The Galactic Exodus Chronicles Part 2 :The Galactic Civil War

by Lord Exar Kun

Now with the rebels dealt a mighty blow, and the renegade Moffs about to strike, the galaxy finds itself moving closer and closer to full blown war! The Galactic Civil War is about to be unleashed upon an unsuspecting galaxy, and this is not the war you remember in the least. Follow Exar Kun, Darth Vader, Leia, the Emperor, and everyone else through this next chapter of the GEC.

47. Chapter 47

Chapter 47

(Procopia, Several Days following the Imperial taking of Tavya)

Coldor Morlin was not a man that he himself considered afraid of much, and really the last time he remembers being afraid of something it was when his late wife cooked a 'home meal.' That memory though brought more a sorrowful but happy smile to his face. It was some consolation to him that she was now dead and unable to see the galaxy unravel around them all, or maybe she could see from the great beyond and unknown but he left such musings for a later time. No, Coldor was scared of something. Politics. He as a military man was always taught that politics was for politicians and war was for generals and admirals and his fellow ilk. So now as he stood in a large room that acted as a massive conference holo-projector room, he looked at the many holographic pair of eyes looking him up and down. Some of them with contempt and others with intrigue, some were apathetic and that was probably the easiest lot to deal with. The apathetic ones.

"Can you tell us, general Morlin, just ho and why we are losing planet and planet, world after world inside of the Tapani sector to the Imperial loyalist dogs? We are funneling you every and anything you asked of this council, and still no results! Do you expect us to just keep sacrificing manpower and resources so you can play your petty war-games?!" Morlin sighed under his breath and straightened himself as he began to speak before his superiors, the High Moff Council. Nox Vellam himself was among the crowd, as of yet unspoken and seeming tired.

"Not at all Moff Resuun. I am doing the most that I can and best against a far more tactically sound Imperial leadership than we first imagined them capable of bringing to bare in Tapani. This lord by the name of Kun, who I am sure I need not explain or inform this body of, is far better at warfare than most of my ex-contemporaries, and frankly many of your kind as well sir. Moffs have time and time again proven themselves incapable war leaders and strategists and I would appreciate it if the idea of replacing me with a Moff was taken out of the possible equation." Morlin watched Resuun lean into his chair wherever he was and growl I annoyance at him while Laird Gustavu stepped in, he was still with Coldor on Procopia.

"Let us not begin a blame game Moff Resuun. I too would be to blame if you are looking for someone to throw into the fire for the Tapani situation we live in everyday and you and this body receive nothing but reports about everyday. Let us not begin this blame game because I would then have to ask how Moff Greyshade is doing in the Pakuuni and Nilgaard sectors? I hear that the Sertar sector may come under invasion soon as well." Gustavu disarmed Resuun who remained silent, as Vellam himself rubbed his temples and spoke from his central podium seat displayed in the hologram.

"We shall not initiate any such thing. This body is not the senate after all, nor will I allow for such drivel." He commanded with a lower but still commanding voice and Morlin nodded happily to himself.

"The point is made though and I shall travel down that pat no one desires to. We are on the defense on all fronts. The Tapani campaign, the Outer-Rim campaigns against the URM as well as in the Arkanis sector by that crazed woman Nelrain, and the Imperial forces in the Roche sector in the Mid-Rim are on the warpath with three systems under attack as we speak by grand admiral Zaarin." Vellam laid out and all the gathered Moffs looked very sweaty and unwilling to suddenly speak much to Morlins annoyance.

"Moff Greyshade is reporting massive droid forces under commander Kast moving on hundreds of worlds under our control, and we have lost tens of thousands of troopers. While Moff Ardus Kaine here," Vellam pointed to Moff Kaine who was in with the conference via his command ship patrolling the shipping lanes not yet under Imperial attack in Tapani. "he has informed us that losses are staggering in Roche, with the URM attacks in Arkanis costing us minerals, ores and supply lines forcing us to work closer with Hutt scum in the region to get resources to certain battlefields. Tapani is our one window to attack the Imperials, as they are mounting on the borders to the Expansion Region along the Inner-Rim, and our attack at Bogden will more than likely be pushed back despite our attempts to relieve the pressure on your campaigns Morlin. So what we want from you is just...just explain to us what is the problem in your campaign? What are we looking at in Tapani in terms of size and leadership from the Imperials?" Morlin bowed his head and readied to speak as to what was going on. Telling them that their main enemy commander was personally trained by him wouldn't be new information in and of itself, to some anyways, but it would perhaps still make him seem a bit, 'guilty,' to some Moffs present who personally didn't like him and his command capabilities.

"The main enemy commander Grand Moff Vellam, is obviously lord Exar Kun. After the lords actions in bringing down the rebel get-together on Dubrava some months back, he has been made into a very public and might I add more popular figure amongst the Empire and Imperials. However, his second in command, seemingly, is a one that most will already know of here, by the name of Commander Viathan." The Moffs all seemed knowledgeable enough on him and some looked to be so bored that they began reviewing their datapads as Morlin spoke and caused the general to hide a groan of further annoyance with these equally pompous fools.

"Some of you have already been told, but others have not that Commander Viathan was once a personally taught in the art of war student of my own person many years ago." Every Moff looked up as if he said the Emperor was naked in front of them, even those he knew for a cold hard fact already knew about this, but they all wanted to act as if this was new information except for Moff Kaine and Vellam.

"You trained that boy out there who is flaunting around the whole damn sector and shredding our forces?! Do you have no shame Morlin?!" Resuun asked and Coldor sent him an obvious glare with his usual calm and serene blue eyes turning cold when he looked back toward him.

"I have nothing to feel shame for Moff Resuun, I was ordered by my superiors by the Emperor himself to come and personally, by payment as well, train a student in war and battle! We were all good little Imperials back then Moff Resuun, I would advise you not to forget that you were once a lapdog to the Emperor as were we all here right now!" Resuun scoffed and disregarded him with Vellam holding up a hand to silence them.

"I am well aware of this fact Moff Resuun, and I have long since decided the fact is moot in regards to our current situation. Please general Morlin continue." Vellam calmly ordered and returned to looking over something wherever he was while simultaneously listening to Morlin.

"Very well. Commander Viathan, or as I knew him, Valek Zalliste, was a prime student, obsessive and committed to learning everything you put in front of him. He is a problem solver and unlike many of the poor excuses for officers the Empire has, I feel as though he and his commander, Kun, have been give a slew of competent officers from the few that are within the Imperial navy and army."
"Are you then suggesting that this lord Kun and his commander Viathan have been given the only competent officers in all the galaxy?" A Grand Moff by the name of Tanniel, from the Quelii Oversector, asked him in a mix of mocking and sarcasm that Morlin found unbecoming of a man with as much power as he.

"To suggest every last good officer in all the galaxy is under Kun's command would force me to presume the galaxy has gotten over its dislike and unnecessary hatred of aliens for I would just like to remind you that Admiral Thrawn in the Tion cluster is far from a terrible officer and he is under the command of lord Vader and taking the URM one on one. Oh and he is of the Chiss race, a distinctly non-human, but close to being, race. So no, grand Moff Tanniel, I am not suggesting the Empire pt every good officer under lord Kun's command but they did put a good batch of them, and they are under the command of a good tactician themselves via lord Kun and Commander Viathan. I am stating facts, not sarcastic prods to hurt your egos."
"Enough!" Vellam cried with an open palmed slam to his table and every Moff looked to him. "Let the general speak or this session is done and I will no longer allow for these types of councils to form! I will not descend into childish finger pointing and jabs at ones own person for petty reasons if I've ever heard or seen them!" The Moffs all seemed to concede and Morlin straightened himself again and began to once more make his case.

"Commander Viathan has, because of his new superstar status among the Imperials, been given along with lord Kun seemingly unlimited support by the central government on Coruscant, and so one problem I am dealing with is the unlimited manpower of the enemy, as well as the added forces of these red alien beings we have been told are called Massassi. They are primitive, or seemingly so, and warrior aggressors with a pension for ripping our boys apart with their blades, taking bolts to the body up close and still going. They inspire fear and bring muscle and cooperation with the Imperial troopers has done them wonders. Moreover, the Empire has sent large armadas worth of ships from the vast Core reserves. A threat we were all made full aware of when we broke from the Empire, however they have also fully secured Fondor and Kuat, thus allowing the key ship producers for the Empire to continue churning out ships at their command. Commander Viathan, also has a keen ability to break my defensive lines I am known for. He has a knack for offensive overpowering, and brutal force operations. I am afraid that unless I am given time to recoup my forces and am not given the ability to commit a tactical retreat we will lose Tapani by the early months of next year which is fast approaching."

Moff Ardus Kaine stepped forward from his holographic position and addressed the Moffs and butted in.

"Forgive me general, but I must speak to my fellow Moffs here in opposition to your desires for tactical retreat. My fellow Moffs we cannot allow for a single world to be taken by the Empire without a fight. With every world they take we bleed them more of manpower and resources. Tens of thousands die on our side surely but we take just as many of them with us. Their fleets decimate one of ours we decimate one of theirs, and we are thus in an endless cycle of death and destruction, that I feel will drain the loyalists in time and then we can counter back hard and swiftly."

"Moff Kaine, I don't know where you're getting this idea, but in case you missed it we have a third player in this so called 'Galactic Civil War.' I highly doubt we have the power and ability to drain our forces for the Empire, when the droids are wiping out hundreds of thousands of our troopers on worlds like 'Reaper's World,' or even when we lose worlds by popular uprising like Toola! The United Rebellion Movement will not simply allow us to wait for the Empire to expend itself and then we retaliate! If we and the Empire kill one another like this endlessly we will only make them more powerful and may I say if the URM wins gentlemen it will be as if the CIS never lost the Clone Wars, and everything will be for nothing at all." Coldor vehemently argued and Ardus stared at him with a look of what appeared to be apathy, as the other Moffs seemed to have selective hearing when they reproached not Kaine, but Morlin.

"General we understand your plight and annoyance, but we must agree with Moff Kaine on this matter. Effective immediately as of this morning standard time, Moff Ardus Kaine has been made of all Moff Alliance Armed Forces across the galaxy. Effectively he is now your superior and answerable only to this council, this body." A third Grand Moff by the name of Kintaro, responded with a calm voice that spoke of matter-of-factly being the driving force for his choosing Kaine's argument. "Kaine, you have made the case prior to this meeting and now again, that we must drain our enemy of their forces and materials by fighting them at every corner, and we agree by majority. However, general Morlin, you have requested a special task force be given to you, and the power for you to create one as such without too much oversight by the council, and for the time being this body has agreed to fund and allow for you to form an operations squadron to aid you in your campaigns against the Empire, so long as we sign off on who will be added to the squad, and it comes to us directly." Vellam added with finality in his voice, and both Morlin and Kaine nodded, with Kaine a bit displeased, but silent.

"Our own intelligence sources tell us that the battle at Bogden is going nowhere and quickly, and as such Moff Kaine we desire that you handle that front for now, and allow general Morlin to handle Tapani on his own. Until this body feels otherwise. Understood?"

"Of course." He responded to Vellam who eyed him, before speaking once more to Morlin. "General, I highly recommend that you reevaluate your current situation and tactics to better meet our current situation within Tapani. You are not given permission to retreat, tactically or otherwise, and you will hold your ground against both Commander Viathan and lord Kun. Taking any action that goes against these orders will be considered an act of treason and you will be removed from your position and possible charges to your person as a criminal against the Moff Alliance may come to fruition. Is that wholly understood general?" Morlin eyed every Moff among the council and Ardus who seemed bored with the whole affair and Gustavu next to him who shrugged.

"I understand fully, and will not do anything that goes against the conscious code of leadership that comes with being a general." Morlin responded backwardly and saw it caught some Moffs off guard and they furrowed their brows or narrowed their eyes but Vellam waved him off.

"Very well. This meeting of the Moff council concerning operations within the Tapani sector is concluded and I will require reports weekly on operations and the ever changing situation of our forces within the sector general. We are adjourned." Both Morlin and Kaine bowed their heads and the council faded away and left only Kaine's holographic image alone with Morlin and the quiet Gustavu who rose from a seat he took and made to leave the room while Morlin stared down Kaine's visage coolly.

"It is unfortunate, general Morlin, that you feel the need to so vehemently contradict me on every matter. Surely we can agree to disagree on certain matters, correct?"
"Correct Moff Kaine, however I feel as though I must contradict you at every level I feel you are wrong on, and when it comes to this ideal held over from Imperial mentality that no retreat is viable, I find myself questioning the difference between this so called, 'Moff Alliance,' and the Galactic Empire we claim to be against in almost every way imaginable." Kaine chuckled and brushed imaginary dirt from his shoulder.

"Claims are made to be broad and undefined my friend. If we were to win this war do you think Grand Moff Vellam and his grand Moff council would return to democracy? For if we truly did stand in opposition to everything the Empire represented we would have to do so. No, Grad Moff Vellam seeks to put himself, and his 'Excellency,' as title upon a new throne. One embroidered in Moff ideology which is one of total dictatorship for the bettering of the entire galaxy. Now, in regards to this foolish notion that retreat under any circumstance can be helpful, tell me Morlin; what does a soldier think when he hears that the order to retreat has been given? He feels demoralized, and he feels lost, and afraid. Is that the message you want to give to your men under any circumstance and weaken the resolve our troopers have for the war?"

"I would much rather have ten thousand afraid and alive men to fight for me tomorrow then a ten thousand bravely dead men in holes that same tomorrow. Dead men don't fight Moff Kaine. Living ones do, and frankly a tire of receiving reports of our forces being obliterated while the enemy have taken yet another world!" Kaine again shrugged off the argument and paced some before Morlin in his holographic form.

"Tell me, how many worlds are there in the galaxy?"

"Over a trillion, and probably more than that." Morlin responded, knowing full well what Kaine was going to say next and suppressing a groan in kind.

"Then if we fight the Empire across ten billion worlds, and they lose five-hundred billion, we lose five-hundred billion, and we have another ten-billion worlds to go, who will lose the most? An Empire contained in the Core with nothing but a bigger fleet working for it, or we who have an entire two thirds of the galaxy under our belt of control?"

"No war has ever been fought and won by fighting across ten-billion inhabited worlds Moff Kaine. Only the worlds of greater importance, and living population and along their nearby trade routes and shipping lanes, of which then there are hundreds maybe thousands but the majority of worlds in any given sector fall when the trade worlds fall, and if you cannot see that then I fear we are going to lose this war far quicker then we can ever imagine, and the Empire will be fighting a repeat war with the droids and URM." Kaine kept to proper decorum but Morlin could almost see him rolling his aged eyes.

"Whatever you say Morlin, but that is why every single world will be a tooth and nail fight for supremacy. No world will be given without a fight, and we will drain the Galactic Empire, and the Emperor of every man, and every machine, and every supporter before the end. When all his ships burn in the vacuum of space ad every man lay dead on the field of battle, we will win, and the Moffs, not the Sith, or any such madness born of the Jedi so long ago shall rule this galaxy."

Morlin sighed and ran a single hand through his shortened and graying hair before merely nodding. "As you say sir, but I feel differently. However, I will do as ordered and not permit a one man from retreating as much as I can control them."

"See that you do that general, and do say hello to your family for me." Kaine added the last part with a very pointed stab at Morlin who glared fully in view of his now new superior but said nothing as Kaine faded from view and left Morlin there in the room.

"What did he mean?" Morlin turned to see his adjutant, by the name of Hason Kerr standing behind him with hands clasped behind his back.

"How long have you been standing there Kerr?"
"Long enough sir, forgive me for my interruption but Moff Gustavu told me to enter and I did not realize you were still in conversation with Moff Kaine."

"It's fine Kerr." Morlin sighed and motioned for him to follow as they exited the room and entered a long hallway inside of the military headquarters for all Moff operations on Procopia. They moved down the hall to their right and made for the central command room that monitored all current battles raging across the Tapani sector, as Morlin had some new orders to send out.

"To answer your question Kerr, Moff Kaine was having a little fun at my expense. It's fine, and natural to not expect much propriety out of Moffs, who have for far too long seen the idea and notion of accountability and shame as foreign ideas. My wife, she died three years ago. I'd rather not speak on it, but to summarize it it was a medical fiasco and she went peacefully in her sleep."
"Forgive my asking sir-"
"It's fine Kerr. The fault is Moff Kaine's not yours." Morlin retorted quickly but with enough force in his voice to let Kerr know he meant what he said all the while feeling emotions the general likely didn't want to at the moment.

"I also have a daughter with my wife, but she took a career in Imperial Intelligence and I couldn't and cannot contact her before and now after the break with the Empire. I can only assume she is coping with my 'treason,' as any child would. Anger, sadness, perhaps a level of understanding, but I don't know what will or has happened to her, and for that I am deeply saddened. I haven't a doubt either that if given the order, she would hesitate to kill me. She's a good shot, and quite loyal to that she believes in and for that I do not fault her."
"Despite your words sir I feel I must still apologize for asking questions that do not concern me." Morlin nodded as he keyed in his passkey into a console on a large door and when it opened revealed to him and Kerr the command center.

"It doesn't matter at this juncture Kerr. In time I will perhaps either apologize or die at her feet and either one will not make me love her any less, but enough of this, Morgana can handle herself. Right now we have a war to win Kerr."
"Yes general Morlin sir." Kerr responded and didn't bring up the fact Morlin just now only told hi what his daughters name was. It wasn't his place to speak on such things with his superior, and a man he generally respected at that.

I have been given ability and power by the High Moff council to form a special squad, a task force if you will, within Tapani specifically aimed at covert to frontal war operations to combat our admittedly growing desperate position. In order to do this I need men and women that I can personally trust and with skills that are grade a for battle and for combat be it in a large war zone or confined covert operations. I just need to find the right sort of commander for the job first." Morlin intoned as he came to a large central table that displayed the sector and logged battlegrounds and operations in a large stream of data. The table was in the center of the room in a lower platform of the room where the rest of the room was a normal large rectangle with officer and technician manned computer consoles lining the walls, and fellow generals under his command stood absently and quietly around the same table and planned their own operations as given to them by Morlin as he spoke to Kerr, he leaned in and looked he saw that Tavya had long since been changed fro an allied world to enemy with Nista and Cesya still showing as battlefields. Though he wasn't a hundred percent sure if that data was correct anymore at this point.

"You know something Kerr, I just had a thought."
"What's that general Morlin sir?" Morlin recalled back to his little last campaign on Kashyyyk with lord Vader. The one that essentially assured of his defection to the Moffs, and recalled their was one officer that was under temporary assignment to his and thus lord Vader's command that had proven to be as much of an annoyance as he was a competent and thoughtful human being. Not a butcher.

"Bring up my files on the Kashyyyk attack committed by myself and lord Vader most recently some weeks back. Bring up the files on all officers both naval and army, or otherwise and look for those labeled as MIA." Kerr did as asked from a nearby console and cocked a hidden brow when asked to look for MIA officers.

"Here you are general, there seems to be only about three in total, and two have been amended to KIA." Morlin nodded. "The third then?"

"Hmm, MIA after being convicted of insubordination and imprisoned for protecting a Wookiee from being publicly skinned to subdue the rest in a certain tree village. A relatively small action, but insubordination nonetheless. It appears he was under your temporary command sir."

"What was that officers name, just to be sure we have the same man here?"
"Hmm, ah here we are, a lieutenant under command of a Commander Nyklas. The whole unit was reassigned to lord Vader's personal ask force shortly before the slaving operation took place. The lieutenant, uh, Solo, yes Han Solo, was removed from position and arrested for insubordination along with the Wookiee he saved put back into a cage after he shot Commander Nyklas in front of the rest of his squad including their attachment of Trandoshan slavers and by the reports from his charging officer, 'Embarrassed the Empire in the highest degree.' It would appear however that after you arrived on the base he went missing from his cell along with the entire Wookiee population that was being held at that site general sir. Quite ironic."

"Ironic indeed Kerr." Morlin laughed, as he remembered the lieutenant well. He was quite the pilot, or so he was told. He was also a human being with morals, and frankly he was glad he killed that Nyklas fellow. Quite an annoying toad he was and a butcher for the Empire. Morlin may have struck up a conversation with Solo, and may have left his cell unattended to, and given him the access code to the Wookiee cells, and assured that a shuttle transports made it off world with him and the Wookiees aboard. He was a fine officer, and would make a hell of one again...with incentive to do so.

"Yes him. Find him for me Kerr. I don't care how you do it, and ho you get him here, but get him to Procopia and into a meeting with me and soon."
"Of course general Morlin sir. I'll get right on it." Kerr assured and made to leave and begin making inquiries, but as Morlin made to leave he was stopped by another officer of his.

"What is it officer?"

"It's Mrlsst again sir, they've gotten a message out and another one of our depots has been hit by a civilian coordinated uprising and we've lost a couple hundred men. Supplies are getting dangerously low as well."

"So they have someone planet side stirring up trouble do they? I makes logical sense to me that an infiltrator for the Empire is stirring up anti-Moff sentiment and coordinating with the hungry and desperate of the civilians to attack our depots and supply dumps. Order a crackdown on all anti-government actions and make sure it's as tame as possible. No need to make the people even less agreeable to our presence on that world." The officer nodded but seemed unsure.

"With the blockade over Mrlsst our orders may not get through in a timely manner general."

"I'm well aware officer, but keep trying and forget the usual security encryption. The Empire can listen in all they want as we try to keep order on a world they let starve into submission." The officer nodded and went to work, thus finally allowing Morlin to get some rest. He didn't tell anyone but he had been awake for three days straight and he was getting old. Needless to say though he got a good four hours before he was needed again. As war waited for no one.

(Coruscant, 13 BBY)

The little girl ran back and forth as she knew today was important! It was her life day, or birthday to some cultures, but it didn't matter to her, she was six years old! Plus, her daddy was coming to see her and it was a long, long time since he had come to see her, and she missed her daddy! Why was he always gone? He never stayed, and ever since momma had to go and never come back he was always weird around her, but she didn't care he was her daddy and she wanted him home!

The little girl lived in a luxury suite in a spire upon the Imperial capitol of Coruscant or Imperial-Center to some. The mighty Empire was unstoppable with the Emperor in command with the fear inducing Darth Vader patrolling all sectors of the galaxy for enemies both within and outside of her borders and spheres of power. The carpets of this suite were a deep crimson red and soft to the touch allowing for the little girl to run freely and comfortably and unleash her pent up power and energy that her daddy and 'teachers,' told her was natural and should be explored at all times. There were huge window panes for her to look out towards the endless cityscape of Coruscant and watch the never ending stream of ships, speeders, and people. It was raining outside today and was gray out with the water pouring down loud and hard as the satellite controlled weather of the world was called upon to give a semblance of normalcy to the people and thus today was 'predicted' to be rainy.

Inside the suite was always comfy and 'bouncy,' furniture. Black leather chairs and luxury couches that lined the living area, with fine and stylized seats for the dining area connected to the spacious living room. Her only companion besides he daddy and the teachers in weird robes being her attendant protocol droid F-R4Z, or 'Froze' as the little girl called it much to its pampered and pompous annoyance, as much as a droid could be annoyed but it always did as asked and answered to the name. Right now it was cleaning and attending to her mess of a room, full of her toys and trinkets of the...what did her daddy call them? OH, right the Sith! She had lots of cool little toys about them and books too! She loved books, and reading about the Sith. The big 'dummy,' Naga Sadow was a good read, and the story of the 'big one,' Darth Bane was always fun to read and have read to her by daddy when he was home! When he was home being the big idea, which caused her to frown on her small and young pudgy and slightly green face as her short black hair fell around her head. She could sense him coming and it made the frown go away and she giggled and jumped for joy when he came nearer and nearer! She was wearing her little black dress that daddy had gotten for her! Or was it robes? She didn't care and ran toward the door which opened to an elevator, and she ran just in time for the door to open and for her daddy to step in and through.

"Daddy!" She cried and jumped into him and wrapped her small arms around his legs robed in fine dark robes of his own, as he 'looked,' down at her with his black leather band wrapped around where his eyes would have been, as his tattoos around his mouth curved as he smiled when he sensed and saw his daughter through the Force purely, and could see her power, and her...love for him, and while that was disconcerting it was something he found himself appreciating even as he bathed in darkness at all other times save for when around this little girl. It was his weakness and Jerec and everyone else knew so, but the thing was, Jerec felt that his little girl...his little Kira could handle herself. He and Barriss were more than capable of creating a life-form and raising it with the raw power and skill that Jerec's little Kira had within her. Even now in her young small body the Force pulsated within her.

"How are you my little Kira?" Daddy asked and Kira beamed a brilliant white, and toothy smile up at her daddy as she looked him over, with his black robes and armor he was as scary looking as lord Vader but he was her daddy! He wasn't scary at all to her!

"I've been good daddy! Today's my life day!"
"That it is, and I seem to have gotten something for you." He leans down with his robes falling around him and pulls from behind his person a small glowing Red Triangle pyramid with ornamental writing upon it. Her dulled blue eyes star in wonder as she both saw and could sense through her raw Force potential the ebb of darkened power coming off the 'triangle-thingy.'

"What is it?" Kira asks with wonderment in her eyes as she takes hold of the device.

"That, my little Kira, is a Holocron, an ancient source of Forbidden knowledge. Those men and women whose stories I have given to you and told you of, the Sith, they kept their secrets and powers hidden in these little trinkets for future Sith to use, and become even more powerful."

"And it's all mine?" She asked in disbelief with a wide grin as she held it and twisted and turned it. Her father took her cheek in his left hand and smiled faintly.

"Of course it is child, now, I'll leave you alone while you open it, you will not be disappointed with what you find Kira, Happy birthday little one." He patted her dark hair covered head and he made for his room within the suite to make himself more comfortable for the time he was to be here, or allowed here rather by that old wretch upon the throne in the palace one could see from twenty miles away!

As her daddy walked away and she heard Froze greet him home, Kira sat down and touched the thing further and inspected the writings upon it she could not understand and was in awe at how 'cool,' it was to have something so important and old in her hands, and from her daddy no less as a present! The very tip of the pyramid from the device began to open and the red glow within grew brighter and sparkled in her eyes.

Before her came the visage of a woman. She had a darker complexion even though she was 'blue' and ethereal looking Kira could tell, and she had long dark hair that was wavy, with a fine suit of armor that was closely attached to her body, with a one long robe falling down her shoulders and a hood pulled back and the woman had an odd tattoo like her daddy across her forehead, and she smiled at Kira with a mind of its own.

"Hello Child, what is your name?" The woman asked with a very fine and cool voice and Kira smile back feeling no sense of fear at all. "My name is Kira, Kira Offee." She retorted matter-of-factly, and naturally sweetly.

"Do you desire to learn little one?" The woman asked and Kira nodded. "Yes, most definitely!" The woman nodded her head.

"Very Well, my Name is Lady Githany, and I will teach you everything I know..."

(Present Day, Tapani Sector, Mrlsst, Mennaa City)

Atop a relatively tall building upon the world of Mrlsst in the capitol city of Mennaa a thin and darkly cloaked figure stood, with arms folded and face set in stone. Before her same dull blue eyes as those of the father loving and energetic child, was another Moff depot, and it was ablaze. Her forces, the civilians of Mrlsst actually punctured into this depot after she slaughtered dozens with her saber herself and danced among the corpses slaying one trooper after another. They fell, and they cried and they screamed in terror, as they looked upon the face of a girl, quickly aging into a young woman. A Miraluka and Mirialan girl born of two fallen Jedi, and made into servants to the will of a madman, and her master. Her father was Jerec, and her mother was Barriss Offee, they had met when they both came into the circle of the Emperor. The old man taking them both into the fold and making them his pawns at the Inquisitors and they had her. Two fallen Jedi trying to find some semblance of peace in a galaxy changing before them found each other, and Kira was born of such a union. She knew then too that he father was ordered to rid himself of her mother but was allowed to keep her, and raise her until the old man would have her as a replacement, and a far more powerful one, and yet, even now he threw her away! He knew she wouldn't be able to kill Exar Kun! He knew she would die! Thirteen years of her life, her whole karking life! He was going to throw it away for a mere test on Exar Kun!

The city boomed with sudden blaster sprays and the civilians went crazy and women cried in terror as the rabble came under attack from a surviving Moff troop, as more reinforcements like before were coming, but she remained still. Her eyes, her mothers eyes staring as the Moff depot and buildings burned and the true colors of sentient life forms was shown as men and women trampled one another for food and blasters, Kira could see the true nature of them from atop this building, none of them bothering to question where she had gone, and none of them remembering or caring about her like the rest of the galaxy!

They were gone, both of them, and she didn't want to remember how and why right now, such memories were weakness but she could still see them in her head, remember the smells and smiles of her parents the 'happy' moments, and the times where she smiled not out of spite, and insincere happiness and sweet deception, but when she actually felt a warmness in her chest now emptied and filled with stone.

Her lips quivered and she slammed her eyes shut as an unwanted tear spilled out and she scratched wildly and angrily at he face to tear the burning drop of water from her face, and she left a mark on her face where her nails dug in. It would heal even as blood was drawn forth. She took in a deep breath even as her chest locked and she felt the emotional dam within her quake and cry she hardened herself and growled out and called on the dark side and allowed every ounce of anger, hatred and rage to consume her.

A great female howl erupted into the sky of Mrlsst as the star entered into dusk and all sunlight turned orange near night, and Kira Offee jumped off her building with her eyes now yellow in her hatred and the Force crackled and roared like a wild beast around her, and she saw red, and not a one thing mattered anymore, but the fulfillment of her lust! The blood lust!

Her hood fell back as she landed on one knee on the rubble laden and hole lined street below with men and women running to and fro away and toward the Moff troopers coming in to suppress the rabble and end this uprising as the world starved out beneath the blockade of the Empire and Grand Admiral Grant above. She looked up with her black hair falling around her, with her face curled in sour hatred and she pulled her curved saber from her belt and activated the searing beam of her rage, the weapon and manifestation of her hate and contempt for all life on this world!

"Hey it's the girl!" A man called and ran toward her with three other men, if you could call them that.

"Hey, where you been?! We could have used your karking support down here little alien witch!" Kira said nothing and merely moved one yellow and glowering, glowing eye onto him, and with her free left hand she made a pinch with her thumb and pointer fingers and with a hard grip into a fist the mans neck cracked and snapped. The other three staggered back with horror in their eyes, and Kira sneered at them.

With saber in her right hand she flung up and into another and stabbed him through the heart and his body went limp and falling to the ground. Rolling off it she spun around and cleaved another in half fully, and then slashed to her right and up taking an arm off the last man who fell back screaming in horrendous pain as it was lost amongst the screams all around them in the city. She stepped atop him with either leg on the side of his body, and she allowed lightning to build and crackle in her left hand and she slammed it down into the boys body and he shrieked, he howled and he jerked his body in unspeakable pain as his life was taken from him and Kira felt her pulse pound and her chest clench in rage as it made her very breathing painful, but nothing would stop her!

She looked back up down the street as civilians armed with an assortment of blasters fired at an incoming Moff platoon backed by two AT-ST's and the people without weapons were running past her or into buildings as an explosion rocked her and sent her cloak flying back behind her, but she stood utterly still as ice too hold of her very being. She stepped forward with cool tunnel vision and assured steps one before the other as death rained around her. Bodies flew people burned, and buildings blew apart and she lazily threw her saber up close to block random bolts from hitting her as she walked forward, the dark side whispering to her of her power and her safety, she would not die this day on this miserable world, and to spite them all, she wouldn't die!

Howling her walk turned to a run as her eyes went wide with feral rage she hurled herself over the civilians and landed atop a Moff trooper who again she impaled, and fell into a mix of Shien and Juyo as she went insane on the battlefield. Throwing her saber into a group of troopers she sent a massive wave of Force energy into another and they all flew back hard and at bone breaking speeds as the saber ripped through all the men it hit and she snapped it back into her hand when it returned and flew up and to her left into a squad of troopers who fired hazily and frighteningly at her. She decapitated one, rolled low and brought her saber up and through another, slashed hard right and carved one upper body from his torso and left a stump and two fallen arms singed and burned.

She flew upwards and sent a hard left kick right and sent a trooper sprawling to which she landed and stabbed her saber down Makashi style with a spin of her saber elegantly over her head as her rage didn't recede but burned hot! She needed this out of her, it burned her every inch of her body and it felt unnaturally good to release it all on these fools!

Having murdered this squad she tossed her saber into her left hand and dashed forward with the Force and held her saber out and simply ran through some troopers as she was fired upon by one of the walkers and she cartwheeled through the air away from the fire and caused it to blow away its own forces who cried as they flew away into bits. She was at the right foot of the walker and with a hazed frenzy slashed through its leg and with a huffed cry she screamed and the foot detached from the metal leg which burned hot and with the Force she lifted the whole karking walker as it tipped and screamingly sent it into the second walker which impacted hard and sent both walkers falling into a shop and taking the whole building with them as it collapsed where the walkers had been into the street and onto the Moff forces. The building collapsing sent a shock wave through the battlefield and both forces began running from the collapse as Kira held her left hand above her head and allowed the Force to fully protect her, and it did, not even smoke managed to break through her defense. She savored as she felt dozens of lives being snuffed out and fading from the collapse and allowed a free breath to enter her body willingly again and the dark side finally began to fade as did the pain within her, and those tears were but a memory again, and she smiled. A fake, sweet smile, and she turned, and left the battlefield as the Moffs regrouped and attacked the civilians again, who did not quit nor surrender. They were all wiped out, and Kira returned to her hidden shuttle out in the wilderness of Mrlsst and found herself able to peacefully fall asleep and images of her damnable mother and father never entered her mind. Just the sweet sounds or lack thereof, pure dark, nothingness.

(Stardestroyer Magnificence, Tapani Sector, Over Fondor, Current Time)

"I am moving my fleet up the Procopian Shipping Lane as ordered master. We will fall upon Neona within a matter of hours. I have also been told that both Nista and Cesya have fallen, and that Kinti has moved on to Listoria, and that admiral Ulan has been ordered to halt his advance on Gilliana. Why is that master?" Kun stopped his pacing in front of the hologram of Viathan when he asked why he had halted Kinti's general advance.

"I halted his advance, apprentice, because I desire Gilliana to be attacked by the recombined forces of Kinti and Ulan once Ulan has taken Listoria, Pavia, and Shopani and fully secured almost all of the Cadriaan province here in Tapani save for Gilliana. Lady Bathos, head of House Cadriaan, has promised full support for the Empire's legitimacy here in the Tapani sector with the backing of her resources and military assets as soon as all of Cadriaan province is secured. I will assure this by taking every major world in the province, and we will play this smart, Viathan. On top of this Mrlsst is coming apart as scheduled and Grand Admiral Grant has stated that the time for the invasion is drawing near, and should be far easier than before with the Moff strengths drained by hunger and civilian uprisings. I must say, young Kira is doing her job swimmingly." Viathan frowned but nodded. "Yes master of course. Neona is a relatively highly populated world here in the Tapani sector. It is rich in undersea ore mining and has many cities that are o top of the oceans like Ahto city on Mannan. The use of these ore deposits to aid in building ships for the greater cause would be quite lucrative." Exar nodded, as he looked thoughtful for a moment.

"What of Sorella and Letev? Aren't you leaving both trade route flanks to Tavya a bit exposed by not conquering those worlds first apprentice?"

"Reports from ISB state that both worlds are hardly consequential for the war effort master, and Moff forces on those worlds is hardly worth the effort, and attacking those worlds would waste precious time, effort, resources, and frankly the Moffs likely want us to waste our time to allow general Morlin the ability to rethink and reform his overall strategy in Tapani. We cannot allow him that leisure. If we press the attack at Neona and force the Moffs back toward Procopia with greater and greater desperation they will lose not only cohesion but faith in my old mentors ability to command his forces and adequately defend against incoming loyalist forces. So no master, I do not think we should press the attacks at either of those worlds, and rather we keep digging into the Colonies sections of Tapani, still under Moff control if the general strike into the Expansion-Region to come is to have its backside secure then we must take Procopia and expel the Moffs fully from Tapani." Viathan had very hard and assured eyes and stared back at his master with conviction as he made a point of waving his hands before him and almost acted as if he had a map of Tapani in front of him, and it was enough for Kun to concede with a bow of his head, as he folded his arms across his chest.

"Very well Viathan, you do as you feel right and necessary. Myself, however, will be taking yet another stunningly new and fresh fleet provided by the Core world reserves and attack the worlds of Lynx and New Shella, which will open an immediate rout to attack Procopia, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. I highly doubt general Morlin has left the world unguarded, and I will likely station a fleet above New Shella and wait my chance to attack. Until then, I and our new addition to the team, lady Lyn, will attack Hellios up the trade routes from Mrlsst and await the attack on Mrlsst proper by Grand Admiral Grant."
"Can lady Lyn be trusted master?" Viathan asked with no accusation in his voice but clear desire to hear what his master though and Kun shrugged,

"She has done nothing so far to prove otherwise. Her reasons for desiring to see the Emperor fall are adequate enough, and she has carried out the tasks assigned to her with utmost skill and speed. Plus I now have a lovely growing collection of Sith and Jedi artifacts I simply must delve into soon. In time I will also share my artifacts with you as well apprentice. Sadly war comes first and foremost, and I suspect I am taking up your preparation time. I know that I still need to prepare and ready my own forces for the attack on Lynx and the feint at New Shella in preparation for the actual attack. Keep in contact Viathan, and be sure to do what you feel is necessary to win your battles, and don't underestimate your enemy. The Moffs are fools bereft of any form and fineness, but they obviously have some gems in the cadre of generals and admirals, like this Morlin."
"Yes master. I will attain victory for your honor, and that of the Empire's." Viathan bowed deeply and Exar nodded with a smirk.

"Good. Now go and prepare my apprentice and we shall speak again before you land on Neona, and during, and once again after. Until then, manage your fleet well and revel in battle. For nothing like war and battle hone a Sith's skills and power." Viathan bowed low and his figure disappeared before Kun, who watched the now blank area for a moment in contemplation as the sector campaign here in Tapani went very well indeed. Bringing a wide smirk to his face.

"Some dark lord is pleased I sense." He turned with now a sneer over his shoulder to see Arden walk in flaunting about her fully cleaned and ready for battle figure dressed in her usual tight clothing. Her orange and green body suit that only climbed up enough to cover her chest and damn well near exposed her breasts, along with the piece of connecting fabric of similar make around her neck and clipped to her droid right arm. It was enough to make even Kun do a double take and scoff as heat rose to his face and he recalled some of the ridiculous outfits Aleema Keto wore around Ulic during the Great Sith War. It didn't help Kun and the other officers on the Stardestroyer that Arden had seemingly for no reason discarded her cloak which added a layer of defense between her and the prying eyes of the men.

"Have you no shame in what you wear milady Lyn? I know that is your normal outfit but come now, we're going into a battle here! Don't you think that's a bit distracting for the men?"
"For the men or for you milord?" Arden asked as she moved forward sidestepped and rather teasingly showed off her figure and Exar scoffed before resuming his look toward the blank area his apprentice had stood and activated a map of Tapani.

"Your form, I assure you lady Lyn is the last thing on my mind, but your outfit whether you agree or not is a distraction to the men. Whether I like it or not the female figure is a thing the male population are indeed attracted to you know!"

"Oh really? Males being attracted to females? What a shocking new development in the relationship between the sexes!" Kun growled and once more threw his attention into the map and onto Lynx and New Shella.

"Oh do not act so put off milord I merely jest for your sake. You're far to serious at times you know that?" Kun laughed sardonically. "I am serious for we are in the middle of a kriffing war Lyn. I can only presume, but was Xendor always so cheery during the First Great Schism?" Hmm she huffed and stepped next to him on his left to overlook the same holo-map that he was.

"Xendor was a serious man by nature milord, but he was also known for taking a breather from time to time. Not that I expect you or anyone else in this age to know that. It has been far too long sine he walked the soil of the worlds of this galaxy." Kun eyed her from where he stood and noted her deep seeded hidden anger when she spoke of Xendor and he smirked.

"Use that anger you feel at hi loss, your sadness and desire to see that liar upon the throne removed, and you will make a fine warrior on the field of battle once more milady, and I deeply look forward to seeing how a warrior of the ancient Jedi ways, and then of the Legions of Lettow fought a battle."

"Should be exciting for someone like you, so obsessed with the past I mean, to see. I assure you I will surprise you, and make the show fun to watch." She smirked at him with a wink of her golden eyes and again Kun scoffed and rolled his gray ones.

"Besides if I'm a distraction for the men of your ship and under your command milord, can't you see me being just as much so for the enemy forces?" Kun laughed and found himself nodding as his deep laugh subsided.

"True I can see that milady! Ha! Very well then, keep dressing as so, purely for the enemy's sake and downfall then, and we wont have any problems whatsoever."

"Oh purely for them eh milord? Very well then but I'll also be sure to try harder to make you feel as flustered as I know you do now." She smiled and turned to leave, purposefully rubbing her tight and slender waist along Kun's left side causing him to glance down her form and she grinned as she moved away. Kun all the while casting her a glare. When he noticed that she had an odd object on her one simple belt.

"Is that a lightsaber hilt?" She stopped and looked own and smiled before twisting and protruding her hip out, and smiling. "Why yes it is milord. Do you like the way it looks or just the way it looks on me?"
"Oh come off it already!" Kun demanded but found himself smiling and laughing with a shake of his head, and walked up to her and held his hand out for the hilt of odd fashion. She smiled and took it off her belt...slowly so, and handed it to Kun who took the hilt in hand and held it up at eye level to look the device over with great interest. It was the oddest saber hit he had ever seen which was saying much in his own opinion. It had the hilt of a sword. Not a simple saber that was a tube, but this was like the handle one would hold when using a sword in the ancient battles of old with two small prods extending from the hilt out like a sword closer to the top of the saber hit where the beam would come forth and he found himself appreciating the look already. It had an otherwise simple saber look to it, with the activation button easy to find, and the hilt was relatively lightweight but had more weight than his saber because of the added style to it, and no doubt reminded Arden of a sword much to her own liking and desire, and he spun it in his hand some to get a feel for it as Lyn watched with an expectant look in her golden eyes on his critique of the weapon.

"This has a good feel to it. Though I am admittedly very surprised you have made such a weapon with an odd hilt to it. This is the first saber I have seen with a distinct sword build to it."

"In Tapani lord Kun, the nobles have their own 'lightswords,' which have similar designs to them but are for fencing between nobles who play with them like toys. I merely made mine more to my liking and tastes, and I have very specific tastes milord Kun." He rolled his eyes again and held the saber hilt out from him and away from Lyn as he activated the weapon and the beam came forth in the color of a viridian green came forth and had him cocking a brow in confusion.

"Expecting green are we? I am not going to go around the galaxy with your stereotypical red lightsaber beam Kun. I have told you before and again I am no Sith nor feel any need to act like one or appeal to your order. Besides I predate your silly little orders creation by several thousand years. Oh may I add that it is a viridian Adegan Crystal too. A small Force signature within makes it quite noticeable does it not?" Exar's face contorted into a surprised one that also showed appreciation.

"A viridian Adegan crystal hmm? Quite nice, and quite the fine choice for such a unique weapon I may say. How does one who never made a saber before now have the ability to make one so easily and quickly now?"
"I'm a very fast learner Kun, and I also told you I'd be taking one of those holocrons I found that helps you build a saber. I fashioned the hilt myself at a workbench aboard the ship in the droid repair shop. The technician there was nice enough to let me work without any interruptions."
"No doubt he was taken by your magnetic personality." Kun mocked with a laugh and she halfway sneered and smirked all at once. The Sith lord deactivated the saber and twisted the hilt back at Lyn who took it from him, and clasped it back to her belt.

"It's a fine weapon lady Lyn. Be sure to use and wield it well when in the field of battle, and then I'll be impressed. Now I have some planning to do before we attack our marks at Lynx and New Shella. I suggest you go train, rest, prepare, do whatever it is you do before any mission because we wont have any free time soon milady." Arden laughed.

"Oh poor Sith lord. No free time to run your eyes across my form?"

"Go kark yourself milady, and leave me in peace." Kun ordered with a smile and she feigned horror at his statement before sauntering out of the room and left Kun to look back over his map...all the while forcing images of that damnable woman out of his head. 'Force, that woman is annoying! No decorum, and no sense of subtlety at all. How in the name of the Force did Xendor deal with her? Oh, right, he dealt with her as a lover does. Ugh!' He cried within himself as he drew on the dark side to pump his body full of anger and rage to cloud his other, undesired, and very much distracting urges as he finally threw his mind into the campaign planning here in this room in his solitude. However, Kun once felt a prickle beyond his sense and numbly turned to look over his shoulder and found the room still very much empty and the door leading out into the halls of the Magnificence still very much closed. He had however sensed what he knew he sensed and narrowed his eyes as he extended himself in the Force and oddly enough found nothing.

"Strange. I now I sensed something, or someone...Another game I see. Very well. We shall play it, and as before with Offee, I will be the victor once more. Until then I do hope they enjoy watching e wain a war for the old fool." Exar declared in full under his own breath and again looked over battle plans and operations, smiling to himself fro time to time when the same presence slipped up at intervals for reasons he did not know. But their shielding and masking abilities in the Force were hardly anything to be concerned over, or praise. Whoever the fool Palpatine sent was to spy on him, Kun knew he would make them see the error of their ways in time, and they would die, or bend their knee to him as they all did and then he would mock the old fool yet again in the most marvelous of way. Taking that which had once been his.

---

Cursing under her breath Mara moved into the shadows of the room once more and out of sight with her heart beating a mile a minute. The eleven year old, who did not look eleven at all, had moved from one corner to the next with her steps muffled and her movements sift as she shadowed lord Kun around, and grew utterly bored with him just standing over a holo of the Tapani sector, after Arden left and took with her any enjoyment the redheaded girl got from watching those two interact. She had on a tight black leather get up provided by her master and cloak covering her and her massive head of curly red hair. The suit of leather was a shirt that did not even cover her shoulders, and was really more related to the 'tube-top' family of clothing though she did have at least a thick set of straps over her shoulder. Her jeans were similar in material and covered her fully luckily but did make bending down and moving slightly constricting. Se found herself cursing and growling at the tightness and skin-slinging nature of her get up. Along with that all she had her single one saber clipped to her belt, her preferred Magenta colored beam easily accessible and able to be made ready at a moments notice. With a blaster at her side, with a belt teeming with pouches and full of any little thing one may need in a tough situation too. Mara Jade could at least smile with a twinkle in her green eyes as she thought on how done lord Kun was that he couldn't sense her in the same room as he. Though he did look over his shoulder and mumble to himself, but she couldn't hear what he said, and it was annoying though that she couldn't contact her master through the Force and relay what she had heard to him. Doing so now would allow Kun to sense and probably kill her in an instant. Though seeing her old 'friend,' Valek talk to Kun was interesting to her personally. The boy was different looking, and seemed very content to call Kun master. Mara knew Kun was technically his master for right now as an undercover for their real master, the Emperor, but he was hardened and cool in speech and manner. 'I'll definitely report that to our master Zalliste. Then we'll see that you really are the Gizka of the group.' She smirked with a cold and far away look at seeing her rival potentially punished. Because when it came to Mara Jade nothing mattered more than serving her master, for he had never nor never would hurt her. She was his Hand, and he was her master, her Emperor.

Of course, every single person who was as close to the old man as she, Viathan, and Kira were only needed a matter of time, and someone to tell and show them that their lord was a monster beyond redemption, and soon all would know this. Mara included. All in time.

(Arkanis Sector, Arkanis, Day Four of the Battle for Arkanis)

Kellia threw herself off a fallen pile of building debris and landed behind enemy troopers who spun around to get her but she sliced through four of them and all their heads came falling as she spun around with her cloak whipping the air, and tossed her blue saber vertically into a sniper positioned trooper and he fell from a second floor ledge he was on and she called her saber back to her. Catching it in mid air with a leap the woman twirled through the air and a flurry of bolts from multiple direction went flying away from her back into her enemies who fell by three more as she fell to the road below with a huff and cold face of indifference. She let loose a held breath she hadn't been aware she was holding and stepped back up to full height and looked down the roadway as the palace of the Arkanis regent lay just within her reach. The road to here had been long, both metaphorically and physically. Two days of endless bombing campaigns on the surrounding buildings and enemy positions with their AA emplacements, and another day of forcing four droid tank divisions to encircle the palace and force the royals who remained in the Imperially sheltered home far above the decaying and war torn city they lorded over for far too long, to remain within and scared as their executioner neared!

She shrugged off some small pebble of debris from her dark blue cloak and cast a look over her right shoulder to note four droideka's rolling to and past her at great speeds toward the forward enemy Imperial lines. Behind them a 'Snail,' tank droid followed them up with a platoon of B1 battle droids following in with an HMP gunship covering their advance, on either side of the snail droid was also two AAT's that hung behind the advancing B1 droids and they fired at intervals over Kellia and into the security buildings and checkpoints that surrounded the road into the palace entrance and forward greeting gardens.

"All forward advancing droid forces along the main road, this is your commander Nelrain speaking! Continue general advance at all costs and do not stop pressing the attack under any circumstances! Droid battalion leaders in divisions forty-three, eight-six, and the five-hundred-and-seventh, you are ordered to begin 'pelting operation two-four-d,' and not stop until I confirm mission over!" Kellia ordered into her wrist mounted comlink and stood still for a moment as sudden AAT and Hailfire tank fire from all around the palace in a three-hundred-and-sixty degree rotation fired up into the air and down onto the surrounding grounds around the palace and some hit the palace itself at last and caused some chunks to come falling off and down into the troopers below. The smoke and debris covered and floated the air around her and she brought her left arm up to her face to cover her nose and mouth before deciding to hold her breath and not take in any toxins as the droids behind her reached up to her position and continued the advance. The forward droideka's stopped rolling and uncurled themselves, one getting blow away by a grenade launcher from the enemy side of the palace where the blown out fences now were, but the other three unfolded and began firing in rapid succession into the grounds and three troopers went sprawling down and back with thuds, as they fell limp and dead. Kellia noted one of the AAT's was passing and she jumped onto its side and stood as it continued to hover closer to the enemy lines and fire in on the grounds and blow out chunks from the bottom level of the palace on sheer accident but it was a welcomed accident to say the least, as more fire fro the skies pelted the surrounding areas around the palace and kept ground level enemy forces running and ducking for cover.

Kellia watched with bored and brown-yellow blotched eyes as the enemy troopers went flying with flailing arms into the air, slammed into the pavement of metal or stone, or the walls of stone and brick or metal and died upon impact or broke into so many pieces they wished they were dead as the death and pain of war consumed this world as it did many the dark side upon the world burned bright with echoes of death and fear, of sadness hatred, and all consuming pain.

Rolling her neck in a circle Kellia brought her comlink up. "Pelt operation cease now, and hold positions!" The last Hailfire missile came from out of the sky and slammed into the ground near to her and her advancing forces before the calm of the end of the artillery barrage came. She watched as the HMP gunship flew over her advancing forces again and fired a missile round into an upper deck of the palace made for airspeeder landing and watched the platform come falling below and cracking apart with a loud impacting boom. As at least four sharpshooters came falling down with it at least ten floors off the ground.

Kellia waited as she ordered her forces on the ground to push in and some transports from the fleet above dropped off another four platoons of B1 battle droids and three B2 units, before she dismounted the AAT she stood upon and followed the advancing snail-tank into the grounds of the palace. It opened fire from both cannons on the enemy at the front entrance into the palace proper and massive hole was bow in and the blockades and troopers once there were hurled away dead from the explosive impact of the tank blast.

She waved her right hand out in sweeping manner and had three platoons go right and four go left, and the droids marched on in and fired on the enemy troopers who cobbled behind stone and metal bits fallen over, or the natural garden blocks from the palace itself or columns of security buildings and took shots at them. She smirked when the three droideka's rolled past her again and toward the palace entrance now blown into a bigger one, and she found herself chasing after them with her blue saber at the ready and she dodged and rolled away from three bolts and then sent a push into the troopers inside who fired at her and watched them fly back into the building further, and she raced forward and in. The inside save for the debris and rubble was a cream color lined with red banners and black marble stone giving it a very regal look indeed. With pillars of marble that had a twisting and intricate manner among them all, with a reception area before them now filled with rubble. There were two massive staircase leading up and curing in behind a wall where the reception desk was and likely took a sharp turn in as it ascended to the next floor of what were likely many.

The droideka's uncurled and began firing on white armored troopers firing on her and them from behind the reception desk as her main forces outside took the brunt of the trooper fire from those still on the grounds hopelessly protecting the palace entrance she herself already breached. Kellia ran full forward and with the Force leaped over the distance between her and the desk and landed on the opposite end of it and ducked down as the troopers came over their end and sprayed at the shielded droideka's. She plunged her saber through the desk into the opposite end and heard a trooper yell in pain before she pulled it back out and shoved the table back hard against the wall with a Force push and as both men of the two stood up from the sudden shock of the saber strike they too were slammed and in a bloody display crushed against the stone walls and made quickly dead.

Without second thought or look she turned and tossed her saber at a marble pillar and split it off its support from the ground, and called her saber back to her, before sung the Force to lift the massive pillar and with one hand and a sneer and cry she sent the pillar crashing through the wall out of the palace and into the grounds and sensed it fly into a squad of enemy troopers and slam and kill them with a snap. She smiled contently after that and turned as a squad of loud and clanking B1 droids cam rushing in.

"You droids you climb the right set of stair I'll go left, and you droideka's will follow on me! We'll likely be on the same set anyways, but do as I order."

"Roger, roger." The commander droid replied and the droids ran toward the now furthest away stair-set.

Needless to say the slog up the stairs and up the multiple dozens of floors was a tedious and time consuming mess that took hours as day turned to night outside and blaster and tank fire, mingled with artillery lit the skies and city outside as fire illuminated city districts Kellia climbed the palace and brought down every soldier, and every turret, and everything that got in her way with a steady supply of droid fodder to keep her company and backed up. It was late at night with booms of AA fire and tank attacks with shooting all across Arkanis that Kellia reached the pinnacle of the palace where the regent and his family were begin no doubt kept, and under guard.

A large set of doors a couple dozen feet high were all that stood between the family and Kellia and before the regents eyes and his family along with their guards of over a dozen troopers the door began to bulk further and further in toward the room as if a ram was being taken to it, but there was no boom save for the breaking and snapping of metal supports. Then in a loud snap that rung in all their ears and echoed the halls of the throne room, the door broke through and went flying past and over all their heads into the wall opposite the door and flew straight out the palace through the wall and went flying into the city below. A blue beam of spinning light flew into the room and carved through three troopers before a woman came 'flying,' in, caught the beam of light and spun down into a trooper carving him in half. She brought her blade over her head and sent a set of bolts flying away as red blaster bolts from B2 and B1 battle droids filled the room and hit the other troopers and down four more of them. Kellia snarled and ran, and ducked low when another two troopers fired on her while backing up and she dropped low ad sent a hard left swinging kick and sent both men sprawling to the hard marble floor beneath. She spun her saber as she came to full height again and brought it down in a swinging manner through both of them and killed them instantly, as her droids gunned down the last three guarding troopers who fell back and dropped their blasters with thuds and died leaving the regally clothed regent to stand before his wife and son as they huddled near the throne and the droids zeroed in on him with blasters drawn and pointed before Kellia held her hand up and halted them. They stopped like stone statues and didn't move save for the odd clunky jerks droids made when standing still, and Kellia moved passed a few to stand eye to eye with the regent. An older man likely in his forties with dark hair, and light green eyes. He reminded her of someone, and that person...she hated him more so than most others, save for maybe the Emperor and she sneered.

"So, you're the regent of Arkanis? The royalty supported and protected by Imperial Kath hounds right?" The man shifted his footing uncomfortably and nodded.

"I am, and you are-"
"Kellia Nelrain, supreme commander of the URM allied armed forces, and frankly mistress to all the droids in the URM. Did you enjoy having the knowledge that droids were bringing your little planetary kingdom down around you? Because, I did greatly. As I enjoyed running my saber through each and every one of your men and friends. At least I hope some of them were your friends." Kellia coldly declared as the man watched her eyes sparkle with yellow mingled with brown and again he stepped back uncomfortably from her.

"Nonetheless. The Empire is now gone, and the battle for Arkanis is about to be over and with your loss the Empire will lose another incentive o hold out here in this sector of the Outer-Rim which will fully be under URM control in a matter of hours. Your regency and your royal line end here, for democracy is coming to the galaxy, be it willingly or by force all will know and take part in it."

"I think you are highly deluded to think democracy can be forced onto a person let alone an entire people milady Nelrain, and furth-" he stopped speaking and his wife screamed and son cried for his father when Kellia ran her blue saber through him and the droid lined their blasters on him and them again with the motion and Kellia leaned into his ear.

"I've been called worse, and deluded is a compliment milord, and now do the galaxy a favor and die, and die with this knowledge. You don't know what I'm going to do with your family, and it will be all up to me." The man grunted a final cry before Kellia pulled her saber from his dead form and his presence in the Force faded to nothingness and she eyed the boy and his mother who huddled him near to her body as they were low and hunched near one another in fear.

"Take the boy and fly him up to a holding cell aboard my ship the Sufferance, and keep him there. The mother is my prisoner." She ordered and the droids cam forward and took the boy from the woman who cried and screamed and kicked as the boy cried and called for his mother too as a B2 picked him up and slammed the woman away with a backhanded slap and she went sprawling to the floor below with blood coming from her nose. Kellia sneered and walked forward and kneeled down to the woman so they could be eye level. She had blonde and long, beautiful even hair with blue eyes to match and Nelrain huffed a laugh.

"You know I never thought I would be the one in my position Killing royals and dictators and all, but yet here I am. My master would be 'so,' proud of me I think. After all the Jedi are all about democracy or were at least."

"My husband was a good and decent ruler! The regency has been in power for longer than the Empire they never rose up against us!"

"By 'they' you mean civilians right? Your regency has maintained economic dominion in Arkanis since before the Clone wars and your dealings with the Hutts already makes you scum in my eyes milady, and your husband is dead and gone, and the only heir will be taken prisoner, for you never to know what will be done to him. He will live I will tell you as much but I will make him see what it is like to be a peasant a nothing and looked down upon by all those around you perhaps, or maybe I will simply have him sent to live on a world like Felucia and watch him fight every moment of every day to live and survive. You will never know nor ever see him again nor will he ever again see you, and this is the punishment of your spirit as it breaks before me for all the years of Imperial dominion and that of your kind upon Arkanis and within this sector." The woman had tears streaming down her face but utter hatred and contempt for Kellia too and in a split second she spat onto Kellia's face and the Fallen Jedi recoiled some and wiped it from her face and looked down into her hand before casting her dark and hate filled eyes onto the woman again. Then Kellia laughed and inclined her head even as her droids leveled their blasters on the woman for her 'attack,' on their commander.

"A very brave if for nothing move milady. Quite bold. However, before you die, you will experience pain unlike anything before." Kellia stated and with a fling of her left wrist lightning came from her hand and fell into the woman who savagely thrashed and her cries echoed the halls of the palace and Kellia got the distinct feeling her son could hear and thus she only sent an even stronger bout of lightning into her body and sneered as the woman thrashed in unspeakable pain. Kellia ended the attack and the woman cried in pain and coiled into a fetal position to try and get the pain and nerve shocks to end, but it id not help as Kellia picked her up by her collar.

"Come, and meet the streets you ignored for so long, and 'fall.' to the level of those civilians you lorded over for as long too." Kellia threw her back, and kicked her head back down when she sat up and then tangled her left hand into her golden blonde hair and dragged the woman screaming toward a large window pane, long blown out, and hauled her over and out the window with Force aided strength as the woman still jolted from the lightning pain coursing through her, and looked down with horror in her blue eyes as tears flowed forth.

"Fall to the level of those beneath you...literally you royal, self deserving self superior wench." Kellia growled and tossed the woman out and the screams could be heard for but a few moments but they echoed throughout the city and Kellia looked over and lost sight of the body before it hit the ground below and her yellow stained eyes welled with unshed tears of her own, as she sacrificed another piece of herself for this galaxy, and this war. The deaths of the regent and his wife, would be told throughout the galaxy and the nobility everywhere knew now to fear the URM for the droids could not be bribed and neither could Kellia Nelrain be bought, or talked to or reasoned with. A day later after the death of the regency and the unspoken imprisonment of the heir, from the throne room of the palace on Arkanis Kellia commanded and got word that Arkanis had fallen, and the world was hers and every trooper, every officer, and regency noble and worker affiliated with the family was hunted down and killed as the world was stained in the blood of over thirteen-million when all was said and done. A victory indeed.

(Imperial Stardestroyer Exactor, Above Bogden)

"Wow...I've never seen anything like this before in all my life! It's so wizard!" Leia rolled her eyes again the more her twin spoke of the naval battle taking place outside as well as the fact that Imperial forces were falling to the world of Bogden beneath them all in this behemoth of a ship. Their fathers ship. That, and the term 'wizard,' sounded weird even for a pampered princess from Alderaan.

"I doubted you ever saw anything like this from a desert world in the Outer-Rim Luke. It is always great to see a battle up close though." Shira said from the other side of the room they were in. She was practicing with her saber form all on her own, and her saber was off so it looked odd for a young girl to be waving an unseen blade in intricate manners, but the red head with her hair tied behind her was keen on practicing all her own as Luke and Leia stood at a viewport looking at far off Stardestroyers and all other manner of ships on both the Imperial and Moff sides blast one another apart as a far off Tartan cruiser blew apart. The great death taking place though made both twins visibly shake at times and scrunch their eyes as the darkness that permeated the Force called out to them and whispered to them. Their father had suddenly taken them all with him off Coruscant after lord Kun had met with him after Leia trained that short time with him back in his palace, and just as she was getting used to that place too! The princess was worried for her father though. She didn't know if he was disobeying the Emperor or not or utilizing a loophole to take her Luke and the other two with him as he waged war, and he had hardly spoken the entire way to Bogden too.

Sure Leia thought he was probably busy with war plans and operational planning, but he was also worried, and she could sense it and see past his defenses a lot easier the more she was around him and the more she accepted the dark lord as her father, and it was something she was truly accepting and getting used to even liking it which had her surprised and even scared at times but there was no denying the truth as Luke wasn't. She hated him sometimes as a sister because he was so easily accepting of changes in a situation, and smiley about it too...it was infuriating!

"What do you think Starkiller is doing? I know father said he was the only one of us four who was suited for a battle, but what do you suppose he's doing?" Luke asked leaning in on the glass pane, and watching as a Victory-II escort for the Exactor passed nearby to the ship.

"He is planet side fighting against the traitorous Moffs my son, and he will do just fine." The three turned to see Vader walk into the room with his captain Piett flanking and behind him with his hands clasped behind his back as Vader joined his children at the viewport. Luke sent him a smile and greeted him, with Leia doing so with a small and subtle nod and he returned both greets with Shira kneeling and him ordering her to rise and return to her training.

"Why are you here father? I mean I don't mind that you're here and it's your ship and all but what I mean is-"
"Luke! Shut it you're babbling!" Leia ordered and the blonde boy shut his mouth quickly and grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck and Vader watched the two children interact with a small shake of his head and hidden grin behind his mask while Shira off to the side scoffed unheard at the desert farm boys actions.

"To answer your question Luke, I have come to merely check in on my students. Our departure from Imperial-Center was admittedly quick and rushed. However, lord Kun made a fine point while he was meeting with me following our session." Vader said more to Leia and she nodded as she also cats a glance to her curved saber and found herself smiling at the memory of hr father giving her the very fine weapon.

"He and his are fighting this war very aggressively in the Tapani sector and I have failed to give any of you save for Starkiller a taste of battle, and as much as some of you may not want to experience it, it will be a part of our lives for some time, and you will be in many battles. For this one though, Starkiller is front and center. Until I have the time I need to fully train and ready you three more appropriately for battle and war. Right now the Moffs have stationed forces on Bogden and several of the moons. Bogg two and four being among them. This battle will likely take some days to fully be finished as Moff defensive fortifications are stronger than expected and reports from Tapani report Kun's main adversary and that of his apprentice, a one general Morlin advised the local general by the name of Grier, on how to defend against normal Imperial offensive tactics and the defense is formidable and even admirable." Vader declared as he looked out of the viewport and internally reminded himself this whole war was a product of he and the actions of Kun. Nothing like that to make him feel like a damn hypocrite and he hated feeling like that!

"Viathan has to fight these types of battles all the time?"

"Viathan?" Vader reiterated when the name finally snapped in with the person. "Oh yes, the apprentice to Kun. Yes Leia, he fights against this general Morlin on a regular basis, but it may surprise you to know those two have a very deep and intricate history. Morlin was a personal teacher in war theory and application to Viathan, or Valek Zalliste as his birth name was. I swear Kun is asking for trouble by making those two fight one another."

"Why's that?" Leia asked with Luke looking up questioningly as well.

"Forcing an apprentice to fight a master, to put it in simple terms like this leads to mixed feelings and an unwillingness to commit yourself to their downfall. General Morlin may have been the one person before lord Kun who treated young Valek with any form of dignity and care. Making him try to destroy, uproot and kill the man on a daily basis must be hard and clouding the full judgment of the boy."

"Has he been messing up so far?" Leia again asked with a raised and inquisitive brow, and Vader inside his mask found his mouth opening and closing as he didn't really want to answer that as he knew if he did he would receive a retort.

"Not as of yet. In fact he has defeated general Morlin upon every battlefield."
"Then what's the problem?" Leia immediately threw back at Vader with accusatory eyes.

"It is nothing against your friend Leia, if that is what is going through your mind, but I am merely stating if Valek, or Viathan rather, is pushed into a confrontation with his old mentor and 'friend,' he may not act accordingly, and as a Sith under command of the Empire one must act in full accordance with orders given. Otherwise cohesion breaks down and our victory will take that much longer to attain." Vader very politician like retorted and Leia looked him up and down before forming a half frown on her face and nodded, returning to her looking out the viewport and under his mask Vader growled at his daughters defending a boy that she had not seen in over two months!

"Regardless, we will be stationed above Bogden for some days so I suggest you get as comfortable as possible. Captain!" Vader called and Piett came forward and bowed to Luke and Leia who turned to him. "You will arrange for my children, you Shira, and Starkiller when he returns to have the finest quarters adjacent to my own. I care not who is or is not pushed out from them, do you understand?"

"Completely my lord Vader, I will see to it at once. It is a pleasure to meet you both." Piett bowed again and Luke stepped forward with all that boyish spunk of his and extended his hand to shake it and Vader indulged his son and did not say anything while Piett eyed his lord questioningly only for the Sith to not do anything, so the officer to the younger boys hand.

"I'm Luke Sk...I mean Luke Vader! Nice to meet you captain Piett!" Luke grinned and sent his father an apologetic glance at nearly saying Skywalker but Vader only bowed his helmeted head to assure the boy everything was fine, as Piett again bowed his own head to Luke in a greeting manner as the blonde boy shook his hand very hard for a teenager.

"The pleasure is fully my own young Luke, and it is a pleasure to meet you as well princess Leia. Forgive me but I must say I always thought you resembled Bail Organa not a bit." Leia smiled faintly and a bit uncomfortably as she really didn't want to talk or think about Bail, and it was quite well known now that the young 'Imperial princess and daughter to lord Vader was stolen by the treasonous senator of Alderaan who played both the rebels and Empire for his own personal gain and amusement,' or so the propaganda now said about her adoptive father.

"Thank you captain. I am pleased to meet you as well." Leia greeted with a more politician bow her own and smiled back toward the captain it was a mix of sincere and insincerity, but she found the captain pleasant enough.

Sensing her discomfort Vader stepped in as Luke finally let the captains hand go. "Come captain, you have tasks needing done and I must return to the bridge. Until I report otherwise you three shall remain here understood?" All three assured him that he was understood and he nodded happily before making to and leaving the room with Piett again in tow.

"Man, to fight on a battlefield must be intense. What do you think Leia?" Luke asked when they were left alone and Leia shrugged and folded her arms.

"It likely is Luke. I don't think it's anything to be excited about. Death is death, and it is petty and useless in the end. Necessary perhaps at times, but the Moffs are nothing but power hungry and spiteful men, and maybe a few women too, but they are fighting a useless war. Yes they deserve to be stopped." Leia conceded to herself more than anyone else and Luke nodded but then brought a thoughtful hand to his chin.

"What about those rebels in the Outer-rim. The ones that were on Tatooine? That lady, uh...oh yeah, Kellia Nelrain what about her and the droids sis?" Luke asked and brought an odd smile to Leia's face at the 'sis,' part. She answered even as Shira snorted at the rebels mentioning from the other end of the room.

"I don't know a lot Luke but if you want to believe maybe half of what the government run media says then the URM is run by people that are so angry and so spiteful of the Empire and the Moffs that they have forsaken any sense of superior morality, for the desire for revenge and massacre. That Nelrain woman, she's likely insane. I only saw her for a moment on Tatooine when we were trying to get you, and she seemed half crazed even when she was just looking at father. The fact that Bail is working with a woman like that has me questioning him even more than I already was." Leia sighed and had a dull look in her eyes as her whole expression looked far away and thoughtful, and Luke dumbly nodded and allowed silence to take them again.

"Hey, Luke! Come on and train with me moisture boy!" Luke looked to Shira with a blush and grin.

"I lived on a moisture farm Shira! I am not a farmer myself...I never got the chance anyways." Shira shrugged and her green eyes sparkled excitedly as she picked up her simple red saber hilt, and Luke looked to Leia for her okay to go and she nudged toward her, and he jumped at the chance to go train with her and he pulled his own training saber out and the two of them got ready to duel. Leaving Leia to look out her viewport and watch as the battle above the world and the moons raged as it did on those floating orbs in the sea of similarly floating orbs that were also feeling the sting and burn of war. She was happy that Luke at least had a friend to go and take his mind off things, as he at times could fall into a mild depression as she could and did too. She sighed though and all thoughts of her boredom and loneliness left her mind. Even as the memories of Alderaan, Winter, and even Bail filled her mind, and she really despite it all just wanted to see her home again.

Leia Skywalker-Vader, was very much, in her mind at least, alone.

(General POV)

Within the Tion Cluster Admiral Thrawn was ready and so was his relatively new Rear-Admiral Parck was ready as well to push the URM out of their complacency in the sector. Their fleets were rebuilt, repaired, and reinforced and fully ready for the double offensive to be carried out to break the URM in the Tion section of the Tion-Cluster. From Kanaver in the Tion cluster along the Perlemian trade route Rear-Admiral Parck was going to take a fleet double his rank to attack the world of Desevro. The main hub for URM operations in that portion of the Tion-Cluster and aiding in local intelligence for the URM push through the neighboring Sertar and Nilgaard sectors. The URM was too bust and concerned with the Moffs surrounding them on all sides really to properly send reinforcements to the Tion-Cluster and the word through Intelligence from Coruscant was that the supreme commander, Nelrain may have ordered all cries for help from the cluster to be ignored in preference of devoting all military assets for commander Kast and his push through multiple sectors on his way into the Mid-Rim as the droid armies secured entire sectors after sectors.

As such Thrawn felt it was imperative to exploit the URM weakness now and while the window was open, as the Moffs continued to pull the rebels full attention away from him and Parck. Thrawn himself was going to take a fleet over seventy ships to attack the world blockaded and now acting as a refugee world for the URM, Rudrig after the Moffs had attacked and leveled the university and hundreds of students with it some weeks earlier.

The campaign began the same day when Parck and his force exited hyperspace to a URM fleet of fifty above Desevro with another twenty damaged from neighboring URM battles. They were mostly droid models and likely from the Kast attacks in the Sertar or Nilgaard sectors, but Parck did not care, for he ordered a full push assault, and all forward ships were attacked first and foremost. Communications wee blocked even at the loss of communication between Thrawn and Parck, and all damaged ships were made secondary targets as the Empire utilized Interdictors to block all enemy escapees from even attempting to try.

Thousands upon thousands of Imperial TIE bombers and Interceptors were utilized to hunt down and overpower escaping ships, most of which were trying to escape as Thrawn gave a kill all order, as he summarized that them "URM mostly manned by droids anyways are committing atrocities that I can say with clarity would make even the Moffs blush, and should be given no such acts of mercy by me or you admiral Parck."

As such Parck did as ordered and hunted down every ship attempting to leave the range of his gravity well generators. As his ships engaged the enemy capable ships which consisted of many Munificent and Recusant class ships, and one Lucrehulk that gave Parck hell above Desevro. Endless Vulture and Hyena class droid ships left its hangers in waves and pelted some of the weaker Imperial class ships like Tartan and Broadsides with bombs and normal cannon fire until the ships blew from damage. Luckily Thrawn had ordered EMP's and Seismic-charges to be added to the Imperial bombing arsenal. These new toys allowed for Parck to level entire fleets of bombers and fighters into dead weight floating in space and he tasked his and five other Stardestroyers to bombard the Lucrehulk on all sides until the kriffing behemoth of a ship exploded and took three Providence ships with it, and damaged a Victory-class cruiser of Parck's as well, but it was saved in the end.

Needless to say the space battle for Desevro ended in Imperial victory at a loss of fifteen ships and tens of thousands of men as such, but many reached escape pods and immediately returned to active duty in the fleet for the ground invasion of Desevro. Two-million men were landed planet side, and encountered a world with local Imperial defecting to the URM along with a droid planetary garrison of only four-hundred thousand B1 battle droids but many spider and dwarf spider droids which made the battle at Desevro last a week in total with six-hundred-thousand men on Parck's side dead when the droids were all wiped out and deactivated, with the enemy garrison surrendering and being placed in POW camps planet-side by Thrawn's command.

Meanwhile Thrawn and his fleet made for Rudrig the very same day as Parck did for Desevro. The UR fleet there was bulked up however to defend the vast amounts of civilian refugees however, and thus the enemy fleet was over a hundred ships strong with two entire Lucrehulks active and in command of thousands of droids and ships. Thrawn and his seventy strong fleet was vastly outnumbered. However the admiral was not to be outdone, or scared off, and ordered his bigger ships to stay in stationary lined formation behind his weaker corvettes and battle-cruisers, and battleships. The enemy instead of sending just a vast endless wave of fighter and bombers sent in the frigates and thus dozens of Munificent-class and fighter and bombers came in hoping to overwhelm the Imperial fleet. Thrawn utilized his vast reserves of TIE Interceptors which he like his contemporary Zaarin considered superior vessel to TIE fighters and even the pilots of these ships had far more 'daring,' personalities to them. The Interceptors met the enemy fighters head on and able to think on the spot they outmaneuvered the enemy two out of every three dogfights. TIE fighters were used to hunt down the bombers and leave the dog-fighting to the interceptors.

The Munificent ships were in for a nasty experience. They neared into the Imperial force when the Imperials then finally began moving the droid ships had entered into a close contact radius, and too close to effectively pull out and allowed Thrawn to encircle them, all thirty of them in a massive Stardestroyer encirclement and blow them all into slag. The general push was then made with Imperial-II class Stardestroyers taking the helm and attacking the Lucrehulks in bulk with Victory-classes acting as quick action support as Tartans committed 'fly-by's,' with the Broadsides using their missile batteries against the enemy fleet with significantly outdated and poor missile units of their own. The Lucrehulks were eventually pelted with missiles enough that the Imperial class ships only needed to gain higher elevation over them and bombard them into massive explosions, and both were destroyed after three days of Thrawn's campaign above the world. The rest of the enemy fleet was left in disarray and like Desevro unable to escape due to expertly placed Interdictors. The fleet was hunted down ship by ships and eliminated as the people on Rudrig fell into terror and chaos as the droid garrison was given order to fight until the last unit was destroyed, and there was two-million droid units on the world, and Thrawn sent down two and a half million to counter. The battles took place near to the refugee camps often with droids incapable of understanding that they needed to stay outside of the camps to protect civilians from enemy fire, and thus dozens of civilians were killed in crossfire caused by droid inability to comprehend how to not get a refugee camp involved.

Admiral Thrawn broadcast across the world a desire and willingness to ed the battle and offer asylum to all the refugees as Imperial refugees if they would but vacate battle zones and he assured them the droids would not fire on them after he achieved an understanding that the droids were programmed incapable of firing on the civilians on Rudrig. The civilians left in mass for non battle ravaged sectors of the world and the droids continued to protect unoccupied camps and allowed for the Empire to bomb them into slag with no civilian causalities mounting. By two weeks time all droid units were rooted out and destroyed and both Thrawn and Parck were hailed on Coruscant as heroes even with Thrawn being a Chiss. Suddenly alien stigma was not even in the vocabulary of some of the pundits on the capital.

Now as the Tion Hegemony section of the Tion-Cluster lost two major worlds in URM command the Empire gave Thrawn and Parck, now a Vice-Admiral himself, full support to take the rest of the Tion-Hegemony portion of the sector, and both me committed themselves to doing such.

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Authors Note: Woo! New writing record! Over 18,000 words! :D Anyways I really hope you guys like this chapter, and please as always point out or excuse any and all grammatical errors! Any and all questions, ideas and what not will be heard at the least and I thank you all for reading. Please REVIEW! ;D