Adrian Rubinsky emerged from his hidden bunker and showed his face to the Phezzani sun for the first time in what felt like ages to the cheers of thousands of people who flooded into the streets as the Imperial occupation force fled and Phezzani security forces began to seize control of the planet. While not usually the sort of leader who relied on charisma, Rubinsky recognized the moment and waved to the people from the top of a seized Imperial troop transport as it headed down the main road in the war torn Phezzani capital towards the central government complex. While Rubinsky was returning to the capitol he couldn't return directly to his old seat of power, it having been destroyed in his first wave of bombings against his former subordinate, Nicholas Boltik.

"Three cheers for the Black Fox of Fezzan!" shouted a member of the crowd.

"Rubinsky has beaten the Empire!" shouted another as the crowd broke into celebration, tossing flowers, papers, or anything else at hand into the street as makeshift confetti.

Rubinsky soaked up the crowd's adoration which represented the culmination of months of patient planning. The moment was shattered as a woman shrieked and pointed to the sky. Distant points of light steadily moved in a clear formation. This many together could only be a war fleet.

"The Imperials are returning!" screamed a woman.

"They'll bomb us! Run to the shelters!" shouted another within the crowd.

The rushing crowd swarmed around the Imperial transport Rubinsky and his entourage stood upon, isolating them like a rock protruding from the center of a raging river. Rubinsky looked up and for the briefest of moments felt the fear of the crowd transferred to him as he saw the formation of ships gradually increasing their domination of the sky. One of Rubinsky's guards pressed his earpiece in desperately in order to hear the radio over the roar of the crowd then spoke into the ear of Rubinsky the news that the ships approaching were in fact not Imperials, but the Free Planets Alliance fleet led by Marshal Yang Wenli. The information was finally passed down to someone within the troop transport who operated it's attached loud speaker.

"Attention! The approaching ships are friendly forces! They are the Free Planets Alliance fleet led by Yang Wenli. I repeat, the approaching ships are friendly forces!"

The crowd stopped dead in their tracks at the revelation and after only the briefest moment of silence they broke into cheers once more.

"It's Miracle Yang!"

"Yang has chased the Imperials away!"

"Hurrah for the Alliance! Hurrah for Yang Wenli!"

Dominique awkwardly pushed herself up and out of the hatch from the interior of the troop carrier and finally joined Rubinsky on top. She walked over towards him with a slight smile on her face and embraced him while whispering in his ear. "All glory is fleeting, isn't it?"

Rubinsky gave her a questioning look as she pulled away, but couldn't find a legitimate argument to counter her with so he brushed it off with a shrug, as the crowd continued to cheer for the Alliance Fleet Marshal.


Aboard Yang's flagship Hyperion there was also celebrating as they watched the Imperial ships warp out of the corridor back towards the Empire.

"Congratulations, Mister Butler. It seems Phezzan will be free once more." Yang said calmly.

"Thank you for your efforts, Marshal Yang." Butler replied humbly. "There's something I have for you."

Butler handed Yang a small data storage device. "What is it?" asked Yang.

"It's the navigation data for the entire Phezzan corridor." Butler replied. "With it you should be able to make an effective plan to blockade it against the Imperials."

Yang nodded recognizing the significance of the information. Without it, it would have been impossible for the Empire to safely warp a large number of ships through the Phezzan corridor. They had secured the same data when Duke Lohengramm convinced Nicholas Boltik to betray his former comrades in exchange for the promise of the governorship of Phezzan.

Warp drives could easily be destabilized by spacial anomalies and unaccounted for gravitational effects. As as result, most faster-than-light space travel occurred on well established routes that had been predetermined to be safe. While discovering another path in the relatively narrow amount of stable space within the Phezzan corridor might be possible, it would take months, perhaps even years, of careful effort by small numbers of specially equipped ships to do so, which would give even the beleaguered Alliance and Phezzan enough time to respond to them with overwhelming force before large numbers of regular military ships from the Empire could safely warp in. To warp without appropriate data could lead to an entire fleet disappearing into null space and being reduced to their elementary particles in another dimension. Now Yang had the ability to rewrite the galactic map.

"You understand what I'm about to do can't easily be undone?" Yang asked. "To create a blockade that is effective against the Imperial Fleet, it will also have to be equally effective against your trading vessels."

"We're prepared to do what we must." Butler replied. "Phezzan will have to adapt to the changing situation if we want to preserve our independence."

"As long as you understand." Yang said before handing the data off to Fredrica who quickly uploaded the data into the flagship's navigation computer.

The Yang fleet diligently went about the task of blockading the Phezzan corridor. In key locations freighters near the end of their service life were brought in and intentionally caused subspace disruptions with their warp drives then were detonated, adding hazardous debris to the mix. Lines of space mines and surveillance satellites completed the work. Yang choked the corridor to the point that even with proper maps of the minefields, safely navigating it with large numbers of ships would be impossible.

"Isn't it a shame for humanity that we have to destroy what used to be the only peaceful link between the Alliance and the Empire?" Julian asked Yang.

"That purpose for it truly came to an end when Duke Lohengramm used the corridor for his invasion." answered Yang. "Not that I don't appreciate the strategic reasons why he chose to do so."

"We'll be able to return home soon, won't we, Your Excellency?" Frederica asked.

"Home?" Yang asked while thinking about it. "Yes, I suppose we will be able to head there soon."


"Mittermeier!" High Admiral Reuentahl shouted over the wreckage strewn battlefield on the surface of planet Hermstadt.

"Admiral Mittermeier!" Bergengrün followed his commander not far behind, as they and a squad of armored soldiers traversed the trenches and craters of the former siege lines of the Imperial fleet.

"Help..." came a weak voice from within a trench.

"Over here!" shouted one of the soldiers and the group rushed over to see an Imperial soldier with a hastily treated leg wound lying in the trench covered in mud.

"We're looking for High Admiral Mittermeier." explained Bergengrün. "We'll get you out of here. Is there any thing you can tell us?"

"The High Admiral, he came to support our line as it was faltering." answered the soldier as he strained through the pain of his injury. "He ordered us to fall back as his grenadiers moved in. Then I took a blast to the leg as I retreated. Someone carried me back here and patched me up, but that's the last I saw or heard of him. In the state I'm in, there was no way I could make it back to the ship."

"Which way to your line?" Reuentahl asked abruptly.

The soldier pointed. "Maybe a hundred meters ahead. They couldn't have carried me far."

"Thank you, soldier." said Bergengrün. "You two, get this man back to the transport."

"Yes, sir." replied a pair of soldiers who lifted the man up who grimaced as he was helped off the field.

"Let's move." Reuentahl ordered and the rest of the squad started to move ahead in the direction the wounded soldier had indicated.

As soon as the Reuentahl stepped out of the trench, blaster fire shot out narrowly missing the high admiral. Bergengrün hastily pulled Reuentahl back into the trench as the rest of the squad returned fire, peppering the lone attacker with blasts until the firing stopped.

"Check for enemies hiding among the bodies!" ordered the squad sergeant. The soldiers went through the grisly process of putting blasts into corpses to make sure they were dead.

"Your Excellency, this area is not secure. You should leave the recovery of High Admiral Mittermeier to the rest of the troops." insisted Bergengrün.

"I can't do that. Not only is Mittermeier my friend, but the Empire will suffer another terrible blow should we not find him." Reuentahl said as he once again moved out of the trench.

"Forgive me, Your Excellency, but consider the even graver situation the Empire will be in should we lose you both." replied Bergengrün. "It may not be my place to say such things, but none of the men of the admiralty that remain are capable of fulfilling the roles you possess."

"Once we bring back Mittermeier we can start being more cautious." Reuentahl offered as consolation as he pushed on at the head of the squad.

As the troops moved ahead one of them remarked on the dead. "I recognize these unit markings. They are from the High Admiral Mittermeier's flagship."

"We're getting close. Spread out and find the High Admiral." Reuentahl ordered.

"I think I've found him!" shouted one of the soldiers.

The entire squad rushed over then Bergengrün knelt down and carefully removed the front of the helmet of the fallen grenadier who still gripped a bloody ax in his hand.

"It's him." Bergengrün said bluntly.

Multiple bloody wounds were apparent from weak points in the powered armor. Bergengrün leaned over him, felt for a pulse, and listened for breathing.

"Is he alive?" Reuentahl asked.

"He has a pulse, but it's a faint one. He needs medical attention immediately." replied Bergengrün.

A two of the soldiers broke medical equipment out of a kit, started a blood transfusion, and put hasty patch jobs on the wounds. "He needs more than this, call for an aerial medical evacuation."

"He must survive." Reuentahl demanded of the medics.

"We'll do everything we can." one of them replied.

"Your Excellency, we should return to the fleet. You've accomplished everything you can here." said Bergengrün.

"These rebels need to pay for their arrogance." Reuentahl spat viciously.

"Please, Your Excellency, let us for now focus on the recovery of as many of our allies as possible. Our time for vengeance will come soon enough." suggested Bergengrün.

A small medical shuttle landed and more medics rushed out along with a stasis capsule. They placed Mittermeier inside and rushed him back to the shuttle then took of as quickly as they had arrived.

"We'll return to the fleet as you suggest. Keep me informed as to when the recovery efforts have been completed." ordered Reuentahl.

"Very well, Your Excellency." replied Bergengrün as he motioned to the squad sergeant to rally the rest of the troops.

The transport shuttle landed nearby the squad and Reuentahl silently entered it, clenching a fist. You have to survive, Mittermeier. If you don't, there won't be anyone to hold me back.


Aboard Yang's flagship, preparations were being made for the return voyage to Alliance territory. Xavier Butler, Phezzan's High Commissioner to the Free Planet's Alliance was about to depart after the successful liberation of Phezzan, but he had one final message to deliver to Yang before he left.

"The Landesherr would like to speak with you, Marshal Yang." said Butler.

Yang grimaced at the idea of speaking directly with Adrian Rubinsky, who had a reputation for being a cunning politician long before Yang had been recognized for his military achievements. Although he had never met him before, Yang's impression of the man was not good. Yang despised the Alliance's former head of state, Job Trunicht, due to the hypocrisy he displayed by praising war and patriotism, while hiding far from the front lines himself. Rubinsky gave Yang a similar feeling, although it seemed with this man there was no pretense of nobility. He was a businessman, and used what power and influence he had to manipulate others for his own purposes. The difference between Trunicht and Rubinsky, Yang felt, was Rubinsky would not deny what he was nor would he apologize for it. Yang couldn't help but feel he was, as an individual, more dangerous than Trunicht had ever been.

"I'm sure the Landesherr is very busy, and our fleet needs to return to Alliance space as quickly as possible to secure the Iserlohn corridor." Yang said sheepishly. "If we dally then everything we've achieved so far will be pointless."

"The Landsherr insisted." Butler responded bluntly. "I'm sure it will only take a few moments."

Yang wanted to decline the request, but ultimately he buckled, unwilling to offend an ally in the Free Planet Alliance's moment of weakness. Rubinsky's image appeared on one of the ship's screens. The stocky middle aged man wore a stern expression, had his head shaven bald, and was well dressed in business attire.

"Marshal Yang, I wanted to personally thank you for your assistance to the people of Phezzan." Rubinsky said, opening with practiced formality.

"As much as I would like to attribute our actions to benevolence, I have to admit they are primarily out of self preservation." Yang replied.

Rubinsky laughed at Yang's honesty. "Of course, we have the same enemies, in this case."

"Now that Phezzan has made it's break with the Empire, what are your plans?" Yang asked, not hiding his concern.

"It's hard to say. The fight for our independence was such a focus that I gave little thought to the future." answered Rubinsky. "How about yourself? Having dealt the Galactic Empire another blow, what is next for Yang Wenli?"

"I'm sure one such as yourself has already worked it out." said Yang.

"Iserlohn, then? Can you really retake the fortress?" Rubinsky asked.

"If we can't, there won't be much time remaining for Phezzan or the Alliance." Yang answered with a helpless shrug. "Once the Empire gathers it's strength it's numbers will be too great to overcome unless both navigable corridors can be secured."

"If there's anything we can do to assist you in the endeavor please don't hesitate to ask." Rubinsky offered.

"When the time comes I'm sure the Alliance will take you up on that offer." Yang replied.

"I see. Here's to your future success." said Rubinsky before ending the transmission.

"Well then, I will be returning to Phezzan now. I've been ordered to report to the Landsherr." said Butler.

The two exchanged pleasantries and then Butler left towards the hanger deck. Finally finding Yang alone, Julian took the opportunity to comment. "I didn't get a great feeling listening to those two."

"Neither did I." admitted Yang. "But for the time being we're stuck with each other. Let's just hope I haven't saved an individual more dangerous than Duke Lohengramm was."

"Could he really be more dangerous than Lohengramm? Phezzan's capabilities will have been drastically diminished with the after effects of the Imperial invasion to deal with." said Julian.

"That man isn't afraid of sacrificing others in order to achieve his goals. Compared to Lohengramm, he could be much more complicated to deal with." Yang said with a sigh before changing the subject. "Up until now we've walked the narrowest possible path between victory and defeat and we still aren't finished yet."

"Then we're returning to Iserlohn next?" Julian asked.

Yang nodded. "Although our chances for success depend on us tricking the Imperial fleet stationed there to leave the fortress. Unless we can achieve this..." Yang shrugged in helplessness then gestured out an explosion with his hands.

"Didn't the latest news from the Empire report wide spread revolts? Can the Imperials spare an entire fleet merely to keep an eye on us?" asked Julian

"Sadly, yes." Yang admitted. "We'll have to roll the dice at least one more time. If we keep fighting though, eventually we'll lose."

"Admiral..." Julian uttered not knowing how to finish.

"It's the honest truth." Yang said with a shrug. "Either way, what is to come is likely to be our last battle for awhile, one way or another."