A few lightyears from Nespis VIII. The Star Destroyer Krayt, attack group A.

General Ethan Azjed, Commander of the operation code-named "Grey", walked slowly and regally down the command deck of the Star Destroyer Krayt. He was a large man, a man who radiated power and authority. Clumping his way along the bridge, he slowed to a stop beside the captain of the ship, Stendhal. Stendhal turned stiffly and saluted, a ramrod figure beside the bulky solid figure of his commander.

"Oh, relax." Ordered Azjed, waving a huge pawlike hand irritibly. "No need for parade-ground presision here, Captain." Stendhal immidietly complied, his stiff figure slacking a bit as he relaxed as per ordered. Azjed nodded, happy that the deadly-serious captain had relaxed a bit. "Is everthing ready, Captain?" He inquired, sweeping his gaze round the bridge, where crewmen in grey uniforms worked away, keeping the mighty Imperial warship in order. "Yes, sir. All scoutships have returned to their motherships and attack group B reports ready for action." the general grunted. "Good. Order group B to commence the attack." Stenhal responded affirmative and relayed to the comms officer, who was sitting just to his right.

Star Destroyer "Ajax", several lightyears from Ossus.

"Yes, captain. Good hunting." With that last remark, Captain Aloyisus Knight turned away from the communications console. His thin, aristocratic face wore a thin, bloodless smile. He walked quickly down the bridge until he reached his command chair. He sat. Reaching over to his command board, he keyed in his comm system. "All ships, this is the Ajax. Prepare to jump on my command."

In the bowels of the Destroyer, Engineering prepared the ship for lightspeed. Navigation keyed in the coordinates; Gunnery Control warmed up the guns. The same drill was being carried out in every ship in the group; four Imperial class destroyers, and four Interdictor Cruisers. Operation Grey was on.

Central Government Office, Knossa, Ossus.

Planetary Governor Garjim Vencos rose from his desk and streched. Yawning, he crossed his plush office to the window overlooking the city. It had been just over two years since the man had been elevated to the position on Governor, and it never ceased to amaze him the way the Vong had healed the place. He had seen holos of the way it had been before. A barren wasteland, fit for nothing to live. It sure has changed, thought Vencos sadly, and not always for the better. The Jedi had left the planet for the most part, an exodus he greatly regretted since he respected the Jedi. However, the presence of the menacing Black Dragon Empire just next door had been too much for the Jedi to take. The Jedi Archives had been emptied several years ago, much to his distress. Vencos rubbed his eyes tiredly. He had just finished an exhausting briefing with his military commanders as well as representants from Nespis VIII, in concordance with the mutual defense treaty signed a year ago. A spree of recent terrorist attacks hadn't helped.

A soft knock on his office door shook him from his stupor. "Come." He called. The door opened and in came his secretary, Sok. Sok was a borg, with an implant fastened around his head. "Sir. A cup of tea?" Vencos smiled wearily and accepted it with a muted thank you. He was exhausted.

Ossus orbit, Liberty-class cruiser "Firefox".

The bridge of the Ossus defense fleet flagship, the Firefox, was quiet. The fleet had just finished a series of war games with a small number of Nespis VIII's navy there to "observe". The crewers were happy as the exercice had gone well. The enemy had been defeated and routed according to the simulators. Admiral Durant had been pleased, and had complimented his men before retiring for a bit of well-earned rest. The Ossus fleet was composed of two Liberty class cruisers, four Corellian Corvettes, and three Acclamator cruisers from the Clone Wars, old but still working. They were stationed unevenly round the planetsphere, ready for any enemy attack, theoretically from the Black Dragon Empire. Little did they know that the attack would be from another Empire, this one far more deadly and ruthless.

Imperial attack group B arrived out of lightspeed just in front of one of the Corellian Corvettes. Captain Knight, onboard the Ajax, stood to watch the attack, relaying orders to the different ships in his miniature fleet as well as to departments of his own Destroyer.

"Target Corvette, full power."

The Star Destroyer moved closer to the enemy ship, her batteries already spitting laser fire. The small ship sped up, using it's legendary speed to attempt to escape. The ISD's laser fire raked into the ship, blowing her to pieces. First Blood to the Empire.

Attack group B spread out, peppering the space defences with devastating broadsides as the defence fleet moved to intercept. Laser fire flashed as the ships drew closer. The Destroyer Doomgiver powered forward towards one of the Acclamators. The Acclamator half-turned, her turbolasers firing pathetically in comparison to the ISDs numerous batteries. The Doomgiver's captain targeted the Acclamator's front torpedo launchers. A single broadside blew the very front of the enemy ship off. She turned sluggishly, trying to escape, while her sister ship, another Acclamator, attacked the Doomgiver. She fought back admirably, disabling the second Acclamator by blowing her engines and taking out her starboard cannons. The first Acclamator was almost away, until the tractor beam caught her and held her in an unescapable grip. The repeated fire of the ISD destroyed her, flinging the wreckage far into the space around her, the flaming midsection of the ship pulled away by the planet's gravity well.

Onboard the second Acclamator, her captain was desperate as he watched the Doomgiver launched her fighters. Soon the blackness was swarming with TIEs and a final volley of green turbolaser fire ripped her innards to shreds.

Onboard the Star Destroyer Venerator, Captain Marcus Cassius straigtened his white helmet and picked up his E-11. He looked up at the ceiling of the hangar. It was up to the Navy for the moment. Hopefully they wouldn't mess it up.

The ISD III Doomgiver moved regally forward, her mighty arrowhead slicing through the vacuum towards the ships clustered near one of the two space stations surrounding the planet. The Liberty cruiser Quon turned to intercept, her heavy turbolasers spitting green death to meet the Imperial warship. The Doomgiver shuddered under the assult but kept on nonetheless, blue discharges from the shields washing across her superstructure like flashes of blue lightning.

Captain Zerth of the Doomgiver smiled tightly as his ISD powered forward, unheeding of the increasingly frantic blasts coming from the remaining two Liberty cruisers.

"Helm," he ordered, "as soon as we get within range of the nearest cruiser, launch squadrons six and seven." Two bomber squadrons, ample to crush two liberty cruisers. When the affirmative came through, he smiled again. Time to crush the enemies of the Empire.

"Liberty" cruiser "Quon". Above Ossus.

The Liberty cruiser is a formidible ship. Large and bristling with turbolasers, it can deal with anything anyone could throw at her. However, four ISD IIIs is a bit much. As more and more Imperial laser blasts began to hit and cause serious damage, the captain moved her into a last-ditch position by shooting her forward to put her as close as possible to the enemy ship.

The ISD III grew bigger and bigger in the viewport as the captain watched calmly, hoping that the sacrifice that he was about to make would be worth it.

"Sir!" The comms officer could hardly keep his voice low as he called softly to Zerth as he prowled about the bridge, keeping a close eye on the battle progress. Zerth's eyes flicked over to the radar officer, who was half-twisted in his seat, trying desperatley to get his attention without shouting. His captain abhorred loud voices on his bridge. Shouting on the bridge of one of the Empire's ISD IIIs was nothing short of blasphemy to him.

"What is it, Lieutenant?" He asked of the man, slowing to a stop and laying a hand on his shoulder.

"That liberty is getting closer." He informed Zerth, pointing frantically at the screen. Zerth glanced over.

"What is going on?" Said Zerth aloud.

"I don't know, sir. I've never seen anything like this before." Responded his radar officer. Zerth spun on his heels and headed off to his command chair.

"Keep me informed." He ordered before leaving. In a few moments he sat in his captain's chair and opened a communications channel to Gunnery Control. "Batteries 4 through 6, fire into the engines. Keep them from getting closer."

The aforementioned batteries fired and fired, pouring green turbolaser fire into the main engines, rapidly overheating the shield and reducing the engines to slag. The huge ship drifted out of control, heading for the ISD III Doomgiver.

"Fire! Blow it from the sky!" Said Zerth, almost shouting and breaking his own rules. The ISDs lasers resumed firing with a renewed intensity.

Onboard the Ajax, which had been exchanging fire along with the Sabre with one of the two massive defence stations dotted around the planet's orbit, the collision was spectacular. The XO saw it first, and with a muffled gasp of "Sir!" pointed out the viewport at the distant sight. Captain Knight's hands clenched until they resembled claws. "No..." He whispered almost to himself.

The Liberty cruiser struck the ISD III with cataclysmic force, badly damaging the superstructure and sending the ship careening off course towards the planet. "Damn! Get me the Doomgiver ! Pronto!" Yelled Knight as his ship shook from a particulary hard torpedo hit from the space defences.

He blinked twice, and his vision cleared; shaking his head, the captain of the Doomgiver struggled to his feet, his cap lost and blood trickling from a wound on his forehead. He looked around the bridge, where most of his officers were okay, save his XO who was out cold; the poor woman had been thrown off her feet into the crewpit. Not like the sensor officer had complained when the attractive brunette had landed, quite literally, in his lap.Staggering over to his chair, he tried internal comms. Nothing. Then, external. Still nothing. He swore and turned back to think. The ISD III had stablised and was hanging dead in space. Tragically, an entire squadron of TIE Bombers had been atomized, crushed as the hangar caved in around them, lost with all hands.

"This is the captain speaking. Is everyone all right?"

"Yes, sir. We're okay. But Miss Dretios isn't." The crewman suppressed a grin as the sensor officer, slightly breathless, carried the lusty brunette, a brilliant tactician and good soldier, down the hallway and towards the first-aid station.

"Good. We've lost all communications. You," he caught a Stormtrooper by the elbow, "go down to engeneering and see if they're all right. If so, they are to commence reparations immedietly. We won't sit here and let the others have all the fun."

"Yes, sir. Anything else?" Asked the soldier, as he palmed the access hatch open and the lights flickered for a second before stablising.

"Yes, bring one of the engineers up to see if they can fix our comms." The Stormtrooper nodded and took off at a run.

Nespis VIII Navy ship "Lord Finiz". Ossus planetary shadow.

What the Empire didn't realise, though, was the size of the fleet that had been conducting wargames with the Ossus fleet. The fleet consisted of no fewer than four Nebulon-B cruisers and two torpedo spheres, enough to give the Empire a real fight on their hands. Vice-Admiral David Freh Suloman smiled grimly as he clamped his teeth around another cigar that would never be lit (Doctors orders) and watched as the large Imperial attack group materialized from around the protective shroud of Ossus' planetary shadow. He wished that he could see the Imperials' faces.

The space above Ossus was a mass of warships and space-battles. From what little Darth Vicirus knew of space-warfare, he concluded that the Empire was seeking to show their might through demonstrations; at least, that had been the original thought, until a smaller starship literally rammed into one of the Star Destroyers. The result of the tactic was not lost on Vicirus, and he had the feeling that it was likewise for the commander and his crew.

None the less, the Sith Master had little interest in what was happening above Ossus. His focus, instead, was what was on the surface; or more accurately what was beneath the surface. The Jedi Temple, for one, was a source of interest, even if there were rumors of the structure having been cleared of anything important. Yet, there were some interesting facts that most did not know, that Vicirus was privy to… and this secret, seemingly well-kept for all of these years, was one of the true reasons the Sith Master had come to the planet.

Angling his Sith Infiltrator closer toward the atmosphere, Vicirus made sure to keep well clear of the larger craft above the planet. He didn’t need to catch their notice, at least not yet, and his cloaking device was operating at full efficiency; which meant that, for all intents and purposes, the Sith Master’s presence had been upon arrival, and remained, undetected.

…At least for now.

Patiently Darth Vicirus lingered, awaiting the appropriate time to make contact with the Imperial forces above the planet. He didn’t doubt that with such a high alert placed on the forces occupying orbit, it would be prudent to seek their commanding officer sooner, rather that later; but it also remained that Vicirus would have to wait until the initial chaos had passed, following the ship-to-ship impact…

Opening his internal communications, the Sith Master addressed the Sith Apprentices who were toward the rear of his craft, within the holding bay. He could sense their unease, their growing need to be done with the subtle mannerisms Vicirus employed, and to simply reach the planet surface to do the Sith Order proud.

“In a few moments I shall contact the Imperial commander,” The Sith Master began, his voice seeming occupied as he watched the Star Destroyer that hung dangerously above the planet, almost at the edge of being claimed by the gravitational pull that sought it. “Then we shall land on Ossus, near the Jedi Temple, and begin preparations for taking the planet for the Order. Be prepared.”

Silencing the operation on his flight panel, Vicirus leaned back in his piloting chair. He continued to watch the events unfolding before him, wondering at the Imperial’s capabilities, and how they had seemingly succumb to such a basic war tactic such as a collision.

After waiting for the commotion to settle somewhat, Vicirus reached for his communications and started a frequency toward the Imperial vessels in orbit…

“This is Darth Vicirus, of the Sith Order,” He said, still watching the Star Destroyer a distance away. “I wish to speak with the Imperial commander, in charge of the fleet above Ossus…”

"Captain!" The soft call caused Knight to turn round, his eyes searching rapidly for the speaker, flicking from face to face until he located his comms officer.

"Yes, lieutenant. What is it?" Asked Captain Knight as he moved a little closer to the man.

"There's a call for you, sir."

"From who? The Krayt?"

"Erm...no, sir. From some Sith Order bloke."

Captain Knight's eyes widened almost impercepterbly.

"A Sith?" He sounded incredulous.

"Listen, sir."

“This is Darth Vicirus, of the Sith Order,” The voice sounded clear and strong, indicating that the sender wasn't far away. “I wish to speak with the Imperial commander, in charge of the fleet above Ossus…” The message ended with a soft hiss of static. Knight frowned and turned away, staring out the viewport to where the Doomgiver was still floating, out of power.

"Lieutenant. Move over, please."

"Of course, sir." The man got up and courtuously offered his commander his seat. Knight nodded in gratitude and sat down. "Darth Vicirus," He began, "I am Captain Knight of the New Order. Why are you in the middle of an Imperial attack? And may I please have some kind of proof to show me that you are indeed a Sith Lord and not some pirate?" Or a Jedi, he thought with a shudder. The Jedi were a headache to kill and the Imperial commander already had enough on his plate.

Onboard theVenerator Captain Cassius jogged down the ramp, wondering impatientley what the Hell the brass wanted with him now, on the eve of the Imperial landings. He skidded to a halt in front of the computer terminal and logged in, quickly recieving orders from the ship's computer. He was to take a Sentinel landing craft over to the immobile Doomgiver and see if everone was okay. And do it quickly, too. The ISD III was already coming under fire by the remaining Acclamator, and the Nespis VIII ships were closing in. Marcus nodded and ran off towards his men.