#gingerpilotweek

A young Poe looks for pretty shells at the coral reef near the shore but in his immersion he sees something (or rather someone) incredibile.

“Isn’t that the same for you?” Hux glanced back at him, “A war does not only have one side. Surely you were also raised to fight?”

“Actually no.” Poe admitted, “My parents were against me joining the Resistance. They wanted me to be away from any fighting.”

The ginger said nothing in response, merely considering the other’s words as he got back to work on the task at hand.

“You don’t have to keep fighting, you could always walk away.”

“We haven’t even been in here an hour yet, Dameron, let a little more time pass before you try and recruit me.”

-

“What’s the verdict?” Poe asked, looking up as the lights went out and Hux moved to sit down next to him, “Bad news, right?”

“Three hours of air, if we’re lucky.” the General sighed, “I’ve turned all the propulsion systems off, leaving only basic life support. An emergency message is being broadcast on a loop on Resistance wavelengths.”

“Why not Order frequencies? Surely they’re closer?”

“They will shoot us down, as is protocol. The Order doesn’t rescue kidnapped Generals, they presume desertion and eliminate the traitor.”

“That seems... harsh.”

“It’s necessary. Anyway, don’t the Resistance travel in packs? Where’s your back-up?”

“This isn’t an official mission. They told me not to do it, I went ahead anyway and now we’re here.”

“Your incompetence knows no bounds.” the ginger murmured, but his tone was teasing, “If you were under my command, I’d have sent you to reconditioning long ago.”

“Since you’re a traitor in the Order’s eyes, it won’t matter if you tell me what reconditioning actually is, right? Finn’s mentioned it, but you’ve probably got more understanding of how it works.”

“It’s a form of coercion designed to prevent thoughts of freedom and rebellion. Subjects are... challenged... with stimuli and encouraged to take a different line of thought.”

“Who designed it?”

“My father.”

“So you’ve-?”

“Yes, I was his test subject for a time. Before it became apparant that the process can be damaging if used repeatedly over a small amount of time.”

“If it was used repeatedly on you, does that mean...?”

“He needed to repeat the process to confirm his results, but yes, there was a point where my thoughts were not particularly positive towards the Order. After his treatment...” he looked down at his hands, “It hardly matters, Dameron. I’m not a victim or someone who can be saved.”

“Everyone can be saved. You may not be able to change your actions or fix the past, but you don’t have to be the same person in the future.”

-

“You seem more okay with this than I would have expected. Being labelled as a traitor and facing certain death, I mean.”

“If we keep talking we’ll use up the air far quicker.”

“I’m not sitting in silence, Hux.”

“While the traitor tag is admittedly somewhat offensive, perhaps my disappearance will give my officers something to consider about their own service to Supreme Leader Ren. Many are loyal to me, losing me may cause them to question the Order which will only help to destabalise Ren’s already shambolic rule.”

“So, in theory, if we were to survive this and you joined the Resistance as a prominent Order defector, would there be a revolt of some kind?”

“Ren’s powers are feared, that would keep many from trying to walk away, but I’d hope that there would be some who would if that were the situation.”

A beep startled them slightly and Poe moved to check the barely functioning radar, “That’s one of ours!” he said with relief, turning to face the ginger, “It looks like we may get to try out that theory afterall!”

“I don’t have to wear the same clothing, do I? I’m far too pale for neutrals.” Hux sighed, getting to his feet and unrolling his sleeves. He carefully pulled on his gaberwool coat and tidied his appearance by touch alone, “And I’d like to keep my coat, even if the General stripes will need to be removed.”

“You want to keep your coat?”

“Only Generals and above are allowed to wear a coat like this, it took a lot of hard work to earn it. I am... was... the youngest General in either the Empire or the Order. It may just be a coat-”

“But it means something to you. I get it. You can keep the coat and we’ll see about the stripes, we could do with an experienced military man.”

“Isn’t General Organa the one to decide on the fate of prisoners?”

“Yeah, but I can speak to her on your behalf.”

“And what’s in it for you?”

The pod shook slightly as it was brought aboard a small Resistance cruiser.