ISD Firestorm, Kalist VI Orbit

The dagger shaped vessel emerged from hyperspace over the mountainous world. Sitting just a few hundred kilometers from the ship was the abandoned station that once belonged to the self proclaimed 'Lord High Admiral'. To Gilad Pellaeon, however, Blitzer Harrsk had been the same as the rest of the Imperial warlords. Power hungry, selfish, and arrogant.

It had been weeks since the station had last been occupied. All of Harrsk's forces had been united by Admiral Daala, and were now part of the larger Empire in the Outer Rim. But Pellaeon knew there were still secrets left to find in the Deep Core, and that is why he had returned.

The fortresses of Superior General Delvardus and High Admiral Teradoc had already been swept by Pellaeon, and he had found nothing. But that did not mean there was nothing left to find. From the bridge of the Firestorm, Pellaeon watched as the two Lambda-class shuttles departed from the hangar in the belly of the Star Destroyer. Aboard them were teams of data analysts, and their jobs were to download as much data from Harrsk's data banks as possible. If Pellaeon's hunch was right, they would discover something secret to all but the dead warlord.

"Shuttles have docked, sir," Captain Kent Aglab said from the portside crew pit.

With a nod Pellaeon said. "Move the Firestorm into a shallow orbit over the planet. Just above the atmosphere. Let her drift." The engines of the Star Destroyer lit up, and it began to move in closer to the planet. The station was now just a few dozen kilometers away, and the immense weaponry clustered about its hull were on full display. Massive turbolaser batteries lined the outer hull, while smaller laser cannons were clustered near key structures.

"Our crews are inside," a communications officer reported. "Early reports indicate this database is larger than any other warlord so far."

"Good, make sure they know to download everything," Pellaeon ordered.
"Yes sir." Pellaeon knew Harrsk would be his best shot at success. The Zero Command, as Harrsk called it, had been the most powerful of the Deep Core warlord factions. Sure, Teradoc's Greater Maldrood and Delvardus's Eriadu Authority had once stretched into the larger galaxy, but both of them were left with just a fraction of what they had once held. Harrsk had been in the Deep Core from the beginning. He may have had strongholds in places unknown to most in the galaxy. Those were the ones Pellaeon wanted to find. Those were the ones where Harrsk's secrets would be found.

"Sir, Lieutenant Gash would like to speak with you. He says he's found something," Aglab said, approaching Pellaeon. The admiral nodded, walking past the captain and into the

communications room. There, a hologram of Lieutenant Gash was projected on the holotable.

"Vice Admiral," Gash said. "I have some exciting news to report."

"I'm all ears, Lieutenant."

"It looks like Harrsk held multiple secret shipyards near galactic center. One of them, called Deep 3, appears to have been the site of some secret operation. Something Harrsk had been working on for years. Something called 'Operation Overpower'," Gash explained.

"Operation Overpower," Pellaeon said thoughtfully. "Any idea what that could be?" Gash shook his head.

"Not yet, but hopefully there is more data here. We should be finished downloading shortly, and then we will return to the Firestorm."

"Very good, keep me updated Lieutenant." Gash nodded, and his transmission faded away. Pellaeeon looked to the communications officer sitting behind a data screen on the side of the room. "Alert me when they return." The officer nodded, and Pellaeon walked out of the room, heading for the turbolift at the end of the hall. The pair of stormtroopers standing guard outside saluted the senior admiral, and opened the turbolift for him. He stepped inside, pressing the key for the turbolift to take him to the office deck.

The lift engaged, speeding down the bridge superstructure. When the lift opened, two naval troopers were standing just in front. They quickly stood at attention, saluting Pellaeon as he briskly walked past them. His personal office was at the end of the hall, marked by a pair of jet black blast doors. Pellaeon placed his finger on the scanner just outside the doors, waiting for them to open. After reading his fingerprint, the doors opened, and Pellaen walked inside, the doors closing behind him.

As he approached his desk, he noticed that his datapad had received a message. Curious, he picked it up, opening the unread message. "Admiral Daala…" Pellaeon murmured to himself. He began reading the message.

Gilad,

I'm sorry I could not lead effectively. I know I have placed quite the burden upon you with my absence. I figured I would write this message to give you some words of advice for dealing with Moff Council, and the greater Empire.

The Moff's only care about themselves. While they may not be warlords in name, they act just like them. They claim to care about the longevity of the Empire, but I assure you, they do not. Nevertheless, pleasing them may be the only way to keep the Empire from fracturing once more. They will force you to do things you may disagree with, and give you assignments you do not like. As much as I hate to say it, you must listen to them. With time, you can hopefully win them over, but from the beginning they will treat you like an outsider. Your former relationship with Thrawn will not give you any help with them.

That being said, I know that you will be a great leader for the Empire. Much greater than myself. I trust in your ability to lead the Empire, and believe that the Rebels will finally be defeated under your leadership. If you should ever need me, don't hesitate to call.

Sincerely, Natasi Daala

Pellaeon set the datapad down. He sat down at his desk, thinking about the information Daala included in her letter. Pellaeon had already spoken with the moffs, and his initial impressions of them were the same as Daala's. What he did wonder was where Daala was hiding out, and why she didn't stay with the Empire. Their last interaction with each other had been very brief, and Pellaeon had barely had time to protest against Daala's resignation. Nevertheless, he had taken up Daala's role, as she took a shuttle from the Firestorm's hangar and jumped to hyperspace. She never told him where she planned to go.

An alert on his comlink caught his eye. He lifted the device to his mouth, pressing the button to answer the call. "Pellaeon here."

"Sir, our analyst teams are returning," the officer on the other end reported.

"Tell them to meet me on the bridge."

The team of analysts marched onto the bridge of the Firestorm. In the front of the group was Lieutenant Gash, who carried with him a large datapad, containing the information downloaded from Harrsks databank. Pellaeon watched them approach, smiling at Gash.

"Lieutenant, I hope you have brought me good information," the vice admiral said. Gash nodded.

"I have, if you will please follow me." Gash led Pellaeon into the communications room, where he plugged his datapad into the large holotable in the center of the room. A large hologram of a shipyard appeared on the table. Gash pointed at the hologram. "This is Deep 3," he said. He zoomed the image out, showing its location on a map of the Deep Core. He pointed to a planet on the outside of the map. "We are here, at Kalist VI," he pointed to an area of space near the center of the map. "This is where Deep 3 is located, near a neutron star. The area is rich with energy, and that star likely powered Harrsk's entire operation, and was the reason he was able to produce so much here."

"What did he produce?" Gash smirked.

"We found schematics for two Star Dreadnoughts, called the Dominion and the Megador. According to the databank, they began construction at Deep 3 three years ago. We believe that they should both be completed by now."

Pellaeon's heart jumped. Two Star Dreadnoughts! I knew there was something to find. He calmed himself down, letting the excitement drain from his face. "Are you certain?" He asked.

"Absolutely," Gash affirmed.

With a smile on his face Pellaeon nodded. "Good work, Lieutenant. Upload the coordinates to this shipyard to the ships navicomputer. I will order the crew to prepare for departure." Gash saluted, and Pellaeon turned around, entering the bridge. "I want the ship ready to depart within one hour. Coordinates for our next destination will be inputted into the navicomputers shortly. Make sure the jump is precise, we will be near a neutron star." He got a series of affirmations from the bridge crew, and Pellaeeon walked towards the viewport. Staring out upon Harrsk's station, he knew that his efforts were finally going to be worth