Chapter 5 - Humble Beginnings
In the days following the arrival of Harry's adopted father, both Harry and Sirius made themselves extremely busy with some impromptu training in what Sirius called 'Combat Magic'. As interesting as Harry found the theory behind it all, he simply did not have the time to learn everything whilst also preparing for the tournament. His adopted father had left the planet the same night he had arrived so as to begin preparing resources for Harry to begin his efforts at integrating Earth into the Empire internally.

Sirius had lived up to the joke he regularly used in regards to his name, teaching Harry what most people in the Wizarding world would regard as questionable spells at the very least. He had been apprehensive about showing them to Harry at first, however conceded his Godson's point when Harry pointed out that he actively served in a military and used lethal weaponry every day. So far he had taught him some of the more well known and basic defensive curses and hexes, however he included a dark cutting curse for the sake of having something more 'aggressive' for his spell repertoire.

With the Task only a month away, they knew they had to truly put their all into each lesson. In what little free time Harry did have, he spent the time studying about the politics of the Wizarding world and some of the history. When Sirius had asked why he was so intrigued by what he called the 'boring stuff' Harry simply stated that it would be easier to ingratiate himself with the other nobility if he knew about the various customs and learned the etiquette, something that Sirius grimaced at yet agreed with completely. He hadn't quite forgotten his own mothers attempts at grooming him to be the Lord of House Black during his early years.

It had now been a week since his adopted father had left and they were now preparing Black Manor for Cornelius' return, with wards being erected all over the property to hide whoever and whatever came down from orbit and rooms in the manor itself being prepared for any visitors they may receive. Sirius himself looked rather nervous at the expected arrival, but could not help but smile at the look on Harry's face at the prospect of Cornelius returning. He felt a pang in his heart, regretting not being able to be there for Harry all these years, however he was simply glad he had been cared for and loved.

It was a foggy Monday morning when the Vice Admirals shuttle returned, landing on the grounds of the manor on the grass, not far from where Harry and Sirius waited. They trudged across the dew-covered grass towards the shuttle before the ramp lowered itself, revealing Cornelius in his full officer garb, flanked by Stormtroopers, the same as before. Harry saluted, before stepping forward to embrace the man he called father in a tight and meaningful hug. The older man smiled at his 'son' brightly.
"It's so good to see you again, and looking so well!" He commented, eliciting a smile from both Harry and Sirius. "I see you have been taking good care of him, Lord Black."
Sirius waved a dismissive hand. "Please, call me Sirius. After everything you have done for Harry, I consider us family."

The Vice Admiral beamed. "Then I insist you call me Cornelius." Turning from Sirius to Harry, his expression changed into something of a grimace. "I've managed to secure you some resources to get operations here started, however it will be a slow start… I have time for one more trip back to Corulag, where I am to take over the defence. When our forces retreated back to the Orinda line, the 24th Army was left trapped and have now stationed themselves on the planet's surface, much to my relief… However, as you can imagine, we will not be able to hold out indefinitely. A few months perhaps? A year at best…"

The aged man gave a sigh before smiling once more upon seeing Harry's distraught expression. "On the bright side, let's go over what I've managed to procure. I had to do a lot of sweet talking with the Commander of the 24th Army to part with a few bits and pieces, but the rest of it I managed to get a hold of using our own House resources and influence." He hands Harry a datapad to see for himself.

The young Captain hummed as he read through the list. It definitely wasn't much, but it was enough to get started. However he would seriously need to focus on recruiting, otherwise all of their efforts would be for naught. 5 E-Web Blaster Cannons, 100 E-10 Blaster Rifles, 20 E-11 Blaster Rifles and ammunition to go with them, a full squadron of TIE/LN Starfighters, two Imperial Transport shuttles, the schematics and resources to produce more weapons and ships when the facilities were ready, 20 Stormtroopers, 30 Logistics personnel, 20 officers from various branches of the Imperial Administration and a single Arquitens-Class Light Cruiser that remained in orbit.

Harry looked up, a frown on his face. "How will we hide everything in orbit or generally around the system?" He received a wink in return.

"The cruiser I have brought with me is a specially modified model that was designed to infiltrate and hack into whatever systems are needed. So long as it remains in the system and they do their job right, the satellites around the planet will never pick up a thing. From what I remember from the last time I was here, Sirius mentioned warding for more 'on the ground' privacy, such as it were… I suggest you put those wards into effect heavily, especially with shuttles coming to and from orbit."
Both Sirius and Harry listened with their full attention, taking in the details and grimacing at the scale of the logistics of the operation. Sirius' eyes bulged when Harry mentioned a base being constructed on the surface of the moon. However he could see a glaring issue with all of these plans that threatened to make all of their efforts pointless.

He cleared his throat, catching both Harry's and the Vice Admiral's attention. "How in Merlin's name are we ever going to recruit enough people to your cause? Next to nobody on this planet is aware of life in the wider galaxy, and that goes for both worlds. The magical world especially will be defiant whilst Dumbledore remains in power with the ICW and Wizengamot."

Cornelius hummed in thought before replying. "The only realistic answer would be for us to reroute all of the recruits from the worlds already cut off by the New Republic… Usually most people joining the Imperial armed forces are sent to training facilities mostly in the core worlds, however with the Empire having retreated from most of the Core worlds… we can take advantage of this planet's relative obscurity and have the recruit transports sent here instead. The recruits would still be joining the Empire as they wished, and we would gain the troops needed." Sirius thought about it, attempting to process what he had been told and trying to remember the different terms, such as core worlds and the like, before inclining his head in agreement.

Harry himself piped up, his tone business-like. "I imagine we shall gain some support from some Wizarding families once I make myself more known on the political stage… we shall have to play our cards closer to our chests than we usually would and elicit oaths from those who truly wish to join us."
Sirius nodded in agreement before biting his lip in concern. "I hate to admit it, but your best chances at alliances would be with the conservative families… but you will need to be careful. A good portion of them served Voldemort before his fall, and most likely hate you as a result… but so long as we are careful, it should be fine. Normally I would suggest aligning House Potter with the Neutrals however they simply do not have the power or money to compete with the likes of the Conservatives… the Liberals would never agree to even half of your plans, trust me on that one." He sighed, thinking it over slightly before continuing.

"As much as I detest it, House Black is still in theory aligned with the Conservatives, so it might make things easier if I introduce you to the families at the next Wizengamot meeting, where you can declare your intent and position."
Harry nodded along, taking it all in. He knew little of Wizarding politics, but he knew what he needed; money and power. He would have a lot of studying to do before the next meeting, that much was certain.

AUTHORS NOTE:
Hey guys! First of all, I apologise for my long absence. Between the kids, finding a full time job and everything else going on in my life, writing fanfiction has been quite low on my list of priorities. This is quite a short chapter as it's taking me some time getting back into the swing of things, but I wanted to let you all know that I am still alive and the story is still going!
As you can probably see, I have decided to align Harry with the Darker families. Nearly every story I have read aligns him with the Neutrals, so I wanted to do something different. Besides, this Harry isn't exactly a "good guy" he is an officer of the Imperial Army and is a complete believer in the 'New Order'.