With a flash of light the once calm peaceful depths of space now were alive with small ships moving into formation around the three larger vessels in Reshmar's command group. Two Republic Star Destroyers moved into formation on the flanks of the Hawkeye. Then remaining vessels moved into various positions flanking the Destroyers Before them was the vast Throneheadge Nebula.

"Have all vessels close blast shields commander. We will lead them in via laser link."

Reshmar was deep in the command section of the Hawkeye. The nearest External view port was three hundred meters away. He and the men and women of his command were safe from the bright radiance of the Nebula and the massive pulsar at its center. The rest of his battle group was not so lucky. The radiance from the nebula was blinding. and the radiation would kill the crews of the ships now on the precipice of this mighty gas could which feed the intense pulsar in the center.

On the ventral hull the Modified Agave picket was preparing to detach and move into the Nebula. The engineers and scientists had al boarded except Monti. he was dealing with his new responsibilities as head of the scientific division of 3rd fleet. He had not wanted the job but he was honored when Admiral Reshmar offered it to him. There was no way he could say no. He watched the last of the crew of the Beacon climb down the ladder into the umbilical hatchway which connected the Hawkeye with its smaller counterpart the Beacon. He signed off on a small pad and handed it to a boatswains mate who was manning the hatch. He climbed down into the dorsal docking compartment and looked up as the man closed the hatch and sealed it. He stepped away from the ladder and began the short walk to the main engineering room. Behind him the crew closed the hatch and began preparing the ship for separation.

Reshmar turned his seat to face the aft display which was fixed on the Beacon. The small ship popped and air pressure escaped into space as the pressure locks released. The ships slowly moved away from the Hawkeye then gained sped as the helmsmen began to maneuver and engage the engines. the small ship moved out of view from the display. Lash depressed a switch and the view changed to one of the forward bow of the Massive ship. Along the port rim the small ship moved out from under the Hawkeye and moved onto its course into the Nebula. Some of the most brilliant minds the Alliance had were aboard that ship and Reshmar knew the cost if something was to happen to it. He closed the display and turned his chair back to the main display. Beacon was on its own for now. He had sixteen other ships to worry about.

Kyyr system
Thornhedge Nebula

Commander Hughe, It was growing on him but he still could not believe it. He had entered Reshmar's service as a civilian and now look at him. A soldier, A poor one but one all the same. He had not seen battle, nor went through any special training besides self defensive training. No he was still a scientist. He was the top scientist but still just a Scientist all the same. Now here he was commanding an expeditation and a ship of his own. He just hopped he was good enough for the job.

The Beacon slide effortlessly into the cloud of charged particles that was the Nebula. Immediately alarms and warning lights lit up warning of radiation and gravimetric fluctuations among other spacial phenomenon.

"Commander, Gamma Radiation has peaked. I am not sure our shields will hold."

Monti turned in his chair and boosted engine power to the shield emitters. A warning light on the board went green as the shielding blocked the gama rays beating against Beacon. Monti looked at the other warnings and slowly worked out ways to deal with the problems. Massive radio wave emissions slammed against Beacon as the Pulsar shifted. The point two three millisecond phase was tough to work against. It was one of Monti's crew who worked out the solution to that problem. His crew were the best and brightest minds the alliance had to offer. Most recruited as teens by the New Republic and put to work in their intel department, research and development division and think tanks. The man linked the sensor relays and polarized them adding a shifting algorithm and matched the pulsars frequency shift allowing the Sensors to function again.

The optical issue was the simplest to solve. Beacon had closed all of the shutters over its view ports. The X-ray radiation was strong but the Hull of Beacon had been built to withstand such. It was a pure research and stellar mapping vessel. It was built to do just what Monti and his crew were now attempting. Just then the ship shuttered. Monti held onto the armrests of his chair to keep from being thrown.

"Report?"

Monti said the words because he had been taught to. He already knew what was wrong and had begun working on ideas. The young man sitting at the sensor station monitoring gravitic conditions spoke.

"Commander. A gravity storm of sorts. A rouge gravity shift occurred, I am not certain why."

The young officer looked puzzled. He looked over his readings again and again trying to explain the rouge wave. Monti had his suspicions but he wanted to see if the young officer could come to the same conclusions. Reshmar had told him not to hand hold them. Let them do the job and he do the commanding. It was difficult for him not to jump in with an answer, even if it was just a theory.

"Sir A course change could move us out of this. I believe we are in an axial pattern with the Pulsar. Moving twelve degrees to course one eight two would keep us out of the gravitc pulse."

Monti nodded to the man and orders the helmsman to modify the course. He sat back in his chair impressed at the man. He knew he would figure out a solution but he did it much faster than Monti would have guessed. He made a mental note of it and went back to monitoring the boards. Everything was as it should be. Spacial mechanics was not an exact thing. The universe had a way of throwing what General Forlon had called a curve ball at you. He had no idea what it mean but the man had used it to describe exactly the same thing. For now the Beacon and her crew slowly moved into the nebula mapping what it could and looking for the sweet spot.

Edge of Thronhedge nebula.

Reshmar sat calmly waiting for Raymond mosses to arrive. His delivery was of utmost importance to the mission. In fact there was no mission without it. The man had proven useful to Reshmar but he was still a criminal in Reshmar's eyes. A man can only change so much, and from what Reshmar knew of Mosses he could never change enough to be anything other than a criminal. He trusted the man but could never call him friend.

Reshmar watched the countdown run its cycle in the corner of the rear monitor. It hit zero them like clockwork space exploded in a violent blue storm ad the massive form exited hyperspace. A moment later the bulk of what was once a Mandator star dreadnaught sat lifeless in space. Around it thirty six smaller ships surrounded the massive hulk. A comm channel lit up and was answered by Hawkeyes communications office.

"Admiral, Mister Mosses wishes for me to inform you he has your new toy."

Reshmar scowled a bit at the comment. It was expected of Mosses. The man had a way with the basic language and many odd sayings Reshmar would never understand. Mosses in general was confusing. He could be a trustworthy person one moment then a back stabbing self preserving pirate the next.

"Mister Mosses, Good to see you, and right on time. Is the toy as you call it to my specifications?"

Mosses kicked his feet up on a rail in front of him and crossed his hands behind his head.

"Bob spared no expense on this one fish man. He wanted me to ask you not to get it crushed in the gravity of that sparkler out there, pretty colors."

Mosses laughed softly and took pleasure in the fact that his comments ate at the Calamari admiral. He knew it was buring in what ever the fish head called a stomach. He typed in a set of commands and transmitted a signal to the Hawkeye.

"Ok Admiral, she is all yours. My tugs will move the ship into place but you pay for any we lose in that soup out there. I still think you got a banthas chance in a karyt dragons den of pulling this off."

Reshmar fought the desire to reprimand the man. He knew he could, Rob had put the man under his command. His contract stated he was a member of 3rd fleet with the rank of commander until the job was done. He also knew the man did not thank to much of the agreement between Reshmar and Stellar. For the best of all parties he would let some of the mans puns to pass. But he would keep the man on a leash and have him watched closely.

The screen went dark as Mosses closed the channel. Reshmar turned and had the image sent to the main screen at the forward wall of the command center. The massive vessel sat dark and lifeless against the swirl of color that was the Thornhedge Nebula. A sleeping giant that would soon be alive again. Reshmar looked over the transmission sent over by Mosses. He finalized the transfer of what was classified as a long term spacial research outpost. It was truly much more than that. Much more than it was when it was one of the most powerful ships in the galaxy. It was now the future of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, it was Port Liberty.

Kyyr system.

Seventeen hours had past since the Beacon and her crew passed into the charged cloud of the Thornehedge Nebula. Maping the dense clouds gravitic shifting and radiation pockets. The Neutron star at its center was as stable as a new pulsar could be. It shifted like any other and it fallowed the rules of physics as Monti knew them. He knew a feasible location could be found. He had warned Admiral Reshmar that the task would not be easy. But he did not say impossible. Finding a null zone in the gravity fluctuations was possible but finding it was a one in thirty five thousand or so chance. At least that was the numbers he calculated when planning this venture.

"Commander, We have contact."

A sensor officer informed as Monti looked over the data coming in. There to the port side was a a solid object. Monti knew there had been remains of worlds and moons in the nebula. Records listed seven planets and at least ten large moons in the system before Kyyr went Supernova. Over four hundred years had past since any one had seen the world now hovering outside Beacons hull. The world was the first step in creating a null zone for Port Liberty to anchor. The retrofitted Mandator Star Dreadnaught would be hidden away inside the nebula and act as the Anchorage for 3rd fleet. It was the greatest undertaking he himself had ever been a apart of. A place where Stellar Enterprises could openly assist the Alliance. A place the fleet could hide if needed and rebuild. A place thousands who now for lack of a better description were homeless. The men and women of the Alliance fleet were indeed without a home. Many could never return to the worlds they had once called home. Worlds of their birth. Worlds their families now painfully missed them. The longing for home was one of the leading causes of Alliance personnel going awol. The hope of many was that with a place they could consider home, even if it was a temporary one would help with moral.

"Sir, we have a visual." monti nodded.

"Put in on the screen."

The sealed control room of the Beacon had no external view ports. It had been made to withstand gravity that could crush even a star destroyer without its shields up. The forward hull lit up and an image appeared of a hazy sphere half shrouded in nebula mists. The surface was cracked and charred still. Nothing survived the star going nova. Nothing but the husk of a once vibrant world. The pale mists cleared as the planet grew nearer. The world seemed calm. A brown and black disk of nothingness.

"All Stop"

Monti stood and walked closer to the display. The world amazed him. How fragile life was. How insignificant he or any other truly were. A race could spend a million years developing and surviving but no matter how advanced or enlightened they become in the end it was the cosmos that decided fate. A people can reach the apex of exsistance. Learn to live in peace with themselves and others. But the truth was that the power they amass or the wealth they accumulate means nothing to nature. Kyyr gave little warning when it went Supernova. It destroyed the inner system as it expanded. Engulfing the third world and the billions of souls on it. Cracking the world as the pressure and heat from the reaction hit it then vaporizing what remained. This world before them was one of the outer planets. Worlds who were outside the expansion zone and free of the vaporizing energy of Kyyr as it exploded. A world which survived for a moment before the gas cloud and radiation scorched life from its surface. Now it sits silently ghost like in the dense radiation of the Thornehedge Nebula. Waiting for it to be found. Waiting for it to have a reason to exist. It now has a use. A reason. It is where Monti will set up his team and begin to build a new home.

Edge of the Thornhedge Nebula

The Shuttle carrying Reshmar and his retinue slowly approached Port Liberty. Reshmar looked over the station as the shuttle made a inspection loop around the massive hull. The eight kilometer Mandator had once been a truly massive war machine. Built for defending Kuat and its shipyards and able to take on a thousand ships. The hull now looked less like a mandator and more like a shipyard. The ventral hull was lined with slipways and dry docks. Along the dorsal edge docking collars and boarding umbilicus spread out to dock ships up to cruiser size. Hangers lined the edge of the ship for transports and other smaller ships. On large hanger had docking racks for Corvette sized vessels. The shuttle moved up over the lower hull and moved towards the city scape of the dorsal midship area. Set amidship was a Golan III battlestation which now acted as defensive command and control for Port Liberty. Few of the weapons remained on the Mandator itself. The Golan was now the primary weapon of the beast. Only its weapons and a few other emplacements along the hull of the star dreadnaught remained.

The shuttle moved into a landing pattern with the station hanger and slowly moved in and touched down. Reshmar turned and headed to the ramp which was now opening. The air tasted of fresh paint. It was dry, which was normal for starships. Reshmar and every other Calamari would always think of them as dry. The air onboard would never be wet enough.

A small group stood at the base of the ramp ready to great Reshmar. Among them Reshmar saw Raymond Mosses. The man stood out among the uniformed officers flanking him. There he stood looking like a prisoner awaiting transport to a cell. His unkept attire was nothing new. Reshmar had learned to deal with it. He had seen worse during the galactic civil war. Like every other Calamari HE had been raised to dislike and never trust men like Mosses. Pirates and smugglers, thieves and mercenaries. These were what the Alliance was built on. They managed to defeat the Empire at its height. Now they seem to manage taking money for half ass jobs. A different sort of scoundrel existed these days. One how did not seem to have any morals. Mosses seems to be one of these at first. Now Reshmar had learned the man was trustworthy. Or at least trustworthy enough to not to expect a knife in the belly if he got too close to him. He had no idea how the man worked. He assisted Rob Stellar and had even assisted Reshmar and did so with now complaint. Yet he makes no excuse for the facade he portrays. He was someone Reshmar would always watch, never fully trust, but respect. He had never given Reshmar a reason to question him or his acts. For now He was a friend. But Reshmar knew a man like Mosses could one day be a friend the next a foe. Depending on where the money or advantage was.

"Admiral, Welcome aboard Port Liberty."

Mosses stretched out his arms and made a slight curtsy motion as Reshmar reached the ramps end. He knew Mosses did so as a show but he would just ignore the mans zeal and pomp.

"Mister Mosses, I see you have attired yourself in the normal vagabond far of the season. I believe your tailor should be commended for the impossible task you put to hum."

Mosses broke out in laughter and reached out to shake Reshmar's hand.

"Ah yes, I did so miss your humor fish. Welcome aboard. I trust you got a good show coming in?"

Reshmar shook the mans hand and let a short chuckle slip. One thing the two men shared was the ability to see humor in each other and not be offended. That part of the man Reshmar liked. His past as a pirate seemed less offensive when they joked at each others expense. Few dared to do so. Even fewer got away with it. His status as a civilian adviser left Reshmar little in the way of reprimanding him for such things. He seldom returned the jest but found when he did Mosses seemed warmer to him afterwards.

"Yes Mister Mosses, I did. Your pilot did a grand job of giving us a show. How was the trip here?"

Mosses motioned for Reshmar to walk beside him as the group turned and walked out of the hanger and into the belly of the Golan III battle station.

"Uneventful Admiral, We left Denon and made three jumps to get here. I slept half the trip, drank the other half. But i seem to be sober now, such a shame. Anyway I was told by Rob to inform you that my contract will be up once the station is in place and we can return to Denon. So lets get this show on the road."

Reshmar walked along side Mosses as he went on about his contract and his sobriety. They stood silently as the lift took them to the bridge. The door slide open and the bright lights of the command center filled the lift. Reshmar squinted a bit in reaction to the change in illumination level.

"Admiral on the Bridge"

a voice sounded someone from out of Reshmar's perihelial vison. He looked at the collection of men and women then walked to the center of the bridge.

"At ease, Please return to your duties."

Reshmar looked around as the crew went back to their tasks. A officer walked up to him and Mosses and handed him a data pad and introduced himself.

"Admiral, I am Captain Kir Nihtal. I am acting commander of Port Liberty. I welcome you and your crew aboard. Sorry I could not join you when you arrived. I trust Mister Mosses was not too improper in his greeting."

Reshmar nodded and took the data pad.

"No worse than I have come to expect from him."

The captain nodded and smirked at mosses. He had made his dislike of the man known many times before to Rob. Yet the man still offended him and his command. Kir reached out and shook Reshmar's hand then pointed out a file on the pad.

"This is the final notarization of transfer. After you sign here Port Liberty is all yours. I of course will stay on as interim commander while you chose a replacement. My contract is not up for six months. Until that time I am under your command."

Reshmar signed with a digi pen and handed the pad back.

"I thank you for your fine work captain. I will see to it you get a bonus for your service."

The man nodded then saluted.

"Thank you sir, Now if you excuse me I will begin the preparation to move the ship into the nebula."

Reshmar returned the salute.

"By all means captain you have the com."

Reshmar then nudged mosses in the side.

"See Mosses, that is how you are supposed to treat me."

Raymond laughed then smiled at Reshmar. He chose not to reply. He just smiled and walked back to the lift. The two then toured the massive vessel which ended in Reshmar's new Quarters. His home when aboard Port Liberty. The chamber was larger than his on Hawkeye. The adjacent staff meeting room was however smaller. He looked over his new room and sat down behind the desk.

"Everything good here admiral?"

Mosses stood at the door as Reshmar walked around the room.

"Yes Mister Mosses. Thank you for your service. I will send for you once i have heard from Commander Hughe. Until then I will take some time to rest and get used to my new home."

Mosses nodded then let the door slide shut. Reshmar relaxed and closed his eyes. The walk along the corridors and access ways of the massive ship was a job for a much younger man. He was tired from the day and now wanted nothing more than to sleep. Tomorrow would be the day, the day Port liberty would enter the nebula. He just hopped it all went as smoothly as Monti had said it would. The thought of losing Port Liberty to a nebula was not an option his mind was willing to entertain. But that was tomorrow Now he would sleep.

Kyyr
Edge of the Thornhedge Nebula

Reshmar sat int the command seat of Port Liberty awaiting the all clear. The hyperspace tugs had cleared the ship and moved off to a safe distance encase something catastrophic was to occur. The massive ship was nor more station than warship. The row upon row of docking umbilicus hangers cut into the armor of the massive ship. And the shipyard which now was the bottom of the vessel. Port Liberty would be Fleet HQ for the time being. Reshmar had many things which he and 3rd fleet needed to do but first they had to disappear. The galaxy was at a turning point and for The Alliance to survive things had to change.

"Mooring clear all Tugs at safe distance. Ionization reactor at one hundred percent. Admiral she is ready."

Raymond Mosses stood across the command deck making sure he finished this so he could move on. His debt to Rob had been payed and now he was his own man once again. That is after this monstrosity is in place and moored the what ever barren rock Monti had found out in the soup. He needed to move along to other jobs and scams where he could make some real credits. HE eyed the Calamari who was looking over the information on the main systems panel on his console. For what it was worth he knew Reshmar was a honorable man but also knew he was by far harmless. He had heard rumors about the officer, of things he did or did not do in the clone wars. There had been a reason he was not asked to serve with the new republic but up to this point he could not get any information on what that reason was. He knew Rob knew, and had ask him once and all he got was robs standard answer, I am not at liberty to say. What ever it was any record, form, or recording of it had been destroyed. He watched the Admiral enter in a set of coordinates then sit back.

"Navigation I have entered in the first nav beacon, Take us in very slow."

The massive vessel strained against the thrust now moving it towards the Nebula. The utter mass of the station was beyond imagining and the thrusters were far less than adequate to propel the ship for long. Reshmar watched the front of Port Liberty disappear ingo the hazy nebula then everything was gone. The swirl of dust and rock engulfed the ship. It was then that the shielding of the ship kicked in. The three planetary shield generators pushed out against the cloud and slowly the dust and everything else moved out away from the view port and off into the distance. The field built up to forty percent where the controller slowed its rate of charge then brought it to a plus minus setting at fifty percent. The one hundred kilometer bubble no encircled port liberty. It pushed aside the dust and particles as the ship slowly moved deeper into the nebula. A red light lit up on the nav station as the ship mover into the first nav point. Reshmar entered in a second set of co-ordinates and the ship slowly turned and moved deeper into the cloud that once was the Kyyr system. After five more navigation points and course changes The Beacon Appeared on the screen before them. The small corvette size ship moved closer and took up position in front of Port Liberty. A moment later the voice of Monti Hughe filled the room.

"Admiral, Nice to see you. We are in the final stretch here. This current course will take you right into the neutral gravity bubble of one of the Kyyr systems old planets. Another fore hundred kilometers in and you are there. I have crews ready to launch the mooring cables upon your arrival. The gravity is minimal so a low orbit is easily obtainable. A makeshift base has been set up on the planet. We are simple calling it Kyyr for now. Were not sure which planet it is yet."

Reshmar listened and took in what Commander Hughe was telling him. Most of it was just dribble about the system and the process itself but he knew any information Monti mentioned may be important later.

"Very good Commander. We are closing on the final nav point. Dock Beacon and join me in conference room one."

Monti nodded and closed the channel. He had the ship move into one of the port hangers large enough for a corvette. The sudden gravity made the ship lung as the thrusters and repulsors slowly moved the ship in and down upon the hanger floor. The world below them was a barren rock for now but soon it and the ship now orbiting it would the bastion of the Alliance 3rd fleet. For now the work has only begun but the most difficult part was over. He hoped to get some rest before he was sent back out by the admiral. Right now he just wanted a real bed and a warm meal.

The meeting with his senior staff and Commander Hughe lasted less than an hour. Reshmar knew the man and his crew had not slept in days and wanted them to be rested for what was next to come. For now the chore fell to the engineering regiment to move the two additional planetary shield generators down to the planet. Placing them and bulding the underground base and power plane was the first step in getting the station up and going at full power. For now the ship itself would power most of the systems for the set up and defense if needed. The addition power needed to build and repair ships in the yards and for operations at full compliment was far out of the reach of the power systems on the station itself. The massive hangers aboard wee full with the parts needed to build the base inside the planet. The construction would last for months. In that time Reshmar had to finalize his plans and prepare the Alliance fleet for what was to come next.

Reshmar smiled as he seen Hawkeye moving out of the soup and into the shield bubble of Port Liberty. He did not feel at home on the station yet. It was far more accommodating than he was used to. Each of the twelve hundred VIP quarters was more five star resort than starship quarters. Even the thousands of crew and guest quarters were much nicer than standard starship captains quarters. Living aboard Port liberty would take some getting used to. For now he would return to Hawkeye and make his way back to Hughe to report to fleet command and prepare his fleet.

Hours later he looked out at the massive scene that was Port liberty. A small section of the planet was visible inside the edge of the shield bubble. The world was charred and arid. The gravity od the world was enough tot Hawkeye to have to thrust away from it as it reached out to pull it and its crew in. Soon the world would be fully inside the bubble and become a haven for the Alliance to hide and plan for its future. A world hide away from the rest of the galaxy secreted away inside one of the densest and most active pulsar nebules in the galaxy. A place no one would ever imagine it being and would never look. A world to call Home.