Chapter One
Despite his young age, Armitage Hux felt like he was getting far too old to be doing this type of grunt work. With tired eyes, he watched as the ship slowly eased into its landing, the landing gear resting on the raised platform seconds later. With several whooshes and hisses, the ramp shot out and Armitage found himself walking down it and onto the landing platform. He breathed in the smog filled air and briefly he wondered if there was anymore fresh air left on this horrible planet. He loathed Coruscant with a passion he typically only reserved for thoughts of his father. However, working for the First Order meant sometimes he had to wander into the galaxy's foulest regions and despite his argument that Coruscant desperately needed to be decimated once and for all, he still found himself visiting the filthy ecumenopolis.
He was almost convinced that it was on purpose—Ren knew he hated Coruscant and sent him anyway. It was petty really, if there was one thing Armitage knew about the force user, it was that he couldn't resist a good old fashioned pissing contest. Grumbling under his breath, Armitage ignored his transport driver and instead took the furthest seat away to avoid any unwanted conversation. It wasn't until the doors were folded back in that the transport agent turned around, "Where to...sir?"
Armitage carried himself in a way that only someone with a military background would, and the filthy man must've recognized that, causing Armitage to puff up his chest ever so slightly. Since The First Order was still operating underground, there was no reason anyone should know who he was just yet, as Snoke wanted them to remain undetected for now—until Ren was ready. "The 1100s," the agent hesitated and Armitage inwardly rolled his eyes, "Now."
The agent seemed to snap into action, lifting the small transport ship up into the air before zooming off into Coruscant's horrible air traffic. The trip took longer than Armitage would have liked, but eventually they made it down to the 1100s. The general didn't bother thanking the agent and only passed over a credit stick with the proper amount before stepping foot onto the filthy pathway of level 1101. Part of the underbelly of Coruscant, 1101 was somewhere in between immoral and wealthy. With the prostitution rings in the 800s and the gangsters and assassins in the 1500s, level 1101 consisted of canteens, housing units, and arms dealers. He passed by several street rats as he moved down the streets, making sure to keep a watchful eye on them as he passed. Except for the blaster nearly glued to his ribcage inside his heavy coat, Armitage didn't have anything on him that he couldn't afford to be robbed of. The air was even more foul down in the 1100s and Armitage opened his mouth to breath, not wanting to smell the horrible stench of human filth any longer than he needed to. The canteen he was looking for was located on the opposite end of the level and mentally he cursed the agent for putting him down so far away from it. As he turned a corner he expertly crossed the street to avoid running into a prostitute.
The girl didn't look much older than eighteen and he hoped she was at least of age. While he didn't have much care for good vs. bad in terms of morality, he wasn't heartless and underage trafficking was low, even for the crime world. He made a mental note to bring it up after his meeting, he knew she'd deal with it if it was something worth looking into.
The canteen was nameless and sign-less, as it were only meant for those that knew it was there. Once he'd located it, he pushed the door open with the toe of his heavy boot and wandered into the pub. The lighting was dark, the mood was edgy, and he ignored the curious stares as he made his way across the establishment, passed the bar and over to a doorway. A large man, at least three times Armitage's size stood in front of a door, his arms crossed threateningly across his chest.
"Can I help you?" Despite his question, the gruff man didn't appear interested in helping.
"Earlobe."
The large man eyed him from head to toe and back up before stepping aside and opening the door with a quick push—his dark eyes following him until he disappeared behind the door. The spiral staircase led him to a medium sized room on the second level, which held a plush couch, tattered arm chairs, and shelves upon shelves of knickknacks, holo pads, and random pieces of equipment that he didn't care to understand. A desk sat against one wall, in front of a giant half circle window with a view of the disgusting street below. Behind the desk sat a beautiful brunette who contrasted greatly with the crude and polluted atmosphere of level 1101. Alexandria Townes had her hair tied back into a high ponytail, and she only glanced up at him briefly before turning her attention back to her datapad. She was in the middle of something and Armitage knew she'd get to him when she was finished, so he took the time to observe the newly added items to her shelf. He could see a few lava rocks from Mustafar and even a few trinkets from some of the planets in the Lothal Sector. Curious as to how she'd gotten a hold of one of the old telescopes of Jedha, he'd just reached up to touch it when he heard her chair slide across the wooden floor.
"It's old," She warned him and he glanced over his shoulder to see Alexandria standing in front of her desk, leaning against it, "I wouldn't touch it if I were you."
Armitage lowered his hand and turned to face her, taking her in for the first time in at least two years. Despite her hair being tied back, he could tell it was longer. Her piercing blue eyes observing him—reading him in a way that only she could. With her hands resting beside her on the desk, and her legs crossed at the ankles, Armitage couldn't help but wonder if her curves had always been so voluptuous, or if it was simply the tight fitting sleeveless top she was wearing. He mentally scolded himself for wandering down that road with her, and made a small note to call up one of his romantic contacts for some relief before he headed back to base. The woman in front of him was one of his oldest allies and despite her alluring appearance, he knew they'd never get on and he shouldn't be thinking of her that way. Besides, Alexandria would drive him absolutely mad if they were to become anything other than friends.
"It's been awhile, Armitage." She tapped her fingers against the desk, "what can I do for you?"
"I've run across a document," Armitage explained as he took a few steps closer to her, "and I need some help identifying if it's forged or not."
Alexandria cocked her head to the side and Armitage swallowed thickly as he did his best not to focus on the low cut of her shirt—maybe he'd have to venture down to the 800s before he left Coruscant. He shouldn't be having these thoughts about her and he desperately wished her off-putting attitude would rear its head soon to cool his blood. "Did you bring it with you?"
"No," He scoffed, "down here? Of course not. I couldn't risk it being lifted."
She rolled her eyes, "you act like we're the 300s, Armitage. 1101 really isn't as bad as it looks."
"I highly doubt that," He clipped back and she lifted her eyes to the ceiling, "if it's even a fraction of how bad it looks and smells, then it's far worse than I imagined."
"You've still got that aristocratic attitude, I see." She walked passed him and over to one of the walls, pulling a sphere shaped object out, she pressed a button before a giant holo screen filled the area around her. She lifted a finger and pressed various places expertly, diving deeper into the data world. "Who are you working for?"
"The First Order."
Her hand stilled and she glanced over at him curiously, "What are you doing with them?"
"Righting the galaxy of all its wrongs."
She snorted and turned her attention back to the screen, "good luck with that." Like most young people their age, Alexandria was also a product of the war. Born during a fearful and violent time in the galaxy, she, like so many her age, had seen and suffered during the aftermath of the war. "Point me in the right direction—First Order stuff is still a little new to me and I haven't had to infiltrate them yet."
"Comforting," Armitage took a step forward to stand beside her, directing her to the correct location of the documents once she was successfully inside their programming systems.
As she scanned the coding, she arched a curious eyebrow, steering away to look a little deeper into their files. "DJ's been here." She mused softly, recognizing the work of one of her preferred slicers.
Armitage turned his head sharply to look at her, "What?"
"DJ," She pointed to the program coding, as if he would be able to understand what she was saying, "DJ's sliced into your credit programs."
"That's not possible."
"Well, he did." Alexandria shrugged, "besides, you should know that anything is possible with the right amount of skill and determination."
"Tell me you're not with him again," Armitage lifted a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, "please tell me you're not with him."
"Define with..."
"Townes…"
"I'm not with him," She waved him off with a roll of her eyes, "It's only casual, haven't even seen him in a few months."
"He's literally twice your age." Armitage turned to face her completely, forgetting the task at hand, "Not to mention totally hopeless and du—"
She turned to face him, arching her carefully sculpted eyebrow, "First, he's not twice my age. He's forty-five, that makes him only seventeen years older than I am and second...he's also incredibly attractive."
"He's old enough to be your father!"
She scoffed and flipped back to the previous screen she was searching for, running her own finder code as she did, "It doesn't matter. We're not together."
"I would hope not." Alexandria only rolled her eyes at his mumbled response, "have you found it?"
"Working on it," Her tone was filled with warning and Armitage fell silent, knowing she was only a few words away from throwing him out and sending him back empty handed, "what's it's registry number?"
"3498Q."
She navigated to the proper file and opened it up, revealing a document dated back to the republic era. Curious, she tapped through it, scanning the archaic language as she did, "where did you get this?"
"We found it in the Empire's old archives."
Her eyes flickered over to him yet again, "What are you doing rooting around the Empire's old archives?"
"That's none of your concern." She didn't care for his answer but instead of pushing it further, she looked back at the document, "so do you know who forged it? I didn't think it looked like your work but…"
"It's not a forged document, Armitage." Alexandria turned to face him, a surprised and slightly startled look on her face, "It's the real thing."