exhuxperation | 04. mental link

Then we wonder how it is that you're not more efficient at utilizing what you already understand, General.

[The toe of her boot turns from the center of the floor. There's a rattle of fine things: small chains and metallic charms, the quiet of the bridge undercut by a barely perceptible hum.]

We are here, you are there. In the future, The Prince and I will be unable to accompany you and the other young hosts on missions. That leaves certain parties vulnerable, particularly when certain other individuals decide to murder their way through the mission locale. No General, you are not responsible for the actions of any other host - but a guiding hand would not be remiss.

[And evidently there are so few of those present.]

We admit it's an imperfect system. Unfortunately, we must enlist help where we're able. If you're unwilling to assist, we will find someone else to take up the task and hope that next time we don't have to collect any host bodies on the way out.

[ Answering the first part is going to be damning in every way, so he elects to let it pass. Something to think about and strategize around, as much as it's caving to a system he has no love for. ]

Kylo Ren's outburst was something I mistakenly let run longer than I should have. [ Even in the moment, he should've seen it coming. Felt it, even, having been around the man for so long he could sense when his temper changed on a pin. He'll be making corrections there, he can tell. Because Snoke is no longer is here. And while Ren's re-dedicated himself to Cathaway, the structures aren't the same. ]

I see. [ It's not that he's totally unwilling. Just. Mentally unwilling. All of the shared everything is still incredibly uncomfortable. ]

I don't have qualms about assisting where I can. [ That only helps his survival, after all. Though– ]

I have concerns about how far that assistance will be able to run. [ Someone in the nest killed someone on planet for no apparent reason. Chaos in a true form. ]

Enlighten us. What are these concerns? What shape do you anticipate them taking?

[In a way, it's an honest question. There are so many variables, so many ways a thing can go wrong or be perceived as incorrect, that the consensus had difficulty pinning down exactly what the General - or what someone very like him - thinks is the hard part of this task. Better to know and address is directly than to fire blindly.

As for the rest, she has no further comment. He isn't incorrect in his assessment - whatever quarrel he has with Ren is a limitation to them both, but at least he seems the understand some piece of that.]

The shape they took during the mission was someone in the nest killing without seeming reason.

[ Though, even with reason, there wasn't any notification that it was done. Communication being their downfall once more– he supposes that's what happens when people come together in a disjointed mess. ]

I don't know who it was, but it's a fairly narrow list of who it could be. [ A rogue variable for now. Not one he enjoys dealing in, considering his options. ] If the issues on planet can be traced back to anything, it's that.

[She blinks at him. Her attention is very direct.]

Do you not know who it was?

[ Hux's stomach lurches a little, more out of shock than anything else. Really? Why would he be here having this conversation if he knew? ]

I don't believe it to be any of my broodmates. Otherwise, no, I've no idea.

[ If they were projecting murderous glee across the planet, he must've missed it in the fight with Ren. Or he just was ignoring everyone as much as he possibly could, somehow believing the rest capable of not murdering someone on-planet. ]

[Her chin doesn't lift, but there is a small change in the air that perhaps gives the impression of her standing straighter anyway - a cool edge in her expression, something knowing in the line of her mouth. Her link to him is solid, a stilled line as if drawn with a pen and ruler. She gives him nothing. It's very quiet.]

We could tell you, if you'd like us to.

[ Her chin doesn't lift but her countenance changes all the same. Hux meets her stare dead on, unwilling to be intimidated by the sharp gaze. He doesn't like what he sees, but rarely has he dealt in anything he enjoys, here. ]

I'm better off knowing than not, all things considered. [ They did just talk about him getting to know the nest, didn't they? ]

[She could insist on showing him: opening her hand to him and drawing him in, spreading the line drawn between them so he might feel the memory of that hum from Ilde's link to the nest. So he might understand the emptiness of the feeling, the dead weight of-- well, of death. She could give him all the tools to know if he asked. It would be a simple thing. She could be gentle with him if he wanted her to be.

Instead Cathaway simply says:]

It was Ilde.

[She doesn't bat an eyelash. The line between them is cold - a dead star.]

[ He's not looking for her to be gentle. The command structure of the First Order had rarely been so; he's grown used to clipped tones and never wasting time. Here, he expects no different and had been oddly thrown by how the dynamics were. So while he wants nothing more than to be presented the facts, clear and concise, something lacks.

At first he thought it was merely their aloof relationship that caused the rift. The emptiness. It seems he's not far off, but for a very separate reason. His mind link tells him she should be there but he doesn't feel anything except for ice. Unnerved, he focuses on her words, content with the answer even if the means dig under his skin. ]

Did she learn something from it? [ Her mind had been chaos when he first met her. Hard to say if there had been any change. ]

Impossible to say, isn't it?

[Without touching Ilde's mind, without using all the tools in his proverbial kit, was there a way to know definitively?]

It seems we must wait and see what she's gleaned from her time on the planet.

[ A strange sense of irritation settles over him. As though he's in a meeting he'd much rather not be having. Part of it is coming from Cathaway herself– the chill is persistent, like someone's left a window open he can't close. ]

Either way, I'm sure it will be enlightening. [ Whether it's due to more chaos on her part or if she's finally shaped up. ]

Will that be all, Cathaway?

[Her eyes narrow on him. For a moment, her mouth thins. She imagines banging her skull against a stone would produce better results.]

Yes, General. We believe that answers all our concerns. [She turns the two of her boot back to the room's exact center - can feel the way the Station shifts and hums and grows around her and lets it wash over and through her.] Should you have any of your own, we are always here to assist you.

[If it sounds like a dismissal, that's because it ought to.]

[ Maybe he's imagining it or maybe her expression is giving her away, but he feels the frustration. It's a double edged sword. One on hand he's uncomfortable by the icy feeling. On the other, he's viciously glad– if she meant to sway him with some pretty words, he's not so easily won. ]

By your leave, then.

[ Hux recognizes a dismissal when he hears one, so he tips his head towards her before he turns sharply and heads out of the command room. ]

COMMAND over oneself and others	AMBITION nothing will stand in my way
ORDER chaos will not be tolerated	MANY over the individual

04. mental link

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