[open]

[therewillbeorder]

WHO: Armitage Hux & open to others
WHERE: around De Chima
WHEN: week of June 13th-20th
WHAT: it's been a year since he's arrived on Earth, time to celebrate
WARNINGS: mentions of plantery destruction, murder, and possible spoilers for TLJ.





i. de chima 008

The house was quiet when he arrived. He glanced around as he stood in the entryway, pulling his gloves off. There didn't seem to be a smell of smoke, no scorch marks on the walls that he could see. That was promising.

He wasn't surprised no one was there to greet him- he had told Ren that he wasn't coming back for another few days but since he had finished up most of what he wanted to do he figured he might as well return early.

He sent a quick message to Ren and Vanto before turning his attention to the mail stacked on the entryway table. Apparently, no one had been dealing with that while he was gone and he flipped through the envelopes, pulling out bills. The rest of the junk mail was discarded to the side along with the bills- he would figure those out later.

For now, he had to see if there was any damage, anything he would have to go about fixing.


ii. midnight- de chima

Insomnia wasn't exactly new to him. Tonight he couldn't stop dwelling on the fact that he had been on this backwater planet for over a year now. It still felt so confining, like he was going to be trapped here for the rest of his life.

He suddenly had to get out of the house, slipping out while Ren was busy with something. He pulled on his coat despite the fact that it was still warm even in the middle of the night. He just had to get outside, go anywhere. There was no escape from this planet, there was no denying that.

He didn't stop until he reached a park, letting out a breath. He hadn't been paying attention to where he had walked but he doubted that he could get lost in one small city so he wasn't too concerned about that at least.


iii. pour decisions- June 17th (closed to Eli Vanto)

This was one of the most ridiculous 'holidays' on this planet. Ren was off making an effort with his own father, whatever that meant, and Hux didn't feel like sitting at home alone that night.

So that left him at Pour Decisions since he knew Eli Vanto was working. Despite the half-empty glass in front of him, he was still clearheaded. For the moment. He wasn't in any hurry to head home since he wasn't in the mood to hear about how Ren's efforts went.

"Vanto. I believe I could do with another one of these."

iii. wildcard

[ooc: you can reach me at illuminations for a custom starter all of our o

Comments

II.

[applewatcher]

Everyone would assume that an assassin would keep odd hours, but for the most part, that wasn't the case. Work necessitating stealth really only took a few hours, a week, unless he was surveilling a target or potential recruit. Most of the time, the Dark Brotherhood rose with the sun, just like everyone else.

Not tonight, though. He'd had the pleasure of fulfilling a contract, which had done wonders for his mood. For now, he felt like enjoying the night air. And by chance, that led to finding himself walking behind one of the few others out at this hour. While he doesn't intend to sneak at the moment, he is wearing very quiet clothes and shoes.

[therewillbeorder]

Most of his life he had learned to be aware of his surroundings. It was a necessary skill as there was danger all around him as soon as he had left Arkanis as a child. There were always others waiting for the moment he let his guard down. Being on Earth hadn't changed that and he was aware of someone following him. It wasn't Dameron- he doubted that the pilot could be that quiet if his life depended on it.

He didn't give any indication that he was aware of it until they reached a more dark area before he finally stopped suddenly.

"So, are you going to tell me who you are and why you are following me?"

[applewatcher]

His most immediate response is a quiet snort of amusement. If this had been an honest try at stealth, his siblings would never let him hear the end of it.

"Because you entered the park before I did." He gestures to the path beneath them, smiling a little more than this situation necessarily calls for. "I thought I'd enjoy this beautiful night by going for a walk."

[therewillbeorder]

"That explains why you were following me," he remarked in a flat tone.

"So who are you then? I would ask if you were sent by someone but anyone who wants to kill me would most likely want to do it themselves." At least that was one good thing about the rebels- they weren't subtle.

II

[ct_7567]

Being a rookie in a city like Maurtia Falls means two things: you get all the crappy shifts, and you get all the crappy jobs. Rex is well aware that he's been given these things in an attempt to make him give up on the notion of being a police officer entirely and, as someone whose stubborn streak is almost as large as his general's, Rex has taken that as a personal challenge.

Which is why he's here, in De Chima, in the middle of the night and in the out of place uniform of the MFPD. Evidently there's some paperwork that needed to be transferred and as Maurtia Falls' resident imPort, he was sent through the Porter to fetch it. He's cutting through the park at a brisk pace when he spots a familiar face.

"Ash?"

He hasn't seen the poor fellow since that whole Woden mess. He may as well check up on him, make sure that he's remained more or less safe and secure in the months afterwards.

[therewillbeorder]

He paused at the sudden question addressed to him, looking the main over. A man who looked very similar to the Imperial stormtrooper. He knew little of the clones aside from what was in his history lessons but he never thought that there would be another one in this world.

And that one of them would mistake him for the droid that looked similar to him. For a moment he wondered if he could pull it off but he decided against it for now.

"And who might you be?" Compared to Ash's accent, Hux's has a very distinctive Coruscanti sound instead. He looked Rex over, raising his eyebrows. "Another clone...interesting..."

[ct_7567]

Rex raises his brows, surprised. Considering his own status and the fact that doubles are evidently commonplace here, he shouldn't be, but he is. Ash must be a clone, then, though he'd never mentioned it.

Strange. He'd thought that the only clones that were commonplace were clones of Jango Fett. Precious few species other than the Kaminoans have access to that level of technology. He shifts it aside for the time being, resolving to get to the bottom of that one later - for now, he's faced with someone from his own world without any idea as to when this fellow's from and what his affiliation is.

"My mistake. The name's Rex, though it seems you already know part and parcel of who I am."

Some people think that if you know one clone, you know them all, which isn't a mindset that Rex adheres to. He has to admit that it gives you a great deal of context nonetheless; once you know exactly where he's from and what his duty is, you already know most of the story. All Rex can figure out is that the man standing before him knows what a clone looks like and that he's from Coruscant - likely one of the upper levels. He doesn't look like anyone Rex would expect to see on the lower levels, just barely scraping by.

"Who are you?"

[therewillbeorder]

"I know what you are," Hux said thoughtfully. "I just didn't know they gave the clones actual names." From what he heard of the Old Republic, clones had been considered mere commodities to be used in the war. Commodities that then had been passed to the Empire and as far as he was aware, discarded.

"Armitage Hux- I'm from a time far in your future," he said after a moment of looking Rex up and down carefully. He had been to Kamino once when the Supreme Leader had been considering a clone army but he had been against the idea. He preferred to do his own programming.

iii/i

[subroutined]

When Hux gets around to checking his phone, he'll see a message from Ash:

Hello, Hux. Can I come over for a chat?

[therewillbeorder]

Of course, I am at home now so you may come over.

[Nevermind it's nearly 2am by then but it's not as if he's able to sleep.]

[subroutined]

[ It's not like Ash sleeps either, so it's all good.

He sends the download file to Hux's phone and begins the process of sending himself over. ]

[therewillbeorder]

[He put his phone on the table, waiting. Now that he was home he had changed into a black bathrobe with ice blue slippers, sitting on the couch to wait.]

outside Herodotus Antiques

[cleptes]

It had been a slow start but her business was doing well in its new De Chima location. Much as Bela liked to keep regular hours, there were times when she was working right up until midnight before heading home. Today was one of those times. Bela had just finished locking up her store when she noticed a familiar figure walking down the street; she realised that she hasn't really spoken to Hux in a while, at least not a proper conversation.

"Hux." Bela calls out to him, wanting to see if he would respond or not.

[therewillbeorder]

He should have been more aware of where he was but Bela's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. He raised his eyebrows but stopped, tucking his phone into a coat pocket.

"Bela- I did not expect to run into you here." Last he recalled, she didn't live in the city but he kept the question to himself for the moment. "What brings you out so late?"

[cleptes]

"Work," Bela replied, jutting a thumb behind her. "I guess I forgot to tell you about the move from Maurtia Falls to this city." Or perhaps he missed her brief announcement over the network a few weeks ago.

Well, no matter.

"Paperwork can take longer than usual sometimes." She added with a sigh, not wanting to get into too much detail. "How come you're out so late?"

[therewillbeorder]

"It seems a lot has happened in my absence," he remarked as he looked behind her at the shop for a moment. He hadn't really kept up with the network but he figured he should go back and see what else he missed.

"Yes, I know the feeling well. One of the joys of having a business here." He missed how easy it was to do business back home- having a star destroyer always made things easier. "It was better than the alternative of fighting a losing battle against insomnia, I suppose."

[vanto]

Eli leans across the bar half smiling. "I take it you liked this experimental drink." True, Eli had been more than a little depressed a few days ago and then it had all gone away. Blank slate.

[therewillbeorder]

"It' a little sour but not unpleasant," he said as he finished the last of it, sliding the glass across the bar. He was aware that Thrawn had vanished but he wasn't accustomed to speaking about emotions so he wouldn't ask how Eli was handling it. He trusted that Eli would be able to keep going.

"Just make the next one stronger."

[vanto]

Eli was not handling anything, it was great.

He took the glass, gave it its customary tap and watched it refill itself. According to the request he made it a little stronger, probably a bit more sour to go with it too. It was about enhancing the flavour or something he'd read about drinks and tasting and ... stuff.

Everything was just as it ought to be. "Might be a bit too sour this time but go ahead, sir. Is Kylo coming by later?" In the interest of knowing whether or not Eli would need help if Hux got drunk.

II

[herrstory]

"Something on your mind?"

Starr was also a fellow insomniac who tended to spend as long as he could outside of his shared home until he was tired and could just immediately crash there. He did not feel like dealing with people when he wished to rest and relax. But Hux was a new face in the park at this time of night.

[therewillbeorder]

"I suppose you could say that."

A month of vacation, away from work and any thoughts of having to deal with rebels- had left him restless. It didn't help that he couldn't forget that he had been here so long, so confined. A night out of the house was what he needed to hopefully clear his mind.

"I take it you find it difficult to sleep tonight."

[herrstory]

"I choose to sleep only when necessary. It spares me from having to interact with the idiots the government assigned to my housing."

To be fair, he's just presuming they're idiots. He hasn't ever gone out of his way to properly meet them.

"But you. You've been missing for some time. Have you been dealing with something problematic?"

ii

[photophobic]

He hadn't realised Hux was missing for a few minutes, and once he had... he'd convinced himself that if the General had slipped out without telling him, he didn't want to be followed. But the longer he let the idea of Hux wanting space without him sit, the less comfortable he became.

They were allies. Each other's most important ally. If there was an issue Hux couldn't bring to Kylo's attention, it was a problem.

Or, he realised, he was the problem.

Either way, he wanted to address it, now. He stood abruptly and stalked out into the night- not knowing where he might find the General, but unwilling to stop looking until he had found him.

[therewillbeorder]

Hux knew that eventually, Ren would find him. Unlike Hux, Ren didn't need trackers but he wasn't going to try to hide where he was going through he kept his phone powered off, tucked into an inner pocket of his coat.

He decided that he didn't want to go home just yet. At least outside he could see stars and felt less confined even if he still felt that way being trapped here. He sat down on a bench, deciding to wait.

It was only a matter of time and Ren didn't keep him waiting long. Hux remained where he was as Ren approached, looking up at him. He wasn't sure how to break the silence so instead he just moved over on the bench so Ren could sit by him.

[photophobic]

Kylo wasn't sure how to broach the subject either- he stood for a moment, observing Hux as he looked up at him. There was something concerning the General, he could sense that much even without actively seeking out his thoughts and feelings- and something else threaded through it. Not... gratitude, not that exactly, or relief, or anything Kylo knew how to name, but he wasn't unwelcome. He knew Hux would make space for him before he moved to do so.

He sat beside him silently, his gaze falling somewhere in the mid-distance in front of them- and almost laughed when he realised where they were. He'd sat on this bench before, with Padmé. When Padmé had come to comfort him, following his encounter with his mother's lightsaber.

Did Hux want comfort, now?

"I meant it," he said, eventually, his voice low and steady. He didn't turn his head. "When I promised you I wouldn't do it again. If something is troubling you, you will have to tell me. I won't take it from you."