An envoy of the Coalition (Who had hereforth been unnoticed and near the back) decided to speak up, feeling that Fraktusk was far too interested in his meal to be listening to the significance of what was being said.

"Now see here" he said "I'm all in favour of agreement and peace and all that, but a lot of the Coalitions' member states can be found on the Outer-Rim! I'm sure we won't mind if you stick to territories that have interest in joining your, ah, respective Empires, but its' rather not that agreeable to lay a blanket claim to the region.

"And if we're making deals about trading and accidents, then we should definetly be involved. But any talk of subjugating people gets us quite fairly jumpy."

"The words of the General and mine are a little more, hmmm, harsh than what you are probably used to. We don't usually use force unless first attacked, or if we encounter the like of villany and scum such as pirates, smugglers, and terroists." stated Park Kraken. "Now, if we are finished for the moment, we can finish conducing negotiations. Right now, we have plenty of food on the table, of which is rapidly going cold. After we finish dinner, I have something arranged which should prove to be most nice to our esteemed guests." said Kraken.

With that, he looked at the selection before him, and selected a slice of freshly grated and spiced traladon steak, and added some mashed dotatoes with a generous helping of crown gravy to go along with it. Topping it off with a nice glass of red dry wine, he began to feast, but unlike the gungans of the coalition, he was acutley aware of his manners while he conducted the chewing up and swallowing of his scrumptious meal.

"Hyperspacial Terminus, Captain." came the report as the Imperial Star Destroyer Victory and it's escorts exited hyperspace and began scanning the area.

"Looks like Vladet has company," Farius, Ibren Chandler's Executive Officer, heard his own temporary second commenting.

"So it would seem." the rather tall Exec commented, eyes thoughtful. "Admiral Kraken is playing host. It would behoove us to contact our arrival in system. Standard approach, helm and deploy all active scans."

He turned and grinned to the young Lieutenant and his helm crew, "Admiral Chandler would be beside himself if we hit any of Admiral Kraken's guest ships."

The Victory entered orbit.




*



Admiral Chandler watched the man-turned-machine outline his proposal and he stifled the beginnings of a smirk.

The table laid before for everyone in attendance was bedazzling. Kraken outdid himself here, he thought.

He turned to the Coalition representative seated to his right, and as the Vice Admiral was having someone add a very generous portion of crown gravy on his dish, and started.

"Sir, your observation was very interesting and has quite a bit of merit to the discussions, I feel."

As the Coalition representative warily looked at the Admiral, perhaps from the shock of even being directly addressed, Chandler clarified. "You mentioned that 'its rather not that agreeable to lay a blanket claim to the region.' And it seems like the Dragon Empire concurs as they are wanting to move into areas where our respective governments have dominating interests.

But, as I am sure you will agree, if this view of not laying a blanket claim to an entire region is supported by yourselves as it is (obviously) by the Dragons, there is one question I must propose out of curiosity.

You must see the great benefit of trade relations that our great powers are moving towards and if expansion and trade is to be supported, I know that it will be supported both ways."

The Coalition representative looked at Chandler and the Admiral was not sure if the ambassador understood or not. He took a sip of the wine that Kraken's servants had brought and his eyes narrowed as he asked his question.

"How soon do you think Coalition settlers would move to begin colonizing parts of the Tion Cluster?"

As the Coalition ambassador stared at him, Chandler began to pick up a knife and cut the main dish into smaller pieces. He turned and grinned, "What? Did you think that the Dragons would come asking to expand outward from their Cluster and give nothing back in return?"

He took a bite and began to chew slowly, the spices exciting his tongue as he began to decide whether he liked the dish or not. After he had finished chewing he commented, "We would be idiots not to jump at the chance to charter to explore and, for certain, there is more than enough room in the Cluster."

He briefly wondered how the Dragons liked their meal.

<b>
*Maximum gravitational density reached*

///Decelerate///

///Prepare for entry to Normal Space///
</b>

The swirl of interstellar gases cought up in its gravity made for a spectacular sight when the wormhole became visable. Its' swirl mix of light and shadow created a wonder of shades against the backdrop of space, a tangle of intermingling arms created by its release of traveled gases and assorted materials hurled through it at the moment of its creation.

From within came a shimmering bathe of light as the first of many more Imperium ships shot forth, first of which was the impressive form of the alien Arbiter vessel, of which none would mistake. Then like a shot of lightning screamed a flight of Ghouls and Banshees, flying in such a formation to almost seem dramaticaly impressive in appearance. As they sprawled out behind the already impressive Tion formation, a slow and steady march of ships began pouring from the opening from no where.

<b>*Begin safe communications transfer and uplink*

...
..
.

///Initiate Husk Growth on Lead Tion Vessel///
</b>

A long puase ensued in the deadness of space, no ships emerged from the swirling wormhole, yet the Arbiter stayed. The tiny vessel sat in the entrance holding open the doorway, for something yet to come. Meanwhile, aboard the Tion-class Star destroyer that had launched Grevious himself, a mysterious figure was taking control of the ship. Not with force, or power of control, but with faith and faith alone. As the crew of the main bridge bowed their heads and averted their eyes in awe of the spectacle in front of them, his form appeared solid before them as he manipulated sensor controls and area wide scans.

<b>*Area Secure*</b>

<center>
<img src="http://www.west.net/~brandonm/3D_Images_Star_Trek_Home/Star_Trek__Images/Voyager-TimeShip.gif">
</center>

The last vessel to come through the massive hole in space barely looked as though it would fit through. Its fluid form and glowing symbolism made it a very specific ship in the arsenal of his holiest. Amongst the ships of the Tion line, subspace chatter immediatly cut through the silence, before suddenly coming to an immediate halt as a single message overode all of them, a message not one vessel would even try to overcome.

"In the name of the Universal Daemun Church..."

<center>_________________________________</center>

An aide swiftly walked down the halls leading to the chamber room itself, defering directly to the one refered to as "The General," he moved silently to his side as to whisper to him the news of what was happening in orbit. As he spoke, he spoke with wonderment and joyfullness, yet keeping his voice down as to not travel beyond his side of the table. Bowing quickly to the commander of the Tion cluster, he exited and returned to his post.

The past

...... will be the largest concentration of warships over a planet since the recent war; estimated between 35 to 75 main line warships and dozens of escorts and smaller vessels. However the fact that they can assemble peacable shows how much the galaxies three most powerful governments are committed to peacful coexsistance. Perhaps real strides can be made toward a lasting, long awaited peace. The summit...

Brutus Nogoth tossed the datapad onto his desk, a disgusted look on his face. He opened a drawer, removed a com-link, and pressed transmit. After a brief conversation he put the com-link away and picked the datapad back up.

.... at this juncture. Topics to be discussed include intergalactic trade, strategic peace intiatives, and coordination of governmental stategies. Vladet itself is recieving a makeover in prepration for the pro...

A knock on Brutus's door interrupted his proceedings. Hilter Afdol stood in the doorway. Brutus tossed his master staregist the datapad, which Hilter defly caught. He stared at him, allowing him to skim the report.

"That was taken from an independent news affiliate."

Hilter continued reading, but acknowledged with a grunt.

"I'd expect as much from INS- but not from an independent group! You know what 'coordination of government startegies means'- they're splitting up the galaxy and parcelin out which peices each governments gets to annex! Then when one of them feels like they're big enough they'll start another insane war!"

Hilter looked up, and nodded. Brutus continued.

"I am not going to let them sit around some world, drink tea, and carve up the galaxy like its a nerf!"

Hilter smiled.

"Well- you know what happens at family gatherings: the smallest spark can create quite a feud."

Brutus looked at Hilter, thinking about the connotation of what was just said. In his mind a decision had to be made, neither alternative of which he liked. However, divided was easier to fight than united.

His nod to Hilter gave his permission for the master strategist to continue.

"Here's what we're going to do...."

Present
Vladet Space

The area around Vladet was a traffic controller's nightmare. Ships of every shape and size were milling about, shuttles were moving at a constant pace as the navies of the different sides gave tours and lectures and showed off their equipment. A massive wormhole had just recently opened, as more ships from the Black Dragon Empire arrived to further complicate matters. Ships were moving, performing manuevers- and most high ranking officals were involved in discussions, summits and the other fanfare of fleet week.

All this meant that few took notice when a lone MC-90 dropped uncermoniously out of hyperspace, giving off a GC transponder code. THe ship made its way slowly, casually among the other ships. Nonchalantly multiple smaller vessels launched from its cavernous bays, but the ship kept manuevering into the thick of the maurading fleets...

Admiral Vaako smiled-- a tight, wolfish smile-- as he again looked around the dining chambers as he savored the bite of his meal. The Imperial Admiral named Chandler was indeed a man with words that challenged the debate among the idle chatter, and Vaako enjoyed this. He glanced toward the High Regent and Anre simply smirked. <I>How coy</I>, he thought.

"As you may not have known," Vaako interrupted, "the people of the Tion Cluster are highly private and do not take well to outsiders from other systems." A servant poured another glass of Aldarian wine and he took it onto his hand. "I think the issue of having outside factions settling inside the Tion Cluster would be <I>unnerving</i> to some." He took a sip. "I suggest that possibly establishing trade routes <I>first</I> inside the Tion Cluster would possibly ease the xenophobia, but that would be up to our higher authority in our Imperium. Our esteemed Heir Raktus will have final word on this."

"As far as giving something back in return should these negotiations are successful," High Regent Anre said, taking back the conversation, his quietly modulated voice cutting through the air and waving a hand in a small and precisely measured motion. "I am sure something can be arranged, possibly settling in the vicinity of the Centrality. I'm sorry to say, but I think the Tion Cluster would like to keep to themselves for the time being, and as far as the Fafalen... well... they are non-conformist as far as these measures are concerned."

General Grevious sat motionless, his pale cloak and mask glinting in the dim light, his mechanical skin looking cool and subdued and very alien on his otherwise biped frame. He was to motion a comment when an aide approached and whispered something in his audioreceptor, then bowed away returning to his post.

Admiral Vaako licked his lips, suddenly unsure of what was said to the General.

For a moment, General Grevious was silent. "Gentleman," he said in a cool mechanically-filtered voice, raising one metal-clawed hand. "Our esteemed leader of the Black Dragon Empire, Heir Raktus, has arrived upon orbit..."

At the same time two officers of his came walking up to the table at a hurried pace, both with datapads in their hands. The first one whispered to him and confirmed what General Grevious has stated about their leader the glorious Heir Raktus arriving within system. The second man however had much more interesting news. Several standard minutes ago, a Mon Calamari cruiser arrived within system. That wouldn't have been cause for alarm except for two things. First, despite the transponder code that it gave off identifying it as a Galatic Coalition vessel, the exhaust signature didn't match up with any known Galatic Coalition ships in the databanks. Still, considering how many Mon Calamari type MC-90 cruisers the Coalition has, it could just be one they haven't seen before, but still, why take any risks? Admiral Kraken whispered back in his ear that he wanted Commodore Braxus to take care of the matter. With a nod, the two officers moved away from the table, and back torwards the war room. The other reason for suspicion was the vessel's behaviour. Several launches had been detected from the vessel in orbit. It had moved into the thick of the warfleets, so identifying what had been launched had been all but impossible. That may have been reason enough to assume that the GC leader Admiral Dodonna had arrived, and that ships were deploying into a honor guard formation, but the vessels had fanned out instead of staying near the cruiser.

Admiral Kraken smiled at his guests, and announced, "Indeed, as the General has stated, Heir Raktus has arrived in orbit, and will be joining us shortly, it appears. And, it appears that the Admiral Dodonna may be joining us shortly as well, as an MC-90 cruiser has also dropped out of hyperspace, and joined the fleets." stated Kraken.

Meanwhile, in the war room, Commodore Braxus watched the developments with interest. He ordered the planetery defenses into standby mode. What, with so many ships here from different goverments, and the terroist organizations on the loose, he should have thought of this earlier. Someone may attempt to pull a "Bothawui" on them. Braxus shuddered at the thought. But all they could do right now is sit back and watch..........

"War. What is it good for?"

Zeratul shook his head. Philosophical questions annoyed him, and when such an opportunity existed, sitting around and talking about it was a waste of time.

“Elder, I believe…”

“I know what you believe, Zeratul. You believe that asking questions is a waste of time and that the time for action is now. Do you not see that merely doing a thing is insufficient? We must know why we do the thing, so that we can know what others will do once we have done it.”

“And so I ask you again. What is war good for?”

Zeratul exhaled sharply, annoyed.

“Absolutely nothing?”

Kal Shora looked down at him with condescending eyes.

“Ludicrous, Zeratul. Societies do not do a thing that serves no purpose. Yet they make war constantly. Why?”

He shook his head.

“Elder…”

“No Zeratul, no deference! I will educate you if it takes me the last three hundred years of my life! Why do societies make war?”

Zeratul considered.

“War is a method of removing ones enemies. It is used primarily to expand ones territory, to bring your resources to bear in order to bolster your reserves. A calculated expenditure to increase a societies power.”

Kal Shora nodded.

“The obvious answer. On the surface, the answer is passable only. There is a problem when you remind yourself that there are much more effective means of expanding territory, including covert operation, deception, concession, urbanization, relief efforts… need I go on?”

Zeratul shook his head.

“There is also the consideration that many societies make war for territory they do not want and resources they do not need. Some societies are overtly hostile, always campaigning and rigidly defending their territory. Surely, a continuous war would weaken the foundation of society as they expended resources on a campaign that gained them none in return? Is that no logical?”

Zeratul nodded his head in agreement.

“Yet, pragmatically, these societies do not collapse. Often the reciprocal is true; they flourish. Societies that divert massive portions of their resource reserves to fighting uneconomically prosperous wars do not grow lethargic and choke in poverty, but grow more powerful. Some even become galactic superpowers. And so, the expanse of ones territory and resources must not be the true reason for war at all, or surely these societies would suffer going to war for neither space nor materials. There must be another reason.”

“Is there, though? Or are you just using cyclical logic to annoy me?”

Kal Shora could have laughed, were such a gesture one native to his species. Instead, he swept his hands in an arc indicative of his amusement.

“There is always a correct answer, Zeratul.”

He sighed.

“If not for territory, then simply for the elimination of enemies. The seizure of power and control priory attributed with a defeated foe.”

Kal Shora appeared thoughtful before shaking his head.

“You are closer, but you are looking in the wrong direction.”

Zeratul snapped.

“What am I supposed to say? I jump through your hoops and play your word games and all the while an opportunity slips away! I don’t know why I have to figure out your stupid puzzles when the answers are locked inside your head…”

And then, Zeratul slapped himself in the forehead. Kal Shora nodded.

“So simple, when you think about it, is it not?”

“War is used as an economic control measure.”

“Correct.”

“A way to unify the people behind your government.”

“Correct.”

”Eliminate terrorism and dissention. Increase political power under a guise of wartime security.”

“Correct.Correct correct correct. War isn’t used to expand but to restrict. Not to better, but instead merely to control.”

“But if the people…”

“The people will never know, Zeratul! Such is the beauty of war. There is always another enemy. Always, danger around the nearest corner. Fear is a powerful ally to totalitarian governments. It is a reason why governments founded on the premise of diplomatic relations, science and exploration, and the betterment of the common being all fail, while governments based on a premise of war exploit their people and restrict them all the while winning their support with a patriotic war.”

Zeratul considered.

“It is insidious.”

Kal Shora nodded.

“Isn’t it, though? And yet, aren’t the people better for the war? Production increases and the society operates at a more economically efficient standard. The people are given a purpose and a unifying cause. Spirituality and faith increases exponentially. Are these not good things? Does not society benefit not only in the hierarchy but also the proletariat?”

Zeratul needed a moment to think, but Kal Shora did not allow him it.

“No, Zeratul. War is used to better society but not how it might seem. War is not fought against the Jutraalian Empire or the New Galactic Coalition, or the New Order, but against a much more devious and adamant foe. It is fought against the forces of peace, the great societal corruptor.”

Zeratul nodded.

“Peace. What is it good for?”

“Absolutely nothing.”

***

“The Voladetek Nebula.”

Kal Shora nodded.

“Good work. This will do perfectly, Zeratul. Estimated response time?”

Zeratul made a hand gesture roughly equivalent to a scoff.

“I highly doubt that any of them have the capability to detect us.”

“If they do…”

“… IF they do, then it will take roughly twenty minutes to reach the edge of the nebula, adding on the time it will take to investigate through the natural interference.”

Kal Shora nodded, interlocking his fingers.

“Too late.”

Zeratul was pleased. He pressed the confirmation button, and the wormhole opened, like a door opening to the future. The Sep'Ta'd'Aark entered it without hesitation, it’s destination, intergalactic war.

It goes without saying that many times in the future, you will find yourself head to head with governments, organizations and entities whose numbers are larger, firepower is greater and who's position seems unassiable. Such a situation seems suicidal at best, and hopeless at worst. However, history dictates that the battle is not always won by the most powerful: no it is he who is most cunning and intellegent who will win the day. In a situation where direct action is impossible, often another method is available to turn a strength into a weakness. A soldier is trained to shoot first and ask questions later; and this is but one of the many things which can be exploited.

-Hilter Afdol, addressing a group of GLF cell leaders

Vladet Space

The MC-90 which had arrived recently had launched seven shuttles, which had broken up into two groups. Four gamma class shuttles had broken off in one group, while three of the same class of shuttle had flanked a Sentinal shuttle in the other. The groups had sperated themselves from the MC-90, which had settled on the edge of the GC formation, near a group of Imperial vessels.

The two groups of shuttles bacame just one of many smll vessels flitting in among the larger capitals, as the many governments showed of new fighter designs, performed daring stunts, and sent crew men to check otu the interors of the others vessels. Despte the fact that war had not so long ago plauged these powerful navies, tensions seemed low. Of course, there was the underlying notion, in the back of everyone's mind, that they were enemies. Still, that was supressed by the good humor and envirnoment in which the crews found themselves. Peacfully coexsisting, sitting over the same world without trading deadly fire.

One of the groups singled out an Imperial VSD which was resting near the Coalition formation, while the other had moved toward a Defender Gunship. What happened next could only have been accomplished by fanatical GLF terrorists, working in this unique environment.

The two groups docked, and as soon as their shuttles touched down, the terrorists struck. Bursting forth with light weapons, they rushed toward the interiors of the ship, in a hail of unaimed chaotic blaster fire. Their mission was not to capture the vessel, or even to disable it. No, both groups had a single target, a single objective. To start a domino effect that no single man would have been able to do alone, they had to reach a turbolaser or weapons battery. Racing through hallways, attacking shocked crew, it would only take minutes for the groups to find their targets. After obtaining entry, they aimed their battery, and fired.

The terrorists on the VSD opened fire from a pair of the VSD turbolasers near the hangar, sending green bolts of energy streaking toward the nearest Defender gunship. The MC-90, seemingly in response to that attack, opened up with a sparadic broadside on the VSD. Meanwhile the terrorists on the Defender gunship on the other side of the GC formation fired a salvo at a nearby Tion Star Destroyer.

The first domino had been pushed over, and the chain reaction was gaining steam, with no end in sight.....

Prior

"Hyperspace reversion imminent, Admiral." Came the report from the Star Destroyer's helm, just as the Valhalla and her escorts emerged from hyperspace. "Welcome to Vladet."

"Admiral Kraken's Fleet Week seems to be off to a smashing success." Deusvult commented, hiding a smirk. "Sensors are detecting the Viscount, a rather large Tion vessel, the..." This time, the young Commander let his smirk show. "The Victory is here."

"Like you said, Commander. A smashing success." Bhindi paused, checking the sensor display for herself. "Have you noticed, Commander, that all the ships here seem to be registered to male officers? And they are, if I am not much mistaken, the largest ships their respective governments have to offer."

Deusvult didn't say anything.

Slowly, the Valhalla and her escorts entered orbit, slipping into the lanes reserved for the Imperial Navy.