Cardinal Cardinal , also known as CD - 0922 or Archex , was a human male stormtrooper who held the military rank of Captain in the First Order . His skills were spoken of with high regard even by Supreme Leader Snoke . At some point before the attack on Tuanul , Cardinal interrogated the Resistance spy Vi Moradi aboard the " Resurgent " - class Star Destroyer " Absolution " for information about the past of his rival , Captain Phasma . Biography . Early life . Archex was born around and spent his early life on Jakku . At some point in his childhood , his mother died , leaving him to survive on his own with other orphans of the desolate planet . Near the end of the Battle of Jakku , Archex and several other orphans were invited by Imperial General Brendol Hux to come with the Imperials into the Unknown Regions . Archex agreed , wanting to leave behind the cruelty of Jakku . He was inducted into the stormtrooper cadet program and given the codename CD - 0922 . CD - 0922 was one of the first of the new stormtroopers of what would later become the First Order , having been taught by Hux that the New Republic was disorderly and corrupt , and that only the First Order could bring peace and order to the galaxy . Captain of the First Order . A loyal adherent of the tenants of the First Order , CD - 0922 eventually became a captain and was put in charge of stormtrooper physical training . Stationed on the " Finalizer " , he served with distinction as both the lead stormtrooper trainer as well as Hux ' s personal guard . CD - 0922 was presented by Hux with a personalized set of red stormtrooper armor and given the name Cardinal . Rivalry with Phasma . Roughly a year after Cardinal was presented with his personalized armor , Hux conducted a scouting mission to the planet Parnassos . While surveying the planet , Hux ' s ship was shot down by an automated weapons system and crashed on the planet . With the help of members of the local Scyre tribe , including Phasma , Hux was able to find his ship and make contact with the First Order . Hux returned to the " Finalizer " with Phasma in tow , along with a young girl from Parnassos named Frey . Phasma wore a set of dirty , ill - fitting stormtrooper armor . Cardinal was instructed to familiarize Phasma with the " Finalizer " , First Order technology , and her duties as a stormtrooper . His role as head trainer was to be split with Phasma , who would focus on training the teenage and adult stormtroopers , and he would be transferred to the " Absolution " . Hux would also get a new personal guard , allowing Cardinal to focus on the expanding stormtrooper training program . These changes upset Cardinal , who was suspicious of Phasma and jealous of her close relationship to Hux , his father figure . This jealously increased a year later , when Phasma received her own personalized armor . Soon after , Hux died of a mysterious illness , and his son , Armitage , took his place as head of the First Order infantry . Interrogating Vi Moradi . Sometime before the attack on the village of Tuanul , a starhopper pilot ed by Resistance spy Vi Moradi was captured by the " Absolution " . Moradi had been assigned by General Leia Organa with researching Phasma . Cardinal suspected that Moradi had information about Phasma after her ship ' s logs were checked , and it was discovered she had recently traveled to Parnassos . He took Moradi to an interrogation room hidden deep within the battlecruiser to ask her what she knew about Phasma . Cardinal was not trained in interrogation ; however , a meeting was planned on the " Absolution " for the next day between Cardinal , Phasma , Armitage , and Kylo Ren , and he was desperate for information he could take to Hux to prove Phasma was dangerous . Cardinal torture d Moradi in an electrified apparatus in an attempt to get information . Moradi shared with Cardinal the stories she had heard from a woman from Parnassos named Siv , the healer and religious leader of the Scyre . Moradi told Cardinal about how Brendol had crashed on Parnassos and was captured by the Claw , a rival tribe to Phasma ' s Scyre . Phasma and a few of her loyal soldier s , including Siv , freed Hux and his stormtroopers from the Claw and promised to help him find his crashed ship . Moradi revealed now Phasma betrayed her clan in order to save herself by partnering with Brendol in a deal that would have her come with him off - planet and join the First Order . The story of Phasma ' s rise to power and betrayal were not enough for Cardinal to report to Armitage Hux . Moradi then revealed that the Resistance had learned through slicing the First Order ' s computer systems that Brendol ' s death was caused by a venomous beetle found on Parnassos . She asserted that Phasma brought the beetle aboard and killed the elder Hux . The only other person who would recognize the symptoms of the beetle , Frey , died in a weapons accident six months prior . Shocked and appalled by this revelation , Cardinal went to the younger Hux ' s quarters on the " Absolution " to reveal Phasma ' s betrayal . Confronting Armitage Hux and Phasma . Cardinal reported to Hux that Phasma had killed his father . Hux asked if Cardinal had any physical evidence proving this to be true . When Cardinal admitted he did not , the younger Hux revealed that he knew Phasma had killed his father , and had , in fact , arranged for the murder . Hux then asked Cardinal if he was still loyal , both to himself and the First Order . Cardinal responded in the affirmative and was dismissed . Cardinal then returned to his quarters and got drunk , upset by what the First Order had become . Early the next morning , he told Moradi that Hux was involved in his father ' s death , and asked for anything else he could use to stop Phasma . Moradi then revealed that , a few years before Brendol ' s trip to Parnassos , Phasma betrayed her own family to the Scyre in order to survive , killing her parents and permanently crippling her brother , Keldo . She presented Cardinal with the dagger Phasma had used in the deed , along with a specimen of the beetle used to kill Brendol . By this point , Cardinal had grown to respect Moradi , and as he left to confront Phasma , he left the door to the interrogation room unlocked , giving her the means for her escape . Cardinal took the evidence with him to a meeting with Ren , Hux , and Phasma , only to be turned away by Hux . Cardinal returned to his duties , going through the motions for the rest of the day , and spent the evening getting drunk . At breakfast the next morning , Cardinal took an extra packet of rations specifically for his hangover . He cleaned himself up , shaved his head , and polished his armor , in preparation for a final confrontation with Phasma . Cardinal found Phasma in his training room , and they argued over his training methods . Cardinal attacked Phasma . As they fought , Cardinal attempted to stab Phasma with her knife , but was unable to penetrate her armor . She took the knife in return and stabbed him twice in the chest , then left him to die on the training room floor . Moradi , during her escape attempt , found Cardinal . She then transport ed him via hovergurney to a hangar in the " Absolution " . She then stole a ship , planning to return to Parnassos because she had promised to go back for Siv and her child , Torbi . Personality and traits . Cardinal was a male human who was born and raised on the desert planet of Jakku . Cardinal learned to survive as an orphan , living off of sand rat s , bird s , and cricket s , before being offered to be taken off - world by Brendol Hux during the last moments of the Battle of Jakku . Cardinal was grateful to the Imperial remnant , and loyal to Hux in particular . In the First Order , Cardinal found his inner strength to survive and thrive , and felt as if he finally had a purpose . As a physical trainer for the First Order stormtroopers , Cardinal wanted to share that feeling with other orphans found throughout the Unknown Regions of the galaxy where the First Order operated . Cardinal believed that the New Republic sowed chaos through its disorder and corruption , and that chaos led to suffering . In Cardinal ' s opinion , the First Order would bring order to the galaxy , lifting all beings up to live in peace and prosperity . It was Cardinal ' s undying loyalty to Brendol and the First Order that eventually lead to Cardinal ' s jealously of Phasma . Cardinal was a devoted disciple of the First Order and strong teacher . Having been a soldier since he was a young child , Cardinal understood how to train the young cadets . While Hux and his officer s handling the psychological programming of the cadets , Cardinal focused on physical instruction , including hand - to - hand and melee combat , marksmanship , and battle simulations . However , Cardinal did not care for confrontation , and hoped the First Order spread its will over the galaxy through diplomacy more than war . Equipment . Cardinal wore a set of red stormtrooper armor , designed personally by Brendol . The armor was colored red because Hux believed it was the color of power . The armor was presented to Cardinal during a ceremony in front of thousands of other stormtroopers , and Cardinal , formerly CD - 0922 , was officially named Cardinal in reference to the bird of the same name . As a captain of the First Order , Cardinal also wore a traditional captain ' s cape .