<blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>No deferring. No backtracking. No begging off. No reports of a ‘sudden occurrence’ of love for the Sovereignty. No!


They voted for independence. They voted for neutrality.


You didn’t honor it once.

Honor it now!


Or nothing that comes from the Sovereignty will be trusted again.


13 days…<hr></blockquote>

"Are you as disgusted by this as I am?" Commodore Wells asked, offering a brief glance at Admiral Me'Vere who was busy writing hastily on a piece of flimsiplast, more paperwork assigned to him by the rest of fleet command, the ever burdening chore of being a commander.

Ralen, behind his desk, simply shrugged, hardly paying attention to the Imperial HoloNet message that had been played on his Star Destroyer dozens of times. Wells had had a sickening feeling when it was first played - the kind one gets when watching the old holodramas about murderers, or the documentaries about people like Joruus C'Baoth or Alvas Murphy.

He had said that things never added up when the Empire made these reports, especially these high priority ones from Coruscant itself. The typical ones - the INS reports spewed from various stations across the galaxy and received almost hundreds of times a week - were just cause for Wells to roll his eyes, but these things were truly unnerving.

Perhaps because he honestly believed that the men saying these things believed what they were saying.

It was a sickening feeling really that left a hard press in the pit of his stomach.

"Sir..." Wells said again, his voice like that of a son looking for his father's reassurance, "we did good on Abregado didn't we?"

Ralen looked up from his flimsiplast, letting the top of the pen beat down against the paper a few times as he stared at his executive officer in thought. Of course we did...

He wondered how any one could have any doubts about such a thing given the circumstances they found and took Abregado in. The planet itself had been in relative chaos, the Empire's "assistance" plan being nothing more than stripping them down for supplies and leaving them to rot.

The people did not want to believe it at first - but when they had gotten a chance to observe for themselves in hindsight they began to see what had happened here. Abregado had been a sponge, nothing more than a quick attempt to liquidate some resources and set the Galactic Coalition back with some "neutrality pact" or whatever damn thing.

Admiral Me'Vere was not here to play diplomacy, he was here to defeat the Empire.

"Of course we did," Ralen finally said, putting the pen down and easing back into his seat. He crossed his arms over his chest and cast his long time friend an inquisitive glance. "Why would you ever doubt that?"

Wells gave up a brief sigh.

"Well, sir...it's just that...well every damn time we do something we hear 'oh look at how evil the ORS is' or 'the ORS destroys civilians'. I know it's not true...but..."

"You're getting tired of the Empire fighting with a pen rather than a sword," Ralen continued, feeling similar frustrations.

The Empire did not have the courage to admit politically that it could and would lose to the Sovereignty on many fronts. Therefore they belittled it wherever they could. The Imperial News Service had broadcasted so many false propaganda reports that their credibility - at least on Abregado - had begun to deplete.

The Empire lacked humility and modesty. Their ego was too god damn big.

Wells sat content in the fact that they had just popped a large portion of it.

"So what's Major Devell been saying?" he asked, changing the subject as he normally did when he was content with Ralen's responses.

He knew he probably should have been picking up transcripts of the interrogations, but he had just been so busy since the take over that he simply did not have the time to sit down and read such a lengthy piece.

But the fact that it was lengthy was a good thing. And Ralen had spared no expense.

"A little of this and a little of that..." Ralen started, "he seemed hard to crack at first, but given what we learned from that bunker he's starting to sing like a canary just as you predicted."

Wells grinned inwardly.

"I take it he doesn't like being denied by his government either then?" Wells asked, in reference to how the Imperial News Service had referenced him as a "construction manager". So much for the glory of Imperial positions eh?

Ralen had to wonder what Simon Kaine's job would suddenly turn into if they ever caught him.

He could see it now..."Simon Kaine was not in fact our grand marshall, but rather the dictator of medical resource to civilian foundations on Bastion!" Simon Kaine the DMRCF.

"No, he doesn't," Ralen responded with a slight laugh, "at first he didn't believe the HoloNets, but we let him watch that one for a little while and after what the doctors said was a mild version of an emotional break down - the feeling of betrayal and solitude - he began to talk with no problem."

"Anything resounding?"

"Well he gave us some interesting coordinates through the Deep Core - apparently he served on a Star Destroyer during his prime I guess - and he offered to help us with Imperial infantry movements..."

"Anything on Bastion, Csilla, fleet movements, or Theren Gevel?" Wells asked surprisingly, cutting the admiral off.

Ralen cocked an eyebrow at him.

"He was a major-governor of a moderately defended Imperial world controlling just garrisons and air forces...it seems the Empire kept him relatively blind to all else."

"Like they knew he was going to be captured," Wells added the thought that had occured to them both.

Ralen nodded. "Intelligence has had a ball with that one. They've been trying to enhance any feelings of doubt toward the Empire and assured him that ORS would be different."

"It's true...but will he buy it?"

"He should."

"And the rest of the prisoners?"

"They're en route to Endor and our secret worlds throughout the Unknown Regions...they haven't had a chance to be interrogated yet though."

Wells nodded and looked back at the constantly replaying clip of Simon Kaine, standing there, offering his ultimatum.

"They're going to come for us aren't they?" Wells asked quietly.

"Probably," Ralen admitted.

"Thirteen days..." Wells started, "the Empire wants us out in thirteen days...it's already been three."

"Don't listen to their propaganda, we're giving the people the freedom they never got under the Empire or the original Abregado government."

Wells just sighed and looked down.

He could not help but feel helpless in a galaxy ruled by madmen. A madman who's holofigure was staring him in the eye.

Ralen looked down at the medal in his hands, letting his fingers rub across the surface gently, gliding across the smooth metal. Leaning forward, he had his arms against the metallic railing as he looked at the thing. President Griff had sent a congressional envoy to award it to him, the "Military Medal of Service" it was called...given to those who brought about "great and meritous achievements on or about the face of battle".

What achivemenet had he brought? Abregado had fallen with minimal deaths to the Sovereign forces certainly, but still thousands of people laid dead after a swift and vicious battle. Though not as devastating as Bespin and Taloraan, it had certainly been perhaps the first major ground battle of the war.

There was so much else he could have done though. In hindsight there were so many errors he could have corrected, so many deaths he could have avoided.

And as though voicing his own thoughts mentally wasn't enough, that Grand Marshall Simon Kaine was spewing out exaggerated versions of them over the HoloNet.

Looking down at the medal in his grip he began to wonder if he really deserved it. He won a battle, big deal, this was war there were going to be many battles. Abregado was simply the opening to an entire new chapter of it all.

The sight of that man, his semi-transparent form gazing straight ahead as though piercing Ralen's soul, had sent a shiver down the admiral's spine. How many battles had he seen? How many victories? How many defeats that led to more victories?

He came to know when watching that transmission just exactly how Kaine had strangled control over the Imperial armed forces. It was his mere presence, just the sight of Simon Kaine emerging could probably cast awe and terror over a room, bridge, maybe even fleet.

But at what expense? What was the cost on that man's soul? Darth Vader, executor of the Empire and Dark Lord of the Sith, had had a similar presence before his death at Endor.

The cost on that man's soul had depleted him of it entirely.

Ralen shuddered at the thought of what ambition could do to him. What it had done to Palpatine, Isard and even Thrawn had been unimagineable.

Too many geniouses had succumbed to its allure.

Admiral Me'Vere hardly considered himself a genious - though he had been called that at times by others. What had he done in his life that could be considered masterful? He had spent most of it studying with the now MIA Garm Bel Iblis and later fighting forces in the Unknown Regions under the constantly changing governments.

He had met so many figures in his life, learned so many things.

Sometimes he had to sit down and take a look at it all, to question himself, to try to figure out if what he was doing with his life was what he wanted to do with it. He may not have been a genious in his eyes, but he knew what needed to be done, he knew how to do it, and the amount of information he could store in his head was untouchable by anyone else in the Sovereignty.

Was he doing the right thing with it?

As he looked up across the field from the base he stood in to see the Imperial symbol being pulled down off the government building and the Sovereign seal erected, he began to feel those doubts wash away again.

What he had done had cost over two hundred thousand people their lives.

What he had done had saved over a billion others'.

"Pedophile?" Egum echoed inquisitively, his brown face widening. Ralen and Wells simply shrugged in unison, both as taken back by the comment as the new prime minister. Egum put down his stack of durasheets, deciding this issue took precedence at the moment.

Ralen eased down into the chair across from the Sullustan and motioned for his XO to take the one next to him. WElls nodded and complied.

"Kaine knows the Empire lost the military fight," Ralen explained, "but he's not about to give up politically."

Egum nodded in agreement, leaning back into his chair. All day he'd labored over documents concerning the reconstruction, trying best to utilize the budget so that while it was effective, the money did not slip away too quickly.

While the Sovereignty's blasts were mild in comparison to that of what the Empire had been known for, the constant fighting had taken its toll, and with the Imperials unwilling to help rebuild after their own conquest that left a huge job on the Prime Minister's hands. By and large, the people of Abregado were not amused by that neglect.

"Who did he say the unfortunate child was?" he asked, having been too busy to watch the HoloNet himself.

"No one, he just said you were a erm...pedophile," said Ralen, obviously uncomfortable with the subject.

"I see, so obviously while he's this big tactical mastermind, he's an idiotic politician," Egum spat. "That's no matter, the people will see through such a blatant attempt at defacing my character, besdies...since it never happened...there's nothing to believe or disbelieve."

Ralen conceded with a sigh. This whole political thing was beyond him and he decided to simply give up on trying to follow it. Let them have their own battles, Ralen would fight his. It was politics that had torn up the Old Republic in the first place. Which put them in the situation they were in now.

"They're trying to soften their target," Wells commented to everyone's surprise. "Chances are they won't let us keep this victory, and after those thirteen days are up, they're going to strike at us as 'liberators'. In that case they are going to try to gain the moral high ground until they do so."

"Well do you have any suggestions Commodore?" Ralen asked, even though he knew where this was going.

"Well sir, most of the second fleet is set up here at the moment on alert status, and they know this, we're in spitting distance of Fondor, so they're going to come with something big if at all," Wells explained. "And we beat them once when it came to ground warfare, so they will bring in a competent ground commander and probably a helluva lot of armor."
Egum nodded. "Yes, a siege would ruin their moral stand piont, civilians can die by the thousands that way."

"We've been getting a lot of readings about movements concerning their Eclipse Star Destroyer, maybe they'll bring it here?" Wells stated more than asked, though wincing as he finished. Best not to mention these things for fear that they might actually come to fruition.

Ralen nodded slowly, offering a silent acceptance of that assessment.

"We need to prepare Abregado for anything then," he said. "If they come at us with their Eclipse, I want them repelled."

"Do you suppose it will come to ground combat Admiral?" Egum inquired worriedly. Ralen offered the Sullustan a glance.

"Let's certainly hope not."


<hr>


"Do you really believe they'll bring their Eclipse to Abregado?" Wells asked when they were finally clear of the Prime Minister's office. Ralen just walked on, eyes forward, completely silent for several moments.

Wells had seen him in these moments dozens of times. There were a million things going on in his head right now, millions of different pieces to the galaxy's most complex puzzle trying to be fit together in just a matter of minutes so that he could not only act on his mental discoveries but as a benefit to the people working under his command.

So for a portion of the long trip throughout the halls of the liberated government center, Wells simply left him to his thougts, admiring the man from afar per se.

Until finally, as they emerged onto the balcony where they could overlook most of the city - which was finally getting back to normal with mild traffic and lights turned back on - Ralen turned to Wells.

"It's a strong possibility. Kaine can't let us have Abregado," Ralen commented as he leaned forward against the cemented railing. "It's too much of a political hot potato."

Wells sighed, feeling a slight fear creep into his belly and attempt to rise throughout the whole of his body.

"Is there a way to stop an Eclipse though?" Wells lamented quietly, his voice barely coming out as a whisper.

An Eclipse was a power house designed for no other reason than to kill people. If they came with full force, there was no doubt that millions were going to die. Even if they forced the Empire back, they would lose too many, and so many women and children were...it was too much of a thought to bare at the current moment.

Ralen seemed rather calm with it however, simply having his hands clasped as he leaned over the balcony, watching the active city, his eyes perhaps glued on the dawning sun on the horizon. It sent a cascading purple twilight that intertwined masterfully with the sky, signifying the end of the fifth day.

Five days already had they been in control of the planet and the progress was remarkable. Ralen had literally had thousands of transports lying outside the system with replacement units in the instance that the battle had been harder fought than it really had been.

The admiral had expected the worst but got the best.

With so many engineers, volunteers, humanitarians, and replacement units and supplies waiting until the battle was over, the reconstruction was a piece of cake.

The people, though not entirely pro-Sovereign yet - something to be expected of people who had just seen a major battle five days before - were adapting to the transition nicely.

The Empire had never gave in a hand like this before. When they had taken the planet from Joren Arden and the Galactic Coalition they had attacked, plundered, and left, leaving a minimal garrison to keep order. No matter what the INS had to say, the faces of the people spoke volumes.

Suddenly an idea popped into Ralen's head and it showed on his face.