Admiral Firmus Piett watched as his homeworld of Axxila grew smaller and smaller as he piloted his shuttle to a good place to make the jump to hyperspace to return to the Super Star Destroyer the Executor, which he commanded under the Emperor's apprentice and right hand, Darth Vader.

Vader, having been summoned to Imperial Center, better known as Coruscant, for a few days by Emperor Palpatine, had given the crew leave to visit their families, but they had to return to Executor within five days.

Piett had taken the chance to return to his homeworld to see his parents and five year old daughter, Cassandra Taylor Piett, or just Cas for short.

The child's joy had seemed to know no bounds when she spotted her father. With a happy squeal, she had abandoned her toys, dashed over, and grabbed him around the leg. She had stayed that way until he had finally managed to pry her off and lift her into his arms.

Now he was returning to the ship that was practically his home.

Cas had been in tears when he told her he had to leave, and because of it, he had left almost half an hour later than he had planned to.

He sighed, shook his head, and turned his attention back to the present as he made the jump to hyperspace.

Once aboard the Executor, he headed for his quarters. He set his large bag on his bed and glanced at the chrono.

He wasn't on duty for another hour yet.

Sighing, he headed for the mess hall. Once there, he got a warm drink, moved to a table near the viewing window, and sat watching the stars as he sipped his drink.

None of the men who saw him made any attempt to speak with him. They recognized the far off look on the Admiral's face that signaled he was deep in his thoughts. No one tried to talk to him even as he finished his drink and headed towards the bridge.

Though a usually even-tempered man, when interrupted without due cause, Piett, somewhat like Vader, would lash out, however he, more often than not, lashed out with words.

While he wasn't as intimidating or dangerous as Lord Vader, the Admiral was still not someone to be taken lightly. Getting towards middle-aged, Piett was still more than match for many of the men. On the Executor, unless Vader said otherwise, the Admiral's word was law.

Like Vader, Piett demanded absolute loyalty from his men. New recruits had to quickly figure out that to survive on this ship, they had be loyal to Vader first, the rest on board second, and the Emperor third.

Seasoned men were accustomed to the Dark Lord and the Admiral's ways of command. A look in their direction from either of their two leaders was enough to calm and control them. New recruits learned the ways of authority quickly, and Vader often left it to Piett to get them to learn their ways.

The recruits, especially the younger ones, quickly discovered that Piett was not above striking someone when pushed too far. Several young recruits found themselves cuffed by the Admiral, some a few times.

It didn't take them long to catch on to how the Admiral controlled his men, though he had a few different techniques.

The easiest and most commonly used was, of course, simply speaking. However, when unwilling or unable to due to the situation he was in, whether he was listening to orders from Vader or a report from an officers or if he was sick or had lost his voice some other way, he used expressions and body language.

When using body language and expression, it depended on how he was walking, how his held his head and shoulders, how he stood, how his hands and arms were, what his face was like, and what was seen in his eyes.

There had been one time not long after he had become Admiral, Piett had broken up a fight between two junior offices by standing nearby and glaring down at them. The moment they caught sight of their glaring leader, the officers had broken apart.

Piett had then gone over to them and stopped in front of them. Upon having lost his voice due to a cold, he didn't say anything. Instead, he simply stood in front of them, standing straight, his arms cross over his chest, tapping his foot lightly in impatience, his face stern, and his eyes a mixture of disappointment, anger, and disgust.

It wasn't even a minute before they confessed to the reason of the fight, which had been a joke one of them told that had offended the other.

The Admiral then, after thinking for a few moments, led them to the repair and reprogramming center and had reprogram all the mouse droids as well as repair any damaged or broken ones. Since there were always some mouse droids running around the Executor at any given time, it took them all day and night to finish, but they never again got into trouble with the Admiral.

Piett was by no means a cruel leader and could be a very kind man, but he learned while a Captain that, more often than not, leaders had to have firm, and sometimes hard, hands. He pushed his men because he knew that they could do great things when at their best.

He was a far better Admiral than the late Ozzel, and the men respected and liked him. Unlike Ozzel and many other high ranking officers, Piett didn't act like he was better than anyone else. He was a rare humble man and treated his men, if not as equals, then at least as comrades and fellow people. He also preferred to ask his men to do things, only giving true orders when he saw fit and when it was needed.

As he headed for the bridge to take over from his Captain, Jerec Saun, the men stood at attention and saluted as he walked by. He nodded in return, though never slowing. He reached the bridge and took over, dismissing Suan.

Piett stood at the front of the bridge, once again staring out at the stars. A familiar sound reached his ears, growing louder as it got close. He stood straight, turned, and saluted.

"My Lord," he said in greeting.

Darth Vader looked down at his second-in-command,

"Admiral."

Both stared out into space.

Those on the bridge continued their work, occasionally taking a quick glance at their two leaders.

By the time Piett returned to his quarters, it was late, and he was exhausted. Changing into his pajamas, he pushed his bag off his bed.

"Ow!"

He whirled and opened the bag to find himself looking at his daughter.

"Hi, Daddy."

He stared at her in shock and horror.

One thought came to his mind.

Oh crap.