"The Admiral is dead."

All was silent.

The newly christened Admiral Asa Soto sat quietly at what could be loosely called the head of the round table in the brightly lit conference room. He had called a meeting of all the captains and generals of the fleet, as well the Knights and the representative of the Imperial Mission, the Honorable Lus Rakhan, a blue eyed human with a bald head, and a beard as white as his skin.

"And what exactly is the cause of death?,asked Captain Lev, of the Jagged Blade. His tone was perfectly calm, but Asa could sense the suspicion under his tone. Asa opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off.

"Yes, Vice Admiral," growled Captan Rathi'el, of the Lusankya. " Do tell. How was the good Admiral killed?

"Admiral Seiei, died because of a heart attack. He liked his drink. It did not like him. The stress of our...jump...seemed to have been too much for him. He perished on his command deck. As per Imperial Directive 10089/b, his first officer assumed command and restrained from causing a panic by broadcasting the Admirals death fleet wide. I stand by Captain Kes Darachs decision." Asa sat down, hoping that would be enough. He hesitantly placed a hand of the shoulder of the the brown skinned Zabrak female.

"Is it Captan now?, Rathi'el sneered. "You would give a horned sub-human a command? Aliens cannot be trusted!" There was a murmur of agreement on Rathi'els end, the captains and generals he undoubtedly had contacted beforehand.

"Is that so, Captain Rathi'el?," said Di Ti, a Twi-lek with a scarred blue eye and a mechanical left arm,an arm he now held out. "Then I suppose I gained this at the Battle of Tentlak III, for no reason. If I'm not to be trusted that is. Perhaps I even cut it myself to appear patriotic." There was a slight spread of chuckles at Asa end now, and Rathi'els face flushed.

Asa raised a hand before he could retort. "Before we get into an argument over species and and..patriotism... I would like to address the true reason I called this council together, other than the late Admirals death. There is also the matter of this new galaxy. I have sent out the modified customs corvettes the scout out the immediate area and map for hyper-lanes, as well as to discover any nearby star systems. " There were some approving nods all around. Asa opened his mouth to speak again, but his personal comlink buzzed. He flipped it and raised it to his ear. " Yes?" He paused. "Ah.. thank you."

He placed the comlink back onto his belt pocket and straightened. "Gentlemen, we have received word that one of the scoutships has discovered something. Not only have they found a planet within easy traveling distance, they believe it is part of a larger binary star cluster."

The table broke into a low buzzing noise as they excitedly debated. One General raised his hand, obviously considering himself above the lowly tittering of his peers."My lord Admiral, how many worlds are contained within a star cluster, exactly?"

"On average, in our own galaxy? As many as ten to twenty worlds, not to mention moons, gas giants and the possible asteroid belt." He stood. "Gentlemen, we now hae a clear goal. We will take these worlds, for the glory of the Empire! For Emperor Fel!"

The all stood then, in somewhat unison. Their hand touched their left breast and they all chanted, even Rathi'el and his cronies.

"For the Empire! For the Emperor!"

Lus Rakhan considered himself above things like revenge, pettiness, and wrath. Yet, even he had enjoyed the look on Rathi'els face when the new Admiral had announced the discovery of the star cluster. He had never liked the man, ever since the Bombings of Kesthor. So violent, so unreasonable.

He gently lifted a steaming cup to his lips. Angels Tears, from the partly devastated world of Genna, a world that had been ravaged by the Vong all those years ago. He contemplated that, as he sat at his desk in his quarters aboard the missionary vessel, Steadfast Faith. He wondered if he would have been able to avert the disaster. He had, after all saved that rebellious world of Sothor from destruction. Mentoring that boy had been hard, but he had succeeded and Sothor had been shielded from much of his blind anger. He had shown him that there was another way than that of the old Empire.

And now..The true work would begin.

That..fool. That child.. That..alien-lover.

Kethi'el Varr'el was a hardliner and proud of it. His family had helped found the original COMPNOR; the men in his family had a history of serving in the ISB, the Imperial News Network,and the Fleet. He didnt hate aliens; they were inferior, pure and simple He didnt hate women; he simply understood that they were the weaker sex. That was the philosophy of the Empire. The weak follow and obey. The strong lead. And weakness was in the blood.

This Asa Soto had weakness in his blood. He had researched the Sothori people. They were practically mutants. And soon he would provoke and bring out Soto's inner beast.

Kethi'el stood on the bridge of his ship, hands behind his back and his eyes observing everything. He was the future of the Empire. And he would shape this new galaxy in his image.