Chapter 25

Admiral William Johnson sat in his quarters aboard the Revenge, contemplating what he would write next. It had been eight hours since the battle and his shift had ended, and he returned to his quarters exhausted. Whenever he hadn't been leading this fleet into battle, he had been overseeing the rest of the fleet, as well as keeping up with the Free Confederacy's movements against the Empire. He was in charge of all of this entire offensive after all, and it required almost constant attention. He was lucky to get 5 or even 6 hours of sleep a night, and usually got something closer to 4 or three, maybe even 2 on a couple of bad days. Besides basic human functions he had done nothing else but command the fleet for the past 12 days.

Today he had somehow managed to get 7 hours of sleep, and he felt better and more refressed than he had since the offensive had begun. He had been occupied with a few other things such as cleaning himself up, but for about the last 30 minutes he had been busy composing a letter to Allison. He hadn't had much time to think about her, but truth be told he did miss her. Just as they were just starting to flourish as a couple, he had taken command of Operation Vengeance. He had told her that he would write to her, but this was the first time he really got the chance.

The message read as follows:

Dear Allison,

I am sure you have seen and read the numerous reports on what has been happening out here in the Zoloch sector. Therefore I won't bother you with the minute details, but I expect the Imperial forces in this sector to be fully neutralized within a week. I hope that once the front has stabilized, that I can return and visit you. I might very well be home for christmas.

I hope you have been adjusting to your new role well, and that people have not claimed that you seduced me into giving you that position. You are in both Harrington and my opinions ready for the position, and I would have put you there regardless of the circumstances. I trust that if there are those that oppose your appointment, they will have to eventually see your skill in the area.

While publicly the reports about our victory are satisfying, there are still difficult questions to be asked about what we are to do once the Zoloch sector is fully controlled by us and the Free Confederacy. Attacking the other sectors is a possibility, but they are at full strength and not weakened like the Zoloch sector forces were. In fact, the Tibannas Sector has two older battlecruisers and 30 star destroyers instead of the normal 24 assigned to the sector. There is also more support for the Empire in these regions, especially in the Tibannas sector. I'm sure a plan going forward will be created, but the war might start to go less in our favor and casualty rates will undoubtedly go up.

On a more personal note I have missed you a great deal since I have left. Everything from the soft touch of your lips against mine, to your beautiful smile, and of course our passionate nights in bed. But what stings more than any of that is the general lack of your presence. Having you by my side has infinitely helped my peace of mind, and your advice has been relevant in every corner of my life, from the professional to the personel. I promise that I will be back soon.

Love you,

Will

[End Message]

Johnson mulled the letter over, considering if it was good or not. He was definitely not experienced writing letters to significant others, in fact this was his first time. The feelings he was feeling were difficult to quantify, and he was wondering if he was making them clear within the letter.

He considered running them through another person, but he suddenly realized he had no one to do it with. He had a good professional relationship with everyone under his command, but not really a personal one. The two people who might be of use would be Harrington, who was back on Earth and Haffard, who was even less experienced with women than him.

Johnson slowly realized that despite being on a ship with thousands of people, he was alone. He didn't have many friends, and the few he had were not very close to him. Allison, the closest person to him, was many light years away.

He just wanted to talk to someone. Some of the crew had joked that the fleet should get ship counselors like in Star Trek, but Johnson was sure they just wanted to talk to attractive women.

With only a few minutes cleft before duty, he decided to send the letter. He didn't care if it was well polished or not, he just wanted to send it to her. He sighed and pushed those thoughts away as he got on his uniform and headed to the Bridge.

He noticed Haffard and Sing around one of the central consoles, observing the activity of the ship's command center.

"Is there anything to report, Captain?"

"For this ship sir most of the damage has been repaired. It wasn't anything major that could not be cleaned up easily." Haffard said. "But as to the rest of the fleet and this offensive in general there is a lot."

"Let's go to the wardroom." Johnson motioned to a door off the side of the bridge and the three stepped in. The Admiral reached for the coffee pot and began to make coffee.

"Alright, tell me everything." He said as they sat down. In addition to his role as commander of the revenge, Haffard was the operations officer of the entire offensive. He regularly got reports from all across the Zoloch Sector, detailing how attacks against the Empire from both Earth and the Free Confederacy were going.

"Well to start with this planet and system. Garnizon I I is almost completely under either are control or the various rebel groups affiliated with the Free Confederacy. We've captured over 50,000 Imperial personnel of all types on the surface of the planet, and once we start consolidating with the other groups that will increase. As for equipment we have hundreds o 's and airspeeders, as well as over a thousand combat and utility vehicles. I already have sent for prisoner transports to come here and start moving the Imperials to Earth for rehabilitation and reeducation."

"As for assets in space, we have control of over two dozen non combat orbital stations, including multiple shipyards and drydocks with ships under repair inside them. We captured an Imperial Star Destroyer, the Titanius. It was the one that we attacked when capturing the Senali. It is a new Imperial I I Star Destroyer that has been mostly repaired, but didn't have the crew onboard to join the battle. A Venator Star Destroyer that was going to be stripped for parts and scrapped is the other major asset. We also have a Vindicator Heavy Cruiser, a Neutron Star Class Bulk Cruiser, a Strike Medium Cruiser, two Arquitens light cruisers, three Nebulon B frigates, and a dozen corvettes and systems patrol craft. Most were either under repair, refit, or didn't have a large enough crew to participate effectively. But a couple of the corvettes and systems patrol craft were located on the other side of the planet protecting against smugglers and pirates." Haffard paused. "There are also numerous non combat vessels, some of which escaped but many of which were unable to. The sector's Altor Class replenishment is among the surrendered vessels, and has enough supplies to support the entirety of sector operations. It's perhaps the most important asset we have captured. There is also a field secured container vessel, fully loaded with supplies for the sector force. There are numerous other supporting vessels, 37 in this system alone. These range from the previously mentioned to much smaller light freighters, many of which were under the command of the Imperial merchant marine. All told, that brings us up to about 78 non combat Imperial vessels we have captured, including ships from Imperial aligned corporations such as Kuat Drive Yards, Sienar Fleet Systems, and Rendili Star Drive." Haffard said.

Johnson was impressed, but he only remembered capturing a few dozen of these support ships.

"Where did the rest come from?" Johnson asked.

"Our victory at Zoloch Prime." Haffard replied. "The Imperials lost many of their ships, but one of their Star Destroyers escaped. That leaves the Imperial sector forces with only two Star Destroyers, and with all of their major planets occupied. They only have two or maybe three dozen combat vessels left, most of which are sublight systems patrol craft like th 1."

"Good." Johnson said. "What else do you have to report?" He had a number of other topics he would be bringing up, but he wanted to see what Haffard was going to do first.

"We have an issue with civilian ships sir. There are over a thousand in the space we control, with hundreds more on the ground docked. They range from shuttles and light transports to bulk freighters. Not an insignificant number of those ships are from companies that are affiliated with the Empire. Should we allow civilian travel within our occupied territories and / or to travel outside the Empire?"

"Anyone who wants to leave the sector can do so, unless they are Imperial Navy personnel or members of an Imperial affiliated corporation." Johnson said. "Travel in between worlds within the sector is also fine. I want all of the Imperial affiliated companies vessel's impounded. All stations and installations of these companies will also be seized. I have heard that the Empire allows slaves and let's these companies use them. Are there any in the sector?"

"Yes, a number of the mining and industrial installations use them." Sing said.

"They are to be emancipated immediately. Anyone in a leadership position who was overseeing that, military or civilian, is to be imprisoned immediately. Do any of these companies have private security forces that would pose a threat to us?" Johnson asked.

"Nothing more than a few corvettes and frigates, so something we can easily destroy if needed." Sing replied.

"There is another issue that we're going to have to deal with." Haffard said. "Manpower. To man all of these stations and ships, especially the logistical ones, we need a lot more people than we currently have. Of course we're going to be giving a significant amount to the free confederacy, and many of these ships do not require a large crew. A potential solution would be to keep these ships and stations under their current crews, and keep marines aboard to prevent defection. A lot of these personnel are not strictly Imperial military, and maybe we can look into rehabilitation later on when the manpower situation stabilizes."

"That seems reasonable." Johnson said. "We need to keep these shipyards open. As well as the various industrial and mining facilities that feed it. Is contracting civilian ships to be used as transports realistic?"

"Yes, in fact some ships are offering their facilities free of charge. We could definitely use the extra logistical support." He said. "But that isn't always going to happen. We need to figure out how pay these people."

"We have a large amount of rare metals that are both mined in this sector and that were stored here. We could also use Imperial credits."

"What about piracy." Johnson asked. "If the Free Confederacy was able to thrive here and not get caught, I'd reason that smaller pirate groups would have no trouble staying away from the Empire and raiding shipping."

"There is not an imnaginificanr amount here." Haffard said. said. "The Free Confederacy has interacted with them on several occasions. They might have an idea about where they are, if you intend to eliminate them."

"I don't want to eliminate them." Johnson said. "I want to make them into privateers, and get them to raid Imperial shipping in other sectors." He could see Haffard stiffen at the idea. "I know these people are the dregs of society, and under other circumstances I would unequivocally want to lock them up. But we need every advantage we can use against the Empire. And it will keep them from attacking civilians or us."

Haffard wanted to protest but decided against it. He couldn't really argue against Johnson's logic. "I don't necessarily agree, Admiral, but I understand." He said diplomatically.

"Your concerns are duly noted." Johnson said. "What's the status of the civilian population in the worlds that we control?"

"It's been as good as we predicted. There has been some hesitation, but transports filled with food and medical supplies are arriving to help them. Local members of the Free Confederacy have mostly taken control and are attempting to set up governments, and our troops are busy handling the Imperial remnants and managing prisoners of war."

"Good, anything else to report?" Johnson asked.

"There is a prisoner who wants to talk to you." Sing said.

"Who is this prisoner, a high ranking officer?"

"No, it's a lieutenant." Haffard said. "But he claims that that he has a message from a Moff."