Only three days into the maiden voyage of the Accuser did Captain Firmus Piett learn that the ship was going to be commanded by someone else other than Lord Vader, which was off of the original plan. To be honest the man felt a little put off about it as he was hand-picked by Lord Vader for promotion to captaincy and was offered this position on this ship by him personally. It was a great honor in Piett's book and he made it is mission in life to be the best naval officer he could.

Upon word from Lord Vader that a Lord Synge would be taking command of the ship in his place was a bit of a shock but learning that whoever this was answered only to Lord Vader Piett wasn't as disgruntled about the news... but he was worried. From his understanding of Sith and their ways of command and operations, and hearing the stories of Lord Vader himself when dealing with insubordination, Piett had made sure he had plenty of personnel request forms ready and filled out to replace those poor souls unlucky enough to upset the Sith commander they were expecting.

"You would think the commander would be on this ship from day one when it became operable at the Yards." Piett looked down into the port side crew pit at some of the members at their consoles. No doubt they were just as antsy as he was about the lack of a leader, not that this bothered him too much.

"Perhaps if we did our jobs and stopped worrying about our commander, maybe he would appear and be pleased that we are working."

"The only problem with your assessment, Captain, is that your commander is a woman."

Piett's body stiffened as he turned on his heel to face the authoritative voice which sounded behind him. He was greeted by a young woman, dark wavy hair and intense green eyes bearing into him, who was wearing something not of the standard naval uniform. The armor was all black and the breast plate was polished to a shine where he could see his reflection in it. Her trench coat was also black but had green threads holding it together at the seams. It was thick but it flowed around her ankles like a lighter fabric and resembled that of the old robes that used to be worn by the Jedi. This one looked better on her though.

"Apologies, my lady." He was relieved when she smiled in return.

"I understand, it's my fault for not communicating. I wanted to get settled and have some time to myself before I made myself known."

Piett raised an eyebrow. "You've been on the ship the whole time, ma'am?"

"Yes I have. It is my ship after all." Off to the side some of the officers in the pit turned their heads away from the two conversing senior officers and busied themselves with their work. Tara had to suppress an amused smirk. "Okay Captain, I'm sure you're aware of the orders from Lord Vader?"

Piett nodded and walked to a console on their level and punched in a code. The mission Vader had given to Tara came up with the details.

"The ship is fully stocked and has a few thousand more than the skeleton crew to run her. All members are hand chosen by myself and all qualifications are met with each personnel. Many of them are multi-specialist and can cover other areas of the ship if needed."

"Very good, Captain. Set course for just outside of the Corellian system. I'm going to catch myself a traitor to the Empire."

Tara stood at the head of the ship and looked out of the forward viewports. Captain Piett walked along the walkway and called commands and orders to the specialists and techs below. They punched away at their computers and Tara could feel the energy run through the ship to the engines. All in a blur the stars became streaks in the sky of lights as the ship burst forward into hyperspace. Piett came to her side.

"We should reach our destination in about two hours, ma'am."

"Very good. I would like to see you in my chambers."

Tara turned on her heel and left the bridge, Piett right behind her. Once within the privacy of her office she closed the door and offered Piett a seat, which he took. She settled herself at her desk and pulled up his personnel record.

"I'm impressed with your credentials, Captain," she said, looking over his record. "You're a graduate of the Military Academy at the top of your class, overachiever and general, all-around successful individual."

Piett didn't know what was going on and the sudden praise coming from a Sith was a little unnerving. He cleared his throat and thanked her. "Please, Captain, I'm not here to break you. Calm down."

That didn't particularly help. "My lady, why, may I ask, are we meeting? Are there issues you wish to discuss with me?"

"Not particularly." Tara sat back in her chair and looked at him. "Seeing as you're the highest senior officer of this ship below me, you are, more or less, my deputy. I like to know my partners and co-workers. If you and I can't get along then we're going to have trouble."

Piett nodded.

"Are you familiar with House Palatine?"

Piett was a little surprised. "House Palatine?" When she only looked at him it was pretty clear that he didn't mistake her. "Yes. It was a prominent Sith house many millennia ago. It was the head of the government of my home world, Axxila. Why do you ask? Are you familiar with it?"

Tara watched him. "Yes. My step-mother was from that planet. At the time she was the heiress to House Palatine. Do any members of the house remain?"

"No, ma'am. I'm sorry to say that the house was shifted away from politics a few hundred years ago. But until then it was going quite strong. Who was your step-mother?"

"Her name was Nathrrya Therin-Palatine."

"I am vaguely familiar with the name. I don't have history that goes that far back, but I'm sure I could find sources."

Piett had very little knowledge of his commander. The woman before him was not what he had been expecting when Lord Vader announced another person was taking his place at the helm above him. While Piett had full control of the ship and its crew, the commander was the one who called the shots. Piett could see why she would want to get to know him. If they were going to work together they had to trust one another. He calmed down more knowing this and Tara smiled, seeing him relax.

"Well, come on Piett. I'm sure you have questions for me." She leaned forward and shoed intent to listen.

"Where did you come from, my lady?" It was mildly pathetic but it was the best he could come up with. It's a good place to start as any.

Tara reached into her coat and pulled a data chip from her pocket and putting it before the captain. "Anything I say can be looked up in that file from when I was discovered," she said. "I was born on Dromund Kaas a very long time ago. While I haven't had a chance to figure out exactly how old I am now, I can assure you it's ancient."

Piett took the chip and pocketed it for later use. He made a mental note to review the data on the chip since she was very agreeable to him having it.

"My father was a naval officer, top of his class. He'd been a lieutenant based on Balmorra before my step-mother met him. He followed her off that forsaken rock when he asked her for a position on her ship. After a while she sent in her recommendation for his captaincy."

"He sounds like a very hard-working individual."

Tara smiled thinking back. "He was. He loved what he did, he was a true patriot to the Empire. Despite the circumstances he found himself in regarding me and my half-sister he never once said he regretted any decision regarding us. He did regret sleeping with my mother, but he loved me, I think, more than his first child."

There was a moment of silence between the two and Piett watched his commanding officer with kind eyes and some understanding. For whatever reason, deep within him, there was a spark of something akin to camaraderie and in a few short moments of communication he felt he really could trust this woman with his life and his crew. Perhaps he was jumping a little to soon on his assessment, but he was good at reading people… except for Lord Vader.

"Piett, there is still much more we could talk about, but the bottom line is that if you fulfill your duties aboard this ship and you keep your people in line you will not have any issues with me, nor I with you or your crew. We are all here on the same terms as everyone else and all I ask is for loyalty and efficiency."

Piett stood from his seat and went to attention, raising his hand in a salute. "You shall have it, ma'am. I pride myself on my abilities and you will not have trouble."

Tara stood and returned the gesture out of respect for him. "Thank you, Captain. You may return to your post. I have preparations to make before we reach our destination."

With the Accuser set to idle just outside of the Corellain system Tara was waking her way to the hangar, her mind racing a hundred miles an hour. Within the two hours of travel and after she had dismissed Piett from her office she received an untraceable, coded message from an unknown source. Tara's sister had taught her some tricks to decoding messages of such nature, and she had a run-in or two with Theron Shan to have a decent knowledge of the subject. She didn't have to unravel the entire code to know that she was being played.

To be thoroughly honest, you should have known better, Tara.

The brunette snarled her displeasure at the sound of Nathrrya's voice in her head – her mind was playing her too, it seems, by berating her using Nathrrya's voice.

"Yeah, Nat, well forgive me for thinking that things have changed." She quickly closed her mouth as she rounded the corner and a group of soldiers came through on patrol, saluting her as they passed. She looked behind her and kept going on her route. "I guess I'm delusional into thinking it has. Sounds like I'm changing my plan."

She finally arrived at the hangar to see a few crewmen working on her personal transport – a vessel she affectionately named the Emerald Shard. It was a lightly modified singular transport that had small but powerful blaster cannons on each side of the cockpit and it was small enough to be highly maneuverable and large enough for her to have a fresher and a bunk with enough provisions for a few months at a time in space. Upon her request she had the vessel painted a light silver-green with a matte finish. By all means it wasn't spectacular but she had a small place in her heart for the ship when she first saw it. It may not be the Violet Rose but it would suit her.

Captain Piett came up to her side as she entered the hangar and they walked together towards the ship.

"Everything is prepared for you, ma'am. You have clearance to disembark whenever you're ready."

"Thank you, Piett. Once I'm planet-side wait for my signal to send the backup crew to apprehend the traitor."

"Yes, ma'am!"

Tara boarded her transport and settled herself at the controls in the cockpit. Like clockwork she flipped switches, pushed buttons and listened as the vessel came to life around her with the gentle hum of the engines. The lift was fully secured with the door locked in place and she released the ship from its holding bay and took off through the opening in the Accuser. Once clear of the ship she punched in the coordinates needed and took off into hyperspace once again to make the final trek to Corellia.

The trip she was on would take her about forty minutes to complete. After ten minutes she sent the message to Piett to launch the backup team and then closed the connection between her and her crew. Opening a new one she reached out and stopped, her hand hovering over the controls. After a moment she pulled back and leaned in her chair to stare at the ceiling of her ship.

It wasn't often that she complained about moving too fast. She enjoyed being quick to the punches, the first at the front of the line, and so forth. Nathrrya had one too many near-misses going after her to slow her down and Tara had to smile. But she thought about the coded message she got and contemplated her next move.

Palpatine has to go, she thought to herself. That was the bottom line. The message she had received said the same thing – that a rebellion was forming against the Empire and there were key contributors meeting on Corellia that would form this alliance with systems that felt the same way. Honestly, Tara wouldn't mind throwing her hands up and joining them.

Tara, you know as well as I that that prune is terrible. She chuckled and then shook her head. Her mind had been speaking up more and more and it felt like Nathrrya was in her head the whole time. It was… unsettling and upsetting. A pang of grief welled in her chest and made its way up to her throat and she had to choke it down.

She had time for that nonsense later. The alert on her computer let her know she was nearing her destination and she took manual controls to guide her ship out of hyperspace just as Corellia came into view. Almost immediately the first thing she felt was Starkiller.

Author's Note: I want to take a moment and thank everyone who's come to check out my story. I want to thank everyone who's fav'ed this story and thank those who have left reviews as well. These are very much appreciated and I'm very happy that I am writing something you all enjoy. I know I've been pretty slow in updating this story. Please bear with me, because I do plan to see this through to the end and Tara is itching me to keep going. However, I work a lot of hours and I have very little personal time to write. This is the reason for the long periods between chapters and irregular updates. ~ I hope you all enjoy this chapter and I look forward to seeing you all in the next one!