Work Text:
Join me in death
This world is a cruel place
And we're here only to lose
So before life tears us apart let
Death bless me with you
(HIM, Join me in death)
It was the end, the ultimative ending of everything General Armitage Hux had worked for all his life, but to his own amazement he was perfectly calm and composed. If only some of the former fire was still burning in him, he would have gone mad with rage at the sight unfolding before the panoramic window of the Bridge, but the last few months had taken their toll, left him empty and burned out.
If he had guessed what the consequences of Snoke's death would be, at the time he found the massacre in the Throne Room, he might have made arrangements, but how could he know that this event would trigger an avalanche that could not be stoped? Maybe it would have been different if someone else than Kylo Ren had declared himself the new supreme leader, but Hux could not say that for sure. However the fact was that the Resistance was suddenly gaining support from all over the galaxy. It was like a conflagration, no, a virus that continued to spread until even the inhabitants of the furthest corners of the Outer Rim were infected. Certain conquests turned into battles full of losses, one Star Destroyer after another destroyed, one or two even fell into the hands of the enemy. Contrary to all reason, Hux had felt a certain amount of pride until recently that the Finalizers still defied them, but deep inside he had known it was only a matter of time before his ship was defeated by the sheer superiority of the enemy.
Despite propaganda holos and perseverance slogans, people talked behind closed doors more and more about the end of the First Order, and the hopelessness hovered like a dark cloud over his men. In recent months, the number of attempted desertions had been higher than in all the years Hux had been a part of the First Order. Apparently, many Stormtroopers found the firing squad awaiting them more desirable than death on the battlefield. Maybe they were not even wrong, Hux thought as he watched his TIE fighters being shot down like clay pigeons on a shooting range. Against his will he had to admit that the battle was a strangely beautiful sight. Red and orange burning ships in front of the blackness of space.
Maybe he lost his mind or it was due to a permanent lack of sleep, but right now Hux was not angry everything would end today. He had fought too long, risked too much and lost too much, so that he felt almost a kind of relief that it would soon be over. His shirt was clinging warm to the uniform on his chest, and Hux did not have to look down to know it was wet with blood, right where the metal piece of an exploding console cut through the air like a shrapnel and went right into his body. Oddly enough, he had not felt any pain after the first sharp sting, but it was probably due to the many stims he had injected in the last few days to stay in combat mode, but with the continued loss of blood he would not be able to stand upright for much longer. But as long as he had his way, he would face his end standing tall.
Not only out in space the fight went on, even inside the Finalizer the very chaos had broken out. Unable to maneuver, with heavy damage to the weapons, stabilizers, and in the engine room, it was only a matter of time before the Star Destroyer would break apart, and his crew was aware of this fact. In the beginning, Hux had still tried to keep his men at their positions, but as the shields collapsed and the first hit shook the bridge, the men's survival instinct had been stronger than their fear of the general. In panic, people ran back and forth, officers, technicians and ordinary soldiers trying to save their lives and reach the remaining shuttles and escape pods, only Hux made no attempt to escape. With his fingers clawing at the railing, he would hold his position on the bridge as long as his legs held him. Even if he had not been injured, escaping was as good as hopeless anyway. Ships of the Resistence were swarming all around them and Hux would not give them the satisfaction of capturing him alive. A trial for the creator of Starkiller would be perfect for the Resistance and Hux prefered the slowly bleeding out rather than a public execution. No, his decision had been made: the Finalizer was his ship and he would go down with it.
A blast nearby made Hux flinch. Sparks flew out of a relay that had been blown out as a result of a short circuit, then the light began to flicker and finally went out completely. For a moment it was completely dark on the bridge except for the lights of the control panels, then the emergency unit switched on and dipped the room in a ghostly, red light. It must have been in the one moment of total blackness when Kylo Ren sneaked up behind him, otherwise Hux could not explain he had not noticed the knight's arrival.
After all Hux knew, Ren had been on his self-chosen position at the flight deck until recently to prevent the entry of Resistance fighters. Not that it matters now if they were boarded. On the contrary, if the reactor core exploded, it would be a satisfaction for Hux to know that they would bring death to some Resistance fighters ,too. The Knight of Ren stood so close behind him Hux sensed the smell of dried blood, singed hair, and sweaty skin around him, and when he turned to face Ren, he saw Ren was injured at the shoulder. The hole in his robe seemed to come from a blaster shot, but neither Ren's face nor his movements suggested the wound hurt as much as its sight would have suggested.
There had been many moments in recent months when General Hux had wished Kylo Ren to the other end of the galaxy, but this was not one of them. In fact, Hux was grateful Ren was at his side when everything came to an end. They may have had their differences, yet the joint command had led them to learn to respect each other and at the moment Hux could not imagine anyone he would rather have waited for death with. Like himself, Ren seemed to have no wish to face the Resistence. Since General Lea Organa died at an ambush a few months ago, there was no one among the leaders of the Resistance left who saw him as something else than a maniac killer. Hux had expected Ren to seek death in battle to evade the firing squad, but he would not quarrel with Ren should the latter prefer to die in the fireball of the Finalizer.
As if Hux's body had just been waiting for this opportunity to fail, his legs buckled at that moment and he would have fallen to the ground if Ren had not supported him. Strong arms wrapped around his waist and suddenly Ren was so close Hux could feel the rough fabric of his robe on his cheek. Although he was reluctant to show so much weakness, he allowed Ren to hold him, knowing that he had no choice. In his mind everything was spinning and he had to close his eyes for a moment to shake off the feeling of falling. The effect of the adrenaline the stims had released was about to disappear, leaving his thoughts tenacious like mush. There was the unpleasant coppery taste of blood in his mouth as Hux tried to stand up, his hands propped against Ren's chest, but the knight would not set him free. Irritated, Hux's eyes wandered upward, into Ren's dark eyes, which looked at him as if they could see directly into his head, which was probably indeed the fact. For a long moment, neither of them said anything until Ren nodded, as if answering a silent question, then turned Hux a bit awkwardly so that the general's back rested against his chest as he held him upright with his arm around his waist.
"I've got you," Hux heard the deep voice close to his ear, feeling the vibration from Ren's chest transmitted to his own as he spoke. It was a nice, familiar feeling that promised protection and security, even though Hux knew it was a lie. There would be no tomorrow and no happy ending for them. Still, Hux allowed himself to become lost in the feeling as he leaned his head back against Ren's shoulder, placing his blood-encrusted fingers on the other man's arm and looking up to the stars.
"Did I ever tell you my biggest wish?" Hux asked in a voice that sounded strange in his own ears. His tongue suddenly felt thick and his lips were dry as sandpaper.
"I know about it," Ren replied, his tone not giving away how he thought about it.
"The only thing I regret is that I never reached my goal," Hux continued, but his words became indistinct as his teeth began to rattle and it took all of his strength to complete the sentence.
"No, you did it," Ren retorted behind him, wrapping his arm a little tighter around Armitage's uncontrollably trembling body. "Grand Marshal."
Hux noticed a smile flicker across his face as he heard the words, then his body surrendered and welcomed the darkness that settled over his mind like a warm blanket. The stars blurred before his eyes, but the blackness that remained behind did not scare him. It would just be another journey into the unknown. He vaguely noted how the ground began to shake under his feet, but the meaning of that feeling no longer reached his consciousness. He was ready to leave this life behind. The last thing Grand Marshal Armitage Hux sensed was the sensation of Kylo Ren's arm holding him, then his muscles went limp and his heart beat for a last and finale time.