Tempest upheavals of gravel and dust flung unrelentingly into Xylon’s tender skin as he plodded onward hastily. Heaving beneath the reverberating waves of throbbing, he cared not to release sore hands from his face – much less glance forward. On and off the vicious current shot at his eyes with piercing accuracy, nearly seeming to posses a motive with every swipe. Physical sensation being little away from the visual, a scarlet membrane of cleaved flesh stuck loosely to the bone. As the shrapnel continued to tear, he could all but help to recollect his purpose of trekking across a turbulent Corellia.

It had began the night before, he remised. Yes that was it: a diplomatic dinner in the company of a cluster of Calamarian officials had dominated all meditation up to the hour of its start. The blend of nervous political sweat and glutinous Corellian cuisine still tingled his ruptured nose as he contemplated the specifics. Perturbed politicians occupied with their own words: oh, he couldn’t forget. Even he took to arbitrary paranoia as each minute dissipated quicker than the last. The shatter of lustrous chrome saucers upon marble flooring, sweat beading from the foreheads of attendants and guests alike, and the complete loss of nonchalant demeanors: enigmatic even given the circumstances. The whole purely dedicated to a handful of bureaucrats maintaining less power than their reputation: puzzling. Entirely vexed he was at twilight.

It had been following the post-dinner procession in where the furtive escapade took shape. Quite possibly it was he reciting a speech during the given fragment, however his fading memory forbade remembrance. Regardless to the figure erect behind the podium, a sharp blast incorporating numerous shrieks sounded haphazardly – instantaneously cutting the assembly’s original absorption. Cries of perplexity and sorrow trickled amongst every applicable object in the corridors rapidly thereafter. Conditions were no more jovial in the dining chamber, he recalled, especially in the stricken eyes of mystified Calamarians. An unknown terror already proved to be capable of spurring such extensive pain. The knowledge of a conspirator locked within the inner recesses frightened most following the initial craze, additionally.

In crossed a petrified Ensign with a hand stiffly pressed against a severed chest. He met startled eyes peering from beneath clasped hands, although wasted no time to realize the news radiated so widespread. Falling exasperated to a crimson puddle not far from the warped entrance, the few to dash to his aid firstly (including himself) received the twisted harmony of his final words.

"N-New…O-Order."

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> A disturbance in the Force....<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

Suddenly lightheaded, Leia Organa Solo paused from her work and reached out a hand to steady herself against her desk. The feeling soon passed, and was replaced by a deep sense of forboding... impending trouble?

Leia didn't know. She shook her head as if to clear it, then picked up her stylus and went back to work.


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> A battered and bloody man whose outline matched that of the familiar Xylon Ranthra stumbled up the steps of the main political building on Corellia, mumbling to himself. The figure was immediately intercepted by door security. The guards took the man into the main foyer of the building and then let him collapse, tired and in pain, to the smooth and cold marble floor. He said only one thing, and he said it over and over again. In fact, it wasn't a word but a name. This man wanted to see Leia.

The guards finally recognized through the man's filthy outer appearance that he was none other than Xylon, a very high superior to them, and a messenger was sent to fetch the Chief of State from her office at once.

But Xylon would not last long enough to set eyes upon whom he sought. Blackness was falling over his mind.

"...blown up.... N-New…O-Order...

The man collapsed to the floor, unconscious. A second messenger was sent to fetch a medical team as the first messenger returned with Leia.

Leia recognized Xylon instantly, she had known him a long time, and her attention snapped to the officer in charge of the watch.

"What happened here, to him?"

The officer shifted uncomfortably. "We do not know, Ma'am. He stumbled in asking for you, then just before he passed out he said 'blown up, N-New…O-Order'. And that is all."

Before Leia could reply, a guard who had been on break and coincidentally was watching the holovid ran out towards them.

"There was an attack, an explosion, the place where the meeting between the Fleet Commander and the Calamarians was hit!"
This guard stopped dead in his tracks and gaped when he saw the motionless body of Xylon on the floor.

"TNO did it" Leia snapped to the nearest person listening, and turned on her heel, in a sudden hurry.

"Call Han Skywalker in and get Xylon conscious again. This time TNO has gone too far. It's time to put an end to their reign of terror."

Leia stormed out of the foyer and dissapeared down the hallway leading back ot the executive w<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

*Han had kept his force presence masked, and appeared behind Leia.*

"You rang, madam?" Han spoke humorously to cut teh tension.*


"Seriously, what can i do to help? Tell me, and i will get to work."

Just what is this about anyway? What is happening? What haven't i been told?

*Han knew that even as the director of intelligence, he wasn't being told everything. He wondered what Leia wanted from him, what he could possibly do to help. He waited for Leia to tell him what to do.*

<!--EZCODE BOLD START--> Deep Space...<!--EZCODE BOLD END-->



The Imperial Star Destroyer <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Victory<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> settled against the speckled backdrop that was affectionately termed, "Zell's Backyard."


"Flights have resumed General." came the voice of Captain Chandler, interrupting Kaine's reverie as he stood to the side of the rather large bridge and watched the pinprick lights.

Soon, Simon saw the one manned TIE fighter pass by the massive capital ship and off to a designated target.

"Chandler, the problem with ground assaults is the necessity to provide air cover for the descending transports. It ties up the tracking system..ties up too many guns of the mothercraft."

"Would our troops could simply materialize onto a planet's surface." The Captain of the <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Victory<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> said wistfully.

The General raised an eyebrow. "Now THAT would be something. Imagine the logistical nightmare planning an assault entails that that would render obsolete."

"Perhaps Research and Developement should get a memo?"

Simon grunted at that and turned, "Tracking system on the TIE?"

"Overhead Sir."

"Marvelous machine...the Star Destroyer." he murmured.

The TIE's target was a aging, decommisioned freighter that had been captured early on during the Rebellion that crippled the mightly Galactic Empire. The vessel had been slated for scrapping when the War Commission agreed to allow Kaine use of their "relics"; for a price of course.

Ever since his rise to command the 256th battlegroup on the backwater planet of Sotel, he found himself among the world of politics.

He hated politics. It was the enemy of politics that forced, no demanded, that a certain Colonel Kaine destory a then <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> General<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->l Kaine, his father.

His father had sided with the rebels, early on simply a nusance. However, Imperial Law was specific, especially under the martial law of Palpatine and Simon's mother chose execution to regain <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> some<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> of the honor of their family name, now smeared by treason as Simon's father left to rally the inferior forces of the Rebel Alliance.

Simon was accepted into the Academy but was instantly ostracized by those who knew of his family shame. With each taunt, with every pain he endured, he vowed more than ever to "win".

Partly as a joke, during the end of the war, before Endor, he was sent to the planet of Sotel..more as a bargaining chip to be used by the Imperial Garrison Commander for you see, Kaine's father led the rebel forces on that world.

However, the Imperial Commander was an incompetent and was quickly dispatched violently by an officiate during the last official visit of Palpatine's hegemony.

Simon was promoted to Colonel and, along with Captain Chandler and Colonel's Quinn and Sveli, the tide turned and his father's army was smashed.

Sotel was to remain a part of the Empire and the 256th return to Coruscant for the glory and recognition that was rightly theirs. Simon Kaine would right the wrong his father had wrought to their family. The name of Kaine would once more hold honor.

..and then Endor.



"Time to target, one minute." the officer in charge of tracking called.

"You have a planet that is firing on your high position in orbit from the surface...and you have whatever naval units they have in space also firing on you."

"Which is why the Destroyer or whatever troop mothership you use is accompanied by support craft."


"So now we attack planets with fleets instead of ...." Simon suddenly turned to his Captain. "Remember when the Imperial Star Destroyer would set people in awe? Remember when the mere presence of <!--EZCODE BOLD START--> one<!--EZCODE BOLD END--> of these ships struck terror and intimidation into those who would otherwise cause unrest?"

Chandler's smile turned grim. "The price the Empire faces with it's fracturing after the Rebellion. The Imperial Navy was sliced and diced with battlegroup commanders turning warlord trying to carve their own "empire" in the manner of Palpatine."

"Only they did not have Palpatine's genius. For all that's said about him, Captain, one cannot deny that he <!--EZCODE BOLD START--> did<!--EZCODE BOLD END--> unite the Galaxy under one rule. Something imminently more preferrable than the splinter groups that make up the galactic map nowadays. I truly wonder if this was the goal envisioned by the rebels years ago?"



"30 seconds.."


Simon watched the monitor (as the TIE had since gone out of visual range) as the fighter approached the aged freighter on a tight vector when the freighter suddenly opened fire.

The automation control was directed from the <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Victory's<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> bridge as the (also computer driven) TIE moved closer, each blast missing the small fighter narrowly.

Suddenly, at a certain preplanned point, as if struck by an invisible blast, the TIE's two solar panels detached, the inertia propelling the spherical center that would normally house the pilot forward (inside the fireing arc of the freighter's weapons).

The pod struck with surprising force as the explosion knocked the freighter off course as it ruptured the hull, decompressing immediately.

The opposing gun ports fell silent and the freighter began to drift, an enormous gaping hole showing itself to the galaxy at large.

"Vessel, out of commission." reported one of the bridge members.

"It worked," Chandler grinned.

"For a ship that size, not shielded or heavily armed." Simon came back with but then he too grinned. "Still, it's a start."

"Next time we arm the TIE drones with a stronger bomb."

"If we can eliminate the need for support craft in Star Destroyer operations, then more military units will be on hand to either increase defense, patrol the growing New Order's boundaries, or assist where they are really needed."

"Perhaps..."

"Signal...coming in, Sir. Encrypted. Commander, 256th, eye's only." called out the Signal Officer.

The General walked over to the communication station and the Captain watched his face darken.

"What is it?" he inquired.


"Ciscero. Something's happened on Corellia."


Chandler needed no more.


<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> The New Republic! The result of their bitter Civil War. Two planets to call their own. Their grand finale in a devastating conflict. If the message was from Ciscero, then something major was going on. A new plot to once more draw them into conflict?<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->


"Helm, prepare to come about.."

Darkness falling....

Gash was startled out of his sleep to see two words dance in his head: "New Order". He must have dosed off again, in his quarters... he'd decided against journeying out on Naboo this night, as he'd heard of some sort of public diplomatic event. So this eve he'd stayed in his quarters within the Jedi base.

But not now.

Standing quickly, and rushing out the door, Gash reached out in the force toward the origin of the 'warning'... Xylon Hexyra.

Xylon......

Leia turned to look Han in the eye.

"Last night Xylon was out to a diplomatic dinner, as you may recall. TNO got them. There were detonators in the place, and they went off. Xylon managed to get here on foot somehow through the night, and showed up on the front steps this morning. He is in the med ward and we will see him soon. But right now he isn't even conscious.

TNO has gone too far this time. Xylon was one of few that survived the attack. We can't ignore these attacks any longer, they are growing in size as they progress."

Leia clenched her fists, forced herself to relax.

"I move we take serious military action to vanquish the threat caused by the people who are doing this. In a roundabout way of putting it....


War."

"Do we have the capabilities to defeat them? of this, with our military commander in the hospital, i am not sure. What is to be our course of action?"


Leia, you've got to be crazy! going up against TNO? we aren't nearly ready!

*Han kept his thoughts to himself, but he jsut couldn't understand his cousin.*


"Alright. Just tell me what to do, where to go, or whatever, and i will do it."


even if i do think weare nuts for doing this Han added, silently, only in his thoughts.

Reguardless of Han's mental blocks, Leia still picked up on his train of thought through his body language and a trained eye.

"You think I am off my rocker?"

She smirked.

"Maybe so. All I know is that we need to mobilize our forces, reguardless of whether we decide to attack or not. We've been lazy lately... vulnerable. Tell whatever task force is on leave in orbit up there to start recalling their hands and tightening up for a possible cruise."

Leia had to shuffle through a stack of papers, then selected one and read it silently for a moment. She looked staisfied as she confirmed it was the correct paper, then handed it to Han.

"Also tell the Echos they're going up to rendezvous with the task force, I want them up there. I suppose you'll be wanting to join them?"

*Han grinned,then took a serious look*

"Are you sure you don't want me on the ground, Counsellor? My position is up to you."


Flying witha squad again, with me as Mace McClain's wingman, dreams like this never come true.

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Falynn shut off the communicatins device and smiled. He had just been given orders to bring the 2nd Division of Sentinel Fleet, to Garqi. With General Kaine onboard the <!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->Victory<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> somewhere, Falynn was in command of the division, hopefully it would stay that way for a while.

Falynn quickly left his quarters and headed for the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer <!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->Lorric<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> .

He casually walked on to the bridge. Upon his arrival, a bridge officer snapped to attention and shouted, the usual phrase that Falynn was used to hearing now. When hearing that, the whole bridge crew came to atention.

<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->"At ease."

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> Murmured Falynn. Those who heard what he had said, went back to their duties, and those who didn't, eventually worked it out.

The bridge was quite crowded, and it took Falynn a moment to find the captain of the ship. He seemed to be discussing something with the communications officer.

"Well..."

thought Falynn,

"...their conversation will just have to wait a moment."

<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->"Communications. Open a channel to the fleet."

"Aye sir. Channel open."

"We have been given orders to leave for Garqi immediately. Set a course, and prepare to jump into hyperspace on my mark."

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> He looked towards the helm officer who nodded and said.<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->

"Course laid in sir."

"Ready. 3...2...1...mark!"

<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> The ship lurched, the stars turned to starlines, and then the <!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->Lorric<!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> and the restof the fleet, jumped into hyperspace, their destination was the Imperial stronghold of Garqi.<!--EZCODE ITALIC END-->