Taking Command Book 2 (Kylux)

Chapter 23: Jumping Hurdles

Hux PoV

As I went throughout the next day, I worried about Kylo. I worried that he would not be able to follow through with his mission to kill his parents. I knew that I asked a lot of my husband, but he had known it was coming. This was not the time to back out, not now that we were so close to achieving our goal.

I hoped that this lapse of decision was temporary, for we could not afford decisiveness. I watched him throughout the day, and he seemed fairly relaxed. During lunch, the one time in the day that we sat down and just talked, I asked him how things were going. I asked him if he had managed to make contact with Han or Leia.

My plan was for him to lure them somewhere under pretense of reconciliation, then for him to end them, and thus the threat of the Resistance. This would accomplish many things. It would firstly end the threat of two of the leaders of the Resistance. Second of all, it would prove that we were willing to spare the others. We had the firepower to destroy their base, but I felt that we should see what happened if we just killed their leaders. After all, so many people ended up in the middle. I was personally willing to give the underlings of the Resistance a chance to change their stripes without the harmful influence of the Resistance leaders looming over them.

Kylo had said that he had not made any progress, but that he was getting there. I took his word for it. I had no desire to argue with him on how he needed to be more decisive. I knew that he knew all of that. I had faith that he would come around, and if need be, I was more than happy to do the dirty work.

Right as I was preparing to end my day, however, something happened that would change our entire course. I was called by a stormtrooper who had seen something approaching from the sky.

"What is it?" I asked, walking outside in the cold. "This had better be important."

"It is, sir." The trooper handed me a set of binoculars. "Look to the east. It appears that a ship is approaching."

I turned in the mentioned direction and looked through the binoculars and confirmed that there was something headed this way from the sky. I zoomed in and recoiled in horror. It was the infamous smuggler ship Millennium Falcon. The ship had another thing it was known for as well, however, its owner.

This ship was Han Solo's and it was on a crash course headed for us. The Resistance had beaten us to the chase. They had found us, and now we needed to react.

"Put the Base on lockdown!" I shouted into my com. "Enemy ship coming! Kylo, I need you on the bridge!" I turned to run back into the Base. "Thank you, trooper."

Not now, I pleaded mentally, Kylo isn't ready to test his allegiances yet. This could be the beginning of our collapse. Our luck can't run out. Not now!

Kylo met me on the bridge, his face pale. "I sense Han and Leia. What should we do?" He asked me, his voice clear. I could tell he was panicked, however.

"We will let them crash land. They're trying to approach at light speed. Han will have known that that was the only way you can get in unless you are a member of the Order. If they survive, you will go after them and end them. I believe in you."

He nodded back wordlessly. His face was impassive, and I hoped that he was ready to do his duty for the First Order. This was his final hurdle, so to speak, and everything depended on him clearing it nicely.