Chapter 9: Preparing for the First Strike

Grand Admiral Zaarin listened as Micah introduced him to the others that had joined them in their plan to take over the Empire. One individual in particular pleased Zaarin to no end. "Grand Moff Trachta, its good that you have seen the obvious needs of the Empire over those of the Sith." Zaarin said after Micah finished the introductions.

Grand Moff Trachta's hologram image showed a man with a triangular breath mask attached by cables to his mostly cybernetic body. Having been severely wounded in the Battle of Coruscant during the Clone Wars, he had been put back together with cybernetics that almost rivaled that of Lord Darth Vaders.

"The Empire is dying." Trachta said matter of factly. "The Empire needs more than to follow the whims of a cult of two. These Sith Lords will be the death of us. I can see why you had prepared so carefully, Grand Admiral… who else can we count on?"

Zaarin smiled as he explained. "I have several of the Grand Admirals in my camp, and those that are not will be easily dealt with. Nearly half of the Imperial Fleet will be under my command. With the experimental weapons at our disposal, and the sheer numbers that Micah will soon produce for us, we will be unstoppable. All you need to do is get your forces in place with Carnor Jaxs', and eliminate the Emperor. Then we can move against Darth Vader, and we should be in control of the Empire by the end of the month. Once the change of leadership is complete, we can turn our focus to the Rebellion. You know, I'm seriously considering extending a hand in friendship to the Rebellion… and then when they think they can trust me, I will crush them utterly."

Grand Moff Trachta nodded, his red camera eyes focusing on Zaarin's face. "That is a good idea. When the Rebellion sees the Imperial Fleet battling itself, they will want to know what is going on. Saying that you are joining the Rebellion will bring many of them right to your doorstep."

Zaarin nodded. "Excellent. What forces do you have in place against the 501st?"

Trachta turned to Micah as he spoke. "Micah has provided me with an entire legion of your specially modified clones. I will place them in strategic places and order the 501st into easily sprung traps. While they are being dealt with, we will strike against Palpatine himself in his own throne room. With Carnor Jax assisting us, we will easily be able to sneak through security. Palpatine will be difficult to kill, but we will make sure to bring enough numbers."

Zaarin nodded, pleased at the news. "Excellent. Micah, what about Chi'anna? Can we use her to assist us in eliminating the Emperor?"

Micah looked frustrated as he answered. "Darth Vader refuses to return her. He says that she is vital to the upcoming battle on Raxus Prime. I have even approached Emperor Palpatine on this matter, and he says he will speak to Vader."

Zaarin nodded. "Any words on your bounty hunters?"

Now Zaarin looked positively mortified. "Uhm… they… ran into some… trouble on Taris, my lord."

"Trouble?" Zaarin asked very slowly.

"It seems… that a group of soldiers wearing… what appears to be Mandalorian combat armor attacked my bounty hunters, sir."

Zaarin and Trachta both looked at Micah with full interest. "Mandalorians? Why would they be involved with any of this?" Trachta asked.

"Did your bounty hunters start anything with these Mandalorians?" Zaarin asked.

Micah shook his head. "No, sir… reports coming in from the… aftermath state that the Mandalorians attacked in mass. They were well armed, well informed, and knew exactly whom and what to hit."

Zaarin looked nervous now. "Do you think Dusque sold your information to the Mandalorians? If so, they will know of our plans!"

Micah tried to diffuse the situation. "No way could they break my codes, my lord. They would need a slicer with skills that simply do not exist. And even if they were able to break some of the minor codes, there is nothing in the notes Dusque Mistflier stole that states anything about our upcoming civil war."

Zaarin noticed that Micah was still sweating. "You're not telling me something Micah… you better start talking."

Micah looked terrified. "My lord… the reports have to be exaggerated! Or else it was a trophy taken in the past! I do not…"

"Trophy!?" Zaarin interrupted. "Explain yourself now!"

Micah trembled as he spoke. "One of the Mandalorians… possessed a lightsaber in combat!"

Now Zaarin's eyes widened in fear. "A lightsaber?"

Trachta looked at the others. "A Mandalorian alone is trouble enough… one with the skills to wield a lightsaber? I suggest we keep our forces away from Taris for the time being."

Zaarin nodded. "Once we have secured our position over the Empire, we will deal with these… Mandalorians."

Micah nodded. "One more thing, my lord… a trifle."

"Speak." Zaarin said, already annoyed with Micah's failures.

"Emperor Palpatine has been discussing a project with Prince Xizor. He is requesting ships, material and supplies… a lot of supplies! More than enough to build a fleet of ships!"

Zaarin looked at Trachta. "Do you know anything about this?"

Trachta shrugged. "Only that Palpatine has had a massive amount of workers, droids, slaves, and ships heading to a planet in the outbound regions of the Empire. He has also requested some of the Grand Admirals to acquire more slaves for this… project."

"What planet are they going to?" Zaarin asked.

"The planet is called Endor."