Chapter One:

The Blockade of Naboo

Opening Crawl:

THE NEW SITH EMPIRE TIGHTENS ITS GRIP ON THE GALAXY. THE HUTTS AND THEIR NIKTO AND GAMORREAN ARMIES LIE EXTINCT AFTER THE EMPIRE'S SUCCESSFUL MILITARY CAMPAIGN.

HUNGERING TO TEST ITSELF AGAINST THEIR ANCIENT ENEMIES IN THE GALACTIC REPUBLIC, THE EMPIRE ASSEMBLES AN OVERWHELMING FLEET OF THE EMPIRE'S MOST POWERFUL WARSHIPS TO CONQUEROR THE PLANET NABOO.

TODAY, THE EMPIRE'S ARMADA BEGINS ITS CAMPAIGN UPON THE UNSUSPECTING NABOO WHOM ARE LEADED BY AN INEXPERIENCED QUEEN...

Outer edge of the nebula surrounding Planet Revana, Harrower-class Dreadnaught N.S.I.S.S. Dark Hand, Deck 99, War Council Chamber, 62 BBY, 40 BBG, 30 BBN, 30 BTN

In a remote and midnight vacuum beyond the edge of the Galactic Republic's influence, the massive New Sith Empire's Imperial Fleet stretched, from its vanguard to its rear echelon, past the range of human vision. Hundreds of thousands of New Sith Munificent-class Star Frigates, forty thousand New Sith Lucrehulk-class Battleships, fifteen thousand New Sith Lucrehulk-class Droid Control Ships, several thousand New Sith Consular-class Battlecruiser, eight New Sith Domination-class Dreadnaught, eight New Sith Galaxy-class Dreadnaught, eight New Sith Emperor-class Dreadnaught, eight New Sith Eclipse-class Dreadnaught, eight New Sith Executor-class Dreadnaught, eight New Sith Defender-class Dreadnaught, and four massive two-pronged New Sith Harrower-class Dreadnaught, along with enough fuel and supplies ships to cross the entire Galaxy twenty times over. Every Imperials under the New Sith Empire domain of the Galaxy, soldiers, and civilians alike, waited tensely aboard these ships. They were led in this venture by one of the Harrower-class Dreadnoughts, the N.S.I.S.S. Dark Hand, the only ship in the New Sith Imperial Navy to have Zillo Beast/Durasteel Hybrid Armor-Planning and Mandalorian Iron on several levels.

Hundreds of thousands of New Sith Imperial Commanding Officers, of all species and lifeforms under the Empire's banner, from the Chiss to the Neimoidians to the Togrutas to the Twi'leks to the countless humans, assembled in the War Council Chamber aboard the N.S.I.S.S. Dark Hand, awaiting orders from the New Sith High Dark Council and New Sith Imperial High Command. Rumors were everywhere, and an air of eager excitement spread from squadron to squadron and from person to person.

At the center of the War Council Chamber was a large, circular light-table, projected above which a Holographic image of the recently completed Naboo Orbital Station within which was garrisoned sixteen Naboo Royal N-1 Starfighter Squadrons in three hanger bays with a fourth hanger bay being used for diplomatic ships.

His Imperial Majesty Emperor Vader, Her Imperial Majesty Empress Justice, Her Imperial Majesty Empress Honor, Darth Wrath, his Imperial Majesty's New Sith Apprentice and Head of Pyramid of the Imperial Military, Darth Pain, the Head of the Pyramid of Mysteries, Production and Logistics, Darth Fear, the Head of the Pyramid of Ancient Knowledge, Darth Panic, Head of the Pyramid of Misinformation, Darth Hoth, the Head of the Pyramid of Imperial Technology, Darth Malgus II, Head of the Pyramid of Imperial Justice, Darth Brutus, Head of the Pyramid of the Gray Sith, Darth Baras II, the Head of the Pyramid of Imperial Intelligence, Darth Shock, Head of the Pyramid of the Education, Darth Plague, Head of the Pyramid of Imperial Propaganda, and Darth Paranoia, Head of the Pyramid of Imperial Civil Order, all entered the War Council Chamber along the six Grand Admirals of the Imperial Naval War Trust who were in charge of coming up with a naval strategy for any war and they are as followed: Grand Admiral Rosa of the Imperial Eighteenth Armada, Grand Admiral Constantine of the Imperial Third Armada, Grand Admiral Thrawn of the Imperial Fifth Armada, Grand Admiral Nike of the Imperial Twelfth Armada, Grand Admiral Horacio of the Imperial Sixteenth Armada, Grand Admiral Nelson of the Imperial Thirteenth Armada.

The Emperor himself was a mystery to most of the Imperials in the War Council Chamber. A stately dressed man, he seemed to walk above the murmurs of the crowd. He wore an elegant yet simple gray-on-black form fit Zillo Beast/Durasteel Armor and a crown of pure gold. A sash hung at his waist where his blood-red lightsaber hung just out of view but within easy reach. He was cloaked and hooded so that nothing of his face could be seen by anyone unless they were within his line of sight.

Empress Justice and Empress Honor were just as a mystery as their husband was. They each wore an elegant ensemble that added to their collective divinity in the eyes of many of the Imperials in the War Council Chamber: dark red cloaks over Zillo Beast/Durasteel Armor and crowns of pure gold. They, unlike their husband, were not hooded so that all might see their beautifully painted faces. A sash hung at their waist where their double-bladed pink lightsabers hung just out of view but within easy reach.

Darth Wrath was the only Togruta on the New Sith High Dark Council. Her face was a maze of orange, whites, and blues, her sky-blue eyes glimmered with mirth and hidden amusement. She, like her fellow Councilmembers, wore form-fitting Zillo Beast Armor. Her crimson double-bladed lightsaber, also like her fellow Councilmembers, hung on a belt at her waist within both view and easy reach.

But to the more superstitious folk under New Sith Empire, the fourteen members of New Sigh High Dark Council are Gods and Goddesses in mortal form, with the Emperor being the God of Lightning, Destruction, and Order, both of the Two Empresses being the twin Goddesses of Honor, Justice, Fairness, and War, Darth Wrath being the Goddess of Death and Destruction, Darth Pain being the Goddess of Pain and Torture, Darth Fear being the God of Fear and Treachery, Darth Panic being the God of Panic and Sedition, Darth Hoth being the Goddess of Terror and Annihilation, Darth Malgus II being the God of Justice and Fairness, Darth Brutus being the God of Treason and Intelligence, Darth Baras II being the God of Death and Destruction, Darth Shock being the Goddess of Lightning, Destruction, and Order, Darth Plague being the God of Knowledge and Power, and Darth Paranoia being the Goddess of Civil Order and Creation. Those who were of the New Sith Order but not of the New Sith High Dark Council are seen as Demigods or Lesser God and Goddesses.

Grand Admiral Thrawn was the only Chiss Grand Admiral within the Imperial Naval War Trust. He was given this position for his recent Victory over Nal Hutta where he ordered the orbital bombardment. At the time of the Hutta Bombardment, he was a mere Vice Admiral under dearly departed Grand Admiral Lowmon who had been killed when he had slipped on his way to the Bridge on a banana peel and fell down the garbage shaft. Lowmon had a low opinion of nonhumans which he considered as fit for slaves and prostitutes.

Grand Admiral Rosa was the only Twi'lek Grand Admiral within the Imperial Naval War Trust. She had earned her position for her exceptional courage in the Battle of Tol Amn, the final battle of New Sith-Hutt War, in which single-handedly with a single Harrower-class Dreadnought annihilated amassed Hutt aligned Smuggler Fleet of a thousand Smuggler ships lead by Zorba the Hutt. Zorba was killed by Rosa herself with a well-placed turbolaser shoot on the bridge of the Hutt's command ship at the end of the battle as Zorba had tried to flee.

The Emperor, his Empresses and their party of Advisers traversed the War Council Chamber, now, towards the holographic display where they conferred with the two Clone Grand Field Marshalls of the Imperial Army War Trust, who were trusted to lead the New Sith Imperial Army, Clone Grand Field Marshall Rex of Thirteenth Sector Army and Clone Grand Field Marshall Walker of the Thirtieth Sector Army—the only two High Ranking Clone Commanders in the entire New Sith Imperial Army. Rex was a Corellian Clone Commander—a tough son of a Hutt, Loyal to a cause or person, resourceful if a bit of a martinet. Walker was a Twi'lek Clone Commander—a tough person, resourceful if a bit of a martinet.

But now, at the center of the War Council Chamber, the Emperor signaled for attention. The War Council Chamber fell silent. Anticipation was keen.

"The data brought to us by the brave Imperial Agents who gave their lives to give us it has been confirmed," the Emperor announced. "Queen Sola Naberrie Amidala has conscripted every abled bodied man and woman into a Grand Army of the Naboo totally thirty thousand with only the nobles being excluded from that number, and the time for Operation Returning Glory has come."

He paused as if to let the crowd settle down on its own, for they had begun to cheer, before continuing, "For two thousand years, we prepared. We grew stronger. While the Naboo rested in their cradle of power, believing their people were safe… protected. The Queen was trusted to lead her people but she was deceived, as our powers over both the light and dark sides has blinded her. She assumed no force could challenge her and now… finally… we have returned."

At that, the crowd went nuts... literally. All soldiers and civilians on every ship in the Imperial Armada all stood and cheered, "For the Empire! For the Empire!" over and over again until one could hear it on Coruscant. When the hubbub died down, the Emperor continued, "our target for the first Battle of the Operation will be the Naboo Orbital Station which has enough starfighters to deal considerable damage to small smuggler fleet. They will be unprepared for our large, battle-hardened, and well-armored Imperial fleet and will fall in before us before the day is out. Grand Admiral Thrawn, if you'll please."

"You can see here the Naboo Orbital Station orbiting the planet of Naboo," the Chiss Grand Admiral said to the assembly. "after the shields and garrisoned N-1 Starfighters have been taken care of, our ships will create a perimeter in low orbit above the planet from which point we will begin firing upon their grain silos outside of the Theed Royal Grain Silo in order to create unrest against the warmongering Queen. Clone Grand Field Marshall Walker, if you'll please."

"Once blockade has been established, we will send a message to both the Republic Senate and the Jedi Council in which we'll set a time limit of a year to form a fleet large enough to carry every Member of the Jedi Order higher than younglings into battle, at which time we will crush them," the Twi'lek said. "However, if the Jedi send only four of their Order, we will invade the planet with all our Army at the southernmost edge of the Great Grass Plains and march on Theed at which point we lay siege to the Palace until it surrenders. We will then move our forces to suppress any resistance cells from taking root and causing us to keep spinning our wheels in the mud, however, we mustn't neglect the rest of our glorious Empire in order to focus on any resistance cells that might form on Naboo. Therefore, we will withdraw the bulk of our clone forces and the majority of our armada leaving a rearguard of five Lucrehulk-class Battleships and one Lucrehulk-class Droid Control Ship. Lord Hoth has volunteered to lead this rearguard."

The aforementioned Head of Imperial Technology could only nod her heads with a deep frown engraved on her face as she knew that this was a death sentence for disobeying orders by starting the Imperial-Hutt War as well as the Imperial Invasion of Mandalorian Space forcefully conquering all of Hutt Space and all of Mandalorian Space with few if any casualties in both operations.

"Any questions?" the Emperor asked the crowd.

Silence was his only answer.

"Then man your stations, and may the force be with us all." He said to them and then when the War Council Chamber was empty of life, he said into a comlink, "Admiral Peers, commence hyperspace jump now."

"Understood, My Lord Emperor," came the response of the Mandalorian Fleet Admiral in charge of the Harrower-class Dreadnaught N.S.I.S.S. Dark Hand's support fleet of over two thousand ships not counting the Harrower-class Dreadnaught N.S.I.S.S. Dark Hand herself just before the largest attack armada in Galactic History roared their collective engines before disappearing into hyperspace.

En route to Naboo via Hyperspace, Harrower-class Dreadnaught N.S.I.S.S. Dark Hand, Deck 101, Bridge, 62 BBY, 40 BBG, 30 BBN, 30 BTN

The Bridge of the Harrower-class Dreadnaught N.S.I.S.S. Dark Hand was a beehive of activity. Imperial Officers and Controllers worked at their stations, watching Traffic screens, Gunner controls consoles, and Engine monitors. It was an operation involving thousands of Officers and Controllers and was happening aboard the other ships in the fleet.

It was into this chaotic mess that the Emperor, his two wives, and their party of advisers entered. Darth Fear and Darth Pain went to stand at the large window where they stood hand-in-hand watching the blue-white streaks of hyperspace. The Emperor spoke quietly to Admiral Peers, a Mandalorian man of fifty-six years of age, about something that only the two of them could know about. The two Empresses chatted between themselves as women, in general, tend to do. Darth Wrath, Darth Paranoia, Darth Plague, Darth Shock, Darth Baras II, Darth Brutus, Darth Malgus II, Darth Hoth, and Darth Panic all stood in companion silence at the entryway either leaning against the wall itself or simply stood there.

The Bridge crew let them be, as it was fairly normal for the New Sith High Dark Councilmembers to do this, unless you wanted to die a very painful death like that gunnery officer who had snapped at Darth Wrath that she was blocking his way and ended up getting a lightsaber blade run through his chest or that poor ensign who had dared interrupt the Emperor and Admiral Peers' conversation just to get his autograph and ended up spending a month in the medical bay for fifth decree burns caused by force lightning on his entire body but he did get the Emperor's autograph or that unfortunate lieutenant who had the misfortunate to flirt with Empress Justice while her husband had been in the same area only to receive an immediate beheading courtesy of the Emperor himself…you get the picture? Good.

A very nervous Chiss female Ensign named Ensign You'mara'sarera (corenamed Mara) approached the Emperor and Admiral Peers and waited politely for them to finish their conversation before interrupted with a simple, "Admiral, My Lord Emperor, word from the Eighty-Fifth Escort Fleet." She got their attention with that single and simple announcement. The Eighty-Fifth Escort Fleet was one of the thousands of fleets that the Empire has at its command and one of the thousands of Imperial fleets that had been left to protect the Imperial Homefront and Imperial Conquered Planets and Star Systems and Imperial Colonies, with the Eighty-Fifth Escort being assigned to the Imperial Homefront frontier Star System of Kessel, an important Mining Imperial Star System that had helped grow the Imperial Economy on the backs of tens of thousands of Slaves who were heavily guarded by Imperial Army units while working in the Imperial Kessel Mines.

Ensign Mara then handed Admiral Peers a datapad with the transmission from the Eighty-Fifth Escort Fleet on it and waited for further orders. Her composed expression masked her fear and her nervousness from all non-force sensitivities in the immediate vicinity of their conversation. Her fear of being killed for not bringing this to their collective attention sooner was very palpable to the Emperor and he was very amused by it but he kept that little fact to himself. Admiral Peer on the other hand couldn't keep a straight face as he read the report on the Eighty-Fifth Escort Fleet's Admiral death by being choked to by an Imperial Slave and the perpetrator had been killed on sight. Admiral Peers was furious at his coworker's recklessness and opened his mouth to yell at Ensign Mara when another Ensign yelled up at him something that caused the whole Bridge to tense up and look in his direction.

"Admiral, we're coming up on the Naboo System."

"Raise the deflector shields and prepare to launch fighters," Admiral Peers shouted.

Orbit of Naboo, Naboo Orbital Station, Control Room, 62 BBY, 40 BBG, 30 BBN, 30 BTN

Commander Tykin of the Grand Army of the Naboo was about to sign off for the day when all of a sudden, klaxons begin to blare all over the Naboo Orbital Station as the computers detected a very large body of ships of unknown origin and definitely not friendly coming out of Hyperspace. He could only stand there and watch in stunned horror as first a couple dozen ships then hundreds of thousands of ships came screaming out of Hyperspace, guns blazing at the now very much awake and active Station. But as pilots of the Station's garrison of N-1 Starfighters began to scramble for their fighters, the enemy fleet launched swarms of Vulture-class Droid Starfighters, small sleek robot attack ships that consisted of twin compartments attached to a rounded, swept-back, and Star Interceptor-Class Starfighters, a powerful Starfighter that consisted of twin wings attached to a rounded cockpit that housed the pilot and gunner. As the enemy Starfighters roared out of the enemy worships' hanger bays, the Vulture fighters' compartments opened into long slits that exposed their laser guns while the Star Interceptor-Class Starfighters' twin wings top and bottom halves opened up to reveal four S-foils each one tipped by four dual laser cannons while the nose of the craft had four ion cannons (two on each side of the cockpit).

Suddenly, at the rear of the already massive enemy fleet, four juggernaut-sized vessels each one eighteen kilometers long from nose to engines the size of colossal asteroids. The four ships immediately began launching their own squadrons of fighters, fourteen Star Interceptor-Class Starfighters were painted differently than the other enemy black-on-gray fighters: one was painted a violent purple while another was blood-red, another was golden-yellow, another was a crimson, another was a scarlet, another was a burgundy, another was a ruby-red, another was a cherry-red, another was a maroon, another was a wine-red, another was a reddish-purple, another was a dark red, and the final two were pink. These were obviously the leaders of the enemy faction that the Grand Army of the Naboo would be fighting as they were escorted into battle by an entire Wing of enemy fighters. N-1 Starfighters were now launching from the three hanger bays only to be swarmed by the sheer numbers of the enemy fighters. It was one big turkey shoot out there with N-1s being shot down left, right, and center until the only fighters left were the enemy's which returned to their motherships which in turn began concentrating their firepower upon the Station until the shield generator had gone critical and exploded.

Only then did the enemy fleet cease-fire and immediately began closing the distance between it and the now defenseless Naboo Orbital Station which promptly sent out a surrender Holographic message to the Imperial flagship.

Orbit of Naboo, Harrower-class Dreadnaught N.S.I.S.S. Dark Hand, Deck 101, Bridge, 62 BBY, 40 BBG, 30 BBN, 30 BTN

"Enemy Fleet, this is Commander Tykin of the Grand Army of the Naboo," said the Holographic message of a tall human male dressed in the blue uniform of the Grand Army of the Naboo Officer Corps, "I surrender myself and this Station. What you do to me matters not to me."

"Commander Tykin, this is Admiral Peers of the New Sith Imperial Navy," said Admiral Peers "on behalf of the New Sith Empire, I humbly accept your surrender to our attack armada." Then he said to the senior comm officer, "Open a channel to Coruscant immediately!"

"Channel open, Sir, we are now live."

Coruscant, Senate Building, Senate Rotunda, 62 BBY, 40 BBG, 30 BBN, 30 BTN

"Greetings Senators of the Galactic Republic and Members of the Jedi Council," said a giant hologram of a man of approximately fifty-six years of age to the stunned Senators and Supreme Chancellor Valorum, who had been about to close this session of the Republic Senate, having achieved nothing of value today except the restoration of the Republic Military now styled as the Volunteer Military of the Republic, "It is with great pleasure that I, Admiral Peers of the New Sith Imperial Navy, inform you that the Naboo System has been blockaded by the Glorious New Sith Empire's Armada. We give you a times' time to assemble a fleet large enough to curry every Jedi of above the Youngling rank of their Order into battle against our blockade…unless you wish for the Naboo people to starve."

Immediately after the Hologram's message had been delivered to the outraged Senators, it terminated itself.

Almost immediately after the message had been terminated itself, a senate box floated towards the center of the Senate Rotunda. The Chair recognized the enraged Senator Palpatine of the Chommell Sector and a native of Naboo, who was secretly the Dark Sided Sith Lord named Darth Sidious, Apprentice of Darth Plagueis.

"Naboo is both the heart and the breadbasket of the Chommell Sector," he intoned in an outraged tone of voice, "we must send a fleet to rescue the situation there before this group of criminals that laughably declare themselves a Sith Empire decide to annex Naboo regardless of whether or not Jedi Orders members higher than Younglings are sent into battle."

A new box glided forward to join the Naboo box. The chair recognized Senator Esther Vinkin, the Senator of the Lothal Sector, the Homesector of the Lothal Shipyards which had received twenty-five percent of the workload on building the new Volunteer Navy and Volunteer Starfighter Corps in conjunction with Kuat Drive Yards (K.D.Y.), Mon Calamari Shipyards and Fondor Shipyards. In later years, Mon Calamari Shipyards and Fondor Shipyards would become Republic Fortress Worlds of the Outer Rim and later Republic-in-Exile's prime Shipyards around which most of their fleets would be stationed while Lothal Shipyards would become a warzone, a flashpoint between the Republic-in-Exile and the New Sith Empire's occupation forces of Lothal, a stagnant guerilla war between the two sizes in a Cold War in which neither side would publicly support the combatants, and K.D.Y. would switch sides during the final months of the New Sith Clone Wars in order to prevent the Empire from laying siege to the Kuat System. But secretly, the Senator herself was a New Sith Imperial Agent, a member of the Pyramid of Imperial Intelligence, which was answerable only to Darth Baras II who in turn was answerable only to the Emperor himself.

"The Senator of Lothal concurs with the Honorable Delegate from Naboo." She intoned in a must calmer tone of voice when compared to her colleague. "We recommend that a team of four Jedi to ascertain the truth of these outlaws claims while we gather a fleet of over two hundred ships at Corellia."

Yet another box floated to the center of the Rotunda. The Chancellor recognized Edcel Bar Gan, the Senator from Roona.

"Roona seconds the motion of the Honorable Delegate from Lothal." He intoned in a sibilant voice.

The Chancellor grayed considerably as the magnitude of the idea of starting a war hit him full force. "The motion has been seconded. I will personally ask the Jedi Council to ask them to send four of their brightest members." Thus, began the thirty-year-long New Sith-Jedi Wars with the Republic in the dark just like the Great Galactic War thousands of years ago.