Bridge of the Retribution, close orbit, Corellia.



"This Patton fellow? He served at Corellia?"

Around the table sat 4 men of varying stature and power. The governor of Corellia who had just spoken sat at its head, thoughtful look across his face. To his left sat Fleet Admiral Mesler, Darkswords 'second' admiral after Danetta Pitta, currently serving at Tatooine.

"Indeed, with Commodore Gevel. He played his part well."

Lupercus snorted, the name Gevel brought about not only memories of a rebel in their midst, but also the knowledge that this man knew more than he should about the 'upstanding' governor of Corellia.

More trouble than he was worth...

"Which means he will be more than accepting of any of your sorcery, not that he'll know it."

Mentally the Hapan shook his head as Admiral Bakuul alluded to his skills as mere scorcery. Admiral Bakuul was untried in a major fleet engagement but had worked his way to the Siths inner cadre. He was confident, but also had the right amount of fear in his heart whenever he spoke to his patron.

The Sith was about to rebuke the newly initiated admiral when his intercom chirped gently. His secretary's voice sounded through quickly, and happily.

"Commander Beowulf has arrived."

Grinning at the prospect of his shroud CO arriving so promptly Lupercus ordered him in. The massive bull of a man entered quickly, greeting first the governor then his close friend Achilles Markov.

Lupercus was still amazed at the friendship the Shroud Command and Attack Sphere Captain had forged. Once the greetings were over with Commander Beowulf continued.

"This Patton, why are we bringing him into this? A Conclave captain has no real need to be in this fleet."

The sith shot him a minor glance which showed the man that it had happened on nothing more than his own desire for it to be so. He tapped his intercom to signal his secretary again.

"Send for Patton now. And Silus. We have planning to do."

The reply of 'yessir' was matched by a sparkling vision as a holo of Khomm shot up between the group.

"Now Vance, i want your wolfpack covering here, here and..."



Bridge of the VCD Retribution, Khomm.



Darkswords eyes were closed as the fleet flew through hyperspace at massive speeds. He had more important things on his mind.

And in his mind lay the wills of every man in the fleet, from the rawest stormtrooper cadet up to that of his inner cadre. All were in his control.

And soon too, would be Khomm.

Distantly he heard a lieutenant shout 'reversion, sheilds and weapons to full'. That signalled for him to begin. The fighters started launching and the fleet was rallied into its fighter, skirmish and battle lines. At the back of the fleet he sensed his SCSC perform a massive scan of the system, instantly relaying target data to the rest of the fleet.

And now it begins.



(OOC: Fleet manifest

4 Venerator Class CDs
1 Corellia Class Star Defender
2 Alliegance Class SDs
2 Archangel Class SDs
3 Reign Class SDs
2 Torpedo Spheres
2 Imperator III Class SDs
1 Imperator II Class SD
3 Imperator Class SDs
1 Attack Class Carrier Sphere
2 Eternal Class Advanced SDs
1 SATAP
5 Illustrious Class FACs
17 Fire Class Light Frigates
22 Shroud Class ACs
6 DP20 Corellian Gunships
1 Surveyor Class Scout Cruiser


168 TIE Defenders
660 TIE Devils
660 SASs


Performed full system scan and discover the location and composition of all fleet/spacebourne defences, hence please post them marth.

Bridge of the Retribution.



"Surveyor scans reveal no ships in system sir. No mines have been detected. Any planetary defences remain offline and thus undetected."


Fleet Admiral Mesler didn't move in acknowledgement. He appeared paused in thought as he watched the continuously updated holocom images the floated before him. Nothing stood between the Imperials and the massive planet that was Khomm.

"Launch assault shuttles and landing barges towards the planet. Continue the full advance."

Elsewhere in the ship he could sense his master, Governor Darksword, watching him. Somehow the flag officer knew that Lupercus was sitting quietly knees bent inside one of the shuttles, willing him on.

Mentally shrugging, he could not help be find himself dwelling on thoughts of his master. It didn't even register in his mind about the 'wrongness' of the entire 'master' statement. But to Mesler it appeared entirely natural. In fact, calling Darksword anything else was what would have seemed entirely wrong.

In Admiral Meslers normal vision he could see landing barges and assault shuttles begin to flow from the heat of his ships. Smiling that his master would be pleased, he began nodding to himself.

War Room, deep inside the VCD Retribution.



"General Montague? The first drop ships have begun to breach the planets atmosphere."

The man upon whose shoulders rested a number of stars simply nodded. He never thought that he'd have to command the first stages of an assault from the bowels of a Venerator, but much had changed since he was a lieutenant.

He didn't speak immediately, but when the heavy set general did, it was with a thick accent and each letter was sounded out specifically in every word he spoke.

"Bring the Surveyor towards the planet to begin full satelite scans. Also have it release 80% of its probe droid complement as well as place as many imaging satelites in orbit of the planet."

As he spoke numerous sections of communications officers began relaying the orders to the relevant subordinates. As an afterthought he added.

"Once basic targeting information is discovered relay the information to the Corruptor's task force. Admiral Bakuul will begin bombardments as necessary.

And have our fighters begin landing zone suppression operations. I want the drops to go without a hitch."

Even as he finished he could already see the half-dozen odd Star Destroyers advancing, frigates moving in support, towards the relevant orbital bombardment positions they had been assigned.

In the skies of Khomm hundreds of fighters could be seen from any point on the planet descending like ravenous locusts upon the areas identified in the last Khommite assault as being of strategic or tactical value to the defenders. And in the wake of those brash assaults came dozens of landing craft, varying in size from a few TIE Commandos and TIE Shuttles landing Sith, Dark Troopers and specialised assault troopers to massive landing barges who disgorged all manner of assault vehicles to add punch to the initial wave.

And as the infantry started streaming out, securing their LZ's and advancing to forward positions, the more clandestine weapons in the arsenal of the Diktat began relaying key targetting information to the Star Destroyer squadron that now lay on the key orbital positions from which the entire planet could, if necessary, be systematically razed.

The Imperial return to Khomm had begun in earnest.

Aboard the Retribution, Khomm

"So we're to reclaim Khomm in the glory of the Empire, then? Well, it should be interesting."

Silus smiled, falling into line behind his master.

Indeed it has.


Aboard Shuttle, Entering Atmosphere over Khomm

Silus rested his hands behind his head, a feat of itself inside the cramped shuttle.

"So, are we to shout something glorifying the New Order, or just kill the nearest that we run into?"

He knew the answer. At his side, he could feel his lightsaber's weight, placed alongside some items that Silus found...helpful. He smiled at the idea of using them.

Silus found the abscense of enemy ships an annoyance. He only hoped that they found better defences on the planet itself.

Aboard the LY-3000 Luxury Yacht, Tequila Sunrise.


Refusing to travel like the common soldier Governor Darksword now sat with his knees crossed on one of the most extensively modified luxury yachts in the galaxy. Its plush interior was almost entirely hidden though, by the dozen odd sith who lounged around, their banter ranging from vile to strategic in nature.

The group was a mix of some of Xa Fels finist students, brought to Khomm specifically to gain battle experiance. But for the first time the nature of their experience wasn't simply to use and enhance their sith skills, but rather to learn the strategims inherent in the use of their abilities in a real battle.

Not wanting his apprentice to miss out on the opportunity, Lupercus ensured he had been brought.

Now they sat next to each other, Master in a deep trance, Apprentice fiddling idly with his weapons, both eager to landing and remind the troops of the Sovereignty what they were truly fighting.

Of course, the news networks would never draw the proper links that would reveal to the galaxy what the Sovereignty was really fighting, INS and the Empire would see to that.

"So, are we to shout something glorifying the New Order, or just kill the nearest that we run into?"

Cloak across his face, Darksword could only faintly hear his apprentice's comment, although it was undoubtedly sarcastic. Straining with the effort that the mind meld had placed on him, the Sith Lord still managed a grin.

"Preferably both my Apprentice.

Although if you wish to try to kill sovereignty troops with rhetoric, you are more than welcome.

Of course, i'm sure you'd much more enjoy getting your hands dirty."

In Lupercus's mind the entire fleet moved with precission, Torpedo Spheres moving into bombardment positions with ease, idling to a stop the moment he thought it should.

Suddenly behind the Sith Lord the landing gear disengaged, the cloaked ship's descent slowing noticeably. They were landing.

"Are you ready Silus?"

"Wonderful, then. You know me too well." Silus said, mirroring his masters grin.

His eyes strayed to the other Sith, all eager for what was to come next. He had no doubt that Outer-Rim troops would remember what they were up against after this day. Silus smiled, it was time that they truly learned fear.

Any moment now...Silus thought to himself as the ship slowed down. He didn't need the force to know that ships were moving into bombardment positions.

"Are you ready Silus?"

"Am I never?" He said as the ship touched ground.

Suddenly, a huge message rode across all frequencies.

"We request that the Imperial Fleet accept a cease-fire and surrender from the people of Khomm. We have no true defences and no real centers of resistance. This is the governor speaking, and we hope you accept our surrender as a sign of peace.

"I repeat, we are standing down, we surrender. Please, do not harm the people of Khomm."

The frequency then went quiet.

The governor could only pray they would listen. It was hopeless to try and defend this world, resistance in general was insane. He called across the planet, making sure all soldiers were standing down and all defences were deactivated, but perhaps more importantly that all cameras were running, and that everything was being recorded. He wanted to make sure that if any mass-murder was going to take place, that someone was going to see, and someone would here about it.

"Am I never?"

Lupercus smiled at his apprentices reply, but did not continue the conversation. Something else had caught his eye. There was excitement amongst the fleets crew, something strange had happened. It took the Sith only a second to realise that the Sovereignty had surrendered. Mentally he tried to recall the message from the minds of his men.

"We request that the Imperial Fleet accept a cease-fire and surrender from the people of Khomm. We have no true defences and no real centers of resistance. This is the governor speaking, and we hope you accept our surrender as a sign of peace.

"I repeat, we are standing down, we surrender. Please, do not harm the people of Khomm."

Smiling even more now, Lupercus turned to his apprentice.

"Well, it looks like you've missed the opportunity.

The governor just surrendered."

Rising to his feet the Governor made his way to the cockpit. As he arrived he ordered the pilots to take off and head for Khomms capital, as well as for the radio to be given to him.

Immediately he replied.

"This is the Governor of Corellia. Your unconditional surrender is accepted and troops are already landing on planet to ensure the security of Imperial assets on planet. All aspects of the planet are to be opened to Imperial garrison forces, including the cloning vats and all information regarding Sovereignty planetary bodies.

I will be arriving at your palace soon to begin the formalities."

Silus' smile faded into a frown, "Well, of all the nerve. I'm rather upset now." He said, looking sadly at his weapons at his side. He pulled his cloak around him, hiding them away.

His arm went out to steady himself as the craft lifted off from the ground. More premature then it should have been, Silus noted to himself, but a victory was a victory. He continued to the cockpit, leaning back with his arms crossed.

"They better have a good welcome for this all this trouble," the apprentice said once the master had finished his transmission. Silus didn't bother to hide the disappointment on his face.

"Maybe there's a few Sovereignty fanatics who'd rather die instead of surrender. Give me something to do," Silus thought out loud. He never liked politics, though he was certain Lupercus could manage any discussions after they landed.

(OOC: I've got an idea, catch me on AIM.)