three. He didn’t think it mattered. But he heard the sound of a ship. One he knew all too well.
When he went outside, he couldn’t believe his eyes. Maybe it was another hallucination. Maybe he’d been there longer than he thought and he was losing his mind. The ramp was lowering. Maybe he’d walk onto it and simply fall into the ocean. It really wasn’t any worse than standing there in the rain so he started walking towards the Falcon.
When he found solid ground under his feet as he went up the ramp and then found himself inside the ship, he wasn’t sure what was happening. Was it that powerful of a hallucination? Was he already dead, doomed to spend an eternity on a painful reminder of his family?
“Hey, there, little starfighter!”
He must have been dead. He hadn’t seen Lando in years. He had no reason to hallucinate him, and he looked much older than when Kylo had last seen him. There was a familiar growl coming from the cockpit, Chewbacca asking Lando if they had him. Chewie was asking about him.
“You okay there?” Lando asked.
“What’s going on?” Kylo asked.
“We came to find you. Rey said you might need help since she took your ship. Glad we found you. Now let’s get you home.”
Kylo went to the cockpit with Lando and sat down behind Chewie. It felt awkward being back on the ship but Kylo still wasn’t entirely sure it was all real. Even after they jumped to lightspeed and Lando started telling him what had happened with Rey defeating Palpatine and the destruction of the Sith fleet.
“What about…” Kylo wanted to ask about the First Order. But he realized he really didn’t care. He no longer wanted anything to do with them. And hopefully he’d never see anyone from that life again. He was finally free.
Although he knew he couldn’t stay with the Resistance, he was looking forward to being somewhere that wasn’t First Order. A place where he didn’t have to be anyone. He just had to be Kylo. And he wanted to see Rey. Thank her for saving him and defeating Palpatine. He knew she might not want to see him, but he couldn’t help but think maybe they could be friends someday.
When they made it back to the Resistance base - on a jungle planet - Kylo got off the Falcon and walked around the base, immediately struck with the realization that he did not belong. He saw Rey. She was with Dameron and Finn and she was happy. She wouldn’t even want to talk to him. He turned back around, wanting to get back on the ship and ask to be taken to any other planet.
“Everyone’s out there,” Lando said, coming down the ramp.
“I know.”
“Let’s get you over to the general.”
“General?” Kylo knew his mother was dead. He felt her passing in the Force. But of course, the Resistance must have decided upon a new leader. Why they would want to talk to him, Kylo didn’t know. To his surprise, Lando led him over towards Rey.
“Got something for you, General,” Lando called. Unfortunately, he brought everyone else’s attention to him as well, and people seemed to immediately recognize who he was. They started to move away, trying to stay as far from him as possible.
“I thought Rey was joking,” Dameron said, glancing between Kylo and Rey. “You really picked up Kylo Ren?”
“Ben,” Rey said.
“It doesn’t matter,” Kylo said. “Kylo. Ben. It’s all the same.”
“Okay then, Kylo Ben,” Dameron said. “We’ll get you set up with quarters and a change of clothes and then I guess we should talk.”
“Wait. You’re the general?” Kylo just put the facts together.
“Finn too,” Dameron said, getting up from where he was sitting. “Now come on. Let’s get you settled in.”
“I can’t stay here.” It wasn’t where he belonged. He didn’t know where he did, but he would find that out. But he needed to do it alone. He still found himself following Dameron anyway.
“Nonsense. We’re not letting Kylo Ren loose in the galaxy. Even if Rey insists you’re not as bad as you used to be. Plus, I’m sure you can help us take out what remains of the First Order. You’re the highest ranking defector we’ve had.”
“Just a bit above your stormtroopers.” They made it to the inside of the base and Dameron led him down a corridor.
“We’ve had higher than that.”
“Like what?”
“What are you doing here?”
Kylo spun around, never having expected to hear that voice again. He knew it well, but even so, he hadn’t quite expected to see General Armitage Hux standing on a Resistance base and he wasn’t even in binders.
“We’ve had a general,” Poe muttered.”
“You defected?” Kylo asked. Of course, then it all made sense. “You were the mole.”
“You can’t kill me now.”
“Wasn’t going to. I’m glad you did.”
“Don’t tell me. You defected too?”
“I guess.” Kylo shrugged, not quite sure if that’s what he’d done. He hadn’t wanted to join the Resistance. He just wanted to be done fighting.
“You would, you worthless idiot!” Hux shouted. “I did everything I could to bring you down and get you out of the Order. My life’s work! And you just decide to come here and ruin all that! Fuck you Ren!”
Hux stormed off and Kylo wasn’t sure what to think. He hadn’t wanted to see anyone from his past. But if it had to be someone, he was glad it was Hux. There were times he’d enjoyed their rivalry and he was often the only person he could talk to. Not that it happened often. But Hux had been the closest thing he’d had to a friend.
He wasn’t even upset that Hux had been plotting against him - he’d always known he would. It was even funny, Kylo thought, that somehow, they still ended up together. Almost as if it was the will of the Force keeping them together. Hux would hate that idea.
“Here you go,” Dameron said, dropping a pile of clothes into his arms. “I’ll take you to your quarters and then we’ll talk.”
Dameron led him down another corridor to a door. Inside, there was a bunk, a table, two chairs and a door in the back. Kylo couldn’t help but notice that it appeared someone already lived there and he pointed that out to Dameron.
“Well, yeah,” he said. “We don’t exactly have a surplus of space here. You have a roommate. If you don’t get along, we’ll see if we can make a change.”
Kylo didn’t care but he didn’t think anyone would want to room with him. Maybe they’d request a transfer and Kylo could have the room to himself. He didn’t think it would take long since he knew no one would like him.
He put on his new clothes, which didn’t fit as well, but were good enough. He didn’t know if Dameron wanted to talk immediately, but he hoped not. He hadn’t had much to eat while stranded on the Death Star and he hoped he could get some food.
As soon as he stepped outside, he saw that Dameron was waiting for him. And his droid was with him too. BB-8. The droid that had caused him so much trouble the year before. He couldn’t help himself and he kicked the droid. BB-8 rolled back in surprise and Dameron put himself between Kylo and BB-8.
“What are you doing? You can’t just kick BB like that!”
“I don’t like him.” He didn’t make any move to try to kick the droid again and Dameron relaxed a little. “Do you have food around here?”
“Uh, yeah. I’ll show you around.”
Dameron led him to the mess hall and Kylo immediately went to grab some food. He was starving. He sat down at an empty table and started eating. Dameron joined him, sitting across the table from him.
“So you really going to eat all that?” Dameron asked.
“Yes,” Kylo muttered, continuing to eat as fast as possible.
“So we can definitely use your help,” Dameron said. “Rey’s a Jedi now, but I’m sure she could use help. Finn’s going to start training, and she’ll be looking for more students. If you want to help train -”
“Not a Jedi,” Kylo interrupted. He had been at one point, but he couldn’t go back to that. He wasn’t with the First Order, but it didn’t mean that he wanted to go back to being a Jedi. “I can’t help her with that.”
“Okay,” Dameron continued. “The other thing we could really use your help with is tracking and taking out the remains of the First Order. I’m sure you know plenty of things that could help us. But… you’d have to work with Armitage.”
“Armitage?” It was strange hearing Hux be referred to by his first name. It was so rare to hear. Kylo had heard a few old Imperials use it before but it had sounded just as out of place then.
“That’s his name, isn’t it? What? Did you just call him General?”
“Usually.”
“Right. So anyway, if you’re not interested in that, we need people who can fly and help maintain the ships and the base. I know you can fly, but we can train you on that other stuff if needed.”
“I’ll work with Armitage,” Kylo said.
“You will?” Dameron looked surprised. “Great. We need that more. You’ll still have some chances to fly, I’m sure. But well, Armitage is sort of heading up the group that’s trying to take out the First Order. You’d actually be working for him.”
That made Kylo think. He wouldn’t mind working with Hux. It would be just like their time before he killed Snoke. Back when they were co-commanders. Kylo missed those days. How simple everything had seemed. Given his mistakes when he took over as Supreme Leader, Kylo could only imagine Hux would want to repay him if he was in charge.
“I can’t be in charge?”
“Afraid not. He’s been here longer and proved himself to be a useful member of the Resistance. We’re not going to take what he’s earned from him just because you showed up.”
“What if I don’t want to do any of it?”
“I’m sure we can find you a nice prison cell.”
“It wouldn’t hold me.”
“But Rey would track you down. You really want to do that to your sister?”
“Sister?” That was a new one. Rey couldn’t possibly be his sister. Leia hadn’t had a second child. He would have remembered.
“Leia adopted her, you know. Rey Skywalker is her name now. But you know. She’s your sister. And you’d make her waste her time hunting you down just because you refuse to cooperate and act like a decent human being?”
“I’m not decent.”
“That’s why I said act. So what’s it going to be?”
“I’ll work with Hux,” he muttered. It’d be better than trying to train Jedi and he didn’t want to join the ranks of the Resistance scrubbing floors. And if he hated it, maybe he’d be allowed to switch jobs. Or he’d just steal a ship.
“Great. Once you’re finished here, I’ll take you over to where he works. I’m guessing he won’t be happy about it.”
“No.”
Kylo was right. When Dameron took him to Hux, he had immediately protested and told Kylo to get out. It wasn’t until Dameron mentioned that Kylo would be working for Hux that he actually listened.
“He’d better do everything I tell him to do,” Hux said.
“Within reason,” Dameron said.
“No. Everything.”
“Uh, I don’t know about that.”
“It’s fine,” Kylo said.
“He can’t tell you to do anything that doesn’t have anything to do with your job,” Dameron said. “But you know what? As long as you get results, I don’t really care what goes on between you two.”
Dameron left and Kylo and Hux were alone. Kylo had no idea what he was supposed to be doing. Hux looked like he always had - busy reading datapads with his hair slicked back. He was wearing short sleeves and no gloves, which was a change for him. Kylo had never seen that much of Hux exposed.
“It really wasn’t enough for you to show up on the same planet as me,” Hux said, glancing up at him. “You just had to get yourself assigned to work with me too. Haven’t you ruined my life enough Ren?”
“I don’t want to work with them.”
“And you’ll do whatever I say?” Hux asked. Kylo shrugged. He knew he wouldn’t, but he also had no idea what Hux had in mind. “Well go sit on the floor and don’t speak.”
Kylo thought he would actually be needed for some reason, but he didn’t care. If Hux didn’t want the help, then Kylo had no problem doing nothing. He started to fall into a meditation, so he wouldn’t even notice how much time was passing.
Soon - or maybe it had been hours - he felt something hitting him. His eyes opened and he saw Hux standing over him. He gave him another kick and then walked away. “Time for you to go back to your quarters.”
Kylo stood up and headed for the door. He paused, turning back to Hux. He wanted to say something to him. Tell him that he didn’t hate him, that he liked him at times, that he was sorry. But he didn’t know how to word it. And it wasn’t as if Hux would care. Hux did hate him.
Kylo didn’t like the way that felt. He wished he could make things better.