The walk wasn't a far one. The turbolift doors sighed open and Daala stepped in amidst an echo of hard conversation between the eight assorted Moffs and Warlords that made up the Ruling Assembly–Daala's Ruling Assembly.
The conference chamber was a rather large space positioned at the top of a high tower that stretched towards the stars from the middle section of the Super Star Destroyer. The room was broad and wide, ending in an eye-shaped viewport opposite where Daala had entered. Chambers like this often weren't that grand, and this one was no different. It was basically two elongated walls, a viewport, and a roof. A table and its ten chairs next to the eye-like viewport were the only things that seemed to bring at least some liveliness into the dull room. In the original blueprints, this tower was the throne room for Emperor Palpatine. Every Star Destroyer was required to have a throne room included in its design, built into it for the Emperor should he ever come on board. It was, symbolically, a way to monument the late Palpatine. In the days of his Empire, it had been more grandiose than it looked at this moment, supposedly actually reflecting something great in its construction. Now it was simple and boring, an unnoticed pathetic vision of power. But Daala didn't mind. Power was something that couldn't be represented; it could only be used.
Daala proceed down a flight of steps. Her boots clanged loudly on the durasteel floor, completely over-shrouding the sounds of conversation from the Assembly. Slowly, the representatives eyes all fell on her and all the talking ceased, an echo vanishing. She hardly payed to that though, just concentrating on where she was going. Like a businesswomen at a meeting, Daala calmly and proudly marched up to the dias and took her seat at the first, center chair that faced the viewport and its thousand-thousand glimmering stars. She softly gazed at the men and three women around her as they stared, uneasily most of them, back at the Grand Admiral. Daala straightened her formal white uniform, letting the uneasiness settle for a moment.
She pulled a lock of her long hair off of her face and began. "I'm going to dispense with the pleasantries today. They're pointless."
"My plan is this. The destruction of the Galactic Alliance through military force." She looked into the jungle-green eyes of her oldest and most trusted friend, Moff Selena, the former Lieutenant aboard the Star Destroyer Gorgon who was now the headstrong governess of an industrial sector known as the Assolist. "And through its own civil war." Daala smirked at the murmur that ensued that sentence. She stood up again and walked towards the right wall of the dias to a hidden panel that only the Assembly and Daala knew about. She pressed a glowing red tile on the inside of the panel. A huge portion of the wall swung open and up, and an obsidian-tinted monitor moved out.
The monitor turned bright flickering to life. A picture of the entire Known Galaxy appeared, with several Core worlds like the bruised ex-Imperial Center Coruscant, ship-building centers Kuat and Corellia, along with Fondor, Duro, and three other worlds, tagged with the crest and stars of the Galactic Alliance. The rest of the pictured galaxy had numerous tags throughout dozens of assorted different planets from all the regions–the Colonies, the Expansion Region, Mid-Rim, Outer Rim. One, a planet called Kamino, was even outside the Outer Rim–the more notable one being Mon Calamari, the planet that had been the headquarters of the Galactic Alliance during the latter half of the Yuuzhan Vong War. Other planets included Sluis Van, Naboo, Nam Chorios of the Meridian Sector, and Yavin Four, the jungle moon that was the former site of Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy. Though all the planets tagged were scattered across the galaxy, all of them presented hefty targets, like the shipyards of Kuat and Sluis Van, the strategic placing of Borleias and fellow Colonies Region world Commenor, and Brentaal, the planet that the Perlemian Trade Route and the Hydian Way, one a major trade lane and the other a major hyperspace lane, intersected at. And, of course, Skywalker's beaten Jedi Academy planet. Daala had tagged a significant amount of important worlds–except that one Kamino. All of the Moffs and Warlords in the Assembly knew exactly what this was–an invasion plan. Daala was going to try what so many others–including Vader and Palpatine–had tried. Total conquer of the galaxy.
But how? Certainly not with the weak force she commanded.
From the other end of the table, Warlord Foga Brill stared thoughtfully at the beautiful Grand Admiral. What was she up to?
Daala clasped her hands behind her back. "The Yuuzhan Vong war has been won for nearly two standard years now. The victors were, of course, the Galactic Alliance: if you care to call a peace treaty victory. Nevertheless, the Alliance won. But the win has weakened them. Severely." She toggled the control panel, and the monitor responded by zooming in on two dozen systems in the Bajos sector. Highlighted in orange were numerous squadrons of Daala's Dominion fleet. "Enough for them to be taken advantage of." Daala pressed two more buttons on the panel, and the monitor switched pictures again, this time focusing on the snow and ice world of Bakar III, a rogue planet–that is, a planet that doesn't belong to a sun–that was on the border of the Core and Deep Core regions of the galaxy, and one of the areas that the New Republic–now the Galactic Alliance–frequently patrolled, keeping the Imperials in the Deep Core in check and being the first line of defense should the Empire attack from there. "A significant amount of Alliance front line ships were lost in the first years of the war, and the reserve fleets suffered severe casualties, which is no surprise to me," she took a moment to bask in the pity she had for Alliance, then continued. "Anyway, as a result of the reserve's losses, Alliance Defense instilled many of its border defense ships into the front lines and reserves. And they left barely anything behind except a few petty starfighters to keep a 'skeleton' watch on our borders." Daala paused and grinned. "Those petty starfighters are still there. The Alliance hasn't had the resources to replace those ships yet, and it leaves the borders of the Deep Core open for invasion. And we are more than ready in my opinion. Chief of State Cal Omas has chosen to devote all resources to reparations and rebuilding. A fool's choice. One should never ignore one's former enemies." Her eyes circled the room slowly. "Old enemies have a tendency to resurface when you don't need them."
Selena grinned at her friend. "Especially old enemies that are said to have been killed-in- action."
Daala nodded. "Yes. Our preemptive staging area will be here at Bakar III," she said, gesturing to the monitor. Daala hesitated in disgust. "We attack as soon as we are ready. The target will be the sixth moon of the planet Resad, which houses a branch of the DCBH."
The DCBH was the Deep Core Border Headquarters of the Alliance.
As expected, another murmur drifted throughout the crowd. Amongst only the men though. The three women at the table, Moff Selena, Warlord Terret, and Moff Kuresca simply exchanged glances and smiles. Daala had already informed them, her circle of trust as it were, of her complete plan, only a fraction of that was she telling the Assembly right now. The murmur escalated, which disgusted Daala even more. Another property of men that she was sick of.
It was Warlord Brill that finally spoke over the murmurs and the noise to address the Grand Admiral. "Will all due respect Admiral–"
"Grand Admiral," Daala sharply corrected him, even though that wasn't right. She'd correct him properly later.
If Brill housed any anger for that correction, he didn't show it. "My apologies Grand Admiral. With all due respect, how do you know this attack will be successful? Can you safely say that?" He shook his head. "The Alliance may be weakened, but one-third of their remaining forces could certainly topple us. If they mount a counterstrike, they will blow us away easily–"
Daala interrupted. "Tell me, is force, power, and territory the only three things you ever think about?" She chuckled smartly. "That's why your predecessors failed. They only cared about having the most planets, or the most subjects, or the best navy, or the best army. It's spiteful. Order can only be established through careful planning, stealth, and strategy–"
A loud, cackling laugh rang throughout the chamber. Daala recognized it instantly as the repulsive, spitting laugh of fifty-year old toad Moff Ferriz Joffandor, who shared the ruling rights of Bullrerrit sector, very unhappily, with the women sitting across from him, Moff Worfin. Joffandor's chest heaved up and down as he cackled, and his floppy white hair looked as if it was going to bounce off his head. He playfully scratched the feathers of his pet mooka on his shoulder. The chubby man sat up in his seat and humorously stared at Daala.
"Planning and stealth are 'strategies'"–he cackled again–"of the Rebels. Are you trying to turn us into a band of pirates?" He looked up dreamily, eyes wide. "I could be Captain Galaxy, the universes greatest champion Panthien." He gestured at Daala. "And I would be your loyal sidekick, Star Admiral Wellington." He grinned and flashed his brows at Daala.
The whole Assembly laughed, save the female members.
Daala's anger rose. She could feel her hand wanting to reach for the blaster at her belt. The temperature in her body rose significantly, she could feel it. To be compared to that witch...
What Joffandor had referred to was the story of Star Admiral Wellington, a beautiful human female who commanded the most formidable and, curse the cosmos, friendly fleet of Dreadnaughts in the whole universe, and her second in command and sidekick Captain Galaxy, the champion Panthien–a darkly handsome and pretty species that dwelled on one of the moons of Elrood–who also was the Star Admiral's husband. Officially called The Adventures of Star Admiral Wellington and Captain Galaxy, the book was a tradeoff of the Old Republic. Parents usually read it to their kids when they were between the ages of two-to-six standard years of age. During the time of the Old Republic, it was the closest thing the people of the galaxy could have to a classic story. However, when the New Order was established under Palpatine, the story fell of the headway when the Emperor had it changed to support Imperial propaganda. Cadet Wellington–women were as equally as persecuted as aliens in Palpatine's Empire, and couldn't be promoted beyond Lieutenant unless by Palpatine himself–was changed to a loyal servant–both in service and in private, adding on to Daala's hate of Palpatine when she read the new version–to Star Admiral Galaxy, a loyal Grand Moff of the Empire that now commanded the second–Palpatine's was the first–"most formidable and powerful"fleet of Star Destroyers in the entire universe. Daala didn't care to much for the story. It was basically a copy of an old Jedi Knight's diary. Palpatine hadn't bothered to change that, save the parts about the benefits of peace and democracy. Only when Daala had read the part about Wellington, the hero of the story, being a slave and enjoying it had she been completely outraged.
Which made her anger against Joffandor rise ten times as it was before.
Daala's eyes lit ablaze with fury. "Planning, stealth, and strategy," she forced between her gritted teeth. "Has always been the best way." She let her anger subside for a moment to smartly address him. "The Rebels used planning, stealth, and strategy against Palpatine's Empire." She leaned forward strongly. "Guess who won the Galactic Civil War? The Rebels." Daala took extreme pleasure in watching Joffandor's expression turn sour. "Thank you for your marvelous patriotism to my cause, Ferriz," Daala nodded. She let her anger return. In a instant, her blaster was out of its holster and in her side where she kept it as she talked. Joffandor's mooka darkened its eyes in anger and growled at Daala "The next time you choose to attack my plans, remember what this looks like." She nodded to Moff Kuresca, who proceeded to grab Joffandor's shoulder and hold the man down in his chair. Her powerful arms were more than enough to keep the fat man locked in his chair. Moff Selena calmly smiled her support for her Daala and sidestepped out of the way. Joffandor struggled, fruitlessly, in Kuresca grasp. His mooka immediately turned around on its hind legs and growled a warning at her.
"W-wait, w-what are you–?" Joffandor stuttered. "Grand Admiral, please, I didn't mean to–no. Daala no–" he pleaded.
Now having a clear target, Daala took aim. Warlord Brill ducked his head, and Daala fired a hot shot at full power. Joffandor closed his eyes, awaiting his end. The orange bolt snapped across the room in under a second. However, Daala hadn't aimed for him. She didn't want to do what everyone was expecting her to do when she pulled out the blaster. So instead, she had aimed for and now hit the mooka on his shoulder. The tiny, helpless animal was hit with so much power and energy that it burst apart, bloodily, into a thousand tiny pieces of flesh, bone, and feathers. The blood splattered all over Joffandor's face, chest and back, washing the fat man thoroughly in the pus-colored liquid. Kuresca had taken her hands away when Daala had fired and backed away in a hurry, but still managed to get three smudges of mooka blood on her tunic. But unlike Joffandor, who was violently trying to wipe the blood off his face with a cloth, Kuresca simply smiled calmly and took her seat with a nod to Daala.
Daala re-holstered her blaster and stood at her full height. "I aimed for the animal Ferriz, don't worry. Though I don't consider you any better than a mooka."
Joffandor glared back at her for a moment, but then changed the expression to one of apology. "I'm sorry, Grand Admiral. Using stealth and secrecy is not a strategy I'm used to and–"
Daala re-aimed her blaster at him. The toadish Moff practically flattened himself against the back of his chair. "No!" he pleaded.
Daala glared fire back at him. "Don't lie to me, Joffandor," she snapped. "You're bad at it. You just wanted to voice your opinion, to give your three credits. I know this because I've seen it done before dozens of times around you men. If you spent half the time thinking then you do boasting your opinions like gluttons, your attempts at power might work."
Joffandor was amazingly persistent. "Your attempts failed too, Daala!"
Daala's anger rose once again, and her muscles tensed and tightened around the blaster's handle. She spent a moment breathing through her gritted teeth, but relaxed after the next. But she couldn't take much more of this treasonous defiance. "My attempts failed because I was ignorant to some facts. I didn't know the power the New Republic had and it ended up being my undoing. I admit that openly. My ignorance was my defeat, but not this time. This time I'm being careful. Yes it looks like a plan the Rebel Alliance used which is why it's the best plan. If your can't beat an enemy your way, then beat them their way. Got it?"
Joffandor didn't look satisfied, nor convinced. Normally, as she had done with much of this Assembly's predecessors, Daala would simply have killed him and be done with it. But she needed his support and his army and navy. She'd make him pay for his insubordination later. "You don't look convinced Joffandor. That's because your not used to this type of plan. Well that's too bad. I know what you want to do, though. You want to conquer your way, the way you men have been trying to do it for the last thirty years. You know what I'm talking about, gathering all the ships you possibly can and then smashing into Republic space, guns blazing. It has never worked and it probably never will, even now."
Daala gave him one last glare and stepped back towards the monitor. "Now if you would let me finish, I'll explain everything in due time." She made sure everyone, including Joffandor, was paying attention before continuing. "When we destroy the base at Resad, we will immediately–immediately–move on to the next target: a communications center on the planet Wullund. The result should be a communications blackout in five. Once that is destroyed, our ships will be able to move the entire fleet out of the Deep Core."
Warlord Brill stroked his beard in thought. But wasn't foolish enough–either that, or he was a coward–to question Daala's plan. It sounded like a decent plan. If he only knew what Daala's real goal was. Moff Tethys was much bolder.
"And we just keep moving on, from base to base? Destroying one and then moving on to the next?"
"You make it sound easy" Joffandor commented.
"Yes. It should be." Daala answered sternly. "We will destroy them in a selected path that will lead the fleet directly to the planet Kamino." She gazed and nodded at the tag on the beyond-the-Outer-Rim world of Kamino.
"How will we do that?" Tethys asked. "The Alliance will track us easily. They will catch up to us."
Now feeling more comfortable to speak, Brill sat up. "And what's so important about this planet Kamino?" He pointed to the tag on the monitor. "It doesn't look like anything important."
Daala raised a stern eyebrow at him. "Kamino is probably the most important planet in my entire operation."
"Why?"
"Because my army–the one that will conquer every planet in the Alliance–is being built and trained there."
"Yourarmy is being built?" Warlord Talpoldar, the newest and youngest member of the Assembly said from the far right curve of the table.
Daala smiled confidently. "Yes. The Kaminoans are cloners by trade, so yes, the word 'built' can be applied to their job. The armies that fought the Clone Wars were built and trained on Kamino. And now my army is being built and trained."
"A clone army?" Moff Corls, former governor of the Corellian Trade Spine, asked from behind Moff Kuresca. "Wasn't that Thrawn's idea?"
"That's where I got it from," Daala responded. "His army was the most powerful of any of the past Imperial armies, and it conquered a lot of New Republic territory in its time."
"It's an intriguing proposal," Moff Selena said, smiling at Daala as a joke, mocking Corls. The four–Daala, Selena, Kuresca, and Terret–had already been informed of and had discussed phase one of Daala's plan before the Assembly's meeting even began. They were the insiders of the thirteen member government.
"But don't clones take time to be born and grow?" asked Moff Worfin, one of the few Moff's who had been on the original Moff Assembly before Daala had...resigned most of the Assembly's original members. "They're like ordinary beings."
"Not these types of clones. The Kaminoans alter their clones' genetic patterns, adding in a gene sequence that gives the clones a shorter life span. They grow a two times the rate of normal beings. A decent army can be formed within nine-to-ten years."
A murmur of amazement danced its way through the Assembly. Daala smirked. Now I have their full attention.
"I see," Warlord Foga Brill said, a little chuckle in his voice. He knew. Looking straight up at Daala, he asked, "And how long ago did you order the creation of your new clone army?
"Nearly fifteen years ago. Shortly after I killed Harrsk, Delvardus and that whole event. My link to the Kaminoans has informed me that army is now 970,000 strong with one-point-five million on the verge of completion." Daala's eye surveyed the Assembly. "Ladies and gentlemen," she hesitated, catching herself before she said the word "I." "We will have the greatest army that this galaxy has ever seen."
A long pause ensued the Admiral's words. Daala noticed many members exchange looks; some looks of fear, some looks of caution. And some looks triumph and confidence, which also could be referred to as treasonous looks. It was nothing to be worried about. Daala had known practically from the beginning about the friendships that some members of the Assembly–like Moff Tethys and Warlord Brill–had amongst themselves. She could tell what most of them were thinking at that very instant. An army practically two million strong would be a nice asset for one to have.
Daala stepped up to the viewport and gazed out at the stars. "We will be perfect." She basked in her pride one last time before another doubter, Tethys this time, spoke up again.
"But what about the Jedi?" asked Worfin.
But Tethys was the only one Daala heard. "How can we get there? How can we cut halfway across the galaxy and not be intercepted?"
Daala turned to face him. "That part will be told later today. For now, this Assembly is dismissed. We will reconvene in a few hours."
Warlord Brill still had a thousand questions, as did Tethys, Worfin, Talpoldar, Joffandor and practically every other member of the Assembly, save the women. But they all knew not to question Daala even more after a meeting was finished. That was how Moff Xedwith, a former member of the Assembly, had lost his life.
Daala closed up the wall monitor. She calmly waited as the chamber emptied of its occupants. With an clever nod to Selena, Kuresca, and Terret, Daala proudly followed them to the turbolift and out of the chamber. She would meet with them again soon. But first, she had another woman to talk to concerning Joffandor.