Kamon sat in his office contemplating the total annihilation of his fleet. Unknown forces had swooped in during the night and completely destroyed the ships crew and all. Nothing had remained to be salvaged. The largest pieces of debris found were warheads.

Reports were coming in from around the galaxy of the destruction of entire fleets. Most of them had been larger than the TDY fleet. Unfortunately, none of them happened in the same way. They were all different but ended in the same manner.

He had called a council immediately, but they had deduced nothing. During the attack, Zonama Sekot decided it didn’t want to be under TDY rule anymore. He had opted out of trying to take them back, because his fleet had been destroyed. It gave him nothing to work with.

A new meeting had been started, and he was late. He had been pouring over maps and charts looking for possible planets that would like to join TDY. One of them had been brought to his attention and it was the reason he had called the meeting.

He walked in and took his seat. The remaining officers of TDY sat in front of him. Specifically they were General Skai, Admiral Radon Mont, and Colonel Pheylan Cavanagh. Fortunately, these were his most important officers.

“Seeing as we have lost our fleet, the option of taking Zonama Sekot back is out of the planet. Their revolt was based on allegations that we didn’t give them enough business. Of course this is untrue as we were developing designs for ships to be built by them. Besides we don’t have anything to deal with their fighters. Anyone have any suggestions as to a planet we could take?” Kamon asked.

“What about Nakuru?” Colonel Cavanagh asked.

“Too close to the corporate sector. Our treaty with Vinda Corp forbids it. In that case, I have a suggestion. There is a planet out on the rim called Edo. It is a largely populated planet and prides itself with its output of high quality Officers.”

“Whom do they provide officers to?” Admiral Mont asked.

“Whoever wants them. I believe that it would be of great good to take Edo. Diplomatically of course, but still taking them.”

“Sounds interesting. I assume you want an Intel team on the planet.” Colonel Cavanagh said.

“Yes along with a small squad of General Skai’s troops. Specifically the best infiltration team the RPGC has. I want my men well protected. Besides, if I need them, I want to know they’re there.” Kamon said.

“Will do.”

“Very good. I want the Intel team to leave today. The infiltration squad can leave when ready. If that is all, I have preparations to make.”

He looked around the small group before he stood up. He nodded to the men as he left the room. He headed for his personal quarters where he would spend time collecting gear. When he was done he would hit the sack, then be off early in the morning. He wanted to work fast.

The wind blew through the streets of the city. I stood on a twenty fifth story apartment balcony, one I had rented turning my stay on Edo. Luckily for me it was available immediately, well, maybe I should say, lucky for the landlord. If it had not been available, I would have had to kill him, silently, and moved in anyways.

Similarily, my men had spread through out the city, like a plauge, or a shadow. No one would know what was going to happen on Edo until it had happened, and when they did realize, it would be too late for anyone or anything to stop it. Though, I was not as cocky as I had once been, I knew that there were forces in the galaxy, and some people that made a living trying to foil the plans of others. I was one of them.

I took a deep breath of the recycled air, and looked up at the air scrubbers on the top of the nearest building. All big city worlds had them, without the technology of the air scrubbers, all the pollution would over take the citizens and the world would wither and die. Maybe that was better for the citizens of Edo, for I knew that some of them wouldn't enjoy us moving in and making the planet ours. I pulled my comm up to my face, and hooked it to my mouth and ear.

"Helmsly, I want squad A to go through the town looking for information from the city dwellers. Also, I would like Beamon's group to search the terminals in the libraries for anything they think will aid our infiltration."

He double clicked his understanding, and then I turned back to look into the apartment, and took out a bottle of water, taking a quick drink. I let a sigh escape my lips as I sat down on the couch and flipped through the pages of information I had already gathered about the planet.

Kamon woke up the next morning refreshed. His things had been packed, and were already loaded on the shuttle he would be taking to Edo. He did a last minute cursory sweep to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything, and then got dressed in his Jedi robes.

He clipped his lightsaber to his belt and walked out of the room. He paused momentarily at his office, and Areis Kiborn’s office. At his office he gathered his datapad and a few datacards. At Areis’ office, he told the Admiral he was leaving and that Areis was in charge.

Walking down the hall he made his way to the hangar bay. He stopped one of the techs momentarily to ask him a few questions.

“Is my shuttle ready to leave?”

“Yes, sir. All preparations have been made and the preflight checklist is complete. You can leave whenever you want.”

“Very good. When I leave, inform Admiral Kiborn that I have left smoothly.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kamon walked over to the shuttle, and walked up the boarding ramp. Inside, he chose a seat and sat down. Buckling up he nodded to the captain to lift off. Then he pulled out his datapad and began to ready the galactic news.

Nothing seemed of real importance except that the New Order was moving swiftly to gain planets. This wasn’t a total shock as it had always been their goal to dominate the galaxy. He turned off the datapad as they breached the atmosphere, and watched the planet fall away behind them.

Soon enough they were outside the planets gravitational pull, and had made their first jump. Their first destination was Ossus, but they wouldn’t be stopping there. They would come out outside of scanner range and then redirect and jump to Edo.

Kamon sat back and looked at some of the compartments. He had installed several holoprojectors on them to show views of different worlds. Eventually, the co-pilot came back and asked him if he wanted to play some Dejarik. Kamon said yes and the two set to it.

By the time they came out of hyperspace at Ossus, Kamon had one seven games and lots two. He hadn’t used the Force or anything, he played fair. The shuttle redirected and jumped to Edo. The two of them sat back to play some more. By the time they came out of hyperspace over Edo, the two were exhausted of the game.

Kamon and the co-pilot went up to the cabin to await a transmission from the planet. A few minutes later, after they fell into orbit around the planet, the received a transmission.

“Vessel TX101, state your name and business on Edo.”

“This is Prince Kamon Vondiranach of the Tholatin Drive Yards. I’m here on a diplomatic mission to meet with your leaders.”

“One moment. I need to get clearance for you to land.”

“Thank you.”

Kamon sat back in one of the chairs in the cabin, and looked out the viewport. The planet was almost all cityscape. A few spots here and there were forest or water. The reports of excellent ground forces obviously meant urban warfare forces.

“Vessel TX101, you have clearance to land at the coordinates we have sent you.”

“Thank you. TX101 out.”

The shuttle left orbit and breached the atmosphere. They moved smoothly into the traffic flow, and made for the landing platform. They landed and were greeted by a delegation of government officials. Kamon walked out of the shuttle and greeted them.

“I am Prince Vondiranach of Tholatin. Pleased to meet you.”

“I am Senator Cikar. We will lead you to the diplomatic receivment hall.”

“Actually, Senator, I was hoping to explore some before I met with your leaders.”

“That is not proper procedure. I cannot allow you to do that.”

“Why not?”

“I told you already. It isn’t proper procedure. You will come with us to the reception hall.”

Kamon drew on the Force and waived his hand in front of him.

“You will give me permission to roam as I choose.”

“You have my permission to roam as you choose.”

“Thank you, Senator. Now, if you will excuse me.”

Kamon left the platform, and made his way into the city. It was bustling with people of all species. He even noticed a few Noghri in the shadows. That was a sight because Noghri were almost always on a mission. He wondered what it could be on Edo.

He looked around at the shops and such. Most of them advertised trinkets or information. Some advertised foods and drugs. Not the pharmaceutical kind either. He would change that when Edo was his.

Eventually he got bored and opened himself to the Force. He sent a message to his Padawan, Jacen.

Jacen. What is your location.

He walked through the streets some more as he waited for a reply.

I shuffled the papers in my hands, and slowly dozed off to sleep. I had been up for almost three days pouring over the data about the planet's diplomacy, leaders, geography, and just some other basic things about Edo that I thought would be entertaining, or useful to our cause.

I stood up, and placed the datapad back down on the table. I walked over to the counter, and put my elbows down, and rested my head in my hands. I shook my head, rubbing my eyes, and then poured myself a cup of cold caf. I took one laboured sip, and then my comlink beeped.

"Jace, here."

"Major, we have found somethings that you may want to know. As it turns out there is going to be a diplomatic meeting tonight, and anybody who is anybody on this planet is going to be there. I think we should check it out, don't you?"

I smiled at Helmsly's enthusiasm, and continued, "Yes, I think that it would be a good idea for a few of us to go. Pick out three of your most trusted men or women, and make sure they have a good acting ability, they may need to have to talk their ways out of somethings. Make sure that they all haave a copy of the data that we put together, and make sure that they have read it over. I don't want them to be making up too much, and getting caught in a web of lies. We need these people to trust us."

Then a message hit me through the Force. Kamon.

"Make sure they don't come on too hard, either, Helmsly. We don't want them to look desperate either. Lastly, make sure you give them each someone they can concentrate on, I don't want to be bidding agains ourselves when all is said and done. Jace, out."

I am in the Doone Apartment complex. I will meet you at the bottom of it.

Kamon nodded to himself as he picked up his comlink. Keying it on, he sent a message to the people on his shuttle.

“Captain, give me the location of the Doone Apartment Complex.”

“Yes, sir.”

Kamon waited a few moments. Glancing into the windows of some of the shops he noticed that quite a few people on the planet had to be wealthy because the items in the shops were so expensive. Some of the items of clothing cost into the thousands of credits.

“Sir, it’s approximately five hundred meters from your current location. Keep walking straight.”

“Thank you, captain.”

“My pleasure, sir.”

Kamon began to walk slowly down the street. He kept his eyes open for suspicious characters. This planet had to be full of them. A planet like this was a natural attractor to people who enjoy being evil.

As he walked he noticed a few people asking a lot of questions. Of course he knew that these people were part of Jacen’s team, but it was best to ignore them. It wouldn’t be good to blow their cover.

A few people caught his attention. Specifically one hiding in the shadows. Kamon walked passed the man, or woman, and continued down the street. He could tell, of course, that the person was following him. For what reason he didn’t know.

A few more buildings down the way, he quickly ducked into a pawnshop. It was sparsely lit and there weren’t very many people occupying it. He slipped behind a stack of boxes containing data cards, and waited.

He was rewarded a few minutes later when the person who had been following him entered the shop. The follower looked around quickly and walked toward the back. Kamon caught up with him or her and grabbed him.

Spinning him around, Kamon noticed that he was indeed a she. He pressed her to the ground and held her their with the Force.

“Why are you following me?”

“Please.. don’t hurt me. I was only obeying orders.”

“Whose orders?”

“Senator Cikar’s orders.”

“Why does Senator Cikar have someone following me?”

“He believes you are a threat to the planet. I was told to make sure you weren’t planning something bad.”

Kamon let go of her with the Force before he spoke again.

“Go back to Senator Cikar and assure him that I am planning nothing harmful to the people of your planet. I am here on a diplomatic mission.”

She stood up from her position on the ground and nodded.

“I will.”

That was the last thing she said as she left the building in a hurry. Kamon too walked out of the building. He turned back down the way he was going and continued to walk. Soon enough, he was where he needed to be.

Jacen stood just inside the shadows of the buildings entrance. His eyes were watching the street. Kamon walked up and nodded to him.

“Hello Jacen. Is everything going as planned? I trust you have not been idle during your time here. Take me to your apartment so we can talk.”

Kamon glanced around the area outside before entering the building. He wanted to be sure that no one was following them. There didn’t seem to be anyone doing so, so he walked into the building.

My comme bleeped, and Davis' voice came back, "Jace, we've run into some trouble at one of the meetings that you set up. It seems the Tyrula wasn't as ready as you thought she would be. She freaked out when they mentioned under cover agents, and shot him. Luckily for us, the guards shot her shortly after, and left the rest of us alone because we didn't have any ties with her. It is a shame though that she had to die, she was a pretty thing."

I shook my head in distaste at the soldier's cold dismissal of death, but he was right. Though, Tyrula and I had been secret lovers for the last few weeks it didn't mean that I could waste the time or energy to mourn her death. At least, not right now, there was a time and a place for everything, and no was not that time for sorrow; it was the time for action.

"Well, keep up the good work that you have been, and if I hear of any more mess up, I am going to make sure that the person lives so they can deal with me, and that will not be pretty."

I threw the comm across the room, and it landed neatly on the couch. Checking my chrono on my wrist, I walked to the door. Well, Kamon is most certainly taking his time getting here. Must have run into some trouble. I hope he is alright. But it seemed that my worrying was not needed, for when I got to the bottom of the lobby, Kam had walked in the doors.

"It most certainly took you long enough." I looked past him and out the window onto the busy street, but there was no one that was watching. Through the Force there was no one listening or feeling into our plans, so all was goos and safe.

"Come on, I have the datapads and everything up in my apartment. Nice place too, if I may say so." It took an inordinate amount of time to get to the borrowed apartment and inside. I gave the room a quick sweep with my eyes, the Force and some very expensive equiptment.

Nothing. Well, I guess it is a good thing...but I am not satisfied. This whole mission has gone over far too easily. Something is going to have to happen to balance it out.

"All those things are what we have come up with, and if I may speak freely, Kam; these people are idiots. They found out about us through Tyrula, and didn't even stop the meeting they just shot her. I will be glad when this is over so I don't have to think like they do, because making myself sink that low in the IQ department is starting to hurt my brain."

Kamon looked at his Padawan. They were playing him, and playing him badly. Kamon knew it. He had been to Edo before. These people were very smart. Too smart to show it.

“Do not underestimate them, Jace. They are playing you. I’ve been here before. They are very smart. They’re making you think they aren’t. Watch your back.”

Kamon sat down and began reading over one of the datapads. It was all pretty bland. Mostly just garbage about their economy and other not important stuff. It was a good job on Jace’s part though. It was hard enough just to get this.

“You and your men did a good job getting what you got. I’d have probably not even gotten this.”

He set the datapads down and looked at his Padawan. He seemed tired and bored. Not good. He needed to be alert at all times.

“As for not getting here earlier, well I was tied up. I was on my way and got a little side tracked. I was being followed actually. The government had a woman following me around. One Senator Cikar to be exact.

“He assigned the woman to watch my every move. A little absurd and privacy invading if you ask me. Anyway, I stepped into a store and surprised her. She told me who she was working for and that he was concerned about the safety of his planet.

“I sent her back with a message saying I was not here to harm the planet.”

He looked back at Jacen.

“What else have you got?”

"The dates and times of every single event from private meeting up to major political galas, and the names and positions of every person that will be in attendance."

I didn't know if Kamon would be impressed, but right now that was the least of my worries, if we didn't act fast, Edo was going to become a stroonghold against us. Time was not on our side here, as things were starting to heat up, and I had a feeling that it was about to ocome to a boil.

"I think that we, you and I, should attend some of these more oimportant get togethers after we wedge ourselves in with the major figureheads at some of the more 'personal' meetings. We can come up with some reasons to be here, you being the Prince of Tholatin."

Kamon nodded.

“That’s a good idea. We want to be at a major event when we announce to the populace our intentions of taking over. The people here seem to have an air of sadness about them. It’s almost like they are living forced lives.”

He stood up. Looking about the room, he made his way to the window. There he parted the curtains and looked out. The view was great until he looked down. He saw something he really didn’t want to see.

“Uh oh.”

It was after ten o’clock by Coruscant standards. Technically it was about the time of Imperial Patrols. What he hadn’t expected was to see Imperial Stormtroopers on Edo. He looked at Jace.

“Stormies on Edo? Did you know about them? This isn’t good Jace. That means the hierarchy is imperial remnants from the Old Empire. We have to move fast and carefully. We can not let them know I worked for the Republic.”