I-10 Interstate, Palm Springs, Upper California, NAU, Earth.
A gentle breeze was blowing most of the smoke from the charred ruins of the LA basin south towards Mexico, allowing the President to do without his gasmask for a few hours. Harris pulled his jacket tight against the cool night air of the dessert. The air out here in the high desert was thin and held very little heat once the sun went down. He pressed the high powered digital binoculars to his eyes and peered to the west.
Forty miles away the ongoing impacts from the American barrage allowed him to make out the shape of the alien forcefield that cut Los Angeles off from the rest of the Union. Flashes of light from faraway explosions lit up the western horizon like an oncoming lightning storm. A distant sound like thunder rolled in constantly from the artillery batteries assailing the alien positions.
"I'm sorry, Mr. President, Sir. I've got orders that you're not to go any closer than this." A fresh faced Marine Lieutenant informed him. The young officer was in charge of his small escort tonight. A pair of his best Secret Service agents nodded in agreement. They seemed poised to throw him in the back of their Humvee the instant trouble reared its ugly head.
Harris wasn't in the mood to argue. The shield was what he had left his escort back on the Upper Californian border to come out here and see. According to anyone he had spoken to this was as close as you needed to get. If he went closer and the Imperials caught a whiff that he was touring the Army entrenchments that surrounded LA he would only bring grief, in the form of an orbital bombardment, on the very soldiers he wanted to visit.
"Don't worry, son. I'm not going to talk you into disobeying your orders." Harris lowered the binoculars.
The officer looked visibly relieved though not completely convinced. Harris wondered if the Marine was contemplating restraining his Commander-in-Chief if the President took another step closer to the Imperial lines.
"Any idea how effective that is?" Harris pointed west.
"Sir?" The Marine looked confused.
"The barrage. Are we making any noticeable impact?"
"Honestly?"
"That'd be nice."
"None that I've of about, Sir. They've got some teams with some fancy doodads and gizmos that monitor energy fluctuations and such down in our own lines. From what I've gathered they haven't noticed much difference in the shield from when our artillery is smacking it around or when we're taking a break. The Generals just shoot at it cause they've got nothing better to do."
"It's got to be more effective than what the Chinese are doing." Harris said.
The Marine got suddenly quiet. "We heard about that, Sir. You're not thinking of ordering one of those suicidal human wave attacks the Chicoms are so hyped on, are you?"
"No, son. I promise you I'm not going to throw away more American lives. Especially on a fool's errand like that. The PLA's lost almost a million troops since the shield went up around Shanghai for all the good it's done them."
"Thank God, Sir. I don't think Americans have fought like that since my great-great grandpa took a minnie ball at Shiloh." The Marine looked relieved.
Harris had meant what he had said. The Union had already lost enough in this war and would probably lose many more before it was over but he would prevent as many needless deaths as he possibly could.
"Any word on when this fellow we're supposed to meet is going to show up?" Harris changed the subject.
"We got word a moment ago that he was picked up at the checkpoint down the road. Army Cav scouts are bringing him forward. Should be here momentarily." A Marine answered from a nearby Humvee. The soldier had been monitoring the land line that ran out the back of the vehicle.
"That should be them." The Lieutenant pointed up the road.
Harris heard them before he saw anything at all. The Secret Service and his Marine detachment took up defensive positions at the newcomers approach. A few seconds later three Kawasaki dirt bikes emerged out of the dark. They each slid to a stop before the President, sending up a small avalanche of dirt and stones.
Each of the bikes carried an Army Cavalry Scout. The three men wore helmets and night-vision gear as well as gas masks, which gave them the appearance of aliens from Mars, Harris thought, and then chuckled to himself at the irony. A man clung on for dear life on the back of one of the motorcycles. As soon as he saw the President he clumsily fell off the bike he had been riding. The soldiers saluted and then sped off into the darkness again.
The man was dressed in a maintenance utility suit, which he brushed clean of dirt as he regained his feet. He scooped a breifcase off the ground from where it had fallen during his less than graceful dismount from the dirt bike.
"Mr. President, I'm Dr. Elijah Openstien from the Los Alamos testing facility and the Department of Energy." The little man held out his hand which Harris firmly shook.
"I'm glad you could meet me out here tonight, Doctor. I know this is a little unorthodox." Harris greeted the scientist.
"That's quite alright, Mr. President. Nothing has been quite orthodox since those barbarian space-nazis showed up." Openstein pointed towards LA.
"Indeed. So you've inspected the shield then."
"Oh yes, been studying it in depth pretty much since it went up. Been attached to the 300th Intelligence Company as an advisor of sorts. They're the ones that sent me out to meet with you."
"What is your assessment of it?"
"Strong. Like nothing we've ever seen. The odd thing is it works on different phases."
"Such as?"
"Well it's permeable. The Imperials are air-breathers like us so they've got to let air into the city or else they'll suffocate. I've seen our boys use that to our advantage with chemical weapons and we've kept the gas flowing to their front lines near the edge of the shield."
Harris thought of the smoke cloud that was choking the Union. He thought it was a small victory that the Imperials suffered just as much as his people. "Anything else get through?"
"Yes, lasers." Openstein said.
Harris noticed the man needed to be prompted. "Go on."
"Well, their energy weapons have no issues with their own shield. They have snipers and artillery that routinely fire through the shield at all times. I asked one of our artillery guys about it and the man told me it was the same with our own laser range-finders. We got a solid state laser in close to check out if we could engage targets on the far side of the shield and the device had no trouble penetrating. Unfortunately, the device had to be held on a target for three minutes before any effect was noticed."
"And the Imperials had no issue with that?"
"Um, no, Sir. In a way. They blew it up after a minute or two. We haven't had a big laser to try out since then."
"And our kinetic shot is ineffectual?"
"From what I've witnessed. Even the Navy is concealing the rail-gun batteries they've brought forward. I don't think they want the Imperials to know they're in the neighborhood."
"What about one of your devices?"
"My devices, Mr. President?"
"You know what I'm talking about. What would be the effect of a nuclear strike on the shield?"
"I wouldn't know, Sir. If the shield held it would possibly reflect the blast back towards our own lines. Fallout would certainly blanket our Army here in Upper California. Even if the shield fails our casualties could be just as great as the enemy."
"You've been in contact with your colleagues across the Union, have you not? Do they concur?"
"For the most part they see the shield as an enigma. We want to hit it with something that's for sure we just aren't sure with what."
"The Air Force has briefed me that they're working on something that should be ready soon. I'd like you to monitor the effects of what they're planning."
"Of course, Sir."
"Any idea on when we'll get another device of our own to throw back at them?"
"It won't be soon, Mr. President. As you know they went after our nuclear arsenals pretty hard a couple of months before they landed. Destroyed all those silos and sunk hundreds of nuclear subs at sea. I don't need to tell you that they practically crippled us by taking out our nuclear reactors around the world as well as almost every production and testing site we used for our production. From what I've been led to believe orbital bombardment of those sites is still an almost daily occurrence."
"It is." Harris sadly conceded. "And its continuing to hurt us. We'll be fighting off the effects of a nuclear winter well into our grandchildren's generation from what even the most conservative of my science advisors tell me. And yet we still need to harness such energy. We damaged one of their Star Destroyers last year with a nuclear device. We know they're afraid of them."
"Any nuclear pile we've started comes under bombardment after a day or so by those starships of theirs. They must have some highly sophisticated radiation detection gear up there." Openstein said with a sigh.
"So why did the DOE want me to meet with you if you've got nothing to offer, Dr. Openstein?"
"Because of three little sheep that have lost their way." Openstein dug into a breifcase and brought out a single manila folder that he handed over to Harris.
The President carefully scanned the sheet. His eyebrows raised in surprise several times. "They're buried deep?"
"Almost a mile. Part of the experimental Thor's Well project the Air Force and NASA were working on for the past decade. We had them down there years before the aliens even showed up in our system."
"Can they be moved?" Harris asked.
"No, Sir. If they are even so much as brought up from their current depth it's feared the Imperials will detect them. We can't even aim the things."
"In Canada too, near the Weapon X project." Harris said.
"The Weapon what, Sir?" Openstein stammered.
"Never mind. Need to know and such. But this could be used in conjunction with another project?"
"I guess so, Sir. Of course it's all untested and theoretical at the moment. We could end up just shooting ourselves in the foot." Openstein admitted.
"Or we could just get the Imperials to notice they've got a lion by its tail here on Earth." Harris glared at a red star in the night sky.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Tarkin's Fist~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Dirtside~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Admiral's Conference Room, Imperial-class I SD Wilderness, Earth Semi-Synchronous Orbit
The naval officers gathered around the table raised their glasses as Moff Seco made a toast. "To the Empire."
"To the Empire." ISB Major Eritech echoed, though his sentiment was aimed towards the Empire they had left behind in the Home Galaxy. He held only disdain for the poor, local excuse for an Empire he found himself in these days.
He knocked back his flute of Domaine de la Maison sur le Lac in unison with the other officers in the gray, sterile room. Next to him Gunnery Commander Eiryn sipped on her glass of Alderaanian Emera. By far the most beautiful being in the room, she matched his smile when she saw him looking at her.
A naval steward offered him a new glass of Robert Mondavi Chardonnay 2024, supposedly an excellent Earth year, which had been seized as spoils of war from the planet below. Eritech had already tried a glass and didn't find it much to his liking, but the Ploo Moff was certainly fond of it. He gazed at the head of the oval, durasteel table where Moff Seco was enjoying his fourth glass of the aboriginal wine.
"No thank you. Another glass of Domaine, if you would." Eritech held up his flute for a refill.
It had been four days since the failed assault on the Fort Knox Bullion Depository. Well, at least failed as far as the trumped-up Emperor Yos was concerned. He had submitted a full report on the Insertion's involvement in the engagement, along with a varied list of reasons his Star Destroyer had been unable to fully support the commandos on the ground.
For the most part the traitorous Emperor bought his excuses, and even his lackey in the Bureau of Operations, Captain Yutu, hadn't uncovered any deceit or disloyalty. As Moff Seco had guessed, the government of Mars would never suspect they had been duped by a Star Destroyer Captain in the vaunted Subterrel Squadron. If it had been one of the Ploo Squadron heads would have rolled, starting with Seco's,
The only unpleasantness had been the ire of the two returning Clone Marshals. They had to be restrained by their own men when they had come aboard his vessel after the failed mission. Now the two of them were back with their fellow clones in the Pacific, no doubt wishing harm upon his person. Why Emperor Palpatine had continued to let their kind serve in the Imperial Army after the Clone War was beyond him.
Underneath the table he felt Commander Eiryn's mischievous hand resting on the inner part of his thigh. They had come here tonight to celebrate victory but he feared his lover was being too bold in their current company.
The male and female officers around them were to the being, humans, combed carefully from the ranks of the Tarkin's Fist for dissenters against the new throne. Moff Seco and his trusted Admiral Neptu had sought each of them out due to their loyalty to the old order. The secret cabal of officers included some of the top-ranking commanders and captains of the Ploo Squadron, as well as Eritech and Eiryn of the Subterrel.
Seco and Neptu were perhaps the only two beings in the new galaxy who knew he was a member of the dreaded Internal Security Bureau. Even Eiryn knew him only as Captain Volt, commander of the Imperial I-class Star Destroyer the Insertion.
Eritech smirked when he thought of his smaller group of loyal officers he had culled from the ranks of the Insertion. Those same officers had turned a blind eye when he had refused to support the commandos in Kentucky. Now ninety-seven of the best special forces troopers of the Anoat and Subterrel Squadrons lay dead while another hundred floated wounded aboard the Med-Star frigate the Tourniquet in bacta tanks for the better part of the next campaign season.
The steward stepped away after refilling his glass. Moff Seco could afford the finest luxuries now that his scheme had come to fruition. Eritech chuckled to himself when he remembered the simplicity of it.
All eyes of the fleet had been upon the Insertion and its mission to steal the aurodium from Fort Knox. Seco had discovered the trap that lay in wait for them days before when TIE/rc starfighters had come across hidden heavy rail slugthrowers camouflaged thirty kilometers from the Bullion Depository, at about the same time Yutu and his SigInt stooges had uncovered the existence of Fort Knox as an aurodium vault.
Seco had led his own intelligence troopers in a search for more aurodium. Already considered a rarity on Earth by its primitive natives, it was even more of a rarity back in the Home Galaxy. While the so-called Emperor of Mars and Captain Yutu had been monitoring the raid on Fort Knox, Moff Seco had led several raids that night under the guise of the continuing orbital strikes on infrastructure targets.
Small, fierce battles had been fought in the ruins of several Earth cities by Ploo Squadron commandos, but by the end of the night Seco had secured the slagged remains of several depositories around the planet. The biggest haul had been the five-thousand tonnes they had recovered from the buried remains of the Federal Reserve Bank of Manhattan. The commandos had estimated that almost a hundred earthlings had given their lives to defend the smoking rubble over the aurodium horde there.
The special forces of the Empire had buried the tenacious Terrans in a barrage of turbolaser blasts before sweeping in and looting the aurodium. The stubborn survivors had still been able to kill dozens of the Ploo commandos and heavily damage a MAAT/c during the attack. Eritech wondered when they would learn it was futile to resist the Empire, even the disgraceful one he now found himself in.
Commandos had swooped in on both the Deutsche Bundesbank and the European Central Bank in the wreckage of Target Frankfurt am Main for another four thousand tonnes. They had stealthily broke into the exotic sounding aurodium vaults of the Swiss National Bank, the Bank of Japan, Banca D'Italia, The Netherland Bank, and the French National Bank. Their transports had been busy in the North American Union as well; pillaging the Philadelphia and Denver Mints as well as the San Francisco Assay Office, the three secret locations of the 'gold' moved from Fort Knox.
When the night was over they had stolen upwards of forty percent of the enemy world's aurodium reserve for a small cost of several companies' worth of Ploo Squadron commandos. Moff Seco could now buy Mars if he wanted to, and most certainly the loyalties he needed for the next part of their plan. Eritech licked his lips when he thought of his cut for his part in their ruse.
Unfortunately some of the other members of their scheme were starting to get cold feet. "We should openly confront the Emperor now." the captain of the Purgatory argued from across the table.
"Now would be too rash, don't you think." Admiral Neptu responded. "Emperor Yos is nothing more than a trumped up Fleet Admiral. His attention is on establishing his shaky new regime and he has Moffs Culter and Kuat in his back pocket along with their Sector Fleets."
Seco spoke as talk around the table died down, "Military-wise we are currently outnumbered three-to-one, with the majority of vessels in this fleet more apt to respond to orders issued from the Quill rather than my own Wilderness. I believe that if the head was removed, the body would either wither or grasp around for another head to place on top. We need to use our new funds to buy the loyalty of key officers if we are to move quickly with our plans. For instance we still don't have a man that is willing to do the deed himself."
Though no one said the words outright, Eritech's mouth salivated at the thought of a coup against the current Martian regime. In his private talks with Moff Seco, the Ploo Governor had assured him of a return to the old established ways of the 1st Galactic Empire. Eritech knew Seco had his own issues with Palpatine's enforcer, the Dark Lord Darth Vader, which was why Tarkin had initially tapped him for the Maw Defense Fleet, but he had always been loyal to Palpatine.
With the usurper Yos eliminated the military forces of Mars would fall in line behind the strongest leader. With an entire Star Destroyer squadron and more aurodium than Empress Teta's ghost there would be no doubt who that leader would be.
Eritech had been promised the position of Director of the Bureau of Operations. He promised himself he would personally carry out the executions of its current trio of captains; Yutu, Dual, and Charge, before he reestablished it as the Imperial Martian Security Bureau.
Eiryn had listened to him with glee about how he would return High Human Culture to Mars, and how she would be given command of one of the Star Destroyers of the Subterrel Squadron. Seco had guaranteed a mission to reconnect with the Old Empire. Eritech dreamed of the day he could report on Tarkin's treachery in Palpatine's throne room on Imperial Center.
"The next phase of our plan will ensure that the army and navy do just that." Eritech announced. He had been privy to Seco's council for several weeks now and knew his high placement in the Subterrel Squadron would make or break their plans.
"Yes, Captain Volt and Admiral Neptu will be traveling to Mars tomorrow morning to meet with the Emperor. Ideally, the Emperor will think they are there to discuss the next phases of the Empire-Earth War now that the Target Cities have been secured. They will do this of course, as the happy little loyalists they are," Several chuckles came from around the table, "But our primary goal will be getting Yos to sign a new set of contingency orders."
Eritech explained, "Since Yos has vetoed all of Palpatine's standing and contingency orders such as Order 66 he needs a new set of plans and structure to run his new Empire and military. We've codenamed the Fleet Reaction Plan, Operation Diathim, initially named by Naval Intelligence after the winged angels that inhabit the moons of Iego."
Eiryn's voice kept the small group entranced during her informal briefing. "The plan states that should anything happen to the current head of state during a declared state of war all Military and Police forces of Mars shall take their orders from the local Moff in charge of Theater Operations." All the heads in the room turned to Moff Seco, who offered an innocent grin.
Eritech let Eiryn continue. "Since no one can be sure when something may happen to our 'esteemed' Emperor Yos, all of you must be at the ready to move at a moment's notice. Especially to secure the cooperation of the warships in the Anoat and Kuati Squadrons."
Eritech breathed deeply as he stared at the stunning woman next to him. She had no idea what could and probably would befall the usurper Yos, just as she had no idea of the weapon hidden under the bed she shared with him every night. While she appeared to have complete trust in him since they had become lovers, there was still so much he hadn't told her. His ISB training would never allow himself to fully trust anyone.
"What about the Princess? My sailors won't like the idea of harming Phasma Yos." the captain of the Limbo asked.
Eritech pushed down a growl in his belly. If he had his way he would place his sidearm between the Princess's pretty, brown eyes and squeeze the trigger until the tibanna ran dry. The ISB had given him nerves of durasteel and he was fully prepared to exercise his duty. The squeamishness of the other captains over the elimination of a mere girl who was hardly more than a youngling, disgusted him. They should be honored to get the chance to serve Palpatine by eliminating such an obvious threat to the Empire.
All-in-all, he hardly considered the Princess a threat. When the time came Seco would order the Culter City Guard to place her under arrest. Then Phasma's disposal could be dealt with at a more leisurely pace, maybe with a show trial for the populace's entertainment. Eritech grinned when he imagined the charges they could bring against the twelve year old. After all, wasn't it her bumbling capture that had initiated this war in the first place.
He pushed thoughts of the younger Yos aside. "Your sailors will follow their orders like proper Imperials. My crew will obey any directive I decree." He disdainfully told his fellow captain. He had carefully gathered the officer corps of his own vessel so closely that he had no thoughts of a mutiny even as he helped Moff Seco scheme against their former Fleet Admiral.
"Sailors have other ways of showing their disapproval other than refusing to follow your orders." The other captain warned. Eritech had no idea what the male was getting at. Sailors took an oath to serve the Empire. Any traitor would surely show himself to be a coward when faced with the durasteel reserve of a true male of the Empire.
"A subject for another time, perhaps." Moff Seco interjected before the argument could get heated. The governor's coalition was a loose one at best; the horde of aurodium would surely make it stronger. "Captain Volt, I have quarters assigned aboard this starship for your companion and yourself. You and Admiral Hadrian will leave tomorrow for Mars, in an effort to have Emperor Yos implement Operation Diathim as standing orders for all of Tarkin's Fist. If he does, we will have the means to move against him with impunity."
"I look forward to it, Sir. You can count on the Admiral and myself to carry out our part of the plan." He glared across at the wavering commander of the Limbo with whom he had been about to argue so that the man understood what a true Imperial officer looked like.
Moff Seco's small, celebratory gathering of his trusted cabal broke up shortly after that. Seco had issued guest cabins to the Imperial officers who weren't returning directly to their commands.
Eritech made it no further than the hallway in front of Commander Eiryn's quarters before the alluring gunnery officer pulled him inside. The female Imperial launched her seductive assault the moment the door closed. Eritech mounted several things that night, but a successful defense against Eiryn's charms wasn't one of them.
The night passed most pleasantly.
A mixture of lingering alcohol and lack of sleep left the undercover agent in a state of groggy confusion when he heard the rapping of metallic knuckles upon the cabin's door early the next morning. Eritech crawled out of bed and slipped on a robe, taking a moment to admire the sleeping form of his starship's alluring Gunnery Commander. It must come from working around heavy blasters her whole career, but Eiryn didn't even stir at the knocking sounds coming from the doorway.
A silver protocol droid awaited him as he answered the doorway. "Captain Volt?" It inquired in an effeminate tone.
"Yes."
"Admiral Neptu suspected I would find you in these quarters. I am to inform you that he will be expecting you at his shuttle in the Assault Hanger in one hour for your trip to Mars."
"Thank you. Let the Admiral know I will be there." Eritech pushed the door control and closed the door, leaving the droid outside to complete its task.
He decided to skip breakfast and jumped into Eiryn's sonic shower. The ultrasonic vibrations quickly cleaned him of any sweat and grime he had acquired the night before. Luckily the bite marks Eiryn had left on his torso would be covered by his uniform.
Ten minutes later he emerged from the refresher fully clothed. He stared for a moment at Eiryn's sleeping form, thankful that she still hadn't woken. She was full of an insatiable desire and knew he wouldn't have time to finish anything if he got her started again.
He picked up her datapad on her nightstand and left her orders to return to the Insertion once she awoke. His Star Destroyer had moved in the past few days from orbit over the North American Union to the skies over the European Union, where it had joined in the bombardment of the Dardanelles and the Bosporus. It had been hoped that a limited Base Delta Zero operation there would impede military movement into Asia through the highly trafficked region.
Eritech was disappointed that he wouldn't be present when the Insertion finally got to use her heavy turbolasers at full strength, but he wouldn't deny Eiryn the opportunity to utilize her big blasters just to twiddle her thumbs here on the Wilderness awaiting his return.
He arrived early in the Assault Hanger. Admiral Neptu and a few aides were already there awaiting his arrival. After exchanging salutes, the whole gathering boarded Neptu's Lambda-class shuttle for takeoff. Eritech was relieved that naval stewards had laid out a breakfast of rolls and caf for their two hour trip to the capital world.
Eritech sat by one of the viewports in the passenger cabin and noticed a large black scar on the surface of the world below. Smoke bellowed out from it and drifted for hundreds of kilometers to the east, sporadically covering an island-filled sea nearby. "That must be Central America?" Eritech noted.
Admiral Neptu had been reading the morning HoloNews on his datapad, which he placed face-down in his lap before peering out of his own viewport. "Yes, the Union of South American Nations was moving their army through the area so Moff Seco thought it expedient to eliminate the whole zone. It took the Flood, Battle of Coruscant, and the Kuat's Might forty-five minutes to reduce the target."
"I heard about that. Fleet Intelligence believes almost a half dozen southern divisions were caught in the blast." Eritech chose not to voice his lowly opinion of his old enemies in the military's intelligence service. "I wonder how many abos we blasted in just that single limited Base Delta Zero?"
"I'd guess thirty to forty million. It's a pretty crowded planet." Neptu suggested, returning to his HoloNews. "Should give the rest of them something to think about."
"Amazing they haven't surrendered yet." Eritech said quietly as the Lambda shot off into space.
He slowly turned his attention to the mission ahead and found himself growing nervous. Admiral Neptu would introduce him to the usurper Emperor Yos, at which point Eritech would present him with the updated version of Diathim for the Emperor's approval.
Eritech had never met the trumped-up Fleet Admiral personally. He had been in his company only a handful of times and always in the presence of a large group of fellow naval officers where it had been easy to hide his scorn for the traitor. Even his appointment as commander of the Insertion and replacement of the late Captain Halser had been done by a messenger from Fleet Headquarters at Tarkin Tower.
Now he would be face to face with the man he hated most in this new galaxy and it would take every bit of skill the ISB had taught him not to reveal anything. The fate of the Empire would stand or fall on his performance today.
He whispered to himself, careful not to draw the attention of the other officers in the cabin, "I swear by the Core this sacred oath. That I shall render unconditional obedience to Palpatine, the Emperor of the 1st Galactic Empire, and that I shall at all times be prepared, as a brave trooper, to give my life for this oath." Once the words were spoken he was mentally ready to do his duty.
Eritech avoided the small talk of Neptu's junior officers as they approached the red planet. After some time the pilot announced they were on approach to Culter City. Eritech gazed out the window and spotted the sprawling KDY driveyards as the shuttle cruised by. Workers by the tens of thousands worked on several starship hulls and keels in the vacuum of space. Eritech smiled, thinking those vessels would eventually serve a different leader than the one they were being constructed for.
The ISB mole tensed in his seat when he spotted the Imperial-class II Star Destroyer Quill in geosynchronous orbit near the driveyards. The Fleet Admiral's flagship was the most powerful warship in the system and symbolized everything that was diabolically traitorous about the Martian regime.
The shuttle descended into the atmosphere through a thin cloud layer. Below them the metropolis of Culter City emerged, choking the Ares Vallis full of red pourstone constructions. Eritech was surprised by the rapid growth of the city since his last visit, only a few weeks before at Yos's mockery of a coronation.
The shuttle dipped into the busy skyways of the city and headed straight for the tallest structure on the horizon. The soaring Tarkin Tower sat along the Yos River that bisected the city, dwarfing the Imperial Martian Palace grounds that lay beside it.
The shuttle landed on the far side of the military headquarters of Tarkin's Fist, away from the imperial residence. Several white-clad stormtroopers and a marine officer waited on the landing pad. Once the landing jets vented their gases the loading ramp dropped down and Admiral Neptu led the entourage out of the craft.
The group of officers walked up a flight of wide marble stairs, at the top Eritech spotted a group of waiting adjutants quietly smoking cigarras, a clique of devoted traitor scum. In the group was Captain Charge, the wormy Director of the Bureau of Operations in charge of maintaining the fleet. He watched Eritech pass, aloof. Eritech instantly hated him.
Just then Eritech was greeted by two blue-armored Imperial Guardsmen who moved to physically search him, one his body, the other his valise.
"You don't need to search him." Admrial Neptu approached, waving off the Imperial Guardsmen. "Captain Volt is an honored guest. The hero of the Insertion."
The Guardsmen silently stood down and backed away. Neptu and Eritech shared a friendly smile. "They're waiting for us."
They moved through the secured lobby of the building, past beautiful Twilek receptionists and more stormtroopers of the Home Legion, until they reached the turbolifts that whisked them over a hundred stories into the sky. More Imperial Guardsmen and a small squad of aides awaited them as they exited the turbolift. Admiral Neptu waved them away. Neptu's aides fell back as Eritech and Neptu entered the room to the last sound they would have expected. Laughter. Drunken laughter.
Emperor Yos and five men, some of them almost caricatures because their features were so distinct, sat around the large round room. Various alcoholic drinks filled the tumblers in their hands. The first man Eritech recognized was Moff Kuat, the elderly Kuati that had been the face of KDY since before Eritech was even born. The others he knew from the HoloNews; Captains Dual and Yutu of the Bureau of Operations, Captain Nake of the Quill, and Admiral Hadrian of the Kuati Third Navy.
They had arrived in the sanctum sanatorium of Tarkin's Fist. A series of situation HoloMaps of Earth were scattered around the room, ignored.
Only Captain Yutu seemed to be reserved, smiling politely but clearly tuned into the present reality. It was the first time Eritech was allowed a clear, unobstructed view of his ultimate enemy, the usurper Yos.
Neptu stepped forward and saluted, "My Emperor... I wish to present Captain Tolos Volt, the new commander of the Imperial-class I Star Destroyer Insertion of the Subterrel Squadron."
The laughter stopped. Yos and his cronies turned toward Eritech, looking him over. Yos stood and crossed over to him. Neptu met him first, he whispered in the Emperor's ear, perhaps he reminded him who Eritech was. Yos nodded: "Ah yes." He took Eritech's left hand with both of his. The spy was surprised by the usurper's charm.
"May I say, I am honored to meet a hero who has fought so bravely for the Empire. If only more of my officers were like you."
Yos's cronies smiled on despite the subtle insult to themselves. To make it worse, Yos turned to them. "Let this male stand as an example to all of you. He is the ideal Imperial officer."
Eritech was carefull to hide the growing smile caused by the irony of Yos's statement.
Neptu nervously cleared his throat. "My Emperor, we have asked Volt here today so that he might brief us on mobilizing troops from the Home Legion to support those on Earth."
"Hmmm? Oh yes, Earth. That will no longer be necessary. Theater Commander Moff Seco has assured me that Earth is under control."
Eritech stepped forward suddenly, "My Lord, if I may. . . The situation on Earth is. . ."
"You're dismissed, Volt." Captain Nake suddenly announced, afraid Eritech might reveal some flaw in his Emperor's battle plan.
"But," He knew he must act fast, as at any second he would be ushered out of the Emperor's presence. "We need your Lordship's approval on a revised edition of Operation Diathim."
"Ah, Diathim." Yos got a faraway look in his eyes as Eritech assumed the old man was trying to place the name. "A good plan, as I recall. Do you have the new revision with you?"
Eritech quickly opened his valise and removed the pertinent datapad. In his eagerness he almost thrust the device into the usurper's chest. "Here it is, My Emperor. It includes new dispositions and the continuance of command and orders for troops and warships in regards to regime change."
Yos took the document and set it on a nearby repulsorlift table. Eritech watched as the Martian leader made a small show of skimming the set of orders. Yos nodded his head that everything seemed in order, not digging too deeply into the datapad's agenda. The Emperor signed the datapad and handed it back to Eritech. He gave a slight dismissive wave to the ISB agent and turned back to his cronies.
Captain Nake spoke again, "Send your man home, Neptu. Then bring us some Corellian brandy."
Neptu was visibly stung, a man of his rank being treated like a waiter. Eritech stepped back, clicked his heels and saluted, just managing to blurt out: "Long live the Empire." Yos half waved a return salute and walked slowly back to his seat.
Eritech and Neptu turned and left the room. They said nothing as they reentered the turbolifts. Eritech was shaken by his proximity to Yos while he could tell Neptu was trying to hide his anger over Captain Nake's disrespect.
The senior officer leaned over and whispered. "I don't know when you are going to kick this thing off that you have brewing, but when the music stops I would be very much obliged if Nake found himself without a chair."
They're all insane, totally disconnected from the true Empire, Eritech believed. "Tell Seco we've found our assassin..." Neptu offered a confused look so Eritech added, "I'll do it myself."