The General listened with quiet respect to the words of the mysterious arrival. His eyes narrowed in pain as he winced at the words, “…on your own, you will be crushed.” The General knew this, but this fight was never about him or this generation. If Kyle C. Bel Iblis had learned anything from his father’s fight to end to the first New Order; it was that to truly damage a might like the Empire, one must not fear to sacrifice everything. Gen Bel Iblis had long ago surrendered himself to the inevitability of his own death, but suddenly he realized that he was asking those in attendance to declare themselves traitors to the Empire and make themselves wanted criminals. He was asking them to die for his cause. Could he live with that?

More than this the General in the years he had been doing counter-activities against the Empire had heard whispers of a huge organization, multi-system in size, that was utilizing radical tactics to undermine the Empire. He had never heard the names of members or their worlds, nor did he even know the name of the organization itself. What he did know was that this man’s words sent chills down his spine when he offered the aid of his organization. Somehow he knew now that he was speaking with an operative with this dark alliance. The General had to hold back a sneer of disgust at what was now before him. He had called this meeting in hope of making a stand, not to dissolve in vile terrorist madness. Bel Iblis had seen terrorism, been the victim of it, and had long ago vowed he would not surrender to the temptation to adopt that mantle. He would not be a monster.

Breathing in deeply and preparing for a scathing retort demanding the interloper leave when his eyes caught those of another’s in the room. ACS’ eyes, gentle and quiet, yet filled with a bright gleam of life told him volumes. They told him that all the reports he had read on the man and his life on the run from Imperial forces were true, and all the suffering he had seen and now fought with all his might, were worth the sacrifice. They told him that ACS would never fight for Bel Iblis, or terrorism, nor himself… but he would fight for Corellia… for freedom. They told him not to turn away their last chance to rescue their world.

The General felt his rage and indignation fading and looked round once more. He saw the face of a man named Ben… Ben… for all his effort Bel Iblis could not remember his last name, but it was plainly displayed on his features that he was ready to fight. Ready to fight for his people. He had the look of a warrior about him.

Then there was Aidan Elysarr. He too seemed eager to throw off the bonds of Imperial rule. To drive away the evil that had inflicted so much pain and anguish in the lives of so many. Elysarr steely look told the General he was ready to fight for all Corellians and those of its system.

The General finished scanning the room seeing similar looks upon the faces of all in attendance. They were all ready… they were ready to fight for Corellia

Taking in a final calming breath, Kyle turned his gaze on the face of the man, Tir Esias. Standing as firmly and erect as he could and taking a commanding and forceful tone he said, “We welcome your aid. And may our efforts be blessed with the sight of a free Corellia in our lifetime.” Pausing and looking more generally at all his fellow Corellians, Bel Iblis said in a chant-like candor, “FOR CORELLIA!”
The resulting cry of the room shook the prefab shelter’s foundations, as all those in attendance joined in picking up the rallying cry of his people’s liberation.

It had been a long time since I had set foot on Corellia. Two years infact. I wanted revenge on the Empire, not revenge in an evil way but in a way just to make them see justice for everything that had happened on Corellia in the past 20 years. Constantly under the Imperial's boot, without the freedom to walk down the street at night without an Imperial Stormtrooper Patrol coming along and interrogating the life out of you. Not having the freedom of going off planet without going through some ridiculous security checkpoint. Not having the freedom to protest or to establish demonstrations without worry of being shot with a E-11 set on stun and waking up in an Imperial Prison cell. I personally was tired of not being able to have the freedom of walking Corellia's streets without worry of seeing a wanted poster with my name and face on it declaring I am a murderer. Wrongfully acused I had been sentenced to 5 years confinement and then death in an Imperial Court. I served my 5 years but death had no place in my life for being wrongfully acused. So I escaped my fate for a second chance...

And this was my second chance. If the Empire was removed from the Corellian System then my name could be cleared in a free Corellian Court. Because I could keep running from being caught was the reason I wanted to clear my name. It was the right thing to do.

But all thoughts aside I return to the moment at hand and at that moment I listen to the new guy state his business and when he did I saw the General get mad in the face. He hid it very well but back in CorSec I learned to read peoples emotions and so my training allowed me to see his. But he calmed himself soon enough. The General looked around the room at the men that had assembled here and then scanning the crowd he came to me... his gaze, one of question. But my face never changed, my stare was solid but confident and I gave him a simple nod. In that nod I meant that I was willing to go all the way to the heart of the Empire and rip it out with my bear hands if it meant Corellia's freedom. He then continued scanning the people around the room.

He returned his eyes to the new guy's and welcomed him to the fight. And soon after he turned towards the crowd agian and screamed his battle cry that was very quickely followed by everyone in the room. "FOR CORELLIA!!!"
The cheer certainly had the hearts of everyone behind it and it had a power to it as well saying that Corellia would be free, it was only a matter of time.

A grin forms from my face and I close my eyes and remember the old days of when I wasn't a hunted man. I wanted to be free, but I wanted Corellia to breath the free air more than myself, and I was willing to give it everything I had... everything!

Bel Iblis's short speech was met with a raucous reception. Tir didn't find it particularly inspiring, although his senses told him much of the reaction had been fueled by the torrent of emotions evoked by the subject of Bel Iblis's speech. Not that he needed to be impressed by the general.

The People of Corellia, on the other hand, were another story.

It was one thing to incite a gathering of patriots (some would say radicals or extremists) to cheer and pledge to fight. It was another thing to win over the population of an entire planet. The Correllians were notorious for their independent nature, a factor that was certain to aide these Sons of Corellia in their cause, but they would also be facing up against the mighty Imperial propaganda machine- which had already convinced many Corellians that only the Imperial fleet had protected their homeworld from devastation by the hands of the Galactic Coalition. The veracity of that statement was highly suspect, especially to a man as well informed as Tir- but in the skewered world portrayed the by the INS many Corellians thought of the Empire as guardians.

The jubilation was starting to wind down and the room returning to its calmer, previous state. Once he felt confident he could be heard over the general din, Tir spoke again.

"I will relay the message to Mr. Nogoth, I am sure he will be most pleased. I have but one request, General Bel Iblis. I need only a few moments of your time for a private audience, after which I will disturb your gathering no further."

Bel Iblis looked quietly at the man called Tir Esias. A look of dubiousness penetrated his features. After a moment he nodded silently and motioned to a side room.
Letting Tir Esias enter the room before him, Bel Iblis turned and told a colonel to finish the briefing. Motioning to two guards he told the two young soldiers to stand on either side of the only entrance/exit from the room. The General did not feel particularly threatened by Esias, but he had learned long ago to not take uneccesary chances.
The door slid open and the General stepped slowly forward, keeping a wary eye on Tir Esias. Clearing his throat, the General said, "You may continue."

"Of course."

It was time to reveal his true announcement.

"General, everything I have told you so far has been true. I did carry a message from Brutus Nogoth, and that offer remains valid. However, there is something very important that I cannot say in the presence of others.

There is another message I must relay to you."

Tir proceeded to explain to Bel Iblis his affiliation with the Union, and how this most critical fact would effect the relationship between the Sons of Corellia and the GLF. Bel Iblis listened in silence.

"The Union will not tolerate breaches of security. It is imperative that only critical personnel are aware of the fact that the Union is your ultimate backer.

This responsibility lie with you, Director."

And with one sentence, Tir Esias had bestowed upon Bel Iblis a title of far more prominence than the ubiquitous General. There would be one more seat placed around the conference table on the Midas.

Tir pulled a small datapad out of his pocket.

"This contains information pertinent to contacting our associates, who will assist you in any way possible."

He handed it to Bel Iblis.

"I look forward to working with you, Kyle."

And thusly Tir turned to leave.

After Tir Esias had exited Bel Iblis stood motionless for several minutes. Clutching tightly the data pad, he grimaced. His first temptation was to toss it down in sheer disgust. The Union, eh? It was true that he longed to see his planet free, but if what he knew of the Union from the sparse whispers he had heard, there was little about this arrangement he liked. Gen. Kyle C Bel Iblis was not and never would be a terrorist. This was a dark direction to go in, even if the Union wasn't the organization he had heard it to be, he still didn't like having someone else having authority over his group. It seemed counter productive. But the Sons of Corellia did need help, help only those with great resources and experience in stealthy operations. So, what was to be done?

Sighing deeply the General's head dropped for a moment. When he lifted it up he had found his answer. The freedom of Corellia, the survival and triumph of goodness must happen. The Gen. would not compromise his morals, but he would not let the Corellian dream die either. If the Union wanted to back HIS cause, they could. But HE and his people would chose how and when.

Finally emerging into the conference room, the General smiled and said, "Men, fellow Corellians, we have our work cut out for us. I think it's best we begin." With that a shout of "FOR CORELLIA" rose around the room.

Days later....

The long process of organization and mobilization of resources had finally come to fruition and Bel Iblis was ready to make contact with the Union for the first time. He had been studying some of the tactics utilized by various resistance groups throughout galactic history, his father's in particular. He had determined that the most sensible way to carry out there fight was to get a foothold in the Corellian system to operate from. However, he also realized to keep the Union's involvement secret, make sure materials and resources were secure and far removed, and should the worst ever happen, to make certain that the cause wouldn't die out, the Sons of Corellia needed a fall back point. From his studies of star charts the General felt he had found a viable option. Now he needed to coordinate with his Union allies.

Sending his aides out and stepping up to a holo communicator, he uses the datapad to contact the Union officials whose information he had been given. He sent the message in a code that the Union's datapad had included and sent several other messages to various other points, from other stations in his quarters, simultaneously to mask this one's transmission.

"Greetings, I belive I need to speak with one of your representatives. I have a proposal for a... construction project."

It had been several days since the whole gathering and such. Many more people had rallied to the cause of Corellian freedom. It was more a far fetched dream that would never be fullfilled to most who heard about the uprising. But to the Corellian's, it was something they longed for and even the mention of being free gave the people more hope and encouragement than anything else. And the fact that we were actually moving towards an actual freedom brought Corellian's running to us from all over the system. And the more men we could recruit the better, it was the Empire we were fighting after all.

I finish checked the last crate of blaster rifles and put the information into a datapad along with the other stats we had. Such as high explosives, grenades, E-webs, MSMS's, body armor and communication systems. We even had a few speeders that could easily be converted to combat speeders.

Previously I had organize all the men we had gathered. It took everything of a week to get all their names down and organize them into Battalions, Companies and Platoons. I had become the unofficial leader of the men, just someone they went to if they hit a speed bump. Someone they looked to if they had a problem. My military background allowed me to organize things and solve these certain problems both quickely and efficiently. But these were military issues. If it were anything else I knew I'd be sitting back and not worrying about it. And also having things ready and set to go, we could respond to threats much better than just sitting on our thumbs.

With the datapad in hand I begin making my way to Director Iblis' quarters. I was sure he would be pleased with keeping him informed on my progress...

Gen Bel Iblis

The general had just closed down his communications with his Union contacts, when his comm buzzed. One of his aides informed him that a certain Benjamin Knighthawk, one of the many new members, wished to turn in his status report on weapons acquistions and their dispersal. The General told the aide to allow him entrance, and set back into his chair behind his new makeshift desk. Mostly an assortment of packing crates welded together, but soon the Sons of Corellia would have a much more adequate facilities.

Looking up as the young officer entered the room, Bel Iblis' memory was jogged. Yes, he definitely knew this face. He was one of the key members present at the meeting to form the Sons of Corellia. It was terrible he had not remembered that sooner. A by-product of the aging process, and a frustrating one at that. Bel Iblis made a mental note to get some vitamin supplements to aid in memory functionality. Hopefully he would remember to get it...

Suddenly the General came out of his thoughts as the young man cleared his throat. Embarrassed the General grinned and quickly stood saying, "Have a seat, have a seat. Knighthawk is it? What is the status of your project?"


ACS

ACS returned after the meeting to his Corellian freighter. There waiting for him were his partner and her little brother. He had grown some since that day on the beach. Ruffling his hair playfully, ACS stalked past and collapsed in a lounge chair. His wordless entrance left the younger of the two passengers was eager for details and puzzled that ACS was not overflowing with a similar eagerness to share them. His older sister, however, knew ACS far better and would wait until they were in private to discuss how the meeting went. To this end she sent the young boy off to check on the status of some minor repairs they had been working on prior to the ACS' return.

She began gently asking simply for his general thoughts and no major details. For a while ACS was hesitant to share how he felt, but he was never very good at hiding his thoughts from her, it was not long before he revealed his ponderings and inhibitions about the newly formed freedom fighting force: "They seem committed to freedom for Corellia, not just for suppressed political leaders either, but for the actual people of the the system..." He paused for a moment and sighed, after a moment he continued when it became evident that his partner did not understand his anxiety when this was the sort of group they had been looking and hoping for for so long: "An overall sense of justice about the whole thing seems to resonate within the group. There will be no terrorism or crimes against individual members of the Empire, nor the civilians who support them. General Bel Iblis seems committed to following a strict moral code, and maintaining honor in this fight..." ACS' eyebrows narrowed as he again trailed off, which prompted another flurry of questions from his partner. His final words to her on the matter, before stretching out to go to sleep, were: "He is not my worry. Nor any of the Corellians involved. Bel Iblis knew who he was looking for, and found the right people for the job... but there was another man there. Apparently from some more unscrupulous organization that wished to remain anonymous. I had a bad feeling around him. You know how I get certain feelings about some people?" His partner nodded. More than once such intuition had aided in a safe getaway, and the two had come to rely on such feelings about certain situations and people. ACS continued from his now relaxed position, "He felt wrong, like he was hiding something. And I fear it has to do with that organization he represents. I don't like it at all."

This left only one question for ACS. He answered without it being voiced, "Yes, we're in with them. We are now official members of the Sons of Corellia."

Legend has it that Darth Vader, when he was just an innocent little boy named Anakin Skywalker, looked up at the Tatooine Sky and asked Qui-Gon Jinn if every star had a planet associated with it. The Jedi Master told little "Annie" that most of them did, and with enthusiasm reserved only for young boys Vader proceeded to tell Qui-Gon that he would be the first to visit them all.

Vader had certainly visited a lot of planets, but a few minor things like exterminating the Jedi and hunting down the leaders of the Rebel Alliance had probably distracted him from fulfilling that childhood dream.

Since joining the Union, Hilter Afdol felt like Vader was living vicariously through him.

Sure, the Union would often send Tir Esias or Omega Thrax to bring new confederates into the fold, but after that, whenever someone needed operational support it would fall to Hilter to run from one end of the galaxy to the other- or so it seemed. Coupled with his official duties as the Overliege of Ukio, and Hilter wouldn't have been surprised if he added Inter-Galactic Geography Bee Champion to his long and extensive resume of achievements.

His latest destination was the new headquarters for the Sons of Corellia, a planetoid hidden in a large asteroid field at the edge of the Corellia System. General Bel Iblis had christened the hideout "Liberty Station" which put a smile on Hilter's face- Insurgency Station must not have played well with the 28-45 demographic. Still, as his shuttle had weaved its way along an intricate, convoluted path that was the only safe route through the thicket of asteroids to the General's new abode, he commended the famed Senator's son for his choice of location.

Attacking this place would be hellaciously annoying.

It was obvious that the hideout wasn't fully finished (there were numerous external weapons emplacements that were only partially concealed and easily visible, and the hangar bay still had large scaffolding around its edges) but Hilter could see that once completed the base would be a citadel. The scale of everything was enormous, reinforced as Hilter entered the hangar itself- the opening seemed normal, completely disguising the fact that after a drop-off there were numerous levels in the huge hollowed out space that could easily hold an entire wing of snubfighters.

The atmosphere was busy, with Corellian expatriates running around at a breakneck but somehow ordered pace. Construction crews were everywhere, and Hilter couldn't help but notice the proliferation of Tagge and Belgardi equipment that was aiding the breakneck speed of construction- it gave the phrase Union construction a whole new meaning.

Hilter was greeted as he exited the shuttle by a sandy haired Corellian who identified himself as Captain Toreli, though the fact that he was wearing a smuggler's flight suit as opposed to a uniform gave Hilter an idea of the state of the organization at the moment.

Toreli led Hilter down a series of long stairwells that had been hewn directly from the rock of the asteroid, a temporary system of transportation between the various levels of the hangar bay to be used while the turbolift system was installed. Toreli enthusiastically started detailing the various statistics (although somewhat vaguely) of the new base.

"... two massive reactor cores, primary and back up shield generators, a smaller secondary hangar on the topside for stealthy entrance, approximately 300 or so weapon emplacements..."

Hilter listened with one ear, a good portion of his attention focused on the laborers as they scrambled around or hung on the ceiling performing unidentified tasks.

"... talking about a stolen gravity well generator, don't know if that thing is really going to happen. It.."

Hilter interrupted Toreli.

"Are all these men Corellians?"

He made a sweeping hand gesture to encompass all the laborers in the expansive chamber.

"Yes sir. Lots of exiles, but a good number directly from Home itself. Bel Iblis and that crew are really working on spreading the word. This base is going to have quarters for almost 10,000 people when it’s finally done."

That statement impressed Hilter much more than anything Toreli had previously said. If the Sons could generate popular support they could become a force to be reckoned with.

"I need to speak with General Bel Iblis, he's expecting me."

"Of course."

Toreli hoped of the stairwell onto a small landing, and then producing a com-link, summoned a small hoversled to their location.

"The General is on this level, at the firing range, we'll meet him there."

The fact that the hangar was large to make the use of a hoversled sensible reinforced the expansiveness of the place. But the Corellian independence movement needed a lot more than a planetoid hideaway to be successful.

Let see if Bel Iblis is putting his new headquarters to good use.

Gen. Bel Iblis

"Liberty Station".... the name seemed to roll off the tongue of Gen. Bel Iblis. He had not been the one to choose the name, but it had struck him as fitting. Equally as fitting to him were the parallels between the construction of the station and the building up amongst the numbers and strength of the Sons of Corellia. In the quiet solitude of his office, the general spoke barely above a whisper,"This is for freedom. For Corellia... for the Galaxy."

That is what he had told himself over and over. Everytime he saw a new weapons shipment arrive or another Union operative came bearing yet more materials for the construction of the secret headquarters. The whole situation grated upon the General's nerves incessantly. He knew he would be branded a radical, a terrorist, a rebel. Death and dishonor to his family were near certainties. Again he spoke to himself, "This is for freedom. For Corellia... for the Galaxy."

Standing slowly, the General looked to the display of the time. He was to be at the firing ranges in a few minutes. Following that he was to have a discussion with the head of the new security detail onboard the station. Immediately thereafter, Bel Iblis was to glance over the plans for new recruitment strategies. To finish the day he was to have yet another meeting with the cargo handlers about the secrecy of the shipments of materials. A project of this size and complexity required a great deal of work to veil the gathering of so many resources to one area. So far all was going well, but the paranoia of those transporting the various caches of weapons and building materials, considerably outweighed any disconcertion Bel Iblis had felt. Partially because Bel Iblis was not one for subterfuge. He was a very honest and forward man. He never liked to sneak about. A cruel twist of fate that such a requirement had been placed upon him when he decided to form the SoC.

As he walked the General let out a deep seated sigh, that was something akin to relieving the pressure that might build up in a balloon blown too big. Which was exactly how he felt. Like he was being stretched too thin.

Once more, before entering the firing range area, he spoke to the air,"This is all for freedom. For Corellia... For the Galaxy."

With that he stepped forward, through the recently installed durasteel door, which hissed as it slid open. As he made his way towards the officer overseeing the training of their new soldiers, the General was already thinking up a suitable apology for his tardiness. Not an excuse, never an excuse. Bel Iblis was never one to blame someone or something else for his shortcomings. His failures, however small, were his own.

But no apology was necessary this time. There was someone else there. A face he had yet to meet. A new recruit perhaps? But no. Though at a distance the General was already certain this man was different from the average recruit. He carried himself with a certain air... as the General closed the remaining distance he became certain that this was yet another Union henchman. He nodded to the overseer of the firing range in dismissal.

Calmly, he said,"I take it you wish to speak with me?"