Author's Note: I just want to make this clear from here on out, but unlike the previous four days or so, I have been cranking out chapters left and right, and due to some professional inconveniences coming about, I may be posting every other day from now on, but it will definitely depend on how much time I am allotted to work on the story, however; I will definitely say I am glad that I have been able to push out these many chapters to get a gripping foothold on the story and the direction so far. Anyways, aside from those comments I have said above, enjoy the chapter!

General Tagge seemed very concerned about the past two weeks and his concerns seemed to be warranted as the Grand Moff had visited him the following morning. The day was very dull, due to the fact that Tagge never sends himself nor his flagship into combat, while allowing his other 'pawns' to go out and fight the wars themselves. I see this as quite a troubling thing, much as the Grand Moff did, because if you aren't there to direct and command your men, then what's the point of you being a General or an Admiral? Anyways, the day started out as any other, with the ensigns moving around the bridge, transferring transmissions to the General, a few of the lieutenants chattering amongst themselves in one of the corners, whilst the three fleet admirals that were under the General's command had a discussion with Tagge near the tactical map in the main planning room. I was also there, but more or less just in the background, by the side of Tagge.

The Admiral of the Star Destroyer, Tyranny, was discussing tactics on how he would push forward his section of the fleet and make a blitz for the planet of Lothal, since casualties and horrendous incidents has seemed to span there for the past two years or so. He also stated that the Grand Admiral that wasn't to be named, and the Seventh Fleet had did a very major blow to the rebellion and it's leadership, but the resistance on Lothal, and it's precious factories was becoming an increasing concern, and that the Governor tried to quell the problem by using tactics suggested from her resources she had available to her. It also was a pressing concern that the resistance be put down, since the factories were roughly one percent of the Empire's main production for ground assault vehicles.

Another one of the Admirals concurred with the Tyranny's commander, that sending a detachment to the planet and sending in spies would be a great help to ensuring they get back on track, and remember the strength of the empire. Without a beat, and without warning, the blast doors to the bridge opened, with three figures entering the room. Two were painted in midnight black armor, with DLT-19X blaster rifles, and shoulder guards, while the main prominent figure in his dark brown military uniform approached the table.

"Sending a detachment to Lothal will no longer be necessary, admirals. The problem has been solved and the resistance on Lothal should no longer be a problem."

It almost seems that Grand Moff Tarkin can come out of nowhere, at any time, whether it is convenient or inconvenient. With the addition of the two black armor cladded guards at his side though, his presence on the bridge became an undeniable one, as the Grand Moff looked around the small group. General Tagge asked what the Grand Moff was doing here, and to what he could owe the pleasure, and that is when he started in his aristocratic voice about how with the project nearing completion, that he would need General Tagge's company as being one of the Joint-Chiefs for the Empire, and that he will most likely transfer his command to the station he spoke of. The project was becoming less and less of a close guarded secret amongst the semi-high ranking officials, and was being shared more commonly now.

"However, General Tagge…I have some disturbing news for you, and one that I am not too proud of myself to announce, and equally more so disappointed that you have been so blind to this fact. It would seem however, that one of you has been conspiring against the Empire. One of you, have been using your rank and your privileges to leak information to the rebellion, and I can simply not allow treason within ranks so high in the Empire."

The Grand Moff looked towards the two Death Troopers and simply nodded his head, before the soldiers with rapid action, raised their rifles towards the Admiral that had previously concurred with the commander of the Tyranny and placed four well placed shots into the Admiral, as he fell to the ground with a thud. I stepped back in utter shock, as did the remaining admirals, the General, and the crew members that were around at the time. I looked back to the Grand Moff only to see a sinister expression on his face, as he looked back towards the General.

"We cannot allow traitors within our rank, General Tagge. Imagine if this infiltrator was able to obtain some of the Emperor's most secret projects, or even expose deeper imperial secrets. Therefore, General Tagge, you are to come to me back to Project Stardust, and I suggest you leave one of your last two 'capable' admirals to lead your fleet."

The Grand Moff turned to the two remaining admirals who were visibly stunned by the display, and seemed to be shaking at the fact that the bolts came so close near to them.

"Hopefully, I have made my point clear that you two shouldn't disregard the Empire's benefits, and think clearly if you are to…conspire against it, for there will be consequences, much like Admiral Valeiro has just previously suffered."

The two admirals looked at Tarkin with a blank face, before the man left the bridge with the two Death Troopers following suite. General Tagge then ordered two ensigns to remove the body of the deceased admiral and said that he didn't want to see the scunted slime in his sight again. Upon the order being given, he turned towards the two admirals, and elected the admiral of the Tyranny as the temporary and step-in commander of the fleet. Upon this, Cassio turned to me and brought the two admirals with him and stated towards me.

"Commander Praxon, you will be leading advisor and third in command to my fleet. Should anything happen to the two admirals, you will be in charge. My Star Destroyer is in your hands, and I hope that I will be able to return to it when I have concluded my business on Project Stardust. Also, if you haven't meet Admiral Vallaras and Admiral Rhysode, then I suggest you guys get to know each other before I take my leave."

With that, General Tagge left the bridge and I was left with the two admirals, who were both very physically intimidating. Despite my height of six feet, three inches…there were much taller and physically gifted humans and aliens out there, and the two before me were no exception. Admiral Vallaras was a strong-jawed, six foot six, and serious complexion as he stared into you, as with Admiral Rhysode, while not as intimidating as the former, he was just slightly shorter and bared more of a apathetical expression. Admiral Vallaras was the first one to speak out, as he held out his hand for a salutary handshake.

"General Tagge has spoken quite a bit about you, Commander Praxon. It's just a pleasure to finally know who you are, and…I am displeased with myself for not recognizing you while we discussed our strategies. However, I am glad that I will be your commanding office, and hopefully, we can finally make a difference against these terrorizing rebels in the outer-rim."

The other admiral seemed to nod his head as he began to add on to what the former admiral was speaking of.

"Indeed, the rebellion seems to be growing at a cancerous rate and regardless if Project Stardust becomes fully operational, it seems that we are having a very hard time quelling the issues with military force."

I cleared my voice as I decided to say, "Well…there are much lower approval ratings for the Empire, than the Galactic Republic ever had…but, there are multiple benefits with it too, such as prosperity and security around the entire galaxy. These benign rebels threaten that existence and we need to target their strongholds and cripple the leadership. That is the only way we are going to get rid of their supporters."

Both of the admirals nodded their head in agreement, and began to speak about something else, however; they elected to talk about it later. They both held their hands out for a farewell shake and soon after, left for their respective ships as Vallaras said that we shall move the fleet from Tepasi, and enter a patrol route around a system that has had reports of major resistance build ups in Malastare, Sullust, and Naboo. Upon putting in the coordinates into the Navicomputer, the fleet of three star destroyers, and numerous support ships entered the blue tunnel of hyperspace.

Upon exiting hyperspace, the ships came out near the Sullust region, which is infamous as a frigate building shipyard for the Empire, and has a very profitable economy to invest in; despite the fact the planet is more or less a lava infested rock. For that matter, five star destroyers were always present around the shipyards to ward off any pirate, illegal, or rebellion ships from attacking the shipyards, or at least deter them from ever thinking about it. Upon making contact with the Class-IV Cardan Space Station, and getting the authorization after telling the traffic controller for our reasons being here, we formed our fleet on the western side of the shipyard that was more vulnerable to smaller ships slipping by and possibly destroying or stealing unoccupied ships.

As I managed the Star Destroyer's crew, I began to realize the work load that the admirals had to take care of when on big ships like these. Not only did you have about ten times the size of an Acclamator but crew management tasks also had to be done with haste and effectiveness. To be honest, it was going to take a little time before I could become immersed with the work style, despite working on the ship with Tagge. Numerous transmissions coming in from all over the galaxy also began to make me feel the pressure and situation of what the empire was facing, as numerous ships were being stolen from either of the three opposing factions, and guerilla attack runs being carried out in the outer rim, in addition to the multiple ships, troops, vehicles, and weapons of mass destruction needing assignment to fleets. To be quite honest, it was exhausting, but it was better that I started to get used to the treatment, then to be caught off guard when the events started to get interesting.

For the next five days, I drilled myself and the crew on the bridge along with the auxiliary forces on the ship, from scrambling the fighters, to prepping the ground forces, to practicing the marksmanship, accuracy, and calibration of the weapons. In-fact, the other two admirals took my example, and began to do drills like I did, and expressed their gratitude and surprise for not thinking of the exercises beforehand. By the end of the week, I felt more acclimated to the workload of being the commander of a Star Destroyer. Although, it would seem there is no rest for the empire, for after the week, very bizarre things started happening onboard my star destroyer, along with very 'odd' encounters. One example of what started happening is on a very quiet day while I was walking back to me quarters for the night.

The corridors were completely devoid of any officers, stormtroopers, or ensigns which one beyond odd because at least ten people or so would walk through these halls every day when I would go to my quarters to get some shut eye, but for this day, it seemed like no one was even preparing to go to bed. That opinion changed though, when a single lone figure was walking through the halls, but his brown military cap was pulled over his face, and his face was at an angle as he was looking towards the ground. I approached the man to ask if something was going on, however; upon seeing the rank placard of a Grand Moff, I took a step back and looked at the man in-front of me. Despite my thoughts that it was Tarkin, the man pulled off his military cap, and looked directly in my eyes.

The odd thing about his eyes was that they were a serene red with a purple-ish hue creating such a diverse and entrancing pull. Not to mention his face was completely symmetrical, he had a very strong jaw, and his hair was black and cut extremely short on the side, while the top flared, kind of like an imperial crew cut. I pulled my eyes away from his gaze and stated that I was sorry to interrupt his walk, and I began to walk along, however; a hand pulled my arm backwards, and I stumbled back to the Grand Moff, who had an unchanged expression on his face as he looked at me.

Then, in the oddest and most…bizarre tone I had ever heard a human, let alone an alien speak, he said the phrase, "You are definitely interesting to watch, Mister Praxon…"

As if nothing happened, the Grand Moff began to walk on his way again, and I immediately grabbed him again and asked what he meant by that I was interesting to watch, however; as I turned him around, an officer with grey hair and a grey moustache, along with the rank of Captain stood before me, instead of the previously mentioned. I defensively stepped back in utter confusion as I began to mumble incoherently at the dilemma, before the Captain asked in his frail voice that if he had did something wrong. I dismissed the officer and sent him on his way as I went to return back to my officer, dumbfounded and in disbelief.

In addition to the odd encounter with whatever the hell happened in that corridor, there was also reports of the same person walking throughout the halls of the Star Destroyer, only to disappear into thin air as the person turned around the corner. Despite these findings, after about three days, the man was never heard of again on the ship and people were beginning to grow suspicious of the ship being haunted or something, however; considering what happened with a few people, including myself and actually making physical contact with the person, we also dismissed that it was a phantom or ghost, or some superstition like that. However, no one really could figure out what happened on our ship for those three odd days, and upon looking at security footage and using our database to look the man up, nothing turned up.

Moving along the 'odd' phenomenon though, it was the twelfth day of our tour in the Sullust system, when I received a personal invitation from Director Krennic to bring a shuttle or a ship or whatever I had at my disposal to the Scarif system as Grand Moff Tarkin cordially invited me to the display of the superweapon in action due to its last stage being complete without a hitch. Since the two other admirals had received invitations to go to Scarif also to see the display of the weapon that would 'bring a swift end to the rebellion'…we sent the fleet back to Tepasi and to left it there until our business had been concluded. The three of us took an Arquitens class cruiser, which just so happened to be the Habituator, over to the Scarif system.

While in transit, I caught up with some of my old and very respectable crew members, and perhaps promised one or two of them that if I were to become an admiral sooner than later, that I would send my personal word to bring the two of them on-board as my consultants and my personal charge. I even visited the now acting Captain of the vessel, and decided that the man was a dutiful and well-mannered officer who would not let my old crew members done, or the admirals and myself. Upon exiting hyperspace in the Scarif system, I was met with a marvel of construction as what seemed like a small moon to the planet, was actually the space station and hidden weapon that Krennic and Grand Moff Tarkin had been hiding from the galaxy.

The hanger we landed in was utterly massive, considering the station could hold the massive Star Destroyers, yet compared to the size of the station, they looked like small fighter-fighting cruisers. As we approached the entrance to the much more invigorous and breathe-taking interior of the Death Star, a small group of Death Troopers had come to guide us to the main showcase room. The odd thing also is the fact that while we were moving to the show-case room, the last of the inviting guests were accounted for on the station, and we were already en-route via hyperspace to the test site. The troopers eventually led us to a conference room which had a currently debating Director Krennic, the directorate of the Joint-Chiefs and Death Star, the Grand Moff glaring at a black void screen, and a few admirals, commanders, and a diverse of different ranks huddled inside the one room. Eventually, the sound of an intercom echoed the entire room, and the Grand Moff went over to the table and pressed the button to hear what the status was, and with an eerie, three worded phrase, "We have arrived," the Grand Moff exited the room with everyone eagerly following him.

We eventually came to the main control room for whatever the special weapon was, and a much wider and grander display with a crude drawing of a planet was in-front of us, or…more or less some kind of window that had projection capabilities. As everyone gathered in the room, I stuck with the two of the admirals, as he looked towards the screen as the black void and planet faded to the image of a planet, and as everyone slowly began to get quieter, the voice projected by none other than Grand Moff Tarkin carried through-out the entire room.

"The Emperor is awaiting my report."

The comment was parried by Director Krennic as he said in a slightly lower voice, "One would think that he and Lord Vader would've been here for such an occasion."

Without a second of silence, the Grand Moff countered, "And I thought it prudent to save you any potential embarrassment."

With a barely audible scoff from the Director and a change in mood, he stated, "Your concern is hardly warranted."

As the Director moved towards the screen and towards the front of the room, Grand Moff Tarkin replied, "If saying it would only make it so."

The Director turned around to face the Grand Moff, annoyance and hatred clearly seen in the Director's facial expression. He then replied, "All Imperial Forces have been evacuated and I stand ready to destroy the entire moon."

With Grand Moff Tarkin hardly changing his gesture, he mused himself by stating, "That won't be necessary. We need a statement, not a manifesto. The holy city will be enough for today."

While the Director adjusted his stature, and fixed his gloves, he raised his voice and yelled, "Target Jedha City, prepare single-reactor ignition!"

An alluring sound echoed through-out the entire room, as some sort of start-up blurring was started. It was soon followed by the screen zooming in on what seemed like a very large city on the desert-ish planet of Jedha. Almost like the sound of gear-grinding, crosshairs began to form around the city, and then the sound of some sort of lock was heard. A single imperial officer approached the director and stated, "Sir, we're in position a-…" but he was cut off by the very hasty command from the Director, "Fire!"

"Commence primary ignition!" claimed the imperial officer as he glanced over towards the area behind the right side crowd.

Everyone looked on in anxiousness, as the thoughts of if the weapon would work or not clouded everyone's thought, and probably even more so on the Director's. However; upon looking over at him, he had crossed his arms, and seemed to be all too proud with himself with what was to come as soon as everything had been calculated. Troopers with old helmets near the controls were pressing multiple buttons, pulling different levers, and the main officers behind actual terminals were punching in numerous things, while an odd sort of count-down began, and stand-by's were issued. Yet, near the end of the count-down, the only thing you saw was a bright green beam dart out from the bottom of the camera, and then…in a single moment, it was gone.

At that moment, I knew that the weapon had worked, and that the Director was probably congratulating himself and being pleased with what he had accomplished. The image showed the city beginning to rise up, further and further as the tectonic plates, ground, and foundation of the earth from below the surface began to bundle up as it pushed up like some sort of mush-room cloud. It continued to spread outwards as the camera vividly expressed the devastation and brutality that the weapon before us could harness, and with the sound of the crews behind the terminal slowly powering down the reactors and the controls, you could hear a comment from the Director clearly within the almost entirely quiet room.

"Oh, it's beautiful…"

Everyone around me was staring either with horror, or with happiness at the effectiveness and destruction that the weapon could cause, and multiple officers looked at each other. Yet, everyone stayed within the room as they continued to look at the screen, until one of the engineers turned off the screen and returned it to its black void and white outlined planet. The stand-out figure of white began to walk away from the front of the room, and the arrogance of the Director seemed all to expressive as he walked down the 'aisle' of officers that had made way for him, and even so boldly bumped into Tarkin on his way out. However, Tarkin wouldn't allow the Director to get off so easily without stating his opinion to him beforehand.

"I believe I owe you an apology, Director Krennic."

The Grand Moff calmly turned around as he looked towards the near-exiting Director, and with a proud yet slightly sarcastic manner, he addressed the Director.

"Your work exceeds all expectations!"

I looked towards Director Krennic, as he seemed to be struck with paralysis at the recognition from the Grand Moff. He stood there for easily three whole seconds without saying a word towards the address, until he finally found something to say.

"And…you'll tell the Emperor as much?"

Tarkin, changing his facial expression to a much more ambiguous yet still equally proud look, stated with much pleasure, "I will tell him that his patience with your misadventures has been rewarded with a weapon that will bring a swift end to the Rebellion."

Director Krennic quickly added in, "And that was only an inkling of its destructive potential."

Without a second gone to waste, the Grand Moff quickly stated, "I will tell him that I will be taking control over the weapon I spoke of years ago, effective immediately."

The Director looked at him with the same apathetic façade as he stared at him, before letting out a scoff and slightly smiling at the Moff. Tarkin, on the other hand, smiled without recourse as he looked at the Director, waiting for a much anticipated outburst.

"You stand here AMIDST MY ACHIEVEMENT! Not yours!"

Unfazed by the Director's swift approach to himself, Tarkin quickly countered, "I'm afraid the recent security breaches have laid bare your inadequacies as a military director."

An aura began to fill the room, as the many officers began to move away from the two authority figures in the room, as a bout between them was almost evident, and the rather large egos began to clash. Not to mention a barely in-check rage seemed to be emanating from the Director as he stared at the Grand Moff during every millisecond.

"The breaches have been filled…Jedha has been silenced."

Tarkin countered yet again, "You think this pilot acted alone? He was dispatched from the installation on Eadu, Galen Erso's facility."

Upon hearing that information, I immediately thought that since the weapon was finished, and the need for the Director seemed more and more as a thorn in the side of the Grand Moff, I almost thought for sure that the Director was going to be removed from the room, and sent to wherever Tarkin could think of, however; the Director quickly stated that, "We shall see about this," and swiftly took his leave from the room with his death troopers. I looked towards the Grand Moff as he looked to everyone one else in the room, and quickly stated to everyone a message.

"You have all seen the power this station has as its command. Soon, the demise of the rebellion will be evident, and we shall make sure that peace is restored back to the galaxy. For those of you that would like to request a transfer to work on this battle station, speak to the other Grand Moffs, Joint-Chiefs, and the like while you are still here. That will be all."

As the battle of the two had just as quickly ended, the tension and aura of the two had also quickly ended. The entire room began to feel empty as more and more officers left, and the two admirals looked towards me with a disgruntled look on both of their faces and Vallaras was the first to speak to me.

"No matter who you ask, there is no one more intimidating that I have ever seen than Grand Moff Tarkin…if you get on his bad side like Director Krennic has…you better believe that there is going to be some horrible storm that is coming your way."

I took a look back at the black void of a screen, and then returned my gaze back to the two and replied, "I have had a few encounters with the Grand Moff, and I got that response off the first time I ever saw him. He is a very intimidating individual, and I could hardly ever think there is something he couldn't accomplish with his demeanor and attitude."

I secretly hoped to become like a Tarkin someday, where my enemies or allies would talk behind my back, either about how brutal and intimidating I am, or how I was able to get anything done no matter the difficulty. There is no doubt, especially with the declassified files that I have read, that Tarkin is a member of the inner circle of the Imperial Hierarchy. Not only was he practically the overall military commander of all Imperial Forces, but he answered directly to the Emperor himself, and some even claimed he had jurisdiction over the Empire's enforcer, Darth Vader. Aside from Mas Amedda, and the Imperial Ruling Council, there was no one as close to the Emperor as those people, and if you had the favor of just one of those, your abilities to rise through the ranks and get commendations were all the more likely.

Eventually, the two decided to visit General Tagge since he was most definitely on the station, and I also elected to stay for a few hours to say hello to the General and tell them that his fleet and his ships were in all fine condition and the three of us were handling everything with the utmost efficiency. He commended the three of us, and dismissed us as he had a meeting with the Joint-Chiefs and Tarkin within the hour and he needed to prepare himself for the meeting. With that said we returned to the Arquitens ships and took it back to the fleet that was stationed over Tepasi.

Adapting to the Star Destroyer seemed like child's play after seeing the massive interior that was the Death Star, and not to mention the rather 'small' crew compared to it also. As I returned to my quarters for the day after such an 'exciting' one, I was almost stunned to see that the entire hallway was completely devoid of officers walking around. I pulled out my SE-14C blaster pistol as I kept it in my gloved hands, while walking. Eventually, a single uniformed officer came around a corridor and began to approach me again, and I kept my finger on the trigger as I watched the man get closer and closer. He stopped a few feet away from me, and it was almost certain that the man was the same one I had seen those few selected days. He carried the same face, and carried the same exact rank plate, and even looked at me the same way he did, with his head just tilting slightly to the right.

I decided to ask in a calm manner, "Who are you?"

The man simply glared at me, with his cold expression and no intent to speak. His lips or mouth muscles had no display of wanting to move, and the man continued to glare at me with the same expression. I pulled up my blaster pistol and said that I had had enough of the stupid games and I wasn't going to ask another time on who he was. Then, he simply pulled up his hand and gestured towards my room, in which he slowly entered and I tightened my grip on my blaster pistol as I entered my quarters. He simply sat down on one of my rotating chairs, as he turned it to face me as he relaxed in it.

The man's voice carried the same tone and attitude as he did those three days, and simply said, "I am no-one, Reylan Praxon. I am simply a watcher…an observer. I am a simple…well, let's just say I am awfully bored, and I'd like to think that I enjoy conversation and observing things over the…well, at any rate."

He quickly got up from his chair and said that he had to get going, and as he approached me, I stiffened my blaster pistol even more, and aimed it closer to the man without saying a word. He took a single second to look at me, before directing his face back to the door again and stated that I wasn't going to shoot him because I was incapable of it, and having had enough of his stupid games, I pulled the trigger. Yet, to my surprise, no sound of a thud, nor the infamous sound of a blaster bolt being discharged, just the simple click of the trigger was heard, and I quickly looked at my blaster pistol, quickly hitting it, and then turning my vision back up, only to realize that the man had disappeared, and I was left scratching my head at the rather odd occurrence.