A/N: Casualty numbers derived from star destroyer complement numbers on Wookieepedia, with some modifications for degree of damage. Number of star destroyers escorting the Supremacy per canon, although I could only count about half that on screen at any one time.

Day 1 after the Battle of Crait

Kylo Ren woke in a sweat, though he didn't know what he was afraid of. He had a vague feeling of dread, like the other shoe would drop … soon. Perhaps in hours. Perhaps in days. He sat up, panting, and moved to the edge of the bed. He threw the smothering blanket from him and tried to make sense of the events from the day before.

Snoke was dead. He'd killed him. Luke was dead. He'd killed him, too, or at least provoked Luke to do something that caused Luke's death. Kylo had no doubt about that. Maintaining that complete a projection in the Force, for that long, had to have been what caused the fading of Luke's life force a few minutes later. Rey had refused him. He didn't know what to do about that. He didn't know what it meant. He just knew he needed her, wanted her in his life and yet, she had rejected him, utterly. He buried his face in his hands.

Maybe that was what the dread was about. She was still out there. She was a danger, but he couldn't bring himself to think about what he ought to do about it. Finally, he decided to simply accept it – wait, be patient, pretend she just needed time and space to reconsider. He had everything, after all – the First Order, training in the Force, power, and the companionship he knew she craved. The Force would bring them back together. All he had to do was not screw it up this time, not make his grandfather's mistakes. Because yes, he knew what those were. He hadn't found the man's helmet without a long and thorough search for everything Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker.

Ren didn't want to consider what he'd done wrong, mostly because he didn't know. Instead, he rose, dressed, and walked down eerily quiet corridors. He checked the time. The place shouldn't exactly have been bustling, but there weren't even droids out and about. It was bad enough that he reached out his senses. His concern was allayed – there were still people on board. The ship was functioning. There just weren't very many in this area.

He made his way to the bridge. There, he found life – a dozen conversations going on at once with more confusion than Ren had ever seen in Hux's presence. And Hux was there. Perfectly coifed, flawless uniform, and poised even though his lower lip was swollen, his brow and chin were bruised, and his throat looked like someone had tried to strangle him multiple times. It was true enough. The man glanced up at him, then went back to reading his datapad.

Kylo looked out the viewports. The star field featured the aft of two star destroyers. One was the Finalizer, which he was well familiar with and recognized even though it was at a distance. It appeared undamaged, as far as he could tell. The other ship he suspected was the Retribution. He wasn't sure because its surface was pitted with damage – what of it was left. The hulk was closer, not level compared to the Supremacy, and was missing a third of its structure like someone had run a lightsaber down it. A steady stream of small vessels and what were probably repair units were moving around the missing volume.

It was then that Kylo remembered seeing the damage left by the impact of the Raddus. He'd been looking out the port as their shuttle descended towards Crait. Even given the things Kylo Ren had seen in his travels, it was astonishing. It felt like a ripple in the Force – a small one, but he was right there in the middle of it.

He didn't even remember it happening, but somehow he knew that colossal impact had coincided with his unconsciousness, with losing his grip on Anakin's lightsaber, with Rey slapping him down using the hammer blow of her allies. It was a dramatic example of the violence of the light side of the Force in use, just as much as the destruction of either of the Death Stars, or Starkiller Base. Or, he supposed, the Hosnian system or Alderaan, although those had been the acts of the dark side. Both could kill on a vast scale.

He turned back to Hux, who had finished with his datapad and was talking to an officer. Kylo strode towards him slowly. Hux glanced at him again and wrapped up the conversation with, "Use your best judgment. I trust in your training." The general turned to Kylo. "Supreme Leader." There was a slight tone of reservation, but he said it more loudly than necessary.

Kylo looked at the man's face, studying it. Hux was, theoretically, his second in command now. He led the military, first among a few other generals, admirals, and planetary governors, with a collection of captains and commanders arranged under them, and so on down the chain of command to the lowliest of troopers. Kylo Ren was not and never had been part of that organization. He did not share training, classes, missions, or background with them. Snoke's Force-users were entirely separate, more removed from the standard military than even the technician class, which included scientists and engineers. He'd worked with Hux at times, but never needed to understand him. There was a lot of friction between them.

So he read the man's mind, leaving his hand at his side and merely leaning forward slightly as he did it. It was not an extensive probe, but Hux felt it anyway. The general's left eye twitched. There was anger in him that Kylo would do this to him here on the bridge, no better than Snoke, right after he'd publicly addressed him properly with the title Kylo had seized in a highly questionable manner. He was no more than a violent usurper – one whom Hux was trying to legitimize for the good of the Order. Any appearance of dissent between them would be disastrous. Hux reached up and rubbed at his eye. "Would you like a situation review, Supreme Leader?"

Kylo drew in a deep breath and looked around the bridge. Half the people there quickly diverted their eyes back to their work. "Yes, General. In private."

"Of course." Hux nodded to one of the other officers. "Commander Adar, you're in charge." The general clasped his hands behind himself and led Kylo to one of the nearby rooms set aside for conference and strategic review. He went to parade rest, putting his gaze on the far wall. "You wanted to speak with me?"

Kylo prowled around him at arm's length, resisting the impulse to fully circle the man like a predator. But his eyes barely left him. Hux was dangerous. That sense of dread was still in his mind, but it seemed no more intense now than it had been when he woke. Satisfied the general wasn't the source, Kylo took a seat. "You offered a situation review?"

"Yes." Hux glanced at him, then went back to scrutinizing the wall and keeping his mind carefully blank. "Of the thirty star destroyers we had with us, seven have been irreparably destroyed – no survivors. Two others are damaged too severely to recover in any useful capacity, but there were a few survivors of those. Rescue operations are continuing. There may be some residual salvage value.

"Two others have severe damage. They are not operational, but if they could be relocated to dock, there is enough intact to make restoration economical. More than half their crew survived. I am having them relocated to the Supremacy docks, and for now, survivors on-boarded. There are two other star destroyers with minimal damage from the shockwave and debris. They will be fully operational within a week and can perform adequately for now. The remaining seventeen ships were entirely unaffected.

"We are still assessing the condition of the Supremacy, but as you know, it is in pieces. Life support obviously functions, although reliably only for about a third of the vessel. For the rest, it is so far intermittent. I am confidently informed that it is safe to remain aboard, although if it were not, most would die anyway as we would be hard pressed to evacuate the entire ship quickly enough in the case of a catastrophic loss. I have a team evaluating our transport options, should that situation arise."

"Ah."

"We have an estimated casualty count approaching two million people. Fatalities. I haven't bothered counting the wounded. Besides, they haven't stopped dying yet. The medbays are well beyond capacity – all of them, on all ships."

"Ah," Kylo said again. He looked at Hux's bruises and understood – such minor injuries could be treated with no more than a poultice slapped over it for an hour. But to take up the slightest medical resource, even simply the attention and direction of a droid to point out the stocking location of the bandages, meant someone in more need would go without that bit of attention. He wondered how Hux had put together this much information in the little time he'd had available. He seemed on top of things. Kylo had slept well less than the standard eight hours. "Have you slept at all?"

"Yes. Three hours. I am taking stimulants. I am functional, Supreme Leader."

"Not very," Kylo said bluntly. "What if we're attacked?"

He sounded tired. "If we are attacked, then I will be awake. Lives depend on my performance."

It was difficult to refute that, so Kylo didn't try. "Are there any current threats to us?" Kylo tried to wrap his mind around the enormity of the situation. The cost to wipe out the last of the Resistance had been staggering, on top of the loss of Starkiller Base. He hadn't paid any attention to it when it wasn't his problem. Now it was.

"Not from without, no. But I have made an announcement to the High Command of Supreme Leader Snoke's death and that you have assumed his position. It is my belief they will not be in agreement for you keeping it. I have told them I would give more information within the next cycle."

"We'll see about that," Ren said darkly of the High Command's threat to remove him.

Hux was still staring blankly at the far wall. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

"You've never needed that before."

"You've never been my superior officer before. Sir."

Kylo gazed at him steadily. Things had changed and not just for himself. "Granted."

Hux's eyes came to him and stayed there. "I want what is best for the First Order. I am aware of our … options for a supreme leader. I believe you are the best suited for the role, difficult as that may be to grasp. However … unlike a replacement drawn from the High Command, I do not believe you have had any effective training for it. With all respect, I ask you, are you amenable to … guidance?"

He started reading Hux's mind again. Hux blinked, dropped his eyes for a moment, then brought them back up. Kylo frowned and said, "It's not helpful that you're sensitive to this and know how to frame your surface thoughts."

"Do a deeper probe. You know I can't defend against it. Take whatever you need."

"Perhaps so, but you're not even resisting. Why?"

It's pointless and I'm exhausted, Hux's mind supplied. "Because I am being entirely honest with you and it is critical that you know that. I have nothing to hide. Snoke promoted me to my position not only due to diligence and competence, which is true despite having been tasked with the impossible more times than I can count, but because I am loyal to the Order all … the way … through. I am very familiar with my many weaknesses and deficiencies, thanks to him," Hux hated Snoke and was terrified of him, "but I am also aware of my strengths and what makes me useful. The same will be of use to you." 'And I'm willing to put up with you, unlike most,' also went through Hux's mind.

"Loyal to the Order, but not to Snoke?"

"He was the supreme leader. I served him with complete faithfulness. Just as I will serve you, should you allow it." And upon your death, I'll find someone else or do the job myself if necessary. He's reading my thoughts. Well, it's not like I want the job at the moment and he knows that. Hux thought that last with decided intensity. Ren assumed he was trying to conceal his raw ambition for the throne. That didn't bother Kylo much. He didn't really want the title, but he had it and the Order needed him.

"Why do you think I'm the best choice if I haven't had the right training?"

Because you're malleable. "My position is secure if you are the supreme leader. There is no one who would trade places with me and be first in line for the mistreatment you and Snoke so publicly mete out. The other candidates have their own staff, favorites, and agenda for the Order. They have no need of me if you are gone and less appreciation than I would prefer for the Order." They have no ideals. "They have no skill with the Force, which while I have mixed personal feelings about it," this was a lie – Hux uniformly hated the Force, "I am fully convinced of its efficacy."

"Because I'm malleable," Kylo repeated. It was unsurprising, really, since Snoke had treated them both that way and spoken openly about it. He could imagine what gloating comments Snoke had made separately to Hux the way he'd done about Hux to Kylo. It was strangely refreshing to know for a fact that someone simply wanted to manipulate him. There was no deceit or sugar-coating to it, no twisted-up emotions hoping for someone else's approval.

"Yes sir," Hux agreed, without a trace of embarrassment at being called out on the stray thought. "I have directions I would like to see the First Order go. I think with you as the supreme leader, my interests will receive a fairer hearing than with others."

Not only was Hux honest, but he was also shameless. Kylo checked to see how far that went. "You hate me."

"True."

All the way, as it turned out. Loyal, faithful, useful – but none of those meant he liked Ren. Kylo snorted. "And you think I will listen to you fairly?"

"Yes." Hux tilted his head slightly and raised his brows. "As you are … even now … listening to me fairly."

Kylo's brows lowered and he pulled his head back, but it was true.

Hux went on, "You have allowed me to explain myself. You are able to do something that no other can with certainty – you can verify that I am telling the truth and wish to serve the Order's best interests. If that is not valuable to you, if your interests are opposed to those of the Order itself, then … we can go our separate ways." Or he'll probably kill me, but he might as well at that point because I won't give up trying to get rid of him.

"No," Kylo said softly, thinking about it, "that's useful to me. Snoke called you a rabid cur. I'm not seeing it."

Hux smiled, which turned into a smirk. "Then you're not looking deeply enough." He gave a small bow. "I am at your service, Supreme Leader. Do you want my suggestions as to a direction for your first day?"

"Yes." He'd been, honestly, feeling a bit lost as to how to tackle everything at once. Or, even, anything. Two million dead? And for what on the Resistance side? A few hundred?

Hux nodded and thought for a moment, his mind sorting through the options. "Familiarize yourself with Snoke's personal staff and the resources reserved for the use of the supreme leader. Give some thought to how you wish to present yourself. Image is important. I would suggest a portrayal that is less rash and temperamental than how you have been in the past. Make no public proclamations or formal communications with anyone in the chain of command. I do not want to be distracted today doing public relations clean-up after you. We can meet at the end of the next shift to frame what I should relay on to the High Command."

Kylo huffed. "Take over Snoke's toys and stay out of your way, is that it?"

"For today, yes," Hux said patiently. "You don't know how to do your job yet. We're in the middle of a crisis situation that you can easily make far worse. There is no succession plan or training program for the supreme leader that you can pull up on a datapad and enroll in. I don't know everything Snoke had. His staff will. You need to get command of them in any case. They're your employees, not mine, and leading starts with knowing your people."

Kylo considered and finally nodded. "I'll do what you have suggested. I may also take a tour of the damage."

"Very good, sir." There was a long pause as Kylo thought things over. "Am I dismissed?" Hux asked.

Kylo blinked at how very different this all was – being asked permission for so many things. Hux had barely deigned to talk to him before. He nodded. "Dismissed." The feeling of dread remained.