Trachta sat silently in the cockpit of his personal shuttle Blitz One. It cruised away from Corellia quickly and quietly followed by a large convoy of Imperial cargo and construction vessels. Of course they weren’t alone; no one in the Empire was stupid enough to send so many support vessels without escorts. There were a small but deadly number of fast moving escort ships all ready to cut into raiders, even though raiders would be insane to attack Imperial ships so close to an Imperial world. Trachta though ran on the one philosophy of expecting the unexpected. It wouldn’t fail him, though it didn’t matter right now since no one knew of this convoy or its destination within the Corellian system, where Imperial backup could easily come from.

As Trachta ran over his ship and resource manifest he also looked over the massive amount of manpower he had requisitioned from Imperial High Command so that he could begin the plans and construction for Operation Siblings. Trachta had come up with the ridiculous operation name because if any spies ever saw the name they would probably never figure it out until it was too late and everything was already in place to begin operations. Trachta hoped so anyways. He had already gotten two worlds for the New Order and soon he would be adding two more to the ever expanding Empire.

“Sir, we’ll be arriving at the base point in three hours since we’re going at full speed,” Trachta’s personal pilot informed him before turning his attention back to the shuttle controls.

Trachta got up and walked to the passenger area of Blitz One. The area was currently mainly empty besides a pair of officers also dressed in black ISB uniforms and playing a game of Dejerrik on the holoprojection table in the passenger area. The two seemed to be complete opposites as they looked up at their superior. One had blond hair with blue eyes that gave a look of innocence yet you could see a cold, calculating intelligence behind them. The other had black hair with brown eyes and simply had the face of someone you thought you could trust, something that was very useful to a member of the ISB. The brown haired one spoke up

“What is our ETA, sir?”

“We have three hours until we arrive at the position to begin Operation Siblings. So lets run over things again so that we can get this all set up,” Trachta said as he took a seat at the table. The blond officer quickly deactivated the game the two had been playing as Trachta handed the two different datapads.

“Now as you know, we need to establish our special base camp before we can begin to make the New Order’s roster of worlds swell even more. Once we reach the location I have certain jobs for the both of you,” Trachta said as he put a datadisc into the holoprojector. What soon appeared was a cross section of the famed and currently abandoned Centerpoint Station.

“As you both know, no one lives in Centerpoint anymore because Hollowtown was incinerated the last time the weapon was fired and then disabled. This caused the entire population to move to the two worlds that currently orbit around it: Talus and Tralus, our current objectives. Lieutenant Dojej, your job is to get the power core fully operational again so that we can have a powered base of operation,” Trachta said looking at the black haired officer who nodded to acknowledge the orders. “Lieutenant Pyotor, your job will be to build the new base facilities within the remains of Hollowtown as well as clear the said remains.”

The other officer now nodded as he sat there looking at the schematics of Centerpoint that were now being displayed. Trachta knew he had made the right decision when he had chosen these two to set up the base camp. They were both reliable and they were both ISB. Trachta realized that that was a very biased thought, but then again he trusted few outside of the Bureau unless they were his superiors and even then were still on his list of people to always suspect if the New Order somehow was betrayed. Trachta was terrifyingly paranoid at times and he saw that as a bit of an advantage as well as a disadvantage. Trachta though had his reasons for such paranoia; he planned on never getting any more prosthetics after a betrayal that had cost him his sight as well as his normal breathing and food intake. Now he ate through nutrient tubes that he inspected and inserted himself as he only trusted himself.

Trachta was quickly brought out of his thought as Lieutenant Pyotor fiddled with the projector controls to zoom in on the Hollowtown part of the map. It was quite clear he was already formulating plans as he now pulled out his personal datapad and started making notes on what he saw of the only accurate map the New Order had of the innards of the massive space station. Trachta had to admit that the station was a piece of artwork in the engineering world, mainly because of its mysterious backgrounds. But that didn’t matter. What mattered was that the station be turned into a base camp for what Trachta planned on causing between the Double Worlds. By the time he was through they would be bitter enemies and both members of the New Order. He also of course added the plus that they would be under his governorship which was an excellent incentive for him to get this job done efficiently so that the worlds would be orderly and ready to hold Imperial garrisons as well as military bases since the planets had very small populations; perfect situations for them to be turned into training grounds as well as facilities for the ISB.

Three Hours Later, Centerpoint

Trachta watched in awe as the massive station rotated as it usually did but had a feeling of emptiness about it since it was no longer inhabited. The two worlds around it rotated slowly as they always did in their orbit around the station. Trachta found it amazing that two worlds could be so close together and yet also have Centerpoint between them. If what scientists and archaeologists had said was true, the aliens who constructed the device must have been powerful, even if they were no longer around to claim the device which suited Trachta just fine since it was part of his plan.

“Do you think the natives have noticed us?” Lieutenant Dojej asked as he also looked out the main viewport to see the massive space station that would become the new base of operations for Operation Siblings.

“If they have, they won’t care. We’re nothing but what looks like a new colonization convoy trying to settle Centerpoint. No one is going to bother us there and if they do they’ll find these ships loaded with armed personnel,” Trachta said as he now watched as Blitz One made its final approach the opening to which would lead to the birth of a new hidden ISB facility and headquarters.

Blitz One glided through the main opening easily and was soon followed by the large convoy of ships following it to their drop zones. Blitz One Slowly landed on one of the few remaining landing pads inside of the station and carefully touched down. Other ships were also already landing and black suited Naval Troopers disembarked from their trooper transports and began to scan the landing areas. Soon a group of them formed up around the front of Blitz One as its landing ramp began to descend with the hissing of gasses. As the ramp finished descending the hatch opened and Trachta walked down slowly with Lieutenants Pyotor and Dojej in tow. The chief naval trooper approached Trachta and saluted.

“We have secured the area, sir, and are awaiting further instructions.”

“Commander, your men are to search all of Centerpoint and if find anyone onboard that isn't wearing a New Order ID, bring them to me for interrogation.”

The commander quickly saluted as he turned and walked away followed by his men as they went off to carry out their orders. This pleased Trachta because naval troopers made excellent police battalions and that was the main reason he had brought them instead of stormtroopers, who were drilled in assault and capture. Stormtroopers may come to this base later, but for now naval troopers would suit the current situation of providing security for the workers that were arriving. Trachta now turned his attention to the two lieutenants behind him.

“Gentlemen, I have given you your orders. I suggest you begin immediately as this place will be very useful to the New Order. You are dismissed Trachta said with a wave of his hand.

Both officers saluted and then left with haste so that they could begin their jobs. Trachta looked up at the glowpoint at the center of Centerpoint. The orb provided heat and light to what had been Hollowtown, but it was much dimmer now than it used to be. Lieutenant Dojej would see to that if he did his job correctly. With that thought Trachta turned his attention to shouting he heard behind him. It was the usually quiet Lieutenant Pyotor screaming at a worker who had just broken a valuable piece of construction equipment. Trachta was happy to see that Pyotor was already at his job and seemed to be doing a good enough job. Now Trachta needed to begin to implement his plans. Trachta walked back onboard his shuttle where he found his pilots waiting since he hadn’t dismissed them.

“Have Blitz One take me to Talus immediately. Its time to start Operation Siblings,” Trachta said as he took his seat.

The two pilots nodded without a word and powered up the shuttle. Blitz One lifted off without getting any curious looks from the workers below as it flew back to the main entrance port and flew past entering transport ships from the convoy. The shuttle then made its journey towards Talus. The journey was of course short since the worlds were so close to Centerpoint. Soon the ship was entering the atmosphere and making its way towards Talus’ main city.

Talus

“Unidentified vessel, we have you on our screens, please identify yourself,” said a voice over the come, probably an air controller.

“We are a passenger ship wishing to land.”

“Very well, you may land at Landing Pad 15.”

The shuttle now veered slightly as the pilots received instructions on where to go to find the landing pad. Trachta looked over the landscape as the ship moved on towards the main city. Trachta would have called it the capital city except that would be incorrect due the odd political structure of the Double Worlds. The two planets were in fact ran by a single government called the Federation of the Double Worlds or Fed Dub. Trachta found it to be an interesting political structure, but he also saw it as his advantage. It would be easy to make the planets sever ties with one another through the right sort of coaxing and then the New Order could easily get the worlds to sign treaties that would make become members of an enormous sphere of influence that the New Order was. But they would also be stuck with Trachta as their new governing official.

Soon the main city, Federalis, came into view. Trachta was unimpressed by the sight. The city was actually quite small which spoke of the world’s small population. It was also one of the few cities since the world was mainly dominated like its twin by oceans and plains. Blitz One slowly landed and Trachta departed quickly and quietly so that his pilots could deal with the port officials and they wouldn’t see him.

Trachta moved through the city curiously as he remained in the shadows of most buildings. He didn’t want to draw too much attention to himself which would be pretty easy due to his cybernetic implants so he moved carefully. Some people saw him and stared, but only until he disappeared into the shadows again as he made his way towards the center of the city where the Fed Dub had one of its two main capital buildings. Trachta entered the building easily and unquestioned since the natives of Talus had never faced much before in the area of terrorism. Trachta moved about the building until he found what he had been looking for; the main meeting chamber of the ruling body of Talus and Tralus, the Fed Dub Council. Trachta walked in and quickly and quietly took a seat so that he could listen in on the meeting. Currently one of the councilmen, who seemed a little younger than the rest, was giving a speech to his fellow members as well as the observers like Trachta.

“While it is true that we have always been known as the Double Worlds, I think it is time we became more independent of one another. We have been together so long that we are like parasites to one another, we even rule one another with one government which in my opinion doesn’t seem right….” The man seemed ready to go on but was interrupted by one of the older looking council members.

“Are you suggesting that we secede from one another, Councilman Ignacio?”

“In a way, yes, I think I am suggesting that, Councilman Ruussa,” Ignacio said defiantly to the older councilman.

“Don’t be insolent, you foolish child. Talus and Tralus need one another. Why do you think the Fed Dub has been around for so long as it has?”

“Because of outdated ideas and senile old fools like you who run the government,” Ignacio said as he stood there.

“How dare you! I am one of the oldest members of this council,” Ruussa bellowed as he now stood up.

Before either of them could start throwing insults at one another, a loud cracking sound was heard. Everyone turned to the very stern looking young woman who held the wooden gavel in her hand after having used it. She seemed to be about Ignacio’s age if not a little older.

“That will be quite enough of that. I have heard enough from you, Ignacio, and you know full well that public opinion believes that the Fed Dub should remain the ruling government of the Double Worlds.”

“The public are fools and you are an even bigger fool for listening to the public, Councilor Breega,” Ignacio said as he looked at all of the council defiantly. Most of the councilmen started shouting until Councilor Breega used her gavel again.

“I’ve heard enough, we will call this council to a close and meet here again tomorrow,” Breega said and then stood up and left. Most of the other councilmen did the same, though Ignacio had stayed behind and was still looking defiant.

Trachta watched as this all happened and then watched as the rest of the observers left. Trachta then removed his rank insignia and code cylinders and stowed them in his internal compartment to hide who he was associated with. He then stood up and approached Ignacio as he was getting his things together at what appeared to be his desk in the council chamber.

“Councilman Ignacio, I believe I have a way to help you carry out your dream of secession and independence for your world,” Trachta said as he walked with Ignacio to his office.

Trachta stood in the office of Councilman Ignacio as he prepared to make his offer to this contemptible young man who would be so easy to manipulate once everything was in place.

“So, you said you had a way to help me achieve my goal of making my world of Talus independent from Tralus. So then, how can you do that?” Ignacio asked skeptically as he poured himself a drink.

Trachta simply smirked mentally as he looked at this young man. He was too young to have much experience which guaranteed Trachta to have his ear at such a proposal. Ignacio also had a look that Trachta had seen before, the look of being power-hungry to a point that he would do anything to assure his power. Trachta knew just how to manipulate someone like Ignacio without them even knowing it.

“Well, you could join another government,” Trachta said coolly as he stood there looking at the politician. “You could maybe join a true government with power behind them and that would allow and even support the separation of your world from Tralus. It would also ensure order and law enforcement like nothing you’ve ever seen before.”

Ignacio now looked interested as Trachta knew he would. The man truly was desperate enough to have his political ideas come forth and prosper above those around him. Trachta knew what to do with this man once he succeeded with making agree to the help he was offering him.

“So, who would you suggest that would so openly support our separation from Tralus? You don’t look like someone who would be employed by Jedi or much anyone else.”

“That is because I serve a true government, Councilman Ignacio. I am a humble servant of the New Order.”

Ignacio’s eyes now lit up with comprehension at what he had just been told. Then the comprehension turned to suspicion as he looked at Trachta.

“I know how your government works. If we joined you, you’d place an Imperial official over us, even though your law enforcement techniques are very…..”

“Unique?” Trachta offered as he now took a seat for himself.

“Yes, unique. Your government would just enslave Talus.”

“On the contrary, if you are willing to help I can assure you that you will be the planet’s Governor when I am not here to run it,” Trachta said as he watched Ignacio.

“My government has had the foresight to allow me to govern this world if it should join the New Order. This gives some incentive to do my job correctly. This also means I can make anyone on this world my second in command here since I am busy with so many other worlds and issues of the Empire. This means if you accept this offer I can guarantee you the lieutenant governors position over this world. So, what do you say to that offer, Councilman Ignacio?” Trachta said as he finished sewing the seed of conquest and revolution into the mind of this gullible Councilman.

“I would have to say that I accept this offer, Mr.?”

“Trachta,” Trachta said as he sat there and mentally smirked now that he had set the gears rolling.

“Yes, Mr. Trachta,” Ignacio said as he offered his hand.

Trachta accepted and shook it closing a verbal contract between them that would lead Talus into a new age of governing under the iron fist of the New Order. Trachta now only needed to plan and act.

Centerpoint

Trachta found himself yet again on Centerpoint making an inspection of the progress the two lieutenants he had left in charge of certain tasks to get this station into shape for use and permanent occupation by New Order forces. Trachta now walked quietly away from his shuttle as he looked at the ruins of Hollowtown that were being demolished and replaced by the much more militaristic style buildings that whose skeletons were replacing the old. Trachta had to admit that Lieutenant Pyotor was doing an excellent job and may even be ahead of the construction schedule. As Trachta moved along though the glowpoint went black.

“Damn it! Will someone tell Dojej to quit tampering with the damn thing and simply fix it!” Lieutenant Pyotor yelled through the darkness.

Trachta was unperturbed by the darkness and simply activated his photoceptors’ nightvision unit until the glowpoint was restored to its originally dim light or to full working capacity. Trachta made his way amongst the troops, workers, and droids in the darkness as he made his way towards Lieutenant Pyotor. Trachta found him at the construction site of the largest building currently under construction, though the lack of light seemed to be inhibiting continued construction.

“What is the status of the base’s construction?” Trachta asked Pyotor as he looked at the young officer.

“We have succeeded in staying ahead of schedule in our construction time, even though Dojej keeps tampering with that damned glowpoint. The workers find it annoying since it is the only light source beside the lights we are starting to set up due to these continual blackouts that keep occurring,” Lieutenant Pyotor said with a extreme note of annoyance.

“Very good, lieutenant, continue with your work. I have business with lieutenant Dojej now,” Trachta said and departed.

Trachta made his way to an access hatch and entered it to make his way to the control room that lieutenant Dojej had claimed for his uses in trying to get Centerpoint’s main electrical systems operational again. Trachta noticed the technicians from the earlier arrival of the Imperial forces to establish the base. They were moving about scanning the electrical systems and making adjustments to the systems. The thing about it was that they still had light while the glowpoint in Hollowtown was still out. Trachta moved along the corridors quietly and soon found Dojej messing around with what appeared to be a primary computer.

“Lieutenant Dojej, what is your status?” Trachta asked as he stood there silently looking at the one officer.

Dojej turned with a look of slight frustration on his face as he looked at Trachta. His face was currently blackened as it appeared a circuit board he had been working on had went up in flames while he had been working on it.

“Well sir, I am trying to make progress but this damn piece of alien technology is refusing to cooperate with my efforts. We’ve tried everything so far, but the AI programming refuses to help us in the conversion of the station into a fully operational base and facility,” Dojej said as he glared savagely at a camera in the corner of room that was watching them.

Trachta turned towards it and realized that it was, in fact, watching them with extreme interest. He hadn’t been aware that the station’s computer had any artificial intelligence, but then again he always expected the unexpected and this fit into that category. Lieutenant Dojej would simply have to deal with it.

“Might I suggest something?” Trachta said as he stood there.

“What, sir?”

Trachta reached inside his tunic, causing a panicked look to come across Dojej’s face. Trachta had never shot one of his officers yet, but many thought that wouldn’t stop him from doing it one day. However, Trachta did not pull out a blaster. Instead he pulled out what appeared to be a restraining bolt.

“Let us see how this computer reacts to the Omni virus, shall we?” Trachta said as he handed Dojej the ‘virus’ bolt. “Continue with your work, lieutenant. I will return later,” Trachta said as he walked away to go and prepare his plans for Talus.

Trachta stood quietly in the enormous main landing zone that Lieutenant Pyotor’s work crews had successfully built and now maintained to keep an area opened for Imperial craft to land on and to run large scale operations and launches. The vessels now coming through the magnetic fields keeping the oxygen in were not civilian transports though. They were the familiar militaristic build of troop and assault vehicle transports. They all began the slow descents down to the massive landing pad and began unloading stormtroopers. It was a sight to behold as the thousands of white armored soldiers and vehicle pilots and gunners disembarked and formed up on the large marching ground next to the landing zone. The was also a podium erected in front of the marching ground with a audio system set up.

More and more troopers and other personnel began unloading until all the transports had arrived. Trachta stepped up to the podium and looked down at the hundreds of thousands of stormtroopers before him. It was quite an impressive sight and now it was time for the Empire to act on its deal with Councilman Ignacio.

“Men, yet again the New Order is called upon to ensure order and control on another unaligned planet. So it is up to us to bring this world into the fold! To make the people of Talus understand that their world is now the Empire’s. Now go forth and take their city from them! For the Glory of the Empire!” Trachta shouted as he dismissed the soldiers who gave a rallying yell and charged back into their transports. The transports began taking off, but one shuttle full of ISB operatives had already launched long before any of these ships had even arrived so that they could carry out a special mission to ensure no alarms could be raised or help called for.

Trachta stepped down from the podium and boarded his own shuttle which then immediately took off and flew off towards Talus yet again.

Talus

Yet again Trachta watched the flat landscape of the sparsely populated world. This time though, they weren’t being hailed by the air traffic controllers which meant that the ISB operatives had done their jobs and disabled all radar as well as long and short range communication systems. Once Federalis fell, most of the planet’s population would be under Trachta’s control. After that it would be easy to take the other smaller settlements that could not put up any resistance whatsoever. This world would be much easier to conquer than even Mechis III which Trachta had manipulated the entire time.

Soon Trachta was walking through the city by himself while the other transports landed outside the city limits so that when the attack happened it would be from the ground and unexpected and unforeseen. Trachta made his way towards the main government building and went inside towards Ignacio’s office. He found the young man there working.

“Councilman, I am about to fulfill my part of our agreement. Are you prepared to officially accept my offer?” Trachta asked as he stood there.

“Yes,” Ignacio said with a power-hungry look in his eyes.

Trachta handed him a document out of his uniform. He watched Ignacio sign it and then hand it back to him with great glee at what he was about to inaugurate for his world. It would be the beginning of the end for the Federation of the Double Worlds. Once Talus fell, Tralus would be easily taken as it would be completely unaware of what had happened to its neighboring planet.

“Very well, I suggest you take shelter then, the combat is about the start,” Trachta said as he pulled out a comlink and hit its button once, sending a signal to the military forces.

Trachta walked out of the government building as Ignacio ran for his office to find shelter as the New Order’s force moved in and seized the city with great ease. Trachta walked through the city and all ready people could be heard screaming as Talus’ only spaceport was captured by the stormtroopers. Trachta watched with glee as AT-STs moved through the city streets with squads of stormtroopers as they moved throughout the city. Small fire fights would break out every now and again but they would end as quickly as they started. Slowly and carefully the entire city was being seized by the Empire’s crack assault troops. No one on Talus had much in the area of combat training to permit them to put up much of a fight against troops who were trained for continual combat and warfare. Trachta watched as those who resisted were either shot or taken prisoner for later punishment. Most of the city’s population was however falling under the heel of the New Order.

Trachta soon pulled out his rank insignia and reattached it to his uniform so that he could travel freely amongst the soldiers so that he could get a better idea of how close they were to taking the city. Trachta traveled down to the main command vehicle and entered it without any resistance. Inside there were officers coordinating the movements of the troops and only looked up for a moment to see who had entered. Trachta moved around table with a massive screen as its surface for it to show squad and vehicle positions. From the look of it, Talus Federal Militia brigades were putting up resistance around the main government building. Trachta watched as the buildings were being besieged by stormtroopers and AT-STs as they tried to force the fighters inside to surrender.

“Destroy the building,” Trachta ordered coolly as he looked at the situation.

All of the officers looked at Trachta now with surprise but then gave the orders. No one under Trachta had the guts to question his orders, which was fine by him since it permitted him to do his job without interference. Now Trachta watched the displays as the AT-STs used the grenades to collapse the building on top of the resistance force. Trachta smiled evilly as he watched it happen, knowing full well that Councilman Ignacio was in there also. Trachta had simply killed two birds with one stone as he had decided to eliminate Ignacio after this since the young man could have ended up be a threat to the Empire.

Four Hours Later

As the fires began to die and the combat was finally over, Trachta walked around the ruins of the former government building of the Talus part of the Fed Dub. He looked around for any remains of Ignacio and was delighted to find the crushed and charred remains of the robes Ignacio had been wearing right before the attack. Trachta kicked the robes to find that there were bones within them which only strengthened Trachta’s resolve that Ignacio was good and gone. Now it was time to make it clear to the rest of Talus who ruled them now.

Trachta looked up in the sky and would have looked smug if it had been physically possible, but since it wasn’t he simply seemed to radiate smugness as looked at the site in the sky. Above the capital city was the barely visible outline of an ISD. But that wasn’t the only reason for being smug. The other reason was what was coming down from orbit towards the capital city, the prefabricated base that the ISD had been carrying. Followed by it were more stormtrooper and personnel transports, the Imperial occupation force. Trachta watched as the massive transport carrying the prefabricated base slowly dropped the base down where the old government building used to be. It was the first symbol showing who truly ruled the world now. Trachta enjoyed this as it was his first military action in a while. He now had set down the foundations for an Empire controlled Talus. Now all he had left to do was address the public about the coming changes in the government. Trachta approached yet another podium as he prepared to address the public of Talus on their new rulers. The transmission though was going to be jammed any further than the atmosphere so that Tralus would not know what was going on. This was intentional so that Trachta could have his forces prepare for the takeover of the second of the double worlds. Trachta stood on the podium which sported an Imperial emblem and looked directly into the cameras focused on him.

“People of Talus, I am Commodore Trachta of the New Order. I would like to inform you that currently your planet has entered a time of chaos and so the New Order has stepped in to insure the peace and prosperity of this planet. We are currently installing a military governorship along with the military forces necessary to police your world. Do not worry though; no one will be harmed as long as the follow Imperial Law. May your lives be long and fruitful in your service to your new government, the Galactic Empire. Long Live the Empire,” Trachta said in closing as the cameras went dead.

Trachta stepped down and was immediately set upon by several different media representatives on Talus. Trachta held these sort of people in contempt, but decided to make something very clear to them with the conquest of their world and it being under his governorship.

“I will answer no questions as you are all officially illegal media groups. Now if you would all be so kind as to register with my assistant, Colonel Haro, I’d be happy to answer the questions of members of the Media Division of the Imperial Security Bureau.

The reaction was as Trachta had hoped it would be as it sunk in to these people that Trachta now was the most powerful man on all of Talus and the Empire had their world in its clutches. None of them spoke up as they went off to get their organizations registered under the Media division of the ISB, a true sign of how much control the Empire could now exercise over the people of Talus. Trachta simply walked away in a mood much better than before. He had other plans to carry out and other worlds to conquer.

Trachta stood quietly on the bridge of the ISD Inquisitor as it sat above Talus. The Inquisitor’s captain, William Jager, stood to the side quietly as he watched the strange looking commodore look down at Talus with an air of eagerness, it was quite clear he had plans for the world he had just placed under Imperial rule. Jager, however wasn’t about to ask what those plans were since it was none of his business. All he cared about was maintaining his ship and serving the Empire. As far as he was concerned with the cybernetic commodore, he was simply his current superior until he was reassigned to do someone else’s bidding.
* * * *
Trachta turned towards Jager after he was done watching the world. He was only halfway done currently and now he had to finish his job completely. He did, however, spare one more glance at the ships that were arriving around Talus. They all bore Imperial emblems and many of them bore ISB insignia underneath the emblem. Trachta planned on making the world into a giant center of operations and training for ISB personnel so that the Empire would now have a much greater internal security force to ensure loyalty and obedience within the ranks of the New Order. However, Trachta was getting ahead of himself in those thoughts, since the planet needed to be conditioned first and Trachta needed to take Tralus to complete the conquest of the Double Worlds. He planned on doing that very soon too, but first he needed to check in on the actions of his two lieutenants who were trying ton convert Centerpoint into a military base.

“Captain Jager, have Blitz One prepared for takeoff, I must go and deal with other situations in the system,” Trachta said as he turned and walked off the bridge quietly.

Trachta made his way through the maze that was the ISD’s hallways as he made his way to the turbolift that would take him down to the launch bay, where his shuttle should be waiting for him if Captain Jager was fast enough. If Jager wasn’t, he would be replaced and find himself in some unpleasant position that Trachta could think up later. Jager, though, had moved fast enough, for Trachta found his shuttle sitting there ready for takeoff. Trachta boarded it quickly and quietly.

“Take me to Centerpoint,” Trachta said to his pilots as he took his seat and waited for the trip to begin.

The shuttle slowly took off and flew out of the launch bay, where it then deployed its wings as it made its way towards Centerpoint. Trachta glared out into space, watching, as Centerpoint grew even larger than it already was as they made their approach. This time however, instead of simply being allowed to fly in, they were hailed.

“Lambda Shuttle, please identify yourself and your purpose,” came the very curt voice of an Imperial space traffic controller.

“This is shuttle Blitz One, carrying Commodore Trachta,” replied one of Trachta’s pilots.

“Very well, Blitz One, you are cleared to land. We are opening the shields now.”

Trachta watched as the shuttle flew through the main entry port and was amazed as the progress that Lieutenant Pyotor had made as he continued his construction projects. Stormtroopers and naval troopers could be seen all around the place, though more often the second type, as they were still the station’s law enforcement force. Trachta though was surprised to see fully operational facilities up and running, including the main commander center, which stood as the tallest building within the innards of the station. Trachta was happy to see that the construction was coming along nicely, but one thing did irk him. The only reason he could see was because of glow lamps and other light sources that had been set up, as it seemed the Glowpoint refused to come on currently. Trachta watched as they approached a large clear area where landing lights came on, drawing the shuttle near it. Slowly and carefully, the shuttle touched down and Trachta was surprised to see it greeted by officers who all now stood at attention.

The ramp lowered slowly with the buzz of servomotors as it touched down. The main hatch opened with a hiss of gases and Trachta began to walk down the ramp without much haste since he had all the time required to do an inspection of the massive station in its conversion. Both Lieutenant Pyotor and Lieutenant Dojej were waiting at the bottom of the ramp to meet Trachta. Trachta simply looked from one to the other as he continued down. Pyotor still had the look of annoyance on his face, while Dojej had newer black marks on his face. It was quite clear that the AI of the station was still putting up resistance. Trachta knew he would have to have that AI dealt with soon as it was becoming an annoyance to everyone on the station.

“Well, what do you two have to report?” Trachta demanded as he reached the ground and looked at the two as they came to attention.

“Construction is going on as planned, but with the continual blackouts that have been occurring, I’ve been forced to install lighting implements all over the station so that construction can continue uninhibited by the station’s continued resistance to our efforts,” Pyotor reported as he stood there.

“Very good, and what of you Dojej?”

“The computer’s continued resistance is hampering my work, but I have been able to get most of the main systems running again. I’ve even been able to set up a traffic controller that can control the station’s shields.”

“Won’t the AI interfere?” Trachta asked curiously as he stood there.

“I may not be able to convince it to cooperate, sir, but I can isolate it. Unfortunately that takes time. I’ve only been able to set up the traffic control and give us full control of the station’s shields so that the thing doesn’t try to space everyone in Hollowtown.”

“Well, progress none the less,” said as he walked past the two now and was greeted by ISB officers.

“Have three commando units meet me in the main briefing room of the ISB building, in one hour.”

Trachta walked off to make his plans before the others could arrive.

One Hour Later

Trachta stood before three commando units worth of men as well as the officers in charge of them. They all wore black uniforms, signifying their connection to the ISB, but several had different uniforms as they served in different areas of the Empire. A good number of these commandos wore infantry uniforms as they mainly came from the ground forces of the Empire. Trachta, himself of course wore a naval uniform, which made little difference as he was their superior officer.

“Now, I’ve called you all here because I have a mission of great importance,” Trachta said as he hit a button causing the wall behind him to reveal itself to be a large screen. The screen buzzed to life with the image of Talus’ twin, Tralus, on the screen.

“This world is where you will be going to, Tralus. This world is vital to the New Order’s continued expansion. While the world itself is of little value, the space on it makes it an excellent training facility as well as another base of operations for the Imperial Security Bureau. As you should all know, Tralus is very lightly populated and before today was governed by the Federation of the Double Worlds. Officially as of eight hours ago, Talus, Tralus’ sibling world in the Fed Dub became a full-fledged member of the New Order of the Galactic Empire. This means that the Fed Dub no longer exists which leaves Tralus in anarchy.”

Trachta now had the full attention of everyone in the room, the more experienced ISB officers were smiling maliciously at what Trachta had just said as they knew the procedure once a world was classified to be in anarchy by the New Order. That meant that it was to be taken immediately so that order could be restored. Now all they had to do was establish a plan so as to make the peace keeping takeover permanent. Trachta turned towards the display and brought up what appeared to be a small city.

“This is Tralus’ main city, Janus. Unfortunately, from what our operatives and informants on the world report is that Tralus is aware of what has happened to Tralus. However, since we have begun to jam all of their communications, they are trying to send a diplomatic transport to get help from the other governments. This transport will lift off on the side of Tralus facing away from the Imperial forces in the area so as to try and make a silent and unseen escape. However, since people on Tralus have never dealt with someone like us, they did not do a good job of covering it up. So, our current objective is to use a refitted Nebulon B frigate with the markings of a local Corellian pirate group and capture and kill everyone on that shuttle. Men, you have one day to be ready and onboard the transport taking us to the refitted frigate, Entrapment, be ready,” Trachta said as he walked out of the room to go and prepare.

Trachta sat quietly in his captain’s seat on his shuttle Blitz One as it cruised out of Centerpoint followed by a several other Lambda shuttles that carried the other ISB groups that were all en route to the Nebulon B Frigate Entrapment. They would of course have to act like pirates once they began their mission to grab the diplomatic shuttle, but that mattered little as they were going to kill everyone onboard the shuttle anyways. Trachta of course had no problem with killing people who were out to ruin the plans and operations of the New Order which is why is was one of the highest ranking ISB officials still running around performing operations to ensure the Empire’s success and to ensure the security of the only true government out there.

“What is our ETA?” Trachta asked his the pilot as he continued to stare out the viewport.

“We’ll arrive at the Entrapment rendezvous point in about 30 minutes, sir,” The pilot said, not even taking his eyes away from the instruments as he continued to do his job.

Trachta sat back quietly and ran over everything in his head of what would be happening within the next couple of hours. They’d have to wait for the shuttle to get at a safe distance and then micro-jump in and ambush it to ensure they could capture it and extract any useful information from the officials onboard to see exactly who they might have been trying to get help from. That was of course why Trachta had brought more than just experts at combat and boarding. Interrogation would be required once the diplomats were in his hands so that he could learn anything of use, including what Tralus might be expecting when the New Order decided to make its move to bring order to a world that they currently considered to be in a state of anarchy since one half of its government had collapsed.

30 Minutes Later

Trachta watched the blankness of space quietly as he and the rest of the transports waited for their rendezvous. Soon, with a flash of light, a Nebulon B Frigate exited hyperspace.

“Hail them and ask for their ID code,” Trachta ordered as he sat there. The last thing he needed was to run into actual local pirates.

“Greetings Commodore Trachta, I am Captain Onnel of the Entrapment. Please feel free to have your men dock and board.”

“Very well, all shuttles begin docking and offloading of personnel and equipment,” Trachta said into his comlink as he stood up and walked out of the cockpit and into the main hold where the squad under his direct control was waiting.

“Gentlemen, prepare your equipment for offloading, we are about to dock with our accomplice in this plan.”

Trachta watched as his men moved about with the efficiency he expected of members of the Imperial Security Bureau. If they had done any worse he would have found some way to have punished them. His men knew that also, which was probably why they did their job so well in the first place. Trachta always found fear to be an excellent tool to get his job done and this time it proved his thoughts right again as his men were already at the hatch, prepared to board the Entrapment so that they could set up their equipment and other items. Soon there was a loud hissing noise followed by the hatch sliding open as Trachta found himself greeted by the Entrapment's second-in-command.

“Uh, welcome aboard Commodore Trachta,” The man said in tones that marked just how nervous he was. Trachta could understand that since no one usually liked the presence of ISB on their ships and this ships was literally being taken over by the ISB for a special operation to help them secure the second planet in Operation Siblings.

“Take me to the bridge,” Trachta said sternly, his metallic voice only making it sound sterner and more threatening than actually intended.

The officer jumped to follow the order with as much haste as possible. In fact, it looked as it he were trying to flee from the cybernetic commodore, while making sure he was following him at the same time. Trachta had to admit the sight was entertaining to watch, but he had business to deal with here and he needed to get his plans started so that they could intercept that shuttle to assure the stranglehold on the Double Worlds. Soon Trachta was on the bridge and looked at the large man that was Captain Onnel. Onnel had a very broad and muscular build which looked more like he had come out of one of the Empire’s military programs than the Imperial Naval Academy. In fact, he was one of the largest officers Trachta could have met in service to the Empire which would help with the illusion of this being a pirate vessel. Trachta planned on using Captain Onnel’s appearance to his best abilities to further convince the once captured diplomats that they were the prisoners of pirates. That illusion would of course be discarded once they had been drained of every last piece of vital information they had. After that, the diplomats would be killed and placed back on their ships, which would be stripped to make it look as if it truly had been a pirate attack.

“Welcome aboard the Entrapment, Commodore Trachta,” Onnel said with only the slightest hint of nervousness at having to meet someone who could have him killed for his failure if this mission went wrong. “I hope we will meet up to your expectations in the coming mission that wish us to execute.”

“What is the status of the Entrapment?” Trachta asked as he looked around the bridge quietly.

“We have been stripped and refitted with illegal weapons and shield arrays and the hull and been painted in the colors and markings of the Kufuru Pirates, the local pirates that cause trouble in this area.”

“Excellent, my men will not the help of your crew to set up their equipment, but we will need you to wear the outfits we give you when the time comes, if anyone refuses, I’ll space them myself,” Trachta said, his grating metallic tone making the threat sound even more inhuman.

“Of course, sir, but my men won’t fail,” Onnel said in slight agitation at having his abilities questioned.

“I’ll hold you to that, Captain,” Trachta said as he walked off of the bridge to go and make the necassary preparations for their plans.

Trachta stood quietly on the bridge of the Entrapment as he went over his equipment checks and then looked distastefully down at his makeshift pirates uniform. It was brown and red which didn't help with his already pasty skin color. The only reason he even dressed up was because he had the look of a non-government official especially with his cybernetics. He turned towards Captain Onnel who looked all the more the image of a pirate captain in his uniform. That would help with what they were about to do to ensure the conquest of Tralus.

"Well Captain, are you men ready for what we about to do?"

"Of course, sir, the shuttle won't even have a chance to escape."

"I hope you are right, captain, because if we fail this, you won't be around to remember it."

Onnel took it upon himself not to respond to that, but Trachta knew that he had put a little fear into the man. Trachta was sure by now that he had a reputation for being vicious in whatever operations he was part of. But that was of little concern right now. All that mattered was that he catch the ambassador's shuttle before it could enter hyperspace. Once that was done, extracting the information would be easy. Trachta was sure the people of the Double Worlds would have no knowledge of how to withstand torture, but at least he would enjoy extracting the information he needed to perform the planned invasion.

"Sir, our agents report that the Ambassador's shuttle has just been given clearance for takeoff," the ship's comm officer said as he relayed the report.

"Make the micro-jump," Trachta ordered as he looked over to Captain Onnel.

"But sir, the shuttle was just cleared to lift off."

"Its a trick, they want us to think it just took off or they wouldn't have broadcasted it loud enough for us to hear it. It is already airborne. We must move now!"

The Entrapment's hyperdrive suddenly hummed to life as it activated, carrying Trachta and his ISB agents towards their wary target who was probably already in space by now. With a click, the hyperdrive quickly cuts out and the sensors come back online.

"Detecting Lambda class shuttle attempting to manuever to make the jump to hyperspace," uttered one of the sensor officers.

"Grab it with the tractor beams!" Captain Onnel yelled as he watched the shuttle move into view.

The shuttle made as if to run from the frigate but stopped before it could get very far. That meant the tractor beams had grabbed it. Soon the comm officer turned towards Onnel and Trachta.

"They are hailing us, sirs."

"Put it on screen."

An image appeared of an elderly man Trachta had seen from his time on Talus. It was Councilman Ruussa from the meeting on Talus. Trachta couldn't believe it at first, but then it made sense since the old man was probably the most experienced of the surviving members of the Council.

"What is the meaning of this! Who are you!"

"We are the Kufuru Pirates and we hereby claim your vessel and anything on it as our own. Prepare to be boarded," Captain Onnel said in a much harsher tone than he usually spoke. Trachta was happy that he was acting the part intended. Now he watched as the shuttle was forced to dock and a camera focused on the docking hatch where ISB agents, also dressed like pirates, prepared to break in. There was soon a flash followed by the agents surging forward and the sound of blaster fire as the crew and ambassador were stunned.

"Excellent, have the shuttle stripped and damaged and then send a distress signal before microjumping. They will think the ships was ambushed and all aboard were killed. Now I'm off to deal with the Ambassador," Trachta said as he walked off the bridge.

Councilman Ruussa slowly opened his eyes as the stun blast slowly wore off. He looked around the room and found it full of medical equipment as well as much cruder and more dangerous looking items. He couldn't understand what was going on, but then the door hissed opened and a man in a black uniform walked in. Or at least what at first appeared to be a man. His eyes were glowing red photoceptors and where his mouth and nose should be was some sort of respirator, which was apparent from the mechanical breathing sound it was producing.

"Ah, I see you are finally awake," the machine man said as he looked at Ruussa.

"Who are you?"

"I am Commodore Trachta of the New Order of the Galactic Empire."

"Wh...what? I thought we were grabbed by pirates."

"You'll wish you were when I'm through with you," Trachta said as he stepped aside and a small black orb floated into the room.

"What is that?

"Its called an IT-O, its an interrogation droid. I hope you'll appreciate its complexity as it slowly forces out the informaiton that I want. So, shall we begin?"

Three Hours Later

Trachta looked down at the shell of a man that had been Councilman Ruussa. He quite clearly could care less about the old man's health condition as he currently was listening to what the stenographer droid had recorded during the interrogation.

"Now, where is the city's generators?" Trachta's recorded voice asked.

"I'll never tell......AHHHHHHHHHH!" Ruussa screamed as the IT-O made him change his mind.

"Where are they?"

"C....central district. They're in the central district."

"Good. See how easy that was? All you have to do is tell me the truth and all the pain will go away," Trachta said

"Burn eternally you monster," Ruussa spat back.

"I've already burned, old man. But I think we need to find out some more information."

Trachta spent several minutes listening to the parts where information was given before he turned off the stenographer and walked out with a datapad full of strategic information.

"Kill the old man and space his corpse, I no longer have any use for him," Trachta said to the two guards outside as he walked out. He continued down the hallway as he heard a single blaster shot and then silence. Trachta continued on his way as he entered the bridge.

"Sir, General Hitto is awaiting the tactical information so he can begin the invasion," Captain Onnel said as he stood there, back in his grey officer uniform.

"Transmit the data from this datapad to General Hitto immediately," Trachta said as he handed the datapad to the chief comm officer.

"Information transmitted, sir."

"Excellent, Captain Onnel, prepare to make the micorjump back to Tralus. I want to witness my handywork in action," Trachta said as he looked out into the darkness of space.

"Yes sir. Lieutenant Goff, set course for the microjump to Tralus."

"Yes sir."

Trachta continued to look out into the darkness of space as went over what was about to happen because of all his careful planning and schemeing. Soon Tralus would fall and he would be even better known throughout the Empire. The Imperial Security Bureau was rising again without the Inquisition and all would remember what loyalty trully was. Once this world was taken, Trachta would make all of his worlds he controlled into a protectorate that he controlled solely. Once that happened, he would make armies of troops loyal only to the Imperial Security Bureau. Once that happened, a new era of terror would begin for anyone who even thought of betraying the Empire. The ISB would have four worlds fully set towards trainging a new generation of agents. Trachta was sure many officers would not be happy with the increase in ISB, but they would have to accept the fact that the safety of the Empire came before their needs.

"Sir, we are ready to make the make the mircojump."

"Proceed."

Trachta watched as the stars before him streaked as the hyperdrive suddenly kicked in. They remained like that for only a few minutes before they began to revert to their original form as the ship returned to realspace. Trachta could only mentally smirk at the sight he saw before him as several Imperial Star Destroyers orbited Tralus and were already starting the invasion. Landing ships were clearly visible against the planet's atmosphere as they descended down to the world to make it a permanent memeber of the New Order.

"Prepare my shuttle for launch and inform General Hitto I will be joining him shortly on the surface," Trachta said blandly as he walked off the bridge and made his way towards Blitz One's docking port. When he arrived, he was happy to see his two faithful pilots standing there waiting for him.

Trachta boarded and immediately took his place in his seat behind the pilot and copilot who took their seats after him. They quickly punched in commands and then recieved clearance to launch. The shuttle quickly disconnected from the Entrapment and then began to make its way towards Tralus. What surprised Trachta though were the TIE escorts that soon appeared and moved with the ship to ensure his safety. This pleased Trachta immensely since it meant someone currently under his command was showing initiative. Trachta watched though as the shuttle continued its decent down to the world that would soon be in the iron grip of the Empire. He already saw the the attack had begun, but the people of Tralus were fighting much harder than the people of Talus had, probably because they knew what the Empire would do once they won. Such a pity their fighting would be all but fruitless.

Tractha watched now as the shuttle slowly descended towards what appeared to be an already deployed Command Center. Stormtroopers ran out and directed the ship down. Trachta walked down the ramp with little urgency, since he preferred to give the air of calmness about him. It was what made him even more terrifying, since he could calmly order the death of someone without even a change in his tone of voice. It may make him look like a monster to many, but in the end, it was always for the greater good of the New Order. Trachta found himself being greeted by a young military officer.

"Welcome Commodore, General Hitto is a waiting for you in the war room."

"Lead the way," Trachta said as he followed the young man into the command center, even though he didn't really need to follow him since all these prefabricated bases were the same since they practically came off of a production line.

Trachta walked down along the hallways, all with the same basic design of the Galactic Empire. The lights never in the cielings, but instead in the walls and supports in a basic arrays of lines. It was an interesting design and prevented the chance of explosives being placed in overhead areas where they could do damage to a group passing under them. But Trachta returned to where he was going as he soon found himself in a large room full of officers who were all moving about busily, quite easily the war room. There in all his self-important pomposity was General Hitto, his rank insignia and code cylinders polished to perfection. An egotistical Imperial like Hitto disgusted Trachta even worse than rebels or revolutionaries did because Imperials like that often made mistakes, thinking that the enemy they were dealing with was foolish. Trachta knew better, he had learned that from when he had had a fleet command. But that experience had also caused him to form a hatred for force users. It irked him that they had such power and he was nothing but a man barely alive, stripped of his humanity by another's megalomaniacal schemes.

"Ah, commodore, here to watch me gain glory for the Empire?"

"No general, I'm here to watch you take this world for me or I shot you through your overly large head," Trachta said, making the room very quiet.

"You dare threaten me!" Hitto rumbled as he stood there.

Trachta walked up to Hitto casually and quickly pulled out a pistol and put it to Hitto's head.

"Yes, you egotistical @#%$, and if you don't continue with your job I won't have any use for you and if I don't have any use for you...." There was a blaster shot but the blaster was now aimed only a little to the side of Hitto's head so as to not hit it.

"Have I made my point, General?" Trachta asked in a very dangerous tone, his grating metallic voice carrying his threat and agitation very easily.

The General nodded very quickly and Trachta holstered his blaster and turned towards the tactical screens. He continued to watch the battle from there.

Twelve Hours Later

Trachta stood beforethe ruins of Tralus' main city. It was completely ruined by the combat as the sun began to set. Trachta watched as several battered looking people were ushered towards him by stormtroopers.

"Here are the remaining members of the FedDub Council, sir."

"Ah, welcome members of the former Double Worlds. You are now all citizens of the Mechis Cluster of the New Order. Enjoy your new rulers," Trachta said as he looked at the broken and beaten people.

"You'll never conquer us completely. Eventually, even the New Order will fall."

"Lieutenat, I believe I just heard anti-imperial sentiment among the world's leaders. Terminate them."

Trachta walked away to observe the rest of the conquered city as he heard screams of protests followed by blaster shots. Trachta didn't even flinch as he listened to the executions that took place, it was simply culling the unloyal from the citizenry to ensure Imperial dominance. Most though would still call him a monster but that mattered little to Trachta now. He now had enough worlds under his personal rule to further the ISB and its growth to ensure the security of the evergrowing Empire.