"Commodore, I bring you the first fruits of our battle." Cordero said as he layed three strings of Vong ears, tongues and scalps. Thirty dead men's. Or better to say, thirty filthy aliens less on his planet.

"Excellent. Did all the patrols return?"

"Aye sir, and we got ourselves a pair of TIE starfighters. The assault shuttles Lomeir took to the other outpost returned just earlier with a little under two hundred men. It will be hard work to transport four thousand men that way, but the other outposts have a shuttle or two of their own."

"Good. Are sentries placed?"

"Aye sir. Another Yuuzhan Vong raiding party overwhelmed one of our less defended outposts in the south."

"It couldn't be helped. The southron is all fertile plains, it is here in the north that the Vong are less likely to look."

"Aye, and the eastern scouting parties they sent are infront of you." Cordero gestured torward the scalps, as the comlink beeped. Lucin slapped it, and an image of Grand Admiral Thrawn appeared, and the spines of both men straightened by reflex. The Grand Admiral looked as fresh as ever... though a bit of hair was missing on his left temple.

"My lord admiral." said Lucin.

"Commodore. Report."

"We lost the battle at Imperial Center. About fifty thousand dead, all our armor gone, another ten thousand missing in action."

"Admiral Mitth? His Majesty, Lomeir?"

"A coralskipper suicide run slammed into the command tower, I survived only because I was in the ground command center, laying out the tactic with the stormtrooper commander. Lomeir's flanked the aliens, giving me and those who survived a bit of time to booby trap the access points into the complex before retreating to the northern outpost. Lord Lomeir retreated with us."

"Reinforcements cannot be sent to liberate the planet. The fleet is mostly in dry dock for repairs after the battle for Serpindal." Thrawn's lips twisted with displeasurement.

"The outcome, sir?"

"We lost over two hundred thousand good men at Serpindal Commodore. But the day was won, and the Vong are short of nine hundred ships plus a shipwomb. Now, give me present status report."

"Sir, Theres a hundred thousand Vong prowling my planet at the moment, and I have around two thousand at best, six or seven hundred of that soldiers. Still, I will make their visit here a visit to the ninth circle of Hell." Lucin boomed as he lifted the ears Cordero brought him.

"Good work commodore. I will send general Hotan with as many of his troops as he can spare. See to it that you don't fail me... again. Failure is not an option commodore. Admiral Mitth paid with his life for his failure, dont follow him down that road." Thrawn said and closed the transmission.

"Deploy your scouts. I want to know every move the Yuuzhan Vong make. I also want no casualties, I'll need every man able to hold a gun and shoot." said Lucin after a moment of silence during which he laid back and interwined his fingers in a thoughtful gesture.

"As ordered." Cordero nodded with his flamboyant accent, turned on his heel and made a run for it before his moody superior showered him with more orders. Every time he talked to him, he came out of the room with a list of orders as long as his two arms, with footnotes. Pah.

* * *

"Yes captain?" the Admiral murmored as two red slits of light opened above the spotless white uniform leaning back into the command chair of the Grand Admiral's chambers.

"General Hotan will be departing in two standard hours time sir. Along with twenty five thousand troops and an armor division." Cayel reported dutifully.

"Good. Very good." a gloved white finger lashed almost lazily yet nimbly at one of the keypads on the arm of the chair, and the intrigate holoprojector sparkled to life.

"They say my clone had such a device, effectively turning his chambers into a tactical room. I prefer to let my men see me, they will sooner die for a man they know then a stranger, but as means of planning it is a quite ingenious solution. Now, tell me captain, after the battle of Serpindal and the fall of Coruscant, how do we stand?"

"Compared to the Rebels and the Yuuzhan Vong? Sir, we... no, you pounded the Vong at every probing, raid, or attack they did. The only victory they can claim is Crimson Prime, where we offered no battle save on the ground, and it is said our troops there killed two hundred thousand Yuuzhan Vong, and there were only sixty thousand there. As for the rebels... Well, the Vong are pounding them, so I'd say we are halfway there." said Cayel.

"Elaborate." the bloody red slits shrunk for a bit, inquiring.

"Well sir, the Empire spanned over a thousand worlds and brought peace and order to the galaxy, though typically in an heavy handed way. Yet we control what, only thirty planets. A dozen more uncolonized." Cayel continued.

"Yes, your point is well made. Even now, millions of techs are en route to six planets, to lay the colony foundations. Iridonia was where we had sown our hopes captain, and now it is time we reap the harvest. No doubt you have noticed that our Spaarti cloning operation has been operating a bit beyond expected?"

"Yes, at fifty percent capability."

"Quite true. The other fifty percent has been cloning colonists. Miners, farmers, traders, builders... The very best have been taken from Iridonia, and cloned."

"For the new colonies?"

"Indeed. Two millions per each planet. Moff Frey estimates that the colonies would reach ten million each within a year if we continued to supply workers and servants with ten to twenty percent of our cloning capacity." Thrawn rose from his chairs, eyes glowing like hangar beacons. He came before the window, widened his footing and clasped his hand behind the small of his back before continuing:

"Captain, once before I told you we shall conquer the New Republic through economy as much as warfare. We made the Yuuzhan Vong fear our military... Let us make them fear our economy. The galaxy is ours for the taking, and history is moving onwards. Those who stand in our way, wont be there to see it unfold." he said gravely.

"I look forward to it sire." Cayel dutifully nodded as he watched the Fleet drift in the nothingless of space. They have forged the sword of the Empire anew, and they have tempered it with the blood of two hundred thousand men lost at Serpindal. Now, after showing the rebels how war is waged, it was time to show the rebels just how economy is managed.

For the glory of the Empire.

A corner of his lips rose in proud and silent salutation to the Grand Admiral.