The Path of the Grey

Chapter 1

A/N: Thank you to my Beta Readers HMWeasley, CaptainNinapants, Deejaymil, and Cyres.

It was pointed out that not everyone knows what the dates in Star Wars mean. BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin) ABY (After the Battle of Yavin/A New Hope Ep IV). Enjoy!

I use elements from canon and EU because it's a lot more fun that way.
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35 ABY

Moving through the city-covered planet of Coruscant was unusually easy, even for two high profile individuals. On the levels above, the large buildings of the elite were at a stand still. Speeders and ships that usually zipped briskly through the never-ending skyline were scarce. The people who were always in a hurry and moving were locked in their homes, waiting. Ever since the destruction of the Hosnian system the liveliness of the ever bustling planet had been replaced by frozen fear. The sudden appearance of a member of the First Order should have incited a chaotic war, but no one seemed to be around to notice.

On the lower levels life continued on in its quiet shadow because it had to. The people needed to eat. So, shopkeepers continued to trade, thieves stole, and assassins killed. Below the surface, no one cared what you did or who you were, as long as they got paid. Above the people hid. Below they survived.

A large, hooded figure wearing a black and chrome mask walked quickly through the alleyways that smelled of sour sewage. His companion was a red-haired man in a cloak who made no attempt to cover his face. After a few turns down narrow passages they arrived at their destination, a common door front.

The red-haired man mumbled a code word to the datapad on the wall and the door slid open. When the figures entered, all that could be seen was an attractive woman standing behind a counter. The dimly lit room was without decoration, cold, and barren. The only thing visible was a sealed door behind the woman.

"How may I help you?" she asked in a light-hearted tone.

"I want to see Nox," the red-haired gentleman said, as more of a command than a request.

"Do you have an appointment?" she asked calmly, in her draping gown of almost see-through ice blue fabric. "No one sees Nox without an appointment."

At this comment, the civil exchange between them shifted. The red-headed man reached over the desk, grabbing the woman by the arm pulling her forward. " I don't care about formalities, woman. I'm General Hux of The First Order. Open the damn door!"

"I'm sorry General," she said, her eyes nervously settling on the silent hooded figure that had entered with him. "If you wish to have dealings with The Grey Syndicate, you have to work by our rules."

"I'm not playing games!" Quickly the General pulled out his blaster and pointed it at her temple. "I will give you to the count of three."

"Once again," she began with a frustrated smile. "you need to understand how we work."

General Hux pressed the blaster against her skin. "One!"

Keeping her eyes trained on the hooded figure, wary of any subtle movement, she replied, "When you walked in those doors the power pack in your blaster was discharged. As I said, you must follow our rules if you wish to conduct business."

In a moment of rage, he pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. She glanced at Hux with a triumphant smirk, to which he responded by throwing his blaster to the ground. Foul expletives escaped his lips as he looked ready to grab her again, but she showed no interest in The General anymore. Her face began to turn away as a whisper warned her to pay more attention to the other man in the room. Her gaze settled on the masked man who had slightly moved to show the silver colored saber he was bearing. A weapon she knew he could wield very well and a weapon that was unaffected by her security measures.