Expansionism and Imperialism: I (Complete)

[Telan Desaria]

Every faction of the Empire had prospered since the Great Fragmentation. Admiral Lebron was mass producing fighters on Kamaar and selling some on the open market; as they were top of the line Imperial models, the credits pied up fast. Grand Admiral Millard possessed--arguably--the best arms manufacturing plans in the galaxy, and the sale of those products was keeping his fleet in top repair. Admirals Larren and Sokolov were also making their money, through moderate taxes and a very low overhead.

No one knew just what was happening inside Grand Moff Sevon's domian.

Nor Grand Moff Schreiger's. Both were fairly secluded as of late, no one on the galactic stage hearing of their happenings...or doings.

The two systems under Grand Admiral Desaria's control were undoubtedly the richest: perhaps not in raw materiale, but were easily making three times as much as the most lucrative competitor. With the monopoly on bacta and a majority of the tibanna gas, which was being bought up by Balmorra for its weapons and Carida for it training, every programme for expansion and improvement had more than enough funds for completion.

It was, however, not enough to complete the long term plans of Grand Admiral Desaria, who had larger visions for his Sovereignty. Thus an alternate source of capital was needed.

Taxation.

Not of Imperial citizens....no. Of galactic trade.

The planet Yag'dhul was located on a key junction of the Perlemian Trade Route and the Rimma Spine. To tax ships that went near that planet, or to even require a minute, nay negligible passage fee, would drive profits through the roof, as only an Interdictor and a smattering of pickets and patrol cruisers would be needed.

It was such that the plan was issued from Sovereign High Command: assigned ships were to take, peacefullty if possible, the planet of Yag'dhul into the Empire.

And so it would be done.

However, before the fleet could be marsalled and sent into glorious battle, the Grand Admiral had to see a man about an order...

[Iden Hyde]

Yag’Dhul.

A planet beset by tremendous tidal forces that continually shift its oceans and atmosphere from one side of the planet to the other. In certain areas even exists pockets of vacuum. Three moons orbit this planet, creating the huge gravitational pulls on the planets oceans and atmosphere because of their opposite rotation from that of the planet they orbit.

One would think the planet uninhabitable.

It is far from such a thing.

Yag’Dhul is home of the Givin, who’ve developed flexible exoskeletons to protect themselves from the vacuum created in such pockets with air. They live in hermetically sealed cities that ensure a constant atmosphere while even in periods of low pressure. Because of the need to predict the vacuum tides, the Givin’s culture and society is based heavily on mathematics; thus gining them the reputation of being highly skilled and much sought after mathematicians and strategists. Their technology is quite advanced, and they are respected starship builders in many part of the galaxy.


* * * * *


Presently the planet itself is aligned with neither the New Republic, nor the Empire. The Givin, along with their human cohabitators, have chosen to remain neutral in their standings. They instead keep largely to themselves.

With their many advances in the technological fields of both study and applications, many corporations have risen up, pioneering the way for more advancements for their successors. Many such companies are allied with the banking firms, thus cementing footholds in many aspects of Yag’Dhul business culture.

One such company is Terrisz’Voss.

Terrisz’Voss holds much of Yag’Dhul’s financial assets as well as 2/3’s of the planet’s ship development and construction yards. Its investors were from a wide variety of different walks of life, and its board of directors encompassing an even wider circle.

And at the helm: Gabriel Hyde.

The CEO of Terrisz’Voss was ruthless; and yet he knew his bounds. He chose his battles carefully, and procured anything he could to help give him an edge. His advisors were his most trusted friends, made up of 4 Givin and 3 humans; all had been hand-picked by Hyde himself.

Gabriel Hyde ran his company well, and it soon became one of, if not the most influential business on all of Yag’Dhul. Yet it spread no further than its planetary bounds, Hyde not wishing to let his company become involved in the constant game of tug-of-war that the Empire and New Republic always played with each other. It was pointless, and a waste of time in his opinion. His planet; yes, he considered Yag’Dhul to be very much his as he and his stockholders did indeed own many of the cities that had been built on the planet’s surface, was to remain out of the struggles.

It was the general consensus, after years of guiding and directing Terrisz’Voss; and in essence Yag’Dhul, that the inhabitants looked upon Gabriel Hyde as their leader. He treasured their unspoken decision, and did his utmost best to make sure his planet prospered.

These people will not be used as a doormat in any way. I will see to that. Yag’Dhul has always been neutral, and it will remain that way for as long as I can keep it as such.

[Telan Desaria]

The pirate Maeleen Shen had returned to the Sovereign capital world with his hullsoverflowing with the bounty of the hunt. Two convoys raided, one Republic and the other an unaligned one en route between systems.

The raiders' take had been removed already.

But the matter of payment was not why the former officer was on a shuttle towards the Grand Admiral's flagship. What it was the man knew not. But it did scare him, to the point of mental fretting reviewing every step of the mission past.

The Grand Admiral met Shen on the flight eck and escorted hi in silence to his office.

Inside, was another story.

" Shen, I will skip any introductions or reminiscence to times passed. I have moved on, and so should you.

" Your mission, according to the dossier received from our observer, was rather lucrative. An for that, I appreciate. You have done well, and I hope you continue to, save for ny unforseen.....troubles.

" But now, I need you to take a break from privateering. I have plans for a planetary....acquiescence...that may or may not go peacefully. Either way, you are needed."

" To do what?"

" You are going to be the heralds of one of my Destroyer Squadrons. You have only two dedicated warships: an Interdiction picket and an old Assault Frigate. The rest of freightors that can haul their weight and fight off larger ships, their teeth hidden in their hulls. And that is what we need.

" We re going to equip your freightors witha shroud type fo armor, which would prevent any scans from detecting your weapon emplacements.

" Thusly, I have begun placing a front company in line to deliver shipments of materials to the budding manufacturers on this planet. Your ships will arrive, their bays filled withe cargo needed, and, when passed through security, open up your concealed arsenal and hold them at bay.

" Then your two warships arrive.

" Then your Interdiction picket will bring my sqyadron my hyperspace atop whatever defenses they can muster."

" I do not have a choice, do I?"

" No."

" Where am I going?"

" When the ships are finished, you will be told before you arrive."

Shen mumbled, mock saluted, and left the ship as quickly as possible.

[Iden Hyde]

One of the enormous double doors of the Terrisz’Voss boardroom remained slightly ajar, nothing permeating the silence of the now vacant room. The room itself was a simple affair. It was dimly lit at the moment, a row of lights along the wall midway between the floor and the ceiling set to an illumination most comfortable to the eyes, and a large, long table surrounded by black leather chairs dominated much of the floor space while along the walls hung paintings of the Yag’Dhul oceans. For all of the company’s hand in electronics and technology, this particular room had escaped such entanglements; instead it remained free of any clutter having to do with anything but the company’s financial happenings.

At the moment, however, one man has chosen to utilize the peace this particular room offers, and sitting at the head of the table, he busies himself with reading the latest project reports and financial gains statements laid out meticulously before him. It is the start to a new day for him, and he’s chosen to spend it in the solitude of his boardroom where the constant barrage of people and information cannot find him. Of course, all good things must come to an end, and the man sighs at the knock he hears from the door.


* * * * *


“Yes.”

The door swung open to allow the new arrival entry, and as he stepped inside, he closed the door behind him.

Gabriel Hyde didn’t stand. It simply wasn’t in his nature to do so; not out of disrespect; he would make exceptions on some occasions, but now was not such a time. Gently setting his stylus on the surface of the table, he merely cast a cool blue gaze at the man who entered. An old friend, as well as one of his advisors.

“Ah, Caedor. Good morning.”

The Givin nodded in greeting, striding the length of the table. The air that he commanded was one of utter seriousness, and as he stopped at the nearest chair next to Hyde, he looked down from the vantage point his slim, two-meter tall frame offered. His eyes traveled from the hardcopies lying in front of Hyde to Hyde himself.

“Gabriel,” he said simply in greeting while folding his hands behind his back. His command of Basic was precise, every word articulate and pronounced with care. “The tides will be breaking back over the equator by tomorrow night.”

Hyde looked at his long-time friend. Many Givin had a touch of xenophobia, therefore they didn’t leave Yag’Dhul very often, but Caedor Neg’mak’al welcomed the company of other species. A smile creased the human’s face.

“Tomorrow night? That’s sooner than I thought. Will we be able to ship the new materials out of Kyand’r in time?”

Caedor nodded.

“Good.” Hyde gathered his papers, replacing them back into a leather bound folder before standing. His hands brushed at his chest, flattening any unseen creases in his grey shirt, and grasping the suit jacket he’d draped over the back of his chair with one hand, he scooped up the folder with his other. “Have you heard anything from her?”

By ‘her’, Hyde referred to one of his other advisors. Oddly enough, he considered her more of a partner than anything else; after all, it had been her credits that funded much of what went on in many of Terrisz’Voss’ departments. But it wasn’t just that. She had her hands in most every piece of Terrisz’Voss, if not all of it; she’d helped build it almost from the ground up.

In answer to Hyde’s question, Caedor shook his head. “I do not know where she is, nor when she will return. She said nothing to me.”

Hyde led the way from the boardroom, his strides measured and constant.

“Very well.”

[MaileenShen]

Maileen ran through to the hangar bay. His mind was a flurry of the instructions he had been given. This would be quite an undertaking. Complex, difficult, and challenging, Maileen felt suited to the task. I shouldn't be thinking like this! No, I am a pirate not serving this Empire, I loathe this mission! He thought but slowly knew it was a lie. Maileen was enjoying this old thrill. But now for the matter at hand. Line Captain Freestar approached him in the bay.

"Shen, let me show you your ships." Freestar said sweeping his arm across the bay.

"You have 6 freighters loaded with cargo. The scrambler will indicate to any scans that you have only cargo and no weapons onboard. You are delivering them to our Front Company."

"I got all that Freestar, continue."

"You will get past security and then stop the convoy and open your hulls revealing the massive weapons emplacements. This will hold them at bay. Then you will call in your Interdictor and Assault Frigate. Position the Interdictor above the security and-"

"I understand Captain, now let me go about my business." Maileen said.

"Certainly." Katanor replied.

Shen strode off to what was the center convoy. He climbed aboard inspecting the cargo, good a food freighter, less likely to be hit. He smiled to himself, in all likelihood the security forces wouldn't care. Maileen went to the bridge and saw his small three man crew.

"Hey, let's get this damn train moving!" He shouted and the three men ran off to their posts and began to relay instructions. Within twenty minutes the convoy was ready and prepared to enter hyperspace. Maileen smiled, this was going to be fun.

[MaileenShen]

Above Thyferra there were a dozen freightors, all of varying descriptions and types. There were ships of Imperial issue, left over from the looted days of Endor. Those built of the New Republic were in attendance, as well as Bimmissaari, Bothan, native Kuati, Sienar civilian models, and a massive Mon Calamari ship, over a thousand meters long, which could itself hold enough freight as five full wings of complete TIE fighters, their spare parts, and base moving equipment.

Together they leapt from the Thyferra System. Five light years out, they dropped out and turned for other destinations.

The arrival of a dozen freightors would arouse alarm, concealed weapons or not. After all, Yag-dhul had not taken in a convoy in over fifty years. For security reasons, they were taken one at a time.

The system bustled with activity, but mass in-bound exoduses raised eyebrows.

This Maileen knew from his years in the military....



" Take the bunker! With it still operational, we cannot advance. Make it happen!" came the voice of a commander over the comm.

Placing the receiver on its set in the pack of the nearest CFT, the Lieutenant gathered his platoon commanders and took cover in a shell hole. Projectile rounds were exploding all over the barely hospitable nightscape. Stars overhead dotted the sky, as did the world they orbited. Through that sky flew highly explosive concussion shells.

" It's simple. Take that bunker!"

The Centaurian Fleet officers went back to their platoons and issued their orders accordingly. It was on the platoon command level that initiative on other than extreme occassions was discouraged. On the company level, their commanders had the boradest leeway.

Thusly, they blindly followed their orders.

The five platoons advanced from three staging areas and assaulted. Captured E-web repeating blasters and rapid fire laser turrets cut them down. In minutes, only half were left.

Again they charged, and another half joined their comrades on the gravelly surface of the pirate base.

The comm chirped.

" Situation?" The sound of explosions could be heard, their carrier ship under fire from two privateers-half as many as there were.

The lieutenant ducked into a crater, the lifeless body of the comm-man next to him. " Victorious, sir. One more go, and their ours..."

The channel was closed, and the one remaining platoon sergeant approached.

" We have got to call for the reserve platoon, and flank them!"

" No. Hit them again."

The remaining fifty men stood, screamed as daemons, and charged to base. The pirate base lay in ruins under their feet, and the capabilities of the ten escapees nill.

Only twenty-two pairs of boots stood on the ruins.

The pride of victory rested in one officer. Lieutenant Maileen Shen.



Maileen snapped out of his remembrance as the stars outside his freightor turned into a tunnel fo stars, his last view a fleet of Imperial warships forming into a squadron.

[Telan Desaria]

Displays of Imperial might were seldom seen since the Imperial Fragmentation. There were parades on planets of a Warlord's ownership, but on the whole the majesty of Empire was not known out of one's sphere on influence.

That will change. Force begets fear, splendor begets memroy.

Above the teeming world of Thyferra flew an armada not since gathered before the split. By Imperial standards, it was paltry.

With the exodus of ships into the Vong War, however, the flotilla was a force to be reckoned with, indeed. The Interrogator, the Grand Admiral's personal flagship was flanked by two Victory-class Star Destroyers. Below them was a Abolsiher-class Cruiser, and around five other cruisers and frigates.

Rillek proved that a small Imperial task force still had the awesome power of olde. The force assebled above the Sovereign capital world could stand undaunted by all but the largest and most powerful states.

And it was all commanded by Grand Admiral Desaria.

" Grand Admiral on the bridge!" barked a yeoman of the Guard at the entrace to the aft control corridor. His heels clicked on the deck as he threw up a precision salute. It was followed by another several dozen as the Sovereign's regent strode onto the Command Deck.

He marched forward, the only sound audible was the occasional beep of a droid, the fall of the Grand Admiral' jackboots, and the low thrum of the engine.

Desaria stopped aft of his Admiral's chair, Captain Voltaire behind and to his right. For the beginning of this campaign, discipline was at a voluntary high, every trooper and crewer at the highest state of alert.

" Captain, is my flagship ready?"

" The Interrogator is at your command, Grand Admiral."

Desaria nodded, and moved into his chair. " Bring all ships into formation. Lay in the staging coordinates, and engage on my mark."

The trio of trios swelled and swarmed, their crews praying and cheering. Aboard the VSD Draconian, the intership comm was on everywhere, all of the singing Empire over All.*

" Mark."


* Empire of All sounds like the Soviet National Anthem in Basic, all Empire related.

[Iden Hyde]

A message was waiting for him as Hyde stepped into his office, and as he strode the lenght of grey carpet to his desk, he reached down and pressed on of the touch sensitive panels littering the desk's surface. Depositing the folder he was carrying on his desk, he shed his jacket and laid it over the back of the soft leather chair, which creaked in slight protest as he lowered himself slowly into his seat.

He listened as the message replayed itself.

::Hyde, it's me. Listen; I've got something I want to do to my ship. I left you a datapad with the tech readouts and designs in an info packet so you can go over them and see what departments can contribute to this. I should be back in a few days, I had to run take care of some things. I'll tell you more when I get back.::

A smile creased the corners of his mouth as he listened, and when the rescording had finished, he reached forward, grasping the datapad that had been set where he'd be able to see it easily. He leaned back, switching the pad on, and it flashed to life.

Reading over the notes that'd been provided, he went on to the design layouts, and every so often his lips would purse in thought. It was solidly put together, most everything thought out well and theoretically executed with flawless results.

Another unit, eh?

Of course Terrisz'Voss would be able to do this; in fact, he knew some of the department heads would fight over who got to have a hand in it. The thought made him smile as he replaced the pad on his desk.

[Iden Hyde]

For the last hour, Hyde had contacted each and every department head within Terrisz'Voss, discussing the new unit that had been proposed by his partner.

At the moment, he once more sat at the head of the large table located in the boardroom. Normally reserved for financial tasks and meetings, the CEO of Terrisz'Voss had foregone company policy and called a quick meeting of the men in charge of every aspect of his company, and they now surrounded the table.

And true to what he knew would happen, every one of them bickered with eachother over who would be involved in this new project. Hyde had let them go on for about five minutes before softly interjecting, his voice rich in the overtones of command.

"Gentlemen."

Almost instantly the tumult died down, and every head turned to regard him.

"You will all have a hand in this, I assure you. It is a project that will require a fair amount of cooperation among you, so do not worry about being left out. Now. This is what she wants...."


And for the next three hours he outlined the designs and details he'd been given, passing around the schematics that had been drawn out with a careful, meticulous hand.

Each shred of information was almost literally eaten alive, and when the time the last department head had walked out, Hyde slowly rose to his feet, gathering the loose hardcopies he'd printed out from the datapad littering the surface of the table and replacing them in their folder.

He looked up as an aide strode in.

"Sir, the transports from Kyand'r were able to depart early; and are now enroute to Isken'dra."

Hyde grinned. "Good."

This day was only getting better.

[MaileenShen]

The fleet of tankers and various freightors assigned the former Lieutenant Shen was an odd amalgamation indeed. One particular was the Kuat SuperTanker that was to accompany Shen's personal freightor. In reality, the tanker was nothing more than a thousand meter box with a protrusion from the dorsal bow for command a living sections. Aft were three giant stardrive engines. It was large and grey, and that was its only distinction.

Of all the ships, though, it was empty.

" Ten seconds to reversion."

" Ready, Mr, Shen?" asked the Imperial military advisor, a young Balmorra-native.

The raider glimmered at the Imperial Commander. " Yes, thank you."

" Three, two, one!"

The lines outside the ship faded, and Yag Dhul replaced them. Around it were three moons in close orbit. And ahead of them the station which had gained so much fame during the reign of Ysanne Isard. Now, it had several companions, each small platforms for loading and unloading cargo vessels: few were needed to go onto the surface, saving on ship fuel and planetary construct costs.

The company Terrisz'Voss had thought f everything not related to defense.

In that area they had lagged signifcantly, secure in their non-commercial obscurity.

The Yag'dhul station was the most heavily armed object passively scanned at five medium turbolasers and two proton torpedo batteries.

" Mai, we're being scanned."

" Let them. We have nothing hide...that they can see."

A moment later, the annoyingly jovial voice of the traffic controller spoke. " Good afternoon and welcome to Yag-dhul. Where are you going today?"

So it begins...

[Iden Hyde]

His morning business taken care of, Hyde sat back in his leather chair, closing his eyes. In front of him, on his desk, sat a single hardcopy of the monthly output from his main shipbuilding contractor, Kempiss Spaceworks. It was odd, really; how the structure of Terrisz'Voss was drawn out, in that it was a collection of the very best companies, all over Yag'Dhul who had come together under one name and one CEO.

And while many Givin were xenophobic in their own ways, they'd all agreed that Hyde was the best individual to lead this group. With the aide of his partner's financial funding, Terrisz'Voss was born, and soon after had companies flocking beneath its wing.

But Hyde wasn't done expanding the scope of his company in the least. From the outside, and from all outward projected signs, Terrisz'Voss appeared a simple shipbuilding and transportation business; albeit a very large and successful one. The truth of the matter was that Hyde had built, completely within the confines of his company's walls, one of the more advanced military testing grounds on Yag'Dhul.

With the help of countless individuals, he'd secretly built up a heirarchy of defenses for his planet; his home. It'd taken careful planning, and still wasn't ready to be fully implimented, but soon enough he'd be able to defend Yag'Dhul; to keep it safe.

A small light built into the comm unit on his desk went off, and leaning forward, depressed the button to activate the comm.

"What."

"Sir, there's a convoy that just arrived... are you expecting any shipments from off-planet?"

Hyde's brows furrowed at this as he placed his hands flat on the surface of his desk. "No, I'm not. Have they already been scanned?"

"Yes sir; they don't scan as hostile."

Hyde thought for a few moments before making his decision. "Let them through. Keep the repellers on standby though. And have Kodesh Squadron ready to launch."

"Yes sir."

[Telan Desaria]

It was definitely an oddity, the small conglomeration of freightors and vessels assembled above Yag'dhul and now in a high orbital apporach heading straight for the station that bore the planet's name. Since the Great Bacta War when the Rebels rubbed their noses in internal Imperial policy, the station had changed from a commercial hub to some what of an atiquated weapons platform. While she could hold her own against pirates, a well prepared flotilla would dispatch it with ease.

Unfortunately, the ships that were coming at her under the guise of shipment couriers were exactly what the station had been redesigned to combat: pirates.

" Time to target?" asked Shen.

" One minute. Prepared range acknowledged."

The Imperial military attache approached Shen with a small lock box no larger than a datapad. The officer opened it after his thumb was recognized. Inside were a series of four buttons: red, yellow, blue and black.

Shen pressed the black one. " Maileen Shen, Independent Contactor. Code-Tau Sigma Delta Fifteen. Execute."

The officer placed the case on a nearby console and repeated the procedure. " Lieutenant Command Aranor, Imperial Fleet Detachment Alpha-7. Execute Confirmed."

The buttons flashed for a few moments in an odd pattern, then only the red one glowed with the light of electricity. The button was pushed.

Outside, the Kuati tanker, large and ungainly, began to slow and yaw to port. The flanking vessels moved off, and she broke into three pieces. The stardrive fell away, pushed by an explosion towards the dorsal orientation of the Fleet.

The hull fell off as well, revealing a cylindrical object with its own set of engines and several small protrusions from its flanks. She was in fact, no piece of debris.

She was an Imperial Strike-class Cruiser.

And she had deployed a squadron of TIE Defenders.

Around her, the once ignominious freightors had unlashed their own weapons, turning the worthless scrap into a badly groomed beast with very sharp teeth. Teeth which we aimed at Yag dhul.

[Iden Hyde]

"What's going on???!!!!"

Hyde was furious. His aides were doing their best to curb his anger, but it did little good. Staring him right in the proverbial face was an Imperial fleet, and he was close to throwing something across the room. Anything.

"How the hell does a fleet like that get past our sensors?!"

No one could answer, and he pounded his desk; fuming. His eyes burned holes in the opposite wall, and once more turning his head, he glared at the flatscreen holo built into the wall. Finally, after almost five minutes, he spoke.

"Get me Captain Moroketh, and have the Kiavedd ready for launch. I'm going up there."

[Yuri Moroketh]

Captain Yuri Moroketh was already marching down the hallway, his pace clipped and urgent as he barreled his way into Hyde's office. His uniform was clean; immaculate to the last stitch, and his hands, normally clasped at the small of his back, were instead balled fists of barely controlled anger. His presence scattered Hyde's underlings, and they parted before him as fast as they could as he stalked up to Hyde's desk. The human turned from the monitor on the wall to glare up at the Yevethan.

Both stared at each other for silent moments; Hyde only knowing that a fleet had appeared from the wreckage of the convoy awaiting clearence, and Moroketh only knowing that a hostile force was above them. Hyde rose then, to stand behind his desk; Moroketh followed his friend's movements with only the lifting of his head.

"What..." the Yevethan could barely keep the tone of disgust from his normally deep and controlled voice, "... is going on up there."






Rising from the raging waters on the outskirts of Isken'dra, the gracefull hulk of Hyde's flagship; the Kiavedd (http://www.b5-blender.com/images/img3sm.jpg), rose ponderously from the crashing waves that slapped on her hull. Hyde's aides had relayed his order for the ship to launch, and the crew had gone to work; even without Captain Moroketh aboard. He would be among them shortly as it was.

While only half the size of a star destroyer, the Kiavedd was still a powerful ship; her firepower kept well hidden to make her seem almost defenseless.

The craft angled slightly, cleared of the waters and beginning her ascent to the uppermost parts of the sealed city; awaiting the shuttled that would innevitably bring both Hyde and the Captain up.

[Telan Desaria]

Sometime before the commencing of the Mission


“ The timing must be perfect, Captain.”


“ It shall be, my Admiral.”


“ I trust all preparations have been made.”


“ Yes sir. Microjump will commence at the picket’s signal.”


“ And it will be undetectable?”


“ Yes sir. Laser-signal.”


**


Above Yag’dhul


It was without warning to the inhabitants of Yag’dhul that a small force of seemingly innocuous transports revealed batteries of small yet potent weapons. Under the guise of friendly ore haulers they had penetrated the planet’s own patrols and sensor net. There was little doubt that the small armada of privateers was determined to harass and commandeer the mass of traffic buzzing about the low-gravity world.


Barely noticeable to the prying eye and indistinguishable to any who did not seek it directly was the difference in hull structure of the Imperial Strike Cruiser. Armor plates had been separated and returned to their position, revealing small stress fractures along the hull seams. Imperial Engineers had scanned the entire vessel to remove any sign, nearly successful – though no operation went completely according to plan, they had done their job. Planted deep inside the four – and – a – half hundred meter craft was another vessel only a ninth its size. It was nestled beneath the armor layers like a babe awaiting birth. This small steelen offspring would not now see the darkness of space, however.


Responding to a command sent from her mother’s bridge above, her small spherical abdomen hummed to life, emitting a cone of gravitized energy designed o snare any and all things across the dimensional barrier. The Constrainter-class Interdiction Picket had activated its gravity well generator.


While small in scope, the concentrated hyperspace net was positioned precisely, every detail handled by advanced droids. There was no margin for error.


Error was not fated to be, though.


The gravity well’s hand had snared from hyperspace the flagship of the Imperial Sovereignty, the Star Destroyer Interrogator. About her were four other ships, two of them smaller and older Destroyers, two more tiny frigate-sized monitors.


Without pause to their motion as if they expected to be caught mid-hyperjump, the mass of Imperial Warships turned to the transports. Sheets of azure ion energy pulsed from dozens of ion emplacements, neutralizing many of the transgressors in one fell swoop. Fighters spewed from launch bays en masse quickly creating a dangerous webbing around the warships.


Using all dispatch, what freighters could turn did so and escaped at flank speed until clear of the picket, then vanished into hyperspace. What ships did not flee were rapidly destroyed by the arrived Imperials, among the debris the Strike Cruiser responsible.


One threat had given way to another

[Iden Hyde]

Hyde stood abruptly at the appearance of the Star Destroyer, saying nothing as he watched in almost pure rage at what was happening above his planet. It was almost unbelievable to him; there'd been no provocation whatsoever on his side, and to have an Imperial fleet appear out of nowhere... well... in some respects he knew he should have expected it to happen sometime.

Sitting once more, Hyde composed himself. Unlike his earlier decision, he decided it best if he stayed on the planet; if the Imperials wanted to talk, they would have to make the effort to come planetside themselves. He would not accomodate them in any way. He would make sure Moroketh stayed, as well. Hyde was sure the Yevethan would have rather been on his ship, but at the moment, his presence was needed here; with Hyde.

"This is intolerable," he growled, looking to Moroketh. "Have all squadrons hold; I don't need anyone doing anything stupid. This is something that needs to be handled delicately... "he saw the look on the captain's face, "... and no; I have no plans or intentions of allowing them to use this planet for anything.

"This is my planet."

[Telan Desaria]

OOC Reminder – this thread takes place several IC months ago…


Imperial Flagship, ISD V Interrogator


“ Response from the planet?”


The wiry figure of Captain Voltaire glanced up from his duty station within the sunken crewpit. Through cold blue eyes the officer returned the look of his supreme commander. “ Small patrols have been launched, and we are being actively and passively scanned on every imaginable scale and scope. They have taken no hostile action.”


“ They would not dare,” Grand Admiral Desaria replied, tapping his fingers on the arms of his command chair. “ This task force can bring to bear more firepower than they could ever hope to muster. But we are not here for a clash of arms.”


The thought of invading Yag’dhul was not a pleasing one to the Centaurian noble. Colonized millennia before, the sizeable world possessed a stable and breatheable atmosphere over only small portions of its surface – areas which shifted with its solar orbit. To completely eliminate all resistence would require legions of soldiers equipped with zero-g gear and sealed-cabin vehicles, neither of which the Sovereignty had in great quantity.


Orbital bombardment, however…


“ Captain, have all raiders departed?”


“ Scopes read all clear, sir. Shen is gone. All decoys report destroyed.”


“ Excellent. Spread out the formation into picket line posts and deploy fighters into patrol screens. Keep our shields up, but lower strength to non-battle standard.”


“ Aye sir,” replied the ship’s executive officer, directly responsible as fighter and fleet liaison.


The Grand Admiral pursed his lips.


“ Record the following message and broadcast it on all channels, military and civilian.


To the Citizenry and Leadership of the Sovereign Government of Yag’dhul. I am Grand Admiral Lord Baron Telan Desaria. A force of mercenary raiders under Rebel contract attempted to commandeer and disrupt your in-system traffic. Their attempt at securing the area via Gravity well pulled my squadron from hyperspace. All vessels which did not immediately withdraw have been destroyed.


The Empire offers refuge to this planet and her people. We can guarantee its safety and improve its standard of living. War Taxes and civil conscription will not be maintained nor any martial law enforced.


This offer does not remain in effect for too much longer. I have other duties to attend to.”


Desaria crossed his legs and waited.

[Iden Hyde]

Hyde listened to the recording, casting glances up at Moroketh throughout the dialogue. Refuge? He snorted then. Yag'Dhul didn't need refuge offered in any way, and sitting back in his seat, he crossed his arms.

Most of Terrisz'Voss' defenses were still concealed, and Hyde preferred to keep it that way. His company had been able to leap ahead of most military manufacturers thanks to the already advanced technology provided by the Givin, and he liked to keep those particular advancements in check. It was simple, really. Regardless of whether or not the Imperials thought they'd 'saved' Yag'Dhul and her people from raiders, they would simply be cordially thanked andHyde would politely refuse the Grand Admiral's offer.

Hyde leaned forward then. "Record and send this back," he said to one of his aides.



"Grand Admiral Lord Baron Desaria. This is Gabriel Hyde; CEO of Terrisz'Voss. I most appreciate your offer of refuge and safety, but it is not needed. Our standard of living is already very high, so I feel I must refuse your offer. My people are already safe.

"Look upon this day and your actions as a random act of kindness.

"Now. I believe you know the hyperspace coordinates out of this system."

[Telan Desaria]

The message played over the bridge’s audio feedback circuits, causing the Grand Admiral’s face to contort as he suppressed an arrogant laugh. One brusque tug at the hem of his tunic brought his regal façade back into line.


“ This man has gall, to say the least. We are dealing with a brave leader, if not a brave people.”


Imperial Intelligence had reported the planetary defenses as sufficient to repel a poorly-planned or coordinated assault, forcing Desaria to bring with him two Victory-class Destroyers. Their additional compliments of ground troops would prove useful if things came to blows, but would add the most weight given their design as siege weapons. The planet would prove difficult, but not impossible to conquer.


It would be, though, for what I’ve got here.


“ Lieutenant Essiti, connect me with their command and control frequency. I wish to speak with this Hyde in person.”


“ Aye sir.”


The Grand Admiral stood and again tugged at his tunic. Below him in the crewpit, a droid standing next to the communications officer searched subspace for tiny waves of sound and light which carried with them the beat of Yag’dhul’s comm traffic. When the gold-plated automaton isolated the carrier beacon, a direct link to the bridge was established.


“ At your leave, Admiral.”


“ Thank you.” Desaria looked forward toward one of the triangular viewports that would morph into a holo-screen when Gabriel Hyde wished to respond. In the interim, it passed along the Grand Admiral’s visage to him.


“ My. Hyde, I congratulate you on your courage. Few men speak so…loosely…staring down an Imperial Destroyer squadron. Courageous indeed. Now I shall dispense with this banter.


“ This squadron will be putting in to Carida in two days. Carida is only one day from here at flank speed, which gives me one day to do with as I please. I arrived here under a banner of friendship, one which still flies. I offer again to bring you under the umbrella of Imperial protection and order. Again, I warn that I am a man of little patience when dealing with civilians.


“ Yag’dhul has seen a dramatic increase in civil traffic over the last ten years as the Rimma Route was established. This waypoint would prove an important strategic addition to the Empire. I had not thought this before arriving, but now I do.


“ Mr. Hyde, I thank you for your cordiality and your restraint in dealing with the pirates that menaced you. I would wish to see non-combatants harmed in any way. Now, however, I must ask to speak with your military commander. Perhaps after I have spoken with him, he can advise your corporations of what might better suit your…interests. To decline Imperial hospitality and incur our wrath, or become members of an Empire that can offer you prizes a thousand times greater than those you currently amass.”

[Roman Teeg]

In the sensor shadow of one of Yag'Dhul's moons, two Terrisz'Voss carriers (http://www.boomspeed.com/loklorien/sulaco-1.jpg) sat waiting. They were larger; bigger than the Kiavedd, and bristling with weaponry that wasn't quite as concealed as those on Hyde's flagship.



Leiautenant Roman Teeg sat strapped into the cockpit of his converted exo frame. It was different for him; he was used to actual ground and sea combat; not space combat. But the higher ups had decided to create a new division, and put Teeg at the head of it. The Repeller Units, they were called. And Teeg commanded the first squad; Kodesh Squadron. It was somewhat of an honor, but he was still new to zero-g in the e-frames; regardless of the countless simulations he'd been in, the actual thing was always different.

And now, standing on the open flight deck, staring into space, he couldn't help the feeling of anticipation that went through his body. His squad was more than capable, and there were twelve other squadrons that were just as anxious.

Roman Teeg waited, his soldiers flanking him , ready to launch if the signal came.

[Yuri Moroketh]

Yuri Moroketh frowned at this new message from the Imperial. He'd suspecte something other than a simple good deed was happening, and looking to Hyde after the Grand Admiral finished his dialogue, stood. His imposing frame seemed to swell in a sense of muted anger at what he'd heard, and his hands clasped behind his back.

"I will speak with him first. If he thinks I will sway you into bending over for them, I'm afraid he's in for a surprise."

A single hand came from behind his back then, to smooth an invisible wrinkle in the black tunic he wore before moving to stand before the wall mounted monitor.

With a brief flicker of light, she screen changed views; from a long drawn out shot of the Imperial ships to that of the Grand Admiral.

For a few moments Moroketh simply stood and stared at the man while behind him, Hyde sat at his desk, his hands palmdown on the desktop. The look in his blue eyes was not one of pleasure.

"I am Captain Moroketh," he started, his voice a deep bass and full in the overtones of command. "I'd rather not bother with introductions of any length, so I will cut to the heart of the matter. From what I have heard of your offer, it is no more than a way of getting your foot in our door. Don't think Terrisz'Voss is stupid enough to simply open her arms to you. Yag'Dhul is a nuetral world. We don't want any ties whatsoever with either the Empire or the New Republic. It is too much trouble; more than it's worth.

"As far as thinking that I'd advise Mr. Hyde to capitulate to your demands; yes, I'm calling them demands, you are sorely mistaken. I am of the same mind as he, and would rather you simply pat yourself on the shoulder and leave."

Hands clasped at the small of his back, Moroketh glared at Desaria.

"If to decline 'Imperial hospitality', as you put it, leads to any sort of battle; no matter the scale, then I think you should reword your sentence.

"I will say this once more: Yag'Dhul is nuetral. We want no New Republic presence, and no Imperial presence."

[Telan Desaria]

“ You would do well to restrain yourself, Captain. Regardless of your military affiliation, my rank supercedes your own. Show the proper deference. And as for your planet, I am afraid my patience has worn thin. Nay, it has been vanquished by your recalcitrance.”


The Grand Admiral attempted to re-don the mask of imperturbability he wore when in front of his men, but the façade could ill be maintained in the face of such disrespect to the banner under which he served.


“ By refusing our friendship, you insult the integrity of the Imperial Fleet. By challenging my word, you degrade my honor. By daring to defy the kindness of our intentions, you insult the Empire itself, which is inexcusable. By the Grace of the Emperor alone do I refrain from firing on your world.


“ As an officer of the line and Supreme Military commander in this sector, I will warn you against defying me again. I am going to dispatch one of field regiments to your capital city to enjoy some leave. I trust you will show them the respect you have not shown me.”


With a snap of the Admiral’s fingers, the chief communications officer cut the signal link and both transmission from the ship and its planetary receiver were severed. Operations in the crew pit returned to normal as if no harsh words had ever been exchanged. At a glance they had not – one that understood the mind of a militant aristocrat knew that rage was brewing.


“ Your orders, sir?” Captain Voltaire titled his head in query, an uncharacteristic aura of innocence about him.


Hands clenched behind his back, the Grand Admiral turned aft and powerfully strode down the catwalk. “ Prepare the 17th for launch. I want them in deployed for landing screen immediately. Designate a battle plane and send it to the rest of the squadron. Sound general quarters but keep them quiet!”


Voltaire stood tall and saluted as his commander passed. Immediately after he brought his arm back down, the Interrogator prepared itself for a siege.

[Iden Hyde]

After the screen went blank, a flat hand pounded the desktop as Hyde rose swiftly, anger radiating from him in waves. He glared at Moroketh.

"This is unacceptable.

"Have all repeller squads prepped for launch, but do not raise the entire fleet. I don't want to give the impression that we're not to be bullied just yet. Let the snake come in close before cutting the head off."

He skirted the desk, heading for the door with Moroketh following closely.

"And find a way to get a hold of that damn woman," he finished, talking about his business partner, "... she's never here when she needs to be."

[Telan Desaria]

One Hour Later...


A dozen small Raptor transports had moved from their berths aboard the Interrogator and began the slow descent into the atmosphere of Yag'dhul. Before the stratosphere was breached the Grand Admiral pulled them back. So it was there they sat, half way between a small planetary militia and the world below and the Imperial Destroyer Squadron firmly posed behind.


They had one purpose, each one of three thousand lives hanging on the balance of a flag officer's intuition. If the planetary forces at Hyde's dispatch chose to fire on Imperial ships, a wrath would be loosed on them that would be beyond compare to the volancoes raging below. They had not yet causing anger from defiance on the Destroyer's bridge.


" Damn them. This is a stalemate I do not care for."


" Admiral, might I make a suggestion?"


The Grand Admiral turned towards his flag captain giving the greying officer a solemn nod.


" A Golan Deep Space Platform arrived at Thyferra four days ago to undergo refitting to guard our Hydian position."


" Go on," Desaria arched an eyebrow.


" If that platform were moved here, we could interdict the routes as we wish, gaining a prefabricated base as it were, and saving the lives of our infantry."


Desaria blinked. " You have four hours. Get that platform moving. Let me know soon, because that's when those troops go down. When it starts moving let me know or we go in."

[Yuri Moroketh]

Following Hyde, Moroketh adjusted his stride to match that of the human's. Aids trailed after the both of them, and the Yevethan let his shoulder muscles flex beneath his black tunic. In his mind, things were going from bad to worse, and several counters had already sprung up; only to be quelled instantly. Somehow, and he knew it was what Hyde wanted, the Imperials had to be driven away without the need to show excessive force. His mind swept through posibility after possibility; each one turned down.

But... there was one...

"What's the status of the UCRM's," he barked to a following aid.

The aid stuttered at first, but went on regardless. "... Lin reports the initial testing has been complete. They're ready for combat."

Moroketh caught the look Hyde gave him, but pressed on. "Have them transported to the Kiavedd; I want all UCRM regiments battle-ready in 20 minutes. Understood?

The aid nodded, hurrying off in the opposite direction to notify the UCRM ops director.

His next words were to Hyde. "I only hope those things chew up the Imperials enough to stop an occupation."

Looking skeptical, Hyde only nodded as the two made their way to the uppermost levels of the building.

[Telan Desaria]

Two Hours Later...


Grand Admiral Desaria sat in his command chair stroking his bare chin with an unoccpied hand: the other was drumming ever so slightly on the arm of his perch. Though after thought raced through his mind, foremost among them whether or not Captain Voltaire would be successful in bringing in a Deep Space battle platform. If the neccessary arrangements could be made in time, an occupation of Yag'dhul would be unneeded.


Desaria smiled at the thought of such a platform. of the first time he had ever laid eyes on one. Nearly circular in construction they possessed four thousand meters of raw power, every orafice filled with a gun, turret, or deflector shield projector. Crew numbers needed for such a station were enormous as was its logistic requirements in supplies alone, but well worth it. The fine minds at Santhe Systems had outdone themselves once more.


" Admiral," came a voice from behind the dais.


The Lord Baron came about, ceasing both his appendage activites to give his full attention to the familiar sounding speaker.


" Yes Captain?"


A smile came to the ship captain's face. " They're on the way. Every craft we have with a tractor beam is en route. Arrival time will be within thirty hours."


Desaria slammed an open hand against the arm of his chair accompanied by a wide smile. He would yet accomplish his goal without spilling Imperial blood.


" Have Navigation find a spot for her near the routes' intersection. Get everything ready. And pull back those ships!"

[Fa'Rawn Lin]

::I am the bullgod...i am free...and I feed on all that is forsaken - I’m gonna get you....i see through you...i’m gonna get you - I’m like a train I roll hard lettin off much steam - In the carhartt flannel and dusty jeans baby - I never was cool with james dean - But I be hangin tough with my man jim beam - I swing low...like a chimp - Back in ’86 man I was seein a shrink - But now I’m humble and I can only think - About new orleans and those jumbo shrimp::


She wasn't the type of ops director most would think ran a division at Terrisz'Voss. She was usually unkept; or at least took pride in a certain level of casual presentation; if it could be called that. She smoked. Like a chimney. Her language was never... very decent. She hated dressing up. She listened to what some considered garbage. But her eyes could pick you apart and put you back together from the inside out. She was smart; smarter than most girls her age. Bullgod. Mech dog momma. Psychotic technical genius. She wore all those names and more with pride.


::So ask no questions and I’ll tell no lies - I got big ol pupils and blood shot eyes - I’m on the brink...if you know what I mean - And a 12 step program couldn’t keep me clean - Cause I’m the bullgod...you understand - The illegitimate son of man - The t-o-p to the d-o-g - Or the p-o-t to the g-o-d - And I’m trippin - Said I’m trippin::


And yet, she knew the dogs. And they knew her. She was their creator, and it showed; anyone could tell by just the way she interacted with them and they reacted to her. Given the designated name of UCRM's (http://www.boomspeed.com/loklorien/ucrm.jpg), the things had come to be simply known as dogs. She'd designed them, and helped Kunnon build (http://sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=31099) them. She was the 'Beastmaster' in all respects. And she knew it.


::I am the bullgod...i am free...and I feed on all that is forsaken - I’m gonna get you...i see through you...i’m gonna get you - A lot of people poke fun and that’s alright - But when I start pokin back they get all uptight - You can’t cap with the master son - So sit your a** down before I blast ya one - Cause I’m so greasy you can call me mud - And I feel a little hank runnin through my blood - I wanna flood the world with my twisted thoughts - You can bet all day but I can’t be bought::


Fa'Rawn Lin was one of those strange girls. Those girls you never knew extensively, you just knew she was there. She had fast reflexes and an even faster tongue. Speak your mind but drive a fast speeder. That was her motto. Of course, it was all subjective. She didn't really care. She took care of the dogs, and they took care of her. They were her babies. There was something to be said about the relationship between that of the creator and the creation. And even then it was humorous to see the way they behaved around Kunnon. Even though he'd been closely involved in their construction and even a few of their modifications and upgrades, they only tolerated the man.


::Break it up let’s tie one on - I gotta get set to go and cut the lawn - So I grab my walkman but before I cut - I got behind the garage and fire it up - Cause I’m the bullgod...you understand - The illegitimate son of man - The t-o-p to the d-o-g - Or the p-o-t to the g-o-d - And I’m trippin - Said I’m trippin::


And so, lounging in the cockpit of her modified mobile frame which was nestled neatly in the aft section of one of twelve deployment ships (http://www.boomspeed.com/loklorien/ucrmdepcrew.jpg), she went over last minute diagnostics of the dogs surrounding her. They were anxious, milling around until the order came to deploy. Their lithe, mechanical bodies weaving through one another; some even vying for the attentions of the woman they considered 'momma'. Technically, this was their second combat experience; their first being a success in capability and weapons effectiveness evaluations. In all appearances, the dogs were the most ideal unmanned assault droids. They were semi-sentient, followed orders, and their AI had been specially encoded by Rawny herself. Only one other person was able to understand the 'gibberish' that made up her state of mind, and even then he sometimes didn't understand why she did things the way she did.


::I am the bullgod...i am free...and I feed on all that is forsaken - I’m forsaken...yeah - I ain’t nothin - Yeah yeah yeah yeah - Come on get em up - Come on get em up - Come on get em up - I am the bullgod...i am free...and I feed on all that is forsaken - I am the bullgod...i am free...and I feed on all that is - I get a feeling of peace, from a low so high::


She reached out to pet one, tapping its metal head with a light fingernail, singing to them as if they were her children while the twelve deployment ships made their way up from Yag'Dhul's atmosphere, out into space.


::As I sit in my chair and watch life go by - These thoughts I have can’t mold to sense - Through the forest of my mind, they’re all past tense - Born and raised in the outer lands - And at times you can say I’m outta hand - I’m in a band of gypsies, we’re on the run - Everytime that paper hits my tongue - And sometimes it seems so odd - When my veins are poppin and I’m on the nod - I am the bullgod...you understand - And here in my head is my master plan, uh - I’m gonna get you - I see through you - I’m gonna get you - I see through you::

[Telan Desaria]

Time to Arrival - 28 hours, Imperial


" Admiral, I am detecting some deployment of YD ships."


Grand Admiral Desaria blinked slowly and steepled his fingers. The crews of the various warships present had already taken to abbreviating the title of their neutral opposites, a feature which in other campaigns had taken days if not weeks to perfect. The sheer simplicity of it, however, was striking along with the fct that no derision was attached. For the Vong went the title PeeBees, a reference of pain and blood to which they both dolled out and revelled in.


" Posture?"


" Shall we redeploy the pickets, sir?" Captain Voltaire had always erred on the side of caution, albeit belligerantly. Before engaging a foe or even testing his limits he would strike without sign in hopes of causing less casualties for his men and attaining complete suprise. The lack of planning involved had indeed affected his command career, but he had proven himself more than capable to act as the Grand Admiral's right hand.


" No, Captain. I would assume they are merely gesturing, flexing their muscles to show us they are not completely defenseless. One wonders as to their motives. Are they trying to make us believe this is all they have?"


Voltaire kept his opinion to himself. Grand Admirals oft spoke in riddles, always reading into not only enemy decisions but their own as well.


" No, keep our TIEs in escort formation in case those ships have some rapid-fire seekers. Intel - run a scan on them and give me an analysis.


" Fleet Ops - redeploy our flanking frigates. Align them ahead of the Destroyers in pairs. Keep our cruisers on the wings. If they do hit us, we'll be more than able to eliminate them."


The three Star Destroyers maintained their delta-shaped pattern with four escorting capital ships creating a forward defense line just ahead of the looming giants. On either flank of the Destroyer-triangle was a Hammer-class Cruiser, matriarch of the lighter 400 meter-range attack craft.

[Roman Teeg]

From behind Yag'Dhul's moon, the two carriers emerged like ghosts, their matte black hullplating blending well in the darkness of space; the only indication that they did indeed exist to the naked eye being that of a patch of inky blackness that seemingly swallowed the stars. And still standing at loose attention, Roman Teeg waited for the word to launch. Kodesh would take point with the dogs, though acting as cover at the same time.

Contrary to what he'd heard the other pilots say, Teeg honestly thought of the dogs as a solid defense force. They were vicious; he'd seen them in action, and truthfully, he preferred to not be on the recieving end of the things.

Behind him, he knew his squad stood ready, waiting for the word to launch. There were other squads littering the deck, just as ready, and the other carrier also had their squads on the open space flight deck.

He watched, as the view of the Star Destroyers, cruisers, and frigates came into view. He frowned.

::Hyde's crazy::

He didn't even turn to look at the voice that'd come over his comm. "Easy Torrezz."

The rangefinder in the cockpit locked onto a group of TIEs, and he watched idly as the Imperial fighters made their escort rounds. The two carriers moved into position behind the Kiavedd and the twelve deployment ships. On the other side of the planet, two more carriers sat silent, ready for the word to come around the horizon and provide reinforcements.

Kodesh squad, and every other squad on the flight deck, waited for the signal; if it ever came.

And so far, their comms were all silent.

[Telan Desaria]

Time to Arrival - 26 Hours, Imperial


" Sir, we have a report of more enemy activity."


Grand Admiral Desaria looked over the top of a bound book he was reading. The red leather cover reflected no light from the small, emerald encased lamp that had gallantly assumed the role of only operating light. Its rays cast many of the Grand Admiral's office into shadow, such as his model display, the aquarium attached to the fore bulkhead, and the many small tables which lined the walls.


" Go on."


The lieutenant, obviously ill-at ease when dealing with the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Armed Forces, did his best to hide his angst under a facade of attention. A quick flutter of his eyes and their rapid movement about the room betrayed his feelings.


" Two small ships have moved into a supporting position behind the twelve unidentified craft. They each read as nine hundred meters. Intelligence has tagged them as carriers given dimensions and radiation emissions from suspected fuel cells. Another ship has been tagged as well, the only of them broadcasting an IFF code. She is the Kiavedd and reports to be 500 meters. Armament is comparable to a heavy cruiser."


" Very well. Inform Captain Voltaire to deploy two of the Interrogator's Defender Squadrons in close-in picket positions with a squadron of Scimitars for heavy fire support. Do not assume offensive posturing."


" Aye sir."


The aide clicked his heels, and departed,

[Iden Hyde]

The Kiavedd sat benignly, unassuming in its position behind the deployment ships it'd launched. The two carriers hel their positions off to the side, also seemingly dormant.

On the bridge of the Kiavedd, Gabriel Hyde sat (http://www.boomspeed.com/loklorien/kbridge.jpg) in the captain's chair. He glared ahead of him, his eyes unrelenting as he watched that which unfolded around him. His suit had been replaced by a simply flightsuit, and in his eyes burned angst. This was his planet; his system. He wanted nothing to do with the Imperials, and by the same token, nothing to do with the New Republic.

An extreme neutralist if you will, and contrary to what the Imperials were seeing, with enough power to fully uphold such a desire. A finger twitched. He leaned back, letting the cool blue glow of the cross panel behind him bathe his features in a muted light. Updated constantly as to the status of the ships before him, his people kept a careful watch over the Imperial movements, mindfull to stay their hands unless first fired upon.

"Comm," he began, his voice level, "send message.

"Grand Admiral. I do not like the prospect of an all out engagement with you. I thanked you for your help, and asked you politely to leave. You refused. I will ask you one more time, and caution you that what you see before you is nothing of what I have."

Hyde leaned forward, his words firm.

"Let us be."

[Telan Desaria]

Twenty-one Hours Remaining


Let us be...


It was if all eyes on the bridge came to rest on one man, one being who held fate, death, and life in his hands and his alone. The man was Grand Admiral Desaria. All sound, all movement seemed to cease allowing an eerie silence to descend over all.


Lord Baron Desaria was very well aware of the many gazes of which he had become the object. As a Grand Admiral he represented the Empire's might and brilliance. As an Imperial he was the personification of its citizenry. The choice to aggressively respond or relent remained with him, but the manner in which he did hung in the balance. Were he to withdrawn with tail between legs all faith would be lost. Any retreat would have to be done in the most militaristic way possible to maintain the loyalty the men had in him.


An ill-timed attack out of sheer arrogance would undermine their faith as well. Such was the burden of command.


" Captain, give me a range and population count on Yag'dhul's cities."


" Sir?" Voltaire's words hung not in defiance but disbelief. He was quick to act however and an aide handed him the data scribbled on a flimsiplast shortly thereafter.


" Ciret approximately one hundred thousand. Distance - four hundred kilometers from current planetary axis. Serivoss approximately five hundred thousand. Distance, two thousand kilometers. Ferrivar, 560,000. Distance, five thousand kilometers - "


" Stop there, Captain. Ferrivar it is, then."


" Sir?"


" We demonstrate upon the people of Yag dhul the price for defying the will of the Empire. It is unfortunate that we must, but we will. All ships, set course directly opposite this one on the planetary axis. Set our distance from planetary orbit five hundred thousand kilometers."


" Admiral, that puts us out of the Dhul system." The navigator stated only, no disrespect intended.


" I am aware of that, Ensign. I have a grand entrance in mind."


The silence had been broken and all eyes returned to their duties. The tension was broken. With the grace of a mechanical ballet, the Imperial warships separated from their blockade positions and made the brief trip around the world. They were careful to avoid planetary satellites, stations, and miscellaneous freightors. When they rendezvoused again, all of Hyde's stiuplation's had been met and another hour had been bought for the arrival of the Imperial super battle platform.


The Grand Admiral needed only to occuply Hyde until then. Then, Yag'dhul would be needed no more.

[Iden Hyde]

Hyde stared ahead, his thoughts clear and concise as he let his mind work through each variable and isntance that might occur. He knew better than to think this Desaria would simply turn and leave; it wasn't Imperial in nature. The Grand Admiral had blown so much hot air in their initial talks that it made no sense for him to simply turn tail. Something was going on; Hyde knew this. Something was going to happen, and what killed him was that he had no idea what it would be, or what form it would take.

And it was that sense of uncertainty and the intense desire to see his world untainted; his system not taken advantage of, that he ordered every fleet Terrisz'Voss possessed to rise. To rise from their watery berths and charge into space.



- - -


All over Yag'Dhul, the oceans were in constant turmoil, the tidal waves by the planet's rotation and that of its moons pulling the waters every which way. But something else was now pulling at the waves, displacing the water as they rose from their resting places. From around every city the waters crashed, reavealing behemoths of durasteel that rose like giants from slumber, their engines rumbling with silent power.

One thousand meter carriers rose gracefully, waves lapping at their hulls as the cleared the waters; smaller ships, 600 foot attack craft, also rose. Frigates, clippers, even individual fighters rose up. From around every city this ritual was witnessed. Hundreds of ships, all dedicated to protecting their planet from anything.

And every one turned its nose to the sky, heading for space.



- - -


Onboard the Kiavedd, Hyde sat back. He wasn't done.

"Order the dogs to deploy," he spoke quietly to Moroketh. "I want them to follow the Imperials."

The Yevethan nodded.

[Fa'Rawn Lin]

The word had come from above.

::Track the Imperials. And nothing else. Do not engage unless shot upon, do not incite anything, and least of all, do not talk to the Grand Admiral; even if he hails you countless times::

Rawny snorted at the last one. Like she'd want to talk with an overstuffed armchair jockey in the first place. Sit him in an assault unit in the middle of space and then she might think about giving him her static. Maybe. But most likely not. Besides. That order was mostly for his sake anyway. She could be... rather rude...

The dogs themselves were ready to go, and each had integrated with their flyer units; except for one. The 'alpha', as Rawny called him, was nestled in the small alcove on the upper back of her mobile unit, already integrated and ready to go. She smiled, and reaching up, patted his glowing 'eye' affectionately. And then she was strapped in, her crashstraps fully secure as the chest and head swung down to seal the unit from the cold of space. A hissing clatch sounded, signalling that she was fully secure in the metal killing machine. She grinned again, as the lights in the bay faded to a red glow, and then...

... green.

Bay door lumbering open, the dogs and their flyers dropped into space, instantly heading after the Imperial ships.

And in their midst, was the Bullgod. The Mech dog momma.

And she was chasing Imperials.

[Telan Desaria]

" Give me a statistical analysis, Lieutenant Ossis."


" Sir." The young, smartly dressed out officer clicked and turned towards his monitor from where he could communicate with the other Intelligence assets aboard the Destroyer Interrogator.


Desaria sat emotionlessly on his seat of power displaying no fear or intimidation. From the moment the scanner chief hastily reported the arrival - more precisely, deployment - of several dozen warships, the Grand Admiral had been an island of calm, perhaps the only thing from throwing the bridge into complete chaos. The crews of the Empire's warships had been meticulously trained and would maintain discipline to the last, but only if there was one there which the masses could look up to.


" Captain, maintain defensive shield deployment and push our pickets out four kilometers."


" Four kilometers, Admiral? That will not increase their effectiveness."


The Admiral blinked a few times in rapid succession before turning his iron gaze from the star before him to the flag captain behind. " No, Captain, it will not, but then that is not why I have given that order. It is enough to seem threatening but not enough to actually be so. A test of our foe's mettle. Redeploy them, Captain."


" Yes, my Lord." Voltaire bowed low and complied, resolved no longer to test the commands of his superior. He had thus far tread a fine line, and was no longer prepared to gamble with his life.


" Maintain our current deployment and stance. I do want all projectile weapons loaded, but not trained."


By now, Lieutenant Ossian had come to attention again, this time with a padd in hand. " Sir, we are outnumbered four to one in capital ships and two to one in smaller pickets and fighter craft. Guns have us at a three to one advantage when skill level is factored in."


" Excellent."

[Iden Hyde]

The Kiavedd traveled smoothly, following Lin and her dogs as they headed after the Imperials. On the bridge, Hyde sat patiently, watching as his planet slowly spun on its axis - the clouds as they jutted across the sphere that he and many others called home. The CEO of Terrisz'Voss watched as ships began to rise from the planet's atmosphere like a swarm of corellian hornets, and in his eyes raged a quiet storm, ready to break the bounds of his cornea.

Gabriel Hyde was slow to anger, but this Grand Admiral had done a good job of testing the limits of that patience, and Hyde was becoming increasingly unhappy at the situation that was unfolding.

This Desaria had something planned; something that would give the Imperial what he wanted regardless of what Hyde did.

[Telan Desaria]

Sixteen Hours Remaining…


High above the ever changing landscape of Yag dhul, sculpted by a ballet of lunar and solar randomness, sat an array of Imperial warships. Every one of them was armed with the latest and heaviest weapons credits could buy or build; with Thyferra controlling all bacta in the galaxy only the best was purchased with more than enough funds remaining.


Nestled within the hull of the center battleship was a man who had sworn undying fealty to a dying entity. Grand Admiral Baron Telan Desaria had vowed to pay every price and make every sacrifice he could to preserve the majesty of the Galactic Empire, even if those costs had to be borne in the blood of innocents. Such was as things had to be.


From the domed city of Ferrivar, one of only two metropolitan communities on Yag-dhul not be located by a major body of water, the natives could look into the evening sky and behold the instruments of their insecurity. For several hours wardens of defense had ushered non combatants to shelters and homes, drastically changing the lives of peaceful folk. Little did these hapless people know not only were those wedge-shaped star-like forms the course of their insecurity, but also home to the one man who had only moments before ordered their destruction.


Imperial V-class Star Destroyers mounted fifteen four-tube heavy proton warhead launchers on their bows. These turreted behemoths, larger than the heavy turbolasers that flanked them, stretched from the dorsal to ventral spaces of the central corridors separating top from bottom. Men inside, stripped to shirt sleeves and covered with the grime and gunk so ubiquitous of artillerymen throughout, heard the command to load shouted from their battery commander.


Senior Lieutenant Gravia stood behind the protective transparisteel surrounding his command compartment and looked left, then right. On both sides his men pushed four meter long warheads from their carriers into the breeches of the launchers themselves. Droid-driven ramrods came behind that forced the missiles into the breech. The tube was actually a container, the missile contained therein and protected. Once inside the ram held the projectile in place while sweating gunners heaved the casing from its mount. With a palable thud it collided with steel decking and was tossed to the rear. Teams of droids worked about, moving the spare casing aft and bringing water fore.


“ Commence fire, one salvo: Target Package Delta Five-Niner.” Gravis noted the order in his head and checked his control panel. All fifteen quad-tube launchers were aimed for their assigned targets. Gun captains slammed blistered hands onto all-clear signals flashing buttons green inside the cabin. When all mounts went green, Gravis turned to his adjutant-battery commander. Seated behind a small console, he pressed one botton and the missiles were away.


From the forward battery command post Gravis could watch the projectiles disappear into the grey and green mass of Yag’dhul. They grew no smaller on his display and he took great pride in the accuracy of his guns. Steady they proceeded towards Yag’dhul itself and the unprepared city of Ferrivar.


Little did the battery commander know his missiles would run out of propellant fifty kilometers above the city and fall helplessly into a forest nearby. Fire would reign and wildlife would smolder, but the city would be safe.


For the first salvo.

[Iden Hyde]

Hyde surged to his feet, utter rage pouring from his very being as he watched the missile salvo thunder down upon one of his cities - only to fall short and splash harlmessly into the sea, sinking beneath the tumultuous waves. But what he had just witnessed was unforgivable, and the CEO of Terrisz'Voss was beyond anger. He was bordering on unspoken, unbridled rage, and it showed in his demeanor.

"Helm," he barked, "Tell Lin to fall back - I don't need her feeding this fire, and get me that Imperial. I want this explained to me right now from his own lips."

The helmsman nodded swiftly, complying with Hyde's demands as his fingers ran over quickly over the touchpad - then stopped...

"Sir... something is coming from hyperspace... "

With a snarl, Hyde glared down at his subordinate, then at Moroketh.

What was it now?!

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The ISD dropped from hyperspace silently on the other side of Yag'Dhul, her enormous bulk knifing through normal space easily. The ship looked dead however, for all intents and purposes, her bone white hull seemingly dark as the lack of lights gave off the air of a ghost ship. No transmissions were recieved or sent as it made its way smoothly towards Yag'Dhul, uninterrupted as the planets fleets seemed to be engaged elsewhere. Strange... The Imperial battle ship had come from Kamaar - was stolen (http://sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=21775&highlight=flunky) actually, and was now on its way to Thyferra. But... it's single occupant and captain wished to make a stop by Yag'Dhul first.

The bridge itself was dark; almost pitch black save for a few consoles blinking with life - the only indication that the ship itself was functioning. Bathed in darkness, the entire command deck appeared deserted; deviod of any sort of living being. However, if one looked close enough, they could barely catch the light glinting off bare skin, and the form that was crouched in the command chair of the behemeth shifted slightly in her black shroud.

Stark naked, the woman was unmoving for the most part, connected to the ships systems through a countless series of electrical wiring that ran from the ports along her spinal column, shoulders, and arms to disappear somewhere in the upper darkness above her. It was an unsettling sight, but necessary by all means. After all, it wasn't usually very easy to pilot a star destroyer singlhandedly. Better to be directly linked with the ship's systems.

And that's exactly what Loklorien s'Ilancy had done.

She looked up, eyes focusing on the orb that hung in space before her before her gaze shifted to the Terrisz'Voss fleet that was ascending, and the ships already in space, the Kiavedd among them. The ISD's sensors fed information to her, and her eyes, those metallic eyes, narrowed in confused anger.

Someone was attacking her planet.

The "ghost ship" began its flight around Yag'Dhul to see what this threat was, and in the dark of the command deck, the woman curled her hands into fists.

[Telan Desaria]

Fourteen Hours Remaining…


“ Admiral! We have an Imperial Star Destroyer inbound!”


Desaria snarled and looked out of the forward viewpanes. The ship was easily recognizable by its carbon scoring and severely damaged prow. The warship was the Destroyer Sumatra, formerly of Imperial Remnant ownership. That it was at Yag dhul instead of Thyferra for refit was odd and most unwelcome.


“ Hail them, Lieutenant. Order S’Ilancy to stand down and continue to Thyferra!”

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The form on the bridge of the stolen destroyer didn't move, and even as the message was delivered from Desaria's crew, she remained unmoving and silent - mulling over the situation before her. It was a strange sight to her, that a Sovereignty fleet would be over her home. She'd missed the scare tactic the Grand Admiral had ordered, and so was mystified. That Hyde had pulled the fleet from the ocean didn't mean anything good however, and a small suspicion began to build in the back of her mind.

Remaining still, she accessed the Sumatra's comm system through her connection, to returned Desaria's order. The relay was sent, and she knew the grand admiral would barely be able to make out the bridge through the darkness. It was then that she moved, slowly lifting her head to stare at the image of Desaria that flickered to life before her eyes, and with a small move stood from the command chair that she was crouched in, her bare feet touching the metal decks that were used to the hard soles of Imperial boots. As she moved, the wires that connected her to the ship shifted, creating a decidedly eerie effect. That she was without apparel meant nothing to her, and her metallic eyes stared at the Grand Admiral, their gaze somewhat glassy.

"What are you doing here."

[Telan Desaria]

Thirteen and One-Half Hours Remaining…


It took every ounce of military discipline the men on the bridge of the Interrogator could muster to prevent from cat-calling the screen raised from the decking before their Admiral’s command chair. Silhouetted against the darkened interior of a Star Destroyer bridge on power-save stood a naked woman not shabbily built. The Gods had been kind to her physique. At the wide-eyed notice of the men, several female crewmen and officers gave the appropriate nudges.


Grand Admiral Baron Desaria was Centaurian and thus found few women sexually appealing. Such was his luck as he was not distracted by her clothes-less form.


“ Duchess S’Ilancy. I did not expect to see you here. I must ask you to stand down your vessel and proceed to Thyferra immediately. This is a matter of Imperial security that need not concern you.”

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She stared at the Grand Admiral, taking in his words in utter silence and refraining from answering him right away. She let a minute of inactivity on her part pass, still and inmoving as she stood, eyes on his face. And ever so slowly, those eyes turned hard. She took a step backwards, feeling as the wires connecting her to Desaria's new addition followed her movements, some even gaining a little slack.

"Not concern me? Grand Admiral," she began coolly, "this planet is my home. That fleet out there rising from the oceans - " an arm swept out, wiring hanging limp from the slack now created and swinging lazily to and fro, " - I own half of it.

"So I think that you need to answer my question...

"What are you doing here."

[Telan Desaria]

This is intolerable! Civilians mingling in Imperial affairs, even if she is my friend!


Desaria switched a mute button the comm. transceiver, silencing outgoing communication. “ Colonel Aerin! Find me the Command Codes for that Vessel!”


The ship’s Intelligence attaché who doubled as its representative on the General Staff nodded and ducked into the aft control corridor where he feverishly pounded controls on his station. At this, Desaria took the mute off.


“ Duchess S’Ilancy, this world has been annexed by the Galactic Empire. The ruling government has chosen not to heed Imperial dominance in this matter and is being dealt with. I assure you as an officer and gentleman your holdings will not be harmed nor your property damaged. This world is necessary for the subsequent economic strangulation of the enemy. Heave to, Madame.”

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

In her eyes burned cold ice, and her lips curled in anger.

"Annex?! You plan to annex my planet?!" In anger she activated the Destroyer's shield defenses, her thoughts transferring through the wires connecting her to the behemeth which carried the signal to the ship's computers. It was purely a defensive reaction on the ships part, as the ship's computers interpretted her anger as a sign to defend itself. As yet, the turbolaser batteries remained quiet, still powered down.

She was the Star Destroyer.

And she was mad. Her home; her world... was being annexed by the Empire. A completey neutral world that wanted nothing to do with the troubles generated by selfish, planet-grabbing warmongers. She slowly sat in the command chair, hands resting on the armrests and legs crossed. A shock of blonde/brunette hair fell over her shoulders and down over the wires that protruded from her back and shoulders.

It was raw technology that the Grand Admiral looked upon - raw technology fused with the body, and while it gave off an eerie aura, it had its own beauty as well.

Lok s'Ilancy glared at Desaria.

"I will not heave to, Grand Admiral. This is my planet, my home, and my world - and just like Hyde, I won't allow you to sweep in and take what you want. However, unlike Mr. Hyde, I'm willing to hear why you are here and why you want this planet. If I like what I hear then we can go forward and come to a solution. But until then, I'd suggest you stand down."

Funny, I never thought I'd say that to a Grand Admiral before.

[Telan Desaria]

“ Madam Duchess, my compromise with Herr Hyde was practical and beneficial to both the Empire and the Planet of Yag’dhul. He refused, and I was forced to take action. Open defiance of the Empire will not be tolerated, as you well know.


“ My offer was simple: allow the Empire to establish a base in the system’s periphery, operating from one of the deadened moons of an outer-orbit planet. We will not interfere with the internal operations of Yag’dhul whatsoever. It would also benefit from Imperial protection, as any threat to it would be a threat to the Empire. It would not be subject to taxation, however minimal, nor would a garrison be established. The inhabitants of this world, human and non, would go about their lives in peace with the added benefit of knowing a heavily armed facility for replenishing a Light Assault Squadron sat at their very borders.


“ Your Herr Hyde was very adamant about maintaining his neutrality and that is why I made this proposition. He remained intransigent and the rest is history. You see my dilemma. I would suggest you demonstrate to this man the unsurvivability of the Empire’s Wrath. I doubt the citizens down there want stormtroopers parading through their streets.”


Grand Admiral Desaria shot a quick glance at Captain Voltaire who moved towards the forward viewports beyond the recorder range of the holoscreen. He faced inward of the bridge and stared intently at Colonel Aerin. With a cautious move of his hand, Voltaire indicated ten minutes until they would be in possession of the Destroyer’s CC codes.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

s'Il glowered at him, a deepset scowl on her normally passive features. An indicator on the armrest of the command chair heralded an incoming message from Hyde, and she cute the volume on Desaria's transmission. Hyde's message was audio only, but the angst and frustration was easily apparent in his voice as he explained all that had happened.

Listening to what the CEO of Terrisz'Voss said, she turned accusatory eyes on the Grand Admiral. The summary of what had happened was short, and as he spoke, she accessed one of the secondary comms, sending a brief message to Khendon. She wouldn't be able to turn Desaria away on her own.

The entire exchange between the two owners of Yag'Dhul's planetwide corporation took less than five minutes, and when it had finished, s'Il once more activated Desaria's audio.

"Awefull coincidental that you just happened to show up when you did. Isn't it, Telan."

[Telan Desaria]

“ Military tactics knows no coincidence. That you were away was of no concern – we had no idea: I had no idea you called this world home. But I cannot allow my personally feelings to interfere with actions that benefit the Empire – “

A small indicator flashed red as the Duchess muted his vocal intonations on her bridge. Time was running short for them both. At that time he again looked towards Captain Voltaire, who was nodding enthusiastically.

Imperial crews had been trained to take initiative and Desaria was pleased his flag captain had. Colonel Aerin relayed the Destroyer’s command and control codes to the tactical and communications stations bare seconds before the holorecorder would go active again. As it did, the Interrogator’s computer took complete control over the slightly smaller vessel before them.

As was standard precaution, communications were shut down and the ship’s relay feed overloaded. External communications would now be impossible, even between nearby vessels. Power to gun turrets from the main reactor was shunted to the engines and the all-powerful deflector generator domes taken off line. Palpatine had proven very insecure as had Viscera later on. As a result, those early class vessels of which the Sumatra was member, maintained the emergency override codes of olde.

Desaria stood as the raised holoscreen lowered, the transmission cut off with the relay’s termination. The situation was restored, at least for now.

“ Begin semaphore signaling. Inform the Duchess that we have complete control over that Destroyer. Captain – send a priority message to that damned platform to hurry up!!!”

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The mental pull that disconnected her from the Star Destroyer's computers was jarring, but she remained motionless as her connection was cut. She hated star destroyers. For this very reason. Thankfully MMU, who's larger half was docked in the main hangar bay, had pulled her from the Imperial ship's mainframe before the relay overload could reach her.

The destroyer was unusable - but no matter. her ship was still more than able to accomplish what she wanted, and moving, her form unfolded from the command chairshe'd taken residence in - disconnecting the wires that had linked her with the Sumatra. If this was the way Desaria wanted to play, then very well. She would play his game. And she would win. s'Il disregarded the messages the Grand Admiral was sending her - it was quite obvious to her that he had control over this ship; she didn't need him telling her that.

The trip to the main hangar bay was made in complete and utter silence, bare feet hitting the metal deck lightly as she stormed through hallways and corridors, and striding out into the vast hangar, she headed for the open gangplank. MMU was waiting for her, standing at the top of the ramp, his green eyes glowing in excitement.

Are you ok?!

"I'm fine. I take it you couldn't circumvent the command codes."

The antannae atop the avatars head fell, and he shook his head.

"No matter," she clipped, making her way up the ramp, "just get ready to dive again once we're out of here. And leave a few of your system bugs in the ships computer for them - " metallic eyes looked down at the droid as she passed by him, " - and make sure they're deep. And unexpected. I don't want your handiwork found out before it has the chance to make itself known, got it?"

Glowing green eyes shifting to red, MMU saluted smartly. Yes Sir!!

"Good. Now get us off this ugly piece of metal."



As soon as the boarding ramp had closed fully, the Rascal King was lifting off the hanger bay's deck and heading for open space.

[Telan Desaria]

Twelve Hours Remaining…


The time it had taken Madam-Duchess S’Ilancy to walk from the bridge of an Imperial II-class Star Destroyer had allowed one more hour to elapse until the Imperial super-battle platform would arrive. Just under one-half day remained before a well armed, fully crewed, and ridiculously powerful Imperial station arrived in-system.


Yag’dhul would be left in peace and the Empire would gain the base it demanded. There was the impediment of Yag’dhulian interloping, however. Their intransigence would prove to be the painful factor of the mission: a lack of interference would have resulted in no casualties and little interaction. The populous had its de facto governor to thank.


“ Admiral, we have a craft leaving the Sumatra’s landing bay!”


Desaria scowled, having re-mounted his command chair. “ Is it not one of the ship’s TIEs?”


“ It is a small freightor. Reading as the Rascal King.”


The Grand Admiral clenched his jaws. That was the infamous maiden ship of the Thyferran Duchess with which he had just exchanged harsh banter. “ Deploy two Assault Shuttles – get that ship under tow and escort it to the perimeter of the system”


Assault Shuttles were the most maneuverable as well as smallest Imperial craft that possessed a tractor beam as well as a low powered ion cannon. The game was afoot. With luck, the Grand Admiral would not have to fire on the ship.


Luck, however, was in short supply.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

He's launching shuttles to intercept us!

At the avatar's announcement, s'Il rolled her eyes. She'd dressed, now wearing a pair of infantry trousers and a white button-up - Desaria would recognize it as one of his, and she'd worn it on purpose as an indirect message to him that she could get her hands on whatever she wanted; and very much without anyone's knowledge.

In some ways this was getting aggravating, as she knew Desaria was hard-pressed to let go of an idea he'd decided to pursue. Thankfully so was she. Gripping the control throttles, she pulled back and up, and her ship retreated, its hulk gracefull even in backwards movement.

"Get me the Grand Admiral."

In mere moments, the screen before her flickered, space replaced by that of the Grand Admiral.

"Nice trick Pal,," she snapped at him. "... but I would caution you to not play with a fox."

[Telan Desaria]

“ Grand Admiral, Duchess S’Ilancy is requesting another holo-comm feed.”

Desaria glanced down at his communications chief. Every many or woman to sit in such a seat on any vessel of the Empire seemed to be the same as if graduation from Comm School involved marching through a mold and press.

“ Is there a message along with the link-module?”

“ Yes sir – a text only strand Nice trick pal.”

The Grand Admiral displayed no emotion to the short-worded message. He knew that the Duchess, despite her good intentions, would cause problems for the Empire’s current mission. His only tactic that could succeed without damaging her interests and person was his ignoring her.

“ Order the shuttles to increase speed. Get that ship down!”

One glance at the Grand Admiral’s armrest-mounted chrono revealed only eleven and one half hours remaining.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

He was ignoring her. That was the last straw, and slapping one of the throttles, s'Il extricated herself from her seat. "MMU, take care of yourself and do your best to make it look like I'm flying for as long as you can."

With a nod, the little avatar scuttled across the deck, and hopped up into the recently vacated chair. Raising his little hands as if he was the maestro of a grand orchestra, he brought them down after a few moments of inaction...

... and in response, the Rascal King seemed to drop - as if it was being pulled by gravity, and the entire ship appeared to plummet to nowhere in particular. s'Il herself, having stormed from the bridge, made her way to the main hangar where she kept her tagwing.

If he wasn't going to answer her, then she'd just have to take the argument to him - and that's exactly what she planned on doing. The small, waspish fighter sat waiting, the cockpit open and ready to recieve, and s'Il climbed in - all the while cursing beneath her breath.

Closing the canopy, she fastened the crashstraps before taking hold of the throttles and bringing the rakish craft to life. Her eyes never strayed from the datafeed that blinked on, telling her of the King's movements and where it was in relation to the other ships - and it was as MMU was bringing his larger self out of the "falls" that she sprung into action.

As the King slowed, passing by the Sumatra's hulk, s'Il gently eased the tagwing out of its moorings and into space, ever so slowly sidling next to the destroyer's superstructure and masking the tagwing in the Imperial ship's sensor shadow.

Now we play this game my way.

[Telan Desaria]

“ Spike Lead to Control: confirm permission for weapons use.”

“ Ions only, Spike Lead.” The voice of Colonel Messily, flight operations officer for the Star Destroyer Interrogator had obviously taken watch from the staff lieutenant who had it only an hour before. The older officer was both sleepless and dangerously afraid of his becoming dispensable making him an almost annoying presence in every activity pertaining to any vessel native to the warship. His men knew he had a spotless record and many decorations and was a very good pilot; Colonel Messily did not.

Spike Lead acknowledged and turned his assault shuttle on its wing. Spike Two, piloted by two well educated and very friendly twin brothers from Varonat, followed perfectly, matching their wingman’s move with explicit accuracy.

The Rascal King sat before them and began to plummet perpendicular to its trajectory away from the Sumatra. Both assault shuttles moved in quickly using superior speed. Without trouble they fell in off the ship’s haunches. It tried to jink and juke, but to no avail. Whomever the pilot was had the misfortune of forgetting his ship could accelerate.

“ Spike Lead to shuttle carrying the Duchess S’Ilancy. You are stand down immediately and steer course zero-zero-niner to nearest hyperspace jump point.”

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

She watched from her limited vantage, maintaining radio silence with MMU lest the signal be discovered. The little avatar was doing a good job so far, but she knew it was only a matter of time before the shuttles would tire of the game.


- - -

It was as if he was a grand maestro, leading a magnificent orchestra to frenzied heights. The Kng hadn't engaged its main drives, simply flying under the guise of a lagging propulsion unit. Still, its movements were gracefull and smooth.

Small arms waving maniacally in the air, the droid struck a somewhat dramatic pose, one arm jutting into the air, and it was at the flick of his mechanical wrist that his main units came online, and the sleek craft jumped ahead at surprising speed - only to pull an about face, and soon enough the Imperial shuttle pilots found themselves staring at the Rascal King as it sat dead in space momentarily.

And two seconds later, the moment ended.

The King shot forward, propelled by powerful engines - straight at the shuttles. It was at the last moment before collision that the ship veered up and over, heading for the farthest Destroyer.


- - -

Tucked away in her hiding spot, s'Il kept the tagwing in silent-mode, waiting as MMU had his "playtime".

[Telan Desaria]

“ In the name of the Sith!” swore Spike Lead as their target craft had shed its weak visage and taken on the form of a rather sly beast. The moment was too fast for him to distinguish, but he thought he saw a droid piloting the vessel! He dismissed the notion and returned to his faculties.

“ Control to Lead – go weapons hot. Get her!”

The leading assault shuttle spun as fast as it could, the craft agile as could be expected. It was a shuttle after all, built as a light raider and support craft not snubfighter. Their turn was wide and graceful, taking them under the hull of the darkened Sumatra. A view of the two Destroyers was breathtaking, one pointed at the other, teeth barred. The slightly smaller ship had been cowed, its lights out compared to the shining and impressive Interrogator.

There was one more aspect of the assault shuttle that would aide their crews’ work that day, however. While their torpedo tube and laser cannon were fixed under the cockpit and on the wings, the craft’s light ion cannon was mounted in a full-swivel turret on their dorsal quarter. The ship’s third officer manned the gun.

Chief Morr Illyich Baast sat in the couch attached to the ball turret wedged in the shuttle’s hull and turned it as the ship was propelled through space. His aim was a tad off, but it need only scare his target. Several squeezes of the trigger warmed the gun up. Then, he let loose a wild barrage towards the ducking prey. Blue splinters of light crossed the expanse between them.

Bridge – Interrogator

Grand Admiral Desaria looked out the bow viewports and saw a stray bolt of ion energy shoot past the bridge. With building fury he slammed a black-gloved hand on the top of his command chair.

" Damn!!!!"

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

MMU was taking the shuttles away; towards the furthest Star Destroyer, and s'Il grinned, bringing the tagwing's main engines to life with a rumbling purr which belied its true strength. The waspish fighter, converted from a racer, came free of its hiding place, and keeping her metallic eyes on the sensor readouts, s'Il watched as MMU took the shuttles farther and farther out of range.

Wrists tensing, she gunned the craft, and it shot from its protected spot, leaping out like a bolt from a turbolaser -

- and on a direct course with the Interrogator.

[Telan Desaria]

“ Admiral, another ship coming into scanners. A snubfighter, unknown designation.”

The Grand Admiral glanced down at his sensor chief and the rendering on his screen. He was as unfamiliar as he was with it, but its appearance he recognized immediately. “ This woman is becoming quite a problem.”

“ Sir?” Captain Voltaire looked at him bemused from the crewpit.

“ The Duchess!” Desaria bit out. “ She had a fighter attached to that little rust bucket for an occasion such as this. She may be a criminal, but she is not stupid. Neither am I, however. She’s in the middle of an Imperial flotilla. Bring some TIEs down on her.”

“ Aye sir.”

The small winged craft moved closer towards the formation’s command ship and the pickets deployed throughout to prevent just such a charge by an enemy’s fighter squadrons. Four squadrons of TIE Defenders moved towards the Duchess’s ship, a mass of forty eight high speed craft bristling with weapons, shields, and ablative hull armor.

[Fa'Rawn Lin]

It seemed people forgot about her - not that it mattered. Rawn rather liked it that way, and this instance was no different. She'd followed the Imperial fleet, her dogs staying close to her mobile unit, and as of yet, they hadn't been bothered at all. Rawn grinned as she saw the scene unfolding before her, knowing that her attack would no doubt come as a surprise -

- and as the first wave of TIEs made their descent upon s'Il's tagwing, the dogs seemed to drop from nowhere, like a swarm of Corellian hornets.

And in the midst of it all, Rawn - the Mech Dog Momma, was responsible for the carnage that was about to ensue, her own mobile suit powering up its weapons.

Green bolts erupted from the arm-mounted blasters, lancing out towards the nearest TIE.

She was the Bullgod.

[Telan Desaria]

Captain Maxis Vilnius, commanding officer of the Imperial Victory-class Star Destroyer Proteus, ran a gloved finger over a scar showing on the exposed skin between his left forearm and his other leather-hidden hand. The touch was emotionless, that is to say painless in a physical sense. Five of his close friends during the Raltiiran officer’s Academy days had perished when a turbolaser cannon overloaded. That had been then-Ensign Vilnius’ first action, then on a frigate slated for anti-pirate duty. Since he had assumed command of his Destroyer eight months before, one hundred-eight independent vessels had been eliminated from the registrar of wanted raiders.

When the alarm klaxon sounded on the bridge of his warship, Vilnius’ nostalgia turned to rage. He had little patience for the people below, as he considered the whole of Yag’dhul organized privateers, a nest of pirates and scum. He would follow his Admiral’s orders regardless, but according to the din growing on the bridge, they had fired on him.

“ Captain, the 163rd reports it is under attack!”

Vilnius regarded the small but concise display on his arm rest. A swarm of attack dogs had set itself on the Defender squadron deployed as pickets for the VSD off the Interrogator’s port quarter. Four frigates and one light cruiser sat around the central nexus of battleships, and now they could act as they were built.

“ Orders from the Grand Admiral, sir. We are to defend ourselves vigorously.”

There had been no shots fired at the Destroyer whose design was tired but true, the enemy pursuing her offspring.

“ All batteries, fire at will. Commence flak fire by battery. Missiles are to be locked to bridge controls.”

The enemy dogs came within range and the Praetor fought back. Sheets of neon energy pulsed away, heavy turbolasers and light cannon firing mercilessly into space. Their shots went wide and missed almost to a one, but they created a fragile channel through which the enemy could dart.

Ships that had risen from the planet’s sea were still out of range. That would change - - - depending on what the Admiral said.

Bridge, ISD V Interrogator

“ First S’Ilancy, now Hyde!!! I am getting very tired of playing with these people. Signal Hyde he has one minute to call off his assault before I burn his ships from the stars.”

[Iden Hyde]

The Kiavedd had arrived, its gracefull, curved hulk angling toward the Imperial fleet - not on an intercept course, but more as a way to get more bearing on the situation at hand.

Glaring out the viewscreen, Gabriel Hyde watched as Fa'Rawn dove into the Imperials, both ire and utter rage rising within him.

"Get that damn girl away from there," he growled to Moroketh, "I don't need her making an even bigger mess out of this - "

One of the helmsmen turned, announcing that the Grand Admiral had sent a transmission, but Terrisz'Voss' CEO ignored him.

" - and keep a constant distance from that fleet - I don't want to be dragged into anything."

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

The fighter stayed on course, s'Il gritting her teeth as the Imperial behemeth loomed closer, growing exponentially larger with each passing second. Her sensors were going mad as the squadrons sent out headed straight for her, but she kept a steady hand on the throttles. The arrival of the Kiavedd hadn't gone unnoticed, but for now, she had other things that needed resolving.

With a curse, s'Il reached up, her fingers depressing buttons quickly as she activated her comm system.

Her voice held a calm tone, but it was easy to detect the barely contained anger seeping around each word.

"Grand Admiral Desaria," she bit out, "call off your men right now. If you want this situation to be resolved, then I would like to reccommend that you let me aboard your ship to discuss this matter face to face - and if you so desire, I can have Mr. Hyde present as well.

"If you don't stop this idiocy, then I'll be forced to call on Khendon Sevon.

"And I don't think you want that."

[Telan Desaria]

“ Damn it! Madam Silancy, I will not let you presume to command the actions of any officer of the Empire, including myself. I would be more than happy to discuss this issue with Hyde, but an attack on Imperial property will not go unresolved. If they break off, the fire will cease. If it does not, then we will not stop defending ourselves.”

The Grand Admiral slammed a hand on his chair as he looked out towards Yag’dhul.

“ Do not threaten me, Duchess! Imperator Sevon can waltz wherever he wishes with his technological terrors, but nothing can match the Empire’s guns. If he wants a fight, than he can have one. Our business is closed.”

The Praetor continued to fire, missiles now pouring from its eighty launch tubes. Dogs were dropping from the stars like flies, their debris patterns creating great clouds of debris. Hits were being scored against the Victory-class Star Destroyer’s armor where gaps opened in her shields, but the dogs and its commander had not reckoned on Imperial Destroyers having been retrofitted under extensive programs with additional armor. While it slowed their speed considerably, their survival in an age where battleships were rare was paramount.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

"Damn yourself!" she shot back venomously, "Hyde is taking care of the matter with his little 'Lone Gunman' out there - so I'll say just once more:

"If you want this garbage to stop, be the bigger man and shut off your batteries. I know you Telan, and I know you want to do this the honorable way.

"What better way to show your honor to Hyde than listening to his concerns and addressing the problem face to face? You know as well as I do that theres a certain amount of scare-tactics involved whenever you look down your nose at a world from the inside of your bridge - goddammit you know this!

Show Hyde that you're different from other Imperials - show him that you're as much of a man as he is -

- show him that you have honor."

[Telan Desaria]

From the bridge of the Imperial V-class Star Destroyer Interrogator there came no reply. From the other ships of the small Imperial detachment, there came no communications of any kind.

There was none, rather, that the natives could detect. In fact, a tight-beam message was sent to the Praetor that ordered it to fire on missiles only. Battery fire from the new-model warship ceased.

From the belly of the Interrogator came the bone-white delta-wing form of a Sentinel-class Shuttle. Around it, three squadrons of Mark II Defenders fell into escorting positions. Two blastboats fell in behind with another three assault shuttles in their aft quarter. It was a small flotilla of the most potent small-craft in the Empire, but it fired at nothing. It’s IFF had been changed to match that of its home carrier – modified to carry the code of a Grand Admiral’s flag.

With an aristocrat and guards in the shuttle’s cabin, it steered towards Yag’dhul and an unihabited island thereon.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Breaking left, the small fighter banked outwards as the TIEs flew by her - their guns silent. Within the cockpit, s'Il let out a silent breath of relief - and breath that quickly caught in her throat as she watched the shuttle descended from the Star Destroyer Desaria had been on, and with a slight nudge to the throttles, she sent her tagwing after it; taking up a flanking position just ahead of the shuttles - and its escorts - right side.

With a brief message to Hyde, telling him to follow, she settled herself as best as she could...

... what went on might not get very pretty - for all involved.

[Iden Hyde]

With s'Il's small communique, Hyde grimaced to himself. The situation with Fa'Rawn had been curbed, and she'd been ordered back to the Kiavedd - but now Loklorien wanted him to meet with this Imperial?? His grimace turned into a hmph, and he leaned back. Normally he would never have given any thought to talking with an Imperial, but circumstances now demanded it, and he could not ignore them.

That the Imperial ships had ceased their fire upon the dogs was dually noted, and Terrisz'Voss' CEO found himself raising an eyebrow. Either Loklorien said something, or this man was a little... different. Conducted his men in a manner that wasn't how normal Imperials acted.

Rising to his feet then, Hyde turned to Moroketh.

"Make sure that the dogs are all retrieved - and confing Agent Lin to her quarters as soon as she steps foot on my ship. I don't care what any of her reasonings are."

The Yevethan nodded silently as Hyde turned to head from the bridge - "And have Lieutenant Teeg meet up with me."

Another nod, and Gabriel Hyde was gone from the bridge. As he strode down the corridors of the Kiavedd, his mind worked feverishly - what would happen in the event he met this Desaria - what would transpire - and most prevailent, what in the world did Loklorien have planned in that mind of hers?


- - -

A small, unmarked fighter (http://www.earthcom.de/assets/fighters/zodiac.gif) dropped from the hangar bay of the Kiavedd, and with a smooth arc, aligned itself on a trajectory that would allow it to meet up with the Imperial shuttle - and Loklorien. Its trip was short, and in almost no time at all it was flying beside the Imperial ships - directly on the opposite side of s'Il's own tagwing.

[Telan Desaria]

" They seemed to have formed up with us, Your Excellency."

Grand Admiral Desaria nodded and buttoned his double-breasted great-coat. He knew that the weather on Yag-dhul was below temperate and had to dress accordingly. Accordingly, his cropped black hair was covered by an officer's visor cap, the brim black and top white. Lieutenant Malik, his personal guard commander, had a visor cap of all-black.

Desaria moved over to the viewport Malik was looking out of where Hyde's shuttle now sat. With a shurg, he adjusted the two aigilletteus on his left shoulder. The boards of white on the black jacket stood out proudly bearing the silver-spun insignia of a Grand Admiral. The workmanship was exquisite and hand-woven.

There were only four guards in addition to Lieutenant Malik, each black uniformed Fleet troopers. Brigadier General Maxim, Chief of Staff to the Supreme Commander, sat nearby.

The shuttle bounced only slightly as it penetrated the thin atmosphere of Yagdhul. Fighters took up parade positions astide a small island, the accompanying assault craft doing likewise. The Sentinel set down, its ramp extended.

Grand Admiral-Baron Telan Desaria stepped down followed by his entourage....

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Her own fighter coming in low, s'Il let it seemingly glide over the Imperial shuttle and its emerging occupants. Passing over its top, she spotted Desaria out of her peripheral vision before focusing her attention on landing her tagwing. Unfortunately, unlike most craft, it didn't have any landing gear of any kind, - fortunately, the Grand Admiral's shuttle had landed somewhat close to the island's beach, and without a second thought, she angled the small ship away from the island, letting the small patch of land diminish behind her momentarily before once more arcing back, putting the fighter into a gently dive. The nose came up, just over the water as it sped back, and the underbelly briefly kissed the uncommonly still waters before beginning to settle itself more firmly into the liquid mass.

a spray of water was displaced magnificiently to either side as the tagwing was slowed in its momentum, and s'Il shut off the engine as her fingers moved deftly to shut off the fighters main power grids.

It came to a slow stop, bobbing in the shallows as the hatch opened with an audible ka-chiss, and the form of Lok s'Ilancy could be seen standing up. She stood still for a few moments, casting a metallic gaze in the directioni of Desaria and his men, then with a quick movement, vaulted over the side and into the shallow waters, soaking her pantlegs instantly. The water came up to her thighs, but she paid it no attention as she bulled her way towards shore -

- and towards the Imperials waiting for her and Hyde.

[Iden Hyde]

Hyde's own fighter had landed quietly, setting down gently a short distance away from the Imperial shuttle. He'd been the first to land, but had decided to simply allow the cockpit hatch to open as he sat up, leaning back to watch the Imperial's shuttle land. His eyes picked apart the men that emerged from the craft, easily spotting who the leader and followers were - it wasn't hard, after all.

He canted his head, taking in the escort that had followed the Imperial shuttle as they maintained a pattern around the small group which had converged. He grimaced as he watched them.

And then Loklorien had landed - though hers was more of a rough entrance, and he cast his gaze from the still airborne craft to her form as it barrelled through the shallows, making her way to the shore. A brow arched as he once more turned his eyes to the cadre of Imperial officers, and with controlled movements, stood.

The fighter was streamlined, and built for speed - thus, it was low to the ground to allow easier access for pilots, and Hyde was easily able to vault his frame over the side to land lightly on the ground.

A quick glance to his left showed that the tides were ever so slowly beginning to form - they had two, maybe three hours at best before the island was once more slammed by Yag'Dhul's torrential weather patterns.

Hopefully, that would be more than enough time needed for this upcoming meeting of sorts.

[Telan Desaria]

Presented with the leader of Yag’dhul face toface, decorum had an issue that needed to be solved. Gabriel Hyde was the Governor of an Independent World and entitled to a salute. However, he was also a civilian.

The Grand Admiral erred on the side of caution and touched his black leather-gloved right hand to the polished brim of his visor-cap. Bemused but obedient, Brigadier General Maxim followed suit; the four Fleet troopers clicked their heels to attention and erected themselves from parade-rest.

The salute fell after a few seconds, and Grand Admiral Desaria clasped his hands at the small of his back.

“ Governor Hyde. I regret the loss of your units during what I understand from intercepted communiqués was an errant attack. The Captain of the Praetor was following my general order to defend if attacked.

“ I also would like to resolve this without further incident. My wish is not the destruction of your world or the needless loss of life. The attack on your city was retaliatory for open defiance of the Emperor’s will.

“ This can be resolved easily. Your system acts as a waypoint for two major hyperlanes. Both of these routes ferry a significant amount of material to the New Republic, the enemy of the Empire. For this reason, these routes need to be interdicted to prevent further contraband from passing through our territory. We occupy the world of Hilari VII which is close to this nexus, but not close enough.

“ Our goal is to establish a garrison here. You have made open your wish not to have Imperial forces in your system. I am willing to acquiesce. I would like to position a battle platform on your system’s periphery from which a squadron of intercepting warships can stage. Yag’dhul, in return, will gain the protection of the Empire for its needs, be exempt from taxation, conscription, or any other such requirements. Fifty percent of materials confiscated from Rebel vessels will as well be turned over to your government.”

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

Her legs soaked, s'Il stalked closer to the group that had come together, her eyes hard edged as she approached. She said nothing, however, keeping her mouth shut for the time being, and slowing to a halt, she stood - mostly off to the side but closest to Hyde as Desaria spoke.

She knew it would be best to allow Hyde to at least hear what the Grand Admiral was saying; there were a few details even she hadn't known, but she thought it best to allow Hyde to mull over this proposition thoroughly.

And so she stood, still seething and dripping wet, her arms crossed as she glared at Desaria.

[Iden Hyde]

Listening to the Grand Admiral, Hyde found himself lightly clasping his hands behind his back. His eyes flitted to Lok as she stood, but soon went back to the Imperial standing before him before clearing his throat.

"Tell me, Grand Admiral," he started when Desaria had finished, "Why did you not simply come under a diplomatic banner... ? It seems that such an approach would have been much easier and more straightforward than using the method you did in the first place."

[Telan Desaria]

Desaria pursed his lips and inhaled sharply.

" Governor Hyde, I intend no disrespect, but the Empire recognizes only certain governments as legitimate and open to diplomatic entreaties. Yours does not match what Doctrine requires."

The Grand Admiral held up a hand before he could retort.

" Before you ask, the standard for diplomatic relations must be, not to put too fine a point on it, a government successfully expanded beyond its own borders. Yag'dhul occupies only its own system."

[Iden Hyde]

"I don't much care for being a legitimate government, as you say, nor do I have any intentions of expanding Terrisz'Voss outside of Yag'Dhul's system borders. I enjoy my solitude here, and so do the people - I'm not about to force them to be a part of something they don't want.

Now. as far as your platform, I see a very large downfall for me in this proposed deal. No doubt the New Republic would send its warships and fleets to investigate the situation surrounding the attacks on their vessels - thus turning my home into a doormat for skirmishes and battles between yourself and the NR. And that is exactly what I do not want.

"It is a large gesture on your part to waive your usual taxations and the like, but it has a hard time making such a proposal."

A small pause, and Hyde canted his head to the side.

"And I'm not the governor of this planet - I simply happen to run a very successful business with Miss s'Ilancy. A simple Mr. will suffice."

[Telan Desaria]

" Mr. Hyde then. And as for an attack on your planet, you needn't worry. Between you and the New Republic lie two of the most well-fortified Imperial bastions in the galaxy: Thyferra and Carida. These would have to be eliminated before they could attack you. Also, the New Republic is otherwise occupied right now with interecine warfare.

" This platform as well will aide you - you may use it as an uplink to the Imperial HoloNet. Your ships throughout the galaxy will as well be under the protection of the Empire. I personally guarantee the safety of your world.

" As fact, I give you my word as a gentleman that if the Rebels attack, I will withdraw my forces and declare Yag'dhul an open system."

[Iden Hyde]

The CEO of Terrisz'Voss considered the Grand Admiral's words, weighing in his mind the benefits and drawbacks of each offer. Bringing his arms from behind his back, he crossed them over his chest.

Turning his gaze to Lok then, he inclined his head to her, silently asking if there was anything she wished to say on this proposed projest of the Grand Admiral's.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

In title, she was Terrisz'Voss' CFO -its Chief Financial Officer due to the fact that it was her original funding that helped the company rise to the levels it sat upon today. She took an active roll in its concept development projects as well, often "testing out" new technologies.

And now, in this particular situation, she may not have looked the part, but she certainly acted it. At Hyde's look, she took a small step forward.

"If we agree, then I'd like to have a liaison on your platform. As well as an assurance that none of your men will attempt to infiltrate Terrisz'Voss."

[Telan Desaria]

" You can land an entire contingent on it if you wish. It will be nothing more than a glorified fueling platform. Aboard will be recreational facilities for crew, stroage areas for fuel and food, maintenance bays, large analysis networks.

" As far as infilitration - "

The Grand Admiral turned to his adjutant who stepped up and clicked.

" Imperial Intelligence has not operated in this area beyond the scope of military reconnaissance."

Desaria smiled. " We have no interested in the company, though the Empire does no doubt own a few shares of stock. You will be free to operate as you wish."

[Iden Hyde]

At Loklorien's slight nod, Hyde looked to Desaria. Some part of him knew, that in some form or another, either the Empire or the NR would come calling - he'd just wished it was after his time. Unfortunately, things weren't often how one wanted them to be. He inhaled, locking eyes with the Grand Admiral.

"Very well. We concede. You may have your platform at the edge of the system."

[Telan Desaria]

The Grand Admiral smiled and extended a gloved hand.

" Welcome to the Empire, Mr. Hyde."

[Iden Hyde]

A single finger rose, and Hyde's eyes became hard.

"I mean no disrespect Grand Admiral, but I am merely giving in to your propositioin because I know you would not let the matter alone until you got what you wanted.

"But, please remember and respect this -

" - Yag'Dhul is not a member of the Empire; perhaps after I am gone it may be, but as long as I run Terrisz'Voss - no."

That being said,Hyde reached out as well, grasping Desaria's hand in a firm handshake.

[Telan Desaria]

Grand Admiral Desaria smiled slightly.

" I respect your dedication, Mr. Hyde. But for all intents ar purposes, you are. You are now under the protection of the Imperial Fleet, deep in the heart of the Empire. You are able now to trade within the Empire, to visit our worlds.

" But we will not force ourselves on you. Know it or not, you have taken a bold step today. Congratulations."

He turned to face the water-soaked woman standing at the CEO's side. With a tilt of his body towards the ground, Desaria bowed.

" Duchess."

With that, the party of Grand Admiral Telan Desaria re-embarked on their courier shuttle.

Yag'dhul was in Imperial hands, even if in name only. It would be added to the roster of planets in the Empire, despite its neutrality. The Empire now was whole, from one end to another. All enemies were outside its borders, one flowing line around the largest region of unified space -

Lest one count the Rebels...