Chapter 3:

Sophy'a walked out into the massive hangar of the Capital Ship. Immediately the oily smell of machinery and the busy sound of mechanics and personnel approached her senses. Crewmen ran to the ship, one of them carrying a fuel hose, which he later lodged into the Cordona Blu, which was the name she lovingly called it.

She heard the deck officer log the ship into his datapad, scoffing at the name, causing Sophy'a to betray momentary look of anger.

It's a beautiful name! She reminder herself as she momentarily doubted her ship name.

She was an Imperial Agent not a professional name selector, it seemed like an appropriate name, despite popular opinion. she doubted that was the last time she was going to be confronted about it. She reverted to a professional look and followed Icarus between lines of Soldiers that stood in a salute. Sophy'a looked at the soldiers as she walked past them. They were silent as space, with bodies covered from head to toe in full Black plate armor and faces masked in sealed helmets. They reminded her much of the Soldiers that once stood by her on Mordan'Moran. Their armor, however, changed. She saw that there were updates here and there, in small places. Some actually improved the armor from previous models of armor plating. She noticed that each plate was shined and polished. The Shoulder plates had an odd Insignia along with the standard imperial logo The Starfighters that hung on the hangar's ceiling also had a slight upgrade to them as well; the engine's were bigger and the hull was bulkier.

It's been a long time.

They continued walking through the large hanger until they reached a long hallway. The hallway itself was decorate like the rest of the ship; black metal with small white and red lights. Icarus led her to a lift and keyed and pressed her thumb onto the console. The light turned green and the two walked in.

Sophy'a listened to the soft hum of the ship's engines running, quietly filtering through as background noise in her ears. It Soothed her mind as questions swirled as she approached her destination. She snuck a look at Icarus, who was staring at the bulkhead ahead of them, tapping her foot impatiently.

Finally, after a long awkward Lift ride, the bell made a sharp ding, and opened up to a busy Bridge filled with Officers and specialists running from console to terminal. As soon as they saw Sophy'a and Icarus, they all dropped what they were doing and stood in attention, raising their hands in Imperial Salute.

"Darth on Deck!" the crew saluted.

"Relax!" Icarus proclaimed.

The crew relaxed and went on with scurrying around on the Bridge.

"Welcome to the Bridge of the Imperial Flagship, Majesty of Flame." Icarus said.

Sophy'a looked around, most of the crew was busy toiling away on consoles like machines. They were all in clean uniforms and were relatively young, for a crew that is, looking around, the ship wasn't very new at all.

Odd, Young crewmembers and Old ship...What of the original members? The thought crossed her mind.

The two walked out to the Empty command chair, which sat in the middle of the Bridge. "Your Chair.." Icarus said with a smile, offering her the seat. Sophy'a looked at her very oddly. "Is this when you tell me your plan?" Sophy'a said as she looked down at the chair. It was a lighter black than the Black that surrounded the Bridge, almost like a chrome, and the Red lights in it glowed with an eerie but familiar Imperial feel. "All in good time," Icarus excused,

Her tone gave her away. It was more or less an appropriate response, however, Her voice managed to peak and hastily move over the words. considering the circumstance, She must know that she couldn't keep anything hidden for much longer.

"Meet my Second in Command Lieutenant Commander Hongeir" Icarus gestured to a tall man with a rough face. He was a Human like the rest of the crew, with dark brown hair and beard with gray strands showing, He was in a crisp Dark Grey clean Imperial Naval Uniform. He approached them somberly from the far end of the Bridge.

"Sir" The Man Saluted as he walked towards her, his voice grave and experienced. "It is an honour to finally meet you, the Men had...doubts, on if you were even alive, much less would care to come back to our cause."

He Smells of cheap Dromund Kass cologne...gross...

Sophy'a forced a smile smiled and took her opportunity. "And what would that cause be?"

The Lieutenant commander raised his hand.

"Hold on," He said, "this way.." He led her a Galaxy Map, father back down the Bridge.

Hongeir Imputed his code cylinder and the dark Bridge illuminated as the Galaxy appeared in a Hologram. Sophy'a made careful observations of the territory marked. The Core of the Galaxy had an Orange Haze, the Mid rim, Outer rim, Hutt space, and what remained of the SIth Empire was covered in a Red Haze, while a small blot in the far left corner of the space between the Red and Orange Haze coloured blue.

"As you can see," Hongeir began, "Our situation won't hold up in time" Sophy'a crossed her arms and studied the map. Hongeir pointed the blue blot. "There is our sector, the remnants of the Imperial and Sith Forces, much of Our fleet's and Moff's have been scattered, protecting their own territories." Hongeir looked over to Icarus, "The Sith have all but vanished." He Refocused. "The Eternal Empire hit us the hardest." Sophy'a nodded, memories flashing back to Mordan'Moran. Hongeir Continued, "They left the Republic mostly alone throughout the War, mostly because of Tribute those dogs would offer them. In the time of one standard year, they now occupy our home, Dromound Kass and Korriban." Hongeir moved his finger around. "This Red territory represents the Eternal Empire. They had conquered a majority of the Galaxy in a minimum of 4 standard years." He pressed a button, closing the Galaxy map.

Alright…"So what do you need me?" Sophy'a probed.

Icarus stepped in. "We need you for one simple operation, one that WILL cripple this so called Eternal Empire." She nodded to Hongeir, who was already busy pulling up another Map. The hologram glowed brightly and a planet appeared, there were large structures emerging from the surface, popping out like spikes. "We need to get there, to Zakuul, heart of the Eternal Empire." Icarus pointed.

"Why?"

"So," Hongeir said, "We could gain control of the Largest fleet the Galaxy has ever seen." He keyed another button and made the planet smaller, in the empty space, a large fleet, bigger than any fleet Sophy'a had ever seen. She couldn't help but raise her eyebrows, even this impressed her. "Intelligence reports that the control station for the Ships are located on Zakuul, our goal is to get to those controls, and use the fleet to finally bring an end to this mess".

They used all their cards, lets see their endgame. "Well you obviously can't get to the planet with our current fleet,"

Looking to Hongeir, seeing his face drop, "No Offense Lieutenant Commander."

Hongeir shook, "None Taken Admiral."

Sophy'a raised her eyebrow when he said Admiral, then looked at Icarus, "What then?"

Icarus then put on an act, a failed one, but an act nonetheless, of Confidence. "Now we were hoping you could figure it out, our methods have all but failed.."

Sophy'a's eyebrows scrunched, confused. What was she playing at?. Hongeir then pulled up her Profile, an Image of her appeared on the Hologram.

"Ex Imperial Intelligence Agent, codenamed Cipher Nine, as well as Ex Imperial Commando's with Darth Imperious, your group has an impressive record of infiltration, learning enemy tactics and….aggressive negotiations." Hongeir said approvingly.

"It is this reason we brought you here," Icarus said, extending her hand to the Command Chair. "You are The Commander, and you shall find Zakuul, so the Empire could finally, rule, And bring order to the Galaxy!." the Crew cheered around her. Sophy'a pondered about this for a bit.

She's going to kill me as soon as she gets the chance. There is no chance she is going to let another rule alongside her. She wants to use me as a pawn, however, it could play out to an advantage

"There is, one other thing." Icarus said, "Darth Imperius Is Located inside the Eternal Empire. I am the sole person in the Galaxy who knows where she is, But first, Bring me to Zakuul."

There was a hint of doubt in her tone of voice, her eyes narrowed down to me.

After a long pause Sophy'a finally said, "Alright, I'll see what i can do, but as soon as we find Imperious, all bets are off." Icarus smiled and nodded. "Its a Deal!" She said eagerly. If a Handshake could be any more awkward, it was the one between her and Sophy'a.

If she plans to kill me, she will have the perfect chance to do so anytime after I rescue Veranlea. Which means I won't have much time after to make a grand escape.

Icarus then said in a booming voice, that seemed to fill the entire Bridge, "Men, This is your new Admiral, treat her as you would treat me. Bow!"

The Entire crew, even Hongeir, bowed on one knee to her. Sophy'a smiled awkwardly. "Uhh..At ease men." She looked at Icarus, "Back to your posts!" she barked,and the Crew of the Flagship went back to work.

"So," Hongeir said, bringing the Map of the Galaxy back, "Where do we start?"


He felt the water move through his fingers, the cool liquid slowly cleaning off any unseen microorganisms. Bending down, he splashed his face with water, feeling its rejuvenating touch. Then he in the mirror, looking back at him was a Man with light tan skin and neat long dark red hair. He moved his wet hands to a towel which stood on the sides on the sink. After he dried them, he adjusted his ever tightening collar of his Uniform

Loyalty or Death he repeated in his head, over and over, as he continued to adjust and fix his uncomfortable tunic. Each time with more and more doubt. He looked back into the Mirror. Looking into his eyes, he saw the bright vibrant colour, but there laid something else there, something…

Empty.

Or perhaps he did not care at all.

Remembering the schedule previously briefed to him, he shut out the thought and proceeded out the door of his Quarters aboard the ship Zakuul's Fury.

He began his walk towards the Bridge when He noticed two female officers taking a break, they were laughing about something, but as soon as Carmari walked by, the two looked at him coldly and with resentment.

Typical. Carmari thought of the second badge he wore. Zakuul Special Investigation Division, or ZSID, For Short. The Position and Rank was given to him by his Late Father. Carmari Originally lived a life aboard a luxury starship, not seeing much action, but due to his Father's elevated position, he was now an Agent for ZSID, monitoring the Eternal Empire's work on the Outer Rim of the Empire, one of the safest jobs in the Galaxy.

A Glorified Babysitter for Adults He thought.

His current prerogative was to oversee repair stations on the planet below, Mordan'Moran.

In Fact, the closest he got to actual action was when he was picked by the Eternal Prince's to be their cover in a taking of one of the Sith stationed on Mordan'Moran. All he was given was a tranquilising rifle used in the Royal Zoo's. He still remembered her Face. The Face of the Sith. how could he not, it was one of the most action packed moments of his life, and it happened right there, on Mordan'Moran.

From what Intelligence told of him, Mordan'Moran, or Whatever was left of that wasteland, Was a launch site for the Sith Empire to launch raids on the Republic, due to its close Hyperspace routes. Now. the Eternal Empire was simply putting it in overdrive, causing major damage to the planet Ecosystems. It was effective in not only sending raid to Republic worlds, but send full fleets. Mordan'Moran now became a boring repair post and launch base for the Eternal Empire.

He walked into the Command Bridge. The Crew quickly rose up and pounded their chest twice, Yelling, "Captain on Deck." Carmari, hands behind his back, nodded, and the crew returned to work. They had all done just as they had been doing the day before, and the week before that. He looked out on the deck of the ship. He looked out to the vast emptiness of space. Orbiting around the planet was a large Space Station.

Outlast Station's as their called. A refueling station for the batteries of our Dreadnaughts.

Not many people knew how the Outlast Station's get their immense power, they were an Invention by The Eternal Emperor, but from seemingly nothing, they manage to power the many ships from the Eternal Empire, from Hyperdrives to turrets. The power starts there, in Outlast Stations. He Stroked his chin again, as he often did. His fingers rubbed over his cleanly shaved face, feeling each tiny little stubble that if led unchecked, could leave him looking like those from the Galaxy's Interior. Carmari laughed to himself over the mean joke. Loyalty or Death. He repeated in his head. That feeling of loneliness hurt him again as he looked out among the Stars. Carmari Imaged the Planets orbiting the Stars. Each one with a Possible motherload of Adventures and Excitement. This time Carmari's eyebrow's scrunched. An Officer had called him from one of the consoles, asking him about Interest Rates with hyperdrive units, which had a major presence on the base. With a sigh, he walked over to see what the Officer was Grumbling about, although Carmari wasn't sure if he was Genuinely interested anymore.


After passing through a series of lifts and escalators, Icarus lead Sophy'a down an incredibly fancy hallway with red carpet and doors on either side. Peaking in, Sophy'a saw that they were luxurious suites with antique furniture and carpets and decorations.

"This is the Guest quarters of the Ship." Icarus said. She walked to the end of the hallway, where there was two grand metal doors. But then Icarus pointed to one of the other doors that stood off to the side. She pressed her thumb into the nearby console and the door opened to another lavishing suite, brighter than the rest of the ship, but still hints with a dark and red Imperial tone.

She handed Sophy'a a keycard. Two guards approached her from behind stood by the door.

"You are to stay in here until we will escort you out to the Bridge for briefing." Icarus said. "These will be your quarters for as long as you are with us. And Please, have something ready for us by tomorrow." Sophy'a walked into the room slowly and cautiously.

"Have a good night." Icarus said in a sweet song voice, and the door shut behind her.

Sophy'a sighed Well that was interesting.

She looked around, noticing the luxurious themes of the room.

I half expected her to give me a wooden chair and a bed made of stone after her seeing my last Home. Sophy'a chuckled.

Sophy'a walked over the bed and noticed a small Mint Pellet and a written note.

Cleaning and service Droids comes at 09:00 sharp. -Icarus.

Laughing, Sophy'a threw the pellet of Mint into her mouth and crumpled up the note, tossing it into the wastebin across the room.

If all else fails, I might earn a career playing sports. Sophy'a joked, then considered the competitors might consider a highly trained and skilled agent of the Empire competing in their sport cheating, but she shrugged it off, It was only cheating if the Judges noticed anyway.

Taking another Casual look around the room, she determined that she wasn't being watched or listened to in anyway, which was all the better for her. Satisfied, Sophy'a changed her clothing and slowly sat on the bed. She noticed a remote that sat by her bed atop a nightstand. Looking over, it was a remote for some kind of screen. She pressed a button. Instantly the lights dimmed and the roof above her changed into an entire galaxy's worth of Stars and Nebulas.

Now This was impressive. Sophy'a thought as she lay on her bed, hands under her head, and stared out into the cosmos' that was projected onto the top of her Cell.

Her More serious side taking over, she pondered her options. Slowly but surely, a plan began to formulate in her head.

After a long morning of Yelling at the cleaning Droids for walking in on her when it was REALLY the worst time, then telling an unfortunate young guard that a new Maintenance droid was needed for her room, Sophy'a sat on the Command chair of the ship, staring at a Map of the Galaxy. Hongeir and Icarus also stood around it with 3 other senior officers. "Cipher Nine, Good morning, Now, Fulfill your end of the deal." Icarus said, her hands crossed. The 4 Imperial Naval officers looked down as they heard Icarus's tone.

She wants Results, the only reason the four here are afraid is because they might not have been giving results… interesting.

"Well, What do we have at our disposal?" Sophy'a said, gazing at Hongier. The Lieutenant commander, shaking out his trancis fear, began, stuttering,

"We-we have a couple Destroyers, 5 in total, the Shara's Gem, Nova Glimpse, Star's End, Dark Enforcer, And Sovereign Devastator, along with a Capital Ship, Majesty of Flame. The ships have had little maintenance done due to lack of supplies, but they are Battle ready."

Sophy'a nodded, holding her hands and resting her chip upon them. "What are our Hyperdrive Capabilities?"

Hongeir looked at Sophy'a with confusion. "Sir?" but a threatening look from Icarus commanded him an answer. "All Ships report the Hyperdrive is operational. Sir," Hongeir Continued, "My Suggestion is a full scale attack so we may claim more ground. Our Planet's are not enough to supply us with needed forces to break our way out from between Republic and Eternal Empire space."

Sophy'a Shook her head, "I will not do anything of the sort Lieutenant commander, now, Riddle me this, where is the nearest convoy intelligence reports?"

Hongeir looked at her. "Guerilla tactics are not advisable Sir, perhaps-"

Sophy'a interrupted him. "I require an answer Commander." The Commander sighed and Nodded.

He pulled up a Planet in the holotable. "Our scouts report there is a convoy of two dreadnaughts and a supply ship passing through the Border system Xeon Prime."

Sophy'a then pointed at the planet with one hand, "Tell Dark Enforcer and Shara's Gem To prepare for combat, Quickly, i might add. Head to Xeon Prime. Majesty of Flame, prepare for Hyperspace travel." the Helmsman nodded and the men got to work. A taste of Nostalgia hit Sophy'a as she barked commands to the Majesty of Flame's Crew, it Reminded her of Mordan'Moran., The Dark Bridge of the Majesty of Flame Filled with the Brilliant Blue of Hyperspace travel as the Ship traveled at the Speed of light to reach its Destination.


"Comms look all clear commander." A Crewmember shouted.

The Eternal Empire Commander nodded. "Excellent Private, how does the convoy report?"

"All green sir!" Another voice said.

The Commander nodded in approval and looked out of his viewport. He stood proud, hands on his hips, watching the universe preform before his very eyes. He saw a vast Artistry of Suns that dotted the blackness. Each one of those suns orbited a planet. And soon, each one will have the Eternal Empire's flag waving in the planet's wind. He saw his small little convoy of Supply ships, and more importantly, the Clothing and exotic wines and cheeses inside of it, along with the repair tools, as a true testament of the might of the Eternal Empire. And for some Reason, the Commander, as much of a long shot as it may be, imagined himself the head of an entire fleet of large capital ships, the governor of a district, or hey, maybe even the as The Emperor. Now that was a thought the Commander liked. The thought of him commanding the entire empire filled him with a sort of-

"Commander a fleet just dropped out of Hyperspace!"

"WHAT?" The commander yelled,


"Fire"

The Bridge viewports erupted in a brilliant light show of Green lasers that filled the Space between The Majesty of Flame and the Convey. Sophy'a sat in the Command chair, staying silent as she watched the battle. Around her, the Crewmen were hard at work plotting trajectories and managing the systems onboard. To the Left stood Darth Icarus, Who also gazed upon the Battle in front of them with curiosity. To the right stood Hongeir and his supporting officers, who, instead of monitoring the Battle, monitored the crew and made sure the ship ran smoothly. An Explosion rattled one of the Eternal Empire Dreadnaughts, causing it to rumble and shake in space. Sheets of hot metal and flames gasped out into the empty space and floated off. Its Engine's still were operational, but the Ship was Disabled. .

"Concentrate fire on the Bow of the Second Dreadnaught."

Sophy'a ordered from her chair. Hongeir shouted the order down to the gunners. The laser fire began to drift towards the second Ship's bow, which was slowly making his way into position. Sophy'a studied the Battle, remembering how the Dreadnaughts moved in her history with them. She noticed the second Dreadnaught maneuvering into a specific line of fire that was perfect for her Ships' concussion missiles. She also noticed that the Dreadnaught seemed to avoid areas with large quantities of fire and was moving out of range for her Turbolasers. It was getting closer and closer to the Shara's Gem

"Commander, prepare the Shara's Gem Concussion Missiles, aim it at sector twelve on my command."

"Sir there is no enemies in that sector!" a Gunner shouted from his Console. "Do as she says Private!" Icarus shouted. The Gunner nodded and typed into his Keyboard. Sophy'a fixated her eyes on the Second Dreadnaught, Just as she had predicted, the Ship was maneuvering out of Turbolaser firing range and was attempted evasive mauves to protect the convoy.

Light Em up.

"Launch missile!"

Streaks of blue fire rode out into space. A Pause, the Bridge was silent for a moment. Suddenly, an Explosion rocked the second Dreadnaught, causing it to shake. Fires were emanating from the top deck of the Dreadnaught.

"Impressive." Icarus said

"A moment earlier and it would have crashed into our ship." Hongeir agreed.

With a Smile, Sophy'a said, "Well done, break off the attack, get the tractor beam online, reel in the cargo ship." Hongeir nodded and gave the order. Slowly the cargo ship slowly drifted towards her. But Hongeir still questioned her;

"Sir, with all due respect, why leave the job half done when we can destroy a portion of their fleet now?

Sophy'a starred at Hongeir, Sigh

"We needed the Ship's to be disabled and to retreat to their facilities, you will see in due time." Sophy'a avoided the question. "Reel in the Supply ship, then head back to base."

Hongeir, with reluctance, gave the order. Sophy'a reclined in her chair. She looked over to Icarus, who said nothing, but her face was riddled with confusion as well. The Dreadnaughts escaped into orbit. "Order a squad to head down to the cargo ship." Sophy'a ordered to the Ship's officers. "Set their blasters to stun," Sophy'a Added, "Id prefer if we could talk with them." The order was carried out. Within Minutes, the Majesty of Flame and her supporting cruisers speed back into lightspeed. Sophy'a got up from her Chair, stretched, and began to walk out of the Bridge. Hongeir Saluted as she walked passed him, expecting to receive orders.

Ugh I won't ever get used to being in command.

Sophy'a walked out of the Bridge and began to head back to her Quarters.

On the Bright side, a Commander gets to rest before her next Victory


"I do not trust her." Hongeir said to Icarus. "She might be a good tactician, but unpredictable." Hongeir nearly slammed his hand down on the Holotable. "We were so close! We wasted all that time when we could have been massing together planets. Our situation is desperate!." Icarus stood silent for a moment. "Have you ever considered," Icarus began to explain, "That there is a bigger plan then blowing up ships?" Hongeir looked at Icarus, "If there was, why didn't she tell us?" Icarus smiled. "She is Intelligence, they're not very revealing when it comes to secrets. But remember, Commander," Icarus pulled up the Image of a Planet with a space station orbiting it on the Holotable, "She is only a tool, a pawn to put our plan…In Motion."

Sophy'a lay on her bed and chewed another of the Complimentary Mint's that was left on her pillow. She looked through the record's on the ancient data pad. She entered into a Search bar and Typed in Darth Imperious. Instantly files came up directly from Imperial records.

Or what was left of them.

According to the Record's themselves, many files on Darth Imperious, Veranlea, had been lost, Destroyed, or Stolen. Of the incomplete files she did recover, she saved them on her personal Datapad for later use. She keyed in the Searchbar again and typed in Darth Icarus. Even odder then before, only two filed appeared. Sophy'a's brow lowered. The first file held up a field where the name was mentioned in a few Academies on Korriban it seemed as if she was a researcher of some sort from the looks of things, it seemed as if she spent a lot of time on Korriban. The second file contained the Ship record for Majesty of Flame that the ship was transferred from Darth Marr's command to Icarus's. The file was dated around the time Korriban was attacked by the Eternal Empire, according to the Records, from there, the records were incomplete.

Interesting Indeed. Out of Curiosity, Sophy'a pulled up the Search bar and entered in Cipher Nine. Only one File came up, with her face and the words "Access Denied" Sophy'a looked at the face and was slightly horrified.

Of all the Faces Intelligence could have recorded me with, why did it have to be that face!? My hair was a mess that day and I'm not even sure it I was Ready to take a picture yet!

Sophy'a was still staring at her picture when she heard footsteps. Sophy'a quickly hid the old Datapad under her pillow then put her hands behind her head. She turned on the roof and began to pretend to be deep in thought, gazing into the stars. The door opened and Sophy'a pretended to look surprised. Icarus barged into the room.

"Icarus, the least you could do was knock, what if I had been attempting to escape?" Icarus stopped and paused, trying to understand her question. She shook it off.

"Anything worthy of using resources to only barely scratch a few Dreadnaughts?" Icarus Questioned.

Sophy'a ignored her comment and continued to look up. "All ships were recorded to have gone in different vectors, I will need….more reliable Technology to help uncover their destination.

Icarus Frowned and pondered a bit, " I am not made of Credits Cipher. You will make due with what you have."

Excellent... Sophy'a thought sarcastically

"Well Sith, I Cannot relay on this," She pointed out the simple console in the corner of her room, which was covered in Dust, "To get us to Zakuul. Unless you provide, I can do nothing."

Icarus grumbled. "Fine. But this had better work. I Mean it Cipher." She patted her Lightsaber which hung on her belt. "For your sake."

Sophy'a smiled, "Don't worry Sith,You'll have your fleet in no time. The Information the Convoy Vectors will be enough."

Icarus's brow scrunched. "Why in the Force would we need that information?" Sophy'a could see that she was concentrating, most likely on the Force, to probe her mind. She felt her presence inside, looking through her thoughts. Sophy'a filled her mind only with the number's she read on the Data, not wanting her to enter her mind.

"All in Good Time, Sith." Frustrated, Icarus stood up straight, raised her head high, and stormed out of the room. Sophy'a chuckled, satisfied the Numbers in her head distracted her enough for Icarus to not be able to reach far into her mind.

Besides,

Its all going according to plan


End of Chapter 3