Note: The following is a takeover of New Sessalia (Altel II) and Altel for the Commonwealth, both are planets in the same system as Ohalla.




The Super Star Destroyer Corsair's Sword sailed through hyperspace along an unknown trade route that had been established by pirates for pirates. The ships destination was a relatively unknown region where things had been happening recently and the potential for garnering a good amount of salvage or other things was high.

Captain Lax Klavex was the man in charge, though he was currently sprawled out in the Captain's seat asleep with an empty rum bottle in his hand. His mouth hung open and he snored heavily. The rest of the crew seemed to give him a wide berth as well. Apparently he had really bad breath.

It was still a mystery to his crew as to how he had managed to take an Imperial vehicle such as this one right out from under their noses. Though, it wasn't a mystery to him as he knew exactly how he had done it.

Needless to say he had been good friends with one of the Imperial Moff's back in the day. In so being he had earned the mans trust, becoming like the brother that this man had never had. With that trust secured, Lax had promptly stabbed the man in the back as any good pirate would do. Of course, he hadn't exactly stabbed the man. Lax was more partial to a whip.

His sleep, however, wasn't to be left alone as something appeared to be going on down in the hanger. Apparently someone was trying to steal the booty that was already onboard and they really couldn't be having that. So one of the crew thought it best to wake him, tapping him on the shoulder and telling him to wake.

Lax jerked awake, his arms flying upwards and the empty rum bottle smashing the crewman right in the head. The man promptly crumpled to the floor as Lax jumped up and looked about.

"Who be wakin' me from my sleep?"

He glanced around as if expecting a fight for a moment before looking downwards and taking note of the situation.

"What happened to my bottle of rum?"

Apparently, the crumpled pirate was going unnoticed, and Lax tried to walk away. The body of the pirate tripped him though, and he did a faceplant on the hard metal floor.

"Bloody hell! Where in the world did he come from?"

Nobody wanted to speak or move apparently as Lax righted himself and stepped away from the man for a moment. Pointing to a couple of men, he pointed to the crewman and motioned for them to take him off to the infirmary. In the meantime, he tossed what was left of the rum bottle behind his back and looked at his first mate.

"Shwimmer! What be the ruckus that rose me from my sleep?"

"Err... well, you see, Captain... Someone broke into the vault and the men captured him down in the hangar..."

"Me booty!!!"

And off Lax shot away from the bridge, careening down the halls past a bunch of pirates before making his way to the turblift. Mashing the buttons, he climbed aboard and shot down to his destination before running through the halls once more. It should be noted that he was quite fast when he wanted to be.

There were a myriad of reasons for him to be fast. Number one: Someone was trying to steal his ship. Number two: Someone was trying to steal his treasure. Number three: Someone stole or tampered with his rum. Number four: Someone was messing with his lady friend. Number five: Someone had brought a Rancor onboard... which he promptly ran from.

Arriving in the main hanger, he careened through the gathered people and ran right by his target. Skidding to a halt, he ran back and stopped. The man that was being held looked as if he'd already been beaten a few times as it was. He was a scraggly fellow with an evil eye.

"Aha! I knew it would be you, Artemis! Men! Take him to the brig!"

As the men walked off, one of the pirates walked up to Lax and looked at him questioningly for a moment before speaking.

"Captain.. ain't ya gonna whip him or nothing."

"Whip Artemis? Nah..."

"Well shoot me in the knee and call me Tom!" the man exclaimed, apparently this treatment wasn't normal.

Lax was happy to oblige the man and pulled his blaster from its holster. Aiming it at the mans knee, he fired a shot and then reholstered the weapon. The pirate promptly crumpled to the floor screaming.

"Happy to oblige, Tom."

With that he walked off towards the corridors again, and unsatiable hunger taking over his body as he did so. He left "Tom" to learn his lesson even though Lax hadn't meant for there to be one:

Never exclaim something about physical harm in front of a drunk pirate. He's liable to oblige you.

New Sessalia was on the brink of overpopulation and the Clan Prime hadn't decided on a course of action due to the recent loss at Ohalla. The fleet was still reeling from the sudden arrival of the Commonwealth vessel which had very nearly destroyed half of the Sessalian fleet in the Altel solar system.

They had learned from the experience though and had already begun taking extra measures to shore up their ships defenses. Projectiles fired by one of the Commonwealth's gunships would never again cause so much damage in one fell swoop. The Clan Prime had willed it to be so and what the Clan Prime willed always came to fruition.

Beos wasn't the Clan Prime, though some had wished for him to be. He was, instead, a Commodore of the Sessalian fleet. It was his job to ensure that the orders from the Clan Prime were actually completed and with haste. Who knew how long it would be before the Commonwealth found out that the Sessalians were still on New Sessalia which was close to Ohalla.

"Commodore... the changes proceed as planned."

A nod of his head and a flick of his hand sent the Sessalian off and back to his duties. It had been a week since they started the changes and they were nearly done. A few more changes to a couple of the frigates and things would be good. The Commonwealth would pay for their meddling.

First, though, would come something else. Nearby Altel, the planet closest to the systems sun, was occupied by a primitive people. The Clan Prime had ordered that the planet be conquered to secure a stronger foothold within the Altel system. Originally the plan had been to take out Ohalla, the strongest threat in the system, and then take Altel.

The Commonwealth had changed those plans.

As it was, most of the fleet was still sitting around New Sessalia while Beos took his destroyer and another one, mixed with a couple frigates, to Altel. Hyperspace was more or less a quick jump before they appeared in space above the planet. There was no fleet here, but none of the Sessalian warships could be alone with the Commonwealth so close.

Already scouts had totalled up a dozen craft in orbit around Ohalla including the vessel that had done so much damage to them.

With a quickness only recognizable as a Sessalian invasion, drop ships departed the fleet and swiftly moved down towards the planet below. They settled down on the planets surface and sent thousands of soldiers onto the planet. Some of the vessels carried armored transports that sped off towards the nearest encampments.

"Show them no mercy, for mercy is only for the weak. Do unto them as you would have them do unto you. Crush them like the bugs that they are."

Beos lifted a hand from his chair and squeezed it closed into a fist as if to emphasize the point he had made. Lances of energy shot out from the vessel and blasted the encampments a couple times before the ground forces were near enough for battle.

"This galaxy will know the wrath of the Clan and we shall dominate. Let this planet be the first to fall..."

Present Day, Ohalla

"So, what exactly are these things, General?"

"Not really sure to be honest, Mr. Holmes. They showed up on our doorstep for the first time those four months ago. Took us completely by surprise."

Standing on the other side of the lab table was Killian Holmes, the co-owner and co-CEO of Commonwealth Technologies and Industries. Next to him was Ohallan Senator Raymond Tolunus, everyone just called him Ray for the obvious reasons. They were both there to examine this new enemy now that there was time to do so.

The enemy was an odd looking, completely encased thing that was just as susceptible to weapons as humans or any other species. They could be taken out by a nice dagger, a blaster bolt, a grenade. There wasn't anything special about their armor and that was what made it the thing easiest to question about them. Not why they had attacked, but why the armor?

"Has anyone taken off one of their helmets before?"

"No, but we've swept them to make sure that they weren't contaminated with any known pathogens. If they have something new, we would have found that too."

Killian Holmes merely nodded his head and walked towards the head of the being, looking over the helmet for a moment. When a few moments passed, he pressed a button located on the side of the helmet and with a hiss it released its suction hold of the aliens head. With a nod, he motioned for an assistant to remove the things helmet.

He did so and revealed beneath was only a skeleton. Or, at least, it appeared to only be a skeleton of some sort. It had a large ridge along the middle and no perceptible mouth. The eyes, however, were set right into the bone, strangely different from any other known humanoid figure.

"Very much different than a human, that's for sure. It's going to take us a few days to figure things out about this new enemy. You might want to find somewhere to relax. We'll let you know what we get as soon as possible."

"Works for me. Thank you gentlemen. Be careful with that thing, it might still be dangerous for all we know. And Mr. Holmes, thank you for coming so quickly."

"Of course."

Delvin nodded his head to the man before being accompanied by the Senator out of the room. They conversed for a bit about a few minor details before parting ways. As the Commonwealth's newest General he had died to assume and so he went about doing those duties. It would be a while before he was needed.

"'ey Cap'n. Have ya e'er told anyone of how ya got yer paws on this ship?"

Lax responded to the question from one of the crewman who had opted to join him for a meal with a large belch that nearly killed the man with its potency. Smiling, he daintily wiped his mouth clean of any food debris with a napkin before sitting back and looking the gasping man in the eye.

"Nope, never have. But it is a grand tale of swashbuckling adventure, daring rescue, and beautiful women!" He grinned at this and then shook his head. "Well, not beautiful women, and no rescue, but the other part is true. Sort of."

The pirate just stared at him a bit dumbfounded in response to what had just been told to him by Lax. Like most of the people on this ship, this one wasn't particularly intelligent. In fact, the smartest people on the ship were Shwimmer, the first mate, and Lax himself. That wasn't saying too much because Lax wasn't particularly intelligent, just greedy and a quick thinker.

"Do ya really want to know?"

The man nodded.

"Well fetch me some rum and I'll tell ya!"

Without another word the pirate ran off out of the mess hall and Lax cracked a grin as he tapped a gold laden finger upon the table. It was only a few moments before the man returned with a bottle of the good stuff. He really is anxious. Took him only five minutes. Lax grabbed the bottle and took a swig of it before leaning forward and pointing a finger at the pirate.

"I told ye how I used ter be a friend of an Imperial Moff, aye?"

"Yea, cap'n."

"Well, I used ter be a big supporter of them Imperials. Me father had been friends with this Moff and I became a friend of him through me father. So now, this man had a love of sex. But he wasn't exactly normal as they would see. He didn't be liking women like a normal man did."

He took another swig of the bottle, adding to his previous drunken state.

"He was pretty good at keepin' it hidden though. No one knew about him liking men, nor did they know of his actions with them. So, me an ma paw got some nice images of him with a man. Then we took 'em to the guy and threatened him into giving us something.

"Of course, me paw wanted a big ship. Something worthy of striking fear into our enemies. So, we tricked him into giving us an order for a smaller ship, then we washed it and replaced it with a Super Star Destroyer. Not exactly a fancy method, but hey, it ended up working. We flew up to the nearby fleet and handed over the orders, taking over the ship.

"Well, the Moff didn't much like it when this here ship broke formation and headed out of the system. He gave chase despite our thread, but we escaped. Being the good men that we were, we didn't put the images out on the net."

The sailor blinked and raised a questioning eyebrow at Lax while the warning klaxon for reversion started to go off.

"What did ya do with the pictures then, Cap'n?"

"We sent them to the Emperor."

The swarms of Sessalians warriors poured forth upon the people of the planet, swiftly covering it in their wrath. All those that fought back were killed, even if they surrendered. Those that did nothing were spared though they would be used for other purposes at a later time and place. Women and children were mostly the ones that survived, though some men did as well.

Streets ran with blood from the enemy warriors that fell at the onslaught of the Sessalian warmachine. Bodies piled up upon bodies and the stench quickly befell the native populace. Sessalians, though, couldn't smell anything as they had no nostrils. They were perfect for working around death.

"Commodore, the enemy is being washed from the planet. But...."

"But what?"

"Some of the commanders seem to disagree with your edict that all be killed. Many have been taken prisoner and bound up inside of the largest buildings in each city."

Beos squeezed his fist tightly around the armwrest, rage welling up within him as he turned his helmeted head to stare at the Sessalian who was speaking to him. For a moment, the rage just grew until he finally exploded.

"How dare they question my power! Show them what happens to traitors! Fire on the planet! Destroy them all!"

"But sir!"

"I SAID FIRE!"

The crew lurched into action at the behest of their commander. Other than the bridge crew, there was only a crew that operated in the engine room. Everything else was run from the bridge. The bulk of Sessalian vessels was used to transport warriors and pilots, landing craft and fighters. Optimized space.

Lances of energy shot from the ship down to the planet, laying waste to everything. Even Sessalians were killed in the onslaught, but it was all to be taken as a warning. No one crossed Beos and survived it. He would take no insubordination from his warriors. HE was in charge, not the individual commanders. They would learn or they would all die.

"Commodore! Reversion in sector four! It's an infidel ship and it's big!"

"Put it on screen," Beos replied calmly.

While the ship continued to fire on the ground below, killing everything and removing every heat signature from the planet, the screen lit up to reveal an image of a Super Star Destroyer.

"All weapons cease fire."

The weapons stopped firing after releasing one last salvo on the planet below. All members of the crew turned their helmeted heads to look directly at Beos, awaiting his instructions. For a moment, though, he didn't give any as he stared at the screen, sizing up the new arrival.

"All ships ahead full, quarter to port."

The command was immediately relayed to the engine room while the helmsmen directed the ship one quarter to port. The other vessels that made up the strike group began the same maneuver, bringing themselves around as well. The force was turning towards the new arrival with speed that shouldn't be capable for such large vessels, but it was for the Sessalians.

"All weapons, fire on the new enemy. Destroy them."

"General, the fleet is reporting that long range scanners have picked up some activity near Altel itself. They are unsure of its exact nature, but there does appear to be some fighting in that sector."

That was news. Last reported intelligence from that area of the solar system was that the natives were, as always, living their peaceful lives. No one bothered with them because there was no reason to bother with them. So what could possibly going on around the planet right then that warranted fighting in its airspace?

"Anything more local? Any indication that this is not an isolated occurence?"

"One of the fleets perimeter units encountered an alien scout on the edge of our airspace. They destroyed it without incident."

"So perhaps we should go investigate what exactly is going on around Altel. Fighting becomes our business when it is so close to home. Inform the fleet that they will be receiving troop armaments here shortly and that we'll be departing. It's a short jump to Altel, won't take long."

"Yes, sir."

Delvin stepped away from the console and moved back through the room, exitting it before turning down the hallway. His datapad soon found its way into his hand and he quickly went about the process of sending out some messages to the commanders he wanted onboard, informing them to call up their troops and prepare for departure.

While doing this, he continuously made his way down the hall. Passing through a set of doors he found himself in the medical wing which was still highly occupied. Through another set of doors he found himself in the science wing and turned left through more doors to find Killian Holmes standing and looking through a glass window at what was going on beyond.

"What news, Mr. Holmes?"

"Well, we've determined that they have a relatively weak body structure and that's why they wear those suits. It isn't because they breath different air as was first thought. Other than that we don't know. They show no obvious signs of weakness any different from our own as humans."

"Interesting. So, they're an intelligent species that finds its way to our system and attacks us. They wear armour to protect their fragile bodies. What about the armour? Is it anything special?"

Killian shook his head and looked back through the window.

"Not much different from the typical armour that you might find on an Imperial Stormtrooper. It's nothing special, just a hard outer shell."

"I see. Well, we've discovered some activity near the planet closes to our sun so we are departing to investigate. I wanted to inform you so that you know I won't be around."

"I'm glad you did."

"We should be back in a couple of days. I expect you'll know much more by the time I return."

"Hopefully so. Stay safe out there, General Olden."

"Thanks."

It wasn't really much of a conversation, but from what he knew, Killian Holmes wasn't much of a social conversationalist. He preferred to get down to business as soon as possible and spell things out as quickly as possible. It was men like him that Delvin had a real appreciation for. There would probably be a full report on his desk by the time he returned from Altel.

Already the commanders were organizing their people and getting things situated. The fleet had been places on high alert and was already receiving shipments of amunition from the planet. Delvin was quick to make his way to his office and gather his battle fatigues. This would be his first test as a Commonwealth general and he was a bit anxious.

But he hoped it was the enemy from before so he had yet another crack at killing the bastards that had ruined his home.

"Sweet mother of Solarus! Where the hell did they come from?!"

"Unknown, sir. But they're firing on us."

"Well I can bloody see that! Fire back at them you idiots. No one fires on my ship without being fired back upon!"

The crew snapped to it as soon as he started giving orders, weapons opening fire on the unknown ships from long range. Shields went up immediately, only the first few attacks from the enemy vessels actually impacting the ship. The Super Star Destroyer was much larger than the enemy vessels and packed a lot more firepower. Though, they didn't know much about the enemies vessels.

"Sir, their shields are absorbing our attack."

Lax stared out the window for a few moments and then looked back at the ensign that was looking at him.

"That's because we're bloody shooting at every single ship! Shoot that one!"

He merely pointed to the one of the ships and the ensign went to work. Slowly, the attacks drifted towards that ship until all but one gun was going full force on it. Lax turned to look at the ensign again, a look of disgust and wonder on his face.

"Who's shooting the lone gun that isn't targetting the ship I pointed at? Because he's too be fucking shot!"

"Yes, sir."

Flopping down into his chair once more, he shook his head and rubbed his temple, the ship shaking from impacts on the shield as well as shots being fired from the SSD. Popping open a side compartment, he pulled out a cool bottle of rum and popped the top off before pouring some of it in his mouth. He then proceeded to wipe his mouth off on his sleeve.

"Status."

"Enemy ship is down to ten percent shields.... five percent... shields gone. She's taking impacts. Hull breaches on her foreward bow. She's spiraling away towards the planet in a death plunge."

"And our status?"

"Holding at eighty percent shields, minor hull damage in sector seventy-eight."

"Aim for the next ship."

He knew it was going to be a long fight if it lasted long enough. He expected the enemy ships to run, though, once they lost enough of their brethren. None of them could stand up to the SSD's might, not alone anyways. And he was pissed, so he wasn't going to let them get away clean. For now he was content to just kill them.