Immediately after the takeover of Yuri and Li'eston

General Wesley Vos sat hunched over his desk. Datapads and flimsy sheets were spread everywhere. Holographic maps of the galaxy, specifically this sector, filled all available space. Printouts of defense fleets and ground forces were stacked nearby. Reports from other commanders had come in, indicating successful results on all fronts. It was in this state that Sephios found him.

"Sir, I have a message from Intelligence. Apparently Jabiim and Saleucami have both fallen to the Confederacy."

Wes looked up. "That quickly?" he asked. "I expected them to be bogged down there for months."

Sephios shook his head. "No, Sir, apparently the residents welcomed the Confederation."

Wes turned to one of the maps. "Hm. That frees up the Confederation fleet, and puts Corise right on our flank. We can't give him the opportunity to strike." Wes studied the area, then zoomed the map in on one area. "We need to strike here. Lu'thion. On a direct line between the Confederation planets, and right in his supply route. He'll have to defend it. Who do we have available?"

Sephios consulted his datapad. "No one, Sir. Commander Smith is concluding negotiations at Wakde, Commodore Zokalev is on Salotai preparing to jump to his next target, Captain Cassius is bogged down at Makin, and everyone here will be needed in the next operation. Should we delay Phase II?"

Wes shook his head. "If we delay, we lose our advantage. No, we have to bring in another fleet."

Sephios protested, "But that could take weeks! With the Onyxian Occupation Zone still giving us trouble, and the constant tension on the border of the Coalition, not to mention the recent revolts on a few Imperial worlds, freeing a fleet for this sort of mission could be difficult."

Wes thought for a moment. Then he smiled. "There is one option," he said. "Remember that young officer who came to us some time ago to apply for a position in the Imperial armed forces? If I'm correct, the Empire located him with a small fleet at Anzat. We could use him."

Sephios smiled. "It's perfect. He's not tied to us, so we won't have to give anything away. And he's got a large enough fleet to concern the Confederation."

"Send a message to Anzat," Wes concluded. "From: General Wesley Vos. To: Captain Jenai Derlaash. You are hereby ordered to move your fleet to Lu'thion and secure the planet in the name of the New Order and His Imperial Majesty Daemon Hyfe. Expect confrontation with the Contegorian Confederation."

As Sephios turned to leave, Wes muttered under his breath, "Now let's see how good he really is."

Eternal Class Advanced Star Destroyer Implacable, High orbit of Anzat.


Through the small viewing window the blue sun of this system was emerging from behind the planet of Anzat, many of its rays striking the small cracked ice moon of Anchee causing a riotous display of colours across the surface of Anzats northern most ice cap, which was even now advancing out of darkness. The Anzatian Dawn, seen from space, was widely held to be one of the most beautiful sights in the sector, and in more peaceful times attracted tourists from amongst the most affluent sectors of the galaxy. Derlaash however was too absorbed in approving fuel requisition forms to turn his head slightly and take in the sight. He reached out his hand almost unconsciously, feeling for a small ceramic container and took a cautious sip of its contents before frowning, looking intently at the cup, then across his desk at a time piece. Jenai returned to studying the cup but as the door slid open he quickly returned the offending liquid to its proper place.

“Sir, priority orders from HQ.” A junior officer strode confidently across the room, placed a transmission recording on the desk and saluted crisply as he turned to leave, glimpsing the astounding scene from the view port as he did so. After a few moments Derlaash looked up from the transmission recording at his sub-ordinate, who was frozen in half stride and in a pleasant conversational tone asked,

“Anything else, Lieutenant?” The lieutenant quickly came back to his senses and began stuttering,

“Err, No. No Sir,” before saluting again. Derlaash gestured towards the door slowly with an open hand and the hapless messenger hurried away. As he reached the door Derlaash's voice stopped him,

"Send the following reply, Orders received and understood."

The captain looked back at the message in his hand as the lieutenant left, re-reading it once and then again before leaning back as far as his chair would go and grinning broadly, almost laughing but the only sound he made was a deep satisfied sigh. Then, face perfectly composed again he leaned forward and in the same voice he might use to request any simple task began to speak,

“Commander Tabulinoon, please have all ship commanders and officers of regimental command or above report to the on board briefing room.”

“Yes Sir,” came the confirmation, Tabulinoon’s peculiar accent making him sound as ever like a man fighting back a yawn “At what time?” Derlaash affected some mild surprise in his reply,

“Why… immediately of course.” Their was a pause before Tabulinoon spoke again.

“Very Good, Sir.”

Derlaash left his office without further ceremony, exiting onto the command and control deck. From the manner in which the entire C&C crew were intently not looking at him it was obvious that both his unexpected summons and the news of orders from HQ had spread quickly. Their were certain assumptions that could be very safely made and a tension filled the air as Cmdr. Tabulinoon fell in behind Derlaash, exiting the C&C together, entering an elevator and standing side by side as it began its descent. A few moments passed, and Cmdr. Tabulinoon shifted slightly, then threw a glance at Jenai. Tabulinoon’s eyes went back to the level indicator, then back to Jenai. The commander grimaced, rocked back on his heels and began to speak,

“So then, Orders from HQ?”

“Hmmm?” answered Derlaash quizzically as if startled out of some deep reverie.

“Orders. From HQ?” repeated the Commander, almost leaning forward in his eagerness to glean some information from his notoriously close mouthed superior. Derlaash turned slightly towards Tabulinoon, looking mildly puzzled as he held his gaze for a handful of seconds,

“Yes.” he answered finally as the doors of the elevator hissed open. Derlaash left first, striding down the corridor. Cmdr. Tabulinoon paused as his Captain retreated, pursing his lips and shaking his head at Derlaash’s back, before leaping forward to exit the elevator as the doors began to close.

Derlaash entered the briefing room without slowing his pace and looked across at a technician seated by a console, with a downward motion of his hand he gestured for her to remain seating as she began to stand, gesturing at the various screens and displays that graced the wall. Promptly Jenai began issuing instructions to the technician.

“I want Lu'thion - geography and known troop positions on the situation table, Cosmography of the system on that screen and Intel on enemy formations in the area on that one. We‘ll have our order of battle over there.” Having pointed out where he wanted the various readouts Derlaash turned to the still blank situation table waiting for the map of Lu’thion to appear. When it promptly did he looked up at the technician for a moment, noting that all the other read outs were as he’d asked for also. Derlaash had expected to have to repeat himself at least once and maybe even spell Lu’thion. It wasn’t something Derlaash would have been able to do half an hour ago.

It took easily that amount of time again for all the various officers of the fleet and army to arrive, each one as he arrived looking eagerly at the displayed information, and almost as enthusiastically at the Captain stood in front of it, almost consciously willing Jenai to begin divulging information on their task. Derlaash withheld it until the room was crowded with the officers of his command.

“Gentlemen,” he began, “Before you is Lu’thion. An unaligned world. As you can see it is neither heavily populated nor heavily defended. Land masses make up approximately two thirds of its surface, their interiors are dry and largely desert or steppe land. In general these dry interiors are separated from the more habitable costal areas by mountainous ranges. These coastal areas are chiefly temperate forest except around the major centres of civilisation, were as one might expect there are large areas of cleared farmland. Almost all habitation is centred on this southern continent,” the shadow of Derlaash’s hand swept across the indicated land mass, “and so it is there that we will naturally concentrate our inital landings. Now, no doubt you are all wondering why I am showing you all this, as it would appear that a single frigate and a battalion or two could seize control of both system and planet in an afternoon. The answer lies in Lu’thion’s strategic location.” Derlaash paused and turned to face the screen momentarily, to hide the fact he was using his tongue to wet his lips. He should have arranged for some water. Poor planning… “Lu’thion is on the axis of advance of the latest Confederate attack. This will be a spoiling attack designed to return the initiative in this sector to Imperial forces. Intelligence tells us to expect heavy Confederation counter attacks soon after our arrival. We will therefore need to plan both a conquest and a defence of this system before we attempt either if our attack is to be successful.” Derlaash paused again as his eyes wandered across the crowd, finally pausing on a Naval officer

“Captain Rotgan. How long will it take to bring the fleet to extended combat readiness?” The officer he was addressing replied almost automatically,

“Were on 12 hour standby. I’ll start preparations immediately.” Derlaash nodded to himself, it had been the answer he expected.

“Have your 2IC do it - I’ll need you for operational planning.” Rotgan replied affirmatively and began whispering instructions to the officer next to him as Derlaash sought out the army commander, “Captain Waugh, I assume you can load all necessary equipment & troops in 12 hours?” Waugh inclined his head as he spoke,

“Yes Sir. Simply a matter of recalling those on planet side leave, oh and theirs a battalion of walkers performing exercises, I’ll need heavy lift capability to get them back on board in time.”

“Very Good. Tabulinoon will see to that.” Derlaash looked at the Commander who was standing near the door and who promptly left.

“Now to summarise, we will depart in 12 hours time for Lu’thion. I expect everyone to familiarise themselves with this information,” Derlaash’s gesture encompassed the whole room, “and ensure their ships and units are at full combat effectiveness in time for departure. Your specific objectives will be communicated to you before that departure time. Commanders of all arms will report to command and control immediately this briefing ends. Any Questions?”

Derlaash felt obligated to ask, even though he had no answers, this entire operation would have to put together very quickly. Amongst the officers their was a pause before a naval officer half raised his hand and began to speak,

“Sir - is this a Drill?” Derlaash fought back a bark of laughter. In the comparatively short time of his command he had already run several complicated and sudden exercises, convincing all his subordinates he took a strange pleasure in keeping them all in a state of near nervous exhaustion.

“No.” He replied, looking slowly from left to right at each officer in turn “No it is not.” Derlaash waited a few moments, but with no more questions forthcoming he announced “Very Well, briefing ends.” Derlaash left, followed by those he had ordered to meet him in C&C to plan the attack whilst the rest of the remaining officers edged forward to get a closer look at their target.

Modified Nebula-class Star Destroyer Trojan, in orbit via Saleucami

The bridge foyer doors opened to a shrill whistle. Out strode Captain Valeska, former gunnery instructor at the Abhean Academy. The dark-haired woman glanced around the bridge, noting half of the crew standing at attention, while the other half continued to carry out their daily work. She returned a quick salute to those assembled. They saluted back, and the bridge went back to work as usual. The Abhean woman stately strolled over to her command chair. So many officers get wrapped up into routine for routine’s sake or would have pomp and circumstance played on the bridge every time they entered. Others could care less if the lowest crewmate called them by their first name and never saluted. Both are wrong. Both are in the proverbial ditch rather than the middle. She leaned back into her chair, tapping a few buttons on her command console. A miniaturized holo-projector flared to life in front of her, showing the desert world and the orbiting ships. Valeska tapped several other buttons, singling out a single, cohesive group of ships, including her own Trojan.

“Captain?”

Valeska swiveled around. “Yes ensign?”

“The convoy is prepared to make the jump on your command.”

“Very good,” stated the woman, “have all ships do another pre-jump checklist just to make sure. When the last one has reported back in, we will make the jump.”

“Yes ma’am,” bowed the junior officer.

Valeska stood up and stretched. Her arms bent from the elbow inwards to outerwards as she let out a yawn. She rolled her shoulders several times and jauntily paced over to the multi-planed viewport of the Abhean built star destroyer. The white bow of the Confederation star destroyer jutted out into space like a dagger. All around her, like shards of glass, were the other ships of the Confederate convoy; most of which was composed of Styria-class Galleons carrying military supplies and vehicles for deployment to Jabiim and Handooine. There were, however, a smattering of other warships intermixed with the hybrid ships, from Juaire-class Gunships to another distinguished Nebula-class Star Destroyer: the Loire. The other star destroyer almost became the command ship for the mission, instead of the Trojan, except that Valeska’s helmsman was a native of Lu’thion who knew the space around the route better than most.

A voice rang out from the crewpit. “The last ship has reported in.”

Valeska spun on her heel. “Very good. Make the jump to our first stop: Lu'thion.”

The Trojan quickly accelerated forward with the rest of the fleet into the blue lines of hyperspace. Valeska stared at the viewport with the elongated stars flashing past them. Light from the stars continually reflected off her eyes as the Confederates began yet another superluminial travel. We will be there soon. Very soon…

A sickly green glow lit the four faces from below, giving their heads a strange disembodied look in the darkened C&C centre as they stared intently, seemingly mesmerised by the screen that was the source of the glow. Finally a hand came out of the surrounding darkness and one of the faces spoke.

“There. We occupy these hills to hold our right flank, the sea will protect our left. Theirs no road admittedly but its flat ground all the way to the spaceport and the city.” Derlaash nodded as he followed the progress of Captain Waugh’s finger, before he made a slight sound of approbation.

“Ahh, but what about this river here.”

“Walkers can ford that, no problem.” countered Waugh as Tabulinoon looked up resignedly,

“But that close to the sea its more a delta than a river.” Derlaash nodded in agreement, “That means marshy ground.” Waugh, the army commander lifted his head to the ceiling and muttered a few inaudible words. Looking back at the screen he resumed his study,

“Fine then. We swing north from the landing and then turn south back towards the city once we’ve crossed the river.”

“But if were going to do that then this LZ is closer, and there’s no river in our line of advance.” answered Tabulinoon making a series of slashing gestures across the screen to illustrate his point. Waugh almost growled in response,

“But its completely indefensible, nothing but open ground for miles around.” Tabulinoon was about to speak again when Derlaash held up his hand.

“It matters not Gentlemen. We already have two landing sites to the north and west of this city. So long as those forces move swiftly and achieve their set objectives we can dispense with this awkwardness.” Tabulinoon made a relieved sigh, whilst Waugh shook his head slowly.

“Well then, the fleets dispositions are arranged, the landing areas settled on and we have three separate contingency plans for defence. We now have…” Derlaash looked up at several glowing figures that seemed to be suspended somewhere above Captain Rotgan’s head, “five hours until departure.” Jenai’s voice tone changed from its usual calm monotone to a slightly more questioning pitch as he finished, as if he doubted what he was reading. Derlaash had been holding both edges of the illuminated table with his hands, almost as if he was trying to hold it down, then suddenly pushed himself away and looked at his senior officers, “Dismissed. I suggest you all get some rest. I certainly intend to.” Derlaash looked around and gave a sort of grimace that he imagined was a smile before leaving for his own quarters.

Once their, despite his words, he pulled his data pad from his belt and began going over the plans yet again. Unsurprisingly the entire fleet would jump as one into the Lu’thion system, directly above the systems main planet. Once it had been determined resistance was limited to what was expected then the 4 Druid class frigates would begin independent patrols, travelling above and below the plane of the epileptic to investigate the sensor shadows caused by the other celestial bodies in system, whilst the main body of the fleet, Eight star destroyers, a pair each of the Reign, Regent, Eternal and Aurora class and over 30 smaller frigates and gun ships took up position between Lu’thion and its single moon. The twin gravity wells of these bodies would hopefully prevent any sudden attack on the squadron from ships Hyperdriving in. Whilst this was happening the troops were to be deployed planet side. The amount of troops deployed was to be kept deliberately low, which had been the cause of much dispute in the planning stages - but as Derlaash had repeatedly pointed out, until planetary shield generators were set up, any troops on the surface would be at the mercy of the results of any orbital battle. If the Navy had to leave promptly a large scale improvised evacuation was the last thing they needed. With an exasperated snort and a shake of his head Derlaash placed the pad on a small undecorated metal table and laid out full length on his bunk.


Commander Tabulinoon was pacing up and down the length of the bridge, only vaguely aware that he was humming the theme of a popular holo-vid to himself. He was young for a commander, and still uncertain whether his rank was attributable to his father being a hideously rich space freight magnate with several friends n the upper echelons of navy high command, or the fact that Tiberius Tabulinoon was really rather a good officer. If their was one thing that Tiberius was certain of, it was that he was just as competent as any of his rivals, but more importantly possessed a spark of genius that so many of them lacked. But more importantly than that he was aware of his qualities and also their limits. Thus he knew that he was smarter, fitter, and dare he say it, better looking than most of the other Commanders in the imperial navy, but he was also empathic enough to avoid arrogance - he knew he was superior so did not have to flaunt it before his poor benighted inferiors. Thus he could correct others mistakes without trumpeting his superiority, chastise when necessary and forgive when expedient. He would, he knew, be a fine Captain and an exemplary leader of men. Unlike…

The elevator from C&C hissed open and Derlaash entered the bridge, and here was an example of the arrogance that infested the higher ranks. Without a word Derlaash moved straight to the console showing fleet dispositions, barely acknowledging the salutes that greeted his arrival, waving his hand around the side of his head in a gesture that might have been a salute or might have been fending off an annoying fly. The commander joined Derlaash at the console, one of them at each shoulder of a ensign who was trying desperately to appear as if he was standing at attention whilst actually sitting down.

“As you can see sir, all ships have reported ready for departure.” Derlaash, who had been studying the console for a few moments before Tabulinoon arrival nodded slightly.

“Army?” He asked,

“Sir?” said Tabulinoon, matching question with question. Tabulinoon found himself facing a pair of pale blue eyes as Derlaash turned to face him.

“All army units are loaded and prepared for combat deployment, Mr. Tabulinoon?” The commander shifted his feet slightly as he answered,

“Yes Sir, all is in preparation.” Without another word Derlaash turned and strode back to the centre of the bridge. Tabulinoon watched him walk back, his face carefully expressionless before turning to the ensign and clapping him on the shoulder, “Good work, Son.” The ensign, who was older than Tiberius and wasn’t actually certain what he had done nodded hurriedly,

“Ahh, Thank you, sir,” before he had even finished this strangled response however the commander was following the captain back across the floor of the bridge.

“Fleet will jump in 10 Cmdr. Tabulinoon.” Derlaash said after taking up his station. Tiberius nodded, and in a slightly louder voice began giving orders,

“Signal all ships, execute primary planned jump in 10. Engines to begin final preparations hyper drive engagement. Navigation, confirm heading and distance, Comms, keep me updated if anyone changes their status.” A chorus of agreement and affirmative answers greeted the Commander as he clasped his hands behind his back and began a silent countdown in his head.

*****

The Free Trader Grinning Moon, Standard Orbit of Lu’thion, completing unscheduled repairs.

“Yeah, that’s what they said - Ion emissions are 200% of safety limits, their sending an inspection team aboard.” The Bothan, only his lower half visible from below propulsion unit he was beneath cursed, and shouted a response to the voice that was coming from the cockpit.

“Have you tried telling them we’ve got a reactor leak?”

“Twice. They say their scans don’t confirm our diagnosis.” The Bothan yipped a few high pitched curses in his native tongue. Beneath the bulky piece of equipment a cloud of sparks flew out, and the Bothan’s legs disappeared beneath the menagerie of pipes and wires as his oil stained muzzle emerged,

“Tell them our coolants system’s gone - were going to blow and they should get clear!”

“What?” The voice echoing down the corridor had more than a note of incredulity in it, “If they can tell we don’t have a reactor leak they’ll know our coo…” Even in the engine room the sound of the alarms going off in the flight cabin was clear, “Wait a… oh hell, Dramizon you crazy fucker! What have you done? What have…”

The entirety of the Bothan slid out from beneath the engine, whilst the voice from the cabin had become more subdued, talking rapidly to an inaudible interrogator. Dramizon reflected with some satisfaction that his co-pilot sounded much more convincing now, before glancing at a dial whose needle was rapidly climbing into places it should never be.

Perhaps two minutes to fix the gorrack-spawned hyper drive before he had to plug the coolant system back in and those damned customs officials would be swarming all over them. Their weren’t many systems outside Hutt space were Jerruvian spice was legal, and Lu’thion wasn’t one of them. The amount the Grinning Moon was carrying Dramizon and Felix would be looking at three walls and some bars for an awful long time. The Bothan desperately attacked a panel with a high pitched slender tool, and after several almost blinding flashes of light tore its weakened structure away, desperate starting eyes trying to take in all of the chaotic jumble of wires and connections, before his hands darted out and swapped two of them, then leapt across the chaotic ruins of the engine room and pulled a semi-cylindrical cover off one of the propulsion shafts and staring at a perfectly formed silver ball beneath it. Dramizon cursed as the object of his attention refused to start spinning.

After a few moments of fervent prayer the Bothan smuggler reached in and nudged the sphere forwards on the axle that held it in place. Instantly the entire sphere leapt into life, electricity playing across its surface as it quickly sped up to a speed which made it hard to discern that its perfectly smooth surface was spinning at all. The Bothan leapt back, laughed in glee and then jumped in down in pain, holding the paw he had used to kick start the motor under his other arm, only vaguely aware his co-pilot was shouting back down to him again,

“Dramizon you stupid force-dammed dog, get that hyper drive going now. The Empires here!” As the words sorted themselves out in his pain addled mind the Bothan made a jump for the ladder that led to the cockpit and began hauling himself up it.

“How many?” he shouted as he clambered up into the cockpit and found himself looking at the side of a vast triangular vessel,

“All of them - that ones powering up a tractor beam - and a gravity well. Is the Hyper…”

Dramizon dived over his chair and slapped several buttons and levers desperately, listening desperately for the familiar whine of the hyper drive to begin.

“Gogogogo… he muttered under his breath, and then whooped in delight as the points of stars bent, twisted and snapped into lines and the Grinning Moon flung itself forwards into Hyper space, leaving behind it an Imperial battle squadron descending on the unsuspecting world of Lu’thion.

Nebula-class Star Destroyer Trojan, Confederation Convoy

Captain Valeska’s deep blue eyes swept over the recessed bridge of the star destroyer. The cyan haze of holo-projectors and flat screen monitors emanated from the pits below. From her command chair, the former gunnery instructor could not see the crewmen working below, but the soft chatter, some of it related to their work, some of it not, softly reverberated throughout the bridge, assuring the Abhean woman that her crew was still indeed there. She slightly fidgeted in her seat and continued to look at the latest reports of her beloved Trojan. While the ship had only been launched months ago, the dark-haired woman had been quick to take charge of the vessel and whip its crew into elite condition. Her driving, if somewhat exacting, leadership had brought the Trojan to Rear-Admiral Lucerne’s attention. Consequently, some of the Confederation navy’s most high profile missions had been based off the ship, such as the lead ship at the Eregion strike or the base ship for the Ter Abbes negotiations. Valeska loved those moments. And now we’re escorting a convoy. Nothing exciting here. Tedious and routine. She snorted. Perhaps the two things that should go to hell.

A voice from the crew pit confidently raised itself above the soft chatter. “Hyperspace reversion in one minute.”

Captain Valeska calmly nodded, grabbing a cup of caf from her command chair’s armrest. She took a sip of the hot drink, staring at the blue lines of hyperspace. The elongated lines quickly merged into the bright, diminutive dots of distant stars as the convoy entered realspace. As expected, Lu’thion and its single moon dominated the bridge’s viewport. Around the Confederate star destroyer, the other convoy ships reverted alongside the wedge-shaped warship. To the Trojan’s port, the Loire cruised parallel to the convoy’s command ship. Between the two star destroyers and directly above and below were a Cavalier-class Medium Cruiser; the Champion and Crusader, veterans of the Metalorn incident. These four ships formed the spear point of the Confederate convoy. Anchored at a backwards, swept 45 degree angle on either side of the spear point were eight Styria Galleons, the cargo craft of the convoy. At each Styria line endpoint was a pair of Juaire-class Heavy Gunships. In the center of this wedge-shaped formation was the Interdictor Mk II Constellation, a veteran of the Eregion campaign. The Lu’thion native helmsman had brought the fleet just outside of the twin gravity wells of Lu’thion and its moon.

Valeska breathed out a sigh of relief. The chair’s built-in consoles beeped. She frowned and tapped several buttons. What the frell? Frak. On the holo-grid of the space surrounding Lu’thion, Valeska could spot red blips indicating the presence of Imperial ships. The crew pits erupted into a din as the bridge crew noticed the presence of the Imperial intruders. As she spotted their movements, Valeska narrowed her eyebrows and clenched her jaw. Icily, she beckoned her second in command over.

“Put the convoy to battle stations, launch all starfighters except for the reserves, “stated the woman, swiveling in her command chair to face the general direction of the communication’s officer, “Inform Rear-Admiral Lucerne of this Imperial presence and begin transmitting a live sensor feed to him, and get me the Imperial commander and whatever passes as Lu’thion’s Prime Minister on the line now.”

“Ma’am,” questioned her XO, returning from the long-range communication’s station, “we don’t have enough strength to take on their fleet.”

“Don’t you think I realize that?!” snapped the former gunnery instructor, “You know, I have a slight idea of what I’m doing.”

Across the Confederation convoy, a horde of starfighters launched from their home ships. Four squadrons of fighters launched from the Trojan: a pair of aesthetic Deathsaber Multi-role starfighter squadrons and a pair of the powerful A3 Nemesis Assault Bombers. These starfighters glided around the star destroyer in a stealthy starfighter screen, just as the starfighters launched from other ships, whether they were Stormfires, Shadowcasters, or Piranhas, formed protective screens around their own vessels. Several flight pairs of Deathsabers from the Loire’s and Trojan’s squadrons soared beyond the Confederation fleet to form a CAP perimeter; a pre-caution against enemy vessels trying to slip in towards the Confederation fleet. With their fighters launched, Confederation vessels powered up their shields and weapon systems. If the Imperials attacked, the Confederation vessels would be ready.



Revanche, in orbit via Jabiim

The bulk of the Confederation Expeditionary Force orbited around the muddy planet. Silver Pegasus-class Star Destroyers and white Nebulas formed their majestic core of the large fleet while smaller vessels such as Seraphs and Cavaliers circled around them in deference to their compatriot’s size. Unmatched within the fleet, and at its central core was their flagship; the Revanche. The organic-looking starship was unique within the galaxy for being the only one of its kind. Its mere presence at any event immediately made it known that the Confederation was significantly interested in the said event’s outcome. Now though, in the Cold War with the Empire, the Revanche was overseeing the last of the entrenching efforts on one of the Confederation’s key fortress planets.

“Admiral!” shouted an officer from the battleship’s crew pit, “we have an urgent message and sensor feed from Captain Valeska at Lu’thion.”

Corise nodded and steadily marched over to his command chair. “Patch it through to my chair.”

“Aye sir.”

The blonde-haired man collapsed into his chair as his holo-projector flared to life in brilliant shades of blue. A visage of Lu’thion and its moon hovered over his lap. From the Trojan’s standpoint, the Kashan man could easily pick out the convoy craft. All appears well. He looked at the text message below on the flat screen. He frowned and began to pick out the Imperial craft. That size and magnitude. I’ve never seen a pair of Reigns even operate together, not even when the Imperials attacked Metalorn. And eight Venator Troop ships. It’s an invasion fleet of some sort. But Lu’thion wouldn’t be even capable of standing up to a single Reign on its own. No Imperial commander is that foolish to divert so many resources to a backwater world unless…unless he was expecting interference. Corise frowned, being not able to recall any significant industry or resources on Lu’thion to make it worthwhile. Then it hit him. It’s not about resources, it’s about position. They could try and cut off our supply route to these planets. We could devise a circulated route around Lu’thion, but it would be a pain, and there’s no question that it would be the start of increased Imperial interference with our own operations. His blue eyes looked up and down the data as the feed continued and revised itself as more data became available. The younger Lucerne slowly frowned and reclined deeper into his chair. He opened his mouth.

“Commander Fyre, prepare the Revanche and the emergency detachment to form up and move out immediately.”

Fyre nodded indifferently. “Destination?”

“Lu’thion.”

Modified Nebula-class Star Destroyer Trojan, Lu’thion system

Valeska stared out into the vastness of space. Space was beautiful. It was filled with brilliant, ethereal stars; with vibrant nebulas; with burning comets and meteors. Space was a marvelous place. And it was deadly. Humans, along with most species, couldn’t stand the cold vacuum of space for long. Starships were much like the medium which they traveled through. The Imperial and Confederate warships majestically floating around Lu’thion were marvels of engineering and beautiful in a powerful way. Unsurpisingly, with hulls covered in a host of weapons and starships and troopers crammed in their hull, they too were deadly. But the chance that they would kill someone was exceptionally larger than that of their medium.

“Ma’am?” reported her Executive Officer.

“We have Lu’thion’s president online, waiting for your response, he seemed a little bit concerned-”

“And the Imperials?”

“No word yet back from the Imperial commander,” reported Tanis, “perhaps he is reconsidering what kind of battle will occur if he or she tries to attack.”

Valeska nodded. “Perhaps, but we can only focus on the present. Patch the President through to my personal council.”

Tanis bowed and immediately paced over to relay the order to the communication’s officer. Valeska slowly strut back to her command chair, and sat down. Her holo-projector was still off. Tanis…She looked around to find Tanis, when the projector flared to life. It was the Lu’thion president.

He was an older, regal man with a solemn bearing. His formal suit seemed somewhat disheveled, and Valeska could spot the sweat stains coming from his armpit. His lip quivered for a second as he summoned the courage to speak up.

“I am President Roberts, of Lu’thion.”

Valeska solemnly nodded. “Captain Valeska of the CS Trojan. You’ve undoubtedly noticed that the Imperial fleet has arrived.”

The Lu’thion man aped Valeska’s last motion. “It is rather hard to miss. No doubt for some sort of invasion, unless you two planned to fight here. But it looks like a rather uneven match…”

“Just a little. Elements of the Confederation Expeditionary Force will be arriving shortly, sir, and then we shall see who is outmatched,” replied the woman confidentally.

“I hope so,” mused the man, “because otherwise the mutual agreement between the Confederation and my beloved Lu’thion would be for naught.”

“I am unfamiliar with it,” commented the Confederate officer, “could you tell me the gist of it?”

The man nodded. “Gladly. We agreed to allow Confederation safe passage through our system and use of our civilian facilities, for a price of course. In return, the Confederation agreed to help defend us against any threats…”

Which would make sense with how Lu’thion is part of the trade route. If there are threats to Lu’thion, then they would likely affect us. If they took Lu’thion, we’d have to rearrange our trade route, which would be annoying, but it could be circumvented. And if they attacked Lu’thion, that gives us little wonder if they’d bother to attack us, at least in most cases.

“…you have no idea how grateful we are that you showed up. Your force seems to have stalled the Imperial’s attack, if any. What did you do?”

“Nothing but arrive here,” replied the woman, “my XO believes he is probably discussing our presence with his superiors or is reconsidering his actions.”

“Do you believe him?”

She shook her head. “They are probably trying to alter their strategy with our presence. Which will soon be messed up anyways.”

“Why’s that?”

She glanced at her chrono. “Because in two minutes, the Expeditionary Force will be here. I imagine Rear-Admiral Lucerne or one of his subordinates will contact you then. Likely, troops will be sent to the ground to bolster your ground forces, and the ships…well, who knows what he will do about the ships.”

The President managed a nervous smile. “I see…”



Revanche-class Star Defender Revanche, Confederation Expeditionary Force

“Reverting…now.”

The elongated starlines broke as the Confederation battle fleet surged into realspace with the Revanche at the tip of its wedge. It was a formidable fleet, not only in size, but in quality. Some of the most experienced and veteran crews and warships were on station. The Pegasus and Audacieuse, both of them old flagships of Lucerne, trailed just behind the new flagship. Seraph and Steadfast were also present; both of them veterans of multiple battles, not only against criminal forces, but against Imperial ones several times. One of the Confederation’s Imperator Star Destroyers, the Emancipator, was also present, leading the starboard flank of the fleet. A variety of Confederation made warships fanned out to present their firepower profiles to the possibly hostile Imperials; Cavaliers, Juaires, Seraphs, Nebulas, Pegasus, and Interdictor Mk IIs. A small line of ships in the rear did not: the pair of Sinew Support Ships manufactured in the Kashan yards during the Confederation’s time with the Coalition. The communications codes were now old, so the Confederation’s Apollo Artificial Intelligence System had derived more complex codes for the Confederation’s use of the said vessels. The vessels emerged with their crews at battle stations. Some starfighters were launched, shields were raised, and weapons powered up. They were ready for the possibility of battle.

“Rear-Admiral sir?”

“Yes?” questioned Lucerne stoically.

“We’ve gotten through to 2nd Fleet. They are on full alert now and are gearing up for deployment in case of war.”

“What about the reserves we dropped off several minutes ago?”

“They’re at their positions, awaiting your orders,” reported another officer.

“Very good,” replied Lucerne, “signal the Emancipator and her escorts to do their special duty. Are the ground forces ready to deploy.”

“General Trutzig says that his men were ready a half-hour ago,” reported an officer, glancing up from the crew pit.

“Yes, very good then,” noted Lucerne, “Patch me through to Valeska and Lu’thion’s executive leader.”

“Yes sir.”

The dual holo-projectors on either arm of Lucerne’s chair flared to life. The two figures suddenly stopped their conversation and looked in Lucerne’s direction silently. He offered a polite smile.

“Captain Valeska, good to see you again,” greeted the Kashan officer, “and President Roberts; it has been a while I dare say.”

They both simultenously murmured back greetings of their own. Lucerne mentally sighed. They just had to talk at the same time so I haven’t got a clue what the said. Typical. Corise genially nodded at them.

“How far are you two in your conversation?” questioned the younger Lucerne.

“Not as far as I would like,” commented Roberts, “the good captain here has mentioned the possibility of your nation landing ground troops here to supplement our own. Is that possible?”

“It is,” replied Lucerne, “I was actually intending to request your permission to land them, along with a pre-fabricated building to help support them.”

“By all means,” stated the Lu’thion native excitedly, “by all means. It certainly could be a deterrent to the invaders.”

Invaders. The Imperials have certainly violated Lu’thion space, which makes them intruders. But they haven’t launched an invasion yet. Roberts seems to think that it is an inevitable eventuality at least. The Rear-Admiral nodded.

“We will do so,” replied Lucerne, turning around to face Commander Fyre, “give the ground troops their go ahead.”

“Yes sir.”

Lucerne turned back to face Roberts. “It is the Confederation’s wish that your planet retain its independence, and all the civic rights and duties that go with it. We wish to protect it, with your blessing, of course.”

“Of course.”

“To that end, may I request that my fleet have your permission to stage a geosynchrous orbit around your capital city? We would be able to stop those large troop transports from directly moving to take the capital. I’m sure that we would be a severe blow.”

“Of course.”

“Thank you,” replied Lucerne, silently gesturing his aide to move the fleet to its new position, “is there anything else that you would request.”

The Lu’thion native briefly hesitated. “Not that I can think of.”

“Then I have one more request for you and your cabinet,” stated Lucerne.

“Name it.”

“Scatter and go into hiding with some of your most trusted guards,” advised the Confederate, “one of their favorite opening moves is to seize the opposition’s leaders and use them as puppets. If you would like, I will arrange for some of our intelligence operatives to help protect yourself and your staff.”

“That would be appreciated.”

“It will be done…”

The Confederation fleet, slowly cruised forward, wary of the Imperial presence and interposed themselves between the Imperial fleet and the neutral planet. A flurry of dropships emerged from the Confederate warships under heavy fighter escort to make their way to the planet below. On the Confederate Imperator Mk I Star Destroyer Emancipator, a giant box-like structure the size of a corvette plunged from the hangar bay and began its controlled descent to the planet below, being accompanied a pair of older Assassin Corvettes, who provided physical cover for the pre-fabricated support structure. Confederate starfighter sentries switched, keeping an eye on the almost inactive Imperial fleet.