“I know about Brendol Hux.”
Five words. That’s all it took to compromise everything. Kylo stared at her through his mask, and she stared back, electric silence buzzing between them. Either he’d read her mind, or Hux’s, invading their most private thoughts and memories...or perhaps he had controlled them, forced them to speak, wiped their memories after. Whatever he’d done, it didn’t matter. He knew.
“And I know that your loyalties are...divided. The Supreme Leader can’t have that, and I can’t abide by it.”
Phasma could feel those black holes he called eyes boring into her, as if he could see straight through her visor and into the cold blue of her own. Fear was a rare emotion for the Captain, but here...alone in one of the combat simulation rooms with Kylo Ren, knowing the extent of his abilities, Phasma felt the blade of it threatening to slice her throat. If he meant to kill her, he’d have done it already. No...he wanted something, and giving it to him was the only way to walk out of this room alive.
“...What would you have me do?”
“Kill Hux...kill the son of the man who destroyed your home, and gave you no choice but to kill your people...and take his command as General. It should be a simple task for someone with your talents.”
The Captain’s fingers flinched beneath her cape, resisting the urge to clench into fists.
Kylo lifted a hand, and Phasma stepped back into a defensive stance, only to feel the air all around her suddenly vibrate with tension and freeze her in place. She strained against it as Kylo’s hand moved closer to her helmet, the latches unclipping on their own, the helmet slowly rising up and away from her head. There was nothing she could do. The secret she guarded so closely, from all but Hux...and those she meant to kill...was exposed to the Knight, her expression a mixture of rage, and terror.
“I’ll expose you...make an example of you...to everyone. I will disgrace you to the entire First Order, and strip you of every shred of respect. I will show the Stormtroopers their false idol for what she truly is...and then you’ll die, you’ll burn, and everything you have ever done will have been for nothing.”
Phasma could feel the breath leaving her lungs, helpless...another emotion she hadn’t felt in years. Not since Parnassos. And then, just as suddenly, the Force holding her in place dissipated, and she gasped for breath, her helmet clanging loudly to the floor. She took another step back, cape rustling briefly with the movement as she stared, wide-eyed and furious, at the Knight.
“Kill him, Phasma...or I’ll take everything from you.”
He walked past her to the exit, leaving her panting and alone in the dark expanse of the room, his ultimatum filling the space like a ringing in her ears.
