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[fhux]

[ Hux is seated at a desk with his chin resting on curled fingers, not quite at ease but in a stylised sort of contemplation. Black blazer (donned just for the broadcast) over an immaculate white shirt; civilian clothes because he can't exactly wear his uniform all the time, his meagre handout of credits having been put to tasteful use. It means nothing on this moon whether he wears FO insignia, anyway. Won't leave an impression. No, that's all down to him and a smooth introduction. ]

Good Evening. This is an appeal to anyone who may have access to a shuttle, the kind commonly used for interstellar purposes. Should it be possible to procure an adequate pilot, I'm willing to pay for a private aerial viewing of the Abandoned City. Your craft ought to have defensive measures and attack capabilities, of course, as a standard precaution. I'd rather not take chances.

Other than that, I'm ... flexible on price.

[ But not so much that he'll let himself be robbed by a scam artist, says the glint of a green eye. ]

Any amenability to this proposal is appreciated.

[ He dismisses the broadcast without another word but a curt nod that he intends to signal some measure of gratitude. Not that it matters unless someone actually responds. Having deliberately snubbed approaching Ren prior to this, Hux is also prepared to hear some loud, nasal complaints and Rebel scum whining from the eaves. ]

Comments

[talentedscavenger]

[ Beat of luck getting anyone here to get them to pilot the shuttle. Poe wouldn’t do it and she can’t imagine Jim would either. Surely Jim would see right through Hux and see what an ass he is.

The answer Hux gives her isn’t much of one, but it makes her wonder what else Ren has told him. She can’t imagine Ren would give away all the details of their...interactions with one another. Then again, he did throw her under the bus, so nothing should come as a surprise. He probably has.]

That doesn’t sound like him, last I recall he was wanting me to join your side even after Snoke was killed. Believe that’s more or your opinion, which is odd considering you find enjoyment in my company.

Though if you kiss my company that much, I’d be more than happy to visit you and destroy something of yours for old times sake.

[fhux]

[ He knows intimidation techniques and hers, well, it doesn't rank highly. She's too invested in it, too passionate. ]

So violent. Perhaps that's the only strength you have going for you.

[talentedscavenger]

[ Ooc: miss not “kiss,” damn you mobile phone. ]

Whereas you like to hide and have your men fight for you. Too weak to fight on your own, or do you hate getting your hands dirty?

[fhux]

[ If none of the resistance members try to kill him by the end of the week, he will be genuinely surprised. ]

My men are trained from birth, they know who I am and what they fight for. They aren't lied to.

[talentedscavenger]

[Rey narrows her eyes at Hux, as anger seeps into her words.]

Your men are kidnapped from families, brainwashed, and forced to fight a cause because they know nothing else.

Your men don't realize they're nothing more than canon fodder--at least we mourn our dead, you only look to replace them within seconds..

[fhux]

Many would be dead if they weren't taken in by the Order. There they have purpose, they have a designation, they rise through the ranks if they work hard enough. That's what the Order rewards in its soldiers, toil and commitment. I value every one of my men, rebel, or do you think they sit on the bridge of my ship lashed to their chairs with rope? [ His chin tips up with pride. ] No, they want to be part of something greater than themselves.

[talentedscavenger]

Assuming they survive whatever fight you send them to, assuming they still want to fight after killing dozens of people.

The conditions they were in before were because of the Order! Because of the devastation caused by the Empire!

[The Hosinian System, Alderan...thousands of lives lost because of the First Order and the Empire's need for power.]

You value them by giving them letters and numbers, not actual names--no identities, nothing for them to call their own. [A shake of her head.] You give them two options: either die in a fight they don't want to be in, or be executed by the First Order for disobedience.

What kind of life is that?

[fhux]

[ It grates on him to have his legacy, his father's legacy (even though he hated the man) summed up like a horrific fairytale, expression twisting into an outraged sneer that he controls with visible effort. He thinks of the Commandant's Cadets, his personal trove of warrior-like children when he was a boy. Their strength was such an asset that under his command they reshaped a little of the old Empire's Imperialist leadership for the better. Stormtroopers can't compare but their basic training is a gift from the lessons Hux learned from the Academy and Gallius Rax's child-assassins. ]

The resistance must operate on a very whimsical tone if this is the worst you can think to throw at me. Heartsick Stormtroopers? You don't know what you're talking about.

[talentedscavenger]

[Oh, Rey got under his skill with that. It's a pressure point that she could press, or work a new angle. She thinks back to Jakku, the sands littered with Imperial ships. The broken parts and material that was cheap and easily broken. The Empire had all the credits, but they didn't spend enough of it into their people, into their fighters and having them come back alive.]

No, I can think of far worse. You don't send your men in prepared. Their ships are meant to defend, only attack, with one blow your men are dead. They're canon fodder, nothing else to you.

They're not fighting for you. Their loyalty isn't to you or to your cause. If given a choice they would abandon you--or better yet, kill you. I wouldn't put it past any of them.